text:
About Us
Transition 101
Transition Towns
Knowledge Hub
Transition US is a nonprofit organization that provides inspiration, support, training, and networking for Transition Initiatives across the United States. We are working in close partnership with the Transition Network, a UK based organization that supports the international Transition Movement as a whole. If you are a member of the press we would welcome the opportunity to arrange an interview with a member of the Transition US team.
The Transition Movement is a vibrant, grassroots movement that seeks to build community resilience in the face of such challenges as peak oil, climate change and the economic crisis. It represents one of the most promising ways of engaging people in strengthening their communities against the effects of these challenges, resulting in a life that is more abundant, fulfilling, equitable and socially connected.
We believe that we can make the transition to a more sustainable world. We hope that you will join us.
If you would like additional information about our organization, the Transition Movement, and our publications, or would like to arrange interviews with our founders and staff, please contact us.
Public Relations Staff
Our vision is that every community in the United States has engaged its collective creativity to unleash an extraordinary and historic transition to a future beyond fossil fuels; a future that is more vibrant, abundant and resilient; one that is ultimately preferable to the present.
Transition US is a resource and catalyst for building resilient communities across the United States that are able to withstand severe energy, climate or economic shocks while creating a better quality of life in the process. We will accomplish our mission by inspiring, encouraging, supporting, networking and training individuals and their communities as they consider, adopt, adapt, and implement the Transition approach to community empowerment and change.


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Welcome to RedWolf Airsoft,
You've been selected to try the beta version of our new online store.
Would you like to try our completely new experience?
It has come to our attention that many AEG owners out there don't know the corner stones of AEG care! Although Marui has started printing its manuals in English, it still does not emphasize some of the most important things you must watch out for. So without further delay, we'll address some of the key points here. Nevertheless it is advisable to always read the manual. Even if it is in a language you don't understand, the pictures tell more than a thousand words!
Don't recycle BBs
Number one rule: Don't use shot BBs again, no matter how good they look. BBs may deform when fired out of an AEG - and will definitely deform and sometimes chip and crack when colliding with targets. Using BBs that are not completely round or that have chips and cracks may rip the hop-up rubber seal and damage the hop-up mechanism, or even get stuck into the barrel and cause severe damage to the gearbox! BBs that you pick up off the ground may also be coated with a thin layer of dirt - which again may scratch the hop-up seal and barrel.
Cleaning the Barrel
One of the most common factors leading to the loss of range and accuracy comes from dust and dirt buildup within the inner barrel. Once dirt builds up, it interferes and slows down the BB as it travels through the barrel, leaving you with less power and horrible accuracy. Also the lubricant from the cylinder may find its way into the barrel when a newly maintained AEG is operated, so cleaning the barrel is important even if you weren't shooting in a dirty environment. Cleaning is a must if you play a lot and doing so takes only a couple of minutes. Marui includes a cleaning rod with each of its AEGs. If you don't have one and use a rod made for real rifles (5.56mm) instead, make sure it's one piece to prevent scratching the barrel, and don't use any real gun solvents or brushes.
First you need to stick a piece of cotton into the "needle eye" of the cleaning rod, spray some silicon onto the piece of cotton, and then push it gently down the barrel. The most important thing to do before cleaning the barrel is adjusting the hop-up to minimum setting. If you leave the hop-up on and you try to force the cotton ball down the barrel right into the hop-up assembly, it may damage the hop up mechanism. After cleaning the barrel with a silicone patch, take a dry cleaning patch and repeat. If necessary, continue cleaning the barrel with clean dry patches until they come out as clean and dry as on the way in.
Silicone spray
When maintaining Airsoft guns, don't use any mineral solvents such as WD40 or real gun oil. As good as they are for squeaky hinges, they will attack the rubber seals and ABS plastic parts of Airsoft guns and actually damage them. Only use silicone oil made for plastic and rubber parts. Using a thin weight silicone oil (10W-30W RC car shock oil for example) will provide smoother operation of the moving parts.
The manual illustrates the lubrication points to some extent, but generally you should spray some silicon onto moving parts and also into the BB feeding tube (the part where your magazine meets the gun...or, where the BBs are fed up into the hop-up unit. Doing this periodically will ensure you don't get BB jams at critical moments. Be sure to wipe off excess silicone, or you will quickly end up with a dirty gun.
Do note that excess use of silicone will attract dirt, and get where the oil is not supposed to be (electronics). The barrel of an airsoft gun is most accurate when it's as dry as possible. In the feeding tube clean surfaces are more important than a gallon of silicone: If the BBs jam because of dirt, silicone won't fix that problem.
Tighten screws
In the heat of play and vibration from shooting the AEG, some screws may become loose. If you don't tighten them, you may end up with lost parts after you return from a game. Critical screws to check for include those that hold the front sights and muzzle (especially so on the MP5 and G3 series AEGs), the screw that fastens the selector switch (again common on the MP5 and G3 series), and screws on the grip butt-plate.
It's also a good idea to ensure any screw you can find on the gun is firmly screwed in (although don't screw them in too hard, or you may strip them). We're told by our customers that the front sight retainer screw on the MP5 A4 / A5 comes loose easily, as does the large screws that hold the M4A1 upper receiver handle to the lower receiver. As a rule of thumb, any screw which meets a metal thread is prone to loosening, if it's not secured with thread locking agent and/or a spring washer.
Motor tuning
The motor in AEGs is precisely positioned so that it mates correctly with the gearbox gears. The way this is tuned is done by adjusting the hex nut on the bottom of your grip butt-plate. You will notice that there is a dab of red wax-like material on the nut - this was applied by Marui at the factory to prevent the screw from unwinding itself. Some models have a nylon disk on the inside to secure the screw. If in the unlucky event that this hex screw becomes loose and unwinds itself, the motor will shift downwards within the grip and come away from the gears. If this problem becomes severe enough, then you may find yourself with a stripped pinion and damage the bevel gear.
We would recommend you don't tamper with this screw unless you are sure that it has come loose. Visual inspection may help identify this, but the best way is by listening to the motor. To a trained ear, it is very easy to tell - a shifted motor will often allow much more play in the gears and your shots might sound much more hollow and the motor takes longer to wind up and get a shot off.
Should the need to adjust arise, it is advisable to make small adjustments (1/8 turn between shots). When the motor becomes too tight, the firing rate drops. Back out a bit and the position should be fine. In some cases the top face of the pinion may collide with the anti reversal steps on the bevel gear. You can tell this when the sound becomes clearly louder as you tighten the motor.
If the gear sound gets even louder when you tighten the motor, but loosening does not help either, the bevel gear needs to be shimmed again. It is most advisable to leave this to a professional.
To sum it up, normally don't tamper with the hex screw, and especially if you don't fully understand what it does. Over 99% of AEGs go through their life without ever needing this operation. If you have a modified AEG or if you have disassembled the grip butt-plate at some point in time, then this may apply to you.
Decompress the spring after each game and before storing
This is the most basic rule that everyone should follow. Due to the design of AEGs, it is important that you shoot your AEG in semi-auto mode for about 2 to 3 shots before storing it. Doing this will ensure that the spring is full decompressed! If you simply walk off a battlefield after much full-auto fire, and then store the gun for the days - chances are that your spring is in a partially or fully compressed state. Springs that are held in their compressed state for an extended amount of time loose their strength and you'll get a decrease in power the next time you use your AEG.
Note to TM PSG-1 and G&G L85 owners - this method does not apply to you. The default position for the spring in these models is in a compressed state - meaning every time you pull the trigger, it releases the spring from the compressed state, fires off the shot, and recompresses the spring - ready for the next shot. That's why there is NO delay when you pull the trigger. To decompress the spring for storage, refer to the manual which describes the little spring decompressing lever next to the trigger. In the L85 the lever is located inside the magazine well.
Follow these basic rules and your AEG will last you a long time. Hope this short column clears up some of the confusion!

subset: commoncrawl


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Spacious and roomy, designed for large families and offering flexible berth arrangements.
This boat has:
Dimensions:21m (69ft)
Set in glorious Cheshire countryside on the Shropshire Union Canal this base gives you the opportunity to cruise on either the Four Counties Ring or the ever popular Llangollen Canal. Take in the glorious English countryside as you cruise past many pretty villages and historic cities, including Chester. The Llangollen Canal offers breathtaking views as you cross the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (an Unesco World Heritage Site), which carries the canal 126ft above the River Dee, whilst the town of Llangollen has a steam railway and a weekly market, both well worth a visit.
Visitors may bring their own bikes (max 2) with prior permission from the boatyard.


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Signal engineers meeting at RSSI ExpoWritten by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief
On May 18, 2009, the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers-North American Section (IRSE-NAS) will hold its Annual General Meeting at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn., in conjunction with the Railway Systems Suppliers, Inc. (RSSI) 2009 Exposition.
On May 18, 2009, the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers-North American Section (IRSE-NAS) will hold its Annual General Meeting at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn., in conjunction with the Railway Systems Suppliers, Inc. (RSSI) 2009 Exposition.
"This year's program complements other activities at the RSSI Expo, and promises to be one of the more important industry meetings of the year," said IRSE-NAS Chairman Kendrick Bisset of Safetran. "As in previous years, it is highlighted by a mini-conference that will discuss two very important industry issues: filling the gap in systems engineering professional talent, and the recently enacted legislation on Positive Train Control. Our program includes presentations and Q&A with universities, academic professionals, representatives from the FRA, and other industry leaders."
The Annual General Meeting begins at 1:00 pm on Monday, May 18. Immediately following the final presentation, the IRSE-NAS will hold its formal meeting to review business for 2009, and adjourn in time for all attendees to be at the RSSI reception at 5:30 p.m. IRSE-NAS activities are free of charge and open to all interested parties. The Institution of Railway Signal Engineers is an international organization, based in England, of professionals in the railroad communications and signal field. The organization was chartered in 1912, and presently has over 4,500 members worldwide. The IRSE sponsors technical papers at section meetings such as the NAS and general conferences throughout the world. Each year the papers are published in the Annual Proceedings, provided free to all IRSE members, along with a summary of the discussions. In addition, the IRSE publishes a monthly magazine for members, IRSE News, with technical articles and other information. The NAS was formed in 2002 to support the IRSE's goals in North America. The NAS presently has over 50 members, and is encouraging railroad C&S professionals to join. NAS members must also be members of the IRSE, and the NAS Local Committee can help facilitate that. NAS membership at present is free. IRSE membership is available at several levels, from Associate to Fellow, with appropriate membership fees. Information on IRSE and NAS membership can be found at www.irse.org.
