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03/02/2011, Bahia del Sol, El Salvador
Two sisters watching the Saturday morning soccer game on the island across from the marina.
March 1 thru April 23, 2011
El Salvador & Guatemala
Wow! How our lives have been a blur! So much to tell, where do I start? Well, we made it into the marina in Bahia del Sol, El Salvador, easily. What fun and excitement though, surfing the waves in our boat, then having Peter and Cheryl of Stolen Kiss, and Henry from Cloudy Bay greet us on the other side in their dinghy and lead us in. We felt so welcomed and ended up staying for eight weeks! Oh yeah, and remember the engine problem we had when it died off the Guatemalan coast? Well, when Larry pulled off the inspection plate to take a look in the fuel tank guess what he found? Yep, my best bottle of Chardonnay that I had been saving! Nooooo! "Is the bottle okay?", I shrieked! It was sort of an orangy color, and what was left of the label was all gooey, and the foil cap on the cork was off, and all of this had sort of sucked up into the fuel intake valve. NOW we know why our engine died...problem solved! This really was worth a good laugh though and a lot of razzing from our fellow boaters. Did I drink the wine you ask? You betcha baby...couldn't let that go to waste!
So, the marina is attached to a hotel/bar/restaurant, and pool overlooking the estuary. If you walk down the long driveway to the hotel, cross the main road of Costa del Sol, then down another long driveway you can reach another section of the hotel, with pool and restaurant overlooking miles of beach filled with sand dollars that we love to pick up, look at, and sometimes keep. Larry and I immersed ourselves in Spanish lessons three days a week, two days a week we volunteered at the elementary school on the island across the estuary helping teach English, which Ben just loved being around the kids. There were many organized events such as wine tastings, a bonfire on the beach, Wednesday night fundraising dinners at Jan's (who has built a home on Isla Cordoncillo and dedicates her life to teaching the English language to the children as well as raise funds for improvements at the school etc...), Sunday pizza nights, yoga lessons by Ellie from Zeppelin, soccer on the island with the kids on Saturdays and Sundays, hours of walking on the beach, and a lot of socializing in the pool during the afternoons to cool off. We fell in love with Jan and spent a lot of time at her home, cooling off with a refreshment on her porch and loving her dogs, which included puppies that Ben got to see born! We also developed deep feelings for some of the El Salvadorian people, especially Leo, our favorite waiter, who took care of us morning to night, and Claudia, our Spanish teacher and receptionist of the hotel. The biggest downside to cruising, is always having to say goodbye and feeling melancholy for the people we have left.
The only problem being here on the coast of El Salvador was that provisioning was very inconvenient. The shortest amount of time it took to go to the grocery store or ATM was five hours and about $90.00 round trip. Now you certainly could do it all on the local buses for a few dollars and a few more hours, but the thought of trying to get ten big bags of groceries and cases of water and drinks on the packed buses back was unbearable for me. We did however take the bus one time, a two hour ride on two different buses, which really was a hoot. The buses here are old yellow school buses that have been nicely painted in bright colors, with designs almost graffiti style, usually with a woman's name on the side. There is a driver (duh!) and another guy that sort of hustles people to ride the bus, the intent being to fill it way beyond its capacity! The bus announces itself in a big way, honking its horn loudly anytime it is nearing civilization. Some of the patrons are along for the ride to just sell things like herbs, medications, foods etc...Yes, we stick out like a sore thumb and children will just stare, especially at Ben. It makes us giggle. There are truly, free range cows everywhere in this country, which makes for very exciting driving at times as they don't always look before crossing the road!
Ben really felt like this was his home. With the rally going on and many boats in one spot he had instant aunts and uncles, and grandma's and grandpa's and boy did he eat up all of the attention, seeing as we were initially the only kid boat. He became especially close with Carl and Christina on Bombalero, a twenty something year old couple that were so good to Ben and would play with him for hours. Carl, you were truly the "big brother" Ben has never had. He worked on a few peoples' boats cleaning and polishing stainless. He became the estuary taxi in the dinghy, running people back and forth from the anchorage to the marina, and he became every new boaters personal escort service in his dinghy, after they had crossed the sandbar at the entrance he would lead them into the marina. He took this very serious and loved every minute of doing this!
I have noticed as I have grown and changed on this journey, that the more you are exposed to things the less squeamish you become and it becomes your "new norm". A sort of slow process of de-sensitization. Like walking down the road with cows , seeing unusual large bugs, playing soccer barefoot in mud and God knows what kind of guck, eating strange foods in strange places etc..., it becomes your "new norm". I never in a million years could have imagined myself living in the places we have lived and going to the places we have gone in the last six months. It truly is life changing, this sailing around the world thing, and I am really excited that it has only just begun.
We were blessed with a visit from our daughter, Jessica, while we were in El Salvador, and this gave us the perfect opportunity to rent a car and explore Guatemala. We spent four lovely nights in the colonial town of Antigua. Being right before Easter, we were able to see the Semana Santa (Holy Week) parade, and the amazing colorful carpets that were handmade daily out of sawdust for the procession to walk over. Antigua is famous for its Catholic celebration of Holy Week, which commemorates the Passion, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was amazing. Something you would see on the Travel Channel, never thinking you would actually be there for this special event. The town had such a mysterious feel. Narrow one way cobblestone streets, the street curbs are around 24", buildings that are attached together, block after block, some have fancy doors, some not, but when you look inside, past the 24" thick walls it's like entering a whole other world...courtyards...beautiful...open....gardens etc...and all of this surrounded by stunning volcanoes. One of which we took a tour and hiked in the evening, had a wonderful dinner at the top including roasting marshmallows in a vent of hot air from the center of the volcano, and then walking down in the pitch black (super fun, but you gotta do this stuff while you are young...don't wait!). The town was a little eerie...many of the men were walking around town in long purple robes, participating in the Easter procession that went on from early morning to late at night (felt like I was in a scene from the movie New Moon and a vampire was going to come out and eat me!). We stayed at a fantastic, luxurious resort, the Porta Hotel Antigua. We actually had to walk through an underground tunnel, lit by candles to get across the road to where our room was.
Now, renting a car in El Salvador and driving it across the sketchy border into Guatemala isn't for the faint of heart. I think our daughter was surprised at how adventurous we are and how we travel. It really did seem at times like it was going to turn out like a bad scene from a movie. Jessica had become really sick within 36 hours of being with us, but was such a trooper in the 100 degree heat and no access to a bathroom for the five hour drive. On our return, our rental car actually broke down near the border. Larry jiggled everything he could under the hood (it was mostly taped together with black electrical tape!), and the thing ran like a charm after. Phew! It is so hard sometimes. No 911 to call, no AAA tow service, heck...come to think of it, we don't even have a cell phone. But what we do have are hearts that believe in the goodness of people and no one has yet to let us down.
So, thank you, and good bye to El Salvador. We will never forget learning about your struggles as a country, and seeing the strength, beauty, and the love of the people.
See more pictures regarding El Salvador in the photo gallery
03/01/2011, Bahia del Sol, El Salvador
March 1, 2011
S/V Precious Metal punches thru a wave crossing the bar at Bahia del Sol, El Salvador
El Salvador...Here We Come! Or Adrift at Sea?
Yeah! We finally feel like we're getting somewhere in our journey! We feel this way only because Mexico was so easy...well, most of the time anyway! And nothing brings that point more to the forefront than "crossing the bar" into Bahia del Sol, our home for the next eight weeks.
It was a forty two hour trip from Puerto Chiapas, Mexico to our first stop in El Salvador. We should have known it was an ominous sign when leaving, when our supposed re-built windlass (remember the saga in December?) decided not to work AGAIN when we needed to raise the anchor. THIS time Larry and I did it together, protecting his STILL injured arm from the December windlass debacle. Poor Ben lay downstairs in our cabin with a 103* fever. We wrestled with whether or not we should be traveling, but we thought we would have a better chance of medical care for him in San Salvador than Puerto Chiapas. Although we will never forget the ladies in the kitchen of the beach palapa restaurant who had taken a particular fondness of Ben, and when they heard he was ill, brewed a special concoction of an anti-parasitic drink from herbs that they insisted I give him every few hours. Needless to say, he took one sip and spit it out. It is the thought that counts though. What sweet, sweet women, who live in severe poverty, yet they gave us this medicine out of the kindness of their hearts.
So, after being tied up to a big, oily, shrimp boat (or as Larry says, "It was covered with permanent strength liquid goo!") for three hours (because the fuel dock decided to take their siesta, for two hours, after we had been waiting for our turn for thirty minutes!) priorities ya know, we finally officially pull out of the stinkiest, most foul port. Ben is still feverish, but resting comfortably, we are having a nice smooth ride out of Mexico, no wind, passing through Guatemala, nightfall comes, and...the engine dies.
Well, at this point I kind of need to back up here and catch you up on a little incident we had back in December when we pulled into Barra de Navidad, Mexico, in December. We stopped at the fuel dock to fill up, and at the same time filled our water tanks. So, we had all of our caps on deck off our various tanks to be filled, and no sooner had Larry just reminded Ben and I to be really careful about what we put in the tanks, and...Larry accidentally puts water in one of our fuel tanks! Only about eighteen gallons but still...this is a problem. Luckily Santosha, our buddy boat at that time, had a small fuel polisher on their vessel and were kind enough to loan it to us. Poor Larry worked for the next three days straight, sucking fuel out, running it through the little filter machine thingy to remove the water (supposedly). He thought he got it all. As we traveled further south, he had switched us on to our other fuel tank and life was good. In January, as we headed out of Ixtapa towards Acapulco, Larry had switched us back to the fuel tank we had put the water in and...lo and behold the engine dies after two hours. He had to change out the two fuel filters, clean out the water separator, and switch back to the tank that we knew was still good. No problem, other than being depressed because he had spent all of that time trying to get the water out and obviously that didn't work. And, it was still daylight, so as we sat out in the water drifting, we weren't concerned. Now, you're probably wondering why, since we have a sailboat, we aren't sailing everywhere. Well, we only travel when the weather looks good, meaning calm seas and not too much wind. But, if there isn't at least twelve knots of wind, we don't typically put our sails up because our boat is so heavy they just sort of flop around and it's just really annoying and it's hard on the sails. Also, the direction in which the wind is coming from is a factor, and if it is straight on the nose, that doesn't work either. So, there are many factors in sailing and if you want to get somewhere, within a certain amount of time, staying on course, you just go.
So, when we pulled into Acapulco we hired a professional to come out and "polish" both of our fuel tanks for a mere $500. We felt really good about this and really thought we had put this problem behind us. However, we were still switched over to the original, good fuel tank. Now let me explain where the inspection plate is for the water fouled fuel tank (that is the cut out piece, about the size of a large dinner plate, that is bolted on so you can remove it and have access to the inside of your tank as well as a visual). Well, this is under our kitchen sink, need I say more. Now I had cleaned out everything under the kitchen sink with the exception of the items on this very handy shelf that is set deep inside to the right, because God forbid you don't let any space go unused on a boat. We usually keep extra drinks under here including my emergency stash of wine! (If you are wondering why I am telling you this, just remember it and it will all make sense soon!) Being on a mooring ball in Acapulco can be very exciting, because there are a lot of boats that race through the mooring field with no care, "waking" all the other boats (meaning; their wake they create from their prop makes all the other boats roll from side to side). Really meaning they are thoughtless, careless jerks.
So, now we can catch up to where I left off when the engine dies at night in Guatemalan waters. Larry had now switched back to our original "problem" tank, so when the engine died he pretty much knew the problem. Again, he put new fuel filters in because they were all contaminated with guck, switched us back to our other tank, and after several tries, got the engine started. It was scary though because it is pitch black out and we're just drifting, again no wind to sail with. I stay up on deck keeping a very serious watch , making sure no other vessel gets close to us. Larry works down in the boiling engine room feverishly. I don't have any steerage on the boat and we just roll with the waves, which is not a very comfortable thing to do. Forty five minutes can seem like an eternity in this situation, and your mind wanders into many different scenarios. With a ten year old on board it is very important we all maintain our composure as not to freak him out! But, I was worried, because our next port of call, Bahia del Sol in El Salvador, was going to be the trickiest entry as of yet into the estuary where the marina is. This is the dreaded sand bar that you can only cross at high tide with the aid of a jet ski that the marina sends out to guide you in, one boat at a time. If the conditions are too extreme they simply won't bring you in, meaning you have to wait outside the entrance for up to 24 hours. Bahia del Sol is where the El Salvador Rally (an organized flotilla of vessels that we had signed up to participate in) is taking place. So, needless to say, we needed our engine to be working the best it could to make it across this bar.
02/17/2011, Puerto Madero, Chiapas, Mexico
Temple of the Inscriptions, at the Mayan ruins in Palenque, Mexico
Feb. 17,2011
Last stop in Mexico
Chiapas...hmmm...what can I say? Well, it's about 20 miles from the border of Guatemala, brown, DIRTY, barren, hot, and VERY poor. This is when I come to realize that being in Mexico has been like being in Disneyland, and we ain't there anymore as we near the border. This port is home to a very large shrimping and tuna fleet, including a tuna processing plant turning this port into the most gooey, foul smelling, disgusting water port we have ever been. The largest tuna fishing vessel actually has a helicopter on it, I guess to fly out ahead looking for signs of the fish, then they deploy these small tender boats off of it so they can round them up by surrounding them with nets. I still have visions of video I had seen a long time ago with dolphins being trapped in the nets and dying. (I think I've said this before, but seeing this makes it practically impossible for me to eat fish of any kind.)
What the people lack in "things", they more than make up for in niceness. This is where we do our official "check out" of Mexico. Meaning we are boarded by the Navy, inspected, complete all the necessary paperwork, and have a drug dog on board to wander around, (I always have this lingering fearful thought...What if the last owners of this boat hid some drugs somewhere and forgot to take them with them?...). Everyone was very polite and professional, thank God, because Larry wasn't there (that's a whole 'nother story), and it was just Ben and I when they came on board. The Navy and the dog went away with treats, homemade chocolate chip cookies for the boys and dog treats for the canine. Cool! Larry eventually shows up with a story of walking to the port captains office to check out, then taking a collectivo to town,( a pick-up truck/taxi that everyone just piles in the back of the bed, that a cage has sort of been built around with two benches on either side but it's sort of more comfortable to just stand and hang on for dear life to the metal frame), then a cab to the airport to immigration, then...no cab back? Hmmmm...where'd they go?...so he starts walking...and walks for fifteen minutes, then starts hitchhiking (this IS part of the adventure isn't it?!) A car stops, whom the driver turns out to be the helicopter mechanic for the huge tuna fishing vessel in the harbor near us. He is a blessing for Larry, who speaks very poor Spanish and this man doesn't speak English either, but he gets him back to where our dinghy is tied up so Larry can make it back to our anchored boat. Yes folks, this is another one of those "only in Mexico moments". We would never think of hitchhiking where we came from in California.
