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To All Sleep-deprived Parents… O You Terror!
November 15, 2014 tvaraj	1 Comment
By T.V. Antony Raj
O You Terror! (Source: gettyimages)
Carmina Burana means "Songs from Beuern" in Latin. It is the name given to a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts from 11th to 13th century. "Beuern" is short for Benediktbeuern. The collection found in 1803 in the Benedictine monastery of Benediktbeuern, is now housed in the Bavarian State Library in Munich.
These pieces are in most cases bawdy, irreverent, and satirical. Written by students and clergy, in Medieval Latin, a few are in Middle High German, and some with traces of Old French or Provençal.
Twenty-four poems in Carmina Burana were set to music by Carl Orff in 1936 and his composition quickly became popular and a staple piece of the classical music repertoire. Scores of film soundtracks including Lord of the Rings have used the opening and closing movement, "O Fortuna".
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra launched its "Say it with Carmina" contest inviting Australians to come up with new lyrics.
Matthew Hodge is a father of three living in Sydney, Australia. He sent his entry an "An Ode to Sleep Deprived Parents and Terrorizing Toddlers" to the contest. Among the many entries submitted, including odes to the Pope, it was Hodge's entry with its hilarious phrases such as, "Oh you terror, get down from there. Mummy's getting cranky," that received the most votes. He won the first prize.
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
The 200 members of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra somberly chanted phrases like "Where are your pants? What have you done with my purse?" with a straight face making Hodge's words funnier.
Even if this musical offering from the Sydney Symphony Orchestra won't make your chores and stress go away, it is sure to bring a smile on your face.
THE ODE TO SLEEP DEPRIVED PARENTS AND TERRORISING TODDLERS
O' you terror!
Get down from there!
Mummy's getting cranky…
Put my phone down.
Where are your pants?
What have you done with my purse?
Don't throw those blocks.
What is that smell?
Why do you look so happy?
What's in your mouth?
Who ripped that book?
Why won't you just stop moving?
He's on the chair!
Just standing there!
Wobbling like a drunk man.
Where is my mug?
What was that crash?
Who let you in the kitchen?
You've got a knife!
Put it down now!
Don't wave it near your sister!
Where are my apps?
Who dialled triple zero?
Why won't you sleep?
Is it your teeth?
I need another coffee!
My head's so sore!
Look at the floor!
Cleaning will take forever.
What's wrong with you?
Why do you do this to me?
I hope when you…
Have some kids too…
They drive you crazy!
VIDEO: Sleep-deprived parent parodies classic Carmina Burana song … with a little help from the Sydney Philharmonic Choir (dailymail.co.uk)
Ode to Sleep Deprived Parents Is Guaranteed to Make You laugh (whattoexpect.com)
An Ode to Sleep Deprived ParentsAustraliaBenediktbeuernCarl OrffCarmina BuranaFood for ThoughthumourMatthew HodgeMusicO You Terror!ParentspostadaySay it with CarminaSydneySydney Symphony OrchestraThe Sydney Symphony OrchestraThis is lifetvarajVideoYouTube
Australia, China, Food for Thought, Mathematics, Mystery, News, Post A Day 2014, T.V. Antony Raj, This is Life, tvaraj, United Kingdom, United States
Mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 – Inmarsat's Satellite Data
March 25, 2014 tvaraj	Leave a comment
By T. V. Antony Raj
Wild ride of MH370 (Source: heraldsun.com.au)
The search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 is now on in a section of the southern Indian Ocean known as the "Roaring Forties" where strong westerly winds generally blow between latitude 40° and 50°. The strong west-to-east air currents are induced by the combination of the Earth's rotation and air being displaced from the Equator towards the South Pole, with just a few landmasses to act as windbreaks. The area is characterized by cold fronts that sweep east every four to five days, causing 13 to 30 feet (4 to 9 meters) pounding waves that churn the icy sea.
International Mobile Satellite Organization (Inmarsat) is a British satellite telecommunications company, offering global, mobile services. Inmarsat started playing an import role immediately after Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared.
One of Inmarsat's satellites continued to pick up a series of automated hourly 'pings' from the missing aircraft which would normally be used to synchronize timing information even after the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS), which would usually transmit the plane's position, was switched off, suggesting the plane flew to the Indian Ocean.
How Inmarsat tracked down Flight MH370 (Source: telegraph.co.uk)
By analyzing these pings, Inmarsat established that the aircraft continued to fly for at least five hours after the aircraft left Malaysian airspace and that it had flown along one of two 'corridors' – one arcing north and the other south. The plane was reportedly flying at a cruising height above 30,000 feet. See my article "Mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 – If Hijacked, Where Did It Go?"
Using complex mathematical processes, Inmarsat's engineers analyzed the tiny shifts in the frequency of the pings from the missing aircraft and came up with a detailed Doppler effect model for the northern and southern paths and inferred the aircraft's likely final location though their method had never been used before to investigate an air disaster.
Chris McLaughlin, senior vice-president of external affairs at Inmarsat said:
"We looked at the Doppler effect, which is the change in frequency due to the movement of a satellite in its orbit. What that then gave us was a predicted path for the northerly route and a predicted path the southerly route…
That's never been done before; our engineers came up with it as a unique contribution… By yesterday they were able to definitively say that the plane had undoubtedly taken the southern route…
We worked out where the last ping was, and we knew that the plane must have run out of fuel before the next automated ping, but we didn't know what speed the aircraft was flying at – we assumed about 450 knots. We can't know when the fuel actually ran out, we can't know whether the plane plunged or glided, and we can't know whether the plane at the end of the time in the air was flying more slowly because it was on fumes."
Pings to Inmarsat (video grab from Wall Street Journal)
According to the Wall Street Journal, Inmarsat relayed their findings to the Malaysian officials and the British security and air-safety officials on March 12, 2014. But the Malaysian government concerned about corroborating the data and dealing with internal disagreements about how much information to release did not publicly acknowledge Inmarsat's information until four days later. On Saturday, March 15, 2014, during a news conference, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak accepted for the first time that deliberate actions were involved in the disappearance of the aircraft. He said:
"Based on new satellite information, we can say with a high degree of certainty that the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) was disabled just before the aircraft reached the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Shortly afterwards, near the border between Malaysian and Vietnamese air traffic control, the aircraft's transponder was switched off."
He added that the search effort was redirected from that day to focus on the areas the Inmarsat information described:
"From this point onwards, the Royal Malaysian Air Force primary radar showed that an aircraft which was believed – but not confirmed – to be MH370 did indeed turn back. It then flew in a westerly direction back over Peninsular Malaysia before turning north-west. Up until the point at which it left military primary radar coverage, these movements are consistent with deliberate action by someone on the plane.
Today, based on raw satellite data that was obtained from the satellite data service provider, we can confirm that the aircraft shown in the primary radar data was flight MH370. After much forensic work and deliberation, the F.A.A., N.T.S.B., A.A.I.B. and the Malaysian authorities, working separately on the same data, concur.
According to the new data, the last confirmed communication between the plane and the satellite was at 8:11 a.m. Malaysian time on Saturday 8th March. The investigations team is making further calculations which will indicate how far the aircraft may have flown after this last point of contact. This will help us to refine the search.
Due to the type of satellite data, we are unable to confirm the precise location of the plane when it last made contact with the satellite.
However, based on this new data, the aviation authorities of Malaysia and their international counterparts have determined that the plane's last communication with the satellite was in one of two possible corridors: a northern corridor stretching approximately from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand, or a southern corridor stretching approximately from Indonesia to the southern Indian Ocean. The investigation team is working to further refine the information.
In view of this latest development, the Malaysian authorities have refocused their investigation into the crew and passengers on board. Despite media reports that the plane was hijacked, I wish to be very clear: we are still investigating all possibilities as to what caused MH370 to deviate from its original flight path.
This new satellite information has a significant impact on the nature and scope of the search operation. We are ending our operations in the South China Sea and reassessing the redeployment of our assets. We are working with the relevant countries to request all information relevant to the search, including radar data.
As the two new corridors involve many countries, the relevant foreign embassies have been invited to a briefing on the new information today by the Malaysian Foreign Ministry and the technical experts. I have also instructed the Foreign Ministry to provide a full briefing to foreign governments which had passengers on the plane. This morning, Malaysia Airlines has been informing the families of the passengers and crew of these new developments."
On March 18, 2014, Australia and the US National Transportation Safety Board narrowed down the search area to just three per cent of the southern corridor by taking into consideration Inmarsat's inference from the satellite pings, along with assumptions about the plane's speed.
