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Archive for the 'Sailing' Category
Neat solution!
First of all a Very Happy Summer Solstice wherever you are (in the Northern Hemisphere!)
Neighbour Larry sent me a link to a delightful story about solving the problem of a yacht, with a mainmast stretching 85 feet above the water level, passing under a bridge that had a clearance of 65 feet above that same water level.
Here's a picture to whet your interest. (Notice I wrote 'whet' not 'wet'!)
The story was reported in UK's The Daily Mail newspaper nearly three years ago. So I shall take a chance and republish it for you.
Beats going the long way round! How sailors got their 80ft mast under 65ft bridge
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
UPDATED: 11:04 EST, 20 September 2011
It may not look like an entirely safe practice – but it sure beats going the long way round.
These sailors came up with an ingenious way to get their boat – complete with 80ft mast – under a 65ft bridge on the Intracoastal Waterway. A video posted on YouTube shows how the sailors keeled the boat over by dangling containers filled with two tons of water from the mast.
But it is not a solution for the faint hearted.
Any miscalculation with the weight has the potential to send the whole boat crashing into the water.
The sailor 'hunterparrot' who posted the video said he initiates the roll by fixing the containers to the mast and slowly turning to port. The severity of the roll is then controlled by letting the ropes affixed to the mast out gradually with a cockpit winch.
The intracoastal waterway is a 3000-mile network of waterways that run up the Gulf and Atlantic coasts of the U.S. It runs from New Jersey, around Florida to Texas.
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The photographs in that Daily Mail article may be viewed here.
Then across on the forums of the Wooden Boat Magazine was this:
Really? If the bridge clearance is 65 feet and the mast height is 80 feet, then the cosine of the heel angle would be 65 / 80. This corresponds to a heel angle of about 36 degrees; the mast is 54 degrees above the horizontal. Still, a pretty impressive maneuver.
If the bags are full of water, then his setup is self-limiting. As the bags start to immerse, the pull on the halyard is reduced. This means he would be nearly unable to capsize unless he winches the bags WAY too high. I think he has done this trick before.
I think the reason he is sitting on the high side is twofold: He can see the masthead more easily and it is more comfortable
The weight of one person really doesn't make much difference when you are trying to heel that big a boat that far.
If someone had to do this sort of trick a lot, would it be worth putting a small video camera on the top of the mainmast? This would make it easier to judge clearance.
God bless!
The link to that forum discussion is here.
Finally, watch the video!
You all have a wonderful Mid-Summer's Day and …. duck your head when passing under that low bridge! ;-)
Not seeing the wood for the trees!
A postscript to the last two days.
This week is taking on a life of it's own, so far as Learning from Dogs is concerned!
For when I penned Monday's post, Running on Empty, I had not yet read George Monbiot's essay Are We Bothered?. When I did so, it struck me as the perfect sequel to Monday's post and formed the crux of yesterday's post The nature of delusions. That second post also included a personal account of my delusion with regard to ocean sailing and seemed sufficiently wordy not to be extended by my further reflections.
Thus the decision to run over to a third day!
Let me offer, first of all, my own reflections to George Monbiot's concerns. That I distill, using his words, to: "The more we consume, the less we care about the living planet." Expanded in his concluding paragraph:
So the perennially low level of concern, which flickers upwards momentarily when disaster strikes, then slumps back into the customary stupor, is an almost inevitable result of a society that has become restructured around shopping, fashion, celebrity and an obsession with money. How we break the circle and wake people out of this dreamworld is the question that all those who love the living planet should address. There will be no easy answers.
When I first read Mr. Monbiot's essay, I found myself nodding in agreement. Yet, upon further reflection, I became less sure that "a society that has become restructured around shopping, fashion, celebrity and an obsession with money." was the core of the issue. I think it is a symptom.
Stay with me awhile I take a small deviation. To dogs, and other animals.
Many creatures have a powerful and instinctive means of assessing danger. One only needs to observe the wild black-tailed deer that frequent our property to know that the slightest hint of danger or the unknown has them dashing away to safety.
Dogs are the same in that they will run early on from a danger.
Humans also have the propensity to be cautious about a clear and present danger. However, it's my proposition that when the danger is unclear and when that danger threatens the very essence of who we are and the world that we have constructed around us, we can be blind to the point of madness. I can think of many examples in support of that thesis and I'm sure you can too.
Yes, we have "a society that has become restructured around shopping, fashion, celebrity and an obsession with money." But I contend only because of the power of capitalism, of the power of modern marketing and advertising and the allure of being 'one of the crowd'.
So back to my proposition. It is this.
That when our lives are threatened by something unclear, complex and, ultimately, of devastating impact, we are very reluctant to embrace it and even more reluctant to both embrace it and escape to safety; whatever the latter implies.
Mankind's effect on the environment, the rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere, the increasing acidification of the oceans, the growing concerns about global weather, and on and on, are the most unclear, the most complex and the most devastating of futures to embrace.
So it really is no surprise to see mankind in general behaving as though this is a bit of a hangover, and an aspirin and a good night's sleep will sort it! Especially when there is so much money and control invested in selling the same message; the message that there really is nothing to worry about.
There will be a so-called 'tipping point'. A point in our awareness where the urgency to prevent the destruction of the biosphere will be paramount. And it will be a miracle if when that point arrives it isn't far too late to save us.
I truly hope that I am wrong.
Remember what I wrote in yesterday's post? About experiencing an Atlantic gale?
Fewer than 48-hours before my estimate of coming into Horta Marina on the Azores island of Faial, Songbird of Kent was struck by an early, fierce Winter gale. I seem to recall it was touching Force 10 Beaufort Scale (54 – 63 mph or 48 – 55 knots).
Anyway, it just about finished me off: literally as well as psychologically! I was so frightened, so utterly scared that I could think of nothing else other than getting to Horta and never going sailing again.
It revealed my delusion!
That was my 'tipping point' when it came to ocean sailing.
The gale subsided and I motor-sailed the 150-odd miles to Horta without any break for sleep or rest. Came into the harbour early in the morning after the second night since the gale. As soon as I was securely berthed, I closed the boat up and found a local hotel where a hot shower and a clean bed could restore a part of me.
Within a week, I had engaged a crew to sail the boat to Plymouth in South-West England and I flew back to England on a commercial airline.
Once Songbird of Kent arrived at Plymouth, she was put up for sale at a price that wouldn't delay matters and that was that!
Oh, and I have never read any more books about single-handed ocean sailing. (But see my P.S.!)
In yesterday's post, I referred to Les Powells. Remember when I was in Larnaca, Cyprus? This is what I wrote:
Living on a boat close to me was Les Powles. Many will not have heard of Les but this quiet, softly-spoken man knows a thing or two about solo ocean sailing. As an article in The Guardian newspaper explained (in part):
In the 1980s and 90s a British man called Les Powles sailed three times round the world – always single-handedly, once non-stop. He couldn't afford a radio transmitter, and on his greatest adventure he didn't speak to anyone for 329 days. At 84, his circumnavigating days are now behind him, but he still lives on his boat, the Solitaire. What's the appeal of sailing, I asked him. "It's the solitude. When you're out at sea on your own, there's no government or bankers to worry about. You're not responsible to anyone but yourself."
Three times around the world – solo!
Thus getting to know Les was a great inspiration in getting me over the hurdle of can I really do this! (Les once said to me "the first three days are the worst!")
Anyway, I have discovered that Les is living happily on his boat in Lymington, England and has written a book about his sailing life.
It has been ordered and arrives today. This one will be read – from the comfort and safety of our rural home in Oregon!
The nature of delusions.
Sometimes the truth isn't so obvious!
Yesterday, I wrote a post under the title of Running on empty! I listed just a few recent items that had left me feeling very dispirited. Trust me, not a familiar place!
I also raised the question ……
All of this is sending out a message. The message that if we are not very, very careful this could be the end-game for human civilisation on this Planet.
But do you know what really puzzles me?
It's that this message is increasingly one that meets with nods of approval and words of agreement from more and more people that one sees going about one's normal life.
…… then didn't expand on what was puzzling me!
