The quake probably won’t kill you, but you can make its aftermath a whole lot more comfortable with a few easy, cheap purchases.

Dr. Aroup Chatterjee has spent hundreds of hours researching the soon-to-be saint. “I just thought that this myth had to be challenged,” he said.

Science Bulletin Board! This post tells a way to re-purpose an amazing board. When I took the original board down I saved all the pieces and re-used them in this amazing new version. Read to see how!

damm i talk with myself

A Halloween How To... This Tutorial is always a Hit, so I just thought I'd Share it again.  I've already made one batch this year...

Here are some images plus a composite of Amati's 1/60 scale Xebec armed vessel 1753. The following description is taken off Historic Ships. "Used by Barbary pirates, Xebecs were equipped with both sails and oars. They featured a distinctive hull with overhanging bow and stern. The lateen rig allowed it to sail close hauled to wind, giving it an advantage in pursuit or escape. The oars allowed the Xebec to approach vessels that were becalmed. Sea-going Mediterranean peoples used Xebecs as corsairs and built them with a narrow floor to achieve a higher speed than their victims.but with a considerable beam that enable them to carry an extensive sail plan. They carried a crew of 300 to 400 men and mounted 16 to 40 guns". My only complaint about this model is that it did not come with a double planking option considering the cost $260 Cdn you would think they would have done so. I should point out that this kit does not come with any instructions, plans only. So one should have some model ship building experience before attempting this model.

Here are some images of Doyusha's 1/250 scale Kure DY Yamato Battleship. With a full displacement load of 71,659 tonnes, a length of 862 ft 10 in and a armament compliment of 9 x 46 cm (18.1 in) (3×3) guns 6 × 155 mm (6.1 in) (2×3) guns 24 × 127 mm (5.0 in) guns 162 × 25 mm (0.98 in) Anti-Aircraft guns (52×3, 6×1) 4 × 13.2 mm (0.52 in) AA (2×2) guns this monster was the largest battleship ever built.The Yamato (the ancient name for Japan) was sunk north of Okinawa on April 7th 1945. From Wikipedia" The Yamato-class battleships (大和型戦艦 Yamato-gata senkan?) were battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) constructed and operated during World War II. Displacing 72,000 long tons (73,000 t) at full load, the vessels were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed. The class carried the largest naval artillery ever fitted to a warship, nine 460-millimetre (18.1 in) naval guns, each capable of firing 2,998-pound (1,360 kg) shells over 26 miles (42 km). Two battleships of the class (Yamato and Musashi) were completed, while a third (Shinano) was converted to an aircraft carrier during construction. Due to the threat of American submarines and aircraft carriers, both Yamato and Musashi spent the majority of their careers in naval bases at Brunei, Truk, and Kure—deploying on several occasions in response to American raids on Japanese bases—before participating in the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944, as part of Admiral Kurita's Centre Force. Musashi was sunk during the course of the battle by American carrier airplanes. Shinano was sunk ten days after her commissioning in November 1944 by the submarine USS Archer-Fish, while Yamato was sunk in April 1945 during Operation Ten-Go. On the eve of the Allies' occupation of Japan, special-service officers of the Imperial Japanese Navy destroyed virtually all records, drawings, and photographs of or relating to the Yamato-class battleships, leaving only fragmentary records of the design characteristics and other technical matters. The destruction of these documents was so efficient that until 1948 the only known images of the Yamato and Musashi were those taken by United States Navy aircraft involved in the attacks on the two battleships. Although some additional photographs and information, from documents that were not destroyed, have come to light over the years, the loss of the majority of written records for the class has made extensive research into the Yamato-class somewhat difficult. Because of the lack of written records, information on the class largely came from interviews of Japanese officers following Japan's surrender. However, in October 1942, based upon a special request from Adolf Hitler, German Admiral Paul Wenneker, attached to the German Naval Attache in Japan, was allowed to inspect a Yamato class battleship while it was undergoing maintenance in a dockyard, at which time Admiral Wenneker cabled a detailed description of the warship to Berlin. On 22 August 1943, Erich Groner, a German Navy historian, and author of the book Die Deutschen Kriegschiffe, 1815-1945, was shown the report while at the "Führer Headquarters", and was directed to make an "interpretation" and then prepare a "design sketch drawing" of the Japanese battleship. The material was preserved by Erich Groner's wife, Mrs. H. Groner, and submitted to publishers in the 1950s.

