Mereja

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  • Extinct tech

    via kottke.org

    Ha, awesome! If we weren’t in the slow process of moving, I would buy one of these “fossils” in an instant. One more thing to add to the “after we’re in CA” list. :)

  • Too Many Mangoes!!!

    Too many mangoes

    Quote:

    BRISBANE:
    Mango madness is taking a toll on the Brisbane City Council waste collection service.
    Sixteen bins in the last week have been unable to be emptied because they have become too heavy due the weight of mangoes.
    The problem has prompted the council to discourage people throwing unwanted mangoes in collection bins.
    Instead, the council wants people to take mangoes to waste recycle centres.
    A council spokesman said one bin full of mangoes weighed around 170kg, too heavy for council bin trucks.
    The spokesman said even a bin half full of mangoes was likely to be too heavy for collection.

    http://quest-news.whereilive.com.au/…-many-mangoes/

    I recently noticed that down my street the Mangos were so bad they had formed a deep pile alongside the footpath – a deep firmenting pile about 10 inches deep, 10m long and about 2m wide.

    The smell (or perfume) of firmenting mangoes is pungent in the humid tropical air. It’s not a bad smell – more of a fruity smell.

    The poor fruit bats just can’t keep up 😆

  • In the field: More re Taharqa and other statues

    Reuters UK

    The Pharaoh Taharqa, mentioned in the Bible for saving Jerusalem from the Assyrians, was a Kushite from north Sudan but ruled a wide empire through Egypt to the borders of Palestine. The southern borders are unknown. The Kushite civilization survived from 9th century B.C. to the 4th century A.D.

    “It’s an amazing shock that we’ve found the statues there particularly Taharqa,” said Julie Anderson, co-director of the project in Dangail, about 350 km (217.5 miles) north of Khartoum.

    “This is the furthest south that we know of that a statue of Taharqa has ever been found,” she added.

    The dig found four royal statues, of Pharaoh Taharqa (690-664 B.C.), kings Senkamanisken (643-623 B.C.) and Aspelta (593-568 B.C.) as well as part of a crown of a fourth royal who they have yet to identify.

    The granite life-size statues would weigh 1.5 tons but appeared to have been deliberately broken at the neck, knees and ankles in a ritual, which may have been due to internal dynastic disputes or an Egyptian pharaoh who came south to assert authority.

    Egyptology News Blog, Andie Byrnes

  • Research: Call for a potential mummy

    Daily Mail

    Every now and again a somewhat grizzly call goes out for someone to volunteer to be mummified (posthumously, of course!) in the interestes of Egyptological research into the entire process of mummification. Here’s the latest. With photos.

    Channel 4 looks set to become embroiled in another taste row after backing a project which seeks to mummify a terminally-ill volunteer for a TV documentary.

    The body of the candidate selected to be embalmed could then end up being displayed in a museum.

    If the project goes ahead it will follow a trail of programmes which seek to challenge views on death. Television audiences have been shown an autopsy, carried out by the controversial German anatomist Dr Gunther von Hagens, and an on-screen assisted suicide.
    Precision process: Egyptians were masters of mummification, but an English scientist believes he has worked out the secrets to embalming

    Channel 4 and production company Fulcrum TV have advertised in magazines for possible candidates to volunteer.

    The advert reads: ‘We are currently keen to talk to some one who, faced with the knowledge of their own terminal illness and all that it entails, would nonetheless consider undergoing the process of an ancient Egyptian embalming.’

    An English scientist claims to have unlocked the secrets of mummification. His efforts at recreating the work of Egyptians will be the subject of the documentary.

    BBC News

    A terminally ill patient is being sought to donate their body to be mummified for a Channel 4 TV show.

    The programme will explore the mysteries of ancient Egyptian embalming, which was believed would help people reach the afterlife.

    Adverts have been placed asking for dying patients interested in participating to get in touch.

    Channel 4 said: “If the scientists are able to find a donor, we would be willing to follow the process.”

    It is understood the project – which has been proposed by production company Fulcrum TV – is in its very early stages and may not actually be made.

    The idea was uncovered when an executive producer from Fulcrum TV, Richard Belfield, spoke to an undercover journalist posing as a possible volunteer.

    He was quoted as saying it had been suggested – although it was not obligatory – that the body be placed in a museum exhibition to enable people to understand the mummification process.

    The Independent, UK

    With thanks to Glen Fricker for the link.

    Channel 4 confirmed it had contributed a nominal amount of funds to Fulcrum to help with development. This sum typically pays for a producer to look into the research and assess the programme’s viability.

