Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

Jackie wrote: "The problem with the 'right' people who have the power to generate interest is that they'll only do it if they stand to gain financially. If they have investments in this area, then they'll do it."

Seems that way, doesn't it. And people who stand to lose will squash the movement if they can. :-(

Absolutely.

Jackie wrote: "Jim,
A friend posted this on Buzz:

Of interest to our earlier discussion is at 4 minutes in. What a great idea. It sounds good to..."

Interesting clip. It reminds me of the shows the Libertarians used to put on. It's like the people who say trash isn't a problem because the entire US output could fit in a 100 square mile dump - or something like that. Sounds good but ignores a lot of realities, like the thorny problems with each of the 4 methods it extols. Try putting one on a tractor. Take a look at the maintenance problems on anything sea based. You know how tough water is on things, especially salt water.

As for farming without chemicals, they're living in a dream world. You wouldn't believe how high tech farming has become & needs to be to get the yields to feed this hungry world. We may be in a lot of trouble soon just because all the attention is on corn. Not only has that kept wheat crops down, but it isn't getting the research & bioengineering that modern seed crops need. Most products use gluten (from wheat), ask anyone who can't eat it.

As for a resource based economy - it sounds like communism to me. No thanks.

I agree with your assessment overall Jim, I really wanted to bring attention to geothermal energy source. That's what I think is a good idea, I should have been more clearer in my posting.

Jim wrote: "... As for a resource based economy - it sounds like communism to me. No thanks."

Back to square one. LOL

Debates about the pros and cons of geothermal energy focus on environmental concerns. While there is some environmental cost, geothermal could prove to be the most benign energy resource of all, and the most abundant.
Read about the pros and cons of geothermal energy:

Jackie wrote: "Debates about the pros and cons of geothermal energy focus on environmental concerns. While there is some environmental cost, geothermal could prove to be the most benign energy resource of all, an..."

Thanks for the link, Jackie. I learned something I didn't know: "It turns out that the largest contributor to the heat below our feet is the decay of radioactive particles. We stand on nothing less than a planet-sized nuclear reactor that promises to continue generating heat for billions of years in the future."

Among other things, the article says:
====================================================
"Within a few hundred feet of the surface, and even at the surface, we find areas that, because of geological faults, blend deep earth heat with underground water to produce either hot water or steam. Using current technologies, these are the primary locations that enable economical use of geothermal energy resources."
...
"The key to economically exploiting geothermal resources using current technologies is finding the best producing hydrothermal wells."
=====================================================
I suppose that when we have no other choices, man may be able to turn to geothermal energy, if it can be made feasible.

A friend of mine put in a geothermal heat pump system when he added on to his house a couple of years ago. He says it should pay for itself in 10 years. It doesn't require a hot water well, but uses the difference in temperature between the water & the outside air to help cool & heat his house. Unfortunately, it requires two good wells on the property, something you don't find in this area of KY. Even out here on the farm, I have public water. Those folks further out have cisterns.

They are doing a test well to get rid of the CO2 from coal plants by putting it back into the ground. We'll see if that causes any contamination or not.

KY is just not a great place for alternative energy. Lots of trees & coal, though.

Jim wrote: "A friend of mine put in a geothermal heat pump system when he added on to his house a couple of years ago. He says it should pay for itself in 10 years. It doesn't require a hot water well, but u..."

Jim, that's the first time I've heard of that sort of thing being used by an individual. Interesting. I wonder how far down they had to drill.

Location seems to be the key to efficiently using different alternate energies. If we all used what is feasible for our areas, all over the world, the usage of fossil fuels would go down significantly, enabling areas like Kentucky who's only option is fossil fuels to use it without guilt or recrimination.

I finished Lightning by Dean Koontz. I read it twenty years ago and loved it. I'd forgotten just about everything in it and was looking forward to the adventure. After reading it, I have no idea why I held it in such high esteem. It was good, it was entertaining but not great.

I'm off to start Shapechangers by Jennifer Roberson. I've had this first book of the series on my shelf for about five years, waiting to find the rest. There's 8 that I know of in this series. I've finally decided to just start reading all these series I have on my shelves. Sometimes I'd buy the whole set and find that I didn't particularly like the first or second one and the rest sit there until I force myself to read them. I have to learn to try the first in the series and see if I even like it before committing funds to the rest. This is my attempt at that. I have so many books on my shelves that are just waiting; it's ridiculous of me to wait.

Joy, he's in a section of MD where they had to set a minimum depth on wells of 75' because often wells were giving plenty of water at 60' - IOW, not very far. I never realized how lucky we were when we lived there. Excellent soil & ground water.

Jackie wrote: "... I have so many books on my shelves that are just waiting; it's ridiculous of me to wait."

