For the next addition to a sky of the city of Dubai architectural studio Graft Lab answers. The new object is called “Vertical Village”. This set of multifunctional buildings applies on LEED Gold Certificate.
The architectural decision is optimized for climatic conditions of a place; the building minimizes heating from the sun and on-maximum uses possibilities for solar energy manufacture. The building for itself creates a shade, in northern block, and on east and a West side is built in such a manner that penetration of long solar beams is complicated.
The Architectural Generation
The Solar Energy in Dubai
Solar collectors in the south automatically rotate behind the sun. Crossing of intricate coal forms gives the chance to generate the internal block where pools are placed. The composite ensemble of separate buildings creates the integral project.
Natalie Miller is the top aid of one of New York’s women senators. She’s devoted all of her time and energy to her career. Then she learns that she has breast cancer, and she’s forced to devoting all her time and energy to her survival. She takes a look at the decisions she’s made throughout her life and puts all of her energy into finding her past loves of her life so she can determine what went wrong. It turns out that she is the one to blame---she consistently chooses her job and her career over love and her own personal happiness. Natalie’s therapist suggests that she use a journal to channel her pain into, rather than falling into a state of depression. She learns how to embrace life and live it at its fullest. This book was amazing. The journal entries allow the reader to witness the evolution Natalie goes through during this self-discovery. Rather than being a downer, this book was incredibly uplifting. It realistically portrayed the frightening truth behind cancer and its victims but still provided hope.
Climate change seems like a huge, insurmountable problem. What can one little person do about this huge monster that is taking over our planet? It's pretty easy to look at the data, think about how much you will have to give up, and decide you're just not going to do it anything about it. But that is a big mistake and simply not true. There are little things each of us can do and together they will build up to something bigger.
I became intensely aware of Bill McKibben during fall semester when I became involved in a student organization called Eco Hawk. We decided to participate in a climate awareness event called 10/10/10 on October 10, 2010. Students and environmentalists around the world participated in the event, doing different things to promote climate awareness. In Iowa City we had a bike ride to raise awareness about different modes of transportation that are carbon free. The event was organized through 350.org, which just happens to be the environmental organization Bill McKibben co-founded. Since Bill McKibben was also visiting Iowa City for a lecture I figured I better read his most recent book, Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet
, and Aths joined me to create this new feature called Leif Reads.
There is a lot in Eaarth about climate change, but I think this section gives a good introduction to the problem we're facing. "Normally--over all but the last two hundred years of human civilization-- the carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere remained stable because trees and plants and plankton sucked it up about as fast as volcanoes produced it. But now we've turned out cars and factories into junior volcanoes, and so we're not just producing carbon faster than the plant world can absorb it; we're making it so hot that the plants absorb less carbon than they used to" (23).
350.org What does 350 mean? Scientists say that 350 parts per million CO2 (carbon dioxide) in our atmosphere is the safe number for the Earth. We are currently at 388 parts per million. Doesn't seem so bad, right? But for most of human history it has been 275 parts per million CO2, until about 200 years ago when we started to burn coal, gas, and oil for energy. So scientists aren't saying 350 parts per million is the ideal number, it's just a number we could possible reach that would make our planet safer.
Throughout Eaarth though, McKibben admits that he thinks we have already lost the Earth we once lived on-- and we will never get it back. Hence the name Eaarth. It's the new name of our planet, and with this new planet we have to get rid of the old rules. They simply will not work any longer.
What can you do? One of the first steps you can do is to educate yourself. Visit 350.org and read their frequently asked questions, their mission, read anything you can find on there. Join their movement. Consider ways you can cut back on the amount of energy you use. Not every city or town is made for walking, but when you do take the car out consider making the most of it. Instead of going to one store and then going to a different on the next day try to make fewer car trips. One of the absolute best things you can do though? Write to people. Write to your local government, your state government, your transit system, your landlord. Don't be afraid to ask people questions. What kind of fuel are your local buses using? What small changes do you see that could make where you live a better place to live? Government officials are there to listen to the people in their neighborhood and you might have an idea they have never thought about. Get your friends to join and write letters with you. The more people they hear it from, the better. Why do I suggest you do this? Because to make truly powerful changes that will change the rules that fit the new Eaarth we live on better we need our government to take notice and back up our choices. If you want to make big waves, this is a great way to do it. And educate yourself. Read a book like Eaarth to learn what you can do to be part of the new Eaarth we live on.
