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| Where Vriends Gather |
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| VacaChat News | Vriends News | Zorro's Corner | Recommended Watching | Fun Stuff | Newsletter Archives | Vaca Shopping |
January 4, 2015
More graphics and buttons, courtesy of VacaDude, coming soon!
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| Broadcast Schedule |
Channel Links |
Important News |
| Broadcast Schedule |
| Today!!! Sunday, January 4, 2015 |
| 3 PM PST/6 PM PST |
| Story Writing Today's Story: Winter Fun With Vinky |
| 6 PM PST/9 PM EST |
| VacaChat Broadcast.
Join us for much fun and hilarity |
| Upcoming!!! Sunday, January 11, 2015 |
| 3 PM PST/6 PM PST |
| No Story Writing We'll write again on February 1 |
| 6 PM PST/9 PM EST |
| No VacaChat Broadcast.
The chatroom will be open at 6:00 PM PST (9:00 PM EST; 8:00 PM CST) |
| Channel Links |
| Channel Links |
| The pop-out chat link still uses the old style chat.
If you do not like the changes Ustream has made to chat, use the pop-out
link. The easiest way to do this is to open the pop-out chat in a browser window. Log in. (Type a period in the chat line—hit enter. This will open the login screen.) Size this chat window to equal about 1/3 of your desktop space. Then open a new window or tab (Ctrl-T or Ctrl-N in most browsers) and use it to open the pop-out video. If you opened a new tab, you can then click on the tab and drag it to an open space on your desktop. Size it to about 2/3 of your desktop space beside the chat. Now you have both open and can refresh one without disturbing the other. You can resize either without resizing the other. I hope this helps. |
| VacaChannel |
| http://www.ustream.tv/channel/vacadude |
| Pop-Out |
| If you want to view the chat or video in pop-out screens, use the links below. Some find that this places less stress on their computer and/or its memory. |
| Video: http://www.ustream.tv/channel-popup/vacadude |
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| If you use the pop-out links, it is recommended that you open two browser windows. That way, if one needs to be refreshed, the other is not affected. |
| Important News |
| VacaChat Broadcast Changes |
| Changes in the upcoming broadcast may be necessary. Check back to this site for more information later in the week. If changes are necessary, a "Breaking News" email will be sent, as well. |
| Vacadude, Zorro and friends recorded a Christmas Eve
broadcast of poetry readings. You can view it here: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/56871028 |
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Chatter News |
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| A Note from the Dude | Chatter News |
Prayer Requests |
Vaca Blog |
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| Hello Vriends, | ||
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Happy New Year!! May you all have a terrific and joyful 2015.
On a sad note, I'm sure most of you have heard the news about the passing of Carlos's mom. It was always a treat when she dropped in to chat. If you haven't seen it yet, be sure to go over to Carlos's blog on Wordpress. He wrote a beautiful tribute to his mother on there--she was truly an inspiration! And of course, it was because Carlos wanted to show the barn owls to his mom and sister that he put the cameras in the owl box. It just so happens that we all popped-in to check them out too! Things have been fairly quiet around here for the last several days. First we had our Christmas ham, then that became the base of my New Year split-pea soup with ham, and we're still working on finishing that up. Got a couple of movies for Christmas, so we've been able to watch "Now You See It," and "Captain Phillips." Good films. But aside from that, just a lot of organizing, trying to get the pencils sharpened and the ducks in a row. Or was it the ducks I was sharpening? I made a little trek to San Francisco last week to get some photos for next week's photo assignment for the photography club: "shoes." It has been an interesting challenge. Shoes are not generally something I think about much, but I've been marveling at the endless variety since I've had to start looking at them. So I hope you can join me this evening for some chat and giggly mayhem! Same time--6pm PST. Hope to see you there! |
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| Cheers, VacaDude | ||
| Chatter News |
| Jes63 | Jes's new furbaby has arrived. We'd like to introduce Miss Bailey, a very timid 4½ year old. She normally has more fur but she was shaved down and her beard cut off before they sent her to Jes. You won't recognize her once her fur grows back in. | ||
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| Sharoot | Sharoot's featured pictures can be found
at the end of each newsletter, under Photos of the
Week. She says that since they are located at the end, then "Sharoot's
the Caboose!" Today Sharoot shares pictures of two little birds, one of which is a "bit" off course. |
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| Ann Savage | Ann earned two first-place awards at the San Diego
