Hello faithful readers and a warm welcome to all you new readers. Did you know, this is the first monthly edition of The Xerostar Times that was produced for our new web site?  This avoids sending you email attachments with the danger of spreading viruses.

You will see that most of our regular advertisements have moved to the web pages, leaving the XT free for a greater variety of new offers and themes. We now include a new Classified Section at the bottom too.

With the increasing diversity of immigrants from many countries, the population blend in the UK is gradually taking on more of the character of the US, with a large mix of people coming from every nation on the planet. They have heard about the friendly humanitarian laws of the UK. Generally speaking, there is a natural flow of people being pulled towards western countries, not only because of the stability and prosperity that they offer, but also the pressure of  tyranny and appalling poverty that is driving them out of their homelands.

On the theme of UK, it's appropriate that I introduce a  product being offered at the refurbished Dictionary- Thesaurus.com. It's the WordsWorth Compendium software, invented by Ted Clarke in Cornwall, UK. It's used to solve complex word puzzles. A must for any lover of English word puzzles and word play! 

It wasn't hard to find MIDI music files, since the UK must be one of the most prolific sources of music in the world. The hard part was deciding what to include from the huge choice available!

Dr John K. Flynn B.D.Sc.
The Xerostar Times Editor 
"Caring for creative people"
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Cliff RichardPaul McCartneyRoxy MusicPhil CollinsDavid BowieTom JonesThe BeatlesELOElton JohnRolling StonesEric ClaptonScottish TraditionalWelsh TraditionalN.Ireland TraditionalEnglish TraditionalJohn Lennon

FREE projects, online books, and learning activities for kids!  Play a game, do a craft and maybe learn some history.  This site is lot's of fun for everyone.

To check out the web site Click Here
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The Writing Parent features articles, tips and advice on what does and does not work when trying to find the time needed to write and concentrate with children in the home. Helpful articles on writing as a parent, writing in general, articles, fiction by writing parents, markets, contests and more.

The Writing Child

The Writing Child is a print newsletter and web site for children/young writers.  Published monthly, short stories, essays, poetry, and songs are featured.

Subscribe to both free at:  Click Here
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Are you always a sound sleeper? 
Do you sometimes suffer from lingering sleepless - ness?  Are you wondering what causes the changes in your ability to sleep well? 
This quiz can help you assess your sleeping habits. Learn more about how your lifestyle affects your sleep. 

A web site where you will find a huge choice of ezines covering every interest.
Please rate the XT at Cumuli.com Click Here

Recommend The Xerostar Times to a friend!
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Have you thought about publishing a book?
Did you give up because it all seemed to difficult?

At MIDI-eBooks.com we can publish your book on our web pages and it will be on sale to the public within a short time. How much will it cost?
You don't pay anything up front and we only charge 5% of the revenue from sales. 

To find out more about how easy it is to have your book published, just   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.

Widely acknowledged as the foundation for all contemporary fantasy, J.R.R. Tolkien's epic saga is set in the magical land of Middle Earth -- a world featuring wizards, dwarves, elves, dragons -- and an endearing race of little people called hobbits.
Audiobooks are on CD or cassette at bargain prices this month!  To find out more  Click Here
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Great Britain, the dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century, played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. At its zenith, the British Empire stretched over one-fourth of the earth's surface. The first half of the 20th century saw the UK's strength depleted in two World Wars. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous European nation. The UK currently is weighing the degree of its integration with continental Europe as a member of the EU. Constitutional reform is also a significant issue in the UK. Regional assemblies with varying degrees of power opened in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland in 1999.
Now linked to mainland Europe by tunnel under the English Channel, it has become a favourite desti- nation for refugees because of its liberal humanitarian laws. 

To find out all you need to know please  Click Here
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A good friend of mine, fellow writer Rose Harmon recently re-started an online forum for writers called The Inkwell Writer's Forum.
The name inkwell reminded me of my early school days when our school desks had a round hole on top at the right side - for the removable inkwells. We had steel nibs which needed a very gentle hand to write properly without scratching the paper and spattering the ink. 
That must have been a nightmare for teachers! 
Can you imagine the mess those kids used to make with atrocious writing, spilled ink and dirty fingers!
That got me to thinking how long ago it was since I wrote anything with real ink, with a fountain pen, I mean. 