The great thing about Chiapas was that it was close enough for us to be able to take a really fantastic road trip to the Palenque ruins. Mayan ruins and culture we were in the mood for and Palenque was supposed to be the best. I never would have dreamt this but I am becoming quite good at looking at maps, researching areas, reading the Lonely Planet guides, figuring out bus schedules, and taking our family on some really cool adventurous trips! However, we always travel with the mindset that we're not really sure what we're getting ourselves into, but we'll just make the best of it. This one was a hit. An eight hour luxury bus ride to the colonial town of San Cristobal de Las Casas, staying in a beautiful old hacienda, a tour of Sumidero Canyon in a speed boat (totally cool) was like traveling through Yosemite Valley on a river including monkeys and crocodiles, a spectacular 5 hour drive in another luxury bus to Palenque where we stayed in an eco-lodge (howler monkeys and all), and a tour of the Palenque ruins and museum. We really felt ready to move on after this road trip and bid farewell to Mexico. Thank you Mexico for a wonderful fourteen months!
See Palenque and Waterfall picture gallery!
02/07/2011, Off Shore from Huatulco
A Sea Turtle, lets just say "Ben found it"
February 7,2011
The Engine Saga Continues...
We made it to Huatulco in 35 hours. The passage was uneventful (meaning no major boat problems!) but seemed to take forever and the seas were confused which makes for confused tummies! We of course saw the usual joyful dolphins, surfacing whales, and turtles, turtles galore! There are turtles EVERYWHERE! And they just like space out or sleep on the surface of the water and you don't see them until you are pretty close, and we start screaming at them to move or Ben shoots at them with his water gun. They will usually lazily lift their head up to look at you and then suddenly realize they had better skid daddle and for some unknown reason they almost always turn directly into the path of the boat! Thank goodness they have hard shells! So, our fishing possessed child had out his usual paraphernalia and lo and behold what did he hook? Nope, not a fish...but a turtle! It took us 45 minutes to pull in this poor, fighting, heavy turtle so we could either pull the hook out or at least cut the line so the hook could just rust out. We even put the boat in reverse because it had pulled so much of Ben's fishing line out and it was really hard trying to reel it in. In the end, we cut the line and the turtle swam off, relieved I'm sure. Ben has fished very little while we are under way since then, still recovering from PTST (post traumatic swimming turtle!).
All of these great little anchorages we had heard about that we had hoped to stop at along the way and snorkel in crystal clear water did not happen. Confused seas also make for confused anchorages unless they are well protected and the beautiful blue Pacific turns into a sort of brown/green color. Plus, we are very prudent in our choice of places to anchor and if it looks like if the winds or waves might pick up and we might drag, we just simply don't do it. That can be a real good way to lose your boat fast if you're not careful.
It was great to be in the Huatulco Marina though because not only were our old friends there, but we made lots of new friends too! Huatulco is the place where cruiser's heading south often stage at, waiting for a weather window before crossing the Tehuanepec. The Tehuanepec can be a very dangerous stretch of water due to the potential of strong winds and waves whipping up quickly so that is why you wait...patiently. Fortunately our wait was only a week but unfortunately we really could have stayed in this neat little town a little longer. Who knew? I was shocked to see this cute town with resorts and restaurants, and many snowbirds from the States and Canada that have been coming here for years. Renting a car gave us the opportunity to not only have a few nights off the boat (which always feels so great) but also to see the beautiful countryside of southern Mexico. On our way to the world famous surfing town of Puerto Escondido we stopped at a turtle sanctuary and breeding facility which gave us the opportunity to see all the different sea turtles and learn of their plight. Over the past summer we had participated in several baby turtle releases, holding the less than one day old babies with our sandy hands so as to supposedly imprint the beach on these babies so they knew where to return to years later to lay their eggs. We would walk them near the water at dusk, and then release them, letting them go through their necessary struggle to the water. Like pretty much everything else in the ocean, man has not been kind to these critters. The more Larry and I live on the ocean, the more we respect the life that struggles in it, and the more difficult we find to eat it. Not that we would ever eat turtle, but to eat some other fish or shrimp and not really know for sure if it was sustainably caught or what else was carelessly killed in the catching/netting/long line process, or if it is fish farmed, is it full of hormones and antibiotics? And so the dilemma goes...and if Ben catches a fish and we see it swimming so beautifully in the ocean you just hate to kill it. We're not that hungry...yet.
Puerto Escondido was adorable. It has several very nice hotels to stay at, little boutiques, and restaurants and bars that line the famous yet treacherous surfing beach. We arranged for a surfing lesson for Ben and ended up hooking up with a super cool instructor, Raul, who took us around for two days allowing Ben to safely surf with the "big" boys. He also took us for the best lunch we've ever had in Mexico at a local place, and then to their amazing market where these little, old Mexican women sit, selling everything from herbs that cure a case of intestinal parasites to small limbs off trees that if you steep in boiling water and then drink and you will be cured of many things, including arthritis etc...Very cool!
So, back on the boat, nine of us all pull out together to begin our big Tehuanepec crossing. Everyone had studied the upcoming weather extensively. We also took it one step further and hired a very handy weather routing company named Commanders Weather (see "Favorites" right side of this page). For a small price, in terms of your life (!), they will study all of the weather patterns, taking into consideration your boat speed, and calculate the weather along your route based on your boat speed. This is the second time we have used them. (As a side note, when the tsunami warning was released after the Japan earthquake, they immediately e-mailed us remembering that we may be in an area of danger, providing us with estimated arrival times of the expectant tsunami. I thought that was pretty nice.) At 6:45 AM and 43 hours later we all patiently waited outside Puerto Chiapas harbor, our last port in Mexico before crossing into Guatemala, radioing the port captain, asking permission to enter. Once again the camaraderie felt great. The crossing had been uneventful, actually quite calm and relaxing with the exception of the last night for us. Out of the blue, just as the sun was setting we were suddenly swarmed with fishing vessels, actually forming a horseshoe around our boat on the radar. Now some of the boats we were traveling with were 3 miles off shore, two were 60, we were about 10 miles off, and the rest fell somewhere in between. The concern with the fishing vessels is the long lines they put out, and of course wrapping it around our prop. The shrimp boats are large and well lit up. The pangas are small, unlit, and they don't always show on our radar. Dad steered, Ben and I stood up on the bow with a flashlight and weaved Larry and the Lisa Kay through the maze of flags that the pangas put out marking either the beginning or the end of a long line. Scary. Can I just say...I don't like to use the word "hate" ...but I HATE LONGLINES! (I implore you to go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium website and pull up their list of sustainable seafood to eat.)
02/04/2011, Acapulco, Mexico
Our good friends Alex & Hugo with the crew of the S/V Lisa Kay
February 4, 2011
Still In Acapulco
The best part about sending out our updates is hearing back from all of you! It keeps us connected and it helps us not feel so alone. We also love hearing everyone else's updates when they write back. Thank you, thank you family and friends! However, many say," I'm glad you're having so much fun". But, it really isn't fun...I mean sometimes it is...some days I feel like the luckiest person in the world, but it's not like we just walk around ha-ha'ing all the time. Much of our time/challenge of living on a boat is trying to keep our selves happy, and having a purpose in life. No... let me re-phrase that...by keeping ourselves from falling into the deep, dark, hole of depression because we feel like we have NO control over our lives. Because let me tell you, being stuck somewhere (sometimes a less than desirable place) due to mechanical issues or weather, is a tough thing psychologically. Now, we each deal with this hopeless feeling in our own special way. Ben, well just let him fish with some guys, or jump in the water and swim, or scrub the side of the boat a little, and well he's happy. For me, let me walk to the grocery store (Ooh, I feel so independent!), maybe stopping along the way and give the homeless man 100 pesos for him and the kitties he's feeding, and I'm happy. Larry, I'm not sure...he's pretty much happy as long as we are. And for all of us, to feed a hungry, homeless animal brings us great joy. After living a year in Mexico, we have probably only been asked for money by a homeless person maybe 2 or 3 times, and one of those being an American tourist. In Fremont, Ca I would be asked probably 2 or 3 times a day if I was out running around doing errands. Go figure. So, we trod on, each one of us trying to find purpose in our day. Larry is still nursing his badly injured arm. Thank God we are still in Acapulco. Thank God we have Hugo and Alex, the gentlemen who oversee the mooring ball we are attached to, who will see us from a quarter of a mile away carrying groceries and will run to help. Who check in with us daily to see if we are okay. Who try to teach me Spanish. Who will take us or pick up for us anything we might need. Who love to take Ben out fishing. We have shared many meals together with them, including them bringing their wives on our boat for dinner. Neither of us spoke each other's language, but we became fast friends. Thank God we came to Acapulco. Finding a competent, honest mechanic (through Hugo and Alex), which are few and far between, has saved us what would have been an inevitable disaster down the road. So, yes, even though we are getting antsy to leave again because we feel stuck with our engine problems not being solved, we also feel very blessed.
From the notes of Larry:
We have an 8,000 watt generator powered by a three cylinder diesel engine. It began overheating and would automatically shut down. It circulates sea water through a heat exchanger which cools the fresh water that is circulated through the engine by a water pump. The sea water output seems to be diminished so I thought the raw water impeller was bad. Should be a simple fix. After pulling the impeller (from a spot smaller than the head of a needle) it looked fine. Still we are overheating. Hmmm, can't use that 110v water maker I just spent 10 days installing. Oh, and we can't fill up at the dock... cause we're not at one! Belt is new, water pump looks good, but still heating up. Time for the mechanic because I can't turn a wrench now with my left hand, and did I tell you I'm left handed? Mechanic pulls the thermostat out and tries it, because you really don't need one here, it's always warm, so no need for the thermostat to stay closed to heat up the engine. No change. Must be the heat exchanger. So he pulls it and takes it to the heat exchanger spa for an acid bath. Back the next day, put it all together, refill with coolant, and it overheats again. Come to find out after looking at the manual, there is a second part of the heat exchanger. Pull that out and take it to the heat exchanger spa for another treatment. Meanwhile, we are having to the use main engine (glad I installed that engine driven compressor) to run our 110v refrigerator/freezer. Did I mention Lisa just stocked us up with food for the next leg of our trip? After our second part returns from the spa our generator now runs flawlessly.
Now in the back of my mind I'm wondering when, if ever, the main engine heat exchanger was ever flushed, cleaned, or even checked, for that matter. After a quick conference with Lisa we discuss the fact that we have a knowledgeable mechanic, he speaks fluent English, we are in a city of 1.5million people (some of whom may own a parts store), and are sailing into Central America. We will be crossing into a very dangerous gale prone area with few marinas until we reach Panama, a few thousand nautical miles down the coast. OK, let's have some preventative maintenance done on our main engine. Having it shut down due to dirty fuel 5 miles off shore on our last leg was let's say... a little exciting. That kind of excitement I don't need again. So, our Belizian mechanic goes to work pulling the air cooling unit that feeds the fuel injectors (didn't know we had that), the oil cooling unit which cools our engine oil (didn't know we had that) and leaves the heat exchanger on. He looked in the hole and thought it look pretty clean. Go figure! After pulling all these parts you can now see our turbo charger. He calls me over to it and invites me to spin the fans blades with a screw driver. The unit is totally frozen. This explains our lack of top end speed and our inability to get more than about 2,100 rpms out of the engine. Prior to learning this, several "experts" told us our feathering propeller was taking to big a bite out of the water, therefore restricting the rpm's we could get out of the engine. Thought we needed to adjust it next time we have the boat pulled out of the water. Well, at least we know the cause and we are glad we decided to go ahead with the work. So the air and oil coolers go to the parts spa for their treatments and the turbo charger gets rebuilt. All the parts are back the next day and the mechanic, along with Alex and Hugo, spend the day reinstalling them. The mechanic insisted on a test cruise so off we go. And go we do, really fast, our 64,000lb boat has more speed than ever! But, now whenever we go above 2,100 rpm's the engine overheats. Arrrggghhh!!!!
Back to the drawing board. He pulls the fuel injectors and they look like the inside of a chimney, full of soot, really dirty. He sends those to the "laboratory" for a cleaning. They return the next day and reinstall them. He also brings a 5 gallon jug of "special cleaning stuff" to run through the fuel pump. So he takes the fuel lines off and puts them in the jug and out to sea we go. Unfortunately we get really good mileage so it takes hours of running off the coast to burn all this cleaner, which makes the boat belch black smoke out the exhaust. Lisa is great, she is making lunch for us all. We see our first whale jump totally out of the water, time after time until I grab the camera of course! Meanwhile the engine is still overheating. Arrrgghh again!!!!!! He now has us shut down the engine about 2 miles off shore, let's it cool down a little and pulls the thermostat out. We start it up and it proceeds to overheat again.
Okay, back to our mooring ball. Out comes the heat exchanger, off comes the water pump, and off comes the exhaust elbow which is full of exhaust stuff. The exhaust elbow goes to the acid spa with the heat exchanger. Mechanic shows up the next day with the water pump that checks out great, the now clean heat exchanger, and bad news about the exhaust elbow. After the stuff was taken out a hole was found in the liner. This was allowing salt water into the turbocharger, now we know why it seized up, and the blockage was so severe not enough sea water was being discharged to cool the engine.
Mind you, with each one of these steps (thinking the problem will be fixed), we are mentally preparing for a 35 hour trip to Huatulco, leaving very early in the morning as to arrive during daylight the next day. I'm starting to feel a little bipolar. Arrrgghh again!!!! So, the exhaust elbow repair man was supposed to have it repaired the next night at 6pm. That didn't happen. Maybe tomorrow????? But then of course we couldn't leave tomorrow even if they do fix it because our launch window will be closed. Our best chance for escape now is SuperBowl Sunday. Good thing that satellite TV dish works off shore!!!!
Well, elbow makes it back to the boat Saturday afternoon, is installed, and test drive goes beautifully! Huatulco here we come!
From the notes of Lisa:
Now you feel our pain!
01/26/2011, Acapulco, Mexico & Ghost Ships!!!
Ben's 73lb BIG fish!!!
January 26, 2011
On to Acapulco
With the water maker installed we bid farewell to Ixtapa and made an 18 hour passage to Acapulco. We always feel sad saying goodbye to the people and places that we've stayed for more than a few weeks, however it does feel good arriving in a new area to be explored. We've been warned fervently about Acapulco. Drug cartel, mafia, dirty, crowded. Yeah...I'm sure it's all that. But, it's also cool, old, and bustling. Floating on our mooring ball in the evenings is like sitting in a bowl of diamonds, with all of the twinkling lights. This is the first place since I can remember that we have not been eaten alive by mosquitoes and no-seeums, and actually can sit out at night. We have become very close with two gentlemen that over see some of the mooring balls in this anchorage, Hugo and Alex. They have taken a particular liking to Ben and his passion for fishing. On a deep sea fishing trip he took with them today he got to help pull in his first sailfish! Alex and Hugo have also been helpful in...yes folks...more repairs on our boat. I know...you're shocked! We just had a little engine problem several hours out of Ixtapa, well okay...the engine actually stopped...and we just drifted for awhile (no wind), but my amazing husband fixed it, at least enough for us to move on safely. Oh yeah, and when the generator also decides to stop working, well then you have problems with such things as power, refrigeration, not being able to run the new water maker etc... and so the saga continues!
A very wise woman recently told me how she thought that this new journey in Larry's life, meaning water, was the perfect compliment to his career in fire. Hmmm...thank you for that Margalit. I think you are right. I'm glad I get to come along for the ride!
Now the Ghost Ship part: If you look on Google Earth you at the Lat/Long shown above you can see the "Ghost Ships" on the bottom of the harbor.


