Any proposal involving dredging of the sea bottom, should be approached with abundant caution.

They are finding it very expensive to maintain the Panama canal, because of the continuous silting by the streams, from the sides of the canal.

The Palk Strait connects two powerful oceans of the world, the Indian ocean of the south and the Pacific ocean of the east, the latter one notorious for tsunami. Can we forget the last one?

Engineers have the habit of miscalculating the disadvantageous parameters. They now admit that the silting of Tehri dam is more than what they assumed. As if, it is the fault of the river, not their fault!

The sea bed is subjected to sudden changes caused by undercurrents, earthquakes, bulging or withdrawal of the sea bottom etc. which are yet to be understood. Somewhere the sea bottom goes down, at other places islands come up, indicating upward movement of the bottom level.

The displacement of some islands in the Andaman archipelago was noticed after the last tsunami.

Politicians should keep away from decision making.

Assyrian tablet depicting Phoenix rising from its own ashes

Nobody wants to be bogged down by deadlines, traffic jams, daily pressures which business imposes on our lives, but they are a reality. The gift is not to allow those pressures to impinge on our conscious-ness ALL of the time: to set aside some moment, daily, for what’s going on INSIDE, not outside in our lives. The trick to maintaining a healthy mind within a body that’s built to withstand some stresses is simple: it’s called switching off.

Everyone needs to switch off, to become unglued, to take a Holiday. That’s why Thanksgiving is such a huge celebration in the American continent: the international home of Big Bizness. This time of gratitude covers every race, creed, religious sect and subgroup: everybody celebrates. A timeout that takes us away from the increasing world pressure to ‘take care of business’. It gives us an overview of life; if only for one weekend in the year.

With a feeling of joy for what we are grateful for in our lives comes a per-spective on how our lives have turned out; from where we started. We look at the last year and give thanks: for our home, our family and our friends. Sometimes we give thanks for a lot of years: and see how our past has become our present.

They say it’s not good to dwell in the past. However there are some lessons from the past that we, with the miracle of technology, may use. They teach us to hold an overview.

Yes. Crop circles, among others, point the way.

Over the last decade we’ve been treated to a deluge of them: now more than a mere curiosity: they are perhaps showing us how to ‘be’.

Using techniques as diverse as pictograms, mathematics, animal and nature symbolism and digital ‘language’, these crop glyphs have become increasingly sophisticated and, like our own society and consciousness, their influence is expanding.

Last summer alone brought eye-witness reports from unbiased observers who believe personally and irrevocably in their ‘power’ to convert. Visitors to crop circles have experienced a ‘transformation’, feeling of ‘oneness’, a change in conscious-ness, a sensation of love for their fellow beings. These human emotions are backed up by changes and fluctuations in on-the-ground readings monitored by digital and electronic equipment used to measure the electromagnetic flow.

Even for those of us not conversant in the language of mathematics, the evidence has already brought the scientific community on board. Carl Sagan, astrophysicist and author of ‘Cosmos’, said before he died in 1996 at the age of 62: ‘Mathematics is the Rosetta Stone of the Universe’. This interpretive Rosetta Stone is evident in enough crop circles to satisfy the most skeptic mathematician.

Euclidean sacred geometry in pyramid crop circle July 2009

Optical Pyramid at Chesterton, Harbury Warwickshire July 2009

Take another form of Kornkreis symbolism: images depicting birds, insects: the dragonfly, the human butterfly, the honeybee and bumblebee; swallows: all symbolic of flying, reaching beyond ourselves into the stratosphere of consciousness, beyond our mortal coil: suggesting our need to connect with our higher selves, superconscious, looking perhaps to encourage Mankind to connect as one, as a collective conscioiusness; holy, whole.

