Newsletter May 24, 2015

Happy Memorial Weekend to all!

In keeping with the true spirit of the nature of this holiday, my sister and cousin have been having an online discussion about my Uncle Alonzo, who was killed in the fighting on the Alaskan island of Attu during WW2. I have been learning some things I had not known before. Apparently he was hit by a Japanese sniper as he was trying to give assistance to a machine gunner. They bought time for his platoon to get to a more defensible position. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions. He died on May 13, 1943, and I honor him.

Yesterday I turned some of the very last screws on the vapor chamber. I now need to hook the motor up and hope it works! Progress has been slow with this build, as I'm only able to give it a few minutes a day, what with my schedule and all. I just hope it works like I've been imagining it to! So many strange bits of design, what with magnetic gears, panes of glass, explosive fumes. My biggest fear is that I'll get it all put together and it won't work at all. At least Zorro will have gained a new apartment!

By the way, I conducted my explosion test last week. I had been concerned about these acetone fumes being very explosive when mixed with air, but I had no idea how explosive. I didn't know if we were talking about a pop, a phumpff, or a detonation that would blow half the side of the house off. So I made a cardboard mock-up of the air chamber, and rigged a spark maker (detonator) to it. I hit the switch, and nothing happened. I then took a sparkler (left over from last year's July 4th) and stuck it on the box and lit it. No explosion. The cardboard box even caught fire, but the acetone remained unfazed. So I don't know if the danger has been overstated, or I just didn't reach the right conditions with the fuel/air mixture. I basically abandoned my test and I'm pressing on with the build. If it blows, it blows.

Last Sunday I spent at the Maker Faire in San Mateo. That was fun, humbling, inspiring, tiring, frustrating, and overall--just fun. (I say humbling because I saw so many amazing creations--huge things, complex things...and here I am needing six weeks to make a dumb box with a few pieces of glass and a fan. It left me thinking I was kind of a "Maker-Lite") I met some of the folks who work at XYZprinting (the folks whose printers I keep winning the use of). I saw a demo of their UV printer. This is a new technology for 3D printing that has objects rising out of a pool of liquid--much like the liquid metal robot in the second Terminator movie. It's pretty amazing to see it in action! The print quality is such that you won't even need to use acetone vapors. That has been another fear of mine--that I was taking so long to get the chamber done that the technology was going to pass me by and it would be obsolete straight out of the gate!

So I saw lots of robots, drones, 3D printers, Steampunk, vehicles...it was a very cool day.

Well, I have a bunch of work to do today, plus I am hoping to get that motor hooked up so that I can see if my vapor chamber works at all.

Have a great week, everyone!

			Chatter News
	A Note from the Dude		Chatter News		Prayer Requests		Vaca Blog


	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 the owl family at the Brick Pond Park. She has also shared more about her Harris's Sparrow that visited a few months ago. You can read about that here.

	*Elsalynda*	Elsalynda's latest column entitled Nature in the City: May Is Lush With Life, is available online here: http://waltham.wickedlocal.com/article/20150520/NEWS/150529957 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.

	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.)


	*KSBorn*	Does anyone have an update? 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 and family*	TDB is home! He is doing great! All the doctors and nurses are thrilled and amazed at his progress. (One doc said TDB will be their new poster boy.) He's still got a ways to go in his recovery, but being home is helping a lot. CC has appointed herself his personal home health nurse. I am VERY proud of her. Thank you, everyone, for your prayers and well wishes. I saved every email and message to show to him when he came home. He's not made it through all of them yet, but he is so very overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and care. CC's Aunt Valerie (Dot's brother's—aka Uncle Santa—wife) knee replacement went wonderfully. They sent her home a day early because she was doing so well. Her grandchildren have all been busy playing nursemaid.

