Legend of the Apes

According to legend Gibraltar (sometimes called the Pillar of Hercules), which is located on the southern tip of Spain, will remain British as long as there are apes. Currently there are about 250 apes living on the rock and they are the only ones living in the wild in Europe. The British conquered the rock in 1704. Spain tried to recapture the sovereignty of Gibraltar until 1713 when it surrendered the fortress to Great Britain by the Treaty of Utrecht after the War of Spanish Succession.

To visit Spain and not go to Gibraltar is to miss a fabulous opportunity for fun, adventure and a chance to get really close to nature. I'm glad I did it !!! It was one of the funniest experiences I've ever had.

The apes are not confined and are free to roam. Tourists are told not to touch them as they may become aggressive. As you walk around, so do they apes. They are adorable to watch. The young ones like to slide down vehicle windshields and sleep on the wipers. The apes will fight to hang onto side-view mirrors. When a vehicle drives away, it goes slowly as there are still usually 10-15 apes on the top, hood and hanging onto the outer mirrors. Eventually the apes hop off.

Natural Beauty

White peacocks are frequently mistaken for albinos but are a color variety of the India Blue Peacock. They don't survive long in the wild as their white plumage makes them easily seen by predators. Some people believe if they see a white peacock, they will have eternal happiness. The name white peacock is also associated with butterflies.

According to ancient Greeks, peacocks were the physical representation of Hera, Queen of the Gods. The crest (crown) on the top of their heads gives them a royal appearance. The brilliant colors and decorative "eye" of the peacock's tail feathers are this bird's trademark. An adult peacock's train of feathers can be 60" long and is nearly 60% of it's total length. The large train is used in mating rituals and courtship displays.

Peacocks are ground feeders and hunt for small animals like spiders and amphibians in tall grasses or small streams. They eat plants, flower petals and seed heads. "Peacock" is commonly used to refer to birds of both sexes although only the males are peacocks. Females are peahens, and together, they are called peafowl.

In India, the peacock is the national bird and lives in the wild as it does in Sri Lanka. The standard peacock that we see in the United States is the India Blue. There is a jungle peacock which is found in Burma, Malaysia and Java.

"Shrimp on the Barbie"

"Shrimp on the Barbie" is a phrase that originated in a series of television advertisements by the Australian Tourism Commission from 1984 through to 1990.

With grilling season here, it's time to fire up the grill with an easy recipe for LIME GRILLED SHRIMP.

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
4 garlic cloves minced
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 black pepper
1 1/2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

In a glass bowl, mix together all ingredients except shrimp

Add shrimp and refrigerate for several hours

Thread shrimp on a skewer so they don't touch

Place on grill

Cook 2-3 minutes until shrimp are curled

Turn shrimp to the other side.

Don't overcook!

There's CAFFEINE in My DECAF

People with certain medical conditions, including high blood pressure and heart arrhythmia, as well as those taking certain prescription medications are advised to avoid or limit caffeine.

Sticking to decaf isn't going to eliminate caffeine from your coffee. Researchers say that even though the caffeine content of decaffeinated coffee is low, people can develop a dependence on it. There's about 1/10 of the caffeine found in an 8 oz. cup of regular coffee which contains about 85 milligrams of caffeine.

How is coffee decaffeinated?

1. Using organic chemical solvents (methylene chloride or ethyl acetate)
2. Using carbon dioxide
3. Using water (know as the Swiss Water method)

Most people who drink decaffeinated coffee believe it's better for them than regular coffee even though coffee has been cleared of nearly all health charges. Is decaf healthier than regular coffee? Does the decaffeinating process process itself present a health risk?

Remember: decaffeinated does not mean caffeine free.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa = 294 steps

The Leaning Tower of Pisa (Tower of Pisa), one of Europe's most famous towers and designed by Bonanno Pisano, is the free standing bell tower for the adjacent cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa. The work of art was built in the years 1173-1350 in 3 stages. It's 183.27 feet tall from the ground on the lowest side and 186.02 on the highest side. The walls are 8 feet thick at the base.

