text:
Let Me Tell You About My Gear...
* Cue Wes Anderson montage scene with Mark Mothersbaugh theme music GEAR!! I dunno maybe it's a guy thing - maybe it's just a thing. But gear makes the hobby.
As a boy it started with baseball. The glove was a magical extension of your body and you exercised it. You put a ball in the web and wrapped rubber bands around break it in, you oiled it, you wore it around the house pounding your fist into it. Your bat was your first multi-tool and you had a bucket full of spiders and baseballs of varying condition and lethality in the backyard shed. Cleats - check. Cap - check. Cup - check. Game time.
You moved on, got into music and you bought a guitar. You had to have the cool sunburst paint job, the right strap, the right practice amp, the whammy bar, and at least one really great distortion pedal. You experimented learning just what the perfect pick was for your personal style taking years discovering the path, the path to the perfect setup.
I went overboard when it came to skateboarding. I had reappropriated my fishing tackle box with all its little compartments now employed in the storage of used or extra bushings, nuts, bolts, risers, washers, bearings, slightly used bearings, bearings I should throw away, casings of busted bearings stuck in old wheels, tiny wheels from the early 1990s, old trucks, my older brother's cracked trucks that I kept like a trophy, king pins, curb wax, Husker Du's, Husker Don'ts, spacers, stickers and stuffed way back underneath the bed - old cracked, snapped and "focused" (purposefully snapped in four equal pieces) skateboard decks. And of course the stacks of VHS skate videos, dog-eared CCS catalogs, and poured over and ripped up Transworld magazines - all the various ephemera, accoutrement, and kit and kaboodle.
And I'm not gonna even talk about $$$Sssnowboarding.
But that was all child's play, training for the real deal. The real gear. You see, although astrophotography has a long history of amateur involvement (first recorded astrophoto was of the moon and taken via daguerreotype by Louis Daguerre himself!) , it was mostly accomplished through dry photographic plate processes utilizing large observatory telescopes. But throughout the 1970s-1990s with the advent of CCD (charge-coupled device) cameras, webcams, digital cameras and in combination with innovations in telescope and go-to/tracking mount technology we saw the rise of a new standing army of astrophotographers getting better and better at cheaply (relatively speaking) pulling down the heavens and stuffing them into your mindblown faces (more on the history and processes of astrophotography in a later post).
I have to give credit here to the iPhone. That wondrous conflict-mineral laden computer/camera/phone/totem/pacifier/plaything that fits right into your pocket was instrumental in getting me hooked on the hobby. A friend and I were out at the shore for the spring 2012 supermoon, trying as well to spy Saturn through patchy cloud cover over Long Beach and a sudden, reactionary force swooped down upon me, I thought "I'll snap a photo with my phone!" (said no one ever before this century) and within a few moments I had taken my first astrophoto:
With the flash still on like a total n00b.
All that is to say that I still really haven't broken out of the beginner stage and my gear list represents the culminated efforts of lots of research, a few Christmases, a few birthdays, and some extra hours at the office slowly allowing me to gain experience with multiple introductory methods and techniques. I'm sure I'll make a few updated posts as I drop a few thousand doll-hairs and level up, but back to the present and my gear:
The Scope:
This is my light bucket and "she" doesn't have a name because I didn't name "her" because I don't do that crap. It's an Orion XT8 8" Dobsonian (RIP its creator, John Dobson, popularizer of 'sidewalk astronomy' who past away today 1/15/2014) Reflector (it uses a primary and secondary mirror to reflect light as opposed to a Newtonian which employs glass lenses) telescope. This is one of the simplest telescopes you can buy and is the standard type for beginners, provided that you can haul around ~30-40 lbs. without injury. It tilts up and down and swivels 360 degrees on it's base allowing the user full access to the heavens above with only a red dot sight (ACOG sight for you FPS gamers) mounted near the eyepiece for navigation. This means that the scope is not computerized and you must learn your way around by 'star-hopping' through the constellations using 1) assorted astronomical facts and charts stuffed into your memory 2) star wheels 3) smartphone apps 4) big thick reference guides like Burnham's Celestial Handbook and the smaller National Audubon Society Field Guide To The Night Sky (more on books later) and one of my favorite methods 5) aimless scanning.
The Eyepieces, accessories, etc:
I use the provided 1.25" (diameter) 25mm Sirius Plossl eyepiece along with a 2x Barlow lens (effectively doubling magnification) and I also made use of a friend's 16 and 9mm eyepieces before the move to AZ. I plan to make the jump to wide-angle 2" eyepieces, Barlows, and filters for the increased field of view or FOV as soon as economically possible. Solar observing and imaging is made possible by my full-aperture 8" Orion Safety Film solar filter and is an indispensable member in the arsenal, enabling off-hours observation and imaging of sunspots and sometimes even faint filaments or other solar surface details. I borrow binoculars for the time being, but I really want to get these snazzy image-stabilizing binos that will set me back a cool $300. Also, absolutely necessary is a few random red, rear bike lights and especially my Energizer brand red/white headlamp (the red lights are imperative to maintaining dark adapted vision) which is always kept close.
The Imagers:
I already mentioned the iPhone. Its a 4th generation and has nothing special about other than it being a combination phone/camera/computer that fits in my pocket and is made from minerals mined by 3rd world children. I did make a nifty DIY mount using an old plastic smartphone case, parts from a clamp for a bike light, and a bunch of black electrician's tape. It worked pretty well until I realized that 1) it got me no closer to doing decent long exposure iPhone photography because my long exposure app doesn't really cut the mustard (more on apps later) and 2) I could basically maintain enough steadiness with just mah two hands to accomplish what I could with a camera phone (nothing against Orion's smartphone mount, they look pretty handy). But it was a fun exercise in making my own gear (MYOG).
My DSLR (digital single lens reflex) camera is a Canon Rebel EOS XSi (not yet modified for the IR filter). Its one of the "quieter" cameras that Canon makes and is thus perfectly suited for the purposes of astrophotography as working with such faint or distant light sources ramps up the amount of "noise" of any given image. I have two lenses that I am using right now, 1) a standard Canon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II lens, but it is outfitted with a UV filter and combination Super Wide Angle/Macro Lens made by Neewer that all screws onto the front (all items towards the medium-low cost end of the spectrum) and 2) a Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III Telephoto Zoom Lens (which is also towards the medium-low or "intro" end of the spectrum, but seems pretty durable for the price for most anything an amateur is going to get into).
A quick aside: In Optics, the f/, or F stop or Focal Ratio is the ratio of the lens's focal length to the diameter of the entrance pupil (the image as 'seen' through the front of the lens system). It is a dimensionless (without physicality) number that is a quantitative measure of lens speed. As the f/ stop number increases, the aperture gets smaller and light gathering power decreases (from wikipedia) and a similar effect governs telescope optics:
I'll probably invest in some "faster" lenses as I progress, but I'm pretty psyched on my current configuration. Other than all that I have my camera bag, lens cloths, backup batteries, charger, memory cards, usb cables, a remote shutter release for all my long exposures, and a DIY film canister mounted PS3 webcam (Infrared Filter modified) for use in lunar and planetary videos which are then separated into frames and stacked to bring out detail - a technique that I haven't yet ventured into due to software deficiencies. Also, a big ups to my moms for handing down her video camera tripod made by SUNPAK - its totally smooth and sturdy (currently trying to modify its quick release mount to be pinned to my backpack shoulder strap for use in wilderness hiking/photography) and really facilitates quick setups, operations, and mobility.
So that's about it for my gear setup and hopefully I will have to do many many many updates as you all begin to learn about prime focus adapters, focal reducers, EQ mounts, Alt/Az mounts, tracking, CCDs, Oxygen III and H-Alpha filters, SCTs vs. APO Doublet or Triplet refractors, autoguiders, all-sky cams, various software programs, dark/light/bias frames, green laser pointers and red laser collimators. And that's not even going into how bad I want to build my own large aperture Dobsonian telescope and 360 deg. swivel binocular chair:
Cheers and thanks for reading! Clear skies John..


text:
The 5 biggest malware threats against your devices
Your devices may already be captured by a botnet without your knowledge. That could have major consequences for both you and the internet in general.
Your devices may already be captured by a botnet without your knowledge. That could have major consequences for both you and the internet in general.
These five examples leave no doubt that the Internet of Things (IoT) is way too sloppily secured.
The Internet of Things has the potential to make our lives easier. We now have the possibility to, constantly and in real time, have resources and information at the tip of our fingers.
Smart cities – we have all heard of them. The future. Intelligence in every corner. However, smart cities require smart security.
Smart cities require clever IoT security. The lack of well-defined security standards and regulations can turn smart city technology implementations into overwhelming challenges.
Even the most advanced technology can't protect you if the people using it aren't taking precautions.
SECITS Sweden AB, provider of the next generation of IP based security solutions, uses AddSecure Link for video surveillance. Magnus Carlsson, leader of the western region, explains how.
These past months we've seen clear signs that someone's building another massive botnet. This army of hijacked IoT devices seems to be significantly larger than last year, when the botnet Mirai knocked out thousands of companies and institutions.
If you don't secure your IoT solutions, you're giving hackers free reign to do as they please. These five examples illustrate what you're risking.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Ater my first visit to this Second World War bomb storage bunker in Llanberis several months ago, it was time to go back and have a look inside...with some company this time!
Heading back there with Andy, a seasoned veteran of disused abandoned dark places felt a little more comfortable, plus he had all the right gear for this sort of thing, mainly torches....and lots of them!!
Entering through a door where the train would have come in, you find yourself greeted by darkness with just a small amount of light cast by the open door, this is as far as I got on my last visit due to a lack of suitable lighting and there is no way you could go any further without any, it is absolutely pitch black in there.
As you make your way in there is a series of openings on either side. To the right of the tracks is one room with platforms, the left leads to a further five large storage areas, this is where we headed.
The rooms are large, empty spaces with damp floors, signs of previous visitors are clear to see with graffiti on the walls and the odd empty beer can lying around. The first room you come across has an old lift shaft in the centre which would have taken the bombs up to the upper level, and at the back there is a staircase.
Once upstairs there are seven of these large storage area's. The picture above was taken about a third of the way down so you can see just how far these rooms go on for. The rooms go on and on, one after another separated by arch ways, it's difficult to imagine the scale of the operation here and the amount of bombs that were stored here.
It's so dark on the upper level that you can barely see your hand in front of your face and there's a chill to the air. We had torches, off camera flash and some smoke bomb and played around trying out dramatic shots.
After awhile we headed back to the ground level for a last look around and at the back of one the rooms we came across a big steel door that someone had conveniently cut a small hole in, unfortunately too small to get through(as someone pointed out by writing in marker pen above the hole 'can you please make this bigger before my next visit'!). Looking through the hole is a tunnel cut into the rock with a stone floor that looked to have tracks where a cart might have carried something somewhere, where and what is unknown, the tunnel bares off to the left and you barely see 10ft into it. It's a shame the hole is so small because this looks it needs further investigating.
A great day out and hopefully will get back again sometime before it's inaccessible and being used for something else(rumoured). And maybe the hole leading to the tunnel will have been made bigger!
*I don't recommend that anybody visits this site, it is dangerous and could lead to injury or harm. Anyone who does venture there does so at their own risk*


