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" Near Canterbury, Kent. Over seventy acres of ancient parkland. It has the largest family group of gorillas in human care in the world and Europe's largest breeding herd of African elephants. There's also Indian and Siberian tigers, plus other anim "
Last Christmas we wanted to do something different for our son as a present and as he has always loved gorillas since he was a small boy we decided, through the help of the Aspinall Foundation, to adopt a Western Lowland gorilla for him. His adopted gorilla's name was Djumbah and from his gorilla profile he seemed a bit of a character. For one thing, he didn't like bananas which is very unusual. About May of last year we received an e-mail from the foundation to say that Djumbah had been transported to a zoo in Budapest for breeding purposes. At first we were a bit sad because this meant that Djumbah would no longer be the responsibility of the zoo in Kent and perhaps we would lose contact with him. On the other hand, one of the functions of the zoo is to protect animals such as the West Lowland gorillas from harm, introduce breeding projects so eventually the animals can be returned to their natural habitats and be rehabilitated. Because Djumbah would be in Budapest the Aspinall foundation asked us if we would like to adopt another gorilla and of course, we said yes. My son's new adopted gorilla is called Oundi and she is one of the youngest, if not the youngest, gorilla at Howlett's. Oundi was born in February 2006 which makes her 4 years old
In September of this year we decided to visit the family in UK and my son thought it would be an excellent idea to go to Kent to visit the zoo and actually see Oundi. My only concern was - how would we recognise her - don't all gorillas look the same?
How did we find Howlett's Zoo?
Locating the zoo was a simple operation. We were staying in Peckham at the time so decided to catch a National Coach from Victoria station to Canterbury. The zoo is about three miles from Canterbury in a village called Bekesbourne. We jumped on a train at Canterbury station going to Dover Priory and got off at the first stop. Trains run every hour and the journey takes about 4 minutes.
For some reason, we thought there would be a mini bus waiting to pick visitors up from the rail station but couldn't see any vehicle that could fit this description. As it was a reasonably bright September morning we thought we would take a chance and walk to the zoo although there was a big black cloud in the distance. Leaving the station we turned left and walked a few metres to a main road. This is where we bumped into the local postman; a nice friendly chap who asked us if we were going to Howlett's. When we replied yes, he said that it was a long walk especially with a pram and the road was dangerous. It would be best to go back to the station and wait for the mini bus. Apparently there was a board with the information giving a telephone number to phone. We phoned the number and explained we were waiting and was it possible to be picked up. Within minutes an old beaten up Volvo appeared outside the station gates and as a joke I said, 'Oh, look! Here's our taxi.' I was thinking of all the Gerald Durrell books I had read and the beaten up Mercedes with the Greek taxi driver who used to chauffeur the Durrell family around. I really didn't think this clapped out vehicle was our 'mini-bus.' Then a voice said, 'Are you going to Howlett's? Jump in.' The mini-bus was in the garage being repaired. I couldn't help but smile. Our 'chauffeur' was a lovely man and very talkative. He told us about the busy road and all about the Zoo and said that when we were ready to leave if we went to the main reception and he wasn't there to ask for Joe, someone would find him and he would drive us back.
Before I go any further, let me mention John Aspinall.........
It turns out he was a bit of an eccentric. He was born in India in 1926, had a public school education that didn't turn out too successful, being thrown out of one school due to a low concentration span and failing to sit his final exams at Oxford due to the fact he loved horseracing and gambling more. In his adult years he became a bookie but was only allowed to take legal bets on horse racing. This didn't stop him from gambling illegally and often set up gambling parties for the 'toffs' in rented houses while his mother bribed the local police officers. The one time she forgot to pay off the police was when he was hosting a party at Howlett's where he was then living and this ended in the party being raided and broken up by the police. Aspinall took this case of harassment to court and won the case.
So where did his love of animals come from?
According to Wiki, his love of wild animals stemmed from reading a book about a Zulu Prince who left his family tribe to live in the wild amongst the animals. While living in Eaton Place, Aspinall or Aspers as he was also called, housed 2 brown bears, a tiger and a Capuchin monkey in a shed in the garden . He later purchased the attractive country house and private land in Kent which consists of 90 acres and opened Howlett's Zoo to visitors. This was the beginning of the story of the John Aspinall Foundation and Howlett's Zoo. Later, another zoo for endangered species was opened at Hythe in Kent and is called Port Lympne.
Reception and admission
After leaving the old jalopy we went straight into reception which is a large room with a till and counter plus several shelves filled with books and 'animal goodies' like soft toys, games, wooden toys and jigsaws, sweets and soft drinks. We only had to purchase two admission tickets as my son had a free ticket due to him having adopted a gorilla. Price of each ticket was £16.95 . My granddaughter who is 18 months old didn't have to pay anything. At first, I thought the ticket was a bit expensive but afterwards at the end of the visit I changed my mind. It is good value. We were given a map and a discount voucher for the other animal park, Port Lympne. Reception staff were polite and friendly.
Forward March - On to the enclosures and the gorillas etc
The entrance to the enclosures is at the back of reception and all of us couldn't wait to find the gorilla enclosures. The first one we came to was huge and glass fronted with many ropes cascading from the roof. Swings made from tyres were placed in strategic points so the gorillas can play and exercise. The floor of the enclosure was covered in a thick mattress of hay/straw and the environment looked a clean and healthy one. Some of the young gorillas were sleeping while the Silverback male was grooming himself. They are such beautiful creatures - we just stood and stared for ages. The construction of each enclosure has been well thought out and is created on the social structure in the wild. Generally, gorillas live in groups consisting of one male, several females and their young. The primate enclosures here at Howlett's accommodate family groups as well as other male gorillas who don't have families.
At first we were trying to see if we could spot Oundi in the first enclosure but all the gorillas seemed too large. I then noticed at the end of the play enclosure an adjoining building which was the sleeping quarters. Upon this wall was a list of the gorillas in that enclosure and Oundi wasn't on the list. I did think to ask one of the keepers but at that time we couldn't find anyone.
Moving on, feeling very emotional at the sight of these giant animals we came to a few enclosures joined together and it was here we saw Oundi's name. We picked her out straight away as she was the smallest of the baby gorillas. I can't really explain how I felt as I was so overcome with a wave of happiness and I looked at my son and he just seemed transfixed looking at her. It was a lovely moment and very emotional. She looked very happy, sat on the floor picking at the straw looking for bits of food that had been dropped. At one time she jumped on the ropes and swung high into the air and then fell on her friend and together they rolled and romped around in play fighting. A very special moment.
Western Lowland gorillas are not the only primates at the zoo. You can see Gelada Gibbons who are always entertaining, Grizzled Leaf Monkeys, Heck's Macaque, Java Gibbon and a very cheeky breed of monkey known as a Javan Langur. This breed have two very distinctive colour forms - jet, silky black and a bright orangey ginger colour. I sat and watched these critters for a long time as they are so agile, make a lot of noise and are quite naughty.
Another favourite family enclosure was one that housed the black and white ruffed lemurs. This was an open enclosure but before entering we had to wash our hands with a special antibacterial gel and leave all bags, coats etc in a sort of cloakroom. There was a park attendant on hand if we needed to ask questions. There are 11 lemurs at Howlett's but we only saw about 5 and they were curled into tight balls asleep. The others must have been in hiding in the trees. I wanted to say 'Come on, you lazy lemurs, wake up.' They are such furry creatures with piercing eyes. They always look astonished.
One animal that I can never believe the actual size of when seeing it eye to eye is the African elephant. They are really massive creatures and in the zoo here have a very large enclosure to stroll around in. I think this was one of the last enclosures we visited - well, stood outside and peered in. The elephants were gently walking around but then a crack of thunder hit the skies and there was a torrential shower of rain. At this moment they started to move a bit quicker and it was quite exciting watching the herd get together and stomp their way out of the rain. We decided to follow suit and make a quick dash for an empty marquee.
Being a cat fan it is always exciting to see the big cats and the tigers are impressive. I think the most beautiful species has to be the Sumatran tiger. He is the smallest of the tiger species alive today and what makes these tigers stand out is the dark markings on their coats and the colour of their coats - a cross between bright orange, red with a touch of yellow. They have a furry ruffle around their necks and very long whiskers. Although, these creatures are wonderful they are extremely strong and can be very dangerous . There is a monument erected to two zoo keepers who were mauled and killed by this species of tiger. Howlett's has a reputation of encouraging keepers to get close to their animals which can be viewed as a good idea if a little unorthodox but remember, these are wild animals and at any time can turn nasty.
I have only covered a few of the animal species kept in the zoo but if you would like to see and read more about the animals then you can log on to the zoo's website. I will leave a link at the bottom of the page. The zoo was very quiet when we visited - I would say that about only 20 other visitors where there which was nice for us as we could stroll around in our own time and not feel claustrophobic stood in queues etc.
Walkways and other facilities
Walking around the animal park is a wonderful experience as the grounds are really beautiful with many wooded areas consisting of very tall trees. The time of year we visited was the time when you don't know what clothing to wear because the sun keeps darting in and out of the trees. One minute we were cold and the next minute our coats were being taken off and thrown underneath the pram. The trails for walking which lead from one enclosure to the next are expansive and I loved the feeling of so much space and a sense of freedom. I was particularly knocked out by the grounds - so spacious and elegantly landscaped. As always I imagined living in the country house which from the exterior seemed to be in excellent condition and being able to walk around my gardens and woods like Lady of the Manor. The whole park is beautifully cared for and a fine example of a zoo and country park.
Toilet stations are dotted all through the park and are clean and very people friendly.
Cafes range from small kiosks which just sell soft drinks, coffee, tea and sandwiches to larger inside establishments with tables and chairs. These generally sell cakes, ice creams, light lunches and hot drinks. You don't have to eat inside if you choose not to as there are many wooden tables placed under trees for you to take food out or bring your own picnic food. We took our own food and had a very enjoyable lunch sat outside listening to the birds in the trees and the various noises from the wild animals.
I did come across one very large restaurant, the Pavillion Restaurant, which had a slight canteen feel to it. I went in to use the toilets but had a look round. Food is self service and from the smell chips were high up on the menu. There is also a vegetarian menu which states that ingredients used are locally sourced. There are refrigerated cabinets with cold desserts and cream cakes in but they looked a bit artificial to me. On the walls were prints of animals such as tigers and elephants - obviously animals that are kept at Howlett's. I should imagine in summer this restaurant will be packed out with families.
