Fireworks explode over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House during a pyrotechnic show to celebrate the New Year January 1, 2012.

Fireworks explode from Taiwan’s tallest skyscraper, Taipei 101, during New Year celebrations in Taipei.

Fireworks explode over Hong Kong during New Year celebrations in China January 1, 2012.

FirewoFireworks explode over Jakarta during New Year celebrations in Indonesia January 1, 2012.

Fireworks explode over Marina Bay during New Year celebrations in Singapore January 1, 2012.

Fireworks explode over Kuala Lumpur during New Year celebrations in Malasya January 1, 2012.

Fireworks explode over Dubai from Burj Khalifa during New Year celebrations in UAE January 1, 2012.

Fireworks explode over Johannesburg during New Year celebrations in South Africa January 1, 2012.

Fireworks burst over Spassky Tower at the Red Square in Moscow, early on January 1, 2012. Tens of thousands of people gathered on the Square to celebrate the New Year, and view the fireworks as the clock on the Kremlin’s Spassky Tower at midnight.

Fireworks illuminate the sky over the ancient Parthenon temple on the Acropolis hill for the celebration of the New Year, January 1, 2012.

Fireworks explode over Timisoara, Romania at midnight during street celebrations of the new year.

Fireworks explode over Bucharest, Romania at midnight during street celebrations of the new year.

Fireworks explode over the Giant Ferris Wheel (Wiener Riesenrad) at Prater park during New Year celebrations in Vienna, Austria.

Fireworks explode over the Quadriga statue atop the Brandenburg Gate on New Year’s Eve on January 1, 2012 in Berlin, Germany.

Fireworks explode over Paris during New Year celebrations in France January 1, 2012.

New Year’s fireworks explode around the London Eye in central London, January 1, 2012.

Fireworks explode over the coastal city of Vina del Mar, Chile.

Fireworks explode over Rio de Janeiro during New Year celebrations in Brasil January 1, 2012.

Couple watch the Rio de Janeiro fireworks from copacabana beach

Spectators at Gas Works Park watch fireworks light up the iconic Space Needle as the new year begins in Seattle.

Fireworks explode over Crested Butte Mountain in Colorado.

Fireworks burst over the Las Vegas Strip.

Read on to find some fresh ideas for your Christmas outdoor decorations. You are not limited to the holiday aisle at your local box store anymore. If you have a large house, building or yard, you can even purchase commercial grade lights and decorations that are basically bigger and studier than what you have been used to using.

Consider these options for Christmas outdoor decorations:

* garlands, wreaths, finials and evergreen topiaries
* bells, ribbons, and snowflakes
* gazing balls and brightly colored glass bottles
* chandeliers and wind chimes
* banners and silhouettes
* animated 3-d figures and air blown inflatable figures
* nativities and creches
* string and rope lights

Think about which features of your house and property could be decorated. Be imaginative! Typically homeowners like to decorate their house to highlight its unique architecture. That means wrapping and lining porches, columns, windows, roof line, and eaves. You can go beyond your house and consider decorating your garage, your pool house, your gazebo, garden shed, and even your doghouse.

Now let’s get creative with the landscape around your house and adjacent structures. Consider using Christmas outdoor decorations in areas besides or in addition to your front yard, where face it; you are trying to impress and cheer up your neighbors. How about using holiday decor in your backyard, side yards, and garden; on your trees and large shrubs; around your swimming pool or pond. Think about decorating your garden features; patio, bench and birdbath; window boxes, decorative containers, hanging baskets; even a vintage bicycle, wagon wheel, or wheelbarrow.

Christmas lights are one of the most popular forms of holiday decorating simply because they bring light and color to our sometimes bleak winter days and nights. The sheer volume and variety of lights and lighting systems available now in stores and online gives you the ability to make very creative and unique Christmas light display. You could use simple strings of white mini-lites to highlight the architecture of your home, or go hole hog with large 2 dimensional framed displays of animated figures. Santa in his sleigh being pulled through the air by 2 or 3 reindeer, for example, is a very popular scene. Its up to you just how much time, effort and money you would like to spend on your Christmas outdoor decorative lights.

