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I found the ensuing post in my drafts folder. It was written in October 2017, just before I fell over my own feet and the legs of my easel and started the ball rolling on three months of 'failure to stay upright' events for myself and my family which you mostly know about and suffered through with us.
Now safely on the other side and having been uplifted by the wonderful community that gathers about this blog throughout, I want to share this news, aged as it is, with you and introduce you to some great folk, whom I do hope you will wander off to say hello to – tell them I sent you and you'll be in like Flynn 😀
Some months back, deep in the heart of my winter, Susanne and I got into a bit of a discussion on her blog about patios and light catchers and weathering and as a result of that conversation I sent a light catcher off to Canada. Susanne was going to hang it in her little summer garden and we were going to undertake an experiment, observing how the components behaved in an outdoor situation. It never arrived. Please do go here to read her beautifully written and wickedly funny piece on time and tides and missing light catchers and what eventually happened…………
While waiting to hear from Susanne – and expecting the worst – I made more light catchers. This is the only one that made it into the gift shop. It's called 'Summer Garden' and I love the colour mix…….
The others were given away. And eventually I even received a commission from Luanne to make a coral one – you read about that in the previous post.
Also included in the long forgotten draft was a little story about the inspiration for she who is variously known as YD or the Official Photographer or even by her own lovely name of Danella – the inspiration for her living-room do-up. An event that some of you may recall from last year. It's important to still post this as I promised Derrick I would and life got terribly in the way of me keeping my promises for the past four months…….
Any hoo – the inspiration came from a photograph my friend Derrick sent me of his beautiful garden. (I say 'his', but the garden designer and curator is really his wife, the lovely Jackie, and Derrick's role is, I am led to believe, chiefly that of flower dead-header and chief photographer and eater of lovingly prepared evening meals.) I requested a copy of one particular shot that had captivated me and Derrick kindly and generously sent me three different prints. At first sight of a particular one, YD's eyes lit up and per-ping it was off to live at her place. Here it is seen on the wall in this previously unrevealed view of her living room, taken from the sofa
And a closer up shot, in case your eyes are as poor as mine……
Which, on reflection, I see doesn't help at all – the light being on as it was a dull morning when I requested the photo be taken STAT! Any how, that lovely pink and green photographic print was the inspiration for all this
Which I'm sure you recall……. Various comments about the state of depletion of the wine rack not withstanding, this lovely room has been almost entirely her only venue of residence since breaking her leg and fracturing her ankle on that unfortunate night at the end of last November. And said wine rack has been variously refilled and emptied and refilled again – so it's just as well we had made it pretty for her. All thanks to Jackie and Derrick's fabulous garden inspiration at the Old Post House in the UK. Please, allow me to urge you to pop in and say hello to these two charmers, Jackie's already begun planting up her spring garden and the first daffodil has shyly bloomed and Derrick has his camera ready to capture whatever comes next.
Now we are back to the present day. We've had a largish fire, whipped up by a violent wind that preceded the arrival of a weather conflagration that was somewhat alarming as a tropical storm moving south through the country met an elongated east-west weather system originating from Antarctica right over the South Island and dumped an extreme amount of water in a relatively small area over a 24 hour period….. It put the fire out (yay!) and flooded the usual places (boo!) and cooled the air down (yay!). It went from 35C to 16C in 36 hours. So, this is the new look Summer here in the Riviera of Antarctica folks.
Now that it is summer here and winter there, my friends in Alberta, Canada and Virginia, USA and San Jose, USA are busy rifling through their wardrobes to find some appropriate clothing to pack into their suitcases ………….. Come prepared for anything I say! Three weeks to go and we'll have kicked off our little bloggers reunion gathering!
And that my friends is a very big "YAY!!"
Here's Siddy, before the storm, wondering what that delicious aroma is floating through the air, from somewhere not here ……….. Mmmmmm B-B-Q!
Thanks for coming by today, I love that you did!


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PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) -- South Africa's top track official apologized Saturday for denying knowledge of gender tests done on runner Caster Semenya in the country, saying he lied to protect the athlete's privacy.
PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) -- South Africa's top track official apologized Saturday for denying knowledge of gender tests done on runner Caster Semenya in the country, saying he lied to protect the athlete's privacy.
Athletics South Africa president Leonard Chuene told reporters that his constant denials of the tests, which he said he was aware of when they were done in early August, were an "error of judgment" and that never meant to "deceive" the public.
South African officials repeatedly said tests were done on the 800-meter world champion only abroad, not in South Africa.
"I can no longer stand before you and say that I am not aware of gender tests conducted on Caster Semenya," Chuene said. "I felt that at the time I was acting in the best interests of Caster Semenya as a person. I believed at the time my consistent denials would help protect her."
The International Association of Athletics Federations ordered more tests done on the runner in Berlin, saying questions had been raised about her muscular physique and recent stunning improvement in times.
It has refused to confirm or deny Australian media reports that Semenya has both male and female characteristics, saying it is reviewing test results and will issue a decision in November on whether the athlete will be allowed to compete in women's events.
Chuene said tests had been done at a Pretoria hospital on Aug. 7 at the behest of the IAAF, adding that it was unclear whether Semenya was informed of the nature of the examinations.
Chuene said that despite medical advice and a request from the IAAF, he refused to withdraw Semenya from the race because there were no results yet from the tests.
"I was not going to stop her talent because of rumors," he said. "On what basis should I have withdrawn her? My only crime committed was to take a decision that she must run, and she won."
Chuene also accused the IAAF of violating her rights and privacy.
"The IAAF publicly revealed her name. The IAAF betrayed her. The IAAF has a lot to answer for," he said.
Chuene is returning to the IAAF board after he resigned over the handling of the matter, but Saturday's news conference is unlikely to ease tensions between the ASA and the international body.
Chuene said he saw no reason for Semenya to be tested and said he would not accept the outcome of results.
He said the ASA was not in possession of any test results and that he could not confirm media reports about her gender.
He denied that Semenya -- the team's most promising star -- had been "sacrificed for a medal."
"It has been deeply disturbing for me to bear witness to the relentless and ongoing controversy surrounding Caster Semenya," he said. "Tell me someone who has not lied to protect a child."

subset: commoncrawl


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Duane Eddy (born April 26, 1938) is a Grammy Award-winning American guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s he had a string of hit records, produced by Lee Hazlewood, which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" sound, including "Rebel Rouser", "Peter Gunn", and "Because They're Young". He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
Born in Corning, New York, he began playing the guitar at the age of five. In 1951 his family moved to Tucson, and then to Coolidge, Arizona. At the age of 16 he obtained a Chet Atkins model Gretsch guitar, and formed a duo, Jimmy and Duane, with his friend Jimmy Delbridge (who later recorded as Jimmy Dell). While performing at local radio station KCKY they met disc jockey Lee Hazlewood, who produced the duo's single, "Soda Fountain Girl", recorded and released in 1955 in Phoenix. Hazlewood then produced Sanford Clark's 1956 hit, "The Fool", featuring guitarist Al Casey, while Eddy and Delbridge performed and appeared on radio stations in Phoenix before joining Buddy Long's Western Melody Boys, playing country music in and around the city.
Eddy devised a technique of playing lead on his guitar's bass strings to produce a low, reverberant "twangy" sound. In November 1957, Eddy recorded an instrumental, "Moovin' n' Groovin'", co-written by Eddy and Hazlewood. As the Phoenix studio had no echo chamber, Hazlewood bought a 2,000 gallon water storage tank which he used as an echo chamber to accentuate the "twangy" guitar sound. Eddy signed a contract with Philadelphia-based Jamie Records. "Moovin' n' Groovin'" reached #72 on the Hot 100 in early 1958; the opening riff was copied a few years later by The Beach Boys on "Surfin' U.S.A.". For the follow-up, "Rebel-'Rouser", the record featured overdubbed saxophone by Los Angeles session musician Gil Bernal and yells and handclaps by doo-wop group The Rivingtons. The tune became Eddy's big, breakthrough hit, reaching #6 on the chart.


