So it took an iPhone app to make me relize that my current out look sucks… Oh and there will be more pie charts, worry not!
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From Africa to the Himalayas, everyone’s worried about global warming’s potential to drive world conflict. But what about the disputes it will solve? A long-running argument between India and Bangladesh over a small island in the Bay of Bengal has just been resolved: the island’s not there anymore:
New Moore Island [also known as South Talpatti] in the Sunderbans has been completely submerged, said oceanographer Sugata Hazra, a professor at Jadavpur University in Calcutta. Its disappearance has been confirmed by satellite imagery and sea patrols, he said.
“What these two countries could not achieve from years of talking, has been resolved by global warming,” said Hazra.
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Advances in solar power aren’t always the most immediately exciting sort of developments (a more efficient solar panel still looks like a solar panel), but this new solar power system developed at the University of Michigan certainly won’t have any trouble turning a few heads. Not only is it 1,000 times smaller than any comparable commercial counterpart (just 9 cubic millimeters), but its processor, solar cells, and battery are all self-contained, and the researchers say it would be be able to operate “nearly perpetually” if not for the battery eventually giving out after “many years.” What’s more, they say the system could also be adapted to be powered by movement or heat instead of light, which means that it could eventually power medical implants in addition to a whole range of other devices. No word on when that might happen, but the inventors are already busily working to commercialize the device.
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The quake, the seventh strongest earthquake in recorded history, hit Chile Saturday and should have shortened the length of an Earth day by 1.26 milliseconds, according to research scientist Richard Gross at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. “Perhaps more impressive is how much the quake shifted Earth’s axis,” NASA officials said in a Monday update. The computer model used by Gross and his colleagues to determine the effects of the Chile earthquake effect also found that it should have moved Earth’s figure axis by about 3 inches (8 cm or 27 milliarcseconds).
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So originally I started this blog over a year ago to write about my travels to Lithuania. It was published on the 7News website (www.thedenverchannel.com) so I really haven’t touched it since. It was up for ever and even though i wanted to use the blog, it would have messed up the formating of the TDC site and people clicking the link would have to search for my older posts. So today I combed through the 7News site and apperently they finally took me down…or hid me somewhere most people will never find, so im going to start it up. I have changed the title as its no longer a travel blog, its now my official personal blog blog. If you are looking for my design related blog, you can find this at graphicdesignlife.wordpress.com
Filed under: Travel
Day 7
Friday, March 14th,
Today I spent preparing for my fun 26 hour trip back to Colorado. No, its not a typo, 26 hours of actual travel. When booking my tickets I thought there might be a lack of flights somewhere in Europe where flights are not as frequent as in the United States, however to my surprise, it was a nine hour layover in Chicago to Denver which take up much of the time. For travelers a great tip: watch what you pay for and check your options. I booked my flight through travelocity.com which allowed me to compare flights between carriers and dates. Although I had the opportunity of picking a direct flight and flights with no wait, the nine hour layover saved me $500 dollars. A great deal for someone like me who has nothing better to do than hang around the airport, however, not for everyone.
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Day 6
Thursday, March 13th,
Today I spent the day catching up with relatives and visiting and paying respect to my grandparents. Many of my elders have passed away already, so we spent the day visiting the old Lithuanian graveyards. Graveyards in Lithuania are quite interesting. Some graves in the older sections date back several centuries, history can be seen everywhere. Leaving the cemetery we passed a hand made fence which lines the cemetery. Its not until you study the texture on the metal you realize that the metal fence was rittled with bullet impacts and shrapnel from the Second World War. Many of the towns and villages have been destroyed and rebuilt during the wars. Many of the locals are first hand witnesses.
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Day 5
Wednesday, March 12th,
I’m not sure if I mentioned that the name, Lithuania (Lietuva), comes from the Lithuanian word “rain” (“lietus”). I have visited many places with names derived in such a way, but not one of them better live up to their name better than Lithuania. Today - rain.
We took a ride through the country side today on the way to the coast. The roads are really nice, I was told the the EU dedicated lots of money to improving the infrastructure in the country. This can be clearly seen in the roads, bridges and signs everywhere. I did not get a chance to see too much livestock on the way, actually none at all except for a single horse. What I did notice many of, were wind turbines which doted the landscape. As we neared the coast more and more of the turbines.
We visited the city of Palanga today, located on the coast of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania has two major cities along its coast, Klaipeda and Palanga. Klaipeda acts as an economic hub for shipping of goods in and out of the country. Palanga in retrospect is a small fishing town town which now caters to tourists and anyone looking to get away for some leisure. The main boulevard here is filled with shoppes and restaurants catering everyones needs. There are hotels ranging from a comfortable bed and breakfast to ritzy glass resorts near the beach. If you prefer, you can stay the night at the hotel built and owned by Sabonis (a famous Lithuanian basketball player who played for Oregon Trail Blazers) for a price that is; basketball court included.
If you are planning on watching the sunset or strolling on the beach of the Baltic coast, I would highly recommend the summer months, March is not the best time of year. Unless of course you fancy cold weather, heavy rain, wind, and water cold enough to make ice cubes. Otherwise, a beautiful city and a great vacation destination.
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Day 4
Tuesday, March 11th,
Today I was in for a treat all due to wonderful timing of my trip; March 11th is Lithuanian independence day. Similar to the American Independence Day from the British, the Lithuanians celebrate the end of Soviet rule. We attended the ceremonies at the Saint Peter-Paul Cathedral, better known as Šiauliu Cathedral. After the ceremonies a procession of flags and honor guard followed down the street to the city square where the mayor of the city gave a speech to the awaiting crowed. Nothing flashy with fireworks, however there were balloons and many cheerful people.
We visited the “Hill of Crosses” which after reading about it I thought was appropriate for the day. The “Hill of Crosses” is simply how it sounds, however its until you see it and learn about it that it becomes of meaningful interest. There are many stories which talk about the possible birth of this place, some say a man saw a vision to place a cross on this hill, others speculate that the crosses were a tribute to someone. However, during each historical period in Lithuanian history, new crosses were erected at the site. It wasn’t until the Soviet occupation that people began placing crosses out of silent protest against the treatment of the people. Many crosses were placed commemorating those who died and went missing as a result. The soviets attempted multiple times to intercept and detour the people with KGB spies. The hill was burned, bulldozed, and plans were in the works to flood the area to create an artificial island where the hill lay. However during each attempt, persistently, the people continued to place new crosses at the site and in larger numbers. In 1993 Pope John Paul II honored the site as a holly landmark. And to this day people visit the site placing new crosses there with prayers and hopes.