	*Marilyn Crabb*	UPDATE: Hi! I survived six months of chemotherapy. I'll have my breast tumor and left axillary nodes removed on Friday, Feb. 13. Radiation will be next. Please pray that the surgeon does a good job and all my cancer is removed! My screen name was/is MarilynLA on UStream. (Marilyn from Los Angeles)

	*Littleguys*	UPDATE: Littleguys', aka Carlynne's, recovery has gone well. She sends her apologies for missing VacaChat but Ustream won't allow her to chat...or even see chat. She gets to post in MollyMovieNight on Fridays in Ustream, but that uses the Social Stream part of Ustream. And occasionally she posts in the Social Stream part of VacaChat, just to say hi. So we may not see her, but she does think of us.

	*Caboval*	Joey has gone to the Rainbow Bridge. Please keep Caboval in your prayers.

	*Elsalynda*	Keep Elsalynda in your prayers as she struggles with health, computer and weather related issues.

	*GentleDoe*	We received this from GentleDoe last week. (We're waiting for an update.) VacaFamily, My mother was kidnapped by a cousin and taken to my sister approximately 10 days ago. Last Sunday I called for a welfare check and was told both my parents were on their way to the hospital. Dad had within the past week of my welfare check had a series of mini strokes and had not received care. My mother had fallen and hit the back of her head. On Wednesday morning I was contacted by my SC lawyer and informed both my parents were under DSS protection. An emergency hearing was held that afternoon and both my parents are still in the hospital until a decision is made. I understand DSS has my sister cited for neglect at this time but will know more once I speak with my lawyer tomorrow. I am flying back to Columbia this evening so that I can be there for the hearing scheduled for Tuesday, May 19th at 11 or 11:30 am my sister has for guardian/conservatorship for my mother and charging me with stealing money. Please keep me in prayer, my family and the court. I have asked my lawyer to file for guardian/conservatorship for BOTH parents on my behalf. I do not want my parents to be "put" in a state home with no one to visit or be there for them. I love my parents dearly and want them to be as happy as they can be and hopefully where they want to spend the rest of their lives. I want to be with them and for them to know that I love them and will always be there for them. Thank you and my VacaFamily for the prayers for me and this situation. Hugs, GentleDoe

	Shari in Memphis	Has anyone gotten any updates from Shari?
	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.

	A Message from Zorro		StoryTime News		StoryTime Archives
							Recipe of the Week


	*Next StoryTime*	Sunday, June 7 3:00 PM PST/6:00 PM EST

	*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.
	*Invitation*

Southwest Florida Eagles

Laziest

Even Lazier

Lazier

Lazy

Surprise!!!

Interception!

	Hello Vriends,
	Happy Memorial Weekend to all! In keeping with the true spirit of the nature of this holiday, my sister and cousin have been having an online discussion about my Uncle Alonzo, who was killed in the fighting on the Alaskan island of Attu during WW2. I have been learning some things I had not known before. Apparently he was hit by a Japanese sniper as he was trying to give assistance to a machine gunner. They bought time for his platoon to get to a more defensible position. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions. He died on May 13, 1943, and I honor him. Yesterday I turned some of the very last screws on the vapor chamber. I now need to hook the motor up and hope it works! Progress has been slow with this build, as I'm only able to give it a few minutes a day, what with my schedule and all. I just hope it works like I've been imagining it to! So many strange bits of design, what with magnetic gears, panes of glass, explosive fumes. My biggest fear is that I'll get it all put together and it won't work at all. At least Zorro will have gained a new apartment! By the way, I conducted my explosion test last week. I had been concerned about these acetone fumes being very explosive when mixed with air, but I had no idea how explosive. I didn't know if we were talking about a pop, a phumpff, or a detonation that would blow half the side of the house off. So I made a cardboard mock-up of the air chamber, and rigged a spark maker (detonator) to it. I hit the switch, and nothing happened. I then took a sparkler (left over from last year's July 4th) and stuck it on the box and lit it. No explosion. The cardboard box even caught fire, but the acetone remained unfazed. So I don't know if the danger has been overstated, or I just didn't reach the right conditions with the fuel/air mixture. I basically abandoned my test and I'm pressing on with the build. If it blows, it blows. Last Sunday I spent at the Maker Faire in San Mateo. That was fun, humbling, inspiring, tiring, frustrating, and overall--just fun. (I say humbling because I saw so many amazing creations--huge things, complex things...and here I am needing six weeks to make a dumb box with a few pieces of glass and a fan. It left me thinking I was kind of a "Maker-Lite") I met some of the folks who work at XYZprinting (the folks whose printers I keep winning the use of). I saw a demo of their UV printer. This is a new technology for 3D printing that has objects rising out of a pool of liquid--much like the liquid metal robot in the second Terminator movie. It's pretty amazing to see it in action! The print quality is such that you won't even need to use acetone vapors. That has been another fear of mine--that I was taking so long to get the chamber done that the technology was going to pass me by and it would be obsolete straight out of the gate! So I saw lots of robots, drones, 3D printers, Steampunk, vehicles...it was a very cool day. Well, I have a bunch of work to do today, plus I am hoping to get that motor hooked up so that I can see if my vapor chamber works at all. Have a great week, everyone!
	Cheers, VacaDude

