President's Cup Baku (AZE) 2010

Hola darlings.  I am not long for the world this evening.  I thought I was getting better since the fever passed on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, but today several new symptoms presented themselves.  So now I thing that while the strep throat is passing, I have a really nasty severe cold and the bronchitis (a separate issue) will take a good 10 days to resolve itself.  Antibiotics do NOT help, and I'm sick and tired (pun!) of people telling me to go see my doctor.  Well, frigging duh, why?  She can't do a damn thing for me except what I'm already doing for myself.

Today saw the introduction of masive amounts of green-yellow gunk coming out of my left eye late this afternoon (earlier it was watering and twitching, poor eye), and lesser amounts of the same gunk coming out of my right eye (which is not watering).  Oh yeah, that really does a number on the eye make-up, let me tell ya.  In addition to the chest congestion which, despite my panic on Tuesday evening, is actually loose and I'm coughing up stuff and able to breathe okay, although it does hurt (ouch!) with each hack, now my sinuses have got involved in the action and more gunk is draining down the back of my throat, and also running like periodic Niagra Falls out of my nostrils.  Yep - just when I thought it was safe to ditch the cold capsules. 

I recently emerged from a 90 minute very hot, very steamy bath, and temporarily at least, I feel better and I'm hungry, so I've got to eat something like - NOW -

So I'm doing a few news stories tonights on chess because I haven't covered much of anything lately.  I hope this makes sense cuz my head feels like a balloon about to burst despite breathing in massive amounts of hot moist steamy air over 90 minutes just a bit ago, and the cough has loosened up more (which is a good thing, despite the gunk). 

Oh yeah - the President's Cup.  It says at The Week in Chess that Polgar is playing on one of the teams, but as far I know GM Susan Polgar is still in Texas so the report must mean her younger sister, GM Judit Polgar:

President's Cup Baku 2010 (2)
Mark Crowther (Thu Apr 29 15:44:00 2010)
The President's Cup takes place in Baku, Azerbaijan 29th April - 2nd May 2010.

The event is a single round robin rapid tournament (last year was a Scheveningen team event) with half the players from Azerbaijan and half from abroad.The time control may be 25 minutes per player per game. There is also a blitz tournament on the final day.

Oh - after reading this over - I should tell you that Mark Crowther did NOT write the following.  This is my stuff:  The President of Azerbaijan is Ilham Aliyev. [As far as I can tell, Mr. Aliyev likes riding big fat horses, or at least he likes to pose for massive bronze statutes as if he is riding big fat horses but he doesn't really do it because he is too busy running the Republic.  He has jad these gigantic bronze sculptures of himself on a fat horse (classically posed) strategically placed around the Republic.]

Players: Azerbaijan: Mamedyarov, Radjabov, Mamedov and Guseinov. Rest of the World: Kramnik, Kamsky, Polgar and Sutovsky.

So, I think I am a little loopy from all the meds I have poured into this poor body of mine in an attempt to at least temporarily halt some of the more aggregious symptoms of gross illness long enough to get four or five hours of sleep.  Is that asking too much?  Anyway, I visited the "official website" of the President's Cup but it's just the official site of the AZE Chess Federation which has a lot of other stuff on it too.  At the time I am writing these words I have no idea what the current score is, although since the following mentioned that Judit Polar lost her R1 game and I know she had a draw today, she must have 0.5 points.  Ta dah!  In R2 Judit played GM Teimour Radjabov, who is something of a schmuck but is really cute, so I kind of forgive him every now and then for being a schmuck but then remember the next day and get over it.  Oooooh, here is a picture of them in today's action from the official website!

Obviously I am missing something - who is the dude pictured with the sacred symbols of Venus and Ishtar in the background?  I figure he's dead - he looks like a movie actor from the 1940's. 

Here's what today's news report says:

The second round of the "President Cup", dedicated to the nationwide leader Haydar Aliyev went on with a game of Judit Polgar (Hungary), who lost to Shahriyar Mammadyarov in the first round, and Teymur Rajabov. Even though, the member of our national team Teymur Rajabov started with one of unique versions of Sicilian defence, game came to dynamic draw at the 25th move. Both of the players did not risk the game and agreed with draw. In the game between Rauf Mammadov and Gadir Huseynov white figures had a little superiority over black at the start of the game. But at the end of the game, with precise moves of hard figures, it came to draw. The third game between Emil Sutovski and Gata Kamski, also ended with draw. The last and the most important match between Shahriyar Mammadyarov and Vladimir Kramnik came to clarity at the 48th move. Shakh became the only leader of the table after defeating Kramnik.


Judit Polgar 0.5-0.5 Teymur Rajabov
Emil Sutovski 0.5-0.5 Kamski Gata
Rauf Mammadov 0.5-0.5 Gadir Huseynov
Shahriyar Mammadyarov 1-0 Vladimir Kramnik

Hmmm, 8 players, a single round-robin, that means 7 games total.  They already played 2 so there are 5 left.  Come on Judit, kick some butt!  Why do they have Gata Kamsky's name written backwards?  Is that like a curse or something???

Miscellany - on Wednesday Night!

Oy - you should see my hair.  You now how when you get sick your hair gets all weird looking and your mouth gets yucky?  That's me right now.  But before I wash my hair and clean out my mouth and go to bed (already scarfed down two time-release gel caps that are supposed to let me get to sleep and relieve my symptoms, we'll see) - I wanted to bring you these few stories I found interesting.

Wed Apr 28, 2010 2:49 pm EDT

China stripped of 2000 gymnastics medal for underage athlete
By Chris Chase
This story made me laugh.  The Olympic Committee strips China of the 2000 Team Bronze medals in Women's Gymnastics.  What?  When it was so fricking obvious that at least two little girls on the 2008 team were under-age. I mean, come on, they didn't have the start of breasts!  Sixteen year old girls have at least the start of breasts!  It was clear those girls weren't anywhere near 16, despite what their lying phoney papers said (attested to by the Chinese government, as if we're supposed to believe anything IT says). Ridiculous, just ridiculous.  Evidently 2008 medals earned by the cheating Chinese are sancrosanct, so they decided (finally) to pull the 2000 Women's GynasticsTeam Bronze medals instead. 

I can't believe this - a DUH story if ever there was one.  Why is this even news?
Illegal immigrants plan to leave over Ariz. law
By AMANDA LEE MYERS, Associated Press Writer
– 2 hrs 5 mins ago
Of course they're leaving - but don't count on the illegal aliens going back to home sweet home - they're not wanted in Mexico.  Nope - they will instead move to neighboring states that don't have laws against them, like Wisconsin, which seems to be teeming with illegals.  I swear half of Milwaukee's population is now illegals - you can tell by how filthy their neighborhoods are (I go through them five days a week on the bus to and from work so I see it every day). They don't seem to understand the concept of garbage cans and trash collection - not that they care.  They don't care enough to learn to speak English, why should they care about sanitation laws?  They throw all of their garbage, including food and used Pampers, into the gutters and yards.  In the few cases where the yards are clean and not filled with junked up cars, the Mexican colors they paint their houses (bright blues and oranges) are a give-away.  And then there is the ever-present Latino grafitti to add the finishing touches to what used to be neighborhoods filled with working-class descendants of Germans and Poles.  Oh, and don't forget to duck when you hear the gunfire. I grew up in one of the neighborhoods that has now been overrun with "Latinos."  It is no longer safe.  Reports of gang violence and nightly shootings. Yeah, call me a racist - guess I am.  I don't want the illegals here, either. 

Somebody is giving the Republicans really really bad advice.  A few weeks ago they held up a bill to extend unemployment benefit aid to the states; some of the Republican representatives actually claimed that it was unemployment insurance benefits that was assisting people is remaining unemployed, thus extending the Great Recession (I read this in The Wall Street Journal, which should be ashamed of itself for publishing such obvious drek). Obviously the dudes have no concept of what it means to try and live on approximately one-fifth of their regular income each month (if I made one-fifth of their income, I'd be on easy street).  Now they've been holding up action on banking reform.  Oh my - after the latest Congressional sub-committee testimony by the dudes who raped America while getting rich and laughed while doing it has been plastered all over the news.  So now they've decided they're going to play marbles after all - a day late and a dollar short (hope you like those mixed metaphors).  Like I said, really really bad advice.
GOP abandons blockade of banking regulation bill
By JIM KUHNHENN, Associated Press Writer
– Wed Apr 28, 7:52 pm ET
 
And, tee hee hee, from The Christian Science Monitor, "Noah's Ark discovered. Again."

