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Are we driving technology, or are we being driven by it? This question and others are addressed in the Analytical Corner - The Components of a Winning National Digital Strategy led by Jennifer Beckman, Debbie Chungu and Emre Alper at the IMF Headquarters during the 2019 IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings, October 16, 2019 in Washington, DC. IMF Photograph/Stefani Reynolds
This waterproof tablet is serious about entertainment. Hear every beat thanks to Hi-res audio, noise canceling technology and front stereo speakers. See every shade on the 8” (20.3 cm) screen bursting with Sony’s display technology. With an impressive rating, you won't ever have to worry about water or dust getting in the way of performance. This super-light, super-slim tablet is a true feat of engineering - crafted from the highest-quality materials with clean lines and a rounded aluminum frame.
Launched: 2014 November
Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (Quad-core 2,5 GHz)
Memory: 3 GB RAM, 16 GB internal storage, micro SDXC slot
Screen: 8-inch TFT LCD, 1200x1920, 283 dpi
Dimensions: 213.4 x 123.6 x 6.4 mm
Weight: 270 g
Photo: Thomas Ohlsson Photography
www.thomasohlsson.com | 500px | Facebook | Flickr | Instagram
We've went somewhere over the rainbow with resin casting. It will be all about color for a while.
Sterling silver, resin, recycled antique components, faceted crystals.
A 3d diversion inspired by seier+seier+seier's fascinating photos of an agricultural building by German architect Hugo Häring.
Modeled in rhino3d using panelingtools. The timber structural components ended up being curved which isn't correct, but I'm not too bothered about that! All dimensions are guessed... Rendered in 3dstudio with vray as always.
It took me longer to figure out the shape of the component to be repeated than it did to model the entire barn, I ended up having to resort to a pen and paper!
This exclusive Eurobricks Pictorial Review of the 71001: LEGO Collectable Minifigures Series 11 can be found in www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=85145
Peter Blau works with instruments to determine tribological properties of battery components at the High Temperature Materials Laboratory
Two engineers inspecting a component in the assembly line at SATU facility in Singapore
Please attribute copyright © Rolls-Royce PLC
Taken with a Zorki 1 camera in week 226 of my 52 film cameras in 52 weeks project:
52cameras.blogspot.com/
www.flickr.com/photos/tony_kemplen/collections/7215762311...
Rollei RPX 400 film developed in Ilfosol 3 1:14 for 18 minutes at 20 deg C
The intake cowls have been removed from the Rolls-Royce RB211-524H's on G-CIVL and are on pallets in the foreground.
Both inlet and exhaust sides of the RR engine have been sealed, presumably to stop damage from weather ingress?
The San Juan Skyway is one of an All-American Road and a component in the Colorado Scenic and Historic Byway System. It forms a 233.0-mile (375.0 km) loop in the southwest part of the U.S. state of Colorado traversing the heart of the San Juan Mountains. It roughly parallels the routes of the narrow gauge railways: Rio Grande Southern (US 160, SH 145 and SH 62); and the unconnected Ouray and Silverton Branches of the Denver & Rio Grande along US 550 with the Silverton Railroad bridging a part of the gap. Its origin can be traced to the Around the Circle Route promoted by the D&RG.
From Ouray to Durango, the highway is referred to as the Million Dollar Highway. The first 7.0 miles (11.3 km) south of Ouray, the byway follows through the Uncompahgre Gorge. Just past the only tunnel on the route, just south of Ouray, the road crosses over Bear Creek Falls on a bridge at the location of an impassable toll booth on the original road. Before leaving the gorge, the byway passes through a snow shed under the Riverside Slide avalanche zone. A monument stands near here honoring those who have lost their lives in the avalanche, including several snowplow operators. At this point the byway enters Ironton Park, a nice flat valley in contrast to the gorge. The road ascends several switchbacks, or S-curves, past the Idarado mining operation to the 11,018-foot (3,358 m) summit of Red Mountain Pass, providing views of Red Mountain (Colorado) and several ghost towns. Back into the San Juan National Forest, the highway descends through the Chattanooga Valley to Silverton.
From Silverton, the byway passes over the 10,910-foot (3,330 m) Molas Pass and the 10,640-foot (3,240 m) Coal Bank Pass descending past the ski resort of Durango Mountain. From Hermosa, the road parallels the Durango and Silverton narrow gauge railroad before returning to Durango.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Juan_Skyway
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_...
