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The Zen master of full-size sedans.
Fullsize Cars
Editor: New Car Test Drive
$32,595 Base Price MSRP
$38,045 As Tested MSRP
Model Lineup: "Toyota Avalon ($32,595); Avalon Limited ($35,835)"
Standard Engine: 3.5-liter dohc 24v V6 with variable valve timing
Engine Options: 268-hp 3.5 liter V6
Standard Transmission: 6-speed automatic with torque-converter
Transmission Options: 6-speed automatic
Basic Warranty: "3 years/36,000 miles"
Assembled In: "Georgetown, Kentucky"
Model Tested MSRP: "Toyota Avalon Limited ($35,835)"
Standard Equipment: "perforated leather-trimmed seats front seats with heating, cooling, eight-way power adjustment, and driver memory, simulated wood trim, dual-zone climate control with cabin air filter, proximity key with push-button start, 660-watt JBL Synthesis audio with 12-speakers, subwoofer, XM satellite radio, 6CD changer, USB port and Bluetooth wireless connectivity, power windows with one-touch operation, cruise control, manual tilt-telescope wood-and-leather steering wheel with audio and climate controls, auto-dimming rearview mirror with compass and Homelink universal transceiver, reclining rear seats with 64/40 fold function and locking trunk pass-through, power glass sunroof, power rear-glass sunshade, two 12-volt power points, heated outside mirrors with electrochromic auto-dimming, turn indicators and puddle lights, aluminum door scuff plates, self-leveling HID headlights, integrated fog lights, 17-inch alloy wheels with full-size spare"
Options As Tested: "Navigation ($1,450) with touch-screen, DVD, voice control and rearview camera "
Standard Safety Equipment: "front-impact airbags, driver's knee airbag, front passenger side-impact airbags, curtain-style head protection airbags for all outboard seats, active front head restraints, anti-lock brakes (ABS) with electronic brake-force distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist, Vehicle Stability Control with traction control, tire-pressure monitor"
Optional Safety Equipment: rearview cameraDestination Charge: $760
Toyota calls the 2011 Avalon redesigned, but its V6 engine, 6-speed automatic transmission and other mechanical components are carryover. We'd call it mildly re-styled and updated inside for 2011.
The 2011 Avalon improves on already impressive fuel economy ratings by 1 mpg. Also, the 2011 Toyota Avalon line-up is reduced to two models: Loaded, and really loaded. In reality, the Avalon gets just a tad better at what it already did really well. We'd described it as refuge from a hectic world.
The Avalon may not be exciting by any familiar automotive definition, but it can thrill on a daily basis with its smoothness, overall easy operation and sound, uncomplicated functionality. There's no dishonesty in this car, because it doesn't pretend to be anything it isn't.
Avalon's serenity flows from many things, including its underlying design, vibration-mitigating features and good build quality. Whatever the reasons, the Avalon is more tranquil than many sedans that cost a lot more. Empty-nesters will appreciate it for its comfort and flexibility, and families for its space, low operating cost and extensive list of standard equipment.
The base 2011 Avalon comes with just about everything any driver really needs, and then some, including leather seating, dual-zone automatic climate control, and a good stereo with Bluetooth, XM satellite radio and a CD changer. The Avalon Limited adds luxury class ventilated front seats, a power-operated rear window sunshade and mega-watt JBL surround audio.
Its styling may not be flashy, but Avalon's interior is first rate, It's finished with pleasing materials, equipped with ergonomically functional controls and filled with storage nooks. The front seats are roomy and comfortable, the back seat downright spacious. The Avalon rides as comfortably as any car made, almost impervious to the worst roads we travel.
It also delivers good acceleration and mileage for such a roomy car. Its automatic transmission is quick shifting and decisive. It's pleasant to drive for just about any purpose, but it's never sloppy, and it won't fail you if you happen to be in a hurry. The standard array of safety equipment surpasses that required by federal law, including a knee-protection airbag for the driver, and Avalon performs well in government and insurance-industry crash tests.
Bottom line, the Toyota Avalon is easy to like and even easier to enjoy. A test drive might leave you wondering why anyone seeking a smooth, quiet, roomy sedan would pay more than it takes to buy an Avalon."
"The 2011 Toyota Avalon lineup has been streamlined, with just two thoroughly equipped models. Both come with a 268-horsepower, 3.5-liter V6 and 6-speed automatic transmission.
The Avalon ($32,595) comes standard with leather upholstery, a full complement of power accessories and features such as full-power front seats, dual-zone climate control with cabin air filter, audio and climate controls on the steering wheel, a power moonroof, auto-dimming rearview mirror with compass and Homelink universal transceiver, fog lights and 17-inch alloy wheels. The audio system has nine speakers, a six-CD changer, XM satellite radio receiver, a USB connector and Bluetooth wireless connectivity. Options include heated front seats ($440), memory seats with heating and cooling ($1,020), and premium, 660-watt JBL Synthesis audio ($900) with 12 speakers. The Navigation System with JBL Audio ($2,350) uses a 4CD changer and includes a rearview camera. Dealer installed options include remote start.
Avalon Limited ($35,835) adds a proximity key with pushbutton start, HID headlamps, a wood-and-leather-trimmed shift knob and steering wheel, rain-sensing windshield wipers and a power sunshade for the rear glass. Options for the Limited are limited to a touch-screen navigation system with voice control ($1,450) and rearview camera; and special paint colors ($220).
Safety features on all Avalons include front-impact airbags, a driver's knee airbag, seat-mounted side-impact airbags for front passengers, side-curtain head-protection airbags for outboard passengers front and rear and active front seat headrests, which are intended to cradle the head more effectively in a rear impact and limit whiplash injuries. Active safety features include Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), anti-lock brakes (ABS) with electronic brake-force distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist, and a tire pressure monitor. The optional rearview camera included with the navigation system can help the driver spot a child or pedestrian when backing up and we recommend getting it."
Walk Around
"The Toyota Avalon's calling card certainly isn't flashy looks. On the other hand, its styling is appropriately staid and elegant, and anything but offensive. The shape comes across as exactly what it is: a wrapping for the exceptionally comfortable, spacious cabin inside. In that sense, it recalls some stately European sedans of the 1950s and '60s.
Toyota has re-styled the full-size Avalon for 2011, though the changes are hardly dramatic. It requires fairly thorough inspection to realize that the Avalon has changed at all. The differences lie in details. Avalon's proportions and profile haven't changed a bit.
Nor have any of its dimensions, by more than a fraction of inch. Overall, the Avalon is eight inches longer than Toyota's top-selling Camry sedan. By most exterior dimensions, it's roughly the same size as the Ford Taurus, Chevrolet Impala, and Chrysler 300. Compared to European luxury sedans, it's larger than the mid-size Mercedes E-Class, but smaller than the full-size S-Class sedan.
The revised look for 2011 starts with a slightly wider grille connecting the headlight clusters with bolder, heavier chrome slats and trim. The lights apply the so-called light-pipe design, which creates the impression of illuminated tubes at night. The fog lights are now surrounded by a chrome garnish and more closely integrated in the air intake below the bumper.
Compared its predecessor, the 2011 Avalon has thicker, more obvious chrome strips around its side windows, and slightly smaller, more sculpted side mirrors. There's a thick strip of chrome at the bottom of the doors, above more prominently contoured side sills.
The taillights have been reshaped for 2011 to reduce turbulence at the rear. Indeed, many of the styling details are optimized to limit wind noise inside the car, including the shape of the windshield pillars and the placement of wipers under the hood line.
Subtle details distinguish Avalon Limited from the standard car. Its wheels have 10 thin spokes rather than five thicker ones, and its door handles are chrome rather than painted. The Limited's headlight clusters feature high-intensity discharge low beams, and its side mirrors have LED puddle lights underneath. These are essentially invisible until the doors are unlocked with the key fob, at which point the puddle lights dump a swath of light on the pavement underneath the front doors."
"The Toyota Avalon's dashboard and much of its cabin have been redesigned for 2011, and it adds a couple of new standard features. The unique sliding doors that used to cover Avalon's audio and climate control switches are gone, replaced by a more conventional array of buttons that are visible all the time. Nonetheless, the full-size Avalon still delivers one of Toyota's best interior packages.
In a nutshell, the interior is perfectly appropriate to this sedan's general character. It contributes to Avalon's serene ambience and, from the functional perspective, it's top-notch. The cabin is quiet, well-crafted and more than spacious, and we'd rank it at the top of its class.
There may not be a vehicle anywhere that's easier to climb into or out of than the Toyota Avalon. Its door openings are large, and the side doors have three stop positions rather than the typical two. That makes it easier for people of all sizes and strengths to get the doors to catch. The step-in height is low, yet the seat bottoms are fairly high, so the drop down or thrust up is short for averaged size drivers and passengers.
Once inside, occupants are greeted with a finish that's warm and pleasing. Our test car had a two-tone cabin, with black around the tops of the doors and dash, and an ivory color below. It reminded us of much more expensive cars. There are still a couple of trim pieces to demonstrate that the Avalon is not an extra-expensive luxury car but fewer than ever. The steering wheel in the Limited has wood-leather trim, like an $80,000 European car. The simulated wood trim now has a matte, oiled look, rather than the glossy stuff Toyota favored for years. If it doesn't look exactly like wood, it's genuinely attractive. Even the painted plastic pieces and chrome rings around the gauges and knobs are improved. The fit of the various parts and panels is impeccable.
