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A Former Marine and Vietnam Vet Becomes a Merc
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News Every Day | 10 January 2021, 11:35
Sofmag.com
Buddy Lilley
Against insurmountable odds, Ian Smith's regime held out for 15 years against the machinations of perfidious Britain, the U.S. State Department and the corrupt U.N. with the help of foreign volunteers from all over the world…including the U.S. SoF was with them all the way…and was responsible, through its reporting on the vicious Bush War, for 75% of the 450 Americans volunteering for the Rhodesian military. We have no apologies. RKB.
Buddy Lilley's story as told to SOF's Dr. Martin Brass (aka Vann Spencer, co author of I am Soldier of Fortune)
The Rhodesian Bush War, Buddy Lilley believes, was the mercs' last hurrah, when men donned a "Be a Man Among Men" T-shirt or at least strutted the attitude; when they sold their belongings and bought a one-way ticket to war; when mercs were welcomed like long lost relatives; when they walked down the streets armed to the hilt and onlookers admired their gear; and when political correctness was a cuss word.
Buddy served in the US Marine Corps, including two tours in Vietnam, 1966–70. He went to Rhodesia. He read the article, "SOF's First and Last Rhodesian Firefight" in the January and February 2012 issues. The merc's story took him back to Rhodesia.
Buddy contacted us and told us his story, set in the last year of the Rhodesian war. He captures the feelings of terror and hopelessness of the black and white Rhodesians before the terrorist Mugabe sold the elections. He gives us a taste of what it is like to fight savages that pillage, rape and terrorize a people on a daily basis. In many respects, it is how the Iraqis and Afghanis have been living among equally savage and suicidal homegrown terrorists, who strike unexpectedly with a vengeance.
Buddy Sitting on Guard Duty
I hook up with SOFers
SOF came on the scene and vets like me knew we had a friend. The second issue had a short "In Retrospect" segment written by Ed Arthur. I contacted him. His trust in Col. Brown had no limit. Communism, which we fought in Vietnam at a great cost, was eating Africa alive. I had to go. After my dad died in November '78, I sorted out my affairs, made sure Mom was OK, sold my car, and bought a round trip ticket to Rhodesia in September '79.
I threw an AR-15 w/Leatherwood scope/MT and a case of .55 grain Rem .223 HP and my Browning HiPower, more ammo, and my old web gear from Vietnam into a duffle bag I had a parachute rigger modify to my specs. I carried my guitar.
In Johannesburg, two customs guys carried my gear and took me to the Air Rhodesia area. With a thick English accent, one of the guys noted that my suitcase was heavy.
"Tools," I said.
"I understand," he smiled, shook my hand, wished me good luck and strolled off.
At the customs gate in Salisbury, I was given a weapons declaration form. "Do you want to join the army? There are other Americans here," the customs guy asked me.
"No Sir, not yet. I need a meal and some sleep." He invited me for drinks the next evening.
The Rhodesian on my flight coming in from South Africa had recommended a hotel about a 10-minute walk to the customs officer's home. The next evening I holstered my Browning, shouldered my AR-15 and walked down the street for my first Rhodesian beer. The Colt attracted attention on the streets where carrying was normal. My host's girlfriend worked for the courts and she had a contact if I wasn't ready to join the army.
The next day I set up an appointment with her recruiting contact. A farmer was looking for an extra gun for his terrorist alerts. I declined, explaining that I wanted to get the lay of the land. The customs officer's girl had another job in the works, in Umtali. OK, how do I get there? Easy! You hitchhike! "Really?"
Hitchhikers in musical trucks
The next morning I took a taxi to the outskirts of town, where I would find a hitchhiking stop. I cued up. A vehicle stopped and loaded up as many men and their guns as would fit. The next truck was a guy in an old Land Rover. He carried a pristine 9mm Sterling that he had had since WWII. I hitched a ride and got off when he reached his turnoff.
The dust hadn't cleared when a second Land Rover stopped. The driver was young, carried an FN and worked for Birdseye Produce. He had a job for me. I explained I had an appointment with an official at the police station in Umtali. He, like the previous trucker, gave me his card and said I was welcome anytime at his home.
I was in the town of Rasape, maybe half way to Umtali. An army armored car carrying three teenagers on their way to a terrorist alert came flying by. It came to a screeching stop and backed up to where I was standing with my gear. My Rhodesian camo, my pack, a sea bag and the AR15 had caught their attention.
"Can we see your "gat" (my Colt)? What's in the suitcase"?
"Tools", I said. They chuckled.
We saw the "Welcome to Umtali" sign around sunset. My three friends were well in their cups and feeling pretty good. But then, one of the men sobered up for a moment, pointing out where his sergeant friend had been killed in an ambush.
The driver pulled up in front of the Cecil Hotel. The smiling lady at the desk said to move the armored car to the back if we were staying for drinks. "Let's go to the bar for Cain and Orange," they urged. I smiled, "How about tomorrow?"
Nope, they would be in the bush. I never saw them again.
For $3.50 a night I could stay indefinitely till I got a job, then the price would go up. I settled in, dusted the weapons and filled my extra mags. Life was good. I had six 30- and one 20-round with my kit with an extra bandolier of 20-round mags as insurance. I had five standard mags and one 20-round mag for the Browning. That had emptied about two of my four boxes of 9mm HP. I had brought about 700 rounds of .223, mostly 55 grain HP with a mixture of ball and tracers in 10-round stripper clips. I had two different shoulder rigs for the Browning, standard GI and an underarm concealed civilian type. I carried two Buck folding blades. I had my original bayonet from 1967 and a Gerber MK1, two GI canteens, a medical kit and a couple of GI can openers in a small pouch.
On Monday morning I rang the contact the Salisbury courts lady had given me. She told me to come on over to her office across the street. She interrogated me for about an hour, left for a moment, then returned and said I had a one o'clock interview with Forest Management Service. I was stunned.
I took a taxi to the FMS HQ. A sergeant major on leave from the African Rifles came out to the waiting room and sat down. The company was hiring him while he was on leave. We went to verify that my driver's license was good in Rhodesia. "Be here at 1100 tomorrow. You'll sign a two-week contract. We'll store your extra gear at the security guard's house and leave for Melsetta at 1300." I packed a bag with some essentials.
Buddy with a Leopard vehicle-1
The convoy had just arrived from Melsetta and my new Australian OIC, "John," was waiting for us. Tick, second in charge, was a former RLI with a record jacket of which anyone would be proud. Glenn, tall and lean, drove the chase gun truck with the MAG [FN-based general purpose machine gun]. Brett was a son of the bush, big, strong and ex-army. Glenn needed an "A" gunner for the Mashona who carried the MAG. I was good with that. Our truck didn't have a turret, so we just propped ourselves up in the back and away we went. If there was contact, we would go in shooting. There were only about 150–75 rounds for the MAG. I asked James if there was any more ammo.
He replied, "No, Mr. Bud," but if I lent him my "very fine pistol," he would continue to shoot if we ran out of 7.62. He was prior African Rifles and had always carried a MAG. I asked if he had ever run out of ammo and his reply was, "No, Mr. Bud, never. But I still might need your very fine pistol."
We raced off in a roar of thunder. The eight tractor-trailers were spread over a half-mile or more. This was bad stuff. I asked John what was up. He said we just had to do the best we could to protect them. I had a bad feeling about this Indy 500 tractor-trailer race.
We arrived at Melsetta late afternoon at the loading dock. The day was done for most of the convoy, but we had to escort a couple of trucks to Tillbury Estate, about a 40-minute drive deeper into the mountains. It was pretty near dark when we arrived. The security unit had two European officers and 50–60 African troops (Mashona). The drivers stopped to pick up full trailers of lumber and arrived at the hotel in Melsetta around 0730. Melsetta was a vacation town in better times, but the war had killed the tourist business.
We left at 0700 the next morning, arrived in Umtali around 1100 and two hours later we hit the road to Melsetta. Glenn stopped the truck at the end of the mountain road. He was going to run the two kilometers to the top of the hill. He asked me to join him. James looked at me with wide eyes. "Mr. Bud, Glenn is a very good runner. He is going to be SAS."
Buddy Hanging w Troups
Glenn ran without kit; I carried my rifle and web gear. I told him to run his regular pace, that I'd catch up. Glenn ran like a greyhound up the steep hill. I arrived minutes behind him at the top. He smiled as he caught his breath. "Is that the best you Marines can do?" He told me to leave kit in truck next time.
I said "I was taught to train as you would fight."
Monday we hit the road again. I killed a large bull baboon at a rest stop. I cut the head off and Tick put it on an anthill. Tomorrow when we returned he'd have a great skull. The next day it was gone.
Monday I was told I'd be staying at Tillbury a couple days. The 2IC had quit. One of the other Mashona took my place with James as his A gunner. Each family had a home with a security fence and three African guards assigned to them.
Mobile patrols with Leopard armored cars
A few days turned into a week. I patrolled with the Leopard anti-mine and small firearms armored cars on the miles of roads on this 25,000-acre estate to scare off the gooks. One patrol had bumped into a column of gooks, a firefight erupted and everyone on the estate jumped in vehicles and drove to the sound of the gunfire. Sgt. Major Leonard, the senior enlisted African, had his G3 shot out of his hand. He was praised for, driving back to HQ, grabbing a 9mm Sten gun and returning to the fight. There had been no contacts since then.
I was called to the estate manager, Bill's office. He asked if I would consider staying on as 2IC. I said, you want me, you got me. I went back to Umtali and picked up my gear.
On my first official day, the gooks returned to burn the farmer's timber. I pulled security with the firefighters and by night the fires were out. No contact was made.
Sgt. Simon, standing at attention later in my room, said "I believe you are wanted at the fire. Get your guards and meet Spider and me at the Leopards." Spider ordered me to find Bill and leave a couple of troops with him. Killing the estate manager would be a feather in a local gooks' hat. Spider radioed the British South African police HQ in Melsetta and gave a quick report. I found the manager and left two guards carrying Beretta shotguns with him. He told me to start a roving patrol and instructed Sgt. Simon where to take me. At a given place, Sgt. Simon and I would fire a few rounds, making the gooks think some of them were in contact.
Spider was at the fire area and I was trying to be in several places at one time. We'd been up all night and dawn was an hour away. The army was here. There was a deafening explosion. An army vehicle had hit a mine. I saw a few green tracers and a small explosion. Sgt. Simon shouted in his best Kipling English, "Sir, I believe it is an ambush! I'm driving"!
"You're in charge," I shouted back. Sgt. Simon and his troops began firing. I was at the wheel and couldn't get trigger time; only a few seconds had passed, but a lot had happened. I drove into the kill zone and headed for the front of the army vehicle, nose-to-nose for less chance of a friendly fire accident. Hot brass from Sgt. Simon's FN was all over me. He had his rifle over the top of the Leopard, firing away. The G3 next to him was spraying us both with brass. Great! Not only would I be deaf but cooked by hot brass! A couple minutes went by and all was quiet.
There were two white NCOs on board. I asked the driver if anyone was hurt. He laughed. "Oh, you're the Yank from the South." Spider arrived with more troops. No good guys were hurt, no bad guy bodies. They used our base radio to contact Melsetta. We returned later to view the hole made by the mine. Morris H., our EOD expert, said it was a good size box mine. The worn tire treads in the dirt were mine. The army NCO laughed; the old Leopard would be on its side if I had hit that. "You would have survived, Yank, but you would have had a worse headache than me."
The estate employees were paid once a month. The gooks knew this. We were going to put out ambushes and do night patrols. Skip F., assistant state manager, was a great help to me. He was a former Greys Scout and had a wealth of knowledge on anti-terrorism. He wanted to make contact. One of his suggestions was a night presence in the villages just prior to payday. Sgt. Leonard would take a patrol to one of the far out villages. I would accompany him as an observer/shooter. Spider dropped us off close to the village. Villagers were used to hearing vehicles at night. I would be in #3 position behind the sergeant major. It was pitch black as we entered the village. The smoke from numerous fires hung like a cloud. In the huts, voices went silent. The sergeant major assured them who we are. It took a couple hours to cover the area. We knew there were sympathizers in the village.
The gooks returned. My radioman (house mouse) Anania called me to the porch. There was a young boy who said the gooks were in his village no more than two miles from us. I awakened Spider and sent Anania to get the sergeant major. I called Skip, who was in charge while the boss was in Umtali on business. Spider worked out a quick plan. We assumed the terrorists would head for the Tribal Trust Land (TTL). He would take a team with the sergeant major and try to get ahead of them. I would take our best tracker, Steven, and when we found spore, notify Spider where the gooks were heading.
They came into the village just after midnight, pilfering what food, clothing and cooking utensils and women they could snatch. They left late and with a little luck they were only an hour or so ahead of us. Villagers gave us their direction. Steve found fresh marks in the hard clay. I radioed Spider. Skip and some of the other Europeans would join Spider. Locals reported between 10–15 gooks.
I had one of my guards take the Leopard back to the barracks, where Skip would pick him up along with additional troops. There were no friendlies where we were heading. Steven and Anania had G3s. The three troops had .303s. Pretty good firepower.
Keystone Cops