North American Section officers are:
Kendrick Bisset, FIRSE, Chairman,Senior Systems Engineer, Safetran Systems Corp., 2400 Nelson Miller Parkway, Louisville, KY 40223 USA Tel: (502) 253-3851 or, (800) 626-2710 x 851 E-mail: [email protected]
David Thurston, P.E., FIRSE, Vice Chairman, Principle Technical Consultant, Systems, Parsons, 1601 Market Street, 9th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19103, Tel: (215) 606 3465, E-mail: [email protected]
The IRSE-NAS has also recently published a book, Introduction to North American Railway Signaling (210 pages, softcover, $50), a comprehensive and useful reference. Published by Simmons-Boardman Books, Inc., it covers the basics of signaling philosophy and techniques, and presents the underlying principles behind modern day signaling practices for the many integrated systems that keep railroads running safely and efficiently. Introduction to North American Railway Signaling is ideal for signal designers and engineers, locomotive engineers, signal managers, operating supervisors and managers, or anyone wishing to learn more about the application of various signaling systems employed in today's railroads. It can ordered on line at www.transalert.com, or by calling 800-228-9670. IRSE members receive special pricing; please call the toll-free number.


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BISE Malakand Top-3 Positions Arts Girls HSSC (ANNUAL) 2012
- Monday, July 23, 2012, 5:00
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Baord of Intermediate and Secondary Education Malakand (BISE Malakand) Top-3 Positions Arts Girls Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) Annual Examination Result 2012.
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Help for the Journey of Life
The Register features several recent books that deal with pilgrimages — religious journeys as well as the pilgrimage of life by Amy Welborn, Marko Ivan Rupnik and Paul Badde
There are all kinds of journeys, and many kinds of pilgrims. As the liturgical year — itself a kind of pilgrimage — progresses from Easter on to Pentecost, the Register looks at recent books that have some insight into the pilgrimage of life.
Our earthly journey requires a road map, and the Church has a fair share of them to go around. One of the most trusted is the method of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Jesuit Father Marko Rupnik is known for his Eastern-style mosaics, particularly those he designed for Pope John Paul II's private chapel in the Vatican. In Human Frailty, Divine Redemption, he turns from his artistic activity to examine how Ignatius' Examen can keep us on the right path.
Another tried-and-true tool to help us find our way is making pilgrimages to sites commemorating particular divine interventions. Millions of pious Christians have gone to Italy to venerate the Shroud of Turin. In The True Icon, German author Paul Badde writes about this and another mysterious image, the Holy Face of Manoppello, taking the reader on a whirlwind tour through Christendom on a quest for answers.
The end of life's journey is seldom easy for loved ones left behind. Amy Welborn, one of the first and most prominent Catholic writers to bring faith-inspired reflections to the blogosphere, has firsthand experience of that. In 2009, her husband, Michael Dubruiel, passed away suddenly at age 50, leaving her a widow and their children fatherless. The journey she undertook to answer some of the questions the tragedy unearthed formed the basis of her latest book, Wish You Were Here.
We at the Register wish you fruitful reading and a blessed journey.
Travels Through Loss and Hope
By Amy Welborn
Image Books, 2012
246 pages, $14
To order: randomhouse.com/crown/image-catholic-books
Death Takes a Holiday
By John M. Grondelski
"'Death, where is thy victory? Death, where is thy sting?' Paul could mock death. Me, I'm not there yet."
What would you do if you were a grieving, 40-something widow with three kids, because your husband had died unexpectedly five months earlier on a treadmill at the local Y? Amy Welborn took the family to Sicily for three weeks.
Welborn's Sicilian sojourn reflects a wife and mother struggling in faith to keep her faith while facing the hole that death rips in life. Sicily just provides the backdrop for grappling with all of the questions: the "Why him?" "Why now?" "How much I want to see him!" "If only I'd …" "If only he'd …" The mundane events of their travels are but the canvas for some poignant reflections about faith. A trip to Mount Etna reminds her that life springs up even amid destruction. Like the grand castle they visit, whose builders and owners are long dead, whose power and pelf have today become the playground for a 4-year-old gelato-eating American tourist oblivious to all the place once represented. Like the organic farmer who runs the B&B where they stayed, a farm where wheat, olives and weeds grow together because he rather would await the harvest than apply pesticides. Like the silent church in a small town unexpectedly open during the hours of sancta siesta because there is a wake going on.
Far from a dry theological treatise, Welborn masterfully blends individual struggle, faith pondering, a what-happened-on-summer-vacation travelogue, and the wry insights of a mother traveling with 4-, 8- and 17-year-olds into a very personal yet very universal meditation on death. For those who have lost a loved one, her twists and turns will be all too familiar.
So why did she go to Sicily? I think Welborn's answer is to be found in the fact that "home" is no longer "home." Once a loved one dies, there's a certain sense in which you can't go home again. And the more you wrestle with it, the more you have more friends and relatives in the hereafter than here, the more the mansions of this world seem perhaps to be so many temporary lodgings.
"I wonder if I will ever feel at home anywhere again. … For that is what Mike took with him that morning. In trying to name the loss, I've settled on this. It wasn't perfectly complete because we are human and because this is earth, but it is the most home I had ever experienced, and the loss of that is starting to hit me hard. No home. He went away and took it and left me here, yearning for home. And maybe that is the point of all of this. That in each other on earth, in love, we glimpse a bit of home, enough to ground us for just a bit, and enough to show us where home really is, what is wanting and what is waiting."
Maybe that's how it's supposed to be. But the trip still hurts.
John M. Grondelski writes from Perth Amboy, New Jersey.
The Theology and Practice
Of the Examen
By Marko Ivan Rupnik, SJ
Pauline Books and Media, 2011
87 pages, $8.95
To order: pauline.org
(800) 876-4463
See Your Soul as God Sees It
By John M. Grondelski
Although it acquired particular prominence in St. Ignatius of Loyola's Spiritual Exercises, the Examen has always been and should be an important part of a Catholic's daily life. This daily prayerful introspection has two important purposes:
First and foremost, the Examen constantly requires us to reset our focus, to look at ourselves as God sees us, not as we might want to see ourselves. Second, it reinforces a healthy sense of right and wrong by making us see our deeds not through subjective eyes, but through those of a merciful yet just God.
Jesuit mosaic artist Father Marko Rupnik's little guide is designed to help people make the Examen a part of their lives.
One of the attractive things about this book is that it begins with the theology of the Examen. Before one begins the "how," it is first essential to understand the "why." The Examen is neither a "psychological exercise" nor an inventory of one's sins from that day. It is a "prayer." Its purpose is not to catalogue the past, but constantly to ask what God is doing in my life now in order for me to become what divine Wisdom from eternity created me to be:
"In order to see ourselves in truth, we must look at ourselves with the eyes of the Holy Spirit, which is also the gaze of Christ the Savior. It is the mercy of God. To see ourselves in reality and truth, we must ask for this gift from the Holy Spirit, who leads us back to Christ. Only Jesus can tell us how we appear, because he looks at us and does not hesitate to give his very life to restore our own."
So, in an age of "do-it-yourself spirituality," the Examen reminds us that Christ is our measure and model. "It is natural for a human being to seek a point of reference. Created in the image of God, the human person should not do less than compare him or herself to the Prototype, the original of whom he or she is the image. Given that the Prototype is a living being, the supreme Person in the theological sense, it is evident that we, too — created in God's image — are not static realities."
The Examen reminds us to refocus: What we are often tempted to think of as the mundane grind of our daily lives is the arena in which God is at work right now. Only when armed with this perspective can we then move to consider how to incorporate the Examen into our daily lives. On the latter, the book provides some useful advice, but since the Examen is intended to foster our spiritual growth (which always occurs in the Church), ongoing counsel about how best to profit from it should come from a confessor or spiritual director.
The book is divided into 28 short reflections, each beginning with a quotation from the Church Fathers or Eastern Christian spirituality. (I especially liked his reflections on the significance of memory in Christian life.) An attractive part of this book is its balanced incorporation of Eastern and Western Christian spirituality. (Father Rupnik directs the Centro Aletti in Rome, which brings Eastern and Western European scholars together to study.) Although it is short, the book is a real treasure — each reading reveals deeper and deeper levels of meaning — and the price makes it a bargain.
John M. Grondelski writes from Perth Amboy, New Jersey.
By Paul Badde
Ignatius Press 2012
160 pages, $19.51
To order: Ignatius.com
(800) 651-1531
An Adventurous Quest … Continued
By Joseph Pronechen
Two years ago, in The Face of God, German author Paul Badde took us on an exciting and adventurous quest spanning two millennia. In minute detail he traced a relic revered by some to be the portrait of Jesus Christ on the veil that covered his face in the tomb.
In his latest book, The True Icon, the author brings together two images — that veil (the Veil of Manoppello) and the Shroud of Turin. He takes us on a fascinating journey loaded with some surprising turns and some amazing insights and answers about both images.
Badde starts by focusing on the shroud, which he calls "the most thoroughly investigated piece of fabric in the world." He says good-bye to all the scientific examinations and theories that still can't answer how the image got onto the linen cloth, and he instead turns to the images' histories and the Gospels.
Here, he's not interested in proving if the shroud is genuine, because, as he says, "I doubt — frankly — a lot of things. I doubt the latest news, I doubt my telephone bills and many prescriptions, and so on, but not that the Shroud of Turin accommodated Jesus of Nazareth after his death for two nights and a Sabbath."
Thus, he takes the reader on this brave and necessary leap of faith that the shroud is the true burial cloth of Christ and the veil that covered Jesus' face in the Holy Sepulcher. Along the way, like a detective on a trail, the author turns up one historic fact or clue after another.
The Gospel accounts of the empty tomb and Resurrection become the foundational stones, especially St. John's. "Of course!" you say, when Badde illustrates how, taken together, the Resurrection narratives seem to use cinematic cutting techniques to tell the sheer inconceivable excitement of what's going on.
The case Badde makes for why, in the first several years, the shroud and veil weren't publicly displayed but hidden makes perfect sense.
He details how Jewish standards of ritual cleanliness and prohibitions against ritual impurity play a major part.
Badde relies heavily on John 20:4-8, in which the beloved disciple mentions the burial cloths (plural) three times and separately "the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths, but rolled up in a separate place."
From the Gospel and the tomb configuration itself, Badde postulates that Peter saw the veil first because "… on the large burial cloth there was nothing to see at that first moment in the dark, narrow chamber where it could not even be unfolded. That brings us to the next step. For now we not only can but must observe how afterward Peter and John hastily gathered up all the cloths and brought them into the daylight. They had to bring them to safety. … Nothing could remain lying there. Who knew, then, what the other cloths concealed?"
