View allAll Photos Tagged Conjecture,
I started hypothesising on 'warm water forms' around October 2019, and spent much of the first half of 2020 visiting, dissecting and analysing this subset of enigmatic carved monoliths. My texts align to the Flickr images of this period and can be retrieved from the said Flickr album. For those watching from a computer, a sample of key related images can be seen linked below. Many thanks for the interest and support on this quiet subject.
From looking at detailed surface features, such as cups and canals, and by seeing a similarity between the 'polished concavity' from one site with a 'polished concavity' on the orthostate of a nearby late Neolithic dolmen, I pushed dates for the origination of these monoliths back towards the chalcolithic bridge and towards the first ages of metal.
Just such forms are relatively rare and are currently understood as medieval presses, even if their placement and construction and attrition details do not help with the conjecture. Currently surrounded by the vineyards of one of Europe's greatest wine producing regions, it is obviously tempting to imagine this as an example of a very first press for wine, even if wooden presses are and were perhaps more suitable.
Heating water from naturally available solar energy, or by adding heated river stones to a shallow pool, would let communities improve how they clean, how they dye fibres, soften a range of materials prior to, for example, basket making and a range of other day to day activities. The same basin system (basin 3) could easily be used to sift dirt from roots, with the whole array also perfectly adapted as a focal point for leisure and health - mixed function. Saunas can be seen from, at the very least, early Iron age dates, and offering visitors that have been attracted to the area, a privileged and 'pampered' welcome, might have helped to encourage then future trade and exchange. This implies a stable social system with elements of policing and a shared mosaic of protocols and rules.
This site is close to the River Ebro E/W 'highway' and under significant amber deposits. Amber was traded in the Chalcolithic bridge period.
Whilst 'warm water forms' are varied, and whilst the above site has differences from the 'warm water forms' described in past posts from 2019 and 2020, similarities of logic and function are clear, and changes of style understandable when the 500km separation distance is taken into account.
AJM 27.10.20
#491
Open to patrons now.
Visit here: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Jonestown/31/123/3352/
A drop fell on the apple tree
Another on the roof;
A half a dozen kissed the eaves,
And made the gables laugh.
A few went out to help the brook,
That went to help the sea –
Myself conjectured were they pearls –
What necklaces could be...
- Emily Dickinson
© Leanne Boulton, All Rights Reserved
Candid eye contact street photography from Glasgow, Scotland. A 'Throwback Thursday' shot taken some time ago but sitting in my upload folder just waiting to be posted. Taken so long ago that my Nifty Fifty was still working. Enjoy full screen by pressing 'L' or clicking on the image. Enjoy!
Now look what you started! :-)
www.flickr.com/photos/lindsey1611/36372567695
It began with a bit of rambling on about all the physical elements and characteristics that make up the evolutionary development of a Poppy - purely conjecture on my part.
Now, it's something a little more interesting, because (and like all things we take for granted) there is so much more going on than first meets the eye.
I guess the thing to do is to observe and notate. From your observations ideas come forward... and then the ramblings :-) ha ha.
I'd say it's better time spent that watching Coronation Street - but not all would agree! :-)
BTH type 1 D8217 and North British type 1 D8406 handle a freight near Temple Mills in June 1967. Its a matter of conjecture which class was the best or more accurately the least bad. P. Groom photo.
Adriaen Brouwer (Oudenaarde, Aug. 20, 1605 - Antwerp, Oct. 13, 1638) - Peasants playing cards (1625-1638)- oil on panel 24.8 x 34.5 cm - Alte Pinakothek, Munich
Sta per scatenarsi una lite. Uno dei giocatori tiene la propria mano di lato, come per proteggerla, mentre fissa la carta vincente del suo avversario. Come si svolgeranno gli eventi è una pura congettura, ma con l'aiuto di qualche drink potrebbe benissimo trasformarsi in una rissa.
A quarrel is about to break out. One of the players holds his own hand to the side, as if to protect it, while staring at his opponent's trump card. How events will unfold is pure conjecture, but with the help of a few drinks it could very well turn into a brawl.
St Mary the Virgin Church at Stone-in-Oxney was rebuilt following a serious fire in 1464, and little of any earlier building survives. There is conjecture that St Mary’s stands on the site of a Roman Mithraic temple, although the earliest record of a church here is a document, dated 1265.
Inside of the church stands a Roman Mithraic Alter, this Mithraic Altar stone dates from between the 1st and 4th centuries AD, when Mithraism was popular with the Roman military. This stone is what gives the village it's name.
Photography © Jeremy Sage
This is my interpretation of how 6229 Duchess of Hamilton looked with it's identity of 6220 Coronation during the World Fair tour of North America 1939.
The only conjecture was the colour of the name plate background on the 'fake' Coronation.
Thanks to ibt5555, the plates have now been corrected.
The images are copyright of 'Locos in Profile' with permission, modified, for informative purposes only, and thus are not representative of the excellent originals.
Cooks' Cottage, previously known as Captain Cook's Cottage, is located in the Fitzroy Gardens, Melbourne, Australia. The cottage was constructed in 1755 in the English village of Great Ayton, North Yorkshire, by the parents of Captain James Cook, James and Grace Cook, and was brought to Melbourne in 1934 by Sir Russell Grimwade. It is a point of conjecture among historians whether James Cook, the famous navigator, ever lived in the house, but almost certainly he visited his parents at the house. (Wikipedia)
Five years ago today, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft made history. After a voyage of nearly 10 years and more than 3 billion miles, the intrepid piano-sized probe flew within 7,800 miles of Pluto. For the first time ever, we saw the surface of this distant world in spectacular, colored detail.
?The encounter—which also included a detailed look at the largest of Pluto’s five moons, Charon—capped the initial reconnaissance of the planets started by NASA’s Mariner 2 more than 50 years before, and revealed an icy world replete in magnificent landscapes and geology—towering mountains, giant ice sheets, pits, scarps, valleys and terrains seen nowhere else in the solar system.
And that was only the beginning.
In the five years since that groundbreaking flyby, nearly every conjecture about Pluto possibly being an inert ball of ice has been thrown out the window or flipped on its head.
Here is a natural-color view of Pluto and its large moon Charon, compiled from images taken by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft on July 13 and 14, 2015.
Image credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI
"The native Kumeyaay of the area painted the Little Blair Valley pictographs hundreds of years ago. The pictographs are unusual for their well-executed yellow and red symbolic designs that include diamond chains and chevrons, typical of Luiseño rock art. The designs reflect the influence of this Indian group on the neighboring Kumeyaay that chose to use this style of rock art within their territory. As to their meaning, anthropologists are still conjecturing whether or not they served a specific purpose, such as part of a puberty ceremony or whether they simply reflect the inclinations of the artist. The pictographs are included in the 4757-acre Little Blair Valley Cultural Preserve that was created in December 2010. This pictograph site is the only one in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park that is openly advertised to the public."
--San Diego Reader
Shot with a Canon 6D and Sigma 15mm EX DG at my usual settings of 25 sec f/2.8 ISO 3200. Warmly illuminated via Nichia 219BT LED strategically positioned and diffused.
Purchase prints of my photos www.kevinkeyphotography.com
You know more of a road
by having traveled it
than by all the conjectures
and descriptions in the world.
The retouched and eroded hieroglyphs in the Temple of Seti I which are said to represent modern vehicles – a helicopter, a submarine, and a zeppelin or plane.
