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Belvedere Farm LLC
Belvedere means "a beautiful place" in Italian. The name is well suited. On visiting, one is immediately struck by the captivating beauty: the beautifully updated original residence, the rolling hills and stately trees, the green pastures encircled and divided by wooden fences which nurture some of the most beautiful Arabians in the country. And then of course there is the barn and related training facilities. Calling this structure a "barn" understates the facility so completely you have to see it to understand. A visit quickly reveals why this beautiful farm has been named Belvedere since the early 1800's. Once it was a 4,000+ acre working southern plantation. Over the years, most of the property was converted to timber land that today surrounds this Arabian farm consisting of approximately 160 acres. It is located in the friendly and small southern town of Cedartown, Georgia. It is convenient and easy to find being only about one and one half hours from downtown Atlanta and about the same from the Atlanta airport. Belvedere Farm is true to its name in every sense. It is a beautiful place.
Belvedere is the home of the Womble family: DeeDee, Mickey and the children, Benjamin 18 and Sarah Beth 14. Mickey had the original passion for the horses, but Sarah Beth has it too. Once Sarah Beth started competing and capturing the ribbons, DeeDee joined on as well. Like most who have pursued their love of the Arabian, this family and Belvedere has had its fair share of challenges. Most notably was the fire that took the original stables and four Arabians as well. At that time, Mickey led the effort to breed, show, and market mostly halter type Arabians. There were a few riding horses just for fun. The fire took the facilities and the tack but losing the four horses was a stinging blow to the spirit. Those who have experienced a fire understand it is a dramatic and hurtful experience. Feeling this loss and without a suitable facility, Mickey sold most of the breeding and show horses keeping a few of the favorite family horses. That is where Sarah Beth had her first experiences with Arabians.
From her earliest years, Sarah Beth would ride in the saddle with her Dad on long trail rides through the farm and surrounding timber land. These were magical times and the bond between Dad and daughter, and between daughter and Arabian, were permanently forged. These times healed the heart and when Sarah Beth decided it was time to start showing, Belvedere Farm came back into the Arabian business. Mickey had already designed the replacement barn in his mind. Soon he undertook the construction of the grand facility that centers Belvedere today.
Owner: Mickey Womble
Trainer: Tara Carpio


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Neo4j Tutorial - Madison
Tuesday July 23 09:00-17:00 CDT
This tutorial covers the core functionality of the Neo4j graph database. With a mixture of theory and hands-on practice sessions, attendees will quickly learn how easy it is to develop a Neo4j-backed application. You will leave with an understanding of graph databases, when to use them, and how to get started working with Neo4j.
Topics covered include:
Attendees won't need any previous experience with Neo4j, NOSQL databases or specific development languages, but will need their own laptop.
The tutorial will be held at The Madison Club. Breakfast, lunch and refreshments will be provided.
Max De Marzi, Senior Consultant, Neo Technology
Max De Marzi is a graph database enthusiast. He built the Neography Ruby Gem, a rest api wrapper to the Neo4j Graph Database. He is addicted to learning new things, loves a challenge and finding pragmatic solutions.
Learn more about Max and Neo4j at maxdemarzi.com.
Watch an attendee from an earlier Neo4j Tutorial discuss his experience below
The Madison Club, 5 East Wilson St., Madison, WI 53703
For any questions about the event, please e-mail Adam at email@example.com

subset: commoncrawl


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Top Definition
This is a rather complicated version of the usual Spiderman. If you can pull it off you really are a superhero, be proud. After receiving a hand-job and nutting in your chicks hands immediately spin her around and slam her up against the wall. With her hands flat up against the wall fuck her from behind long enough for the jizz to dry on her hands sticking her to the wall like Spidey! If she struggles or screams at you remind her that, "With great power comes great responsibility". Leave quickly while she contemplates this...
I laid the Super Spiderman on that ho I met at the bar last night...
by Eldog November 12, 2007
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Organizations are using business analytics to discover insights into their performance and identify future opportunities. But systems can also transform the way we think, behave and operate. In today's cognitive systems era, systems can learn through experiences, find correlations, create hypotheses, and remember, and learn from, the outcomes.
IBM Watson, built on Linux on Power, is the embodiment of this new era. It leverages deep content analysis and evidence-based reasoning to accelerate and improve decisions, reduce costs and optimize outcomes. Watson uses a set of transformational technologies which leverage natural language, hypothesis generation and evidence-based learning. Combined with massively parallel probabilistic processing techniques, Watson can fundamentally change the way you look at solving problems quickly.
Today, IBM Watson solutions are being put to work in several industries to deliver personalized medicine, accelerate medical research and to find better business outcomes.
Discover how IBM Power Systems and Watson can transform the way your organization thinks, behaves and operates for better outcomes.
Contact an IBM Sales Specialist
- Email IBM
- Find a Business Partner
- Call IBM: 1-866-872-3902
Priority code: Power


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6.1: Adolescent Pregnancy
What are some of the physical, emotional, and social effects of becoming a teenage parent?
Biologically, adolescent girls can become pregnant just as adult women can. However, younger adolescent mothers and their children tend to experience greater risks, often due to poor prenatal care. Even though there is little difference biologically, there are enormous differences in psychological and social terms between having a child at 15, while still in high school, and at age 25. Generally, the younger the teenage mother, the more serious the problems and disruptions will be to her life. About 12,000 girls 14 years old and younger become pregnant each year. These adolescents are especially at risk. On the other hand, some 18- or 19-year-olds who become pregnant are capable of being competent mothers.
Abstinence is the refraining from sexual intercourse altogether. Abstinence is the safest choice for adolescents. If you abstain from sex, you will never get pregnant or you will not get someone else pregnant. Most adolescents who engage in sexual intercourse that leads to pregnancy are neither ready nor interested in becoming parents. So why do they take the chance? What is the likelihood that a sexually active adolescent will become pregnant?
As shown in Figure 5.1, among young American women aged 15 to 19, about half are sexually active, or engage in sexual intercourse; the other half are not sexually active.
Figure 5.1 Sexual activity among women ages 15-19.
Teenage Pregnancy Rates-A Little Math Work Convert data in Figure 5.1 to
- numbers (e.g., of the 9 million women, how many engage in sex, use contraception, etc.),
- a bar graph using numbers or percents,
- ratios, and
- rates per thousand.
About two thirds of those adolescents who are sexually active use contraception. The other third do not. 20% of sexually active girls become pregnant. A sexually active girl who does not use contraception has a 90% chance of pregancy within one year. However, some sexually active girls who use contraception become pregnant, also. How can this happen?
Pregnancy can occur if the contraceptive is not used correctly, or because most methods of contraception are not foolproof. Unlike contraception, abstinence is foolproof. If you abstain from sex, you will never get pregnant. Engaging in sexual intercourse can result in unwanted pregnancy. Using effective contraceptives can greatly reduce, but does not entirely eliminate, the chances of pregnancy.
About 32% of the girls who become pregnant have abortions (termination of pregnancy) and another 14% miscarry. About half of the girls who become pregnant give birth to their babies. The majority of those girls who give birth keep their babies. However, some offer their babies for adoption.
The facts on teenage pregnancy listed below provide more information on this very serious problem.
Teenage Pregnancy Facts
- During the past 10 years, over 10 million adolescents got pregnant. This number represents about 1 in 10 female adolescents.
- Each year approximately 500,000 children are born to adolescent mothers. 85% of these babies are unplanned.
- About 10,000 babies are born every year to children under age 15.
- One-fourth of teenage mothers have a second child within two years of their first.
- A sexually active girl who does not use contraception has a 90% chance of pregnancy within one year.
- Of teenage mothers aged 15 or younger, 82% were themselves daughters of teenage mothers.
- Teenage pregnancy rates have changed over time in this country. For example, the number of teenage pregnancies was much lower in the United States during the 1950s. Teenage pregnancies increased sharply in the 1960s and 1970s during the "sexual revolution."
- In poorer communities, teenage pregnancy rates are twice as high as the average. Education and financial status are good predictors of teenage pregnancy-the lower the level of education and the lower the financial status, the more likely a teen will get pregnant.
- Teenage pregnancy rates in the United States are much higher than in European countries. For example, U.S. rates are twice as high as England or Canada and nine times as high as the Netherlands or Japan.
"I dragged that stupid bag of flour around for eleven whole days, and all I learned is that I never ever want a baby in my whole life unless someone else offers to look after it at least half a day, and there's a free day care center next door."
-Robin, Flour Babies
Anne Fine
Activity 5-1: Why Do Adolescents Become Pregnant?
For many adolescents, pleas or pressure from a sexual partner overshadow concerns about the possibility of pregnancy. How many times have lines such as these been thought of or spoken during sexual arousal?
"It can't happen to me."
"You won't get pregnant the first time."
"C'mon, just one time won't make any difference."
"Don't worry. I can't get pregnant at this time of the month."
"If you really loved me, you wouldn't stop me now!"
"But we're engaged."
And how many times have such statements led to a decision that changed someone's life forever?
Over a million teenagers become pregnant each year. Most of these pregnancies are unwanted. Have you ever wondered why so many adolescents are willing to risk pregnancy and all the responsibilities pregnancy brings with it? This activity examines some of the reasons given.
- Activity Report
Step 1 You will be given an Activity Report requiring your written response to several questions. This should take about 10 minutes.
Step 2 Your teacher will then divide the class into groups.
Step 3 Take your Activity Report with you. In your groups, compare your responses with those of the other members of your group.
Step 4 After the discussion, write your own personal position statement on adolescent pregnancy.
The Psychology of Adolescent Pregnancy
Earlier we explored some basic reasons that adult couples have children. Some of those same reasons may apply to adolescents. But adolescents often have their own special reasons for wanting to have children.
One reason adolescents give for having a child is to show that they are "grown up." Also, some adolescent boys may assume that fathering a child is a way to gain respect. Other adolescents feel that becoming a parent is a way to bolster their self-esteem. Some adolescents say they are looking for love and affection they don't get from their families. Some adolescents admit that they see getting pregnant as a way to rebel-a way of "getting even" with or punishing parents. By getting pregnant, a girl may avoid going to school. It may be a remedy against boredom or a way of getting welfare payments from the state. None of these reasons are positive reasons for getting pregnant.