    Yesterday, a Channel 4 spokesman said the channel was supportive of the project: “We’re fascinated by the research that is taking place. If the scientists are able to find a willing donor we’d be interested in following the process. And if you were to question why we were interested we’d say ‘If the scientists have solved one of the ancient world’s most enduring mysteries [the process of mummification] it would give us a unique insight into science and Egyptian history and may well prove to have other significant benefits for medical science’.”

    The concept has drawn some criticism, but it is not the first to do so. An ITV documentary, called Malcolm and Barbara: Love’s Farewell, which showed what some classed as the first televised death in Britain. It involved an Alzheimer’s sufferer, Malcolm Pointon, in 2007, and led to huge controversy. The documentary chronicled Malcolm’s last moments as he slipped into a coma – he died three days later.

    Egyptology News Blog, Andie Byrnes

  • The family of Prius welcomes its newest member, the FT- CH hybrid

    toyota_prius_ft-ch_hybrid.jpg
    Toyota has just given birth to the little Prius, smaller and cheaper than the currently available one. This vehicle known as the FT – CH (Compact Hybrid) looks cool and is equally energy efficient. Though just a concept vehicle, Toyota hints that a version of this car will hit showrooms soon. Besides this, Toyota has also planned to launch a whole family of Prius’. These will include minivans, crossovers, hatchbacks and a few more designs. The president of Toyota Motor Sales USA, Jim Lentz states that in order to qualify as a family, more models of electric cars based on the globally acclaimed Prius will need to be chiseled. This car is everything from cute to environment friendly. Plus, it doesn’t burn a huge hole in your pocket and can be yours for a much smaller amount then the current Prius when released. So will Toyota win the hearts of millions of car buyers around the world with its new line up of hybrids? Only time will tell!

    toyota_prius_ft-ch_hybrid2.jpg

    toyota_prius_ft-ch_hybrid3.jpg

    [Gas2]

  • Jackie Chan Wax Figure Madame Tussauds Hollywood Pictures

    Action star Jackie Chan attended the unveiling of his wax figure at Madame Tussauds Hollywood in Los Angeles on Monday. The unveiling came just days after the Rush Hour star revealed that he would like to write a musical based on his life.

    “I love The Sound Of Music,” Chan explained. “When I was young, I didn’t know English and I saw the whole movie. I’m planning to do I Am Jackie Chan: The Musical. I’ve got a very interesting background. I will talk about how I got into the film business… and how I’ve come to be today. It’s a very interesting, classical musical.”





  • H&M sucks

    I already hate H&M for an alleged racist incident in the Chicago store against a Filipina, but this article cements my feelings about this lame company. It’s completely pathetic that so much clothing goes to waste when it could be distributed to homeless shelters and thrift stores like Goodwill and Salvation Army. At least Wal-Mart made some kind of statement, even if it could be completely “all talk, no walk”. H&M doesn’t even have the courtesy for a sound bite. >:P BTW, I would have the same feelings against any store that wastes clothes like this. It just so happens that this article calls out H&M and Wal-Mart.

  • Looting: Treasures the Color of Blood

    asharq alawsat (Zahi Hawass)

    The dream of finding treasure under one’s house is something that has always existed across the length and breadth of Egypt. Every person in every village or city [in Egypt] imagines themselves finding the ancient treasures of the pharaohs underneath their houses. In fact, people have killed each other as a result of this, with brothers killing brothers, and in the end, they die together under the rubble, with the imaginary treasure remaining where it is.

    We also hear stories of djinn guarding treasures, and according to folk tales, mercury can be used to control and command such djinn, and of course there is the word “mummy” which now seems to have an almost magical effect on people. Con artists and fraudsters use the dream of hidden treasure as a means of conning people, and every day we hear news that somebody has found buried treasure under their home, only for archeological survey to reveal such claims to be myths or products of the imagination.

    Egyptology News Blog, Andie Byrnes

  • Yahoo Outsources 'Shopping' to PriceGrabber

    Yahoo’s cost cutting efforts have made another victim. The company has decided to outsource Yahoo Shopping and all the results will now be provided by PriceGrabber. Yahoo is not making too much fuss about it and announced indirectly along with the closure of the Yahoo Shopping API. This latter part isn’t going to sit well with developers using the API … (read more)

  • The Market Has Now Completely Erased The Financial Crisis From Its Memory

    stress

    Here’s the Kansas City Fed’s financial stress index, which takes into account a range of measures (yield spreads on various instruments and price movements of certain assets) to gauge the amount of stress in the financial system.

    As you can see, we’re basically at pre-crisis levels.