We were on an unfamiliar road. Numbers on signs told Skip where we were. Anania kept constant radio contact with Skip. We believed the gooks had at least one belt-fed gun and an RPG. I was outgunned. If there were serious contact, we would need backup quick. Skip was behind us with his armored Land Rover loaded with guards. Spider was moving to put in a blocking force on the main native trail to the TTL. We were moving gingerly and in silence. A quickly set-up trip wire and a grenade would ruin my day. Steve believed the terrorists had split up. They must have known we were on to them. We came into a large cutover. Steve spotted movement at 500 yards plus. I adjusted the power on my Leatherwood scope. The figures were reaching the top of a hill. I ordered the troops not to shoot—too far. Skip arrived and I gave him the situation report. Spider's troops were too far away. No hits, no runs, and no contact.
Steve said he could find the gooks' hideout and wanted to go check. Skip OK'd the plan. Anania would go with the troops and we would drive around and pick them up in a couple of hours. Spider met us at the barracks. Skip and I went looking for the patrol. Steven was disappointed. Finding a body or weapon would have meant a bonus for the guys.
Skip had another village he wanted to check out before payday. Spider and I left security with the Leopards and headed through the village. Spider suggested we see "what's for lunch." Lunch was a 55-gallon drum cooking up the firewater. The two guys inside tried to make a run for it but were unsuccessful. CPL Noel said they were sympathizers. Could we kill them? Spider told him not today. They were told the next time they were caught here, CPL Noel would deal with them….now "Go"!
We swung around the edge of the village near a small cornfield. Something didn't look right. Mixed in the corn was a bumper large crop of dagga, Africa's finest pot. We called HQ for a Land Rover. This was the area where the gooks had burned a tractor and kidnapped some workers. On the third day the cops arrived.
One time we were at the company store to grab supplies for the guards. We had just parked when we heard gunfire and explosions from the sawmill outside of the main base. I loaded two troops and myself in Skip's armored Land Rover. One of the other guards, Msimba, would drive the Leopard to the barracks, link up with Spider and bring a reactionary force to the mill. I told him to leave his shotgun and bring my self-loading rifle. He said he would carry both.
Man down
At the mill, we were told where the tractors with the timber crews were going. We came around a curve and saw the tractor. I saw two bodies. My two troops stayed with the Land Rover. It was about 40 yards to the ambush site. Skip and I maneuvered to get closer. The RPG rocket had missed the tractor and hit a nearby tree. One of my troops was down with empty .303 casings next to him. He was stuck with a bayonet and finished off with a 7.62 pistol round to the head. My guy had chosen to fight. My other guard came out of the woods. He was wounded in the lower leg, a clean bullet hole. I checked the body for booby traps, looking for a possible grenade; it was clean. Spider arrived with a reaction team. I grabbed three troops with G3's and a few others with Berettas and .303s. Eight of us against 15-plus terrorists. Skip told me to stand down. The military in Melsetta ordered us not to follow. They would handle it. This was stupid. They had maybe one hour lead on us and were leaving a good trail. We could pursue. Let the army try cutting them off. No deal. It was over.
Infiltrators
Skip came by one morning, and decided we needed to do more foot patrols. Word was the terrorists were tipped off by one of our African foresters. Criminal investigation division was sending some guys to interview him. Spider set up a raid on the forester's home; no one was told except the sergeant major. In no time, he was in custody. The worthless investigation team got nothing to incriminate him. I told him the next time the sergeant major and some of his guys would do the interrogation. That scared him.
Skip and I headed up to one of the unused watchtowers. No sooner did we get to the top when we got a radio message that the convoy had been hit. There were civilian casualties. One of our Europeans coming back from holiday would lose a leg below the knee. UN peacekeepers may have been coming but there was still a war on.
Children and teachers easy targets for the cowards
One of our regular duties was retrieving the children from school on Fridays. I was particularly nervous, since the students and teachers, black and white, were soft targets. I saw the teacher, a Greek, for the last time when I picked the children up for the Christmas holiday. He was a good man doing a dangerous job. I hope he survived. One of my guards had been a school teacher. To have remained in his village would have been certain death. I assigned him to help in the office and assist some of my troops with their English.
We were told all patrolling must cease, that the peacekeepers were arriving. Skip wanted a presence shown in one particular area. This would be a short operation. Spider would drop us off and do a pickup later. The team would be the usual two G3's, two 303s and one Beretta shotgun. We were dropped off near a trail that went to the TTL. Almost immediately we found a letter. Gooks talking shop! This was fresh spore! I called HQ on the radio for instructions. My guys wanted to follow. A captured weapon meant extra money for them.
"Go!" Everything was quiet as we descended into the valley. We moved in silence. An unknown number of terrorists were ahead of us. We could expect no quick assistance and any casualties would be hell to get out. Contact would be close. Steven came to an abrupt stop. He tapped two fingers on the top of his arm, signing for me to come up. There was a wire that went right across the game trail. I motioned for the team to back up. We traced the line. It was not a booby trap. It was an animal snare.
"Mr. Bud, they don't know we're behind them. They hope to return and find dinner in a few days." We took the snare wire and proceeded. We would find more snares. Each had to be carefully examined in case there was a surprise for us. We treated poachers and terrorist alike. Bang!
I ain't no goat!
My two canteens of water were going fast. There were no streams. Early afternoon we were still marching up and down, but then we were on an upward climb. Steven was part goat. The rest of us were pulling and grabbing at trees, anything to pull us up. We came onto a clearing on the trail near the top of a hill in full view. We looked way below us, maybe 150 ft. There was no going back and the top was still 15–20 feet up. I was scared. Anyone who slipped was screwed. Terrorists across the stream could shoot us at their leisure. How did I get into this mess? We held on for dear life as we climbed the last few yards. We reached the top and stopped. Steven and another guard proceeded a bit farther and set in. Steven again signaled for me to come forward. This time he was excited.
He pointed down and across the stream. A body appeared, disappeared and came into a clear area on the stream. Mr. Bud! A Gook! Kill him! I rested the Colt across a clump of dirt and aimed. The gook had no visible weapon and was maybe 130–50 yds. away. I could hit him. But I didn't shoot. It was a free fire zone, but I waited. Besides, how many of his buddies were there? I could not reach HQ on the radio. OK, now what? Let's capture him, suggested Steven (a live gook would bring the guards extra money); also we needed water and needed it quick. Steven took us down. We were doing well until we nearly reached the bottom. A rock fell; it sounded like an elephant in free fall, then landing. We found cover and prepared for the worst. The terrorist disappeared. After about 10 minutes we proceeded to the stream. Nothing. Two at a time, we hit the water. I looked at Stephen and laughed, "It's a fine mess you're gotten us into, Ollie." He did not understand the reference to Laurel and Hardy. Now it was back up the hill. I knew where we were from the Eland hunts. At least we were on a road. We spread out and marched. An hour or so later we made contact with Spider. He and Skip were on the way to retrieve, so we held our position on the small hill.
Rhodesia's days are numbered. Run!
The subject came up about the possibility of the gooks winning the election. "What will we do"?
"Mr. Bud, you can escape to America. This is our home." There was a real danger here. I told the guys to take their weapons and go to South Africa. "You cannot return to your homes now. If the gooks win the election you will be killed. If the government chooses to fight, then we will fight together. That is how it must be." Spider arrived to pick us up. A communist take-over was out of the question. It must not happen.
The peacekeeping forces were arriving and I asked about going home on R&R to check on my mom. Bill agreed. My replacement soon arrived. I took the convoy to Umtali for the last time.
I debriefed at the security HQ with the unit CO. He assured me there was a job anywhere in country when I came back. There was a recommendation in my folder there. The CO remarked, "Bud, it might get dirty. We will need you and any help you can bring. If we win the election, the fighting will only get worse. The Cubans might make a run on Umtali from Mozambique; anything can happen."
I told him I would be back. Sometimes things don't work out like you plan. I sold my AR15 and Browning at Fereday & Sons Gun Shop. I received word to wait until elections were over before returning. There was never going to be a free election. Nobody cared about Rhodesia.
Wild Geese Flying South
With SOF keeping me up to date on South America, the old urge came back. The accountant in our office said she saw something in my eyes. The wild geese were flying south. I retired in 2006 with 37-½ yrs. government service.
I carry with pride my two tours in RVN and Rhodesia. Like thousands of others, I went to Vietnam because my country needed me to. I went to Rhodesia because I felt like it was the right thing to do. They were a good people, black and white, who got the raw end of a political deal. It has been said over and over again that evil can only exist when good men do nothing. The free world failed Rhodesia.
Rhodesia may well have been the last days of the hired gun, mercs, whatever term one chooses. I didn't know it then, but the era of the hired gun was changing. The new shooter would be smarter, well trained in numerous fields and fighting a totally different war.
The gods of war were kind. I know how an old hound feels when the young ones are running. I will probably never carry a weapon in combat again. I will never again feel the excitement of surviving an engagement with good men with whom I was honored to serve.
Source:Sofmag.com
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Can Mathematica handle this TeX?
Subject: [mg67186] Can Mathematica handle this TeX?
reasonable to expect that I could import the document into Mathematica?
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When is the Best Time to Visit the Galapagos?
There is no true 'off-season' in the treasure trove that is the Galapagos Islands. Sitting on the Equator, there are two distinct seasons: warm and cool. An abundance of wildlife can be found year-round due to the exceptional number of endemic species; however, if you want to see a specific type of animal activity, we have picked some highlights from each month to help you tailor the best trip for you.
Increased rainfall during the warm season transforms the islands into a verdant paradise. Despite this the coastlines still experiences blue skies and sunshine during the earlier months of the year. The sun and calm seas result in fantastic underwater visibility and warm waters from January to March, making this a perfect time of year for snorkelling.
December and the beginning of the year see a sharp increase in the number of Hammerhead Sharks and Manta Rays in the waters of the Wolf and Darwin Islands as water temperatures begin to rise.
In January, adult male Marine Iguanas transform in colour in order to attract a mate. The most spectacular pigmentation can be seen on the Islands of Espanola & Floreana, where the native iguanas turn a vivid green and red. Most of the eggs will hatch in May and vulnerable juveniles have to escape predators in order to survive, as depicted in the epic 'Iguana vs Snake' scene from David Attenborough's Planet Earth.
Green Sea Turtles are particularly active in February as they arrive on the island shores to lay their eggs. Laying continues until April and the baby turtles begin to hatch in May, before making their treacherous journey across the beaches to the sea.
March is the height of the rainy season. The Magnificent and Great Frigatebirds inflate their imposing red neck pouches like balloons with the objective of attracting a mate (this can be seen until April).
April sees the arrival of the Waved Albatross to Española Island. Here, these birds with an impressive wingspan of up to 8ft, begin their courtship rituals, nest and lay eggs until they migrate in December.
North Seymour's Blue-footed Boobies begin their famous two step dance of courtship in May and remain on land to look after young until August.
In June, you can see Giant Tortoises embark on their small but mighty migration from the lowlands to the lush highlands of Santa Cruz. Later in the year (December) they can be found doing the reverse, migrating to the highlands for the start of the rainy season.
Sunshine still reaches the archipelago during the 'Guara' season but the heat is less intense with cloudier skies; mists often descend on the lowlands creating atmospheric sunrises. Although not as lush on land, the cool, dry season offers an abundance of opportunities to spot marine life. The Humboldt current strengthens meaning micronutrients are more plentiful, increasing marine activity. The trade-off here is cooler water temperatures and lower underwater visibility due to the plankton bloom, so it is a better time of year to scuba dive.
In July male lava lizards hit the gym, doing 'push ups' in order attract a suitable mate and ward off competition. This courtship behaviour lasts until November.
The gentle giants of the sea, Whale Sharks, can be found drifting around the coasts of Darwin and Wolf Island during August all the way through the cool season until November.
You have the best chances spotting whales and dolphins from September into October. If you are lucky then you may also catch a glimpse of a Humpback Whale migrating through the channel between the islands of Isabela and Fernandina.
Due to the recent mating season, November is the best time to see Fur Seal pups in their nurseries on the Genovesa and Santiago Islands. Galapagos, Californian and Fur Seals are often found playing aqua-aerobics next to snorkelers as they find their sea legs.
Use our guide to help you plan your travels, or alternatively, speak to one of our South America experts to plan an unforgettable trip to the Galapagos Islands.


