Civil Disobedience, Polar Bear Fast Food, and Reading

Good morning! It is a bright sun-shinny day with the temperatures finally in "fall" mode instead of hot summer. I've been pulling carrots from the container garden as well as scallions (table onions). Sometime this week I'll take the beets out and get them cooked up and frozen. The container garden was wonderful this year! Even the flowers did well. The snapdragons have become the focal point of color as the rest of the flowers have reached the end of their growing cycle.

 A few things caught my eye this week – most notably the walk-out of high school students over changes in the History curriculum.  Apparently 3 conservative educational board members decided that history should ditch all the civil disobedience  and teach only high patriotism, that the US can do no wrong, and to discourage civil disobedience. Over several days, about a 1000 high school students walked out of class and held rallies along the main streets to protest. The creators of this new curriculum condemned teachers for involving students in something that wasn't really their business.

Now, the interesting thing about this is that it is similar to a curriculum that is taught in Texas, and the Republican Party has openly stated that they do not support this curriculum. There were many letters to the editor, but the one that made the best case against the changes dealt with the local  AP (advanced placement) curriculum being   in-line with the AP  national curriculum so that students can get college credit for classes taken in high school. The proposed changes will make it difficult if not impossible for students to pass the national test. Censorship was also mentioned ... and you want to know why the Millennials don't trust people?

I also read that because of global warming and the longer insect cycles, spiders are getting larger. This has been validated by the large brown hermit crab like spider that has a huge web stretched between some of the flower containers. It has been fascinating to watch it catch bees and wasps, wrap them up and yesterday, I watched as it hauled one of its bee catches under the rim of the flower pot where it nests. Reminded me of the Hobbit and the spider.  As curious as I am, I'm not sure I want to look under the rim of the pot. I've noticed that we don't have a big problem with bugs in the yard this year – I wonder if this guy has family throughout our yard. I did see our garden snake a couple of days ago – he/she was moving rather slow due to a full belly. I remember you writing about insects taking over the world, Don. I have the feeling they already have and they're just sharing the world with us.

As global warming has affected the Artic, there has been an actual change in the Artic geography. I watched a news clip on polar bears taking advantage of their equivalent of a Big Mac – geese. Geese were on the verge of extinction 40 years ago, constraints were put in place, and the geese population exploded.  There are millions of geese and they have eaten their summer nesting grounds (the arctic tundra) down to the dirt.

Enter the polar bear, now coming back to land sooner because the ice pack is melting, and what is there for them to eat besides seals? Geese and eggs. The high caloric content of geese eggs is more than a Big Mac and the bears are eating as many as 300 – 400 eggs a day. I am continually amazed at how life "rights" itself.

The best news I have though comes from Wellington ,New Zealand. An article by Jeanne Whalen explains that "Slow Reading Can Help Your Brain and Cut Stress". There is actually a book club in Wellington, New Zealand, that meets weekly – for the sheer joy of reading in a quiet space, no technology interference, no discussion about what is being read – it is simply a return to "old-fashion" reading for the joy of it. The article goes on to expound the advantages of reading and that it helps those of us on the flip side of middle-age retain memory.

 I spent the last couple of days cleaning out the closet in my office. I have donated and given away more than a 100 pounds of fabric – I don't see myself returning to quilting anytime in the near future. I've also given away my jewelry making equipment and beads, the yarn for all the blankets I was going to crochet... it has been a tough week of letting go. I remember why I bought each piece of fabric, what quilt it was going to grace. Now I have an empty closet. I painted it this morning – found that I was much better at using a roller with my left hand – paint brushing is still a right hand activity – so the closet looks rather patchy – but it looks clean. Think I leave the doors off – that way I'll know what I put in the closet and whether or not I need to buy more or clean it out and let it go. Maybe, just maybe, I'll have some room left for a quiet reading space with pillows on the floor. I'll let you know.

We'll be giving away another freebook this month on the website – check it out!

