Shemya, The Black Pearl Of Th North Pacific

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Shemya Island, is also referred to as the Black Pearl of the North Pacific Ocean, because of it’s black sandy beaches. This is a result of millions of years of volcanic activity. Shemya is located at the far western edge of the aleutian chain of islands and is part of what is known as the ring of fire. An area of active seismic/volcanic area that stretches from South America northward to California into Alaska and along the Pacific Rim of asia. My time spent on this tiny 2 miles by 4 miles was a weatherman’s dream. The daily climate was harsh with few exceptions. Annual temperatures are moderate for that far north of a latitude. Winter storms were violent, frequently accompanied by gale to hurricane force winds. It was difficult to measure snow because high winds would constantly blow it horizontally.

Late spring to early fall was a constant pea soup fog. And the sun was a rarity. On a few clear winter nights, we were treated to the Aurora Borealis. If your interested in reading on, below you will find more information on this tiny little island called SHEMYA. Historical temperatures as well as climate data can be found Climatic Data Center.

The following excerpt is a historical account from the army air corp during world war 2. The Alaskan Air Force was activated on Elmendorf Field 15 January 1942 to manage the buildup of the Army Air Forces in Alaska. It was redesignated the Eleventh Air Force on 5 February 1942.

Following the Japanese bombing of Dutch Harbor in the eastern Aleutian Islands and the occupation of Attu and Kiska in the western Aleutians in early June 1942, the Eleventh Air Force launched an air offensive against the Japanese on the two islands.

Missions were flown initially from Cape Field on Umnak Island in the eastern Aleutians and later from fields built on Adak and Amchitka. Headquarters Eleventh Air Force was moved to Davis Field, Adak in early 1943. Attu was retaken in May 1943, and the Japanese withdrew their garrison from Kiska in late July.

The Aleutian Campaign ended with the reoccupation of Kiska on 15 August 1943. Primarily an air war, it was the only World War II campaign fought on North American soil. The Eleventh Air Force flew 297 missions and dropped 3,662.00 tons of bombs. One hundred and fourteen men were killed in action, another forty-two were reported missing in action and forty-six died as a result of accidents.

Thirty-five aircraft were lost to combat and another 150 to operational accidents. It was the highest American combat-to-operational loss ratio of the war. Weather was the prime culprit, especially the Winter Climate.

The Eleventh Air Force accounted for approximately 60 Japanese aircraft, one destroyer, one submarine and seven transport ships destroyed by air operations.

Following the occupation of Kiska, the Eleventh Air Force declined from peak strength of 16,526 in August 1943 to 6,849 by the end of the war. For the remainder of the war, it flew bombing and reconnaissance missions against Japanese military installations in the northern Kurile Islands from Attu and Shemya Islands. The first land based bombing mission of the World War II against the Japanese home islands was launched from Attu on 10 July 1943.

The Eleventh Air Force was redesignated the Alaskan Air Command on 18 December 1945, and its headquarters was moved from Adak to Elmendorf AFB on 1 October 1946 to better manage Alaska’s emerging air defense system.

Alaska’s air defenses were greatly expanded during 1945-1955 period. An extensive aircraft control and warning (AC&W) system was constructed along Alaska’s coast and interior. The Alaskan segment of the DEW Line was built, and later the DEW Line was extended to the eastern Aleutian Islands.

By 1957, AAC had reached the height of its strength with over 200 fighter interceptors assigned to six squadrons. Early warning and fighter direction were provided by 18 aircraft control and warning and 12 DEW (defense early warning)Line sites tied together by the White Alice Communications System. Its assigned strength was 20,687. The forces were organized into two air divisions providing “Top Cover for America.”

The late 1950s and the 1960s saw a major reduction in AAC’s forces as Air Force air defense doctrine began changing, and emphasis shifted to a defense against a mixed threat of missile and bomber attacks. The number of fighter interceptor squadrons shrunk to one, the air divisions were inactivated, and the aircraft control and warning sites reduced to 13. The assigned strength dropped to 9,987 by 1969. The Aleutian DEW Line segment was dismantled. Emphasis shifted towards supporting other commands.