Let me come at this again; in full!
But do you know what really puzzles me? It is the terrible lethargy across so many societies. The lack of any substantial social and political force for change. Especially, when so many scientists involved in climate research are warning we are leaving it dangerously late.
I'm no psychologist; far from it. But I want to recount a true story that gave me an insight into one of my own delusions. Please stay with me because it does have a message at the end of it! ;-)
Many years ago, I spent 5 years living on a boat in Larnaca in Cyprus. My boat was a wonderful heavy-displacement ocean-going yacht. A type known as a Tradewind 33. Here is a picture of my boat.
For years I had devoured all the books written by the great yacht sailors who had sailed the oceans, many of them completing solo circumnavigations of the world. Part of me wanted to sail the oceans.
Living on a boat close to me was Les Powles. Many will not have heard of Les but this quiet, softly-spoken man knows a thing or two about solo ocean sailing. As an article in The Guardian newspaper explained (in part):
In the 1980s and 90s a British man called Les Powles sailed three times round the world – always single-handedly, once non-stop. He couldn't afford a radio transmitter, and on his greatest adventure he didn't speak to anyone for 329 days. At 84, his circumnavigating days are now behind him, but he still lives on his boat, the Solitaire. What's the appeal of sailing, I asked him. "It's the solitude. When you're out at sea on your own, there's no government or bankers to worry about. You're not responsible to anyone but yourself."
Three times around the world – solo!
Thus getting to know Les was a great inspiration in getting me over the hurdle of can I really do this! (Les once said to me "the first three days are the worst!")
Thus it came about that I departed Larnaca and worked my way Westwards along the Mediterranean, eventually arriving in Gibraltar. After a few days getting 'Songbird' ready for my first ocean leg, Gibraltar to the Azores, I took a deep breath and headed West out into the Atlantic Ocean. Frankly, I was a tad too late to be starting out but the thought of spending a Winter in and around Gibraltar was too much to contemplate and, anyway, it was only 8 or 9 days sailing to the Azores; a distance of 1,125 land miles or 980 nautical miles.
Fewer than 48-hours before my estimate of coming into Horta Marina on the Azores island of Faial, Songbird of Kent was struck by an early, fierce Winter gale. I seem to recall it was touching Force 10 Beaufort Scale (54 – 63 mph or 48 – 55 knots).
Anyway, it just about finished me off: literally as well as psychologically! I was so frightened, so utterly scared that I could think of nothing else other than getting to Horta and never going sailing again.
It revealed my delusion!
It proved that I had been in love with the courageousness of those many ocean sailors that I had read about. In love with the idea of a solo Atlantic crossing and being seen as a courageous hero. But, in truth, utterly in denial about what ocean sailing was really about!
So with the theme of delusion in your head, have a read of a recent post by George Monbiot. The post is called Are We Bothered? It is republished with the kind permission of George.
Are We Bothered?
May 16, 2014
The more we consume, the less we care about the living planet.
By George Monbiot, published on the Guardian's website, 9th May 2014
That didn't take long. The public interest in the state of the natural world stimulated by the winter floods receded almost as quickly as the waters did. A YouGov poll showed that the number of respondents placing the environment among their top three issues of concern rose from 6% in mid-January to 23% in mid-February. By early April – though the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change had just published two massive and horrifying reports – the proportion had fallen back to 11%.
CarbonBrief has plotted the results on this graph:
Sustaining interest in this great but slow-burning crisis is a challenge no one seems to have mastered. Only when the crisis causes or exacerbates an acute disaster – such as the floods – is there a flicker of anxiety, but that quickly dies away.
Why is it so difficult to persuade people to care about our wonderful planet, the world that gave rise to us and upon which we wholly depend? And why do you encounter a barrage of hostility and denial whenever you attempt it (and not only from the professional liars who are paid by coal and oil and timber companies to sow confusion and channel hatred)?
The first thing to note, in trying to answer this question, is that the rich anglophone countries are anomalous. In this bar chart (copied from the website of the New York Times) you can see how atypical the attitudes of people in the US and the UK are. Because almost everything we read in this country is published in rich, English-speaking nations, we might get the false impression that the world doesn't care very much.
This belief is likely to be reinforced by the cherished notion that we lead the world in knowledge, sophistication and compassion. The bar chart puts me in mind of the famous quote perhaps mistakenly attributed to Gandhi. When asked by a journalist during a visit to Britain, "What do you think of Western civilization?", he's reputed to have replied, "I think it would be a good idea."
Our erroneous belief that we are more concerned about manmade climate change than the people of other nations informs the sentiment, often voiced by the press and politicians, that there's no point in acting if the rest of the world won't play its part. For example, last year the Chancellor, George Osborne, remarked:
"I don't want us to be the only people out there in front of the rest of the world. I certainly think we shouldn't be further ahead of our partners in Europe."
But we're not "the only people out there in front of the rest of the world." In fact we're not in front at all. As this map produced by Oxford University's Smith School suggests, we are some way behind not only some other rich nations but also a number of countries much poorer than ours.
As for the US, Australia and Canada, they are ranked among the worst of all: comprehensively failing to limit their massive contribution to a global problem. We justify our foot-dragging with a mistaken premise. Our refusal to stop pumping so much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is pure selfishness.
Both the map and the bar chart overlap to some degree with the fascinating results of the Greendex survey of consumer attitudes.
For years we've been told that people cannot afford to care about the natural world until they become rich; that only economic growth can save the biosphere, that civilisation marches towards enlightenment about our impacts on the living planet. The results suggest the opposite.
As you can see from the following graph, the people consulted in poorer countries feel, on average, much guiltier about their impacts on the natural world than people in rich countries, even though those impacts tend to be smaller. Of the nations surveyed, the people of Germany, the US, Australia and Britain feel the least consumer guilt; the people of India, China, Mexico and Brazil the most.
The more we consume, the less we feel. And maybe that doesn't just apply to guilt.
Perhaps that's the point of our otherwise-pointless hyperconsumption: it smothers feeling. It might also be the effect of the constant bombardment of advertising and marketing. They seek to replace our attachments to people and place with attachments to objects: attachments which the next round of advertising then breaks in the hope of attaching us to a different set of objects.
The richer we are and the more we consume, the more self-centred and careless of the lives of others we appear to become. Even if you somehow put aside the direct, physical impacts of rising consumption, it's hard to understand how anyone could imagine that economic growth is a formula for protecting the planet.
So what we seem to see here is the turning of a vicious circle. The more harm we do, the less concerned about it we become. And the more hyperconsumerism destroys relationships, communities and the physical fabric of the Earth, the more we try to fill the void in our lives by buying more stuff.
All this is accompanied in the rich anglophone nations with the extreme neoliberalism promoted by both press and politicians, and a great concentration of power in the hands of the financial and fossil fuel sectors, which lobby hard, in the public sphere and in private, to prevent change.
So the perennially low level of concern, which flickers upwards momentarily when disaster strikes, then slumps back into the customary stupor, is an almost inevitable result of a society that has become restructured around shopping, fashion, celebrity and an obsession with money. How we break the circle and wake people out of this dreamworld is the question that all those who love the living planet should address. There will be no easy answers.
Tomorrow I will offer my own reflection on all of this – and finish off the story of me and ocean sailing!
Mid-week story
Too good to wait until the week-end!
(And a big thanks to Dan Gomez for sending it my way.)
Went Fishing, Caught 4 Deer
A once in the history of mankind kind of thing. The Best Day Of Fishing Ever!
Some fishing stories are a little hard to believe but this guy has pictures to prove his story. Like me, you will heard of salmon jumping into boats, but never anything quite like this…
Tom Satre told the Sitka Gazette that he was out with a charter group on his 62-foot fishing vessel when four juvenile black-tailed deer swam directly toward his boat.
Once the deer reached the boat, the four began to circle the boat, looking directly at us. We could tell right away that the young bucks were distressed. I opened up my back gate and we helped the typically skittish and absolutely wild animals onto the boat. In all my years fishing, I've never seen anything quite like it! Once on board, they collapsed with exhaustion, shivering.
