Solio

Does this product work well??

Big Baby is hungry

Is it a set-up?

She was at the meeting yesterday. She didn't quit the program, just me. And she wanted everyone to know. I sat by myself and did everything possible not to cry and lose my shit. I do have feelings, it hurts.

Seeing the rainbow helped, woke me up.

Looking out

Eddie Vedder - Hard Sun (Official Video)

Non stop eating machine

And not even know
Turned myself
Into a block of stone
Maybe
Eventually
All will be forgiven
Go our separate ways
Older and perhaps wiser.

I can't believe what happened.

Love letter

July 6, in the morning

My angel, my all, my very self - Only a few words today and at that with pencil (with yours) - Not till tomorrow will my lodgings be definitely determined upon - what a useless waste of time - Why this deep sorrow when necessity speaks - can our love endure except through sacrifices, through not demanding everything from one another; can you change the fact that you are not wholly mine, I not wholly thine - Oh God, look out into the beauties of nature and comfort your heart with that which must be - Love demands everything and that very justly - thus it is to me with you, and to you with me. But you forget so easily that I must live for me and for you; if we were wholly united you would feel the pain of it as little as I - My journey was a fearful one; I did not reach here until 4 o'clock yesterday morning. Lacking horses the post-coach chose another route, but what an awful one; at the stage before the last I was warned not to travel at night; I was made fearful of a forest, but that only made me the more eager - and I was wrong. The coach must needs break down on the wretched road, a bottomless mud road. Without such postilions as I had with me I should have remained stuck in the road. Esterhazy, traveling the usual road here, had the same fate with eight horses that I had with four - Yet I got some pleasure out of it, as I always do when I successfully overcome difficulties - Now a quick change to things internal from things external. We shall surely see each other soon; moreover, today I cannot share with you the thoughts I have had during these last few days touching my own life - If our hearts were always close together, I would have none of these. My heart is full of so many things to say to you - ah - there are moments when I feel that speech amounts to nothing at all - Cheer up - remain my true, my only treasure, my all as I am yours. The gods must send us the rest, what for us must and shall be -

Your faithful LUDWIG

'Unrequited love'

Have a great year, Ewe! love, mommy xoxo

Inside the Arab Quarter

How to plant a pineapple?

How To Grow A Pineapple
PineappleRecipes!!


Pineapple is one of the world's most unique and exotic tropical fruits, yet it is possible to grow it in a temperate zone under controlled conditions; with the most difficult part of the process just getting it rooted. Although you may not be able to grow as large a plant as is grown on a plantation in Hawaii, the following information should enable you to grow a healthy, attractive pineapple for your home. And it makes a fun family project for the kids!

With some patience, you can even grow a new pineapple from this plant. It takes about two to three years, though, and even then some plants are difficult to get to produce new fruit. However, I've searched the web and have provided below the best techniques for improving your odds of harvesting a ripe & delicious pineapple that will fill your house with its aroma. To make full-sized pineapples, the plant will ultimately need to get about six feet across and six feet tall. But, you can grow it as an interesting indoor plant and even get it to produce fruit (albeit small fruit) without letting it take over the living room :-)

Here is some interesting trivia about your pineapple. The pineapple is a member of the bromeliad family. As such it is related to Spanish moss and some interesting ornamental plants sold in many nurseries. These ornamentals are interesting in that they absorb water and nutrients from a water-tight reservoir formed where the leaves come together, or by interesting absorptive hairs which cover the Spanish moss and similar bromeliads, allowing them to draw water and nutrients from the fog and dust in the air. The pineapple, however, uses its roots like houseplants with which you are familiar and should be easy to grow if you treat it like a normal houseplant that needs bright light.

STEP ONE - Obtain a Pineapple
From the local grocery store, choose a mature pineapple that has healthy, firm, green leaves (not yellow or brown) and with a fruit skin that is golden brown (not too green). Actually, I'd recommend growing two pineapples in the not unlikely event that one of them dies. At the very least you can pick the healthiest of the two plants to nurture to full growth. Also, if you find you have more pineapple than you can eat, just chop it up and freeze it. It tastes great!
Inspect the base of the leaves for small grayish spots which are scale insects. If these are found, the crown should be discarded and one selected which is free of these insects. Try to find one that is ripe but not overripe. Test for ripeness by gently pulling on a leaf. If it pops out with ease, the fruit is overripe.To make the most use of the pineapple, use the pineapple corer you see here. It's an inexpensive but ingenious little gadget that cores and slices all in one step. To see it work, click here. To order one, and support this web site, click here or click on the picture above. They also make great gifts!

