Have you ever come across a product or service that you had the idea for months or years ago? Perhaps that frustrated you since you had the idea first and yet someone else is earning profits on your idea!
This happens often and makes one thing very clear – ideas are cheap. Anyone can have an idea; what separates us from the person who is now profiting off the idea is execution. That is, they took that idea from concept to creation. I have spent the better part of the last 4 years, facilitating and teaching audiences all around the world how to take ideas from concept to creation. I break the mission down into four steps, which I will describe below.
Identify the Problem – For any idea to become a viable and sustainable solution, it must address a real problem faced by a specific group of people. The problem is also known as the market. Without a market, a solution will not succeed, as it will not actually solve anything worthwhile. In order to prepare your idea for the next step, it is critical that you: determine the problem you are intending to solve, the audience you intend to solve it for, and how/when the problem is currently measured/noticed. The following are 5 questions to help guide you through your research. For additional and deeper questions, read my article, 30 Questions to Help You Identify the Problem.
- What is the problem as you currently know it? Describe a specific situation (include the people and stakeholders involved and their role/experience)
- What job or task was the person suffering the problem attempting to accomplish, when the problem happened? Learn more about Jobs to be Done Theory.
- How did the person know the problem was happening or happened? Or did the person not even know? (this opens an interesting possibility)
- How is the success of the attempted job or task measured?
- What does the problem cost to any or all of the stakeholders involved in the problem?
Validate Your Findings – All of the work you did in the first step helped you establish a collection of hypotheses related to the problem, however, this must be verified through first hand investigation and data collection. While you may be absolutely certain that your problem statement is correct, it is almost a certainty that you are not 100% accurate. Validation of your problem, through surveys, observations, experiments, and interviews, will help you refine the problem ahead of beginning the design of a solution. Your problem may be made up of 10, 15, or 20 hypotheses; set up surveys, observations, experiments, or interviews, accordingly to confirm each one. Once you have all of the results, update and finalize your problem statement. Consider the following questions in your effort to validate the problem.
- Are the problem stakeholders you identified actually connected to the problem? If not, did you have too many or not enough?
- Would the person suffering from the problem consider the problem “painful” enough to warrant a solution? Is the job or task they are attempting important enough?
- What evidence do you have to support the estimates for the problem or opportunity cost?
- If the problem is one that no one is aware of, how can you verify it is worth solving?
Solution (re)Design – Let’s be honest, you already had the solution in your mind before you began investigating the problem thoroughly. Thus, with a validated problem in hand, you will need to design or re-design the solution to address the specific elements of problem. For this step, design a solution that does no more and no less than what the problem calls for. Product-Market fit is critical to resonating with potential customers/users. Build too much solution and your customer sees it as too complicated. Build too little solution and your customer is left having to find the remainder of the solution elsewhere. Consider the following questions in your solution (re)design.
- How does your solution allow the user to complete the intended job or task?
- Which features of your solution address which features of the problem? Are there extra features? Or not enough?
- How much does the solution cost in relation to the cost of the problem?
- In what measurable ways does the solution improve/solve the problem? (refer to problem metrics)
- In what measurable ways does the solution complicate the job or task of the user?
- Conduct a cost/benefit analysis of the complications versus improvements.
Design a Sustainability Model – Solutions that are meant to solve problems for people other than yourself must have a way of surviving on their own. That is, they must have a model for sustaining themselves in the market. This is absolutely critical if you plan to scale your solution to reach ever increasing users. Consider the following elements when designing your own sustainability model.
- Target customer segments (distinguish between user and customer, if applicable)
- Value proposition for each customer/user segment, what are they?
- Pricing strategies and models, what are they?
- Fixed and variable cost elements, what are they? (focus on the big ones first)
- Distribution channels and methods, how will you get this into the hands of the customer?
- Competition, who are they, how do they compete with your solution?
- Customer acquisition, how will you find and secure customers?
Take this process and run your idea through it. Spent most of your time on the problem. Solutions are easier to design when the problem is understood clearly, comprehensively, and deeply.


Hello again and welcome to Why North Tipperary, where it is my goal to give you a reason to visit North Tipperary and why this part of Ireland is just as rich in heritage and scenery as any other part of the Emerald Isle, and even on a higher scale than most. This week I’m going to provide you with the first part of a list for a number of the National Monuments that are situated in the North Tipperary region, and it may surprise you to learn about the amount of history that is squeezed into the wonderful landscape of North Tipperary.
First up is Lackeen Castle, which is situated in the townland of Abbeyville, near the village of Lorrha. Lackeen Castle was built in the 12th century and is a fine example of an Irish Tower House. The description of this ancient building in the Abandoned Ireland website is that that it is: “Standing in a bawn, four stories high and featuring fine fireplaces. A straight stair runs up to the first floor and a spiral staircase runs to higher levels, the third storey is vaulted.” Lakeen belonged to Brian Ua Cinneide Fionn, who was cheiftain of Ormond and who died in 1588. His son Donnachadh inherited the Castle, but he was the last Ua Cinneide Chief of Lower Ormond and he ended up surrendering to Cromwell in 1653. The name Cinneide was anglicized to ‘Kennedy’ and these were the same clan as the great American political O’Kennedy clan. Indeed, the O’Kennedy’s ancestors ruled the lands of North Tipperary at one stage and they have castle ruins dotted all over the landscape. One piece of folklore about Lackeen Castle tells the tale that O’Kennedy from Lackeen Castle at one stage managed to catch a Pooka, who had being sent by a bunch of old hags to protect them as they went about the morbid act of robbing from the dead. A Pooka is a type of fairy that can shape shift and is capable of assuming a variety of terrifying forms. After O’Kennedy caught it he managed to bind it up an was about to bring it into Lackeen Castle, even though the Pooka was cursing him to the high heavens that it would burn the O’Kennedy with all it’s breath, but O’Kennedy was then persuaded by a servant called Tim O’Meara to let the Pooka go. O’Kennedy did, but only after receiving a promise from the Pooka that it would harm no breed, seed or generation of the O’Kennedy family. Can you imagine what might be lurking around Lackeen Castle, even to this day?
In Ashleypark, which is situated to the West of Ardcroney and to the North Of Nenagh town on the N52, lies a Neolithic tomb that is estimated to be about 5,000 years old. This burial mound was undisturbed in that length of time until a local farmer tried to bulldoze the mound and discovered the tomb about 30 years ago. There is no definite chamber beyond the widening of the passage, while the entire site is 90cm metres in diameter. The ditches surrounding the burial mound are in good condition, the mound itself is 26cm in diameter and the passage is off-centre – Some archaeologicalists who have viewed this site believe that this could mean there is a second passage in the mound somewhere. Amongst the cairn material there was found animal bones and the remains of an infant, while the remains of an adult male and another infant were found in the chamber itself. These remains were dated to 3350BC. More information can be found at www.thestandingstone.ie.
Ballynahow Castle, which is situated to the north-west of Thurles, is one of the few round tower houses in Ireland. This building was built by the Purcells in the 16th century and it’s initial use was to provide shelter to the local people against attacks from intruders. The castle is five stories high at 50 feet and it possesses four evenly-spaced machicolations, a mural staircase that is situated on the left of the building and two internal vaults, which cover two floors each. There is also a murder hole that is leading from a small chamber on the first floor, while on the upper floors there are a number of small musket holes that can be found near some of the principal windows. Also the top of the building at one stage had a conical timber roof.
Posted by Michael ‘Charlie’ McGee


