#Dung islet

[moonlightpaladin]

Xaela Tribes

Sourced from here. I wanted to have these in one place to reference.

Adarkim: The largest of the Xaela tribes. While not the most skilled at battle, they overwhelm with numbers, taking losses in stride, knowing that a future victory over a weaker tribe will replenish their ranks.

Angura: A small tribe which keeps mainly to the mountainous region of northeastern Othard. The glare reflected by the everlasting glaciers upon which they travel has rendered this tribe's skin color a deep rusty tone.

Arulaq: A tribe thought lost 200 years ago, only recently discovered once again living in a secluded valley in the mountainous north.

Avagnar: Though defeated and absorbed by the Adarkim, several of the proud tribe's members still secretly use its ancestral name, knowing that it could mean death if they are discovered.

Bairon: A middle-sized tribe of the southern deserts and masters of survival in the driest of climes, the Bairon are all trained from a very young age to collect and drink their own bodily fluids, allowing them the ability to venture deep into places no other tribe will.

Bayaqud: A tribe of the steppe's western edges. Women from the Bayaqud tribe will traditionally take several husbands, as did the tribe's founding matron 2000 years ago.

Bolir: A small tribe that earns its living by collecting the dung of the beastkin herds which roam the steppes. The dung is dried, turned into charcoal in temporary kilns, and sold to other tribes.

Borlaaq: A tribe of all women. While breeding with men from other tribes is allowed, if a male is born into the tribe, he is given up within a year of birth.

Buduga: An all-male tribe which only increases its ranks through battle and kidnapping.

Chaghan: An offshoot of the Qerel tribe, these warriors enter a berserker rage known as the Will of Karash, which they believe to be a blessing from the Dusk Mother. They commit all manner of heinous acts when Karash takes hold, and some would even slay their own kin and claim it in the name of Mother Nhaama.

Dalamiq: One of only a few Xaela tribes which has abandoned the nomadic lifestyle and built a small village on an islet in the middle of a two-malm-wide span of the great inner river. It is said they once worshipped the now-fallen lesser moon.

Dataq: The Dataq cover quite possibly the most area in their migrations, for they rarely stop in one area for longer than a few bells. Sleeping is all done in the saddle, and tents are only used when the rains are heavy and unbearable.

Dazkar: Household duties such as cooking, cleaning, and childrearing are handled by the males of the Dazkar who, other than when on the move, rarely ever leave their family's yurts. Female Dazkar are tasked with hunting, and are known across the steppe as being some of the most accurate archers in the realm.

Dhoro: An elusive tribe that avoids contact with most other tribes. Lookouts are posted all about their camps with orders to flee given the moment an outsider is spotted.

Dotharl: An extremely violent tribe with members who revel in massacre and are taught from a young age not to fear death. While they are quick to attack other tribes, mortality rates are high, ensuring that their numbers never grow too high.

Ejinn: A river tribe that chooses to swim from place to place rather than walk or take boats. It is said that members of the Ejinn can hold their breaths for up to a quarter bell, and will often migrate while almost completely submerged in order to avoid contact with hostile tribes.

Geneq: In addition to the standard language used by most of the Xaela in cross-tribe communication, the Geneq employ a complex system of whistles and clicks which resemble the cloud- and wavekin of the steppe.

Gesi: The Gesi are masters of the slingspear, a mid-sized javelin carved from mammoth bone which, instead of being thrown by hand, is flung with a leather sling to improve range, speed, and killing power.

Gharl: Before each migration, the Gharl will fill a sacred urn with the soil of the place they just camped. This soil is then dumped upon arriving at the next location. This tradition has been carried out for thousands of years, leading people to believe that most the steppe is now all of one soil.

Goro: The Goro believe horses to be perfect beings, and each male and female, upon their coming of age, is married to a horse of the opposite sex. Reproductive mates are chosen by lots.

Haragin: The legends of this coastal tribe tell of a group of their ancestors who crafted a giant ship and sailed out across the endless eastern ocean. The explorers are said to have returned with tales of a terrible island covered in massive grey monoliths and inhabited by fire-breathing steel demons.

Himaa: For reasons unknown, one out of every three pregnancies amongst the Himaa result in twins. As a result, over half the tribe's members have a doppelganger. This can prove an advantage during attacks, as it confuses the enemy into believing the dead have risen.

Horo: To those who live the meager lifestyles of the steppedwellers, being overweight is a symbol of affluence and power. To appear heavier than one in their station, the members of Horo will drink copious amounts of water to bloat their bellies.

Hotgo: A tribe recently massacred by the Dotharl. The only members surviving are those who left the tribe to travel on their own and were not present during the killing. The Hotgo were known for their vibrant face paints which members would constantly change depending on their current mood.

Iriq: A tribe that follows the Borlaaq, taking on any male children given up by the female warriors and raising them as their own.

Jhungid: The second largest Xaela tribe. Mortal enemies with the Kharlu, the Jungid will spend the greater part of the year subjugating smaller tribes to swell their own ranks in preparation for an annual battle with the Kharlu—the winner gaining control over a large part of the eastern coastlands.

