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Tour Diary: Hitting SXSW with Campbell Burns and Newcastle's Vacations
Hi, hello.
My name is Campbell Burns and I'm based in Newcastle, NSW. I lead Vacations, a music project I started about two years ago. I sent out an application to perform at SXSW towards the end of 2017, about two weeks before the closing date, completely on a whim. About a week later I woke up to an email saying that I had been accepted. I ran out of the house screaming and telling my housemate-at-the-time, Jon.
In the lead up to SXSW it became clear that I was going to be flying over without my band. Money was an issue, VISAs were a hassle, and the timing wasn't right for everyone. Despite this, I was still adamant to go. Being accepted made me feel like I was running in the Olympics. There was so much excitement and buzz and I didn't want to let anyone down.
Thanks to the internet, I was able to organise a backing band from Chicago. I followed a solo project called Warik on Soundcloud/Instagram for about a year and we'd exchange ideas and demos back and forth. I explained the situation to him with SXSW and Malik (Warik) was able to round up some friends (Chris/Jack) who were keen to come along.
Flying to the other side of the world by myself, to meet up with some people who I've never met, and who we're going to be my guides and band mates for one of the largest showcases in the world was probably one the most daunting prospects of my life.
The first rehearsal we did in Chicago washed away every single worry I had. I didn't even send any tabs/videos to help them and yet they could play every single song flawlessly, and each with their own individual flair and technique.
After our brief time in Chicago was over we drove 18 hours straight to Austin, Texas.
We arrived at 2am and slept in a Walmart parking lot*, the next day was SXSW.
*(don't worry, we had a hotel booked for the week)
Our first showcase was a house party organised by Melted Magazine, from Washington, D.C. Playing at a low-key DIY space was definitely the best way to ease into SXSW. It gave us a chance to unwind after the long drive. We passed the time mingling with the locals, and getting to know the other bands and artists, while we drank cheap beer and eagerly waited to play our first set.
Josh Andrews from Human Sound Records, my US record label, making friends.
My first set overseas is a moment I'm never going to forget. The room was completely packed out with people dancing, singing along, and taking photos/videos. The atmosphere was incredible and it set the tone for the rest of the week, morale was high.
Al Smith from Melted Magazine.
Jack, Malik, myself, and Chris.
MARCH 13th/14th
We were back-to-back with two showcases, one offical and one unofficial. 720 Club at 10pm and then Hotel Vegas at 1am. We were in good spirits from yesterday and excited to play downtown with the city starting to go into full swing.
One of my favourite shows. 720 Club reached capacity and just like the house party, the crowd had the same energy and enthusiasm, all singing, all dancing. Shortly after our set, a lot of people came up to me afterwards to talk and it was extremely an reassuring/rewarding feeling.
After the first song I was so stoked that I asked everyone to pose for a group photo, I also spelt out my email address to the crowd after seeing a lot of phones and cameras in the air.
We played to a strong and enthusiastic crowd at Hotel Vegas and we were only getting better as a band. This showcase was fun and bit more relaxed than 720 Club, a nice touch was being outdoors on a big stage. I think we got home around 3am and proceeded to crash and recover
We played Australia House that morning and I was relieved to be greeted with an endless supply of Tim Tams, flat whites, and over-the-top Aussie accents. I was in my element.
The crowd was small that morning and more industry focused than what we were starting to get used to, it was a nice change of pace being challenged in that way.
Afterwards, we were able to cure our hangovers with a free cocktail and some sangas. We had a lot of time to kill that day so we spent it in downtown to catch up with what was happening around SXSW.
Our final showcase, Love Goat, was another highlight and a great send off. The room was full of people, many of them who came out just to see us. Easily one of the most enthusiastic crowds I've ever performed and the first crowd we played to in the US that cheered for an encore.
Photo by Pat O'Hara
The realisation that SXSW was over for all of us started to settle in. The gang all got together and spoke about the ups and downs and how we bonded so well in such a short space of time. It was an incredible experience and one I'll hold close to my heart, I can't thank my band mates and good friends Malik, Chris, and Jack enough for putting in so much effort and helping SXSW become achievable.
