Breakfast in Vegas

Hola darlings!

I am back home from three wonderful days in Las Vegas.

Whew! What a whirlwind. I have lots to write about, don't know if I'll get to it all, but it sure was fun showing Thelma around for her very first visit to the city that is my #1 place to go for a great short fantasy get-away.

The weather was so perfect in LV for this waterlogged Milwaukee girl! Arrived in LV on Tuesday March 23 to sunshine, a few horse-tail like clouds in the sky, low humidity and about 83 degrees F, after nearly two solid weeks of unrelenting darkness, gloom, cold and rain rain rain here! Flash floods warnings were all over the place in Wisconsin, up north (unofficially defined as any place north of Milwaukee 100 miles or more, LOL!) got SNOW - lots of SNOW! Awful awful awful.

I want to talk about breakfast in Las Vegas - specifically, my breakfasts in Las Vegas.

These days, as I continue to educate myself on the importance of proper nutrition in aiding weight management, I try for a good balance among carbs, fiber and protein. I don't always do that in practice during the harried work week, but when I'm on vacation, I go for it because I've got the luxury of time (and someone else making the actual meal) do to so. And the good habits do carry over for awhile, at least.

The Peppermill

If you are familiar with Las Vegas, perhaps you have heard about a restaurant that has achieved iconic status in LV: The Peppermill!

It is just to the south of the Riviera Hotel complex on The Strip in a stand-alone restaurant -- a rarity these days -- and kitty-corner from Circus Circus, which is across the wide roadway. I am not sure, but my guess is that the Riviera and Circus Circus are the oldest remaining intact hotel complexes still existing on The Strip. So much has changed since 1979, which was the very first time I ever step foot in LV.

But the Peppermill is still there and, judging by the number of people coming and going as Thelma and I enjoyed our breakfast there on Wednesday morning (April 24), it is as popular as ever! That makes me very happy. The food is great. Yes, the prices have risen over the years - what hasn't? Generally speaking, though, lower than average elsewhere at the hotels on The Strip. Everything I've ever eaten at the Peppermill has been and continues to be cooked perfectly to order.. I'm very fussy about my scrambled eggs being cooked 'loose,' for instance, and although I am generally loathe to send a dish back or complain because I appreciate how hard these people work to try and please us, I've never had a complaint, not even a miniscule one, about any dish I've had at the Peppermill. Value-wise, best on the Strip, to my knowledge. Be careful what you order, because the portions are so generous, unless you have a lumberjack appetite you will be leaving food behind or taking it to go, and good luck with that because the vast majority of Las Vegas hotel rooms do not have a fridge and microwave to allow you such a luxury as keeping left-overs for later!

The staff is - wonderful. The bussers are discreet and uber-efficient. The wait-staff are pros but friendly and homey, and just make you feel comfortable right away. These people know there stuff! The decor is - purple and pink and green and very 1970's and I luv luv luv it! Immaculately clean and well-maintained. Best hash browns I've ever had -- perfectly cooked -- tender, juicy, not overdone, or mushy (underdone), with just the right degree of "brown-ness" on the outside. And not greasy. YUM! How the hell do they do that???

These days my appetite is not what it used to be. I get filled up quickly and ordering a $12.95 gigantic plate of food I cannot possibly eat is a waste of money for me. Fortunately, The Peppermill offers an excellent ala carte menu and I can build a meal that I know I will be able to eat with pleasure because it won't be too much, so I won't feel as if I'm wasting food (hey, I am a child of two parents who were raised during the Great Depression, and it left its mark on them, and they have left their marks on me) and I am happy with the prices of the individual selections, too.

Normally, darlings, I do not have a cocktail first thing in the morning with my breakfast. But this particular day, with this particular travel companion, I thought - what the hell. And so when the cocktail waitress came around and offered some suggestions, I ordered a non-spicy Bloody Mary and, to my delighted surprise, Thelma ordered a Mimosa!

Our meals were perfectly cooked and delivered. Wish these photos did justice to them:

Thelma ordered a feta cheese and veggie omelet which comes with a side of your choice, she chose hash-browns.  While we were waiting for our food we were chatting away, I was giving Thelma some historical background on LV as she made inroads on her Mimosa, as you can see.

And I ordered this --

-- aforesaid non-spicy Bloody Mary (as you may be able to deduce by the markedly decreased volume of liquid in the glass, I was happily sipping away, too). Our dishes arrived piping hot and done to perfection. I ordred ala carte three soft-scrambled eggs (did I mention that they were perfectly cooked? Because they were perfectly cooked), and hash browns -- look at them - hey, what can I say, I'm salivating just looking at this photograph I took - woo woo!  These are some of the best hash browns I've ever tasted, and I've had hash browns at plenty of different restaurants over the years.  I don't know if it is the potatoes used or the cooking oil used, but these are just delicious, and tender but not mushy, crispy but not overdone on the outside.  How do they do it? 

Left nary a bite-size morsel on my plate. Thelma polished off most of her somewhat larger meal, too. Well, she's still a growing girl.  She has a hearty appetite.  Ahhhh, to be Thelma's age again...  Thelma and I left the Peppermill happy and full, and nodding to each other that we will be back again, soon.

P.S. Shortly after I took this photo, a couple were seated at the table that you can see at the top of the photo, above. She was definitely American, he was definitely European. I wasn't eavesdropping on their conversation, but sometimes you overhear snippets of conversation... her accent was American with a slight hint of Latina, and his accented English was German, I think. What can I say? Hey - Las Vegas - universal city. That's one of the reasons I love visiting there. Not to mention, but here I am doing it anyway, that the Peppermill was Mr. Don's favorite place to have breakfast after I took him there for the first time in November, 2003 and several visits thereafter. Going there again after his passing away last October brought back many fond memories, as well as making new ones. So I was sad/happy at the same time.

Here is a photograph I found of the Peppermill from Planet 99 online, taken, I believe, in January, 2003. Oh, the memories! The Peppermill is still the same but the background to the southeast no longer exists... The Encore and the Wynn are there now in place of the torn-down buildings that used to be there:

I did not take photographs of the other breakfasts I had during this Las Vegas dash (April 23-25, left at 1:55 p.m. April 26). Each of those breakfasts in their own way, were just as good!

Betty's Diner at The Quad (formerly known as Imperial Palace)

Thelma slept a little later Thursday morning (we had a late night Wednesday night), but I was up at the crack of dawn.  It's like a curse or something...  Anyway, I was hungry!  The Quad (f/k/a Imperial Palace) has Betty's Diner, which isn't really a diner but you can get enough there to stave off starvation when you need quick, and especially, very good fresh coffee and something to eat.  Fresh sweets, bagels, croissants, toasts, sandwiches, breakfast sandwiches made to order, fruit, yogurt, assorted juices, beverages and of course, regular and decaf coffee, ice creams and shakes.  So, about 6:30 a.m. I took the elevator down to Betty's and got coffee, fresh cut-up fruit in a large container and a croissant with whipped butter on the side.  On the way out I grabbed a couple of grape jelly packs and headed back to my room.