	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!
	http://vacadude.wordpress.com/

	Hello there, Everbuddy!
	Zorro the Mouse here. I am so excited--we have been making a lot of stuff in the last few days. First off, my apartment is nearly finished! I have been looking around for decorating ideas, and I have some curtains picked out--this is going to be so much fun! I keep trying to get the Dude's credit card and head down to IKEA to see what they have in the way of mousie furniture. I think whatever I get, it will need to be pretty small! Then yesterday the Dude printed me a football helmet. It was kind of interesting--the helmet part came together quite easily. However, the wire face-guard thingie turned out to be a challenge. I guess because it had all these surfaces at strange angles--the Dude had to make about three tries at it before a print emerged. And even then, it needs some fixing after the print. But I appreciate the effort. A face-guard is very important to a star like me! I have a very pretty face (at least Zorrina thinks so), so it needs protection from all those big linebackers and such. Well, time to go measure the curtain rods in the apartment. The Dude is installing the motor for the air conditioning--this thing is going to be SWEET!! Have a great week, y'all!
	Yours Most Whiskerly, Zorro

	Carrot Dill Soup

	Ingredients
	2 pounds carrots, sliced (about 5 cups) 1 large onion, chopped (1 cup) ¼ cup butter 2 49-ounce cans reduced-sodium chicken broth 1 cup uncooked long grain white rice ¼ cup snipped fresh dill or sliced green onions Salt and pepper

	Directions
	In a 6 to 8-quart Dutch oven cook carrots and onion in hot butter until onions are tender. Add broth and rice. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 45 minutes. Cool slightly. Transfer one-third of the soup at a time to a blender. Cover and blend until smooth. Stir in dill. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately or cool for 30 minutes. Garnish with sour cream and chives, if desired. To freeze, transfer cooled soup into three 1½-2-quart (6 to 8 cup) freezer containers. Seal, label, and freeze up to 2 months. To reheat frozen soup, transfer soup to a large saucepan. Cook, covered, over medium-low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until heated through, stirring occasionally. Makes 12 servings ( or three 4-serving portions). To make removing frozen soup from container easier, dip bottom of container in hot water.


	Corn Tomato Salad

	Ingredients:
	6 ears corn, husked and cleaned 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced ½ red onion, diced 2 cups red or orange grape tomatoes, halved 1 bunch scallions (white and green), thinly sliced 8 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into small cubes 1 cup fresh parsley, chopped ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil ⅓ cup lemon juice (or lime or a combination of both) 1 tablespoon minced garlic ground black pepper to taste

	Ingredients:
	Place the corn in a large pot with enough water to cover, and bring to a boil. Cook 5 minutes, until kernels are tender but crisp. Drain, cool slightly, and use a knife to scrape kernels from the cobs. In a large bowl, mix the corn kernels, red bell pepper, onion, tomatoes, scallions, mozzarella and parsley. In a separate bowl whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and pepper. Pour over vegetables. Chill 15 minutes before serving.