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The choicest settlements are along the Ohio, the White, and the Wabash rivers. The state was established in 1816 and, at present, has a population of about a hundred and fifty thousand souls. Slavery is as little permissible as in the state of Ohio and in Illinois. It is claimed that this law is not favorable to the rapid progress of the interior. The state of Ohio has been able to increase its population more easily through the immigration of poor settlers from the Atlantic states. Settlements in the more remote regions, however, require more means, which are almost exclusively in the possession of such persons who, because of their education and their circumstances, are relieved from spending all their time in physical labor, and usually make use of servants or slaves in establishing settlements. As long as the population is sparse, servants are very expensive. I have stayed overnight in houses that were very luxurious in their accoutrements, with costly carpets in all rooms, but one asked in vain for a servant. The landlord was compelled, in spite of his considerable wealth, to care personally for the horses as well as for the guests. Furthermore, his wife and daughters had to perform the most menial household tasks. Their only topic of conversation was that they wished to sell their establishments in order to move to a state where one could keep slaves.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MISSOURI. September 1825. Description of wagon trip to the frontier; establishment of new home in wilderness; food and supplies for the frontier family.
A large freight wagon (or several, according to the needs of the family) is loaded with the household goods in such a manner that a covered space remains free for passengers. In addition to the household goods, tents and provisions are included: smoked pork, beans, peas, rice, flour, cheese, and fruit; also for the first week, bread, and maize for the energetic horses. Thus the journey is begun. Sometimes the owner rides with his wife and children in a special wagon, sometimes in a coach, or he rides on horseback. If he has male slaves, one of these will be the driver. Otherwise he or some other member of the family does it. On the entire trip of perhaps more than 1,200 English miles, there is no thought of stopping at an inn. During the feeding of the horses at noon the kitchen also goes into operation. A stopping place is chosen near a spring or a brook, either in the shade or in the open according to the weather. A fire is quickly lighted and housekeeping proceeds as if they were at home. In the evening, more thought is given to the selection of the next campsite. If something is needed; such as cooking utensils or provisions, they stop near a farm and tents are set up, especially if the weather is bad. Some members of the party tend to the domestic animals (if the journey is not too long even the cattle are taken along), and others are busy with the kitchen. Finally, the lodging for the night is prepared. Everywhere the wagon train stops for the night, the natives are polite and ready to supply what is desired. Household goods are loaned, provisions are sold at low prices, horses are granted places to graze if it is preferred to let them graze in the open. The latter rarely presents any difficulties. Usually it is necessary only to hang a bell around the neck of the leader of the herd and to make his walking more difficult by fastening hobbles to his legs. They are tired and hungry and will not easily leave a good grazing place. Also, a trained dog would easily find their trail. However, there are cases when they take advantage of a moment of freedom to run back home. No distance and no stream will then hold them back, and they know how to find the way back to their old homes even through great forests. In my neighborhood there are two oxen that recently returned from a distance of one hundred English miles, having swum across the Missouri. A horse came back alone from Franklin (a distance of about one hundred twenty English miles)....
As soon as a traveling family has arrived at the site of its new home, it stops at the exact spot where the buildings are to stand. Then an enclosure is erected as a temporary protection for household goods and tents, which are now set up for a longer period of time. Fencing is needed to keep out the cows of neighboring settlements. The young calves are also kept in this enclosure to restrict the movement of the freely grazing cows, which return regularly and, without the slightest attention or care, constantly provide the family with milk and cream. The site for the house is chosen near a good spring or brook. A small building is immediately erected over the spring to protect it from pollution and also to provide a cool place for storing milk, butter, and meat.
The next concern is the building of a dwelling in the manner previously described. The wood for it is not hewn and, in the beginning, only a barnlike structure is planned to provide temporary shelter. A second one is built for the Negroes; then a third to be used as a barn, anti a smaller building to serve as a smokehouse. The tree trunks are felled in the neighborhood and dragged up by horses or oxen. The building itself is erected with the help of neighbors if the family cannot manage it alone. Not more than four or five persons are required to erect such a building. Boards are sawed for doors and floors, or trees are split into planks, for which purpose the ash and hackberry trees (Celtis crassifolia, or lotus tree) are especially suitable. The hearth, together with the chimney, is built very simply of wood, lined below with a stone wall and covered at the top with clay. If the chimney is six inches higher than the top of the roof smoke will not be a bother. The danger of fire depends on the construction of the stone wall and the clay covering.
Anyone who looks upon such a dwelling with too much contempt is not familiar with the local climate. I have been in some where cleanli ness and good furniture made for a very attractive appearance. Many families desire nothing else, since in other matters they live a life of plenty. The only thing that I have to criticize about the houses is that they usually have no cellar (the hut around the spring takes its place). In the summer a moldy odor rises out of the humus under the rough floor. This rarely offends one's nose but obviously endangers one's health. A floor laid by a carpenter affords perfect protection. Whoever does not want to spend that much on it can take care of the matter himself by removing the humus from the building site, or by burning cut wood from the clearing on the home site.
When the building is completed, which requires scarcely two to three weeks, the family already feels at home and the next step is to make the land arable. They usually begin by fencing in the chosen area in order to use it temporarily as an enclosed pasture for the horses and oxen which they want to keep close for convenience...
Very rarely is the cold said to interrupt outside work for more than two days. Even in January the weather is not always unfavorable for removing the roots of brush. Where horses, cattle, and hogs, not excluding the tenderest calves, can survive the winter without shelter, the climate cannot be too harsh.
It is remarkable how quickly all these domestic animals become accustomed to their homestead. Milk cows are kept near their fenced-in calves. Therefore, when a cow is sold its calf is part of the bargain. Calves are never slaughtered, partly because they grow up without any care or expense. During the first months cows return to their young at temporarily and this seems too inconvenient to a new settler...
At the beginning an acreage of four to five Morgen is sufficient for a small family. A half Morgen may be used for garden vegetables; a second halfMorgen for wheat, although it is usually too late to sow it during the first fall. This leaves three or four Morgen for maize.
In the western regions of America maize is a main product of agriculture. One could call it the wet nurse of the growing population. It serves all domestic animals as food, as it is used for fattening. The flour from it is simply called meal. On the other hand, the ground product of wheat is called flower [sic]. When boiled with milk, it makes a very nutritious healthful, and palatable food. If it is kneaded with the boiled pulp of the pumpkin, ( Concurbita pepo) however, a bread can be baked that I prefer to wheat bread, especially if the dough is fermented by subjecting it to heat for approximately twelve hours. A dough of cornmeal mixed with water or milk and then baked produces a bread that is too dry, but with fatty foods it is quite palatable. The bread is baked in covered iron pots which are placed on a bed of glowing wood coals on the hearth and also covered with them. In most households fresh bread is prepared every day, and in general, the cooking and baking are not very inconvenient because of the constant supply of glowing coals on the spacious hearth. Bread is also made of wheat flour. As well as I remember, the cornmeal is called groats in the Rhine region. There are many varieties of maize here. The most common varieties have white and yellow grains. There are also red, blue, and red-and-blue-speckled ones, and some that are transparent like beautiful pearls. These variations are preserved by propagation. The meal from all of them is the same. The stalks grow very tall, ten to fifteen and even twenty feet.
The garden provides the best European garden produce. Peas and beans flourish beyond all expectation. Only the finer varieties of beans are found. In order to require neither poles nor a special bed they are usually planted in the maize fields where the tall cornstalks serve as support for the vines. Pumpkins, lettuce, and several other things are planted there also. In this fertile soil, without the least fertilization, all these plants grow at the same time just as luxuriously after twenty years as in the first ones. I assure you that there is no exaggeration in this statement and that I have convinced myself many times of its truth. One of my neighbors, by the name of William Hencock [Hancock] , owns a farm on the banks of the Missouri that was started twenty years ago. Every year without interruption these areas have produced the richest harvests which no fertilizer can increase. In fact, the only change is that wheat can now be grown on fields that have been under cultivation for so long, whereas formerly it always fell over. However, some garden produce requires natural fertilizer. The farmer provides this in a very simple manner. He quarters his sheep overnight in the area intended for beds. Every year there is an abundance of cucumbers and melons (watermelons, and others), of course without any care. A good vegetable for the garden is the Bataten (called sweet potato here; the common potatoes are called Irish potatoes). They require a long summer and probably would not develop well in Germany. Prepared in steam they taste like the best chestnuts. I like them very much with coffee in the morning, although so early I can rarely eat the fried meat that is usually served in addition. Like the cucumber, the plant has vines that spread over the ground.
In the second year cotton is raised also; however, north of the Missouri only for family use. On the whole, the American farmer tries to spend no money for food or drink or clothes (with the exception of real finery). Therefore, flax and hemp are cultivated, and a small herd of sheep is kept. The products are all made at home. The spinning wheel is found everywhere, and if there is no loom, the housewife or one of the daughters goes from time to time to a neighbor who owns one. Just as most men are skilled at making shoes, few women find it difficult to make not only their own clothes but also those of the men. The demands of changing fashions are not ignored.
After housekeeping has been organized and the first purchases have been paid for, the whole family lives a carefree and happy life without any cash. And this is the real reason small sums are less important here than in Europe. [In Europe] when the husband brings home a little ready money, the wife immediately needs something, and usually there is no peace and quiet in the home until it has all been spent in the nearest store, usually for tawdry finery...
