quinceanera overviewthe quinceanera, or sweet fifteenth birthday is a very special day in the life of many hispanic girls. celebrated in mexico, puerto rica, cuba, central and southern america, many families of hispanic heritage also observe quinceaneras in the united states. and, while traditions vary according to family tradition, what remains at the heart of every fiesta quinceanera is the celebration of a girl as she marks an important milestone : passing from childhood to adulthood. steeped in religion, for most quinceaneras - - here and abroad - - their special fifteenth birthday starts with a religious ceremony ( the misa de accion de gracias ) and then followed by a reception at a family member ’ s home or special venue. at the mass, the quinceanera is accompanied by up to fourteen maids ( representing her fourteen years ) and their fourteen escorts. then, sat at the foot of the alter for the entire service, the mass gives the quinceanera the opportunity to give thanks and lay flowers at the feet of the virgin mary. after the ceremony, female cousins and sisters distribute special favors to the congregation before the entire party heads off to celebrate with food, music and dancing. at the heart of every quinceanera ’ s fairytale day is a special dress. traditionally an intricate design in bright or pastel colors, every quinceanera spends a great deal of time and effort selecting the picture - perfect ball gown for her big day. in fact, with many dresses looking like elaborate wedding gowns themselves, a quinceanera celebration can often seem like a dress rehearsal for a wedding! yet, instead of affirming a commitment to a new husband, every quinceanera reaffirms her devotion and commitment to her family. as for her footwear, most quinceaneras start the day wearing flat shoes, symbolically switching them out for heels for the first dance with her father. the original quinceanera celebrations were important for ancient aztecs and mayans, dating back hundreds of years. as the tradition spread, catholic latinos added their own religious elements to the celebration. many quinceaneras celebrated in the us today begin with a special thanksgiving mass, known as la misa de accion de gracias. the birthday girl is often given a seat of honor near the altar, and her quinceanera court joins her. this court is similar to bridesmaids and groomsmen in a wedding, but the girls


accion de gracias. the birthday girl is often given a seat of honor near the altar, and her quinceanera court joins her. this court is similar to bridesmaids and groomsmen in a wedding, but the girls are called either “ maids ” or “ dama ”, and the boys are called “ chamberlains ” or “ chambelan ”. usually there are seven maids, and seven chamberlains that serve as their escorts. the quinceanera and her escort form the fifteenth couple. quinceanera dress & shoes the traditional quinceanera dress is either white or a light pastel color, like pale pink. they look similar to wedding gowns, but without the train that trails behind. the party decorations, cake, and favors should all coordinate with the color and design of the quinceanera dress. the girl will arrive at her quinceanera wearing flat shoes, which are ceremoniously exchanged for high feels. this symbolizes how she is taking her first steps as a woman, and leaving her children ’ s clothing and accessories behind. usually her father assists with this ceremony, which is similar to when a father gives away his daughter at her wedding. fathers are an important part of quinceanera celebrations, as they are presenting their daughters as women for the first time. the last doll is another tradition in the same style ; it represents moving forward into adulthood. the quinceanera is given a beautiful quinceanera doll, which might be saved as a keepsake. the passing of the last doll is a custom wherein the quinceanera gives the doll to a younger sister or cousin. this represents how she has put aside childish things, and is now a grown woman. some quinceaneras also feature a last pinata, where the young lady can enjoy this kid ’ s party game one last time. after these activities, there is a father - daughter dance that celebrates her coming of age. traditional songs for the quinceanera waltz include la ultima muneca ( the last doll ), de nina a mujer ( from a girl to a woman ) and vals de las mariposas ( waltz of the butterflies ). gifts for the quinceanera are an integral part of the festivities ; each traditional quinceanera gift has special symbolism for the young lady. earrings are given to remind her to listen to god, and a bracelet or ring is gifted to represent the never - ending circle of life.


psc provides major support for unprecedented noaa and university of oklahoma storm - forecast experiment psc improved performance of the forecast model, automated the daily runs and coordinated a dedicated high - bandwidth link. pittsburgh, may 10, 2007 — spring on the great plains brings one of nature ' s most awesome performances of fierce weather, as the may 5th weekend in kansas tragically demonstrated. many residents of greensburg, kansas credited the national weather service, which gave a half - hour advance warning, with preventing an even worse disaster. nevertheless, tornados are notoriously hard to predict, and better warnings - hours in advance, instead of minutes, with greater reliability in the prediction - could save countless lives. to that end, noaa ( the national oceanic and atmospheric administration ) this spring has mounted an unprecedented experiment in forecasting severe storms. to support it the pittsburgh supercomputing center ( psc ) has brought to bear an awesome array of technology, its cray xt3 - a lead system of the national science foundation ( nsf ) teragrid - and a dedicated high - bandwidth network link between pittsburgh and oklahoma contributed by cisco systems, inc. a major goal of the 2007 noaa hazardous weather testbed ( hwt ) spring experiment is to assess how well " ensemble " forecasting - a very computationally demanding approach - works to predict thunderstorms, including the " supercells " that spawn tornados. it is the first time ensemble forecasts, multiple runs of the same forecast model ( to measure the uncertainty inherent in weather forecasts ), are being carried out at the spatial resolution at which storms occur ( finer than operational forecasts, thereby requiring more computing ). it is also the first time ensemble forecasts are being carried out in real time in an operational forecast environment. " ensembles have been used extensively in larger - scale models, " said steven weiss, science and operations officer of the noaa storm prediction center ( spc ) in norman, oklahoma. " but they have never before been used at the scale of storms. this is unique - both in terms of the forecast methodology and the enormous amount of computing. the technological logistics to make this happen are nothing short of amazing. " collaborators in the experiment, in addition to psc and spc, are the center for analysis and prediction of storms ( caps ) at the university of oklahoma, norman ; the noaa national severe storms laboratory in norman ; lead ( linked environments for atmospheric discovery ), an nsf large information technology research grant program and teragrid science


for analysis and prediction of storms ( caps ) at the university of oklahoma, norman ; the noaa national severe storms laboratory in norman ; lead ( linked environments for atmospheric discovery ), an nsf large information technology research grant program and teragrid science gateway ; and the national center for supercomputing applications ( ncsa ) in illinois, a lead teragrid resource provider. to implement caps ' daily forecast runs on psc ' s cray xt3 using the wrf ( weather research and forecast ) model, psc provided technological and staff assistance at several levels : - psc networking staff coordinated with onenet, a regional network of the state of oklahoma, and national lambda rail ( nlr ), a network initiative of u. s. universities, and with cisco systems, who contributed use of a dedicated " lambda " ( a 10 - gigabit - per - second optical - network ) for up to a 12 - month period. - psc implemented the lambda at its end in january, using existing equipment in the pittsburgh metro and local - area network. the backbone is provided by nlr and onenet provides the link from tulsa to norman, oklahoma. - this dedicated link - from the cray xt3 to onenet in tulsa to a supercomputer at the university of oklahoma ( which ingests and post - processes the data ) - makes possible the transfer of 2. 6 terabytes of data per forecast day. - psc staff optimized the latest version of the wrf model to run on the cray xt3, gaining a threefold speedup in input / output ( i / o ) of the wrf code, substantially improving overall performance. - psc also optimized the i / o for post - processing routines used to visualize and analyze the forecast output, achieving 100 - fold speedup. - psc modified the reservation and job - processing logic of its job - scheduling software to implement auto - scheduling of wrf runs and related post - processing, 760 separate jobs each day, demonstrating the teragrid ' s ability to use the cray xt3, a very large " capability " resource, on a scheduled, real - time basis. the noaa hwt spring experiment forecasts require more than a hundred times more computing daily than the most sophisticated national weather service operational forecasts. to meet this need, psc ' s cray xt3 ( 2, 068 2. 6 ghz dual - core processors, 21 teraf


more than a hundred times more computing daily than the most sophisticated national weather service operational forecasts. to meet this need, psc ' s cray xt3 ( 2, 068 2. 6 ghz dual - core processors, 21 teraflops peak ) is the most powerful " tightly - coupled " system ( designed to optimize inter - processor communication ) available via the teragrid. each night, from april 15 until june 1, caps transmits weather data to the cray xt3, which runs a 10 - member ensemble ( 10 runs of the model ) in addition to a single higher - resolution wrf run, in time to produce a forecast for the next day by morning. the forecast domain extends from the rockies to the east coast, two - thirds of the continental united states. the ensemble runs are at four - kilometer horizontal resolution, with the single wrf forecast at two kilometers. a scientific objective is to assess the value of ensemble forecasts in relation to the higher - resolution forecast, and the xt3 and the high - bandwidth link to oklahoma make it possible to do both of these demanding runs daily under real - time constraints. along with ensemble forecasts and use of the cray xt3, the dedicated lambda is also unprecedented. " there ' s no other traffic on this lambda, " said wendy huntoon, psc director of networking. " this is probably the first time a lambda has been dedicated to a single research effort. all of us involved in this experiment are grateful to cisco. " huntoon, who is also director of operations for nlr, helped to coordinate among onenet, nlr and cisco to implement the contributed lambda. " the forecast runs at pittsburgh ship terabytes of data back to oklahoma every day, " said ming xue, director of caps. " it wouldn ' t be possible without this network connection. " " this experiment represents an enormous leap forward, " said university of oklahoma meteorologist kelvin droegemeier, who directs lead and, as former director of caps, has led several spring forecasting experiments over the past decade. " ensembles open up a new array of interpretative capabilities to forecasters analyzing how good the forecast is. with ensembles, you ' re not only forecasting the weather, you ' re forecasting the accuracy of the forecast. " other parts of the experiment use capabilities developed by lead to test " on - demand " forecasts. these forecasts, run in response to continental u. s. forecasts that


weather, you ' re forecasting the accuracy of the forecast. " other parts of the experiment use capabilities developed by lead to test " on - demand " forecasts. these forecasts, run in response to continental u. s. forecasts that predict severe storms, are at fine spacing ( two km ) over smaller domains where initial forecasts indicate high storm likelihood. they use teragrid computing resources at ncsa. since the mid - 90s, psc has collaborated with caps and noaa in spring experiments, and with steady advances in computational technology helped to achieve corresponding advances in the ability to predict storm - scale weather. in the last major experiment, during the 2005 season, using psc ' s lemieux, the first terascale system available via the teragrid, caps and noaa learned that with sufficient high - resolution it ' s possible, in some cases, to predict the details of thunderstorms 24 - hours in advance, a milestone in storm forecasting, suggesting that weather at this scale is inherently more predictable than previously thought. rolling thunder preview ( projects in scientific computing 2005 ) the pittsburgh supercomputing center is a joint effort of carnegie mellon university and the university of pittsburgh together with westinghouse electric company. established in 1986, psc is supported by several federal agencies, the commonwealth of pennsylvania and private industry, and is a partner in the national science foundation teragrid program.