A little know fact is that many of the cathedrals in Italy have bell towers and many of them are leaning for one reason or another.

There are 7 bells in the tower at Pisa that are tuned to musical scale. The largest bell, cast in 1655, is three and a half tons.

Another fact is that the ground beneath the tower is soft so that even before the building was completed. it had already started to tilt. The builders tried to compensate by angling the new construction.

In 1275 architect Tomasso di Andrea da Pontedera realized that the tower could not be straightened due to the poorly laid foundation and loose substrate so many attempts were made to stop additional leaning. The tower (which leans to the southwest) has been closed at various times as engineers worked to shore up the base

The tower was closed in 1990 and re-opened in 2001. I was fortunate that while I was in Pisa I was able to climb to the top. There are 294 stairs, but as you climb, it feels more like 2094. There are no handrails and the walls have been worn smooth. The stairs have slippery groves from the thousands of feet that have gone up and down over the years. The stairs are in a very tight spiral and I think that it's harder to get down than go up.

Obsession with Celebrity Deaths

There was Elvis Presley, Princess Diana and now Michael Jackson who were and are being revered in death.

Do many people have an unhealthy obsession with the death of a celebrity? Approximately 17 people committed suicide after learning about the death of Michael Jackson. His passing overshadowed the death of Farrah Fawcett whose death overshadowed the passing of Ed McMahon the same week.

30 years ago, the now-defunct New Times magazine said: "There are almost no famous people anymore, only celebrities. That's because fame is too suggestive of steady achievement. Almost anyone can be a celebrity".

When Princess Diana died, she garnered more TV coverage than Mother Teresa. The question remains: who made the greater contribution?

The list of celebrities who have turned their lives into a train wreck is growing. Why do so many chose to idolize the "celebrities" who have broken, lousy relationships and use drugs especially when they see where it leads for many of them.

Since the beginning of 2009, many have died with little or no fanfare including:

Milvina Dean (last Titanic survivor)
Exodus Tyson (Michael Tyson's daughter)
Socks (the White House cat)
Andrew Wyeth (artist)
John Updike (author)
Ingemar Johansson (fighter)
Louis Belson (musician)
Paul Harvey (radio personality)

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wind turbines slowing down?

Is climate change affecting wind turbines, a source of power? Wind, a power source of the green energy movement, seems to be dying down across the United States. and the cause may be global warming.

Sandra Pryor, an atmospheric scientist at Indiana University says there's been a jump in the number of low or no wind days in the Midwest and wind measurements show wind speeds falling along/east of the Mississippi River. Texas and parts of the Northern Plains don' t show as much slowing. Northern Maine, western Montana, Michigan and Georgia show some of the biggest drops in wind speed.

One of the things Pryor said that can slow wind speeds are changing conditions such as growing trees or buildings being erected near the wind gauges. These can skew data.

Several other experts agree that there are signs of decreasing wind speeds and that global warming is probably the cause.

No Drugs in the Water

For years, doctors, pharmacists and even the federal government have advised people to flush unused medicine down the toilet. Trace amounts began to show up in the nation's water supply. Several years ago, the U.S. Geological Survey announced that tests on 139 streams in 30 states showed trace amounts of Prozac, codeine, antibiotics and drugs for high blood pressure and diabetes.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found no immediate risk to people but suspects that drug contamination is causing ecological harm.

Legislation introduced this year in Congress would require the Justice Department to develop rules for "take-back" facilities. The government is urging people to seek "drug take-back programs" instead of flushing them. However, such programs are rare as it is illegal for people to give their controlled substances to others, even if it is just to get rid of them.

The federal government recommends mixing the drugs with "undesirable substances" like coffee grounds or kitty litter, placing them in a sealed container, and throwing them in the trash.