Zdravstvuyte Dear readers!
I was amused to read a quote that said:
"In the history of the world, no one has ever washed a rented car."  This had brought several indignant replies from readers, one of which echoed my thoughts entirely:

"I washed our rented car twice when we toured the Western USA .. I like to see cars looking nice, partly because they're generally beautiful objects, and partly out of respect for the manufactured article. 
Every manufactured thing has taken resources out of our world: raw materials, human endeavor, physical human effort, money. Treating articles with respect at least makes a token recognition of these facts". (John Law) 

And besides, do you know that some agencies charge a cleaning fee if you return the car in a dirty condition?
On the same theme, we have a free sample eBook about car repairs and what you need to know. 
(see below)

By now you'll have noticed that I feature a new background each month. You can save them for your own use by using the right mouse button and choosing "save background as .."  Some newbies might appreciate that .. 

This month's country is Russia!
It's out of respect for Vladimir Pakhomov of Moscow who has at last finished the translation of his astounding eBook "Mystery of the Calendar". 

It's a difficult job to try and condense a huge country like Russia into a monthly ezine, so I've had to leave a few things out ..  We're now grateful to call Russians our friends after the long cold war and to be sharing in their knowledge, skills and culture. 

Do svidaniya until next month.

Dr John K. Flynn B.D.Sc.
The Xerostar Times Editor 
Caring for Creative People
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Find out how to set up your computer for maximum
enjoyment of MIDI music. Click Here
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Now you can order from a large variety of modern wonder pills on-line from UK Pills. You can depend on fast, discreet delivery to Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Spain, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal,  Sweden, UK and Ireland, in fact anywhere in Europe.
For more info please Click Here

In America? Check out NewPillstore.com

Joint pain and stiff muscles? 
What can you do to make sure you don't join the "Age of Arthritis" Epidemic?

Did you see the recent TIME Cover Story about "the Age of Arthritis" epidemic? Click Here to read it!

TIME Magazine named Glucosamine-Chondroitin one of the best alternative therapies while The Arthritic Foundation also recommended it for rebuilding joints.

To find out about new treatments Click Here
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We're pleased to see how many people come back to download this free MIDI eBook again and again.  We think it's a beautiful story and the music is timeless. Take a fantasy trip and read this enchanting tale soon. We hope it'll inspire you to write your very own MIDI eBook.

To read all about it. Click  Here

Don't forget to check out all of our unique books 
Click  Here
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Russia's political icons and ideologies may have tumbled but Churchill's 'riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma' remains an apt descriptive chestnut. Outsiders still have only a hazy grasp of daily life in Russia, and the unfolding effects of a deregulated market economy are surrounded by rumors of rampant crime and prostitution, relentless drug-trafficking, mile-long queues for nonexistent food and a general end-of-the-world aura. But with countless cultural treasures having withstood the tribulations of history and economics, and an artistic legacy running the gamut from Karenina to Zhivago, Russia remains a must-see destination. So grab your balalaika, turn off the samovar and meet up with Boris and Natasha at Lenin's tomb in Moscow, in the queue outside the Hermitage in St Petersburg, in any one of the Golden Ring's gorgeous historic towns and in the wildflower-filled meadows of the Caucasus.

Full country name: Russian Federation
Area: 17 million sq km (6,563,706 sq mi)
Population: 147 million (growth rate -0.3%)
Capital city: Moscow (pop 9 million)
People: 81% Russian, 4% Tartar, 3% Ukrainian and numerous ethnic minorities
Language: Russian
Religion: Russian Orthodox, Islam, Animist
Government: Federation
President: Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin

Free market reform has not been kind to Russia. Production and investment are in diabolical decline due to uncertainty induced by both the pace of change and the suspicions born of endemic and insidious corruption. Some 40 million people languish below the poverty line.