U.S. Army Africa photo by Sgt. 1st Class Kyle Davis
U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) hosted its second annual C4ISR Senior Leaders Conference Feb. 2-4 at Caserma Ederle, headquarters of U.S. Army Africa, in Vicenza, Italy.
The communications and intelligence community event, hosted by Brig. Gen. Robert Ferrell, AFRICOM C4 director, drew approximately 80 senior leaders from diverse U.S. military and government branches and agencies, as well as representatives of African nations and the African Union.
“The conference is a combination of our U.S. AFRICOM C4 systems and intel directorate,” said Ferrell. “We come together annually to bring the team together to work on common goals to work on throughout the year. The team consists of our coalition partners as well as our inter-agency partners, as well as our components and U.S. AFRICOM staff.”
The conference focused on updates from participants, and on assessing the present state and goals of coalition partners in Africa, he said.
“The theme for our conference is ‘Delivering Capabilities to a Joint Information Environment,’ and we see it as a joint and combined team ... working together, side by side, to promote peace and stability there on the African continent,” Ferrell said.
Three goals of this year’s conference were to strengthen the team, assess priorities across the board, and get a better fix on the impact that the establishment of the U.S. Cyber Command will have on all members’ efforts in the future, he said.
“With the stand-up of U.S. Cyber Command, it brings a lot of unique challenges that we as a team need to talk through to ensure that our information is protected at all times,” Ferrell said.
African Union (AU) representatives from four broad geographic regions of Africa attended, which generated a holistic perspective on needs and requirements from across the continent, he said.
“We have members from the African Union headquarters that is located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; we have members that are from Uganda; from Zambia; from Ghana; and also from the Congo. What are the gaps, what are the things that we kind of need to assist with as we move forward on our engagements on the African continent?” Ferrell said.
U.S. Army Africa Commander, Maj. Gen. David R. Hogg, welcomed participants as the conference got under way.
“We’re absolutely delighted to be the host for this conference, and we hope that this week you get a whole lot out of it,” said Hogg.
He took the opportunity to address the participants not only as their host, but from the perspective of a customer whose missions depend on the results of their efforts to support commanders in the field.
“When we’re talking about this group of folks that are here — from the joint side, from our African partners, from State, all those folks — it’s about partnership and interoperability. And every commander who’s ever had to fight in a combined environment understands that interoperability is the thing that absolutely slaps you upside the head,” Hogg said.
“We’re in the early stages of the process here of working with the African Union and the other partners, and you have an opportunity to design this from the end state, versus just building a bunch of ‘gunkulators.’ And so, the message is: think about what the end state is supposed to look like and construct the strategy to support the end state.
“Look at where we want to be at and design it that way,” Hogg said.
He also admonished participants to consider the second- and third-order effects of their choices in designing networks.
“With that said, over the next four days, I hope this conference works very well for you. If there’s anything we can do to make your stay better, please let us know,” Hogg said.
Over the following three days, participants engaged in a steady stream of briefings and presentations focused on systems, missions and updates from the field.
Col. Joseph W. Angyal, director of U.S. Army Africa G-6, gave an overview of operations and issues that focused on fundamentals, the emergence of regional accords as a way forward, and the evolution of a joint network enterprise that would serve all interested parties.
“What we’re trying to do is to work regionally. That’s frankly a challenge, but as we stand up the capability, really for the U.S. government, and work through that, we hope to become more regionally focused,” he said.
He referred to Africa Endeavor, an annual, multi-nation communications exercise, as a test bed for the current state of affairs on the continent, and an aid in itself to future development.
“In order to conduct those exercises, to conduct those security and cooperation events, and to meet contingency missions, we really, from the C4ISR perspective, have five big challenges,” Angyal said.
“You heard General Hogg this morning talk about ‘think about the customer’ — you’ve got to allow me to be able to get access to our data; I’ve got to be able to get to the data where and when I need it; you’ve got to be able to protect it; I have to be able to share it; and then finally, the systems have to be able to work together in order to build that coalition.
“One of the reasons General Ferrell is setting up this joint information enterprise, this joint network enterprise . . . it’s almost like trying to bring together disparate companies or corporations: everyone has their own system, they’ve paid for their own infrastructure, and they have their own policy, even though they support the same major company.
“Now multiply that when you bring in different services, multiply that when you bring in different U.S. government agencies, and then put a layer on top of that with the international partners, and there are lots of policies that are standing in our way.”
The main issue is not a question of technology, he said.
