Each state enacts rules of evidence that govern the admissibility of various kinds of information and testimony during a court proceeding. Most people have heard of something called “hearsay” – a statement, other than one made by the declarant while testifying at the trial or hearing, offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted. Hearsay is typically inadmissible, subject to certain enumerated exceptions. In any criminal case, no matter what the charges, it is important to fully understand the rules of evidence and how they can strengthen one’s defense. If you have been arrested or charged with a crime, it is extremely important that you contact an experienced Maryland criminal defense attorney as soon as possible.
A recent Maryland case illustrates how knowledge of the hearsay rules can help a person successfully appeal a criminal conviction. In Baker v. State of Maryland, Michael Edward Baker was convicted of various sex offenses, second-degree assault, and impersonating a police officer. According to the victim’s testimony, on July 18, 2013, she had been “prostituting,” and she received a cell phone call from the defendant/appellant seeking to set up a time to meet her. When they met, the defendant showed her a police badge, told her he was a police officer, and forced her to perform certain sexual acts against her will. The victim alleged that the defendant raped her.


Causes of AIDS
- Infected blood.
- Infected needles.
- Multiple partners.
- Infected mother to her baby before birth.
- Injectable Drug Abuse.
If a man with HIV has vaginal intercourse without a Condom, infected fluid could pass into the woman’s blood stream through a tiny cut or sore inside her body. This can be so small that you don’t know about it. If a couple have anal intercourse the risk of infection is greater than with vaginal intercourse.
If a man has unprotected sex (i.e. without using a Condom) with a woman infected with HIV, the AIDS virus could get into the man’s blood through a sore patch on his penis or by getting into the tube which runs down the penis.
If there is any contact with blood during sex, this increases the risk of infection. For example, there may be blood in the vagina if intercourse happens during a woman’s periods. There can also be bleeding during anal intercourse.
In AIDS, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) destroys a particular type of white blood cell, and this causes progressive immunodeficiency.
Infections like measles or influenza damage the body’s ability to fight infection. They do this partly by decreasing the number of white blood cells involved in fighting the infection. Normally, this type of immuno deficiency is mild, and the immune system returns to normal once the person has recovered from infection.
A mild form if immunodeficiency might form in some chronic disorders, including diabetes mellitus and rheumatoid arthritis. This might occur partly because these diseases put stress on the immune system, decreasing its ability to resist other diseases. Certain types of cancer, particularly tumors of the lymphatic system, might cause a more severe form of immunodeficiency by damaging the cells of the immune system and decreasing the production of usual white blood cells.
The long term use if corticosteroids suppresses the immune system and has the inevitable effect of causing immunodeficiency. Immunosuppressant medicines, which might be given to prevent the rejection of an organ following transplant surgery, also produce immunodeficiency and affect the body’s ability to fight infections. Chemotherapy can damage the bone marrow, where the majority of blood cells are made, and might also lead to acquired immunodeficiency. Immuno deficiency might also form after removal of the spleen, an organ in which few of the white blood cells are produced. Splenectomy might be performed if the spleen has been damaged by an injury or else it might be caused out to treat many disorders including hereditary spherocytosis, which is a type of hemolytic anemia.
There are also several rare types of acquired immunodeficiency, the causes of which are not clear. One rare type is immunoglobulin A (IgA) deficiency, in which levels of immunoglobulin A antibodies are lower than general, leading to an increased number of skin infections.


Forget the Shard: steel and glass may not be the building material of the future. Architects are rethinking the potential of wood, thanks to innovations in structural engineering. An open-source research study, published by Michael Green of MGB Architecture and Design, makes the case for timber as “a safe, economical and environmentally-friendly alternative for tall building structure”.
It’s certainly not the first time beautiful wooden high-rise has been proposed. Japan boasts 19-storey pagodas, built 14 centuries ago and still standing, despite the humid climate and sometimes seismic conditions. But, says Green, new approaches to engineered timber mean that wood should now be considered a viable material for buildings on a much larger scale.
The study gives the full structural design for a 30-storey skyscraper – a concept called ‘Tall Wood’, intended for Vancouver City. It’s based on three new mass timber products: there’s cross-laminated timber, which is made of layers of solid wood set at 90 degree angles; there’s laminated strand lumber, made from a matrix of thin chips; and finally there’s laminated veneer lumber, made from thin laminations – a bit like plywood but on a much larger scale. The benefits of these products over light wood frame techniques, the report claims, range from stability and structural performance to fire protection (thanks to a well-tested laminate mix) and soundproofing.
These techniques have been tried and tested on a smaller, though impressive, scale by architect Andrew Waugh, in London’s nine-story Stadthaus apartment block (pictured above). This is currently the tallest modern timber structure in the world, and testimony to the commercial competitiveness of the material: its 29 properties sold in just 90 minutes.
But what of the environmental benefits? Waugh estimates that the building’s wooden structure will store over 186 tonnes of carbon for its lifetime, and that a further 125 tonnes of CO2 equivalent were saved during construction by avoiding traditional concrete-based techniques. There are cost benefits too, he claims. Although wood is a little more expensive than concrete as a raw material, it’s quicker to work with and requires less foundation to be built.
Nigel Sagar, Senior Sustainability Manager at Skanska, is positive about the potential. “Wood ticks all the boxes from a sustainable point of view… It is a renewable resource, can have recycled or reused content as a product, and can be reused or recycled at the end of a building’s life. It also has good product transparency, via chain of custody schemes like FSC, PEFC.”
“Our ability to harness the ingenuity of a tree, and to do so with responsible forest practices that encourage healthy forest ecology, is the beginning of righting the ship of modern building”, he said.


Tue April 29, 2014
The Martin Brothers
The four Martin brothers were each influential in the city of Memphis in the early 20th century. In addition to their political activities and professions, they owned the Memphis Red Sox, as well as the stadium in which the team played.
The four Martin Brothers, W.S., J.B., A.T., and B.B., were remarkable men. Born in Mississippi in the 1880s, they moved to Memphis to attend LeMoyne.
The became important figures in medicine, politics, and sports. Two were doctors; two were pharmacists.
One, Dr. J.B. Martin, opened his own drug store in 1920. All were active in Republican politics.
The Martins owned the Memphis Red Sox, as well as the stadium in which the team played. They were the only African Americans in baseball to own both.
After a dispute with Boss Crump, J.B. moved to Chicago and later served as president of the Negro American League. The other brothers stayed in Memphis.
To learn more about our region's history, visit the Pink Palace Family of Museums.


Curriculum and Standards
The Medford School District (MSD) has adopted Journeys
curriculum's for K-12 English Language Arts (ELA) classrooms.
Elementary Grade Level Pacing Calendars and Road Maps are as follows:
MSD's ELA curriculum will be aligned with the Common Core State Standards.When Oregon adopted the Common Core in October 2010, our state joined other states in the pursuit of a common, standards-based education for our students, kindergarten through high school. Common standards can increase the likelihood that all students, no matter where they live, are prepared for success in college and the work place. Because skillful reading, writing, language use, and speaking and listening are similar across the states, common standards make sense. They make possible common assessments, common achievement goals for grade level groups, and efficiencies of scale for instructional and professional development materials. Instruction in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects—“the Standards”—will prepare Oregon students and students in other CCSS states to be proficient in the four strands of the English language arts (ELA) skills—Reading, Writing, Language, and Speaking and Listening.
Click here to see the Common Core Standards in English Language Arts by grade level.


Bronze. Silver. Gold. These represent the highest honors a Girl
Scout can earn.
All three awards give you the chance to do big things while working
on an issue you care about. Whether you want to plant a
community garden at your school and inspire others to eat
healthily for your Bronze,
advocate for animal rights for your Silver,
or build a career network that encourages girls to become
scientists and engineers for your Gold,
you’ll inspire others (and yourself).
The President’s Volunteer Service Award
The President’s Volunteer Service Award recognizes
United States citizens, including kids ages 5 and up, who have
achieved between 26 and 250 hours of service to their community over a
12-month time period. Hours spent on the Girl Scout Gold, Silver or
Bronze award also count towards the minimum number of hours for the
President’s Volunteer Service Award. Recognize your girl today!
The Congressional Award
The Congressional Award is the United States
Congress’ award for young Americans. It is non-partisan, voluntary,
and non-competitive. The program is open to all 14- to 23-year-olds;
young people may register
when they turn 13 1/2 years old and
must complete their activities before their 24th birthday. There are
three levels of awards and each level involves setting goals in four
program areas; Volunteer Public Service, Personal Development,
Physical Fitness, and Expedition/Exploration. This award requires
registering before beginning. Girls may earn the Congressional Award
for the same project they use for their Girl Scout Gold or Silver Award.
Also a given: as you earn one of Girl Scouting’s highest awards,
you’ll change your corner of the world—and maybe even beyond.
The possibilities are endless.
Want to see what others have done to earn their award? For
inspiration, check out examples of Bronze, Silver, and Gold Award
projects via Girl Scouts of the USA’s Map It: Girls Changing the World.