If the farmer owns two slaves, he may devote his time merely to supervision without doing any of the work himself and, in this case, the housewife will have little reason to complain about keeping house. Food is abundant. Also beer can easily be brewed since enough hops grow in the forests. The apple and peach orchards found on every farm furnish cider and brandies. Although a very good whiskey can be made from corn, the apple and peach brandies are preferred. I have tasted old corn whiskey that cost thirty cents a gallon (about two Cologne quarts) and it was as good as the best French brandy. Even without slaves, the farmer lives in a manner that surpasses by far that of a European farmer of the same financial status.
For most of the harder work of housekeeping there are ways of making the labor easier. If, for instance, laundry is to be done, a fire is lighted next to a nearby brook and a kettle is hung over it. The bleaching ground cannot be far away either, and it is a matter of course that during the summer a shady place is chosen. If butchering is to be done, there are similar advantages. Usually, animals to be slaughtered, oxen as well as hogs, are shot. The animals are lured to a suitable place with a little feed and very rarely does a shot fail to serve its purpose. In this way a single person can do the entire job, although it is the custom that neighbors help each other in this work.
Finally, I must correct the erroneous opinion that the difficulty of social intercourse is the dark side of the vaunted lot of the American settler. One should dismiss from his mind the idea that the accomplishment of his purpose demands a great degree of isolation from neighbors and consider, at the same time, that a distance of from two to three English miles here is negligible, even for the female sex. No family is so poor that it does not own at least two horses. Everyone strives to make these animals, which are kept at so little expense, his first purchase. Next in line are good saddles, and it is not unusual to spend twenty-four to thirty dollars for a woman's saddle (which would suffice for three saddles on the Atlantic coast, for example, in Baltimore ). Women and girls, old and young, ride (sidesaddle in the English manner) at a rapid or a slow pace without any difficulty, and they last in the saddle as long as the men. Not a week passes in which the housewife does not visit her neighbors on horseback either alone or with a companion. On Sundays, only the weather can be a hindrance. Often the whole family leaves the house without the slightest worry about thieves. Some houses are not even provided with locks, although the kitchen utensils alone are worth more than twenty dollars. Horse racing, cock fights, and target shooting are here, as in North America in general, the most frequent occasions for the gathering of men.
MISSOURI WILDERNESS. June 1826. In the western part of North America the population, in comparison to the amount of fertile, cheap land, is too sparse to permit anyone who either cannot or does not wish to be actively engaged in physical labor to carry on farming on a large scale without slaves. Even if one wants to supply one's own needs, domestic affairs would suffer because of the lack of whites who would have any desire to be hired for this purpose. But one who could decide to hire a slave would probably not hesitate to buy him.
The usual price of a male slave from nineteen to thirty years of age is four to five hundred dollars. The price of a female slave is a third less. Sometimes there is a guarantee against running away; often not it is always advisable to take this into consideration.
One who keeps slaves here has their living quarters near his own house. They do all the work that is done by domestic servants in Germany. It is in the master's self-interest to treat them with considera tion and to make their lot bearable. He encourages young slaves to marry so that they learn to like a regulated life. The children are also slaves and follow the mother if perhaps the father should have another master, which can easily be the case.
It happens in the United States that male and female slaves try to avenge insults and mistreatment not only by running away but also by murdering one or more members of the family. Sometimes they resort to open violence, sometimes to poisoning. Only recently there was a case of the latter about twenty miles from here. A seventeen-year-old Negro girl wanted to poison the entire family. But the dose of arsenic was so large that it caused immediate vomiting and therefore the attempt failed. The public papers recently told of the following incident. A farmer, the father of several children, had a small Negro girl about seven years of age in his home. One day this girl came back from a nearby wood and announced to her master and mistress that their four-year-old child had fallen into the brook. They ran quickly to the place and found the delicate creature already drowned, although the water at that place was not at all deep. They censured the Negro girl severely, saying that she should have helped the child herself instead of running for aid. A year later it happened that a younger child of the family failed to appear for a meal. The mother asked the Negro girl, who was accustomed to playing with the child, where it was, but received such a strange answer that, driven by great anxiety, she got up immediately to look for her. But she searched and called in vain, and then, as if filled with gloomy forebodings, turned fiercely to the Negress and demanded that she should tell her where she had left the child. Thereupon she obtained without difficulty the information that the child was lying in the brook. This indeed proved to be true, and this child also was lying dead at a place in the brook where she could have been saved by merely raising her head. They became more and more suspicious of the Negro girl and soon urgent reasons for a severe cross examination became apparent. As a result she confessed that both children had been choked to death in the water, and that the culprit had committed a similar murder while at her former owner's (who likewise had found a child suffocated in the water).
Such details, however, must not prejudice anyone against Negroes in general. There is no lack of gruesome deviation from nature among the whites either. I remember, among other things, that several years ago, on the Lower Rhine, a seven-year-old boy twice reduced an entlre village to ashes in revenge for a minor punishment (which some German law professors would attribute good-naturedly to a curious urge to see fire).
MISSOURI. October 1826. Diet and Health of Frontier Women.
The too frequent eating of meat produces unpleasant results espe. cially among members of the feminine sex, because their household tasks demand far less of the exercise necessary for digestion than the men have in their work in forest and fields and during their hunting It is easy enough to understand that men who have been working in the open since five or six o'clock in the morning, or have roamed around hunting, enjoy a breakfast of meat dishes, pork roast, and fowl toward nine o'clock. But that a city woman (with whom the American women can be compared in delicacy of physique and manner of living) can eat the same food without leaving her rooms is rather remarkable. A number of prevalent ailments are due merely to the excessive eating of fatty meat dishes. As soon as the patients restrict themselves to coffee bread, and butter during the morning, they feel better.
Most of the ailments from which the natives suffer are their own fault. They have little relation to the climate. But the manner of living, which is the common one here, would very soon kill half the population in Germany. Children and adults, whether they are healthy or ill, eat and drink, in summer as well as in winter, whatever tastes good to them. To fast in times of illness is considered great folly. It never occurs to anyone to protect himself against colds either. In every season one sees the children run half-naked into the open from their beds or from the heat of the hearth. Some houses are open to the wind on all sides, and the householders do not take the trouble to guard against the penetration of the cold northwest winds by using a little clay. Every day they would rather drag a cartload of wood to the hearth, around which the Whole family gathers.
MISSOURI. March 1827. Financial requirements for emigration; economic prospects for frontier families.
How many men are there in Germany who have funds amounting to four to six thousand Thaler [one thaler is equivalent to slightly over one dollar] without any other prospect than to use them for living expenses! But this sum is more than abundant to provide a happy life for an entire family on the banks of the Missouri, even if eight hundred to a thousand Thaler should be spent for traveling expenses, provided that they did not lack guidance. Such a financial status is very common in Germany among persons who are forced by what is called propriety and decorum to make expenditures that, without providing pleasure for the present veil the future with anxiety. With the above-mentioned sum the immigrant can buy two adult slaves (one male and one female), which cost about twelve hundred Prussian Thaler, and establish himself in such a manner that he can live more happily and, especially in regard to the future lot of numerous descendants, with many less worries than if he possessed six times that amount in Germany. But if he is capable of cultivating his own soil, a thousand Prussian Thaler would more than suffice, except for traveling expenses. I am estimating 150 to 200 Thaler for eighty Morgen of land; 45 to 60 Thaler for clearing and fencing from five to seven Morgen; 120 Thaler for two horses; 26 Thaler for two cows 12 Thaler for two sows; 100 for the buildings; a like amount for goods and chattels. That makes at the highest estimate 618 Thaler. So almost 400 Thaler are left for other, less essential things and for the ability to live without adhering quite so closely to a strict budget. If 200 Thaler more are spent on the dwelling, the immigrant is surely established far more comfortably than is usual for peasants who cultivate their own fields in Germany. A quarter of a mile from me there lives a farmer by the name of Jacob Haun. Seven years ago he began to establish a homestead. Because he possessed scarcely a hundred Thaler, he at first lived on state property and there tried to earn enough for the purchase of 160 Morgen. Then he continued to farm on his own property after the usual fashion and prospered, so that in seven years, without any assistance, he acquired a fortune of three thousand Thaler. Meanwhile his wife bore him five children, and now his household annually consumes over twelve hundred pounds of pork, an oxen weighing five to six hundred pounds, and several dozen roosters and hens. Also, at least ten to twelve deer are killed and a large number of turkeys. (No powder is used for partridges; it is left to the children to catch them in traps.) Who would believe that so much meat could be consumed in one householld of two adults and five children, of whom the oldest is scarcely six years? Some, of course, is contributed to hospitality. But most of it is due to the extravagant use of an article of food that is almost cheaper here than the most common vegetables in Germany.
There is much complaint in Europe about the decrease in the number of marriages, and superficial moralizers therefore declaim about immorality without considering that need is the true cause of this phenomenon, whereas immorality is merely the result, even the inevitable result. Only a thoughtless person can indulge in propagation without considering the future of his children. Among the low class of people, marriages have not decreased, although their morals are worse than ever. This is a deplorable, unnatural situation in our poor fatherland, which will never change automatically. The only charitable aid is the general promotion of emigration. There is no more sacred duty for the states of Germany now than to provide efficient guidance for these emigrations.