Wish I had a picture of that croissant to show you, for it was large, flaky, light, deliciously buttery even without the extra butter I added, and fresh fresh fresh!  Bar none, the best croissant I've ever had anywhere, ANYWHERE!  Kudos to Betty's Diner!  Coffee, like I mentioned, is hot and fresh, and made perfectly to my taste because it is not weak, but it is not overbearingly strong either. Or worse yet, stale and burnt-tasting!  There is always a demand for Betty's coffee so it is constantly being made up fresh.  Coffee, croissant and a large fruit cup was a little over $10 - but that includes that 10% LV sales tax, so underlying prices are less than many places.  Sounds expensive?  Not for The Strip!  I have found Betty's prices to be comparable or lower than other places I've visited on The Strip.

From The Quad website. 

When I got back to my hotel room I had a little mini-feast at the round table by my open sliding door to the balcony and was in Heaven, enjoying the gentle, warm early morning breezes as the Sun climbed higher in the sky.  The added luxury of the grape jelly - oooooooohhhhh.....

Betty's Diner is as good as ever, and it has actually improved it's internet service -- more stations where you can plug in your own computer or use one already there, for a modest fee.  For fast, convenient, and excellent quality, please do try Betty's Diner at The Quad (f/k/a Imperial Palace).

The Coffee Shop at Treasure Island

Friday, April 26, was our last day in LV and we didn't have much time before we had to hustle back to the hotel and find our loading spot for the shuttle (I'll write about that soon). Thelma and I hit The Strip about 8:30 a.m. in search of breakfast.  Our plan had been to go to Denny's for breakfast for nearby, well known and inexpensive by LV standards.  But there was a waiting line twisting it's way down the sidewalk as we approached!  Holy Goddess!  So, that plan was nixed and I said, let's try the coffee shop at Treasure Island, which was about two blocks south of where we were.  Fortunately, at that time of day, there weren't hundreds of people vying for sidewalk space, but since it was Friday and the start of the weekend it was more crowded than what we had seen during our previous days there.  Still, we made good time there. 

Treasure Island is a lovely hotel, one of the "smaller" resort hotels/casinos on The Strip today when compared to the new mega-resorts (would never stay at one of those mega-resorts, too overwhelming, in my opinion).  It is famous for it's two (or is it three?) times daily maritime "battles" and sirens shows in the lagoon/harbor area fronting the hotel on The Strip.  It is excellently done, by the way, and a great hit because all passers-by can see it for free.  People line up hours before the next show, blocking the narrow sidewalks, in order to get a good standing room only view!

When I went to LV in August, 1999 to visit Isis and Michelle and also, incidentally, watch the knock-out series of matches that was the FIDE World Chess Championship being hosted at Caesar's Palace at the time, I breakfasted one morning at TI's coffee shop.  Back then, it had a counter with stools where singles could comfortably eat and not feel spotted-out, and I travelled to LV several times by myself, so it was a convenient and welcoming place to go.  I felt comfortable there.  The scale of the place is not mega-watt but person-friendly and at the time, the menu was extensive and the prices were very reasonable, even by Milwaukee standards.

Having fond memories of my past breakfasts at TI, I steered Thelma there.  Alas, the counter with stools is gone, and the coffee shop is much enlarged over what I remembered from 1999 and 2001!  But the staff was excellent. The surroundings are lovely, and the food was very good.  Pricey -- Las Vegas Strip pricey -- but very good. (By way of comparison, this morning was my investment club meeting and we had breakfast at Meyer's Family Restaurant less than a mile from where I live.  I ordered off the Breakfast Specials menu and had a very large 3-egg omelet with chopped ham and swiss cheese on top, plus hash browns plus toast, which I declined, for $5.04, and coffee is $1.70 a cup with unlimited refills). 



Photo from The Urban Spoon.

My sole complaint about the TI Coffee Shop breakfast menu is that the ala carte menu was very thin, almost non-existent!  I knew if I ordered a regular omelet with hashbrowns at $14.95 or, for that matter, any of the other offerings, it would be far more than I wanted to eat, and I hate, absolutely hate, wasting food!

Fortunately, a bowl of fresh seasonal berries was offered on the ala carte menu, and with a side of hash browns, plus coffee, the meal was around $11 or so and gave me exactly what I wanted.  I was craving fiber, and fresh fruit is an excellent way to get it.   The berries were delicious, not frozen and thawed, as far as I could tell because they were not mushy at all -- blueberries, red and blue rasberries, and quartered strawberries.  YUM!  Hash browns were very good, not greasy at all and served piping hot and - a definite plus in my eyes - our waitress instantly offered ketchup!, to which I promptly said yes. 

Those hashbrowns were not quite as tasty as those at The Peppermill, but they were delicious, eminently edible!  Atmosphere was great, it's a lovely "coffee house" - looks more like a Milwaukee Steak House, actually, with plenty of wood beams on the ceiling, plush carpeting and dark-stained wood everywhere, but no red flocked wallpaper, fortunately :)  Thelma and I were seated in a roomy booth and plenty of space among tables/booths.  Quiet, elegant.  I would definitely go there again. 

Coffee was served in large cups plus an aluminum hot pot left behind, which kept your refills hot and ready to pour yourself.  The coffee was very good.  I'm not a coffee connesieur, but I do like my coffee a certain way, not too weak, not too strong, like Goldie Locks in the old fairy tale, I like mine "just right."  LOL! 

Score Las Vegas on breakfast: 

Ten out of ten, ding ding ding ding ding!  Prices are high compared to what you may be used to and especially to bargain-bred Milwaukeeans, but not higher than the norm for Las Vegas.  Service was uniformly excellent at both restaurants that Thelma and I breakfasted at -- The Peppermill and the Coffee House at Treasure Island (inside the casino, on the left hand side near the entrance). 

Price wise, for what you get, Betty's Diner, which is not and does not pretend to be, a full-service restaurant, is the best bargain and I found the food to be fresh and the coffee excellent, always fresh.  For a full-service meal in a unique atmosphere with excellent service and somewhat lower prices than elsewhere on The Strip, The Peppermill cannot be beat!  TI's Coffee House also rates excellent in my book, but more expensive, I'd say, by around $1 to $2 per similar offerings.  Very different surroundings there, quiet and elegant, with a wood-beamed ceiling, rose-colored wallcoverings, discreetly uniformed wait-staff.  Not that the Peppermill is rowdy and loud, just different ala 1970's psychedelic chic and the wait staff is more "relaxed." 

Try them all, and enjoy. 

Iron Age Gaming Pieces Uncovered

Interesting article, but the references to this site as "prehistoric" are really irking me!  A 2000 year old Iron Age hillfort is not, by any stretch of the imagination, "prehistoric!"  Prehistoric means before written history, in its simplest definition!  Man was writing up a storm 2000 years ago, in thousands of languages, all around the globe, in Old World and New World, even if we didn't know the New World existed back then.

What is even more troubling is that I am seeing this false information creep in more and more items being published by supposedly reputable sources on the internet.  Science Daily - come on, where the hell are your editors?  Does no one else question this sort of thing?  Or is the level of ignorance out there in "Normalsville, USA" now so great that nobody knows the difference?  That's even more frightening!

Prehistoric Metalwork Discovered at Iron Age Site, Along With Gaming Pieces

Apr. 22, 2013 — Archaeologists from the University of Leicester in the UK have uncovered one of the biggest groups of Iron Age metal artefacts to be found in the region -- in addition to finding dice and gaming pieces.

