Weather woes may be due to natural change

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100019_22/05/2007_83672
A report in Ekatathimerini says volatile weather conditions across Greece in the last few weeks, including some of the highest May temperatures recorded in the last 47 years, could be due to abrupt seasonal changes rather than the greenhouse effect, according to a leading weather expert.

Since 47 years ago higher temperatures were recorded, either he is right, or global warming started long before the governments jumped on the band-wagon. (My brother Stefan says "global - globalisation, may be some sort of Freudian clue here"; probably he knows what he means!)

But then there is the other question, which I have already referred to several times. Those who know, will know what I am referring to.

• Freaky Weather
• Earthquake excitement
• Weather

Freaky Weather

I am sitting here thinking about what to say. Things seem to be getting serious. I have had another email from my friend who sent me a link. To both of us, it seems too much of a coincidence, not global warming or climate change, but 'them'. I don't even dare name them, in case it draws their attention. I did think about putting it in code, or maybe in Greek, but whileI was thinking about it, my stone, which was (and is) in my shorts pocket, turned so cold my leg is still aching. So now I will just call them - 'them'. Luckily my friend wasn't hurt or anything (this time!) but she is finding it quite freaky, though it could turn out to be useful.

Hippocampus Zebra

Someone from Tasmania has sent me an aerogramma

with a picture of a rare seahorse, so I don't think I am likely to find one around here, but I thought I would share it with you.

Seahorses are chameleons (not the lizards, like the lizards!) and can change colour to avoid detection.

Earthquake excitement

Very tired today, as we didn't get much sleep last night. I was hunting about down among the rocks near the beach yesterday afternoon when there was this odd wave, or anyway, movement of water, right out in the bay, then last night we had these tremors. Nobody was hurt, according to our newspaper, but Baba had to go to work to check out the IT system (and help calm the grockles - alright, I know I said I was going to call them barbarians but that doesn't seem very nice, and Baba was reading my blog and he liked grockles, so, to spiti mas, they are grockles.)

I was looking on the web and remembered this site I'd seen before; it took me a while to find it, but I checked and yesterday there were 8 recorded earthquakes in Greece. Couldn't tell which one was ours looking quickly, will check them all out later. (You have to click on the Richter scale to get to the information.)

You might have to be quick if you want to look at this site, well, unless you want to register:
"We kindly inform you that the AlertMap, RSS, CAP, Google Earth, email and WAP services provided by RSOE EDIS are only accessible with registration after 15th May 2007. Without the registration only the graphical map with icons will be available without detailed information. Please register at the REGISTRATION page, due to the fact that access rights are being authorized manually. "

May already!

May 5th already, and I haven't written anything since April 30th. There are reasons for this, walks, parades and picnics for May Day, school work, and a slowdown in people contacting me re the blog.

I think anyway, I have almost completed the assignment, I just need to write the final report, so if anyone would like to add comments or email me, especially with something I could use in the final report, I would be very grateful.

I will add bits and pieces if and when I can find time, it just seems to be flying past so fast at the moment, it is difficult to keep up.

Speaking of time flying, I was checking that newspaper for the earth's rotation article and found a generic address, with other articles on weather; I imagine the earth's rotation one will be added in due course. (Probably Monday!)

Weather

I meant to go beachcombing after the thunderstorm and gather some items so I could add them to the blog but there has been so much happening I didn't manage it, and when I did go quickly there didn't seem to be anything of interest.

But someone I know (well, not really know, am in touch with) sent me some interesting links to do with weather after she saw my post. (It is a photo, and I used software to change it into a painting; I was working on it for Art & Design but I think it has lost something along the way.)

Anywhichway (my Yia-yia says that) this someone is one of the people who has a stone like mine.

Here are the links:
Whirlwinds, Tornadoes, Water Spouts and Dust Devils
By Paul Damari

Hurricanes
By Paul Damari

I have just seen that next week they are looking at the Earth's Rotation - this is getting scary!

Thunderstorm! Θύελλα βροντής

Greek politics forty years on

ekathimerini.com Greek politics forty years on

I am emailing again; because I am reading this, and I have posted this Lack of trust wipes smile from Greeks last Saturday and didn't even realise that it was the anniversary!

And so I thought also I include a bit more onTheodorakis. (Sorry to all the tutors who don'tlike Wikipedia but you can correct it, if you find something wrong, at least, I think you can.)

Μίκης Θεοδωράκης - Mikis Theodorakis (b. July 29, 1925, Greek island of Chios)
"He has consistently opposed oppressive regimes and was a key voice against the Greek Junta 1967 - 1974."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikis_Theodorakis

Karaghiozi

Did I mention I thought my stone (sorry, Stone) looked more like Karaghiozi - he is a shadow puppet, he is on the radio (how can that be, you wonder) and travelling shows come to the island (and other others, of course). (Not E.T.)

