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Namchi (Nepali : नाम्ची) or Namtse is the capital of the South Sikkim district in the Indian state of Sikkim. The appellation Namchi means Sky (Nam) High (Chi) in Sikkimese.
GEOGRAPHY
Namchi is located at 27.17°N 88.35°E. It has an average elevation of 1,315 metres.
Namchi is situated at an altitude of 1,675 m above sea level. It is situated at a distance of 78 kilometres from the state capital Gangtok and 100 kilometres from the town of Siliguri, the nearest railhead and airport. Namchi lies off the road between Melli and Jorethang. Namchi is well connected to other towns in Sikkim and West Bengal. Jeeps and buses regularly ply between Namchi to Gangtok, Pelling, Jorethang, Kalimpong and Siliguri.
DEMOGRAPHICS
As of 2011 India census, Namchi has a population of 12194. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Namchi has an average literacy rate of 78%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 81%, and female literacy is 73%. In Namchi, 9% of the population is under 6 years of age. Most of the people of Namchi are Hindus and Buddhists. Languages spoken are Nepali, English and Hindi.
EDUCATION
Namchi has more than half a dozen private schools with quality education (Mt. Carmel School, Namchi Public School, Tendong Educational Institute, Victory Educational Institute, New Light Academy etc.) and government Higher Secondary Schools for Boys and Girls and world valid computer institute (MULTIMEDIA COMPUTER INSTITUTE) an authorized study center of Manipal Group. Just few kilometers away from the town is a reputed Government College for Arts and Education. People give a lot of importance and focus on education with a reverence. Namchi Public School run by catholic missionaries is one of the respected educational institute in the State and one of the best in the south district of Sikkim.
TOURISM
Namchi is fast becoming a major tourist spot and pilgrimage centre. The Namchi monastery, Ralong monastery and Tendong Hill are important Buddhist pilgrimage centres. The world's largest statue (36 m) of the Buddhist Padmasambhava, also known as Guru Rinpoche, the patron saint of Sikkim, is on the Samdruptse hill (The Wish Fulfilling Well) opposite Namchi. It was completed in February 2004. It is also said that the Samdruptse hill is actually a Dormant Volcano. Myths say that the buddhist monks have been going on top of the hill and offering prayers to the volcano to keep it calm. There is also a Rock Garden just few kilometers up from the town on the way to Samdruptse. Sikkim Best Home Stay Dong Busty Home Stay just 8km away from Namchi Bazar. The Rock Garden displays a wide variety of Flora and is a local recreation and picnic spot. It offers a magnificent view of Mt. Kanchendzonga (aka Mt. Kangchenjunga, the world's third highest peak). Recently inaugurated (November 2011) Siddhesvara Dham is a unique pilgrimage tourism venture of the Sikkim Government developed as “Pilgrim cum Cultural Centre” having a 26,52 m statue of Lord Shiva and replicas of four Dhams of the country at one place at Solophok hilltop in Namchi. The four most revered Dhams of the Hindus Jagannath, Dwarika, Rameshawaram, Badrinath have been replicated in this fantastic complex to benefit the devotees and tourists. The dream project of Chief Minister Pawan Chamling which was conceived by him and started in the year 2005 stands promisingly amidst the breadth taking surrounding of Solophok hill, befitting the mythological setting behind the establishment of the original Dhams. For the consecration of the Dham Shri Jagadguru Sankaryacharya Swami Swarupananda Saraswati in the presence of the Chief Minister Shri Pawan Chamling and his wife Smt Tika Maya Chamling did the “Pran Prastisha” of the Dham. There are replicas of the “Dwadash Jyotirlingas” (the twelve jyothirlinga) of Somnath, Mallikarjuna, Mahakaleswar, Omkareshwar, Kedarnath, Bhimashankar, Viswanath, Triambakeshwar, Vaidyanath, Nageswar, Rameshwar at Rameswaram and Grishneshwar surrounding the statue of Lord Shiva and the Char Dhams. There is a grand statue of Kirateshvar Mahadev and a temple of Shirdi Sai Baba too. One can have a view of the Mt Kanchenjunga, Statue of Guru Padmasambhava at Samdruptse, Darjeeling and other such locations from here. The Dham has stay facility for the devotees at “Yatri Niwas” which can accommodate more than 90 people at a time. The Dham has won the National Tourism Awards 2010–11 under the category of “Most Innovative/Unique Tourism Project” by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. A helipad is located 5 km away from town at an altitude of around 1524 m. From here one can get the most panoramic view of Mt. Kanchanzonga with the surrounding mountain a part of Darjeeling Kalimgpong and the rolling plains of Bengal. The visitors can savour the view of temi tea garden the one and the only tea estate in the state which produces top quality tea in the international market.
Near the town, Sikkim's sole tea estate — the Temi Tea Garden is situated. The tea carries a premium the world over and costs around Rs. 800/- a kg. The tea is marked by its exotic odour and flavour.
In the month of February, the Namchi garden hosts it annual flower show. The flower show is the largest in Sikkim with flowers in a riot of colours. The prime attraction of this show is the display of exotic and rare orchids.
One of the highlights of the town is the football stadium – the Baichung Stadium built by the Sikkimese government in honour of its most famous citizen, footballer Baichung Bhutia. "The Gold Cup" football tournament is held in Bhaichung Stadium almost every year. Football teams from all over India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan vie for the honour which draws lot of crowds from all over Sikkim. Namchi is also the base of the chief minister of Sikkim, Pawan Kumar Chamling.
Historically, Namchi was the place where Pende Ongmoo, the trecherous princess who poisoned one of the Chogyals of Sikkim, was caught and killed for her deed. Legend says her spirit still haunts the foothills of Ghurpisey.
WIKIPEDIA
The average was about 2-3mph less than what was displayed on the Garmin 705 - I tended to believe the 705 more for two reasons: 1. It was more and that motivated me 2. My friend can't setup his bike computer to save his life!
If you use this image then please attribute it to www.londoncyclist.co.uk
Originally posted on The Daily Rectangle. The image is available in SVG format right here: ift.tt/2d2W8f5
Namchi (Nepali : नाम्ची) or Namtse is the capital of the South Sikkim district in the Indian state of Sikkim. The appellation Namchi means Sky (Nam) High (Chi) in Sikkimese.
GEOGRAPHY
Namchi is located at 27.17°N 88.35°E. It has an average elevation of 1,315 metres.
Namchi is situated at an altitude of 1,675 m above sea level. It is situated at a distance of 78 kilometres from the state capital Gangtok and 100 kilometres from the town of Siliguri, the nearest railhead and airport. Namchi lies off the road between Melli and Jorethang. Namchi is well connected to other towns in Sikkim and West Bengal. Jeeps and buses regularly ply between Namchi to Gangtok, Pelling, Jorethang, Kalimpong and Siliguri.
DEMOGRAPHICS
As of 2011 India census, Namchi has a population of 12194. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Namchi has an average literacy rate of 78%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 81%, and female literacy is 73%. In Namchi, 9% of the population is under 6 years of age. Most of the people of Namchi are Hindus and Buddhists. Languages spoken are Nepali, English and Hindi.
EDUCATION
Namchi has more than half a dozen private schools with quality education (Mt. Carmel School, Namchi Public School, Tendong Educational Institute, Victory Educational Institute, New Light Academy etc.) and government Higher Secondary Schools for Boys and Girls and world valid computer institute (MULTIMEDIA COMPUTER INSTITUTE) an authorized study center of Manipal Group. Just few kilometers away from the town is a reputed Government College for Arts and Education. People give a lot of importance and focus on education with a reverence. Namchi Public School run by catholic missionaries is one of the respected educational institute in the State and one of the best in the south district of Sikkim.
TOURISM
Namchi is fast becoming a major tourist spot and pilgrimage centre. The Namchi monastery, Ralong monastery and Tendong Hill are important Buddhist pilgrimage centres. The world's largest statue (36 m) of the Buddhist Padmasambhava, also known as Guru Rinpoche, the patron saint of Sikkim, is on the Samdruptse hill (The Wish Fulfilling Well) opposite Namchi. It was completed in February 2004. It is also said that the Samdruptse hill is actually a Dormant Volcano. Myths say that the buddhist monks have been going on top of the hill and offering prayers to the volcano to keep it calm. There is also a Rock Garden just few kilometers up from the town on the way to Samdruptse. Sikkim Best Home Stay Dong Busty Home Stay just 8km away from Namchi Bazar. The Rock Garden displays a wide variety of Flora and is a local recreation and picnic spot. It offers a magnificent view of Mt. Kanchendzonga (aka Mt. Kangchenjunga, the world's third highest peak). Recently inaugurated (November 2011) Siddhesvara Dham is a unique pilgrimage tourism venture of the Sikkim Government developed as “Pilgrim cum Cultural Centre” having a 26,52 m statue of Lord Shiva and replicas of four Dhams of the country at one place at Solophok hilltop in Namchi. The four most revered Dhams of the Hindus Jagannath, Dwarika, Rameshawaram, Badrinath have been replicated in this fantastic complex to benefit the devotees and tourists. The dream project of Chief Minister Pawan Chamling which was conceived by him and started in the year 2005 stands promisingly amidst the breadth taking surrounding of Solophok hill, befitting the mythological setting behind the establishment of the original Dhams. For the consecration of the Dham Shri Jagadguru Sankaryacharya Swami Swarupananda Saraswati in the presence of the Chief Minister Shri Pawan Chamling and his wife Smt Tika Maya Chamling did the “Pran Prastisha” of the Dham. There are replicas of the “Dwadash Jyotirlingas” (the twelve jyothirlinga) of Somnath, Mallikarjuna, Mahakaleswar, Omkareshwar, Kedarnath, Bhimashankar, Viswanath, Triambakeshwar, Vaidyanath, Nageswar, Rameshwar at Rameswaram and Grishneshwar surrounding the statue of Lord Shiva and the Char Dhams. There is a grand statue of Kirateshvar Mahadev and a temple of Shirdi Sai Baba too. One can have a view of the Mt Kanchenjunga, Statue of Guru Padmasambhava at Samdruptse, Darjeeling and other such locations from here. The Dham has stay facility for the devotees at “Yatri Niwas” which can accommodate more than 90 people at a time. The Dham has won the National Tourism Awards 2010–11 under the category of “Most Innovative/Unique Tourism Project” by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. A helipad is located 5 km away from town at an altitude of around 1524 m. From here one can get the most panoramic view of Mt. Kanchanzonga with the surrounding mountain a part of Darjeeling Kalimgpong and the rolling plains of Bengal. The visitors can savour the view of temi tea garden the one and the only tea estate in the state which produces top quality tea in the international market.
Near the town, Sikkim's sole tea estate — the Temi Tea Garden is situated. The tea carries a premium the world over and costs around Rs. 800/- a kg. The tea is marked by its exotic odour and flavour.
In the month of February, the Namchi garden hosts it annual flower show. The flower show is the largest in Sikkim with flowers in a riot of colours. The prime attraction of this show is the display of exotic and rare orchids.
One of the highlights of the town is the football stadium – the Baichung Stadium built by the Sikkimese government in honour of its most famous citizen, footballer Baichung Bhutia. "The Gold Cup" football tournament is held in Bhaichung Stadium almost every year. Football teams from all over India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan vie for the honour which draws lot of crowds from all over Sikkim. Namchi is also the base of the chief minister of Sikkim, Pawan Kumar Chamling.
Historically, Namchi was the place where Pende Ongmoo, the trecherous princess who poisoned one of the Chogyals of Sikkim, was caught and killed for her deed. Legend says her spirit still haunts the foothills of Ghurpisey.
WIKIPEDIA
Outside of the Town Hall theater on West 43rd Street in Manhattan, a crowd of smiling and optimistic people Friday overflowed into the one-way street. Delivery trucks and yellow taxi cabs creeped by, their engines engaged in a shouting match with Bennet Weiss, a man who bore a fleeting resemblance to the Democratic presidential candidate they were all there to support.
"We don't have billions of dollars! All we have are people wearing Bernie pins," Weiss yelled, a large black umbrella covered in Bernie Sanders campaign pins at his feet, catching drops of sweat from his brow. The Occupy Wall Street protester-turned-Sanders supporter urged the crowd to wear the pins at all times with no exception -- even in the shower -- and gave them away freely to anyone who said they didn't have enough cash to afford to pay the suggested donation.
That's the kind of populist support Sanders' campaign has steadily been attracting since the U.S. senator from Vermont formally announced his candidacy in late April. Friday was no exception, with passion-filled people who think Sanders has proved himself the worthy champion of causes they care about the most, such as income inequality, climate change, Wall Street reform and further healthcare reforms. But, perhaps most importantly, they also think he can win the White House.
"Absolutely" he can win, said Joe Trinolone, 30, a former finance industry worker from Long Island, New York, who is studying mathematics at St. Joseph's University. "I mean, he's winning right now."
Sanders, during a fundraising speech Friday, ticked through the policies he cares about and areas of change he wants to see in Washington should he become president. At each turn, his blend of outrage, optimism and sly sarcasm brought raucous cheers from the crowd of 1,100. He rejected recent Wall Street Journal criticism of the high price tag of his proposals, including making public colleges and universities free, lowering so-called real unemployment by pumping funding into infrastructure repairs for the nation’s roads and bridges and implementing a universal healthcare system.
Instead, he pointed to European nations that already have those programs. He implored the crowd to think about what many of them were already talking about: that taking on the big-money interests in the United States that impede those sorts of policy changes is a shared moral obligation.
“Welcome to the revolution,” Sanders said, describing what he believes must happen to American politics. “We can accomplish all of this and more.” And the crowd ate it up.
When asked why they support Sanders, many described his candidacy as a movement. They love his policies, and have a hard time thinking of much they don’t like about him. They especially like that he has been a consistent voice during his time in Washington. That’s a big perceived difference between Sanders and his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. Those "feeling the Bern" were split on whether they would consider voting for her if she becomes the nominee. Many were newcomers to political action but felt compelled to join the fray when they heard Sanders and his message.
“I’ve never been excited about a politician my entire life,” said Meira Marom, 34, a Brooklyn third-grade teacher with a master's degree in creative writing. When Marom started seeing social media posts about Sanders and reading about him, she decided to stop focusing her personal time on writing for herself. She now writes and publishes something about Sanders every day -- Dr. Seuss themes every Sunday, poems and parodies. “I decided this is the most worthy cause to put my rhymes to use.”
Sanders has seen an unexpected rise in the polls since he joined the race for the Democratic nomination shortly after the current national front-runner Clinton announced her candidacy. While Sanders was trailing Clinton by 21.4 percent in national averages of polls compiled by Real Clear Politics, a look at early nominating states like Iowa and New Hampshire paints a different picture of vulnerability for Clinton and strength for Sanders.
The two candidates are tied in Iowa, which constitutes a dramatic drop for Clinton and an impressive surge for Sanders, who has been distancing himself from Clinton in New Hampshire at the top of the Democratic pack since Aug. 25, when he jumped past her in the state for the first time. He currently leads there by 10.5 points.
The candidates are noticeably different in many ways, from policy prescription to fundraising strategy.