The front seats are large enough to accommodate oversize folk, but not so expansive that they make petite occupants feel uncomfortable or unsupported. The seats are fairly flat and soft, but the relative flatness makes then easy to slide into, and there's enough strategic bolstering to keep lower backs and backsides from becoming numb within a half hour or so. Overall, we loved them. They'll adjust for a wide range of drivers, and the controls offer an excellent compromise between adequate adjustment and too many things to fiddle with. The Avalon Limited features a fan in the seat cushion and seatback that blows air through the perforated leather trim to improve comfort.
The steering wheel tilts and telescopes manually through a wide range. The side-mirror adjustor is on the dash to the left of the steering column, and nearly all drivers will be able to reach the switch and set the mirrors with back, shoulders and head settled into the normal driving position. The steering wheel has redundant buttons for climate and voice activation on the right spoke, and phone and audio on the left, and these too are an excellent compromise: Big and easy to find, but not confusing. Cruise-control settings get a separate stalk on the right side of the wheel. These work much better than the Mercedes-Benz stalk-mounted cruise control, which is too easily confused for the turn signals.
The window switches are placed perfectly on the driver's door armrest, so when the left forearm lies flat, they the switches are right at the fingertips. Wipers and lights follow Toyota's familiar pattern, with the light switch on the left, turn-signal stalk and wipers on the right. The moonroof switch is overhead, with garage-door buttons in the rearview mirror. Everything is positioned just as we like it.
The 2011 Avalon's new dashboard is clean and straightforward, but not overly simplistic in its aesthetic appeal. Its so-called Optitron gauges are large, back-lit with soft white and easy to read through smoked lenses. The switches are a bit more centralized than previously, and collected under a large LCD information display square in the center of the dash. The display offers a wide range of information, like inside temperature settings, outside temperature, date and fuel range, in large, easy-to-read script. It's not adversely affected by glaring sunlight.
The primary temperature, air flow and fan adjustment controls are huge, located below the screen. They operate with a firm, steady action, and they're nearly impossible to miss when the driver reaches a hand from the steering wheel. A six-CD changer is standard in the Avalon, and for 2011 so are Bluetooth wireless connectivity and XM satellite radio hardware. The upgrade JBL audio package delivers 660 watts of output. It sounds fantastic, though we could certainly live with the standard stereo.
The information screen itself is bigger than before for 2011, and the optional navigation system has an updated database. Hard buttons are used for audio functions to the left of screen, and more buttons for navigation and information to the right. There are also easy-to-find radial knobs for volume and tuning. In all, it's a good combination of mechanical buttons and touch-screen operation. The Avalon's interface lets the driver work a complex range of systems with minimal diversion of attention or concentration. Other manufacturers could learn a thing or two here.
The seat-warmer switches, and those for seat cooling on the Limited, are easy to find, right behind the gear selector on the center console. They're rheostat-type dials with fully variable range, rather than the typical two- or three-stage heat adjustment in most cars. The Limited also comes standard with a rear glass sunshade, operated by the driver. The shade lowers automatically if it's up when the driver engages Reverse, then lifts again when the driver selects Drive.
The Avalon is loaded with interior storage, and the center console design is excellent. There are three compartments around the shift lever, covered by touch-release doors. One exposes the cupholders, which are deep and fitted with little drink-securing levers. Another is at the bottom of the center stack, with a rubber mat to keep glasses, phone or whatever is placed inside from sliding. The third has a little pullout rack that will hold a phone or MP3 player.
The main box to the rear of the console is thickly padded, and the lid slides fore and aft to adjust as an armrest. Its height matches the armrests on the doors precisely. Inside, there's enough room for a handbag, a removable felt-lined tray with coin slots, a power point and auxiliary audio connections. The Avalon's door pockets are large, too. They don't have any lining material to keep items like phones, glasses or CD cases from sliding easily on the hard plastic, but we love how they swing open like a folder to allow an easy reach inside. The glove box has three or four times more volume than the owner's manual occupies, with little dampers that keep the door from just falling open.
The feeling of space, not to mention comfort, carries through to the back seat. Three adults will do quite well here. There's more leg room than in many taxis, and a 5-foot, 8-inch passenger could turn his hand sideways above his head without hitting the headliner. Even the middle space is wide enough, and soft enough, for an evening on the town. The floor is flat all the way across.
The Avalon's rear occupants get some nice perks, too. The seatbacks recline with a range comparable to a coach-class airline seat. Any recline feature is a rarity, even in sedans costing twice are much. There are individual reading lights overhead, and big air vents on the back of the center console. The lights are bright enough to read, without overly distracting the driver, and the vents can be directed or switched off completely.
The faux leather on the rear-door armrests is soft and feels rich. Stretchy pockets on the front seatbacks hold a small stack of magazines or a paperback. The rear door pockets are tiny, and they don't fold open like those in front. There's a shallow storage bin in the drop-down center armrest that will hold a tablet computer. There are also a couple of cup stabilization points in the armrest, but they are reliable cupholders only if there is a hand helping hold the cup.
The biggest gripe? Coat hooks, of all things. They should be further forward, toward the center pillars, where a shirt or even a dress hung on a hanger might drape freely in the space between the front and rear seats. As it is, the hooks are almost back to the seatbacks, where the dry cleaning bunches up and gets caught between the seat bottom and the door.
The trunk is another one of Avalon's relative weaknesses, though it probably isn't enough to offset this sedan's many strengths. With 14.4 cubic feet of space, the trunk is smaller than that in many similarly sized competitors. There's still decent room for luggage, and lift-over height is fairly low. Yet the Avalon's trunk is hampered by its basic shape, with a load area that's long but relatively narrow. Much of the available space stretches forward toward the rear seatback, under the rear glass and shelf.
The trunk lid raises itself once you open it with the remote key fob, something many trunk lids don't do, but the opening is smaller than that on other cars in the Avalon's class. And the locking pass-through into the cabin doesn't make a lot of sense. The hole through the seat is maybe five inches square, so you can't fit more than a couple of two-by-fours through it or a set of skis.
On the positive side, the trunk is as nicely finished as the cabin, with smooth carpeting. A standard, removable cargo net hangs within easy reach across the trunk opening to keep items such as plastic grocery bags from dumping or sliding around during transport. There's also a plastic bin to one side that might keep a partially empty jug of washer fluid or cleaning supplies leak-contained and relatively secure in normal driving."
Driving Impressions
"There's isn't much about the Toyota Avalon that we don't like. Some driving enthusiasts might say it's too vanilla, but there's a certain excitement in Avalon's overall competence, and it's a car we look forward to driving. It's pleasant to drive in all circumstances, and never aggravating. The value of that last point should not be underestimated because we see many luxury cars nowadays that are aggravating.
For 2011, the Avalon has been mildly re-styled and updated inside. None of the changes alter its driving dynamics, though there is one operational benefit. Slight improvements to this big sedan's aerodynamic efficiency raise its already impressive EPA fuel economy ratings by 1 mpg, city and highway.
Driving the Avalon truly is a tranquil experience. This sedan approaches serene, but it isn't numbing in a way that allows a driver to forget he or she is operating a motor vehicle. There's a linear, consistent feel to its controls, and it doesn't come across as sloppy.
The Avalon's powertrain provides the foundation for its impressively smooth operation. On paper, its 3.5-liter V6 engine might seem a bit small for a fairly large, heavy car. In fact, the Avalon can be almost peppy, and it certainly isn't underpowered. Its secret is two-fold.
For starters, its dual overhead-cam V6 generates an adequate 268 horsepower and 248 pound-feet of torque. And thanks to variable valve timing and a dual-stage variable intake manifold, the power isn't the least bit peaky. It flows smoothly and evenly from idle to the engine's redline, whether you're accelerating casually from a stop sign or flooring the gas pedal to merge onto a crowded freeway.
The second contributor is Avalon's well-tuned 6-speed automatic transmission. This transmission uses a unique mounting system designed to minimize the transfer of shift-shock into the Avalon's cabin. It does an excellent job tapping the horsepower available, and it almost always knows the best time to shift, whether it's up or down. The shifts are reasonably quick, but they're also exceptionally smooth, even at full throttle. Light-throttle upshifts are barely noticeable. The top gear is a tall overdrive, so the Avalon cruises in relaxed fashion on the freeway, with the engine spinning quietly at relatively low speed.
We tested the transmission's manual shift feature on a curving river road, tapping the sequential shift lever between second and third and keeping the engine spinning near its redline. In such circumstances, the Avalon can be something like a sports sedan, because the V6 is happy to run at high rpm. There's enough torque to create a bit of torque steer when you floor it from a slow speed, manifesting itself as a slight tug on the steering wheel. In the Avalon, it's nothing that will disturb the typical driver, but it's enough to let that driver know that there's a strong engine under the hood.
