Monthly Archives: July 2011

Costa Rica Earthquake

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Costa Rica earthquake : numerous landslides and considerable damage

Last update: July 13, 2011 at 2:58 pm

By Armand Vervaeck and James Daniell

Earthquake overview : A strong earthquake occurred in the early afternoon in the border area of Costa Rica – Nicaragua and close to the Miravalles Volcano. Although the hypocenter was at an intermediate depth, people in the epicenter area have sustained some minor damage.

Damage inflicted after the July 12 2011 Costa Rica earthquakes.

UPDATE 13/07 – 14:54 UTC : A number of houses have been labeled inhabitable by the Costa Rican emergency services.

UPDATE 13/07 – 14:31 UTC : Just after the earthquake, villagers living near the Río Guacalito at Armenias de Upala were surprised that the river was suddenly dry! Villagers believe that a dam was created on the slopes of of the Miravalles volcanowhich dried up the river.

UPDATE 13/07 – 09:46 UTC : Due to various signs of damage and traumatized people we haveupgraded this earthquake to the CatDat Orangecategory.

to read more, go to: http://earthquake-report.com/2011/07/13/costa-rica-m56-causes-minor-damage/

Pastafarians Rejoice

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13 July 2011 Last updated at 10:42 ET

Austrian driver’s religious headgear strains credulity

Driving licence of Niko AlmHaving received his driving licence, Niko Alm now wants to get pastafarianism officially recognised

An Austrian atheist has won the right to be shown on his driving-licence photo wearing a pasta strainer as “religious headgear”.

Niko Alm first applied for the licence three years ago after reading that headgear was allowed in official pictures only for confessional reasons.

Mr Alm said the sieve was a requirement of his religion, pastafarianism.

The Austrian authorities required him to obtain a doctor’s certificate that he was “psychologically fit” to drive.

The idea came into Mr Alm’s noodle three years ago as a way of making a serious, if ironic, point.

A self-confessed atheist, Mr Alm says he belongs to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, a light-hearted faith whose members call themselves pastafarians.

Passport photos of Niko Alm with a colander on his headA medical interview established the self-styled ‘pastafarian’ was mentally fit to drive

The group’s website states that “the only dogma allowed in the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is the rejection of dogma”.

to read more, go to:   http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14135523

Mt. Etna Eruption Sped Up Time

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Mt. Etna eruption put clocks in the local area forward by 15 minutes

Published on July 12, 2011 10:10 pm PT
– By Jim Duran – Writer
– Article Editor and Approved – Warren Miller


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(TheWeatherSpace.com) — Mt. Etna erupted this week. The volcano is to blame for speeding clocks up by 15 minutes.

People turned up for work early and noticed that their clocks were 15 minutes fast. The volcano stopped flights at Catania’s Fontanarossa airport.

The clock thing is a mystery to some, saying aliens, ghosts, or other events of the supernatural caused it. However, our lead scientist says other wise.

“Since only digital clocks seemed to be affected, then one must consider the fact that digital clocks (like any other clock) do not measure time, but rather measure an event, such as the vibration of a cessium atom, and relate it to the passage of time,” said Senior Meteorologist Kevin Martin.

to read more, go to:    http://theweatherspace.com/news/TWS-07_12_2011_etna.html

 

US Heat Wave to Continue & Intensify

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Martin warns of even stronger heatwave within a week for the eastern half of the country

Published on July 13, 2011 12:30 am PT
– By Dave Tole – Writer
– Article Editor and Approved – Warren Miller


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(TheWeatherSpace.com) — A monster heatwave has taken over 21 of the United States and TWS Senior Meteorologist Kevin Martin says it will get stronger.

“As this ridge breaks down another one will form over the Central Plains this weekend,” said Martin. “This ridge will center over Omaha, Nebraska, being a 600 mb high pressure system. To put into perspective, the current heatwave is a 596 at the highest. A 600 mb high is serious pressure.”

Martin predicts this to form on Friday over Kansas City and move eastward next week. The heat and humidity could bring indexes into the 120+ mark for some of the eastern half of the country, including St. Louis, Missouri.

to read more, go to:   http://theweatherspace.com/news/TWS-07_13_2011_heatwave.html

Tropical Impulse Building

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Tropical impulse will develop at the end of the month, threatening the Caribbean to the USA

Published on July 13, 2011 12:45 pm PT
– By Kevin Martin – Senior Meteorologist
– Article Editor and Approved – Ron Jackson


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(TheWeatherSpace.com) — Tropical season has been quiet, however it normally is during July. We begin to see the developments around August and one seems to be ready to.