STEP TWO - Prepare the Crown
Grab hold of the entire top set of leaves. Twist hard and it will come out with a bit of stalk. (If you cut the top off you will need to remove all of the excess fruit flesh, otherwise it will only rot and may kill the whole plant). Any adhering flesh should be trimmed off its base to prevent rotting after planting. After trimming, carefully slice small, horizontal sections from the bottom of the crown until you see root buds that appear as small dots or circles on the flat, cut surface (see picture). Remove as little tissue as possible to avoid cutting into young stem tissue.
Next, strip off some of the lower leaves, exposing up to about an inch of the base of the crown (the stalk will root but the leaves will rot - see photo). They will come off in sort of a spiral fashion. The idea is to bare the stalk. The small brown-colored bumps below the leaf scars are root primordia (baby roots waiting to grow) and there may even be a few short roots at the base of the crown (the picture at right shows a crown with a lot of roots). Though these won't be the roots that will grow in the next step, try not to damage these.

After trimming and stripping, let the crown dry out for a couple days before going to the next step. This will permit the cut end and the leaf scars to heal and prevent rot.

STEP THREE – Root the Crown
There are various ways to do this, but I have found after trying several methods, that the simplest is the most effective. Place the crown in a clear glass of water and change out the water every few days. Place the crown away from any temperature extremes (heating or cooling vents/hot south-facing windows). On top of the refrigerator will work. In three weeks you'll see healthy root growth as illustrated in the pictures at right. You're now ready to plant the crown. As an aside, I've been told that if you use a dark colored glass, like a red plastic cup for example, you'll get better rooting. However I haven't tried this myself. You might want to try a clear glass as well as a dark glass, and let me know your results.

STEP FOUR – Plant the Crown
Once roots appear, plant the pineapple in a fast draining potting soil such as a Bromeliad or Cactus Potting Soil mixed with a third perlite. An eight-inch porous clay pot with bottom drainage is ideal. Layer about two inches of stones in the bottom of the pot prior to putting in the soil/perlite mix. The picture to the left illustrates the materials needed (the two pottery shards in the front are to put over the drainage holes; these came from an extra clay saucer that I broke up).

The first step is to cover the drainage hole with the pottery shard. Second, put in a layer of stones followed by the soil and perlite mix. Finally, plant the crown and water it thoroughly prior to placing it in a window or some other sunny place. You can see the sequence in the pictures to the right (the inner leaves of the pineapple on the left are easily pulled out which doesn't bode well for the plant. Only time will tell which is a good example of why it's good to root two plants in case one dies).

In terms of watering, the soil should always be slightly moist; not wet (which will promote rot) and not dry. It will take six to eight weeks for the stalk to really start sending out strong roots. Do not rush this process or fertilize at this point.

After about two months, the pineapple should be supporting itself as a new plant. Gently tug on the plant to see if new roots have formed. If they are present, they will resist your tug. If absent, the top of the pineapple will pull from the soil revealing the absence of new roots. If there are no new roots, replace the pineapple top in the soil and wait longer. If the base looks like it is rotting, start again with a new pineapple top, root it again as above and then use fresh potting soil. Repeat the process, but be sure not to over water.

At this point you should notice that the original leaves of the pineapple will begin to die and turn brown, with new leaves beginning to grow at the center. Over the course of the following year, remove the original leaves as they die. During this time the pineapple should be watered no more than once a week.

If roots have developed with the new leaf growth, it is a sign that things are going well.
After one full year of growth, repot the plant.

Below you can see these two plants one year later. Three lessons I've learned: 1) don't give up on your plant even when things are looking grim (the pictures on the right are of one of the plants that had rotted in the center; you can see two brand new sprouts that formed along side the original plant.)

I was about to toss it when I noticed the first sprout). 2) my plants rooted indoors, however real growth didn't begin until I took them outside in the spring. With the next growing season they'll be repotted as instructed below. 3) grow two crowns as one will likely not be as strong as the other. Then you can repot the healthier one. You may also notice that I clipped the tips off of the plants as I think I left them outside too long, and the cold turned their tips brown.