On Monday, March 24, 2014, Prime Minister Najib Razak said that according to Inmarsat the aircraft flew along the southern corridor and ended its journey in the middle of the southern Indian Ocean. He said:
"Based on new analysis… MH370 flew along the southern corridor and that its last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean west of Perth… It is therefore, with deep sadness and regret, that I must inform you that according to this new data that flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean."
On the same day, Australian and Chinese search planes separately spotted a few objects in the southern Indian Ocean and alleged they were possible debris from the missing aircraft and reported the coordinates to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), which is coordinating the multinational search, and also to the Chinese icebreaker Snow Dragon, which is en route to the area. Half a dozen other Chinese ships along with 20 fishing vessels have been ordered to move toward the search zone.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the crew of an Australian P3 Orion plane had located and two objects in the search zone, but it was unclear if they were part of an aircraft. He said the first object was grey or green and circular, the second orange and rectangular. The crew was able to photograph the objects.
Search suspended … this satellite image shows severe tropical cyclone Gillian off the Western Australian coast. Credit: Bureau of Meteorology
An Australian Navy supply ship, the HMAS Success, was on the scene on Monday trying to locate and retrieve the objects. However, according to AMSA, due to rough seas, the vessel left the search area early Tuesday morning since conducting the search in such conditions would be hazardous and pose a risk to crews.AMSA said the vessel is now in transit south of the search area until the sea calms down and if weather conditions permit the search would be resumed tomorrow, otherwise, if weather conditions continue to deteriorate it could be several days before the search is resumed.
Meanwhile, the United States prepared to move into the region a special device that can locate black boxes.
Malaysia PM says missing jetliner's flight ended in Indian Ocean (foxnews.com)
How British satellite company Inmarsat tracked down MH370 (telegraph.co.uk)
Critical Data Was Delayed in Search for Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight
(online.wsj.com)
Search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 debris to resume in Indian Ocean (heraldsun.com.au)
"Groundbreaking maths" of "inexact science" Prove Flight 370 Crashed in Indian Ocean? China Demands Raw Inmarsat Data (willyloman.wordpress.com)\
Treacherous Seas Known as 'Roaring Forties' Focus Malaysia Airlines Search (abcnews.go.com)
Inmarsat (en.wikipedia.org)
Doppler effect (en.wikipedia.org)
mh370 …. the search …. see, it's night, & this guy is looking under a lamp post for his keys …. (wintersoldier2008.typepad.com)
Mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 (tvaraj.com)
Mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 – The Search is Still on For Missing Aircraft (tvaraj.com)
Mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 – The Stolen Passports (tvaraj.com)
Mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 – Did the Aircraft Crash into the Sea? (tvaraj.com)
Mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 – The Aircraft Disappeared From Radar? (tvaraj.com)
Mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 – Was the Aircraft Hijacked?(tvaraj.com)
Mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 – If Hijacked, Where Did It Go? (tvaraj.com)
Mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 – Airline Ad Is a Hoax (tvaraj.com)
Mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 – Did the Aircraft Fly Towards Palau Langkawi (tvaraj.com)
Mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 – Hypothetical Theories (tvaraj.com)
Mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 – Were There Any Phone Calls from the Aircraft? (tvaraj.com)
ACARSAMSA)AustraliaAustralian Maritime Safety AuthorityChinaChris McLaughlinFood for ThoughtIndian OceanInmarsat)MalaysiaMalaysia AirlinesMalaysia Airlines Flight MH370missing aircraftNajib RazakNewspostadaySouthern Indian OceanThis is lifetvarajUnited StatesWall Street Journal
#WPLongform, Australia, Food for Thought, Poetry, Scotland, This is Life, United Kingdom, Women, Writers
A Poem Published Under Several Names: "Look Closer", "Kate", "Crabbit Old Woman" …
August 27, 2013 tvaraj	2 Comments
. By T.V. Antony Raj
Recently, I came across the following post on Facebook:
When an old man died in the geriatric ward of a nursing home in an Australian country town, it was believed that he had nothing left of any value. Later, when the nurses were going through his meager possessions, They found this poem. Its quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital.
One nurse took her copy to Melbourne. The old man's sole bequest to posterity has since appeared in the Christmas editions of magazines around the country and appearing in mags for Mental Health. A slide presentation has also been made based on his simple, but eloquent, poem.
And this old man, with nothing left to give to the world, is now the author of this 'anonymous' poem winging across the Internet.
What do you see nurses? . . .. . .What do you see?
What are you thinking .. . when you're looking at me?
A cranky old man, . . . . . .not very wise,
Uncertain of habit .. . . . . . . .. with faraway eyes?
Who dribbles his food .. . … . . and makes no reply.
When you say in a loud voice . .'I do wish you'd try!'
Who seems not to notice . . .the things that you do.
And forever is losing . . . . . .. . . A sock or shoe?
Who, resisting or not . . . … lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding . . . .The long day to fill?
Is that what you're thinking?. .Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse .you're not looking at me.
I'll tell you who I am . . . . .. As I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding, .. . . . as I eat at your will.
I'm a small child of Ten . .with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters .. . . .. . who love one another
A young boy of Sixteen . . . .. with wings on his feet
Dreaming that soon now . . .. . . a lover he'll meet.
A groom soon at Twenty . . . ..my heart gives a leap.
Remembering, the vows .. .. .that I promised to keep.
At Twenty-Five, now . . . . .I have young of my own.
Who need me to guide . . . And a secure happy home.
A man of Thirty . .. . . . . My young now grown fast,
Bound to each other . . .. With ties that should last.
At Forty, my young sons .. .have grown and are gone,
But my woman is beside me . . to see I don't mourn.
At Fifty, once more, .. …Babies play 'round my knee,
Again, we know children . . . . My loved one and me.
Dark days are upon me . . . . My wife is now dead.
I look at the future … . . . . I shudder with dread.
For my young are all rearing .. . . young of their own.
And I think of the years . . . And the love that I've known.
I'm now an old man . . . . . . .. and nature is cruel.
It's jest to make old age . . . . . . . look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles .. .. . grace and vigour, depart.
There is now a stone . . . where I once had a heart.
But inside this old carcass . A young man still dwells,
And now and again . . . . . my battered heart swells
I remember the joys . . . . .. . I remember the pain.
And I'm loving and living . . . . . . . life over again.
I think of the years, all too few . . .. gone too fast.
And accept the stark fact . . . that nothing can last.
So open your eyes, people .. . . . .. . . open and see.
Not a cranky old man .
Look closer . . . . see .. .. . .. …. . ME!!
Remember this poem when you next meet an older person who you might brush aside without looking at the young soul within. We will all, one day, be there, too!
PLEASE SHARE THIS POEM.
The best and most beautiful things of this world can't be seen or touched. They must be felt by the heart!
In the above post, the story that introduces the poem is fictional. In fact, the origin of the poem is not known for sure. The claim that the poem was found among the belongings of an elderly male resident of a geriatric ward of a nursing home in an Australian country town has not been proved nor was it found among the possessions of any other old man who died in a hospital in Florida, or in any other equally fictional hospital in the United States.
An American poet, David L. Griffith of Fort Worth, Texas, adapted the original poem known under various names, changed the gender of the protagonist from an old woman to an old man and called it: "Too Soon Old." The currently circulating version of the poem called the "Cranky Old Man" is a variant of the Griffith's poem. It is also known as a "Crabby Old Man."
What do you see, my friends, what do you see… what are you thinking when you're looking at me?
A crabby old man, one not very wise, uncertain of habit, with far away eyes.
Who dribbles his food and makes no reply… when you say in a loud voice, "I wish you'd try?"
Who seems not to notice the things that you do, and forever is losing a sock or shoe.
Who, resisting or not, lets you do as you will… with bathing and feeding, the long day to fill.
Is that what you're thinking?
Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes my friends, you're not looking at me.
I'll tell you who I am as I sit here so still, as I live at your bidding, as I enjoy company at your will.
I'm a small child of ten with a father and mother, brothers and sisters, who love one another.
A young boy of sixteen, a football in his hands and with wings on his feet, dreaming that soon now a lover he'll meet.
A marine soon at eighteen — my heart gives a leap, remembering the oath that I promised to keep.
At twenty-five now, I have a platoon of my own, 'who need me to guide them and secure a trip home.
A man of thirty, my youth now going too fast, hopefully bound to others with ties that should last.
At fifty my daughter and sons have grown and are gone, and I have no one beside me to see I don't mourn.
At sixty no more babies play round my knee, again I know heartbreak, my loneliness and me.
Dark days are upon me, my dreams are all dead; I look at the future, I shudder with dread.
For my young are all rearing young of their own, and I think of the years and the love that I've known.
