text:
Sheffield Castle Dykes
In the civil parish of Sheffield.
In the historic county of Yorkshire.
Modern Authority of Sheffield.
1974 county of South Yorkshire.
Medieval County of Yorkshire West Riding.
OS Map Grid Reference: SK30818383
Latitude 53.35049° Longitude -1.53862°
Sheffield Castle Dykes has been described as a Urban Defence although is doubtful that it was such.
There are no visible remains.
Site of Castle Dykes - "A circular entrenchment" ('Castle Dike Field' is mentioned in 1655). Now no remains except slight depression at SK 30818383, which may however be natural. (South Yorkshire SMR)
Recorded in the South Yorkshire SMR as 'Enclosed Settlement of Possible Medieval Date', although a prehistoric date must be more likely.
Links to archaeological and architectural databases, mapping and other online resources
Data > County HER
Maps > Streetmap NLS maps Where's the path Old-Maps
Data/Maps > Magic V. O. B. Geology LiDAR Open Domesday
Air Photos > Bing Maps Google Maps Getmapping ZoomEarth
Photos > CastleFacts Geograph Flickr Panoramio
Sources of information, references and further reading
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 00256/01.
Hunter, J., 1828, South Yorkshire. The History and Topography of the Deanery of Doncaster in the Diocese and County of York Vol. 1 p. 4
Most of the sites or buildings recorded in this web site are NOT open to the public and permission to visit a site must always be sought from the landowner or tenant.
It is an offence to disturb a Scheduled Monument without consent. It is a destruction of everyone's heritage to remove archaeological evidence from ANY site without proper recording and reporting.
Don't use metal detectors on historic sites without authorisation.
The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of Historic England, County Historic Environment Records and other individuals and organisations. It may also contain information licensed under the Open Government Licence. All the sources given should be consulted to identify the original copyright holder and permission obtained from them before use of the information on this site for commercial purposes.
The author and compiler of Gatehouse does not receive any income from the site and funds it himself. The information within this site is provided freely for educational purposes only.
The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.
Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.
The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.
Please help to make this as useful a resource as possible by contacting Gatehouse if you see errors, can add information or have suggestions for improvements in functality and design.
Help is acknowledged.
This record last updated 26/07/2017 09:20:08


SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A Singapore parliamentary committee said on Thursday the government should consider legislation to ensure technology companies rein in online fake news and that those responsible are punished.
The committee, set up to make recommendations on fighting "deliberate online falsehoods", said measures were needed as companies such as Facebook, Google and Twitter "have a policy of generally not acting against" content known to be false.
"I think there is increasing recognition on all sides that there has to be responsibility on the part of tech companies and that governments have to intervene to ensure that responsibility," Law Minister K. Shanmugam, a member of the panel, told reporters.
He said the government's response to the recommendations had to be "urgent and serious".
The ministries of law and of communications said in a statement the government accepted the recommendations in principle and it would work with stakeholders to adopt legislative and non-legislative measures in the next few months.
It did not elaborate on what those measures would involve.
Global tech companies have expressed concern about Singapore's plans to bring in new laws to tackle fake news, saying sufficient rules are already in place.
In an emailed statement on Thursday, Google said it took "the issue of false information seriously" and looked forward continuing to work with the Singapore government to address the issue.
Twitter said it also cared "deeply about the issues of misinformation" and their "potentially harmful effects on the civic and political discourse". It added that it looked forward to the Singapore government's engagement with industry "on the full range of approaches to address these issues".
Singapore's efforts to tackle fake news and the spread of false information online mirror those in various countries amid growing questions about the influence of internet companies and influence of foreign entities in domestic political processes.
Neighboring Malaysia's opposition-led Senate blocked an effort to repeal a law against fake news this month, presenting the first major challenge for the new government of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
Facebook's WhatsApp messaging platform in July published advertisements in key Indian newspapers to tackle the spread of misinformation there, its first such effort to combat a flurry of fake messages that prompted mob lynchings.
As well as tackling tech companies, the Singapore committee's lengthy report also said criminal sanctions should be imposed on "perpetrators" of deliberate online falsehoods.
It added that for such sanctions, there should be a "threshold of serious harm such as election interference, public disorder, and the erosion of trust in public institutions".
Singapore, which has been run by the same political party since its independence from Britain more than 50 years ago, is due to hold elections by early 2021.
Singapore says it is vulnerable to fake news because of its position as a global financial hub, its mixed ethnic and religious population and widespread internet access.
Activists worry that laws aimed at stopping fake news could be used by governments to stifle free speech and target legitimate news outlets that are critical of them.
Another of the committee's recommendations was for media organizations and other industry partners to consider establishing a "fact-checking-coalition" in Singapore, although it said consideration was needed over whether the government should be involved.