What are the best background and text colors for a PowerPoint presentation?
The best colors for slides have high contrast so they are easily seen. Dark backgrounds should have light text and bright accent colors. Light backgrounds should have dark text and bold accent colors. This way the audience can read the text and see the graphs or shapes on each slide.
The choice of colors for presentation slides is one of the important decisions that must be made at the start of the process of developing your slides. Most organizations today dictate a template with corporate colors that must be used for all presentations outside the organization as part of a branding initiative. In that case, you have no choice in the colors. But many internal presentations and in many other organizations you can choose your slide colors. So how do you choose? Here are some ideas to keep in mind when choosing colors for your next set of presentation slides.
Webster’s defines contrast as "To set in opposition, or over against, in order to show the differences between". One of the most common mistakes in selecting colors for presentation slides is to not have enough contrast between the colors chosen for the background and the text or graphics. If you want the audience to see the text or graphics on the screen, they must be in a color that has a high contrast with the background color. This makes the text or graphic appear to float above the background instead of blending into it. In general, this will lead to selecting one of two color schemes – a dark background with light text and graphics or a light background with dark text and graphics. The further apart the colors are the more contrast they will have and the easier it will be for audiences to see the text or graphic you are using. To ensure that the colors you have selected have enough contrast, use the online Color Contrast Calculator to test the colors using the two international standard tests for color contrast.
Using a corporate template
If you work for a corporate or non-corporate organization, it is likely that you have a mandated template to use that defines the branding, fonts, colors, etc. (follow the steps in this article to use your organization's PowerPoint template to create a new presentation). Why do you need to know about color choice when the organization's branding staff have already made these decisions? It is important to know how to select colors because when you create diagrams, graphs, or other visuals, you may have to select colors so that explanatory text can be seen on top of a shape or part of a graph. To make sure that the graphs you create in Excel follow the same colors your organization has set in the PowerPoint template, follow the steps in this article and video. Not all the decisions about color choice can be defined within a template, so you need to apply these guidelines using the colors defined in your organization's template.
Emotional Meaning of Colors
Studies have shown that different colors evoke different general feelings in many people. This can be important when selecting colors for your presentation slides since you will want to avoid colors that will negatively impact the message you are delivering. Here are some common interpretations for colors.
General Feelings Evoked
|Black||Heavy, mournful, highly technical, formal, death|
|Brown||Earth, simplicity, outdoors|
|Blue||Peace, tranquility, trust, confidence, security|
|Purple||Royalty, wisdom, spirituality, mystery|
|Green||Nature, environment, health, reptiles, insects|
|Gray||Conservative, practical, reliability, security, staid|
|Red||Passion, excitement, love, intensity, heat, aggression|
|Orange||Warmth, expansive, flamboyant|
|Yellow||Optimism, happiness, idealism, imagination|
|White||Purity, reverence, cleanliness, simplicity|
Given these general interpretations, you would want to steer away from using too much of colors such as black, orange, gray, red and brown, since they can either be too passive or too aggressive.
Color Combinations to Avoid
Some colors should not be used together for a variety of reasons, so here are some combinations to avoid:
Red & Green – these two colors clash with each other and are very hard to read. Also, people who have color deficiency will have trouble figuring out what you are trying to say on the slide (use the tool in this article to check colors for color deficiency).
Orange & Blue – another pair that causes a disturbing effect on readers as the colors seem to vibrate against one another
Red & Blue – these two colors just do not have enough contrast to be seen well when used together. This combination also seems to suffer a further loss of contrast when projected on a screen.
Color Combination Suggestions
The two color schemes that I suggest you use in presentation slides are either a dark background with light text and graphics or a light background with dark text and graphics. Here are the specific colors that I suggest for each color scheme.
Dark Background with Light Text and Graphics
Background – a dark blue (navy shade) or dark purple
Text and Graphics – white or yellow
Accent Colors – red, lime green, camel orange, light blue
The dark blue or dark purple background gives good emotional feelings as the predominant color on the screen and the yellow and white text and graphics have good contrast with the background. The accent colors should be used to highlight a word or portion of a graphic, not overused or they will become annoying.
Light Background with Dark Text and Graphics
Background – warm beige
Text and Graphics – dark blue, black, dark purple
Accent Colors – dark green, burgundy
The beige background combines the emotional impact of brown and white without gaining too much of the negative effect of these colors such as boring and staid. The dark text and graphic colors provide enough contrast to make the item stand out on the screen. The accent colors again are for emphasis and should not be overused.
Background Graphics or Patterns
Many presenters want to make their slides more visually appealing by having a graphic or pattern as the background of the slide. This should be used with caution. Many times, the graphic or pattern has areas where the background color changes shade from dark to light or from light to dark. This means that the background is not actually one uniform shade and it makes picking a contrasting text and graphic color very difficult. I have seen slides where the text is visible on the first few words of a line but then disappear into the background for the rest of the line because of a change in the background. If you want to use a graphic or pattern, I suggest that it be very subtle, so there is very little difference between the lightest shade and the darkest shade in the background. One effect for graphics or logos is to use an embossing effect where the graphic looks like it is slightly raised in the background but the effect is very subtle and does not cause large changes in background color shade.
Getting the best image when connecting to a projector or screen for your presentation
When you have carefully selected colors for your slides, you want them to look good when projected to the audience. The best connection is achieved when using a digital connection to the projector or screen if it is available. How you connect will depend on what ports your laptop has. Here are the most common options and the equipment I recommend using in each case.
Laptop has a full-size HDMI port
If your laptop has a regular HDMI port, you can plug an HDMI cable in and you are ready to go. If the projector does not have an HDMI cable, but has a VGA cable instead, use this HDMI to VGA adapter. I have used it with a very long high-quality VGA cable and it worked perfectly. If the HDMI cable to the projector is not long enough to reach your laptop, you can use an HDMI extension cord and F-to-F HDMI adapter to connect the extension cord to the projector cable.
Laptop has a mini-DisplayPort port
To connect your laptop to a projector cable you will need an adapter. I recommend one that gives you multiple output options, like this one that offers an HDMI, VGA, and DVI outputs. This is the one I use at my desk and when travelling. If you need to extend the projector connection, use the HDMI cable and adapter listed above.
Laptop has a USB-C port
Newer laptops are moving to just offering a multi-function USB-C port instead of a port that is just for video output. If your laptop has this type of port, you will need an adapter that offers video outputs and a charging port if your laptop only offers charging through the USB-C port. The USB-C adapter/hub market is still developing and the one that looks best to me is this one from Anker, a company I have found reliable for adapters. Since this adapter (& most USB-C adapters) only offer an HDMI port, if you need to connect to a VGA projector cable or the HDMI cable is not long enough, use the links above to connect your laptop to the projector or screen.
By carefully selecting the colors for your next slide presentation, you can increase the impact your message will have on your audience.
Are you selecting colors and fonts to design a PowerPoint template? If so, you will want to get the book Building PowerPoint Templates Step by step with the experts. Read more and order here.
Are you looking for a customized workshop where your staff can learn to create PowerPoint presentations that have a clear message, focused content, and effective visuals? Click here to learn more about my customized in-house workshops for executive presentations. If you are an individual who wants to learn these skills at your own pace, check out my guided self-study course.
Did you find this article helpful? If so, click here to check out some great learning tools to help even more!
Dave Paradi has over twenty years of experience delivering customized training workshops to help business professionals improve their presentations. He has written nine books and over 100 articles on the topic of effective presentations and his ideas have appeared in publications around the world. His focus is on helping corporate professionals visually communicate the messages in their data so they don’t overwhelm and confuse executives. Dave is one of less than ten people in North America recognized by Microsoft with the Most Valuable Professional Award for his contributions to the Excel and PowerPoint communities. He regularly presents highly rated sessions at national and regional conferences of financial professionals and is NASBA registered to deliver CPE credit courses to CPAs.


TUESDAY, June 23 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists have documented that the rare bone and soft tissue cancer Ewing's sarcoma disproportionately strikes white people.
What's more, among whites who have the disease, males are more likely to die from it than females, according to a study published online June 22 in Cancer.
Led by Dr. Sean Scully of the University of Miami, the researchers analyzed more data spanning more than 30 years from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program, the largest source for cancer statistics in the United States.
They found that whites had the highest risk of developing Ewing's sarcoma (155 cases per 100,000), followed by Asians/Pacific Islanders (82 cases per 100,000) and African Americans (17 cases per 100,000).
Incidence of the disease in whites has increased over the past three decades, the researchers also noted.
Ewing's tumors often show up in childhood or early adulthood, occurring anywhere in the body. Common sites are in the pelvis, chest and long bones of the legs and arms. Symptoms include noticeable lumps under the skin and bone pain.
According to the American Cancer Society, several treatments are used, including chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. Five-year survival is good if the tumor is caught early, but poor if it has spread.
More work needs to be done to determine why whites have higher rates of Ewing's sarcoma, the researchers said.
Scully said he hopes the study will begin to shed light on the racial and gender disparities, perhaps leading to better therapies in the future.
The American Cancer Society has more on Ewing's sarcoma.
SOURCE: American Cancer Society, news release, June 22, 2009
Copyright © 2009 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.
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Fun Filled Experiments for Kids!
Want to know what makes things rust? How about which materials will dissolve in water? Or how to construct a model atom? With Kid Science: Chemistry Experiments, you can learn answers to these questions and more. Kid Science makes learning about the elements that surround us easy and fun.
Read along with the text as you watch the videos, then take a fun quiz to find out what you've learned! The innovative videobook format is intuitive to use and lets you quickly navigate with the swipe of a finger.
• Discover the amazing properties of solids, liquids and gases
• Includes many fun and easy activities to try at home
• Learn about solutions, electrolysis, chromatography and more
- June 12, 2014 Initial release