understanding hyperbaric oxygen therapy hyperbaric oxygen therapy : hyperbaric oxygenation ; hyperbaric therapy ; hyperbaric medicine ; hbot ; hbo2 pronounced : hi - purr - bear - ick ox - a - jen the - ra - pee hyperbaric oxygen therapy ( hbot ) is a treatment in which a patient breaths 100 % oxygen while in a hyperbaric chamber ( pressure vessel ) at a barometric pressure greater than sea level. the dosage of oxygen is increased proportional to the increase in chamber pressure ; i. e. breathing 100 % oxygen at 3 atmospheres absolute pressure is the equivalent of getting 300 % oxygen. the air we breathe each day has 21 % oxygen. most chambers are capable of pressurizing to 1. 5 to 3 times normal atmospheric pressure. the hyperbaric physician determines what pressure the chamber needs to go to for any given treatment. see conditions we treat. there are two main types of hyperbaric chamber. monoplace : single patient, chamber pressurized with 100 % oxygen, patient directly breaths the ambient chamber oxygen. some units offer intermittent air breaks. multiplace : multiple patients, attendant ( s ) accompany patient, chamber pressurized with air, patient breaths 100 % oxygen via a breathing circuit. air breaks are done by removing patient from breathing circuit. p / sl has a multiplace chamber. reasons for hyperbaric therapy hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been used to treat many health problems, including : - an air bubble ( embolism ) which gets into the circulatory system and blocks blood flow - decompression sickness, which can occur when divers or miners come to the surface too quickly - carbon monoxide poisoning - wound healing, especially in patients with poor circulation - radiation therapy injuries following treatment for cancer - skin grafts, flaps, or burns what to expect during hyperbaric oxygen therapy prior to procedure - wear comfortable clothes. - bring a book or an activity that you can do in the chamber. - you will be asked to change into hospital provided clothing. - you will be seen by the technical, nursing and physician staff. during hyperbaric treatment depending on your medical condition you will either sit or lie down. along with the possibility of other patients in the chamber, you will always be accompanied by a hyperbaric staff person. an outside technician will gradually pressurize the chamber. you will be able to talk to the inside attendant who will instruct you to : - relax and breathe normally. - follow ear


you will always be accompanied by a hyperbaric staff person. an outside technician will gradually pressurize the chamber. you will be able to talk to the inside attendant who will instruct you to : - relax and breathe normally. - follow ear equalization techniques reviewed with you prior to your first treatment. swallow or blow with your nose pinched to relieve discomfort. - if your ears don ’ t pop or you have discomfort, tell the attendant. they can lower the pressure, if needed, to help ear equalization. after getting to the proper pressure, the attendant will connect a breathing circuit for you to receive your oxygen. the circuit will most likely be either a clear plastic hood or a mask. you will have 2 - 4 air breaks per treatment where the attendant will take off the breathing circuit for 5 minutes. immediately after hyperbaric therapy over a period of 15 minutes, the technician will slowly depressurize the hyperbaric chamber. you will likely have some ear popping, but do not blow your nose. most of the conditions treated require a five day a week hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatment length most treatments last 2 hours average hospital stay unless you have another medical condition requiring you to stay in the hospital, hyperbaric oxygen therapy is an outpatient therapy. in most cases, there is no special care after hyperbaric treatment. be sure to follow your doctor ’ s call your doctor after you leave the hospital, contact your doctor if any of the following occurs : - discomfort or pain in your sinuses or ears - onset of seizures - vision problems - cough, shortness of breath, or chest pain in case of an emergency, call 911.


rearing dairy replacements on the atherton tableland, queensland. i. effect of suckling system, bucket feeding and protein supplementation australian journal of experimental agriculture and animal husbandry 17 ( 84 ) 25 - 30 ninety - six calves, born between october 1973 and march 1974, were either bucket fed once daily on a commercial milk replacer, or multiple suckled at four calves cow - 1 with either free or limited access ( two calves in the morning and two in the afternoon ). bucket reared and limited access suckled calves were supplemented ad libitum with either maize or a 5 : 1 maize, bloodmeal mix. free access suckled calves received ad libitum maize or were unsupplemented. weaning was at 56 days of age. growth rates of calves from birth to eight weeks were 0. 36, 0. 44 and 0. 47 kg day - 1 for the bucket fed, free access suckled and limited access suckled calves respectively. major differences in growth rate occurred from birth to four weeks of age. growth rate of calves with free access suckling from four to eight weeks of age was increased by maize supplementation ( 0. 57 kg vs. 0. 44 kg calf - 1 day - 1 ). no response to protein supplementation was measured. incidence of scouring was higher in bucket reared calves ( p < 0. 01 ). the relevance of these results to the local dairy industry is discussed. full text doi : 10. 1071 / ea9770025 © csiro 1977


taiwan opens up its public wifi hotspots for tourism purposes manila, philippines - one of the problems with technological advances is that accessibility becomes a factor for enjoyment of new devices like tablets. a new development at georgia tech, called access4kids, is working towards helping disabled children with controlling touch - based tablets. access4kids aims to help those with fine - motor impairment to better control tablets. it is a " wireless input device that uses a sensor system to translate physical movements into fine - motor gestures to control a tablet. " the access4kids system uses 3 force - sensitive resistors to measure and convert pressure into control signals on a tablet. as the news piece from georgia tech explains, " a child can wear the device around the forearm or place it on the arm of a wheelchair and hit the sensors or swipe across the sensors with his or her fist. the combination of sensor hits or swipes gets converted to different ' touch - based ' commands on the tablet. " its developers, professor ayanna howard and graduate student hae won park, hope that access4kids can be fine - tuned and made into a commercial product. as howard explains, " it doesn ’ t make sense for me to have one child look at it and say ‘ hey that ’ s really cool ’ and not have it out there in the world. " - rappler. com who will inherit the throne? rappler takes you through the miss philippines earth 2013 competition with these specials :


how - to : add a dac ( digital to analog convertor ) to your pi mcp4725 12 - bit dac with raspberry pi add a dac ( digital to analog convertor ) to your raspberry pi we have a new tutorial - already mastered analog inputs with the pi, and looking for a new challenge? how about : how can i generate an analog output on the pi?! there are several ways you can accomplish this, but one of the easiest and most flexible is to use a dedicated ic called a digital to analog convertor ( or dac ). a dac allows you to specify a numeric value ( 0.. 255 for an 8 - bit dac, 0.. 4095 for a 12 - bit dac, etc. ), and the ic will output a voltage based on the supply voltage, and relative to that numeric value. for example, using a 12 - bit dac like the mcp4725 we ' ll be using here, setting the value to 2048 on a 3. 3v system will results in ~ 1. 65v output on the dac. this guide will show you everything you need to know to be able to generate precise analog outputs using your pi and the mcp4725 12 - bit i2c dac, from connecting everything up, to how to use our easy python library. http : / / learn. adafruit. com / mcp4725 - 12 - bi... spberry - pi


a project of amazon institute the amazon institute is working diligently to preserve endangered species and battle deforestation in south america. the natural world, in all its splendor and grace, is in critical condition due to species extinction and endangerment and the destruction of natural habitat through deforestation. however, it does not have to be this way. becoming aware of these problems is the first step to fixing them. the 3 - toed sloth is a very interesting animal with a number of unique adaptations for survival. for example, its fur has formed a beautiful symbiotic relationship with cyanobacteria ( algae ), making the actual fur of the sloth an independent ecosystem. because the algae is green it makes the sloths fur appear green and brown, helping the animal to better blend in with its arboreal surroundings. equally as unique as the sloths fur are its teeth. the teeth of the sloth grow continuously, throughout its 40 to 50 year life. sloths are also very adequate swimmers, despite their predominately tree - branch existence. as you can see, there is much for us to learn from this amazing creature, but if we are not diligently protecting it from the threat of human hands we could miss out on a lot of valuable knowledge and experience. we encourage everyone to take notice of the challenges presented to this creature and its habitat, and to take responsibility for the world we share with so many different creatures, like the 3 - toed sloth. no matter how small or quiet, every plant and animal plays a crucial role in all of our lives, just as we do in theirs. many people neglect the impact we have on our plant and the creatures that inhabit it and that is why foundations like the amazon institute exist. by helping us to realize how drastically we can change things for the better and by providing us with the tools to do so, we can swiftly, make it happen. we believe that having the ability to make a change means having the responsibility to make a change. why not make it a good change? visit the amazon institute and do your part. adopt a 3 - toed sloth or plant a tree, or both!