More info! A link to find the contact for your state representative. Eaarth facts and figures. What is your carbon footprint? Green Reads podcast in which I talk about Eaarth more generally.
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Financial crisis — not a hindrance for scale building of the landscape park Zabil. «The new Moon» becomes the central construction of the project. The construction in the form of a half moon — a symbol of force and energy of the countries of the East — will tell about today's prosperity of the United Arab Emirates.
The New Moon in Dubai
Monument interiors contain 5 floors. Everyone symbolizes one of five postulates of Islam: belief, a pray, mercy, mutual aid and pilgrimage. The design contains in itself a conference hall, cafe, children library and an information desk.
The New Moon Monument
The external part of a building decorated by the Arabian inscriptions represents a steel skeleton with emptiness. Such decision will give the chance to supervise illumination and air temperature on all platforms of the New Moon, will protect an interior from a direct sunlight and will provide free circulation of air streams. Inside there will be a special microclimate which will unload the central systems of safety. The project completely corresponds to ecological building standards. Solar batteries will be built in a building covering, and it considerably will lower energy consumption.
The Montaigne Readalong is a year long project in which I try to read over 1,000 pages of Montaigne's essays. Every Monday I write about the essays I read for the week. You can share your thoughts or join the readalong if you'd like, just check the Montaigne Readalong schedule. You can read several of these essays for free on Google Books or subscribe to Montaigne's essays on Daily Lit.
Note: I'm posting this on Thursday rather than Monday because I was participating in a giveaway hop on Monday.
Essays Read this Week: 1. That the taste of good and evil things depends in large part on the opinion we have of them 2. One is punished for stubbornly defending a fort without good reason 3. On punishing cowardice 4. The doings of certain ambassadors
Favorite Quotations: "... that it is with pain as with precious stones which take on brighter or duller hues depending on the foil in which they are set: pain only occupies as much space as we make for her" (The taste of good and evil things depends on our opinion).
"The man who is happy is not he who is believed to be so but he who believes he is so: in that way alone does belief endow itself with true reality" (The taste of good and evil things depends on our opinion).
General Thoughts: The longest essay I read was That the taste of good and evil things depends in large part on the opinion we have of them, which is probably why I have the most to say about it. Montaigne spends quite a bit of this essay talking about pain and death, which was attractive to me this week because I have thumb injury causing quite a bit of pain. He says the most painful part of death is not death itself, but the time we spend thinking about it. Death, he says, is actually the release from pain. This basic principle can be moved to other parts of life though. For example, I spend a lot of time thinking about writing my papers, but once I finish the paper I find it's actual quite painless and relieving. If I would just quit thinking about the paper and write it I could save myself a lot of pain and misery.
I really liked the second quotation I posted from this essay though. It seems like the more negative energy you put out, the more you find yourself in a negative state of being. If you believe you are happy and put out positive energy, good things will come to you. This isn't always true, but I think there is something to be said for it. I've recently been dwelling in negatives so it seems like a lot of negative things have happened to me. In reality as many positive things have happened as negative, it's just easier to focus on the negative for some reason.
I did tsk tsk about halfway through this essay when Montaigne talks about how crazy women are for putting themselves through the pains of corsets and other crazier things (flaying themselves alive to have a fresh color in their skin?) just to become beautiful. Clearly Montaigne lived during a different time, but he doesn't acknowledge why women were driven to do these things, probably because no one thought about it much. But that is a story for another day...
Over the course of One is punished for stubbornly defending a fort without a good reason and On punishing cowardice I felt like Montaigne was relying on Nature to explain new human values. He talks about how humans are going against Nature because of new technology and broken traditions, and what this means for humans. Just funny that this argument continues to go on today.
From The doings of certain ambassadors I came away loving the first idea of the essay. He says when he meets other people he tries to bring the conversation back to the subject each person knows best. I thought this was a great idea and one I should observe more frequently.
Questions: 1. Do you believe that having a negative/positive attitude changes the way you feel about yourself or your life? Do you think you can apply "positive spin" to your own reality? 2. What subject are you an expert on? What would others want you to talk about?
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The Death of the Moth is a short essay by Virginia Woolf, which I recently read for my nature writing class. It seems to be rather popular though, because I saw that it is also in Phillip Lopate's The Art of the Personal Essay. The essay is a rumination on life and death, but we see it through a moth. In the beginning, the moth flies quickly, encompassing all the energy in the world to do his fancy acrobatics. But that energy can only go for so long, and eventually the moth must face death. Virginia watches, wanting to help him, but knows that it is inevitable. Death is much too strong. In the end she says, "Just as life had been strange a few minutes before, so death was now as strange."
