Mostly about my backyard chickens. (Boring, I know), but there are a lot of us out here. Mine are only kept as pampered pets. I could eat a neighbor's chicken, but not MINE. There may be a comment on current events only if I get riled up enough. And there will always be a cartoon or a joke to cheer us. I promise to try my very best to respond to comments. Now I have to figure out how this blogger thingy works....
One summer night
we fell in love
one summer night
I held you tight
you and I
under the moon of love (moon of love)
One summer night
I kissed your lips
one summer night
I held you close
you and I
under the moon of love
You kissed me oh so tenderly
and I knew this was love
and as I held you oh so close
I knew no one could ever take your place
Oh one summer night
we fell in love
one summer night
I held you tight
you and I
under the moon of love (moon of love)
Spent the day at The Queen Street Mill and Textile Museum on 31st July 2014. There is a number of demonstrations throughout the day of the machinery used by the mill workers in the Weaving Shed and Warehouse and when you are told of the conditions they worked in, you soon realise that the life of a mill worker was not an easy one.
The Engine House is the home of the horizontal tandem engine built by William Roberts Co. in 1894, and is really impressive when you watch it being operated.
Its incredible to watch one loom being operated, and even more incredible when you think these ladies operated up to six looms at a time.
Friendly Staff are always ready to answer any questions you might have. If you have an interest in the history of the Mills or how we used to live and work, a visit to The Queen Street Mill Textile Museum is highly recommended, and very enjoyable.
If you pay a visit you will see that the demonstrations and commentary are far more informative and detailed than shown in this edited video.
On the day of my visit the Queen Street Mill was short staffed. Many thanks to Graeme for all the extra effort you put in on the demonstrations and for all the information.Please have a look at my Queen Street Mill Photos at:
http://www.mollsmyre.co.uk/queen-stre...
A
79-year-old man is having a drink in a bar. Suddenly a gorgeous girl
enters and sits down a few seats away. The girl is so attractive that he
just can't take his eyes off her. After a short while, the girl notices
him staring, and approaches him.
Before
the man has time to apologize, the girl looks him deep in the eyes and
says to him in a sultry tone: "I'll do anything you'd like. Anything you
can imagine in your wildest dreams, it doesn't matter how extreme or
unusual it is, I'm game. I want $100, and there's another condition".
Completely
stunned by the sudden turn of events, the man asks her what her
condition is. "You have to tell me what you want me to do in just three
words."
The
man takes a moment to consider the offer from the beautiful woman. He
whips out his wallet and puts $100 dollars in her hand ---He then looks
her square in the eyes, and says slowly and clearly: "Paint my house."
(Our needs change as we get older, and we tend to look for bargains)
The megamouth shark is an exotic species discovered in 1976. It is
very unlikely to see, and no one suspected its existence until then,
when a new family, genus, and species was created to classify this
shark.
It is the most primitive living species of the order Lamniformes but
is the smallest shark of those that feed on plankton. He is a member of
the mentioned order, the family, Megachasmidae, and the genus
Megachasma.
DESCRIPTION
Its large head and the huge mouth that indicates its name are the
main features that help to identify this species undoubtedly. It has a
length of 4 – 5 meters and weighs about 800 kilograms. The color of its
cylindrical and flaccid body is usually black or dark brown on the
dorsal area and pale gray in the ventral region. Its skin also has
dermal denticles as other shark species.
It is the most primitive living species of the order Lamniformes.
It is not a skilled swimmer. Their dorsal fins are small and the
second is half the size of the first one. It has pectoral fins smaller
than the size of its head, and it has an asymmetrical caudal fin with a
long upper lobe.
It has tiny eyes, five pairs of long gill slits, and a short, rounded
snout. Inside the mouth has a tongue covered with mucosa and about 50
rows of small hooked teeth but only uses the first three rows. Around
its mouth, it has photophores which glow and appear to act as baits for
small fish or plankton.
DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT
Its distribution and habitat are still uncertain, but a few sightings
in areas of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans are on record; and
since its discovery in Hawaii, only 55 more sightings have been
registered in countries such as Brazil, Senegal, the Philippines and
Indonesia. The first discoveries were on the coasts of California,
Japan, and Australia, in addition to the Hawaiian islands.
