Skyline's new EN A beginner and fun wing, the Owl
Skyline have also released a new beginnners’ and fun wing, the EN A Owl.
The company say it is equipped with all the latest technology, including bendy nylon inserts in the leading edge that are tough and resilient, so you can pack your wing as you like without damaging them.
The Leading Edge Suspension (LES) inserts aid take-off and improve the glider’s stability in flight. Skywalk say it has precise, light handling and climbs well in thermals whilst having EN A safety, so the pilot can just concentrate on the fun.
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Dear Editors and Staff:
I was Googling the word \owl\ and found the following article. For your information, several owl watchers in chat have said that they are or were airline pilots (trivia).
http://www.xcmag.com/2011/03/skyline-owl-en-a-paraglider/
Also, Oceanside, California is just north of the famous Torrey Pines Gliderport (La Jolla, CA) often seen on national television during the international Golf matches.
http://flytorrey.com/cms/
Owls, Education, Technology. I am sending you the following information for your enjoyment and to share with others – I am a fan and this is not for commercial purposes, just for your knowledge. The chat for these sites is in English, and moderated and G-rated and the first rules are \Be nice, be friendly\. Only moderators post links.
Maybe you already know all this, but in case you don’t, I would like you to know that in Southern California, birds are nesting now and already the Wild Common Barn Owls are filling up the boxes with owlets – the last eggs are just finished hatching! Interest in birdwatching is now an online and international growing trend! With the HD cameras and great microphones, we get to hear unique and varied sounds from the owls throughout the life cycle! Some people are watching Ustream sites on their iphones and ipads. I thought that you would all be interested in this new phenomenon to educate the world on one aspect of nature via the internet – it is free for the time being – and opportunities to learn much more (for example, about computers) are present! I am a fan and want to spread the word. This is not for any commercial use, only for learning about the wild common barn owl.
It is often through personal observation and shared education that people learn enough to appreciate nature, and in this case, the wonder and individuality of the wild common barn owl, about the very harmful effect of poison to control rodents to our environment, and about how caring for a family of owls can teach us to love and care more about other people and the world in general.
One wild owl box that I personally follow is described in this article. \School of the Day\ is a frequent banner, when teachers use the Ustream site for a teaching day, and some other groups (seniors) are joining in:
http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/columnists/frank/article_04828c00-d0e5-5db5-8e0c-f22dc9a77e4f.html
Pasted in here:
FRANK: Oceanside now hosts its own owl couple
By JEFF FRANK – jfrank@nctimes.com North County Times – The Californian | Posted: Wednesday, February 2, 2011 12:00 am
Another pair of North County barn owls are getting some camera time.
The owls are named Mel and Sydney and reside in a box behind an Oceanside home. The homeowner, who is known online as KangaRobin, wouldn’t reveal his name or the specific location of the owl box. He’s content simply to open a window on nature’s beauty, he wrote by e-mail.
The box went up in November, and the owls moved in about two weeks later. KangaRobin, originally from Australia, named them after two major cities in his native land.
Sydney laid seven eggs between Jan 13 and Jan 25. The camera watches her care for the eggs, while Mel, her mate, brings in food.
The live video feed at ustream.tv/channel/owlceanside has attracted nearly 295,000 views, with hits from all over the world. The site’s popularity placed it in the EarthCam top 10 listing for Web cam videos in January.
A live Internet video stream of an owl pair in San Marcos became a worldwide sensation in 2010. KangaRobin, though, has no interest in gaining any fame from the presence of the owls.
\My house, my yard, my box, but everybody’s owls. The gift we get is the privilege of watching these lovely creatures,\ he wrote.
A brilliant screenshot (taken from her computer) was photographed yesterday and the link shared in the chat room. It shows the oldest owlet, named Matilda, on watch during the daylight hours, surrounded by the 5 other sleeping owlet siblings. The photo was taken by one of the Oceanside Owl Box Moderators named \hundon\ from England.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/54060665@N03/5556630144/
Another recent article by Steven Bartholow in the Santee Patch, with the subtitle, \A webcam at the lakes allows you to feel like you’re down by the water at home, and other sites to see from your couch\ includes more.