The Avalon will accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in less than eight seconds and, while that's no longer sports car performance, it's anything but lethargic, especially in a large car that carries five people and their luggage with lots of room to breathe inside. Or one with the Avalon's mileage ratings.
Delivering 20 mpg city and 29 highway, according to the federal government, the Avalon's fuel economy is impressive for a sedan its size. Those figures are among the best in class, and better than the ratings for many smaller, mid-size V6 sedans, including the Chevrolet Malibu, Ford Fusion and Nissan Altima. They equal the ratings for Toyota's smaller Camry sedan.
Mileage ratings or lively acceleration aside, the Avalon is built primarily for comfort, and that's obvious in its suspension settings. The ride is silky smooth in nearly all circumstances, and rarely does a road shock ruffle the occupants. The softly tuned suspension means Avalon can lean noticeably when taking turns aggressively.
Still, this body sway is progressively controlled, and the Avalon doesn't feel mushy or disconnected. Its steering is on the light side, but it responds directly to movement of the wheel. We'd call the Avalon cushy but good. It holds its line nicely when driven reasonably quickly through a series of curves, whether the road surface is smooth or bumpy. A sharp lane change or a deep jab on the brake pedal won't scare the dickens out of its driver.
The brakes are strong enough to stop the Avalon with authority. The pedal feels a little softer than we'd like, but it's linear in operation and it makes it easy for the driver to smoothly apply the stopping force. The well-managed anti-lock brake system keeps Avalon on an even keel during panic stops.
The Avalon is up to whatever the typical driver might encounter or dish out. Yet its trademark remains the peaceful stillness inside. At a stoplight in the city, the hubbub outside the Avalon sounds like a muted purr to its driver and passengers. At 75 mph on the expressway, about the only sound is a soft crack from the tires as they slap over pavement joints, and 15 percent volume with some soft music will take care of that. The Avalon is exceptionally smooth, too, especially for its price. At freeway speeds, there's less vibration through the steering column, seat bottoms or floorboards than one feels in some luxury cars that cost $30,000 more."
"The 2011 Toyota Avalon does lots of things well, but its strength is the solace it offers those riding inside. It's difficult to be aggravated by the news, the traffic or other drivers when you're cruising Zen-like in this big, comfortable sedan, with just about every feature you need, all easy to use. The Avalon gets good safety marks. It can accelerate in lively fashion, given its modest engine size, and it returns good fuel economy, given its space and luxurious demeanor. Who needs a Lexus, when you can drive an Avalon?
NewCarTestDrive.com correspondent J.P. Vettraino reported from Detroit, with John Stewart reporting from Carmel-by-the-Sea, California."
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subset: commoncrawl


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Notre nouvelle famille Big Bertha est conçue pour la distance quelle que soit la façon dont vous la balancez.Découvrez
Notre nouvelle famille Big Bertha est conçue pour la distance quelle que soit la façon dont vous la balancez.Découvrez
Find the driver that's right for your game
Find the fairway wood that's right for your game
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Golden Tate follows his passion for golf all the way to Northern Ireland. The NFL wide receiver reflects on an unforgettable journey to one of the biggest golf stadiums in the world at Royal Portrush Golf Club, home of the 2019 Open Championship.
We set out to profile the most unique golf locations around the country based on their stories, communities and characters. While the cultures across the series are remarkably diverse, the courses are united by the passion of the players who call them home.
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Back to Bethpage Black (A Mini Doc) is a raw and unique look at the entire Bethpage Black experience through the eyes of a (former) local amateur. Bethpage State Park is an incredibly special place for every golfer who visits, but it's especially meaningful to those that call it their home course.
Connecting golfers from all walks of life through relatable, vibrant, and emotional storytelling
We spent a day with the Swedish pro-golfer at his U.S. home country club in Orlando, FL while he got a round of golf in before heading off to learn how to wakesurf
Kiradech Aphibarnrat has become an underground golf celebrity due to his love of jet skis, sneakers made by Kanye West and expensive cars. We traveled to Bangkok, Thailand to see him in action and get the full story.
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We're just back from our long beach weekend.
The stay at Dan and Becky's cottage at Virginia Beach was lovely. There were two Catholic couples and two Orthodox, plus children, but I don't think anything about religion or theology was discussed even once.
The cottage, rented out during the late Spring through mid-Autumn, has TWENTY bed spaces, before we even count the crib, the double futon, or various sofas. Six and a half baths, including one with jacuzzi. It's of course meant to be shared among several families. The rooms facing the ocean have very large windows for a dramatic, panoramic view of sand and surf.
The house, like almost all beach houses on this coast, is build on stilts, and in strong winds, it moves. As I said to Dan, "This house really rocks!" That was disconcerting at first. Dan says you have to have some flexibility built in. Okay, but no beach house I've ever been in swayed.
And the weather cooperated, for a great bonus!
We stayed Saturday and Sunday nights, then set out for the Outer Banks of North Carolina, for some "just us" time. Stayed at the Days Inn at Milepost 6, which was clean and decent, had an ocean view, and included a continental breakfast.
We re-visited places we have enjoyed so much in the past. First, of course, we wanted to see what for some 25 years or more used to be my parents' cottage. Dear family, you'd be pleased with what's been done to it. The most obvious improvement is a wooden walkway/bridge from the porch over the dunes. You no longer have to climb over the dune through that swathe; you can walk on wood all the way. Plus, at one point, the walkway opens up into a square area for barbeques or just for sitting and reading, with a tap for rinsing sandy feet.
Inside, it's the same furniture, except two chairs have had their cushions re-covered. Even the bedspread in the master bedroom is the same. The flooring throughout is laminate now, made to look like dark wooden planks, and is quite handsome. Easier to clean, too, than that indoor-ourdoor carpet we had. There is copper cladding around the stove and surrounding the kitchen sink. I think it's just a sheet of copper, but stamped to look like tiles.
In the bare sand outside, we found a tiny green sprout of something. We looked at it with pity; there was no chance for it to survive that far from the dune. I said, "Good luck, little friend," but Demetrios didn't think that was good enough, so we very carefully cleared away the sand from around it and got it out by the (surprisingly deep!) root. I said I had just the place to carry it until we got home; it was the little plastic box in which I carry my tooth-guard. (Small device I had made that fits over my top teeth to protect them from my habit of humming little tunes and keeping time with my teeth.) I keep the tooth-guard moist by means of a water-soaked paper towel at the bottom of the box.
Then we found half a dozen more such plants. Can't rescue every one, but we have brought a total of 3 home with us and planted them in a styrofoam cup with a half-inch of sand in the bottom (and small holes punched in the bottom) and some of the new topsoil from our new flower garden. It's strange how much we hope we can keep them alive, even though they probably are just weeds. But I have to admit, my thumb is so brown I can kill silk plants! If anybody has any tips for me, please share them!
The Ocean Plaza Hotel near our cottage is no longer there; no surprise. The beach had eroded around it and the waves used to go right under it at high tide. No sign of it left.
Next we found Vada's cottage in Kitty Hawk, directly across from the Wright Brothers Memorial. Stopped in front of it for a while and told Vada how much we miss her. Death is such a strange thing; a person is here one day and the next is gone, permanently...
Then we went to find "Dad's Dream," where we've held two big family reunions. It's been sold now and goes by the new name, "Seventh Heaven".
Then, further north to Corolla where we found "Asia House," simply the most beautiful house, by far, I've ever set foot in, the most romantic, the most exotic. When it was new and for sale, I wanted it so badly I could taste it. And that was very strange, because a moment's thought was enough then and is again enough now to persuade me I don't really. I don't really want it because it's on the Outer Banks. If I'm to have a beach house, let it be someplace else, where I can swim all year. And let it be on the beach! Which means, vulernable to everty hurricane, tropical storm, and nor'easter that comes along. This house has a view, from the topmost room, of both the ocean and the sound, but it isn't particularly near either. And this time of year, the neighborhood is a virtual ghost town, so it feels very strange. Still, I seem at some point to have taken mental possession of Asia House, and I still feel possessive of it.
We did locate it, and we just parked in front of it and admired it, again. It, too, has a new name: "Park Avenue". I'm going to post pictures we once took of the inside of that place, assuming I can find them. So beautiful. Dream house in every way except location, location, location.
There's a new knitting store at about Milepost 9, called "Knitting Addiction," so of course I had to have a look in there. Good place to drool over, but a single hank of that gorgeous alpaca yarn costs up to $42.00 and it would take more than one of them to make anything more than a scarf. No thanks.
The Tangier Outlet Mall is still there, at MP 16, and "The Glass Shop," as we call it, Michael's by its real name, still sells suncatchers and fancy marbles and fossils and geodes and such. The Corning outlet is gone.
Anyway, we thoroughly enjoyed re-visiting old haunts, and then we drove home while it was still light out, and now we are ready to fall into bed. It's good to be home!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Sentimental Journey
We're just back from our long beach weekend.
Posted by Anastasia Theodoridis at 10:27 PM


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Archive - Aug 16, 2013
An electronic birthday
Yesterday was my 49th, and was celebrated by driving to Stillwater to do a reading at an art gallery in an old Victorian house here. It was fun. What was even more fun was that, due to Facebook, my college roomate from Bible college days saw I was reading only a few miles from his house and showed up with his partner. We went out to a Carribean restaurant on the St. Croix river that they partly own.