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Home Arts & Entertainment Steeped in sheep
Steeped in sheep
M.V. Museum offers a four-part program on the Island's 'wooly history.'
Abby Remer
Martha's Vineyard Museum research librarian Bow Van Riper and education and public programs manager Norah Kyle are the dynamic duo teaching the brand-new program, Martha's Vineyard's Wooly History. The hands-on activities, live demonstration, special guests, and trips to the gallery to see relevant objects in the related "Woven" exhibition, will make for an interesting four-week class.
"If you were to come to the Island in the early 19th century, you would see sheep everywhere," Van Riper says. "Wool and sheep are one of the great underrepresented stories in the history of the Vineyard. Wool was the backbone of our agricultural economy basically from the colonization in the 1640s down to the end of the 19th century. Vineyarders grew many crops and raised many different types of livestock for their own use, but when it came to cash crops, wool was absolutely king."
Van Riper says that most Vineyard farms kept at least a few sheep to generate wool for themselves, but in many cases, they had enormous flocks capable of producing far in excess of what they needed. They would export the raw wool to mainland mills, which would clean, spin, weave, and dye it. Of course, some Islanders processed the wool themselves, creating products that they would sell to their neighbors or to the larger regional economy for cash to buy things not produced on the Island, such as coffee, tea, sugar, and more.
"Everyone in their spare time was busy turning yarn into stockings, caps, scarves — some for local use and others for sale off-Island," Van Riper explains. "Knitting, weaving, and spinning were, for a significant percentage of the Vineyard population prior to the 1850s and even as late as 1900, the definitive side hustle — the thing you did beyond fishing and farming, especially in the winter when the crops were in, and it was too stormy to go out to sea. And for a small subset of the Island, it was what you did for a living."
The course will come alive with Van Riper's accounts about such things as the small-scale entrepreneur Mary Merry, who lived in what is now known as the Mill House in Vineyard Haven. "She was an absolute inveterate knitter and always sent her sea captain husband off on his voyages with bags of mittens and scarves and hats that he could sell to bring back the proceeds," he says. "There is a story that once his ship sank while he was at sea and when word came back to Mary, her first reaction was not, 'Oh no, is my husband okay?' but 'Oh dear, all those hats, and mittens are lost!'"
On a larger historic scale, we have In October 1778, during the American Revolution, Major General Charles Grey arrived at Holmes Hole (now Vineyard Haven) backed by a fleet of warships and hundreds of redcoats and demanded food for the British troops. In addition to 315 cattle and more than 50 tons of hay, "Grey's Raid" cost the Island 10,000 sheep; roughly two-thirds of the Vineyard's entire supply. It took nearly 50 years for the sheep population to rebound to pre-war levels.
"I would love people to walk away with a sense of how broadly and deeply sheep affected the history of the Island," Van Riper said. "Everything from the look of the up-Island landscape with its endless rolling hills divided by stone walls down to the fact that the most successful manufacturing industry on the Island before the mid-20th century and, possibly the most successful ever, was the old West Tisbury mill, which now houses the Garden Club, turning Island wool into Island-made cloth."
The hands-on component promises to viscerally convey something else — the complexity of going from sheep to sweater. "In point of fact, if you were making a living off wool products in the 18th or 19th century, you were orchestrating a technologically sophisticated, multi-step process that required a whole series of specific tasks in a particular way, in a particular order, each of which required a very precise set of skills that had to be executed properly to create a useable product," Van Riper says. "The people who lived here in the past were a lot smarter, a lot more sophisticated, had a better understanding of a much wider range of tools and techniques, and were tied into a much wider economic network than we tend to, in our Currier-and-Ives-romanticized image of the past, give them credit for."
Kyle adds, "I hope that people will enjoy delving deep into the intricacies of historical agriculture and teasing out the reality of Island farm life and wool production from the charming agrarian myth of self-sufficiency."
Martha's Vineyard's Wooly History takes place on Thursdays from 5:30 to 7 pm, Feb. 2 to Feb. 23 at the Martha's Vineyard Museum. Best for ages 16 and up. $60 for MVM members, $75 for non-members. Pre-registration is required. Registration closes Jan. 28 at noon. To learn more and register, visit mvmuseum.org/register-for-mvs-wooly-history/.
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For all things Marui! Dosent matter if it is NIB, runner or a ready to restore junk pile. This is the place to put pics from one of the worlds most underated R/C companies of the 80's. Marui made some tremendous vehicles - especially the Big Bear - as it was the worlds FIRST R/C monster truck! Presentation was right up there with Tamiya in terms of box art and blister packaging! Share you enjoyment of this great brand.


