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Southeast Financial Center is a two-acre development in Miami, Florida, United States. It consists of a 765 feet (233 m) tall office skyscraper and its 15-story parking garage. It was previously known as the Southeast Financial Center (1984–1992), the First Union Financial Center (1992–2003), and the Wachovia Financial Center (2003-2011). In 2011, it retook its old name of Southeast Financial Center as Wachovia became Wells Fargo and moved into its new headquarters, the nearby Wells Fargo Center building.
When topped-off in August 1983, it was the tallest building south of New York City and east of the Mississippi River, taking away the same title from the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel, in Atlanta, Georgia. It remained the tallest building in the southeastern U.S. until 1987, when it was surpassed by One Atlantic Center in Atlanta and the tallest in Florida until October 1, 2003, when it was surpassed by the Four Seasons Hotel and Tower, also in Miami. It remains the tallest office tower in Florida and the third tallest building in Miami.
Southeast Financial Center was constructed in three years with more than 500 construction workers. Approximately 6,650 tons of structural steel, 80,000 cubic yards of concrete and 7000 cubic tons of reinforcing steel bars went into its construction. The complex sits on a series of reinforced concrete grade beams tied to 150 concrete caissons as much as ten feet in diameter and to a depth of 80 feet. A steel space-frame canopy with glass skylights covers the outdoor plaza between the tower and low-rise building.
The tower has a composite structure. The exterior columns and beams are concrete encased steel wide flanges surrounded by reinforcing bars. The composite exterior frame was formed using hydraulic steel forms, or “flying forms,” jacked into place with a “kangaroo” crane, that was located in the core and manually clamped into place. Wide flange beams topped by a metal deck and concrete form the interior floor framing. The core is A braced steel frame, designed to laterally resist wind loads. The construction of one typical floor was completed every five days.
The low-rise banking hall and parking building is a concrete-framed structure. Each floor consists of nearly an acre of continuously poured concrete. When the concrete had sufficiently hardened, compressed air was used to blow the forms fiberglass forms from under the completed floor. It was then rolled out to the exterior where it was raised by crane into position for the next floor.
The building was recognized as Miami's first and only office building to be certified for the LEED Gold award in January 2010.
The center was developed by a partnership consisting of Gerald D. Hines Interests, Southeast Bank and Corporate Property Investors for $180 million. It was originally built as the headquarters for Southeast Bank, which originally occupied 50 percent of the complex’s space. It remained Southeast Bank’s headquarters there until it was liquidated in 1991.
The Southeast Financial Center comprises two buildings: the 55-story office tower and the 15-story parking annex. The tower has 53 stories of office space. The first floor is dedicated for retail, the second floor is the lobby and the 55th floor was home to the luxurious Miami City Club. The parking annex has 12 floors of parking space for 1,150 cars. The first floor is dedicated for retail, the second floor is a banking hall and the 15th floor has the Downtown Athletic Club. A landscaped plaza lies between the office tower and the parking annex. An enclosed walkway connects the second story of the tower with the second story of the annex. The courtyard is partially protected from the elements by a steel and glass space frame canopy spanning the plaza and attached to the tower and annex. Southeast Bank's executive offices were located on the 38th floor. Ground was broken on the complex on December 12, 1981 and the official dedication and opening for the complex was held on October 23, 1984.
The Southeast Financial Center was designed by Edward Charles Bassett of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. The Associate Architect was Spillis Candela & Partners. It has 1,145,311 ft² (106,000 m²) of office space. A typical floor has about 22,000 ft² (2,043.87 m²) of office space. Each floor has 9 ft x 9 ft (2.7 m x 2.7 m) floor to ceiling windows. (All of the building's windows are tinted except for the top floor, resulting in strikingly bright and clear views from there.) The total complex has over 2.2 million ft² (204,000 m²). The distinctive setbacks begin at the 43rd floor. Each typical floor plate has 9 corner offices and the top twelve floors have as many as 16. There are 43 elevators in the office tower. An emergency control station provides computerized monitoring for the entire complex, and four generators for backup power.
The Southeast Financial Center can be seen as far away as Ft. Lauderdale and halfway toward Bimini. Night space shuttle launches from Cape Canaveral 200 miles to the north were plainly visible from the higher floors. The roof of the building was featured in the Wesley Snipes motion picture Drop Zone, where an eccentric base jumper named Swoop parachutes down to the street from a suspended window cleaning trolley. The building also appeared in several episodes of the 1980s TV show Miami Vice and at the end of each episode's opening credits.
Zara founder Amancio Ortega purchased the building from J.P. Morgan Asset Management in December 2016. The purchase price was reportedly over $500 million, making it one of the largest real estate transactions in South Florida history.
Credit for the data above is given to the following website:
But we need also the poetry of praise, of love for the world, the vision of the potential for good even in our species which has so messed up the rest of creation, so fouled its own nest. If we lose the sense of contrast, of the opposites to all the grime and gore, the torture, the banality of the computerized apocalypse, we lose the reason for trying to work for redemptive change… To sing awe to breathe out praise and celebration–is as fundamental an impulse as to lament.
-Denise Levertov, “Poetry, Prophecy, Survival,” Essays, 144
Watchtower Farms—Five Decades of Harvest Work
Some 145 kilometers (90 mi) north of New York City, near the hamlet of Wallkill, New York, is a group of farms that have played an important role in the worldwide Bible educational work of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The first of the Watchtower Farms, as the facilities are now known, was purchased 50 years ago, on January 2, 1963.
David Walker, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses who has served at Wallkill since the beginning, tells why the first farm was obtained: “The world headquarters staff of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Brooklyn, New York, was growing, and we needed to feed them in a cost-effective way. The other farmland that Jehovah’s Witnesses had been using in upstate New York took between six and eight hours to reach from Brooklyn. Wallkill was only two hours away. This made it the ideal spot for our needs.” Eventually, Jehovah’s Witnesses used this farm to grow fruits and vegetables and to produce poultry, pork, and beef, as well as dairy products. In time, more farms were added.
Within a decade the worldwide growth of Jehovah’s Witnesses led to unique developments at Wallkill. In addition to producing literal crops that could be harvested, literature began to be produced that would help with the figurative harvest work that Jesus spoke about. (Matthew 9:?37; Luke 10:2; John 4:?35, 36) Consider just some of the work that has been done at Wallkill.
Printing: During the mid-20th century, the printery located in Brooklyn, New York, produced the majority of our Bible-based literature. But as the demand for literature increased, the Brooklyn printery was no longer able to keep pace. So in 1973, Jehovah’s Witnesses completed construction of an additional printery at Wallkill. Since then, the buildings housing the printing operations have been expanded several times, most recently in 2004.
Computer Technology: In 1979, a team of Jehovah’s Witnesses at Wallkill began developing a computerized system, now called the Multilanguage Electronic Publishing System (MEPS). This tool allows for the publication of Bible literature in over 600 languages.
Education: In 1988 the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead moved from Brooklyn to Wallkill, and on October 17, classes began. The school remained there until its move to the Watchtower Educational Center in Patterson, New York, in April 1995.
As with other farms, over the past five decades, Watchtower Farms’ techniques and operations have changed. Still, considerable effort is put forth to provide quality food products for Jehovah’s Witnesses now serving at the U.S. Bethel facilities in New York.
Currently, Jehovah’s Witnesses are constructing new office, residence, and support facilities at Wallkill. They are also renovating existing buildings. All this work will help Watchtower Farms continue to supply the spiritual needs of the growing number who are joining the ranks of Jehovah’s Witnesses in this part of the world.
David Walker, quoted earlier, says: “Over the past 50 years, it has brought me great joy to see how from small beginnings, the facilities at Wallkill have grown and contributed to our worldwide effort to teach people the Bible’s message!”
Source: www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/activities/bethel/watcht...
The Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. The C-130J is a comprehensive update of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, with new engines, flight deck, and other systems. The Hercules family has the longest continuous production run of any military aircraft in history. During more than 60 years of service, the family has participated in military, civilian, and humanitarian aid operations. The Hercules has outlived several planned successor designs, most notably the Advanced Medium STOL Transport contestants.
The C-130J is the newest version of the Hercules and the only model still in production. Externally similar to the classic Hercules in general appearance, the J-model features considerably updated technology. These differences include new Rolls-Royce AE 2100 D3 turboprop engines with Dowty R391 composite scimitar propellers, digital avionics (including head-up displays (HUDs) for each pilot), and reduced crew requirements. These changes have improved performance over its C-130E/H predecessors, such as 40% greater range, 21% higher maximum speed, and 41% shorter takeoff distance.
As a cargo and airlift aircraft, the C-130J's crew includes two pilots and one loadmaster (no navigator or flight engineer), while specialized USAF variants (e.g., AC-130J, EC-130J, MC-130J, HC-130J, WC-130J) may have larger crews, such as navigators/Combat Systems Officers or other specialized officer and enlisted air crew. The U.S. Marine Corps KC-130J uses a crew chief for expeditionary operations. The C-130J's cargo compartment is approximately 41 feet (12.5 m) long, 9 feet (2.74 m) high, and 10 feet (3.05 m) wide, and loading is from the rear of the fuselage. The aircraft can also be configured with the "enhanced cargo handling system". The system consists of a computerized loadmaster's station from which the user can remotely control the under-floor winch and also configure the flip-floor system to palletized roller or flat-floor cargo handling. Initially developed for the USAF, this system enables rapid role changes to be carried out and so extends the C-130J's time available to complete taskings.
Into the Light - Day 269 - Year 2022
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I asked the technician if the CT scan made a noise and
she told me that it sounds like a jet taking off.
So, as I had my knee scanned today, sure enough, when the machine started up it did sound like a jet taking off.
Yes folks, this old card system is still in use after all of these years. No, they don't use a computerized system ... just these cards.
Port of Itajai
Vessel Berthed (Navio Atracado)
Vessel's Details (Detalhes do Navio)
Ship Type (tipo): Cargo - Full Container
Year Built (ano de construção): 2006
Length x Breadth (Comprimento x Largura): 211 m X 32 m
DeadWeight (Tonelagem Bruta): 32161 t
Call Sign: A8IG4
IMO: 9327671, MMSI: 636090973
Shipbuilder Name (Construtor): Stocznia Gdynia SA – Gdynia, Poland
Owner/Agent (Proprietário/Agente): CMA CGM DO BRASIL AGE
Flag (Bandeira): Liberia
Berth (Berço): APMT Itajai 01
A.T.B. (Atracação): April 06,2011 09:35h
E.T.D. (Previsão de saída): April 06,2011 19:00h
Origin (Origem): RIO GRANDE (Brazil)
Destination (Destino): PARANAGUA (Brazil)
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The Port of Itajai is a Brazilian port located in the City of Itajai, in the State of Santa Catarina, south Brazil.
This is the second largest port of Brazil in handling containers. It acts as export port and most of the Santa Catarina´s production passes through it.
The port of Itajai has over 15,000 m2 of covered area to warehouse products and 38,000 m2 of open area to warehouse containers. The users of the Itajai Port have at their disposal over 70 equipments to assist loadings and unloadings of 1 to 37 tons.
The port follows international safety standards. The operational units are fully computerized.
In 2010, the Port of Itajai handled a total of 954.38 thousand TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit – international unit equivalent to a 20-foot container). Over 1.25 thousand vessels called at the Port of Itajai, including cargo and passenger vessels.
If you're going to be abandoned somewhere - or, to take a more whimsical step, if you were an abandoned car - what better place to spend eternity than on the vast, limitless prairie? It would be my first choice. Day follows night (as in this photo), week follows week, year follows year, and you can rust away to your little computerized heart's content.
In June, you have to get up awfully early for a shot like this. By 4 a.m. the robins and mourning doves are competing for the airwaves from every cottonwood tree in the village; by 4:30 the sky is visibly lightening with pre-dawn glow. There is an abandoned homestead a few km from town that has half a dozen or more old cars, rusting away for eternity, by the look of it, surrounded by planted wheat fields.
On this particular morning, as the dawn chorus trilled in the background and before the warming sun coaxed sleeping mosquitoes from the grasses, I set up my tripod and made wide angle shots of this and that. The landowners have given me permission to do so. I'm always careful not to stumble into barbed wire or broken glass. It isn't my all time fave, the 1939 Pontiac, but here sits a relic in its own right, on a long gone morning in June. No doubt it will still be there when June rolls around once more...
