View allAll Photos Tagged DISINTEGRATION
I sat there viewing my monitor, the disintegration of an SD card, turning to one glitch art after another.
(IMG_7740BlurryonpurposethenglitchyFlickr010217)
At first glance, this kind of makes me think of a really pretty (with lots of pink) package with ribbon, a nice present to receive. Actually, it wasn't totally my first glance. My very first glance was one of horror as my pictures were turning, forever, to glitch art right in front of my eyes. I knew I was helpless to stop it; so I thought I might as well take some screen shots of what was happening.
On my computer, one has to save one screen shot before they can take another. That meant I had to be really fast about saving the screen shots, naming them, getting them to a file and then hustling back to the photo program which was showing me the melt down of my pictures, and then saving (print screen) another one. Obviously the ruination of my SD card was happening faster than I could do that, but I did get some of the action, so to speak.
when words disintegrate
just graphemes are at drift
that's the cradle of unrestrained thoughts
that's the home of true ardor
lay down beside me
close your eyes
and submerge your self
©boris2008
btw need new camera, dropped this one in the water by accident :-)
the ship -- which originally was used as the men's barracks for the herring factory -- is crumbling bit by bit...
One can disintegrate the world by means of very strong light. For weak eyes the world becomes solid, for still weaker eyes it seems to develop fists, for eyes weaker still it becomes shamefaced and smashes anyone who dares to gaze upon it.
Franz Kafka
Submission for today, a Futuristic Disintegration Pistol/PDW.
The gun runs on a smaller version of the batteries present in my Particle Beam rifles. Its standard mode is to fire a beam that disintegrates any matter on a molecular level, melting a brick of steel in about a minute and a soft human being in about 5 seconds.
The gun uses a futuristic fingerprint recognition safety which is programmed specificly for its unique user. Only that user's fingerprint can unlock and de-safe the gun.
Made in PMG .6
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Piper Alpha was a North Sea oil production platform operated by Occidental Petroleum (Caledonia) Ltd.
The platform began production in 1976, first as an oil-only platform and later converted to add gas production. An explosion, and the resulting oil and gas fires, destroyed it on 6 July 1988, killing 167, including two crewmen of a rescue vessel; 61 survived.
The total insured loss was about £1.7 billion (US$3.4 billion). At the time of the disaster, the platform accounted for approximately ten percent of North Sea oil and gas production, and the accident was the worst offshore oil disaster in terms of lives lost and industry impact.
The Kirk of St Nicholas in Union Street, Aberdeen has dedicated a chapel in memory of those who perished and there is a memorial sculpture in the Rose Garden of Hazlehead Park in Aberdeen. Thirty bodies were never recovered.
During the late 1970s, major works were carried out to enable the platform to meet UK Government gas export requirements and after this work had been completed, Piper Alpha was operating in what was known as phase 2 mode (operating with the Gas Conservation Module (GCM)) since the end of 1980 up until July 1988; phase 2 mode was its normal operating state. In the late 1980s, major construction, maintenance and upgrade works had been planned by Occidental and by July 1988, the rig was already well into major work activities, with six major projects identified including the change-out of the GCM unit which meant that the rig had been put back into its initial phase 1 mode (i.e. operating without a GCM unit).
Despite the complex and demanding work schedule, Occidental made the decision to continue operating the platform in phase 1 mode throughout this period and not to shut it down, as had been originally planned. The planning and controls that were put in place were thought to be adequate. Therefore, Piper continued to export oil at just under 120,000 barrels per day and to export Tartan gas at some 33 MMSCFD (million standard cubic feet per day) during this demanding period.
Because the platform was completely destroyed, and many of those involved died, analysis of events can only suggest a possible chain of events based on known facts. Some witnesses to the events question the official timeline.
12:00 noon Two condensate pumps, designated A and B, displaced the platform's condensate for transport to the coast. On the morning of 6 July, Pump A's pressure safety valve (PSV #504) was removed for routine maintenance. The pump's two-yearly overhaul was planned but had not started. The open condensate pipe was temporarily sealed with a disk cover (flat metal disc also called a blind flange or blank flange). Because the work could not be completed by 6:00 p.m., the disc cover remained in place. It was hand-tightened only. The on-duty engineer filled in a permit which stated that Pump A was not ready and must not be switched on under any circumstances.
6:00 p.m. The day shift ended, and the night shift started with 62 men running Piper Alpha. As he found the on-duty custodian busy, the engineer neglected to inform him of the condition of Pump A. Instead he placed the permit in the control centre and left. This permit disappeared and was not found. Coincidentally there was another permit issued for the general overhaul of Pump A that had not yet begun.
7:00 p.m. Like many other offshore platforms, Piper Alpha had an automatic fire-fighting system, driven by both diesel and electric pumps (the latter were disabled by the initial explosions). The diesel pumps were designed to suck in large amounts of sea water for fire fighting; the pumps had an automatic control to start them in case of fire (although they could not be remotely started from the control room in an emergency). However, the fire-fighting system was under manual control on the evening of 6 July: the Piper Alpha procedure adopted by the Offshore Installation Manager(OIM) required manual control of the pumps whenever divers were in the water (as they were for approximately 12 hours a day during summer) although in reality, the risk was not seen as significant for divers unless a diver was closer than 10–15 feet (3–5 m) from any of the four 120 feet (40 m) level caged intakes.
A recommendation from an earlier audit had suggested that a procedure be developed to keep the pumps in automatic mode if divers were not working in the vicinity of the intakes as was the practice on the Claymore platform, but this was never developed or implemented.
9:45 p.m. Because of problems with the methanol system earlier in the day, methane clathrate (a flammable ice) had started to accumulate in the gas compression system pipework, causing a blockage. Due to this blockage, condensate (natural gas liquids NGL) Pump B stopped and could not be restarted. As the entire power supply of the offshore construction work depended on this pump, the manager had only a few minutes to bring the pump back online, otherwise the power supply would fail completely. A search was made through the documents to determine whether Condensate Pump A could be started.
9:52 p.m. The permit for the overhaul was found, but not the other permit stating that the pump must not be started under any circumstances due to the missing safety valve. The valve was in a different location from the pump and therefore the permits were stored in different boxes, as they were sorted by location. None of those present were aware that a vital part of the machine had been removed. The manager assumed from the existing documents that it would be safe to start Pump A. The missing valve was not noticed by anyone, particularly as the metal disc replacing the safety valve was several metres above ground level and obscured by machinery.