Singapore, a first world country, known as the 'little red dot' due to its miniature size in the world map is also a popular tourist spot in Southeast Asia. Regardless the location a tourist visits, they are bound to get confused on which specific hotspots they should visit during the duration of their visit. Therefore, a precise and meticulous planning is usually required to ensure that the trip is smooth-sailing and enjoyable.Tour Connections could be the solution to assist potential tourists into making sure that they have an enjoyable time in Singapore!
Tour Connections Pte Ltd is a Singapore based travel agency offering tourists with attractive rates of tour packages and hotel stays in Singapore. There are also several information provided such as the attractions available in Singapore, the food, culture, various hotels and so much more which a tourist would definitely want to know more about!
We have simplified the information for travellers by categorizing and making it visually appealing. On top of that, planning can be rather tedious and exhausting. The online users can now select the places they want to go, the hotel they prefer to stay in, the basic information required and finally, click on submit to allow the friendly administrators to arrange for their desired itinerary! So easy and simple right?
There is an opportunity whereby the client would use our designs to replace his current website. We believe that it will see an increase of customers as booking via tourconnections.com.sg is made easier, and information is provided in a straightforward approach.
With the growth in the tourism industry, Singapore has been populated with an increasing numbers of places of interest. Thus, having a website which allows easy booking of tours or tours packages is vital in the tourism industry.
Tour Connections aims to provide a web application platform for tourist to book tour packages or tours through its website. It allows user to navigate easily to view various information about Singapore, such as the Hotels available in Singapore, places of attraction and some key basic information about Singapore.
Tour Connection's aim is not to only provide convenience to tourist in booking their trips to Singapore, but to also boost sales in the tourism industry on a long run.
The company we are working with is Swee Hup Engineering Resources Private Limited. Swee Hup is in the air conditioning industry. For example, they provide air conditioning to Changi Airport extension and SMRT's bomb shelter stations. Swee Hup distributes products like Silencers and Isolators to other companies who cooperate with them.
Swee Hup has full line automated manufacturing facilities capable of producing Ducts, Sound Attenuators, Enclosures and Heavy Steel Work Fabrication etc. As a valve and noise vibration control specialist, some of the huge projects they have done includes providing air conditioning to Changi Airport extension, as well as SMRT's bomb shelter stations.
Since its incorporation till now, Swee Hup does not have its own website. As technologies have become so advanced, potential customers have easy access to the internet. Searching for companies to handle their projects nowadays are mostly done through the websites of these companies.
Swee Hup needs a website of its own which will be able to provide their potential customers with the company's information and products specification. By having this website, it will create both a web presence and a better impression of themselves for their customers.
The user will be able to find information about the product he/she wants to know more about using this tool, which extracts and displays details/specifications from the database according to the user's choices.
This automated function records the login time period of registered users in their website, which only the administrators can view these records for their own purposes.
With the website helping to track down the delivery orders of the company, clients will be able to view the status of their orders, without having to enquire through a direct phone call with the company, as they used to do in the past.
The appointment system contains a calendar which can be displayed as per month, per week, per year, depending on the user's preferences. Users can make appointments with the company online and if confirmed, the date slot will be seen as unavailable to other users so as to avoid clashing of meeting dates among different clients.
Available job postings will be shown in the website, allowing potential job seekers to send their resumes directly for reference.
With the successful implementation of this website, this will revolutionize the working environment in the company. The client would not have to make frequent calls to the company just to make small confirmations and enquiries. Communications between clients and employees will also be more effective, since the use of phone calls is instead replaced with simply gaining access into the website to find information. Furthermore, incorrect information passed down to the client as a result of miscommunication during phone calls can also be prevented.
This project enhances student learning experience by building a platform that allow students to post their enquiries anonymously as proposed. Students are able to view questions they have asked and check if their questions are answered. Since the finished product is responsive on any device, the user can access the site with a touch of a device with internet connection.
Aims to highlight a very common problem of not fully understanding a concept during a lecture or tutorial in school. The targeted solution is to provide an engaging learning experience for students by building an online discussion to better student-lecturer interaction and create a more conducive environment for learning.
The project met its requirements of giving students who are unwilling to voice out an engaging learning experience and a platform where people can freely share their thoughts and views without something to refrain them.
The project can also be further improved by adding additional features such as the quiz which is explained in the limitations and a live chat. Furthermore, the project can also be taken a step further where it could be used in all lecture halls across polytechnics and other institutions where it is not limited to only Singapore Polytechnic lectures.
Proqod is a company that aims to create a web platform which assists and guides students in learning coding. It caters to all level of coders from weaker students to students who learn faster. Engage students in an interactive and fun way in learning coding by introducing a competitive learning and reward system. Designing a platform to make everyone start on the same foot, so that the weaker students would not fall behind.
The main feature of our learning platform is the guided hints system, where there will be hints to guide the students along as they learn. Users can choose between 3 levels of guidance: Beginner, Intermediate and Expert.
Our learning platform has other features such as login, add hints/questions/modules, uploading files and videos, downloading resources, deadline and countdown of assignments, checking of current progress, collection of badges, ranking.
Our learning platform is currently developed only for DMIT. We will be expanding it to other courses in SP. It can also be introduced to the public or even other schools to help other students in learning more efficiently.
When we were trying to book a badminton court in school, we took about 10 minutes just to book a court for a first timer as we went through almost all the tabs before entering the booking page. It discouraged us to a point when we almost wanted to book an outside court. We found that it is not user-friendly, misleading tabs and important words are not standing out. Making booking tough and confusing for first timer, therefore we decided to revamp the whole website to attend to this problem so that users will not get discouraged to book the facility in school.
SP Facility booking is made available of a web application version. It allows students to book sports facilities in school. Staff to be able to book both sports and rooms facilities and Admin to be able to manage rooms facilities requests, edit facilities info, create and delete bookings, block time slots which is used for events and stuff, etc. This user friendly and simple to use application makes users being able to book facilities quick and easily.
Easy to use, user friendliness, straight forward will not discourage users especially students to book a sport facilities when they want to play and lead a healthy lifestyle when schooling. Using this it will clear confusion and get user easily to book a facility.
SingHealth, a healthcare group, is looking for an application to allow educators to input their teaching hours online. They would like to improve their management of data to allow an accurate and effective platform for educators to declare their teaching hours. Administrators would also save the hassle of manually tracking the teaching hours of educators. In doing so, we would help save time and provide easy management of data.
Our application is an online tracking system which works on both desktop and mobile. It is a responsive website which can provide optimal viewing experience with easy reading and navigation. When viewed on mobile, it will auto resize to fit the screen. With an online system, it eliminates the current offline system and removes the need for manual work. Ad hoc tasks can be tracked together with their normal teaching programmes. Users can log in to record and view their schedules. They are also able to generate reports of charts based on their records that can be exported. For the backend, admins are able to view all the user's data such as viewing specific user's records and exporting the data. The data will all be recorded into SingHealth's database, allowing easy reference and collation of all the data for the admin. The data can be used to generate charts for more visual and simpler representation of the data.
Our application would allow end users, such as doctors, nurses and lecturers, to have an organised teaching records as they can now add their records easily online rather than on a piece of paper. They will also be to view a breakdown of their total teaching hours by a pie chart which is easier to interpret the data. It can also help to save the time and hassle of collating all their records physically. As for administrators, they will be able to track and view users' teaching records and a breakdown of their teaching hours easily. The data can also be exported as csv/image.
Quest is FYP project under entrepreneurship. A team of 5 students set out to understand the problems faced by tertiary students when they seek for academic help. Since tertiary students are studying in specialised courses, it is very difficult for them to seek quality help for so many specialised modules in their limited circle of social network.
Quest is a Q&A mobile application that connects all the tertiary students in Singapore ranging from University students from both local and private schools to Polytechnics and ITE institutes, on one single interactive platform. It encourages information sharing through a gamified system that focuses on using avatars that represent each campus individual.
Potential opportunities include adding leader boad and Google Cloud Messaging features for the development of the mobile application. Additionally, we can change our Backend from MySQL to Parse.
As for marketing, social media marketing can be enhanced to raise the brand awareness of Quest, then build a small user base and expand it. As more and more users come on board, we see a potential to compile the questions asked and use it for data analytic in the future.
Posh Fleet Services Ltd is a maritime business company that has approached us to create a web based application to help facilitate smoother transactions within the company.
Currently, the process of uploading certificates is very inefficient as the sole admin has to upload the certificates for the Seafarers (ship crewmen) one by one.
The aim of the project is to help Posh Fleet to develop a smooth reliable web application platform, Sea Staff Competency Management System, whereby Seafarers can track and record their certificates. They would be using the web application to monitor the crew men's certificates and achievements.
The Seafarers would also be able to upload their certificates by themselves and the admin only needs to approve the pending upload. This would create a more well-rounded efficient system which improves the experience of both the company and seafarers.
At the same time, our application would be able to notify Seafarers whenever their certificates are about to expire and require renewal. This would make sure that all the Seafarers are equipped with the latest skillset when boarding the ship.
The software that we created for posh fleet can be used on other different companies that require a competency management system for staff. Examples would be like the Singapore Civil Defence Force.
Singhealth needed an online time tracking software as staff at SingHealth were unable to record the hours they spend on lecturing and attending lectures accurately, which would cause significant inconvenience while compiling at the end of the year. Therefore we were tasked to make an online time tracking website so that the staff could just enter the data needed into the website which will then convert the data into a excel file to facilitate the compiling and reduce the trouble for the staff.
Our website has individual pages for the admin and staffs.
The first page of the website is the login page, where SingHealth staff can enter their ID to login to their personal account. The second page is the record page, where the staff can input the details of the course or lesson they will be attending. The third page is the enquiries page, where the staff can send questions that they have encountered to the admin and the admin will reply them as soon as possible. The fourth page is the view record page, where it displays the data already inputted into the database. The fifth page is the schedule page, where the staff can view the upcoming course or lesson that they have to attend.
The first page of the website is the admin login page, where the admins can enter their ID to login into the admin account. The second page is the admin view record, where admin can view the details of staff recorded. The third page is the reply enquiry page, where admin can see incoming emails about problems and enquiries, which he would be able to reply as soon as possible.
This website can be used by teachers in schools, or workers in manufacturing company so that they will be able to track the amount of hours they used in their course of work.
Union Energy is a LPG gas provider to both residential and commercial.
Their current system offers only one way in which their customers have to dial the call centre to place an order for their domestic gas cylinder, accessories or services. The call agent will then create a new order through the system and assign the dispatch order to a driver through iDens system in his walkie talkie.
Union Energy wishes to stay ahead of competitors in terms on technology. With the vision of providing more alternative method to order domestic gas cylinder, it will definitely extend the scope of their target audience and further improve their business performance while at the same time providing their customers with a more efficient ordering experience.
Therefore, the aim of this project is to work on a completely new mobile application that allows their customers to place orders directly to the system without going through the call centre agent.
Online Ordering & Delivery System comprises 3 applications – Customer mobile app, Driver mobile app and Web applications for administrators, call centre agents and finance manager.
Customer mobile app allows customers to order domestic gas cylinder or services. Once the order has been placed, it will automatically create an order and a dispatch order in the system and assign a driver based on the Driver-Postal Matrix to dispatch the order. The driver will then receive the pending dispatch order in their Driver mobile app and fulfils it. The application will also allow the driver to view a daily summary of order that has been dispatched by them.
On the other hand, this system will still be using their traditional way of ordering. Call centre agent web application allows them to create new order on behalf of the customer and manage all orders placed in the system. They will also be alerted if the order has not been acknowledged by the assigned driver within 1 minute.
In addition, admin web application allows administrators to manage the accounts, products, driver information as well as postal code matrix while finance web application allows finance manager to keep track on their daily, monthly and yearly sales.
Overall, this new system will reduce the workload for the call centre agents while improving its efficiency, services and sales.
With the advancement of smart phone technology, venturing into the online marketing will allow Union Energy Corporation to reach out to more potential customers who are still using LPG gas in their household and further improve their service processes and business model.
National University Cancer Institution of Singapore call centre staffs have problems accessing each other's data, they do not have a centralised database to record and store patient enquiries.
This project requires the team to develop a Web Application for National University Cancer Institution of Singapore, a Web App which allows call centre staffs to answer patient enquiries/requests from any location, sharing the same database and also to generate common management reports.
Zathtech Solutions is a self-initiated project aiming to develop a Modular Smart Home Solution, that brings flexibility and automation of common household appliance into the modern age of interconnected devices everywhere, anywhere.
This project is focusing on the 3 main component, by integrating hardware and software. We aim to develop a holistic modular smart home solution with the use of 4 different plugs (2 to be featured on this Final Year Project) to transform conventional Singapore homes in Singapore into a modern age of Smart home.
– Provide customers the ability to define their own meaning of "Smart" home thru interactive programmatically interface, IFTTT.
Our Team has to design and develop a flexible work arrangement job portal for the company. Our Team employs object-oriented analysis and design approach to work on a solution. The proposed functionalities, design of user interface, database design, implementation plans and recommendations are clearly listed in the report to help in understanding the proposed system concept.
The key deliverable for this project shall be a bespoke portal that serves as a one-stop online hub that match job-seekers who search for flexible hours jobs with Employers who support flexible work arrangement. The Individual will be able to apply for jobs through the website and the Employer will be able to post job advertisements and view submitted jobs' application online.
The system will need to facilitate two important actors- namely, User and Administrator. User will be divided into two parts, which are member and non-member. Member will be again divided into two parts, which are Individuals and Employers. A member in our database will be able to post job advertisements or apply for job but a non-registered member will not be able to perform these actions.
Registered members – Individual and employer will be able to perform additional tasks. Individual will be able to apply for jobs and submit their application and in addition to the uploading of resume to their profile, view the status of submitted job applications, give feedbacks and enquires.
Employers will be able to post job advertisements, view submitted job applications. Furthermore they are able to download submitted resume, give feedbacks and do enquiries.
Administrators will be able to delete / edit job posts, delete / suspend / activate accounts and reply to enquires / feedback.
Our potential opportunities are that there is currently no website out in the market that focuses on jobs that allows the flexibility in the work days and hours. Not only that, our website is also a platform for users to learn and better their skills/portfolio. In addition, the government is encouraging more jobs to be flexible; funds are given to companies who practices that. Hence, there is a need for our website to be out in the market.
By having our website, it also serves as a platform for employers who are looking for potential candidates who are interested in working for flexible hours and days.
The potential opportunity for candidates would be that they are able to gain experiences and achieve accomplishments through the jobs/learning platforms provided by our website. All these could be done suiting the needs and availability of the candidates. This makes it easier for the candidates to balance their life.
Usually before the embarkation of FYP, there exists a series of pre-FYP tasks, organized into several workflows. However a part of these workflows involves manual organization of information by the FYP MCs, which is menial daunting and error prone.
Our team has developed a FYP system which organises and provides a central storage for information. It enables students to submit their proposal, their grouping and project selection. All group-formation details such as group members, roles, project rankings is reflected in the system and can be conveniently downloaded as a spreadsheet.
With the improvement of the current system, this solution may be adopted by School.
Our client has difficulty managing the Final Year Project process manually that was derived from the previous work flow routine. Examples include communication between lecturers, students and herself. She also felt that by inputting the information into spreadsheet manually, it will increase the chance of writing in the incorrect information as there are too many groups to handle at one go.
In another sense, having the function to select a certain group of people to send email to at one go would also be very convenient for our client so that she would not have to select the different contacts individually as that will take up a lot of time and might also make mistakes during the process.
In summary, our client's main concern and issue would be the lack of convenience, simplicity and ease of usage for the preparation and execution of a successful Final Year Project module.
Our project aims to address the issues that our client has faced, and provide a solution that would provide a more pleasant experience to the end user. To create a simple, easy-to-use, no hassle web application that makes the whole process for students, lecturers and module coordinator easier.
Our application will give students freedom to start their own project groups, join groups, and approve members. Module Coordinator has additional features such as, email and SMS that will definitely provide easier communication.
Future students of Singapore Polytechnic School of Digital Media and Infocomm Technology and involved lecturers are able to make use of this system to settle their FYP matters quickly without hassle.
OSPICON is a company focused on developing healthcare and homecare products. Its vision is to product good healthcare in value of technology. One of OSPICON's award winning product – The SleepMat is able to record data of the surroundings of the infant on the SleepMat itself. The data is then communicated through supporting smart apps, giving parents real-time situation awareness and alert of the infant's wellbeing.
With the SafeToSleep application on Mobile, Tablet and Web users will be able to monitor their child's vitals and surroundings when their child is on the SleepMat. There are many functions in the mobile application. Some of the functions are viewing their child's breath per minute, room temperature and also viewing the noise level. The web application has similar functions to the mobile application but with more functions like a Diary function where users can upload photos of their child and also entering their height and weight.
OSPICON SleepMat being able to save collected data directly to the Cloud instead of needing to pass through a mobile device before data is able to be stored in the Cloud. It also becomes a platform providing parents their infant's safety through real-time situation awareness. It can further develop into a platform where family members and parents with similar interests can communicate to.
An Attendance Tracking System will be developed for students who are late for lessons in St Hilda's Secondary School which can be easily managed via desktops. The main objectives of this web application is to allow convenience and security for administrators to use web based devices to record latecomers' description and print a receipt for the latecomers' references. This would be less time consuming as it ensures elimination of paperwork which thus helps to reduce time and increase efficiency for St Hilda's Secondary School. At the same time, it is more productive as it helps to resolve the current issue of manually writing latecomers' details on the recycled paper.
The Attendance Tracking System (ATS) that we will be creating will be coded using PHP. It is a responsive website that provides optimal viewing experience with easy navigation and management. The two main roles which will be managing and using our web application include teachers and student councillors but will be granted different permissions to use our web application. Teachers have the privilege and authority to also edit, remove, import and export data whenever necessary while student councillors will only be able to view the latecomers' details through our proposed application. Hence a secured account (username and password) is required in order to access our system safely. One physical item required when managing our system is a barcode scanner for scanning latecomers' Ezlink card.
Basically, when students arrive late in the school, teachers or student councillors can login our web application by entering their respective username and secured password. Once entered, users will be directed to the scan page of our web application. At the scan page, teachers and student councillors are required to use a physical barcode scanner to scan latecomers' Ezlink card. Then, a late coming receipt will appear on the screen and users may choose to print the receipt for the students' reference. The receipt shows a particular student's late coming details such as name, class, register number, number of times being late, detention date and time whenever required to serve and the person who issued the late coming receipt will also be stated. The printed receipt is meant to give to the latecomers for their references.
The additional features of our web application include allowing teachers to edit record, modify record, delete record, retrieve data, import data and export data in Excel format. Teachers are allowed to edit and delete students' late coming details. For instance, modifying the latecomer's detention date and time and deleting the student's late records which have been erroneously keyed in. However, the deleted record is not permanently deleted as it can still be seen by the teachers so as to allow teachers to track back in future. Teachers can also retrieve students' late records by class, date or time. For instance, if teacher wants to retrieve students' late records by class, teacher can just search for a particular class and the particular class late record will appear. If the teacher wants to retrieve students' late records by date, teacher can select the specific start date and end date and the latecomers' record will appear. Also, if the teacher wants to retrieve students' late records by time, teacher can select a specific day and on a specific time and latecomers' record will appear. Hence, teachers get to retrieve data specifically and effectively according to their needs. Teachers also have the privilege to import and export data in excel format from the Retrieve Page. For importing, teacher can browse the particular folder that he or she wants to import from. As for exporting, teacher can save the late coming record into his or her folder in Excel format respectively and conveniently.
In a nutshell, the purpose of our Attendance Tracking System is to help St Hilda's Secondary School automate the process of recording the latecomers' details conveniently. These functionalities implemented also enable latecomers to gain awareness of their late coming habit so that they will not commit the same mistakes frequently. At the same time, through the adoption of our web application, students who are late are able to return back to their respective classes quickly and teachers can analyse the late coming situation easily.
The Attendance Tracking System (ATS) provides convenience for St Hilda's Secondary School and can also help the School to analyze and track the late coming situation productively and effectively in the long run. With the new ATS, students no longer need to queue and wait for their late coming receipt which increases students' learning time. Also, with the new receipt indicating the number of times students have been late, it increases awareness of students' late issues and hence, they will not commit the same mistakes frequently. With the export function available, teachers can analyze the situation easily too.