Every particle of matter has an antimatter equivalent*.
An antimatter particle has an opposite charge and spin to its "normal" matter equivalent.
But the mass of a "normal" matter particle is the same as its antimatter equivalent.
So, an electron (which is normal matter) has an antimatter partner called a positron. Both have the same mass.
An electron has a negative electrical charge. A positron has a positive electrical charge.
An electron has an up spin. A positron has a down spin.
What is spin?
In the most basic terms, the spin of a particle describes how that particle is rotating (a property called angular momentum) and the tiny magnetic field of that particle (called a magnetic moment).
When we deal with the science of tiny particles (aka quantum mechanics) then spin has an intrinsic value. It can either be a 1 or a -1. Or a 1/2 or a -1/2, for example.
Spin is a difficult concept to understand - so I've also included a video explaining spin at the end of this post.
What happens when matter and antimatter meet?
They annihilate each other. Let's look at a quick Lego example with an electron (Superman) and a positron (Superman's doppelganger - Bizarro).
When the pair meets, they annihilate each other. They completely disappear to satisfy a number of conservation laws.
All that's left behind is some energy in the form of a couple of high-energy light particles called photons.
Why do we live in a universe of matter, not antimatter?
Good question - and one that's baffled scientists for some time. When the universe began equal amounts of matter and antimatter should have been produced - which means that nothing but energy should have been left behind as the matter and antimatter would have annihilated one another.
It turns out that there was one extra matter particle for every one billion matter-antimatter particle pairs. This is known as the matter/antimatter asymmetry.
* Does every particle have an antimatter partner?
No. Maybe. Not sure.
Higgs bosons (particles that give other particles mass) could be their own antiparticles. And neutrinos (particles that barely interact with the rest of the matter in the universe) can switch between their matter and antimatter states.
It's a hot topic in science at the moment - and if we could find out more about antimatter Higgs bosons and neutrinos then we could solve the matter/antimatter asymmetry problem
Extra reading and watching
Did you know that bananas emit positrons? And that antimatter is a potential candidate for cancer therapy? I love this post from Symmetry covering 10 things you might not know about antimatter. And here's another great piece from New Scientist covering the five greatest mysteries of antimatter.
Dan Brown's book Angels and Demons also introduced the idea of an antimatter bomb. Just let me reassure you this is not at all likely. This would involve making 1 gram of antimatter, and containing it. Which would require approximately 25 million billion kilowatt-hours of energy and cost over a million billion dollars.
If you're more interested in science fiction than fact, this post discusses how antimatter is used in Star Trek, including the matter-antimatter annihilation propulsion system that allows faster-than-light space travel. And here's a great infographic to explain why harnessing the energy from matter-antimatter annihilation is so difficult:
Finally, here's a video to help you understand the notion of spin a little more:
What is Sunday Science?
Hello. I’m the freelance writer who gets tech. I have two degrees in Physics and, during my studies, I became increasingly frustrated with the complicated language used to describe some outstanding scientific principles. Language should aid our understanding — in science, it often feels like a barrier.
So, I want to simplify these science sayings and this blog series “Sunday Science” gives a quick, no-nonsense definition of the complex-sounding scientific terms you often hear, but may not completely understand.
If there’s a scientific term or topic you’d like me to tackle in my next post, fire an email to email@example.com or leave a comment below. If you want to sign up to our weekly newsletter, click here.
Image from http://www.treknews.net/2011/04/30/science-fiction-or-science-fact-the-warp-engine-2/
Hello. I'm the freelance writer who gets tech. So, I blog on three core topics:
Science and Technology
And I explain science with Lego in Sunday Science.
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“In many cases, and certainly at Shiloh, the treatment of the events after the fact has had more to do with how we view the battles today than how they were actually fought.” –Timothy B. Smith, “Anatomy of an Icon: Shiloh’s Hornets' Nest in History and Memory,” in The Shiloh Campaign, Edited by Steven Woodworth pgs. 55- 75, (Southern Illinois Press, 2009), 56.
Some names and places associated with the Civil War speak for themselves. When one hears Pickett’s Charge or Bloody Lane, one would likely think of Gettysburg or Antietam. Places such as these are seared into our collective historical conscience. They represent both our country at its best and our country at its worst. Another such place is Shiloh’s Hornets' Nest.
View of the Sunken Road, just east of the Hornets' Nest
Sunken Road, running through the Hornets' Nest
Along with Albert Sydney Johnston’s death site, Shiloh's Hornets' Nest stands out as easily one of the most famous parts of the battlefield. Even if one visits Shiloh with just a passing knowledge of the battle and the battlefield, odds are they will be drawn to the Hornets' Nest.
In many ways, this makes perfect sense. The Hornets' Nest is located right smack dab in the middle of the battlefield. It has Shiloh’s sunken road running through it, an excellent place for hikes and walks. It has an abundance of monuments in and around it as well, including several state monuments, and the Confederate Memorial.
One of the many monuments to Iowa regiments which fought in this area
Union artillery positions, with the forest of the Hornets' Nest in the background
More importantly, for many years, historians have hailed the Hornets' Nest as the most important part of the Battle of Shiloh. According to the standard interpretation, as Federal forces fell back on the right and left flank, remnants of Benjamin Prentiss’s division and several brigades of W.H. L. Wallace’s division held fast, serving as a hindrance for the Confederate advance. Confederates who made gallant attempts to overcome these Union troops later compared the experience of the shot and shell flying through the air to the sounds and stings of hornets, thus creating the name, "The Hornets' Nest." After hours of heated fighting with numerous Confederate frontal assaults and artillery barrages, Federal forces at the Hornets' Nest were overwhelmed. The collapse of supporting troops on their right and left flanks meant that the attacking Confederates enveloped the position entirely; some Federals got away, but over 2,000 Union soldiers surrendered, including Brigadier General Benjamin Prentiss himself (another post on Prentiss's division at Shiloh can be found here). If one takes a short walk into the Hornets' Nest woods, markers locating the surrender sites for many of these regiments can be found (these were easily some of my favorite markers on the battlefield).
Surrender site of Brigadier General Benjamin Prentiss
Prentiss surrender site in the Hornets' Nest
David W. Reed, a veteran who fought as a part of an Iowa Regiment in the Hornets' Nest, became the first historian of Shiloh. His work and interpretations of the battle focused heavily on the Hornets Nest, sparking generations of historical works which likewise saw the action there as the central moment of the battle. The Federal stand at the Hornets' Nest delayed the Confederate advance, allowing Grant time to form his last defensive line near Pittsburg Landing. Thus, Federal forces at the Hornets' Nest may have been captured, but they served a vital and indispensable purpose for Grant’s army that day. This interpretation, advanced first by Reed, picked up by later generations, and carried along by the long running Shiloh park film, is perhaps why the Hornets' Nest is such a famous aspect of the battle.
Sunken Road, on the Federal right flank in the Hornets' Nest, with Duncan Field to the left
Across Duncan field (to the right), on the afternoon of the 6th, over 50 Confederate guns were gathered for an artillery barrage aimed at driving back Federal troops at the position above.
In more recent interpretations of the battle, historians such as Shiloh Park Historian Stacy Allen and former Shiloh ranger Timothy Smith have advanced theories that the Hornets' Nest was not the key to the battle. In fact, they suggest, using detailed views of the battle, that the heaviest fighting occurred both east and west of the Hornets' Nest, particularly to the west, where the divisions of William T. Sherman and John McClernand fought a brutal struggle against nine Confederate brigades on the Union right flank. Allen and Smith have argued that rather than the stand at the Hornets' Nest, Confederates lost the battle due to confusing terrain, not understanding the position of the Union army, and a lack of cohesion in the Confederate attacks that day. Johnston's battle plan had called for the Confederates to turn the Federal left flank close to the Tennessee River; the Confederates could then push Grant’s army back on the swampy land around Owl Creek, forcing the surrender or destruction of the Army of the Tennessee. Moreover, these historians have argued that the fighting around the Hornets Nest was relatively light compared to elsewhere on the field. While several fierce Confederate charges were made, they were not as great in number as others may claim.
After doing extensive reading on the battle over the last few weeks, I would have to say that I personally agree with the newer interpretation of Shiloh. I find the Hornets' Nest to be a fascinating, compelling, and important part of the battle. But, I don’t see it as the one area where the Union army was saved or turned the Confederate tide. In a battle as vast and complicated as Shiloh, there cannot be just one area where the tide turned (same thing with Gettysburg: sorry Chamberlain, you were great, but so was George Sears Greene on Culp’s Hill). Perhaps it was the fierce fighting of Sherman and McClernand as they fell back, the stubborn stand of Prentiss and Wallace at the Hornets' Nest, the death of Johnston, the firm last defensive line of Grant, and Beauregard’s decision to halt the attack that evening which together conspired to slowly turn the tide from Confederate surprise to Federal defensive stand on April 6. Of course, all of these factors were ultimately influenced by the confusing terrain and the jumbled Confederate attack. It all goes back to the necessity of understanding the terrain and the field to understand how battles were fought and why they ended as they did.
Park wayside marker for the Hornets' Nest surrender. The portion of the Federal line running along the road in the foreground was held by two brigades of Brig. Gen. W.H.L. Wallace's division
Along with Allen and Smith, the late historian O. Edward Cunninghman’s thesis on the battle, which was published posthumously and edited by Gary Joiner and Timothy Smith, elucidates these newer interpretations of the battle quite nicely. I would highly recommend it for anyone interested. For the other historians who I have mentioned, Shiloh historian Stacy Allen penned a great two part piece on Shiloh that appeared in the Blue and Gray magazine in the late 1980s, which is a must read. Timothy Smith has written a few fantastic books on the battle and the battlefield, among which are The Untold Story of Shiloh, ThisGreat Battlefield of Shiloh, an upcoming book on the fight for Corinth which followed Shiloh (titled Corinth,1862). Smith also penned an essay specifically on the Hornets Nest which can be found in The Shiloh Campaign, edited by well known historian Steven Woodworth. Anyways, these are just a few thoughts from your humble blogger/Antietam ranger, who will be the first to admit his lack of expertise in the field of Shiloh studies (If you can permit me to write in the third person, that is). If you are interested in this topic, feel free to check out some of these outstanding works on the battle that I have thoroughly enjoyed reading over the past few months (you will find that the titles are linked to amazon.com pages for the books). I thought a brief historiographical piece and my thoughts on the topic would be a much more interesting way of showing off my Hornets' Nest pictures. If you are like me, then you find how we interpret Civil War battles to be just as fascinating and important as the actual battle itself.


What is viscosity and its types?
Table of Contents
- What is viscosity and its types?
- What is viscosity and what causes it?
- What type of force is viscosity?
- What is viscosity equal to?
- What is unit of viscosity?
- Is Cossion a viscosity?
- How are the different types of viscosity measured?
- Why is viscosity important at the molecular level?
- How is viscosity related to resistance to flow?
- Which is a higher viscosity syrup or water?
What is viscosity and its types?
Viscosity is a measure of a fluids propensity to flow. There are two kinds of viscosity commonly reported, kinematic and dynamic. Dynamic viscosity is the relationship between the shear stress and the shear rate in a fluid. The Kinematic viscosity is the relationship between viscous and inertial forces in a fluid.
What is viscosity and what causes it?
Viscosity is a measure of the resistance of a fluid towards being deformed when under shear stress. Hence, it is also known as shear viscosity. It is caused by the attractive forces between molecules in close contact, and the friction between molecular chains.
What type of force is viscosity?
Since, the force of viscosity is a result of interaction between different layers of the fluid, therefore it involves interaction between molecules of the layers. Hence it is a type of electromagnetic force.
What is viscosity equal to?
One way to think about viscosity is that it is the amount of force required to get that substance moving. It is the force per unit area, so viscosity is equal to force divided by area.
What is unit of viscosity?
The unit of viscosity is newton-second per square metre, which is usually expressed as pascal-second in SI units.
Is Cossion a viscosity?
The fundamental basis for viscosity observed in fluids is cohesion within the fluids. Viscosity is the resistance of a liquid or a gas to shear forces; it can be measured as a ratio of shear stress to shear strain. As a significant factor in the analysis of fluid flows, viscosity depends on temperature.
How are the different types of viscosity measured?
Types of Viscosity. As we know, the viscosity is the measure of the friction of fluids. There are two ways to measure a fluid’s viscosity as follows: Dynamic Viscosity (Absolute Viscosity)
Why is viscosity important at the molecular level?
At a molecular level, viscosity is a result the interaction between the different molecules in a fluid. This can be also understood as friction between the molecules in the fluid. Just like in the case of friction between moving solids, viscosity will determine the energy required to make a fluid flow. How do we measure it?
How is viscosity related to resistance to flow?
the resistance to flow! Viscosity of often referred to as the thickness of a fluid. You can think of water (low viscosity) and honey (high viscosity). However, this definition can be confusing when we are looking at fluids with different densities.
Which is a higher viscosity syrup or water?
Example: Syrup has a higher viscosity than water. Viscosity is measured in terms of a ratio of shearing stress to the velocity gradient in a fluid. If a sphere is dropped into a fluid, the viscosity can be determined using the following formula: Viscosity is measured in Pascal seconds (Pa s).


