why were norman castles rebuilt in stone?
stone was readily available, its strength was many times better
than wood or wattle and dorb and it held up to attack, especially
fires
because they had a huge hold on the agriculture at the time. mainly tobacco and cotton. "the urim and thummim(which are also in the bible, by the way) came with the golden plates. there was no hat used in the translation, whoever told you this was lying."

http://www.lds.org/ensign/1993/07/a-treasured-testament

http://www.lds.org/friend/1974/09/a-peaceful-heart

why would you assume that this explanation of how a portion of the book of mormon was translated is a lie? is it because the idea is so entirely ridiculous, that one could not have possibly claimed to put a rock into a hat, one that wasn't found with the plates or one that wasn't the urim or thummim, and put their face against the hat to see a glowing piece of parchment with the translation? does that appear so ridiculous to you that you would accuse people of lying about this method? 

seer stones. i'm quite certain the lds members here are tired of me barging in to put in my two cents about this ridiculous "spiritual technology". and that's really the counter to the rational argument, to apply the notion that these seer stones are somewhat of a technology of a higher power, left behind for centuries so that the people of the 1800s could find them, and claim to be village seers, or see things that are normally unseen to the natural eye. people like sally chase, chauncy hart, william and joshua stafford, and joseph smith, and countless others during this time period. one member said the vault is filled with seer stones. 

the rational argument is that there is no technology in these stones. there is nothing spiritual about them. we have come across many claimed seers today, and not one has been verified under a controlled experiment, to prove that they can utilize their seer stones to find anything. think about all of the people that claimed they had seer stones, you're telling me this technology that was found as commonly as it was in the 1800s no longer works today? did the batteries run out? if it is a technology of god, why would he allow people to attempt to use them as tools to locate redundant lost items or treasures? if it is a technology of god, why doesn't the current prophet use them regularly? why don't missionaries use them as some sort of training wheels for receiving revelations? why doesn't the prophet use them to locate nephite and lamanite artifacts? remember, the prophet has access to the same stones that joseph smith used, why aren't they being used as joseph smith used them? 

joseph smith found his first one while borrowing a neighbor's, and he then used that one to find the one while they were digging a well. why would joseph smith use the seer stone instead of solely the urim and thummim to translate the book of mormon? because some in his community claimed him to be a fraud by using seer stones while money digging. in order to squash the claims by the community that he was fraudulent for previously using fake stones, he used them in the translation process to prove that his powers and that his stones were real, that his gift was from god. this reinforced his claims as a seer to people who were on the fence on accepting the claims from critics that he was fraudulent before.

mormons believe in these tools as a technology. so prove it. we're not the ones with our hands over our ears, we're the ones waiting for you to show us that your "miracles" are some sort of advanced technologies left by gods. seems like a waste for these technologies to spend their time rotting away inside of a locked vault.

edit: here's a manner in which the mormons can utilize their seer stones. instead of traveling door to door running into people that have zero desire to listen to anything said about the book of mormon or about mormonism altogether and most likely end up slamming the door in faces; why don't the missionaries use the seer stones to locate the people that are actually sincere in their determination to find truth, that would be willing to listen and read the book of mormon, maybe those who are willing to have their lives changed around? wouldn't that be such a useful way to utilize these technologies that you're telling me about, the ones currently rotting away under secrecy?

"nappa mocks the application of faith to the accomplishment of god's purposes."

how does the utilization of 1800s folk magic comply with using faith for god's purposes? faith shouldn't be reliant on witnesses of miracles to discover truth, yet your god employs this tactic regularly throughout the bible and in the application to the translation of your standard works.

tell me more about why you're not employing seer stones anymore. if they were clearly used as abundantly as they were in the 1800s, i'm curious as to why all of a sudden they stopped working? not "true," but "mythologized."
it's possible that it's a dim remembrance of a devastating local flood, exaggerated (as such tales always are) by the addition of details the audience would find culturally significant.

in the same way that the garden of eden story may have been based on a dim remembrance of a time before agriculture, when people lived by hunting and gathering.