Role-play Becoming a Parent Work with a partner to explore issues in teenage pregnancy. One of you is a teenager looking to parenthood as a way to get respect and to be treated like a grown-up. The other is a school counselor trying to convince the teenager that parenthood is not the answer. After 10 minutes, trade roles and trade partners. Share your findings with the class.
There are, of course, much better ways of improving and maintaining self-esteem, attaining adulthood status, or gaining respect, such as finishing school, getting a job, or pursuing a career. Adolescents who use pregnancy in the ways listed above may not be fully aware of what they are doing. The price they pay is very high for themselves and for the child they bring into the world.
Many sexually active teenagers get pregnant because they do not know about contraception or cannot get contraception. But others do not even try to obtain contraceptive methods because they think pregnancy cannot happen to them. Still others are ignorant of the simple facts of how or when pregnancy occurs. Additionally, those who abuse alcohol or drugs are more likely to take greater risks with their own sexual behavior.
Effects of Adolescent Pregnancy
The impact of adolescent pregnancy is mainly on the mother and child. However, the father, parents, and society as a whole are also affected and must help bear the impact.
Being a teenage parent creates difficult choices and challenges. Basically, these choices and challenges fall into three categories-biological, psychological, and social. How well anyone handles these challenges depends largely on his or her social circumstances and maturity. The poorer and more socially disadvantaged the person, the rougher it is. The younger (or less mature) the teen, the more difficult the challenge will be.
With good prenatal care, pregnancy presents few problems to girls who are 18 years old and older. By that age, a girl is biologically fit to be a mother. A girl younger than 14 or one who has not fully developed faces the physical burden of sustaining not only her own growing body, but also the growing body of a fetus. Typically the mother, the fetus, or both will suffer.
Raising Kids-How Much Does It Cost? Convert the numbers in Figure 5.2 to a circle graph, using percentages. What would the average cost per year be?
|Amounts in U.S. Dollars
|Health Care
Figure 5.2 The cost of raising a middle-class child to 18 years old.
Socially, becoming a parent is not a one-time event (unless the child is put up for adoption). Raising a child requires time, love, and money. How do you get a good job without education? In this highly technological society, education is critical. How do you get an education if you have a baby to care for at home? How do you get a baby-sitter without any money? For many young mothers, pregnancy creates a cycle of dependency, a cycle of relying on others such as family or government funds for support. Once a cycle of dependency is established, it is difficult to get out of it. Also, being a parent puts a lot of restrictions on how a person spends his or her time. Parenting can be a very lonely experience, so many teenage parents feel socially isolated. They are not treated with respect by most adults, and they no longer feel a part of their peer group (people who are the same age or in the same grade). They are teenagers who must learn to cope in an adult world.
Babies of Teenage Mothers
Prenatal care is important at any age, but it is especially important for young mothers. Many adolescent mothers are not physiologically mature. That is, they are not fully developed physically. Also, many adolescent mothers have poor health habits, such as unhealthy diets, smoking, or drug and alcohol use. The lack of prenatal care makes it more likely that babies born to teenage mothers will have more problems than those born to women in their 20s and 30s. Prenatal care detects health problems before they become serious. It teaches the mother, no matter what age, that what she eats and what she does directly impacts the baby. Prenatal care encourages the mother to develop healthy habits and eliminate unhealthy ones. It helps her understand her feelings and learn what to expect. Without prenatal care, problems increase.
Premature and Low Birth Weight
Infants born early or weighing less than 5 pounds 8 ounces (2,500 grams) at birth are at greater risk of dying during the first year. They are also more likely to suffer long-term disabilities such as learning disabilities, brain disorders, and behavioral disturbances. These problems put an even greater burden on the young mothers taking care of these children.
About 10% of infants born in the United States are premature. With proper care, most of them develop normally. Many factors can cause prematurity. Teenage mothers (as well as those who are 40 or older) are more likely to have premature infants. Because adolescents who use drugs or alcohol are more likely to be sexually active, teenage mothers are often drug or alcohol users. Smoking, drinking alcohol, and using drugs are unhealthy activities anytime. During pregnancy, smoking, drinking alcohol, and using drugs are harmful to both the mother and the fetus. These activities increase the chances of premature birth and health problems in the baby.
Birth Defects
Some infants are born with a malformed body part or body function. These malformations or birth defects develop while the fetus is in the uterus rather than after birth. However, some birth defects may not be apparent right away. Some may surface later on as the baby grows.
Birth defects may be cause d by genetic factors from the mother or from the father, or they may result from harmful influences during pregnancy. These influences can include illness or diseases suffered by the mother or exposure of the fetus to harmful substances such as tobacco, drugs, or alcohol.
Teen Parents Looking for a Job Explore the problems of getting a job as a pregnant teen or young mother with a baby. Working in pairs, one of you should role-play them other interviewing for a job and the other should role-play the interviewer. What concerns might the interviewer have? After 10 minutes, trade roles and trade partners. Share your answers with the group.
Many birth defects are minor or easily treated. Some 2% of defects seriously impact normal growth or functions. Any mother can give birth to an infant with birth defects, but the likelihood is greater for teenage mothers. The higher risk of defects often results from life circumstances, such as poor nutrition or an unhealthy environment, or the lack of prenatal care. The combination of these factors and a young age can add up to the fact that a teenage mother is more likely to have a baby who will be sick or die within the first year.
Premature babies with inadequate care are more likely to grow up in poverty, do poorly in school, and be abused or neglected. This is not to say all teenage mothers are incapable of caring for their infants. There are certainly some who prove to be excellent mothers, especially with help from their families or public institutions. But even then, the personal cost to the teenage parent, especially the mother, is enormous.
Difficult Feelings
Health problems, while important, are by no means the only or most important issues related to teenage pregnancy. From a practical standpoint, being pregnant, or being the sexual partner of someone who is pregnant, has a tremendous impact on one's life. It influences feelings, behavior, success at school, future plans, and relationships with parents and friends. Pregnancy affects every option in life. Psychologically a teenager can be overwhelmed by the responsibilities of parenthood depending on the individual's level of maturity, family support, and financial support. In this society, which emphasizes individualism and independence, children are not in a good position to bring up their own children.
Activity 5-2: Problems of Being a Mother and Father
Imagine this scenario: It's Saturday night, and a teenage couple is watching a video in his parents' house. They sit together on the couch, holding hands. She turns to him and says, "Um, honey, I'm pregnant." What happens next? The reaction could range from "My dreams have come true!" to "A-I-E-E-E-E-E!" But now the fact remains that she's pregnant, and the problems of pregnancy begin. Do you have any idea what these problems could be?
- Activity Report
Step 1 You will be given an Activity Report requesting your written response to the question: "What specific problems could a mother face? A father face?"
Step 2 Your teacher will then divide the class into groups.
Step 3 You will compare your responses with those in your group.
Step 4 The group will then tally the responses and report back to the class.
Step 5 Write a position statement expressing your views about becoming a teenage mother or father.
Many confusing and conflicting emotions surface when a teenage woman and her sexual partner suspect or realize that she may be pregnant. The initial reaction is often one of disbelief ("This can't be happening to me."). Denial of the unpleasant reality sometimes leads a pregnant teenager to delay getting help for weeks or even months, until the signs of her pregnancy become obvious.
Other likely feelings include fear ("What is going to happen to me?"), shame ("What will everyone say?"), guilt ("I will be punished."), and often regret ("I shouldn't have done it."). Anger at the partner ("How could you do this to me?") is especially severe if seduction, pressure, coercion, or any kind of force led to the pregnancy. However, not all reactions to pregnancy are negative. As discussed in the previous section, some adolescents get pregnant because they want to. Or a pregnancy may be unintended, but the parents may be pleased or able to make the best of the situation at least. In those cases, it is more likely there will be feelings of excitement, pride, and anticipation. Many feelings depend on the life circumstances of the people involved, including how much support and counseling they receive.
Hard Choices
The pregnant teenager and her partner face some tough choices. Once again, the situation is not the same for everyone. Age, family background, religious beliefs, future goals, and financial factors will significantly influence the choices that are available. The pregnant teenager must decide first if she will have the baby. About half of teenage mothers decide to carry on with the pregnancy. Of those, most decide to keep and raise the baby and a small fraction decide to offer the baby for adoption. The other choice a pregnant teenager has is abortion, or the termination of the pregnancy. The decisions a pregnant teenager must make involve many emotional, physical, psychological, and moral considerations. And if she decides to carry on with the pregnancy and raise the baby herself, there are many practical consequences that will affect her day-to-day life and her future plans.
Most adolescents are far from being socially or financially independent. This fact results in many problems trying to raise a child. Often, a pregnant teenager drops out of school, or girls with poor academic skills and performance are more likely to get pregnant after dropping out of school. Seven out of ten teenagers who become pregnant finish high school, but they are less likely to go on to college than women who delay childbirth.
A teen mother does not have as many choices as other teens when it comes to time or activities. A teen mother often feels isolated and lonely. Achieving her aspirations or dreams of a career may seem impossible. This is especially true if the teen mother comes from a disadvantaged background. An adolescent mother will more likely depend on welfare support to care for herself and her child. About 55% of women on welfare became mothers during adolescence.
A young father also faces difficult life choices. He, too, is likely to drop out of school, especially if he wants to help support his child. Without a good education, many young fathers will remain in low-paying jobs. Adolescent fathers also commonly feel left out and powerless because their female partners make the key choices and confront the consequences. Many of these young fathers are prevented from seeing their children if they separate from the child's mother. Their self-esteem suffers from the inability to support their children and the negative view that society typically has of teen parents.
Traditionally, getting married has been the "solution" to the problem of premarital pregnancy. If the couple is compatible and mature enough, this may be a successful relationship. However, teenage marriages tend to break up at a much higher rate than later marriages. It takes more than having a child to make a marriage work.