Press Club Excellence in Journalism awards ceremony Oct. 28, 2014! http://ramonajournal.com/journal-writers-win-at-press-club-awards-ceremony-p6406-1.htm |
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| ChatterChopz | CC's had another wild and crazy week. Her two aunts (who spent 5 days spoiling her rotten) left to go back home, but yesterday we had MY family's Christmas celebration. We had about 35 people (from 7 months to 91 years old) all seated around 1 table for dinner. They came from all over. My oldest brother came from New York City for the celebration. It was great fun. CC got to go shopping with the BIG girls (her cousins and aunts who all about 4-5 years older than her.) We had great fun. | ||
| Elsalynda | Elsalynda's latest column entitled Nature In the
City: Thanksgiving Grace in Waltham, is available online here: http://waltham.wickedlocal.com/article/20141209/NEWS/141207720 Make sure you check out the photo accompanying the article!!! Elsa also tells us that she has had a poem selected for publication. She says she is very excited to be a part of this book and feels like a poet in good company, with known authors. Her poem on Great Horned Owls has a page with a beautiful photo opposite. Her writing group helped her with this piece. The book, Secrets of Wisdom by Joyce Gerrish, is now available at Amazon. |
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| We'd love to include more news of VacaChatters. If you have something you'd like to share (something about you or your family) or if you know of exciting news about another chatter that they're just too shy to share, please send it to us! (We won’t run it without that chatter’s permission, however.) | |||
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| The Royal Family |
Condolences are offered to Carlos and his family in the death of his
mother, Norma Noral Royal on December 29, 2014. She was just a few
months short of her 100th birthday. Carlos posted a wonderful tribute to
his mother on his blog. You can read it here: http://mollysbox.wordpress.com/2015/01/03/norma-noral-royal-april-15-1915-december-29-2014/ |
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| VacaDude's Brother-in-law, Duke |
I would ask for prayers and well-wishes for my brother-in-law Richard
"Duke" Paiz, who suffered a stroke last week, and is currently in the
hospital in Roseville, CA. He was nearly gone on Friday, but seems to
have rallied on Saturday. Duke married my oldest sister Beverly in the late 1950s. Because my parents were at an advanced age when they had me (Mom was 41, dad was 46), and my dad had a massive heart attack when I was three, they made arrangements with Bebe and Duke that they would raise me until I was 18. So Duke was only a couple of heartbeats away from being my dad. As it was, we were very close, and I did a lot of camping and road trips with them. They never did have children of their own. |
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| KSBorn | KSBorn was in regression for lymphoma and breast cancer. It has since returned and she's going for Chemo now. She and her doctors are attacking it vigorously and she needs our prayers. She needs our prayers for healing, for the Lord to guide her doctors, and for the peace and strength as she undergoes the treatment. | ||
| VacaDude and his cousin, Kevin | UPDATE: WONDERFUL NEWS!!!!! "Our family got some news this last week from my cousin Kevin, and it was wonderful: the latest tests show that he is in full remission!! So I'd like to thank you all for your thoughts and prayers; it meant a lot to me and to Kevin. If you could extend a few of those prayers to his mother Irene, I would really appreciate it. In a cruel twist of fate, Kevin's mom was diagnosed with lymphoma--very similar to Kevin's--that was located in her abdomen. Last I heard, she was responding well to the chemo. Apparently it made for some lively chemo treatment sessions--mother and son in together! They have always been a fun family, and I really hope Irene pulls through as well." | ||
| TheDaddyBird, | TheDaddyBird is also facing hip replacement real soon. We finally got the referral to the orhopedic surgeon who takes our insurance. His surgery will happen after the first of the year. | ||
| Marilyn Crabb | We received this message this week from a long-time
Molly watcher: I don't join the online chats but I read the newsletter and was a Molly watcher from the beginning. Last week, I was diagnosed with stage 2B (or greater) breast cancer and am undergoing lots of further tests and will begin chemotherapy on Tuesday. Please add me to the prayer list. UPDATE: Thank you for your prayers. I'm doing really well after my first chemotherapy treatment. One week down - nineteen to go. Then surgery and radiation. I have more tests scheduled to see if the cancer has spread beyond my armpit but so far it does not look like it has. My screen name was/is MarilynLA on UStream. (Marilyn from Los Angeles) |
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| Littleguys | UPDATE:
The latest news from Littleguys:
Have now
finished one week, as in five days, of radiation treatment.
