Text # 54 Electric cars - The road To Less Pollution.
It's the year 2010 and one of those glaring bright Hong Kong summer days that hurt your eyes the minute you step out of the flat. To escape the heat you flag down the familiar red taxi. It glides to the curb to pick you up and hums away without a sound. Sweeping past the other silent cars, taxis and buses headed into Central, you feel as if you can almost touch Kowloon, it looks so close against the pure, clean sky.
It is nothing, you remember with a slight shudder, like the pollution shrouded vista of 1996. This is a vision of Hong Kong in the era of the electric vehicle. Clean air, skies and running cars which produce no deadly emission gases. Or so the environmentalists would have us believe. But back to the present: There has never been a quick solution to air pollution, and despite the optimism, some of the lustre is fading in the green argument for electric powered vehicles. The detractors claim electric vehicles transfer the pollution load from the roads to the power plants which produce the electricity. They are inefficient and slow. And who, they ask, would buy untested technology?
"Hong Kong is perfect for electric vehicles and the technology is available," said Al Morgan, a consultant who has been trying to sell his vision of an electrified Asia. "This could be the showplace for electric vehicles. The high profile of Hong Kong throughout the world and the confined road space make it a natural."
But selling a dream has never been easy. Last year, the Private Sector Committee on the Environment displayed an electric taxi to a crowd of curious onlookers in Central and suggested that a fleet of 150 to 200 vehicles would be cruising the streets by early this year.
Elcar Asia Ltd, which had envisaged electrifying the entire taxi fleet of nearly 15,000 vehicles, and sprinkling battery swapping stations across the territory, has since closed down. Its director, Dr. Donald Taylor, however, is undaunted: he is still pursuing the electrified road. Professor Chan Ching-Chuen, director of the University of Hong Kong's International Research Centre for Electric Vehicles, heads a team of 10 researchers who have been relentlessly chasing the pollution-free vehicle.
Nine experimental versions were built and tested before the latest proto-type, the U2001 was completed. The project links researchers from the university with counterparts in Japan, China and the United States. The results are being carefully watched by those governments as well as the American Big Three car manufactures - Chrysler Corporation, Ford Motor Company, and General Motors Corporation. Honda in Japan is one of the project sponsors. This is not the work of lightweights. "Hong Kong does not have the manufacturing base to produce electric cars, but it is becoming a world leader in this technology and can act as a catalyst," project researcher, Chau Kwok-tong, said. "All across the world scientists are awaiting the go-ahead." In the US, reforms are in the works which could alter how car-mad Americans see themselves. New York, California, and Massachusetts, have, in an effort to clean up the environment, drafted laws mandating electric vehicle sales by 1998. In California, where the streets are clogged with Mercedes-Benz, Rolls Royces, Ford Broncos and low-riders, two per cent of all vehicle sales must be electric by that date. The Californian two per cent rule has left dumbfounded manufacturers scrambling for a user-friendly electric car. Closer to home, Taiwan has set a 1998 deadline and is demanding five per cent of motorcycles sold by manufactures must be electric. But the proponents of electric cars are not without their enemies. Last month, the US car manufacturers rebelled and are now threatening to hold the three American states hostage. If California, Massachusetts and New York do not wipe their electric vehicle laws off the books, manufacturers have said they will kill plans to produce cleaner burning cars next year. The choice is loosen the emission restrictions and allow more time to find alternatives. The Big Three have said consumers will reject the current crop of electric vehicles because they are too expensive and inefficient. Given time, they claim, the emission standards for fossil fuels vehicles, can drop to near zero. But without the time, they say they will abandon research. Critics have complained that environmentalists are myopic when it comes to electric vehicles. Electric vehicles are zero emission producers. The two per cent scheme will not effectively control pollution because it only transfers it from the car to the power station.
Despite intensive research on how to power the vehicles, this remains one of the unresolved problems. Traditional lead-acid batteries appear to have the highest efficiency rates, but lead is one of the world's deadliest pollutants. The more high-tech combinations, like nickel cadmium, lithium polymer, sodium sulphur or zinc-air present environmental spillage problems, not to mention their high costs.
Large amounts of lead are required to create the batteries needed to power huge numbers of electric cars. American researchers have suggested that emissions from mining, smelting and the recycling of this lead would expose thousands of people living or working close to production sites to near toxic levels of lead. If only five per cent of America's 200 million vehicles were powered by lead-based batteries, an extra 21,000 tonnes of lead would be released into the environment annually.
The focus on electric vehicles may have clouded alternative zero emission options. New research is being done at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and other research centres worldwide. The industry is looking for other technological breakthroughs - fusion for example.
Other experts believe Mercedes-Benz and Mazda's research on hydrogen power and fuel cells might hit pay off both in dollars and clean air. Even the most jaded sceptic has to agree that something must be done to solve the pollution crisis.
It is estimated that there are a billion internal combustion engines on the planet. The rule of thumb is that one dirty engine equals 40 clean ones which are well-maintained. It is the insidious nature of air pollution and the inability of researchers to eliminate other factors and prove that the toxic cocktail of chemicals in our air is a direct health risk, which has led to muddled action by governments, worldwide.
But in action costs. The American Lung Association puts a price tag of more than US$ 40 billion (HK$ 309.2 billion) a year on air pollution, in terms of medical costs, days lost at work and premature death. In the past decade, the rate of pollution-related respiratory problems in the territory has leapt by 18.6 per cent.
The Government's statistics tell us that every day we breathe the equivalent of 250 beverage cans of toxic pollutants. And, they assure us, it is getting worse. When Governor Chris Patten arrived in Hong Kong, he was hailed as the "Green Governor". But the policy makers in the Government have side-stepped and shrugged off every opportunity to enact fresh air legislation. A survey conducted by the air action group CLEAR found that over 80 per cent of the people of Hong Kong would gladly pay higher taxi and bus fares, if it meant they would be able to breathe cleaner air. As legislator Christine Loh Kung-wai has pointed out: "Now is the time for action. The projections for increased commercial and container port traffic on the roads show that it will only get worse. What we need is creative thinking, but we need it in a hurry. The health of Hong Kong people can't wait." Electric cars can help Hong Kong breathe easier.
3. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a reason for choosing Hong Kong as a good place to start using electric cars?
13. In paragraph7,'not to mention'could be replaced by which of the following?
14. In paragraph 13, 'hailed as' could be replaced by which of the following?
15. In paragraph 6,'claim'could be replaced by which of the following?


