The Next Generation of Neural Networks

Geoffrey Hinton (born 6 December 1947) is a British born informatician most noted for his work on the mathematics and applications of neural networks, and their relationship to information theory.

Hinton graduated from Cambridge in 1970, with a Bachelor of Arts in Experimental Psychology, and from Edinburgh in 1978, with a PhD in Artificial Intelligence. He has worked at Sussex, UCSD, Cambridge, Carnegie Mellon University and University College London. He was the founding director of the Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit at University College London, and is currently a professor in the computer science department at the University of Toronto. He holds a Canada Research Chair in Machine Learning. He is the director of the program on "Neural Computation and Adaptive Perception" which is funded by the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research.

An accessible introduction to Geoffrey Hinton's research can be found in his articles in Scientific American in September 1992 and October 1993. He investigates ways of using neural networks for learning, memory, perception and symbol processing and has over 200 publications in these areas. He was one of the researchers who introduced the back-propagation algorithm for training multi-layer neural networks that has been widely used for practical applications. He coinvented Boltzmann machines with Terry Sejnowski. His other contributions to neural network research include distributed representations, time-delay neural networks, mixtures of experts, Helmholtz machines and Product of Experts. His current main interest is in unsupervised learning procedures for neural networks with rich sensory input.

Hinton was the first winner of the David E. Rumelhart Prize. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1998.

Hinton was the 2005 recipient of the IJCAI Award for Research Excellence lifetime-achievement award.

He has also been awarded the 2011 Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering.

Hinton is the great-great-grandson of logician George Boole whose work eventually became one of the foundations of modern computer science, and of surgeon and author James Hinton.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Hinton

http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~hinton/papers.html

The Next Generation of Neural Networks

Bob Dylan - Like a Rolling Stone

Bob Dylan, ( /ˈdɪlən/) born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941, is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, and painter. He has been an influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly reluctant figurehead of social unrest. A number of Dylan's early songs, such as "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are a-Changin'", became anthems for the US civil rights and anti-war movements. Leaving his initial base in the culture of folk music behind, Dylan revolutionized perceptions of the limits of popular music in 1965 with the six-minute single "Like a Rolling Stone". However, his recordings employing electric instruments attracted denunciation and criticism from others in the folk movement.

Dylan's lyrics incorporated a variety of political, social, philosophical, and literary influences. They defied existing pop music conventions and appealed hugely to the then burgeoning counterculture. Initially inspired by the songs of Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson, and Hank Williams, as well as the music and performance styles of Buddy Holly and Little Richard, Dylan has both amplified and personalized musical genres. His recording career, spanning fifty years, has explored numerous distinct traditions in American song—from folk, blues and country to gospel, rock and roll, and rockabilly to English, Scottish, and Irish folk music, embracing even jazz and swing.

Dylan performs with guitar, keyboards, and harmonica. Backed by a changing line-up of musicians, he has toured steadily since the late 1980s on what has been dubbed the Never Ending Tour. His accomplishments as a recording artist and performer have been central to his career, but his greatest contribution is generally considered to be his songwriting.

Since 1994, Dylan has published three books of drawings and paintings, and his work has been exhibited in major art galleries. As a songwriter and musician, Dylan has received numerous awards over the years including Grammy, Golden Globe, and Academy Awards; he has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2005, the street on which Dylan grew up in Hibbing, Minnesota, was formally re-named Bob Dylan Drive. In 2008, a road called the Bob Dylan Pathway was opened in the singer's honor in his birthplace of Duluth, Minnesota. The Pulitzer Prize jury in 2008 awarded him a special citation for "his profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_dylan#Awards

http://www.bobdylan.com/

Bob Dylan - Like a Rolling Stone

Knut w/Thomas Dörflein | Polar Bear Cub - 003

Knut w/Thomas Dörflein | Polar Bear Cub - 003, originally uploaded by Dan Dan The Binary Man.

Knut w/Thomas Dörflein | Polar Bear Cub - 003

Knut and Thomas

knut, originally uploaded by wazapandy.

Knut and Thomas

RIP Knut and Thomas

Trauer um Thomas Dörflein, originally uploaded by ~babsy~.

Thomas Dörflein (13 October 1963 – 22 September 2008) was a German zookeeper at the Berlin Zoological Garden for 26 years. After the polar bear cub Knut was abandoned by his mother shortly after his birth in 2006, Dörflein—who cared for both the zoo's wolves and the bears—was assigned as the cub's caretaker. As a result of the zoo's controversial decision to raise Knut by hand, and the resultant close relationship between keeper and animal, Dörflein became a reluctant celebrity.

