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= = = Fresno Chaffee Zoo = = = |
The Fresno Chaffee Zoo is a zoo in Roeding Park in Fresno, California covering 39 acres and housing over 190 species. Its attractions include Stingray Bay, Dino Dig, Valley Farm, Sea Lion Cove, African Adventure, and Ross Laird's Winged Wonders Bird Show. The zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and is a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA). |
The zoo was formed some time around 1908. The earliest zoo record describes a collection consisting of two bears and around fifty birds of various species. According to the zoo's website, "bears, local cats, hoof stock, and birds were added to the Zoo and housed in log cabin type exhibits." The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) officially recognized the park opening in 1929 as the Roeding Park Zoo. |
Only few animals were seen, but that number would later rise. The year attendance was around 2,000 and most of the visitors were from Fresno and the surrounding areas. |
The zoo grew substantially in the 1940s and 1950s, with 100 animals and more birds by 1947. The zoo's first foreman, Eldon "Curly" Blocker, was hired from the San Diego Zoo. In 1949, the zoo's Asian elephant Nosey (a name determined by a citywide "Name-the-Elephant" Contest) was acquired, with help from the Fresno Rotary Club. Her arrival coincided with Fresno's "49ers Days Rodeo Parade", and Nosey's presence in that parade was popular enough to spawn the creation of the Fresno Zoological Society, which would create interest in the zoo and provide a fundraising mechanism. In the 1950s, ten large exhibits were added to the zoo grounds with monkeys, sea lions, camels, giraffes, an African bird aviary, a flamingo habitat, and on-site feed and medical compounds. The zoo became an institutional member of the AZA in 1957. In 1965 Paul S. Chaffee was hired as the zoo's first director. In the late 1960s, the animal exhibits were renovated, with climate control being added to increase the comfort of the animals. In 1967, the large bird of prey exhibit was constructed, and in 1968, a master plan for future development was drafted. something to support the rest of this |
The zoo's area expanded by a third, and new exhibits featuring bison, elk, and prairie dogs were added. In 1976, in honor of the American Bicentennial Celebration, the park's grizzly bear facility was expanded. In 1978, the Park Zoo Trust Fund (distinct from the Zoo Admissions Trust Fund) was established to make sure a portion of concession sales were used to improve the zoo. This freed the zoo from having to approve a budget with the City Council. In 1979, the zoo added the Edward A. Kane Reptile House, the world's first computer-controlled reptile habitat. |
In 1982, Nosey the Elephant's habitat was renovated and three new elephants were brought in. A red wolf exhibit known as Wolf Woods was added in 1984, and the Doris and Karl Falk Wildlife Education Center was completed, becoming part of the zoo's Educational Center. In 1985, the zoo's name changed from the Roeding Park Zoo to the Fresno Zoo. In 1988, the zoo's walk-through rainforest exhibit was added. 1989 saw the addition of a large classroom wing, and the implementation of the Adopt-an-Animal fundraising program. Paul S. Chaffee, the zoo's director since 1965, died in 1990, and the Fresno Zoo was renamed the Chaffee Zoological Gardens of Fresno in his honor. In 1993, Nosey the elephant died at the age of 47. |
In 2004, "Measure Z" was passed by the voters (73%) in Fresno to raise money to expand the zoo, and to improve the animal exhibits. The US$150 million project was contingent upon the submission and review of an environmental impact report. The name of the zoo was shortened to Fresno Chaffee Zoo in 2006. In 2007, a traveling "Stingray Bay" exhibit visited and attracted large crowds. Several stingrays were bred while they were visiting Fresno. In 2009, a permanent Stingray Bay exhibit was opened, funded by Measure Z. In the rain forest exhibit, the former butterfly house (Maddis House) reopened as the Tropical Treasures exhibit in March 2009, with poison dart frogs and a sloth among other species. |
In August 2012, a very large Sea Lion Cove, designed after the Central Coast’s Point Lobos, was opened. It contains 250,000 gallon saltwater tank with rock outcrops and islands, while preserving the redwood trees that surround the enclosures. A 35-ft viewing glass allows guest to watch the sea lions underwater. This exhibit also includes pelicans. This was the first major exhibit funded by Measure Z. The old sea lion enclosure was repurposed for river otters. |
In January 2014, ground was broken for the approximately 18-acre "African Adventure" expansion doubling the size of the zoo and including large animal exhibits such as lions, breeding elephants, cheetahs, rhinos, meerkats, hippos, gorillas, and penguins. Measure Z, which provided funding for capital zoo projects, was renewed by voters in November 2014. |
On October 15, 2015, phase one of African Adventure opened. The 13 acre exhibit is home to over 100 animals including lions, African elephants, cheetahs, and rhinos. In 2016, the zoo opened the "Roo Walkabout," an Australian walk-through exhibit which features red kangaroos, emus and kookaburras. That year set a new attendance record with just under 1 million visitors. |