Jackie, I find that having too many books waiting to be read can create a nagging-effect and a sense of guilt about our not getting to read the books. I don't know what the solution is. I suppose the problem can be categorized as "too much of a good thing." :)

Jim wrote: "Joy, he's in a section of MD ... I never realized how lucky we were when we lived there. Excellent soil & ground water."

Jim, one thing I learned over the years about gardens... good soil makes all the difference. In the past we've had to deal with soil that was clay. Nothing grows well in clay soil! The roots can't get down into it.

Jackie, for what it's worth, that idea of trying the first book in a series to see if you like it (before making a commitment to read the whole thing) is usually what I do, too. There's no sense making yourself suffer if you don't have to. :-)

Of course, there are times when that approach would be misleading. Sharyn McCrumb's Ballad series, set here in Appalachia, is a case in point. She didn't "hit her stride" with this until the second book (I happened to start with the fourth one, which is unusual for me). If I'd started with the first book, I'd probably have dismissed the series as not for me (as one of my Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ friends did), and missed out on some good reading. But the cases like this are probably very few and far between.

Thanks Werner. I don't know why I do some of the things I do, like I'm under a geas, LOL When I start using words like 'geas', you know I'm firmly entrenched in fantasy.

Joy, lots of books on shelves has the opposite effect on me, it propels me towards more reading. I never have a problem with reading, always happy to do it.

Donw with Shapechangers. I liked it, decent story. I especially liked the the bond between man and animal. The only thing I didn't like about it was Alix. the main character. She was selfish in her recklessness, putting the warriors at risk. And stubborn! Her name should have been Mule. I couldn't connect with her; I could only get annoyed with her. She annoyed me in the same way Bella annoyed me in the later Twilight books. If Alix is in the next in the series, I won't be able to continue in the series.

Reading only the first one was definitely a good experience for me. I think I'm going to like doing it this way. At least now I know who's who and while the story is good enough, the characters involved in the next one will determine if I get the next book in the series.

On to The Elder Gods by David Eddings. Another one that's been sitting on my shelves waiting for the rest of The Dreamer series.

Presently reading The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner, and Last Night by James Salter. The latter being a series of short stories.

I've wanted to get to TSATF for a long time now, I'm about a third of the way in at present.

Jackie, Katherine M, and all, keep up your good reading.

At this point, I'm really into the old subject of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. I'm trying to see both sides of the story, as to whether the British Crown did right or wrong in their ostracism of the abdicated king and his wife, Wallis Windsor.

I've been lucky enough to find a YouTube video in which both the Duke and the Duchess are speaking. They tell about the beginning of their relationship and how they met. See the video here: ====>


I just finished reading Royal Feud: The Dark Side of the Love Story of the Century. The "feud" centers on the animosity between Wallis Windsor and Elizabeth (later known as Queen Mother), who rose to the throne of England with her husband King George VI after Edward VIII (the Duke) abdicated in 1936 (in order to marry the divorced Wallis Simpson).

I hope to go on reading about them in THE WINDSOR STORY. There are many points of view about the people involved. It's a poignant story on both sides.

See more at Wiki:

Have any of you seen "The Hurt Locker?" My daughter and son in law thought it deserved an Oscar way before it was even nominated. nina

Nina wrote: "Have any of you seen "The Hurt Locker?" My daughter and son in law thought it deserved an Oscar way before it was even nominated. nina"

Nina, I returned "Hurt Locker" to Netflix without watching more than a few minutes of it. I couldn't handle the stress of it. Eddie watched it instead.

Science Fiction? No!
The International Space Station:


Watch the pieces come together as they are sent up from Earth. This is the International Space Station (ISS) Assembly diagram, piece by piece.

Look at what happened from 1998 until 2008. In just ten years it has grown and grown.

Impressive! Awe-inspiring!
Who knew that the Space Station had grown to this size.

For detailed info about each module, click on the Parts List on the panel at the right of the screen.

Joy H. (of Glens Falls) wrote: "Science Fiction? No! The International Space Station:
"

PS-Quotation:
“There is just one thing I can promise you about the outer-space program - your tax-dollar will go further.� -Werner von Braun

That was AWESOME!

Jackie wrote: "That was AWESOME!"

Those engineers deserve an Oscar! LOL
Some links:


Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ links to related books:
The International Space Station
Reference Guide to the International Space Station
The Amazing International Space Station
Building History - The International Space Station
ISS: International Space StationInternational Space Station: A Space Mission
Island in the Sky: Building the International Space Station

That is wild. I wish more tax dollars went to space.

Once my husband and his group was asked to build something for one of the early important space missions. Afterwards he got a personal letter from the commander thanking him and pictures taken from that mission that were incredible. There's more: the next morning after receiving this our youngest daughter was moaning that she had nothing for SHOW and TELL so I gave her those valuable things that were on our dining room table. Unfortunately, she left them at school and the janitor threw them out. There were copies but the originals were gone along with the letter from the chief. We have been married over sixty years but sometimes there were doubts we'd make this far. That was one of those times. nina

Ouch!