zingiberaceae is a family of 51 genera and c. 1200 species which are related to bananas, bird - of - paradise flowers and canna lilies. they are found in all tropical forests but most occur between india and new guinea. ginger, turmeric and cardamom are the most important economic species being grown in great quantities for international trade. m. f. newman now leads research on the gingers at the rbg but former colleagues first started to study the zingiberaceae in the early 1960s when b. l. burtt and p. j. m. woods brought back material from sarawak. later r. m. smith worked on this family until her retirement in 1993, producing accounts for borneo, australia and bhutan as well as a new infrageneric classification of the largest genus alpinia. this is a searchable data base for taxonomists which has been built up at the rbge with help from staff of singapore botanic gardens. it contains information about scientific names and their type specimens, and also about herbarium collections which has been verified by specialists. mark newman is working on revisions of globba for the flora of thailand and flore du cambodge, du laos et du viet nam. this genus may have as many as 100 species from sri lanka to australia and is most diverse in continental se asia. the plants are usually small and most are deciduous, dying down to the rhizome during the dry season. the flowers are extremely delicate and often absent from herbarium specimens which makes classification difficult. we rely heavily on new collections and living material in botanic gardens. dr axel dalberg poulsen, peter davis research fellow, is revising the genus etlingera in the indonesian island of sulawesi. vichith lamxay, phd student at uppsala university, is revising amomum in the flore du cambodge, du laos et du viet nam. this studentship is funded by a bilateral agreement between sweden and the lao p. d. r. several species in this region are collected from the forests for their medicinal properties yet the trade is unregulated because no - one can be sure which species are most valuable or what to call them. to date, vichith recognises c. 32 species in this area, including 5 - 7 new to science. jane droop, phd student of aberdeen university, is revising amomum in the indonesian island of sumatra where she has found c. 25 species, several of them new to


32 species in this area, including 5 - 7 new to science. jane droop, phd student of aberdeen university, is revising amomum in the indonesian island of sumatra where she has found c. 25 species, several of them new to science. amomum, as currently circumscribed, is among the largest genera in the family with over 200 species from sri lanka to new guinea and australia. recent research shows clearly, however, that the genus is not monophyletic. preliminary phylogenetic studies show that the fruit type may be more important than was thought previously. some species have smooth fruits while others have ridged, winged or spiny fruits. david harris, formerly peter davis research fellow and now curator of the herbarium, and alexandra wortley are revising aframomum, the largest african genus of zingiberaceae. these plants are widespread in sub - saharan africa. most of the c. 70 species grow in forests but a few extend into the savanna. one of the widespread species is also found in madagascar. the plants spread very rapidly by long rhizomes, forming dense clumps. their flowers are often borne near the ground, separate from the leafy shoots and, in most species, last no more than a day. many species have tasty, fleshy fruits which are eaten by people. the seeds of a few species are used as spice and are traded under the names " melegueta pepper " and " grains of paradise ". it was for these seeds that the coast of liberia and part of sierra leone was formerly called the grain coast. the leafy shoots are an important part of the diet of herbivores such as gorillas and elephants. staff of the royal botanic garden edinburgh and their colleagues in other research institutes have been publishing work on zingiberaceae for over 40 years. a list of these publications can be found here. dr. achariya rangsiruji ( kai ) department of biology faculty of science telephone : + 66 2 664 0410 / 7 ext 8111 fax : + 66 2 260 0128 a study of the infrageneric classification of alpinia roxb. ( zingiberaceae ) using molecular data. university of edinburgh, 1999. publications arising from the thesis : rangsiruji, a., m. f. newman & q. c. b. cronk ( 2000 ) a study of the infrageneric classification of alpinia ro


edinburgh, 1999. publications arising from the thesis : rangsiruji, a., m. f. newman & q. c. b. cronk ( 2000 ) a study of the infrageneric classification of alpinia roxb. ( zingiberaceae ) based on the its region of nuclear rdna and the trnl - f spacer of chloroplast dna. in k. l. wilson & d. a. morrison ( eds. ), monocots : systematics and evolution. csiro, melbourne. rangsiruji, a., m. f. newman & q. c. b. cronk ( 2000 ) origin and relationships of alpinia galanga ( zingiberaceae ) based on molecular data. edinburgh j. bot. 57 : 9 - 37. dr. chatchai ngamriabsakul ( nok ) school of biology institute of science nakhon si thammarat the systematics of the hedychieae ( zingiberaceae ) with emphasis on roscoea sm. university of edinburgh, 2001. publications arising from the thesis : ngamriabsakul, c., newman, m. f. & cronk, q. c. b. ( 2000 ) phylogeny and disjunction in roscoea ( zingiberaceae ). edinburgh j. bot. 57 ( 1 ) : 39 - 61. ngamriabsakul, c., newman, m. f. ( 2000 ) a new species of roscoea sm. ( zingiberaceae ) from bhutan. edinburgh j. bot. 57 ( 2 ) : 271 - 278. dr. marlina ardiyani jalan ir. h. juanda 22 po box 110 systematic study of curcuma l. : turmeric and its allies. university of edinburgh, 2003. classification of curcuma : a morphological and molecular study. m. sc. thesis, university of edinburgh, 1997. m. f. newman now leads research on the family.


charles dickens is intimately associated with our ideas of christmas through his novels and through a series of books which have become known as the chritsmas books. the first of them, the familiar a christmas carol, was written during 1843. it appeared in print that christmas and was so successful that he followed it up the next christmas with the chimes, a goblin story. in 1845 came the cricket on the hearth, a fairy tale of home, followed by two more, the battle of life in 1846 and the haunted man in 1848. 1 a christmas carol sets the tone for all the others. the descriptive passages are filled with animism which one often finds in storybooks : an ancient church tower strikes the hours " as if its teeth were chattering in its frozen head ; " the fire - plug is " left in solitude, its overflowings sullenly congealed, and turned to misanthropic ice ; " and the shops " have great round pot - bellied baskets of chestnuts, shaped like the waist - coats of jolly old gentlemen, lolling at the doors, and tumbling out into the street in their apoplectic opulence. " each of the books contains similar passages and each of them, one critic points out, " with the exception of the battle of life, is basically the same story : a wretched mortal changes the course of his life through a divine intermediary. it matters little whether it is marley ' s ghost in a christmas carol, the goblins of the bell in the chimes, the genius of the hearth and home in the cricket on the hearth, or the phantom in the haunted man. it might as well be cinderella ' s fairy godmother. " 2 readers of dickens ' s christmas books, whether children or adults, are entertained by his ghosts and goblins and by the descriptions of the jollities and feasts of the traditional christmas, but they also realize that, behind the ghosts, the noise and celebrations, lies a more serious thought ; that the spirit of christmas also includes giving to the world more than one takes from it, living as unselfishly as possible, and devoting oneself to others. 3 one writer suggests, that if " during the christmas festivities, one wishes to escape for a brief spell from the all - pervading spirit of carnival which sometimes does seem entirely alien to the true spirit of christmas, let one seek a favourite arm - chair, and safely ensconced therein, spend a quiet hour with dickens


new england journal of medicine study highlights need for rapid, pcr - based group b streptococcus ( gbs ) testing at time of admission for labor and delivery gbs disease is one of the most common infections in the first week following birth and is a leading cause of infant mortality and serious neonatal infections such as sepsis, pneumonia and meningitis. transmission of gbs occurs from colonized women to their babies during childbirth. the new article points out that current u. s. centers for disease control ( cdc ) guidelines for preventing neonatal gbs disease, which call for culture - based screening of expectant mothers at 35 - 37 weeks of gestation, have helped to reduce incidence of early - onset gbs disease since their implementation in 2002. however, the study also finds that 61. 4 % of full - term infants born with gbs disease were born to women who had previously screened negative during their 35 - 37 week gestation. “ this revealing study shows clearly that screening for gbs at 35 to 37 weeks gestation leaves many newborns at significant risk of gbs infection, presumably due to either false negative culture results or due to a change in gbs status, from negative to positive, over time, ” said cepheid ’ s xpert ( r ) gbs test is designed to run on a stat basis, returning positive results in as little as 32 minutes. it is the only in vitro diagnostic test to fully meet current cdc criteria for rapid intrapartum gbs testing. xpert gbs is also the only pcr - based antepartum and intrapartum gbs test to receive ‘ moderate complexity ’ clia categorization by the u. s. food & drug administration ( fda ), enabling healthcare professionals such as labor and delivery nurses to run the test near - patient — 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. xpert gbs runs on cepheid ’ s genexpert ( r ) system, the world ’ s leading on - demand molecular diagnostic platform. about the genexpert system molecular diagnostic platform the genexpert system is a closed, self - contained, fully - integrated and automated platform that represents a paradigm shift in the automation of molecular analysis, producing accurate results in a timely manner with minimal risk of contamination. the genexpert system is the only system to combine on - board sample preparation with real - time pcr ( polymerase chain reaction ) amplification and detection functions for fully integrated and automated nuclei


