Here is Arnold

Planting a vanilla orchid

hereisarnold — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:49:39 +0000

The vanilla orchid Vanilla planifolia will only need the potting medium to support it until it has established itself on the real support (e.g. the trunk of a tree). You can for instance use bark or moss as potting medium. Pebbles will also work; the most important factor is that the potting medium drains well and prevents water from lingering.

In the wild, Vanilla planifolia uses trees and similar to cling on for support. In our homes, we have to provide it with similar structures to grow on. As soon as it has become established it will produce plenty of aerial roots capable of absorbing water as well as nutrients.

Merlot

hereisarnold — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:48:13 +0000

The earlist mentioned of the grape Merlot dates back to 1784, when a local Bordeaux official referred to wine made from Merlot grapes as one of the best wines of the Libournais region. It has been suggested that Merlot may be an offspring of Cabernet Franc.

The name Merlot is derived from the word merlot, which means “young blackbird” in one of the French dialects. The Merlot grape is dark-blue, just like a blackbird, and blackbirds are also very fond of eating Merlot grapes. Eventually, the grape found its way to Italy where it seem to have been referred to as Bordò. During the 19^th century, the grape was introduced to Swiss from Bordeaux.

Merlot vines prefer cold soil and are especially fond of clay with high iron content. Ideally plant the vine in well drained soil. Since this vine produces buds fairly early, it is susceptible to frost injury. The grape is thin skinned and prone to rot. Once the grape has reached its initial ripeness level, it can quickly become over ripe and it must therefore be harvested promptly. There are however wine makers that have turned the over-ripeness into and advantage when producing wines, such as Rolland who is known to pick the grapes fairly late in order to bring more fruit body to the wines.

Merlot grapes grow in loose bunches and the grapes can get really big. Compared to the famous Cabernet Sauvignon, the Merlot grape has less of a blue/black hue and fewer tannins.

World of Warcraft

hereisarnold — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:47:18 +0000

Do you like World of Warcraft? Do you like musicals? Do you like the Internet? If you can answer yes to these three questions, you will probably LOVE this neat little video that I found online. It is one of my all-time favourites.

Hialeah

hereisarnold — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:42:13 +0000

Hialeah is a city located in Florida’s Miami-Dade County. With a population of over 200,000, it is the fifth largest city in the state. It is a part of the Miami metropolitan area and the Greater South Florida metropolitan area. Hialeah is found on the prairie between the Everglades and the Bay of Biscayne.

The interesting name “Hialeah“ is believed to have been derived from the Creek language, also known as Muskogee and Mvskoke. The language is spoken by members of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. When the Muskogee word for prairie – haiyakpo – is combined with the word for pretty – hili– it forms a word similar to Hialeah. An alternative theory is that the name is of Seminole origin and means “Upland Prairie” or “High Prairie”.

In 2007, Forbes name Hialeah as one of the most Livable Suburbs in the United States. Hialeah is considered a working class city and a large percentage of its population can trace its ancestry back to Latin America or the Caribbean. The city has been home to a Cuban community since the late 1960s.

The majority religion in Hialeah is Roman Catholicism, but the city is also the home to the headquarter of the Santería church “Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye”. Santería is an Afro-Caribbean religion based on the religion of the Yoruba people of Nigeria.