GDP: US$600 billion
GDP per head: US$4000
Annual growth: -5%
Inflation: 84%
Major industries: Oil, coal, iron ore, timber, automotive, agricultural and construction equipment
Major trading partners: EU (esp. Germany), Belarus, Ukraine, USA, China
Member of EU: no

To find out more please Click Here

Click on the map to enlarge
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Cut repair bills by know how car repair workshops can
take advantage of car owners who don't know a big end from a banana or a camshaft from a cabbage.
This is  a sample version of the eBook which will convince you of the knowledge you need these days.

Read this free .PDF eBook now!  Click Here
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There are many online greeting card services - but you need to give them your email address and then wait for all the spam. How much better to create your own professional looking greeting cards, and this is the software to do it. Windows XP/Me/2000/98. Free. 2.25MB

You can download a free trial at: 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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This web site is dedicated to finding suitable partners for Aussie blokes. Men are sent on a 2 week tour of Siberia (during summer) where they join a group of Siberian women who seek a husband and a new life. The web site design is based on the beautiful carving that is part of the old wooden buildings in Tomsk, Siberia. The tour is conducted by Visit Siberia.com .
To view the web site please Click Here 
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Don't miss the surprising, exciting, fascinating conclusions in Part 3  - Vladimir uncovers the  results he has obtained from years of research. 

He shows us pictures generated from data that is hidden in the calendar!  Startling Images!

His discovery is of great significance to scientists and historians alike.
Vladimir Pakhomov is a professional mathematician, artist and writer. Over many years he has undertaken an exhaustive study of the Calendar in all its forms. 
He reveals in this book how he discovered important messages left by ancient civilizations, encrypted in the Calendar. 

A true MIDI-eBook with loads of beautiful illustrations plus selected audio files!
This eBook is a masterpiece!

You can buy it now at MIDI-eBooks.com!

By the way, you can buy the complete eBook comprising 3 parts, or just Part 3 on its own (if you already have Parts 1 & 2).

For more info: Please Click Here
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Do you remember the young couple we wrote about way back in the November 2001 edition?

Well Lisa & Chris are back from their incredible
7 month, 8000 km journey by bicycle to South America. Although they didn't finish what they had planned, we congratulate them on an incredible feat of endurance and having the sense to know when enough is enough. 

Visit their web site and find out what happened and the other exciting adventures that they have since enjoyed.  Please Click Here
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Russia's flag was adopted on August 21, 1991.
The design of the flag is over 300 years old and was first used by Peter the Great (it was adapted from the flag of the Netherlands). It was the official flag of Russia from May 7, 1883, until November 1917, when the communist Bolshevik revolution took place. When the communist regime fell, the old tri-color flag was reinstated. 

Since 1994, Russia celebrates national "Day of State Flag" on the 21st of August each year.

Visit a charming web site dedicated to education
with more information about the flag  Click Here
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Russians take great pride in their cooking. A huge variety of dishes awaits you in Russia. Many dishes have curious traditions attached to their long history. For example a great choice of soups in Russian cuisine is explained by the folk habit of having a soup meal at least once a day. I found 72 recipes for different breads and pastries alone!

Find out about the most popular ethnic dishes of Russian, Ukrainian, Byelorussian, Georgian, Armenian and other cuisine.

For a great web site with recipes Click Here
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Breakthrough technology that finally puts and end to web site theft enabling you to protect your web site source code from thieves, secure your affiliate profits, hide info from hackers etc.

For more info please Click Here
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Microsoft designer Gary Starkweather, who invented the laser printer when he was at Xerox and won an Academy Award for his work on film scanning, wants to enlarge and bend the PC screen: "I'd never seen moviegoers get really thrilled on small screen. It becomes a much more compelling experience at an IMAX theater. I thought, What if we had a computer display that looked more like a Cinerama?" So he designed a prototype curved PC screen 12 inches high, 44 inches wide, and curved 90 degrees, five times as bright as current CRT or LCD screens, and able to accommodate several open applications at once or a single application stretched across that huge space. "Our role in bringing personal computing to the masses should not just be a computer terminal, it should enable a human being to utilize their senses in a more productive fashion. Anything that can help you express creativity and look at information in new ways is going to benefit... Most people try to find something to cover their walls with. Why not cover them with information?"