a timely manner with minimal risk of contamination. the genexpert system is the only system to combine on - board sample preparation with real - time pcr ( polymerase chain reaction ) amplification and detection functions for fully integrated and automated nucleic acid analysis. the system is designed to purify, concentrate, detect and identify targeted nucleic acid sequences thereby delivering answers directly from unprocessed samples. modular in design, the genexpert system has a variety of configurations to meet the broad range of testing demands of any clinical environment. this press release contains forward - looking statements that are not purely historical regarding cepheid ’ s or its management ’ s intentions, beliefs, expectations and strategies for the future, including those relating to product performance and future market opportunities. because such statements deal with future events, they are subject to various risks and uncertainties, and actual results could differ materially from the company ’ s current expectations. factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include risks and uncertainties such as those relating to : regulatory developments and changing therapeutic practices regarding testing levels and methods ; the failure of products to perform as expected, whether due to manufacturing errors, defects or otherwise ; the impact of competitive products and pricing ; reimbursement rates for the products ; and underlying market conditions worldwide. readers should also refer to the section entitled “ risk factors ” in cepheid ’ s annual report on form 10 - k for 2008 and in its most recent quarterly report on form 10 - q, each filed with the securities and exchange commission. all forward - looking statements and reasons why results might differ included in this release are made as of the date of this press release, based on information currently available to cepheid, and cepheid assumes no obligation to update any such forward - looking statement or reasons why results might differ. contacts : for media inquiries : for cepheid investor inquiries : - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - jared tipton jacquie ross cepheid corporate communications cepheid investor relations 408 - 400 - 8377 tel : ( 408 ) 400 8329 firstname. lastname @ example. org investor. email @ example. com


the coca - cola system announces new global targets for water conservation and climate protection in partnership with wwf the coca - cola company, in partnership with world wildlife fund ( wwf ), today announced ambitious new targets to improve water efficiency and reduce carbon emissions within its system - wide operations, while promoting sustainable agricultural practices and helping to conserve the world ’ s most important freshwater basins. “ our sustainability as a business demands a relentless focus on efficiency in our use of natural resources. these performance targets are one way we are engaging to improve our management of water and energy, ” said muhtar kent, president and ceo of the coca - cola company. “ in this resource constrained world, successful businesses will find ways to achieve growth while using fewer resources, ” said carter roberts, president and ceo of wwf - us. “ the coca - cola company ’ s commitment to conservation responds to the imperative to solve the global water and climate crisis. ” the partnership, announced by wwf and the coca - cola company in 2007 with $ 20 million in funding, has now been extended an additional two years ( through 2012 ) with the company providing $ 3. 75 million in new funding. the coca - cola company also joined wwf ’ s climate savers program in which leading corporations from around the world work with wwf to dramatically reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. by 2010, climate savers companies will collectively cut carbon emissions by 14 million tons annually – the equivalent to taking more than 3 million cars off the road each year. water efficiency — saving 50 billion liters in 2012 the coca - cola system will improve its water efficiency 20 percent by 2012, compared to a baseline year 2004. while water use is expected to increase as the business grows, this water efficiency target will eliminate approximately 50 billion liters of that increase in 2012. to support this efficiency target, the coca - cola company and wwf have developed a water efficiency toolkit to help reduce water consumption within bottling plants. this software - based instruction manual has been distributed to managers and operators throughout the coca - cola system, providing strategies to shrink the water footprint of their operations. climate protection — preventing 2 million tons of co ( 2 ) emissions the company has set two emissions reduction targets : 1 ) grow the business, not the carbon system - wide and 2 ) a 5 percent absolute reduction in annex 1 ( developed ) countries. the emissions targets apply to manufacturing operations in the year 2015 compared to a baseline year of 2004. the coca - cola company and its bottlers anticipate substantial volume growth globally during this period, thus growing the business


annex 1 ( developed ) countries. the emissions targets apply to manufacturing operations in the year 2015 compared to a baseline year of 2004. the coca - cola company and its bottlers anticipate substantial volume growth globally during this period, thus growing the business without growing the carbon is a significant commitment. without intervention, emissions would grow proportional to volume and reach 7. 3 million metric tons in 2015. thus, the global commitment will prevent the release of more than 2 million metric tons of co ( 2 ) in 2015 – the equivalent of planting 600, 000 acres of trees. supply chain sustainability the coca - cola company also will work with wwf to promote more sustainable agricultural practices in an effort to reduce the impact of its supply chain on water resources. this work will initially focus on sugarcane production. the coca - cola company and wwf are working with the better sugarcane initiative to establish standards, evaluate suppliers and set goals for the purchase of sugar. the coca - cola company will identify two additional commodities on which to work in 2009. the coca - cola system and wwf are working together to conserve some of the world ’ s most important freshwater resources, including the yangtze, mekong, danube, rio grande / rio bravo, lakes niassa and chiuta, the mesoamerican reef catchments, and the rivers and streams in the southeastern region of the united states. more than a dozen production plants and / or bottlers in the areas surrounding these rivers are developing and implementing water stewardship plans to serve as models throughout the coca - cola system. “ water and energy conservation are areas where we can truly make a difference. last year, we set a goal to return to communities and to nature an amount of water equal to what we use in our beverages and their production. these targets support our work to achieve that goal, ” said kent. “ the expansion of our partnership with wwf demonstrates our shared dedication to achieving large - scale results, and a grounded understanding that collaboration is key if we are to help address the world ’ s water challenges. ” to learn more about the partnership, please visit www. thecoca - colacompany. com or www. worldwildlife. org. about the coca - cola company the coca - cola company is the world ’ s largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 450 sparkling and still brands. along with coca - cola, recognized as the world ’ s most valuable brand, the company ’ s portfolio includes 12 other billion dollar brands, including diet coke, fanta, sprite, coca -


consumers with more than 450 sparkling and still brands. along with coca - cola, recognized as the world ’ s most valuable brand, the company ’ s portfolio includes 12 other billion dollar brands, including diet coke, fanta, sprite, coca - cola zero, vitaminwater, powerade, minute maid and georgia coffee. globally, we are the no. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, juices and juice drinks and ready - to - drink teas and coffees. through the world ’ s largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the company ’ s beverages at a rate of 1. 5 billion servings a day. with an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our company is focused on initiatives that protect the environment, conserve resources and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. for more information about our company, please visit our web site at www. thecoca - colacompany. com. about world wildlife fund wwf is the world ’ s largest conservation organization, working in 100 countries for nearly half a century. with the support of almost 5 million members worldwide, wwf is dedicated to delivering science - based solutions to preserve the diversity and abundance of life on earth, stop the degradation of the environment and combat climate change. visit www. worldwildlife. org to learn more.


easy to grow and reliable, zinnias are bright butterfly magnets that have a long history as favorite flowers of american home gardeners. indeed, we tend to take these popular flowers for granted, perhaps thinking them too ordinary, stiff or garish or simply not very exciting. i think that once more gardeners are familiar with the diversity of zinnia flower forms, petal shapes, plant heights and the allure of the rainbow color palette now available, they will share my new excitement about these familiar garden companions. zinnias are natives of the new world and were probably cultivated in aztec gardens along with dahlias, sunflowers and morning glories before the spanish conquest of mexico. they were named 1763 by linnaeus in honor of johann zinn, a german professor of botany and medicine. the first double forms were introduced in france in 1856. zinnias became popular in the us in the late 19th and early 20th century and many familiar forms were bred here including the first cactus flowering and striped varieties. in the victorian language of flowers, zinnias meant " thoughts of an absent friend. " all renee ' s garden seed zinnias to purchase these and other renee ' s garden seeds, zinnias are certainly among the easiest flowers for anyone, whether just beginning or experienced in gardening, to germinate and grow directly from seed. their easy culture, heat tolerance and colorful mid to late summer show, blooming hard when other annuals are spent, make them well worth exploring. zinnias make superb long - stemmed cutting flowers with long - lasting blooms. i love planting bright zinnias mixes near other later summer flowers like and if you have zinnias, you will be inviting butterflies to visit your garden! zinnias elegans is the well - known species with the most modern cultivars in a wide variety of plant heights, flower sizes, flower forms and colors. as these vibrant flowers mature, their center discs open into a circle of tiny golden stars. today, thanks to active breeders, there is just about every imaginable flower form : dahlia - flowered, quilled, crested, ball or pompon - like, single, semi double, fully double. z. elegans come in every color and some bi - colors except true blue. color choices are so broad that you can choose from all the way from deep, intensely bright shades to soft, creamy pastels and white. bi - colors and striped and speckled varieties are also available. heights range from


- colors except true blue. color choices are so broad that you can choose from all the way from deep, intensely bright shades to soft, creamy pastels and white. bi - colors and striped and speckled varieties are also available. heights range from 8 inches to almost 4 feet tall. zinnias elegans have also been hybridized to increase their resistance to disease and give more weather tolerance. z. elegans - - dahlia flowered : " benarya " giants " ( " blue point " ) are the # 1 florist choice for cut flowers. bred and introduced by the dutch about 10 years ago, these garden beauties have long, strong stems on multi - branching plants that reach 3 to 4 feet tall. flowers are fully double with densely filled petals that look almost beaded and are available in 12 sparking colors. they have better mildew resistance than older large dahlia - flowered mixes, are especially attractive to butterflies, and make beautiful in bouquets. these are available in many single colors such as " apricot blush ", and also in custom blends such as " hot crayon colors " which combines bright yellow, citrus orange and rich red, " cool crayon colors ", which combines lavender, carmine - rose, soft pink and white, which blends apricot blush with unusual, vivid chartreuse or " berry basket ", with grape, pink, rose and raspberry shades. " envy " this zinnia variety belongs in every flower arranger ' s garden. it ' s vivid unusual chartreuse color sets off brighter summer flowers and harmonizes equally well with soft pastels. the old heirloom cultivar did not have good color or reliable flower form, but the benary ' s giant selection called " green envy " is much improved with truly double, many petaled green flowers on long " pumila " or " cut and come again " this old favorite ' s name reflects its almost continuous bloom for several months. fully double and semi double, 2 to 3 inch flowers. this well - branched heirloom variety has been exceptional color range including many pastels. plants reach about 3 - 31 / 2 feet tall. while they are not particularly disease resistant, these old - fashioned zinnias have a lovely rounded blossom form and many stems for cutting. z. elegans - - cactus flowered : tall, 3 - 4 foot cactus flower zinnias have semi double, 4 to 6 inch, slightly curved and