In some cultures and in some families, teenage pregnancy is not as serious a problem as in others. In some cultural or family situations, the older women may take on the burden of care, adding the new baby to the extended family. However, although these families survive, they are usually financially dependent on others such as the government. In these situations, it becomes hard for an individual to break free from that cycle of poverty.
Look at the Did You Know? on page 31. Calculate the monthly cost of raising two children. If you are a parent on welfare receiving the 1990 average monthly payment, is your welfare check enough to cover the cost of caring for your children?
Looking at Welfare Payments Using the numbers from Figure 5.3, calculate the following:
- Total payments made to families in 1950
- Total payments made to families in 1990
- Percentage change in average monthly payments from 1950 to 1970 to 1990
- Percentage increase in the number of recipients from 1950 to 1990
- Percentage change in total payments from 1950 to 1990
|Average Monthly Payment from Aid to Families with Dependent Children (the federal government's welfare program) to a Family in Need
|Number of Families (in thousands) Receiving This Aid
|[Not Available]
Source: 1991 Youth Indicators, U.S. Department of Education
Figure 5.3 Aid to families with dependent children.
You are a social worker. It seems that every day you are assigned a new case concerning a pregnant teen who wants to drop out of school. Or you get a case in which four- and five-year-olds are left at home alone, while their young mother goes to work or school. How would you try to help these young mothers address their current problems and try to prevent future ones?
Review Questions
- Why do adolescents get pregnant? List five reasons.
- What are two predictors of teenage pregnancy?
- Can you get pregnant even if you use contraceptives during sexual intercourse? What is the only way to avoid getting pregnant or making someone else pregnant?
- What physical factors might impact a young teenager's pregnancy more than a more mature woman's pregnancy?
- Name three factors that make teenage parenthood in American society so difficult.
- What does a cycle of dependency refer to?
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Being that I live in Bozeman, MT, where you have to send your cards and proofs-of-purchases to get the Captain Rex figure, I am probably one of the first people to receive this notice.
The postcard I received today, May 1st, stating the delay reads as follows:
"Dear Clone Wars Figure Requestor:
We have received your redemption request for the Clone Wars 2008 Captain Rex collectable figure. Due to an unanticipated production delay, we will be unable to ship the figure(s) to you until the last week of July, 2008. If you don't want to wait until then, you may cancel your order and receive a prompt refund by calling our toll-free customer service number, (800) 327-8264. Customer service hours are M-TH 8:30am-5:30am; Fr 8:30am-12:30pm. If we do not hear from you by July 1, 2008, we assume that you have agreed to this shipment delay. Please DO NOT call the toll-free number unless you want to cancel your order. We thank you for your patience and apologize for the delay."
The card has the Clone Wars logo on it that looks like the one on the offer on the packages and it was sent from right here in town (PO Box 10760 Bozeman, MT 59717).
If I could scan this in I would- however you will all be receiving the notice soon enough BUT-
You heard it from me, first


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Actor Anne Gottlieb would appear to be the thinking heart of this collaborative project; she discovered Hillesum's writings in 2004 and determined to bring the "excitable" young intellectual's tempestuous inner life to the stage. Along the way, she enlisted Austin-based writer Kirk Lynn and Obie-winning director Katie Pearl, who helms the powerful, fragmented debut production that follows the script's selection last fall as a finalist in the Outstanding New American Play competition sponsored by the NEA's New Play Development Program.
The theater piece begins with Gottlieb's Hillesum, like a deer tensed in the headlights, apologizing — abruptly, three times — for what she perceives as an inability to go on. "I hate myself like a poison," she confides. It is 1941, and Hillesum is about to encounter first a symbolic purveyor of a malevolent future unsubtly called the Wrecking Ball and then German-Jewish-refugee analyst Julius Spier, a student of Carl Jung specializing in the study of palm prints. Hillesum is not just a hand specimen but also a handful, and the older man will become both her mentor and her lover. Whether or not he's a manipulative huckster dressing up palm reading as insight, he helps guide Etty — a one-time law student now barred from university, and chafing in the bosom of a mentally troubled family — through the sexually bubbling maelstrom of her dreams to an inner strength she chooses to associate with prayer.
This is profound and edifying stuff, and if the overlong and sometimes over-sentimental The Wrestling Patient does not absolutely pin it to the mat, it makes for a compelling piece of theater — arrayed here on a bleak gray jumble by scenic designer Richard Chambers that suggests both oppressed Amsterdam in the two years prior to Hillesum's death at Auschwitz in 1943 and the homy, chaotic interior of the diarist's mind. The latter must be home to the Wrecking Ball, a dapper if sinister invented persona who also serves the script as a Nazi functionary. Everyone else — including the sage yet whimsical Spier and Hillesum's squabbling "madhouse" of a family — is real if subjectively presented, as in the journals. Anne Frank demonstrates the heroism of ordinary people; what we learn from Hillesum is that difficult, even mentally ill people (both of Hillesum's brothers, one a gifted pianist, had been hospitalized, and she suffered from depression) can also rise to as brutal an occasion as History provides.
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South Sudan: Emergency operation ramps up in Jonglei State
A large-scale emergency operation is gearing up to provide food, water and shelter to 60,000 people in South Sudan's Jonglei State, amid continued clashes between two of the region's largest ethnic groups.
New fighting broke out in late December 2011 between the Murle and the Lou Nuer communities, causing further displacement in the south-eastern region.
"The most recent spike in inter-communal violence compounded an already difficult humanitarian situation in South Sudan," said Lise Grande, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan. "Before the crisis in Jonglei, humanitarian partners were already over-stretched."
The latest in a series of retaliatory attacks took place on Wednesday, when Murle fighters allegedly attacked a Lou Nuer village in Uror County. Twelve people, wounded during the attack, are being treated at a Médecins Sans Frontières clinic in Nasir, in neighbouring Upper Nile State.
In 2011, more than 1,100 people lost their lives, and some 63,000 people were displaced by inter-communal violence in the State. The total number of people killed and displaced from the latest spate of attacks is yet to be confirmed. Many people are still in hiding in remote parts of the State after fleeing from the violence.
"Most affected areas can only be reached by air, making this operation extremely expensive compared to regular assistance delivered by road," Ms. Grande said. "The provision of heavy airlift capacity and a surge in relief workers on the ground are crucial to the success of this emergency operation."
Despite difficulties in reaching the hardest hit areas, aid agencies have been mobilised to deliver food, water and shelter across Jonglei - including Pibor and Boma towns. Jonglei is roughly the size of Bangladesh.
In Pibor alone, more than 32,000 people need humanitarian assistance, and emergency aid delivery has been ongoing since the end of December 2011. The World Food Programme (WFP) and World Health Organization (WHO) have airlifted tonnes of food and medical supplies into the town. More aid including soap, jerry cans, blankets, plastic sheeting and mosquito nets from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is expected in the coming days.
"Humanitarian agencies are working closely with the Government to identify solutions and promote reconciliation in order to bring an end to the cycle of violence," Ms. Grande said.
More>> OCHA in South Sudan


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Town Square
On Deadline: Will huge new bicycle plan generate enthusiasm or a revolution?
Original post made by Jay Thorwaldson, editor emeritus, on Aug 5, 2011
It was over bicycles.
Specifically, the resident revolt occurred when the City Council formally adopted a plan in late January 1972 that would have created a 66.6-mile bike-lane system with parking banned on both sides of the street for nearly two thirds of the lanes.
By late February council members were wildly backpedaling in the face of a burst of anger, outrage, protest and concern. They discovered a basic fact of urban life: Residents consider their on-street parking spaces as "mine!"
Most council members said they passed the initial plan just to stimulate citizen awareness and feedback.
Boy did they get it. As trial balloons go, the plan crashed and burned like the Hindenburg. It also signaled the end of "trial-balloon testing" of city projects.
The final 1972 plan was for 43 miles of bike lanes with parking banned on only about 13 miles and then only on one side of the street. That plan, hastily worked out by city Traffic Engineer Ted Noguchi, mollified residents and is essentially the system in Palo Alto today, with some additions and tweaks.
But the new plan (see story at www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=21945) goes much further than envisioned by even the most ambitious bike-lane visionaries of 1972, or even those who put forth a renewed proposal in 2003 to double the number of bike lanes throughout the city (being wary of parking spaces).
And costs have ballooned also.
The original 1972 project cost about $132,000, reduced from $172,000 by removal of a new bike underpass under the railroad tracks.
The 2003 plan was estimated at $37 million, about $20 million of which would go to construct four track undercrossings. It was a separate project from the bicycle corridors that were part of a "safe routes to school" program. (See column at www.paloaltoonline.com/weekly/morgue/2003/2003_05_28.ondead28bike.html)
There is no fixed cost estimate for the current plan. A cost-estimate appendix is laced with TBDs, for "to be determined."
But it's many millions of dollars, as indicated by a list of potential outside funding possibilities that exceeds $86 million. There also is no timeframe for implementing the plan, so in one sense there's no rush. Plenty of time for a bike ride or two.
But the clock is ticking for residents who want to have some input on the complex web of bike lanes, a new bike boulevard, undercrossings and traffic changes to accommodate bicyclists and perhaps encourage a doubling of bikers by 2020.
The City Council has set two months for citizen and business input, and some people are already voicing their opinions, some more stridently than others.
The draft plan is by Alta Planning & Design. It is available for download from the CityofPaloAlto.org website (if you can find it). It's called the "Bicycle & Pedestrian Transportation Plan," or BPTP for short.
If and when it is implemented, it will affect virtually every neighborhood and business district in town. But protests years from now will be greeted with a response something like: "Well, that's been part of the plan the city adopted in 2011, and you should have protested then." Right.
Former Weekly Editor Jay Thorwaldson can be e-mailed at email@example.com.
Comments (27)
a resident of Old Palo Alto
on Aug 5, 2011 at 10:45 am
The city has too much car traffic right now. We can't build enough roads for all the cars without tearing down more houses or drastically increasing housing density. Even if we did want to build more roads, the cost would be astronomical. Bicycles use only 1/10 of the space of cars. More and better bike lanes is a real cheap way to improve transportation around the city. These projects are going to be spread out over many years (maybe 10 years of more), so the cost per year is very affordable.