http://santee.patch.com/articles/webcams-santee-lakes-and-nesting-birds
An NBC affiliate article – \ Missoula Hawthorne Elementary Students Get A Bird’s-Eye View Of Owls\:
http://www.nbcmontana.com/news/27229815/detail.html
A Second Grade Class in Maryland is studying birds.
http://belair.patch.com/articles/whiz-kid-mrs-gaspers-reading-class-at-prospect-mill
Today, March 25th is Molly and McGee Day in the City of San Marcos in California! These famous wild common barn owls were the original 24 hour/7 day a week Ustream Owl Box broadcast.
http://mollysbox.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/today-is-molly-and-mcgee-day/
Also – Recently! Third Clutch News – Live Broadcast – Molly Special was held on Monday, March 7, 2011, at 6:00 PM PST.
http://mollysbox.wordpress.com/2011/03/04/molly-special-monday-night-6-pm-pst-ustream-tvtheowlbox/
Carlos Royal begins with the happy news, \I will be doing a live Molly Special on Monday Night 6:00 PM PST, March 7, 2011.\ and ends with \It should be fun; I will be live with video, photos and music. And best of all you will find out how many eggs and/or owlets Molly and McGee have this time…their Third Clutch.\
He recorded this:
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/13166684
\Gee this is fun and we are a part of it!\
Moderator and Chatter named LadyLaura is keeping track of all the new eggs being laid.
Eggs listings http://lauraowlshotz.yuku.com/forums/88/Upcoming-Owlets-Eggs-For-Now
***********
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/owlceanside
owlceanside
Total views: 1,830,582
MATILDA – Hatched 2/16 at 7:30pm
Named after the \unofficial\ Aussie national anthem \Waltzing Matilda\
Play the up-beat version – click link:
MATILDA – Hatched 2/16 at 7:30pm
Named after the \unofficial\ Aussie national anthem \Waltzing Matilda\
Play the up-beat version – click link:
DUNDEE – Hatched 2/18 at 4:00am
Named after the Aussie character Crocodile Dundee of movie fame. Played by actor Paul Hogan, who started his career as a painter on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and later entered a talent show on TV.
BINDI – Hatched 2/19 at 7:01pm
Aboriginal word for \young girl\ and also daughter of honored Steve Irwin, well known passionate wildlife, nature, and conservation proponent from Australia. (video by Dandilion)
JOEY – Hatched 2/21 at 8:45pm
Joey is the word for a baby kangaroo. When the joey is born, it is about the size of a lima bean. The joey will usually stay in the pouch for about nine months before venturing out to explore the world and is fed by its mother until about 18 months old. Sing along with the kangaroo song, \Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport\ – by Rolf Harris
BARBIE – Hatched 2/24 at 11:05am
Named after what Aussies use to have a cookout – when they throw another shrimp on the \barbie\ (BBQ). No, this doesn’t mean that Barbie is an owl that eats shrimp
DINKY – Hatched 2/25 at 2:33pm
Named after the Aussie bush vernacular that something is \fair dinkum\ or \dinky di\ – meaning the genuine article, honest, true, the real McCoy – \Are you fair dinkum?\ (telling the truth?). \He’s a dinky di bloke\ (a guy who’s true blue, for real, has the right values, honest)
_________________________________________________________
Egg #1 Jan-13 (10:04am) – likely this was the non-viable one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEDVR1MHyMI
Egg #2 Jan15 (9:10am)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FN41jxhF5BY
Egg #3 Jan-17 (9:04am)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSQj2M_oL58&feature=player_embedded
Egg #4 Jan-19 (8:45am)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slMeLopnlG0
Egg #5 Jan-21 (10:00am)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swMjbZSAaJo&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
Egg #6 Jan-23 (12:23pm)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSQ-aL5nMDo
Egg #7 Jan-25 (3:46pm)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oJM4nS1PIo
Cam #1 – OUTSIDE VIEW may be seen at:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/owl-cam-oceanside-ca
Cam # 3 – Alternate Outside view:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/owlceanside3
Photo collections by Yvonne Nieves:
Photos Vol-1. . Photos Vol-2
Photos and Owl Forums by LadyLaura:
Photos. . OwlShotz FORUMS
CHAT RULES & OWL BOX CONSTRUCTION
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/owlceanside2
Barn owls, Mel (the male) & Sydney (female), are located in Oceanside, California – San Diego County, USA
The Box-builder/owner is originally from Mel(bourne), Downunder (+U.S proud citizen), hence the Aussie names chosen for these owls.