Children's play area
The play area is large and well structured made from wood and carpeted in soft barkdust. My granddaugter liked the swings and the roundabout which is brightly coloured painted in blue and yellow. There are climbing frames for older children, slides and swing ropes so little children can pretend to be naughty monkeys!
Gift Shops
I don't know whether it is my imagination but there seemed to be a lot of gift shops situated throughout the park. They are very jolly inside though and the various goods on sale are well made, bright and cheerful. I think there is probably something for everyone who has a love of wildlife and conservation. All profits from the shops go to a great cause - saving endangered species and help towards the running of Howlett's animal park.
I think I've covered everything or at least told you about my experience. If you want to know more about John Aspinall and his trust, Howlett's Animal Park and how to adopt an animal please take a look at the website: http://www.aspinallfoundation.org/howletts/
It was a great day out for my little family and a very emotional one. It is one of the best animal parks I have visited mainly because of the spacious and creative enclosures. The grounds were wild but stunning and everyone we came into contact and spoke with were very friendly but then people from Kent generally are. It was a pleasure to visit Howlett's and next year we will probably visit the other zoo in Kent, Port Lympne.
Highly Recommended.
We recently spent a day at Howletts Wild Animal Park. We visited in September 2010 and it was a fairly sunny but windy day. It was a weekday and was in term time, therefore the park wasn't very busy.
Howletts was set up in 1957 (but only opened to the public in 1975) by the late John Aspinall, along with another wild animal park in Kent called Port Lymne. Both parks work together with The Aspinall Foundation which is a charity whos commitment is to conservation, through captive breeding, education and reintroduction. Howletts/The Aspinall Foundation are probably best known for the work they do for Gorillas, which involve returning captive-bred gorillas to Africa via their rescue and rehabilitation programmes in the Congo and Gabon. You may recognise Howletts from TV shows such as Gorilla School (a documentary series on Discovery) and Roar (a childrens series on CBBC).
Howletts Wild Animal Park is situated in Bekesbourne, Kent (South-East England). It is extremely close to Canterbury and is off the A2. It is well signed up and we had no problems finding it by car.
Admission prices are £16.95 for adults (over 17), £12.95 for children (3-16 years), £13.95 for students, £14.95 for senior citizens (over 65) and disabled adults, £10.95 for disabled children and £14.95 for carers. Family tickets cost £54.00 (2 adults and 2 children) and £62.00 (2 adults and 3 children). Annual passes are also available and children under 3 are free.
If you book online at the Howletts website you can save 20% on tickets. Tesco Clubcard vouchers are also accepted (check the Tesco Clubcard website for more details).
As you can see prices are quite high and this is likely to put some people off visiting. Luckily we traded some of our Clubcard points in for £20.00 Howletts vouchers, otherwise it would have been pretty costly.
--Opening times--
Howletts is open everyday throughout the year, except Christmas day.
Opening hours in the summer season are 10am - 6pm. Opening hours in the winter season (from October 29th) are 10am - 5pm.
When we arrived the carpark was quite empty. We made our way to the entrance and paid for our tickets at the reception desk, which oddly is situated inside the gift shop. The gift shop is a fair size and sells all sorts of stuff, although it's probably best to visit after you have been around the park.
We were not given a park map, which we thought was quite strange, but according to the website you can purchase a 'souvenir park map' for 95p each. As you leave the gift shop there is a big park map to look at, which was useful for us.
As I don't have a map to recap I will be writing this review on my memory alone, oh dear!
When you turn right at the entrance you will come to the African Wild Dogs and Asiatic Wild Dogs. Both enclosures were a good size and seemed well enriched. Unfortunatley we didn't get to see any African Wild Dogs as they had lots of bushes to hide away in, however there were lots of Asiatic Wild Dogs to see - and they were adorable! Further on down are the Black Rhinos. There were 2 Rhinos (that we could see) and again, they had a fair sized enclosure. They were quite far away from us but were still good fun to watch and take snaps of. Next to the Rhino enclosure is a large open grassy area where the elephants can roam, though there weren't any elephants roaming whilst we were there.
When you turn left at the entrance the first thing you will come to is the Black and White Colombus Monkeys. They Colombus Monkeys have an indoor enclosure (that you can view through glass) and a large open-aired outdoor area. The outdoor area had ropes all over the place and looked great - quite a natural setting for the monkeys I thought.
Further down are 2 seperate Gorilla enclosures (almost identical), which are home to 2 groups of Western Lowland Gorillas. The enclosures seemed like a decent size (they have a large outdoor area and a smaller indoor area) and were brilliantly enriched. The ground was covered in straw, there were ropes everywhere and they had plenty of things to stimulate their minds - they even had a giant slide! It was brilliant to watch the Gorillas, they were constantly on the move - it almost felt awkward at times as they are so human like! There are benches all around the enclosures for you to observe for as long as you like. Each group had about 15 Gorillas in each and they were all different sizes - from really old and calm Gorillas, to tiny mischief making baby Gorillas, so cute! Their outdoor area is surrounded by bars, so although you can get quite close to them, it is also quite hard to take a good photo. The same applies to their indoor area, which is behind glass. We caught a keeper feeding them by scattering fruit and seeds over the top of the enclosures - half of them climbed up and took the fruit from the top of the enclosure and the other half hunted for seeds in the straw on the ground - great to watch. Inside we saw a couple of Gorillas using sticks to poke nuts out of a specially made box, not only was this brilliant to watch but seemed like brilliant enrichment for the Gorillas. We also caught a talk with a keeper where we learnt lots of interesting Gorilla facts - he informed us that some of the Gorillas at Howletts were taken in after they were orphaned as a result of the bushmeat trade. Between Howletts and Port Lympne there are 74 Gorillas, which is the largest collection of Gorillas in human care in the world.
On from the Gorillas is the Canadian Timber Wolf enclosure. The wolf enclosure seemed a good size (quite long) and was full of trees and bushes. We saw the 2 wolves that lived inside - they got quite close to us, but didnt really acknowledge us and just walked on by. Lovely looking creatures.
Nearby is a Capybara and Giant Anteater enclosure. The Carybara were nice but the Giant Anteater was the best to see as I haven't seen many before. Again, their indoor and outdoor enclosures seemed a decent size and well maintained. Also nearby is a Sumatran Tiger enclosure, which was fair sized and had lots of things inside, including a pool area. There are 2 Sumatran Tigers, however we only saw one at the far end of the enclosure.
Next to the Tigers is a walk through Black and White Ruffled Lemur enclosure. You have to enter and exit through secure doors and there is hand washing facilities at the exit. You are able to walk through the lemurs outdoor enclosure (complete with trees and ropes) but must stick to the path. You can also view the lemurs indoor area from behind glass. There are 11 lemurs but most of them were indoors, with the exception of two or three curled up asleep on the grass.
Opposite the lemur enclosure are the Siberian Tigers. Siberian Tigers are recognised as critically endangered and Howletts run a sucessful captive breeding programme. The enclosure seemed spacious and we got up close to the tigers via a glass window (the rest of the enclosure is caged). The tigers looked quite healthy which was nice to see as sometimes captive tigers look abit scrawny.
There is a path that leads down to the Elephants. Along the way I recall seeing some funny looking Red River Hogs and Treetop Challenge. Treetop Challenge is a obstacle course set up in the trees - there is an additional charge for this and height and weight restrictions apply (see website).
Howletts house 13 African Elephants, some of them very big and some of them tiny! Although the elephants had lots of space to roam, they seemed happy to stick together in a group under a shelter. The floor of the enclosure was covered with sticks, dirt and tires which the elephants were picking up and throwing with their trunks! Brilliant to watch.
Other big cats at the park include the Bengal Indian Tiger and Snow Leopard (lovely).
Other dogs at the park include the Iberian Wolf.
Hoofed animals at the park include the Blackbuck Antelope, Bongo, Brazilian Tapir (which we tried to see but couldn't find), European Bison (huge handsome chaps), Greater Kudu Antelope, Hog Deer, Nilgai and Pudu. All of the hoofed animals I recall seeing had big open spaces.
Small cats at the park include the African Wild Cat, Clouded Leopard, Fishing Cat, Indian Desert Cat, Lynx, Ocelot, Serval and Pallas Cat. Many of these small cats were hard to spot as most of them have lots of trees and bushes to hide away in, plus they are very small. You could mistake many of them for domestic cats!
Other Primates included the Banded Leaf Monkey, Javan Langur, Lesser Spot-Nosed Monkey, De Brazzas Monkey, Dusty Langur, Gelada Baboon, Grizzled Leaf Monkey, Hecks Macaque and Javan Gibbon.
Not to forget the Honey Badgers and Snakes near the back of the park.
--Shops and Restaurants etc--
There was a gift shop at the entrance/exit and a gift shop nearby the elephants.
There was a snack bar nearby the wolves, with picnic tables (which was closed during our visit) and another snack bar nearby the Siberian Tigers, where we got ice creams and drinks. Prices inside the park are quite high, which is to be expected I suppose. A regular bottle of drink (Coke etc) will set you back almost £2.00!
There is a restaurant at the back of the park called The Pavilion Restaurant (we didn't go inside), with a large picnic area outside and Peacocks roaming around. Around the back is a large playground which my daughter enjoyed. Next to the restaurant were dinosaur footprints on the ground which led to a wooden walkway - we were all quite excited about what we were going to find, but it just lead us to a gift shop! Disappointing! They did have some Blind Cave Fish to look at though...
We had a great day out at Howletts Wild Animal Park and enjoyed the large selection of animals. Our favourites would have to be the Gorillas, we could have watched them all day! I enjoyed learning about their conservation efforts and their successful breeding programmes - it's nice to see a park actually practice what they preach! All of the animals had large and enriched enclosures which was great to see as the welfare of the animals has to be the single most important aspect - even if it means us not getting the best view of them! The park was clean and very well maintained.
Downsides? Well there were lots of primates, hoofed animals and small cats, however there were lots of missing animals that you would have expected to see - Eg. Giraffes, Lions and Sealions. Also the admission prices are very steep.