Clinton has moved leftward since announcing her candidacy, but she is still threatened by the populist appeal of Sanders, who has long championed the causes that seem to be coming into grace for the Democratic Party. While the candidates currently hold some very similar positions on issues such as immigration reform, gay rights, gun control and campaign finance reform, Sanders has been able to stake out positions to the left of Clinton on other issues that excite some vocal voters.
Among them are his strong anti-war and anti-government surveillance positions as well as his distaste for President Barack Obama's Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal. Sanders also has been a vocal critic of Wall Street and champion of financial reforms, and his stance on those issues has drawn attention to Clinton's cozy relationship with Wall Street executives and the huge paychecks she has received for speeches to large banks since leaving the U.S. State Department. For some Sanders supporters, though, the perception that Sanders has been a consistent proponent of these liberal policies, and cares about them more than winning, is key.
“It’s the message that supporting Bernie Sanders is not just voting on a horse in the race” that attracts Brian Dillon, a 28-year-old self-employed Web designer and developer for e-commerce, said Friday. Dillon has voted just one time in his life, but he has been organizing meetings to drum up support for Sanders.
Sanders's fundraising portfolio also is the reverse of Clinton's. While the former secretary of state is expected to spend somewhere north of $1 billion should she win the primary and head into the general election for 2016, the same has not been said of Sanders. Currently, Clinton has raised, through her campaign committee and super PACs associated with the campaign, $47.5 million, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics. Sanders, on the other hand, has raised just shy of $16.5 million, according to CRP data.
Their most startling difference in fundraising, however, can be seen in the size of the donations they're receiving. The Clinton campaign received 82 percent of its donations from large contributors, and her top industry donors, not including retired people, so far have been lawyers, business services and the financial industry.
In contrast, Sanders relies much more on small donations, which are defined as donations totaling $200 or less. So far, 69 percent of his contributions have come from small donors, and the biggest industries that have given to his campaign have been from the education, legal and healthcare sectors.
Who are those small donors? The types of people who showed up Friday. Some said they donate $25 to $30 a month to Sanders. Some said they have donated several hundred dollars since he jumped into the presidential race. Nearly all of them mentioned they don't earn a ton of money personally. One in particular, Machumu Sakulira, said he donated $500 before attending Friday’s event.
There is “no way” he would support a Clinton ticket, said Sakulira, a 31-year-old senior political science student at the University at Buffalo. He got on a bus Thursday night at 11 p.m. and arrived in New York at 7 a.m. for the Sanders speech. He said he was going back Friday night. “Bernie represents my interest. My vote is a moral choice, I don’t give it to somebody who doesn’t deserve it.”
www.ibtimes.com/election-2016-bernie-sanders-nyc-fundrais...
LAKE KIVU
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lake Kivu
Coordinates 2°0′S 29°0′ECoordinates: 2°0′S 29°0′E
Type Rift Valley lakes, Meromictic
Primary outflows Ruzizi River
Catchment area 2,700 km2 (1,000 sq mi)
Basin countries Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Max. length 89 km (55 mi)[1]
Max. width 48 km (30 mi)[1]
Surface area 2,700 km2 (1,040 sq mi)[1]
Average depth 240 m (787 ft)
Max. depth 480 m (1,575 ft)
Water volume 500 km3 (120 cu mi)
Surface elevation 1,460 m (4,790 ft)
Islands Idjwi
Settlements Goma, Congo
Bukavu, Congo
Kibuye, Rwanda
Cyangugu, Rwanda
Lake Kivu with Goma in the background
Lake Kivu is one of the African Great Lakes. It lies on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and is in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift. Lake Kivu empties into the Ruzizi River, which flows southwards into Lake Tanganyika. The name comes from kivu which means "lake" in some Bantu languages, just like the words tanganyika or nyanza.[citation needed]
Contents
1 History
2 Geography
3 Chemistry
3.1 Methane extraction
4 Biology and fisheries
5 See also
6 References
History
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2012)
People on the shore at Gisenyi
The first European to visit the lake was German Count Adolf von Götzen in 1894. Since then it has been caught up in the conflict between Hutu and Tutsi people in Rwanda, and their allies in DR Congo, which led to the 1994 Rwandan Genocide and the First and Second Congo Wars. Lake Kivu gained notoriety as a place where many of the victims of the genocide were dumped.
Geography
The lake covers a total surface area of some 2,700 km2 (1,040 sq mi) and stands at a height of 1,460 metres (4,790 ft) above sea level. Some 1 370 km2 or 58% of the lake's waters lie within DRC borders. The lake bed sits upon a rift valley that is slowly being pulled apart, causing volcanic activity in the area, and making it particularly deep: its maximum depth of 480 m (1,575 ft) is ranked eighteenth in the world.
The world's tenth-largest inland island, Idjwi, lies in Lake Kivu, as does the tiny island of Tshegera, which also lies within the boundaries of Virunga National Park; while settlements on its shore include Bukavu, Kabare, Kalehe, Sake, and Goma in Congo, and Gisenyi, Kibuye, and Cyangugu in Rwanda.
Chemistry
Lake Kivu is a fresh water lake and, along with Cameroonian Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun, is one of three that experience limnic eruptions. Around the lake, geologists found evidence of massive biological extinctions about every thousand years, caused by outgassing events. The trigger for lake overturns in Lake Kivu's case is unknown, but volcanic activity is suspected. The gaseous chemical composition of exploding lakes is unique to each lake; in Lake Kivu's case, methane and carbon dioxide due to lake water interaction with a volcano. The amount of methane is estimated to be 65 cubic kilometers (if burnt over one year, it would give an average power of about 100 gigawatts for the whole period). There is also an estimated 256 cubic kilometers of carbon dioxide. The water temperature is 24°C, and the pH level is about 8.6.[2] The methane is reported to be produced by microbial reduction of the volcanic CO2.[3] The risk from a possible Lake Kivu overturn is catastrophic, dwarfing other documented lake overturns at Lakes Nyos and Monoun, because of the approximately two million people living in the lake basin.
Cores from the Bukavu Bay area of the lake reveal that the bottom has layered deposits of the rare mineral monohydrocalcite interlain with diatoms, on top of sapropelic sediments with high pyrite content. These are found at three different intervals. The sapropelic layers are believed to be related to hydrothermal discharge and the diatoms to a bloom which reduced the carbon dioxide levels low enough to precipitiate monohydrocalcite.[4]
Scientists hypothesize that sufficient volcanic interaction with the lake's bottom water that has high gas concentrations would heat water, force the methane out of the water, spark a methane explosion, and trigger a nearly simultaneous release of carbon dioxide.[5][6] The carbon dioxide would then suffocate large numbers of people in the lake basin as the gases roll off the lake surface. It is also possible that the lake could spawn lake tsunamis as gas explodes out of it.[7][8]
The risk posed by Lake Kivu began to be understood during the analysis of more recent events at Lake Nyos. Lake Kivu's methane was originally thought to be merely a cheap natural resource for export, and for the generation of cheap power. Once the mechanisms that caused lake overturns began to be understood, so did awareness of the risk the lake posed to the local population.
An experimental vent pipe was installed at Lake Nyos in 2001 to remove gas from the deep water, but such a solution for the much larger Lake Kivu would be considerably more expensive. No plan has been initiated to reduce the risk posed by Lake Kivu.[dubious – discuss] The approximately 500 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in the lake is a little under 2 percent of the amount released annually by human fossil fuel burning. Therefore the process of releasing it could potentially have costs beyond building and operating the system.
Methane extraction
Methane extraction platform.
Lake Kivu has recently been found to contain approximately 55 billion cubic metres (1.94 trillion cubic feet) of dissolved biogas at a depth of 300 metres (1,000 ft). Until 2004, extraction of the gas was done on a small scale, with the extracted gas being used to run boilers at a brewery, the Bralirwa brewery in Gisenyi.[9][10] As far as large-scale exploitation of this resource is concerned, the Rwandan government has negotiated with a number of parties to produce methane from the lake.
In 2011 ContourGlobal, a U.S. based energy company focused on emerging markets, secured project financing to initiate a large-scale methane extraction project. The project will be run through a local Rwandan entity called KivuWatt, using an offshore barge platform to extract, separate, and clean the gasses obtained from the lake bed before pumping purified methane via an underwater pipeline to on-shore gas engines. Stage one of the project aims to build and supply three "gensets" along the lake shore, totaling 25MW of electrical capacity. Initial project operations are scheduled to commence in 2012.[11] In addition to managing gas extraction, KivuWatt will also manage the electrical generation plants and on-sell the electrical power to the Rwandan government under the terms of a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). This allows KivuWatt to control a vertically integrated energy offering from point of extraction to point of sale into the local grid. Extraction is said to be cost-effective and relatively simple because once the gas-rich water is pumped up, the dissolved gases (primarily carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulphide and methane) begin to bubble out as the water pressure gets lower. This project is expected to increase Rwanda's energy generation capability by as much as 20 times, and will enable Rwanda to sell electricity to neighboring African countries.[10] The firm was awarded the 2011 Africa Power deal of the year for innovation in the financing arrangements it obtained from various sources for the KivuWatt project. [12] .[13]
A problem associated with the prevalence of methane is that of mazuku.
Biology and fisheries
Fishing boats on Lake Kivu, 2009.
Reflection of the sky on Lake Kivu
The fish fauna in Lake Kivu is relatively poor with 28 species, including four introduced species.[14] The natives are the Lake Rukwa minnow (Raiamas moorii), four species of Barbus (B. altianalis, B. apleurogramma, B. kerstenii and B. pellegrini), an Amphilius catfish, two Clarias catfish (C. liocephalus and C. gariepinus), Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and 15 endemic Haplochromis cichlids.[14] The introduced species are three cichlids, the longfin tilapia (Oreochromis macrochir), O. leucostictus and redbreast tilapia (Coptodon rendalli), and a clupeid, the Lake Tanganyika sardine, Limnothrissa miodon.[14]
The exploitable stock of the Lake Tanganyika sardine was estimated at 2000–4000 tons per year.[15] It was introduced to Lake Kivu in the late 1959 by a Belgian Engineer A. Collart. At present, Lake Kivu is the sole natural lake in which L. miodon, a sardine originally restricted to Lake Tanganyika, has been introduced initially to fill an empty niche. Prior to the introduction, no planktivorous fish was present in the pelagic waters of Lake Kivu. In the early 1990s, the number of fishers on the lake was 6,563, of which 3,027 were associated with the pelagic fishery and 3,536 with the traditional fishery. Widespread armed conflict in the surrounding region from the mid-1990s resulted in a decline in the fisheries harvest.[16]
Following this introduction, the sardine has gained substantial economic and nutritional importance for the lakeside human population but from an ecosystem standpoint, the introduction of planktivorous fish may result in important modifications of plankton community structure. Recent observations showed the disappearance during the last decades of a large grazer, Daphnia curvirostris, and the dominance of mesozooplankton community by three species of cyclopoid copepod: Thermocyclops consimilis, Mesocyclops aequatorialis and Tropocyclops confinis.[17][18]
The first comprehensive phytoplankton survey was released in 2006.[19] With an annual average chlorophyll a in the mixed layer of 2.2 mg m-3 and low nutrient levels in the euphotic zone, the lake is clearly oligotrophic. Diatoms are the dominant group in the lake, particularly during the dry season episodes of deep mixing. During the rainy season, the stratified water column, with high light and lower nutrient availability, favour dominance of cyanobacteria with high numbers of phototrophic picoplankton.[19][20][21][22] The actual primary production is 0.71 g C m-2 d-1 (~ 260 g C m-2 y-1).[23]
A study of evolutionary genetics showed that the cichlids from lakes in northern Virunga (e.g., Edward, George, Victoria) would have evolved in a "proto-lake Kivu", much older than the intense volcanic activity (20,000-25,000 years ago) which cut the connection.[24] The elevation of the mountains west of the lake (which is currently the Kahuzi-Biega National Park, one of the largest reserves of eastern lowland (or Grauer's) gorillas in the world), combined with the elevation of the eastern rift (located in eastern Rwanda) would be responsible for drainage of water from central Rwanda in the actual Lake Kivu. This concept of "proto-lake Kivu" was challenged by lack of consistent geological evidence,[25] although the cichlid's molecular clock suggests the existence of a lake much older than the commonly cited 15,000 years.
Lake Kivu is the home of four species of freshwater crab, including two non-endemics (Potamonautes lirrangensis and P. mutandensis) and two endemics (P. bourgaultae and P. idjwiensis).[26] Among Rift Valley lakes, Lake Tanganyika is the only other with endemic freshwater crabs.[26]
Living in the compound of the HVA poultry and dairy project in Tawergha was very different from our life in Holland in many ways. There were on average 30 employees who brought their families with them and some 80 to 120 ‘bachelors’. All together a small village, a world of our own, with all facilities like a social building for meetings and parties, a restaurant, swimming pool and tennis courts, a small camp shop and a school.
The compound was surrounded by a high fence and in later years there would be a guard at the gate. But we used to joke that we just had to keep the wild dogs out, we were never in need of much protection because the people of Taworgha were very friendly and glad to have us there.
We were invited in their homes and lives on many occasions, we shared meals, were taken to religious events, parties, horse races and attended their weddings. We even let our children stay at their homes and families for sleepovers, just by themselves. The worst criminal event that ever happened to us was the theft of a bike by one of the young Libyan boys, which was handed back to us the next day.
The climate was of course one of the best Libyan assets and so was living in the dessert, which provided all sorts of interesting new stuff and animals to be found. Weekend was just one day, on Fridays, which were mostly spent at the seaside. To get to the most beautiful shore, with white sandy beaches and fabulous rocks, a great salt lake some seventy kilometers wide had to be crossed by car. This could only be done in the hot season because the plains had to dry out. It was always exciting in late spring to see who would be first to get to the other side of the dark mud with the thin layer of crusty salt. Many drivers could not resist trying to drive next to the tracks and without exception they got stuck there. Sometimes they had to leave the vehicle behind or have it dugout with heavy machinery later in the year.
At the combined Dutch-English elementary school in the campsite several year-groups with just a hand full of kids shared one classroom, and all the children played with each other. The freedom of the dessert was fabulous: a huge sandpit to play and to explore with All Terrain Bikes with a couple of wild dogs, snakes or scorpions for extra fun and excitement. A great deal of the after school hours were spent at the swimming pool or roaming around in the compound on the back of a donkey.
Once a week we would go shopping for everything we needed in Misrata the city next door almost 50 kilometers to the north of Tawergha. In the early years we did sometimes encounter unpleasant treatment on the market place there. This was caused by the animosities between Misrata and Tawergha as we discovered later on.
Deep rooted discrimination of the black inhabitants of the Tawergha oasis was the cause of many rough remarks made by the Misrata tradesmen.
They were convinced that Gaddafi had made a huge mistake by developing such a wonderful project in that godforsaken place with black ‘dogs’. They told us specifically that these slaves were bad people, and bad Muslims as well, who did not deserve the wealth of good jobs and the development of their region.
In our eyes the men from Misrata were not much paler than the Tawerghans and we used to smile about it, not knowing how these racist and jealous remarks would work out in such horrible disaster.