Wondering if the upset tummy is a side effect or coming down
with something. See the oncologist once each week during the
radiation so did tell him about it.
Do
you or anyone in your family sew? Simple project?
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| Caboval | Caboval is in need of our prayers for her dog, Joey. You can read more about Joey and his struggles here: http://gfwd.at/1n8NU0h. | ||
| LATEST UPDATE on Joey! Caboval writes: “Oh Joey isn't doing good and I'm so worried. He made it through cancer and is in remission and survived liver failure but something has happened to his leg. He had X-rays and there's no break but it looked like his neck had a pinched nerve. So, I'm doing cold laser therapy and no improvement. I'm doing chiropractor sessions, no improvement. Then on Friday he had acupuncture and now Joey can't walk at all on his leg and it's now been 4 weeks and no improvement. I had a prayer group for him on Facebook. I think the acupuncture somehow has hit nerves in his leg and he can't walk at all. I don't have any hope that he will be able to walk again and I'm at the point I may have to make a decision this coming week. I'm heartbroken and I'm praying for a miracle. I'm devastated and he is only 6 years old. I wish I had better news. Can you say a prayer for him?” | |||
| Elsalynda | We got this message from elsa last week: Hi all, Thanks for all your prayers. This computer is so hard to type on. I dislike it but will have to use it for now. I saw the MGH sleep specialist today for consult and got some scary news. My apnea is severe and REM behavior disorder is rare and correlated with parkinson's disease. There is not much treatment available for the REM but I will try what there is. Please pray for me again. I am worried. Your elsalynda |
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| GentleDoe | We've had no new updates from GentleDoe in a while. If anyone has any new news on her, please let us know. | ||
| Shari in Memphis | Has anyone gotten any updates from Shari? | ||
| Thank you for your prayers and good thoughts for owl our wonderful VacaFamily members! If you have any prayer requests, updates or news of answered prayers, please let us know. Email us with the information so it can be included in the next newsletter. | |||
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Check out VacaDude's blog! Don't forget to send VacaDude your comments to let him know how much you appreciate him, his time & his talent! |
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| http://vacadude.wordpress.com/ |
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| A
Message from Zorro |
StoryTime News |
StoryTime Archives |
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| Recipe of the Week |
| A Message from Zorro |
| Hello there, Everbuddy! | ||
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Zorro the mouse here. A very Happy New Year to you all!!
