Piggyback

Find the Space Shuttle Piggyback ride as a calendar, poster, or framed art print at The PatriArt Gallery.

Imagine flying from California to Florida with nowhere to sit, no air conditioning, no place to store your bags -- not even a bathroom.

NASA keeps two 747s, known as the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), set up this way on purpose. The downstairs passenger area of these jetliners are kept as hollow inside as possible in order to carry a special cargo: a Space Shuttle orbiter.

One of these specially-modified SCAs brought the orbiter Discovery home to Kennedy Space Center in Florida after completing the historic Return to Flight mission. The SCA ferried the orbiter from Edwards Air Force Base in California, where it landed Aug. 9.

Ferry flights are few and far between these days, but don't let the light work schedule fool you: These aircraft have to work twice as hard as a normal 747 to get the job done.

"It's brute force that keeps us flying," explains Larry LaRose, a flight engineer on the SCA. "When we're carrying an orbiter, we have to use twice the power and a lot more fuel to maintain flight."

The passenger area has been stripped of many creature comforts, such as galleys, carpeting and even part of the inside temperature ductwork -- all for the sake of reducing weight. But the planes still weigh more than 250,000 pounds, and the drag created by the shape and weight of the orbiter -- 176,000 pounds or more, depending on any onboard payload -- negates the small amount of lift it adds.

During a normal flight, the SCA might use 20,000 pounds of fuel an hour; with an orbiter on its back, that number doubles.
The piggyback arrangement might look cumbersome, but how does it fly compared to a normal 747?

"It handles remarkably the same," says SCA pilot Gordon Fullerton. As chief pilot at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, his daily job involves flying jets for high-performance aircraft research. But Fullerton's experience with the orbiter and SCA dates back nearly three decades. In addition to being a Space Shuttle commander and pilot, he was one of four NASA astronauts to land the Enterprise during the Space Shuttle Approach and Landing Test program in 1977.

"It's obvious [the orbiter] is up there, because there's a constant rumble that you can feel because of the wake of the orbiter hitting the vertical stabilizer of the 747," Fullerton says of ferry flights. But other than long takeoff rolls and the need for some extra care in steep turns, "it's pretty much the same."
A small team of six specially-trained pilots and four flight engineers has the critical task of making sure this precious cargo has a safe trip from alternate landing sites.

Those who serve on SCA crews are former military aviators who are qualified to fly several types of aircraft, such as the Shuttle Training Aircraft, Super Guppy, zero-gravity aircraft and T-38 jets. Most are based at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, although LaRose is stationed in El Paso, Texas, and two are based at Dryden. Since ferry flights are seldom required, crew members train twice a year using simulators belonging to United Airlines.

Perhaps the biggest challenge the crew faces during a ferry flight is the weather. The orbiter cannot be exposed to moisture, turbulence or temperatures below -9 Centigrade and these restrictions determine the flight path and altitude. To meet those conditions in the winter months, they sometimes fly as low as 10,000 feet.

A "Pathfinder" aircraft, usually a U.S. Air Force cargo plane, flies 100 miles ahead of the SCA carrying weather officers and Space Shuttle personnel from Kennedy. Also onboard is an experienced SCA pilot, whose expertise helps the ferry flight crew keep to the safest route.

Adverse weather came into play on Discovery's recent ferry flight. Storms and hail at Edwards kept the piggybacked pair grounded for a few extra days. But every step of the way, people gathered to catch a glimpse of the odd-looking duo.

"You don't sneak into town with an orbiter," LaRose says, grinning. "It brings out a big crowd everywhere we go. It's a life experience for a lot of folks who have never seen something like this before."

Anna Heiney (NASA)

So, the other night I did a test run on the lunch which consisted of compost (pickled sallad), a grilled chicken and cameline sauce. The compost was very good, fresh and a great stomach filler. The chicken was very simple with a red wine and honey glaze. I was the most suprised with the cameline sauce. It had a very strong taste and really made a difference with the chicken.
Note to self: A couple of tablespoons is enough for one person.

I've used recepies from Medieval Cookery, but I've tweaked them a bit depending on how I have interpreted the original text. I'm planning on writing down a more extensive documentation, but that will have to wait a while. Just better make sure I don't loose all the little notes I've made! :)

/Cristina

One hopes that it is not an inauspicious omen for the reign of King Uther and Queen Kara when it started with a technological failure. The propane fueled torches ran out of magical burn juice, and when the sun set during their investiture, people resorted to reading proclamations by the light of pocket-torches.

GASP!

Yes, you read that correctly: Propane fueled torches.

But doesn't the SCA strive to re-create the Middle Ages? Don't the people in the SCA disdain modern technology?

To the first question, I think it's more accurate to say that the SCA strives to re-invent the Middle Ages. "The Middle Ages as it should have been" is their motto, and it should have included anti-biotics, gender and racial equality, zippers, eye-glasses and, evidently, propane.

To the second question, keep in mind that when the weekend was over, a very large percentage of Scadians went home to high tech jobs. Engineers, college professors, software designers, and yes, rocket scientists. Scadians tend to be among the most technologically savvy people I know. If I told you what I do for a living you'd plotz, so we won't go there.

