A Sodalite double pointed healing pendant with a silver bail. Size 30mm to 50mm.
Sodalite is great for the metabolism and the immune system, and is believed to regulate blood pressure. It can also relieve one of a fear of flying when traveling.
Double terminated crystals have distinct points at both ends. A double termination radiates or absorbs energy at both ends concurrently. This causes it to channel energy in two directions at once. A double terminated crystal integrates spirit and matter and offers an effective bridge between two energy points.


A retractable roller banner system that allows you to interchange banner prints in seconds!
Changing media within seconds has never been this easier! - Just flip open the cover to remove the roller, no springs, no hassle!
Sleek and minimalist design roller base. Graphic is retractable through the roller cap.


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Residential ControlsCommercial ControlsHVAC Breaking News
ZigBee Alliance and EnOcean Alliance Announce Collaboration
They look to bring interoperable self-powered IoT solutions to more markets and applications
DAVIS/SAN RAMON, Calif. — The ZigBee Alliance, a non-profit association of organizations creating open, global standards that define the Internet of Things (IoT) for consumer, commercial, and industrial applications, announced with the EnOcean Alliance, a consortium for battery-less, wireless smart buildings and smart homes, that the two organizations will cooperate on combining the benefits of EnOcean energy harvesting wireless solutions with ZigBee 3.0 for worldwide applications. The cooperation will help the organizations to create an open, global specification that will extend energy harvesting wireless communication to a broader range of self-powered IoT sensor solutions. These solutions use the surrounding environment as their energy source, making battery-less connected devices a reality.
"We are very excited that the EnOcean Alliance is bringing its energy harvesting expertise and widely deployed device profiles into the ZigBee 3.0 ecosystem," said Tobin Richardson, president and CEO of the ZigBee Alliance. "Our goal with ZigBee 3.0 is to provide a unifying IoT standard that simplifies product development while reducing industry fragmentation and unlocking new market growth opportunities. This agreement with the EnOcean Alliance is a first important step down that path. A jointly developed specification for the ZigBee 3.0 ecosystem will bring the promise of interoperable self-powered IoT solutions to more markets and applications, meeting growing demand for plug-and-play solutions that can deliver seamless, ultra-low-power battery-less communication."
"This is a major next step on the way to an interoperable IoT, from two industry-leading organizations combining their expertise and influence to help make this vision a reality," said Graham Martin, chairman of the EnOcean Alliance. "The globally available 2.4 GHz frequency is the key to the consumer market. We look forward to working with the ZigBee Alliance, one of the most experienced organizations in this field, to define the technical specifications for worldwide energy harvesting wireless solutions based on this worldwide standard. This will give our members access to new regions and additional fields of applications to grow their business for self-powered innovations. It perfectly adds to the EnOcean Alliance's established market of smart buildings in the sub-1 GHz frequency, which will continue to be a major focus for us, bringing field-proven and interoperable energy harvesting solutions to new areas of use. This is a significant win for the complete wireless community."
"The ZigBee Alliance's board of directors and I are pleased to be entering into this relationship with the EnOcean Alliance," said John E. Osborne II, chairman of the ZigBee Alliance board. "We expect this technology cooperation to deliver significant new benefits and opportunities for our members and their customers as we move closer to true interoperability for the IoT."
This technical cooperation agreement will build on the EnOcean Alliance's already strong position with more than 1,500 interoperable products available for home and commercial building automation, and expand it bringing energy harvesting wireless communication to many more applications in the IoT and consumer arenas. It will also take advantage of the newly ratified ZigBee 3.0 standard, which enables battery-less devices to securely join networks across a variety of energy harvesting applications. As a result, the industry will have new opportunities for creating intelligently connected buildings and developing other solutions across a variety of applications. The collaboration is also designed to provide a foundation to seamlessly bring data to the IoT frameworks of other industry initiatives, in order to facilitate interoperable communication from the sensor to the cloud.
A Technical Task Force will be built of ZigBee Alliance and EnOcean Alliance representatives to define the technical specifications required to combine standardized EnOcean Equipment Profiles (EEPs) with the ZigBee 3.0 solution, which operates in the worldwide IEEE 802.15.4 2.4 GHz standard. The alliances plan to complete definition of this technical specification and share details of associated collaborative marketing and business activities in the second quarter of 2016.
For more information about the ZigBee Alliance, visit www.zigbee.org.
For more information about the EnOcean Alliance, visit www.enocean-alliance.org.
KEYWORDS: energy EnOcean Alliance Internet of Things (IoT) ZigBee Alliance

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The humble apple is at the core of all our delicious and elegant beverages. Each apple is lovingly grown, hand-picked and pressed on the Estate, to create wonderful, thirst-quenching natural fruit drinks.
We will shortly be introducing our new cider range, made from apples grown, picked, and pressed on the Attyflin Estate. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and be first to know when they are available!
Our premium-quality Preserves, Chutneys and Sauces are made from freshly picked apples, rhubarb, blackcurrants and gooseberries, all grown in our Attyflin Estate orchards and walled garden.
Here at the Attyflin Estate we are on a mission to create authentic and trustworthy Natural Fruit Beverages. All of our tasty fruit thirst quenchers are made using apples that we grow and hand-pick here on the Estate. Check our unique and compelling flavour combinations!
The Attyflin Estate is a unique and historic 250 acre demesne, established hundreds of years ago. Throughout its history it has been carefully managed to enable the growth of fruits, vegetables & livestock. Today, we focus on growing wonderful fruits, including apples, pears, figs, blackcurrants & tayberries.
We were proud that on our first time entering Blas na hÉireann - The Irish Food Awards, we picked up four awards, including a Gold Award, 2 Silver Awards, and a special award for the Best New Start-Up 2018.