Kagon: The Kagon are a nocturnal desert tribe who worship Nhaama, goddess of the moon and mortal enemy of Azim, god of the sun. Instructed by their goddess that to step into the sun is to succumb to the evil of Azim, they spend the daylight hours in their tents, only emerging to hunt and migrate at night. The result is an uncharacteristically pale skin for a group of people living in an almost eternally fair-weather locale.

Kahkol: A tribe made up of orphans and refugees from tribes defeated or destroyed. Many choose to combine the name of their old tribe with Kahkol.

Kha: Unlike most of the Xaela, the Kha live on the fringes of the Xaela lands, actively seeking contact with non Auri peoples, introducing many aspects of those cultures into their own.

Kharlu: The third largest Xaela tribe. Mortal enemies with the Jungid, the Kharlu will spend the greater part of the year subjugating smaller tribes to swell their own ranks in preparation for an annual battle with the Jungid—the winner gaining control over a large part of the eastern coastlands.

Khatayin: A tribe which largely remains unseen, hunting goats in the mountains for nine moons of the year. The remaining three are spent at the foot of the great north range, where they survive off the dried meat they stocked.

Malagud: One of the only tribes that accepts people of the Raen—those that have been exiled, or those who have fled persecution—into their circle.

Malqir: A western steppe tribe characterized by its unique leader-choosing ritual which, instead of the usual test of brawn, is a game of Kharaqiq—a chess-like game played on a circular board divided into three rings.

Mankhad: A costal tribe which fights with blow-darts made from bones dipped in the poison of the pufferfish. So practiced with the pipes are the tribe, that they can disable a target from 200 paces.

Mierqid: A desert tribe which, over the course of a year, travels between over a hundred secret buried caches of supplies restocked with each annual visit.

Moks: A tribe invisible for the fact that its members are spread out across many different tribes (unbeknownst to those tribes). Communication between its members is done on the rare occasion when two tribes meet, through an ancient set of hand signals only recognizable by those who know what they are looking for.

Mol: A small tribe of devout worshippers of the elder gods, the Mol will consult with their deities (via a shaman conduit) before making any tribe-related decisions, from the direction of their next migration, to the beasts they will hunt each day for food.

Noykin: Master trainers of the wild horses which populate the majority of steppe. It is said that the horsewives of the Noykin can break any beast if given but a week.

Olkund: Selective breeding has seen the average height of the central steppe-dwelling Olkund tribe males reach over two and a half yalms. The females, for whatever reason, remain of an average height.

Orben: A tribe that rides up and down the great inner river on boats woven from reeds and reinforced with scales from their own skin.

Orl: A tribe that fled Othard in the wake of Garlean occupation. Several of the Orl found their way to the highlands of Coerthas but misconceptions of Au Ra being of Dravanian descent led Ishgardian soldiers to slaughter them indiscriminately. There is only known to be one survivor of this tribe.

Oronir: All members of the Oronir tribe believe themselves to be direct descendants of Azim, the tribe's god of the sun.

Oroq: The Oroq create sleds made of reeds dipped in horse fat to help move their possessions and young children about the inner grasslands.

Qalli: Also known as the songbirds of the steppe, the Qalli communicate through song, attaching a melody to their words to further add emotion to the meaning.

Qerel: The warriors of this tribe all wear complete suits of armor crafted from the bones of steppe tigers which they kill with their own hands upon their coming of age.

Qestir: This tribe refuses to speak, believing that all words are lies, and that a man's actions are the purest form of communication.

Sagahl: A tribe which sees all beastkin as equals with man, therefore refuses to eat or use them as beasts of burden. As a result, the diet of the Sagahl mainly consists of steppe shrubs and vilekin.

Torgud: This desert tribe does not wear any clothes, choosing instead to cover their bodies almost entirely in a white paint created from mud, lime, and bone meal. The paint helps to reflect the relentless desert sun.

Tumet: The children of the Tumet, upon seeing their tenth summer, are tied to a sacred tree while the remainder of the tribe packs up and moves to their next location. Those children who manage to break free from their bonds and catch up with the tribe at that next location, are given a name and allowed into the tribe.

Ugund: When members of this tribe die, their heads are removed from their bodies and placed in a jar of fermented goat milk. Once the liquid has been drunk by the head (in other words, evaporated), the head is then buried under an anthill so that the tiny workers can carry the spirit to the afterlife. The journey is thought to be a terrible one, the road filled with ghosts of the damned, so ensuring the spirit is drunk helps ease the journey.

Ura: This mountain-dwelling tribe is one of the few which instead of hunting, mine the precious ores of the peaks and trade them with the steppe tribes for food.

Urumet: This desert tribe has the queer custom of travelling with their elders carried upon their shoulders. It is believed that in the flat desert, this gives the tribe the advantage of being able to see farther.