This is a picture I took of the rescued bucks on the back of my boat, the Alaska Quest. We headed for Taku Harbour. Once we reached the dock, the first buck that we had pulled from the water hopped onto the dock, looked back as if to say 'thank you' and disappeared into the forest. After a bit of prodding and assistance, two more followed, but the smallest deer needed a little more help.
My daughter, Anna, and son, Tim, helped the last buck to its feet. We didn't know how long they had been in the icy waters or if there had been others who did not survive. My daughter later told me that the experience was something that she would never forget, and I suspect the deer felt the same way as well!"
"Kindness is the language the blind can see and the deaf can hear." – Mark Twain
Story dated October, 2010
I have no idea if it is a true story, although the photographs suggest it is, but so what! Any reminder of how precious our wild life is will always be welcomed on Learning from Dogs!
None so blind as those who cannot see!
A story of a ship is just the tip of the iceberg!
This is the ship:
Just a ship out of many thousands that ply the trade routes across our oceans. She was built in 2011 and is classified as a bulk carrier. Her gross tonnage is 40,142 tons. She is 738 feet long and 105 feet wide.
So what, you may ask?
To answer that question, let me turn to a recent post over on TomDispatch generously offered for republication on Learning from Dogs. (Thanks Tom.)
Tomgram: Rebecca Solnit, The Age of Inhuman Scale
Posted by Rebecca Solnit at 4:32pm, October 6, 2013.
Follow TomDispatch on Twitter @TomDispatch.
It was the stuff of fantasy, of repeated failed expeditions and dreams that wouldn't die. I'm talking about the Northwest Passage, that fabled route through Arctic waters around North America. Now, it's reality. The first "bulk carrier," a Danish commercial freighter with a load of coal, just traveled from Vancouver, Canada, to Finland, cutting a week off its voyage, skipping the Panama Canal, and even, according to the Finnish steel maker Ruukki Metals, for whom the coal was intended, "reducing its greenhouse gas emissions because of fuel savings."
When dreams come true, it's time to celebrate, no? Only in this case, under the upbeat news of the immediate moment lies a far larger nightmare. Those expeditions from the fifteenth to the twentieth centuries failed to find the Northwest Passage because Arctic sea ice made the voyage impossible. There simply was no passage. No longer. Thanks to global warming, the melting of ice — glaciers are losing an estimated 303 billion tons of the stuff annually worldwide — staggers the imagination. The Greenland ice shield is turning into runoff ever more rapidly, threatening significant sea level rise, and all of the melting in the cold north has, in turn, opened a previously nonexistent Northwest Passage, as well as a similar passage through Russia's Arctic waters.
None of this would have happened, as the prestigious Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change pointed out in its latest report, if not for the way the burning of fossil fuels (like that coal the Nordic Orion took to Finland) has poured carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In other words, we created that Arctic passage and made it commercially viable, thus ensuring that our world, the one we've known since the dawn of (human) time, will be ever less viable for our children and grandchildren. After all, the Arctic with its enormous reservoirs of fossil fuels can now begin to be opened up for exploitation like so much of the rest of the planet. And there can be no doubt about it: those previously unreachable reserves will be extracted and burned, putting yet more CO2 into the atmosphere, and anyone who tries to stop that process, as Greenpeace protestors symbolically tried to do recently at an oil rig in Arctic Russia, will be dealt with firmly as "pirates" or worse. That dream of history, of explorers from once upon a time, is now not just a reality, but part of a seemingly inexorable feedback loop of modern fossil-fuel production and planetary heating, another aspect of what Michael Klare has grimly termed the Third Carbon Age (rather than a new Age of Renewables).
If we don't need a little perspective on ourselves and our world now, then when? Fortunately, TomDispatch regular Rebecca Solnit is here to offer us both that perspective and some hope for what we can do in the face of well-funded climate denialism and fossil-fuel company boosterism. Tom
Bigger Than That
(The Difficulty of) Looking at Climate Change
By Rebecca Solnit
Late last week, in the lobby of a particularly unglamorous downtown San Francisco building, a group of passionate but polite activists met with a bureaucrat who stepped forward to hear what they had to say about the fate of the Earth. The activists wanted to save the world. The particular part of it that might be under their control involved getting the San Francisco Retirement board to divest its half a billion dollars in fossil fuel holdings, one piece of the international divestment movement that arose a year ago.
Sometimes the fate of the Earth boils down to getting one person with modest powers to budge.
The bureaucrat had a hundred reasons why changing course was, well, too much of a change. This public official wanted to operate under ordinary-times rules and the idea that climate change has thrust us into extraordinary times (and that divesting didn't necessarily entail financial loss or even financial risk) was apparently too much to accept.
The mass media aren't exactly helping. Last Saturday, for instance, the New York Times gave its story on the International Panel on Climate Change's six-years-in-the-making report on the catastrophic future that's already here below-the-fold front-page placement, more or less equal to that given a story on the last episode of Breaking Bad. The end of the second paragraph did include this quote: "In short, it threatens our planet, our only home." But the headline ("U.N. Climate Panel Endorses Ceiling on Global Emissions") and the opening paragraph assured you this was dull stuff. Imagine a front page that reported your house was on fire right now, but that some television show was more exciting.
Sometimes I wish media stories were organized in proportion to their impact. Unfortunately, when it comes to climate change, there is not paper enough on this planet to properly scale up a story to the right size. If you gave it the complete front page to suggest its import, you would then have to print the rest of the news at some sort of nanoscale and include an electron microscope for reading ease.
Hold up your hand. It's so big it can block out the sun, though you know that the sun is so much bigger. Now look at the news: in column inches and airtime, a minor controversy or celebrity may loom bigger than the planet. The problem is that, though websites and print media may give us the news, they seldom give us the scale of the news or a real sense of the proportional importance of one thing compared to another. And proportion, scale, is the main news we need right now — maybe always.
As it happens, we're not very good at looking at the biggest things. They may be bigger than we can see, or move more slowly than we have the patience to watch for or remember or piece together, or they may cause impacts that are themselves complex and dispersed and stretch into the future. Scandals are easier. They are on a distinctly human scale, the scale of lust, greed, and violence. We like those, we understand them, we get mired in them, and mostly they mean little or nothing in the long run (or often even in the short run).
A resident in a town on the northwest coast of Japan told me that the black 70-foot-high wave of water coming at him on March 11, 2011, was so huge that, at first, he didn't believe his eyes. It was the great Tohoku tsunami, which killed about 20,000 people. A version of such cognitive dissonance occurred in 1982, when NASA initially rejected measurements of the atmosphere above Antarctica because they indicated such a radical loss of ozone that the computer program just threw out the data.
Some things are so big you don't see them, or you don't want to think about them, or you almost can't think about them. Climate change is one of those things. It's impossible to see the whole, because it's everything. It's not just a seven-story-tall black wave about to engulf your town, it's a complete system thrashing out of control, so that it threatens to become too hot, too cold, too dry, too wet, too wild, too destructive, too erratic for many plants and animals that depend on reliable annual cycles. It affects the entire surface of the Earth and every living thing, from the highest peaks to the depths of the oceans, from one pole to the other, from the tropics to the tundra, likely for millennia — and it's not just coming like that wave, it's already here.
It's not only bigger than everything else, it's bigger than everything else put together. But it's not a sudden event like a massacre or a flood or a fire, even though it includes floods, fires, heat waves, and wild weather. It's an incremental shift over decades, over centuries. It's the definition of the big picture itself, the far-too-big picture. Which is why we have so much news about everything else, or so it seems.
To understand climate change, you need to translate figures into impacts, to think about places you'll never see and times after you're gone. You need to imagine sea level rise and understand its impact, to see the cause-and-effect relations between coal-fired power plants, fossil-fuel emissions, and the fate of the Earth. You need to model data in fairly sophisticated ways. You need to think like a scientist.
Given the demands of the task and the muddle of the mainstream media, it's remarkable that so many people get it, and that they do so despite massive, heavily funded petroleum industry propaganda campaigns is maybe a victory, if not enough of one.