“The boxes are the same — a Cisco router is a Cisco router; Microsoft Exchange server is the same all over the world — but it’s the way that we employ them, and it’s the policies that we apply to it, that really stops us from interoperating, and that’s the challenge we hope to work through with the joint network enterprise.
“And I think that through things like Africa Endeavor and through the joint enterprise network, we’re looking at knocking down some of those policy walls, but at the end of the day they are ours to knock down. Bill Gates did not design a system to work only for the Army or for the Navy — it works for everyone,” Angyal said.
Brig. Gen. Joseph Searyoh, director general of Defense Information Communication Systems, General Headquarters, Ghana Armed Forces, agreed that coordinating policy is fundamental to improving communications with all its implications for a host of operations and missions.
“One would expect that in these modern times there is some kind of mutual engagement, and to build that engagement to be strong, there must be some kind of element of trust. … We have to build some kind of trust to be able to move forward,” said Searyoh.
“Some people may be living in silos of the past, but in the current engagement we need to tell people that we are there with no hidden agenda, no negative hidden agenda, but for the common good of all of us.
“We say that we are in the information age, and I’ve been saying something: that our response should not be optional, but it must be a must, because if you don’t join now, you are going to be left behind.
“So what do we do? We have to get our house in order.
“Why do I say so? We used to operate like this before the information age; now in the information age, how do we operate?
“So, we have to get our house in order and see whether we are aligning ourselves with way things should work now. So, our challenge is to come up with a strategy, see how best we can reorganize our structures, to be able to deliver communications-information systems support for the Ghana Armed Forces,” he said.
Searyoh related that his organization has already accomplished one part of erecting the necessary foundation by establishing an appropriate policy structure.
“What is required now is the implementing level. Currently we have communications on one side, and computers on one side. The lines are blurred — you cannot operate like that, you’ve got to bring them together,” he said.
Building that merged entity to support deployed forces is what he sees as the primary challenge at present.
“Once you get that done you can talk about equipment, you can talk about resources,” Searyoh said. “I look at the current collaboration between the U.S. and the coalition partners taking a new level.”
“The immediate challenges that we have is the interoperability, which I think is one of the things we are also discussing here, interoperability and integration,” said Lt. Col. Kelvin Silomba, African Union-Zambia, Information Technology expert for the Africa Stand-by Force.
“You know that we’ve got five regions in Africa. All these regions, we need to integrate them and bring them together, so the challenge of interoperability in terms of equipment, you know, different tactical equipment that we use, and also in terms of the language barrier — you know, all these regions in Africa you find that they speak different languages — so to bring them together we need to come up with one standard that will make everybody on board and make everybody able to talk to each other,” he said.
“So we have all these challenges. Other than that also, stemming from the background of these African countries, based on the colonization: some of them were French colonized, some of them were British colonized and so on, so you find that when they come up now we’ve adopted some of the procedures based on our former colonial masters, so that is another challenge that is coming on board.”
The partnership with brother African states, with the U.S. government and its military branches, and with other interested collaborators has had a positive influence, said Silomba.
“Oh, it’s great. From the time that I got engaged with U.S. AFRICOM — I started with Africa Endeavor, before I even came to the AU — it is my experience that it is something very, very good.
“I would encourage — I know that there are some member states — I would encourage that all those member states they come on board, all of these regional organizations, that they come on board and support the AFRICOM lead. It is something that is very, very good.
“As for example, the African Union has a lot of support that’s been coming in, technical as well as in terms of knowledge and equipment. So it’s great; it’s good and it’s great,” said Salimba.
Other participant responses to the conference were positive as well.
“The feedback I’ve gotten from every member is that they now know what the red carpet treatment looks like, because USARAF has gone over and above board to make sure the environment, the atmosphere and the actual engagements … are executed to perfection,” said Ferrell. “It’s been very good from a team-building aspect.
“We’ve had very good discussions from members of the African Union, who gave us a very good understanding of the operations that are taking place in the area of Somalia, the challenges with communications, and laid out the gaps and desires of where they see that the U.S. and other coalition partners can kind of improve the capacity there in that area of responsibility.
“We also talked about the AU, as they are expanding their reach to all of the five regions, of how can they have that interoperability and connectivity to each of the regions,” Ferrell said.
“(It’s been) a wealth of knowledge and experts that are here to share in terms of how we can move forward with building capacities and capabilities. Not only for U.S. interests, but more importantly from my perspective, in building capacities and capabilities for our African partners beginning with the Commission at the African Union itself,” said Kevin Warthon, U.S. State Department, peace and security adviser to the African Union.