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Aug 5, 2011 at 10:52 am
Improve the shuttle, make it more comprehensive (particularly for kids) and charge a fair fare. That would greatly improve traffic flow around Palo Alto.
The best way to reduce traffic is to get parents to stop driving their kids around town by riding bikes or riding buses.
It's not the working commuters we want to stop driving, but the parents of kids.
Oh yes, and better shopping in Palo Alto would reduce the need to drive to nearby destinations too. That would also reduce traffic.
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Aug 5, 2011 at 10:59 am
"The city has too much car traffic right now."
No, it does not. This is a completely false and unproven factoid that has been bandied about the city for years and given credence by the constant whining of a former councilmember on this matter. It is always trotted out when people want to oppose something--the issue of traffic is always brought up.
Palo Alto does not have a sound public transportation system and has discouraged businesses from setting up stores in Palo alto (because they will create "too much traffic"!!!!). In addition the population of PA almost doubles during the work day. These 3 factors increase the number of vehicles in the city, but we do not have traffic problems.
The "people should only bike and drivers are evil" coalition has had too much sway over decisions in the city regarding traffic. Time to stop whining about traffic and deal with the bigger problems that our city faces.
a resident of Old Palo Alto
on Aug 5, 2011 at 11:38 am
Anyone else get the feeling that Mr. Thorwaldson's editorial is going to inspire anti-bicyclist road raging?
a resident of Duveneck/St. Francis
on Aug 5, 2011 at 11:54 am
First things first. FIRST,fix the Embarcadero traffic nightmare at Town & Country, PALY, and El Camino. Make that underpass four lanes, two in each direction!!! And another thing. According to statistics, there will be an big upsurge in Palo Alto's over sixty population in coming years. And not everybody can do bicycles.
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Aug 5, 2011 at 12:03 pm
Kate brings up a good point, which points to one of the problems in the city--there is an almost never ending desire to narrow or hinder traffic on main arterial roads without any regard to the consequences. We are now in the midst of a "trial" on Arestadero. We have tried to narrow Middlefield and there was talk of reducing lanes on Embarcadero.
BTW, Kate, the bicycle zealots do not care that everybody can not bike--cars are evil and if Ellen Fletcher can still bike then everyone can.
a resident of Old Palo Alto
on Aug 5, 2011 at 12:04 pm
No, not everyone is going to commute by bicycle, but everyone one that does is one less car on the road. Encouraging bicycling reduces car congestion, which is what car drivers want, too.
a resident of Crescent Park
on Aug 5, 2011 at 7:44 pm
Just allow small electric/hybrid cars in the downtown area, and have parking lots on the periphery of the area. People would have to walk a little more to get to some nice spots ... but that will make them nicer. University or California.
We could try to prototype this kind of downtown center. Turn downtown parking lots into parks and put more parking garages like we have them around the outside of town. Make it easy for people to move around ... how about some horizontal escalators?
a resident of Midtown
on Aug 6, 2011 at 6:00 pm
Walter_E_Wallis is a registered user.
How about a plan that gives equal consideration to all forms of transportation rather than taking it all away from autos? How about every third street in both directions becoming a bikeway with local autos? Of course, those areas originally designed to discourage through auto traffic plus those areas intentionally barricaded have already opted out of the solution and should be left to their own devices.
a resident of Fairmeadow
on Aug 8, 2011 at 5:05 pm
> The city has too much car traffic right now.
Interesting. Wonder if this poster has any proof.
What one can prove, however, is that over the past ten years, the volume of traffic has declined about 25%. Wonder just how much car traffic this poster believes that Palo Alto should have?
a resident of Downtown North
on Aug 8, 2011 at 7:28 pm
I don't see why making cycling easier and safer must negate car mobility. Current bike lanes, boulevards and signs don't affect my driving in any significant way. If I have to drive on a parallel street to avoid a bike boulevard, it's no big deal. More of the same should have little, if any, impact on my driving.
Cars and bikes can coexist, especially in a city as inviting to cyclists as Palo Alto, given the weather and flat terrain. Other more congested cities have adapted with great success. If done correctly, this plan can convert more drivers to cyclists by making it easier and safer for them to get around while taking their cars off the road, to the benefit of other drivers.
Go for it!
a resident of Southgate
on Aug 8, 2011 at 7:40 pm
There is just this much space and time. If we have more bikes taking over the road then we certainly will have spent more times and less space for the cars on the road,please do not ever think about this crazy idea.
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Aug 8, 2011 at 7:52 pm
> How about a plan that gives equal consideration to all
> forms of transportation
How about you solve the following equation--
Number_people_moved_daily =
Number_peopled_driving_cars + Number_people_walking
+ Number_of_people_cycling + Number_of_people_VTA_Bus
+ Number_of_people_Caltrain.
Now .. since any reasonable solution to this equation will NEVER end up with an equal number_of_xxx contributions--then why would anyone give equal funding and priority to the smallest, and least significant modality in this transportation-oriented equation?
a resident of Southgate
on Aug 8, 2011 at 8:39 pm
When considering this equation,you did not take into account the safety measure to each group,yes,equal does not always mean equal.but the safety of all group is the most important thing we should consider.
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Aug 8, 2011 at 9:37 pm
> but the safety of all group is the most important thing
> we should consider.
Really? And where, pray tell, did you come up with this idea?
The idea of "transportation" is to move people from point-a to point-b at the lowest cost, and the quickest time. While safety is implicit (since dead people are not likely to be repeat customers, and their estates generally have long memories and good lawyers), distance, cost, and numbers are the most important parameters in this equation.
a resident of Southgate
on Aug 8, 2011 at 9:44 pm
We can not talk about anything if we do not consider all with safety first.
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Aug 9, 2011 at 8:01 am
> We can not talk about anything if we do not consider all
> with safety first.
Then there won't be much talking going on ...
a resident of Community Center
on Aug 10, 2011 at 12:08 pm
Good work, Jay. A call to arms against bicyclists. But why stop there? I think Palo Alto may have too many vegetarians, too. Oh, and perhaps too many thoughtful people concerned about how we might all get along in a noisy, crowded world. It's downright un-American.
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Aug 11, 2011 at 3:44 pm
Wonder if this cyclist will actually be charged with murder/manslaughter/not charged?
S.F. pedestrian struck by bicyclist dies:
Web Link
Moreover, this cyclist probably does not carry any insurance, and probably doesn't own a home, so that the estate of the dead woman will not be able to sue him for asset recovery to pay for her medical bills, and funeral costs.
We'll have to wait and see what happens, but this is San Francisco--so there's every reason this guy will walk.
Bicyclists run red lights and stop signs all the time. Police usually don't seem to notice, or care much ..
a resident of Palo Alto High School
on Aug 11, 2011 at 11:28 pm
Sure, we all love to knock the City's web site. But despite the snide comment by Jay, it's no trouble at all to find the actual draft plan that the public is being asked to comment on!
When I entered "Palo Alto Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan" in a Google search window -- without the quote marks -- the top search result was a direct link to the page where the draft plan is posted with a comment form.
And, guess what, if one goes to the city homepage (www.cityofpaloalto.org) and enters "Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan" (without the quotes) in the site search window, the top search result is the page with background info on the plan and upcoming dates -- plus a bold clickable link to download the document. Will wonders never cease. . .
So, if you're a reader who might be interested in submitting comments on what the Planning Commission and City Council will be reviewing, here's the direct link to save you the .22 seconds:
Web Link
Public comment period goes through September 7.
Now, can anyone explain to me why the ranters don't connect the neurons to realize that every bike on the road is one less car, freeing up space on the roadway (and in parking lots) for drivers like themselves?
a resident of Los Altos
on Aug 13, 2011 at 1:32 pm
THERE IS NO MONEY. Stop spending.
a resident of Barron Park
on Aug 13, 2011 at 1:59 pm
Douglas Moran is a registered user.
RE: resident who drives, bikes and walks: "Sure, we all love to knock the City's web site. But despite the snide comment by Jay, it's no trouble at all to find the actual draft plan ..."
You are wrong to malign Jay. Just because the plan could be easily found when you looked for it does NOT mean it could easily found when Jay looked for it, nor when other people look for it.
I went looking for it in July, both before and after the workshop and could not find it either by Search or by navigating to the Transportation Division web page and then to the Bicycling page. Some time later, I was able to find it (via navigation) but a subsequent attempt failed, but fortunately I had saved a copy on my computer.
a resident of Southgate
on Aug 13, 2011 at 2:23 pm
Maybe they are not the same copies.
a resident of Barron Park
on Aug 13, 2011 at 2:48 pm
Douglas Moran is a registered user.
My biggest problem with the BPT Plan is that it seems to be essentially a wish-list of the advocates. I attended the meetings and heard the _advantages_ of measures being proposed only in isolation. I did not hear any assessment of _effectiveness_ of those measures, nor did I hear indications that such had been considered. Neither did the presentation address _tradeoffs_ and indirect costs.
What I did hear was that Portland and a few other cities had these measures and it was critical for Palo Alto's civic pride to not just keep up with them, but to surpass them. I'll take back my comment about effectiveness never being considered -- the Plan may be effective if the target is those who award "Most Bicycle-friendly City".
The fallacy of the "one bike, one car" argument (various commenters here) is that the streets cannot be allocated in units of one bike, or ten, or ... Similarly for vehicles. For example (the one I am currently familiar with), during morning peak hour, west-bound Arastradero is used by roughly 1000 vehicles.
A major fault of most bicycle advocates is that they refuse to consider the side-effects of their measures. In the Arastradero Restriping Trial, the measures seem to have displaced traffic onto nearby residential streets that have _more_ bicycle traffic (Maybell and Los Robles). When faced with these negative side-effects, the persistent reply of the advocates has been "Drivers shouldn't do that" (use side streets to avoid congestion where traffic is moving at 5-12 mph).
