3 Fantastic Scuba Diving Destinations

If you are a keen diver you know the world sometimes is not big enough for so many amazing dive sites, so today I want to write about my favorite 3 locations for diving

the first place in Sydney in Australia, if you are a serious diver you know that Sydney is simply an amazing location and Scuba diving in Sydney is a must! Not to mention diving Sydney from boat as well as diving Sydney from shore, so many different dive sites and a full and rich marine life. Simply fantastic.

Then my other favorite destination is Fiji.  Scuba Diving in Fiji  is like going to heaven but underwater. In Fiji divers can choose from wreck diving, diving on coral reefs, or high adrenaline action in close up encounters with pelagics: great white sharks, wha . Dive kayaks are also available in many locations, it is simply an amazing destination that everyone that is keen in the underwater world should try .

And my 3rd scuba diving destination has to be scuba diving in Thailand, if you have never dive in Thailand, you are missing a great location with tons of different spots and dive sites. Thailand is the Mecca for Divers, and many divers from all over the world visit thailand to find some of the best dive sites. From Phuket to Koh Tao, Thailand gives you an overall of different types of diving, from wreck diving to coral diving, perfect from begginer divers and more advanced divers from around the world. So… are you ready to go for a dive? What are you waiting for? the world is small and it is 70% cover with water, so if you don’t dive just yet, it is time to stop using so much the net, your xbox and your TV and take the plunge and learn to dive.

What linguistic challenges does your language pose. part 2

English to Portuguese
One says Portuguese is a very treacherous language! Apart from the difficulty in the pronunciation foreign people may feel (with ditongs like “ão” that should sound somewhat like “auum”or something like that) it’s really necessary to have a very good knowledge of the language in order to do a good translation. I’ll give 2 very simple examples:
The word “canto” in Portuguese has the following meanings:
1 – corner (the corner of a room)
2 – song
3 – It is still each part of the “Lusíadas” by Luís de Camões

The word “decorar” has the following meanings:
1 – to learn by heart
2 – to decorate

The problem is that the majority of Portuguese dictionaries don’t give definitions of the different meanings a word may have. They normally give synonyms. So if one doesn’t know the idiom well one can build some weird sentences!

Another difficulty is the difference between Portuguese from Portugal and from Brazil. For example in Brazil they say “cara” to mean “buddy”, “guy”. In Portugal “cara” means “face” or “expensive”. These type of “nuances” in the idioms may be a problem if one doesn’t have a solid knowledge of the language! But it may also be quite a challenge, and that’s the fun of it!

Check out our Portuguese Translation Services website.

Portuguese to English
Couldn’t agree more with previous forum comment in this respect – the main difficulty (apart from the sound of “ão”, although this is more for spoken Portuguese) is the difference of terms between Brazil and Portugal.

Example:

English: The left pocket of the brown suit.
Brazil: O bolso esquerdo do terno marron.
Portugal: A algibeira canhota do fato castanho.

English: The boy kicked the ball, scored a goal, and lay on the grass.
Brazil: O menino chutou a bola, fez um gol, e deitou na grama (= no gramado).
Portugal: O menino chutou o esférico, marcou um golo e deitou-se sobre o relvado.

Some situations are potentially embarrassing, like “bicha” which in Portugal is a queue, and in Brazil is a gay.

Another difficulty in Portuguese is that sometimes pairs of words can be inverted with a change in meaning: we have “homem grande” (big man) as opposed to “grande homem” (great man). In English we do have the same idea, but a lot simpler: “passenger train” (a kind of train) v. “train passenger” (a kind of passenger).

Check out our Portuguese Translation Services website.

In reply to comment about “ão”, a good tip for non-Lusophones is:

1. to say “ão”, say “ow” while holding your nose.
So: to say “não” (no), just say “now” while holding your nose.

2. to say “ãe”, say “I” while holding your nose.
So: to say “mãe” (mother), just say “my” while holding your nose.

3. to say “õe”, say “oin” while holding your nose.
So: to say “põe” (puts), just say “poin” while holding your nose (probably red by now after so much nose-holding!)

These tips are brought to you by Translation Services UK who also offer a free translation service on their website. Remember, if you are going to get your document(s) translated then printed please make sure you use people and NOT software.

Federal Income Tax Deduction Calculator for 2009, 2010

What You See is What You Get
Do you know how to look at a picture and push a button? If you do then, you can use the federal income tax deduction calculator at Turbo Tax. It really is that easy. I used to be intimidated at the thought of preparing my taxes online but, they have made it so easy for me to understand now all the fear is gone.

Push and Play
The site is easy to understand in plain English. If you look at the top of the site, you will see the tab that says Tax Calculators & Tips. Just click on that and you will be on the calculator page. There are three calculators there. You will see the Tax Caster, Life Events and the IRA calculator. To run the numbers for your federal income tax deduction, you should pick the Tax Caster calculator.

Seek and Find
If you click around the site you will find a whole wealth of information. You may have arrived wanting to use the income tax deduction calculator but, you will leave with a lot of valuable information. Not only do they have calculators, they also have many different levels of service for all different life situations. The Life Events calculator will let you enter any new data concerning your life. Did you get married? Did a new little bundle of joy enter your household? How about that green hybrid car you’ve been dreaming of? Is that car parked in your garage now? If so, it could be a tax credit. The software is amazing and guarantees the biggest refund possible.

What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You
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