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Chance Encounter MailTribune.com
Marilyn Patterson has entered the Oregon Outdoors Wild Bird Photo Contest twice. Last year she took second place for a photo of a Laysan albatross chick shot on Sand Island in Midway Atoll. This year she won the whole thing, wowing judges with her ethereal photo of a reclusive long-eared owl taken in the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Northern California.
Not bad for a retired special education teacher from Medford who didn't know what kind of owl she was shooting until she and her companions dug out the bird guides they'd brought and looked it up,No. 2 Michigan remains unbeaten MailTribune.com.
"We didn't even realize it was a hard bird to find until we came back and talked to people, and they were surprised we got a photo of one," said Patterson, 64.
She, her husband, Bill, and some friends had made the trip to Humboldt County last March to see the redwoods and explore Eureka, Arcata and some of the wildlife areas that border Humboldt Bay.
"When we take a trip, I haul out my camera and do quite a bit with it," says Patterson, a volunteer at the Family Nurturing Center who has recently taken some writing courses at Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. "It goes in spurts. There are other things I like to do to, so it goes in cycles."
Patterson's winning shot was one of 327 photos entered in this year's contest, the 13th annual.
The second-place photo, taken at Cedar Links Golf Club by Howard Hunt of Medford, showed that even an ordinary bird can be the subject of an extraordinary photo. Hunt's close-up of a European starling — a bird that is despised by many birders — was noteworthy for its crispness and multitude of colors.
Third place went to Tom Dew of Medford for a photo of a whimbrel taken on a beach in Southern California.
Fourth place went to Evan Cain of Astoria for a photo of a buff-breasted sandpiper taken in Seaside.
Fifth place was earned by Andrea Boyle of Medford for a photo of a killdeer taken in her friend's yard in Sams Valley.
Patterson took her winning photo with a Nikon D-300 camera equipped with a Nikon 70-200 mm lens, a gift from her husband.
"I casually mentioned that I'd like to experiment with digital photography,Mailtribune.com - Phoenix, and he got me this semi-professional camera," said Patterson, a mother of two grown children who describes herself as "strictly an amateur" photographer.
Because the new digital was more complicated than the 35mm film camera she was used to, she took classes in digital photography at Rogue Community College before going on a birding expedition to the Galapagos Islands a few years ago.
"It was so sophisticated it took me two years to become friendly with my camera," she said.
Several thousand photographs later, she's no longer intimidated by her camera, but she is a bit overwhelmed her growing collection of photos.
"I have an awful lot of pictures in my computer," she said. "But I don't really know what to do with them."
Reach Mail Tribune Features Editor David Smigelski at 541-776-8784 or .
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Chicago PMI June 28 2013
<html>YouTube Chicago PMI ticked 51.6.
Consensus was for 55.0.
It's the largest monthly drop in over four years.
May was 58.7.
"The gyrations seen over the past few months are not typical for the Barometer and some of this might be attributable to the unseasonable weather conditions,nike football t shirts,"
Here's the comment from Philip Uglow, chief economist at MNI indicators:
Activity dropped back in June following the large rise in May. The trend level of the Barometer has picked up since the fourth quarter of 2012, and while these latest data point to some weakening between the first and second quarter, it is too early to say if this will continue.
April had hit 49.0,Dallas Mavericks T Shirts, indicating contraction.
Another sign that volatility has returned.
The Chicago Business BarometerTM declined to 51.6 in June, the largest monthly dropsince October 2008, and down from a 14-month high of 58.7 in May. The gyrations seen over the past few months are not typical for the Barometer and some of this might be attributable to the unseasonable weather conditions.
Of the five Business Activity measures which make up the Barometer, four declinedwith only the Employment indicator posting an increase. Order Backlogs plunged deep into contraction to the lowest level since September 2009 and was the single biggest drag on Barometer. Faster Supplier Delivery times and declines in Production and New Orders also contributed to the Barometer s weakness.
Prices Paid posted the second consecutive monthly increase, following a lull in April,NBA All Star T Shirts, putting it back in line with levels seen at the start of the year.
Commenting on the MNI Chicago Report, Philip Uglow, Chief Economist at MNI Indicators said:
Activity dropped back in June following the large rise in May. The trend level of the Barometer has picked up since the fourth quarter of 2012,UN Prolongs Peacekeeper Mandate in Golan Heights 0, and while these latest data point to some weakening between the first andsecond quarter, it is too early to say if this will continue.
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These People Are Insane- Using Diesel Generators To Beat Cli
<html>Just when you think that the world has had enough nonsense about climate change up comes an idea even more absurd. People and companies in the UK are now being urged to start using diesel generators,nike football t shirts, a horribly inefficient method of electricity generation, in order to beat climate change. Seriously, where do they get the people who come up ?
NHS hospitals are being asked to cut their power demand from the as part of a government attempt to stave off power blackouts,Wholesale Los Angeles Lakers t shirts, which the energy watchdog Ofgem warns could arrive as early as 2015. According to one energy company, four hospitals have already signed up to a deal under which they will reduce demand at peak times by using diesel-fired generators.
The background problem is reasonably simple. As we add more and more renewables to the grid that grid itself becomes more unreliable. For the supply of electricity by most renewables is in itself unreliable. The wind doesn’t always blow and the Sun doesn’t always shine (well, actually,Wholesale Miami Heat t shirts, it does,Appreciating The Heroes Who Help Us Succeed 3, but clouds can get in the way).