As someone who suffers from allergies and asthma (even though whatever is causing my allergies is still a mystery to me), this news is intriguing: A new study from the University of Ottawa shows that honey can be effective in killing bacteria that cause chronic sinusitis.
In chronic sinusitis, the mucous membranes in your sinus cavities become inflamed, causing headaches, stuffy nose, and difficulty breathing. While chronic sinusitis can be caused by allergies, it can also be caused by bacteria that colonize in the nose and sinuses. That’s where this news on honey may have some exciting prospects.
Honey is predominantly sugar (fructose and glucose). It also contains tiny amounts of several compounds thought to function as antioxidants, including chrysin, pinobanksin, vitamin C, catalase, and pinocembrin. Honey has long been touted for its health benefits, and is commonly used to soothe sore throats and relieve coughs. But its powers may be even more extensive than first thought.
Researchers, led by Tala Alandejani, MD, at the University of Ottawa, tested two honeys, manuka and sidr. Singling out three bacteria, they found that the honey was effective in killing them. Maybe the most interesting discovery was that the honey worked significantly better than an antibiotic against two bacteria: MSSA (methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus) and MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus).
The study is being presented at the 2008 American Academy of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery annual meeting in Chicago.
NOTE: Infants one year or younger should never eat honey. It can become toxic in their underformed intestinal tract, causing illness or even death.


Science has been a handmaiden to the military for thousands of years. Humanity has sought to weaponize technology since the use of hand axes, fire, and spears against large prey on the plains of the Serengeti.
Among some of the more notable individuals of science helping the war efforts of the past was Archimedes. Archimedes was born in Syracuse— an ancient Greek colony of Corinth [in present day Sicily.] Archimedes, known as both Natural Philosopher and Mathematician, made scientific discoveries equal to that of Newton and Einstein.
Notably different from Newton and Einstein, Archimedes aided the war effort of ancient Syracuse by inventing advanced weapons of war (neither Newton nor Einstein aided war efforts despite popular myth to the contrary).
Archimedes aided the war effort during the Roman siege of Syracuse. One of his accomplishments, the Iron Claw, reportedly stalled the Roman siege on Syracuse. The Iron Claw reportedly capsized Roman war vessels
Other instances of science assisting the weapons of war include (1) the hardening of steel by ancient metallurgists for swords with the Damascus process, (2) the invention of gun powder by Chinese scientists, and modern inventions like the (3) hydrogen and neutron bombs. When looked at from the lens of war, science has been both deterrent and weapon.
“… dynamite will sooner lead to peace … … men will find that in one instant, whole armies can be utterly destroyed …” Alfred Nobel, (1867.)
The economic gains from the spoils of war, alone, would provide good reasons for some nations to push science education. However, there lies the problem with using science as the means for economic gain— science as war machine is costly. The costs of war come from its effects upon limb and mind.
Many mourn the loss of loved ones long after a war has ended. The loss of innocence that war brings, however, may be worse. To those who study war and its psychological effects, PTSD and depression among veterans occurs in many instances. The general population must care for war veterans who suffer psychological trauma.
Is it Morally Responsible to Use Technology to Build War Weapons?
While war is often argued to be wrong and immoral, using technology to gain an advantage over a foe is an escalation of the war machine. And the question follows, what if we didn’t use technology to build more destructive bombs and war tools?
Could we, as a species, survive? Pacifists often respond: an intelligent and morally sophisticated society has no need to spill blood to prove its worth nor to advance its goals.
More to the point: ‘Is is realistic to assume that war can be eliminated?’ – I often ponder the question myself… with no real answers, either… … it is as if there needs to be a part of the human condition that needs to be expunged. How and where that relates to individual behavior is hard to pin down. The human brain acts in part by instinct and in higher cognitive faculties, as well.
However, the two questions can be viewed as mutually exclusive– using technology to build advanced weapons and fighting a war through the spilling of blood.
So a question arises: why can’t we just send our best athletes to a game that determines who is top dog (kind of sounds like the Olympics… well, almost)?
There is something about the human condition that makes some of us act out aggressively and some of us, not so much? What needs to addressed is the need or satisfaction that aggression brings in the human brain?
And, that is a ‘Holy Grail’ — that we may need to address if we are to become a more advanced civilization….
“We have perfected our weapons, our conscience has fallen asleep, and we have sharpened our ideas to justify ourselves. Violence and war lead only to death.” Pope Francis, (2016.)


What do the letters and numbers on a breadboard mean?
Row numbers and column letters help you identify individual holes in the breadboard, just like cells in a spreadsheet. For example, all of the highlighted holes are in “column C.” All of the highlighted holes are in “row 12.” “Hole C12” is where column C intersects row 12.
What are breadboards used for?
A breadboard allows for easy and quick creation of temporary electronic circuits or to carry out experiments with circuit design. Breadboards enable developers to easily connect components or wires thanks to the rows and columns of internally connected spring clips underneath the perforated plastic enclosure.
What is meant by breadboard?
A thin plastic board used to hold electronic components (transistors, resistors, chips, etc.) that are wired together. Used to develop prototypes of electronic circuits, breadboards can be reused for future jobs.
Are breadboards still used?
While most engineers use breadboards for more basic circuits some have taken breadboards to the extreme and have built entire working computers complete with sound, a keyboard, and even graphical outputs.
Do you need breadboard ends?
Please note that breadboards are NEVER necessary. A properly-milled and constructed panel should generally stay flat under normal conditions, so the only time I add a breadboard end is if I think the design benefits from it visually. Learn to make nice flat panels here.
Do engineers use breadboards?
What is a breadboard?
What is a breadboard? A breadboard is a rectangular plastic board with a bunch of tiny holes in it. These holes let you easily insert electronic components to prototype (meaning to build and test an early version of) an electronic circuit, like this one with a battery, switch, resistor, and an LED (light-emitting diode).
Is this Instructable a complete guide on breadboard?
The aim of this instructable is not to give you a complete guide on breadboard but to show the basics, and once these basics are learned you pretty much know all you need to so i guess you could call it a complete guide but in a different sense. Anyway i will only be using an led and some resistors to outline how a breadboard works.
What do the “+” and “-” signs on a breadboard mean?
What do the “+” and “-” signs mean? Breadboard Power Rails Numbering and letters aside, the positive and negative signs on both sides of the breadboard are power rails, used to power your circuit by connecting battery pack or external power supply.
What happens if you don’t push the leads inside the breadboard?
If you leave the leads not pushed firmly inside the breadboard holes, the connection between the conductive clips and components will be weak, this can result in an unstable circuit or not functioning circuit.


Light Years book review
Brian Clegg doesn't mention this idea in his book. Instead, he takes the reader on a historical journey, tracking the development of our understanding of light from Ancient Greece all the way to the latest manipulations of light in the laboratory. It's a fun journey and Clegg writes very well. I'd personally liked to have read about light on a galactic scale more, and the Big Bang. I'd also liked to have seen more diagrams - there are only a smattering of them in the book - and the book sometimes feels like a long string of light (as in potted) descriptions of famous scientists, from Newton to Feynmann, but it's still an enjoyable read. I especially enjoyed Clegg's description of Quantum Electro-Dynamics or QED, the theory that won Feynmann a Nobel prize (pg234 onwards in the book). Richard Feynmann is famous partly for his diagrams that visually describe the physics of quantum interaction.
As Clegg's book succinctly points out, Feynmann's QED produces a new and interesting way to look at the atom. The traditional depiction of the atom is electrons orbiting a nucleus, but this is completely untrue, as the components of an atom aren't 'physical things moving' in the normal sense. Instead, the atom is a quantum pattern of elements. QED shows us that it is more accurate to view the atom as an intense pattern of light paths connecting its constituents. It is this light activity in the atom, according to Feynmann, that prevent the electrons from 'spiralling into the nucleus', attracted by the positive charge of the nucleus's protons.
But if this is true, then there is another way of looking at the atom. If subatomic particles don't truly exist, then atoms are actually intense light patterns whose nodes - the event points connecting those light paths - are being called 'particles' when they are no such thing; they are only quantum connections or nodes in that light pattern. In this way, the idea of particles is purely a mental legacy of Classical Physics. Clegg writes in his book:
"In all of light's behaviour, except for flying along in a straight line, it's interacting with matter. To be specific, it's thanks to a charged particle like an electron that a photon of light begins or ends its life."
But this description can be flipped around. It is just as valid to say that: 'an electron is the name we give to a type of quantum connection or end-event in the light-path pattern.'
I'm going off on a tangent here; apologies! Returning to the book review, I definitely enjoyed Brian Clegg's 'Light Years' and I heartily recommend it.