Iron Age gaming pieces that were found (dice at the top and 'dominoes'/counters
either side). (Credit: Image courtesy of University of Leicester)

A dig at a prehistoric monument, an Iron Age hillfort at Burrough Hill, near Melton Mowbray, has given archaeologists a remarkable insight into the people who lived there over 2000 years ago.

Both staff and students from the University's School of Archaeology and Ancient History and University of Leicester Archaeological Services are involved in the project, now in its fourth year.
About 100 pieces, including iron spearheads, knives, brooches and a reaping hook, as well as decorative bronze fittings from buckets and trim from an Iron Age shield, have been found.

Project Director John Thomas said: "To date the three excavation seasons have produced a wide array of finds that have transformed our understanding of how the hillfort was used, the length of occupation and the contacts that its occupants had with other regions. The last excavations focussed on a series of large storage pits that had become filled in with domestic refuse and produced a significant collection of objects including one of the largest groups of Iron Age metalwork from the East Midlands.

"All of the artefacts provide a remarkable insight into the lives of people who lived at Burrough Hill during the Iron Age. Further finds shed light on their social lives; a bone dice and gaming pieces were discovered alongside a polished bone flute and beautifully decorated blue glass bead from a necklace. These finds contrast sharply with artefacts found on other contemporary sites such as small farmsteads, suggesting differences in status and access to a wider range of material culture.

"The results of the project so far have been very impressive and tell us a lot about the history of Burrough Hill and its changing story over time. Not only that, but these results will enable comparison with other contemporary settlements and feed into a broader frame of research into the Iron Age occupation of Leicestershire and the East Midlands."

The five-year Burrough Hill Project brought to light a huge amount of new evidence to enable a better understanding of the site which until recently had not seen extensive excavation due to its protected status as a Scheduled Monument.

Hello from Vegas!

Hola darlings!

Oh, it's gorgeous here!  Sunny, warm, DRY.  Did I say sunny?  We've already done some shopping, spent a little time by the pool but we got there late and were only able to sit out for 30 minutes -- only open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.  Geez!  Sun will be out here until 9 p.m. even if the pool area is shady now.

We'll be heading out shortly for the evening.  We got tickets for Mama Mia tomorrow night at New York New York and will be heading there shortly to get advance seating.  Then we'll hit the Strip and the casinos!

Some pics:

Jan and Thelma on the plane

Thelma in Venice!

12:05 a.m. Milwaukee time - back at hotel:

What a long day!  Thelma forgot her sunglasses -- she left them in her jacket coat pocket, the jacket she decided not to bring because the forecasts here were for temps in the 80's.  I realized that I had forgot to pack my facial cleanser, drat!  Cannot use any kind of soap on my face, I break out in horrid rashes if I do, and I also wanted to pick up a new hot curling brush.  So our plan was to check-in, get some sunglasses for Thelma and then head to the nearest Walgreens and get the stuff I needed.

Fortunately, check-in did not take a lot of time.  Our rooms are average.  Main point for me is that they are inexpensive, my wi-fi this trip is free, I have a king-size bed, the bedding and bathrooms are clean and there are an abundance of towels and washcloths, plus cable t.v. for watching shows or news when we rest in-between bouts of dealing with The Strip!  NOW Thelma realizes what I was trying to explain to her before we arrived and she actually experienced today for herself.

LAS VEGAS IS EXHAUSTING!  We hiked to the nearest Walgreens that I remembered the location of, to the north of the Venetian.  Thelma was oohing and aahing as I pointed out the various casinos and resorts along the way.  The Venetian is one of my favorites and I will make it a point to take Thelma through the shops there, because they are gorgeous and the decor is so much fun!  Took a couple of pictures - Thelma's turned out much better than mine but I was not able to loan her memory card into my memory card reader (either my portable one or the built-in inside this tiny little Acer notebook).  So I will have to wait to get those photos that she took with her camera and the extra portraits I took of Thelma in "Venice." 

We were barely out of the hotel on the walk headed toward Walgreens when I spied $10 a pair sunglasses in a gift shop right by Harrah's and so I steered Thelma there, which was a good thing because in all the subsequent hiking we did up and down the Strip today, I did not see a single damn street vendor selling sunglasses!  What the hell has happened to this city, I ask you?

Thelma tried on a few pair, I gave her a thumbs up on one and a thumbs sideways on the other, she bought the pair I gave thumbs up to (I am beginning to feel like a mother, not sure I like the responsibility) and Thelma sure looks cute in them.  They suit her face.

I also sort of twisted her arm into buying a different hat than the one she brought to Vegas with her.  Her original choice was too small to provide any shade to her face and eyes, really, and the style was not flattering.  More about the hat later...

While at Walgreens we also picked up some make-up primer for Thelma.  She had never heard of any such product and was intrigued by the idea.  You see, I had talked Thelma into trying out mineral make-up (I swear by Bare Escentials, love the product!) but I did not want her to pay $28 for their "Primer", so we picked up something less expensive at Walgreens to try out.  If she doesn't like it it will not be a financial bust.

Then we headed toward Sephora.  Wow - what a change.  Last time I was in this particular Sephora, the place was packed with women.  This time it was nearly empty. But that helped, not having to fight through hordes of women  to get to the Bare Escentials display.  We ended up buying Thelma the same color I use, in the "original" formula, after looking at the color samples.  Thelma is a little lighter skinned than I am, but she is not anywhere near an ivory.  She has to be careful with her undertones, too, because she has oily skin and that can and has interacted with liquid foundations she has worn in the past, and the latest not inexpensive brand she was wearing today, which turned streaky, blotchy and in places, downright yellow (like Thelma had Dengue fever or something, yikes).  I felt horrible pointing this out to her on the jet as we were getting closer to LV, and gave her my compact so she could see what I was seeing.  She did a good job correcting the issues with the compact, but because her skin seems to be producing a lot of oil very quickly, and of course walking around as we were in the heat of Las Vegas, her make-up was soon streaking again.  Not good.  A woman never wants to look like she is actually wearing stuff on her face, let alone streaky stuff!

So, we get the stuff at Sephora, and I totally forgot to check there to see if they had any hot brush curling irons, but in hindsight glad I did not because whatever they carrried would have been way more expensive than the outrageously priced not-correct-style-ones at Walgreens!  So, when I wash my hair tomorrow morning it's going to look like shit after it dries because I won't be able to tame it's frizzies and I cannot brush blow-dry my hair to save my life.

Now, about Thelma's new hat.  She didn't wear it today, but when we head out during the day tomorrow she'll have it on, so I will get a photo or two of her in the hat.  After we left Sephora and headed back to our hotel, we were chatting about her hat and why it didn't suit her, and as we walked we started passing that same gift shop near Harrah's that we had visited earlier, noting the hats they had there at the time Thelma picked our her new pair of sunglasses.  The primary issue was foldability.  Thelma wanted/needed a hat that she would be able to pack in her luggage when we return home without permanently ruining the hat's shape.  So, we changed course and went into the gift shop, and Thelma modeled a couple of the hats for me.  We were really lucky on the first try, because Thelma tried on a broad-brimmed white cotton stitched hat that was very foldable, and it looked so flattering on her.

