Grüezi mitenand, thanks for dropping in again.
Having spent 7 years living and working near Zürich, 
Switzerland, I was kinda forced to learn to speak German.  Not that many people speak it daily in that part of the world. 

Swiss-German was what I mainly heard and that made my job twice as hard to learn the official language of Switzerland - High-German. Watching television was the only way I could see and hear real German being spoken by Germans. 

Believe it or not, when I was there, in darkest Schweiz, 20 years ago I rarely met anyone who admitted to speaking English or even spoke it.  You see, children growing up in Switzerland, have to learn German as well as French and Italian just so they can communicate with their compatriots in other parts of Switzerland. There was apparently no time left to learn English as well.

Swiss German is not a written language but a tongue, learned only from mothers. That was my problem since I had left my mum in Oz and besides she only spoke Strine. (Aussie English). 

So there I was trying out my best Hoch Deutsch on 
people who had learned German in school and they had at least a good 10 years or more head start on me. As soon as they heard my foreign accent, they 
condescended to speak a sort of pidgin-German that is popular with many Italian immigrants.

Consequently I was not getting enough practice to hear real Hoch Deutsch.  Naturally, after a few years I had a pretty good command of pidgin-German, which has plenty of Swiss-German thrown in at random.

When someone asks if I speak German and I say yes, I'm hoping they won't put me to the test. Most Germans don't really understand my personal brand of  Deutsch which for some reason, is like Swiss cheese.

A common problem in any country is that local rednecks always seem to find it quite amusing that someone does not speak or understand the local lingo. They treat you like a moron and make fun of you, or at least treat you with a measure of disdain. 
Believe me, it can be very a humbling experience for the foreigner.  I've been there, done that.

The important lesson that I learned was to be much more tolerant towards foreigners who don't have a command of English. In fact it teaches you to be more tolerant in every respect, when you realize the sort of hardships these people face, when arriving in a strange land.

In many cases you find out later that those apparently dumb foreigners that you met, speak three or four other languages fluently!  And you only speak one (sort of).
That can be a pretty humbling experience too.

Especially tormenting and enough to make you grind your molars to dust, is when you meet an Aussie who has picked up fluent Swiss-German in 6 months without ever having opened a book!  Grrrr..

And by the way, this month's featured country if you hadn't already guessed is Switzerland.

Tschüss .. or was that auf Wiedersehen?

PS. The XT is one year old today!
 

Dr John K. Flynn B.D.Sc.
The Xerostar Times Editor 
"Caring for Creative People"
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If MIDI music is new to you, then please read the article in the March edition of XT entitled:
"The 7 essentials to enjoy MIDI music." 
The article will show you how to set up your computer for maximum enjoyment of MIDI music.
Access the Archive page to read previous editions.
.

Here you will find links to all 500 Swiss watch- makers. Everything you want to know or need to know about these fine works of art.
             To find out more Click Here
             ..

Now you can start your own discussion thread or add comments. Please get started now.
Ask questions, provide answers. Have fun!
Be yourself or be anonymous it's up to you!
To view the message board:   Click Here
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Menopause happens to all women as they grow older. Many women dread its onset because they associate it with myths that have circulated for generations. 
These myths center on the belief that all women "going through the change" must endure harrowing physical symptoms and mood swings that take them from irritability and rage to sadness and depression.

Menopause, in and of itself, does not cause depression. In 1996, researchers reviewed almost a hundred articles written about menopause and concluded that depression and menopause are unrelated.

Menopause and mood were also a topic of discussion at the recent First World Congress on Women's Mental Health in Berlin, Germany. Researchers there again emphasized the psychological rather than biological causes of depression during menopause. 
They asserted that if a woman experienced changes in her mood during menopause, it was more likely due to her attitude toward menopause than to hormonal changes.
In other words, if she thought that menopause was going to be a difficult experience, she was more likely to have a difficult time. 

Therefore, it is safe to say that psychological changes at menopause often have more to do with the status of a woman's self-confidence, and her overall outlook, than with her hormones. It is these factors that make her susceptible to depression.
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Due to its popularity we have decided to extend the
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We hope this MIDI-eBook will be an inspiration to all readers. 
We would appreciate some feedback  Click Here
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Choose from a range of beautiful pictures including themes on nature, cars and cartoons. Send a personal postcard to your friends and loved ones.