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St Christopher's is a charity creating brighter futures for children and young people in care. As a leading provider of children's services, we always seek to develop our practice and find new ways of supporting young people.
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Christmas appeal raises £22,000 for children and young people
Home / News / Christmas appeal raises £22,000 for children and young people
St Christopher's Christmas Appeal has smashed its target and raised £22,000 for young people in care and care leavers.
Christmas can be a difficult time for young people in care, and care leavers who are not able to spend the day with their family can feel very lonely. However at St Christopher's, with the help of our generous supporters, we were able to make Christmas special for our children and young people.
Our staff helped children write letters to Santa, laid on plenty of festive food and organised Christmas parties – including a winter wonderland themed one, complete with a Snow Queen. And thanks to supporters, our children and young people had lots of gifts to unwrap on Christmas Day.
At our home for young people aged 16+ in Lewisham, former residents often come back to visit and Christmas was no different. They joined in with Christmas activities, including lunch and a party with staff and friends. The home's team leader Rad said: "It was a wonderful time and, thanks to the generous people who donated to the appeal, our residents will have unforgettable memories."
At our 16+ home in Twickenham the young people had breakfast together on Christmas Day before visiting friends and family, and had lunch together on Boxing Day. Support worker Ella said: "It was lovely to see all the residents smiling and laughing over Christmas. I know the residents were nervous about Christmas time but they all really enjoyed themselves which was fantastic to see."
Thank you so much to everyone who donated to our appeal, including those who delivered Christmas gifts to the young people in our homes. A big thank you to: Scotiabank, M Moser Associates and JLT for their donations, and Positively Putney for helping to promote the appeal.
If you'd like to support the work of St Christopher's, you can read more about how donations make a difference to the children and young people in our care.
St Christopher's releases Impact Report 2020
St Christopher's is delighted to release their Impact Report 2020 as part of their 150th birthday ...
Charity celebrates 150th birthday
In 2020 St Christopher's Fellowship is celebrating 150 years of creating brighter futures for children and ...
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The warped mind of Jawad Akbar
Five members of an Islamic terror gang who planned a bombing campaign in Britain have been handed out life sentences at the Old Bailey today. The views of the gang are chilling, and will make disturbing reading for those who still believe hard-line Islamic views can be accommodated in a society which respects equality of the sexes.
Some gang members favoured bombing the Ministry of Sound nightclub in south London. One of the plotters, Jawad Akbar, was heard to reason: "No one can ever turn around and say: 'Oh they were innocent, those slags dancing around. '"
Can't they, Mr Akbar? Perhaps it's the old contrarian in me, but I think I will 'turn around' and say that 'slags dancing around', as you put it, are not deserving of being blown to kingdom come. Anyone who agrees with Mr Akbar on this issue should, I respectfully suggest, take the next flight out of the country.
In praise of 'Bobby'
With the huge amount of dross that passes for entertainment these days, it's a delight to watch a well-made, intelligent new film. 'Bobby', written and directed by Emilio Estevez, tells the story of the last 24 hours in the life of the radical politician Robert F Kennedy, who lost his life to the assassin's bullet at the Ambassador's Hotel, L.A. in June 1968. The film focuses on the lives of assorted characters who were in the Ambassador's Hotel that fateful evening, with numerous clips of Kennedy himself. It's a masterly work, which captures perfectly the enthusiasm engendered by Kennedy's candidature. (Oh for a politician of his calibre in America today!). The film ends with Kennedy's speech on the blight of violence in American society, which he gave on the occasion of the death of Dr Martin Luther King, just a few weeks earlier. It's one of the greatest political speeches of all time and can be read in full here. Kennedy's words are thought-provoking at any time, but are particularly poignant in the light of last week's tragic events in Virginia.
The Profits of War
Another day in Iraq, another bloodbath. But hey, don't be despondent. Halliburton has announced increased profits for the first quarter. Who said there was nothing good to come out of the Iraq war?
A Box of Delights
Never visited Brussels? You've got a real treat in store.
Here's my article on the many delights of the Belgian capital from this week's Spectator.
How would you like to celebrate your fortieth birthday?, my wife asked me one morning at breakfast. How about going to our favourite city in Europe, I replied. So we did. We bought two return tickets on Eurostar and went to Brussels.
What is it that makes the Belgian capital so irresistible?
Firstly, the people. Brussels, along with Belgrade and Sofia is in the Premier league of European Friendliness. It's not just Bron Waugh's legendary ticket inspectors who seem to have a masters degree from the University of Charm: service everywhere is courteous, strangers are unfailingly helpful, the locals approachable and kind.
Secondly, there's the highly un-globalised look to most of the main streets and squares. Although Brussels is the base for the EU and NATO, it has somehow avoided the mind-numbing uniformity that locking one's country into 'Euro-Atlantic structures' usually entails. It has the lowest per capita number of McDonalds of any Western European capital city; Pizza Express, Pret a Manger, Starbucks and other ubiquitous British high street names are conspicuous by their absence. Arriving in Brussels from clone town UK plc never fails to lift the spirits: one is reminded just how boringly standardised one's own country has become.
Thirdly, linked to two, there is the wonderful variety of bars and cafes.
Jazz bars, themed bars, Parisian style pavement cafes, smoky neighbourhood dens; bars that simply define bohemian. Among my favourites are L'Archiduc, a fabulous Art Deco establishment close to place St Gery, where live jazz can be heard every Saturday afternoon for free; Le Greenwich, just round the corner in Rue Des Chartreux, where you can watch the regulars play chess and backgammon until the early hours; the sublimely decadent Goupil Le Foul, with its sink-in sofas and dimmed red lights and walls covered with the memorabilia of legendary chansonierres and the simple but enchanting 'bruin café' Au Daringman in Rue De Flandre, where the ever-cheerful owner/proprietor Martine serves, five nights a week, from behind the bar.
What makes the night life in Brussels such a pleasure is not only the extensive range of beers (over 400), and the sensible smoking policy (smoking is still allowed in pubs and cafes which don't serve food), but that people live in the city centre and as a result you can still, especially in the Ste Catherine district, find bars filled with locals. 'We live in a village' our arts teacher friend in Au Daringman told us: the clientele that night included a ten year old boy with his parents, an incredibly sweet pensioner called Carmen who lived just across the road, a teacher of Russian called Veerle and her student friend Ine, a disc jockey- cum-market seller called Philip and a former film producer who used to be on the committee for deciding which Belgium film was nominated for the Best Foreign Film category at the Oscars. Compare that with the usual bunch you meet in your local Yates' wine lodge.
Fourthly, again linked to point two: there is the incredible selection of specialist, individually owned shops. The cosy network of streets between La Bourse and Le Grand Place are a particular delight: choc-a-bloc with outlets selling second hand records, lace, chocolates, stamps, comic books, costume jewellery, waffles and much more beside.
Fifthly, there are Brussels' museums. One of my favourite areas of the city is the Parc De Cinquintaire: walk through the gigantic triumphal arch commissioned by King Leopold to mark Belgium's golden jubilee in 1880- and you will find not just one, but three of Europe's most fascinating collections- the enormous Musees Royaux d'Art and Histoire (with its superb selection of tapestries) the Musee Royal De L'Armee et d'Histoire militaire (which traces the history of the Belgian Army from its independence in 1839 to the present day) and Autoworld, a collection of over one hundred automobiles housed in one vast aircraft-hangar style building. Don't miss too the largest collection of musical instruments in the world in La Musee des Instruments de Musique, housed in the stunning Old England building (the view from the top floor is worth the admission fee alone).
The sixth wonder of Brussels is the food. Whether you're snacking on pommes frites avec mayonnaise bought from a Turkish vendor outside La Bourse or going for the full works in rue Des Bouchers, quality- and good service- is guaranteed. For £10 you can eat as well in Brussels as you can for £100 in London, something which probably explains the hostility of Clement 'I never could see the point of Belgium' Freud. You can't go wrong anywhere in Brussels; but three of our favourite eateries are 'Le Mouton D'Or' on rue Des Bouchers, Plattesteen, a traditional café/restaurant near La Bourse which offers superb three course lunch-time menus for just 12 Euros; and the incomparable 'Fin De Siecle' on rue Des Chatrueux (next door to Le Greenwich), with its long wooden tables, blackboard menu, enormous portions (the filets de volaille and lapin a la kriek come highly recommended) and an ironwork spiral staircase which is challenging when sober and potentially lethal after your fifth glass of Leffe Brune.
Last but not least, there is the architecture. The Grand Platz is rightly regarded by as the most beautiful square in Europe, but if its Gothic magnificence is not enough, the city also has a marvellous collection of art nouveau buildings. One of the best is architect Victor Horta's own house and studio at rue Americaine, now fully open to the public as a museum.
In short, Brussels is a treasure trove, which even after several visits still throws up new delights. Now, thanks to the wonders of modern engineering you can be there in less than two and half hours by train from London for less than the return fare to Manchester. What on earth are you waiting for?
A Culture of Violence
What do you get if you allow your television and film screens to be bombared with violence, make it easy for people to obtain guns and run an economic system which encourages competition but not solidarity? The answer is this.
Faster, Cheaper, Greener, Sexier... and state-owned
Why are some people still reluctant to concede that publicly-owned railways work better than privately-owned ones? This letter of mine appears in this week's edition of The Spectator.
In his eulogy to the wonderful French railway system, Neil Collins "French trains: faster, cheaper, greener, sexier", Spectator 7th April 2007, fails to mention one important difference between French railways and their British counterparts: SNCF is owned by the French government, whereas British train companies are owned by private shareholders. For an awful long time we have been brainwashed by free market fundamentalists into believing that anything owned by the state is always going to be more inefficient than anything privately owned: the continued success of France's railways and the expensive post-privatisation chaos which exists in Britain and which is experenced by millions of commuters on a daily basis, proves that it simply isn't true.
Neil Clark,
So, you want to live in a democracy?
This piece of mine appeared in Saturday's Morning Star.
After an absence of thirty years, America's finest detective finally returned to British television screens last summer. The decision of the BBC to re-screen several episodes of the classic 1970s whodunit series Ellery Queen, with Jim Hutton as the deceptively absent minded sleuth was a cause for unmitigated celebration.
Ellery Queen was a great programme not just on account of its ingenious plots and fine acting, or for its glorious recreation of late 1940s New York, but for the revolutionary way the audience was kept fully involved in proceedings. Ten minutes from the end of each episode, Hutton would turn to the camera and ask us, the viewers, if we had worked out "whodunnit". More often than not we hadn't. Ellery Queen mysteries were always hard to solve, even if all the clues had been up there on the screen before our very eyes, but the point was that we were consulted.
Unlike much of television today, Ellery Queen was a programme which didn't treat us like idiots, but as reasoned, intelligent human beings.
How different to our political masters in the so called "democratic world".
Rather than consulting us, the people, and acting in our interests as ought to happen in a democracy, our politicians treat us with contempt and pander only to the interests of global capital. One opinion poll after another shows majority public support for the renationalisation of the railways, yet neither of our two main political parties went into the last election promising any change in the status quo. A clear majority also want to see British troops withdrawn from Iraq, yet again, both of our leading parties continue to support the occupation. The reintroduction of a new top rate of income tax, caps on executive pay and the end to the creeping privatisation of the NHS are other popular policies which Britain's political elite won't even countenance. There are many others.
The type of democracy which the political elite in Britain, the US and Brussels favour is not the dictionary definition of 'rule of the people', but a much more restricted form which can only be described as 'Henry Ford democracy'. The famous American automobile manufacturer said his customers could have any colour car they liked so long as it was black: Henry Ford democrats tell us we can elect any government we like, so long as it's neo-liberal and supports the New World Order.
Woe betide the people if they vote for parties Fordian democrats deem to be "off limits". For having the temerity to elect Hamas, Palestinians were punished with suspension of aid. Fordian democracy was again illustrated in the peevish US and EU reaction to January's elections in Serbia. Despite European and US exhortations, the Serbs voted "the wrong way" by making the anti-Nato, EU-sceptic Radicals the largest party in the new parliament. Straight away, Serbs were told that 'the international community' would not accept a government in which the country's most popular party played a role. Just how democratic is that?
Instead of allowing the disciples of Henry Ford to set the agenda, the left ought to be going on the offensive. Socialists have nothing to fear about the move to a more direct, consultative democracy: it's the sham Fordian democrats who should be worried. The first step in building a genuine democracy, as opposed to the current mutation, is root and branch economic reform, a process which Hugo Chavez is currently undertaking in Venezuela. Whoever holds economic power holds political power, so an extension of public ownership and measures to redistribute wealth are essential prerequisites.
Neo-liberalism is inconsistent with democracy as it leads to political power being transferred from the ballot box to the wallet, which is why Henry Ford democrats insist on countries running "market economies". Only when an unelected chairman of a multinational company has no greater influence in the political process than you or I, can we even begin to label our country "democratic".
Of course, democratising Britain doesn't mean that we, the people, will always get decisions right in the same way that we don't always work out who the murderer is in Ellery Queen. But the main thing is that in a country which calls itself a democracy, it's the majority and not a tiny unrepresentative, warmongering elite who should be making the calls.
Adolf Hitler was against democracy because he thought it would inevitably lead to socialism. He was right. It's time for some Ellery Queen politics.
A Race Apart
Just under four hours to go before the greatest sporting event of the year. Here's my piece from The Guardian a couple of years back on what makes The Grand National so special. Come on Longshanks! And Simon! And Point Barrow!- and the other half a dozen horses I've already backed! Good luck with your selections too.
Win, lose or draw, let's hope all the runners and their jockeys get back safely.
Silence of the Hawks
The International Red Cross warned this week that the humanitarian crisis in Iraq is getting even worse. At the same, time a major academic study by the Oxford Research Group concludes that the illegal US/UK invasion has "spawned new terror" in the region. In the light of the latest damning evidence of the consequences of the invasion, what has been the reaction of the lap-top bombadiers who five years ago so energetically propagandised for war? I've been trawling the web to find out.
Melanie Phillips, the "moralist" who condemns teenage youths for smashing up bus shelters but not coalition forces for smashing up Iraq, makes no mention of either report on her website this week.
Ditto William Shawcross and Nick Cohen, self-appointed scourge of the anti-war left.
David Aaronovitch has kept his silence too (perhaps he's in training for another London marathon), as has Andrew Roberts, the "talented historian" who argued that we could equate sanctions-devastated Iraq (including its non-existent air force and its Dad's Army) with Nazi Germany at its peak.
Harry's Place, favourite watering hole of "pro-liberation left" prefers to discuss road rage, school history syllabuses and union-made hoodies.
Daniel Finkelstein of The Times has discovered an interest in mediums.
Stephen Pollard informs us that he's been reading Norman Lebrecht's Maestros and Madness: The Secret Life and Shameful Death of the Classical Record Industry. The Daily Telegraph's 'Neo' Con Coughlin, who regaled us with tales of Saddam's deadly armoury, has turned his attention to Russian bear-baiting.
Across the pond, Andrew Sullivan opines about shopping bags, while David 'Axis of Evil' Frum tells us about his grandfather.
Mark Steyn, who once accused anti-war demonstrators of having blood on their hands, focuses on the trial of his old mentor, Conrad Black.
Down Under, Tim Blair, who in 2004 ridiculed claims that the future in Iraq was "frightening", shares his thoughts on Alaskan sea otters.
From all these people, not a single word about either the International Red Cross or the Oxford Research Group reports. How very different it was four years ago! On the day that Saddam's statue toppled in Baghdad, the neo-cons couldn't wait to brag about the "success" of the war they had so enthusiastically supported. This was William Shawcross, writing in the Wall Street Journal:
"April 9 - Liberation Day! What a wonderful, magnificent, emotional occasion - one that will live in legend like the fall of the Bastille, V-E Day or the fall of the Berlin Wall. Watching the tearing down of Saddam Hussein's towering statue in Baghdad was a true Ozymandias moment. All those smart Europeans who ridiculed George Bush and denigrated his idea that there was actually a better future for the Iraqi people - they will now have to think again."
Really, William? Since the illegal invasion, an estimated 600,000 people have lost their lives in Iraq. Twice as many people have died in Iraq in the last four years as were killed in the previous 23 years under Saddam. The only people who need to "think again" are not those "smart Europeans" who opposed the war, but those far from "smart" people who faithfully parroted - for whatever reasons - the official US/UK propaganda.
Forget mediums, shopping bags and union-made hoodies: it's apologies that we really want.
It's time to deport Berezovsky
Any other asylum seeker who plots for the violent overthrow of his country's democratically elected government- and brags about it to a national newspaper- could reasonably expect to be deported. But not it seems if you're a billionaire business partner of George Bush's brother.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/russia/article/0,,2056321,00.html
A great American socialist
Sad news. Kurt Vonnegut, socialist, smoker and wonderful novelist has died at the age of 84.
As way of a tribute to the great man, I've posted below an extract from his 2004 essay Cold Turkey (the whole piece can be found here on the Common Dreams website. And, at the time of his passing, let's not forget some other memorable Vonnegut words of wisdom: "When you're dead, you're dead. Make love when you can. It's good for you."
Doesn't anything socialistic make you want to throw up? Like great public schools or health insurance for all?
How about Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes?
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. …
Not exactly planks in a Republican platform. Not exactly Donald Rumsfeld or Dick Cheney stuff.
For some reason, the most vocal Christians among us never mention the Beatitudes. But, often with tears in their eyes, they demand that the Ten Commandments be posted in public buildings. And of course that's Moses, not Jesus. I haven't heard one of them demand that the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, be posted anywhere.
"Blessed are the merciful" in a courtroom? "Blessed are the peacemakers" in the Pentagon? Give me a break!
'Liberation Day'- Four Years On
It's four years since the toppling of Saddam's statue in Baghdad brought whoops of delight from the little band of neo-conservative warmongers whose machinations had done so much to bring the Iraq war about. William Shawcross, writing in the Wall Street Journal ,was ecstatic.
April 9th--Liberation Day! What a wonderful, magnificent, emotional occasion--one that will live in legend like the fall of the Bastille, V-E Day or the fall of the Berlin Wall. Watching the tearing down of Saddam Hussein's towering statue in Baghdad was a true Ozymandias moment.
Shawcross couldn't resist a barb at those beastly anti-war spoilsports who had opposed the illegal invasion: "All those smart Europeans who ridiculed George Bush and denigrated his idea that there was actually a better future for the Iraqi people--they will now have to think again."
Really, William? Since the day that Saddam's statue was toppled, an estimated 600,000 people have lost their lives in Iraq. The only people who need to "think again" are not those "smart Europeans" who opposed the war, but those far from "smart" people who faithfully parroted- for whatever reasons- the official US/UK propaganda.
Bully for You
Thought the only victims of bullying at school were children? Think again.
Here's my piece on the culture of bullying which exists in Britain, from the Guardian's Comment is Free website.
Easter Day in Iraq
While Oliver Kamm was penning his diatribe against bloggers, let's not forget what was happening in the bloody conflict he and his fellow neo-cons couldn't wait to start four years ago.
Oliver Kamm carries on digging
Watching someone carry on digging when they are already in a deep hole is usually an unpleasant experience. But when the person in question is as odious- and malevolent- an individual as Oliver Kamm, it's an altogether different story. Regular readers will need no reminding of how Kamm set out- with extraordinary vindictiveness- to smear me after my critical review of his book on neo-conservatism was published in the Daily Telegraph in December 2005. (A resume of this very tawdry affair can be found here). Throughout our dispute, which resulted in my having to take legal action for the first time in my life, Kamm attempted to portray himself as the heroic defender of free speech, defending the rights of bloggers against a litigious journalist. Kamm's position was in fact a charade: as I revealed in February, the man who wrote:
"I consider it wrong in principle and self-defeating for a writer to threaten legal action against a blogger, and cannot imagine realistic circumstances in which I would do so", had already made a legal threat of his own against a blogger, and made further threats of legal action to a website called Israpundit earlier this year.
Today in The Guardian, the blogger whose belief in free speech is so absolute that he does not allow comments on his own blog, and whose speciality has been engaging in abusive and poisonous vendettas with people who have the temerity to disagree with him, savages fellow bloggers for.. wait for it...... indulging in abuse and poisoning the political debate!!
It's good to see that Kamm's elitist, anti-democratic and breathtakingly hypocritical diatribe has been met with the contempt it deserves. Here's a great riposte by Tim Worstall, the comments in the Guardian after Kamm's post are excellent too).
I used to think the way to counter Kamm was to respond vigorously to his attacks. Now I know the best approach is to sit back and enjoy watching a despised and discredited man dig himself into an even deeper hole.
A very happy Easter to all readers.
When British military action was legal and just
Today is the 25th anniversary of the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands. Here's my piece from today's The Australian on why the British action to liberate the islands was, unlike subsequent military interventions, both legal and just.
Back then, British military action was legal and just.
Twenty-five years after the Falklands War, it's important to remember why Margaret Thatcher's government was right to stand up to Argentinian aggression
"We were defending ... principles of fundamental importance to the whole world: above all, that aggressors should never succeed and that international law should prevail over the use of force."
- British prime minister Margaret Thatcher
IT'S not often you'll find an unreconstructed leftie such as me quoting with approval the words of Margaret Thatcher, but as we commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Falklands War, there is a very good reason for doing so.
The Iron Lady may have been wrong about many things, but she was right to stand up to the aggression of Argentina's fascist dictator Leopoldo Galtieri and send a taskforce to regain the Falkland Islands in 1982.
Let's remind ourselves of the facts. The conflict was triggered by the occupation of the small British dependency of South Georgia, about 1400 km south of the Falklands, on March 19, 1982, by a 50-strong group of Argentinian scrap metal merchants, who proceeded to raise their country's flag. This deliberately provocative and illegal act was the prelude to a full-scale Argentinian invasion of the Falkland Islands on April 2.
The 78 Royal Marines already based on the islands put up a valiant defence, but the islands' governor, Rex Hunt, had little option but to surrender to an overwhelmingly superior force.
The news of the islands' capture caused shock waves in London. In a heated emergency debate in the House of Commons, the government was blamed, quite rightly, for not taking the threats of invasion seriously enough, and for its pre-invasion appeasement of Argentina.
Back in 1980, foreign office minister Nicholas Ridley, doing his best Neville Chamberlain impression, had tried unsuccessfully to get parliament to agree to lease the islands to Argentina. The announcement in 1981 that the ice patrol ship Endurance was to be removed from the South Atlantic on grounds of economy also appeared to demonstrate the government's lack of interest in the islands' future.
But although the Thatcher government must take the blame for the humiliating loss of the Falklands, its response to Argentina's invasion was commendably decisive. By April 5, a formidable taskforce had been assembled, which entered Falklands waters 17 days later.
All the time negotiations for a peaceful settlement continued, but Argentina's rejection of UN resolution 502, which stipulated that the occupiers withdraw all their forces before negotiations could begin, meant that military conflict was inevitable.
In truth, withdrawal was never an option for Galtieri, for whom seizure of the "Malvinas" was a desperate attempt to divert domestic attention from a deepening economic crisis, with inflation in Argentina running at 130 per cent per annum. In two months of fierce fighting, 907 people (including 255 British servicemen and women) lost their lives. But to great rejoicing, on June 14 the Union Jack was once again flying over Port Stanley.
Although it enjoyed overwhelming public support in Britain, Thatcher's campaign to reclaim the Falklands did have its critics. The islands rightfully belonged to Argentina, they argued (the line taken by Jeane Kirkpatrick, the US ambassador to the UN, who attended a reception at the Argentinian embassy a few hours after the invasion) and the British action was imperialistic.
They were wrong on both counts. The first British landing on the islands took place in 1690 and British settlers have occupied the Falklands continuously since 1833. At no point has Buenos Aires held legal title to the islands.
As for the "imperialistic" jibe, it was Argentina that, by illegally invading the islands, was acting as the imperial power, as Peter Shore, the Labour Opposition's foreign affairs spokesman, forcefully argued in 1982.
There was also the issue of self-determination: the vast majority of the Falkland Islands' 1800 inhabitants wanted to remain British and had no desire to live under an Argentinian military dictatorship whose opponents routinely "disappeared".
I supported the war to liberate the Falklands and continue to defend it for the same reasons that I opposed the wars against Yugoslavia in 1999 and Iraq in 2003. As Thatcher said, aggressors should never succeed and international law should always prevail. In 1982, Argentina was the aggressor. In 1999 and in 2003, it was Britain (and its allies). No one can support the Falklands War on the grounds of upholding international law and respecting national sovereignty, yet at the same time support the illegal attacks on Yugoslavia and Iraq. And, conversely, no one who opposed the wars against Yugoslavia and Iraq on the grounds of upholding international law and respecting sovereignty can logically oppose the campaign to regain the Falklands.
The Falklands War was not only legal and just, it also had positive consequences for the people of Argentina. The defeat of the invaders hastened the fall of Galtieri and his brutal military junta and paved the way for the return of democracy and the rule of law. And there's one more important point worth considering. Because Argentina had been the aggressor and Britain was acting in self-defence, the British public was overwhelmingly supportive of the military action.
Contrast this with the war against Iraq. Tony Blair never had the same level of public backing as Thatcher, because in 2003 it was the coalition who fired the first shots, not the Iraqis.
Britain occupied not just the legal but the moral high ground in 1982. Sadly, the same thing can not be said of its later military campaigns.
Neil Clark teaches International Relations at Oxford Tutorial College in England.
An April Fool
And the winner of this year's April Fool competition is....... Niall Ferguson.
In today's Sunday Telegraph, history's answer to Steve McClaren, argues that Britain's foreign policy is... wait for it... too nice!!!
According to Fergie, it's Britain's niceness that's to blame for this week's Iranian hostage stand-off. It's a 'niceness' that Serbs, Afghans, Iraqis of course know all about. If only Britain's foreign policy was nastier, bemoans Ferguson, then tin-pot countries like Iran wouldn't dare to take our soldiers captive. I wonder how that nastiness could be achieved? Instead of illegal invasions of sovereign states every three or four years, how about doing it once a year? Instead of raining down depleted uranium on civilian populations, how about using mustard gas instead? Instead of making threats to Iran on an almost daily basis, how about nuking Tehran, each and every Friday?
Would that be nasty enough for Mr Ferguson?