Further, we don’t actually need there to be blackouts for this to cause problems: just minor variations in voltage being supplied can cause problems for more delicate equipment. Like much of that used in hospitals for example and also, unfortunately, much of that used in large industry. Indeed, we’re seeing this problem in Germany currently (both in the news and from my own personal experience). Companies are installing their own, local, generating capacity as the fluctuations on the grid make it too expensive to rely upon it. Machinery is indeed being damaged by fluctuations in the power available.
And of course they’re not installing renewables to do this: if renewables were reliable enough then there wouldn’t be the basic problem in the first place. So they’re installing diesel generators: which, in terms of their carbon emissions, are vastly more polluting than the coal fired power stations we’re all being told we cannot use any more.
Which leads us to the awful possibility that by increasing the use of renewables we’re actually increasing emissions, not reducing them. Which really isn’t the point at all, is it?
What really gets me though is that this installation of inefficient plant, these diesel generators, is being proposed as a sensible solution to our climate change problems. When in fact, it’s highly likely that these installations will make the problem worse.</html>
Ecuador President Spoke to US Vice President Over Snowden 0
<html>MOSCOW, June 29 (RIA Novosti) Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa said Saturday that he has spoken with US Vice President Joe Biden amid calls from the United States to reject fugitive intelligence leaker s asylum request.
President Correa reported that he had a very cordial telephone conversation with US Vice President Joseph Biden,Dallas Mavericks T Shirts, the president s administration tweeted on Saturday.
The conversation followed days of traded remarks from US and Ecuadorian officials over former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden's request for asylum in Ecuador.
The AFP reported from Ecuador citing the president that Biden "passed on a polite request from the United States to reject the request" adding that the conversation took place on Friday. It didn t elaborate on what was the answer of Correa,Why It Doesn't Make Sense For Microsoft To Make Its Own Phon,New york Yankees t shirts, an outspoken critic of the US.
Snowden,Los Angeles Lakers t shirts, whose US passport has been revoked, is wanted by Washington on espionage and theft charges following his leak of details of US state surveillance programs to the media earlier this month.
Authorities of Ecuador said earlier this week that they are still evaluating Snowden's asylum petition. Correa said there will be no decision made on Snowden's request unless he is on Ecuadorean territory.
? RIA Novosti. Hunting Down Edward J. Snowden
He is believed to have remained in the transit zone of Moscow s Sheremetyevo airport ever since .
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Publication code:Preview:22:39?29/06/2013?Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa said Saturday that he has spoken with US Vice President Joe Biden amid calls from the United States to reject fugitive intelligence leaker��s asylum request.
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<html>MOSCOW, June 30 (RIA Novosti) - The Moscow police department said late on Saturday it had seized election leaflets of Russian anti-corruption activist and Moscow mayor candidate Alexei Navalny,http://www.david-laserscanner.jp/wiki/index.php?title=%E5%88%A9%E7%94%A8%E8%80%85:MichaelBanksxx2#Russia_Beat_Spain_in_RWC7s_Bowl_Quarters_0, who secured an official nomination for Moscow s upcoming mayoral race
Under the law on Moscow mayor s elections, candidates are allowed to start their campaign no earlier than 40 days before the elections,Andrew Luck t shirts, so members of [Navalny s] campaign headquarters acted in breach of the current legislation, a spokesman for the Moscow police department said.
The snap Moscow mayor elections are set for September 8.
A sanctioned rally in support of Navalny was held in Moscow s Trubnaya Square on Saturday afternoon. According to the Moscow police department, members of Navalny s election team distributed agitprop products in support of Navalny.
A representative of the Moscow Electoral Commission, who arrived [to the area], confirmed that actions of Navalny s campaign headquarters were illegal, the police spokesman said. In accordance with the law,New York Knicks T Shirts, those printed products were seized.
Navalny did not return an email request for comment in time for publication, possibly due to late time in Moscow.
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Publication code:Preview:04:06?30/06/2013?The Moscow police department said late on Saturday it had seized election leaflets of Russian anti-corruption activist and Moscow mayor candidate Alexei Navalny,Wholesale New york Yankees t shirts, who secured an official nomination for Moscow��s upcoming mayoral race earlier this month.
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Edward Snowden’s fate remains in limbo — MSNBC
<html>Photos of Edward Snowden, a contractor at the National Security Agency (NSA), and U.S. President Barack Obama are printed on the front pages of local English and Chinese newspapers in Hong Kong in this illustration photo June 11, 2013. (REUTERS/Bobby Yip) Most frequent travelers tend to rush through airports, but Edward Snowden is a man without a plan as he waits for geopolitical forces to decide his fate—the former National Security Agency contractor?is believed to have spent the past week in the international transit zone of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport.
Snowden, who was , has been on the run after being holed up in Hong Kong for blowing the lid on the United States surveillance secrets. The 30-year-old American flew to Moscow last Sunday,Most Influential Ad Execs On Twitter, and was supposed to seek ?by way of Cuba the following day, but he never made his flight.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said Snowden would??back to the U.S. and that the airport s transit zone is technically not Russian territory. But such claims of an airport no-man s land are more than disingenuous, says?Washington Post reporter Greg Miller.
What s unclear is the extent to which Snowden is in position to dictate his own fate—to what extent he can control the outcome here, Miller told MSNBC host Richard Lui Saturday.
Snowden’s father,wholesale Miami Heat T Shirts, , wrote a letter to the Department of Justice pleading and negotiating for his son’s return. In the letter Lonnie asked that his son not be held in jail before trial, not have a gag order, and be given the right to choose the location of his trial. But according to?former?Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs PJ Crowley, the chances that the U.S. government would follow through on those requests are slim.
Snowden at one point had his own options, but now I think they re narrowing, Crowley said. He is sitting at the airport in Russia at the behest of others who will make choices for him.
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