STEP FIVE – Repot the Crown
Repot the pineapple in a twelve-inch porous clay pot with a well-draining potting soil such as a cactus potting soil. See the photos below of my 2 pineapple plants after their 2nd repotting. Be sure there is good drainage since pineapples do not like 'wet feet'. Provide drainage by placing a curved piece of broken pot over the hole in the bottom of the pot. Over this, add about a half an inch of coarse gravel or small stones, and then add your soil up to an inch from the top, patting down the soil gently to firm it up.

Tamp the soil firmly around the base of the crown at planting. Avoid getting soil into the central leaves of the crown.

Rot is commonly caused by over watering or the soil not draining properly. The plant should only stop growing during the winter months. It will put out new growth all during the early spring and summer well into fall. If the plant stops growing during its growing season, take the plant out of the pot and examine the root structure carefully. They should be firm and solid. If necessary, wash off the old potting mix and repot into fresh mix.

As the pineapple continues to grow, you may need to repot it into an even larger pot if it gets root-bound.

General Care & Feeding
Light and temperatureA pineapple is a tropical plant and frost or freezing temperatures will kill it. If you live in a temperate climate, your pineapple must divide its time between your house and your porch or garden.

Pineapples like to get at least 6 hours of bright light each day. During summer, set your plant on a sunny porch or bury the pot in your garden. Do not take your plant out of the house until all danger of frost is past. When you first remove your plant from your house, keep it in a semi-shaded spot for several days to prevent sunburn.

During cold months, keep your plant in the house. Bring it in early in the fall, by mid-September. Place it near a window or sliding-glass door for maximum sunlight. At night, move it away from the window to prevent freezing. The pineapple prefers a temperature of 65 - 75 degrees F (minimum of 60 degrees). If the room is warm enough for you to be comfortable, the pineapple will be at the right temperature.

You can also grow your plant indoors, for example in a basement, by using "Plant-Gro" fluorescent light tubes. This light can also be helpful if your windows do not let enough sunshine into the room where you are keeping your plant. You should keep the light on for between 12 and 14 hours per day. When the plant gets large enough to bear a fruit you should reduce the day length to 10 to 11 hours until the inflorescence appears in the center of the plant. You can then return to longer days.

Watering and fertilizing
The pineapple plant is miserly with water, requiring only about 20 inches of natural rainfall per year, if well distributed. You need only wet the soil once a week, and when the plant is indoors, it is best to apply all the water to the soil. When outside, spray the leaves in addition to wetting the soil so that the cups at the bottom of the plant are filled. It is also important that it never completely dries out. Then again, it must never sit in soggy soil. During its growing season, it will appreciate more water than in the winter months.
Fertilize carefully and only about once every month or so during the growing season. If using a solid plant food, scatter it on the surface of the soil and wash it in by watering.

A liquid (foliar spray) fertilizer can also be used. Pour the solution into the base of the leaves and on the surface of the soil. Take special care not to pour the solution into the center of the plant as the young leaves may be injured. Follow directions under "small shrubs" given on the label of the products you use.

Pests and diseases
As house plants, your pineapple will be subject to a minimum of pests and diseases if given proper care. The pests most likely to attack your plant are mealy bugs, scale and mites. All can be removed by washing the leaves with soapy water, rinsing after with clear water. Or, spray with an insecticide. Be sure to follow the directions on the label when using insecticides.

The only disease you would likely encounter would be heart rot caused by fungi. In heart rot, the central leaves turn black and are easily pulled out of the plant. When heart rot occurs, the plant can sometimes be saved by pouring a fungicide into the heart (center) of the plant. If this stops the infection, a side shoot will start growing. This shoot will then become your plant and will eventually flower and form a fruit. Or you can remove it and begin a new plant.

Flowering and Fruiting
Although the pineapple plant is attractive in and of itself, most growers want their plants to flower and fruit. In Hawaii, a crown takes about twenty to twenty-six months to produce a ripe fruit. However, it may only take twenty months, and you will see some surprises along the way. When your plant is at least 24 inches tall and twelve to fourteen months old, an inflorescence bud will begin to form in the center of the leaves. You will not be able to see the developing fruit until about two months later when it will surprise you with a bright red cone emerges from its center. For an excellent photo log (Plog?) of one enthusiast's success with growing a fruit, click here.