It has been two years since I started learning Spanish. I can't say I'm much further than I was. I've been using books, Memrise and YouTube videos (there are so many). Apparently I am one of the people who will keep struggling unless they do something drastic.
My something drastic is not to throw myself in a situation where I will always look back and shiver. I need positive events to grow. For me, having a bad experience don't make me more stubborn and rise up. Bad experiences often make me even more shy and give me every reason to give up. Not the best personality trait, I know.
Every website I visit to find out about learning Spanish always say you have to speak the language. That's great, but how do you speak a language you don't know?
Because so many websites says that speaking the language will fast track your learning, I (of course) felt I had to jump face first into it. I've never been someone to talk to random strangers. The reason for that is mostly because I can't make conversation. I will ask a few questions and then run dry rather quickly. Imagine this in a language where I can hardly greet someone without my tongue falling over itself.
Therefore, I naturally went to the next best thing. I tried using a language exchange website where you chat with natives and practice your skills while they test their skills on you. I was not ready for that and ended up completely downtrodden. I thought I knew enough to write basic information – ha!
I ran straight back to my hole and reassessed the situation. I need a bigger vocabulary. Don't get me wrong, using a language exchange website or app is definitely a good idea. I will return to this method… when I'm better prepared.
Apart from speaking to strangers, friends or strangers on a language exchange website, you can also pay someone to speak with you. This is a big part of the something drastic. I finally got myself a tutor and I am starting at level 0, again. I couldn't find a class or tutor that is available at the times I am, close enough or the right gender for me to be at my most comfortable. There are plenty of websites to find online tutors. I am using Preply.
Hopefully in the distant future I will be able to put sentences together rather than memorise those given to me on Memrise.
Your tutor, teacher and online courses are all limited in some way or the other. My tutor can teach me rules, explain details, tell me about slang and answer questions, but she can't teach me the entire language. Memrise fills in the gaps by teaching me vocabulary. Without the vocabulary, I can know all the rules, but I won't be able to string together a sentence.
My goal is to know 3 000 words. 3 000 words is considered as conversationally fluent according to FluentU. But I know 800 words now and can hardly use them, which means it's all just numbers unless you pair the vocabulary with speech.
Lastly, I've hit a low when I heard my husband try to converse with our landlord a few days ago. I thought it would be good practice to go say hello. That was all I said. Hola. The rest of the time I tried to listen to what he said and I got, you guessed it, nothing. I didn't understand anything. Yet Brendan, who gave up on Spanish almost the minute we arrived in Spain, could pick up on a few things here and there. Sometimes I think it's because I try to hard and get all panicky. If that's the case, I've got no hope, since being socially awkward has always been a part of me.
However, since I can't hide out from the Spanish my entire life, I have to learn to understand them. Apart from needing to know the words they're using and understanding pronunciation, you should also do listening practices. I try to listen to Spanish adverts, neighbours (sorry, I know it's rude to listen in), Extr@ Espanol (YouTube) and SpanishPod101 (YouTube).
I've also came across this helpful list of songs to listen to and learn from. This I will also incorporate in my studies.
That being said, with all of this studying I have not been able to crochet. It feels as if my life will only return to normal once I have reached a level in Spanish where I can understand people and reply in a basic fashion. I hope you are all still creating and having fun. I will keep you updated if I finally get to make anything or if I suddenly start getting better at Spanish. Until then, be creative!