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Q: Is it possible to exchange information between arduino and android phones easily using nrf24l01? I need to send information from arduino to an android phone, having some app actively listening for radio communication from arduino. Using nrf24l01 is that possible?
The best scenario would be direct communication, even without any type of handshake. Arduino sends a number sequence that android expects to receive, and the app alerts me when it ears that sequence.

A: Another method: You could create a Wifi hotspot with your Android, have the arduino connect to it, and have them communicate that way.
You'd need the ESP8266 for the arduino.  They cost $5 each.
Juggs

A: nrf24L01 ICs use the SPI protocol. This is easily implemented with an Arduino but probably requires special knowledge to implement on an Android system.
As JR says - an ESP8266 based transceiver will "talk t" and Android phone and can be controlled by an Arduino.

A: Yes it is possible . You need to pair your BT device with your android device for once which will make your further communications possible without handshakes .If you can be more clear on what you wanna send and receive I can give you references .

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Home > Economics > Brexit, Growth and Crash Economics
Brexit, Growth and Crash Economics
A SCOTTISH CONUNDRUM: HOW TO GROW WHEN YOU HAVE FULL EMPLOYMENT?
THE latest Fraser of Allander Institute (FAI) report garnered a lot of media interest with its prediction that a "disorderly" Brexit would precipitate a full-blown recession in the Scottish economy.
The report reminds us that over 45 per cent of Scotland's international exports are to the EU, supporting circa 144,000 jobs. Any interruption to market access would be catastrophic in the short term. A sudden hard Brexit would see output fall by between 2.5 per cent and a disastrous 7 per cent, unemployment jumping by around 100,000.
These are serious numbers from a think tank that is normally quite conservative in its analysis. However, a hard Brexit, while eminently possible in the current Westminster fog, is on balance unlikely – there is no majority in Parliament for a WTO exit. Unless a lot of centrist Brexiteers in the Conservative and Labour ranks panic and vote for May's deal, we seem destined to remain in political limbo.
Even here, FAI are gloomy. On a "muddling through" scenario, the Institute still forecasts weaker than in their previous report. They predict growth of only 1.1 per cent of GDP this year, followed by an uptick to 1.4 per cent next year and 1.5 per cent in 2021. Note: that's two years of below average growth followed by a return to just the bog standard 1.5 per cent Scotland normally achieves.
If borne out in practice, these growth numbers are significant. The Scottish economy is already operating at record full employment. In the three months to February, Scotland's jobless total was only 3.3 per cent – well below the UK figure of 3.9 per cent. Of course, this is due in part to mature folk being forced into the labour market by having to wait longer for pensions.
But it also means the Scottish economy has no reserve of workers to call on – especially if the threat or actuality of Brexit reduces the size of the immigrant workforce.
A potential labour shortage impacts negatively on growth. If you don't have the extra workers, you can't increase economic growth without replacing labour by capital. In other words, higher growth becomes dependent on greater capital investment. But where is the cash coming from?
WHERE WILL INDY SCOTLAND GET CAPITAL INVESTMENT?
This brings us back to our old nemesis, the SNP Growth Commission. The Growth Commission targets an increase in growth from the Scottish average of 1.5 per cent to nearer the 3 per cent achieved by other small EU industrial economies. The question is: how do you double Scottish economic growth when you already have record full employment?
To date, Scotland has relied heavily on foreign inward investment. In 2017, Scotland was ranked 2nd in the whole UK in terms of foreign investment projects secured during the previous five years. There are some 1,000 enterprises in Scotland whose parent company is located in another EU country. The least one can conclude is that any sort of Brexit, or Brexit-related uncertainty, threatens this source of investment capital, never mind produce extra.
It is hard to see where we will find alternative sources of capital investment to double growth unless it is from inside Scotland and state-led. Which, of course, brings us back to the currency question.
Let's start with a scenario in which an independent Scotland continues to use the pound Sterling for a while, though outside an agreed, official monetary union with rUK. This is the proposal outlined in the Growth Report and enshrined in the Mackay-Brown motion to SNP Spring Conference.
Of course, Scotland could go on using Sterling and no one could stop us. But the longer we did so, the more problems and dangers would accumulate. To begin with, the Scottish government could only borrow by issuing bonds denominated in Sterling (or the euro or dollar). Interest would be paid in that foreign currency. So the degree to which we could borrow abroad would be limited by Scotland's ability to acquire foreign currency through exporting. We might also have to pledge collateral in the shape of public assets – as tiny Montenegro has done with Chinese loans.
This procedure would constrain our abilities too boost investment and growth. We would likely find ourselves in a negative feedback loop. Without access to significant foreign capital, Scottish economic growth would remain stuck around the historic 1.5 per cent. To go on borrowing abroad in a foreign currency, we would have to meet stringent fiscal requirements set by creditors – meaning strict limits on public spending and even slower growth.
There's worse. Using Sterling in an independent Scotland means the Scottish monetary authorities would be unable to deal with a major banking crisis. If the banking system fails – as it did in 2008 – the monetary authorities must step in and create extra liquidity to pump into the financial sector to maintain confidence. In the UK and US, the central banks created that extra liquidity by increasing their own liabilities – essentially printed money.
A Scotland restricted to using Sterling (rather than create its own currency) would not have this option. It would not be able to withstand a systemic banking crash as it would have no mechanism for creating new financial assets to provide urgent liquidity. I predict this problem will become a front-page issue during any second independence referendum. Which is why I recommend we create our own independent currency during the first post-indy parliament.
By George Kerevan
Even a growth rate of a "mere" 1.5% is a doubling of the economy every 45 years, so in one generation you would have to double your energy sources and energy expenditure, double your total work hours, double your total monetary supply. Accompanied by increased population, increased resource depletion, increased urbanisation and transport resources. A growth rate of 3% is a doubling every 24 years.
How much land do you intend to sequester from the sea to put all the grains, sheep and cows on that this increase will demand in feed, in an era of rising sea levels?
With the current decline in Scottish population, Scotland has a unique opportunity to present a managed Degrowth to the world during the sixth mass extinction. Who knows, Scotland may well harbour some of the last surviving enclaves of the species. By all means, I fully support the adoption of a unique currency, it will give Scotland more flexibility in dealing with the predicaments en route.
Tim Rideout says:
Mark, you are mixing up inputs and outputs. GDP is simply the money value of the goods and services produced domestically in the economy. It does not say anything about the physical quantity of anything. If I stay in a 5 * hotel rather than a B&B it will more than double my contribution to GDP although it is still one room and one breakfast. Making things more efficient allows GDP to rise without any increase in inputs. So for example LED lights mean we can either have the same amount of lighting for a quarter the energy input or four times as much light for the current energy. Thus although there has been substantial money increase in UK GDP since 1990, the energy input has not increased. In the UK we actually use less land for active farming now than we did a hundred years ago, but with substantially higher agricultural output. GDP is not a very good proxy for human wellbeing, so we should develop other measures. But I would also say that in almost all natural systems if they are not growing or moving forward in some sense, then they are dying. I think personally that if you go by the Gaia theory then the Earth is approaching the point at which it flowers and seeds. By that I mean humanity (and everything else as our baggage) have to expand to somewhere else, i.e. initially into the Solar System and ultimately beyond. If we mess that up and fail to achieve it then humanity will have turned out to be a dead end and Nature will try another approach (without us!).
Wul says:
Mark beat me to, it but I wanted to question the assumption that we need to grow our economy every year. Is it no longer possible to run a modern country on 0% growth? Serious question. Perhaps it isn't?
My small business feeds my family and runs my household. I have no intention of "growing" it or "expanding" or "increasing my "market share". I get by, I'm safe & healthy. Isn't that enough? Why would I want to work harder & longer hours?
Unless we can find a planet that grows it's natural resources at 3% per annum, any continuous growth strategy will kill us all.
George Monbiot once pointed out that, had the ancient Egyptians grown their civilisation at 3% per annum, we would now need a planet size of several million solar systems in diameter to contain it. Probably not possible.
Me Bungo Pony says:
21st April 2019 at 8:42 am
Monbiot's claim makes for a dramatic figure, but economic growth does not need a concomitant growth in population or, obviously, area. In 1970, Scotland's GDP was only £3.6bn compared to around £152bn in 2017. In this time, Scotland's population remained broadly static and, of course, the area did not increase at all.
I'm not saying "hooray for capitalism" here. I'd say social democracy and increased productivity due to science and innovation has had a far bigger impact than the heedless pursuit of wealth at all costs. Capitalism is a useful economic tool to incentivise people to get involved in business and encourage investment, but it is not the only economic methodology and it is not the sole ideology to build a country around. Britain between 1800 and 1945 is proof of that.
However, whatever economic model the World comes up with within the boundaries of the globe, including anything Extinction Rebellion can suggest, will ultimately fail as resources are finite but we will constantly require new sources …. forever. Population control and extra-terrestrial sources are human-kinds only hope, and that will take A LOT of science, innovation, investment and education to achieve.
As an example of a "possible" future economic model from "the arts", has anyone watched "The Expanse" on Amazon? It's brilliant 🙂
As a correction, and a bit of a side-swipe at the Labour Party, Scotland's "area" actually shrank in the time between 1970 and 2017. Labour's imposing of the Scottish Adjacent Waters Boundaries Order 1999 saw around 6000 square miles of Scottish waters go to England. Thanks Labour; always looking out for Scotland's interests …. aye right!
tartanfever says:
I have serious doubts that the unemployment figures suggested in the UK are accurate.
If our employment rate was really that high, wouldn't we expect to see wage inflation and quite a dramatic rise in tax receipts ?
Even the ONS have admitted in recent years (2017) that these official figures do not include part-time workers who want full-time jobs, "inactive" workers alienated from the workforce, people who retire, students, or those who work in the home.
Today you are classed as 'employed' if you work one hour a week. The unemployment figures mask thousands of people on precarious, part-time, low-paid, zero-hours, gig-economy work
Blimey, how did I forget to mention that. That just makes a bigger mockery of official figures.
Apparently the great Mrs Thatcher re-defined the meaning of "unemployed" thirteen times during her term in office.
It seems to be a peculiarly Tory problem, not knowing what 'employment" really means. But, then again, perhaps many Old Etonians think that one hour of work per week actually does qualify as a job.


