JUNE 25, 2007 A GUESSING GAME... WHAT IS IT? TREE TRUNK.. ANT HILL... NOPE!

IT'S A BEEHIVE!.. NOPE!

IN THE COUNTRY OF CHINA.. THERE IS A ROAD TO AN ANCIENT VILLAGE .. WHICH WAS HEWN OUT OF SOLID ROCK BY 13 MEN OF THE TRIBE.. USING ONLY HAND TOOLS.. AND THE KNOWLEDGE, THAT THEY NEEDED TO BE ABLE TO LET THE WORLD IN, AND THEMSELVES OUT INTO THE WORLD, IF THEIR VILLAGE WAS TO SURVIVE, CALLED...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE TUNNEL OF GUOLIANG.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

WHAT I FIND AMAZING IS THAT IT ONLY TOOK FIVE YEARS TO COMPLETE IT..

BEING AN AMERICAN CITIZEN.. I CAN RELATE TO THESE PEOPLE.

THEIR DETERMINATION TO BRING ABOUT THE COMPLETION OF THIS IMPROVEMENT COST THEM EVERYTHING..

AND PAID EVERYTHING TO THE FUTURE!

THE CONTINUING OF THIER DECENDANTS IN THE LAND OF THEIR FATHERS..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THIS IS THE FIRST OF A SERIES OF FIVE DANGEROUS AND VERY MUCH NEEDED ROADS IN THE WORLD, I PLAN TO BLOG IN THE COMING WEEKS OF THIS SUMMER.

THE TEXT IS TAKEN DIRECTLY FROM AN ARTICLE ON THE NET.. THE PHOTOS IN THE SLIDE SHOW COME FROM SEVERAL DIFFERENT SOURCES, BUT ARE BASICALLY THE SAME IN EVERY WEB SITE I RESEARCHED.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Guoliang Tunnel

This tunnel is located in the Taihang Mountains which are situated in the Hunan Province of China. There is an interesting story behind its development. Before 1972, access to the nearby Guoliang village was limited to a very difficult path carved into the mountainside. The village was nestled in a valley surrounded by towering mountains. It was basically cut off from civilization.

1972, a group of desperate villagers decided to take matters into their own hands - they would carve a road right into the side of the mountain by themselves!

Shen Mingxin was the head of the village. He insisted that the villagers needed to embrace this project.

So they sold goats and herbs to buy hammers and steel tools. Thirteen strong villagers began the project. It took them five years to finish the 1,200-metre-long tunnel (a little less than a mile) which is about 5 meters high (15 ft) and 4 meters (12 ft) wide.

Not only was the project arduous, it was also dangerous. Some of the villagers died in accidents during construction. Undaunted, the others continued. On May 1, 1977, the tunnel was opened to traffic.

Believe it or not, this story has a very happy ending. The villagers incredible gamble paid off in a big way. At the turn of the century, China began to open its borders to the rest of the world. It was decided the benefits of tourism outweighed the disruption of having outsiders tromping around the country. So government officials visited this area and decided it was a perfect tourist attraction. Suddenly the little village that had been cut off from the world had thousands of visitors from every part of the world!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

lockerridge

JUNE 23, 2007 THE WATER CUBE... GENIOUS DESIGNS OF THE OLYMPICS!

COME AND LOOK AT THIS MOST FANTASTICAL BUILDING!

IT IS CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTUCTION IN BEJING, FOR THE OLYMPICS. YOU JUST HAVE TO SEE IT TO BELIEVE IT!

AND GUESS WHO HAS PICS!

LOCKIE DOES!

AND YOU KNOW I LOVE TO SHARE!

clipped from www.popsci.com

The official swimming facility of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, will span 7.8 acres, house five pools, and seat 17,000 spectators, yet it doesn’t contain a single steel cable, concrete column or structural beam. Instead its walls and ceilings are composed of a network of slender steel pipes linked together by 12,000 load-bearing nodes. These nodes evenly distribute the weight of the building, making it strong enough to withstand Beijing’s most severe earthquakes. A plastic Teflon-like foil—just eight one-thousandths of an inch thick—covers the entire structure like skin. It lets in more light and heat than glass does, helping to keep the pools warm and slashing energy costs by 30 percent. Construction wraps up this year with the official opening scheduled for the Summer Olympics. arup.com

clipped from img.timeinc.net

clipped from img.timeinc.net

clipped from img.timeinc.net

clipped from img.timeinc.net

clipped from img.timeinc.net

clipped from img.timeinc.net

~###########~

THESE LAST TWO PICS WERE FOUND AT ANOTHER LOCATION, SHOWING IN A MORE DETAILED WAY, HOW THE FRAME IS CONSTRUCTED AND THE FILM PLACED OVER THE CELLS.