I've been helping the Dude out with his telescope mount as best I can--he's trying to get it done while the comet Lovejoy is still here, so that he can take some pictures. Truth is, it has been so cold in the garage that I can barely stand to be out there. Then when he gets it done, he'll be in the back yard late at night--where it gets REALLLLY cold! I think I shall just monitor his progress from the warm confines of the living room. It has been pretty cozy in the living room for the last few days. The Dude and Dudette built a fire in the fireplace for the first time in over a year. They wanted to burn their calendars for some reason. Oh well...it was nice to have a crackly fire in there. I know that being a small rodent, I should be very skeeered of fire. But I only fear the wild ones. These domestic fires are very comfortable--though they require a lot of feeding! Here I thought I had a big appetite--but the fire eats log after log after log. Good thing the Dude had a bunch of logs tucked away in the garage. Well, it is time to go do those things a mouse must on a Sunday afternoon. I hope to see you all come by tonight for the StoryTime! |
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| Yours Most Whiskerly, Zorro |
| StoryTime News |
| Next StoryTime | Sunday, February 1 3:00 PM PST/6:00 PM EST |
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| Title | TBA | ||
| Invitation | We need story writers! Please consider dropping in and checking out the fun we have writing the stories. Honestly, it's not at all difficult to join in and you'll surely be glad you did. | ||
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If anyone wants to request a recipe or a recipe category, just email me.
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Ice Cream Bread |
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| Ingredients | |||
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2 cups of your favorite ice cream, softened |
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| Directions | |||
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Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour an 8x4-inch loaf pan. Mix the ice cream and flour together in a bowl just until combined. Pour into prepared pan. Spread smooth. Bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool and serve. Store in the refrigerator. For best results, use full-fat ice cream. Some flavors of bread will be more flavorful then others. Use bold flavors of ice cream like peanut butter or butter pecan. You can also mix in extras like nuts, chocolate chips, fruit, etc. |
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Irish Potato Candy |
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| Ingredients: | |||
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1 small to medium white potato
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| Directions: | |||
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Peel and dice potato. Boil
until very tender. Drain well. Whip potato with electric mixer until
very smooth. Begin adding powdered sugar, whipping after each addition.
At first the mixture will turn very thin, but will thicken as more is
added. Continue until you have a dough. This could be as much as 2
pounds of powdered sugar or more, depending on size of potato and
moisture content. Sprinkle powdered sugar on the work surface and roll
the potato mixture to a rectangle about ¼ inch thick. |
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| Owl Cams |
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Other Nature Cams | Video Picks of the Week | Inspiration | ||||||
| Other Bird Cams |
| Owl Cams |
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| Puffins | |||||
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Shetland Islands Puffins | http://www.shetland.org/puffincam/ | |||
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Sea Island, Maine |
http://explore.org/live-cams/player/puffin-burrow-cam | |||
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Sea Island, Maine |
http://explore.org/live-cams/player/puffin-loafing-ledge-cam These pages also contain links to numerous other nature cams. |
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| Eagles | |||||
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Black Eagle |
http://www.africam.com/wildlife/black_eagle_webcam | |||
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Decorah Eagles |
http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles | |||
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Berry College Eagle Cam |
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/berry-eagle-cam | |||
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http://www.pixcontroller.com/eagles/index.htm | ||||
| Peregrine Falcons | |||||
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PA Falcon Cam |
http://www.pacast.com/players/falcon.asp | |||
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Commerce Tower Peregrines |
http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/wildlife-cameras/peregrine-falcon-web-camera Cam not live now but should be returning soon. |
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Pitt Peregrine Falcon |
http://www.aviary.org/PF-NestCam1 | |||
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Gulf Tower Peregrine Falcon |
http://www.aviary.org/PF-NestCam2 | |||
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Emily
Falcon Cam |
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/emily-falcon-cam | |||
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RFalconCam |
http://rfalconcam.com/rfc-main/ | |||
| Talking Birds | |||||
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Watch the Birdie |
