Description of House essays

Description of House essays Until I was nine years old, I lived in Covington, Virginia in an old farmhouse. I remember vividly sights, smells, sounds, and feeling of the things in my house. In the tiny, country style kitchen the first things you see are huge sky blue water jugs. They were rough and the plastic was starting to wear away. When you picked them up the plastic would stick your hands. As your eyes wonder across the room the next thing you see, or hear, are the ancient washer and dryer we had. I would always think there was a tornado coming when the washer would turn to the spin cycle. Next you would see the mustard yellow stove top and refrigerator. Then as you look up you see what I called the Indian cabinets. They were painted white whit Indian designs on them. Finally when you would glance down at the brown floors, which I once spilled a whole can of molasses on. After walking through the kitchen, you would enter the bathroom. The bathroom was old and the tub was stained yucky yellow from the well water that filled it. Then as you exit the bathroom you see a door leading to the shed. The smell of wet dog overwhelms you. Then as you go back through the kitchen you enter the dining room. It has a gigantic table in the middle. Under the table sat an Oriental rug. I would hide under the table on the rug from my sisters. I remember getting rug burn all the time from the thick rough carpet. As you enter the living room you instantly smell the wintry smell of the fireplace. I would melt crayons on it because it would smell like a grape vineyard. There was a couch, and a recliner in the living room. We also had a television, but no cable. The house smelt like a burning wood stove. ...

About Uranium-Lead Dating

About Uranium-Lead Dating Of all the isotopic dating methods in use today, the uranium-lead method is the oldest and, when done carefully, the most reliable. Unlike any other method, uranium-lead has a natural cross-check built into it that shows when nature has tampered with the evidence. Basics of Uranium-Lead Uranium comes in two common isotopes with atomic weights of 235 and 238 (well call them 235U and 238U). Both are unstable and radioactive, shedding nuclear particles in a cascade that doesnt stop until they become lead (Pb). The two cascades are different- 235U becomes 207Pb and 238U becomes 206Pb. What makes this fact useful is that they occur at different rates, as expressed in their half-lives (the time it takes for half the atoms to decay). The 235U–207Pb cascade has a half-life of 704 million years and the 238U–206Pb cascade is considerably slower, with a half-life of 4.47 billion years. So when a mineral grain forms (specifically, when it first cools below its trapping temperature), it effectively sets the uranium-lead clock to zero. Lead atoms created by uranium decay are trapped in the crystal and build up in concentration with time. If nothing disturbs the grain to release any of this radiogenic lead, dating it is straightforward in concept. In a 704-million-year-old rock, 235U is at its half-life and there will be an equal number of 235U and 207Pb atoms (the Pb/U ratio is 1). In a rock twice as old there will be one 235U atom left for every three 207Pb atoms (Pb/U 3), and so forth. With 238U the Pb/U ratio grows much more slowly with age, but the idea is the same. If you took rocks of all ages and plotted their two Pb/U ratios from their two isotope pairs against each other on a graph, the points would form a beautiful line called a concordia (see the example in the right column). Zircon in Uranium-Lead Dating The favorite mineral among U-Pb daters is zircon (ZrSiO4), for several good reasons. First, its chemical structure likes uranium and hates lead. Uranium easily substitutes for zirconium while lead is strongly excluded. This means the clock is truly set at zero when zircon forms. Second, zircon has a high trapping temperature of 900Â °C. Its clock is not easily disturbed by geologic events- not erosion or consolidation into sedimentary rocks, not even moderate metamorphism. Third, zircon is widespread in igneous rocks as a primary mineral. This makes it especially valuable for dating these rocks, which have no fossils to indicate their age. Fourth, zircon is physically tough and easily separated from crushed rock samples because of its high density. Other minerals sometimes used for uranium-lead dating include monazite, titanite and two other zirconium minerals, baddeleyite and zirconolite. However, zircon is so overwhelming a favorite that geologists often just refer to zircon dating. But even the best geologic methods are imperfect. Dating a rock involves uranium-lead measurements on many zircons, then assessing the quality of the data. Some zircons are obviously disturbed and can be ignored, while other cases are harder to judge. In these cases, the concordia diagram is a valuable tool. Concordia and Discordia Consider the concordia: as zircons age, they move outward along the curve. But now imagine that some geologic event disturbs things to make the lead escape. That would take the zircons on a straight line back to zero on the concordia diagram. The straight line takes the zircons off the concordia. This is where data from many zircons is important. The disturbing event affects the zircons unequally, stripping all the lead from some, only part of it from others and leaving some untouched. The results from these zircons therefore plot along that straight line, establishing what is called a discordia. Now consider the discordia. If a 1500-million-year-old rock is disturbed to create a discordia, then is undisturbed for another billion years, the whole discordia line will migrate along the curve of the concordia, always pointing to the age of the disturbance. This means that zircon data can tell us not only when a rock formed, but also when significant events occurred during its life. The oldest zircon yet found dates from 4.4 billion years ago. With this background in the uranium-lead method, you may have a deeper appreciation of the research presented on the University of Wisconsins Earliest Piece of the Earth page, including the 2001 paper in Nature that announced the record-setting date.