I ended up sleeping for almost the entire 16 hour flight, when I arrived back in Australia at 7:30am I got ready to play a show with FRITZ at Oxford Art Factory at midday, the same day.
I was very tired.
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Stay up to date with Vacations, here!
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The Road to SXSW 2018: Vacations
Tour Diary: Jaguar Jonze takes us on her Australian tour and Like A…
Photo Gallery: The Vaccines + Vacations - Croxton Bandroom, Melbourne (03.01.19)
Guest Playlist: Vacations share the inspiration behind their new album…
Tour Diary: The Pinheads take us behind the scenes of their SXSW adventure
Tags: AU at SXSW, Featured, SXSW, Vacations


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Home Bike News Okinawa Oki100 electric motorcycle to launch in Q4 2020
Okinawa Oki100 electric motorcycle to launch in Q4 2020
Nithyanandh Karuppaswamy
Okinawa claims that the motorcycle will be a 100% localized product, except for its battery cells
Okinawa Autotech, one of the prominent electric scooter manufacturer in the country, is gearing up to enter launch its maiden electric motorcycle later this year. The company has announced that the Okinawa Oki100 electric motorcycle which was showcased at the Auto Expo 2018 as a prototype will go on sale in India in Q3 FY20-21 (in the last quarter of 2020).
Though the company says the Oki100 will be 100% made in India, it also says the battery cells will be imported. The 100 in the name denotes the electric motorcycle's top speed in kmph. The EV will be equipped with lithium-ion based battery pack but the final specification has not been revealed yet.
The final production version is said to be different from the prototype in terms of power and technology but the claimed range is expected to be same at 150 km. The 2018 prototype was supported by a 72V 63 Ah swappable battery pack that can be charged in two hours using a fast charger. The power output of the electric motor was a meager 3.3 hp but the final version is expected to offer more.
Okinawa says that the prototype has received widespread positive feedback for its aesthetics. With trellis frame and small wheels, the Oki100 looks like a funny bike version of the Ducati Monster. The source of inspiration is indisputable. We hope Okinawa will revise the tailpiece to include a usable pillion seat.
The Okinawa Oki100 is equipped with conventional telescopic front fork and rear monoshock suspension. The electric motorcycle is equipped with front and rear disc brakes. We expect Okinawa to offer single-channel ABS as standard equipment. The alloy wheels look a size too small for the motorcycle.
Like most premium electric vehicle offerings in the market, the Oki100 will come with fully digital instrument cluster, LED headlamp and taillight, smartphone app and connectivity features (probably using an on-board SIM card). The feature list would be at par with its competition.
Speaking of competition, the Okinawa Oki100 will be pitted against the Revolt RV400 which is already on sale and the Tork T6X which is set to be launched soon. The near 100% localization is expected to keep the pricing competitive. We expect the price tag to be in the vicinity of INR 1 lakh (ex-showroom). The motorcycle will be manufactured at the company's Rajasthan plant. This year is expected to witness several electric scooters and motorcycles to enter the market at regular intervals.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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AirAsia ready for klia2
AirAsia Bhd is prepared for its impending shift to the new low-cost airport, klia2, says Chief Executive Officer Aireen Omar.
She said the low-cost airline was set and was awaiting the nod from Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd to occupy the new airport, which was slated to start operations in May.
Since the commencement of the new airport's infrastructure development, the airline has been gearing itself to move in all areas inclusive of operations, logistics and ground handling.
Aireen said AirAsia, which would be the biggest tenant at klia2, was closely monitoring developments at the airport.
"We have an operational team to monitor developments. I am also in the team and we meet quite often to discuss issues pertaining to the new airport.
"However, we will always make sure that every aspect in klia2 such as the runway and other facilities will be suitable for a low-cost business module. For that, we will have continuous engagement with the airport operator (Malaysia Airports)," Aireen told Bernama.
She also said the current low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) has reached its maximum capacity of 15 million passengers per annum.