So the shroud and the Holy Face veil, now housed in a church in Manoppello, in the Abruzzi hills that Pope Benedict XVI chose to visit in 2006 as his first trip outside Rome, become two witnesses to Christ's death and resurrection that we have with us today.
Badde brings all this to light in an engaging style. There are enthralling sections of dialogue, where we sit next to him and his wife as they discuss facts and theories and where they lead.
Abundant illustrations distinguish this book, from pictures of the shroud and veil to centuries-old art documenting them, like the cathedral fresco commemorating the shroud's arrival in Pinerolo on its way to Turin in 1578.
Another is of the original banner flown on the Savoy flagship at the Battle of Lepanto picturing Mary and angels holding the Shroud of Turin.
With his exceptional point of view, we can only wonder why Badde used the word "luck" several times on the quest. Why not "divine Providence"?
Nevertheless, Badde makes a compelling case, adding common sense and simple reasoning to biblical and historic fact that anyone can follow. As a bonus, this book becomes a meditative source, from its text to its illustrations and images.
Joseph Pronechen is the
Register's staff writer.
- Keywords:
- April 22-May 5, 2012


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version 0.6
Configuration of environments...
... and applications
|Pico and Pine
The keymapping problem can be traced back to the time when computers used punched tapes. The only way to correct a wrongly punched character was to punch additional bits in the tape. Characters with all the bits punched were treated as deleted characters. See 'man ascii' for a list of the ASCII characterset, you'll see that DEL, (octal 177, decimal 127 and hexadecimal 7F) is the one with all the bits punched in (the ASCII code with the highest value). To be able to overwrite a character it is necessary to undo the feed between the characters first. For this the ASCII BS (octal 010, decimal 8, hexadecimal 08) was used. So to erase the last-typed character, you would have to press first BS and then DEL. In newer computers either BS or DEL was chosen to do it in one press.
The question to use BS or DEL was (and is...) just a matter of choice, just as different operating systems chose different ways to represent newlines, which was done by first issuing a carriage return (CR) and then a line-feed (LF). UNIX chose ASCII LF (hexadecimal 0A) to do both at the same time, Macintosh chose CR and MS-DOS both. Unfortunately, in the BS-DEL case, Linux ended up with two possibilities.
The essential point in this issue is to go for one way consistently. This page describes a way to consistently use DEL to erase the previous character, the page called The Alternative Way describes a way to consistently use BS. On the latter page there are some tips which may be useful regardless of what approach you take.
At this point the best way to fix the keys on your machine is to install Debian from version 2 (Hamm) and up, or SuSE.
If you miss an application on this page, it's either because the keys are ok in the application ("If it ain't broken, don't fix it"), or because I don't know about it. In either case, don't hesitate to mail me about it.
|ASCII BS == 0x08 == ^H
|ASCII DEL == 0x7f == 0177 == ^?
.inputrc/.cshrc already helps a lot) and a
more difficult issue which I will try to describe below.
The linux console emulates a vt220 terminal which has the following key-mapping:
Linux console/VT220 Key KeySymName Console characters -------------------------------------------------- Ctrl+H ---> Control_H ---> ASCII BS (0x08) [<---] ---> Backspace ---> ASCII DEL (0x7f) [Delete] ---> Delete ---> "\e[3~"Note 1: BS (0x08) is equivalent to ^H, which is left to be used by applications (e.g. for help menus in emacs, but it could be anything). DEL is equivalent to ^?, or 0177 (octal) and 0x7f (hex) and "\e[3~" will show up in your xterm (using the ^v-trick) as ^[[3~. Xterms on the other hand, emulate the vt100 terminal, which didn't have a [Delete]. It did have a [<---] which generated ASCII BS (but it was in an awkward position and did not serve as rubout).
VT100 -- Key KeySymName Console characters -------------------------------------------------- Ctrl+H ---> Control_H ---> ASCII BS (0x08) [<---] ---> Backspace ---> ASCII DEL (0x7F)Now here's how xterm emulates the VT100 terminal:
Xterm's emulation of VT100 Key KeySymName Console characters -------------------------------------------------- Ctrl+H ---> Control_H ---> ASCII BS (0x08) [<---] ---> Backspace ---> ASCII BS (0x08) [Delete] ---> Delete ---> ASCII DEL (0x7F)It may be clear that by default the keys are mapped differently on the console and in xterm. This would be ok if it weren't for the fact that while on the console ^H is free to be used by applications, in an xterm it is not (instead it's mapped to the [<---] key). Differences between terminal types are generally dealt with by the terminfo database (see below), mapping terminal specific strings to the correct key. However, in this case, the ^H should not be mapped. Terminfo is not enough, the settings of the terminal (xterm) have to be modified such that ^H is not used.
In my previous attempt at working around the problem, I put most of my effort in trying to map all keys to suit xterm's vt100 emulation. However, I now propose another way to deal with the problem. This basically means getting xterm to work with the consoles' default settings: [<---] will do ASCII DEL (0x7F, or ^?), and [Delete] will do "\e[3~". This way ^H is not used for any terminal specific functions, it can be used by applications.
When you change the keymapping on your own system, you may have problems when accessing other systems. Luckily, this can be worked-around by a script which changes the input it receives to the output that is expected by the application (telnet, rlogin). See the telnet section.
Configuration files
~/.Xdefaults (*)
xrdb ~/.Xdefaults (*)
/etc/X11/xinit/.Xmodmap (**)
xmodmap .Xmodmap
export INPUTRC=/etc/inputrc
/etc/X11/XF86Config also affects the keyboard
settings under X
should return a line which includes
infocmp | grep kbs
kbs=\177. This
means DEL (or ^?) is mapped to the backspace key, which is what we
should return a line with
infocmp | grep kdch1
kdch1=\E[3~. This means that
\E[3~ is mapped to the delete key. Often you will find kbs=^H
and/or kdch1=\177, or there will be no kdch1 at all. You can either
edit the terminfo entry as described on the Troubleshooting-page (simply
setting or adding
kdch1=\E[3~ and
kbs=\177, but make a backup first!) or you could download
(click shift or right) a modified debian
xterminfo or redhat xterminfo and
test it. Put the file in
~/.terminfo/x/xterm (for
testing purposes) and do for bash:
and/or for tcsh:
export TERMINFO=~/.terminfo
Make sure that the TERM variable is set to xterm:
setenv TERMINFO ~/.terminfo
should return "xterm". If it works as intended (do 'toe' to check
whether the terminfo dir you specified is indeed used, toe will
return a list of available terminfo types, only xterm in this
case), you can run tic as root, which will copy the file to
echo $TERM
(debian) or
(redhat, slackware). Make backups first, and
test it before you replace any files!
/etc/X11/Xresources or
~/.Xdefaults (or
wherever it's merged with the other xresources) add the line:
*VT100.Translations: #override \
<Key>BackSpace: string(0x7F)\n\
<Key>Delete: string("\033[3~")\n\
<Key>Home: string("\033[1~")\n\
<Key>End: string("\033[4~")
*ttyModes: erase ^?
Rxvt only uses
Xresources if it is compiled with
this option. Since rxvt uses readline, to get home and end to work
you will have to edit
.inputrc, see the Bash section). Redhat users can pick up the SRPM
(source) and compile rxvt themselves with this
feature.h, ensuring the right keybindings.
xterm or
nxterm in front of
*vt100.translations makes the settings specific for
xterm or nxterm. Sometimes this does not seem to work properly, in
that case try using both
nxterm*VT100.Translations and
BTW, have I told you that
<key> will tell you what sequence is sent to the
shell? Try
Ctrl-v [Delete], it should give a
^[[3~ in your xterm or console (try it with [ESC] and you'll
find ^[, which corresponds to \e for readline apps, and \033 for
1. The syntax of the
Xresources files is very
strict, make sure you don't leave blank spaces after the backslash
on each line. Also watch the newline (
\n\) sequences,
there shouldn't be one at the last line of an entry.
2. The sections are named, if you only use
*VT100.Translations it will work for all xterm and
3. For info about
Xresources and other X related stuff
refer to
'man X'.
/etc/X11/XF86Config. It is enable by default, so it should
be okay. Note the different keyboard layout-options. Now XFree86
will translate the console mapping, and everything should work in
X. If you have problems, or want to fiddle with additional
characters and things, create an
Xmodmap. Also if you
want the keyboard to generate special characters in X,
xmodmap can also be used to configure the function-keys.
This is adequately described in the manual page (
xmodmap'. Make sure that the following lines are included in
keycode 22 = BackSpace
keycode 107 = Delete
Note that the keycodes in X are not the same
as in a VT. Use
showkey to see the keycodes generated
by the keyboard in a VT, and
xev in X. There is an
excellent graphical front end for X-keyboard configuration:
xkeycaps. Refer to the
Netscape section.
Another way of generating special characters in X (without
xmodmap) is by defining a Compose-key (for use
as a "dead key") in
XF86Config in the Keyboard
Now you have a compose-key with the same properties as the one
described in the VT section. Remember
to set the environment variable
RightCtl Compose
(see VT optional...). Consult
'man XF86Config' if
you want to know more. Note: this doesn't seem
work rxvt.
XKEYBOARD extension (enabled per default) in
XF86Config and uncomment the line (follow the instructions
in the file):
Now you can use the button with the windows flag on it to produce a
great number of exotic characters, just press it in combination
with e.g. a, producing á (a clear disadvantage is that there
is no logic in the location of the special characters at all...).
XkbModel "microsoft"
Yet another way to use "dead keys" in X is by installing a
modified version of libX11 which includes support for dead keys
(transparent for all apps). First, get the modified version of
libX11 (make sure you get the right version, if you use glibc
replace both libX11, ELF-libc5 and ELF-libc6). Now, deactivate the
XKB extension of XFree86 (edit
XF86Config and run
xmodmap on a Xmodmap file with dead keys like dead_acute,
dead_grave, dead_cedilla, dead_ogonek and a Multi_keys one too.
