By Sakini Mohd Said

KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama) -- Malaysia has a diverse landscape that offers even the novice thrill seeker an extreme challenge.

There are steep hills and high mountains, challenging rapids and verdant jungles, thus extreme activities like jungle tracking, scaling hills and mountains, whitewater rafting provide the perfect challenge for adrenalin rush seekers.

And what more, many of these places are easily accessible so even the average person feels he is ready for an extreme challenge without any preparation.

A good example is Bukit Tabur in Taman Melawati, at the fringes of the city. This hill is the prominent part of nature reserve with its nature laden trail attracting city folks up to the peak to enjoy fresh air and the panoramic view of the city.

The eastern side has a rock face and it attracts those who want to put their endurance and bravery to test. But since 2009 four people have fell to their deaths and many injured due to falls.

Early this year Soleha Abd Rahman, 25, fell 60 metres into a ravine and died while trying to abseil the rock face. Less than a month earlier a science teacher Ng Pee Tat, in his 30s slipped from a ridge and lost his life. In 2009 Dr Haliza Mohd Shafie and Dr Amin Tai Abdullah believed have fallen to their deaths during while tracking to the Bukit Tabur's peak.

Then there was host of reports of people getting lost while jungle tracking or washed away by strong water currents. This made many to think twice in indulging in such extreme undertakings.

THE BRAVEST OR THE MOST FOOLHARDY

Many of those participating in such risky extreme activities do so without preparation, equipment or event guides. There are literally tempting their fate.

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Challenging Times For Malaysia's Extreme Sports Industry

Pictured above are the current FFA officers. The Bullard Future Farmers of America reflected back on a successful year at the annual FFA Banquet Thursday, May 8, at the Bullard Elementary Cafetorium. Bullard FFA experienced great success, raising over $500,000 in the 2013-2014 school year.

Several teams also advanced to area and state competitions. The radio team won second place at Area and advanced to State, placing 14th. The farm business management team received third place at Area and 15th place at State. The livestock team took home first place at Area and advanced to State, winning 24th place. The nursery and landscape team won fourth place in Area, advancing to State where they were ranked 31st. The forestry team received first place in Smith County, advancing to State and placing 38th. The milk quality team won first place in Area and 41st in State. Bullard FFA had several teams fall short of qualifying for State competition, with the junior creed team place fourth, agriculture issues team placing sixth, agriculture advocacy placing seventh, junior agricultural skills placing eighth, and senior agriculture skills team placing eighth at Area competition.

At right are the retiring officers. Several FFA members placed in individual competition at Area this year. Sean Dempsey placed ninth in Farm Business Management. Kalyn Johnson received the Overall High Individual award in Milk Quality. Tyler Kelly scored as the Overall High Individual in Livestock. Zach May placed third in Livestock. Kristina Parcher placed ninth in Milk Quality. Daniel Shumate received sixth place in Farm Business Management. Sam Spiller received sixth place in Nursery and Landscape. Jane Smith won ninth place in Veterinary Medicine. Hannah Lloyd won first place in Public Prepared Speaking at the District competition, advancing the Area.

Pictured above are the FFA award winners from the annual banquet. The chapter also showed several agriculture mechanics projects at competitions this year. Jake Harris and Chris Barrett exhibited a 32 foot custom built pipe trailer, winning Grand Champion in the Open Shop competition at the Smith County Youth Expo and Blue Ribbon Project at the Houston Livestock Show. Abbey Covey, Rylie Hellman, and Tray Johnson exhibited a small animal surgical table, winning a blue ribbon and fourth in class at the Houston Livestock Show. Karlie Lowe won a blue ribbon for her portable growing stand at the Houston Livestock Show. Tristan Bishop was named Champion of Market Shop Projects for his fire pit at the Smith County Youth Expo. Dillon White won Reserve of Market Shop Projects at the Smith County Youth Expo for his wooden swing.

Also this year, FFA President Juliann Hill received her Lone Star FFA Degree, the highest degree of membership.

FFA members recognize Jan Hill as the chapter's Mother of the Year. PHOTOS BY MICAH MCCARTNEY As a chapter, the Bullard FFA received the National Chapter Award, the Golden Horizon Award, and the Superior FFA Chapter award.

Due to their success this year, several FFA members received college scholarships at competitions. At the Smith County Youth Expo, Harris, Hill, Ryan Sloan, and Mallory Watkins each received $2,600 in scholarships. Hill also received $1,000 from the Audry Owens Memorial Rodeo Scholarship, $500 from the Bullard Kiwanis Club Scholarship, $1,200 scholarship from the Cherokee County Livestock Show, $2,250 from the Smith County Soil and Conservation Scholarship, and $1,000 in scholarship from Texas Farm Bureau. At the San Antonio Livestock Show, Hill and Lloyd each received $10,000, as well as Kelly receiving $14,000 in scholarships. Hill is also a finalist for an additional $18,000 from the Texas FFA Scholarship.