LOWER MERION, Pa. (CBS) — Several Kobe Bryant memorabilia items have been stolen from Lower Merion High School.
Sean Hughes, the school's principal, said in a letter that the items were stolen from a display case outside the Bryant Gymnasium. The NBA legend attended Lower Merion and won the PIAA Boys Basketball State Championship in 1996.
Hughes said thieves made off with Bryant's framed high school replica jersey, state championship trophy and net, programs from the state and district title games, a proclamation from the Pennsylvania State House honoring the 1996 team, as well as several pairs of signed Nike sneakers.
Hughes says authorities are reviewing surveillance video from inside and outside the school to identify the perpetrators.
Bryant went from high school to the NBA as he was a first round pick of the Charlotte Hornets in the 1996 Draft, before being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. The 18-time All-Star played 20 seasons with the Lakers, and won five NBA championships.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Lower Merion police at 610-649-1000.


text:
Region: Italy
Arrival at Rome Airport
On arrival at Rome International Airport you will be met by our local representative and you will be transferred to the hotel.
Rome, Italy's capital, is a sprawling, cosmopolitan city with nearly 3,000 years of globally influential art, architecture and culture on display. Ancient ruins such as the Forum and the Colosseum evoke the power of the former Roman Empire. Vatican City, headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church, has St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museums, which house masterpieces such as Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel frescoes.
Overnight in Rome.
The best way to discover the city of Rome Hop On - Hop Off Boat Tour. Head off the beaten track with this exciting way of discovering the Eternal City. We invite you to explore the timeless beauty of this city from an unparalleled vantage point: the River Tiber. This beautiful winding current has brought life and breath to the heart of the city since Rome's foundation in 753 B.C. The river, which flows from the shores of Ostia to the belly of Rome, passes alongside a series of breath-taking locations, including Isola Tiberina, Piazza del Popolo, Castel S'Angelo, Vatican City, and many more – not to mention a variety of amazing bridges. On the one hand, navigating the modern Tiber is a splendid way of getting to know those parts of Rome usually overlooked by tourists. Learn all about the history and old customs of the Roman people, or simply relish a romantic experience.
Today travel back in time with a visit to the lost city of Pompeii, and discover the ruins of a once flourishing civilization. Naples-Pompeii. The highlights of the tours include Learn about the history of the city of Pompeii, admire fascinating ancient artefacts. Follow in the footsteps of the ancient Romans. As all history books witness, Pompeii was an important ancient Roman Town whose story was completely marked by the terrible Vesuvius eruption in 79 AD. As a result of the ruins discovery in the 16th century and a lot of excavations, Pompeii is now an essential Italian tourist destination. Nowadays the Pompeii tour gives us the privilege to appreciate some following relevant attractions brought back to life: The remains conserved in the Antiquarium Museum. This building contains several ancient objects as amphora, containers, statues representing divinities, etc. Thus, this Museum constitutes a testimony of the inhabitants' every-day life. The Ancient Teatro Grande and Teatro Piccolo. These very aged theatres increase in a considerable way the historical and artistic heritage offered by Pompeii. The Pompeii forum. All Roman cities were built with the idea to locate forums at the centre; this is due to the conviction that the roman square represented the social life core. As a matter of fact, the forum was the part of the town where markets took place and people met to talk about different topics. Once entered the forum, tourists will be able to admire the Temple of Jupiter. The Stabian Baths. It was a structure very much appreciated by Romans: it was regarded as the place where roman citizens could relax and restore themselves.
Day is free, for you to relax in your hotel or explore other iconic and historical places in Rome and nearby places.
There are a variety of OPTIONAL TOURS that you can choose from & book with us.
Amalfi Coast and Positano Day Trip by High-Speed Train from Rome
The highlights of the tour include Positano & Amalfi Coast. Fall in love with Italy's finest coastlines! Take a break to visit Positano and Amalfi: the most beautiful villages in the south of Italy! Explore the famous Amalfi Coast on this small group full-day excursion from Rome. Come aboard a high-speed train to experience the amazing Amalfi Coast. Sit back, relax and enjoy the views while we take you on a journey to two of our favorite coastal towns - Positano and Amalfi. Once at the train station, you will be taken to Positano, that, thanks to its splendid panoramic position and enchanting town center, is one of the most enchanting villages in the south of Italy.
Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Basilica-Skip the Line
A visit to the Vatican Museums is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Along with Skip-the-Line Access to the Museums and St. Peter's Basilica after the Sistine Chapel, you'll discover the highlights in a relaxing way with less than 20 people and an art historian guide who will give you the Vatican story in just 3 hours. Follow your guide to the highlights of the Vatican Museums, Examine the statues and artworks of the Pinecone Courtyard, Stroll through the wonders in the Gallery of Tapestries, Candelabra and Maps, Admire the Raphael Rooms created for the popes, Soak up Michelangelo's frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, Explore St. Peter's Basilica and take in the marvels under the vaulted dome
Rome / End of trip
Destinations: Rome & Pompeii.
Economy class, Dubai / Rome / Dubai.
4 nights in Rome based on twin sharing basis.
Return airport transfer in Rome on private car.
City tour in Rome-Isola Tiberina, Piazza del Popolo, Castel S'Angelo & Vatican City on seat in coach.
Excursion in Pompeii on seat in coach.
Italy-a European country with a long Mediterranean coastline, has left a powerful mark on Western culture and cuisine. Its capital, Rome, is home to the Vatican as well as landmark art and ancient ruins. Other major cities include Florence, with Renaissance masterpieces such as Michelangelo's "David" and Brunelleschi's Duomo; Venice, the city of canals; and Milan, Italy's fashion capital.
Entry and Exit formalities: Visitors must hold a passport valid for at least six months & beyond at the time of entering the country. Some nationalities can obtain visa on arrival and for nationalities who requires visa please refer to the Italian consulate website: https://www.it.ckgs.ae/. Italy is part of the 26 Schengen State Countries.
Rome-capital city and a special comune of Italy as well as the capital of the Lazio region. The city has been a major human settlement for almost three millennia. With 2,860,009 residents in 1,285 km², it is also the country's most populated comune.
Vatican City- a city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy, is the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church. It's home to the Pope and a trove of iconic art and architecture. Its Vatican Museums house ancient Roman sculptures such as the famed "Laocoön and His Sons" as well as Renaissance frescoes in the Raphael Rooms and the Sistine Chapel, famous for Michelangelo's ceiling.
Florence- capital of Italy's Tuscany region, is home to many masterpieces of Renaissance art and architecture. One of its most iconic sights is the Duomo, a cathedral with a terracotta-tiled dome engineered by Brunelleschi and a bell tower by Giotto. The Galleria dell'Accademia displays Michelangelo's "David" sculpture. The Uffizi Gallery exhibits Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus" and da Vinci's "Annunciation."
Pisa- a city in Italy's Tuscany region best known for its iconic Leaning Tower. Already tilting when it was completed in 1372, the 56m white-marble cylinder is the bell tower of the Romanesque, striped-marble cathedral that rises next to it in the Piazza dei Miracoli. Also in the piazza is the Baptistry, whose renowned acoustics are demonstrated by amateur singers daily, and the Caposanto Monumentale cemetery.
Siena- a city in central Italy's Tuscany region, is distinguished by its medieval brick buildings. The fan-shaped central square, Piazza del Campo, is the site of the Palazzo Pubblico, the Gothic town hall, and Torre del Mangia, a slender 14th-century tower with sweeping views from its distinctive white crown. The city's 17 historic "contrade" (districts) extend outward from the piazza.
Venice- capital of northern Italy's Veneto region, is built on more than 100 small islands in a lagoon in the Adriatic Sea. It has no roads, just canals – including the Grand Canal thoroughfare – lined with Renaissance and Gothic palaces. The central square, Piazza San Marco, contains St. Mark's Basilica, which is tiled with Byzantine mosaics, and the Campanile bell tower offering views of the city's red roofs.
Milan- metropolis in Italy's northern Lombardy region, is a global capital of fashion and design. Home to the national stock exchange, it's a financial hub also known for its high-end restaurants and shops. The Gothic Duomo di Milano cathedral and the Santa Maria delle Grazie convent, housing Leonardo da Vinci's mural "The Last Supper," testify to centuries of art and culture.
Lake Como- Northern Italy's Lombardy region, is an upscale resort area known for its dramatic scenery, set against the foothills of the Alps. The lake is shaped like an upside-down Y, with three slender branches that meet at the resort town of Bellagio. At the bottom of the southwest branch lies the city of Como, home to Renaissance architecture and a funicular that travels up to the mountain town of Brunate.
Positano- a cliffside village on southern Italy's Amalfi Coast. It's a well-known holiday destination with a pebble beachfront and steep, narrow streets lined with boutiques and cafes. Its Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta features a majolica-tiled dome and a 13th-century Byzantine icon of the Virgin Mary. The Sentiero degli Dei hiking trail links Positano to other coastal towns.
Naples- a city in southern Italy, sits on the Bay of Naples. Nearby is Mount Vesuvius, the still-active volcano that destroyed nearby Roman town Pompeii. Dating to the 2nd millennium B.C., Naples has centuries of important art and architecture. The city's cathedral, the Duomo di San Gennaro, is filled with frescoes. Other major landmarks include the lavish Royal Palace and Castel Nuovo, a 13th-century castle.
Sorrento- a coastal town in southwestern Italy, facing the Bay of Naples on the Sorrentine Peninsula. Perched atop cliffs that separate the town from its busy marinas, it's known for sweeping water views and Piazza Tasso, a cafe-lined square. The historic center is a warren of narrow alleys that's home to the Chiesa di San Francesco, a 14th-century church with a tranquil cloister.
Pompeii- a vast archaeological site in southern Italy's Campania region, near the coast of the Bay of Naples. Once a thriving and sophisticated Roman city, Pompeii was buried under meters of ash and pumice after the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. The preserved site features excavated ruins of streets and houses that visitors can freely explore.
Verona- a city in northern Italy's Veneto region, with a medieval old town built between the meandering Adige River. It's famous for being the setting of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." A 14th-century residence with a tiny balcony overlooking a courtyard is said be "Juliet's House." The Verona Arena is a huge 1st-century Roman amphitheater, which currently hosts concerts and large-scale opera performances.
Amalfi- a town in a dramatic natural setting below steep cliffs on Italy's southwest coast. Between the 9th and 11th centuries, it was the seat of a powerful maritime republic. The Arab-Norman Sant'Andrea cathedral at the heart of town, with its striped Byzantine facade, survives from this era. The Museo Arsenale Amalfi is a medieval shipyard-turned-exhibition space.
Capri- an island in Italy's Bay of Naples, is famed for its rugged landscape, upscale hotels and shopping, from designer fashions to limoncello and handmade leather sandals. One of its best-known natural sites is the Blue Grotto, a dark cavern where the sea glows electric blue, the result of sunlight passing through an underwater cave. In summer, Capri's dramatic, cove-studded coastline draws many yachts.
Palermo- capital of the Italian island of Sicily. The 12th-century Palermo Cathedral houses royal tombs, while the huge neoclassical Teatro Massimo is known for opera performances. Also in the center are the Palazzo dei Normanni, a royal palace started in the 9th century, and the Cappella Palatina, with Byzantine mosaics.
Sardinia- a large Italian island in the Mediterranean Sea. It has nearly 2,000km of coastline, sandy beaches and a mountainous interior crossed with hiking trails. Its rugged landscape is dotted with thousands of nuraghi – mysterious Bronze Age stone ruins shaped like beehives. One of the largest and oldest nuraghi is Su Nuraxi in Barumini, dating to 1500 B.C.
Sicily- the largest Mediterranean island, is just off the "toe" of Italy's "boot." Its rich history is reflected in sites like the Valley of the Temples, the well-preserved ruins of 7 monumental, Doric-style Greek temples, and in the Byzantine mosaics at the Cappella Palatina, a former royal chapel in capital city Palermo. On Sicily's eastern edge is Mount Etna, one of Europe's highest active volcanoes.
Bologna- is the lively, historic capital of the Emilia-Romagna region, in northern Italy. Its Piazza Maggiore is a sprawling plaza lined with arched colonnades, cafes and medieval and Renaissance structures such as City Hall, the Fountain of Neptune and the Basilica di San Petronio. Among the city's many medieval towers are the Two Towers, leaning Asinelli and Garisenda.
Turin- is the capital city of Piedmont in northern Italy, known for its refined architecture and cuisine. The Alps rise to the northwest of the city. Stately baroque buildings and old cafes line Turin's boulevards and grand squares such as Piazza Castello and Piazza San Carlo. Nearby is the soaring spire of the Mole Antonelliana, a 19th-century tower housing the interactive National Cinema Museum.
Palermo- is the capital of the Italian island of Sicily. The 12th-century Palermo Cathedral houses royal tombs, while the huge neoclassical Teatro Massimo is known for opera performances. Also in the center are the Palazzo dei Normanni, a royal palace started in the 9th century, and the Cappella Palatina, with Byzantine mosaics. Busy markets include the central Ballarò street market and the Vucciria, near the port.
Genoa- (Genova) is a port city and the capital of northwest Italy's Liguria region. It's known for its central role in maritime trade over many centuries. In the old town stands the Romanesque Cathedral of San Lorenzo, with its black-and-white-striped facade and frescoed interior. Narrow lanes open onto monumental squares like Piazza de Ferrari, site of an iconic bronze fountain and Teatro Carlo Felice opera house.