"Malaysia AirAsia even carried 20 million passengers this year. The LCCT will not offer us and guests the right environment in coming times," she added.
The RM3.6 billion klia2, built to cater for the explosive growth expected in low-cost travel, is sprawled over 257,000 square metres and is envisaged to handle a maximum of 45 million passenger a year.
The airport will have 60 gates, eight remote stands, 80 aerobridges, plus a retail space of 32,000 square metres to accommodate 225 retail outlets. – Bernama
Source: www.btimes.com.my
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Mariners give Ichiro his wish
Beyond Golf — 24 July 2012 by Jim Street
A phone call the Mariners received shortly after the All-Star break seemed to come out of left field. . er, better make that right field.
At the other end of the connection was Tony Attanasio, the agent who represents right fielder Ichiro Suzuki.
The message: "Ichiro wants you to consider trading him."
We'll probably never know if club executives gulped and said, "Oh no!" Or whether they exhaled and said, "Oh yes!"
Regardless, the process of trading Ichiro to a contender began immediately and a deal was consummated Monday afternoon when the Mariners sent him to the Yankees for two minor league pitchers.
The deal also removed a potential super-sized headache for the Mariners down the road.
Let's face it. The only way the 38-year-old Ichiro could be traded had to be on his terms. If he had said he wanted to stay with the Mariners until death do them part, believe me it would have happened. My guess is that there are about as many fans who wanted this to be Ichiro's final season with Seattle as there are that want him to finish his career here several years from now.
But for him to make the decision to move on couldn't have worked out any better for the (still) rebuilding franchise. It was obvious to everyone, even Ichiro, that the playoffs are a long way off — perhaps four, five or more years.
He is making (not earning) $18 million in the final year of his contract with the Mariners. There has been talk of bringing him back next season and rumors that he could land another multi-year deal, but for considerably less than $18 million per season.
But even half that would, in my opinion, be way too much.
This sudden turn of events will give general manager Jack Zduriencik more financial room to improve a team that is heavy on youth, strong on pitching, and woefully short on offense. The players Seattle received won't help score runs, but it does remove any future debates on whether or not to keep Ichiro for one, two, or three more seasons.
Even so, there were sad eyes at the podium on Monday afternoon in the Safeco Field interview room when the trade was discussed by CEO Howard Lincoln, club president Chuck Armstrong and Ichiro, whose comments were translated by his former interpreter Ken Barron.
Ichiro spoke at length in Japanese (longer than the English version at least) before Monday night's game.
"When I imagine taking off my Mariner uniform I'm overcome with sadness," Ichiro said through Barron. "It's made this a very difficult day."
Well, at least until he looked at the AL standings.
"I'm going from a team having the most losses to a team with the most wins," he said. "It's hard to contain my excitement in that regard."
The Mariners did the right thing by trading the "me-first, team-second" Ichiro. Sure, he had a lot of hits, scored a lot of runs, and set a lot of records. But, for the most part, he was never comfortable with the idea of being a team leader, something the club has desperately needed the past two seasons, especially.
As usual, club executives took the high road.
"As we moved forward with this thing, for us, you have to look at what this player has meant to the Seattle Mariners and this city, this franchise and where he's at in his career," Zduriencik said. "So you just had to do the right thing. And for the player, this is the right thing to do."
As usual, Ichiro made light of a question tossed his way. Not from a reporter, but from former Mariners second baseman Harold Reynolds, who now works for the MLB Network.
Harold suggested that the crowded interview room was a harboring of things to come as a Yankee, especially in New York, and was he using this stage for future reference. Ichiro snidely said the question wasn't worth answering.
I guess he could have said, "That's a clown question, bro," a sentence Nationals rookie sensation Bryce Harper recently came up with.
From a sheer numbers standpoint, Ichiro was superb. He was selected to 10 All-Star Games and is the franchise leader in hits, runs scored, triples and at-bats. He won both the American League Most Valuable Player Award and Rookie of the Year Award in 2001.
He broke an 84-year-old MLB record in 2004 with 262 hits and collected at least 200 hits for a record 10 consecutive seasons.
