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A contrast exists between the configuration of peninsular, or western, Europe and that of eastern Europe, which is a much larger and more continental area. A convenient division is made by a line linking the base of the peninsula of Jutland with the head of the Adriatic Sea. The western part of the continent clearly has a high proportion of coastline with good maritime access and often with inland penetration by means of navigable rivers. Continental shelves—former land surfaces that have been covered by shallow seas—are a feature of peninsular Europe, while the coasts themselves are both submerged or drowned, as in southwestern Ireland and northwestern Spain, and emergent, as in western Scotland and southern Wales, where raised former beaches are in evidence. East of the Vistula River, Europe's expansive lowlands have something of the scale and character of those of northern Asia. The continent also comprises numerous islands, some—notably the Faroes and Iceland—located at a distance from the mainland. Fortuitously, Europe has no continuous mountain obstacle aligned north-south, corresponding, for example, to the Western Cordillera of North America and the Andes Mountains of South America, that would limit access into western Europe from the ocean.
Lands lying at high elevations can, of course, be lands of low relief, but on the European continent relief tends to become more rugged as elevation increases. The greater part of Europe, however, combines low elevation with low relief. Only hill masses less than 800 feet (240 metres) in height rise gently within the Russian (East European) Plain, which continues northward into Finland, westward into the North European Plain, and southward in the Romanian, Bulgarian, and Hungarian plains. (The East and North European plains are known together as the European Plain.) The North European Plain, common to much of Poland, northern Germany, and Denmark, broadens in western France and continues, across the narrow seas, in southeastern Great Britain and Ireland. The lowest terrain in Europe, virtually lacking relief, stands at the head of the Caspian Sea; there the Caspian Depression reaches some 95 feet (29 metres) below sea level.
The major peninsula of Scandinavia is mostly upland and highland, with its relief greatest at the descent to the Norwegian fjords and the sea; eastward and southward the seas are approached more gently. The highest points reached in Norway and Sweden are, respectively, Galdhø Peak (8,100 feet [2,469 metres]) and Mount Kebne (6,926 feet [2,111 metres]). The highest summit in Iceland is Hvannadals Peak, at 6,952 feet (2,119 metres), while Ben Nevis, the highest peak in Great Britain, stands at an elevation of only 4,406 feet (1,343 metres).
Greater relief is found in those areas in the heart of western and central Europe where uplifted and faulted massifs survive from the Hercynian orogeny, a late Paleozoic period of mountain formation. The worn-down Ural Mountains also belong in that category, and their highest point, Mount Narodnaya (6,217 feet [1,895 metres]), corresponds approximately to that of the Massif Central in south-central France. Elevations in those areas are mainly between about 500 and 2,000 feet (150 and 600 metres), and many steep slopes are to be seen.
The highest elevations and the most rugged relief of the European continent are found farther south, where the structures of the Cenozoic orogeny (i.e., from the past 66 million years) provide mountain scenery. In the Alps, Mont Blanc rises to a height of 15,771 feet (4,807 metres), which is the highest point on the continent. In the Pyrenees and the Sierra Nevada of Spain, the highest of the peaks exceed 11,000 feet (3,400 metres). The Apennines, Dinaric Alps, and Balkan Mountains, as well as the arc-shaped Carpathian Mountains and their southern portion, the Transylvanian Alps, also exhibit high elevations. The highest peaks in those ranges are Mount Corno (9,554 feet [2,912 metres]) in the Abruzzi Apennines, Bobotov Kuk (8,274 feet [2,522 metres]) in the Dinaric Alps, Mount Botev (7,795 feet [2,376 metres]) in the Balkan Mountains, Gerlachovský Peak (Gerlach; 8,711 feet [2,655 metres]) in the Western Carpathians, and Mount Moldoveanu (8,346 feet [2,544 metres]) in the Transylvanian Alps. Above all, in southern Europe—Austria and Switzerland included—level, low-lying land is scarce, and mountain, plateau, and hill landforms dominate.
Physiographic units
Four broad topographic units can be simply, yet usefully, distinguished in the continent of Europe. Those are coastal and interior lowlands, central uplands and plateaus, the northwestern highlands, and southern Europe.
Coastal and interior lowlands
More than half of Europe consists of lowlands, standing mostly below 600 feet (180 metres) but infrequently rising to 1,000 feet (300 metres). Most extensive between the Baltic and White seas in the north and the Black, Azov, and Caspian seas in the south, the lowland area narrows westward, lying to the south of the northwestern highlands; it is divided also by the English Channel and the mountains and plateaus of central Europe. The Danubian and northern Italian lowlands are thus mountain-ringed islands. The northern lowlands are areas of glacial deposition, and, accordingly, their surface is diversified by such features as the Valdai Hills of western Russia; by deposits of boulder clay, sands, and gravels; by glacial lakes; and by the Pripet Marshes, a large ill-drained area of Belarus and Ukraine. Another important physical feature is the southeast-northwest zone of windblown loess deposits that have accumulated from eastern Britain to Ukraine. The Börde (German: "edge") belt lies at the northern foot of the Central European Uplands and the Carpathians. Southward of the limits of the northern glacial ice are vales and hills, with the Paris and London basins typical examples. Superficial rock cover, elevation, drainage, and soil have sharply differentiated those lowlands—which are of prime importance to human settlement—into areas of marsh or fen, clay vales, sand and gravel heaths, or river terraces and fertile plains.
Central uplands and plateaus
The central uplands and plateaus present distinctive landscapes of rounded summits, steep slopes, valleys, and depressions. Examples of such physiographic features can be found in the Southern Uplands of Scotland, the Massif Central of France, the Meseta Central of Spain, and the Bohemian Massif. Routes detour around, or seek gaps through, those uplands—whose German appellation, Horst ("thicket"), recalls their still wooded character, while their coal basins give them great economic importance. The well-watered plateaus give rise to many rivers and are well adapted to pastoral farming. Volcanic rocks add to the diversity of those regions.
Northwestern highlands
The ancient, often mineral-laden rocks of the northwestern highlands, their contours softened by prolonged erosion and glaciation, are found throughout much of Iceland, in Ireland, and in northern and western Britain and Scandinavia. Those highland areas include lands of abundant rainfall—which supplies hydroelectricity and water to industrial cities—and provide summer pastures for cattle. The land in those areas, however, is of little use for crops. The coasts of the northwestern highlands—and in particular the fjords of Norway—invite maritime enterprise.
Southern Europe
A world of peninsulas and islands, southern Europe is subject to its own climatic regime, with fragmented but predominantly mountain and plateau landscapes. The Iberian Peninsula features interior tablelands of Paleozoic rocks that are flanked by mountains of Alpine type. The restricted lowlands lie within interior basins or fringe the coasts; those of Portugal, North Macedonia, Thrace (in the southeastern Balkans), and northern Italy are relatively large. Runoff from the Alps furnishes much water for electricity-generating stations as well as for the flow regimes of major rivers.
Topographic influences
The drainage basins of most European rivers lie in areas originally uplifted by the Caledonian, Hercynian, and Alpine mountain-building periods that receive heavy precipitation, including snow. Some streams, notably in Finland and from southern Poland to west-central Russia, have their sources in hills of Cenozoic rocks, while others, including the Thames and Seine rivers, derive from hill country composed of Mesozoic rocks (i.e., those about 66 to 252 million years old). Drainage is directly, or via the Baltic and the Mediterranean seas, to the Atlantic and Arctic oceans and to the enclosed Caspian Sea.
The present courses and valley forms of the major rivers result from an intricate history involving such processes as erosion by the headstream, downcutting, capture of other rivers, faulting, and isostatic changes of land and sea levels. The Rhine, for example, once drained to the Mediterranean before being diverted to its present northerly course. The courses of many rivers—notably those of Scandinavia and the North European Plain—have been shaped since the Pleistocene Epoch (about 2,600,000 to 11,700 years ago). While the Alps, Apennines, and Carpathians provide watersheds, other mountain ranges have been cut through by rivers, as by the Danube at Vienna in Austria, Budapest in Hungary, and the Iron Gate and by the Olt in Romania. In the East European Plain the rivers are long and flow sluggishly to five seas. In western, central, and eastern Europe, rivers are largely "mature"; i.e., their valleys are graded, and their streams are navigable. Northern and southern Europe, in contrast, present still "youthful" rivers, as yet ill-graded and thus more useful for hydroelectricity than for waterways. The Atlantic rivers have scoured estuaries widening seaward, while, in the Baltic, Mediterranean, and Black seas, with minimal tidal influences, deltas and spits have been created. Since the end of the Pleistocene the upper Dnieper has failed to drain the low area of the Pripet Marshes effectively.
The water volume of and discharge from the rivers of Europe are governed by factors that include local conditions of precipitation, snowmelt, and rock porosity. In consequence, the rivers in the western area have more volume and higher discharges in the winter season and are at their lowest in summer. In areas of mountainous and continental climate, thanks to the runoff of snowmelt, the rivers are highest in spring and early summer. The longer rivers of the continent, notably the Rhine and the Danube, have complex regimes, since their basins extend into areas of contrasting climate. Although embanking measures have reduced the problem, flooding is a continued threat. Thus, the rivers of European Russia are liable to flood with the spring thaw, oceanic rivers after heavy or prolonged rain over the whole basin, and Alpine rivers when the warm foehn wind rapidly melts the snow. In the Mediterranean region some rivers—as in peninsular Greece—tend to dry up in summer through a combination of scant rainfall, evaporation, and porous limestone beds. In the Abruzzi region of central Italy, however, heavy rainfall, mainly in winter, permeable and porous rocks within the basin, and abundant snow combine to regulate the river regimes.
The Rhône River achieves a steady flow throughout the year, deriving a high input from the Cévennes Mountains—which experience heavy winter rain—plus abundant spring and summer snowmelt from the Alps via Lake Geneva. The Rhine and Danube tap supplies from the Alps in spring and summer, and the Rhine, especially, taps areas of winter rainfall maximum. The Volga River has its highest water in spring and early summer, thanks to snowmelt, and falls to a summer low. The Saône River, lying within the oceanic climatic area, tends to have a good flow year-round. The winter freeze of the east only rarely seriously affects the Danube and western European rivers.
Lake systems and marshes
Lakes cover less than 2 percent of Europe's surface and occur mostly in areas subjected to Pleistocene glaciation. The Scandinavian Peninsula and the North European Plain account for four-fifths of the area of lakes, and in Finland lakes cover one-fifth of the surface. The other major zones of lakes lie marginal to the Alpine system, while Scotland has its many "lochs" and Ireland its "loughs." Lakes survive where the inflow of water exceeds the loss from evaporation and outflow, but many eventually will disappear through alluvial accumulation. Their origins lie in the glacial excavation of softer rocks, in the building of dams by morainic material, and in tectonic, or deforming, forces, which may create depressions. The last explanation clearly applies to Alpine lakes, to many of those in the British Isles, including the small but scenic ones of the Lake District of England, and also to those of central Sweden. Volcanic crater lakes are found in central Italy, and small lakes of the lagoon type are found along the Baltic and Mediterranean shores, where spits have lengthened parallel to the coast and hence cut off sea access.
A cultivable zone (the Marschen) has formed along the low-lying, reclaimed marshes along the North Sea in Germany and the Netherlands, and characteristically the estuaries of Europe's tidal rivers are edged by flat alluvial marshes. Fens, as exemplified by the polders in the Netherlands and the lowlands in eastern England, are made up of either alluvium or peat and stand too low to be drained effectively, except by continuous pumping. The continent's largest marshland is the Pripet Marshes of Belarus and Ukraine.
The soil patterns of Europe are clearly and zonally arranged in the East European Plain but are much more complicated in the rest of the continent, which exhibits a more varied geology and relief. Tundra soils occur only in Iceland, in the most northerly parts of Russia and Finland, and in high areas of Sweden and Norway; they tend to be acidic, waterlogged, and poor in plant nutrients. South of that zone and extending around the Gulf of Bothnia and across Finland and Russia north of the upper Volga, cool-climate podzols are characteristic. Those soils, formed in a coniferous woodland setting, suffer from acidity, the leaching of minerals, hardpan formation and permafrost beneath the topsoil, and excess moisture; given the climate, they are virtually useless for crops.
The larger zone to the south stretches from central Russia westward to Great Britain and Ireland and southward from central Sweden, southern Norway, and Finland to the Pyrenees, Alps, and Balkan Mountains. In that region temperate-climate podzols and brown forest soils have developed in a mixed-forest environment, and those soils, which are highly varied, usually have a good humus content. Locally, the farmer recognizes soils of heavy to light texture, their different water-holding capacities, depth, alkalinity or acidity, and their suitability for specific crops. The soils within that zone that cover loess are excellent loams; lowland clays, when broken down, also exhibit high quality, as do alluvial soils; in contrast, areas covered with dry, sandy, or gravelly soils are more useful for residential and amenity purposes than for farming. In southwestern Russia, in portions of the Transcaucasus region, and especially in Ukraine, some soils that have been formed in areas of grass steppe are chernozems (black earths)—deep, friable, humus-rich, and renowned for their fertility. In the formerly wooded steppe lying to the north of the grass steppe in both south-central Russia and the lower Danubian lowlands, soils of somewhat less value are known as degraded chernozems and gray forest soils. At best, chestnut soils—some needing only water to be productive—and, at worst, solonetzic (highly saline) soils cover areas of increasing aridity eastward of Ukraine to the Ural River. Lastly, in southern Europe, where the countryside is fragmented by mountains, plateaus, and hills, much soil has been lost from sloping ground through forest destruction and erosion, and a bright red soil (terra rossa), heavy and clay-rich, is found in many valleys and depressions.
The origin, nature, variety, and classification of Europe's soils raise highly complex problems. So many factors—bedrock, drainage, plant decomposition, biological action, climate, and time—are involved. Humans, moreover, have done much to modify soils and, with increasing scientific knowledge, to render soils of greater and continuing value by drainage, crop rotation, and the input of suitable combinations of chemicals. In such ways, naturally poor soils can—as has been shown in Denmark—be made productive. The practice of an enforced "resting" of soils, by leaving fields fallow to recuperate, began to disappear with the agricultural revolution of the 18th century, and agronomic science continues to show how the best results can be achieved from specific soils and also how to curtail soil erosion. Europe's arable land lies mainly in the lowlands, which have podzolic, brown, chernozem, and chestnut soils, although the upper elevation level of cultivation, as that of animal husbandry, rises southward.
As Francis Bacon, the great English Renaissance man of letters, aptly observed, "Every wind has its weather." It is air mass circulation that provides the main key to Europe's climate, the more so since masses of Atlantic Ocean origin can pass freely through the lowlands, except in the case of the Caledonian mountains of Norway. Polar air masses derived from areas close to Iceland and tropical masses from the Azores bring, respectively, very different conditions of temperature and humidity and produce different climatic effects as they move eastward. Continental air masses from eastern Europe have equally easy access westward. The almost continuous belt of mountains trending west-east across Europe also impedes the interchange of tropical and polar air masses.
Air pressure belts
Patterns of some permanence controlling air mass circulation are created by belts of air pressure over five areas. They are the Icelandic low, over the North Atlantic; the Azores high, a high-pressure ridge; the (winter) Mediterranean low; the Siberian high, centred over Central Asia in winter but extending westward; and the Asiatic low, a low-pressure summertime system over southwestern Asia. Given those pressure conditions, westerly winds prevail in northwestern Europe, becoming especially strong in winter. The winter westerlies, often from the southwest, bring in warm tropical air; in summer, by contrast, they veer to the northwest and bring in cooler Arctic or subarctic air. In Mediterranean Europe the rain-bearing westerlies chiefly affect the western areas, but only in winter. In winter the eastern Mediterranean basin experiences bitter easterly and northeasterly winds derived from the Siberian high. Those winds' occasional projection westward explains unusually cold winters in western and central Europe, while exceptionally warm winters in that region result from the sustained flow of tropical maritime air masses. In summer the Azores high moves 5°–10° of latitude northward and extends farther eastward, preventing the entry of cyclonic storms into the resultantly dry Mediterranean region. The eastern basin, however, experiences the hot and dry north and northeast summer winds called etesian by the ancient Greeks. In summer too, the Siberian high gives place to a low-pressure system extending westward, so that westerly air masses can penetrate deeply through the continent, making summer generally a wet season.
It is because of the interplay of so many different air masses that Europe experiences highly changeable weather. Winters get sharply colder eastward, but summer temperatures relate fairly closely to latitude. Northwestern Europe, including Iceland, enjoys some amelioration because of warm Gulf Stream waters of the Atlantic, which, for example, keep the Russian port of Murmansk open throughout the year.
Climatic regions
Four regional European climatic types can be loosely distinguished. However, each is characterized by much local, topographically related variation. The climate in mountainous regions, for instance, is partly determined by elevation, and a variety of climatic types may be "stacked" vertically upon a mountain. Further, the great cities of Europe—because of the scale and grouping of their buildings, their industrial activities, and the layout of their roads—create distinct local climates, including urban "heat islands" (city centres that are warmer than outlying areas) and pollution problems.
Maritime climate