Some of the hieroglyphs carved over an arch on the site have been interpreted in esoteric and "ufological" circles as depicting modern technology.
The carvings are often thought to be a helicopter, a battle tank or submarine, and a fighter plane (some interpret this as a U.F.O.) However, these conjectures are largely based in pseudoarchaeology, and the picture often claimed as "evidence" has been retouched.
***
I've heard of Abydos for the first time for some time, through one of those sensationalist blogs with no credibility. The text said that in that temple, archaeologists had found new hieroglyphs when the plaster of a wall dropped and fell, revealing UFO-like aircraft drawings, including a figure that featured a helicopter. He would be known as the Abydos Helicopter. The most impressive thing about it was that it showed the photo of the hieroglyphs that really looked like flying machines. Was it fake or not?
The years passed and the veracity of the existence of these hieroglyphs always left me suspicious. If that were true, it could change the course of history. I realized that it was real when a theory came up trying to refute the interpretation of these hieroglyphics. In the explanation, this would be a "palimpsest"! Ah, now it's explained! Briefly explaining, a palimpsest is an overlap of hieroglyphs, it would be writing over, causing a false image.
When I first started planning the trip to Egypt, Abydos was one of the first places I marked on the map. And then finally came the day of seeing with my own eyes those mysterious figures on the walls of the temple. I will try to analyze here some details that are not normally seen on other blogs, books or TV shows and let each one reach its conclusion.
The first thing that is evident is that there is no trace of any plaster that has hidden the hieroglyphics. They are hieroglyphs written on the stone beam that serves as support for the slabs.
Observing the next hieroglyphs, whether on the left, on the right, or even on the opposite side of the flying machine figures, one clearly perceives that there was indeed the palimpsest practice in that temple, some even looking like scrawled drawings on top.
The theory of the palmypsestos of Abydos seems to prove by the example of the hieroglyphs around that controversial drawing. Once again archaeologists are able to end a myth using their academic theories. Will it be?
Something in the eyes of those less skeptical still prevents them from being convinced by these explanations. Even with the evidence that there really was palimpsest in the writings of Abydos, nothing explains the blatant "coincidences" of those specific figures. Why are flying machine-like figures concentrated (apart from the helicopter, are there 3 more ships in a row)? Why are they facing in the same direction (the inside of the temple)? Why are the overlapping of these specific scriptures not evident like the others?
These questions tend to remain. There are many coincidences in a temple that is one of the oldest places of worship in the world. And if that was the only mystery of this temple ... but it is not ... I would discover much more!
The falcon returned to the perch after a hunting foray clutching two Emperor dragonflies, presumably a mating pair as dragonflies mate in flight. In this sequence of 5 shots the male detached itself from the female and made a bid for freedom. The final fate of the male is not known, the last shot showing it tumbling from the perch, legs upwards. Females are known to feign death to avoid the attentions of males. The conjecture is was the male feigning death to avoid the attentions of the falcon?
Many thanks to all who visit, view and comment upon, my efforts
Sometimes it’s lead…
I wasn’t planning this image when I took a few photos of a dripping water faucet. But when I began playing around with the images, combining several using Photoshop layering, then experimenting further with various filters, I ended up with the image of the faucet and the black-edged water droplets that you see here.
It made me think about what happened in Flint, Michigan, USA. The city of about 100,000 was thrust into the national spotlight in early 2016 when a state of emergency was declared due to unsafe levels of lead in the local water supply. Later reports also linked the water to a higher than normal incidence of Legionnaires’ disease in the community. So I combined the faucet image with a photo of the Flint Water Plant and used an appropriate textural background to illustrate the problem. And because August is National Water Quality Month, now seems like an appropriate time to post it.
The Flint water crisis began after the city, under state emergency management, switched to a new source of water in 2014 as a way to save money. The new water was more corrosive than the previous water source, causing the lead in the city’s aging water pipes to leach into the city water supply. Despite resident complaints about discolored and foul tasting water, officials denied that there was something wrong with the water until the fall of 2015. Lead is a dangerous neurotoxin that can be particularly harmful to the developing brains of young children, and its effects are irreversible.
Today, Flint may have dropped out of the national headlines, but the water crisis is far from over. Though the city has switched back to its original water source and remedial efforts by the state and city are underway, the question of whether Flint water is yet safe to drink seems a matter of conjecture, with conflicting reports in the press. Lawsuits have been filed, and some current and former state and city officials are facing criminal charges. Residents have been provided with water filters for use in their homes, as well as bottled water, but a city and state program to replace the city’s lead pipes could take years to complete.
Sorry for the long narrative, folks, but I thought the image needed a bit of explanation for those who may not have heard of the sad and disturbing situation in Flint.
HSS
Die Stadt der Künste und Wissenschaften in València befindet sich im ehemaligen Flussbett des Flusses Turia, der an beiden Ufern von Ausfallsstraßen der Stadt begleitet wird. Als Begrenzung des Gebäudekomplexes der Stadt der Künste und Wissenschaften zur Ausfallsstraße hin ließen sich die Architekten diese aufwändig gestalteten "Zelte" aus weiß glasierten Keramikstücken einfallen, die in Mosaikform auf die Oberfläche geklebt wurden und so ein modernes Kunstwerk darstellen. Möglicherweise tragen sie dazu bei, Wärme und Abgase der darunter befindlichen Garage abzuleiten. Möglicherweise sollen sie aber auch ausdrücken, dass es für Konzerte und andere Events in der Stadt der Künste und Wissenschaften auch darauf ankommt, sich rechtzeitig um Karten anzustellen und notfalls vor dem Opernhaus die Zelte aufzuschlagen. All diese Zweckangaben sind jedoch reine Vermutungen von mir; nix Genaues weiß man nicht.
The City of Arts and Sciences in València is located in the former riverbed of the river Turia, which is flanked on both banks by the city's arterial roads. The architects came up with these elaborately designed ‘tents’ made of white glazed ceramic pieces glued to the surface in mosaic form, thus creating a modern work of art, as a boundary between the building complex of the City of Arts and Sciences and the arterial road. It is possible that they help to dissipate heat and exhaust fumes from the garage below. Or perhaps they are intended to express the fact that it is also important to queue for tickets in good time for concerts and other events in the City of Arts and Sciences and, if necessary, to pitch your tents in front of the opera house. However, all these statements of purpose are pure conjecture on my part; nothing precise is known.
7.15 am on Sunday morning. Lovely light sweeping across the Dee valley, up to the ruins of Castell Dinas Bran.
Towering high above the Dee valley and the bustling town of Llangollen, home of the International Eisteddfod, Castell Dinas Bran occupies one of Britain's most spectacular sites. A rugged, foreboding pinnacle, the hillock was the ideal spot to erect a castle. It seemed completely impenetrable, commanded views for miles around, and offered quick recognition of an approaching visitor, whether friend or foe. Yet, the native Welsh princes of Powys occupied the hilltop for only a few decades.
Today, that same site is open to exploration by the public. Forced to climb to the summit, modern visitors experience the struggle and the exhilaration that the castle's medieval inhabitants - and their Edwardian attackers - must have felt. Without a doubt, the walk is a breathtaking challenge. However, that climb heightens the allure of Dinas Bran. And, it demonstrates the stark reality of medieval castle life.