By Benjamin Radford, LiveScience's Bad Science Columnist / April 28, 2010
A Chinese Christian filmmaker is the latest in a long line of religiously funded expeditions claiming to have found the final resting place of Noah's Ark on Turkey's Mount Ararat.

Isis' Place

The roses were spectactular.  Out front there are several large roses of vibrant colors - corals, reds, white and blends.  I did not, unfortunately, think to take any pics of them.  Duh!  The pinks in the photo left are miniatures.  The shrub rose in the photo right is being shaped into a heart and hides the pool pump. 

More Las Vegas Pics

(Early morning shot inside the shops at the Venetian - no people!)  Oy, I am sooooo sick.  I started feeling crummy Saturday evening (evening I got back home).  Came down with a case of strep throat and a really nasty chest cold, feels like bronchitis.  I was so punked out I missed work yesterday, and last night was awful.  I was running a high fever and I actually had my purse ready to go (phone numbers, all the meds I'm on, insurance cards) if I called 911 in case I had a repeat of an ancient (1989) lung infection that nearly did me in.  It was a struggle not to panic as I felt the gunk building up in my chest, even though I was able to breathe okay.  The crisis passed about 3 a.m. but I wasn't in any shape to report to work this morning - very little sleep. I spent the majority of the night in the recliner so I was more or less upright - I thought it would help my lungs stay clear.  It is not easy to toss and turn in a recliner, though, and I am a restless sleeper.  At least the fever is gone!

But I don't like missing two days of work in a row - not in these uncertain times.  Damn!  I'm sure I got sick from something circulating in the bad air on that Air Tran flight going out to LV.  My throat is still sore, my ears and Eustacian tubes ache, and now I'm coughing up tons of green gunk, yech!  It hurts to cough, too.

I took these pics on my last day in LV, which was great in all ways.  A couple more shots from the Venetian shops, including a view of the replica of the Grand Plaza - I forget what it is called.

I have not gone on and won't go on a gondola ride - not in a mock-up of Venice inside a too epensive hotel in Las Vegas!  But goddess, what a business they have.  By the time I had finished my early-morning tour and shots of the interiors of the Palazzo and the Venetian, as I was walking back through the shops there was already a line of people waiting patiently to board a gondola!  It was about 9:30 a.m.  Incredible.

I made my way outside and took this shot toward the Fashion Show Mall.  I thought I took a few shots inside the Mall too, there are some nice vistas - but evidently I did not because I sure couldn't find them on my memory card!

Love how it looks like a flying saucer.  Street traffic was starting to build, and on the large plaza outside the Mall that fronts Las Vegas Boulevard, there was a long line of people snaked around the cordons waiting to get in to purchase half-price show and dinner tickets.  Geez!  They could have walked down the Strip aways and got their tickets at the litle place that is stationed between The Riviera and the Peppermill Restaurant, and saved themselves a long wait in line!

More Las Vegas Pics

This photo does not do justice to this Lalique sculpture!  It's gigantic, and gorgeous.  The hanging umbrellas are a theme throughout the public areas of the hotel and grand atrium leading to the Palazzo's maze of shops.  I got lost several times while wandering around, and even with the conveniently placed "maps" I still got lost.  Yep, that's me, Wrong Way Newton.  I successfully managed to get us lost in Amsterdam in 2001 and in Central Park in NYC in 2005. This atrium area is probably five to six stories high.  While the scale is immense, the pastel colors of those whimsically floating umbrellas keeps the space from being too ridiculously overwhelming.  It strikes just the right balance between Las Vegas style grandeur and fun. 

I really wanted to get this shot - but to do it better, I would have had to go back to the ground floor and stood in the middle of a pool with fountains.  I don't think the guards would have appreciated that, even though there were hardly any people around.  So, I craned my neck and cracked my backbone and got the best angle I could whilst looking upward toward this immense glass dome at least four stories above me, from the top of the escalator landing :)






This is the pool I would have had to have invaded in order to get a good centered shot of that glass dome!  All of those silvery and goldish speckles in the water are coins that folks have tossed in, each one probably a wish.  I think it's incredibly romantic and I would not have wanted to be swishing my stinky feet around in such wish-filled water.  From this angle, you can see some of the intricately-designed geometric patterns of the marble floor.  To the left is the entrance to the casino.  I know Mr. Don and I took several shots of the Palazzo (outside and inside) when we visited Isis and Michelle in August, 2009, but I couldn't help myself.  It is just the most incredible space!

No visit to the Palazzo would be complete without getting a shot of that spectacular waterfall between the escalators!  I also really like those faux gold-glittery obelisks, but did not manage to get a really good photo of one.

I love the colors and the intensity of the light in this photograph.  That blazing splash of hot white sunlight on the rear wall is sparkling down from the large glass dome above.  Where the light hits the umbrellas, they seem to glow almost like jewels - see how the colors have morphed where that blazing sun is hitting them, creating a translucent glow.  You also get a sense of the grand scale of this atrium area - notice how tall the trees are, but at the same time the designers chose a type of tree (looks like some kind of arborvitae) that has a light and airy branch structure.

More Las Vegas Pics

I am an early riser.  Even while in Las Vegas, I stayed on Milwaukee time (convenient for timing the taking of my blood pressure meds) -- but while the hotel room alarm clock said it was around 5:45 a.m. each of the three days of my visit when I got out of bed, in my head I knew I had slept late because of the 2 hour time difference!  It is a rare luxury for me to sleep until 7:45 a.m.  But this was a vacation, after all. 

Rising early in LV has its advantages.  For one thing, you get served in the coffee shop right away :)  For another, the streets are uncrowded, the stores in the giant shopping complexes attached to the poshest of the hotels aren't open yet, and you can get great photos.  So, my last day in town, the only day that was decent enough to get out and about early, I went for a nice long walk to revisit some of my favorite places, and I took some photos.  I didn't get as far as I wanted; I was out for 2 hours; Isis was coming to get me at noon and I was back at the IP by 11 a.m. to cool down and stretch out on the bed for a rest-up.  But I did visit the Venetian, the Palazzo and the Fashion Show Mall :)  Top photo - one of the fountains outside the Venetian.  It's so blatantly phoney, but it's so well done, I love the Venetian.  It also has lovely vistas and the attention to detail in re-creating the phoniness is astounding.  I always see something new.  As per usual, the Venetian is under construction - you can see the crane hovering above yet another mighty tower on the left of this photo.  Look - no people!

A view across one of the roadways outside the Venetian (I was taking one of the ramps toward the Palazzo shops), showing Treasure Island and one of the large digital display signs for the Mirage.  Check out that sky - gorgeous color, heh?  And look - hardly any people - just a few are visible.

A photo looking north toward the construction site at the Venetian.  No traffic! 

This is one of those unexpected vistas that crop up so often in Las Vegas, and to do it justice the photo really should be larger.  This is a shot taken from that walkway I was taking up toward the Palazzo shops, and I was struck by how lovely the garden was, with its palms and cypress and carefully pruned evergreens.  The Wynn, and behind it, the Encore, hover in the background.  Look ma, no people!  Or cars!

Here is another photo of the same front garden area, from a slightly different angle. Wish I had a backyard that looked like that!  Notice the "hanging" greenery on the top of the concrete ediface across the center of the photo going toward the left.

Las Vegas Photos

I stayed at the Imperial Palace.  I love it's location, mid-Strip, and the price for a clean and comfortable room is hard to beat.  I also like the size of the IP - I don't have to walk a mile to get out of the place, I like the mix of reasonably priced shops, I like the fact that there aren't too many of them, and I like the cozy feel of the casino's human scale.  I actually feel like I'm in the classic Las Vegas of yesteryear when I stay at the IP.  The staff is great, too.  Here are a couple of photos of my room - nice king-size bed.  It occurred to me later that I should have taken the photos after housekeeping paid a visit.  LOL!  You really can't see it very well, but on the nightstand is a plastic cup holding two white roses that Michelle picked for me from their garden.  Those roses were still going strong the day I left to return home.