There is no doubt in the mind of any Scadian that it's a game. In fact, it's called "playing" in the argot. If you go to a typical SCA event, you'll find signs of high tech everywhere, from REI tents to water that doesn't have to be boiled before you can drink it. But where else are you going to find such a large group of people who still know handcrafts? People who not only sew their own clothes, but weave the fabric. Make their own candles and the sconces to hold them. The quality of which is much higher than the cheap plastic crap most people buy at Target.

Yes, fighting with a sword is an archaic and rather useless skill in the age of automatic weapons and fighter jets, but tell the truth -- wouldn't you really like to try it out?  Don't tell me you haven't day dreamed about swinging the sword like Errol Flynn. And does the age of the automobile really make horse racing obsolete?

Yes, for the most part, high-tech is a good thing. But sometimes it's fun to turn it off.

SCA hade ett fåtal bilder runt miljö. Kanske sju stycken totalt. Förutom de på bossarna fanns två eller tre på vindkraftverk vilket kanske intresserar några som gör sökningen. Till exempel har vi denna bild:

Naturskyddsföreningen har också en stor samling pressbilder. Massor runt SCA faktiskt. Fast dom rankade inte på "pressbilder miljö" på Google. Åtminstone inte så högt att jag såg dem. Här finns dock deras bilder: SCA:s avverkning. Hela deras pressbilder har vi här: Pressbilder - miljö & miljöskydd. En av bilderna ser vi nedan:

Förhoppningsvis ska väl Naturskyddsföreningen ranka bättre på pressbilder + miljö framöver nu när de fått en fin ankartext.

Därmed absolut inte sagt att SCA har ett dåligt arkiv med pressbilder. Tvärtom tycker jag att det är föredömligt gjort och man kan bara att önska att fler företag arbetade så här. Så här har vi länken till bilder hos SCA: Pressbilder och Bildgalleri och Videoklipp. Pressbilder är alltså bilder med någon koppling SCA gjort där man ser nyhetsvärde. Bildgalleri är generella informationsbilder av intresse för den som ska skriva om SCA oavsett anledning. Videoklipp är just videoklipp.

Culture Minister Farouk Hosni said 15/8/2008 that four statues for sphinx have been recovered in the ancient city of Luxor.

The four giant statues are made of the sand stones and were found in Luxor's Eastern Bank.

Dr Zahi Hawwas, the Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the statues were found without the upper parts.

“They were fixed upon sand-stone bases, which were brought from Aswan by the Pharaohs,” he added.

He said the bases are inscribed with the name of the founder of the 30th royal dynasty King Nekhipto.

Hawwas said he will allocate LE 100,000 to restore the discovered statues in cooperation with the Luxor's Supreme Council chaired by Samir Farag.

The SCA is gradually clearing the entire length of the ceremonial avenue that ran between Luxor and Karnak temples, so this find isn't surprising, as the entire length was lined with statuary. However it's always heartening to see more late period sculpture gain attention, and that these ones will be restored.

Interestingly, a Middle East News article, carried by M&C, adds:

The team also excavated Ptolemic and Roman buildings along with a sandstone block that carries a cartouche (a royal title) of famed Queen Cleopatra, the last Ptolemaic ruler of Egypt.

Monsters & Critics

The SIS press release, however, doesn't mention this.

Pennsic 37: What can be said?  There were high and lows, times were I wanted to pack up my gear and go home and times were I was higher than a kite on the excitement of war.   I feel the best way to summarizer maybe to take my top 5 points and run with that.

1) OTC-ed: I was awarded my OTC this pennsic, and it was amazingly awesome!  I didnt see it coming (I never do) and was blown out of my boots when it happened.  Unfortunately, at the time I was suffereing from a light neck injury.  In the town Battle my hand became entrapped behind some ones sheild with my spear in hand than a charge happend and lets just say I got my butt jacked up and my head almost came off.  So, i was out of armour when I got my OTC and I wish I was in my armour, but between the Doc and Mrs Sir it wasn't going to happen!  Either way it was great!  I do want to say thank you to my knight for his guidence and support, my boys for traveling, bleeding and sweeting with me every step of the way and of the kindness of the women in my life that let me be the man and geek that I am.  I truely believe I couldnt have done this with out your support. 

2) Heroics Battle:  I believe I fought well, this was after I watched the film 10 times and convinced myself I did well.  I was nervous and my mind was racing, It had been a long time since I had to go all out and preform like that in front of people.  So I was stiff and my movement sucked, but I didnt get one shoted and F*&K that is good for only fighting for 2 years.  Still wish I won and brought back a W to the house but you cant always get what you want right?

3) Barrack: The Barracks worked out great! We had more than enough room for the guys and gear, also it aided making sure everyone was up and mustered at the correct time.  It did keep us virtuous as well, which is the most important part of war.  We go to throw stick not  bow chicks ( I have a GF and I wont mess it up) and it just leads to drama anyway.   Finally, living with the guys was great!  It really is something to get to hang out with them full time and not for an hour here and an hour there.  It was a blast and thanks guys for making it fun!

4) Friends: As always it was great to hang out with my buddies at pennsic each one of them adds a little something richer to my life and I couldnt be happier to know them!  They are all great people and I love them all. 