(By the way, to the right you can see very healthy baby pineapples growing at Longwood Gardens, in Longwood, PA. There were a total of 8 plants in the room. Clearly they have a system that works!)

After twenty months come the flowers. Bright blue flowers open row by row, starting at the bottom, over about two weeks (flower development in Hawaii typically occurs in late December or January when the days are short (about 10.5 hours) and the nights are cool (55 to 65 F; about 13 to 18 C)). Each flower only lasts one day, but there are many to enjoy.

When the petals of the last flower have dried, the fruit begins to develop. After three to six months from this period, your fruit will begin to ripen. When the fruit is golden halfway up, your pineapple is ready. Surprisingly enough it will be just about the size of a can of pineapple, or a bit larger.

If your pineapple plant is at least 24 inches tall and has not flowered by the time it is twenty to twenty-four months old, you can "force" it with a few different techniques that trick the plant into putting its energy into flowering instead of making new leaves.

Forced Fruiting
It is best to force the plant to flower during the winter months when the days are cooler and shorter as this is when a pineapple is accustomed to making fruit.

The first technique is to lay the plant and pot on its side between waterings. This interferes with hormones in the plant, causing the production of another hormone, ethylene, which induces flowering.

A second method of inducing flowering is to place the plant in a bag with two ripe & bruised apples for two weeks. Move the plant to a shady location during this time, and then move it back to its sunny spot. The ripening apples produce ethylene gas that will induce flowering in the pineapple.

A third method is to place a small lump of calcium carbide about the size of your little fingernail in the center of your plant and pour a quarter cup of water over it. This will release acetylene gas that will force your plant to flower. To improve your chances of success, it is best to treat your plant in the evening after the sun goes down and temperatures are cooler. (Calcium carbide may be obtainable at a welding shop, garden store, pharmacy or toy store.)
Two to three months later, the plant should form a flower spike in its center.

Harvesting your pineapple
When your fruit is about six months old, about four months after flowering has occurred, changes begin to occur. The color of the shell changes from green to rich gold. The color change of the shell occurs first at the bottom of the fruit and moves upwards.

During this change, the fruit becomes sweeter and the color of the flesh changes from white to yellow. The fruit will weigh from two to four pounds. When the fruit is golden half way up it can be picked and eaten, though if you wait until it's fully ripe it will be worth the wait! Once the fruit develops, it should last on the plant for several months.

What Next?
Over the previous year, there may have been a few new plants to emerge from the lower foliage. Let these grow as large as possible before you remove them to start the process all over again using the same method as with the original mother plant. In addition, there may be one or more shoots, suckers or slips (see picture) that you may have noticed after harvesting the fruit that are growing from the mother-plant stem. Slips and shoots grow most rapidly while attached to the mother plant, so it is best to let them grow for several months after the fruit is removed. After these branches are about 12 inches long, you can cut or break them off close to the stem and grow your slips, suckers and shoots in the same manner you did your crown. In the case of slips, there may be a small knob at their base. This should be cut off. Because they are larger, slips and shoots will produce a fruit in less time than to takes for a crown.

If you want your original plant to produce another fruit, leave one or at most two of the shoots on the plant to produce a second, or ratoon, fruit. Excess shoots can be cut off and potted. Continue to feed and water your plant as you did when it was first planted. In Hawaii, it takes about one additional year to produce a first ratoon fruit. If the plant remains healthy, it may even be possible to produce a third crop, called a second ratoon. You can also grow another plant from the crown of the harvested fruit, leaving you with several, new, free plants.

Sam Beam at Messiah - Boy With a Coin (2/10/07)

White
You value law, order, community and light. You love to protect the social order and the rule of law. At your best, you are just and protective. At your worst, you are authoritarian and dogmatic. Your symbol is a sunburst. Your enemies are black and red.

Defending what you love

Sorek Cave

Dave, our guide, joked it was Goliath's finger.

Other side of the rainbow

Ethnicity: Orange

As a past member of this group, I can't believe I thought it looked good. My brain was fried from too much sun. Live and learn. Wear sunscreen and a hat. Do it now.