Photographed near Val Marie, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2017 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
"Taxi and hold short for a MD-80 on two-mile final." When someone is in trouble, they might say anything to get out of trouble. They might claim something was said that was not said. The recorder is your buddy. Usually. Reel-to-reel logging recorders were made by Dictaphone, Stancil, and others. These were used to log voice-grade audio for activities such as air traffic control, railroad safety, 9-1-1 calls, and radio broadcast audio.
Some reel-to-reel machines had talking clock tracks. One recording track periodically announced of time of day so the time could be matched up with a point on the tape.
Two tape transports allowed recording to continue if a tape broke or the transport failed. These have been replaced by digital recorders which sound just as crappy but are cheaper and don't require changing tape reels. Computerized recorders can look like a 1U server and don't weight 200 pounds. Dictaphone digital recorders had the ability to search for words. You could type the word, "hammer," into a Window and the machinery would search recordings on the hard disk for every utterance of the word.
Chuck fowled up, (again)? Your corrections are welcomed.
[Over the phone:] Unit calling repeat your last traffic for dispatch. [Over the radio:] Just a minute, honey.
— unverified report of a mistake by a 9-1-1 dispatcher attempting simultaneous conversations with spouse by phone and a first responder by two-way radio
Journalism grade image.
Source: 2,200x3,800 16-bit TIF file.
Please do not copy this image for any purpose.
4-22-2009
You really don't see many of these old Farmall tractors still in operation and being used. This one had just been used to drag a long driveway so it would dry out faster. Most tractors in this area are huge and all computerized, equipped with air conditioning, cds, and even dvd players.
I love the solitude you can find in Central Oregon, at least compared to the Portland metro area. It's an oasis of wind, dark skies and harsh, rocky landscapes. It's also a fascinating look into the history of our state and the way economics have impacted population centers over time.
This photo was taken near the little town of Grass Valley, about 30 miles south of The Dalles. It's an area that mixes past and present, with cemeteries like this sitting right next to computerized, GPS-guided agricultural operations.
At night, you don't hear much else but the wind and the occasional distant roar of a truck engine or brakes. It's peaceful, and hopefully that comes across in this image.
“I fail to see the reason we’re visiting this...fool...” Nygma kicked up some dust on the floor of the building he and Black Mask had entered.
“Carter is a smart man, and if there is a ‘war’ coming, you’ll need this guy. He’s a jackass though.” Roman answered.
The two men walked up a few stairs and onto a platform with a large compass inlet into the panels. A bellowing British voice echoed through the dark building.
“Ah! Mr. Nygma and Roman! I knew you two would stray into my hemisphere someday!”
A man stepped out of the shadows and onto the compass platform. He wore respectable clothes, topped off with a giant globe on his head.
This was Hammond Carter, the Globe.
Nygma sneered, “Hello Mr. Carter.”
“My name is the Globe, Edward! Hammond Carter doesn’t run the most successful global heist syndicate in the world, the Globe does! I’m more successful than Roman was in his glory days, hah!”
Black Mask flicked at the trigger on his gun, “You’re still just a dumbass, Carter. You have a fucking globe on your head.”
The Globe turned to Black Mask and laughed, “This is no globe, it is a computerized tracking device! I can see every one of my agents all across the world at all times!” He spun the globe around on his head with his right hand.
Riddler was growing tired of this, “Mr. Carter, the Globe, whatever the hell you want to be called...I need your help.”
The Globe tilted his head at Riddler, “You do hmm? You didn’t seem to when you were making that think tank of yours...”
Riddler really didn’t want to come, but Roman insisted. Here was the reason why. Globe kept grudges.
“You see, the thing about this tracker, is it’s all in real time...in fact, 6 of my agents are closing in on you two as we speak...how’s that for smart, Nygma?”
Riddler rolled his eyes beneath his mask and took his cane into both hands, “Take care of the agents, Roman. I have the Globe...”
Images For Make A Plane Crash Photo
For a digital artist the picture is often a means to an end or a composition, its main objective is the transformation both visual and the sensations and feelings that can transmit.
The final composition is his work as a painter or a sculptor imagined, digital art is more than a computerized technique, transmits often imagination and a way of seeing the world, is itself artistic creation that is often unique and unrepeatable.
The beginning is the collection of photographic material for the composition you want to do or in this case the elements for built the composition; it is often necessary to transform them individually because not always have what we wanted.
- In this case the Bridge is the Vasco da Gama Bridge in Lisbon, photos taken in movement ; we can't stop for take photos.
- A bonfire capture.
- An old subsonic light attack aircraft LTV A-7 Corsair II in exposition in the Alcochete Shooting Range (Campo de Tiro de Alcochete) near Lisbon.
Sometimes some compositions need dozens of images and elements, but for this simple case i choose a few elements.
The final result you may see in the link below or in the first comment box.
I came across this interesting, unusual boat while walking at Marina Bay in Richmond.
According to their website, "Wind+Wing Technologies has partnered with Photon Composites, pioneers in innovative computerized wing technology, to develop a demonstration vessel for ferry routes on the San Francisco Bay. The vessel is a 42-foot trimaran equipped with a computerized wing, specifically designed to harness wind power to significantly reduce fuel consumption and emissions. In January 2014, the demonstration vessel will begin test sailing five days a week, for three months, on the following ferry routes from the San Francisco Ferry Building to Sausalito, Richmond, Treasure Island, and Alameda."
© All rights reserved
I've been tagged. A big part of me is my work, so here are my 10 favorite papers I've published:
2009- The effects of repeat collaboration on creative abrasion
We developed a theory of why repeat collaboration in highly creative projects can lead to less creative outcomes, and suggested what teams can do about it.
2007- Dynamics of organizational emergence: Pace, punctuation, and timing in nascent entrepreneurship
We posited and empirically validated that successful entrepreneurial ventures have a certain “rhythm”; it’s all about momentum.
2006- An emergence event in new venture creation: Measuring the dynamics of nascent entrepreneurship
This was the first paper published in organizational theory that actually collected data and tested a complexity science model.
2003- Merger as marriage: Communication issues in post-merger integration
Not widely read, but I love how insightful the metaphor is.
2002- Studying complex discursive systems: Centering resonance analysis of organizational communication
This was the paper that explained the computerized text analysis method we invented, which then spun off into its own company.
2002- The dynamics of electronic media coverage
Our analysis of media coverage of 9-11.
2001- Supply networks and complex adaptive systems: Control versus emergence
This was the first paper published in supply chain management discussing the implications of complexity science. Most cited article.
1999- Explaining complex organizational dynamics
Here we laid out what randomness and chaos meant if you found them in organizational data.
1997- A complex adaptive systems model of organization change
My definition of a complex adaptive system in this paper is the one used in Wikipedia.
1986- An integrated quality systems approach to quality and productivity improvement in continuous manufacturing processes
My first published paper…
The Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. The C-130J is a comprehensive update of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, with new engines, flight deck, and other systems. The Hercules family has the longest continuous production run of any military aircraft in history. During more than 60 years of service, the family has participated in military, civilian, and humanitarian aid operations. The Hercules has outlived several planned successor designs, most notably the Advanced Medium STOL Transport contestants.
The C-130J is the newest version of the Hercules and the only model still in production. Externally similar to the classic Hercules in general appearance, the J-model features considerably updated technology. These differences include new Rolls-Royce AE 2100 D3 turboprop engines with Dowty R391 composite scimitar propellers, digital avionics (including head-up displays (HUDs) for each pilot), and reduced crew requirements. These changes have improved performance over its C-130E/H predecessors, such as 40% greater range, 21% higher maximum speed, and 41% shorter takeoff distance.
As a cargo and airlift aircraft, the C-130J's crew includes two pilots and one loadmaster (no navigator or flight engineer), while specialized USAF variants (e.g., AC-130J, EC-130J, MC-130J, HC-130J, WC-130J) may have larger crews, such as navigators/Combat Systems Officers or other specialized officer and enlisted air crew. The U.S. Marine Corps KC-130J uses a crew chief for expeditionary operations. The C-130J's cargo compartment is approximately 41 feet (12.5 m) long, 9 feet (2.74 m) high, and 10 feet (3.05 m) wide, and loading is from the rear of the fuselage. The aircraft can also be configured with the "enhanced cargo handling system". The system consists of a computerized loadmaster's station from which the user can remotely control the under-floor winch and also configure the flip-floor system to palletized roller or flat-floor cargo handling. Initially developed for the USAF, this system enables rapid role changes to be carried out and so extends the C-130J's time available to complete taskings.
The UNA's standard 4 barreled anti vehicle rocket launcher. loads from behind with quad missile pods and is semi automatic for infantry. has 4 standard ammunition types (see note) and a side mounted computerized scope. UNA class one mech units can also use these and have the ability to link up with the computerized scope. Also, the strength of the mech units can handle the recoil while firing all 4 rockets at the same time.
Southeast Financial Center is a two-acre development in Miami, Florida, United States. It consists of a 765 feet (233 m) tall office skyscraper and its 15-story parking garage. It was previously known as the Southeast Financial Center (1984–1992), the First Union Financial Center (1992–2003), and the Wachovia Financial Center (2003-2011). In 2011, it retook its old name of Southeast Financial Center as Wachovia became Wells Fargo and moved into its new headquarters, the nearby Wells Fargo Center building.
When topped-off in August 1983, it was the tallest building south of New York City and east of the Mississippi River, taking away the same title from the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel, in Atlanta, Georgia. It remained the tallest building in the southeastern U.S. until 1987, when it was surpassed by One Atlantic Center in Atlanta and the tallest in Florida until October 1, 2003, when it was surpassed by the Four Seasons Hotel and Tower, also in Miami. It remains the tallest office tower in Florida and the third tallest building in Miami.
Southeast Financial Center was constructed in three years with more than 500 construction workers. Approximately 6,650 tons of structural steel, 80,000 cubic yards of concrete and 7000 cubic tons of reinforcing steel bars went into its construction. The complex sits on a series of reinforced concrete grade beams tied to 150 concrete caissons as much as ten feet in diameter and to a depth of 80 feet. A steel space-frame canopy with glass skylights covers the outdoor plaza between the tower and low-rise building.
The tower has a composite structure. The exterior columns and beams are concrete encased steel wide flanges surrounded by reinforcing bars. The composite exterior frame was formed using hydraulic steel forms, or “flying forms,” jacked into place with a “kangaroo” crane, that was located in the core and manually clamped into place. Wide flange beams topped by a metal deck and concrete form the interior floor framing. The core is A braced steel frame, designed to laterally resist wind loads. The construction of one typical floor was completed every five days.
The low-rise banking hall and parking building is a concrete-framed structure. Each floor consists of nearly an acre of continuously poured concrete. When the concrete had sufficiently hardened, compressed air was used to blow the forms fiberglass forms from under the completed floor. It was then rolled out to the exterior where it was raised by crane into position for the next floor.
The building was recognized as Miami's first and only office building to be certified for the LEED Gold award in January 2010.
The center was developed by a partnership consisting of Gerald D. Hines Interests, Southeast Bank and Corporate Property Investors for $180 million. It was originally built as the headquarters for Southeast Bank, which originally occupied 50 percent of the complex’s space. It remained Southeast Bank’s headquarters there until it was liquidated in 1991.
The Southeast Financial Center comprises two buildings: the 55-story office tower and the 15-story parking annex. The tower has 53 stories of office space. The first floor is dedicated for retail, the second floor is the lobby and the 55th floor was home to the luxurious Miami City Club. The parking annex has 12 floors of parking space for 1,150 cars. The first floor is dedicated for retail, the second floor is a banking hall and the 15th floor has the Downtown Athletic Club. A landscaped plaza lies between the office tower and the parking annex. An enclosed walkway connects the second story of the tower with the second story of the annex. The courtyard is partially protected from the elements by a steel and glass space frame canopy spanning the plaza and attached to the tower and annex. Southeast Bank's executive offices were located on the 38th floor. Ground was broken on the complex on December 12, 1981 and the official dedication and opening for the complex was held on October 23, 1984.
The Southeast Financial Center was designed by Edward Charles Bassett of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. The Associate Architect was Spillis Candela & Partners. It has 1,145,311 ft² (106,000 m²) of office space. A typical floor has about 22,000 ft² (2,043.87 m²) of office space. Each floor has 9 ft x 9 ft (2.7 m x 2.7 m) floor to ceiling windows. (All of the building's windows are tinted except for the top floor, resulting in strikingly bright and clear views from there.) The total complex has over 2.2 million ft² (204,000 m²). The distinctive setbacks begin at the 43rd floor. Each typical floor plate has 9 corner offices and the top twelve floors have as many as 16. There are 43 elevators in the office tower. An emergency control station provides computerized monitoring for the entire complex, and four generators for backup power.