5) Unbelts: Now this was a experience!  To keep it on the positive side i would just like to say it is all about understanding the plan, following said plan and than hitting hard!  Also, all the rule of engagement go out the window when you make it in to the middle of the dog pile! 

Now that the Past is posted lets start talking about the future!  It is only 9 weeks till crown and crown will be deep this fall, I think all the big guns are showing up and bring all there toys too.  So I need to get my game up and going before than.  So training has started; last week when I was traveling I started running and weight training, this is the start.  Now I have moved in to pell, jump rope, running and Kelletball training to mix it up.  Keep my feet moving and my hand fast.  I am going to revise my sword making.  I need it lighter but with the same balance, so I am going to go though about 3 stick of rattan to make a better blade for myself.  Also, working my on sword work.  If I can move, and than stick harder, faster and with more accuracy than I will have a few more trick and tools to use.   Finally, my Kit might be ready by crown.  The padded cuisses should be ready, i am adding plastic copes under the padding to hide them!  (side note: I am going to work out a winter kit and a summer kitt)

Right now I'm working on a Millrind on a red background, where the background "pattern" is more in line with what you find in extant Opus Anglicanum pieces. At some point I'll bite the bullet and start doing OA medallions - an OA Keystone would be stunning, since that's on a gold field anyway (it's one of the few AE badges that aren't fieldless).

Shares of Silver State Bancorp (SSBX) fell 25% today on news that their second quarter loss was miscalculated and was actually larger than reported.  Ouch.  Google message boarders think the bank will go bust.  Its 52-week high is $19 and SSBX is currently trading at just 62 cents.  My very scientific calculation of dividing the current share price by the 52-week high yields the tiny fraction 0.0326, which tells me, in a very scientific way, that this thing is at least a decent bet and at most a real money-maker.  I’ll keep my $77 worth of shares until the real bottom is reached, then maybe average down.      

When starting this experiment, I set two goals for myself: to have a $1000 day, which happened yesterday, and to hit $10,000 by October.  Today I hit the second goal two months early, thanks mostly to the bond insurers PMI, ABK, MBI, RDN, and SCA.  So what now?  Let it ride!  I honestly wasn’t sure $10,000 would ever happen.  But it did.  So what’s the next goal?  I like base 10. 

The Dow moved sideways today to close the day up 44 points to $11,659.   Oil closed down $1.24 today to $113.77 on news that world demand is down.  Wasn’t demand in developing countries reportedly way up a month ago?  Wasn’t that the reason oil was at $140 a barrel?  Gee, things sure can change in a month!  Please, it’s all speculation. 

Whoo hoo, Friday!  I'm headed out of Massachusetts for the first time in a while. 

Anyway, having recently gotten together with my longest-standing friend-with-benefits, I'm having a bit of an issue; it's the normal got-a-crush, want-to-make-him-stuff things, which pop up every time we manage to have a rendezvous, but it's somewhat complicated by the fact that he Has A Wife in a rather big way. And the wife? She's a nice woman, but she's one of the type who married the guy convinced that her True Love was going to change him.

Of course, it hasn't. Will (I'm going to call him that for convenience) still chases everything in a skirt; he's a perfect gentleman about taking no for an answer, and doesn't hit on women who are clearly not interested (monogamous, homosexual, etc) or underage, but given that he's handsome, charming and successful that still leaves him rather a wide field. Gwen, the wife, doesn't like this, and spends a lot of her own and Will's time and energy pretending nothing's going on.

So I'm a bit conflicted. I don't like sneaking behind his wife's back; on the other hand, his primary relationship is not my job to police, and she knew perfectly well what he was like when she married him--when they met he was living with two other women and had quite the reputation even then.

So I want to make him stuff, and I really can't, because Gwen would want to know why I was doing it and I really don't want to be the reason for a divorce in that neck of the woods.

Maybe I can wait till he wins Crown Tourney and make stuff for both of them.

I guess I should explain that.

I'm active in a group called the Society for Creative Anachronism, which is rather like Civil War re-enacting for the Middle Ages. We pick kings (or, very occasionally, queens) by having a tournament in which guys bash each other with sticks till one wins; that guy gets to be king. Will's been king a few times, and I know he's planning to fight again sometime in the not-too-distant future; if he does, his odds of winning are decent.

One of the things about being royalty is, people give you stuff. So if he wins Crown, me giving him stuff would be perfectly innocuous.

...Over the decades, however, spontaneous urban and agricultural development around Abydos has affected the monuments. The city's inhabitants have encroached on the area in the vicinity of Seti I's temple. Some have cultivated the triangle in front of temple, leading to the leakage of drainage water into the temple, while others have constructed residential mud-brick and concrete houses around the temple walls and along the road leading to Ramses II's temple, which in its turn affects the scenery of the whole site.