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Switzerland conjures up a fair swag of clichés like irresistible chocolates, kitsch clocks, yodeling Heidis, humorless bankers, international bureaucracies and an orderly, anally-retentive and rather bland national persona. But Harry Lime was wrong on more than one account when, in The Third Man, he said 500 years of Swiss democracy and peace had produced nothing more than the cuckoo clock. For a start, the Germans were the ones who invented this monstrous timepiece; secondly, the Swiss, who are a brainy lot, have won more Nobel Prizes and registered more patents per capita than any other nation on earth. Muesli, DDT and life insurance may not be the stuff of legend, but where would the rest of us be without a bit of Swiss nous behind us?

Switzerland may be neutral but it is certainly not flavorless. The fusion of German, French and Italian ingredients has formed a robust national culture, and the country's Alpine landscapes have enough zing to reinvigorate the most jaded traveler. Goethe summed up Switzerland succinctly as a combination of 'the colossal and the well ordered'. The untamed majesty of the Alps and the tidy, just-so precision of Swiss towns prevent Switzerland from ever being as one-dimensional as some pundits like to try and make it.

Full country name: Swiss Confederation of Helvetia (CH)
Area: 41,295 sq km (16,105 sq mi)
Population: 7.3 million
Capital city: Bern (pop 130,000)
People: 74% German, 20% French, 4% Italian & 1% Romansch
Language: German, French, Italian & Romansch
Religion: 49% Roman Catholic & 48% Protestant
Government: Federal republic with 23 states or Kantons
President: Moritz Leuenberger

GDP: US$192 billion
GDP per head: US$26,400
Annual growth: 2%
Inflation: 2%
Major industries: Banking, insurance, pharmaceuticals, chemicals & precision instruments, tourism
Major trading partners: EU (esp. Germany, France, Italy, UK), US, Japan
Member of EU: no
To find out more about Switzerland -  Click Here
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Poetry is the creative play of language. And believe it or not, our ordinary speech is full of it. 
Curl up into your poetry corner with your favorite pen and paper in hand. Use these 12 ways to write a poem and get started, your masterpiece awaits! 
Let's say I'm sitting in that room with you now. Take out a pad and pen, your favorite pen, the one that just slides across the paper. Be sure you have an hour or so, so you can take your time with each prompt. 

1) Make a list of five things you did today, in the order you did them. 

2) Quickly write down three colors. 

3) Write down a dream. If you can't remember one, make it up. 

4) Take 15 minutes to write an early childhood memory, using language a child would use. 

5) Write a forbidden thought, to someone who would understand. 

6) Write a forbidden thought, to someone who would not. 

7) Make a list of five of your favorite "transitional objects." Choose one and describe it in detail. 

8) Write down three questions you'd ask as if they were the last questions you could ever ask. 

9) Write down an aphorism (e.g. "A stitch in time saves nine"). 

10) Write down three slant rhymes, pairs of words that share one or two consonants rather than vowels (moon/mine and long/thing are slant rhymes). 

11) Write three things people have said to you in the past 48 hours. Quote them as closely as you can. 

12) Write the last extreme pain you had, emotional or physical. If the pain were an animal, what animal would it be? Describe the animal. 

TIPS
What you have just done is generate a lot of material for a poem or several poems. You can stop and write the poem another time, or you can write it now. 

 Use one of the questions as the first line, each of the colors more than once, the slant rhymes, and the aphorism with a word or two changed. 
 Try using any part of, or all of, the material in any way you want, a line from your dream might work well on its own or your description of the animal might better describe your great uncle. 
 Let the poem be between 20 and 30 lines; let each line be 10 or more syllables long. Think of the poem as a dream or a psalm you are inventing, and don't force it. Write in your own speech, allowing its music and sense to speak through you. 

No human experience is unique, but each of us has a way of putting language together that is ours alone. 

Margo Jefferson was a 1995 Pulitzer Prize winner for her critiques and book reviews while working with the New York Times.
For more info  Click Here
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To find out more Click Here
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If you have a Web site, and you're interested in
creating some EXTRA profits within 15 minutes or less, then   click here now   and discover how a simple, yet extremely effective system for using pop-ups can add thousands to your annual revenue.
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Mark Joyner and Aesop are at it again - and this time they mean business.  You probably remember another traffic building tool from them with a similar name, but they say this one is "100 times more viral."
"This will change the Internet forever."
Joe Vitale, author of "Hypnotic Writing"
This is probably the most effective traffic building system we have ever encountered - and quite possibly there will never be anything like this again.
Price: FREE 

For more info: Click Here
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I think you'll agree that everyone needs love and companionship and what better way to find a partner for life than through the power of the Internet.