The Parthenon: An Epic Monument Or a Mystery in Measurements?
The Parthenon, proudly standing on the Athenian Acropolis , is considered by many historians and archaeologists alike as the undisputed symbol of Athenian democracy and the cradle of Western civilization.
The monument is also considered one of the finest buildings of all time by a large number of architects worldwide. It attracts millions of tourists each year and was designed by the most famous sculptor of antiquity, Phidias, while two of the most influential architects ever, Ictinus and Callicrates, supervised the practical construction work of the temple.
The Acropolis, with the Parthenon. ( moofushi /Adobe Stock)
The Mysteries of the Ancient Temple
Contemporary scientists have admitted—despite the Parthenon being the most imitated building in history—that even with modern technology and contemporary architectural techniques, it’s virtually impossible to rebuild the exact same building in all its detail.
But why is the Parthenon so special ? What makes it so different from all the others? What kind of details and secrets did the peoples of antiquity know that have been lost to time? Why can’t we construct an identical building to the original Parthenon even though technology, machinery, and architecture have progressed so much since then? There are too many riddles to the construction of the Parthenon, only a few of which can even remotely begin to be unraveled.
To begin with, the Parthenon might have needed decades to be restored in modern times, but the Athenian citizens mysteriously built it in a decade, between 447 and 438 BC.
The iconic monument is a peripteral octastyle Doric temple with Ionic architectural features, surrounded by a colonnade of eight columns across and 17 along, counting the corner columns twice.
- Millions of silver coins may have been stored in Parthenon attic
- Incredible Construction: Greek Acropolis Built by Ancient Engineers to Resist Earthquakes
- The Mentor Shipwreck and the Disastrous Journey of the Parthenon Marbles to Britain
The main entrance of the temple faces east while the interior length is 100 Attic feet, thus 30.80 meters (101 feet). And though these numbers might seem random to most, the fact is many historians believe significant proportions are expressed in these numbers.
Low angle perspective of columns of the Parthenon at sunset, Acropolis, Athens. ( Alex Green /Adobe Stock)
Messages in Measurements
An Attic foot is equivalent to 0.30803 meters, or 1/2F (φ), where F (φ) = 1.61803, also known as the Golden Ratio . The Golden Number F, the number 1.618, is often found in nature, in human facial features, in the measurements of the human body, in flowers and other plants, in art, in most living organisms on earth, in shells, and in beehives, among many other things, but most important, it’s often associated with the structure of the universe and planetary orbit in our solar system.
Furthermore, in aesthetic science the Golden Ratio is considered the most accurate standard for the expression of perfection. So, could all this just be a mere coincidence? Not likely, since inside the Parthenon we find something more impressive—the Fibonacci Sequence , which in mathematics describes the phenomenon of a number being equal to the sum of the previous two: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, etc. Even more strange, the ratio of the successive pairs tends to the so-called Golden Ratio, or Number F (φ).
The Golden Ratio. ( CC BY-SA 2.0 )
Additionally, the number for Pi (π), 3.1416 can also be found inside the temple, which appears in the mathematical relation 2F2/10, but more impressively, we see the number e = 2.72, which is the most important mathematical constant and is the base of the natural logarithm.
What makes things more complicated is that the three numbers included in the Parthenon are also included in all of nature and are present in all creation, and nothing can function without them.
As one would expect, the questions deriving from the aforementioned facts are many. Did the creators of the Parthenon know these numbers and their importance? And if so, how did they manage to include them in such detail and accuracy in a building which we can’t replicate today even with all our technology and know-how?
How could the ancient Greeks, or more precisely, Ictinus, Callicrates, and Phidias, be aware of the Golden Ratio when Midhat J. Gazalé and so many other scholars assure us that it was not until Euclid came along that the Golden Ratio's mathematical properties were studied?
Phidias Showing the Frieze of the Parthenon to his Friends. ( Public Domain )
How did they know of the Fibonacci Sequence when it was first officially recorded in 1202, almost 1,700 years after the Parthenon was constructed? And most importantly, how could the Parthenon's façade , as well as many of its particular elements, be circumscribed by golden rectangles when the computer technology we take for granted today didn’t exist back then to create such forms?
- Pythagoras and His Life Beyond the Pythagorean Theorem
- The Golden Ratio – a sacred number that links the past to the present
- Pankration: A Deadly Martial Art Form from Ancient Greece
To all these questions many more can be added as one searches to discover the specific details of the functions and mysteries of the sacred temple; such as, how was the building lit when there were no windows and, even more oddly, no traces of soot have been found, which excludes the use of torches?
Signals in the Sunlight
Another mystery that many experts in various fields have unsuccessfully tried to answer is why, during the day when there is sunlight, do the drop shadows created around the temple always appear to point to other specific destination points in Greece? Which exact points they show and why this happens, or if there’s any special meaning behind this occurrence, has been investigated by scientists for ages, but opinions vary greatly, preventing us from reaching a solution.
Despite all the scientific, paranormal and mythical mysteries surrounding its legend, the Parthenon remains the cradle of Western civilization—and undoubtedly one of the most significant monuments of humankind as a whole.
And it continues to attract millions of curious visitors every year. The only sure thing is that we can only learn and benefit from the iconic monument, its unlocked codes and artistic features, which hopefully will be deciphered in the near future.
The Parthenon is a hugely impressive monument. ( TTstudio /Adobe Stock)
Bonus Facts About the Parthenon
- The Parthenon is often called sacred because it was dedicated to the goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their patron and guardian of the city.
- The temple was built under Pericles’s rule, who is considered to be the greatest Athenian statesman ever and the one who gets credited with the birth of democracy as well.
- The most impressive and glorious part of the Parthenon unfortunately doesn’t exist anymore. It was a gigantic statue of Athena designed and sculpted by Phidias. It was created with elephant ivory and gold and, of course, was dedicated to her.
- Phidias was also the craftsman who sculpted the statue of Zeus at Olympia , which was one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world.
- The Parthenon is considered to be the most copied building in history. Some of the most famous buildings that have been based on it include The New York Stock Exchange, the Reichstag building in Berlin, and the main entrance of the White House.
Reconstruction of the Acropolis and Areus Pagus in Athens, Leo von Klenze, 1846. ( Public Domain )
Top Image: The majestic and mysterious Parthenon in Athens, Greece. Source: sea and sun /Adobe Stock
By Theodoros II
Updated on January 13, 2021.


Studies of African-American migration most often focus on the twentieth century, when millions of black people left the South, moving northward to industrial cities of the East and West. Yet an earlier migration was also important. Although not as dramatic in sheer numbers, it too had a profound impact on the course of American history. This was the migration that took place during the decades before and just after the Civil War. In the antebellum period, much of this movement was forced and occurred in the South, as people from the Upper South were sold into the domestic slave trade. But there was also a voluntary migration of runaways, and of free African Americans leaving the South for a perceived better, less restricted life in the Northern states.
In the North, they clustered in small communities in the larger cities. They established stable families, built their own institutions, and, although most were denied full citizenship, nevertheless became a vigorous force in regional and national politics. Free African Americans represented only about 10 percent of the total black population at the time of the Civil War, but their role in the issues that led to Southern secession was in great disproportion to their numbers.


Jon Krakauer structures the first two chapters, and most of the book, in an interesting way so as to affect his readers. The description in the book - in other words, the non-dialogue - is written in long, winding, descriptive sentences. The dialogue of McCandless and those who encountered or knew him is written in short, simple sentences; sometimes the dialogue is not even an entire sentence.
There are a couple of reasons Krakauer may have chosen to structure his writing in this way. The first is to parallel McCandless' personality and journey. For example, when anyone talks, he is short-winded and to the point:
"...Gallien remembers. "He was determined. Real gung ho. The word that comes to mind is excited." (p. 6)
This parallels McCandless' personality and his plans for going out into the wilderness. He had not truly thought through how he was going live, eat, get there, survive, or leave. He had, simply, wild, unconnected, underdeveloped, unprepared plans that he used to get to Alaska. His thoughts are much like the way that everyone speaks in the book.
However, Krakauer writes the commentary as long, sweeping, detailed sentences.
"Gallien, a union electrician, was on his way to Anchorage, 240 miles beyond Denali on the George Parks Highway; he told Alex he'd drop him off wherever he wanted. Alex's backpack looked as though t weighed only twenty-five or thirty pounds, which struck Gallien - an accomplished hunter and woodsman - as an improbably light load for a stay of several months in the back country, especially so early in the spring (p.4)."
These sentences parallel the thought that McCandless should have given his plans. Krakauer's commentary, with its long-windedness, leads the reader to believe that if McCandless had just thought out his problems, been older and more experienced, he would have survived this experience and it may have been the transcendentalism he desired.
The structure of the sentences also succeeds in drawing the reader into the story when considered in conjunction with the content of the first 2 chapters. The first chapter introduces McCandless as he begins his journey into Alaska (not his entire journey, mind you, simply his entrance into Alaska). In one short chapter, that is covered. In the second chapter, his death is covered. Therefore, in 2 short chapter, the author covers his life and death. But the detailed sentences hint at something more. They draw the reader in and make them think there must be more to this story. If these sentences were short and simple, the reader may wonder why there is an entire book when it sounds like it could be covered in 2 chapters. So the long-winded sentences make the reader want to read and know more and understand why McCandless was as naive as he appeared.


Types of Psoriasis
Learn the differences between the five common types of psoriasis.
There are five types of psoriasis, and although most people have only one type at a time, it's not unheard of to have more than one. It is also possible for one type to convert to another; this usually occurs because of an outside trigger, such as abruptly stopping a medication.
The most common form of psoriasis is plaque psoriasis, or psoriasis vulgaris — approximately 80 percent of people with psoriasis have this type. It is characterized by hard, red, raised patches on the skin that have a silvery white, scaly coating. These well-defined patches are referred to as plaques, and they usually start as small red bumps. Plaques can remain as separate, isolated areas or join together to form a larger plaque; they appear most often on the elbows, knees, and lower back, although they can appear anywhere on the body, including the scalp. It is rare, however, to see this type of psoriasis on the face. Plaques can last for months or years and can appear — and disappear — for no known reason.
The second most common type of psoriasis, guttate psoriasis, is characterized by widespread small, red (sometimes teardrop-shaped) spots on the skin. Most common in children and younger adults, the spots come on suddenly, quite often after some kind of bacterial or viral infection, and usually appear across the trunk and on the limbs. While some cases of guttate psoriasis are severe, requiring oral medication or injections, milder cases can clear up without treatment and never recur. This type of psoriasis can also begin as plaque psoriasis and convert because of a medical trigger, such as chicken pox, strep throat, or a skin injury.
Pustular psoriasis is rare, occurring in less than 5 percent of people afflicted with psoriasis. It is characterized by raised, pus-filled bumps (pustules) on the skin. The pustules can appear within hours after the skin's surface becomes red and itchy; they occur in waves, scaling and healing in a few days and then reappearing. Pustular psoriasis can be generalized and widespread across the body or localized to the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet (palmar-plantar pustulosis). Generalized pustular psoriasis can lead to fever, anemia, and other life-threatening conditions and often requires hospitalization. Both forms occur mainly in adults and can be triggered by certain medications (including lithium and cortisone), by pregnancy, and by infections like strep throat. Stopping certain medications suddenly (including steroid medications) can also trigger a flare of pustular psoriasis.
Inverse psoriasis (also known as flexural psoriasis) occurs in the folds of the skin, such as those found in the armpits and groin and under the breasts. While uncommon overall (only 2 to 6 percent of psoriasis sufferers have this type), inverse psoriasis is most prevalent in people who are overweight, and it's aggravated by friction and sweating. Appearing as smooth, sometimes shiny patches rather than the scaly lesions seen in other types of psoriasis, areas affected by inverse psoriasis are red, inflamed, and tender. Because the sites typically involved are prone to yeast and fungal infections, this type of psoriasis can sometimes be confused with candida.
Only 1 to 2 percent of people with psoriasis have erythrodermic psoriasis, which may occur in conjunction with pustular psoriasis or on its own and is characterized by a scaly, red, and inflamed rash over the entire body or most of it. Itchy and often extremely painful, erythrodermic psoriasis can be fatal, and it is imperative that it be monitored closely. In severe cases, hospitalization may be necessary because the skin loses its ability to regulate temperature and perform normal barrier functions. This can cause life-threatening dehydration, fever, and infection. Erythrodermic psoriasis is usually treated with topical and systemic medications.
While not considered a distinctive type of psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis occurs in about 10 to 35 percent of psoriasis patients; in most cases, skin symptoms appear before the arthritis, which can sometimes cause debilitating inflammation of the hands, knuckles, knees, and ankles.


