My friend's blog

My friend's blog about omani kitchen, car accident and palm tree. First, Omani kitchen. In Oman, many people still eat in the traditional fashion which is also the way that the Prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him, taught his companions. The food is arranged on a large circular plate. A mat or cloth is set on the ground and the plate of food is placed in its center. Everyone gathers around this plate and eats with his/her right hand. It is the Sunnah (i.e. example) of the Prophet, peace be upon him, to eat with the first three fingers of the right hand (i.e. the thumb, index finger, and middle finger) and to eat from what is closest, without reaching all over the plate. The meal begins by remembering the bounties of Allah, starting by mentioning the name of Allah, and ends with praising Allah "who has fed us, given us drink and made us Muslims." If the family or gathering is large, several plates will be set out. Often men will eat from one plate while women gather around a second plate. In Oman, the main meal of the day consists of rice with meat, fish or chicken and a vegetable salad. This main meal is generally served mid-day.

second, car accident.Car accident is a euphemism for a road traffic incident which usually involves at least one road vehicle being in collision with, either another vehicle, another road user, or a stationary roadside object, and which usually results in injury or property damage. Phrases used to describe similar incidents include: auto accident, car crash, car smash, car wreck, fender bender, motor vehicle accident (MVA), personal injury collision (PIC), road accident, road traffic accident (RTA), road traffic collision (RTC), road traffic incident (RTI), traffic collision. Such incidents result in the deaths of an estimated 1.2 million people worldwide each year, and injure about forty times this number.

.Third, palm tree

Date palm ( Phoenix dactylifera L. ) is considered the most important fruit crop in the Sultanate of Oman and occupying nearly 50% of the cultivated land in Oman. It is estimated that 35,000 hectares of land are planted with date palms and 28,000 hectares with other crops, including 11,000 hectares planted with rotation crops . These statistics reflect the importance of date palm tree to the Omani people who have lived with this tree for centuries. The date palm has retained its value for the dwellers of the desert because of its adaptive characteristics to the environment and the wide range of its benefits. It provides the family with many of the life necessities.
The date itself is a high energy food item for both people and livestock. Any surplus dates are sold or traded for other items needed by the family. Branches and leaves of the palm were used to make baskets, ropes, boxes, and crates. The same traditional practices of date palm cultivation and maintenance that have been implemented since ancient times are still practiced by most date farms in Oman. In many areas of the Sultanate, date orchards are well-developed in terms of cultivar selection, planting, harvesting, marketing and storage. The palm tree provided building materials, thus most of the old houses were built in palm gardens are of palm trunks and mud, and the parts of the tree not having other uses were a major source of fuel for cooking and heat in the winter. Many of the youth have left their farms to the cities in the sake of stable-income jobs as a result of oil discovery in the Sultanate. Therefore, most of the traditional cultural practices are still carried out by old men with only a slight variation or no change at all , since most of the modern techniques are not applicable by many farmers. The objective of this paper is to present a review of the traditional date palm cultural practices and the utilization of date palm tree as a major fruit crop in the Oman. This will include propagation, land preparation, planting, irrigation, fertilization, intercropping, pollination, pest management pruning,

harvesting, consumption, utilization and marketing and storage..

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Oman

Oman

The sultanate of Oman is located in the south-east corner of the Arabian peninsula and borders on the Indian Ocean.