The Cairo-Aswan highway was another threat to the archaeological site. The highway, a the mega-project for the government, was meant to strengthen domestic transport routes as a way of promoting tourism and boosting trade between the governorates; it was the ground of a major debate between three ministries: housing, agriculture and culture. The controversy was sparked when construction began on the section of the road linking Assiut to Aswan. Archaeologists from the SCA argued that the road would cause irrevocable damage to the major archaeological sites at Abydos, the primary pilgrimage destination for ancient Egyptians, through which it runs. According to Sabri Abdel-Aziz, who heads the SCA's Ancient Egypt Department, the Temple of Osiris, the royal cemetery of the first and second dynasties, the ramp of Senusert III's chapel and his funerary complex, as well as the ramp of Ahmos's Pyramid, and the famous Seti I Temple with its list of Egypt's ancient kings and queens, would all be in danger of destruction.

As a result, two committees -- comprising representatives from the ministries of culture, housing and agriculture, as well as Sohag governorate and transport authorities -- inspected the section of the road in question in an attempt to revise the route and reach a compromise.

Four suggestions were made. The first proposed detouring the route towards the agricultural land east of the archaeological site, thereby destroying 65 feddans of Sohag's most fertile land. The second would link the road via the desert behind the Abydos mountains at an additional cost of LE150 million.

The remaining two suggestions involved paving the area parallel to the Qasr canal, resulting in a 25-kilometre longer route that could end up necessitating the demolition of a number of rural houses, and, finally, an alternate route through an agricultural area, as well as an archaeological zone which must first be excavated prior to construction.

During the debate, Culture Minister Farouk Hosni said his ministry would not stand in the way of development projects meant to benefit the general public. However, he also said, the ministry was very serious about preventing the destruction of monuments. He said no new construction would be taking place until the newly-organised ministerial committee made its final decision. For his part, SCA Secretary- General Zahi Hawass suggested that the SCA was perfectly willing to help construct the proposed detours if that meant preserving Egypt's heritage.

After several meetings and inspection tours, the controversial parties agreed on the rerouting of the road and that the LE15 million which would be used for recompensing the residents would be provided by the three ministries concerned -- each would pay LE5 million. So far the SCA has paid three million, and when the construction of the new houses starts it will pay the rest.

The problem of water in Abydos is becoming serious. Abdel-Aziz told Al-Ahram Weekly that he counted three direct causes; namely the cultivation around the temple zone, the lack of a proper drainage system in the shanty housing areas near both temples, and the heightened level of the Nile in July and August, which in its turn augmented the level of water inside the Osirian.

Now, he continued, in collaboration with the Subterranean Water Research Centre and the Tarek Wali engineering bureau, the SCA was carrying out a comprehensive project to reduce the rate of subterranean water inside the Osirian. The triangle cultivated in front of the Seti I Temple had also been removed in an attempt to return it to its original feature.

"Abydos is archaeologically rich, and even more important historically than Giza and Luxor," Hawass said. "It was also a sacred pilgrimage site for Osiris, and almost every king in Ancient Egypt built a cenotaph or a chapel dedicated to the god of the afterlife." He said an LE20 million development project was now under implementation in order to end the problems Abydos is suffering from and to develop the whole site in a way that matches its archaeological and historical importance. According to the project, which will be implemented over the next six years, Abydos will regain its original scenic position.

In an attempt to protect the archaeological site of Abydos from any further encroachment, a wall will surround it and the 92 houses located along the road between both temples will be demolished. Residents will be moved to other houses now under construction by the Ministry of Housing in a nearby area after it has been archaeologically investigated. A high-tech visitor centre will be set up un front of the temple of Seti I, replacing the cultivated triangle, along with a cafeteria and a bookshop. "A sound and light show for the archaeological sites of Abydos is now under study as another tourist attraction," Hawass says.

That the original route for the highway was even considered is quite incredible. Abydos is perhaps the single most important religious site in Pharaonic culture. While it may lank the monumental splendour of Karnak or Giza, it's religious prominence dates back to the very foundations of Egyptian culture. The Pharaohs of the very earliest dynasties were buried here. Djoser's pyramid is the world's first monumental all-stone structure, but Khasekhemwy was showing the way, with a truly monumental mastaba with it's stone burial chamber, in Abydos.

One and half millenia later Abydos was the site of the last royal cenotaph to use the pyramid as an architectural form, for the founder of the New Kingdom, and re-unifier of Egypt, Ahmose I. In the 19th dynasty the city would be graced with the finest artwork that Pharaonic civilization would produce in a history spanning 3,000 years.

The archaeology of this site is hard to over-estimate. Whole swathes of Egyptian history have been made available to us by finds there. Without Abydos, it's not an exaggeration to say that our knowledge of Egyptian history, especially of the Early Dynastic period, would be in tatters. Perhaps nothing sums up the place better than the king list to which it gave it's name.

So it is with a sigh of absolute relief that I discover the Ministry of Culture (of which the SCA forms a part), and the ministries of housing, agriculture, and the transport authorities have finally reached an agreement not to build a massive highway right through it all.

The future plans for the site are very exciting, now that the "sword of Damocles" no longer hangs over it. The chance to clear some of the houses that crowd the area provide a great opportunity for further study, as well as safeguarding the site from water and sewerage. As at so many sites, water is a key issue at Abydos, as the sad state of the Osirion dramatically shows. The conversion of the "triangle" from agricultural to touristic use will no doubt also be of benefit here. The wall, meanwhile should hopefully "lock in" these benefits and help prevent any future encroachment back onto the site by housing and agriculture. Hopefully this will keep the site safe and secure from human and environmental harm, so that we can continue to learn from it's rich archaeological record, and preserve it's splendour.