As the team began to lose regularly after the 2003 season, Ichiro often said the fans were his primary incentive and he tipped his cap to them on Monday.
"I would like to express my gratitude to the fans. Thank you for the last 11 1/2 years," he said. "Starting in 2001, whether the team played well or bad, whether I played good or bad, I am overcome with emotion when I think about my times and feelings when that time was spent together with the fans.
"During all those times, the fans were a big foundation for me. When I think about this long period, it is hard for me to concisely express my feelings. When I think about the last 11 1/2 years, about the time and feelings of the last 11 1/2 years, and when I imagine taking off a Mariner uniform, I was overcome with sadness. It has made this a very difficult decision to make."
Entering Monday, Ichiro had a .322 lifetime batting average and has compiled 2,533 (mostly soft) hits in his career.
Sure, there is sadness in Seattle regarding Ichiro's departure. But I feel worse for several of the Japanese reporters who were informed that they, too, would be moving to New York ASAP, perhaps without their families. Most of them have called Seattle home for the past 11 1/2 years, as well.
Jim Street
Jim's 40-year sportswriting career started with the San Jose Mercury-News in 1970 and ended on a full-time basis on October 31, 2010 following a 10-year stint with MLB.com. He grew up in Dorris, Calif., several long drives from the nearest golf course. His first tee shot was a week before being inducted into the Army in 1968. Upon his return from Vietnam, where he was a war correspondent for the 9th Infantry Division, Jim took up golf semi-seriously while working for the Mercury-News and covered numerous tournaments, including the U.S. Open in 1982, when Tom Watson made the shot of his life on the 17th hole at Pebble Beach. Jim also covered several Bing Crosby Pro-Am tournaments, the women's U.S. Open, and other golfing events in the San Francisco area. He has a 17-handicap, made his first and only hole-in-one on March 12, 2018 at Sand Point Country Club in Seattle and witnessed the first round Ken Griffey Jr. ever played – at Arizona State during Spring Training in 1990. Pebble Beach Golf Links, the Kapalua Plantation Course, Pinehurst No. 2, Spyglass Hill, Winged Foot, Torrey Pines, Medinah, Chambers Bay, North Berwick, Gleneagles and Castle Stuart in Scotland, and numerous gems in Hawaii are among the courses he has had the pleasure of playing. Hitting the ball down the middle of the fairway is not a strong part of Jim's game, but he is known (in his own mind) as the best putter not on tour. Most of Jim's writing career was spent covering Major League Baseball, a tenure that started with the Oakland Athletics, who won 101 games in 1971, and ended with the Seattle Mariners, who lost 101 games in 2010. Symmetry is a wonderful thing. He currently lives in Seattle and has an 8-year-old grandson, Andrew, who is the club's current junior champion at his home course (Oakmont CC) in Glendale, Calif.


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European PE Firm CVC Eyes $700m Deals In Middle East, North Africa
Currently, around 25 per cent of the firm's funds come from Asia and the Middle East.
European private equity firm CVC Capital Partners is looking for deals in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) with a price tag around $700 million, its co-chairman said on Tuesday.
However, Steve Koltes declined to comment on a potential joint bid with peer KKR & Co for a majority stake in Kuwait Food Co, better known as Americana.
"Americana benefits from a lot of trends you see in the region — growth of the young population and, unfortunately, eating habits that are changing for the worse," Koltes told reporters on the sidelines of an investment conference in Dubai.
Having shown limited interest in the region's private equity space, Western firms are becoming more involved in MENA dealmaking as activity picks up after a fallow period in the wake of the global financial crisis and the number of companies of a size that would draw in international players grows.
U.S. firm Blackstone Group made its first investment as part of a group which took a minority stake in United Arab Emirates-based GEMS Education, it was announced last week, while rival TPG Capital is close to its maiden transaction, in partnership with Abraaj, for Saudi fast food chain Kudu.
A target deal size of around $700 million means that opportunities for CVC to invest have so far been limited, according to Koltes.