Definition

It is the third largest country in Arabia after Saudi Arabia and Yemen and comprises five distinct geographical regions, the Musandam peninsula, the Batinah coastal strip, the Hajjar mountains, the Naj desert and Dhofar. The Musandam peninsula is separate from the rest of the country and comprises a rocky headland adjacent to the straits of Hormuz. The Batinah coastal strip is located between the sea and the mountains in the northern part of the country and varies between 20 and 25 km wide, this is the most densely populated region of Oman. The Hajjar mountains are a very distinctive feature; running in a belt parallel to the coast in the northern part of the country, they are the source of most of Oman's water. The Naj desert, comprising several areas including the Wahiba sands, separates the northern mountains from those of the south and its population is mostly nomadic. Dhofar is a mountainous region in the south of the country with a tropical climate and is the only part of Arabia to experience a summer monsoon.
Until the discovery of oil Oman's economy was based upon a number of natural resources, the most important of which were copper from the mountains in the north and frankincense from Dhofar. Also Oman's position on the Indian Ocean meant that it was able to establish a long-distance maritime trade based on the monsoons of the Indian Ocean. In addition, fishing and dates have remained important components of Oman's economy even after the discovery of oil.
The earliest settled communities in Oman have been dated to 5000 BCE and by 2000 BCE copper was being exported to Mesopotamia. In the fourth century BCE Oman was occupied by the Persians who remained in control of the country until the advent of Islam in 650 CE. Under Islam Oman's trading network flourished and included East Africa, India and the Far East. During this period various coastal towns grew up, the most important of which were Sohar, Qalhat and Dhofar (al-Balid). In 1503 the coastal towns were captured and occupied by the Portuguese. As a result the towns of the interior, the most important of which were Nizwa and Bahla, grew in power and influence. By 1650 the Portuguese had been expelled by the Ya'ariba leader, Sultan bin Sayf, who rebuilt the fort at Nizwa. Internal conflicts allowed a Persian invasion in 1743 but this was brought to an end by Ahmad ibn Sa'id governor of Sohar who was elected imam in 1743. He was the founder of the Al Bu Sa'id dynasty which continues to rule Oman today.
In 1730 Oman had acquired the island of Zanzibar and by the 1830s Sultan Sa'id ibn Sultan had built a new capital in Zanzibar. From 1856 Oman and Zanzibar were ruled by two branches of the same family.
For various reasons Oman was not modernized until the 1970S, which has meant that traditional architecture has survived here better than in most of the other Gulf states. The main building materials employed in Oman are mud brick, baked brick, stone, mangrove poles, palm trees and lime (used for mortar and plaster). The particular combination of materials employed depends on the region and type of building.
Baked brick is used fairly infrequently in Oman and is confined mostly to the port of Sohar. Baked bricks were first used in the early Islamic city and were also used in houses of the nineteenth century although it is not certain if bricks were still made in nineteenth-century Oman or imported from elsewhere. Occasionally baked bricks are found incorporated into buildings outside Sohar such as the arches of the Great Mosque in Bahla or in the columns of the mosque of the Samad quarter in Nizwa. Mud brick on the other hand is more common and is frequently used in the oasis towns of the interior. It is usually used in conjunction with mud mortar and plaster sometimes mixed with lime. Mangrove poles imported from East Africa are frequently used for roofing in the houses of the coast. Palm trunks are also used for roofing there and for inland parts of the country. Palm fronds and trunks are also used for less permanent structures on the coast. Several types of stone are used for building in Oman; amongst the more common types are coral blocks on the north coast, coastal limestone in Dhofar and roughly hewn blocks of igneous rock in the mountains. Lime for use in mortars is either made from burning limestone or coral blocks.