Then she tried on a straw-colored hat that was a wide-brimmed beauty with a brown ribbon tied around the crown, it looks like something out of The Great Gatsby to me, something the ladies wear at the Derby.  It also was very flattering on her.

Ultimately Thelma picked the white hat because it had a great deal more foldability and we decided that it's white color would go with more outfits that the neutral, but bolder-colored "straw" hat.

Success!   Got back to the hotel and took a 30 minute break so we could we could do our own thing.  Thelma changed into her swim suit cuz the plan was to FINALLY get to the pool.  Oh - yeah, we also stopped at half-price tix --

more tomorrow, it's been a long day and I need sleep like - right now! 

2013 Milwaukee Summer Challenge!

Hola darlings!

You probably thought I had died or something - but I'm here, alive and kicking.  In fact, I had a very good report from Heart Doctor #1 on 4/17/13 and a big load of worry has been removed from above my head.  No more Sword of Damocles dangling over me -- well, for now, anyway :)

I am sooooo happy to announce that me a/k/a Goddesschess, since I'm the only one left now, will be funding prizes for Southwest Chess Club's second Milwaukee Summer Challenge!

Last year's inaugural Milwaukee Summer Challenge was a big hit. July, 2012 was the first time my adopted chess club hosted a five-game tournament spread over two days.  Goddesschess/me (I?) provided $250 in prizes for the chess femmes (I think), but things got switched around a bit when not enough female players entered the highest-rated section, and so I reallocated the prize money originally intended for the highest rated section to increase the prizes for chess femmes in the other sections and also increased the Best Game Prizes (open to female and male players) in each section.  Well - something like that, anyway.  Those great guys at SWCC figured it all out so I didn't have to stress my brain (such as it is) about it!   Final standings from the 2012 Milwaukee Summer Challenge with Goddesschess prizes noted. 

This year, I am putting up the same prizes for chess femmes playing in each section, and Tom Fogec and I discussed a $50 best game prize when I saw him a few weeks ago.  I honestly do not recall all the details now, but I had lots of other things on my mind last summer, with the health crises Mr. Don (may he rest in peace) and I were undergoing at the time.  The guys will let me know the $$ I need to send them to cover. 

Flyer for 2013 Milwaukee Summer Challenge. 
All details and registration form.

 

Talk about being behind the times - geez - today was the first time I checked out who actually won best game prizes at the 2012 Milwaukee Summer Challenge, and was pleased to see that Anne Ulrich won the prize for her section!  YAH!

Couldn't help but also note that in less than a year, Anne has raised her ELO by some 300 points!  You can see the prize-winning games here -- Anne's is first up.  At that time, she was rated 1072. Her rating now is 1396.  A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! 

Egyptian Blue's Amazing Qualities

Okay, this will sound totally nutzoid, but this article got me to wondering whether the "alternative history" folks may be right about some aspects of ancient Egyptian technology???  It's only recently that we actually finally deciphered out of what Egyptian blue pigment was made.   I've been posting articles about Egyptian blue and similarly-colored pigments used by other ancient civilizations.  Did the Egyptians know about the qualities of this pigment, and did they somehow use the pigment as other than as a decorative device in ways we are only now discovering for ourselves...  

Tomb of Nebumun demonstrates shades of Egyptian blue pigment.  Interestingly, or perhaps
to be expected, these shades of blue are very popular today in home decor.  Turquoise,
aqua, teal, sky blue, and robin's egg blue, are all featured in today's upscale decor.

From archaeology.org

From Egyptian Blue to Infrared

By NIKHIL SWAMINATHAN

Monday, April 08, 2013

 

Egyptian blue is known as the world’s oldest artificial pigment, first used more than 4,500 years ago, found on wall paintings at Luxor and sculptures recovered from the Parthenon. The hue comes from a compound called calcium copper tetrasilicate. Over the past decade, museum conservators and archaeologists have taken advantage of its properties to spot the presence of Egyptian blue on antiquities: When red light is shone on the pigment, it reflects infrared light, which can be detected via night-vision goggles or cameras.

Chemists at the University of Georgia (UGA) have now determined that the luminescent quality of calcium copper tetrasilicate is retained even when the compound is reduced to what are termed “nanosheets,” a thousand times thinner than a human hair. “Even if you have a single layer, the thinnest possible, you still get the effect,” explains UGA’s Tina Salguero. At that scale, she believes, you can start thinking about modern applications.

Salguero says that Egyptian blue’s primary molecule could be incorporated into a dye to improve medical imaging, since the infrared radiation it would reflect can pass through human tissue. The pigment’s luminescent quality could also be effective for developing new types of security ink, typically used to secure currencies and other official documents from forgery. Further, the possibilities for a second act for the long-out-of-use coloring extend to devices such as light-emitting diodes and optical fibers, both of which transmit signals using the relatively long wavelength of infrared light.

The UGA team is now looking at another compound, barium copper tetrasilicate, which was also used as an ancient pigment, in this case by the Chinese.

Prior posts on Egyptian blue:

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Ancient "Blue" Back in the News

Prior post - did the old world and new world "blue" hues have something in common? Use the Goddesschess blog search feature, type in the word "blue" (without the quotes), and a whole bunch of interesting articles will appear to give you background on this fascinating, ancient color.

In the news today - ta da! "Egyptian Blue Found in Romanasque Altarpiece"

 

 

Sunday, May 23, 2010

The Color Blue Back in the News

First, a follow-up article of sorts, on the use of ancient Egyptian blue in a 12th century CE altarpiece in a Barcelona church:

Egyptian Blue Found in Romanesque Altarpiece

 

 

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Is There a Common Link Between These Ancient Blue Hues?

I've no idea. I'm not suggesting that the recipe for either blue travelled from Old World to New World or vice versa. I'm wondering is there an underlying chemical conection or similarity in the composition of the minerals in the clay and/or rocks that the Maya used to produce their cobalt blue color and the minerals in the rocks the ancient Egytians used to produce their cobalt blue color?

Mar 16, 2010
Archaeologists: Maya Blue pigment recipe moved around
An archaeologist reports the ingredients of "Maya Blue" pigment beloved by Central America's ancients may have been widely mined, not traded as previously suggested.

 

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

The Latest on Egyptian Blue

Ancient "Egyptian blue" pigment points to new telecommunications, security ink technology
February 20, 2013

A bright blue pigment used 5,000 years ago is giving modern scientists clues toward the development of new nanomaterials with potential uses in state-of-the-art medical imaging devices, remote controls for televisions, security inks and other technology. That's the conclusion of an article on the pigment, Egyptian blue, in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Maya Blue Back in the News

From Fox News
X-Rays Reveal Secret of Ancient Mayan Dye
By Devin Powell
Published July 27, 2010

WASHINGTON -- Physicists have created a dye that promises to last for a thousand years. The secret to this extraordinary durability? Its formula is based on a Mayan pigment, a brilliant blue color that survives to this day on the walls of their ancient temples.

Ceramic Figurines from Tel Motza outside Jerusalem

Well, if there wasn't "evidence" of rituals during this period of the Iron Age in Israel (c. 800 BCE), there is now.  Is Hershel Shanks rubbing his hands in glee?