~##########~

~#########~

ISN'T THIS JUST SO......WONDERFULLY

STRANGE!!!

HEHEHEHE!!!

lockerridge

JUNE 21, 2007 I HAVE BEEN TAGGED .... IT'S ANOTHER BUDDY BLAST BY BLISS... THE TAGGING FIEND!

GOOD DAY TO ALL OF YOU!

I HAVE BEEN TAGGED... I LOVE TAGS... WHEN THEY ARE FROM BLISS... AND IF THEY ARE ORIGINAL TAGS, WRITTEN BY BLISS HERSELF... I JUMPED FOR JOY... WHEN SHE SHOVED ME INTO A CORNER, AND SAID, " IT IS FUNNY LOCKIE... REALLY.. I PROMISE YOU ARE GOING TO LOVE THIS !...

BLISS IS A WRITER OF WONDERFUL STORIES.

HER BLOGS ARE ALWAYS SO MUCH FUN TO READ... EVEN WHEN SHE IS MAD AT HER BOSS...

OR WHEN CONTEMPLATING

OUR WORLD... IN CHAOS...

******************

(AIN'T IT THE TRUTH, LADIES!)

IF YOU HAVE A SECOND OR TWO TODAY.. THIS IS HER MESS... OF LETTERS AND NUMBERS THEY CALL AN ADDRESS ...

( WHO IS THIS "WE" THAT MAKES UP ALL THESE CRAZY WAYS OF DOING STUFF, ANYWAY?

I DON'T REMEMBER VOTING FOR " CHIEF OF NAMING CYBER STUFF".. DID YOU GUYS VOTE FOR SOMEBODY NAMED "WE"?)

CHECK OUT HER BLOGS ...

SO WHEN SHE IS PUBLISHED, YOU CAN SAY...

" I KNEW HER BACK WHEN..."

http://360.yahoo.com/profile-fox8UMM9eqKw2ZrZ42VFf2NYRMUjsg--?cq=1

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I AM POSTING BLISSES ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS BEFORE MINE..

SO THERE IS TWO SETS OF QUESTIONS.. THE FIRST IS BLISS'S... THE SECOND IS LOCKERRIDGE'S ...

I SEE THIS ONE HAS GOTTEN THE WAY THIS WORKS!

EXCELLENT!

ONWARD THEN !

INTO THE WORLD OF BLISS TAG TORTURE!

1.)What kitchen utensil do you must closely resemble? I'd have to be a wooden spoon. Always useful, rather charming to see in your kitchen and way easy to wash.

2.) You get to spend the next three months in any store of your liking, with things like food, hygiene and entertainment a give. What store? Barns&Noble of course!

3.) You get to pick a two-word nick name that fits you to a t. What is it? MissBliss. I'm a lady, I'm blissful and 'bliss' just happens to be my name.

4.) If you were a web address, your URL would read? www.forgetthemap.com

5.) The one song you're willing to sing in public? Amazing grace

6.) The last time you blew bubbles was? About a month ago. My fingers got all sticky from the bubble soap and I dropped my wand in the dirt. I felt like a six year old again.

7.) I'll cook for you. What am I making? Tonight I want steak with caramelized onions.

9.) Your biggest pet peeve? I'll take Miss Goldburg's stance on pet peeves. "I don't have pet peeves, I have whole kennels of irritation."

10.) Ask me anything right here and I'll give you an answer... Did you enjoy this survey?

WELL LETS JUST CALL IT A TRUE TRIBUTE TO MY FRIEND BLISS, BECAUSE SHE THOUGHT THE IDEAS FOR THE QUESTIONS.. AND THEN THOUGHT THE IDEAS THAT LEAD ME TO BECOME A VICTIM TO HER INNOCENT EYES AND PLEADING, AND A SCORE OF TEN, ON THE SCALE IN BEGGING TECHNIQUES!

1.) What kitchen utensil do you must closely resemble?

WELL THAT WOULD BE MY TRUSTY MR. COFFEE MAKER.. II

I NEED TO BE WASHED, I AM BEGINNING TO CHIP AROUND THE EDGES.. AND SOMETIMES I LEAK ONTO THE FLOOR.. AND I DON'T GET AS WARM AS QUICK AS I USED TO... SIGH.. THAT IS JUST PITIFUL NOW..