The animals have such big enclosures that the park is very large and we were so tired by the end of the day - and really regretted not taking our daughters buggy! Unfortunatly for this reason we had to skip some of the park at the back and missed some of the animals.
Do I recommend visiting? If you are within an hour or two of Howletts then I definitely recommend a visit!
I go to howletts wild animal park at least once a year. I do live near it (within half an hour) but I would even go if I had to travel further. Howletts is set in a large area of land, which allows you to walk around the spread out grounds at your leisure. Howletts is based around a house (well a mansion) built in the middle which started the park. The house is not open to the public however. Surrounding the house are large enclosures with a wide variety of animals to look at. There are two tiger enclosures, two elephant paddocks, rhinos and many many more. The highlight for most, and howletts speciality are the monkeys. They are two main monkey areas in the zoo both very large. You can sit for hours and watch the monkeys at play.
There are lots of picnic areas, or cafes to buy from including a pizzeria at reasonable price and good taste!
Howletts has such beautiful scenery its definitely worth a day out.
This is a wildlife park situated in the northern parts of Canterbury in Kent covering an area just short of 100 acres of lush greenery.
We took our 2.5 year old for a day trip as we live only 30 minutes driving distance from there and she has had an absolute fun day watching all the animals she had only known existed as cartoons on the telly.
There were about 5 tigers in two enclosures, African rhinos, great varieties of monkies and gorillas ,two pythons, loads of elephants , pangolins, hedgehogs, varieties of deer , leopards, tapirs, , macaques and the likes. All kept in well spaced and clean enclosures and with plenty of food and play area/item.
There are many benches and resting places all over the park for childrean and anyone else wanting a rest or sharing a picnic.
There is a large sand play area for the younger children as well near a food-court with several cafes, pizzerias and noodle places.
The path going around the zoo is clean and wide enough for wheelchairs and double buggies .There are canopies of tall trees that make your walk pleasant on a sunny day as well.
Ticket pricing are as follows if you are buying online...but an added 20% more at the centre itself
Adult and Senior Citizen £11.56
Child (4-16yrs) £9.16
Family - 2 adults, 2 children £44
Family - 2 adults, 3 children £51.50
you can also buy annual passes.
Toilet facilities are provided in two places as well as a gift shop at the entrance where you can buy gifts to take home.
All in all it was money well spent.
Howletts Wild Animal Park is in Bekesbourne, Kent and is signposted off the A2, three miles south of Canterbury.
Howletts is a 90 acre animal park located in beautiful ancient parkland. You are able to experience "close encounters" with animals at the glass fronted enclosures. Animals include tigers, gorillas, clouded leopards, monkeys, tapirs, giant anteaters, macaques, rhinos and many other rare and endangered species from around the world.
**About Howletts**
Howletts (and Port Lympne which is another Wild Animal Park) was set up by the late John Aspinall with the aim of protected and breeding rare and endangered species and returning to safe areas in their native homeland.
The Apsinall Foundation, a registered charity, works to ensure that the John Aspinall's innovative work in protecting and breeding wild animals continues.
Howletts is are very different from conventional zoos. It is not always possible to return animals to the wild and sometimes the only hope for the long term survival of certain species is to be able to live and breed in conditions as close to their natural habitat as possible
**Opening Times & Ticket Prices**
Howletts is open every day except Christmas day.
Summer: 10am - 6pm (last admission 4.30pm)
Winter: 10am - 5pm (last admission 3.30pm)
Tickets cost £14.45 for adults and £11.45 for children (4-16 years old).
Howletts Wild Animal Park
Nr Canterbury
**Adopting an Animal**
The Aspinall Foundation is a charity, and if you want to help them out a bit more, you could always adopt an animal. Its also a great gift for someone.
You can choose from a list of animals from Pandas, elephants, tigers and gorillas.
It's a great way to do your bit for these wonderful animals.
**Your Visit**
I would recommend you allow at least 4 hours to enjoy Howletts. There is plenty to entertain the whole family for hours no end. There are 90 species of endangered and rare animals at Howletts so make sure you view them all.
**My View**
I have never really liked the idea of zoos in general, mainly because of the cages that the animals are in, it makes you realize that they are not free and wild. At Howletts all of that changes. Yes the animals are in enclosures (no free roaming tigers, don't worry!), but they are huge open enclosures, with glass fronted walls, so you can see in and not feel like you are staring through bars of a prison.
Howletts is a fantastic place to go to view some stunning animals, and it's a great way to educate the younger generations on conservation and endangered species, especially with the education centre and the keeper talks.
There is a new walk through lemur enclosure as well which is great fun.
I wholeheartedly recommend this wildlife park, make sure you go at least once.
This is one of the two animal parks owned by the late John Aspinall. John was a great man with two pasisons.....gambling and wild animals. He used his gambling to pay for his love of animals and what a fantastic result. John's aim has always been to breed endangered animals and release them back into the wild which he has achieved which great success. His great passions were the gorrillas and the tigers. A vast majority of the park is taken up with different breeds of monkies and gorillas. There are also tigers, elephants, lions, wolves and many more rare and endangered animals. The most unusual thing about howletts though has to be the fact that the keppers do actually go in with the animals and have phsical contact with them. I know that keepers have been killed but these men have a passion to and they know the risks. The park has recently been taken to court by the local authority because of this but after a long battle, I am pleased to say the park won. If your are ever close to Canterbury it really is worth going to see Howletts. I can spend all day just watching the gorrilas in their brilliant new enclosure! If you cant make it down there in person then have a look at the website (www.howletts.net). They have got some brilliant webcams so you can have a look for yourself.


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The winter plans for the Texas Rangers have already shifted off center.
Getting an upgrade in center field has been at the top of the priority list for the Rangers. But the decision by free agent Torii Hunter to sign with the Los Angeles Angels rather than with Texas has obviously altered the Rangers' focus a bit.
"I would expand that to be outfield in general," manager Jon Daniels said before leaving Texas for baseball's winter meetings that begin today in Nashville, Tenn. "We do have (players) to play center field. That allows us to look at both corners and center."
The Rangers also would like to add a veteran reliever to pitch late in games, but prefer not to give a reliever more than a one-year deal. Also on their want list is a middle-of-the-order hitter who could also play first base.
There have been talks "about a lot of things with different clubs" and conversations with several free agents. But the Rangers aren't likely to be very active at the winter meetings, and might come home without making any deals.
Designated hitter Sammy Sosa was declined salary arbitration before Saturday night's deadline, along with Jamey Wright, Jerry Hairston Jr. and Brad Wilkerson. But that doesn't preclude the Rangers from re-signing Sosa or any of the others at any time.
Daniels said there have been some conversations with Sosa's agent, Adam Katz, about the slugger returning next season. But Katz is also still trying to get a feel for what Sosa's free agency value is.
"We haven't exchanged anything," Daniels said. "We agreed to stay in touch."
There have also been talks with Wright, who had success as a starter and reliever last season. But Wilkerson and Hairston aren't expected to be back.
When free agency began, Hunter was a high priority for the Rangers. They were willing to spend money on him - a $75 million, five-year offer - and hoped he really wanted to play close to his home that is less than an hour from their ballpark. But within a day or so after meeting last month with Texas, Hunter agreed to a $90 million, five-year contract with its AL West rivals.
"He was the one guy that we were looking at that we would be willing to go that long on in terms of dollars and terms of contract," Daniels said. "It only takes one (other team) to take the price to a point that it doesn't make sense for us any more. That's what happened."
Daniels insists the Rangers never necessarily counted on getting Hunter. But they sure were hoping to be able to sign him.
After the Rangers dealt 40-year-old Kenny Lofton at the trade deadline, Marlon Byrd and David Murphy split time in center. They may wind up being the best options next spring.
Byrd was left off the roster out of spring training, but hit .307 with 10 homers and 70 RBIs in 109 games after being recalled May 26. Murphy came in the deal that sent closer Eric Gagne to Boston, then hit .343 in 46 games.
Daniels said Jarrod Saltalamacchia, the 22-year-old switch-hitter who split time at first base and catcher after coming from Atlanta in the Mark Teixeira deal, is expected to be a full-time catcher next season. But it seems more likely that Gerald Laird might remain in Texas after failed trade talks with the New York Mets.
"We started the offseason with the idea that Gerald and Jarrod would be there in spring training, unless we saw something that really made sense to us," Daniels said. "Not are not going to give Gerald away. He is a better player than the season he had last year."
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While the middle pair of games was hard to stomach, the Utah Jazz certainly enjoyed an excellent start and finish to their four-game road stint. In an exciting comeback Sunday, the Jazz defeated the Orlando Magic 97-93 to finish 2-2 on the pre-Christmas trip.
Orlando came out with great energy, building an 16-point lead. But unlike the Indiana and Miami outings, the Jazz responded. With both teams battling injuries, the Jazz rode a collective effort to victory over the hard-working-but-depleted Magic roster. Six Utah players reached double figures.
Point Guard Play: At the Orlando Magic's helm, former Jazz guard Jacque Vaughn is the youngest head coach in the NBA at 37. His former contemporaries, Jamaal Tinsley and Earl Watson, are not much younger. Utah's seasoned vets, who both may have coaching aspirations, both showed they can still contribute to on-court wins.
Filling in for starting point guard Mo Williams, Jamaal Tinsley played a solid game. Not known for his shooting prowess, Tinsley was essentially dared to shoot by Orlando's backcourt. He answered, hitting 3 of 8 3-pointers, the last one being a crucial part of the Jazz's fourth-quarter comeback. Tinsley finished with 11 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals in 27 minutes.
Watson also was a vital cog with his playmaking and hustle. He orchestrated the bench unit's offense, notching eight assists with only one turnover.
Young Legs: The venerable vets weren't the only ones who enjoyed nice games Sunday. The trio of Derrick Favors, Gordon Hayward, and Alec Burks each made their presence felt.
Hayward and Favors injected some much-needed life to a listless first half for Utah. The former was brilliant offensively, hitting 7-of-10 field goals en route to 17 points off the pine. He was aggressive, yet under control. He made a pair of tricky runners in the fourth.