Promotional newsreels featuring a variety of Chevrolet-centric stories, including: heavy-duty trucks used in construction; St. Augustine, Florida, site of the oldest houses in America; old horseless carriage advertisements; a homemade streamlined house trailer in Guadalupe, California; auto interiors designed by new York jewelers; an Army convoy at Fort Sill, Oklahoma; and a Chihuahua dog standing in for a radiator ornament on a moving car in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
NEWLY DESIGNED TRUCKS IN INDUSTRY & ARMY HAULING BIG GUNS. OLDEST HOUSES IN AMERICA (ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA). NEW YORK JEWELERS DISPLAY MOTORCAR INTERIOR DESIGNS. NEWEST RADIATOR ORNAMENT APPEARS IN GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.
Promotional newsreel sponsored by General Motors: Cement mixers at construction site; Truck hauling logs; Oldest house in U.S.; Horse-drawn carriage passing newspaper advertisment for turn-of-the-century automobiles; Streamlined car pulling travel trailer; Women modeling jewelry in back seat of car; Men talking in front seat of car (at oil drilling site); Army convoy traversing hilly fields and mud; Truck assembly line; Chihuahua as automobile hood ornament.
Title Card: "Chevrolet Leader News" superimposed over illustration of air horn.
Title Card: "USA" superimposed over cement mixer driving through construction site.
Cement (concrete) mixer turning into construction site; driving up ramp. Mixer parked beneath loading station. Workers emptying sacks of cement into mixer. VS mixer driving along busy street. Cement flowing from mixer (worker shovelling cement along shoot into foundation).
Truck, loaded with cut logs, driving through clearing in woods (2 workers prominent). Approaching truck laden with logs. CU (passing) truck laden with logs. Lumberjack wielding ax (collapses log pile). Worker operating saw mill. Truck, loaded with milled lumber, driving through clearing in woods (stacked timber and pine trees in BG).
Title Card: "St. Augustine, Florida" superimposed over ivy-covered building (sign indicating "Oldest House").
VS ivy-covered building (sign indicating "Oldest House"); automobile driving passed house. Horse-drawn carriage plodding along shady street. Car stopping beside house (American and Spanish flags waving); CU several people (wearing "gypsy" clothing) getting out of car.
Title Card: "The Horseless Carriage" superimposed over old "Saturday Evening Post"
Print advertisement for Rambler Touring Cars (Horseless Carriages) published in old issue of "Saturday Evening Post". Print advertisement for "Buffalo Tourneau Touring Car" (photograph very poor quality); CU photograph of four people riding in early-model touring automobile.
Title Card: "Quadalupe, California" superimposed over streamlined automobile pulling matching travel trailer.
Title Card: "Oklahoma City, Oklahoma" superimposed over oil field with drilling equipment.
Title Card: "Fort Sill, Oklahoma" superimposed over convoy of trucks driving across rolling hills.
LS convoy (trucks) driving across rolling hills. VS army trucks, artillery, etc. navigating steep, muddy inclines and muddy streams (soldiers prominent). Artillery being towed from mud pit.
Truck assembly line (high shot); MS factory workers adjusting truck hood; working under hood. ECU inscription on truck indicating "U.S.C.C.C.". Trucks driving out of assembly plant.
Title Card: "Grand Rapids Michigan" superimposed over well-dressed couple and small boy walking toward automobile parked in driveway of suburban house.
Well-dressed couple and small boy walking toward automobile parked in driveway of suburban house (boy carrying chihuahua); man lifting boy to hood of car. CU boy (with man behind him), placing chihuahua as hood ormanent, pointing finger (admonishing it to behave); man placing tiny goggles on dog; man lifting boy from hood (they walk around car; dog obediently remains on hood). Car pulling from driveway (with dog as hood ornament). CU dog hood ornament on moving car (dog's ears flapping in wind).
Subject: O PETA, Where Art Thou?
More silly news lite from Chevrolet, including the wonder of self-mixing cement trucks; the controversy over which house in St. Augustine, Florida is the oldest house in America; more lame yux about old car ads; a bizarre-looking experimental car that looks like it may be Buckminster Fullers Dymaxion Car (or a rip-off thereof); jewelry inspired by auto design; a lame joke about car interiors that block out noise; military vehicles made by Chevrolet; and, in yet more animal abuse news, using a live Chihuahua as a hood ornament. The most interesting segments are the experimental car and the one just mentioned about the poor dog who is not only forced to be the first smashed in a crash, but must wear dorky-looking glasses as well. PETA, where were you back in the 30s?
Subject: Construction! Casas! Carriages! Contraptions! Celebrities! Convoys! Chihuahuas!
Part 3 of more of the same..
First clip features feverish construction, with all sorts of lumber and cement being put on.... Chevrolet Vehicles!
We then go to another clip that reports on the oldest houses in the United States. Fairly standard stuff. Parking right beside it is a.. Chevrolet Vehicle!
Clip 3 is similar to one in an early film as we giggle at some older automobile advertisements.
Clip 4 features a weird vehicle. Nothing really more to say.
Clip 5 features rather unattractive models showing off jewelry. "New is the trasportation bracelet, perhaps worn when one wants to go places".. especially in...Chevrolet Vehicles!
We then see, in clip 6 army convoys going up and down.. in Chevrolet Vehicles! They're not really DOING anything, just going up and down..


We also sampled three entrees.
And several starch (potatoes au gratin, olive oil smashed potato cake, herb whipped potato) sand vegetable accompaniments (broccolini with roasted Roma tomatoes, ratatouille stuffed tomato, and julienned vegetables).
Yum, yum, yum! I left the tasting super full and I know our guests will love the dinner we have chosen.
Link up any wedding planning related post and then link back to Life with Elizabeth to join in on the bridal talk!
Your meal will be delicious.
Sounds delish!! i haven't figured out my menu yet, but that is coming up soon!!
This all sounds so good. We aren't having a food reception, but I love seeing what other people choose!