Feasibility Report Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Feasibility Report - Research Paper Example Several important factors that need to be put into consideration have been analyzed keenly. This includes projecting the restaurants potential income, the location of the restaurant, menu pricing and most importantly the competition. In addition, an estimate of the cost of running the restaurant has been has been considered in this feasibility report. This feasibility report will be of great importance to potential investors who may wish to invest in the food service industry by opening a sit-down restaurant in Ventura County. An analysis of the demographics of the people of Ventura County will be helpful to entrepreneurs who wish to open up small business because the study will information on how many people go to downtown Ventura regularly. This information will be vital in providing an estimate of the potential customers such businesses may have. The city of Ventura was founded by Father Juipero Serra in 1782, when Buenaventura was built. Today, the city is continually growing both in population and in social economic development. Moreover, the city is rising in popularity and marketing towards becoming a tourist destination. Sit-down restaurants may appeal to many people because they offer full menus, which include desserts, appetizers, entrees and other types of popular beverages including alcohol. In atypical sit-down restaurant setup, there are is a host or hostess who usually welcomes customers and shows them to their table. Also, most sit-down restaurants have trained chefs who cook and prepare meals while the servers takes care of the customer’s request (Peter and Bangs 2001). In order for the restaurant to thrive and gain loyal customers, it must be able to serve customers with high quality food and services. This will ensure the customers visit the restaurant time after time. Furthermore, the restaurant has to

Constitutional Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Constitutional Law - Essay Example The two legislative chambers House of Lords and House of Commons are the custodians of bringing changes and interventions in the constitution however judiciary has the power to exercise. Bringing a constitutional change without the acceptance by court is therefore not possible and applicable. There has been an apparent separation of powers between the parliament and judiciary. The constitution of Britain determines boundaries of institutions so that they would exercise their respective legitimate powers. There have been several cases which indicate that Parliament enforcing an unlawful legislation in opposition to Britain’s constitution demolished by the Britain judiciary. Hence bringing a constitutional change in UK is complicated and difficult. The orientation of British Judiciary has remained to escort parliament in many legal legislative measures which would safeguard the constitution. The case of Immigration and Asylum in this regard caries colossal importance as the British parliament made changes in immigration rules without judicial review. 2 Courts rejected this decision by the parliament and made certain that without concerning courts, such decisions would not be made in future. The parliament had to eventually withdraw their decision as the supremacy of judiciary/courts is the name of the game in Britain. 2 Supremacy of Parliament has been always there in the country and they ensure to bring fundamental changes and developments in constitution which is towards national integrity and uprightness. Balance of powers among institutions is the elegance and sophistication of United Kingdom’s constitution. The orientation of courts is not to overrule legislative measures made by the parliament and show its supremacy; but they intend to follow the decisions which do not contradict with the previous court verdicts. Prior

Great Powers In The 17th And 1 :: essays research papers

Great Powers in the 17th and 18th Centuries In the 17th and 18th centuries, Great Britain, France, and the Hapsburg Empire were all competing for the fate of Europe. France, in particular, was caught between being a continental power or a world power; taking control of the Rhine and most of Central Europe, or taking control of The New World. France’s primary goal at the time was for control of the Rhine, but this goal was not without obstacles. Great Britain’s main concern was to keep the balance of power in Europe on their side, while expanding overseas. The Hapsburg Empire’s goals were dealing with conquering the Holy Roman Empire and the Germanic states, in turn taking over the entire continent from the inside out. All 3 of these great powers were being opposed from their pursuits, and survival was always the top concern. Also, after 1660, a growing multipolar system of European states made decisions within each state based more on national interest than before, when most conflicts and militaristic deci sions were based on religion. Louis XIV(1661-1715) is responsible for a considerable gain in the power of France. He had huge armies, (at some points reaching up to half a million troops), that were organized with barracks, hospitals, parade grounds, and depots to support them. Along with an organized enormous fleet at sea, France became a true hybrid power. Its energies were diverted between continental aims and maritime and colonial ambitions. For two decades with no real competition, France was successful, but other powers soon built up enough recourses and power to challenge it. By 1713, and the Treaty of Utrecht, France’s boundaries were established covering the Saint Lawrence River valley, the Ohio and Mississippi river valleys, the West Indian islands of Saint Domingue, Guadeloupe, and Martinique. Constantly defending these territories with the navy, and wars on land with Italy and other states, split French energy into the navy and military. Never putting enough effort into just one of these two di visions, French strategy was described as a constant â€Å"falling between stools†, with no direction. If one of the two divisions were solely concentrated on, French success within that division would have been much more successful. Also, France’s economy was not strong. France was much wealthier than countries such as England, but the weak economical structure, tax strategy, interest policies, and lack of a proper system of public finance in France made less money per capita than in than most states.