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Peregrine Financial Group Inc.'s Chapter 7 trustee won court approval to create three classes of firm commodity customers, a ruling that he said may lead to full repayment for one class of account holders.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Carol A. Doyle in Chicago today approved trustee Ira Bodenstein's request to divide account holders based on who traded on U.S. commodity exchanges, who traded on exchanges outside the country, and who holds warehouse receipts for taking or making delivery under commodity contracts.
That division may enable customers who traded on foreign commodities exchanges to be repaid in full, Bodenstein said after the hearing.
"We anticipate that they'll get close to all their money," Bodenstein said. There may even be a surplus, he said.
Peregrine, a Cedar Falls, Iowa-based commodities firm with offices in Chicago, filed to liquidate in July after the National Futures Association said more than $200 million in customer funds were missing.
Firm founder Russell Wasendorf Sr., who is now serving a 50-year federal prison sentence for fraud and embezzlement, stole mostly from customers who traded on U.S. exchanges, the trustee said.
Doyle in September approved Bodenstein's request to make a $123 million interim payout to account holders.
The case is In re Peregrine Financial Group Inc., 12- bk-27488, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Illinois (Chicago).


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One week from today, we're setting off on a six-month exploration of Europe. In truth, we don't know exactly how long we'll stay there. One thing we do know is that in six month's time the weather will turn cold again. After enduring this past winter in the U.S. we promised ourselves we wouldn't spend another one anywhere near a cold climate. So six months sounds like the right amount of time before we'll want to start a southern migration.
The other thing we know is that we're limited to 90 days in any and all Schengen area countries. After that we'll need to exit the visa area, which encompasses most of continental Europe, for another 90 days before we can return again. We intend to spend all of our "Schengen days" this time around in Spain and France.
With our flight to Madrid fast approaching, we've spent these past few weeks trying to catch up on trip planning and have made some surprising, and some not so surprising, discoveries.
Trains don't go the way you think they should
After four years of RV trip planning we've become conditioned to believe that the shortest distance between any two points is a straight line. We're so used to just looking at a map, seeing what's nearby and deciding to go that we overlooked the fact that mass transportation doesn't always work like that.
Because of geography and ancient history, European trains don't methodically connect all the dots on the map you might want to visit. Our first attempt at planning a Spanish itinerary, for example, had us traveling from Madrid to Barcelona in a nice orderly way.
Unfortunately, Spanish train tracks weren't laid with our itinerary in mind. We couldn't always find train service between the two cities we wanted to visit. We had less luck finding any information at all about bus routes.
So we reordered our itinerary based on Renfe train schedules and are now looking forward to a bunch more back-and-forth travel than we'd have ideally planned.
It's possible we could have avoided all the to-and-fro had we consulted a guidebook before booking our flight into Madrid. It turns out there's a reason they structure their itineraries the way they do. And theirs don't typically start in Madrid. Lesson learned.
Guidebooks: 1 Pigheaded Individualism: 0
For two or more people, renting a car is less expensive than taking the train
As Americans we hear a lot about the superiority of the European rail system. What we don't often hear about is how bloody expensive it is. It's so expensive that it's sometimes cheaper to fly between two European cities. What surprised us more is that renting a car is also sometimes less expensive than taking the train.
Of course which method of transportation – planes, trains or automobiles – is least costly depends a lot on your travel specifics. But for the month we're planning to spend in France, we rented a car for less than half of what we'd spend taking the train.
We expect to stay in 13 different places while we're in France, many of which are in rural areas we'll want a car to explore anyway (castles, yay!). We didn't price out train fare between each of the destinations we want to visit but did notice that a Eurail Pass allowing us just 10 trips on the train would have run us 888 Euro. Instead, we're picking up a car in Nimes, driving it for 30 days and returning it in Rouen for 373 Euro – a 58% discount to the price of the more restrictive rail pass.
True, we'll need to pay for gasoline and we're "limited" to driving our car in France while the Eurail ticket permits travel in both Spain and France. We'll also have the hassle of having to find a place to park the car while in cities. But for the cost of about $10 per person per day, we'll have the freedom of wheels, which – we've found from hard experience – is something that lifts the burden of long-term travel immensely.
Drive a stick, save a bundle
I have to admit I feel like a bit of a fool. I now know that I've wasted hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars renting cars on previous European vacations. I don't even recall giving it much thought. I simply rented an automatic transmission because that's what we drive here in the states.
But that's not what they drive in Europe. There almost everyone drives a stick. And that cultural difference shows up in both the price and availability of rental cars in Europe. Assuming you can even find an automatic transmission vehicle to rent, it will cost you two or three times more than your cheapest manual option.
If you don't know how to drive manual transmission, it's worth finding a friend or a local driving school to teach you.
Hostels aren't always the cheapest lodging options
Hostels have come a long way in recent years and so too have their prices. Instead of just offering basic, dorm-room type accommodations to kids, many hostels have made a big push into more upscale markets. So much so that it's not uncommon to hear the once-oxymoronic term "luxury hostel" used with a straight face.
Now "hostel" type luxury still isn't the Four Seasons. You won't get mints on your pillow or marble lobbies. But private "ensuite" rooms suitable for, ahem, older couples like ourselves are now pretty common. And along with those private rooms you get amenities that the Four Seasons can't touch – like full working kitchens, daily organized activities, and common rooms teeming with other travelers eager to share their tales and their local tips.
At the Al-Andalus Hostel in Granada, for example, we'll be checking out the wares in their wine cellar. And at the Sevilla Backpackers Inn, we'll be taking a paella-making class and sipping sangria on a roof deck with views of the Royal Alcazar palace and a cathedral.
These places cost us about $10 more per night than competing budget hotels in the area, but we figure the better atmosphere and activities make it easily worth the price.
Stuff books up early
If we sound a little like a broken record about the virtues of advance planning it is because every time we turn around something we want to do is booking up on us. The most recent example is Spain's Alhambra Palace.
If there is any single place on our European agenda that we're absolutely dying to visit, the Alhambra is it. And if we tried to book Alhambra tickets today for the days we expect to be in town – a full month from now, in the middle of the week, and still in the off-season – we'd find them sold out. Had we not grabbed tickets a couple of nights ago we'd be in a bit of a panic right now.
Of course in the case of the Alhambra we might still be able to get tickets by paying triple for a private tour. Or we could pay double and get a Granada City Pass that also includes tickets to the Alhambra. But we're really not about paying double and triple for things (except car rentals, apparently). And there's no guarantee that even those options will remain open indefinitely.
Cars in Europe are going fast as well. Fewer rental companies are offering automobiles for the month of May today than when we booked ours two weeks ago. And prices for those remaining vehicles have risen by about $100 since then.
Hotels in Normandy for early June are also hard to come by. According to Booking.com, the city of Bayeux and the surrounding area is 94% booked for the weekend of June 6; two and a half months ahead of time.
We're told we need to start booking now if we want to hit Oktoberfest this fall.
Of course not everywhere is so overrun. We're still finding plenty of great and inexpensive hotel options in places like Toledo, Spain, just a couple of weeks before we arrive.
But the problem we face is that we can't tell which things need to be booked ahead until we have some idea where we're going to be and when we're going to be there. And knowing those things really does require a fair amount of advance planning.


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(Nairobi) Islamist terrorists beheaded nine men in an overnight attack on a village in the Kenyan coastal district of Lamu, police said, days after Somali terrorists killed three policemen in an attack on a nearby village.
Villagers said a group of heavily armed attackers, many of whom appeared to be ethnic Somalis, attacked the villagers at 11:00 pm. They went house to house searching for non-Muslim men and gathered their victims together before beheading them. The attack is close to the village of Pandanguo, where al Shabaab attackers killed three police officers on Wednesday. Al Shabaab has frequently mounted deadly cross-border attacks on Kenyan soil


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Thomas scores 29, leads Maryland women past Quinnipiac 72-52 in 1st round of NCAA tournament
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Alyssa Thomas had 29 points and 13 rebounds, and Maryland spoiled Quinnipiac's debut in the NCAA women's tournament by pulling away to a 72-52 victory Saturday.
The fourth-seeded Terrapins (25-7) trailed by nine in the first half, moved in front 27-23 at the break and dominated the second half against the smaller Bobcats, who couldn't stop Thomas' repeated forays into the lane.
Tianna Hawkins had 23 points and 16 rebounds for Maryland, which will next face the winner of the Marist-Michigan State game, held later Saturday.
Felicia Barron scored 13 for No. 13 seed Quinnipiac (30-3), the Northeast Conference champions. The Bobcats had won 22 straight since a 74-57 defeat against Georgia Tech on Dec. 29.
Quinnipiac played well for much of the first half, but very little went right for the Bobcats after that. Maryland opened the second half with a 14-3 run to go up 41-26, and Quinnipiac couldn't score with enough consistency to make up the difference.
During the first 10 minutes after the break, Quinnipiac was 2 for 22 from the floor while being outscored 22-9. The Bobcats finished with a 23 percent field-goal percentage on 17-for-74 shooting.
On defense, Quinnipiac had no answer for the 6-foot-2 Thomas and the 6-3 Hawkins, whose combined point total equaled the entire Quinnipiac roster.
Both teams had 22 rebounds at halftime, but Maryland finished with a 59-41 advantage. Alicia DeVaughn grabbed a career-high 17 for the Terps.
Thomas scored 12 points on 6-for-9 shooting in a shaky first half for the Terrapins, who needed a closing 15-2 run to take the lead.
The 11:15 a.m. start produced shoddy play by both teams at the outset. Although the Bobcats missed seven of their first eight shots, Maryland started 4 for 20 from the floor. The Terrapins trailed 21-12 before Thomas made a layup to spark a 9-0 spurt that included five points by Hawkins.
Maryland went 1 for 9 from beyond the arc in the first half. Quinnipiac's Ellen Cannon connected on all three of her 3-point tries before halftime.


