BITTS AND BYTES FOR APRIL 8, 2011

APRIL 8, 2011

WHERE SILENT WATERS WHISPER

Glossodoris atromarginata

ONE HUNDRED FAMOUS VIEWS OF EDO (TOKYO)

NUMBER THIRTY-EIGHT

DAWN INSIDE THE YOSHIWARA

Kohlrabi, which belongs to the cabbage family, is an excellent source of vitamin C and potassium. It is also high in fiber. Kohlrabi helps to stabilize blood sugar and is therefore useful with hypoglycemia and diabetes. It can also be effective against edema, candida and viral conditions.

Kohlrabi = cabbage turnip = stem cabbage = turnip cabbage

Pronunciation: kohl-RAHB-ee or kohl-RAH-bee

A kohlrabi resembles a turnip, only it's sweeter and more delicately flavored. It's light green and sometimes sold with its edible greens attached. It can be eaten raw or cooked. Choose small ones, and peel before using.

Never share a foxhole with anyone braver than you are.

No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy.

Friendly fire ain't.

The most dangerous thing in the combat zone is an officer with a map.

The problem with taking the easy way out is that the enemy has already mined it.

The buddy system is essential to your survival; it gives the enemy somebody else to shoot at.

The further you are in advance of your own positions, the more likely your artillery will shoot short.

Incoming fire has the right of way.

If your advance is going well, you are walking into an ambush.

The quartermaster has only two sizes, too large and too small.

If you really need an officer in a hurry, take a nap.

The only time suppressive fire works is when it is used on abandoned positions.

The only thing more accurate than incoming enemy fire is incoming friendly fire.

There is nothing more satisfying that having someone take a shot at you, and miss.

Don't be conspicuous. In the combat zone, it draws fire. Out of the combat zone, it draws sergeants.

If your sergeant can see you, so can the enemy.

Ronald Reagan, when in office, said, "Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I've come to realize there is a very close resemblance to the first." What was that sly old man referring to?

???

PASS YOUR MOUSE OVER THE QUESTION MARKS FOR THE ANSWER!

SINKING THE STONE FLEET IN CHARLESTON HARBOR

The Stone Fleet consisted of a fleet of aging ships (mostly whaling ships) purchased in New Bedford and other New England ports, loaded with stone, and sailed south during the American Civil War by the Union Navy for use as Blockships.

They were to be deliberately sunk at the entrance of Charleston Harbor, South Carolina in the hope of obstructing blockade runners, then supplying Confederate interests.

Although some sank along the way and others were sunk near Tybee Island, Georgia, to serve as breakwaters, wharves for the landing of Union troops, the majority were divided into two lesser fleets.

One fleet was sunk to block the south channel off Morris Island, and the other to block the north channel near Rattlesnake Shoals off the present day Isle of Palms in what proved to be failed efforts to block access the main shipping channels into Charleston Harbor.

Various old ships, specifically purchased by the Navy for this purpose, were loaded with stone and sand, or filled with dirt, then towed to a designated spot and sunk as a hazard to all craft that passed.

Twenty-four whaleships were sunk in Charleston Harbor by Captain Charles Henry Davis, beginning on 19 December, 1861.

A second fleet of 12 to 20 vessels was sunk in nearby Mafitt's Channel in 1862. The operation was under the direction of Samuel Francis DuPont, Flag Officer commanding the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron.

Confederate general Robert E. Lee called the measure "an abortive expression of the malice and revenge" of the North.

Historians disagree as to the success of the Stone Fleet, since other channels of the Charleston Harbor remained open and the ships broke up in a year or two. However, others note that sufficient time was given for the North to build more gunboats to patrol the harbor.

The event inspired Herman Melville to write the poem entitled, "The Stone Fleet."

DUCKS BY A POND

The African pompano, Alectis ciliaris, (also known as the pennant-fish and threadfin trevally) is a widely distributed species of tropical marine fish in the Jack family, Carangidae.