You can find more information here if you are interested.

Some people (and websites!) say we got Karaghiozi from Turkey, duing the reign of the Ottoman Empire, but I think it is the other way round and the reason I think this is because there are shadow puppets in India, as well. Also in India they have a lot of food like ours, which some people again say is from Turkey, but it makes more sense that when we were the underlings and doing the cooking and entertaining, we introduced our own culture, just as Alexandros O Megalos (Αλέξανδρος ο μεγάλος) and his men took our traditions to India.

Well, that's what I think, anyway! (To be honest, I have to tell you that some people called Alexander "the terrible" - we just did that in History but I think he did lots of good things as well, have a look at http://www.mpt.org/programsinterests/mpt/alexander/overview/ )

Apologies!

I was thinking about my blog while I was doing other things and I realised that although it is called 'Beachcomber Blog', because that is what the first one was called, I haven't really included any beachcomber items in it - apart from the story of the kounboloi, and the finding of the stone (somehow, I feel I ought to write 'The Stone').

Then I thought, although it isn't a beachcombing collection, it is a collection, a collection of various IT experiments. But I will try and do something about the beachcombing side - if I can find time with everything else that seems to be going on.

Lack of trust wipes smile from Greeks

ekathimerini.com Lack of trust wipes smile from Greeks

Hi-ho! I don't believe this, but I thought I would do another email blog for the fun of it. Well, maybe I believe it a little, about the government, and about the television being lousy (the reception, as well as the content - luckily we don't watch it much in our house!)

Just think, if I had posted this during the Junta I might have been arrested! Laki knows people who were, just for saying they liked Mikis Theodorakis' music.

Not sure about this, until I publish it, but think if I want keywords will have to edit and add them later.
Well, it's all a

Okay, Εντάξει! I can't show off above until I have posted, and saved. (If then!) But I am going to try.

Hooray! done it!

I had an email from someone in America asking if my Mana would do bed and breakfast - so for this person, and anyone else, here are some sites where you can find that kind of information. [Attention Int.K.vi - I used 2 different search engines - who knows which two?]

Greece Travel Information Lonely Planet Destination Guide
Of all the ancient sites in Greece, Delphi is perhaps the fairest of them all - the one with the most potent 'spirit of place'.

Greek National Tourism Organization - GNTO
Official site offering a travel guide, directory of licensed travel agencies, and photo gallery. Also offers details on tourism policy, events, ...

Greece Travel and the Greek Islands: Greece Hotels guide - Greek ...
Greece Travel and the islands of the Greek seas: Complete Greek islands and Greece Guide with ... Greece, Greek islands, Travel Greek Islands, ...

Around Greece Travel Greek Islands Holidays Greece Hotels Athens ...
Around Greece - Travel Guide to Holidays in Greece and Greek Islands. Around Greece has tourist ... clips added to our Greece Videos section.

Weird, weird & weirder!

Someone else, in England, has a stone the same as mine, and the one in Tasmania; I know it is true, but I don't understand what it is all about. Other strange things have been happening as well.

Today's Find (Actually it was the day before I started the new blog, but I wanted to be dramatic.)

Weirder & more weirder

Twin stones?

Realisation strikes -

I've just realised, when I was playing with changing the dates of posting etc., I was originally blogging to tell you about the 6 degrees.

1. I sent an email to Yia-Yia
2. She sent one to some neighbours
3. They sent one to their son in Malaysia,
4. He sent it it to an ex-workmate colleague in New Zealand
5. Who sent it to his relative in Tasmania (the one that that has a stone the same as mine)
6. Who emailed me back

QED!

Theories of Relativity

I've had another email from my Tasmanian correspondent, and have been told how my email reached them. It really looks like six degrees of separation, but when I was telling Stefan about it before he went back to University, he said the six degrees was to do with being related, a sort of genetic thing, two strangers will have a relative in common, six generations back.

So I showed him my blog on Six degrees of Separation - he wanted to know why no one had emailed him about it! I said I had left him out on purpose, to see if someone else emailed him, to help prove my theory - but that wasn't quite true! I had forgotten to include him.

But it could be interesting, because people like Yia-yia probably didn't email him, because they would think I had, so if he does get an email it will come from someone unrelated and we can track it back to its source, and see if it is within six emails.

(I've only just added the heading for this blog, it just came to me as I was finishing. good, yes?)

Καλό Πάσχα - Happy Easter

Yia-yia from York and Stefan have been home for Easter, so I have been very busy. Have just got back from the ferry, after seeing them off.

The hotel puts on big celebrations for the tourists but there are always some people who think they are being original and like to troop across to the village and join in our local celebrations. My Yia-yia says they call the tourists 'grockles', she said lots of people think it is a West Country (in England, Somerset, Devon etc.) expression, but it has been used in Yorkshire as well for as long as she can remember.