    See the KC Fed’s full announcement here:



    KCFSI.Dec09 –

    Join the conversation about this story »

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  • TV Notes: The Pharaoh who conquered the sea

    BBC iPlayer and web links

    Notes taken from last night’s show on BBC4 (UK). It can still be viewed by UK residents on BBC iPlayer at the above address for the next seven days. There are also other links to articles which may be of interest. The notes are a bit rough but hopefully provide some sort of idea of the programme’s content.

    Hatshepsut’s life is shrouded in mystery. She is the first woman to have reigned over Egypt, for over 20 years in a period of relative peace and prosperity but after her death the records of her were deleted, taking with her the evidence of her nautical expeditions.

    Mersa Gawasis. Archaeologists have revealed information about her reign. The pottery and ceramics suggest that it was used as a bivouac – perhaps a base came for the voyages t the mythical land of Punt? Buried in the sand boxes provide a clue. Kathryn Bard says that they were amazed at the find = an inscription of one of the boxes says “the wonderful things of Punt”. Now desert a bay once existed there. At a cave in a coral terrace Cheryl Ward an archaeologist who specializes in ancient boats finds dozens of coiled ropes left by ancient seafarers. They are astonishingly well preserved – as though they were left yesterday. The archaeologists were the first to see them in 4000 years. Most precious find was a wooden plank that looks as though it was part of a boat just beneath the prow. Several dozen marine timbers were unearthed during the excavation.

    Why would Queen Hatshepsut have mounted such an ambitious expedition? [Acting] Before she became pharaoh she was a princess, the eldest daughter of Queen Ahmose and Thutmose I. She was married to her half brother who inherited the throne soon after their marriage. He fell ill and died soon after his coronation. Her stepson was too young to become pharaoh so she became regent. It is suggested that the expedition to Punt was a way of establishing and reinforcing her power in Egypt.

    Cheryl Ward believed that she needed to reconstruct a boat to challenge those who doubted that the boats would be seaworthy. She teamed up with Tom Vosmer who is both a ship builder and archaeologist. He has supervised replicas of a number of sailing vessels and lives in Oman where he sails old boats of Indian Ocean.

    Ward and Vosmer next visited Paris to research how to create a boat when almost no physical trace of it exists? A few planks and other physical remains and a depiction of it at Deir el Bahri. There was no bitumen, pitch, resin etc surviving.

    The next stop was a visit to Deir el Bahri. Huge seagoing ships are shown with crews of rowers, sailors and cargo loaders together with the cargo. Ward describes the reliefs as “A treasure house of info about the seafaring”. There is also some info which is difficult to interpret in the images which is “a bit of a mystery” (Tom Vosmer). They are the only known images of the ancient vessel but they are incomplete because only show vessel from one side. But the Mersa Gawasis finds of wooden planks and rudders were almost identical to the boat in the reliefs. Ward and Vosmer concluded that boat drawn to scale on basis of existing knowledge – and their measurements put the ships at just over 20m long. [I was surprised at how short that would make them].

    The next part of the show leaves the boats for a minute and looks at Hatshepsut being transformed from female to male with all of a Pharaoh’s appearance and paraphernalia. She also needed to form good relationships with powerful priests of Egypt. The narration suggests that Punt expedition would bring back items desired by priests, including incense.

    The oracle was consulted and Senenmut was commanded to built 5 ships with sails. 3500 years later Ward and Vosmer study Giza ship of Khufu at Giza (43m), much older than that of Hatshepsut but with some similarities in construction methods.

    The next stop was Cairo Museum to see model boats for hull shapes and sails, and a fishing boat excavated at Dashur. Similar length. Width 5m.

    The ship was generated graphically using a computer model by Patrick Couser, the Naval Architect for the project, and then produced as a physical model using the computer model and a 3D modelling device. Around 45 planks on each side would have been required and it was important to understand how they fit together to form an integrated whole.

    A family of Nile shipwrights living outside Alexandria in Rashid were commissioned to build the boat. They were shown the model with suggested planking in place. The boat was built using ancient techniques – with no books these had to be reinvented. [This is some of the most fascinating footage in the programme]. Egyptian archaeologist Mohammed Abd El Maguid stayed after 3 months had passed and Tom Vosmer and Cheryl Ward had returned home and he took extensive notes during the built. An elaborate mortise and tenon system was used to hold the boat together, but curvature of planks made for serious complications because the fit had to be absolutely perfect. The idea is that when wood swells after launch the ship will become watertight.

    Hatshepsut chose Nahisi as captain, a man who had served her father.

    Anchors had engravings of divine protection.

    David Vann will skipper it on Red Sea. Vann describes the vessel as short, fat, and difficult to handle. He saw the big cracks in the hull and was seriously worried about it because he sank in a metal boat with cracks but although reassured by wooden experts that the wood would expand to fill the cracks he was still concerned.