On 5 December 2006, Knut and his unnamed brother were born at the Berlin Zoo. The cubs' mother rejected them for unknown reasons, abandoning them on a rock in the polar bear enclosure. Zookeepers rescued the cubs by scooping them out of the enclosure with an extended fishing net, but Knut's brother died of an infection four days later. Only the size of a guinea pig, Knut spent the first 44 days of his life in an incubator before Dörflein began raising the cub.

Knut's need for around-the-clock care required that Dörflein not only sleep on a mattress next to Knut's sleeping crate at night, but also play with, bathe, and feed the cub daily. Knut's diet began with a bottle of baby formula mixed with cod liver oil every two hours, before graduating at the age of four months to a milk porridge mixed with cat food and vitamins.

Dörflein also accompanied Knut on his twice-daily one-hour shows for the public and therefore appeared in many videos and photographs alongside the cub. As a result, Dörflein became a minor celebrity in Germany. He received fan mail, and even marriage proposals, all of which made him uncomfortable; when asked about his sudden rise to fame, the zookeeper said, "It's very strange to me."

In October 2007, Dörflein was awarded Berlin's Medal of Merit in honor of his continuous care for the cub. Several months prior, Knut and Dörflein's daily shows were halted when it was decided that Knut had grown too large for the zookeeper to safely accompany him in the enclosure. With Knut nearing his first birthday, his zookeeper was barred from physical contact with the bear.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_D%C3%B6rflein

RIP Knut and Thomas

Eisbär Knut

Eisbär Knut, originally uploaded by Gofio.

Eisbär Knut

Knut and Thomas

Knut and Thomas, originally uploaded by bonfils.

Knut and Thomas

Powerhouse

Powerhouse (1937) is a instrumental musical composition by Raymond Scott, probably best known today as the iconic "assembly line" music in animated cartoons released by Warner Brothers.

Structurally, Powerhouse consists of two distinct - and seemingly unrelated - musical themes, played at different tempos. Both have been used in numerous cartoons. The first theme, sometimes referred to as "Powerhouse A", is a frantic passage typically employed in chase and high-speed vehicle scenes to imply whirlwind velocity. The slower theme, "Powerhouse B", is the "assembly line" music, which sometimes accompanies scenes of repetitive, machine-like activity. Powerhouse in its entirety places "B" in the center while "A" opens and closes the work in the sequence A-B-A.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powerhouse_%28song%29

Powerhouse

Raymond Scott's "Powerhouse" in LOONEY TUNES

Raymond Scott's "Powerhouse" in LOONEY TUNES

drako ojo rosa - monad

drako ojo rosa - monad, originally uploaded by sanchezdot.

drako ojo rosa - monad

; ) connected - monad - dragon

; ) connected - monad, originally uploaded by sanchezdot.

; ) connected - monad

; ) connected - monad - dragon

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year 09 Dragon Head, originally uploaded by Half+Half.

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year - Dragon

Chinese New Year - Dragon, originally uploaded by countrygirlatheart.

Manchester Chinatown for the Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year - Dragon

Bellagio Chinese New Year dragon engraving

Bellagio Chinese New Year dragon engraving, originally uploaded by bizarrojorge.

Bellagio Chinese New Year dragon engraving

Gold dragon beside a junk display in the Bellagio Botanical Gardens.

Bellagio Chinese New Year dragon engraving

Chinese New Year dragon, year of the dog, Bangkok, Thailand

Chinese New Year dragon, year of the dog, Bangkok, Thailand, originally uploaded by David Halbakken.

Chinese New Year dragon, year of the dog, Bangkok, Thailand

Serpent/Dragon lantern, Chinese New Year, Christchurch.

Serpent/Dragon lantern, Chinese New Year, Christchurch., originally uploaded by bkiwik.

Chinese New Year is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. In China, it is known as "Spring Festival," the literal translation of the Chinese name 春節 (Pinyin: Chūnjié), since the spring season in Chinese calendar starts with lichun, the first solar term in a Chinese calendar year. It marks the end of the winter season, analogous to the Western carnival. The festival begins on the first day of the first month (Chinese: 正月; pinyin: Zhēngyuè) in the traditional Chinese calendar and ends with Lantern Festival which is on the 15th day. Chinese New Year's Eve, a day where Chinese families gather for their annual reunion dinner, is known as Chúxī (除夕) or "Eve of the Passing Year." Because the Chinese calendar is lunisolar, the Chinese New Year is often referred to as the "Lunar New Year".

