A little of everything...

Unalaska Island... and new blog

2012-04-15T23:17:00.003-07:00

Hello back!
After some days thinking about it, I decided to create a new blog, about differents parts of the world.
My objective will be to show differents parts of the whole world in 80 posts.
And so, I decided to start in Unalaska Island, Alaska.

If you want to visit my new blog, you can do it HERE
Anyway, I'll post the first of the posts here so you can read it and, if you are interested in it, follow my other blog so you can join my in this cyber-travel.

Unalaska is located in Alaska’s southwest region, and because of that it's only accessible by air and by sea.

Unalaska is the second-largest island in the Fox Islands group and the Aleutian Islands. It's coastline is markedly different in appearance than other major Aleutian Islands, with innumerable inlets and peninsulas.

The irregular coastline is broken by three long deep bays, Beaver Inlet, Unalaska Bay, and Makushin Bay, as well as by numerous smaller bays and coves. Unalaska's terrain is rugged and covered with mountains, and during the greater part of the year the higher elevations are covered with snow.

The ice-covered Makushin Volcano is located on the island. With an elevation of 2,036 metres, it's summit is the highest point on the island.

Historically, Makushin is one of the most active volcanoes in the Aleutian Islands, erupting at least two dozen times over the past several thousands years, the last in 1995.

Seventeen explosions or eruptions of the Makushin Volcano have been recorded since 1786, though the magnitude has been termed as “small-to-moderate”.

The closest town to the Volcano is the Unalaska town which is located 1,280 kilometers from Anchorage on the Aleutian Archipelago at the northern end of the Island.

The population was 4,283 at the 2000 census. Almost all of the community's port facilities are on Amaknak Island, better known as Dutch Harbor or just "Dutch". It is the largest fisheries port in the U.S. by volume caught.

The port of Dutch Harbor is the main port and field base for the storied Bering Sea king crab fishery. The Dutch Harbor crabbing fleet is featured in the television show Deadliest Catch, the documentary style show on the Discovery Channel, and Dutch Harbor's facilities and local pub are featured prominently in numerous episodes.

Following the rains and warming at the end of winter, the tundra of Unalaska quickly turns a deep emerald green. By mid-summer, a hiker off-trail may find himself waist deep in a glorious profusion of wildflowers, or resting happily on a springy "bed" more than a foot deep.

At higher elevations, the visitor can find several species of lousewort, harebells, Chutchi primrose, and Ross avens.

Brother (Piano and Violin)

2012-04-07T12:57:00.000-07:00

Today I'm going to take a rest of posting desert locations (though I still have some more in mind to post in a few days).
Anyway, today I wanted to share with all of you a video i found in Youtube.

The song is part of the soundtrack of the anime Fullmetal Alchemist (2003 series), and this track was one of the few things i missed in the 2009 remake.

Too bad I'll never play any instrument like them. Both are really skilled, as I'm sure it wasn't an easy task.

Desert Islands - Part 2

2012-04-02T15:28:00.003-07:00

Hello everyone again!
I apologize for the delay in publishing this entry, but I had been really busy.
But now I have some spare time, and I decided to bring you the continuation of the previous post.
Remember to leave your comment!

Skellig Michael

Skellig Michael (Michael's rock in Irish), also known as Great Skellig, is a steep rocky island in the Atlantic Ocean, near the coast of Ireland.

After probably being founded in the 7th century, for 600 years the island was a centre of monastic life for Irish Christian monks. The Gaelic monastery, which is situated almost at the summit of the 230-metre-high rock became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.

Since the extreme remoteness of Skellig Michael has until recently discouraged visitors, the site is exceptionally well preserved. The very spartan conditions inside the monastery illustrate the ascetic lifestyle practiced by early Irish Christians.

Along with its smaller neighbor, Little Skellig, Great Skellig is an important nature reserve. Between them the Skelligs hold nationally important populations of a number of seabirds.

Each year 13 boat licenses are granted to tour operators who each run a single trip to Skellig Michael each day during the summer season (April to October, inclusive), weather permitting. For safety reasons, because the steps up to the monastery are rock, steep, and old, climbs are not permitted during very wet or windy weather. There are also dive sites immediately around the rock.

Tetepare Island

Tetepare Island is the largest uninhabited island in the South Pacific, located in the Solomon Islands.

The island has been recognized for its conservation significance and archaeological values. A total of 73 bird species, 24 reptile, four frog and 13 mammal species have been recorded on Tetepare including rare and endemic bird and bat species. Scientists are still discovering new species on Tetepare. In recent years, researchers discovered three new species of fish, one new fish genera and one potential new fish family in Tetepare's freshwater rivers.