Lance takes pride in his ability to withstand the hottest food possible, so the waitress brought him some fiery chicken wings which have a sauce made from "ghost pepper," apparently the hottest ever. The restaurant and its hot sauces were featured on a national TV show. The clip is here.
Lance was defeated. He couldn't take the heat this time. I tried just a tiny nibble. Wrong move. Lance warned me. It was awful. But the rest of the food, moderately flavored and BBQed, was spectacular.
Another highlight of the day: I got 175 Facebook greetings! That is like getting 175 cards in the old days. Of course it takes all of three seconds to send the greeting and it is free, but still, I enjoyed hearing from so many people.
Included in the greetings were a recorded version of Happy Birthday from Kae, who is with Joe in Michigan. Very sweet.


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Wales confirms income tax rates
The Welsh Government, which has the power to set its own rates of income tax in 2019/20, has confirmed the rates will remain the same as those in England and Northern Ireland.
From 6 April 2019, the UK Government will reduce the basic, higher and additional rates of income tax in Wales by 10p, with the Welsh Government setting its own rate on top of this.
These separate income tax rates will also be set at 10p in every pound earnt, effectively meaning Welsh taxpayers will see no difference in to the rates they already pay.
The Welsh Government has also committed to not increasing income tax rates in Wales until the end of the current assembly in May 2021.
For PAYE taxpayers living in Wales, the change means they will receive a new tax code, while self-employed people will be asked to note their country of residence on their online tax return for 2019/20.
Mark Drakeford, former secretary for finance in Wales, said:
"When the new arrangements are introduced in April, Welsh taxpayers will continue to pay the same overall income tax rates as English and Northern Irish taxpayers.
"All income tax paid by people living in Wales will continue to be collected as one payment, as usual, but the money raised in Wales will stay in Wales to spend on our public services."
Talk to us about your current tax liability.


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a plum tree
bagesaanaatig sg; bagesaanaatigoog pl; bagesaanaatigoons dim; bagesaanaatigong loc; Stem: /bagesaanaatigw-/
Created and maintained by the University of Minnesota's Department of American Indian Studies,
University Libraries,
and editor John D. Nichols.
Many of the words in the Ojibwe People's Dictionary have related resources. Click through to the full dictionary entry to hear audio recordings, see images, read documents and watch videos. Here's a key to resource icons.
Individual speakers and speakers from different regions use different words when speaking. Each audio recording is marked with the initials of the Ojibwe speaker. Click on a speaker's initials to go to the speaker's bio page. If an Ojibwe word is particular to a certain region, it will be marked with a region code. Click on the region code to go to the Regions page.


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Freeman fine after collision with Dunn
CHICAGO -- Freddie Freeman had just gotten back into a game for the first time on Friday night when he nearly got hurt again.
After missing the final game before the All-Star break plus sitting out the All-Star Game because of a jammed left thumb, Freeman didn't start in Friday night's 6-4 win against the White Sox. He entered the game in the eighth inning as a defensive replacement for Joey Terdoslavich and wound up in a collision with 6-foot-6, 285-pound Adam Dunn on a close play at first for the inning's second out.
"It was just one of those plays," Freeman said. "I'm right in the baseline, so I knew I was going to probably be getting hit, but I just had to make that pick. I'll take the brunt of [the blame for] it."
He also appeared to take Dunn's knee in his back during the collision, which sent Freeman and Dunn tumbling to the ground after the out was recorded. The initial fear was about his jammed thumb, but Freeman -- who started at first on Saturday afternoon -- said he's fine. He didn't even check it afterward.
"Nope, if I'm out there, I'm not even going to think about it," Freeman said. "That's where I'm at right now. I feel great. It's not 100 percent and I don't think it's going to be 100 percent, but it's good enough to play through it."
Considering nobody got hurt on the play, the 6-foot-5, 225-pound Freeman was able to joke about it a day later.
"Of course [it happened on] the first play … but we're all good," he said. "I look in the dugout and I see Bubba [athletic trainer Jeff Porter] and just his face is like a ghost went across his face, like, 'Of course that would happen,' but Adam's OK. I made sure he was fine, because you know he's going to take the brunt of it -- because I'm so big. He's a huge man. He just asked if I was all right and I asked if he was OK, because he fell, too."


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Fruit preparation production worldwide is developing in two areas – fruit preparation producers face demands for more value-added products to add to yoghurts, desserts, ice creams and baked goods, and smaller industrial fruit producers are capitalizing on the opportunity to invest in batch lines to extend the value of their fresh fruit. This places high demands on production to be more innovative in diversifying flavours and ingredients, and more cost-efficient in production, in order to offer industrial customers cost-efficient fruit preparations. Each fruit preparation also has unique properties, which places special demands on processing techniques.
Based on our specialised food production and technology expertise, our line solutions enable you to produce a wide range of fruit preparations efficiently and unleash your product innovation. Our optimal solutions for fruit preparation production match product requirements with equipment, which we build and configure based on your recipes and needs, and ensure the right composition of ingredients and processing parameters with competitive, guaranteed performance. Efficient dispersion of powders, gentle blending of fruit particles, efficient sugar penetration and efficient heat treatment meet your needs and enable you to meet growing demands from industrial customers as well as retailers and consumers.
Product examples: marmalade & jam, fruit purees, coconut cream, yoghurt & ice cream flavourings and cake fillings.
We believe that your optimal solution is one that matches your specific production needs today and for the future – to make you more innovative, more effective and more competitive. And we believe that this optimal solution is born in applying our vast knowledge and complete range of innovative technology for food production in a close partnership with you.
This line handles production of smooth to small particulate products. It allows you to produce a broad range of fruit preparations – natural products that taste homemade, without preservatives or additives, and with less sugar and maximized taste. The recipe-specific shear rate in mixing and optimized heat-treatment achieves the desired product characteristics with high production efficiency. Our line enables safe production with exceptional quality and efficiency.
View/download pd leaflet Tetra Victenso™ continuous line (pdf)
This line handles particles up to Ø25 mm with good particle integrity. It allows you to produce a greater variety of fruit preparations – natural products without preservatives or additives – with homogenous texture, tasty fruit pieces and fresh taste. It handles frozen fruit efficiently while preserving its quality. Gentle blending of particles and the optimized temperature program achieves the desired product characteristics. Our line enables safe production with exceptional versatility, quality and efficiency.
View/download pd leaflet Tetra Victenso™ continuous particulate line (pdf)
This line handles particles up to Ø25 mm with excellent particle integrity. It allows you to produce a greater variety of safe, high quality fruit preparations – from jams to fruit fillings – with fresh homemade taste. It handles frozen fruit efficiently while preserving its quality. Gentle blending prevents the breakdown of particle shape and maintains even distribution. Optimized blending, sugar penetration and heat treatment achieves the desired product characteristics. Our line enables state-of-the-art batch production with exceptional quality and versatility.
View/download pd leaflet Tetra Victenso™ batch particulate line (pdf)
Do you want more information about Fruit preparations?


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ARROW - (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET)
"Betrayal" (Content Rating TBD) (HDTV)
DAVID ANDERS ("ONCE UPON A TIME," "THE VAMPIRE DIARIES") GUEST STARS - Cyrus Vanch (Anders), a nefarious criminal, is recently released from prison and intends to re-secure his position as leader of the underworld. His first step is to take down his biggest opponent in the city - Arrow (Stephen Amell). Meanwhile, Oliver shows Moira (Susanna Thompson) his father's notebook and questions her about the names on the list. Thea (Willa Holland) is miserable as she starts her internship with Laurel (Katie Cassidy) at the legal aid office and Detective Lance (Paul Blackthorne) makes a deadly mistake that puts Laurel in the crosshairs of Vanch. David Ramsey and Colin Donnell also star. Guy Bee directed the episode written by Lana Cho & Beth Schwartz (#113).


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Basketball Manitoba represents the basketball community of Manitoba and welcomes all people to enjoy the sport we all love. We do this ...
June 2, 2020
June 1, 2020
REMINDER: Basketball Manitoba Annual General Meeting Set for June 9, 2020 - ONLINE
June 1, 2020
Basketball Manitoba has announced that it will be holding its Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, June 9, 2020, at 7:00 pm , in a virtual...
Posted by Basketball Manitoba at June 1, 2020 0 comments
Basketball Manitoba Statement on the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Affect on Basketball Operations in Manitoba - Updated April 29
VIEW LISTING OF FUTURE BASKETBALL EVENT CANCELLATIONS APRIL 29, 2020 UPDATE The health and safety of all participants in sport, inc...
Posted by Basketball Manitoba at
Give Dad The Gift of a Basketball Specialty Licence Plate This Father's Day
Motorcycle plates are also available Looking for a great gift for your basketball-loving dad this Father's Day? Give him the gift...
Posted by Basketball Manitoba at 0 comments
May 30, 2020
Basketball Quarantine Time; Ideas on what to do! (NEW MATERIAL CONSTANTLY ADDED)
May 30, 2020
As the sport of basketball and much of society is now on an indefinite pause, Basketball Manitoba has come up with a list of things ...