Chinese New Year is the longest and most important festivity in the Chinese calendar. The origin of Chinese New Year is itself centuries old and gains significance because of several myths and traditions. Chinese New Year is celebrated in countries and territories with significant Chinese populations, such as Mainland China, Hong Kong,[2] Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines[3][4] , Singapore,[5] Taiwan, Thailand, and also in Chinatowns elsewhere. Chinese New Year is considered a major holiday for the Chinese and has had influence on the lunar new year celebrations of its geographic neighbors. These include Korean (Seollal), Bhutanese (Losar), and Vietnamese cultures.

Within China, regional customs and traditions concerning the celebration of the Chinese new year vary widely. People will pour out their money to buy presents, decoration, material, food, and clothing. It is also the tradition that every family thoroughly cleans the house to sweep away any ill-fortune in hopes to make way for good incoming luck. Windows and doors will be decorated with red colour paper-cuts and couplets with popular themes of "good fortune" or "happiness", "wealth", and "longevity". On the Eve of Chinese New Year, supper is a feast with families. Food will include such items as pigs, ducks, chicken and sweet delicacies. The family will end the night with firecrackers. Early the next morning, children will greet their parents by wishing them a healthy and happy new year, and receive money in red paper envelopes. The Chinese New Year tradition is to reconcile, forget all grudges and sincerely wish peace and happiness for everyone.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_New_Year

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_%28zodiac%29

Serpent/Dragon lantern, Chinese New Year, Christchurch.

Cesar Millan - The Dog Whisperer -

Cesar Millan, (born César Millán Favela; August 27, 1969) is a Mexican-American self-taught, professional dog trainer widely known for his television series The Dog Whisperer, now in its seventh season and broadcast in more than eighty countries worldwide. Prior to The Dog Whisperer series, Millan focused on rehabilitating especially aggressive dogs and founded the Dog Psychology Center in South Los Angeles (2002–2008) — under construction in a new Los Angeles location as of late 2009.

Millan's first three books, including Cesar's Way, all became New York Times best sellers, have cumulatively sold two million copies in the United States and are available in 14 other countries. In 2009, in conjunction with IMG, Millan introduced a monthly magazine also titled Cesar's Way — with the Wall Street Journal reporting at that time that half of American consumers recognized Millan. With Ilusión Millan, he founded the Cesar and Ilusión Millan Foundation — since re-named the Millan Foundation. He is working with Yale University to create a children's curriculum based on his work.

Millan's most important tool in both his success with dogs and business has sometimes been attributed to a personal sense of balance, what The New York Times called "a sort of über-balanced mien."

In 2002, after a profile in the Los Angeles Times, Millan worked with MPH Entertainment, Inc. developing a television pilot for the Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan, a reality television series that follows Millan as he works in the field of dog rehabilitation. The series premiered on September 13, 2004 on the National Geographic Channel. The show would become National Geographic's #1 show during its first season. The show is also known as Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan or The Dog Whisperer, outside the USA, and is now in its seventh season and broadcast in more than eighty countries worldwide.

The program demonstrates Cesar Millan's application of his philosophy that healthy, balanced dogs require strong 'pack leadership' from their owners, specifically in the form of exercise, discipline and affection (in that order), with Millan demonstrating how owners can achieve and maintain a leadership role with their dogs. The program highlights Millan at work rehabilitating dogs, and is not intended as a dog training guide. Each episode contains repeated warnings that viewers should not try some of the behavior modification techniques at home.

Millan's book Cesar's Way debuted with the show's second season, becoming a bestseller. Millan works with a broad spectrum of individuals, including celebrities Oprah Winfrey, Nicolas Cage, Will Smith and Vin Diesel.

http://blog.thedogwhisperertips.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cesar_Millan

http://www.elpais.com/articulo/portada/Mitad/hombre/mitad/perro/elpepusoceps/20110424elpepspor_4/Tes

Cesar Millan - The Dog Whisperer -

~ Happy-Happy ~

~ Happy-Happy ~, originally uploaded by ViaMoi.

~ Happy-Happy ~

Milo, my Flickr Famous Feline.
Milo is far from a charm, but coming along nicely. I'm not a cat fan, but this HellBoy showed up on my old house patio about 5 years ago, and he was only 5-6 weeks old.
The lessons I have learned about unconditional love, have come from the love/rejection I get from this spoiled rotten, teen tyrant feline. Milo, my bundle of joy!

Many thanks to all flickr friends & external visitors that stopped into my 3D Phake Phord image that I posted yesterday, I'm always unsure of posting non camera related images. All comments and invite great appreciated and thank you.