"We have looked at a few (assets) in the region and we'll continue to do so," he said, adding the consumer sector and parts of the economy further from government influence were most attractive to the firm.
"(The) Emirates is one thing but … Egypt, Morocco are places with very good demographics and prospects, which just need more stability and more wealth."
While it may not have been an active dealmaker in the MENA region, CVC has raised a lot of cash from local investors to be deployed elsewhere, with around 25 per cent of its funds now coming from Asia and the Middle East.
"We have had a very loyal following from very big investors in the region for a very long time and that continues. They have assets and no liabilities, unlike U.S. pension funds, so it's a very interesting market for us to raise money from," he said.
CVC has total worldwide assets under management worth $70 billion.
Aarti Nagraj October 22, 2014


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Find Saatva Classic Vs Dreamcloud Premier 2023
The Saatva Mattress, also called the Classic, combines 2 layers of coils, two layers of polyfoam…Saatva Classic Vs Dreamcloud Premier…and a thin layer of memory foam. The comes in 3 firmness alternatives, which it calls Plush Soft, High-end Company, and Company. These choices correspond to soft (3 on the 10-point firmness scale where 10 is firmest), medium company (6 ), and firm (8) respectively.
today i'm going to tell you everything you ought to know about the timeless mattress it's called a high-end only with an affordable price so what makes this so special we're going to put it through a number of tests in our nerd sleep lab we're going to dive deep into the building and construction and most of all we're going to help you decide if this is the right for you however first for our list of our top nerdy picks on es go to nerd.com there you'll discover reviews of es bed linen and accessories you'll even get unique offers on our site as well as in the description listed below and if you hang out till completion of the video i'm going to do lots of frequently asked questions about the timeless and we'll even compare it to the competitors so let's get going so first you must understand that this originates from a business which started in 2011. it right away set itself apart in the online market by providing your and setting it up for free for you it's white glove
delivery service's best selling by far is the classic and you'll see that it has this relaxing foam layer on top and a double coil system underneath now also offers 3 other luxury es you have actually got your satsa hd solaire and your latex hybrid but today we're going to focus squarely on the traditional and just what makes it so glamorous let's dive into the building and discover why so let's speak about construction building is the very best sign of how long a will last as well as how it will feel so let's have a deep look at the traditional now first of all you're going to see this is a breathable natural cotton cover on the top and then you enter into your first main convenience layer it's not just this organic cotton cover but you have a mix of polyfoam and memory foam inside so you have a little cushioning on the top and then you're going to get down to this part here it's gosh it's a truly thick foam encasement which's going to go all the way around the criterion of the for edge support we're going to talk more on that later on now inside here you have a transitional layer of these individually wrapped coils about 884 to be precise and oh you can't even see this in the
middle of the bed there is a spinal assistance layer that your you can't even see there is a lot to this and then you would decrease much deeper hi here's your base here's your resilient inner springs these actually large strong coils which's going to be the foundation for the whole bed so this is a really resilient so what does all of this mean for you to start with you have great deals of choices here this comes in two heights you're going to get 11 and a half inches here or you can go thicker you can go to up to about 14 and a half inches high and you're going to begin with your pillow top this is your convenience layer on top it's going to have lots of cushioning in fact we at geek discover that this pillow top has above average cushioning so it belongs to our best pillow top es roundup now as we go deeper into this we're going to keep in mind that you're going to have three firmness choices with this pillow top that's going to affect simply how firm the is as we go lower and we get to these separately wrapped coils these are going to react to your body they're going to contour and truly shape to the body and support you and considering that this bed has great deals of bounce great for mix sleepers great for airflow and breathability and now as we get to the bottom the base coils this is your sturdiness once again this is a really strong we would state this is going to last you at least 10 years so that's an excellent investment firmness and feel are both major considerations when buying a now as to firmness the classic is available in 3 firmness levels first you have a plush soft then you have a luxury company and after that you have a firm now we at nerd we rank es from 1 to 10 with 10 being the firmest so for the high-end soft we offer it a 3 out of 10. so that's a soft for the luxury company we're right in the middle at about a six point 5 out of ten and then for the company we're up at eight out of ten so likewise remember the way this is crafted it's going to feel firmer to light weight people and it's gon na feel softer to heavier weight people Saatva Classic Vs Dreamcloud Premier
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keep your hips in alignment with your with your shoulders you do not want the hips to bail out and your spinal column to come out of positioning so for you typical and light-weight weight folks out there you can absolutely opt for the high-end firm version and for the plus size sleepers you're going to wish to go up a notch to the firm variation but you're going to get plenty of assistance with this mattress at mattress nerd we like a good science-backed test so we use a pressure relief map to show where the pressure points are for the 3 main sleeping positions your rear end and stomach now what we're searching for all blue and green that signals an even pressure distribution when we get into seeing yellow and red that signals high pressure which might
The is likewise available in 2 height options: 11.5 inches and 14.5 inches. While the 11.5-inch variation falls in the typical thickness variety, the 14.5-inch alternative is prominent, so it may require deeper sheets.