What was King Ludwig known for?
Hohenschwangau was a medieval knights’ castle that his parents had purchased. Ludwig reputedly had seen the location and conceived of building a castle there while still a boy. In 1869, Ludwig oversaw the laying of the cornerstone for Schloss Neuschwanstein on a breathtaking mountaintop site.
Who was the last King of Bavaria?
Ludwig III of Bavaria
|Prime Ministers||show See list|
|Born||7 January 1845 Munich, Bavaria|
|Died||18 October 1921 (aged 76) Sárvár, Hungary|
Who built the Bavarian castles?
Since then more than 61 million people have visited Neuschwanstein Castle….
|Owner||Bavarian Palace Department|
|Design and construction|
|Civil engineer||Eduard Riedel, Georg von Dollmann, Julius Hofmann|
Why was the Neuschwanstein castle built?
Neuschwanstein Castle in the Bavarian Alps, Germany. Neuschwanstein is known as a castle of paradox. It was built in a time when castles were no longer necessary as strongholds, and, despite its romanticized medieval design, Louis also required it to have all the newest technological comforts.
Are Bavarians Romans?
History of Bavaria. The earliest known inhabitants in the area of present-day Bavaria were the Celts. Romans conquered the region about the beginning of the Common Era. They divided the southern part into Raetia and Noricum and built fortifications along the northern boundary to keep out the Teutons.
Why was Ludwig II of Bavaria called the Swan King?
Ludwig II (German: Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; English: Louis Otto Frederick William ; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886) was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He is sometimes called the Swan King or der Märchenkönig (“the Fairy Tale King”).
What is Ludwig 2 of Bavaria famous for?
Ludwig II of Bavaria Ludwig is best known as an eccentric whose legacy is intertwined with the history of art and architecture. He commissioned the construction of two extravagant palaces and a castle, the most famous being Neuschwanstein, and was a devoted patron of the composer Richard Wagner.
How old was King Ludwig II of Bavaria at death?
Forty year old King Ludwig II of Bavaria died in 1886. He ruled Bavaria for twenty-two years. The cause of his death has never been made public. At the time, many theories were rumored. The government hinted he took his own life. A good swimmer, Ludwig reportedly drowned in shallow water, yet no wat…
Who built Neuschwanstein Castle?
Neuschwanstein Castle. King Ludwig commissioned the painter Christian Jank to do the initial sketches of the castle,mixing between elements from medieval Germany,Moorish Spain,and the world of Wagner’s


- Oenophobia: fear or hatred of wine. The person suffering from it will avoid wine altogether, fearing they are not well-knowledgeable about the selection.
- Pantophobia: fear of everything. Well, the person suffers from such phobia has a very negative attitude towards life. He thinks everything is going to hurt him in every possible way.
- Sciaphobia: fear of shadows. In Greek, scio means shadow. Does the thought of shadows make you nauseous? Does it trigger a dry mouth and clammy hands? Does your heart feel like it’s going to pound right out of your chest? Do your legs turn to rubber bands? You definitely need to be treated then.
- Kainotophobia: fear of change or anything new. Usually old people suffer from this phobia. They become so accustomed to age old traditions and things that they blatantly refuse to accept the change.
- Phengophobia: fear of daylight. People who do not like to be seen due to various reasons usually suffer from this phobia.
- Sitiophobia: fear of food. The origin of the word Sito is Greek meaning food. It basically is a psychiatric disorder characterized by an unrealistic fear of weight gain, self-starvation, and conspicuous distortion of body image. The individual is obsessed with becoming increasingly thinner and limits food intake to the point where health is compromised.
- Thalassophobia: fear of the sea. It is intense and persistent fear of sea. A person nervous on being on a ship or getting scared at seeing an underwater creature suffers from this phobia.
- Zelophobia: fear of jealousy. Zelophobia derives from the Greek word “zelos”, meaning zeal. Zelophobia can result in the individual feeling no emotion at all and of being at risk for other mental health impairments.
- Ombrophobia: fear of rain. From Greek word storm of rain. Ombrophobe is a plant that cannot withstand much rain. Some people are even scared by just the idea of rainy day.
- Necrophobia: fear of corpses. The root word is nekros meaning corpse. It is irrational fear of dead things (e.g., corpses) as well as things associated with death (e.g., coffins, tombstones).
Post Contributed by Rabia Sehgal
The complete series:


Today, I will be showing you the DIY PCB etching workflow used in the lab where I am working. In the post last week, I discussed the design considerations for a TB6621FNG motor control board. This post will document how the physical PCB was created.
Previously, when I have wanted to produce a PCB, I used a fabrication service. For low-budget projects or personal projects, I used OSH Park. While this service is very cost effective for small prototypes, it takes several weeks for the board to arrive. In projects with a heftier budget where timeliness was an issue, I have used Advanced Circuits’ barebones PCB fabrication service. But what if the project is low-budget and in need of a quick turnaround? Easy: take fate into your own hands with a little DIY PCB etching!
For this project, you will need:
- Inkjet Transferring Supplies
- Inkjet Printer
- Glossy photo paper
- Lamination Machine
- Scissors and tape
- Etching Solution Bath
- 1 parts (by volume) Muriatic Acid (12M HCl)
- 3 part (by volume) 3% Hydrogen peroxide
- Disposable container made of PE or PP
- Hot water bath
- Plastic tongs
- Personal protective equipment
Making an Inkjet Transfer
First, you need we prepare our PCB layout for a transfer process. If you are using KiCAD, this is very simple. Go to “plot” your PCB. When the small screen pops up (see image below), the option “mirrored plot” will be grayed out. So first, you must set the plot type to PDF. Then, the “mirrored plot” option will become available.
Note that I have selected to only plot the front layer of copper. Since we can only put a transfer on one side of the board, we can only select one layer at a time. Thankfully, the board I designed is single sided. Note that if you are also etching a back copper layer, you will not need to mirror that plot.
Now, we print four copies of my PCB onto a single sheet of glossy paper. It is important to make more than one copy when you produce a board, as sometimes not everything goes perfectly and you have to throw one of them out.
I wish I had information on the paper I used for this project. Unfortunately, my post-doctoral advisor just found some old stuff that was being removed from the department. The packaging of the ream of paper has no identifying information aside from the 90’s era IBM logo. So, I can’t help you pick the right paper to use. What is important to note about this paper is its glossy photo finish. When the ink is printed onto this kind of paper, the ink remains in a top layer of plastic instead of penetrating fully into the paper. This is thin polymer film is what we will use as the transfer.
Transfer of the transfer
Next, we cut out our prints and tape them upside-down to the copper side of an FR4 board. This material is called “copper clad board”. The material I used in this instance is pictured above. The part number is not available from that supplier at this time, but there are some other versions instead. See here. The type of tape you use does not matter much. I used brown packing tape, but most will be fine. Personally, I would avoid duct tape, because I suspect that would generate gross fumes and make a mess in the next step, but I have no experience to back this suspicion up.
Now, we take the prepared copper clad board and run it through a desktop lamination machine. While other methods for DIY PCB etching might call for a heat gun or hairdryer to affix the transfer to the board, we found that the laminator works best. The board is rotated and passed through the machine multiple times. For our particular materials and equipment, my advisor stated that the transfer must be passed through exactly 7 times, as this is the correct number to affix the transfer to the copper without melting anything.
With the transfer on the copper, we give it time to cool down. Once cooled to room-temperature, the board and paper are submerged into warm water. After a moment of soaking, the paper peels off cleanly from the copper clad board, leaving a nice clean transfer.
DIY PCB Etching
Now that our ink has been transferred to the copper clad board, we can begin etching. The etching solution is prepared by a volumetric mixture of 1:3 muriatic acid and hydrogen peroxide in consumer concentrations. Note that these chemicals can be substituted with ~12M HCl and 3% HOOH, should you be in a setting without the consumer versions I mentioned. As always, remember your safety rules. Add acid. This means that you should add acid to the hydrogen peroxide, not the other way around.
One way to accelerate a reaction is to increase the temperature of the solution. Since we are doing this in an inexpensive disposable PE or PP container, directly heating the solution with an electric heater or burner is impractical. Thus, the solution is floated in a hot water bath during the reaction. We used an ice chest which was on hand when we performed this reaction. This high tech etching bath is full of dangerous chemicals, so I recommend putting a lid on the reaction vessel.
Once you give the solution a few minutes to equalize in temperature with the water bath, you can place the board in the solution. The exposed copper will begin to bubble, and the solution will begin to turn green. After few minutes, the reaction should be complete. Keep an eye on it though. Once the copper is completely etched from the exposed board, remove it from the solution with your plastic tongs and stop the reaction by submerging the board in the water bath. If you leave it too long, the solution will begin to etch the copper you want to keep for the board.
Now that the board is etched and the reaction has been stopped, we can clean up our product. In the image below, we can see that the copper has been completely removed from the exposed areas, but the ink from the transfer remains. This can be cleaned with acetone.
Use a minimal amount of acetone and a cloth to wipe the board. You may have to do some scrubbing, but the acetone does a good job removing the ink. This process should not be very difficult. Once you are done, you are left with a copper board that is complete.