Arastradero is hardly alone in this. All the city's major arterials are under assault by the bike advocates under their mantra that every street must be made safe for bicyclists (without regard to costs or tradeoffs). For example, Irwin Dawid who is the spokesperson on transportation issues for the local chapter of the Sierra Club wants to Alma for a few blocks between his home and downtown. He doesn't explain what problem he has with the two parallel bike paths--Bryant Street and the Caltrain path--but goes straight to suggesting that vehicle lanes might need to be removed from Alma (a major arterial) so that he might have his most convenient route. Apparently he didn't consider that such a "road diet" would likely turn the Bryant Street Bike Boulevard (and other residential streets) into routes clogged with vehicles avoiding the congestion. Such is the poor quality of thinking displayed by the bike advocates.
At the beginning of the development of the Plan, the City did a survey on various measures. Because I pushed the announcement out to various email lists, I got responses from various people. All commented that they saw the survey as biased toward impeding the flow of traffic as a matter of ideology, not as a matter of effectiveness.
a resident of Midtown
on Aug 13, 2011 at 4:31 pm
> If [bike and ped projects] encourage people to walk and bike more and the result is a healthier population then we save a bunch on health care costs. If they encourage people to replace car trips with walking and biking then we save …"
Those are big IFs. Where's some data to show that if we build it they will bike?
The 1998 plan said, "It is hoped that individuals will reduce their automobile trips by 10 percent by 2010, as alternative transportation methods are implemented."
I can't get anyone to tell me if that's happened. I suspect it's because no one knows.
editor emeritus
on Aug 17, 2011 at 9:13 am
Jay Thorwaldson is a registered user.
Hi -- It was NOT my intent to stir up an anti-bicyclist revolution but to report what actually happened some years back. Pretending that it didn't happen, or being ignorant of history, provides the greatest opportunity to re-live it, does it not? If there's an object lesson to be learned from this history, it seems to me it's that one should think through the implications, probable reactions to or unwonted side effects of one's actions. The bike plan as I read it is completely fuzzy about costs and implications of many of its proposals. It is laced with "TBDs," for to-be-determined. But potential outside sources of funding were delineated clearly and in great detail. I would like to see a clearly stated best-estimate or range of costs high up in such a document, or in a covering staff or city manager's report. -jay
a resident of Barron Park
on Aug 17, 2012 at 10:35 pm
Gunn Class of '67 is a registered user.
Have no problem with bike lanes - grants received by city ensure employee pensions for such drivel.
Aging population notwithstanding, massive bike lanes have plenty of room, e.g. Arastradel to accommodate folks on walkers and in wheelchaires. Sidewalks in such disrepair, accident waiting to happen.
And by the say, assume enormous hotels will need no parking - providing
bikes instead.
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text:
Whenever I think of who could possibly the worst piece of trash in Hollywood history, I am always torn between Lindsay Lohan and Tara Reid. But amazingly, Tara Reid still rises a couple of coke hits higher than LiLo, because she somehow managed to convince the people over at Playboy to plaster her tits in their magazine, on the condition that the photoshopping department take no reservations and airbrush the fuck out of her body. I'm sure Tara's tits are still the mangled horror we can never unsee when they accidentally leapt out during P. Diddy's birthday, so I'm entirely unconvinced that these are her real hooters.
Still, I can't ever complain about free tits, especially from some celebrity who used to be the hottest piece in Hollywood. Although look at Tara Reid now: tearing off her clothes just so her bank account can swim back to green. But again, who's complaining? If this is how Hollywood's residents go about saving their dying careers, then by all means, save them and show us them titties. For now though, I'll settle with these hot Playboy pictures of Tara Reid topless.


text:
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text:
Moving on
Thursday this week is my last day at Canonical. After a little over a year at Canonical, I'm moving on to the private cloud team at Rackspace -- my first day with Rackspace will be the 17th of December. I'm very excited to be joining Rackspace -- I'm excited by the project, the team, and the opportunity to make OpenStack even better. We've also talked about some interesting stuff we'd like to do in the Australian OpenStack community, but I'm going to hold off on talking about that until I've had a chance to settle in.
I am appreciative of my time at Canonical -- when I joined I was unaware of the existence of OpenStack, and without Canonical I might never have found this awesome project that I love. I also had the chance to work with some really smart people who taught me a lot. This move is about spending more time on OpenStack than Canonical was able to allow.
Tags for this post: openstack canonical rackspace
Related posts: Taking over a launch pad project; Got Something to Say? The LCA 2013 CFP Opens Soon!; Slow git review uploads?; On conference t-shirts; Further adventures with base images in OpenStack; Wow, qemu-img is fast; Reflecting on Essex; Are you in a LUG? Do you want some promotional materials for LCA 2013?; Announcement video; linux.conf.au Returns to Canberra in 2013; The next thing; Folsom Dev Summit sessions; A first pass at glance replication; Call for papers opens soon; Openstack compute node cleanup
Syndicated 2012-12-08 12:56:00 from stillhq.com : Mikal, a geek from Canberra living in Silicon Valley (no blather posts)


text:
Powerful chiefdoms are emerging along the middle Nile valley.
One of the main roles of these chiefdoms is to control the flood waters of the Nile, so as to irrigate the lands along the river banks effectively. Only thus can the fields be made fertile and the growing population of the Nile valley fed.
This requires the proper co-ordination of the work of thousands of people, in building canals and dykes and digging irrigation channels. The chiefs therefore exercise a high degree of control over the lives of their subjects. They are aided by a hierarchy of officials and overseers, groups of people who are developing the skills - in record keeping, mathematics, engineering and management - which will over the coming centuries bring to fruition the magnificent achievements of one of the great civilizations of world history, Ancient Egypt.
Next map, Ancient Egypt in 2500 BC
Find more maps and information on Ancient Egypt
Most of Africa is home to bands of hunter-gatherers, but in the Nile valley, the civilization of Egypt is beginning to emergeclick to view Africa 3500BC
The first civilizations in world history, those of Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, are emergingclick to view Middle East 3500BC
Within the long, narrow valley of the river Nile, powerful chiefdoms fought and conquered each other in the centuries leading up to 3000 BC, until one emerged to cover the entire land. Thus was founded the "Old Kingdom" of Ancient Egypt.
The kingdom is governed by a ruling class of officials and priests. This group directs the lives of the people in the name of the pharaohs, god-kings who rule from their capital, Memphis.
Even by this early date the Egyptians have developed one of the great civilizations of the ancient world. The Pyramids of Giza, some of the most famous structures in all human history, have already been built, and sculptors are producing statues which will set the standard for Ancient Egyptian art for centuries to come.
Next map, Ancient Egypt in 1500 BC
Find more maps and information on Ancient Egypt
The civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia are now flourishing in the Middle Eastclick to view Middle East 2500BC
The lands of Syria and Canaan are home to small cities and important trade routesclick to view Syria 2500BC
The civilization of Ancient Egypt now flourishes in the Nile valleyclick to view Africa 2500BC
Over the past thousand years Egyptian civilization has experienced periods of strength and unity, and also of weakness and division. At this date, however, the land has just been re-united under powerful pharaohs of what modern scholars call the "New Kingdom" of Ancient Egypt. They have swiftly imposed Egyptian control over the peoples surrounding the Nile valley to south, east and west.
Next map, Ancient Egypt in 1000 BC
Find more maps and information on Ancient Egypt
The powerful Bronze Age empires of Egypt, the Mitanni, the Hittites and Babylonia dominate the Middle Eastclick to view Middle East 1500BC
Syria and Canaan are lands of small city-states and migrant nomadsclick to view Syria 1500BC
While the civilization of Ancient Egypt reaches new heights, farming based on new tropical plants is being pioneered south of the Sahara.click to view Africa 1500BC
The influence of Egypt is beginning to be feltclick to view North East Africa 1500BC
The period after 1500 BC is one of the most successful chapters in Ancient Egypt's history, seeing her as one of the greatest powers of the day, with an empire stretching into Palestine and Syria in the north and Nubia in the south. They also witness the construction of the great temple complexes at Luxor and in the Valley of the Kings. It is during this period that the boy-king Tutankhamun briefly reigns, as well as Ancient Egypt's most famous pharaoh, Ramesses II.
Since about 1200 BC, however, this most enduring civilization of the ancient world has been slipping into decline. She has lost her empire in Palestine and Nubia, has suffered invasions across all her borders, and has experienced political weakness at home.
Next map, Ancient Egypt in 500 BC
Find more maps and information on Ancient Egypt
Invasions have devastated the old centres of civilization, but important new developments, such as the use of iron, the appearance of the alphabet and the rise of Israel, with its monotheistic religion, have taken placeclick to view Middle East 1000BC
The Phoenicians and Israelites are peoples who will change historyclick to view Syria 1000BC
Farming and cattle herding are spreading in western and central Africaclick to view Africa 1000BC
Text under preparationclick to view North East Africa 1000BC
The camel has been domesticated, and trade routes now cross the great deserts of Arabiaclick to view Arabia 1000BC
The great days of Ancient Egypt are now long past. Over the past few centuries Egypt has been invaded and occupied by several different peoples, most recently by the Persians, in 525 BC. Egypt is now merely one amongst many provinces of the huge Persian empire.
Next map, Ancient Egypt in 200 BC
Find more maps and information on Ancient Egypt
A succession of great empires - the Assyrian, the Babylonian, and now the Persian - have dominated the Middle East for the past few centuriesclick to view Middle East 500BC
The Phoenicians and Israelites have come under the power of a succession of great empires
click to view Syria 500BC
Arabia, a region of flourishing civilization and desert nomadsclick to view Arabia 500BC
With the decline of Egyptian civilization, Nubia is emerging as an independent civilization; and in West Africa Bantu Iron-Age farmers are beginning to spread out across the continentclick to view Africa 500BC
Nubian civilization is beginning to free itself from Egyptian dominanceclick to view North East Africa 500BC
After two centuries (off and on) as a province of the Persian empire, Egypt was conquered by Alexander the Great. After his death in 323 BC, Egypt passed into the hands of his general, Ptolemy, and his descendants.