The latter was impactful on both ends of the court. Favors countered the high-energy Magic bigs (Gustavo Ayon and Nikola Vucevic) with his athleticism. He was 5 of 8 from the field for 12 points. Favors' defense was huge in the fourth quarter.Comment on this story
Burks took advantage of his extra time on the court, playing a solid floor game. A strong open-court player, the second-year guard scored his eight points within the flow of Utah's offensive schemes. More importantly, he displayed a well-rounded game with three assists, two rebounds and some defensive intensity. He sported a team-high plus-minus rating of plus-17.
Odds n' ends:
• In a close game, the importance of free throws is polarized. Orlando was just 8 of 15 (53.3 percent) from the charity stripe. • Likewise, the Magic could not hold onto the ball, committing 19 turnovers to Utah's modest total of 11. Orlando guard J.J. Redick had seven of those miscues.
David Smith provides instant analysis for Deseret News' Utah Jazz coverage. He works for LDS Philanthropies and also blogs for the Utah Jazz 360 website. He can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com or on Twitter at davidjsmith1232.


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When: Sat., June 8, 7 p.m. 2013
Currently he performs as a solo singer/songwriter and does a number of cover tune shows where he performs country, pop & rock tunes from the 60's, 70's, 80's and more. 2012 brought the release of his new album, About Time. Drawing from life in the mid-west, emotional inspiration and history a picture is painted crossing the lines of folk, country, bluegrass and acoustic rock. The album invokes feelings and thoughts about life, hardship, belief and accomplishment.
Price: Free


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Peak 10298'
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The northeast ridgeline of Peak 10298' terminates at Hatchet Lake and forms this very distinctive formation, a memorable view for those who have visited the Boulder Chain of Lakes. The summit is just visible in the upper right corner of the photo.
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Airdrie has the Province's ear on local issues, Brown
Thursday, Jun 26, 2014 11:13 am
The Province is beginning to take more notice of Airdrie as the city continues to grow, that was the message from Mayor Peter Brown during his State of the City address, on June 18 at the Woodside Golf Course.
"We (Airdrie) represent what other communities in this province are going through," said Brown. "When ministers visit us, they will not forget who we are, our business and community leaders will keep pushing the Province and I want them to be frankly sick and tired of hearing from Peter Brown."
For the mayor's second term, he explained that the City has streamlined its priorities moving forward to maintain an acute focus on what is to be achieved by the current council.
"Well-managed growth, sustainable transportation and economic prosperity through more local employment opportunities" were highlighted by Brown as major focal points for his second term.
Brown commended the City's Economic Development team, calling them the "best in the province."
Since January, the City has issued 167 business licenses, a number that is about on par with what the City normally sees, according to Economic Development Team Leader Kent Rupert.
"We average around 30 to 50 business licenses per month and it kind of varies depending on the time of year," said Rupert.
In total, there are more than 3,100 licensed businesses in Airdrie, that include, home-based, storefront and industrial.
Brown made note that new jobs are cropping up as well.
"Propak has expanded to the old Cam Clark Ford building that will create 175 new jobs," said Brown.
"These are engineers, these are people coming into our community, bringing money, bringing investments, buying dinners and filling up their gas tanks here."
With job creation and more people moving to Airdrie, there is a need for places for people to live, Brown said.
"I should make note that with these apartment buildings, they are usually phased in," Brown said.
"With the King's Heights Apartments, they were sold out in each building the day they got occupancy, that's how much our community needed rental space."
City staff issued 271 construction permits in 2013 which included 17 new buildings with construction costs of $71 million, up from $45 million in 2012.
In 2013, seven new apartment buildings went up in Airdrie, totaling 481 new units, with the bulk of those coming in Prairie Springs and King's Heights at a total of $31 million.
Brown also took time in his address to touch on the issue of health care in Airdrie, indicating that there will not be a new hospital in the city any time soon, but the Airdrie Health Foundation (AHF) is still working to bring 24-hour health care to the community.
"We've been working with how we are going to expand on the services that exist in Airdrie while making sure that our existing services are sustainable," said Brown, who also chairs the AHF.
"We've established a working group with Alberta Health Services (AHS) at the beginning of this year and for the first time in a number of years, they've come together and realized that we need their help."
The working group currently meets bi-monthly, according to Brown, who said the meetings are, "an amazing opportunity for the community to work towards supporting health care staff as well as those in need of health care services."
The AHF and AHS are working in conjunction to establish a plan centred around service levels and doctor attraction and retention that could be finalized in September, according to Brown.
"A recommendation will be going forward to the Province for a capital request for 2015," he said.
"Some significant information should be released in the next six to eight months."
Managing growth in the city was another topic during Brown's speech, as he stressed the importance of another traffic interchange in the city, likely in the south end.
"We can't grow responsibly if we don't know we have an interchange in place," said Brown. "We need to get this stuff in place, if not in place, at least a plan to pay for it, if that's not there, then we've got nothing. I'm hopeful that by September, I will have some information that I can announce publicly that the Province and the Ministry of Transportation will be supporting us in a good way for getting in and out of our community because right now it's not great."
Brown wrapped up his speech by expressing his optimism about the future of Airdrie as well as the current outlook.
"As the mayor, I'm very proud to say that I think we have the best community and best city in Alberta, Canada and around the world to live in," said Brown. "This is the place to be, this is where you want to be and this is where all you business leaders want to go."


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I'm a small town girl that loves talking to you every day on the radio (thanks for listening!). I have been in radio for 12 years and even though it's not my ONLY job, it's my favorite.
Congratulations to Texarkana, Texas! They made the top 15 finalists in the Bark for your Park contest! I am so excited to help them win this park...
Yes, you can lose 30 pounds in 30 days, but it will cost you!
The Maud United Methodist Church is offering a Free Breakfast and Lunch Program this summer to anyone under the age of 18. There is no registration needed, plus you can bring as many friends as you like...
Can you donate blood today?
I know you are itching to plan your summer vacation, but check out this list before you go booking anything.
Who did People Magazine crown as the Hottest Country Guy?
Come out Tuesday night to help out the Red Lick 1st United Methodist Church Youth raise money for camp.
Today is National Escargot Day. For those of you wondering just what "Escargot" is, it's....
Over 70% of Americans have never been to these top 5 famous landmarks in the US. How many have you seen?
Can you believe it's almost been a year since that horrible attack in Miami?
Ok, this video made me bawl like a big ole baby! I know how it feels to love your dog like one of your children. I am so happy that she was able to find her precious doggie.
There seems to be some controversy about whether or not Texarkana, Texas should try to win $100,000 from PetSafe for their very own dog park. The controversy stems from...
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What to Expect from Heaven's Basement at Our 20th Birthday Bash
Our 20th Birthday Bash is coming up this Saturday (May 10), and the one question I keep getting is: 'Is Heaven's Basement any good? I like their song "Fire, Fire," but I don't know much about them.'
The answer to that question is simple: Make sure your ass is there at 6 p.m., because these guys f**king rock!
To give you a preview of why you need to show up early on Saturday, here are some reasons why this band kicks ass:
Subscribe to The Rock Station 99X on
Subscribe to The Rock Station 99X on
Subscribe to The Rock Station 99X on
Doors open up at 6 p.m., and Heaven's Basement hit the stage at 6:30 p.m. You don't want to miss these guys because they are awesome!
All That Remains, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, The Pretty Reckless and Heaven's Basement are all going to tear it up at the Municipal Auditorium.


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(Note: this article contains spoilers for Sunday's Breaking Bad episode, "Granite State," and all other Breaking Bad episodes to date):
Given that Vince Gilligan, Breaking Bad's creator and showrunner, got his start as a writer on The X-Files, it's probably not a surprise that, in the endgame, he has turned Walter White into Cigarette Smoking Man.
CSM, The X-Files' primary villain, went through two or three different plot arcs over the course of the series in which he was presumed dead, but was actually hiding out in a cabin somewhere. And now, in Breaking Bad's the penultimate episode "Granite State," it's Walter who's a retired, on-the-run supervillain, hiding in a snowy cabin, while (of course) dying of cancer. (And Breaking Bad did have a Season 1 episode called "Cancer Man.")
Spirited to rural New Hampshire by Saul Goodman's often-mentioned, yet never before seen "Vacuum Cleaner Man" – perfectly cast as veteran character actor Robert Forster- Walt winds up in an empty cabin without electricity, phone or Internet service. And let me emphasize how much I love that the New Hampshire scenes departed radically from the series' usual visual style and color palette- for one thing, I don't believe we've ever seen snow before on Breaking Bad, and is often the case when snow and crime collide, it reminded me of "Fargo."
Anyway, back in New Mexico, things are unraveling for everyone. The DEA suspects Skyler knows more than she's saying- Walt's famous phone call in the previous episode doesn't appear to have absolved Skyler, mostly because the feds aren't stupid, they know there's such a thing as "money laundering," and they likely noticed within a day or two that the A1 car wash is considerably more profitable than a local car wash probably should be.
Finn is depressed, Marie is scared. Saul is on the run for good, and Hank and Gomez still haven't been found. And Todd and his neo-Nazi relatives- along with their "slave," Jesse- are reigning pretty much unchallenged. I loved the establishment of just how evil Uncle Jack is- when he finds out from the video confession that Todd shot Drew Sharp, his reaction isn't anger about the murder of a child, but rather about Todd's refusal, in light of that information, to kill Jesse.
I must say, I'm not surprised Gretchen and Elliott are ultimately figuring in the show's end-game- they were a key part of Walter's original motivation, and is recently as last summer's episodes, Walter mentioned that he checks the company's valuation every week. Is the ricin for them? The machine gun? Could go either way I suppose.
Next week, we see Walter in Albuquerque again. Not a surprise; after all, the Cancer Man always came back.
Other observations:
– Walter makes a phone call to get Walter Jr. pulled out of class by borrowing the same trick Ferris Bueller used, in invoking Sloan's "dead Grandma."
– One thing I didn't buy in the Charlie Rose scene- Charlie never grills people like that in real life. He seemed like he was channeling later-period Tim Russert.
– Some answers for flash-forward clue-spotters: Walter's not wearing a ring because he lost so much weight that it fell off, and that's not a wire under his shirt, it's the ring, hanging from a necklace.