text:
On the 6th August 2017, James arrived in Meteora, Greece. Having covered the 4071KM between checkpoints across Europe, from Belgium to Greece, in 8days 23hours and 14minutes, winning The Transcontinental Race No.5 (2017).
James dedicated his his win to Mike Hall, Eric Fishbein and Frank Simons, who were tragically killed in road traffic collisions while competing in ultra endurance races in 2017.
The prize for winning is simply the respect and admiration from other racers, the highest award achievable, and something that makes James very proud.
Listen to some 'Recordings From the Road' by James during the race
Read more about the race, at The Transcontinental Blog
Read more about the race, at The Guardian
Credit: Lian Van Leeuwen, Transcontinental Race No.5 Finishers Photo


text:
Poultry has seen the greatest increase in production in recent decades and this trend will likely continue. Both poultry eggs and meat are well positioned to meet demands for increased supply from our growing world population. The importance of poultry as a source of high quality protein in the form of meat and eggs had been established for a long time. The advance technology in management of poultry farms with specialized breeds and feed companies made eggs and poultry meat more widely available throughout the world than before. Recently, the wide fluctuation in ingredient costs has led to greater emphasis on poultry production economics. If wastes and neglected by-products from agriculture and food industry could be transferred into animal protein, this would solve a great problem, helping people of developing countries to avoid hunger and spare cereals and legumes for human consumption (Al-Harthi et al. 2009). The eggs production was increased as consumers become more educated about the nutritive value of the egg. Eggs are relatively inexpensive per unit of protein and energy contained in yolk and albumen, so eggs consumption continues to increase in developing countries. The crude protein for fish meal in Sudan is 43.5% with 9.6% content of ether extract (Omer, 2000). The sun-drying time for (5 and 7 days) were similar in crude protein (50.77%) and ether extract (17.13%) (Elobied, 2003). Based on these observations, some studies have shown that poultry by-product meal cannot replace more than 50% of fish meal in fish diets (Fowlerm, 1991), but other studies have shown that with the recent improvement of the quality of poultry by-product meal it could replace 75% or 100% of fish meal without significant decrease in fish growth (Alexis et al. 1985). Objectives of the study to make use of the disposed fishes of the White River Nile in Sudan after a certain simple local treatments, i.e. (sun drying, roasting, direct boiling and indirect boiling) and to replace the imported concentrate for layers diets from 19 weeks (pre-production period) through the production period up to 40 weeks of age.
Site of the study
The experiment had been carried out at Rural Development and ExtensionCenter, Faculty of Animal Production, University of Gezira, El-Managil town Gezira State, Sudan, (14.25 N-32.99 E, 76 km. western Wad-Medani town) during the period from May 2013 to August 2013. The temperature at the Gezira State ranged between 20 ˚C to 47 ˚C; with relative humidity 45-80% while the raining level during autumn season (July, August, September and October) ranges between 110-120 mL (ARC, 2008).
Local disposed fish collection and preparations
More than 500 kg of disposed fish was brought from the White Nile River, Khor Abugassaba site 15 km north Eldueim town, central Sudan in April 2012. Usually after the flood season some fish are trapped at cultivated rice and irrigation canals. When the water run out, trapped fish are naturally died with some spoilage symptoms. Different fish types have been collected and identified which include: Tilapia spp. (Bulti), Mormyrius niloticus (Khshmelbanat), Shilbe mystus (Shellbaya), Labeo nilotcus (Debsa), Synodontis nilotcus (Gurgor) and Protopterus aethiopicus (Um-koru). The whole quantity has been grinded by commercial mill then the raw grinded fish stored in a plastic bag to avoid moisture, microbial contamination and parasites (Tables 1 and 2). Then the raw ground fish was treated by heat as the flowing treatments:
Sun drying treatment (SDT)
A quantity of fish were treated by sun drying in which 125 kg of raw ground fish were exposed to direct sun radiation. A screen-net was used to protect processing fish meal from all direct contact with animals and insects. The sun-treated fish were exposed to direct sun radiation for 72 hours. The sun-dried fish was weighed and stored in plastic bags to avoid moisture, microbial contamination and parasites and put in a clean and aerated room.
Roasting treatment (RT)
Approximately 125 kg of raw ground fish was treated by roasting in special local designed metal drum. The metal drum was exposed to moderate stove gas fire for 15 minutes with manual turned drum. The roasted product was weighed and stored in a plastic bags and put in a clean and aerated room.
Direct boiling treatment (DBT)
The direct boiling treatment depend on cooking about 125 kg of raw grinding fish on an alumium pots and gas stove. Tap water was boiled, after water start boiling gradually raw fish added, then the mixture boiled for 20 minutes on gas stove, then the mixture dried by air in the cage which been used for the first treatment then the direct boiling fish meal was weighed and stored in a plastic bags and put in a clean and aerated room.
Indirect boiling treatment (IBT)
Locally constructed pots were made of double wall aluminum, similar to waterpass aim. The heats from gas stove during the treatment was transmitted via water between wall of aluminum pots. The raw ground fish were placed inside the inner pots and tap water was poured in the space between the two bowls, that will transferred the heat indirectly to the raw ground fish, which subjected to the indirect boiling fish. The double bowl was covered. The treatments for ground raw fish depend on gas stove fire process till the water boiling point, then left for fifteen minutes. Then indirect boiling fish subjected to drying via screen-net cage. Then, the indirect boiling fish was weighed and stored in a plastic bag and put in a clean and aerated room.
Chemical analyses of the treated samples
Table 3 show the samples chemically analyzed according to AOAC (2005) at biochemistry lab, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Khartoum and Soba National Laboratory. Metabolizable energy (ME) value of the feed ingredients were calculated according to equation of Ellis (1981):
CP: crude protein.
EE: ether extracts.
NFE: nitrogen free extract.
CF: crude fibre.
Experimental birds
A total of 390 pullets of Hy-line W-98 at 19 weeks of age were used. The pullets were randomly distributed in 13 treatment groups, each replicated 3 times with 10 birds per replicate, to test the disposal White River Nile fish with supper concentrate.
Statistical analysis
Analysis of variance ANOVA, Steel and Torrie (1980) was performed on all data using the CRBD procedure of SPSS (2012). Differences between dietary treatments were tested using Duncan (1955).
Experimental rations
The diet was formulated according to Hy-line W-98 performance standards manual (Tables 1 and 2). The diets were used during the pre-productive period and the production period.
Table 1 Ingredients and calculated analysis ofthe experimental diets fed to laying hens during pre-production and production periods (19-40 weeks of age)*
* Diets formulated according to Hy-line W-98 Performance Standards Manual.
1 Disposed fish.
2 Supplied per kilogram of diet: vitamin A (retinyl acetate+retinyl palmitate): 6050 μg; vitamin D3: 55 μg; vitamin E (α-tocopheryl acetate): 22.05 μg; vitamin K3: 2 mg; vitamin B1: 5 mg; vitamin B2: 6 mg; vitamin B3: 60 mg; vitamin B6: 4 mg; vitamin B12: 0.02 mg; Pantothenic acid: 10.0 mg; Folic acid: 6 mg; Biotin: 0.15 mg and Ethoxyquin: 0.625 mg.
Table 2 Ingredients and calculated analysis ofthe experimental diets fed to laying hens during pre-production and production periods (19-40 weeks of age)*
Table 3 Proximate analyses of the ingredients used in feed formulation
ME: metabolizable energy; CP: crude protein; EE: ether extracts; CF: crude fibre and NFE: nitrogen free extract.
* Calculated metabolizable energy according to equation of Ellis (1981).
Chemical analyses of treated disposed fish samples
Table 1 shows chemical analyses of the treated disposed fish samples and feed ingredients used in the experiments. Metabolizable energy was calculated using Ellis (1981) equation ME MJ/kg (0.004184 kcal/kg= 1.549 + 0.012 CP + 0.0275 EE + 0.0148 NFE - 0.0034 CF). The crude protein content of treated disposed fish for sun-dried, roasting, direct and indirect boiled samples of treated disposed fish were very high (50.75, 52.50, 50.55 and 50.05%, respectively) compared to super concentrate (34.41%). Ether extract content of treated disposed fish samples scored < 8% compared to imported super concentrate-control (3.3%). The crude fibre of treated disposed fish samples scored < 4.06% and super concentrate was 13.88%. The nitrogen free extract value was scored < 4.56%, which was less than value of super concentrate (25.81%). All treated disposed fish ash content, calcium and phosphorus was high than imported supper concentrated. Calculated ME values for testing treated disposed fish scored < 9.876 MJ/kg with low value for imported super concentrate (9.294 MJ/kg) compared to all treated disposed fish. The chemical composition of treated disposed fish and the feed stuffs used were shown in Table 1. All of the treated disposal fish samples were a good source of protein and its protein content was very close to many previous studies (Omer Dar-elgalal, 2012; Salih et al. 2012).
Feed intake (g/bird/week)
Tables 4a, 4b and 4c show a significant differences (P<0.05) in the feed intake of treated disposed fish and control during the pre-production period. Mutayoba et al. (2003) found out that, the feed intake during 19th to 21th weeks were less than the present study, also the present study results of feed intake was higher than Chowdhury et al. (2005). Additionally Shim et al. (2013) reported that feed intake were 87.96 to 90.96 g/bird/day during the period (19-21 week), which was higher than the present study results.
Body weight
Table 5 show the growth performance of pre-layers body weight during the pre-production period showed the same variation of progress in body weight during the growing period with a little increase in weight gain. The present results of body weight were less than Al-Harthi et al. (2009) who found the body weight at the 20th week were (1303.8 to 1342.83 g/bird).
Body weight (g/bird/2 weeks)
Table 5 showed the body weight of the treated disposed fish concentrate compared to the control, which shown a significant difference (P<0.05) among the different treatments when compared with each other. Generally, the treatments of sun-dried fish (1.5%) was showed high body weight, followed by roasted fish (1.5 and 3.5%), control and roasted fish (5%), sun-dried fish (3.5 and 5%), while the different level of direct boiled fish and indirect boiled fish were showed lower body weight compared to other treatments. The body weight was affected significantly (P>0.05) as treated disposed fish substituted with supper concentrate. However, the best body weights achieved with the experiment were less than standards manual performance. The results in the present study were similar to Rao et al. (2011), while were less than the results found by Sirirat et al. (2013).
Egg production (% egg/week)
Data for table egg production (%) were summarized in Tables 6a and 6b. The average of weekly egg production (%) was showed significant different (P<0.05) among the treatment groups of treated disposed fish concentrate and supper concentrate. The sun-dried fish (1.5%) showed the best egg production (%) throughout the production period followed by roasting fish (1.5 and 3.5%) and the control, especially during the 27th to 40th weeks. The results in the present study results were less than egg production (%) for Dickey et al. (2012), while the present results were similar to Rao et al. (2011) and higher than Novak et al. (2006).
Table 4a Means of weekly feed intake and weight gain during pre-production period (19-21 weeks)
The means within the same column with at least one common letter, do not have significant difference (P>0.05).
SEM: standard error of the means.
Table 4b Means of weekly feed intake (g/bird/day) during the production period from 22-30 weeks
Table 4c Means of weekly feed intake (g/bird/day) during the production period from 31-40 weeks
Table 5 Means of Body weight (g/bird/2weeks) during the whole production period
Table 6a Means of daily egg production (%) during 22-30 weeks
Table 6b Means of daily egg production during 31-40 weeks
Feed conversion ratio (FCR)
The effects of the experimental treatments on FCR are illustrated in Tables 7a and 7b. The results showed a significant difference (P>0.05) among the treatments during the experimental periods. It appears that the feed conversion value was high at the begging of the production period then gradually decreased till it become relatively stable at 31th weeks of the production period up to week 40, that, the feed conversion ratio was affected significantly (P<0.05) by as treated disposed fish change and control. The feed conversion ratio (g feed/g egg) for all treatments that including control agree with the results of (Sittiya and Yamauchi, 2014), while, the ratio of feed conversion ratio was high than the results of (Bryant et al. 2007). The results of the present study were less than (Perez-Bonilla et al. 2012) who found the means of feed conversion ratio were (1.89 to 2.05 g/g) during 24 to 59 weeks of age, also the results found by (Bonekamp et al. 2010).
Egg weight
The results of egg weights were illustrated in Tables 8a and 8b, which showed a significant differences (P<0.05) among the treatments during the experimental periods. Egg weight of layers chickens fed roasted fish (5%) have the highest egg weight during all the experimental period followed by roasted fish (3.5 and 1.5%), while the lowest egg weight was found at treatment of direct boiled fish (5%). The results of the present results were high than that reported by (Rao et al. 2011) who found the means of egg weight for layers chickens at age of (21, 24, 29 and 32 to 36weeks) were (46, 52, 53.2 and 53.5 g/egg/day) respectively, while the present results were low than (Neijat et al. 2011). Also Perez-Bonilla et al. (2012) who found the means of egg weight were (63.1 to 64.1 g) during 24 to 59 weeks of age, while the present study results of egg weight were similar to (Park and Ryu, 2011). Egg weight was significantly (P<0.05) affected due to the different treated disposed fish. Generally the treatments of sun-dried fish and roasted fish levels and control have the best performance production which indicates the positive ability of treatment especially sun-dried fish and roasted fish compared to control as a source of protein to support layer production.
Panel test
Table 9 shows the panel test for test acceptability,colour, and smell. The panel which runs only for (5%) replicate to showed the effects of concentrations for different treated disposed fish concentrate and control to avoid the interaction effect on the level at (1.5 and 3.5%). The panel test runs for all treated disposed fish and control for only (5%) replicate for accurate test for treated disposed fish concentrate or supper concentrate without interaction between the mixture of treated disposed fish and control.
Table 7a Means of feed conversion ratio (g feed/g egg) during production period of 24-32 weeks
Table 7b Means of feed conversion ratio (g feed/g egg) during production period 32-40 weeks
Table 8a Means of weekly egg weight (g) during production period from 24-31 weeks
Table 8b Means of weekly egg weight (g) during production period from 32-40 weeks
Table 9 Egg quality panel test (%)
The panel test declared that all treated disposed fish and control were similarity among all treatment level if the trace difference been ignored at acceptability, smell and colour.
The results of this study showed that the disposed fish in the Sudan can be converted to useful conventional fish meal for poultry rations by simple means of heat processing.
The authors would like to acknowledge the Faculty of Animal Production, University of Gezira, Sudan for their collaboration and allowing us to use their farm poultry and facilities.