A special case is if you use xdm, you need to deactivate XKB
from the
/etc/X11/xdm/Xservers file, passing a -kb
parameter to the server like this:
then in
:0 local /usr/X11R6/bin/X -kb
/etc/X11/xdm/Xsetup_0 file add a line to load
the Xmodmap, like this:
Now chars accesible by AltGr, dead keys or compose are usable in
xdm too.
if [ -r /etc/X11/xinit/.Xmodmap ]; then
/usr/X11R6/bin/xmodmap /etc/X11/xinit/.Xmodmap
Now you need a way to display them (millions of options here, I bet
you can do all kinds of crazy things with fonts, colors, pixmaps,
borders...). The script assumes the file with the characters is in
¡ ¢ £ ¤ ¥ ¦ § ¨ © ª « ¬ ® ¯ ° ± ² ³ ´ µ ¶ · ¸ ¹ º » ¼ ½ ¾ ¿ À Á Â Ã Ä Å Æ Ç
È É Ê Ë Ì Í Î Ï Ð Ñ Ò Ó Ô Õ Ö × Ø Ù Ú Û Ü Ý Þ ß à á â ã ä å æ ç è é ê ë ì í î
ï ð ñ ò ó ô õ ö ÷ ø ù ú û ü ý þ ÿ
Refer to the manual page of iso_8859_1. If you do 'man iso_8859_1'
but you don't see any special characters, edit
export LESSCHARSET=latin1
exec xterm -T Iso_8859_1-TABLE -geometry 77x4 +sb -bg SteelBlue -fg white \
-fn lucidasanstypewriter-bold-12 -e less /usr/local/lib/iso_8859_1
/etc/man.config, and change the following line:
NROFF /usr/bin/groff -Tascii -mandoc
Now try 'man -c iso_8859_1' (the -c option is to make sure man does
not use an old cat file).
NROFF /usr/bin/groff -Tlatin1 -mandoc
Create a file,
/etc/inputrc for system wide use or
~/.inputrc for personal use. Actually, this is the
readline initialization file, readline is a library that some
programs (bash, kvt) use to read input (try
bind -v to
see a list of readline key and function bindings). Cut and paste
the following in the file to make the Delete key delete characters
under the cursor, and make Home and End work as well:
If a system-wide
"\e[3~": delete-char
# this is actually equivalent to "\C-?": delete-char
"\e[1~": beginning-of-line
"\e[4~": end-of-line
# kvt
# rxvt and konsole (i.e. the KDE-app...)
/etc/inputrc was created, add the
following line to
export INPUTRC=/etc/inputrc
Make sure that the stty erase character is set to
^?. Type
stty -a | grep erase
and check if it says
erase = ^?;
If it is set to something else (e.g.
^H) then put
the following line in both
.bashrc and in either
.bash_profile or
and for xterm and rxvt add this to
if tty --quiet ; then
stty erase '^?'
*ttyModes: erase ^?
If you create
/etc/inputrc, note that Bash will
~/.inputrc (currently this happens in all
distributions except Debian, however, this might change in the
future). As an alternative, you can edit
and copy this to
/etc/skel/, so it's in the home
directories of all new users.
Push the key-combination '
Ctrl-x-r' (push the
control-key, the x-key. release it, push the r-key, release it, and
then release the control-key) to see if the changes in
inputrc take effect. Or just login again, and it will work.
You can also change the keybindings on the fly with the
bind command, e.g:
[localhost]> bind "\C-?": backward-delete-charThis is useful to test different keybindings, if they work you can put them in
~/.inputrc. Read all about it in the
readline manpage.
People using keymaps with e.g. Scandinavian characters who
would like bash to display these characters (øl;-) have to
add the following lines in
set convert-meta off
set output-meta on
set input-meta on
For more info, check the
/etc/cshrc or your personal
~/.cshrc file:
To see whether it works or not, type:
if ($term == "xterm" || $term == "vt100" \
|| $term == "vt102" || $term !~ "con*") then
# bind keypad keys for console, vt100, vt102, xterm
bindkey "\e[1~" beginning-of-line # Home
bindkey "\e[7~" beginning-of-line # Home rxvt
bindkey "\e[2~" overwrite-mode # Ins
bindkey "\e[3~" delete-char # Delete
bindkey "\e[4~" end-of-line # End
bindkey "\e[8~" end-of-line # End rxvt
[localhost]> source .cshrc
.Xdefaults to get Delete to work:
*Text.translations: #override \
~Shift ~Meta <Key>Delete: delete-next-character()
x-win.el in the emacs root
directory, and find the following:
and change the last line to
;; Map certain keypad keys into ASCII characters
;; that people usually expect.
(define-key function-key-map [backspace] [127])
(define-key function-key-map [delete] [127])
Alternatively you can add
(define-key function-key-map [delete] [deletechar])
to your ~/.emacs file.
On a related note, by default in emacs the HOME key brings you to the beginning
of the buffer (i.e. top of the document). Likewise the END key brings you to
the end of the buffer. Adding the lines
(define-key function-key-map [delete] [deletechar])
to your
(define-key global-map [home] `beginning-of-line)
(define-key global-map [end] `end-of-line)
~/.emacs make these keys move you to the beginning and
end of the current line. Note that the M-< and M-> keybindings remain
untouched and can still be used to go to the beginning and end of the buffer.
/usr/lib/joe/joerc, but sometimes
or maybe even
/usr/local/lib/joerc. Try
joerc' if you can't find the file. Make a backup for safety,
or copy it to .joerc in your home directory, and change/add the
following lines in the section "Standard JOE user interface" in
Note that you first have to make sure that Home
and End work in an xterm. Check
bol ^[ [ H # Standard xterm escape seq.
bol ^[ [ 1 ~ # Standard VT escape seq.
bol ^[ [ 7 ~ # rxvt
eol ^[ [ F # Standard xterm escape seq.
eol ^[ [ 4 ~ # Standard VT escape seq.
eol ^[ [ 8 ~ # rxvt
'man joe'. BTW, these
modifications apply to
jmacsrc as well.
.inputrc. Additionally, make sure that you have
checked the '
BS sends DEL' checkbox (right mouse
click, or through the 'Options' pulldown menu). In kvt, KDE's home and end can be configured by
~/.inputrc (
tcsh users too, it
uses readline):
/etc/lesskey, for
system-wide use. This will be a
lesskey input file.
Put the following lines in the file:
\e[3~ delete
\e[1~ home
\e[4~ end
[localhost]> lesskey -o /etc/less /etc/lesskey
Add the following line to /etc/profile:
export LESS="-MM -k/etc/less"
Now type:
[localhost]> . /etc/profile
By fiddling with these settings you should be able to get less
to accept (all of) the holy keycodes, at least, it works on my
computer. For some exciting reading, check
'man lesskey'.
nedit.remapDeleteKey: False
Save the file, and the next time you start nedit the Delete
key will do what we want it to: delete under the cursor. Note: you
can also put the line in
~/.nedit, but every time you
save the default settings, the
.nedit file will be
overwritten, and you'll have to (n)edit it again.
Note the nedit, as e.g. netscape, is a motif application. This means that it uses the XKeysymDB, see thet netscape section.
/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/). XKeysymDB is
similar to an xmodmap file, but with a very cryptic and poorly
documented syntax. Luckily, it does do the delete/backspace thing
right, so no sweat.
If you use xmodmap, you may want to check out the graphical
front end for X-keyboard configuration:
xkeycaps. Get
the .rpm at RedHat
Powertools, or get the
Debian-package (or plain tarball). It's a nice tool. You can
also look for a default Xmodmap file on your system. At any rate,
make sure that the following is in the file:
keycode 22 = BackSpace
keycode 107 = Delete
alternatively, you can put it in e.g. your .Xclients file, or in
# map the [<---] key to the [BackSpace] keysym.
xmodmap -e "keycode 22 = BackSpace"
# map the [Delete] key to the [Delete] keysym.
xmodmap -e "keycode 107 = Delete"
modifications. If you use the
~/.inputrc to get Delete
to work in xterms (and then pico and pine will be able to use
Delete), however, this creates problems with other apps (e.g. joe)
which cannot be easily solved because joe relies on the
.Xdefaults modifications to get the keys right. Anyway, it
turns out that pine
and pico are simply broken, as the workaround will clearly
demonstrate. Admittedly broken is a relative thing in all this
keyboard-confusion: from the other method's perspective they are
perfectly ok. One thing is for sure, these two apps are exceptions.
Try the following: make an expect script (let's call it picofix):
Make picofix executable, and start the editor (or pine) with
eval spawn -noecho $argv
interact {
\177 {send "\008"}
"\033\[3~" {send "\004"}
and it will work (then you can make an alias or a wrapper). Thanks
to Philip Hands for this ingenious (and powerful!) workaround. You
can also use an alternate editor. Edit
picofix pico
.pinerc and
find the following lines:
# Specifies the program invoked by ^_ in the Composer,
# or the "enable-alternate-editor-implicitly" feature.
You can enter the command for any editor here, e.g.
joe or
If you want the editor to be started right away, start
pine, enter
SETUP and
Config and
select the
enable-alternate-editor-implicitly option.
Now the editor of choice will be started automagically when you
start writing a message.
Pico fans may want to try jpico, which is basically joe with
pico keybindings (and all the extra's joe offers). Others my be
even smarter and switch to vim and
mutt. Note that the first can be
taught to do the
Ctrl-j-trick, the latter can use pine
:help fixdel
in vim and read all about it.
bind editor <delete> delete-charThis will make [Delete] do its job in mutt's internal pager.
If you press [<---], expect will receive \177 (equivalent to
0x7F and ^?, see the VT220 table)
and it will send \008 (equivalent to ^H) along to telnet, which
will result in [<---] at the other end. Make it executable and
eval spawn -noecho $argv
interact {
\177 {send "\008"}
"\033\[3~" {send "\177"}
kbdfix telnet brokenhost. Thanks to Philip Hands
for this clever workaround.
The logical next step is to automate the trick. Create a file,
/etc/broken-backspace-hosts (or a shorter name...). In
this file, list the hosts which expect ^H and ^? instead of ^? and
^[[3~. Now you can make a wrapper for telnet as shown below. This
particular script assumes that the telnet binary has been renamed
telnet.orig, and that the kbdfix script described in the previous
section is somewhere in your path):
From now on, when you use telnet, the script will check whether the
host you are telnetting to is considered broken (listed in the
/etc/broken-backspace-hosts file). If it is, the expect script
(kbdfix) will be used, if not, telnet will be started directly. You
can do the same for rlogin, although rlogin can't be moved (i.e.
won't work when it isn't called rlogin).
if grep -wq "$@" /etc/broken-backspace-hosts ; then
exec kbdfix telnet.orig "$@"
exec telnet.orig "$@"
Bash documentation
'man X'
'man lesskey'
'man joe'
This document was put together by Anne Baretta (email@example.com). Please mail me if you find mistakes, tY-pO's, alternative or plain better solutions. A few people have already pointed out many mistakes (there simply cannot be that many left...), which improved the document a lot. I would like to thank all the people who contributed to the page, and Thomas Telkamp for hosting the site.