Uyagir: One of a handful of Xaela tribes which have given up the nomadic lifestyle. The Uyagir reside in a system of limestone caves on the northern edge of the southern deserts which are believed to have been dug by a race of giant oliphant-like beetles which were placed on the land by the gods to punish the elder tribes that had grown too greedy.

#long post #ffxiv #lore #au ra #xaela #missy rambles #these will be good to reference when i finally write more about Dal's tribe #currently his tribe isn't Weird enough. I need them to be Weirder. need a Quirk

[cytarabi]

Jaime’s Figurative Language List

If anyone’s curious, I’m hunting through every JB chapter to find each metaphor and simile the characters use. This will not only help me learn more about them as a character, but it helps me improve my figurative language as a writer (something I’m weak at).

I’m really curious to see how Jaime and Brienne’s language changes over time.

After brief analysis, Jaime uses a lot of animal and earth comparisons. He also loves insults, but that’s nothing new to us. The extended metaphor of Brienne being a cow is just awesome, and then it culminates to her throwing a boulder the size of a cow (something he thinks the Gods did at first). By the end of the chapter, she’s damn near impressed him. 

For everything I’ve found (there’s probably more I missed), here is Jaime’s first chapter list:

ASOS Jaime I

S: wind soft/fragrant as Cersei’s fingers

M: world was sweet, Jaime felt dizzy

S: sudden as a quail flushed from cover

M: Brienne = cow

S: calves like cords of wood

M: endless stair

S: legs weak as grass

M: stretch is a luxury

M: Tyrion laugh himself sick

M: Brienne’s face all horse teeth

M: Brienne = wench

M: Lannister blood runs thin

S: Cleos looked like a weasel

S: Cleos fought like a goose

M: Cleos had the courage of an especially brave ewe

M: Septon = fat fraud

M: his honor = shit

S: Brienne is as talkative as she is pretty

*Bonus Brienne says: M: Jaime = monster

M: himself = monster

S: Brienne dogged as a hound

M: Brienne = cow again

M: Brienne “has steel in her spine”

M: Cleos = swallowed kettle of dung

M: Cleos = Muttonhead or Lickspittle

M: Cersei’s breasts spilled free

M: South shore was red clay

M: Drowned trees

S: voice as unyielding as stone

S: I don’t look much like Cersei

S: Ser Cleos snores like ducks mating

M: Rock/Tree was a wonder 

S: Shacks like tall cranes

M: Towerhouse = shell

M: Islets choked

S: he smells like overripe cheese

M: Smoke is a thin grey finger

*Bonus Brienne says: M: Hanging women is butchery

S: Bodies ripening like foul fruit

M: Skiff cut water

M: Brienne = cow chewing its cud

M: Brienne’s hair = flax colored

M: Brienne’s voice thick with anger

M: Brienne is the Hound with teats

M: Galley = wooden dragonfly

M: Water churned white by furious action

M: Boulder the size of a cow

#jaime lannister #gotjaimelannister #jaime x brienne #braime #jb

[bloghealthcom]

Xét nghiệm ICA trong chẩn đoán bệnh tiểu đường Update 10/2021

Bài viết Xét nghiệm ICA trong chẩn đoán bệnh tiểu đường Update 10/2021 được chia sẻ bởi website Blog-Health #bloghealth #suckhoe #lamdep #sinhly

Tự kháng thể là những protein được tạo ra bởi hệ thống miễn dịch của cơ thể và được xem như bằng chứng của bệnh đái tháo đường type 1. Do đó các xét nghiệm tự kháng thể rất có giá trị trong chẩn đoán type đái tháo đường, một trong số đó là xét nghiệm ICA.

1. Xét nghiệm ICA là gì?

Xét nghiệm ICA (Islet Cell Autoantibodies) là xét nghiệm đo lường nhóm tự kháng thể kháng tiểu đảo tụy. Đây là một trong những tự kháng thể thường gặp nhất được phát hiện trong giai đoạn khởi phát bệnh với tỷ lệ từ 70-80% bệnh đái tháo đường type 1 mới được chẩn đoán. Xét nghiệm ICA nên được thực hiện khi:

Phân biệt type của bệnh tiểu đường có phải liên quan đến tự miễn không sau khi lần đầu được chẩn đoán có bệnh

Bệnh nhân tiểu đường được điều trị bằng chế độ ăn uống hoặc thuốc gặp nhiều khó khăn trong việc duy trì lượng đường phù hợp trong máu nên nghi ngờ bị tiểu đường type 1 thay vì type 2

2. Chẩn đoán bệnh tiểu đường dựa vào xét nghiệm ICA như thế nào?

Tiêu chuẩn chẩn đoán đái tháo đường gồm các tiêu chí sau:

Xét nghiệm glucose huyết tương lúc đói (FGD) trên 7,0 mmol/L. Nhịn ăn để xét nghiệm phải trong ít nhất 8 giờ

Hoặc xét nghiệm dung nạp glucose đường uống 2 giờ trên 11,1 mmol/L

Hoặc HbA1c trên 6,5%

Hoặc glucose huyết tương ngẫu nhiên trên 11,1 mmol/L

Tuy nhiên, đối với bệnh đái tháo đường type 1 cần phải xác định được sự có mặt của một trong các tự kháng thể trong máu. Lúc này xét nghiệm ICA sẽ giúp xác định được tự kháng thể kháng tiểu đảo tụy có trong tuần hoàn bệnh nhân hay không.