The manpower intensive, 1950s era aircraft control and warning system radars were replaced with minimum attended AN/FPS-117 minimally attended, long range radars. The system achieved its operational capability in October 1985. The outdated, semi-automated Alaskan NORAD Control Center was replaced with the fully automated Regional Operations Control Center.

Further improvements were made to the force structure with the arrival of F-15As in 1982, upgraded to “C” models during 1987-86. On 1 July 1986, the 962nd Airborne Warning and Control System Squadron was activated at Elmendorf AFB to operate two E-3 Sentry aircraft on rotational duty to Alaska. (The aircraft were later assigned to the squadron.) A second F-15C squadron was added the next year. The modern radar system, the F-15s and the E-3 resulted in a greater capability to protect the air sovereignty of North America. The number of Soviet aircraft intercepts increased dramatically from an average of ten a year during the first half of the 1980s to a record of 31 in 1987, after which the numbers began to decline dramatically following the breakup of the Soviet Union. Four Russian aircraft were intercepted in 1993.

One of the most singular events affecting AAC was the disestablishment of the Alaskan Command on 1 July 1975. The Commander, AAC assumed the additional responsibility of Commander, Joint Task Force-Alaska, a provisional joint command that could be activated in the event of an emergency, such as the Exxon Valdez oil spill in March 1989.

The Alaskan Command was reestablished on 7 July 1989, as a subordinate unified command under the U.S. Pacific Command in recognition of Alaska’s strategic importance to the defense of the Pacific.

With the activation of the Alaskan Command, the next logical step was to place its air component (AAC) under the Pacific Air Forces. On 9 August 1990, the Alaskan Air Command was redesignated the Eleventh Air Force. Finally, in keeping with Air Force Chief of Staff guidance to retain the most illustrious units, the 343rd Wing, a veteran of the Aleutian Campaign, was inactivated in August 1993. The 354th Fighter Wing was activated in its place.

The mission of the Eleventh Air Force shifted during the early 1990s from defending Alaska against the Soviet Union bomber threat to committing its forces to worldwide deployment and providing training opportunities for others.

When the Political Door Closes and the Prophetic Door Opens

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Most of the trouble in our world takes place either when civil and ecclesiastical powers marry or merge or when civil power takes it upon itself to completely stop religion. Not all religion is legitimately pointing to the Creator God so it goes without saying that this statement does not include all religions in the most general sense of the word, but only those ordained by the Creator of mankind.

Biblical faith has its various divisions which all come together to present the full will and counsel of God to a fleeting and temporary world. There is history, law, moral and spiritual guidance, poetry, the all-important gospel message and finally about one third of the Bible is prophecy.

Pre, mid and post exilic, Messianic and pre-millennial prophecies are divisions within the general prophecies of the bible.

All prophecy culminates or quite simply comes to a head at the full revelation of the part of prophecy aforementioned and well known as -pre-millennial prophecy.- As the term implies this is when all prophecy converges in a single period of time or a single generation and it is just before the promised millennial (1,000 years) rule of Christ upon the earth.

It is when Christ returns that all government on a worldwide scale – shifts hands overnight. All the nations and every aspect of world governance are placed in the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ at the blowing of the seventh trumpet of God.

-And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.- (Rev 11: 15)

Great judgments, calamities and destruction takes place prior to Christ taking full authority over the earth, but they are the long awaited retribution for the centuries of man’s rebellion. They are not hapless and uncontrolled anger coming from God – they are promised judgments against the collective sins of mankind. They are not designed or executed simply or solely to wreak havoc or produce fear.

The full disclosure of prophecy is given to remove fear not create it, in fact, the first fear eradicated is the presumption that evil will go un-punished – it is the great pay day for mankind and everyone will step up to the pay table whether they like it or not.