Here are some images of Tamiyas 1/35 scale S.gl.Pkw. Steyr Kommandeurwagen. This was the vehicle of choice for high ranking German officers of World War 2 when out and about in the field. Originally this vehicle was designed to carry 8 passengers but to accommodate for comfort could only now carry 5 passengers. The model itself went together without any difficulty and is nicely detailed.

Here are some images of Trumpeter Models 1/24 scale Mitsubishi A6M2b Type 21 Zero. This is the second best Zero model kit on the Market. The 1/32 Tamiya kit being slightly more detailed. A word of warning when building any Trumpeter kit and that is to always check the color schemes for they are often incorrect. I don't know why this is perhaps a hiring firing program in that particular department is in order. Plus while you're at it keep an eye on any decals containing type. Just a precaution. Other then that any Trumpeter kit is always well worth the purchase due to their high detail and good fit. From Wikipedia" While the Navy was testing the first two prototypes, they suggested that the third be fitted with the 700 kW (940 hp) Nakajima Sakae 12 engine instead. Mitsubishi had its own engine of this class in the form of the Kinsei, so they were somewhat reluctant to use the Sakae. Nevertheless when the first A6M2 was completed in January 1940, the Sakae's extra power pushed the performance of the plane well past the original specifications. The new version was so promising that the Navy had 15 built and shipped to China before they had completed testing. They arrived in Manchuria in July 1940, and first saw combat over Chungking in August. There they proved to be completely untouchable by the Polikarpov I-16s and I-153s that had been such a problem for the A5Ms currently in service. In one encounter, 13 Zeros shot down 27 I-15s and I-16s in under three minutes without loss. After hearing of these reports the Navy immediately ordered the plane into production as the Type 0 Carrier Fighter, Model 11. Reports of the Zero's performance filtered back to the US slowly. There they were dismissed by most military officials, who felt it was impossible for the Japanese to build such an aircraft. After the delivery of only 65 planes by November 1940, a further change was worked into the production lines, which introduced folding wingtips to allow them to fit on aircraft carriers. The resulting Model 21 would become one of the most produced versions early in the war. When the lines switched to updated models, 740 Model 21s had been completed by Mitsubishi, and another 800 by Nakajima. Two other versions of the Model 21 were built in small numbers, the Nakajima-built A6M2-N "Rufe" floatplane (based on the Model 11 with a slightly modified tail), and the A6M2-K two-seat trainer of which a total of 508 were built by Hitachi and the Sasebo Naval Air Arsenal.

Here are some images of Aurora/ESCI's 1/9 scale Zundapp KS-750 motorcycle with BMW sidecar. The Zundapp was the most advanced motorcycle of its day. The Zundapp was a very rugged and versatile motorcycle. The shaft drive setup that was powered by a 751cc engine proved to be very dependable with good acceleration with an overdrive giving it a top speed of 60 mph. Along with the BMW 750 the Zundapps rugged reliability was to make it a common sight on all fronts during the war. One of the things that made the Zundapp unique was it's winterizing gear. This was a heating system for the hands and toes which drew heat from the exhaust system which I'm sure was greatly appreciated by its riders especially on the Russian front.

Here are some images of Artesania Latinas 1/60 scale Chinese Junk Red Dragon. These ships plied the rivers and oceans of the far east f...

Photographs of Rough Blazing Star (Gay Feather) wildflower, growing at a nearby Missouri natural prairie

Photographs of an adult Brown Thrasher, made while kayaking a Missouri Conservation Area waterway

Photographs of Yellow-rumped Warblers, snacking on some remaining berries, taken at a Missouri Conservation Area on a kayak outing.