Catania- is an ancient port city on Sicily's east coast. It sits at the foot of Mt. Etna, an active volcano with trails leading up to the summit. The city's wide central square, Piazza del Duomo, features the whimsical Fontana dell'Elefante statue and richly decorated Catania Cathedral. In the southwest corner of the square, La Pescheria weekday fish market is a rowdy spectacle surrounded by seafood restaurants.
Bari- is a port city on the Adriatic Sea, and the capital of southern Italy's Puglia region. Its mazelike old town, Barivecchia, occupies a headland between 2 harbors. Surrounded by narrow streets, the 11th-century Basilica di San Nicola, a key pilgrimage site, holds some of St. Nicholas' remains. To the south, the Murat quarter has stately 19th-century architecture, a promenade and pedestrianized shopping areas.
Trieste- is the capital city of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region in northeast Italy. A port city, it occupies a thin strip of land between the Adriatic coast and Slovenia's border on the limestone-dominated Karst Plateau. Italian, Austro-Hungarian and Slovenian influences are all evident in its layout, which encompasses a medieval old city and a neoclassical Austrian quarter.
Perugia- is an Italian city and the capital of the Umbria region. It's known for its defensive walls around the historic center. The medieval Priori Palace exhibits regional art from the 13th century onward. Looking onto Piazza IV Novembre, the Gothic cathedral houses Renaissance paintings and frescoes. In the square's center, Fontana Maggiore is a marble fountain with carvings of biblical scenes and zodiac signs.
Lucca- is a city on the Serchio river in Italy's Tuscany region. It's known for the well-preserved Renaissance walls encircling its historic city center and its cobblestone streets. Broad, tree-lined pathways along the tops of these massive 16th- and 17th-century ramparts are popular for strolling and cycling. Casa di Puccini, where the great opera composer was born, is now a house museum.
Matera- is a city on a rocky outcrop in the region of Basilicata, in southern Italy. It includes the Sassi area, a complex of cave dwellings carved into the mountainside. Evacuated in 1952 due to poor living conditions, the Sassi now houses museums like the Casa Grotta di Vico Solitario, with period furniture and artisan tools. Nearby rock churches include St. Lucia alle Malve, with 13th-century frescoes.
Bergamo- is an Italian city northeast of Milan, in the Lombardy region. Its older upper district, called Città Alta, is characterized by cobblestone streets, encircled by Venetian walls and accessible by funicular. It's home to the Duomo di Bergamo, the city cathedral. Also here are the Romanesque Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore and the grand Cappella Colleoni, a chapel with 18th-century frescoes by Tiepolo.
Padua- is a city in Northern Italy's Veneto region. It's known for the frescoes by Giotto in its Scrovegni Chapel from 1303–05 and the vast 13th-century Basilica of St. Anthony. The basilica, with its Byzantine-style domes and notable artworks, contains the namesake saint's tomb. In Padua's old town are arcaded streets and stylish cafes frequented by students of the University of Padua, established in 1222.
Bolzano- is a city in the South Tyrol province of north Italy, set in a valley amid hilly vineyards. It's a gateway to the Dolomites mountain range in the Italian Alps. In the medieval city center, the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology features the Neolithic mummy called Ötzi the Iceman. Nearby is the imposing 13th-century Mareccio Castle, and the Duomo di Bolzano cathedral with its Romanesque and Gothic architecture.
Cagliari- is the capital city of the Italian island of Sardinia. It's known for the hilltop Castello, a medieval walled quarter situated high over the rest of the town. Architectural highlights include the 13th-century Cagliari Cathedral. Housed in a former arsenal, the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Cagliari displays bronze objects, Roman ceramics and artifacts from the Nuragic age to the Byzantine era.
Lecce- is a city in Italy's southern Apulia region. It's known for its baroque buildings. In the central Piazza del Duomo, the Cattedrale di Lecce has a double facade and a bell tower. The Basilica di Santa Croce features sculptures and a rose window. Nearby are the Sant'Oronzo Column, a Roman column topped with a bronze statue of the city's patron saint, and the sunken Roman amphitheater.
Trento- is a city in the Trentino–Alto Adige region of northern Italy. It's known for the Buonconsiglio Castle, home to late-medieval fresco cycles. Trento Cathedral, featuring a rose window and a baroque chapel, sits on Piazza Duomo. Also on the square is Casa Cazuffi-Rella, a Renaissance building with a frescoed facade. Southwest, MUSE is a science and natural history museum with high-tech exhibits.
Parma- is a university city in Italy's Emilia-Romagna region, famed for Parmesan cheese and Parma ham. Romanesque buildings, including the frescoed Parma Cathedral and the pink marble Baptistery, grace the city center. Classical concerts take place at the Teatro Regio, a 19th-century opera house. The Galleria Nazionale, inside the imposing Palazzo della Pilotta, displays works by painters Correggio and Canaletto.
Ravenna- is a city in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. It's known for the colorful mosaics adorning many of its central buildings, like the octagonal Basilica di San Vitale, the 6th-century Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo and the cross-shaped Mausoleo di Galla Placidia. North of the center, the Mausoleo di Teodorico built in the 6th century for King Theodoric the Great, is a Gothic, circular stone tomb with a monolithic dome.
Vicenza- is a city in the Veneto region of northeast Italy. It's known for the elegant buildings designed by the 16th-century architect Andrea Palladio. These include the Palladian Basilica and the Palazzo Chiericati, now home to an art gallery. Nearby, also by Palladio, the Teatro Olimpico replicates a classic outdoor theater, indoors. On the outskirts of town, the hilltop Villa La Rotonda has 4 identical facades.
Messina- is a harbor city in northeast Sicily, separated from mainland Italy by the Strait of Messina. It's known for the Norman Messina Cathedral, with its Gothic portal, 15th-century windows and an astronomical clock on the bell tower. Nearby are marble fountains decorated with mythological figures, like the Fontana di Orione, with its carved inscriptions, and the Neptune Fountain, topped by a statue of the sea god.
Syracuse- is a city on the Ionian coast of Sicily, Italy. It's known for its ancient ruins. The central Archaeological Park Neapolis comprises the Roman Amphitheater, the Teatro Greco and the Orecchio di Dionisio, a limestone cave shaped like a human ear. The Museo Archeologico Regionale Paolo Orsi exhibits terracotta artifacts, Roman portraits and Old Testament scenes carved into white marble.
Ancona- is a city on Italy's Adriatic coast and the capital of the Marche region. It's known for beaches, such as Passetto Beach, and the hilltop Cathedral of San Ciriaco. In the city center, the Fontana del Calamo is a fountain with bronze masks of mythic figures. In the port are the ancient Arch of Trajan and the Lazzaretto, or Mole Vanvitelliana, an 18th-century pentagonal quarantine station on its own island.
Portofino- is a fishing village on the Italian Riviera coastline, southeast of Genoa city. Pastel-colored houses, high-end boutiques and seafood restaurants fringe its Piazzetta, a small cobbled square overlooking the harbor, which is lined with super-yachts. A path leads from the Piazzetta to Castello Brown, a 16th-century fortress and museum with art exhibitions and panoramic views of the town and the Ligurian Sea.
Treviso- is a city in northeastern Italy with many canals. On the central Piazza dei Signori is the Palazzo dei Trecento, with battlements and vaulted arcades. The Fontana delle Tette is a 16th-century fountain that used to dispense wine. Nearby, the Duomo features a neoclassical facade, Romanesque crypt and a painting by Titian. The Civic Museums' main site, the St. Catherine complex, has medieval frescoes.
Modena- is a city in Italy's Emilia-Romagna region. It's known for its balsamic vinegar and opera heritage, plus Ferrari and Lamborghini sports cars. The Enzo Ferrari Museum has exhibits on the life and work of the car designer, in his childhood home, plus iconic models in a futuristic building. In the 18th-century Museum Palace is the Estense Gallery, with works by Tintoretto and Correggio, plus a bust by Bernini.
Agrigento- is a hilltop city on Sicily's southwest shore. It's known for the ruins of the ancient city of Akragas in the Valley of the Temples, a vast archaeological site with well-preserved Greek temples. On the modern city's outskirts is the Museo Archeologico Regionale 'Pietro Griffo', with artifacts and a telamon (giant male figure). West lies Scala dei Turchi, a stepped white cliff overlooking sandy beaches.
Rimini- is a city on the Adriatic coast, in Italy's Emilia-Romagna region. It's known for its beachside nightclubs and shallow waters. South of the center, the Malatestiano Temple is a 15th-century reconstruction of an old Franciscan church, now a mausoleum for Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, a local nobleman. Nearby, the Malatesta-built Castel Sismondo is a medieval fortress now used for cultural events.
Brescia- is a city in the northern Italian region of Lombardy. On the eastern outskirts is the San Salvatore–Santa Giulia complex. This former monastery includes a basilica, cloisters and the Santa Giulia Museum, with items including Roman bronzes and medieval frescoes. On Cidneo Hill, Brescia Castle has a drawbridge and ramparts, plus the Luigi Marzoli Arms Museum, exhibiting ancient weapons and armor.
Taranto- is a coastal city in southern Italy. It lies between the Mar Grande (Big Sea) and Mar Piccolo (Little Sea) bodies of water. Bridges link the mainland to the old town, on a small island. This is home to the 15th-century Aragonese Castle, the Spartan Museum of Taranto, and San Cataldo Basilica, with a baroque facade. The MArTA Archaeological Museum has a collection of artifacts from prehistory to the Middle Ages.
Piacenza- is a city in Italy's Emilia Romagna region. In its central Piazza Cavalli are 2 equestrian statues and the medieval Gothic Palace. A copper angel rotates atop the bell tower of Piacenza Cathedral. The nearby Sant'Antonino Basilica has an 8-sided tower and 17th-century frescoes, plus a portal known as Heaven's Gate, with a rose window. The Farnese Palazzo Civic Museums house sculptures and weapons.
Ferrara- is a city in Italy's Emilia-Romagna region. It's known for the buildings erected by its Renaissance rulers, the Este family. These include the moated Este Castle, with its lavish private chambers. The family also built the Diamanti Palace, which is clad in diamond-shaped marble blocks and home to the National Picture Gallery. The Romanesque Ferrara Cathedral has a 3-tiered facade and a marble bell tower.
Cremona- is a city in Italy's Lombardy region. The Stradivarius collection at the Violin Museum testifies to the city's violin-making heritage. On Piazza del Comune are the Cremona Cathedral, with its Renaissance arcade, and the 8-sided Baptistery. Also on the square, the Torrazzo bell tower has an astronomical clock. The portico of the 13th-century Loggia dei Militi has a statue of 2 Hercules figures.
Mantua- is a city surrounded by 3 artificial lakes in the northern Italian region of Lombardy. It's known for the architectural legacy of the Renaissance Gonzaga rulers, who built the Ducal Palace. This imposing building houses the Bridal Chamber, decorated with Andrea Mantegna frescoes. The Gonzagas also built the Te Palace, known for the Chamber of the Giants, where every surface is painted with mythological scenes.
Livorno- is an Italian port city on the west coast of Tuscany. It's known for its seafood, Renaissance-era fortifications and modern harbor with a cruise ship port. Its central Terrazza Mascagni, a waterside promenade with checkerboard paving, is the city's main gathering place. The bastions of the 16th-century Fortezza Vecchia face the harbor and open onto Livorno's canal-laced Venezia Nuova quarter.
Catanzaro- also known as the "City of the two Seas", is an Italian city of 91,000 inhabitants, the capital of the Calabria region and of its province and the second most populated comune of the region, behind Reggio Calabria. The archbishop's seat was the capital of the province of Calabria Ultra for over 200 years.
Udine- is a city in northeastern Italy. The hilltop Udine Castle is home to several museums and an art gallery with works by Tiepolo and Caravaggio. It has views of the city and surrounding mountains. The central Piazza della Libertà has Renaissance buildings, including the pink-and-white-marble Loggia del Lionello and a clock tower. Udine Cathedral has a baroque interior and a museum of religious decorative arts.
L'Aquila- is a city and comune in central Italy. It is the capital city of both the Abruzzo region and of the Province of L'Aquila. As of 2013, it has a population of 70,967 inhabitants.
Calcio Storico-54 footballers dressed in ancient costumes give themselves up to the game to glorify their historic district.
Gelaterias-Don't jump to say you dislike ice-cream until you've been to Roman gelateria—these recipes have lived through centuries
Mount Etna-For over half a million years mount Etna has been in a state of continuous eruption
Zucchini Blossom-Fried zucchini blossoms, stuffed with cheese, is a masterpiece of the Italian cuisine.
Roman Pasta-Don't hesitate to try Rome's world-famous pasta. Bucatini all'amatriciana, spaghetti alla carbonara, tagliatelle cacio e pepe—these are a must!
Bougainvillea Bloom-Rome's streets become even more romantic when houses are covered by vibrant bougainvillea in bloom
Vespa Scooter Tours-Ever dream of riding like the wind with an Italian beau or belle? The teenage dream can come true!
Napoli Pizza Village-The festival of the most known Italian dish
Game of the Bridge (Gioco del Ponte)-This most spectacular tradition in Pisa celebrates the great medieval history
Trulli of Alberobello-One of Italy's best-kept tourist secrets
Beach Season on the Amalfi Coast-Visit beautiful Amalfi Coast for some awesome swimming. Turquoise water and plenty of shade make Tuscan beaches a dream summer getaway
Sunflower Fields-These large yellow flowers will please your eye throughout the summer
Panzanella-This is the summer taste of rural Tuscany.
La Sciuta di San Sebastiano-The celebration of San Sebastiano in Sicily can easily top every patron saint festival in the whole Italy
Easter Explosion of the Cart-Easter in Florence is memorable for splendid fireworks display
Carnevale Venezia-A party that simply can't be missed
Fiera del Cacio-The cheese fair held in the birthplace of pecorino itself offers the best selection of world-famous Tuscan cheese
Palio di Siena-A picturesque horse race in the heart of historical Siena
Sea Urchins-Sea urchins, also known as sea hedgehogs, are a cool weather delicacy
Skiing & Snowboarding-A lovely small ski resort close to Florence—Abetone
Birdwatching-Numerous birds choose Tuscany as their temporary winter home
Palio della Balestra-This medieval crossbow competition is a real celebration of the Renaissance era
Bravio delle Botti-A fun wine barrel race in a picturesque old town of Montepulciano
Giostra del Saracino (Joust of the Saracen)-Feel the medieval spirit during this ancient knight competition held twice a year in the city of Arezzo
Olive Harvest-Live the life of a Tuscan farmer participating in traditional harvest activities