“Okay, campers, rise and shine and don’t forget your booties ’cause it’s cold out there today!”
In the movie, “Groundhog Day,” that’s what weatherman Phil Connor wakes up to in his hotel room in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.
It happens again the next day, and he feels a sense of deja vu.
And it continues the next day–not just the radio program, but every event of the day. Day after day after day after day after day, it’s always the same day.
That’s how my Soldiers and I felt on deployment. Every day a repeat of the day before. Almost every Military member today refers to every day deployed as “Groundhog Day.”
That piece is just what the movie contributed to how we think about today.
The bigger question is this: How did we get the idea that a big rodent can predict the weather based on whether or not it sees its shadow on February 2?
For that we have to go back a few centuries. In the historic Christian calendar February 2 is the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord — and has been celebrated since at least the year 300.
It is the 40th day after Christmas. In the Jewish law, a woman had to present herself at the temple forty days after birth of a firstborn, if a son, to be purified. And that’s what Mary and Joseph do in this text. They go to the temple, and there they meet Simeon and Anna. And Simeon declares that this baby would be “a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”
And since Jesus is the light, this was the day in later centuries when all the candles would be brought to church and blessed for use in the coming year. So it became known as Candlemas. Or, in French, La Chandeleur. Other traditions were added, including, in France and Canada, the eating of crepes or pancakes for breakfast.
The English had this rhyme:
If Candlemas Day be fair and bright,
Winter will have another flight,
But if it be dark with clouds and rain,
Winter is gone, and will not come again.
And the groundhog? Well, Germans had the idea that if a hibernating animal saw its shadow on this feast of light, there would be six more weeks of winter. First they said it was a bear, then it became a badger, and when Germans came to Pennsylvania, it became a groundhog.
Today, it is one groundhog, Punxatawney Phil. He said this morning that spring is coming. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says he has been right 40% of the time.
It’s kind of crazy how traditions develop. So many layers upon layers, that we forget how it all started, and the point of it all.
So let’s go back to the Bible passage at the root.
Luke 2, verse 22, sets the stage:
And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”
In verse 25, we meet Simeon:
Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”
Simeon had waited long, yet he had received this promise of God, that he would see the Messiah. He waited in hope. And now he says, “Lord, now I can die in peace. You’ve kept you word.”
This baby, he says, is the Lord’s salvation. The redeemer of all. A light for revelation of the Gentiles, and for glory to Israel.
His words echo the promise of Isaiah 9:2,
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. …
And verse 6,
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.
As I read those verses, I can’t help but think of the musical setting Handel gave those words. He turned it into a song of praise and triumph.
But Simeon has more to say. Luke continues, verse 33:
And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
It won’t be all hope and glory. He will suffer. And Mary will suffer, too, as she sees what will happen to her Son.
But this baby is now the hinge upon which the world turns, he is the decisive point in history, he is the judge of all. As Mary had sung when she greeted Elizabeth,
He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.
Lots of people use the name of Jesus today. Some use the name of Jesus as a curse. Some as a prayer. Some preachers use it as a formula by which they hope to enrich themselves–if you just have faith in them and give generously. Some politicians piously use his name as a way to manipulate you to vote for them. Some have made him a token of superstition—a plastic figure on a dashboard. And as a society we’ve replaced his resurrection from the dead with the revival of a hibernating rodent.
All this folly, Scripture says, he will cast aside. All our pretensions, he will smash. All those in power he will laugh to scorn, and pull down from their thrones. All those who aspire to greatness will be reduced to begging.
While the meek shall inherit the earth. The humble will be lifted up. The hungry will be filled.
Be careful who you look up to. Be careful who you trust. Lots of people are asking you to trust them. Lots of politicians say they can fulfill your hopes and dreams. They all tell you how they will make the nation great.
Psalm 146 says,
“Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.”
Instead, trust in the Lord, Psalm 146 says, continuing with verse 5:
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
Trust in the Lord. Believe his word. Know that his values are counter to the values of the world. He turns upside down everything the world esteems.
He’s got the whole world in his hands, we sing. “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.”—The boundaries we draw and the walls we erect mean nothing to him.
He looks at those who are oppressed, despised, and hungry with mercy. Those in pain. Those in prison. Those who cannot see, those who are bowed down by care and worry and fatigue and fear.
The migrant in the desert, thirsty under the hot son, trying to find a path to a better life. The widow who is alone and cannot pay her rent. The child without parents, or separated from parents, even warehoused in a tent city in a strange land.
These are those whom the Lord loves, and cares for, and protects. In their darkness he comes to them. His light surrounds them. His love embraces them.
And the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
The poor have this in common with Phil Connor, the weatherman in “Groundhog Day.” Every day is the same to them. Every day brings more trials. Every day brings more fears. Day after day, a trap they cannot escape. The rich say, climb up out of your hole. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps. Just pay more on your credit cards, I saw someone say the other day on Facebook.
But God shines his light into their darkness and says, I am with you. I am your hope. I am your rock. I am your justice.
He fills their hearts with a song of joy, as he did for Mary.
The good news of this text is that our days do not have to be more of the same. We do not need to press on without hope. We are not in darkness–we are in his light.
Our future is not controlled by our creditors, nor by politicians, nor by professors; we are enslaved to neither a horoscope nor a groundhog.
We serve the Lord of Hosts, the ruler of all nations, the Savior of the World. Whether the world’s light shines on us or covers us in shadow, his light shines in our hearts and on our path, guiding us in freedom to his eternal kingdom, where his justice will prevail for ever.
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord!


DNA tests have confirmed that three crocodiles found in Florida over the past 5 years are “man-eating” Nile crocodiles that are actually native to Africa. And there are almost certainly more out there.
A manager at the Florida Museum of Natural History stated, “The odds that the few of us who study Florida reptiles have found all of the Nile crocs out there is probably unlikely.”
Nile crocodiles are the second largest living reptile in the world, some growing up to 20 feet in length. They are more aggressive than their relatively shy American cousins, causing significantly more human mortalities annually.
This species lives halfway across the planet, so how did it end up in the swamps of Florida?Well, there are plenty of other invasive species in Florida for them to eat.
Crocodiles have been imported to the U.S. for amusement parks and for the pet trade.
It is likely that some have either escaped or have been released by owners that have realized that they don’t actually want an 18-foot apex predator for a pet. (Hindsight is 20-20.)
The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Marina Watanabeout on time and under budget.


Here is a lesson we will be working on over the next couple of weeks in Math.
It is a Geometry (basic shapes) lesson in Google Earth. We will be classifying shapes and finding their perimeter and area. There are also some bonus questions (geography, etc.).
When I get the worksheet finished I will also post it here.
If you want to download the file to take a look at it, click on Geometry.kmz below. You need to have Google Earth (download here) installed on your computer to view this file.
Geometry.kmz (0.04 mb)


How Bill Gates, Syngenta and Rockefeller Became Custodians of the Doomsday Crop Diversity Vault
By Theodora Filis
When names like, Gates, Rockefeller and Syngenta show up as key players on the same project, I find time to research. One thing this elite group can not be accused of is a reluctance to make an impact on the world, be it positive or negative. So what could get them all to invest millions of US dollars each? I found out, and it's fascinating.
Deep inside a frozen mountain, high above an icy fjord, near the Arctic Circle, three concrete chambers are home to our world's most important natural resources. Built to withstand global warming, floods, wars, and a nuclear catastrophe, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, nicknamed the 'doomsday seed bank' by the BBC, was officially opened on February 26, 2008, and serves as the ultimate safety net for our world's seeds.
Bill Gates is investing tens of his millions of US dollars, in this project, along with the Rockefeller Foundation, the Norwegian government and many others.
“The history of Svalbard Global Seed Vault starts as early as 1983. Preserving seed from food plants is an absolutely essential part of the work of preserving the world’s biodiversity, adapting to climate change and global warming and thereby ensuring food for the world’s population for the foreseeable future. There are hundreds of gene banks around the world. But some of them are vulnerable to natural disasters, war or the lack of management or finance. The foundation of a global ”central bank” for the world’s seeds (primarily of food plants) has therefore long been an issue.” Svalbard Press Release
Did we miss something here? Their press release stated, 'so that crop diversity can be conserved for the foreseeable future'. What future do the seed bank's sponsors foresee that would threaten the global availability of current seeds?
The first notable point is who is sponsoring the doomsday seed vault. Joining the Norwegian government are, as noted, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; the US agribusiness giant DuPont/Pioneer Hi-Bred, one of the world's largest owners of patented genetically-modified plant seeds and related agrichemicals; Syngenta, the major Swiss-based GMO seed and agrichemicals company through its Syngenta Foundation; the Rockefeller Foundation, the private group who raised over $100 million for this project since the 1970's; CGIAR, the global network created by the Rockefeller Foundation.
Why are the Gates and Rockefeller foundations supporting the proliferation of patented seeds – which, as it has in every other place on earth, destroys the plant seed varieties? At the same time, why invest tens of millions of dollars to preserve every seed variety known in a bomb-proof doomsday vault near the remote Arctic Circle ‘so that crop diversity can be conserved for the future’?
Perhaps it's no accident that the Rockefeller and Gates foundations are quietly financing the ‘doomsday seed vault’ on Svalbard.
The Svalbard project will be run by an organization called the Global Crop Diversity Trust (GCDT). Founded by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and Bioversity International (formerly the International Plant Genetic Research Institute), an offshoot of the CGIAR.
The Global Crop Diversity Trust is based in Rome. Its Board is chaired by Margaret Catley-Carlson a Canadian also on the advisory board of Group Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux, one of the world’s largest private water companies. Catley-Carlson was also president until 1998 of the New York-based Population Council, John D. Rockefeller’s population reduction organization, set up in 1952 to advance the Rockefeller family’s eugenics program under the cover of promoting “family planning,” birth control devices, sterilization and “population control” in developing countries.
Other GCDT board members include former Bank of America executive presently head of the Hollywood DreamWorks Animation, Lewis Coleman. Coleman is also the lead Board Director of Northrup Grumman Corporation, one of America’s largest military industry Pentagon contractors.
Jorio Dauster (Brazil) is also Board Chairman of Brasil Ecodiesel. He is a former Ambassador of Brazil to the European Union, and Chief Negotiator of Brazil’s foreign debt for the Ministry of Finance. Dauster has also served as President of the Brazilian Coffee Institute and as Coordinator of the Project for the Modernization of Brazil’s Patent System, which involves legalizing patents on seeds which are genetically modified, something until recently forbidden by Brazil’s laws.
Cary Fowler is the Trust’s Executive Director. Fowler was Professor and Director of Research in the Department for International Environment & Development Studies at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. He was also a Senior Advisor to the Director General of Bioversity International. There he represented the Future Harvest Centres of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) in negotiations on the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources. In the 1990s, he headed the International Program on Plant Genetic Resources at the FAO. He drafted and supervised negotiations of FAO’s Global Plan of Action for Plant Genetic Resources, adopted by 150 countries in 1996. He is a past-member of the National Plant Genetic Resources Board of the US and the Board of Trustees of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in Mexico, another Rockefeller Foundation and CGIAR project.
GCDT board member Dr. Mangala Rai of India is the Secretary of India’s Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), and Director General of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR). He is also a Board Member of the Rockefeller Foundation’s International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), which promoted the world’s first major GMO experiment, the much-hyped ‘Golden Rice’ which proved a failure. Rai has served as Board Member for CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center), and a Member of the Executive Council of the CGIAR.
The first installment from the CGIAR collections will contain duplicates from international agricultural research centers based in Benin, Colombia, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, the Philippines and Syria.
Collectively, the CGIAR centers maintain 600,000 plant varieties in crop gene-banks, which are regarded as the foundation of global efforts to conserve agricultural biodiversity. The seed banks are supposed to be protected from attempts by Monsanto et al to try to use the seeds for their patent efforts. However, there have been documented cases where seed samples were illegally given to Monsanto and other GMO giants to develop GMO traits.
Global Crop Diversity Trust Donors also include, the Rockefeller and Gates Foundations, GMO giants DuPont-Pioneer Hi-Bred, Syngenta of Basle Switzerland, CGIAR and the State Department’s energetically pro-GMO agency for development aid, USAID.
It would seem the foxes are guarding the hen-house of mankind – the global seed diversity store in Svalbard.
William Engdahl, Seeds of Destruction, Montreal, (Global Research, 2007).
John H. Davis, Harvard Business Review, 1956, cited in Geoffrey Lawrence, Agribusiness, Capitalism and the Countryside, Pluto Press, Sydney, 1987. See also Harvard Business School, The Evolution of an Industry and a Seminar: Agribusiness Seminar, http://www.exed.hbs.edu/programs/agb/seminar.html.
Myriam Mayet, The New Green Revolution in Africa: Trojan Horse for GMOs?, May, 2007, African Centre for Biosafety, www.biosafetyafrica.net.
ETC Group, Green Revolution 2.0 for Africa?, Communique Issue #94, March/April 2007.
Global Crop Diversity Trust website, in http://www.croptrust.org/main/donors.php.