In nature, I feel like many of us have had this experience. We have seen an animal or insect die and we wish we could do something, but it is inevitable. Where I grew up there were several deer who were frequently hit by cars. You wish you could do something to make it stop, but there just anything you can do. And this is often how we see death of our friends and family. It's painful to watch it happen and it is a great reminder that we all must meet our ends. Do we want to help them live for them, or do we want to help them live so we can convince ourselves that we are stronger than death?
You can download a PDF of The Death of the Moth at the link, and I would really encourage you to read it because it is very short. It should only take you about five minutes to read it. If you do take the time to read it please come back with your thoughts. Some things to think about as you read the essay might be: What does the moth represent? How does Woolf's view of life and death change over the course of the essay, if it does? How does the essay make you feel about life and death?
I'd love to hear your responses! Also, I'm hosting a readalong of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, so check that out and if you enjoy this weekly post you might want to check out this week's children's book Thursday vlog about the Curious Garden.
Every month Aths and I are reading one eco-centered book for our feature Leif Reads. To find out more about this feature visit the about page.
Last week I talked about Bill McKibben and his climate change organization 350.org. This week Aths is taking on a big question, which is, "What exactly is climate change?" She specifically talks about melting of the ice in the Antarctic and the gradual disappearance of islands that are below sea level. These are just two manifestations of global warming in our world, but they are by no means the only ones. Head over to Reading on a Rainy Day to read Aths's beautiful and informative post. If you've enjoyed our posts so far you might want to read Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet
for yourself. It's a great book to learn the basics of climate change and what it means.
350.org had a great post recently called 2010: Year in Review. 2010 was a big year for the environment, we had some good times, and some definite bad ones. BP oil spill anyone? This post focuses on the way people banded together during all of these times and it will truly make you glad to see that people are making a difference in the environment around the world.
Over 7,000 people promoting clean energy in Istanbul, Turkey. Just one example of the way people are banding together around the world.
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It always happens..I have all these wonderful plans for the long weekend. I have a stack of books on my bedside, just waiting to be read. Instead...I spent the entire weekend in bed, sick. My hubby and nine year old son had symptoms of a cold earlier in the week. My hubby had gone out the night before his symptoms appeared and I blamed it on a hangover (sorry baby!). Ok, I can admit it...I was wrong. Unless hangovers are contagious, he really was sick that day.
Ok, back to me :). The symptoms started Friday while I was at work. Tingly nose, itchy throat. We'd done a lot of cleaning around the office so I assumed that my allergies were just reacting. At lunch that day, I took my son to his school's Open House. I put on a happy face, but my head was throbbing. Luckily the powers that be decided to close the office early that day in honor of the Labor Day weekend.
I get home around 3:30 and I can barely see to drive, my headache is so bad. The normal allergy/sinus meds weren't kicking in. I drank some coffee, and that seemed to alleviate the pain for the time being.
Hubby and I had plans to take our nine year old to the mall to do some final back to school shopping. I was able to get through that relatively easily, but by the time we got home it hit me. I lost all energy and crashed.
I woke up the next morning at 6 am, thanks to our three year old son. That's when the coughing began. I coughed so much I thought my ribs would crack. The coughing lasted all weekend, and finally, after an entire 3 day weekend of drinking the all-powerful, cure-all Robitussin, I'm finally starting to feel normal again.
The downside of the meds was waking up, wide awake, at 3 am. I got a lot of quality reading done in those early hours! I finished Inside Out Girl
, Sweetsmoke
, and Chelsea Cain's newest, Sweetheart
. I've started Woman of a Thousand Secrets
and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
(for the Sci-Fi Lit class I'm taking). Look for my reviews of these books (ok maybe not Frankenstein) later this week.
Ok, this was meant to be a short little message explaining my absence but as usual I started rambling :). I hope everyone has a good week, and I'm sending out a special prayer to all those affected by Gustav. Also, there's still time to enter the giveaway for a Tess Gerritsen book!
What Writing Ten Novels in Nine Years Has Taught Me
1) I’ve learned that I only have 2 hands. Writing a book takes as long as it takes, regardless of how long my editor or agent may think it should actually take me; I believe they have learned to deal with this. I will not drive back to school to deliver a forgotten book or PE bag. My children have learned to deal with it. I thought I’d be on the NYT list after my first book. I’ve learned to deal with it. I can only work as hard or as fast as my two hands will allow me. This will only change if I somehow manage to clone myself. I’m still learning how to deal with that.