One might wonder how anybody could tell a deeply felt, exciting story about modern-day Amish. After all, the Amish don't live as most of us these days. They exist in a slow-paced, insular world, steeped in old-fashioned Christianity, devoid of modern technology that most of us call necessities (such as automobiles). How interesting could that be?
Charlotte Hubbard brilliantly answers that question in A MOTHER'S LOVE. She does this by stripping away the miasma that clogs most of our lives and explores essential shared humanity. (Note I did not say simple people: Hubbard's characters are as complex as any of us.) This allows their inherent qualities – and flaws – to become the story.
And Hubbard knows how to tell a good story.
It opens with what is surely a universal experience: the mother of Rose Raber, the main character, is dying of cancer. It is told in matter-of-fact style, without false sentimentality, which makes it all the more powerful. The story then proceeds to the main plot conflict when Rose learns that her mother is not her birth mother. She has been adopted.
This is not an experience most of us have had, but it is told in such a way that we identify with the emotions. Shock that the reality is different than what had been believed. Gratitude of having a birth parent who loved enough to place you with a family who loved you. Curiosity about who you "really" are what your birth parents were like.
Other circumstances make it more complicated. In the Amish community having a child out of wedlock is a sign of shame. Add to that the birth mother still lives in the community and married to a leading citizen. Even now, many years later, if this secret becomes known it could destroy reputations and lives.
To reveal more of the plot might risk spoiling it for the reader. Suffice it to say that Rose is faced with an apparently insoluble conflict, which becomes more difficult as the story progresses.
Another element I like is how the author shows living in a close-knit community with old-fashioned ways can be both appealing and claustrophobic.
Hubbard wisely chooses not to over-sentimentalize the story, which makes it all the more powerful. In so doing she has delivered a deeply felt, exciting story about modern-day Amish.
Mercedes Rochelle in A KING UNDER SIEGE, the first of THE PLANTAGENET LEGACY series, explores English history and the reign of Richard II. Many, if not most, of the conflicts occur not in the open fields of battle or the expanses of country but within Richard himself and in the confined spaces of the court and halls of government.
The story starts with the so-called Peasant's Revolt in 1381. It began in the hopes of correcting genuine inequities in the society at the time. It ended in mob rule. The tragic events have action and drama that work on multiple levels. At the time, however, Richard is little more than a boy trying to deal with the chaos and politics going on around him. He wants to do what is best for his people but feels imprisoned by his youth and advisors. Amidst the turmoil, the most important conflict is in Richard's heart and mind.
Richard must learn how to be king even before he knows what kind of man he wants to be. Or can be. He strives for heroism but does not understand how to achieve that goal as he is buffeted by the forces around him.
The title of the book is apt because young Richard is a king under siege on many levels. The first and most obvious, of course, is the Peasant's Revolt early in his reign, which is when he first tries to find his own moral compass. He wants to make his own decisions, take actions he believes to be right, which are objected to by his advisors. Opposition is so strong that Richard abandons promises made to his subjects in favor of the status quo expected of their masters.
Rochelle carries us along with Richard in this confusing journey. In the beginning, we can identify with the class struggles of the peasants. In the end we are more on the side of egocentric and self-serving royalty as Richard loses power to his enemies and to Parliament.
Historically, a siege will result in either success, in which case those being attacked are destroyed, or in defeat, in which case the attackers give up and go home.
Which is it for Richard?
"You know very well that for the last twelve years I have been ruled by others," he announced. "I have been allowed no part in the decisions…. I could do nothing without permission from my guardians…. Starting right now…I will transact my own business and make my own decisions."
If this story has a moral, it might be to show that results of such unrelenting, conflicting pressures on a young man during his formative stages. It could help a resilient person become stronger and wiser, to master, if not the world, then at least himself. For others, however, it could leave leave them emotionally crippled to fall prey to the forces around him. One of the fascinating questions in this story is how will the sieges against Richard shape his fate?
This is the first of the series. No doubt Rochelle will explore the answers in future volumes.
A family, or relationship, can seem warm and happy. That is from the outside looking in. As a reporter covering murder trials, however, I discovered that in many cases, the killing is the tragic culmination of a long period of hidden problems, conflicts, and tensions. The dramatic revelations of that which had been hidden is no doubt one of the attractions for true crime stories.
The story is not told in the usual nonfiction "true crime" style, but rather as a literary endeavor. Though the apparent murder of the daughter of a prominent family is at the center of the tale, Nicastro explores a variety of other themes: the changing society from the Gilded Age through World War I; how repressed guilt can destroy lives; how a town can fall prey to a hysteria based on only the flimsiest of facts; and how the criminal justice system can fail the innocent.
Rather than telling the story in a straightforward, sequential way, perspectives and time settings are mixed. It is an effective literary technique, but is used sparingly. Interest is sustained because while we have an idea of what happened relatively early in the story, it is only toward the end that the truth is fully revealed.
Nicastro has apparently done extensive research into the case. News stories and excerpts from the trial transcripts of the man charged with Nell's murder provide authenticity and interest. They are also of such length, however, that they can somewhat slow the flow of the story.
Those looking for a hero who will swoop in at the end and save they day, or looking for a happy ending, will be disappointed. This is the kind of real life story in which there are no pure heroes or villains and happy endings are rare. On the other hand, this would be a good choice for those looking for an exploration of the problems, conflicts, and tensions of a family and how the consequences can ripple far beyond them.
John Stack has accomplished something in MUTINY that I rarely see: An historical novel that is almost 100 percent action, sustains interest through lengthy battle scenes on sea and land; seems completely authentic to the setting; and has competent writing.
The story opens with Atticus Milonius Perennis, a prefect, and Septimus Laetonius Capito, a marine Centurian, on board the Orcus, a Roman galley, on the way to find and vanquish a pirate ship that had recently been harrying trading vessels in the waters around the Aegates Islands. The time is shortly after Rome has defeated Carthage in an extended war.
The Orcus soon finds itself in a trap planned by the pirates, mercenaries who had commandeered war ships when taking over Carthage after its defeat by the Romans. The battle gets underway in a spectacular fashion.
In my younger days, I loved reading the exploits of Horatio Hornblower. I did not particular care for oceans and seas, and I knew nothing of sailing ships or naval battles; however, C. S. Forester's descriptions of the ships, sailors, and sea almost made me feel a yearning for that world.
What is a quinquereme and where is Isola Marone? No matter. The story continued to sweep me along.
That first battle takes up the first quarter of the book. Lengthy scenes of military action often bore me. Not so in this case. The battle scenes, including the maneuvers of the ship and the Legionnaires, seem authentic. We also learn more about the characters as the battle continues.
From there, the characters move into the city of Carthage itself, where the Romans temporarily join up with their arch-enemies to battle a common nemesis.
The book ends after one of these battles, hinting at more such action in subsequent volumes.
One who enjoys military action and/or a glimpse into ancient Roman battle techniques would no doubt find MUTINY a welcome addition to their collection.
I enjoy travelogues, especially when the writer has a deep interest in not just the sights and sounds of the places visited but also the people and their culture. I am also deeply interested in politics and have watched with as much perplexity and fascination as the rest of us with the rise of Trump. The joining of the two in TRAVELS IN THE TIME OF TRUMP by Paula DiPerna seems like a natural.
Regardless of which side of the fence you are sitting on, the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States in 2016 was cataclysmic. Something new and strange had happened in America. Whether for good or ill, citizens of the United States and the world tried (and are still trying) to make sense of it all.
She then cleverly mixes in her political observations ("'Deferred maintenance' had become the euphemism for avoidance, and not just neglect of the rubbly road beneath my wheels, but civic and social infrastructure too was also crumbling, the institutions that underpin and serve the flow and function of democracy"); the personal (she is a world-travelling climate-change activist); sights and sounds, and a bit of history ("The massive hotel building had once served as the Scranton railroad station, now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and was visible from miles away like a temple over the city").
This mix of politics, personal perspective, and travelogue continues through to the election and Trump's surprise win. By this time DiPerna has resumed her world travels to London, the Mideast, Africa, and more. The people she meets asks her to (because she is an American) to explain the Trump phenomenon. She finds herself strained to do so – even to herself.
Her journey takes her on a lengthy sojourn in South Africa, and a discourse about how Apartheid was defeated through patience, idealism, and belief. Then it is off to Finland, China, Europe, and home.
DiPerna dutifully describes the land and some of the people she meets. To me, however, the focus becomes less of an exploration of thoughts and concerns of citizens in other parts of the world to her personal angst.
Ultimately, while the author may not have delivered on the promise made in the beginning of the book, it is interesting and entertaining, especially if the reader has the same perspective as DiPerna. Those on Trump's side would probably not enjoy it much, though could still find it of some interest.


