ported: Topic 50 of 86: 'Et Cetera' Resp 716 of 717: Curious Wolfie (wolf) Fri, Jan 3, 2003 (11:11) 3 lines I spent New Year's Eve in bed sound asleep, waking only to hear my neighbors shout and fireworks going off. Happy New Year!! Congratulations on your retirement, John. Now you'll be able to devote more time to your inventions and the work you were meant to do--earthquake hunting!! Topic 50 of 86: 'Et Cetera' Resp 717 of 717: John Tsatsaragos (tsatsvol) Fri, Jan 3, 2003 (11:57) 9 lines Thank you Wolfie, Yes I will try to improve my method on EQ prediction. It is real that I never stopped this attempt. I am in good point now. But I want more. I must answer on every possible scientific question. Doing flash back into the past we hitch on our mistakes. But life is continued and we must command what we believe that appertain to each one of us. HAPPY NEW YEAR John

Wolfie you have a web author account and I need to get you some information. Please mail or call me and I'll pass this to you.

Cool beans!!

Wolfie has been missed. Especially by me. Cool Beans, Indeed.

*HUGS*

Congratulations on your retirement, John. You'll no doubt be busier than ever with your scientific work on earthquakes. The best of luck to you. I hope that you and your family had a great St. Basil's Day, if you've celebrated it yet. It falls on New Year's Day, doesn't it? Still, is it Jan. 1 on the Gregorian calendar or the Julian calendar? According to the Julian calendar this would be Christmas Eve; so Merry Christmas to the Eastern Orthodox. I know someone from the Ukraine who is celebrating tomorrow, Jan. 7th. Hello, Wolfie! Hope that you and the pups and alpha male had a great New Year's. Marcia, here's hoping that 2003 is a better year for you. Have a wonderful New Year. Terry, last and certainly not least, hope that you had the best of holiday seasons. Happy (Belated) New Year to all!

Hugs to Cheryl. How much better this year will be for me!!! I do worry about John. He has my lover....

Hi Cheryl and all Thank you for your wishes. Yes! I plan to expand my research, as it is possible to me. I will keep the entire Geo family informed. Eastern Orthodox Church has two groups; One that follow the old Julian calendar (they are called especially as "Old Calendar Christians") and one that follow the new calendar. The second is extreamly multitudinous in Greece. We belong in the second group. Religious sentiment is very strong in Greece. We celebrate Christmas on 25th of December, St. Basil's Day on 1st of January, Epiphany on 6th of January, and today (7th of January) is my name day. I wish you a PEACEFUL AND HAPPY NEW YEAR with GOOD HEALTH. Dreams of every one will be realised. John

I knew January 7th was your Name Day. Somewhere on Geo I have mentioned my best wishes for your day.

what's a Name Day?

In Greece, they celebrate the saint's day for whom they were named more than they do their actual birthday. John's saint's day is today, the 7th of January. I don't think there is a saint Marcia,,,

Marcia, you did mention that Jan. 7th is John's name day. So it would seem that John was named in honor of St. John the Baptist as his feast day for "New Calendar" Orthodox followers is Jan. 7. Which is different than for Catholics and mainline Protestants. Since I had a Catholic upbringing, I do know that the feast day for St. John the Baptist is June 24. In France, St. John's Eve, June 23 was tradionally the day when couples became engaged to be married. Throughout much of Europe St. John was associated with the summer solstice, much as Christ, (Christmas, the mass of Christ) was associated with the winter solstice. In Northern Europe the birch tree was associated with the summer solstice and later St. John; while, particularly in Germany, the evergreen was associated with the winter solstice and later Christ. I'm digressing. Sorry. Here's hoping that John had a wonderful name day!

You are wonderful, Cheryl. Digresssion is what makes Geo so special. Thanks for the information. I was raised Episcopalian (Church of England) did not do much with saints days.

Hi all and Happy Gnu Year! Hope to be back soon! 73 de Mike AA9IL r-c-i

I Hope you are not snowed under, Mike! Michigan can be brutal this time of year! Take care and return as soon as you can. We miss you!

Happy Gnu Year! Just intalled a bunch of gnu stuff here.

Oh Good! I wonder if my FTP works yet so I can put the index.htm so I can change the horizontal bars. We need gnu ones!