“I think that General Ferrell has done an absolutely wonderful thing by inviting key African partners to participate in this event so they can share their personal experience from a national, regional and continental perspective,” he said.
Warthon related from his personal experience a vignette of African trust in Providence that he believed carries a pertinent metaphor and message to everyone attending the conference.
“We are not sure what we are going to do tomorrow, but the one thing that I am sure of is that we are able to do something. Don’t know when, don’t know how, but as long as our focus is on our ability to assist and to help to progress a people, that’s really what counts more than anything else,” he said.
“Don’t worry about the timetable; just focus on your ability to make a difference and that’s what that really is all about.
“I see venues such as this as opportunities to make what seems to be the impossible become possible. … This is what this kind of venue does for our African partners.
“We’re doing a wonderful job at building relationships, because that’s where it begins — we have to build relationships to establish trust. That’s why this is so important: building trust through relationships so that we can move forward in the future,” Warthon said.
Conference members took a cultural tour of Venice and visited a traditional winery in the hills above Vicenza before adjourning.
To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil
Official Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/usarmyafrica
Official YouTube video channel: www.youtube.com/usarmyafrica
With 88 rear wheel horsepower in a sub-300lb package, this example is arguably the quickest and best handling old-school 750cc TT1 in North America.
I built this TT1 using period components as a relatively faithful replica of the TT1s that ran in the AMA BOTT GP class back in the day. The only deviation being the modern (90s) calipers and pumps, ignition coils and the non standard crankcase breather box in the seat. However, it differs from most TT1 replicas in that it was built to be a fast and reliable track bike. Over the years I’ve found that the only TT1 frame that seems to work well with modern 17” wheels & slicks is the final series Verlicchi large diameter, thin wall. Back in the day, Reno Leoni had DM Frames make a copy of the Verlicchi and DM has since modified the jig to allow for the use of a big block motor. The DM version was checked digitally last year against the Verlicchi and they are geometrically identical, however the DM is 12mm longer between the upper cross brace and the steering head. I countered this somewhat with the offset on my triple clamps, but the small difference in trail gives the DM a bit more stability with a very small decrease in agility.
The whole thing is held together with over $900 in titanium and aluminum fasteners. Every bearing and seal in the motor and on the machine is new. The bike is a highly-developed example of an old-school TT1 – works brilliantly on the track and handles better than any TT1 I’ve ridden. The bike and motor were built with care and a high level of attention to detail over an 18 month period. It was broken in correctly on the dyno and then saw six horsepower/tuning pulls and roughly 4.5 hours of track time. I’ve run the bike at Calabogie and Mosport – and came away delighted with the performance and handling on both occasions.
The specs are:
DM TT1 Frame
Marvic 3-spoke magnesium wheels with floating 280mm Brembo rotors front and 260mm rear
Brembo P3034 calipers with authentic Brembo racing caliper adapters
Brembo 996 series pumps
Authentic TT1 Brembo rear master
Marzocchi M1R forks substantially modified by Lindeman engineering back in the day (they work like no M1R I’ve ever experienced)
Authentic TT1 Marzocchi 195mm triple clamps
TZ replica throttle
Scitsu tacho
851 clip-ons (Verlicchi)
Authentic NCR electrics plate
Bosch ignition (rewired pick-ups) with Dyna 3 ohm coils
Custom-built Stadium shock (rebound plus Hi & Lo speed compression adjustment)
750 F1 aluminum swing arm
Leoncinni TT1 Replica floating rear brake caliper mount
Leoncinni TT1 Replica rear sets
Old Racing Spares endurance tank and TT1 seat with custom, integrated breather box
Bimota DB1R fender & mount
Romanelli TT1 fairing
loudbike open NCR replica exhaust
loudbike 85db Weber exhaust
750 Sport-based bottom end built by Gary Palmer
800SS rods
Lightened clutch basket, clutch housing, primaries and flywheel
JPrecision heads with new valves, guides & seats and NCR #7 cams with STM adjustable pulleys
Modified F1B pistons (12.5:1 compression)
Mikuni TM Pro-series 41mm flat slides
Mikuni vacuum fuel pump
Modified Old Racing Spares cam end covers
Oil cooler with Starlite hoses, Earls fittings and top-end lubrication via cam end cover feed
Magnesium rocker covers
Dyno-tuned to 88hp, 56ftlbs torque
The fiberglass fairing is a period piece, so there are some minor surface cracks already starting to show. As well, there is some minor paint blistering (two quarter sized areas) from heat off the 95bd exhaust.