It is an inhabitant of the deep waters (between 150 and 1,000 meters) that likes moderate and warm temperatures.
FEEDING
It is one of the three species of sharks that are fed by filtration
of plankton. Its diet may include shrimp, copepods, and pelagic
jellyfish.
There are few details about its form of feeding, but most scientists
think that it swims slowly through the plankton concentrations and opens
its huge mouth to suck the water, then lower the jaws, retract and
filter the planktonic organisms by expelling the water through its
gills.
BEHAVIOR
The limited observations of this shark provide little information but
render an overview. It is known to exhibit a behavior similar to that
of other benthic fishes, and it does not tolerate the disturbances
external to the ocean, perhaps that is the reason for its late
discovery.
This shark is a vertical migrant during 24-hour cycles.
In the early 1990s, a tag was placed on megamouth shark to monitor
for two days its behavior in the coasts of California, United States. As
the sun start shining, it swam to a depth of 120-160 meters but began
to ascend as the sun began to hide. During the night it stayed near the
surface at depths between 12 and 25 meters. The research gave evidence
that this shark is a vertical migrant during 24-hour cycles, spends days
in deep water and nights in mid-depth waters.
Probably, this pattern of movement is related to the behavior in the
columns of water of his favorite prey, which he follows to feed on.
REPRODUCTIVE HABITS
Sexual maturity occurs when the shark reaches a length of about 4
meters. Fertilization is internal, so the male inserts its claspers into
the female oviduct to transfer the sperm.
The megamouth shark is an ovoviviparous species. Therefore the pups
are developed inside the mother’s body until their birth. The genders
separate and look the same as adults.
The ovaries of the female are similar to those species that practice
oophagy, and this means that presumably the offspring of this shark also
feed on other eggs inside the body of their mother.
THREATS AND CONSERVATION
The fact that this shark is hard to observe implies a problem in its
research and the detection of the type and severity of its threats. In
fact, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature does not
yet have enough data to classify this species.
So far, its greatest threat is bycatch resulting from commercial
fishing activities. On the other hand, some museums welcome deceased
individuals for its exhibition. So far proper conservation measures have
not been taken.
I
cdnuolt blveiee that I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd what I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at
Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in what oerdr the ltteres in a
word are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is that the frsit and last ltteer be
in the rghit pclae.
The rset can be a taotl mses and you can still raed
it whotuit a pboerlm. This is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed
ervey lteter by istlef, but the word as a wlohe.
Azanmig huh? Yaeh and
I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!
Found this while wandering around the webz. I had never seen of this type of art before!
Sugar painting
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A dragon figure being prepared
Sugar painting (糖画) is a traditional Chinese form of folk art
using hot, liquid sugar to create two dimensional figures. This snack
is popular among children. Selecting a figure is normally determined by
spinning the arrow on a wheel.
History
Sugar painting may have originated during the Ming dynasty
when small animals made of sugar were created in molds for religious
rituals. This art form then became more popular during the Qing dynasty. After that period techniques improved, and a more diverse range of patterns emerged. In Sichuan,
further developments were made in production, seeing the replacement of
the molds with the now-common small ladle, often bronze or copper.
Technique
An artisan finishes a goldfish figure, attaches the stick, and removes
it from the working surface to present it to the customer.
Although techniques vary, normally the hot sugar is drizzled from a
small ladle onto a flat surface, usually white marble or metal. The
outline is produced with a relatively thick stream of sugar. Then,
supporting strands of thinner sugar are placed to attach to the outline,
and fill in the body of the figure. These supporting strands may be
produced with swirls, zig-zags, or other patterns. Finally, when
completed, a thin wooden stick, used to hold the figure, is attached in
two or more places with more sugar. Then, while still warm and pliable,
figure is removed from the surface using a spatula-like tool, and is sold to the waiting customer, or placed on display.
Figures
Customers (especially children) usually select a figure by spinning
the arrow on a wheel which will randomly land on such popular figures as
a dragon, fish, monkey, dog, bird, or flower basket.