What user are you trying to use ftp as? marcia or marci? Or geo? I may need to create a geo user for you and test it. I'm having a problem right now with the easyadmin interface so I can't do anything till we've finished troubleshooting.

I log in as Geo as I recall.

Sorry to turn the subject from gnu's to cats. Still, have a Happy Gnu Year, just the same. Isn't Chinese New Year almost upon us. Is the upcoming year the Year of the Horse? Anyway, back to cats. This is from the CNN site. Cloned Cats Aren't Necessarily Copies By KRISTEN HAYS COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - Rainbow the cat is a typical calico with splotches of brown, tan and gold on white. Cc, her clone, has a striped gray coat over white. Rainbow is reserved. Cc is curious and playful. Rainbow is chunky. Cc is sleek. Wayne Pacelle of the Humane Society might be inclined to say: I told you so. But then, so would cc's creators at Texas A&M University. Sure, you can clone your favorite cat. But the copy will not necessarily act or even look like the original. Cc (for carbon copy) is just over a year old. Her birth Dec. 22, 2001, was big news when it was announced last February because it was the first time a household pet had been cloned. Previous mammal clones were barnyard animals like cows and goats. Cc's creation was funded by Genetic Savings & Clone, a company that hopes to make money from people's desires to duplicate their favorite pets. Last February, in the journal Nature, the A&M researchers published details of the project and DNA test results that showed cc was a clone. But people who hope cloning will resurrect a pet will be disappointed, said Duane Kraemer, one of A&M's animal cloning experts. Experts say environment is as important as genes in determining a cat's personality. And as far as appearance, having the same DNA as another calico cat doesn't always produce the same coat pattern. ``This vindicates the opposition we espoused from the beginning, that cloning does not lead to duplication,'' said Pacelle, senior vice president of the Humane Society of the United States. ``Not only does cloning not produce a physical duplicate, but it can never reproduce the behavior or personality of a cat that you want to keep around. There are millions of cats in shelters and with rescue groups that need homes, and the last thing we need is a new production strategy for cats.'' Before the birth of cc, Genetic Savings & Clone had hundreds of pet DNA samples stored at a cost of $895 for healthy animals and $1,395 for sick or dead animals. Lou Hawthorne, Genetic Savings & Clone chief executive, has estimated that the cost to create a clone will initially be in the low five figures and later drop to the low four figures. Though cc's arrival sparked a deluge of calls from pet owners, more research is needed to figure out how to produce consistently healthy clones before the company can start doing it commercially, said Ben Carlson, the company's spokesman. ``A year ago, we said we'd start commercial services in a year, and here we are a year later,'' Carlson said. ``It's really impossible for us to make a certain prediction as to how long it's going to take to develop the technology to get successful results.'' There is a demand from dog lovers, but scientists so far have been unable to clone a canine. In fact, cc's creation was the result of a dog lover, not a cat lover. University of Phoenix founder John Sperling wanted a duplicate of his collie mix, Missy. With his $3.7 million, Texas A&M launched the ``Missyplicity'' project over four years ago. Now, Missy is dead, euthanized last year because of an inoperable growth on her esophagus. Sperling has redirected his funding to the Sausalito, Calif.-based Genetic Savings & Clone, which he hopes will one day deliver a clone of Missy. Carlson said the company tells pet owners that cloning won't resurrect their pet and that the company has turned away some customers clearly interested in getting the same animal. ``In the short term, it's easy to exploit that misperception,'' he said. ``But in the long term, it's unethical, and the pet owner will quickly find that, `Hey, this isn't Fluffy, this puppy doesn't recognize me or know all the old tricks.''' However, he said cloning could reproduce what a pet owner considers to be exceptional genes, particularly from an animal with unknown parentage or one that has been spayed or neutered. ``A small percentage of the population know exactly what they want and they want to stick with it - another animal as similar as possible,'' Carlson said. ``That's the motive we've encountered among our clients.'' But disclaimers could go unheard by pet owners desperate to duplicate an animal, said University of Pennsylvania bioethicist Arthur Caplan, a critic of cloning and companies that purport to sell it. He said animal lovers bond with pets because of their personalities and behaviors, not the genetic material that defines the immune system or blood type. ``The new cloned dog won't know the old tricks - you have to teach them,'' Caplan said. ``It doesn't matter how many genes they have in common.'' With the Missyplicity funding gone, Texas A&M will continue trying to break new ground in cloning farm animals, wildlife and dogs, but it is finished with cats and any commercial pet venture. As for cc, the Texas scientists say she has shown no signs of genetic defects. ``She's been perfectly healthy and perfectly a cat ever since her birth,'' Kraemer said. ``That's true of all our clones. You'd have to be told they were cloned in order to know'' they weren't conceived the natural way. Even so, cc has been protected by a sterile environment, a precaution to make sure she is healthy; visitors are not allowed to pet her. That will change gradually when she moves into her new home with Kraemer and his wife, Shirley. The Kraemers will introduce her slowly, first exposing her to people who have cats before letting her cavort with their other two felines. In time, they plan to breed cc and let her produce some carbon copies of her own. But they are looking for just the right tom. ``Our geneticists haven't gotten back with that information,'' Kraemer said. On the Net: Texas A&M University's cat cloning announcement: http://www.tamu.edu/aggiedaily/press/020214cat-pics.html Genetic Savings & Clone: http://www.savingsandclone.com/ Missyplicity Project: http://www.missyplicity.com