The weather was crappy by Las Vegas standards; on April 20th it was in the 80s and sun sun sun. Isis emailed me that she had spent most of the day in her garden, getting things fine-tuned for my visit.  The next day, when I arrived, the LV natives were in their winter coats (no kidding).  It was overcast, threatening rain, and "cold."  About what I left behind in Milwaukee.  On Thursday, LV actually went on the books as coldest for that particular day since records have been kept.  Wow.  It rained and hailed, and the winds blew and blew.  Some parts of the valley got drenched, other areas got drizzle and mist, other areas got 60 second cloud-bursts, but by afternoon the skies had cleared.  It was too cool and windy, though, to sit outside comfortably.  As Isis and I were out and about shopping (away from the Strip) Thursday, we were able to see the storm and rain clouds moving  into the valley over the mountains and we could follow their progress across various neighborhoods.  A fascinating site.  Except for the hotels, there are no "high rises" in Las Vegas, so the vista is open and it's easy to track the progress of the storms as they moved around. 

My last day in LV was perfect - sunny, a nice breeze, and warm enough to sit outside without a jacket on.  I didn't mean to but I picked up some "color" on the few bits of skin that were showing in my three-quarter sleeve length top and blue jeans!  I have a white stripe on my left wrist where my watch was and red and white stripes on both arms where the sleeves of my blouse covered the skin; white owl circles around my eyes from my sunglasses, and that horrid brown V on my neck/chest I've been trying to fade since the end of the New York vacation last year got all red again - now I'll never get rid of it!

Milwaukee was drenched in rain when I got back home, the back yard is a soggy mess - and we got more of the same Saturday night and Sunday along with high winds.  Today it was cool but sunny - lots of water needs to be evaporated!  We are in for a slow (very slow) warming trend over the next 2 weeks, but this being Wisconsin, the forecast will change tomorrow.  I'm still waiting for that late season blizzard or ice storm to hit. 

Illegal Construction at Effigy Mounds National Monument

Unauthorized Construction May Have Damaged Effigy Mounds
By Becky Ogann, KCRG TV

Story Created: Apr 23, 2010 at 11:45 AM CDT
(Story Updated: Apr 23, 2010 at 1:15 PM CDT )

(Image: Great Bear Mound group, just one of the sacred places in the
Effigy Mounds National Monument, from Wikipedia Commons)

HARPERS FERRY - Unauthorized construction projects may have damaged the ancient cultural features that Effigy Mounds National Monument was established to protect.

A team of archaeologists is working to determine what, if any, damage to the mounds may have been inflicted by the unauthorized construction of a maintenance shed in the north unit and an elevated boardwalk trail on the Nazekaw Terrace directly across Highway 76 from the visitor center.

“We didn’t mean to do wrong, but we did,” said Effigy Mounds Superintendent Phyllis Ewing.

In an effort to improve access to mounds for people of limited mobility, Effigy Mounds staff began construction of the Nazekaw Terrace boardwalk in the fall of 2008. Work was abruptly halted a year ago when Park Service regional staff, conducting a periodic compliance review, found that two required documents — an environmental-impact statement and a historical and cultural impact statement — had not been completed before the project was undertaken.

The review uncovered other irregularities dating to 1999, including a similar malfeasance preceding the 2002 construction of the much larger Yellow River boardwalk and bridge, said Steve Adams, the Park Service’s Midwest regional associate director of cultural resources.

Adams said it remains to be seen what repercussions may ensue from the violations of federal law.

“It’s a very serious matter,” he said. [Yeah, right.  Tell me, was anybody fired during the last go-round?  Was anyone prosecuted for malfeasance in office?  Ha!]

The maintenance shed has already been dismantled, and the fate of the Nazekaw Terrace boardwalk will be determined by an advisory council, which includes tribal representatives, after the archaeological study is complete, Adams said.

Options include removing the trail’s aboveground portions; removing the entire trail, including the many underground concrete piers; leaving it as is; and completing it.

A similar evaluation will be required for the Yellow River trail. Adams said his gut feeling is that the Yellow River boardwalk and bridge will not have to be removed.

“The fortunate thing about the Yellow River trail, at least it was down there (in the river bottoms) away from the mounds,” Adams said.

The same can’t be said for the half-finished spur to the Nazekaw Terrace, which has a few intact conical and linear mounds, many degraded mound remnants and more remnants likely to be confirmed by the archaeology studies now under way.

A team under the direction of National Park Service archaeologist Steven DeVore has spent most of April conducting aboveground testing of the soil’s magnetic and electrical resistance. The readings, DeVore, said will pinpoint areas in which the soil has been disturbed, indicative of ancient mound construction.

State Archaeologist John Doershuk said, “It is possible that significant cultural resources were adversely impacted.”

Ewing and her staff “misunderstood their responsibilities under the National Historic Preservation Act” and did not take full advantage of available Park Service experts, Doershuk said.

Nor did they consult, as they should have, his office, the State Historical Society of Iowa and their tribal contacts, Doershuk said.

Meskwaki Tribal Council member Don Wanatee said his people were disappointed that the final resting place of their ancestors may have been disturbed. “We’re concerned that the underground piers (used to support the elevated trail) may have caused permanent damage to the site,” he said.

“It was a mistake, and the Park Service has apologized for it,” said Patt Murphy of Salina, Kan., a member of the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, who has been on site monitoring the archaeologists’ work for most of this month.

Murphy said the site is sacred to members of 12 Indian tribes whose forebears once lived along the Upper Mississippi River.

“Any place where Indians have been buried is sacred to us. My personal feeling is that people were buried here because it is sacred ground,” he said.

Murphy said the park managers’ mistakes do not reflect a lack of respect for Indian sensibilities. “They respect our opinion, and they respect the land,” he said.

Doershuk, too, said Ewing has been a conscientious steward who has worked hard to develop good communications with the descendants of the people who created the mounds.

Ewing said she takes full responsibility for the failure to follow the legally prescribed procedures.

The Park Service’s dual mission, she said, is to preserve natural and cultural resources and to make them available for the education and enjoyment of the public. In this case, park staff failed to maintain the proper balance, she said.

*****************************************************************************

Hmmmm.  Who got paid how much, and when, and who ultimately benefited from the prior construction project and who would benefit financially from this latest illegal project?  Follow the money.  I have a feeling, though, that this is the last we'll hear of this story.

Wikipedia information on the Effigy Mounds National Monument

Four Devastating Asian Droughts Captured in Tree Rings

Study details at least four epic droughts in Asia
Thursday, April 22 07:42 pm
(This story from the UK version of Yahoo News from AP)
Jean-Louis Santini

Data collected over the past 15 years for the study is expected to help scientists understand how climate change can unleash large-scale weather disruptions.

Any drastic shifts to the seasonal monsoon rains in Asia, which feed nearly half the world's population by helping crops grow, could have serious socio-economic consequences, according to scientists at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

They mapped out past droughts and their relative severity by sampling the wood of thousands of ancient trees across Asia. Among them was a drought that caused tens of millions of people to starve to death in the late 1870s.

"Global climate models fail to accurately simulate the Asian monsoon, and these limitations have hampered our ability to plan for future, potentially rapid and heretofore unexpected shifts in a warming world," said lead author Edward Cook, head of Lamont's Tree Ring Lab.

Prior to the study, published in Friday's edition of Science, reliable instrumental data collected in Asia -- such as temperature, rain accumulations and winds -- only dated back to 1950.

The scientists pointed to some evidence that monsoon changes are driven at least in part by variations in sea-surface temperatures, with some speculation but no certainty that warming global temperatures could modify and possibly intensify these cycles.

The tree-ring records suggested that climate may have played an important roll in the fall of China's Ming dynasty in 1644, by providing additional evidence of a severe drought already referenced in some historical Chinese texts as the worst in five centuries at the time.

According to the study, the drought occurred at some point between 1638 and 1641, most severely in northeastern China close to Beijing. It is believed to have helped fuel rebellions by farmers that eventually contributed to the Ming dynasty's fall.