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What Would You Do If You Lost Your Top Ten Customers? Don't Panic!
Once the joking was over, though, lab owners and sales managers revealed that the key to preventing this sort of catastrophe is preventive maintenance and a constant proactive outlook. Their responses ranged from practical to philosophical.
Geff Heidbrink, president of Harbor Optical, located in Traverse City, Mich., noted that a key to keeping clients happy has been the three Fs — fast, fluid, and flexible. "Being an independent, we don't have to have a meeting to discuss having a meeting about how to fix something. If there's an issue, we get to the bottom of it right away," he said.
One strategy deployed this year by Harbor Optical has been to have the sales staff reduce the amount of time between calls. But along with seeing customers more often, "the type of calls have also changed," he noted. "We are doing more quality calls than quantity calls. We are staying in touch with our "A" customers and showing them the value we bring to the equation. We don't push price. We've never permanently lost a customer based on price." Calling more often, also helps to prevent any problems that might be occurring, from getting out of a hand.
Harbor Optical helps practices focus on business growth via a formalized training program instituted in recent months. Also, as a member of Global Optics, the lab has been taking advantage of CD-based learning opportunities with the JumpStart series of training discs. Harbor Optical does both lab tours and in-office training to reinforce the lab's relationship with the clients.
As part of this philosophy, Walman has provided customized POP for their accounts. Account managers will "shadow" the dispensers and watch and listen how they work with patients. Walman also delivers training through its Web site, and provides practice tests and dispensing books.
Saved by the Bells and Whistles?
Along with the benefits of speedier job processing, equipment like electronic lensometers help lab managers decide how to select tolerances, so the machines automatically reject lenses that won't work before processing them.
Technology has also proven a selling point to new customers. "We can detail any lens that is out there. Our sales reps and customer service staff can act as consultants when it comes to lenses," he noted. Newer technologies also free up the staff to learn other jobs and effectively cross-train for other positions. Walman also makes a point of staffing customer service with its most seasoned workers. "We avoid putting new people in customer service," he added.
Paul Kriner, one of the owners of four-year-old Premier Lens Lab in Greensburg, Pa., noted that while they have not lost any major clients yet, new clients have come to them for the sort of service they couldn't get at larger corporate labs. Not only are they coming from the chains, but they are also coming back for the service they used to experience with smaller labs before abandoning them for the chains.
"Besides wanting everything for free," he joked, clients are seeking a combination of price and quality of work. That, and making sure the clients are getting their credits back on time.
Toledo Optical also resists engaging in strategies that compromise either ethics or good economics. "If and when one of our core customers should decide to pull their support, we would vigorously and passionately pursue any reasonable means necessary to prevent this from happening." Toledo offers value-added services to its clients in a number of ways. The STRATA program is a four-part multimedia training and educational tool that shows ECPs ways to increase patient satisfaction and profitability. Szymanski noted, "ECPs are embracing it with full force. Toledo Optical has also created a strategic alliance with the Williams Group to help pair ECPs with respected consultants in the eye care industry.
Toledo also facilitates focus groups with customers "to discuss the issues of the day and engage in brainstorming sessions to prepare for the hyper-competitive climate we all find ourselves in," Szymanski aid. "Furthermore, we initiate multiple programs, promotions and practice-building initiatives throughout the year, all focusing on ensuring the success of our customers."
Szymanski has also noticed that today's customers are looking for more from their labs. "The days of a laboratory being successful by simply processing Rx work in a timely manner are over. Customers coming to us [from other labs] are not finding the value added benefits that we offer our customers. We need to be proactive in practice building to secure our spot as a valued partner with eye care professionals."