I'm now an old man and nature is cruel; 'tis jest to make old age look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles, grace and vigor depart, there is now a stone where I once had a heart.
But inside this old carcass a young man still dwells, and now and again my battered heart swells.
I remember the joys, I remember the pain, and I'm loving and living life over again.
I think of the years; all too few.
Gone too fast, and accept the stark fact that nothing can last.
So open your eyes, my friends, open and see, not a crabby old man; look closer — see ME!!
~ © 1986-2001-2010 ~ ~ David L. Griffith ~
Old Woman (Photo: Elaine Short)
The original poem itself has a long and somewhat perplexing history. It features an old woman as the protagonist rather than an old man and is set in the United Kingdom. Originating from a non-academic source, humbly vernacular in form, it has no obvious value beyond the immediate feelings it provokes on reading.
The poem has been included in various publications under different titles in the United Kingdom often accompanied by the claim that a copy of the original poem was found by the nursing staff among the belongings of an old woman named Kate who died in a hospital's geriatric ward. Some versions claim that the hospital was located in Scotland. Others claim the hospital was in England or Wales.
A key contributory factor to this poem are the stories of its origins, stories which almost always accompany the poem wherever it appears and which, like the poem's own words, is virtually unchanged since those early days such as:
The writer of this poem was unable to speak, although was seen to write from time to time. After her death, her locker was emptied, and this poem of her life was found. (Searle, 1973, p. 8).
and more recently:
Get the hankies ready…this one'll get ya!
Crabbit old woman's life has ended in a nursing home. While the nurse is
packing her meagre possessions, she finds a poem written to the staff of the
hospital by the apparently senile and mindless old lady. (Rexanne.com, 2005).
Another version of the origin of the poem says that it was found at Ashludie Hospital, Dundee; that copies were duplicated and distributed to all nurses in the hospital; that a young nurse at the hospital sent a copy to 'Beacon House News' at the Northern Ireland Association for Mental Health'; and, that the author's name was not known.
From time to time the mystery of the poem's origins suraces. For example, in 2003, an entry on Seniors Network UK, mentions 'Mattie's Poem', with the story that
Mattie was a very dear family friend. She had been a very bright 90 year-old but her body was badly ravaged by time – she died in the Geriatric Ward of a hospital in Lanarkshire in Scotland.'
According to credible reports Phyllis Mabel McCormack might have penned it in early 1960s when she was a nurse at Sunnyside Hospital in Montrose, a coastal resort town and former royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. Originally entitled "Look Closer" she wrote it for publication in the Sunnyside Chronicle, a magazine produced by the staff of Sunnyside Royal Hospital, Montrose, for circulation within the hospital. She submitted it anonymously as she felt it was critical of some of her colleagues.
In 2005, Joanna Bornat in her work "Empathy and stereotype: the work of a popular poem", a report for 'Perspectives on Dementia Care', 5th Annual Conference on Mental Health and Older, notes:
Amongst the responses to a small survey which I carried out in 1998 while researching attitudes to the poem was a cutting from the Daily Mail newspaper in which the son of Phyllis McCormack, whose name is often linked with the poem as its discoverer, explained:
My mother, Phyllis McCormack, wrote this poem in the early Sixties when she was a nurse at Sunnyside Hospital in Montrose.
Originally entitled Look Closer Nurse, the poem was written for a small magazine for Sunnyside only Phyllis was very shy and submitted her work anonymously.
A copy of the magazine was lent to a patient at Ashludie Hospital, Dundee, who copied it in her own handwriting and kept it in her bedside locker. When she died, the copy was found and submitted to the Sunday Post newspaper, attributed to the Ashludie patient.
Since my mother's death in 1994 her work has travelled all over the world… – (Daily Mail, 12 March 1998).
Somehow this explanation rings true, though it immediately begs the question of how the origin story was constructed in the first place and whether the poem depends on an apparent myth for its continuing appeal. Encounters have been mixed as responses to the 1998 survey suggested.
These intriguingly mysterious origins greatly add to the poem's effect. The story of a mute, unidentified and neglected woman creates pathos. It is a parable for ageing times with lessons about listening to our elders and empathy towards older people.
The poem is written in the voice of an old woman in a nursing home who is reflecting upon her life. Here is the original poem in full:
I have reproduced theoriginal poem below entitled "Crabbit Old Woman." In Scottish, Crabbit means "bad-tempered" or "grumpy". It has also been known variously as: "Kate", "Look Closer", "Look Closer Nurse", "Open Your Eyes" or "What Do You See?"
Crabbit Old Woman
What do you see, nurses, what do you see?
Are you thinking when you are looking at me
A crabbit old woman, not very wise,
Uncertain of habit, with faraway eyes,
Who dribbles her food and makes no reply
When you say in a loud voice 'I do wish you'd try'
Who seems not to notice the things that you do
And for ever is losing a stocking or shoe.
Who unresisting or not, lets you do as you will
With bathing and feeding, the long day to fill
Is that what you are thinking, is that what you see,
Then open your eyes, nurses, you're not looking at me.
I'll tell you who I am as I sit here so still,
As I used at your bidding, as I eat at your will,
I am a small child of ten with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters who love one another,
A young girl of 16, with wings on her feet
Dreaming that soon now a lover she'll meet;
A bride at 20, my heart gives a leap,
Remembering the vows that I promised to keep
At 25, now I have young of my own
Who need me to build a secure, happy home;
A women of 30, my young now grow fast,
Bound to each other with ties that should last,
At 40, my young sons have grown and are gone;
But my man's beside me to see I don't mourn;
At 50, once more babies play around my knee.
Again we know children, my loved one and me
Dark days are upon me, my husband is dead,
I look at the future, I shudder with dread,
For my young are all rearing young of their own
And I think of the years and the love that I've known.
I'm an old woman now and nature is cruel
'tis her jest to make old age look like a fool.
The body it crumbles, grace and vigor depart,
There is now a stone where once was a heart
But inside this old carcass a young girl still dwells
And now and again my battered heart swells
I remember the joys I remember the pain,
And I'm loving and living life over again.
I think of the years all too few – gone too fast,
And accept the stark fact that nothing can last.
So open your eyes, nurses, open and see
Not a crabbit old women, look closer — see me.
Too Soon Old (spotlightdavid.com)
Crabbit Old Woman (en.wikipedia.org)
Cranky Old Man Poem (hoax-slayer.com)
Empathy and stereotype: the work of a popular poem (mchschurch.org)
WHEN AN OLD WOMAN DIES (littleredshoes.me)
anonymous poemAustraliaCrabbitCrabbit Old WomanCranky Old ManDavid L. GriffithFacebookFood for Thoughtgeriatric wardJoanna BornatKateLook CloserMental healthMontroseNursingOld agePhyllis McCormackpostadayScotlandThis is lifeToo Soon Oldtvarajundited KingdomUnited States
Australia, Food for Thought, Fraud, Hoax, Internet, Post A Day 2013, Scam, This is Life, tvaraj
My Mobile number has WON the sum of £750,000
July 3, 2013 tvaraj	12 Comments
Yesterday I received the following SMS:
has WON you the sum
of £750,000 from the
UK Nokia cash offer
send details for
claim:Name,Age,Address,
free.rep3@outlook.com
(no name)
This is another instance of a phone text (SMS) message that claims the recipient has won a bountiful sum of money in an online promotion or in an online lottery. Contrary to the claim there is no prize money and the lottery or promotion mentioned in these messages do not exist. In fact, the messages are just lures used by scammers to entice recipients into replying and getting personal information first and groom them to part with their hard-earned money.
This is somewhat similar to the Ontario Lottery Corporation Scam.
According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), scams delivered via landline and mobile networks remained the preferred delivery method for scammers, with combined voice and text messages making up 56 per cent of reported scams. Unsolicited telephone calls accounted for $24 million in reported losses while fake SMS messages, such as the one I received yesterday, netted criminals $759,986. Online scams increased to represent over 35 per cent of all approaches.
"Scammers continue to find sophisticated methods to deliver scams, taking advantage of new technologies and communication methods to try and slip under your radar," said Delia Rickard, deputy chair, ACCC. "Nowadays it can take just the click of a button to fall victim to a scam, so it is more important than ever that we practice safe techniques when communicating with other-whether online, on the phone, at one's business or even at home."
The United States Postal Inspection Service warns that there has been an increase in the number of seniors victimized by foreign lottery scams by phone and by regular mail such as this one. Many of these lottery scams reportedly originate in Nigeria or Jamaica. At times, callers/scammers will claim the victim owes fees and/or taxes to collect their winnings. The perpetrators of these scams have been known are extremely pushy. They may find photos of the victim's home on Google Maps and scare seniors by making them believe that they are being stalked.