(written by Olga Roffel)
Steady Brook, Newfoundland. Located about ten minutes past Corner Brook on the Trans-Canada Highway, Marble Mountain is the largest ski resort in Canada east of Québec. In an average winter, 16 feet (5m) of snow fall on 37 trails of various lengths and skill levels that plunge 1,760 feet (536m) from the peak of the mountain to near this parking lot; in the summer, it's a nice place for hikers, with short trails leading to the purportedly beautiful Steady Brook Falls. That's the experience I had in mind up to the point I arrived in North Sydney and prepared for my ferry trip over to Newfoundland. However, the perfect storm of my frustratingly late departure from Nova Scotia, the resultant alterations to my itinerary, the grueling pace of the trip so far, my lack of sleep, and not knowing where to find the trailhead made for a situation where hiking was the last thing I wanted to do. Luckily, even the vicinity of the Marble Mountain parking lot is quite photogenic, and I caught a nap in the car for about half an hour before continuing on my way. And now I have a ready-made reason to come back to Newfoundland again some time.
Steady Brook, Terre-Neuve. Située une dizaine de minutes après Corner Brook le long de la Route transcanadienne, Marble Mountain est la plus grande station de ski au Canada à l'est du Québec. Lors d'un hiver moyen, 5 mètres de neige tombent sur sur 37 sentiers de différentes longueurs et niveaux de compétence, qui plongent 536 mètres depuis le sommet de la montagne jusqu'à près de ce parc de stationnement; pendant l'été, c'est un endroit agréable pour les randonneurs, avec des courts sentiers qui mènent à la prétendument belle chute de Steady Brook. Telle était l'expérience que j'avais prévu jusqu'au temps quand je suis arrivé à North Sydney et je me préparais pour mon voyage à Terre-Neuve en ferry. Cependant, le parafit concours de mon départ désespérément tradif de la Nouvelle-Écosse, les modifications à mon itinéraire qui en résultaient, le rythme épuisant du voyage jusqu'à ce temps-là, ma manque de sommeil, et ma manque de connaissance d'où trouver le début du sentier a créé une situation où la randonnée était la dernière chose que je voulais faire. Heureusement, même la proximité du parc de stationnement de Marble Mountain est très photogénique, et je pouvais aussi de faire une sieste dans la voiture pendant environ une demi-heure avant de continuer sur mon chemin. Et maintenant, j'ai une raison toute faite de revenir à Terre-Neuve quelque temps.
Steady Brook, Terranova. Situada cerca de diez minutos mas allá de Corner Brook a lo largo de la Carretera Transcanadiense, Marble Mountain es la estación de esquí más grande de Canadá al este de Quebec. Durante un invierno normal, 5 metros de nieve caen sobre 37 pistas de distintas longitudes y niveles de habilidad, que hunden 536 metros desde la cima de la montaña hasta cerca de esta playa de estacionamiento; en el verano, es un buen lugar para los senderistas, con senderos cortos que llevan a la supuestamente hermosa Catarata de Steady Brook. Esa es la experiencia que yo había previsto hasta el tiempo cuando llegué a North Sydney y me preparaba para mi viaje a Terranova en transbordador. Sin embargo, la tormenta perfecta de mi salida frustrantemente tardía de Nueva Escocia, las alteraciones a mi itinerario que resultaron, el ritmo extenuante del viaje hasta ese tiempo, mi falta de sueño, y no saber dónde encontrar el comienzo del sendero hizo una situación donde el senderismo era lo último que quería hacer. Afortunadamente, incluso las proximidades de la playa de estacionamiento de Marble Mountain son muy fotogénicas, y yo era capaz de tomar una siesta en el coche durante una media hora antes de continuar en mi camino. Y ahora tengo una razón concreta para volver a Terranova de nuevo algún tiempo.
and now I am further procrastinating by writing about my procrastination score - a lovely 63 that ranks me as an "above average procrastinator." But it also says I am more free-spirited than most. It's totally true what is says about stimulus control for me - that I need an office and visual spaces to get me working.
Who will I blame for this detour? Davidjacobs
Have I inspired you to procrastinate? If so, take your test with Procrastination Central and find out your score.
My Goal of 63:
You rank between the top 25% and 10% in terms of procrastination. That is, when it comes to putting things off, you often do so even though you know you shouldn’t. Likely, you are more free-spirited and spontaneous than most. Probably, your work doesn’t engage you as much as you would like or perhaps you are surrounded by easily available and more pleasant temptations. These temptations may initially seem rewarding, but in the longer-term, you see many of them as time-wasters. Though you likely often still get your work done, there is probably a lot of last minute panicking and unwanted stress. You may want to reduce what procrastination you do commit. If so, here are three tips that have been shown to work:
Goal Setting
This is one of the most established ways of moving forward on your plans. Take any project you are presently procrastinating and break it down into individual steps. Each of these steps should have the following three aspects. First, they should be somewhat challenging though achievable for you. It is more satisfying to accomplish a challenge. Second, they should be proximal, that is you can achieve them fairly soon, preferable today or over the next few days. Third, they should be specific, that is you know exactly when you have accomplished them. If you can visualize in your mind what you should do, even better.
Stimulus Control
This method has also been well tested and is very successful. What you need is a single place that you do your work and nothing else. Essentially, you need an office, though many students have a favorite desk at a library. For stimulus control to work best, the office or desk should be free of any signs of temptation or easily available distractions that might pull you away (e.g., no games, no chit-chat, no web-surfing). If you need a break, that is fine, but make sure you have it someplace at least a few minutes distant, preferably outside of the building itself. If you are unwilling to take the time to get there, acknowledge that you likely don’t need the break.
Routines
Routines are difficult to get into but in the end, this is often our aim. Things are much easier to do when we get into a habit of them, whether it is work, exercise, or errands. If you schedule some of those tasks you are presently procrastinating upon so that they occur on a regular schedule, they become easier. Start your routine slowly, something to which you can easily commit. Eventually, like brushing your teeth, it will likely become something you just do, not taking much effort at all. At this point, you might add to your routine, again always keeping your overall level of effort at a moderate to low level. Importantly, when you fall off your routine, inevitable with sickness or the unexpected, get back on it as soon as possible. Your routine gets stronger every time your follow it. It also gets weaker every time you don’t.
Procrastination has been reduced to a mathematical equation: U = E x V / I x D, where U is the desire to complete the task; E, the expectation of success; V, the value of completion; I, the immediacy of task; and D, the personal sensitivity to delay. For some types of tasks, my biggest stumbling block would be E—what if I'm no good? For others, it would be what, really, is the consequence of not cleaning the house for one more hour, or day? You can measure your own level of procrastination here. (via 43f)
Originally from Rebecca's Pocket; reBlogged on Jan 16, 2007, 11:53AM Originally from Rebecca's Pocket
Image source: www.archivessearch.qld.gov.au/items/ITM299144
Australia was approaching its bicentennial celebrations, and after Brisbane’s success hosting the 1982 Commonwealth Games, Brisbane City Council and the Queensland State Government were confident they could win the bid to hold the next World Exhibition.
Brisbane won the right to hold the event and Expo 88 was officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 30 April 1988. By the time it closed, it had changed the way the world saw Brisbane and helped shaped the city as we know it today.
Starting with an estimated budget of $645 million, the Queensland State Government developed a World Expo that would recoup and support its own costs and promote international investment in Queensland, both during and after the event. South Bank, badly damaged in the 1973–74 floods, was chosen and the site acquired for $150 million. Developers completed construction on time and within budget. The targets set for ticket sales were reached 11 weeks before Expo 88 had even opened. It was off to a smashing start.
Celebrating ‘Leisure in the age of technology’, there was an incredible range of pavilions, performances, parades, comedy and artwork on show. Guests could experience over 50 restaurants filled with flavours from around the globe. Hosted over six months, it drew more than 18 million people to the renewed South Bank parklands district. An average of 100,000 people a day entered the gates.
An influx of royalty, celebrities and international visitors came to Brisbane for the exhibition, but it was Queensland residents who attended the most often, purchasing 500,000 season tickets. Expo 88 provided something the city needed: an easy-to-access recreational facility with exciting things to do, see and experience. Brisbanites returned again and again to socialise and enjoy the festival atmosphere.
The monorail was one of the most popular attractions. Giving travellers a view of the entertainments from above, it operated along a 2.3-kilometre track during Expo 88, taking up to 44,000 visitors a day from one side of Expo to the other, along the Brisbane River. Built by Swedish manufacturer Von Roll, the monorail cost $12 million and comprised four MkII trains with nine carriages each. The idea of keeping the monorail operating after Expo and extending it into the Brisbane CBD was discussed. Ultimately, the existing monorail wasn’t a feasible long-term people-moving solution and it was disbursed. Three trains were sold back to Von Roll and were used in Germany’s Europa-Park. The remaining train and some tracks were incorporated into the Sea World theme park on the Gold Coast.
Some of the most significant installations, exhibitions and artworks from Expo 88 were relocated and continue to be enjoyed today. Ken Done AM, a prominent Australian artist and designer, was commissioned to produce the entry and exit statement art pieces for the Australia Pavilion. Using the word ‘Australia’, Done produced a sign nearly six metres tall that could not be missed by anyone who attended Expo 88. The letters have since been restored and are on display at the Caboolture Heritage Village. The Nepal Peace Pagoda was the only international pavilion that remained on-site, after a petition asking that it remain attracted about 70,000 signatures. The Japan Garden and Pond were gifted to the city of Brisbane and moved to the Botanic Gardens at Mt Coot-Tha.
The buzz of activity, the investment in South Bank’s infrastructure and the spotlight on Brisbane transformed the city. The physical legacy left by Expo 88 turned South Bank into a thriving social space and prominent cultural hotspot: 42 hectares was dedicated to the construction of the South Bank Parklands.
blogs.archives.qld.gov.au/2021/10/29/when-the-world-comes...
The Fin Trail
Since time began we have seen the shark as the silent deadly killer of the ocean deeply engrained in the human psyche as an object of fear. However fact is that in an average year, sharks account for less than ten human deaths, while in the same period we kill up to 100 million of them. What's more, 99% of them are killed for their fins alone which are added to a soup to make an oriental delicacy. The fact that sharks are facing extinction to satisfy the demand for soup is becoming well known. But how do the fins reach the markets? Who is making the money? How much money is being made? When and where is shark finning legal, and when is it illegal? And should we care?
The Fin Trail will follow this trade from beginning to end and will travel the world in search of the answers. We will track down the profiteers and gangsters behind the business that is pushing a group of animals towards extinction. We will calculate their profits -- in effect the price of extinction -- and will smoke out the corrupt officials turning a blind eye to what is happening. We will try to find out to what extent governments across the world are colluding in the extermination of one of the oldest inhabitants of our planet. We will meet the conservationists around the globe who are fighting a rearguard action against the slaughter.
The unique shark filmmaking partnership of Steve Bowles, Richard Peirce and Simon Spear, will lay bare The Fin Trail. Graphic footage showing the cruel brutality of the fin trade will balance the beautiful images of sharks in their natural environment. The film will name, shame, pull no punches and will unmask those who would rather stay in the shadows. The Fin Trail will leave audiences in no doubt about who is guilty and who is innocent and at the same time will celebrate the efforts of those around the world who are involved in the battle to save the kings of the ocean.
This will be an international documentary for an international market. It will be the strongest shark film ever made.
Produced by Steve Bowles, Richard Peirce, Simon Spear
Copyright 2011 Elasmo Films UK / Eyewitness Productions
This trailer was made possible with the very generous help and support of:
Michael Aw
Diver Magazine
DIVE Magazine
Chris & Monique Fallows / Apex Predators
Sarah Fowler OBE
Dr Samuel H. Gruber
Greenpeace
Jan Hallet
Paul Hilton
Alex Hofford
Rob Hull
Dr Heather Koldeway
Man & Shark
Charles Maxwell
Monaco Films
Ocean Geographic Society
Jason Perryman
David Ritter
Michael Sanders
Shark Trust
Shark Conservation Socitey
Rob Stewart
Ron & Valerie Taylor
Zoological Society London (ZSL)
Watch this video on Vimeo. Video created by Simon Spear.
Average 3 inches tall diecast figures from Marvel Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 Rocket, Groot, Spider-Man Homecoming figures and Iron Man Mk II. Great size and hefty weight for fast growing collection taking up only small space!
Pushkar (Hindi: पुष्कर) is a town in the Ajmer district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is situated 14 km northwest of Ajmer at an average elevation of 510 m and is one of the five sacred dhams (pilgrimage site) for devout Hindus. According to Hindu theology, the pond at the Katas Raj temple Near Choa Saidan Shah in Chakwal District of Pakistan has a theological association with Shiva; it was formed by the tears of Lord Shiva which he is believed to have shed after the death of his wife, Sati. The story goes that when Sati died, Shiva cried so much and for so long, that his tears created two holy ponds – one at Pushkara in Ajmer in India and the other at Ketaksha, which literally means raining eyes, in Sanskrit. It is from this name that the word Katas is derived. It is often called "Tirth Raj" – the king of pilgrimage sites – and has in recent years become a popular destination for foreign tourists.
Pushkar is one of the oldest existing cities of India. It lies on the shore of Pushkar Lake. The date of its actual origin is not known, but legend associates Brahma with its creation.
Pushkar has many temples. Most of the temples are not very old because many temples were destroyed during Muslim conquests in the area. Subsequently, the destroyed temples were rebuilt. The most famous among all is the Brahma Temple built during the 14th century CE. Very few temples to Lord Brahma exist anywhere in the world. Other temples of Brahma include Bithoor in Uttar Pradesh, India; Khedbrahma in Gujarat, India; village Asotra near Balotra city of Barmer district in Rajasthan; Uttamar Kovil (one of the Divya Desams) near Srirangam, Tamil Nadu; Mother Temple of Besakih in Bali, Indonesia; and Prambanan in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The Pushkar lake has 52 ghats where pilgrims descend to the lake to bathe in the sacred waters.
Pushkar is also famous for its annual fair (Pushkar Camel Fair) held in November.
ETYMOLOGY
Pushkar in Sanskrit means blue lotus flower. Hindus believe that the gods released a swan with a lotus in its beak and let it fall on earth where Brahma would perform a grand yagna. The place where the lotus fell was called Pushkar. Pushkar word may be derived from word 'Pushkarni'means- lake. It may be derived from word Pushpa means flower and Kar means hand.
HISTORY
Pushkar is one of the oldest cities of India. The date of its actual founding is not known, but legend associates Brahma with its creation.
According to legend, Brahma was in search of a place for Mahayagna and he found this place suitable. After a long time, Brahma came to known that a demon, Vajranash, was killing people here so the Lord intoned a mantra on a lotus flower and killed the demon. During this process the parts of flower fell on three places which were later known as Jyaistha, Madhya and Kanistha Pushkar. After this Brahma performed a yagna to protect this place from demons. The consort of Brahma, Saraswati, were needed to offer Ahuti for the yagna but she was not there that time so Gayatri, a Gurjar girl, was married to brahma and performned yagna. This act made first wife of Brahma, Saraswati, angry and she cursed Brahma saying that he would be worshiped in Pushkar only.
The Mahabharata says that while laying down a programme for Maharaja Yudhishthara’s travel, “Maharaja after entering the Jungles of Sind and crossing the small rivers on the way should bathe in Pushkara". And, as per Vaman Purana, Prahlada on his pilgrimage to holy places visited Pushkarayana.
A Gurjara Pratihara ruler of Mandore, Nahadarava, restored this tirtha in the seventh century. He got the place cleared and the lake restored by making an embankment on the side of the river Luni. He rebuilt old palaces and built twelve dharmashalas (resting places) and ghats on three sides of the lake.
