Buckingham Palace, London

Buckingham Palace has served as the official London residence of Britain's sovereigns since 1837. George III bought Buckingham House in 1761 for his wife Queen Charlotte to use as a comfortable family home close to St James's Palace, where many court functions were held. Buckingham House became known as the Queen's House, and 14 of George III's 15 children were born there. George IV, on his accession in 1820, decided to reconstruct the house into a pied-à-terre, using it for the same purpose as his father George III. However, as work progressed, and as late as the end of 1826, the King had a change of heart and with the assistance of his architect, John Nash, he set about transforming the house into a palace. Nash's extravagance cost him his job, and on the death of George IV in 1830, his younger brother William IV took on Edward Blore to finish the work. The King never moved into the Palace. Queen Victoria was the first sovereign to take up residence in July 1837, just three weeks after her accession, and in June 1838 she was the first British sovereign to leave from Buckingham Palace for a Coronation. The present forecourt (where the changing of the guard takes place) was constructed in 1911 as part of the Victoria Memorial scheme.

Besides being the official London residence of The Queen, Buckingham Palace is also the busy administrative headquarters of the Monarchy and has probably the most famous and easily recognisable façade of any building in the world.

The Changing of the Guard takes place inside the railings of the forecourt to Buckingham Palace. The Foot Guards provide a colourful display in their red tunics and bearskins and are accompanied by a band throughout. During the 45 minute ceremony the New Guard replaces the Old Guard and a detachment is left at Buckingham Palace with the remaining New Guard marching on to St James Palace.

http://www.mapsofworld.com/travel-destinations/buckingham-palace.html
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-2798161-buckingham_palace_london-i
http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/default.asp?action=article&ID=227

Super mario in 5 mins

Waoh~~ finish super mario game in 5 minutes!
Can you do that too? It was extremely fast~~

51 ways to save the environment

Can one person slow global warming? Actually, yes. You—along with scientists, businesses and governments—can create paths to cut carbon emissions. Here is our guide to some of the planet's best ideas. (TIME MAGAZINE)

http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/environment/article/0,28804,1602354_1603074,00.html

What can we do to save energy for our lovely planet?

In Your Daily Life
Only 40% of the average American’s carbon footprint is due to their direct energy use. The other 60% is indirect; it comes from everything we buy and use—goods and services. Pay attention to your consumption and waste habits, and you’ll find lots of opportunities to conserve.
1. Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.
2. Buy local. Shipping burns fuel.
3. Eat less meat.

At the Office
1. Turn ‘em off - Only use the lights you need.
2. Turn ‘em off 2 - Shut off lights in unused rooms.
3. Enable your power management - So your computer and monitor shut down (do this at home, too).
4. Push the button - Push the power button on your computer monitor. Even while on standby, it still uses energy, so what’s the point if you’re going to be gone all weekend?
5. Don’t print it - Do you really need those hard copies, or can you save it on your computer instead?
6. Double-side print - Saves paper, too.
7. Can you carpool or transit or bike to work?
8. Open up - If you have windows you can open, use them to intelligently save energy.
9. Bring your lunch - Or walk to the local eatery instead of driving.

http://www.carbonfund.org/site/pages/save_energy/

A little help can make a big different for the world. Let's start to save energy and tell this to all your family and friends.

Blogging lesson

Today i teached students blogging.
All of them never write a blog before.
They were excited and having fun around.
But they had problem to sign in again.
I wonder why would it happened.
Maybe it's just system down or upgrading?
Hope everything will go smoothly tomorrow.
Tomorrow will be water gun playing day.
I think they will be so exciting about it.
Enjoy blogging, students.
Hope you all do continue blog and keep update it.
Happy school holiday too~~ ^___^