Some sleeping poses of cats

Cats like sleeping. Here you can see some of them sleep comfortably in different poses – some hanging, curling or straightening-out like human, piling up and drooping because of tiredness. They all sleep well and enjoy every moment of their relaxation. Of course some possess skills of their own.

The 75th Anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California celebrates its 75th anniversary with fireworks on May 27, 2012. This 1.7 mile steel suspension bridge, one of the modern Wonders of the World, first opened to pedestrians on May 27, 1937 and to traffic the next day. At the time, the Golden Gate was the world’s longest suspension bridge.

Engineer Joseph Strauss designed the bridge which distinguishes itself by its unique color, chosen by architect Irving Morrow and dubbed International Orange.The paint originally ensured visibility for passing ships and served as a sealant to protect the bridge from the salty mist from the Golden Gate Strait after which it was named, the entrance to the bay from the Pacific Ocean. 

Construction of the bridge took four years. Some 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometers) long, it is 90 feet (27 meters) wide and its two towers reach 746 feet above sea level. Traffic is suspended 220 feet above the water.

Pedestrians and cyclists can access the bridge along with motorists. But the span also has a grim history as a popular place to commit suicide.

Tens of thousand of people came to San Francisco’s waterfront last Sunday to mark the anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge, the distinctive orange vermilion structure that attracts some 10 million visitors each year.

The city hosted a massive celebration complete with music, dance vintage cars and motorcycles, as well as a fireworks display showcasing the iconic bridge at the entrance to the San Francisco Bay.

Events marking the bridge’s anniversary are also taking place all year long, and a new visitor center was opened in early May at the southern entrance.

A Severe Eruption on Montserrat 1997

Severe volcanic eruptions did come to Montserrat on June 25, 1997. The needle of the seismograph began to move actively at the observation station at 03:00 hours. Smog began to form around the hills. Only observation of the eruption could be done from the air by helicopters. The local radio station warned the residents in the affected areas of the coming dangers and asked them to leave as early as possible. At 12:45, the needle  of the seismograph vibrated vigorously. At 12:55, the Soufriere Hills erupted. Super-heated rocks and steam burst and the rocks rolled down the valleys.

There were two more eruptions. The third one was most severe. The ash rose to a height of 13500 metres. The red-hot debris flowed 7 km down at a speed of 128 km per hour, along the valleys, over the spurs, spread over the plain, melted everything and buried the houses along their paths. Around 6.4 million cubic metres of melted rocks had burst out from the crater.

Four days after the eruption, the volcanic activities subsided. The northern part of the crater had cracked open and fallen. The temperature of the red-hot rocks had once reached 600 degrees Celcius. On the day of eruption, 19 people died. Many people left the island after the eruptions and less than 4500 stayed behind.

First Eruption on Montserrat 1995

Eighty percent of the public facilities were built in the shadow of the Soufriere Hills, the tallest of all on the island of Montserrat. Plymouth is the capital in which most of the people work and live. Farms are found on the fertile slopes here.

The dense vegetation on the fertile soil in this tropical paradise cover up some hidden dangers.As a matter of fact, Montserrat lies on the most active parts of the Caribbean Sea plates. As the North Atlantic Ocean plates moved west, it sank and melted into lava. After thousands of years, the lava moved up to form the Leeward Islands of which Montserrat was one.

On July 18, 1995, the sounds of jet engines were heard. Eruption of Soufriere Hills began. Volcano Specialists came flying in to set up observation points and a centre to monitor the eruptions. They considered the sounds were made by steam expulsion The length and intensity of the eruptions were recorded 24 hours a day and closely observed by the scientists.

Another “steam expulsion” burst out volcano ashes, mud and steam to a height of 2 kilometres. The whole of Montserrat was shaken up. The south-western part of the island was covered by a thick blanket of volcano ashes. Half an hour later, the ash was dispersed. Once more, sunlight came through the dust and the entire area was covered with ash. The local people called that day as “Grey Monday”. With the assistance of British army, 6000 citizens were evacuated to the temporary homes north of the island.