The species is found in tropical waters worldwide, with adults often inhabiting coastlines while juveniles are usually pelagic, floating with ocean currents.

The adult African pompano is very similar in appearance to the other members of the genus Alectis, with close examination needed to separate the three.

The juveniles, however, are easily identified due to their long, filamentous dorsal and anal fin tips which are thought to discourage predators. The species is of minor economic importance, often taken among other tropical mid water fishes by hook and line while juveniles are occasionally caught in beach seines.

African pompano are also highly rated game fish, often considered one of the strongest of the Jacks in larger sizes.

PART FOUR
JEAN BAPTISTE CHARBONNEAU

Upon completing his schooling in St. Louis, Baptiste returned to frontier life.  In 1823 at age 18, while living in a traders' village at the mouth of the Kansas River, he met Prince Paul Wilhelm of Wuertemberg, Germany, who was on a scientific mission to America.  Baptiste’s unusual combination of frontier skills and cultural attainment intrigued the prince, who took him under his patronage.  The young man accompanied Paul to Europe, where he was exposed to the sophisticated, aristocratic environment of a German court.  Baptiste enjoyed the royal lifestyle for six years, becoming fluent in four languages, and gaining a background that later would mark him as a cultural anomaly on the western frontier.

Returning to America in 1829, he set aside his cultivated manners and fell into the rough and tumble existence of the mountain man.

He ranged the length and breadth of the American West, hunting trapping, guiding and exploring.

In 1846-1847, he scouted the way west from New Mexico to California for the Mormon Battalion.

Discharged in 1847, he was appointed Alcalde of San Luis Rey Mission, an office comparable to that of a magistrate.

Troubled by the abuse of landowners toward certain Indians (who were treated as virtual slaves), he resigned his official duties and entered the frantic stampede of the California gold rush.  He evidently did not strike it rich, as he was recorded as a hotel clerk in Auburn, California, in 1861.

In 1866, he left Auburn with two companions and headed toward new gold discoveries in Montana.  Enroute, Jean Baptiste, at the age of 61, died of pneumonia and was buried in a remote, primitive cemetery in the tiny Jordan Valley hamlet of Danner, Oregon.

On March 14, 1973, his gravesite was entered into the National Register of Historic Places.

Photographer, conservationist; born in San Francisco. A commercial photographer for 30 years, he made visionary photos of western landscapes that were inspired by a boyhood trip to Yosemite. He won three Guggenheim grants to photograph the national parks (1944--58). Founding the f/64 group with Edward Weston in 1932, he developed zone exposure to get maximum tonal range from black-and-white film. He served on the Sierra Club Board (1934--71).

MOUNT WILLIAMSON, SIERRA NEVADA, CALIFORNIA

Dogs feel very strongly that they should always go with you in the car, in case the need should arise for them to bark violently at nothing right in your ear.