Under them, Egypt has become the wealthiest and most highly organized of the "Hellenistic" kingdoms. Although the Ptolemaic monarchs have adopted the traditional titles of the ancient pharaohs, and they worship Egyptian gods, the ruling class is largely of Greek origin, and has a Greek-speaking, Hellenistic culture.
On the coast, Alexandria is the largest and wealthiest city in the Greek-speaking world, and, with its magnificent library, is one of the leading centres of Hellenistic civilization.
Next map, Ancient Egypt in 30 BC
Find more maps and information on Ancient Egypt
The conquests of Alexander the Great have reshaped the map of the Middle East, and Greek-speaking kingdoms, founded by Alexander's generals, now cover the regionclick to view Middle East 200BC
Syria and Judaea are ruled by descendants of one of Alexander the Great's generalsclick to view Syria 200BC
Trade caravans bring precious spices across the desert from southern Arabiaclick to view Arabia 200BC
Trade routes across the Sahara desert are being pioneered, while, to the south, Bantu farmers continue their swift expansion across the continentclick to view Africa 200BC
Nubian civilization is becoming more African and less Egyptian in spiritclick to view North East Africa 200BC
Like all the other Hellenistic kingdoms, Egypt has now been incorporated as a province into the Roman empire.
Ancient Egypt's last independent ruler was also her most celebrated – Queen Cleopatra. She ended her life committing suicide after her defeat at the battle of Actium (31 BC).
The victorious Roman ruler Octavian (since 27 BC called Caesar Augustus) has kept the Hellenistic administration of the Ptolemies in place, highly effective as it is in extracting as much wealth as possible from the land and its people. The country now provides the distant imperial capital, Rome, with a large proportion of its grain.
Next map, Ancient Egypt in AD 200
For a dynamic and informative close-up look at the Rise of the Roman Empire, check out our iPad app here
The Middle East is now divided between the Roman and Parthian empiresclick to view Middle East 30BC
Syria is now a Roman province, and Judaea is under king Herod the Greatclick to view Syria 30BC
Arabian civilization reaches a height of prosperityclick to view Arabia 30BC
North Africa is now part of the Roman empire, while in central Africa the Bantu expansion continuesclick to view Africa 30BC
The kingdom of Nubia is flourishingclick to view North East Africa 30BC
Egypt contains one of the largest and wealthiest cities of the Roman empire, Alexandria. It is a major commercial centre, and one of the great cultural centres of the Greek-speaking parts of the empire.
The rest of the country is treated as a personal estate of the emperor, with the economy organized to extract as much produce as possible for export to Rome - Egypt continues to be the main source of grain for the imperial capital.
For a dynamic and informative look at the Rise of the Roman Empire, check out our iPad app here
One small part of the region, Judaea, has given birth to the new religion of Christianity, but has also seen the dispersal of the Jewish people from their homelandclick to view Middle East 200AD
The Jews have been exiled from their homeland after two great revolts against Romeclick to view Syria 200AD
The civilization of southern Arabia is in declineclick to view Arabia 200AD
All of North Africa is now part of the Roman empire, while to the south the Bantu migration continuesclick to view Africa 200AD
Nubian civilization is suffering from a shortage of resourcesclick to view North East Africa 200AD
The Roman province of Egypt has provided modern scholars with more information than any other, thanks to the dry desert sand which has preserved copious numbers of papyrus documents. What these show is a rural population gradually coming under the economic control of a small group of extremely wealthy families. To what extent this is true for other provinces is not clear, though it probably does represent a general trend through the eastern parts of the empire (as it had in the west in the previous two centuries.)
Egypt is a vibrant centre of Christianity, with many monks living in tough conditions in the desert. Perhaps because of the economic hardships of the people, Egypt has become a centre for Christian groups that are at odds with the official Church centred on the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, Constantinople.
For a close-up look at the Fall of the Roman Empire, check out our iPad app here
The Middle East is divided between the Eastern Roman empire and the Persian empireclick to view Middle East 500AD
Syria and Palestine, provinces of the Eastern Roman Empireclick to view Syria 500AD
The civilization of southern Arabia has declined, along with the great desert trade routesclick to view Arabia 500AD
In West Africa the trade routes across the Sahara are expanding, while to the east the powerful kingdom of Ethiopia has emergedclick to view Africa 500AD
click to view North East Africa 500AD
The Arabs' conquest of Egypt from the Byzantines in 639 was made easier by the Egyptian population's attachment to the monophysite branch of Christianity, regarded as a heresy by the Byzantine authorities in Constantinople, and therefore persecuted. The Arabs granted their conquered populations freedom of worship, and the Egyptians therefore welcomed them as liberators rather than conquerors.
Egyptian society has thus far been little affected by the Arab conquests. For most of the population, it has been a case of swapping one alien ruler (in Constantinople) for another. The Arab presence was initially restricted to their new garrison town of Fustat, from which Egypt is now governed.
For a great close-up on the Rise of Islam, check out our iPad app here
The Middle East has been conquered by Arab armies in the name of a major new religion, Islam; these have created a vast empire called the "Caliphate"click to view Middle East 750AD
Syria is the centre of the Islamic Caliphateclick to view Syria 750AD
Arabia has become the springboard for dramatic conquests under the banner of a new religion, Islamclick to view Arabia 750AD
In West Africa the trans-Saharan trade has led to the rise of the wealthy kingdoms of Ghanaclick to view Africa 750AD
In the 870s the governor of Egypt, Ahmad Ibn Tulun, gained control of both Egypt and Syria and governed as an autonomous ruler, though he was careful not to openly break with the caliph. An army from Baghdad restored them to the caliph's control in 905, but thirty years later Egypt again became autonomous under a rebellious governor, Muhammad ibn Tughj (935). In 969 the Fatimids, a fervent Shi'ite sect, conquered Egypt. The Fatimids make no pretence of loyalty to the caliph in Baghdad, and their aim is, in fact, to displace them as the rulers of the entire Islamic world.
As an independent state, Egypt's tax revenues are now all spent within its own borders, rather than some or all of them being dispatched to some distant imperial capital such as Rome, Constantinople or Baghdad. This has allowed Egypt's rulers to invest in Egypt's agriculture, improve and maintain the irrigation system, increase the prosperity of the country and boost the government's tax revenues.
The process of Islamization (and Arabization) has been slowly gaining pace in Egypt. This has not been official policy: quite the reverse (non-Muslims paid higher taxes, so conversion was not encouraged by the government). However, the need by many people to deal with the new ruling elite has spread the knowledge of Arabic, and perhaps too the advantages which come from belonging to the ruler's religious community, has encouraged many to convert. Nevertheless, the majority of Egyptians are still Christians at this date.
The Islamic Caliphate has begun to break up, but the religion of Islam continues to expand, both in the Middle East and beyondclick to view Middle East 979AD
Aleppo is a major centre of Islamic civilizationclick to view Syria 979AD
Arabia is home to Islamic sects seen as dangerous by the orthodox Muslimsclick to view Arabia 979AD
New kingdoms have emerged in West African, and the trans-Saharan trade has brought Muslim traders to the region, who are spreading their faithclick to view Africa 979AD
Although the Fatimids failed to achieve their goal of replacing the caliph in Baghdad, they did succeed in building up a large empire centered on Egypt. Under them, the Egyptian economy prospered. Trade expanded, as, with Fatimid control of the Red Sea, Egypt became once again the great entrepot of long-distance maritime trade between east and west. The Fatimid capital, Cairo, became the chief cultural centre of the Islamic world, with Muslim literature, philosophy and science thriving.
Under Fatimid rule, thousands of Arabs settled in Egypt. At one point these posed such a serious threat to the regime that the Fatimids encouraged two of the largest Arab tribes to emigrate westwards into the Maghreb. Here they destabilize the emirate of Tunis.
By the mid-12th century, Fatimid rule had weakened, and a Turkish general from Syrian, Saladin, was able to gain control of the country (c. 1170) and going on to annex parts of Arabia and Syria. With the capture of Jerusalem from the Crusaders (1187), most of Palestine also came under his rule. Saladin's descendants, the Ayyibids, have indulged in frequent power-struggles, however, and this has allowed the Crusaders to hold on to their remaining possessions in the Levant.
Crusaders from Europe have invaded Syria and Palestine, but have been pushed back to the coast by Saladinclick to view Syria 1215AD
The civilization of southern Arabia has declined, along with the great desert trade routesclick to view Arabia 1215AD
In West Africa the spread of trade routes to the south has led to the rise of the Yoruba kingdom of Oyo, while in East Africa a string of trading cities are emerging along the coastclick to view Africa 1215AD
The Islamic states of the Middle East are successfully fighting off the attacks of the European crusadersclick to view Middle East 1215AD
Saladin's descendants surrounded themselves with a force of Turkish slaves, called Mamluqs. This force gained more and more power, until, taking advantage of yet another power-struggle within the royal family, they appointed one of their own members to the sultanate (1250). Ever since then Egypt and much of Syria has been ruled by Mamluq sultans, who have successfully defended and expanded their state and pulled the government of their different lands under one centralized administration. Perhaps their single most important achievement has been to defeat the Mongol army (1260) and so put an end to its hitherto unstoppable expansion.
Under the Mamluqs, Egypt has continued to be the chief centre of Arabic civilization. However, recurrent plagues have reduced her population, and Timur's conquest of Syria (1400) was a major blow to Mamluq power. Raiding by Bedouin tribes has also become a problem.
For a close-up on the Black Death's impact on Egypt, check out our iPad app
The Middle East has been ruled by a succession of conquerors from central Asia, most famously the Mongolsclick to view Middle East 1453AD
Benin and other new kingdoms are emerging in the forest regions of West Africa, and in southern Africa the civilization of Great Zimbabwe has appearedclick to view Africa 1453AD
Syria is now under the Mamluqs, a group of slave-soldiers based in Egyptclick to view Syria 1453AD
Yemen has been a centre of trade and Islamic cultureclick to view Arabia 1453AD
Egypt has, once again, become a province within a large empire, that of the Ottomans (1517). Again the Egyptian people have to pay taxes which are spent in a distant imperial capital. Their economic position has also been somewhat undermined by the rise of European sea power in the Indian Ocean, which has diverted some trade between India and Europe away from the Red Sea and Egypt.