Prophecy also removes the fear of accidental destruction of the earth by natural or manmade forces. Here is a short list of things men fear could be the end of our world. While some of these may touch this world it is only in the most limited sense of the word – they will not result in the end of this world.

Pandemic diseases Asteroids Nuclear warfare Global warming Extraterrestrial intervention Explosions on the sun Your guess is as good as mine

Prophecy does not mince words, wickedness, mis-rule and wholesale perversion will all be severely dealt with, but the world is not consumed because God is not finished with this world. Many things are destroyed not only for judgment sake, but God has no use for the corrupted things of man. The cities (all of them) all fall together (Rev 16: 19) and there will be topographical changes across the globe, but the earth remains quite intact.

The Bible declares the future, the fate and the finish of man, but never the total destruction of the earth or of mankind. God it is said, is not the author of confusion, (1Cor 14: 33) but he is the Master of consummation, that means he brings his plan to full fruition which is the redemption of those who pass through the temporary with enough savvy to see the eternal.

This world is a battlefield not a playground (Eph 6: 12) and it is a great field of trial. It is the testing and proving ground for the souls of men and while it has its day to end, it does not end by accident – it ends only by design.

There is a marvelous lagniappe attached to all the promises of prophecy. When this earth is slated for its final day (2Pet 3: 10) all is not lost. God has no intention of leaving things suspended and beginning some indescribable fifth dimensional spiritual soup for the souls of men.

God provides a new heaven and a new earth. There will be no seas on the new earth (Rev 21: 1) and it is generally thought to be hundreds if not thousands of time larger than the present earth. There is no need for the sun, moon or stars because God himself is the light of that planet.

Finally, while there may be cities or centers of population there, only one major city will be there and it is called -The New Jerusalem.- This city expands across a distance more than one half of the United States in all directions – it is the city of the redeemed.

-Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.- (Rev 3: 12)

The politics of today will be thoroughly replaced by the monarchy of tomorrow and what a blessed day that will be.

Michael Bresciani is the publisher of American Prophet.org since 2005. The website features the articles and reports of Rev Bresciani along with some of America’s best writers and journalists, news and reviews that have earned the site the title of – The Website for Insight. Millions have read his timely reports and articles in online journals and print publications across the nation and the globe. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook

Build Your Own Eco-friendly Water Soaker Garden Irrigation System – Conserve Water