Posted by Basketball Manitoba at May 30, 2020 0 comments
May 29, 2020
Alliance Athletics & Team Mayhem Basketball "Foundations" Video Series Released
May 29, 2020
Coaches Matt Koenig of Alliance Athletics and Alex Barra from the Winnipeg Team Mayhem Basketball Club have released a new series of instru...
Posted by Basketball Manitoba at May 29, 2020 0 comments
May 26, 2020
Emily Potter Hosting Virtual Basketball Camp Online June 8-12 at 7:00 pm
May 26, 2020
The Emily Potter Basketball Camp Virtual Edition will run June 8-12 (Monday to Friday) and "practice" will be held every night at 7pm CT ...
Posted by Basketball Manitoba at May 26, 2020 0 comments
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Kevin and Peggy Wegner of Estherville are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter Emily, to Shannon Baker, son of Dr. Craig Baker and Dr. Lisa Dreeszen of Estherville and Debra Baker of Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.
Emily is a 2005 graduate of Estherville Lincoln Central High School. In 2009, Emily received her bachelor's degree in Social Work from The University of Northern Iowa. In 2014, she received her master's degree in K-12 School Counseling from Capella University in Minneapolis, Minn. Emily is currently employed as an Elementary School Counselor in the Okoboji Community School District.
Shannon is a 2004 graduate of Estherville Lincoln Central High School. Shannon received his associate's degree from Iowa Lakes Community College in 2006. In 2010, he graduated with a degree in Renewable Energy. Shannon is currently employed at Duke Renewable Energy and works at a wind farm in Lakefield, Minn.
The couple is planning a July 12, 2014 ceremony at the Dickinson County Nature in Okoboji.


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E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures (NQ) offer liquid benchmark contracts to manage exposure to the 100 leading non-financial U.S. large-cap companies that make up the Nasdaq-100. The E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures contract is $20 x the Nasdaq-100 index and has a minimum tick of 0.25 index points. Delayed data for E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures displayed in the table below includes for the open, high and low prices and volume for the active contracts.
|Calendar Date
Learn about the costs of replicating Nasdaq-100 Index exposure via futures and ETFs across four common investment scenarios.
Stay up-to-date with what's happening with Nasdaq-100 futures, including product developments and market-moving events.


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Taking screenshots with Shotty is so natural and easy, you just have to try it. Edit them in minimalistic editor and the upload them with...
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JingУсловно-бесплатно | Mac, Windows
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SEC Commissioner Luis Aguilar told members of the Investment Advisers Association on Thursday that he remained unsupportive of a self-regulatory organization and continued to believe in the "highest" definition of a fiduciary standard.
"The issue is one of resources," said Aguilar (left), who has been one of five members on the board of the SEC since 2008. "It's really not the best choice to go the path of an SRO," he explained in his remarks, which he made as an individual and not on behalf of the SEC.
In addition, there are issues of harmonization that make the SRO formation very complex, he described in a fireside chat during the IAA's annual conference in San Francisco. Aguilar referred the roughly 200 members of the audience, as well as moderator and IAA Executive Director David Tittsworth, to his speech before them in May 2009.
Three years ago, the commissioner explained to the group, "I do not believe that the answer is to create another SRO — particularly when it would be one without any experience in dealing with the investment advisory industry and the Advisers Act regulatory tradition … Now is not the time to fragment even more, but to consolidate and employ smart regulation."
Aguilar, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, also said Thursday that the highest fiduciary standard was the best one — "putting a client's interests above his or her own, and I believe the industry discussions about this have gotten sidetracked."
Though he acknowledged that he'd opposed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 because of the expenses it imposed on companies valued at more than $75 million, the commissioner said he's now more accepting of the legislation.
"The costs over the past few years have come down and normalized," Aguilar stated. And, he added, he's seen some issues come up with companies not subject to these rules.
As for the recently passed JOBS Act of 2012 design to support the growth on younger, smaller firms, the commissioner said the legislation was a "hodgepodge," and the disclosure and other exemptions in it have raised concern among some experts.
"I used to be more cowboy-ish," shared Aguilar. "Now I see the fleecing every week of hardworking men and women … I hope the JOBS act won't lead to more of this. And I do fear that fraud will be easier to affect and harder to protect."
Role, Pace of Regulation
When asked by Tittsworth (right) about his experience during the financial crisis, the commissioner shared that he considers himself a bit of a "workaholic," and – before taking the job – had been concerned that he would have to take up a hobby to keep himself busy in his time away from the office.
Aguilar said he soon found himself working 16-18 hours a day and tackling issues like a ban on short selling, Ponzi schemes and troubles in money-market funds. "I can't recall a time when the SEC was so busy," he shared. "Now, things are not quite as intense."
In describing the financial rule-making process in Washington, the commissioner said, "As you may have heard, you can enjoy sausages but don't want to watch them being made," Aguilar joked.
While Chairman Mary Shapiro controls the SEC's agenda and budget, the organization also must grapple with many legislative mandates. "And we have to be reactive to the public at large," the attorney said. "Our staff is the first line of defense … and we're very grateful for visits for investment advisors and others."
Overall, Aguilar says that he has a vigilant concern for the abuse of all investors, particularly seniors. "I've been vocal for a variety of reasons," the commissioner explained. "There's a lot of abusive chicanery, and I've watched this trend as [the industry's] moved from broker-dealers to RIAs."
Aguilar, who came to the United States from Cuba at age six, believes his work at the SEC is "payment to the debt I owe this country, and I'm glad to use my skills sets to benefit the public." He also noted that he is "the only working lawyer ever to hold the SEC Commissioner's slot."
"I bring a real-world awareness to the job," the former Invesco executive said, "… so that we can hopefully have smart regulation."
The IAA's Tittsworth then recognized Aguilar for his unique perspectives – both at the SEC and the group's 2012 annual conference. "We are very pleased to see someone like you as head of SEC," he said.


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SamMobile has leaked what it claims are screenshots of Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean test firmware for the Samsung Galaxy S III. Originally discovered by a member of the XDA-Developers forum where many Android treasures are unearthed, the operating system will still sport that Touchwiz flavor in addition to some of Android 4.2's new features.
Galaxy S III users will have access to features like the Android 4.2.1 Lockscreen with widgets, Daydream screensaver mode, and voice command, which will be interesting to see implemented considering the handset already uses its native S-voice. There also seems to be new additions to the Notifications center, though we're not too keen on the implementation as seen in the screenshot above because it appears bloated with icons and options. Fortunately, it looks like it will live beyond a second screen in the Notifications shade.
While this is all exciting news for faithful Galaxy S III users, it's not final firmware and there is still one major obstacle to overcome: the carriers. For now, we recommend holding tight until the announcement of the Galaxy S IV. At least you can enjoy the gallery of screenshots.


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Dinner Tonight: Hanger Steak with Shallots and Mushrooms Recipe
Your source for quick recipe every single week day.
Why did I spend nearly two hours searching online for a hanger steak recipe? Because most of them required some long marinade process, or wanted to pair the steak solely with shallots. Recipe after recipe looked exactly the same. How boring!
But you know what? There are loads of hanger steak and shallot recipes out there for a reason—because they taste really freaking good together. It's just a fact. This slight variation from Food & Wine adds mushrooms for a bit of meatiness. Really, this is all about how the softened and sweet shallots balance the succulent and surprisingly rich steak.
- Yield:4 people
- Active time: 30 minutes
- Total time:40 minutes
- 1 ½ pound hanger steak
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ pound shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps thickly sliced
- ½ pound white mushrooms, stems removed, caps thickly sliced
- 6 shallots, ends trimmed, very thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- ½ cup dry red wine
- ¼ cup chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Season the hanger steak with salt and pepper. Place a heavy-bottomed 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Pour in one tablespoon of the oil and swirl it around the pan. Once oil begins to smoke, add the steak. Cook until well browned on all sides medium-rare on the inside, 10 to 12 minutes. Turn down the heat if it looks like the steak is burning. Transfer steak to a cutting board and let rest.
Carefully clean out the skillet (the fond is probably too burnt to use), and place it over medium heat. Add the rest of the oil and one tablespoon of the butter. When shimmering, add the mushrooms along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown, about 6 minutes. Add the sliced shallots to the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they soften, but don't brown, about 5 minutes.
Pour in the red wine vinegar into the skillet. Stir well, and cook until it evaporated. Add the wine, and cook until it has evaporated. Then pour in the chicken stock and add the remaining butter. Stir well until the sauce is thick and silky. Turn off the heat and add the parsley. Stir well.
Slice the steak against the grain into thick slices. Add any accumulated meat juices to the sauce, stir well, and then serve the steak with the sauce.
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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Surprise. Gran Turismo 5 is delayed again. That may not be news in the ironic sense, but it is in terms of what folks were talking about at the beauty parlor and feed store, if gamers gathered in such places.