As of now the Atlantic Ocean is quite, but that will change during the last week of July. Thunderstorms are erupting across the Saharan Desert and these will shoot impulses out of Cape Verde, westward into the Atlantic.

One such impulse looks impressive on satellite over Africa now and will eject out of Africa on July 24th. This will be the system to watch for the Caribbean and the United States as the track is common for a classic Cape Verde season impact next month.

 

to read more, go to:    http://theweatherspace.com/news/TWS-07_13_2011_tropical.html

10 Ways to get Rid of Flies-Tested

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Testing: 10 Odd Ways To Get Rid of Flies

by Brie Dyas, Posted Jul 8th 2011 8:00AM

You don’t always have to be on swatter duty in order to get rid of flies. Whether the pests are bringing your picnic down or calling your living room home, I tested 10 ways to deter flies using stuff we all have in our homes. And I promise, you won’t have to squash anything (unless you want to, of course).

get-rid-of-fliesProblem solved. Photo: Refracted Moments, flickr

If you’d “never hurt a fly,” then you’ve never experienced the…pleasure…of having to run inside from a lovely picnic because flies kept bumping into guests’ heads while on a quest to eat their potato salad. Then the flies followed everyone inside. And that, in case you were wondering, was how I spent my Fourth of July weekend.

For me, the problem comes from living in a house that dates back to 1825. Yes, it’s charmingly covered in ivy, but the floors and windows are at a subtle angle. Which means that a. you can look taller if you stand in certain areas of the house, and b. windows and doors don’t always have a seal against the outside world. The small openings are the portals to housefly Narnia as they try to find relief from summer heat. Really, even scrupulous cleaning isn’t enough to deter summer flies.

To get rid of them, I tested the following home cures that promise to get rid of flies (either by repelling them away from you and your guests, or by trapping them). Like my tests for controlling ants, these cures were culled from internet boards and well-meaning friends. And for good measure, I tested them indoors and out.

Here’s what worked…and what didn’t:

Lori Klein, AZ State Senator is Packing

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Lori Klein, Arizona State Senator, Pointed Loaded Gun At Reporter Richard Ruelas’s Chest

First Posted: 7/11/11 04:07 PM ET Updated: 7/12/11 04:47 PM ET

Arizona state Sen. Lori Klein (R), a gun-rights champion, keeps a loaded raspberry-pink handgun in her purse, and during an interview with Arizona Republic reporter Richard Ruelas, she took it out and pointed it at him.

“Oh, it’s so cute,” Klein said, before aiming the gun at Ruelas’s chest to show off the red beam of the laser sight. Klein’s gun, a .380 Ruger, has no safety, but the senator assured Ruelas that he wasn’t in danger.

“I just didn’t have my hand on the trigger,” she said.

to read more, go to:    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/11/lori-klein-arizona-gun-control-reporter-giffords_n_894973.html

Earthquake near Phillipines

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Very strong coastal seaquake close to Sipalay, Negros, Philippines

Last update: July 12, 2011 at 10:03 pm by By Armand Vervaeck and James Daniell

Earthquake overview : A 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck the coastal waters of Negros Island, Philippines  at 4:47 AM local time. The epicenter of the earthquake is approx. 30 km out of the coast (USGS) and 45 km (Phivolcs). Phivolcs (the Philippines seismological service)  has not called a tsunami alarm for this earthquake as also the Magnitude was less than initially measured by USGS.

to read more, go to:    http://earthquake-report.com/2011/07/11/very-strong-coastal-seaquake-with-tsunami-danger-at-negros-philippines/

Activity in Eastern Region of Sun

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EASTERN UNREST: An active region emerging over the sun’s eastern limb is hurling material high above the stellar surface. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded some of the action during the early hours of July 12th:

This eastern unrest is not Earth directed. Forecasters say the greater threat for geoeffective activity comes from sunspot 1247 (finder); it has a “beta-gamma” magnetic field that harbors energy for M-class solar flares. There is a 10% chance of such eruptions during the next 24 hours.

fr/spaceweather.com