REVIEW QUESTIONS ON GEMARA AND RASHI
prepared by Rabbi Eliezer Chrysler
Kollel Iyun Hadaf, Jerusalem
Previous daf Menachos 31
(a) 'Ela Amar Rav Papa, a'Shidah'.
What does the Mishnah in Keilim say
about a hive of straw or of canes ... or a cupboard that holds forty Sa'ah
(b) According to Beis Shamai, these are all measured from the inside. What
do Beis Hillel say?
(c) Rebbi Yossi maintains that the thickness of the legs and of the rim are
counted in the forty Sa'ah.
What does he say, is not counted?
(d) Rebbi Shimon Shezuri qualifies Rebbi Yossi's ruling.
does he draw between legs that are a Tefach tall and legs that are less?
(a) 've'Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak Amar, a'Yayin'. In the Mishnah in
Taharos, Rebbi Meir considers olive-oil a Rishon le'Tum'ah.
do the Chachamim add to that?
(b) What problem do we have with Rebbi Shimon Shezuri, who says 'Af Yayin'?
(c) How do we therefore amend it?
(d) On what grounds does Rebbi Shimon Shezuri argue with the previous
(a) What did Rebbi Shimon Shezuri in a Beraisa, once ask Rebbi Tarfon with
regard to Tevel of D'mai that fell into Chulin? What was the problem?
(b) Why was there a problem? Seeing as min ha'Torah, the Tevel was Bateil,
why was it not a case of 'min ha'Petur al ha'Petur'?
(c) What did Rebbi Tarfon instruct him to do?
(d) Why did he instruct him to purchase crops from the market, and not from
(a) What did Rebbi Tarfon instruct Rebbi Shimon Shezuri to do, according to
the second Lashon?
(b) Why did he not rather instruct him to buy from the market?
(c) Why would that create a problem?
(a) Why in fact, would this present a problem, even if he purchased the
crops from a Nochri (as per Rebbi Tarfon's instructions)?
(b) So how do we amend the case? What sort of Tevel *was* Rebbi Shimon
Shezuri talking about?
(c) How will this now explain Rebbi Tarfon's instructions, according to ...
(d) Why did Rebbi Tarfon not instruct Rebbi Shimon Shezuri to separate
Ma'asros from the crops themselves, seeing as there was now a Chiyuv
- ... the first Lashon?
- ... the second Lashon?
(a) What did Rav Papa reply when Rav Yeimar bar Shalmaya asked him whether
Ravin bar Chinena ... Amar Rebbi Chanina incorporated this latter Beraisa of
'Nis'arev Li Tevel be'Chulin', when he ruled like Rebbi Shimon Shezuri,
wherever his name occurs?
Answers to questions
(b) What Kashya did Mar Zutra quoting Mar Zutra from Sura, ask Rav Ashi
concerning Rav Yeimar bar Shalmaya query?
(a) What distinction does Rav Ze'ira (or Rav Ze'iri) ... Amar Rav draw
between a tear that reaches a depth of two lines and one that reaches three?
(b) How does Rabah Zuti ... quoting Rava, qualify Rav's ruling? In which
case will the tear not invalidate the Seifer-Torah, even if it reaches a
depth of three lines?
(c) If 'Atikta' does not mean literally old, and 'Chadti', new, then what do
(d) What is now the reason for Rav's Chumra?
(a) And how does Rava qualify the concession to stitch a tear in a
Under which condition will that be forbidden?
(b) What does Rav Yehudah bar Aba mean when he asks ...
(c) What is the outcome of both She'eilos?
- ... 'Bein Daf le'Daf Mahu'?
- ... 'Bein Shitah le'Shitah Mahu'?
(a) What does Rebbi Ze'iri Amar Rav say about a Mezuzah that is written only
two words per line?
(b) They asked what the Din will be if it is written in a sequence of three,
two and one words per line.
What did Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak say about
(c) How do we reconcile this with the Beraisa which rules 'As'ah ke'Shirah O
Shirah Kamosah, Pesulah'?
(d) Rabah (or Rav Acha) bar bar Chanah Amar Rebbi Yochanan too, validates a
Mezuzah whose lines are written in the sequence of three, two and one.
What does he mean when he goes on to invalidate one that is written ...
- ... like a tent?
- ... like a tail?
(a) What does Rav Chisda say about "al ha'Aretz" (the final words of a
(b) Some say that they belong at the end of the line.
What do others say?
(c) Both opinions are based on the Pasuk in Tehilim "ki'Gevohah Shamayim al
What is the reason of those who say that "al ha'Aretz" must be
- ... at the end of the line?
- ... at the beginning?
(a) According to Rav Chelbo, how would Rav Huna roll a Mezuzah?
Answers to questions
(b) And what did he mean when he also testified that he wrote the first


Total Solar Eclipse occurs when the view of the Sun is entirely blocked by the passing Moon. The highly anticipated solar eclipse over the U.S. on August 21, 2017 could be one of the most-viewed space events in the history. It will be the greatest and the first eclipse to traverse U.S. from coast to coast after almost a century. Those who will miss the event might not get another chance of viewing the total solar eclipse in their lifetime.
It’s generally a misconception that the total eclipse of the sun is an uncommon incidence, but on the contrary, the celestial event happens averagely once in every 18 months and this may be visible from any place on the Earth’s surface. Hence, two solar eclipses can occur in every three years.
Although solar eclipses are quite common across the world, it’s not easy to view them. For instance, the last total solar eclipse occurred in U.S. in 1979. Scientists have projected that there will be total of 69 total solar eclipses visible across the entire world surface in the next 100 years, but only a few will pass across North America.
The next total solar eclipse to pass over the US after August this year will come in 2045. Most of the eclipses will be visible in South America while one will eclipse over the sea. Averagely, total solar eclipse happens on the Earth surface after every 1.5 years. The total eclipse is only visible within the path of totality which is usually about 60 or 70 miles wide. The further one is from the path, the less visible the eclipse becomes.
In the human history, eclipses have been regarded a powerful and mysterious phenomenon, and many cultures across the world have associated them with other meanings or signs from the creator. For example during the war in Greek, soldiers experienced darkness in the midday and believed it was a sign of end of war.
The path of totality in for the total solar eclipse in August stretches from Oregon in the west and moves across to South Carolina on the east side.


(GLCs: Click here for grade level guidelines.)
Date(s) Used: Feb. 2003
(from the publisher) George and Martha, two hippopotamuses created by the singular talent of James Marshall, have entertained, intrigued, and delighted readers of all ages for the past quarter of a century. The portly animals have also taught us, in a humorous way, about what it means to be a true friend.
Discussion topics: To be posted soon ...
|Craft ideas: |
Make a hippo mask with a gold tooth.
Draw your own flying machine and who would ride in it.
Draw you and your friends having an adventure with George and Martha.
*Note: These craft ideas are just suggestions.
You can use them, but you don’t have to use them.
You can expand upon them, or add your own twist.
Remember, though, that the focus of your time should
not be on the development and execution of a craft;
the focus should be on the read-aloud and the
enjoyment of the book!