Charlotte Main, FFA sponsor, announced the student recognition awards. Hill was presented with the Dekalb Award. Lloyd received the Star Greenhand award. Braydon McKeethan and Tray Johnson were co-winners of the Star Chapter Farmer Award. Bailey Thomas received the Workhorse Award. Sloan was awarded the Scholastic Award.

Monty Main, FFA sponsor, announced the student proficiency awards. Spiller received the proficiency award for Diversified Horticulture. Jaden Lansford was presented with the proficiency award in Poultry Production. Lloyd received proficiency awards for Prepared Public Speaking and Creed Speaking. Isela Sanchez was presented with the proficiency award in Landscape Management. Harris received the proficiency award for Agricultural Mechanics Design and Fabrication. Smith won the proficiency award for Home and Community Development. Hill was presented the proficiency award for Diversified Livestock Production. Thomas received the proficiency award for Outdoor Recreation. McKeethan won the proficiency award for Sheep Production. Sarah Minton was presented with the proficiency award for Goat Production. Hellman received the proficiency award for Veterinary Science. Kelly won the proficiency award for Swine Production. McKenzie Clark was presented with the Small Animal Production proficiency award. May received the proficiency award for Beef Production.

Awards were also given to parents and sponsors. Jan Hill, curriculum director for BISD, was presented with the FFA Chapter Mother award. The Honorary FFA Chapter Degree was presented to Warren Johnson. Beryl Johnson received the Distinguished Service award.

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FFA banquet recognizes successful year

Landscape Masonry Ready Mix

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Crown Hill Stone Supply is a locally owned company in Napa Valley, CA.We provide quality landscape materials, masonry, and ready mixed concrete products to homeowners, contractors, and designers. Our facility is stocked with the most exclusive natural and manufactured stone lines, as well as concrete retaining walls, and interlocking pavers as well. We are proud to personally deliver to about every city in Northern California using our own fleet of trucks.

If you are looking for landscape supplies such as bark mulch, decorative rocks, or soils, then Crown Hill Stone Supply is the place to go. Come and see our display gardens for ideas! We have previews of flagstone, natural stone thin veneer, cultured stone, synthetic turf, interlocking pavers, and retaining walls. Crown Hill can supply any sized project, from the everyday backyard living space to large commercial projects.

We invite you to browse our website for products, ideas, and more information. If you don't see what you are looking for and need expert advice, please feel free to contact us at 707-255-1225.

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Crown Hill Stone Supply

Tracey Fowler, Reporter Saturday, May 10, 2014 2:00 PM

A PORTISHEAD resident has appealed to councillors and the local community to stop illuminated signs blotting the Portishead landscape.

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Speaking at the town council meeting, former councillor, Martyn Cruse highlighted 21 metres of orange fluorescent lights proposed for the roof of the new Sainsburys garage which will be built in Serbert Way.

He said: From Naish Hill to Avon Way, these signs will dominate what is at the moment a picturesque landscape. I have seen the consequences of these signs when in similar circumstances they were installed in Kelso. The people of the town fought to have the signs removed but I hope we can put a stop to them before they are installed.

Work has just begun on the building of the long-awaited supermarket, which will include a much-needed second petrol station for the town.

Full details of the application and site plan can be seen on the North Somerset Council planning page.

Also at the council meeting, members heard Sainsburys has applied for permission to sell footwear at the store. Councillors objected to the application on the grounds that it could take trade away from the High Street.

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Call to ban illuminated signs

Left to right: Michael Warren as Robert Bobby Hill, Ed Marinaro as Joe Coffey and Charles Haid as Andrew Andy Renko 20th Century Fox

The cop drama has been a staple of the small-screen landscape ever since "Dragnet" made the jump from radio to television in 1951, but after 30 years of police stories (including an actual series called "Police Story"), the genre got its single greatest kick in the pants, creatively speaking, when NBC the same network that served as home to Sgt. Joe Friday, as it happens introduced "Hill Street Blues" to an unsuspecting viewing public.

Created by Steven Bochco and Michael Kozoll, "Hill Street Blues" earned eight Emmy Awards in its initial season alone, ultimately pulling a total of 98 nominations over the course of its seven-season, 146-episode run, but more important than the awards and acclaim is that the series helped to create a new template for the cop drama, eschewing walking clichs in favor of characters with depth and substance and delving into content theretofore unseen on prime-time television.