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text:
Burmasuccinus bulla, unique représentant du genre Burmasuccinus, est une espèce fossile d'araignées aranéomorphes de la famille des Uloboridae.

Distribution
Cette espèce a été découverte dans de l'ambre de Birmanie. Elle date du Crétacé.

Description
Le mâle holotype mesure .

Publication originale
 Wunderlich & Müller, 2018 : Fossil spiders (Araneae) in Cretaceous Burmese amber. Beiträge zur Araneologie, ,  .

Liens externes
 genre Burmasuccinus :

 espèce Burmasuccinus bulla :

Notes et références

†
Espèce fossile d'araignées (nom scientifique)
Arachnide du Crétacé
Résine fossile
Paléontologie en Birmanie
Taxon fossile décrit par Jörg Wunderlich
Taxon fossile décrit en 2018

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
A US Navy handout photo taken on April 9, 2018 shows guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) departing Larnaca, Cyprus. The US maintained the threat of missile strikes on April 11, 2018 in response to alleged chemical attacks in Syria, despite the risk of triggering a head-on clash with Damascus ally Russia. In the face of intense world outrage, the United Nations Security Council failed to agree a global response to the incident, after Washington and Moscow opposed each other's rival motions to set up an international investigation into chemical weapons use in the seven-year-old conflict. / AFP PHOTO / Navy Office of Information / MC2 Alyssa Weeks / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / US NAVY/ MCS2 Alyssa WEEKS" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTSMC2 ALYSSA WEEKS/AFP/Getty Images
Trump tells Russia to 'get ready' for Syria missile attacks
US President Donald Trump told Russia in an early morning tweet to prepare for "nice and new and 'smart!'" missile attacks in Syria after an alleged gas attack on the last rebel stronghold in the country.
The tweet came after the Russian ambassador to Lebanon said in an interview on Tuesday with Hezbollah-owned al-Manar TV that "if there is a US missile attack, we – in line with both Putin and Russia's chief of staff's remarks – will shoot down US rockets and even the sources that launched the missiles".
Trump further chided Russia for its support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Wednesday's tweet, saying it "shouldn't be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!"
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova responded to Trump's tweet saying: "Smart missiles should fly towards terrorists, not [Syria's] lawful government, which has spent several years fighting against international terrorism on its territory."
✔@realDonaldTrump
Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and "smart!" You shouldn't be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!
11:57 AM – Apr 11, 2018
81K people are talking about this
The warnings come as the United States and several European countries threatened to use military action against the Syrian government and its main ally, Russia, in response to a suspected chemical weapons attack on the rebel-held town of Douma.
Saturday's attack in Eastern Ghouta has killed dozens of people, mostly women and children, according to activists and local medics.
The Syrian government and Russia have denied that a chemical attack took place.
On Tuesday, rival draft resolutions by the US and Russia to set up a new expert body to probe chemical weapons attacks in Syria both failed to pass at the United Nations Security Council.
James Mattis, US defence secretary, did not rule out any military action against Assad's forces, while US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, warned Washington was ready to "respond" to the attack regardless of whether the Security Council acted or not.
Vladimir Shamanov, chairman of the defence affairs committee in Russia's lower house of parliament, said on Tuesday that Russia has "the necessary means for that and that Americans and their allies know that quite well", adding that a retaliatory strike could target US aircraft and naval ships, Reuters news agency reported.
Meanwhile, the Syrian government has put its forces on "high alert" amid the looming threat of a US military response.
With Russian military assistance, President Assad launched a bloody offensive on Eastern Ghouta, which had been under rebel control since mid-2013.
Since the start of the aerial bombardment campaign on February 18, the offensive has claimed more than 1,600 civilian lives, and has, through a series of deals reached with rebel groups, internally displaced more than 45,000 people according to the UN.
Trump later tweeted that Russian-US relations are "worse now" than ever before.
The president concluded by opening the possibility of a detente: "There is no reason for this. Russia needs us to help with their economy, something that would be very easy to do, and we need all nations to work together. Stop the arms race?"
Our relationship with Russia is worse now than it has ever been, and that includes the Cold War. There is no reason for this. Russia needs us to help with their economy, something that would be very easy to do, and we need all nations to work together. Stop the arms race?
12:37 PM – Apr 11, 2018
36.9K people are talking about this
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text:
Alfred Lent (* 7. Juni 1836 in Berlin; † 4. Januar 1915 ebenda) war ein Berliner Architekt und Eisenbahn-Bauingenieur, der aber auch als Immobilien-Unternehmer und Bankier tätig war.