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Dr. Michael Terry
Phone: (619) 260-4571
Dr. Michael Terry
Clinical Associate Professor
University of San Francisco - DNP
California State University, Long Beach - MSN
California State University, Sonoma - BSN
Michael Terry, DNP, APRN, is a Clinical Associate Professor of Nursing at USD and a nationally certified Family and Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner. Dr. Terry teaches in the Master's Entry and Psychiatric Advanced Practice Nursing Programs, and was recently honored with the American Psychiatric Nurses Association Innovation Award.
Dr. Terry completed his undergraduate work at UCLA, received his Master of Science in Nursing degree from California State University at Long Beach, and his Doctorate in Nursing Practice from the University of San Francisco. Clinically, Dr. Terry has practiced in sites as diverse as Death Valley, Eastern Sierras, rural Sonoma County, and throughout the state of Alaska. He comes to USD from the University of California San Francisco, where he was the Lead Faculty in their Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program.
Dr. Terry has received over 3 million dollars in grants to develop telemedicine systems in remote sites for support and consultation to health care providers, health care services for federal health care recipients, and to support health care services, training, and management for communities along the Aleutian Chain. He served as the Clinical Director of the Alaska Federal Health Care Access Network, which held a Congressional Budget Designation of $30 million. Most recently, he received a HRSA Advanced Education Nursing Training Grant to improve access and quality of treatment for clinical depression. He has received the Helen Nahm Award from the California Nurses Association for increasing nurses' involvement in community affairs, and was featured in the Los Angeles Times and on NBC World News Tonight and CNN for his work in the Death Valley, California health crisis.
Dr. Terry has been instrumental in curricular work that assures our Psychiatric Advanced Practice Nursing graduates will be eligible to take the American Nurse Credential Center Certification exam. In addition, he is building a broad network of clinical sites to accommodate our growing program.
Dr. Terry's background and interests include the integration of primary care and behavioral health, public/community mental health, and military mental health. He is particularly interested in the application of narrative and storytelling in clinical practice and incorporates his background as a professional clown to focus on improvisation and humor in health care settings.
For a detailed biosketch in PDF format, click here.
Contact Information
Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science
Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science
5998 Alcalá Park
San Diego, CA 92110
Phone: (619) 260-4548