– I must say- I much prefer Breaking Bad's final-season New Hampshire arc to The Sopranos' final-season New Hampshire arc. Though imagine how much everyone would freak out if Walter enjoyed a brief romance with a diner cook/firefighter named "Johnny Cakes."
– In the Sociopath Wing of Breaking Bad fandom, I bet there were people who audibly cheered at the scene when Todd broke into the Whites' house to scare Skyler and Holly. Ditto the killing of Andrea.
– Just one more episode, next Sunday. I won't even bother to venture any guesses as to how it ends. But I do know Gilligan and Co. are one episode away from a final-season perfect game.


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Written on: 06/10/2008
Good Points
initial price ok
Bad Points
see general commentd
General Comments
Good price for the iDECT X1 Trio but batteries lasted only 1 year. Replacement rechargeable batteries cost more than the phone. Semi circle design not easy to rest on shoulder.
" Don't trust this service " Read More
" ICreation I650 DECT cordless phone - very good but limited " Read More
Written by IanLHarris
" Chinese Junk " Read More
Written by wilko50
" Best set of dect phones " Read More
Written by rodbradford
" Cheap but unclear " Read More
Written by Greggory


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Fulham chairman Fayed attacks FA and referees
The Fulham chairman, Mohamed Al-Fayed, last night launched a scathing attack on the standard of referees in the Premier League and accused officials of being "all too easily influenced" by the "more powerful clubs and individual owners".
Fayed called for an "immediate review" of refereeing practices claiming that the Premier League needs to "wake up". The irony may be lost on the 79-year-old but his remarks, which call into question the integrity of officials, could earn him a Football Association charge for bringing the game into disrepute. As a chairman of a football club, he is bound by the rules of the FA.
It was the failure of referee Michael Oliver to award a penalty to Fulham at Old Trafford 17 days ago that Fayed said prompted him to speak out about the FA and the League. Even Sir Alex Ferguson admitted that Oliver should have given a penalty for a foul on Danny Murphy in the loss to Manchester United.
That foul was almost identical to the incident between Ashley Young and Shaun Derry for which referee Lee Mason awarded a penalty against Queen's Park Rangers on Sunday at Old Trafford. The decision to send off Shaun Derry – and quash his appeal – is one of a number of contentious incidents in recent days.
Fayed said: "The FA's problem in addressing this pivotal situation is that it has too much power. Where else can decision-makers [referees] escape all responsibility to admit serious and blatant errors and have the protesters [the football clubs] fined on charges of misconduct? The losses that we incur from such careless decisions can have calamitous consequences. Referees are too easily influenced by the more powerful clubs and individual owners which calls into question the integrity of both them, and the governing body they report to.
"It is time for the Premier League to wake up. They have been in a coma for a long time. Lots of clubs are suffering from such stupid decisions. Technology is available and it is used in other sports. Once again I call for action to review the standard of officials, and the transparency of the processes by which referees are allocated to games."
The Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger believes an FA committee should be set up to prevent anomalies such as Derry's appeal failing – because no matter how little contact he made with Young he was still deemed to have fouled the midfielder – while Mario Balotelli's studs-up challenge on Arsenal's Alex Song will not incur a ban because at least one of the four match officials – though not the one on the pitch – saw it.
"Put those two together and it looks unbelievable," he said. "It doesn't make common sense that one is suspended and the other isn't. The FA should look at the situation and amend it."
Belfast Telegraph


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Publisher Deep Silver has revealed that Saints Row IV shifted more than one million units in its opening week. Developed by Volition, the game currently claims top spot on the UK games chart and boasts PC sales triple that of previous entry, Saints Row: The Third.
Despite the closing of former publisher THQ last year, a less than desirable late-development period seems to have not affected the quality of the game.
"The development team at Volition is second-to-none as a driving creative force in the entertainment industry and we are very proud to have them as part of the Deep Silver family," said Klemens Kundratitz, CEO of parent company Koch Media.
Saints Row IV builds upon the silliness of past entries with the inclusion of superpowers, aliens, and the luxuries that come with being the President of the United States.
Two DLC packs, the Presidential Pack and the Grassroots Pack, were also released on PSN this week. The former lets players run around as notable presidents such as Barack Obama or Abraham Lincoln, while the latter provides an assortment of items, including a gun that fires toilet plungers.
Both packs are priced at $2.99 each.


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Joshua Akinwande
Joshua Akinwande (Rock City)
Poems by Joshua Akinwande : 25 / 31
Right To Love - Poem by Joshua Akinwande
The right to love is the right to life,
A choice to hate is definitely an invitation of death,
True love is a blessing otherwise could be a curse,
A life deprive of love is worse than a life sentenced to death in the court of law,
Love is a tree of life and its fruits are enormous blessings.
In love is abundant wealth and good health,
In love is everlasting peace and sound mind,
In love is boundless joy and immeasurable happiness,
Seek to love always for our world to remain alive.
Topic(s) of this poem: love
Form: Prose Poem
Poems by Joshua Akinwande : 25 / 31
Comments about Right To Love by Joshua Akinwande
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Poem Submitted: Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Poem Edited: Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Joshua Akinwande's Other Poems
Famous Poems
Phenomenal Woman
Maya Angelou
Still I Rise
Maya Angelou
The Road Not Taken
Robert Frost
If You Forget Me
Pablo Neruda
Langston Hughes
Annabel Lee
Edgar Allan Poe
Caged Bird
Maya Angelou
Rudyard Kipling
Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening
Robert Frost
I Do Not Love You Except Because I Love You
Pablo Neruda


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Gator Bowl Preview
Jacksonville, FL - A season filled with high expectations for Clemson resulted in a slow start and an unexpected coaching change. Still, the Tigers find themselves playing in a bowl game on New Year's Day.
Clemson can cap a tumultuous season with a win over Nebraska in the Gator Bowl in a matchup involving teams that finished strong.
Both teams come into this contest in Jacksonville on three-game winning streaks. Clemson (7-5) also was victorious in four of its last five games, while Nebraska (8-4) took five of its final six.
Oddsmakers from Online Sportsbook Sportsbook.com have made Clemson –3 point spread favorites for the Gator Bowl against Nebraska. Current College Fooball Public Betting Information shows that 52% of more than 2,062 bets for this game have been placed on the Nebraska +3.
"The way they finished and the way we finished, that's probably why they wanted to put these two teams together," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said.
The Tigers will make a record ninth Gator Bowl appearance, and their first since 2001. Given the hype coming into the season, though, Clemson may have thought it would be playing in another part of Florida for the national championship.
Entering its 10th season under Tommy Bowden, Clemson was ranked ninth in the Top 25 and considered a clear-cut favorite to win the ACC. The Tigers, though, started with a 34-10 loss to Alabama that dropped them out of the poll.
After winning three straight - including two non-conference routs - all seemed well for Bowden's team. Lackluster losses to Maryland and Wake Forest, however, and the inability to get much production from quarterback Cullen Harper and the backfield of James Davis and C.J. Spiller resulted in Bowden resigning on Oct. 13 and being replaced by Swinney.
"There's a lot of things still on the table for this team," Swinney said after being given the job on an interim basis.
Clemson narrowly lost to Georgia Tech in Swinney's debut, but averaged 347.0 yards during double-digit wins over Duke, Virginia and South Carolina to close the regular season.
Swinney, who will return as coach next season, said the players' resiliency was the reason for Clemson being able to play in the postseason.
"It is a great honor for us and a great tribute to our team for what they have accomplished over the last seven weeks," he said. "When we were a 3-4 football team, we could only dream about a New Year's Day bowl and for that to be a reality is a very special thing.
"You have to give all the credit to the players because they got it done. Playing on New Year's Day goes back to the players. We talked about it on Oct. 13 and set our goals, and this was one of them."
It's not yet known which quarterback will start for Clemson. Freshman Willy Korn had surgery earlier this month on his throwing shoulder and is undergoing rehabilitation.
In six games, Korn was 26-of-38 for 216 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Harper, a senior, threw for 2,395 yards with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 12 games. That was a huge drop from last season, when Harper fell just short of 3,000 yards passing with 27 touchdowns and six picks.
Though he had 11 touchdowns, Davis finished with only 725 rushing yards after running for more than 1,000 each of the past two seasons. Spiller had 612 yards with seven rushing scores in 11 games.
Aaron Kelly is the Tigers' top receiver (61 catches, 648 yards), followed by Jacoby Ford (50, 598). Those two along with Spiller and Michael Palmer lead Clemson with three receiving TDs each.
Nebraska, in its first season under Bo Pelini, finds itself in the Gator Bowl for the first time. This will be the Cornhuskers' 45th bowl appearance, and first in Florida since beating Tennessee in the 1998 Orange Bowl for the national championship.
Pelini, the former LSU defensive coordinator, said Nebraska is headed in the right direction after four dismal seasons under Bill Callahan.
"We wanted to make progress," Pelini said. "We feel we made some progress - not as far as we wanted to go, as far as the record is concerned, but it gives us an opportunity to get one more win."
As interim coach in place of Frank Solich in 2003, Pelini guided Nebraska to a 17-3 win over Michigan State in the Alamo Bowl.
The Huskers followed a season-opening three-game winning streak with three straight losses, two against ranked foes Missouri and Texas Tech. Nebraska's lone loss in its final six games was to Big 12 champion Oklahoma in Norman.
Led by senior quarterback Joe Ganz, Nebraska scored 141 points in its final three games. Ganz completed 71.6 percent of his passes for 823 yards with seven touchdowns and two interceptions in wins over Kansas, Kansas State and Colorado.
In a conference that includes Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford of Oklahoma, Heisman finalist Colt McCoy of Texas, former finalist Chase Daniel of Missouri and Texas Tech's Graham Harrell, it's easy to overlook Ganz. He completed nearly 70 percent of his passes this season for 3,332 yards with 23 touchdowns.
Nate Swift and Mike McNeill were on the receiving end of most of Ganz's passes. Swift led the team with 60 catches for 909 yards and nine TDs, while McNeill had 29 receptions - six for touchdowns.
On the ground, the Huskers were led by Roy Helu (804 yards) and Marlon Lucky (517), who each had seven scores. Quentin Castille added six and Ganz five.