We also packed in seven reviews, among them Medal of Honor, NBA Jam, and Kirby's Epic Yarn - just the second title to get a Kotaku Editor's Choice citation. A huge slate of original video clips rounds out a robust news report here in Kotakopolis. The week that was:
- Kotaku Talk Radio
- Top Stories
Gran Turismo 5 Delay Will Be "A Short One"
Pirates of the Caribbean Game Canned as Layoffs Hit Propaganda
EA Sports Confirms Disc Release For NBA Jam On 360, PS3
Turmoil In The Land Where Your Consoles Are Made
Singularity Game Developer Hit with Layoffs
The Kinect You Never Knew
All Of NBA Jam's Secret Characters (So Far) - And Their Ratings
- Columns
Well Played: LEGO Universe Delivers a Compelling Online Experience
Stick Jockey: NBA Jam, NBA Elite, And A Tale Of Two Videos
- Reviews, Previews, Hands-On and Impressions
Review: Kirby's Epic Yarn
Review: Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes Of Light
Review: Comic Jumper
Review: Def Jam Rapstar
Review: Alan Wake: The Writer
Review: Medal of Honor
Review: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
Review: NBA Jam
The Next Kingdom Hearts Is One Of 2011's First Notable Games
Understanding Final Fantasy's Next Fighting Game, Just A Little Better
The 3rd Birthday Brings Back One Of My Favorite Gameplay Mechanics
Captain America's Next Game Borrows From Arkham Asylum, Punch-Out
The Sights And Shocks Of Red Dead Redemption's Late October Undead Nightmare
There Is A Game Inside The Game Of Fable III, And Other Details
- Features
The Controversial Saga Of The Zombie Massage Makers
Awesome Things I Learned How To Do From Playing Video Games
- Press Play
Watch Me Run My Tiny Game Studio Into The Ground
Medal Of Honor Vs. Call Of Duty, In Times Square
LEGO Universe' Minifig Madness
Pokemon Animated With 3D Computer Graphics Looks Like This
Final Fantasy XIV MMO Log Three: Strength In Numbers
The Making of an Epic Yarn Kirby Room
Taking Pictures, Watching Movies, Typing and Playing Games on Windows Phone 7
Xbox Live Indie Clips: Explosionade
Super Meat Boy's Meaty 80s Commercial
Make Way DS, PSP and iPhone, Here Are 10 Windows Phone 7 Games In Action
Eat Them Is Secretly A Great-Looking, Cow-Hating Game
Age Of Empires Online Explained For You In Video
Jak Fights In Sly Cooper's World Thanks To A Game With A New Name
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text:
This is Part 21 of the El Hierro Volcano eruption report
Some of this info is also posted into our Facebook Volcano Page – Google+ Volcanoes – Google+ Volcanoes and earthquakes
With the collaboration of Joke Volta, an El Hierro resident
"Volcano Only" twitter : @VolcanoReport - 3 in 1 WEBCAM page – El Hierro Picasa Web Album
Read also: Scientific paper reveals massive historic Tenerife volcano flank collapse
Read also: Economic impact on El Hierro and the Canary Islands if an aerial eruption would occur
Read also: Part 1 (from July 28 until early September)
Read also: Part 2 (from September 25 until October 10 )
Read also: Part 3 (from October 11 until October 13 )
Read also: Part 4 (from October 14 until October 17 )
Read also: Part 5 (from October 18 until October 21 )
Read also: Part 6 (from October 22 until October 26 )
Read also: Part 7 (from October 27 until October 31 )
Read also: Part 8 (from November 1 until November 3)
Read also: Part 9 (from November 4 until November 6)
Read also: Part 10 (from November 7 until November 8)
Read also: Part 11 (from November 9 until November 11)
Read also: Part 12 (from November 12 until November 15)
Read also: Part 13 (from November 16 until November 19)
Read also: Part 14 (from November 20 until November 23)
Read also: Part 15 (from November 24 until November 27)
Read also: Part 16 (from November 28 until December 2)
Read also: Part 17 (from December 3 until December 7)
Read also: Part 18 (from December 8 until December 11)
Read also: Part 19 (from December 12 until December 15)
Read also: Part 20 (from December 16 until December 18)
Update 25/12 - 23:42 UTC
- Joke Volta vent and stain images have been illustrated today with Christmas present boxes. Her artistic mind was not in peace unless doing something on this special festival day.
- One of the pictures shows a short lived jacuzzi
Update 25/12 - 20:54 UTC
- NO new earthquakes
- Harmonic tremor pattern all day long unchanged
- Julio del Castillo Vivero time lapse from today (07.15 - 19.15 GMT/UTC in only 3 minutes 35 seconds)
Important Update 25/12 - 09:23 UTC
- IGN reported a new M 1.6 earthquake at a depth of 21 km at 01:14. Epicenter in the El Golfo bay
CISC (Unidad de Tecnología Marina del Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas) has reported yesterday that the top of the main vent has collapsed 15 to 20 meter. The new depth was obtained during a bathymetry mission by the research vessel Sarmiento de Gamboa. The acoustic image was made last Thursday and Friday (when we saw the Sarmiento de Gamboa going up and down on the stain) .The white line on the image is the sea floor. The orange tones are reflecting the erupted magma. The suspended material that we can see in the stain and on the emission vents is colored brown (ER: hard to see but on top). The orange colored magma is flowing down along the slopes of the cone.
Last time, the depth of the cone was measured as 140 to 150 meter by the Ramon Margalef. Taking into account the new acoustic study, we can conclude that the depth is now in between 155 and 170 meter, still far away from a Surtseyan eruption.
Update 25/12 - 09:17 UTC
- Earthquake-Report.com and Joke Volta have decided to continue covering the El Hierro eruption story as long as the harmonic tremor signal shows an ongoing eruption
Update 25/12 - 09:00 UTC
- Reader Mariette and her husband who are currently staying in La Restinga are holding a new emblem of El Hierro showing the form of the island, the bimbache culture, the volcano, the eruption and the earthquakes. Mariette has written a few very interesting articles since she arrived at La Restinga a few days ago.
Merry Christmas from Joke Volta and the Earthquake-Report.com team
Update 24/12 - 15:13 UTC
- NO NASA Modis satellite image today as it was too cloudy when the satellite was padding by.
- NO new earthquakes
- continuous harmonic tremor slightly decreasing since 06:00
- The video below is the morning time lapse video from the Telefonica / Cabildo La Restinga village webcam as captured by Julio del Castillo Vivero. The emitting vent and corresponding stain can well be seen from the middle of the morning until the end
Joke Volta December 24 pictures
Update 24/12 - 09:14 UTC
- NO new earthquakes
- continuous harmonic tremor with a lot of action from 03:30 until 04:00
- a very small stain can be seen on the El Pinar / Ustream and La Restinga village webcams
- Joke reports that the she saw a very vast stain from her starting point at El Pinar this morning. Now she is in La Restinga and says that she sees the source of the stain at the main vent. The emitted material is carried by the current to the west (hard to see on the webcam)
- IEO (Oceonographic Institute of Spain) has reported that they are currently analyzing the bathymetry data (depth measuring of the sea floor) from their latest mission. They have a lot of work to do before a final report can be issued as many irregular measurements have to be eliminated. The emission gases, floating and suspended sediments and water conditions are resulting in false data.
Update 23/12 - 18:43 UTC
Joke has created a small video from the pictures that she made while traveling with the bus from La Restinga to El Pinar. Additionally, click here to see the pictures Joke made today.
Update 23/12 - 14:00 UTC / updated 15:43 UTC
Today's NASA Modis satellite image (from max. a couple of hours ago) shows a very strange picture from the stain and the emission vent. The left white patch is the main vent emission point and small stain. The right white patch at the smallest point of the stain maybe a small remaining cloud patch from the bigger cloud range below it or a new vent (highly unlikely on this location). Click here to see the location of the satellite image.
Update 23/12 - 11:30 UTC
- an active fresh stain visible from La Restinga.
- periods with increased harmonic tremor
Update 23/12 - 08:07 UTC
- 2 new earthquakes since midnight UTC . Both had a magnitude of 1.6 at a depth of respectively 16 and 15 km. The first one happened at 02:16 (epicenter location) and the second at 04:09 (epicenter location)
- variable harmonic tremor
- 25 cruise ships have planned to visit El Hierro next year. The port of La Estaca will be the embarkation port. The average number of passengers will be 300 per ship.
- the company running the Christmas lottery, one of the first lotteries in the world, has decided to pay 60,000 euro as a gift to the people of El Hierro.
- the Terencio supermarket chain did send a food load of 4200 kg to help the Herreños
Update 22/12 - 22:30 UTC
- No new earthquakes since 09:11 this morning
- variable harmonic tremor with a slightly increasing trending
- Joke Volta made a small video with her Sarmiento images from this morning. Click here to watch it.
- Julio del Castillo Vivero time lapse video from today's activity from 07.30 until 18.55 UTC in only 4 minutes 53 seconds!
- Nice to see how the Sarmiento da Gamboa is going up and down the stain.
- A pity however that we will not see the results soon as a) IEO is not sharing all data they have and b) it takes a lot of time to finalize the results of such survey missions.
- We were also intrigued about the emission spot of the stain. It is easy to see sudden emissions carried away by the currents, but the start of the stain differs regularly. Strange, as we expect the emissions to come from a few particular vents spots.