text:
Damage typesEdit
In StarCraft, there are three damage types: concussive, normal, and explosive. The actual damage done depends on the type and the size of the target unit, as indicated in the following table:
|Unit Size
Protoss shields always take full damage.
- Concussive Damage
Units which deal concussive damage are optimized to kill small units such as zerglings and zealots. Concussive damage is limited more than any other damage type and is comparatively a rare attack mode.
It includes the vulture, ghost, and firebat.
- Explosive Damage
Units which deal explosive damage are optimized to kill large units and buildings. Explosive damage isn't particularly effective against small units (which suffer half of the damage). Despite the name, many explosive attacks do not deal splash damage; for instance, the siege tank's attack in tank mode is optimized for destroying armored units, but it only gains splash damage when it switches to siege mode. Exceptions to the 'splash units are explosive' rule are the protoss archon, corsair, and high templar's Psionic Storm.
It includes all rockets attacks (e.g. missile turrets, goliaths' anti-air, scouts anti-air, valkyries, wraiths' anti-air), and all types of powerful cannons, like those of siege tanks and dragoons. It also includes the hydralisk's needle spines, the sunken colony's subterranean tentacle, infested terran's suicide, and the devourer's acid spores.
- Normal Damage
Normal attacks are effective against all types of units.
It includes all melee attacks, like those of the zergling and ultralisk. It also includes laser weapons (battlecruiser and wraith), most bullets (marine) and special cases (SCV/probe/drone's attacks, protoss photon cannon, archon, scout's ground attack, carrier (interceptor's) attack, zerg spore colony, guardian, mutalisk, and scourge)
Unit SizesEdit
Unit size is only loosely correlated with the size of a unit's sprite and the amount of space a unit takes up in a transport. Unit size is more closely linked to armor quality.
A small ground unit, such as a ghost, wears personal armor, whereas a large unit, such as a siege tank, is covered with neosteel plating. Few units, such as the hydralisk, are medium-sized.
Most air units are large; indeed, all terran air units are large, even units which would be expected to be relatively small and lightly-armored, such as wraiths (compared to battlecruisers). Most powerful anti-air attacks deal explosive damage, as a result. The biggest exception to the rule is probably the mutalisk, which is small, but is expected to face explosive attacks regularly. Zerg scourges, protoss interceptors, and observers are the other small sized air units. Zerg queens and protoss corsairs are medium-sized.
- If a unit is shielded (protoss only), the shield takes full damage from any attack, regardless of the unit's size and damage type.
- All buildings are "large" units.
- Some attacks may also deal splash damage, which damages units around the target. Splash damage typically affects all units except the attacker's own units; the exceptions are siege tank, spider mines, and infested terrans which affect all units.
General Strategy (Damage Types and Unit Sizes). Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2007-11-20.


text:
| 12.9°C Belfast
The son of a gifted violinist who killed herself days after she gave evidence at a sex abuse trial said he hopes processes will be improved to prevent a repeat of the tragedy.
Oliver Andrade said a serious case review published this week into the death of his mother Frances Andrade "has the ability to save lives" and shape future policies.
He said: "I hope that their suggestions are taken on board by the appropriate parties so that processes can be improved and can help prevent similar situations occurring in the future."
Mr Andrade spoke after the damning review by the Surrey Safeguarding Adults Board said the suicide of his mother "could and should" have been prevented.
Mother-of-four Mrs Andrade, 48, took her own life at her home in Guildford, Surrey, a week after giving evidence in court against "predatory sex offender" and ex-choirmaster Michael Brewer.
Brewer, who taught at the internationally-acclaimed Chetham's School of Music in Manchester, was jailed for six years at Manchester Crown Court last year.
He was later stripped of his OBE awarded for services to music after being convicted of five counts of indecently assaulting Mrs Andrade when she was aged 14 and 15.
His ex-wife, Hilary Kay Brewer, was jailed for 21 months after she was convicted at the same trial of indecently assaulting Mrs Andrade when she was 18.
The serious case review said Mrs Andrade, referred to as Mrs A, was "let down" by mental health services who failed to realise how vulnerable she was as she fought for justice.
Proper care measures and adequate risk assessments were not put in place as she made increasingly serious suicide bids, the report noted.
Its authors called for criminal justice professionals to improve the support offered to sex abuse survivors and recognise their "vulnerability" when facing their abusers in court.
And mental health services should increase their alertness to the fall-out of sexual exploitation and the risks of suicide and self-harm, the report added.
The review also said the media had a role to play, saying that journalists, broadcasters and editors "should be mindful of the way a person's mental health and their credibility are discussed throughout court proceedings".
Mr Andrade said he believed there were several points in the report that deserved highlighting, including calls for mental health services to work seamlessly.
He also said it was important for counselling for vulnerable court witnesses to be encouraged "as a matter of course" and for special protection to be offered readily.
Mr Andrade wanted to see continued contact between witnesses and the officer-in-charge in a case after testimony and up to the end of the trial.
He said: "Something as simple as the daily phone call suggested allows the victim to be kept up to date with proceedings, remaining informed and supported throughout the crucial time from the start of the case through to the end of the trial."
He went on: "This report has the ability to save lives and help some of the most vulnerable in society and so I sincerely hope it is taken to heart and helps to shape future policies."
The trial heard that the abuse took place in Brewer's office and in his camper van, which he used to drive Mrs Andrade out of the school grounds and get her to perform oral sex on him.
He was cleared of raping her when she was 18 at his then home in Chorlton, Manchester.
Sentencing him, Judge Martin Rudland labelled Brewer "a predatory sex offender" and said he used his powerful position to select and groom his victims.
Brewer also targeted a 17-year-old student at Chetham's whom he fondled in his office and admitted in court that he fell in love with at the age of 49, while another 17-year-old girl was said to have been pinned up against a wall during a school trip and sexually propositioned.
Brewer resigned as music director at Chetham's at about the same time he was awarded his OBE after the affair with the girl he fondled in his office was uncovered.
But the affair was hushed up, his trial heard, and Brewer went on to become the artistic director of the National Youth Choirs of Britain, to direct the World Youth Choir, serve as an adjudicator in international competitions and lead BBC workshops for the programme Last Choir Standing in 2008.
The abuse Mrs Andrade suffered only surfaced decades later when she confided to a friend at a dinner party in 2011.


text:
A plump, golden Lemon Poppy Seed Cake with a Lemon Glaze is what I have for you today.
After all these years of baking vegan cakes and cupcakes, I am still amazed at how easy it is to eliminate animal products like butter, cream and egg and still get a perfectly moist, airy and beautiful result. All of it minus that awful egg odor. If you don't believe me, all you have to do is try this cake.
Lemon and poppy seed are a classic combination, and just one bite of this amazing cake will tell you why. I used Meyer lemons which have a distinctive flavor and are sweeter than your average lemon, but it's perfectly fine to use regular lemons instead. You could even try substituting other fruit juices.
This is a great base recipe to create cakes of all flavors. You could, for instance, substitute the lemon juice and zest with orange and get a great orange bundt cake. Or you might try another fruit juice. This cake is very much like a pound cake, with a buttery crumb and a melt-in-the-mouth texture. I also used unbleached cake flour to get a particularly light texture. Cake flour is very low in gluten, so you don't have to worry about your cake getting tough, the way it could with higher gluten flours like all-purpose flour. If you can't get cake flour, use all-purpose but replace two tablespoons in each cup with cornflour.
You could also use whole-wheat pastry flour to make this cake. It will be darker and the crumb will be thicker, but you'd still have a great cake (and one that's slightly healthier too).
Gotta run now, but here's the recipe for my vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Cake. Enjoy!
Lemon Poppy Seed Cake With A Lemon Glaze
- For Lemon Poppyseed Bundt Cake:
- 2 2/3 cup unbleached cake flour (If you don't have cake flour, all-purpose would be okay but replace 5 tbsp of the all-purpose flour with cornflour. You can also make this with whole-wheat pastry flour but the crumb will be thicker.)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups vegan cane sugar or turbinado sugar
- 1 3/4 cup almond milk or soymilk mixed with 2 tsp vinegar. Set aside five minutes to curdle.
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup poppy seeds , lightly toasted in a skillet. Do this over medium heat and stir frequently. It should take no more than five minutes.
- Zest of two lemons
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (2 sticks) of vegan "butter" like Earth Balance, at room temperature
- For Lemon Glaze:
- For the lemon glaze
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar)
- Make the cake:
- Cream together the sugar and "butter" in a stand mixer or hand mixer fitted with a wisk, until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bottom and sides of bowl a couple of times during the mixing.
- Mix the lemon juice, zest, vanilla extract and almond milk.
- Sift into a bowl the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder
- Add the flour to the butter and sugar mixture in three batches, alternating with the almond milk mixture. Mix for 20 seconds after each addition, then scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure everything's integrated.
- Add the poppy seeds and mix with a spatula to disperse them evenly through the batter.
- Oil and flour a bundt cake pan. Pour the cake batter into the pan and bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out dry. Let the cake stand in the bundt pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then unmold. This cake unmolds easily, but if you need help run a knife lightly and carefully around the edges.
- Make the glaze:
- With a wisk, mix the lemon juice and sugar.
- With a toothpick, make a few holes in the warm cake and then paint the glaze onto the cake using a pastry brush. You can even just pour it on. Add some lemon zest on top, if desired.
If you like citrusy cakes, have you tried my fail-safe Vegan Orange Cake?
Say No to Horse-Carriage Rides in New York City and Elsewhere
There have been a number of media articles in recent weeks about efforts by animal-rights activists to stop New York City's abhorrent horse-drawn carriages, after the deaths of two horses who literally dropped dead while ferrying passengers around the city's clogged streets.
If you've ever been to New York, you will not have missed these horse carriages (and hopefully you knew better than to ride in one). But if you haven't you would find it hard to imagine the sight of these poor animals, blinkers on, forced to walk around pulling hundreds of pounds for at least nine hours each day, seven days a week, ferrying passengers through the din, pollution, and unbearable hustle of New York's infamous traffic.
It is also hard to imagine that leaders of this, one of the world's greatest cities, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg, still believe that they need this archaic display of animal cruelty to draw in tourists. If anything, it makes me never want to visit again.
To my mind, horses symbolize freedom. To condemn these beautiful creatures to a life of slavery and suffering is not just wrong, it should be a crime. Unfortunately, New York City is not alone. I wrote a few years back about Charleston's horrendous horse carriages which really ruined my visit to this otherwise beautiful town in South Carolina.