text:
Gift Registry
Use the form below to find the guest you would like to purchase a gift for.
Enter the first and/or last name of the registrant, as well as the event month
and date if known.
Set Up Your Own Registry | Existing Users Log In
"Destination Inspire"... A Gorgeous Flower Girl Dress. Available In Your Color Scheme!$450.00
A Cinderella Inspired Fairytale Dress - Your choice of color$215.00-$255.00
Cranberry Kissed - Girls Grey and Burgundy Holiday Dress with Rosette Fabric and Feather Trim$168.00-$193.00
"Marvelous Maven"... A A Glamorous Flower Girl Dress. Available in numerous color schemes!$359.00
"Portrait Of An Artist"... One of our Formal Special Occasion Gowns$399.00
Summers Lights ... A Beautiful Princess Style Flower Girl Dress$299.00
Queen for the Day.... A Stunning Dress that will make her feel like a Queen$399.00
Dusty Rose Romance - A Fabulous Embroidered mesh Day Gown!$198.00-$243.00
Swarovski Crystal Encrusted Feather Angel Wings$178.00
Pageant Glitz...An Exquisite Floor Length Satin & Organza Gown$398.00-$453.00
Candlelit Cantata... Perfect for Weddings and Pageants!$368.00-$423.00
East Coast Perfection... Perfect For Destination Weddings!$290.00-$335.00
Miss Emma - A Dress For Making Memories and Top Selling Birthday Dress$258.00
Pure Ivory Blushing Apron Feather Dress$178.00-$198.00
Fairytale Birthday or Flower Girl Dress - Gown of Tulle And Feathers Perfect for a Princess$258.00-$308.00
Simply Exquisite Petal Flower Girl Dress$158.00-$198.00
Knitted Bebe Hats | Ballet Slippers |
Leggings & Bloomers | Crib Bedding Sets
| Designer Tutus & Pageant Wear
Cozy Cocoons | Diaper Bags & Totes
| Holiday Boutique
| Flower Girl Dresses
©2013 - 2019 All American Baby Boutique - Spring & Summer Dresses | Flower Girl Dresses | Tutus Dresses | Feather Dresses for Girls | Little Girls 1st Birthday Dre. All rights reserved. Powered by merchantmoms.com Design By: SpiffyBoutiques.com


text:
New Holland Agriculture has announced the release of an updated NH2 hydrogen-powered fuel cell tractor, which was previewed at Hannover's Agritechnica show last week.
Derived from the company's T6.140 production tractor, the new NH2 is suitable for soil preparation, seeding, baling, transport and front loader applications. The updated model offers significant improvements over its predecessor, including: three fuel cell stacks with a combined output of 100 kW, up from two stacks and 50 kW; an 8.2 kg 350 bar hydrogen tank; double the rated power and torque of the on-board electric motors – 100 kW and 950 Nm, respectively; a maximum power output of 96%. These improvements bring the tractor in line with conventional tractors of the same size.
The updated tractor will debut at La Bellota farm in Venaria near Turin next summer. La Bellota is New Holland's first energy independent farm – a concept that aims to have farms produce electricity from natural sources with a low environmental impact with excess stored as hydrogen, which can then be used to fuel NH2 tractors.
Sign up using the 'Register' button at the top of the page.
The Fuel Cell Industry Review 2013: Available now for free download.
Our Using Fuel Cells In series of info sheets highlights applications where fuel cells offer benefits today.
View our
glossary of terms.
If you would like to contact us, please click here.
© Johnson Matthey Plc 2019
We use cookies to help understand how people use our website. By using our site, you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more in our privacy policy.


text:
Dateline 2016-09-15, FMT:
The Suarah Petroleum Group (SPG) is standing firmly behind Sarawak Chief Minister Adenan Satem in pushing for greater Sarawakian participation in the petroleum industry in the state.
Made up of Sarawakian oil and gas professionals, SPG said that while they acknowledged that the State Secretary has been recently nominated to sit on Petronas's Board of Directors, more should be done.
"…SPG firmly believes that it is high time the State's petroleum resources be developed by its own petroleum corporation, to ensure that the Chief Minister's vision of meaningful participation becomes a reality," it said in an article by the group's Education, Leadership and Talent Development Bureau, entitled "A Short History of Petroleum in Sarawak."
SPG argued that there was enough local and global talent in the state to successfully operate and manage the petroleum industry and added, "At the same time, this will allow Sarawak to develop its own 'Talent Pipeline' to ensure the sustainable growth and progress of the industry in the state and for the nation."


text:
The English word "gold" comes from an Anglo-Saxon word "gohl," thought to mean "yellow, green or shiny." The chemical symbol for gold is Au, comes from its Latin name "aurum." Human discovery and use of gold dates to prehistoric times. It is one of the few elements occurring in nature in its pure state.
Gold, as a metal, has a long history of use in jewelry. Under normal circumstances, gold does not corrode. Unlike silver that tarnishes, gold jewelry retains its luster for years. Because pure or 24-karat gold is quite soft, jewelers mix it with other metals, forming alloys, including 14-karat gold and 10-karat gold, to increase its strength before forming into jewelry.
Gold is also malleable. It is possible to form a single ounce of gold into foil, so thin the human eye is able to see through it and larger than a baseball field. Formed into a 1-micrometer diameter wire, the same ounce of gold stretches 2,000 kilometers, while maintaining integrity to conduct an electrical charge.
Pure gold is nontoxic, but is also odorless and tasteless. In 2014, bartenders use gold foil as decoration for expensive mixed drinks and cooks use it to decorate cookies and other foods, a practice that dates back to the Middle Ages.