On conquering Egypt, the Ottomans left the Mamluq elite in a position of leadership within the country. Mamluqs troops were given an important role within the Ottoman army, and Mamluq officials were used by the Ottomans to help them govern Egypt. As time goes by the Mamluqs play an increasingly important part in the provincial administration, and by this date are on their way to re-establishing themselves as the dominant element within Egyptian society and government.
The Ottoman empire now dominates most of the Middle eastclick to view Middle East 1648AD
Syria is now a part of the Ottoman empireclick to view Syria 1648AD
The Ottoman empire is the dominant power within the Arabian peninsulaclick to view Arabia 1648AD
Large numbers of Africans are being taken to the Americas as slavesclick to view Africa 1648AD
By this time, the Mamluks virtually rule Egypt again. Their leaders, or beys, continue to acknowledge the authority of the Ottoman sultan and his representatives, and to send tribute but, within the borders of Egypt, they reign supreme. The main factor preventing them from gaining even more power is their own internal instability, as the frequent power-struggles within their ranks prevent them from achieving a stable, united front against the Ottoman government in Constantinople.
The Atlantic Slave Trade is at its height, and having a destructive impact on wide areas of the African interiorclick to view Africa 1789AD
The Middle East experiences political weakness in both the Ottoman empire and Iranclick to view Middle East 1789AD
The first Saudi kingdom has appeared in Arabiaclick to view Arabia 1789AD
Standards of Ottoman administration have declined in Syriaclick to view Syria 1789AD
This part of the Ottoman dominions experienced direct European military might when Napoleon invaded it in 1798, utterly defeating local Mamluq forces at the Battle of the Pyramids. British sea power prevented him from receiving any reinforcements from France, thus bringing his campaign to a halt. Napoleon himself secretly left his army in Egypt in 1799, and a British army finally reconquered the country for the Ottomans in 1801.
A Turkish general, Muhammed Ali, was sent to Egypt to restore order, and he was soon acting as a semi-independent ruler. He set about modernizing the country, but seeing that nothing could be done while the Mamluqs retained their power, he massacred them. He built hundreds of schools, modernized the administration, and introduced printing into the country (as a government monopoly). He raised a western-style army, recruited from the peasantry, and then set about conquering a huge empire in the Sudan.
In 1821 he helped the sultan put down a rebellion in Greece. This confirmed his de facto independence from Constantinople, and in 1833 he demanded, and, due to British and French pressure, gained Syria from the sultan as payment for his part in the war of Greek independence. A little while later he started marching on Constantinople itself, with a view to replacing the Ottoman regime with one of his own.
The Zulu conquests are causing turmoil over a large part of south and central Africaclick to view Africa 1837AD
Some Middle Eastern governments are taking steps to modernize their countriesclick to view Middle East 1837AD
The first Saudi kingdom has been crushed, but a second one has appearedclick to view Arabia 1837AD
Syria has come under Egyptian controlclick to view Syria 1837AD
Muhammed Ali was forced to withdraw from his move on Constantinople, and give up his claims to Syria, by military pressure from France and Britain (1841). Instead, he and his successors were recognized as the hereditary rulers of Egypt.
Building on the modernization programme of his grandfather, Ismael (reigned 1863-79) has expanded Egypt's frontiers further into the Sudan.
One of the great engineering works of the 19th century was completed in 1869 with the opening of the Suez Canal. This was dug by French engineers and Egyptian labour over a ten-year period. It was a magnificent achievement. From now on the canal would be the prime route between Europe and the East, greatly shortening the time taken by ships to make the voyage.
Although it was built with French initiative and engineering, the British government has ensured that it is the largest stock-holder. This has given it a huge economic stake in the political stability of Egypt.
European explorers have visited the interior of Africaclick to view Africa 1871AD
The Ottoman empire has tightened its grip on much of the Middle Eastclick to view Middle East 1871AD
The second Saudi kingdom has fallenclick to view Arabia 1871AD
Syria has again become a part of the Ottoman empireclick to view Syria 1871AD
Ismael continued his expansionist policies in Africa until he met failure in his attempt to conquer Abyssinia (1875). Unfortunately, these military operations were expensive, as were his modernization programmes. The Egyptian government faced bankruptcy. This in turn threatened the stability of the country, and the security of the Suez Canal. Ismael's European creditors (mainly British) stepped in, and a British official was appointed to take control of Egypt's finances.
A little later, a nationalist revolt against British interference threatened the Suez Canal's security. The British sent forces to put down the revolt, and swiftly found themselves in control of the entire country (1882). From then on the British have administered Egypt, even though the country remains nominally subordinate to the Turkish sultan.
The British and French are increasingly active in the Middle Eastclick to view Middle East 1914AD
The European powers have divided almost the whole of Africa up between themclick to view Africa 1914AD
Syria is advancing economically under Ottoman ruleclick to view Syria 1914AD
A third, much larger, Saudi kingdom has appearedclick to view Arabia 1914AD
In World War 2, Egypt acted as a major base for British operations against the Axis forces in North Africa. After the war, an upsurge in nationalism encouraged the British government to withdraw from Egypt in 1947, with the exception of the Suez Canal zone. The country was returned to the rule of its king, Farouk. He, however, was deposed in 1952 by a military coup, and the country became a republic under the leadership of colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser. The British finally left Egypt altogether in 1956, in the wake of the humiliating Suez Crisis. In this, British and French troops were sent in to guard the Canal Zone against Egypt's threats to take it over; however, they were then forced to withdraw the troops in the face of international condemnation.
Since 1958, Egypt has been united with Syria in a state called the United Arab Republic.
The Cold War has had a major impact on the Middle Eastclick to view Middle East 1960AD
The European nations are starting to withdraw from the empires in Africaclick to view Africa 1960AD
The historic region of Syria is now divided between Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordanclick to view Syria 1960AD
Oil is bringing vast new wealth to the Arabian kingdomsclick to view Arabia 1960AD
The United Arab Republic, that union between Egypt and Syria, was broken in 1961 (after three years), with the Syrians cancelling it unilaterally.
Egypt, along with other Arab countries, was defeated by Israel in the 6 Days War with Israel (1967). The country continued to be ruled by the authoritarian President Nasser until his death in 1970, when Anwar Sadat became President. He is a moderate voice in Middle Eastern affairs and, after a second defeat by Israel in 1973, the Egyptian government promoted talks between the Arabs and Israelis. Sadat was assassinated in 1981; however, he was succeeded by Mohamed Mubarak, who continued Sadat's moderating policies. Egypt has continued to be run as an authoritarian state, though recently there have been some signs of a move towards more openness and democracy.
Arab-Israeli hostility has dominated Middle Eastern politicsclick to view Middle East 2005AD
All European powers have withdrawn from their empires in Africaclick to view Africa 2005AD
Hostilities between Israel and the Arabs have dominated this regionclick to view Syria 2005AD
The region experienced a huge shock when Iraq invaded Kuwaitclick to view Arabia 2005AD
Hover MAP for summary and tap to zoom. MAP < and > buttons change date. TIMELINE icons jump to date. See below for historical summary.


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Ugh. what an ugly week.
I decided to start at the beginning on my documentation again. the stuff i was writing at patch 47 was much better than the level of detail i provided at the beginning. I naively thought i'd make it to patch 47 again inside of a week.
Then I ran into patch 17.
Patch 17 is the x86_64 entry.S system call insertion. in this patch, we do something evil to the stack (that i still don't quite understand), to make sure space for the userspace registers is allocated and available when we jump to the user_thread handler.
Its all written in X86_64 assembly. I haven't done assembly since before i started using linux.
So now, I'm reading "The Revolutionary Guide to Assembly Language". I'm about 100 pages in. it may be x86, not x86_64, and may cover dos and bios calls, but i'm pretty sure when i get through it, i'll be ready to tackle this file.
On an ironic note, I've already made it through the X86 version of this patch. I'll probably go through it again, before going on to patch 18.
This assembly makes my head hurt.


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As much as we love our pets, they can create extra cleaning for us. Between muddy paws, fur on floors and furniture, odours and occasional accidents, we can spend quite a bit of time cleaning up after our furry friends. Since pets will never be able to clean up after themselves, here are some suggestions for undoing the most common pet messes.
Keeping your Pet Clean
Cleaner pets mean a cleaner house. See our Grooming Tips for tips on how to keep your pet clean and brush your pet which will help to lessen the amount of hair and dirt around your house.
Minimize the Mess
Taking a bit of time to train your pet, some advanced planning and preventative measures will make keeping your house clean with pets much easier and less time consuming in the long run.
To prevent frequent accidents, try to set a scheduled time to take your dogs out to do their business.
If cats are your thing, help them learn to use their litter boxes. It's much easier to clean a litter box than your floor. To help prevent litter being brought onto your floor by your cat get a covered litter box and put a litter box mat in front of it to help catch the litter from your cat's paws. A covered litter box with a filter can also help with odours. You need to clean your cat's litter box contents out at least once a day and give the whole litter box once a week. Getting your cat neutered will also help to minimize spraying, male cats like to spray their scent around their homes but neutering will deal with this issue. The same applies for female cats that are looking for mates, neutering deals with this as well. Use nappy bags to scoop the litter box contents into, you can tie a knot in the bag and keep all the contents as well as the odour in.
Stop dirt at the door! Before your pet has a chance to run through the house leaving muddy tracks use an old towel to wipe muddy paws at the door. If paws are really muddy or have winter salt or grit on them rinse them in a small bucket of warm water and dry them with an old towel. Keep a towel at the door so you don't have to try and find one while trying to keep your pet from trailing mud into the house.
Their bedding will need a quick shake outdoors regularly and washing every week or so. Cover their bedding and cushions with easy washable blankets or covers, this helps to minimize the amount of dirt and odour getting onto their main bedding cushions.
If your dog or cat prefers to sleep on your bed or upholstered furniture cover their favorite nap location with a towel or small blanket that can be easily washed. This works well for cats and small dogs that always have their favorite perches for keeping their eye on things and napping.