You can see the dyno runs at www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6lMRYyqrz4&feature=share&...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mt_-oKAIMs&feature=share&...
You can read about the progress of the build on my blog at:
loudbike.blogs.com/loud_bike/2013/07/back-in-the-saddle.html
loudbike.blogs.com/loud_bike/2012/09/4th-annual-ducati-tt...
loudbike.blogs.com/loud_bike/2012/05/ducati-750-tt1-and-b...
loudbike.blogs.com/loud_bike/2011/12/winter-2011-loudbike...
A worker sorts and stacks chair legs at the Longhua furniture factory. The chair legs are part of the “Stefan” chair sold by Ikea. The factory was visited by 2015 Forestry Asia Trade Mission delegates.
Learn more: news.gov.bc.ca/stories/2015-forestry-trade-mission-to-asia
I'd like to be able to keep the ability of the gun to break down, but not sure if I'll have time to engineer that into the design
here's our first attempt at an overview of junto philosophy and components. still needs some unpacking. comments/suggestions welcome!
As a result of this graphics card dying I am now playing catch up with uploading my daily photos. Amazingly I fixed this card by oven-baking it for 10 minutes.
Electronics Hobby
Building a new components-cabinet.
Hacker (hobbyist)
In home computing, a hacker is someone who modifies software or hardware of their own private computer system. It includes building, rebuilding, modifying, and creating software (software cracking, demoscene), electronic hardware (hardware hacking, overclocking, modding), either to make it better, faster, to give it added features or to make it do something it was not originally intended to do. Hacking in this sense originated around hobbyist circles discussing the MITS Altair at the homebrew computer club.
Hacker artists[edit]
See also: Fractal art, algorithmic art and interactive art
Hacker artists create art by hacking on technology as an artistic medium. This has extended the definition of the term and what it means to be a hacker. Such artists may work with graphics, computer hardware, sculpture, music and other audio, animation, video, software, simulations, mathematics, reactive sensory systems, text, poetry, literature, or any combination thereof.
Dartmouth College musician Larry Polansky states: "Technology and art are inextricably related. Many musicians, video artists, graphic artists, and even poets who work with technology—whether designing it or using it—consider themselves to be part of the 'hacker community.' Computer artists, like non-art hackers, often find themselves on society’s fringes, developing strange, innovative uses of existing technology. There is an empathetic relationship between those, for example, who design experimental music software and hackers who write communications freeware." [3]
Another description is offered by Jenny Marketou: "Hacker artists operate as culture hackers who manipulate existing techno-semiotic structures towards a different end, to get inside cultural systems on the net and make them do things they were never intended to do." [4]
A successful software and hardware hacker artist is Mark Lottor (mkl), who has created the 3-D light art projects entitled the Cubatron, and the Big Round Cubatron. This art is made using custom computer technology, with specially designed circuit boards and programming for microprocessor chips to manipulate the LED lights.
Don Hopkins is a software hacker artist well known for his artistic cellular automata. This art, created by a cellular automata computer program, generates objects which randomly bump into each other and in turn create more objects and designs, similar to a lava lamp, except that the parts change color and form through interaction. Says Hopkins, "Cellular automata are simple rules that are applied to a grid of cells, or the pixel values of an image. The same rule is applied to every cell, to determine its next state, based on the previous state of that cell and its neighboring cells. There are many interesting cellular automata rules, and they all look very different, with amazing animated dynamic effects. 'Life' is a widely known cellular automata rule, but many other lesser known rules are much more interesting."
Some hacker artists create art by writing computer code, and others, by developing hardware. Some create with existing software tools such as Adobe Photoshop or GIMP.
The creative process of hacker artists can be more abstract than artists using non-technological media. For example, mathematicians have produced visually stunning graphic presentations of fractals, which hackers have further enhanced, often producing detailed and intricate graphics and animations from simple mathematical formulas.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_(hobbyist)
Starting the reassembly process. Alot of this had to be removed as things progressed, but it's nice to reward yourself with temporary teasings of things to come.