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New Photos!Queen Elizabeth Takes Public Train Back to London After Ending Her Winter Break in Sandringham
Feb 11, 2019 2:51 pm·
By Joyann Jeffrey
See Elizabeth Banks' Beautiful Bikini and Swimsuit Moments: Photos
Donny Osmond Calls Utah Home! Tour His Gorgeous Estate With Wife Debbie
Now that Queen Elizabeth's winter break has officially ended, the 92-year-old monarch has left her Sandringham Estate to return to Buckingham Palace. And if you assume the queen travels privately throughout England, you're totally wrong as she was photographed taking a public train from her country home back to London on Monday, February 11.
In the new photos, the queen looked very cozy at King's Lynn station in Norfolk, England wearing a long, striped gray coat over a camel-colored dress. She even adorably looked both ways before boarding the same public train that previously brought her to Sandringham in late December at the start of her winter break. And, in case you were wondering, Queen Elizabeth's safety was never in question as she traveled with a few bodyguards by her side.
While on her winter break at her country home, the queen experienced a very scary moment with her husband, Prince Philip, was involved in a car crash near their Sandringham Estate.
On Thursday, January 17, the prince's Land Rover "overturned" when it collided with another vehicle. "Fortunately the injuries were very light. People could have been killed — the impact must have been enormous," a man named Roy Wayne, who was one of the first people at the scene, said at the time. He recently told BBC Radio Four's Today program that he also helped the prince escape from his totaled vehicle. "I helped him to get out," Wayne revealed. "[He] was obviously shaken." Thankfully, Prince Philip is doing just fine today and even gave up his driver's license following the scary accident.
Scroll through the gallery below to see the new photos of Queen Elizabeth riding the public train!
Join our Facebook group for the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle, and all things royal!
Queen Elizabeth was spotted carrying her favorite black Launer handbag before boarding the train. Royal historian Hugo Vickers previously told People the queen often uses her purse to send secret messages. "It would be very worrying if you were talking to the queen and saw the handbag move from one hand to the other," he said, adding that the move means she's telling her staff that she wants to wrap up her conversation.
Although the royal looked amazing in her gorgeous gray coat, it was a very different look than the colorful outfits she normally sports. Her daughter-in-law Sophie, Countess of Wessex, once revealed why Queen Elizabeth likes to wear such bright outfits. "She needs to stand out for people to be able to say 'I saw the Queen.' Don't forget that when she turns up somewhere, the crowds are two, three, four, 10, 15 deep, and someone wants to be able to say they saw a bit of the queen's hat as she went past," Sophie previously said in The Queen at 90 documentary.
It's possible that Queen Elizabeth's security guards also use code names for the monarch when she's out in public. According to The Sun, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's security guards call them "David Stevens" and "Davina Scott" for their code names.
Since the queen didn't want to miss her train, she didn't stop to greet any of her royal fans during this trip, but she did recently get the chance to meet some when she visited St Peter and St Paul's church in Norfolk, England, on Sunday, February 3.
Maybe next time Queen Elizabeth will use the royal train that she rode with Meghan in June 2018 the next time she goes to Sandringham!
More in Royals
Queen Elizabeth Looks So Ready for Spring By Stepping Out in Beautiful Peach Outfit
Queen Elizabeth Is Looking to Hire a New Butler — See How Much It Pays!
Queen Elizabeth Appears to Be Helping Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Deck Out Their House With Art
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Revenge In Mackey: #5 Purdue 84, Rutgers 72.
Purdue strikes back against Rutgers in Mackey.
By dubjell6 Feb 20, 2022, 8:08pm EST
Share All sharing options for: Revenge In Mackey: #5 Purdue 84, Rutgers 72.
Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports
Purdue extends their winning streak to three in a row with an 84-72 victory over the streaking Rutgers Scarlet Knights, Sunday evening.
This was a big-time win for the Boilermakers. Rutgers has had Purdue's number in recent years and spoiled the only No. 1 ranking in program history in December. Purdue got their revenge tonight, by beating one of, if not the hottest team in the entire country in a comfortable fashion. Rutgers came into today's game with a 4 game winning streak coming against all teams in the AP Top 25.
From the opening tip, it was clear to see that Purdue had more juice than in previous games. The rest between today and Wednesday's win was much needed, as Purdue did not have a day off for 23 days until that point. This team looked like they were reloaded and primed for a great performance, which turned out to be true.
Purdue came out on fire from downtown in the opening minutes with Sasha Stefanovic, Mason Gillis, and even Trevion Williams connecting from behind the arc. That was what the Boilermakers needed coming out of the gates, to set the tone and establish a level of confidence. Rutgers did end up storming back to make the game close again with a large run that spanned over 4+ minutes. Credit to the Boilermakers though, they weathered the storm and closed the first half on a 9-1 run, and took a 9 point lead into the break.
When Purdue was struggling around the midpoint of the first half, they had a bad habit of holding the ball outside and waiting 20 seconds to get into their offensive sets. When the half-court offense isn't working as well, this team is going to struggle. Once they got out in transition a few times, the offense started to open up everything else.
One of the big knocks on this team is letting their opponents sneak back into games after opening up big leads. Purdue negated that by coming out of halftime and putting it on the Scarlet Knights to bust the game open and grow the lead to as much as 20 points in the second half. Rutgers wouldn't go away quietly though, as they started to mount a small run in the middle of the half and things looked a bit shaky for a few minutes. Purdue responded to another Rutgers run with a few stops and timely buckets late.
Two of the biggest reasons teams give up big leads are free throws and turnovers. Purdue was nearly flawless in both of those areas throughout the second half. Being led by Jaden Ivey who went 8-10 from the charity stripe in the second half, Purdue shot 15-19 as a team. They also turned it over just twice in the second half, compared to 5 times in the first half.
The aforementioned Jaden Ivey was stellar this evening, scoring a game-high 25 points on 5-11 shooting and 15-18 from the free-throw line. Putting the ball in his hands is one of the surest things this team can do if they want to succeed. After struggling a bit early this season from the free-throw line, he has put that behind him and exceeded from there today.
Zach Edey and Trevion Williams were also very efficient tonight, dropping a combined 26 points on 10-14 shooting, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists as a duo. The Rutgers big men gave Edey and Williams some trouble on the defensive end, but Purdue was that much better when the ball was in their hands.
Recently, Purdue had been getting wins but was a little lackluster due to games getting stacked upon one another. Now they got a decent rest and came out playing like they were up until the Michigan game last week. This was important as Purdue needed a win to maintain the top slot in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers have a tough trio of games to close out the regular season at Wisconsin, at Michigan State, and home against Indiana. They will have to either win out or at worst take two of three against those teams to secure a 25th Big Ten Championship. Next time out Purdue will travel up to East Lansing next Saturday to take on the struggling Michigan State Spartans.
Purdue Basketball: Michigan St. Preview & How To Watch After a close win over the Spartans on January 16th, Purdue hosts Tom Izzo's squad for a Sunday afternoon tipoff.