The horses pay a heavy price for our "entertainment." Many suffer respiratory ailments, not surprising given that they are inhaling noxious exhaust fumes all day, and some turn lame because of walking constantly on the hard pavement. At the end of a long, hard day the horses are returned to crowded stables where they are packed in, with no recourse to roam free for even a short time. They have no pastures where they can graze, or socialize with other animals. The next morning it's back to the streets and hard labor and on and on until they die an early death or are put down.
Animal rights activists in New York City, including the ASPCA, have been fighting to have the horse carriages banned and they have been making steady progress, but I wanted to share this with you too in the hope that you will contribute your own power as consumers. All you have to do is say no to horse rides that are common "tourist attractions" in cities around the world.
There's so much to see and do in New York City or in Charleston or in just about any place on earth. There is absolutely no need to sully your visit or vacation with a ride in a horse-drawn carriage, pulled by a sentient animal who will never know what it's like to be happy.


text:
One can be excused from a multitude of sins, such as not responding to facebook messages, emails, calls and/or updating ones blog when one is in the process of selling and purchasing a home, right?
That is my excuse and I'm sticking to it!
It seems like mixed in with all of our blessings, and believe me, I know how blessed we are, there have been a comedy of errors that have complicated our lives this last month. If you recall a few posts back I was debating whether to stay in Long Beach, or consider moving to Rossmoor for the school district.
Well a quick update on that front; after purchasing what would have eventually been a really cool home after a lot of TLC and dough in La Marina Estates (over by CSULB), we backed out for a number of reasons. We then focused our search in Rossmoor for a number of reasons.
In the meantime, the buyer of our house was pressuring us to remove contingencies on the sale of our home. We stuck to our guns and decided that moving our family 2-3 times just so we "wouldn't lose a buyer" was not worth it. We decided we were not going to move and remove contingencies until we found a home. Well, wouldn't you know that after we finally did find a home to buy, the buyer of our home backed out! We had to quickly put our house back on the market and get it in escrow in 5 days, or the house we had bought would go back on the market.
Are you keeping up with me? Don't worry, I wouldn't blame you if you were dazed and confused. I am. I have decided I am just along for the ride.
Our house is now in escrow again and things for the most part are moving along smoothly. There was a slight hiccup due to a difference of opinion over the repair of some corroded pipes, but we got that all settled and things are back on track.
Did I mention that the new buyer of our home proposed to his long-time girlfriend on the steps of our porch last Wednesday during the home inspection? This house has seen A LOT of action in the last couple of months I tell ya!
In other news, we took the kids to see the Nutcracker last Sunday and on the way home we took a detour from our normal route to stop and get gas at Costco. A dazed and confused out-of-stater from Las Vegas went straight from a left turn lane, right into the bumper of my newly fixed car. Yes, that's right, just 2 short months after spending $1100 getting my car back to its beautiful state, a lady hits it in the same spot! If only I had waited 2 months I could have got it fixed for free. Oh well. I spent some time on the phone yesterday with AAA and at the body shop. Good times.
The pit stop at Costco to get petrol was put on hold due to our frazzled nerves and a very long line. You see where this is going? That night we got an unexpected invite to go and walk the Canals in Naples with our good friends (and my awesome realtor!), the Irelands. As we get in the car Art asks "Do we have enough gas to get us there?"
"Oh sure!" I reply. Well, we did have enough gas to get us there. Just not quite enough to get us back! As we pulled into the parking space at the Prince of Peace Pageant, my car ran out of gas. I think this is the 5th time it's happened to me. I really hate to get gas. Luckily our trusty neighbor Aaron took his family home and then came back and picked us up and took Art out to get gas.
Besides some silly drama and excitement, we are doing well and trying our best to enjoy this wonderful and special time of year. Christmas carols and potpourri are brewing every night at our house and I have been a crafting nut. I have been sewing like mad, baking, stamping, stenciling, etc. I promise to post some pictures of some of the great projects I've been working on this week.
Until then my loan officer is hounding me for more information so I better run!
Merry Christmas everyone!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
I'm HERE!
Posted by Four Flights at 10:55 AM
Labels: Christmas, Gobble-dey-gook, Homelife
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Welcome to Day Four of Watercolor Week here on my blog. If your new to my blog, you can find the previous three days here:
Today's card features Peerless Watercolors. I'm really loving the results they give...
Laura Sterckx did for class. I used my bone folder and the crease in my paper trimmer to emboss lines in my cardstock. I used the debossed side. Not only does it give the background great texture, but also creates tunnels that the color spread out from. It's hard to explain, but so beautiful in real life.
Also, I wanted an ombre effect. So I added a very small amount of water towards the left side of the card and then gradually added more water towards the right side. More water equals lighter color. Less water equals more intense color.
I wanted a pop of color to be on the inside of the card instead of just white, so I turned the card inside out...
THIS lovely greeting in white and adding some enamel dots and a button.
Thanks for stopping by. I'll be back tomorrow...
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Watercolor Week- Day 4
Posted by Heather Ruwe at 4:49 PM
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Horsey set... To win some in Athens?
Charlottesville has an Olympian. His name is Winsome Adante, and he's 11 years old. He can jump four feet off the ground and can hit speeds of over 22 miles per hour, and thus has hoofed it to Athens to represent the pinnacle of American athletic ability. Amazingly, he's hasn't let it all go to his head.
Maybe that's because he's a horse. Owner Linda Wachtmeister, 54, a horsewoman of long experience, says she could tell right away that Winsome Adante– "Dan" for short, is– well– a rare breed.
"We've been buying and selling and competing a lot of horses since we got here," she says of her 12 years at Plain Dealing Farm near Scottsville, "but Dan is one of our best."
Groomer Lili Bennett, 27, agrees. "He's pretty much won everything he's done," she says. "He's proven himself to be an extraordinary horse." Proof of his excellence came in 2002, when Dan helped the U.S. Eventing Team win the gold medal at the prestigious World Equestrian Games.
"It's sort of like the triathlon of equestrian sports," explains Wachtmeister. "They do dressage, show jumping, and cross country jumping." Now, after qualifying for the Olympics by winning the Kentucky Rolex back in April and a mandatory second round in July, Dan is poised to lead another eventing team to victory in front of an international audience.
"Dan is ranked #2 in the world right now," Wachtmeister notes with pride. That's quite a track record, but Wachtmeister is also quick to sing the praises of bipedal co-champion Kim Severson, who will again be competing with Dan in Athens.
"Kim definitely has a chance of winning the gold," Wachtmeister says. "She treats the horses really well, and she gets them to do remarkable things."
Severson does remarkable things herself: Eventing is on the rise, in large part thanks to her. "It's a great sport at any age, any level," says Wachtmeister. "It's totally exploded in our area, and a lot of it has to do with Kim being here." Still, the sport hasn't yet received the attention Wachmeister believes it deserves.
"All of the officials involved with this sport would like it to become more popular," she says. "In England, everybody watches it." She hopes that NBC's planned multi-network coverage of the Games will afford enough time for eventing to pique the public's interest.
A gold medal certainly wouldn't hurt. "We both feel very lucky that we found each other," Wachtmeister says, reflecting on her years of friendship with Kim. They're hoping that luck continues through August.
Kim Severson and "Dan"


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The second part of our update featuring new acquisitions from the Tucson Show. Be sure to look out for the rarely seen GREEN colored Petrified Wood from the Petrified Forest in Gokwe, Zimbabwe, along with an unusual Fluorite with GALENA inclusions from Morocco, plus a newly mined beautiful pink Mangaoan Calcite from Bulgaria. Enjoy!
US$ € EURO ¥ YEN £ POUND CAN$ AUS$ Note
(click on the pictures to enlarge)
No. TUC31710 - $ 1200.00
Copper "Skull"
Locality: Centennial Mine, Houghton County, Michigan
Specimen Size: 14.5 x 11.8 x 9.3 cm (cabinet)
ex. Dave Bergman
From the collection of my grandfather, Dave Bergman, we have a unique old classic from the upper peninsula of Michigan. For those who don't know, Dave Bergman was the foreman and operated the Sweet Home Mine for my father in the late 1970s when they were mining world-class Rhodochrosite specimens. This piece is a really interesting example of the famous Coppper "skulls" from Michigan, which formed as a result of Copper flowing over rounded conglomerate, which later disappeared leaving only the hollow shells of Copper behind. What makes this piece stand out from others I've seen from this area is the fact that it doesn't feature a lone "skull" but rather a semi-"flower"-shaped group featuring a few "skulls" with isolated "petals" of Copper flaring out from the sides. The piece has outstanding three dimensional form and looks amazing from several angles. It's rare to find multiple "skulls" on one piece, let alone a large showy group with such eye-catching form. To top it off, the piece has a rich bronze patina all the way around which is a great characteristic of these old time specimens. I love how beautifully the piece sits and displays on its own without the aid of a base or clay. This is a special piece, not only because it came from my grandfather, but because it truly does not resemble any other Copper "skull" specimen I've seen from this tremendously rich and historic mining district. For reference, my grandfather acquired this specimen from the estate of Waldo Butler. Waldo acquired it from the estate of his father, Bert S. Butler, the famed author of the USGS Professional Paper 144 "The copper deposits of Michigan" from 1929
To order this specimen click here
(click on the pictures to enlarge)
No. TUC31713 - $ 250.00
Descloizite (fine crystals)
Locality: Otavi, Otjozondjupa Region, Namibia
Specimen Size: 4.0 x 2.2 x 2.1 cm (miniature)
Largest Crystal: 4 mm
A wonderful display specimen of the beloved lead zinc vanadate, Descloizite, not from the famous locality at Berg Aukus, but rather from Otavi (no specific mine was given, but it could be from the Auros Farm location). Obviously Berg Aukus has larger crystals of Descloizite, but the quality on this piece is truly superb for the species, even in the smaller size. The sharp, scintillating, very dark brown (nearly black), rather lustrous, resinous orthorhombic crysals are sprinkled on the beautifully contrasting cream colored, pearly, curved rhombic Dolomite matrix. The crystals are distinctive, very well-formed, and somewhat isolated, which is quite rare in my experience with this kind of material. This a lovely piece that really caught my eye in terms of quality, and would make a nice addition to any collection.