Identical twins are not even clones and how much alike can one get?

why are my buttons messed up? The "help" one has a frame around it...

I am having to re-enter all the sites, all the dns entries and all the users ont eh system today. There are bound to be a few glitches. Everyone is going to have to do a password change by phone so iether call me at 512-699-4000 or email me your phone number. I'm going to toughen up our own "webland security"!

just checking in with my fellow geoites! cheryl, thanks for posting the cat article in springark. i've not been very good at keeping up.

You're welcome, Wolfie.

Please don't think I have deserted the cause. I have contracted a very nasty Polynesian virus and have trouble standing up, let alone writing and reading. Where is John Tsatsaragos? I am most worried about him!

Get well soon, Marcia. I hope that John comes back soon, as well.

My profound sorrow at the demise of Shuttle Columbia is breaking my heart. I have no words to say my sorrow. We had forgotten how truly dangerous these missions are. God Bless All.

I share your sorrow Marci. And concern for John. That virus does sound nasty! Hope you get feeling better soon. When you do get well, I'll tell you about geo's new chat and about http://stonedom.com which I hope you'll take part in! Get well!

get well soon, marcia. i share your sentiments for the families of those lost on columbia.

Still very dizzy and spend most of the day laying down. That way, I can't fall down! I share this malady, whatever it is, with several others in Hilo and with the other occupant in the house. Be assured I will come back and post as soon as I can see with both eyes! Thanks for your good wishes, all. Our Archaeologist is also not doing well, so I have to get better ASAP!!!

John is still missing. I wish he would check in just to say hello! Lance is missing also but think his power is out from the ice storm Don is too busy for Geo at the moment, understandably So am I, but will change soon I hope!

I hope too!

Hi kids The schedule is finally clearing so here is my hello to all. Might even have time to do some posting to the old gaia m. thread as well! 73 de AA9IL Mike r-c-i (currently stuck in scenic Detroit....)

Hi All, I am back in Volos (and in Geo) after long time. I was in Athens without any computer. Happily, I have a new laptop now. But I need to install my useful programs in it. I am sorry for my long absence. I hope that you can forgive me a little. John

John, you are forgiven all. I know you are busy. We are just delighted you are back with us and have that necessary laptop! "Scenic" Detroit...ugh! During my summer and fall of traversing the USA from California to Kentucky, I studiously avoided changing planes in Detroit. Be safe, Mike. We need you. Are you without radio? I never travel without at least my scanner (not the computer kind) radio. Lance is back but I need to find something to interest him here to get him posting again.