Southern China is currently experiencing its worst drought in nearly a century. [I think it's a good guess that this drought - and fear - are primary driving forces behind the construction of an unprecedented number of gigantic dam projects that are disrupting the lives of millions of Chinese; the government probably figures it can deal with grumbling dispossessed farmers who, after all, have more or less sufficient food to survive - so what if they've been kicked off the land their families have farmed for the past thousand years; the government would not be able to long survive 300 million rioting starving farmers or - even more frightening, the starving residents of the cities.]

Rainfall determines the width of the annual growth rings of some tree species. The researchers' trek across Asia to find trees old enough for long-term records took them to over 300 sites, to Siberia, Indonesia, northern Australia, Pakistan and as far east as Japan.

"It's everything from lowland rainforests to high in the Himalayas," said study coauthor Kevin Anchukaitis, a Lamont tree ring scientist.

"You have a tremendous diversity of environment, climate influences and species."

University of Hawaii meteorologist Bin Wang said the tree-ring atlas is valuable to monsoon forecasters, allowing them to detect short-term and long-term patterns thanks to the detailed spatial areas and the length of the record.

More Graves Uncovered in Shar-i Sokhtah

From Press TV (Iran)
Ancient graves found in Iran Burnt City
Sat, 24 Apr 2010 09:44:47 GMT

More ancient graves have been discovered at Iran's Burnt City as archeologists were conducting the 13th phase of excavation works at the prehistoric site.

The unearthed tombs at the Burnt City site located in southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province date back to about 3,000 BC, Rouhollah Shirazi, an official with Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization told IRNA on Thursday.

Shirazi also added that the archeologists made the discoveries during last winter's excavations around the eastern wing of the city, where its residential buildings, monuments and cemetery were located.

According to the Iranian official who directs the Burnt City excavation works, a number of buried relics were also unearthed along with the graves.

Archeologists have also found a well-preserved building in the residential area, covering around 80 square hectares of the total 151 square hectares of the ancient city.

The 5000-year-old Burnt City is located near the city of Zabol where four civilizations used to live. It was burnt down three times and not rebuilt after the last fire.

The world's oldest animated picture, dice and backgammon set (the miraculously preserved wooden "serpent" gameboard, dated to c. 2400-2300 BCE), the earliest known caraway seed and an artificial eyeball have been found in the Burnt City.

GHN/CS/HRF

Information on Shar-i Sokhtah at Goddesschess:

The Serpent Gameboard of Iran: Much Ado About - Nothing New...

Religious Terrorists Target School Girls

This is what happens when religious fundamentalists think they're right and everyone else is wrong. It is happening in this country - the people of the religious right are just as warped in their beliefs as the Taliban are in theirs.  And, as we know, these people can even justify committing murder in the name of their 'God' while claiming to be devout Christians.   When you think that 'God' is on YOUR side, you can justify anything, any atrocity, in the name of your 'God.'  That is really, really sick.
Article at Yahoo News
By RAHIM FAIEZ, Associated Press Writer Rahim Faiez, Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 44 mins ago
KABUL – Dozens of Afghan schoolgirls have fallen ill in recent days after reporting a strange odor in their classrooms in northern Afghanistan, prompting an investigation into whether they were targeted by militants who oppose education for girls or victims of mass hysteria.

Either way, the reports from three schools within 2 miles (3 kilometers) of one another in Kunduz province have raised alarm in a city threatened by the Taliban and their militant allies.

The latest cases occurred Sunday, when 13 girls became sick, Kunduz provincial spokesman Mahbobullah Sayedi said. Another 47 complained of dizziness and nausea the day before, and 23 fell ill last Wednesday.

All complained of a strange smell in class before they fell ill.

"I came out from the main hall, and I saw lots of other girls scattered everywhere," Anesa, a 9-year-old who was hospitalized briefly Sunday, told The Associated Press. "Then suddenly, I felt that I was losing my balance and falling."

None of the illnesses was serious and the girls were only hospitalized for a short time. The Health Ministry said blood samples were inconclusive and were being sent to Kabul for further testing to determine the cause of the illnesses.

"This is a matter of concern not only for us but for the families," Sayedi said, blaming the sicknesses on "enemies" who oppose education for girls.

In the capital of Kabul, President Hamid Karzai's spokesman, Waheed Omar, said any attempt to keep girls out of school is a "terrorist act."

Kunduz had been relatively quiet until a few years ago when Taliban activity began to increase, threatening NATO supply routes south from Central Asia. Late Saturday, NATO and Afghan troops killed one militant and detained several others in Kunduz province.

Girls were not allowed to attend school when the Taliban controlled most of Afghanistan. The group was ousted from power in the 2001 U.S.-led invasion. The Taliban and other conservative extremist groups have been known to target schoolgirls.

In one of the most chilling attacks, men on motorbikes sprayed acid from squirt guns and water bottles onto 15 schoolgirls and teachers in 2008 as they walked to a girls school in Kandahar, the southern city that is the spiritual birthplace of the militant movement.

Previous cases of sudden illness in schools have left families too frightened to send their daughters to school.

Last year, dozens of girls were hospitalized in Kapisa province, just northeast of Kabul, after many collapsed with headaches and nausea following reports of a strange odor in their schoolyard. The Taliban was blamed, but research into similar mass sickenings elsewhere has suggested that some might be the result of group hysteria. [But the goal is achieved - that's the point - by using chemicals to sicken some of the girls the rest are terrorized into hysteria.  The parents then keep the girls out of school due to fear.  And the barbarians win.]

Judit Polgar v. David Navara Match in Prague

I didn't even know this match had taken place until I got home from vacation tonight and checked Susan Polgars' chess blog. Judit played stellar chess.  From the official website praguechess.cz. 

ČEZ CHESS TROPHY 2010 | 24.04.2010
Judit Polgar has decided the result in the 5-th game already
The best woman chess player in the world has already won over the best Czech chess player during the second day of the match. The trophy made by a sculptor Ludek Vondra will find its new home in Hungary. The only question left is the overall score.

At the 4-th game of the match Judit Polgar had the white pieces. However David Navara quickly and easily manage to equalize the position and towards the endgame he manage to win a pawn. However at the end he exceeded his time. At the 5-th game the Hungarian player played better game and she had decided the destiny of the match. At 6-th game David Navara techniques during the rook ending was excellent and he manage to change the overall results of the match to 1,5 – 4,5.

On Sunday 24 April 2010 the lecture by Lubomir Kavalek is scheduled, the topic will be 'Chess bad girls and princesses', in addition the two last remaining games will be played.

On Sunday 25 April at BW Kampa Hotel, Judit Polgar is going to play a simul against 25 competitors including well-known business personalities or politicians, among others: the minister of interior Martin Pecina, the director of Dopravni stavby Brno Vlastimil Chladek, the director of PORG gymnasium Vaclav Klaus or director of CSOB Jan Lamser. The full tournament's programme is listed here.

The chess festival ČEZ CHESS TROPHY 2010 is held by the Prague Chess Society.

Final result and game scores from Susan Polgar's blog.  Congratulations to GM Judit Polgar.  A PR of 2901.

Ancient Coin Hoard Found in Egypt

From Yahoo News via AP
Egypt finds hoard of 2,000-year-old bronze coins
Thu Apr 22, 10:41 am ET
CAIRO – Archaeologists unearthed 383 bronze coins dating back to King Ptolemy III who ruled Egypt in the 3rd century B.C. and was an ancestor of the famed Cleopatra, the Egyptian antiquities authority announced Thursday. (Image: Greek-Egyptian god Amun-Zeus.  This undated photo released by the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities on Thursday, April 22, 2010, shows some of 383 recently-unearthed bronze coins, said by the Supreme Council to be inscribed with the hybrid Greek-Egyptian god Amun-Zeus on one side, with an eagle and the words Ptolemy and king in Greek on the other side, dating back to King Ptolemy III who ruled Egypt in the 3rd century B.C. Descendants of one of Alexander the Great's generals, the Ptolemaic dynasty ruled Egypt for some 300 years, fusing Greek and ancient Egyptian cultures)
The statement said one side of the coins were inscribed with hybrid Greek-Egyptian god Amun-Zeus, while the other side showed an eagle and the words Ptolemy and king in Greek.

Founded by one of Alexander the Great's generals, the Ptolemaic Dynasty ruled Egypt for some 300 years, fusing Greek and ancient Egyptian cultures.

The coins were found north of Qarun lake in Fayoum Oasis 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Cairo.