Cyclanoid is a tile based logic game with a built-in visual puzzle builder. You can play base games and create your own. The full version offers more than 23 different built-in puzzles, with various board sizes
and controls to allow for easy, medium, or high skill levels. The objective is to arrange the tiles in rows to match the icons displayed along the game area border. Much like Rubik's Cube in two dimensions, Cyclanoid is harder than it looks because you must get the icons aligned without disrupting your previous work. The interface is attractive, there is some nice background music and a help file explains the details.
To download the game please Click Here
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Dot easy are that easy. 
If you want to start a new web site, without any annoying banners then you won't do better than doteasy.com. 
A no frills web site of 20 MB site costs you nothing at all per year! Amazing but true!
There is a once only charge of $25 to register a full domain name and that's it. Incredible value!
We chose doteasy to host all our web sites and
they continue to upgrade their service.
If you need any help getting started, let us know,
we will be glad to give you any help or advice.
It's quite easy (doteasy) when you know how!
When you register, they will ask you how you found out about doteasy, so don't forget to mention the
Xerostar Times.  To sign up  Click Here
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A web site where you will find a huge choice of ezines covering every interest.

Please rate the XT at Cumuli.com Click Here
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What it is: A hard drive based MP3 player that holds 6GB of music. 
Who it's for: Students who'd like to record lectures or live music directly to the MP3 format. 
Who it's not for: Joggers who like their music on the go. 
Why we like it: If ever there were an audio product that screamed "take me to college," it would be the Archos Jukebox Recorder. Not only will this small (but somewhat bulky) hard drive based MP3 player crank out your tunes, it will also record lectures or live music directly to the MP3 format. Even better, any  kind of data fits onto the player's hard drive, which makes it great for toting around theses or reading materials between computers. Another bonus: the internal battery is rechargeable, so the student you have in mind can use the school's electricity to charge the device rather than shelling out precious cash for environment ruining batteries. 
To find out more Click Here

Last night I had a weird dream. I dreamt I was in a vast crowded hall packed with thousands of shouting people. I desperately needed to get out of there. The atmosphere was tense, the lack of air was making me claustrophobic. As I squeezed my way towards the exit, I noticed hundreds of people posting huge bundles of letters into what appeared to be bottomless postboxes.
I managed to find my way to one of the many exits. Outside I found rows of kiosks with long queues of people lining up to pay for their tickets to get into the hall. The noise was even worse out here. The atmosphere was electric with excitement.

There were a brightly dressed spruikers with megaphones, like the ones you see at a circus sideshow. Walking up and down, they were expounding what delights awaited the shuffling lines of customers inside. "Hurry, Hurry, Hurry, get your tickets for the greatest show on earth!", "don't be shy folks, step right up and get your tickets now!", "See the world's richest man!", "Join the millionaires inside!" "Hurry, Hurry, Hurry!" 

At the back of each ticket counter were one or two people sitting at desks, calmly counting through big piles of cash.

On exiting the building I found myself in a busy street with shop windows and many people going about their daily business. A few people had full shopping bags and some were looking in store windows. Much as you would see in any city today.

The meaning of dreams
It occurred to me today that my dream represented life on the Internet. The hall full of shouting people represented the majority of Internet Entrepreneurs.

Their shouting represents their desperate efforts to sell things to each other using every means possible including ezine ads, email ads and spam.

As newbies, they had paid various amounts of cash to get into that hall. Some had snuck in the back for free. Most were optimistic and assumed they were going to meet genuine customers, only to find that the hall was overcrowded with like-minded fellow individuals, all trying to sell the same sort of products to each other. It was like a cross between the NY Stock exchange and a huge Amway convention - gone totally mad!  The bundles of letters were falling into an abyss where nobody goes.

The ticket sellers at the door were the people making huge profits out of all those excited newbies lining up to pay their money. These were the Yahoos and GoTos selling tickets to would-be entrepreneurs. The spruikers were the Gurus of internet marketing. They were obviously getting a good cut of the takings.

The Real World
The almost normal street scene outside represents the real world. Where shoppers and traders follow the conventional way of doing business.

The store owners have attractive window displays, and invite passers-by to come in and make a purchase from their well stocked niche store. They advertise in all the right places. In newspapers, on Television and Radio. If they give good service, many new customers hear about them by word of mouth and come back again. These are your Amazons of the Internet.

Sound advice
Don't bother paying to get into that noisy crowded hall, you will waste a lot of your money and time. 
At a time when you would be better devoted to saving money and learning about real marketing.