--- Dave Barry

DOULTON FOUNTAIN, GLASGOW, SCOTLAND


DOULTON FOUNTAIN Photograph and text by Jacqueline Banerjee.
Designer: Arthur Edward Pearce. Sculptors: John Broad, Herbert Ellis, Pearce himself, Frederick Pomeroy and William Silver Frith, and possibly student assistants (supervised by Frith). 1888. Terracotta on an iron frame. Glasgow Green, Glasgow. This highly decorative five-tier fountain in French Renaissance style was designed to commemorate the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 1887, and became Doulton's main display piece for the 1888 International Exhibition in Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow. It now stands in front of the equally ornate People's Palace, which houses the city's social history collection (though the colourful building seen in the background from this angle is the Templeton Business Centre, designed by William Leiper and built in 1888-92 as a carpet factory). The fountain was extensively restored in 2003-5. At 46' high and 70' across at the base, it is thought to be the largest such fountain in the world.
In the closer view, a Black Watch Highlander can be seen among the servicemen, while India is visible on the right, and Canada on the left. It was an extremely popular work, much praised as "an alliance of the beautiful and the useful" (qtd. in McKenzie 169), partly no doubt because of its symbolic role as a celebration of empire. Below the crowning figure of the Queen by John Broad are four kneeling maidens emptying pitchers, and beneath them are sentries representing Scottish, English and Irish regiments, along with a sailor representing the Royal Navy. Below these are four allegorical groups representing Canada (modelled by Frith), South Africa (modelled by Ellis), Australia (modelled by Pomeroy) and India (modelled by Broad). India is represented by an armed figure with a turban, indicating its military history, and a female figure with accoutrements suggesting its arts and industries; Canada has a trapper with a moose's head, and a woman with objects such as a sheaf of wheat and a miner's pick, indicating agricultural and mineral resources. There is a beaver at the righthand corner, by the trapper's foot. There was great interest in the use of terracotta for such a big project. Its virtues are that it can be worked quickly and delicately, and is weather resistant. In our own times, the art critic Brian Sewell has written lyrically about it as "a material with weight and texture to it, comforting to the hand, reassuring to the eye in its variety of ruddy and russet colours," and a means of insight "into the sculptor's mind and eye." However, it does have a drawback. When the figure of Queen Victoria on the Doulton Fountain was hit by lightning in 1894, replacement was less straightforward than it would have been if a cast had been available.

OTHER NAMES: Barnard's Parakeet, Ringneck Parrot, Bulla Bulla, Buln Buln.

Description--Small to medium parrot. Overall body color is green mottled with yellow. Red crown with blue ear coverts. Narrow yellow band behind the neck and a broad orange/yellow band across the abdomen (varies from individual to individual). The beak is a bonish white. Adult females resemble males but with diluted colors, and immature birds resemble females.

Distribution--Widespread across mainland Australia, west of the Great Dividing Range.

Habitat--Open and semiarid woodlands and scrubs, riparian woodland in the north, mallee in the east and eucalypt forest in the west. Also roadside timber, farmland and orchards.
Diet--Varied, but consists mostly of seeds, nuts and fruits.

Breeding--August to January. Usual nesting site is a tree cavity, quite close to the ground. The nest is lined with wood dust. The female incubates alone but the male attends and feeds her. Both parents are ivolved in rearing the young. In captivity, Ringneck Parrots will breed in either logs or boxes.

The porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) occurs in North America in a wide range of vegetation types from semi-desert to tundra. Porcupines also occur in Africa and Asia, but Old World porcupines do not belong to the same family as New World porcupines.

Ann Telling Photo ^©2003

Although the species of porcupine found in North America always lives among trees, it does not always live in mature forests and may be found in alder thickets along rivers and in dwarfed pine scrub along ridge crests. It is most common where there are rocky ledges and rock piles suitable for dens and stands of aspen, hemlock, and other trees.

When sitting hunched high up in a tree, a porcupine could be mistaken for the nest of a squirrel or a crow, but close to the ground it is easily recognized. It has a short, blunt-nosed face with small eyes. The ears are small and round, almost concealed by the hair, which also covers the spines. The shoulders are humped, making the back look arched. The short legs are bowed, and the animal stands bear-like with its entire foot planted firmly on the ground. The claws are long and curved. On the hind feet the first digit is replaced by a broad movable pad that allows the animal to grasp branches more firmly when climbing. The muscular tail is thick, short, and rounded at the tip.

The porcupine's coat is composed of a soft, brown, woolly undercoat and coarse, long guard hairs. At the base, each guard hair is brown, becoming darker near the tip, which may be white in eastern populations and yellow in the western ones. The guard hairs conceal the quills until the porcupine is aroused. The quills are longest on the back and tail and when raised push the guard hairs forward, forming a crest. On the face the quills are about 1.2 cm (.47 inch) long; on the back they may be up to 12.5 cm (4.9 inches) in length. There are no quills on the muzzle, legs, or underparts of the body. Each hollow quill is embedded in the skin, and a small muscle is attached to each that pulls it upright in the fur when the animal bristles with alarm. About 0.6 cm (.05 inch) from the tip, the quill tapers to a fine point closely covered by several dozen small black barbs. These barbs feel only slightly rough to the touch, but when they are moist--as when embedded in flesh--they swell, working the quill farther in. The quills have black tips and yellow or white shafts.