Black Labels

For the first time, I see a black label (a blue one for ordinary and a pink one for Cara Cara) on an orange today. What does it mean? It means it is an orange of “Late season”. I guess it is a signal to the world that the harvest season of this kind of oranges will going to end.

Our family has been eating these first class oranges for months. What do we expect to see in the new “orange world” in Hong Kong? Most probably the forth-coming oranges are from South Africa instead of California, U.S.A. Other sources may be from Australia. Am I right? Let me see.

如此這般不規則的條紋圖案

看上這樣植物的葉子時，不僅帶給我一個變幻莫測的感覺，也送給我一個驚嘆！這全因為它們上面的條紋圖案塊塊不同，產生像畫家隨意在葉上畫上花紋的效果，一絕也!

Trawlers at work

In the old days when I was at school, I learned methods of fishing from a Geography text-book. The methods are illustrated by drawings instead of photos.

Trawling is one method of fishing. A large wide-mouthed net is dragged along the sea bottom to catch fish. Usually trawlers go in pairs.

With my digital camera on May 4, 2012, I could take some clear photos of two trawlers at work in Tolo Harbour  because the sky was blue and that the trawlers came closer to the shore where I was standing.

To my delight, I learned a “better” lesson that day than that from an old text book many years ago

Solar Eclipse 2012

There were so many people on earth, expecting to watch the Annular Eclipse of the Sun yesterday.

Solar Eclipse becomes a hot topic among the citizens of Hong Kong and quite a number of people crowded along the sea-front at Tsimshatsui especially the Avenue of Stars on the early morning of May 21, 2012. They were armed with cameras and telescopic and astronomic devices in watching the phenomenon. Our Space Museum provided filters to the audience so that they would not watch the sun directly and their eyes thus protected.

It was unfortunate indeed that thick white clouds covered up the sky over Tsimshatsui which ruled out the possibility of seeing the “diamond ring” on the sun.

Peter Ng, my student of early years at CCSC, took a series of photos of the eclipse of the Sun at short intervals in recording the whole process of Partial Eclipse since where he lives in California was not on the path of the sun which created Annular Eclipse with the moon, I admire his patience and professionalism. His photos were well taken.

Peter said, “I took pictures of the partial solar eclipse (I am a few hundred miles south of the path limit) in my backyard and combined them together.”

Then Peter added, “Near the end of the eclipse, the sun shone past the leaves of a tree in my yard which acted as pinhole projectors. It created a montage of the crescent sun on the side of my house.”

Old Stamps of Montserrat

These old stamps have been dormant in one of my stamp albums for more than four decades until yesterday when I saw a documentary television program about some intensive eruptions on Montserrat. The program woke me up because it seems that I own some stamps of this British colony.

Montserrat (蒙特塞拉特島), 16.5 km long and 10 km wide (the size of Dublin) is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean Sea. It is interesting that one stamp shows its shape and location (latitude 16.45 degrees North and longitude 62.10 degrees West).

The values of the stamps are respectively one cent and half, which reflect that the stamps must be very old. I guess the stamps might be first issued in the 50’s or 60’s.

Another thing is that my memory is not too bad. To my delight, I do remember the existence of such stamps in my collection, but unfortunately I forget what they look like.

I believe these stamps are rare now because of their old age. Although they are a bit stained, I treasure them as if they were my money.

Drive it

“Drive it” is a TV Car magazine. Recently, two compact cars, one European and the other Asian, are compared.

They are Renault Clio from France and the Korean Kia Rio introduced in 1990.

The Renault Clio was first introduced in 1990 and now it is the third generation and received a facelift in mid 2009 to make it fit the current Renault design line including 3-door and 5-door versions and a selection of 5 gasoline and 3 diesel motors between 55 and 146 kilowatts. The top speed of Clio is 188 km/h. From 0 – 100 km/h, it takes 11.0 seconds. The fuel consumption is 5.4 litres (prem.). The CO2 – emission is 125 g/km. The price is 16,800 Euros.