subset: commoncrawl


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Sri Lanka cricket seems to be the latest casualty in the journey
towards a fully fleged Banana Republic that the country is following.
Cricket the only thing other than tea ( destroyed by mismanagement many
decades ago) that the Island has any serious world recognition for has,
seemingly, been sold to the IPL.
A ten year "total"
commitment for what seems to be an astronomical sum of money in present
terms has destroyed a potential test match tour of England during an
Ashes season. A golden opportunity has presented itself albiet at the
cost of political judgements passed on Zimbabwe, for Sri Lanka to play
two test matches as a precusor or a warm up if you like to the Ashes
test series in the summer of 2009. Sure we will be playing in the
spring and if british weather stays true to form it will be cold and
wet and the tracks will probably be underprepared etc.
However I firmly believe that Lanka has a chance of taking on the MCC
at home in conditions favouring the opposition and beating them. We can
silence all critics who say that we are useless on tour and consist of
"flat track bully" batsman. With Mendis and hopefully Prassana in the
team backed by Murali and a fully fit Malinga we certainly will have
the bowlers to get England out. The batting too if players like
Paranavitharana, Waranapura and a few others from the A team get picked
with backing from Sanga and Mahela will be formidable.
this has been "flushed" away for a bundle of money. Does a Minister who
has little or no understanding of the game and its history vis-a-vis
our "baby steps" in test cricket and all the sacrifices made by past
players and the suffering endured by the fans have a right to base his
judgement simply on what he values most ? ie money ! What's more this
amount of money may seem astronomical right now and a small percentage
to the perpertrator (if that is the case) will prolong his political
career into the next generation but look at the commitment. To commit
our cricket schedules for TEN YEARS to give priority to IPL fixtures
over others is foolish to say the least and unlikely to be acceptable
to the ICC to boot.
This is nothing but politics being
played by uneducated high school children whose modus operandi is
thuggery and one-upman-ship at the most childish level. A precendent is
being created that will make Sri Lanka Cricket the laughing stock of
the world and expose the perpetrators as fit only to deal in Bananas in
a country that has gone to the dogs.


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Rex – short for "robotic exoskeleton" stands two metres tall, has prosthetic limbs, and artificial organs as well as artificial blood.
The Bionic Man was put together by the Shadow robotics company using artificial limbs and organs borrowed from the laboratories of leading scientists from as far afield as New Zealand and San Francisco.
As well as prosthetic arms and legs, he has a functioning heart, lung, kidney, pancreas and spleen, artificial arteries that carry man-made blood, and a microchip that interprets images and acts as a rudimentary eye.
Bertolt Meyer, a Swiss psychologist born without a left hand, who was the model for Rex said he feels awkward about seeing his face on the robot.
"It still freaks me out. I had a very negative emotional reaction when I saw it for the first time and I still feel awkward when I'm close to it and have to look it in the eye," said Mr Meyer.


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Senior Member
Last Activity: 30th October 2015 01:03 AM
About Me
- About evilmonkey1987
- Service provider
- Canada - Bell mobility
- City
- Toronto, Ontario
- Home country
- Canada
- Occupation
- Litigation Lawyer
- Phone:
History: Motorola V220 -> Motorola RAZR -> HTC Wizard (Hello XDA!) -> HTC Touch -> Blackberry Curve 8330 -> Samsung Galaxy S III SGH-I747M
Current: Google Nexus 5 (stock: used in a corporate environment)
History: Viewsonic G-Tablet -> Asus EEE Pad Transformer (it's making a thief in Antwerp, Belgium very happy right now)
Current: Google Nexus 10 (stock: used in a corporate environment)
Other people's devices I look after:
HTC One X (stock)
Google Nexus 7 (stock)
- Phone:
- Devices
Most Thanked
Post Summary
Hello fellow Canadian GSIII owners: please see below and note which forum you should be looking in for ROMs for your devices: AT&T forum: SGH-I747 (AT&T, Rogers, Bell, Telus and SaskTel) T-Mobile forum: SGH-T999 (T-Mobile, Wind, Mobilicity and...
I have heard these so far: Beta, Alpha, RC, Nightly, and Stable. I honestly have no clue what these mean, other than stable, and if you could provide a link or some info it would be appreciated. ;) Stable - tried, tested and true. All feature...
I agree. But AFAIK, the Wind/Mobilicity/Videotron S3 is the same as T-Mobile's, not Sprint's. Indeed it is. I stand corrected.
I followed your suggestion, and did mrRobinson's thread exactly to downgrad from stock 4.1.2 to 4.1.1.( No Tripping Flash Counter - http://http://forum.xda-developers.c....php?t=1739426) I used the file name (root66_RWC_I747MVLDLK4.tar.md5) d...
Dude why are u so freaking sensitive? I read through a butt load of pages and it's just you being super defensive. I appreciate the work you do but u need to chill out. And yea it's a bit annoying to keep re input stuff. An ota updat...


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Sunshine Seasons in Epcot's The Land continually tops reader favorites lists for best quick-service eatery. Everyone seems to love this place, and I'm not arguing with them. It offers a wide variety of high-quality dishes and includes some healthier items as well. It feels more like a resort food court than anything else, and those extra options make it desirable as a quick-service spot.
Sunshine Seasons is housed on the ground floor of The Land pavilion, which is essentially a massive room with attractions shooting off in all directions, spoke-and-wheel style. The food-court style ordering area is situated in a free-form semi-circle across from the Soarin' and Living With The Land attractions. [Read more…]


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This year there's new music from over 20 composers writing solo, ensemble and cross-art-form commissions, as well as our expanded Blue Touch Paper programme where we make experiments with interdisciplinary work.
Commissioning work lies at the heart of the London Sinfonietta, and this season's new pieces are a testament to this ambition.
Bite-sized pieces by leading composers commissioned, recorded and released as downloads.
Our strand of Blue Touch Paper events runs parallel to our work in the concert hall, giving composers and collaborators from other arts and science disciplines the opportunity to explore ideas and create new interdisciplinary work.