I don't encourage political thought in Geo because it is so contentious, but the following was sent to me by my daughter-in-law. It says it all. GET THE AMERICANS You probably missed it in the rush of news last week, but there was actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American. So an Australian dentist wrote the following to let everyone know what an American is, so they would know when they found one: An American is English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek. An American may also be Canadian, Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Australian, Iranian, Asian, or Arab, or Pakistani, or Afghan. An American may also be a Cherokee, Osage, Blackfoot, Navaho, Apache, Seminole or one of the many other tribes known as native Americans. An American is Christian, or he could be Jewish, or Buddhist, or Muslim. In fact, there are more Muslims in America than in Afghanistan. The only difference is that in America they are free to worship as each of them chooses. An American is also free to believe in no religion. For that he will answer only to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government and for God. An American is from the most prosperous land in the history of the world. The root of that prosperity can be found in the Declaration of Independence, which recognizes the God given right of each person the pursuit of happiness. An American is generous. Americans have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need. When Afghanistan was overrun by the Soviet army 20 years ago, Americans came with arms and supplies to enable the people to win back their country. As of the morning of September 11, Americans had given more than any other nation to the poor in Afghanistan. Americans welcome the best, the best products, the best books, the best music, the best food, the best athletes. But they also welcome the least. Some of these "imports" were working in the Twin Towers the morning of September 11, 2001 earning a better life for their families. I've been told that the World Trade Center victims were from at least 30 other countries, cultures, and first languages, including those that aided and abetted the terrorists. So you can try to kill an American if you must. Hitler did. So did General Tojo, and Stalin, and Mao Tse-Tung, and every bloodthirsty tyrant in the history of the world. But, in doing so you would just be killing yourself. Because Americans are not a particular people from a particular place. They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, is an American.

*AMEN*

*HUGS* Wolfie. You were foremost in my mind when I posted it. *;)

I must be away for a few days. I'll be back ASAP.

Come back soon!

I am back... Wonder what there is in store for me with my therapist to deal with the problems at home.

Hi Marci Glad you are back - this is only my second post for a long while - been busy with school starting up again, work stuff, plus finally getting the ham shack back together again. Anyway, I keep threatening to do some posting so will try to be a bit more frequent in the future. Hope all is well with yall. 73 de AA9IL Mike r-c-i

Get it all done at once, Mike! *HUGS* you need to get this elderhostel education over so you can live a little. Will be expecting you soon! Y'all know I have to learn how to speak mainland instead of Hawaiian-pidgin?!

Hi Marci Oh, I have a long way to go to that master's degree so I just have to do fun things in between homework. Just ready to have a radio room again since all projects are kind of on hold at the moment. I would love to hear (or read) more Hawaiian-pidgin since there is plenty of mainland around here. 73 de Mike AA9IL r-c-i

Wow, a radio show! What are the details on that?

Oh Mike! Hawaiian Pidgin is a very uncouth sounding patois, but hilarious and very useful when trying to short-cut an oral message. Everything runs together and some of the words are Corrupted English, some plain Hawaiian, some Portuguese and some Japanese. Some are of unknown origin. It is fun to listen to the road crews switching between talking to their bosses in perfect English , and then lapsing into Pidgin when talking with one another.I can do it. My son can, too! The ones that scare me are those who will never hear good spoken English.

Hi all Being an engineer, uncouth patois is right down my alley (well, not always...) - I do try to maintain some social skills however remedial..... Anyway, probably like what I used to listen to while working on an oil crew in TX many years ago. Hi Terry - I have been thinking about buying some hours on WBCQ but that is waaaaay down the line into the future. I have the music material picked out, as usual, just a time/money issue. Anyway, have a groovy spring! (it actually got above 80 here - last week we had a major ice storm) 73 de AA9IL Mike r-c-i

Happy whatever Spring feasts you are observing from Vernal Equinox to Passover to Various calendar versions of Easter. Be safe and do not eat too many sweet things *;)

While New York is having heat waves, Mike has ice storms. I hope you all have good weather for any traveling you will be doing this season!

In England we are having a heat wave temps in the middle 70 F normaly about 40F and no rain for five weeks, come to sunny England for your holidays. Joe

We had a high around 73 today too! But the pool water is holding at 83 degrees. I'm so glad it doesn't lose it quickly!

It was cool and full of squalls here over the weekend. 75 F was our highest. It suits me better to be cool with the surrounding rain forest and high humidity! I can bet England is beautiful now.....*sigh* Oh, to be in England...

Mid 70s here today too.

high 60's today but that pacific breeze will sure put a chill in yer bones!