fashioned zinnias have a lovely rounded blossom form and many stems for cutting. z. elegans - - cactus flowered : tall, 3 - 4 foot cactus flower zinnias have semi double, 4 to 6 inch, slightly curved and twisted petals making them resemble quilled chrysanthemums. they usually come in mixes of bright colors including canary yellow, golden, orange, crimson, scarlet, apricot, coral, carmine, lilac, rose, pink and white. " raggedy anne " an exuberant mix of these old - fashioned large quilled flowers in radiant shades that make especially nice bouquets. zinnia haageana this more diminutive species is most often available as a bi - color mix. the oldest heirloom variety is persian carpet, a mix of many singles, semi doubles and doubles. it comes in a mosaic of chestnut, mahogany, bronze, orange, and rust, with contrasting circles or picotee edges of yellow and cream that create a rich tapestry of color. these lovely flowers are multi - branching and low growing, reaching 12 - 18 inches tall and make charming little bouquets. zinnias need warmth to germinate and grow easily. to start early indoors : in cold - weather climates, you can get a head start on the season by starting zinnias from seed indoors four to five weeks before the last spring frost date. sow seeds 1 / 2 " deep and 3 inches apart in a container of moist but not soggy seed starting mix. keep warm and moist, fertilize with half strength liquid fertilizer every 10 days and provide a strong light source until seedlings are ready to plant outside when spring night temperatures rise above 50a° both day to start directly in the garden : in both cold and mild winter climates, wait until when all danger of frost has passed, days and nights are evenly on the 50 - 55° range and weather is warm and settled. remember : if is too cold, zinnias simply won ' t germinate or tender seedlings may suffer from damping off and die, so it ' s just not worth trying to start them too early. in the right conditions, seeds germinate quickly and once seedlings are up and well established, they will grow rapidly and bloom abundantly all across the country. sow seeds in well worked, fertile garden soil in full sun. space seeds 2 to 3 inches apart in rows 12 inches apart. cover 1 / 2 " deep and gently firm


, they will grow rapidly and bloom abundantly all across the country. sow seeds in well worked, fertile garden soil in full sun. space seeds 2 to 3 inches apart in rows 12 inches apart. cover 1 / 2 " deep and gently firm soil. keep soil evenly moist while awaiting germination which takes five to 10 days. when seedlings are large enough to handle, thin to stand 10 - 12 inches apart ; adequate spacing gives plants room to grow and provides the good air circulation zinnias need to keep plants productive and disease free and producing an abundance of flowers. if you live in an area with long summers that don ' t get too humid, you can plant zinnias in the spring for summer flowers and then sow again at midsummer for bountiful fall blooms. cut flowers as blossoms first begin to open and petals are tight for longest vase life. cut flowers often to enjoy lavish bouquets indoors and give away as gifts because the more flowers you cut, the more the plants will produce for a long season of bloom. feed plants with a good well - balanced flower fertilizer every few weeks for best flower production and keep evenly watered. cut long stems well back into the plant, to keep plants branching low and producing the best blooms. strip off the leaves so flowers last longer in a vase. a good floral preservative can increase vase life for cut zinnias. one of the most common diseases to afflict zinnias is powdery mildew, especially in hot areas with humid summers. if this is a serious problem, plant the most disease resistant varieties ( the new hybrids are especially good here ) and be scrupulous about providing full sun, adequate spacing and air circulation between plants. avoid overhead watering if at all possible. the powdery mildew fungus begins to show up in zinnia plantings during late summer. one favorite remedy is to use one tablespoon of baking soda to one gallon of water and spray it directly on the leaves and other parts of the affected plant. weekly spraying thereafter should provide control. in very wet weather, viral diseases can be a problem. if only the leaves are discolored, remove them when cutting so you can still enjoy the flowers in a vase. protect young seedlings from slugs and snails by using one of the new nontoxic controls. if marauding birds, find young seedlings attractive, use bird netting until seedlings are four to 5 inches tall.


the origins of christianity by revilo p. oliver professor of the classics, retired ; university of illinois, urbana this is the reef on which founder all religions that posit a supreme and benevolent god who is interested in mankind. the stoics constructed for their animus mundi a theodicy that evidently satisfied persons who were primarily interested in ethics and desiderated a system of moral certainties to stabilize societies. the stoic answer was like that given in the fourteenth century by william of occam and the other nominalists, who saw that the only escape from the impasse was to assert that whatever the christian god ordained, was, eo ipso, just. the stoic answer could not content people who wanted a god who could and, if properly appeased, would interfere with the processes of nature and make miracles for his favorites : what use was a god who couldn ’ t do anything for you? william of occam ’ s answer cannot content persons who have our innate and racial sense of justice and refuse to believe that unmerited suffering, agony and death inflicted on innocent and helpless individuals, can be right, no matter who orders it : who can respect a god who rewards evil and punishes good? it is the business of theologians, of course, to devise arguments and rhetoric that will confuse the issue, and the theologians of all creeds have exhibited a high degree of ingenuity, but the only way to evade the problem of theodicy successfully is to assume, as do several of the hindu cults, that metempsychosis provides a long series of incarnations that produce a spiritual and moral evolution of the individual from the very simplest and lowest forms of organic life through ascending forms of mammalian life to mankind and then on upward to superhuman species, who reside on the moon or in some place beyond human attainment, and eventually to gods in some well - furnished heaven. on this vast scale, the suffering that comes upon any individual in any one life shrinks to insignificance and, furthermore, is condign and just punishment for the misdeeds of an earlier life and is a necessary process of spiritual purification and evolution. if the present life is the only one we shall have on earth it will do no good to say that divine injustice in it doesn ’ t matter because this life will be followed by a few hundred thousand years or a few million years or even an eternity in some heaven that will be equipped to prevent its inhabitants from dying of boredom after a few dozen centuries


that divine injustice in it doesn ’ t matter because this life will be followed by a few hundred thousand years or a few million years or even an eternity in some heaven that will be equipped to prevent its inhabitants from dying of boredom after a few dozen centuries. to our racial mind, justice does matter and furthermore it is inherently unjust to make an infinite future depend on conduct during a few years by a person who was born with certain innate tendencies and capacities and placed in situations that more or less determined how his character would respond to them. one of the important junctures in our civilization is marked by the short treatise de libero arbitrio, * written around 1436 by laurentius valla, who had the most incisive critical mind of the early renaissance. under the transparent veil of a dialogue about apollo ’ s power to predict human conduct, valla demonstrates that no god can be omniscient, omnipotent, and benevolent. * the text was well edited by maria anfossi ( firenze, 1934 ) ; i have not heard of a translation. almost all scholars who concern themselves with the humanists of the renaissance assume that valla could not have been so impious as to say anything that was bad for the salvation - business. it is true that at the end of the dialogue valla says that he has proved that human reason cannot cope with the divine mystery, but i take that to be an anticipation of the notion of a " double truth, " which enabled pomponatius and many other philosophers of the age to affirm that they believed by faith what they had just proved to be impossible. in the fifteenth century men with inquiring minds had to take precautions to avoid being tortured to death if they annoyed the theologians. the hounds of heaven were baying on valla ’ s trail often enough as it was, and once he was saved only by the intervention of king alfonso of naples. the proof is simple. take one of the incidents, so common today, in which an obviously innocent little girl of five or six, old enough certainly to feel pain, is raped and blinded or raped and killed by one of the savages on which masochistic or sadistic british and americans now dote. now, if there is a god who oversees the lives of men and sparrows, did he foresee the conduct of the savage, whom he created and presumably endowed with a savage ’ s instincts? if he did not foresee it, he is not omniscient.


god who oversees the lives of men and sparrows, did he foresee the conduct of the savage, whom he created and presumably endowed with a savage ’ s instincts? if he did not foresee it, he is not omniscient. if he did foresee it, was he able to prevent the child ’ s agony? if not, he is not omnipotent. if he had the power and did not use it, he willed the crime and he willed the suffering of the child, so he cannot be benevolent. theologians, of course, explain that if the girl had not been killed at that time, she might have grown up and become an atheist – or papa must have offended a deity who chose to take out his anger on both the innocent child and her mother ( who, of course, may have done something to vex him ). * or we mustn ’ t think about it, because thinking is bad for souls. none of these explanations will satisfy an aryan ’ s sense of justice. * every such incident has repercussions on persons other than those immediately involved. years ago, an old man, with whom i was discussing the efforts of professional holy men to attribute the coincidences that are called luck to intervention by their deity, told me that his life had been shaped by an appointment he had kept when he was a young man. he had decided to keep that crucial appointment in the metropolis by taking a train that passed through his town in the early morning. that morning his alarm clock failed to ring, and when he awoke, he threw on his clothes and ran to the station, although he knew he could not reach it in time. he was fifteen minutes late, but that morning the train, for the first time in many months, was even later : it had been delayed when it struck an automobile on a grade crossing, killing the occupants. " if i had been superstitious, " he said, " i would have decided that jesus so loved me that he killed three persons, a man, his wife, and their child, to enable me to keep my appointment. or, if the train had not been late, i would have been sure that my sins had so annoyed him that he slipped into my bedroom that night and tampered with the mechanism. but that would have drastically changed the life of my wife, whom i married later, and our children would never have been born. of course, she and i might have married other spouses, changing both their lives and our own