This review will go over the Mattress in-depth. We'll cover its building and construction, efficiency, sizing, pricing, client reviews, and company policies. We'll also highlight how the various versions of the mattress vary in efficiency and who each might be best for.
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Report from the YEP expedition to Antarctica
Written by Roswitha Stolz
My name is Henry Stanislaw and I am from the USA. Together with Maria Puig Ribas from Spain, Nora Hasselbach and Vincent Butty from Switzerland, Alexandra Le Dily from France and Carlien Wolmarans from South Africa, I joined the Young Explorer Program within Mike Horn's PANGAEA Expedition.
This program is created to introduce young adults to exploration, but also to scientific working and learning about the environmental conditions and threats. The first trip in this program took us to Antarctica. Mike is starting his expedition here, where he will walk alone from the Peninsula to the South Pole and back.
For all of us this is the first contact with a polar environment. We started in Ushuaia / Tierra del Fuego, South Argentina. Ushuaia is the most southerly city in the world and known as the "world's end". It is located at the famous Beagle Channel which stretches east-west across the southern tip of South America and is separating Tierra del Fuego from the continent. The PANGAEA yacht (a 100ft ketch) had already arrived when we got to Ushuaia. She came the long way from New York down to Ushuaia.
After storing all provisions and technical checks, we started our trip and left Ushuaia at about 8 pm, sailing down the Beagle Channel in perfect conditions. In the early morning we passed Cape Horn in the distance, we had reached the well known Drake Passage. The wind gods stayed with us and we sailed with a north westerly wind of 20 – 30kt southward. During the second night at sea we had snowfall. The deck was covered in snow and we got a new crew member:
After two and a half days we could see Trinity Island, our first destination (63°55'S, 60°58'W; Mikkelson Harbour, southern end of Trinity Island). The sea became oily and patches of grease ice developed. Everybody kept watch for the first iceberg. When we had Trinity Island in our vicinity, we had a look at our first big one. Sailing into Mikkelson Harbour was spectacular, we were surrounded by big Icebergs, glaciers and in the middle a small island with an old Argentine shelter and a large colony of Gentoo Penguins.
Mikkelson Harbour is a sheltered place, only exposed to the south. But as many of the Antarctic bays, it is deep and the ground is shingle, so finding a good spot to anchor is not easy. While looking for a good anchorage, something unpredictable and scary happened: We ran aground! The ocean floor showed a sudden rise from more than 50m to below 2m. We tried hard to get the boat off the bank, unfortunately the tide was going out! The only possibility we had was to lighten the boat and wait for the next high tide the next day.
While the crew was exploring for a deep channel, we went ashore to the penguin colony, well briefed about proper behaviour around wildlife. It was fascinating how close we could come to the penguins without threatening them. We also took the time to explore the abandoned building.
The old Argentinean shelter is a mess. Parts of the roof have collapsed, the door is broken and the penguins just walk in and out.