Other artifacts were unearthed in the area included three necklaces made of ostrich egg shell dated back to the 4th millennium B.C. and a pot of kohl eyeliner from the Ottoman Empire.

The objects will all be displayed in the new Egyptian museum under construction near the pyramids of Giza.

Breast Cancer Victims Targeted by Insurance Company

This particular insurance company runs a scam called "recission" to void valid insurance policies so they do not have to pay for the medical treatment of women who are diagnosed with breast cancer.  This particular company has made an art form of the practice. Here's the best part - it's all perfectly legal. Hey, you Tea Party People who think the USA doesn't need health care reform, better start praying no women in your family get breast cancer.

Reported at Yahoo News from Reuters
Exclusive: WellPoint routinely targets breast cancer patients
By Murray Waas Murray Waas – Thu Apr 22, 6:17 pm ET
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Shortly after they were diagnosed with breast cancer, each of the women learned that her health insurance had been canceled. There was Yenny Hsu, who lived and worked in Los Angeles. And there was Patricia Reilling, a successful art gallery owner and interior designer from Louisville, Kentucky.

Neither of these women knew about the other. But besides their similar narratives, they had something else in common: Their health insurance carriers were subsidiaries of WellPoint, which has 33.7 million policyholders -- more than any other health insurance company in the United States.

The women paid their premiums on time. Before they fell ill, neither had any problems with their insurance. Initially, they believed their policies had been canceled by mistake.

They had no idea that WellPoint was using a computer algorithm that automatically targeted them and every other policyholder recently diagnosed with breast cancer. The software triggered an immediate fraud investigation, as the company searched for some pretext to drop their policies, according to government regulators and investigators.

Once the women were singled out, they say, the insurer then canceled their policies based on either erroneous or flimsy information. WellPoint declined to comment on the women's specific cases without a signed waiver from them, citing privacy laws.

That tens of thousands of Americans lost their health insurance shortly after being diagnosed with life-threatening, expensive medical conditions has been well documented by law enforcement agencies, state regulators and a congressional committee. Insurance companies have used the practice, known as "rescission," for years. And a congressional committee last year said WellPoint was one of the worst offenders.

But WellPoint also has specifically targeted women with breast cancer for aggressive investigation with the intent to cancel their policies, federal investigators told Reuters. The revelation is especially striking for a company whose CEO and president, Angela Braly, has earned plaudits for how her company improved the medical care and treatment of other policyholders with breast cancer.

The disclosures come to light after a recent investigation by Reuters showed that another health insurance company, Assurant Health, similarly targeted HIV-positive policyholders for rescission. That company was ordered by courts to pay millions of dollars in settlements.

In his push for the health care bill, President Barack Obama said the legislation would end such industry practices.

But many critics worry the new law will not lead to an end of these practices. Some state and federal regulators -- as well as investigators, congressional staffers and academic experts -- say the health care legislation lacks teeth, at least in terms of enforcement or regulatory powers to either stop or even substantially reduce rescission.

"People have this idea that someone is going to flip a switch and rescission and other bad insurance practices are going to end," says Peter Harbage, a former health care adviser to the Clinton administration. "Insurers will find ways to undermine the protections in the new law, just as they did with the old law. Enforcement is the key."

In a statement to Reuters, WellPoint said various specified criteria trigger rescission investigations, including certain types of medical claims. The company said it changed its rescission practices to ensure they are handled appropriately after a 2006 review of its policies prompted by public concern over rescission.

WellPoint also said it created a committee which includes a physician for making rescission decisions. The company also noted that it established a single point of contact for members undergoing an investigation and enacted an appeals process for applicants who disagree with the original determination.

During the recent legislative process for the reform law, however, lobbyists for WellPoint and other top insurance companies successfully fought proposed provisions of the legislation. In particular, they complained about rules that would have made it more difficult for the companies to fairly -- or unfairly -- cancel policyholders.

For example, an early version of the health care bill passed by the House of Representatives would have created a Federal Office of Health Insurance Oversight to monitor and regulate insurance practices like rescission. WellPoint lobbyists pressed for the proposed agency to not be included in the final bill signed into law by the president.

They also helped quash proposed provisions that would have required a third-party review of its or any other insurance company's decision to cancel a customer's policy.

A WellPoint spokeswoman on Thursday denied such lobbying took place.

The new law does leave open the possibility of reform in this area, these sources say. The reason, they say, is that much of the new legislation is essentially a roadmap, with regulations to be decided later.

"The lack of specificity doesn't mean that nothing is going to be done," said a senior congressional staffer who has played a key role in the health reform debate. "The law grants HHS (the Department of Health and Human Services) the discretion to promulgate regulations. This is very much a work in progress."

Among other things, the staffer said, the White House could revisit proposing tough new regulations requiring third-party review of policy cancellations.

Victoria Veltri, the general counsel of Connecticut's Office of Healthcare Advocate, a state agency that investigates complaints by policyholders, says she has seen the success of such a process in her home state. One company, Aetna, has voluntarily agreed to engage in the third party review, with what she described as favorable results.

"I haven't seen an Aetna case in our office since they went to the third party review process," she said. "It's a powerful tool to have a third set of eyes required before someone is rescinded."

For its part, WellPoint said it began offering third-party reviews in 2008.

A senior Obama administration official said he remained confident that mandatory third-party reviews of rescissions is not entirely out of reach.

"It might take some wrangling with the insurance industry, some strong-arming, maybe even use of the presidential bully pulpit," he said on condition of anonymity.

Indian Tribe Wins Right to Limit Use of DNA

I'm not sure how I feel about this case.  I see the merits of the arguments on both sides.

From The New York Times
Indian Tribe Wins Fight to Limit Research of Its DNA
By AMY HARMON
Published: April 21, 2010

SUPAI, Ariz. — Seven years ago, the Havasupai Indians, who live amid the turquoise waterfalls and red cliffs miles deep in the Grand Canyon, issued a “banishment order” to keep Arizona State University employees from setting foot on their reservation — an ancient punishment for what they regarded as a genetic-era betrayal.

Members of the tiny, isolated tribe had given DNA samples to university researchers starting in 1990, in the hope that they might provide genetic clues to the tribe’s devastating rate of diabetes. But they learned that their blood samples had been used to study many other things, including mental illness and theories of the tribe’s geographical origins that contradict their traditional stories.

. . . .

But genetics experts and civil rights advocates say it may also fuel a growing debate over researchers’ responsibility to communicate the range of personal information that can be gleaned from DNA at a time when it is being collected on an ever-greater scale for research and routine medical care.

. . . .

Researchers and institutions that receive federal funds are required to receive “informed consent” from subjects, ensuring that they understand the risks and benefits before they participate. But such protections were designed primarily for research that carried physical risks, like experimental drug trials or surgery. When it comes to mining DNA, the rules — and the risks — are murkier.

Is it necessary, for instance, to ask someone who has donated DNA for research on heart disease if that DNA can be used for Alzheimer’s or addiction research?

Many scientists say no, arguing that the potential benefit from unencumbered biomedical research trumps the value of individual control.

“Everyone wants to be open and transparent,” said Dr. David Karp, an associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, who has studied informed consent for DNA research. “The question is, how far do you have to go? Do you have to create some massive database of people’s wishes for their DNA specimens?”

. . . .

Scientific Islam: Iran Fundies Say Promiscuous Women Cause Earthquakes...

Darlings!  Writing this evening from Sin City USA - fabulous Las Vegas!  I'm wiling away some time before my dinner plans later this evening.  The weather is like Milwaukee's, LOL!  Honestly, Isis swears, it was in the 80s yesterday, and so I heard the weather people on local television lamenting earlier today :)

Now tell me - how can a woman be promiscuous unless a man is there to take advantage?  Evidently, under the fundamentalist view of Islam, men of faith are soooooo weak they just cannot help themselves when it comes to an alluring woman whispering sweet nothings in their ear.  Poor dudes.  So easily led by their - er, nether parts.  It's amazing any men have survived at all - except they seem to be exempt from the punishment for performing the sin of fornication. It's the women who bear the brunt - they are stoned to death.