The Kia Rio has been available in Germany in its third generation since 2000. The new Rio model came onto the market in 2011 and so it looks more dynamic than its French competitor Where the Kia looks aggressive, the Renault looks friendly. The Kia’s appearance is a creation of designer Peter Schreyer, who switched from VW to Kia in 2006. He is a man behind Kia’s new styling.


The tail lights are divided in the Kia Rio. The Clio has a single bank of lights in the rear. The Rio has a sloping hatchback  for better use of space. The Renault’s interior is a plastic landscape. Some better materials are also used, but overall, the quality and design leave something to be desired. The stubby controls seem odd. The GPS system has an SD card memory, but its remote-control operation is unwieldy. The interior of the Kia is typically Asian: lots of buttons, but the design is more attractive and the materials are more crafted and the controls have a sportier and zestier feel than the Clio.

The Rio in the Spirit variant with a 1.4 – litre gasoline engine was tested. Its top speed is 183 km/h. From 0 – 100 km/h, it takes 11.5 seconds. The fuel consumption is 5.5 litres (prem.) The CO2 – emission is 128 g/km. The price is 18,390 Euros.

From the test, the Rio has the advantage in the driving experience. The steering responds well and conveys a pleasant feeling. The Clio’s typically-French loose steering is not as much fun as with the Korean car. Ultimately, the Korean challenger beats the French car in the test!

A Fashion Show at home

Half a month ago, Elly and Abby had a fashion show at home. Elly dressed in a beautiful light red-striped blouse with long sleeves up to her wrists. On her pair of trousers bore the words and the picture of a heart meaning: I “love” mama and papa. Elly was bare-footed at home, simply because she had for long accustomed to the home-style in Canada on carpets and tiles.
   
Abby had just returned from school after five. It was a Friday that no school uniform was necessary. Owing to the teaching “theme” of science at school, she wore a pink short-sleeved blouse with a big light-blue butterfly with words “love bug” at the centre. It was nice to see pink and purple flowers scatter over her white A-shaped skirt. This kind of dress-style could have well hidden her slimness. One particular thing about her blouse was the hood which could be pulled up to cover the head and the ears when it was necessary.

Freitag Bags

Freitag, in German, means “Friday”. It is the brand-name of individual recycled-freeways bags ( or simply called F-bags 星期五包). At Zurich, one out of ten people uses this kind of bags. There are quite a number of selling points around the world. In Asia, only Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Turkey sell this product.

The first Freitag bag was hand-made by the two Freitag brothers in 1993. Their concept was good because the bags were made by materials recycled from the large tough waterproof truck tarps (a sort of canvas) and their straps from used safety belts of cars and the rims from used interior tubes of bicycles.

It is amazing that one can select a section or sections from any of the 12 new regularly posted-up canvases to design his/her own bag through the website of the company before he/she makes orders.

Bags can be bought at the shop at Geroldstrass 17 8005, Zurich, Switzerland.

A Summer Resort

Tolo Harbour recently becomes a summer resort because its quietness makes it an ideal ground for windsurfing.

Yesterday, I spotted three surfers riding their sailboards over the harbour with fair winds which wrinkle the sea and drive the surfers forward with ease. The sails were black, white and black. What I expected to see were bright-coloured sails.

A Super Full Moon photo taken from San Francisco

Recent Super Full Moon interests some of the people on Earth. Here comes another photo of Super Full Moon shot by one of my students, Peter Ng, at San Francisco, North America. He noticed that the look of the Moon is quite different when viewed from Northern Hemisphere where he is living from that in Southern Hemisphere (at Sydney).


Peter Ng said, "I also took a picture of the Super Moon. The time was 9:30 PM California Daylight Saving time (GMT -7). The moon was not very big since it was quite high up by that time. What interesting though is the difference in view angle between Sydney and San Francisco."

This difference, I think, can be judged by the positions of the seas on the Moon (dark patches).