text:
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software is the backbone of modern manufacturing information systems, enabling the digital transformation that's changing operations and customer expectations. As the movement toward a digital workforce evolves, your ERP system must keep pace.
Epicor commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct a Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study to examine the potential return on investment (ROI) of deploying Epicor ERP. Several manufacturers using Epicor ERP found the following unquantified benefits:
In addition, the study found several benefits that could be quantified in real dollars for a representative organization based on the interviewed companies, like:
Read the study to find out how else Epicor ERP has helped manufacturers.
* Please enter your email address and click the Download Now button to download the white paper.
Copyright © 2013
Return to top of page
Copyright © 2019 · News Theme for Inside HPC on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in


text:
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Aviation History
HEADLINES Swissair trains Libyan pilots for Airbus A310 BY ALAN GEORGE Swissair is training Libyan pilots to fly Airbus A310s which Libyan Arab Airlines (LAA) acquired three years ago in defiance of US sanctions, al though the airline claims that the courses were approved in ad vance by Washington. The LAA pilots are attending seven-week courses at Swissair's Kloten Airport training centre in Zurich. The first group of six started training on 4 December. They have completed their basic instruction, and are soon due to undergo training on Swissair's Airbus A310 simulator. A second group of Libyan pilots will arrive in Zurich in late January for similar training. Swissair spokesman Hannes Kummer says: "I confirm that we have the Libyan group here for simulator training." He adds that the airline had cleared the deal in advance with the US Department of Commerce, ". . . and they agreed that the training could go ahead". In Washington, the Commerce Department declines to discuss the affair, saying that to provide any information on a specific case would be "... a breach of confidence". The training is being organised by the Zurich firm, Homac Avi ation, which has longstanding links with LAA. Homac chief executive Paul Hoegen says that the first course had originally been planned to start on 27 November, but was delayed pending the arrival of a down- payment from Tripoli. The second course, he adds, has "yet to be confirmed by the Libyans". The two Libyan A310s were owned by British Caledonian until 1986. The aircraft were acquired by LAA in a complex £105 million deal involving two intermediary brokers. Service Airlines of Hong Kong and UK- registered Cobra Airways. Although European-built, the aircraft fell within the scope of US sanctions against Libya be cause they use American-made General Electric engines. BCal (which has since been taken over by British Airways) claimed that it had been duped into believing that the aircraft's end-user would be a French charter airline. A UK Customs investigation into the Soviets in 747 purchase talks Soviet businessmen hoping to set up a new airline to com pete with Aeroflot are negotiat ing to buy five Boeing 747 airliners and 20 other Boeing aircraft including 767s. The Soviet group, ACDA, hopes to use the 747s on non stop routes to the USA, Australia and south-east Asia. It also wants to boost capacity on domestic routes, particularly to the Soviet Far East, and open new routes to cities on the US West coast. ACDA working group chief Yuri Mamsurov is quoted in the London-based Soviet Weekly as saying: "We plan to buy five 747s in 1991 and eventually hope to build up a fleet of 25 Boeings—a mixture of 747s and 767s." ACDA is understood to consist in part of a number of serving or ex-Aeroflot officials. Boeing confirms that an eight- man Soviet delegation, including pilots, engineers and two mem bers of the Supreme Soviet, were in Seattle last month for talks following a visit by Boeing to the Soviet Union earlier in the year. Boeing says however, that there is no contract with ACDA and that the talks were "information sharing". The Soviets would have to lease 747s if they were needed next year, says the US company. The talks with Boeing could mark the start of the removal of the monopoly of the world's larg est carrier. Aeroflot's inter national aviation directorate is already seeking to break away and wants to acquire Airbus Industrie aircraft. Meanwhile, Aeroflot itself is negotiating for up to ten Airbus Industrie A310-300 long-range twins for use on international routes. Ilyushin's competitor to the Boeing 747, the 1-196-300, is behind schedule and not ready for service. D affair ended in late 1987 with the airline paying a $1 million pen alty for its role. In late 1986 the Libyans awarded a Paris company, DAT International (DATI), a $13.5 million contract to maintain the aircraft and supply flight and ground crews and spare parts. However, it was unable to secure sufficient spare parts to keep the aircraft flying, and DATI's con tract was terminated in mid- 1988. Homac had also been involved in DATI's work, assist ing in pilot recruitment. With its aircraft grounded for lack of spares, Tripoli late last year decided to cut its losses, transferring the two Airbuses to Algeria, where they were re-reg istered. It was claimed that LAA had sold the planes to Air Algerie but in reality they were leased. This year, one of the Airbuses— in LAA colours but with "Air Algerie" on its fuselage—re turned to Libya where it has been operating domestic routes with an Algerian crew. Libyan Arab Airlines A310s set to fly with Swiss-trained pilots Andrew Auer, the head of non- scheduled services and multi lateral relations at the Swiss Ministry of Transportation's Fed eral Office for Civil Aviation, confirms that Swissair is training Libyan pilots. The Swiss authorities were not approached by the airline— which is partly government- owned—before undertaking the contract. There is no formal require ment for Swissair to seek per mission from the Federal Office for Civil Aviation. Nevertheless, local companies intending to offer training for Libyan heli copter pilots in the past have sought approval for the work. Auer says that three groups of Libyans are involved in the train ing. One group is already in the country, a second is set to start training this month and a third group is planned to arrive later this year. • American on routes buying spree London route, plus other assets, for $195 million. The purchases also include Eastern's Miami-Madrid service and two Florida-Canada routes and a number of Continental gates and buildings at New York, Miami and San Juan. American's shares rose on the news but the deals face union opposition. TWA's pilots have described the deal as "a first step in the controlled liquidation ot TWA". • American Airlines is buying a xVseries of routes from East ern, Continental and TWA as part of its strategy of world expansion. In a series of deals, which will have to be cleared by the Depart ments of Justice and Transporta tion, American has secured: Eastern's central and South American routes, involving 20 destinations, for $471 million; Continental's Miami-London service; and TWA's Chicago- FLIGHT INTERN ATIONA1 1-Q lannarv 1QQ0
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
Flight Newsletter
About Us
Flightglobal Branding
Media Centre
Contact us
Site Map
RBI media jobs UK
Terms & Conditions
Privacy Policy
© Reed Business Information 2010


text:
Dusty Rose Choker
Sanguis Ornatus
From INTRA Collection.
Hand-dyed red choker with repurposed copper roses attached along the piece. Very limited quantities.
3/4" wide with nickel buckle.
Note: Roses are attached along the choker with small screws that, although sanded down, may irritate sensitive skin when worn tightly. When worn at a normal tightness, most will not be bothered.
Select your neck measurement above. Please refer to photograph for neck size measurement selection (e.g. where the piece rests on the neck and where you should measure) and round to the nearest measurement selection if in-between. You are selecting your neck measurement, not the size of the choker itself. Each necklace is made to order so please allow up to two weeks for production.
Since each Sanguis Ornatus piece is made to order so please make sure to measure correctly. Depending on the piece, adjustments may be able to be arranged for an adjustment fee. Please contact firstname.lastname@example.com with any questions.


text:
Character design, illustration, promotion and on-site displays
What the folk?!
Spirit of Folk is a weekend folk and music festival that takes place in September. Now in its fifth year, the festival is an eclectic mix of music, spiritual workshops, family-oriented activities, folk history, storytelling and good old-fashioned fun.
For the 2015 festival I created five characters – spirits representing and overseeing different aspects of the festival: Music, Magic, Nature, Curiosity and Mischief. They were featured online and in print, as well as on site as board cut-outs for photo opportunities!
Branding and illustration
When Digital Detox Ireland approached me about branding and illustration for their workshops I took it as an opportunity to close my laptop screen and break out the pencils. The logo is entirely hand drawn (but, admittedly, digitally coloured) and features nature breaking through the pixels.
Editorial illustration
Christmas illustration for The Irish Times accompanying an article on unusual Irish Christmas traditions.
On the anniversary of Maeve Binchy's death The Irish Times paid tribute with a broadsheet supplement featuring a number of her most popular columns and stories. I illustrated five of these stories, as well as a portrait of the late author accompanying an article in which she described the strange experience of having a documentary made in her home.
Illustration and layout design
A couple of illustrated spreads for the Health Section of The Irish Times: one on things to watch out for at various stages of a woman's life, one on physical health and physiology throughout the life cycle.
Cover and editorial illustration
Illustrations for a MyHome.ie report showing how the Central Bank of Ireland is trying to cap mortgage rates.
Editorial illustration
Illustration in the Health Section of The Irish Times accompanying an article on finding ways to keep teenagers busy in the summer time.
A piece to accompany a newly interpreted version of James Joyce's Eveline from Dubliners. Both the original story and the reworked version feature a main character who tries to leave home but fails in the end because they feel held back by fear and family obligations. I wanted to reference the original with the phrase 'Derevaun Seraun' engraved onto the anchor – a nonsense or possibly corrupted Irish phrase repeated by the mother of Joyce's Eveline. The editor also asked for a small portrait of Joyce somewhere if possible, so he's made a little cameo on the anchor too.
Piece illustrating an article in The Irish Times about male and female friendships.
Illustration showcasing the best of home grown Irish food products for The Irish Times Magazine, as part of Food Month, November 2013. Bit of a challenge as I only had two hours to work on the illustration from start to finish!
Editorial illustration for a piece on women's pubic hair in The Irish Times. What's the best way to illustrate pubic hair in a positive way without actually showing pubic hair in a national newspaper and inviting complaints?Flowers!
Editorial illustration and photo montage
A feature on the intersection of violence and art in The Irish Times, May 2012.