Attendance dropped significantly from 2016 to 2017, to 833,114 guests; 2018 saw another slight drop to 828,000 guests. While no major new exhibits opened in 2017, May 2018 saw the debut of a new children's water attraction named "Wilderness Falls." This new play area was designed to allow younger guests to "cool off and make a splash in the waterfall, follow the footprints and explore the wilderness, and discover the fire lookout tower." Work also began in late 2018 on an infrastructure project designed to enable future zoo expansion, including the forthcoming "Kingdoms of Asia" project, as well as a new warthog and tortoise exhibit. The warthog/tortoise exhibit opened in African Adventure in June 2019. |
= = = Elizabeth of Carinthia, Queen of Germany = = = |
Elizabeth of Carinthia (also known as Elizabeth of Tyrol; – 28 October 1312), was a Duchess of Austria from 1282 and Queen of Germany from 1298 until 1308, by marriage to the Habsburg king Albert I. |
Born in Munich, Bavaria, she was the eldest daughter of Count Meinhard of Gorizia-Tyrol, and Elizabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Germany, widow of the late Hohenstaufen king Conrad IV of Germany. |
Elizabeth thus was a half-sister of Conradin, King of Jerusalem and Duke of Swabia. Elizabeth was in fact better connected to powerful German rulers than her future husband: a descendant of earlier monarchs, for example Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, she was also a niece of the Bavarian dukes, Austria's important neighbors. |
She was married in Vienna on 20 December 1274 to Count Albert of Habsburg, eldest son and heir of the newly elected King Rudolf I of Germany, thus becoming daughter-in-law of the King of the Romans and Emperor-to-be. After Rudolf had defeated his rival King Ottokar II of Bohemia in the 1278 Battle on the Marchfeld, he invested his son Albert with the duchies of Austria and Styria at the Imperial Diet in Augsburg on 17 December 1282. |
Albert initially had to share the rule with his younger brother Rudolf II, who nevertheless had to waive his rights according to the Treaty of Rheinfelden the next year. Duke Albert and Elizabeth solidified their rule in what was to become the Habsburg "hereditary lands", also with the help of Elizabeth's father Meinhard, who in his turn was created Duke of Carinthia by King Rudolf I in 1286. |
Elizabeth was described as shrewd and enterprising, in possession of some commercial talents. The construction of the Saline plant in Salzkammergut goes back to her suggestion. |
Upon the death of Albert's father in 1291, the princes elected Count Adolf of Nassau German king, while Duke Albert himself became entangled in internal struggles with the Austrian nobility. Not until Adolf's deposition in 1298, Elizabeth's husband was finally elected King of the Romans on 23 June 1298. Two weeks later, Adolf was defeated and killed in the Battle of Göllheim. In 1299, Elizabeth was crowned Queen of the Romans in Nuremberg. |
On 1 May 1308 her husband was murdered by his nephew John "the Parricide" near Windisch, Swabia (in modern-day Switzerland). After Albert's assassination, Elizabeth had the Poor Clare monastery of Königsfelden erected at the site, where she died on 28 October 1312 and was also buried. Today her mortal remains rest at Saint Paul's Abbey in Carinthia. |
Elizabeth's and Albert's children were: |
= = = Yancey Thigpen = = = |
Yancey Dirk Thigpen (born August 15, 1969) is a former professional American football wide receiver who played for the San Diego Chargers (1991), the Pittsburgh Steelers (1992–1997), and the Tennessee Oilers/Titans (1998–2000). Before his NFL career, he played for Winston-Salem State University, where he also played collegiate basketball. |
Thigpen played infrequently in his first three seasons, but had a breakout year in 1994, catching 36 passes for 546 yards. Then in 1995, he made the Pro Bowl, catching 85 passes for 1,307 yards and five touchdowns, and assisting his team to Super Bowl XXX, where he recorded three catches for 19 yards and a touchdown in the Steelers 27–17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. His tough style of play earned him the nickname "Meatball," which was later changed to "Phil" when he joined the Oilers in 1998. |
Thigpen played only six games in the following season due to injuries, but made a full recovery in the 1997 season, catching 79 passes for 1,398 yards and 7 touchdowns and making his second Pro Bowl selection. |
In 1998, he signed a five-year, $21 million contract with the Oilers, which at the time was the highest known contract ever signed among wide receivers. He went on to play with them for the final three seasons of his career, assisting the team (now known as the Titans) to Super Bowl XXXIV in the 1999 season. Such a large contract for a wide receiver was a signal of the role which wide receivers would begin to play in the NFL. Thigpen retired after the 2000 season with 313 career receptions for 5,081 yards and 30 touchdowns. He also rushed for four yards, returned two punts for 30 yards, and gained 188 yards on eight kickoff returns. |
= = = Cardiovascular physiology = = = |
Cardiovascular physiology is the study of the cardiovascular system, specifically addressing the physiology of the heart ("cardio") and blood vessels ("vascular"). |