From archaeology.org

Ceramic figurines were part of a cache of objects found at an Iron Age temple uncovered at the site of Tel Motza outside Jerusalem

 

Monday, April 08, 2013

 

Source:  (Clara Amit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority)

What is it?

Figurines

Date

ca. 9th century B.C.

Material

Pottery

Found

Tel Motza, 3 miles west of Jerusalem, Israel

Dimensions

Shown approximately twice actual size

Sometimes it is the smallest artifacts that surprise archaeologists the most. Inside the recently uncovered remains of a massive Iron Age building at Tel Motza in Israel, archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) uncovered a cache of pottery, and this particular assemblage surprised and intrigued them. The collection included decorated chalices and pedestals, as well as a number of tiny figurines in both animal and human form. These artifacts resembled similar objects found previously that were known to have been used in domestic rituals. But the structure at Tel Motza was clearly much too large to be a house. Instead, they believed, it was actually a temple with an east-facing entrance typical of the ancient Near East, and an altar in the courtyard, next to which they found the pottery cache. According to the IAA archaeologists, the discovery of the temple itself was striking. “There are hardly any remains of ritual buildings in Judea from this period,” they said. But the discovery of the sacred objects inside the temple was especially surprising because there is scant evidence for ritual practices, particularly so close to Jerusalem, at this time. At some point during the later Iron Age, ritual sites outside of Jerusalem were abolished and religious practices were concentrated solely at the temple in the capital city.

Cyber Archaeology Being Used at Catal Hoyuk Continuing Excavations

This is one of those "wow" articles -- really cool!



I also learned, for the first time since hearing about Catal Hoyuk perhaps 20 years ago (or more), how the name is actually pronounced!  It is "Sha-tal" or "Cha-tal" with a soft "c" sound, similar to an "s" sound.  Now that brings a whole new meaning of the place name to me.  All these years, I was pronouncing the name with a hard "c" (a "k" sound)!!! 

Where are the board games -- will any of those ever be found at Catal Hoyuk?  Professor Forte spoke of the people at Catal Hoyuk as the first "modern" type of civilization that we (today's people) could relate to -- the first to settle into one place, plant and reap, domesticated sheep and evidently attempted to domesticate cattle as well, with a civilization that lasted for "thousands of years."  [Note:  According to an article on the site at Wikipedia, Catal Hoyuk existed from approximately 7500 B.C. to 5700 B.C. -- so, if these dates are approximately correct, less than 2,000 years.]

There is a great site online, the Catalhoyuk Research Project, that has project reports available dating back to 1993, when excavations of the large mound area were restarted, including a searchable data base. 

Mommy Dearest:

"Seated woman with two lions" - excavated in one of the
later layers at Catal Hoyuk. 

Description (English): Seated Mother Goddess flanked by two lionesses from Çatalhöyük (Turkey), Neolithic age (about 6000-5500 BCE), today in Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara.  Wikipedia Commons - source. 

DNA Sequencing Possible for Ancient Egyptian Mummies

From Nature.com

Egyptian mummies yield genetic secrets

Next-generation sequencing finds DNA preserved in hot climates.

• Jo Marchant

12 April 2013

 

The ancient Egyptians could soon be getting their genomes sequenced as a matter of routine. That’s the view, at least, of the first researchers to use next-generation techniques to analyse DNA from Egyptian mummies.

 

In a preliminary study that the authors describe as “a first step”, they detected hints of one of the mummies’ ancestral origins, as well as pathogens and a range of plant materials presumably used in the embalming process. The researchers, led by Carsten Pusch, a geneticist at the University of Tübingen in Germany, published their findings last week in the Journal of Applied Genetics¹.

 

Previous studies of DNA from Egyptian mummies have used a technique called polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to amplify specific segments of DNA. But these studies have been controversial. The PCR method is susceptible to contamination with modern DNA, especially when amplifying genes from humans or bacteria that are likely to be present in the environment.

 

DNA degrades relatively quickly in warm conditions, leading to doubts that it would survive for long in the Egyptian desert. For example, a high-profile DNA analysis of 3,300-year-old royal mummies² published by Pusch and his colleagues in 2010 attracted scepticism. But the authors stood by their results, arguing that the embalming process must have preserved the DNA despite the heat.

 

Further support for their argument came in 2011, when researchers amplified DNA from 2,000-year-old mummified crocodile hatchlings³. So researchers on both sides of the debate have been looking forward to the application of next-generation sequencing techniques. Instead of amplifying specific sequences, these methods read millions of small fragments and give a broad picture of all the DNA present in a sample, making it easier to spot contamination.

 

Since 2010, next-generation sequencing has been used to decipher the genomes of a variety of ancient humans preserved in cold conditions, including a 4,000-year-old Palaeo-Eskimo dubbed Saqqaq Man⁴; ‘Denisova Man’, a novel hominin unearthed in Siberia[5]; and ‘Ötzi the Iceman’, a 5,300-year-old mummy found frozen in the Central Eastern Alps⁶.

 

Now, Pusch and his colleagues, including Rabab Khairat, have carried out next-generation sequencing on five Egyptian mummified heads held at the University of Tübingen. The heads date from relatively late in ancient Egyptian history — between 806 bc and 124 ad.

 

The data sets retrieved so far are small — a tiny fraction of what would be required for a whole genome sequence. But they show that human DNA survives in the mummies and that it is amenable to sequencing.

 

The researchers determined that one of the mummified individuals may belong to an ancestral group, or haplogroup, called I2, believed to have originated in Western Asia. They also retrieved genetic material from the pathogens that cause malaria and toxoplasmosis, and from a range of plants that includes fir and pine — both thought to be components of embalming resins — as well as castor, linseed, olive, almond and lotus.

 

According to Pusch, the proportion of human DNA in the identified sequences is comparable to that from frozen specimens, such as Saqqaq Man. In mummies, “DNA preservation appears to be independent of temperature,” he says.

 

But Tom Gilbert, who leads two research groups at the Center for GeoGenetics in Copenhagen and was part of the team that sequenced the Saqqaq genome, warns against making such a comparison, because many of the sequences obtained in the latest study were unidentifiable.

 

Now that Pusch and his colleagues have demonstrated next-generation sequencing in Egyptian mummies, however, moving on to entire genomes “isn’t rocket science”, Gilbert says. “What limits you is the size of a sample. For Denisova Man they had just a finger bone. Here they have the whole mummy.”

 

Indeed, Pusch and his colleagues say that they are now working on a more comprehensive analysis, and that “entire-genome sequencing of ancient Egyptian individuals is likely to become standard in the not-too-distant future”.

 

“It would be nice to know more about the origins of the ancient Egyptians,” says Pusch. “Where did they come from? Where did they go? Are there still traces of ancestral DNA in today’s Egypt?”

Journal name:

Nature

DOI:

doi:10.1038/nature.2013.12793

 

See article for references. 

Boston Marathon Bomber Suspect #2 Alive and In Custody

Was anyone not glued to their televisions and computers this evening as this unfolded? 