Have a wonderful Sunday and BIG HELLO from Ottawa, Canada to all around the globe.

~ Happy-Happy ~

DSCN5366 Harvey Peeking (archive)

DSCN5366 Harvey Peeking (archive), originally uploaded by Mike McCaffrey.

DSCN5366 Harvey Peeking (archive)

Happy New Year

Happy New Year, originally uploaded by Sue90ca Hit Hard Again: Another Snow Day!.

Happy New Year

Biblioteca Central - UNAM Central Library

Biblioteca Central, originally uploaded by Sergio.Arturo.

Juan O'Gorman (July 6, 1905 – January 17, 1982) was a Mexican painter and architect.

O'Gorman was born in Coyoacán, then a village to the south of Mexico City and now a borough of the Federal District, to an Irish father, Cecil Crawford O'Gorman (a painter himself) and a Mexican mother. In the 1920s he studied architecture at the Academy of San Carlos, the Art and Architecture school at the National Autonomous University. He became a well known architect, worked on the new Bank of Mexico building, and under the influence of Le Corbusier introduced modern functionalist architecture to Mexico City with his 1929 houses at San Angel.

Mural in library Gertrudis Bocanegra, Pátzcuaro, Michoacán

An important early commission was for a house and studio for painters Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, built in 1931-32, with its symbolic bridge. Rivera, in turn, influenced O'Gorman's painting. In 1932, Narciso Bassols, then Secretary of Education, appointed O'Gorman to the position of Head of Architectural Office of the Ministry of Public Education, where he went on to design and build 26 elementary schools in Mexico City. The schools were built with the philosophy of "eliminating all architectural style and executing constructions technically."

House of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo

As he matured O'Gorman turned away from strict functionalism and worked to develop an organic architecture, combining the influence of Frank Lloyd Wright with traditional Mexican constructions.

His paintings often treated Mexican history, landscape, and legends. He painted the murals in the Independence Room in Mexico City's Chapultepec Castle, and the huge murals of his own 1952 Central Library of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, designed with Gustavo Saavedra and Juan Martinez de Velasco. See also Mexican Muralism.

In 1959, together with fellow artists, Raúl Anguiano, Jesús Guerrero Galván, and Carlos Orozco Romero, Juan O'Gorman founded the militant Unión de Pintores y Grabadores de México.

He died on January 17, 1982, as a result of suicide. Authorities believe the artist grew despondent after being diagnosed with a heart ailment which curtailed his work. O'Gorman, who was 76 years old, was found dead at his home.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_O%27Gorman

http://www.donquijote.org/culture/spain/architects/gorman.asp

Biblioteca Central - UNAM Central Library

Premio Príncipe de Asturias 2009

Premio Príncipe de Asturias 2009, originally uploaded by José Lira.

La Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) obtuvo el Premio Príncipe de Asturias 2009, en la categoría de Comunicación y Humanidades. (10 de junio).
¡¡¡¡Goooooyaaaaaa!!!

¡¡¡¡Cachún, cachún, ra-ra!!!!
¡¡¡¡Cachún, cachún, ra-ra!!!!
¡¡¡¡Goooooyaaaaaa!!!
¡¡¡¡Universidadddddddddd!!!!

Felicidades...

En la imagen, la Biblioteca Central de la UNAM
con murales de Juan OGorman.
Las pinturas muestran la cosmovisión del
México prehispánico y el encuentro
con la Conquista Española.
La UNAM forma parte del Patrimonio Cultural
de la Humanidad.

Premio Príncipe de Asturias 2009

UNAM University

UNAM University, originally uploaded by lucanicae.

UNAM University

laca de Olinalá Gro.

laca de Olinalá Gro., originally uploaded by mirepe.

Laca linaloense hecha en madera de linalóe que es una madera aromática propia del lugar donde se elabora esta artesanía que es de la comunidad de Olinalá Gro.

laca de Olinalá Gro.

Bird Gourd Olinala

Bird Gourd Olinala, originally uploaded by Teyacapan.

This gourd bowl that has been covered with lacquer and painted with flowers is typical of the work from the Olinala area of Guerrero Mexico

Bird Gourd Olinala

Olinala Gourd Guerrero Mexico

Olinala Gourd Guerrero Mexico, originally uploaded by Teyacapan.

Here's a colorful lacquered gourd from Olinala Guerrero to get everyone in the Christmas spirit

Olinala Gourd Guerrero Mexico

Azul

Azul, originally uploaded by La Lupe.