To build my Seldaan Village you will need:
4 dark tan 8x8 base plates
2 dark tan 6x6 base plates
1 green 6x6 base plate
1 tan 8x6 base plate
1 blue 4x4 plate
1 blue 6x4 plate
4 dark bluish grey 4x2 plates
3 dark bluish grey 2x2 plates
1-3 strength monster
4-2 strength monsters
6-1 strength monsters
Heroes
ability and life potion
gold
2 treasure chests
a book
and all that other good stuff
Airmen of the 18th Component Maintenance Squadron Propulsion Flight perform their duties, Oct. 14. Airmen of the propulsion flight perform tasks that enable Kadena Air Base F-15's to fly for three years before needing an engine overhaul. More than 200 engines are maintained by this unit, providing support for F-15's as well as A-10's from Osan Air Base, Korea. (US Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Christopher Hummel)
S73-26911 (14 May 1973) --- The unmanned Skylab 1/Saturn V space vehicle is launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, at 12:00 noon (EDT), May 14, 1973, to place the Skylab space station cluster in Earth orbit. The Skylab 1 payload included four of the five major components of the space station-Orbital Workshop, Apollo Telescope Mount, Multiple Docking Adapter, and Airlock Module. In addition to the payload, the Skylab 1/Saturn V second (S-11) stage. The fifth major component of the space station, the Command Service Module with the Skylab 2 crew aboard, was launched at a later date by a Saturn 1B from Pad B. Photo credit: NASA
The front element of the lens (bottom left) has a huge aperture and has a sweet spot of focus. The two smaller components appear to be three-element "anastigmat" focussing sections.
Una storia d’amore, dolore e rabbia per una bellissima città del “mio” sud, Taranto
Oggi voglio raccontarvi una mia storia legata alla recente visita a Taranto, la “giovane Taranto antica”, come la chiamava Giuseppe Ungaretti.
La prima sensazione, scendendo dalla macchina, parcheggiata accanto alla palazzata dell’isola della città vecchia, è stata olfattiva: un odore persistente di zolfo e lo sguardo è andato subito alle famose ciminiere che, quasi tutte inattive durante il giorno, animano invece la sera di fumi e colore… non ho avuto la forza di scattare neanche una foto agli stabilimenti dell’ILVA, pur essendo una forte componente visiva della città, perché il pensiero andava alle tante, troppe persone di ogni età che hanno sofferto e soffrono le conseguenze di questa presenza ingombrante e velenosa.
Quindi, appassionati di storia, arte e architettura e curiosi di vedere e conoscere i luoghi nelle loro radici, io e Marco ci siamo subito inoltrati in un vicolo che si addentrava nel cuore antico della città. Ad ogni passo si coglieva la storia attraverso la visione di antichi palazzi dagli originali particolari architettonici e decorativi, ma, contemporaneamente, aumentava sia la percezione di abbandono, di degrado dei luoghi sia quel timore che inizi ad avvertire quando intorno a te, oltre al degrado, non vedi che qualche sparuto passante e non sai cosa aspettarti. Intanto vediamo la Chiesa di San Domenico, il Palazzo Arcivescovile e la Cattedrale di San Cataldo: bellissimi. Dopo essere anche stati inseguiti da due cani che facevano la guardia ad un cortile deserto, col cuore in gola abbiamo proseguito il nostro giro solitario. Continua sempre più la visione di palazzi spettrali, vuoti e diroccati, vicoli e palazzi con accessi murati, strutture di contenimento per evitare crolli che, come ho successivamente letto in rete, si sono succeduti anche negli ultimi anni privando non solo i tarantini, ma tutti noi di una parte di patrimonio storico e togliendo anche la vita ad alcune persone che vivevano in quei pressi (leggere gli “illuminanti” articoli corrieredelmezzogiorno.corriere.it/lecce/notizie/cronaca/... e www.siderlandia.it/2.0/index.php/se-taranto-vecchia-se-ne...). Commentiamo tra noi che se il centro città di Palermo, stupendo, ma con zone degradate e palazzi sventrati dalla seconda guerra mondiale e mai ricostruiti, ci era apparso “sgarrupato”, quello di Taranto purtroppo vive una condizione ben peggiore e condividiamo la medesima tristezza, la stessa sofferenza che troviamo sottolineata, aumentata da tanti graffiti il cui tema non appare certo ottimistico. Lo stile dei graffiti, dai colori e dall’iconografia, sembra proprio quello di “Cyop & Kaf”, impressione che avrà poi conferma cercando in rete (www.progettoalchimie.it/q-s-cyop-kaf/ e, a dispetto del nome del sito www.associazioneantigraffiti.it/2013/12/16/graffiti-e-dip... ), con