According to Rajputana Gazetteer Pushkar was held by Chechi Gurjars until about 700 years ago.Later Some shrines were occupied by Kanphati Jogis.
There are still priests from the Gurjar community in Pushkar temple, known as Bhopas.
The sage Parasara is said to have been born here. His descendants, called Parasara Brahamanas, are found in Pushkar and the surrounding area. The famous temple of Jeenmata has been cared for by Parasara Brahmans for the last 1,000 years.
It is also the venue of the annual Pushkar Camel Fair. In 1901, the town was part of the Rajputana Agency had a population of 3,831.
PUSHKAR FAIR
Pushkar fair continues for five days and these five days are a period of relaxation and merry-making for the villagers. This fair time is the most busy time for them, as this is one of the largest cattle fairs in the country. Animals, including over 50,000 camels, are brought from miles around to be traded and sold. Trading is brisk as several thousand heads of cattle exchange hands. All the camels are cleaned, washed, adorned, some are interestingly shorn to form patterns, and special stalls are set up selling finery and jewellery for the camels. Camels at the Pushkar fair are decorated with great care. They wear jewellery of silver and beads. There are silver bells and bangles around their ankles that jangle when they walk. An interesting ritual is the piercing of a camel's nose. It has more than 400 temples including the only one temple in India dedicated to the Hindu God Lord Brahma, the Creator of the Universe.
According to Indian mythology, after visiting all the Hindu pilgrim towns and temples (Four Dhams), if Pushkar is not visited for worship, then salvation is not achieved. According to the Hindu calendar Pushkar Fair commences in Nawami (ninth day of fortnightly phases of moon) and ends in Purnima (Full Moon) in the month of Kartika (October or November according to the lunar calendar). In Pushkar, one of the biggest Cattle Fair is also held for trading purposes and the best cattle in all categories are awarded. Countless people in their colourful attire gather to take a dip in the Holy Lake and pray to the deities. The whole town comes alive with vibrant folk music and dances, magic shows, horse and camel races and various other traditional entertainment competitions.Pushkar, with more than 12 local fairs and festivals of 10–15 days duration is a year round destination. It is a mellow town by the great lake of Pushkar amidst the perfume of jasmine and rose flowers. About 4,000 to 6,000 visitors from all over the world come to Pushkar everyday.
PUSHKAR LAKE
The prime attraction of Pushkar is the Pushkar Lake which is considered sacred like the Mansarovar Lake in Tibet. Pushkar has become a place of Hindu pilgrimage because of this holy lake. Legend has it that this lake was consecrated to Lord Brahma, the creator of the universe when a lotus dropped from his hand into the vale and a lake emerged in that place.
BRAHMA TEMPLE
The most important temple in Pushkar is the Temple of Lord Brahma, one of the holy trinity of Hinduism. The temple enshrines a life-size idol of Lord Brahma.
SAVITRI TEMPLE
This temple that is located at the top of the Ratnagiri Hill is dedicated to Savitri, the wife of Lord Brahma. The temple houses a statue of Goddess Savitri.
WIKIPEDIA
Inle Lake (Burmese: အင်းလေးကန်, pronounced: [ʔɪ́ɴlé kàɴ]) is a freshwater lake located in the Nyaungshwe Township of Taunggyi District of Shan State, part of Shan Hills in Myanmar (Burma). It is the second largest lake in Myanmar with an estimated surface area of 116 km2, and one of the highest at an elevation of 880 m. During the dry season, the average water depth is 2.1 m, with the deepest point being 3.7 m, but during the rainy season this can increase by 1.5 m.
The watershed area for the lake lies to a large extent to the north and west of the lake. The lake drains through the Nam Pilu or Balu Chaung on its southern end. There is a hot spring on its northwestern shore.
Although the lake is not large, it contains a number of endemic species. Over twenty species of snails and nine species of fish are found nowhere else in the world. Some of these, like the silver-blue scaleless Sawbwa barb, the crossbanded dwarf danio, and the Lake Inle danio, are of minor commercial importance for the aquarium trade. It hosts approximately 20,000 brown and black head migratory seagulls in November, December and January.
In June 2015, it becomes the Myanmar's first designated place of World Network of Biosphere Reserves. It was one of 20 places added at at the Unesco's 27th Man and the Biosphere (MAB) International Coordinating Council (ICC) meeting.
PEOPLE AND CULTURE
The people of Inle Lake (called Intha), some 70,000 of them, live in four cities bordering the lake, in numerous small villages along the lake's shores, and on the lake itself. The entire lake area is in Nyaung Shwe township. The population consists predominantly of Intha, with a mix of other Shan, Taungyo, Pa-O (Taungthu), Danu, Kayah, Danaw and Bamar ethnicities. Most are devout Buddhists, and live in simple houses of wood and woven bamboo on stilts; they are largely self-sufficient farmers.
Most transportation on the lake is traditionally by small boats, or by somewhat larger boats fitted with single cylinder inboard diesel engines. Local fishermen are known for practicing a distinctive rowing style which involves standing at the stern on one leg and wrapping the other leg around the oar. This unique style evolved for the reason that the lake is covered by reeds and floating plants making it difficult to see above them while sitting. Standing provides the rower with a view beyond the reeds. However, the leg rowing style is only practiced by the men. Women row in the customary style, using the oar with their hands, sitting cross legged at the stern.
Fish caught from the lake - the most abundant kind is called nga hpein locally (Inle carp, Cyprinus intha) - are a staple of the local diet. A popular local dish is htamin gyin - 'fermented' rice kneaded with fish and/or potato - served with hnapyan gyaw (literally twice fried - Shan tofu). In addition to fishing, locals grow vegetables and fruit in large gardens that float on the surface of the lake. The floating garden beds are formed by extensive manual labor. The farmers gather up lake-bottom weeds from the deeper parts of the lake, bring them back in boats and make them into floating beds in their garden areas, anchored by bamboo poles. These gardens rise and fall with changes in the water level, and so are resistant to flooding. The constant availability of nutrient-laden water results in these gardens being incredibly fertile. Rice cultivation is also significant.
Hand-made goods for local use and trading are another source of commerce. Typical products include tools, carvings and other ornamental objects, textiles, and cheroots. A local market serves most common shopping needs and is held daily but the location of the event rotates through five different sites around the lake area, thus each of them hosting an itinerant market every fifth day. When held on the lake itself, trading is conducted from small boats. This 'floating-market' event tends to emphasize tourist trade much more than the other four.
The Inle lake area is renowned for its weaving industry. The Shan-bags, used daily by many Burmese as a tote-bag, are produced in large quantities here. Silk-weaving is another very important industry, producing high-quality hand-woven silk fabrics of distinctive design called Inle longyi. A unique fabric from the lotus plant fibers is produced only at Inle lake and is used for weaving special robes for Buddha images called kya thingahn (lotus robe).
ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
Inle Lake is suffering from the environmental effects of increased population and rapid growth in both agriculture and tourism. During the 65-year period from 1935 to 2000, the net open water area of Inle Lake decreased from 69.10 km² to 46.69 km², a loss of 32.4%, with development of floating garden agriculture, which occurs largely on the west side of the lake (a practice introduced in the 1960s).
Lumber removal and unsustainable cultivation practices (slash and burn farming techniques) on the hills surrounding the lake are causing ever-increasing amounts of silt and nutrients to run off into the rivers that feed the lake, especially along its western and northern watershed areas. This silt fills up the lake; the nutrients encourage the growth of weeds and algae. More important however is the development of floating garden agriculture, largely along the western side of the lake. This practice encroaches into the diminishing area of the lake, since over time, the floating beds become solid ground. About 93% (nearly 21 km²) of the recent loss in open water area of the lake, largely along its western side, is thought to be due to this agricultural practice. Direct environmental impacts associated with these combined agricultural activities within the wetlands and surrounding hills of the lake include sedimentation, eutrophication, and pollution.
The water hyacinth, a plant not native to the lake, also poses a major problem. It grows rapidly, filling up the smaller streams and large expanses of the lake, robbing native plants and animals of nutrients and sunlight. At one time, all boats coming into Nyaung Shwe were required to bring in a specified amount of water hyacinth. Over the past twenty years, large-scale use of dredges and pumps has been employed with some success in controlling the growth of this plant. On a smaller scale, public awareness education and small-scale control have also been successful.
Another cause for concern is the planned introduction of non-native fish species, such as the Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella)] intended to improve fishery.
Sanitation in the villages around the lake is an ongoing concern for public health authorities, due to untreated sewage (with 72% of households using open pits, not latrines) and waste water flowing into the lake. To ensure fresh and clean water, some villages now have enclosed wells and public access to the well water. Some studies of the lake's surface
water quality indicates that the water is not safe for consumption. Water from Inle Lake has dissolved oxygen ranges lower than those necessary for fisheries and aquatic life, while nitrite, nitrate and phosphate ranges are unusually high.
Noise pollution is also a noticeable issue. The noise from the cheaper poorly muffled diesel engines driving the stern drive propellers is significant, and can be a distraction to the otherwise tranquil lake.
The summer of 2010 registered very high temperatures causing the water level of the lake to drop so low, the lowest in nearly 50 years, that drinking water had to be fetched from elsewhere and the floating market was in danger of disappearing. One other serious consequence was that the hydroelectric plant at Lawpita, where the former capital Yangon received its power supply from, could not operate at its full capacity.
TOURISM
The best time of the year to visit is during September and October. The ceremonial Hpaung Daw U Festival, which lasts for almost three weeks, is closely followed by the Thadingyut festival of lights. Inthas and Shan turn out in their best clothes in great numbers to celebrate the Buddhist Lent. Traditional boat racing, with dozens of leg-rowers in Shan dress in a team on each boat, is a famous event during the Hpaung Daw U Festival.
Inle Lake is a major tourist attraction, and this has led to some development of tourist infrastructure. Many small and large privately owned hotels and tour operations have arisen during the past few years. Local shops are flooded with consumer items, both local and foreign. The nearest airport is Heho Airport which is 35 km away. There are flights from both Yangon and Mandalay. Yangon is 660 km away by road, Mandalay 330 km.
CUISINE
Inle cuisine is different from Shan cuisine, as it incorporates local natural produce. The most well-known Inle dish would be the Htamin jin - a rice, tomato and potato or fish salad kneaded into round balls dressed and garnished with crisp fried onion in oil, tamarind sauce, coriander and spring onions often with garlic, Chinese chives roots (ju myit), fried whole dried chili, grilled dried fermented beancakes (pè bouk) and fried dried tofu (topu jauk kyaw) on the side.
WIKIPEDIA
Average life span of a piece of luggage for me? 2 months? Shame as I really liked this pretty red swiss army bag...
Learning English is a major obsession for South Koreans, especially since the average Korean speaker seems to have extreme trouble with English grammar and linguistics. In many cases, decent command of English can mean a huge edge in career and other opportunities, especially with companies that do a lot of foreign business.
Also, raising a child in South Korea is a competitive sport. The key is to have the most academically prepared child possible, so that s/he can get into a prestigious university and end up with guaranteed employment at a large conglomerate. It is never too early to prepare.
And to meet both needs, this private academy, in Seongnam just south of Seoul, teaches English to children 4-11 years old in a Canadian-themed setting, using native English speakers from Canada and the US. Though my preference is that the children learn not only English, but the Canadians' more holistic approach to raising children, as well; children need to have fun and be children, not drilled into a cookie-cutter academic regimen.
The actual location of the academy is in Bundang District, which is the southern, upper-class division of Seongnam developed in the 1990s as a bedroom community for Seoul. In fact, Bundang is so upscale and high-income, it is even more affluent than Seoul's upper-class neighborhoods for that matter. And it does take a lot of money to pay for private academies like this; monthly tuition at this academy would probably be more than the entire paycheck of a single mother. Raising a child in South Korea has become a very expensive endeavor as a result, and that is one key reason why South Korea's birthrates have done a steep nosedive in the past two decades.
My browser gets into this state after an average pass of my aggregated feed list (aka Friend's page on LJ).
As I'm scrolling through the page, I have Crazy Browser set to open a link of interest into a new tab via the middle mouse button. That way, I can quickly scroll through and get the stuff I want to look at open in the browser to read later.
The next generation of browsers should take this problem into account.
Another feature I'd like to see is an auto-open-URL list save feature. Let's say my system or the browser crashes... I've lost all of that work I put into unearthing all of these links. The browser should keep a running log file that knows what you've seen and always have the list ready to reload in case something should happen.
see notes for more musings.
Data from NextBus and Cabspotting.
Muni speeds are instantaneous measurements. Cabspotting speeds are derived from the travel time between points and the relative frequency with which points appear in the sample, and probably underestimate the speeds at the fastest points and overestimate them at the slowest. The speeds are averages so there are probably many vehicles moving much faster or slower than these speeds at times.
By the way, nobody has asked, but I think the explanation for the place where the buses are substantially faster than taxis between Fell and Hayes is that a lot of the taxis are actually waiting in line for the gas station there.
Decapitated
Alcatraz - Milano
07 Gennaio 2014
ph ©Mairo Cinquetti
All rights reserved
DECAPITATED As a Teenage Death Metal act DECAPITATED averaged an age of just 17 by the time of their debut album but incredibly drummer Vitek was a mere twelve years old upon their formation in 1996. Both guitarist Vogg and bassist Martin also held down membership of Black Metal act LUX OCCULTA . In 1997 the trio of vocalist Sauron, guitarist Vogg and Vitek added the 13 year old bassist Martin. DECAPITATED, hailing from Krosno, debuted with the demos Cemeteral Gardens in 1997 and 1998 "The Eye Of Horus". Further exposure was garnered by the inclusion of tracks on the 2000 Relapse Records 'Polish Assault' compilation alongside YATTERING , LOST SOUL and DAMNABLE . The first album, recorded for Earache subsidiary Wicked World, was produced by VADER Piotr Wiwczarek and sees a cover of SLAYER Mandatory Suicide. DECAPITATED early demos were pressed up onto CD by Poland’s Metal Mind Productions entitled The First Damned, adding two live tracks from the 'Thrash 'em All' festival. The band toured as support to VADER in early 2001. DECAPITATED's February 2002 album 'Nihility' would include a cover version of NAPALM DEATH 's 'Suffer The Children'. The band scored a valuable coup later that same year, being chosen to perform at the Polish 'Ozzfest' event in late May. By August DECAPITATED was on the road in North America with tour partners INCANTATION , VEHEMENCE and DEAD TO FALL . The band, shooting a promotional video for the track 'Spheres of Madness' to further promote the album, would form up part of a strong package bill topped by VADER for a run of dates across mainland Europe from late August alongside KRISIUN and PREJUDICE . Vitek took time out to lay down drums on VADER frontman Piotr Wiwczarek's PANZER X project EP 'Steel Fist'. The February 2004 DECAPITATED album 'The Negatron' would see a bonus track offering of a take on DEICIDE 's 'Lunatic Of God's Creation'. A short spurt of UK dates saw the band ranked alongside ROTTING CHRIST , ANATA and THUS DEFILED . The band then united with Norwegian Black Metal elite outfit MAYHEM and Japanese act DEFILED for a European tour commencing early April. US dates scheduled for July and August had DECAPITATED opening for CANNIBAL CORPSE . However, all North American touring plans were cancelled due to the sensitivity in regard to the band's name and the executions of hostage victims in Iraq. DECAPITATED parted ways with guitarist Jacek Hiro in October, opting to remain a quartet for February 2005 European gigs allied with HATE , CRIONICS and DIES IRAE . The band re-shaped in June when frontman Sauron closed a nine year tenure by announcing his withdrawal. DECAPITATED quickly drew in their friend Covan formerly of ATROPHIA RED SUN, NEUROTOXIC.c.w.a., as replacement. The band entered Hertz Studios in Bialystok in August to record a new album entitled 'Organic Hallucinosis'. September European dates had DECAPITATED partnered with British act GOREROTTED and Dutch DETONATION . Following US gigs in December, DECAPITATED parted ways with bassist Martin, the four-stringer having to deal with military conscription issues, pulling in Richard Gulczynski as replacement. Live work breaking into 2006, promoting the 'Organic Hallucinosis' album recorded at Hertz Studio in Bialystok, saw the band teaming up with HYPOCRISY , SOILENT GREEN , RAGING SPEEDHORN , NILE and WITH PASSION for a North American tour commencing in early January. In mid February it was learned that bassist Martin had returned to the fold. US dates for September and October 2006 saw the band hooking up with KRISIUN , CATTLE DECAPITATION , SIX FEET UNDER and ABYSMAL DAWN . The band united with headliners FEAR FACTORY and SUFFOCATION for further North American shows in November. The band united with Nancy's PHAZM for extensive European touring throughout February 2007. In May the group toured throughout Australia and New Zeeland supporting NILE . The band's next tour outing was to be the 'Summer Slaughter' trek across the USA throughout June and July, seeing NECROPHAGIST headlining on a mammoth package billing with BENEATH THE MASSACRE , CEPHALIC CARNAGE , CATTLE DECAPITATION , THE FACELESS , AS BLOOD RUNS BLACK , ARSIS and ION DISSONANCE . The band is ready for next tour attacks! Asia, North and South America and Europe!!!