Suspenseful, exciting, and interesting down to the last page, My Sister's Grave by Robert Dugoni was a great read. The first in the Tracy Crosswhite series, I look forward to continue to follow this storyline. Dugoni writes compelling characters and keeps you in suspense.
Tracy Crosswhite's sister, Sarah, disappeared twenty years ago and was presumed. Her supposed killer was tried and convicted for her murder and sent to prison. Now, twenty years later, Sarah's remains have surfaced and opened up a whole new can of worms. The conviction of her supposed killer comes into question and Tracy stumbles upon more and more questions about what exactly happened to Sarah the night she disappeared. What exactly happened to Sarah on that fateful night in 1993? Why did her truck break down? Who really killed her?
I am one of those people who loves playing the "whodunnit" guessing game while reading a book. I can honestly say that this book kept me hanging until the final reveal. I kept tossing around this person or that or some unknown, but doubted my own conclusions until the very end. The method, motive, and location (Clue, anyone? hahaha) were all mysteries to me right up until they were revealed. The ending is both poignant and satisfying. I mourned along with Tracy as she sorted through her grief and breathed in with her as she came to acceptance.
I give My Sister's Grave by Robert Dugoni 3/5 stars.
If you have read my review of either My Sister's Grave and would like to purchase it, please consider using my affiliate link with Book Depository (embedded in each mention of the book's title). It adds no cost to you, but I do get a small commission with every book purchase I generate. Plus, they have free shipping! Thank you for reading and supporting my writing.


Classic dome design also known as Gonbad and extremely popular with my clients. Especially the round and square Tabriz rugs work perfect with this geometric design and it's always a pleasure being able to offer one in this large size. 10' square Tabriz rugs are a bit of a	novelty and finding them with this Gonbad design is even more challenging. Feel free to shop around as I don't think you will be able to find one for this price in the same size and quality.