Have a great week everyone!

Carolyn

All Images downloaded from Google Images

Organic Gardening and Green Lifestyle Retrieved from GardenMandy.com

www.gardenmandy.com

On the Duty of Civil Disobedience - Henry David Thoreau Retrieved from Feedbooks

www.feedbooks.com

[PDF] HD Picture- Giant Spiders Attack -Eight Legged Freaks Retrieved from

cinema.theiapolis.com

For Polar Bears, a Climate Change Twist Retrieved from NYTimes.

www.nytimes.com

VIDEO: Do Polar Bears Eat Fast Food Too? | Inhabitat – Sustainable Retrieved from .

inhabitat.com

How to Create a Small Space Reading Nook  Retrieved from DoItYourself.com

www.doityourself.com

Fuzzy Brained and Politicians

Evenin' everyone!

I'm running a bit late this week – between a cold and finals, life seems to have conspired to keep me fuzzy brained and energy taxed to the max.

One of the interesting things we've been bantering, Don, has been the changes in medicine and what is now available that wasn't even thought of 10 years ago. I remember when my mother-in-law got her first new hip back when the procedure was virtually untried. It took her a couple of weeks to get back into the swing of things but after that, she did everything that she hadn't been able to do for years – mainly walk. Twenty years later, when she got her second hip done (the Cadillac  version), when the hospital sent a physical therapist out to the house three days after the surgery, she was already walking the mall catching up on her shopping.

As magnificent as the medical field is, there are some definite draw backs – well, maybe not really but this year they seem to be problematic. My better half had a physical, was told he was in great shape and that in order to stay that way, he needed the newest, greatest, bestest flu shot and the super-duper pneumonia shot.  (I'm sure you can hear the music that says "Don't do that!")Within 10 hours, he had the flu and a rash caused by the bacteria used in the pneumonia shot. The rash became an ugly tomato red, sizzling to the touch and it literally inched its way around and down his arm. Three visits to the doctor finally resulted in a prescription that has halted the rash. He can now move his arm without pain but it still itches.  Amazing times we live in. If it doesn't kill ya', it will make you stronger, maybe.

We've been trying to get all the stuff we hauled out for summer back into place for winter and it just isn't fitting! I'm sure there was enough room for everything when I took it out at the start of summer! We have a break coming up in a couple of weeks and because of meetings, we won't have time to travel. So, I'm going to do the second best thing – clean! My thumb surgery put off throwing things out because I couldn't pick stuff up – but I'm sure that picking things up and moving it out will be good therapy for both my hands and my soul.

A friend lamented that her mother usually forced her clean up her room and she promised herself that she'd find a different way (not forceful) to get her children to clean up their rooms. She asked if I'd come over and embarrass her kids the way her mother use to – she's tired of living in the chaos of clothes and shoes and lunch boxes on the floor everywhere. I have my own stuff to take care of – thanks anyway.

We have an election coming in November and sadly, many people are pulling away from Obama (lame duck president) which is too bad because he has actually been able to do some good.  I've been working my way through a paper by Pete Souza about "Why Democrats and Republicans don't understand each other". One of the interesting quotes that I came across was from Speaker John Boehner: "We should not be judged on how many new laws we create. We ought to be judged on how many laws we repeal."  Boehner is a Republican that has led the assault against Obama for the last 8 years – too bad. This was a time in our history when we could have said that we stood together, faced the world and became strong again. No such luck.

It has been theorized that "Republicans prefer purity, Democrats prefer compromise." In other words – someone HAS TO BE RIGHT. I wonder how many companies and how many countries have been lost to the concept of having to be right. But I do have to admire the Republican law makers – they stuck to their guns even when there was a Republican President.

All of this is going to lead up to an interesting election.

One more round of papers to grade and a series of meetings ... then a couple of days of rest - we can use it. Everyone I've talked to from students to instructors, to business owners and employees - everyone is tired - time to rest before the snows come. Time to watch the leaves fall because we were unable to take time to watch them bud... 