	Owl Cams				Other Nature Cams		Video Picks of the Week		Inspiration
			Other Bird Cams

Barn Owls
	Nicassio Owl Box Salt and Pepper	http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nicasio-owl

	HOP - MAGC Barn Owls	http://www.ustream.tv/channel/magc-owls

	Owlceanside Mel and Sydney	http://www.ustream.tv/channel/owlceanside

	Felix Neck Owl Cam Martha’s Vineyard	http://www.ustream.tv/channel/felix-neck-owl-cam

	The Owl Cam	http://www.ustream.tv/owlchannel

	Barn Owls in Minden, Nevada	http://www.ustream.tv/channel/barn-owls-in-minden-nevada

	Port of Stockton Barn Owl Cams	http://www.portofstockton.com/owl-cams

	Hosted by Cornell Lab of Ornithology Located in Texas	http://cams.allaboutbirds.org/channel/42/Barn_Owls/ First Owlet hatching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MimLJZYHkXY&feature=youtu.be

Other Owls


	OwlGuy Lake Okeechobee, Florida		OwlGuy is now broadcasting again as Mrs. Barred Owl laid her first egg of the season on January 18. http://www.ustream.tv/channel/owlguy

	Savannah Bird Cam @ The Landings		http://landingsbirdcam.com/ https://www.facebook.com/LandingsBirdCam?fref=nf

	Athena Eastern Screech Owl Houston, Texas		http://www.ustream.tv/channel/mark-s-owl-cam http://www.facebook.com/groups/AthenaOwlcamFollowers/

	The Caring Owl in South Africa	http://www.thecaringowl.co.za/

	PPO (Potted Plant Owl) in South Africa	https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pot-Plant-Owl/148721154229

	Alessondra’s Owl Cam in Oklahoma City	http://ustream.tv/okcowlcam Three owlets: Java, Malaya and Caspian have all fledged. Old style chat link: http://www.ustream.tv/channel-room/10626225

	Rusty and Iris in Houston, Minnesota	http://www.internationalowlcenter.org/ourowls/rustyandiris/livecams

	Burrowing Owls Tri-Cities, Washington	http://wdfw.wa.gov/wildwatch/owlcam/video_burrowing2.html

	Project Snow Storm	http://www.projectsnowstorm.org/

Puffins
	Shetland Islands Puffins	http://www.shetland.org/puffincam/

	Sea Island, Maine Puffin Burrow	http://explore.org/live-cams/player/puffin-burrow-cam

	Sea Island, Maine Puffin Loafing Ledge	http://explore.org/live-cams/player/puffin-loafing-ledge-cam These pages also contain links to numerous other nature cams.

Eagles
	Southwest Florida Eagles	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi6DdvVbbi8

	Black Eagle South Africa	http://www.africam.com/wildlife/black_eagle_webcam

	Decorah Eagles Decorah, Iowa	http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles

	Berry College Eagle Cam Mt. Berry, Georgia	http://www.ustream.tv/channel/berry-eagle-cam

		http://www.pixcontroller.com/eagles/index.htm

Peregrine Falcons
	PA Falcon Cam Harrisburg, Pennsylvania	http://www.pacast.com/players/falcon.asp

	Commerce Tower Peregrines Kansas City, Missouri	http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/wildlife-cameras/peregrine-falcon-web-camera Cam not live now but should be returning soon.