Options for Christmas holiday lighting displays:

* LED lights, old-fashioned C7and C9 light bulbs, and mini-lites
* twinkle lights, rope lights, string lights and net lights
* lighted shapes and spheres
* metal outdoor votives
* 2-d animated figures
* holographic figures

Be careful when constructing outdoor Christmas lighting displays. Remember you are working with electricity and the elements. Use heavy 18 or 20 gauge wire that is covered with thick (SPT2 is thicker than SPT1) insulation. A good rule is to never plug in more than 1400 watts per electrical circuit. C7 and C9 bulbs, those old-fashioned bulbs that are a bit bigger than mini-lites are typically 5, 7, or 10 watts each. Strings of 100 mini-lites are approximately 50 watts.

For safety only use lights with the ‘Underwriters Laboratories’ label. Make sure you research your electrical needs and costs before you get started on a huge Christmas outdoor lighting display. Here is a simply equation to use to figure out your electrical requirements: Total watts, divided by 120 volts equals the amps you’ll need to power your lights.

Test your lights and replace broken bulbs before installing. Electrical tape can be an alternative to nailing or hooking lighting decor onto structures. Use tree clips or twist ties to attach lights to tree and shrub branches. Avoid aluminum gutters and other metallic features on your house and property.

Christmas outdoor decorating is a fun project for the month of December. You’ll be active in the crisp winter air, basking in the ethereal winter sun. When you go back indoors, you’ll be able to enjoy the results of your hard work for weeks to come as well as feel gratified to know that your Outdoor Christmas decorations bring joy to your friends and neighbors.

Alta Igloo Hotel in Alta, Norway is described as a rustic hotel. These rooms are designed for those looking to sleep in an igloo and are perfect for just that if you don’t mind a small room and a low ceiling. The hotel maintains a separate, heated building where you can store your luggage, shower, and change comfortably. The hotel is designed with a different theme in mind each and every year.

Cats are similar in anatomy to the other felids, with strong, flexible bodies, quick reflexes, sharp retractable claws, and teeth adapted to killing small prey. As nocturnal predators, cats use their acute hearing and ability to see in near darkness to locate prey. Not only can cats hear sounds too faint for human ears, they can also hear sounds higher in frequency than humans can perceive. This is because the usual prey of cats (particularly rodents such as mice) make high frequency noises, so the hearing of the cat has evolved to pinpoint these faint high-pitched sounds. Cats also have a much better sense of smell than humans.
Despite being solitary hunters, cats are a social species and use a variety of vocalizations, pheromones and types of body language for communication. These include meowing, purring, trilling, hissing, growling, and grunting.
Cats have a rapid breeding rate. Under controlled breeding, they can be bred and shown as registered pedigree pets, a hobby known as cat fancy. Failure to control the breeding of pet cats by spaying and neutering and the abandonment of former household pets has resulted in large numbers of feral cats worldwide, with a population of up to 60 million of these animals in the United States alone.
As The New York Times wrote in 2007, “Until recently the cat was commonly believed to have been domesticated in ancient Egypt, where it was a cult animal”, but a study that year revealed that the lines of descent of all house cats probably run through as few as five self-domesticating African Wildcats (Felis silvestris lybica) c. 8000 BC, in the Near East. The earliest direct evidence of cat domestication is a kitten that was buried alongside a human 9,500 years ago in Cyprus.

Warm Water Fueling Hurricane Irene

Irene will travel over very warm waters as it moves northward, allowing the storm to maintain its intensity as it approaches the North Carolina coast. Hurricanes draw their power from seawater that has been heated to at least 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26 degrees Celsius), and the waters that Irene will encounter during its trek north from the Bahamas are even warmer.

The hurricane strengthened as it passed through The Bahamas, becoming a major hurricane while doing so and causing extensive damage to the islands. Curving toward the north, Irene skirted past Florida with its outer bands producing tropical-storm-force winds. It made landfall over North Carolina’s Outer Banks on the morning of August 27. Throughout its path, Irene caused widespread destruction and at least seven deaths; monetary losses could be as high as US$3.1 billion according to preliminary estimates.