Characterizing western areas heavily exposed to Atlantic air masses, the maritime type of climate—given the latitudinal stretch of those lands—exhibits sharp temperature ranges. Thus, the January and July annual averages of Reykjavík, Iceland, are about 32 °F (0 °C) and 53 °F (12 °C) respectively, and those of Coruña, Spain, are about 50 °F (10 °C) and 64 °F (18 °C). Precipitation is always adequate—indeed, abundant on high ground—and falls year-round. The greatest amount of precipitation occurs in autumn or early winter. Summers range from warm to hot depending on latitude and elevation, and the weather is changeable everywhere. The maritime climate extends across Svalbard, Iceland, the Faroes, Great Britain and Ireland, Norway, southern Sweden, western France, the Low Countries, northern Germany, and northwestern Spain.
Central European climate
The central European, or transitional, type of climate results from the interaction of both maritime and continental air masses and is found at the core of Europe, south and east of the maritime type, west of the much larger continental type, and north of the Mediterranean type. That rugged region has colder winters, with substantial mountain snowfalls, and warmer summers, especially in the lowlands. Precipitation is adequate to abundant, with a summer maximum. The region embraces central Sweden, southern Finland, the Oslo Basin of Norway, eastern France, southwestern Germany, and much of central and southeastern Europe. The range between winter and summer temperatures increases eastward, while the precipitation can exceed 80 inches (2,000 mm) in the mountains, with snow often lying permanently around high peaks. The Danubian region has only modest rainfall (about 24 inches [600 mm] per year at Budapest), but the Dinaric Alps experience heavy cyclonic winter, as well as summer, rain.
Continental climate
The continental type of climate dominates a giant share of Europe, covering northern Ukraine, eastern Belarus, Russia, most of Finland, and northern Sweden. Winters—much colder and longer, with greater snow cover, than in western Europe—are coldest in the northeast, and summers are hottest in the southeast; the January to July mean temperatures range approximately from 50 to 70 °F (10 to 21 °C). Summer is the period of maximum rain, which is less abundant than in the west; in both the north and southeast of the East European Plain, precipitation reaches only between 10 and 20 inches (250 and 500 mm) annually. In parts of the south, the unreliability of rainfall combines with its relative scarcity to raise a serious aridity problem.
Mediterranean climate
The subtropical Mediterranean climate characterizes the coastlands of southern Europe, being modified inland (for example, in the Meseta Central, the Apennines, and the North Italian Plain) in response to elevation and aspect. The main features of that climatic region are mild and wet winters, hot and dry summers, and clear skies for much of the year, but marked regional variations occur between the lands of the western and the more southerly eastern basins of the Mediterranean; the former are affected more strongly by maritime air mass intrusions. Rainfall in southern Europe is significantly reduced in areas lying in the lee of rain-bearing westerlies; Rome has an annual mean of roughly 26 inches (660 mm), but Athens has only about 16 inches (400 mm).
The effects of climate
The local and regional effects of climate on the weathering, erosion, and transport of rocks clearly contribute much to the European landscape, and the length and warmth of the growing season, the amount and seasonal range of rainfall, and the incidence of frost affect the distribution of vegetation. Wild vegetation in its turn provides different habitats for animal life. Climate is also an important factor in the making of soils, and regional climatic variations help determine where crops are grown commercially. The winter freeze in northern and eastern Europe is another aspect of climate, and the spring thaw, by creating floods, impedes transport and harasses farmers. The snow cover of the more continental regions is useful to people, however, for it stores water for the fields and provides snow for winter sports and recreation.
In sum, in only a modest proportion of Europe does climate somewhat restrict human occupation and land use. Those areas include regions of high elevation and relief, such as the subarctic highlands of the Scandinavian Peninsula and Iceland, the Arctic areas along the White Sea of northern Russia, and the arid areas of interior Spain.
Plant life
Major vegetation zones
The terms "natural," "original," and "primitive," as epithets applied to the vegetation of Europe, have no precise meaning unless they are related to a specific time in geologic history. It is nevertheless possible to envisage continental vegetation zones as they formed and acquired some stability during postglacial times, although such zones are only rarely recalled by present-day remnants.
Tundra vegetation, made up of lichens and mosses, occupies a relatively narrow zone in Iceland and the extreme northern portions of Russia and Scandinavia, although that zone is continued southward in the mountains of Norway. Vegetation of a similar kind occurs at elevations of 5,000 to 6,000 feet (1,500 to 1,800 metres) in the Alps and the northern Urals.
Southward, the virtually treeless tundra merges into the boreal forest, or taiga. The more northerly zone is "open," with stands of conifers and with willows and birch thickets rising above a lichen carpet. It is most extensive in northern Russia but continues, narrowing westward, across Sweden. South of that zone, and without an abrupt transition, the "closed" boreal forest occupies a large fraction—mainly north of the upper Volga River—of Russia and Scandinavia. Thin-leaved and cold-resistant conifers, together with birch, predominate.
The northern vegetation may superficially suggest its primeval character, but the zone of mixed forest that once stretched across the continent from Great Britain and Ireland to central Russia has been changed extensively by humans. Surviving patches of woodland—associations of broad-leaved trees and some conifers, summarily described as Atlantic, central, and eastern—hint at the formerly extensive cover. Indeed, although as much as 80 percent of Europe's land was once forested, in the early 21st century various forests (including both boreal and mixed types) covered only about 30 percent of the continent.
In southern Europe, Mediterranean vegetation has a distinctive character, containing broad-leaved evergreen trees and shrubs as well as areas of scrub. Around the sea that vegetation is called maquis; it includes aromatic plants and small trees such as olives and figs. Scrub is scattered because of summer drought, particularly in areas where the soil is underlain by limestone or where there is little, if any, soil.
The wooded-steppe and grass-steppe vegetation zones are confined primarily to southwestern Russia and Ukraine, although they also extend into the Danubian lowlands (see the Steppe). Semidesert vegetation characterizes the dry lowland around the northern and northwestern shores of the Caspian Sea.
Shaping of vegetation zones
Climatic change
The primeval vegetation of Europe began to take shape as the climate ameliorated following the retreat of the Pleistocene ice sheets some 12,000 years ago. The microscopic study of pollen grains preserved in datable layers of peat and sediments has made it possible to trace the continental spread, in response to climatic improvement, of forest-forming trees. The double barrier of the Alps and the Mediterranean Sea had checked the southward retreat of trees at the onset of the ice ages, and there were relatively few indigenous species to return northward from unglaciated refuges. In the first postglacial climatic phase (the Boreal), spruce, fir, pine, birch, and hazel nevertheless established themselves as far north as central Sweden and Finland. During the succeeding climatic optimum (the Atlantic phase), which was probably wetter and certainly somewhat warmer, mixed forests of oak, elm, common lime (linden), and elder spread northward. Only in the late Atlantic period did the beech and hornbeam spread into western and central Europe from the southeast.
During postglacial times, therefore, when small numbers of humans were living within Europe, the continental surface was thickly clad with trees and undergrowth, except where tree growth was precluded by extreme cold, high elevation, bad drainage, or exposure to persistent gales. Even those areas where windblown loess was deeply deposited are now known to have had woods of beech, hawthorn, juniper, box, and ash, as did limestone plateaus. The Mediterranean peninsulas also had evergreen and mixed forests rooted in an ample soil.
Role of humans
From prehistoric times onward, with ever-increasing force, humans, seeking optimum economic use of available resources, have acted as a vigorous agent of vegetation change. The effects of grazing animals may well explain why some heathlands (e.g., the Lüneburg Heath in north-central Germany) replaced primeval forest. By fire and later by ax, forest clearance met demands for building materials for homes and ships, for fuel, for charcoal for iron smelting, and, not least, for more available land for cultivation and pasture. The mixed forests suffered most because their relatively rich soils and long and warm growing season promised good returns from cultivation. The destruction of woodlands was markedly strong when population was growing (as between about 800 and 1300 ce). It was later intensified by German colonization east of the Rhine and reached maximum scale in the 19th century. In southern Europe—where naval demands were continuous and sources of suitable timber sharply localized—tree cutting entailed, from Classical antiquity onward, serious soil loss through erosion, increased aridity, floods, and marsh formation. Farther north throughout the continent, as present distribution of arable land shows, forests were reduced to remnants; only in the north and below the snow line of Alpine mountains have forests of large and continuing commercial value survived. Another drastic vegetation change brought about by humans has been the virtual elimination of the wooded and grass steppes, which have become vast granaries.
On the more positive side may be noted the reclamation of marshlands and the improvement of the soil, through agriculture, of some hill grasslands and heaths. In timber-deficient countries the afforestation of hillslopes, chiefly with quickly growing conifers, has restored some of the former forests. Second-growth forests also have come to occupy some areas where poor agricultural land has been abandoned.
Plant imports
Humans have not only shaped the vegetation zones of Europe. They also have introduced many of the individual species of plants, both wild and cultivated, that commonly grow on the continent. To a perhaps surprising degree, European vegetation comprises a large number of plants originally from other parts of the world. Although some imported crops—notably citrus fruits, sugarcane, and rice—can grow only marginally in Europe, and then by irrigation, many others thrive throughout the continent. Originating as wild grasses in Ethiopia, cultivated varieties of wheat and barley reached Europe early, via the Middle East and Egypt, as did the olive, the grape, figs, flax, and some varieties of vegetables. Rice, sugarcane, and cotton, of tropical Indian origin, were introduced by the Arabs and Moors, especially into Spain. Citrus fruits, peaches, mulberries, oats, and millet reached Europe from their original Chinese habitats, and Europe owes corn (maize), tobacco, squashes, tomatoes, red peppers, prickly pears, agave (sisal), and potatoes—first grown for fodder but destined to become the cheap staple food for the large families of low-paid workers of the 19th century—to the Americas. Europe has drawn greatly on East Asia and North America for trees, especially ornamental trees, while some acacias and the eucalyptus derive from Australia. The commercially important sugar beet, however, was developed in Europe in the 18th century; its cultivation increased greatly in the following century, particularly after the British blocked the importation of cane sugar during the Napoleonic Wars.
Animal life
Patterns of distribution
Wild animals
With animals as with plants, the earlier Pleistocene range and variety has been much reduced by the expansion of human settlement. Wild fauna has been long in retreat since Upper Paleolithic times (beginning about 40,000 years ago), when, as cave drawings portray, small human groups held their own against such big game as aurochs and mammoths, now extinct, and also against such survivors as bison, horses, and boars. Hares, swans, and geese were also hunted, and salmon, trout, and pike were fished. Humans were, inevitably, the successful competitor for land use. By prolonged effort, settlers won the land for crops and for domesticated animals, and they hunted animals, especially for furs. As population mounted in industrializing Europe, humans no less inevitably destroyed, or changed drastically, the wild vegetation cover and the animal life. With difficulty, and largely on human sufferance, animals have nevertheless survived in association with contemporary vegetation zones.
In the tundra some reindeer (caribou), both wild and domesticated, are well equipped to withstand the cold. Their spoon-shaped hooves are useful for finding food in rough ground. Their herds migrate southward in winter and eat lichens and plants as well as flesh, notably that of lemmings and voles. Arctic foxes, bears, ermines, partridge, and snowy owls may appear in the tundra, where, in the short summer, seabirds, river fish, and migrant birds (swans, ducks, and snipes) vitalize a harsh environment, then made almost intolerable by swarms of biting midges.
In the boreal forests the richness of animal and bird life, which had persisted throughout much of historical times, now has been greatly reduced. Among large surviving mammals are elks (moose), reindeer, roe deer, and brown bears. Lynx have been exterminated, but not wolves, foxes, martens, badgers, polecats, and white weasels. Sables, which are much hunted for their valuable fur, only just survive in the northeastern forests of European Russia. Rodents in the forests include squirrels, white Arctic hares, and (in the mixed forests) gray hares and beavers. Among birds are black grouse, snipes, hazel hens, white partridge, woodpeckers, and crossbills, all of which assume protective colouring and are specially adapted to be able to find their food in a woodland environment. Owls, blackbirds, tomtits, and bullfinches may be seen in the forests and geese, ducks, and lapwings in meadow areas.
In Mediterranean Europe, remnants of mountain woodland harbour wild goats, wild sheep—such as the small mouflon of Corsica and Sardinia—wildcats, and wild boars. Snakes, including vipers, and lizards and turtles are familiar reptiles, but birds are few.
The steppe zones now lack large animals, and the saiga (a hoofed mammal of the family Bovidae) has disappeared. Numerous rodents, including marmots, jerboas, hamsters, and field mice, have increased in numbers to become pests, now that nearly all the steppes are under cultivation. Equally plentiful birds include bustards—which can fly as well as run—quail, gray partridge, and larks. Many take on yellowish gray or brown protective colouring to match the dried-up grass. Eagles, falcons, hawks, and kites are the birds of prey; water and marsh birds—especially cranes, bitterns, and herons—also make their homes in the steppes. Different kinds of grasshoppers and beetles are insect pests.
The animals of the semidesert areas to the north and northwest of the Caspian Sea also show affiliations with the fauna of the grass steppe and the desert between which they live. Saigas survive there, as do rodent sand marmots and desert jerboas and, as beasts of prey, sand badgers. There are many reptiles—lizards, snakes (cobras and steppe boas), and tortoises. The Pander's ground jay and the saxaul sparrow, the latter named for the desert tree, also live there, while scorpions and black widow spiders are arthropods dangerous to humans and camels.
Domesticated animals
Livestock are selectively bred and raised with some regard to the physical character of their environment as well as to market demands and government decisions. In the far north, herds of reindeer provide meat, milk, pelts, wool, and bone to the Sami people. In the rough hilly scrubland of Mediterranean Europe, sheep, goats, donkeys, mules, and asses are common. The horse, which in its long history has drawn chariots, carried mounted knights, and hauled plows, wagons, artillery, stagecoaches, canal boats, and urban trams, is now raised more for racing, riding, ceremonial uses, and the hunting of fox and stag but is still used for farm work, especially in eastern Europe. Distribution maps of animals kept on farms show how widely they enter into agriculture: sheep have a special concentration in Great Britain and the Balkan countries, and cattle have a small place in southern Europe, while pigs are relatively numerous in the north, especially in the highly populated areas of Germany, Denmark, and the Low Countries.
The European environment, once not so unequally shared by animals and people, has, with the march of civilization, been subjected to human attempts. Land development, hunting for sport or to protect crops, the pollution of seas and fresh waters, and the contamination of cropland have reduced many animal species, though strong efforts have been made to preserve those threatened with extinction, in such refuges where they still live.
Nature reserves have been established in many European countries, with international support from the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources and the WWF. Seabirds find safe homes, for example, in the Lofoten Islands of Norway and the Farne Islands of northeastern England. The snowy owl, which feeds on lemmings, is seen in Lapland, the rare great bustard in the Austrian Burgenland, and the musk ox in Svalbard. Père David's deer, which had become extinct in China, its native home, was introduced in 1898 at Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire, England, where it now flourishes. Nearly half the bird species of Europe, including the egret and the imperial eagle, are represented in Coto Doñana National Park, within a setting of wild vegetation in the Las Marismas region of the Guadalquivir estuary in southwestern Spain; there too the Iberian lynx survives. In Poland and Belarus, national parks within the Belovezhskaya Forest contain deer, wild boars, elks (moose), bears, lynx, wolves, eagle owls, black storks, and European bison (wisents). Italy has its renowned Gran Paradiso National Park in the Valle d'Aosta, which preserved from extinction the Alpine ibex; Austria has a bird refuge in Neusiedler Lake, which is a breeding site of white egrets; and the huge Black Sea delta of the Danube is largely left to wildlife. Golden eagles, Alpine marmots, and chamois are to be seen in the Bavarian Alps near Berchtesgaden, Germany. The beautiful wild horses of the Camargue nature reserve (France), the wild ponies of the New Forest (England), and the Barbary macaques (Gibraltar) continue undiminished in popular interest.
Learn More in these related Britannica articles:
history of the motion picture: European cinemaAt the end of the 20th century, the notion of national cinemas had become problematic in many of the traditional film cultures of western Europe. This is not to say that national cinemas had ceased to exist—the situation of France would contradict such…
mathematics: European mathematics during the Middle Ages and RenaissanceUntil the 11th century only a small part of the Greek mathematical corpus was known in the West. Because almost no one could read Greek, what little was available came from the poor texts written in Latin…
origins of agriculture: EuropeIn Europe agriculture developed through a combination of migration and diffusion. The oldest sites with agriculture are along the Mediterranean coast, where long-distance population movement and trade could be easily effected by boat. Franchthi Cave in southeastern Greece, a site occupied for more than…
dress: Ancient nonclassical EuropeAnimal furs and hides made up the chief garments during the European Stone Age. They would be held to the body by a thong belt and by pins at the shoulder. Later such skins were pierced with awls and sewn together with cordage to…
China: Yuan China and the West…with the Middle East and Europe was in the hands of non-Chinese (mainly Persians, Arabs, and Syrians). Silk, the Chinese export commodity par excellence, reached the Middle East and even Europe via the caravan routes across Asia; Chinese ceramics were also exported, chiefly into the Islamic countries. The Asian countries…
More About Europe107 references found in Britannica articles
Assorted References
- literacy
- origin of name
- In Europe
- domestication of plants and animals
- farm management concerns
- viticulture
- In wine: Europe
- bowed instruments
- orchestral stringed instruments
- Egyptomania
- industrial design
- motion pictures