The Southeast Financial Center can be seen as far away as Ft. Lauderdale and halfway toward Bimini. Night space shuttle launches from Cape Canaveral 200 miles to the north were plainly visible from the higher floors. The roof of the building was featured in the Wesley Snipes motion picture Drop Zone, where an eccentric base jumper named Swoop parachutes down to the street from a suspended window cleaning trolley. The building also appeared in several episodes of the 1980s TV show Miami Vice and at the end of each episode's opening credits.
Zara founder Amancio Ortega purchased the building from J.P. Morgan Asset Management in December 2016. The purchase price was reportedly over $500 million, making it one of the largest real estate transactions in South Florida history.
Credit for the data above is given to the following website:
On the ever-changing world of 21st century, some things will not.
One of the first-ever succesful demonstrations of the coilgun technology of 21st century, the General Purpose Coilgun model 45 is a smoothbore coilgun that is intended for civilian and law enforcement market. Having a cylinder with a capacity of six shells of various dimensions (seen in 20mm/10-gauge here, 23mm/6-gauge, 19mm/12-gauge available), and utilizing a Beckenbauer-Bostick (shortened to BB) plasma battery in the stock that can last 240 hours, it is truly a wonder of the future. It is essentially able to fire anything the user desires (standard shells, magnum shells, High-Efficiency shells manufactured by Stoeger [seen here], or even makeshift shells!) at velocities that can exceed 1800 metres per second, depending on shell and voltage setting (which can be set at factory or by the user). Although the gun itself can use any kind of conventionally-propelled ammunition (or even black powder!), Stoeger offers customers SSSS (Self-Sealing, Silent, Smoothbore) shells which use little-to-no propellant of any sort and are almost completely silent. It also has a picatinny rail for optics. All models come with a threaded barrel for sound dampeners, but an ALLDiS (Advanced, Leading, Long-Distance Sight) rangefinding, computerized guiding scope is available for law-enforcement units. ALLDiS sight's options can be set for whatever voltage, caliber or shell type the user desires. And for law-enforcement units, three special types of shells are offered: Mk.546 HVAPHEFS (High-Velocity, Armor-Piercing, High-Explosive, Fin-Stabilized), designed to punch through whatever armor that may be up against (even light tanks!) and explode inside with great power; Mk.531 HE (High-Explosive) shell, a simple but very efficient shell designed to blow away anything it encounters to pieces; Mk.563 HEFISD (High-Explosive, Fragmentating, Incendiary, Self-Destroying), an air-burst ammunition. Of course, there are a myriad of other shells available.
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Shit, this took me way, WAY longer than it should have. It gave me a plenty of headaches, but I'm so damned glad I made this happen.
Many thanks to Vlad, Alice, Atube, Deii and El Mattia for their wonderful advices!
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GPC-45P, with the ALLDiS sight: puu.sh/duDxX/da5cf1fd77.png
The Robot Building, located in the Sathorn business district of Bangkok, Thailand, houses United Overseas Bank's Bangkok headquarters. It was designed for the Bank of Asia by Sumet Jumsai to reflect the computerization of banking (he found inspiration in his son's toy robot); its architecture is a reaction against neoclassical and high-tech postmodern architecture. The building's features, such as progressively receding walls, antennas, and eyes, contribute to its robotic appearance and to its practical function.
The building was completed in 1987 at a cost of US$10 million. By the mid-1980s, architectural modernism had faded in Bangkok; this building is one of the last examples of the style.
Sumet designed the building in conscious opposition to postmodern styles of the era, particularly classical revivalism and high-tech architecture as embodied in the Centre Pompidou. Sumet dismissed mid-1980s classical revivalism as "intellectually bankrupt" and criticized the "catalogues of meaningless architectural motifs" that characterized classical revivalism in Bangkok.
The Robot Building was selected by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles as one of the 50 seminal buildings of the century. The building also earned Sumet an award from Chicago's Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design, the first such award given to a Thai designer. According to Stephen Sennott's Encyclopedia of 20th Century Architecture, the building "enhanced the world's recognition of modern Thai architecture".
Visit my website: Southeast Asia Images
Link to Thailand’s premier image gallery: Thailand Showcase Gallery
accelerates NS 64N out of East Conway Yard towards the main in Baden, PA as they head towards a refinery somewhere further east.
Union Pacific ordered many of their AC4400CWs with Computerized Tractive Effort software, giving them the designation of AC44CWCTE. It was built new in 2004 for the UP.
Avenue U, Sheepshead Bay
Imagine how many years this space has been vacant, and then ask yourself if the building owner needs some kind of reality check.
The B & B we stayed at (Tulip of Amsterdam on Kloverniersburgwal canal) has a curio collection including clogs sets, this set being one.
The oldest surviving wooden footwear in Europe is found in Amsterdam and Rotterdam dating from 1230 and 1280 respectively.
Since then wooden shoes have barely changed. Some clog makers have existed for generations. Traditionally each clog maker has their own design.
During winter Dutch farmers used to carve shoes for themselves and their families. Wooden shoes were cheap and the perfect footwear for working the land.
During the 18th century the art of making wooden shoes developed rapidly, and by the 19th century it had become a profession.
After the First World War there was over 3,900 wooden shoe factories in Holland.
Due to fierce competetion the number factories reduced rapdily. By 1975 there were only 150 factories left.
Today there are only 20 wooden shoe factories left, all have been computerized. They produce about 1.5 million pairs of poplar wood shoes per year for use as footwear and 3 million for souvenirs and gifts.
A derivative of the Haubits FH77, the 12/80 "KARIN" is a highly mobile coastal gun used to defend the shores of the Nordic Union. While barrel's diameter is identical to the original howitzer's 155mm gun, it has instead been bored to 120mm. This allows for a higher rate of fire, better shell velocity. Furthermore, their computerized fire control system allows them to use the sensor data provided by both fixed and mobile radar.
Able to deliver 16 rounds per minute to targets up to 32 kilometers away, batteries of these coastal guns can wreck any ship or landing craft that attempts to threaten the Nordic Union's shores.
An additional highly useful feature is that the KARIN is capable of operating in a self-propelled capability to a limited extent, although it lacks both the speed and range of a true self-propelled weapon.
Note: While the illustration here may look dramatic, in reality the gun would be provided with a camouflage net and would never be positioned in such an open area.
A video of the KARIN in action can be found here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F1zLPiwgn8
Joy Division on the Oldies Station: Love Will Tear Us Apart
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL9rSAz_oc4
Do you cry out in your sleep? - All my failings exposed... - Gets a taste in my mouth - As desperation takes hold. - Why is it something so good - Just can't function no more?
Silver: (is standing with Sheriff Samuels outside the Green Dive, in front of the fortune telling arcade machine, but it isn't the same machine) Weird, right? I mean, first it's that other one, now, this?
Dan: Have you tried it out?
Silver: Not after the things I heard about the other one.
Dan: (deposits a quarter, machinery whirs and the male animatronic, complete with bejeweled turban and evil-universe beard, turns its head, blinks, and a computerize voice emerges from the speakers)
Zoltar: Speak your question and the magnificent Zoltar will reveal all!
Dan: (shakes his head at Silver and they grin) Where is the machine that used to be here?
Zoltar: (blinks his dark, glass eyes then stares) If you look, you may find it. (he goes still)
Silver: That wasn't helpful.
Dan: Not at all. Want to try it, now?
Silver: Sure. (she deposits a quarter and waits)
Zoltar: Speak your question and the magnificent Zoltar will reveal all!
Silver: How much longer will I be working at this bar?
Zoltar: (blinks his dark, glass eyes then stares) Your destiny is up to you. (he goes still)
Silver: I feel unsatisfied by this guy. (grins at Dan) Typical.
Dan: Well, complaints must have gotten back to the company, so they brought this replacement. I guess the only thing the tourist will complain about, now, is getting hokey fortunes.
Paradise Russo: (as she and her brother, Brad, leave the Russo house) I can't believe Mom is making me walk to school with you.
Brad: She wants to make sure Champagne or Amber don't pick you up.
Paradise: (sighs) She doesn't get it. They're not a bad influence on me.
Brad: Uh huh. Champagne's Queen of the Ice People and Amber's her lackey. You want to be a lackey?
Paradise: I'm not a lackey -- Oh, my god! (she stops, staring across the street)
Brad: What is it? (he looks around) Hey, check out the babe.
Paradise: It's HER!
Brad: Par, dude, it's not cool to stare at people, plus, she can probably hear you. Totally rude. (raises his voice) I'm sorry, my sister is an idiot.
HoloFortuna: (turns toward Paradise and Brad) Speak your question and Holo Fortuna will speak the answer.
Paradise: Oh, my god! Oh my god! It's HER! It's the fortune teller from the pier!
Brad: But -- you said that was a machine.
Paradise: It is!
Brad: Trust me, she is NOT a machine.
HF: Speak your question and Holo Fortuna will speak the answer.
Paradise: Come on, we need to get away from it.
Brad: Why?
HF: Your question is too vague. Please try again.
Brad: (grins) Are you free tonight?
Paradise: Don't talk to it!
HF: Yes.
Brad: You want to grab a burger with me?
HF: I will grab a burger with you, if that is what you wish.
Paradise: We have to get to school.
Brad: Are you kidding? I'm totally scoring with a babe who's o far out of my league she might as well be from another solar system!
Paradise: She's a hologram.
Brad: There's no way. Hologram technology isn't capable of that. (motioning at HF)
Paradise: I don't know how, but that IS the same girl I saw in the fortune telling booth I told you about.
Brad: (scoffs) Then you know what this is -- (motions with his hand) It's a freaking publicity stunt.
Paradise: What?
Brad: Sure, it's like when they were releasing that clown movie, and clowns started showing up at random places, and everyone got freaked out because other people started pranking by doing the same thing? This is like that. They want to promote their game, so they hire her to walk around.
Paradise: Are you sure?
Brad: Of course I'm sure. What? You think a hologram came to life? Excuse me, would it be okay if I get a selfie with you? (to HF)
HF: Yes.
Brad: Excellent! (he dashes across the street)
Paradise: (watches nervously as Brad takes a couple pictures with the young woman) We're going to be late!
Brad: Okay, okay. (says something to HF that Paradise can't hear before jogging back across the street)
Paradise: What did you say to her?
Brad: I told her where and when to meet me.
Paradise: (as they walk away) Brad, you're not seriously going to go out with her!
Brad: I am seriously, so VERY seriously, going to go out with her. She is HOT.
Paradise: I think she's older than you.
Brad: (grins) Even better.
Michael: (At home, later in the afternoon he wakes, uses the bathroom, and goes about his normal routine -- which ends when he goes into the kitchen for coffee and spots the envelope with his name on it, while the coffee is filling -- he retrieves the envelope, smiling because he recognizes Chris' handwriting, and he takes out the note, beginning to read -- his smile fading and the coffee forgotten)
Note: Michael, you've been my friend, my teacher, my lover -- my everything. I love you, that won't change, but something has changed, in me. I left home the second I turned eighteen, to find you. Was it because I was so crazy about you, or was it because I knew my parents finally couldn't stop me from living a life I knew they didn't approve of? I'm starting to think it was the latter, because if it was the former then I wouldn't be writing this note -- and I wouldn't be going to him. I don't understand what's happening to me, but I know I want you to be happy. Please be happy -- Chris.
Michael: (drops the note and looks around) Chris? (he dashes upstairs) Christopher! (he opens the dresser drawers, but all of Chris' clothes are gone, he throws open the closet doors -- his clothes are still neatly hung, but Chris' side is empty and his suitcases are gone -- except ... there's a yellow jacket on the floor of the closet, kicked in the corner and missed -- he snatches it up and buries his face in the material ... he inhales deeply, smelling Chris, of course, and his own scent -- but there is a third scent, male, and his head snaps up, dark green eyes going amber ... he knows that scent ... and he bolts from the house)
(Thank you to Erebus for playing Michael and to Seth for playing Chris. Tomorrow is the season finale! The show will go on hiatus after that.)
Southeast Financial Center is a two-acre development in Miami, Florida, United States. It consists of a 764 feet (233 m) tall office skyscraper and its 15-story parking garage. It was previously known as the Southeast Financial Center (1984–1992), the First Union Financial Center (1992–2003), and the Wachovia Financial Center (2003-2011). In 2011, it retook its old name of Southeast Financial Center as Wachovia merged with Wells Fargo and moved to the nearby Wells Fargo Center.