Four months ago, two bombers in Boston murdered three people and injured hundreds in a way spectacularly calculated to attract media attention, and the media obeyed with alacrity. Climate change probably fueled the colossal floods around Boulder, Colorado, that killed seven people in mid-September, but amid the copious coverage, it was barely mentioned in the media. Similarly, in Mexico, 115 people died in unprecedented floods in the Acapulco area (no significant mention of climate change), while floods reportedly are halving Pakistan's economic growth (no significant mention), and 166 bodies were found in the wake of the latest Indian floods (no significant mention).
Climate change is taking hundreds of thousands of lives in Africa every year in complex ways whose causes and effects are difficult to follow. Forest fires, very likely enhanced by climate change, took the lives of 19 firefighters facing Arizona blazes amid record heat waves in July. Again, climate change generally wasn't the headline on that story.
(For the record, climate change is clearly helping to produce many of the bigger, more destructive, more expensive, more frequent disasters of our time, but it is impossible to point to any one of them and say definitely, this one is climate change. It's like trying to say which cancers in a contaminated area were caused by the contamination; you can't, but what you can say is that the overall rise in cancer is connected.)
Not quite a year ago, a climate-change-related hurricane drowned people when superstorm Sandy hit a place that doesn't usually experience major hurricane impact, let alone storm surges that submerge amusement parks, the New York City subway system, and the Jersey shore. In that disaster, 148 people died directly, nearly that many indirectly, losses far greater than from any terrorist incident in this country other than that great anomaly, 9/11. The weather has now become man-made violence, though no one thinks of it as terrorism, in part because there's no smoking gun or bomb — unless you have the eyes to see and the data to look at, in which case the smokestacks of coal plants start to look gun-like and the hands of energy company CEOs and well-paid-off legislators begin to morph into those of bombers.
Even the civil war in Syria may be a climate-change war of sorts: over the past several years, the country has been hit by its worst drought in modern times. Climate and Security analyst Francesco Femia says, "Around 75 percent of [Syrian] farmers suffered total crop failure, so they moved into the cities. Farmers in the northeast lost 80 percent of their livestock, so they had to leave and find livelihoods elsewhere. They all moved into urban areas — urban areas that were already experiencing economic insecurity due to an influx of Iraqi and Palestinian refugees. But this massive displacement mostly wasn't reported. So it wasn't factoring into various security analyses. People assumed Syria was relatively stable compared to Egypt."
Column Inches, Glacial Miles
We like to think about morality and sex and the lives of people we've gotten to know in some fashion. We know how to do it. It's on a distinctly human scale. It's disturbing in a reassuring way. We fret about it and feel secure in doing so. Now, everything's changed, and our imaginations need to keep pace with that change. What is human scale anyway? These days, after all, we split atoms and tinker with genes and can melt an ice sheet. We were designed to think about human-scale phenomena, and now that very phrase is almost as meaningless as old terms like "glacial," which used to mean slow-moving and slow to change.
Nowadays glaciers are melting rapidly or disappearing entirely, and some — those in Greenland, for example — have gushing rivers of ice water eating through their base. If the whole vast Greenland ice sheet were to melt, it could raise global sea levels by 23 feet.
We tend to think about climate change as one or two or five things: polar ice, glaciers melting, sea-level rise, heat waves, maybe droughts. Now, however, we need to start adding everything else into the mix: the migration of tropical diseases, the proliferation of insect pests, crop failures and declining crop yields leading to widespread hunger and famine, desertification and flooded zones and water failures leading to mass population shifts, resource wars, and so many other things that have to do with the widest systems of life on Earth, affecting health, the global economy, food systems, water systems, and energy systems.
It is almost impossibly scary and painful to contemplate the radical decline and potential death of the oceans that cover 70% of the Earth's surface and the dramatic decrease of plankton, which do more than any other type of organism to sequester carbon and produce oxygen — a giant forest in microscopic form breathing in what we produce, breathing out what we need, keeping the whole system going. If you want to read something really terrifying, take a look at the rise of the Age of Jellyfish in this review of Lisa-Ann Gershwin's book Stung!: On Jellyfish Blooms and the Future of the Ocean. Maybe read it even if you don't.
Only remember that like so much about climate change we used to imagine as a grim future, that future is increasingly here and now. In this case, in the form of millions or maybe billions of tons of jellyfish proliferating globally and devouring plankton, fish eggs, small fish, and bigger creatures in the sea we love, we know, we count on, we feed on, and now even clogging the water-intake pipes of nuclear power plants. In the form of seashells dissolving in acidic waters from the Pacific Northwest to the Antarctic Ocean. In the form of billions of pine-bark beetles massacring the forests of the American West, from Arizona to Alaska, one bite at a time.
It's huge. I think about it, and I read about it, following blogs at Weather Underground, various climate websites, the emails of environmental groups, the tweets of people at 350.org, and bits and pieces of news on the subject that straggle into the mainstream and alternative media. Then I lose sight of it. I think about everything and anything else; I get caught up in old human-scale news that fits into my frameworks so much more easily. And then I remember, and regain my sense of proportion, or disproportion.
The Great Wall, Brick by Brick
The changes required to address climate change are colossal, but they are made up of increments and steps and stages that are more than possible. Many are already underway, both as positive changes (adaptation of renewable energy, increased energy efficiency, new laws, policies, and principles) and as halts to destruction (for example, all the coal-fired plants that have not been built in recent years and the Tar Sands pipeline that, but for popular resistance, would already be sending its sludge from Alberta to the Gulf of Mexico). The problem is planetary in scale, but there is room to mitigate the worst-case scenarios, and that room is full of activists at work. Much of that work consists of small-scale changes.
As Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune put it last week, "Here's the single most important thing you need to know about the IPCC report: It's not too late. We still have time to do something about climate disruption. The best estimate from the best science is that we can limit warming from human-caused carbon pollution to less than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit — if we act now. Bottom line: Our house is on fire. Rather than argue about how fast it's burning, we need to start throwing buckets of water."
There are buckets and bucket brigades. For example, the movement to get universities, cities, churches, and other entities to divest their holdings of the top 200 fossil-fuel stocks could have major consequences. If it works, it will be achieved through dedicated groups on this campus or in that city competing in a difficult sport: budging bureaucrats. It's already succeeded in some key places, from the city of Seattle to the national United Church of Christ, and hundreds of campaigns are underway across the United States and in some other countries.
My heroes are now people who can remain engaged with climate change's complex and daunting facts and still believe that we have some leeway to determine what happens. They insist on looking directly at the black wall of water, and they focus on what we can do about the peril we face, and then they do it. They do their best to understand scale and science, and their dedication and clarity comes from connecting their hearts to their minds.
I hear people who are either uninformed or who are justifying disengagement say that it's too late and what we do won't matter, but it does matter, because a rise in the global temperature of two degrees Celsius is going to be very, very different from, say, five degrees Celsius for almost everything living on Earth now and for millennia to come. And there are still many things that can be done, both to help us adapt to the radical change on the way and to limit the degree of change to which we'll have to adapt. Because it's already risen .8 degrees and that's been a disaster — many, many disasters.
I spent time over the last several months with the stalwarts carrying on a campaign to get San Francisco to divest from its energy stocks. In the beginning, it seemed easy enough. City Supervisor John Avalos introduced a nonbinding resolution to the Board of Supervisors, and to everyone's surprise it passed unanimously in April on a voice vote. But the board turned out only to have the power to recommend that the San Francisco Retirement Board do the real work of divesting its vast holdings of fossil-fuel stocks. The retirement board was a tougher nut to crack.
Its main job, after all, is to ensure a safe and profitable pension fund and in that sense, energy companies have, in the past, been good investments. To continue on such a path is to be "smart about the market." The market, in the meantime, is working hard at not imagining the financial impact of climate change.
The failure of major food sources, including fishing stocks and agricultural crops, and the resultant mass hunger and instability — see Syria — is going to impact the market. Retirees in the beautiful Bay Area are going feel it if the global economy crashes, the region fills with climate refugees, the spectacularly productive state agricultural system runs dry or roasts, and the oceans rise on our scenic coasts. It's a matter of scale. Your investments are not independent of nature, even if fossil-fuel companies remain, for a time, profitable while helping destroying the world as humanity has known it.