These subjects are sometimes addressed separately, under the names cardiac physiology and circulatory physiology. |
Although the different aspects of cardiovascular physiology are closely interrelated, the subject is still usually divided into several subtopics. |
Under most circumstances, the body attempts to maintain a steady mean arterial pressure. |
When there is a major and immediate decrease (such as that due to hemorrhage or standing up), the body can increase the following: |
In turn, this can have a significant impact upon several other variables: |
= = = Shriek: An Afterword = = = |
Shriek: An Afterword is a fantasy novel by American writer Jeff VanderMeer. Published in 2006, "Shriek" is set in the fictional city of Ambergris, a recurring setting in VanderMeer's work. The novel was written over a period of eight years, owing in part to what the author said, "[some scenes that are] very personal." |
Ambergris, named for "the most secret and valued part of the whale", is a fantastical urban milieu, explicitly modern and apparently pre-industrial (despite the presence of guns, bombs, and motor vehicles). Ambergris is characterized by grocery stores, post offices, cafés, and vendors (The "Borges Bookstore" bears note). The city was built over the land (and quiet protests) of the fungally-adept "graycaps", humanoids of uncertain disposition. The inhabitants of Ambergris enjoy a fascination with squid, and celebrate an anarchic annual Festival of the Freshwater Squid. |
"Shriek: An Afterword" deals principally with two eponymous siblings, Janice and Duncan Shriek. Janice, an ex-society figure and art critic, narrates with great and sometimes dark flamboyance. Duncan, a historian of note, entertains twin obsessions: rival historian Mary Sabon and the mysterious graycaps. The Shrieks figure rather prominently in VanderMeer's collection of Ambergris novellas and short stories "City of Saints and Madmen": Duncan narrates the novella "The Early History of Ambergris", while Janice's art criticism figures into the World Fantasy Award-winning novella "The Transformation of Martin Lake". |
Reviewer of "The Believer" noted "It's not clear what obsesses Jeff VanderMeer more, mushrooms or books. Both appear on almost every page of his new novel Shriek: An Afterword, in which disgraced historian Duncan Shriek seeks to uncover the mystery of a race of mushroom people with mysterious fungal plans, who lurk below the surface of the moss-covered city of Ambergris. VanderMeer's previous novels are part of a fantasy subgenre, often categorized as the New Weird. While Shriek certainly contains fantasy elements, it doesn’t fit into any strictly delineated genre. There are more ideas here than flights of fancy; VanderMeer owes more to Borges than Tolkien." |
= = = Drugs I Need = = = |
Drugs I Need is a satirical animated short made by The Animation Farm and the Austin Lounge Lizards and produced by the Consumers Union. |
The animation parodies a regular pharmaceutical television commercial, detailing the benefits of a drug whose use isn't described in detail. Instead, a large number of side effects are sung to an upbeat musical jingle, which emphasizes that the consumer should buy the fictional drug "Progenitorivox"— even if the generic drug is half the cost— if only to be like a family on TV. The animation ends with a seemingly random disclaimer, also a parody of pharmaceutical or "drug" advertisements. |
The video won the Public Affairs Council's "Grassroots Innovation Award" in 2006. |
= = = Sideritis syriaca = = = |
Sideritis syriaca, commonly known as ironwort, is a plant similar to chamomile, used in the Balkans (where it is known as "mountain tea") to make a sweet beverage. It grows on a high altitude in the mountains. It is commonly found on wet grounds, on the high pastures, above 1500 m. |
= = = J. J. Stokes = = = |
Jeral Jamal Stokes (born October 6, 1972) is a retired American football wide receiver. Stokes played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. He played college football for the UCLA Bruins, and was recognized as a unanimous All-American. A first-round selection in the 1995 NFL Draft,drafted by the San Francisco 49ers ,he played professionally for the San Francisco 49ers, Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots of the NFL. |
Stokes was born in San Diego, California. He attended Point Loma High School in San Diego, where he was part of a talented high school football team that included quarterback Dan White and lineman La'Roi Glover. The team was coached throughout Stokes' four years by local legend Bennie Edens. |
While attending University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Stokes played for the Bruins football team from 1991 to 1994. His breakout season came in his junior year when he was named the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year. Stokes' junior season was rewarded with a top ten finish in the balloting for that year's Heisman Trophy, being the only junior recognized. Stokes' junior season ended with unanimous All-American recognition by The Sporting News, AP, UPI, and Kodak. Stokes' senior year began as the nation's leading Heisman contender but was quickly sidetracked by a severe upper thigh contusion suffered in the season's first game. Stokes still holds UCLA school records for receiving touchdowns in a season (17 in 1993), receiving touchdowns in a career (28), receiving yards in a game (263 vs. USC in 1992) and receptions in a game (14 vs. Wisconsin, 1994 Rose Bowl), among others. |