Parenting is challenging, so it's vital that you learn every skill and technique on the market so that you can continue to grow at it. The better knowledge and knowledge you may have, including understanding what your kids goes through at various stages, the better successful you'll be at raising a kid.
Remove anything from the countertop in your kitchen, recline your son or daughter over a towel, and permit water through the tap to soak their hair. Most toddlers find this technique less stressful than having their head placed under water.
When traveling using a small child, try to keep the identical bedtime and mealtime routines when you have in the home. Travel may be stressful for anyone, however it is particularly challenging for children, especially infants. To aid your kids in feeling comfortable while on a trip and make certain that every people in your party get a better night's sleep, make sure you observe established bedtime rituals.
Children inside the preschool years tend not to handle transitions well. When they are pulled from something too early, it could trigger a melt down.
It is essential that you obtain time and energy to yourself, from your children. Get a relative or sitter to look at them, even for a quick time. Parents that do not get personal or adult time from children have higher levels of stress that magnify through the home.
As a parent, you are aware how important it is actually to go out with your kids, however it is incredibly important to possess some time to yourself. Drawing and enforcing this boundary lets you sustain your individuality while still being an outstanding parent.
When you initially have children, form good habits to make it your main priority to care for yourself. No matter your schedule or agenda, have a break and relax for a couple minutes when you can. You may feel great, along with your children will likely be happier because of this.
If children live at home, avoid smoking inside your home. Actually, it will be extremely beneficial to give up smoking altogether. Breathing secondhand smoke may be just like harmful as smoking. Smoking around your young ones can be extremely hazardous and cause many respiratory issues including asthma, bronchitis or pneumonia.
Hopefully, this article has provided you with many advice about how as a significantly better parent. You possibly will not usually have each of the answers, but it will be possible to obtain the resources you will need to help you those answers. babyspheres.com/weight-loss-after-pregnancy.html
It seemed like an average Wednesday. Thursday? The quarantine’s kinda blending all my days together. It seemed like an average morning, when out of NOWHERE, Nintendo just casually throws out the trailer to a new Paper Mario. Paper Mario’s history is incredible, because it’s been resting on the laurels of the original Paper Mario and […]
www.fbtb.net/video-games/nintendo-switch/2020/05/14/paper...
*** DIVISION III * BOYS 5K/3.1 MILES - TEAM RESULTS ***
Team Tie Breaker = 6
Results by PRO RACE GROUP of Fresno - www.proracegroup.com
www.andynoise.com/valleyxc08.html
TEAM TOTAL 5-MEMBER TEAM TIME
PLCE POINTS SCHOOL (Average Total)
====================================================================
Year Race Ovrll Finish
NAME CLASS NO. PLACE TIME
1. 50 MAD-S/Madera South ( 16:47 1:23:55)
====================================================================
1 3 Isaiah Lorenzo So 180 3 16:16
2 5 Chris Brown Sr 181 5 16:39
3 12 Alfonso Castillo Sr 182 12 16:56
4 13 Angel Flores So 183 13 16:57
5 17 Alex Guzman Sr 184 17 17:07
6 ( 19) Juan Navia Fr 186 19 17:11
7 ( 20) Seferino Hernandez Fr 185 20 17:12
3. 89 RIDG-B/Ridgeview - Bakersfield ( 17:06 1:25:27)
====================================================================
1 8 Robby Baker Jr 606 8 16:43
2 10 Brian Solis Jr 605 10 16:51
3 11 Jerrid Lewis Jr 607 11 16:54
4 15 Alex Garcia Jr 604 15 17:01
5 45 Miguel Munoz Jr 608 45 17:58
6 ( 52) Michael Anseno Sr 610 53 18:05
7 ( 55) Jaime Madrigal So 609 56 18:10
4. 128 WASC/Wasco High ( 17:26 1:27:07)
====================================================================
1 6 Asencion Mendoza Sr 108 6 16:39
2 21 Oscar Miranda Sr 109 21 17:13
3 28 Oswaldo DeJulian Sr 111 28 17:34
4 36 Eric Sanchez Jr 113 36 17:48
5 37 Juan Ayala Sr 110 37 17:53
6 ( 43) Eddie Ramirez Jr 112 43 17:56
7 ( 53) Gregorio Linares Fr 114 54 18:09
5. 159 SHAF/Shafter High ( 17:37 1:28:02)
====================================================================
1 14 Jesus Villapondo So 778 14 16:59
2 23 Christian Barrios Jr 774 23 17:26
3 30 Joshua Wittenberg Sr 775 30 17:36
4 34 Alex Moreno Jr 777 34 17:47
5 58 Hector Montoya Sr 779 59 18:14
6 ( 64) Jakob Velasquez Jr 780 65 18:22
7 ( 74) Christopher Handel Jr 776 76 18:36
6. 200 FT-B/Foothill - Bakersfield ( 17:39 1:28:14)
====================================================================
1 1 Chris Schwartz Sr 406 1 15:49
2 26 Jose Lopez Jr 407 26 17:30
3 32 Erick Bautista Jr 408 32 17:45
4 62 Genaro Quintanar Fr 409 63 18:20
5 79 Patrick Manrique Sr 411 81 18:50
6 ( 89) Justin Meyer Fr 410 92 19:03
7 ( 96) Daniel Rodriguez So 412 99 19:12
8. 251 FRON-B/Frontier - Bakersfield ( 18:04 1:30:16)
====================================================================
1 25 Richard Peralta Jr 420 25 17:28
2 48 Michael Golich Sr 419 49 17:59
3 54 Tanner Urmston So 423 55 18:10
4 57 Will Beechinor So 422 58 18:14
5 67 Dustin Scalani So 424 68 18:25
6 (128) Michael Sclafani Jr 421 133 20:07
7 (136) Ricky Gonzales So 425 142 20:50
13. 368 ARV/Arvin High ( 18:48 1:34:00)
====================================================================
1 29 Juan Calderon Jr 231 29 17:35
2 33 Ben Orozco Sr 230 33 17:46
3 70 Yessuri Villasenor Sr 232 72 18:31
4 99 Adrian Rodriguez Jr 234 103 19:17
5 137 Omar Tinoco Sr 233 143 20:51
6 (138) Christian Guerrero So 235 144 20:52
14. 398 TEHA/Tehachapi High ( 18:51 1:34:13)
====================================================================
1 44 Adam Moreno Sr 789 44 17:57
2 69 Keenan Cohditz Sr 791 70 18:30
3 81 Nathan Rowe Sr 790 84 18:54
4 83 Charles Hansen Fr 793 86 18:56
5 121 Jason Trost Jr 795 125 19:56
6 (135) Corey Bowman Sr 792 141 20:44
7 (148) Michael Shaw Sr 794 154 22:05
19. 473 GV-B/Golden Valley - Bakersfield ( 19:11 1:35:54)
====================================================================
1 16 Daymon Sandles So 592 16 17:04
2 106 Jose Salgado Sr 593 110 19:26
3 111 Daniel Perez Jr 596 115 19:39
4 113 David Gamino Jr 594 117 19:42
5 127 Francisco Rueda Jr 595 132 20:03
21. 529 SBAK/South Bakersfield ( 19:30 1:37:27)
====================================================================
1 92 Jose Valdez Sr 60 95 19:07
2 97 Jose Romero Sr 54 100 19:12
3 107 Alex Espinoza Sr 55 111 19:30
4 116 Rudy Castro Sr 59 120 19:46
5 117 Rodolfo Salgado Sr 57 121 19:52
6 (139) David Little Jr 56 145 21:02
7 (140) Ezekiel Gonzalez Jr 58 146 21:03
Baddesley Clinton is not one the grandest of houses, nor is it filled with rare works of art, but having been owned by one family, the Ferrers, since the 16th century and maintained largely intact and original, it is a rare example of the average early-modern home of the lesser gentry. Unlike such mansions as nearby Coughton Court, Baddesley Clinton is relatively small, even cozy, and one can easily imagine the life of the people who lived here. It is best known for being the home of the Jesuit Henry Garnet for almost 14 years, and the existence of several priest hides conceived and built by Nicholas Owen.
The Clintons settled here in the thirteenth century, when it was called just Baddesley, and added their name to the place. They were responsible for the digging of the moat that you see above. It was eventually sold in 1438 to John Brome, a wealthy lawyer, and the Bromes built most of the east and west sides of the house.
John Brome was the Under Treasurer of England but a Lancastrian, and when Henry VI was deposed in 1461 by the Yorkist claimant Edward IV, Brome lost all of his court appointments. He later quarreled with John Herthill, Steward to Richard "the Kingmaker", Earl of Warwick, and Herthill murdered him in 1468 on the porch of the Whitefriars Church in London. Brome's second son, Nicholas, who inherited the estate, eventually avenged his father's murder by killing Herthill in 1471.
Nicholas Brome seems to have had a taste for violence. According to Henry Ferrers, a later owner of the house, it was soon after inheriting Baddesley Clinton that Nicholas 'slew the minister of Baddesley Church findinge him in his plor (parlour) chockinge his wife under ye chinne, and to expiatt these bloody offenses and crimes he built the steeple and raysed the church body ten foote higher". He was pardoned for this killing by both the King and the Pope. Nicholas seems also to have developed a taste for building, and is thought to have been responsible for the building of much of the earliest part of the house. Baddesley Clinton passed into the hands of the Ferrers family in 1517, through the marriage of Nicholas Brome's daughter, Constance, to Sir Edward Ferrers.
The most interesting of the Ferrers is Henry Ferrers (1549-1633), the great-grandson of Sir Edward Ferrers, and contemporary with the times of the Gunpowder Plot. He inherited the property in 1564, and lived through the reigns of Edward VI, Mary I, Elizabeth I and James I, dying in the reign of Charles I. He carried out extensive building, including the wing that contains the Great Hall, as well as adding the Great Parlour above the existing entranceway. He also installed much oak paneling and mantels that are still there as well.
Henry Ferrers was an antiquarian, and spent a lifetime collecting historical information, much of which was later used by Sir William Dugdale in the 'Antiquities of Warwickshire'. This interest of his can be seen by the enormous amount of heraldic glass and devices throughout the house. He was trained in the law, and admitted to the Middle Temple in 1572. He may also have served a term as an MP for Cirencester in 1593.
After the death of Henry Ferrers, the fortunes of the Ferrers family fluctuated through periods of heavy taxation such as during the Civil War and in the early eighteenth century, followed by attempts by some generations to maintain and improve the property in better times. The last Ferrers in the direct male line, Marmion Edward Ferrers (1813-1884), was so poor that Lady Chatterton, the aunt of his wife Rebecca, and her husband, Edward Heneage Deering, had to come and live with him to share the expense. These two were only married because of a misunderstanding. It is said that Deering came to Lady Chatterly to ask permission to pay address to her niece, but she thought it was a proposal to her, and accepted. Deering, although she was old enough to be his mother, was too chivalrous to set the story straight!
The estate passed down through Marmion Edward Ferrer's nephew through several relatives, and it was Mr. Thomas Ferrers-Walker who eventually sold the house to the Government, after which it became part of the National Trust. The Ferrers Archive is kept at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford-upon-Avon.
Henry Ferrers was also a devout Catholic, but a cautious one and was never convicted for recusancy. He must have been aware of the activities of the Vaux sisters, who rented the house from him in the 1590's in order to secretly shelter Father Henry Garnet and other priests, and to be able to conduct catholic services. Soon after they rented the house, Anne Vaux had Nicholas Owen build secret hiding places, including one created out of the sewer and the moat.
A spectacular raid on Baddesley in October 1591 was recorded both by Father John Gerard in his Autobiography of an Elizabethan, and also by Father Henry Garnet in a letter to his Jesuit superior, Aquaviva. Several priests, including Garnet and Gerard, as well as lay assistants had risen early and were preparing to leave the house, when it was surrounded and all the approach roads blocked by pursuviants. The stable-boys, knowing that so many horses saddled and ready to go would be suspicious, armed themselves with farm implements and blocked the pursuviants attempt at violent entry. This bought some time for those inside the house, as the pursuviants had to resort to requests, and led them to believe that the lady of the house had not yet arisen. Those outside had to wait patiently, albeit not quietly, while those inside were quickly hiding away the priests, Catholic vestments, and all other signs of the presence of a Catholic priest, including the overturning of their mattresses so that the pursuviants could not feel the warmth.
The priests stood in the hiding place in the moat, ankle-deep in cold water for over four hours while the pursuviants tore through the house, although their attempts at intimidation seemed to have far outweighed their skills in searching. Anne Vaux said "here was a searcher pounding the walls in unbelievable fury, there another shifting side-tables, turning over beds. Yet, when any of them touched with their hand or foot the actual place where some sacred object was hidden, he paid not the slightest attention to the most obvious evidence of a contrivance."
The searchers turned up nothing, and eventually left after being paid off by Anne Vaux with twelve gold pieces. As Gerard later said, "Yes, that is the pitiful lot of Catholics when men come with a warrant ... it is the Catholics, not the men who send them, who have to pay. As if it were not enough to suffer, they have to pay for their suffering."
You can still inspect these hiding places today, and we must say they are not for those who are claustrophobic or faint of heart. Until you actually see them, it is hard to imagine the cramped, damp, dark and tomb-like conditions these priests endured.