Pablo Picaso “Olga”

The portrait of Olga is a naturalistic depiction of Picasso’s wife. I think that the missing arm chair, the shadow, the darkness, and the paleness of Olga are a sign from Picasso that their relationship was not always so good. I assume this because from the site http://www. sapergalleries. com/PicassoWomen. html I found that their marriage had its ups and downs and they were two different people. This painting is well painted. It gives me a feeling that Olga was present when Picasso painted this portrait. This woman is beautiful and I think that Picasso would paint his wife beautifully.The imperfections in the Olga portrait remind me of Picasso’s first Cubism painting, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon because of the shadow in the back ground that does not seem to fit Olga’s shape. If you look at the Cubism painting Picasso uses a lot of shadow and fuzzy lines in the back ground behind the women. I believe that when you look at the Olga painting long enough you can tell that is was not meant to be a perfect portrait of his wife therefore I believe that it is more of a cubist painting. That is very interesting because I thought that is looked as if the painting was done in person.Now that I know that he painted Olga from a photograph of her does not change my mind that the piece reflects the cubism paintings. In the other painting the women that Picasso pained the women look distorted and not human like. I believe that these women probably were not painted by picture but by imagination and emotion of Pablo Picasso. All in all, I believe that Picasso had a talent of portraying women in many different ways. His work is fascinating and very different than a lot of other artists work.

Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself Free Essay Example, 1250 words

She could neither endure the torture nor leave their children behind and run away. So, their only way was to submit to their fate. But when other women would let themselves collapse under the crushing torture of slavery, Linda retains her mental strength to oppose Mr. Flint’s desire. Linda’s mental strength is evident in a speech: â€Å"When he told me that I was made for his use, made to obey his command in every thing; that I was nothing but a slave, whose will must and should surrender to his, never before had my puny arm felt half so strong† (Jacobs 46). Indeed, this simple comment of Linda tends to summarize the gist of the whole narrative as well as of the evil of slavery in American society during the early nineteenth century. It can be viewed from different perspectives and angles. As a mother, Linda violently fights against slavery. She wants to save her children from the evil of slavery. She plays hoax on Mr. Flints in order to attain freedom for her c hildren, Benny and Elena. She had to spend innumerous sleepless night in the tight attic in which she can hardly stand. We will write a custom essay sample on Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now But her only pleasure is that she can see her run around her Aunt Martha’s house freely. Indeed, for any male reader, such sacrifice may seem to be something mere, but the pains, sufferings and angst she undergoes during those days of slavery are not anything mere for a woman who is familiar with a mother’s feeling at the core of her existence. Even Linda’s motherhood is in complete contrast with Mr. Sands’ fatherhood. Even though he is the father of two children with Linda, his concerns about his children are nothing. Rather his indifference to the children raises the doubt in the reader’s mind that he may sell his and Linda’ children (Benny and Elena). Such contrast between fatherhood and motherhood clearly show the difference between a man’s and a woman’s views about slavery. In slavery, a woman not only undergoes the brutal practice of whoredom, but also has to suffer from the most terrible experience of seeing her children being tortured, sold to another brute slave-owners or even being killed. Such the terribleness of such experiences is exclusively a mother’s own. In fact, Jacob is quite aware of the fact that women were profitable for a number of reasons to the slave owners. Since slave-traders could, no longer, meet the demand of slaves on the plantations in the South, sexual overtures with slave girls proved to be profitable primarily because such sexuality could reproduce more slaves, as Kim Wells says in this regard, â€Å"Surely it is obvious that the practice of slave "breeding, " was necessary for the continued existence of slavery since the U. S.