Wishing you all extra time to relax.

Carolyn 

You Can't Always Get What You Want.

Hi Carolyn,

It's changing climate time, and not just in meteorological or ecological terms - the political atmosphere is about to begin changing on both sides of the border as well.  You have election stuff ramping up  there and we do up here as well. Can't help but feel , though, that if theatrical value is the only yardstick being used, yours will probably measure up better.

Once upon a time,  I approached these political horseraces with no small amount of cynicism and maybe even a bit of outright disdain. Part of that may have come from what I grew up with and picked up at the dinner table. Part of it also may have been that standard youthful distrust of the powers that be and the status quo - you know... " The Man "! 



I  realize now that, luv'em or hate'em,  those folks we elect  will make decisions that affect us up close and personal. Clearly, it is in our best interests to see just what each of them have in mind - or, more correctly, what each of their political partys  place atop their to-do lists. 





 It's also worthwhile to go back and see just how the incumbents did in their last term at the helm.  We had a Provincial Election here in Ontario a few months back and while I have always been a fairly staunch supporter of the Provincial Liberal Party ( I'd be a Democrat, I guess, were I down your way ) this time I felt that they had, even as a minority government, become crusty, self-serving and hidebound. The scandals and fiscal fumbling's had begun to double-up on the positives. 





I couldn't fathom the idea of not voting, since that means not being heard. When I reached the polling station on election day I received my ballot and immediately asked the elections officer to record it as a " declined ballot". I don't know if you have that option but here in Ontario we can specifically have our ballot recorded as " declined". The rationale being that no party satisfies the elector's vote.  It caused some kerfuffle here at this rural station, simply because it hadn't happened before but it was duly recorded as such. My voice was heard.



  So, over the next months  both of us will be exposed to a stream that will grow into a torrent of political rhetoric, including  claims that will dwell on what has, or hasn't been done as well as what needs to be done. It will be a gauntlet for the ears, no doubt.




Times like these remind me of the words of those once dangerous English saboteurs of the moral fabric, who loomed large in my callow youth and who have now become the quintessential grand old men of rock, Mr. Jagger and Mr. Richards.

That song has clearly grown on me over time. It was pretty ambitious and even grandiose for The Rolling Stones in 1968, perhaps. French horns, The London Bach choir and elaborate orchestration - these certainly weren't the scruffy lippy Londoners who played the bad boys to The Beatles cheeky but squeaky clean lads during the  early to mid-sixties.   Oddly enough, the chorus qualifies as genuine words to live by.







  BTW, I  hope that anyone who might be reading this will not be surprised to find that " You Can't Always Get What You Want" did not originate on an episode of Glee.



   
 



So, to get back to the political events that precipitated all of this meandering, may we each, when all the politicking dust settles, get what we need.




If I recall, that chorus also became - the first line, anyhow, - a favorite phrase/mantra of one of my mostest favorite TV weekly drama characters, Dr. Gregory House.

  It's true that House M.D. did get a little close to jumping the shark in its last couple of seasons but I felt quite rewarded following it religiously for the 8 years that it ran. I was also blown away, to encounter Hugh Laurie, early on in an appearance on an awards show of some sort or another and hearing him speak with a British accent. I simply had no idea he was from the other side of the pond. Turns out that he's an accomplished musician, sculler and more.



Maybe it's because of the loss of two high profile comedians in the last while, or maybe it's because of the impending political extravaganzas, but originally, I had intended to take this post to begin looking at the whole idea of humour  in all of its facets, but I think I will save that for sometime in the near future. It may be one of those items like the Stanley Kubrick trilogy of awhile back, that takes more than a couple of installments to scratch the surface of in a way  that  effectively addresses the itch.



Also, I will leave the riddle out there to consider some more. No need to put up one in response immediately unless you want to, either. Had a minor epidemic of riddling recently and there are more where that came from, I'm happy to note.