I am very thankful that this young man was taken into custody alive.  From what I understand by an interview of a close neighbor of the owner of the boat in which Suspect #2 was found in (covered boat on a driveway next to a residence, being stored for the winter, wrapped with typical covers to protect against snow and rain), when the stay in residence order was lifted by the Governor of Massachusetts, he went outside into his back yard, was looking around, probably savoring the mild night air and some momentary freedom after being cooped up inside the house all day per police orders, when he noticed something awry with the covering on the boat.  This homeowner then grabbed a ladder, put it against the boat, went up the ladder partially and noticed - blood.

He then lifted the cover(s) partially and saw what appeared to be a human body inside his boat. He got the hell out of there in a big hurry, ran into his house and called the police.  That is how the suspect was discovered.

Will we get some answers to the questions everyone has, at last? 

I have to give kudos to Yahoo News -- yes, that much skewered news service, for providing an excellent platform of streaming commentary from on-the-scene witnesses and reporters in conjunction with ABC News (Diane Sawyer was just EXCELLENT this evening) as I watched online, occasionally looking at my television on in the background with sound turned on very low.  I do believe that Yahoo News was the first to report that the suspect had been taken into custody and was still alive.  Nearly simultaneously, as I glanced at my television screen across the room, I saw a flash at the bottom of the screen that the suspect had been taken into custody.  It wasn't until over a minute later, at least, that Diane Sawyer interrupted the report that was going on to announce that the suspect was alive and had been taken into custody.

Good night to all.  While all of Boston comes out of hiding after being "quarantined" indoors all day long, and celebrate the capture of Suspect #2, I feel pity for this young man, who went so wrong, and had so much promise in him.   It is horribly sad.  But he did the crime.  It is horribly sad that an eight year old boy and his mother also met their deaths because of Suspect #2's actions, and another's life was cut off too.  The survivors, several horribly maimed, losing their limbs.  Some may yet lose the battle to keep their lives as they succumb to their severe injuries.

So many lives touched, damaged, destroyed.  And for those of us who were helpless witnesses to the carnage, so much trauma, anger, despair, rage.

And for what?  Why? 

Goddesschess Fighting Chess Award for 2013 U.S. Women's Chess Championship!

We're baaaacccckkkk.... I am very pleased to announce that the Goddesschess Fighting Chess Award is back at the USWCC!

 

Source: Copyright Chess Queen.

Chess Queen GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, 12th Women's World Chess Champion, has agreed once again to act as Judge to select this year's winner! Woo woo!

Goddesschess has sponsored a special prize at the U.S. Women's Chess Championship since 2007, except for 2012.

2007: Goddesschess "Brillancy Prize" of $300 and was awarded to Elizabeth Vicary Spiegel for her win against Camille Baginskaite. As you know, Elizabeth is one of the coaches at IS 318 in Brooklyn, New York, a program that has gained international recognition for its excellence!

2008: Goddesschess Fighting Chess Award of $500 was awarded to Tatev Abrahamyan by judge GM Susan Polgar for Tatev's performance of 6 wins and 3 losses - no draws! Goddesschess' contribution was $350 and those wild and crazy guys over at Chessville.com contributed $150 to make the total prize $500.

2009: Anna Zatonskih not only swept away the entire field of players and finished the Championship with an oustanding 8.5/9, she also won the Fighting Chess Award. She did not sit back in the later stages of play and coast to victory, even after it was clear that no one would be able to catch her.

2010: Goddesschess teamed with 9 Queens and offered a Fighting Spirit Award (which I kept calling the Fighting Chess Award) of $1,000! The winner, selected by our new judge, GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, was Tatev Abrahamyan, for her uncompromising play: she finished in 3rd place, although tied with Anna Zatonskih (who finished in 2nd place overall) with an incredible 7.5/9. Tatev had 7 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss.

2011: GM Alexandra Kosteniuk chose Sabina Foisor as the winner! This is what she wrote at her blog about selecting the winner of the 2011 Goddesschess Fighting Chess Award:

I was chosen as the judge for this award, and I had a very hard time, as many players are deserving, starting with the eventual winner, Anna Zatonskih, but also certainly Tatev Abrahamyan who fought to the end, and Irina Krush, who won the initial tournament. However, after looking over most of the games, I saw that Sabina Foisor's style was also uncompromising, and she was the only player to have beaten Irina Krush in the preliminary tournament. I have decided to vote for the Fighting Chess Award to go to Sabina Foisor, congratulations!

In 2011, in honor of the other players considered for the Award by GM Kosteniuk, at the conclusion of the tournament Goddesschess donated $100 each to 9Queens in the names of Anna Zatonskih, Tatev Abrahamyan, and Irina Krush. It was truly an outstanding championship.

We are very grateful to have obtained the assistance and judgment of great players in awarding the Goddesschess Fighting Chess/Fighting Spirit Award! And despite her busy schedule, GM Kosteniuk agreed to act as our judge again this year! Thank you so much!

An interesting and varied field has accepted the invitations to St. Louis for 2013. Who will be the winner this year???

 

The 2013 U.S. Women's Chess Championship will be held in the beautiful headquarters of the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis, which will be celebrating its 5th anniversary of hosting the prestigious U.S. Chess Championships!  If you can possibly attend one or more sessions, I urge you to do so.  The Club is fantastic.  I had the pleasure of visiting in person in September, 2011 while in St. Louis and greatly enjoyed sitting in the lower level to listen to the live commentary during the Kings v. Queens match at which, incidentally, GM Kosteniuk was part of the Queens' team. 

 

Full coverage of the Championships will be provided at U.S. Chess Champs.  Stay tuned! 

Ancient Han Dynasty Tomb Discovered in Lujiang County, Anhui Province, China

Ancient tomb found in Lujiang

Updated: 2013-04-11   A tomb dating back around 1,700 years is excavated in Lujiang county of East China's Anhui province on March 29, 2013.（Photo from Anhuinews.com） A tomb dating back around 1,700 years was unearthed in Lujiang county of East China's Anhui province on March 29, with the coffin inside well preserved and showing few traces of rot, Hefei Evening News reported. The tomb, measuring about 3 meters by 3 meters, was found by a local worker when he was operating an excavator on a construction site. Large as it is, only a dozen funeral objects were dug out and many of them turned out to be pottery ware. "Many burial objects are supposed to be unearthed in such a big tomb, but as we excavated it, we found an opening suggesting it had been raided," Yang Biyu, head of the Lujiang administration of cultural relics said regretfully, adding that judging from the hole, the tomb suffered a raid as early as the Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD). Inside the tomb, a 2.5-meter-long coffin has been surprisingly preserved intact, with few signs of decay found in its 20-plus planks. It will not be known for whom or in which year the tomb was built, nor its historical value until all the antiques are studied by archaeologists. "The objects will help us to get a glimpse of the county in the Han Dynasty if any writing is discovered on them once the centuries of dirt is rubbed off," the official said.

Stones with Ancient Pictish Writing Discovered -- But

-- we can't read it (yet...)

Pictish written language discovered in Scotland

Posted on April 10, 2013

 

Holy Stag! 

A new language dating back to the Scottish Iron Age has been identified on carved stones.

 

These inscriptions are believed to belong to the early Pict society living from ca 300 to 843 AD, in modern-day eastern and northern Scotland. The Picts, meaning “the Painted Ones”, were named by the Roman Eumenius in 297 AD and are renowned for having repeatedly repelled invasions from both Romans and Angles, creating a clear North-South division of the British Isles.