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Anhedral slows down the outward flow of water which effectively gives you longer span without the drag of more span.
It also makes the foil less stable.
Dihedral makes the foil more stable but encourages spanwise flow outward.
Same as an aircraft I presume.
If you want a better understanding here is the short version but google 'wing tip vortices' for the extended explanation..
Basically under the foil the water is being compressed and on top it is lower pressure. The water doesn't like to be compressed or reduced in pressure so it tries to flow from the higher to the lower pressure.
When you are moving along, the only way it can do that is to move sideways out towards the tip. When it gets to the tip it tries to flow around the tip to fill the low pressure on top. It ends up curling around somewhat and on an aircraft you can see this if you have a day where it is cool and moist. The extreme low pressure on the wingtip or around flaps sucks the high pressure air which is somewhat warmer from being compressed and when the two temperatures collide the warm moist air hits the cold mixes and the moisture condenses causing a long stringy curling vortice to be visible.
This curling air is called a wingtip vortice and is pure drag, useless wasted energy.
The amount of air that makes it around the wingtip compared to the span of the wing is one of the main determinations of the efficiency of the wing. That is why sailplanes have long skinny wings.
However long skinny wings are fragile and make a lot of drag at high speeds and can twist easily which can be disastrous and therefore require extra weight in structure reinforcement.
Another solution is to put upward pointing or downward pointing winglets to capture that spanwise air/water flow. Downwards is better for low speed but gives you less wiggle room on landing if the wingtip drops. In a 747 size aircraft, the efficiency gains might be 5%. It also makes the controls feel tighter. (more powerful)
Also sometimes wing fences are put on wings (typically on top) to stop the spanwise flow of air to give enhanced short field takeoff performance.
There is a whole science to aerodynamics and whatever the name is of the water equivalent.