However, there is still some food in and of course the Argentinean flag. Originally it was planned to clean up the place and to do some repairs. But this would take weeks. The old antenna, old barrels and other garbage are still buried under snow and ice, for it is too early in the year. The next day, we planned to embark on a two-day crossing of the island including a night on the ice. Unfortunately, an incoming storm with gusts up to 45kt and intense snowfall stopped our plans. So we just had another visit to the "penguin island". During the night the storm diminished and the next day was just gorgeous.
We set sail and went to Orleans Strait. Here we conducted our first Plankton sampling. (Position: 63°55.3' S, 60°36.8' W). We also took a temperature and salinity profile down to 100 m, tested the visibility using a Secchi-disc and took Plankton samples from 10m, 30m, 50m and 100m depth, storing them in the fridge to have later a look.
After some hours, we reached Lancaster Bay on the Antarctic Peninsula – the real continent! The scenery was breathtaking, all that we could see were calving glaciers, high mountains, deep blue and turquoise ice bergs. However, the ice closed in and we had to leave.
Turning north, we found a safe anchorage at the southern end of Charcot Bay and here we finally could go on the ice. We hurried to get out crampons, ice axes and the other gear ready and went ashore. We climbed a small, but quite steep mountain at position 63°46.35' S and 59°47.44' W. Since it has no charted name and probably has not been climbed before, we named it Pangaea Horn.
The view was fantastic: we could see along the coast, over to Trinity Island and below the giant yacht PANGAEA looked very small tucked about the mighty icebergs. At an area sheltered from the wind on the summit, we conducted our first snow measurement.
At a suitable place near the summit of "Pangaea Horn", Roswitha Stolz showed us how to conduct snow measurements. She is from the Geographical Department of Munich University and was the scientific and educational advisor during our trip.
We dug a 170 cm deep snow pit, down to the last summer's snow layer, which was indicated by a very hard ice layer. We checked for different layers, the snow structure of each layer and the snow-water equivalent.
Heading down the mountain we had a short break aboard and turned around to spend a night on the Peninsula at the northern end of Charcot Bay. We climbed up in the evening on to a ridge and set up a tent. It was amazing.
Most impressive is that there is now human created sound, no airplanes, traffic, nothing. Only crashing ice echoed through the quiet. The only lights were our headlamps and PANGAEA's mooring lights, far below us. Mike and Erwan prepared us some food on a stove, it is amazing how good 2-minute noodles can taste. The night was cold, but in our sleeping bags surrounded by people, it was quite comfortable.
The next morning we headed down. More strong winds were predicted and it was time to find more protected anchorage. The next destination was Deception Island (63°00' S, 61°20' W). We could not figure out why it is called Deception. Does anybody know? It was a rough passage with wind from the N-NW. About 10 miles ahead of the island we saw a whale! We are not sure what kind it was. Some said they spotted a big fin – so it would have been an Orca, some said that it looked more like a Minke Whale. In the rough sea it was hard to get a good look and decide.
The entrance to Deception is like none other, huge black and red cliffs, which drop to the sea, leaving only a narrow entrance.
We anchored in Whaler's Bay and had a first stroll over the permafrost beach. It was quite misty and cloudy, which set an eldritch tone over the abandoned whaling station and British meteorological station. The whaling station was abandoned in the 1930s but the British stayed on until after two volcanic eruptions at the end of the 1960s sent a colossal mudslide down and destroyed many of the remaining buildings.
As we continued down the shore, we were told that there was still volcanic activity on the island. Testing what we were told, Erwan, one of our mountain guides, dug a hole and had a bath in the up to 48°C warm water. The air temperature was around 0°C!
During the night the storm with strong westerly winds caught up with us, and we sailed over to Fumerole Bay to find more shelter. It was a rough night. The anchor dragged and the crew was up all night while we slept. The next day, the storm burned off and left us with beautiful blue skies. In the morning we took more plankton samples and analysed them under the microscope. The phytoplankton, which is in bloom, proved the most prominent. The foam rimming the beach also showed this.
Afterward we went back over to Whaler's Bay. Where we dug two big holes so everybody could enjoy the thermal baths.