9:55 p.m. First Explosion Condensate Pump A was switched on. Gas flowed into the pump, and because of the missing safety valve, produced an overpressure which the loosely fitted metal disc did not withstand.
Gas audibly leaked out at high pressure, drawing the attention of several men and triggering six gas alarms including the high level gas alarm. Before anyone could act, the gas ignited and exploded, blowing through the firewall made up of 2.5 by 1.5 m (8 by 5 ft) panels bolted together, which were not designed to withstand explosions. The custodian pressed the emergency stop button, closing huge valves in the sea lines and ceasing all oil and gas extraction.
Theoretically, the platform would then have been isolated from the flow of oil and gas and the fire contained. However, because the platform was originally built for oil, the firewalls were designed to resist fire rather than withstand explosions. The first explosion broke the firewall and dislodged panels around Module (B). One of the flying panels ruptured a small condensate pipe, creating another fire.
10:04 p.m. The control room of Piper Alpha was abandoned. "Mayday" was signalled via radio by radio operator David Kinrade. Piper Alpha'sdesign made no allowances for the destruction of the control room, and the platform's organisation disintegrated. No attempt was made to use loudspeakers or to order an evacuation.
Emergency procedures instructed personnel to make their way to lifeboat stations, but the fire prevented them from doing so. Instead many of the men moved to the fireproofed accommodation block beneath the helicopter deck to await further instructions. Wind, fire and smoke prevented helicopter landings and no further instructions were given, with smoke beginning to seep into the personnel block.
As the crisis mounted, two men donned protective gear and attempted to reach the diesel pumping machinery below decks and activate the firefighting system. They were never seen again.
The fire would have burnt out were it not being fed with oil from both Tartan and the Claymore platforms, the resulting back pressure forcing fresh fuel out of ruptured pipework on Piper, directly into the heart of the fire. The Claymore platform continued pumping oil until the second explosion because the manager had no permission from the Occidental control centre to shut down. Also, the connecting gas pipeline to Tartan continued to pump, as its manager had been directed by his superior. The reason for this procedure was the huge cost of such a shut down. It would have taken several days to restart production after a stop, with substantial financial consequences.
Gas pipelines of both 16 in (41 cm) and 18 in (46 cm) diameter ran to Piper Alpha. Two years earlier Occidental management ordered a study, the results of which warned of the dangers of these gas lines. Because of their length and diameter, it would have taken several hours to reduce their pressure, which meant fighting a fire fuelled by them would have been all but impossible. Although the management admitted how devastating a gas explosion would be, Claymore and Tartan were not switched off with the first emergency call.
10:05 p.m. The Search and Rescue station at RAF Lossiemouth receives the first call notifying them of the possibility of an emergency, and a No. 202 Sqn Sea King helicopter, "Rescue 138", takes off at the request of the Coastguardstation at Aberdeen. The station at RAF Boulmer is also notified, and a Hawker Siddeley Nimrod from RAF Kinloss is sent to the area to act as "On-Scene Commander" and "Rescue Zero-One".
10:20 p.m. Tartan Gas Line Rupture Tartan's gas line (pressurised to 120 Atmospheres) melted and ruptured, releasing 15-30 tonnes of high pressure gas every second, which immediately ignited. From that moment on, the platform's destruction was assured.
10:30 p.m. The Tharos, a large semi-submersible fire fighting, rescue and accommodation vessel, drew alongside Piper Alpha. The Tharos used its water cannon where it could, but it was restricted, because the cannon was so powerful it would injure or kill anyone hit by the water.
10:50 p.m. MCP-01 Gas Line Rupture The second gas line ruptured (the riser for the MCP-01 platform), ejecting millions of cubic feet of gas into the conflagration and increased its intensity. Huge flames shot over 300 ft (90 m) in the air. The Tharos was driven off by the fearsome heat, which began to melt the surrounding machinery and steelwork. It was only after this explosion that the Claymore platform stopped pumping oil. Personnel still left alive were either desperately sheltering in the scorched, smoke-filled accommodation block or leaping from the various deck levels, including the helideck, 175 ft (50 m) into the North Sea. The explosion also killed two crewmen on a fast rescue boat launched from the standby vessel Sandhaven and the six Piper Alpha crewmen they had rescued from the water.
11:18 p.m. Claymore Gas Line Rupture The gas pipeline connecting Piper Alpha to the Claymore Platform ruptured, adding even more fuel to the already massive firestorm that engulfed Piper Alpha.
11:35 p.m. Helicopter "Rescue 138" from Lossiemouth arrives at the scene.
11:37 p.m. Tharos contacts Nimrod "Rescue Zero-One" to appraise him of the situation. A standby vessel has picked up 25 casualties, including three with serious burns, and one with an injury. Tharos requests the evacuation of its non-essential personnel to make room for incoming casualties. "Rescue 138" is requested to evacuate 12 non-essential personnel from Tharos to transfer to Ocean Victory, before returning with paramedics.
11:50 p.m. With critical support structures burned away, and with nothing to support the heavier structures on top, the platform began to collapse. One of the cranes collapsed, followed by the drilling derrick. The generation and utilities Module (D), which included the fireproofed accommodation block, slipped into the sea, taking the crewmen huddled inside with it. The largest part of the platform followed it. "Rescue 138" lands on Tharos and picks up the 12 non-essential personnel, before leaving for Ocean Victory.
11:55 p.m. "Rescue 138" arrives at Ocean Victory and lands the 12 passengers before returning to Tharos with 4 of Ocean Victory's paramedics.
00:07 a.m., 7 July "Rescue 138" lands paramedics on Ocean Victory.
00:17 a.m. "Rescue 138" winches up serious burns casualties picked up by the Standby Safety Vessel, MV Silver Pit.
00:25 a.m. First seriously-injured survivor of Piper Alpha is winched aboard "Rescue 138".
00:45 a.m. The entire platform had gone. Module (A) was all that remained of Piper Alpha.
00:48 a.m. "Rescue 138" lands on Tharos with three casualties picked up from MV Silver Pit.
00:58 a.m. Civilian Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of Bristow Helicopters arrives at Tharos from Aberdeen with Medical Emergency Team.
01:47 a.m. Coastguard helicopter land on Tharos with more casualties.