2) I’ve learned that frozen vegetables are OK, regardless of what my mother thinks. Same goes for ordering gifts online and making cakes out of a box.
3) I’ve learned that there will be times when I will see my gift as a blessing and adore every word that flies from my fingertips. There will also be times when I will view this very same gift with derision, calling every word drivel, and every page a waste of a good tree. From this, I’ve learned that writing is a lot like the stock market: there will always be ups and downs, and you have to be in it for the long haul to be able to reap any benefits.
4) I’ve learned that crying is a good thing. If I’m doing that while writing an emotional scene, then I’m doing it right. Laughing is good, too, as long as it’s supposed to be funny.
5) I’ve learned that sitting with bad posture for extended lengths of time while absorbed in writing a novel can seriously damage your back. And the prospect of having needles inserted into spine to relieve pain can actually be a welcome thought.
6) I’ve learned that there are mean people out there; people who apparently have nothing better to do than write inane or bad reviews on Amazon or elsewhere; I’ve also learned that they are wonderful and generous people out there who take the time to write and let me know how much they’ve enjoyed my books; I’ve learned that good friends, fans and family are a nice buffer between me and the mean people and to try and spend more time with them. Voodoo dolls help, too.
7) I’ve learned that grocery shopping is overrated. My ability to concentrate on the manuscript at hand is indirectly proportional to how stocked my pantry is. Procrastinating by snacking is one of my favorite activities. So is shopping online. My husband is threatening to enroll me in a three-step program for the latter. I simply tell him that I don’t have time—I’m too busy procrastinating and shopping!
8) I’ve learned that my writing is not a hobby. It’s a calling and something I feel compelled to do. If I ever devote this kind of time, money and energy to a hobby, I want somebody to shoot me or have me committed.
9) I’ve learned that summer vacation is as much for me as it is for my children if not more so. I’ve learned that they live in a veritable country club for most of the year (with a personal maid, chauffeur, chef, social planner and personal secretary) and that she needs a break. I’ve learned to turn a deaf ear to their plea for lounging by the pool all day and put them to work. My daughter will be updating my database for my mailing list this summer and my son will become more acquainted with the washing machine and vacuum cleaner. There will also be the nirvana of all mothers: Summer Camp.
10) I’ve learned that the word ‘no’ is actually a word I can become comfortable with saying. I can almost say that I have at times enjoyed the feeling of it rolling off my tongue.
11) I have learned that no matter how many times it happens, I’m always touched by the kind words in a fan letter.
12) I’ve learned that despite good sales, good reviews, kind fan mail and awards, there will still be times when I look down at the page I’ve just written and say to myself, “this sucks.”
13) I’ve learned that with every novel, I’ve learned something new. Gained more confidence. Gotten better. Found new ways to express myself or tell a story. But it has never, ever become easier. Like my father used to tell me, if it were easy, everybody would be doing it.
14) I’ve learned that despite all the ups and downs, there is nothing in my life that I would change. Except, maybe, the size of my hips and the annoying habit my family has of needing to be fed every day.
15) I’ve learned that blogging on a virtual tour is hard work! Trying to say something new and different for each blog leads one to make a list of lessons learned in the hopes that she might enlighten others and even maybe be a little bit entertaining.
Thank you, Karen! Check back tomorrow for my review of Karen's latest novel, The Lost Hours.
Oh my goodness everyone! Can you believe it?! It's been almost a full year since last years insanely awesome Fairy Tale Fortnight! So now, it's time for Part 2!
I'm fully aware that I pretty much win worst blogger of the year award so far. My new job takes way more time and energy than I was anticipating, and I barely have the time to check my email let alone all the other awesome stuff there is to do online. (How sad it is that I don't even have time for all my old stand by time wasters?! Life is truly sad when you don't even have time available to really, truly waste online, ya know?!)
Anyway — Misty has pretty much been completely and totally made of win lately, being all proactive and boss and stuff. Seriously guys, I'm pretty sure she even bleeds awesomeness.
But anyway — I just wanted to post something to let you all know that it's coming (last 2 weeks of April!!) and that you should get excited for it! Things will be a little different than last year, but still awesome and still fun!:)
SO. What should you do?! Grab a button (fabulous, aren't they?! Like I said, Misty rocks my face) and get reading some fairy tales! We are going to have a place to link up your fairy tale posts, so get reading those fairy tales and retellings, watching those fairy tale movies and shows, and thinking up all kinds of fairy tale goodness!
