'Wood' Rot. Personal Safety. $10! Trees. Nan Madol. Euro Debuts.

 

For "Summary Saturday", or News, some old, some new:

Wood product said to be rotting in 'green'-built homes

"Make It Right, known for its homes’ eye-catching designs and “green” building features such as solar panels and rainwater collectors, was interested in an alternative to conventional treated lumber, which “usually uses chemicals,” Royle said. “In trying to be sustainable and green, we didn’t want to use decking lumber that had chemicals in it,” she said.

The absence of chemicals in the TimberSIL wood meant it could be “mulched and composted at the end of its life cycle,” she said.

But now, decks and steps that were built as recently as three years ago are showing signs of rot, with the wood taking on a dark gray tinge. “It was unable to withstand moisture, which obviously is a big problem in New Orleans,” Royle said.

Billy Ward, president of the Louisiana Home Builders Association, said he hadn’t heard of the glass-infused wood product, but he noted that he’s seen “many products come and go” during his three decades in the industry.

It’s unclear whether the material has gained widespread use in Louisiana or elsewhere across the country."  More at:  http://theadvocate.com/news/neworleans/neworleansnews/7899967-123/innovative-wood-product-used-in 

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Everyone should take 5 minutes to read this.

"WRITTEN BY A COP: Everyone should take 5 minutes to read this. It may save your life or a loved one's life. In daylight hours, refresh yourself of these things to do in an emergency situation... This is for you, and for you to share with your wife, your children, & everyone you know. After reading these 9 crucial tips, forward them to someone you care about. It never hurts...

1. Tip from Tae Kwon Do :The elbow is the strongest point on your body. If you are close enough to use it, do!
2. Learned this from a tourist guide. If a robber asks for your wallet and/or purse, DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM. Toss it away from you... Chances are that he is more interested in your wallet and/or purse than you, and he will go for the wallet/purse. RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION!
3. If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car, kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole and start waving like crazy.. The driver won't see you, but everybody else will. This has saved lives.
4. Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping, eating, working, etc., and just sit (doing their checkbook, or making a list, etc.
DON'T DO THIS!) The predator will be watching you, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get in on the passenger side, put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go. AS SOON AS YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR , LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE..  If someone is in the car with a gun to your head DO NOT DRIVE OFF, Repeat: DO NOT DRIVE OFF! Instead gun the engine and speed into anything, wrecking the car. Your Air Bag will save you. If the person is in the back seat they will get the worst of it. As soon as the car crashes bail out and run. It is better than having them find your body in a remote location.
5. A few notes about getting into your car in a parking lot, or parking garage:
A.) Be aware:look around you, look into your car, at the passenger side floor, and in the back seat.
B.) If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the passenger door. Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars. C.) Look at the car parked on the driver's side of your vehicle, and the passenger side.. If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back into the mall, or work, and get a guard/policeman to walk you back out. IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. (And better paranoid than dead.)
6. ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs. Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and the perfect crime spot. This is especially true at NIGHT!)
7. If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN! The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times; and even then, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ. RUN, Preferably in a zig –zag pattern!
8. As women, we are always trying to be sympathetic: STOP It may get you raped, or killed. Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good-looking, well educated man, who ALWAYS played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He walked with a cane, or a limp, and often asked 'for help' into his vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim.
9. Another Safety Point: Someone just told me that her friend heard a crying baby on her porch the night before last, and she called the police because it was late and she thought it was weird.. The police told her 'Whatever you do, DO NOT open the door..' The lady then said that it sounded like the baby had crawled near a window, and she was worried that it would crawl to the street and get run over. The policeman said, 'We already have a unit on the way, whatever you do, DO NOT open the door.' He told her that they think a serial killer has a baby's cry recorded and uses it to coax women out of their homes thinking that someone dropped off a baby.. He said they have not verified it, but have had several calls by women saying that they hear baby's cries outside their doors when they're home alone at night.
10. Water scam! If you wake up in the middle of the night to hear all your taps outside running or what you think is a burst pipe, DO NOT GO OUT TO INVESTIGATE! These people turn on all your outside taps full blast so that you will go out to investigate and then attack.
Stay alert, keep safe, and look out for your neighbors!  This should probably be taken seriously because the Crying Baby Theory was mentioned on America 's Most Wanted when they profiled the serial killer in Louisiana. Please pass this on.  "

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What can $10 Get You In The World’s Poorest Countries?