When topped-off in August 1983, it was the tallest building south of New York City and east of the Mississippi River, taking away the same title from the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel, in Atlanta, Georgia. It remained the tallest building in the southeastern U.S. until 1987, when it was surpassed by One Atlantic Center in Atlanta and the tallest in Florida until October 1, 2003, when it was surpassed by the Four Seasons Hotel and Tower, also in Miami. It remains the tallest office tower in Florida and the third tallest building in Miami.
Southeast Financial Center was constructed in three years with more than 500 construction workers. Approximately 6,650 tons of structural steel, 80,000 cubic yards of concrete and 7000 cubic tons of reinforcing steel bars went into its construction. The complex sits on a series of reinforced concrete grade beams tied to 150 concrete caissons as much as ten feet in diameter and to a depth of 80 feet. A steel space-frame canopy with glass skylights covers the outdoor plaza between the tower and low-rise building.
The tower has a composite structure. The exterior columns and beams are concrete encased steel wide flanges surrounded by reinforcing bars. The composite exterior frame was formed using hydraulic steel forms, or "flying forms," jacked into place with a "kangaroo" crane, that was located in the core and manually clamped into place. Wide flange beams topped by a metal deck and concrete form the interior floor framing. The core is A braced steel frame, designed to laterally resist wind loads. The construction of one typical floor was completed every five days.
The low-rise banking hall and parking building is a concrete-framed structure. Each floor consists of nearly an acre of continuously poured concrete. When the concrete had sufficiently hardened, compressed air was used to blow the forms fiberglass forms from under the completed floor. It was then rolled out to the exterior where it was raised by crane into position for the next floor.
The building was recognized as Miami's first and only office building to be certified for the LEED Gold award in January 2010.
The center was developed by a partnership consisting of Gerald D. Hines Interests, Southeast Bank and Corporate Property Investors for $180 million. It was originally built as the headquarters for Southeast Bank, which originally occupied 50 percent of the complex's space. It remained Southeast Bank's headquarters there until it was liquidated in 1991.
The Southeast Financial Center comprises two buildings: the 55-story office tower and the 15-story parking annex. The tower has 53 stories of office space. The first floor is dedicated for retail, the second floor is the lobby and the 55th floor was home to the luxurious Miami City Club. The parking annex has 12 floors of parking space for 1,150 cars. The first floor is dedicated for retail, the second floor is a banking hall and the 15th floor has the Downtown Athletic Club. A landscaped plaza lies between the office tower and the parking annex. An enclosed walkway connects the second story of the tower with the second story of the annex. The courtyard is partially protected from the elements by a steel and glass space frame canopy spanning the plaza and attached to the tower and annex. Southeast Bank's executive offices were located on the 38th floor. Ground was broken on the complex on December 12, 1981 and the official dedication and opening for the complex was held on October 23, 1984.
The Southeast Financial Center was designed by Edward Charles Bassett of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. The Associate Architect was Spillis Candela & Partners. It has 1,145,311 ft² (106,000 m²) of office space. A typical floor has about 22,000 ft² (2,043.87 m²) of office space. Each floor has 9 ft x 9 ft (2.7 m x 2.7 m) floor to ceiling windows. (All of the building's windows are tinted except for the top floor, resulting in strikingly bright and clear views from there.) The total complex has over 2.2 million ft² (204,000 m²). The distinctive setbacks begin at the 43rd floor. Each typical floor plate has 9 corner offices and the top twelve floors have as many as 16. There are 43 elevators in the office tower. An emergency control station provides computerized monitoring for the entire complex, and four generators for backup power.
The Southeast Financial Center can be seen as far away as Ft. Lauderdale and halfway toward Bimini. Night space shuttle launches from Cape Canaveral 200 miles to the north were plainly visible from the higher floors. The roof of the building was featured in the Wesley Snipes motion picture Drop Zone, where an eccentric base jumper named Swoop parachutes down to the street from a suspended window cleaning trolley. The building also appeared in several episodes of the 1980s TV show Miami Vice and at the end of each episode's opening credits.
Zara founder Amancio Ortega purchased the building from J.P. Morgan Asset Management in December 2016. The purchase price was reportedly over $500 million, making it one of the largest real estate transactions in South Florida history.
Credit for the data above is given to the following websites:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southeast_Financial_Center
www.emporis.com/buildings/122292/wachovia-financial-cente...
© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.
This is the first time I have seen a Strada(Ritmo) in the metal.
This one has been off of the road since around 1993 as indicated by the expiry tag on the rear number plate.
This one might get saved .. or it is a donor. Would be sad as these are very rare.
This could be a USA spec example by the dealer sticker on the rear hatch - Bear Creek Auto Haus. Plus the Planetary Peace Alliance bumper sticker with a CA zip code.
*Taken from an article on rememberroad.com*
Known in Europe as the Fiat Ritmo–Italian for “rhythm–Fiat selected a name more euphonious to America ears. Even so, “Strada” was still Italian, and all the better, meant “road” in the mother tongue. The Strada was the replacement for the Fiat 128 which, with its transversely-mounted four-cylinder engine and front drive, greatly popularized if not invented that particular automotive genre. Appearing in 1979, the Strada improved on the 128 in every way.
The Strada made do with a belt-driven single overhead cam four displacing 1498cc–we Americans got the big engine–actually the same powerplant used in the Fiat X1/9. It was rated at 69 hp at 5100 rpm, well below its 6300 rpm redline, and 77 lb-ft of torque, about par with its contemporaries. Surprisingly, however, despite its extremely oversquare bore and stroke and two-barrel Weber carburetor, the Strada displayed little of the joy for revving typical of Italian cars.
It came standard with a five-speed transmission, then not yet universal on less expensive cars, while a three-speed automatic from Volkswagen was optional (and best avoided).
0-to60 mph took 12.5 seconds with the quarter-mile winding by in 19.1 seconds, the Strada was considered as peppy as most of its competition and capable on the highway, even if Interstate highway grades required a downshift out of the overdrive fifth gear.
Fiat had expected to sell about 30,000 Strada per year in the United States, but the actual number fell short of that. Touting computerized design, $250 million in development cost and an automated assembly line called Robogate (make your own jokes) apparently wasn’t enough to convince America car buyers that the Strada was any more reliable than the Fiats that had given the brand the nickname “Fix it again, Tony.” At more than $6,000 reasonably tarted up, the Strada was priced up there with the typical American intermediate.
If, as it was then thought, gas prices would continue to climb, the Strada might have been the car for the ’80s. But other small cars were better priced and didn’t have Fiat’s unfortunate reputation. Fiat needed Strada to succeed, and when it failed, it was withdrawn from the U.S. after 1982. Fiat gave up on the American market. The Strada’s name had proven prophetic. It was indeed “the road” for Fiat.
Lunar Eclipse, Ewa Bch, HI.
Shot with a 5DMkIII and a EF800mm lens on a Celestron CGEM DX computerized mount.
08Oct14
I found this article in the TopTropicals' Encyclopedia fascinating.
Cinnamomum zeylanicum - a legendary commodity and culinary spice, Cinnamon
Scientific name: Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Cinnamomum verum
Family: Lauraceae
Common name: Cinnamon
Origin: Sri Lanka (Ceylon)
An exciting story of Cinnamon - the most famous world spice... This historical plant can be easily grown in your garden. Enjoy the story and brew some cinnamon tea!..
Cinnamon
Cinnamomum aromaticum:
Young leaves of Cinnamon can be pinkish to red
Somewhere in the archives of your mind, do you remember your school days and studying the great explorers of the New World, like Columbus and Magellan? Were you ever asked how and why these extravagant expeditions were funded? These ever-dangerous missions were the sixteenth-century prequel to the Cold War space race, with similar stakes for national prestige and power. In the days before NASA and government grants, who put up the cash for these escapades? It was usually the Spanish king. But, as you doubtless already know if you've ever tried coax a new office computer out of your boss, there never seems to be enough money in the budget. In contrast to the illusion of endless wealth they portrayed, even kings were often in deep financial straits, and competitors were fierce for the few funds they offered. And proving your soundness as a financial risk was no easy thing in those days before computerized credit reports.. As classics of political economics have taught us, capitalists can lend money only in exchange for profit. So, if you approached the king with a "go I know not whither” attitude, you had better at least promise to bring back something worthwhile that was a perennially popular quarry, such as spices, which were often worth more their weight in gold.
Only one out of five ships from Magellan's fleet returned - the "Victoria". However, the hold carried 26 tons of spices, sufficient to cover the losses of the expedition and to actually make a profit for the investors.
Life in those days would have been unbearable without savory spices to disguise the poor quality and preparation of food. The quality of food was disgusting - unless you were royalty, you were destined for a lifetime of boiled meat-and-vegetable soup. The culinary arts existed more in theory than in fact, and only the rich could afford the luxury of fried meat (widespread consumption of fried meat did not come until the 18- and 19th centuries). Today we feed our dogs better meat than most people ate then, and salting was the only method of keeping meat fresh. Toil and harsh conditions were the standards of life... That's why spices were so valued, with their ability to lift the palate and the spirit even slightly above the drudgery of everyday life. Our sense of taste is primitive-- we sense saltiness, sweetness, bitterness, and acidity, and in this, we are not much different from other animals. Most of our culinary enjoyment stems from the sense of smell, which connects aromas to specific foods. Spices were also important as status symbols: something akin to wearing a Rolex watch or owning a yacht.
In those times the spice trade route came by way of Muslim countries and from there by sea through the Italian ports of Genoa and Venice. The fantastic wealth of these and other ports was almost completely due to the spice trade, or rather to the hefty customs duties collected on these goods. Without this excess wealth and the artistic patronage it inspired, the Renaissance would not have been possible (it is interesting to speculate on where we would be without it!). Everything was fine prior to the beginning of the fifteenth century, when the Turks took the Balkans, the Black Sea and Syria, ending the old commercial routes to the East. The developing countries of Europe were very unhappy with these circumstances. They began to cherish the idea of going directly to the source of the riches themselves, cutting out the middleman.. It was this prospect of grand profit which fueled the first risky expeditions. Perhaps one of the most crucial points in the history of commerce was May 20, 1498, when Vasco de Gama sailed to Calcutta, initiating “spice fever”!
Two countries, Spain and Portugal, were dearest to the Pope's heart at this time. They burned their heretics, unlike the more freethinking France and England. To the great dismay of Pope Alexander VI, by the end of the fifteenth century, there was no love lost between these two rival siblings of the Pope's affections. Portugal mastered the route around Africa, and Spain (a little late on the exploration scene, as it was preoccupied with disarming the Moors), decided to move to another side, sending Columbus westward. They took different directions with the same intent -- to possess the riches of the Orient. The outcome is now legendary. In 1494, under the auspices of the Pope the world was divided in two: Spanish (to the West from the 49th meridian) and Portuguese (to the east). This agreement did not interfere with the existence of countries already established. It is interesting that this arbitrary division allowed Portugal to colonize Brazil, where Portuguese is spoken to this day.
Meanwhile, other countries were not at rest and were no less greedy in their aspirations. England and Holland took their share of colonies as well. For example, the Dutch East Indian company practically governed Indonesia and therefore monopolized world trade in spices from the 17th century on. English companies in India monopolized the perfume trade, and these are only two commodities that were plundered by empirical ambition.
Here we will discuss only one plant - cinnamon (Cinnamomum). Various varieties exist, only two of which are commercially popular: plain cinnamon - Cinnamomum zeylanicum, native to Ceylon and Malabar off the coast of India; and Cassia cinnamon - Cinnamomum aromaticum, native to Burma and South China (not to be confused with the Cassia plant). The spice cinnamon is obtained from the young bark of the branches. The two differ in appearance in the fact that the bark of cinnamon is thin and yellowish-brown, and the bark of Cassia is thicker and gray in color. Cinnamon possesses the stronger aroma, but to deduce the form of the plant from the appearance of the spice is practically impossible.
The first references to Cassia are encountered in Chinese books dated about 3000 B.C. The Egyptian queen Hatshepsut, who ruled approximately 1500 B.C., was an outstanding monarch, especially considering how rare it was for a woman to rule in those times. Among her accomplishments, she organized an expedition into present-day Yemen to find valuable species of wood and ivory for the building of the palace and temple in Thebes. Among the treasures was a large quantity of cinnamon.
In the works of John the Apostle (Revelation 18:12-13, New International Version), cinnamon is mentioned among the “excesses” of the riches of Babylon:
...Cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron, and marble; cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh, and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and bodies and souls of men.
The Roman historian Pliny wrote that the cost of cinnamon was fifteen times that of silver. Romans used this spice to make expensive perfumery as well as to improve the taste of wine. Emperor Nero, after the murder of his wife, ordered cinnamon to be gathered from the entire city for the funeral bonfire.