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THE OTHER NIGHT I WENT TO A TALK by Sharon Salzberg, a meditation teacher who has just published a book called Real Happiness, at a yoga center near my Brooklyn apartment. One of her suggestions — you've heard this one before — is to keep a gratitude journal, to write down three things each day that you're grateful for. The idea: to keep the focus on the positive and not on the griping.
As I sailed eastward on the Long Island Expressway yesterday morning at 6AM, I already had three things for the day, despite the early hour. One was a decent night's rest so I woke refreshed and ready for the 2-1/2 hour drive. The other was that I'd see the sunrise for the first time in God knows how long. And the third, that I was on my way to Springs (East Hampton, N.Y.), to spend the day — sunny and not too cold — at the property I'm in the extended process of buying. I'd be spending many more hours there than I'd ever spent before.
Through the day, my gratitude list grew. Most important, and a great relief: I still love the place, even though it's not quite mine yet. Another good thing: the job I was there to make sure was accomplished — the filling in of a derelict swimming pool, above, per the Town's requirements for an updated Certificate of Occupancy — went fine. Added to my list: bulldozers, dump trucks, and the men who deploy them.
I'm feeling more proprietary about the house, even though I have yet to close, because this is the first big job I've done there. I'm paying for it; the seller is not obligated to cover upgrades to conform to C of O requirement under the terms of our contract of sale. So — another $4,000 invested. I don't care! I'm glad to do it. Even if I decide to put in a pool in years to come, it would not likely be the exact same shape or in the exact same spot.
Pool no more, above
From 8:30AM until late afternoon, I really communed with the house and the land around it. After installing three smoke detectors and a carbon monoxide detector, per the Town's guidelines, I hung out (fully coated, gloved, scarved — there's no heat — and with occasional forays to the car to warm up). I opened doors to experience the extra bit of sunlight they admit, walked every corner of the .52 acres trying to determine where I might be able to plant a vegetable garden, and noticed that the property is not as pancake-flat as I thought, but gently undulates. I met the lovely next-door neighbor, who wandered over, quite naturally, to find out what that bulldozer was doing.
I spent time at the southwest corner of the house, above, where there's an unfinished second bathroom. The window will be replaced with a door, and a deck built for an outdoor shower, similar to the one I have at my original house in Springs (now rented to a couple who signed their latest email "Your elated renters at Zen Gardens").
I took stock of the oak tree population. Almost all the large trees are oaks. Some will stay, many will have to go. How many? A lot. More than a dozen. They are all over the place. There are few evergreens — scraggly cedars. They will be supplemented by other conifers. Above, southeast corner of the property.
Northwest corner, above (I know, it looks a lot like the southeast corner). Perhaps that's the place for veggies? Depends how much sun it gets after trees are removed.
Above, a view back toward the house from the northwest corner. Neighbors on this side are rather close, but behind a 6′ stockade fence that completely encircles the property. That fence will also exclude those other neighbors, the cloven-hoofed kind.
Most exciting of all, speaking of Zen gardens, is my great epiphany about the landscaping. An abundance of moss, above, a great stand of existing rhododendrons, the sense of enclosure provided by the fencing, and the fact that the house is simple architecturally and the lot will never be entirely sunny no matter how many trees I take down, all suddenly pointed to one obvious thing: the landscaping will be inspired by Japanese garden tradition.
Never mind that I've not been to Japan; I've gotten a stack of library books on the subject and am planning an intensive course of self-study. I'll be able to use many of the same plants I've been using all along, including ferns, pines, ilex, bush clover, dogwoods, bamboo (the non-invasive kind), pachysandra, irises, and all things Japanese. That incorporates some of our most popular local gardening material: Japanese maples! Japanese anemones! Japanese painted ferns! Azaleas! Cherry trees! And lovely non-deer-resistant things like lilies and hostas and Solomon's seal that I had to avoid at my previous, un-fenced place. I'm not even thinking about koi ponds, bridges or lanterns. I see gravel, but I don't see boulders; they'd have to be imported (maybe I'll substitute driftwood). I'm trying to internalize the principles on a more subtle level, and take it from there.
The gratitude list is long, my friends. I drove back to Brooklyn dreaming of rounded mounds of boxwood and artfully sculpted pine trees, right into the sunset.


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I also love the look of print in halftones. I've been submitting some of my newspaper work in watercolored halftones and It's always fun to step back and look at. Years ago i used to run stuff through the fax machine for fun to get the same effect.
By the way, Ted, I keep going back to look at your political caricatures. The Obama one just blows my mind it's so spot on.


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- Home
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- Become a Communications Specialist
Become a Communications Specialist
Becoming a Communications Specialist is an excellent place to start or continue in a career where you make a difference. Employees learn the conceptual fundamentals of public safety and develop the skills to effectively use the equipment, speak with callers and process policy driven protocol while handling emergency situations. The knowledge and confidence gained through the training and on the job experience help employees to grow in ways they never dreamed.
The Communications Bureau is part of the Administrative Division and is the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for the City of Greenville. Thirty civilian employees are responsible for answering over 250,000 telephone calls a year and for maintaining efficient radio contact with all police, fire and forensics responders for over 110,000 calls for service each year.
Apply online for this position.
Communications Specialists answer emergency calls and assist as the first point of contact for the City of Greenville.
Work Schedule
The Bureau is staffed 24 hours a day/365 days a year. Employees work 12-hour days with every other weekend off. Each year, operators bid for their shift of choice of nights or days. Shift assignments are made based on longevity scores and performance evaluations.
Employment Process
New employees start in a temp-to-full-time work status with full-time hours and receive pay adjustments as the employee acquires necessary skills. Employees progress into full-time employment when the training program is completed; typically in three to four months. Applicants with South Carolina SLED/NCIC Certification, South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy-Basic 911 Certification and current APCO certifications may be eligible for a 5% increase in salary.
Overtime Pay
All hours worked in excess of 40 hours a week are compensated at the rate of time and a half.
- Medical and dental Insurance at a group rate; City pays a portion of the coverage
- $25,000 life insurance policy for all full-time employees
- Deferred compensation plans (401K or 457b) are offered
- Membership in the credit union is available
- Eligible for South Carolina state retirement after 30 years of service
- $5,000 education tuition reimbursement
- Yearly physicals at no cost to the employee
- Three days of funeral leave for the death of an immediate family member
- Excellent leave benefits that increase with service time
Employment Requirements
- At least 18 years of age
- United States citizen
- High school diploma or GED equivalency
- Never convicted of a felony
- Never convicted of a crime of moral turpitude or a misdemeanor carrying a possible sentence of more than one year
- Pass a medical exam and drug testing screening


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Rams hungry for more in Year 2 with Fisher
The Robert Griffin III trade helped speed the St. Louis Rams' arc from sad sack to respectability. In coach Jeff Fisher's second season, they'll be counting on more high-profile youngsters they've stockpiled to take the next step.
Surplus picks from the deal with Washington for the second overall pick in 2012 gave the Rams confidence to trade up for wide receiver Tavon Austin this year. Austin and fellow first-rounder Alec Ogletree will start for a team that improved to 7-8-1 last year with two rookie starters on defense and both specialists as rookies, too.
While the Redskins made the playoffs last year, the Rams had more needs to fill and they're getting Washington's first-rounder next year, too. They remain among the NFL's youngest teams, so expect more learning on the job that'll require patience at the top.
There are increased expectations, fed in part by the addition of free agents Jared Cook and Jake Long. There's a feeling the Rams belong in a stacked NFC West, too, after going 4-1-1 in the division, but will have to show it over the long haul to post the franchise's first winning record in a decade.
''Now is when you're got to learn grit,'' general manager Les Snead said. ''They're going to know we're coming.''
If the Rams were playing on the PGA tour, Snead last year they'd have been satisfied making the cut. No more.
The Rams have been here before only to fall back, winning seven games in 2010 only to crash the next season, losing their first six, going 2-14 and getting Steve Spagnuolo fired. It shouldn't happen again under Fisher, and here are five things to know about the Rams heading into the Sept. 8 opener at home against Arizona:
FISHER'S TEAM: The roster overhaul has been drastic, with eight undrafted free agents among the 18 rookies to play last year. There are about a dozen holdovers from the failed Spagnuolo and Scott Linehan regimes that combined for just 15 wins in five seasons, the worst stretch in NFL history. A few have been simply too good to show the door. Middle linebacker James Laurinaitis has led the team in tackles all four of his seasons, defensive end Chris Long is the top pass rusher and though Sam Bradford has yet to crack the NFL's elite cadre of quarterbacks, the Rams are satisfied with him. They've had a while to adjust to the biggest camp setback, plugging in veteran Will Witherspoon at outside linebacker the first four games. Though Jo-Lonn Dunbar's suspension was announced in early August, the team had known it was coming barring a successful appeal for some times.
REPLACING JACKSON: The biggest question heading into camp, finding a successor to Steven Jackson, was settled prior to Week 3 of the preseason when Fisher named Daryl Richardson the starting running back. Richardson was the next-to-last pick of the 2012 draft but is no surprise anymore, beating second rounder Isaiah Pead for the backup job last year and impressing this summer with quickness and decisive moves. Two rookies, fifth-rounder Zac Stacy and undrafted Benny Cunningham, are also in the mix.
SPEED SPEED SPEED: For years, the Rams ignored wide receiver. Now they're well stocked. Austin showed game-breaking potential at Denver with an 81-yard punt return and will be used all over the field to keep defenses guessing. Both Austin and Stedman Bailey are coming off prolific seasons at West Virginia. Incumbent Chris Givens won a number of foot races as a rookie last year after emerging ahead of Brian Quick, chosen two rounds earlier in the second round. Quick has shown promise in the preseason he's ready to handle more. The rookies must adapt, though, to a more complex playbook.
BRADFORD BREAKOUT?: For the first time since getting picked first overall in 2010, the quarterback didn't have to spend the offseason learning a new scheme. A second season with offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer's scheme should help expand the options for Bradford, who is coming off his best statistical season.
''It seems like now I've just had so much more experience and I've seen things that it's rare that I see something that catches me totally off-guard,'' Bradford said.
FRONT LINE: The Rams have a pair of former No. 1 overall picks on offense, with Long (2008) protecting Bradford's blind side at left tackle. Center Scott Wells was among the top additions last year and is healthy after a delayed debut in 2012 and right guard Harvey Dahl is durable, efficient and feisty. Chris Williams and Shelly Smith, alternating starts at left guard during the preseason, are both solid. Former left tackle Rodger Saffold is an upgrade on the right side after an inauspicious start, injuring his shoulder on the second snap of the preseason. He returned for Week 3.
AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org