"Dinas Bran" is variously translated as "Crow Castle," "Crow City," "Hill of the Crow," or "Bran's Stronghold." The castle first appears in 12th century historical documents as part of a medieval piece entitled "Fouke le Fitz Waryn,"or "The Romance of Fulk Fitzwarine." While this work claimed that the castle, known as "Chastiel Bran," was in ruin as early as 1073, the remains we see today date to the occupation of the princes of Powys Fadog in the mid 13th century. Possibly, the Chastiel Bran mentioned in the romance was a Norman timber castle, but nothing of substance supports this conjecture. However, the encompassing ditch and earthen embankments, which enclose the southern and eastern portions of the stone fortress, do date to the Iron Age. They remind us that this hilltop had strategic value long before the princes of Powys, or the Normans, ventured into the region. Interestingly, the word, "Dinas," has its origins in the Iron Age as well, and is found in the names of Iron Age hillforts throughout Wales.
More at www.castlewales.com/dinas.html
The first bridge seen in this picture is the New Quay Street bridge, and beyond that you can just see the Salford end of the arch of the Ordsall Chord Railway Bridge, one of the newest railway bridges in England. It was built to form part of the new connection between Manchester's Victoria and Piccadilly stations, providing a new route across the city, and joining Victoria Station to the main routes to Manchester Airport.
The photograph was taken from the footbridge at Spinningfields. Manchester is to the left of shot, and Salford is to the right. The River Irwell flows west at this point, away from the camera, and within a mile or so joins the flow of the Manchester Ship Canal, which progresses onwards to join the River Mersey at Ellesmere Port on the Wirral. Where the Irwell ends is a matter of conjecture, and it is difficult to find a definitive view. I guess that the Irwell historically would have ended at the point at which it joins the River Mersey at Irlam, but the construction of the Manchester Ship Canal confused this issue. That confluence of the Irwell and Mersey is now on the Ship Canal, and the ship canal carries the waters of both rivers for a short distance before the Mersey reforms and flows to the north of the canal. The Canal and the Mersey rejoin at Ellesmere Port and form the Mersey Estuary which is tidal, and of course flows into the Irish Sea at Liverpool/Wallasey. If you are now confused...well so am I. Please have a look at the excellent online maps, which may even confuse you further.
The Cities of Manchester and Salford are growing particularly quickly in this area, expanding along the Irwell and the Bridgewater Canal towards Trafford Park and Media City. The old wharves which were once the docklands of Salford and Manchester are being developed into up-market residential and commercial areas. I guess before too long that Manchester will join seamlessly to Media City. A new metro tram line is being constructed along the Bridgewater to the Trafford Centre passing through these areas, to add to the one that already exists out to Eccles. Sim City!!!
Why is it that books are becoming addicted to my photos? So weird XD
Anyway, if I produce enough photos to last me a few weeks, I may just screw myself over and read Shinichi Mochizuku's 500-page proof over the "a+b=c" conjecture, cause I have absolutely no life at all, and just why not? I'm not even going to try to understand it; I just want to see what it's all about. I challenge y'all to try to do so as well :D
(But it's optional though, so it's just whatever ;)
As I explained before, for three weeks now I have been, if not bedridden, at least mostly housebound as a result of a crippling knee problem. I can still drive around and run errands when mandatory, but it is hurtful and I am definitely not up to lugging photo equipment and go shooting. Furthermore, when this struck, I didn’t have many photos waiting for upload, what with the Winter season coming to an end, the pandemic still with us that doesn’t really encourage outings (the one day I went out, on March 9, on a photo shoot for the Fondation pour la Sauvegarde de l’Art Français, I became a COVID contact case of someone I had brushed against during the day, luckily without any consequence as I never was infected)... not to mention ridiculous wartime gas prices!
The bottom line is, I simply ran out of stuff to upload...
So, I had the idea to turn to some older photographs of mine to which I had, in 2021, given a “new life” by creating black-and-white versions of them for the purpose of a photographic essay that had been requested from me by the Department of Mediæval Studies of a US university. The essay’s theme was the emulation, with the tools of today, of the gorgeous black-and-white photography found in the books of the Zodiaque collection La Nuit des temps, devoted to religious art and architecture of the Romanesque age in Europe, and in particular in France. I’m sure many of you have heard about those books and/or own some of them.
Anyway, since those black-and-white versions are available, I figured I might as well upload them to offer you, who are kind enough to follow my stream, something to look at while I recover and until I can resume more normal photo activities...
Thank you in advance for your patience, and I hope you will enjoy this “renewed” content à la Zodiaque! I will put in a short description of each photo below.
As I have titled this series in reference to the Zodiaque books, I construe my “Romanesque” as the good monks did, i.e., I include in it some fine and inspiring examples of older architecture, what would indeed be classified as pre-Romanesque.
Among such places is the so-called “Lémenc Rotunda”, in the crypt (not open to the public) under the Saint-Pierre-de-Lémenc church in the town of Chambéry, at the foot of the French Alps. This enigmatic structure has been diversely interpreted by cohorts of self-styled specialists and self-appointed experts, and no definitive conclusion has been reached as to its purpose —which may have varied as centuries rolled by.
It is almost undoubtedly from the Carolingian period at least, therefore around 800–900 CE, possibly even Merovingian, i.e. a couple of centuries older. The structure is harmonious and delicate, and the existence of a drain at the bottom of the small basin reveals that a liquid was regularly poured into it, that subsequently needed to be drained. The idea of a baptismal font springs to mind, and most likely this was one of the place’s uses... but why did it need to be underground, hidden away in a crypt? Maybe because it wasn’t a baptismal font to begin with, and that’s when you step into the realm of conjecture, speculation and worse...
“I almost wish we were butterflies and liv'd but three summer days—three such days with you I could fill with more delight than fifty common years could ever contain”.
–John Keats in his letter to Fanny Brawne, 1819
For Emma and Nigel, the past fifty years have been anything but common. Two daughters, one grandchild, five cities, seven jobs, four apartments, three houses, one round of chemotherapy, and two cardiac arrests later, here they were. On a cruise ship, celebrating their fiftieth marriage anniversary. They were utterly immersed in love, feeling like eighteen years old all over again. Nigel, quoting their favorite poet, had dubbed this cruise as their very own three summer days of butterflies.
“Did you chew on some rosebuds?”, he teased her for the redness in her cheek. Holding hands, they were sauntering on the ship’s bow. The zephyr was impregnated with the ocean’s sweat and was quite warm. But she felt feverish. Rumors were ripe about some kind of an Asian flu going around on the ship. Few of their new cruise acquaintances have taken ill. Emma worried.
“Maybe, it’s that flu…”, she replied. “I am having chills.”
“Oh, is that true?”, he said with a sense of disquietude, but then decided not to mar the occasion with conjectures. “Must be the sea. That sun is almost done for the day. It’s getting a bit cold out here. Let’s go back and get a drink. Perhaps I could also entice you to a dance, eh?”
“Then why, lovely girl, should we lose all these blisses?
That mortal’s a fool who such happiness misses;
So smile acquiescence, and give me thy hand,
With love-looking eyes, and with voice sweetly bland.”
–John Keats (To Emma)
Two: Anger
Three: Bargain
Four: Depression
Five: Acceptance
Six: Finding meaning
You may be aware that in England, many C19th iron railings were removed during the early 1940's to be melted down as part of the war effort. How much of this was actually used is open to conjecture; some historians believe that it was stockpiled and later secretly dumped due to the impracticality of the process.