I'll bet a lot of those Islamic fundy dudes are haunted, too, by the spirits of the innocent women they have caused to be put to death.... No wonder Islamic fundies are scared to death of women.  So scared, in fact, they cover them from head to foot in burkas and chadras and etc. and those wicked floosies STILL manage to seduce unsuspecting Muslim dudes and be promiscuous.  It's a miracle, I tell ya.  Maybe the Pope should investigate.

Oh - this is a real hoot - the article is from The Salt Lake City Tribune.   Mormon jokes, anyone?  LOL!

Iranian cleric says promiscuous women cause earthquakes
The Associated Press
Updated: 04/21/2010 01:47:17 PM MDT

Beirut » A senior Iranian cleric says women who wear revealing clothing and behave promiscuously are to blame for earthquakes.

Iran is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries, and the cleric's unusual explanation for why the earth shakes follows a prediction by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that a quake is certain to hit Tehran and that many of its 12 million inhabitants should relocate.

"Many women who do not dress modestly ... lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which [consequently] increases earthquakes," Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi was quoted as saying by Iranian media.

Women in the Islamic Republic are required by law to cover from head to toe, but many, especially the young, ignore some of the more strict codes and wear tight coats and scarves pulled back that show much of the hair.

"What can we do to avoid being buried under the rubble?" Sedighi asked during a prayer sermon Friday. "There is no other solution but to take refuge in religion and to adapt our lives to Islam's moral codes."  [Dude, how about getting rid of unsafe buildings and rebuilding them with all those billions of oil revenue the Islamic Republic is supposedly earning - oh, sorry, forgot - that is being funneled into Swiss accounts of the top 200,000 or so in the Republican Guard...]

Seismologists have warned for at least two decades that it is likely the sprawling capital will be struck by a catastrophic quake in the near future.

Some experts have even suggested Iran should move its capital to a less seismically active location. Tehran straddles scores of fault lines, including one more than 50 miles (80 kilometers) long, though it has not suffered a major quake since 1830.

In 2003, a powerful earthquake hit the southern city of Bam, killing 31,000 people -- about a quarter of that city's population -- and destroying its ancient mud-built citadel.

"A divine authority told me to tell the people to make a general repentance. Why? Because calamities threaten us," said Sedighi, Tehran's acting Friday prayer leader.

Referring to the violence that followed last June's disputed presidential election, he said, "The political earthquake that occurred was a reaction to some of the actions (that took place). And now, if a natural earthquake hits Tehran, no one will be able to confront such a calamity but God's power, only God's power. ... So let's not disappoint God."

The Iranian government and its security forces have been locked in a bloody battle with a large opposition movement that accuses Ahmadinejad of winning last year's vote by fraud.

Ahmadinejad made his quake prediction two weeks ago but said he could not give an exact date. He acknowledged that he could not order all of Tehran's 12 million people to evacuate. "But provisions have to be made. ... At least 5 million should leave Tehran so it is less crowded," the president said.

Minister of Welfare and Social Security Sadeq Mahsooli said prayers and pleas for forgiveness were the best "formulas to repel earthquakes."

"We cannot invent a system that prevents earthquakes, but God has created this system and that is to avoid sins, to pray, to seek forgiveness, pay alms and self-sacrifice," Mahsooli said.

Hales Corners Chess Challenge XI

Photos of the action, received from Tom Fogec.  Thanks, Tom.

Photo 1:  The Huang sisters (Alena and Joanna) on adjoining boards

Photo 2:  Sandra Pahl on the left and Susie Ulrich on the right

Photo 3:  Isabella Ilchenko defeating Bud Burgin who, I was gently told, is not really Santa Claus




Chess Life Online did a nice cover on the HCCC XI and Goddesschess' sponsorship was prominently mentioned - along with new sponsorship by the North American Chess Association!  Congratulations once again to all of the players.  Some of us Goddesschess folk will be putting out heads together tomorrow evening over dinner in Las Vegas to discuss what we can to to encourage more chess femmes to play in the HCCC XII, which will be held this fall.  Stay tuned!

On a Bit of a Break

I have solved the mystery of the correct Antoine Villeneuve and Marie Louise Adele Seguin [Laderoute], the French Canadian parents of my great-grandfather David Newton!  At last!  Yippee!  It only took digging every night since April 7th - except for 2 nights when I got so frustrated I switched to investigating my mom's side of the family - and discovered a distant relative, well - the wife of a distant relative - of my Makowski/Makuski relations.  We have made contact and will share our research on the family tree on my mom's side of the family, just like I am collaborating with Rose on the Newton/Villeneuve side of the family. 

That handsome young man at the right is my father, Francis John Newton, during WWII, the grandson of David Villeneuve who took the name of Newton (the English translation of Villeneuve) upon settling in Marinette, Wisconsin in about 1879 or 1880, the great-great-grandson of Antoine and Adele.  He is my touchstone to those relatives in Ontario and Quebec who originated in France.  He had beautiful light blue eyes, and blond curly hair until it turned darker in his later years.  Later still, he started resembling photographs of David and Adele's son, my grandfather Frank Newton, who broke my heart when he died in 1964.  We were very close.  I wonder about those relatives I never knew.  Did my dad look like them?  Do I look like any of them with my hazel eyes and olive-toned skin and auburn hair? 

This is a lot of fun, but it's a lot of work and takes tons of time.  I can see where this kind of "hobby" is not for everyone.  You have to be determined, stubborn, dogged and never give up.  That sort of sounds like me, LOL!  You have to go over and over those baptism, death, birth and census records, other people's family trees that they have made available to members, and your notes, because you may have missed something - something important.  In my case, if I had just paid a bit more attention and really looked at that 1881 Canadian census listing "Antime Villeneuve" - argggh.  Well, I finally did - just last night while I was writing another email to Rose "blah blah I can't believe I can't find their marriage entry, we can't trace back without the names of their parents [which are included in the old church records I was combing through] blah blah -- and right in the middle of my email rant I happen to glance down at that 1881 Canadian census and a light bulb goes off in my head.  After weeks.  Duh!  And I discovered what I needed to know to confirm the identities of "my" Antoine Villeneuve and Marie Louise Adele Seguin [Laderoute]. 

I started with two names on my great-grandfather's death certificate that I found out thanks to Rose: Anton Newton and Adele Latterault - and I ended up in Ontario and Quebec and French Canadian and Acadian families who are so inter-related it makes the ancient Egyptians' royal relationshps look easy!  I am confident at this point that I will be able to trace back the Newton/Villeneuve line at least another two generations...

The records I am working in right now are written in French, with fountain pens.  The writing is blurred, cramped, smudged.  There are no standardized spellings of names.  Some records are so faded they are impossible to read from a microfiche image.  My French is NOT up to par but over the past few weeks I have gotten better at puzzling out dates.  What dates there are cannot necessarily be trusted; birthdays had a way of moving around in those old records.  I won't kid you, it's a long, slow slog.

Tonight I am getting some further work in.  Now that I know I have the correct Antoine and Marie Louise Adele, I can start work on confirming the names of their parents and birth dates.

In the meantime, while digging around those old records, I discovered another mystery.  I came across the 1901 Canadian census record for my great-grand father David's brother, Joseph Villeneuve.  They had a fine family of children listed in 1901, when Joseph was 46 and his wife, Olala, was 37: Joseph (12), Maryann (or Miryam) (10), Fred (8) born August 6, 1892, George (7), Dane (14), Aurine (8).

In typical census fashion, the head of the household is listed first, followed by his wife, and then their children, from oldest to youngest; after that, other members of the household are listed.  So Dane at age 14 and Aurine at age 8 - the same age as Fred but not born on the same day, and so not his twin - who were they?  They evidently were not the natural children of Joseph and Olala. But - they were not listed with different last names than Villeneuve.  Were they children of other Villeneuve relatives?

I did a search for Aurine Villeneuve and up pops a marriage record from 1915:

Irene Monfils (Villeneuve) age 22, Widow
(the Affidavit went to pains to point out that Irene Monfils was the widow of the late George Ross of Hull in the Province of Quebec)
Father: Adam Monfils
Mother: Stella Beaulieu
Residence: Vankleek Hill, Prescott, Ontario
Date of Affidavit under Marriage Act:  July 7, 1915
Date of Marriage: June 23, 1915
Spouse:  Amidee Clairmont
Parents: Pierre Clermont, Melina Dupruis (or Dupris)

Wow!  Irene was 22 and a widow?!?  What was the connection between her parents and Joseph and Olala Villeneuve? 