See ya later,


Don




All images sourced from Google Images

Fig. 1 - inclusi.co

Fig. 2 - www.mnialive.com

Fig. 3 - ottawacitizen.com

Fig. 4 - covermyfd.com

Fig. 5 - www.fanpop.com

Fig. 6 - www.nkayesel.com

Everything stops for tea.

Hi Carolyn,

 
 

Whatsay we start with the riddle stuff.  The last one was tea. I'm not sure if the judges will accept "teatime" as an answer, but I think they should. The inclusion of " commonwealth clocks "  sprung from our last major vacation.  We were pointedly reminded of just how thoroughly British tradition perseveres  here in Canada when we were out in Victoria B.C.- which is probably more British than Britain, even though its half a planet away! -  a few years ago.  One afternoon we thought we'd stop and check out the oft-touted "High Tea" at the Empress Hotel.



Well, from what we saw it's  ceremonial to an extent that makes the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace look like a random mob scene.  As we were told whilst being turned away peremptorily by an officious fellow in a waistcoat at the foyer entrance , "You simply must  reserve well in advance". 


 
Raaaather...!





We were down in Stratford, Ontario earlier this week and were again reminded of the  Anglo-Saxon cultural  torch that burns constantly and brightly in certain corners of the colonies. In  Stratford it's all thanks to Mr. Shakespeare, and the Festival Theatre of course. The upscale shops that populate the downtown area include a number that feature Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish merchandise. The eateries are likewise inclined and I had a very nice and straightforward beef brisket sandwich for lunch, along with a pint of draught Strongbow cider.  


All things considered, we had  a jolly good time in the few hours we were there. We hope to get back before the snow flies. 

BTW - I'm somewhat proud of myself, at this moment,  for not stooping to low-brow punsterism by referring to this Stratford,( second only to its British namesake as a Shakespearian venue,) as a delightful little hamlet. T'would be misleading, alas, as it's much larger than that.




Anyhow, now that I've gotten back on course from the tangent that the tea riddle sent me off on,  here's another riddle to have a whack at at your leisure...  ( you do partake of leisure  these days, I hope. )

 Gotta pull strings to make impressions

Counterproductive  if not tuned in

An expressive axe for Jimi, Chuck, Eric et al

 

 

I  fess-up to playing the devil's avocado about the cursive writing thing from last time around. The value of learning, very early on , to connect letters in an efficient and efficacious way to communicate is crucial, for more than just honing fine motor skills, I agree.. Those who do it artistically and calligraphically  are even more to be admired, for sure. One's writing style can almost be as individual as a fingerprint, too.

Still,  I wonder what Steve Jobs or Bill Gates would have answered if asked about keeping cursive writing in the grade school curriculum.

Intriguing, and a bit portentous isn't it, how many hands on skills and dexterities technology is stealing from us in the name of speed and convenience. 









Okay, now that I've bemoaned technology it's only fair that I do some cheerleading  too. Between your mention of the "Luke" project awhile back and our recent adventures vis-a-vis the possibility of an artificial knee for my LSBH,  I've done some nosing about in the wonderful world of prosthetics and artificial body parts. I am amazed by some of the stuff out there just like you were when you checked out the Luke item.






The most fascinating part of my research had to do with how these replacement parts and pieces are better than that which they replace. And  future directions and developments suggest that amazing leaps and bounds await. ( Pun intended )   Synthetic muscles that occupy the same space as our own but lift exponentially more,  synthetic limbs that make us faster. And prosthetic  eyes ,ears and noses  that elevate our senses and much more. Can a real world Ironman or Robocop be on the horizon even now?



 Boy, I sure wish I could hang around for about another two centuries, just to see where it's at by then.