Update 22/12 - 17:58 UTC
Joke Volta's pictures of the day (multiple pictures from the stain and from the Sarmiento da Gamboa)
Update 22/12 - 16:45 UTC
Julio del Castillo Vivero time lapse video from this morning's activity at La Restinga, El Hierro. The small patch going first from right to the left and afterwards from the left to the right is the IEO Oceanographic vessel Sarmiento da Gamboa
Update 22/12 - 16:40 UTC
Today we received another great descriptive comment from reader Mariette, a returning Dutch tourist :
Good morning from a sunny and warm la Restinga. Sitting outside I overlook the ocean with the somewhat more active vent/stain and the Sarmiento Gamboa that is cruising the waters south of la Restinga since this morning. As the volcano is going on a X-mas holiday, or going to sleep for a couple of xx years, we enjoy our holiday like any other year.
Yesterday we explored underwater life in the harbour. It was shocking and interesting at the same time. Where we used to see an abundance of fish in all kind of colours and sizes, there was not one single fish to see. The sea bottom that used to be rocky with sandy parts, with lots of creeping life and anemones was now covered with a green carpet of algae and seaweed, with a lot of small snails. It is interesting to see how the foodchain is building itself up again. For marine biologists this must be a great opportunity to study. Günter had dived in the harbour of La Restinga yesterday and could mention that the smaller fish, crabs and other bottomlife had come back just at the entrance of the harbour and outside the harbour. He made again beautiful pictures and short movies that I recommend you take a look at. (see his website that I mentioned in my earlier comment) I never knew that snails could be so beautifull in their form and movements as they creep over the seaweed. And under the microscope he is showing me that also the very small forms of life are coming back. It is so wonderous to see the resilience and diversity of oceanlife. Worthy a BBC documentary! Günter is eager to show it to the rest of the world, but because of the loss of income from his business he cannot buy a camera that he can connect onto the microscope.
This morning I also met the austrian owner of one of the 2 local supermarkets her in la Restinga. She was complimenting us on our courage to come here, despite all the negativ news that had circulated on the internett (other sides than ER) and in the papers. She also mentioned that the people in la Restinga had never been afraid for their lives and houses. The earthquakes had hardly been felt and lasted very short. When La Restinga was evacuated she had left her canary bird outside on the porch, where it used to stand, and everyday she had gone down to feed it. In times before the electronic measurement devices we have now, canary birds were used before to measure the amount of gas in the air in the coalmines, since they die when there is not enough oxygen or to much toxic gasses long before we humans get problems. Her bird is still alive and singing, so gasses in la Restinga were never dangerously high. Of course she understood that it was necessary to evacuate, since there was uncertainty on whether the vents were stable in its localisation. Imagining the many tens of kilometers deep the lava is coming from, it is only a very short distance from the shore.
The visit to the volcano information senter at la Restinga, run by IGN/PEVOLCA, was very clarifying. Especially the 3 dimensional map of the Canary Islands, as shown on the picture below. El Hierro is just the top of a 4,5 km hight mountain, with mostly steep hill sides under the water, but at the side of la Restinga there is a long ridge of underwater land going southwards for many kilometers. (unfortunately I don't manage to send pictures in this comment)
The sea bottom here is formed by the same volcanic cones that can be seen everywhere else on the Island, but especially around la Restinga (see Joke's pictures) and the current active volcano is adding just a tiny little bit of land to it.
Update 22/12 - 10:53 UTC
- Each time that we say that the eruption is almost coming to an end, the volcano answers with a new round of activity. Also this morning. Additionally, we think that the main vent is active again as the location of the beginning of the stain is approx. the same location that we know from before
- Joke has taken a number of pictures from the Sarmiento da Gamboa who is currently doing bathymetry activities in the Las Calmas sea
- Joke reports that the Salvamar Adhara which was navigating in the stain yesterday found only gas emissions and very fine ashes
- Everybody in Spain (also at El Hierro (except Joke)) plays today with the National Lottery - it is a true hype and everybody wants to become a multiple Euro million winner today !
- A 2.8 ! earthquake occurred at 09:11 at a depth of 26 km 600 meter south from the Tacaron coast. This is the first earthquake today. Click here for the epicenter.
Update 22/12 - 08:57 UTC
- NO earthquakes since midnight
- Harmonic tremor is decreasing rapidly (after going up and down a little bit) and we would not be surprised the the eruption will come to a complete stop one of the coming hours or days.
- The GPS deformation statistics for the south of the island (Las Calmas area) are giving deflating values following IGN, which is in line with what happens with the harmonic tremor.
- The stain is visible but we have no longer an active vent
Update 21/12 - 23:41 UTC
- A third earthquake occurred just 26 minutes ago. It had a magnitude of 2.2 and the hypocenter or focal depth was at 22 km. Epicenter was at approx. 3 km from Los Llanillos in the El Golfo Bay (these are preliminary data)
Update 21/12 - 23:08 UTC
- NO additional earthquakes and only during the last hour a little more harmonic tremor.
- We have added the number of pictures in our Picasa website. Joke is still very active and takes multiple pictures from the stain on a daily basis. Click here to watch them.
- Joke went today to the CAP science center in La Restinga and asked the technician whether and how the gases were measured. The man said that IGN was responsible for the instruments on El Hierro. These instruments are installed below the surface to avoid interference from externatal conditions like wind. Some are deep under the ground. Involcan is measuring gases with their container unit. The gases are constantly measured. Those from Involcan are published in real time on the website from the Canary Islands government. The IGN data are internal.
- Joke also asked for the results of the Salvamar Adhara. The CAP person said that they knew that the boat went to the vent / stain but that they did not know why and what the result was ...
- Most of the local press has no new articles on the eruption
- the latest report from the Cabildo dates from December 18 (used to be daily -1)
Update 21/12 - 13:52 UTC
As promised before, our attention this afternoon was also going to the NASA Modis satellite picture. We have mounted 3 pictures under each other, each one showing the stain in another way.
Picture 1 is the visual picture as extracted from the Modis satellite picture of today (lucky that El Hierro was cloud free today)
Picture 2 is the same picture color enhanced but also with the current vent patch (which we made white)
Picture 3 is the same picture color reduced
If you click on the picture a full size version of the extract can be seen.
The NASA modis picture is courtesy NASA Earth Data
Update 21/12 - 11:13 UTC
- 4 out of the last 6 earthquakes we have noticed the last couple of days are occurring at "unusual" depths. Also the 2 earthquakes from earlier today happened at 17.9 km (below land) and 13.1 km (Las Calmas sea) (for details see below). Just like AVCAN, we also think that these 2 earthquakes occurred in the vicinity of the feeder lava tubes who are connecting the El Golfo area with the Las Calmas sea vent. We are very curious to look at todays satellite picture (will take a few more hours) to find out if other vents have opened, as we cannot see any activity on the webcams.
- The GPS deformation graph which we can see on the IGN website shows NO significant increase but NO significant decrease neither.
Update 21/12 - 10:00 UTC
Click here to watch the pictures Joke Volta has made this morning
Update 21/12 - 08:00 UTC
- If we do not count the 2 shallow earthquakes who happened in the El Golfo area on December 17, this is the first time that 2 new earthquakes were triggered since December 9.
- The first earthquake was a M 2.0 quake at a depth of 17.9 km, occurred at 02:46 UTC and had an epicenter below the sea 1 km from Puerto Naos
- The second earthquake occurred at 03:58 at a depth of 13.1 km and had a magnitude of 1.1. Epicenter below land at approx. 1 km from Tacaron.
- harmonic tremor pattern almost identical than the previous days
- the Telefonica eruption webcam has not shown any activity this morning but the fresh stain can well be seen on the U stream webcam.
El Golfo cloud Time Lapse video from Julio del Castillo Vivero
Update 20/12 - 23:55 UTC
- Harmonic tremor is growing again since the last couple of hours
- At 18:26 UTC a weak M 0.9 earthquake happened at a depth of 11 km below the El Golfo beach area
Update 20/12 - 23:43 UTC
- Joke has a talk with Maria José Blanco from IGN during the morning hours. Here is synopsis of the answers Joke got on her many questions :
- the current emissions are mainly gas emissions
- the vents from the current eruptions are side vents on the same volcano cone
- gas is part of the erupting magma and while magma is flowing down along the volcano slope, the gas finds his way to the surface
- sometimes the emission of gas is mixed with ashes, but we haven't seen or analyzed the ash in the current new vents. We hope to get some samples today as the Salvamar Adhara is out to collect material. At the time of writing this update, no additional details are known.
- escaping gas can also trigger the tremors
- the main emitted gas component is CO². We are anxious to see what will happen with the Involcan CO² statistics as we see a lot of gas coming out of the vents. Since the end of November the measured CO² values are almost constantly decreasing.
- i can also tell you that a new bathymetry mission of the Sarmiento da Gamboa is on its way and will start on Thursday. The Sarmiento will probably only work at night. Joke jokes that we will certainly tell this to our readers as we want to avoid another hoax lava eruption : ) . (ER : we also remind our readers that the harmonic tremor graph will probably show drumbeats caused by the instruments of the Sarmiento).