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Signs of Better Times: More Homes Are Being Sold in Polk County and Nationally
LAKELAND | October was a strong month for local home sales.
A total of 475 existing homes were sold in Polk County last month, rising from 345 the year prior and 391 homes sold in September, according to My Florida Regional Multiple Listing Service. October tied March for having the largest monthly sales total of 2012 thus far.
Polk's median sale price of $106,000 in October was up 3.9 percent from a year ago.
The supply of unsold homes remains tight in Polk, leading to competition among buyers and investors, said Gate Arty, a Lakeland real estate agent.
"Tightened inventory, that more than anything is driving the market," said Arty, of Keller Williams Realty. "We're seeing multiple-offer contracts, properties selling for above list price."
Polk had approximately five months worth of unsold housing inventory at October's sales pace.
Six months of inventory is expected in normal market conditions.
Lakeland had 265 homes sold last month, up 31.2 percent from October 2011. East Polk recorded 187 homes sold, for a 42.7 percent annual increase.
In Lake Wales, 17 homes were sold during October, compared with 11 a year ago. Bartow recorded six home sales, up from 1 last year.
The figures reflect transactions made by Realtor associations based in Polk County.
Across Florida, sales of existing single-family homes increased 25.3 percent in October from the year before, according to the Florida Realtors association. The state's median price of $145,000 climbed 9 percent from last year.
U.S. home sales posted a 10.9 percent annual increase in October, according to the National Association of Realtors.
The national median price, $178,600, improved 11.1 percent from the year before.
"Growing demand with limited inventory is pressuring home prices in much of the country," said Lawrence Yun, NAR economist.
The nation's unsold housing inventory was down to a 5.4-month supply in October, the lowest figure since February 2006, when it was at 5.2 months, according to NAR.
[ Kyle Kennedy can be reached at email@example.com or 863-802-7584. ]


text: The ocean has always humbled me when I visit the West Coast. It's quite spooky and mysterious at the same time. I still believe that in the deep waters lays the creatures of myth. Who knows what's out there? The Earth is a beautiful place and I have respect for that which is much more powerful than me.


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Langkawi Sky Bridge
The Langkawi Sky Bridge perches precariously over a spectacular chasm, 700m above sea level on Pulau Langkawi, an island within Malaysia's Langkawi archipelago of 99 distinct islands1. Incredibly, the cable-stayed bridge actually curves 125m around a single support, sweeping out dramatically over the vast emptiness below. Acrophobics should probably avoid watching this wonderfully terrifying Youtube video, and gephyrophobiacs definitely won't enjoy these stunning bridge-level photos… Thanks to Rusbridge. Except at low tide, when the archipelago consists of 104 islands. ↩


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IPv6 is the new normal for the Internet. So claims the Internet Society (ISOC) as it sums up the early results of its World IPv6 Launch Day held on Wednesday.
World IPv6 Launch Day was a kick-off event for more than 60 access network providers such as AT&T, Comcast and Time Warner Cable, and 3,000 websites -- including Facebook, Google, Yahoo and Bing -- to begin permanently supporting IPv6 for their customers. Additionally, five home router vendors including Cisco and D-Link are now shipping home routers with IPv6 turned on by default.
MORE: Launch event drives IPv6 traffic to all-time high
"The Internet functions with regular, business operations on IPv6. Participating websites have turned IPv6 on for good, access providers already have significant IPv6 traffic on their networks, and equipment manufacturers are shipping with IPv6 on by default," said Leslie Daigle, chief Internet technology officer of ISOC, at a press conference held Thursday. "IPv6 is the new normal."
Daigle urged CIOs and other enterprise IT professionals to accelerate their plans for migrating corporate websites, networks and applications to IPv6.
"For organizations, it's time to accelerate your IPv6 plans. If you don't already have plans, you are behind," Daigle said, adding that "IPv6 is proven ready for business."
IPv6 is an upgrade to the Internet's main communications protocol, known as IPv4. IPv6 is needed because IPv4 is running out of addresses. However, IPv6 is not backward-compatible with IPv4. So network operators must run the two protocols side-by-side in what's called dual-stack mode or translate between them, which adds cost and latency to their operations. Because of these complications, IPv6 has suffered from a slow adoption curve. That's why Internet policymakers are promoting IPv6 through events such as World IPv6 Launch Day.
BY THE NUMBERS: Why the Internet needs IPv6
One enterprise that aggressively adopted the new protocol for World IPv6 Launch Day is Cisco, which is supporting IPv6 on its main website -- www.cisco.com -- as well as its www.home.cisco.com and www.webex.com sites.
"The majority of our revenue is booked through the Cisco.com website, and 80% of our technical cases are solved through it," explained Cisco Fellow Mark Townsley. "It was a big commitment by us to run this over IPv6."
Cisco also demonstrated a beta version of its WebEx application that was enabled for IPv6 at the press conference. Townsley said Cisco would ship an IPv6-enabled version of WebEx before Sept. 30, when U.S. federal agencies are required to support IPv6 on their websites to meet an Obama administration mandate.
World IPv6 Launch Day participants reported no major technical glitches or security incidents as they deployed IPv6 across their products, services and content.
Google resolved what it called "minor issues" with its advertising partners as it launched AdSense and content ads with IPv6. Google also said it ran into problems with IPv6 support in its Street View service, and it reported that it was not serving up what are called Quad-A records for IPv6 to a few networks -- primarily in Japan -- that were having problems with IPv6 service.
"Overall, it's been a tremendous success," said Erik Kline, IPv6 software engineer at Google.
Kline noted that Google saw IPv6 adoption increase 150% in the last year, in addition to continued growth with IPv4. "At this rate, 50% of users will have IPv6 in about six years, hopefully sooner as deployment accelerates," he added.
John Brzozowski, distinguished engineer and chief IPv6 architect for Comcast, echoed the view that Comcast saw no major issues with IPv6 on Wednesday. "Call center volumes were at par for this time of the year or below," he said. "It was a seamless event."
Internet pioneer and Google IPv6 evangelist Vint Cerf urged businesses to begin adopting IPv6 immediately.
"There are no more excuses," Cerf said. "You have to be able to run both IPv4 and IPv6 all the time, anytime, because this is not going to be turned off. For any ISP and any edge provider, if you are not capable of running IPv6, you are not being noticed. ... Get going. Get IPv6 running."
RELATED: Many 'name' sites sitting out today's World IPv6 Launch Day
Here are a few interesting statistics revealed at the World IPv6 Launch Day press conference:
-- Comcast saw IPv6 traffic rise to represent 0.5% of its network traffic and 1% of the traffic on its Xfinity websites. Comcast has enabled one-third of its network with dual-stack IPv6 and IPv4 service, and 1.5% of its customers are using IPv6.
-- Facebook said 27 million users have IPv6 in their homes and are accessing the social media site over the new protocol, representing more than three times the number of IPv6 users it saw during a 24-hour test of IPv6 a year ago.
-- Akamai is serving 100 times more IPv6 traffic than it did a year ago during the 24-hour IPv6 trial. Among Akamai's IPv6 users are 21 U.S. government agencies.
-- AT&T said it has enabled 6.7% of its consumer broadband customers -- that's more than 1 million customers -- with IPv6 using 6rd, a transition mechanism popularized by the French ISP Free.


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All those people fired from Nokia in the last couple of years present a great opportunity for other companies. Perhaps that's why Huawei announced that it will invest 70 million EUR over a five-year period to establish an R&D center in Helsinki, Finland.
The facility will initially focus on software development for smartphones, tablets and rich-media devices, optimizing the user experience of existing operating systems such as Android and Windows Phone 8. From the outset, the company plans to recruit 30 employees, with the goal of hiring more than 100 people over five years.
According to Kenneth Fredriksen, Vice-President, Huawei Central, Eastern and Nordic Europe – Finland is an ideal place for Huawei to strengthen its global R&D capabilities for devices, "creating opportunities for both Huawei and the Finnish telecommunications industry." Told you they want former Nokia employees…
Huawei's previous investment in Europe was in September 2012 when they announced a $2 billion investment in R&D, local procurement and center of excellence initiatives in the United Kingdom. The company currently employs more than 7,000 people across the continent.


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Instead of popping an aspirin, or taking one of the many pain medications on the market today, you can target pain with natural remedies that cause absolutely no side effects and induce no negative impact on the body. Frequent use of aspirin can cause everything from intestinal bleeding to kidney failure while Ibuprofin can cause gastrointestinal discomfort and heart problems.
So take advantage of these 6 natural pain-reducing remedies.
- 1. Find Some Good Company – Whenever we bond and communicate with others about how we are feeling, we tend to feel better. People who deal with chronic pain feel better when participating in group therapy, such as simple discussion groups, where others recognize their pain.
- 2. Laugh It Off – One of the best ways to rewire the pain synapses in the brain is to over-run them with hilarity. A recent British study has proven that when we laugh, opiate-like chemicals are released into the brain, which block the feeling of pain.
- 3. Eat Some Chile Peppers or Jalapenos – An active component of chili peppers, capsaicin temporarily desensitizes pain-prone skin nerve receptors called C-fibers. This is great news for people who endure chronic since capsaicin can be applied topically as well.
- 4. Meditate – In a recent study, 80 minutes of meditation was proven to reduce pain better than one of the most powerful pharmaceutical drugs on the market – morphine! Meditation instead of morphine, it works.
- 5. Juice Some Ginger – Another study shows that ginger is better at reducing pain than Advil or Motrin, and it does so without hurting our cytokines – natural immunity building blocks of the body. This can be especially good news for arthritis sufferers.
- 6. Spice it up with Turmeric – Turmeric is anti-inflammatory spice, which means it can help reduce the pain response in the body. Aside from that, it is treating cancer and preventing Alzheimer's disease. If you have joint pain, just 1000 milligrams of Turmeric a day can help it go away.