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|---------- Interesting Things About Ancient Coins ----------|
|Hairstyles of the Rich and Famous - 2,000 Years Ago|
|You can click on any coin image to see the full coin.|
Ancient coins show many interesting features, among them being what hairstyles were current when the coins were struck. Sometimes these are formal styles deemed appropriate for the upper classes. Such styles demonstrate an adherence to tradition, a steady approach without any wild and dangerous modern ideas. This is useful propaganda for an emperor. On the other hand, some of the younger women are shown with very fashionable styles. Some examples seem designed to indicate a modest demeanour rather than represent reality. But these are far outweighed by hugely formal or outrageously fashionable concoctions.
Coins which show mythical figures or personifications show a different approach. Here, the styles might be hundreds of years old, or be types allied to a particular deity.
Here is a quick tour of hairstyles across 600 years of history. There are many more to see for those who are interested – just try looking up some of these women on one of the sites on my interesting links page.
The statues in the inset photographs on this page are all in the British Museum.
... Starting with three older Greek coins. First, one which is almost an anti-hairdo, on the near right. This is (probably) Aphrodite, with her hair in a bag. This bag, called a saccos, could then be bound with cord in various ways. The nearest you see to this these days is the big knitted cap worn by some Rastafarians.
In the centre is a Mainad with bunches of grapes in her hair, indicating her asociation with wild drunken frenzies, though she looks pretty calm considering all that. Her hair is wild on top, but rolled around the edges, which must help to hold in the fruits. This is clearly not intended to be a practical style; it is more a set of mythological symbols.
On the far right is Tanith from Carthage, a grain goddess whose hair is also rolled around the brow and earline, and who has some stalks of wheat tucked into it. You can clearly see the ears at the front, and one leaf is curved up and back. This is quite achievable as a style, though you might want to leave out the corn.
The silver drachm of Corinth is from the late 4th century BCE; The bronze coin from Carthage in Zeugitania is from 100 years later; and the centre coin from Amphipolis is from the early part of the 2nd century BCE.
These styles are on Roman Republican coins. Victory and Diana the huntress have their hair pulled back and tied in a knot at the back of the head, a "Psyche knot." It's a Greek style which was two or three hundred years old when these coins were made, and would have been regarded as "classical" even then. This simple version of the knot must have been a very utilitarian style, easy to manage, not likely to get in the way of vigorous activity. These days, women use a scrunchy to achieve this effect.
Victory (winged) dates from 108-107 BCE, and Diana (with bow and quiver) was made in 74 BCE.
This toned silver Roman Republican coin dating from 49 BCE shows Salus, a personification of health and welfare. Like the last two coins, and many others from the Roman republic, this one imitated Hellenic art and Hellenic coin design, and you can see that the way the hair is rolled around the sides of the head is like Tanit at the top of the page. This design makes it easy to support decorations like Salus' wreath.
On the far right is an representation of an actual person, Antonia, the daughter of Mark Antony, mother of Claudius. She died before Claudius came to power, but when he did, he issued some coins in her honour. This modest style, with hair lightly waved and tightly controlled in a looped tail, belongs to the early years of the first millennium CE. (Sorry about the worn coin – I'll get a better example eventually.)
Sabina, wife of the emperor Hadrian, had two distinct hairstyles on her coins. The simpler one had hair flowing down her neck ending in a loose knot. A diadem encircled her head and supported a ridge of hair behind it. In the more ornate style, the hair was plaited and coiled around her head. Plaits also ran up and down her head inside the coils. The headbands and diadems are probably a combination of stiffened hair and hairpieces, as on this statue (which is not of Sabina herself.)
The statue is dated about 100 CE, and the coins are from the 120s CE.
When Antoninus Pius' beloved wife Faustina died, he issued millions of coins in her honour. They all had this ornate hairstyle, with the hair plaited and brought back up the head, coiled and knotted, and it looks as though there were pearls strung through it. Her daughter, Faustina Junior, wore a simpler style with the hair waved and drawn into a bun at the back, sometimes with a pearl diadem that you can see on this coin. The bun was sometimes plain, sometimes decorated, small or large, but always there. In fact, worn coins of both Faustinas can easily be recognised by their hairstyles.
Coins of the two Faustinas belong to the 150s, 160s and 170s CE.
Lucilla (on the left) was the daughter of Faustina Junior. Like the other young women of this era, her coins had a variety of hairstyles. The one shown is quite extreme, looking almost like a cap on her head. Crispina, on the right, was Commodus' wife. Her style, with the hair plaited and woven on the head, then brought into a bun, was also worn by Faustina Junior later in her life, contemporary with this coin.
Lucilla's coins were struck in the 160s CE, and Crispina's in the 170s.
Plautilla was the wife of Caracalla, son of Septimius Severus and inheritor of the Empire. Her downfall was caused by her father's involvement in a plot against Caracalla. He never much liked her anyway .. but while she was in power, her coins showed quite a range of hairstyles. Here are two of them.
Plautilla's coins were struck between 202 and 205 CE.
Julia Domna was the Syrian wife of the emperor Septimius Severus. Her early hairstyle was an elongated bun at the back, with two waved wings of hair drawn down on either side of her head. Her later styles were heavier, and probably were wigs. Her older sister Julia Maesa's hair was similar, but much more gently waved than Domna's severe corrugations. Coming from Syria to Rome, Domna and Maesa would have set new fashions rather than following Roman trends.
Julia Domna's coins were struck between 194 and 218 CE, and Julia Maesa's from 219 to 222 CE.
Julia Paula was married to Elagabalus, the weirdest of the Severan dynasty. Here, she has a soft wave, and the bun is reduced and held by a decorative clip at the nape. Julia Mamaea, Maesa's daughter, had the strongly emphasised waves favoured by her aunt Domna, but kept the reduced bun and the clip at the nape. She is wearing a diadem to signify her rank as Augusta.
Julia Paula's coins were struck in 219 and 220 CE, and Julia Mamaea's during the 220s and 230s.
Aquilia Severa, a vestal virgin and another of Elagabalus' wives, has a tight bun, and you can see that it is made up of a coiled plait. This style is very like that of Julia Paula. Herennia Etruscilla, on Aquilia's right, was the wife of Trajan Decius. Several styles were shown on her coins, mostly with the heavy waves we have already seen. On this coin, the style is less heavy-handed. Her hair is plaited, and the plait is drawn right up to the diadem and then folded over and brought back down again. This was an old trick, from the time of Sabina.
Aquilia Severa's coin is from 220 or 221 CE. Her tenure was a short one. Herennia Etruscilla's coins were struck in 249 to 251 CE.
Here the folded plaits are being worn with the strongly emphasised waves. Otacilia Severa, wife of Philip I, and Salonina, wife of Gallienus, both had this style on their coins. You can see that the portraits became stylised in this period, but the plaiting of the hair is nevertheless quite clear on both coins.
Otacilia Severa's coins were struck in the 240s CE, and Salonina's in the 250s and 260s.
Severina was married to one of the strongest military emperors, Aurelian. You can see that here, the idea of bringing the hair up the back of the head was kept, even though it wasn't in a plait. It reached right to her forehead before coiling back. But on some of her coins she is wearing the familiar plait.
Helena, the first wife of Constantius Chlorus, had a much more simple style that would not look out of place today. Notice the angle of that diadem, though – if she really wore it like that, it must have been pinned in place very firmly.
Severina's coins were struck in the 270s CE. Helena's were about 20-30 years later.
Theodora, second wife of Constantius Chlorus, had the loop of hair at her nape, but wore a diadem round her head instead of bringing the plait further up. Fausta, wife of Constantine the Great, looks different. She is wearing the traditional strongly waved hair, but here the hair is lifted off the nape into a larger and much more ornate clasp than the Julias wore 100 years earlier.
Theodora's coins were posthumous, and showed her as she was in the 290s. Fausta's coins date from the first three decades of the 300s CE.
There is a gap after Fausta. Aelia Flaccilla (wife of Theodosius), in the 380s, has a more bubbly style, but with that heavy braid and that big chunky necklace and earrings, it all looks a bit overdone to me. She reminds me of Elizabeth Taylor later in her career.
Finally, here is Eudoxia, wife of Arcadius, around 400 CE. Her hair is not that far from Aelia Flaccilla and Theodora, with heavy plaits over the crown and gathered at the nape. She does have one new thing, though, that modern hairstyles have to go without – the hand of God dropping a halo onto her head. And a smug grin.
After this date, coins of the Roman and Byzantine empires are not very informative about hairstyles. They are mostly crude, heavily stylised and hard to find in any sort of decent condition.
Formal styles almost always require a good deal of work, to show that the wearer can afford the best stylists and has plenty of spare time. Also, in most eras they lag a good many years behind current fashions. Perhaps this is in part to show that Empresses adhered to tradition, so as to give an impression of stability. These coins show that there were times of creativity and change and times of staidness and stability, in formal hairstyles as in the Empire as a whole.
The content of this page was last updated on 26 February 2008
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Minnesota contains some of the oldest rocks found on earth, gneisses some 3.6 billion years old, or 80% as old as the planet. About 2.7 billion years ago, basaltic lava poured out of cracks in the floor of the primordial ocean; the remains of this volcanic rock formed the Canadian Shield in northeast Minnesota. The roots of these volcanic mountains and the action of Precambrian seas formed the Iron Range of northern Minnesota. Following a period of volcanism 1.1 billion years ago, Minnesota's geological activity has been more subdued, with no volcanism or mountain formation, but with repeated incursions of the sea, which left behind multiple strata of sedimentary rock.
In more recent times, massive ice sheets at least one kilometer thick ravaged the landscape of the state and sculpted its current terrain. The Wisconsin glaciation left 12,000 years ago. These glaciers covered all of Minnesota except the far southeast, an area characterized by steep hills and streams that cut into the bedrock. This area is known as the Driftless Zone for its absence of glacial drift. Much of the remainder of the state outside of the northeast has 50 feet (15 m) or more of glacial till left behind as the last glaciers retreated. Gigantic Lake Agassiz formed in the northwest 13,000 years ago. Its bed created the fertile Red River valley, and its outflow, glacial River Warren, carved the valley of the Minnesota River. Minnesota is geologically quiet today; it experiences earthquakes infrequently, and most of them are minor.
The state's high point is Eagle Mountain at 2,301 feet (701 m), which is only 13 miles (20.9 km) away from the low of 602 feet (183 m) at the shore of Lake Superior. Notwithstanding dramatic local differences in elevation, much of the state is a gently rolling peneplain.
Two major drainage divides meet in the northeastern part of Minnesota in rural Hibbing, forming a triple watershed. Precipitation can follow the Mississippi River south to the Gulf of Mexico, the Saint Lawrence Seaway east to the Atlantic Ocean, or the Hudson Bay watershed to the Arctic Ocean.
The state's nickname, The Land of 10,000 Lakes, is no exaggeration; there are 11,842 Minnesota lakes over 10 acres in size. The Minnesota portion of Lake Superior is the largest at 962,700 acres and deepest (at 1,290 ft (390 m)) body of water in the state. Minnesota has 6,564 natural rivers and streams that cumulatively flow for 69,000 miles (111,000 km). The Mississippi River begins its journey from its headwaters at Lake Itasca and crosses the Iowa border 680 miles (1,094 km) downstream. It is joined by the Minnesota River at Fort Snelling, by the St. Croix River near Hastings, by the Chippewa River at Wabasha, and by many smaller streams. The Red River, in the bed of glacial Lake Agassiz, drains the northwest part of the state northward toward Canada's Hudson Bay. Approximately 10.6 million acres of wetlands are contained within Minnesota's borders, the most of any state except Alaska.
Minnesota's first state park, Itasca State Park, was established in 1891, and is the source of the Mississippi River. Today Minnesota has 72 state parks and recreation areas, 58 state forests covering about four million acres, and numerous state wildlife preserves, all managed by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. There are 5.5 million acres in the Chippewa and Superior National Forests. The Superior National Forest in the northeast contains the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, which encompasses over a million acres and a thousand lakes. To its west is Voyageurs National Park. The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MNRRA), is a 72 miles (116 km) long corridor along the Mississippi River through the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Area connecting a variety of sites of historic, cultural, and geologic interest.
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Girdling, or removing a thin strip of bark tissue from the trunk or branches, helps certain types of fruit trees increase fruit size or yield. It can also promote an earlier harvest, reduce the number of required pickings and increase red skin color. Correct girdling techniques are extremely important, as improper girdling can kill limbs and seriously affect tree health. Time the girdling about four weeks after bloom, perform the girdling precisely and provide the tree with excellent care to achieve the desired effects.
Inspect trees carefully to make sure they are vigorous, healthy and old enough to qualify for girdling. Avoid girdling weak or stressed trees, including trees suffering from a severe insect infestation, patches of gum on the bark or overall poor health. Only girdle trees in at least their fourth leaf with full fruit crops.
Cut a thin strip of bark the width of the girdling knife around a scaffold branch 2 inches in diameter or larger. Do not make a complete circle, but instead cut at an angle so that the end of the cut is 1 to 2 inches above or below the beginning of the cut. This type of girdle, referred to as an "S" or spiral girdle, promotes better recovery than a complete girdle with connected ends. Only remove the bark and the underlying layer; avoid cutting into the wood.
Spray a pesticide on the trunk of the fruit trees to prevent infestation if pests could prove problematic. The open wounds on the scaffold branches make the tree particularly susceptible to borers such as the Pacific flatheaded borer, peachtree borer and others.
Provide the girdled trees with ample irrigation if rainfall is inadequate. Ample water is necessary to maximize the intended effects of the girdling.
Fertilize the girdled fruit trees following harvest, if the site fertilizer regimen allows it, and again in winter, to ensure that the tree recovers well and will produce ample, quality fruit the next season.
Things You Will Need
- Girdling knife (typically 1/8-inch blade)
- Pesticide applicator
- Perform any thinning at least four or five days before girdling if scheduling both tasks.
- Do not girdle fruit varieties that are late maturing or have a split pit or splitting problem. Girdling tends to exacerbate splitting problems.
- Growers not experienced with girdling should only attempt girdling a small number of branches or trees until they become familiar with the technique.
- The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences: Girdling
- Alabama Cooperative Extension System: Girdling Peach Trees in the Southeast
- Alabama Cooperative Extension System: Thinning and Girdling
- The Compact Fruit Tree: Improving Fruit Size: Thinning and Girdling Nectarines, Peaches and Plums
- Comstock/Comstock/Getty Images