The relatively warm winter weather in San Diego County seems to have brought them into the box early to investigate it for nesting potential – looks like it’s a success!.
The box has been up since mid-November and owls moved in two weeks later! This box you see is v2.1 which replaced the original v1.0 by Christmas after some quick learning and wonderous design ideas with advice from many and re-engineering the objectives from scratch – see the slide show of construction pictures at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/owlceanside2
Check back often to see how Mel and Sydney learn to become new parents, CAMs will be broadcasting the action as often as possible.
Box is located about 16 feet above ground level. Dimensions – Length 30\, Height 18\, Width 16\ (left-to-right dimension seen on interior camera), Porthole 6\ diam. (and about 6\ above box floor)
Sorry, no merchandise will be available about Mel & Sydney – my house, my yard, my box, but EVERYBODY’S owls. The gift we get is the privilege of watching these lovely creatures. If you’d like to benefit barn owls or wildlife in general, then make a donation to an organization in your area.
*************
Other boxes on Usteam have owlets, too!
Some are listed here
Jills (Willow & Bear): http://www.ustream.tv/channel/jill-s-owl-box
Lucy & Ricky: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/lucy-the-owl
Owlivia & Owliver: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/owlivia
Star Ranch, with Mr. & Mrs. O: http://www.starrranch.org/blog/?page_id=2
Fluffy & Buddy: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-buddy-and-fluffy-barn-owl-show
Bonnie and Clyde: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bonnie-and-clyde-owlcam
new outside cam added – http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bonnie-and-clyde-owlcam-2—outside
Phoebe the Hummingbird continues to attract thousands – http://www.ustream.tv/hummingbirdnestcam
She has built a new nest – her last two fledged on Valetine’s Day
Also in chat they posted a very helpful link to ALL sites know by a certain website with updates.
http://www.beakspeak.com/
I am also pasting in background information. Please note that over 145 countries are watching the Oceanside Owl Box camera!
http://s08.flagcounter.com/more/19c
In 2010 and on to today, the most famous wild common barn owl in the world is Molly the Owl of San Marcos, California, USA, because of the internet and Ustream allowing the world to watch for free.
The latest photographs of her mate, McGee, is absolutely stunning and would rival any portrait you currently display! There is a treasure house of related music, poetry, cartoons, video recordings, books, and much more – over 20 million people worldwide from over 80 countries watched these wild common barn owls raise two clutches of owlets from Feb 2010 – October 2010. It would be a true disaster to humanity if this were lost over time and no one knew about it – because the best in people in America and the world was reflected in the light of The Owl Box of San Marcos, California, USA.
http://mollysbox.wordpress.com/blog/
And a brand new fabulous book review
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/02/28/3435210/a-barn-owl-has-lessons-for-all.html#ixzz1FMX9f4vQ
I wanted to tell you about an amazing trend that people have taken part of, and I believe, with a little encouragement and education, will find great happiness as well as lessons in kindness from watching Wild Common Barn Owl families, talking and learning about \owls, owlselves and owlthers\. . I wanted the people to join the free educational opportunities!
I started watching Molly the Owl in San Marcos, California, shortly after an elderly friend forwarded an e-mail to me with the Ustream website to watch.
http://www.ustream.tv/theowlbox
Molly the Owl Wiki page seems to have the most comprehensive collection of all things Molly and keeps up to date
http://mollyowl.pbworks.com/w/page/25452525/FrontPage
Although this site is no longer being broadcast http://mollysbox.wordpress.com/blog/ (but I recommend that all people sign up for automatic email updates at the bottom of any posting like the latest – http://mollysbox.wordpress.com/2011/01/27/vacadudes-more-eggs/#comments) it has spawned many related Owl Box sites and eggs are popping out all over this past week, with the wonderful promise of three months of free viewing pleasure and conversations (24 hours a day, 3 days a week live G-rated moderated chat room – as opposed to Social Stream with Facebook, Twitter, etc. that is available, too, but not my preference).