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
The Dillinger Escape Plan Cancel Dates Following Bus Crash
The Dillinger Escape Plan have announced that they have been forced to cancel their upcoming tour dates through March 5th following the tour bus accident this weekend.
The band released the following statement, "The Dillinger Escape Plan and crew were driving to their show in Krakow, Poland when their bus broke down and the driver had to pull over on the side of the road. A truck smashed into the trailer, which held all the band's gear, before hitting the bus.
"No one is in critical condition but the band and crew are still being assessed for the extent of their injuries at Szpital Wojewodzki im. Jana Pawla II (John Paul Regional Hospital) in Zamosc.
"The remaining dates in Croatia, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain and Belgium (running through March 5th) have been cancelled. Guitarist, Benjamin Weinman adds 'All the gear is destroyed and there are injuries - we are unable to continue this tour right now. The band and crew would like to thank the fans and press around the world for their concern and the Polish police and medical staff for their handling of the situation. We hope to get back to Europe soon.'"
The Dillinger Escape Plan Music, DVDs, Books and more
The Dillinger Escape Plan T-shirts and Posters
More The Dillinger Escape Plan News
• Dillinger Escape Plan Say Farewell Following Final Shows
• Dillinger Escape Plan Tour Bus Struck By Truck, 13 Injured 2017 In Review
• The Dillinger Escape Plan Reveal Rescheduled Tour Dates
• The Dillinger Escape Plan Cancel Dates Following Bus Crash
• Dillinger Escape Plan Tour Bus Struck By Truck, 13 Injured
• The Dillinger Escape Plan Breaking Up, Not Going On Hiatus 2016 In Review
• Dillinger Escape Plan's Puciato Surprised People Listen To Them
• Dillinger Escape Plan's Unreleased Songs Will See The Light Of Day
• Giraffe Tongue Orchestra Release 'Blood Moon' Video
• The Dillinger Escape Plan Breaking Up, Not Going On Hiatus
More Stories for The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan Music