The Clerk of the Parliaments is the most senior official in the House of Lords. The Crown appoints him as head of the permanent administration and the chief procedural adviser to the House. It is a role similar to that of a chief executive in a commercial business and with a number of administrative and management responsibilities.
The job title 'Clerk of the Parliaments' is plural to signify that the position is permanent and remains through successive Parliaments.
The main functions of the Clerk of the Parliaments are:
- Accounting Officer and Corporate Officer of the House of Lords.
- Employing staff in the Lords
- Keeping the official records of the membership and business of the House
- Offering expert advice on House procedure (the formal and informal rules of its everyday activities)
- Ensuring the text of Acts is accurate
Image: Ed Ollard, the current Clerk of the Parliaments. House of Lords 2017 / Photography by Roger Harris


Red Lake is a unique karst phenomena. Originally, it used to be an underground lake, but when the ceilings had collapsed, it came to the surface. The 200 m high cliffs are rising above the lake. The water is red due to the high concentration of iron oxide. At some parts, the lake can be even 300 m deep, and it is not possible to access the water.
Blue Lake was also originally an underground lake. It is situated on a 200 m deep sink hole, which by its shape reminds us of a funnel. The depth of the lake ranges between 20 and 90 m. Sometimes, the lake can even dry out, and so it is is possible to get to the water. Red and Blue Lakes are popular tourist destinations from the Makarska Riviera.


Searching for Mars on Earth
On Mars, the evidence for life could be concealed in rocks that resemble some of Earth's most extreme environments. Scientists from the SETI Institute will spend five years exploring these unusual geologic sites to learn where and how to look for life. Chile's Licancabur volcano, seen here, had a UV index of 43 recorded in 2003. The level is more similar to surface radiation on Mars than typical conditions on Earth.
Lastarria volcano in Chile is one of the few places on Earth where molten sulfur freely flows.
Sulfur surrounds a steaming vent, or fumarole, at Lastarria volcano.
Australia's red rocks
Some of Earth's oldest fossils appear in Western Australia's Pilbara region. Looking for signs of life here could lead scientists to similar rocks on Mars.
A Pilbara stromatolite. The dark bands are fossilized microbes. Layer by layers, mats of microbes trapped and built up rock-like mounds of sediment 3.45 billion years ago.
Stromatolites in Sharks Bay, Australia, one of the few places on Earth where these living fossils survive.
Cold and wet
On Axel Heiberg Island in the Canadian Arctic, salty springs flow year-round.
Hardy, cold-loving microbes thrive in the cold and west environment, which may mimic conditions on ancient Mars. Here, green cyanobacteria have colonized a rock from Axel Heiberg Island.
The right brew
Some scientists think life may have started on Earth at hydrothermal vents in the ocean, where a rich chemical soup spews from the seafloor. THe SETI researchers will test different methods for finding hydrothermal deposits on Mars.


[worldnow id=9288136 width=420 height=316 type=video]
GLENDALE (CBSLA.com) —A training exercise was held in Glendale Monday to help officers better communicate with people with autism.
“This gives us another set of tools to use for specific situations,” Glendale Police Department Officer Thomas Garcia said.
Kate Movius created the specialized program for law enforcement as part of the Autism Speaks Safety Project.
“Autism is so tricky and complex, and it’s often very difficult to communicate with someone with Autism,” she said.
According to experts, people with developmental disabilities are seven times more likely to encounter law enforcement than others.
Movius says because of their unique social skills often times a person with Autism can be misunderstood.
“One of the issues that perhaps could get a child with Autism in trouble is something called Echolalia,” Movius said. “So you can imagine in a situation with law enforcement they might say to the…
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Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning is currently the hot topic and probably the most seeked out discipline in both Industry and Academics. Most of the IT companies like Microsoft, Google, AMAZON, Tesla, NVIDIA many more have adapted to this concept in their system.Artificial Intelligence software, by the leading artificial intelligence companies, is a fast-growing market within computer science that focuses on creating and providing intelligent problem-solving solutions. A.I. software can include speech recognition, problem-solving, learning and planning that can aid or even replace human engagement in a process.
Artificial Intelligence is the broader concept of machines being able to carry out tasks in a way that we would consider “smart”.Machine Learning is a current application of AI based around the idea that we should really just be able to give machines access to data and let them learn for themselves.Google CEO SundarPichai says artificial intelligence is going to have a bigger impact on the world than some of the most ubiquitous innovations in history.Tesla is using advanced AI for vision and planning, supported by efficient use of inference hardware to achieve a general solution to full self-driving.
- To disseminate strong theoretical and practical exposure to meet the emerging trends in the industry.
- To promote a freethinking environment with innovative research and teaching-learning pedagogy.
- To develop value based socially responsible professionals with high degree of leadership skills will support for betterment of the society.
To provide services of the highest quality both curricular and co-curricular, so that our students can integrate their skills and serve the industry and society equally well at the global level.
To develop an outstanding AI and ML professionals with profound practical, research & managerial skills to meet ever changing Industrial Social and Technological needs of the Society.


Pedagogical influences on the development of absolute pitch in musicians
Bahr, Nan (2005) Pedagogical influences on the development of absolute pitch in musicians. In Australian Association for Research in Education Conference, December 2005, Parramatta, . (Unpublished)
Impact and interest:
Citation countsare sourced monthly fromand citation databases.
These databases contain citations from different subsets of available publications and different time periods and thus the citation count from each is usually different. Some works are not in either database and no count is displayed. Scopus includes citations from articles published in 1996 onwards, and Web of Science® generally from 1980 onwards.
Citations counts from theindexing service can be viewed at the linked Google Scholar™ search.
|Item Type:||Conference Paper|
|Subjects:||Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification > EDUCATION (130000) > SPECIALIST STUDIES IN EDUCATION (130300)|
|Divisions:||Current > QUT Faculties and Divisions > Faculty of Education|
|Deposited On:||28 Apr 2010 08:10|
|Last Modified:||28 Apr 2010 08:10|
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Patients with Pseudodysphagia complaint about the inability to swallow but they do not have any physical symptoms to account for their condition. The word Pseudodysphagia comes from Greek Phagophobia where “phagein” means eating and “phobos” means deep dread, aversion or fear. Other names for this phobia include sitophobia where sito is Greek for food.
Pseudodysphagia is an unnatural and irrational fear of choking or swallowing that causes a person to believe s/he will become ill or die if one tries to eat solid foods. The nature of difficulty these patients face when it comes to swallowing varies depending on the level of their fear: some people can only eat very small pieces of well lubricated foods, while others are afraid of drinking liquids or swallowing pills or tablets. Naturally, there is substantial loss of weight in this phobia and it is a debilitating condition that can interfere with one’s day-to-day life.
What are the causes of fear of choking phobia?
As with most specific phobias, Pseudodysphagia also begins with a negative experience related to swallowing food. As a child, the phobic might have choked, vomited or had an “embarrassing response” after swallowing certain types of foods. The brain then creates the same response as a defensive mechanism each time one is confronted with the thought of eating. For example, a patient recalls choking (as a child) on a quarter after it got lodged in his throat. He lost consciousness and turned blue and recalls fearing eating solid foods like steaks, meats, capsules, pills (anything hard or chewy) after the incident.
Psychiatrists also believe that most people with the extreme fear of choking are usually anxious or suffering from other psychiatric disorders like depression, Hypochondriasis, Agoraphobia or have a general predisposition to panic attacks.
The fear of choking is also often listed in conjunction with Globus sensation-(a condition that comes and goes wherein the patient feels there is a lump in his throat that prevents him from eating). However, the two conditions are different; Globus sensation is more common and occurs when patients are typically suffering from ear-nose-throat infections that cause them to fear they might choke or vomit after eating.
Symptoms of Pseudodysphagia
Psychogenic Dysphagia leads to many psychological symptoms, the most important one being inefficient or disorganized swallowing. Other symptoms of the fear of choking include:
- Avoidance of food, especially swallowing pills, tablets, hard and chewy foods
- Abnormal oral behavior is also seen including deviant tongue movements, feeling the throat pressure, and complaint of globus sensation.
- Malnutrition and weight loss are common side effects of this phobia
- General difficulties in breathing, swallowing and other issues like elevated heart rate, feeling dizzy, having fearful thoughts of dying, passing out or embarrassing oneself in front of others are common symptoms of Pseudodysphagia.
- Nightmares about choking on candy, peanuts or indelible objects also tend to keep these patients awake at night.
- Some refuse to eat in front of others thinking that swallowing makes “unpleasant noises”.
Needless to say, this phobia is a debilitating condition that affects the normal life of the patients.
Overcoming the fear
Experts recommend taking a multi-disciplinary approach for overcoming the fear of swallowing. This includes professionals from fields of psychiatry, Otolaryngology, radiology as well as Gastroenterology.
Aversion relief therapy has been proven to be quite effective in treating the fear of choking. In this extreme measure, the patient is given a slight shock to his fingers until he swallows. To get relief, the patient has no option but to swallow the food, since the shock is ceased only after swallowing action takes place. This has shown good results since many patients have progressed to swallowing at normal rate after 8-10 sessions of aversion therapy.
Desensitization therapy is another proven and effective treatment for patients having the extreme fear of choking which leads to recurrent nightmares. This therapy is often used along with tongue depressors at the back of the throat to help patients overcome their anxiety about swallowing.
Relaxation sessions may also be conducted before eating meals. These include breathing deeply, positive visualization and/or guided meditation. These self-help methods along with behavior therapy and Gradual desensitization are very useful in overcoming Pseudodysphagia or the fear of choking.