Medieval Europe all but forgot about cinnamon, and only rare contacts with Muslims and Marco Polo's expedition revived the use of cinnamon and sugar in cooking. In the 15th century, cinnamon was so expensive that it was paid for in Muslim markets with "hard currency"- eunuchs and white female slaves.
In the spring of 1530, The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V went to Germany to visit one of the richest bankers in Europe - Fugger. It was an unpleasant mission for the emperor- he was there to ask for more time to pay old loans as well as to obtain new funds. Charles complained about the cold weather in Germany and compared it with the warm spring of Italy. In reply, the banker threw cinnamon bark into the furnace, after first throwing in the old debts of the emperor - a gesture to show that Germans were at least warm of heart!
As previously discussed, the Portuguese and Spaniards rushed to the Spice Islands from either side. Lorenzo de Almeida discovered Ceylon and its cinnamon trees in 1505. Before this cinnamon was the source of wealth for rulers. In 1580 the Portuguese took the coast and required 125 tons of cinnamon as a yearly tribute from the natives.
In desperation, the king of Candi (one of four kingdoms of Ceylon) turned to the Dutch for help, and in 1658 the island fell under the possession of the Dutchmen. However, their administration was no more merciful than the Portuguese- in fact, it was much worse.
The men who harvested cinnamon belonged to one of the lowest castes - Chaliya. Each of them had to gather about 60 lb of cinnamon each season. Dutchmen raised this quota ten times that amount, a practically impossible amount. Then they freed the harvesters from taxes at least. Still, it is not surprising that many chose to run away into the mountains, increasing the burden on those remaining. And there was only one punishment for a fugitive caught- capital punishment. Capital punishment also awaited any who attempted to smuggle cinnamon or anyone who had unreported cinnamon trees on his property. When Dutchmen learned that cinnamon grew on the Malabar coast of India, they persuaded local rulers by bribes and threats to destroy the trees in order to completely monopolize the market.
The majority of cinnamon was grown in the kingdom of Candi, and its rulers often destroyed trees in order to sabotage the Europeans. In 1761 they attacked the Dutchmen, killing about 7,000 people and destroying huge reserves of cinnamon. It is not surprising that the price of cinnamon in Holland leaped instantly. To prevent another such incident, the Dutch began to cultivate cinnamon on plantations. This arrangement was no more tasteful to the harvesters, who once again began to sabotage trees in protest. In response to this, the Dutch imposed a severe punishment- anyone caught in sabotage had his right hand chopped off.
Plantations proved to be successful, and the collection of wild cinnamon ceased to be profitable. Breeding cinnamon trees led to the crisis of overproduction, and in June of 1760 in Amsterdam, a cinnamon reserve worth 16 million French livre (an imposing sum in today's currency, one could buy a good horse for 100 livre in those days) burnt in a building of the Admiralty over the course of two days. It was noted that for several days the entire land of Holland smelled of cinnamon.
When France took Holland after the French revolution, it also gained Ceylon. When England defeated the French in 1795, they put this resource to work immediately, putting the rich plantations under the control of the East India Company. The island was completely subject to England and the cultivation of cinnamon was sharply limited to drive the market. However, this monopoly collapsed in the middle of the nineteenth century due to the Dutch smuggling exported cinnamon trees to Java and Borneo, and Frenchmen revealed that the cinnamon also grew well on the islands of Maverick and Reunion.
All this led to the price of cinnamon falling drastically in Europe, allowing even the non-rich to use this spice which was previously reserved for only the most wealthy of diners.
Nowadays, world production of cinnamon is about 8,000-10,000 tons per year, with 80-90% of this coming from Sri Lanka. World production of cassia is 20,000-25,000 tons per year, two-thirds of which is grown in Indonesia. Cinnamon and Cassia are used in the production of liqueurs, perfumery, and for cooking.
The cinnamon tree can reach 50 ft in height, but on plantations, trees are trained into bushes of 6-8 ft. The leaves are fragrant (they are often used to impart a cinnamon flavor to tea, for example). The cinnamon tree "drinks" a large amount of water. In its natural habitat, more than 6 ft of rainfall annually. The flowers are very small and unimposing.
The cinnamon tree is propagated by seeds or cuttings. The plant is pruned after two or three years to form a bush, and cinnamon can already be harvested in the rainy season from a two-year-old tree.
The harvesting method is relatively simple. First, branches are cut from the tree. These are left for a day or two- in the dampness the bark rots and becomes easier to separate from the tree. After this comes the most complex part of the operation. The twigs and leaves are trimmed from the branches and the outer rough layer of bark is scraped off. After this, “stripes” are cut into the branches to separate the bark from the inner wood of the branch. The bark is then cut from the branch by making two accurate parallel cuts, and it then forms the characteristic curled twigs that we recognize as cinnamon sticks. These are then cut accurately into 42-inch lengths and dried.
One acre yields about 200 lb of cinnamon per year...
Cinnamon trees can be easily grown as an exotic container plant or planted in the ground in areas with frost-free climates. Fresh leaves may be added to tea. Enjoy the aroma of this tropical plant collection gem!
Courtesy TopTropicals Nursery
Muttrah
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Muttrah, (Arabic: مطرح) administratively a district, is located in the Muscat province of Oman. Before the discovery of oil, Muttrah was the center of commerce in Oman (Muscat). It is still a center of commerce as one of largest sea ports of the region is located there. Other landmarks include Souq Muttrah, a traditional bazaar and Sour Al-Lawatiah, a small community of houses surrounded by an old wall. To the south lies Muscat District.
Demographics
Muttrah had an estimated population of about 8,000 people when diplomat Edmund Roberts visited in the early 1830s.[1] The district population was 216,578 estimated for 2014, up from 150,124 of the 2010 Census count, and the most densely populated of all districts in the nation
Economy
In the mid 19th century, Muttrah had a vessel repair industry.[1]
Souq Muttrah
The Muttrah Souq
Entrance to the Muttrah Souq
Al Dhalam (Darkness in Arabic) Souq is the local name for the Muttrah Souq. The Muttrah Souq is perhaps one of the oldest marketplaces in the Arab world because Muscat is the world's largest natural harbor and has seen immense trade in the age of sail, being strategically located on the way to India and China.[3] It has been named after darkness because of the crowded stalls and lanes where the sunrays do not infiltrate during the day and the shoppers need lamps to know their destinations. The name of the market has been drawn specifically from the part that extends from Al Lawatiya Mosque to Khour Bimba where the place is really full of stores and stalls and the narrow area of lanes does not allow the sunlight to enter. The market was a source of supply for Omanis where they can buy their needs in the 1960s when life requirements were simpler than today. Most of the goods were imported, in addition to local products like textiles, fruit, vegetables and dates.
In the past the market was built from mud and palm leaves, which suit the high temperatures and the hard climate conditions and hence were the best available materials to build the market at that time. Today, the Muscat Municipality has renovated and decorated the market to maintain the popular style but has also introduced modern amenities and redecorated the market heavily to attract tourists and make the shopping experience comfortable for tourists as well as other ordinary shoppers.
The market becomes more crowded and active during Eid seasons when Oman is come from all over the country to buy garments and jewelry.[4]
The main thoroughfare of the souk carries mainly household goods, shoes and ready-made garments. Further inside, you can enjoy the mixed smells of frankincense, perfume oils, fresh jasmine and spices. Enthusiastic shoppers and travellers can also discover a selection of tiny shops (on the side streets and alleyways leading up to the souq) full of Omani silver, stalls of gleaming white dishdashas and embroided kumahs, brightly colored cloth and multicoloured head scarves. Shoppers can even get their hands on old Arabian muskets at these souqs.
Other things sold at the souq include Omani pots, paintings, hookah pipes, framed khanjars (daggers), leatherwork and incense.[5]
Infrastructure
Port Sultan Qaboos[edit]
Commonly called the Muscat Port, Port Sultan Qaboos is one of the main commercial ports in Oman. It is Oman's premier maritime gateway, enjoying a prime location in the politically stable sultanate. Situated in a natural harbour 250 km south of the Strait of Hormuz on the Indian Ocean coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Port Sultan Qaboos' location makes it an ideal hub, not only for the Persian Gulf but also the Indian sub-continent and markets in East and South Africa.
The location of Port Sultan Qaboos offers considerable savings in steaming time when compared to other ports. The port's tariff compares very favorably with others across the region. The already impressive infrastructure, skilled manpower, fast and efficient handling operations and documentation clearance system in PSC will be further enhanced this year.
During the reign of Sayyid Sultan bin Ahmed in the 18th century, Oman's trading activity again increased and the capital area's two harbours — Muscat and Mutrah — diversified, Mutrah was quickly established as a commercial port while Muscat was used for naval operations. The ruler's son Sayyid Said continued to expand maritime commerce although it again went into decline after his death in 1856. Maritime activity was limited to the import of essential items, mainly from India by old-style wooden dhows. Ships had to anchor offshore and sometimes wait for days before cargo could be unloaded manually into small boats.
Muscat Port
This was all to change with the accession of HM Sultan Qaboos bin Said who inaugurated a new era of maritime commerce and prosperity in Oman when he established Mina Qaboos (now Port Sultan Qaboos) in 1974.
Port Sultan Qaboos has been operated and managed by Port Services Corporation S.A.O.G. since November 1976. Until 1981, the traffic was essentially conventional cargo. With the advent of containerisation, PSQ developed two of its berths to handle container vessels and these facilities were fully operational by 1983–1984.
PSC embarked on computerization of its operations and back office in 1984. The first system to handle container movements became operational from 1985. Thereafter the computer applications were enhanced to cover all back office operations including invoicing and accounts.
In the early 1990s, the port infrastructure was further enhanced. Two more berths were converted to handle multipurpose vessels including container vessels and were equipped with additional three quay-side gantry cranes. The marshaling yard and empty yard was provided with rubber tyred gantries. On date, the port is an ideal transshipment hub for the upper Persian Gulf and Red Sea ports trade flows.
Source : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muttrah
I found this article in the TopTropicals' Encyclopedia fascinating.
Cinnamomum zeylanicum - a legendary commodity and culinary spice, Cinnamon
Scientific name: Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Cinnamomum verum
Family: Lauraceae
Common name: Cinnamon
Origin: Sri Lanka (Ceylon)
An exciting story of Cinnamon - the most famous world spice... This historical plant can be easily grown in your garden. Enjoy the story and brew some cinnamon tea!..
Cinnamon
Cinnamomum aromaticum:
Young leaves of Cinnamon can be pinkish to red
Somewhere in the archives of your mind, do you remember your school days and studying the great explorers of the New World, like Columbus and Magellan? Were you ever asked how and why these extravagant expeditions were funded? These ever-dangerous missions were the sixteenth-century prequel to the Cold War space race, with similar stakes for national prestige and power. In the days before NASA and government grants, who put up the cash for these escapades? It was usually the Spanish king. But, as you doubtless already know if you've ever tried coax a new office computer out of your boss, there never seems to be enough money in the budget. In contrast to the illusion of endless wealth they portrayed, even kings were often in deep financial straits, and competitors were fierce for the few funds they offered. And proving your soundness as a financial risk was no easy thing in those days before computerized credit reports.. As classics of political economics have taught us, capitalists can lend money only in exchange for profit. So, if you approached the king with a "go I know not whither” attitude, you had better at least promise to bring back something worthwhile that was a perennially popular quarry, such as spices, which were often worth more their weight in gold.
Only one out of five ships from Magellan's fleet returned - the "Victoria". However, the hold carried 26 tons of spices, sufficient to cover the losses of the expedition and to actually make a profit for the investors.
Life in those days would have been unbearable without savory spices to disguise the poor quality and preparation of food. The quality of food was disgusting - unless you were royalty, you were destined for a lifetime of boiled meat-and-vegetable soup. The culinary arts existed more in theory than in fact, and only the rich could afford the luxury of fried meat (widespread consumption of fried meat did not come until the 18- and 19th centuries). Today we feed our dogs better meat than most people ate then, and salting was the only method of keeping meat fresh. Toil and harsh conditions were the standards of life... That's why spices were so valued, with their ability to lift the palate and the spirit even slightly above the drudgery of everyday life. Our sense of taste is primitive-- we sense saltiness, sweetness, bitterness, and acidity, and in this, we are not much different from other animals. Most of our culinary enjoyment stems from the sense of smell, which connects aromas to specific foods. Spices were also important as status symbols: something akin to wearing a Rolex watch or owning a yacht.