Either way, a few minutes after taking this photograph in a Leeds graveyard I trod on one such railing stump which went clean through my boot and into my foot ....tetanus booster duly arranged.
Soft focus on the Sherlock Holmes, a Victorian era themed public house in Northumberland Street near Charing Cross railway station and Trafalgar Square. It contains a large collection of memorabilia related to the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes.
It was originally a small hotel, known briefly in the 1880s as the Northumberland Hotel, and later as the Northumberland Arms, under the latter name appearing in the 1892 Sherlock Holmes story The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor.
The Turkish bath that Holmes and Watson used to frequent in the stories was located right beside the hotel at 25 Northumberland Avenue.
The entrance to the adjacent women's Turkish baths can still be seen in Craven Passage at the rear of the men's baths.
It has been conjectured by some Holmes enthusiasts and scholars that the present building was the Northumberland Hotel which featured in the 1901 story The Hound of the Baskervilles.
To die for an idea is to set a rather high price on conjecture - Anatole France
continuing to continue
in cahoots with the unholytrinity:
www.flickr.com/photos/theunholytrinity/15455267/in/photos...
www.flickr.com/photos/theunholytrinity/15474167/in/photos...
The #MacroMondays #SingleUse theme
I've turned to the natural world for this week's single use theme. Hornet nests, like those of wasps, are built, initially by queens, in spring and extended over the following weeks by her worker offspring to accommodate a growing colony. By mid autumn their purpose, which is to raise new males and queens who will found the next generation, has been fulfilled. Once the new queens depart and mate, with a chilly few months of hibernation in nooks and crannies ahead of them, the colony disintegrates and the nest falls into disuse, never to be used again. However, if the nest site is sufficiently attractive, and provided there is room for another nest, the site itself (usually a dark, secluded place such as a crevice in a tree or wall) may be reoccupied.
This hornet nest appeared one spring in a bird nestbox in our garden. We found our unexpected guests to be handsome, gentle and unobtrusive creatures, quite unlike their reputation. They remained, welcome and intriguing, all summer before disappearing, as they always do, allowing us to retrieve their fascinating nest in perfect safety during the following winter. Moral: If you are concerned about an active wasp or hornet nest, then, provided it presents no significant danger or inconvenience, it may be left alone and the 'problem' (such as it is) will soon resolve itself, free of charge and with no necessity to add yet more toxins to the environment. Any access hole may be blocked during winter to deter reoccupation.
The hexagonal cell structure of the nest chambers demonstrates the principle of hexagonal packing. Briefly, the explorer Sir Walter Raleigh wished to learn of the most efficient manner to store cannonballs on ship. He set in motion a 400 year search for the mathematical proof of the most efficient means of storage, a project which defeated even the genius Johannes Kepler who had the mathematical acumen to model the motions of the planets, and whose laws are taught in schools and universities to this day. He conjectured that "Hexagonal packing must be the tightest possible so that in no other arrangement could more pellets be stuffed into the same container." Quite so, but where was the proof? Even Kepler admitted defeat on that one, but he believed that the ubiquity of hexagonal structures in Nature was no accident.
An advance occurred in the 1950s when Laszlo Fejes Toth showed that the maximum density of all possible arrangements of stored items could be found through a finite but very large number of calculations. This raised the possibility of proof by exhaustion (trying absolutely everything) rather than by hypothesis and experiment. What was needed was a computer with sufficient grunt to complete every one of those calculations in a reasonably timely manner. However, that had to wait until the 1990s. Enter now, Thomas Hales who found that solving about 100,000 linear programming problems would confirm or refute Kepler's Conjecture - it's no wonder Kepler admitted defeat in the 17th Century! Seven years, 250 pages of notes and three gigabytes later, Hales' exhaustive proof was 99% accepted. The assessors were satisfied with the results but could not verify all those programs. Unfortunately, 99% does not a mathematical law make. Undeterred, Hales continued, this time creating software which would check all those individual programs, and which itself could be verified by the assessors. He submitted his updated proof in 2014 for it to be 100% accepted in 2017.
Perhaps there was another way. Why didn't we simply ask the hornets, wasps and bees? Or perhaps beekeepers at least. Charles Darwin may well have observed that, because effort used in any wasteful direction confers a survival disadvantage, hornets and related insects must have already shown us the solution that Kepler, Toth, Hales and others had sweated over. All we needed perhaps was the humility to look at their storage solution, one they'd happily been using for millions of years before Sir Walter posed his troublesome question. Might the hornets have applied Nature's own approach to proof by exhaustion? Those who have read Douglas Adams' humorous yet very perceptive "The Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy" may recognise that argument.
It's Game, Set and Match to the hornets then. This photo stacked image was taken window lit as shown using a 36mm extension tube. Gentle processing of colour channels and boosts to draw out its texture complete the image.
HMM all. And let's hear it for the hornets!
_________________________________________
Epilogue . . . How might Sir Walter Raleigh have been assisted by the hornets? Hales (and the hornets) show that had the intrepid seafarer who caused all this trouble used the hexagonal packing arrangements already in vogue for millions of years, he would have achieved a cannonball packing density of about 74%. Simply throwing them in to a box (as he seems to have) results in a density of about 65%. Hexagonal packing therefore represents about a 14% improvement over random packing. Must remember that the next time I take the rubbish to the dump . . .
The #FlickrFriday #Bugs challenge
Early one summer I noticed some papery stuff poking out of the hole of one of our garden nestboxes. Always eager to contribute to science, I poked it with my finger resulting in the emergence of a rather puzzled hornet and a fairly rapid retreat by me. Thankfully whoever created the fearsome idiom of poking a hornet's nest proved not to know what they were talking about. This insect was a handsome, gentle and unobtrusive creature which quickly and quietly set about repairing the damage I had caused with no apparent ill will toward its inquisitive, clumsy landlord. The colony remained as welcome and intriguing guests throughout the summer.
This is their nest, its hexagonal structure revealing a wonder of nature, namely a demonstration of the most efficient manner of storage. This was investigated through the question of how best to store cannonballs on ship. Explorer Sir Walter Raleigh considered it a reasonable question to ask, so he left it to mathematician and fellow explorer Thomas Harriet to resolve. He sought advice from Johanes Kepler, famous for explaining the motions of the planets and who had already considered the hexagonal form of snowflakes, pomegranates and honeycomb. Kepler suspected there was a deep reason for hexagonal ubiquity in nature but the maths proved to be beyond even him. He concluded
"Hexagonal packing must be the tightest possible so that in no other arrangement could more pellets be stuffed into the same container."
But The Kepler Conjecture, as this became known, remained unproven for nearly 400 years until Thomas Hales' proof in 1998. However this was only 99% accepted by peer review meaning it remained merely a theorem. Resorting to raw computer power (testing every possible manner of storage, an approach known as proof by exhaustion) to satisfy the referees, he submitted further proof in 2014 which was finally accepted in 2017. Returning to cannonballs, just chucking them into a box results in a packing density of around 65% of the box volume. Hexagonal packing increases this to about 74%. An extra 9 cannonballs for every 65 we used to be able to carry - That should sort out the French! Let's hear it for Kepler and Hales!