Summer is upon us now. Hot and humid all over, but Hawaii stays in the low 80s year round, while the rest of the world gets hotter and colder.

Summer's been here a while. The pool temp is pretty high for this time of year, 89 degrees.

Wow! That is hot, but you are in Texas. Does that have anything to do with it? I know you are inland quite a ways. I guess that might make it warmer.

Hi all Spring is here as everything is turning green but the temps hover in the 40's-50's. Lots of migratory birds in and around the lake plus the usual ducks, geese, etc. All the tulips are in bloom. Anyway, the school semester is half way over and the Dayton hamvention is rapidly approaching. Woo hoo! 73 de AA9IL Mike r-c-i

It sounds lovely, Mike. I miss spring. In fact, Paradise is boring. And, if Terry is reading this, he'd better be in his basement. Texas has tornado warnings all day. Floods elsewhere. Nothing much in Hawaii other than our ongoing eruption. I'd trade that for Spring any time! Party hardy, Cosmo! And, sleep late afterward.

Marcia Marcia Marcia! *HUGS* I thought you had moved by now...do you still use MSN Messenger?

I'll boot it for you when I come online. I only talked to Lance and you on it and I knew you were busy. Welcome back to some R&R, Wolfie! *HUGS* I'm still in *ugh* Hilo

I was sent this quote in an email recently and found it very much to be "food for thought". So, I thought that it might be of interest to the posters (and readers) here at Geo. We do not want churches because they will teach us to quarrel about God. We do not want to learn that. We may quarrel with men sometimes about things on this earth, but we never quarrel about the Great Spirit. We do not want to learn that. � Heinmot Tooyalaket (Chief Joseph) of the Nez Perc�s, 1873

I read that and wondered where it might put it. Thanks, Cheryl. Here is an excellent choice! New stuff found at Stonehenge.... see Geo 17

Hi all Stonehenge is one of the great places in the world! Wish I could be there for a solstice - will have to make do with a solstice on the (currently) chilly shores of Lake Michigan. Perfect time for a big Druidic bonfire! Happy Memorial Day to all. 73 de AA9IL Mike r-c-i

A great Memorial Day weekend to all. I read somewhere that Memorial Day used to be called Decoration Day. It was when people used to visit their family plots in cemeteries to clean the headstones and place fresh flowers on the graves, hence, to decorate them. I'm not sure when it became Memorial Day. Although I do know that it was observed on May 30 for many years before being changed to the fourth Monday in May. Cosmo would you have to get a permit to have a big Druidic bonfire on the shores of Lake Michigan? Still, it would be a suitable place to observe the summer solstice. I'm off to Geo 17 to check the new Stonehenge finds.

Tiny Diamonds Found in Oil Philip Ball Black diamonds found in the Gulf of Mexico might have been formed from crude oil, say researchers1. These diamonds are unlikely to be a girl's best friend. They contain just a few dozen carbon atoms, equivalent to less than a billion billionth of a carat. But the molecules, called diamondoids, could have practical uses. Artificial versions are already used in drugs to treat Parkinson's disease and viral infections. The tiny diamonds could also provide molecular-scale girders for nanotechnology. Diamondoids contain atoms of carbon and hydrogen joined into networks like tiny climbing frames. The smallest of the carbon frameworks, a molecule called adamantane, consists of ten carbon atoms linked into a cage, each capped by a hydrogen atom. Larger diamondoids are built up from many adamantane cages. If one linked cages together indefinitely, the result would be a diamond - a crystal of regularly stacked carbon atoms. Diamondoid molecules containing up to 11 adamantane cages have been found in oil deposits by a team led by Jeremy Dahl of ChevronTexaco Energy Research and Technology in Richmond, California2. In the lab, no one has been able to get beyond the four-cage version. It's still a mystery how rigid diamondoids form from the floppy hydrocarbon chains that make up oil. One possibility, say the researchers, is that large molecules are made from smaller diamondoids in reactions with methane gas, catalysed by clay minerals. If this is the case, there's no reason why the diamondoids should not continue to grow until they become microscopic diamonds. The diamondoids could also form black agglomerations of tiny diamond crystals called carbonados, say Dahl and colleagues. Carbonados seem not to have formed at the high temperatures and pressures that give rise to normal diamonds, leading some scientists to speculate that they were formed in space and delivered to the Earth in meteorites. Dahl's team has studied the structure and properties of a diamondoid in which six carbon cages are linked in a disc. They have separated enough of this compound from crude oil to form tiny crystals. References Dahl, J. E. P. et al. Isolation and structural proof of the large diamond [sic] molecule, cyclohexamantane (C26H30). Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 42, 2040 - 2044, (2003). |Article| Dahl, J. E. P., Liu, S. G. & Carlson, R. M. K. Isolation and structure of higher diamondoids, nanometer-sized diamond molecules. Science, 299, 96 - 99, (2002). |Homepage| http://www.nature.com/nsu/030512/030512-13.html