i loro omini trafitti, resi minuscoli, impiccati o in procinto di farlo e disegnati spesso proprio su quei muri grigio cemento eretti per motivi di sicurezza sia per impedire di attraversare i vicoli dove le case sono crollate o stanno per farlo sia per chiudere i portali in modo da evitare anche l’accesso a quegli sciacalli che hanno già fatto razzia di beni contenuti nei palazzi antichi. Anche le vecchie porte arrugginite che chiudono l’accesso a edifici storici abbandonati e decadenti e le facciate di palazzi nascosti o affacciati sulle strade principali sono il materiale che fa da sfondo ai dipinti di “Cyop & Kaf” nella città vecchia di Taranto che, come i Quartieri Spagnoli di Napoli dove oltre 200 disegni dei due artisti sono apparsi per i vicoli e i bassi durante un periodo di tre anni, può diventare una sorta di galleria d’arte a cielo aperto. Documento tutto con i miei scatti frettolosi, ma provo dolore nel mettere a fuoco i graffiti ed il loro contesto. Vedere una città bellissima, piena di storia, una capitale della Magna Grecia, una città di quel sud a cui appartengono le mie radici siciliane mi provoca sempre un moto di dolore e di rabbia per l’indifferenza ed il silenzio generale, a livello nazionale intendo perché la rete mi ha fatto conoscere l’indignazione di cittadini, gruppi tarantini che si ribellano giustamente alla noncuranza ed all’indifferenza delle istituzioni, locali e non, anche tramite video come il documentario “Buongiorno Taranto” del regista salentino Paolo Pisanelli (il trailer potete vederlo qui: www.buongiornotaranto.it/web/promo.php; su facebook qui: www.facebook.com/BuongiornoTaranto).
Si sono fatte intanto le due e, iniziando ad avere un certo languore, cerchiamo un posto dove mangiare, ma è tutto serrato, non troviamo nulla. Proseguiamo allora verso il “mar piccolo” e, dopo esserci rifatti gli occhi con il restaurato palazzo dell’Università degli studi, con le colonne doriche del tempio di Poseidone, o forse di Diana, e con il castello Aragonese, arriviamo ad un bar. Beviamo qualcosa e chiediamo alla proprietaria del bar e ad un suo cliente se ci possono indicare un posto, una trattoria, una focacceria dove poter mangiare, ma la risposta è negativa. All’improvviso la signora ci propone una spaghettata con cozze cucinata da lei avendo già preparato il sugo per il marito. Ci guardiamo, il posto non ispirerebbe una grande fiducia nel risultato dell’offerta, ma, vista la spontaneità ed il calore della signora ed essendo noi privi di preconcetti e pronti sempre a provare nuove avventure, diciamo di si alla proposta. Ci accomodiamo quindi in una saletta del bar con televisore, del quale ci viene subito fornito gentilmente il telecomando, frigo grande a vista con bibite, pile di casse della tarantina birra Raffo, la “birra dei due mari”, che ordiniamo ovviamente, ed accompagnamento di chiacchiere con il cliente di cui sopra che ci racconta di lui che, con figli e nipoti, è l’unico dei suoi dieci fratelli a vivere ancora nella città vecchia perché il resto della famiglia si è sparpagliato tra la Puglia e l’Italia. Parliamo appunto della città vecchia manifestandogli le nostre considerazioni ed anche il nostro timore, essendo anche memori di com’era la situazione di Bari vecchia prima della “bonifica”, ristrutturazione e rivalutazione. In risposta riceviamo sia l’invito a farci da guida nella città vecchia sia la possibilità, girando da soli, di rispondere ad un eventuale malintenzionato di essere suoi amici, essendo la sua famiglia rispettata da tutti. Nel frattempo il figlio della signora, con due occhi scuri vispi e curiosi, apparecchia il nostro tavolo come può teneramente fare un bambino che fa suo un compito da adulto ed arriva una prima portata inaspettata, fettine di salame piccantello con formaggio saporito, seguita da una seconda altrettanto inaspettata, un appetitoso sautè di cozze. Arriva per ultimo il piatto originariamente proposto, una montagnola di spaghetti con un’infinità di cozze succulente. Che dire, ottimo è dire poco! Scopriamo quindi, dopo i nostri complimenti vivissimi alla signora, che lei ha lavorato per trent’anni nella ristorazione e che il suo sogno, purtroppo non avverato, era quello di aprire un ristorante. Un peccato davvero! Il marito, che nel frattempo era arrivato, scherza sul fatto di aver mangiato noi il sugo preparato per il suo pranzo e ci fornisce il suo numero di cellulare nel caso in cui volessimo tornare a gustare un piatto, un qualsiasi piatto ci venisse voglia di mangiare.