Update 20/12 - 22:00 UTC
We were very fortunate today with the report from Mariette and John from the Netherlands. They also asked (off line) to meet Joke, what happened in the meantime. Joke wrote a few lines after this meet and greet :
This afternoon I met Mariette, a daily reader of Earthquake-report.com. I met her in her apartment with green stain-alike colored curtains :). She arrived yesterday. We had a nice chat about the latest volcano-news. So another time I will ask to make a picture of her... We talked about the wind direction (blowing mostly from the same direction during the winter months and helping sailing boats make the crossover to the Americas). It would not surprise me, that I would meet this friendly people again, it's a small isle... They are enjoying their holidays on El Hierro once again, but this year surely in a different way.
Update 20/12 - 17:16 UTC
- Today's NASA Modis satellite picture shows a beautiful swirling stain south of La Restinga. We have zoomed into the current active vent which can be seen in the right top carner of the image. The upper light soft patch at the left side of the zoom is probably the active vent.
Update 20/12 - 14:13 UTC
- Since the update this morning that we were talking about the subsiding harmonic tremor we were surprised to see a continuing active stain forming at the new vent locations(s). After checking harmonic tremor again, we saw a new gradual increase until now. NO further earthquakes.
Update 20/12 - 12:13 UTC
Mariette and John have arrived at La Restinga and promised us a few weeks ago to send us a report of their findings / experiences while they were enjoying their Christmas / New Years vacations. Here is their very interesting description of the present situation at the island.
Hello Armand and all active ER readers. Yesterday afternoon we arrived at el Hierro. It is a beautiful day today, sun, 23 degrees Celsius, with a comfortable breeze. I am sitting outside while I am writing this overlooking the sea, where there was activity visible this morning. From the shore the activity is seen as a lighter aquamarine colored stain at a well circumscribed area. No floating hot stones or boiling water. The area visible this morning was behind the long stone mole, visible on the left down side of the webcam. Yesterday, driving down the road to la Restinga at about 17 o'clock, we could see an active vent much closer to the shore in the direction of Tacoron. Right now my friends are driving down to Tacoron, hoping that the road block is taken away. Tacoron is a very interesting place to swim and dive, and where we used to eat delicious food at the very cosey outdoor restaurant. I wonder how they are surviving this drawback. Today I just stayed in la Restinga, shopping and talking to some local people.
It is quite clear that daily living here evolves around the volcano. The people tell that the volcano is not bothering them at all, but it is the media creating fear and keeping the tourists away. La Restinga is a fishing and diving village. But now the fisherman have there boats on the shore or in the harbour of la Estaca, northeast of the Island. There is no fish coming in at the fishing marked down at the harbour, where we used to buy dayfresh fish, and where the restaurants of the Islands came to buy there supply. Tonight we will investigate how restaurant live here is coping. This morning we also missed another activity that was so common in the little harbour: the tourist divers leaving in their small boats, for exploring the interesting Mar de las Calmas, the marine reserve since 1996. Just at this marine reserve the volcano is active and has spread his ashes on the sea bottom.
I had a very interesting conversation with Günter, the diving teacher living next door to our apartment. He had to move his income generating activities to the north side of the Island. It is important to mention here that there are beautiful diving areas on the north, north east and east part of El Hierro, where marine live is undisturbed by the volcano. Günter sin website is witnessing this and well worth a visit: http://www.elhierro1.com.de He keeps his website and blog well up to date with pictures he makes when diving. Since his homebase is la Restinga, and diving about 500 times a year, no volcano can keep him from diving in the Mar de las Calmas. So he is exploring the parts where he is allowed to dive (the small strip that is given free by the authorities) and he has asked for permission to dive in more interesting areas. He is telling that most of the fishes are gone. Where the ashes of the volcano is spread over the sea floor, the bottom live is nearly dead. But he sees a lot of snails coming up. Snails that he didn't see before because they were eaten by the fishes. He doesn't see any crabs or sea cucumbers, but he gets the impression that the anemones are surviving. He also takes samples of the seawater and investigates them under the microscope: none to very little algae are visible in the samples. Let me make it clear here that he is not a biologist, but a very interested amateur.
Surprisingly there are no marine biologists in El Hierro, according to Günter. That surprises me as well. Of course, a submarine volcano eruption is more common then we might expect, but it is seldom so close to the shore and harbour of a village! And I can imagine that it is very interesting to investigate how marine live i adjusting to volcanic activity! What beautiful documentary BBC could make here, or on a scale with somewhat lesser public impact, but maybe personally just as important: what interesting material can a marine biologist find here to write a paper.
So plan your X-mas holidays out of the ordinary, come to la Restinga at El Hierro, where the accommodation is cheap, diving facilities well at hand and locals happy to please your demands. Or travel to the other parts of El Hierro, either to dive in unspoiled waters or to walk over the green trails in the center of the island.
The Internet connection is not so stable here, and I have to enjoy my holiday without my computer worries as well, but I will keep in touch.
Kind regards, Mariette and John.
Update 20/12 - 12:18 UTC
Joke Volta's morning pictures (total of 20 pictures)
Update 20/12 - 10:18 UTC
- Harmonic tremor is further decreasing the last couple of hours. We would not be surprised that this eruption will come to a complete stop very soon (at least for now).
Update 20/12 - 09:08 UTC
- NO earthquakes
- Same harmonic tremor than yesterday
- Salvamar Adhara boat is currently navigating in one of the stains. We expect pictures of it later today.
- What happens is that a vent generates an sudden release of gas / pumice, then stops and the stain if carried away by the currents
Update 19/12 - 23:30 UTC
- NO more earthquakes this afternoon and evening
- CAP science center in La Restinga has confirmed that the the main vent is probably no longer active but that some minor side vents are now erupting. As we could see on the webcam during the day, the location of these vents is a little more to the north-east. IGN will certainly report on this new activity the following day(s).
- AVCAN (Actualidad Volcanica de Canarias) will decrease his number of daily El Hierro reports to one per day as a result of the subsided activity. They will increase their reporting when the vents would reactivate.
Update 19/12 - 16:57 UTC
- Harmonic tremor is gradually getting stronger in the afternoon.
- What we see at the moment in the Las Calmas is expected to be gas emissions although a close up view from the helicopter is often throwing another light on what we see from the coastal webcams
Update 19/12 - 16:18 UTC
Click on the image below to watch the morning series of images of Joke Volta. Joke went after her climb to the CAP science center in La Restinga and asked if they could confirm the new multiple vents she had noticed. The person in charge of the center at that time said : NO there is only 1 vent sending gas emissions to the surface. It is the same vent than last week, but the strong current is making it come to the surface to the east of the former vent. (ER : we carefully watched a number of time lapse videos and can confirm that only 1 vent is active. The stain brought up by the vent is being carried to the east (left) which gives the impression that there are multiple vents (stain broken here and there). We however think that we can talk about a new vent as it comes concentrated to the surface and this at a reasonable distance from the first vent.)
- We have noticed that the U-stream El Pinar webcam has been moved to the new stain /vent location
- The vent is still active while writing this update
Update 19/12 - 16:00 UTC
Julio del Castillo Vivero Time Lapse comprehending the period between 08.31 - 11.34 GMT
Update 19/12 - 11:58 UTC
Readers following the events (vents) very carefully or unable to look at the webcam images while working can also have a look on the Cabildo / Telefonica time lapse series. Every period of 15 minutes can be viewed in time lapse format since the start of the webcam operations. A great effort from these webcam operators. We truly thank them for this.
The present time lapsas are showing very well where the vent is located, the action of the vent (limited time) and the drifting of the vent stain with the current. Enjoy !
http://www.elhierrowebcam.com/timelapses/movistar2/day/2011/12/19 (Eruption webcam)
We thank Julio del Castillo Vivero for the tip !
Update 19/12 - 11:14 UTC
- At least 2 distinctive vents can be seen this morning on the webcams
Update 19/12 - 09:10 UTC
- The Cabildo / Telefonica webcam shows some weak Jacuzzi action in the vent waters
Update 19/12 - 08:28 UTC
- Harmonic tremor increased slightly during the night
- 1 earthquake (M 2.0) at 19 km depth at 04:09 UTC. Epicenter in the El Golfo bay
- Joke, our great local reporter, has been up since several hours and climbed a little on Montaña del Prim during the early morning hours. She just reported that she saw a fascinating show of creating different emission points. She describes it as slowly created patches who are wiped out gradually. Then suddenly a new one starts to form. She saw 4 being formed during a couple of hours. It reminds us at the patches we saw in the beginning of the eruption. She took a lot of pictures but as she is only 50 to 100 meters above sea level and as the vents are a couple of km from La Restinga, the vents cannot be seen as you have seen them from the helicopter. The image at right is from the Cabildo / Telefonica eruption webcam. It shows the new strong stain very well.
Read also : Scientific paper reveals massive historic Tenerife volcano flank collapse
Read also: Economic impact on El Hierro and the Canary Islands if an aerial eruption would occur
Volcano Discussion Panel : If you are a person who wants to discuss and read about all aspects of volcanoes, this discussion panel might be a very good place to hang around. Especially if we start speculating about what to happen next, this panel is a great place to look at. Give it a chance.