Astronomers Find Farthest Known Galaxies

byRobert Roy BrittSenior Science WriterSPACE.com Tue Jul 10, 2:00 PM ET

Astronomers have found evidence for the most distant galaxies ever detected.
The galaxies are seen as they existed just 500 million years after the birth of the universe. Their light, traversing the cosmos for more than 13 billion years, was seen only because it was distorted in a natural "gravitational lens" created by the gravity-bending mass of a nearer cluster of galaxies.

"Gravitational lensing is the magnification of distant sources by foreground structures," explained Caltech astronomer Richard Ellis, who led the international team. "By looking through carefully selected clusters, we have located six star-forming galaxies seen at unprecedented distances, corresponding to a time when the universe was only 500 million years old, or less than 4 percent of its present age."

The universe is estimated to be 13.7 billion years old, so that puts the newfound galaxies at 13.2 billion light-years away. A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, about 6 trillion miles (10 trillion kilometers).

Tricky technique
The team found the galaxies using the 10-meter Keck II telescope atop Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. The finding will be presented tomorrow at a conference of the Geological Society in London.

The light from the half-dozen faraway star-forming galaxies was boosted about 20 times by the magnifying effect of the foreground galaxy cluster, said team member Dan Stark, a Caltech graduate student.

Gravitational lensing is tricky, the researchers admit. To bolster their case, they point to very ancient galaxies that are just slightly closer, yet which already contain old stars.
"To produce these old stars requires significant earlier activity, most likely in the fainter star-forming galaxies we have now seen," Stark said.

End of the Dark Ages
The galaxies offer a glimpse of an era shortly after the first stars formed.
After the theoretical Big Bang, there were no stars. Eventually, a thick "fog" was effectively burned off by hot, young stars, ending what's called the cosmic Dark Ages.

"That we should find so many distant galaxies in our small survey area suggests they are very numerous indeed," Stark said. "We estimate the combined radiation output of this population could be sufficient to break apart (ionize) the hydrogen atoms in space at that time, thereby ending the Dark Ages."

Somebody Already Broke My Heart - Sade

Whatever you are doing tonight, face west and look up

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/home/8203647.html

Happy Birthday Ewe!

When it all starts making sense

These are the instructions:
You need to post about your educational and personal background, why you chose this course, about the specific questions you hope to have answered by taking this course, about your hobbies, and anything else you would like to tell about yourself.


Hi, my name is _____________________, I am a married mother of an almost six year old. Although I no longer work for money, my background, academically and professionally, has been in the area of law. Since childhood, I've been making mental notes of everything. My hope in taking this course is to begin understanding human behavior, from a scientific perspective, not what I imagined. I live in Florida where I practice yoga, keep a journal, draw, write poetry.

Any suggestions before I post?

Joan Armatrading: Show Some Emotion (02/15/1979)

Women In Art

Summer reading

Playing It Safe
Subject: Galileo protected his right of discovery by a secret code
First Published In: Mar-80, SciQuestCollection(s):
1989 The Tyrannosaurus Prescription

Gold from the Sun
Subject: scientific knowledge is valuable for its own sake
First Published In: May-Jun-80, SciQuestCollection(s):
1989 The Tyrannosaurus Prescription

Sometimes It Takes Time
Subject: Nobel prizes can be too late for the short-lived
First Published In: Nov-80, SciQuestCollection(s):
1989 The Tyrannosaurus Prescription

The Absent-Minded Professor
Original Title: The Absentminded Professor
Subject: famous stories about scientist's extreme concentration
First Published In: Dec-80, SciQuestCollection(s):
1989 The Tyrannosaurus Prescription

Scientific Heretics
Subject: true advances in science are often hard to sell
First Published In: 1981, SciQuestCollection(s):
1989 The Tyrannosaurus Prescription

The First Scientist
Subject: terminology: changing natural philosophy to science
First Published In: Apr-81, SciQuestCollection(s):
1989 The Tyrannosaurus Prescription

The Knowledge of Good and Evil
Subject: don't try to limit the building of knowledge
First Published In: Sep-81, SciQuestCollection(s):
1989 The Tyrannosaurus Prescription

Self-Correcting
Original Title: Self-Correction
Subject: science polices itself and mostly avoids scandal
First Published In: Feb-82, SciQuestCollection(s):
1989 The Tyrannosaurus Prescription