Leben und Werk
Alfred Lent war der Sohn des Berliner Juristen Wilhelm Johann Heinrich Lent (1792–1868), der noch während Lents Schulausbildung nach Hamm in Westfalen umzog, um dort eine Stellung als Präsident des Appellationsgerichtes anzunehmen. Sein Bruder war der Architekt Hugo Lent. Sein Neffe Friedrich Lent wurde nach Studienzeit und Promotion in Berlin später Rechtsprofessor an der Universität Erlangen.

Lent schloss seine Schulausbildung in Hamm 1855 mit dem Abitur ab. Danach begann er eine Arbeit im Bergbau, die er jedoch bereits nach sechs Monaten aus gesundheitlichen Gründen wieder abbrechen musste. Es folgte eine Lehre zum Feldmesser an der Deutz-Gießener Eisenbahn und anschließend ein Studium von 1856 bis 1858 an der Universität und der Bauakademie in Berlin, das er mit dem Examen zum Regierungsbauführer (Referendar in der öffentlichen Bauverwaltung) abschloss. Bis etwa 1862 arbeitete Lent bei der Deutz-Gießener Eisenbahn.

Von  1863 bis 1866 war Lent am Eisenbahnkommissariat in Berlin tätig. Für den Entwurf einer Hüttenanlage erhielt er hier 1863 den Schinkelpreis des Architektenvereins zu Berlin und legte im selben Jahr das zweite Staatsexamen zum Regierungsbaumeister (Assessor in der öffentlichen Bauverwaltung) ab. Zwischen 1865 und 1866 entstand unter seiner Bauleitung die Markthalle zwischen dem Schiffbauerdamm und der Karlstraße nach dem Entwurf von Friedrich Hitzig (Der Rohbau dieser Markthalle wurde umgebaut zu einem Revuetheater in den 1920er Jahren, danach zum Großen Schauspielhaus unter der Leitung von Max Reinhard und letztendlich zum Friedrichstadt-Palast. Hier wurde der erste Ein Kessel Buntes fürs Fernsehen aufgezeichnet).

1866 absolvierte er seinen Militärdienst als Einjährig-Freiwilliger und ging anschließend von 1867 bis 1870 als Leiter der Bauabteilung zur Magdeburg-Halberstädter Eisenbahn. Von 1869 bis 1871 übernahm er gemeinsam mit Richard La Pierre und B. Scholz als dessen Architekt die Bauleitung des Lehrter Bahnhofs in Berlin.

Von 1870 bis 1871 war er erneut beim Militär und arbeitete im militärischen Eisenbahnwesen. 1871 wechselte er zur Disconto-Gesellschaft in Berlin, deren Inhaber er ab 1877 war. Er spekulierte mit Immobilien in Berlin, darunter etwa die Hofjägerallee und der Albrechtshof. Als Vertreter der Disconto-Gesellschaft hatte er auch verschiedene Aufsichtsrats-Mandate inne, so z. B. bei der Gelsenkirchener Bergwerks-AG. 1878 wurde er zum Baurat und 1901 zum Geheimen Baurat ernannt, im gleichen Jahr setzte er sich zur Ruhe. 1902 kaufte er das Rittergut Lipke, östlich von Landsberg/Warthe

Das Grab für seine erste Frau Bertha hat er von Architekten Ende & Böckmann auf dem Alten St.-Matthäus-Kirchhof in Berlin-Schöneberg errichten lassen. Mit seiner zweiten Frau Gertrud, geb. Ende, ist er selbst in der Grabstelle der Schwiegereltern bestattet worden auf dem Friedhof des ehemaligen Alsen-Viertels am Wannsee.

Bekannte Arbeiten
 Bauleitung der Markthalle zwischen dem Schiffbauerdamm und der Karlstraße 1865/66
 Entwurf und Bauleitung des Lehrter Bahnhof Berlin 1869 bis 1871
 Entwurf und Bauleitung der Eisenbahnstrecke von Dortmund nach Gronau und Enschede
 Entwurf und Bauleitung der Eisenbahnstrecke von Marienburg über Soldau nach Mlawka

Literatur
 Uwe Kieling: Berliner Privatarchitekten und Eisenbahnbaumeister im 19. Jahrhundert. (= Miniaturen zur Geschichte, Kultur und Denkmalpflege Berlins, Nr. 26.) Kulturbund der DDR, Berlin 1988.
 Nebeneintrag in

Weblinks
 Historische Gesellschaft der Deutschen Bank: Biografie von Alfred Lent
 Kulturforum / Senatsverwaltung für Stadtentwicklung Berlin: Liste herausragender historischer Persönlichkeiten des östlichen Tiergartenviertels vor 1940 (Alfred Lent, lfd. Nr. 80)

Einzelnachweise

Architekt (Deutschland)
Bauingenieur
Regierungsbaumeister
Deutscher
Geboren 1836
Gestorben 1915
Mann


text:
Chandelier Style Earrings with Onyx and Glass Beads, "Brilliant Meteor"
Blazing a brilliant trail, these earrings from Nareerat in Thailand make a... more
Blazing a brilliant trail, these earrings from Nareerat in Thailand make a sparkling fashion statement. Globes of onyx are set within tiers of silver chain that suspend sparkling glass beads and additional onyx beads. Silver plated beads add their polished gleam to the effect. The earrings sway from sterling silver hooks.
.925 Sterling silver plated brass beads, .925 sterling silver chain and hooks
6.5 cm L x 2 cm W
2.6" L x 0.8" W
Onyx, glass, sterling silver plated brass, sterling silver hooks
Free Jewelry Packaging? Yes
Premium Jewelry Gift Box? Yes
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Certified and shipped by our office in Thailand
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15 Helpful Votes (verified_buyer)
"Meteor earrings a hit!"
Pun intended. These were a gift for my mother and she loves them, so I had to order one for myself in a different color.
Gift Occasion:
This was a gift for: Mother
From MS
0 Helpful Vote (verified_buyer)
"Beautiful!"
I have several pieces made by this artist and am never disappointed! Thank you so much!
7 Artisans Impacted
"Fancy and fun"
Favorites.wear them constantly.
Tags By Jennifer
Work Classy
From Falls Church Virginia
Explorer and Curator
"Very pretty"
I love these earrings, one more to add to my favorites
"Very nice"
They are a bit longer than what I expected but still nice.
Rebecca L
"Spectacular"
Classy. Beautiful. Comfortable. Perfect length. Just enough sparkle. Love these earrings. My favorite Novica purchase. Will be ordering more from this artist.
Dress up or casual
From Boston, Massachusetts
"Beautiful gift"
Casual and Dressy at the same time. Can wear with jeans and evening wear. Just Beautiful!
Hand crafted gemstone and pearl jewelry
137 artist reviews
Nareerat Hand crafted gemstone and pearl jewelry
"To create my jewelry, I like to sit in the middle of the materials – colorful stones and pearls in many shapes… Nature is a reference for my designs."
Update (August, 2019)
"Sawasdeeka; my name is Nareerat Tansuwansophon. Experiences received from working with NOVICA have made me realize that my inner passion is in creatively producing products. I enjoy creating new products. I have great passion for work process. And, I love to explore new things, new methods.
"I have opened a small company making handmade jewelry made of stone, pearl, glass and many other materials. The product line that I do most emphasizes the beauty of nature and colors. There are 4 skilled employees who work regularly for the company. They have worked with me for a long time and everyone loves what they do. Now I am able to offer work to more than 20 women in my community, both on a permanent and temporary basis. Some of these people are security guards, students, housekeepers and company workers who work nearby. They seem happy with the way we work together. It's a way to earn a little bit extra to their usual jobs.
"Besides handmade jewelry I would like to try creating other products such as tabletops items, household products and decorative items from the existing materials that I have been using in making jewelry. I think it could be fascinating and fun.
"From the income I earned over 10 years, I have invested in a property. I bought a townhouse which is next to my office. I plan to make a guest accommodation where I will conduct a small class of making jewelry, from basic to advanced handmade jewelry.
"I think the jewelry I make may not be trendy or fashionable forever. But what I want to maintain is the delicate production process using skill from the workers. I would like to keep this handmade art heritage forever, which I know is difficult in this digital age which is progressing every second.
"I would like to thank everyone at NOVICA for giving us opportunities to present our works to the world for the past 8 years. I am proud that I have taken part in helping our community."
Original Artisan Story
"My name is Nareerat Tansuwansophon but you can call me Lek. I was born into a Catholic family in Trang province, in southern Thailand. My mother passed away after I was born. I am the youngest child of six siblings and have three brothers and two sisters. My family members are merchants. My house was next to the church so I did many activities at the church. My family believed in God, just as I do.
"In 1982, after I graduated from grade nine, I moved to Bangkok. There I was a secretarial major at the Convert of the Holy Infant Jesus School, where I studied for three years. Then I worked as a buyer at a foreign trading agency until 1992 when an enamel company asked me to work in their marketing department. I thought it was a good opportunity so I worked there for three years before I quit to get married.
"My hobby is origami, folding papers into many shapes. In 1996, my first daughter was born. I named her Ice. While I was pregnant, I spent all of my time doing origami. It made me get better and appreciate art. After I had some time off for being pregnant, I went back to work for another three years until I had cute twin sons in 2000. They are H and OAT. I quit working again when I had the twins and devoted all my time to them.
"When I moved to a new house about a year later, I was so bored. I wanted to have my own small business so I looked for products at the big Bangkok market. I liked several kinds of jewelry so I bought some of them to sell at my sister's shop. The feedback was great, so I decided to design my own jewelry in 2004.
"I prefer to design and craft the jewelry myself. I wanted to make something different from what you find in the market. So I bought a book about making jewelry and the processes. I started from the beginning. It was so hard before I finished and it took me long time to make the first piece. When I knew the basics and the process, I started to design by myself. I tried for long time until I got better. Finally, in September of 2005, I opened my own small shop.
"I have faith and believe in God, and I want to look after my three children so they grow up to be good people. I also want to make jewelry. At present, I live with my husband and our children, and I do my jewelry by myself.
"The greatest challenge in my life may not be exciting but it is challenging to me. It is making jewelry and presenting my ideas through my designs. One of my best memories is when the doctor told me that I was expecting twins. It was the best gift from God. And one more good memory is when I sold a necklace I named 'Green Silk Curtain' to my first customer. It was the first necklace I designed and crafted by hand.
"I love all of my work. I am satisfied and happy when I see my others appreciate my designs. This inspires me to make more beautiful jewelry.
"Now I am able to offer work to more than 30 women in my community, both on permanent and temporary basis. Some of these women were single when they started working with me, and now they have children so I let them take home some of the work and pay them extra. They seem happy with the way we work together, and that's the main reason for staying with me at the workshop.
"They are very skilled women who help me shape flowers, assemble the complicated designs, etc. They also help training those who come on a temporary basis. The women that join on temporary basis normally come here and then take the work home. For some of them, this is their main source of income and for others it's a way to earn a little bit extra to their usual jobs.
"There is an older women who is 60 and she works with me on temporary basis so I give her a relatively easier type of work which she can take home. She enjoys the work and we are happy to have her as part of our group of women working together to make each piece special.
"I've always been interested in handicrafts. When I saw handmade jewelry, it piqued my interest. Now, I feel happy when I touch the material – I find inspiration to create new works.
"To create my jewelry, I like to sit in the middle of the materials – colorful stones and pearls in many shapes. My inspiration tells me what kind of design to create or what kind of material to use. Nature is a reference for my designs.
"I would like people to know me as an artist and designer who creates handmade jewelry. To shoppers from all over the world, I'd like to say that there are still many quality artists waiting to be discovered."
137 Testimonials for Nareerat
Pretty to look at and they match my bracelet well!
Jewelry is soft and delicate.
4 pairs of earrings bought from her and each pair is perfect. Beautiful colors and workmanship. I have bought two pairs for gifts, but it's so hard not to keep them for myself. Perfect.
Boho Mood in FuchsiaBohemian Fuchsia Quartz Beaded Pendant Necklace
Size: longer than 22 inches
5.0 (Nareerat)
Boho Mood in PurpleBohemian Purple Quartz Beaded Pendant Necklace
Boho MoodBohemian Calcite Beaded Pendant Necklace from Thailand
Soft Pink LovePink Quartz and Cultured Pearl Beaded Dangle Earrings
Length: 1.6" x 0.4" W
Join us to create a better world together. The future is handmade.