Ceramics and pottery in Mexico date far back before the Pre-Columbian period for thousands of years, when the ceramic arts and pottery crafts developed with the first advanced civilizations and cultures of Mesoamerica. With one exception, pre-Hispanic wares were not glazed, but rather burnished and painted with colored fine clay slips. The potter’s wheel was unknown as well, with pieces being shaped by molding, coiling and other methods.

After the Spanish Invasion and Conquest, European techniques and designs were introduced, nearly wiping out the native traditions. Indigenous traditions survive in a few pottery items such as comals, and the addition of indigenous design elements into mostly European motifs. Today, ceramics are still produced from traditional items such as dishes, kitchen utensils to new items such as sculptures and folk art. Despite the fame of the prior, the bulk of ceramic items produced in the country are floor and wall tiles along with bathroom fixtures. Mexico has a number of well-known artisan ceramic traditions, most of which are in the center and south of the country. Examples are the Talavera of Puebla, the majolica of Guanajuato, the various wares of the Guadalajara area, and barro negro of Oaxaca. A more recent addition is the production of Mata Ortiz or Pakimé wares in Chihuahua. While the number of artisans has been dropping due to completion from mass produced items, the production of folk art and fine ware still has an important role in the Mexican economy and the production of pottery in general is still important to Mexican culture.

The making of earthenware began to replace stone utensils in Mexico began around the Purrón period (2300-1500 B.C.E.). Many of these first ceramics were gourd or squash shaped, a carry over from when these vegetables were used to carry liquids. This earthenware developed into a pottery tradition which was mostly made in natural clay and thinly coated with a fine clay slip. Most clays in Mexico need temper to regulate water absorption, with one significant exception being the clay used in the Fine Orangeware of the Gulf Coast.

Pre-hispanic vessels were shaped by modeling, coiling or molding. Except for a proto wheel used by the Zapotecs, the potter’s wheel was unknown until the Spanish Conquest. Simple pinch pots or coiled pots were usually made by the family, with larger molded pieces made by craftsmen. The earliest molded pieces were simply clay pressed against a pre-existing bowl, but double molds and slip casting came to be use to make bowls with relief decorations. Famous examples of this type exist in Tlaxcala and Puebla states. Many figurines were also made using molds. Sometimes vessels were made with several molded pieces with the upper part finished by coiling.

With one exception, pre-Hispanic pieces were not glazed, but rather the finish was made with a slip made of extremely fine clay. This slip often had mineral pigments added for color, which could be added before and/or after firing. Firing was done in an open fire or in a pit. Figurines were often done in the family hearth. Pots were fired in a heap covered with wood which was done on the ground or in a pit. The use of this method for firing most often led to incompletely fired pots, with the notable exception of Fine Orangeware.

The only glazed ware from Mesoamerica is called Plumbate. It was glazed with a fine slip mixed with lead and fired by a special technique. It was produced only for a short time and its appearance marks the Early Post Classic period at many archeological sites.

There are over thirty known methods to have been used decorate pre-Hispanic pottery including pressing designs into the clay with textiles, use of rocker stamps, or pressing items such as shells and the use of pointed sticks. Various manners of putting and preserving colors both during and after firing were also employed. Designs generally fall into four categories: geometric, realistic or naturalistic (generally stylized animals and people), symbolic and pictographic. Most designs are related to designs on other crafts and on artistic works such as murals. All of these pottery styles and methods can still be found in modern Mexico.

17th or 18th century plate from Puebla

The Spanish Conquest introduced European traditions of pottery and had severe effects upon native traditions. Some pottery forms survived intact, such as comals, grinders (molcajetes), basic cooking bowls/utensils and censers. This was mostly done in plain orangeware and some were colored red and black. All pre-Hispanic figurines, since they were almost always related to religion, disappeared and replaced by images of the Virgin Mary, angels, friars, soldiers, devils and European farm animals such as dogs, cattle and sheep. The major effect on production was the introduction of the potter’s wheel, the enclosed kiln, lead glazes and new forms such as candlesticks and olive jars. The importation of European and Asian ceramics mostly affected decoration styles of native produced wares. The impact of these was felt earliest and strongest in the central highlands on Mexico, in and around Mexico City. While some traditional pre-Hispanic style ware was still produced in the early colonial, its quality and aesthetics declined dramatically until it nearly disappeared entirely.