with the mechanism. but that would have drastically changed the life of my wife, whom i married later, and our children would never have been born. of course, she and i might have married other spouses, changing both their lives and our own, and each of us would have had quite different children, who would have grown up to change the lives of many others and themselves engender children. the consequences of that accident at the grade crossing are almost infinite and incalculable, for, of course, we should have to consider also the victims and the results of their death. " valla ’ s explanation did not too greatly perturb contemporary churchmen, for christian ditheism then attributed such things to its anti - god, who either had on this earth a power that his celestial antagonist could not overcome or sneaked in to promote the dirty work when god wasn ’ t looking. everyone knew, after all, that the devil was so powerful that he had been able to carry a third of the christian god up to high mountains and there try to bribe him. but with the current tendency to make christianity a monotheism, the problem has to be faced. it is probably impossible to devise for a monotheism a theodicy that will satisfy the aryan mind. at least, no one has done it yet. there is one more topic that must be considered in our hurried sketch of the evolution of religions with reference to what we suppose to be the innate mentality of our race. when we speak of any religion today, we automatically think of its priests, a specialized and professional clergy. that is not a necessary connection. go to chapter 5 back to table of contents the origins of christianity by r. p. oliver, to be published by historical review press ( 160pp £10 inc p & p ). please order now via e - mail firstname. lastname @ example. org copyright ©1999 kevin alfred strom. back to revilo p. oliver index


blogger : steve rowland, public affairs manager spring seemed a long way off last week as i took my lunchtime walk through the woods, the leaves on the trees were yet to unfurl, the ground was bare and covered in a mulch of last autumns dead leaves, and a light, cold wintry rain drizzled down. and yet i realised that my mind had picked up on the subtle changes in the quality of light and drawing out of the days. i became aware of a slight tightness in my ears, an unconscious straining and heightened alertness to the bird song around me. and i thought that after more springs as a birder than i care to remember, my brain was quietly and unobtrusively saying to my ears to be alert for couple of unremarkable notes of bird song one up followed repetitively by another down, up and down in short bursts, from a bird that takes its name from these two notes of song, the chiff chaff. ( photo below ). naming a bird after the sound it makes is known as onomatopoeia and two other species that occur in the uk the cuckoo and the kittiwake also take their names from their calls. i will acknowledge here that chiff chaffs are not blessed with the most captivating of names or musical of songs. but for me they compensate for that with the charisma that comes from being the first of our returning migrants to fill our bare spring woods with their song, perhaps a month before the other returning warblers have got back from a winter spent south of the sahara. chiff chaffs like many of our other warblers, might at a glance appear a little drab and indistinct. in particular at first you might easily confuse a chiff chaff with its close relative the willow warbler. ( photo below ). a rough guide to telling them apart is that a willow warblers legs are a light flesh colour whilst a chiff chaffs are black and a chiff chaffs has a more olive coloured plumage ( being a birder you carry a veritable colour palette in your head to describe shades of green and brown feathers ). but the surest way to tell these cousins apart is to listen to them singing. compared to the chiff chaffs repetitive two notes, willow warblers have a to my mind a much nicer song, a lovely tinkling sound that seems to gently descend a set of musical scales before being hauled by the bird back


singing. compared to the chiff chaffs repetitive two notes, willow warblers have a to my mind a much nicer song, a lovely tinkling sound that seems to gently descend a set of musical scales before being hauled by the bird back to the top only to descend down them once more. willow warblers arrive from their wintering grounds in africa a little later in the spring than chiff chaffs which tend to spend the winter in the mediterranean. so my brain wasn ' t tipping my ears off to listen out for a willow warbler practicing its scales, but for that starting gun of the season, a simple two note chiff then chaff song that would light up the woods and put a smile on my face, a sign of the end of winter and the beginning of natures headlong rush into spring. i didn ’ t hear a chiff chaff last week but i ’ ll be out again for a lunchtime walk in the woods this week, listening carefully for those two notes. if you have some time to spare over the next week or so why don ’ t you go out and see if you can hear a chiff chaff and then tell us here. photos credit john bridges ( rspb - images. com ) blogger : kate blincoe, communications manager look out of your window. the catkins are swaying in the spring breeze, the blue tit is hunting out caterpillars for its young family and an early bumblebee buzzes by. nature is busy all around us. what if pound signs were flashing over all these beautiful, natural events? if you look on these living things as paid workers for us then the catkins tree is capturing carbon, the blue tit is performing pest control on your garden and the bumblebee is a professional pollinator. all these creatures are in fact performing tiny actions that in sum, add up to a healthy environment and hence healthy economy. in simple terms, if they didn ’ t do it for free, we ’ d have to pay to find a technical replacement. let ’ s look at some of the massive ways in which we benefit financially from nature. carefully managed wetlands reduce the risk of flooding to our homes and businesses. salt marshes, such wonderful habitats, provide protection from sea level rise, acting like big sponges. forests and peat bogs store carbon for us, helping in the battle against climate change. the list doesn ’ t end there : it is estimated that one third of the human food supply depends on insect poll


level rise, acting like big sponges. forests and peat bogs store carbon for us, helping in the battle against climate change. the list doesn ’ t end there : it is estimated that one third of the human food supply depends on insect pollination, most of which is accomplished by bees pollinating crops. of course, beautiful places with charismatic wildlife also equal booming tourism and lots of visitor spend – especially in our stunning region. what about you and me and a walk together in the bluebell woods? does that have pound signs attached to it? yes. it will reduce our stress levels, increase our heart rates and hence improve our health. it ’ s a proven fact that nature is good news for the nhs budgets. for children, time spent in nature can even improve their behaviour and performance at school. as a bit of a nature loving ‘ tree hugger ’, a part of me screams at this reduction of wonder and marvel to pounds and pennies. wildlife means so much more than that and has a basic, intrinsic right to exist. i believe that is the case, however, when so many political arguments are made in financial terms, it doesn ’ t do us any harm to be able to speak that language too. in a troubled economy, the need for a new development or construction project is often justified by saying growth is critical for our financial future. however, if we trash our special habitats and lose incredible species then, even in crude monetary terms, we risk jeopardising so much more than we gain. we overlook the function that the environment plays in our economy at our peril. the bottom line is this : we need nature more than it needs us. article in eastern daily press on saturday 10 march 2012. photo by mark sisson ( rspb - images. com ) blogger : jane warren, rspb in the east green team as we edge along towards spring in the northern hemisphere, it ’ s worth sparing a thought for the climate. today is the beginning of climate change week ( 12 - 18 march ), and there are easy ways for us all to get involved. many of us are already doing our bit, but it ’ s always good to be reminded! so here are three things to do this week : get cooking with climate week cuisine : make food part of the solution to climate change by eating a low carbon meal during climate week. just follow one or all of these three tips : eat less meat or dairy, eat local and seasonal ingredients, and eat leftovers. walk, cycle


: make food part of the solution to climate change by eating a low carbon meal during climate week. just follow one or all of these three tips : eat less meat or dairy, eat local and seasonal ingredients, and eat leftovers. walk, cycle or use public transport : use climate week as an opportunity to use more sustainable ways to get to where you are going. take the train or bus instead of driving. take advantage of the spring weather (! ) and walk or cycle, getting some additional exercise! swap, recycle or upcycle old things : eliminate waste by finding a second life for things that would otherwise be thrown away. host an event to swap unwanted items, such as books, toys or clothes, with friends or colleagues. recycle unusual things like batteries, or electrical goods such as old mobile phones. you can even recycle through ebay, by taking up the rspb ’ s ebay for charity challenge. do you have something lurking in a loft, back room, garage or shed? something that you know has some saleable value but you have never got around to selling? this could be your chance to do just that and step up for nature at the same time! please do get in touch with suggestions of what you might have to sell, and we can check if it is worth us getting our fabulous ebay volunteers to sell it on the auction site for us. please do not send anything to us without checking first and please note that we can ’ t accept electrical goods! ( it ’ s worth repeating that so that our collector matt howard isn ’ t locked in the cellar as punishment along with the potential deluge of books, cds, dvds, autographed barry manilow lps etc. ) matt is looking forward to hearing from you at email @ example. com tel : 01603 697515. our thanks to climate week for ideas and tips. check out their website at www. climateweek. com and get inspired to create a sustainable future! blogger : gena correale - wardle, community fundraising officer do you remember in january when i blogged about the great partnership the rspb had with dozen artisan bakery and pulse cafe bar, two great independent eateries in norwich? i bet you ’ ve been waiting with baited breath to see how we got on.... well, today i went to see the lovely manager of pulse, helen, as she presented us with a great big cheque ( literally – see the photo! ) for £


waiting with baited breath to see how we got on.... well, today i went to see the lovely manager of pulse, helen, as she presented us with a great big cheque ( literally – see the photo! ) for £86. 50. that equates to 173 starters, mains and desserts eaten in aid of the rspb. dozen artisan bakery sold their field loaves for nature too – another £91 and 91 satisfied tummies and smiles on faces! wouldn ’ t it be nice if all fundraising could be that easy?! the lovely people at both outlets also hosted pin badge boxes and gave out lots of leaflets to promote big garden birdwatch, raising awareness of the project as well as raising even more money ( over £40 ) through pin badge donations. a win - win all round! we are really glad to work with such great local, independent businesses in the area and hope we can do more with them in future. we are always looking for ways to get businesses involved throughout the whole of the eastern england region so if you have any links or want to promote your business and raise money for nature in the process, do get in touch! the money raised will help the rspb save and protect wildlife supporting schools and families through field teaching programmes and schools visits as well as directly managing habitats for wildlife at our amazing nature reserves. thank you to all of you who ate great food and saved nature at the same time. here ’ s to more fab little initiatives like this in the future! email me at firstname. lastname @ example. org or call me on 01603 697521. blogger : adam murray, communications officer last june you may have remembered my swift, swallows & house martins - i am a bit clueless blog post, well just as think i have nailed some of my bird id skills i recently went on my hols to osea island. we went as a family with my brother and his gang and spent the time walking the island when the causeway ( as seen on the woman in black movie ) was covered by the tide. the island was a perfect tonic as there were no modern day distractions that seem to fill our free time usually. this meant that we had an excuse of not doing very much at all – just what i needed after the crazy hustle bustle of the rspb eastern region office in norwich. each day we would spend many hours in wellies walking the island. in the interior we spotted dancing flocks of