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4,000 Soviets Retreat to Blagovestchensk
Where Anarchy Reigns
Simionov Creating New Army Nucleus in Released
Territory--More Chinese Troops
Asahi Service
HARBIN, Sept. 9.--In the battle of Muisovya, on the
southern bank of the Lake Baikal, the Soviets and Austro-Germans were severely defeated by the Czechs, sustaining the
loss of 6,000 in killed and 2,000 in prisoners. Owing to this
defeat the enemy has been completely discouragedand Chita
was captured by the Czechs. Martial law has been proclaimed
in Chita which is now in the hands of the Czechs and Cossacks.
Asahi Service
VLADIVOSTOK, Sept. 8.--According to a report received from Heiho the number of Soviets who have retreated into Blagovestchensk has reached over 4,000 and the town is in a state of anarchy. There are two parties among the enemy as to the future plan of operations. One of them, perceiving that the fortunes of war are against them, is in favor of discontinuing resistance to the Allies, while the other section advocates the removal of headquarters to the direction of Seiya for the purpose of defense
Kokusai Direct Service
HARBTN, Sept. 8.--General Diedrichs and Dr. Girsa, formerly of Paris, are going to Vladivostok. Col. Gaida and General Horvat are following them to attend the conference of the leaders of the allied councils.
Ataman Simionov is recruiting the Cossacks in the trans-Baikal and province of Amur.
Five groups of corps are the nucleus of the new Russian army in the released territory which is being
A connection between the Simionov force from Manchuli
and the central Czecho-Slovak force has been effected at the
Onon valley, Trans-Baikalia, and communication is now open
to the Allies between Vladavostok and the Murmarr region,
by way of North Manchuria and Central Siberia, the Soviets
and Teuton prisoners on bhe Amur railway only remain to be
Jealt with. As the Soviets have been gradually retreating
opinion is expressed in the Allied headquarters that order
throughout Siberia may be restored earlier than expected.
Kokusai Direct Service
HARBIN, Sept. 8.--General Diedrichs has resigned and the
eastern Czechs are overtaking the organization of the Siberian
forces. Colonel Gaida is commanding the Czechs at Omsk and
Colonel Kaditz is in command of the Vladivostok group.
The War Office issued the following communiques yesterday:
Contingents of the Simionov force and of Japanese cavalry entered Chita Friday evening and met with an enthusiastic reception of the Japanese and Russian residents there.
Owing to the grave situation at Blagovestchensk and
vicinity China has decided to dispatch more troops to North
Manchuria. The first detachment of Chinese troops will be sent
to Heiho from Tsitsihar in a few days.


text:
Ask a Landlord-Tenant Question, Get an Answer ASAP!
My one year lease was up in March of this year and I was not presented with a new one.
The lease states that the maximum number of pets allowed is two.I repeatedly told the landlord (wife) for 4 months prior to moving in how many cats I had. All she kept telling me was "Don't worry about it, we love animals."
I am current on my rent. I am an excellent tenant and they have told me how "wonderful it is to have me here" I take care of their dog who lives with me, their cat, their ducks and I feed their fish.I also maintain the water softner in the basement and keep my apartment immaculate.
I am sorry to have to provide you with bad news, but please understand that I do have an ethical and professional obligation to provide customers with legally correct answers, even when an answer is not favorable to the customer.
If you need further help, just reply to me via the "REPLY" button and I will be happy to continue.
I cannot enter into an attorney client relationship, this is a public forum, and all posts are available for public viewing. There is no duty of confidentiality that attaches to any posts. The information provided is not a substitute for a local attorney's legal advice.
DISCLAIMER: Answers from Experts on JustAnswer are not substitutes for the advice of an attorney. JustAnswer is a public forum and questions and responses are not private or confidential or protected by the attorney-client privilege. The Expert above is not your attorney, and the response above is not legal advice. You should not read this response to propose specific action or address specific circumstances, but only to give you a sense of general principles of law that might affect the situation you describe. Application of these general principles to particular circumstances must be done by a lawyer who has spoken with you in confidence, learned all relevant information, and explored various options. Before acting on these general principles, you should hire a lawyer licensed to practice law in the jurisdiction to which your question pertains.
The responses above are from individual Experts, not JustAnswer. The site and services are provided "as is". To view the verified credential of an Expert, click on the "Verified" symbol in the Expert's profile. This site is not for emergency questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals. Please carefully read the Terms of Service (last updated February 8, 2012).


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Off-Price Outlet-Furniture, listed under "Department Stores" category, is located at 340 High St Somersworth NH, 03878 and can be reached by 6036924711 phone number. Off-Price Outlet-Furniture has currently 0 reviews.This business profile is not yet claimed, and if you are the owner, claim your business profile for free. If you are not the owner you can invite this business to join by email or by phone.Browse all Department Stores in Somersworth NH. If you would like to see census data for this geographical location click here.
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MUSC Intramural Sports
Captains and Players Information
The Captains' Meeting will be held Tuesday, May 26th, 2015 at 5:15pm, in the Harper Student Center Auditorium (SW204). The Team Captain or a representative from every team is required to attend.
GAME DATES, TIMES and LOCATION
Tuesdays and Thursdays
June 2, 4, 9, 11, 16, 18, 23, 25, 30
July 7, 9, 14, 16, 21, 23, 28*, 30*
Game Times: 5:45:-9:45pm.
Location: HSC Wellness Center Gym
- Game schedules can be found at the following locations:
- Emailed to the captain of each team
- On the web: www.musc.edu/intramurals
- Call the Office of Student Programs, 792-2693
- Persons eligible to play MUSC Summer 5 on 5 Intramural Basketball are MUSC students and their spouses, MUSC employees, and members of the Wellness Center. Note: People who are eligible to play MUSC intramurals, but who are not MUSC Wellness Center Members are required to pay an intramural fee to access the Wellness Center for the season. This fee is only for entrance to the facility to play intramurals. The fee is $25.00 and can be paid for at the Wellness Center Membership Desk.
- Players may participate in one league only: Competitive or Co-Rec. Exceptions to this rule can be made on a case by case basis by the Director of Intramurals. Teams in the Competitive league may be co-ed or single sex. Teams in the Co-Rec must be co-ed and require at least one female on the court at all times.
- Completed rosters for the first week of play are due no later than May 29th, at 3:00 pm in the Student Programs Office. Completed rosters for the remainder of the season will be accepted up through June 5th.
- Additions to rosters will be accepted through the 4th week of play (Thursday, June 25th) and must be submitted by the Team Captain by emailing firstname.lastname@example.com.
- If any unrostered player plays after the 4th week, all games in which he or she participates will be forfeited.
- It is the responsibility of the Team Captain to insure that any team player who is not a Wellness Center member leave the facility upon completion of their scheduled game. Any team whose player violates this rule through unauthorized use of the Wellness Center will be eliminated from the league.
- Each team is required to pay a $50 refundable registration fee. Fees are due in the Student Programs Office prior to the third week of play. The registration fee must be paid in cash.
- Teams will not be scheduled to play until the registration fee is paid (after the second week).
- Teams completing the season without any forfeits will be refunded in full. Teams with (1) forfeit will be refunded $25. Teams which forfeit twice will lose the entire sum and not be scheduled to play after the second forfeit.
- Registration fee refunds should be picked up by the Team Captain in Student Programs within 30 days following the end of the season.
BYES and FORFEITS
- Team Captains may request a bye for a game by emailing an Intramural Coordinator at email@example.com. Schedules for the week are usually made the Thursday prior to the next week of play.
- A team may request one bye. However, due to the number of teams participating, it is likely that teams will receive more than one bye per season.
- If a scheduling conflict arises, the team captain or representative must contact an Intramural Coordinator before 9:00 p.m. 2 days prior to the game date. Conflicts will be dealt with on a case by case basis.
- A team will be eliminated from competition after two forfeits and their registration fee will not be refunded.
- In case of a team's elimination from the league due to forfeit, a maximum of 1 player from the eliminated team may be picked up by another team. This holds true only through the 4th week of play (deadlines for adding players to rosters).
- If a team is eliminated from the league due to "non-member players' unauthorized use of the Wellness Center", no players from the eliminated team may be picked up by another team.
RULES of PLAY
- All games will begin no later than: 5:45, 6:45, and 7:45, and 8:45.
- Game time is forfeit time. No "grace period" will be allowed.
- 4 "rostered" players must be present to begin play.
- The game will consist of two 20 minute halves. Half time is 5 minutes.
- Two time outs per half. Clock does not stop unless during the last two minutes of the game. The referee has complete authority during the game.
- For non-competitive, two females are required to be on the court at all times
Family members or friends of Intramural players who are not members of the Wellness Center may be interested in watching a game. Spectators are welcome, but must leave the Wellness Center immediately following the game. Intramural guests found abusing the privilege of spectating will be asked to leave the Center. The team that a spectator is present to watch is responsible for their conduct and will be held responsible for their actions.
There are risks inherent in this activity. As with all other endeavors, each player is responsible for themselves and any medical expenses incurred due to an injury. Students are advised to carry their student ID and health insurance card to games in the case they need to go to Emergency Services at MUSC or another hospital.
Want to play but don't have a team? (Or) Is your team in need of extra players? If so, sign-up or check the free agent list in the Student Programs Office. Free agents are also listed on the weekly schedule emailed each week to the team captains. Don't let talent go to waste!