Giải đáp xét nghiệm ICA là gì?

3. Một số lưu ý của xét nghiệm ICA

Không giống như xét nghiệm GAD hoặc IA-2A, xét nghiệm ICA đòi hỏi phòng xét nghiệm hiện đại hơn và người đọc kết quả cũng cần có chuyên môn cao hơn. Xét nghiệm tự kháng thể kháng tiểu đảo có thể được sử dụng để tiên lượng sự phát triển của bệnh nhân đái tháo đường type 1 trong các thành viên gia đình của những người bị ảnh hưởng. Càng có nhiều tự kháng thể kháng tiểu đảo ở người không bị tiểu đường thì nguy cơ phát triển đái tháo đường type 1 sau này càng cao.

Nếu một người không bị tiểu đường nhưng xét nghiệm ICA có tự kháng thể cùng với mức độ đáp ứng insulin thấp khi tiêm vào tĩnh mạch thì nguy cơ phát sinh đái tháo đường type 1 có thể cao. Ví dụ như người có tiền sử gia đình mắc đái tháo đường type 1 có ICA, khả năng đáp ứng insulin thấp thì nguy cơ mắc đái tháo đường type 1 trong 5 năm tới là lớn hơn 50%.

Mặc dù vậy, xét nghiệm tìm tự kháng thể kháng tiểu đảo với mục đích sàng lọc bệnh nhân đái tháo đường type 1 là không được khuyến cáo vì tự kháng thể kháng tiểu đảo cũng có thể tìm thấy ở các bệnh khác như rối loạn nội tiết tự miễn, viêm tuyến giáp Hashimoto, bệnh Addison. Do đó, người bệnh nên đến các cơ sở y tế chuyên khoa để bác sĩ chỉ định phương pháp xét nghiệm chẩn đoán kết quả tiểu đường chính xác nhất.

Hiện nay, tại Bệnh viện Đa khoa Quốc tế Vinmec có các chương trình thăm khám, sàng lọc, xét nghiệm đầy đủ chẩn đoán bệnh đái tháo đường. Toàn bộ quy trình thăm khám, sàng lọc, xác định tình trạng và giai đoạn bệnh đều được thực hiện bởi các bác sĩ chuyên khoa giàu kinh nghiệm và được đào tạo bài bản ở cả trong và ngoài nước. Bên cạnh đó, để nâng cao chất lượng dịch vụ, ngoài trang bị đầy đủ cơ sở vật chất hiện đại bậc nhất, tại Vinmec còn có các Gói khám sàng lọc đái tháo đường, tăng mỡ máu để Quý khách hàng có thể thuận tiện thăm khám và điều trị chuyên sâu.

Để được tư vấn trực tiếp, Quý Khách vui lòng bấm số HOTLINE hoặc đăng ký lịch trực tuyến TẠI ĐÂY. Tải ứng dụng độc quyền MyVinmec để đặt lịch nhanh hơn, theo dõi lịch tiện lợi hơn!

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Hà Nội

Hanoi

Hồ Chí Minh

Ho Chi Minh City

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Phu Quoc

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Nha Trang

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Ha Long

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source https://blog-health.com/xet-nghiem-ica-trong-chan-doan-benh-tieu-duong/

#bloghealth #suckhoe #lamdep #sinhly

[sciencespies]

World's driest desert was once transformed into a fertile oasis by bird poop

https://sciencespies.com/humans/worlds-driest-desert-was-once-transformed-into-a-fertile-oasis-by-bird-poop/

World's driest desert was once transformed into a fertile oasis by bird poop

The Atacama Desert has a fearsome reputation. The world’s driest non-polar desert, located along the Pacific coast of northern Chile, constitutes a hyperarid, Mars-like environment – one so extreme that when it rains in this parched place, it can bring death instead of life.

Yet life, even in the Atacama Desert, finds a way. The archaeological record shows that this hyperarid region supported agriculture many hundreds of years ago – crops that somehow thrived to feed the pre-Columbian and pre-Inca peoples who once lived here.

“The transition to agriculture began here around 1000 BCE and eventually supported permanent villages and a sizeable regional population,” a team of researchers, led by bioarchaeologist Francisca Santana-Sagredo from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, writes in a new study.

“How was this development possible, given the extreme environmental conditions?”

Thanks to Santana-Sagredo and her team, we have a solution to the mystery. It was already known that part of the puzzle could have been the use of ancient irrigation techniques, but water availability by itself wouldn’t be the only prerequisite for a successful agricultural system in the Atacama Desert, the researchers say.