Being shortsighted and slow moving, the porcupine is not too difficult to approach once found. When in a den or up a tree, it is not always easy to see, but noisy chewing, cut twigs, and missing patches of bark may advertise its presence. Around feeding trees and especially outside the winter dens, scats (droppings) can be seen. In the winter, these are rough and irregular in shape; in summer they tend to be rounded and soft turning from greenish brown to dark brown as they age.

In fall, and to a lesser extent at other times of the year, porcupines may be called by a low puppylike whine repeated up and down the scale.

In winter, the tracks can be recognized by the firm print of the whole sole placed heavily on the ground, the long claw marks, and, sometimes, marks where the tail has dragged. If the snow is soft and deep, the porcupine trail becomes more of a trough through the snow.

In April 1940 the British Air Purchasing Commission concluded with 'Dutch' Kindelberger, the Chairman of North American Aviation, an agreement for the design and development of an entirely new fighter for the British air force. Designed, built and flown in 117 days, the prototype was the beginning of what has been described as the most successful fighter program in history. The initial production versions, equipped with the Allison engine, were effective aircraft, but the powerplant's performance fell off at altitude. The US Army Air Corps therefore adopted it primarily in the ground attack role as the A-36A. Five hundred A-36As were delivered to the USAAC, plus 310 of the P-51A fighter version. The British air force received 620 Mustang I fighters, 150 Mustang Ia, and 50 of the Mustang II variant. In 1942 the British Merlin engine was matched with the superb Mustang airframe, a marriage which created the best high-altitude long-range fighter of World War Two--according to many the best fighter of any type to see action during World War II.

North American P-51B-15 Mustang

The initial Merlin-engined variant - the P-51B - had an immediate and dramatic effect on the air war in Europe, escorting US Eighth Air Force heavy bombers deep into Germany and meeting Luftwaffe fighters on at least equal terms. This transformed the daylight bombing campaign against Germany. Mustangs of the P-51B, -C and -D variants were to inflict such heavy losses on the Luftwaffe that Allied air supremacy was assured for the June '44 invasion of Europe.

North American P-51D Mustang

The P-51 was to play a less central part in the war against Japan, but saw extensive service in the Pacific, especially in escorting daylight B-29 raids and in the air defense role operating from Okinawa and other bases in the final months of the war.

North American P-51A Mustang

Part of the US approval for export to Britain was that 2 examples of the Mustang would be turned over to the USAAF for evaluation. The US was very slow to evaluate the new fighter designated XP-51. After evaluation they were also slow to place orders, but interest picked up and orders were placed by the US which included the A-36 Apache. The A-36 was a P-51A set up for dive-bombing ground attack. In all, over 15,000 P-51 Mustangs of all types were built from 1940-1945. Significant design changes came about when the Rolls-Royce Merlin V-12 was used in the P-51B/C and then when the bubble canopy P-51D/K was introduced. The P-51D was the most produced model and was favored among most pilots. The P-51H was a redesigned version but entered service too late to make an impact on WWII.

North American P-51 Mustang

The P-51 Mustang is credited with providing very effective long range bomber escort. The Allied daylight bombing campaign proved extremely successful by strangling the support lines of the enemy and nearly stopping the production of war-time machinery. The P-51 Mustang and the men that flew them saved lives in the skies and on the ground.

North American P-51 Mustang

Who would have thought, back in 1944, that this escort fighter would still be flying in the year 2002 (and beyond). The Mustang was built for the highest performance with less thought for longevity.

North American P-51-F6D (Reconnaissance version) Mustang

With the hard work of warbird fanatics around the globe, about 280 P-51s still exist today with more than half still airworthy! A few of the remaining P-51s ( Survivors) have the distinction of serving for more than 30 years with 4 different Air Forces around the world!

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