And then get ready to let the fairy tale games begin!:)
The toughest part at first was drinking the 3 liters of water. But by the third day, I was able to do it easily (and without my kidneys yelling at me!). I also had problems the first few days planning out meals since I didn't have the book yet. But I received it last Wednesday, and basically just planned meals based using the F.Y.T. (Flatten Your Tummy) list and avoided those on the F.L.A.B.B. (Fat-Loading and Belly-Bloating) list.
My "meal off" was last Tuesday. It's tradition at our house to have pizza on Tuesday, so I wanted to share in that tradition. Even though it was my "meal off" I still kept my portions small and only had one slice.
Saturday, the 4th of July, was my "off" day. I did this for two reasons: I wanted to enjoy all the wonderful food my husband was planning to make and I also wanted to be able to enjoy a nice burrito from Chipotle. Well, I was able to enjoy the BBQ, but found out Chipotle was closed on the 4th :(. Oh well..I'll just hold out until this weekend!
I'm really happy with the way I've been feeling. The exercise is giving me more energy. The water has made my skin glow and keeps my appetite surpressed. I've noticed my pants feel more lose than they did just a week ago. I'm happy to announce that in week one, I lost 6 lbs!! Now, I know my weight loss won't continue to be this fast/easy, but I'm willing to work for it!
Week Two Update!
I've survived yet another week! I lost 2 lbs this week, so that makes a grand total of 8 lbs!
All aspects of the diet are coming easier now. The three liters of water is natural and I've discovered some really great healthy receipes to make for my family. Last night, we had chicken steamed rice (steamed, instead of fried!) with brown rice. I cut up about 2 large chicken breast and grilled them. At the same time, I was steaming some brown rice. I mixed the two together, added some veggies we had left over from earlier in the week, and Voila! I added a touch of soy sauce to add a bit of zing to eat. My boys loved it, and didn't even notice that it wasn't fried rice!
On my day off, I was finally able to partake in the Chipotle burrito I'd been craving for two weeks. It was delicious, but boy did I fell disgusting afterward! I'm definitely not used to eating that much at one time!
I also found myself following my "healthy" rituals even on my day off. I continued to drink the water, exercised, and got my full 7 hours (actually 9!) of sleep.
I'm very impressed in the change in me! I plan to continue on some of the aspects of the Game On Diet even after the challenge is over.
Ok, so here are the scores at the end of week two:
The sanctuary of the God-Physician Asclepius in Epidaurus, southern Greece, is to get a makeover, as part of a project that will be included in National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) funds for 2014-2020.Theatre at Epidaurus [Credit: Protothema]
According to Environment, Energy and Climate Change Minister Yiannis Maniatis, the budget for the project amounts to 5,650,000 euros. The purpose of the initiative is to make improvements to the landscape surrounding this important archaeological site, including the addition of a herb garden with healing plants, new pathways for tourists, kiosks that will provide information about the history of medicine and promote local agricultural products with healing properties, etc.
Restored section of temple of Asklepios, Epidaurus [Credit: Protothema]
Located in a small valley in the Peloponnesus, the shrine of Asclepius, comprises of three principal monuments, the temple of Asclepius, the Tholos and the Theatre – considered one of the purest masterpieces of Greek architecture – that date from the 4th century.
Restored Abaton at Epidaurus [Credit: Protothema]
The vast site, with its temples and hospital buildings devoted to its healing gods, is a precious testimony to the practice of medicine in antiquity.
I was a very unsuccessful blogger this week, mostly due to an illness which left me exhausted pretty much every night. This is the last day of January though! With February we are all one step closer Spring! Hopefully as the days get longer I will get more energy, I become quite the bear during winter.
I really only had three good posts this week. On Monday I posted a review of Rumors and on Friday I posted a review of Emma: Volume 2. I also did a post on The Lorax, an amazing children's book by Dr. Seuss. One thing I have been meaning to do for a long time though was make a Facebook fan page for English Major's Junk Food. And guess what!?! I finally did it! So if you would like to be a fan go to the English Major's Junk Food Fan Page and join all of those who have beat you to it. Excellent.
And to continue to make myself feel like I've had a mildly successful week I will list all the book I have read in January. Technically I haven't finished two of these books yet but I will finish them today.
1. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray (B) 2. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (C) 3. Sorcery and Cecelia or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer (C) 4. The Virgin Queen's Daughter by Ella March Chase (B) 5. Rumors by Anna Godbersen (B) 6. Lessons From a Scarlet Lady by Emma Wildes (C) 7. Emma Volume Two by Karou Mori (B) 8. Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh (B) 9. Villette by Charlotte Bronte 10. The Girl Made of Cool by Alan Fox
There has been a long-lived bit of Apollo moon landing folklore that now appears to be a dead-end affair: microbes on the moon. The lunar mystery swirls around the Apollo 12 moon landing and the return to Earth by moonwalkers of a camera that was part of an early NASA robotic lander – the Surveyor 3 probe. On Nov. 19, 1969, Apollo 12 astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean made a precision landing on the lunar surface in Oceanus Procellarum, Latin for the Ocean of Storms. Their touchdown point was a mere 535 feet (163 meters) from the Surveyor 3 lander -- and an easy stroll to the hardware that had soft-landed on the lunar terrain years before, on April 20, 1967. The Surveyor 3 camera was easy pickings and brought back to Earth under sterile conditions by the Apollo 12 crew. When scientists analyzed the parts in a clean room, they found evidence of microorganisms inside the camera. In short, a small colony of common bacteria -- Streptococcus Mitis -- had stowed away on the device. The astrobiological upshot as deduced from the unplanned experiment was that 50 to 100 of the microbes appeared to have survived launch, the harsh vacuum of space, three years of exposure to the moon's radiation environment, the lunar deep-freeze at an average temperature of minus 253 degrees Celsius, not to mention no access to nutrients, water or an energy source. Now, fast forward to today. NASA's dirty little secret? A diligent team of researchers is now digging back into historical documents -- and even located and reviewed NASA's archived Apollo-era 16 millimeter film -- to come clean on the story. As it turns out, there's a dirty little secret that has come to light about clean room etiquette at the time the Surveyor 3 camera was scrutinized. "The claim that a microbe survived 2.5 years on the moon was flimsy, at best, even by the standards of the time," said John Rummel, chairman of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) Panel on Planetary Protection. "The claim never passed peer review, yet has persisted in the press -- and on the Internet -- ever since." The Surveyor 3 camera-team thought they had detected a microbe that had lived on the moon for all those years, "but they only detected their own contamination," Rummel told SPACE.com. A former NASA planetary protection officer, Rummel is now with the Institute for Coastal Science & Policy at East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C. Rummel, along with colleaguesJudith Allton of NASA’s Johnson Space Center and Don Morrison, a former space agency lunar receiving laboratory scientist, recently presented their co-authored paper: "A Microbe on the Moon? Surveyor III and Lessons Learned for Future Sample Return Missions." Poor space probe hygiene Their verdict was given at a meeting on "The Importance of Solar System Sample Return Missions to the Future of Planetary Science," in March at The Woodlands,Texas, sponsored by the NASA Planetary Science Division and Lunar and Planetary Institute. "If 'American Idol' judged microbiology, those guys would have been out in an early round," the research team writes of the way the Surveyor 3 camera team studied the equipment here on Earth. Or put more delicately, "The general scene does not lend a lot of confidence in the proposition that contamination did not occur," co-author Morrison said. For example, participants studying the camera were found to be wearing short-sleeve scrubs, thus arms were exposed. Also, the scrub shirt tails were higher than the flow bench level … and would act as a bellows for particulates from inside the shirt, reports co-author Allton. Other contamination control issues were flagged by the researchers. In simple microbiology 101 speak, "a close personal relationship with the subject ... is not necessarily a good thing," the research team explains. All in all, the likelihood that contamination occurred during sampling of the Surveyor 3 camera was shown to be very real. A cautionary tale On one hand, Rummel emphasized that today’s methods for handling return samples are much more effective at detecting microbes. However, the Surveyor 3 incident back then raises a cautionary flag for the future. "We need to be orders of magnitude more careful about contamination control than was the Surveyor 3 camera-team. If we aren't, samples from Mars could be drowned in Earth life upon return, and in all of that 'noise' we might never have the ability to detect Mars life we may have brought back, too," Rummel said. "We can, and we must, do a better job with a Mars sample return mission." Winner of this year's National Space Club Press Award, Leonard David has been reporting on the space industry for more than five decades. He is past editor-in-chief of the National Space Society's Ad Astra and Space World magazines and has written for SPACE.com since 1999. (Original Story)
Sauerbruch Hutton became the winner in competition on building of a new building for Office for Urban Development and Environment. The building is planned to construct by 2013.