Nina wrote: ".... our youngest daughter was moaning that she had nothing for SHOW and TELL so I gave her those valuable things that were on our dining room table. Unfortunately, she left them at school and the janitor threw them out. ..."

Nina, what a shame! We never forget the things we valued and then somehow lost. I still think (with regret) about the favorite books I gave away... and about my most favorite Christmas record (of organ music) which we left behind at a church event.

I have started rereading "Promises to Keep' by George Bernau. This is a book I read when it was first published in 1988. My interest was rekindled when I read some of our group's comments about alternate history.
This book made such an impact on me that I remembered the characters as the Kennedys and others from 1963 and on. When I got the book from the library, I see that the names have been changed where Kennedy is now Cassidy, Rockefeller is now Granderman, etc.
The plot focuses on the premise that JFK lived after being shot in Dallas, and the ways our course of history would have changed.
Another Kennedy-like novel is Dominick Dunne's "Season in Purgatory" which was inspired by the murder of Martha Moxley. That one was written in the early 90's and Dunne is right on with many of his literary conclusions. It was made into a TV movie of the same name starring Patrick Dempsey.

Katherine wrote: "I have started rereading "Promises to Keep' by George Bernau. This is a book I read when it was first published in 1988. My interest was rekindled when I read some of our group's comments about alt..."

Katherine, thanks for the thumbnail sketches. Below are the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ links:
Promises to Keep
Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ says: "Here is the political thriller at its epic and enthralling best."

A Season in Purgatory
Amazon says: "This compulsive yarn might well be subtitled 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous--The Dark Side'".

Hi everyone, I'm reading Wisdom by Heather Neff it has a wonderful Caribbean setting and its good thus far. I will let you know more about it later.

I am reading again, "South of Broad," for the second time as it is our book club selection for April. Some disturbing things in the book but the writing is some of the best ever. And also, just for the fun of it I am reading, "Blackberry Wine," by Joanne Harris, who wrote, "Chocolat." I loved that book and even liked the movie. Yes, if you read the latter you know she is into magic. nina

Margaret wrote: "Hi everyone, I'm reading Wisdom by Heather Neff it has a wonderful Caribbean setting and its good thus far. I will let you know more about it later."

Margaret, Wisdom sounds like a good one.
====================================================
Publishers Weekly at Amazon says:
"A family legend draws an African-American nurse from Michigan to the sultry Caribbean island of St. Croix in Neff's gutsy first novel. Maia Ransom, the descendant of slaves who worked the St. Croix plantation of Wisdom a century and a half ago, visits the island for three weeks to investigate the stories told to her by her grandfather."

A customer review says: "It is a rich novel filled with vivid descriptions, moving dialogue, and a touch of mystery."
====================================================

Nina wrote: "I am reading again, "South of Broad," ... Some disturbing things in the book but the writing is some of the best ever. And also, just for the fun of it I am reading, "Blackberry Wine,"..."

Below are the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ links:
South of Broad (2009) by Pat Conroy
"...a big, sprawling novel that is at once a love letter to Charleston and to lifelong friendship."

Blackberry Wine: A Novel (1985) by Joanne Harris
A customer review at Amazon says:
"Joanne Harris' latest book, Blackberry Wine, picks up on some of the themes of her earlier book, Chocolat. Magic and its application to modern life... the hurtfulness of prejudice, especially religious prejudice against those who don't follow the locally prescribed formula... and the folly of blindly accepting what is too often mistaken as progress and success... are central to both works."

Chocolat was an awesome movie. Didn't read the book though.

I'm getting so annoyed with The Elder Gods. David Eddings has been touted as this great fantasy author. If he were 12, then maybe I'd agree. I feel like it's written by a 12 year old for 12 year olds! Even the gods themselves are childishly written. I can't wait to finish it so I can move onto something better and more fitting to my tastes.

As of yesterday, I started on Crocodile on the Sandbank, the first novel in Elizabeth Peters' historical mystery series featuring feisty Victorian "bluestocking" Amelia Peabody. It's set in the 1880s, primarily in British-dominated Egypt, a locale not too often used in English-language fiction.

Jackie, Marg, myself & all the kids loved Edding's Belgariad series (5 books) & thought the follow up to that, the Mallorean (5 more books), was pretty good. I've had to replace the Belgariad, though. It was read to death. Of course, we got it when the second book came out new (1982) & re-read some of the books multiple times as the books came out - one per year - torturous! Almost a decade!!!

BUT, none of us liked the add-ons (Polgara, Belgarath & the Rivan Codex) - most never bothered reading any of them. None of us read them all.