The first of these is a lath and plaster hutch in the roof above a closet off the bedroom in the gatehouse block. It measures six feet three inches by four feet, and is three feet nine inches high. It contains two wooden benches and is lined with fine hair-plaster.
In the corner of the kitchen, where a garderobe once existed, you can see through to the medieval drain where the hiding place used by Father Gerard and Father Garnet was located. At the time, this could only be accessed through the garderobe shaft in the floor of the Sacristy above. A hiding space beneath the floor of the Library was accessed through the fireplace in the Great Parlour, and can now be viewed from the Moat Room. It was in the Library Room that Nicholas Brome was said to have murdered the priest, and it is reputed to be haunted.
For an excellent account of the priest holes and the work of Nicholas Owen at Baddesley Clinton, the article Elizabethan Priest Holes : III - East Anglia, Baddesley Clinton, Hindlip by Michael Hodgetts, and published in Recusant History, is a must read.
The house itself consists almost entirely of building done by either the Bromes in the fifteenth century or by Henry Ferrers in the sixteenth, and although much repair and alteration work has been carried out inside the house, the panelling, fireplaces and heraldic glass throughout the house all date from the work of Henry Ferrers.
Originally quadrangular in shape, the property today consists of only three blocks, the east including the gatehouse and the Great Parlour, the south containing the Hall, and the west containing the kitchen. The gatehouse and kitchen wing are of grey sandstone, whereas the Hall, which was reconstructed in the 18th century, is of brick.
The crenellated gatehouse is one of the house's most interesting features. The lower part with the gun ports was built by Nicholas Brome in the late fifteenth century, and is thought originally to have had a drawbridge. The upper part was re-formed by Henry Ferrers to accommodate the Great Parlour. The brick bridge was built in the early eighteenth century, and the crenelations added in the nineteenth century. The massive carved oak door in the gatehouse leading through to the courtyard dates from Nicholas Brome.
The present owners are still undertaking restoration work to enable all the documented priest hides and trapdoors to be made available for viewing, this work includes part of the moat tunnel complex that is presently plugged in order to prevent midges from penetrating into the Sacristy and bedrooms
Baddesley Clinton, although still a private dwelling was sold to the Government and passed to the National Trust in 1980 and opened to the public in 1982.
The above was copied from "The gunpowder plot" website.
Great to place to visit. If only there had been some sun!
Sun Group introduced the second generation of Digital Tag featuring a new battery Power Playback time: Average 12-15 hours.
The wearable Digital TAG Video Name Tag SUN-SG824, just the size of a business card, that delivers your message through
professional video content. Attractive promotional in-store marketing that can be easily and frequently updated to meet YOUR
current needs. How do you capture the attention of TODAY’s customer?
Digital TAG is an eye-catching, hip and superior way of getting your message out to your clientele – in a way they are used to
seeing information: fast, attractive, state of the art. The content displayed on digital signage screens can range from simple text
and still images to full-motion video, with or without audio.
Digital TAG is used for many purposes:
Informational
Deliver a message through professional video content
In store promotion to Uplift Sales
Medium for Advertising by Third Parties
Enhanced Customer Experience - decrease perceived wait times!
Influencing Customer Behavior - direct customers to other areas of the store and increase dwelltime
Premium Corporate Give Aways
Gifts
Point of Sale Advertising
New Product Announcements
Retail Level
Employee Orientation
Training
Job Fairs
Conventions
Social events
Specifications:
• Display Screen Size: 2.4 inch
• Platforms: Standalone
• Formats: AVI and JPEG
• Plays MP3 and WMA Audio files
• Multimedia player with built in speakers
• Support Mini TF card Capacity up to 4GB (TF card not included)
• Resolution: 320 x 240 pixels
• Storage Capacity: 2 GB flash
• Build in Memory: 256MB flash memory
• Connectivity Input: Mini USB
• sgmonitor.com
• Size: 70W x 51H x 13.5D (mm)
• Weight: Around 69 gram
• Power Playback time: Average 12-15 hours
• Battery: Built-in Rechargeable Li-ion Battery
• Shirt-Clip (Magnet) doesn't ruin clothing
• Lanyard Holder Can be used as both horizontal and vertical
• USB Cable (Power Recharge/Content Change)
• USB AC Power Charger 110V-240V - DC 5V
Pushkar (Hindi: पुष्कर) is a town in the Ajmer district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is situated 14 km northwest of Ajmer at an average elevation of 510 m and is one of the five sacred dhams (pilgrimage site) for devout Hindus. According to Hindu theology, the pond at the Katas Raj temple Near Choa Saidan Shah in Chakwal District of Pakistan has a theological association with Shiva; it was formed by the tears of Lord Shiva which he is believed to have shed after the death of his wife, Sati. The story goes that when Sati died, Shiva cried so much and for so long, that his tears created two holy ponds – one at Pushkara in Ajmer in India and the other at Ketaksha, which literally means raining eyes, in Sanskrit. It is from this name that the word Katas is derived. It is often called "Tirth Raj" – the king of pilgrimage sites – and has in recent years become a popular destination for foreign tourists.
Pushkar is one of the oldest existing cities of India. It lies on the shore of Pushkar Lake. The date of its actual origin is not known, but legend associates Brahma with its creation.
Pushkar has many temples. Most of the temples are not very old because many temples were destroyed during Muslim conquests in the area. Subsequently, the destroyed temples were rebuilt. The most famous among all is the Brahma Temple built during the 14th century CE. Very few temples to Lord Brahma exist anywhere in the world. Other temples of Brahma include Bithoor in Uttar Pradesh, India; Khedbrahma in Gujarat, India; village Asotra near Balotra city of Barmer district in Rajasthan; Uttamar Kovil (one of the Divya Desams) near Srirangam, Tamil Nadu; Mother Temple of Besakih in Bali, Indonesia; and Prambanan in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The Pushkar lake has 52 ghats where pilgrims descend to the lake to bathe in the sacred waters.
Pushkar is also famous for its annual fair (Pushkar Camel Fair) held in November.
ETYMOLOGY
Pushkar in Sanskrit means blue lotus flower. Hindus believe that the gods released a swan with a lotus in its beak and let it fall on earth where Brahma would perform a grand yagna. The place where the lotus fell was called Pushkar. Pushkar word may be derived from word 'Pushkarni'means- lake. It may be derived from word Pushpa means flower and Kar means hand.
HISTORY
Pushkar is one of the oldest cities of India. The date of its actual founding is not known, but legend associates Brahma with its creation.
According to legend, Brahma was in search of a place for Mahayagna and he found this place suitable. After a long time, Brahma came to known that a demon, Vajranash, was killing people here so the Lord intoned a mantra on a lotus flower and killed the demon. During this process the parts of flower fell on three places which were later known as Jyaistha, Madhya and Kanistha Pushkar. After this Brahma performed a yagna to protect this place from demons. The consort of Brahma, Saraswati, were needed to offer Ahuti for the yagna but she was not there that time so Gayatri, a Gurjar girl, was married to brahma and performned yagna. This act made first wife of Brahma, Saraswati, angry and she cursed Brahma saying that he would be worshiped in Pushkar only.
The Mahabharata says that while laying down a programme for Maharaja Yudhishthara’s travel, “Maharaja after entering the Jungles of Sind and crossing the small rivers on the way should bathe in Pushkara". And, as per Vaman Purana, Prahlada on his pilgrimage to holy places visited Pushkarayana.
A Gurjara Pratihara ruler of Mandore, Nahadarava, restored this tirtha in the seventh century. He got the place cleared and the lake restored by making an embankment on the side of the river Luni. He rebuilt old palaces and built twelve dharmashalas (resting places) and ghats on three sides of the lake.
According to Rajputana Gazetteer Pushkar was held by Chechi Gurjars until about 700 years ago.Later Some shrines were occupied by Kanphati Jogis.
There are still priests from the Gurjar community in Pushkar temple, known as Bhopas.
The sage Parasara is said to have been born here. His descendants, called Parasara Brahamanas, are found in Pushkar and the surrounding area. The famous temple of Jeenmata has been cared for by Parasara Brahmans for the last 1,000 years.
It is also the venue of the annual Pushkar Camel Fair. In 1901, the town was part of the Rajputana Agency had a population of 3,831.
PUSHKAR FAIR
Pushkar fair continues for five days and these five days are a period of relaxation and merry-making for the villagers. This fair time is the most busy time for them, as this is one of the largest cattle fairs in the country. Animals, including over 50,000 camels, are brought from miles around to be traded and sold. Trading is brisk as several thousand heads of cattle exchange hands. All the camels are cleaned, washed, adorned, some are interestingly shorn to form patterns, and special stalls are set up selling finery and jewellery for the camels. Camels at the Pushkar fair are decorated with great care. They wear jewellery of silver and beads. There are silver bells and bangles around their ankles that jangle when they walk. An interesting ritual is the piercing of a camel's nose. It has more than 400 temples including the only one temple in India dedicated to the Hindu God Lord Brahma, the Creator of the Universe.
According to Indian mythology, after visiting all the Hindu pilgrim towns and temples (Four Dhams), if Pushkar is not visited for worship, then salvation is not achieved. According to the Hindu calendar Pushkar Fair commences in Nawami (ninth day of fortnightly phases of moon) and ends in Purnima (Full Moon) in the month of Kartika (October or November according to the lunar calendar). In Pushkar, one of the biggest Cattle Fair is also held for trading purposes and the best cattle in all categories are awarded. Countless people in their colourful attire gather to take a dip in the Holy Lake and pray to the deities. The whole town comes alive with vibrant folk music and dances, magic shows, horse and camel races and various other traditional entertainment competitions.Pushkar, with more than 12 local fairs and festivals of 10–15 days duration is a year round destination. It is a mellow town by the great lake of Pushkar amidst the perfume of jasmine and rose flowers. About 4,000 to 6,000 visitors from all over the world come to Pushkar everyday.
PUSHKAR LAKE
The prime attraction of Pushkar is the Pushkar Lake which is considered sacred like the Mansarovar Lake in Tibet. Pushkar has become a place of Hindu pilgrimage because of this holy lake. Legend has it that this lake was consecrated to Lord Brahma, the creator of the universe when a lotus dropped from his hand into the vale and a lake emerged in that place.
BRAHMA TEMPLE
The most important temple in Pushkar is the Temple of Lord Brahma, one of the holy trinity of Hinduism. The temple enshrines a life-size idol of Lord Brahma.
SAVITRI TEMPLE
This temple that is located at the top of the Ratnagiri Hill is dedicated to Savitri, the wife of Lord Brahma. The temple houses a statue of Goddess Savitri.
WIKIPEDIA
Pushkar (Hindi: पुष्कर) is a town in the Ajmer district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is situated 14 km northwest of Ajmer at an average elevation of 510 m and is one of the five sacred dhams (pilgrimage site) for devout Hindus. According to Hindu theology, the pond at the Katas Raj temple Near Choa Saidan Shah in Chakwal District of Pakistan has a theological association with Shiva; it was formed by the tears of Lord Shiva which he is believed to have shed after the death of his wife, Sati. The story goes that when Sati died, Shiva cried so much and for so long, that his tears created two holy ponds – one at Pushkara in Ajmer in India and the other at Ketaksha, which literally means raining eyes, in Sanskrit. It is from this name that the word Katas is derived. It is often called "Tirth Raj" – the king of pilgrimage sites – and has in recent years become a popular destination for foreign tourists.
Pushkar is one of the oldest existing cities of India. It lies on the shore of Pushkar Lake. The date of its actual origin is not known, but legend associates Brahma with its creation.
Pushkar has many temples. Most of the temples are not very old because MANY TEMPLES WERE DESTROYED DURING MUSLIM CONQUESTS in the area. Subsequently, the destroyed temples were rebuilt. The most famous among all is the Brahma Temple built during the 14th century CE. Very few temples to Lord Brahma exist anywhere in the world. Other temples of Brahma include Bithoor in Uttar Pradesh, India; Khedbrahma in Gujarat, India; village Asotra near Balotra city of Barmer district in Rajasthan; Uttamar Kovil (one of the Divya Desams) near Srirangam, Tamil Nadu; Mother Temple of Besakih in Bali, Indonesia; and Prambanan in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The Pushkar lake has 52 ghats where pilgrims descend to the lake to bathe in the sacred waters.
Pushkar is also famous for its annual fair (Pushkar Camel Fair) held in November.
ETYMOLOGY
Pushkar in Sanskrit means blue lotus flower. Hindus believe that the gods released a swan with a lotus in its beak and let it fall on earth where Brahma would perform a grand yagna. The place where the lotus fell was called Pushkar. Pushkar word may be derived from word 'Pushkarni'means- lake. It may be derived from word Pushpa means flower and Kar means hand.
HISTORY
Pushkar is one of the oldest cities of India. The date of its actual founding is not known, but legend associates Brahma with its creation.
According to legend, Brahma was in search of a place for Mahayagna and he found this place suitable. After a long time, Brahma came to known that a demon, Vajranash, was killing people here so the Lord intoned a mantra on a lotus flower and killed the demon. During this process the parts of flower fell on three places which were later known as Jyaistha, Madhya and Kanistha Pushkar. After this Brahma performed a yagna to protect this place from demons. The consort of Brahma, Saraswati, were needed to offer Ahuti for the yagna but she was not there that time so Gayatri, a Gurjar girl, was married to brahma and performned yagna. This act made first wife of Brahma, Saraswati, angry and she cursed Brahma saying that he would be worshiped in Pushkar only.
The Mahabharata says that while laying down a programme for Maharaja Yudhishthara’s travel, “Maharaja after entering the Jungles of Sind and crossing the small rivers on the way should bathe in Pushkara". And, as per Vaman Purana, Prahlada on his pilgrimage to holy places visited Pushkarayana.
A Gurjara Pratihara ruler of Mandore, Nahadarava, restored this tirtha in the seventh century. He got the place cleared and the lake restored by making an embankment on the side of the river Luni. He rebuilt old palaces and built twelve dharmashalas (resting places) and ghats on three sides of the lake.
According to Rajputana Gazetteer Pushkar was held by Chechi Gurjars until about 700 years ago.Later Some shrines were occupied by Kanphati Jogis.
There are still priests from the Gurjar community in Pushkar temple, known as Bhopas.
The sage Parasara is said to have been born here. His descendants, called Parasara Brahamanas, are found in Pushkar and the surrounding area. The famous temple of Jeenmata has been cared for by Parasara Brahmans for the last 1,000 years.
It is also the venue of the annual Pushkar Camel Fair. In 1901, the town was part of the Rajputana Agency had a population of 3,831.
PUSHKAR FAIR
Pushkar fair continues for five days and these five days are a period of relaxation and merry-making for the villagers. This fair time is the most busy time for them, as this is one of the largest cattle fairs in the country. Animals, including over 50,000 camels, are brought from miles around to be traded and sold. Trading is brisk as several thousand heads of cattle exchange hands. All the camels are cleaned, washed, adorned, some are interestingly shorn to form patterns, and special stalls are set up selling finery and jewellery for the camels. Camels at the Pushkar fair are decorated with great care. They wear jewellery of silver and beads. There are silver bells and bangles around their ankles that jangle when they walk. An interesting ritual is the piercing of a camel's nose. It has more than 400 temples including the only one temple in India dedicated to the Hindu God Lord Brahma, the Creator of the Universe.