So, beware! We are in for another spate of mobile scams.
Ontario Lottery Corporation Scam (tvaraj.com)
Société des loteries de l'Ontario Escroquerie (tvaraj.com)
Australians fleeced out of $93 million in 2012: report (computerworld.co.nz)
Wisconsin Lottery players get scam calls (jsonline.com)
Beware of this Scam: Microsoft® 2012 Online Promotion (tvaraj.com)
Beware of this "Microsoft Game Studios' Microsoft Online Promotion" Scam (tvaraj.com)
My Mobile number has WON the sum of £750,000 (tvaraj.com)
A Do-It-Yourself Scam or How to Cheat Your Gullibe Friends (tvaraj.com)
ACCCAustraliaAustralian Competition and Consumer CommissionConfidence trickFood for ThoughtfraudsGoogle MapsJamaicaLottery scammobile scamsNigeriapostadayscamsThis is lifetvarajUnited StatesUnited States Postal Inspection Service
Australia, Food for Thought, Humour, Post A Day 2013, This is Life
The 'Three Kicks' Rule
May 30, 2013 tvaraj	1 Comment
An educated person will go all the way to prove his point,
but an intelligent person knows when to retreat …
Recently, I came across a joke that dates back to the 1990s about a hotshot big city lawyer and the "three-kick rule of rural North Cowra."
Cowra is a town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia in the Cowra Shire. When I scoured the net to find the originator of this popular joke, I found many authors had duplicated the gist of the story using various places for the origin of the "Three Kicks Rule": Arizona, Louisiana, Texas, Montana, Minnesota, Tennessee and a lot of other places.
Here is the story that I read the first time:
A big city hotshot lawyer went duck hunting in rural North Cowra in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia.
The first bird he shot fell on the other side of a fence into the field of a grouchy elderly farmer.
The farmer seated on his tractor spotted the lawyer climbing over the fence, and asked him what he was doing.
The lawyer responded, "The duck I shot fell in your field, and now I am going to retrieve it."
The ill-tempered old farmer replied, "This is my property, and how can you jump over my fence?"
The irate lawyer said: "Do you know who I am?"
"I don't care who you are. Get off my field," shouted the farmer.
"I am one of the leading trial lawyers in Australia and, if you do not let me get that duck, I will sue you, take everything you own and leave you stranded on the road."
The old farmer smiled and said: "You city slickers apparently don't know how we settle disputes in North Cowra."
"We settle small disputes like this with the 'Three Kick Rule'."
"What is the 'Three Kick Rule'?" the lawyer asked.
The Farmer replied, "Because the dispute occurs on my land, I get to go first. I kick you three times and then you kick me three times and so on back and forth until someone gives in."
The lawyer quickly thought about the proposed 'Three Kick Rule' and thought he could easily take the old codger. So, he agreed to abide by the local custom.
The old farmer got down from his tractor and cautiously walked up to the lawyer. His first kick planted the toe of his heavy steel-toed work boot into the lawyer's groin and dropped him to his knees.
His second kick to the midriff sent the lawyer reeling with his last meal spewing out of his mouth. The lawyer was on all fours when the farmer's third kick to his rear end, sent him face-first into a fresh cow pie.
Summoning every bit of his will and remaining strength the lawyer managed to get on to his feet. Wiping his face with the arm of his jacket, he said: "Okay, you old fart. Now it's my turn."
(Now comes the part I love …)
The old farmer smiled and said: "Nah, I give up. You can have the duck."
Entry from September 03, 2007 – Texas Three-Kick Rule (lawyer joke) (barrypopik.com)
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And the band played Waltzing Matilda
April 25, 2013 tvaraj	1 Comment
By Judith Baxter
April 25th is a solemn day of remembrance here in NZ and in Australia. It marks the sacrifices made by members of ANZAC (the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) when they joined to fight alongside Britain in the first World War.
ANZAC day Dawn Service, State war memorial, Kings Park Western Australia (2009). (Photograph by Gnangarra…commons.wikimedia.org)
Young men flocked to join up having no earthly idea of what they were getting themselves into, but filled with a fervour "For King and Country."
Photograph of painting: "Anzac, the landing 1915 by George Lambert (1873-1930), 1920–22. The painting depicts the Australian soldiers of the covering force (3rd Infantry Brigade) climbing the seaward slope of Plugge's Plateau which overlooks the northern end of Anzac Cove. The view is to the north, towards the main range. The yellow pinnacle is "The Sphinx" and beyond is Walker's Ridge which leads to Russell's Top. The white bag that each soldier is carrying contains two days of rations which were issued specially for the landing.
The first deployment of the ANZACS was at the Turkish peninsula of Gallipoli. The information the command received about the terrain and an under estimation of the Turkish forces led to a disaster. Nine months later the Allies withdrew leaving behind 46,000 dead.
"They shall not grow old as we that are left grow old
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We shall remember them."
From Ode of Remembrance, taken from Laurence Binyon's
"For the Fallen" first published in 1914.
This day is also commemorated in Turkey at Gallipoli where the cove has been renamed ANZAC Cove. Many ex-servicemen and their families travel to Turkey each year.
And Waltzing Matilda? This was the song played as the troops sailed out from Sydney, Australia at the start of that fateful enterprise. Click here to hear John Williams singing "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda".
I have written in more detail on this day both in 2011 and 2012. It is a sad commentary on the people of the world that even after this "War to End All Wars" we still send our young men and women out to be slaughtered by 'the enemy'.
Last post being sounded at North Beach, Gallipoli. (Photo Mike Bowers, Sydney Morning Herald)
And now there are no more survivors from Gallipoli.
RIP all the fallen and
Alec Campbell
Last Gallipoli survivor from Australia
(died May 2002 aged 103)
Alfred Douglas Dibley
Last Gallipoli survivor from New Zealand
(died 18 December 1997 aged 101)
Re-posted from I choose how I will spend the rest of my life
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Extreme Weather Events and Earth Changes in November 2012
December 10, 2012 tvaraj	Leave a comment
Note this video does not imply the world is going to end in 2012.
New Report: 'Extreme Weather Report 2012': 'Latest peer-reviewed studies, data & analyses undermine claims that current weather is 'unprecedented' or a 'new normal' (climatedepot.com)
Scientists: Climate change could be linked to extreme weather (sacbee.com)
Extreme Weather – Hawaii, [Kauai region] (familysurvivalprotocol.com)
Critics: Sandy Showed Nuclear Plants' Vulnerability to Weather, Sabotage (tvaraj.wordpress.com)
Doomsday hysteria grips Russia (tvaraj.wordpress.com)
Five States Across the U.S. Reported Trembling Ground and Unexplained Booms (tvaraj.wordpress.com)
Sandy: Third Most-Active Hurricane of 19 Named Storms in the Atlantic Basin. (tvaraj.wordpress.com)
Winter Storm Athena. What's in a Name? (tvaraj.wordpress.com)
Blood Red Beach Gets (Almost) Everyone Out of the Water (tvaraj.wordpress.com)
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"Growing Food in the Desert" by Jonathan Margolis
December 9, 2012 tvaraj	Leave a comment
Philipp Saumweber is creating a miracle in the barren Australian outback, growing tonnes of fresh food. So why has he fallen out with the pioneering environmentalist who invented the revolutionary system?
By Jonathan Margolis
Desert blooms: Philipp Saumweber, the founder and CEO of Sundrop, with a tray of his "perfect" produce. Photograph: Jonathan Margolis for the Observer
The scrubby desert outside Port Augusta, three hours from Adelaide, is not the kind of countryside you see in Australian tourist brochures. The backdrop to an area of coal-fired power stations, lead smelting and mining, the coastal landscape is spiked with saltbush that can live on a trickle of brackish seawater seeping up through the arid soil. Poisonous king brown snakes, redback spiders, the odd kangaroo and emu are seen occasionally, flies constantly. When the local landowners who graze a few sheep here get a chance to sell some of this crummy real estate they jump at it, even for bottom dollar, because the only real natural resource in these parts is sunshine.
Which makes it all the more remarkable that a group of young brains from Europe, Asia and north America, led by a 33-year-old German former Goldman Sachs banker but inspired by a London theatre lighting engineer of 62, have bought a sizeable lump of this unpromising outback territory and built on it an experimental greenhouse which holds the seemingly realistic promise of solving the world's food problems.
Indeed, the work that Sundrop Farms, as they call themselves, are doing in South Australia, and just starting up in Qatar, is beyond the experimental stage. They appear to have pulled off the ultimate something-from-nothing agricultural feat – using the sun to desalinate seawater for irrigation and to heat and cool greenhouses as required, and thence cheaply grow high-quality, pesticide-free vegetables year-round in commercial quantities.