Photographs of some wintering Trumpeter Swans

Here are some better images of Constructo's 1/65 scale 1620 Mayflower. Though really this model is based off the 1957 Mayflower II. The original whose remains are believed to be part of a barn somewhere in Buckinghamshire England no longer exists. The original Mayflowers appearance is though an educated guess basically speculative. The thing about a wooden ship kit and a scratch built wooden ship is that they both build up the same, the only difference of course is that in a kit the wood has been cut for you though there is still a hellavalot of cutting and shaping to be done. The woods used for this ship are Bokapy, Ramin, Mukaly and of coarse Plywood and Samba for the framework. A question often asked is why not use Oak when building ship models just like on the real ships? The problem with that is Oak does not lend itself well to flexibility when working with small parts particularly when working with hull planking as it has a tendency to break even after being soaked in water for several hours. Besides it wouldn't look that good anyway as the woodgrain in Oak does not look all that well when working in miniature as the grain is to big.

Here are some images of Artesania Latina's 1/65 scale Santa Maria. Captain C. Columbus last known in command. Formally called the Galician the Santa Maria ran aground on December 24 1492 and thus it's planks were converted into a church. Like the Mayflower the Santa Maria's appearance is subject for conjecture. The woods used for this model were African Walnut, Beechwood, Boxwood and of coarse the ever popular Plywood for the frame. From Wikipedia" The Santa Maria de la Inmaculada Concepción, (English: Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception), was the largest of the three ships used by Christopher Columbus in his first voyage. Her master and owner was Juan de la Cosa. The Santa Maria was probably a small carrack, about 70 feet long, used as the flagship for the expedition. The other ships of the Columbus expedition were the smaller caravel-type ships Santa Clara, remembered as the Niña ("The Girl") and Pinta ("The Painted" – this might be a reference to excessive makeup). All these ships were second-hand (if not third or more) and were never meant for exploration. The Santa Maria was originally named La Gallega ("The Galician"), because she was built in Pontevedra, Galicia, in Spain's north-west. It seems the ship was known to her sailors as Marigalante, Spanish for "Gallant Maria". Bartolomé de Las Casas never used La Gallega, Marigalante or Santa Maria in his writings, preferring to use la Capitana or La Nao. The Santa Maria had a single deck and three masts. She was the slowest of Columbus's vessels but performed well in the Atlantic crossing. She ran aground off the present-day site of Cap Haitien, Haiti on December 25, 1492, and was lost. Realizing that the ship was beyond repair, Columbus ordered his men to strip the timbers from the ship. The timbers from the ship were later used to build Môle Saint-Nicolas, which was originally called La Navidad (Christmas) because the wreck occurred on Christmas Day. Columbus's crew on the first voyage was not composed of criminals as is widely believed. Many were experienced seamen from the port town of Palos and the surrounding countryside and coastal area of Galicia. It is true, however, that the Spanish sovereigns offered amnesty to convicts who signed up for the voyage, but only four men took up the offer: one who had killed a man in a fight, and three friends of his who had then helped him escape from jail. There were some crew members from Andalusia, as the voyage was financed by a syndicate of seven noble Genovese bankers resident in Seville (the group was linked to Amerigo Vespucci and funds belonging to Lorenzo di Pier Francesco de Medici). Hence all the accounting and recording of the voyage was kept in Seville. This also applies to the second voyage, even though the syndicate had by then been disbanded. This fact partly debunks the romantic story that the Queen of Spain had used a necklace that she had received from her husband the King, as collateral for a loan. Of Columbus's four voyages, only the crew of the first voyage is completely known. In many cases, there are no surnames; the men's places of origin are indicated to differentiate crewmen with the same given names.

Photographs of the American Lotus plant, shot from a kayak at a local Missouri Conservation Area.

Photographs of Gaura, aka "Butterfly Flower", wildflowers found growing at the edge of a local Missouri natural prairie.