Training your pet to stay out of your bedroom or by just closing the bedroom doors will help to minimize the amount of dirt and hair getting onto your bed clothes. Dogs and cats love their comforts and your bed can also be a firm favorite with them.
Once a week or so, sprinkle a deodorizing powder on your carpet. This will help to keep your carpet smelling fresh. A more greener and cheaper option is to use baking soda. Baking soda doesn't have an odor, so if scented deodorants aren't for you, this is the alternative. Leave it overnight if possible to let it soak into the carpet for best results.
An electric air purifier will remove pet odours still lingering in the air and keep your house smelling fresh.
Letting a pot of vinegar simmer on your stove will also keep your house smelling fresh. The vinegar neutralizes, deodorizes and removes impurities from the air. The smell isn't pleasant but it's better than the alternative.
Cleaning your Pets Beds, Litter Boxes, Cages, Tanks, etc
Never use bleach or other products containing ammonia for cleaning as ammonia is in urine and your pet will think it is urine they are smelling.
Your pet has a favorite pillow it snuggles up with. This is all well and good, but every now and then you might want to make it smell a little less petlike. You can do this by sprinkling the bedding with baking soda, letting it stand for at least 15 minutes, then vacuuming thoroughly.
Clean the cat litter pan by removing the soiled litter and pouring in 1/2 inch vinegar. Let it stand for ten minutes or so, then pour out and dry. To control odors before filling again, sprinkle 1/2 cup baking soda over the bottom of the pan. Don't forget to clean the litter scoops as well.
Some people have environmental and health concerns about the type of cat litter available commercially. Pregnant women especially are at risk for a virus called toxoplasmosis, which can be contracted by handling cat litter, the litter box, or the box liner. Try to keep your cat's litter box area clean at all times to reduce the risk, but pregnant women should avoid handling anything to do with cat litter for the duration of their pregnancy.
Most bird and rabbit cages, ferret houses, hamster homes, and the like can be adequately cleaned by wiping them down with a sponge sprinkled with baking soda or dampened with vinegar. Both of these are especially good with urine smells and stains. You might also want to add a thin layer of baking soda on the floor of the cage after cleaning to help control odors.
When it's time to clean out the fish tank, clean the inside of the glass with plain non-iodized salt by sprinkling it onto a damp sponge and scrubbing. This will remove hard water deposits or other buildup on the glass. Rinse everything well before returning the fish to the tank.
Vinegar and Baking Soda are only two types of cleaners available, there is a host of other cleaners available in shops.
Removing Pet Hair
Spring is the season of many things: while the flowers are blossoming and the grass is growing, your pet starts shedding.
Those clumps of hair that cover clothes, carpet and furniture at this time of year are part of the natural cycle of hair growth: as new hair grows in, old hair is shed out. The process actually occurs all year long, but the heaviest shedding occurs in the spring as pets get rid of their "winter coat".
Even short-coated breeds seem to leave a trail of hair wherever they go!
There are different methods to wipe up pet hair, use light, even strokes to remove the hair.:
· Use a lint brush – velour or tape will both work
· Wrap tape around your hand will also work
· Wipe with a damp sponge or cloth as long as the dampness won't harm the area
· Wipe with a wet rubber glove.
· Use one of those special pet rake rubber brushes with nubs on it that is intended for grooming pets (available at pet stores).
· On carpeting, use a vacuum with a good beater brush or brush roll. Plain vacuums don't generate sufficient lift to pick up all the pet hair from the floor.
Also, a quick vacuuming job, especially on sofas and bed everyday is a good idea, but once again a quick swipe with a lint brush or roller is good if you don't have time for daily vacuuming. Pick a vacuum with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter.Pick a vacuum with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter.Pick a vacuum with a Sealed or True HEPA filters if you have pets, these are best for vacuuming up pet dust and hair.
Lifting Stains
To remove a pet urine stain first off, damp some paper towels or rag with water and use it to wipe the urine up. You want to do this as soon as possible so that the urine does not penetrate the material. It's best to use white paper towels and rags so as not to transfer dye to your carpet or upholstery. DO NOT RUB the carpet, blot the area, and dilute the spot using a cloth dampened with water. Then, clean the area with an acid solution consisting of one quart water mixed with one teaspoon white vinegar.
Another option is for you to apply a pet bacteria/enzyme digester like Urine Off according to the directions. You can find these products at any pet store; they effectively counter both the stain and the odor.
Even if the stain has disappeared or our human noses can no longer smell anything, a pet will repeatedly return to the same spot if they can still smell the odour.
Here are some other hints:
Be sure to use enough bacteria/enzyme digester to penetrate the carpet and pad.
Keep in mind that digesters work well but slowly. Leave the solution on as long as indicated.
After applying the solution, cover with plastic and step on the spot several times until the area is well saturated.
Keep the plastic on the entire time the digester is working to make sure the spot doesn't dry out.
Once you are satisfied that the stain and odor are gone, keep placing clean paper towels on the spot until it is dry. If the stain is on the carpet I find that standing on the paper towels gets the job done quicker. If time is a constraint, place a heavy object to weigh the papers down.
If after all this there is still an odor, sprinkle some baking soda on the spot and leave overnight, and then vacuum.
Avoid using a steamer to clean pet stains or a hairdryer to dry them. Heat causes stains and odors to set, making them virtually impossible to remove.
If you smell pet urine but can't quite locate the stain, a black light may be in order. Be prepared for a rude awakening, however, as these lights will expose all your carpet's impurities and may send you running for a professional.
Don't use ammonia or acid-based product to clean your carpet, a pet may mistake this scent for the smell of its own urine and continue to use your carpet as their toilet.
If none o f the above methods work, contact a professional carpet cleaner. They're experts and will have the stain removed and your carpet looking like new in no time.
Older Stains
If the stain is older, it may be nearly impossible to remove, but try the digester. If the site has seen multiple accidents, the bacteria breaking down the stain may actually create a superalkaline state that interferes with the digester's intended action.
In this case, follow these steps:
· After the bacteria digester has been working for about four hours, neutralize the spot by mixing a solution of one cup of vinegar to a gallon of warm water.
· Rinse the area with the vinegar solution.
· Apply a fresh batch of bacteria/enzyme digester solution.
· You might also try buying a hypodermic needle from your local pharmacy and filling it with your favourite perfume or potpourri. You'll need to inject both the carpet and the pad for it to work. If you still have a problem, have the carpet cleaned by extraction. It may even be necessary to replace the pad underneath.
Stomach Trouble
If your pet has an upset stomach on your carpet, cleanup may be trickier. The extremely acidic nature of vomit can cause the acid dyes in the carpet to move, permanently damaging the carpet. Dyes in your pet's food or medicine may also combine with the strong stomach acid to stain your flooring. That's why it's essential to neutralize or at least dilute the acid as quickly as possible to minimize damage. Cats may also vomit to get rid of hair balls so regular grooming, kitty grass and malt treat, etc can help to minimize hair balls gathering in your pets stomach, although in the case of hair balls they are better out than in.
To bring the carpet back to a neutral pH:
· Treat the affected area using a professional carpet detergent.
· Rinse the area with clean hot water.
· Extract the soiled solutions away from the carpet.
· If the stains cannot be removed, carpet dyeing may be a good option. While not as permanent as factory dyeing, spot dyeing will solve the problem of bleached carpet.
Spring Clean Your Pets Toys, leads, etc
If you own a pet, you probably already know that with them comes lots of stuff. Regardless of the type of animal that you have, you are sure to have a cabinet full of items. Just about all animals have toys, and treats, and food bowls. The spring time is also the perfect time, to do some spring cleaning for your pet.
The first thing you will want to do is evaluate your current storage area for your pet supplies. If your pet area is a bit crowded you may want to lower the amount of items. Or if you prefer you can just find a better way to organize them. Go through each of the items, and see what you will want to keep, and what you don't need. You may find a lot of supplies that have been gathering dust. You may even be surprised to find some items that you forgot you had. Instead of just throwing the items out, why not check the DSPCA wish list to see can you donate these items if they are in good condition. Left over dog treats, and food that has been sitting for a while should be thrown out.
This is also a good time to take a look at your pet's sleeping items. For example if you have a dog, you will want to check their bed to see if it has any holes in it. Most dog beds get washed weekly and after a years time, they can easily wear out. If you see that it is a bit worn out, you can try to fix it yourself or you can purchase a new dog bed. If your animal is in a cage this is a great time to evaluate whether you need a new cage or if it needs to be fixed up a bit. The same can be done with the dog toys. Some dog toys easily get worn out through time. This is a good time to see what toys you can get rid of.
When it comes to storage many have found that small cabinets work best for most pets. If you have a dog or a cat, a regular plastic storage bin can work as well. If you already have a storage bin for your pet's items you will want to take the time to clean it out well. Taking the time to really clean out and freshen up your pets area is definitely worth the time.
Keeping the Outdoors Clean
To eliminate the bad odor and keep a cat from thinking of your garden as a litter box, hose down the area frequently. Put stones or pinecones in flower beds or other spots that the cat likes but where you don't want them to dig up. Place motion-activated sprinklers, which set off a burst of water (cats hate this), in area you don't want them in like your vegetable patch.
Clean up after your dog regularly, by law you have to clean up when outside your home so why not clean up in your own propery, don't leave their poo on your grass, it is unhealthy for other humans. Scope it up in poo bags or nappy bags and dispose of carefully.


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Thank you
Hi Mary Lynn. Can you please send me your email address. I am a friend of Donna's and have a couple things to ask. Thanks.
You interested in training this next weekend?
Hi I am not able to come b/c of work!!! which always gets in the way but pays the bills!! Take care!!
I do not own a son of Tug but am good friends with and live near both Shawn Arney(who bred many great dogs by Tugg out of Pea), Greg Moffat (Tugg's owner). I remember Pearl breeding to Tug after Teezer won the national and train with a littermate to your dog. Nice animals all!
Will we see you at LOHRC june2 and 3rd?
Senior Member