Friday was the big day, the day when Cecil would finally ask me to marry him. He would have asked me much sooner, but I was determined that everything had to be perfect. No surprises here. This was an arranged event, so according to plan, we headed for Sedona, where beautiful red sandstone cliffs cast their shadow over that little city, and tourists from around the world come to see. We were late leaving the valley, but we figured we would be there by the middle of the afternoon.
Sedona was an easy two-hour drive north of Phoenix. Cecil wanted to propose in a pretty little park and take me to a special dinner at a nice restaurant. Then happy and satisfied, we would drive back to Mesa, and call everyone in the phone book to share our incredible news.
Cecil drove, and with map in hand, I was the self-appointed navigator, but you will remember that I am also a talker. Unfortunately, as we neared the turnoff from Highway 17, I was talking instead of navigating. We missed our road, but instead of turning around, and wasting precious time I found another road that would take us back to Sedona. We discovered immediately it was unpaved. However, it was only twelve miles, so that wouldn't be a problem. Would it?
There were no signs, no warnings, and even the forest rangers, whom we met heading for the highway, only waved without bothering to tell us that the road we were on was impassable for any vehicle and especially so for a passenger car.
The next ninety minutes were spent trying to navigate this wilderness trail—one could hardly call it a road—without tearing out the car's underpinnings. I had failed as navigator. Now all I could do was screech and wail, as Cecil tried to avoid great rocky drop-offs coming ever nearer to the side of the cliffs constantly scraping up against the dry thorny desert brush. I couldn't be concerned about the well fare of the car. I was concerned about preserving our life. Of course, if you have the courage and the presence of mind to look, that route gives the best view of the world famous red sandstone cliffs.
The day was far spent by the time we arrived in Sedona, and I had learned a valuable lesson.
It is far better to turn around and correct your mistake than to take an unknown, untried route to your destination.
I was born with the wanderlust. "Going" is in my blood. I have had the great privilege of visiting thirty-four countries in our world, but there are still one-hundred sixty-three others that I have not yet experienced. It makes me sad to think that, for the most part, my traveling days around the world are probably over.
However, I am presently engaged in another journey, with which bad knees, sciatica, and needy family members cannot interfere.
Life is a journey designed by God before we were ever born—a journey with big rocks to climb, little ones to trip over, and milestones to mark where we have been. We all must make this journey no matter how bad the road and accommodations.
It would be great if the path meandered always through grassy meadows dotted with wildflowers and babbling brooks, but for the most part, life's road winds uphill the whole long day. It is marked with adversity and seemingly impassable obstacles.
Often, in an effort to evade hardship and suffering, we find ourselves on a tawdry detour we have chosen hoping to find an easier way to our destination.
Detours will never get you there. They will only take you farther from your goal. When you find yourself on the wrong road, turn around. Turn around! Go back to the fork where you made the bad choice, and start again.
1 Peter 2:21 also tells us, "…Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps.
There are those who tell us to live life on our own terms, go against the grain, take the road less traveled, but God's word says, "ask for the old paths," the tried and true paths.
You can choose your own path or you can choose to follow the footsteps of Jesus.


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Manuscripts related to Crown of Thorns
32 Manuscripts with saint as primary, 0 as secondary
Matching manuscripts are: 2, 3, 20, 21, 24, 31, 37, 1, 59, 50, 94, 64, 87, 117, 129, 156, 197, 223, 226, 234, 237, 260, 323, 338, 378, 333, 410, 424, 346, 405, 614, 570
High: 3, 31, 346
Normal: 2, 20, 21, 24, 37, 1, 59, 50, 94, 87, 117, 129, 156, 223, 226, 234, 237, 260, 323, 338, 378, 333, 410, 424, 405, 614, 570
Unranked: 64, 197
Non-matching manuscripts are: 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 22, 23, 25, 28, 29, 30, 35, 36, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 51, 52, 57, 58, 61, 62, 63, 65, 66, 68, 70, 73, 77, 79, 80, 85, 86, 88, 89, 93, 96, 97, 99, 101, 103, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 119, 120, 121, 123, 124, 126, 128, 130, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 140, 141, 142, 143, 147, 148, 157, 159, 160, 161, 162, 116, 163, 164, 165, 166, 170, 171, 175, 178, 182, 184, 186, 189, 190, 192, 33, 195, 196, 198, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 224, 216, 228, 106, 229, 230, 231, 233, 227, 239, 240, 241, 4, 246, 242, 243, 249, 251, 250, 256, 257, 259, 261, 262, 264, 265, 266, 267, 268, 270, 269, 271, 253, 275, 276, 278, 279, 280, 282, 283, 284, 286, 287, 288, 289, 290, 291, 292, 293, 295, 298, 299, 297, 303, 305, 313, 314, 316, 317, 318, 319, 312, 321, 322, 326, 320, 327, 331, 335, 336, 191, 149, 339, 340, 343, 344, 345, 347, 348, 349, 351, 353, 354, 356, 359, 360, 361, 362, 363, 367, 368, 371, 373, 376, 377, 379, 380, 382, 381, 383, 384, 388, 392, 393, 394, 396, 397, 402, 407, 408, 409, 404, 412, 413, 414, 416, 418, 419, 420, 423, 430, 431, 432, 437, 439, 370, 443, 445, 446, 451, 452, 456, 458, 459, 464, 308, 309, 465, 466, 489, 482, 490, 478, 492, 499, 369, 501, 504, 505, 507, 509, 510, 498, 516, 517, 526, 531, 534, 528, 539, 543, 550, 552, 533, 524, 32, 71, 522, 557, 559, 562, 564, 567, 569, 571, 573, 578, 579, 580, 582, 607, 638, 639, 651, 652, 653, 625, 673, 674, 684, 685, 686, 688, 690, 691, 693, 695, 696, 697, 700
Detailed information for Crown of Thorns


As new innovations to discovery services are being released, it is a good time to reflect on linking and its importance to the end user's discovery experience. According to the 2009 OCLC report Online Catalogs: What Users and Librarians Want, "The end user's experience of delivery is as important, if not more important, than the discovery experience." The process of "delivery," linking end users to the content they've discovered, is certainly critical to the research process. After all, it does little good for users to discover content if they can't get to it.
Thanks to libraries' rapid adoption of discovery services over the last five years and their renewed focus on user experience, researchers are now more likely to view the library as a preferred gateway to begin their research process. And even when users begin their research with Google or Google Scholar instead, the library still plays an important role in provisioning access to content by enabling affiliated end-users to bypass pay-walls to get the content.
Whatever discovery method researchers select and use, they can now easily discover millions of search results – mostly for content available online and in full text – with just a single query. In other words, in the researcher's mind, discovery is easy. Yet, linking users to discovered content remains a serious challenge.
In order to meet users' expectations for immediate access to appropriate copies of full text, libraries have largely been reliant on middleware known as the OpenURL link resolver. Unfortunately, as various studies have suggested, Open URL linking has been less reliable than desired. Studies suggest OpenURL links fail anywhere from 5-30% of the time.  And even if reported link failure rates may be somewhat inflated, linking issues are still the most frequent complaint of library end-users.
The advent of discovery services and the popularity of open Web resources like Google Scholar have only increased scrutiny and expectations on library linking tools' success. And as library collections continue becoming predominantly electronic there is a lot at stake for libraries. Today's researchers do expect to get immediate access to the full text of just about every item they discover. When those expectations are not met, there are real consequences for the library.
While it may be unfair to think that library linking tools can achieve 100% accuracy and success rates, this is still nonetheless the goal libraries (and the vendors who supply linking tools for them) need to strive for. Besides negatively impacting direct usage of library resources, failed link resolver links frustrate end users and cause dissatisfaction with library services. From an end-user's perspective, it is not a stretch to say that if a link fails, then the library has failed. When a user's expectations are not met due to failed links, this leads to further abandonment of the library's services in favor of tools (such as Google) which users may perceive to be easier or more reliable.
While the true cost of losing a frustrated user to non-library tools is difficult to measure, and has long-term consequences, failed links also have an immediate impact on staff resources. When users do report problems with links, there is a real cost in terms of the time library staff has to spend to track down the cause of the issue, report the problems to the link resolver vendor and/or, in many cases, try to figure out why a link to an item was not available.
OpenURL link resolvers have been around for more than 12 years now (for a technical overview see Why OpenURL?). But, unlike other library technologies, the link resolver has been slow to evolve. This is not to discount the terrific work done by organizations such as NISO, of which Serials Solutions (now ProQuest) has been an active participant in, or the work of individuals such as Adam Chandler (Improving OpenURLs Through Analytics, in Context) who has championed real linking improvements.
However, in the scheme of rapid technological advances over the last 12 years that have impacted libraries – such as the rise of Google, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, the iPhone, iPad, mobile technologies and even web-scale discovery services – link resolvers have certainly not kept up.
As evolving technologies continue to impact access to information, libraries not only need to be concerned about link reliability, but they should also be focused on the end user's experience in linking to content.
In our next blog post, we focus on some of the very real challenges with link resolvers as we look toward ways to improve linking for libraries.