"What can you do with $10? You can go to a movie or buy yourself two beers on a Friday night. You can get an ice-cream and a pop-corn. But we rarely think of the worth of our money on an international scale – what if you were living in one of the world’s poorest countries? What would you $10 be worth in a country where it’s equivalent to several days’ – even weeks’ – work.

The poorest countries earn less than 1000 Int$ on average in a year. Nine of the ten poorest countries on our list are in Africa – a stark example of the inequality inherent in the division of the world’s wealth. For those of us living in the countries at the top of the list, it’s hard to imagine existing on so little. To put your earning power into context, let’s look at what $10 can buy you in the world’s 10 poorest countries:  More at: http://www.therichest.com/rich-list/poorest-list/what-can-10-get-you-in-the-worlds-poorest-countries/

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Mouth Breathing During Exercise May Increase Your Risk for Asthma and Cardiac Problems

"Close to 80 percent of the Western population breathes incorrectly with habits such as breathing through your mouth instead of your nose, using the upper chest, and having noticeable breathing during rest.

Your nose is the only organ able to properly prepare the air you breathe; mouth breathing leads to overbreathing, chronic hyperventilation, depleted carbon dioxide levels, reduced blood circulation and narrowing of the airways.

Mouth breathing and resultant overbreathing elevates your blood pressure and heart rate and worsens asthma, allergies, rhinitis, sleep apnea, and deprives your heart, brain and other organs of optimal oxygenation.

Overbreathing and hyperventilation during exercise can lead to reduced performance, and can also cause vasoconstriction, which increases your risk for arrhythmias and heart problems, even if you have none of the usual cardiac risk factors. 

Your Nose: The Most Underused Organ in Your Body

Complete article at: http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2013/12/27/proper-exercise-breathing.aspx

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THE MOST AMAZING THING ABOUT TREES

"Trees are one of natures most magical things - they provide shelter and habitat for numerous species; during photosynthesis they produce oxygen which is vital for most life on Earth; and they are among the oldest living things on our planet. Let's all take a moment and really appreciate trees!"

"Trees create immense negative pressures of 10's of atmospheres by evaporating water from nanoscale pores, sucking water up 100m in a state where it should be boiling but can't because the perfect xylem tubes contain no air bubbles, just so that most of it can evaporate in the process of absorbing a couple molecules of carbon dioxide.  Now I didn't mention the cohesion of water (that it sticks to itself well) but this is implicit in the description of negative pressure, strong surface tension etc."

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10 Strangest Trees On Earth

"This list contains ten of the weirdest trees in the world - planet earth."

From me:  You might want to turn the volume down!  Maybe, it's just me, but I don't care for the loud music!

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10 most magnificent trees

"Some amazing trees, its significance and finally . . the vedic perspective of trees . ."

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The Reef of Heaven

Nan Madol is the only known ancient city ever built on top of a coral reef. Construction is thought to have started 1,500 years ago and the Saudeleur people built 92 islands in the water next to Pohnpei, which is today part of the Federated States of Micronesia. (Wikimedia/CT Snow)

An Amazing Fact: "Eight degrees north of the equator in Micronesia, on the remote island of Pohnpei, can be found the haunting ruins of Nan Madol—known also as the Machu Pichu of the Pacific. On this jungle-clad island surrounded by beautiful coral reefs rests a lost city made of bizarre stone “logs.”

The ruins of this forgotten civilization are one of archaeology’s best-kept secrets and greatest mysteries. Nan Madol, which means “reef of heaven,” was abandoned centuries ago. The ruins cover nearly 150 acres in shallow tidal waters bordering the reef-protected jungle, and a labyrinth of stonewalled canals crisscrosses 92 small manmade islands.