02:25 a.m. First helicopter leaves Tharos with casualties for Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
03:27 a.m. "Rescue 138" lands on Tharos with the bodies of two fatalities. "Rescue 138" then leaves to refuel on the drilling rig Santa Fe 140.
05:15 a.m. "Rescue 137" arrives at Tharos and after landing, then leaves taking casualties to Aberdeen.
06:21 a.m. Uninjured survivors of Piper Alphaleave Tharos by civilian S-61 helicopter for Aberdeen.
07:25 a.m. "Rescue 138" picks up remaining survivors from Tharos for transfer to Aberdeen.
At the time of the disaster 226 people were on the platform; 165 died and 61 survived. Two men from the Standby Vessel Sandhaven were also killed.
Today I tried a new kind of self portrait. The Gimp workflow was quite easy, the most difficult part in this self portrait shooting was to get myself in focus (even here I'm slightely off focus).
Softbox from left top (looking direction), reflector on opposite side right down. Second flash at full power on the background to get the High Key look. Disintegration workflow in Gimp, no adjustments to the actual picture, its out of the box...
Werribee Park Mansion. Pop 40,000.Land along the Werribee River, which rises in the Great Dividing Range near Ballarat with its vocalic soils, was always going to appeal to early sheep pastoralists. The river’s name was an Anglicised version of the local Aboriginal word Wearibie. The first white settler in 1836 was Edward Wedge, a former surveyor from Van Diemen’s Land who ran 2,600 sheep on 14 acres of land by the Werribee River. Wedge lived in a sod hut and gained license to the land in 1838. In the 1840s a proper house was built for Mrs Wedge and the children with a little garden. The crossing of the river near the house was known as Wedge’s Crossing for travellers from Melbourne to Geelong. In 1852 a downpour heightened the level of the river and the family retreated to the roof of the house for hours until the house disintegrated. The bodies of Mr and Mrs Wedge and one of their daughters was found a few days later on the beach at Williamstown along with their grand piano. Three local pastoralists rescued the other daughters and a son from the flood waters. They included Scottish Thomas Chirnside who had landed in Adelaide in 1839. Brother Andrew Chirnside joined Thomas in 1841 and they established several large pastoral estates in the Western Districts of Victoria. They had the Mt William run in the Grampians from 1842. Others runs were soon acquired and the canny Scots made a fortune with runs along the Wannon River and near Camperdown and Skipton. But Thomas clearly liked the potential of the Werribee River area. In 1851 he purchased around 200 acres freehold there and in 1852 he bought the Wedge property after the disastrous flood. In 1853 he bought Point Cook land and by 1855 he owned about 20,000 acres in the district bought up from small land holders. By 1880 Thomas and Andrew owned over 80,000 acres of land between Werribee, Point Cook and across to the You Yang Ranges. In the 1850s they lived at Point Cook in a bluestone homestead which had 27 rooms by 1857. Thomas had grand ideas and in 1857 he had an architect Edward Prowse of Geelong build him a 12 roomed house at Werribee Park which was occupied by his nephew Robert Chirnside until 1873. Brother Andrew returned to Scotland in the late 1840s, married and stayed there until he returned to Victoria in 1870 with his wife and eight children. Upon his return Andrew purchased a half share of his brother’s freehold lands for £77,330. Andrew commissioned a grand homestead to be built for around £20,000 to house his family and his bachelor brother Thomas.
Werribee Park mansion was built from 1874 to 1875 when it was occupied. The architect was London born James Fox who designed in the then popular Italianate style. The bluestone house faced on three sides with honey coloured sandstone house had more than 60 rooms with views across the Werribee River and it was near Port Phillip Bay. It was one of the finest homestead in the colony. The two storey house had a four storeyed tower in a central position above the colonnaded verandas. Classical ornamentation as used throughout the mansion. The servants’ quarters and the office wing completed a paved courtyard at the rear of the house. The “public” rooms for entertaining included a billiard room, a library, dining room, morning room. A grand hall with Corinthian columns and cast iron pillars led upstairs to a ballroom and the main bedrooms. Elegant gilt framed mirrors sat atop the marble fireplaces and internal architraves, doors and panelling were in Australian red cedar. The original furniture was all imported from Edinburgh. Outside a landscaped garden of 25 acres was established with European trees. The garden design has been attributed to William Guilfoyle the Curator of the Melbourne Botanic Gardens at that time. The grounds were used for sport and hunting of deer, foxes, quail, pheasants and hares which had been released on the estate. Lavish garden parties were also held in the gardens. Thomas Chirnside donated some of his land to the town of Werribee and funds for the construction of a Presbyterian Church with an eagle decorated wooden vaulted ceiling identical to the one in his billiard room.
But wealth does not always bring happiness and in 1887 Thomas transferred his share of the property to other members of the Chirnside family. Shortly after this he committed suicide in June 1887. Andrew Chirnside then ran the estate with his sons George and Percy until his death in 1890. Andrew’s wife lived in Werribee Park until her death in 1908. At this time the large estate was broken up for closer settlement. By 1921 George Chirnside owned Werribee Park as a property of just 2,000 acres. But the breaking up of the estate began earlier. In the 1890s the government acquired nearly 9,000 aces for a sewerage farm which still exists. The Chirnside brothers leased 18,000 acres to small tenant farmers in the 1890s. Another 5,000 acres was sold off in 1904 and in 1906 the government purchased a further 23,485 aces for closer settlement. This left just 2,670 acres at Werribee Park. George Chirnside sold the mansion and land in 1922 partly because of the cost of upkeep which included 30 staff. Now one of the descents of the Chirnside family runs a florist shop in Geelong, although they previously owned a large grand estate near Skipton which once covered 250,000 acres. It was a mere 2,500 acres when sold out of this part of the Chirnside family about 30 years ago.
After its sale Werribee Park mansion became a Catholic Seminary from 1922 until 1973. In December 1922 Archbishop Mannix of Melbourne with the bishops of Ballarat, Sandhurst and Sale established a seminary. They paid £70,000 for the mansion and almost 1,000 acres. A new wing of rooms was added in 1925 and more in 1927 including dining hall and chapel and more again in 1937. In that year Corpus Christi College had 108 students in their eight year theological course. By 1959 the college had 177 students and staff and the Sisters of St Joseph of Cluny ran the domestic management of the college. The college closed in 1972 when a new theological seminary opened in Melbourne. Fortunately the Victorian government purchased the mansion for public use and access.