In those times the spice trade route came by way of Muslim countries and from there by sea through the Italian ports of Genoa and Venice. The fantastic wealth of these and other ports was almost completely due to the spice trade, or rather to the hefty customs duties collected on these goods. Without this excess wealth and the artistic patronage it inspired, the Renaissance would not have been possible (it is interesting to speculate on where we would be without it!). Everything was fine prior to the beginning of the fifteenth century, when the Turks took the Balkans, the Black Sea and Syria, ending the old commercial routes to the East. The developing countries of Europe were very unhappy with these circumstances. They began to cherish the idea of going directly to the source of the riches themselves, cutting out the middleman.. It was this prospect of grand profit which fueled the first risky expeditions. Perhaps one of the most crucial points in the history of commerce was May 20, 1498, when Vasco de Gama sailed to Calcutta, initiating “spice fever”!
Two countries, Spain and Portugal, were dearest to the Pope's heart at this time. They burned their heretics, unlike the more freethinking France and England. To the great dismay of Pope Alexander VI, by the end of the fifteenth century, there was no love lost between these two rival siblings of the Pope's affections. Portugal mastered the route around Africa, and Spain (a little late on the exploration scene, as it was preoccupied with disarming the Moors), decided to move to another side, sending Columbus westward. They took different directions with the same intent -- to possess the riches of the Orient. The outcome is now legendary. In 1494, under the auspices of the Pope the world was divided in two: Spanish (to the West from the 49th meridian) and Portuguese (to the east). This agreement did not interfere with the existence of countries already established. It is interesting that this arbitrary division allowed Portugal to colonize Brazil, where Portuguese is spoken to this day.
Meanwhile, other countries were not at rest and were no less greedy in their aspirations. England and Holland took their share of colonies as well. For example, the Dutch East Indian company practically governed Indonesia and therefore monopolized world trade in spices from the 17th century on. English companies in India monopolized the perfume trade, and these are only two commodities that were plundered by empirical ambition.
Here we will discuss only one plant - cinnamon (Cinnamomum). Various varieties exist, only two of which are commercially popular: plain cinnamon - Cinnamomum zeylanicum, native to Ceylon and Malabar off the coast of India; and Cassia cinnamon - Cinnamomum aromaticum, native to Burma and South China (not to be confused with the Cassia plant). The spice cinnamon is obtained from the young bark of the branches. The two differ in appearance in the fact that the bark of cinnamon is thin and yellowish-brown, and the bark of Cassia is thicker and gray in color. Cinnamon possesses the stronger aroma, but to deduce the form of the plant from the appearance of the spice is practically impossible.
The first references to Cassia are encountered in Chinese books dated about 3000 B.C. The Egyptian queen Hatshepsut, who ruled approximately 1500 B.C., was an outstanding monarch, especially considering how rare it was for a woman to rule in those times. Among her accomplishments, she organized an expedition into present-day Yemen to find valuable species of wood and ivory for the building of the palace and temple in Thebes. Among the treasures was a large quantity of cinnamon.
In the works of John the Apostle (Revelation 18:12-13, New International Version), cinnamon is mentioned among the “excesses” of the riches of Babylon:
...Cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron, and marble; cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh, and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and bodies and souls of men.
The Roman historian Pliny wrote that the cost of cinnamon was fifteen times that of silver. Romans used this spice to make expensive perfumery as well as to improve the taste of wine. Emperor Nero, after the murder of his wife, ordered cinnamon to be gathered from the entire city for the funeral bonfire.
Medieval Europe all but forgot about cinnamon, and only rare contacts with Muslims and Marco Polo's expedition revived the use of cinnamon and sugar in cooking. In the 15th century, cinnamon was so expensive that it was paid for in Muslim markets with "hard currency"- eunuchs and white female slaves.
In the spring of 1530, The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V went to Germany to visit one of the richest bankers in Europe - Fugger. It was an unpleasant mission for the emperor- he was there to ask for more time to pay old loans as well as to obtain new funds. Charles complained about the cold weather in Germany and compared it with the warm spring of Italy. In reply, the banker threw cinnamon bark into the furnace, after first throwing in the old debts of the emperor - a gesture to show that Germans were at least warm of heart!
As previously discussed, the Portuguese and Spaniards rushed to the Spice Islands from either side. Lorenzo de Almeida discovered Ceylon and its cinnamon trees in 1505. Before this cinnamon was the source of wealth for rulers. In 1580 the Portuguese took the coast and required 125 tons of cinnamon as a yearly tribute from the natives.
In desperation, the king of Candi (one of four kingdoms of Ceylon) turned to the Dutch for help, and in 1658 the island fell under the possession of the Dutchmen. However, their administration was no more merciful than the Portuguese- in fact, it was much worse.
The men who harvested cinnamon belonged to one of the lowest castes - Chaliya. Each of them had to gather about 60 lb of cinnamon each season. Dutchmen raised this quota ten times that amount, a practically impossible amount. Then they freed the harvesters from taxes at least. Still, it is not surprising that many chose to run away into the mountains, increasing the burden on those remaining. And there was only one punishment for a fugitive caught- capital punishment. Capital punishment also awaited any who attempted to smuggle cinnamon or anyone who had unreported cinnamon trees on his property. When Dutchmen learned that cinnamon grew on the Malabar coast of India, they persuaded local rulers by bribes and threats to destroy the trees in order to completely monopolize the market.
The majority of cinnamon was grown in the kingdom of Candi, and its rulers often destroyed trees in order to sabotage the Europeans. In 1761 they attacked the Dutchmen, killing about 7,000 people and destroying huge reserves of cinnamon. It is not surprising that the price of cinnamon in Holland leaped instantly. To prevent another such incident, the Dutch began to cultivate cinnamon on plantations. This arrangement was no more tasteful to the harvesters, who once again began to sabotage trees in protest. In response to this, the Dutch imposed a severe punishment- anyone caught in sabotage had his right hand chopped off.
Plantations proved to be successful, and the collection of wild cinnamon ceased to be profitable. Breeding cinnamon trees led to the crisis of overproduction, and in June of 1760 in Amsterdam, a cinnamon reserve worth 16 million French livre (an imposing sum in today's currency, one could buy a good horse for 100 livre in those days) burnt in a building of the Admiralty over the course of two days. It was noted that for several days the entire land of Holland smelled of cinnamon.
When France took Holland after the French revolution, it also gained Ceylon. When England defeated the French in 1795, they put this resource to work immediately, putting the rich plantations under the control of the East India Company. The island was completely subject to England and the cultivation of cinnamon was sharply limited to drive the market. However, this monopoly collapsed in the middle of the nineteenth century due to the Dutch smuggling exported cinnamon trees to Java and Borneo, and Frenchmen revealed that the cinnamon also grew well on the islands of Maverick and Reunion.
All this led to the price of cinnamon falling drastically in Europe, allowing even the non-rich to use this spice which was previously reserved for only the most wealthy of diners.
Nowadays, world production of cinnamon is about 8,000-10,000 tons per year, with 80-90% of this coming from Sri Lanka. World production of cassia is 20,000-25,000 tons per year, two-thirds of which is grown in Indonesia. Cinnamon and Cassia are used in the production of liqueurs, perfumery, and for cooking.
The cinnamon tree can reach 50 ft in height, but on plantations, trees are trained into bushes of 6-8 ft. The leaves are fragrant (they are often used to impart a cinnamon flavor to tea, for example). The cinnamon tree "drinks" a large amount of water. In its natural habitat, more than 6 ft of rainfall annually. The flowers are very small and unimposing.
The cinnamon tree is propagated by seeds or cuttings. The plant is pruned after two or three years to form a bush, and cinnamon can already be harvested in the rainy season from a two-year-old tree.
The harvesting method is relatively simple. First, branches are cut from the tree. These are left for a day or two- in the dampness the bark rots and becomes easier to separate from the tree. After this comes the most complex part of the operation. The twigs and leaves are trimmed from the branches and the outer rough layer of bark is scraped off. After this, “stripes” are cut into the branches to separate the bark from the inner wood of the branch. The bark is then cut from the branch by making two accurate parallel cuts, and it then forms the characteristic curled twigs that we recognize as cinnamon sticks. These are then cut accurately into 42-inch lengths and dried.
One acre yields about 200 lb of cinnamon per year...
Cinnamon trees can be easily grown as an exotic container plant or planted in the ground in areas with frost-free climates. Fresh leaves may be added to tea. Enjoy the aroma of this tropical plant collection gem!
Courtesy TopTropicals Nursery
iss068e029379 (Dec. 12, 2022) --- Roscosmos cosmonaut and Expedition 68 Flight Engineer Anna Kikina is pictured inside the Zvezda service module filling out a computerized report at the end of her work day.
Registration: N755PA
Named: Clipper Sovereign of the Seas”
Type: 747-121
Engines: 4 × PW JT9D-7A
Serial Number: 19659
First flight: May 21, 1970
Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial flag carrier of the United States from 1927 until its collapse on December 4, 1991. It was founded in 1927 as a scheduled air mail and passenger service operating between Key West, Florida and Havana, Cuba. The airline is credited for many innovations that shaped the international airline industry, including the widespread use of jet aircraft, jumbo jets, and computerized reservation systems. It was also a founding member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the global airline industry association. Identified by its blue globe logo ("The Blue Meatball"), the use of the word "Clipper" in its aircraft names and call signs, and the white uniform caps of its pilots, the airline was a cultural icon of the 20th century.
Airliner Profile Art Prints
I didn't even know there were Goldeneyes on the river. I was looking for Great Blue Herons. Half a dozen Goldeneyes suddenly launched, and raced past me. Little ducks, VERY fast in the air, I couldn't even get the camera up before they were past.
But a flying pair of Goldeneyes...wanted that one a lot. Fired away, hoping. Too far away, moving like little winged missles, I needed computerized camera guidance; didn't have any in my pockets.
So the photo is a major (did I say major) crop. Enlarged more than is reasonable, and worked on like crazy to make an almost-presentable image.
But it is, after all, a pair of flying Goldeneyes.
Boeing B-29 Superfortress “FIFI”, serial number 44-62070
FiFi, a B-29 bomber, and one of the more notable planes, participated in a special event at the New Century Air Center in Gardner, Kansas. The event was called the Air Power History Tour, where three working World War II airplanes were on display until Sunday. The event took place August 20 through August 24 at the New Century AirCenter in Gardner Kansas. This picture taken Sunday, August 24th.
This particular aircraft was delivered to the U.S. Army Air Corps in Salina, Kansas, on July 31, 1945. It remained state-side for its entire career, assigned to several airbases including Strategic Air Command, Grand Island Field, Nebraska. It was converted to a TB-29 trainer in 1953 and transferred to the U.S. Navy in 1956 and eventually ended up at China Lake, California.
The B-29 was designed as a long-range heavy bomber, and whose nickname “Superfortress” is derived from the B-17 “Flying Fortress” nickname coined by Richard L. Williams, a writer and editor for the Seattle Times, when he was assigned to write a caption on a photo of the Model 299, a prototype of the B-17 that was unveiled at Boeing on July 17, 1935. Boeing presented a prototype as early as 1939, but the production version did not see combat until 1944. B-29s were flown in the Pacific Theater during World War II, where their long range and large bomb load were most needed (although two were delivered for non-combat to Europe late in the war – my dad was there in 1946 and spoke of them). The B-29 is, of course, most known for having dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (a secondary target chosen due to poor visibility over the primary target of Kokura). After its establishment in 1946, the U.S. Strategic Air Command began deployment of B-29s, some as RB-29 reconnaissance aircraft.
Powered by four Wright R-3350-23 Duplex/Cyclone engines, the B-29 was the first bomber to have pressurized crew compartments: forward, aft, and tail gunner positions, with a pressurized connecting tunnel over the bomb bays. It was entirely innovative in its use of an analog computerized remote-controlled sighting system for the guns. Except for the tail gunner, the gunners no longer sat in turrets but rather in sighting stations using a remote periscope sighting system for the turrets which had switches to obtain or relinquish control of the four turrets; the top turret gunner/central fire control officer had switches for changing control as to which gunner was on the target depending on his field of view; the gunners communicated via the interphone system.
The bombardier was generally responsible for the forward dorsal 4-gun turret and the forward ventral 2-gun turret for frontal attacks. Armament in this aircraft includes: twin-mounted General Electric .50 caliber machine guns in remote-controlled forward and rear ventral turrets and a ventral rear aft turret, and quad-mounted .50 cal. in a remote-controlled forward dorsal turret, and a pair in the tail turret. (Armament varied in these aircraft and a 20 mm cannon was added to the tail turret on some aircraft).