We really liked the Elenium trilogy, but thought the Tamuli, a sequel trilogy, was just OK.

We pretty much hated the rest of his stuff, especially anything he wrote with Leigh.

I did like "The Losers", a stand alone novel set in contemporary times - not a fantasy. None of the others would even try to read it. Said it sounded too depressing. It was, but pretty well done.

His stuff is candy, but it is fun - when it's fun - otherwise, it's just trite. Did that make sense?

Werner, Crocodile on the Sandbank is a crazy title! LOL Yes, Cairo and the Nile are unusual settings. For some reason it reminds me of Mrs. Pollifax on Safari, an entertaining light mystery by Dorothy Gilman.

Jackie and Jim, as you might surmise, I've never read anything by David Eddings. I see that he "has written several best-selling series of epic fantasy novels."

Jim, I love the way your entire family reads some of the same books. That must make for good dinner conversation.

Jim, definitely makes sense. The Elder Gods is written with Leigh, maybe that explains it. I'm still hoping it gets better. I have Pawn of Prophecy and I wasn't going to bother with it but since you say The Belgariad series is good, I'll give a go.
Why do you think his books with Leigh aren't any good? Is it her influence? I wish I chose Pawn to read first.

Joy, the origin of the title (which I didn't know until I picked up the book) is interesting. It comes from the English translation of an ancient Egyptian love poem --remember, Mertz ("Peters") is a PhD. in Egyptology :-)-- a quotation from which serves as an epigraph for the novel: "The love of my beloved is on yonder side/ A width of water is between us/ and a crocodile waiteth on the sandbank."

I don't know what it is about the Leigh influence, Jackie, but none of us like it. "The Losers" shows that he has a deeper, depressive side, which we don't see in the "Pawn of Prophecy" (the first of the Belgariad) but when this side manifests itself with Leigh, as it does in the Elder Gods, it's just... yuck. Neither Marg nor I got halfway through the book & we both really liked his writing at that point. We were shocked - horrified.

Yes, Joy, it is nice to read a lot of the same books. We'd draw some odd looks when we'd go out to dinner or have folks over & be discussing the ramifications of shadow walking or the 'will & the word', but who cares? It's fun discussing that with the kids & the different takes everyone seems to have on the situations & such.

Jim, that sounds great --kind of like a face-to-face mini-version of Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ in real time. :-)

Reading is a good touchstone for communicating with your children. It's a way to see who they really are by their reactions, thoughts and feelings on books you've read. Also a good way to teach morals and values without being preachy or seemingly condescending. I wish I could have had that reading bond with Eric.
On the rare occasion Eric reads, it's great discussing it with him.

Werner wrote: "Joy, the origin of the title ... is interesting. It comes from the English translation of an ancient Egyptian love poem ... 'The love of my beloved is on yonder side/ A width of water is between us/ and a crocodile waiteth on the sandbank.'"

Werner, thanks for the the explanation of the title. Yes, it IS interesting! I've included a post about it at our group's topic: "Title Origins and/or Meanings" at:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/3...
Message #9

I found the following Awards and Honors for the book:
========================================================
ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults (1998.04 | Adult Mysteries for Teens, 1998)
IMBA's 100 Favorite Mysteries of the 20th Century
Bloomsbury 100 Must-Read Crime Novels
The Top 100 Mystery Novels of All Time Mystery Writers of America (82)
(See links for above at:
========================================================
IMBA = Independent Mystery Booksellers Association

Jackie wrote: "Reading is a good touchstone for communicating with your children. ..."

Absolutely!!! Along those lines, the award-winning book which I ordered for my 8 year old grandson has arrived:
The Iron Man (1968) by Ted Hughes

As I've mentioned before, he recently chose the following movie (which was adapted from the book) to stream from Netflix while he was visiting us.
"The Iron Giant: Special Edition" (1999)


I'm hoping that he'll be willing to sit with me while we read it together. The fact that he has seen the movie may stimulate his interest in the book.

PS-The book won the following awards and honors:
Kurt Maschler Award


1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up


From Amazon.com:
"Reckoned one of the greatest of modern fairy tales." -Observer
"Hughes has never written more compellingly." -Robert Nye, The Times

Joy, I'd thought that the Peters book might be a good one to mention on that Title Origins/Meanings thread! Thanks for posting about it there, and thanks for the link to my author profile --publicity never hurts. :-)

My pleasure, Werner.

Blackberry Wine is not quite as good as Chocolat but nevertheless, a good read. I like her style and the book chocolat was excellent. nina

Speaking of families reading together, it gave me much pleasure to see my son and daughter in law and their daughter taking turns reading aloud to one another in January the book I had given the parents for Christmas, "Stones for Schools," by Greg Mortenson. The Christmas lights were still lit and there was just enough light to see to read his words. A lovely sight and sound. nina