Memorial Day was created after WWI to set aside a day to remember and to decorate the graves of the fallen heroes of that war. It was changed to Memorial Day when we had more wars and far more fallen heroes. I've actually been to Stonehenge on Solstice day in June. By mistake! I counted wrong and had planned to be at Avebury for that day, but we ended up with the bogus Druids and other assorted New Age followers at Stonehenge. It was curious and completely false. I was embarrassed for everyone involved. They got to be so messy in the following years they forced the closing of the interior of the momument to the public. I was so glad I got there before then. I remember one notable day just sitting on the soft grass at the base of one of the megaliths and just absorbing the atmosphere. It is quite remarkable there! My solstice day was so leaden and dark it was hard to imagine the sun had risen at all. *Sigh*

Oooh, black diamonds in oil! It makes sense since they are both a form of carbon. I just never knew they occurred together! Thanks, Dear!

Hi Marci I hope this year's Solstice will be a good one for you! Anyway, probably just a small campfire for me... When I went to Stonehenge, it was already roped off to keep all the nuts and ravers from messing about (and silly tourists like myself...). Still, a mystical and magical place if there ever was one. 73 de Mike

Oddly enoough, Mike, I was dead set against visiting Stonehenge because of all the whacko-hype I had hoped to avoid. We were on our way back to Salisbury from Avebury when we passed it. My son pleaded with us to stop so HE could see it. How could I refuse?! We entered the sarsen horseshoe and it was absolutley transforming. I could absolutely feel the field of energy around that one tallest monolith still standing. Could it have been that we had just seen "2001 A Space Odyssey" ?? I was prepared to tolerate those stones in my life experince. Little did I know it would set off a collectng binge of all books Stonehenge. Too bad they kept you out of the monument and on the periphery. I would not have missed that for anything! BTW, take your kids when you travel. They open doors where you did not even know there WERE doors!

Hi Marci I really wished I could have walked up and touched the stones - oh well. Avebury would have been a great place to visit as well but we were on one of the tours on a fixed itenary. I have picked up several magazines and books on the ancient stone circles, barrows, etc and it is most fascinating reading. There was one UK published magazine titled 'Ley Hunter' that provided a serious analysis on the orientation of stones, mounds, pathways, 'death roads' etc without the silly tie ins to weird paranormal topics. Now, Im into the study of weird paranormal stuff as well, but you have to draw the line somewhere! ;-) Anyway, there are powerful sites in the world where you could just feel the energy of the place (whether it was intersected by lines or not...). One such place I did have the chance to experience was Enchanted Rock near Fredricksburg TX. This is a huge granite dome (actually three domes) that had tremendous spiritual significance to the native peoples of the area. I had a chance to crawl through the caves/fissures of the central dome and after dodging crevases, sliding between narrow crawlspaces, crawling up a chimney, doing a 90deg bend, and wiggling forward and out of a tiny 'port hole', I felt nothing short of a rebirth - that I had left the open day, passed through Mother Earth, and was released back to the day again. This is something I will hold on to for the rest of my life. Anyway, have a groovy day! 73 de Mike AA9IL r-c-i

That is a great spot, enchanted rock. I'm due for a revisit. It's a power spot, definitely. If you're not lucky enough to get there in person you can go on Robert M. Reed's "virtual field trip to Enchanted Rock" http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~rmr/E-rock/E-rock.html

Happy Birthday, Marcia! Have a wonderful birthday and a great year!