The plans for touristic development here intrigue me, though. At present Abydos is hardly a visitor friendly place. The only way for a visitor to access the site is via a once daily convoy from Luxor which gives them - at most - 90 minutes at the temple, or by taking a train journey followed by a taxi from the station in a "private convoy", accompanied by police. As such, for the proposed S&L show and visitors centre to really take off, a major security / transport rethink will be needed. Is the Sohag governate finally considering opening it's doors to mainstream tourism?

Whilst another S&L show is not something I'd like to see inflicted upon the graceful walls of the Abydos temples, an easing of restrictions upon visitors, combined with a good site management programme, would be a welcome development that would allow more people(appropriately managed within the site) to appreciate a very important and beautiful site.

Interesting, exciting, disturbing, times in Abydos...

   Mistress Isolde is a remarkable woman. Her real name is Tracy Ross-Hopp, though everyone calls her by her SCA persona's name. She was born in London, England on August 23, 1955. She was once both a singer and a costumer for a british operahouse. She now is a Pelican (a teacher) for the SCA. She teaches a wide range of things, from dancing, to costume-making, to wine-making, to singing. She's really a Jack of All Trades.

   Around eight o'clock yesterday morning, her husband, Finn, left for work. Around nine thirty, a friend of Mistress Isolde calls, and Miss Izzy tells her she's going to another friend's house to pick elderberries for wine, but she wanted to stop off at a grocery store first, and that she'll be at class that night promptly at seven. This was the last time anyone spoke to her.

   Seven-thirty rolls around, and Mistress Isolde has not shown up to class. Her husband calls the home where classes are held and asks to speak with her, because he has not been able to get through to her cell-phone. Diana (who's real name is Michelle) says that Mistress Isolde isn't there. One of the people in class is the friend who called Mistress Isolde that morning, and says she meant to go picks berries that day, and to call the friend who's house to which she was going. Upon calling, her friend says that Mistress Isolde never made it there that day.

   One of the husbands then decides to get into the car and drive around to see if maybe she broke down and couldn't get a signal out to call anyone. He finds her car in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart. There isn't anything wrong with it. A look inside reveals that her purse, cell phone, and groceries are in it. She, however, is not. He goes into the Wal-Mart to have her paged, but she is nowhere to be found.

   Mistress Isolde is missing.

   The entire class (the ones who showed, because the weather had been bad that day) all get into their cars and caravan down to Finn's house, who is now beside himself with worry about his beloved wife. The two have been married many years and are joined at the hip. He's never gone more than a few hours without talking to her. The police are called and a missing persons report is being filed. The caravan of concerned SCA members arrival at his house at around ten P.M., and the sheriff's department is already there. They take down her discription and ask a lot of questions, many of which Finn can't answer as he his so distraught he's unable to form intelligable sentences.

   Finally, around five to midnight, there is a phone call. It's her. Finn is torn between being terribly irate at her for not calling sooner, and intense relief that she's not dead in a ditch somewhere. He asks her where she is and is she's alright, with the rest of us at the kitchen table, holding our breath, thinking that she's hurt and in the hospital. He hangs up the phone and joins us back in the kitchen, where we immediately assault him with questions. He hold up his hand and says that she is fine and not hurt. We ask him where she is, and he says, "Friends, you'll never believe it."

   Miss Izzy is in jail.

   Everyone at the table, including the police officer, collapses into fits of laughter, simply out of relief that she's alright, though to anyone who knows her the idea of her in the clink is hilarious. Then began the undertaking of bailing the poor old dear out. Two people went off to collect her van, which probably had ruined groceries in it, two other people went with Finn, who was in no condition to drive, to meet with the bailbondsman to post Miss Izzy's bond, and a few people stayed at Finn and Isolde's house to clean up and take possession of the keys to the van when it was brought back. Finally at two in the morning, she arrives back home. Considering all that she'd been through, she was in pretty high spirits. She then told us the story.

   She, being a little old british lady and is prone to stereotypical old lady behavior, put some kitty litter on the bottom of the cart and forgot it was there. She purchased the rest of her shopping, but left the store forgetting to pay for the litter. Security stopped her and indicated that she had an item unpaid for. She immediately offered to pay for it, but instead, she was told she was going to be arrested. She was taken to processing, where they asked her several questions, one of which was: "Do you have any tattoos?" He response was, "Goodness no, should I have?" to which, she said, they seemed disappointed. She was then incarcerated for nearly nine hours without a phone call, during which time she held a reading lesson for three gangbangers from the Gideon Bible. (I kid you not.) Eventually, the police who were holding her started asking her questions about her appearance. She then recieved her phone call, only after people had reported her missing. Justice, eh?

   To end her story, Miss Izzy said, "On the ride home, Diana said, now that I'm a 'hardened criminal' I have something called 'street cred', but I'm not quite sure what that means."

   It was really refreshing to see people come together and support each other during what could have been a truly terrible event in a person's life. This is why I love the SCA, and why I plan to be involved with it for many years.

Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni accompanied with Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Zahi Hawwas, inaugurated Monday 11/8/2008 the first stage of the Giza pyramids plateau development project.