The architecture of Oman can be divided into several types based on the type of building, the materials used and the location. The main groups are houses, mosques, forts and mansions.
Until recently the most common form of architecture on the coast was the palm-frond house which may take several forms from a single-room temporary dwelling used for the date harvest to a large enclosure incorporating winter and summer rooms. The basic unit of construction is a rectangular room measuring approximately 3 by 5.5 m. The walls are made from stems (zur) tied together to form a panel whilst the main form of support are palm trunks placed externally. The winter houses have flat roofs whereas the summer houses have pitched roofs and are called Khaymah (tent). Often houses made of other materials have palm-frond roofs or verandas.
Mud-brick houses are found throughout Oman, although they are most common in oasis towns. They are usually built with very shallow foundations or directly on to the ground, and the first metre or so is often built out of irregular stones to serve as a base for the mud-brick superstructure. Simple mud-brick houses have pitched palm-frond (barristi) roofs whilst the larger houses have flat earth roofs supported by palm trunks or mangrove poles. Some of the larger mud-brick houses are three storeys high. Stone-built houses are common on the coast or in the mountains. One of the simplest forms is a type of coral house found in the Batinah. These are built out of rough lumps of coral rag which are plastered over with mud; the roofs are usually made of palm fronds; locally these are called kerin. In Salalah and the Dhofar coast houses are made out of roughly squared limestone blocks which are laid in courses and interspersed with wooden tie-beams. Usually, however, stone buildings in Oman are made out of rough-hewn stones laid in successive bands approximately half a metre high and covered with a plaster surface, producing walls with layers of overlapping plaster coats.
Mosques are mostly built out of stone or mud brick with flat roofs. Minarets are rare in Oman before the nineteenth century. A fairly common feature in Omani mosques is the combination of mihrab and minbar, where the minbar is entered through an opening in the mihrab (this feature is also found in other parts of the Indian Ocean littoral such as East Africa and Yemen). In the north of Oman mosque roofs are usually supported by arches resting on cylindrical columns, in Dhofar the columns are usually octagonal. Built shrines do not occur in the Ibadi region of the north but are fairly common in the predominantly Sunni region of Dhofar where they usually have pointed domes.
Fortified buildings are one of the most noticeable features of Omani architecture. Most settlements, however small, have some form of fortified structure. There are two main types of fortified building in Oman, the sur or fortified enclosure and the citadel. A sur is a fortified enclosure which is used on a temporary basis during raids or other disturbances, consequently the design of such enclosures is fairly simple and consists of a roughly square enclosure which may or may not have a tower. On the other hand the citadels or forts of the main towns are fairly sophisticated structures designed for use with artillery. The most famous forts in Oman are at Nizwa, Ibra, Izki, Mudhairib and al-Rustaq. These buildings were influenced by the Portuguese forts of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, although they also included local developments such as the use of two diagonally opposed towers linked by thick curtain walls.
One of the consequences of Oman's vast trading links was the growth of a wealthy mercantile class who were able to build mansions. Some of these are located within coastal cities such as Sur or Muscat, whilst others are rural dwellings set in their own grounds such as Bayt Na'man on the Batinah plain. Common features found in mansions and in more important houses include elaborately carved doorways, pre-cast stucco mouldings around doorways and recesses, and painted wooden ceilings. Such buildings often have a private prayer room, a light well (shamsiya) and ventilation slits above the windows.