Based on previous research by some of the same team – analysing chemical isotopes preserved in human bones and dental remains of pre-Inca peoples – the researchers suspected fertiliser was also used to help the plants grow.

Now, in their new work, there’s fresh evidence to back up the hypothesis.

“We set out to collect and analyse hundreds of archaeological crops and wild fruits from different archaeological sites of the valleys and oases of the Atacama Desert in northern Chile,” Santana-Sagredo and some of her co-authors explain in a perspective article on the research.

In total, 246 ancient plants were analysed – the specimens being conveniently well-preserved by Atacama’s dryness – including maize, chilli pepper, gourd, beans, and quinoa, among others.

(UC Anthropology)

Using radiocarbon dating, and also testing for isotopic composition, the results showed a dramatic increase in nitrogen isotope composition beginning around 1000 CE – a reading so high, in fact, it’s never been seen before in plants, with the exception of certain plants on Antarctic nunataks where seabirds nest.

Amongst the plants tested, maize was the most affected, and at the same time (around 1000 CE), it also became the most widely consumed crop, based on a separate analysis of archaeological human bone and dental remains from the region, which also showed high readings of the nitrogen isotope.

According to the researchers, the “most parsimonious explanation” for the surge in nitrogen values is ancient bird poop – technically known as guano, which has a history of usage as a fertiliser in pre-modern times, including most likely in the Atacama Desert, as a growth enhancer for pre-Inca crops.

While the fertilisation capabilities of seabird guano (aka ‘white gold’) might have taken this ancient culture’s agriculture to a new level, securing the manure wouldn’t have been an easy – nor pleasant – job.

“Before [1000 CE] populations perhaps used other types of local fertilisers such as llama dung, but the introduction of guano, we believe, triggered a considerable intensification of agricultural practices, a step-change that increased production of crops, particularly maize, which rapidly became one of the central foods for human subsistence,” the researchers explain.

“This shift is remarkable also considering the costs in human (and llama) labour involved – guano had to be painstakingly collected at the coast and transported ~100 km [about 60 miles] inland.”

Despite the challenges, the new findings suggest that’s just what Chile’s desert-dwellers did, and historical accounts from centuries later suggest the practice continued well into the era of European contact – it’s just we never had any evidence to suggest the custom began an entire millennium ago.

“Ethnohistorical records from the 16th to 19th centuries describe how local people travelled in small watercraft to obtain guano from rocky islets off the Pacific shore, from southern Peru to the Tarapacá coast in northern Chile, and how seabird guano was extracted, transported inland and applied in small amounts to obtain successful harvests,” the authors write in their paper.

“Although guano was said in early historical accounts to be equitably distributed to each village, the same sources state that access to guano was strictly regulated, warranting the death penalty for those who extracted more than authorised or entered their neighbour’s guano territory, emphasising its high value.”

The findings are reported in Nature Plants.

#Humans

#Humans

[ericfruits]

A battle over feral buffaloes divides Hong Kong

BUFFALOES love mud. It keeps them cool and protects their delicate skin from the sun. When the squelchy stuff is scarce they dig down to reach groundwater and make their own. The tireless churning of one herd on Lantau, the largest island in Hong Kong, has turned a parched field into a swamp full of lush green floating plants. It is a haven for insects and birds, including white egrets which perch on the buffaloes’ backs. Many Hong Kongers cherish these majestic animals and the photogenic touch they add to the island’s largely undeveloped wilderness. But some of the islanders would prefer to get rid of them.

Water buffaloes are not indigenous to Hong Kong. They were first introduced to the territory when it was a British colony, probably from South-East Asia, to work as beasts of burden in the rice paddies. In the 1970s the animals were abandoned—along with the fields—as rural people gave up farming for jobs in towns. Today around 120 feral buffaloes live in Hong Kong, alongside ten times as many of their bovine cousins, brown cows. The cows roam widely but the buffaloes are confined to small wetlands on the south coast of Lantau and in the north-west New Territories, an area of the Chinese mainland that falls under Hong Kong’s jurisdiction.

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The cows and buffaloes are classified by the government as “stray”, not as protected species. That means the government is supposed to impound them. But it prefers not to have to take on the burden of looking after them (many Hong Kongers would object to putting them down). So it sterilises the animals and tries to keep them away from places where they might cause harm by wandering onto roads, invading gardens or depositing their dung on village streets. The buffaloes are generally docile, but they are huge and have big horns which the bulls use when battling each other for dominance. In 2011 a man was gored by a bull on Mui Wo beach, a popular tourist destination on Lantau. It is unclear why the animal attacked.

Randy Yu, a local politician, says that many of his constituents grew up with the animals and so have “mixed feelings” about them. Although they are fond of them, they find them a nuisance and complain that the government is not doing enough to control them. Rural groups propose relocating the animals to Tai A Chau, a tiny uninhabited island near Lantau that in British days was the site of a (now demolished) detention centre for Vietnamese refugees. Mr Yu says some should be sent to the islet on a trial basis. The government is not keen: Tai A Chau is not a good bovine habitat and monitoring their welfare there would be bothersome. Urbanites who regard the animals as part of Lantau’s rustic charm want them to stay, too.