Given sufficient time, oxygen, and water, any iron mass will eventually convert entirely to rust and disintegrate . Neil Young was right.
It was pouring down rain this morning. When the rain had slowed down a little, I stepped outside with the camera to see what I could get. This image was the result. Some leaves from a bush with a puddle of water with a drip in the background.
I am also a big fan of the band “The Cure” and I love Mr. Robert Smith and company’s 1989 album “Disintegration”. I was listening to the song “Plainsong” from the album as the rain came down. Damn! It was a good morning. :-)
Vienna Concert House (2006)
The Wiener Konzerthaus was opened in 1913. It is on the 3rd Viennese district road (Lothringerstraße) at the edge of the Inner City between Schwarzenberg Square and City Park .
Architectural History
Ludwig Baumann planned Olympion Art Show 1908, the main building Concert Hall, detail
1890 for a planned house music festivals should be considered as multi-purpose building to address a broader public than the just 200 meters away traditional Viennese Musikverein. The design by architect Ludwig Baumann for a Olympion contained several concert halls except an ice rink and a Bicycleclub. In addition, an open-air arena should offer 40,000 visitors. The skating rink and its adjacent buildings were realized in 1899 by Baumann plans, the Art Nouveau ensemble but fell in 1960 to a construction of the InterContinental Hotels Group to the victim. The Vienna Ice Skating Club is located on the then reduced by about a third place today. The popular freestyle wrestling at the Haymarket took place here.
Organised by Gustav Klimt and his friends art exhibition Vienna 1908 was held in a temporary exhibition building on the undeveloped site of the later concert hall. The Wiener Konzerthaus was finally built 1911-1913 by the Europe-wide Viennese theater architects Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer Younger (Office Fellner & Helmer ) in collaboration with Ludwig Baumann.
The theme of the concert hall was:
A facility for the care of fine music, a collection of artistic aspirations, a home for music and a house for Vienna.
On 19 October 1913 the Concert Hall in the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph I with a gala concert of the Vienna Concert Society was opened (now the Vienna Symphony Orchestra ). Richard Strauss composed this be Festive Prelude Op 61. Was combined with this modern work Beethoven's 9th Symphony - the juxtaposition of tradition and modernity should be so much in the first concert of the house.
The disintegration of Austria-Hungary brought tremendous social upheaval and financial crises - and thus flexibility and versatility was also necessary for lack of money. In addition to classical repertoire, there were in the 1920s and 1930s, important world premieres (including Arnold Schoenberg and Erich Wolfgang Korngold ), concerts with jazz and pop songs, speeches from science to spiritualism and poetry readings (including Karl Kraus ). Dance and ballroom events, some large conferences and world championships for boxing and fencing completed the program.
After the annexation of Austria to the German Reich in 1938, the program for impoverished "non- degenerate entertainment operation ", to many artists remained only the emigration.
After 1945, the concert hall also had the secondary task , " prop up " the bruised Austrian self-confidence in a musical way. In addition to the standard repertoire of classical and romantic and the Viennese Waltz , there were still premieres (eg Schoenberg's oratorio The Jacob's Ladder 1961) and international jazz and pop concerts. From May 1946 spaces for recording studios and administration at the German and in Vienna living music producer Gerhard Mendelson were rented, who is considered one of the most important pop producers in Austria in the postwar period.
After several modifications that changed the original Art Nouveau decoration slightly , the house was restored from 1972 to 1975 to the only slightly altered original plans. From 1998 to 2001 the house was renovated by architect Hans Puchhammer and expanded to include a new concert hall (New Hall) .
From 1989 to 2002 the Vienna Kathreintanz also took place in the concert hall .
Building
Saw the concert at the House of Lorraine Street (Lothringerstraße), the Schwarzenbergplatz
The floor plan approximately 70 x 40 meters large concert hall with the main entrance at the Lothringerstraße and other inputs in the Lisztstraße includes Haymarket (Heumarkt) since the opening three concert halls:
Large hall with 1865 seats
Mozart Hall with 704 seats
Schubert Hall with 366 seats
The new hall (with 400 seats) was not established until the general renovation of 1998 to 2002. The new hall was renamed at the start of the 2009/2010 season in Berio-Saal.
On the home front, the right and left of the entrance, is the inscription
Honor your German Masters, then you are storing good spirits.
Here is a quote from the final chorus for the opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg by Richard Wagner.
In all rooms the same time can take place, since they do not affect each other acoustically different concerts.
Inside stands in the foyer of the original model created in 1878 by Kaspar von Zumbusch Beethoven Monument, which is situated opposite the Concert Hall at the Beethoven place. At the staircase there is a relief homage to Emperor Franz Joseph (1913 ) by Edmund Hellmer . Furthermore, a bust of Franz Liszt by Max Klinger to mention in 1904.
The complex of the concert hall and the building is part of the K. K Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (now the University of Music and Dramatic Art). Adjoining rooms for academic teaching purposes this part of the building also contains the Academy theater with 521 seats, which is used as a secondary stage of the Burgtheater world premieres among other modern plays.
Great Hall and Organ
The Great Hall has a capacity of 1116 visitors (ground floor) and additional 361 balconies and boxes, and 388 in the gallery. The auditorium is 750 m2 and 170 m2 of the podium. In the 1960s the hall was optimized by Heinrich Keilholz.
The organ was built in 1913 in the Great Hall of the Rieger organ (Rieger-Orgel) (Jägerndorf, Silesia) built. The instrument is located on the end wall of the big room, but has no visible Prospectus. The organ is located behind a grid and is thus hidden from the visitors. The cone-chest-116 instrument has five registers on manual and pedal works and is the largest organ in Austria. The special features of the organ counts, firstly, that the four manual divisions are swellable. In addition, the organ comprises a (swellable ) remote work with separate pedal. Stylistically, the organ is "Alsatian Organ reform " aimed at the so-called ideal of where along the lines of major instruments of Aristide Cavaillé -Coll, the strong voices are divided into two manuals. The tracker action is electro-pneumatic. For the inauguration of the instrument Strauss had the " Festive Prelude " for organ and orchestra composed. In 1982 the instrument was restored.