Faculty, staff, students and alumni from the State System will gather in Harrisburg April 10 to advocate for affordable, high-quality public higher education.
That is the message more than 150 students, faculty, staff and alumni from the 14 universities that comprise Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education will personally deliver Wednesday when they meet with legislators and staff members in the Capitol. The visits are part of the System's annual advocacy efforts, which also will include a mid-morning gathering on the steps of the Capitol's main rotunda.
Through early June, the #Prepared4PA social media campaign will spread the news to business leaders, elected leaders and taxpayers about the State System's high-value, in-demand programs that prepare graduates to meet employment needs of the commonwealth.
From Cal U, Seth Shiley, Student Government president; Alex Arnold, member of the Cal U Council of Trustees; Jeromy Mackey, president of the Student Association Inc.; Amanda Considine, financial secretary and cabinet chair of Student Government; Cynthia Obiekezie, vice president of Student Government; and Shelby Chepress, work-study in the Office of the President, will attend.
Greenstein is among those scheduled to speak at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, in the rotunda. Other planned speakers are Clarion University President Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson; Bloomsburg University student Joar Dahn, who also serves on the State System's Board of Governors; Mansfield University psychology professor Nicolle Mayo; and Highmark Vice President Michael Warfel, a Millersville University alumnus and trustee.
During their meetings in the Capitol, teams from each of the campuses, led by students, will share their personal experiences about their education at a State System university. They will talk about the valuable contributions the universities make to their communities, their regions and the Commonwealth.
The State System is seeking a 2019-20 state appropriation of $505.8 million, an increase of $37.7 million over the current year's funding level to ensure continued access to and affordability of a high-quality education for the citizens of the Commonwealth. Gov. Tom Wolf has proposed an appropriation of $475.1 million, an increase of approximately $7 million. The new budget is required to be approved by June 30, to take effect July 1.


Use of advanced internet technology to bring scientists and leading-edge research infrastructure together half a world apart was demonstrated today between the national synchrotron facilities of Canada and Brazil.
The demonstration in Brazil, observed by Canadian Governor General David Johnston and Dr. Antônio José Roque da Silva, Director of the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS), made use of remote control software developed at the Canadian Light Source (CLS) synchrotron in Saskatoon to access a CLS beamline and collect data from a computer at a research station in the LNLS.
The experiment was initiated from Brazil by Peter MacKinnon, president of the University of Saskatchewan which is home to the CLS. The demonstration involved accessing the VESPERS beamline at the CLS from a computer at the LNLS and taking a series of scans of a tissue sample of Crohn's Disease, including starting the experimental scans and receiving the resulting data.
Another demonstration had Canadian and Argentinian researchers performing an experiment at the LNLS using LabWeb, the Brazilian remote access project that uses the new CLS-developed technology. In the same way, scientists located in their lab or office at a university in Brazil, for example, can access the CLS to run experiments directly or collaborate with Canadian researchers and students.
Using ScienceStudio, research groups can securely access and run experiments at 'big science' research facilities such as the CLS, collect data, collaborate on data analysis and interpretation of results, and schedule additional experiments. Currently, ScienceStudio is in use on a beamline at the CLS, the Nanofabrication Facility at the University of Western Ontario, and the Advanced Light Source in Berkeley, California, as well as at the LNLS and Cenpes/Petrobras, an associated research centre in Brazil.
ScienceStudio and LabWeb are examples of joint projects undertaken by the two synchrotrons as the result of a memorandum of understanding signed in 2008. Another example is the collaborative development of the Brockhouse X-ray Diffraction and Scattering Sector beamlines at the CLS.
About the CLS: The Canadian Light Source is Canada's national centre for synchrotron research and is a global leader and a recognized centre of excellence in synchrotron science and its applications. Located on the University of Saskatchewan campus in Saskatoon, the CLS has hosted 2600 researchers from academic institutions, government, and industry from across Canada and 20 countries on over 5,200 user visits, delivering over 15,000 experimental shifts to users since 2005. CLS operations are funded by Western Economic Diversification Canada, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, National Research Council of Canada, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Government of Saskatchewan and the University of Saskatchewan. www.lightsource.ca/media/quickfacts.php.
About LNLS: The Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory, in Campinas, Brazil, is funded by the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI). It is the only Synchrotron Light Source in Latin America with 16 operating beamlines that use X-rays and ultraviolet rays in studies of organic and inorganic materials. Designed and built using Brazilian technology, LNLS was inaugurated in 1997 as a facility open to scientific and business communities across the country. In 2011 it hosted about 1700 Brazilian and foreign researchers who conducted over 500 studies that resulted in 250 articles published in scientific journals. Moreover, about 20 percent of these studies are proposed by foreigners. The laboratory has also been a partner for national projects in energy, chemicals and pharmaceuticals areas, among others. For more information: www.lnls.br.
A webcast of the demonstration is available at http://video-sciencestudio.lightsource.ca and a backgrounder is available at www.lightsource.ca/media/backgrounder_20120428.php.
A photo of Elder Matias who led the CLS software development team and University of Saskatchewan Ph.D. student Dong Liu is available upon request.
ScienceStudio is a suite of web-based applications that is the first of its kind. It was developed by the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at the University of Saskatchewan, the University of Western Ontario, Concordia University, and IBM Canada, with funding from the CANARIE Network Enabled Platforms Program. It makes use of secure, high-capacity research networks such as Canada's CaNet4 to access and run experiments at 'big science' research facilities such as the CLS.
ScienceStudio is built on Web 2.0 technology. Scientists can collect data, collaborate on data analysis and interpretation of results, and schedule additional experiments, all from their home institutions. ScienceStudio also integrates high-performance computing resources (such as SharcNet at UWO) to process data in real-time. Currently, ScienceStudio is in use on the VESPERS beamline at the CLS, the Nanofabrication Facility at the University of Western Ontario, and the Advanced Light Source in Berkeley, California, as well as at the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory and Cenpes/Petrobras, an associated research centre in Brazil.
ScienceStudio is a made-in-Canada innovation that enables researchers from around the world to collaborate, exchange ideas, and access world-leading research facilities.
Huge investments have been made over the last decade by countries all over the world in advanced scientific resources such as synchrotrons and neutron sources. Many of these facilities offer capabilities to researchers that are not available anywhere else. While most of these facilities are open to users from around the world, competition for research time at these facilities is steep. Travel time and costs can be a barrier for some researchers. Processing and analyzing the sheer volume of data produced by experiments can also be a challenge.
Remote access to a facility helps to maximize the use of these valuable facilities, while reducing the time and costs incurred by researchers having to travel. Systems like ScienceStudio make it possible for groups of researchers to work together online and collaborate with scientists or students at the facility, regardless of the researchers' physical locations. A professor can supervise from his or her home the work of a graduate student running an experiment at the CLS.
Data is collected in real-time and can be transferred to high-performance computing resources for analysis. Results can be shared and studied by the entire research group and the course of an experiment can be altered or additional tests scheduled as needed, making the most of scientists' research time. Finally, since ScienceStudio provides a standard interface, researchers can minimize the amount of time required to learn to use the often unique control software in use at each facility or beamline. Only a web-browser and broadband internet connection is needed.
Are remote access systems like ScienceStudio secure?
Safety of the system from hackers and the security of experimental data have been key drivers behind the software's development. While ScienceStudio appears as part of a user's web browser, this is only the front end of a very secure system functioning on encrypted and sometimes dedicated high-speed fibre optic research networks called 'lightpaths.' Such networks are isolated from the larger World Wide Web. Users must still be registered with the science facility where they are running their experiment, and access to ScienceStudio can be configured to allow different levels of access to members of a research group. ScienceStudio talks to, but does not supplant, the control software in use at the beamline or other facility, and can only operate within parameters specified by that facility.