So all those people who tried to claim my koumboloi are 'grockles', and so are the people who came to our Good Friday Mass. Laki said that wasn't very nice, when I told him, and then he said "we always call them ξένοι, or strangers anyway, if we don't call them βάρβαροι" - he laughed when he said that, so perhaps I won't call them grockles, just barbarians.

Laki also told me a good trick for the Αυγό Πάσχας, the eggs we decorate red at Easter time and use like children in England play conkers. (Yia-yia told me that a long time ago, when I was little). Anyway, Laki said I should use boat varnish and mix it with the red dye. I wanted to put a pattern on it, but he said it would take too long, as we would have to let the varnish dry, and then do it again, otherwise the pattern could create fault lines along which it would crack. As it was, we had to cheat and do it early to give the varnish time to dry. Laki put it in his boat shed for me. After I had used it for a bit, it made its own pattern! And it worked, mine cracked everyone else's eggs, so I get all the good luck!

Yia-yia says she loves Easter here best, all the church bells ringing (they don't ring really, not like in England, they clang) and the candles and incense and then firecrackers and bonfires. She says there is a greater sense of joy here. In Skouthaki we have a candlelit procession, and the saint is blessed and then there are bonfires and picnics, and feasts on the beach.

Καλό Πάσχα στην αλήθεια!

Greek investigators probe allegations against crew of sunken cruise ship - International Herald Tribune

Greek investigators probe allegations against crew of sunken cruise ship - International Herald Tribune

So alright, I know this may not be that relevant or interesting; ephemera, as Yia-yia said. I wasn't going to post anything over Easter, because Stefan & Yia-yia are here, but I was showing Yia-yia the blog and something she mentioned made me remember that I hadn't yet tried posting by emailing, which I ought to do if I am to demonstrate the full gamut of IT applications available. (Yia-yia told me to how say that)

We found the headline from the search results that run on the bottom of the page of the blog (in case you haven't noticed them yet!)

Whoops! I've been rumbled!

Don't you think that is a great word - rumbled? I read it in one of my Baba's books when I was staying with Yia-yia in York and I slept in his old bedroom, he has loads of his old children's books still there. I like to read them.

So there I was this afternoon online for an IT Design Session (we do sessions, not lessons) it was a joint one, not a one-to-one, and the tutor had a go at me. After he had emailed me about being relevant and contemporaneous (he said) he was keeping an eye on my blog for the next day or so (he's in the US somewhere) and I hadn't added anything, then suddenly, on the 3rd, there was a blog dated the 1st of April. He actually asked me if I was trying to make an April Fool out of him, but I pointed out that it was past 12 so if I had it would rebound on me, but he said, but it wouldn't have been in his time zone.

Then Barney said but he thought the complaint was that it hadn't been there on the first of April. Saskia said I was just demonstrating the technology, by showing that I could manipulate the date it was posted, and wasn't that part of the idea of my technology. (All our project briefs have been posted to the Intranet.)

Sir wasn't too pleased (and he was quite right) and said that if that was so, I should have included a paragraph to explain what I had done. (Only since that wasn't why I had done it, of course, I didn't think to include said paragraph. - so Sir, you can take this as a kind of apology if you like, and Barney & Saskia, many thanks, truly, for the support!)

Twin stones?

The person in Tasmania sent me another email - I believe now they really do have a stone just like mine. It is sort of frightening.

April Fool's Day

Had an email from my IT tutor, says I have left too long a gap in posting and the art of the blog is in posting everyday and being "relevant and contemporaneous". He also pointed out a typing error - well, I have corrected that! But he did say he liked my use of technology, and had noted that I wasn't 'stagnating' I was adding features to the blog all the time.

So here's contemporaneous, if not relevant:
"A 68-year-old man has been arrested after it was found (by police, but someone must have told them!) he had more than a million fireworks. Police think he was going to sell the fireworks ready for Easter."

Everyone lets of firecrackers after Church, and all through Easter, very noisy, Easter in Greece!

And, since it is 1st April - #94: Tomb of Socrates Found In 1995
the Greek Ministry of Culture announced that during excavation for the Athens metro system, archaeologists had uncovered what they believed to be the tomb of Socrates near the base of the Acropolis. A vase containing traces of hemlock (the poison used to kill socrates) and a piece of leather dating from between 400 and 390 BC were found in the tomb. The news agency Agence France-Presse immediately issued a release about the story. What it didn't realize was that the Greek Ministry was joking, forcing the news agency to issue an embarrassed retraction a few hours later.

[Note for tutor - if I had hyperlinked this to the main article I would have had to include instructions to scroll down, or use ^f to do a search for relevant terminology, by experimenting I found that looking at the comments included the article with a unique url.]

Later - I tried to check out that story of Socrates' tomb, because I find it hard to imagine the Ministry of Culture doing that, but all the accounts I could find are obviously from the same source.