The Binnenhof (Inner Court) is a square in the centre of The Hague. The Ridderzaal (Hall of Knights) is in the middle of the yard. It is lined with government and parliament buildings. It is the heartbeat of the Dutch government. It is the place where the Senate and the House of Representatives meet. The Prime Minister also works here. There are weekly consultations between the Ministers and the Ministers. In a Joint Session of States General, once a year, both the Senate and House of Representatives meet at the Ridderzaal. This session is held on the third Tuesday in September. It’s the day that the Dutch head of government presents the government’s plans and goals for the next year in the “King’s Speech”.
A brief history of the Dutch central government
Counts of Holland
Floris IV, the Count of Holland 1222-1234, purchased a piece of land close to a pond in the woods. This was at the border of the polder and the dunes. This area likely belonged to a farmstead. He held court in’s-Gravenzande, Leiden, but he desired to build a hunting lodge between the two towns on his property. He directed the construction of earth, wood and stone walls around the grounds. Floris IV was soon killed in France in 1234, so Floris IV didn’t have much time to enjoy the new property.
William II, his son, succeeded him as Countess of Holland. He ordered the construction of two new living quarters. They were not joined until much later (1511). William II’s reign saw the construction of the square Haagtoren tower and the rooms for the Countess.
The Dutch Count was made King of the German Empire in 1248 as a token of his gratitude for the military assistance he provided to the Pope. William II was king and had to build a large reception hall. However, he died in 1256, so he didn’t have the chance to use it. It was built during the reign of his son, Count Floris V. Later, it became the Grote Zaal (Great Hall) and the Ridderzaal (“Hall of Knights”).
It was an impressive building at the time it was built. Although the living quarters of the Count have been removed, the entire building has retained the appearance of a castle. Other buildings were built around the castle, including sheds, workshops, and even kitchens. Binnenhof is named after the medieval inner court of the Castle of the Counts in Holland.
Floris V gradually but surely increased his power and wealth. He also improved the administration of his country. He stayed in Die Haghe more often than his predecessors. This is also where The Hague’s official title’sGravenhage (the Count’s Wood), comes from. Floris V likely built the Hofkapel (Court Chapel), a small church located north of Ridderzaal. It was destroyed in the nineteenth century.
The Binnenhof was enclosed by a moat, a wall with many gateways, and a wall. They were surrounded by several estates of the Count. The so-called Buitenhof was located on the west side of the castle. This was where the cattle were found and the future location of the stables. To the east of the castle were the kitchen gardens, orchards, and Toernooiveld, today’s streets named Korte Poten (an area that also covers today’s Plein). A wall and a moat were built to protect the Buitenhof and the kitchen gardens.
From the Binnenhof and Buitenhof, a path ran from the Gevangenpoort (Prison Gate) to the Gevangenpoort. A little road ran between the Keukenpoort, or Kitchen Gate, on the southern side of the Ridderzaal (Spui Gate). The outlines of this road have been marked on Hofplaats.
The three outermost entrances of the castle were formed by the Gevangenpoort, Spuipoort, and a gateway at the northeastern corner (located roughly at the Historical Museum of The Hague). Only the Gevangenpoort, whose name is a result of its history as a prison between the fifteenth and the nineteenth centuries, remains out of the three entrances. It has yet to be discovered when the Hofvijver was built.


Who fought at Rotterdam WW2?
|Battle of Rotterdam|
|Netherlands United Kingdom||Germany|
|Commanders and leaders|
|Col. P. W. Scharroo Major Clifford Brazier||Gen. Kurt Student ( WIA )|
Who destroyed Rotterdam in WW2?
Germany invaded the Netherlands on May 10, 1940. Four days later, German planes bombed Rotterdam. The Germans tried to halt the raid on the city because Dutch authorities had agreed to negotiate the surrender of their country.
Why did Germans bomb Rotterdam?
The objective was to support the German troops fighting in the city, break Dutch resistance and force the Dutch army to surrender. Almost the entire historic city centre was destroyed, nearly 900 people were killed and 85,000 more were left homeless.
Did Allies bomb Rotterdam?
An attack on the city of Rotterdam on 31 March 1943, was made by 102 USAAF bombers. Their target was the shipyards and dock area, in the west of Rotterdam. The bombing took place at 12:25 (BST) in cloudy conditions and only 33 B-17’s dropped 99 tons of bombs.
What happened in Rotterdam in WW2?
Rotterdam was subjected to heavy aerial bombardment by the Luftwaffe on 14 May 1940 during the German invasion of the Netherlands in World War II. The event is sometimes referred to as the Rotterdam Blitz.
How many people died in the Battle of Rotterdam?
Dutch and British sources informed the public through Allied and international news media that the raid on Rotterdam had been on an open city in which 30,000 civilians were killed (the real number was around 900) “and character [ised] the German demolition of the old city as an act of unmitigated barbarism”.
How many people died in WW2?
Over 60 million people were killed, which was about 3% of the 1940 world population (est. 2.3 billion). Military deaths from all causes totalled 21 to 25 million, including deaths in captivity of about 5 million prisoners of war.
How did Germany take over the Netherlands in WW2?
While he failed to meet that goal, German forces took over the country May 15th, one day after the Bombings on Rotterdam, which decimated the city. Rotterdam lacked robust defense systems that you would find in other cities and bases, but it did have more troops and artillery on hand for the battle.