We Came in Peace for All Mankind
Subject: the lunar landing provided the universal joy of intellectual discovery
First Published In: Dec-69, RedbookCollection(s):
DOES NOT APPEAR IN ANY COLLECTIONS

Of What Use?
Original Title: Intro: Basic Research that Shapes Our Lives
Subject: the result of scientific discoveries often cannot be predicted
First Published In: 1973, The Greatest AdventureCollection(s):
1977 The Beginning and the End

Science is Where You Find It
Original Title: Science Studies Old Wives Cures
Subject: there may be a grain of truth in folk tales
First Published In: 20-Apr-74, TV GuideCollection(s):
1975 Science Past - Science Future

Benjamin Franklin Changes the World
Subject: belief in science being useful started with kite experiments
First Published In: Jul-76, CricketCollection(s):
1987 Past, Present, and Future

Art and Science
Subject: advances in art and science are often complementary
First Published In: Mar-Apr-78, DesignCollection(s):
1983 The Roving Mind

The Pace of Research
Subject: arguments against slowing scientific research
First Published In: 16-Jan-79, American Medical NewsCollection(s):
1987 Past, Present, and Future

Science and Beauty
Original Title: Science and the Sense of Wonder
Subject: science adds to and enhances the simple beauty we see
First Published In: 12-Aug-79, Washington PostCollection(s):
1983 The Roving Mind

Science and the Mountain Peak
Subject: First Published In: Winter-80, The Skeptical InquirerCollection(s):
DOES NOT APPEAR IN ANY COLLECTIONS

Do We Regulate Science?
Original Title: Government vs. Science
Subject: occasional misuse of science shouldn't stop the search for knowledge
First Published In: 1981 V13 No 9, Family HealthCollection(s):
1983 The Roving Mind

Happy Accidents
Subject: serendipity in scientific discovery
First Published In: Jul-81, Science DigestCollection(s):
DOES NOT APPEAR IN ANY COLLECTIONS

For Public Understanding of Science
Original Title: Informing the Public: Why Bother?- The Case For
Subject: arguments for support and funding for science and research
First Published In: Jan-Feb-82, SIPIscopeCollection(s):
1983 The Roving Mind

Short Term; Long Term
Original Title: Scoring Points Over Chernobyl May Backfire
Subject: the Chernobyl disaster and its effects on world nuclear future
First Published In: 6-May-86, NewsdayCollection(s):
1987 Past, Present, and Future

How Exciting!
Subject: magic is more exciting than science because it is unpredictable
First Published In: 1987, Young Witches & Warlocks

Write myself in

ME
Hi.

YOU
Hi.

ME
What's up?

YOU
Trying to sort out some things.

ME
Like what?

YOU
What I am trying to say.

ME
What are you trying to say?

Valley Girl Clip

Joan Armatrading-A Woman In Love-Play The Blues.

Living In A Plastic Bubble

and it's good!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6b9DgoAOg3M

Satan

We were suppose to have a discussion about this concept, when the good turn bad, based on Torah, but we talked of many other topics. One woman just returned from March of the Living with her 18 year old son and shared a story with us. My eyes welled up as she read from her journal. She said shoes are everywhere and you can still see bones and ashes of the bodies. In time, I hope my daughter realizes how important it is to never forget. Nobody has the right to take someone's life. You can't stand by and watch evil happen. Hate is a crime.

There's a light

http://www.wilcoworld.net/

WARNING: This message may be fraudulent and may link to fraudulent web sites.

To view this email as a web page, click here.

Knock on the door

DAUGHTER applying play make-up on MOTHER'S face as she plays video game on computer.

DAUGHTER
It's Adam.

MOTHER wipes make-up off with a tissue. Opens the door.

MOTHER
Hi.

ADAM
Hi.

Closes the door. MOTHER and ADAM talk as they walk.

MOTHER
What's going on?

ADAM
Not much.

MOTHER sits down. ADAM walks over to guitar, picks it up and starts playing the riff to Smoke on the Water.

ADAM
My Dad also taught me how to play Iron Man.

He then runs over and starts tickling the DAUGHTER until he stepped on her toe. She starts to cry. MOTHER lifts the foot examines the toe. ADAM looks too.

Someday we'll find it