To order this specimen click here
(click on the pictures to enlarge)
No. TUC31718 - SOLD
Descloizite ("cast")
Locality: Berg Aukus, Grootfontein District, Otjozondjupa Region, Namibia
Specimen Size: 4.9 x 4.3 x 4.2 cm (miniature)
Berg Aukus is world-renowned for its extraordinary Descloizite specimens. These pieces have set the standard of excellence for this zinc analogue of Mottramite. It is because of Berg Aukus that we know how good Descloizite crystals can actually get. This piece is a beautiful "mound" of Descloizite hosting dozens, if not hundreds, of fine, tabular, sharp, lustrous, semi-metallic brown color, "rosette"-shaped crystals which have formed on a hollow "cast" after an unknown preexisting mineral. If you flip the piece over, you can clearly see a big cavity in the center where another mineral was dissolved away. The display side is in excellent condition, and even though there are a few slight bruises on a handful of the crystals on the back, it is still a notable specimen for its crystal quality, and the fact that it formed in such an interesting way.
To order this specimen click here
(click on the pictures to enlarge)
No. TUC31719 - $ 300.00
Fluorite with Galena inclusions
Locality: Chebka sidi Said, Midelt, Khenifra Province, Meknes-Tafilalet Region, Morocco
Specimen Size: 7.2 x 5.6 x 3.1 cm (small cabinet)
Largest Crystal: 1.1 cm
A rarity for Fluorite, especially from Morocco. This piece hosts dozens of sharp, well-formed, gemmy, golden cubic Fluorite crystals which measure up to 1.1 cm, but the most interesting aspect of the piece is that the Fluorites are included with small silvery crystals of Galena sitting on Quartz matrix. There are also some Galena crystals ON the Fluorites, so they obviously formed in tandem, but the fact that you can distinctly see actual Galena crystals inside of Fluorite is rare in my experience. I can remember seeing Galena and Fluorite combos from the English lead mines, but not quite in the same style as this piece. If you collect Fluorites, this is a unique novelty that would be worth adding to your collection.
To order this specimen click here
(click on the pictures to enlarge)
No. TUC31720 - SOLD
Petrified Wood (rare color)
Locality: Petrified Forest, Gokwe South, Midlands, Zimbabwe
Specimen Size: 8.1 x 5.2 x 1.8 cm (small cabinet)
We don't sell a lot of fossilized material, but we found these at the Tucson Show and couldn't pass them up due to their unique and alluring color. Petrified wood is found in a wide range of colors, but green is certainly rare worldwide. Originally I was told that the color is caused by nickel content (then another source said it could be vanadium), but it's not dyed, as you can clearly see solid green patches on the back (unpolished side) of the piece. The form of the original tree is clearly seen and well-preserved. The species is Woodworthia sp., which is a primitive conifer from the Triassic epoch dating back approximately 200 million years. Beautiful material and certainly different from your run of the mill petrified wood.
To order this specimen click here
(click on the pictures to enlarge)
No. TUC31721 - SOLD
Petrified Wood (rare color)
Locality: Petrified Forest, Gokwe South, Midlands, Zimbabwe
Specimen Size: 6.0 x 4.8 x 1.5 cm (small cabinet)
We don't sell a lot of fossilized material, but we found these at the Tucson Show and couldn't pass them up due to their unique and alluring color. Petrified wood is found in a wide range of colors, but green is certainly rare worldwide. IOriginally I was told that the color is caused by nickel content (then another source said it could be vanadium), but it's definitely not dyed. The form of the original tree is clearly seen and well-preserved. The species is Woodworthia sp., which is a primitive conifer from the Triassic epoch dating back approximately 200 million years. Beautiful material and certainly different from your run of the mill petrified wood.
To order this specimen click here
(click on the pictures to enlarge)
No. TUC31722 - $ 700.00
Locality: Bisbee, Cochise County, Arizona
Specimen Size: 13.2 x 7.4 x 6.1 cm (cabinet)
Largest Crystal: 4.0 cm.
A gorgeous and aesthetic display specimen featuring notably lustrous, well-formed, complex modified scalenohedral crystals with a translucent quality ranging from white to colorless in areas. The specimen grew in a stalactitic formation, with a central "core" upon which the Calcites grew. This historic copper mining district is best known for its beautiful Azurite and Malachite specimens, but the Calcites stand out as some of the best from Arizona. This particular piece is notably more three-dimensional and showy than most I've seen from Bisbee, and the fact that it has good luster makes it all the more desirable. The crystallization is very good for the material as well, as it's not amorphous or botryoidal, but shows fine crystal form. The largest crystal measures 4.0 cm, and the majority of the crystals are damage free, with only a few little rough spots here and there. A great cabinet sized display specimen that would make a fine addition to an Arizona suite, a Calcite collection or even a collection of carbonate minerals.
To order this specimen click here
(click on the pictures to enlarge)
No. TUC31723 - SOLD
Locality: Summitville District, Rio Grande County, Colorado
Specimen Size: 3.1 x 2..7 x 1.3 cm (thumbnail)
Crystal Group: 1.2 cm
Covellites from Summitville are some of the finest from anywhere in the Western Hemisphere (outside of Butte, Montana). The material is well-known among Colorado collectors, but seldom seen in fine matrix display specimens like this piece. This full sized thumbnail specimen features a beautiful "rosette"-shaped group of Covellite measuring 1.2 cm across with a few hexagonal blades of Covellite aesthetically set on matrix. The top / back portion of the piece has a contact where it was removed from the pocket wall, but rarely does one see such attractive isolated "rosettes" on matrix like this from Summitville as they are often found as "lumpy" masses off matrix with no real crystal definition. I'm leaving the locality simply as Summitville as I don't know if this piece specifically came from the Reynolds Pit or another locale in Summitville.
To order this specimen click here
(click on the pictures to enlarge)
No. TUC31724 - $ 250.00
Locality: N'Chwaning I Mine, N'Chwaning Mines, Kuruman, Kalahari manganese field, Northern Cape Province, South Africa
Specimen Size: 1.0 x 0.6 x 0.6 cm (thumbnail)
A lovely "flower"-shaped group of fiery reddish-pink Rhodochrosite from the world famous N'Chwaning I Mine in South Africa. These Rhodos are among the finest quality examples of the species in the world, and easily some of the most highly sought after material among collectors since they came out in the 1970s. The group shows the classic "dogtooth" scalenohedral crystals with excellent gemminess and luster. These specimens, including the smaller ones, continue to rise in value on the market, and if you're a thumbnail collector, or you like Rhodochrosites, this is a good representative piece of this classic material that won't break the bank.
To order this specimen click here
(click on the pictures to enlarge)
No. TUC31725 - $ 350.00
Fluorapatite on Albite
Locality: Sapo mine, Ferruginha, Conselheiro Pena, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Specimen Size: 3.7 x 3.7 x 3.7 cm (miniature)
Largest Crystal: 8 mm
Here we have a really attractive miniature specimen featuring a few green colored Apatites from the famous Sapo mine from a few years ago. These crystals have a unique appearance with compressed prismatic form, but still showing very sharp, highly lustrous faces with nice translucency, aesthetically perched atop bladed white Albite matrix. The crystals are green at their core, but are nearly colorless around the edges when backlit. The Apatites measure up to 8 mm across, and I don't see any damage on the display side. If you collect Apatites, phosphate or Brazilian minerals, don't miss out on this eye-catching Apatite. It appears that Sapo may never produce these attractive specimens of unusual Apatite again.
To order this specimen click here
(click on the pictures to enlarge)
No. TUC31726 - SOLD
Dolomite ("cast" after Calcite) with Malachite
Locality: Tsumeb Mine, Otjikoto Region, Namibia
Specimen Size: 5.7 x 4.7 x 1.6 cm (small cabinet)
Tsumeb is well-known for its pseudomorphs, "casts" and replacements, sometimes showing more than just two generations. This small cabinet is a beautiful specimen featuring pearly white Dolomite which has formed a thin "cast" after Calcite with associated "balls" of acicular green Malachite. My favorite aspect of the piece is the fact that there is still a small amount of Calcite remaining on the reverse side of the specimen, showing that it didn't completely dissolve away. The Calcite measures 1.8 cm across. There is great quality, form, aesthetics and color on this classic eye-cacthing "cast".
To order this specimen click here
(click on the pictures to enlarge)
No. TUC31727 - $ 350.00
"Rainbow" Andradite Garnet
Locality: Kohse Mine, Tenkawa village, Yoshino-gun, Nara Prefecture, Kinki Region, Honshu Island, Japan
Specimen Size: 1.1 x 0.8 x 0.5 cm (thumbnail)
Largest Crystal: 8 mm
A wonderful well-formed dodecahedral group of the famous "rainbow" Andradite Garnets from the famous Kohse Mine. At first glance, these crystals appear to have some kind of artificial coating, but it turns out that the brilliant iridesence is 100% natural! There are actually a few places in the world where rainbow Andradite is found. The Japanese specimens are the most desirable and sought after. The colors exhibited can range from warm reds, oranges and pinks to cool blues and greens. This particular piece shows notably sharp and very smooth faces with a beautiful mix of pink, yellow, orange, blue and green metallic flashes on the surface of the faces. The best aspect of the piece is that it doesn't have the typical flat circular "water spots" that can ruin the appearance, instead the surface of every face is unblemished on the display side. The piece is complete on the front, contacted on the back, but it's still a very attractive representative example of this rare material. If you're a Garnet collector, you should have one of these in your collection. They're so beautiful and unique for a commonly known species. These crystals are rare on the market as the locality is completely off limits to collectors, and NO MORE specimens will be coming out, so if you want one of these, don't miss out on this opportunity, because they will just become harder to get as the years go on.
To order this specimen click here
(click on the pictures to enlarge)
No. TUC31728 - $ 500.00
Kolwezite (rare) with Cobaltoan Calcite
Locality: Musonoi Mine, Kolwezi, Kolwezi District, Katanga Copper Crescent, Katanga, Democratic Republic of Congo (Type Locality)
Specimen Size: 5.6 x 5.1 x 3.8 cm (small cabinet)
Largest Kolwezite: 4 mm
Kolwezite is a very rare copper cobalt hydroxyl carbonate that is found in less than 10 localities in the world. The species was first described in 1980 from the Musonoi Mine, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This piece just happens to be from the type locality, and is the only piece of this material that I've ever had to offer. Obviously it gets its name from the Kolwezi District in which it was first discovered. The specimen hosts beautiful botryoidal groups of beige Kolwezite (with dark green cores) associated with wonderfully contrasting pink Cobaltoan Calcite on matrix. The largest sphere of Kowlezite measures 4 mm across. My favorite aspect of the piece is that the spheres are isolated(!) and aren't just a big intergrown mass or a loose group off matrix. It's incredibly rare to find single spheres of this species undamaged on matrix, and would be a very worthwhile pickup for any rare species collector.