How the Roman Empire used opium to dominate Temple Judaism, the numismatic evidence....
We can see the heavy influence of the Egyptian religion on Greco Roman thought. Remember Alexander the Great started thinking he was the Son of God after visiting the oracle in the deserts of Egypt. The above coin is from Ptolemy II who invited the Jews to Alexandria to translate the Hebrew Torah into the Greek Septuagint. In this coin Ptolemy II deifies his sister who was also his queen, Arsinoe II. The point is emperor worship crept into mainstream Greek thinking after Alexander the Great. This is important because now we have the Greco Egyptian Queens worshiped as gods as well. What is also incredibly important is that on this clearly preserved coin, we now see the contents of the cornucopia, an opium poppy. Arsinoe II ‘s personal symbol became this double cornucopia and is it filled with the mind altering “fruits of luxury,” barley( alcohol brewing) grapes(wine) , poppy opium (seeds and latex). These fruits were likely given to the government as tribute and as an offering for worship of the king and queen at the death of Arsinoe II.
The Greek Egyptian and Seleucid Kings believed they would become "gods" at their death and in some instances believed they were god incarnate, i.e. Antiochus IV. Why did these forces constantly hate and want to destroy Israel? Temple Judaism worshipped an unseen God and not a man. This concept would infuriate a king or emperor who believed he was going to be a god or was a god on Earth. Most of the pagan world would incorporate new gods into a pre-existing pantheon. Judaism was the exception. Even Tiberius refused to incorporate Jesus Christ into the Roman Pantheon because Jesus was viewed as being not tolerant to the worship of other gods.
How does a good Greco-Roman worship their leader? Libations or drink offerings were a very common way to show your support, appreciation, and reverence to a man-god. We do this today with alcohol in many forms.
Coin of Ptolemy III, wife Berenicke II on obverse , opium poppy , grapes , barley on reverse
Photo Athena Numismatics, Vcoins
So now we know what the cornucopia symbolizes with it's contents. A mind altering brew with barley, wine and opium. A libation to the emperor. This is important because it is addictive. Also emperor gods would be viewed as healers and anything that took away pain would be viewed as healing in ancient society. Addiction is a way of population control today as it was in ancient times. Control an addictive substance and you will control a population. Hence we now see the power base of the Roman Imperial system.
The Roman Empire was mainly based on deception. Julius Caesar was killed for being viewed as a dictator. Octavian managed to become the richest and most powerful man in known human history by portraying himself as the "first citizen." The "citizenship" gave way to deification and the Roman people in less than 50 years were worshiping a man and his wife as gods.
Empress Livia in Alexandria, Egypt. Zurqieh V Coins
Note when the poppy is sectioned for its seeds it appears like this on the coins
Livia is on the front and the same cornucopias under Ptolemy II and Arsinoe II are on the reverse. They contain the same assortment of poppies, grapes, and barley leaves. This combination is later seen on the coins of Alexandria, the Decapolis, Nabatea, and Paneas as well. These both represent real symbols of regional agricultural products and political and religious offerings to people and gods. The "arrow" at the end of the cornucopia may be used to score the poppy for opium extraction. We even see at the height of the Roman Empire, the Egyptian cobra snake god of the harvest was associated with opium.
Nero , Alexandria Egypt. Reverse with snake , poppies and grain leaves.
Again this is important because this snake god of the harvest was also the personal protectorate of the Roman Emperor and his queen. Note the above portrait is Faustina II who was the wife of Marcus Aurelius. Emperor Aurelius was reported to be addicted to opium. Opium likely contributed to the insanity of the Roman Imperial households as it did to rebellious elements in the Jewish revolts.
To be fair the Romans did not introduce opium to Ancient Israel but the levant was definitely an opium supplier to the Greco-Roman world. The symbolism starts with the Hasmonean Kings.
John Hyrcanus and Alexander Janneaus
Note that the Roman system was to enslave distant cultures to supply goods and people for the benefit of the Roman aristocracy and emperor. They would first try to appeal to the culture's leaders to "play ball" with the Roman system and if its leaders would, they themselves would benefit in the Roman spoils and plunder of their own civilization.
Coin of Herod the Great advertising the opium trade to the Roman empire.
The Jews were a special problem to the Roman Empire. They would not participate in libation offerings to foreign gods or emperors and therefore would not likely fall under the addictive nature of opium. Early Christians did the same. I suspect most of the wealth of the Herodian Second Temple was due to the opium trade with Rome, but the Jews likely abstained from its use even though the despotic Roman puppet kings over them advocated for opium. The Romans were masters of conquest and took a great interest in learning the religion of other peoples. They sought the domination of others and wanted to incorporate the strengths of other cultures into their own. The Jewish religion did not have idols worshipped as gods which made it especially difficult to conquer them. Pompey the Great found this out as he rode his horse into the Temple in 63 BC.
After the death of Herod the Great his son Herod Archelaus minted the above coin. Note how the double cornucopia symbolizes opium poppies and a bundle of grapes to the sides like on the coin of Ptolemy II. Augustus removed Archelaus from power for excess cruelty but we clearly see from the above coin what was tributed to Rome, i.e. opium, wine, and sailors for war galleys.
Starting in AD 6 the Romans installed their own governors in Judea. This served a practical as well as spiritual purpose. As I have described Pontius Pilate's coinage shows many elements of the Roman religion. Namely drug use as an intermediary to the Roman gods and forces of nature.
Coin of King Herod Agrippa 1, poppies and barley
Coin of Tiberius from Commagene (20 AD) near Roman Syria. Close up of opium poppies and barley ear. Corn ear in other cornucopia. Photo Marti Classical Numismatics, Vcoins
The ancient world would commune with the dead through drinking these opium laced libations. Tubes were even placed into graves and liquid was poured into the grave. Today people will bring objects to graves that once made people happy in life, i.e. a stuffed animal for a dead child. Opium libations must have created a level of addiction in society on a mass scale. Couple that with commerce and easily one can see the profit in this ancient industry. Note again the caduceus between the cornucopias, the symbol of trade in the ancient world.
Throughout the coinage of the Greco-Roman Middle East , the two dots on either side of a barley leaf are likely representative of opium poppies on cornucopias. Here we see three poppies in a row instead of a central barley leaf. Titus may be offering a libation of pure opium latex for the suffering of the Roman army in the Jewish Revolt.
This coin is familiar from a prior post. Titus is celebrating his victory over the Jews in AD 73. It was minted in Gadara in mass numbers after the fall of Masada. Gadara has numismatic evidence of opium poppy production and collection on prior coins. Notice three opium poppy heads in each cornucopia. The sword star symbol over Jerusalem is between the cornucopias.
We see that opium was demanded in the worship of the Roman emperor and queen on many coins. Remember daily sacrifices were made to the Roman emperor in the Herodian Second Temple. I suspect the opium poppies were included. Unfortunately this thought entered some branches of Judaism early on as Israel underwent Hellanization. Alexander the Great’s visitation to the Temple likely started it. My prior posts show the numismatic evidence of opium poppyseed use during the Great Revolt against Rome. In Judaism opium use caused the objectification of God. In other words, God became an object of the human will. For the Romans, opium use made one more susceptible to the "will" of the Emperor. For Jews opium use made them susceptible to their own "self will." This is obviously not what God desires.
Roman governors and corrupt Jewish priests and kings knew the power of opium addiction to control populations. The Romans were masters of observation and likely incorporated unwashed poppy seeds slowly into Jewish worship. What the Jews didn't quite understand was that Rome looked for and engineered "false flag" events as a means to plunder and enslave populations. "Just wars," were as important to Rome as they are today to modern societies.
God also became a tool for rebellion against Rome and the political desires of the priests. Poppy seeds instead of becoming a means for control within Judaism resulted in its disintegration. This resulted in unreasonable hatred and infighting with the various factions within Judaism. Idolatry has been a constant source of weakness and failure in the JudeoChristian relationship with God. The snake appears again in the story advocating for the self will against God’s Will. Plants and fruit that affect the "willpower" of the individual are again present in the story. The residents and pilgrims in Jerusalem never believed the Temple would be destroyed. Just like Adam and Eve believed the serpent’s lie, the drug effects of opium poppyseeds would make the Jewish forces believe whatever their own “will” told them. In AD 70 this lie lead to the destruction of Herod’s Temple.
Jewish revolt Opium poppyseed chalice
We see opium symbolism on the Omer cup of the Jewish Revolt. But we see this symbolism continue with the communion chalices of Christianity, namely those which strictly adhere to the actual presence of Jesus in the communion host. The most desirous aspect of humanity is communion with God. Opium is the most desirous and fought over plant in human history. We see this symbolism present in the communion chalice which is now transferred to the experience of communion with God. Yep, opium makes you feel like a god or makes you think you can commune with Him.
I believe there is a comparison of the cornucopia contents with the communion cup. Opium , wine, other alcohols have been used in pagan rites to alter the mind to aid in the worship of nature gods. This is not a discussion of the "transubtantiation doctrine." What it comes down to is what an individual believer thinks about Jesus Christ in their heart on this subject. Man and others have no place between the love of Jesus Christ and a believer. The problem as I talked about previously is domination by others. Wars have been fought and people have died over the above doctrine. Sounds a lot like the reasons people and countries fight over drugs, that is domination of others. In many ways Christ's message is to not sin and walk "with God." He restores the relationship, but we have to carry our cross in this life and follow Him. Don't sin by trying to dominate others. This was the exact opposite message of the Roman Empire.
God always demands the free “will” choice of His Will over ours. Pain and suffering usually directs all but the most hardened souls towards God. Opium falsely takes away spiritual pain and enslaves people to the world powers.
The promise of Jesus Christ is to follow Him in suffering and pain in this life for the promise of reward and communion with God in the next. Opium addiction and the desire for excess use goes against the fundamental teachings of Jesus Christ. Excessive comfort and luxury are the enemies of modern Christianity as they were for ancient Judaism. This is how Rome enslaved and destroyed Temple Judaism. Sound familiar today?