European style ware, especially glazed ware, produced by native craftsmen, began early in the colonial period but was poorly done with only two colors, green and amber. Most decorative elements were stamped on with mixed Spanish and indigenous designs. The most common forms were jugs, pitchers and bowls, all for everyday use. Over time, the production of majolica glazed ware, which was expensive to import from Europe, developed and regulated by the mid 17th century. The best was being produced in Puebla, although it was being also produced in Mexico City, Guadalajara, Aguascalientes and other places. These pieces were primarily had a white or cream colored background with designs painted on them in one or more colors. For the rest of the colonial period, indigenous styles continued to deteriorate all over New Spain, while foreign influences from Europe, Asia and the Middle East produced changes in decorations. By the time of the Mexican War of Independence, Mexican majolica was exported throughout the New World and drove the Spanish version from the market. However, this dominance would not last long before cheaper Delftware from England and Asian wares put pressure on the industry in the 19th century. Mexico continued to import and copy styles from France and England through the 20th century; however, there have been native innovations during the past century and a half as well.

Barro negro cantaro jug at the Museo Estatal de Arte Popular de Oaxaca

Most pottery produced in central Mexico is fired at low temperatures (low-fire) and covered with a glaze made with lead and other minerals. This is because lead will fuse and produce a shine at a firing temperature of less than 800C, while alternatives require temperatures twice as high. The use of lead in these wares has produced health warning in both Mexico and the United States, with the risks being known as early as the late 19th century. Lead from the glaze tends to leach into foods after repeated use. Use of this type of ware has been linked to elevated blood levels in children in Mexico City, Oaxaca and other places and severely high levels in children of potters. The lead content is highest in Oaxacan pottery. This lead content has blocked most rurally produced ceramics from the United States market, where they could fetch much higher prices

In the 1990s, FONART, a government entity that promotes handcrafts and several non-governmental organizations worked to produce an alternative lead-free glaze what works with low-fire ceramics. This glaze is based on boron. They have also worked to get artisans to install $40USD fans in their kilns to make combustion more efficient. This has allowed a significant portion of low-fire ceramics to be stamped “lead free” and allows them to be exported.

However, researchers have found lead content in wares stamped “sin plomo” (without lead). Even though the boron glaze costs less than the traditional lead glaze, many potters refused to change tradition. In all, only half of Mexico’s potters have switched. In some places the problem is the lack of information about the glazes and in some places, artisans claim that they need government financial support, especially for options that warrant a gas-fired kiln. Another problem is that many do not trust the government and ignore warnings.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_pottery_and_ceramics

Azul

De colores

De colores, originally uploaded by La Lupe.

Talavera poblana.

De colores

Puebla - Talavera Poblana

Puebla.- Talavera Poblana, originally uploaded by Conyhm.

Puebla - Talavera Poblana

Fuente de las Tres Teresas

Fuente de las Tres Teresas, originally uploaded by Alicia Guzmán Moya.

Fuente de las Tres Teresas

Lazy Caturday

Lazy Caturday, originally uploaded by fofurasfelinas.

So cozy and comfy!

Cat Sanctuary - Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil
Cat: Gozamyr

Lazy Caturday

Burrageara Stefan Isler

Burrageara Stefan Isler, originally uploaded by =Anubis=.

Burrageara Stefan Isler

LIFE FOR RENT...

LIFE FOR RENT..., originally uploaded by PRAVEEN VENUGOPAL.

Life Runs on Parellel Prospectives ... I SAY..

Dedicated For My Dido : www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HwXgVFS5rY

LIFE FOR RENT...

..~

..~, originally uploaded by ˇ Ŀ ơł чтα ▪▪ ✖ :.

..~

Axolotl

The axolotl (pronounced /ˈæksəlɒtəl/), Ambystoma mexicanum, is the best known of the Mexican neotenic mole salamanders belonging to the Tiger Salamander complex. Larvae of this species fail to undergo metamorphosis, so the adults remain aquatic and gilled. The species originates from the lake underlying Mexico City and is also called ajolote (which is also the common name for the Mexican Mole Lizard). Axolotls are used extensively in scientific research due to their ability to regenerate most body parts, ease of breeding, and large embryos. They are commonly kept as pets in the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Japan (sold under the name wooper looper (ウーパールーパー, Ūpā Rūpā^?)) and other countries.

Axolotls should not be confused with waterdogs, the larval stage of the closely related Tiger Salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum and Ambystoma mavortium), which are widespread in much of North America and also occasionally become neotenic, nor with mudpuppies (Necturus spp.), fully-aquatic salamanders which are not closely related to the axolotl but bear a superficial resemblance.

As of 2008^[update], wild axolotls are near extinction due to urbanization in Mexico City and polluted waters. Nonnative fish such as African tilapia and Asian carp have also recently been introduced to the waters. These new fish have been eating the axolotls' young, as well as its primary source of food. The axolotl is currently on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's annual Red List of threatened species.