Low Blood Sugar (Hypoglycemia)
Also known as hypoglycemia, low blood sugar can be a dangerous condition. People often complain about low blood sugar. However, serious hypoglycemia is rare in adults and children over the age of 10 who are not suffering from diabetes. Diabetes is a chronic disease that causes your blood glucose or blood sugar to be high.
Your blood sugar is a measurement of the amount of glucose in your body. Glucose is a sugar that comes from food. Mainly found in carbohydrates, it gives your body energy. Without enough glucose, your body cannot perform its normal functions.
Your blood sugar is considered low when it drops below 70 mg/dL. Immediate treatment for such low blood sugar levels is important. You can either eat food or take glucose tablets.
If you have diabetes, you are more likely to have episodes of hypoglycemia or low blood sugar. Diabetes affects your body’s ability to regulate your blood sugar. You may not be able to make insulin, the hormone that allows your cells to Your body may also have a negative reaction to the insulin used to prevent high blood sugar. This can lead to low blood sugar. Diabetics have to carefully monitor their insulin and blood sugar to keep things in balance.
Low blood sugar symptoms can occur suddenly. They include:
- blurry vision
- rapid heartbeat
- sudden mood changes
- sudden nervousness
- unexplained fatigue
- pale skin
- difficulty sleeping
- skin tingling
- trouble thinking clearly or concentrating
Your blood sugar can drop so quickly you may not even have warning symptoms. When this occurs, you can faint, experience a seizure, or even go into a coma.
Very low blood sugar is a medical emergency. If you know that someone is diabetic and they are experiencing these symptoms, get them to eat something. It is more important to treat a low blood sugar than to be concerned about a short-term blood sugar spike.
Severely low blood sugar levels can be life threatening. You can experience seizures and nervous system damage. Immediate treatment is critical. It is important to learn to recognize your symptoms and treat them fast.
Because you can lose consciousness, don’t try to drive to a medical provider when your blood sugar is too low. Instead, eat something to raise your glucose. Then call an ambulance or get a ride.
Low blood sugar can occur for a number of reasons. It is usually a side effect of diabetes treatment.
Diabetes and Low Blood Sugar
Diabetes affects your body’s ability to use insulin. Think of insulin as the key that unlocks your cells, letting glucose in for energy. People with diabetes use a variety of treatments to help their bodies use the glucose in their blood. One very important treatment is insulin injections.
If you inject too much insulin, your blood sugar may drop too low. People also sometimes inject insulin when planning to eat a big meal, but then they do not eat enough. Additionally, excess physical activity without eating enough can cause a blood sugar drop.
Other Causes of Low Blood Sugar
You don’t have to have diabetes to experience low blood sugar. Some other causes of low blood sugar include:
- certain medications, such as quinine
- drinking too much alcohol
- medical conditions, such as hepatitis or kidney disorders
- a tumor that produces excess insulin
- endocrine disorders, such as adrenal gland deficiency
A condition known as reactive hypoglycemia can cause your blood sugar to drop too low after eating. This is common if you have undergone gastric bypass or other weight-loss surgery.
Blood sugar levels are measured with a simple blood test. If you have diabetes, you are accustomed to testing your blood glucose several times a day to determine whether you are controlling your diabetes. You prick your finger and then place the blood on a test strip. This strip is inserted into a special machine. If you suspect that your blood sugar is low, you can just test it as you would normally.
If you do not have a blood sugar testing machine on hand, your symptoms may be enough to diagnose low blood sugar. Do not rely solely on this self-diagnosis. If you have symptoms of low blood sugar they can and usually do get worse if untreated. You should see a health professional. That is the only way to figure out what is causing your symptoms.
When your blood sugar levels are too low, eating something with carbohydrates can help.
If you have diabetes, try to keep high-carbohydrate snacks on hand. The American Diabetes Associations recommend that your snack has at least 15 to 20 grams of carbohydrates (National Institutes of Health). For example:
- a half-cup of juice or regular soda
- 1 tablespoon of honey
- 4 or 5 saltine crackers
- 5 or 6 pieces of hard candy
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
You also can take glucose tablets. These are available without prescription.
You must strike the right balance between eating enough and not eating too much. You also don’t want your blood sugar to get too high. Eat something and wait about 15 minutes. Then check your blood sugar again. If you do not feel better, eat another snack. If your blood sugar won’t go up at all, seek immediate medical help.
If you have lost consciousness due to low blood sugar, a medical provider may be able to give you a glucagon or glucose injection. These can quickly raise your blood sugar.
Regularly checking your blood sugar levels can help you intervene before your blood sugar drops dangerously low. Talk to your doctor about how often you should check your blood sugar. You may need to check it at different times or more often.
If you have had low-blood sugar episodes in the past, you may wish to check your blood sugar levels before driving (or operating other types of machinery). Have a snack before leaving your home or if your blood sugar levels are less than 100 mg/dL.
Sometimes you may feel low blood sugar symptoms coming on, but your blood sugar testing machine is not handy. If this is the case, the American Diabetes Association recommends treating your blood sugar as if it is too low. Remember, a low blood sugar is more dangerous than a brief episode of high blood sugar.
You may also want to talk with friends and family about how to care for you if your blood sugar drops too low. They should learn to recognize low blood sugar symptoms and know the importance of calling 911 if you lose consciousness.
Wearing a medical identification bracelet can help emergency responders care for you if you need emergency attention.
Written by: Rachel Nall
Updated on Feb 15, 2013
Medically reviewed by Brenda B. Spriggs, MD, MPH, FACP


KOBARID MUSEUM – A WAR MUSEUM (WW1), WITH A MESSAGE OF PEACE
If you are slightest interested in the history of the 20th century and you find yourself in Slovenia, there is no way you can miss visiting the Kobarid Museum.
Visited by Let’s go Slovenia in August 2020
One of the TOP historical attractions in Slovenia
The museum has been the central point of presentation of the heritage of the Isonzo Front (Soška Fronta) and the First World War in Slovenia.
The museum received the Council of Europe Award for its work and mission.
History through stories
The rooms of the museum present visitors with photos documenting the horrors of the front, military charts, diaries and maps, and two large relief displays showing the front lines.
“We do not emphasize the winners or losers,” says our museum curator/guide, who met us in the entrance foyer of the museum. He points with his hand towards the flags in the corner.
“There were far more nationalities involved in the WW1 than the big ones we usually hear about,” he adds.
On the wall we see gravestones from the military cemeteries from the area. One has a black and white photograph of a soldier, who never returned home.
“This museum is a lot about the personal stories of the soldiers and people, who were caught in the war,” the curator explains.
The Kobarid museum is mainly focusing on the 1915 – 1917 Soča Front (Isonzo front in Italian) – an important front between Italian and the Austro-Hungarian military.
One of the most famous battles was the Battle of Caporetto (1917). The battle was described by Ernest Hemingway in his novel “A Farewell to Arms” .
FACT: The Battle of Caporetto claimed around 200,000 Austro-Hungarian casualties and around 2 to 3 times as many Italian casualties. Today, a “Walk of Peace” has been created threading through the truly beautiful Slovenian landscape, linking past sites of the unimaginable horror.
Visitors are slowly returning
In accordance with the spread of virus COVID-19, visitors can entry only with protective facemasks.
- 7 € Adult
- 5 € Pensioner
- 5 € Student (University, Secondary levels)
- 3 € Schoolchildren
- 17 € Family ticket