Measure by measure
Posted 16 June 2021 by Matt / In Highland Park
Bottle Name: Highland Park 2007 Decadent Drinks Exclusive
Distillery: Highland Park
It should come as no surprise that mankind has always had an obsession with measuring things. The earliest documented examples of weights and measures originates around the 3rd millennium BC and invariably revolves around the quantification of things related to agriculture, construction or trade. All of significant import for early civilisations. Perhaps the very first measure we’re aware of some 5,000 years later is the cubit which was used by the ancient Egyptians, Sumerians, Israelites and later Romans as a common unit of measurement based on the distance from the elbow to the middle finger. It’s all rather the far cry from today where units are both standardised and infinitesimally precise. A simpler time where the counting of the number of ‘shares’ and ‘likes’ and making pictorial comparisons with Coke cans just weren’t really the done things.
The measurement of liquids (volume) has a similarly potted (!) history with a substantive list of now obsolete vessel sizes, many of which the precise specifications of, and reasons for being, have been lost to time. Early civilisations measured their liquids based on pottery – special amphorae created purely to quantify the volume of liquids. But whilst these measures might have been consistent within one city – sizes differed when you moved to another. Similarly, the containers used for measuring volumes varied depending on their intended use. In ancient Greece, hydria was used exclusively to measure water, whilst phials were used for measuring wine.
It was not really until the 16th Century that measures began to have standardisation outside of cities and small regions. Increased international trade requiring more uniformity than what previous would have been more of a barter system. In the UK, the British Imperial System (based on elements of the earlier Dutch system whose historical origins lie with Charlemagne’s rule as Holy Roman Emperor) was established with the Weights and Measures Acts of 1824 and 1878.
In these Acts, more precise definitions of previously used units were created. Rather than gallons of ale, wine and corn being both somewhat sketchy and also somehow different in their respective volumes – a single imperial gallon replaced all other measures – noting the volume as relative to that of 10 pounds avoirdupois of distilled water weighed at 62 °F with the barometer at 30 inches, or 277.274 cubic inches (later corrected to 277.421 cubic inches). The American’s however adopted measures based around the acts from 1824 and not those adapted/corrected in 1878 – as such, a US gallon is 231 cubic inches and about 17% smaller than the British imperial gallon. In case you’re wondering why your drinks can sometimes seem smaller in the US despite identical names (e.g. the pint).
So, what has all this got to do with whisky you ask? Well, as a regulated industry whisky has always been subject to measurements – not just as part of the production process (volumes of water, wort and wash etc), but also in its taxation vs. the volume of liquid being produced. Once whisky broke away from its illicit roots and started down the path of commercialisation (and widespread acceptance and associated demand), the connected need for regulation resulted in a requirement for a uniformity in the units that whisky was measured with – both wholesale and retail.
At the production side of things - from the still into a wide variety of different sized barrels (where measurements largely mirror those of either wine or brandy) – and at the consumer end where dispensing measures “big gill” (213ml), “wee gill” (107ml), ”wee half gill” (53ml) and “nip” (36ml) were all to be entered into the lexicon of drinkers at the time. All of which were derived from the early imperial measurement system – a “gill” being roughly equivalent to a quarter pint - and therefore a nip being the most comparable measure to today’s ‘shot’ of whisky. N.B. A dram is not a standarised measure!
As well as measurement for taxation, spirit measures have been implemented to negate the possibility for customers being short changed. The 1963 UK Weights and Measures Act specifically made it illegal for any business in Britain to give a short weight or a short measure to consumers. Prior to this, whilst measures most certainly existed, there were no legal repercussions for not providing a correct measure. Less of a code and more of a guideline.
It was this act that formalised the legal measures in which alcohol could be dispensed in the UK - 1/4 gill (35.5 ml), 1/5 gill (28.4 ml) or 1/6 gill (23.7 ml). These were replaced with metric measures in 1985 - 25ml or 35ml and with permission granted to landlords to decide which quantity they wanted to trade in. Notably one or the other – not both. And historically the larger measures were more often utilised in Scotland and Northern Ireland. I know where I'd have rather been.
And it’s at this point that we turn to Highland Park – and firstly before our review segment a quick stop off for the recently released Discovery Selection Release No.1 - for this too has relevance for measures.
I have few qualms about the use of the weights and measures system to offer drinkers a wide variety of differently sized propositions (sometimes you don’t need a whole 70cl bottle). Indeed, with the nascent demand within the market often far exceeding the supply (particularly of longer aged stock), making less go around more sounds like an eminently sensible move for sharing the love.
Smaller bottles seem to annoy people – they are all often priced or physically designed to leach as much out of the consumer as possible. But the idea of making whisky more divisible must have some wider appeal when many releases are blink and you’ve missed it. It’s surely better for more people to be able to try a whisky, than a limited number of people to covet it. Isn't it?
However, the first (honestly, I really hope this is both the first and last) Discover Selection release takes this idea immediately to its breaking point.
It's actually not the £48 5cl mini which irks me. Nor the projected pricing which would equate to £672 per bottle – or £163,200 per cask (though I will note that I find this entirely bonkers). No, it’s the sheer wastefulness of the proposition itself. Whilst the notion of dramming up a whole cask for sharing widely seems wonderfully utilitarian – by overpackaging these miniatures, Highland Park is both demonstrating poor mindfulness for the environmental footprint of its whisky production (which is far from negligible) and also tacitly suggesting within the design itself that these miniatures are not actually for drinking. If they were, why bother with the heavy, hinged box and prominent “limited release” branding?
Offering whisky in smaller sizes is potentially one answer to the growing divide between whisky drinkers and whisky collectors. However, whilst on the surface the Discovery Selection is positioned and communicated as a generous attempt by HP so share its juice with more people, its actual manifestation is more akin to exploiting the shallowness that exists in the market for anything “limited”, “special” and wrapped up in a pretty box.
In all honestly, I think whisky enthusiasts should be incredibly fearful of this concept – for should it prove successful, rest assured measure for measure we’ll be getting more packaging and less whisky going forward. Be careful what you wish for.
Decadent Drinks Exclusive Highland Park – which sold out recently was offered at the more typical 70cl size. As the producer of the popular Whisky Sponge releases, Decadent are far from the only retailer / provincial airstrip to be offering one of the familiar brown sack cloth single cask releases. However, they have certainly put out one of my favourites from this extensive, and largely impossible to collect series from Highland Park.
The exclusive release was fully matured in a 1st fill European oak sherry hogshead which was laid down in 2007. 13 years later, 349 bottles were produced at a rectified (thanks guys – please keep up this important educational work) ABV of 57.1%. The original price was a punchy £155 – you’ll now have to keep an eye on auctions for a bottle.
Nose: Surprisingly graceful with succulent blackcurrants, blackberries and cherries offering a hark back to a time when impactful sherry wasn’t always delivered alongside rambunctious cask influences and their associated tautness. Marzipan and golden tobacco sit under a cloak of wispy hillside smoke, whilst Szechuan pepper, anise and stem ginger liven a slice of Battenberg cake, whilst a freshly brewed pot of coffee is joined by bung cloth and moist, saturated oak. Neat. Water teases out more of the cask with elements of toffee, char and metholated oak. A little more ‘modern’ now. There’s a strong case for the selected ABV of 57.1%.
Taste: Bright, big and juicy stewed fruits translate from the nose and are joined by deeper flavours of well-stepped fruit cake packed full of dried blackberries and redcurrants and dusted with ground sweet pepper. Leafiness presents in the mid-palate with peppermint and fresh sherry alongside touches of char, dulce de leche and ground digestive biscuits. Further reduction retains the syrupy mouthfeel, but as with the nose conveys more of the cask. Scorched orange peels and raspberry coulis sit at the back whilst woodier notes of allspice and toasted oak are upfront.
Finish: Quite long. Spent coffee grounds alongside fruit teas and freshly picked mint leaves.
It’s been a little while since I dived into one of the many sack-cloth encased HP single cask offerings – whilst all possess their uniqueness’s, there’s only so much 1st fill sherried HP I can find the time for. That said, this Decadent Drinks exclusive is markedly different in tone to most (all?) of the others I’ve sampled to date. There’s a lovely bygone, classic sherry profile that runs throughout – this ensures that the whisky retains its impactfulness without ever disappearing into the fathomless pit of sledgehammer sherry that seems to riddle many other 1st fill offerings. Dilution isn’t needed here – indeed I’d argue that the reduction before bottling to 57.1% is pitch perfect for maintaining the balance between the power of the distillate and the authority of the cask.
In that sense, it’s a shame that the price is at the highest end for OB HP SC’s (all the acronyms) as this Decadent Drinks edition stands out from the crowded field.
Review sample provided by Decadent Drinks
But don't take our word for it..
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Rita Levi-Montalcini was an Italian Nobel Laureate honored for her work in neurobiology. She won the Nobel Prize in 1986 for the discovery of nerve growth factor. She was born in 1909 in Turin into a Sephardi Jewish family. Her father discouraged her aspirations of becoming a doctor because he feared it would disrupt her life as a wife and mother. She became a doctor anyway and began a career in neurology research.
Her academic career was cut short as a result of Mussolini’s 1938 ban barring Jews from academic and professional careers. So she set up a laboratory in her bedroom and studied the growth of nerve fibers in chicken embryos, which laid the groundwork for her later research. In 1946 she was granted a fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis. She replicated her previous work done in her makeshift bedroom lab and was offered a research position at the university which she held for 30 years. There, in 1952 she did her most important work, isolating the nerve growth factor from observations of certain cancerous tissues that cause extremely rapid growth of nerve cells. She became the first Nobel Laureate ever to reach the age of 100.
Disclosure: Smita Nair Jain has nothing to disclose. She doesn’t own stock in any publicly traded companies and does not hold investments in the technology companies. She has equivalent of the American 401(k) plan in India that is automatically managed. (Updated: June 04, 2020)
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I just saw this article pop up on my feed- it’s about the “Seven Tools for Thinking”
This, I think, represents an excellent distilling of the basic elements we must understand as educators in order to be effective. We loose track, sometimes, of the very basis of what we do. We get caught up in Common Core or assessments or scaffolding or flipping or whatever high-level representation of technique has peaked our interest, but these are the basis of all of what we do. They are the foundation. They are the bedrock.
Not only do I fear we loose track of them ourselves, but I fear we don’t explicitly show them to our students. More than any single set of facts or knowledge we might believe we should fill students’ heads with, the ability to think flexibly and well trumps all. Thinking is more powerful than knowing. Knowing will always run out as you approach the bounds of what is know; thinking never runs out.