That helped Nebraska finish in the top 20 in the nation in scoring with 36.2 points per game. Pelini's squad will be tested by Clemson's defense, which was 10th in the nation allowing an average of 16.6 points.
Clemson and Nebraska have met before in a bowl game. The Tigers wrapped up a 12-0 season and won the 1981 national championship with a 22-15 victory over the Huskers in the Orange Bowl.
Gator Bowl Key Player Injuries:
[2nd QB] Willy Korn is %27?%27 - Shoulder - 12/07/08
[Backup QB] Kyle Parker is out indefinitely. - Wrist - 11/13/08
[OG] Barry Humphries is expected to miss remainder of the season. - ACL -
[DT] Jamie Cumbie likely to miss rest of season - Wrist - 09/04/08
[DE] Ricky Sapp is expected to miss the rest of the season. - Knee - 11/24
[DE] Barry Turner out for the season. - Leg - 09/06/08
[DT] Kevin Dixon has been dismissed from the team. - Disciplinary - 08/07/
[LB] Phillip Dillard is probable. - Ankle - 12/10/08
[LB] Cody Glenn is out indefinitely. - Suspension - 11/11/08
[CB] Anthony Blue is out indefinitely - Knee - 08/30/08
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Posted: 12/16/08 7:27PM ET


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Monthly Archives: April 2008
10 Things to do at NITK
Ok given the fact that I have about 18 hours left to stay at NITK, I am just trying to blurt out all the things that I want to say before I leave this place. One of them is the list of things to do once you come here and before you graduate and leave. This is meant to be a list which includes the stuff that I did and the stuff that I wished I had done. And it is no particular order. So here is the list of the 10 things you should do at NITK:
1) Drink alcohol: Thats right! Alcohol has been the greatest discovery of my 4 years here. The only reason why I really feel that I have enjoyed my best years has been largely alcohol. In case you are apprehensive about consuming alcohol, please allow me to say this: If you plan to remain a teetotaller your whole life and not taste alcohol ever, then stay that way. But if there is even the slightest possibility of you taking up drinking at the age of say 30 or 40 or any other time, then at that time, you will miserably regret only about one thing. You will be cursing yourself "What the F**** was I doing in my college man??" So dont allow that to happen.
2) Go to a lot of treks: There are plenty of places in and around the campus and all you have to do is take advantage of this fact and get your asses out of your room and visit them. Whatever you do, never become like me in this aspect. In all the 4 years, I just went to one place on a trip! So don't do the same mistake and go hiking now and then!
3) Learn an Instrument: 4 years is a really long time and definitely long enough to learn an instrument of your choice. Guitars are popular but there are people who teach other stuff too. Trust me when I say that I have seen a lot of guys picking up the guitar for the first time in their lives in the 1st year and become Pros by Final Year.
4) Listen to Floyd: If you have not yet heard to Floyd before coming to this place, then for your survival you need to listen to it at the earliest.
5) Get a chic: This is not just a suggestion. It will really make your time worthwhile if you have one. Doesn't necessarily have to be a serious relationship or anything. It will make a difference during fests and other occasions. But of course, this being NITK, there is bound to be a shortage of chics in the campus. So the immediate alternative is to go to Manipal in search of greener pastures. Oh BTW, this is also one of the things I wish I had done.
6) Visit all Major Fests: Saarang, Mood-I are all a must! I just went to 1 Mood-I and it was a different experience altogether. These fests are the only opportunities for you to witness the biggest congregation of the best chics in INDIA! So don't miss out on these things!
7) Watch a lot of Movies and Serials: I cannot emphasize enough the importance of this thing. Given the LAN and the DC++ hubs, you have to make use of these things as they will not be available to you later.
8) Go to the following places: Ganesh Canteen, Sharath Bar, Akshaya Bar, Garuda Bar, Bittu's, Thadambail (for the orgasmic hot early morning buns), Basheer / Sundar, Pehelwan's and Krishna's. Having stayed in the NITK hostels, it is imperative that you go to these places as frequently as possible.
9) Play daily: Irrespective of what you are interested in, be it football, cricket, basketball, volleyball or even swimming, just make sure that you play as much as possible because you will not get such good regular company ever again!
10) Just have FUN: In the end, irrespective of what you do, just make sure that you have had a lot of fun in the campus life. A passing out senior once told me this: "There are a lot of guys here who now regret that they didn't enjoy their 4 years here. Don't make that mistake" His words echoed through my head everyday and so now, as a passing out Final Year, I tell you the same thing: "Have a lot of fun and enjoy these 4 years!"
This hasn't particularly been one of the better posts that I have written, but nevertheless I mean each and every word that I have written here.
Drunk Quizzing a.k.a Post B.Tech Final High!
And the curtains finally come down on the exclusive series on my inebriated experiences, courtesy the Farewell Quiz a.k.a the Drunken Quizzing. There was booze. There was fags. And there was a quiz. The LSD society of NITK turned up at 11 PM in decent numbers to continue the tradition of holding the last quiz under inebriated conditions. Quizmasters for the night- Tul, Bussu and Me. ROYAL STAG was the official alcohol served for the needy.
The quiz got underway with Appar proposing a toast to all the LSD members who had gathered there. To hell with scoring! Thats why Matthias was asked to keep the scores! Bussu starts off with the quiz then followed by me. Damn when the turn came for me to be the quizmaster, I was already high! But what the hell! I still conducted my quiz. And it was an amazing experience doing so, one that I will take away from my quizzing days here at LSD. Some of my questions were good while some were outright obvious. My favourite question of the lot:
4 tbs teryaki marinade
6 pineapple slices
6 slices of provolne, colby, or mozz
1 pkg Hawaiian sweet buns
roll up 6 patties. season!
Secret Sauce-
equal parts ketchup and brown sugar
simmer all ingredients untill sugar is melted and fully blended.
It was targeted at Appar and he ended up cracking it! Of course the answer to this is the Big Kahuna Burger from Pulp Fiction!
Tul continued with the quiz and wound up shortly. Most of us were high by then and thus ended the last quiz here at the Literary Stage and Debating Society of NITK, better known as the Quiz Club. Holla was revealed to be the Con of LSD for the next academic year. I just hopes he does a good job at that.
All in all, one of my real passions here at NITK came to a perfect and memorable end. I will definitely remember all the Quizzing greats who were once part of this great tradition and of course all the action that I was part of. Will sorely miss LSD.
Of course, my inebriated experience continued with me taking a much needed walk around the campus, this time with the company of Julie. Talked a lot and came back and spoke some more and then went to bed. And then in the morning, I suddenly have some vague memories of me performing the holy act of throwing up! I seriously do not recollect anything concrete after I went to bed. But some memory of me puking still exists and there was indeed proof to corroborate that in the form of some really wasted taste in my mouth when I woke up! So either way, that was my last inebriated experience at NITK.
And that was about it! One of the best discoveries of my life. Just glad to have known about it! Some day soon, I will probably write some stuff in retrospection about alcohol and me.
Post B.Tech High No. 3 & 4
Thanks largely to my good friend with a SHADY VOICE, I was stabbed on Friday with my efforts to get drunk again. But of course I only had to wait till Saturday night thats yesterday to consume alcohol again! But unfortunately I couldn't have much. Just didn't go in.
Same with today. Though I have more stuff right now, I don't have glasses or for that matter company to drink. Just finished with half a litre of FOSTER'S beer. Most likely will stop at that.
Tomorrow the last quiz of the semester will be held in the block and there will be lots of booze. Will definitely get high then.
Have lots to say actually but will write them all once I am in a mood to do so. Will most likely be leaving hostel for good on Tuesday. Cant really believe it still.
A Shady Voice from the 'Corner' again says…
"Hi. My name is ROYAN. I like to stab people."
Post B.Tech High No.2
Ok for the first time in the brief history of this blog, this blog is going to be updated real time! This is largely a narration of my second experience of getting high on alcohol after my B.Tech got over day before yesterday. The first experience having taken place yesterday and the third one tomorrow.
11:23 PM: Logik, Sads and me are the drunkards for the night. I am having a KF Draught and an until-now-untried-by-me Bhutan Highland whiskey. Sads is having the aboriginal Mysore Lancer whiskey while Logik is admiring his Budweiser and Mysore Lancer. We have just opened a new blog about distorted lyrics about which I will be dealing separately. Logik and I are having the beer while Sads is gulping down his ML.
11:45 PM: With Eric Clapton's Unplugged Video being played in the Background to the tunes of Old Love and Layla, I couldn't resist myself playing the chords.
11:58 PM: We are done with our beer. But we are facing a small problem with the consumption of Whiskey. The only glass we had is being used by Sads and we need 2 more glasses to mix the Whiskey with the Local Drink JOY. So here is how we improvise:
1) Wash the used plastic glass and reuse it. As is being done by Logik.
2) Or if you happen to be a bit more intelligent like me, then you would cut open the beer can and wash THAT and mix your whiskey there.
12:47 AM: Niacin concert playing in the background with some of the best keyboarding and Bass guitaring ever heard. Mysore Lancer and Bhutan Highland turn out to be much better than expected.
1:03 AM: Listening to Yehudi Menuhin & Pandit Ravishankar instrumental solo. It is worthwhile to listen to when you are really high. The violin and sitar make the high a really memorable one.
1:30 AM: Listening to THE CHAIN by Fleetwood Mac followed by Man in a Box by Alice in Chains. Simultaneously belting juniors in DC++.
1:40 AM: Finally listening to the song of the night- Maggot Brain by Funkadelic. If you have not heard this song when you are high, then I strongly suggest you listen to this song the very next time you are stoned or drunk. It basically consists of a 10 minute guitar solo with no percussions and tailor made for the stoned! The background repetitive sequence of arpeggios is the only part of the song that I can play on my acoustic. And I can keep playing it all day.
1:42 AM: Sads: How many spokes are there in an umbrella???!!!???
Ok this guy is really high now…..
2:04 AM: All three of us are high and that is confirmed by the fact that we are listening to Jimi Hendrix and not complaining about it!
2:40 AM: All 3 of us decide to beat around the campus at this time. Sads suddenly realizes that he is really sloshed! Same for LOGIK. But I am perfect! As in I have achieved the optimal high that I had dreamt since over a year. And it feels great!