text:
Best Stargazing Events of October 2013 (Sky Map Gallery)
By SPACE.com Staff 2013-09-30T19:17:19Z
New Moon, October 2013
Starry Night Software
Friday, Oct. 4, 8:34 p.m. EDT. The moon is not visible on the date of New Moon because it is too close to the sun, but can be seen low in the east as a narrow crescent a morning or two before, just before sunrise. It is visible low in the west an evening or two after New Moon.
First Quarter Moon, October 2013
Friday, Oct. 11, 7:02 p.m. EDT. The First Quarter Moon rises around 2:00 p.m. and sets around 12:30 a.m. It dominates the evening sky.
Full Moon, October 2013
Friday, Oct. 18, 7:38 p.m. EDT. This is the first Full Moon following the Harvest Moon last month, and so is known as the Hunter's Moon. It rises around sunset and sets around sunrise, the only night in the month when the moon is in the sky all night long. The rest of the month, the moon spends at least some time in the daytime sky.
Last Quarter Moon, October 2013
Saturday, Oct. 26, 7:40 p.m. EDT. The Last Quarter Moon rises around 11:30 p.m. and sets around 2:00 p.m. It is most easily seen just after sunrise in the southern sky.
Zodiacal Light, October 2013
Thursday–Thursday, Oct. 3–17, before morning twilight. This faint light reflected from countless pieces of interplanetary material will be visible in dark skies for the next two weeks. It rises in a conical shape along the ecliptic before morning twilight.
Uranus at Opposition, October 2013
Thursday, Oct. 3, 10 a.m. EDT. The planet Uranus will be in opposition to the sun, and visible all night.
Saturn, Mercury, and the Moon, October 2013
Sunday, Oct. 6, evening twilight. A triple conjunction low in the southwest just after sunset.
Mercury at Greatest Elongation East, October 2013
Wednesday, Oct. 9, evening twilight. Mercury will be at its greatest elongation east of the setting Sun, but this will be an unfavorable opposition because of the low angle of the ecliptic to the horizon. Saturn will be 5 degrees above Mercury.
Triple Shadow Transit on Jupiter, October 2013
Friday/Saturday, Oct. 11/12, 12:32–1:37 a.m. EDT. It is very rare that three of Jupiter's moons cast their shadows on Jupiter simultaneously. This will be visible tonight in telescopes with at least 90 mm. aperture.
Juno and the Moon, October 2013
Saturday, Oct. 12, 10 p.m. EDT. The 9th magnitude asteroid Juno will be just north of the 9-day-old gibbous moon, and close to the two wide double stars in western Capricornus, Algedi and Dabih.
Comet ISON, Mars, and Regulus, October 2013
Tuesday, Oct. 15, before dawn. An unusual grouping of a comet, a planet and a star, as Comet ISON puts in an early appearance. This image is based on early estimates of ISON's brightness. It now is known to be nowhere as bright as shown, but may be visible in binoculars.
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St Ann's Warehouse welcomes Penny Arcade, legendary downtown New York writer, performance artist, actress and force for artistic resistance, for the American Premiere of her internationally acclaimed Longing Lasts Longer, December 1-11, 2016. Arcade offers a fierce, visionary and ultimately hopeful critique of gentrification—not just of cities and neighborhoods, but of the mind and culture.
As you walk along these cobbled streets beneath the Manhattan Bridge, a new photo exhibit, FORGED WORLDS, comes into view designed to transport you away from the very streets you are walking.


William Blair volunteer Stacy Zabrin plays squash with MetroSquash youth at the community partners open house in March held at the group's facility in Woodlawn.
North Shore's Jackie Moss grew up playing squash, an activity that opened opportunities for her to travel and see the country, meet a wide diversity of people, attend an Ivy League school, and eventually become captain of her squash team at Princeton.
It was those experiences as a youth that she wanted to share with others and motivated her to co-found MetroSquash in 2005, an urban development program on Chicago's South Side that uses squash training for underserved youth to help build character and self-confidence.
"I never thought a sport would be a defining part of my life, but it has been," Moss says.
When William Blair, a financial services firm where Moss is a private wealth advisor, was searching a year ago for its 2018-19 community partners, she nominated MetroSquash.
Moss had witnessed first-hand the group's impact on Chicago youth and she knew that William Blair, founded in Chicago 83 years ago on a mission to build up local enterprise, would be a meaningful partner both to fund programs and draw on staff volunteers to mentor youth.
Bob Toner, a William Blair lawyer, mentoring students at MetroSquash's open house in March.
MetroSquash, along with health data mapper MAPSCorps, was eventually selected from more than 40 area nonprofits nominated by William Blair employees. Each received a grant of $200,000 to use over two years to expand their work.
MetroSquash, whose after-school program offers training in the sport as well as academic and social mentoring, is using its grant to offer college and career-ready support for older youth. This initiative builds upon MetroSquash's existing middle and high school programs now serving 400 students a year.
The group's "college-to-careers" initiative included launching a national internship program last summer where 41 college students participated and gained exposure as interns to companies across the United States — from Apple in California to ABC in New York.
William Blair mentored four of the interns — the students' first experience in a professional office environment. William Blair colleagues worked with the interns who completed research studies, updated databases, analyzed data, and pursued other projects that expanded their skills and confidence.
From left, MetroSquash interns Langston Mitchell, Michel'le Messenger, Gabe Burton, Eric Lo. Standing from left, William Blair sponsors Kristina Campos, Joe Leibold, Julie Schaeffer, Allyson Martinez, Nitan Parikh, Paige LaCour.
Gabriel Burton, who grew up in Englewood and joined MetroSquash as a 7th grader, graduated in May with a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Bates College in Maine, where he played on the men's squash team. This past summer he worked with William Blair's investment management marketing team, using his math skills to analyze data, create graphics, and research social media.
"I made a lot of great connections and the marketing department taught me there were many different avenues of how I could apply my finance background in the work force," Burton says.
Moss recalls the interns' last day at William Blair, relishing how William Blair employees had gotten so involved with the students and the relationships that had been formed.