text:
L.R.S. Records is based out of Syracuse, NY and supports all arts and creative people in our community. This page serves as a resource to anyone in the DIY music community who lives in Syracuse or is merely passing through the area and in need of some guidance.
Live Music Venues:
The Cosmopolitan Building
The Warehouse
Moron Manor
Recording Studios:
Across the Street Recording Studios
Record Labels:
Flyer-Friendly Businesses:
Recess Coffee
Alto Cinco
Marshall Square Mall
Guitar Center
Gorham Brothers Music
Music Center
Books and Melodies
Sound Garden
Roji Tea Lounge
Strong Hearts
Black Momba Skate Park


text:
With a variety of motifs that include seasonal flowers and good luck items, and their gentle-hued pastel colorings, Wasanbon are an indispensable part of any Japanese tea party. It feels enjoyable just looking at them. Together with salt and cotton, sugar is counted as one of the Sanuki Sanpaku (the Three "Whites" of Sanuki): three white colored products that Kagawa prefecture is particularly famous for producing. Even amongst them, the rare Wasanbon is often regarded as the finest of Kagawa's specialty products. I heard rumors about a workshop where visitors could experience making Wasanbon for themselves, and went along for myself to find out more.
The Mamehana Wasanbon experience classroom is located at the back end of an alley in the Hanazono-cho district, very near to Takamatsu city center. As I stepped inside this very ordinary-looking house, I found myself in a wide artistic space that I could never have imagined from its external appearance. The walls of the classroom are decorated with various objets d'art, and the green and red lights that illuminate it give it the feel of a kind of secret base or hideaway.
The wooden tools that are the first thing to catch one's eye are in fact wooden molds that are used for making Japanese sweets. Although the long history of mold-making dates back to the Edo period, today only a handful of craftsmen who make them remain in all of Japan, and they are a valuable human resource. Yoshihiro Ichihara, who has a workshop here in Takamatsu, is the only one in Shikoku. In actual fact, Ayumi Uehara—the owner of this classroom—is Mr. Ichihara's daughter. She opened the experience classroom near to her father's workshop, in the hope of educating people more about wooden sweet molds.
The culture of Wasanbon is typical of Kagawa, and can be enjoyed by both looking at and savoring the sweets. They also make good souvenirs, because they are compact and last a long time without spoiling. Trying your hand at making them is a perfect travel experience.
Without further ado then, let's get straight on to the challenge of making Wasanbon sweets.
Several wooden molds are prepared for each season, and you can make four different kinds of Wasanbon sweet in a single color per time. In the case of group visits, each person can choose a different color in order to create colorful combinations. Agonizing over which shapes and colors to choose is all part of the fun.
Cherry blossom and Mt. Fuji motifs remain popular all year round, regardless of the season. Possibly due to the influence of American comic books, the turtle shape motif is popular amongst foreign visitors. In addition to traditional designs there are also a variety of contemporary motifs, including Halloween-themed designs.
The tools used are very simple; consisting only of bowls, wooden molds, sieves and spatulas.
"They are very easy to make. When we talk about traditional art and craft experiences it may sound difficult, but when it comes to Wasanbon sweets even children can make them together with us, and then eat the finished sweets as a snack. That's not something that you can find easily, right?" Ms. Uehara seems to be really enjoying herself, as she talks excitedly about wooden molds and Wasanbon.
First, the pure white Wasanbon is placed in a bowl, and colored, using a spray to add coloring and a suitable amount of moisture.
When all of the sugar is evenly colored, it is strained using a sieve to produce an even finer powder.
Once the straining process is finished, the key to making good sweets is to move quickly in carrying out the next step. Wasanbon dries easily, so it is necessary to pack it tightly into the wooden molds before it dries out.
After scraping off any excess powder with a spatula, the mold is knocked gently to gradually remove the top board.
When the mold is turned over, the sugar has been transformed into dried Wasanbon sweets, which roll neatly out of the mold. The designs of the wooden molds look even cuter still when they are molded into actual sweets.
Around 12 to 14 Wasanbon sweets can be made during a one-hour workshop class. The finished sweets are packed into boxes for participants to take home as souvenirs. A few can be eaten as snacks to enjoy along with the matcha green tea that Ms. Uehara kindly prepares for her guests. The soft sensation as the sugar's gentle sweetness melts in your mouth is something that can only be savored by eating freshly made Wasanbon.
Ms. Uehara also travels to local schools and other facilities to conduct on-site workshops, with the aim of conveying the wonderful experiences that Takamatsu has to offer to as many people as possible. Those sentiments have also travelled with her overseas, to countries such as the United Kingdom and Germany, where her workshops have gained even further attention.
Visitors to Mamehana can experience traditional crafts, savor the taste of one of Kagawa's finest specialties, and enjoy the added treat of looking forward to opening their box of Wasanbon sweets when they arrive back home. Why not try enjoying this sweet time—which can only be had in Takamatsu—for yourself?
- Address
- 1-9-13 Hanazono-cho, Takamatsu City, Kagawa
- 087-831-3712
- firstname.lastname@example.com
- https://www.mamehana-kasikigata.com/
- Supported languages
- 日本語、English
Gathering date:2017.8.30 / Mamehana
Yu Sakaguchimore
Yu Sakaguchi is a photographer who photographs the beautiful scenery of the 138 habited islands in the Seto Inland Sea, agricultural, mountain and fishing villages in Shikoku. He makes his living in design work relating to primary industry. His website Monogatari o Todokeru Shigoto ("The Job of Delivering Stories") introduces the beautiful scenery, culinary culture and various other aspects of Shikoku and the islands of the Seto Inland Sea, and has been accessed by users in over 160 different countries. Feeling that it would be difficult to preserve the scenery in front of him for the next generation by simply distributing information alone, together with his fellow Shikoku-loving companions, he launched Shikoku Taberu (Food) Tsushin magazine, and began his work communicating the food culture and stories of the region. He is a director for the Sanagouchi Village foundation. He was awarded the Japan Ningenryoku ("Human Skill") Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award in 2015.
Eri Kotakimore
Eri Kotaki was born in Takamatsu, in Kagawa prefecture. After studying fashion, color and graphic design at university, she developed a love of travel, local gourmet cuisine and photography; and became an editor/writer. After working in various positions in editorial production and publishing companies in Tokyo, she joined the Takamatsu City Regional Promotion Cooperative Group in July 2017. She now spends her days uncovering and communicating information about the appeal and attraction of Takamatsu and its surrounding areas. Her top recommended location is the night view from Sunport Takamatsu. Her most recommended train is the Hiyaku, which runs on the Takamatsu-Kotohira Electric Railroad.


text:
Trailer: The Trial (1962)
Trailer: The Trial (1993)
Trailer: The Trial (1993)
K cannot avoid being trapped in a life where bureaucracy is the only reality. Since he has no understanding of what bureaucracy is, he cannot see another option. As long as we believe that this is the only possible way of living, we will get sucked down to the vortex.
In this movie walls become clear as the main character, K, walks through different perspectives. "Sometimes being in chains is safer than being free" is a quote that shows the claustrophobic perspective on life as the normal.


text:
Welcome to the Red Leaf Fig Event Venue
Situated in the pituriqe Lowveld Botanical Gardens, our facilities offer everything in only the best style, from your wedding ceremony in our unique beautiful Gardens to your reception in our elegant Tea Garden.
The Venue is available for events as intimate as 20 guests, to weddings as sociable as 300 guests! Our well prepared menus vary from a filling breakfast, to a light luncheon or a scrumptious three course dinner.
Red Leaf Fig Tea Garden's professional team guarantees outstanding event coordination, personal service and attention to detail.
We host any special event:
- Wedding
- Bachelorettes
- Stork Tea's
- Corporate Functions
- Conferences
- Birthday Parties
- Anniversaries
- Year-end Functions
- Matric Farewells
Book Now


text:
Chatbooks and Instagram
Chatbooks are a great way to document your everyday moments...
Once in a while we like to highlight great new technologies, finds, and products that we like, and so this post is all about a creative concept that we are excited about.
We are all in a hurry, yet along our journey a lot of us make time to post to Instagram or other social media sites. Sometimes we are sharing our travels, other times our loved ones, funny things we come across, the beauty of life, or we are downright marketing a company. Regardless of our angle we don't often think a lot about these small moments in the long run. In fact, there is an entire movement in the opposite direction with apps like Snapchat for instance where it's here today, gone tomorrow. Or sometimes gone in a flash.
Instagram is unique in that we can peruse our past and keep special moments and memories close to us on the go. However, we can never be too sure of our digital future. As time goes on, formats change, companies go out of business, and ideas fall out of favor sometimes whether we like it or not.
As photographers and artists, we are big on the idea of printing our life's moments creatively. No matter how cool a technology is, print is the one thing that will stay around for generations to observe and enjoy. Today, to some degree, we are all artists and creators. The incredible quality of imagery that can be created on mobile devices these days is exciting. As professionals we have backup systems for both our personal and client imagery. Yet, many non-professionals somehow end up losing their photographs to the digital changes at some point whether its from upgrading a phone, or from a hard drive failure, etc...
Poking around Instagram this week I happened to notice an app called Chatbooks. Ironically, Jennifer and I have had our share of conversations about printing our personal posts, but hadn't come across a service that was simple, and creative as of yet. As part of our holiday present to one another I took the liberty of trying out Chatbooks, and this is my experience...
Chatbooks is an app which connects to your Instagram account. While I haven't done this, I believe you can also connect your Facebook and other social media accounts to the app if you prefer. I decided to stick with Instagram for my initial test. Within a few seconds the app took all of my current and past Instagram images, organized them by date, placed all of the post text under each photograph and laid out 10 books each with 60 photographs. It gave me the ability to peruse each volume and remove images that I preferred not to have in the books as well. I could also choose a cover image for each book. The process couldn't be any simpler.
Normally I would have printed just one book to test the print quality because I am a stickler when it comes to color, and the overall look of print. But, then I noticed that the cost of each soft cover book was merely $8.00. So, I went all in and printed all 10 volumes that the app had designed for me.
It was a several of days before Christmas, so I knew there was no chance I would receive them prior to the holiday. But, even with the holiday rush in full swing, the books did arrive just after Christmas to our surprise.
The books were very well printed and bound, and the quality of the paper and print was very pleasing especially considering the cost of each book. Chatbooks is a service and app that we will surely continue to use to document our everyday moments and life story in print. When the moments count most hire a professional photographer. But, don't discount the beautiful moments you capture yourself in between as life is too precious to miss out on this opportunity especially when it's so easy and affordable as well.