Some reliable sources now argue that fossil-fuel stocks are not good investments, that they're volatile for a number of reasons and due to crash. The IPCC report makes it clear that we need to leave most of the planet's fossil fuel reserves in the ground in the coming decades, that the choice is either to fry the planet or freeze the assets of the carbon companies. Activists are now doing their best to undermine the value of the big carbon-energy corporations, and governments clued in to the new IPCC report will likely join them in trying to keep the oil, gas, and coal in the ground — the fossil fuel that is also much of the worth of these corporations on paper. If we're lucky, we'll make them crash. So divesting can be fiscally sound, and there is a very strong case that it can be done without economic impact. But the crucial thing here isn't the financial logistics of divestment; it's the necessity of grasping the scale of things, understanding the colossal nature of the problem and the need to address it, in part, by pressuring one small group or one institution in one place.
To grasp this involves a feat of imagination and, I think, a leap of faith: a kind of conviction about what matters, about living according to principle, about understanding what is too big to be seen with your own eyes, about correlating data on a range of scales. A lot of people I know do it. If we are to pull back from the brink of catastrophe, it will be because of their vision and their faith. You might want to thank them now, and while your words are nice, so are donations. Or you might want to join them.
That there is a widespread divestment movement right now is due to the work of a few people who put forth the plan less than a year ago at 350.org. The president has already mentioned it, and hundreds of colleges are now in the midst of or considering the process of divesting, with cities, churches, and other institutions joining the movement. It takes a peculiar kind of genius to see the monster and to see that it might begin to be pushed back by small actions — by, in fact, actions on a distinctly human scale that could still triumph over the increasingly inhuman scale of our era.
Hold up your hand. It looks puny in relation to the sun, but the other half of the equation of scale is seeing that something as small as that hand, as your own powers, as your own efforts, can matter. The cathedral is made stone by stone, and the book is written word by word.
If there is to be an effort to respond to climate change, it will need to make epic differences in economics, in ecologies, in the largest and most powerful systems around us. Though the goals may be heroic, they will be achieved mostly through an endless accumulation of small gestures.
Those gestures are in your hands, and everyone's. Or they could be if we learned to see the true scale of things, including how big we can be together.
Rebecca Solnit writes regularly for TomDispatch, works a little with 350.org, and is hanging out a lot in 2013 with the newly arrived Martin, Thyri, Bija Milagro, and Camilo, who will be 80 in the unimaginable year of 2093. Her most recent book is The Faraway Nearby.
Follow TomDispatch on Twitter and join us on Facebook or Tumblr. Check out the newest Dispatch book, Nick Turse's The Changing Face of Empire: Special Ops, Drones, Proxy Fighters, Secret Bases, and Cyberwarfare.
Copyright 2013 Rebecca Solnit
So back to me! And the blindness of present-day society.
Or try cause and effect.
Interesting times!
Being at sea!
A discovery of some writing from the past triggers memories.
Way back on the 15th November, 2009, I wrote a post about single-handed sailing and how it caused me much disquiet. Rather than just leave you with a link to that reflection, I'm going to include the post again, below. The reason is that a few days ago, in looking through some of my earlier writings in conjunction with a writing group that Jean and I belong to, I came across a piece that I wrote following a solo voyage from Larnaca in Cyprus, west along the Mediterranean Sea and then out over the Atlantic from Gibraltar to Horta on the island of Faial in the Azores. That last leg was a little over 1,100 nautical miles (1,300 land miles) and took me eight days.
So first here's that earlier post from 2009.
A personal reflection on this rather strange way of travelling!
The recent Post about young Jessica Watson sailing alone around the world raised a few comments but also reminded me of my own experiences of solo sailing.
Some years ago, having successfully sold my own IT company, I warmed to the idea of being a full-time yachtie! A second-hand Tradewind 33 was discovered on the Island of Corfu. (Now here's a surprise! I was just browsing the web looking for a picture of a Tradewind and came across my old yacht currently up for sale. Her name is Songbird of Kent! Picture below.)
Anyway, the deal was done and having sold my house in England I flew out to Corfu to collect Songbird of Kent. Inevitably it was a number of months before the boat was ready to head out into the Mediterranean but in early Spring 1988 it was time to explore the long coastlines of Greece and Turkey.
After a fantastic summer cruising from one idyllic anchorage to another mostly with friends or family on board, it was time to find a winter haven. Many recommended Larnaca Marina in Cyprus. Thus it was late in the summer of 1988 that I said goodbye to friends and set out on my own to cross from Antalya in Turkey to Cyprus and along the South coast of Cyprus to Larnaca, on the SE side of the island.
That sea crossing, a little over 200 nautical miles, was to become a regular solo experience at the start and end of each summer season. Impossible to do in a single day thus it always included a night at sea and rarely, if things didn't go well with the weather, a couple of nights. I hated it! Maybe it was the sudden transition from coastal sailing to a deep water crossing, often going from having friends on board to being alone, but whatever it was I never enjoyed my time on my own and knew that long-distance solo sailing was never going to be my scene.
Anyway, I ended up spending several very happy winters in Larnaca.
One time, there was news of a Frenchman who had come into Larnaca on his way home to France having nearly completed a circumnavigation of the world. He was on his own!
I was astounded to hear how someone could do this and made a point of calling round to his berth. The boat was a beautiful, solid steel yacht, the very epitome of a craft that could challenge the oceans. The owner's name was Pierre (it would be!). Pierre invited me aboard and we went down to his saloon to drink a hot coffee – real French coffee!
Inevitably the conversation turned to the challenges of sailing alone. Pierre said that the big cargo ships at sea moved quickly relative to the speed of a yacht so at night he set an alarm for every 15 minutes. That was the time that a ship could go from being hull down over the horizon to being close enough to be a hazard. Thus while at sea Pierre got up briefly every 15 minutes during the night to avoid being run down! It sounded totally exhausting.
Then Pierre asked me about the sailing I had done and whether I had sailed on my own. I declared my trivial journeys back and forth from Cyprus to Turkey and revealed that being on my own made me very, very unhappy. Pierre was surprised to hear that as he admitted that being at sea alone was one of the most tranquil and peaceful experiences ever. Pierre asked how long these solo journeys took. I replied, two or three days.
"Ah!", he said, "That is the problem." "I, too, hate the three days. It is always a period where you adjust and it is terrible."
"My friend, you must find a way to be alone for more than three days. You will see that it is very different."
It was some years before that opportunity came about but, in the end, I did undertake a solo journey of 8 days. Pierre was right. The first three days were hell, the rest were heaven!
Thank you, Songbird of Kent, you gave me some fabulous memories!
By Paul Handover
Now on to my writings about being out at sea alone on a small yacht.
Being at Sea
Going to sea in a small vessel is a profound experience.
In harbour we build up a reliance on things external. We have no need to worry if there is insufficient food on board, we can plug into the dockside power supply, sleep through the night undisturbed and we can wander off and enjoy the company of others if the boat feels a little claustrophobic.
Then slowly, imperceptibly, but with huge force, arrives the need to move on. The realisation that our cosy life connected to the busy, bustling and self-obsessed world of shoreside is not fulfilling our search for adventure and for the truths that lay over the horizon. It is time to leave.
The act of casting off is always exciting as it heralds a new adventure. But it also carries feelings of loss and apprehension as one lets go of the bonds of a previous certainty. The first few hours are filled with the workload of getting one's craft shipshape and battened down for the unknown seas. Then gradually comes the realisation that the land is now less the dominating visual feature than the vastness of the seascape that is ahead. But with the land in sight, albeit a distant horizon behind one, you can still sense the life you are leaving.
Now all that surrounds you is the sea. You are now truly disconnected from the land. It is often at this point that despondency and uncertainty play with your mind; after all this new life is still very unfamiliar compared to the warmth of that island home that still resonates in your heart. Time to remind yourself of why you wanted to take this voyage.