I dug further.  I fould a 1910 record of a marriage - when Irene was only 16.  Sixteen?  Here was the marriage to the deceased George Ross!

1910 Marriages, Town of Vankleek Hill, County of Prescott
Groom:  Ross, George
Age: 24 (or 27 - the writing was smudged)
Religion:  Roman Catholic
Residence:  Ottawa
Father:  Alexander Ross
Mother:  Annie Cooper
Bride:  Monfils, Irene
Age:  16
Residence: Vankleek Hill
Father:  Adam Monfils
Mother: Arabella Beaulieu [note difference in mother's first name from the 1915 Marriage Affidavit.  This kind of thing is very typical when reading through these records, and very frustrating.]
Date of Marriage:  September 14, 1910
Witnesses: Joseph Villeneuve, Delima Richard

Today George might very well be charged with the crime of statutory rape.  Geez!

I wasn't able to continue the search last night; perhaps I will take it up for a bit in Las Vegas.  I don't know who Dane is - is he actually a son but just listed out of the usual order?

I will be packing later for my quick get-away to Las Vegas.

"Tower" Tombs Unearthed in Palmyra

From the Global Arab Network: Syrian Archaeologists: Tower Tombs Unearthed in Palmyra
By R.Milhem/ R.Jazaeri
Sunday, 18 April 2010 01:10

The Syrian Archaeological Expedition working at the site of Palmyra's northern defensive wall (Central Syria) has unearthed tower tombs close to the wall.

Head of Palmyra Antiquities Department Walid Asa'ad said Wednesday the square-shaped burial has a two-slab decorated stone gate. The doorway leads to the roof of the burial place through stairs.

The burial site includes a yard with several chambers; each contains six multi-storey tower tombs, he added. Asa'ad indicated that the site was a typical Palmyra ancient burial place, adding that the tower tomb was re-used as a defensive tower in the 6th century.

Fragments of sculptures were unearthed at the site in addition to other archaeological monuments such as shelves, arches and pillars.

Palmyra's burials are unique. Situated outside the city walls, they show the changes in burial practice over the city's history and reflect Palmyran beliefs in the afterlife. The vast necropolises of Palmyra contain three kinds of tombs: high towers used for multiple burials, underground burial complexes (hypogea), and temple tombs.

The tombs usually contain large burial chambers with long grave recesses in their walls to accommodate the bodies. These shafts were usually closed with decorated stone slabs. Sarcophagi were rare in Palmyra.

Archaeologists have found cooking equipment and food containers, which indicate that feasting, took place in the tombs. The presence of altars and incense burners also suggest that offerings were made

Palmyra, situated in central Syria, was one of the largest centres during the Roman Empire and an important stop on the caravan route to Persia. The ancient Palmyrian sculpture style is famous, and includes elaborately-executed funerary relieves.

**************************************************

Can't help it!  When I read this article, the first thing that popped into my head was the Italian chess piece called "the tower"  it is something like 'la rocca' - which is the modern-day Rook in western chess. 

Isis Interregnum

Hola!  She's baaacccckkkkk!

Civet "Cat" Poop is a Gourmet Coffee - Euuuuuuuwwwwww!
From The Atlantic.com
Costing hundreds of dollars a pound, these beans are found in the droppings of the civet, a nocturnal, furry, long-tailed catlike animal that prowls Southeast Asia's coffee-growing lands for the tastiest, ripest coffee cherries. The civet eventually excretes the hard, indigestible innards of the fruit -- essentially, incipient coffee beans -- though only after they have been fermented in the animal's stomach acids and enzymes to produce a brew described as smooth, chocolaty and devoid of any bitter aftertaste.

2010-04-17
Thoughts on the etymology of Greek ἀκακαλίς
Would a Daffodil By Any Other Name Smell As Sweet?
According to Perseus Online, ἀκακαλίς is equivalent to νάρκισσος 'narcissus, daffodil'. Some like Jennifer Larson in Greek nymphs: Myth, cult, lore[1] suspect that it could be Pre-Greek but, as always with these sorts of ideas, people are vague about the five Ws. Beekes too proclaims the word Pre-Greek[2] but is vague about what this elusive original word looked like, what it ultimately signified and what precise "Pre-Greek" language we're dealing with. I'm here to suggest something bold and off-the-wall: The word is just plain ol' Greek.

Oh Yummmm!
Chocolate may be good medicine for liver patients
Thu Apr 15, 12:57 pm ET
LONDON (Reuters) – Cocoa-rich dark chocolate could be prescribed for people with liver cirrhosis in future, following the latest research to show potential health benefits of chocolate.

Wisconsin All Girls Championships

The 5th Annual Wisconsin All Girls Championships was held April 10, 2010 at the offices of sponsor Acuity Insurance Corporate Offices in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. This event is organized by the Wisconsin Scholastic Chess Federation.

Here are the top finishers - 111 players participated in this year's event:

Name Pts Rating Team Gr TBrk1 TBrk2 TBrk3 TBrk4 Rnd1 Rnd2 Rnd3 Rnd4 Rnd5
1 HUANG, SABRINA* 5 819 GLPK 3 13.5 15.5 15 50 W21 W9 W7 W2 W5
2 HILDEBRAND, GABRIELLE 4 497 MEDS 3 14 15 13 48.5 W31 W13 W8 L1 W7
3 BRINK, ANNA 4 748 StJONB 2 13.5 16 13 50 W17 W11 W4 L5 W9
4 MEKHTIEVA, KAMILLA 4 572 USM 3 12.5 14.5 12 48 W20 W15 L3 W10 W8
5 JOHNSON, GRACE 3.5 525 SHCS 3 15 17.5 12 54 W18 D10 W12 W3 L1
6 HUANG, ANNA 3.5 489 GLPK K 11.5 13 9.5 41.5 W26 L12 D10 W16 W11
7 DOUANGVILAY, INPATIDA 3 551 GREL 3 14 16 11 52 W22 W19 L1 W12 L2
8 PARTHASARATHY, SHRUTI 3 581 SREL 2 13.5 16 11 49 W14 W16 L2 W15 L4
9 GOINS, OLIVIA 3 496 JACK 3 13.5 14.5 10 43.5 W30 L1 W17 W19 L3
10 ALEXANDER, DELIA 3 281 GREL K 13 14 9.5 41.5 W32 D5 D6 L4 W22
11 SANKOVITZ, NORA 3 305 GMEL 3 12.5 13.5 10 41 W29 L3 W20 W13 L6
12 HOEY, BRIANNA 3 279 MGIS 3 12 13.5 10 43 W25 W6 L5 L7 W20
13 RUCKSTADER, EMMA 3 248 MPSC 3 11 12.5 9 40 W28 L2 W23 L11 W19
14 PETER, KATE 3 261 StJONB 3 10 11.5 8 33.5 L8 W27 D16 W21 D15

Full final cross-table and information on scholarships awarded. Congratulations to all of the young ladies who participated in this great event.

Hales Corners Chess Challenge XI! Final Standings

Hola!  Allen Becker sent a couple of photographs from the action at the HCCC XI.

Another successful Hales Corners Chess Challenge is in the books.Final standings/results are available at the USCF website.

Top finishers in the Open:

1 ERIK SANTARIUS 3.5 W 7 W 12 D 2 W 10 WI 12841108 / R: 2326
2 ALEX BETANELI 3.0 W 17 W 6 D 1 D 4 WI 12560488 / R: 22873
3 WILLIAM P WILLIAMS 3.0 W 19 W 30 L 10 W 14 WI 10310547 / R: 2200
4 ANTHONY LEE PARKER 3.0 W 18 D 16 W 29 D 2 WI 12780815 / R: 2146 5
5 MATTHEW WALLER 3.0 L 30 W 21 W 24 W 19 WI 12876397 / R: 2091
6 BENEDICT A SMAIL 3.0 W 24 L 2 W 31 W 20 MA 12677440 / R: 2031
7 RICHARD R MARTIN III 3.0 L 1 W 9 W 32 W 23 WI 12693222 / R: 2003
8 MARTIN JOHN FRANEK 3.0 D 35 W 38 D 23 W 17 IL 10343232 / R: 1700
9 ABE SUN 3.0 W 40 L 7 W 30 W 16 IL 14089741 / R: 1598

The Reserve section was won by Justin Rajsky (IL 1446), with a perfect score of 4.0/4.