    Rigging shown at Deir El Bahri shows intertwined ropes and knots and a complicated relationship between ropes and masts. No other images exist.

    Cheryl Ward travels to Lake Burullus for search of a clue. The way that the mast is fixed to the hull is intriguing and Cheryl Ward says that it is “another one of those times when you can touch the past” because the system seems so similar.

    At launch the ship building family express their delight. [The complete hull launched into the sea is a lovely thing but looks tiny]. The water comes in quickly and instantly floods the boat but two weeks are predicted for the hull to expand sufficiently to become water tight. After two weeks it takes twelve hours to pump out the boat. In the morning, however, the boat is again filled with water. In spite of everyone’s hard work it is necessary to find a solution to the problem. How can the boat me made watertight using an authentic technique? The shipyard provides the solution – linen fibre stuffed between planks as a way of waterproofing. Beeswax was also added (based on Greek ship building traditions). Both were available in the Delta throughout Dynastic Egypt. 10 months in and the rudders are made. In the streets of Rashid the rigging is made – several kilometres of rope in different thicknesses.

    Raising of the mast was a subject of great celebration, and quite right too! Lovely. But the ropes hanging from the mast are all over the place! Ship was christened Min.

    A statue of Hatshepsut and Amun was created before the sailing to Punt as a gift to that land’s inhabitants.

    Almost a year after construction Min is ready for her maiden voyage. [The linen and wax seem to have worked – she is afloat! But unless I missed a bit, it is not confirmed that the linen and wax alone made her seaworthy] But lots of other questions remain to be answered about the journey to Punt.

    Rope system causes much confusion initially but four lines pull the sail and four change its direction. The others are not used for navigation.

    The small sail had to be used when wind too strong (smaller surface area) and that puts extra stress on the rudders, and the conditions are much rougher. In Tom Vosmer’s words “she wallows like a pig” but that was unsurprising in the conditions. She stayed afloat.

    An earlier journey by Henu, it is speculated, must have been know of by Hatshepsut and Senenmut but the records do not reveal the location of Punt which could have been in Eritrea, Yemen or elsewhere. If she could not sail against the sea she could not reach the far side, Yemen, so this was necessary to test. Proved that she was capable of tacking, and could make progress in spite of variations in the wind which means she could have reached either side of the Red Sea.

    Cheryl Ward says that even living through a small part of the journey demonstrates the ingenuity, creativity, intelligence and craftsmanship of the builders and crew and says that it is a humbling experience.

    The procession of ostrich feathers, woods, panthers, cheetahs, myrrh trees and other resins and many other things were depicted on the walls of Deir El Bahri.

    Egyptology News Blog, Andie Byrnes

  • Golf Ball Launcher Turns You Into Tiger Woods (Sort Of)

    FCF25AF2-B37F-474A-AFFC-0286E93A95FC.jpg

    Remember when Tiger Woods was known more for his amazing tee shots than for his amazing menagerie of hos? The new Golf Ball Launcher lets you drive the golf ball 300 yards from the tee without the hassle of those annoying golf clubs. Or talent.

    The Golf Ball Launcher is powered by an air compressor and does precisely what you want it to – shoot a golf ball a long, long way.

    While the Golf Ball Launcher will give you amazing tee shots, once you hit the green the putting is still up to you.

    The device is not yet available and is probably illegal on most golf courses. When it does hit the market, expect to shell out around $800.

    [via Oh Gizmo]

    Related posts:

    1. Bad Golfers, Meet The RadarGolf Ball Location System
    2. The Best Tiger Woods Crash Jokes on the Web
    3. The Amazing Toast Launcher Gizmo

  • Yamaha Name New Manager for Jorge Lorenzo

    What was rumored for some time now was finally confirmed by the FIAT Yamaha Team organization, as Spanish rider Jorge Lorenzo found out the name of his new team manager for the 2010 campaign of the MotoGP. Following Daniele Romagnoli’s exit from the team in mid-October, Dutchman Wilco Zeelenberg will take over from the Italian starting the 2010 season.

    With Yamaha closing down their operations in the World Supersport Championship, Zeelemberg – who used to guide Cal Crutchlow’s squ… (read more)

  • Can You Help Me Recreate This Pumpkin Sage Ravioli? Good Questions

    2010_01_11-Ravioli.jpgQ: This past fall I dined at Osteria Via Stato in Chicago. That night, there was a seasonal special on their board: Pumpkin Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter sauce.