A little technology sidebar here.  I think you'll be glad you opted for a touchscreen. It took me almost no time to adjust to that aspect of computing when I got my iPhone  and iPad awhile back. There have been many occasions since  when I've been at the desktop pc or my LSBH's laptop while in Mexico and have found my right forefinger instinctively darting at the non-touchscreen screen simply because it's become such an entirely ingrained behaviour now. A mouse or a touchpad seem almost quaint in comparison.



Son of a gun, Carolyn, your next entry here will be posting #200 for this "conversations" blog.  I  haven't run out of words yet, how 'bout you?


TTFN



Don.



My apologies to seminal and highly musical bluesy Brit, Long John Baldry, for appropriating his album title for this go-round. Apparently, he too had "touchscreen finger". 

All images sourced from Google Images

Fig. 1 - changeddesktop.com

Fig. 2 - www.trekearth.com

Fig. 3 - eighteenwaterloo.com

Fig. 4 - www.noupe.com

Fig. 5 - colouringbook.org

Fig. 6 - weburbanist.com

Fig. 7 - www.shutterstock.com

Fig. 8 - www.newgrounds.com

Fig. 9 - www.eltonjohnitaly.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cursive and 3-D

Morning, Don,

Are you seriously asking me if I think cursive is something we should teach or not? Even if you can't write legibly, the rewards of learning cursive are outstanding! Think about line, space, movement in space, not to mention all of the great and wonderful neural pathways that are created in the brain! And think about all of the small motor muscle development that occurs with cursive… Just because you write and no one but you can read it doesn't make any difference. The fact that you have been able to figure out how to put something in a small space that makes sense to you is one of those gratifying experiences of being intelligent. Cursive should be taught in school.

And unfortunately I think you're right – it is going the way of knitting, crocheting, breadmaking, woodworking… We are losing a lot of those absolutely incredible intricate skills that our ancestors took such great pride. We saw quilting almost die out, but it is coming back slowly. Some of the new quilt designs take into account the new geometry, creating pictures, using as many different styles in the way the blocks are cut that the quotes themselves have become masterpieces. In the actual material that is available now is phenomenal in colors. When I was quilting, I was using 2 inch squares and creating pictures along the same lines that Monet made his paintings. I keep hoping that once I get my thumb back I'll be able to start sewing again.

So we had a sleepy little town event here in Colorado – old outside of Gunnison where my daughter and her family live is a small community called Crested Butte. Crested Butte is a ski area that has always been known for its parties. It was the party place when I was going to college in Gunnison. So Anheuser-Busch – Budweiser decided to use Crested Butte as the backdrop for one of their new "What ever" commercials. They paid Crested Butte half $1 million to paint a couple of blocks Budweiser blue – that included the streets and  the buildings. Then they brought in 1000 people to party for the weekend. They created a volleyball sandpit which I'm hoping Crested Butte gets to keep.

This little foray into commercialism caused quite a ruffle for the local folks. A lot of them could see the commercial value to allowing Budweiser to come in and shoot their commercial. There were also a lot of folks who felt that it could very well  ruin the family atmosphere that they've been trying to create over the last years. I'm sure that the jury will be out on this for a long time but I imagine the money will help the city along.

I love your report on the Dragon submarine. I'm not sure I can afford it yet, but wouldn't it be an adventure to be able to explore the ocean beds on your own and not have to wear all the scuba gear. I'm sure that there are going to be a lot of limitations involved, but it's still a really neat idea.

I was cruising through the science and came across an article about a quantum computer. Google has partnered with the University of California in Santa Barbara to create a computer that encompasses the mechanics of the motion and interaction of subatomic particles. How this actually works in a computer is really not a concept that I can grasp at this moment in time. But I'm sure that the scientific world is waiting with bated breath.

I also discovered that 3-D printers are soon to be available for home use. Now this has some interesting applications. If you need a PVC joint, would you be able to construct one on your own printer instead of having to go to the hardware store? What if you need a screw? Or a handle… These are just beginning thoughts of what you would be able to create home. How many businesses will we be putting out of business by having our own 3-D printers? I'm sure the materials are going be very cost restrictive so that driving to the hardware store and taking the 10 or 15 minutes necessary to find what you need will still be more cost-efficient than printing something at home. But what an idea!