So far, the company has grown tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers by the tonne, but the same, proven technology is now almost ready to be extended to magic out, as if from thin air, unlimited quantities of many more crops – and even protein foods such as fish and chicken – but still using no fresh water and close to zero fossil fuels. Salty seawater, it hardly needs explaining, is free in every way and abundant – rather too abundant these days, as our ice caps melt away.
So well has Sundrop's 18-month project worked that investors and supermarket chains have lately been scurrying down to Port Augusta, making it hard to get a room in its few motels, or a table at the curry restaurant in the local pub. Academic agriculturalists, mainstream politicians and green activists are falling over each other to champion Sundrop. And the company's scientists, entrepreneurs and investors are about to start building an £8m, 20-acre greenhouse – 40 times bigger than the current one – which will produce 2.8m kg of tomatoes and 1.2m kg of peppers a year for supermarkets now clamouring for an exclusive contract.
It's an inspiring project, more important, it could be argued, than anything else going on in the world. Agriculture uses 60-80% of the planet's scarce fresh water, so food production that uses none at all is nothing short of miraculous.
Blue-sky thinking: the 75m motorised parabolic mirror follows the sun all day, using its heat to generate energy for the Sundrop greenhouses. Photograph: Hat Margolis
Growing food in a desert, especially in a period of sustained drought, is a pretty counterintuitive idea and Sundrop's horticultural breakthrough also ignores the principle that the best ideas are the simplest. Sundrop's computerised growing system is easy to describe, but was complex to devise and trickier still to make economically viable.
A 75m line of motorised parabolic mirrors that follow the sun all day focuses its heat on a pipe containing a sealed-in supply of oil. The hot oil in turn heats nearby tanks of seawater pumped up from a few metres below ground – the shore is only 100m away. The oil brings the seawater up to 160C and steam from this drives turbines providing electricity. Some of the hot water from the process heats the greenhouse through the cold desert nights, while the rest is fed into a desalination plant that produces the 10,000 litres of fresh water a day needed to keep the plants happy. The water the grower gets is pure and ready for the perfect mix of nutrients to be added. The air in the greenhouse is kept humid and cool by trickling water over a wall of honeycombed cardboard evaporative pads through which air is driven by wind and fans. The system is hi-tech all the way; the greenhouse is in a remote spot, but the grower, a hyper-enthusiastic 27-year-old Canadian, Dave Pratt, can rather delightfully control all the growing conditions for his tonnes of crops from an iPhone app if he's out on the town – or even home in Ontario.
It's the kind of thing an enlightened futurologist might have imagined for the 21st century, and to enter Sundrop's greenhouse from the desert outside, passing the array of sun-tracking solar parabolic mirrors that looks like something from a film set, is to feel you've arrived at a template for tomorrow-world. The warm, humid air laden with the scent of ripening tomatoes is in such contrast to the harsh landscape outside, where it tops a parched 40C for much of the year, that it feels as if the more brutal sides of both nature and economics are being benignly cheated. You can supply billions with healthy, cheap food, help save the planet and make a fortune? There has to be a catch.
Green shoots: Charlie Paton in his East London home. It was his discovery that led to the use of seawater in agriculture. Photograph: Hat Margolis
There seems, however, to be only one significant person in the world who feels there is indeed a catch, and, a little bizarrely, that is the inventor of the technology, one Charlie Paton, the British lighting man mentioned earlier, who is currently to be found in his own experimental greenhouse, atop a three- storey former bakery at the London Fields end of Hackney, east London, feeling proud-ish, but not a little sour, about the way things have worked out 10,000 miles away in the desert between the Flinders mountains and the Spencer Gulf.
If you are of an ecological bent, Paton's name may ring a bell. He is the multi-honoured founder of a veritable icon of the green world, a 21-year established family company called Seawater Greenhouse, originators of the idea of growing crops using only sunlight and seawater. Earlier this month, Paton was given the prestigious title Royal Designer for Industry by the Royal Society of Arts, and a few months earlier, Seawater Greenhouse won first prize in the best product category of the UK's biggest climate-change awards scheme, Climate Week. If Sundrop Farms takes off worldwide, the charming and idealistic Charlie Paton could well be in line for a knighthood, even a Nobel Prize; the potential of his brainchild – the ability to grow infinite quantities of cheap, wholesome food in deserts – is that great.
There's just one problem in all this. Although he and his family built the South Australia greenhouse with their own hands, Sundrop has abandoned pretty much every scrap of the ultra-simple Paton technology regarding it as "too Heath Robinson" and commercially hopeless. Some of the Patons' home-made solar panels in wooden frames are still connected up and powering fans, but are falling apart. Nearly all the rest of their installation has been replaced with hi-tech kit which its spiritual father views with contempt. He dismisses Sundrop's gleaming new £160,000 tracking mirrors from Germany and the thrumming Swiss desalination plant and heat-exchanging tanks as "bells and whistles" put in to impress investors. Sundrop and Seawater have parted company and Paton accuses them of abandoning sustainability in the interests of commercial greed. He is particularly distressed by the installation of a backup gas boiler to keep the crops safe if it's cloudy for a few days.
But we will return to Charlie Paton later; sadly, perhaps, developments in the South Australian desert are now overshadowing the doubts and travails of their original inspiration. And they are quite some developments. "These guys have been bold and adventurous in having the audacity to think that they could do it," says the head of Australia's government-funded desalination research institute, Neil Palmer. "They are making food without risk, eliminating the problems caused not just by floods, frost, hail but by lack of water, too, which now becomes a non-issue. Plus, it stacks up economically and it's infinitely scalable – there's no shortage of sunshine or seawater here. It's all very impressive."
On the vine … the blemish-free crop is effectively organic, but it can't be marketed as such in Australia as it is not grown on soil. Photograph: Hat Margolis
"The sky really is now the limit," confirms Dutch water engineer Reinier Wolterbeek, Sundrop's project manager. "For one thing, we are all young and very ambitious. That's how we select new team members. And having shown to tough-minded horticulturalists, economists and supermarket buyers that what we can do works and makes commercial sense, there's now the possibility of growing protein, too, in these closed, controlled greenhouse environments. And that means feeding the world, no less."
An unexpected bonus of the Sundrop system is that the vegetables produced, while cropping year-round and satisfying the supermarkets' demand for blemish-free aesthetic perfection, can also be effectively organic. It can't be called organic (in Australia at least) because it's grown "hydroponically" – not in soil – but it is wholly pesticide-free, a selling point the Australian supermarkets are seizing on, and apparently fed only benign nutrients. Sundrop is already being sold in local greengrocers in Port Augusta as an ethically and environmentally friendly high-end brand.
Because there's no shortage of desert in which to site it, a Sundrop greenhouse can be built in isolation from others and be less prone to roving pests. Those that sneak in can be eliminated naturally. In this closeted micro-world, Dave Pratt with his trusty iPhone app is free to play God. Not only does Dave have a flight of in-house bees to do their stuff in the greenhouse (who also live a charmed life as they enjoy a perfect, Dave- controlled climate with no predators) but he also has at his command a platoon of "beneficial insects" called Orius, or pirate bugs. These kill crop-destroying pests called thrips, and do so – weirdly in nature – not for food but for, well, fun. So unless you feel for thrips, or believe food should only be grown in God's own soil and subject to God's own pestilences, Sundrop produce seems to be pure and ethical enough to satisfy all but the most eco-fussy.
Sundrop's founder and CEO, on the other hand, is not at first glance an ecowarrior poster child. True, there are plenty of posh boys dabbling in ethical and organic farming, but on paper, Philipp Saumweber could be a comedy all-purpose hate figure. He is a wealthy, Gordonstoun-educated German with a Harvard MBA, immaculate manners, an American accent, Teutonic efficiency and a career that's taken him from hedge-fund management to Goldman Sachs to joining his family's Munich-based agricultural investment business. But, in the typical way stereotypes can let you down, apart from being a thoroughly nice, softly spoken and clearly visionary man, Saumweber has also made a brilliant but ailing idea work, turning a charmingly British, Amstrad-like technology into the horticultural equivalent of Apple.
Soon after becoming immersed in agriculture as a business, he says, he realised that it essentially involved "turning diesel into food and adding water". Whether you were a tree-hugger or a number cruncher, Saumweber reasoned, this was not good. "So I began to get interested in the idea of saline agriculture. Fresh water is so scarce, yet we're almost drowning in seawater. I spent a lot of time in libraries researching it, Charlie Paton's name kept coming up, and that's what started things. He'd been working on the technology since 1991, was smart and although his approach was obviously home-grown and none of his pilot projects had really worked – in fact they'd all been scrapped – he had something too promising to ignore."