text:
Turkey's YTB leads humanitarian effort for Africa's development
Anasayfa » International » English » Turkey's YTB leads humanitarian effort for Africa's development
Turkey relies on its humanitarian approach to boost its ties with African countries for its 'Africa opening.' The country, which will host its third Turkey-Africa Partnership Summi… …
Turkey relies on its humanitarian approach to boost its ties with African countries for its "Africa opening." The country, which will host its third Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit on Thursday where top figures of African countries and Turkish officials will convene, credits the work of a Culture and Tourism Ministry subsidiary for winning the hearts and minds of the African public. The Presidency of Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) is part of Turkey's multi-pronged foreign policy toward Africa, working to empower relations, in fields from trade to political dialogue, from education to investments.
The YTB is behind diverse projects to boost political, humanitarian, economic and cultural ties and "human resources" to build the future of the continent, the YTB said in a written statement Wednesday.
The Presidency said that Turkey was pursuing a more active foreign policy toward African countries whose importance in the world system has elevated in recent years, pointing to the first edition of the Turkey-Africa summit in 2008. The YTB will be among the participants of the latest edition.
The organization's most renowned activity is Türkiye Scholarships, which provides grants to foreign students attending Turkish universities. Along with the scholarship program, the YTB supports foreign students' alumni associations with the purpose of the prevalence of ties with graduates viewed as "envoys" to improve relations between their countries and Turkey. Between 2012 and 2021, 12,600 students from 54 African countries are provided with grants from the scholarship program. So far, 3,029 students from 54 African countries who benefited from the scholarships have graduated from Turkish universities. The YTB helped to establish 13 alumni associations for those graduates in 12 African countries. The Presidency also organizes reunion events for graduates in Turkey and helps graduates keep in touch, both with each other and Turkey. In recent years, it also organized events bringing together the alumni of Turkish universities with Turkish businesspeople in an effort to explore commercial relations between Turkey and African countries.
The African alumni also benefit from programs organized by the YTB in their countries to develop their vocational skills. This year, in cooperation with Anadolu Agency (AA), the YTB trained alumni who graduated from journalism programs in Turkey on "Next Generation Media." AA and the YTB also cooperated for training journalists from African countries in another project in 2019 and 2021.
On the cultural side of ties, The Presidency runs workshops on Turkish heritage in North Africa, a think-tank forum and a Global Somali Diaspora workshop. In addition, the YTB provides Turkish language classes for African diplomats, public officials, soldiers and academics as part of a scholarship program.
In 2019, the YTB organized "idea workshops," which hosted youth from North African countries in Turkey on a platform where they exchanged ideas and discussed solutions to challenges their countries faced. In September, the YTB signed a cooperation protocol with the African Union in a bid to bolster joint work on diaspora affairs, higher learning, language education and academic studies.
More cultural centers
Along with the YTB, the Yunus Emre Institute, another public agency serving as an international cultural agency of the Turkish state, works to improve ties with Africa. The institute aims to open 10 new centers in Africa next year as the country prioritizes developing "humanitarian" and "trust-driven" ties with African countries, the head of the Yunus Emre Institute said.
Şeref Ateş told AA on Wednesday that the institute serves as a "cultural ambassador" abroad, helping Turkey establish humanitarian ties with the world. The institute currently has 10 centers in Africa, Ates said, adding that this number is below their target. "We need to open centers in at least 20-25 more countries out of 54 in Africa because we've been distant from the African continent and African countries for decades," he said.
Noting that they are establishing "humanitarian ties" with all African people, Ateş said: "We are not working on (creating) a perception about Turkey here (in Africa) but on building trust regarding Turkey. That is why we're not displaying a fictionalized picture of Turkey. In African countries, we are introducing Turkey's geographical features, economic potential, especially the cultural sensitivity and values of the Turkish people."
Citing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's frequent visits to the African continent as "inspirational," Ateş said they are working to open a center within a university in Angola following Erdogan's recent visit.
Ateş also recalled inaugurating a fresh cultural center in Nigeria as well as in Rwanda's capital Kigali. "Currently, in our Kigali center alone, several hundred people are learning Turkish in-person," he stressed.
On the 2022 goals of the institute, he said they will intensify their activities in Africa after the upcoming Istanbul summit.
"Our efforts in Africa are ongoing. We continue to work with the relevant ministries, as our target is to open 10 more cultural centers in 2022, first in Tanzania," he added. Since its establishment in 2009, the institute has provided Turkish language classes to more than 99,000 people in at least 45 countries. Named after the influential poet Yunus Emre, the institute now has over 63 cultural centers around the world offering artistic, social and scientific programs.
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text:
id: 249
title: National Geographic Fotoğraf Yarışması, 2008
date: 2008-12-22T17:38:58+00:00
author: A. Murat Eren
layout: post
guid: http://www.meren.org/blog/?p=249
permalink: /blog/2008/12/national-geographic-fotograf-yarismasi-2008/
pvc_views:
  - "9421"
categories:
  - blogpost
  - Leziz Bağlantı İçerebilir
  - Süper Olay
---
National Geographic'in her yıl düzenlediği fotoğraf yarışmasının sonuçları duyurulmaya başlanmış. Henüz dünya birincileri yok ortada, fakat NG'in İngilizce yayın birincileri 100.000 fotoğraf arasından belirlenmiş durumda. Tüm liste, mansiyonlar ile beraber [burada](http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/photo-contest/2008-winners). Bir süre sonra diğer kategorilerin birincilerine de aynı adresten ulaşmak mümkün olur herhalde. Bense İnsan, Yer ve Doğa kategorisi birincilerine ve jüri yorumlarına yer vereyim istedim.