With Shout Factory releasing "Hill Street Blues: The Complete Series," Indiewire spoke to a quartet of cast members from the series Charles Haid, Ed Marinaro, James B. Sikking, and Bruce Weitz about how they first found their way into the precinct, who their characters were, what it was like to be a part of such a groundbreaking television series, and how it impacted them when it finally came to a close.

Secret Origins of the "Hill Street" Cast

Actor Bruce Weitz as Mick Belker in Hill Street Blues Photo courtesy: Twentieth Century Fox

Bruce Weitz (Mick Belker): Steven Bochco and I went to school together, which was then Carnegie Tech but is now Carnegie Mellon. He moved out to Los Angeles way before I did, and when I moved out to Los Angeles, we saw each other socially. When he wrote "Hill Street" with Michael Kozoll, he wanted me to play LaRue (Kiel Martin's character), but I read the script, and I asked him if I could audition for Mick Belker. What interested me about Belker was the vulnerability, or at least the possibility of vulnerability. It was appealing to think that he had such a hard shell, but although he was such a fierce person on the outside I visualized him to be vulnerable and hurt insideand, fortunately, that was the same way the writers visualized him, too! So, yeah, that was very attractive to me. Plus, I needed the money! [Laughs.]

Charles Haid (Andy Renko): I was doing a bunch of movies at the time, andI already knew Steven. My relationship with Steven Bochco goes back to Carnegie Mellon. But we were hanging out, we were at somebody's birthday party or something. and he said he was doing a show. I'd already done a pilot for something else, but I didn't think it was gonna get picked up, so when he said, "Do you want to be in it?" I said, "Well, who can I play?" He said, "Well, why don't you try this guy Flannery (later renamed Furillo) who's gonna be the captain?" I said, "Yeah, okay." But then he went to the head of MTM at the time, Grant Tinker, and Grant said, "Charlie Haid's not playing the captain of anything!" [Laughs.] So Steven said, "Uh, hey, man, why don't you try this part?" And it was Renko.

James B. Sikking (Howard Hunter): Steven Bochco and I had been longtime friends, our daughters became great pals, and I had worked off and on with Steven at Universal before he went over to MTM. Our relationship goes beyond the work, although the work seems to dominate it at times. But he and a few other people in the business, you just become close. Really close.

Ed Marinaro (Joe Coffey): I had moved out to Los Angeles after my NFL career was over it was 1978 and I had developed a little bit of an interest in acting, and prior to my retirement for football, I had worked in an acting class in New York, soI don't know that you'd call it a conventional route to a career in acting. [Laughs.] But when my NFL career was over, I kind of knew it was something I wanted to pursue, so I moved out to Hollywood, got an agent, and once I had one, you know, I tried to get parts.

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'I Just Got My Ass Broke All the Time': An Oral History of 'Hill Street Blues'

Georgia is one of the all-time great bass fishing states. Home to such heavyweights as Lake Eufaula and Clarks Hill Lake, Georgia's landscape is also dotted with small, lesser-known lakes that could just as easily give up the next state record. Target these five top bass lakes if you want to catch big bass, and lots of them. Lake Oconee March to May is the time to be on the water at 19,000-acre Lake Oconee, when fat pre- and post-spawn bass are shallow and easy to find. Target stumps, lay-down trees and boat docks with spinnerbaits, jerkbaits and soft plastics. Clarks Hill Lake Also known as J. Strom Thurmond Lake, Clarks Hill is a vast 70,000-acre impoundment along the Savannah River. Famous for its hybrid stripers, the lake is also an outstanding largemouth bass fishery, with some of the best fishing taking place around points and hydrilla beds. Lake Seminole Sprawling over the Florida state line, Lake Seminole encompasses 37,000 acres of water and is home to vast hydrilla beds, stump fields and groves of flooded timber that provide perfect bass habitat. Today, the lake is better known as solid, consistent bass lake than the trophy water it once was, but there's no doubt that 10-pounders still swim below its surface. Lake Eufaula Lake Eufaula extends along the Alabama border, and its 45,000 acres harbor some of the biggest bass in either state. Channels, ledges and tributary mouths are the key areas - Eufaula has very little vegetation - and plastic worms and lizards are often the lures of choice. Lake Lanier Largemouth and spotted bass are both abundant at Lake Lanier, arguably Georgia's best bass lake. The 38,000-acre reservoir is deep and clear, with no vegetation to speak of, but anglers who cast around deep points, drop-offs and submerged islands have a chance to hook up with 15-pound largemouths and 8-pound spots. Fish of these proportions are rare, of course, but healthy 3- to 5-pounders are so common you'd have a hard time not catching them.