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Feb. 27, 2013 -- Conservative Supreme Court Justices expressed strong reservations today about a key provision of the Voting Rights Act that is intended to protect the rights of minorities and suggested it could be in danger.
That section of the landmark 1965 law says that certain states, mostly in the South, must get any changes to voting regulations precleared by federal officials in Washington, D.C.
RELATED: Challenge to the Voting Rights Act Reaches Supreme Court
Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr. began arguments at the Court Wednesday by saying that the Voting Rights Act "made a huge difference in transforming the culture of blatantly racist vote suppression that characterized parts of this country for a century. Section 5 preclearance was the principal engine of that progress."
But Chief Justice John Roberts expressed concern that Congress, when reauthorizing the law in 2006 for 25 more years, used an outdated "coverage formula" that singled out only a few states, mostly in the South. He asked Verrilli: "Is it the government's submission that the citizens in the South are more racist than citizens in the North?"
The jurisdictions covered under the law include Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia, as well as portions of California, Florida, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina and South Dakota.
Justice Samuel Alito said, "There's no question that the Voting Rights Act has done enormous good." But he said that when Congress reauthorized it, it should have considered a new determination of which states should be covered. "Maybe the whole country should be covered. Or maybe certain parts of the country should be covered based on a formula that is grounded in up-to-date statistics, " he said.
Justice Antonin Scalia spoke at length about the fact that the 2006 congressional vote to reauthorized the act was nearly unanimous.
"I think it is attributable, very likely attributable, to a phenomenon that is called perpetuation of racial entitlement. It's been written about. Whenever a society adopts racial entitlements, it is very difficult to get out of them through the normal political processes.
"And I am fairly confident it will be re-enacted in perpetuity unless a court can say it does not comport with the Constitution," he continued. "You have to show, when you are treating different states differently, that there's a good reason for it. "
Scalia said, "That's the concern that those of us who have some questions about this statute have. It's a concern that this is not the kind of a question you can leave to Congress."
After the dialogue, Roberts gave Verrilli an extra five minutes. "Thank you," Verrilli said, smiling. "I may need it for that question."
"We are talking about the enforcement power that the Constitution gives to the Congress to make these judgments to ensure protection of fundamental rights," said Verrilli.
He added that he thought it would be "extraordinary" to look behind the judgment of Congress on the basis of "that sort of motive analysis."
Scalia's question bothered Justice Sonia Sotomayor who later asked a lawyer for Shelby County, Ala., "Do you think Section 5 was voted for because it was a racial entitlement?" And she also said, "Do you think that racial discrimination in voting has ended and there is none anywhere? "
Sotomayor, one of the four liberals on the court, emerged as one of the most vocal defenders of the law.
Bert W. Rein, the attorney challenging Section 5, said that the South had changed and that the coverage formula should not have been reauthorized.
But Sotomayor cut him off. She said that even if some portions of the South had changed, "your county pretty much hasn't."
"Why would we vote in favor of a county whose record is the epitome of what caused the passage of this law to start with," she asked.
Justice Anthony Kennedy, who could be a crucial vote, asked a question that showed skepticism of Rein's position. He referred to Alabama's history of discrimination and noted that the state might be considered under any coverage formula.
"Why are you injured under this one?"
But as he had previously stated in a related case in 2009, Kennedy seemed concerned about the federalist implications of the law on the states. At one point he compared Alabama's sovereignty with the "trusteeship of the United States government."
Justice Elena Kagan defended the 15,000-page legislative record Congress developed after holding 21 hearings. "It's hard to see how Congress could have developed a better and more thorough legislative record than it did," she said.
Justice Clarence Thomas said nothing during arguments, but in 2009 he said he believed Section 5 " exceeded Congress' power to enforce the 15th Amendment."
In the audience were prominent civil rights activists, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the Rev. Al Sharpton, Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., and Cecilia Marshall, the widow of former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.
Protesters gathered on the steps outside the court before arguments began. They held signs with such messages as "Protect My Vote," and "My Vote, Our Rights, Our Fight."
Demonstrators from the Alliance for Justice lined up in front of the Supreme Court steps.
Jackson, Sharpton and Lewis spoke for the group, and were joined by Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., and Ruben Hinojos, D-Texas, among others.
Fudge, chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, had a clear retort to the arguments against Section 5: "You will not win. You will not win this battle."
Sharpton ended his remarks with: "They don't use white sheets anymore, they use black robes."


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Ten Things You Should Know About Marine Debris
Monkseal being rescued from marine debris
1. It doesn't stay put
While a lot of debris sinks, much also floats. Once this marine debris enters the ocean, it moves via oceanic currents and atmospheric winds. Factors that affect currents and winds (for example, El Niño and seasonal changes) also affect the movement of marine debris in the ocean. Debris is often carried far from its origin, which makes it difficult to determine exactly where an item came from.
2. It comes in many forms
Marine debris comes in many forms, ranging from small plastic cigarette butts to 4,000-pound derelict fishing nets. Plastic bags, glass, metal, Styrofoam, tires, derelict fishing gear, and abandoned vessels are all examples of debris that often ends up in our waterways.
3. It's your problem, too
Marine debris is a problem for all of us. It affects everything from the environment to the economy; from fishing and navigation to human health and safety; from the tiniest coral polyps to giant blue whales.
4. NOAA is fighting this problem
The NOAA Marine Debris Program works in the U.S. and around the world to research, reduce, and prevent debris in our oceans and coastal waterways. Much of this work is done in partnership with other agencies, non-governmental organizations, academia, industry, and private businesses.The Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act, signed into law in 2006, formally created the Marine Debris Program. The Act directs NOAA to map, identify, measure impacts of, remove, and prevent marine debris.
5. Some debris is being turned into energy
Abandoned and lost fishing gear is a big problem. It entangles and kills marine life and is a hazard to navigation. Based on a model program in Hawaii, the Fishing for Energy program was formed in 2008 to tackle this problem with creative new ideas. The program is a partnership between NOAA, Covanta Energy Corporation, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and Schnitzer Steel.This program offers the fishing community a no-cost way to dispose of old or derelict fishing gear. Once removed from the environment, the gear is transported to the nearest Covanta Energy-from-Waste facility. About one ton of derelict nets creates enough electricity to power one home for 25 days!
6. Marine debris can hurt or kill animals
Marine debris may be mistaken by some animals for food or eaten accidently. Often, larger items like nets, fishing line, and abandoned crab pots snare or trap animals. Entanglement can lead to injury, illness, suffocation, starvation, and even death. NOAA is working with many partners to tackle this problem by reducing and preventing marine debris in our oceans and waterways.
7. There's a lot to learn about this problem
We know that marine debris is a big problem, but there's much we need to learn. NOAA funds projects across the country and works with scientists and experts around the globe to better understand how marine debris moves, where it comes from, and how it affects the environment. This knowledge will help us find better ways to tackle the problem.
8. You can help us get the word out!
The NOAA Marine Debris Program offers a heap of creative products to get the word out about marine debris. Looking for brochures, posters, fact sheets, or guidebooks? We've got those. Like videos? We've got those, too. We even have a blog! You'll find it all online.
9. This is a global problem.
Marine debris is a global problem that requires global solutions. NOAA experts work with scientists and organizations around the world to share lessons learned, discover what programs work best, and map out future strategies to fight this problem.
10. Small steps lead to big results
Fighting the marine debris problem begins at home.
- – Try to cut back on the amount of trash you produce.
- – Opt for reusable items instead of single-use products.
- – Recycle as much of your trash as you can.
- – Join local efforts to pick up trash.
- – Keep streets, sidewalks, parking lots, and storm drains free of trash—they can empty into our oceans and waterways.


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River Bluffs Fall 2020 Commercial
I produced a 30 second TV and web commercial for River Bluffs to showcase the development and growth of the community in the past few months
Long Run Recovery Shake
Runner's Essentials new long-run recovery shake commercial.
Hamilton Realty Testimonial
Rick and Susan Wade speak about their great experience working with Hamilton Realty Group
Summerhouse- Fall 2020
An extended look at the natural beauty of Summerhouse on Everett's Bay in Holly Ridge, NC
Salters Haven Progress
Amazing progress at Salters Haven
Oak Island Lighthouse
Jack Hamilton with Hamilton Realty explains the historical significance of this iconic North Carolina landmark.
Custom Home Furniture Gallery
A 30-second commercial for the 25th Anniversary Sale at Custom Home Furniture Gallery.
The Bluffs on the Cape Fear- Golf Carts
Golf carts are a wonderful way to travel around The Bluffs and meet a lot of new friends in the process.
Brunswick Forest Real Estate
Beautiful Avenel Home
Incredible waterfront home Wilmington's Avenel community.
Summerhouse at Everett's Bay
Maid2Clean- Coronavirus cleaning
A 30 second commercial for a Wilmington, NC commercial cleaning company offering coronavirus cleaning.
Holden Beach Real Estate
Custom Home Staging- Before and After
An incredible transformation of a new home in RiverLights by Custom Home Staging.