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The Bachelorette
Ben Scott Thinks Desiree Hartsock Should Give Her Final Rose To….
Ben "DILF 4EVA" Scott was voted out of Desiree Hartsock's Bachelorette man cave during the show's pit-stop in Munich, and then boyfriend ended up word-vomming his "true colors" during the limo ride home.
Unfortunately, Ben's dream of settling down with Des and his son, Brody, aren't about to come true (might have something to do with the fact that he begged ABC's limo driver to get drunk with him), but boyfriend is sure Des will find love with one of his competitors.
The lucky man in question? Not Michael Garofola and his sugar-intolerant self, that's for sure. Instead, Ben thinks Des will give Brooks Forester her finale rose — at least based on their chemistry during the first five episodes of The Bachelorette.
"I always thought she had a great connection with Brooks," Ben mused to Good Morning Texas during a recent video interview. "I would say it's Brooks. They have a great connection."
Considering that Brooks and Des can barely keep their mitts off each other, we're thinking Ben might be on the right track. Did you see this duo getting their mack on in that terrifying Igloo / sex cave? It was so romantic! It would have been more romantic if there wasn't an entire camera crew of freezing pervs videotaping them, but still.
Do you think Ben's prediction will come true, or is Des destined to end up with someone else? Click here to find out who she picks!
Source: Good Morning Texas


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TREASURES Returned to Penn Museum on Oct. 26-28, 2012 with New Focus on Jewelry
More than two-dozen distinguished designers and dealers exhibited exceptional jewelry during Penn's Homecoming Weekend as part of Women's Committee 75th Anniversary celebration.
The Treasures 2012 Sale & Show was a spectacular event which featured more than two-dozen designers and jewelers offering a unique combination of antique, vintage and high-end jewelry. The renowned Asian and Egyptian galleries of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology provided the setting for this visually exciting show. The presenting sponsor of TREASURES is Tiffany & Co.
The Show focus of jewelry was a perfect complement to the Museum's signature collections, such as the rare Mesopotamian Ur artifacts on permanent display, and the River of Gold: Pre-Columbian Treasures from Sitio Conte (which has been traveling since 2008). Volunteer docents working with Dr. Jane Hickman created special jewelry tours of the Museum's collections for groups during the TREASURES weekend. Tours included wonderful Eturscan pieces, Navajo necklaces and Mayan jade, along with jewelry from Africa.
Proceeds from TREASURES benefit the Penn Museum's educational and outreach programs.


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Last time we went, Fantasmic was on only 1 night , it was mid September, and was the time when they started reducing the amount of Fantasmic shows.
Now we are going the week before Easter, the dates for the show arent scheduled yet, but from past experience, anyone know how often Fantasmic is on around Easter?
Thank you!


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Worked With:
Amy Madigan
Birth Name: Amy Madigan
Born: 09/11/1950
Birth Place: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Born: 09/11/1950
Birth Place: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Born Sept. 11, 1950 in Chicago, IL, Amy Marie Madigan was the daughter of Dolores, a union worker, and John Madigan, a media personality and lawyer. A tomboy who loved to perform since childhood, Madigan displayed prodigious talent as a pianist and studied the instrument at The Music Conservatory of Chicago College of Performing Arts. She graduated from Marquette University with a degree in philosophy and moved to Los Angeles. Pursuing her musical dreams, she spent more than 10 years touring with a variety of rock bands, playing piano, percussion and singing in support of Steve Goodman. She also recorded with the Eli Radish Band and comprised one-third of the band Jelly, posing for Playbo... Continue Bio >>
Popular Movies:
More Credits >>


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Call our certified SCUBA Instructors
Mon - Sat - 8AM - 6PM PST
Before diving, I put the weight belt on, and it seemed fine. However, once I got into the water, the belt would slide down to your knees. I had to get back into the boat as the straps which hold the belt are not easy to adjust. 15 min. went by before I was back in the water. I do suggest a supender for the belt if you have a lot of weight in the pockets. I do a lot of river diving, and I need xtra weight because of the current. I wish I had gone for the 4 pocket as appose to the 6. Great belt otherwise.
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270 out of 543 people found this review helpful.
I have several light sticks, and when I saw this one on Scuba.com., I only bought one. After receiving it, I had to buy more. I have used it several times and they are better than any light stick on the market. So for Christmas, I had to share one with a friend. To be really honest, I have a couple of light sticks which cost more, and they look cheaply made. Even the price is right on this LED Light Stick. However, I do like the solid light better than the flashing one, but I feel it is just a preferance thing.
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184 out of 358 people found this review helpful.
Corporate Office: Scuba.com, 1752 Langley Avenue, Irvine CA 92614
949.221.9300 / Toll Free 1.800.347.2822


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Worked With:
Concetta Tomei
Birth Name: Concetta Tomei
Born: 12/30/1945
Birth Place: Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA
Born: 12/30/1945
Birth Place: Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA
Migrating to Hollywood in the mid-80s, Tomei landed her first regular series berth playing Dominique, running the scruffy underground channel, on the short-lived "Max Headroom" (ABC, 1987). After "China Beach", she found occasional work in TV-movies such as "The Betty Ford Story" (ABC, 1987) and "The Wyatts" (Fox, 1994), in which she was the mother of a young man who returns home with his pregnant bride. Tomei also played Dabney Coleman's wife on "Madman of the People" (NBC, 1995-96) and was a divorcee on the short-lived Fox sitcom "Lush Life" (1996).
Tomei's feature film appearances have been sporadic. She is perhaps best recalled as Christina Applegate's mother who goes away on vacation ... Continue Bio >>
Popular Movies:
More Credits >>


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May 30, 2016
Joseph Osborne, 35, of Meridian was arrested Thursday and charged in an ongoing police investigation.
Osborne's bond was set at $250,000.
Meridian police declined to discuss details of the case. A spokesman said more details would be released Monday, including the name of the victim.
Click Here to access the online Public Inspection File
Viewers with disabilities can get assistance accessing this station's FCC Public Inspection File by contacting the station with the information listed below. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, 888-835-5322 (TTY), or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Note: It may take up to two weeks for points to appear on your account.
Use #loumalnatis on your Lou related pics & posts!
We'll keep you in the loop on the latest news, events, openings, and all things delicious!
Named one of the Top 10 Workplaces of 2014 in Chicago by Workplace Dynamics! We also made the Top Work Places in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2015.


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Difference between revisions of "Bharatpur"
Revision as of 08:38, 6 November 2008
Bharatpur is a city in Rajasthan state in India best known for the Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary, an important way station for many types of migratory birds including the rare Siberian Crane. This is a city with great history ruled by jats and has a distinct place in jat history.
Get in
By plane
By Bus
To Agra Local bus. Approx Rs40, 1 1/2 hours ride
To Fatehpur Sikri, Uttar Pradesh Rs 12, one hour
Jaipur Rs 90, five hours
Deeg Rs 15, one hour
Alwar Rs 45, four hours
Bus's depart at bus station and also beside Tourist reception center.
The Janata express (no 9023/4) leaves new delhi at 1.45pm and arives in Bharatpur at 8.05am, arriving in the capital at 12.50pm (2nd class sleeper Rs 68/121). There are six trains daily to Sawai Madhopur (2nd class Rs78, four hours) and then at Kota after (2nd class/sleeper Rs43/121, six hours).
By Road
Get around
Cycle rickshaws or Auto rickshaws are availible from the bus station and the tourist office. To hotels it is roughly Rs 25 and from the train station it should be Rs 30.
Saras Hotel
Buns And Tins - Open air restaurant
Shagun Guest House Single: Rs80, Double: Rs90; both with shared bathroom Ph: 232455
Get out


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The iPhone 5 might not quite be the best smartphone on the planet- as our showdown revealed, but it's still a great phone and the best iPhone yet. For a lot of people, that's all that matters.
Still, when you're planning on spending hundreds of pounds on a handset that you'll likely use every day for at least the next year, it's worth making sure that you get the right version of the iPhone 5 - and at the right price.
First up you should consider what network you want to go with. It's so easy to port your number that there's no need to stay on your current network, on the other hand some networks reward loyalty, so you may get a better deal renewing with your current network than going elsewhere.
The biggest thing to consider when choosing a network (other than price) is coverage. After all, there's no point going with a network that has patchy signal in your area, so check who your friends and colleagues are with and ask them if they get good signal.
If you live in one of the areas where 4G has already been rolled out, or are just forward thinking, then it may be worth going with a network that supports 4G too. 4G is a lot faster than 3G and well worth taking advantage of if you tend to check your emails or browse the net on the move. Right now only EE (which owns T-Mobile and Orange) offer 4G in the UK and you can still only get it in a limited number of places, but they're expanding their coverage all the time.
The other networks will likely get access to 4G later in the year, but if you don't want to wait that long and don't want to use EE, then consider Three, as they currently offer 'Ultrafast'. It's twice as fast as 3G and as soon as they have access to 4G it will be added to Ultrafast contracts at no additional cost.
Perhaps the biggest decision that you need to make is whether to get that shiny new iPhone 5 on contract or buy it outright on pay as you go. There's no right or wrong answer to that, it depends on your own circumstances.
You may balk at the £500+ price of it on pay as you go, but in the long run that could end up a lot cheaper than paying around £40 a month on contract. Check what you actually get with the contract other than the phone, and consider how many minutes, texts and megabytes of data you actually need. Also bear in mind the duration of the contract, if it's two years for example, are you happy using the same phone and paying the same price every month for that duration?
In many cases pay as you go works out better, but don't bankrupt yourself over it, if you can't afford or justify a lump sum that size then stick to a contract. Either way it's worth doing a bit of shopping around before parting with your hard earned cash. Beyond just checking out the prices on the networks websites you should also check other retailers like Carphone Warehouse and independent websites. A quick Google search should turn up most of the reputable retailers, but it's also worth keeping an eye on our site for some of the latest and greatest deals.
Once you've found the best price you can online you may yet be able to beat it if you don't mind a bit of haggling. Head to the high street, prices in hand, and have a chat with the sales staff in a phone shop. Generally they work to targets, so they're prepared to make concessions to get a sale, particularly if you come armed with the knowledge of competitor's prices. You may be able to get them to beat whatever price you've found or chuck in a few extras, and if not it needn't be a wasted trip, use the opportunity to have a play on the iPhone 5 and make sure that it's definitely the phone that you want.
When you buy a new phone, particularly one as expensive as the iPhone 5, you're likely to have it for quite awhile. In the case of the iPhone 5 there's also no way to expand the storage space, so the amount that you buy with it is the amount you'll be stuck with.
You should consider whether the basic 16GB model will be enough, or whether you wouldn't be better off paying a bit more for 32GB or 64GB of storage. The answer will really come down to what you intend to use it for. For many people 16GB will be plenty, but if you plan to load it up with music, videos, apps or games you could quickly find that storage slip away and may end up in a position where you have to delete things to make room for anything else, so think carefully before you buy.
By now you should have all the information you need to make an informed buying decision, but once you've got the phone there are a few ways that you can personalise or even improve it.
For example, while the battery life on the iPhone 5 is fairly decent, it could definitely be better. To improve it all you have to do is outfit it with a Mophie Juice Pack Helium. It's a case with a built in battery, boosting the overall battery life by 80%. Better yet, being a case it offers the iPhone 5 some protection too.
If you don't feel the need for a battery boost there are plenty of other cases you can buy, giving your iPhone 5 varying degrees of protection. It's also definitely worth outfitting it with a screen protector to keep it safe from scratches.
With your iPhone 5 bought and protected you're ready to experience one of the best smartphones that money can buy- so enjoy!
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Time: November 5, 2009 at 5pm to November 7, 2009 at 6pm
Location: Springville, Utah
City/Town: Springville, Utah
Event Type: doula, training
Organized By: Melissa
Latest Activity: Oct 18, 2009
Export to Outlook or iCal (.ics)
For those who don't know what a doula is, these are helpful links:
I generally have a large number of women sign up for this November training, but I imagine the current state of the economy is making it hard for some people. Because of this, I am willing to work with participants on payment plans and other payment options. If there are any of you who want to be a doula or know others who want to be a doula, please contact me. I do not want to turn anyone away for inability to pay the entire fee up front.
11/5 Thursday - 5pm-10pm
11/6 Friday - 8am-6pm
11/7 Saturday - 8am-6pm
$300 (recovered in your first paying birth) including lunches and snacks for all three days, and a large syllabus of handouts. This is the first step toward training as a doula with the international organization, DONA. There is NO EXPERIENCE necessary.
In Peace and Health,
website: www.rawmelissa.com
food twitter: www.twitter.com/rawmelissa
food blog: www.rawmelissa.blogspot.com
birth twitter: www.twitter.com/doulamelissa
birth blog: www.doulamelissa.blogspot.com
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אנחנו בפייסבוק
Turkish media outlets say Syria, Turkey reached agreement in which Damascus agreed to keep forces six miles from border; meanwhile, exchange of fire continued Saturday
Published: 10.06.12, 10:53 / Israel News
Syria has agreed to keep its forces six miles from the Turkish border
in the wake of this week's deadly shelling incident,
the British Guardian reported Saturday.
Related stories:
Despite recent reports, another mortar shell from Syria struck Turkish territory on Saturday, prompting a fourth straight day of retaliatory artillery fire, and reviving fears that the crisis in Syria could spiral into a regional conflict.
However, the demands have been rejected by Ankara, as well as the US and Nato, who have all repeatedly balked at suggestions that they intervene directly in the conflict. A buffer zone would not be effective unless it was enforced militarily, something that Turkey has so far been unwilling to do.
Syria said it was waiting for the results of an investigation before publicly assigning blame for the shelling, which killed five Turkish civilians and wounded nine more. But it has privately conceded it was at fault and did not respond to a barrage of retaliatory Turkish shellfire, which is thought to have killed several Syrian soldiers.