For more info Please Click Here
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Tchaikovsky is one of the most beloved composers in history. An inspired craftsman of melody, orchestration and evocative tonal color, he wrote in an astonishing variety of musical forms, from symphonies to ballet scores to concertos. His life and work are the stuff of legend, and his personal struggles are almost as well-documented today as the methods by which he created his music.

Tchaikovsky was born in Votkinsk, Russia in 1840, and was initially trained in music by a French governess. At ten, he moved to St. Petersburg, where he studied the law and enrolled in jurisprudence school. After his graduation in 1859, Tchaikovsky briefly held a job as a government clerk, but soon threw this career over in favor of musical pursuits. He entered the St. Petersburg Conservatory in 1861 and studied composition with Anton Rubinstein, then the most exalted pianist and composer in Russia. Graduating in 1865, Tchaikovsky found a post as a teacher of harmony at the Moscow Conservatory and began to write a slew of minor overtures, quartets and one larger symphonic work.

In 1876, Tchaikovsky entered into a relationship which would dominate - and facilitate - most of his career as a composer. A wealthy widow, Nedezhda von Meck, had heard that Tchaikovsky was in financial straits (he wasn't the only one by any means), and, without meeting the young musician, commissioned several works from him with princely fees attached. Soon, she put Tchaikovsky on a fixed allowance which covered his basic living expenses, and this arrangement lasted for the next thirteen years, without the two ever meeting. By Madame von Meck's generosity, Tchaikovsky was able to devote his energies to composition without worrying about the pressures of economic hardship. Accordingly, Madame von Meck deserves the gratitude of every music lover who cherishes the work of this great composer.

In 1877, Tchaikovsky was married to Antonia Milyukova, a student at the conservatory. Their brief liaison was a complete disaster; within a year, Tchaikovsky had attempted suicide by jumping into the Moscow River, and the marriage was quickly broken off. At the same time, Tchaikovsky was coming into his own as a composer, writing his Fourth Symphony (1877) and other seminal works. He was also starting to experience chronic depression; many music historians chalk up his problems to the stress of hiding his homosexuality, while others point to a clinical condition which was only exacerbated by his chaotic personal life. Tchaikovsky wrote the magnificent Violin Concerto in D in 1878 - and endured its rejection by the pedagogue Leopold Auer, who deemed the work unplayable - and followed with the Symphony No. 6 (Pathetique) and other legendary works. Throughout the 1880s, his fame spread to Europe and America, and his financial position improved. It was just as well; in 1889, for reasons still unclear today, Madame von Meck cut off her financial support - a blow from which Tchaikovsky never fully recovered.

The same year - 1889 - saw the premiere of Sleeping Beauty, a work which brought even higher accolades to the now-famous composer. In 1891-92 Tchaikovsky toured Europe and the United States, conducting concerts of his music and winning the praises of critics and public alike. Never a robust person, in constant strain from mental disorder and physical malady, Tchaikovsky died in 1893 under mysterious circumstances. Some believe that he contracted cholera during a trip to St. Petersburg; others maintain that he was the victim of murder or suicide.

Tchaikovsky is best known for his last three symphonies, the concertos for piano and violin, the three ballets (The Nutcracker, Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty), and the tone poems Romeo and Juliet and Francesca da Rimini - and, of course, the celebrated 1812 Overture. He also wrote a superlative opera, Pique Dame (The Queen of Spades) which is experiencing a minor renaissance in recent years. Tchaikovsky tended to follow traditional architecture in his symphonies and larger works, but it is not for his mastery of structure that he is so revered; rather, it is his unequalled gift for aching melody and lush instrumental textures that places him in the pantheon of the greatest composers in history.

To see a complete list of his works Click Here
To see a very good list of resources to find the Most Popular Books, Videos and DVDs Click Here.
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Air cushion technology is used for transportation across land and sea. In Europe, Hovercraft cross the English Channel carrying cars and passengers.
The US military uses the Hovercraft for transporting strategic elite troops and their vehicles. It’s a great learning experience for today’s generation of kids! 

To find out more please Click Here
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