The island supports a population of wild pigs, which are an important food resource for people from neighboring Rendova Island, particularly during feasts. Local hunters help to regulate the pig population through frequent hunting trips to the island.

Land "ownership" among the Tetepare people was of a customary caretaker nature. Their descendants are still recognized as the traditional landowners or overseers of Tetepare Island, and the island continues to be a place of spiritual and traditional significance in the region.

Desert Islands - Part 1

2012-03-21T12:05:00.001-07:00

Tired of the life in the city and the office hours?
Would you like to escape to a desert island far away from your boss and social commitments?
Well, here I'll show you some of the most beautiful inhabited islands in the world... just in case you are actually thing about it.

Chacachacare

Chacachacare is an abandoned island in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The island was spotted by Christopher Columbus on his third New World voyage on 12 August 1498, and his fleet spent the night anchored in Monkey Harbour.

He named the island 'Port of Cats' because many wildcats lived on the island. The island later became a nuns quarters and a leper colony.

In 1942, 1,000 U.S. Marines were stationed on Chacachacare and built barracks on the island. The island was abandoned by the 1980s when the nuns left their quarters and when the last leper that was on the island died in 1984. The colony had been abandoned since.

Rawaki

Rawaki, or Phoenix Island, covers 65 hectares in area. Its lagoon is shallow and salty, with no connection to the ocean.

It does, however, have several freshwater pools, the only known freshwater wetlands in the Phoenix Islands. Treeless, Rawaki is covered with herbs and grasses, and provides another important landing site for migratory seabirds.

Worked for guano from 1859 to 1871, Rawaki was abandoned and no human use seems to have been made of it thereafter.

Hasard Cheratte

2012-03-15T19:02:00.002-07:00

This time, I wanted to share some pictures with you. In this case, the entry will be about Hassard Cheratte, an old coal mine in a little town near Liege, Belgium.

The mine has been there since 1860, and was one of many build to extract the plenty of coal reserves there. The main building is composed of a gothic castle which looks like a winding tower with bathrooms and other facilities.

It was abandoned in 1977. If you just look the outside, it's not clear if it's an industrial complex or an ancient castle, however, when you get inside, you can see the rusty mine machines, footbridges and stairs.

If you get to the top of the tower, you'll have a panoramic view of Charette and the rest of the complex, as of the machines for heavy mining.

Lamentably, most of the other buildings are empty, with some exceptions. However, the rest of the place still offers an interesting architecture and an opportunity for great photos.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this entry, and if you have anything to say, feel free to leave a comment!

About music and me...

2012-03-09T15:25:00.000-08:00

As for the fist entry, I wanted to talk about something we all like in different degrees: music.

The truth is: I am awful at playing instruments. I have had two in my life, and I sucked at both.

I remember a trip to the Argentinian Patagonia when I was 6 years old, and my mother bought me something like an ukelele (it wasn´t one exactly, but I don't remember its name). Then, some years later, I had a flute for the music class at school. As I said before, I wasn´t good for any them.

And that's all my experience with musical instruments. Since then, I haven't played any instrument, be it guitar, drums or whatever.

But then, when I was 14 or 15, I got interested in violin and piano. I never had one, nor I played them, but the melodious sound they had couldn't be explained. And so I grew up, listening to Erik Satie and André Rieu among others.

So... why am I telling you this? Well, so you know a little more about me, and also to introduce you to a video that a friend found in youtube and it's wothy sharing it.

The theme is Epic Violin Girl, performed by Lindsey Stirling. For those who don't know her, she is an 25 years old American violinist, who became famous on the TV show America's Got Talent, with her combination of violin and electronic music.
And right that, is what caught my attention. I mean, the violin has been among us for centuries, but with new technologies and styles, it's possible to get new and differents effects when playing it.
Back on subject, I think she achieves a great combination between the characteristic style of the violin, and the energy of the electronic music.
In my opinion, it's a video to see once and again and again. If you like it, I recommend that you see her other videos.
Well, I don't want to bore you anymore with my talk, so here it is, and I hope you enjoy it:

Introduction

2012-03-08T21:34:00.000-08:00

Hello, and welcome to this blog of mine.
I'm new to this, and English isn't mi native language, so I hope you bear with any mistakes I do, and feel free to correct me.
I'm sure this won't be the best blog you have seen, but I just want to share things I find interesting (and hopefully you too) such as computing, history, music and more.
Well, with nothing else to say, soon I will make my first entry (not counting this one) and I hope you like it.
See you soon!