Lots of people were stimulated to write poetry for the first time and others got their \creative spark\ back. You can see some of the collections here -
http://mollyowl.pbworks.com/w/page/25452525/FrontPage
And our \un\official Owl Box Poet in the live chat room who started it all and made everyone feel safe to have fun was DotRot.
http://mollysbox.wordpress.com/the-owl-box-celebration/
http://mollysbox.wordpress.com/the-owl-box-celebration-again/
Most chatters had to gradually learn over their first 3 months with Molly how to use the computer – the motivation was there! Most already knew one thing – how to do email – and that was it. And through the one thing they knew how to do, email, most received the link to click! Once they saw Molly, the motivation was there to say something and comment and some figured it out right away, others waited until the next 3 months of joy (the 2nd Clutch of owlets) to finally join in live chat. Others prefer just to watch the owls, some prefer to watch the owls and the live chat, and so on… Some people cannot type and others do not know English – the required common language for international chatting.
Chatters of all ages, from children to older people up to their 90′s ( although ages are not permitted to be stated), have learned a lot about Wild Common Barn Owls in Owl Box Residences, but have also learned a lot about computers – in various stages some of the following from basics to more advanced.
1. Clicking on links
2. Opening more than one window and resizing to watch more than one window at the same time.
3. Signing up for Ustream, Facebook and other sites.
4. Cleaning out temporary files in computer caches.
5. Rebooting
6. Taking Screenshots (learning more about computer programs to save them in)
7. Bookmarking favorite sites (eventually how to organize them in folders, etc.)
8. Learning about different browsers and how they differ! Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome – and that you can have more than one browser on your computer at a time!
9. Other devices such as ipods, iphones, apps and so on.
10. USB cables and devices.
11. How to utilize all the computers sitting around the house, from laptops to extra monitors.
There is so much more! Many viewers are now installing their own Owl Boxes, making quilts, crafts, music, writing poetry, photography, photoshopping, video making, etc.
http://mollyowl.pbworks.com/w/page/25452525/FrontPage
Having Chatroom Rules and Moderators who are kind and not afraid of mistakes (typonese is one of the accepted languages, besides English) made and still makes all this possible.
Also people suffering from emotional and physical pain as well as overcoming addictions have found this whole experience comforting.
I am sending the information below to other people just to make them aware of these hidden gems.
Lots of original music was written for Molly and The Owl Box, from folk to rock!
And, another benefit is that some people feel like they have a family and pets without having all the work – Virtual Pets of 2011! To enjoy and watch at one’s pleasure.
Sincerely,
PegRod – a Molly lover and friend – Molly’s Motto is \Gee this is fun, and I am a part of it!\
Please note that in 2010 for Molly’s Box, over 20 million views from over 80 countries watched on Ustream – there is a big fan base but most are economically challenged, but to watch is free and there are also many free downloads of therapeutic value – a good laugh for example! At top of Cafe Press site are lots of \Freebies\.
http://www.cafepress.com/mollytheowl
http://mollysbox.wordpress.com/gee-that-was-fun/
John Atkinson, know as chat name \Vacadude\, was the official Owl Box cartoonist in 2010 and continues as an \un\official one in 2011. He creates cartoons, has an online Ustream show and a VacaBlog.
http://vacadude.wordpress.com/about/
He has put his 2011 new cartoons on his Facebook page – search for \John VacaDude\.
Here are some free coloring pages – http://www.vacadude.com/apob_color.html
He also does Google Earth travelling around the world – many fans feel like they went on a vacation!
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/12141577
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/12421889
Several of his 2010 cartoons deal with death, too, because in nature some owlets don’t make it – http://www.vacadude.com/data/KellyHeaven2.pdf
All the recent cartoons 2010 are pdf clickable downloads – http://www.vacadude.com/apob_samp.html
DotRot also hosts a Story Time writing session with owl box fans at 3 pm PST on Sundays – you sign up for a number – and then at 6 pm VacaDude reads the story live – he is great at that – see examples – fans enjoy the live mistakes as much as a smooth read through.
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/12212091
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/12685274
He just put an Infomercial on YouTube about the fun!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb5I_pum53g
The index of all his recorded broadcasts, including animations, are here for your enjoyment.
http://www.ustream.tv/discovery/recorded/all?q=vacadude
Also note that creativity abounded in The Owl Box. I have many useful links posted here – I want the world to know!
http://world-news.newsvine.com/_news/2010/06/14/4508322-owl-cam-to-go-dark?threadId=982354#c14827847