interestingly enough, one of the best-supported hypotheses on the subject posits that the two are actually dimly remembering the same basic event - the sometimes catastrophic flooding that occurred at the end of the last ice age as sea levels rose, combined with the permanent loss of lush territory that supported humans before they learned to plant and farm. so the garden of eden would have been about a real place that is now submerged under the persian gulf, and would have had the modern tigris and euphrates, as well as the now-dry gihon and pishon rivers running through it.
possibly, the expulsion from eden was about when the bottom of the basin flooded and they were forced to flee, while noah's flood was about when the seas finally stopped rising. and they could settle down and plant vineyards. god is not responsible for dong more harm than satan. if it were not for satan, the people would not have left god and followed him. 
the people obeyed satan rather than god because satan made everything look so wonderful, and fun and the people liked it.

god hates sin. he gave the people every opportunity to quit sinning and obey him but they wouldn't listen. sodom and gomorrah were so wicked and the people would not listen and obey god. god hates sin, he told them that he would destroy them if they didn't turn from their wicked ways but they would not listen. so god destroyed both cities. who's fault was it? not god's he told them what he was going to do.

noah preached to the people to give up there wicked ways. he preached the whole time he was building the ark but they would not listen. they were given every opportunity. but then the day came and the only righteous people were noah and his family and they were the only humans that were saved from the flood.

who's fault was this, not god's for he warned them of the coming flood and ask them to worship god and obey him. they chose not to for they didn't want to give up their wicked ways. so god kept his promise and destroyed everyone except noah and his family. 