A Super Full Moon photo taken from Sydney

My close relative, Ho Chung, shot these photos after he heard from the TV news saying that the moon would be nearest to the Earth and for Sydney at around 19:00 (local time). People call such phenomenon as "Super Full Moon".

"Both photos were taken using f/8, ISO100 at our backyard around 18:51 Sydney time (about 16:51 Hong Kong time), yesterday (6 May 2012). The direction of the moon was at Eastern side of the sky, possibly ESE. The first one was using speed of 1/400", and the second one 1/500".

I shot them using manual option with my usual small SONY camera."

Let us further look at the description of “Super Full Moon” from Sydney Morning Herald, 7 May 2012:

If you caught a glimpse through the clouds over Melbourne and the moon looked bigger and brighter than normal last night, you weren't imagining it.

According to astronomer Geoff Wyatt, as the moon set behind the westerly horizon on Sunday morning it would have appeared 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter than the smallest full moon of the year, which will be on November 29.

The reason for the super-sized moon with its apparent extra dash of lunar luminescence is simple: distance. Last night's full moon coincided with a moment in its orbit when it passed closer to Earth.

Mr Wyatt, senior astronomer at Sydney Observatory, said the moon was currently 356,955 kilometres from Earth — a relative hop, skip and a jump.

The average distance between the moon and Earth is 384,403 kilometres, while at its furthest point, it can be more than 400,000 kilometres away.

This is because the path the moon takes to orbit the Earth is an oval shape, meaning distance between the two is constantly changing.

"This weekend the full moon occurs at its best and brightest when it is closest to the Earth," Mr Wyatt said.

The last time the moon was this close to Earth was March last year, when its orbit brought it within 356,575 kilometres.

The closest the moon will come to the Earth between now and 2020 is on November 14, 2016, when it will pass 356,509 kilometres away.

Mr Wyatt said there was no reason to fear the increased proximity of the moon would trigger earthquakes.

"We're talking a couple of hundred kilometres here and there over about 300,000 kilometres, it's insignificant," he said.

Astronomical Society of Victoria spokesman Perry Vlahos agreed the proximity would have little effect on tides or earthquakes.

"I went back and actually looked at the last 400 years and picked out the earthquakes with the largest magnitudes on the Richter scale and not one occurred when the moon was closest to the Earth," he said.

"There won't be any undue effects on the Earth, apart from it being a wonderful sight."

A recent Top Gear Programme

In the Middle East Special 26 December 2010, the presenters are challenged to perform the journey of the Three Wise Men by travelling from northern Iraq to a stable in Bethlehem, using second-hand two-seater convertibles bought for £3,500. As Israel will not allow cars registered in its surrounding neighbours to enter its borders, they must buy cars from Georgia before flying to their destination in an Ilyushin Il-76TD cargo plane. Jeremy buys a Mazda MX-5, Richard a Fiat Barchetta and James a BMW Z3. As in previous challenges, a spare car is provided to any presenter whose car breaks down. For this challenge, that car is an Opel Astra convertible - a car disliked greatly by all three presenters.

After landing at Arbil International Airport in Iraqi Kurdistan, the three decide that it is too dangerous to drive directly to Bethlehem for fear of road bombs or mines in travelling through the stronghold of Mosul. Instead, Jeremy proposes a circuitous route that involves travelling east and crossing into Iran and then doubling back into Turkey and down into Syria to avoid the dangers of Iraq. However, once they reach the Iranian border, they find that for "political reasons", BBC staff are not permitted to cross into Iran. They manage to find a route back across Iraq to the Turkish border that bypasses Mosul.

Once inside Turkey, they discover that they have a bigger problem: a Kurdish insurgency is attempting to claim the southern provinces of Turkey and that the region has been declared a war zone, with the Foreign Ministry issuing a document that states all non-essential travel should be avoided. The presenters are given four hours to travel the 363 kilometres (226 mi) to Şanlıurfa, a safe city, before nightfall, a journey that will force them to travel through the unsafe region of Şırnak. Jeremy experiences trouble with his Mazda, but all three are able to make it to the hotel.