Stick with the conventional methods, build an attractive niche store with good products and advertise to the public, not to your fellow salesmen.

If necessary give gifts as incentives to get people in the door to see your products. 
If necessary, sell other peoples products, but make sure they are useful products, not just hype dressed up.  If you sell hype or scams, your reputation will suffer, people will despise you and nobody will be coming back. There's no future in hype.

Tempting scams
Just because others appear to be getting away with scams, don't be tempted to join them.
Build your marketing skills, sell a useful product and your self esteem will skyrocket, not your profits.
Help others and you will build friendships and people will return your favor by helping you.

Your profits may start out tiny, but with patience, skill and perseverance they will gradually climb to the point where you may really consider "firing the boss!" - to coin the hackneyed phrase, it won't happen overnight but it will happen.

Too good to be true
Treat all offers that seem "too good to be true" as just that. In fact treat all offers as scams until you get real proof that they are not.

Avoid contributing any money to any scheme, you will only be lining someone else's pockets.
If it's a genuine "money making" offer, then you shouldn't be expected to pay anything. Your participation in the program should be all that's required. 

Opt-in mail lists
Don't try buying opt-in lists of subscribers. They're all scams. What may appear to be large numbers of genuine subscribers, soon leave. They only stay long enough to get paid. Did you ever consider that the majority are fake anyway? Anyone can own tens of thousands of bogus email boxes and get paid for "reading email". You need to be dishonest to do it. "Thousands of responsive buyers are waiting to read your email offer!" 
Yea sure .. and they get paid to delete their overflowing mail boxes every day!

Pay per click
Notice how they're not called "earn per click"!
Don't bother with pay-per-click search engines. You will get a lot of "traffic" but your sales won't be any better. These are your pay-per-click rip-offs like Goto.

Pay to Join Lists
Why pay Yahoo.com $300 to get listed in position 134,265, or not at all, if they don't happen to like your web site?  That's a lotta moolah!  It can take years to earn that money back when you're just starting out. Wait until you have heaps of spare cash before risking that sort of money!

If you're basically an honest person, then I urge you to concentrate on being that. It will take hard work, and it will take a long time, but in the end the money will really belong to you and you'll have the real satisfaction of knowing that you made it happen with your own sweat and toil and not stolen it from others.

Treat customers well
Above all, treat your customers well.  If they're unhappy, give them a refund and a gift.
They will be back when you have another offer. People will thank you for your products and not despise you. Once the groundwork is finished and you're making a steady income, then you can afford the luxury of spending time inventing new products and expanding your customer list.

After all the years of honest hard work, when you've got that elusive million dollars safely tucked away in the bank, you will sleep very well at night - without any weird dreams! Take your time and do it well, whatever you do, don't "hurry hurry hurry"!

To send comments on this article:  Click Here
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If you've been faced with trying to send a large file to someone as an email attachment, it can be really frustrating to find that your ISP only allows attachments up to a maximum of say 5 MB.
HJ Split allows you to easily split large files into more manageable chunks that can be sent. 
Of course the person on the receiving end needs a matching copy of this great little utility too.
A free ware file splitting program for Windows 95/98/NT/2000/ME - It's able to split files of any type and any size.
Download now for FREE Click Here
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Roboform is a one click web form filler and password manager with some serious Artificial Intelligence (AI) inside. It works as an add-on to Microsoft Internet Explorer ver 4 or later, all browsers based on IE, and Netscape 6. 

Roboform has become more popular since "Gator" has fallen into disrepute for intrusive marketing tactics.

It is absolutely free for personal use. 
http://roboform.com

To download it now Click Here
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This is the very first in-depth critique of George Harrison's solo career since the break-up of 
The Beatles. 

Today it is with great sadness that we learned of George's passing away after a long battle with illness.

We offer our deepest sympathy to his family and loved ones as well as his many fans around the world.

Elliot Huntley has followed George's progress as a dedicated fan for most of his life and he said he feels the loss as much as any close friend.

A sad day for us all.
You will be sadly missed George, but you will live on in our hearts forever.
Rest in Peace.

To find out more about this book  Click Here
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This huge project aims to house examples of all the world's plants in one huge greenhouse situated in Cornwall. The Eden Project is one of the UK's top Landmark Millennium projects created to tell the fascinating story of man's relationship with plants. 
It  is  a non-profit making charitable scientific organization for the 21st century with a commitment to communicate with  the  public through entertainment,  education and involvement.