text:
Dashboard is designed to display all important information about the project on one page. It is very convenient when you want to view a summary of the key indicators - keyword positions, ETV (Estimated Traffic value), indexing, traffic, and conversions.
The information about keyword statistics, traffic, and conversions in the Dashboard section is displayed in the context of the search engines and the date range. Choose a search engine and a date range to view the data. By default, the end date is today's date and the initial date is 30 days before the end date. The comparison of the rankings on the Dashboard section occurs between the initial date and the end date.
On the bar chart you can see the Keyword Ranking statistics in the TOP100 / TOP10 / TOP5/ TOP3/ TOP1. RankActive collects the data with search depth up to 100 results. The keywords that were not found in the search engine's TOP100 are marked as Other.
Next to the percentage value, there is a quantitative change of the keywords accordingly to a comparison the initial and end dates - growth or dropping. If it's marked red, it's a drop, blue - growth.
For example, if the TOP3 parameter indicates 50 percent, it means that the half of all keywords are in the TOP3. If a blue arrow has number 5 next to it, it means that 5 more keywords hit the TOP3 (comparison occurs between the initial date and the end date of the selected range).
The Average position scale indicates the arithmetic mean of all keywords positions. It should be noted that all keywords that are not in the TOP100 take a value of 100 when calculating.
For example, if 4 keywords were added to your project, and their positions are 10, 8, 4 and 30, the Average position of your project would be
(10 + 8 + 4 + 30) / 4 = 13.
Keyword Ranking Change scale indicates how many of keywords that were added to the project went up or down. The initial and end date of the selected period are compared.
ETV (Estimated Traffic value) - expected traffic that you can get to your website. Its calculation is based on the spreading of traffic in the TOP-20 and the search volume. ETV is calculated by the formula below:
ETV = ∑ Search Volume * Traffic Distribution rate
Traffic Distribution rate depends on the keywords positions in the SERP and is determined by the following table:
|1 place
The Pages Indexed block shows the number of pages indexed by the selected search engine. The data is collected daily.
Please note that the number of indexed pages may change during the month because the information is gathered from various data centers. Large projects with millions of pages and a constant generation of new content would be the best examples.
Traffic Overview displays the basic data from Google Analytics. The graph shows the value of Total Visits.
The primary indicators are displayed below the graph: such as Total visits, unique visitors, new visits, returning visits, page views, and bounce rate.
The basic information about the conversions is shown in the Goals block overview. The graph displays the total number of conversions day by day. There are the main indicators - Goal, Conversion Rate, and the Goal Value below the graph.
The Traffic and Goals overview charts show the data for each day of the selected period. Just hover your mouse on corresponding point to view the desired information by particular date. Please note that if you select today's date, the data from Google Analytics will be partial because the day is not over.


text:
What you might be doing right now has inside it the seeds of your life's work translated into success in proudly owning your individual business. To seek out out if a enterprise identify is available, call the Secretary of State and they're going to do a direct computer search. To start out a business , there are inquiries to ask yourself reminiscent of why, what, where, when and the way you're going to go about it. The state of Oregon offers a searchable License Listing with over 1,one hundred licenses, permits and certifications.
Wherever your pursuits lie, it is virtually assured that there is a solution to turn it into a business. Truth Sheet – Begin a business guidelines Working by this guidelines will enable you to take the mandatory steps to get your enterprise off the bottom. When starting a new business, there are lots of important rules and procedures that have to be thought-about.
I did a blog posting a while again a few woman who sells tumbleweeds on-line and it making an enormous profit from that. Here's a temporary overview of the principle varieties of business buildings obtainable in Minnesota. You may additionally need different sorts of coverage relying in your location and business, however most small companies are suggested to purchase normal legal responsibility (GL) insurance coverage, or a business owner's coverage.
The consultations required are an inventory of all the other businesses that we are required to inform about or ask for a recommendation on your business licence application. Whereas there are business filing necessities, and steps that must be developed to assist you in starting your small business.
Next, begin engaged on a marketing strategy – it should enable you to estimate the price of beginning your enterprise and do monetary projections. If the enterprise identify has been used, look in the margin to see if it has been abandoned. However, if you use the same apps for business and personal functions, it is likely to be easier to separate them so you do not by chance share information with the fallacious audience.


text:
Braising and Stewing
Braising is a gentle cooking method on the stove top. A variety of vegetable can be used; e.g. celery, leeks, fennel, artichokes, red cabbage, onions, or carrots.
- Choose a stove top pan with a close fitting lid.
- Add vegetables to the pan.
- Add liquid or stock to half way up the vegetables, cover tightly.
- Place pan on heat to reach boiling point, reduce heat and simmer.
- For best results braise slowly, adding extra liquid if required.
- If desired, make a sauce with any remaining liquid.
Stewing is a moist cooking method in a lidded dish cooked in the oven. Try a mixture of vegetables such as carrots, celery, garlic, onions, pumpkin, potatoes, tomatoes, mushrooms and kumara.
- Choose an ovenproof dish with a close fitting lid.
- If using meat, brown in a little vegetable oil before adding vegetables.
- Add liquid or stock to just cover vegetables.
- Place lid on, and place dish pan into preheated oven and cook for the required amount of time.


text:
Building Permit Fees V2Plumbing and Septic Permits are the responsibility of the Huron County Health Unit. Please click here to apply for a Plumbing and Septic Permit.
The Building Department is responsible for the issuance of building and demolition permits. The Building department enforces the Building Code Act and confirms the building is in compliance with the Ontario Building Code and the Township's zoning by-law. The Building Department also processes municipal zoning compliance letters.
Prior to any construction or demolition please contact the building department by email at email@example.com or by phone at 1-519-524-4669. Please click here for help determining if you require a Building Permit.
To submit a building permit application you may drop it off at the Township office at 82133 Council Line, Goderich, ON N7A 3Y2 or you may submit your application by email to firstname.lastname@example.com . Building permit applications are available here or at the Township office.
Building Permit fees are available here.
Please refer to the following links to obtain additional information prior to applying for a permit on your property.
Huron County Interactive Mapping (GIS)
Maitland Valley Conservation Authority
Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley Source Protection Region
Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs – Agricultural Structures
Once a Building Permit has been issued it is important that you call for the inspections provided here.


text: rougetardis Posted April 2, 2015 I'm playing the QMHJL during the first season and I'm getting this weird issue. When draft day arrived, there was only 11 players ranked for the draft. Then, during draft day, only 3 of these 11 players were available (seems like other drafts like the OHL snagged some of the QMHJL players!). To top it off, when I filter out the unrealistic targets in the draft (i.e. players who have plans to go the college route), it filtered out every eligible player! Looking at each of their status, every unranked player seemed to want to go to college (good for them I guess but not good for my junior team lol). I went on vacation for most of the season (from January to June) so I don't know if that had anything to do with the no-ranking/draft snaffu. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


text:
{cedar, rocklovepeace baby photo shoot, canon 50d}
dear healing readers ~
its been a bit of a rough-ish week for our family and i am reaching out to you for your thoughts and prayers.
my father had back surgery to remove a cyst as well as have a rod implanted in his spine and screws at his tailbone. he has suffered back and leg pain for years and we are hoping this is his ticket to a pain free life. he is in recovery and very uncomfortable (ouchie rod and staples) and my sweet mother is doing her best to care for him now that he is back home. but...she injured her shoulder (scapula to be exact) doing work on their yard and too is in a lot of pain (arm/chest area) and trying to tough her way through it to care for my father. i had to practically beg her to go to the doctors because she was in a selfless frame of mind.
my older sister darlene is having one of the toughest summer's in 10 years in regards to her lupus. she spends many days on the couch, in deep muscle and joint pain and doing her most awesome best to not go to the dark places in her mind. she is constantly sending me positive text messages about cedar and the photos i send and it blows my mind that she can even think about others when she feels the way she does. i am always learning from her resilience and tolerance. when talking with her on the phone today it really hit me hard how long she has been sick this year. this is when i feel our physical distance the most. when i can't pop over to help my family when they are in need.
then there is sweet cedar. he is having tummy issues and teething stuff all at once. yesterday it was all about projectile puke down my body. we're just learning which foods he can and cannot digest and it seems the only foods that are gentle on his sensitive tummy are pureed sweet potatoes, pears and prunes. when we try new things, even just a little, his belly is a huge ball of air for a few days. poor sweet dude.
and then there is me. i am experiencing some weird deep piercing pains on one of my ovaries, which i know are from my endometriomas (blood filled cysts). today i could barely sit up straight. i am calling my gyno tomorrow but i know what she'll say "take out all your endo! go on birth control! take hormones!". yet it was the hormones i took for fertility stuff that put me here. my body just does not respond to hormones well. my last surgery didn't do much and i am now going to have to get serious about the natural way of healing my reproductive lovelies. i have three natural healing books on endo that i have yet to fully read. time to stop procrastinating because the bad months are getting closer together and now that i am caring for a wee being, i can't lay on the couch and chill.
aren't you glad you popped over here this morning?
i suppose i am sharing all this to ask for some positive affirmations and prayers...especially for my dear daddy, marmie and sis. as we are all a bit tired and worn and are learning that it is okay to ask for help sometimes.
tonight i made spice cake muffins. i never bake. growing up with Celiac gave me an aversion to baked goods because they tasted awful without gluten. nowadays its so much more creative and tasty for us folks. so, i baked. i suppose i had a hankering to cheer up our home in light of this heavy week. the smell of cinnamon and nutmeg floating in the air has to be one of the best heart medicines. i think i might bake more often. now i get what all the fuss is about. it was glorious to watch my husband's blissed out face while eating it hot out of the oven with butter dripping. also fun to sit on the floor while stirring up the ingredients and cedar sitting near me with his eyes glued to the bowl and his mouth open in awe. i imagined all the years ahead with us baking together in the kitchen. i smile as i write this recognizing that having a baby has brought to surface a more domestic me. must. find. cute. aprons.
and ohmygosh look at cedar's face in the photo above. is he not the poster boy for "please pray for me and my family?" ; )
Winner of gorgeous Bella Wish necklace is...