text:
Hiwassee River Blueway
55 miles of River Adventure in Southeast Tennessee
Visit the Blueway
Food, Drink & Lodging
About the River
Upper Heritage
Middle Heritage
Lower Heritage
Heritage of the Upper Hiwassee River
Upper Hiwassee Heritage Sites
Apalachia Station
Apalachian Power House
Reliance Fishing Weir
Hambright
Austral/Gee Creek
Hiwassee/Ocoee Scenic River State Park Fishing Weir
Hiwassee/Ocoee Scenic River State Park Fort Morrow [Fort Marr]
[Extinct Town] Built in 1890 and named for the old community of Apalachia, this station served as the maintenance headquarters for the Old Line Railroad between McFarland and Copperhill. Southbound trains used the railroad siding at Apalachia Station as a "doubling track." When a train was too heavy to climb the mountain, the crew would leave part of the train in the siding, take the rest of the train to Farner, and then return to Apalachia to pick up the remainder.
Apalachian Power House [depicted here] was built in 1953 by the Tennessee Valley Authority to provide hydroelectricity to meet the demands of aluminum production during World War II. Huge pipes called "penstocks" supply the power house with water sourced 8.3 miles away at Apalachia Dam.
[Extinct Town] The post office was established in 1895. With the coming of the Old Line, McFarland served as a section headquarters due, in part, to its proximity to the "W," a series of switchbacks that required additional maintenance. The town grew in support of the railroad workers, adding a general store, post office, and two-story hotel [depicted here]. Locals referred to the hotel as the "Government House," as it was often filled with forest service personnel working the newly created Cherokee National Forest. In time, McFarland was abandoned.
[Extinct Town] In 1908, the Prendergast Lumber Company built headquarters for its massive logging operation at Probst [depicted here], one mile up river from Reliance on Big Lost Creek. At one time, Probst was comprised of more than 25 company buildings, such as the commissary, office buildings, and living quarters for management. Loggers, though, did not live in Probst. Some lived in surrounding communities and walked to work each morning. Others lived in hastily built shanties, scattered up and down Big Lost Creek. The reported population of the town was reported to be 200 in 1911.
White settlers came to this mountain farming community shortly after the Cherokee Removal and began to thrive with the coming of the Old Line. In 1891, a frame cottage was built for the railroad watchman whose job was to watch for and extinguished burning embers on the Hiwassee River bridge. Today, the Watchman's House [first picture depicted here], Joseph Vaughn's Farmhouse [second picture depicted here], Higdon Hotel [fourth picture depicted here], Webb Brothers Store [last picture depicted here], and Hiwassee Union Church [third picture depicted here] are part of the Historic District of Reliance, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The store is open seasonally. The Higdon Hotel was built circa 1890. The Hiwassee Union Church was built around 1899. The bottom floor was used by the Hiwassee Union Baptist Church and the upper floor was used by the Reliance Lodge No. 636, Free and Accepted Masons, which was organized in 1906. The Watchman's House has been restored and is open for vacation rental, and the church is available for weddings.
Reliance. Fishing Weir
[Extinct Town]
35.213287, -84.5147816
Austral / Gee Creek
[Extinct Town] Austral was located where the Gee Creek Campground now is located. About 1905, the Tennessee Copper Company established the company town of Austral to mine quartzite. Use of quartzite in copper smelting was short lived, and the settlement closed around 1922. The ore was shipped over the Old Line to the Copper Basin for use in copper smelting. Austral consisted of eight dwellings, the Sullivan Place (a large boarding house), a depot, commissary, barn, and post office. The post office was established on January 20, 1908.
Hiwassee/Ocoee Scenic River State Park, Fishing Weir
An interpretive marker describes an ancient fish weir that is located in the Hiwassee River, just off the boat dock at the Gee Creek Campground. When the water is low, the V-shaped stone formation is easily seen in the riverbed. However, the Hiwassee River fish weir is missing a section that extended to the riverbank, most likely the result of boaters and swimmers who did not recognize the arrangement of stones as an archaeological feature.
Hiwassee/Ocoee Scenic River State Park, Fort Morrow
[Fort Marr] The original fort was built on the Old Federal Road (near the Tennessee / Georgia state line) in the early 19th Century. It was used in 1838 to detain Cherokee Indians prior to their forced removal on the Trail of Tears. Time erased most of the fort's structures, but the blockhouse survived and was removed first to Benton, Tennessee and then to the grounds of the Hiwassee/Ocoee Scenic River State Park.
The Heritage of the Blueway
Upper Hiwassee Heritage
Middle Hiwassee Heritage
Lower Hiwassee Heritage
Bibliography & Credits
Hiawassee River Rail Adventures: Rails to River Special Event | July 3, 2019
Tennessee Overhill in partnership with the Tennessee Valley Rail Road and Hiwassee Outfitters will offer a special Rails to River …
Enjoy outdoor fun along the Hiwassee River Blueway all summer long. Check out the calendar and "like" us on Facebook to keep …
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This is a departure from my normal musings. I asked a friend if he would write a story about his fist visit to Glacier National Park. He agreed.
Richard lives in the southern portion of Montana with his wife and two kids. He often visits Yellowstone, bud had never been to Glacier. This year, he and his wife drove up to Glacier Park for the fist time ever.
If you're interested in telling your Glacier Park Story, please let me know. I'd like to find a few people who would like to make regular contributions to this blog.
Here's Richards take on Glacier National Park.
It was really a no-brainer. The plans were being made to return and the sign from St. Mary's was still taking up the full width of the rearview mirror. Rejuvenated, elated, full of wonder and awe, my wife and I could hardly contain ourselves. We had spent the last 4 days trekking hikes on various trails through the east side in the Crown of the Continent. "We are so bringing the kids back next year," my wife said enthusiastically, "we just have to, this has to be an annual trip with them from now on!" She exclaimed. Up until this point, even after living in and around southwestern Montana for 15 years, we had never been to Glacier National Park.
I remember the feeling as we settled in the campground just outside St. Mary's. We had maps spread out like kids on Christmas morning planning our 4 days to explore. We wanted to cover as much country as we could, even if it meant wearing ourselves out! Well, we succeeded in doing just that. Each day we completed 8-15 mile unbelievable round trip hikes - from the more difficult Grinnell Glacier and Iceberg Lake hikes to the easier Trail of the Cedars and Avalanche Lake loop. Socks worn thin, sore legs and backs, evidence of blisters and all, it was perfect! Since that first trip, we have been like mini marketing gurus for GNP, for those of you who have been there know, this area is like no other. We knew we had just barely scratched the surface of what this magnificent place had to offer and decided it was our goal from now on to explore as much of it as we possibly can.
My photography of Glacier is in its infancy. However, that's part of the wonder of it all. Planning, exploring and creating. It is such a vast and diverse place that wildlife excursions can also lead to panoramic landscapes, portraits of lakes and mountains, picturesque waterfalls, wild flowers, even historic buildings and bridges. Everywhere you gaze is literally a work of art. My camera pack is always full and it's easy to get your mind in a scramble. That's the fun part though - it is always an adventure! And while wildlife is invariably my primary focus, I am always looking to connect with my surroundings in nature. That is why I have often found myself overwhelmed with the power and mystique that blankets GNP.
This year was our 3rd annual excursion to GNP and each time, not wanting to leave, I have managed to find a way to extend my stay longer and longer. On this trip, the first 4 days we spent as a family, choosing less strenuous adventures the kids could handle. But the next two days I spent there alone, on a mission to add more and more photographs to my ever growing collection. For me as a photographer the trick is starting early, as the evidence of first light barely tickles the tops of the trees. At this time of day you can have many places in GNP all to yourself for longer than you think.
Your mindset needs to be wide open though - with the only plan of the day to be back to the trailhead by dark. Even the "tourist hot spots" can be near vacant for a fraction of time if you plan it right. Go there early, or very late in the day even, and the wonder of it all can be yours exclusively, but if only for a few moments. Those moments can seem like hours.
There is something very spiritual and healing in Glacier National Park. For me, the "Mountains are my Medicine."
Thanks for listening and if you have a moment visit my images over on my website.


text:
Seraing foi uma equipe belga de futebol com sede em Liège. Disputava a primeira divisão da Bélgica (Belgian Pro League).

Seus jogos foram mandados no Stade du Pairay, que possui capacidade para 14.326 espectadores.

História

O Seraing foi fundado em 1900.

Ligações externas

Seraing
Clubes de futebol fundados em 1900
Clubes de futebol extintos em 1996
Liège


In 2017, the construction of our new Nature Centre was completed and open to the public. This space is open for bookings, and has hosted number of events including weddings, seminars, board meetings, Christmas parties, and other private functions.
Looking for a unique venue for your next event or conference? The Corduroy Brook Nature Centre is just the spot! Overlooking the wetland, the Nature Centre provides the perfect location for an intimate wedding.
Not sure what to have at your function? We have you covered! We offer a variety of catering options, whether your event is for five people or fifty.
For more information and bookings, please call (709)-489-3900 or email corduroybrook@nf.sympatico.ca.