Axolotl
Leucistic specimen
Conservation status
Critically Endangered (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Caudata
Family:	Ambystomatidae
Genus:	Ambystoma
Species:	A. mexicanum
Binomial name
Ambystoma mexicanum (Shaw, 1789)

A sexually mature adult axolotl, at age 18–24 months, ranges in length from 15–45 centimetres (5.9–18 in), although a size close to 23 centimetres (9.1 in) is most common and greater than 30 centimetres (12 in) is rare. Axolotls possess features typical of salamander larvae, including external gills and a caudal fin extending from behind the head to the vent. Their heads are wide, and their eyes are lidless. Their limbs are underdeveloped and possess long, thin digits. Males are identified by their swollen cloacae lined with papillae, while females are noticeable for their wider bodies full of eggs. Three pairs of external gill stalks (rami) originate behind their heads and are used to move oxygenated water. The external gill rami are lined with filaments (fimbriae) to increase surface area for gas exchange. Four gill slits lined with gill rakers are hidden underneath the external gills. Axolotls have barely visible vestigial teeth, which would have developed during metamorphosis. The primary method of feeding is by suction, during which their rakers interlock to close the gill slits. External gills are used for respiration, although buccal pumping (gulping air from the surface) may also be used in order to provide oxygen to their lungs. Axolotls have four different colours, two naturally occurring colours and two mutants. The two naturally occurring colours are wildtype (varying shades of brown usually with spots) and melanoid (black). The two mutant colours are leucistic (pale pink with black eyes) and albino (golden, tan or pale pink with pink eyes).

The axolotl is only native to Lake Xochimilco and Lake Chalco in central Mexico. Unfortunately for the axolotl, Lake Chalco no longer exists as it was drained by humans to avoid periodic flooding, and Lake Xochimilco remains a diminished glimpse of its former self, existing mainly as canals. The water temperature in Xochimilco rarely rises above 20 °C (68 °F), though it may fall to 6 or 7 °C (45 °F) in the winter, and perhaps lower. The wild population has been put under heavy pressure by the growth of Mexico City. Axolotls are also sold as food in Mexican markets and were a staple in the Aztec diet. They are currently listed by CITES as an endangered species and by IUCN as critically endangered in the wild, with a decreasing population.

Axolotls are members of the Ambystoma tigrinum (Tiger salamander) complex, along with all other Mexican species of Ambystoma. Their habitat is like that of most neotenic species—a high altitude body of water surrounded by a risky terrestrial environment. These conditions are thought to favor neoteny. However, a terrestrial population of Mexican Tiger Salamanders occupies and breeds in the axolotl's habitat.

The axolotl is carnivorous, consuming small prey such as worms, insects, and small fish in the wild. Axolotls locate food by smell, and will "snap" at any potential meal, sucking the food into their stomachs with vacuum force.

http://www.axolotl.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axolotl

Axolotl

探頭 巴西烏龜 (Red-eared Slider)

探頭 巴西烏龜 (Red-eared Slider), inserito originariamente da *KUO CHUAN.

The red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) is a semi-aquatic turtle belonging to the family Emydidae. It is a subspecies of pond slider. It is a native of the southern United States, but has become common in various areas of the world due to the pet trade. They are popular pets in the United States, Mexico, the Netherlands, Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

Red-eared slider
Plastron of an adult red-eared slider
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Subclass:	Anapsida
Order:	Testudines
Family:	Emydidae
Genus:	Trachemys
Species:	T. scripta
Subspecies:	T. s. elegans
Trinomial name
Trachemys scripta elegans (Wied-Neuwied, 1839)

Red-eared sliders get their name from the distinctive red mark around their ear. The "slider" part of their name comes from their ability to slide off rocks and logs and into the water quickly. This species was previously known as Troost's turtle in honor of an American herpetologist; Trachemys scripta troostii is now the scientific name for another subspecies, the Cumberland turtle.

Red-eared sliders are almost entirely aquatic, but leave the water to bask in the sun and lay eggs. These reptiles are deceptively fast and are also excellent swimmers. They hunt for prey and will attempt to capture it when the opportunity presents itself. They are aware of predators and people and generally shy away from them. The red-eared slider is known to frantically slide off rocks and logs when approached.

Contrary to the popular misconception that red-eared sliders do not have saliva, they, like most aquatic turtles, have fixed tongues. This is the reason they must eat their food in water.