 

Celtic tribes around Ireland, Wales and Scotland are known for their use of stylised stones as signs of ownership and to indicate their names. In the past, some two dozen Pictish Ogham inscriptions had been found in the north and north-west of Scotland. Oghams, also called Primitive Irish, compose an Early Medieval lexigraphic alphabet and the earliest inscriptions discovered date back to the 4th century AD.

 

The new written language discovered in Scotland differ however very much from the Ogham inscriptions as the study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society A, led by Rob Lee, Philip Jonathan and Pauline Ziman reveals.

 

Indeed, in order to identify the languages, the three professors applied a mathematical method called Shannon Entropy. This process studies the order, direction, randomness and other characteristics of the different engravings. The results have then been compared to English prose fictions, Chinese prose and poetry, Egyptian monumental texts, Mycenaen lists, king and genealogical list, English texts transposed in morse code and Sematogram heraldic. This calculation also included Irish, Welsh, Norse, Turkish, Basque, Finnish, Korean as well as ancient inscriptions from the British Isles (Latin, Anglo-Saxon, Old Norse, Ancient Irish and Old Welsh).

 

Even though the study reveals that the Pictish symbols discovered are part of a lexigraphic writing (containing symbols that represent parts of speech), the researchers came to the conclusion that the stones would also present semasiographic symbols (that do not represent speech). Thus, the stone called Hilton of Cadboll features pictures of riders and horn blowers next to hunting dogs.

 

The team conducting the study however did not possess enough information to achieve a decipherment. As they say: “In order to answer the question of whether the symbols are words or syllables, and thus define a system from which a decipherment can be initiated, a complete visual catalogue of the stones and the symbols will need to be created and the effect of widening the symbol set investigated”.

 

In the future, more research will probably derive from the existing findings leading to a complete decipherment of this Iron Age language.

Study Confirms the Gospel of Judas Was Written in Third Century CE

A fascinating study!  As you know, the Gospel of Judas was ultimately rejected as "canonical" and thrown out of the Bible.  A missing link of -- ink...

Egyptian wedding certificate key to authenticating controversial Biblical text

April 8, 2013

A scientist who helped verify authenticity of the fabled Gospel of Judas today revealed how an ancient Egyptian marriage certificate played a pivotal role in confirming the veracity of inks used in the controversial text. The disclosure, which sheds new light on the intensive scientific efforts to validate the gospel, was made here today at the 245th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
 "If we hadn't found a Louvre study of Egyptian wedding and land contracts, which were from the same time period and had ink similar to that used to record the Gospel of Judas, we would have had a much more difficult time discerning whether the gospel was authentic," said Joseph G. Barabe. A senior research microscopist at McCrone Associates, he led an analytical team of five scientists who worked on the project at McCrone, a consulting laboratory in microscopy and microanalysis in Westmont, Ill. "That study was the key piece of evidence that convinced us that the gospel ink was probably okay."

 Barabe's team was part of a multidisciplinary effort organized in 2006 by the National Geographic Society to authenticate the Gospel of Judas, which was discovered in the late 1970s after having been hidden for nearly 1,700 years. The text, written in Egyptian Coptic, is compelling because—unlike other Biblical accounts that portray Judas Iscariot as a reviled traitor—it suggests that Jesus requested that his friend, Judas, betray him to authorities.

Barabe's presentation was part of an ACS symposium on archeological chemistry.

After analyzing a sample, Barabe and his colleagues concluded that the gospel was likely penned with an early form of iron gall ink that also included black carbon soot bound with a gum binder. While this finding suggested that the text may have been written in the third or fourth century A.D., the researchers were perplexed by one thing: The iron gall ink used in the gospel was different than anything they'd ever seen before. Typically, iron gall inks—at least those from the Middle Ages—were made from a concoction of iron sulfate and tannin acids, such as those extracted from oak gall nuts. But the iron gall ink used to produce the Gospel of Judas didn't contain any sulfur. And that, Barabe said, was troubling.

"We didn't understand it. It just didn't fit in with anything that we had ever encountered," he said. "It was one of the most anxiety-producing projects I've ever had. I would lie awake at night trying to figure it out. I was frantically searching for answers."

Ultimately, Barabe found a reference to a small French study conducted by scientists at the Louvre who analyzed Egyptian marriage and land records written in Coptic and Greek and dating from the first to third centuries A.D. Much to Barabe's relief, those researchers had determined that a wedding certificate and other documents were written in ink made with copper, but little or no sulfur.

 "Finding that study, and realizing its implications, tilted my opinion a little in the direction of it being appropriate for the era," Barabe said. "My memory of that experience remains quite vivid. I had a sudden feeling of peace that things were okay, and that I could submit my data without qualms."

 Barabe now suspects that the ink used in the Gospel of Judas was probably transitional, a "missing link" between the ancient world's carbon-based inks and the iron gall inks (made with iron sulfate) that became popular in medieval times.

Hales Corners Chess Challenge XVII -- Postscript 2

Robin Grochowski of SWCC emailed me the official Goddesschess prizes for the chess femmes this morning.  Total Gchess prizes were $540 - guess I've lost my skill to do simple addition!

Open Section ($180):

Rachel Ulrich won $140.

Alena Huang won $40.

Reserve Section($290):

Anne Ulrich won $70.

Sabrina Huang won $70.

Ritika Pandey won $40.

Manisha Vootkur won $40.

Ellen Wanek won $40.

Divya Pandey won $30.

Rachel wins entry to HCC XVIII open section ($40), and Sabrina Huang wins entry to HCC XVIII reserve section ($30) on tie breaks. ($70).

 

Here is a photo of chess buddy Ellen Wanek receiving her Goddesschess prize check, courtesy of Robin:

 

 

After Challenge XVII Saturday night, I pledged to Ellen that I would play in Hales Corners Challenge XVIII in October, ready or not.  I am starting my "training," LOL!  Games against Ellen and my other chess buddy, Shira Evans Sanford, a new mommy, at chess.com.  I can but try... 

Khufu Harbor Discovered in Egypt

Egypt, oh Egypt?  What shall become of you?  You are engulfed in ongoing unrest and revolution. Your lifeblood - tourists - have fled, particularly tourists from the west - we who spend the most money. Liberated women from the parts of the world where we have broken our shackles of slavery to mere mortal men shun you for your shameful treatment of all females, domestic and foreign.  Your government, meanwhile, rallies unemployed young men in the streets for a loaf of bread a day, crying out that this is all the fault of the United States, expecting that we will believe your lies while you let rapists of foreign female reporters and female tourists roam your streets unpunished.  Did you think we would not hear about these things, that they are not publicized for all to read and think about?  Do you think at all, Egypt?

Egypt, oh Egypt, you have become sickened with a dread disease, and I fear you are dying.  And if you die, what else will die with you as the vultures sweep in and carry away your legacy, bit by bit, piece by piece?  Either destroyed by religious fanatics or sold off to the higest bidders.  I am mourning for you, Egypt, and mourning for myself, that I will never, now, travel to you and see your wonders for myself, but may yet live to see them all destroyed forever. 