Despite having given Paton a large, undisclosed ex- gratia settlement when Sundrop and Seawater divorced in February – a sum Paton still says he was very happy with – Saumweber continues to be gracious about his former business partner, and says he wishes he was still on board, as he is a better propagandist and salesman for this ultimate sustainable technology than anyone else he's met.
"What we liked about Charlie's idea, as did the engineers we got in to assess Seawater Greenhouse, is that it addressed the water issue doubly by proposing a greenhouse which made water in an elegant way and linked this to a system to use seawater to cool the greenhouse," Saumweber recounts.
"What we didn't realise at the start, and I don't think Charlie ever adjusted to fully, was that even in arid regions, you get cold days and a greenhouse will need heating – hence the gas boiler, which cuts in to produce heat and electricity when it gets cold or cloudy, but which upset Charlie so much because it meant we weren't 100% zero-energy any longer. What Charlie overlooked is that you can grow anything without heat and cooling, but it will be blemished and misshapen and will be rejected by the supermarkets. If you don't match their standards, you're not paid. It would be ideal if that weren't the case, but we can't take on the challenge of changing human behaviour.
"So in the end, we had very different views on where the business should go. He'd found the perfect platform to keep tinkering and experimenting, while we just wanted to get into production. He's a very nice man and I share a lot of his eco views, but it wasn't possible to stay together."
When you visit the agreeable Paton family in Hackney it becomes clear the gas-boiler incident out in the desert was far from the whole reason for the fallout with Sundrop. There was also a serious clash of styles. Saumweber is a banker by training and lives in prosperous west London, while the Patons are artistic and live part of the time in a forest clearing in Sussex in a wooden house without electricity. Charlie, an amateur and a tinkerer at heart, a highly knowledgeable polymath rather than a scientist, is also a proud man, whose intense blue eyes burn when he discusses how his invention has, in his view, been debased by the ambitious young men and women who moved it on to the next level.
The difference was essentially political, an idealist/ pragmatist schism not unlike an old Labour/New Labour split. The Patons – Charlie, his wife, jeweller and art school teacher Marlene McKibbin, son Adam, 25, a design engineer and daughter Alice, 26, a fine art graduate – are a tight, highly principled bunch who gather almost every day for a family lunch, like a wholemeal and Palestinian organic olive oil version of the Ewings of Southfork Ranch.
The Seawater Greenhouse method, which they are still promoting actively, involves no desalination plant, no gleaming solar mirrors and little by way of anything electronic. Everything in the Seawater Greenhouse vision is low-tech, cheap to start up and reliant on the subtle, gentle interaction of evaporation and condensation of seawater with wind, both natural and artificial, blown by fans powered by solar panels. If things go wrong and production is disrupted by a glitch in this model, you just persuade people to eat perfectly good but odd-looking produce – or harvest less and stand firm by your sustainable principles.
Although the concept is attractive and the philosophy will chime with many a green consumer, the Seawater Greenhouse installation is less elegant. Dave Pratt, fresh to the team from growing tomatoes in Canada, almost went straight back when he saw the kit Adam and Alice Paton had painstakingly put together. "It was like a construction by the Beverly Hillbillies," Pratt says. "They had these 15,000 hand-made plastic pipes meant to work as heat exchangers, but they just dripped seawater on the plants, which was disastrous."
Paton's perspective on things is, naturally, a little different. "I did have a falling-out with Philipp," he says. "It was a joint venture, but we disagreed on a number of things. Being a cautious investor, he called in consultants and horticulturalists, and one said if you don't put in a gas boiler you're going to lose money and get poor produce. I was persuaded about the need for some heating, but it could have been supplied by solar panels. It wasn't such a big deal, perhaps, but it was a syndrome that ran through everything we did. Philipp is the king of the spreadsheet, and trying to make the numbers go black meant he just rushed everything. I'm all for the thing being profitable, but there are levels of greed I found a bit, well, not quite right. I wish him well, though, and if it's fabulously successful, then fine."
What next for the Patons, then? "Well, the settlement we got was enough to carry on fiddling about for some time. We're excited about getting a new project going in Cape Verde [the island republic in the mid-Atlantic], where they produce no food at all and they seem interested. And we have talked about a project in Somaliland [the unofficial breakaway part of Somalia], but that would be difficult as there's not even a hotel to stay in."
Charlie Paton, although the acknowledged founder of the idea of growing unlimited food in impossible conditions, seems almost destined to join a British tradition of hobbyist geniuses who change the world working from garden sheds and workshops, but, because they aren't commercial, and perhaps rather eschew professionalism, miss out on the final mile and the big payday.
"We will absolutely keep on at this in our own way," he says, "but I don't really feel that proprietary about it. The heart of the technology is actually a bit of soggy cardboard. You can't patent or protect the idea of evaporative cooling. The idea of using seawater to do that absolutely was a major breakthrough, but again, you can't patent it. The main thing is that it's us that's still picking up the plaudits, and I think that makes Philipp really angry."
sundropfarms.com; seawatergreenhouse.com
Reproduced from The Observer, Saturday 24 November 2012
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And Now Sydney's Malabar Beach Glows Blue
December 4, 2012 tvaraj	1 Comment
AFTER the eastern beach coastline resembled the Red Sea last Tuesday, the "night lantern" visited Sydney's Malabar beach that evening.
Malabar beach sparkles ghostly blue from red algae
By Leesa Smith, Southern Courier
David Psaila captured amazing shots of the 'BLUE LANTERN' at Malabar Beach. News Limited
Photo: David Psaila
These photos have not been digitally enhanced – in fact, photographer Dr David Psaila said the water was an even more spectacular colour blue than that shown in these images, the Southern Courier reports.
"The organism responsible, Noctiluca Scintillans known as "night lantern" is very aptly named, as it will luminesce a bright blue when it is disturbed by waves," he said.
The Chifley scientist said the red algae that crept along the east coast last week contained a chemical called luciferin which was a common protein found in bioluminescent animals.
."It's a chemical reaction that causes light," he said. "It is often found in deep sea creatures and is the exact same chemical that causes fire flies to glow."
Dr Psaila said although he had seen this effect before but never to this degree.
"The reason why they are probably not seeing it at other beaches is that those beaches would have a lot more lights around so its really hard to see whereas at Malabar – you see the waves rolling in and they are all blue," he said.
Biological Hazard in Australia, Malabar Beach – Red Algae Invasion (familysurvivalprotocol.com)
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Blood Red Beach Gets (Almost) Everyone Out of the Water
November 28, 2012 tvaraj	3 Comments
By Alyssa Newcomb
abcNews – November 27, 2012 9:48am
(Image Credit: William West/AFP/Getty Images)
Sydney's famous beaches, popular with surfers, looked more like a scene out of a horror movie today when the waters were stained blood red from an algae bloom.
Bondi Beach, nearby Clovelly Beach and Gordon's Bay were closed while authorities tested the water.
The beaches reopened in the late afternoon tafter the red algae, which was identified as Noctiluca scintillans or sea sparkle, begin to fade, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Algae blooms are most prevalent in hot, humid weather, the newspaper reported. Australia is currently enjoying the transition from spring to its summer, which begins in December.
PHOTOS: Red Tide Shocks Swimmers
While red algae isn't toxic, people were advised to avoid swimming in the algae-colored water because its high ammonia levels can cause skin irritation.
"It has got quite a fishy smell to it," lifeguard Bruce Hopkins told the Australian Associated Press. "It can irritate some people's skin but generally not much more than that."
Hopkins said the red algae was rare but definitely not unheard of.
Despite the warnings, it didn't stop some swimmers, including the one pictured above, from jumping in to the surf.
Earlier this month, Prince Charles visited Bondi Beach as part of a tour celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee.
Blood red beach (tickingnews.com)
Algae turns Bondi Beach blood red (thetimes.co.uk)
Sydney Beaches Turns Red (zen-haven.com)
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DDW expo was a succes!
Our Dutch Design Week 2018 exposition was a great success.
We met a lot of interesting people and had really nice conversations about our latest work and everything related.
Our Dutch Design Knives launch received very enthusiastic reactions and positive feedback from our visitors.
Thank you for visiting us and we hope to see you again next year!


Now is the time to start promoting 10 and Under Tennis in your community, as the USTA's advertising and promotional campaign to bring more kids into the game hits nationally, including a 15-city SmashZone Tour.