Some of those who would prefer that the animals be removed are motivated by more than just concern about the damage they cause. Some Hong Kong villagers (only men) enjoy historical rights to build houses on their ancestral land. But zoning laws make it difficult for them to do so on farmland. In Pui O, an area of Lantau favoured by many of the buffaloes, the animals occupy abandoned fields. Because they have buffaloes in them, it is hard to argue that these fields are not agricultural plots. Some villagers have taken to fencing them off and dumping rubble on them in order to keep the buffaloes away and ease future planning applications by making the sites appear to be brownfield.

The government says it is all for preserving Lantau’s paddy-turned-mudbaths. But it is also keen to find land where homes can be built to ease the territory’s desperate shortage of housing. Migration from more developed parts of Hong Kong is expected to boost the population of Mui Wo (currently 5,500) by 35% in 2018. There are plans for what officials call a “mega development” on two artificial islands east of Lantau, connected to it by new bridges. Eventually, the buffaloes may have to abandon their idyll.

This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline "Mud wrestling"

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[equinox-blog]

The next day we set out with Pihor the elder on three horses toward Aswan. He was a man of good nature and quick humor, unlike his stern older brother Pedesi. On the way he regaled us with tales of his childhood, how he and his brother would swim in the Nile, racing to an islet just off shore that only appeared when the water was at low tide. Horsemen appeared on the horizon, who we saw were Roman from their helmets. As they drew closer, we stopped our horses on the side of the road to give way. The men formed an escort for a large litter carried by a dozen slaves. Silk curtains hung down on all sides of the litter, but as the entourage passed, I caught a whiff of lavender.

“Who do you think was in there?” I asked Pihor the Elder as we resumed our journey.

“Want to ask the soldiers?” he replied in jest.

“Don’t you and grandfather know of any Roman nobles around?” asked the younger Pihor.

“Of course, our Roman guest here to observe the construction.”

“Ha, not that fat old sycophant of the emperor.”

“Do not say that,” said his father, in a sharp tone I rarely heard him use. “He is under our roof and subject to the same respect you give me.” My friend fell silent, and barely spoke the rest of the way to Aswan’s marketplace. We found the camels at the far side of the market, where the flies around their dung could not disturb the fruit and vegetable vendors. The traders had tied each camel’s foreleg at the knee, so they hobbled around their pens awkwardly on three legs.

“Why do they do so?” I asked the Pihor’s father.

“So they do not run away,” he replied. “Spread out now. Look for a beast small and gentle enough for a tender rider.”

“Are you buying us one of our own?” Pihor asked eagerly.

“Is that what you think?” laughed his father. “Tarry not, I do not want us to arrive back home after dark.” We each went separate ways to examine the stock. I knew my companions had a sharper eye for blemishes and strength of muscle, but I could at least seek out the smaller ones for them to see. Soon I stopped at a pen of animals that stood more still than the rest, calmly chewing cud.

“You did come.” I turned to see the boy I had met yesterday, but without his dogs.

“Salve,” I greeted him.

“I do not speak the Roman tongue,” he said. “Greek took me long enough to learn.”

I nodded in sympathy. “Yes, my friend who you met has come with his father to buy a camel.”

“These are not camels, but dromedaries.”

“Is there a difference?”

He pointed at the back of the closest one. “They have only one hump, not the best for long travel.”

“I must fetch my friend and ask what he thinks of these.”

#Ancient Egypt #historical fiction #historical fiction fantasy #ya lit #young adult literature #young adult lit #Roman Egypt

[wayneooverton]

Best Vancouver Dive Sites

As a hedonistic scuba junkie, Vancouver qualifies as pretty much my perfect city. Within 30 to 40 minutes of the downtown core are a huge variety of world-class dives, all of which leave me lots of time to make it back to the city each day to enjoy fine dining, great entertainment and 5-star hotels. What’s more, I’ve been diving the area since the late 80s. I’ve put in dozens of dives around Vancouver and Howe Sound and I’ve yet to exhaust the possibilities. And the best part is that it needn’t be expensive to enjoy Vancouver diving. If you’re willing to put in a little effort, you’ll find plenty of great shore dives that cost you nothing but the time it takes to explore. With that said, here are a few of the best Vancouver dive sites.

[See image gallery at scubadiverlife.com]

Whytecliff Park

This is the must-do Vancouver shore dive, just around the corner from Horseshoe Bay, where ferries depart for Vancouver Island. Drive time from downtown is about 20 minutes, depending on traffic. So far I’ve found three separate dives here, all staged from the same location. Local divers do a lot of training at Whytecliff, so don’t be surprised to see groups doing their basic open-water certification. Regardless of traffic on the surface, I’ve never felt crowded once I descend. Once you get down to the main bay, you can break right or left. Each way takes you along the shore and out to deeper water, where you’ll find some nice walls and drop offs. You can also enter the water at a smaller, separate bay a little west of the main park and work your way back to Whytecliff.