They finally turn south and enter Syria. Once inside, they discover that Top Gear is enormously popular in Syria, which they are less than enthusiastic about because Israel will not allow them into the country if they have been in Syria, and any word of their presence in the country will spread like wildfire and tip the Israelis off before they can get to the border.

Jeremy proposes that they "sneak through" the country by modifying their cars for desert travel. Richard models his Fiat on a Bedouin tent, while James takes inspiration from the Afrika Korps and models his BMW on a desert army unit. Meanwhile, Jeremy paints his car in bright colours to resemble the story of Joseph and his coat of many colours, making it Jeremy and his Car of Many Colours. He also installs the "Axle of Evil" to make his Mazda a six-wheeled vehicle, though this quickly proves to hinder him more than it helps.

While travelling through the desert, Richard's radiator nearly falls out and Jeremy is bitten by an unidentified insect that causes his arm to swell up. Of more concern is an accident whilst attempting to drag a car out of a sand trap; James May is knocked over by the strap used to haul the car out and receives a head wound when he hits his head on a rock. He is taken to a nearby hospital while Jeremy and Richard carry on. They soon find a road near Palmyra and change their tactics: rather than disguising their cars, they disguise themselves, meeting May at the hospital dressed in burqas and attempt to drive to Damascus incognito. Their efforts are in vain, because word has spread that they are in the country and there is a welcoming party at their hotel.

The next day, they cross into Jordan and arrive in Jerash, where they invent the sport of "Old Testament NASCAR", racing their cars around a two thousand year old chariot racing circuit. With that, they cross into Israel and make a slight detour to the Sea of Galilee, where Jeremy tries to convince the others that everyday activities and natural occurrences - James' head wound and his arm healing, Richard not liking fish at lunch, walking on water and inventing the sport of swimming - are all miracles that he had performed. On the Mount of Olives, overlooking Jerusalem, they unanimously declare Richard's Fiat to be the best car, because James hated the transmission of his Z3, which he described as having gear ratios so spread out that he could fit another gearbox between them, and Jeremy did not develop an attachment to the MX-5.

That night they finally make it to Bethlehem, where they arrive at a nativity scene with gifts they have purchased in Syria: a gold-relief medallion, a bottle of hotel shampoo labelled frankincense and a Nintendo DSi because Jeremy could not find any myrrh. They peel back the covers on the manger to discover that the baby Jesus is actually a baby Stig.

Treatments of cocoa beans before shipment

Let us see how cocoa beans are treated before they are ready for shipment to Europe and United States.

The harvested cocoa pods are opened to expose the beans. The pulp and cocoa seeds are removed and the outside skins discarded. The pulp and seeds are then piled in heaps, placed in bins, or laid out on grates for several days. During this time, the seeds and pulp undergo "sweating", where the thick pulp liquefies as it ferments. The fermented pulp trickles away, leaving cocoa seeds behind to be collected. Sweating is important for the quality of the beans, which originally have a strong bitter taste.

A typical pod contains 20 to 50 beans and about 400 dried beans are required to make 454 grams (one pound ) of chocolate. Cocoa pods weigh an average of 400 grams (0.88 lb) and each one yields 35 to 40 grams dried beans.

The wet beans are then transported to a facility so they can be fermented and dried. They are fermented for four to seven days and must be mixed every two days. They are dried for five to fourteen days, depending on the climate conditions. The fermented beans are  spread out over a large surface and constantly raked to dry. In large plantations, this is done on huge trays under the sun or by using artificial heat. Small plantations may dry their harvest on little trays. Finally, the beans are trodden and shuffled about (often using bare human feet) and sometimes, during this process, red clay mixed with water is sprinkled over the beans to obtain a finer color, polish, and protection against molds during shipment to factories in the United States, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and other countries.