I Hauptwerk C
Principal 16 '
16 drone '
Principal 8 '
Gedackt 8 '
Flute hollow 8 '
Harmonique Flûte 8 '
Fugara 8 '
Gemshorn 8 '
Dulciana 8 '
Nasatquinte 51/3 '
Octave 4 '
Reed flute 4 '
Viola 4 '
Superoctave 2 '
Noise Quinte II 22 /3 '
Cornet III-V 8 '
Mixture V 22 /3 '
III cymbals 2 '
Trumpet 16 '
Trumpet 8 '
Clarino 4 '
Manual II ( swellable ) C-
Viola 16 '
Quintatön 16 '
Principal 8 '
Bourdon 8 '
Flauto Traverso 8 '
Clara Bella 8 '
Viola da Gamba 8 '
Salicional 8 '
Unda Maris 8 '
Octave 4 '
Octaviante Flûte 4 '
Gemshorn 4 '
Quintatön 4 '
Waldflöte 2 '
Sesquialtera II 22 /3 '
Progress . harm. III - V 22 /3 '
Mixture IV 22/3 '
8 'Clarinet
Krummhorn 8 '
Glockenspiel
tremulant
III . Manual ( swellable ) C-
Lovely - Gedackt 16 '
Violin Principal 8 '
Reed flute 8 '
Still Covered 8 '
Vienna Flute 8 '
Quintatön 8 '
Echo Gamba 8 '
Aeoline 8 '
Vox coelestis 8 '
Octave 4 '
Octaviante Flûte 4 '
Delicate flute 4 '
Aeolsharfe 4 '
Gemsquinte 22/3 '
Flautino 2 '
Third, 13/5 '
Larigotquinte 11/3 '
Seventh 11/7 '
Piccolo 1 '
Harmonia aetherea IV 22/3 '
Basson 16 '
Harmonique Trompette 8 '
Oboe 8 '
Vox Humana 8 '
Harmonique Clairon 4 '
tremulant
IV solo work C
16 drone '
Clarinophon 8 '
Double - Gedackt 8 '
Concert Flute 8 '
Solo Gamba 8 '
Fifth tube 51/3 '
Octave 4 '
Solo Flute 4 '
Quinte 22/3 '
Superoctave 2 '
Wholesale Cornett III - V 22 /3 '
Tuba mirabilis 8 '
Ophicleide 8 '
Harmonique Clairon 4 '
V Fernwerk ( swellable ) C-
Delicately Gedackt 16 '
Horn 8 'Principal
Lovely - Gedackt 8 '
Reed flute 8 '
Viola d' amore 8 '
Vox Angelica 8 '
Gemshorn 4 '
Flute 4 '
Piccolo 2 '
Mixture IV 22/3 '
Shawm 8 '
Vox Humana 8 '
tremulant
C- pedal
Principalbaß 32 '
Principalbaß 16 '
Violon 16 '
Subbass 16 '
Echobaß 16 '
Salicetbaß 16 '
Quintbaß 102/3 '
Octavbass 8 '
Gedacktbaß 8 '
Bass flute 8 '
Cello 8 '
Dulcianbaß 8 '
Octave 4 '
Flauto 4 '
Campana III 102/3 '
Mixture IV 51/3 '
Bombard 32 '
Trombone 16 '
Bassoon 16 '
Trumpet 8 '
Basset 8 '
Clarino 4 '
C- pedal distance
Subbass 16 '
Octavbass 8 '
Pairing :
Normal coupling : II / I, III / I , IV / I , V / I, P / I , III / II , IV / II , V / II, I / II , IV / III , V / P, I / P, II / P III / P IV / P
Superoktavkoppeln : II / I, III / I , IV / I , V / I , III / I , IV / I , III / II , IV / II , IV , V, I / P , IV / P.
Suboktavkoppeln : III / II .
Game Help: Free combinations (5 banks by 1000 = 5000 general memories ), storage rack (roll on, Pair of roller coupling to IV of roller, Manual 16 ' down, Reeds off (as buttons ), the main pedal off, remote pedal off (as flip switches ), Einzelzungenabsteller ), Tutti (push button), principal pedal down, Fernwerk pedal from, sills V in expression pedal II coupled (toggle button), kicks, interact with flip switches (switching I-IV of P, normal couplers II-IV to I, roll off ) Registercrescendo (roller for the organist, coupled with a second roller for the registrant ) .
Program
The concert hall is the main venue of the Vienna Symphony , the Vienna Chamber Orchestra and the Vienna Sound Forum. Since 1913 the Vienna Academy of Music has its permanent home of the Konzerthaus. In separate events at the Wiener Konzerthaus other international orchestras, soloists and chamber ensembles in addition to the Vienna Philharmonic regular guest. In addition, there are also numerous other events organizer at the Konzerthaus. So for example the Bonbon Ball, but also concerts in jazz and world music.
The program of the Vienna Konzerthaus also includes some festivals , such as
the Early Music Festival in January resonances
the Vienna Spring Festival
the International Music Festival
Wien Modern in autumn
Between 2003 and 2006, gave the series with the latest music generator .
From 2008, a year early in the season with a festival held focus " on a particular region or cultural community " [2 ] . The first event in September 2008, the two-day festival Spot On : Yiddishkeit , in which a cross section is presented by the diversity of Jewish music creation.
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiener_Konzerthaus
This mausoleum in Portland's Lone Fir Cemetery was built for Donald Macleay. It has seen better days.
I read somewhere that the original windows have been replaced. I have to think we're seeing the replacement here. What fascinates me about it is how it has disintegrated over time into a perfect fantasy of a mausoleum window. Hollywood's best animators wouldn't have been able to come up with this image of decay!
In any case, had the mausoleum been built of the hard and weather-resistant basalt that is so abundant in the Portland area, it would be faring much better. Instead, sandstone was selected. Sandstone is a sedimentary rock, which means it was laid down in layers. Today, the layers are coming apart ("exfoliating") and bits of the surface are falling off.
If the Oregon State Bar allowed me to give legal advice to the long dead, I would recommend that Donald Macleay convene the court of the hereafter and sue the architect and contractor for negligence.
Getting back to the here and now, Multnomah County is the public body responsible for this cemetery. I'm tempted to inquire what the County's plans are for the Macleay mausoleum. After all, it is a de facto historic landmark. Will the County allow the building to decay indefinitely, or will it intervene by marshaling resources to stabilize it?