very much at all – just what i needed after the crazy hustle bustle of the rspb eastern region office in norwich. each day we would spend many hours in wellies walking the island. in the interior we spotted dancing flocks of skylarks, eyeing foxes in the distance and then the adventurers inside us would walk alongside the beaches and salt marshes to circumnavigate our little piece of essex. if we were lucky enough to get the tides right we would see vast numbers of birds coming into feed or queuing up ready for the seafood frenzy. the rest of my family were happy to spot a “ funny looking goose ” or distinctive oyster catcher with their carrot beaks. i on the other hand, trained zoologist and bitten by the rspb bug, realised that i wasn ’ t just seeing a few species of animals out there on the mud flats but dozens – all ever so slightly different. however, this is my question to you – how on earth are you supposed to tell the difference? i am now going to give it a go. the keen ones amongst you, feel free to correct me, i won ’ t take it personally ; ) dunlin : little fella, grey wings, white belly, slightly curved beak turnstone : little, black wings, white belly, red legs common sandpiper : brown body, straight beak, black eye stripe curlew sandpiper : if you squidged the two sandpipers together green sandpiper : dark, white bellied sandpiper that is not green grey plover : a more speckly version of a turnstone curlew : this one i get, bendy beak and big as a chicken! redshank : medium sized, red legs and red beak near face spotted redshank : red legs, black top beak, red lower beak so, can you see why i was confused. it doesn ' t help that when i was reading the information on my rspb i - phone app it told me that these are the winter plumages of these birds - so as new species come in for the summer i will have to learn this all over again. i did however figure out that the bird call i has associated with the wilds of southern ireland ( a previous family holiday ) was not the charismatic oyster catcher but the close neighbours the curlew. i guess the beauty of this whole thing is now, once i get my eye in, i realise how many different species find the eerie and beautiful essex coast a perfect tonic,


a commentary, critical, practical, and explanatory on the old and new testaments, by robert jamieson, a. r. fausset and david brown at sacred - texts. com jer 43 : 2the jews carry jeremiah and baruch into egypt. jeremiah foretells by a type the conquest of egypt by nebuchadnezzar, and the fate of the fugitives. ( jer 43 : 1 - 13 ) azariah - - the author of the project of going into egypt ; a very different man from the azariah in babylon ( dan 1 : 7 ; dan 3 : 12 - 18 ). proud - - pride is the parent of disobedience and contempt of god. jer 43 : 3baruch - - he being the younger spake out the revelations which he received from jeremiah more vehemently. from this cause, and from their knowing that he was in favor with the chaldeans, arose their suspicion of him. their perverse fickleness was astonishing. in the forty - second chapter they acknowledged the trustworthiness of jeremiah, of which they had for so long so many proofs ; yet here they accuse him of a lie. the mind of the unregenerate man is full of deceits. jer 43 : 5remnant... returned from all nations - - ( jer 40 : 11 - 12 ). jer 43 : 6the king ' s daughters - - zedekiah ' s ( jer 41 : 10 ). jer 43 : 7tahpanhes - - ( see on jer 2 : 16 ) ; daphne on the tanitic branch of the nile, near pelusium. they naturally came to it first, being on the frontier of egypt, towards palestine. jer 43 : 9stones - - to be laid as the foundation beneath nebuchadnezzar ' s throne ( jer 43 : 10 ). brick - kiln - - bricks in that hot country are generally dried in the sun, not burned. the palace of pharaoh was being built or repaired at this time ; hence arose the mortar and brick - kiln at the entry. of the same materials as that of which pharaoh ' s house was built, the substructure of nebuchadnezzar ' s throne should be constructed. by a visible symbol implying that the throne of the latter shall be raised on the downfall of the former. egypt at that time contended with babylon for the empire


substructure of nebuchadnezzar ' s throne should be constructed. by a visible symbol implying that the throne of the latter shall be raised on the downfall of the former. egypt at that time contended with babylon for the empire of the east. jer 43 : 10my servant - - god often makes one wicked man or nation a scourge to another ( eze 29 : 18 - 20 ). royal pavilion - - the rich tapestry ( literally, " ornament " ) which hung round the throne from above. jer 43 : 11such as are for death to death - - that is, the deadly plague. some he shall cause to die by the plague arising from insufficient or bad food ; others, by the sword ; others he shall lead captive, according as god shall order it ( see on jer 15 : 2 ). jer 43 : 12houses of... gods - - he shall not spare even the temple, such will be his fury. a reproof to the jews that they betook themselves to egypt, a land whose own safety depended on helpless idols. burn... carry... captives - - burn the egyptian idols of wood, carry to babylon those of gold and other metals. array himself with the land, & c. - - isa 49 : 18 has the same metaphor. as a shepherd, & c. - - he shall become master of egypt as speedily and easily as a shepherd, about to pass on with his flock to another place, puts on his garment. jer 43 : 13images - - statues or obelisks. beth - shemesh - - that is, " the house of the sun, " in hebrew ; called by the greeks " heliopolis " ; by the egyptians, " on " ( gen 41 : 45 ) ; east of the nile, and a few miles north of memphis. ephraim syrus says, the statue rose to the height of sixty cubits ; the base was ten cubits. above there was a miter of a thousand pounds weight. hieroglyphics are traced around the only obelisk remaining in the present day, sixty or seventy feet high. on the fifth year after the overthrow of jerusalem, nebuchadnezzar, leaving the siege of tyre, undertook his expedition to egypt [ josephus, antiquities, 10. 9, 7 ]. the egyptians, according to the arabs, have a tradition that their land was devastated by nebuch


how ion - exchange water softeners work conventional water softeners have two separate chambers, the resin tank and the brine tank, and use an ion - exchange process to remove the hardness ions calcium and magnesium. softeners often are able to remove not only calcium and magnesium, but also iron, manganese and radium. raw feed water is passed through a bed of resin “ beads ” inside the resin tank where the hardness ions in the feed water trade places on the resin beads with sodium ions that are electrostatically bound to the beads. eventually, the resin exhausts its supply of sodium and must be “ regenerated. ” when the beads have no more room for additional calcium and magnesium ions, the unit temporarily goes off - line and the resin tank is flushed with salt water from the brine tank, the source of new exchangeable sodium ions. thus, the product water produced by softeners will have no calcium and magnesium, but additional sodium, about 8 mg / l per grain of hardness. routinely, water softeners are plumbed so that the feed water destined for drinking bypasses the softener when consumers have been placed on low - sodium diets. the regeneration process involves draining from the resin tank the saltwater solution, now with the added calcium and magnesium ions, and discharging it.


' and will not god bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? will he keep putting them off? i tell you, he will see that ‘ they ' get justice, and quickly. ' the history of the salvation army in fighting injustice receives its greatest compliments when the truth of its actions is written by others and not by us. one story of our past that continues to be repeated is highlighted on the label of a matchbox : lights in darkest england security from fire! fair wages for fair work! the salvation army social wing the eyes of william booth, founder of the salvation army, viewed injustice in the workplaces of england. in particular, matches that were made using phosphorous had an advantage that they could be struck on any dry surface. yet advantages that increase profit margins of employers often do not take workers into consideration. as we pray for social justice, both from within the salvation army and throughout the world, isaiah has something to say about our inner focus : ‘ you wonder why the lord pays no attention when you go without eating [ fasting ] and act humble. but on those same days that you give up eating, you think only of yourselves and abuse your workers ' ( isaiah 58 : 3 contemporary english version ). ‘ lord, gives us eyes to see the fervour of our worship in connection with the ethics of our action. ' our story of booth ' s matches takes up the cause of workers. the phosphorous in the matchmaking was poisonous. if it got into the gums or jaw of the workers, it slowly ate away the jawbones. this disease, commonly known as ‘ phossy jaw ', was also known as ‘ matchmakers ' leprosy ' and was most painful and disfiguring. young girls suffered from this malady and, despite treatment, lost their health and occupations. ‘ lord give us courage to explore conditions of injustice, including trafficked persons for cheap labour within workplace settings. ' the demonstrations that took place against match factory worker injustice included minimal government regulations that factories must provide : a ) hoods to protect workers against phosphorous fumes. b ) proper hand - washing arrangements for workers before they ate their food. ‘ lord, are we satisfied that ‘ workers ' are justly protected from the dangers and prejudice of their occupations? help us to take personal note of workplace environments, in the community and the church. ' in may 1891, william booth opened his own match factory as concern for


zebras ( members of the zebra family ), are native to central and southern africa. all have vividly contrasting black and white vertical stripes ( hence the zebra crossing named after it ) on the forequarters, often tending towards the horizontal at the rear of the animal. originally, most zoologists assumed that the stripes acted as a camouflage mechanism, while others believed them to play a role in social interactions, with slight variations of the pattern allowing the animals to distinguish between individuals. a more recent theory, supported by experiment, posits that the disruptive coloration is an effective means of confusing the visual system of the blood - sucking tsetse fly. a zebra can travel at a top speed of fifty - five kilometres per hour, slower than a horse. however, it has much greater stamina. during the course of a day the plains zebra can walk around forty kilometres ( from its herd, and back again in the evening ) there are three species and many subspecies. zebra populations vary a great deal, and the relationships between and the taxonomic status of several of the subspecies are unclear. the plains zebra ( equus quagga, formerly equus burchelli ) is the most common, and has or had about five subspecies distributed across much of southern and eastern africa. it, or particular subspecies of it, have also been known as the common zebra, the dauw, burchell ' s zebra ( actually the extinct subspecies, equus quagga burchelli ), and the quagga ( another extinct subspecies, equus quagga quagga ). the mountain zebra ( equus zebra ) of southwest africa tends to have a sleek coat with a white belly and narrower stripes than the plains zebra. it has two subspecies and is classified as endangered. grevy ' s zebra ( equus grevyi ) is the largest type, with an erect mane, and a long, narrow head making it appear rather mule - like. it is a creature of the semi - arid grasslands of ethiopia, somalia, and northern kenya. it is endangered too. przewalski ' s horse, equus przewalskii domestic horse, equus caballus donkey or african ass, equus asinus onager or asiatic ass, equus hemionus plains zebra, equus quagga quagga, equus quagga quagga ( extinct ) burchell ' s zebra, equus quagga