City in a miniature
The project represents a complex of buildings and a tower where public zones (restaurants and showrooms) will be placed. In the central lobby city models of Hamburg which can be examined through a glass facade will be exposed.
Showroom in Hamburg
In a building passive and active measures, for example, thermal isolation, cross-country-ventilation, the system of heating using a solar energy, the geothermal equipment are combined.
Book blogging, as a concept, is essentially pretty simple: If you have Internet access and an opinion about a book, you can be a book blogger. However, actually maintaining a book blog is much more complicated -- our blogs are labors of love that require a lot of time, energy and devotion. For this edition of Weekly Geeks, I want to focus on the little things that make your blogging and/or reading life a bit easier. Do you use sites like GoodReads, LibraryThing or Shelfari to organize your books? Do you swear by Book Darts? Couldn't live without your Book Buddy? Love connecting with other bloggers on sites such as Twitter? Tell us about what makes your blog tick. Is there something specific that keeps you organized or inspired?
After you write your post, come back here and sign Mr. Linky. Be sure to visit your fellow Geeks throughout the week. Who knows, perhaps you'll discover a few new tools of the trade.
Realism is a bore and a bother. It's been infinitely nicer to live in a world of illusion-that we were different from other nations, that we could ignore international agreements that didn't suit us, that we could go on using cheap energy without ever paying a price. Our success and our geographic isolation have let us get away with those delusions, but September 11 has shown them for what they were. Hence the need for real realism, for a view more clear-eyed and hard-nosed than we've had before. This fall seems to have been the fall of Bill McKibben. I saw him at the Englert Theater in October, I read his writing in my nature writing class, I participated in a climate awareness event the organization he leads hosted, and I talked about his book Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet
on the most recent Green Reads podcast. He has several articles up on his website, but one that really struck me was An End to Sweet Illusions, which you can read in Mother Jones. The above quote is from this essay (Is this an essay? Is it an opinion piece? I must admit I'm straddling the line a bit.) and I think it's a good summation of the overarching point. This is from early 2002, so clearly September 11 was still extremely present in America, and there were a lot of questions about how we should approach the War on Terrorism.
McKibben shares ideas on the war, but uses it to help us understand that the way American functions today is not stable. And that going to war, while it might seem realistic on the surface, might actually make our country more vulnerable than we have been. "The American Way of Life," he says, should not be seen as stable because it has been successful in the past. Almost nine years after this essay was first written, I think it's safe to say the way we live is not stable. We are still struggling to find the security we thought we had before 9/11, but instead of backpedaling to the past we need to make plans for our new future.
I love the way McKibben writes because he uses simple language to describe environmental and political problems so anyone can understand him. Even though his ideas seem daunting at first, you find yourself wanting to learn more and more from him. On our podcast I talk about how his book Eaarth is a great starter book for anyone interested in environmentalism right now. I came away from that book with so much knowledge. I think this essay is a great starter piece to get you thinking about problems with the environment and politics, and while McKibben is kind of a downer, I do think there is some hope in what he writers.
Check out An End to Sweet Illusions on Mother Jones and let me know what you think about it! I'd also really appreciate it if you listened to the most recent Green Reads podcast.
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Today is the last day of November, which means it is the last day of Just Contemporary Month. This has been an amazing experience for me and I have loved everything about this event. The participation and response has been truly awesome and to wrap up this event, I want to say a few thank you's-
First, I need to thank Shanyn for agreeing to be my co-host for this event with me and being so awesome.
Next, I want to thank all of the authors who contributed. Thank you for the time, the energy, the words and the generous giveaways. To all the authors who participated, on mine and Shanyn's blog — Thank you. You are amazing.
And finally, a thank you to all the bloggers and readers out there who participated on your own blogs. Whether it was writing a guest post for me or for the post swap, writing a review of a Contemporary YA novel on your own blog or even just reading/commenting on the JC posts, thank you. Without readers, an event wouldn't be much success, so thank you! You have all been wonderful! I love you all, but I want to send a special shout-out to Candace from Candace's Book Blog who spent almost as much time on Contemporary YA as I did. She was amazing and had so much Contemporary YA goodness on her site!