Hornets, bees and wasps however demonstrated being way ahead of these luminaries by the way they build their nests. Charles Darwin might have observed that his Theory of Evolution made the validity of The Kepler Conjecture certain without resorting to pen (OK quill) and paper. Unnecessary effort in one area means less effort is available in others which could be important in survival of the fittest as well as conveniently dodging some fearsome maths. Perhaps there are ways other than maths to prove a hypothesis and maybe The Earth is in a sense one huge iterative computer.
Rather than descending us into The Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy (which asserts exactly that), I'll close by saying that this is a multi image focus stacked macro. It was converted to monochrome with tweaks to colour channels, highlights etc to tease out textures within the nest.
It has been a crazy year for all of us, everywhere. Now, let's hope that 2022 is even a little better!
Now, this image............ I didn't make it up.
I was down at the creek to try and get some photos when I noticed, OMG, this Bra stretched across on this tree.Maybe it is a trend I don't know about? And actually, there was another tree behind which also had a Bra on it. I'm at a loss for words, or conjecture:)
Best wished all my Flickr friends.
....................................................................................................
Cela a été une année folle pour nous tous, partout. Maintenant, espérons que 2022 soit encore un peu mieux !
Maintenant, cette image ........ Je ne l'ai pas inventée.
J'étais au ruisseau pour essayer de prendre des photos quand j'ai remarqué, OMG, ce soutien-gorge étendu sur cet arbre. C'est peut-être une tendance que je ne connais pas ? Et en fait, il y avait un autre arbre derrière lequel il y avait aussi un soutien-gorge. Je suis à court de mots ou de conjectures :)
Meilleurs voeux à tous mes amis Flickr.
This model is of Samson, from the Bible, destroying the temple of Dagon.
The foundation and shaping of this temple building is based on a real philistine temple which was uncovered in a place called Tell Qasile.
This temple had two stone bases on which the pillars would sit. These pillars were wooden logs rested in place, with only the weight of the roof holding them in place. This is why my pillars are depicted in this manner instead of the more common approach by artists who represent them as being stone.
While going up from the foundations is purely conjecture we do know that the Philistine homes of this era had open roof styles (similar to the Roman villa). With the Bible describing the Philistines as being on the roof it stands to reason then that they could see into the chamber somehow so I went with the open roof design seen here. This would also explain why they did not have further pillars supporting the roof elsewhere.
This coat of arms might just represent those of John Walker himself, though this must remain conjecture.
This side of the dam is opposite the Old Mill (the yellow building in my last post). It is less photogenic, but in a lot of ways more interesting. I cant help but wonder how much longer any of these structures will remain in our throw away society. All of this is purely conjecture on my part. The water tower may still be functioning, but it's rusty patina suggests it is in need of repair. The iron structure above the dam is an old bridge that has no bed and obviously hasn't been used for generations. The foundations on the building look like the have seen better days and the dam itself? Well I don't think I would want to live down stream.
I can't help but think of the history of all that went into all these wonderful structures. I hope they stick around for others to ponder.
Die Stadt der Künste und Wissenschaften in València befindet sich im ehemaligen Flussbett des Flusses Turia, der an beiden Ufern von Ausfallsstraßen der Stadt begleitet wird. Als Begrenzung des Gebäudekomplexes der Stadt der Künste und Wissenschaften zur Ausfallsstraße hin ließen sich die Architekten diese aufwändig gestalteten "Zelte" aus weiß glasierten Keramikstücken einfallen, die in Mosaikform auf die Oberfläche geklebt wurden und so ein modernes Kunstwerk darstellen. Möglicherweise tragen sie dazu bei, Wärme und Abgase der darunter befindlichen Garage abzuleiten. Möglicherweise sollen sie aber auch ausdrücken, dass es für Konzerte und andere Events in der Stadt der Künste und Wissenschaften auch darauf ankommt, sich rechtzeitig um Karten anzustellen und notfalls vor dem Opernhaus die Zelte aufzuschlagen. All diese Zweckangaben sind jedoch reine Vermutungen von mir; nix Genaues weiß man nicht.
The City of Arts and Sciences in València is located in the former riverbed of the river Turia, which is flanked on both banks by the city's arterial roads. The architects came up with these elaborately designed ‘tents’ made of white glazed ceramic pieces glued to the surface in mosaic form, thus creating a modern work of art, as a boundary between the building complex of the City of Arts and Sciences and the arterial road. It is possible that they help to dissipate heat and exhaust fumes from the garage below. Or perhaps they are intended to express the fact that it is also important to queue for tickets in good time for concerts and other events in the City of Arts and Sciences and, if necessary, to pitch your tents in front of the opera house. However, all these statements of purpose are pure conjecture on my part; nothing precise is known.
Nightcliff, Darwin Harbour, Northern Territory, Australia
Nightcliff is a northern suburb of the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.
Although the origin of the name Nightcliff has always been surrounded by conjecture and controversy, the naming can be tracked back to 8 September 1839. Early that day, the HMS Beagle, which was engaged on an excursion of the Australian coast, sailed into the area and anchored in Shoal Bay near Hope Inlet. John Lort Stokes, William Forsyth and several other crew members left the Beagle on a longboat for an excursion and passed around Lee Point, in the vicinity of which, there appeared to be a major opening.
Stokes was later to record.
"The sea breeze setting in early, we did not reach it till after dark, when we landed for observations at a cliffy projection near the eastern entrance point: this we found to be composed of a kind of clay, mixed with calcareous matter. We had some difficulty in landing, and then in scrambling up the cliffs by the light of a lantern. If any of the watchful natives happened at the time to be on the look out, they must have stood in astonishment at beholding such strange persons, who at such a time of night, with no ostensible object were visiting their shores"
The term 'Night Cliff' was thus applied to the locality, and it subsequently appeared in this form on Surveyor-General George W. Goyder's original plan of 1869. Goyder also mentioned the locality a couple of times in the diary he kept as leader of the Northern Territory Survey Expedition. Despite these well established facts, many people have insisted that the name was derived from a misspelling of the name of John George Knight, one of the best known government officials in Darwin for nearly two decades prior to his death in 1892. It was known that Knight enjoyed visiting the Nightcliff environs and it is believed that he spent long periods of contemplation on the cliff tops. As late as 1952, a former resident who had lived in Darwin between 1876 and 1926 wrote to the Northern Territory News insisting that the area was known during that period as "Knightscliff". It is evident that many Territorians have preferred this variant form of name in deference to one of the most highly distinguished local public figures of the late nineteenth century. However, records show that Knight did not arrive in Darwin until 1873, several years after the publication of Goyder's map.
As I said a couple of days ago (in this extended series on the Launceston Cup), in many people shots there's usually one person giving me a look. What they mean by that look is up for conjecture, but you'd have to say the lady in the lovely blue outfit, second from the left, is giving me a look.
Here are the elegant finalists in the Fashion of the Fields competition. My personal choice? Apart from the lady in blue, my favourite was clearly the woman in the gorgeous red dress and matching hat. Absolutely beautiful.
Take a look at this shot because you will never see it again in this condition. At least not in my life time. For those outside of the NW who don’t know, this area has been probably reduced to ashes.