if you blame god for the death of these people, you are blaming the wrong one. god wanted them to change their way of life they just didn't want to. because they don't want to go down with the ship.  countries of europe o germany  82 million people  initially was made up several tribes, royal families  unified late 1800s early 1900s  was divided after wwii  west germany = part of europe, democratic  east germany = ussr, communist  contains 16 states  highly urbanized  89% of the population  a leader in europe : manufactoring/economic stability  largest economy of europe  has the autobahn (interstate system) o france  64 million people  oldest state in europe  urban  paris 2.2 million people  contains the highest mountain in europe  mount blanc  huge in agriculture (biggest producer in europe)  cattle, grapes, cheese  known for  rich food  architecture  art o great britain  uk  62.7 million people  regions:  england, scotland, wales, northern ireland  surrounded by water:  north sea, english channel, and the atlantic ocean  the us's strongest ally  national dish:  chicken tikka masala  prominent religion  protestant o ireland  highest growing economy in the eu  uses the euro  gained independence form the uk in 1921 
  conflict between the catholics and protestants  irish republican army (ira)  english and gaelic are the national languages  strong irish influence in america  new york  boston  chicago o italy  60.5 million people  major states or regions  tuscany, milan, venice, piedmont  rich urbanized north  poor rural south  sicily is very poor and underdeveloped  origin of la cosa nostra (sicilian mafia)  milan-turin-genoa triangle  heavy manufacturing  milan is the largest city in italy o "rock" of gibraltar  2.6 sq mile area (peninsula iberian)  south spain  owned by britain  surrendered by spain in 1713 (via the war of the spanish succession)  one of the most densely populated areas in the world  12,840 people per square mile  official language is english  important militarily and economically  access to the mediterranean sea from the atlantic  recent events in ukraine o major divisions after the cold war o country divided politically  east = pro russia  west = pro europe o russia needs access to the ocean and resources  military and economic factor… o babushkas of chernobyl  self-settlers  wildlife  returning in force  invisible enemy  women who were children during stalin's reign.  starvation  stalin burned down cities and towns along with all of the agriculture. 
  lived through wwii with the nazi's.  concentration camps or forced labor.  relationships do not equal causation  the world health organization says 4000 deaths while green peace says 10000 deaths.  the women are out living the men because the men are drinking and smoking, across the world it is more accepted for a man to drink and smoke than it is for a woman.  in that case you have higher numbers of men drinking and smoking and dying from that instead of the radiation poisoning.  the town was built around chernobyl.  the people who were relocated seem to be dying sooner than the ones who came back. o russia is the biggest country by land area. o you can see alaska from russia, only 4km between the two. o physical geography  sw russia desert  main area of settlement near moscow  cannot connect to any waterways.  caspian sea o 4 regions  russian core  majority of the population  siberia  freezing  where people would be exiled  eastern frontier  desert section  separation between siberia and frontier is climate and culture  far east  not many settlements  hard to navigate the land o approximately 75% of russia is siberia has far as land area o a majority of the population lives in the russian core and the eastern frontier o physical russian geography  russian plain  west of the ural mountains; moscow (core of russia)  ural mountains (2000 miles long)  low relief mountain chain separating east/west russia  western siberia (constant elevation) 
  flat plains and forests  central siberia  moderate mountains; very cold (artic circle)  eastern highlands (mostly the yakutski basin)  one of the most remote places on earth o climate  sw desert  russian core humid continental (northern midwest into canada)  majority is subarctic. (freezing)  tundra only has a few centimeters a year that is thawed for a limited amount of time. o interesting facts about russia  continentally has a huge impact on russia's climate  similar to the upper mid-west and canada  economy is rising  it depends heavily on oil  becoming increasingly more "modern" and "western"  red square  a city square block where the government is housed  misconceptions  not called red square because it is called a communist country  not because the buildings are red  it is because the language has evolved.  used to be the slums until the 1400s o the soviet union  u.s.s.r. (cccp)  union of soviet socialistic republics  formed in 1917 after the bolshevik revolution  most citizens were very poor, unhapy with autocratic tsar systerm  industrial revolution was occuring in europe = caused  a federation of power  split of power with no true ruler  russification: the idea of replacing ethnic  areas with russians; ethnic groups moved east  command economy: a system where the government assigns sectors of production to particular areas with disregard to economic o spread of the soviet influence  after wwii, communism spread into eastern europe  china and korea 1950s  cuba in 1959 with castro 
  se asia in 1954  africa in 1970s  created tensions with the us and europe  cold war  agriculture cut off by ukraine o space race  1957 soviet union  1958 us  1965 france  1970 japan  1970 china  1971 uk  1979 esa  1980 india o post-soviet union  the russian federation  becoming more "european" culturally and politically  only 3 men have been president in the past 22 years  yeltsin  putin  medvedev  putin (again)  test april 12th o eastern europe(balkans & ukraine, rock of gibraltar) o sub-sahara africa o north africa  map quiz 6 o east asia and russia  monday 4/11 -friday 4/15  spread of religion o oldest religion  hinduism o abraham was born  ur o fastest spreading religion  islam o islam is a religion, muslim's follow islam  ddt in africa: malaria v. health risks o ethical concern  protection of the diversity of wildlife v. malaria victims dying in africa o tuberculosis is mainly in the north o diarrheal diseases due to unclean water  north africa and the middle east o interesting facts 
  the middle east is known as the "crossroads of the world" because it lies in between asia, africa and europe  hence the name "middle"  the term "arab" refers to an ethnic group not a religion  not all arabs are muslims  this confusion also exists with judaism  naswa an acronym for north africa/south-west asia  iran is the former persian empire  very large portion of the population is under 30  educated  unemployed o original three abrahamic faith  judaism (first abrahamic religions)  christianity  islam  monotheistic  the belief in one god o populations  egypt= nile river  turkey= black sea and mediterranean sea  iran= caspian sea and persian gulf  north africa = mediterranean sea  majority of populations live near water because of the dry climat o the birthplace of civilization  birthplace of man is ethiopia  fertile crescent = mesopotamia = between two rivers  neolithic = 10,000 years ago humans began to domesticate plants and animals, learned to irrigate their fields and grow the population  birthplace of many foundational concepts:  maps  60 minutes per hour; 24 hours per day  trigonometry  early medicine  irrigation  written text  the egyptian empire  highly advanced  second oldest language  hieroglyphics  writing paper, irrigation, domestication of wheat  sailing  architecture, masonry (pyramids)  polytheistic and belief of an afterlife 
  kings were called paharos  sun god rah  oil in naswa  saudi arabia number 1 oil producers in the world and the us's biggest alli in the middle east  began in iran  majority of the oil was found after ww2  opec  orgainzation of petroleum exporting countries  created to try to not have a monoply  8 naswa countries  can cause high prices for those who don't have oil  results of opec  has totally transformed the middle east since the 1960s  positives  urban transformation  infrastructure investments  industrialization  foreign investment and involvement  negatives  variable income  regional disparities  migration from other realms  nasaw dynamic  fragmented modernization  many issues in the middle east and north america  wealth disparities  most naswa people are poor, not rich  typical iranian makes $10,840 usd a year  qatar citizen makes $103,900 usd a year  religion differences internally (shia v. sunnis) and externally (christianity/judaism)  old autocratic government leaders and young populations = cultural issues  arab spring (2010-present)  started with a fruit vender. couldn't sale his fruit so in protest he set himself on fire, dying a few weeks later  spread quickly through social media  two things in common  old rulers who have been there for a long time  young, well-educated, unemployed population  cultural regions of the middle east 
  30 countries  6 regions  egypt and the lower nial = the heart  the maghred (sahara)  the middle east  largely islamic  the arabian peninsula = richest oil  the empire states = iran and turkey  turkestan  transition zone  african tz is the primary area where the sunni and the shia are having problems  egypt  suez canal  get the oil out  saudi arabia  desert  iran  iranian revolution in 1979 I am myself a structural engineer, there's no reason you can't use timber. From what I understand of what you're saying, its the beam that trims the stairs and the wall is built off of it going up to your loft. If the wall you mention is stud, not solid brick or block, timber could well be man enough for the job - but I'd expect to see a large timber beam, or 2 or 3 joists joined together to form a wide beam. If you're in doubt ask a local structural engineer to make an assessment and size a new steel if required. You will be looking at around £250 - £350 for their services (estimated by your description). if you ask a swimming pool engineer, the unanimous answer will be that an inground gunite pool or in-ground shotcrete pool (synonymous terms) are the best types of inground pools. gunite is durable and highly customizable. gunite is also the type of inground pool you will find almost exclusively at commercial locations like hotels, campgrounds and country clubs.

