Can you decipher this 109-years old writing, in a mysterious (to me) language? Yiddish? "Carta postala" sent by [?] from Jassy [Iaşi], Romania on 14 Dec 1902, to "Louie Haimovici, Forsyth Street 143, New York, America", and arrived on 30 Dec 1902 in New York. Also, I show you MINE FLOWERS on Romanian stamps

Could this be in the Yiddish language?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yiddish

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ia%C8%99i

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City

Please help decipher the message, if you have the knowledge!

Thank you! :)

This might be a gem of a postal card, or it could be a not-so-rare type.

But it's already UNIQUE/UNIKAT/UNICATE because I don't think that the sender has sent any duplicate the same day! :)

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Now I show you some ROCKS that are not gemstones, but they are interesting nonetheless.

Stamp series from Romania, 1985.

FLORI DE MINA means MINE FLOWERS, as they are called in the mining industry.

From left to right, and from the upper row:

5 lei (denomination) - Tetrahedrite, from Cavnic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrahedrite from Cavnic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavnic

In 1717, the Cavnic inhabitants defeated the invading Tatar Horde, and that was the last time when Tatars (not Tartars - a misnomer) invaded Romania.

3 L - Quartz, from Ocna de Fier.

"Quartz is the second most abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO₄ silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO₂."

Please explore this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quartz

"Along with Dognecea area, Ocna de Fier is among the few settlements in the world that supported almost continuous mining for some 4000 years.^[2]

Archaeological evidence shows that mining in the area dates back to the Bronze Age (1900 -1700 BC). The main ore exploited in those times was native copper from the oxidation zone of the deposit. Later on, iron ores brought about a gradual switch from copper to iron mining.

Mining was an activity of the Dacians, the ancient inhabitants of present day Romania. After the Roman conquest in 106, mining was expanded in the Roman province of Dacia. At Berzovis (present day Berzovia, ten kilometres northwest of Ocna de Fier) a Roman metallurgy school, Schola fabrorum, was established, showing the keen interest the Romans had in metal extraction. At Cracul cu Aur (= "Golden Hill" in Romanian), north of Ocna de Fier, old Roman gold mining galleries can still be seen. They look like the much better preserved ones at Rosia Montana ("Verespatak"), in the Apuseni Mountains.

The "Constantin Gruescu" Iron Aesthetic Mineralogy Museum is located in Ocna de Fier".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocna_de_fier

50 b [1 Leu = 100 bani] - Quartz and Calcite, from Herja.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcite

DID YOU KNOW that the biggest regional museum of Mineralogy in Europe is in Baia Mare, Romania?

"Muzeul de Mineralogie din Baia Mare este cel mai mare muzeu regional din Europa, multe dintre exponate fiind considerate unicate mondiale şi valori de patrimoniu."

http://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muzeul_de_Mineralogie_Baia_Mare

2 L - Gypsum, from Cavnic.

"Gypsum is a very soft mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO₄·2H₂O.^[3] It is found in alabaster, a decorative stone used in Ancient Egypt. It is the second softest mineral on the Mohs Hardness Scale."

"Gypsum is used in a wide variety of applications:

• Gypsum Board^[15] primarily used as a finish for walls and ceilings; known in construction as drywall.
• Plaster ingredient.
• Fertilizer and soil conditioner. In the late 18th and early 19th century, Nova Scotia gypsum, often referred to as plaster, was a highly sought fertilizer for wheat fields in the United States. It is also used in ameliorating sodic soils.^[16]
• A binder in fast-dry tennis court clay.
• Plaster of Paris (surgical splints; casting moulds; modeling).
• A wood substitute in the ancient world; for example, when wood became scarce due to deforestation on Bronze Age Crete, gypsum was employed in building construction at locations where wood was previously used.^[17]
• A tofu (soy bean curd) coagulant, making it ultimately a major source of dietary calcium, especially in Asian cultures which traditionally use few dairy products.
• Adding hardness to water used for homebrewing.^[18]
• A component of Portland cement used to prevent flash setting of concrete.
• Soil/water potential monitoring (soil moisture tension).
• A common ingredient in making mead.
• In the medieval period it was mixed, by scribes and illuminators, with lead carbonate (powdered white lead) to make gesso which was applied to illuminated letters and gilded with gold in illuminated manuscripts.
• In foot creams, shampoos and many other hair products.
• A medicinal agent in traditional Chinese medicine called Shi Gao.
• A medicinal agent in Ayurveda medicine's Rasashastra branch (Indian alchemy) (ref. Rasamruta).^{[citation needed]}
• Impression plasters in dentistry"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gypsum

4 L - Stibine, from Băiuţ (Hungarian: Erzsébetbánya), a commune in Maramureş County, Romania.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stibine

In Romanian: http://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C4%83iu%C8%9B,_Maramure%C8%99

1 L - Native Copper, from Altân Tepe.

"Copper, as native copper, is one of the few metallic elements to occur in uncombined form as a natural mineral, although most commonly occurs in oxidized states and mixed with other elements. Native copper was an important ore of copper in historic times and was used by pre-historic peoples".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_copper

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alt%C3%A2n_Tepe_mine

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Happy Sunday Stamps meme!