This of course is Eagle Creek and it’s infamous “Weeping Wall”. I was able to get this single exposure shot 3 years ago on one of my many visits. I actually got this on my second visit. The first visit was a week earlier when my camera took a bath in Eagle Creek. Since then I have been back there numerous times. To say it is one of my favorite places in the world would be an understatement. I love this place so much that this is where I decided to watch the eclipse just a couple of weeks ago. Standing just a few hundred yards down stream in my waders with those goofy glasses on trying to get a shot. Just me all by myself watching the moon pass by the sun and the slowly dissipating light darkening the surrounding canyon. Combine that with the birds coming to life as this happened, was truly a surreal experience I will always remember. Little did I know that this shot and the eclipse moment will have to be something literally for the memory banks, because they will never be duplicated in their entirety.
But it is not just Eagle Creek. Shots like those of the crown jewel - Multnomah Falls will always be changed. Elowah, Latourell, Ponytail Falls, Oneonata and the list goes on. Because the entire gorge area has been evacuated. The area affected is in the 10’s of thousands of acres and counting. Some of this could be conjecture, but if you look at some of the news footage it will probably be a reality soon enough. All because a 15yr old wanted to throw a smoke bomb off of a Eagle Creek cliff trail down to the creek 100’s of feet below. What a waste. Hopefully something of good will come from his destruction but only time will tell.
I am quite positive about that. Yes, we can. Or no?
Strobist info:
1x580ex upper right 1/4 power with passtrough white umbrella,
1x430ex pointed towards the wall1/8 power with 35x20cm white softbox
ISO 100, f5, 1/100sec, 60mm
Come avrete capito di donne in ufficio non ce ne sono e così per allenare la tecnica fotografica ci si riduce, come in galera, a farlo tra uomini.
Se ci sono wanna be models (donne) in zona Centrale che vogliono farsi un book in pausa pranzo, basta battere un colpo....
Intuitive Sacrifice Madness Exemplified.
Потрагаат со истраги за двоумење жртвувајќи го веселиот дух фасцинирачки гнасен потфат на Гвинеја, кој страда од осаменост осамени перцепции,
délices emprisonnés conjectures objectifs révélations fortunes annoncés jugements conditions puissantes idées sombres sournois fous miracles,
conhecimento gigantesco sorrindo shillings sentidos brilhantes iluminação contornos sinos crédulos inspecionando fadigas em viagens de jetty,
pwysau camarweiniol rhagymadroddol amser panig busnes yn gwadu lleisiau mawr gwreiddiau rhyfedd creaduriaid gormesol gormesol,
beina adulating kaflum nálgast flækjur desertion skógar dökk hlíðum svartur gardínur grænir vindar ofsafenginn gjafir,
verlichte loyaliteitsbeweging betreft ingenieuze inzichten, onverklaarbare energieën, moeizame strijdvluchten,
真実の秘密夢を見て魂遠くのレセプション頷く数字大惨事眩しい強烈な恐怖警告月極端な暗殺敵の床
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Steve.D.Hammond.
Don't our looks perpetually bounce off the others, as in the hasty encounter of the night, and leave us behind with nothing but conjectures, slivers of thoughts and fictional qualities? Isn't it true that it's not people who meet, but rather the shadows cast by their imaginations?"
— Pascal Mercier (Night Train to Lisbon)
St Kilda (Scottish Gaelic: Hiort) is an isolated archipelago situated 40 miles (64 km) west-northwest of North Uist in the North Atlantic Ocean. It contains the westernmost islands of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The largest island is Hirta, whose sea cliffs are the highest in the United Kingdom. Three other islands (Dùn, Soay and Boreray) were also used for grazing and seabird hunting. The islands are administratively a part of the Comhairle nan Eilean Siar local authority area.
The origin of the name St Kilda is a matter of conjecture. The islands' human heritage includes numerous unique architectural features from the historic and prehistoric periods, although the earliest written records of island life date from the Late Middle Ages. The medieval village on Hirta was rebuilt in the 19th century, but illnesses brought by increased external contacts through tourism and the upheaval of the First World War contributed to the island's evacuation in 1930. The story of St Kilda has attracted artistic interpretations, including Michael Powell's film The Edge of the World and an opera.
Permanent habitation on the islands possibly extends back two millennia, the population probably never exceeding 180 (and certainly no more than 100 after 1851). The entire remaining population was evacuated from Hirta, the only inhabited island, in 1930. The islands house a unique form of stone structure known as cleitean. A cleit is a stone storage hut or bothy; while many still exist, they are slowly falling into disrepair. There are known to be 1,260 cleitean on Hirta and a further 170 on the other group islands. Currently, the only year-round residents are military personnel; a variety of conservation workers, volunteers and scientists spend time there in the summer months
From
www.ambermarks.com/_Pieminekli/GarieApraksti/TalsuRaj/Dun...
Papal legate William of Modena allocated the region of Dundaga to Riga Archbishopric in 1237. In 1245 Archbishop of Riga Nikolaus allocated to collegium of Riga clergy (Dom church of St Mary) 200 ploughs of land in Dundaga region. The year of construction of castle in Dundaga is not known exactly. In documents the castle is first mentioned in 1318, although it seems that the castle is built at the end of 13th century.
Dundaga castle was involved in conflicts of Livonian Order and Riga Archbishop - thus the Order captured it for a while in 1318, 1359, 1383.
Collegium of Riga sold Dundaga castle to Courland Bishopric in 1434. Bishops of Courland remained in the castle for longer time in 1459 and 1503. In 1559, soon after the beginning of Livonian War Bishop fo Courland sold his bishopric to King of Denmark. The last granted it to his brother Magnus - who became a Bishop of Courland in a such way. Magnus sold Dundaga castle to Polish Chancellor Martin von Bersewitz who in turn sold it to Lewin von Bülow in 1588.
During the Polish-Swedish War in 1656 Swedes captured and looted the castle after cannonade. At the end of 17th century Anna Sibylla Maydel (born Osten-Sacken) started reconstruction of the castle and as a result Dundaga castle lost its medieval forms - castle lost its character of fortification and turned into luxuriant dwelling of landlords. At the gate tower there was built a chapel, gate tower itself was turned into belfry with Barocco forms. It was in a way similar to tower of St.Peters church in Riga - there are made conjectures that the reconstruction has been planned by Rupert Bindenschu. There were two bells in belfry - one served as a clock, another announced worships. Anna Sibylla turned out to be a successful administrator - she ordered to install a light ship in Domesnes (Kolka Cape) in order to assist the ships in their way to Riga. In Sikrags there was built a shipyard and harbour.
Karl von Osten-Sackens started an even larger rebuilding of the castle in 1785 - there was added third floor in blocks of the castle.
The chapel of the castle was not used since 1846 and gradually turned in ruins. Castle was heavily damaged in fire of 1872, in the night on 1st April. Ornate interiors perished, Barocco style tower of chapel caved in, fire annihilated the wooden arcade in the inner yard. 200 cows an 50 horses died. Only with big effort there was saved archive of the castle, silver coat of arms, legendary cradle of birch (see legends below). (4) Already at the same year P.M.Berchi started works at the new design of the castle - this design was implemented in part.
20th -21th centuries
In time of Kristian von der Osten-Sacken there was a fire in the castle in 1905 and in 1909 there was started renovation according to the design of Braunschweig professor H.Pfeiffer. There was changed the planning of the castle, in the courtyard opposite to the gate there was built new, spacious annex. Southwestern block got third floor. Gate tower was made higher, it's architecture returned to medieval style - Barocco spire was removed. Above the main entrance there was placed coat of arms. As noted by art historician Heinz Pirang in 1930ies, castle lost it's Nordic features through this reconstruction. Also later there was noted (D.Brugis) that castle lost it's proportions, there were used some outdated Neogothic elements. It seems that Pfeiffer was more inclined to make the castle more practical, f.e. castle got elevators, concrete ceilings, centralised heating (the last one considered to be especially important in order to escape the next fire).