2.) You get to spend the next three months in any store of your liking, with things like food, hygiene and entertainment a give. What store?

THERE ARE OTHER STORES BESIDES WALMART?

WHY DIDN'T SOMEBODY TELL ME THIS SOONER..?????

PEOPLE THAT IS JUST NOT NICE TO KEEP ME IN THE DARK ABOUT THE POSSIBLITY OF ANOTHER STORE BESIDES THE SUPERCENTERS..

I GOT LOST IN THERE LAST WEEK.. THEY SENT IN THE DOGS TO TRACK ME DOWN..

IT WAS NOT PRETTY PEOPLE..

AND THE PICTURE IN THE PAPER WAS DOWNRIGHT EMBARRASSING..

3.) You get to pick a two-word nick name that fits you to a t. What is it?

NEEDS MEDICATION..... I WILL SAY NO MORE ABOUT THIS ONE.. IT SHOULD BE PRETTY OBVIOUS TO FOLKS.. THOSE WHO KEEP SENDING ME THOSE EMAILS FROM THE MILLY DILLY COME STAY WITH US BEFORE YOU ARE PERMANENTLY SILLY.. RESORTS AND SPAS.. HAVE IT FIGURED OUT! WHY NOT MY FRIENDS HERE.... YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!

4.) If you were a web address, your URL would read?

WWW.HUH?.ORG

5.) The one song you're willing to sing in public?

JUST ONE?

I AM WILLING TO SING ANY SONG IN PUBLIC..

THE REAL QUESTION IS WHICH ONE ARE YOU WILLING TO SIT AND LISTEN TO ME SING..

PICK A SHORT ONE.. YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU DID!

6.) The last time you blew bubbles was?

YOU KNOW THIS IS KIND OF WEIRDER THAN USUAL FOR ME..

IT WAS ONLY LAST SUNDAY, WHEN KYLE AND I WENT TO THE DOLLAR STORE, AMD BOUGHT SOME OF THOSE SPECIAL BUBBLES THAT DON'T POP, VERY EASY...

THEY ARE SOME WEIRD STUFF..... WHEN YOU BLOW THE BUBBLE THE SKIN GET REALLY TOUGH AND THEY JUST FLOAT AND FLOAT AND EVEN IF THEY HIT THE GROUND THEY WON'T POP..

WE CALLED THEM... MUTANT NINJA BUBBLES FROM THE PLANET..

TOUGHBUBBLE..

WHERE THEY SUCK THIS STUFF OUT OF THE CENTER OF THE PLANET.... AND SELL IT TO THE DOLLAR STORE..

WE THINK THAT IS HOW IT ALL COMES ABOUT.. ..

7.) I'll cook for you. What am I making?

EVERYTHING... YOU GOT GOOD CREDIT.. CAUSE THIS GROCERY LIST IS GOING TO NEED A LOAN FLOATED TO PAY FOR IT ALL!

9.) Your biggest pet peeve?

I HAVE NEVER EVEN HAD A LITTLE PET NAMED PEEVE... BUT I WILL GET ONE, OKAY?

AND GET BACK TO YOU ON THIS LATER...

10.) Ask me anything right here and I'll give you an answer...

WOULD YOU MIND IF I ADDED JUST ONE MORE..... QUESTION TO YOUR TAG?

BOY THAT WAS FAST... THANKS BLISS

11.) DO YOU BELIEVE THOSE CHAIN LETTERS THAT TRY TO SCARE YOU INTO FORWARDING THEM TO 20 OF YOUR FRIENDS IN 10 MINUTEES

OR YOUR LIPS WILL TURN BLACK, AND YOUR EARLOBES WILL TURN INTO LITTLE LUMPS OF BROCCOLI?

AND YOUR WILL LOSE YOUR TRUE LOVE WHOM, YOU WILL MEET ON THE NET IN 5 YEARS.. ON THE NEW GAME SHOW.. "YOU BROKE THE CHAIN"....??????

HEHEEHE JUST AS I THOUGHT... YOU ARE AFRAID OF THE CHAIN MAIL EVIL GNOME....

SO ANYONE WHO ACTUALLY MAKES IT TO MY BLOG TO READ THIS.. IT HAS BEEN SO LONG, SINCE YOU HAVE BEEN TO SEE ME.... HUH?

ZAPPPO YOU HAVE BEEN TAGGED.. IF YOU WANT TO BE..

MY PC HAS SPOKEN. TIME FOR US TO REST..

AND SPY EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, TO SEE WHO COMES BY ..

TO ACTUALLY READ MY BLOG..

lockerridge