Oil The Black Gold

We use energy in every thing we do: communication, transportation and comfortable living. Most of this energy is derived from heat or machines or electricity or chemicals or nuclear materials. Fossil fuels including oil and coal are also forms of energy and in fact they are also used to produce electric and heat energy.
Fossil fuels are formed from the remains of animals and plants that lived millions of years ago in aquatic environment. Over the years, these remains got covered by several layers of sand and rocks. Heat and pressure from these layers helped the remains turn into fuels like oil, coal and natural gas which are commonly considered as non-renewable sources of energy. Due to the potential of generating high revenue oil commonly referred to as "Black Gold". Oil and Natural Gas are two main resources flourishing the economy of the Sultanate of Oman. In the year 2007 the Oil & Gas sector are expected to contribute 79 per cent of the overall state public revenue of RO 4,490 million. The earliest reference to oil is found in Mesopotamia around 4000 BC, bitumen – a tar like substance, was used as sealant and resin for their ships. Egyptians have used a similar material for embalming and reinforcing their constructions. Roman emperors we are told carried crude-oil lamps. Chinese literature of the 3rd BC mentions the use of a viscous material capable of producing fire, presumably crude oil. Notably in the United States, the native Indians called the Senecas, collected the oil seeping out of natural springs and salt-wells and bottled it as a medicine called the "Seneca Oil". Be it for medicine or for adhesive, technology enabled the use of oil in its crude form in both extraction and purification. For efficient fuel extraction technology contributed the refinery process which was very primitive in the early stages of oil discovery. Just imagine that the Chinese use bamboo sticks to dig for oil. It is believed that Benjamin Jr, a chemist at Yale University, was hired to analyze the properties of the "Seneca Oil" as an illuminant. Although oil flows from natural springs in many places, it is obtained by digging a well and pumping the oil out. The first oil well drilled in United States by Edwin Drake in 1859 was only 69 feet deep and produced 15 barrels a day. He was backed up by Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company to survey oil reserves in Titusville, Pennsylvania, Later Texas and Oklahoma became the centers of US oil production leading to a boom.
Originally used as medicine, oil now produces several fuels such as diesel, kerosene, gasoline and jet fuel. Today almost all forms of locomotives like cars, trucks, buses, trains, ships and airplanes are all fueled by oil. Even the electricity used by trains can be produced by oil. Oil is used in our daily life in several ways. Apart from fuels several extracts of oil are used to produce lubricants and ethylene oxide that are petrochemical products. Some medicines like pain-relievers are manufactured from chemicals like acetylsalicylic acid extracted from petroleum. Certain cosmetics and personal care products commonly use Vaseline a petroleum jelly. This jelly also acts as a stabilizer in fireworks and explosives. Naphthalene a tar-based product is used to make moth balls to protect from pest and it is also used in insecticides. Due to this property some fertilizers used petroleum-based chemicals. Wax is another raw product derived from petroleum which is also used in shoe-polishes. Cleaning agents, detergents for clothes are also made from oil-based products. Most plastic products like synthetic fabric, rubber shoes, carpets, toys, food ware, containers, footwear, compact discs and cassette tapes are made from petrochemicals which are obtained while refining petroleum. Which are petrochemicals based. Even the polyester fabrics we use are made from petrochemicals. Several ink dyes are made from petrochemicals. Make-up creams, nail polish, lipstick, hair dye and perfumes are all made chemicals extracted from oil. Event the bottle of water we drink is created using petroleum products. Finally there is the residual material from purifying oil: the asphalt or tar is used to lay roads and seal water-proof tanks. After knowing all the above uses of oil, can you believe that once upon time oil was an unwelcome byproduct of salt wells drilled and abandoned due to oil contamination? So it is technology that has taught man to identify the potential uses of earth's natural resources and improve his life style and living.

Strange Birds

Sometimes a strange-looking bird shows up at your feeder. The bird may look somewhat familiar, but it has odd coloration, white patches in all the wrong places, a featherless head, or a misshapen beak. We'll describe these abnormalities and try to explain why they occur.If the bird looks normal, but is simply an unfamiliar species to you, visit our online Bird Guide for identification help. Birds occasionally do wander outside their typical ranges, and we offer some reasons such rarities might occur.

Color Variants
Common birds show a surprising amount of color variation—watch a flock of American Goldfinches in spring and notice how the males range from pale lemon to vivid golden yellow. Other color oddities are a bit more confusing—you might see a bird that looks like a Dark-eyed Junco with a white head, a pure white bird shaped like a Blue Jay, or a European Starling whose plumage color looks much paler then usual. Most likely the bird really is what you think it is. Remember that size, shape, and behavior often help to identify a bird even when its plumage looks odd. Comparing the strange bird with other birds nearby can be very helpful. Try using color variations to help you keep track of individual birds—you may discover that your "special" bird has quite a personality!Some color variation—such as albinism or leucism—results from a bird's genetic makeup. The upper photo at right shows a leucistic Northern Cardinal. Notice its plumage, while not pure white, is very pale but it has some color in its wing feathers. Its crest and stout, red beak are still useful identification characters. In the lower photo, a partial albino Spotted Towhee visits a feeder. Its body and wings have pure white patches, but its distinctive rufous flank patch remains.
Other color variants are related to diet. A common example is color variation in male House Finches, as pictured at left—typical red plumage is shown in the top photo, orange in the middle and yellow at the bottom. Coloration may also reflect an individual's health and age.
Here are more details about some common color variations:
Albinism: All- or partially-white plumage. Albinism results from a genetic mutation that interferes with production of the pigment melanin. Birds that lack not just melanin but all pigments are called true or complete albinos. As well as pure white plumage, they lack pigment in their skin and eyes. Partial albinos have a pied appearance, with patches of pure white feathers.
Leucism: Extra-pale plumage. Leucism is related to albinism, but in this case the normal pigmentation is diluted rather than lacking, resulting in birds whose plumage is lighter than normal, but not pure white. Plumage patterns, such as a mask or wingbars, often remain detectable.
Melanism: Extra-dark plumage. Melanistic birds have a genetic mutation that results in an excess of dark pigmentation. Some cases also result from diet. Some species have a naturally occurring melanic form (or "morph"), for instance the Red-tailed Hawk.
Xanthochroism: (sometimes xanthism or xanthochromism) Yellowish or orange plumage (usually instead of red). May be caused genetically or by diet.
Erythrism: Reddish or rufous plumage. Some species have commonly occurring rufous form, for instance the Eastern Screech-Owl.