I’ve seen virtually every critter imaginable over the years at this spot, including the occasional harbor seal and giant Pacific octopus. Keep close tabs on your gauges, as although much of the diving is in the 40 to 60-foot (12 to 18 m) range, heading out past Whyte Islet or the Day Marker can put you in 200 feet (61 m) very quickly.

VT-100

I’m not sure that everyone would agree that this is one of the best Vancouver dive sites, but for a few reasons I really enjoyed diving this wreck. It’s actually the remains of an old minesweeper, the HMCS Cranbrook. After the war, it was re-designated as Vancouver Tugboat 100. In the late 1950s, someone started a fire on board and the boat burned and sank in Indian Arm. These days, VT-100 is an easily accessible shore dive. It actually took my buddy and I a few dives to find the wreck. We swam past it in bad visibility on our first attempt.

When we returned the next day, we found it with no problem just a few hundred feet off shore in about 40 to 50 feet of water. The wreck has seen better days, but we took our time looking around and found an abundance of white nudibranchs crawling along the rusted metal parts of the ship. Lots of sea perch were hanging around and, on the sandy bottom, were lots of Dungeness crabs and flounder. We also saw (and nearly swam into) a few large red jellyfish — beautiful, but steer clear. The drive time to this site from downtown is about 40 minutes.

Porteau Cove

I count my two dives at Porteau Cove as among the most enjoyable I’ve ever done in the Vancouver area. The long surface swim out to the main diving area wasn’t high on my list of “must do again,” but the work I put into the dive was more than rewarded in terms of what I saw when I finally submerged. The area is a marine park and, over the years, three artificial reefs have been scattered around the bottom. Depths range from 30 to 90 feet (10 to 28 m). This has resulted in one of the most impressive arrays of Pacific Northwest sea life I’ve ever encountered.

Massive lingcod lay casually about on most every outcropping. These fish, between three and four feet long, were not the least bit shy. They’d grudgingly move when I got within a few inches, but up to that point they were quite content to give me a contemptuous stare and try to ignore my presence. There was also a healthy collection of various rockfish. My favorite, the copper rockfish, looks like it belongs on a coral reef. Of course there’s the usual collection of plumose anemones and starfish, but if you take some time checking out the pylons, you’ll also find dainty little decorator crabs. I put in two dives and still made it back to Vancouver for dinner at a new brewpub.

If you’re less enthusiastic about shore diving, don’t despair. For a modest sum, you can jump on a charter boat out of Horseshoe Bay and explore some really amazing walls a little further away from downtown Vancouver in Howe Sound.

Bowyer Island

We dove both the north and south ends of the island, both in about 80 feet (24 m) of water.  The bottom terrain on the south end really stood out. We dropped down into a lovely channel in the rock that took us out to an impressive drop-off. Just as we reached the edge, a large wolf eel swam slowly out from its den toward us, and then turned and disappeared over the wall. There were lots of sea urchins on the bottom — probably why the wolf eel hangs out there — so watch where you touch down.

Worlcombe Island

This very nice finger reef starts in about 10 feet (3 m) of water and hits close to 80 feet (24 m) by the time it peters out. The Sea Dragon charter boat dropped us off at the deep end of the reef and after heading to the bottom, we had a nice, slow swim up to the shallow water. This dive is dependent on the tidal conditions, as the current can be brutal if the tide is at full flood or ebb.  Highlights include some nice tubeworms feeding in the gentle current, lots of sponges and a surprising variety of nudibranchs.

Hutt Island Wall

The charter dropped us off fairly close to the edge of the island and we descended right away to a very deep wall. We leveled off at about 80 feet (24 m), and there seemed to be endless darkness beneath us. One spot that positively bloomed with massive numbers of plumose anemones, as if the wall were covered a gently swaying aquatic cloud. We also spotted a nice clump of rare glass sponges. These live mostly in deeper water, but you’ll find the odd colony along the walls of Howe Sound.

When it comes to the best Vancouver dive sites, you’ll find a nicely balanced underwater experience. You can play around in a variety of depths, work your way along walls, or explore underwater peaks. You’ll never run out of options. With another trip planned next year, stay tuned for more.

  The post Best Vancouver Dive Sites appeared first on Scuba Diver Life.

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[mrbobgove]

Best Vancouver Dive Sites

As a hedonistic scuba junkie, Vancouver qualifies as pretty much my perfect city. Within 30 to 40 minutes of the downtown core are a huge variety of world-class dives, all of which leave me lots of time to make it back to the city each day to enjoy fine dining, great entertainment and 5-star hotels. What’s more, I’ve been diving the area since the late 80s. I’ve put in dozens of dives around Vancouver and Howe Sound and I’ve yet to exhaust the possibilities. And the best part is that it needn’t be expensive to enjoy Vancouver diving. If you’re willing to put in a little effort, you’ll find plenty of great shore dives that cost you nothing but the time it takes to explore. With that said, here are a few of the best Vancouver dive sites.