A small boat is very fragile. Just a centimetre of hull separating you from the unimaginable depths of the ocean beneath your keel. Not until the end of your voyage, when you draw your boat up, metaphorically on to that beach, will you ever stop feeling how close fate is, how it rides on your shoulder night and day. That, of course, is why we go to sea. It is the place where we taste life, where we savour each moment of the present because the future seems too bound up in the mystery, the uncertainty of the ocean. You are in charge of your tiny craft. Your survival depends on how you manage your small ship, how you navigate these seas, how you read the weather ahead and avoid the storms.
Soon your life on the ocean becomes everything to you. You have time to reflect on so much that is left behind. The distance seems to dissolve all the nuisances, bring into focus all the things that are important to you. There is no certainty with the ocean apart from the knowledge that you are very small and very, very vulnerable and yet, in a sense, also so strong.
In the end, we have to break away from our insecurities and our emotional dependencies on external people and situations because, without that, we are never able to command our own life and the destiny that flows from that captaincy. There is a real strength in knowing ourselves as we would know our own boat. If we really know every spar, sail, rope and fitting, if we have real understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of our small vessel then we are able to know when to breast the waves or when to turn and run before the storm. We are secure that our small craft will protect us day and night.
Thus self-knowledge gives us the same freedom to manage our lives, to know when to fight and when to turn away. And just as after every long voyage the boat will need hours of careful maintenance so our own souls need regular love and caring from our spiritual keeper.
Copyright © 2008 Paul Handover


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Featured Vacation Rental2-52nd Ave Isle of Palms Luxury Home With Private Pool And Spectacular Views! Sleeps 10
Vacation Rentals Property Management Guest Information Specials / Packages Contact Us Let Us Start Weaving
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Spacious floor plan, sleeps 14, small dog friendly
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Entertainment is everywhere in the amazing home. The main family living room is equipped with a plasma TV, plug and play HDMI cord, DVR, DVD/VCR, CD and surround sound plus a large selection of movies, music and literature. A new pool table and game table make even rainy days fun. Stay connected with Wi-Fi, computer and printer in the loft/den. After a day at the beach, enjoy slashing and cooling off in the pool.
The impressive array of amenities of this home are only outdone by the beauty of Kiawah Island. Gather your friends and family for an unforgettable vacation in this stunning and spacious home!
View Sweetgrass Vacation Rentals - SS256 in a larger map
**Please note this property does not have access to the resort pools.
POOL ACCESS: Private Pool
BBQ GRILL: Gas Grill
BEACH DISTANCE: 3/4 mile
FLOOR LEVEL: 2 Story Home
SQUARE FOOTAGE: Est.: 3000
BED SIZE MASTER: King, downstairs, bath
BED SIZE 2nd ROOM: 2 Bunk Beds, downstairs, bath
BED SIZE 3rd ROOM: Queen, downstairs, bath
BED SIZE 4th Room: Queen, King, bath, over garage
BED SIZE 5th Room: Queen, upstairs, bath
INTERNET ACCESS: Wifi Network
PARKING: 3 Cars
NON SMOKING: Yes
VIEW: Turtle Point 8th fairway and lagoon
PETS: Allowed $125.00 non-refundable pet fee
WASHER/DRYER: Yes
KITCHEN: Fully Equipped
TENNIS COURT ACCESS: Pay to Play at West Beach Tennis Court & Roy Barth Tennis Center
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* Rates are subject to change without notice. Pricing excludes taxes, additional options and fees.
256 Surfsong
• This property does not have access to the Kiawah Island Resort pools or fitness center
Have you stayed here? Write a review.
Total Reviews (4)
New York, NY , USA
Reviewed: Aug 13, 2015
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Property Rating
I stayed at 256 Surfsong with a group of friends over Easter. You could not wish for a more beautiful and relaxing setting than Kiawah Island and the property is just fantastic - beautifully furnished house, great pool and right on the golf course. We cant wait to come back!
Reviewed: Aug 4, 2014
Property Rating
Gorgeous property - loved our stay. Sweetgrass was so accommodating, helpful, and easy to work with! Can't wait to rent from them again!
Reviewed: Aug 4, 2014
Property Rating
Wonderful house. Very comfortable beds. Appreciated the little extras like Windex and paper napkins! Great company to work with!
Carla and Justin
Reviewed: Aug 4, 2014
Property Rating
Beautiful house with wonderful amenities; definitely exceeded our expectations, and we would love to stay again sometime!Sweetgrass was very easy to work with and very responsive....great experience all around.

subset: commoncrawl


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Paper Profiles for Epson R3000
Started Feb 16, 2013 | Discussions thread
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Bama214 wrote:
Thanks for the responses. Yes, profiles for some popular Epson papers were automatically loaded when I installed the printer software, but not Exhibition Fiber. The closest version of the profile that I could find for that paper was for the 3880 printer. I loaded it and it seems OK, but I wish I had a more definitive reading on it's appropriateness.
If you have the latest driver, then you should have that profile, but anyhow:
Brian A
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Foregut Surgery
Millions Suffer from Upper GI Tract Disorders; We Can Help.
Patients suffering from disorders of the upper GI tract, such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), trouble swallowing, or dyspepsia look to their primary care providers for relief and advice. At the same time, the diagnosis and management of these problems becomes increasingly complicated, considering the spectrum extends from minor complaints to chronic debilitating conditions. As treatment pathways become more complex, physicians and patients suffer from inconsistent and fragmented information.
Practice Highlights
- All aspects of surgical treatment for esophageal and gastric diseases specializing in minimally invasive techniques.
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- Well-established regional esophageal testing laboratory with the most sophisticated modalities, including high-resolution esophageal testing, laryngopharyngeal testing, sedation free in office, trans-nasal endoscopy.
We are currently welcoming new patients. Please see our list of office locations to the right to find the location closest to you.
Once selecting a location, you can either call to schedule an appointment or click on a provider of your choice and request an appointment online.
Log into your online portal, MyHealth Connection, to request an appointment online, retrieve your medical records, request prescription refills, and communicate with your office.
If you don't have a log in, you can click on your office location to the right, and call or click on your provider to request an appointment.
Please visit the office location page of your physician to print check-in forms, procedure instructions, medical history forms, and other helpful information.
To refer a patient to our practice, please visit the Office Location page of your choice to conveniently submit your referral online or call us at the number listed.
The Oregon Clinic's Esophageal and Gastric surgeons are dedicated experts, devoting their practice to helping patients with upper GI tract problems. We believe in integrated care for digestive diseases, making all aspects of care easier and effective for patients and providers. Whether it is advice/consultation, diagnostic testing, or surgical care, we offer a single point of care.
Meet Our Surgeons:
Conditions & Procedures
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- Gastroparesis
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Last week's RIBA regional awards in Will Alsop's Blizard Building near Whitechapel were attended by a gaggle of big names. The arrival of biennale head honcho Jeremy Till was certainly a surprise so soon after his Italian job. But the low-light of an otherwise upbeat evening had to be the 'turn' by Max Hutchinson and radio's 'London-to-the-core (blimey)' Robert Elms. The mismatched pair tried to recreate the on-air banter they apparently wow listeners with.
But the bizarre, self-generated debate was just embarrassing.
Newsnight's Stephanie Flanders described it as akin to that of Flanagan and Allen. In fairness it was more Cannon and Ball.
If their regular broadcasts are anything like this, it's unlikely Astragal will be tuning in.
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Re: National Parks Pass
As a day pass costs22 for the vehicle and 11 per person and a holiday pass for eight weeks just56/22 it is clear that the holiday pass is the better deal, if you intend to visit several NP's and perhaps stay longer than a day in some of them.
Cruise rates depend on the kind of seating you choose, and on the season. Now in April the best category costs 195, in window recliner only 115.
You can check your dates here:
Info about the railway trip here:
At the bottom of the page you can calculate the costs for the time you want to make the trip.
In the next ten days the trip costs between103 and 121 in Tourist Class, and195 in Premier.
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Our honored tradition of Tulip Time Royalty
Since it's inception, the Tulip Festival's much beloved queen and court have been a prominent fixture in our festivities. The first queen was crowned in 1937. Except for the war years of 1942-1946, a queen and her court have reigned each festival. Presently, six high school seniors are selected by the public and a pageant is held to crown the queen. A panel of judges is assisted by the public in selecting a queen.