subset: commoncrawl


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His photos have been prized on the international art market for years and adorn the walls of leading photo galleries across the world, but 76-year-old Malick Sidibe still resides in a one-room home in Mali so timeless that it feels as if the air within hasn't stirred in decades. Marked boxes — 1972, 1968, 1965 — containing much of Malick's vast archive balance atop one another, stretching to the ceiling. Orphaned 6 x 6 frames dot the floor. A large wooden crate bulges with ruined cameras in a tangled mass. Occasionally the scorching air outside shifts, sending a breeze through the room that does nothing to dispel the overwhelming heat inside. On a good day, electricity powers a single bulb that barely illuminates the otherwise pitch-dark space. Decades' worth of Malian dust covers every surface.
Malick is not surrounded by the material trappings one might expect a major contributor to the contemporary arts landscape to enjoy, or pursue, nor do I imagine he spends much time obsessing over his place in the photographic firmament. In this way he is, to my mind, the perfect artist. His wives and children constantly attend to him, and while inside his home time seems not merely to slow but to cease altogether, the courtyard outside buzzes with activity. A national hero, his contribution to his country's historical record has, for many, crafted the image of Mali.
In his home, light years from the art centers of the world, Malick is, I trust, exactly where he wants to be in his life and in his career -- the same neighbor to Malians that he has always been, despite the fame that has gradually found him.
Housed in a busy suburb of Bamako, Mali's capital, Malick's tiny studio has a readily detectable pulse -- a touch shallower than I imagine it once was, but still present. The studio itself has become as much a subject in his photos as the countless men, women and children who have set foot inside the place to have their portraits made, or simply to visit with the local legend. The portraits, meanwhile, are remarkable, each one of the thousands of pictures somehow teasing out a central, telling element of the individual's character. These portraits, one realizes, are evidence of a rare and intimate exchange, an empathy between sitter and portraitist.
Digging through Malick's archive I continually encountered series after series of photos that he had started and never finished, pictures that were unlike anything else I had seen from him. His challenges to the methodology of traditional studio portraits were clearly evident in these projects, and my admiration for his work -- and for him as an artist and as a man -- brought me back to his home every single day while I was in Bamako. All my questions about his techniques and his philosophy of photography having run their course, I was content at last to simply visit and sit with him, time and again. I suspect he makes everyone feel as welcome as I felt.
As a photographer, being around Malick in his small, storied, marvelous studio stirred something in me. The unflinching commitment to his ever-evolving, self-realized process, and his evident contentment with the place he has carved out for himself in the world of art, is both humbling and inspiring; his example forces me to engage the personal fears and hesitancies I suffer in my own work. The perfect artist, it seems to me now, fully gives himself over to a hard-earned trust in his own work, in his own methods. He doesn't just avoid the creative roadblocks that so many of us place in our own paths; instead, he is so quietly confident making his own way that the roadblocks simply don't exist.
Malick Sidibe is a Malian photographer. He is represented by Jack Shainman Gallery in New York, Afronova Gallery in Johannesburg and Fifty One Fine Art Photography in Antwerp.
Jehad Nga is a New York-based photographer. LightBox has previously featured Nga's Green Book Project as well as work about his Libyan roots and a photo essay on the world's biggest refugee complex.