The project that will be implemented by the Ministry of Culture on three stages to develop the plateau and prepare it for tourist visits will cost LE 300 million.

Minister Farouk Hosni inspected the first stage works that included building electronic ports, 18 km long security siege with 199 TV cameras around the tourist area to monitor all the area.

The works included as well fixing sophisticated weapons and explosive detectors and magnetic tickets machines.

Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawwas said the council will sign a contract with a specialized company to operate electric transport vehicles to move tourists and visitors from the parking lots to the archeological sites of the area.

During the visit, Minister Farouk Hosni announced the start of the 2nd stage of the project. The 2nd stage will include lighting works and paving the roads.

SIS Website

The BBC has reported the cost as £14 million, which allowing for exchange rates is lower than the figure given by the SIS. The Daily Telegraph has reported £13 million.

Focus has been on the high degree of technology and sophistication in the systems employed, including motion detectors, CCTV, metal detectors and even infra red cameras mounted along the perimeter. New reporters who attended the opening commented on the contrast between the incessant and omnipresent hawkers of hte plateau as it was previously (which had become almost as famous as the pyramids themselves) and the calm on the opening day of the new systems

Hawkers — many from the nearby impoverished neighborhoods looking to benefit from the tourist dollar — have had free rein, and have become notorious.

Tourists undergo a constant barrage from peddlers selling mock-ups of pharaonic statues and scarabs, T-shirts and other trinkets, or are followed by men on camels selling rides or photos — and rarely taking no for an answer. Young men even try to force their way into taxi cabs carrying foreigners toward the pyramids, looking to steer them to nearby horse stables for a ride around the site.....

.....It was not clear whether the trinket dealers were pushed out just for the day or whether they would return in a more controlled fashion. Kamal Wahid, the site's general director, said phasing out the hawkers will not be sudden or "unkind."

"Two years from now, you won't see them inside the site," he said. He added that a special area nearby will be designated for horse and camel riding for tourists — with the pyramids serving as a dramatic backdrop for photos.

International Herald Tribune

"Unkind" or not, I do hope that Wahid's assurances that the site will kept clear hold true. The previous situation was clearly unsustainable from all points of view. The site is extremely sensitive, and uncontrolled visitors, both tourists and hawkers, were essentially unsupervised. On my most recent visit to the site, earlier this year, I noticed many visitors climbing on the slopes of Khufu's pyramid as well as other structures. In addition the amount of animal traffic on the site was extremely high, which is both destructive and dangerous, given the number of un-excavated structures and the crowds in the area.

I am glad to see the project has reached this milestone, and I hope it is carried through to it's conclusion. The site is home to the greatest monuments of Egyptian civilization, to the tombs of some of the greatest rulers of the Old Kingdom, and is one of the world's most important archaeological sites. It is heartening to see that the infrastructure and polices be put in place so that visitors and traders alike begin to treat it as such.

I decided to buy lots of fabric this year, since I didn't get any last year. I always go for linen because you can get it at really good prices there. And of course I love wool but I don't buy much because I rarely have an occasion to wear it.  I bought all linen and one piece of wool (the white on the far right). They've already been washed! I'm excited about renewing my wardrobe with pieces appropriate to my time period.

Some fancy silk embroidery floss for doing, well, embroidery. I couldn't pass up these colors!

And beads. I've slowly been expanding my jewelry collection. My love is amber, but it's far too expensive. Last year I bought some carnelian and strung them into a necklace.  This year I still looked for amber, but the lengths were all funky. So, I got these jade beads and will make them into something, any length I want.

Etrade pushed my funds through this morning so I was clear to buy.  I picked up more shares of MBI and CHC, and then bought into ACA Capital Holdings (ACAH) before reading the news that hit Friday about the company writing no new business.  So about 15 minutes later I sold ACAH at a loss.  I also sold off TGIC today at a loss and for the same reason.  No new business can never be a good thing, and I should have read up first before buying.  Haven’t I learned this lesson already?  Yes I have; the reason I sold TGIC the first time was due to a “no new business” declaration.  I should have read up on ACAH before jumping in.  I’ll never learn!

With the rest of my available funds, I was only able to buy 40 shares of Silver State Bancorp (SSBX), which I should have bought into first, and had written a note to myself to buy into first, but for whatever reason didn’t.  It has a relatively low trading volume, but the tiny fraction created by dividing its 52-week high into where it’s currently trading was just too good to pass up.  I’ll pick up more SSBX later in the week.

By 1PM I set up a plan for what to buy into next.  UCBH Holdings (UCBH), MF Global (MF), AMCORE Financial (AMFI), and Corus Bankshares (CORS) all create tiny fractions when dividing the current price by the 52-week high, and UCBH and MF both reported some sort of second quarter gains.  CORS and AMFI had unusual upward movement today, which could be a red flag, and also have much lower trading volumes than UCBH and MF.  Because of all this, I decided my next two moves would be into UCHB and MF, as soon as Etrade clears the funds created from selling off TGIC and ACAH.

I’d like to take a second to scream how dope Michael Phelps is.  MICHAEL PHELPS, YOU ROCK!!  He doesn't represent every boy whose dad was an ass; he represents what every person can be.  Why Channel 7 shows soap operas over the Olympics I’ll never understand.  Ok, back to stocks.