Monday, November 30, 2009
Just a few miles down the road from Westvaco (Friday's post) is Falling Spring Falls. This was a surprise to find! I read that this is rare type of fall for Virginia where most falls are cascades and slides.
Information from the Virginia State Parks website:
Located in Alleghany County on the Jackson River, this stream rises from Warm River Cave approximately one mile north. Warm thermal spring water and a cold stream of shallow groundwater mix in the cave before surfacing as Falling Spring Falls. The water is supersaturated with carbonate that forms travertine, a form of limestone, at the base of the waterfall.
Underneath the 80 foot drop from the Falling Spring Falls is an undercut cliff. The constantly wet rock faces within the spray or splash zone of the falling water creates a moist microhabitat called a spray cliff community.
Spray cliff communities on limestone in Virginia are considered rare. This area features 14 bryophyte or moss species.
Informational sign at Falling Spring Falls overlooking the falls. This sign has information about the botany of the falls.
According to the book, “Historical Sketches of the Alleghany Highlands” by Gay Arritt, 82 acres of land including the Falling Spring Falls was granted by King George III of Great Britain to Gabriel Jones in August 1771. In 1780 Thomas Jefferson, as Governor of Virginia, granted the property to Major Thomas Massie.
This site was once visited by Jefferson to survey the falls and he mentions it in his manuscripts “Notes on the State of Virginia” written in 1781.
“The only remarkable cascade in this country is that of the Falling Spring in Augusta,” wrote Jefferson, “…it falls over a rock 200 feet into the valley below.”
From 1914 to 1926 a producer of travertine material, Ohio C. Barber Fertilizer Company, mined fertilizer in Barber, Virginia, now called Falling Spring. In 1927 Falling Spring Lime Company assumed operations until 1941. Mining operations necessitated the relocation of the falls where it now plunges only 80 feet.
Electricity generated from the falls was used to run the lime crushing plant and to operate an electric railway hauling travertine from the mine.
On November 28, 2004, Mead Westvaco donated the Falling Spring Falls and approximately 19 surrounding acres to the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Also read somewhere else that the fall is beautiful when frozen. I'll have to see that!
Friday, November 27, 2009
Heading into Covington, in search of the covered bridge, we came upon this ginormous plant, Westvaco. We didn't know what it was at the time but the place is huge. So of course I had to google it when I came home (what would we do without Google?).
Turns out this is the Mead/Westvaco paper mill. The Covington Mill is one of the most technologically advanced bleached paperboard manufacturing facilities in the world. The mill stretches 1.5 miles along the Jackson River and employs about 1,500 people. It produces more than 2,500 tons of bleached paper and paperboard each day and exports its products to more than 60 countries. This facility manufactures paperboard used for premium folding cartons, for aseptic and other liquid packaging and for printing applications that include books, greeting cards and sports cards.
According to their website, they state that their Pollution Prevention Program is always looking for new ways to reduce emissions into the air, land and water and lessen the impact of its operations on the environment, employees and community.
By the looks of those plumes of smoke going into our atmosphere, they have their job cut out for them.
Any Black Friday shoppers out there? Did you get a good deal? I've never attacked the stores at dawn on Black Friday, in fact I stay as far away from any type store today! And did I hear that Toys R Us even opened earlier this year? At midnight? I think this whole Black Friday deal is getting way out of control. I wonder if other countries do this or if it's just American greed?
For more views of the sky from all over the world, visit SKYLEY
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
At the tail end of our hike to the falls, we came upon the Roaring Run Furnace. The first mention of the furnace is in a deed dated May 1, 1838. It is believed the furnace went into blast that year and also believed that its final blast was early in April of 1865, prior to the end of the Civil War in April. No other evidence suggests that the furnace went into blast again.
For a more detailed account of the furnace, visit US Forest Service
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Sunday we dodged some rain that was predicted in our forecast so we pulled out my new book that I told you about, Historic Virginia by Emily and John Salmon.
We decided to go see the Humpback Bridge in Alleghany County. According to my book, the Humpback Bridge is the last surviving curved-span bridge in the US AND the oldest covered bridge in Virginia, completed in 1857.
Unfortunately we didn't get a chance to see the bridge (sorry no pics this time!) because we decided to stop at Roaring Run Recreational Area, on the farthest edge of Botetourt County, along the way. Roaring Run creek is well known for its trout fishing. We decided to take the short hike (less than a mile) up to the falls. It was a pretty easy walk and well worth it! The trail loops around past the furnaces (used to make iron in the mid 1800's) and ended at the picnic tables that are placed along the creek. There we sat and ate our picnic lunch and relaxed a bit before heading towards the covered bridge in Covington. With the days shorter, we ended up running out of sunlight before we could find it, but we did find a huge waterfall, Falling Springs, which I'll show you later this week!
Monday, November 23, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
This area is known for it's natural beauty and one thing that always steals my attention is the way the clouds envelop the mountain tops after a rain. You can't see where the mountains end and the sky begins. This is the way it looks right now after having a full day of rain. Tomorrow blue skies are in our forecast!
To see skies from all over the world, visit SKYLEY
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Took this at sunset on Sunday afternoon looking off my back deck. Not sure about the lighting since I'm on permanent zoom like I mentioned, but I kind of like how it turned out. Gives it a Blair Witch feel to me!
Here's something some of you might be interested in, watermarking to protect your photos. I know Babooshka has had some trouble with people stealing her images. Right now, Visual Watermark is running a special $19.95 (instead of $29.95) and $39.95 (instead of $59.95) Visual Watermark Software If you try it out, let me know what you think!
Monday, November 16, 2009
I am border-line obsessed with lines of trees. I love when I see a line of trees all the same, whether they're down an old dirt road, lining a drive way, or just in a field like these are. This was taken at the Botetourt Sports Complex on Saturday afternoon. We had just returned from Braden and Dalton's football banquet at Bellacino's and had to drop off their football gear. Football is now officially over. Nothing to do till spring baseball starts!
Still need a new camera. I am using Ashlyn's but hers is stuck on permanent zoom. The lens won't go in or out and I have to stand a mile away from anything to get a picture, which makes it tough in a small room,lol....I do have a camera on my Christmas list, hopefully Santa will be good to me!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Since it's so cold and rainy out (yes Lois, remnants of Ida!) I needed to pull out a warm photo. A couple of weeks ago, Greenfield Elementary School held its Fall Festival. I volunteered myself, Ashlyn and Christian to help out with some of the games while Braden and Dalton ran amuck. They had all sorts of carnival type games for the kids to play, a band and this rockwall were just some of the fun things going on. This is Braden attempting to climb to the top of the rockwall.
To check out skies from all over the world, visit SKYLEY!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
More fall colors taken from the Blue Ridge Parkway.
A few days ago I got a neat email from Megan over at Turner Publishing. They just published a new travel book called "Historic Virginia...Your Travel Guide To Virginia's Fascinating Historic Sites" by Emily J. and John S. Salmon. She wanted to know if I was interested in receiving a copy of the book to review with my readers, you! I said "of course"! You know me, I love visiting historical sites and being new to Va, this book is perfect for me! Anyways, the book just arrived and I am anxious to plow through it and visit many of places they've written about. I'll give you all an inside peek as I read through this awesome book! Thanks Megan and I'm going to drop you an email now!
Happy Veteran's Day!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
A couple of Sundays ago, Braden and Datlon were invited to a birthday party. It was at a skating rink in Vinton. Rather than take the roads with traffic and street lights, I took the Blue Ridge Parkway to get there. I always prefer the scenic, country roads over city/traffic/lights. The weather was so nice when we left the party so we pulled over on one of the scenic overlooks to walk around and look at the views.
Monday, November 9, 2009
The other day we drove over to Greenfield Elementary School to drop our recyclables off at their recycle station. The fall colors on the mountain were so distracting to me that while the kids were tossing our plastic bottles and boxes in the bins, I was busy taking pictures,lol
Friday, November 6, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Notice all the lemons tossed in? Supposedly Jackson thought of lemons as a "rare treat ... enjoyed greatly whenever it could be obtained from the enemy's camp" (From Wikipedia. I didn't come prepared with lemons so we didn't leave a lemon this time.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
This is Traveller's final resting spot. Linda Donald of the Lee Chapel and Museum says this about the pennies left on the grave:
"This custom has no recorded information. Our Director says that the coins are simply a matter of people leaving something at the burial site of an icon. However, I grew up in Lexington and was taught that Traveller was to be provided for and was never to be without. It is my belief that people leave the coins so that Traveller's every need can be met".
We left our pennies there as well! You can read more on Traveller by clicking the link on yesterday's post.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
I mentioned in yesterday's post that they kept Traveller's stable open and full of hay for his return. Corker wanted to know more and after digging around, I was able to find on Wikipedia this "The stable where he lived his last days, directly connected to the Lee House on campus, traditionally stands with its doors left open; this is said to allow his spirit to wander freely."
So there you have it! For more on Traveller Click Here
Monday, November 2, 2009
The Lee House was built for General Robert E. Lee while he was President of Washington and Lee. In October 1870, R.E. Lee died in the dining room, and was buried in the crypt of Lee Chapel on campus.
A brick stable for Lee’s famous horse, Traveller, was attached off a back corner, and to this day, they still keep hay in it in case Traveller returns. I will show a picture of the stable tomorrow.
The house is closed to the public.
For more information on the house and Gen. R. E. Lee, CLICK HERE
And for another great read, Carriage Rides and Confederate Ghosts, CLICK HERE


Historians and scholars will find favor with the research of Dr. Larry S. Milner, MD, JD, MLS, in his judicious analysis showing the connection between the ancient cultures of the Hebrews and Greeks.
In this book, Dr. Milner analyzes how it is possible that the Hebrews who remained with Moses after their exodus from Egypt could have influenced the development of Greek civilization.
In his previous books, Dr. Milner provides the connection of how the Hebrews who broke away from the Exodus also influenced the Mycenaean culture.
By compiling biblical manuscripts that were circulating throughout the lands of Israel and Judah during the Archaic Age in Greece, the opportunity was created for this material to be studied by the early Greek philosophers to discern answers to the questions they were raising about the nature of the world. These Hebraic concepts made more sense to the Greeks than those promoted by stories from other cultures. Dr. Milner points out that the proof of this is found in the many similarities between the writings of all the Greek philosophers, and the eventual completed biblical text.
- Paperback: 240 pages
- Author: Dr. Larry S. Milner
- ISBN-13: 978-1946124005