    That “special” ravioli was the most fantastic meal I have had in as long as I can remember. I wasn’t enamored of the idea of Pumpkin Ravioli, because I couldn’t see liking pumpkin in ravioli, but it was exquisite. The crisped sage and brown butter sauce lent a subtle, nutty crispness to the dish.

    Do you know how I can possibly find this amazing recipe, or one very similar to it? I have turned up many recipes for pumpkin ravioli, but none whose ingredients seem to truly capture the essence of the insanely delicious meal I had that night.

    Sent by Cat

    Read Full Post


  • Attack on Met Office by Tory MP Nicholas Winterton in House of Commons

    Article Tags: Met Office, UK Winter Forecast 2009/10

    EXETER’S Met Office has defended its work in the face of fierce criticism at Westminster amid claims it has been “hijacked by the climate change lobby”. The defence came after one outspoken MP branded the “serial inaccuracy” of the agency’s forecasts a “scandal”.

    But the forecaster has pointed out its five-day weather predictions were being used to help deal with the prolonged freeze. And its day-to-day forecasts were “very accurate”.

    And despite the current cold snap, there was no doubt that man had contributed to climate change.

    It comes after veteran Tory MP Nicholas Winterton launched a concerted attack on the Met Office in the Commons.

    Click source to read FULL report and many thanks to Tory MP Nicholas Winterton, please can we have more of the same.

    Source: thisisexeter.co.uk

    Read in full with comments »   


  • Toyota Will Continue Big Marketing Spending in 2010

    Following the record $1 billion marketing push in the fourth quarter of 2009, Japanese carmaker Toyota announced plans to continue spending big time on advertising its products, in the hope the sales revival experienced in December 2009 will continue into the new year as well. No specific details on how much the carmaker will spend or on how the marketing approach will look like have been provided.

    "We will spend more money because there will be more business out there,&quot… (read more)

  • Exhibition: More re Pioneers to the Past

    Media-Newswire

    A new exhibition at the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute Museum chronicles an amazing and sometimes dangerous journey 90 years ago by James Henry Breasted, a famed archaeologist who brought back Egyptian artifacts to Chicago.

    “Pioneers to the Past: American Archaeologists in the Middle East, 1919–1920,” opens Tuesday, Jan. 12 and will feature artifacts as well as photos and letters documenting the journey of Breasted, who was the first American to receive a Ph.D. in Egyptology.

    “The exhibit takes visitors along on a real–life adventure story that follows Breasted and his team as they traveled across the Middle East in the unstable aftermath of World War I, with tribal and nationalist rebellions making the trip extremely dangerous at many points,” said Geoff Emberling, Research Associate and Chief Curator of the Oriental Institute.

    “This is a fascinating glimpse of a pivotal moment in history—the birth of the modern Middle East as we know it today, and at the same time, the genesis of modern archaeological research in the cradle of civilization,” said Gil Stein, Director of the Oriental Institute. “It’s one of the best examples I know of the ways that scholarship and politics interconnect in important and unexpected ways.”

    Egyptology News Blog, Andie Byrnes

  • INCHEON | Cheongna Daewoo Prugio | 623 ft | 190m | 58 fl | U/C

    Location-Cheongna A8 Mixed-use residential Block
    Contractor-Daewoo E&C
    Construction start-2009.10
    Completion-2013.4
    floor-47~58
    clusters-4

  • Ford Ka in the US? Mulally Thinks It’s Still Possible…

    Despite the huge sales success it registered in Europe, Ford officially rejected the possibility to bring the Ka in the United States back in November when it revealed that the Fiesta will be the smallest car sold under the Ford badge in its domestic market. However, the demand for small cars, together with the continuously-increasing petrol price, could make Ford change its mind, so launching the Ka in the US re-becomes a main topic on Ford’s agenda.

    Still, the US-based manufactu… (read more)

  • Request for Information: Holbeck Temple Mill Project

    I received a request for information today – if anyone can advise please leave a comment or contact Hayley Jones directly (see end of her request for contact details).

    I was wondering if anyone could help me. I am trying to find out who the name of the contracting company or architect company involved in the Holbeck Temple Mill project.

    I manage school work placements for local students and I would like to ask them if they would be interested in the possibility of providing work experience for a particular student who is training to be a builder but also has a strong interest in Egyptology.

    This project would be a an ideal opportunity for the student, even if for only a short time, the student would benefit immensely from observing the process and work involved in this fantastic project.

    If anyone can help with the name of the companies or people involved, I would realy appreciate it.

    Kindest regards
    Hayley Jones 07788534027
    Focus Training
    E-mail: [email protected]
    W: www.focustraining.uk.com

    Egyptology News Blog, Andie Byrnes