Its major buildings are constructed of giant stone logs that are 18 feet long and several feet in diameter. These logs are made of volcanic basalt crystal and weigh up to two-and-a-half tons. They are stacked like cordwood to form walls up to 50 feet high and 18 feet thick.
The main structures resemble the ceremonial squares constructed by the Mayans and Aztecs.

It would have required a large organized workforce and sophisticated culture to create this “Venice of the Pacific,” but this race of builders has vanished. The reasons for its construction, how the massive stone were transported, or why it was abandoned are all unknown. Even the natives now presently living on Pohnpei are equally mystified by Nan Madol.

In the book of Revelation, John describes a civilization that will last forever. A holy city will come down from heaven to the Earth and will be inhabited by God’s people for eternity. Immense and beautiful stones will be used in its construction. But one thing will be missing. Unlike Nan Madol, which had a temple, John says, “But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple” (Revelation 21:22).

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More about Nan Madol: http://www.weather.com/travel/mysterious-sunken-ruins-nan-madol-photos-20131118

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On This Day:

The euro debuts, Jan 4, 1999:

"On this day in 1999, for the first time since Charlemagne's reign in the ninth century, Europe is united with a common currency when the "euro" debuts as a financial unit in corporate and investment markets. Eleven European Union (EU) nations (Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain), representing some 290 million people, launched the currency in the hopes of increasing European integration and economic growth. Closing at a robust 1.17 U.S. dollars on its first day, the euro promised to give the dollar a run for its money in the new global economy. Euro cash, decorated with architectural images, symbols of European unity and member-state motifs, went into circulation on January 1, 2002, replacing the Austrian schilling, Belgian franc, Finnish markka, French franc, German mark, Italian lira, Irish punt, Luxembourg franc, Netherlands guilder, Portugal escudo and Spanish peseta. A number of territories and non-EU nations including Monaco and Vatican City also adopted the euro.

Conversion to the euro wasn't without controversy. Despite the practical benefits of a common currency that would make it easier to do business and travel throughout Europe, there were concerns that the changeover process would be costly and chaotic, encourage counterfeiting, lead to inflation and cause individual nations to loose control over their economic policies. Great Britain, Sweden and Demark opted not to use the euro. Greece, after initially being excluded for failing to meet all the required conditions, adopted the euro in January 2001, becoming the 12th member of the so-called eurozone. The euro consists of 8 coins and 7 paper bills.

The Frankfurt-based European Central Bank (ECB) manages the euro and sets interest rates and other monetary policies. In 2004, 10 more countries joined the EU—-Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. "

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Yesterday:

It was too cold to do anything else but stay indoors or go shopping.  I had heard that Jay had fallen off the wagon again, so I went shopping without him.  The main items on my list were different foods for my three animals. 

Misty, my old dog, is on prescription canned food for her ailing kidneys.  She could eat homemade food, but for me to make it exactly right, would be a big undertaking.  It has to be low protein, low phosphorus, high fat, with added supplements. 

Ava, my 'new' 12 year old cat, has just wanted to eat cheap Friskies canned cat which has bad 'by-products' in it, but I have finally found a better brand that she will eat.   

Nala, my foster cat was getting low on the only wet food that she will eat, refrigerated FreshPet.  Both these cats, if they had their way, would just eat dry cat food, which is so bad for them.

First place was the vet to get some more food for Misty.  Also, they wrote me a prescription, so that I can buy it at Petsmart, which is closer for me.  Next, I stopped at HEB to get Nala's refrigerated food, then on to Petsmart to get more of Ava's new food, and get Misty's prescription set up.  What we do for our critters, but they are worth it. 

The last stop was for a few groceries for me.  As Jay wasn't with me, I didn't even stop at any thrift shops.

It was cold until the sun came out, and then it was a nice, but still chilly day.