2015 Queen & Court
Sydney Huizenga, Emily Wielenga, Queen Cara Venema, Micah Vande Vegte, Jennifer Droog
2014 Queen & Court
Lauren Duesenburg, Marissa Wiese, Queen Ali Achterhof, Emily McDonald, Paige Nibbelink
2013 Queen & Court
Samantha Wielenga, Autumn Pluim, Queen McKenzie Mulder, Jessica Giannantonio, Larkin De Haan
2012 Queen & Court
Caitlyn Van Es, Jennifer Guthmiller, Queen Samantha Droog, Jacquelyn Jacobsma, Lauren McDonald


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Find great deals on quality hotels & resorts in Newburyport Massachusetts, or indulge at one of our luxury resorts. Take advantage of the many amenities that can be included with your stay such as in-room internet access, wifi, room service, fitness center, pool, hot tub, steam room, and shuttle services to and from the airport. Browse our hotels and resorts in Newburyport Massachusetts and plan your Newburyport Massachusetts vacation today!


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Date: 5 years ago
Runtime: 5:05
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NETBLOX : Awkward Grid Instead of a simple grid like that shown in the previous screenshot, NETBLOX uses a separate checkbox for every half-hour increment on each day of the week. This makes the grid so big they can only show a quarter of it at a time.
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- Jessa Duggar shares a rare photo of her brother Josh Duggar's daughter Meredith - US Weekly
- Michael Lohan's estranged wife Kate Major is detained by cops at an airport - TMZ
- Is there something between Ben Affleck and Halle Berry? - Gossip Cop
- The Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins says goodbye to the popular series after the final movie is released - Just Jared Jr
- What happened backstage with Kylie Jenner at The Ellen Show? - Radar
- Bryan Cranston tears up over a Breaking Bad memory - Huffington Post
- Leonardo DiCaprio's Oscar race heats up - Lainey Gossip
- The Captain America: Civil War movie may be better than the comic book - The Hollywood Reporter
24 July 2012 at 3:36 PM
Justin Bieber: 'Dark Knight Rises' Date with Selena Gomez!
About this photo set: Justin Bieber and his girlfriend Selena Gomez head to the movie theater to watch The Dark Knight Rises with a bunch of friends on Monday (July 23) at The Commons… Read More Here
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Welcome, skip to the content.
Official site for Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Address: 311 Healesville-Yarra Glen Rd, Healesville, Victoria 3777
Phone: 03 5957 3100 | Fax: 03 5957 3120
Email: email@example.com: twma.com.au
TarraWarra Museum of Art is located in the beautiful Yarra Valley wine region, just one hour north-east of Melbourne.Throughout each year it presents seasonally changing exhibitions within an award-winning building set in the rolling hills of the natural landscape.Since opening in 2003, the Museum has become recognised as a cultural icon in the Yarra Valley, providing visitors with an enjoyable and inspiring experience which combines stunning architecture with the very best of modern and contemporary art. Over 70 temporary themed exhibitions have been presented at the Museum to date, covering a diverse range of stimulating and innovative Australian and international art in group and collection shows and single artist surveys, providing the opportunity to experience fresh contexts in which to view Australian art today.TarraWarra captures the vision of the museum's founder's, philanthropists Eva Besen AO and Marc Besen AO, passionate collectors of Australian art from the 1950s to the present day, who have gifted both the building and its collection to the public. The collection features many significant Australian artists who were instrumental in the development of modern art in this country.Committed to fostering a passionate engagement with art within a relaxing environment, the Museum is unmissable when planning your visit to the Yarra Valley. Children are always welcome and specially tailored children's activity sheets are available for each exhibition. The Museum provides disabled car parking and easy access to all galleries.
Content: TarraWarra Museum of Art
Payment on the day can be made to the museum by cash or card. Please note, TarraWarra do not accept AMEX cards. Group tours require a minimum of 10 guests per tour and bookings are to be made at least three business days in advance. Group bookings may require payment in advance. Please contact the museum for further information.
Getting to the museum:
By Car
Most Direct Route: Eastern Freeway and Maroondah Highway. Driving time from city approx 1 hr.
Melway reference 277 B2
Public Transport
Rail to Lilydale Station (from City loop)
Bus route 685 Lilydale to Healesville via Yarra Glen
If you are coming by public transport, visit www.ptv.vic.gov.au to plan your journey.
Museum closed Mondays, except on public holidays. Please contact TarraWarra Museum of Art for more information.
Tuesday to Sunday11:00am
The museum is wheelchair accessible and we allow carers free entry to the museum. Disabled car spaces and toilet facilities are also available at TarraWarra Museum of Art. Some events may not be accessible, therefore, please contact the museum for further details.
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When it comes to periods, your body has a mind of its own. What's "normal" for one gal may be totally different for the next. For most, the heaviest days are usually somewhere between days one and three.
Pads, no doubt, can be kinda a pain. Handling worries of leakage, not to mention how uncomfortable they can be, is no walk in the park. Next time you wear a pad, try one with "wings." These side flaps will hold it in place (hopefully). If you've got a heavy flow, make sure to get one that's extra long and a li'l thicker: It should say "heavy" on the package.
When you're ready, it's def worth considering tampons. As long as you change them when the box says, you'll spend your day a bit more stress-free. Unfortunately, there's always a chance of leakage when you have your monthly visitor, so stop by the restroom when you've got a chance to make sure everything's A-OK or wear a panty liner or pad in addition as backup. Another hint: wear dark undies and bottoms. That way, if there's a leak, you'll be sure to know before your classmates.
POSTED IN period 101, tampons, pads
WIN IT! Can *you* solve the mystery?
Dive into the weird, wonderful world of Curiosity House: The Shrunken Head! CLICK HERE for your chance to win it—and to explore Dumfrey's Dime Museum of Freaks, Oddities and Wonders.


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Eastern Shore of Virginia Ground Water Committee is inviting the public to the next workshop in the committee's public workshop series titled "Wastewater Treatment on the Shore Part II: Rapid Infiltration Basin System Technology."
The workshop will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 24, from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Nandua High School Auditorium in Onley.
This workshop aims to offer participants an opportunity to gain a better understanding of wastewater treatment systems that utilize land-application techniques such as rapid infiltration basin systems.
With various challenging decisions regarding wastewater treatment pending on the Eastern Shore, this workshop will offer an opportunity for local citizens and governing officials to enhance their understanding of various wastewater treatment options and their potential impacts to the natural environment on the Eastern Shore.
Britt McMillan, consulting hydrogeologist to the Eastern Shore Ground Water Committee of Arcadis-Malcolm Pirnie and Jerry Esposito, president of Tidewater Utilities, Inc. will be presenting and responding to questions from the audience. There will be ample opportunity for participation from local government officials and the public.
Refreshments will be served. For additional information, please contact Curt Smith of the Accomack-Northampton Planning District Commission at 757-787-2936 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Everything tagged
Latest from The Spokesman-Review
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Today, Christmas classics by Bruce Springsteen and U2 duke it out.
Andy Aledort shows you how to play a renowned live version of Hendrix's "Little Wing."
GW checks in with JD McPherson, Whitey Morgan, the Bellfuries and more.
"I wonder sometimes: Is it cool to hate Black Veil Brides?" asks Jake Pitts, lead guitarist for the band. It's a fair question. After all, the band holds pride of place as heavy metal's Public Enemy Number One. Tarted up with face paint and eyeliner, wrapped in skintight leathers and topped with razor-chopped piles of jet-black hair, Black Veil Brides epitomize the type of glammed-up, visually over-the-top rock act that has always been a lightning rod for criticism, from Kiss and Alice Cooper to Mötley Crüe to Avenged Sevenfold.
With the release of their 2010 debut album, We Stitch These Wounds, Black Veil Brides immediately resonated with thousands of fans worldwide. Perhaps it's their hard yet melodic approach to rock and roll, which lends itself to the theatrical, anthemic arena rock of the 1980s — the era that influences them — or the underlying theme in their lyrics — individuality, survival, overcoming the dark moments — that connects with listeners. Likely, it's both.