The female red-eared slider grows to be 25–33 cm (10–13 in) in length and males 20–25 cm (8–10 in). The red stripe on each side of the head distinguishes the red-eared slider from all other North American species. The carapace (top shell) is oval and flattened (especially in the male), has a weak keel that is more pronounced in the young, and the rear marginal scutes are notched. The carapace usually consists of a dark green background with light and dark highly variable markings. The plastron (bottom shell) is yellow with dark paired irregular markings in the center of most scutes. The plastron is highly variable in pattern. The head, legs, and tail are green with fine yellow irregular lines. Some dimorphism occurs between males and females. Male turtles are usually smaller than females but their tail is much longer and thicker. Claws are elongated in males which facilitate courtship and mating. Typically, the cloacal opening of the female is at or under the rear edge of the carapace while the male's opening occurs beyond the edge of the carapace. Older males can sometimes have a melanistic coloration being a dark grayish olive green, with markings being very subdued. The red stripe on the sides of the head may be difficult to see or be absent.

Red-eared sliders are omnivores and eat a variety of animal and plant materials in the wild including, but not limited to fish, crayfish, carrion, tadpoles, snails, crickets, wax worms, aquatic insects and numerous aquatic plant species. The captive diet for pet red-eared sliders should be a varied diet consisting of invertebrates such as worms, aquatic and land plants, and other natural foods. They should never be fed commercial dog food or cat food. Commercial turtle foods can be used sparingly and should not be used as the primary food. Calcium (for shell health) can be supplemented by adding pieces of cuttlebone to the diet, or with commercially available vitamin supplements. A nutritious food readily accepted by young turtles is baby clams soaked in krill oil covered with powdered coral calcium. Younger turtles tend to be more carnivorous (eat more animal protein) than adults do. As they grow larger and older, they become increasingly herbivorous. Live foods are particularly enjoyed and add to the quality of life of captive turtles. Providing a wide variety of foods is the key to success with captive red-eared sliders

Reptiles do not hibernate but actually brumate, becoming less active but occasionally rising for food or water. Brumation can occur in varying degrees. Red-eared sliders brumate over the winter at the bottom of ponds or shallow lakes and they become inactive, generally, in October, when temperatures fall below 50 °F (10 °C). Individuals usually brumate underwater. They have also been found under banks and hollow stumps and rocks. In warmer winter climates they can become active and come to the surface for basking. When the temperature begins to drop again, however, they will quickly return to a brumation state. Sliders will generally come up for food in early March to as late as the end of April. Red-eared sliders kept captive indoors should not hibernate. To prevent attempted hibernation/brumation in an aquarium, lights should be on for 12–14 hours per day and the water temperature should be maintained between 76–80 °F (24–27 °C). Water temperatures must be under 55 °F (13 °C) in order for aquatic turtles to brumate properly. Controlling temperature changes to simulate natural seasonal fluctuations encourages mating behavior.

Courtship and mating activities for red-eared sliders usually occur between March and July, and take place underwater. The male swims toward the female and flutters or vibrates the back side of his long claws on and around her face and head. The female swims toward the male and, if she is receptive, sinks to the bottom for mating. If the female is not receptive, she may become aggressive towards the male. The courtship can take up to forty-five minutes, but the mating itself usually takes only ten to fifteen minutes.^{[citation needed]}

Sometimes a male will appear to be courting another male. This is actually a sign of dominance and they may begin to fight. Juveniles may display the courtship dance, but until the turtles are five years of age they are not mature and are unable to mate.^{[citation needed]}

After mating, the female spends extra time basking in order to keep her eggs warm. She may also have a change of diet, eating only certain foods or not eating as much as she normally would. Mating begins in May and egg-laying occurs in May through early July. A female might lay from two to thirty eggs, with larger females having larger clutches. One female can lay up to five clutches in the same year and clutches are usually spaced twelve to thirty-six days apart. Turtle eggs are fertilized as they are being laid and buried in the sand. The time between mating and egg laying can be days or weeks.

The red-eared slider is commonly kept as a pet and is often sold cheaply (and illegally). Red-eared sliders are the most common type of water turtle kept as pets. As with other turtles, tortoises and box turtles, individuals that survive their first year or two can be expected to live almost as long as their owners. Individuals of this species have lived at least 35 years in captivity.

Red-eared sliders can be quite aggressive—especially when food is involved. If being kept as a pet, care must be taken to prevent injury or even death of its smaller tankmates. However, the opposite can occur if shrimps are introduced as food. Smaller red-eared sliders less than a year old have been known to choke on the shells of the shrimps and suffer from lung puncture.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-eared_slider

探頭 巴西烏龜 (Red-eared Slider)