According to Indian mythology, after visiting all the Hindu pilgrim towns and temples (Four Dhams), if Pushkar is not visited for worship, then salvation is not achieved. According to the Hindu calendar Pushkar Fair commences in Nawami (ninth day of fortnightly phases of moon) and ends in Purnima (Full Moon) in the month of Kartika (October or November according to the lunar calendar). In Pushkar, one of the biggest Cattle Fair is also held for trading purposes and the best cattle in all categories are awarded. Countless people in their colourful attire gather to take a dip in the Holy Lake and pray to the deities. The whole town comes alive with vibrant folk music and dances, magic shows, horse and camel races and various other traditional entertainment competitions.Pushkar, with more than 12 local fairs and festivals of 10–15 days duration is a year round destination. It is a mellow town by the great lake of Pushkar amidst the perfume of jasmine and rose flowers. About 4,000 to 6,000 visitors from all over the world come to Pushkar everyday.
PUSHKAR LAKE
The prime attraction of Pushkar is the Pushkar Lake which is considered sacred like the Mansarovar Lake in Tibet. Pushkar has become a place of Hindu pilgrimage because of this holy lake. Legend has it that this lake was consecrated to Lord Brahma, the creator of the universe when a lotus dropped from his hand into the vale and a lake emerged in that place.
BRAHMA TEMPLE
The most important temple in Pushkar is the Temple of Lord Brahma, one of the holy trinity of Hinduism. The temple enshrines a life-size idol of Lord Brahma.
SAVITRI TEMPLE
This temple that is located at the top of the Ratnagiri Hill is dedicated to Savitri, the wife of Lord Brahma. The temple houses a statue of Goddess Savitri.
WIKIPEDIA
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The Finale to the BARC Club Car Championships Weekender at Brands Hatch and after a Very Thrilling set of both Qualifying Sessions and Races which took place on the Saturday it was Time once again for each Driver to strap in and get ready for some high speed Racing Action thought the Sunday.
In Tribute to the Marshall who was Tragically Killed on the Saturday Some Car and Driver Pairings were Racing with Orange Hearts on their Cars as a Tribute to all of Motorsports Family of Marshalls for who without Racing would not be possible. Thank You!
So Lets get started and see what the days events Haver to Offer and who can Push their Machinery to the Limits and beyond for a Victory.
Britcar Endurance Championship - Trophy Category (Race 1 Results FINAL)
The Britcar Endurance Trophy was the First up and it was time to see who could claim that elusive Pole Position and to see if anyone else could challenge the Top Three Drivers Lets see how things turned out.
In First Place was the Pairing Of (Datum Motorsport's Axel Van Nederveen and Adriano Medeiros) in their Ginetta G55A with a Best Lap Time of 52:193 and an Average Speed of 64.75mph. Congratulations Axel and Adriano a Really Fantastic Drive and A Super Victory.
In Second Place was (SVG's Mark Lee) in his Ginetta G56A with a Best Lap Time of 52.086 and an Average Speed of 64.70mph. Amazing Drive Mark Keeping that Ginetta on the Track and Taking Second Place while Nearly Matching the Speed of Axel and Adriano. Well Done.
In Third Place was (Terry Stephens) in his Peugeot 308 with a Best Lap Time of 53.421 and an Average Speed of 64.50mph. Well Fought Terry a Fantastic Finish in Third Place and Staying Ahead by just over 11 seconds to the Pair of Jasver and Bryan in 4th. Amazing Job.
A Really Enjoyable and Exciting First Race of the Sunday with High Speed Action and Incredible Victories on Track. Congratulations Axel Adriano Mark and Terry. Lets see what Race 2 Brings in terms of the Action.
Britcar Endurance Championship - Trophy Category (Race 2 Results FINAL)
Race 2 For Britcar Next and after a Very Fast and Action Packed First Race Will we see a New Face on the Top Step of the Podium? Lets find out.
In First Place was the Pairing of (Woodrow Motorsport's Simon Baker and Kevin Clarke) in their BMW 1 Series with a Best Lap Time of 51.837 and an Average Speed of 78.22mph. Amazing work Simon and Kevin who have Beaten the Pairing Of (Datum Motorsport's Axel Van Nederveen and Adriano Medeiros) to Victory. An Incredible Drive by Both of them Well Done.
In Second Place was (SVG Mark Lee) in his Ginetta G56A with a Best Lap Time of 52.281 and an Average Speed of 76.89mph. Again a Huge Congratulations to Mark Lee for hanging onto that Second Place Despite Fierce Competition during The Race. Amazing Drive.
In Third Place was (Simon Green Motorsport's Pairing of Jasver Sapra and Brian Branson) in their BMW M3 E46 with a Best Lap Time of 52.718 and an Average Speed of 76.88mph. Congratulations Jasver and Brain Brilliant Drive and well Defended to keep that Third Place in Tact.
Two Incredible Races with Two Very Different Outcomes of Race Winners and Runners Up The Britcar Endurance Trophy is Proving to be Very Competitive this Year.
A Huge Congratulations to Simon Kevin Mark Jasver and Brain for some Amazing Racing and Victories and Good Luck to All Other Drivers. Keep working Hard and Pushing for that All Important Victory.
CTCRC Edmundson Electrical Classic / Historic Thunder Saloons (Race 1 Result FINAL)
Next Up was the CTCRC Electrical and Historic Thunder Saloons and After a Thrilling Qualifying Session Yesterday Lets see what Each Driver has got and who can Push to the Limits for that All Important Victory.
In First Place was (Jason West) in his BMW E46 M3 3200 with a Best Lap Time of 51.907 and an Average Speed of 59.84mph. Congratulations Jason for Another Incredible Drive for First Place and a well Deserved Victory Amongst some Stiff Competition.
In Second Place was (Andrew Wilson) in his Holden Monaro 7000 with a Best Lap Time of 52.418 and an Average Speed of 59.96mph. Well Done Andrew Fantastic Driving and a Super Defensive Drive for Second Place.
In Third Place was (Samuel Wilson) in his Aston Martin V8 Vantage with a Best Lap Time of 52.699 and an Average Speed of 59.50mph. Amazing Work Samuel and a Beautiful Example of the Aston Martin V8 Vantage on Display Showing its Raw Power and Racing Pedigree to Finish in Third Place.
A Fantastic Finish to The Historic and Electrical Thunder Saloons Racing at The Weekend. A Huge Congratulations to Our Top Three Finishers Jason Andrew and Samuel. Fantastic Racing from all Three of you and Good Luck to all other Drivers Keep Tuning and Working Hard and I'm sure Victory Will not be too Far Away from you.
CTCRC JEC Saloon & GT Championship & Burton Power BOSS (Race 2 Results FINAL)
Next Up CTCRC Saloon and GT Championships and with some Fierce Competition on Display during not only Qualifying but also Their First Race on the Saturday Which saw Malcom Harding Storm to an Insane Victory who Will be able to Take him on and Potentially Steal his Crown during the Next Race Today? Lets See.
In First Place was (Malcom Harding) in his Ford Escort MK2 Zakspeed 2500 with a Best Lap Time of 53.888 and an Average Speed of 78.49mph. Another Incredible Victory for Malcom that Highly Modified Zakspeed Escort Really Shows off the Power and Performance of a True Champion and a Fantastic Driver. Congratulations Malcom.
In Second Place was (Steven Goldsmith) in his Ford Anglia 105e 260 with a Best Lap Time of 54.335 and an Average Speed of 78.21mph. Another Storming Drive to Achieve Second Place for Steven. Fantastic Driving and Amazing Car Control through Every Corner. Congratulations Steven.
In Third Place was (Tom Robinson) in his Jaguar XJ6 4000 with a Best Lap Time of 55.481 and an Average Speed of 55.481mph. Congratulations Tom Superb Display of Driving Ability behind the Jag and a Well Deserved Third Place for Him.
Another Incredible Weekend of Racing for the CTCRC Saloon and GT Championships with Some New and Some Old Drivers Stepping onto the Podium. Massive Congratulations to Malcolm Steven and Tom for their First Second And Third Place Finishes. Keep Up the Good Work and Never Stop Trying.
CTCRC Laser Tools Pre 93 & Simply Serviced Pre 03 Touring Cars (Race 1 Results FINAL)
Now Its Time for The Laser Tools Pre 93 and Simply Serviced Pre 03 Touring Cars to make their way back onto The Track for what Looked to be a Spectacular Race. A Whole Range of Different Cars to Race Against and Stiff Competition after Qualifying Proves that This Race will be One not to be Missed. Lets See what Unfolded.
In First Place was (Gary Prebble) in his Honda Civic EG 2000 with a Best Lap Time of 54.100mph and an Average Speed of 78.60mph. Well Done Gary a Really Well Deserved First Place Victory and an Amazing Drive to the Flag.
In Second Place was (David Griffith) in his BMW E36 M3 3058 with a Best Lap Time of 54.558 and an Average of 78.42mph. Incredible Drive their David Pushing that BMW For Everything that it Has got to Achieve Second Place.
In Third Place was (Kam Tunio) in his Honda Civic EK9 1595 with a Best Lap Time of 55.347 and an Average Speed of 77.05mph. Well Driven Kam Super Driving on Display and a Well Deserved Third Place Finish.
Another Amazing Race for The Pre 93 and Pre 03 Touring Cars and a Huge Congratulations to Gary David and Kam for their First Second and Third Place Victories. Keep up the Hard Work and Good Luck to everyone Else wherever your Next Races take you.
CTCRC Poultec Classic Race Engines Pre 66 Touring Cars (Race 1 Results)
Now it was Time for the Fan Favourite to Enter onto the Brands Hatch Circuit with the Pre 66 Touring Cars Championship. With Mini's Lotus Cortina's and Ford Falcons. This was One Race that No One Wanted to Miss. After a Very Fast Paced Qualifying Session on the Saturday Which saw (Alan Greenhalgh) take Pole Position who Will be able to Challenge Him During the Race and Snatch Victory Away from Him.
In First Place was (Alan Greenhalgh) in his Ford Falcon with A Best Lap Time of 58.707 and an Average Speed of 72.63mph. Congratulations Alan A Beautiful Example of the Ford Falcon and Certainly a Very Fast One too. Congratulations on Your Victory.
In Second Place was (Robyn Slater) in his Ford Anglia 1550 with a Best Lap Time of 58.992 and an Average Speed of 72.06mph. Very Good Drive their From Robyn to Secure Second Place in The First Race of the Day for the Pre 66 Touring Cars.
In Third Place was (Barry Sime) in his Morris Mini Cooper S 1293 with a Best Lap Time of 59.116 and an Average Speed of 71.95mph. Fantastic Work their Barry Keeping that Little Rocket on The Track looked to be Very Challenging but A Very Well Deserved Third Place.
What A First Race for The Historic Pre 66 Touring Cars showing The Power and Pride Each Driver takes in Both Racing and Preservation on Their Beloved Racing Machines. Congratulations to Alan Robyn and Barry on their First Second and Third Place Finishes. Lets See what New Challenges Await Them in Race 2 The Final Race of The Day for Them.
CTCRC Poultec Classic Race Engines Pre 66 Touring Cars (Race 2 Results FINAL)
The Epic FINALE To The Pre 66 Touring Cars Race was A Race in Wet Conditions Making it even more Challenging for The Top Three Drivers. Who would Win and be able to Retain if not Take on thease Three Giants of Touring Car Racing in thease Conditions. Lets See How Things Concluded.
In First Place was (Barry Sime) in his Morris Mini Cooper S 1293 with a Best Lap Time of 1:11.482 and an Average Speed of 58.62mph. Amazing Work Barry to take Home a Superb Victory and a Brilliant Bit of Wet Weather Driving in The Mini Well Done.
In Second Place was (John Davies) in his Austin Mini Cooper S 1293 with a Best Lap Time of 1:11.416 and an Average Speed of 58.38mph. Amazing Work John Racing A Mini in thease Conditions is Very Tricky and Yet both You and Barry made it look Easy.
In Third Place was (James Ibbotson) in his Hillman Imp Super 998 with a Best Lap Time of 1:11.518 and an Average Speed of 58.12mph. Well Done James Sliding that Imp around in the Wet for a Magnificent Third Place was Well Deserved.
What A Race to End the Day for the Pre 66 Touring Cars and with So many Old and New Winners Lets Hope we Get to see More Races like This One Thought the Rest of the 2021 Season. A Big Congratulations to Barry John and James on their Respective Victories and Keep Trying Everyone Else The Hard Work will Pay off.
CTCRC Shell Oils Pre 83 Touring Cars (Race 1 FINAL)
Up Next The Pre 83 Touring Cars took to the Track for Their Only Race of The Day and from what We Have Seen Already This Race also looks like its going to be a Very Strong Battle for First Second and Third Place. Lets See who Came First and Took that All Important Victory.
In First Place was (Mark Lucock) in his Ford Escort MK1 RS2000 2040 with a Best Lap Time of 57.687 and an Average Speed of 74.53mph. Amazing work there Mark Pushing All the Power the RS2000 Engine Has and Keeping it on Track to Score an Amazing Victory.
In Second Place was (Stephen Primett) in his Ford Escort MK1 2037 with a Best Lap Time of 57.503 and an Average Speed of 74.52mph. Another Brilliant Drive from the Likes of Stephen Keep the Pace with Mark and Making for some Fierce Competition Thought the Race.
In Third Place was (Mike Luck in his BMW E21 320 1998 with a Best Lap Time of 57.236 and an Average Speed of 74.46mph. Super Driving there Mike to take Third Place and a Very Classic Looking BMW Indeed.
What A Race from the Pre 83 Touring Cars showcasing Speed Power and What a Touring Car was Made to do around a Race Track. A Big Congratulations to Mark Stephen and Mike on their First Second and Third Place Finishes. Keep Racing and Keep Having Fun Out There.
Junior Saloon Car Championship (Race 1 Result FINAL)
The Junior Saloon Car Championship was Up Next and Even Though the Age Range of thease Next Drivers Taking to the Circuit Might Shock you at The Fact that Many of them are as Young as 15 Years of age don't be Fooled Because thease Guys Know how to Race Having been brought up from Carting since the age of 4. They are always a Fan Favourite and After Qualifying on the Saturday its Anyone's Game as to Who Wins and Who Losses in Thease Races.
In First Place was (Ruben Hage) in his Citroen Saxo VTR 1600 with a Best Lap Time of 59.967 and an Average Speed of 65.65mph. Congratulations Ruben What A Drive and an Incredible Run for First Place Fending off the Other On Coming Drivers. Truly a Championship Winning Drive.
In Second Place was (Harvey Caton) in his Citroen Saxo VTR 1600 with a Best Lap Time of 59.629 and an Average Speed of 65.64mph. Very Well Driven there Harvey Staying very Close to Ruben in First Place and Keeping Him on His Toes Thought the Entire Race.
In Third Place was (Charlie Hand) in his Citroen Saxo VTR 1600 with a Lap Time of 1:00.006 and an Average Speed of 65.57mph. Solid Third Place there Charlie Keep Up the Momentum and Never Give Up Chasing Your Dreams.