Radian Group (RDN) reported a loss of $392.50 million ($4.91 per share) this morning as opposed to a profit of $21.1 million ($0.26 per share) this time last year, causing its share value to drop in the morning, but the news was quickly forgotten RDN closed up 8% on the day.  Reporting a profit these days is the anomaly, and even when a financial posts a profit, such as ABK last week, a stock can still fall.  There seems to be little rhyme or reason to financial stock prices in this environment, except that the announcement of “no new business” slaughters a stock price.  All other news is fair game.

The Dow was completely driven by oil today: when oil fell in the morning, the Dow made gains, and when oil had a change of heart around 2PM, so did the Dow.  http://www.advfn.com/p.php is a great site to watch the Dow, Nasdaq, and the S&P 500, and their connection to crude oil prices.  The Dow closed the day up 48 points to $11,782.  Oil closed the day down 75 cents to

$114.45, the lowest it’s been since May 1, and fell below the benchmark $113 a barrel at one point during today’s trading session.

After the closing bell, Syncora Holdings (SCA) reported a second quarter loss of $492.9 million ($7.67 per share).  It should move up or down (who knows?) in the morning.  Naked short sellers return tomorrow, and I'm starting to have serious doubts about the fate of Freddie Mac (FRE).  By the end of the week if the news that big wig Legg Mason bought millions more shares doesn't send FRE into the green, I may need to cut it loose.  Manny needs mental peace, I need mental peace.  Sinkers don't bring the peace, just the pain!

Front gate of Gryphon's Rest, our household. The sheetwall panels have our arms painted on them. Mine is the one on the left: green top, yellow bottom, squirrel. Most camps have some kind of entrance like this, displaying the name, with sheets for privacy and dust protection. Also keeps wanderers out of camp.

This is our lovely new dining fly, seen a few weeks ago at the demo. We had one long table down the center where we sat for dinner. The kitchen area was also under there, which was a little bit tight. Next year we'll move the kitchen out and get shelves for the storage shed.

Here we are, Lady Genevieve and Lord Rickard, standing in front of his pavilion before leaving for Midrealm Court. We had just gotten circlets (which we have had the right to wear for several years and didn't), so now we look semi-important. I have lots of sewing to do now that I'm home. Most of his tunics need to be taken in, especially in the sleeves. Apparently I didn't measure very accurately when I made them.

We had a good year. Rickard and I went dancing several nights, which was a great experience since in our home shire it's really hard to get people to dance. I went to a few classes, some good, some lame. Mostly I get frustrated and give up because there are so many women trying to get in, they just elbow you right out. I didn't do a whole lot of knitting or spinning, although I did buy a new spindle and some wool. I did a little bit of weaving and learned a new felting technique. It was good to get away and relax. We even had good weather.

I almost forgot! Today is my 3 year anniversary of spinning! In 2005 I took the Turkish drop spindle class at Pennsic and here I am today. It's really amazing what one little thing can do to change your life. For spinning, HOOBAH!

Telegram U.K. declared a burst of the oil bubble.  Well no shit.  All the Escalade drivers who have been [falsely] cursing China’s oil demand for driving up the cost of their premium unleaded must be thanking God for answering their prayers.  Ah, I’m just bitter today for being cheated by Etrade.  As a result of the burst in oil, transportation was the big winner today.

But all I could do today was watch.  Mbia (MBI) reported a surprise profit of $1.7 billion before the bell this morning, so its stock jumped big in early morning trading.  Between last night and this morning, I whittled today’s buy plan down to three stocks: 50 more shares of MBI before it hit the stratosphere, 100 more of CHC, and 50 more of ABK, but it was a no go on any of it.  Damn you Etrade!  Liars!

JP Morgan analysts, as if they’re any sort of authority these days, downgraded Ambac (ABK), so its stock fell even after the great profit it reported on Wednesday.  People on the Google message boards think it was a classic case of stock manipulation, and I may agree.  ABK ended the day down 8%, MBI ended the day up 3%, and CHC ended the day up 48%. 

Fannie Mae (FNM) reported a huge second quarter loss of $2.3 billion ($2.54 per share) and a slash of its dividend before the bell this morning, so it was no surprise its stock fell.  But it was a bit surprising that Freddie Mac (FRE) saw green today.  I know I still have a lot to learn about the stock market, but it struck me as odd that Fannie didn’t pull everything else into its vortex like Freddie seemed to do yesterday.  

All in all, I gained today, but not enough to erase yesterday’s huge loss.  The Dow closed up 303 points to $11,734, and oil closed down $4.82 to $115.20 per barrel.  The dollar made its greatest one-day gain in over five years, and gold hit a 3-month low.  The Beijing opening ceremonies are tonight, so the world’s eye will be in China. 

8x8x8 Show
Featuring Wooden Cow Gallery and Art Space Founders
Raine Klover and Regina Portscheller

Two Wooden Cow Gallery and Art Space founders, Raine Klover and Regina Portscheller, as well as the awesome Leau Phillips, are participating in a unique, themed show today!