Rachel Ulrich, who was perfect through Round 3 with 3.0/3, lost her R4 game (not without a fight) and had a great tournament! Ms. Ulrich won a Goddesschess prize of $30; in addition, her entry fee to HCCC XII will be paid by Goddesschess should she choose to enter that event later this year. Goddesschess prizes are awarded in addition to whatever prizes a player may otherwise qualify for. Congratulations to Rachel Ulrich, well done! She finished in 3rd place overall in the Reserve section, an excellent result.

Top finishers in the Reserve:

1 | JUSTIN RAJSKY |4.0 |W 8|W 4|W 12|W 3|
IL | 13714997 / R: 1446 ->1574 | | | | | |
| Q: 1402 ->1540 | | | | | |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
2 | JOEL NICHOLAS POLLEN |3.5 |W 21|D 7|W 24|W 6|
WI | 14413813 / R: Unrated->1757P4 | | | | | |
| Q: Unrated->1655P4 | | | | | |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3 | RACHEL J ULRICH |3.0 |W 23|W 18|W 5|L 1|
IL | 13384485 / R: 1539 ->1563 | | | | | |
| Q: 1447 ->1492 | | | | | |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
4 | JOHN A HEGELMEYER |3.0 |W 17|L 1|W 29|W 11|
WI | 12787626 / R: 1503 ->1515 | | | | | |
| Q: 1425 ->1431 | | | | | |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5 | GARY M WRIGHT |3.0 |W 9|W 10|L 3|W 20|
WI | 12597152 / R: 1282 ->1383 | | | | | |
| Q: 1374 ->1402 | | | | | |

The final standings of the other chess femmes who participated (all in the Reserve section):

8 | SANDRA R PAHL |2.5 |L 1|W 31|D 26|W 25|
WI | 10318033 / R: 1451 ->1443 |
10 | JOANNA HUANG |2.5 |W 28|L 5|W 30|D 14|
WI | 13713444 / R: 1394 ->1383 |
16 | ALENA HUANG |2.0 |L 12|L 24|W 36|W 29|
WI | 13713450 / R: 1477 ->1439
31 | SUSIE ULRICH |1.0 |W 15|L 8|L 20|L 19|
IL | 13498414 / R: 856 -> 898
32 | ISABELLA ILCHENKO |1.0 |L 14|L 30|W 34|L 21|
WI | 13956232 / R: 917 -> 880

I hope I did not miss any of the chess femmes who played.

Sandra Pahl and Joanna Huang split the second Goddesschess prize of $25 for their performance in the Reserve section.  

Altogether, 6 ladies out of 78 registered players, for a percentage of about 7.7%.   We were hoping for more. What can we do to encourage more female players to participate? 

Now we're looking forward to Challenge XII!

Hmmmm, what is this?

This was posted as a message yesterday under the update to the Hales Corners Challenge XI. I've no idea what it says or even what language it is. I was going to delete it in case it's something pornographic or sinister (like Jan Newton is going to assasinate Vladimir Putin at the earliest opportunity ... or, even worse, Jan Newton is a founding member of the Tea Party, watch out for her she is not as she seems! Ach!)

But then I thought - since I cannot read it, it might be a legitimate message - don't know. Can anyone out there help me out and give me an idea of what this is about? The series of numbers at the end of the message is intriguing - what are they?

念阿彌陀佛往生西方極樂世界 said...
阿彌陀佛 無相佈施

不要吃五辛(葷菜，在古代宗教指的是一些食用後會影響性情、慾望的植
物，主要有五種葷菜，合稱五葷，佛家與道家所指有異。

近代則訛稱含有動物性成分的餐飲食物為「葷菜」，事實上這在古代是稱
之為腥。所謂「葷腥」即這兩類的合稱。 葷菜
維基百科，自由的百科全書
（重定向自五辛） 佛家五葷

在佛家另稱為五辛，五種辛味之菜。根據《楞嚴經》記載，佛家五葷為大
蒜、小蒜、興渠、慈蔥、茖蔥；五葷生啖增恚，使人易怒；熟食發淫，令
人多慾。[1]

《本草備要》註解云：「慈蔥，冬蔥也；茖蔥，山蔥也；興渠，西域菜，云
即中國之荽。」

興渠另說為洋蔥。) 肉 蛋 奶?!

念楞嚴經 *∞窮盡相關 消去無關 證據 時效 念阿彌陀佛往生西方極樂世界

我想製造自己的行為反作用力
不婚 不生子女 生生世世不當老師

log 二0.3010 三0.47710.48 五0.6990 七0.8451 .85
root 二1.414 1.41 三1.732 1.73五 2.236 2.24七 2.646
=>十3.16 π∈Q' 一點八1.34

April 17, 2010 11:43 PM

Hales Corners Chess Challenge XI! Update - 4:37 p.m.

Hola!

A quick update.  First - total registered players 78!!!! That's one more than in Challenge X, which is great.

NO chess femmes playing in the Open.  Rachel Ulrich, who was the last femme standing in the Open, opted to play in the Reserve section instead after Sandra Pahl pulled out of the Open and Nicole N. withdrew due to illness.  In Rachel's shoes, I would have made the same decision.  At least in the Reserve section she will be playing for one of 2 Goddesschess cash prizes; there were no prizes offered in the Open for 1 chess femme playing.

The good news is that as of the end of Round 2, Rachel is 2 for 2 and among the leaders! Yippee!

R 2 cross-table for the chess femmes:

3. Pahl, Sandra R (3)............ WI 1508 L13 W32 A25 -U- 1.0
7. Huang, Alena (7).............. WI 1435 L18 L11 A29 -U- 0.0
9. Huang, Joanna (9)............. WI 1394 W19 L17 A35 -U- 1.0
12. Ulrich, Rachel J (12)......... IL 1345 W2 W15 A17 -U- 2.0
30. Ilchenko, Isabella (30)....... WI 917 L22 L35 A33 -U- 0.0
32. Ulrich, Susie (32)............ IL 750 W24 L3 A23 -U- 1.0

Some Pictures of the Backyard

It's too brisk for me to comfortably work outdoors today, but I did take a break from searching for my ancestors long enough to run outside and take a few shots of the blooming Newport plum trees in the backyard.

KL Open Chess Tournament

The 3rd Kuala Lumpur Chess Championship 2010 (Malaysia) April 6 - 12, 2010, was won by GM Hou Yifan (CHN 2570) in clear first with 7.5 of 9.  Hoorah!

The little girl is growing up.  I have to dis the outfit (don't they have fashion magazines in China?), but she looks great - love the "edge" she's given to her usual short haircut - those long bangs and side fringe frame her face nicely and she's got cheekbones! 

WIM norms were earned by two Indian women players: Bhakti Kulkarni and Mitali Patil.

I tried to pick out the other chess femmes who participated in this 111 player event (it's difficult because I am not familiar with the naming conventions, so I'm going mostly by their earned titles and the few players whose names I recognize as chess femmes) - final standings:

24 WGM Hoang Thi Bao Tram VIE 2318 5,5
30 WGM Sukandar Irine Kharisma INA 2316 5,5
45 WIM Muminova Nafisa UZB 2338 5,0
48 WFM Medina Warda Aulia INA 1959 5,0
50 WCM Sihite Chelsie Monica INA 1957 5,0
52 CM Bhakti Kulkarni IND 2242 4,5
53 WGM Fatianova Tatiana RUS 2303 4,5
58 WFM Mitali Madhukar Patil IND 1981 4,5
66 WGM Melnikova Yana RUS 2272 4,0
80 WFM Dewi Aa Citra INA 1945 4,0
82 WCM Ivana Maria Furtado IND 1839 4,0
84 WIM Hoang Thi Nhu Y VIE 2200 3,5
91 WFM Smith Vivian J NZL 1806 3,5
93 WCM Kadek Iin Dwijayanti INA 1887 3,0
97 WFM Nur Najiha Hisham MAS 0 3,0
101 WCM Nur Nabila Azman Hisham MAS 1829 3,0

My apologies to any chess femmes I may have omitted.  A complete list of players and their final standings at chess-results.com.