Hummingbird crop circle of July 2009 at Milk Hill, Wiltshire

Nazca line Hummingbird, created between AD300-600 in Peruvian High Desert

Stretching for hundreds of miles through the Altiplano Peruvian high desert, the lines form geoglyphs cleared in the land surface. Made by Nazca laborers, they follow riverbeds that flow from the Andes. This high desert terrain stretches for over 1400 miles along the Pacific coast and the Pampa Colorada, or Red Plain of deep red sandstone where Nazca art was created, runs 15 miles inland and for 37 miles alongside the Andes. Nazca workers cleared the surface of stones, revealing lines of lighter clay underneath. Because of its dry climate (humidity quotient almost zero), these imprints have remained in the landscape for the last millennium and a half.

Nazca Monkey line drawing in the Peruvian Altiplano AD300-600

Because of our programming as a society, taught for millennia to believe what we see in our three-dimensional world, it has taken us all of the last hundred years even to agree with Einstein that the possibility of a fourth dimension is conceivable. Only now are we beginning to realize that the suggestion, taught for centuries by esoteric spiritual disciplines, that we are part of an even-greater Whole of seven, nay, twelve, perhaps infinite dimensional realities, may have validity: that we may indeed be sending ourselves messages to trigger our soul memory that it is time to wake up and become the spiritual beings we were intended to be.

We Are The Ones We Have Been Waiting For. It has a ring to it.

Yatesbury Phoenix appeared June 2009

Looking to and from the stars: are we indeed beginning to see the stellar perspective?

The Vanuatu Geohazards Observatory has published a fresh update on the situation at Gaua volcano, which has recently shown an increased level of activity, forcing evacuations. Gaua Bulletin No. 3, dated 24 November (but only just published on the Observatory’s website) reports ‘a big explosion of the Gaua volcano in November 18th 2009 at 2pm’ followed by ‘very thick and high emissions of ash columns that were covering the areas exposed to trade winds in the West’. Photographs show the comparative size of the ash plume on 31 October and 18 November. The bulletin also notes that there was an increase in seismicity at the volcano from 25 October onwards.

The alert level for Gaua remains unchanged at 2 (‘moderate eruptions’).

For all our coverage of Gaua: Gaua « The Volcanism Blog.

Information
Global Volcanism Program: Gaua – summary information for Gaua (0507-02=)
Vanuatu Geohazards Observatory – official Vanuatu geohazards website
Vanuatu volcanoes and volcanics – information from the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory

The evacuation of residents of Gaua island in northern Vanuatu is continuing, reports Radio New Zealand International (RNZI). The active cone of Gaua volcano, Mt Garet, which has been showing low-level eruptive activity for around two months, has increased its activity over the last few days: gas emissions and ashfall have seriously affected life in the island’s eastern portion, and people from that area are being moved by boat to the unaffected western region of the island. RNZI reports that gas masks are being sent to Gaua, and that tourists are being warned to keep away from the volcano.

No update yet on the current activity at the Vanuatu Geohazards Observatory website, but in fairness it must be pointed out that the observatory’s hard-pressed staff are working with very limited resources (they don’t even have the seismographs they need to monitor Gaua adequately).

For all our coverage of Gaua: Gaua « The Volcanism Blog.

News
Gas masks sent to Vanuatu island where locals are forced to evacuate – Radio New Zealand International, 26 November 2009
Tourists warned off Vanuatu’s Gaua volcano – Radio New Zealand International, 27 November 2009

Information
Global Volcanism Program: Gaua – summary information for Gaua (0507-02=)
Vanuatu volcanoes and volcanics – information from the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory

8 years since I moved to New Zealand from the UK. 8 years since I hugged my family and boyfriend goodbye and got on the first of 3 flights with no idea of what I was heading to. I cried most of the way from Glasgow to Heathrow, but thankfully got it together by the time I got to London. Just as well, as I was required to identify my bag on the tarmac after a x-ray revealed a ticking, metal object in my suitcase. Innocent enough (my mum had given me a Charles Rennie Mackintosh clock as a leaving gift), but taken very seriously as I was flying only a few months after 9/11 and tension at all international airports was running high. That goodbye ended up leading to 8 years away from my family and friends, although I had orginally intended to stay away for 6 months, maybe 1 year maximum.