The 8x8x8 show will exhibit from Aug. 8, 2008 to Sept. 7th, 2008 at the 105 Studios located on 105 4th St. NE located in the heart of downtown Albuquerque (4th and Central Ave.). This fascinating show features work which expresses the concept of 8x8x8.

Opening reception will be Friday, Aug. 8, 2008 from 5 p.m.-9 p.m. (light refreshments will be served).

Gallery hours are on Saturdays from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. or by appointment. You can call for an appointment at: 363-3868 or 891-5101.

The Adios Show
Photography by PD Rearick

This is PD Rearick's "goodbye" show, featuring his intriguing photography; a mix of the organic and architectural. He's off to attend grad school at Cranbrook.

Reception runs 6 - 10 pm, at the Los Poblanos Organic Farm Warehouse, at 2000 Carlisle (south of Indian School).

INPrintmaking
A show of printmakers

My pal Richard Cutshall will have some of his fabulous etchings, wood blocks, and other print-made work in this wild show. SCA (not connected to the Society for Creative Anachronisms) is a cool, edgy, urban warehouse venue with high ceilings and rough edges.

Tonight's reception is 5 - 8 pm. The work is on display for the month.

SCA CONTEMPORARY ART
524 Haines NW
Albuquerque, NM 87102
M-F 9-5 and by appointment
505-228-3749

Reading through the Web Edition the Wednesday afternoon I read the results of the Atlantian Five Man-Melee Tournament . The tournament took place yesterday with eight teams of five each. They had four matchups with it all coming down to the Thieves of Hearts, Stormguard, Caer Mear, and Death for All Occasions. The final ended with Caer Mear defeating Death for All Occasions. Caer Mear was presented silver pins and Thieves of Hearts presented with silver rings.

Egypt to DNA-test 2 fetuses from King Tut’s tomb

CAIRO: Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities says the country’s scientists will start DNA tests on two mummified fetuses found in the tomb of King Tutankhamun to determine their link to the young pharaoh.

The fetuses were found in 1922 in the tomb in Luxor and have since been stored at Cairo University. They are widely believed to be King Tut’s stillborn children.

The tests will be carried out in collaboration with Cairo University’s Faculty of Medicine under the leadership of Dr Ashraf Selim, head of Cairo Scan.

Selim together with Dr Yehia Zakaria of the National Research Center have carried out CT scans of the two fetuses and took samples to make the DNA tests.

The council quotes in a statement Egypt’s Antiquities chief Zahi Hawass as saying the test will also try to determine the fetuses’ mother as well as Tutankhamun’s family lineage, a mystery that has baffled Egyptologists for years.

And what, precisely, do we hope to gain from this? A snippet from further into the article rasies some eyebrows for me...

Hawass said the tests will also help in identifying the mummy of Queen Nefertiti.

Which the last batch of DNA tests and CAT scans were supposed to have already established. I am not personally convinced that the ethical issues involved, and the time and cost spent on DNA testing of the royal mummies is consistently repaid in concrete advances in our knowledge. I am willing and ready to concede that some breakthroughs have been made, particularly in regards to the royal line of the early 18th Dynasty. But, at some point a line needs to be drawn between "testamania", and ethically and practically justifable research, which we can reasonably expect to deliver a significant advance to our understanding.

In addition, most archaeology involves conservation and preservation of material. DNA testing is unusual in archaeology in that it is the opposite. DNA testing is damaging to, and invasive of, the human remains which are subjected to it.

Egypt, Italy sign protocol to set up center for renovation antiquities

Egypt and Italy sign in October a protocol whereby a first Egyptian-Italian center will be set up in old Cairo for renovation of ancient antiquities," Minister of Culture Farouq Hosni said Saturday 1/8/2008.

The protocol will be signed by the ministers of culture of the two countries on the sidelines of a visit to Egypt by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, Hosni said.

Following his return from Italy's Turin city where he opened the renovated Egyptian Museum (Musee Egizio Di Torinio) Hosni added his visit to Turin was a landmark visit due to the importance of the occasion, which saw the renovation of the Egyptian museum and in view of the close ties between the two countries.

He added that he discussed with his Italian opposite number Sandro Bondi means of promoting cooperation in the cultural field.

Egypt restored six stolen ancient statues

Egypt restored six stolen Pharaonic statues that were unearthed in 1985 by an English-Dutch archaeological mission in Saqqara, 30 km south of Cairo," Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities Secretary General Zahi Hawwas said Monday 4/8/2008.

Among the statues was the ancient funerary "Ushabti", carved in green faience, which was stolen from Sekhemkhet storehouse in the vast ancient burial ground of Saqqara, Hawwas said.

The statue is 8.5 cm tall, 2.9 cm wide and 2 cm thick with hieroglyphic inscriptions at its front and back, he said.

A Dutch businessman purchased the statue, which represents a woman from the 19th Dynasty, from an auction in Brussels, but when he sought to check its historic value at the Leyden Museum, he was told that it had been stolen from Egypt.

The man reported the theft to the Dutch security authorities and to the Dutch courts who ruled that the relic had to be returned to Egypt. He regained the money he paid at the auction.

Note - The Daily News Egypt / Daily Star also published an article on this recovery, but report that only a single figure has been recovered. Link