	Pitt Peregrine Falcon Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	http://www.aviary.org/PF-NestCam1

	Gulf Tower Peregrine Falcon Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	http://www.aviary.org/PF-NestCam2

	Emily Falcon Cam Caloundra, Australia	http://www.ustream.tv/channel/emily-falcon-cam

	RFalconCam Rochester, New York	http://rfalconcam.com/rfc-main/

Talking Birds
	Watch the Birdie Bibi, the African Gray	http://www.ustream.tv/channel/Watch-the-Birdie

	Disco Talking Parakeet	https://www.youtube.com/user/MsJumpinJude/videos

Other Birds
	California Condor San Diego Zoo Safari Park San Diego, California	http://zoo.sandiegozoo.org/cams/condor-cam

	KC Zoo Penguin Cam Kansas City, MO	http://www.kansascityzoo.org/penguincam

	Whidbey Island Back Porch Whidbey Island, WA Rufous hummingbirds and other assorted birds	http://www.ustream.tv/channel/katersch

	Hellgate Ospreys Missoula, Montana Sponsored by Cornell	http://cams.allaboutbirds.org/channel/27/Hellgate_Ospreys/

	Ostrich Chicks (Live Again! New Chicks!)		http://www.ustream.tv/channel/ostrich-egg-cam-live

	Streaming Bird Cams List of many cams	http://www.beakspeak.com/

Pandas
	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/

	Twin Pandas at Zoo Atlanta	http://www.zooatlanta.org/1212/panda_cam#ff_s=aDIEl

	Giant Panda Cam National Zoo Washington, DC	http://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/webcams/giant-panda.cfm

Bears
	Kansas City Polar Bears Nikita and Berlin	http://www.kctv5.com/category/244581/nikita-berlin-polar-bear-cam

	Brown Bears and Salmon Katmai National Park Alaska (off season- will return)	http://explore.org/#!/live-cams/player/brown-bear-salmon-cam-brooks-falls (lots of other cams at this site, as well)

	Black Bears Ely, Minnesota	http://www.bear.org/website/live-cameras/live-cameras/holly-bears-den-cam-live.html

Other Animal and Nature Sites
	Golden Paw-Prints Classic Golden Retrievers Oshkosh, Wisconsin		http://www.ustream.tv/channel/golden-retriever-puppy-cam We've got NINE beautiful puppies!

	San Diego Zoo and Safari Park	http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/

	Wild Earth Safari Cam		http://www.ustream.tv/channel/wildearth-safaris

	The Pet Collective (many live cams)	http://www.thepetcollective.tv/livestreams/

	Critter Chat Cams Multi-Critter Site with Chat	http://critterchatcams.org/

	Friends of Felines Rescue Center Defiance, Ohio	www.ustream.tv/ffrc

	Little House Prairie Village, Kansas	http://www.tomnliz.com/Livecam/

	CC's Page of Links (scheduled for updating)	http://chatterchopz.com/links/camslinks.htm

Other Sites of Interest

This Bird Song Collection Will Get You In Tune With Nature
http://www.ba-bamail.com/content.aspx?emailid=15112

Help in Identifying Birds
Try www.whatbird.com It's helps identify lots of birds.

Secrets of the Snowy Owl
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

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/

			Fun Animations and Pictures		Photos of the Week				Zorro's Word of the Week
	Just for the Fun of It						Kyle's Jokes of the Week

	Kyle's well known among his friends for his "triple groaner" riddles and jokes. Now he shares them with VacaFamily. Enjoy!


	A pirate walks into a bar with a paper towel in his hat. The bartender says, "Hey pirate, what's with the paper towel?" The pirate replied "Arrr, I got a bounty on me head!"

	What Disney movie is about a stupid boyfriend? Dumb Beau

	In 1931 the first human cannonball was hired by the Circus. He was fired, then they hired someone of higher caliber.

	Two policemen spot a car driven by a man in a convict's outfit. They pull him over and make an arrest. At the station, however, the cops discover that he is a distinguished court official on his way to a costume ball. Moral: Never book a judge by his cover.

	Having recently moved to Virginia, my wife and I were busy exploring new places. A highlight of our visit to Tangier Island, famous for its blue crabs, was an all-you-can-eat lunch. I quickly devoured two delicious crab cakes and asked the server for more. She asked me if I’d eaten the two she’d given me. When I nodded yes, she said, "Well, that’s all you can eat!"