There were advanced plans for larger rebuilding and landscaping as testified with drawing of Pfeiffer from 1911. There were planned tennis courts, it was planned also to shape the surroundings of the castle, f.e. with a reconstruction of defensive moat, with a group of new household buildings.
In 1926 in the castle there were located municipal administrative institutions, local culture centre. After the Second World War in the castle there was located a school - initially - Dundaga secondary school, later - boarding-school. Nowadays in the castle there are different public institutions, municipality and users of the castle try their best to keep it in order.
Just a shot because it was there of some autumnal colour looking at St. May's Church Fetcham .
St Mary's Church, Fetcham, Surrey, England is a Church of England parish church (community) but also refers to its building which dates to the 11th century, that of the Norman Conquest and as such is the settlement's oldest building. It is set off the residential road of its address, The Ridgeway, behind a small park, in the suburban part of the largely 20th century railway settlement adjoining the M25 London Orbital Motorway which has retained farmed rural outskirts. The closest secular building is Grade II* listed Fetcham Park House, which is in the same architectural category and the church has an adjoining church hall.
Built during Anglo-Saxon and early Norman periods, the structure has been conjectured by the Victoria County History's architectural analysis to have been a redevelopment of an Anglo-Saxon church:
Roman bricks in considerable quantities in Fetcham Church, remains of Anglo-Saxon architecture in the church...
...quoins and dressings of thin red bricks, no doubt Roman, set in wide mortar joints.
Traces of its long past exist in many parts of its structure. These include the south-west quoin of the nave, and a single splay window high on the south wall with traces of Roman brick, as well as arches which fit with the architecture prevailing before the Norman Conquest of 1066.
In the 19th century a considerable amount of restoration and improvement in the church was carried out by Rev. Sir Edward Moon rector from 1854 to 1904. Moon inherited his baronetcy in 1871 on the death of his father Sir Francis Moon, 1st Baronet, who was commemorated in much of the restoration work in the church.
The structure gained listed status in 1951, has some stained glass windows, and is classed as Grade II*.
I have had this on my Hard drive for some time now but was never happy with the outcome of the processing so now we are in lockdown it seemed a good time for a revisit. I spent the whole day and started from the beginning I'm now very happy with how it turned out.
Lum 19x900Secs
Red 15x900Secs
Green 11x900Secs
Blue 14x900Secs
Ha 22x1800Secs
22 hours 5 mins in total.
NGC 6946 also known as the Fireworks Galaxy is a face-on intermediate spiral galaxy with a small bright nucleus, whose location in the sky straddles the boundary between the northern constellations of Cepheus and Cygnus. Its distance from Earth is about 25.2 million light-years. NGC 6946 lies within the Virgo Supercluster.
Discovered by William Herschel on 9 September 1798, this well-studied galaxy has a diameter of approximately 40,000 light-years about one-third of the Milky Way's size, and it contains roughly half the number of stars as the Milky Way. The galaxy is heavily obscured by interstellar matter as it lies quite close to the galactic plane of the Milky Way. Due to its prodigious star formation, it has been classified as an active starburst galaxy.
Various unusual celestial objects have been observed within NGC 6964. This includes the so-called 'Red Ellipse' along one of the northern arms that looks like a super-bubble or very large supernova remnant, and which may have been formed by an open cluster containing massive stars. There are also two regions of unusual dark lanes of nebulosity, while within the spiral arms several regions appear devoid of stars and gaseous hydrogen, some spanning up to two kiloparsecs across. A third peculiar object, discovered in 1967, is now known as "Hodge's Complex". This was once thought to be a young supergiant cluster, but in 2017 it was conjectured to be an interacting dwarf galaxy superimposed on NGC 6964.
Captured by David Wills at PixelSkies, Castillejar, Spain www.pixelskiesastro.com
Equipment used:
Telescope: Tec 140 F7
Camera: Xpress Trius SX-694 Pro Mono Cooled to -10C
Image Scale: 0.95
Guiding: OAG
Filters: Astronomik L
Mount: iOptron CEM60 "Standard" GOTO Centre Balanced Equatorial Mount
Image Acquisition: Voyager
Observatory control: Lunatico Dragonfly
Stacking and Calibrating: Pixinsight
Processing: Pixinsight 1.8
Nightcliff is a northern suburb of the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, and is set on the shores of Darwin Harbour (named after Charles Darwin).
Although the origin of the name Nightcliff has always been surrounded by conjecture and controversy, the naming can be tracked back to 8 September 1839 (the time of discovery of Port Darwin/Darwin Harbour by European explorers). Early that day, HMS Beagle, which was engaged on an excursion of the Australian coast, sailed into the area and anchored in Shoal Bay near Hope Inlet. John Lort Stokes, William Forsyth and several other crew members left Beagle on a longboat for an excursion and passed around Lee Point, in the vicinity of which, there appeared to be a major opening. Stokes was later to record.
"The sea breeze setting in early, we did not reach it till after dark, when we landed for observations at a cliffy projection near the eastern entrance point: this we found to be composed of a kind of clay, mixed with calcareous matter. We had some difficulty in landing, and then in scrambling up the cliffs by the light of a lantern. If any of the watchful natives happened at the time to be on the look out, they must have stood in astonishment at beholding such strange persons, who at such a time of night, with no ostensible object were visiting their shores".
The term 'Night Cliff' was thus applied to the locality, and it subsequently appeared in this form on Surveyor-General George W. Goyder's original plan of 1869. Goyder also mentioned the locality a couple of times in the diary he kept as leader of the Northern Territory Survey Expedition.
The Nightcliff foreshore was the site of Royal Australian Air Force camps with spotlights and large guns used to defend Darwin from Japanese aircraft bombing during the Second World War. During 1941, a naval outpost including a large concrete artillery outpost bunker was established on the headland. Various other defence facilities were constructed inland as large numbers of military personnel moved into the area. The 2/14 Field Regiment A.I.F. (Australian Infantry Force) was given the task of planning and constructing a hutted camp which became known as "Night Cliff's Camp". After the war, increasing pressure for suburban development caused the Nomenclature Committee of the N.T. to officially name the area on 29 October 1948. The conjoint version of the name, "Nightcliff" was adopted.
Today, a long footpath along the foreshore of Nightcliff is used for walking and cycling, particularly in the evenings after work. Along the footpath there is Nightcliff Jetty, Nightcliff Beach and Nightcliff Swimming Pool.