Just Contemporary was also a great choice for me — a step in the right direction, if you will. Contemporary is my favorite genre, and it is what I read the most of. (So far this year, I have read 215 books, and 214 of those have been Contemporary) but I haven't really felt that my blog reflects that love of Contemporary. And although I do read a lot of different genres and have favorites in every single one of them, I want my blog to better reflect my actual reading tastes and Just Contemporary has been the first stage of taking my blog in that direction. I still plan to review from every genre that I read in, and I'll definitely still talk your ear off about books I love, but I'm planning to have many more Contemporary events.
I have the Just Contemporary Reading Challenge (sign ups are open! :) ) and next year, Just Contemporary will be back in November and there will be a special Contemp Event in May (details coming soon) not to mention a whole bunch of other amazing things coming to you in 2012 (including my first ever read-a-thon!).
So thank you all for being a part of this event. It has meant a lot to me and the amount of participation I've seen has blown my mind. Thank you and I hope to see you again next November and the months leading up to it!
The eurocommissioner on power Andris Piebalgs has promised to develop legislative offers on introduction in the European Union since 2010 of an interdiction for trade in usual lamps on which share it is necessary an order of 80% of the European market, have informed on Saturday the Belgian mass-media.
According to the eurocommissioner, refusal of such lamps and transition on ampoule a led will allow to reduce to 60% a current consumption house economy, and also will promote the aims laid down by EU to lower on 20% by 2020 annual consumption of an electricity in member countries of this regional organisation.
Londoners can exchange usual lamps for the harmless free of charge
Campaign for an exchange of usual lamps on harmless (economical) lamps starts on Friday in London, the mayoralty of the British capital has informed.
Social campaign which carries the amusing name "lamp amnesty", is sponsored by a network of department stores B&Q and portal Simulateur D'aube. Within three days all interested persons can exchange free of charge two old lamps on two economical.
By estimates of the power companies, each such lamp will allow to reduce harmful emissions in atmosphere at the expense of fuel burning to 120 tons of carbonic gas a year, and for the simple British will save 7 pounds sterling at the payment of invoice for an electricity.
Economic ampoule burn as brightly, as well as usual lamps, but serve approximately in 12 times longer and consume on 80% of less electricity.
This week, Ruth's question to Weekly Geeks concerned how we stay organized and inspired in our reading and blogging:
Book blogging, as a concept, is essentially pretty simple: If you have Internet access and an opinion about a book, you can be a book blogger. However, actually maintaining a book blog is much more complicated -- our blogs are labors of love that require a lot of time, energy and devotion. For this edition of Weekly Geeks, I want to focus on the little things that make your blogging and/or reading life a bit easier. Do you use sites like GoodReads, LibraryThing or Shelfari to organize your books? Do you swear by Book Darts? Couldn't live without your Book Buddy? Love connecting with other bloggers on sites such as Twitter? Tell us about what makes your blog tick. Is there something specific that keeps you organized or inspired?
There was one very popular response about a source of inspiration: other book bloggers! Getting ideas about what to read next, exchanging comments about what we've read and written - it seems like it always comes back to community.
Geeks shared some of the practical things that keep their blogging and reading going, too. I'm always impressed to see how many book bloggers track their reading activity on spreadsheets. I'm an accountant in my non-blogging professional life, and I work with spreadsheets all the time - and yet it never crossed my mind to use them in connection with my reading! (There's the "inspiration from other bloggers" kicking in.)
In addition to spreadsheets, the online-library websites are very helpful too. Suey of It's All About Books and Sarah from PussReboots are both active GoodReads users, while Trisha of eclectic/eccentric and Jennie at Biblio File organize their books with LibraryThing.
On the blogging side of things, Kerrie of Mysteries in Paradise is a fan of XnView image software for online editing of pictures for her posts. Erotic Horizon composes posts using Windows Live Writer and then pastes them into her blogging software, and finds a lot of inspiration and advice in the Book Blogs Ning group.
Thanks to everyone who shared "tools of the trade" this week! There will NOT be a new Weekly Geeks theme posted this weekend because the 24-Hour Read-a-thon is going on all day tomorrow. But please don't forget to check back for a new WG next Saturday, October 31...will it be something Halloween-themed? You'll have to come by and find out!
European Union since 2010 of an interdiction for trade in usual lamps on which share it is necessary an order of 80% of the European market, have informed on Saturday the Belgian mass-media.
Campaign for an exchange of usual lamps on harmless (economical) 
By estimates of the power companies, each such lamp will allow to reduce 