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This morning, a group of people gathered around a table in a meeting room at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.
The topic was a struggling second-grader. Attendees included the mother of the child, the principal, the vice principal and the school psychologist.
It was about 9.30.
"Pop. Pop. Pop."
That's what the mother of the second-grader said it sounded like.
The sound was coming from the hall.
The principal, the vice principal and the school psychologist left the room, and went into the hall.
The mother ducked under the table and called 911.
"I cowered," she said.
"He must have shot a hundred rounds," she said. Asked if literally, unbelievably, it was a hundred rounds, she said, "At least."
"Just shooting and shooting and shooting."
The vice principal came back into the room with an injured foot, the mother said.
She never saw the shooter.
She saw bodies, though. She said two adults were dead in the hallway, in a pool of blood.
"They marched us out, right past them," she said.
"They had to walk these children past a pool of blood."
How would this happen? She wondered aloud. "It's a locked school; you have to be buzzed in."
"It was a living hell" she said.
Read more about the slain principal, Dawn Hochsprung
Here's our full story on the massacre
as an american living outside the country for the last 20 years, i can only shake my head in disbelief as i see the once great united states reduced to a pathetic, shell of its former self. just beyond disgusting
We humans are capable of such beautiful dreams........and such horrible nightmares........God help us.
This is phase two. It always happens at these mass murder events. The grief counselors. The social service workers. The psychologists.
I appreciate comments from @Abdurahman & family from UAE & say Amen to that.
Its hard to imagine for us what the grieving families must be going thru. This act of terrorism would leave scars hard to heal on the community. We all grieve with them.
What am I missing? We're there no survivors? We're there no injuries? How is that possible?
According to the medical examiner, each victim was shot from 3 to 11 times. The killer was apparently making sure that there were no survivors.
Newtown CT deserves a new elementary school that can be in honor of the lives lost. I do not feel it is going to be healthy for the children and teachers to have to return to the scene of this horrific crime, to relive the nightmare everyday, instead of trying to cope, mourn and move on with returning to life....knowing the nightmare will always be tattoed in everyone's hearts forever without the help of the scene of the crime.
When 22 black youth are shot and killed, whites in ct do not consider it a national emergency.They do not mourn for black kids. It is considered the fault of the blacks. When it happens to whites then it gets recognized. Both are horrible both deserve our love and care. But whites simply do not care when it happens to blacks. Period.
what a hateful broad-brush thing to say. Please leave your racist views out of the discussion.
That is such a cruel and racist comment. I admit there are racist people out there but not all of us are. Children are innocent bystanders in this world full of violence. Nobody deserves what happened at this school. It is a national emergency when our kids (& teachers) cannot go to school and be safe from people like the guy who committed this heinous act. EVERY child deserves to be safe and not victims of violent individuals.
@Michelle, What a RACIST comment. People.. yes WHITE PEOPLE, care if black kids/adults get shot. The media might not cover it – which is wrong of them- but that doesn't mean that white people don't care. If we don't know about the incident then obviously we can't show that we care, right? Your comment certainly portrays your ignorant side.. along with YOUR racist side.
Just looking at articles on computer and they have arrested another "nut" job that had 47, yes that is 47 weapons and ammo all around his house, and was making threats about a school! NOW, I am waiting for someone to get on here and explain, make excuse's, as to WHY someone would have 47 weapons and the ammo to go with them! Take a look at his picture and see what you think!
Here is another one. Watching TV news and they were interviewing this "whacko", who was defending the right to have arms, and described the bushmaster .223 semi auto rifle used in this latest tragedy as being the SAME as other weapons when you looked INSIDE! What a bunch of hogwash! Got to work for the NRA! Using his definiton then a .50cal. Barret semi auto, sniper rifle would be the same as a .223, 5.56, 7.62, etc.! IF you are NOT part of the solution then you are part of the problem, comes to mind! What an idiot!!
Thank u NRA
GOD bless you NRA
NRA vision will be the correct one some day, when America is taken by the people


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Free Singapore Tour
Capture the spirit of Singapore during your transit
Important Notice: In view of the current COVID-19 situation, the Free Singapore Tour will be suspended with effect from 21 March 2020 till further notice. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Be enthralled by the sights, sound and colours of Singapore during your transit. Take a walk through history at the Merlion Park. Experience a multi-sensory buzz in vibrant Chinatown or bustling Kampong Glam. Enjoy a panoramic view of the city, with a backdrop of the Singapore Flyer and Gardens by the Bay.
Choose between two different tour routes during your transit if your transit is 5.5 hours or more. Each tour is 2.5 hours long, and jointly organised by Singapore Airlines, Singapore Tourism Board and Changi Airport. Tours are conducted in English only.
Heritage Tour
Historical monuments like the city hall, are littered throughout the colonial district. A stark contrasts to the modern skyscrapers, the national monuments have withstood decades of Singapore's history. From the days as a British colony to Singapore's declaration of independence on 9 August 1965, they truly are a sight to behold.
Singapore's core financial and commercial district impresses with its modern skyscrapers. Here, you can find, Lau Pa Sat, home to a variety of delicious Singaporean hawker fare as well as rooftops bar.
Situated at the mouth of the Singapore River, Singapore's national icon the Merlion, has a lion's head and a fish's body. The head represents the Lion City 'Singapura" and the tail symbolises Singapore's humble beginnings as a fishing village called Temasek, meaning 'sea town' in Old Javanese.
Home to the early Chinese settlers, Chinatown is a must-see cultural enclave for visitors in Singapore. A bustling, colourful mix of old and new, the area consists of exotic pre-war shophouses which are home to merchants who have been hawking the same wares for years.
As one of the most charming and vibrant ethnic enclaves in Singapore, Little India is a sanctuary to the olden day trades. Immerse yourself in the rich culture by gettig your fortune told by parrots or don a jasmine garland from the stree-sideflower vendors.
Marvel at the golden domes of Sultan Mosque - a major landmark in Kampong Glam, an ethnic district with strong Malay-Arab influence. After which, take a walk down the restored shophouses to discover a blend of old and new, from modern art galleries and cafes to traditonal businesses like carpet shops and blacksmiths.
City Sights TourStanding at 165 metres tall, the Singapore Flyer is the world's second tallest observation wheel. A 60 minute ride on the wheel will offer you a bird's eye view of Singapore's skyline and its surroundings.
The spiky glass facade of Singapore's premier arts destination resembles a popular local fruit – the durian, making it a striking icon by the waterfront. The Esplanade has been the setting for a line-up of high-profile events such as the Singapore Arts Festival.
As night falls, enjoy a panoramic view of Singapore's famous icons along the Marina Bay Waterfront Promenade – the Singapore Flyer, Marina Bay Sands, the Esplanade and Gardens by the Bay.
An icon of Singapore, the Merlion, was unveiled on 15 September 1972 by then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew at the mouth of the Singapore River, to welcome all visitors to Singapore
The Integrated Resort offers a wide variety of shops, the Art Science museum theatre, hotel and convention centre. Admire stunning views of the Singapore skyline from the Sands SkyPark on the 57th storey or take a dip in the 150-metre long infinity pool.
Comprising of 3 waterfront gardens - Bay South, East and Central, this horticulture oasis nestled in the heart of the city features more than 500,000 plants from over 2,200 species. Be awed by 18 Avatar-like man-made Supertrees.
Jewel Tour
Also catch a glimpse of the diverse hawker culture in Singapore at Five Spice which showcases Singaporeans favorite street food! Sample away local delicacies that are uniquely Singapore!
Terms and conditions apply.*
*Valid only at 'Gift by Changi Airport' retail store, only 1 voucher per transaction. Applicable only for exclusive merchandise customised by Changi Airport Group (Singapore) Pte. Ltd (CAG) for 'Gift by Changi Airport'. A minimum spend of SGD$5 in a single receipt required. Not valid with other promotions, discounts, coupons or vouchers. CAG reserves the right to amend these terms and conditions without prior notice.
Who is eligible for the tour?
The Free Singapore Tour is open to all travellers transiting in Changi Airport.
Valid for passengers with layover of at least 5.5 hours, and less than 24 hours, and with flight schedules that fit the tour timing requirements.
The following passengers can secure your seat before arrival:
Passengers travelling on Singapore Airlines (SQ) and/or SilkAir (MI) ticketed and operated flights into and out of Singapore. For codeshare flights operated by Singapore Airlines (SQ) and/or SilkAir (MI), the 4-digit flight numbers must start with SQ or MI.
- Passengers travelling on itineraries consisting of Singapore Airlines (SQ) and/or SilkAir (MI) ticketed and operated flights connecting to Scoot (TR) operated flights.
- Passengers travelling on selected Air New Zealand (NZ) operated flights (SQ4281, SQ4282, SQ4283, SQ4284, NZ281, NZ282, NZ283, NZ284, NZ3247, NZ3248, NZ3281, NZ3282, NZ3285,NZ3286, NZ3291, NZ3292, NZ3297, NZ3298) with connecting flights on Singapore Airlines (SQ) and/or SilkAir (MI) operated flights
How To Register ?
When you arrive at Changi Airport, please remain in the transit area and do not clear immigration as the registration booths are located at the transit area.
Present your boarding passes and valid entry visas (if applicable) at the Free Singapore Tours booths located at:
- Terminal 2 ( In Transit Mall, between Transfer Lounge F and Skytain to Terminal 3 near the escalator to Arrival Immigration - Level 2)
- Terminal 3 ( In Transit Mall, near Transfer Lounge A - Gate A1 to A8 at Level 2)
Pre-bookings can also be made through your local travel agents or local SIA office. (Not applicable to passengers flying out from China and Thailand), subject to availability, at least 72 working hours prior to arrival in Singapore. Please note that your name and flight details will be disclosed to the tour coordinators in order to process your pre-booking.
Important Things To Note:
- Registration will close 1 hour before the tour start time and participants will be guided as a group to clear immigration before the tour starts.
- Availability of seats is on a first-come-first-serve basis.
- Transit passengers are allowed to enter and exit Singapore only once during their layover period, as per guidelines stipulated by Immigration & Checkpoints Authority of Singapore. Therefore, passengers are not able to join more than one tour.
- Tour itinerary is subject to changes, depending on weather and traffic conditions. Until 31 March 2021, subject to further extension.
- Should you have cabin baggage, you are encouraged to leave them as Left Baggage before joining the tour.