Full-page ads targeting parents and tennis providers have already been running in top tennis and consumer publications. In industry publications, informative advertorials have featured top coaches, such as Nick Bollettieri, endorsing 10 and Under Tennis. To date, stories have appeared in more than 200 consumer and trade publications, such as The New York Times, USA Today, Reader's Digest, Southern Living, Sports Travel, Advertising Age and more.
In addition, nine leading consumer magazines, including Redbook and Family Fun, reaching over 6 million consumers nationwide will carry the 12-page "New Tennis for a New Generation" booklet. The booklet also will be in Tennis Magazine, in regional publications, and in local suburban publications.
On TV, you'll see 10 and Under Tennis spots running throughout the Olympus US Open Series in July and August, and throughout the US Open broadcasts, too.
The USPTA's World Conference on Tennis will be Sept. 19-24 at Saddlebrook Resort in Wesley Chapel, Fla., and will feature more than 40 general sessions, seminars and specialty courses. The conference also offers the International Tennis Championships, a tennis-only buying show, industry meetings, awards presentation, parties and more.
Approximately 1,500 attendees are expected, including tennis professionals, industry leaders and representatives, manufacturers, wholesalers and media. USPTA members, their friends and family, nonmember tennis-teaching professionals, industry leaders and media are invited. Sign up early for special pricing and discounts. Details are at usptaworldconference.com or 800-877-8248.
The violations occurred between October 2009 and July 2010, although the Tennis Integrity Unit would not specify which matches Koellerer was found to have manipulated. Details of the hearing, which was held in London on April 27-28, will not be released, according to the Tennis Integrity Unit, which is an initiative of the ITF, ATP, WTA and Grand Slam Committee.
In addition to the lifetime ban, Koellerer also was fined $100,000. He has denied the charges and reportedly is considering appealing the ruling. Koellerer, currently ranked No. 385 in the world, climbed to a career-high No. 55 after reaching the third round of the 2009 US Open.
According to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association's 2011 State of the Industry Report, the sporting goods industry in 2010 showed its largest one-year revenue growth swing in the sporting goods industry in nearly 20 years. The sporting goods industry also outperformed GDP for the first time since 2007.
SportsOneSource Media reported that in 2010, U.S. wholesale sales of sporting goods equipment, sports apparel, licensed merchandise, athletic footwear and fitness equipment were $74.2 billion, a 3.5 percent increase over 2009. Athletic apparel is the biggest category in the sports products industry, and that increased 4.8 percent to $29.6 billion. The second largest category is sporting goods equipment at $20.4 billion. Athletic footwear sales were $12.6 billion. Sports licensed merchandise sales amounted to $7.3 billion.
"The sporting goods industry has strengthened in the last 12 to 16 months, despite challenges which have been presented by a number of issues such as the vagaries of the worldwide economy, federal and state legislation, sourcing and production concerns, regulations by sport governing bodies, and counterfeiting," said SGMA President Tom Cove.
Baiardo is the first stringing machine designed using the Wilson B.E.S.T. stringing system (Biomechanically Efficient Stringing Technology), with multiple ergonomic features providing user comfort.
"This furthers our belief that strict quality control and continuous research has helped to produce strings that will improve every player's game, regardless of ability," said Luxilon President Nico Van Malderen.
Are Sporting Goods Prices Moving Upward?
It looks like prices for sporting goods, including footwear and apparel, may be increasing. According to a survey of private, independent vendors and retailers by Robert W. Baird & Co. and reported by Bloomberg news, more than 90 percent of manufacturers paid higher input costs for the first quarter, and 41 percent of those firms increased wholesale prices.
SmashZone, the USTA's interactive fan attraction at the US Open, is hitting the road for a 15-city mobile tour. SmashZone Mobile includes a 53-foot trailer, which anchors four kid-sized tennis courts, complementing the USTA's 10 and Under Tennis initiative.
The tour, which kicked off Memorial Day Weekend at the Atlanta Jazz Festival, will stop at fairs and festivals, along with some retail environments and downtown locations in markets across the country, including some of the Olympus US Open Series markets.
The trailer features interactive activities for visitors, including a Tennis Magazine Green Screen Cover Shoot, Wii Tennis and Touch Screen Kiosks. Among other things, the kiosks allow the public to find a facility in their area offering 10 and Under Tennis programming. In addition, SmashZone will allow participants to try their skills on any of the four 10 and Under courts, which are made of Sport Court's PowerGame modular playing surface.
"To be able to get more racquets in kid's hands at a young age, and to share with them the idea that tennis can be played anywhere from schools yards, to parks, to clubs, and even at home, underscores the fact that tennis is the sport of opportunity," said USTA President and Chairman of the Board Jon Vegosen.
Other SmazhZone locations include Denver; San Diego; San Mateo, CA; Luling, TX; New Orleans; O'Fallon, MO; Austin; Dallas; Fort Wayne, IN; Washington, D.C.; Readington, NJ; Philadelphia; New Haven, CT; and Wilmington, DE; then on to the US Open in New York. Visit 10andundertennis.com.
Andy Roddick will debut a line of apparel in July created with Lacoste, his clothing sponsor for the last six years. The new line, which Roddick will wear on court, includes polo shirts, shorts, track pants and warm-up jackets.
The clothing, which Roddick reportedly helped to design, will range in price from $85 retail for a pair of shorts to $185 for a jacket. The new line will debut on July 1.
Bjorn Fratangelo, a 17-year-old from Pittsburgh, captured the boys' singles title at the French Open Junior Championsips June 5. He's the first American to win the Roland Garros boys' title since John McEnroe in 1977.
Dunlop Sports has appointed Rich Neighbor as Western Regional sales manager.
Kim Clijsters was named one of the 2011 Time Magazine 100 — a list of the world's most influential people. "When it comes to having it all, Kim Clijsters offers a great model," wrote Martina Navratilova in her tribute to Clijsters.
The 85th Annual National Public Parks Tennis Championships will be July 28-Aug. 7 at the Baseline Tennis Center at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. The event is open to all USTA members. Visit nppta.org or baselinetenniscenter.com.
Tennis Hall of Famer Pauline Betz Addie of the Washington, D.C., passed away on May 31 in an assisted-living facility in Potomac, Md. She was 91 years old. Addie won the U.S. National Championship (now the US Open) four times in the 1940s and Wimbledon in 1946.
ATP pro Gaël Monfils is the newest "ambassador" for sunglass maker Maui Jim and will promote the importance of wearing sunglasses for tennis.
Barrie Markowitz, the USTA's director of membership, left the company after seven years and will be the VP of Marketing for a division of Amazon.com. Her position will not be filled, but her responsibilities at the USTA will be under Membership Marketing, reporting to Sue Hunt, and Membership Operations, reporting to Jeff Waters.
Adidas has appointed Hermann Deininger as chief marketing officer (CMO) for the Adidas brand.
Legendary racquetball coach and Head/Penn Racquet Sports' National Promotions Coordinator Fran Davis has written the book "Championship Racquetball," a comprehensive guide for mastering the skills, tactics and strategies of the sport of racquetball. Visit frandavisracquetball.com.
Pro Sabine Lisicki is part of the new Longines Rising Tennis Stars program. Longines is the official timekeeper for the French Open.
Vince Cicero is the new tournament director for Cincinnati's Western & Southern Open.
Franco Mata of Maputo, Fla., won the men's open title at the $10,000 USPTA Clay Court Championships in May at the Ibis Golf and Country Club in West Palm Beach, Fla. Marina McCollom of West Des Moines, Iowa, defended her women's open title.
Hundreds of USPTA members across the nation hosted free Tennis Across America clinics with the theme of "Tennis – for the health of it!" on May 14, to celebrate the 22nd annual Tennis Across America Day. While the overall goal of Tennis Across America is to take the game of tennis to new, current and former players, this year the focus has been on promoting the health benefits of tennis to help support efforts to reduce obesity.
The USPTA encouraged every member to take part in the One-Clinic Challenge and run at least one Tennis Across America event to help spread the word that obesity is now an epidemic, especially with today's youth devoting more time to computers and other technology than to exercise. In addition, it provides the opportunity to focus on the long-range health benefits of developing a habit of being active through tennis from early childhood.
The USTA is looking to honor the best in community tennis and is seeking nominations two prestigious awards: the 2011 Eve Kraft Community Service Award and the 2011 Community Tennis Association of the Year Award. Deadline for nominations for both awards is July 15.
The Eve Kraft Award, originally established in 1974, is the highest volunteer honor in community tennis. It recognizes USTA volunteer tennis leaders for significant contributions in tennis development through CTAs, parks and recreation departments, schools, or community centers. Anyone — individuals, CTAs or USTA Sections or Districts — can nominate a dedicated volunteer for the Eve Kraft Award.