text:
Icon of "Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin with St. Therese of Lisieux and Siblings" by Paolo Orlando now available from Trinity Religious Artwork and Icons - October 10, 2015/
Thanks to the kindness of don Riccardo Brena and the parish of Marcallo in the Archdiocese of Milan, you can order reproductions of their icon of the Martin family through Trinity Stores Religious Artwork and Icons in Colorado.
This icon by Paolo Orlando, shows Louis and Zelie Martin with their five adult daughters dressed as nuns. From left, Marie and Pauline as Carmelite nuns; Leonie, whose cause was introduced in July 2015, as a Visitation nun; Celine and Therese as Carmelites. Near the parents are the four little ones who died very young: Marie Helene, Marie-Joseph-Jean-Baptiste, Marie-Melanie-Therese, and Marie-Joseph-Louis.
The icon is available in many sizes and formats: holy cards and prayer cards, magnets, framed desk art and wall art, giclee prints, and wooden plaques. You may also order the icon on devotional candles, T-shirts, and sweatshirts. Some of the available sizes are quite big enough to be installed in churches and monasteries; you may also order custom reproductions. Purchases through this link support this Web site. Thank you.
To order:
- Please click on the image of the icon of the Martin family above or click on "Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin with St. Therese of Lisieux and Siblings."
- At upper left, you will see a box that says "search for art." Type in the name "Orlando" and press the search button.
- The icon will appear. Choose among sizes and formats.
Louis and Zelie and their children gathered every night to pray before the statue of the Virgin of the Smile. I hope this icon of the Martin family will become a center of prayer in many homes, churches, and monasteries; will make the new saints known and loved; and will be a window to the holy. Consider ordering it to celebrate the canonization; for the feast of Sts. Louis and Zelie; for a wedding or anniversary gift; or for a Christmas present.
I hope that many churches dedicated to St. Therese will install this icon to honor Louis and Zelie and to remind the people that Therese did not fall out of heaven as a completed saint, but was brought up in a holy family. I would also like to see donors appear to give the icon to many Carmelite monasteries and monasteries of the Visitation. Please pray that God attracts many souls through this sacred art. Thank you.


text:
For discussion of Electric Universe and Plasma Cosmology. The ideas and opinions expressed on this forum do not necessarily reflect those of T-Bolts Group Inc or The Thunderbolts Project(TM)
Joe Parr is one of the few people who has spent an entire night on two separate occasions (1977 & 1987) on top of the Great Pyramid conducting electrical, magnetic, and radioactive measurements all night long. It is interesting to note that through all this travel and research Joe has Marfan's Syndrome. He has also attributed some healing due to his work and proximity to the Great Pyramid.
He has done some incredible experiments with rotating pyramids, electro-magnetic and radioactive sources.
Joe Parr discovered interesting physical phenomena happen because of the shape of the pyramid. Joe has discovered and measured an energy field that forms around the pyramid. He sometimes calls this energy field a bubble or orb. This energy field can be strengthened or weakened by certain kinds of energy.
A pyramid normal has this bubble or energy field around it but it may not be very strong or measurable. Joe has measured this energy field for over 20 years and found out that it varies with the 11 year sunspot cycle. Joe developed an elaborate experimental setup. By rotating a pyramid in an alternating magnetic field, he can increase the energy to this bubble so you can do experiments with it and see what kind of effect it has.
This increase in energy to the energy field causes the bubble to become opaque (that is it starts to block energy fields from passing through it - shielding). Joe discovered that it can partially block all known energy fields (gravity, electromagnetic, and radioactivity). It also appears that objects in the bubble as measured with sensitive equipment during this time lose weight. Joe actually placed radioactive sources, radio frequency sources, and magnetic sources inside the pyramid and measured the shielding of these sources by the energy field or orb.
Joe has done over 55 experiments which seems to indicate that this pyramid can pass through physical objects. Thus, Joe thinks it enters hyperspace at this time. Thus, it does not occupy the same physical space but is now in another spatial dimension, which we call HYPERSPACE.
Principle of Mentalism
The Principle of Mentalism embodies the truth that "All is Mind."
Principle of Correspondence
The Principle of Correspondence embodies the idea that there is always a correspondence between the laws of phenomena of the various "planes" of being and life.[2] As above, so below; as below, so above. This principle states that there is a harmony, agreement and correspondence between these planes, delineated as
* The Great Physical Plane
* The Great Mental Plane
* The Great Spiritual Plane
[edit] Principle of Vibration
The Principle of Vibration embodies the idea that motion is manifest in everything in the Universe, that nothing rests, and everything moves, vibrates, and circles.[3] This principle explains that the differences between different manifestations of Matter, Energy, Mind, and even Spirit, are the result of only different "vibrations".[4] The higher a person is on the scale, the higher the rate of vibration will be. Here, The All is purported to be at an infinite level of vibration, almost to the point of being at rest. There are said to be millions upon millions of varying degrees between the highest level, The All, and the objects of the lowest vibration.[5]
Mental Transmutation is described as the practical application of this principle. To change one's mental state is to change vibration. One may do this by an effort of Will, by means of deliberately "fixing the attention" upon a more desirable state.[6]
[edit] Principle of Polarity
The Principle of Polarity embodies the idea that everything is dual, everything has two poles, and everything has its opposite.[7] All manifested things have two sides, two aspects, or two poles.[8] Everything "is" and "isn't" at the same time, all truths are but half truths and every truth is half false, there are two sides to everything, opposites are identical in nature, yet different in degree, extremes meet, and all paradoxes may be reconciled.[9]
[edit] Principle of Rhythm
The Principle of Rhythm embodies the idea that in everything there is manifested a measured motion, a to and fro, a flow and inflow, a swing backward and forward, a pendulum-like movement.[10] This principle explains that there is rhythm between every pair of opposites, or poles, and is closely related to the Principle of Polarity.[11] It can be seen that this Principle enables transition from one pole to the other, and not necessarily poles of extreme opposites.
[edit] Principle of Cause and Effect
The Principle of Cause and Effect explains that there is a cause for every effect, and an effect for every cause.[12] It also states that there is no such thing as chance, that chance is merely a term indicating extant causes not recognized or perceived.[13] The Principle is clarified in the chapter Causation.
[edit] Principle of Gender
The Principle of Gender embodies the idea that there gender is manifested in everything.[14] The authors state this does not relate to "sex", but to "... beget; to procreate, to generate, to create, or to produce" in general.[15] Gender is manifested as the Masculine and Feminine principles, and manifests itself on all planes.
Mental Gender is described as a Hermetic concept which relates to the masculine and feminine principles. It does not refer to the physical gender of someone, nor does it suggest that someone of a certain physical gender necessarily has the same mental gender. Ideally, one wants to have a balanced mental gender.[16]
The concept put forth in The Kybalion states that gender exists on all planes of existence (Physical, Mental, and Spiritual), and represents different aspects on different planes. It is also stated that everything and everyone contains these two elements or principles.[17]
The Masculine principle is always in the direction of giving out or expressing, and contents itself with the "Will" in its varied phases.[18]
The Feminine principle is always in the direction of receiving impressions, and has a much more varied field of operation than the Masculine. The Feminine conducts the work of generating new thoughts , concepts, and ideas, including the work of the imagination.[19]
It is said that there must be a balance in these two forces. Without the Feminine, the Masculine is apt to act without restraint, order, or reason, resulting in chaos. The Feminine alone, on the other hand, is apt to constantly reflect and fail to actually do anything, resulting in stagnation. With both the Msculine and Feminine working in conjunction, there is thoughtful action that breeds success.[20]
[edit] Authorship
The "Three Initiates" who authored The Kybalion chose to remain anonymous. As a result, a great deal of speculation has been made about who actually wrote the book.
,Yorks pudding myself
Return to New Insights and Mad Ideas
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 6 guests


text:
LGBTI community observes Gai Jatra pride demanding to amend civil and criminal code
Kathmandu (Pahichan) August 27 – Members of sexual and gender minority on Monday celebrated Gai Jatra Festival. The slogan of this year was: Alliance for Solidarity . Members of this community attended the festival wearing the dresses as per their wishes.
Members of this community from more than 50 districts assembled in Kathmandu to celebrate Gai Jatra which is celebrated every year.
Members of this community demanded to scrap the discriminatory provisions of civil and criminal code. They also demanded to ensure their marriage rights through the promulgation of new laws reflecting the rights mentioned in constitution. Chairman of Blue Diamond Society Pinky Gurung said Civil and Criminal code should be scrapped as there are discriminatory provisions.
Gurung was of the view that there is a need of support from all walks of lives to ensure the rights of this community. Gurung remembered that there was the presence of 49 people at the beginning when they started to observe this day, and number has reached more than one thousand now. She warned the government not to underestimate the strength of this community.
Executive Director of BDS Manisha Dhakal said only providing the citizenship on the basis of identity is not sufficient. She said government is not heeding their demand of providing citizenship as per the wishes of this community. She demanded to amend the citizenship amendment bill tabled in the Parliament to remove the discriminatory provisions.
Ruben Del Prado, UNAIDS Country Director said that he felt happiness to participate the Gai Jatra festival organized by gender and sexual minority. Representatives from American Embassy also participated in the program.
Every year, BDS celebrates Gai Jatra festival. Member of Constituent Assembly and LGBTI campaigner Sunil Babu Pant took the initiations of oberserving Gai Jatra festival by this community. Members of this community said there is still need of creating awareness about this community.


text:
We are a multi-disciplinary team who transform brands and provide a full raft of marketing services both off and online. Our passion, experience and energy are key to our craft, creating engagement and delivering results.
Previously known as Nicepond Creative, ECLECTIC specialise in brand strategy, graphic design and web design from our headquarters in Staveley, near Kendal - Cumbria.


text:
We're here in Barcelona for MWC to introduce some of SwiftKey's great functionality to the mobile industry. But one question we often get is "why just Android?" or "prove you're more than just an app".
Today's launch of SwiftKey SDK does just that. Our new software development kit empowers engineers in hardware and enterprise companies to use a suite of tools designed to provide an excellent typing experience in an wide range of contexts.
The SDK lets partners plug all of the power of SwiftKey's incredible language engine directly into their device or service, to drive the most compelling text input experience on the market, based on all of our NLP and machine learning technology.
It's cross-platform and highly flexible, and we're really excited about what partners across the mobile, consumer electronics and enterprise industries will be able to do with it. Read more about what we have to offer, or get in touch with us today to find out how you can access the SwiftKey SDK.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.