It was in hindsight both the hardest and the wisest thing I have ever done. I grew and experienced in ways that just wouldn’t have been possible had I stayed in Scotland. I endured huge insecurities as I set up a new life in New Zealand, based on nothing more than knowing one person who was happy for me to sleep on his couch for a week or two. I was massively homesick and full of indecision, but I arrived in Auckland in the middle of a beautiful summer and I began to fall in love with the beauty of my new surroundings almost immediately. Anyone who has visited New Zealand will recognise this feeling. It is the little country that could. Full of humour, culture and pride – it might just be a little island in the middle of the Pacific but it has everything you need if you want to live in a country where people love their outdoor environment . It contains unbelievable scenery which, given the easily driveable size of the country, reveals awe-inspiring views  literally around every corner. You can ski (on a volcano) and surf in the same day. You can experience dramatic black sand beaches on the west coast, drive an hour and be sitting on a white untouched paradise on the east. 

I saw it all. Well nearly it all. Towards the end of my first year in New Zealand, I took my orange VW kombi camper and drove solo around the country for 2 months. It was amazing. It was also hard; travelling alone even in a country so welcoming is sometimes intimidating,  sometimes challenging but ultimately immensely rewarding. I might have preferred to have someone with me to enjoy everything I saw, but apart from that I wouldn’t have changed it for the world.

It marked a trend for me to travel alone. Not always through choice. As I have got older my friends are settling down, many with houses and children and marriages now, and it becomes less viable for them to pack up and take off for several months. But I’m the kind of person who would rather go and experience something alone than miss out through lack of travelling companions. I think I’d like that to change. The next time I go somewhere new, I would like someone to share it with. For one, I might have some photographs of myself in nice places. As it happens though, I have several photo albums of beautiful landscape shots if anyone is interested.

I want to go back to New Zealand. I’m currently in Australia and will soon be returning to Scotland for the duration of my masters which starts next September, but I still call New Zealand home. I think I always will.

Gaua volcano in northern Vanuatu is reported to have erupted early today. At the moment there is no official news from Vanuatu itself, but regional news sources (see below) are reporting that gas emissions and ash fall have increased during the past two days and that 300 residents of the eastern half of Gaua island are being evacuated by the Vanuatu Government and the Red Cross to the west of the island.

Efline Garaebiti, head of the Vanuatu Government disaster monitoring team, is reported by Australian news sources as saying that it is ‘unlikely’ that Gaua volcano ‘will erupt completely’, which suggests that this is an increase in the ongoing emissions of gas and ash rather than a full-scale eruption. Strong winds in recent days may also have increased the effects of the emissions on the local population.

The Vanuatu Geohazards Observatory website has no report as yet on the current situation, and the alert level for Gaua remains at level 2, ‘minor eruption’.

For all our coverage of Gaua: Gaua « The Volcanism Blog.

News
Vanuatu volcano forces hundreds to evacuate – Australia Network News, 26 November 2009
Pacific volcano erupts, leading to evacuation of hundreds – New Straits Times, 26 November 2009
Volcano erupts in Vanuatu: Red Cross – Sydney Morning Herald, 26 November 2009
300 evacuated from villages in Vanuatu due to gas and ash from volcano – Radio New Zealand International, 26 November 2009

Information
Global Volcanism Program: Gaua – summary information for Gaua (0507-02=)
Vanuatu volcanoes and volcanics – information from the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory

Rear Adm. Ned Deets

Rear Adm. Ned Deets speaks with Frank Chebatar, president of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, at the conclusion of the base consolidation ceremony. The two bases consolidated to form Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, Fort Story.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Billed as a companion to Band of Brothers, Pacific takes place during the events of Band.. and follows a group of US Marines whilst War rages in the East. Spielberg and Tom Hanks are back on board, so expect this HBO produced series to be EPIC.