What a Fantastic Race from the Junior Saloon Car Championship with New Winners on the Podium and Some Close Wheel to Wheel Action Thought the Race Thease Guys will be Fantastic To see in Future Racing Series All Over The World. Congratulations to Ruben Harvey and Charlie for First Second and Third Place and Good Luck to All Other Aspiring Young Drivers Following in the Footsteps of Your Greatest Racing Heroes.
Kumho BMW Championship (Race 1 Results)
Finally it was Time for the Last Two Races of the Day the Kumo BMW Championship. Featuring The Makes and Models of Many BMW'S taking to the Circuit for Race 1. After a Busy Day Qualifying on Saturday Lets See what Each Driver Cando in The Frist of Two Races for their Championship.
In First Place was (Niall Bradley) in his BMW E46 M3 with a Best Lap Time of 50.920 and an Average Speed of 83.60mph. Brilliant Driving There Niall Pushing the Power of the BMW Engine to Max and Putting the Pedal to the Metal the Whole Race. A Superb Victory.
In Second Place was (Michael Vitulli) in his BMW E36 M3 3200 with a Best Lap Time of 51.158 and an Average Speed of 83.45mph. Another Incredible Driver Pushing Hard and Taking Second Place. Well Done Michael.
In Third Place was (James Card) in his BMW E46 M3 3200 with a Best Lap Time of 51.154 and an Average Speed of 83.42mph. Very Well Done their James Keep Pushing.
Three Fantastic Drivers in Niall Michael and James all Fighting for that Victory and Showing The Racer Inside each and Everyone of them. Lets see what Their Final Race of the Day Brings Them.
Kumho BMW Championship (Race 2 Results FINAL)
In First Place was (Niall Bradley) in his BMW E46 M3 with a Best Lap Time of 53.581 and an Average Speed of 77.79mph. Another Well Deserved First Place Finish to Round of The Days Racing. Congratulations Niall Go and Celebrate with The Team In Style.
In Second Place was (Darren Morgan Owen) in his BMW E46 M3 3200 with a Best Lap Time of 53.200 and an Average Speed of 77.43mph. Super Drive There Darren for Second Place and a New Winner onto The Podium.
In Third Place was (Brad Sheean) in his BMW E46 M3 3200 with a Best Lap Time of 53.227 and an Average Speed of 77.13mph. Fantastic Drive there Brad and Some Incredible Car Control thought the Entire Race to Finish Third.
And That Concludes Racing for the Kumho BMW Championship with 4 Different Winners Across two Races and A lot of Really Fast Action you could not Have Asked for a better Finish to The End of The Days Racing. Massive Congratulations to Niall Darren and Brad and Good Luck to all Other Competing Drivers who are still Looking for that almighty Victory.
That Concludes Racing for The BARC Club Car Championships Weekend A Big Congratulations to All of the Drivers of Every Team and a Huge Thank You to Marshalls Far and Wide as Without Your Support Events like This and Champion Drivers May Never Get to Achieve Their Dreams.
See You All At The Next One!
DA VINCI DV-55 camera
Not your average digital camera, but something made around 1990 with an original price of around $500 it certainly was the first affordable digital camera for the public.
A few drawbacks were that the image was not as clear as a Polaroid B&W print of the time if you wanted something instant and by using thermal paper, once the picture was made, great care had to be taken to keep it away from heat or damp. It was however very cheap to run. 244 x 244 pixels.
It was a starting point, if evolution on this path had carried on, it would be interesting to see where photography would have gone.
In years to come a small instant camera, taking small instant prints would come along from Japan.
Almost a quarter of a century later, this little beast with its built in printer is still going strong.
This map shows the average jobs-plus-population density along the planned Southwest LRT line in the Twin Cities area. It was created in ArcMap by taking 2010 Census population data at the Census block level, plus 2011 jobs data available from the US Census (also at the block level), and averaging out the numbers on a per-acre basis.
Several studies over the past four decades (dating back to a 1977 study by Boris Pushkarev and Jeffery Zupan) have found at least an indirect relationship between job density, population density, and transit ridership and effectiveness. The studies have generally found that an average density of 5 jobs/population per acre is enough to support basic bus service, with higher levels of density able to support higher levels of transit service.
In this map, we can see that the proposed Southwest LRT line generally goes through a corridor that averages 10+ jobs/pop per acre, with a few nodes of higher density (namely around Hwy 100, Opus, and near Eden Prairie Center. While these densities may not be enough to support a full rail line, they're high enough to suggest that some sort of transit line along the corridor is worthwhile.
The candidates of the 2012 Helsinki municipal elections, normalised and averaged, by age and gender.
Total candidates: 1,064
Candidates with photos: 726
Detected faces: 658
Yes, there really are 1,064 candidates to choose from. There are big boards around the city showing photos of the candidates alongside their numbers. Pick one!
Election day is today!
Murree (Punjabi, Urdu: مری) is a hill station and summer resort and the administrative centre of Murree Tehsil, Pakistan, which is a subdivision of Rawalpindi District and includes the Murree Hills.
Murree was the summer capital of the British Raj in the Punjab Province (British India). A popular tourist destination Located in the north-west Himalayas at an average altitude of 2,291 metres (7,516 ft), the city of Murree, draped in forests of pine, and oak, experiences pleasant summers and cold, snowy winters. The city is famous for its buildings styled in tudorbethan and neo-gothic architecture dating from the colonial era.
Murree is located along the Islamabad-Murree Highway, some 58.3 km (36.2 mi) northeast of Islamabad.
Murree was developed in 1851 by the (then) President of the Punjab Administrative Board, Sir Henry Lawrence, and was originally established for the British troops garrisoned on the Afghan frontier as a sanatorium.Officially, the municipality was created in 1850.
The permanent town of Murree was constructed at Sunnybank in 1853. The church was sanctified in May 1857, and the main road, Jinnah Road, formerly known as The Mall (and still commonly referred to as), was built. The most significant commercial establishments, the Post Office, general merchants with European goods, tailors and a millinery, were established opposite the church. Until 1947, access to Jinnah Road was restricted for "natives" (non-Europeans).
Until 1876, Murree was the summer headquarters of the Punjab local government; after 1876 the headquarters were moved to Shimla.[
The railway connection with Lahore, the capital of the Punjab Province, via Rawalpindi, made Murree a popular resort for Punjab officials, and the villas and other houses erected for the accommodation of English families gave it a European aspect. The houses crowned the summit and sides of an irregular ridge, the neighbouring hills were covered during the summer with encampments of British troops, while the station itself was filled with European visitors from the plains and travellers to Kashmir.
Murree is one of the largest resort towns in the Galyat area of Pakistan, and is the municipal or regional capital of Murree Tehsil* (*general administrative subdivision), it is an administrative division of the Rawalpindi District. The town of Muree is situated on the southern slopes of the Western Himalayan foothills as they ascend northeastward, towards the bifurcated states of Kashmir. During British colonial rule in the nineteenth century, its altitude was established at 7,500 feet (2,300 m).
Murree is accessible by road from the centre of the Islamabad and Rawalpindi areas. It is still associated with Britain; many British fruits (including cherries, raspberries and strawberries) thrive locally. There is an Anglican church, built in 1857, located at the centre of the town, which is still used as a place of worship. Many houses around the church are still standing, functioning mostly as hotels. Old traditional restaurants have been replaced by fast-food shops and newer restaurants. Some famous old places of accommodation, such as the Rich Villa Inn and Gulberg Hotel, have completely disappeared. A typical hotel provides a motel-type accommodation with breakfast and communication access. Newly built hotels are also accessible
Murree houses headquarters of 12th infantry division of Pakistan Army and large number of educational and training institutions. Combined Military Hospital established to cater the needs of civilian population of Murree and adjoining areas. Pakistan Air Force also maintains base at Lower Topa. For administrative purposes the military areas of Murree are divided in two separate cantonments, Murree Cantonment and Murree Hills Cantonment.
Murree Houses residence for Punjab Governor at the Kashmir point. The imposing building was built in nineteenth century by the British. There are Punjab and Sindh Houses to cater needs of the provincial government. Similarly, there are Rest Houses for the Judges of Supreme Court and Lahore High Court. A large number of government, semi government and private departments and institutions maintain guest houses in Murree. A number of diplomatic missions based in Islamabad established their camp offices in Murree in the 1960s. The same however are seldom used now. Adjacent to Murree is the Galliat region of North West Frontier Province which includes Nathiagalli, Ayubia, Khanspur, Dunga Galli, Khairagalli and Changla Galli. Before the British rule whether part of Rawalpindi District of Muzaffarabad, Murree and Galiat have been part of same administrative unit, however in 1850 the British decided to divide them between Rawalpindi and Hazara. Howevere despite divided by provincial boundaries, Murree and Galliat are inseparable both geographically, culturally, linguistically as well as from the point of view of the tourists. Murree serves as a gateway to Galliat.
[Bhurban]] and New Murree (Patriata) have also developed as tourist centres. The whole Murree Galliat region is known for its scenic beauty. Mountains overhung with pines and oaks, bubbling with gurgling springs, crisscrossed by rivulets, dotted with sprawling lawns and orchards overloaded with fruits present a nice spectacle. A fine view of the snowy peaks of Kashmir is to be had on a clear day, and the crest of Nanga Parbat can sometimes be seen.
Bhurban, boosting with a five star Pearl Continental Hotel and a nine hole Golf course has cropped recently as another tourist attraction in the area. Lying at an altitude of 6000 ft, Bhurban is situated at a distance of 13 kilometres from Murree on one of main roads leading to Azad Kashmir. The Punjab government is said to have plans to develop New Murree city at Patriata fifteen kilometres southeast of Murree. The Punjab Tourism department constructed resorts amidst the forests on the Patriata ridge in 1987 as well as a 3 kilometre sky slope from the top of Patriata ridge to Gulara Gali (not functioning currently). Patriata is connected with Islamabad and Murree through a number of all weather roads.
The average house fly lives on average 21 days.
A flies wings beat 200 times per second.
Flies don't grow. They are born full size.
Flies have 4000 lenses in each eye.
Flies jump up and backwards when taking off.
Average speed of a fly in flight is 4.5 m.p.h..
Flies smell with their antennae
26 (Average I would say). Classic Black trousers. These need to be spot cleaned with a wet towel because there is soap residue on parts of the pants after washing in machine, easily removed with plain water. These differ from the previous pair in that the fabric is a bit stiffer and this has belt loops and a different closure. Fabric content is 79% Polyester, 17% Nylon and 4% Spandex. $8
SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD
For Sale £200
or it's on eBay and the item number is 180559994771 the auction will end at 9.30pm 19/09/10. Here's the item description...
Conan the Kronan has to go! I am 188cm/6'2" with above average legs for my height and the bike fits me fine, very comfortable upright riding posture which gives a relaxing ride. I used it to ferry around my two children, as it's quite a long bike you can get a child seat on the front top tube just in front of the handlebars as well as one on the rear rack, alas we have a third child so now I've bought a tricycle. The wheels are 28" and the pump is included with the sale, the rear tyre has some cracking in the sidewall but I shall give a free NEW rear tyre to the winning bidder, i just never got round to fitting the new tyre two years ago! There are a couple of scratches on the framework and a slight tear on the hand grip. The seat is double sprung and comfy, the Kronan branded bell is surprisingly loud, much louder than the one on my Pashley.
I know buying bikes on eBay can be a doddle, but picking them up is always a pain, so I've tried to make it easier for you...
Conan resides in Shrewsbury, but I can deliver to the following places (prices are in brackets after the location) If I deliver the Kronan to the places below you may have to wait up to 20 working days for delivery and probably have to pick it up at night between 8.30pm and 11pm, times for the three tube station pick-ups can be between 8.00am - 9.00am. Telford or Shrewsbury pick-up can be anytime. I can also deliver anywhere within a 15 mile radius of Shrewsbury for £5.
East Finchley, Stanmore or Tottenham Hale tube stations (£20)
West End (London) £30
Telford M-Way services (£5)
Warwick M-Way services (£20)
Watford Gap M-Way services (£20)
Newport Pagnall M-Way services (£20)
Toddington M-Way services (£20)
Corley M-Way services (£20)
Northampton M-Way services (£20)
Ahem, here's the manufacturers description...
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the_skinny
The design dates back to the 1940s, but Kronan bicycles are just getting started in America. The updated interpretation of this Swedish Army classic retains its traditional construction and historic charm. But with a twist or two.
We’ve added top-notch technology in hub, and rear lights. All while keeping it simple, reliable, and durable.
Every Kronan comes with a rear carrier, pump and pump holder, dynamo light, individual number plate, and a bell. All standard.
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Conan resides in Shrewsbury, but I can deliver to the following places (prices are in brackets after the location) If I deliver the Kronan to the places below you may have to wait up to 20 working days for delivery and probably have to pick it up at night between 8.30pm and 11pm. Times for the three tube station pick-ups can be between 8.00am - 9.00am. Telford or Shrewsbury pick up can be anytime. I can also deliver anywhere within a 15 mile radius of Shrewsbury for £5.
NO RETURNS.
Today! Goodness.
Ok I woke up and showered, it was a totally average day. I let Robot out to run around and she started pulling hair out again. I was talking to Angie about it, we lifted my jacket that she loves to hid under and there was something pink hanging out of her mouth.. she was giving birth! They were born about 11:30 a.m on April 14th 2011 :) Total shocker lol. Turns out Austin is a boy! Cleaned out Robots litter box to put the 5 babies in. Moved her cage on the floor, cause shes now a free roamer until the babies are bigger. Iv asked a lot of questions and read a lot. I just need to let Robo be and stay out of her way. Keep them warm, and keep her fed. Very exciting! Theyr going to be so cute! I know Im going to end up wanting to keep one.. or 5 :) Ok so after about 30 minutes of excitment Ryan took me to the doctor. I spent 68 bucks lol I used to like the doctors. Ryan and I came back to the house, he was tired and fell asleep on my bed. After a bit we went to Walmart but the line was too long to pick up my medicine so I bought envelopes and soft bedding and glass bottle pops. After that we went to the post office, I mailed my Grampy a letter and cashed the money order from my mama.
Then back to work with Ryan and back to bunnies for me :) Iv pretty much been in her with them the whole day. Giving Robot all the love and treats she wants (I cant believe how skinny she is now!) and watching Scrubs. Aiden was in here for a bit watching a movie. I did dishes. Thats about it lol.
Im a bit bummed, I was going to spend the week with Elizabeth but the babies came. Im glad I wasnt gone when they came tho cause then I dont think I would have been able to ever leave her house! lol.
Im not tired.. I dont know why. Probably all the excitment from the day, and I tend to be a worrier! Its kind of crazy how much I love that little furball of mine. I dont want her to chew on something shes not suppose to, I dont want it to get too cold, I just want to be able to be aware of whats going on lol. I cannot wait to see what theyr going to look like with fur :)
Sticky note. This is a pretty generic one, or atleast I think so. Some people dont really "believe" in the whole marriage thing but I do. I also believe that marriage is special and it means forever. People go in there and agree to all these things that they dont take seriously. One day, when I know that Im with the person that I will be with forever, will work well along side with forever, will do everything I can to make happy forever, then Ill get married. Its certainly something that I want. I want that family. Its my dream. Its all Iv ever wanted.
Well wish Robot luck on her first night of motherhood, and the 5 babies luck on their first night of life, and wish me luck on my first night of grandmotherhood lol