Diana Nyad Completes Swim From Cuba To Florida

Long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad, in her fifth attempt, has successfully swum from Havana, Cuba to Key West, Florida.  She is the first to make the entire 112-mile crossing using neither a shark cage nor a wetsuit, but did use a silicone mask designed to protect her from jellyfish.  Her swim took just under 53 hours.  One other remarkable aspect of Nyad's accomplishment is that she did this at age 64.

Read more at ABC News, NBC News, USA Today and Time.

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Syria Bought Chemicals From British Firms

Via The D.C. Clothesline:

With the looming possibility of an American strike on Syria due to their government's alleged use of chemical weapons against al Qaida-aided rebels, the question arises as to where those weapons came from.  Could they possibly have come from Iraq, after being smuggled out in the run-up to the invasion of that country?  In any event, the Daily Record points to a very different possible source.

BRITAIN allowed firms to sell chemicals to Syria capable of being used to make nerve gas, the Sunday Mail can reveal today. 

Export licences for potassium fluoride and sodium fluoride were granted months after the bloody civil war in the Middle East began. 

The chemical is capable of being used to make weapons such as sarin, thought to be the nerve gas used in the attack on a rebel-held Damascus suburb which killed nearly 1500 people, including 426 children, 10 days ago.

Read the full story.

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Durango Railroad Station & Museum

During the last full day of my recent vacation, I wandered around parts of Durango and then back to the railroad station, out of which I had ridden a Durango & Silverton train a few days earlier.  In front of the station is this covered wagon - but without the covering.

Also in front of the station was this metal statue of three horses.

Behind the station is the museum, reached by a walkway.

I couldn't really take any good pictures inside the museum, because it was rather dark and everything was close together, but the museum included an outdoor section, with a small viewing area.  This is a turntable, with two coaches behind it.

A few more railroad cars were parked near the turntable.

Within the viewing area, whose boundary was marked by the metal barriers, were these old trucks.

Finally, while walking back to the station (the yellow building on the right), I saw this parked train.  The locomotive at its far end was a diesel electric, instead of the steam engines that I had seen earlier.

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Arches National Park - Part 2

After visiting the Balanced Rock, the Windows and the Parade of Elephants, I moved on to Delicate Arch.  There are trails leading to two different viewing points for this arch.  I took the upper, more difficult trail, and took this shot of Delicate Arch and some nearby formations.  They all seem to be on top of a ridge.

Tucked in between some huge sandstone boulders is Sand Dune Arch.

Broken Arch is a short distance from Sandstone Arch.  From this angle, I couldn't tell if there really was any break in its structure.  I later found this website, which includes a picture from the other side.

The last arch I was able to photograph is Skyline Arch.  There are several others that may be reached by trails leading from the north end of park's main road, but I decided that this would be the last one I had time for.

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Arches National Park - Part 1

After visiting some small attractions in eastern Utah, I continued northward to a much bigger one, Arches National Park.  The main entrance is just north of the city of Moab, and just north of the Colorado River.  While the park is known for its namesake rock formations, it also includes many other features.  The first place where I stopped is this large rock, known as The Organ.

Continuing northward within the park, I saw these formations, which included the famous Balanced Rock.

Here's closer shot of Balanced Rock, showing the idiots people climbing it.

After turning on to a side road, I hiked the short distance to the North Window.

A bit further down the trail, I could see both the North and South Windows.

Near the Windows are these formations, known as the Parade Of Elephants.

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Nidal Hasan Sentenced To Death

The Fort Hood Shooter, having been convicted of all premeditated murder and attempted premeditated murder charges against him, has been sentenced to death, which required a unanimous decision by the jurors who had previously convicted him.  Former Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan now stands to become the first American soldier to be executed in over 50 years.  Even so, due to the lengthy appeals process required by the military justice system, his impending execution could be several years away.

Read more at The Guardian, USA Today, Fox News, CNN, Statesman(dot)com and the Washington Times.

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Music Break

Here are yet some more old favorites of mine.  Starting off is my favorite Tom Petty song, with or without the Heartbreakers (in this case with), Jammin' Me.  Petty wrote the song with Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell and some guy from Minnesota named Bob Zimmerman.

I haven't kept up with new rock and roll music since the early 1990's.  The last "new" artist I remember noticing was Sheryl Crow.  A Change Would Do You Good didn't sell as well as some others from her, but it was still my favorite.  Here's the version of the video that did not overlay the song with acting sequences.

Great White had a hit with Once Bitten Twice Shy, written by Ian Hunter after he left Mott The Hoople.  Years later they were victimized by the tragic fire in a Rhode Island night club.

I'm not a huge fan of country, but I like this catchy tune from Mary Chapin Carpenter, Shut Up And Kiss Me.  She gets some help from some talented side musicians and a well-trained golden retriever.

Blue Oyster Cult had some success with Don't Fear The Reaper (which inspired the "more cowbell" skit on Saturday Night Live) and Burnin' For You, but my favorite of theirs is the title song from the Mirrors album.

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