About the Mausoleum
"The Macleay Mausolem was built in 1877 for $13,500 at the direction of Donald Macleay. The facade of the mausoleum appears to be sandstone with a veneer of finer grade sandstone. There is a rolled-seam metal roof and there were originally stained and leaded glass windows on each side, but some of those appear to have been removed and replaced with painted replicas. There is a black-powder coated metal fence surrounding the mausoleum that was added at a date later than the construction of the mausoleum itself. "
www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMGNBJ_Macleary_Mausoleum_Lon...
About Donald Macleay
Donald Macleay (August 1834 – July 26, 1897) was a prominent 19th century merchant and banker in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon.
A native of Scotland, he emigrated at the age of 16 with his parents to the Canadian province of Quebec before relocating as an adult to California and, later, Oregon.
With his business partner William Corbitt, he established a highly profitable wholesale and shipping business in Portland that centered on groceries and liquor, then wheat, salmon, and timber exports.
He invested in Oregon railroads, served for a time as president of the Portland Board of Trade, and is generally credited with founding the U.S. National Bank of Portland (forerunner of U.S. Bancorp), of which he was president toward the end of his life.
Macleay was active in Portland's social organizations such as the St. Andrew Society and the Arlington Club. He and his wife, Martha, had four children, one of whom, Roderick, became a director of his father's bank.
His legacy includes Macleay Park, a part of Forest Park in Portland, and Macleay, an unincorporated Oregon community that was renamed in his honor in 1882.
Donald Macleay was born in Leckmelm, Ross-shire, Scotland, in August 1834. As a child, he had a private tutor and went to school in Leckmelm.
Financial difficulties caused his parents to move to Canada and settle on a farm near Melbourne, Quebec, when Macleay was 16. By age 20, he had formed a business partnership with a merchant, George K. Foster, of Richmond, Quebec.[1]
At the age of 25, Macleay went to California, where he met William Corbitt, and by 1866 they had established a wholesale grocery and shipping business, Corbitt & Macleay, in Portland. The business grew rapidly and by 1870 had become "one of the leading firms of the northwest".[1]
One of several Scottish merchants and financiers who moved to Portland in the 1860s and 1870s, Macleay was among the most successful.
Starting as grocery and liquor merchants, Corbitt & Macleay expanded to wheat and salmon exports, and, taking advantage of cheap Asian (coolie) labor, they supplied buyers in Hong Kong with spars and ship planking.
In addition, Macleay became involved in railroad investments through his association with another native of Scotland, William Reid, who formed the Portland Board of Trade, and Henry Villard, who organized the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company.[2]
Macleay was active in many banking and investment enterprises in and near Portland.
He served as a director of the Portland & Coast Steamship Company, the Portland Telephone & Electric Light Company, and other businesses and banks, and he was for a time the vice president of the Oregon & California Railway Company.
As president of the Portland Board of Trade, he worked to persuade the U.S. government to build a jetty system at the Columbia Bar. He was one of the founders of the Portland Chamber of Commerce.[1]
Retiring from the wholesale mercantile business in 1892, he helped to establish the United States National Bank of Portland (forerunner of U.S. Bancorp) and served as its president.[n 1] He was president of the British Benevolent and St. Andrew societies of Portland and was one of the founders of the Arlington Club.[1]
In 1869 Macleay married Martha Macculloch of Compton, Quebec. The couple had four children, Barbara, Edith, Mabel, and Roderick, and were members of the First Presbyterian Church of Portland. Martha died in 1876,[1] and Macleay later remarried.[4] Roderick was a director of the U.S. Bank in the early 20th century.[5]
During the Panic of 1893, when many banks failed, the U.S. Bank survived. However, to help keep the bank afloat, Macleay loaned it large sums of his own money and took no pay as bank president. Exhausted, he retired in the spring of 1895 and died on July 26, 1897.[6]
Long before his death, Macleay's interest in the Oregonian Railway Company, which had built a narrow-gauge railway in the eastern Willamette Valley, led him to donate money for a schoolhouse at a railroad station in Marion County. The community, formerly named Stipp, was renamed Macleay in 1882.[7]
In 1897, Macleay deeded a 108-acre (44 ha) tract of land along Balch Creek to the city to provide an outdoor space for patients from nearby hospitals.[8] Developed by the city, this tract, known as Macleay Park, was one of many parks and land parcels that were combined to form Portland's Forest Park in 1948. Macleay Park is still referred to by its original name even though it is part of the larger park.
Brimham Rocks, once known as Brimham Crags, is a 183.9-hectare (454-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Geological Conservation Review (GCR) site, 8 miles (13 km) north-west of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, on Brimham Moor in the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The site, notified as SSSI in 1958, is an outcrop of Millstone Grit, with small areas of birch woodland and a large area of wet and dry heath.
The site is known for its water- and weather-eroded rocks, which were formed over 325 million years ago and have assumed fantastic shapes.[1] In the 18th and 19th centuries, antiquarians such as Hayman Rooke wondered whether they could have been at least partly carved by druids, an idea that ran concurrently with the popularity of James Macpherson's Fragments of Ancient Poetry of 1760, and a developing interest in New-Druidism. For up to two hundred years, some stones have carried fanciful names, such as Druid's Idol, Druid's Altar and Druid's Writing Desk.
Brimham Rocks has SSSI status because of the value of its geology and the upland woodland and the acidic wet and dry heath habitats that support localised and specialised plant forms, such as chickweed wintergreen, cowberry, bog asphodel and three species of heather.
Brimham Rocks are formed from a medium to coarse sandstone known both as the Lower Brimham Grit and also as the Lower Plompton Grit, one of a series of such sandstones laid down in the later part of the Carboniferous period in what is now the Pennine region. In formal terms this particular grit which is between 10 and 30m thick, forms a part of the Hebden Formation, itself a sub-unit of the Millstone Grit Group. It was deposited 318-317 million years ago during the Kinderscoutian substage of the Bashkirian stage. The rock which has traditionally been referred to as Millstone Grit, originated as river-deposited sands in a delta environment and contains both feldspar and quartz pebbles. Deposition from moving water has resulted in the cross-bedding which is very evident in most of the outcrops. Brimham Rocks has been described as "a classic geomorphological site, significant for studies of past and present weathering processes and their contribution to landscape evolution."