3:25AM: We are back from our CAMPUS BEAT inevitably involving belting the first years slogging their asses away! And I will now be doing something creative and Sads is still making the effort to get LOW! Logik is doing his usual stuff with his computer in his room.
4:30 AM: I get P and go to Thadambail with him to have early morning breakfast. Oh btw, in case you didn't know, Thadambail is this really shady place near the hostel which opens at 4:30 in the morning and caters to the hunger needs of the hostel junta who have their biological clock shifted by a few hours. And it was great again…
5:00AM: I am finally going to sleep now. I dont know if I will be able to drink again tonight.
So thats as far as my second post B.Tech high goes! Cya at my third experience!
A Shady Voice from the 'Corner' says….
"Hi, My name is Royan. Can I have some cash?"
Post B.Tech High No. 1
So this is exactly about my first high after my B.Tech. I am still in my hostel and will be leaving in a week. And in an effort to honor my pact which involves me drinking every day till I leave this place, I went to AKSHAYA bar with Masai, Sads, Nikhil Balaji and Goshta. 2 hours later we were at the beach at 10 in the night and high from all the drinking. Felt the cool breeze over our numb faces add to the already nostalgic ambience. Heard the waves crash against the rocks incessantly.Talked all shit that we could have possibly spoken. Belted everyone possible. Discussed every regret that we had over the past 4 years.
And in the end, made a pact that we would go there again on Saturday 19th and drink there itself. And thats exactly what we gonna do. But of course that doesn't mean I dont do anything in the meantime. My main objective in these last 6 days of my 4 year stay at NITK is to do all the things that I never ended up doing all this time. Going to the beach drunk was something that I hadn't done before. And thats exactly what I am going to continue to do so. Will update on a daily basis.
Presently still in an inebriated state of mind……
And before I forget, we had a major kick in the senses while coming back from the beach a few minutes back when we just passed beside a bloody full length PYTHON lying on the road under a street lamp!!!!!! It was so damn thick and long and so bloody intimidating in the state that we were in, that we just freaked and ran! But damn it was good!
Technically, my last post….
Thats right. I am more or less done with this place now. My only exam got over today and I only have to get the signatures on my project report tomorrow. And after that, I will be officially disconnected with this place.
4 years at NITK Suratkal have not exactly been my best. But it has definitely been the most educative and worthwhile years of my life. This blog was started after witnessing certain stuff here about 2 years back. And now that I am writing what is going to be officially the last post before I am really done with this place, it feels a little strange. But I will not say anything else now.
I will mostly be leaving in a week. Leaving for good. I still really cannot comprehend the fact that it is all indeed over. So in this one week, I plan to live life to the fullest. Even if that means getting drunk twice a day, everyday, I will still enjoy this last week of my stay at NITK. And more importantly I have a lot to say.
So I will be embarking on a BLOGGING MARATHON starting tomorrow. And most of them will be about my 4 years here at NITK. And in the end, I will write one post that will completely epitomize everything that I went through and learnt in these 4 years. So keep watching this space.
And so this is how my officially last post as an NITK Student comes to an end. BYE!!!
Civil Branch Diary
Thanks to my good friend's timely intervention, I had to remove the Civil Branch Diary post that I had put up a few weeks back. But now that the College Mag is out, I do not have any problems with putting up my Branch's Diary for the 4 years that we have stayed here. This appeared in the college mag VITRUVIAN and was written largely by me with inputs from various sources. I thank all those people who came up with ideas for the Branch Diary.
One word of note: The Civil girls of my batch, like I had notified in my earlier post, really believed that they had the complete rights to write the Branch Diary. But of course, I was not giving anything to them! Not that I have anything against them..it is just that I dont like them. Period. So you will hardly find much stuff commending the girls' achievements in here. Some of the girls actually went to the extent of making fun of it. But now that they have a copy, I have just one thing to say:
Also of note is the fact that one of my earlier posts- Banality a.k.a Bollywood-also has found it's way into VITRUVIAN with some minor editing, which I frankly found that it made the article better. So if you have a copy of the VITRU, then do read it or you can visit the link that I have given.
So anyway, here is a copy of the Civil Branch Diary that I wrote for VITRUVIAN.
Concrete Ideas
Four years is not exactly a long time. Especially, if you happen to be studying in the Civil Dept. But it was definitely long enough for a bunch of complete strangers to bond like concrete and forge friendships of steel.
First Year
The first year took off with us Civil junta being clubbed together with the Mining junta for the duration of the first year. The first few days largely consisted of teachers regularly subjecting us to repetitive hypnotic sessions, thereby firmly drilling into our heads, the fact that "NITK is a great Institute" and that "We have made the 'correct' decision of joining Civil or Mining." After the initial ice breaking was over, Yadav was 'elected' the CR by the handful of the class junta who actually made the effort to wake up early on a Saturday morning and go all the way to cast their precious vote. Very soon, the junta visiting the gym found it to be a totally unnecessary act, as the weekly Drawing and Workshop hours successfully catered to the need for physical exercise. C Programming theory, as per the 'SENIOR' Faculty (who made it a point to regularly emphasize the 'Senior' part), was officially over in the second week! (Thank God for Yashwanth Kanetkar!) The Trical classes were renowned for their insight into life and its many mysteries – courtesy Punekar. Of more significance, however, were the extra-small question papers in the exams, conveniently followed by the single digit marks, distributed generously for the majority! (All Hail the Relative Grading System!) Julie topped (an act that would be repeated many more times) both the semesters with his high 9 pointers-with Som and Eshita right behind him.
Third Semester
The third semester kicked off with Pandey and Manish heading off to Mech and Chem respectively to seek greener pastures. (So much for all those hypnotic sessions!)Enter The New Guy- Tidke with all his extra experience. 42 (Yes it is indeed the answer to life, universe and everything!) – was the final number of misguided souls from all over the country and abroad making up the class junta for the rest of the years! Battery, as the new CR, took the solemn oath to make sure that more classes were cancelled and assignments postponed. Crrescendo saw Julie, Shreyas, Loki, Unmukt, Waheez, Ronsi, Sandy, Meghali and VJ –all making up the 2nd year dance team. From then on, the official dance team always unofficially comprised of Civil guys and IT gals. Meanwhile, Sasikumar, with Mechanics of Materials, went one step ahead in terms of low marks which saw the whole class get more zeros during the course than in their entire life. But rest assured! The grading system once again came to our rescue with the 'cut-off' for FF very conveniently fixed at -9! The tradition of utilizing the Survey Practice as an excuse to get a sneak-peak into the neighbouring Maximum Security Prison (read GB) continued, with guys with dumpy levels and cross staffs getting up, close and personal views of the GB gate and the forbidden territories within! The 'educational' class trip-courtesy Hari and Loki-to St. Mary's Island to witness the rare 'hexagonal rock formations' ended up being the most fun-filled event in the semester, with almost the entire class turning up for the day long trip! (Oh, we did see those rock formations you know..) DVR's chillax Geology classes coupled with the Mid-Sem=End Sem Geology question papers made the third semester a breeze. The semester wound up with Julie topping yet again.
Fourth Semester
Enter fourth semester. The class junta suddenly found themselves choked in pending assignments and projects. Endangered species included the junta who did the assignments by themselves, as a result of which Som, Julie, Prass and others suddenly became, everyone's 'Chaddi Dost'! The combination of Fluid Mechanics and BMD (not to be confused with the sacred concept of the Bending Moment Diagram!) proved to be not so 'friendly' after all with the entire class junta 'accidentally' (yes we still maintain it as coincidental!) mass bunking for the one and only time in all the 4 years! With the progress of the semester, the expectancy level of English in BMD's classes seemed to depreciate at such an alarming rate that by the end of the semester, the class junta began to doubt their own grammar! Meanwhile SN provided the spark in the class with his exuberant lectures on Soil Mechanics. VG's never ending list of projects kept everyone on their toes, what with VG doling out free advice (read 'mandatory rules') on how to write the project like a PhD thesis! BRJ's Structural Analysis lectures were reminiscent of the hypnotic sessions in the first year while KSBN made a guest appearance to teach us a small part of Design. Geology lab exam suddenly increased the traffic to A1 Printers with extra demand for µ-Xeroxes! The semester ended up with Julie topping the class again (This is getting very boring!) making it 4 consecutive semesters at the top for him!
Arbit Civilian: Sir, the mid-sem was very easy. Everybody scored well!
SN (smiling): Wait till you see the technical quiz…
(After technical quiz…)
Arbit Civilian: Show some mercy…Show some mercy!
Fifth Semester
The fifth semester perhaps saw the best teachers around handling the courses for us throughout the semester. LN with Water Conveyance Systems, Sasikumar with Optimization, MCN with Analysis-II, AUR with his extra cool Highway and Traffic Engineering classes and SN back with Applied Soil Mech made the experience of attending classes a truly memorable one! On the other hand, the Management Theory classes successfully reminded us of why not all courses in a semester can be interesting. Drawing came back to haunt us again in the form of Building Drawing – this time under the jurisdiction of VG! One very unfortunate batch of class junta were destined to attend one more semester of BMD's classes –this time for FM Lab! Yadav's second term as CR saw him set new benchmarks when it came to the CR bunking classes which in turn made the junta aptly name him 'Bunkit'! Meanwhile, NR, RoyaanD, Som, Shreyas, Nagarjun and Pras made waves at the Civil Fest NIRMAAN at BMSCE by winning the rolling trophy, competing against colleges from all over the country! And in the class, RoyaanD, Ram, Anil, Ostrich, Pammar, Mukki, Tidke, Ganolia, Mallu, Pammar, PVD and others had firmly established their positions in the class as the Lords of the Last Bench with some of them even making it into the official late-comers list. Concrete Technology saw the junta who had taken the elective set new records in mugging and reproducing extra-arbit facts in the exams. Finally there was a switch in pole position with Eshita on top, taking over from Julie for the first time!