text:
Book Direct with the Owner at Flying Fox Australia Vacation Tourism Gold Coast Agent in Flying Fox, for all your holiday and travel needs.
Address: Robinson Road, Borroloola NT 854
Address: 1 Railway Terrace, Pine Creek NT 847
Address: Nanaar road Daly River, Daly River NT 822
Address: 14 Roper Terrace, Mataranka NT 852
Address: 43 Kirra Crescent, Batchelor NT 845
Address: 6060 Litchfield Park Road, Batchelor NT 845
Address: 49 Rum Jungle Road, Batchelor NT 845
Address: 27 First Street, Katherine NT 850
Address: 257 Gorge Road, Katherine NT 850
Address: Corner Third and Giles Streets, Katherine NT 850
Address: Savannah Way Portion 1333, via, Borroloola NT 854
Address: PO Box 218, Batchelor NT 845
Address: PO Box 36, Pine Creek NT 847
Address: Chinner Road, Batchelor NT 845
Address: Stuart Highway, Katherine NT 850
Address: PO Box 195, Pine Creek NT 847
Address: Stuart Street, Daly Waters NT 852
Address: 6228 Woolianna Road, Daly River NT 822
Address: Stuart Highway, Mataranka NT 852
Address: 170 Whitewood Road, Howard Springs NT 835
copyright © 2019 Tourism Gold Coast. All rights reserved.


text:
A first-of-its-kind analysis, "History of sea ice in the Arctic" (subs. req'd), by an international team of 18 top scientists led by Leonid Polyak concludes:
[E]pisodes of considerably reduced sea ice or even seasonally ice-free conditions occurred during warmer periods linked to orbital variations. The last low-ice event related to orbital forcing (high insolation) was in the early Holocene, after which the northern high latitudes cooled overall, with some superimposed shorter-term (multidecadal to millennial-scale) and lower-magnitude variability. The current reduction in Arctic ice cover started in the late 19th century, consistent with the rapidly warming climate, and became very pronounced over the last three decades. This ice loss appears to be unmatched over at least the last few thousand years and unexplainable by any of the known natural variabilities.
The key point is that the Arctic loses ice when it is forced to lose ice. In the past that was driven by orbital changes, and now it is being driven by human emissions.
This Quaternary Science Reviews paper is based on a detailed study of "proxy records from the Arctic Ocean floor and from the surrounding coasts." You can find a brief discussion of those methods in the Ohio State University news release here, which explains this is "the first comprehensive history of Arctic ice." The analysis "re-examined the data from past and ongoing studies — nearly 300 in all — and combined them to form a big-picture view of the pole's climate history stretching back millions of years."
I asked the lead author, Leonid Polyak, of Ohio State's Byrd Polar Research Center, when was the last time the Arctic was ice free. He replied:
The paleo data we have so far is very scant, so we can't know for sure when the Arctic was ice free in the summer last time. To be conservative, the closest candidate is the early Holocene (roughly ~10 kyr ago), when the insolation in the Arctic was high due to the beneficial orbital configuration; however, the more data I see, the stronger is my impression that there was not that little ice at that time. The next best (actually, better) candidate is the Last Interglacial, about 125kyr ago, again due to orbitally-driven high insolation: the ice was likely very low, but we can't say whether it was completely ice free in summer or not. There are also a few other major interglacials, which may have had a similar picture, in particular Marine Isotopic Stage 11, about 450 kyr ago. In any case we are talking about very rare events controlled by a forcing very different from today. If none of those intervals was really ice free, then a million year assessment would be correct.
The Quaternary Science Reviews piece, whose co-authors include Penn State's Richard Alley and NSIDC's Mark Serreze, explains why it was warm (and there was reduced ice) in the Arctic 11,000 years ago — and why it's warm now with rapidly shrinking summer ice:
The present interglacial that has lasted approximately 11.5 kyr is characterized by much more paleoceanographic data than earlier warm periods, because Holocene deposits are ubiquitous and technically accessible on continental shelves and along many coastlines. Multiple proxy records and climate models indicate that early Holocene temperatures were higher than today and that the Arctic contained less ice, consistent with a high intensity of orbitally-controlled spring and summer insolation that peaked about 11 ka and gradually decreased thereafter….
Reviewed geological data indicate that the history of Arctic sea ice is closely linked with climate changes driven primarily by greenhouse and orbital forcings and associated feedbacks. This link is reflected in the persistence of the Arctic amplification, where fast feedbacks are largely controlled by sea-ice conditions.
So external forcings — primarily orbital in the past and primarily greenhouse gases now — start a process that is accelerated by polar amplification.
This was actually a special-themed issue of QSR, "Arctic Palaeoclimate Synthesis." It has a good piece just on that fast feedback, "Arctic amplification: can the past constrain the future?" (subs. req'd), which concludes:
Arctic amplification, the observation that surface air temperature changes in the Arctic exceed those of the Northern Hemisphere as a whole, is a pervasive feature of climate models, and has recently emerged in observational data relative to the warming trend of the past century…. Here we evaluate the mechanisms responsible for Arctic amplification on Quaternary timescales, and review evidence from four intervals in the past 3 Ma for which sufficient paleoclimate data and model simulations are available to estimate the magnitude of Arctic amplification under climate states both warmer and colder than present. Despite differences in forcings and feedbacks for these reconstructions compared to today, the Arctic temperature change consistently exceeds the Northern Hemisphere average by a factor of 3–4, suggesting that Arctic warming will continue to greatly exceed the global average over the coming century, with concomitant reductions in terrestrial ice masses and, consequently, an increasing rate of sea level rise.
Now that should be alarming to anybody:
the Arctic temperature change consistently exceeds the Northern Hemisphere average by a factor of 3–4
And indeed the best recent models show staggeringly high Arctic warming this century if we stay on our current emissions path (see M.I.T. doubles its 2095 warming projection to 10°F "" with 866 ppm and Arctic warming of 20°F").
As RealClimate noted in their useful discussion, "Polar amplification is thought to result primarily from positive feedbacks from the retreat of ice and snow." Indeed, the popular explanation is that warming melts highly reflective white ice and snow, which is replaced by the dark blue sea or dark land, both of which absorb far more sunlight and hence far more solar energy.
But in fact Arctic warming is amplified for several additional synergistic reasons, which are worth knowing, as I discussed in "What exactly is polar amplification and why does it matter?"
As the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) explains in their 2004 report, Impacts of a Warming Arctic (see figure here):
- In the Arctic, compared to lower latitudes, "more of the extra trapped energy goes into warming rather than evaporation."
- In the Arctic, "the atmospheric layer that has to warm in order to warm the surface is shallower."
- So, when the sea ice retreats, the "solar heat absorbed by the oceans in summer is more easily transferred to the atmosphere in winter."
[And as one climate scientist explained to me, it can get incredibly cold above thick ice, but it can't get much colder than freezing above open water.]
All this leads to more snow and ice melting, further decreasing Earth's reflectivity (albedo), causing more heating, which the thinner arctic atmosphere spreads more quickly over the entire polar region, and so on and on.
And that in turn threatens a cascade of effects. As the scientists at The International Polar Year explained last year, this could "speed up melting of the Greenland ice sheet, accelerating the rise in sea levels," and "Permafrost melting could also accelerate during rapid Arctic sea-ice loss due to an amplification of Arctic land warming 3.5 times greater than secular 21st century climate trends" (see "Tundra 4: Permafrost loss linked to Arctic sea ice loss").
Yet the destruction of a significant fraction of the permafrost must be avoided at all cost, since the tundra feedback, coupled with the climate-carbon-cycle feedbacks that the IPCC models, could easily take us to the unmitigated catastrophe of 1000 ppm (see Tundra, Part 2: The point of no return). See also NSF issues world a wake-up call: "Release of even a fraction of the methane stored in the [East Siberian Arctic Shelf] shelf could trigger abrupt climate warming."
One final point from the summary overview of the special issue of QSR:
Taken together, the size and speed of the summer sea ice loss over the last few decades appear anomalous compared to events from previous thousands of years, especially considering that changes in the Earth's orbit over this time have made sea ice melting less, not more, likely.
Human-caused Arctic warming has overtaken 2,000 years of natural cooling, as a "seminal" 2009 Science study found" [see figure below]:
A Hockey Stick in Melting Ice
In short, "greenhouse gas emissions are overwhelming the system," as David Schneider, a visiting scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research and one of the Science article's co-authors put it.
So the next time some anti-science disinformer — or more likely, one of the doubters who has been duped by them — says past warmth undermines our understanding of human-caused warming, tell them, quite the reverse is true. The paleoclimate record provides us more cause to be worried, not less. We know natural forcings led to warming in the past, but human emissions of greenhouse gases are overwhelming the climate now, and threatening catastrophic levels of warming if we stay on our current emissions path.
Related Posts:
- Science: CO2 levels haven't been this high for 15 million years, when it was 5° to 10°F warmer and seas were 75 to 120 feet higher "" "We have shown that this dramatic rise in sea level is associated with an increase in CO2 levels of about 100 ppm."
- Nature Geoscience study: Oceans are acidifying 10 times faster today than 55 million years ago when a mass extinction of marine species occurred


text:
View your current reading, trend arrow, and history.
1. The FreeStyle LibreLink app and the FreeStyle Libre reader have similar but not identical features.
A finger prick test using a blood glucose meter is required during times of rapidly changing glucose levels when interstitial fluid glucose levels may not accurately reflect blood glucose levels or if hypoglycaemia or impending hypoglycaemia is reported by the FreeStyle LibreLink app or when symptoms do not match the LibreLink app readings.
2. The FreeStyle LibreLink app is compatible with NFC enabled phones running Android OS 5.0 or higher and with iPhone 7 and higher running OS 11 and higher.
3. LibreView data can be viewed in the Safari Browser on Mac OS X Mountain Lion or higher computers and on iOS 6 or higher mobile devices. Currently, uploading of glucose data is only supported on Windows-based computers. Minimum system requirements are Windows Vista with IE10 or the latest versions of Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, running on a 550MHz Pentium 3, 512MB DRAM, 2G Hard Drive, USB 2.0, LCD Screen with resolution of 1024×768.
4. LibreView (including the LibreLInkUp mobile app) is not intented to be a primary glucose monitor: home users must consult their primary device(s) and consult a healthcare professional before making any medical interpretation and therapy adjustments from the information in the software, and healthcare professionals should use information in the software in conjunction with other clinical information available to them.
5. LibreLinkUp is a mobile application, developed and provided by Newyu, Inc. Use of LibreLinkUp requires registration with LibreView, a service provided by Abbott and Newyu, Inc.