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COFFEE COUNTER
for week of
February 12th 2012
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Today In History
On this day in 2002, an Iranian passenger jet crashes into the side of a mountain, killing all 117 people on board.
Iran Air Tours, a subsidiary of Iran Air, scheduled the Russian-built Tupolev 154 jet to leave Tehran, Iran's capital city, at 6:30 a.m. It was to be a short flight to Khorramabad, about 200 miles to the southwest, and there was nothing remarkable about the flight until the plane began approaching Khorramabad. Suddenly, the plane dropped off the air-traffic controllers' radar screens. Witnesses from the village of Sarab-Doreh saw a huge explosion as the plane crashed straight into the snow-covered White Mountain.
The crash site was so difficult to access that only experienced mountain climbers could be enlisted to help with the rescue. By the time they reached the scattered pieces of the plane, they found only the remains of the 117 people on board. Among the dead were four Iranian government officials and four Spanish businessmen.
Although many Iranians are said to have blamed the use of a Russian-made jet for the disaster, the Tupolev-154 jet is, in fact, the mainstay of the Russian air fleet. Approximately 1,000 of the jets have been produced in its lifetime and only 28 have been lost to crashes. This compares favorably with the record of Boeing (the manufacturer used by Iran before the 1979 revolution), which had lost 68 of the 1,500 727s produced before 2002. Furthermore, most of the Tupolev-154 crashes were not due to technical failure. In this disaster, the cause of the crash has never been identified, although there is speculation that heavy fog may have played a role.
more~Quote Of The Day
"Life's blows cannot break a person whose spirit is warmed at the fire of enthusiasm."
Norman Vincent Peale
Today's Trivia
Foggy RecordFogs over the seas on the Grand Banks, Newfoundland, Canada, can last for weeks on end. These are the longest-enduring fogs recorded in the world.
Japanese IslandsJapan consists of the four large islands of Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, and about three thousand smaller islands.
From Our Forums
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CLIFF'S FOTOFUN #89,
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Welcome to our Mini Challenge #55
here at the Photography Cafe
"PROMISE" This is our latest
mini challenge here at the
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WELCOME TO OUR Close-Up/Macro Challenge #9
here at the
"GLASS"
"GLASS--Glass seduces. Its ability to reflect and transmit light is at the root of its attraction. Its combination of color, light and movement causes it to be perceived as such a stunningly beautiful material. It is functional, decorative, bold and yet fragile. How can you best show these attributes in a Close-up/Macro view ? ! "
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Welcome to our HDR Challenge #10
here at the Photography Cafe
"Cars & Trucks"
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Welcome to our Cafe Book Nook
here at the Photography Cafe
Photo Locations, Tutorials on Digital Techniques, Photo Techniques and Equipment.
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See who is appearing on Centre Stage this week
Philipo
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PHOTO OF THE MONTH
January 2012 "Walltown Tree RIP"
by branny 
CONGRATULATIONS BRANNY!Click on the photo to go to branny's album and leave a comment.
We all love comments!
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The Judges of the Cafe Choice Award are pleased to announce the presentation of this highly rated award:
is awarded to memberBRANNYfor his image"CUDDY'S CRAG"
"Branny’s image shows us the rugged terrain of Hadrian’s Wall, a bleak landscape and an area seen by many but not in the light of a frosty morning in mid-winter.
The composition provides excellent foreground interest from the frosty grass on those stones and the contours of the wall lead us through the image from the warm sunlight on the wall into the bleakness of the misty fields and valleys in the distance. It's this change from front to back that makes the image special. The presence of two walkers in the middle distance provides the scale we need to comprehend the scene.
Congratulations, Danny!" * * * * * * *
Today's Chuckles
Buying BricksA man goes into his local building supply store and orders 10,000 bricks.
"May I ask what you're building?" asks the man behind the counter.
"It's going to be a barbecue."
"Wow, that's a lot of bricks for one barbecue."
"Not really. You see, I live on the 12th floor."
Rushing into a Big MistakeFormer President Ronald Reagan liked to tell a story, which he said was true, about a newspaper photographer out in Los Angeles who was called in by his editor and told of a fire that was raging out in Palos Verdes, a hilly area south of Los Angeles.
His assignment was to rush down to a small airport, board a waiting plane, get some pictures of the fire, and be back in time for the afternoon edition.
Breathlessly, he raced to the airport and drove his car to the end of the runway. Sure enough, there was a plane waiting with the engines all revved up, ready to go. He got aboard, and at about five thousand feet, he began getting his camera out of the bag.
He told the fellow flying the plane to get him over the fire so he could take his pictures and get back to the paper. From the other side of the cockpit there was a deafening silence. Then he heard these unsettling words: "Ah...Aren't you the instructor?"
Quick Quotes
"Judge of your natural character by what you do in your dreams. "
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
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"People need dreams, there's as much nourishment in 'em as food. "
~Dorothy Gilman
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"To find joy in work is to discover the fountain of youth. "
~Pearl S. Buck
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More Chuckles
Signs Found In KitchensA messy kitchen is a happy kitchen and this kitchen is delirious.
A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand.
Thou shalt not weigh more than thy refrigerator.
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves for they shall never cease to be amused.
Help keep the kitchen clean - eat out.
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.
Housework done properly can kill you.
Countless number of people have eaten in this kitchen and gone on to lead normal lives.
My next house will have no kitchen — just vending machines.
A VERY BIG WELCOME TO ALL OUR NEW MEMBERS 