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You looked at installing a underground sprinkler system on your property. And then stopped short when you realized the thousands of dollars it would cost! How could plastic pipe and sprinkler heads cost so much? Here is a lasting inexpensive water irrigation system that is near maintenance free and will have your neighbors wondering why they never see you watering your garden and plants. You can claim yours to be an environmentally friendly garden soaker system (or water drip system), using the minimum amount of water to sustain your plants and shrubs.Get the water as close to the plant roots as possible. Using less water is important to our global environment.Communities now encourage water soaker systems instead of sprinkler systems. Water applied near the ground will mostly be absorbed into the earth where it is needed by the plant and grass roots. Water sprayed above the plants and grass lands on the leaves and flowers before dripping to the ground. This longer exposure to the air will cause much of the sprayed or sprinkled water to evaporate into the hot summer air.More than ever now communities control the watering of lawns and gardens during the summer months. Sometimes you are restricted to garden watering only – not lawns. An automatic water timer system combined with a soaker hose system makes plenty of sense in reducing the amount of water dispensed to water your garden plants and shrubs. So how can I make an effective soaker system for my garden for under $500?With some off-the-shelf components, you can have a simple but elegant soaker system that with be automatic and near maintenance free. With a simple water timer system, Y-connectors, faucet multipliers, some 1 1/2″ abs pipe, quality 1/2″ garden hose and your choice of soaker hoses or irrigation hoses for potted or hanging plants, border gardens, row gardens or (dare I say) even lawn sprinklers. You now have the elements for a simple soaker irrigation system for your garden. This do-it-yourself automatic water irrigation system will ensure you water plants at the best time every day; specifically, early morning and late afternoon. As an added home security feature, when you are away from home your garden will sustain its beauty and make it look like someone is at home.Here is the material list required for your automatic garden soaker system. (Note: there is a complete Picasa image gallery of all the required components of this inexpensive soaker system at http://picasaweb.google.com/carl.chesal/GardenIrrigationSystem ):1) Select your water timer I selected Orbit from Home Depot. Make sure it has a battery timer so power outages won’t alter your scheduled watering times. It should allow for at least 3 watering zones.2) Select your main faucet multiplier (or Valve splitter) that will attach to your outside water faucet and can accommodate the 3-4 water zones plus a spare to allow for regular garden hose watering. You can secure these special faucet multipliers from garden centers or at Lee Valley Tools. 3) Enough 1 1/2″ ABS pipe (and glue) and 22.5 degree elbows to run underground (6″ – 10″ depth). Use the 22.5 degree elbows only to allow for easy insertion of the garden hose into the ABS pipe. You can cut further costs by burying the garden hoses directly underground. The ABS piping does provide added protection from accidental puncture from aerators, pitch forks and other garden tools. This ABS pipe can also serve double duty to run low voltage wire or speaker wire to the remote areas of your garden.4) Enough quality garden hoses to run through the ABS pipe and connect to the soaker hoses in all your garden beds.5) Soaker hoses for all your garden beds.6) Enough Faucet multipliers (Valve splitters) to extend each watering zone with soaker hose as required.Creating your automatic garden soaker system involves more of a landscaping effort than anything else. Here are 3 steps to completing your eco-friendly automatic garden soaker system (Note: refer to the Picasa image gallery for details of component assembly):1) Bury the ABS pipe feeding the garden hose through it as you connect and glue the pipe sections. Bury the pipe 6″-10″ under your lawn or sidewalk. Have both ends extend out of the ground using the 22.5 degrees elbows so that the stiff hose can still be easily pulled through the pipe.2) Connect the soaker hoses to the ends of the garden hoses and weave the soaker hoses through your garden under plants and around shrubs. Follow the installation instructions of the soaker hose manufacturer.3) Install the water timer and water zone valves on the faucet multiplier. Connect the hoses for each zone. Follow the installation instructions of the water timer manufacturer. Do not set the water time for each zone more than 20 minutes each. Set two water times early morning (around 6 am) and late afternoon (around 7 pm).Maintenance of your Irrigation System and Preparation for Freezing Winter Temperatures:1) Disconnect the [zone] hoses at the main faucet where the Water Timer is located. 2) Using a Shop Wet Vac, suck the excess water from each zone hose. Use electrical tape to secure the vacuum pipe against the end of the hose. Turn on the wet vac and let it run for 10-15 minutes. Empty the water extracted before repeating this for each hose at the main faucet. You will extract enough water from the hoses so as not to incur any winter damage to your hoses from freezing water.3) Tape a plastic bag over the ends of each of the [zone] hoses. This will prevent little critters from getting in the hoses and clogging them when you reconnect the system in the spring.4) Remove the water timer and faucet multiplier. Store them in a warm place where they will not freeze.5) Note: you DO NOT need to disconnect and remove the soaker hoses. They should last 4-6 years before you need to replace them. Check the soaker hoses each spring for holes. You can patch these holes with high-friction Silicone tape. You may also leave outdoors all-year-round any valve splitters that were used to increase the soaker hoses in a particular water zone.You now have an inexpensive water soaker system that won’t break the bank. You have saved thousands of dollars and can boast of being a friend to our environment. You clearly are doing your part for water conservation and the ecology. Nice going!

The Advantages Of An Electronic Rain Gauge

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It is not just for calculating rainfall, an electronic rain gauge is much more. There’s possibly no better way to awaken your or your kids internal weather fanatic than by having one. Your portable weather station will not be complete without one, and with regards to learning it is a great tool.