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Top 5 Best Bass Fishing Lakes in Georgia

Berry Hill High School in Bucknall is among the schools to be demolished.

SEVEN former schools are set to be demolished so the sites can be sold off for redevelopment.

Outline planning consent is being sought to bulldoze the schools, which were replaced as part of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.

The scheme saw 261 million of Government cash spent on improving all secondary and special schools in the city.

Now Stoke-on-Trent City Council wants to demolish the redundant buildings to make the sites more attractive to potential developers.

It will also help address concerns over them becoming a blight on the landscape and attracting vandalism.

One of the sites the former Edensor Technology College in Longton has been targeted by arsonists several times in the last two months.

The buildings awaiting demolition also include:

The former Berry Hill High;

The ex-Mitchell Business and Enterprise College, Bucknall;

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The Sentinel commented Seven former Stoke-on-Trent schools to be bulldozed

Prickly Pear Cactus growing by old weathered fence posts on a Texas ranch in the hill country. Scroll down to see more Texas landscape photography This rustic scene pictures a dilapidated old farm house in Gonzales county. Scenic Texas landscape photo of a herd of cattle grazing in a field of bluebonnets on a Texas cattle ranch. Red, white and blue colors of a Texas flag on a ranch windmill in central texas.

Rural Texas Landscapes If you're If you're doing business in Texas, you want to emphasize that local connection. You can use Texas stock photography to convey the message that you are a rural Texas company. Stock photos can be used in everything from from brochures to billboards.

Utilize your office space to display contemporary art photography with a western theme. Nature photos of Texas, displayed as photo art prints will create a relaxed mood in a busy office environment and add color to the work space. These hill country landscape pictures can be reproduced as large prints that are suitable for framing. Add a touch of Texas to your conference room or reception area with scenic landscape photographs of the Lone Star State.

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Texas Landscape Photography - Hill Country Pictures ...

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Terraced hill landscapes provide flat surfaces for plants to grow on in hilly areas. They help the gardener maximize usable space and prevent excessive runoff. Less runoff also prevents erosion and helps with water infiltration, which means terraced land needs less irrigation and loses less soil. Most gardeners use wood to create terrace edges, although some use bricks, rocks or concrete.

Measure the rise of the hill to determine how many terraces you will build. On moderately sloped hills, each terrace should be about 2 feet tall. A 10-foot-tall slope will need five terraces. If the hill is incredibly steep, the terraces can be taller than 2 feet to eliminate the need for as many levels. Very gradual slopes can have shorter terraces.

Measure the run of the hill to determine the length of the terraces. The horizontal distance from the base of the hill to the point beneath the center of the hill, also called "the run," will determine the length of the sides of each terrace. For example, consider a hill with a 10-foot rise and 20-foot run. If the hill is going to have five 2-foot tall terraces, each of the five terraces will have to have 4-foot-long sides to span the 20-foot run of the hill.

Measure the width of the hill to decide how wide to make each terrace. Many terraced gardens have terraces that are all the same width. However, some have terraces that get smaller toward the top of a hill if the garden is on a hill that gets smaller toward the top. Some terraces might also be less wide to avoid a tree or another structure in the yard.

Buy or cut timber to use for the walls of the terraces. Each terrace needs one piece of timber across its front and two side pieces. The pieces need to be about 1 1/2 to 2 times as wide as the height of the terraces, so that one edge of the timber can rest underground for stability.

Dig a trench along the bottom of the hill to place the first terrace support wall inside of. Make sure the trench is wide enough so that the timber fits inside it. The trench should be about one-half to one times as deep as the height of the terrace. Dig the trench so that the timber sticks up to the correct terrace height when placed in the trench.

Link:
How to Terrace a Hill Landscape | eHow

Tucked into a hillside between boulders and camouflaged with stone hues and a green roof, this home on San Juan Island in Washington State almost seems to disappear into the landscape from certain angles. A wall of windows provides expansive views of the scenery, with operable glass panels providing access to an outdoor terrace.

Olson Kunding Architects cut out portions of the existing rock at the building site to insert the residence, fitting it in like a puzzle piece and leaving the excavation marks from drills and blasts visible on the stonework of the house.

The rock remains a major architectural feature of the interior, and some rooms have raw walls and ceilings, giving them a cave-like feel. The interior and exterior fireplaces are carved from the stone, and even the sink in the master bathroom consists of a series of hollowed-out basins.

All of this, along with the location in the Salish Sea between Washignton and British Columbia, give the home the atmosphere of a secret lair.

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Camouflaged Concrete: Hill House Blends Into Landscape ...