Do you enjoy word puzzles or playing with words?
Are you a Scrabble®  fan?
This fascinating program will help you solve the
most difficult word puzzles. The manipulation of English words is taken to a new level. 
To read all about it. Click  Here
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Innovative software! A great gift for your loved ones!
It's called "The Baby Name Generator" 
Available now for download at our new web site. 
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Increase your chances of a win by 40 to 45 times!
Save time - everything is automated for you.
Never miss an entry. Monthly statement with full details. No need to check results!
Winnings are deposited direct to your account.
Find out more about this amazing system.
See a powerful flash presentation that will explain how the Oz Power system works.

This web site describes the typical foods of Switzerland, together with recipes.
There are also links to many other features about Switzerland.

Robotics is one of the world's fastest growing hobbies. The thrill of creating moving, and sometimes "thinking" machines, can be experienced by a child creating his or her LEGO masterpiece, as well as a graduate student putting the finishing touches on his walking beer retrieval robot. This web site lists books that will introduce the hobby to the novice, as well as books that have useful tips for even the most advanced hobbyist or inventor. 
A variety of kits and robot toys are available too.
There is also a list of robot clubs and competitions for the hobbyist!
Sign up for the Robotics Newsletter! 
To find out more please Click Here
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In the days following Sept. 11, millions of people sought to give help as best they could. The Red Cross's Web site traffic spiked to more than 50 million hits compared with their more normal 1.1 million hits before that fateful day.

In the 2 weeks following, online donations shot to $57 million. The previous two week record high for giving to the Red Cross was $2.5 million. Until Sept. 11, online donations made up less than 1% of their total; since then 28% of their total gifts have come via the Web.

Clara Barton would have been elated at the tremendous out pouring of help from concerned and caring individuals.

Throughout history there have been a few outstanding humanitarian efforts by individuals that have given far reaching and long lasting results. These are efforts that have helped untold millions upon millions of lives. Clara Barton surely deserves to be ranked near the top of that list.

Known as "The Angel of The Battlefield," Clara almost single hand idly founded the American Red Cross in 1882.

As a young child, Clara would often play "nurse" to the neighborhood pets that were sick or injured. Getting her first real human nursing experience, she nursed her brother back to health after he had received a serious injury.

She then worked as a teacher, and later in 1853 landed a job as clerk in the US Patent Office, becoming the first woman to hold that position. When the Civil War broke out, Clara heard of the tremendous suffering with many of the soldiers going without treatment because of the lack of medical personnel.

Determined to make a difference, she went from door to door asking and pleading with people to make donations for the soldiers relief.

After experiencing first hand the suffering of some soldiers from the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment, Clara decided it was time to take her efforts to the battlefield. But it didn't come easy.....she pleaded with the War Department for nearly a year before they gave her permission.

In the meantime, Clara spent her time collecting bandages and other medical supplies, plus she set up an independent agency to help her collect and then dispense the supplies.

On the front lines, the danger was intense. But Clara
jumped right in and would often stay with a wounded
soldier until they could be carried back to safety.

At one of the deadliest battles of the War, Antietam,
she had a bullet rip through her sleeve which killed a
nearby soldier. Without hesitation, Clara moved to the next wounded soldier and aided him.

She would often work non-stop tending to the injured,
assisting surgeons, carrying supplies, and comforting the soldiers. Even after the war had ended she spent a great deal of time searching for those missing in action.

If that wasn't enough, when war broke out between France and Germany in 1870, she went to Europe and volunteered for the International Red Cross. German emperor William I awarded her the Iron Cross of Merit for her selfless work.

Coming back to America, she began a full fledged effort at educating people, contacting politicians, giving speeches, and passing out brochures. Finally her tireless efforts culminated in the incorporation of the American Chapter of the Red Cross.

Clara Barton's entire life was spent so that millions upon millions of people then and now could have a wonderful organization to be there for them in times of need.

She achieved her results by totally dedicating and focusing her efforts on accomplishing that one main goal in her life. Everything she did was a step on the road to her life's major purpose. Clara Barton is one of life's true heroes.

"You must never so much as think whether you like it or not, whether it is bearable or not; you must never think of anything except the need, and how to meet it."  - Clara Barton 
The Red Cross:    http://redcross.org/

Dave Cole is the editor of:
"Prosperity: The Choice Is Yours"
Copyright © 2001

Dave's Fun-To-Read E-zine provides you with valuable info on how to market your online business and how to make money online. All subscribers get 1 Free ad per week. Get your FREE subscription today.  http://choosetoprosper.com
For more information. Click Here
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