The miniseries will air in the states in March next year and the UK TV rights have been purchased by Sky for a spring 2010 release.

For a long time I had a problem with the terms “macro” & “micro.”

Especially in Economics. Not among my favorite subjects back in college hehe.

In photography, it’s far easier to understand them. That’s simply because the terms “macro” and “micro” are loosely used interchangeably and refer to the same thing: taking extreme close up photos of tiny subjects – tiny objects, insects, bugs or butterflies – using a dedicated true macro lens.

Nowadays, it’s common for most cameras to be able to get close up shots of small subjects. And, as a marketing ploy, camera manufacturers write “macro” in their lenses which can take close up photos.

And therein lies the confusion. For there is such a thing as  “true” and “real” macro lenses. True macro lenses allow one to take photos on a 1:1 ratio and even larger (note that you can fit and shoot the whole San Juanico Bridge and the head of a dragonfly in your camera sensor but the bridge would be extremely compressed while that of the dragonfly would be magnified).

Photos taken by true macro lenses, by design and manufacture, are very much sharper and show the tiniest details of the subject (e.g. cell patterns of the eyes of a bee or dragonfly) compared to those taken by normal lenses.

I do not have a true macro lens (yet! paging Santa!) but some of my lenses allow me to get close, real close up shots

• All photos taken using a Canon EF-S 10-22mm ultrawide(!) lens fitted with an ED-Digital Wide Converter with Macro 0.5X 77mm.

• Taken at the soon-to-open Paru-parong Bukid Conservation Center in Brgy. Lukay, Babatngon, Leyte. Special thanks to Doc Gil & Helly Asoy!

• View the full gallery and slideshow: http://gerryruiz.callezaragosa.com/p414744370

• Update: Additional photos at http://gerryruiz.callezaragosa.com/p795199861

Darayonan Lodge

Darayonan is a Cuyonon word that means a place to stay. The lodge is situated in a residential part of Coron town, strategically located along the National Highway. Darayonan Lodge aims to provide its guests with clean and comfortable rooms, good food and quality service. Aside from that, one has options on choosing the rooms to stay at: in the native bamboo, sawali and banig set-up or in the modern concrete and tile two-story building.

Darayonan Lodge is an accredited tourist inn by the Philippine Department of Tourism. It has played host to a number of VIP’s and celebrities, the most notable of whom are Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and then U.S. Ambassador Francis Ricciardone.  In fact, Congressman Baham Mitra was amongst the guests of the lodge during our stay from October 21-24, 2009.

What is striking about this place aside from its homey atmosphere is the owner’s love for the arts. It definitely is a reflection of the owner’s strive in achieving perfection in everything. From the lodge’s interior decorations to the food being served for each meal. He personally goes over every little details right before being served or handed over to the guests. We stayed here for 4 days and 3 nights; and it was a part of the overwhelming positive experiences that I have had during my stay in Coron, Palawan.

The place is clean all the time! They see to it that the rooms and private comfort rooms get cleaned everyday during your stay. They also make sure that the entire lodge is spic and span all throughout the day. I have never seen any litter at all in my entire stay.

The facilities in this lodge pass the normal standards of travellers: hot and cold shower, all air-conditioned rooms, centralized water system. It’s like you never left home at all. I’ve had a comfortable stay at this lodge.

It’s also probably the only lodge that includes breakfast for two along with the daily room charge. And what’s more, drinking water and coffee is unlimited, no extra charge. I should say that staying at Darayonan is really a value for your money.