I'm so out of practice that I can't write a legible note for myself these days. I have had 30 years of writing pharmacy prescriptions with a ball point but as you can imagine that doesn't really count as "writing".
Have you found it incongruous to try and write a love letter by email? 
I think you will agree, there is no substitute for hand written letters to loved ones. 
Unfortunately the modern world has lost some of the old magic with the arrival of email.
Email is great, but you can be sure that in years to come all those messages won't be found in an attic trunk by your great grandchildren to wonder about. 

Anyway, the keyboard is the only tool left that faithfully reflects my intended message, so I guess it's here to stay. That's assuming speech-typing programs don't become fashionable sometime soon.
I find I am now dependent on a spell check, Dyslexia seems to have flolowed em in ym tpying. (sic)

To read more about The Inkwell Forum Click Here
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We are building a new web site called 
"FreebieGenie.com" and we need lots of genuine freebies to give away. This is free advertising!

If you have a freebies that you would like to add to our new web site please visit.       Click Here
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This web site offers links to a collection of interesting dictionaries. Worth a visit for those interested in the peculiarities of the English language.

Quasar Electronics is the UK's leading specialist supplier of electronic kits, electronic projects and publications for hobby, education and industry.

Their range of over 200 electronic kits is produced to very high standards. Their range covers a diverse spectrum of interests including Amplifiers, Audio Projects, CCD & CMOS Cameras, Car & Motorbike Projects, Computer Projects, Controllers & Drivers, Counters & Meters, Education, Games, Light & Lasers, Micro Controllers, Miscellaneous Kits, Power Supplies, Relay Boards, Security, Single Board Computers, Sound Generators, Sound Recorders, Surveillance, Test Equipment and Transmitter Projects. 
For more info please Click Here
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When the first Dyson bagless vacuum cleaner was launched in Japan in 1991, few would have predicted what an astounding impact the brand would have.

For nigh on 80 years the mechanics inside a vacuum cleaner had hardly changed. The principle was that dirt was vacuumed up and separated by passing the stream of dirty air through a bag or a filter or both.

Dyson won a major court battle last year over patent infringement by Hoover.
Fuelled by self-belief, his legal battle against Hoover was seen as an attempt to set the record straight for once and for all. "I spent 20 years developing the technology and I am very pleased to see Hoover, who made a lot of false claims about their product, now found guilty of patent infringement," he said after the judgment. 

In Russia nowadays, anybody who has recently become rich is labeled possibly a criminal, enjoying what the locals call “a comfortable but short life”.  The competition must be fierce at the top!

This article is about my painful (and expensive) experience with a well known pay-per-click search engine.

Like many entrepreneurs, eager for some traffic and sales, I decided to give my web site a boost by bidding for search terms that would get me listed at or near the top to sell my software.
There's no denying, traffic flow was instantaneous. 

I checked my statistics. They showed a high rate of click-throughs but my conversion numbers were no better than before.

My earnings from sales was barely covering the cost of advertising. A funny co-incidence that ..

I had already complained about the possibility of malicious click-throughs. These are devious competitors or amateur hackers clicking away continually on your link to ensure your early removal from the top of the list as they move themselves up into your place. It could be some kids getting some inexplicable vandalistic joy from clicking away your investment although I doubt that explanation.

The search engine support told me they have a system that eliminates false click-throughs, but they said their methods were "kept secret" and If I was still not satisfied, they would investigate the matter further for me. Their confidence pointed to the fact that no evidence of foul play would be found.

In order to find an explanation to the high rate of click-throughs with no change in sales, I analyzed the problem from a different angle.

Have you heard about servers being subjected to "denial of service" attacks? The hackers make use of on-line computers around the world to direct hits to any given server and the massive amounts of traffic cause the targeted server to crash. 

The owners of the surrogate PCs used in the attack have no idea that their PCs are being used for these stupid games played by the hackers.

Now, would it be unreasonable to postulate that an unscrupulous search engine owner could use the same technique to direct a pre-determined number of random hits to his own server?  He could then re-direct these "visitors" to search terms where most money could be earned. 

Investigation would be difficult to expose this scam. Our server logs would simply show a large number of hits from PC's around the world - which would look much like legitimate traffic.

The key would be to check how long those visiting PC's stayed at your web site.  Genuine visitors would hang around for at least 30 seconds or more and since they were interested in your product, may even stay a few minutes.  “False” visitors on the other hand would most likely log off within a second or even less, having achieved their goal.

So I ask you, are you paying for legitimate click-throughs?