Perhaps you built your own rain gauge, or helped your children make one for a school project. How accurate do you think it is. If accuracy matters to you, you probably know an electronic rain gauge will never be beaten. They are ideal devices for a school and seats of learning and education. Taking into consideration those factors, if you are looking for a rain gauge the obvious choice is an electronic rain gauge. Hands on experience of these weather evaluation tools helps build up a better understanding of exactly how weather works and various weather patterns.

As you look at more complex models you’ll find some include additional capabilities including the ability to calculate spillage. For people who want to keep a close watch on rainfall patterns and are more concerned with rainfall patterns going haywire worldwide, this is an ideal tool to start with. Perhaps your portable weather station measures the heat index and wind speed. That’s not adequate. If you don’t determine precipitation amounts you aren’t gaining all the details you need.

Here’s another interesting and yet typical use. Many people like to use weather devices as part of their home decor. It’s for those who have the trendiest hobbies as well as those interested in home decor!

It’s also beneficial in gardening information and gives an overview of the soil pattern one could anticipate at their area. Plus understanding how much it rained is critical to decide how much water you have to add, if any. This is true for a master gardener or anyone with a little vegetable garden in their backyard.

And if you don’t want to run outside on a stormy night to gather and document your data, be sure to select one with a wireless data transmission base. Wireless bases can supply live data, directly to your living area! A tracking range of hundred feet will display accurate precipitation rates along with outdoor temperatures.

A newer model electronic rain gauge has additional features such as temperature and humidity measurement sensors. Those functions will not be necessary obviously if you are presently obtaining those measurements via some other equipment.

You can buy one of many rain measurement devices on the market, and even regular tools are good. They’re just not as precise. Regular units also will not track and record your data. If you are a serious weather nut, or simply need the information to be sure your garden or yard are receiving the proper amount of water, an electronic gauge is definitely your best selection.

Growing Plants Without Soil Hydroponic Gardening

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Gardening without using soil is called hydroponic gardening. Most often water is utilized in hydroponics, consequently the name. No doubt you could find a more technical explanation of the process. But the ordinary gardener doesn’t really need more knowledge than that.

Maybe you’ve questioned how you can raise plants hydroponically with no soil. It is generally supposed that plants must have soil. It provides nutrition, physical support, energy and water. These are all necessary if you want the plant to thrive. However these elements are also available from other sources.

Water is an absolute necessity for any plant. However they don’t have to obtain it from soil. You’ll discover that many plants grow naturally in unwelcoming surroundings such as sand and gravel, or even floating on top of the water.

The energy given by the sun’s rays and its heat are likewise essential to a plant. But sun warmed earth isn’t the only source of energy. The sun’s rays have the same effect on a plant’s leaves no matter whether it’s in the ground or not. Photosynthesis, essential to a plant’s wellbeing, will occur just as long as the upper region of the plant gets enough sunlight. Some plants grow even with no light at all. However they still have need of energy to fuel their natural growth phases.

Lots of of the plants that appeal to the home gardener require some material support. Most frequently, this is achieved by planting them in the ground. That’s why the roots of a plant spread, and its stem is able to withstand strong winds. However there are other possibilities for supporting your plants. Try weaving string through a fence-like structure, or affix some craft sticks to the top of a pot. There are other ideas that can likewise do the job.

Nutrients are another of the vital components for a thriving plant. This includes nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and various trace elements. In a natural setting, the plant will absorb these nutrients from the earth surrounding it. However they can also acquire these necessary nutrients in other ways.

A universal way of doing this is to keep the plant’s roots covered in a water-based liquid nutrient solution. Some hydroponic systems feature a grow tent that can hold in wetness. A nutrient solution is misted onto the roots on a regular basis in order to keep them saturated. This method has similarities to aeroponics, another system of soil-less gardening.

Lovely and thriving plants can result from hydroponic gardening. There are various types of plants that can thrive above ground. Just make sure you take care of their requirements.