Please visit: http://viridianpostcard.blogspot.com/

Mon Amur Léopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) cartes maximum - Royaume-Uni de Grande-Bretagne et d'Irlande du Nord

This was a folded card, which I glued to postcardize it, and I added a mailing label with a valid UK address, on the back. As far as Royal Mail UK is concerned, it's a postcard, so it's eligible for the requested pictorial postmark.

In USA, the postal associates don't care (rightfully so) if it's a cover, or a postcard, or a folded card, or some philatelic souvenir page that is not intended for mailing.

What matters in USA is that I relinquish stamps in exchange for collectible postmarking, with no obligation of later postal delivery of each item separately, by a mail carrier. 

Just return them to me in the SASE that I provided to you, USPS.

Unless I request separate delivery, and I have enough postage on each item that I want to be returned alone on the same day as the postmark date.

I don't know yet if the British postal employees would be willing to philatelically postmark for me some souvenir cards/pages, that are not covers and not postcards.

But I already verified that postcardized items (that were originally folded cards, or cut-outs from books) are acceptable.

On the other hand, I wish that USPS would not charge for the return envelope with the postmarked items inside.

Royal Mail UK considers that I already relinquished enough postage for the project.

USPS, please consider, and you might see a (small) spike in revenue. :)

Amour is Love in French; Amur is a river.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amur_river

There are about 300 in zoos worldwide.

"The Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis), also known as the Far Eastern leopard, Korean leopard, and Manchurian leopard, is a wild feline predator native to the mountainous areas of the taiga as well as other temperate forests in Korea, Northeast China and the Russian Far East. 

It is one of the rarest felids in the world with an estimated 30 to 35 individuals remaining in the wild.^[2] The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has deemed the Amur leopard critically endangered, meaning that it is considered to be facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.^[1]"

^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amur_leopard}

Pink nose leopard...(in the top postcard)

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Happy Pink Saturday! (still open on Sunday!)

^{Please visit "Pretty in pink"/ "Show us your pink" [objects, that is :)] meme here:}

^{http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/}

"College is a waste of time", says Dale J. Stephens - read from CNN.com. Also, I show you metaphoric maximum cards about that, from USA, UK and SWA (South-West Africa, present-day Namibia)): virtual reality, Cape buffalos, grizzly bear and John Lennon

Please read and think about it - you don't have to agree 100% with him to recognize his valid points, among all his points [of view].
The title sounds too dismissive - it's for catchiness purposes...:)
I agree with a lot of his arguments. :)
College is a waste of time - CNN.com

"I left college two months ago because it rewards 

conformity rather than independence, 

competition rather than collaboration, 

regurgitation rather than learning 

and theory rather than application. 

Our creativity, innovation and curiosity are schooled out of us.

Failure is punished instead of seen as a learning opportunity. 

We think of college as a stepping-stone to success rather than a means to gain knowledge. 

College fails to empower us with the skills necessary to become productive members of today's global entrepreneurial economy.

College is expensive. 

The College Board Policy Center found that the cost of public university tuition is about 3.6 times higher today than it was 30 years ago, adjusted for inflation. 

In the book "Academically Adrift," sociology professors Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa say that 36% of college graduates showed no improvement in critical thinking, complex reasoning or writing after four years of college. 

Student loan debt in the United States, unforgivable in the case of bankruptcy, outpaced credit card debt in 2010 and will top $1 trillion in 2011."

Cape buffalos need to stay with The Herd...But do YOU?

Seize the opportunity when you have the chance, not when you would PREFER.

Timing.

Think Facebook.

Listen to the "music/vocation" deep inside you.

If possible.

Imagine that you CAN do it - what would you like to do with your life?

Do your thing...

Later on, you might consider also doing what OTHERS would like you to do with YOUR life...

Maybe.

Best wishes to YOU, with or without college studies and degrees!

"A major function of college is to signal to potential employers that one is qualified to work. 

The Internet is replacing this signaling function. 

Employers are recruiting on LinkedIn, Facebook, StackOverflow and Behance. 

People are hiring on Twitter, selling their skills on Google, and creating personal portfolios to showcase their talent. 

Because we can document our accomplishments, and have them socially validated with tools such as LinkedIn Recommendations, we can turn experiences into opportunity. 

As more and more people graduate from college, employers are unable to discriminate among job seekers based on a college degree and can instead hire employees based on their talents.

Of course, some people want a formal education. I do not think everyone should leave college, but I challenge my peers to consider the opportunity cost of going to class. 

If you want to be a doctor, going to medical school is a wise choice. I do not recommend keeping cadavers in your garage. 

On the other hand, what else could you do during your next 50-minute class? How many e-mails could you answer? How many lines of code could you write?

Some might argue that college dropouts will sit in their parents' basements playing Halo 2, doing Jell-O shots and smoking pot. 

These are valid but irrelevant concerns, for the people who indulge in drugs and alcohol do so before, during and after college. It's not a question of authorities; it's a question of priorities. 

We who take our education outside and beyond the classroom understand how actions build a better world. We will change the world regardless of the letters after our names.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Dale Stephens."

College is a waste of time - CNN.com

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Happy PFF (Postcard Friendship Friday)!

Please visit: http://thebestheartsarecrunchy.blogspot.com/ (wait until Beth posts the today's Linky tool for the meme, then make your entry, if you want to join).