Thanks Cheryl. *HUGS* Mike, we got into ley lines and other "lunatic fringe" (an unkind term!) on Geo 31. There are megalithic lore and People living in England who recounted their experiences. BTW, when you next go there, goto Avebury and walk through West Kennet Long Barrow. It truly has magic, too. Terry, are you taking any measuring equipment or are you just working on "being in the moment" at the Texas site? Please tell us your experiences!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARCIA!

Reading Rob's recent posts made me think that we here at Geo had forgotten to note the 50th anniversary of the first successful Everest climb. Why did Rob's posts make me think of that? Because Rob is from New Zealand and one half of the team who first reached the summit of Everest was Edmund Hillary, who is a New Zealander. The other half of the team was Tenzing Norgay, who was a Sherpa. Below is an article from the "Toronto Star" from May 29, 2003. KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) � Nepal celebrated the 50th anniversary of the conquest of Mount Everest today, welcoming the world's mountaineering elite and Sir Edmund Hillary, who with his late Sherpa partner, Tenzing Norgay, made the climb that inspired generations to push the limits of human endurance. Nepal also granted Hillary honorary citizenship for his five decades of service to the Sherpa community � building schools, hospitals and an airfield that has opened the once pristine mountain to hundreds of climbers each year. Tenzing died 17 years ago. His son, Jamling Norgay, told 225 fellow Everest summiteers from 35 countries they were celebrating a day in history that took "humans a step further into the spirit of adventure." Since 1953, some 1,300 people have climbed the world's highest peak, either from the Nepal or Tibet side, and all those still living were invited to the week-long party that Nepal's government hopes will spur tourism, the country's main foreign currency earner. "Everest is not the most difficult mountain in the world, but it's the most famous," said Scott Darsney, 41, of Unalaska, Alaska, a 1992 climber who said he was partying every night with old friends and catching up with the Sherpas who helped him reach the summit. "This happens only once every 50 years," he said, "and I don't think I'll be around for the next one." Teodor Tulpan, who led Romania's first expedition to the summit on May 20, patted his heart and said he was full of emotion at being in the same room with Hillary, but said he had been saddened at the sight of frozen corpses of some of the 175 or more mountaineers who died trying to reach the 8,850-metre summit. The risk of trying to bring bodies down from the heights is great and there is no soil in which to bury them. Prime Minister Lokander Bahadur Chand also recalled "those brave climbers who lost their lives" as he honoured a parade of vibrant, cheering mountaineers who waved to each other, filmed each other with small movie cameras, signed autograph books and flashed their anniversary medals in a joyful ceremony at Kathmandu's modern convention centre. "Climbing is about freedom and fun," said British mountaineer Allan Hinkes, who has climbed all but two of the world's 14 peaks of 8,000 metres or more. Most are in Nepal. "It's important that you encourage more and more people to come, so you can tap into that little gold mine called Everest," Hinkes told the Nepalese. "People want to go to the summit of the world." But Hillary and some older pioneers, such as Junko Tabei of Japan, the first woman to climb Everest, urged the government to restrict the numbers allowed on Everest at one time. They say that people lining up to climb fixed ropes is not real mountaineering. A record 22 expeditions, with seven to 10 climbers each, went up the mountain this season, and the government has no plans to cut back. It collects $75,000 (U.S.) per expedition. The Sherpas also don't favour restrictions, as they live for the whole year on what they earn during a few weeks when Everest can be climbed. For years, Sherpas have been called the unsung heroes of Himalayan climbing, but recently they have been breaking Everest records and becoming famous on their own. More than half of the summiteers honoured today were Sherpas. Appa, 42, who scaled Everest this season for the 13th time, and Lakpa Gyelu, 35, who raced from the 5,300-metre base camp to the summit in a record 10 hours and 56 minutes, came down the mountain just in time for today's events. Swathed in layers of ceremonial silk scarves, they got more press attention than anyone except Hillary and the Nepal royal family. "If the Sherpas were not there, Mount Everest may well not have been climbed in 1953," said Capt. M. S. Kohli, leader of the 1965 Indian expedition. Hillary said he had declined a chance to celebrate the golden anniversary in London with the Queen, although the British government had organized the 1953 expedition, because he wanted to be in Nepal. He held his celebratory dinner with his Sherpa friends, after a tea party hosted by Nepal's King Gyanendra and Queen Komal. http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1052251688773&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968705899037

Thanks, Cheryl. I watched the National Geographic special about it and I completely forgot to mention it here! Aloha Mike! Thanks for the good wishes! Today's Birthday girl.......