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'Family Guy' Tweet Gets British Duo Banned From America
When British tourists Leigh Van Bryan and Emily Banting arrived in Los Angeles, customs officials discovered that Van Bryan had recently sent out a tweet about "destroying America."
While any English person (and most Americans) would understand that by "destroy" he meant to get rip-roaring drunk and party so hard that he ends up offending a Kardashian, the literal-minded officials detained the pair for making terroristic threats.
To make matters worse for the couple, Van Bryan had also sent out a tweet in which he claimed that during their visit to the States they would be "pissing people off on Hollywood Blvd and diggin' Marilyn Monroe up."
'Family Guy' fans will recognize that as a reference from the popular animated show, but the customs agents did not, and became concerned that the pair was going to desecrate the grave of an American icon — before obliterating the nation as a whole.
The good news is that after 12 hours of detention the agents finally concluded that Van Bryan and Banting didn't intend to do America harm. The bad news is that they were still placed on the next flight back home.
Well, at least the watering holes on Hollywood Blvd are safe from Van Bryan and Banting's drunken mayhem.
[via Daily Mail]


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Allure Couture Bridal C405
- Brand: Allure Bridals Couture
- Style #: C405 - Quick Delivery*
- Availability: In Stock
Statuesque and lovely, this strapless column gown is adorned with a sweep of ruffles at the hem.
Quick Delivery:
- Antique/ivory/nude/silver: 12
- Antique/ivory/silver: 10, 12
*A style on our web site listed as in-stock can usually be shipped today or next day for immediate delivery or quick delivery. An item listed as "Ships Today" can be sent the same business day as long as the order is placed before the cutoff time.


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Hip Hop Dancers Near You
Alright Honey, it's time to Step Up and show us what you've got. Get ready to Stomp the Yard because You Got Served. Of course, you aren't in a Dance Flick, so maybe you don't have what it takes to Save the Last Dance at your event. But these hip hop dancers do. Bring those movies to life at your party by hiring dancers to pop and lock, krump, step, stomp, and break dance all over the place. Your guests will be impressed by the fluid movements and quick steps of these talented hip hop dancers.
Where do you need a Hip Hop Dancer?
About booking Hip Hop Dancers
Hiring a hip hop dancer or a dance crew that specialize in hip hop is becoming a very popular entertainment choice. Because of movies like Step Up and TV shows like So You Think You Can Dance, this form of dance has quickly become the most popular out there. You can hire one of these hip hop dancers to perform at your event, or you can hire them to show you their moves or choreograph a dance for you to perform at a special event. GigSalad will help connect you with hip hop dancers and dance crews in your area that will be perfect for your birthday party, corporate event, wedding reception or any other special occasion.
There are a few things you should remember as you start your search for a hip hop dancer. First, know what specialty of hip hop dancing you are going to want and idea of the type of performance you'd like. Do you want a choreographed show or an improv freestyle battle? Do you want dancers that can break dance, pop and lock, krump, or some fusion of all of them? Once you know what you want, set your budget. Keep in mind that hiring a dance crew will be much pricier than just one or two dancers. Also, as you start contacting, inquire about specifics. Will the hip hop dancers need a special type of floor to dance on? How much area is needed for the performance? Last, check out photo galleries and watch videos of past performances. You should also read reviews and get references from former clients. All this will help ensure you book the best for your special event.
Hip Hop Dancers around Ashburn, VA:
Michael Jackson 3 Legends(117)
Michael Jackson Impersonator / Hip Hop Dancer
Washington, DC
26 Verified Bookings
Recent review: Where can I start? Well first of all, 3 legends performed this day for my son's 10th birthday…
RMC Talent(0)
Dancer / Hip Hop Dancer
Washington, DC
1 Verified Booking
My act of service is movement/dance. Dance helps me to convey my feelings in order to inspire others. Dance…
Do It Like David(0)
Hip Hop Dancer
Dumfries, VA
Emmanuel Kay is a young rising R&B/pop artist hoping to share stories of love, life, and redemption though…
Dance & Choreography(0)
Hip Hop Dancer
Upper Marlboro, MD
I've been dancing for 10 years and choreographed for 5 professionally, I've choreographed and danced for…
Hip Hop Dancers for hire across the U.S. and Canada:
United States:
- Alabama
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No announcement yet.
HDA Intel Audio To Improve A Lot In Linux 3.9 Kernel
new posts
Originally posted by Ericg View PostGlad to hear there's a test-suite now, even if it is only rudimentary. At least theres SOME way of testing for regressions at this point. Glad to hear that theres now a generic driver to handle most cards, its kind of necessary with a monolithic kernel really because its not like windows where if we dont have audio at install-time we can just go out and download an .exe package to install the driver.
Originally posted by Pawlerson View PostWho cares? Such cards are only usable when your music is nothing, but midi files.
The problem with internal analog audio is simply that the inside of a laptop/desktop usually has a lot of electromagnetic noise, which is difficult to shield from.
Originally posted by Pawlerson View PostEven notebook users can use USB sound cards. However, I understand not everyone cares about sound quality.
Originally posted by bwat47 View Postintel sound quality is totally fine for the majority of users.
Sound quality? Are you another Sound Blaster salesman? There is visually () no difference between an integrated and a dedicated sound card, apart from price and CPU usage.
Originally posted by Luke_Wolf View PostHah, clearly you're part of the previously stated category, because such a statement shows you've never actually listened to a proper modern soundcard, the difference is like going from adlib to "cd music". I want you to try something, either buy or find a friend who has a modern sound card, now holding everything the same try playing an mp3 or an ogg or a game or something with the card and then without it, once you've done that come back to us with the results. It might surprise you.
Audiophiles need to stop bragging.Last edited by Calinou; 01-29-2013, 07:51 AM.
Hello Sound Blaster salesman. I don't want to spend 300 euros on a sound card + an headset (real headsets are wired and have mics, too). Also, I don't have optic fiber (FLAC was created by bzip2 developers, just replace "Xeon" by "optic fiber" in the sentence "Everyone Has A Xeon"), so why would I use lossless compression when lossy (320kbps, 48khz ogg) is more than enough?
Audiophiles need to stop bragging.
And on the topic of gaming, you know the section in Crysis Warhead, where the troop transport crashes and then things start microstuttering all to hell? That's 3D audio being calculated and the sound codec hammering the CPU with interrupt requests to try to do it, that goes away when you put in a sound card, and it helps to smooth out things in general, because the problem with microstuttering it creates is not CPU Usage, it's that it's interrupting the CPU.
Oh and while I'm at this: The biggest boost you can do to the performance of your games is not getting a new CPU or a better Video Card (assuming you're starting out with at least a Radeon ?670 level card which current gen integrated graphics are close enough to), though those will help of course but what's really going to give you the biggest boost is actually maxing out your memory and setting up a RAM drive. With a RAM drive and a sound card, a Radeon HD 5770 can play Crysis Warhead completely maxed out at 1080p, and it plays so very different when you do that.Last edited by Luke_Wolf; 01-29-2013, 01:14 PM.


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Media Contact:
Michelle Jeffers
(415) 557-4282
March 8, 2011
Presidio Branch Library Reopening March 26
Landmark Carnegie Library Receives Historic Restoration
San Francisco Public Library will celebrate the reopening of the restored Presidio Branch Library on Saturday, March 26. The 90-year-old landmark library building underwent a sensitive historic restoration and renovation that was designed and built to meet silver certification standards or greater under the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system.
The grand reopening celebration kicks off with Chinese lion dancers at the renovated branch at 3150 Sacramento Street, between Baker and Lyon streets. Festivities begin at 1 p.m. Library services start at 2 p.m. A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held with City Librarian Luis Herrera, Mayor Edwin Lee, Supervisor Mark Farrell, Department of Public Works Director Ed Reiskin and other city and state officials.
"The neighborhood will be thrilled to see this magnificent and historic library return to service. From the elegant, light filled reading room with its arched window frames to the inviting and expansive children's room, this library is a treasure to its community," said City Librarian Luis Herrera. "Now all residents of this neighborhood can enjoy modern library resources in a technologically updated branch that will serve its community for generations to come."
The Presidio Branch is one of the city's most historic libraries. With library service established in 1898, Presidio was the sixth branch of the San Francisco Public Library system. The current building is an Italian-Renaissance-style landmark building that was completed in 1921, designed by G. Albert Lansburgh and funded by Andrew Carnegie.
The completed historic renovation includes a restoration of the building's beautiful, ornate exterior terra cotta façade and stairs. Interior renovation highlights include new pendant light fixtures that fit with the historic grandeur of the building, refurbished original wood shelving, and the designation of a new teen area in the library. Other features of the project include an interactive learning area in the children's room and the refurbishment of the downstairs community meeting room. The addition of new restrooms, more computers and more functional and ergonomic staff work areas were also part of this project.
"It's an honor to be part of this celebration in each community, watching the residents' return to their neighborhood library," said Ed Reiskin, DPW Director. "Their faces are full of joy as they see how beautiful the library has become. What they don't see, but is just as important, is that the building is now functional, accessible, energy efficient and built to last."
The renovation was designed by Field Paoli and Joseph Chow & Associates. The project conformed to the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation & Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings.
Over the past two years, Friends of the San Francisco Public Library has been working in partnership with neighborhood residents and communities to raise funds, awareness and support for the branch improvements. Friends, together with the Presidio Library Campaign Committee, will contribute approximately $500,000 towards the branch renovations to pay for furnishings, fixtures and equipment—expenses not covered by the bond. For more information on how to support the Presidio Library Campaign, please contact Mary Abler with Friends of the San Francisco Public Library at email@example.com or (415) 626-7512, ext.107.
For more information about the Presidio Branch Library's opening celebration, please call (415) 557-4277, or visit www.sfpl.org.
Building better libraries for stronger communities.