[See image gallery at scubadiverlife.com]

Whytecliff Park

This is the must-do Vancouver shore dive, just around the corner from Horseshoe Bay, where ferries depart for Vancouver Island. Drive time from downtown is about 20 minutes, depending on traffic. So far I’ve found three separate dives here, all staged from the same location. Local divers do a lot of training at Whytecliff, so don’t be surprised to see groups doing their basic open-water certification. Regardless of traffic on the surface, I’ve never felt crowded once I descend. Once you get down to the main bay, you can break right or left. Each way takes you along the shore and out to deeper water, where you’ll find some nice walls and drop offs. You can also enter the water at a smaller, separate bay a little west of the main park and work your way back to Whytecliff.

I’ve seen virtually every critter imaginable over the years at this spot, including the occasional harbor seal and giant Pacific octopus. Keep close tabs on your gauges, as although much of the diving is in the 40 to 60-foot (12 to 18 m) range, heading out past Whyte Islet or the Day Marker can put you in 200 feet (61 m) very quickly.

VT-100

I’m not sure that everyone would agree that this is one of the best Vancouver dive sites, but for a few reasons I really enjoyed diving this wreck. It’s actually the remains of an old minesweeper, the HMCS Cranbrook. After the war, it was re-designated as Vancouver Tugboat 100. In the late 1950s, someone started a fire on board and the boat burned and sank in Indian Arm. These days, VT-100 is an easily accessible shore dive. It actually took my buddy and I a few dives to find the wreck. We swam past it in bad visibility on our first attempt.

When we returned the next day, we found it with no problem just a few hundred feet off shore in about 40 to 50 feet of water. The wreck has seen better days, but we took our time looking around and found an abundance of white nudibranchs crawling along the rusted metal parts of the ship. Lots of sea perch were hanging around and, on the sandy bottom, were lots of Dungeness crabs and flounder. We also saw (and nearly swam into) a few large red jellyfish — beautiful, but steer clear. The drive time to this site from downtown is about 40 minutes.

Porteau Cove

I count my two dives at Porteau Cove as among the most enjoyable I’ve ever done in the Vancouver area. The long surface swim out to the main diving area wasn’t high on my list of “must do again,” but the work I put into the dive was more than rewarded in terms of what I saw when I finally submerged. The area is a marine park and, over the years, three artificial reefs have been scattered around the bottom. Depths range from 30 to 90 feet (10 to 28 m). This has resulted in one of the most impressive arrays of Pacific Northwest sea life I’ve ever encountered.

Massive lingcod lay casually about on most every outcropping. These fish, between three and four feet long, were not the least bit shy. They’d grudgingly move when I got within a few inches, but up to that point they were quite content to give me a contemptuous stare and try to ignore my presence. There was also a healthy collection of various rockfish. My favorite, the copper rockfish, looks like it belongs on a coral reef. Of course there’s the usual collection of plumose anemones and starfish, but if you take some time checking out the pylons, you’ll also find dainty little decorator crabs. I put in two dives and still made it back to Vancouver for dinner at a new brewpub.

If you’re less enthusiastic about shore diving, don’t despair. For a modest sum, you can jump on a charter boat out of Horseshoe Bay and explore some really amazing walls a little further away from downtown Vancouver in Howe Sound.

Bowyer Island

We dove both the north and south ends of the island, both in about 80 feet (24 m) of water.  The bottom terrain on the south end really stood out. We dropped down into a lovely channel in the rock that took us out to an impressive drop-off. Just as we reached the edge, a large wolf eel swam slowly out from its den toward us, and then turned and disappeared over the wall. There were lots of sea urchins on the bottom — probably why the wolf eel hangs out there — so watch where you touch down.

Worlcombe Island

This very nice finger reef starts in about 10 feet (3 m) of water and hits close to 80 feet (24 m) by the time it peters out. The Sea Dragon charter boat dropped us off at the deep end of the reef and after heading to the bottom, we had a nice, slow swim up to the shallow water. This dive is dependent on the tidal conditions, as the current can be brutal if the tide is at full flood or ebb.  Highlights include some nice tubeworms feeding in the gentle current, lots of sponges and a surprising variety of nudibranchs.

Hutt Island Wall

The charter dropped us off fairly close to the edge of the island and we descended right away to a very deep wall. We leveled off at about 80 feet (24 m), and there seemed to be endless darkness beneath us. One spot that positively bloomed with massive numbers of plumose anemones, as if the wall were covered a gently swaying aquatic cloud. We also spotted a nice clump of rare glass sponges. These live mostly in deeper water, but you’ll find the odd colony along the walls of Howe Sound.

When it comes to the best Vancouver dive sites, you’ll find a nicely balanced underwater experience. You can play around in a variety of depths, work your way along walls, or explore underwater peaks. You’ll never run out of options. With another trip planned next year, stay tuned for more.

  The post Best Vancouver Dive Sites appeared first on Scuba Diver Life.

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