Below you can download free 2peas gone postal font. This font uploaded 13 November 2012. 2Peas Gone Postal font viewed 338 times and downloaded 21 times. See preview 2peas gone postal font, write comments, or download 2peas gone postal font for free. This font available for Windows 7 and Mac OS in TrueType(.ttf) and OpenType(.otf) format.


text:
Safe Harbor Academy is a program for troubled teens which helps teen with all kinds of behavioral issues, including anxiety disorder. – troubled girl boarding schools and teenage boarding schools.
Donate a Boat
Safe Harbor Jobs
Finding a Safe Harbor for Your Son with Anxiety Disorder
We can help your son in his battle with Anxiety Disorder, sometimes called Generalized Anxiety Disorder. This is a protracted condition distinguished by a severe and devastating level of fear, which may be identified by panic attacks; specific phobias provoked by certain things or situations, and may consist of social anxiety disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). It can be solely mental and emotional, perhaps together with physical symptoms (i.e.: rapid pulse, profuse sweating, difficulty sleeping). Full-blown attacks can feel paralyzing to those who are suffering.
Typically, a diagnosis requires that the anxiety last at least six months.
Safe Harbor…Throwing a Lifeline for Your Son with Anxiety Disorder
Diagnosis and care for Anxiety Disorder early on is significant, so that the anxiety does not escalate to the point of clinical depression, maybe leading to self-medicating with drugs, alcohol or other harmful behaviors.
Your teen's treatment approach might include one or more therapies. Cognitive behavioral therapy is one of the more helpful for high-level anxiety. That therapeutic approach is focused on observing thought patterns that can lead to anxiety, and then blocking damaging behaviors by having him learn new responses to those triggering events.
He might also benefit from medication to help in dealing with anxiety, although others find the side effects too difficult to handle.
As parents, it may be you find it hard to understand the underlying causes that trigger such responses but with early diagnosis and professional help, Anxiety Disorder is generally treated with fairly high rates of success.
Safe Harbor… Helping Troubled Boys Become Men of Character and Integrity
This unique, waterfront-based Christian residential boarding school is a salvation for troubled boys. Our program is similar to a therapeutic boarding school, but uses maritime training as the therapeutic model for at-risk teenagers. Safe Harbor is a safe, stable, structured, unconventional choice that can be a much more effective option than reform schools, foster care programs, or lockup in the juvenile justice system. We allow them to learn responsibility and experience behavior modification through seamanship, mentoring, counseling and spiritual focus, while also studying for a high school diploma.
Licensed mental health professionals and pastoral counselors offer both individual and group counseling opportunities. Most boys entering the program have had outpatient counseling but this has not led to anticipated change.
Our academic philosophy, built on the belief that education is a lifelong process that occurs in every area of life, uses the unique and creative learning approach to teach our curriculum, benefiting students who have not found success in a traditional academic setting thus far.
We assist the boys in becoming responsible, mature and independent young men through spiritual, educational and vocational training, that centers on full responsibility for the upkeep for the very boat on which they will live. Real-life learning teaches them boat repair/maintenance, welding and carpentry; lifestyle competence will instruct them on everything from how to establish and maintain credit/bank accounts, apply for a job, to cooking and housekeeping skills. Our goal is to prepare them for entrance into and success in the workplace, equipping them with a sturdy work ethic and positive character traits, like self-esteem, integrity, reliability and maturity.
Their learned knowledge of the water and boat, respect for your equipment and the elements, self-reliance and perseverance, will later be applied to what will become their broader view of the world; they must be able to analyze for themselves and then act, and overcome the challenges that they (and we all) will face in life.
Safe Harbor is here to throw out a lifeline for your troubled son so that he can get back on track, giving him an independent, self-sufficient life ahead.
Safe Harbor Maritime Academy
4772 Safe Harbor Way Jacksonville, FL 32226
admissions@boyshome.com
Safe Harbor is a residential program and boarding school that is a lifeline for troubled boys. Learn about our history. Read more »
Featured in People Magazine, and on HALLMARK CHANNEL, CBS This Morning, NBC News Today Show, CNN, CBN and others.
Copyright 2020 Safe Harbor Academy - A Christian boarding school for boys. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use
CHARITABLE GIVING INFORMATION:
Safe Harbor Haven Inc dba Safe Harbor Boys Home & Maritime Academy is a 501c3 charitable nonprofit organization.
State of Florida Charitable Registration Number: CH2422.
Legal Address: 4772 Safe Harbor Way • Jacksonville, FL 32226 Phone: (904)757-7918
Should you need help finding homes for troubled kids, therapeutic boys ranches, ranches for troubled teens, troubled teen schools, please let us know. Safe Harbor is among the top therapeutic schools, our therapeutic boarding schools for boys; one of few residential treatment centers and residential schools for teens that is affordable. As a home for troubled boys it serves at-risk boys, we help boys in Florida, Georgia, in Kentucky, in Tennessee, in Missouri, in Louisiana, in Arkansas, and in Texas. Plus, in the Midwest in Michigan, in Ohio, in Indiana and in Illinois. Mostly, troubled teens from homes along the east coast including in Virginia, in North Carolina, in South Carolina, in Pennsylvania, in New Jersey, in Massachusetts and in New York are provided counseling and therapy.
Safe Harbor Academy is a program for troubled teens which helps teen with all kinds of behavioral issues, including anxiety disorder.