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/Watch-the-Birdie | |||
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Disco |
https://www.youtube.com/user/MsJumpinJude/videos | |||
| Other Birds | |||||
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California Condor San Diego Zoo Safari Park San Diego, California |
http://zoo.sandiegozoo.org/cams/condor-cam | |||
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KC Zoo Penguin Cam |
http://www.kansascityzoo.org/penguincam |
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Whidbey Island Back Porch other assorted birds |
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/katersch | |||
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Hellgate Ospreys |
http://cams.allaboutbirds.org/channel/27/Hellgate_Ospreys/ | |||
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Ostrich Chicks |
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http://www.ustream.tv/channel/ostrich-egg-cam-live | ||
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Streaming Bird Cams |
http://www.beakspeak.com/ | |||
| Other Nature Cams |
| Pandas | |||||
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San Diego Zoo Pandas |
www.sandiegozoo.org (click
on live cams)
or
http://www.ustream.tv/sandiegozoo. Zoo's
blogs: http://blognew.sandiegozoo.org/category/animals-and-plants/giant-pandas/ |
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Twin Pandas at |
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Giant Panda Cam |
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/webcams/giant-panda.cfm | |||
| Bears | |||||
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Kansas City Polar Bears |
http://www.kctv5.com/category/244581/nikita-berlin-polar-bear-cam | |||
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Brown Bears and Salmon |
http://explore.org/#!/live-cams/player/brown-bear-salmon-cam-brooks-falls (lots of other cams at this site, as well) |
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Black Bears |
http://www.bear.org/website/live-cameras/live-cameras/holly-bears-den-cam-live.html | |||
| Other Animal and Nature Sites | |||||
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Golden Paw-Prints Classic Golden Retrievers Oshkosh, Wisconsin |
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/golden-retriever-puppy-cam All the pups have gone to their forever homes. Camera is shut down until the next litter is born. |
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San Diego Zoo and Safari Park |
http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/ | |||
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The Pet Collective |
http://www.thepetcollective.tv/livestreams/ | |||
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Critter Chat Cams |
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Friends of Felines Rescue
Center |
www.ustream.tv/ffrc | |||
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Little House |
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CC's Page of Links (scheduled for updating) |
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| Other Sites of Interest | |||||
 Secrets
of the Snowy Owl |
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| http://goo.gl/P0trt0 | |||||
| Meet Zeus | |||||
| http://kittensdaily.com/meet-zeus-blind-owl-gorgeous-eyes/ | |||||
| Some Interesting Information About Someone We All Know Well | |||||
| http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1511369/ | |||||
| International Space Station Links | |||||
| During a recent
broadcast the Dude talked about the websites where one can view the
spacestation and the view that the astronauts have. Here are the links: This one has the map, but no chat. http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/HDEV/ This site has a chat room. http://www.ustream.tv/channel/iss-hdev-payload |
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| A Swimming Owl | |||||
| This came to us
from windbeneathwing. Swimming owl caught on video http://www.foxnews.com/science/2014/12/05/swimming-owl-caught-on-video/ |
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| Video Picks of the Week |
Cave Digging Artist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxcftjJ39BU
American Trilogy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fmWa1gKrp6Q
Cat Questions About Christmas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wrds7uujoAo&feature=em-uploademail
Incredible Animal Photography
https://www.youtube.com/embed/fdSVp9GFeS4
Holiday Traditions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJAxRVeKnTE
The Intelevator
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Un_oHaf798
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0NXFUSYZxc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43ZW426qCJ4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3qEHt9mj4g
| Inspiration or Things to Make You Think |
Dance on the Circle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOSGS9ruj4U
Russia's Inflatable Army
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Kb6UjqrmfWk
Russian Beryozka Dance
The Beryozka is a Russian ensemble of dances that originated in 1948.
There are a total of 100 members in the ensemble.
The dances are based on traditional folk melodies, which are then accompanied by chorus singing.
The Beryozka reflects heavily upon Russian culture.
Their
concerts have been performed in over 50 different countries from all around the
world.
I found the ensemble dance to be absolutely incredible, especially how
well-choreographed the performance was.
The traditional Russian dances seen here are known as "The Chain" and "The Birch Tree".
I hope you
enjoy the beauty and art of the Beryozka as much as I did!