many people are commonly plagued by headaches. and anyone who suffers from them can identify with the debilitating and painful affects. studies show that over 45 million americans suffer from chronic headaches every year. that is roughly 1 out of every 6 people. ( infomed. com ) headaches are such an ordinary affliction today that people do not realize what they actually indicate. did you know that headaches are the biggest way that stress will manifest itself to a person? let ’ s say that you estimate that you get 5 headaches each month. to some this may not seem like a big deal, but it actually may suggest a legitimate stress problem. if you notice a recurrence of headaches, even if the pattern is infrequent, your body might be warning you of a bigger issue. of course, no 2 people are the same and everyone experiences headaches differently. to be able to identify what is causing your headaches, its important to first understand what type of headache you suffer from. tension headaches can be categorized as episodic or chronic. episodic headaches occur randomly and are typically the result of temporary stress, fatigue or anxiety. doctors will often tell you to take an ( otc ) drug to defeat infrequent tension headaches. but if you notice that you are taking something daily, or almost daily, to eliminate headaches, you may be suffering from chronic tension headaches. the symptoms of tension headaches include an overall sensation of tightness in the forehead, pressure in your temples, and contracting head and neck muscles. migraines continue to remain a mystery to people and researchers. we do not know the cause but migraines often cause people to feel helpless due to the fact that they can strike at any moment and put your life on hold for a few hours or even days. approximately 29. 5 million people in the u. s. suffer from migraines and 4 out of 5 of them report a family history. ( national headache foundation ) migraines tend to start out as a dull ache and get progressively worse very quickly. however, there is a very wide range of symptoms and in my experience i have found that each person suffers these headaches in a unique way. symptoms often include throbbing / pulsating pain in the head, blind spots, sensitivity to light and / or noise, and sometimes even nausea or vomiting. and although they can begin in childhood, they typically occur in people ’ s 20s and 30s. cluster headaches are a


the brain is apparently programmed from birth to develop the ability to determine sunrise and sunset, new research on circadian rhythms at the university of chicago shows. the research sheds new light on brain plasticity and may explain some basic human behaviors, according to brian prendergast, associate professor in psychology at the university of chicago and co - author of a paper published april 27 in the journal plos one. the lead author is august kampf - lassin, an advanced graduate student at the university. " this finding may show us why infants of many species eventually learn to discriminate daytime from nighttime, " said prendergast, a researcher on biological rhythms. in a series of experiments, researchers were able to show that although the ability to see visual stimuli, such as movement, is lost when a developing eye is not exposed to light, the ability to determine light and dark cycles was not affected. the ability to make that distinction between night and day develops as an animal grows, they found. other research has found that primates as well as humans adapt naturally to a rhythm of sleeping during the night. but this research shows that the pathway in the circadian system that allows synchrony between the brain and day - night rhythms in the environment is probably an innate feature of development, he said. " for the first time, we have established that the ability to coordinate circadian rhythms with daily changes in light exposure is not subject to very much plasticity at all — that it is not influenced by changes in the amount of light the brain receives during development, " kampf - lassin said. the results of the study are reported in the article " experience - independent development of the hamster circadian visual system, " which was drawn from a series of challenging experiments with hamsters. shortly after the hamsters ' eyes opened, but before they were exposed to light, experimenters placed a contact lens that completely blocked light over one of their eyes. keeping one eye shut and one open, called monocular deprivation, is a standard method scientists use to study use - dependent plasticity of visual development. the hamsters then grew up in a light - dark cycle such that only the non - deprived eye was able to send light information into the brain. in adulthood, the lenses were removed, and the function of the hamsters ' previously deprived eye was assessed. the researchers found that the hamsters ' brains were blind to all classical visual stimuli presented to the deprived eye, such as food or moving stimuli. nevertheless, the deprived eye perfectly retained the


june 8, 1999 built in record time in just 12 months, quikscat, nasa ' s new ocean - observing satellite, will be launched on a titan ii rocket from california ' s vandenberg air force base at 7 : 15 p. m. pacific daylight time on june 18. this satellite will be nasa ' s next " el nino watcher " and will be used to better understand global weather abnormalities. the quick scatterometer, or quikscat, will provide climatologists, meteorologists and oceanographers with daily, detailed snapshots of ocean winds as they swirl above the world ' s oceans. the mission will greatly improve weather forecasting. winds play a major role in every aspect of weather on earth. they directly affect the turbulent exchanges of heat, moisture and greenhouse gases between earth ' s atmosphere and the ocean. to better understand their impact on oceans and improve weather forecasting, the satellite carries a state - of - the - art radar instrument called a scatterometer for a two - year science mission. " knowledge about which way the wind blows and how hard is it blowing may seem simple, but this kind of information is actually a critical tool in improved weather forecasting, early storm detection and identifying subtle changes in global climate, " said dr. ghassem asrar, associate administrator of nasa ' s office of earth science, washington, dc. the mission will help earth scientists determine the location, structure and strength of severe marine storms - hurricanes in the atlantic, typhoons near asia and mid - latitude cyclones worldwide - which are among the most destructive of all natural phenomena. the national oceanic and atmospheric administration ( noaa ), a chief partner in the quikscat mission, will use mission data for improved weather forecasting and storm warning, helping forecasters to more accurately determine the paths and intensities of tropical storms and hurricanes. as nasa ' s next " el nino watcher, " quikscat will be used to better understand global el nino and la nina weather abnormalities. changes in the winds over the equatorial pacific ocean are a key component of the el nino / la nina phenomenon. quikscat will be able to track changes in the trade winds along the equator. scatterometers operate by transmitting high - frequency microwave pulses to the ocean surface and measuring the " backscattered " or echoed radar pulses bounced back to the satellite. the instrument senses ripples caused by winds near the ocean ' s surface, from which scientists can compute the winds ' speed and direction. the instruments


the ocean surface and measuring the " backscattered " or echoed radar pulses bounced back to the satellite. the instrument senses ripples caused by winds near the ocean ' s surface, from which scientists can compute the winds ' speed and direction. the instruments can acquire hundreds of times more observations of surface wind velocity each day than can ships and buoys, and are the only remote - sensing systems able to provide continuous, accurate and high - resolution measurements of both wind speeds and direction regardless of weather conditions. the satellite is the first obtained under nasa ' s indefinite delivery / indefinite quantity program for rapid delivery of satellite core systems. the procurement method provides nasa with a faster, better and cheaper method for the purchase of satellite systems through a " catalog, " allowing for shorter turnaround time from mission conception to launch. total mission cost for quikscat is $ 93 million. fifteen times a day, the satellite will beam down collected science data to nasa ground stations, which will relay them to scientists and weather forecasters. seawinds will provide ocean wind coverage to an international team of climate specialists, oceanographers and meteorologists interested in discovering the secrets of climate patterns and improving the speed with which emergency preparedness agencies can respond to fast - moving weather fronts, floods, hurricanes, tsunamis and other natural disasters. by combining quikscat ' s wind data with information on ocean height from another ocean - observing satellite, the joint nasa - french topex / poseidon mission, scientists will be able to obtain a more complete, near - real - time look at wind patterns and their effects on ocean waves and currents, said dr. timothy liu, quikscat project scientist at nasa ' s jet propulsion laboratory, pasadena, ca. he added that quikscat will complement data being collected by other earth - monitoring satellites such as nasa ' s currently orbiting tropical rain measurement mission ( trmm ) and terra, which will be launched later this year. the 870 - kilogram ( 1, 910 - pound ) quikscat satellite, provided by ball aerospace & technologies corp., boulder, co, with its 200 - kilogram ( 450 - pound ) radar instrument, called seawinds, will be placed in a circular, near - polar orbit with a ground speed of 6. 6 kilometers per second ( 14, 750 miles per hour ). the satellite will circle earth every 101 minutes at an altitude of 800 kilometers ( 500 miles ). a press kit with detailed information on the quikscat launch and mission is available on the internet at http : / /


, 750 miles per hour ). the satellite will circle earth every 101 minutes at an altitude of 800 kilometers ( 500 miles ). a press kit with detailed information on the quikscat launch and mission is available on the internet at http : / / www. jpl. nasa. gov / files / misc / qslaunch. pdf. quikscat is managed for nasa ' s office of earth science, washington, dc, by the jet propulsion laboratory, which also built the seawinds radar instrument and will provide ground science processing systems. nasa ' s goddard space flight center, greenbelt, md, managed development of the satellite, designed and built by ball aerospace & technologies corp., boulder, co. nasa ' s earth sciences enterprise is a long - term research and technology program designed to examine earth ' s land, oceans, atmosphere, ice and life as a total integrated system. jpl is a division of the california institute of technology, pasadena, ca. other social bookmarking and sharing tools : the above story is reprinted from materials provided by nasa / jet propulsion laboratory. note : materials may be edited for content and length. for further information, please contact the source cited above. note : if no author is given, the source is cited instead.