text:
Two-Wheeler >
Lime's new micro-mobility platform to include 3rd parties
AustinBerlinBEVBike-Sharingelectric kick scootersElectric scootersGermanyLimeMiamiscooter sharingSeattleUSAWheels
Lime has announced its own micromobility platform, which can also be used to book e-scooters and e-bikes from other suppliers. The first partner for the Lime platform is Wheels from Berlin.
The aim is to make it easier for customers to access micromobility. Instead of having to use an app for each provider, Lime wants to offer its own platform through which different offers can be used. In other words, anyone who spontaneously wants to rent an e-bike, an e-scooter or an e-scooter should have a central contact point with the new Lime platform. According to the announcement, the platform will be optimized for journeys of less than five miles (eight kilometers).
However, the platform is not yet ready for use, which should be the case in winter. From then on, the vehicles of the first partner Wheels will be available in the Lime App in Berlin as well as in the U.S. cities of Austin, Miami and Seattle. Other providers and markets are to follow.
Wheels was launched in Berlin only a few weeks ago. Initially 200 of the two-wheelers will be offered, these are mopeds and not e-bikes. Therefore a driving license of the class AM is required for the use. According to Wheels, the costs for the rental are "based on standard market fees", specifically one euro starting fee and subsequently 20 cents per minute.
However, it should still be possible to rent the bikes via the Wheels app, and Lime is another option. The advantage for the customers is the one-time registration including payment method with Lime instead of many accounts for several providers.
At the beginning of May, Uber acquired a stake in Lime together with Google's parent company Alphabet. In this context, Lime also took over Uber's business with e-bikes and e-scooters under the Jump brand.
li.me, engadget.com, theverge.com
Voi adds another UK city as Liverpool goes live
EU Commission to review light electric vehicle type-approval
https://www.electrive.com/2020/10/12/lime-announces-micro-mobility-platform-includes-3rd-parties/


The City of Saugatuck issues a mayor's proclamation honoring the Saugatuck Douglas Art Club on its 60th anniversary.
Cathie Moore and Jane Van Dis, art fair chairs for many years, organize their final season of the Waterfront Invitational Art Fair and Village Square Art and Fine Crafts Fair.
The Art Club, through the efforts of Helen Van Mell, erects a memorial in honor of Saugatuck resident and puppeteer Burr Tillstrom in Saugatuck's Village Square Park.
January 10, 1961 - Jean Goldsmith again president.
Sept. 9, 1958 - Ruth Turner elected president.


text:
Q: Phonon backend capabilities are too narrow I created a UI using Qt Designer and am building the logic in pyqt4c. When trying to play either video or audio most formats are not being supported although I am fairly certain they should be.
This is the Phonon.BackendCapabilities.availableMimeTypes() output:
application/kate
application/ogg
application/x-3gp
application/x-ogg-avi
application/x-ogm-audio
application/x-ogm-video
audio/mpeg
audio/ogg
audio/webm
audio/x-alaw
audio/x-amr-nb-sh
audio/x-amr-wb-sh
audio/x-au
audio/x-dts
audio/x-flac
audio/x-m4a
audio/x-matroska
audio/x-mulaw
audio/x-private1-dts
audio/x-sbc
audio/x-speex
audio/x-vorbis
audio/x-vorbis+ogg
audio/x-wav
audio/x-wavpack
multipart/x-mixed-replace
video/mj2
video/ogg
video/quicktime
video/webm
video/x-dv
video/x-fli
video/x-flv
video/x-matroska
video/x-matroska-3d
video/x-msvideo
video/x-theora
video/x-vp8
video/x-vp9

I checked and in /usr/share/mime: I have a huge amount of codecs and I can play any video/audio format in any player: vlc, dragonplayer, mlv, mplayer, etc.
How can I expand my available codecs? Am I supposed to add any path to the phobos class?

A: The currently running phonon backend is responsible for format support. You can switch to a different one to get additional MimeTypes / formats supported.
Read below for a more comprehensive explanation.
Example program:
from PyQt4.QtGui import QApplication
from PyQt4.phonon import Phonon
import sys

app = QApplication(sys.argv)

print len(Phonon.BackendCapabilities.availableMimeTypes())

In KDE System settings -> Multimedia -> Audio and Video Settings -> Backend I have selected "VLC". Running the above produces 89. Going back to the Backend configuration, selecting "GStreamer" and running the script again outputs 213. This means the GStreamer backend supports more MimeTypes than the VLC one. Unfortunately, Phonon's backend is system-wide and you can't override it for a single application, or at least I couldn't find out how by looking at the Phonon class.

A: ---------------------------- MY SOLUTION---------------------------------
Since Phonon takes advantage of your system capabilities it is up to you to install libraries to encode and decode media. However, what i did not realize was the necessity to install phonon-qt4 compatible libraries. So:
Using qt4 install:
phonon-qt4-vlc
phonon-qt4-mplayer (unmanaged so possibly out-dated)
Using qt5:
phonon-qt5-vlc
(etc)
If anyone has a similar issue and this does not work feel free to post here!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Belkin recently announced in its press release that they are acquiring Cisco' home networking brand Linksys. Cisco didn't reveal how much they had to pay to acquire the home networking brand, but according to Belkin, it will account for approximately 30% of home and small business networking marketing in the United States.
Linksys was acquired by Cisco in 2003, but during last month, Cisco planned to sell the brand with Barclays' help.


text:
Fr. Mark Hodges
NewsHomosexualityThu Dec 10, 2015 - 12:16 pm EST
CDC: Gay lifestyle fraught with violence
centers for disease control, homosexuality, violence
ATLANTA, Georgia, December 10, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) – The Centers for Disease Control's "National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey" (NISVS) has found that homosexuals disproportionately suffer violence, and inflict violence on one another.
The CDC survey is the first of its kind to present comparisons of victimization by sexual orientation for men and women. Its data indicate that homosexuals experience sexual violence at much higher rates than heterosexual men and women.
Twenty-six percent of homosexual men and 37% of bisexual men experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner.
Forty-four percent of lesbians and 61% of bisexual women experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
Half (48%) of bisexual women who have been raped experienced their first completed rape between the ages of 11 and 17 years.
Significantly, the CDC report found that sexual violence began in childhood for many homosexual transgenders and bisexual women. The CDC did not, however, draw any conclusions about childhood sexual violence being the cause of men becoming homosexual or women becoming bisexual.
The gay activist group Human Rights Campaign blames the sexual violence on "poverty, stigma, and marginalization," but critics of the gay agenda say violence is intrinsic to the inner-conflicted homosexual orientation.
"We also face higher rates of hate-motivated violence," Human Rights Campaign claims, and, "the ways in which society … stigmatizes our relationships can lead to intimate partner violence that stems from internalized homophobia and shame." But critics say sodomy itself is a violent act of hate, not love, and the high rate of violence among homosexuals is not surprising.
The National Center for Lesbian Rights' Lauren Paulk admits that the gay community turns a blind eye to sexual violence. "Until recently, [LGBTQ] intra-community sexual assault went largely unacknowledged, particularly for women who have sex with women."
"A particularly disturbing dynamic arises when the assaults are perpetrated by other LGBT community members," Paulk admits. Denial, misrecognition, and the dismissal of outside-the-community concern as latent homophobia are examples of responses to sexual assault that occurs between members of the LGBT community."
"Survivors of assault may not know where to turn, either because they fear they will not be believed or supported, or because they do not want to malign another member of the community or reinforce negative stereotypes," Paulk wrote.
The rate of stalking among bisexual women (37%) is more than double the rate among heterosexual women.
Nearly 1 in 3 bisexual women (37%) were injured as a result of rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner.
University fires AIDS expert for testifying homosexuality is bad for public health
CDC: Gay lifestyle fraught with violence CDC: Gay lifestyle fraught with violence News By Fr. Mark Hodges