On October 9, 2009, Stokes was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame. |
Stokes was selected with the first round (tenth overall pick) of the 1995 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers, and he played for the 49ers from to . The 49ers traded up 20 spots to the No. 10 pick in the first round of the draft to select Stokes. After a slow start to his rookie season, the former Bruin ultimately netted 38 receptions for 517 yards and four touchdowns, the last of which was tossed by Jerry Rice. |
During the 1996 season, Stokes suffered a broken hand and missed most of the season, leading to the emergence of the 49ers' third round pick in the 1996 NFL Draft, wide receiver Terrell Owens. |
In 1997, with Rice sidelined with a torn ACL, Stokes and Owens formed a formidable duo for quarterback Steve Young, with Stokes hauling in 58 passes for 733 yards and four touchdowns. Once Rice returned, Stokes' production did not falter as he would achieve career highs in receptions (63), yards (770) and touchdowns (eight). Stokes was also the recipient of Denver linebacker Bill Romanowski spitting in his face during a "Monday Night Football" game in December 1997. |
Along with the rest of the team, Stokes' production dropped in 1999 as a result of Young's career-ending concussion in a Monday night game in Arizona. Football Outsiders called Stokes "the league's least valuable receiver" in 1999. |
The 49ers released him in 2003 and he was initially signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars before going to New England. Stokes was rarely used in the Patriots offense, only contributing 15 catches for 154 yards during the 2003 campaign. New England released him and activated fullback Larry Centers near the end of the season. However, he was re-signed by the Patriots prior to the AFC Championship Game. |
He worked as a radio host for the ESPN radio affiliate based out of Modesto, California. Currently, he works as an analyst for Fox Sports on UCLA's football games and for high school football on the internet in Southern California. |
= = = This Week in Science = = = |
This Week in Science ("TWIS") is a science talk radio broadcast from KDVS (90.3 FM) on the University of California, Davis campus. Each week, "TWIS" founder/host Kiki Sanford and co-host Justin Jackson review current research in technology. "TWIS" reaches an international audience, with listeners in 60 countries worldwide. It regularly fields science questions on the air from listeners around the world. |
The show is available live on FM radio in Northern California and via live internet broadcasts from the KDVS website. Archived versions of the show as well as a podcast are available from the show's website. |
Founder and host Kirsten Sanford holds a B.S. in Conservation Biology and a Ph.D in Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Physiology from the University of California, Davis, and is a frequent lecturer on the Davis campus. Sanford was awarded the 2005 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Mass Media Fellowship Award in recognition for her work with "This Week in Science". Through this fellowship she worked as a television news producer at WNBC News in New York City working with noted health and science reporter Max Gomez. |
Justin Jackson has been the show's co-host since 2005. |
Blair Bazdarich joined as the show's third co-host in 2013 after serving as an intern for over a year. |
"This Week in Science" regularly interviews notable scientists, technologists, and luminaries. Past interviewees include: |
= = = Cubohemioctahedron = = = |
In geometry, the cubohemioctahedron is a nonconvex uniform polyhedron, indexed as U. Its vertex figure is a crossed quadrilateral. |
It is given Wythoff symbol 4/3 4 | 3, although that is a double-covering of this figure. |
A nonconvex polyhedron has intersecting faces which do not represent new edges or faces. In the picture vertices are marked by golden spheres, and edges by silver cylinders. |
It is a hemipolyhedron with 4 hexagonal faces passing through the model center. The hexagons intersect each other and so only triangle portions of each are visible. |
It shares the vertex arrangement and edge arrangement with the cuboctahedron (having the square faces in common), and with the octahemioctahedron (having the hexagonal faces in common). |
The "cubohemioctahedron" can be seen as a net on the hyperbolic tetrahexagonal tiling with vertex figure 4.6.4.6. |
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The hexahemioctacron is the dual of the cubohemioctahedron, and is one of nine dual hemipolyhedra. It appears visually indistinct from the octahemioctacron. |
Since the cubohemioctahedron has four hexagonal faces passing through the model center, thus it is degenerate, and can be seen as having four vertices at infinity. |
In Magnus Wenninger's "Dual Models", they are represented with intersecting infinite prisms passing through the model center, cut off at a certain point that is convenient for the maker. |
= = = Bertha of Putelendorf = = = |
Bertha von Putelendorf (died 1190) was the daughter of Count Palatine Friedrich von Putelendorf in Saxony. |