Darayonan Lodge has facilities and amenities as follows:

Cafe which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner

Choice of fan or air-conditioned rooms

Queen-sized beds, single-sized beds plus two extra beds if necessary

21″  colored television sets on all their rooms

Refrigerator/Mini Bar

Closets

Writing desk cum dresser with mirror

Bigger rooms with higher ceiling

Bigger bathroom

Veranda

Darayonan Lodge not only offers bed and breakfast for travelers. In fact, they also  arrange tours/trips for you so you’d have a grand vacation for you or your family or even with your friends.  They have enticing packages which includes everything (accommodations/rooms, land transfers from and to Busuanga, food and tours) and you won’t have to worry a single thing about your vacation. Every single detail of your vacation will be taken cared of  at rates that would suit your budget. Group or barkada packages also await travelers who  wish to visit Coron in groups or together with their families and loved ones. Darayonan Lodge does not have a website at this point in time. So if you like to get price quotes for your stay with them, you may get in touch with the owners through these contact numbers:

Chin Fernandez owner of Darayonan Lodge

Location:  132 National Highway, Barangay Poblacion 1, Coron, Palawan

Cellphone: +639178811151

Landline: +6327443209

Email: dipulao@gmail.com

San Francisco was still hibernating through a long cold night I had just left my hotel on Market Street and was wandering half asleep following lines in the cold concrete occasionally looking up at darkened windows and closed doors my hands were planted deeply in my pockets so I probably walked a little robotically the icy wind blew in off the Pacific and the tall buildings downtown accelerated it like a luge I cheered the occasional piece of paper racing along and wished I had an alpine bell to ring in encouragement it was sunrise on a Saturday morning and as the sole representative of our species in the vicinity I took a moment to thank the air the buildings the streets the lights basically everything I could see for making San Francisco what it is I was disappointed though by the lack of coffee houses in other cities you can’t extend your arm without touching one but here in San Francisco they must have an unusually healthy respect for sleep it’s highly likely that all I needed to do was walk knight to king’s bishop three and some wonderfully grotty all-nighter would have greeted me with stained doors flung open and a chipped mug already filled I heard a streetcar in the distance and then was gratified to see another member of our species sleepily stumbling her way through the cold dawn this meant there was the potential for something to be open early nearby I just hoped it wouldn’t be an electronics retailer or a Fisherman’s Wharf tourist junk emporium I walked a block in the same direction south I think and saw an open door on a side street it was a little hole in the wall vendor that sold pastries some were recognizable but most were unusual Asian varieties they were really weird and fascinating and I asked the vendor what they were she had a difficult time explaining so we mainly just smiled at each other I ordered the largest hottest coffee available she served it to me in a big styrofoam cup with a complicated plastic lid that my frozen hands broke almost immediately I spent the next glorious half hour standing on a variety of street corners warming my hands on the cup blowing steam off the coffee and taking gulps just big enough to warm my luxurious interior without scalding my mouth

Here are our additional photos taken during our Coron Island hopping. Enjoy!

]]> http://congdongzhixi.wordpress.com/2009/11/21/obamarama-in-asia/ Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:46:38 +0000 congdongzhixi http://congdongzhixi.wordpress.com/2009/11/21/obamarama-in-asia/ http://newzealandforeignpolicy.wordpress.com/2009/11/20/nz-sends-more-troops-to-the-solomon-islands/ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:52:45 +0000 newzealandforeignpolicy http://newzealandforeignpolicy.wordpress.com/2009/11/20/nz-sends-more-troops-to-the-solomon-islands/

The New Zealand defence force has just announced that it will be sending another 43 troops to the Solomon’s.

The extra troops mainly drawn from New Zealand’s territorial forces will help stabilise the volatile country by carrying out patrols and guarding a prison.

See more about this on scoop and to find out more about the situation in the Solomon Islands heres the Wikipedia page on the Solomons

For the reviews click here.

]]> http://captainzissou.wordpress.com/2009/11/20/headphone-magic/ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:05:00 +0000 captainzissou http://captainzissou.wordpress.com/2009/11/20/headphone-magic/

Stimulate your ear drums with these fine tracks my friends:

*Highly Recommend

ENJOY