Bald-headed Birds
Every year the Cornell Lab of Ornithology receives reports of "bald-headed birds", mostly Blue Jays or Northern Cardinals such as the male at right. Most bald bird reports occur in summer and fall, which are typical molting times, when birds go through a normal replacement of feathers.Many of these strange-looking birds may be juveniles undergoing their first pre-basic molt, which produces the first winter adult plumage. For some unknown reason the bald birds may have dropped all of their head feathers at once. Other cases of baldness may result from an infestation of feather mites or lice, or from some environmental or nutritional factor. But no-one knows for sure, and the condition has not been studied widely. Whatever the reason, bald birds usually recover successfully from their serious "bad hair days", growing normal head plumage within a few weeks, and able to face the world again without shame!

Birds with Deformed Beaks
Sometimes birders observe birds with odd-looking beaks. Numerous Black-capped Chickadees with greatly elongated and down-curved upper beaks (such as the one on the left) were reported in 1998-1999 in southern Alaska, for instance. Scientists studying this phenomenon have yet to determine a specific cause. Bird beaks are much like human fingernails—soft structures that actually grow at a constant rate all the time. Many factors have been implicated in causing birds' beaks to grow abnormally, including structural damage to the beak, disease, parasites, nutritional deficiencies, genetic defects, exposure to extreme heat, and exposure to environmental contaminants.A slight malformation may not affect a bird's survival, but an extreme deformity may make normal feeding difficult if not impossible.Learn more from this article from Birdscope: Mysterious Bill Deformities Seen in Alaskan Chickadees.
Rare Birds
As many birders will attest, nothing is more exciting than identifying a new species in your yard, especially a rare bird—one that is out of its typical range. What causes birds to roam far from their normal range is never certain. Below are some possible explanations:
Certain species, such as crossbills and Pine Grosbeaks, may arrive en masse in response to scarce food in their northern homes. These irregular migrations are termed irruptions.
Migrating birds may be blown off course by the strong winds of hurricanes and other violent storms, or grounded by fog, heavy rain, or other adverse weather conditions.
Some birds, often juveniles, disperse northward after the breeding season in what is referred to as post-breeding or vagrant wandering.
Occasionally birds occur in new areas by migrating in a direction opposite to that expected, referred to as reverse migration. One theory to explain this is that their internal navigational system is malfunctioning.
Finally, range is a dynamic concept, and a species' range often changes, albeit slowly. Tufted Titmice and Northern Cardinals, for instance, live much further north than they did 100 years ago.
If you are fortunate enough to see a rare bird, you should probably report it to your local bird club, Rare Bird Alert, or Audubon chapter. Take careful notes about what you see, recording plumage, beak shape, eye color, and any other features that will aid in identification. Draw a sketch of the bird noting any distinctive characteristics. Also, try to take a photograph or video of the bird in action, and confirm your sighting with another knowledgeable birder. Your careful documentation of this bird will ensure that your report becomes part of the scientific record.