SN/NC: Datura Metel, Solanaceae Family
Datura metel is a shrub-like annual (zone 5-7) or short-lived, shrubby perennial (zone 8-10), commonly known in Europe as Indian Thornapple, Hindu Datura, or Metel and in the U.S.A as Devil's Trumpet. Datura metel is naturalised in all the warmer countries of the world - notably in India, where it is known by the ancient, Sanskrit-derived, Hindi name धतूरा (dhatūra) -from which the genus name Datura is derived, and in Tamil as ஊமத்தை (ūmattai). The plant is cultivated worldwide, both as an ornamental and for its medicinal properties, the latter being due (like those of all Datura species) to its tropane alkaloid content. Like its hardier and smaller-flowered relative Datura stramonium, it is now of widespread occurrence, although showing a preference for warmer climates and of more attractive appearance. Datura metel was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, but few botanically correct illustrations were made until after the New World was settled. The original home of the plant (long conjectured to have been India) is now known to have been somewhere in the Americas, probably the Greater Antilles. As late as 1992 it was still being claimed that the plant was \"...native probably to the mountainous regions of Pakistan or Afghanistanwestward...\" While there now remains no doubt that the species originated in the New World, evidence is mounting that it was introduced to the Indian subcontinent - whether by human agency or some chance natural event is not known - at an early date (no later than the 4th century CE) preceding by far the arrival of the first European explorers in the Americas.
Datura metel is een struikachtige eenjarige (zone 5-7) of een kortlevende, struikachtige vaste plant (zone 8-10), in Europa algemeen bekend als Indian Thornapple, Hindu Datura of Metel en in de Verenigde Staten als Devil's Trumpet. Datura metel is genaturaliseerd in alle warmere landen van de wereld - met name in India, waar het bekend is onder de oude, Sanskriet-afgeleide, Hindi-naam धतूरा (dhatūra) - waarvan de geslachtsnaam Datura is afgeleid, en in Tamil als ஊமத்தை (ūmattai). De plant wordt wereldwijd gekweekt, zowel als sierplant als vanwege zijn geneeskrachtige eigenschappen, waarbij de laatste (zoals die van alle Datura-soorten) te wijten is aan het gehalte aan tropaanalkaloïden. Net als zijn sterkere en kleinerbloemige relatieve Datura stramonium, komt het nu veel voor, hoewel het een voorkeur heeft voor warmere klimaten en een aantrekkelijker uiterlijk. Datura metel werd voor het eerst beschreven door Carl Linnaeus in 1753, maar er werden weinig botanisch correcte illustraties gemaakt tot na de vestiging van de Nieuwe Wereld. Het oorspronkelijke huis van de plant (lang vermoedelijk India geweest) staat nu bekend als ergens in Amerika, waarschijnlijk de Grote Antillen. Nog in 1992 werd nog beweerd dat de plant \\ \"... oorspronkelijk afkomstig was uit de bergachtige gebieden van Pakistan of Afghanistanwestwaarts ... \\\" Hoewel er nu geen twijfel over bestaat dat de soort zijn oorsprong in de Nieuwe Wereld heeft gevonden, is er bewijs een bevestiging dat het werd geïntroduceerd op het Indiase subcontinent - hetzij door menselijke tussenkomst of een toevallige natuurlijke gebeurtenis is niet bekend - op een vroege datum (niet later dan de 4e eeuw CE) voorafgaand aan de komst van de eerste Europese ontdekkingsreizigers in Amerika.
Datura metel é uma espécie de planta herbácea da família Solanaceae, anual ou bienal, de aspecto arbustivo, com até 3 m de altura, com grandes flores em forma de trombeta de coloração branca, violácea ou amarelada. A espécie é natural do sul da China e da Índia, mas encontra-se disseminada por diversas regiões temperadas e subtropicais onde é utilizada como planta medicinal e como planta ornamental em jardins e hortos. Encontra-se localmente naturalizada em diversas regiões temperadas. As suas folhas são ricas em alcalóides, sendo utilizadas na composição de diversos produtos fitoterapêuticos. Mas atualmente também há uma corrente que diz que esta planta tem suas origens no Novo Mundo... Assim que há polêmica sobre o assunto. Mas pouco importa, senão que é uma planta efêmera e de rara beleza com suas trombetas que parecem anunciar o fim do mundo. Aparecem nas cores violeta, branca e amarela. As violáceas são as de maior beleza. E tem umas delas que se chamam Dupla Datura, pois vem com “camadas de roxo” super lindas também. Mas esta é a mais comum.
Datura metel es un arbusto vivaz en zonas cálidas y anual en zonas con heladas que produce grandes flores en forma de trompeta de color blanco, amarillo o morado, muy vistosas y perfumadas. Son naturales del sur de China y de la India pero actualmente se utilizan como planta ornamental en jardines y huertos en todo el mundo. Es un arbusto que puede llegar como hasta el metro de altura. Las hojas de ovaladas y lanceoladas, con largos peciolos. Las floresson grandes, con forma de trompeta, erectas y muy olorosas. El fruto es una cápsula redonda y sin pinchos que contiene numerosas semillas. Se planta para delimitar las huertas o fincas. Los alcaloides que posee esta planta le confieren efectos narcóticos, alucinógenos y antidepresivos.
D. metel es una de las 50 hierbas fundamentales usadas en el herbolario chino, donde se llaman: yáng jīn huā (洋金花).
Se usa en China para tratar el asma bronquial y dolores reumáticos.
Por su contenido en alcaloide si se consume en grandes cantidades es tóxico y produce convulsiones e incluso el coma.
Todas las partes de las plantas del género Datura contienen niveles peligrosos de alcaloides (muy venenosos) y pueden ser fatales si los ingieren los humanos y otros animales. En algunos lugares está prohibido vender, comprar o cultivar plantas del género Datura.
Datura metel puede provocar síntomas entre los que se incluyen el dolor de cabeza, alucinaciones, convulsiones y coma .
The Belond Exhaust Special is one of the most famous cars in the history of the Indy 500. It was built for team owner George Salih by Indy legend Quin Epperly. The Belond Exhaust Special was unique in the fact that it was the first laydown roadster -- meaning its engine leaned over 72 degrees to reduce frontal area. It had Offenhauser power (Offy engines won the 500 from 1947-1964) and won the 1957 and 1958 Indy 500s. Sam Hanks drove it to victory in '57 and Jimmy Bryan won in 1958.
The 41st International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, May 30, 1957. Sam Hanks won the Indianapolis 500 in his thirteenth attempt (the most such by any 500 winner). He retired from competition at Indy in victory lane. Hanks received a record $103,844 purse, the first driver to win a $100,000 single-race payday. The total race purse was also a record, over $300,000 for the first time.
Hanks won the race in George Salih's #9 "Lay-down Offy". Hanks is believed to be the only Indianapolis 500 driver to participate in the race before World War II, serve in the war effort, then return to race again after the war. It has also been conjectured that Hanks may have been a distant relative to Abraham Lincoln.
She had set her mark, the marks of her long thin fingers, fingers developed before a complete heart or brain, she has left the marks of those tiny pink fingers in the inner strings of her heart, yet she evaded her canvas, her stanzas, her calm. She sometimes felt it was her fault keeping her so close when she had left even before she arrived.
There was this discussion on the radio the other day that brought everything back. The words were designed to keep her out of the debate while discussing every aspect of her as if she was not real. She was a conjecture, an if. She turned it off and still was not enough. She pulled to the side and just sat there for a while. She thought of the certainty that was so solid that made her put her own life in danger and about necessity of doubt.
Yes, how doubt is necessary even when you are witnessing that dance, beholding it, even when that space seems to be pounding, palpitating with joy dear, dear so you can't allow anything but certainty.
Those fingers had reached deep. There was a pause between their reach and their touch and all her words and strokes poured into that space in a dance like a honey bee, like a humming bird. It was bringing them back out that stung. Then it was the devil's laugh. Then it was the white cormorant who fled the lake in a sudden jerk and she then could get a glimpse of the tip of her wings.