As cliched as it sounds, the saying "Less is more," really fits into the practice of minimalist packing. Being able to utilize your tools of travel in the best possible way will reduce how much you bring with you and improve your travel experience.
Maximize the versatility of each item: This applies especially to clothing and technology as those are usually the items people bring the most of. When it comes to clothing, you won't need as much as you think. Try to make each item work in several outfits so you can get the most use possible out of it. For example, to dress up jeans, pair them with a nicer top and then for a more casual look you can wear a normal t-shirt. Most of the time, the people you encounter while traveling won't be seeing you during the entirety of your trip, so who cares if you wear the same shirt half the time! As for multi-use tech, try to cut it down to what you really need. A smartphone can be used for a clock, camera, and entertainment device all in one. Tip: bring a travel size bottle of laundry soap so that you can wash clothes in a sink or shower if you really need to.
Have an excellent bag or suitcase: Having a bag that can fit everything you need in an easy to carry package is one of the most important aspects of minimalist traveling. Bags or suitcases with pockets and sturdy zippers are key to keeping your stuff organized and secure. Don't forget the TSA approved lock for added security at the airport and in any shared sleeping spaces, such as hostels. My favorite feature of my Eagle Creek suitcase I use for longer trips is the small backpack that zips off the front of the case. It is great for using on day trips or short side trips away from my main location!
Pack items into every space you can: Making sure you store your items in the most space efficient manner can help keep you organized and knowing exactly where everything is when you need it. One example of this is stuffing shoes with smaller items like jewelry, socks, or t-shirts. By rolling items, they'll be less wrinkled and easier to push together inside your bag. I always keep important items, or items I'll need to access often, at the top or in the front pockets of my bag. These might be my phone, pens, ID, or snacks.
Following these three easy steps, you can quickly transform yourself into a minimalist traveler and make sure your adventures aren't weighed down by things you don't need strapped into cumbersome luggage.
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Hong Kong's busy West Kowloon station.
Leading today's top real estate stories from around the region, developers from Hong Kong and the mainland may soon be scraping up their change to bid for a prime commercial site atop Hong Kong's high-speed rail terminus which could sell for HK$100 billion in the first half of this year. Meanwhile Starbucks' China rival Luckin Coffee, which is gearing up to overtake the American coffee giant on the mainland, has tapped three banks, including Credit Suisse, to work on a US IPO sometime this year. Read on for all the details on these stories and more in Mingtiandi's daily roundup of headlines from around Asia.
A prime commercial site on top of Hong Kong's high-speed rail terminus will be sold to developers in the first half of the year, with 2019 expected to see the sale of the largest supply of floor space for offices and businesses in two decades.
The 5.88 hectare (14.5 acre) site at West Kowloon station was one of 22 residential and commercial lots on this year's official land sale list, which was unveiled by the government on Thursday.
Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT) has entered into agreements to acquire a 17.1 percent stake in PGIM Real Estate Asia Retail Fund Ltd for about S$342.5 million, subject to determination of the dividend amount payable in respect of the sale shares for the fourth quarter of 2018.
Chinese startup Luckin Coffee, which has ambitions to overtake Starbucks in mainland China this year, has tapped three banks including Credit Suisse to work on a US IPO in 2019, said people with direct knowledge of the matter.
Real estate firm K Raheja Corp's hospitality arm Chalet Hotel Ltd, which recently raised INR 16.410 billion ($231.7 million) through an IPO, is eying distressed hotel assets and acquiring more hotel brands to expand its portfolio, said a top company executive.
Chinese real estate giant Evergrande has set up a new energy vehicle company with four wholly owned subsidiaries, the latest in a series of moves that sees the company increase its focus on electric cars.
Alibaba will start construction on a CNY 6.9 billion ($1 billion) headquarters building in Beijing this November for completion in 2024.


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Last Call: Nominate a Business Book Today!
Published: Apr 18, 2016 Last Updated: Feb 14, 2019 by JoAnn McFarland In Announcements 1
It's last call! Time is running out to nominate your favorite book or resource for the 2016 Small Business Book Awards. Deadline for nominations is April 27, 2016 2:59 p.m. EST, so we're getting down to the wire.
As always, books can be nominated in a number of different categories including marketing, social media, management, economics, technology, startup or motivation. There is an eighth category called simply resources — basically sort of a catchall category including people, companies, tools and apps supporting authors of small business books.
There have been more than 149 nominations thus far, but there is always room for more! So be sure to beat that April 27 deadline.
Small Business Book Awards Nominations
Besides fitting into one of eight categories above, several criteria must be met for a book to be eligible for the 2016 Small Business Book Awards. First, books and resources must be non-fiction and be relevant to the small business market, though relevant allegories as examples are certainly acceptable. Books must also have been published in 2015 but any format is acceptable.
Both print and e-books are allowed and may be self published or traditionally marketed. However, all books must have ISBN or ASIN number or a price tag for sale. Free ebooks offered as a marketing incentive to sign up for a website are not allowed.
What Sets the Small Business Book Awards Apart?
With so many other book awards out there, what makes the Small Business Book Awards so special? Though there are no shortage of business book awards, the Small Business Book Awards are unique in that they are awards given for and by the small business community.
Judging the Winners
Winners will be chosen in two categories. The first group of winners will be selected via a popular vote and will be called the Small Business Book Awards Community Choice winners. The second group of winners will be chosen by our distinguished panel of judges, and will therefore be called the Judged Winners. Both sets of winners will receive all the publicity associated with the awards not to mention the right to display the winning insignia on books and brochures, etc.
Remember These Dates When You Nominate A Business Book
Following the close of nominations coming April 27, here are some important dates to remember:
Community voting runs from April 28, 2016 to May 11, 2016
Community Choice Winners will be announced on May 12, 2016
Judged Winners will be announced on May 19, 2016
How to Participate in the Contest
Small business owners participating in the nominating and voting processes can garner notice for their own brands from the general public by encouraging fans and social media followers to vote for your nominees through blogs, websites, email or any other means by which you reach out to your connections.
Nominating books that you've found helpful is a great way to share with other members of the small business community. If you've found a particularly helpful title from a small business author you admire:
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JoAnn McFarland
JoAnn McFarland is a Staff Writer for Small Business Trends. She covers breaking news such as new product announcements, government policy, acquisitions and other industry developments. She is a published author and comes from a family-business background.
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It is that time again I guess. I am excited to see the nominations. It is always refreshing to learn new stuff with new business books.
Choose Your Business Structure


Skullcandy seems to be making some wireless earbuds according to an FCC filing which contains a whole lot of juicy information.
Skullcandy has long blended style and function with its products but has been lacking a wireless earbud option, but you will be glad to hear that all ends today. An FCC filing contains extensive details about the Skullcandy Push earbuds.
The leak contains a wide variety of information about the headphones, including the instruction manual no less.
The earbuds live up to their 'Push' name as a large button on their side can be used to perform a number of functions including to change volume, skip tracks or even activate a smart assistant.
Take a look at our best headphones article right here to make sure you're making the correct purchase.
The headphones automatically turn on when they're removed from the charging case (which appears to be over USB-C) and turn off when they're put away.
There is no official word on some of the more pertinent questions such as battery life, a release date or cost – but considering how much information has appeared already, it wouldn't be surprising if Skullcandy came out with a more official announcement in the very near future.


This lemon Loaf Cake contains Stevia Blend Caster Sugar which reduces your overall sugar intake by 1/3. For the health conscious baker, taste and texture is not compromised. You can spoon the same batter into smaller individual cases if you prefer.
Heat the oven to 180'c. Butter a 500g loaf tin and line it with baking parchment.
Beat the butter and stevia blend together together in a large bowl, either with an electric whisk or with a wooden spoon, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Slowly add the flour, baking powder, eggs, lemon curd and milk, mixing all the time until they are thoroughly combined.
Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. If you have chosen individual cases, reduce this time to 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.