And do you know of any pay-per-click search engine owners, not necessarily Russian, that have recently become rich? 

On the same note some advice on precautions you can take to avoid having your PC used by hackers. 
There are many freely available "scanners" being run by bad people who are sweeping the Internet looking specifically for computers running Windows File and Printer Sharing and if those shares are password protected and sufficiently interesting, password crackers will silently pound on your password until your defenses have been penetrated!

Make sure your PC is not being hacked. Install
Zone Alarm. It's free and I can highly recommend it
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Since I installed Zone Alarm it, it has prevented a minimum of 300 unauthorized connections to my computer every day! 

Download Zone Alarm from our web site now!
ZoneAlarm provides protection against Internet-borne threats. Compatible with Microsoft® Windows® 95/98/Me/NT/2000 and XP.        Click Here
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Words are spoken
The question, "How many words are there in English?" is based on a misunderstanding of language. It is based on the false assumptions that  words are objects that someone creates and stores in a published dictionary. Neither assumption is true. Words that are simply spoken but never published do not enter dictionaries. That does not mean that they are not words, for language is a spoken medium, not a written one. Fewer than a thousand of the world's 6800 languages have writing systems. If words were the things found in dictionaries, the majority of the world's languages would have no words! 

For the complete article,  please Click Here
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A book written by a senior for seniors. 
The author has packed this book with step- by- step instructions and illustrations. The section on tips and suggestions is very informative. All the material has been gathered from teaching over 300 seniors in the past 4 years. The book is in plain language. Computer jargon used only when the author has no other choice.

The eBook format makes it an ideal handy reference for any senior or beginner. Topics that need further study can be printed individually. The text can be enlarged with the click of the mouse for those with poor eyesight.

It can be downloaded to your computer. 
Also available on Auto Run CD, which is a perfect  choice because you do not have to store the eBook on your computer. Just pop the CD in the CD ROM and way you go.

A great gift idea!

To find out more about this book  Click Here
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The recent terrorist attacks have left deep scars. Find resources to help you and your loved ones cope with the effects.   Click Here
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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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Free Classified Ads can now be viewed or posted at
www.MIDI-eBooks.com and www.xerotron.com
16 Categories to choose from!.....Click Here
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E-booksCafe offers an assortment of books in both the ebook and POD format in all genres of fiction, as well as non-fiction. They also offer authors worldwide the opportunity to promote and sell their books/POD books for free. mailto:ebookscafe@yahoo.com
For more information, check out their web site. 

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Here is one of the holidays unique to England. It is celebrated (or rather remembered) on the 5th November. On this date, in 1605, a group of Roman Catholics tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament, with the government, King James I, his Queen and their son. They were angry at the King's treatment of Catholics and hoped that English Catholics would be able to take over the country if they murdered the King, his ministers and members of Parliament. 
This was called the Gunpowder Plot. 

The plotters rented a cellar underneath the Houses of Parliament, and Guy Fawkes hid twenty barrels of gunpowder there a few days before Parliament was due to meet. But one of the plotters warned a relative, Lord Monteagle not to go to Parliament on the 5th November. Lord Monteagle then warned the government and Guy Fawkes was discovered in the cellar and arrested. All the conspiritors either died resisting arrest, or were tried tortured and executed. 

So 5th November was made a day of public thanksgiving, and this day, known as Guy Fawkes day, is still celebrated. Children make life-size models of Guy Fawkes out of old clothes stuffed with straw and newspaper, and carry these 'Guys' through the streets collecting pennies. "Pennies for the Guy!" they shout. People light big bonfires, and burn the 'Guys' and set off fireworks. There's usually a feast, and sometimes people even roast potatoes and chestnuts in the ashes of the bonfire. 

There is a little rhyme said to remind people

"Remember, remember, the fifth of November,
 Gunpowder, treason and plot.
 We see no reason why
 Gunpowder treason
 Should ever be forgot!"

By Jody Ghani, Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
A Page From the KIDPROJ a part of KIDLINK, where students through secondary school join global projects.  For more info  Click Here
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Virtually every product we purchase will have some impact on our environment. The challenge to us, as a contentious consumer, is to determine which of the alternatives are less harmful, and to choose to use these products and practices whenever possible. 

Being informed and including environmental considerations in our decision-making is essential.
Yet, how can the average consumer compare a ton of solid waste produced by throwing away disposable diapers with, say, a million gallons of wastewater produced by washing cloth diapers? 
To read the complete article please Click Here
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