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Aug. 31, 2009
2009 Cal Football: Cal Ranked No. 12 | Buy Tickets | Schedule | Roster | Information Guide | Gameday Access Plan
Follow Cal Athletics: Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
BERKELEY - California junior running back Jahvid Best and senior defensive back Syd'Quan Thompson continued to be showered with 2009 preseason honors on Monday when both were selected to the CBSSports.com 2009 Preseason All-American first-team. Both have been named to multiple first-team preseason All-American squads prior to the 2009 campaign.
Best is one of the nation's leading candidates for the Heisman Trophy and also on watch lists for the College Football Performance Awards Player of the Year and Running Back of the Year, Doak Walker Award, Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Award. He is the country's leading returning rusher after averaging 131.67 yards per game last year when he ran for 1,580 yards to record the second-highest single-season total ever at Cal. His 8.1 yards per carry in 2008 set a new single-season school record while his 15 rushing touchdowns tied the Bears' single-season mark. Best was a first-team All-Pac-10 selection as a running back in 2008 after earning the same honor on special teams as a true freshman the previous campaign.
Thompson already has his name on watch lists for the Chuck Bednarik Award, the Lott Trophy, the Bronco Naguski Trophy and the Jim Thorpe Award. He is the Golden Bears' active career leader in tackles (208), interceptions (6), passes defended (32), pass breakups (26), punt returns (28) and punt return yardage (344). Last year, Thompson earned first-team All-Pac-10 honors after recording 70 tackles, 7.5 TFL, a team-high four interceptions that he returned for 128 yards and a school record-tying 18 passes defended. He also ranked fourth in the Pac-10 in punt returns, averaging 12.3 yards per return.
The Golden Bears will open their 2009 campaign by hosting Maryland in a nationally televised ESPN2 contest at Memorial Stadium this Saturday, September 5 (7 p.m.). Cal fans are encouraged to participate in a Blue Out in the season-opener. The best way to show your support is to pick up the CalBears.com/Blueout. For more information, visit CalBears.com/Blueout.
For 2009 Cal football tickets, visit CalBears.com or call (800) GO BEARS.


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About Contact Join Donate
April 12, 2012, at 1:16 PM
By Adam Wilson |
One of my favorite sermons, from his [Blessed Newman's] time in Ireland, he preached on the feast of St. Monica, the first Sunday of their school year. Like the Garveys, Monica watched her son Augustine go off to college in Carthage. There he fell into bad company and bad habits. Cardinal Newman says:
"Bad company creates a distaste for good; and hence it happens that, when a youth has gone the length I have been supposing, he is repelled ... from those places and scenes which would do him good. ... So he begins to form his own ideas of things, and these please and satisfy him for a time; then he ... tires of them, and he takes up others; and now he has begun that everlasting round of seeking and never finding; at length ... he gives up the search altogether, and decides that nothing can be known, and there is no such thing as truth."
The problem arises, Newman observes, when we make the mistake of separating intellect and virtue. And returning to our subject, he concludes:
"Here, then, I conceive, is the object of the Holy See and the Catholic Church in setting up Universities; it is to reunite things which were in the beginning joined together by God, and have been put asunder by man. Some persons will say that I am thinking of confining, distorting, and stunting the growth of the intellect by ecclesiastical supervision. I have no such thought. Nor have I any thought of a compromise, as if religion must give up something, and science something. I wish the intellect to range with the utmost freedom, and religion to enjoy an equal freedom; but what I am stipulating for is, that they should be found in one and the same place, and exemplified in the same persons." ...
Academics like to think that intellect is the key thing — that if we know the good we will cultivate and pursue it. This is not surprising. Academics are intellectuals. Thinking is what we are good at. Abraham Maslow once said if you only have a hammer, every problem begins to look like a nail. But there are two difficulties with the academics' approach. One is that it fails to account for weakness of will. We all have the experience of knowing what is right or good, and failing to do it. The second is that it flattens the concept of knowing into something most of us wouldn't recognize. We do not come to understand what is right, or good, or beautiful, through mental exercises conducted from an armchair. ...
We come to know virtue by seeing it, we learn virtue by practicing it, we become virtuous when our practice makes it habitual, a part of our character.
Here is one simple step colleges can take to reduce both binge drinking and hooking up: Go back to single-sex residences. ...
Next year all freshmen at The Catholic University of America will be assigned to single-sex residence halls. The year after, we will extend the change to the sophomore halls. It will take a few years to complete the transformation.
The change will probably cost more money. There are a few architectural adjustments. We won't be able to let the ratio of men and women we admit into the freshman class vary from year to year with the size and quality of the pools. But our students will be better off.
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles chapter of a nonprofit that uses cannabis oil to treat children's seizures says it will relocate after being ordered to shut down by the city attorney's office.
The San Gabriel Valley Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/1gOmGgn) that Realm of Caring California received a letter last week threatening criminal charges if its resource center stays open. The notice came as part of Proposition D, which limits dispensaries to those approved in 2007.
Executive director Ray Mirzabegian says the center did not sell anything. It's where he grew plants and gave information to parents.
The nonprofit plans to reach out to cities east of LA to find a new home.
Realm of Caring sells a strain of oil primarily to families of children with seizures. It does not produce a high.
Information from: San Gabriel Valley Tribune.


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National Treasure
Release Date: November 19, 2004
Running Time: 131 mins.
MPAA Rating: PG
Box Office: $173,005,002.00
Genre: Action, Adventure
Benjamin Franklin Gates has spent his whole life searching for a fortune few dare to believe exists. This is the legendary Knights Templar Treasure, rumored to be the most awesome bounty in human history, and hidden somewhere in America. For six generations, the Gates family has chased after clues left behind by America's Founding Fathers and scoured the nation in search of the treasure. Now the maverick Ben Gates has made a breakthrough. At last, he knows where the ultimate hint to the treasure's location lies--a hidden map on the back of the Declaration of Independence. As knowledge of the map spreads to a ruthless adversary, Ben is faced with a terrible dilemma. Either Ben must be first t...
Diane Kruger Heats Up Sydney In A Red Hot Dress
This Week's Movie Buzz: See It, Rent It, Or Skip It?
Top 5 Nicolas Cage Movies - Do You Agree?
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It first got my attention when it premiered at the Venice Film Festival last fall, as a 28th Critics' Week sidebar selection (in total, 8 feature film debuts, including seven world premieres from Europe, South America and Africa).
Titled Salvation Army (L'Armée du salut), the Moroccan drama comes from writer/director Abdellah Taïa.
The film is based on Abdellah's own autobiographical novel of the same name, which caused a stir in his native Morocco (although he's lived in France in a self-imposed exile since 1998), when he announced plans to adapt his novel to film, 2 years ago.
This move was widely seen in Morocco as exasperating and daring in a conservative society that apparently wasn't ready for what's been described as an honest, thorough and detailed novel (and film) about a gay Moroccan man.
Taïa, said to be the first Moroccan writer to announce his homosexuality in his autobiography, also stars in the film, playing himself.
Here's how the novel is described:
Salvation Army is a coming-of-age novel that tells the story of Taïa's life with complete disclosure--from a childhood bound by family order and latent (homo)sexual tensions in the poor city of Salé, through an adolescence in Tangier charged by the young writer's attraction to his eldest brother, to a disappointing arrival in the Western world to study in Geneva in adulthood. In so doing, Salvation Army manages to burn through the author's first-person singularity to embody the complex mélange of fear and desire projected by Arabs on Western culture. Recently hailed by his native country's press as "the first Moroccan to have the courage to publicly assert his difference," Taïa, through his calmly transgressive work, has "outed" himself as "the only gay man" in a country whose theocratic law still declares homosexuality a crime.
The film adaptation made its World Premiere during Venice Critics Week last fall, which ran in cooperation with The National Union of Italian Film Critics.
It will screen at the 2014 New Directors/New Films festival (its USA premiere), a co-presentation of Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art here in NYC.
No trailer to look at yet for Salvation Army (L'Armée du salut). But a clip from the film has surfaced, and is embedded below, given audiences a glimpse at what's coming:


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August 1999 (July data)
August 1999 (July data)
For immediate release August 12, 1999
SOUTHEASTERN MANUFACTURING SURVEY IN JULY:According to the monthly survey of southeastern manufacturers conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, most current indicators of manufacturing activity in the region changed little in July. Current activity indexes for production and the number of employees moved up. Backlogs and export orders were down sharply. Outlook indexes generally increased, with both current and outlook price indexes rising sharply after weakness in June.
The current production index in July rebounded to 19.4 from 15.6 in June. Though the proportion of respondents reporting higher production actually slipped to 32.6 percent from 36.5 percent in June, the proportion indicating a decrease fell more, to 13.1 percent in July from 21.0 percent the prior month.
To some degree, some production gains may have replenished inventories. The finished goods inventories index rebounded moderately in July, staying at a positive level for the third consecutive month. The new orders index was steady and at a moderate level. The backlog orders index fell from improved and relatively high levels in May and June. In light of positive outlook indicators, current production and inventory index gains appear to be a reflection of manufacturers' sales expectations. On the downside, the index for new export orders fell for the second month in a row, now negative for two months in a row.
Outlook indexes generally posted gains in July. The outlook index for production crept up to 30.4 in July from 28.8 in June, remaining in a rather narrow range recorded since early 1998. Outlook indexes for shipments, new orders, backlogs, finished goods inventories, the number of employees, the average workweek and new orders for exports were up from June levels. The capital expenditures index slipped but remained at a moderate level. The outlook index for new export orders rose for the third month in a row, following notable weakness during the spring.
Both current and outlook price indexes rose sharply in July. The current prices received index increased to 6.8 in July from 2.7 in June, while the current prices paid index jumped to 23.3 in July from 2.7 in the prior month. Outlook prices received rebounded from moderate levels over the past six months. The outlook index for prices paid reached its highest level since mid-1997.
Summary of Southeastern Manufacturing Conditions
Diffusion Indexes
Seasonally Adjusted
Current Month Versus Prior Month
July June (R) May
Production 19.4 15.6 18.0 Shipments 16.0 17.3 8.9 New orders 12.0 13.5 24.1 Backlog of orders -1.4 10.4 10.8 Materials inventories -1.2 -0.5 -1.9 Inventories of finished goods 7.8 3.0 6.9 Number of employees 8.0 2.2 5.3 Average workweek 5.1 7.7 4.4 Prices received 6.8 2.7 2.3 Prices paid 23.3 2.7 2.3 New export orders -8.3 -3.4 6.4 Supplier delivery time 5.6 5.6 1.2 Industry business conditions 15.2 12.5 9.6
Six Months From Now Versus Current Month
July June (R) May
Production 30.4 28.8 38.6 Shipments 33.5 29.7 40.4 New orders 33.6 24.3 27.8 Backlog of orders 15.5 4.9 4.0 Materials inventories -5.4 -0.9 -3.9 Inventories of finished goods -3.8 -5.1 3.4 Number of employees 7.0 3.9 5.6 Average workweek 3.7 -3.1 2.7 Prices received 26.7 16.1 18.3 Prices paid 30.6 16.3 15.7 Capital expenditures 18.2 21.0 19.7 New export orders 15.0 11.5 11.3 Supplier delivery time 1.4 0.0 0.0 Industry business conditions 28.0 29.0 27.5
NOTE: The Atlanta Fed's survey covers the Sixth Federal Reserve District, which includes Alabama, Florida and Georgia and portions of Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. The plants surveyed represent a cross section of industries in the region. For background on the Survey of Southeastern Manufacturing Conditions, see "Tracking Manufacturing: The Survey of Southeastern Manufacturing Conditions." Click here for historical data.


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The BBC is going to use companion screen apps to enhance the enjoyment of programmes but also introduce audiences to what can often be a wealth of programme related information and interactivity online. The broadcaster will launch its first companion screen app this September in the form of a play-along game for Antiques Roadshow, a gentle Sunday night affair where the public bring family treasures for experts to analyse and value. The BBC is harnessing the fact that most viewers already try to second-guess the experts with their own valuations. You will be able to play the game whether you are watching live or on-demand.
Victoria Jaye speaking at the Connected TV Summit 2012
Victoria Jaye, Head of IPTV & TV Online Content at the BBC, used Connected TV Summit last week to make the announcement but also outline the general companion app strategy for the broadcaster. She views show-related companion activities on smartphones, tablets and even the PC as a way to explore new creative opportunities. She made it clear that ownership of the app, in terms of the content and viewer experience, will belong to the production teams and that this is considered crucial. The production department will drive the format, while the technology development team will realise their vision.
Antiques Roadshow will be the first publicly available BBC companion screen app but the broadcaster will be working on a 'handful' of projects over the next 18 months that could end up as nothing more than a paper study or a full public launch. That may not sound like that much for a broadcaster with significant resources and a market lead when it comes to all things online and interactive. But Jaye stressed: "We are in no hurry. We will pilot very carefully and selectively."
Ultimately, the broadcaster would like a companion app of some kind to accompany every one of its television shows, even if it is a fairly simple affair. The BBC already provides information for all its shows online so part of the exercise is making sure this is available in new formats. Jaye made it clear during the conference that part of the value of a companion app is to bring programme accompaniments that exist already on the PC, possibly in another room, closer to the television.
The broadcaster has already piloted two companion apps, one for its flagship natural history programme Frozen Planet and the other for the Saturday night quiz show Secret Fortune. Jaye says they wanted to test companion experiences against two different genres and the lessons will be captured in the Antiques Roadshow launch. "What the audience told us about Secret Fortune is that it is all about playing together," she revealed. "It was clear that 'social' can mean simply playing together in the living room but people also have a sense of togetherness with the nation. They said the experience was much more fun live rather than on-demand."
So with this light entertainment, Saturday night quiz show, the companion experience played into the idea of family togetherness, Jaye concluded. "The other end of the spectrum was Frozen Planet," she continued. "That is 'wow TV' and when watching, you are in awestruck mode rather than 'shout out' mode, so we wanted to explore the opportunities for a companion experience around a programme like this. Broadly speaking, it comprised information about the animals and their habitat and there was an opportunity to consume this when the show was over," she explained.
Antiques Roadshow: A popular BBC programme on-air since 1979
"The audience did not expect a companion experience around such a visually wonderful show but they saw it as a new way of viewing documentaries and saw its educational potential. A real winner was the ability to come back to the content when the programme was over."
Among the lessons learned with the Frozen Planet companion experience, one will please all broadcasters. "The audience told us they want content from the BBC production team on the companion, including our on-screen experts. They are less comfortable being introduced to Wikipedia, for example." This explains the insistence that the production teams should lead development and own the companion app. There was one other lesson Jaye shared with the Connected TV Summit audience. "They wanted to be welcomed into the experience a bit better. They needed help orientating themselves to the experience, to know what it is and why it is there."
Jaye made it clear that the Red Button is still central to BBC interactive ambitions. The broadcaster views its existing Red Button services as the original example of companion activity (although not on a companion screen) and is drawing from its experience of what viewers want beyond the programme. And she declared: "We see the future of Red Button as a crucial access point between broadcast and on-demand content – a way to link audiences seamlessly between our services on-air and online."
She also said the broadcaster will be focusing in the next year on driving "big audiences" into BBC iPlayer, the catch-up TV service that as everyone knows is available online through the PC, a whole range of connected TV devices, tablets, phones and on managed operator VOD platforms. Programme companion apps will help with this.
"Multi-screen allows us to join up the dots," she said. "Companion experiences will help audiences enjoy content more and find the breadth and depth of our online content. By connecting the dots in a seamless way we can deliver better public service broadcasting: programmes that are more fun and more entertaining. We can make more of our content inventory visible to viewers. We want to connect audiences to our online inventory, provide a world beyond the broadcast that we curate and take them on a wonderful journey."
Check out our other second screen and companion screen stories in the Videonet archive, under'Companion TV'.


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Change is Good
July 24, 2008 - Heather Ziegler
Some of the proposed changes at the City-County Building sound intriguing and long overdue. The idea to move the Sheriff's tax office upstairs near the county auditor's office makes a lot of sense. If you have to get license plates you have to have your property tax receipts which sometimes requires running between floors. I like the concept of moving Wheeling City Council chambers to the first floor. It may attract a few more people to meetings in the new location in the former Sheriff's tax office. Maybe it will bring some fresh thinking to the council table as well. Plus if someone gets out of hand, the new meeting room is a lot closer to to the police department if help is needed. If you think that never happens, think again. In the 11 years I covered city council meetings, police were called into council chamber numerous times. On one occasion, an older, very confused man brought a gun into the room! On more than one occasion, a member of the public would make threatening statements toward council members or even get into shouting matches. It sometimes got pretty ugly. Change just might be good.
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