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Nov 13, 2021 | 2021 Fall, Home Page: Thumbnails |
By Jackson Katz
One of the key organizers of the Women's Marches for Reproductive Rights, Rachel O'Leary Carmona, described the marches—catalyzed by the September 1 implementation of the draconian anti-abortion law in Texas—as a coalition effort. "This is not just a women's issue," she said. "It's a racial justice issue. It's an immigration issue."
It is also a men's issue.
The movement for reproductive rights has been long led by a multiracial, multiethnic collective of women. The vast majority of passionate activists are women. But men have a vital role to play.
For the past half-century, many of them have supported women's right to choose, both in their private lives and at the ballot box. Some have donated money. Some have participated in public demonstrations, including the historic Women's Marches in 2017 that were attended by hundreds of thousands of men.
Many others have provided personal assistance and care for women close to them who have experienced unintended pregnancies and needed access to a full range of options for medical care and services. But nowhere near enough of us have made this issue a priority.
In an open letter to men that was published after the state of Alabama passed a harshly punitive abortion law in 2019, Democratic New Jersey Senator Cory Booker acknowledged that women were at the forefront of fighting efforts to roll back their hard-won rights, "just like they have (been) in every single struggle for freedom in our country's history." As for men, he wrote, "It's on us to listen, to speak out, and to take action. Not because women are our mothers, sisters, wives or friends—but because women are people. And all people deserve to control their own bodies."
During the 2020 election, many political analysts said that prochoice women, outraged by the abortion ban legislation then sweeping through state legislatures, would be an important political force, perhaps more than in any single previous presidential election. But the idea that threats to women's reproductive freedom are also an issue for men was only mentioned—if at all—as an afterthought. This has to change.
Moderate, liberal and progressive men who claim to care about gender justice need to get the message loud and clear that support for women's and everyone's right to comprehensive health care services—which includes access to safe, legal abortion—must move to a much higher place on their political agenda. Because without this right, there is no gender equality. And without gender equality, there is no real democracy.
Yet, as Sen. Booker argued, "Abortion is not something that many men feel the need or desire to talk about—it's too uncomfortable. But that's a trap—and one we need to get out of immediately. Men need to acknowledge that they benefit from abortion rights and reproductive health care, too."
Much will be written in the coming months and years about the role of men in the movement, especially as a new generation of women, men and others across the gender identity spectrum become engaged in a cultural and political struggle that too many people naively thought was already settled. Inevitably, many men who are new to all of this will ask: "What can I do?" The good news is they don't have to start from scratch. Many people have been thinking, writing and debating this question for more than 50 years.
There is already a body of scholarship, journalism and autobiographical reflection about some of the ethical as well as political complexities of men's engagement with this topic. One of those complexities is the private nature of many women's experience of abortion. Although according to the Guttmacher Institute, approximately one-quarter of American women will have an abortion by age 45, most of them keep this to themselves or within a close circle of intimate family members and friends.
As a result many men who have been involved in abortion decisions rightly hesitate to share and/or discuss this information with their friends, much less in more public venues. But many men have been through the experience. According to a 2011 multinational survey by Promundo, an international gender equality organization, between 40 and 90 percent of women said their male partner was involved in their decision to terminate a pregnancy.
While the researchers noted that not all of this reflected positive involvement by male partners, it is clear that tens of millions of men have participated in some way in a woman's decision to have an abortion—meaning the issue is intensely personal for many men, as well as women and non-binary people.
I helped to organize an abortion speak-out for prochoice men in Boston more than 30 years ago as a way to give some of them a voice. The event featured a line-up of men who shared their stories in a way rarely heard in public discourse. They included the wrenching testimony of a man whose wife had died after she was rushed to a nearby emergency room with dire pregnancy complications, but doctors at the Catholic hospital refused to perform an abortion to save her life.
That story was similar to a tragic case in 2012 in Ireland, when Savita Halappanavar, a 31-year-old Indian woman living in Galway, died of septic miscarriage after doctors refused to perform a life-saving abortion. Her needless death helped to catalyze a women-led movement that resulted in the 2018 repeal of Ireland's restrictive abortion law. Halappanavar's husband and father both played influential roles in the repeal effort by making powerful public statements about Savita's death and urging repeal of the law to prevent further preventable tragedies.
Beyond the understandable reluctance of many men to talk publicly about their experiences with abortion—unless expressly authorized to do so by the women in their lives—the very language we use to talk about pregnancy erases men's participation— and thus their share of the responsibility for any outcome.
For example, too often we hear the question, "How many teenage girls got pregnant last year?" rather than, "How many men and boys impregnated teenage girls?" Switching from passive to active language would go a long way toward reframing the issue of unintended pregnancy as one in which men are actively involved, rather than silent onlookers, if not altogether invisible.
Finally, men's participation in the movement for reproductive justice needs to include a focus on men's responsibility to speak out about some men's abusive and violent behaviors toward women that surround pregnancies and people's responses to it. This includes reproductive coercion, which refers to men employing various types of interference with a woman's autonomous decision-making with her reproductive health, such as birth control sabotage, or pressuring a woman to have or not have an abortion. It also includes inflicting physical, sexual or emotional abuse on a partner, pressuring or forcing a woman to have sex, and refusing to wear a condom or use other male birth control methods.
Although the Texas abortion law is shockingly regressive, it is only supported by a minority of people in the US. Nevertheless, for the prochoice majority, it should be clear by now that until this moment, men have not done their fair share in ensuring women's basic reproductive freedoms. Women should not have to bear the brunt of fighting for their basic rights alone, even more so when men are—by definition—directly involved before, during and after the moment of conception.
Jackson Katz, a longtime member of Voice Male's board, is internationally known for his pioneering scholarship and activism on issues of gender, race and violence. He is cofounder of Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP), one of the longest-running gender violence prevention programs. With Media Education Foundation, he created the award-winning Tough Guise educational documentary series and The Man Card: White Male Identity Politics from Nixon to Trump (themancardmovie.com). A version of this article appeared in Ms. magazine's blog.
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A helicopter has crashed into the Hudson River in New York City
https://www.businessinsider.com/helicopter-appears-to-have-crashed-in-new-york-hudson-river-2019-5
A helicopter crashed into the Hudson River in New York City on Wednesday, the fire department said.
Only the pilot was on board, and was safely removed without injury.
The crash occurred near a pier where Blade and other companies operate.
A helicopter has crashed into the Hudson River in New York City, the fire department confirmed Wednesday afternoon.
A spokesperson for the FDNY confirmed the crash and said the pilot, the only person on board, was safely removed from the water with no injuries. The department's verified Twitter account said there were two other non-life-threatening injuries.
The helicopter appears to be operated by Blade, and the company's logo was visible in photos and videos from the scene. Blade did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Local news channels showed a large police and fire response to the crash, as onlookers flooded the riverside park to get a better look at the incident. The West Side Highway was partially closed to southbound traffic following the crash as first responders towed the aircraft to the shore.
Multiple people on Twitter said they saw a helicopter plunge into the water around 2:20 pm, near piers where Blade and other helicopters operate on Manhattan's West side at 30th street and 12th avenue.
Blade is an on-demand helicopter service which operates shuttled from Manhattan to nearby airports, including Newark and JFK, for $195 per seat, according to the company's website.
Beautyvlogger James Charles verliest miljoenen volgers… maar verdient bakken geld doordat z'n views op YouTube exploderen
This story is developing…
#FDNY members remain on scene of a helicopter crash in the Hudson River. The helicopter is tied to the pier at this time. The pilot is on land, and was the only person on board. pic.twitter.com/AK5MvjvAP4
— FDNY (@FDNY) May 15, 2019
There are currently 2 non-life-threatening injuries reported on scene of a helicopter crash into the Hudson River – the pilot and one heliport worker injured by debris. #FDNY operations continue. pic.twitter.com/Z1hA2PBKMC
@AP @nytimes @CBSNews Just witnessed a helicopter go down into the Hudson! Prayers for all of board! #blade #hudson #helicopter pic.twitter.com/5Y10EpTNM4
— lewintech (@lewintech) May 15, 2019
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Visa liberalization for Kosovo: From one report to another
by EWB 29. 04. 2021.
Joint debate on 2019-2020 Progress reports on Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia; Photo: European Union
By Donika Emini and Zoran Nechev
A few weeks ago, the European Parliament adopted the 2019-2020 Commission Report for Kosovo. Among a myriad of issues listed, the rapporteur on Kosovo, MEP Viola Von Cramon, reiterated the message on visa liberalization during the press conference. The message was loud and clear: the EU remains unable to deliver on its promise on providing visa-free travel to the citizens of Kosovo, even though the Commission and the Parliament reiterated their support numerous times ever since July 2018.
Reactions back in Pristina denounced that relations between Kosovo and the EU have been narrowed down to the visa liberalization process only. Apart from blaming Brussels (i.e. the Council) for its lack of leadership and trust in the assessment made by the Commission, it becomes increasingly obvious that a young democratic country has few chances to make significant advancement in the visa liberalization process. If these chances are not used immediately, Kosovo might have to wait indefinitely. Over the past years, many EU Presidencies which were expected to push the visa liberalization agenda for Kosovo were missed opportunities for Kosovo, as Pristina's focus was on internal issues only, neglecting the dynamics outside Kosovo's own boundaries. Consequently, significant opportunities were missed with the Austrian (July-December, 2018), Croatian (January-June, 2020) and most notably the German presidency (July-December 2020). Kosovo's missed opportunity under the auspices of the German Presidency has raised many eyebrows in Kosovo and left people wondering which other member state could have the will and the power of Germany to push this issue forward.
Nevertheless, the strong messages reinstated by the European Parliament in relation to the visa liberalisation process brought a spark of hope to the political debates in Kosovo. This is especially important after the striking and inexplicable hesitation of the political elites to highlight this issue during the election campaign. Traditionally, the visa liberalisation process has been exploited for domestic political consumption – especially during election campaigns. This was not the case this time around, as none of the political parties talked about it explicitly and thus refrained from promising anything related to visa liberalisation. On the one hand, this is an indicator that political elites understand the level of complexity and the risks involved; on the other, it reveals the lack of clear guidance on what has to be done in order to get back on track. Thus, Kosovo is left unguided and heavily depending on its own diplomatic efforts to convince the few remaining skeptical EU member states.
The European Parliament's report comes at a critical juncture when Kosovo has just elected a new government led by Albin Kurti and a new President, Vjosa Osmani. Both are heralded as a reformist duo, part of a new generation of leaders. The hope for internal political stability, something the EU has been seeking for many years, is back after the February snap elections. The Kurti – Osmani duo had announced that they would deliver on difficult reforms in the country including the fight against corruption and an overhaul of the judicial system, many of which are directly or indirectly relevant to the visa liberalisation process. This has created positive and high expectations not only in relation to visa liberalization; it had also created an impetus to finally move forward in the already very complex relations between Kosovo and the EU. Having this in mind, if the EU wants to regain its credibility in Kosovo, and indeed in the wider Western Balkan region, it needs to go for strategic choices and put the visa liberalisation process firmly back on the agenda. By doing so, it will positively contribute to the dialogue with Serbia and be in a position to exercise pressure on the Kosovo government to deliver on its election promises and to insist on a track record regarding the reforms deriving from the EU roadmap for visa liberalisation. A comprehensive approach which includes the Council and those EU member states that remain skeptical towards granting visa-free travel to Kosovars is necessary. Positive engagement on the visa issue will undoubtedly contribute to opening the doors for a comprehensive agreement with Serbia and has the potential to solve one of the most crucial bilateral dispute in the Western Balkans.
The existence of powerful voices in the European Parliament such as those of Kosovo rapporteur Von Cramon and visa liberalisation rapporteur Tanja Fajon, who never ceases to bring up the urgency to finally grant visa-free travel to the citizens of Kosovo is indeed a good sign. Now it is up to the new government to make good use of this momentum created and sustained by the European Parliament and to push harder for a way out of the visa liberalization deadlock which has been around for almost three years.
This article was written as part of wider research and advocacy efforts supported by the Kosovo Foundation for Open Society in the context of 'Kosovo Research and Analysis Fellowship'. Donika Emini and Zoran Nechev are members of the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG). Emini is a PhD student in international relations and politics at the University of Westminster. She is the Executive Director of the CiviKos Platform. Nechev is the head of the Centre for EU integration at the Institute for Democracy 'Societas Civilis'.
Albin KurtiEuropean ParliamentKosovoSerbiavisa liberalisation
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Back to basics: what is a property valuation?
House valuations are at the core of the property selling process. It's vital for everyone involved in the buying stages to know how much the house being sold is worth from the off, to help you negotiate a fair asking price and for the buyer to grasp the current state of the local market. It can also help you get a head start on discovering how you can maximise the value of your home.
A property valuation is carried out by an estate agent or an independent valuer to give you an accurate idea of the worth of your home. There are a lot of different factors considered in a valuation; even superficial ones, like how tidy it is, can affect your asking price.
Some of the more general criteria include the age of the property, wear and tear, size and room layout, and any extras or additional fittings the house has. Buyers will also need to have a valuation if they're mortgaging the house, to ensure the lender offers the correct amount. They may carry out more extensive surveys to check for structural damage.
For the valuation to be fair, your house will be compared with similar properties in your area. It should fall in line with general house prices for the locale. The desirability of your neighbourhood, demand for your area and location relative to amenities will all help to boost your valuation.
Land Registry data can also influence your house price. This is a service provided by the government whereby house prices across different areas are updated monthly, to help highlight property price trends.
Property valuations that establish the market price are generally carried out by estate agents. Once you decide to sell your house, the agency you're selling with will send someone over to have a look around and gauge how much your house is worth.
Make sure your place is in tip-top shape for the valuation: clean, tidy and clutter-free. The agent's representative will take detailed notes on each of the rooms, as well as the features and floor space.
A house valuation is the start of the exciting journey of selling your house. When you market your property with HouseSimple.com you'll receive a free, expert valuation – along with a hassle-free sale.