The CTA of the Year Award honors a registered CTA that provides programs that promote and develop the growth of tennis. Nominations for the CTA award come from each USTA Section. If your CTA is doing great things for recreational tennis, now is the time to let your Section know about it.
Cardio Tennis spokesperson Anna Kournikova is the newest trainer on "The Biggest Loser" reality show. The tennis star first came to the show in an episode that aired last October, when she put the contestants through a Cardio Tennis workout. Kournikova replaces Jillian Michaels, who left the NBC show after Season 11.
The PTR, in conjunction with USTA Texas, held an Instructing Wheelchair Tennis Workshop at Circle C Tennis Center in Austin, Texas, at the end of April. The workshop gave tennis teachers the opportunity to learn from a wheelchair to better understand mobility and weight transfer issues.
The workshop was conducted by PTR Clinician and Tester Geoff Norton, former coach of the USA World Cup Team, and hosted by PTR Master Pro and Circle C Director of Tennis Fernando Velasco. It was organized by USTA Texas Wheelchair Coordinator Taylor Helfeldt. Several USTA Texas TSRs participated in the April 29 workshop, including Cindy Benzon, Sam Jones, Amanda Knight and Katy Rogers. Attendees enjoyed a special treat when surprise guest, International Tennis Hall of Famer Dennis Ralston, with his recent prosthetic, joined them for lunch and shared his story.
PTR's next Instructing Wheelchair Tennis Workshop will be Sept. 18 on Hilton Head Island, S.C. Visit ptrtennis.org for info.
Gamma Sports is shipping the Ballhopper EZ Basket 150, a lightweight ball pick-up basket designed as a companion product to the Ballhopper EZ Travel Cart 150. The EZ Basket 150 integrates the functionality of a ball basket with a teaching cart, allowing a teaching pro, coach or player to quickly pick up tennis balls, set the EZ Basket 150 into the EZ Travel Cart 150 frame and start feeding balls immediately.
The basket design features a durable nylon bag over a lightweight steel frame and a padded handle. The bottom of the EZ Basket is constructed of powder-coated steel wires, similar to a traditional ball pick-up basket. The handle can be quickly removed for transport and storage.
"By integrating a ball-pickup with a teaching cart, we've eliminated one piece of equipment, making lessons more efficient and simplifying travel between locations," said Tom Sullivan, Gamma product manager. For information, visit gammasports.com.
The Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA) applauded the decision by the U.S. Department of Education to give the Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP) $78.84 million in funding for fiscal 2011 — just 0.2 percent less than the federal government approved in FY 2010.
However, just weeks later, PEP funding for fiscal 2012 came under attack on Capitol Hill, as the U.S. House Education & Workforce Committee, voting along party lines, approved legislation to eliminate 41 education programs from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, including PEP. While the legislation is expected to pass in the U.S. House, the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate does not support the House bill.
Managed by the Department of Education, PEP grants are awarded to schools and community organizations that provide quality physical education/physical activity programs for youngsters. This funding is a top priority in SGMA's commitment to provide quality physical education. Since the initial PEP grants in 2001, more than $600 million has been awarded.
FOR SALE — Used ALPHA Axis Pro stringing machine. Includes tabletop base (ALPHA Revo). List price new $799, asking $500. Will also sell hand tools, instructional CD's, and string sets. Send email to: dsearle@knology.net or call Don 865-357-4830.
Wilson's annual promotion for the 2011 US Open runs through July 31, with a grand prize of a trip for two to New York City and the Open. The prize includes airfare, hotel, a VIP behind the scenes tour and box seats for a day and a night session. Six second-place prize packs include a case of US Open balls, a Wilson BLX racquet, a set of Wilson string and a BLX racquet bag. Online registration is at Wilson.com/usopentrip.
In May, the City of Irvine, Calif., presented a Professional Growth Weekend for tennis teachers and coaches, which featured Master Pros from both the USPTA and PTR. Among the presenters at the Bill Barber Community Park Tennis Center were Ken DeHart, Bill Tym, Hans Romer and Don Henson.
Fila Korea Ltd., the owner of the Fila brand globally, and a private equity firm in Korea purchased the Acushnet Company golf business from Fortune Brands, which includes the Titleist and FootJoy brands for $1.23 billion.
Rough Hollow, a lifestyle waterfront community in Lakeway, Texas, has signed on as a local sponsor of the 2011 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Quarterfinal between the U.S. and Spain, which will be played at The Frank Erwin Center on the University of Texas campus in Austin, July 8-10.
The 17 USPTA divisions and USPTA national have engraved bricks on the International Tennis Hall of Fame's Legends Walk in Newport, R.I.
Tennis is well-represented on the Forbes list of the World's Most Powerful Celebrities. In fact, tennis had more people on the list than any other sport. The list, a measure of entertainment-related earnings and media visibility, has Roger Federer at No. 25, Rafael Nadal at 46, Maria Sharapova at 80, Serena Williams at 84 and Venus Williams at 86.
"A Player's Guide To USTA League Tennis," a guidebook for competing in USTA Leagues or any team tennis competition, is available from New Chapter Press. The paperback ($14.99) was written by Tony Serksnis of Mountain View, Calif., who has more than 25 years of competing in leagues and 15 years of captaining tennis teams. Visit newchaptermedia.com.
The Cliffs Communities of Travelers Rest, S.C., announced an exclusive agreement with Peter Burwash International to direct the tennis programming. Veteran PBI tennis pro Jack DeAndrade has been named the director of tennis at The Cliffs.
Actor Will Ferrell brought a gift to "Late Late Show" host Craig Ferguson during the actor's May 6 appearance on the show: a new Dunlop 200G racquet. Ferrell, who plays tennis and frequently plays in pro-am and charity events, said the racquet actually was for Ferguson's 3-month-old son.
Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire in England has appointed Peter Burwash International to direct a new tennis program.
Corona is the official beer sponsor of the Atlanta Tennis Championships, which is the ATP World Tour 250 event that will open the Olympus US Open Series and be played at the Racquet Club of the South July 18-24.
If you've ever tried to photograph your students or tried to use your camera to capture the action at a tournament or other event, you know how frustrating photographing tennis can be. For some help, consider the new book Photographing Tennis: A Guide for Photographers, Parents, Coaches & Fans.
Authored by frequent RSI contributor Chris Nicholson, a longtime tennis writer and photographer, the book details techniques for making great tennis images. Topics include how to choose the right gear, how to pick positions to shoot from, strategies for composing photos, techniques for timing, how to capture the ball and freeze motion, and more. Visit PhotographingTennis.com.
The USTA has identified 21 target markets so far (of a possible 25 markets) for investment in 10 and Under Tennis. Each market will receive $50,000 in matching grants from the USTA to be used to grow the game, including building new and adapting current tennis courts to accommodate 10 and Under Tennis.
The target communities will also work with the USTA national office to make sure local providers are taught the proper techniques and skills to learn the game from national trainers. The $50,000 will be divided over a three-year period, so that after the three years, local communities will be self-sufficient in running 10 and Under Tennis programming.


Living in a carnival would be so exciting. All the bright colours and fun that go with the fair would be pure joy. At least that's what the local children thought. Bu they didn't know of Rosalie and her family.
Twelve-year-old Rosalie's life is anything but fun. Her father manages a theatrical company which travels from fairground to fairground. He doesn't take time to think about his family's needs or wants. When he's not working he's enjoying himself with the local people, only coming to the family to pressure them to keep working.
Rosalie's mother is very sick. So sick that she can't act in any of the shows, much to her husband's chagrin and wrath. But she loves Rosalie and tries to shield her from evils of the fairground.
Rosalie has to stay up late working very hard with the acting troupe. Life behind the scenes is anything but exciting. One day, a stranger gives Rosalie a picture of a shepherd holding a lamb. The man tells the young girl and her mother about the Good Shepherd, Jesus, and how He longs to show His love for them. This brings back memories from her childhood and Rosalie's mother shares her past with her daughter, explaining how she was lured into the glitter of the stage and came to marry an actor. Her past sins and sorrows loom large in her mind. One day, Rosalie gets to see her aunt for the first time and her mother instructs her to go to her aunt when she dies.
Before the mother dies, she finds peace and joy through repentance of sins and faith in Christ. Rosalie also finds the Good Shepherd and shares her joy with all she meets. Her father soon remarries a very selfish woman and when he is killed in an accident, Rosalie knows she must escape. Finding her way to her aunt, she finds finally finds a refuge and love.
Message: A clear message on the false happiness of the world, the glitter of the world is nothing compared to the peace and joy found in the Lord Jesus Christ. Clear gospel message.


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