Happy Birthday, WOLFIE *HUGS*

Someone needs to tell those climbers in Nepal to carry their own waste and rubbish out when they leave. That has become a real nuisance! Heaven forbid it turns into just another Mount Trashmore!

Hi Marci, Happy Birthday Wolfie! Kind of funny name 'Mount Trashmore' - in flat northern IL, landfills are being turned into mole hills which are called Mount Trashmore. Two more days then finals will be over and something remotely close to 'normal life' returns. Woo Hoo! 73 de AA9IL Mike r-c-i

Yay! Your college is letting out late! The one here is already deserted. Oahu has a huge Mount Trashmore... and Califonia has rival foothills to the Sierras in their attempts to get rid of their copious amounts of rubbish. Here we try to incinerate it at the power plants to make electricity. I wonder why they do not?

Happy Birthday Wolfie!

thanks for the b-day wishes!!! marcia, i ordered a sim. alexandrite ring as a gift!!!! can't wait for it to come in so i can tell you all about it (and i sure hope it's as pretty as they say)

Hope that you had a Howling Good Birthday, Wolfie! Hope that your alexandrite is a beauty.

i just hope the company is legit--been trying to call them to ensure just that. thanks cheryl!!

I'd love to hear about your new Alexandrite ring.... I also want one if they are as advertized! Great choice, Wolfie! What is the setting made of?Mine is set in white gold, but I also know a lady with one set in silver.

it is set in gold, emerald cut, one 2.5mm diamond on each side. it is a simple setting in 14K. and it came in today and it's on my finger and i'm in heaven!!!

the stone is 1.14 c and has a nice color change for being lab-created. definitely not colored glass!

Lab created gems should be a flawless version of the stuff found in nature. Don't knock it. I am all eagerness to have one, too, now!

Happy Summer Solstice! I won't be a northern hemisphere-centrist. Happy Winter Solstice to Rob!

Happy Solstice! Just keep those New Age "Druids" away from the stone circles! I wonder if anything looks different when you are standing on your head in the southern hemisphere...

Never tried it. Belated Happy Solstice. It was actually cool last night in the Austin area, down to 65, but we're in the 90s today. Definitely summery.

I'll be joining summer in the Northern temperate zone as soon as I can get out of Hilo. I'll be moving !!! ASAP!!!

Terry, I hope that you're enjoying the summer there in Austin. Marcia, I noticed a that the beautiful photo of waterfall on my kitchen calendar was taken at the Three Hundred Springs section of the Green River in Kentucky. Have you ever been there? I did find a link to some information about it. It also seems that there are fossils to be found there, as well. Little ones which are about the size and shape of Cheeri-o's. Hope the link works. http://216.161.14.72/roadtrip/roadtripgreenky.htm

Not that I recall, Wolfie. Three Hundred Springs is a place I will put on my to visit list. It looks fantastic. I know Don will know the Green River since the ACE is in charge of tending our waterways. I'll check with him! OOOH! They have crinoids! (Those are the cheerio-looking fossils)

Marcia, maybe you were replying to an earlier post by Wolfie; but it was I, not Geo's favorite lupine who asked if you'd ever been to Three Hundred Springs. As for the crinoids, at the link I posted it was noted that you could make a necklace out of them! If they are the size of Cheerio's, wouldn't you need a lot of them? Plus, where would you wear it?

Today is Canada Day. I think that Canada is officially 136 years old, as a nation, that is. Anyway, to all you Canadians, Happy Canada Day!

Hi All Happy belated Solstice - I spent the Solstice in Austin but I could never get into the 442.150 until the last night I was in town so no shout outs. I did get to goof off at a few of my old slacker hangouts however. 73 de AA9IL Mike r-c-i

Hi Marcia, I'm Ada and I'm the new keeps mistress over at Drool. I have a couple of questions I'd like to ask you from when you were "mistress of all keeps". Would it be possible for you to email me? Thanks!