Speaking of computers, my little laptop is on its final bytes. I've had it into the shop twice since April and I'm beginning to think that maybe it is time to replace it. I've been looking at computers and I think I've decided on a Dell 17 inch touchscreen. When I was 1^st doing my research, I never considered touchscreen. I thought them to be a waste of time and definitely very costly. While I was at the store, I checked them out and discovered that I really do like touchscreen and they aren't that costly.

So this is for me is a moral dilemma – my little computer is not dead yet. Do I replace it now before it is dead or do I wait? And just what do you do with an old computer? Do you get it fixed and pass it on to the grandkids? They have smart phones and Kendall Fires, they're not going to want my poor little tiny now un-loved laptop. So anthropomorphism strikes again! I realize that the laptop is just a mechanical device that has allowed me freedom to write without having to be really "plugged in", it was the 1^st computer that I had that had Skype that allowed me to talk to my son and his wife while they were on the other side of the world… Do you actually say "goodbye" to a mechanical device or do you just dump it? I guess this is that "soft heartedness" that you were talking about, Don.

As for your riddle, I've had 2 weeks on it and every time I think I'm close to coming up with an answer, the "Commonwealth clocks strike four" interferes and I decided maybe my answer isn't right. So I'm going to throw out some guesses:

some kind of tree nut – a tree seed of some kind

the plant and flower called "Four O'clocks"

marijuana – the reward at the end of the day

tea time – and that wonderful tasty little snack people have around 4 o'clock in the afternoon that takes them to dinner

those are my guesses – and I'm thinking it's more "tea time" than anything else.

Have to finish out the final edits on Jeph's news story. It will come out in October and is loaded with puns. I'm also going to be starting the editor on Ariel's new book which we will start running in January. We got Transport 34 on the website and it's looking good.

I'm about 6 pages into the 2^nd draft of my book on the Wired Generation. One of the problems that I've been faced with is I keep coming up with new information can be included in the book. I really do have to draw the line somewhere.

Have a great week everyone,

Carolyn

 And yes, I'm listening to my therapist ... 

Submersibles and total write-offs

Hi Carolyn,





  September brings the back to school stuff.  Entering my 7th retired year but I haven't forgotten the jambalaya of angst and anticipation that was September.  Do I miss it?
Maybe at the subconscious level I haven't totally let go yet....
I did have a "teacher dream" just a bit ago. It featured Cro-Magnon AV equipment  disintegrating in my fingers as I plugged it in to begin a lesson. 





For the record, as a career educator,  at this time of the year I thoroughly enjoyed the sensation of this being a new beginning and a fresh chance to help make enlightening things happen. Also, I  remember fending off the butterflies each new year as I walked out to face the new faces on the other side of the desk. And there are few things as satisfying as closing out a day in the teaching trenches and sensing strongly that the lessons connected and you really reached your students.  Instant and gratifying feedback. Even though I switched from Law to teaching at the last minute,  I never felt that I was in the wrong career.

Would I go back?  Well ... like Jim Steinman wrote it and Meatloaf sang it.......






Had another thought-provoking education related moment recently, at the grocery store. Things were lax at the checkout and I was able to eavesdrop on some chit-chat between a young part-timer and a lifelong cashier lady  whilst having my stuff rung through. She had asked him to write down something.

" I don't write things down. "

 

" Why not ? "

 

" I can't write clearly and nobody can read it."

 

" What about school?"

 

" It's all keyboards. Only time I write is my initials to get cashback on my card ."

The lady cashier carried the day, though. After taking in all of this info about not being able to write  legibly  she answered ....

"Well, you're going to be doctor then, I guess."