text:
← Columbia River Gorge Take 2
Another Nice Ranier View →
Nisqually NWR Day Trip
Wednesday was a day trip to the Nisqually NWR. The refuge is a freshwater marsh encompassing the delta of the Nisqually River and is about 30 miles from our location in Graham but just about 5 miles west of our previous location on the southern end of American Lake at Joint Base Lewis McChord. The marsh was formed back in the early 1900s when a Seattle lawyer built a dike to enclose 1000 acres of salt marsh which was used for farming up until the 1930s…at that point it was abandoned and the artesian wells formerly used for irrigation flooded the fields and it grew into the freshwater marsh it is today. There are a bunch of trails on the refuge but due to Neil still being in the boot (albeit he continues to improve) we elected to do the 1 mile (which turned into about 1.5 miles by the time we took the side trips to each of the overlooks) boardwalk. On our arrival we went ahead and renewed our Inter Agency pass…this is an $80 pass from the US Park Service that gives you unlimited access to all National Parks, NWRs, National Forests, National Landmarks, and pretty much everything else run by the Park Service…over 450 places in all. It also gets you into places run by other federal government departments. It's good for a year and it only takes 10 or so visits to save you money…and best of all once you turn 62 you get a permanent pass for $10. Check it out.
Anyway; we loaded up with the cameras and binoculars and headed out. Our first stop was the Riparian Forest overlook; there are three overlooks on Twin Barns boardwalk representing the three types of environment…Riparian (essentially near the river) Forest, the Nisqually River itself, and the grassy freshwater marsh area…each of the overlooks is a short hike off the main boardwalk. There was water in the Riparian Forest area although it was pretty stagnant and completely covered with bright green algae. Here's a shot of the wetlands from the overlook and then a shot of Connie and the boardwalk as we headed towards our next stop. I am trying a new photo size for the blog; these are 900 instead of 600 pixels wide…let me know if you like it better this way or whether the smaller ones are easier to view. [added later: Uggh; the larger size stomps on top of the right hand sidebar so I'm going to have to either figure out how to fix that or change back to the 600 pixel wide photos.]
The boardwalk was mostly dry but did have a bit of moss on it in places so Neil just had to be careful. About 200 yard past the above shot we ran across a bunch of birders with spotting scopes and binoculars stopped on the boardwalk…long experience tells you that when you see a bunch of people stopped you should stop and look too:-). We did and spotted a really pretty yellow bird…examination of the NWRs posted bird list and Peterson's later told us it was either a female Yellow Warbler or an immature female Yellow Throated Warbler. We really couldn't tell for sure; there are a couple of unique identifying characteristics for each; this one has both of them but also has some slight differences from the descriptions of both of the candidates. So I'm going to call this one an either/or…nothing else in the warbler family is both located here in the Pacific Northwest and is even close color-wise. I put in 3 different views of the same bird so all of the detail is visible. It also could be a Prothonotary Warbler based on the grey wings and tail but the yellow on the head and breast appears to bright to be a Prothonotary. Wilson's Warbler was another close one but we didn't have a good enough picture to really see it's distinctive characteristics.
**Late Breaking News: Connie found another web site that better shows the underside of the tails and the colors on the various alternatives and we're about 90% sure that it's a female Wilson's Warbler.
Our next stop was at the Nisqually River overlook…and for some reason Neil didn't take any photos while we stopped there…the view was sort of restricted by trees and brush but there was enough to have taken at least some photos…don't know what he was thinking. We did have a nice stop for a few minutes; the overlooks were about evenly spaced around the mile boardwalk so that provided a nice place to rest for a bit for him. We did see a whole bunch of large fish of various species eating flies off the surface or shallow swimming minnows…we never got a clear enough view of them to determine what they were other then several different types. A bunch of them looked like salmon in coloration but those were shorter and fatter/wider than salmon typically look like…and in addition we're in the early stages of salmon spawning season and Neil doesn't think they eat while they're migrating upstream to their final destination. The rest of them looked more like large mouth bass in size, shape, and coloration but didn't' look like they had the typical large mouth bass sized mouth. We must have seen 50 of them in a few minutes though…but we eventually headed off for the third and final overlook at the Twin Barns…this one looks out over the freshwater marsh grasslands.
On the way up we spotted this really, really bright green caterpillar…which despite 15 minutes on google we could not readily identify…it's even hard to decide which end is the head and which is the tail.
Once at the top of the overlook about 30 feet or so above the marsh we sat for awhile to eat our picnic lunch…which was immediately interrupted by several hawks flying nearby. Neil dropped his lunch and grabbed his camera and was able to get several decent shots before they got too far away.
Our first sighting was a female Northern Harrier…this is a raptor similar to a hawk and has distinct gender differences not common in raptors and hawk like birds…the female is brownish and the male grayish. It has larger wings for it's size then most birds of prey do which allows it to fly at very low speed and altitudes, almost hovering as it hunts. After watching it for a few minutes it appeared to fly away and Neil picked up his lunch again…only to have it fly right in front of us about 30 feet from the overlook edge instead of the 40 or 50 yards away these shots were taken from.
Later, after we were done eating we spotted a pair of Red Shouldered Hawks off in the distance about 500 yards or so…hence the poor detail in these photos even with the long lens. Red Shouldered Hawks are usually solitary hunters that tend to soar and stay higher while hunting than these two are…so it wasn't clear whether they were just in the same area hunting or whether it was a courtship ritual or even whether they were both staying in the vicinity of the nest. Given that it's late August it seems a little late for courtship but maybe they nest year round up here as it doesn't get all that cold during the winter. It is a male and female together…and I don't know whether the male in a pair has anything to do with protecting the nest anyway so it could even be a mother and it's now fledged but not fully independent offspring. I guess I should have paid more attention in birding class and I would know (but I never went to birding class so that likely ain't it).
Once these guys disappeared and we finished up our lunch and rest we headed down from the overlook; stopping to take some photos of the twin barns that the boardwalk is named after…these were built back in I think 1902 by the Seattle lawyer/farmer. I've included 4 different edits of the same photo…the first is almost straight out of the camera with only cropping and minor color correction, the second one got a light HDR treatment, and the last two have a stormy day and a slightly less stormy day using another Aperture filter set Neil has (Aperture is the photo library manager, editor, and touch-up-er that Neil uses).
I put in these 4 so you can see how a slightly different set of editing tools allows you to give photos an entirely different look even though they come from the same source. I guess this could lead to some sort of philosophical discussion about whether editing your photos is "right" or "wrong" vs whether one should only output exactly what the camera sees or whether the output should be what the eye saw or whether the photographer is allowed artistic license to make it a "better" photo. I guess it depends on your definition of better; most shots that are submitted for competitions you're allowed to crop and color correct but not allowed to composite shots together to create something that wasn't there originally…but you are allowed to alter the mood somewhat. Most photos you see in exhibits or for sale have been processed to make them better looking or evoke more of a particular mood. I like them all.
And finally, right around the corner from the barns (maybe 30 feet from where the barn pictures were taken from Neil grabbed a couple shots of some cat tails growing at the marsh edge.
We continued on around the path and found a small, algae covered pond with a bunch of ducks in it…they were located just 20 feet or so from the boardwalk so we got some really great shots of first a couple of immature Mallards
and then a couple of immature Wood Ducks.
Shortly after this we arrived back at the visitor center and parking lot…good thing as Neil was tired of walking by this point. We headed on home (had to turn on the A/C in the car as it had gotten warmer while we were hiking for a couple of hours) and made the trip home. Once here we had a shower and then Neil cooked some chicken that had been marinated in olive oil, lemon juice and fennel seeds for dinner…we found this recipe in Giada DeLaurentis twitter feed…we had never thought (and didn't think so even the first time we tried it) that fennel seed would go good with sausage but despite being the principal distinct spice used in most sausages (it's what gives it that 'sausage' flavor) it's really tasty. We had rice with it…and Neil had a french roll while Connie had some smashed/buttered turnip (rutabaga for us southerners). We kept some leftover raw chicken un-marinated that Neil will do something with tonight…it's rainy and wet so he's thinking chicken and noodles.
Next week it's Labor Day on Monday so we're staying home and grilling outside unless it rains. Connie has her procedure on Thursday so we're thinking that Tuesday or Wednesday we'll head down to Mount St. Helens to the Volcano Memorial and get some more shots there. Neil goes for another checkup on his foot on Sep 12 and it's really improving almost daily at this point…he is allowed to walk on it without the boot for showers and such and has almost no pain left so hopefully we'll back to more frequent and longer hike fun stuff pretty soon.
God's Team…the two time defending and three of the last four National Champion Alabama Crimson Tide…opens their season Saturday against Virginia Tech on ESPN. Roll Tide!!
4 Responses to Nisqually NWR Day Trip
Just beautiful! Glad to know Neil's foot is better, and sending prayers your way. RTR!!!
Neil Laubenthal says:
We aims to please:-)
ronlaubenthal says:
glad the foot is comin' along, hope c is ok… i like the big fotos myself, kinda hope you keep 'em… yall be good…
p.s. – ezekiel 20:29 – "what is this high place from which you cometh, which is known as BAMA to this day…"
p.p.s. – so this alabama guy and this auburn guy are ridin' down the road – bama boy gets hungry, pulls into a burger joint, they go in… auburn ain't hungry, bama says "i'd like a cheeseburger with no pickles, a small order of fries with no salt please, and a small coke". clerk says "you must be a bama student". bama sez "yes sir, how'd you know?" clerk sez "it's kinda obvious – you were specific about your order, you were polite and well-spoken… it's easy to tell…" bama sez thanks, they leave… sho nuff, 2 blocks later, auburn is hungry… they pull in, auburn goes inside, walks up to the counter, sez " gimme 2 chili dogs, big onion rings and a chocolate shake…" clerk sez "you must go to auburn…" auburn sez "yup, how ya know?, clerk sez " this is a hardware store son…"
I think I'm gonna keep the bigger photos. I can't keep them from extending into the sidebar on the right but I shrunk the sidebar contents vertically and as long as I speNd a coupla hundred words at e beginning of the post describing things before the first photo the sidebar don't get tromped on. Nice joke as well. We wuz watching the Vandy/Ole Miss game last night and that cut away for a report from the South Carolina game, showed the freshman kicker for SC and his jersey lettering said Carolin. Only his though, wonder If it was a mistake or hazing.
The three kinds of stress…nuclear, cooking and a&&hole. Jello is the key to the relationship.