Site Selection & Land Acquisition: Identify the best land parcel based on the client's objectives; get land under contract from owner.
Ability to Get a Project Off the Ground: Secure government approvals, zoning and site access.
Project Planning: Lay the groundwork for a successful building, beginning with site planning, engineering and architectural design.
Insight on Cost of Ownership: Forecast the first cost and lifecycle cost of ownership to ensure the client is fully educated on the investment and that it fits their business model.
Value Engineering: Constructability, construction methods.
Occupancy Choices: Options for owning or leasing.
Guidance on Financing: Advise on economics of a project and assist in securing financing; pursue government funding when available.
Faster Timeline: Expedite the building process by running activities parallel with each other.


MANILA, Philippines – Energy advocates on Friday asked the Supreme Court (SC) that they be allowed to intervene on a petition seeking the nullification of seven questionable power supply agreements (PSAs) entered into by the Manila Electric Company (Meralco).
In its petition-in-intervention, Murang Kuryente Party-list (MKP) asked the SC to allow energy advocate Gerry Arances and labor leader Leody de Guzman to be part of a more than two-year old petition.
The petition was originally filed by the Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas Inc. (ABP) asking the high court to prevent the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) from approving a 20-year power supply agreements (PSA) between Manila Electric Company (Meralco) and several general companies covering 3,551 megawatts or 90 percent of power supply requirements.
The intervenors said it is high time for the SC to act on the petition because the PSAs, once implemented, will lock in Meralco customers to paying much higher generation charges on their electricity bills for the next 20 years.
"Meralco looks at its consumers as an infinite source of money, to be squeezed any time it needs to pay for the new cars and houses of its executives. We wish to be a part of this case to show the Supreme Court that the current petition against them is very important to all segments of society and can affect even the economic future of our country," said Arances.
"What's more, these PSAs all seek to further increase our dependence on coal, which is not only an expensive source of energy compared to renewables, but also introduce environmental and health hazards to the country. Consumers pay on so many levels, while Meralco just pockets the money," he added.
Intervenors said the delay at the Supreme Court's end gave Meralco and the other respondents enough time to come up with an agreement that is disadvantageous to the consumers.


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Liming Heavy Industry
Service Your Business Well
Site Map | 中文版
Liming History
Sand Making
All around the world, just around the corner. Liming people are here to service your business well.
Email: Vip@lmlq.com
产品推举
The Liming Story
Liming Heavy Industry is a world leader in the manufacture and distribution of crushing, screening, washing, grinding and recycling equipment. With over 20 years experience within the industry and an annual company turnover in excess of 1000 million RMB, our products are sold in over 100 countries and used to process aggregate and recycled materials.
Since 1987, Liming Heavy Industry is committed to operating in the crushing, grinding and screening machines production. Also we provide standard production lines and tailored solutions according to the customers' requirements. The headquarters is located in the HI-TECH industry development zone in Zhengzhou, covering above 30 thousand square meters including several subsidiaries.
The Liming history has been remarkable. Since established in 1987, Liming Heavy Industry has been striving to build up a "Top enterprise, Top talents, and make "Top contribution" for more than 20 years. In the early years success was mainly achieved in the "home" markets of China. However this expansion was soon to spread overseas and now the products of Liming Heavy Industry are well-known in over 100 countries world-wide.
Do you want to know more about Liming Heavy Industry? Follow me, you can get a better acquaintance about our workshop and each fabrication process including welding, assembly process, quality assurance, paint and operational testing.
The General Research Institute focuses on research and development of advanced technology and customer-oriented products as well as building up core competitiveness to makes Liming Heavy Industry a pioneer of the industry. By providing fundamental research results, the institute supports Liming Heavy Industry existing technology and products to be the world's top ones.
Copyright © 2004-2011 by Henan Liming Heavy Industry Science & Technology Co.,Ltd. All rights reserved
Tel: 0086-371-67989575 Fax: 0086-371-67986677 E-mail: Vip@lmlq.com


At the School of Mining Engineering at UNSW your learning experience will be boosted by the wide range of laboratory facilities we have. These facilities are a vital component of the undergraduate course in Mining Engineering – and make the learning experience 'real' for our students.
This cavernous dome, at the heart of our School, provides a virtual setting for students to explore an underground mine. A new reality opens up as you duck underneath the overhead pipes and step safely beyond the hazard zone to accompany your peers beyond the boundaries of traditional education and into experiential learning.Students have the opportunity to be immersed in staggeringly realistic underground mine scenarios through our VR Simulator. This facility – also referred to as the Advanced Visualisation and Interaction Environment (AVIE) – casts 360-degree 3D images against has floor-to-ceiling screens with cinematic clarity.
The School has a computer laboratory capable of accommodating 60 students. These computers have a range of mining software which students use to design and develop mining case studies for their programs.
The Rock Mechanics Laboratory at the School of Mining Engineering provides students with the opportunity to use customized equipment for both fundamental and applied research into mining issues and water research.


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Mr. & Mrs. Dickert
Mr. & Mrs. Mezo
Mr. & Mrs. Gieser
Mr. & Mrs. Tankersley
Mr. & Mrs. Jacobs
Mr. & Mrs. Mercadel
Luke & Lacey are Engaged!
Mr. & Mrs. Fraser
Mr. & Mrs. Hamblin
Mr. & Mrs. Arrants
Mr. & Mrs. Spradley
Mr. & Mrs. Haithcock
Mr. & Mrs. Burt
Mr. & Mrs. Wall
Jennifer & Ron are Engaged!
Mr. & Mrs. Lipham