Cocoa

Today, let us look at the cocoa grown in Madagascar (馬達加斯加), Africa. We can see the pods of Cocoa growing on trees and their seeds when the pods are cut open.

What people interested in are the Cocoa beans (also cacao beans ) from which cocoa solids and cocoa butter are extracted. They are the basis of chocolate.

A cocoa pod (fruit) has a rough leathery rind about 3 cm thick (this varies with the origin and variety of pod). It is filled with sweet, mucilaginous pulp enclosing 30 to 50 large seeds that are fairly soft and white to a pale lavender color. While seeds are usually white, they become violet or reddish brown during the drying process.

Cocoa trees mainly grow in hot, rainy tropical areas within 20° of latitude from the Equator. Cocoa harvest is not restricted to one period per year. Usually it occurs over several months and in many countries cocoa can be harvested at any time of the year.

Immature cocoa pods have a variety of colors but most often are green, red, or purple, and as they mature their color tends towards yellow or orange, particularly in their creases. Unlike most fruiting trees, the cacao pod grows directly from the trunk or large branch of a tree rather than from the end of a branch. This makes harvesting by hand easier as most of the pods will not be up in the higher branches. The pods on a tree do not ripen together; harvesting needs to be done periodically through the year. Harvesting occurs between 3–4 times to weekly during the harvest season. The ripe and near-ripe pods, as judged by their color, are harvested from the trunk and branches of the cocoa tree with a curved knife on a long pole. Care must be used when cutting the stem of the pod to avoid injuring the junction of the stem with the tree, as this is where future flowers and pods will emerge. It is estimated one person can harvest 650 pods per day.

Menorca

Menorca or Minorca ("minor island"), shaped like a ginger, is one of the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. It takes its name from being smaller than the nearby island of Majorca.

Menorca has a population of approximately 94,383 (in 2010). It is located 39°47' to 40°00'N, 3°52' to 4°24'E. Its highest point, called El Toro or Monte Toro, is 358 m (1174 ft) above sea level(see the two small photos in the top left) .

Mahón
Currently the island’s capital, Mahón is inhabited by around 20,000 people. It is the largest town in Menorca, a very busy port (see the top right photo and the small one immediately below it) located at the end of a vast natural harbor. Menorca was once a part of the British domain, and the remarkable structures in Mahon make this evident.

Ciutadella (Ciudadela)
The beautiful town of Ciutadella (see the aerial photo and the small bottom-right photo) was the capital of Menorca from the Moorish era until the 18th century. Declared National Monument by the Spanish state, the town of Ciutadella consists of vibrant, zigzagging streets and aged structures, including several baroque churches.

The Victoria Falls

The Victoria Falls (the Smoke that Thunders) is located in southern Africa on the Zambezi River between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe.

While it is neither the highest nor the widest waterfall in the world, it is claimed to be the largest. This claim is based on a width of 1,708 metres (5,604 ft) and height of 108 metres (354 ft), forming the largest sheet of falling water in the world.

For a considerable distance upstream from the falls, the Zambezi flows over a level sheet of basalt, in a shallow valley bounded by low and distant sandstone hills. The river's course is dotted with numerous tree-covered islands, which increase in number as the river approaches the falls. There are no mountains, escarpments, or deep valleys which might be expected to create a waterfall, only flat plateau extending hundreds of kilometres in all directions.

The Victoria Falls is roughly twice the height of North America's Niagara Falls and well over twice the width of its Horseshoe Falls. In height and width Victoria Falls is rivalled only by South America's Iguazu Falls.

David Livingstone, the Scottish missionary and explorer, is believed to have been the first European to view the Victoria Falls from what is now known as 'Livingstone Island' in Zambia, the only land accessible in the middle of the falls. David Livingstone gave the falls the name 'Victoria Falls' in honour of his Queen, but the indigenous name of 'Mosi-oa-Tunya' — literally meaning the 'Smoke that Thunders' — is also well known. The World Heritage List recognizes both names

The above information has been extracted from Wikipedia.