In the latest edition of "Fallen Angels," Black Veil Brides guitarist Jinxx reflects on Andy Biersack's recent stage fall and the generally dangerous nature of performing.
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Safeway Inc. is holding a fundraising campaign this month in support of Easter Seals.
At all the Safeway stores throughout the Central Coast customers will have the option at every check-out counter of making a contribution to Easter Seals.
Donations help Easter Seals provide services for children with autism, support children with special needs to attend preschool and daycare alongside of their typically developing peers, and provide children and adults with disabilities the opportunity to participate in Camp Harmon.
Information: www.CentralCal.EasterSeals.com.


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In the wine world, some grapes and regions ebb and flow in popularity. New Zealand sauvignon blanc comes on, and Australian shiraz goes away.
One category that's immune to such gyrations: red blends. These wines "are a stable platform," said Christian Nesheim, owner and wine buyer at Vinifera in Plymouth.
Truth be known, most red wines are blends. The great Châteuneuf-du-Papes of the southern Rhone are all blends, as are most of Bordeaux's reds.
The nebbiolos of Piedmont and the pinot noirs of Burgundy and Oregon (but not California, where some vintners toss in some syrah, and it shows) are among the few 100 percent varietals. Some high-end Tuscan sangioveses and California cabs are all one grape, but many of them have other varieties added.
These wines can be called by the grape name as long as they contain 75 percent of said grape. Not so for "true" blends: the GSMs (Grenache-Syrah-Mourvedres) of Australia and France's Languedoc and Rhone regions, those increasingly popular reds from Portugal with the unfamiliar grape names and, most of all, the ripe reds coming out of California.
In recent years, Nesheim said, many customers have been asking for red blends rather than saying, "I need a pinot." Typical buyers fit no particular demographic, he said, but include mostly "people who want something not with dinner, but more drinkable to sit around the patio, something they can quaff."
The rationale behind these wines is that certain grapes can complement others, often by "filling in the holes" or shoring up weaknesses in color, structure or flavor.
The most popular of these "friendly wines," as he calls them, tend to be lower on tannins and acidity and long on ripe fruit. The prototypes: Menage à Trois (zin, cab and merlot), Apothic (syrah, zin, cab and merlot) and Marietta Old Vine (zin, petite sirah and more). These are fairly simple pleasures, showcasing grapes picked at peak ripeness, with chocolate notes and zinfandel's spice on display in each of them.
At similar prices, Reata's Whiplash "Redemption," Pedroncelli's "Friends," the Shebang! "Seventh Cuvee" and Bogle's "Essential" Old Vine are well worth checking out.
Quite a few other under-$20 red blends deliver bang for the buck: Columbia Winery's "Composition," Stephen Ross' Flying Cloud "Aviator" (named after the Eden Prairie airport), McKinley Springs' "Horsepower," Michael David's Petite Petit (petite sirah and petit verdot; get it?), Waterbrook's "Melange," Clif Bar's "The Climber" and Dr. Thurston Wolfe's "Doctor Wolfe's Family."
There's more on the way: After developing a cult-like following for his $30-plus "The Prisoner," vintner Dave Phinney is out with a trio of "Locations" blends labeled F (for France), I (Italy) and E (España/Spain) in the $17 range. They are approachable and true to their origins; those liking more acidity in their wine should say "I."
As usual, spending more will get you more. Bonny Doon's "Le Cigare Volant" and Tablas Creek "Esprit de Tablas" (formerly "Esprit de Beaucastel") are well worth the $45 to $50 price tags for those willing to spend that much. And Shafer's always-superb "Relentless" ($72) earned Wine of the Year honors from Wine Spectator in 2012.
That wine used to be called a syrah but now bears no varietal labeling and includes a healthy dollop of petite sirah.
Even the best wineries know when it's time to go to a blend.
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text: Ustadha Sawsan Mostafa was born and raised in Cairo, Egypt. She acquired a BS in Political Science from Cairo University and started her Shari'a studies in 2003 at the famous Dar-al Hosary Institute in Cairo. Later, she studied Shafi'i fiqh, Hanafi fiqh, Tajweed, Arabic and other Islamic sciences with Shaykhs in Egypt and Jordan. Ustadha Sawsan received her Ijaza in Tajweed in the narration of Hafs 'an 'Asim with Shaykh Sulayman Van Ael. She currently lives in Alexandria with her husband and son while continuing her Islamic studies.


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Motivating Employees in the Public Sector: Getting More Done With Less
One of the primary responsibilities of any leader is getting things done through others. Nevertheless, getting those employees excited about what they are doing so that their performances continue to improve, is a challenge most leaders face. Look at key principles for motivating and how to apply those principles with various public sector employees. Leave the workshop with ideas on how to motivate an unmotivated or overworked employee, as well as how to keep your high achievers going strong.
This course can be applied to the Certificate in Public Administration.
Benefits and Learning Outcomes
- Successfully motivate others by demonstrating the need and methods for managers to assess and increase awareness of self-motivation
- Increase awareness and demonstrate the connection between management motivation and effective employee performance
- Define the three levels of motivational management – Organizational, Managerial and Individual – and identify forces that impact them
- Define the elements of effective motivational management and the individualistic nature of motivation
- Address the link between barrier management and individual dimension
- Discuss the barriers to employee achievement and management implementation
- Define the purpose, necessary skill set, methods and long-term benefits of properly managed constructive feedback
- Determine barriers to managerial success and credibility in this area
- Equip management with the elements, skill set and understanding of effective coaching
Dates and locations to be announced.


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37 CFR 380.22 - Royalty fees for the public performance of sound recordings and for ephemeral recordings.
(a) Minimum fee. Each Noncommercial Educational Webcaster shall pay an annual, nonrefundable minimum fee of $500 (the "Minimum Fee") for each of its individual channels, including each of its individual side channels, and each of its individual stations, through which (in each case) it makes Eligible Transmissions, for each calendar year it makes Eligible Transmissions subject to this subpart. For clarity, each individual stream (e.g., HD radio side channels, different stations owned by a single licensee) will be treated separately and be subject to a separate minimum. In addition, a Noncommercial Educational Webcaster electing the reporting waiver described in § 380.23(g)(1), shall pay a $100 annual fee (the "Proxy Fee") to the Collective.
(b) Additional usage fees. If, in any month, a Noncommercial Educational Webcaster makes total transmissions in excess of 159,140 Aggregate Tuning Hours on any individual channel or station, the Noncommercial Educational Webcaster shall pay additional usage fees ("Usage Fees") for the Eligible Transmissions it makes on that channel or station after exceeding 159,140 total ATH at the following per-performance rates:
(1) 2011: $0.0017;
(2) 2012: $0.0020;
(3) 2013: $0.0022;
(4) 2014: $0.0023;
(5) 2015: $0.0025.
(6) For a Noncommercial Educational Webcaster unable to calculate actual total performances and not required to report ATH or actual total performances under § 380.23(g)(3), the Noncommercial Educational Webcaster may pay its Usage Fees on an ATH basis, provided that the Noncommercial Educational Webcaster shall pay its Usage Fees at the per-performance rates provided in paragraphs (b)(1) through (5) of this section based on the assumption that the number of sound recordings performed is 12 per hour. The Collective may distribute royalties paid on the basis of ATH hereunder in accordance with its generally applicable methodology for distributing royalties paid on such basis. In addition, and for the avoidance of doubt, a Noncommercial Educational Webcaster offering more than one channel or station shall pay Usage Fees on a per-channel or -station basis.
(c) Ephemeral royalty. The royalty payable under 17 U.S.C. 112(e) for any ephemeral reproductions made by a Noncommercial Educational Webcaster and covered by this subpart is deemed to be included within the royalty payments set forth in paragraphs (a) and (b)(1) through (5) of this section and to equal the percentage of such royalty payments determined by the Copyright Royalty Judges for other webcasting in § 380.3.
Title 37 published on 2014-07-01
The following are ALL rules, proposed rules, and notices (chronologically) published in the Federal Register relating to 37 CFR Part 380 after this date.