gunite pools are engineered to withstand harsh new england winters and other vicissitudes of nature. there is a misconception (not everything on the internet is true!) that gunite pools are a better choice for homeowners in the south. that is simply not true. no matter where it is located, a properly engineered inground gunite pool will stand up over time better than any other type of inground pool. a liner pool is nothing more than an above-ground pool put in the ground with some additional supports to hold up the walls; a fiberglass pool is no different than a fiberglass bathtub, just larger.

if the winter frost can damage a gunite pool (as the “competition” states), that same frost will surely damage a fiberglass or vinyl wall. a gunite pool is engineered to have tensile strength, not compressive strength, which means it will flex as required, and due to the thickness of the gunite we install, along with the rebar we use, you will end up with the best quality pool possible. are you going to re-post all the time?
why are managers and senior officers reporting to another manager? spellbreaker: secret of the leprechauns (1996)
starring john bluthal, godfrey james, gregory smith , tina martin, sylvester mccoy, madeleine potter as morgan de la fey/nula 
imdb synopsis:
fairyhill, ireland, is a place filled with mysteries and legends, leprechauns and magic. for an american boy like mike dennehy, it's a world of wondrous adventure. vacationing in fairyhill for the summer, mike makes friends with a fascinating group of rather unlucky leprechauns who are being threatened by morgan de le fay, also known as nula, queen of the dead, an unbelievably beautiful and sinister witch. can nula destroy centuries of leprechaun power? will evil triumph? 
here's a way to find out if this is your movie~part 1 on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=868bjyjy\_ac 

this is the sequel to "leapin' leprechauns" (1995). here's the premise of the first film:
michael dennehy lives on a piece of land in ireland that is the underground home to leprechauns and fairies. he gives tours of his land and ignites the imaginations of those who visit the farm about the fairy folk. he is joined by his family, including his grandson, who also has a charming way with the little people.

edit: "camelot" and "excalibur" are set in england, not ireland. also, neither has a "boy and his grandpa".