Although discussion continues around the formation and date of tors such as these throughout Britain, much of the development into the forms displayed at Brimham is likely to have taken place over the last 100,000 years before, during and after the last ice age – the Devensian. Some disintegration of the rock strata may have occurred along weaknesses such as fault and fracture planes whilst still buried. Sub-aerial weathering has continued the process. The outcrops were exposed when glacial action, gelifluction and further weathering and water erosion removed the loose material which separated them.
During periods of harsher climate, windblown-ice as well as particles of sand and dust have more effectively eroded weaker layers to give rise to these wind-carved shapes. Such processes have created holes in some rocks, and left dust on the ground below. Erosion continues, caused by weather and tourist numbers. One possibility for the mushroom shape of some stones is that they were exposed to sandblasting at ground level when an ice cap melted 18,000 years ago, narrowing the bases of outcrops, then they were subject to all-over sandblasting when the ice had gone, causing the irregular shapes. Due to this process the Idol rock, for example, will not exist for ever.
Portrait of photographer Kate Farquharson at KUDOS gallery for her exhibition Disintegration.
Fujifilm X-T1
XF18mmF2 R
ƒ/2.0 18.0 mm 1/160 1000iso
Blogged with many more images, streetfashionsydney.blogspot.com.au/2016/07/art-art-of-po...
The Thorn Disintegrator is old school fun... point it at something you don't want to be there and pull the trigger... a moment later it is NOT! The complexity of the internal workings used in order to get that deliciously final result does make it an unusual looking weapon, but, who cares!
Except for the tiny side decoration it's ALL wood baby!
It's finished in a bright silver metallic.
This creation is about 4" inches long by about 2" high (reminder there are 2 1/2 cm in an inch). Comes with metal hanging hardware / findings so you can use as jewelry or dangle it! When using as a pendant necklace just add it to any chain or cord you have. You are getting one item here; sometimes I display other items in the photos.
Made almost 100% from wood unless stated otherwise (I sometimes use tiny amounts of other things) I use paint and many finishes, often metallic, and make sure a lot of details shine through, often even the wood grain itself despite high tech themes. They maintain an often retro, sometimes even rustic look and feel to them, like an "olde worlde" toy or something (some more so than others ... I am told that surprisingly many do not even look like they are wood, but like metal or some manmade material... you can usually tell by the photos).
The blued Cobolt-Niobium alloy parts act in conjunction with nano particles to give an electrical feedback as they are heated. Integrating this as heat shield parts means the battery lasts four times longer than the standard disintegrator or las-pistol battery.
Vesicle vessel. Agfa Clack with inverted lens. + less chemicals than usual. ^_^ 2013. ACFL_whv_2014_2
Wilma Deering wearing Helmet - Buck Rogers partner future astronaut flying with jet pack while brandishing a disintegrator ray gun - Newspaper Science Fiction Sci-Fi comic strip hero action figure spaceman flight clouds sky space metalloglass helmets rocket belt 10/11/2011 jetpack rocketpack Go Hero Showcase figure toys toy 1930s 30s retro - spacewoman woman women - astronaut girlfriend female woman girl friend sci-fi Future Futuristic
A spring summer compilation by me.
Selection of music i enjoy and i hope you too!
Part I. Day: www.mediafire.com/?t3j83f3q7va3dhx
Part II. Night: www.mediafire.com/?n3h37x5d045c9sp
Officially, Rolls Royce Silver Shadows were never offered in an estate version, but it has become a popular trait to convert them to such, largely to exploit the advantages of extra boot space and a rear hatch.
I give you the car that took Rolls Royce out of the hands of the aristocracy and placed it into the hands of the people, a tradition that has continued ever since. Once rock-stars, pop-stars, TV presenters and alike were seen driving around in a car that was once the exclusive pride and joy of the established gentry, it was then and there that the Class System had truly disintegrated. The Victorian-era divisions of society were well and truly dead.
In 1965 it was apparent that the nearly 10 year old Silver Cloud was starting to look its age, and as time continued to crawl on the aristocratic look of the Rolls Royce was no longer its biggest selling point. Prior to the 1960's society was clearly defined, with what was known as the 'Glass Ceiling' through which none of the lower classes could rise up through the ranks. It was very easy for the Upper Class and Aristocracy to lose their titles and come down, but even if you were a Lower Class person who'd made it rich, you'd still be socially unacceptable due to your background. However, after World War I the emergence of the new Middle Class was starting to bend the rules, and as time went on the ways in which money could be obtained started to become easier thanks to stage and screen. After World War II the influence of the new generation distorted the lines of society even more with the appearance of the Beatles and Elvis Presley, people from low backgrounds who had managed to get a free ticket to the top due to their fame in the music industry. Of course when someone gets money, the first thing they want to do is spend it on luxury items, and nothing back then was more luxury than owning a Rolls Royce.
However, when the Cloud was designed society was still very much in the same Victorian ideal as before, and so its aristocratic look was about as hip and with-it as a China Cabinet in a Discotheque. In order to survive, Rolls Royce was going to have to adapt, so in 1965 they launched the Silver Shadow, a car that was designed for the new money, and the first Roller to be brought to the masses. What made it so appealing was a case of many things.
For starters, it was the first Rolls Royce to be a 'Driver's' car. Previous models had always been built with chauffeur driven passengers in mind, but the Shadow with upgraded suspension, an updated Rolls Royce V8 engine and the same general driving feel of a regular car (if not better with innovative power steering), made it ideal for the 'posers' of the upmarket realm. Secondly, the car was the first to be built with a monocoque, where the body and chassis are part of the same structure. Previously, Rolls Royce would provide the owner with a chassis, and then it was up to the owner what body would be put on it, with a variety of coachbuilders available to do the job including H.J Muliner Park Ward, Hoopers of London and James Young. The advent of the monocoque meant that potential buyers didn't have to go through the rigmarole of buying a chassis and then having a body constructed for it at extra cost.