The crew generally consisted of ten: pilot, co-pilot, bombardier/togglier, flight engineer, radio operator, navigator, right gunner, left gunner, top gunner or central fire control, tail gunner (11 when radar was used). The top gunner sat in a pedestal seat nicknamed the “Barber’s Seat.” Due to the complexity of this aircraft, the flight engineer (who sat behind the co-pilot, facing aft and looking at an array of controls) had a very active role in flying the aircraft, responsible for the minute-by-minute monitoring and control of the engines. Each crew position was fitted with a 1936 Ford ashtray. The aircraft had a forward and smaller aft bomb bay and could carry a range of ordnance.
In the nave of a 16th-century basilica in Venice, Italy, visitors saw a beautiful apparition this weekend. Conjured up by renowned Catalan artist Jaume Plensa for this year’s Venice Biennale, the installation, with a duo of colossal heads made of stainless steel mesh at the centerpiece, is now at the Basilica di San Giorgio Maggiore.
The award-winning sculptor and teacher is a humanist and a master of scale. For the Crown Fountain in Chicago, Illinois, he toyed with the city’s towering skyscrapers by installing larger-than-life totems that project a video loop of 1,000 faces of its residents. In Bordeaux, France, he installed a large seated figure that vied for attention with the palaces that surrounded it.
The concept for Plensa’s dreamy installations in San Giorgio is not exactly new. Versions of his “perforated” sculptures, which look like colossal computerized 3D renderings, have appeared in a field in Yorkshire, England; in an outdoor plaza in Calgary, Canada; and even at hotel lobbies in New York City, not to mention at numerous museums and galleries around the world.
And though these “portraits” (more like truncated busts) are different for each site-specific installation, the sculptures tend to look similar, with idealized facial features, closed eyes, and serene expressions. Plensa actually models the heads from real people—mostly girls aged 8 to 14, a period that he describes as “that moment when beauty is in motion, changing every second.”
(Jonty Wilde)
“It’s like a collaboration between me, here and Palladio, in heaven.” But to encounter Plensa’s sculptures in one of Venice’s venerated landmarks makes his work seem somehow new again. The Benedictine monastery, established in the year 952, and later overhauled by the influential Italian architect Andrea Palladio, has never been such a prominent venue for secular art. A sanctuary for reflection (or from the Biennale’s crowds), the church, which stands on its own island, offers a more tranquil context for Plensa’s giant heads than some of the outdoor spaces where they’ve been displayed. In it, the heads seem to have found a strange communion with the Palladian architecture and the Renaissance paintings by Tintoretto, Vittore Carpaccio, and Jacopo.
“It’s like a collaboration between me, here and Palladio, in heaven.”
Next Sunday I am running the Lincoln Tunnel Challenge 5K for the third year straight. Love this run, because it's really fun and because it is a fundraiser for Special Olympics NJ. I set my fundraising goal,met it, doubled it and am close to meeting the new goal, and fairly confident that I will. So, I was feeling pretty good about the whole thing. Except for one small detail... I kind of never got around to training. Just when I had finally started running, I got sick and then did something to my back and that was that. I had too much going on (I had too many excuses!) Last year I ran every day for 10 weeks leading up to the run, in snow, rain and sub zero temps. I had a goal to run it at a 10 minute/mile pace. I came really close. Missed it by seconds. This year, my goal is to finish without my heart exploding and being carried out of the tunnel on a stretcher. A 10 minute mile is a distant memory. Tonight, with one week left before the run, I decided to start running. After fighting with my new phone to get logged into "Map my Run" and getting music to play ( I am technologically challenged and this new phone hates me, as do most computerized gadgets) I hit the road. The music played for one song... and then ... nothing. I hate running without music (to be honest, I'm not a fan of running at all ... and I'm not good at it either). I almost made it to 3 miles. Quit at 2.93 miles... should have pushed myself harder. Then I decided that I needed to go up this dirt road to see where it leads. The sun was setting. There was a muddy pick up truck up there, and I finally got creeped out and went back down... will check it out another day. Then I decided I would go down by this pond and sit on a bench and see if I could get the music to play on my phone for the run/walk back home. I decided to take a short cut... turned out to be a very muddy short cut. I fell in the mud. So, I sat by the pond and took this picture... and while this phone is supposed to take fabulous photos, this is NOT one of them (which is why it became a candidate for Sliders Sunday). I never did get the music to play. And then I realized that it was dark, and I was 3 miles from home. I needed the flashlight on my phone to find my way through the mud and back to the road. My phone battery was at about 20% at this point. So, I finished my first training session, running on a busy county road with my phone flashlight to guide me (and identify me to oncoming traffic). The good news is, my phone did not die (and I didn't fall in a hole, or fall in the mud again, or get hit by a car, and my heart didn't explode). This is going to be a tough week ahead. I need to keep reminding myself that it's all about Special Olympics and making a difference... not about the running (or is this just another excuse that non-runners, or unprepared runners come up with?!! Well... it's MY excuse and I'm sticking with it!) Happy Silders Sunday
La Sals and Kane Creek Canyon from Canyon Rims Recreation Area, Anticline Overlook.
I apologize for the photographic excess, the views from this place frankly blew me away. I'd need a gigapixel camera (or one of those expensive computerized panorama builders) to capture the view from up there.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The OV-10 Bronco was initially conceived in the early 1960s through an informal collaboration between W. H. Beckett and Colonel K. P. Rice, U.S. Marine Corps, who met at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California, and who also happened to live near each other. The original concept was for a rugged, simple, close air support aircraft integrated with forward ground operations. At the time, the U.S. Army was still experimenting with armed helicopters, and the U.S. Air Force was not interested in close air support.
The concept aircraft was to operate from expedient forward air bases using roads as runways. Speed was to be from very slow to medium subsonic, with much longer loiter times than a pure jet. Efficient turboprop engines would give better performance than piston engines. Weapons were to be mounted on the centerline to get efficient aiming. The inventors favored strafing weapons such as self-loading recoilless rifles, which could deliver aimed explosive shells with less recoil than cannons, and a lower per-round weight than rockets. The airframe was to be designed to avoid the back blast.
Beckett and Rice developed a basic platform meeting these requirements, then attempted to build a fiberglass prototype in a garage. The effort produced enthusiastic supporters and an informal pamphlet describing the concept. W. H. Beckett, who had retired from the Marine Corps, went to work at North American Aviation to sell the aircraft.
The aircraft's design supported effective operations from forward bases. The OV-10 had a central nacelle containing a crew of two in tandem and space for cargo, and twin booms containing twin turboprop engines. The visually distinctive feature of the aircraft is the combination of the twin booms, with the horizontal stabilizer that connected them at the fin tips. The OV-10 could perform short takeoffs and landings, including on aircraft carriers and large-deck amphibious assault ships without using catapults or arresting wires. Further, the OV-10 was designed to take off and land on unimproved sites. Repairs could be made with ordinary tools. No ground equipment was required to start the engines. And, if necessary, the engines would operate on high-octane automobile fuel with only a slight loss of power.
The aircraft had responsive handling and could fly for up to 5½ hours with external fuel tanks. The cockpit had extremely good visibility for both pilot and co-pilot, provided by a wrap-around "greenhouse" that was wider than the fuselage. North American Rockwell custom ejection seats were standard, with many successful ejections during service. With the second seat removed, the OV-10 could carry 3,200 pounds (1,500 kg) of cargo, five paratroopers, or two litter patients and an attendant. Empty weight was 6,969 pounds (3,161 kg). Normal operating fueled weight with two crew was 9,908 pounds (4,494 kg). Maximum takeoff weight was 14,446 pounds (6,553 kg).
The bottom of the fuselage bore sponsons or "stub wings" that improved flight performance by decreasing aerodynamic drag underneath the fuselage. Normally, four 7.62 mm (.308 in) M60C machine guns were carried on the sponsons, accessed through large forward-opening hatches. The sponsons also had four racks to carry bombs, pods, or fuel. The wings outboard of the engines contained two additional hardpoints, one per side. Racked armament in the Vietnam War was usually seven-shot 2.75 in (70 mm) rocket pods with white phosphorus marker rounds or high-explosive rockets, or 5" (127 mm) four-shot Zuni rocket pods. Bombs, ADSIDS air-delivered/para-dropped unattended seismic sensors, Mk-6 battlefield illumination flares, and other stores were also carried.
Operational experience showed some weaknesses in the OV-10's design. It was significantly underpowered, which contributed to crashes in Vietnam in sloping terrain because the pilots could not climb fast enough. While specifications stated that the aircraft could reach 26,000 feet (7,900 m), in Vietnam the aircraft could reach only 18,000 feet (5,500 m). Also, no OV-10 pilot survived ditching the aircraft.
The OV-10 served in the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Navy, as well as in the service of a number of other countries. In U.S. military service, the Bronco was operated until the early Nineties, and obsoleted USAF OV-10s were passed on to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms for anti-drug operations. A number of OV-10As furthermore ended up in the hands of the California Department of Forestry (CDF) and were used for spotting fires and directing fire bombers onto hot spots.
This was not the end of the OV-10 in American military service, though: In 2012, the type gained new attention because of its unique qualities. A $20 million budget was allocated to activate an experimental USAF unit of two airworthy OV-10Gs, acquired from NASA and the State Department. These machines were retrofitted with military equipment and were, starting in May 2015, deployed overseas to support Operation “Inherent Resolve”, flying more than 120 combat sorties over 82 days over Iraq and Syria. Their concrete missions remained unclear, and it is speculated they provided close air support for Special Forces missions, esp. in confined urban environments where the Broncos’ loitering time and high agility at low speed and altitude made them highly effective and less vulnerable than helicopters.
Furthermore, these Broncos reputedly performed strikes with the experimental AGR-20A “Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System (APKWS)”, a Hydra 70-millimeter rocket with a laser-seeking head as guidance - developed for precision strikes against small urban targets with little collateral damage. The experiment ended satisfactorily, but the machines were retired again, and the small unit was dissolved.
However, the machines had shown their worth in asymmetric warfare, and the U.S. Air Force decided to invest in reactivating the OV-10 on a regular basis, despite the overhead cost of operating an additional aircraft type in relatively small numbers – but development and production of a similar new type would have caused much higher costs, with an uncertain time until an operational aircraft would be ready for service. Re-activating a proven design and updating an existing airframe appeared more efficient.
The result became the MV-10H, suitably christened “Super Bronco” but also known as “Black Pony”, after the program's internal name. This aircraft was derived from the official OV-10X proposal by Boeing from 2009 for the USAF's Light Attack/Armed Reconnaissance requirement. Initially, Boeing proposed to re-start OV-10 manufacture, but this was deemed uneconomical, due to the expected small production number of new serial aircraft, so the “Black Pony” program became a modernization project. In consequence, all airframes for the "new" MV-10Hs were recovered OV-10s of various types from the "boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona.
While the revamped aircraft would maintain much of its 1960s-vintage rugged external design, modernizations included a completely new, armored central fuselage with a highly modified cockpit section, ejection seats and a computerized glass cockpit. The “Black Pony” OV-10 had full dual controls, so that either crewmen could steer the aircraft while the other operated sensors and/or weapons. This feature would also improve survivability in case of incapacitation of a crew member as the result from a hit.
The cockpit armor protected the crew and many vital systems from 23mm shells and shrapnel (e. g. from MANPADS). The crew still sat in tandem under a common, generously glazed canopy with flat, bulletproof panels for reduced sun reflections, with the pilot in the front seat and an observer/WSO behind. The Bronco’s original cargo capacity and the rear door were retained, even though the extra armor and defensive measures like chaff/flare dispensers as well as an additional fuel cell in the central fuselage limited the capacity. However, it was still possible to carry and deploy personnel, e. g. small special ops teams of up to four when the aircraft flew in clean configuration.
Additional updates for the MV-10H included structural reinforcements for a higher AUW and higher g load maneuvers, similar to OV-10D+ standards. The landing gear was also reinforced, and the aircraft kept its ability to operate from short, improvised airstrips. A fixed refueling probe was added to improve range and loiter time.
Intelligence sensors and smart weapon capabilities included a FLIR sensor and a laser range finder/target designator, both mounted in a small turret on the aircraft’s nose. The MV-10H was also outfitted with a data link and the ability to carry an integrated targeting pod such as the Northrop Grumman LITENING or the Lockheed Martin Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP). Also included was the Remotely Operated Video Enhanced Receiver (ROVER) to provide live sensor data and video recordings to personnel on the ground.