Bu arada bağlantıyı takip ederseniz "İzleyicilerin seçimi" diye bir kısım olduğunu da göreceksiniz; jüri seçimleri ile aradaki farka bakıp şaşırmak çok keyifli. Bir eserin değeri ile ilgili fikir veren parametreler arasında neden en önemsiz kriterin "izleyici" olduğuna dair güzel bir örnek bence. Bu aynı zamanda fotoğraf paylaşım sitelerinin editörsüz olanlarının neden sürüm sürüm sürünmeye mahkum olduklarının, neden kayda değer fotoğrafların çoğunlukla övgü ve methiye çöplüğünün görsel yığıntıları arasında kaybolup gitmeye mahkum oluşunun da nedeni. Her fırsatta laf sokmazsam edemiyorum. Yaram var da gocunuyor muyum nedir. Fakat siz aşağıdaki fotoğrafı izlerken nasıl bir yorum yapardınız ya da favori fotoğraf paylaşım sitesinde nasıl yorumlar alırdınız onu düşünün.

"İnsan" kategorisinin birinciliğine şu fotoğrafı ile Kanada'lı Joshua Monaghan değer bulunmuş:

 “Portrait of Sarah, age 27” © Joshua Monaghan

Jürinin üyelerinden iki tanesi bu fotoğraf için şöyle demiş:

> Bu gizemli fotoğraf ebedi ve nihayetsiz -sahtelikten, gösterişten uzak basit bir güzelliği var –Monica Corcoran, National Geographic fotoğraf yönetmeni.

> Fotoğrafa bakmaya devam ediyor ve bu kadını merak ediyorum. Muğlak ve gizemli çekim izleyiciyi ne zaman ya da hangi zaman aralığında çekildiği bilgisine sahip olmaktan kurtarıyor. Yoksa bir resim mi bu? Tüm bilinmeyenler izleyiciyi hakikatlerden azat ediyor ve yorum yapmaya yüreklendiriyor” –Tyrone Turner, bağımsız fotojuralist.

“Yer” kategorisi birinciliğinin sahibi ise Hindistan’dan Subhrajit Basu:

 “Untitled” © Subhrajit Basu

Fotoğraf Batı Bengal’deki Kolkata sokaklarında düzenlenen bir güreş müsabakasında çekilmiş. Önceleri çok fazla ilgi duyulan bir spor olan güreşe olan ilginin son zamanlarda sponsor eksikliği yüzünden azaldığını, popülerliğin bu tip sokak müsabakaları ile güreşe yeniden kazandırılmaya çalışıldığını söylüyor fotoğraf sahibi.

Bu arada Katrina Kasırgası’nı dünyanın belleğine fotoğrafları ile kazıyan Tyrone abimiz de bu fotoğraf ile ilgili bir şeyler eklemekten geri kalmamış:

> Mekan’ın önemi bu fotoğraf için çok önemli; bu sebeple bu kategoride onurlandırılmayı hak ettiğini düşünüyorum. Arka plandaki yüzlerin her birine, güreşçilerin arkasındaki binaya sürekli bakmaktan kendimi alamıyorum. –Tyrone Turner, bağımsız fotojuralist

“Doğa” kategorisinin birincisi ise aşağıdaki fotoğrafı ile Kanada’dan Wendy Erlendson:

 “Untitled” © Wendy Erlendson

İneklerden korkan ve bu fotoğrafı da bir çitin arkasından çeken sayın Wendy hanımablamız, birincilik getiren fotoğrafı için şunları işitiyor:

> İneğin fotoğrafçıya ve izleyiciye attığı haberdar ve sofistike bakış bu fotoğrafı çok özel yapan şey –Susan Welchman, National Geographic fotoğraf yönetmeni.

Tyrone abimiz yeniden sahnede:

> Işığın kalitesini ve ineğin asaleti hissiyatını çok sevdim. –Tyrone Turner, bağımsız fotojuralist

İneğin üzerindeki muazzam ışığın ben de pek beğendim. Güneşin sol-üst taraftan güçlü bir şekilde ineğin üzerine düştüğü gölgelerden beli, bu fotoğrafı sıra dışı kılan şey ise ineğin az pozlanmış olmasını beklediğimiz sağ tarafının da hem ayrıntı hem de ışık açısından doyurucu olması. Üstüne güzel bir kadraj ve iyi bir zamanlamayı da eklediğinizde nur topu gibi, mükemmel bir fotoğrafınız oluyor. Fakat beni bu fotoğrafta en çok hastası eden şey ineğin tepesindeki o bir tutam saç oldu. “Ne o öyle, kuaförden mi geliyorsunuz inek hanım” diye sorardım orada olsa idim.

Yine de ben birincilik ödülünü, sizlerin de huzurlarında, Jose Hernandez tarafından Alaska’da çekilmiş olan “havada bir balık uğruna didişen kartallar” fotoğrafına veriyorum. Mansiyon almış bu fotoğraf, yukarıda verdiğim bağlantıyı ziyaret ederseniz hangi fotoğraftan bahsettiğimi bir kaç tık sonunda pek iyi anlayacaksınız. Zamanlaması, ışığı, kadrajı, sıradışılığı ile dehşet verici bir fotoğraf bence.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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