(They've got to be on wheels, right?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aosUHfbdnn4
Flash Mob at the Air
and Space Museum
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIoSga7tZPg
Lost History - Mona Lisa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-QVhkmjxZo
Catching Kayla
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpA-FsKLA6A
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Fun Animations and Pictures |
Photos of the Week |
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Zorro's Word of the Week | ||||||
| Just for the Fun of It |
Kyle's Jokes of the Week |
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http://www.repeatcrafterme.com/2012/12/homemade-hand-warmers.html
http://www.freshstitches.com/holidaypenguin/
| Fun Animations and Pictures |
Me and My Shadow
Quick!! Get the Label!!
Two Really Quick Ones
| Photos of the Week |
From the Dude
My entry for the spaceship design contest
Sharoot's Caboose
Sharoot shares,
"Our winter visitors are here! Our very best and barely educated
guess is that this is a song sparrow. Isn't he adorable?!
And he comes quite close to the house to keep my kitties entertained."
This is a new visitor to our yard. We believe he is a Harris's Sparrow,
but have sent a pix to a birdie expert for confirmation. (It has been confirmed by experts
at Audubon that yes, it is a Harris's Sparrow and that he is VERY far off course.)
The state of Georgia is not generally where these guys spend their winters.
Maybe he heard about the gourmet food at the Coughlin Birdie Bistro Cafe and decided to drop by for a snack.
| Kyle's well known among his friends for his "triple
groaner" riddles and jokes. Now he shares them with VacaFamily. Enjoy! |
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| What did the big toe say to the little toe? "There's a heel following us." |
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| How do you make sure no one steals your bagel? You put lox on it |
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| I ordered a chicken and an egg from Amazon: I’ll let you know... | ||
| It was the day after Christmas. The pastor of the church was looking over the cradle in the Nativity scene when he noticed that the baby Jesus was missing from among the figures. Immediately he turned and went outside and saw a little boy with a red wagon, and in the wagon was the figure of the little infant Jesus. So he walked up to the boy and said, "Well, where did you get Him, my fine friend?" The little boy replied, "I got him from the church." "And why did you take him?" The boy replied, "Well about a week before Christmas I prayed to the little Lord Jesus and I told him if he would bring me a red wagon for Christmas I would give him a ride around the block in it." | ||
| What's orange and sounds like a parrot? A carrot. |
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| Zorro's Word of the Week |
MALVERSATION
Pronunciation: \mal-ver-SAY-shun\
noun
Definition of MALVERSATION
1: misbehavior and especially corruption in an office,
trust, or commission
2: corrupt administration
EXAMPLES
The city council impeached the mayor for administrative misconduct and malversation,
charging that he has used his office primarily for personal
gain.
"The Office of the Ombudsman is still evaluating the plunder cases
filed three months ago by the Department of Justice….
Included in the first batch of cases were 34 respondents, while at least 10 more
legislators were charged, this time with malversation, early last month."
— From an article by Christian V. Esguerra in the Philippines Daily Inquirer, December 30, 2013
DID YOU KNOW?
The form "mal-" is often a bad sign in a word, and "malversation" is no
exception.
In Middle French, "mal-" (meaning "bad," from the Latin word for "bad," "malus") teamed up with "verser"
("to turn, handle," from the Latin verb "vertere," "to turn ") to create "malverser," a verb meaning "to be corrupt."
This in turn led to the French noun "malversation," which was adopted by English speakers
in the mid-16th century. Some other "mal-" words that entered English from Middle French are
"maladroit" ("inept"), "malcontent" ("discontented"), and
"maltreat" ("to treat badly").
Word Family Quiz: What descendant of "vertere" means "to turn away" or "to ward
off"? The answer is …
Avert
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VacaShopping for Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day will be here sooner than you want to think! Wouldn't your loved one
cherish a VacaDude gift?
VacaDude’s creations are sure to be treasured gifts for those special people in your lives.
Check them all out at VacaDude's CafePress store! Support our beloved
artist/broadcaster/friend!
http://www.cafepress.com/vacadude
MollyTheOwlBooks
Eric has discontinued the sales of all his books and merchandise.
of that and want one, let DotRot know
and she'll do what she can to make it available to you.