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Podcast #233 - ThinkPad Twist, Intel's rumored TV service, Frame Latency testing and more!
Subject: General Tech | January 3, 2013 - 02:10 PM | Ken Addison
Tagged: VOD, video capture, twist, tv, thunderbolt, thinkpad twist, Thinkpad, podcast, Lenovo, Intel, Frame Latency testing, ces 2013, CES
PC Perspective Podcast #233 - 01/03/2013
Join us this week as we talk about the ThinkPad Twist, Intel's rumored TV service, Frame Latency testing and more!
You can subscribe to us through iTunes and you can still access it directly through the RSS page HERE.
The URL for the podcast is: http://pcper.com/podcast - Share with your friends!
- iTunes - Subscribe to the podcast directly through the iTunes Store
- RSS - Subscribe through your regular RSS reader
- MP3 - Direct download link to the MP3 file
Hosts: Ryan Shrout, Jeremy Hellstrom, Josh Walrath and Allyn Malventano
This Podcast is brought to you by MSI!
Program length: 1:12:43
Podcast topics of discussion:
Week in Reviews:
- 0:03:35 Thermaltake Soprano VO9000 Case
- 0:05:40 Lenovo Thinkpad Twist Convertible Ultrabook
- 0:10:15 MSI Z77 MPower Motherboard
- 0:14:00 AMD FX-8350 Overclock with AMD LCS
- 0:22:12 This Podcast is brought to you by MSI!
News items of interest:
- 0:23:45 Video: MSI Z77A-G45 Thunderbolt (and new player)
- 0:25:45 Fiber optic Thunderbolt cables ready
- 0:30:00 Intel planning at TV service in 2013
- 0:42:00 Frame Rating: A New Graphics Performance Metric
- 0:53:00 CES Predictions!
- 1:03:00 Hardware / Software Pick of the Week
- 1-888-38-PCPER or email@example.com
- http://pcper.com/podcast
- http://twitter.com/ryanshrout and http://twitter.com/pcper
- Closing/outro
Be sure to subscribe to the PC Perspective YouTube channel!!
Source: PC Perspective


text: On Thu, Jun 14, 2012 at 11:30 AM, Bernd Schubert <bs_lists at aakef.fastmail.fm > wrote: > [I'm moving that from your digest answer to the general discussion thread] > Doh, Thanks! > > On 06/13/2012 06:25 PM, Greg Keller wrote:> >> >>> What about an easy to setup cluster file system such as FhGFS? As one of >>> its developers I'm a bit biased of course, but then I'm also familiar >>> with Lustre, an I think FhGFS is far more easiy to setup. We also do not >>> have the problem to run clients and servers on the same node and so of >>> our customers make heavy use of that and use their compute nodes as >>> storage servers. That should a provide the same or better throughput as >>> your torrent system. >>> >>> Cheers, >>> Bernd >>> >> >> We've been curious about FhGFS but the licensing did not leave us >> confident we would always have access to it if we integrated it into our >> business and made available to our users. Serious success could >> essentially cause an epic failure if the license made it expensive to us >> (as commercial users) suddenly. As a "cloud" based hpc provider I >> thought it was too risky and have been happy with Lustre and it's >> affiliates. >> >> Specifically this clause could be a problem: >> >> 3.2 LICENSEE may NOT: >> >> ... >> >> - rent or lease the LICENSED SOFTWARE and DOCUMENTATION to any third party >> >> ... >> >> Does anyone think the license was intended to block cloud providers making >> it available as part of a cloud based HPC solution? Am I >> mis-interpreting this? >> Not looking for a legal-ese battle but I am wondering if other licenses >> commonly >> used in cloud contexts have similar language. Anyone think the FS is >> fantastic >> > > enough that I should fight (spend money on lawyers and licenses) to put > it in > > front of "Cloud" HPC users? > > Arg, such issues are exactly the reason why I don't like contracts and > laws written by lawyers. Instead of writing with 'normal' words > understandable by everyone, they have their own language, which nobody can > understand is entirely unclear. I'm not sure if they do understand > themselves what they have written... Given the high number of useless > lawsuits probably not. > > This clause is about charging for the licensed software (i.e. fhgfs), not > about services around fhgfs. Neither this clause nor any other clause in > the EULA is intended or prohibits that you provide fhgfs to cloud users. > That's good to hear. The license has evolved and simplified a lot since I first read it long ago. > > So this particular clause just says that you are not allowed to charge > money for allowing people to use fhgfs. So it actually protects users from > paying for a software, which is in fact free to use for everyone, no matter > if it's a commercial user or not. > > On the other hand, you are still free to charge customers for services > around fhgfs, e.g. you might charge your cloud customers for installing > fhgfs or maintaining it or something like that - if that's what you have in > mind. > We generally just charge for CPU hours, and bundle as much in as we can for that price (Network, Disk, etc). We hate "Gotcha" pricing models and our customers live comfortably in the "Best Effort" support we can offer on free software. If we ever have exotic requirements (100+TB) we work out something special. Any ISP or Software licensing is usually passed through or handled directly between the user and the IP owner, and we host whatever is required to keep the licensing people happy :) Our parallel file-system choices have been limited because our customers are usually not long term commited, so paying annual licenses or buying dedicated storage systems rarely makes sense financially. It's always scratch and backed up at their location, so we can skate on the edge without much risk. And if they really like it they may put it on their internal systems. > Please let us know if this is sufficient for you to consider FhGFS in the > future or if we again should work with our Fraunhofer lawyers to improve > the license. > We will do some initial testing as time permits and get back on the licensing piece if need be then. I appreciate the intent of the licensing line is difficult to communicate, and look forward to learning more. Cheers! Greg > > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://www.beowulf.org/pipermail/beowulf/attachments/20120614/20aa2292/attachment.html>


text: On Thu, 16 Jan 2003, Dave Lane wrote: > Hi all, > > I'm going to be building a AMD MP-based beowulf system this spring and have > a question or about memory selection for the nodes. > > First question is which type of memory to choose: ECC, non-ECC, Registered > or not. My understanding that registered memory is slower, but allows for > more capacity (more chips) on a DIMM. This should not be an issue for me, > since I expect that 512M in each node will be enough. Read AMD's webpage(s) for their memory recommendations and follow them. AMD MP's in my experience are very sensitive, period, to just about everything in their engineering recommendations. Use an "approved" power supply, approved memory, approved motherboard. My recollection (without digging out a motherboard manual or rechecking their website myself) is that the recent dual AMD's all require registered ECC, and pretty high quality recc at that. As always YMMV and somebody will probably chime in with how they tried other memory types and it worked, but our luck in that regard has not been good. There are still plenty of memory vendors that make dimms that meet AMD's specs. ECC runs a bit ($50?) above non-ECC for 512 MB PC2100 DIMMS; registered ECC costs about $10 more than that, or in the ballpark of $200 for 512 MB (probably less if you pricewatch for bleeding edge lows -- these are OTC retail). Quite a bit more than SDRAM... > Second question is if memory errors occur with ECC memory does Linux know > about and report problems in the logs? (this does occur on Sun Solaris > systems)? I think this is a FAQ -- do a search on the list archives, as I think Don Becker (?) may have answered it close to two or three times now, and has been generally discussed fairly extensively.;-) If I recall the discussion correctly, some listvolken swear by ECC and run code on systems where they see memory errors turn up. Others use any-old memory and don't see the errors, but neither do they see overwhelming evidence that their systems are constantly becoming corrupted. But I could be misremembering. rgb Robert G. Brown http://www.phy.duke.edu/~rgb/ Duke University Dept. of Physics, Box 90305 Durham, N.C. 27708-0305 Phone: 1-919-660-2567 Fax: 919-660-2525 email:rgb at phy.duke.edu


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While some may say that digital photography is a quick and easy way to shoot photos, others might say – 'Why make something simple when it is perfectly easy to make it difficult?"
Either way, we thought you might like to see behind the scenes of Peter Ramondetta's portrait shoot for his TWS Pro Spotlight from this latest issue of Transworld.
The shoot took place at Mike O'Meally's ghetto outdoor backyard studio in L.A., and Mr. Gabe Morford Esq. played the hand of Golden Assist and shot these photos as well. When it was all said and done, Pete had a smoke and went for a skate. All in a day's work for one of skating's tuffest quiet achievers.
Hope you enjoy!


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Photo by pocius, found on Flickr
Amidst the breathtaking scenery, the largest city in Iceland also has some SoundCloud users that will take your breath away with their music. Today, we're admiring Reykjavík, Iceland.
Sudden Weather Change
Sudden Weather Change first got together in art school, after realizing they had the same ambitions and goals when it came to music. Now, the band is getting ready to record another album and play some shows. Make sure to follow their SoundCloud page for more updates!
This Icelandic duo loves to create and experiment with electronic music. They're comprised of Krummi Björgvinsson, artist and singer/songwriter of the famed rock band Minus, and Halldor Björnsson, composer/producer of innumerable works of musical mastercraft. Check 'em out!
Elíza Newman
Icelandic solo singer-songwriter, Elíza, is preparing to release her second solo album. She's also known as the former lead singer of all-girl Icelandic band Bellatrix, which was formed when she was a teen. Fun facts: she's also trained as an Opera singer and plays the violin, guitar, ukulele and piano!
Árni Grétar, also known as Futuregrapher, is an electronic musician who is one of the leading members of the local Weirdcore scene and has been praised for his great live performances. He has released three EPs since 2009 and you can hear some of what he has produced so far below!
Originally started as a string quartet formed by four girls (Edda Rún Ólafsdóttir, Hildur Ársælsdóttir, María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir and Sólrún Sumarliðadóttir) at the Reykjavík College of Music in the late 1990s, Amiina is now a sextet after a recent masculine infusion.
Remember last summer, we had Reykjavík-based singer, Myrra Rós, join us for a SoundCloud Session! And if you're looking for more music from Reykjavík, here you go: citysounds.fm/reykjavik
For everyone in Reykjavík, join the SoundCloud Local Reykjavík group and submit your tracks!
To all SoundCloud users, check out Meetup.com to see if a SoundCloud event is coming your way, or start your own! Take a look at our SoundCloud Local features to see if your area has been admired yet.


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Moresuch on Gorsuch
Read Mashey. Definitely plagiarism, and Gorsuch didn't read "his" primary sources (e.g. a court case that was sealed years prior to Gorsuch, after the author who Gorsuch copied had read the filings). The claims by his academic defenders, who should've been supervising him better, that you're supposed to cite primary sources and not secondary ones are laughable in these circumstances. Like Wegman, I'm not sure how they're supposed to supervise students given what they say is acceptable.
Academia does give you the ability to cite primary sources you haven't read, btw: you cite the secondary source you have read as then citing the primary source that you wish you had read. This way you get to make your point while acknowledging that your support for it is flimsy - an honest way to go about the work.
If more of this stuff turns up in Gorsuch's background then he'll be a crippled member of the Supreme Court.