Sixth Semester
The sixth semester saw a blend of courses ranging from the monologue-driven Environmental Engg to the monotonous Steel Design to the no-attendance-taken Water Resources and many more. NR decided to build his 'foundations' in M.Tech by taking up two PG electives, thus setting the stage for others to do the same in future semesters. Yaragal's Steel Design dictation classes saw new records being set for writing down dictated problems (and their solution!) throughout the semester. MKN's Water Resources saw a horde of Final Year junta taking up the course- thanks largely due to MKN's no-attendance-taken policy coupled with the extra lenient exam invigilation and generous grades. The official Last Benchers added one more dimension to their Association by judiciously utilizing the back-door of the Seminar Hall during Environmental classes (strictly for Emergency EXIT purposes only!). Meanwhile, Yadav worked extremely hard to come up with a pink gay-looking Branch T-Shirt which prompted the class junta to boycott wearing it under any circumstances. The low attendance in the classes was more than made up by the increased attendance of some of the class junta at the local bars with Ostrich, RoyaanD, Anil and other fellow Last Benchers leading the way. Nagarjun and Battery were elected PCs for a very hectic Placement Schedule that was due to come up soon. Chotu belted GATE with a cool double digit rank! Eshita continued her reign at the top by topping in the sixth semester as well.
Seventh Semester
The advent of Final Year suddenly saw a clear transition in terms of many things including number of class hours, attendance (both at bars and classes) along with the role of the CR! PvD was elected the CR amidst a heated race for the union elections and immediately raised the benchmark set by Yadav with regard to bunking classes! Swarna was subsequently elected the GB Mata by all the inmates of the neighbouring Maximum Security Prison. Julie, Ganolia, Tidke, Shreyas & Unmukt suddenly found themselves being addressed as Con or Joint Con of various clubs. Meanwhile the Placement scene was teeming with frenzy, with almost everyone getting placed in a myriad of companies. Soumya and Vineet headed the pay scale by getting into Exeter and Oracle respectively. For the first time, Core companies actually faced a problem of choice with a Civil company offering the highest package in the college this time. Placements also served as a very valid excuse to bunk more classes in an already class-starved timetable! NR and Jasim went on to win the Rolling Trophy at BMSCE for the second time in succession along with a group of juniors. Yaragal returned with one more semester of Dictation for Estimation and Costing. On the other hand, the highlight of the semester were the inspirational lectures on Structural Design and Drawing by KSBN & MCN followed by the torturous drawing sessions (in the rooms). The Drawing classes were truly engrossing with KSBN's impeccable concepts and style of teaching, coupled with his frequent references to all the things that 'Keshava' CAN do! Come to think of it, is there anything that 'Keshava' CANNOT do??!!? The 'light and glass' tracing apparatus in 8th block became the most demanded thing on Thursday afternoons. The sight of all the junta walking to the drawing hall for the end sem, with their boards and drafters, reminded all of a herd of sheep heading to the slaughterhouse! The semester culminated with Som belting all the subjects and becoming the first 10-pointer in the class!
Eighth Semester
Boredom and inactivity reached new heights with most of the junta having a maximum of 3 hours of classes every week- thanks largely to AUR's 4 hours-for-the-semester Transportation Studio! PG electives became the order of the day with most of the guys taking up M.Tech courses. Civil Engg became the only branch in the batch to hit 100% placement! Civil Events @ ENGINEER'08 saw widespread participation from various colleges- thanks largely to the untiring efforts of NR, Loki, Naga and Shreyas. Driven by boredom, jobless junta resorted to prank calls to kill the time. Major Projects remained very much in a latent state for most of the semester with almost everyone getting into action only after the deadlines were announced! Naga, having slogged for CAT, made all the Civil guys proud by receiving all 6 calls from the IIMs! Chotu improved upon his previous attempt and went on to bag the 22nd rank in GATE. Som , RoyaanD, Battery & Shreyas made it into big name universities like UMich, Virginia Tech, Maryland etc., with more admits well in sight! Civil farewell saw each member of the female population of the batch shed light on the on-campus mystery as to why all the Civil GB inmates were a cult-both in and out of GB!
All said and done, that was just the tip of the iceberg. It will take a lot more to write about all the fun and frolic that we have been through in these 4 years. 4 years, where we met some of the best people, the Masters in their field and drew inspirations from them. And wherever we may go, whatever we may do, we will always remain 'The Civil Junta' from NITK Suratkal!
So that was my branch diary. If you were in the Civil Batch of 04-08, then you will know who is who. And of course, I am NR in the diary.
And I am Back!!
Notwithstanding the steadily diminishing reader count for this exclusive blog coupled with the fact that I have my project submission tomorrow and that this might as well be the last post of my life as an Undergraduate student at NITK Suratkal, I have decided to take charge of the situation and rescue my faithful blog from the mediocrities of low blog view count and low posting frequency! Thanks largely to my college authorities' sudden interest in the 'upgrading' of the Internet 'facililties' (Read IRONPORT Site Blocker), the closest I have got to the world of Internet in the past couple of weeks is GTalk Pinging and chatting- what with the 'upgrading' resulting in NITKian's best friend:ULTRASURF, being rendered useless.
But FEAR NOT my friend for the NITKians toiled day and night, in search of that one route to freedom, that one route to open all gates to the world of Orkutting, Facebooking (or whatever you choose to call it), unlimited power for self expression and the likes. And what a reward indeed!
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I present to you:
FREEGATE Ver.6.6!!! The new age ULTRASURF; brand new on the NITKian Computer! Available for Free Download on DC++ and yet to be detected and blocked by the NITK CCC Server!
All hail the NITKian Spirit!
Ok now lets get down to the real reason why I am even writing this post. Fact is that I just have too much to say! So much I can't even recollect them all now! So I will just start somewhere:
1. Firstly, I should be writing my Major Project Report now instead of this pointless blog. Hey but what the hell! Iam desperately in need of some self expression, what with the closest I have got to putting thoughts on paper was my marathon 48 hour report writing involving Soil Slope Stability using Finite Element Method of Analysis and PLAXIS software!
2. I have exactly 7 days to go before I am officially out of my college-what with Final Year actually being the FINAL YEAR! Though I am most likely going to stay for about 10-12 more days, it is very possible that this is my last post as an official NITKian. I had wanted to reach 100 posts before leaving this college and I guess I will do it after my exam gets over on 14th.
3. Due to the complete inconsequence of the following fact, I shall reveal the same. After it's brief stint with a sudden burst of activity, my mobile phone is back to it's old ways of inactivity and sluggishness.
4. During my marathon report writing, I just reinforced my long standing belief that MS WORD SUCKS!!!!! And that LaTeX ROCKS!!!!
5. Now here is something! A few weeks back, I finally got my lazy ass out of my room and went on a trek with 4 of my friends to the Kodachadari peak. I will shortly be writing a blog dedicated to all the adventures we had during that 2 day trek along with Logik's regular crap-a-holic needs, Cramp-Man's cramps, Akella's stint as the Bad Bouncer, Sads' musings with his inebriated self and lest I forget, "How Masai got high, got wild and got a thought of Humping the Whores next room!!" Keep watching this blog for full details in the near future.
6. The following incident involves very graphic description of what a human being is capable of when he/she is high. Reader Discretion is advised. One of my good friends, fellow drunkard, fellow Blogger and fellow wanna-be-high-in-general had this bizarre incident during HOLI that left everyone open-mouthed and one person's bed wet! I present to you the story of "How ***** got high, got sleepy and got Adi's bed wet!" Now, without wasting too much time on unnecessary details, it will be sufficient to say that the person in question grossly misjudged the amount of the traditional "24 Hour Full Power" B***G Balls that were needed to get one stoned! And now lets skip to the part when ***** got too stoned, went into Adi's room and went to sleep on his bed. Now lets fast forward to the moment when ***** suddenly wakes up and finds all the people around him laughing for some reason hitherto unknown to him. Then it is only a matter of time before even the stoned ***** realizes that the bed is fully wet with his own liquid assets! And it is then that ***** requests someone to guide him to the right place to relieve himself and then guide him back to his own room. So there is your story of "How ***** got high, got sleepy…………." NOTE: The 'human being' in question, after reading this post, suddenly came up with threats that can't be mentioned here for the fact that I had publicized his (mis)adventure with wrong details. So, with all due apologies to Mr. *****, I have made the changes that you have requested for!
7. And talking about Holi, I celebrated Holi after a gap of 2 years and I have to say I really enjoyed it. What with me almost witnessing the "Female Mud Wrestling" (the wrestling part being the one that was absent), "Throw the dude in the pit!" and "Get Dirty" competitions! Of special mention, however was the once-in-a-lifetime sight of Ms. Nachiketa doing a 'Hulk-Hogan' on some innocent looking dude by trying to rip off his shirt! Thank God I made a timely intervention and tried to reason with her in the following way: "Hey this is not fair! You can rip our shirts but we can't rip yours!!" Obviously it didn't work! In other events, there is always this added dimension to Holi celebrations and this time it was more so given the fact that that special someone (see Point 9) was there to play Holi with me.
8. With only a few days left in the college, the college junta suddenly seemed to be in a mood to write politically-too-correct testimonials for all the people in the batch. This includes the people whom they have spoken to, the people whom they know by name and those people whose faces they were seeing for the first time in the yearbook in all the 4 years! I spent considerable time trying to come up with the Top 10 Testimonials written by anyone to anyone. I am more or less done with my list and will be uploading it shortly.
9. At this point, I would like to point out that I recently experienced a long forgotten feeling which made me smile with genuine happiness. Though on a miniature scale and transient in nature, it was enough to remind me that all is not over still and that there is still a chance for me. After a gap of about a year and a half, there is finally one more message that is stored permanently in my mobile inbox. To whoever that person is: THANK YOU FOR THAT LITTLE THING!
10. Royan owes me 100 bucks. But he is broke. If anyone has any money to give away, either as charity or as a long term ( I mean really really long term) loan, please contact him. He needs money to recharge his mobile so that he can talk to that someone from 12 in the night to 4 in the morning.
11. My Dad suddenly dropped a bomb shell at home by saying that he is going to quit his job and that he is starting a Restaurant of his own! Given the fact that my dad is 53 years old, I have to say I really admire his enthusiasm at that age! Next thing I know: Opening date for Restaurant: 11th May 2008.
So there you have it! Some updates on whatever is happening in my life of late. And if you will excuse me for now, I need to get on with my report as I would still like to be eligible for my Bachelor's Degree after 4 years.