The information in the final paragraph of the article (below) about ships' ropes and stone tools being discovered in the caves, that sounds familiar. Perhaps this story was reported on earlier.  Iran does the same thing - keeps regurgitating old news and presenting it as new in official and semi-official mediat outlets, with the intent of fooling westerners into believing that ongoing research and discoveries are taking place, that nothing actually has changed from the 'good old days,' when the reality is so different. 

From ahramonline

Egypt's King Khufu's harbour in Suez discovered

French-Egyptian archaeological mission discover the oldest commercial harbour from fourth dynasty Egyptian King Khufu at Wadi Al-Jarf area, 180 km south of Suez

Nevine El-Aref , Thursday 11 Apr 2013
(Video at website)

On the Red Sea shore at Wadi Al-Jarf area along the Suez-Zaafarana road, a French-Egyptian archaeological mission from the French Institute for Archaeological Studies (IFAO) stumbled upon what it believed to be the most ancient harbour ever found in Egypt.

The harbour goes back to the reign of the fourth dynasty King Khufu, the owner of the Great Pyramid in Giza Plateau. The harbour is considered one of the most important commercial harbours where trading trips to export copper and other minerals from Sinai were launched.

A collection of vessel anchors carved in stone was also discovered as well as the harbours different docks.

Minister of State for Antiquities Mohamed Ibrahim announced that a collection of 40 papyri, showing details of daily life of ancient Egyptians during the 27th year of King Khufu’s reign, was also unearthed during excavation work carried out.

“These are the oldest papyri ever found in Egypt,” asserted Ibrahim.

He also stated that these papyri are very important because it reveals more information on the ancient Egyptians’ daily life, as it includes monthly reports of the number of labours working in the harbour and details of their lives.

The papyri have been transferred to the Suez Museum for study and documentation.  French Egyptologist Pierre Tallet, director of the archaeological mission, pointed out that it is very important to carefully study the information in these papyri because it will introduce plenty of information about this period. The papyri will also show the nature of life that the ancient Egyptians once lived, their rights and duties, which we know little about, Tallet added.

The mission has also succeeded in discovering remains of workers’ houses, which reveals the importance of this harbour and area commercially whether among the different cities of Egypt or abroad, said Adel Hussein, head of the Ancient Egyptian Sector at the Ministry of State for Antiquities.

A collection of 30 caves were also discovered along with the stone blocks used to block their entrances, inscribed with King Khufu’s cartouche written in red ink. Ship ropes and stone tools used to cut ropes and wooden remains were discovered as well.

Post-script on Hales Corners Chess Challenge XVII

Hola darlings!

What a shock this morning to wake up to SNOW!  But my heart is warmed by the great results for the chess femmes who participated in the Hales Corners Challenge XVII. 

My chess buddy, Ellen Wanek, wrote to me after she got back home after a long long day at the Challenge.  She is such an uplifting and encouraging influence in my life, I'm so happy to have made her acquaintance.   She sent me a couple photographs of the chess femmes at the Challenge, since I was not there in person -- they are all so beautiful! Ellen wrote that they were saying "Hi, Jan" in the top photo!  Thank you all - so sweet!  Brought tears to my eyes. 

One last email I opened last night, from Allen Becker, was a link to Rachel Ulrich's USCF ratings track and it was just awesome to see her progress graphed out -- in fact, so awesome to see the rise in her rating over the years that I snatched a copy of it and here it is!

Source: USCF

Allen wrote:  13 year old Rachel gained 77 ratings point and is Wisconsin's newest Expert.  Woop woop, arm pump!

I also wanted to mention that Anne Ulrich, who tied for first place in the Reserve Section, recently won the 2012 USCF Junior Grand Prix (hope I have that title correct) and, we believe, is the first-ever female to do so.  I looked for but could not find any comprehensive records of prior Junior Grand Prix winners to officially confirm this. 

And Sabrina Huang's performance!  I've seen her in action at the few Challenges I've attended and have tracked the performances of she and her sister, Alena Huang (who played in the Open Section again this Challenge, challenging herself and I'm sooo proud of her) at Challenges over the years.  Both sisters are delightful young women.  I am soooo proud of Rachel, Anne, Alena, Sabrina and, indeed, all of the ladies who played yesterday, including my buddy, Ellen, who improved her performance to two wins in this Challenge! And how cool is it that we have been lucky enough at the Challenges to have THREE sets of sisters playing, because another dynamic duo of sisters, Ritika Pandey (2.0) and Divya Pandey (1.5), also did very well.  Manisha Vootkur also finished in the Reserve at 50%, scoring 2 wins.   It gives me hope for the future to see all of these young women playing into and hopefully through their teen years and beyond.  We need MORE of you, chess femmes!  Pat Foat, where were you? 

For those of you who don't know Ellen Wanek very well, I've posted articles about her at this blog and you can find them by doing a search of her name. Ellen is based in Sheboygan and is very involved in a chess program that teaches kids how to play chess and, indeed, has extended the program to a Chess in the Park series where all are welcome and newcomers can visit and learn how to play the game in a casual, relaxed setting. She is one of my heroines and I admire her greatly.

Sandra Pahl, played in the Open again, and a young lady whom I don't believe has played in a Challenge before because, just like the first time I played in a Challenge, I did not have a USCF rating either, Carolyn Marta, who played in the Reserve, didn't score any points. Hey - I know that feeling! Did your head feel like it was going to explode, too? That's what playing in a Challenge (the few I've played in) makes me feel like! All my zeros were worth it, though, because I did earn a USCF rating, so I'm officially on the USCF books as a CHESSPLAYER, ha ha ha! Hang in there, chess femmes. I actually managed to win a game in the last Challenge I played, and Sandra Pahl has scored in the Open before, I know she'll do it again. And Sandra, I would love to continue our conversation on the interesting topics we got into the first/last time we chatted!

I visited my adopted chess club's blog this morning and read the updated news on Challenge XVII, and copied this out:

Four-way tie for first in Open:
Erik Santarius
Ben Smail
Brady Harder
Rachel Ulrich




Three-way tie for first in Reserve:
Sabrina Huang
Anne Ulrich
Xavier Loomer

I had complained to Allen Becker last night (Yes, it is true. This woman [moi] knows no limits when it comes to gall) about how they publish the final results because they do it from highest ratings to lowest instead of who actually finished in what place by virtue of tie-breaks (at least, that was how it was explained to me once but that may not be correct, that's just the way it was assembled finally in my brain).  That method makes no sense to me because how can I use that to determine who actually finished in FIRST, SECOND, THIRD, etc.  It's drives me frigging nuts, and that's the truth.

So when I saw the above fresh information posted, now I know that Sabrina edged-out Anne on tie-breaks, and in the Open, Rachel lost FIRST "first place" on tie-breaks (next Challenge maybe she'll come out on TOP, hey, no pressure...) -- so now at least I see it in a format that makes sense to me.  I will NEVAH understand the other way of doing it, NEVAH! 

Okay, ladies, here's a challenge for you.  In Hales Corners Challenge XVI, you took home a record amount of Goddesschess prize money, the highest Goddesschess prize payout yet.  You did not break that record in Challenge XVII.  How do you feel about going for it in Challenge XVIII?