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City Commissioner Amanda Fritz wants you to believe she has created jobs in Portland—and not just a few.
"Amanda Fritz's efforts to attract more business helped create 6,800 new private-sector jobs in the Portland area in the last year alone," Fritz writes in a campaign mailer.
That's a pretty astounding claim for a city still struggling to emerge from recession. It's a number bigger than the full-time workforce of the City of Portland, or Port of Portland, or Portland Public Schools.
So where does it come from? Fritz says the 6,800 figure is the number of new jobs the Oregon Employment Department recorded in Multnomah County from December 2010 to December 2011.
In other words, Fritz, running for re-election, is taking some credit for every job in the county last year.
City Hall candidates are rushing this year to present themselves as "job creators," and Fritz isn't the only one stretching the truth.
All of them may be liberals, but the leading City Hall candidates have seized on the same focus-grouped phrase—"job creators"—that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is using on the campaign trail.
It's a neat piece of rhetoric widely attributed to Frank Luntz, the Republican pollster and wordsmith. (He's also the one who coined "death tax" to describe estate taxes.) According to a December 2011 Yahoo! News story, Luntz advised Republicans to use job creators when referring to businesspeople or entrepreneurs, in order to counteract the Occupy Wall Street movement.
The focus on jobs is understandable. Polls consistently show that Portland voters' No. 1 concern is the economy.
So WW looked at candidates' records and put their claims of job-creation cred to the test.
Fritz, who's running for re-election, says she deserves some credit for every job that was created in the county last year—all 6,800 of them.
Asked how she arrived at that number, Fritz says she was "a solid supporter for measures that have streamlined and coordinated economic development strategies," that she supported funding new sidewalk construction, and that she was "instrumental in pushing the negotiations on fixing the Sellwood Bridge to its successful conclusion.â
But a leading Portland economist whom WW asked to review Fritz's job-creation claim pans her approach. Joe Cortright of Impressa Consulting says it's very difficult to ascribe short-term job fluctuations to elected officials' actions.
"The biggest single factor in what happens to the local job market is the U.S. economy," says Cortright, who has written extensively about economic development.
He notes that in 2009 the economy was in free fall, losing of tens of thousands of local jobs and the near-doubling of the unemployment rate in Multnomah County. Fritz was also in office that year, but was no more responsible for the loss of those jobs, Cortright says, than she was for last year's gain.
Cortright says Fritz is merely engaging in the time-honored political tradition of attaching herself to any good news. "In economic development terms, it's 'shoot everything that flies and claim everything that falls,'" Cortright says.
"City Council members create the conditions for private businesses to grow and flourish in Portland," Fritz says. "I will continue to work to keep the cost of government down, and to provide incentives, reduce costs and remove impediments for business growth, to improve wages and incomes."
Nolan, a Democratic state representative for Southwest Portland, is challenging Fritz's re-election. Nolan actually has business experience. Yet she's making fewer job-creator boasts than Fritz.
In 1991, Nolan founded an aviation navigation company, Avrotec Inc. The company has employed as many as 10 people, and Nolan says in the Voters' Pamphlet she "knows what it takes to grow jobs here in Portland."
Before that, Nolan worked as a bureau director for the city of Portland. Since 2001, she's been in the Legislature.
Her legislative record doesn't include much economic development. Nolan says that as a lawmaker she helped create certainty for businesses in Oregon, helping pass Measure 49, which clarified land-use laws. And as co-chair of the budget-writing Joint Ways and Means Committee, Nolan says, she helped set measurable results for state agencies.
Nolan is less focused on job-creation metrics than the business environment. Her campaign manager, Kristi Jo Lewis, says Nolan will focus on providing businesses with three things: regulatory certainty, a quick permit turnaround and a sense the city wants them to be here.
"Nolan believes City Council doesn't itself create private-sector jobs," Lewis told WW via email, "but can foster an environment where locally owned businesses and businesses committed to this community can flourish."
Nolan's House colleague, state Rep. Jefferson Smith (D-East Portland), has been more specific when talking about economic development credentials—without claiming he's created a certain number of jobs.
The two-term lawmaker, who is running for mayor, highlights a couple of laws he helped pass.
"I championed efforts to grow local businesses and retrofit schools for jobs," Smith writes in his Voters' Pamphlet statement. He's referring to Gov. John Kitzhaber's "Cool Schools" initiative, which Smith co-sponsored and helped shepherd through the Legislature last year.
Kitzhaber pitched a $100 million Cool Schools program that could create 1,000 jobs. But the first phase of the plan Smith helped author is far more modest: $5 million, creating an estimated 75 jobs statewide.
Smith's other primary claim to job creation—the "economic gardening" law he sponsored in 2011—has yet to bear fruit. Smith has called for the state to help small businesses that already exist here, rather than throw millions of dollars in subsidies at large employers from elsewhere.
The program Smith got passed is a pilot project (not yet started) that will spend about $300,000 to help small businesses with marketing and technical advice. Smith's Democratic colleagues fought to keep "economic gardening" alive when lawmakers cut the state budget in February.
Businesswoman Eileen Brady, also running for mayor, rests most of her job-creation claims on her association with New Seasons Market. "We created thousands of jobs with health care, even for part-timers and their families, including domestic partners," a Brady TV commercial says.
The "we" in the ad refers to Brady and her husband, Brian Rohter, who was among three co-founders of New Seasons Market, which had 1,800 employees when the couple sold their minority stake to a Portland-based buyout firm, Endeavour Capital, in 2009.
As WW has reported, Brady's claim that she deserves credit for founding New Seasons is a stretch at best. Records show Brady was not an original owner of New Seasons, never worked for the company nor served on its board, and personally owned a small percentage of the chain—well after it was already up and running.
âEileenâs ongoing leadership role was instrumental to the companyâs success and growth,â the campaign said in a statement.
Brady had a secondary role at companies that were already growing under the direct leadership of others. Her campaign gives her credit for creating jobs at New Seasons' predecessor in the organic grocery business, Nature's Fresh Northwest.
"At the time Eileen joined Nature's, there were two store locations and approximately 125 employees. When Eileen finished her second stint at Nature's in 1995, there were six stores and approximately 450 employees," her campaign said in an emailed statement to WW.
At Nature's, Brady served on the company's executive team and worked in human resources and training. Brady declined to answer questions about the role she played in creating jobs at Nature's. A campaign aide replied with a few lines from her LinkedIn page, which says Brady "managed the hiring process of hundreds of people" at Nature's.
Brady joined the board of Celilo Group Media, which publishes the Chinook Book coupon guide, in 2002, on behalf of her then-employer, Ecotrust, an environmental nonprofit that had invested in the small publisher.
In 2008, Brady made a personal investment in Celilo Group. "She's not a major shareholder," Celilo Group founder Nik Blosser told WW in February, but "she's been chair of the board and has a major role in the company." The company now has 27 employees, up from 10 in 2002.
Mayoral candidate and former City Commissioner Charlie Hales could legitimately claim some credit for jobs created through public-sector projects like the Portland Streetcar and Cascade Station he helped champion while in office from 1993 to 2002.
But in his Voters' Pamphlet statement, Hales makes a different—and more questionable—claim.
"In the private sector, Charlie created good jobs, helping HDR Engineering grow from 2,700 employees to 8,000 employees in 10 years," Hales' statement says.
What Hales doesn't say is that HDR added most of those new jobs outside of his division, and that many came from HDR buying up other firms.
Between 2002, when Hales left the City Council and joined HDR, and this year, the firm acquired 37 other companies, according to a corporate history and archived news releases on HDR's website.
Hales says 30 percent of HDR's overall job growth in the past decade came from acquisitions, and that he played a direct role in two. His own division grew from three employees to approximately 150 in his time there. He says he played a direct role in growing HDR's transportation business and its expansion into Canada.
He also says he can take credit for the job growth outside his own division, because he has served on HDR's 20-member strategic planning committee.
"There's a lot of jobs talk in politics, and I've tried to make sure I was erring on the side of being conservative," Hales says. "I was careful to say I âhelpedâ grow the companyâand I did. I didnât do it all myself.â