To order this specimen click here
(click on the pictures to enlarge)
No. TUC31729 - $ 125.00
Locality: Mibladen, Midelt, Khenifra Province, Meknes-Tafilalet Region, Morocco
Specimen Size: 4.6 x 3.2 x 2.0 cm (miniature)
Largest Crystal: 5 mm
This is a lovely miniature specimen of this classic material. A handful of sharp, lustrous, rich orange-red color, tabular hexagonal crystals of Vanadinite measuring up to 5 mm sit aesthetically on the underlying matrix. My favorite aspect of the piece is the main group of crystals at the top which have intergrown to form a beautiful "flower"-like cluster, and almost resembles an octagonal shape like a stop sign. It's good quality and virtually undamaged. These specimens are common on the market, but they remain the standard of quality for the species, and should not be disregarded due to their abundance.
To order this specimen click here
(click on the pictures to enlarge)
No. TUC31730 - SOLD
Wavellite (fine crystals) with Stannite and Augelite
Locality: Siglo XX mine, Llallagua, Bustillo Province, Potosi Department, Bolivia
Specimen Size: 12.3 x 9.8 x 5.2 cm (cabinet)
Largest Sphere: 1.3 cm
This is a very impressive specimen of this often overlooked and sometimes under appreciated phosphate. This piece has some of the best quality individual crystals of Wavellite that I have seen from Bolivia . Please keep in mind that this mineral typically forms in very thin needles that orient into radiating aggregates, but the orthorhombic crystals on this specimen are distinct and fairly thick for the species. This specimen consists of pale yellow (nearly colorless in the smaller crystals), lustrous, sharp prismatic crystals in spherical form associated with brass colored Stannite crystals and very unusual, small, white "spheres" of Augelite (x-ray confirmed) which is extremely rare in my experience. The matrix is mostly massive Pyrite. I must stress that the Wavellite crystals are also nearly gem quality under magnification (see our close up photos), which is not common for the species. I have never seen the association of these three species from any other mine in Bolivia or the world for that matter. You will have a very hard time finding individual crystals of Wavellite this quality from any Bolivian locality. The Wavellites show a beautiful bluish-white fluorescence under SW UV light, which is not common in my experience with Wavellites. This piece is from a pocket found around 2001, and I have not seen any more like it since that time. I actually kept this one back when the find was made, in the hopes that there would be more. Now I'm nearly certain that there will not be any more of these amazing Wavellite specimens again, so do not miss out on this unique and highly displayable phosphate association specimen.
To order this specimen click here
(click on the pictures to enlarge)
No. TUC31731 - $ 550.00
Calcite (variety: "Manganoan")
Locality: Krushev Dol deposit, Krushev Dol mine, Madan ore field, Rhodope Mts, Smolyan Oblast, Bulgaria
Specimen Size: 8.7 x 6.3 x 3.1 cm (small cabinet)
Largest Crystal Group: 1.8 cm
This locality is best known for its amazing sulfide specimens (mainly Galena, Sphalerite, Chalcopyrite), but the Calcites are not only few and far between, but they're often dull, white and and without excellent crystal form. In the past they certainly have not shown the wonderful crystal habit and beautiful color seen in this piece. These are arguably the finest examples of Mn-bearing Calcite that we've seen from this mine. We literally just picked this piece up in Tucson, and it's one of the most colorful and aesthetic Calcites that we've seen from Krushev Dol. I was told that it came from a pocket that was discovered just before the Tucson Show, and only a handful of pieces were found. ATTENTION CALCITE collectors! This gorgeous manganoan baby pink color group of beautifully stepped "dogtooth"-shaped crystals with a gentle but NOTABLE vitreous / satiny luster resembles a forest of cotton candy trees. No real damage (outside of the periphery) to speak of and just beautiful in person. If you collect Calcites, you can't miss out on this one, as this may be a one time find.
To order this specimen click here
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The charismatic megafauna may get all the attention, but it's amoebas, nematodes and microbes that make up the bulk of life on Earth. So how many microbes are in the sea floor? A new analysis published in Proceedings of the National Academies of Science suggests there are fewer cells than previously proposed.
Based on transects and sediment samples, scientists now estimate that there are 29,000 quadrillion cells in the subsurface of the ocean—their numbers constrained by a lack of available food in places where sedimentation rates are low. Of course, it is microbes living in just such extreme conditions that are challenging scientists' notion of what constitutes life by surviving for thousands of years.
We also don't know much about what's going on with the massive microbial biomes in the soil or deep beneath the Earth—microscopic worms that prey on bacteria have been found thriving more than a kilometer down. Estimates of microbial biomass, like estimates of the number of species on the planet, are only loose approximations.
The truth is: we have no idea how much life there is on Earth. And we've only just begun even attempting to find out.


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It's a good time to be a John Wayne fan.
One of the most iconic and prolific actors in the history of Hollywood, with an image that defined rugged, just-minded American manhood, Wayne's cinematic legacy still remains vibrant on home video. Unparalleled classics like "Stagecoach," "The Searchers" and "True Grit" have never seen their Western vistas that look more gorgeous than on Blu-ray. The latest treasure to emerge is the much beloved "Hondo," the 1953 adaptation of a Louis L'Amour story that was originally produced for theaters – by Wayne himself – in 3D.
A Western of particular sensitivity as well a tale that's action-packed, "Hondo" features Wayne at his most stolid and charming, at the height of his physical prowess and coming into his fullest as Hollywood's ultimate cowboy hero. And the shots designed to showcase the 3D process are handled with remarkable restraint, never intruding into the action.
PopcornBiz spoke with Gretchen Wayne, the late actor's daughter-in-law and the current steward of his film properties, following in the footsteps of her late husband Michael, for the inside story on Wayne put together one of his most beloved movies.
Where did 'Hondo' fit in John Wayne's estimation, among the rest of his substantial body of work?
He liked 'Hondo' a lot. He thought that in 1952-53, that era, that he was at his best. He looked his best, cinematic-wise, on the screen. He was still slim and he looked great. You had 'The Searchers' at the same time. You have a host of pictures like 'The Quiet Man.' He loved that look, and he felt that 'Hondo' was right up there as one of the best westerns he'd made – and it was unique because it was made in 3D.
Do you have a sense of how he felt about experimenting with 3D? The technology was going though a boom time, similar to what's going on now.
Yeah, It was a little more crude than it is now. Back in the '50's it was choreographed in a manner that if it was 'Bwana Devil,' the lance was coming out at you, in 'House of Wax' you felt the heat of the flames licking out from the screen. So 'Hondo,' while choreographed in a similar manner, didn't employ so many of those techniques where the knives are out at you.
Why was Jimmy Grant The Duke's go-to guy when it came to his screenplays?
He had a way with the phrase. He absolutely could put words into my father-in-law's mouth that sounded exactly the way that granddaddy would say them. There's a brevity to his dialog. You don't have long paragraphs of dialog with Jimmy and it's very pertinent, what he has to say. In the scene in 'Hondo,' when he and the girl are standing there at the beginning of the film and they're talking about Indians, he says, 'Why I could smell you in the dark, Mrs. Lowe, and I'm only PART Indian.' He goes on to tell her that she baked bread and took a bath, something like that. That's very unusual dialog and we get the point. You don't have to be hit over the head with it.
What are the standards and the guidelines that you use when you're going into the vault to put out one of the classic John Wayne films?
I was married to Michael for 45 years, and so I try to remember, I go back into notes and things – my husband was a great one for keeping everything – to see what my husband's vision was for things. He was great. Michael was a great one for discussing things at home and so he would tell me what he thought or who he wanted to work with or who could restore this or who could do a good job. I remembered all of that, and while it's a daunting responsibility, I had an outline, if you will, because my husband had restored it for VHS, so I kind of knew the pattern that he followed and I simply put my feet into his footsteps and went forward.
What do you think was the connective tissue between the kinds of movies that John Wayne liked to make, films from 'True Grit' to 'The High and the Mighty' to 'The Alamo'?
I think a lot of it is that he had a great sense of history. When we were all over in England when they made 'Brannigan,' it was a great experience. What was very important to him was that during the daytime was that I take all five of the kids and go out to visit Chartwell, which was [Winston] Churchill's country home. He loved Churchill. And he felt like we should get to every museum we could get, get to see everything that you could, because he loved all of the history. He thought that was important, that we learned from history – because not a lot that was new happens every day. It all harks back to the time before us. I think he thought that was terribly important.
Do you think that lent itself to the timelessness of so many of his films?
I think there's an honesty. There are certain things that are true, no matter if it's the middle ages or today or if something is set in the future. People still get hurt. They still fall in love. They miss the connection with their families if they have to travel. I think in all of that you still have anger and hatred, and somebody is always going to be the villain and something is going to upset the applecart. I think those are unique things and there are only so many things in storytelling anyway. Man against man. Man against nature. Man against whatever the common enemy happens to be, whether it's wolves coming to your door or someone flying over in an airplane and dropping bombs.
Now that we have this fantastic Blu-ray format, is there a film that you're anxious to see released in that format that you haven't released yet?
What I'd like to see done is 'McClintock!' because there's a lot of really beautiful scenery, and if we could open that up so that you could really appreciate it, I think that'd be great. The other one I'd really like to do is 'The High and the Mighty.' It was a challenge [to create the DVD] because we were missing three reels of film. My husband, the dutiful steward that he was of his films, had made separation masters, so we could recombine those separation masters for those three reels that were missing and then correct them digitally and insert them into the film. So 'The High and the Mighty' is kind of a hybrid, if you will, between film and digital restoration.
What's your favorite John Wayne film, and what was Michael's favorite?
Michael always thought that his father did a terrific job in 'Red River,' where he was a young man playing an older character. He also liked 'The Searchers' because he said, 'When my father plays a mean son of a gun nobody is meaner.' And he's just explosive – you don't know what he's going to do.' Me, I like 'The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance' and I love 'The Quiet Man.' Those are probably some of my favorites. I love 'Hondo' - I can watch that all the time. I DO watch it all the time in restoring it. [Laughs]


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There are numerous reasons why Daphnia is chosen for genomic study.
The genome sequence is supported by an international research community that is building additional resources for its annotation and functional characterization, including genomic and cDNA libraries, an EST database of over 200,000 sequences, genetic linkage maps for its 12 chromosomes, microarrays for gene expression studies, a protein sequence database, and a web-based bioinformatics portal for public access to the data. The Daphnia Genomics Consortium and the JGI are coordinating a community-wide analysis of the data. Version 1.0 of the D. pulex genome sequence assembly and annotation is a work in progress. Investigators who are interested in participating can visit the consortium webpage for information. The clone that was sequenced, "The Chosen One", is available from the CGB.
Publication: The ecoresponsive genome of Daphnia pulex.. Science. 2011 Feb 4;331(6017):555-61.