Distance is not for the fearful, it is for the bold. It’s for those who are willing to spend a lot of time alone in exchange for a little time with the one they love. It’s for those knowing a good thing when they see it, even if they don’t see it nearly enough.

Pinterest is a vision board-styled social photo sharing website and app where users can create and manage theme-based image collections. The site’s mission statement is to “connect everyone in the world through the ‘things’ they find interesting”. Pinterest is managed by a team based in Palo Alto, California.

A cycle of severe droughts has led to a humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa (which includes Somalia, Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Uganda). It is estimated that over 13 million people have been affected, many fleeing their homes and are now left with limited access to food, clean water and shelter.

Humanitarian assistance is urgently needed as alarming levels of acute malnutrition and death continue to rise among vulnerable groups including children under five and pregnant mothers.

The Red Cross Red Crescent Movement has a strong presence in the Horn of Africa and is actively scaling up operations to meet the urgent needs of affected communities. It is an extreme situation and more funds are urgently needed to address this growing crisis.

Money raised will go to support the work of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in the region, both providing emergency relief and helping people recover their livelihoods. The Horn of Africa Drought Appeal will cover numerous countries in Africa including those currently affected and potentially affected in the future.

With petrol expected to reach £2 per litre by end of 2011 these tips that I received from a friend might come in handy.

Here at the Shell Pipeline where I work, we deliver about 4 million litres in a 24-hour period. One day is diesel, the next day is jet fuel, and petrol, regular and premium grades. We have 34-storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 litres.

Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the petrol, when it gets warmer petrol expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening, your litre is not exactly a litre. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the petrol, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role.

A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.

When you’re filling up, do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode. If you look you will see that the trigger has three (3) stages: low, middle and high. You should be pumping on low mode, thereby minimizing the vapors that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapor return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor. Those vapors are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you’re getting less worth for your money.

One of the most important tips is to fill up when your petrol tank is HALF FULL. The reason for this is the more petrol you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space. Petrol evaporates faster than you can imagine. Petrol storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the petrol and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated so that every litre is actually the exact amount.

Another reminder, if there is a petrol truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy petrol, DO NOT fill up; most likely the petrol is being stirred up as the petrol is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.

Microsoft today launched a Web site, The Art of Touch, that lets Netizens create their own digital paintings.

On the site, which uses HTML5, users can select three different width paint brushes as well as six effects that alter each “brush stroke” with mouse movements. The palette of pastel colors are pre-selected, generated as would-be artists move their mice at different speeds. So when users slide their mouse slowly, for example, they can create a ribbon of red surrounded by starbursts of blue and yellow.

For Microsoft, the idea is to generate interest in its “Touch” series of mice, though, the site works with any mouse, or even a touch pad on a laptop. It doesn’t work with tablets, such as the iPad, where finger strokes move or resize the screen.

Ben Reed, a senior manager in Microsoft’s hardware group, calls the effort a “social experiment.” Microsoft’s goal is to engage consumers and raise awareness of the company’s products.

The company has recruited three generative artists to create special effects for the site. One of them, Norwegian artist Marius Watz, said he was intrigued by the possibility of users tinkering with his creations, something that doesn’t typically happen with his art.

“As an artist, you’re not usually that promiscuous with your work,” Watz said. “I’m pleased that it is irreverent.”

Users can print out their work, share on social networks, or even create T-shirts, coffee mugs, and the like featuring their work through a connection with Zazzle. And Microsoft is holding a contest, where the top vote-getters can win a computer and mouse.

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