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Alfamega Kills Snitching Rumors! + Says T.I. Used Him To Make Himself Look Good! (Goes Into Full Details)
Alfamega Kills The Snitching Allegations/Rumors.Gets Into Deep About the situation of his past & friend TI
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Enter the location of your tree job
Home > Local Search > Tree Removal > nsw > Elderslie - 2570
Ben McInerney - Last updated 10 Oct, 2018
Finding the right tree expert for tree pruning Elderslie can be daunting.
With the tree service industry being as unregulated as it is and full of unskilled labourers, the chances of your choosing a dud are a lot higher than other trades. Weekend wonders as we call then buy themselves a chainsaw and advertise themselves as a "tree lopping expert.
Besides making sure they are a certified arborist, with a minimum of 7 years experience and insured, you need to make sure you are getting it all done at a reasonable price.
Did I mention prices vary by up to 300% for the same job! So if you are looking to save money on tree trimming Elderslie nsw, then read on.
The level of skill needed for tree trimming Elderslie will depend on the size of the tree and what's being done. A few branches off a lemon tree, is very different to a removing a large branch from a Eucalyptus tree overhanging your home
Either way you want make sure whoever you get to do the job is at the very least insured and runs a legitimate business.
Depending on the size of your tree pruning job, you might want to consider getting a skilled garden maintenance grew in rather than a qualified tree surgeon.
The reason is price. A tree surgeon is going to charge you a lot more money as they have much larger overheads with insurance, equipment, workers compensation etc.
Important: I only suggest this on trees that are smaller than 5m (15ft). Anything larger than a single story house (5m) will require higher skills that in general lawn and garden maintenance guys do not poses.
But if it is a hedge tidy up or a fruit tree prune, they are your best bet when going for economy
Let's say you have found 3 or 4 companies you wish to quote your tree trimming job.
Run their business names through ABNLookup.gov.au
This is a free government service that allows you to see whether their company is legitimate and registered and if they have had any insolvencies in the past few years.
By looking at the date of registration of their business you will get an idea of their industry experience.
You can do all of the above but still get 3 expensive quotes for tree pruning Elderslie. Why? Because some companies just plain charge more than others for the same job.
Don't be in the position of choosing between 3 expensive quotes…
You will find some companies have bigger advertising and marketing budgets (that why you came across them first on Google or in the yellow pages), but guess who picks up the tab for their advertising spend?
You do!
They need to cover their costs somehow and they do it by charging more.
So what you really need to know is;
Who is legitimate
Who is local
Who is Cheap
Go Tree Quotes is a FREE service that matches home owners with local tree pruning experts.
We rely on previous users to tell us who is the most professional and who is the best priced.
Hundreds of previous users vote so we can narrow it down to just 3 outstanding local contractors who have previously performed tree pruning Elderslie-2570.
Save an average of 39% on tree pruning in Elderslie. Locals have already voted on the best priced service near you. Request a quote from them with our FREE quote comparison service.
Get Started: Enter the location of your tree job
If you prune a protected tree and you have not asked council for permission first you could land yourself in hot water. The results of which would be a large fine.
Camden council has what's known as a tree preservation order (TPO) which has all the rules and regulations on tree trimming for Camden council district.
Click the above button to go to our 1 minute form and tell us a little about your job. Once submitted the 3 best local pros will contact you to arrange a quote.
Camden council do allow for the trimming of trees without council consent.
(a) It is 3 metres or less in height; (b) Has a circumference of 300mm (100mm diameter) or less at a height of 1 metre above natural ground surface; or (c) has a branch span of 3 metres or less. The laws allow people in a designated 10/50 Vegetation Clearing Entitlement Area to: Clear trees on their property within 10 metres of a home without seeking approval, and Clear underlying vegetation such as shrubs (but not trees) on their property within 50 metres of a home, without approval.
Some local council have what called an exemption list of trees. These are considered a local or national pest and they allow you to prune them without approval. Basically the above rules do not apply and you can prune as you see fit.
We have also listed them below if applicable.
There are many variables that make up cost of tree trimming. Things like height of tree, spread of branches, obstacles, number of branches being trimmed, access and the list goes on….
To get an idea on what tree pruning might cost, check out our tree pruning cost guide.
Certified arborist in Elderslie and surrounding areas are all well versed on the Australian standards of the pruning of amenity trees.
The standards are outlined here in this document AS 4373:2007 – Pruning of amenity trees
If you go with a contractor that is not a certified tree surgeon with sufficient experience in tree pruning they may end up doing more damage than good.
It is very important that you go about selecting who you hire to prune your tree carefully.
If you don't, you could end up regretting it with a sub-standard job and your tree looking hacked at.
We are a growing company that aims to provide a quality service that is personal, fair and over-delivers on value and satisfaction.
We want homeowners to be completely satisfied with the job done and the price paid, from a small pruning jobs to a large tree removals. Our aim is to build a repeat and referral business with an unbeatable reputation.
We are committed to the certified arborists we recommend using the method of 'BEST PRACTICE'. This is a methodology that is accepted as better to any alternatives for commercial or professional tree removal procedures for results that are superior to those achieved by any other means.
Our expectation of a tree contractors we work is they do everything in their power to uphold these values.
Once you call us on 1800 252 208 or fill in the 2 minute form, we forward your details directly onto the best local tree surgeons for quoting.
Based on previous users votes, we keep track in real time who is the best priced and highest regarded local tree services, and ask them to quote your job too.
There is no obligation to hire and we have a 100% satisfaction guarantee for all customers.
Author Biography: Ben McInerney is a certified arborist who has been practicing arboriculture since 2004. Ben ran a successful tree service business in Sydney, NSW for 8 years before selling it to a larger company. He no dedicates his time to teaching homeowners about the benefits of using a certified arborist for tree related work and also helps them find the best local tree company at the best price.
Ben holds a Certificate III in Arboriculture from TAFE NSW.


text: Hi, There is a IBM Redbook on MPI and parallel programming. It is pretty well written. Search for it in google with key words "redbook mpi".. you should get a hit... You can download it for free as a PDF or buy it in hard copy. Cheers! Lauence --- Mike Sullivan <mike at oddjob.utias.utoronto.ca> wrote: > Can someone recommend a book on using MPI. I am > about to > start writing some parallel code for my thesis and > might as well > pickup some good late night reading. > > > > > Thanks > > > Mike Sullivan > > _______________________________________________ > Beowulf mailing list, Beowulf at beowulf.org > To change your subscription (digest mode or > unsubscribe) visit http://www.beowulf.org/mailman/listinfo/beowulf ===== --- Cheers! Laurence __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get the latest travel deals in town! http://sg.travel.yahoo.com


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Casement windows are attached to their frame using a hinge. This allows them to freely and easily open and close. Casement windows can provide you with many benefits. They are often preferred in areas where a large window is needed, such as in front of the kitchen sink. There are many benefits of replacing your windows, take a look at the following reasons why you should install casement windows in Ajax:
Casement windows provide the perfect gateway between the indoors and outdoors. They are especially great on a nice summer day when they can be left wide open to allow ample amounts of sunlight and a warm breeze to enter your home. Even when the windows are closed you can't beat the beautiful views of your surroundings that they will provide!
Casement windows are a visually appealing choice. Their basic but classic look pairs well with other styles of windows, making them a great option if you are on the market to replace only a few of your windows. Casement windows are recommended particularly for kitchens and living rooms, although they can suit other rooms as well.
Because of the type of locks on casement windows they are very difficult to break into. Since the windows do not slide up and down they are more much difficult to pry open from the outside. Casement windows in Ajax can bring you more peace of mind knowing that the overall security of your home is not being compromised.
Casement windows in Ajax are produced by our Greater Toronto Area manufacturer. This local supplier ensures that our casement windows are built to the highest standards but are still affordable for our clients.
We work closely with our clients to understand their needs and make sure that the windows are customized to suit these needs.
Finally, our professionally trained employees guarantee the proper installation of your new casement windows. Not satisfied? Don't worry! Our casement windows come with a lifetime warranty.
Need casement windows in Ajax? Contact Thermo-Bilt to get a FREE quote! Our highly qualified professionals will be happy to work closely with you to explore casement window options that are the right fit for you. Call us today at 416-756-0798!


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Bahrain: Ongoing practice of torture of detainees, with the support of public prosecution
13 July 2012
The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) has confirmed, in its report back in November, torture cases committed by Ministry of Interior Officials. The BICI list of recommendations had action points to prevent such incidents. However, months after the report's release, numerous torture cases have been documented by the Bahrain center for Human Rights (BCHR). The absence of accountability, the presence of a culture of impunity and the disregard of torture allegations by public prosecution are sources of grave concern for the BCHR. In the past month, many severe cases of torture committed by Bahrain's security forces have been witnessed and documented by rights activists. Torture is practiced in official MOI detention centers, unofficial centers (e.g. municipal buildings) and upon arrest in the houses being raided and these are only some of the cases:
Syed Hashim Salman Juma, 18 years old, is one of many torture victims. Syed was arrested in June after riot police attacked Malkiya village. According to his testimony, he was taken to Karzakan village municipality building where he was beaten with batons. Police poured water on him and electrocuted him 7 times on his back. They even tried to set his hair on fire but fortunately they failed. After they were done, he was taken to a deserted farm and he was told to run.
On 14 June 2012, yet another peaceful protest was repressed by Bahrain's regime forces in Aali village. A group of protesters took shelter in a house in the area to get away from excessive use of tear gas and shooting. When inside the house, security forces raided it. The protesters were beaten with batons and belts, kicked and punched. A 16 year old boy was in the house at the time. He gave his testimony to the BCHR. He was beaten and insulted for half an hour and then taken by police to a yard in the village where he was further tortured and beaten. He was threatened with rape and murder, if he did not collaborate with the police and worked as a spy for them. Human rights activists and witnesses stated that they've heard screams and ambulance sirens. A BCHR representative went to the house and saw blood traces all over it.
Yousif Al Ajami is one of the many cases of public prosecution ignoring the allegations made by torture victims. He was arrested on 8 June 2012 from his car near Abu Saiba roundabout along with his friends. They were all released later, apart from Yousif. His friend said that he was beaten with batons and kicked all over his body. On 10 June 2012, he was taken for public prosecution for investigation. He told the prosecutor about the torture he was subjected to in a yard in Abu Saiba and in the criminal investigation department (CID) building. In the CID he was deprived of sleep, food and not allowed to pray for at least 24 hours before interrogation. They poured water on him and put him facing an air conditioner. He was handcuffed at all times, threatened with rape and subjected to ruthless psychological torture by officer Mohammed Khalid Al Saidi. He has apparent marks of torture. His left foot was swollen as the police intentionally closed the car door on it. Yousif told the public prosecution that he was forced to confess and denied all accusations. He requested protection. However, he was tortured again when taken back to CID. Currently, he is in detention for 60 days for allegation of making and possessing explosives for terrorism purposes.
Yousif Al Ajami's story of torture has become very common in Bahrain. Four families from Salhiya village had their sons arrested during house raids at dawn before the 10 of June. They told the BCHR that their sons told them during a visit that they were tortured and raped. They were stripped naked, sexually assaulted and raped. Many of them mentioned officer Isa Al Majali as their torturer. He forced them to sign confessions blindfolded. Adnan Al Mansi, one of the detainees, told the public prosecutor about the torture he went through during his detention and how he was forced to confess on things he did not do. His testimony was ignored and it was not even recorded.
Dozens of cases of torture were documented by the BCHR and other human rights activists. Recently, with the undeclared martial law, torture cases have increased with no regard for basic human rights. The legal system has been ignoring the allegations of torture. They go unrecorded and without investigated which has strengthened the culture of impunity in the system and led to an increase of the violation of human rights.
Bahrain Center for Human Rights demands: • The immediate intervention of the international community, human rights groups and the United Nations to put an end to the arbitrary arrests and brutal torture by Bahrain's security forces • The immediate release of all prisoners of conscience • The investigation into claims of systematic torture • Revealing the identities and names of the national security and military officers responsible for torture, bringing them to justice and prosecuting them • The complete separation of the judiciary system from the executive power