As we took turns, some strolled along the beach and observed Skuas having a bath in a pond (just as we had), Cape Petrels, Giant Petrels feasting on a seal carcass, Gentoo Penguins, a lonely Chinstrap Penguin, and a Weddell Seal with a newborn.
With all this life, we also experienced the other side of nature. We came across an abandoned, half dead baby seal, which was lying in shallow water and being attacked by two Giant Petrels.
In the afternoon we set sails again and sailed towards King George Island, our last destination. We left the cliffs of Deception Island behind us and headed along Livingston Island and the other islands of the South Shetlands. As we sailed we experienced our last sun set in Antarctica, and it was undoubtedly the most beautiful one any of us had ever seen.
During the night we arrived in Maxwell Bay on King George.
The next day, before we went to the small airstrip, scientists from the Chilean Station Eduardo Frei invited us for a trip to the penguin colonies on Ardley Island. Large colonies of Gentoo and Adelie penguins are breeding on the ice free areas of the island and the scientists are expecting chicks in a couple of weeks. We went slowly along the beach, keeping a good distance to the nests, to avoid any disturbance and got some incredible looks at the nesting birds.
In the afternoon we had to say goodbye to Antarctica. A small twin-engined plane brought us from King George back to Ushuaia. Now we are all home, re-entering into our day-to-day lives, after one of the most incredible trips any of us has ever had. However, this is not the end of our connection with Antarctica. It is now our turn to go out and tell all our communities, friends, and families what we have seen and what we all can do. Our relationship with Antarctica is only beginning.
More in this category: « IPY Peacock Dome A Traverse and Kunlun Station »
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Backgrounder: G7 Summit in Cornwall, UK
Backgrounders - June 14, 2021
By Geopolitical Monitor
A three-day G7 summit was convened on June 11 in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It represented the first in-person meeting of G7 heads-of-government since COVID-19 emerged last year, and the summit was significant for other reasons as well. For one it represented the first high-profile opportunity for President Biden to stem the bleed in trans-Atlantic relations, which had withered for four years under the Trump administration. The summit was also an opportunity roll out the central plank of President Biden's China policy, which stresses group action among like-minded democracies as a way to counter bilateral intimidation by Beijing. Cornwall was billed as a coming out party for a revamped G7, one imbued with a new sense of democratic purpose and new actionable imperatives in hitherto national purviews like tech, climate, and tax regulation.
Did the reality match up to the hype?
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HomeGalleryAsus Zenfone 5Z in Pictures
Asus Zenfone 5Z in Pictures
By The Mobile Indian Network
Asus Zenfone 5Z has been launched today in India as a Flipkart exclusive.
The phone comes in 6GB RAM and 8GB RAM models with 128 GB and 256GB storage respectively. It comes with an expandable memory up to 2TB via micro SD card slot.
The Asus Zenfone 5Z (ZS620KL) will be available exclusively on Flipkart.
The Asus Zenfone 5Z (ZS620KL) has a 6.2-inch full-HD+ (1080×2246 pixels) display with a 19:9 aspect ratio.
The phone comes with 3300 mAh battery with ASUS BoostMaster fast charging and AI charging.
There is a dual rear camera set up of 12 MP and 8 MP sensors in its back. The main 12 MP sensor has Sony IMX363 sensor, f/1.8 aperture, 83-degree field of view, 24mm equivalent focal length, and a Softlight LED flash. The 8-megapixel sensor has 120-degree wide-angle lens, a f/2.2 aperture, and a 12mm equivalent focal length in a 35mm film camera.
For selfies, there is an 8-megapixel resolution, with a f/2.0 aperture, 84-degree field of view, and a 24mm equivalent focal length in a 35mm film camera.
It runs on Android 8.0 (Oreo) with ZenUI 5.0 which is said to be upgradable to Android P.
The Asus Zenfone 5Z offers fingerprint sensor, 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth v5.0, NFC, GPS/ A-GPS, FM radio, USB Type-C, and 3.5mm headphone jack.
It is powered by Qualcomm by Snapdragon 845 processor with Adreno 630 GPU.
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