Come ho letto in un articolo di febbraio scorso sulla città vecchia che vi invito a leggere (corrieredelmezzogiorno.corriere.it/lecce/notizie/cronaca/...): “È un mondo a parte l’isola (la città vecchia). Una zona franca dove s’incontra la bellezza dell’ingenuità della gente, rimasta attaccata alle tradizioni e all’ospitalità, dove si assiste a scene di un’Italia povera e dimenticata, come quella descritta da Carlo Levi in Cristo si è fermato a Eboli, o il brutto delle favelas di Rio o di Scampia.”.
Ci guardiamo davvero soddisfatti, sorpresi e contenti di aver accettato l’invito. L’avventura, come quasi sempre è accaduto, ha avuto il lieto fine agognato permettendoci ancora una volta di conoscere l’essenza e non l’apparenza di persone semplici, ospitali e piene di calore… nui simm' 'ro Sud!
Un’ultima considerazione: come diceva Giulio Carlo Argan, “La questione del centro storico tarantino è una questione di importanza nazionale e non soltanto locale. Si tratta di conservare un complesso monumentale che interessa tutto il Paese e alla cui conservazione tutto il Paese deve concorrere.”. Chissà se qualcuno se ne ricorderà... prima o poi...
Etched components from Shawplan used to replace the moulded fan and grille on a Hornby Class 40 bodyshell
una vista general del racó, amb tot el que hi tinc
llegeix el post a: serkeros.wordpress.com/2011/11/06/el-talleret/
Strobist Info: One (old school) white lightning 5000 at 1/3 power, triggered by a RadioPoppers JrX Studio, high right through a strobist DIY macro studio
My fathers bike from 1947/9. On-going project with a number of components on loan from 1958 Raleigh Lenton Marque III, whilst I source period correct parts.
Components assumed to be original:
Frame: Ernie Clements Reynolds 531 steel tubing, Nervex lugs ‘Serie Legere’. Bottom bracket: Brampton. Headset: Brampton Alatet.
Frame stampings as follows: i) Bottom bracket - 4531 ii) Bottom Bracket – Nervex 61/64/D22(2)/E38 iii) Fork crown (underside): - C47.
Brazings: rear brake & gear cable, pump, boss for lamp bracket (bracket removed in photo).
Handle bar stem: GB Hiduminium 3” spearpoint
Bars: Chromed steel (identity unknown)
Seat post & pin: alloy post & chromed steel pin (both identity unknown),
Chain ring, cranks, pedals: (all identity unknown, chromed steel & badly corroded – all removed & stored for future renovation)
Brake levers: Weinmann (stamped made in Switzerland on upper lever blade)
Brake callipers: Weinmann 730 side pull (very large lettering)
Components currently sourced from 1958 Raleigh Lenton Marque111.
Wheel Rims: 27x1 ¼ “, Dunlop ‘Endrick’ steel rims. Tyres: Michelin Sport.
Wheel Hubs: Resilion ‘continental’ high flange. Front 32 spoke 98mm OLN. Rear 40 spoke flip\flop hub 115mm OLN.
Chain ring, cranks, pedals: All Raleigh chromed steel, 3 star arm 46T detachable ring, quill pedals.
Toe Clips: GB stainless steel (not fitted in photo)
Gears: Cyclo ‘Type B’ 4speed freewheel 14/17/20/24T & Fixed 16T.
Derailleur: Cyclo Benelux Mk7, 4 speed. Cyclo Benelux ‘band on’ shifter (chrome band/alloy arm)
Chain: Coventry chain Co.
Saddle: Brooks B15 Champion standard
Additional information.
Decals: Replicas form H Lloyd cycles.
Pump: AFA alloy frame mount pump (not in photo)
If you can't dispose of your old kettle by taking the whole thing to a waste center, you can probably recycle much of it yourself. Carefully dismantle it and put the pieces with plastic recycling symbols in your recycling collection box. Save and reuse any useful bits like screws and springs. You'll find you throw relatively little in the trash - and you'll learn a lot about how things work.
This photo is from our article about electric kettles.
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