 

 

 

 

 

I thought about it all the way home  and realized full-tilt cursive writing isn't fundamental anymore in the grown-up world.  Yes, folks should be able to communicate on paper, but is the learn to write process necessary in its current extensive form?  I'm  of the generation that is supposedly tech-non-savvy and I keep my lists on my phone and use it or other  at hand devices  to record pretty well any info I get on the run. 


 I still write things with a pencil and paper while  taking a phone message, or editing a story or composing a blog,  but that's about it. And nobody other than I could decipher these scribbling's. Actually, anytime I put something on paper that I know someone else will be reading I always revert to printing. My writing is  borderline illegible - guess I'm gonna be a doctor, too.









 So, whadya think ? 

 Is  "longhand"  going the way of shorthand, sewing, darning socks, baking bread and shoeing horses in terms of once thought to be essential life skills? 








Anyhow,  Carolyn, that "sleepy little town"  I live near that you were thinking might be overwhelmed and overtaxed by this annual anglers orgy has thoroughly embraced  The Owen Sound Salmon Spectacular  fishing derby for a quarter of a century plus. It's probably the largest single economic stimulus for the area.



The whole derby  effort is underpinned by a "Sportsman's Association" that assiduously tends to the streams that feed Georgian Bay in this area with salmon spawn and river bed maintenance. It's become a smooth and sophisticated operation. I've never been able to understand the appeal of fishing but I do look forward to some of the beneficial side effects of this on and underwater lollapalooza .






 Speaking of submersible stuff , encountered this fascinating item trolling Gizmag recently.




An extensive report by Mike Hanlon looked at what is poised to become the first " personal submarine " that could be accessible to us vacationing commoners.


As Hanlon noted in the August 27th article:







"No one with red blood in their veins buys a sports car and hands the keys to a chauffeur, so one of the barriers to truly personal submarining has long been the need for a trained pilot, not to mention the massive logistics involved in transporting, garaging and launching the underwater craft ... until now. Pioneering underwater aviation company DeepFlight is set to show an entirely new type of personal submarine at the 2014 Monaco Yacht Show next week, launching the personal submarine era with a submersible that's reportedly so easy to pilot that it's likely to create a new niche in the tourism and rental market.

 

 

 

 

 

When launched next week, the DeepFlight Dragon will become the most compact, lightweight personal submarine on the market, and has been designed to be so intuitive to use that users will be able self-pilot the craft with minimal instruction. This new level of user-friendliness is expected to take DeepFlight's underwater craft beyond the domain of the superyacht owner and into the resort and tourism industry for the first time.

The new Dragon will cost a little less than the company's top-of-the-line model Super Falcon, coming in at US$1.5 million with all the additional gear required for running the craft included. In order to kick-start production of the new series, orders taken at the Monaco Yacht Show will be priced at $1.2 million."



Ouch! says the wallet but an hour of being able to check out the terrestrial final frontier to a depth of approx. 400 ft.  would be worth it, methinks.

 

 

 

Leaving the last  riddle out there for further contemplation, Carolyn. Also, I got a kick out of the thinly veiled menace you referred to when talking about your therapist. My LSBH has been dealing with a physio-therapist for the last half a year or so with a knee and leg thing. His  name is Gersom but we've christened him " Gruesome" simply because he is so business-like and effective when he's dealing with her lower limb. She's adhered to his advice and just recently learned from the good medical doctor that this therapy has helped mitigate the need for an artificial knee at this time.

 

 So do listen to the therapy folks...

 

Catch ya later,

 

 

 

Don

 

 

 

All images sourced from Google Images

 

Fig. 1 - www.blippit.com

 

Fig. 2 - www. dailymotion.com

 

Fig. 3 - www.fairmontflyer.com

 

Fig. 4 - www.wowcher.co.uk

 

Fig. 5 - www.mix106.5.ca

 

Fig. 6 - www.gizmag.com

 

Fig. 7 - www.gizmag.com

 

Fig. 8 - www.autoevolution.com

 

Fig. 9 - www.2luxury2.com