To improve overall performance and to better cope with the higher empty weight of the modified aircraft as well as with operations under hot-and-high conditions, the engines were beefed up. The new General Electric CT7-9D turboprop engines improved the Bronco's performance considerably: top speed increased by 100 mph (160 km/h), the climb rate was tripled (a weak point of early OV-10s despite the type’s good STOL capability) and both take-off as well as landing run were almost halved. The new engines called for longer nacelles, and their circular diameter markedly differed from the former Garrett T76-G-420/421 turboprop engines. To better exploit the additional power and reduce the aircraft’s audio signature, reversible contraprops, each with eight fiberglass blades, were fitted. These allowed a reduced number of revolutions per minute, resulting in less noise from the blades and their tips, while the engine responsiveness was greatly improved. The CT7-9Ds’ exhausts were fitted with muzzlers/air mixers to further reduce the aircraft's noise and heat signature.
Another novel and striking feature was the addition of so-called “tip sails” to the wings: each wingtip was elongated with a small, cigar-shaped fairing, each carrying three staggered, small “feather blade” winglets. Reputedly, this installation contributed ~10% to the higher climb rate and improved lift/drag ratio by ~6%, improving range and loiter time, too.
Drawing from the Iraq experience as well as from the USMC’s NOGS test program with a converted OV-10D as a night/all-weather gunship/reconnaissance platform, the MV-10H received a heavier gun armament: the original four light machine guns that were only good for strafing unarmored targets were deleted and their space in the sponsons replaced by avionics. Instead, the aircraft was outfitted with a lightweight M197 three-barrel 20mm gatling gun in a chin turret. This could be fixed in a forward position at high speed or when carrying forward-firing ordnance under the stub wings, or it could be deployed to cover a wide field of fire under the aircraft when it was flying slower, being either slaved to the FLIR or to a helmet sighting auto targeting system.
The original seven hardpoints were retained (1x ventral, 2x under each sponson, and another pair under the outer wings), but the total ordnance load was slightly increased and an additional pair of launch rails for AIM-9 Sidewinders or other light AAMs under the wing tips were added – not only as a defensive measure, but also with an anti-helicopter role in mind; four more Sidewinders could be carried on twin launchers under the outer wings against aerial targets. Other guided weapons cleared for the MV-10H were the light laser-guided AGR-20A and AGM-119 Hellfire missiles, the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System upgrade to the light Hydra 70 rockets, the new Laser Guided Zuni Rocket which had been cleared for service in 2010, TV-/IR-/laser-guided AGM-65 Maverick AGMs and AGM-122 Sidearm anti-radar missiles, plus a wide range of gun and missile pods, iron and cluster bombs, as well as ECM and flare/chaff pods, which were not only carried defensively, but also in order to disrupt enemy ground communication.
In this configuration, a contract for the conversion of twelve mothballed American Broncos to the new MV-10H standard was signed with Boeing in 2016, and the first MV-10H was handed over to the USAF in early 2018, with further deliveries lasting into early 2020. All machines were allocated to the newly founded 919th Special Operations Support Squadron at Duke Field (Florida). This unit was part of the 919th Special Operations Wing, an Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the United States Air Force. It was assigned to the Tenth Air Force of Air Force Reserve Command and an associate unit of the 1st Special Operations Wing, Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). If mobilized the wing was gained by AFSOC (Air Force Special Operations Command) to support Special Tactics, the U.S. Air Force's special operations ground force. Similar in ability and employment to Marine Special Operations Command (MARSOC), U.S. Army Special Forces and U.S. Navy SEALs, Air Force Special Tactics personnel were typically the first to enter combat and often found themselves deep behind enemy lines in demanding, austere conditions, usually with little or no support.
The MV-10Hs are expected to provide support for these ground units in the form of all-weather reconnaissance and observation, close air support and also forward air control duties for supporting ground units. Precision ground strikes and protection from enemy helicopters and low-flying aircraft were other, secondary missions for the modernized Broncos, which are expected to serve well into the 2040s. Exports or conversions of foreign OV-10s to the Black Pony standard are not planned, though.
General characteristics:
Crew: 2
Length: 42 ft 2½ in (12,88 m) incl. pitot
Wingspan: 45 ft 10½ in(14 m) incl. tip sails
Height: 15 ft 2 in (4.62 m)
Wing area: 290.95 sq ft (27.03 m²)
Airfoil: NACA 64A315
Empty weight: 9,090 lb (4,127 kg)
Gross weight: 13,068 lb (5,931 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 17,318 lb (7,862 kg)
Powerplant:
2× General Electric CT7-9D turboprop engines, 1,305 kW (1,750 hp) each,
driving 8-bladed Hamilton Standard 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) diameter constant-speed,
fully feathering, reversible contra-rotating propellers with metal hub and composite blades
Performance:
Maximum speed: 390 mph (340 kn, 625 km/h)
Combat range: 198 nmi (228 mi, 367 km)
Ferry range: 1,200 nmi (1,400 mi, 2,200 km) with auxiliary fuel
Maximum loiter time: 5.5 h with auxiliary fuel
Service ceiling: 32.750 ft (10,000 m)
13,500 ft (4.210 m) on one engine
Rate of climb: 17.400 ft/min (48 m/s) at sea level
Take-off run: 480 ft (150 m)
740 ft (227 m) to 50 ft (15 m)
1,870 ft (570 m) to 50 ft (15 m) at MTOW
Landing run: 490 ft (150 m)
785 ft (240 m) at MTOW
1,015 ft (310 m) from 50 ft (15 m)
Armament:
1x M197 3-barreled 20 mm Gatling cannon in a chin turret with 750 rounds ammo capacity
7x hardpoints for a total load of 5.000 lb (2,270 kg)
2x wingtip launch rails for AIM-9 Sidewinder AAMs
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional Bronco update/conversion was simply spawned by the idea: could it be possible to replace the original cockpit section with one from an AH-1 Cobra, for a kind of gunship version?
The basis is the Academy OV-10D kit, mated with the cockpit section from a Fujimi AH-1S TOW Cobra (Revell re-boxing, though), chosen because of its “boxy” cockpit section with flat glass panels – I think that it conveys the idea of an armored cockpit section best. Combining these parts was not easy, though, even though the plan sound simple. Initially, the Bronco’s twin booms, wings and stabilizer were built separately, because this made PSR on these sections easier than trying the same on a completed airframe. One of the initial challenges: the different engines. I wanted something uprated, and a different look, and I had a pair of (excellent!) 1:144 resin engines from the Russian company Kompakt Zip for a Tu-95 bomber at hand, which come together with movable(!) eight-blade contraprops that were an almost perfect size match for the original three-blade props. Biggest problem: the Tu-95 nacelles have a perfectly circular diameter, while the OV-10’s booms are square and rectangular. Combining these parts and shapes was already a messy PST affair, but it worked out quite well – even though the result rather reminds of some Chinese upgrade measure (anyone know the Tu-4 copies with turboprops? This here looks similar!). But while not pretty, I think that the beafier look works well and adds to the idea of a “revived” aircraft. And you can hardly beat the menacing look of contraprops on anything...
The exotic, so-called “tip sails” on the wings, mounted on short booms, are a detail borrowed from the Shijiazhuang Y-5B-100, an updated Chinese variant/copy of the Antonov An-2 biplane transporter. The booms are simple pieces of sprue from the Bronco kit, the winglets were cut from 0.5mm styrene sheet.
For the cockpit donor, the AH-1’s front section was roughly built, including the engine section (which is a separate module, so that the basic kit can be sold with different engine sections), and then the helicopter hull was cut and trimmed down to match the original Bronco pod and to fit under the wing. This became more complicated than expected, because a) the AH-1 cockpit and the nose are considerably shorter than the OV-10s, b) the AH-1 fuselage is markedly taller than the Bronco’s and c) the engine section, which would end up in the area of the wing, features major recesses, making the surface very uneven – calling for massive PSR to even this out. PSR was also necessary to hide the openings for the Fujimi AH-1’s stub wings. Other issues: the front landing gear (and its well) had to be added, as well as the OV-10 wing stubs. Furthermore, the new cockpit pod’s rear section needed an aerodynamical end/fairing, but I found a leftover Academy OV-10 section from a build/kitbashing many moons ago. Perfect match!
All these challenges could be tackled, even though the AH-1 cockpit looks surprisingly stout and massive on the Bronco’s airframe - the result looks stockier than expected, but it works well for the "Gunship" theme. Lots of PSR went into the new central fuselage section, though, even before it was mated with the OV-10 wing and the rest of the model.
Once cockpit and wing were finally mated, the seams had to disappear under even more PSR and a spinal extension of the canopy had to be sculpted across the upper wing surface, which would meld with the pod’s tail in a (more or less) harmonious shape. Not an easy task, and the fairing was eventually sculpted with 2C putty, plus even more PSR… Looks quite homogenous, though.
After this massive body work, other hardware challenges appeared like small distractions. The landing gear was another major issue because the deeper AH-1 section lowered the ground clearance, also because of the chin turret. To counter this, I raised the OV-10’s main landing gear by ~2mm – not much, but it was enough to create a credible stance, together with the front landing gear transplant under the cockpit, which received an internal console to match the main landing gear’s length. Due to the chin turret and the shorter nose, the front wheel retracts backwards now. But this looks quite plausible, thanks to the additional space under the cockpit tub, which also made a belt feed for the gun’s ammunition supply believable.
To enhance the menacing look I gave the model a fixed refueling boom, made from 1mm steel wire and a receptor adapter sculpted with white glue. The latter stuff was also used add some antenna fairings around the hull. Some antennae, chaff dispensers and an IR decoy were taken from the Academy kit.
The ordnance came from various sources. The Sidewinders under the wing tips were taken from an Italeri F-16C/D kit, they look better than the missiles from the Academy Bronco kit. Their launch rails came from an Italeri Bae Hawk 200. The quadruple Hellfire launchers on the underwing hardpoints were left over from an Italeri AH-1W, and they are a perfect load for this aircraft and its role. The LAU-10 and -19 missile pods on the stub wings were taken from the OV-10 kit.
Painting and markings:
Finding a suitable and somewhat interesting – but still plausible – paint scheme was not easy. Taking the A-10 as benchmark, an overall light grey livery (with focus on low contrast against the sky as protection against ground fire) would have been a likely choice – and in fact the last operational American OV-10s were painted in this fashion. But in order to provide a different look I used the contemporary USAF V-22Bs and Special Operations MC-130s as benchmark, which typically carry a darker paint scheme consisting of FS 36118 (suitably “Gunship Gray” :D) from above, FS 36375 underneath, with a low, wavy waterline, plus low-viz markings. Not spectacular, but plausible – and very similar to the late r/w Colombian OV-10s.
The cockpit tub became Dark Gull Grey (FS 36231, Humbrol 140) and the landing gear white (Revell 301).
The model received an overall black ink washing and some post-panel-shading, to liven up the dull all-grey livery. The decals were gathered from various sources, and I settled for black USAF low-viz markings. The “stars and bars” come from a late USAF F-4, the “IP” tail code was tailored from F-16 markings and the shark mouth was taken from an Academy AH-64. Most stencils came from another Academy OV-10 sheet and some other sources.
Decals were also used to create the trim on the propeller blades and markings on the ordnance.
Finally, the model was sealed with a coat of matt acrylic varnish (Italeri) and some exhaust soot stains were added with graphite along the tail boom flanks.
A successful transplantation – but is this still a modified Bronco or already a kitbashing? The result looks quite plausible and menacing, even though the TOW Cobra front section appears relatively massive. But thanks to the bigger engines and extended wing tips the proportions still work. The large low-pressure tires look a bit goofy under the aircraft, but they are original. The grey livery works IMHO well, too – a more colorful or garish scheme would certainly have distracted from the modified technical basis.
Between the switchboard and the cash register, this is one of my favorite rooms in Bodie. My grandmother started a telephone answering service over 50 years ago, and up until about 5 years ago, they were using switchboards that look very similar to the one here. They have since updated to a state-of-the-art computerized system, but it was not long ago that switchboards like this were in everyday use.
Torekällberget open-air museum, Södertälje, Sweden.
Torekällberget's "Photography Atelier" is located in the former Engelström farm, which is just south of the Patonska house.
A reconstruction of the photographer Maria Hallström's studio and a photo exhibition with some of her pictures are shown here. She is considered one of Södertälje's first professional photographers and was active in the city between 1907 and 1924.
In 1972, Torekällberget's museum acquired a large number of glass plates and parts of Hallström's studio equipment. Around 7,000 of her pictures are computerized and registered and searchable in the museum's database in the City Museum on the museum grounds. Many negatives were damaged by moisture and wear, but the museum has cleaned them as best they could.