As mentioned though, reception was something of a mixed bag, whilst motoring press and many people gave it critical acclaim for its revolutionary design, the usual Rolls Royce customer base saw it as something of a mongrel, appealing to the lowest common denominator rather than holding up the traditional standard that the Double R was famed for. But just because it was built for the masses didn't make it any less a car, each individual Shadow cost £7,000 new, weighed 2.2 tonnes and took 3 months to build. The interior was compiled of 12 square feet of wood, and three cows had to sacrifice themselves to create the leather hides that line the seats. Soft and springy Wilton Carpets made up the floor and power from Rolls Royce's astounding V8 engine could whisk the car to about 100mph, but why would you want a sporty Rolls Royce anyway? *Cough* Rolls Royce Wraith *Cough*
After launch the Silver Shadow was whipped up by pretty much anyone and everyone who wanted to show off their wealth, with a total of 25,000 examples being built during its 15 year production life, making it the most numerous Rolls Royce ever built. The Silver Shadow also formed the basis of several other designs, including the convertible Rolls Royce Silver Shadow 2-Door Saloon which later became the Corniche in 1971, the Bentley T-Series which was exactly the same only with Bentley badge and grille, and the controversial Rolls Royce Camargue of 1975 which was designed by Pininfarina.
For a time the Shadow was on top of the world, but things started to crumble fast in the 1970's. New American legislation meant that the car had to conform at the cost of its class, with the chrome bumpers being replaced by composite or rubber, and the ditch lights being slumped underneath on a rather unsightly chin-spoiler. In 1977 this revised car was launched as the Silver Shadow II, which I consider to be but a shadow of its former self due to the fact that this was when Rolls Royce started to become downplayed and underwhelming. Indeed the best intentions were in mind with safety, but without the chrome to adorn its lovely body, the Shadow was merely a husk.
This was added to by the fuel crisis of the mid-1970's, which made motoring a very expensive practice, especially if you ran a Shadow. Shadow's are incredible gas guzzlers at less than 20MPG, and refilling one will set you back in today's money about £80. At the same time it was considered socially unacceptable to be seen driving around in one of these after such a blow, almost as if you were driving a giant middle-finger down the street to everyone else who couldn't afford to drive. Because of this, owners turned to more subtle cars such as Mercedes so as not to fall victim to vindictive passers by. With sales starting to drop, Rolls Royce had to see off the Silver Shadow as soon as possible. After nearly 10 years of development, 1980 saw the launch of the much more angular and somewhat mundane Silver Spirit/Spur range, and with that now on the go the shadows grew long for the Silver Shadow, which was killed off the same year. Spiritually however, the design of the 60's lived on in the Corniche, which was to be built for another 15 years before that too was ended in 1995.
In some ways the Shadow became a failure of its own success, with Rolls Royce building far too many cars for the market that intended to buy them, with the result that the 2nd hand market became saturated with nearly new cars that fell into some disreputable company. Throughout the 1980's the Shadow was noted for being the ride of sleazy salesmen, gang lords and Members of Parliament (pure evil!). Additionally, many Shadows were bought cheap simply for the way they made the owner look.
If you were intending to use your cheapy Shadow to plunder yourself some girls and didn't have the attraction of money to back you up, you'd be out of luck and soon out of cash, because the bills required to run a hand-built luxury car would very quickly be walking through the door, both in terms of fuel and maintenance. Critical failures are rare and these cars are very reliable (although Jeremy Clarkson would have you think otherwise), but when they do happen, it would probably be cheaper to buy yourself another car. The worst problem you could face is a failure of the hydraulics that controlled the rear suspension, the steering and the brakes, which would render the car inoperable if something were to go awry.
Frequent maintenance of a Shadow however (every 4 to 6 months) will probably even out at about £100, which when you consider the £10,000 or more you'd be paying to replace the hydraulic system, is a small sacrifice. Rust is another problem, especially for early Shadows. The Chrome sills and guttering on the roof are especially prone, although the most critical problem is rust on the chassis, which if left can compromise the whole car and essentially write it off. A bit of a buying tip, if the car's body looks good, be sure to check underneath because you may see some costly rust gremlins down there that could ruin your investment.
Another place the Shadow has found itself is in the world of movies. Of course any film that has an upper-crust theme or feel to it would have to include a Rolls, but since 2nd hand Shadows could be picked up for a song you could easily put them in your movie. Sadly, most movies that feature Shadows are ones which feature them being destroyed.
So why do I love Shadows so much? Basically because it's a mixture of all things you'd want in a car. It has a spacious, luxury interior, it has a world beating design dripping with chrome and adorned with the finest hood ornament, and because it's dimensions aren't that far off a normal car, it can easily be used as an everyday machine unlike the Silver Cloud which is simply too big for everyday use. The Shadow is also a very personable sort of machine, if I was to own one I would treat it like a pet, and probably name it Sally (old girlfriend of mine).
Today, Shadows are by no means rare and the ones you'll find on the road are probably the best. Most of the poorer 2nd Hand ones rusted away and died back in the 1980's and 90's (or were blown up in movies, or put in swimming pools), which means that the survivors are largely under the ownership of avid enthusiasts who cherish their cars. You can find Shadows for next to nothing, with some examples going for as little as £4,000, but you'd have to be very desperate to get one of those as they'd probably be in very bad condition. Minters however can go for about £15,000 to £20,000, which when compared to some of the other cars of comparative size and quality such as the BMW's and Mercs of this world, is not a bad deal.
Found this beautiful little disintegrating mushroom down in Bebo Grove, Fish Creek Park, on August 16th. I know it looks huge in my macro shot, but it was only small. There were several of them not far from the base of a tree. Love how the cap curls upwards and the sun can shine through the gills.
It feels so nice and relaxing just sitting here at my computer for a short while this afternoon. My newish neighbour's dog isn't barking at this very moment (perhaps it wore itself out, barking till 2:40 a.m. this morning!). I hadn't had a chance to "catch" my neighbour, to bring up the subject of his unhappy dog driving me nuts - but then this morning, he came out of his place just as I arrived home from a walk all morning in Fish Creek Park. Apparently, he has two little dogs in there, one doesn't bark at all and the other he has been trying different things to stop her barking. Said he might just start using a sedative rather than have to give the dog away. Anyway, we had quite a long chat, so hopefully he can quieten his dog (well, he'd better, LOL!). I didn't get to sleep till around 4:00a.m., then overslept by an hour and a quarter and arrived late to meet friends for our walk. Before that, I had waited for part of Tuesday afternoon at a Walk-in Clinic just to see a doctor to get a prescription refill, followed in the evening by a whole fleet of fire engines (fire trucks) blaring their horns down my street and coming to a stop right outside my place (several came into our large parking area). This always scares me to death - if one condo goes up in flames, probably the whole building will be lost. Couldn't see what was going on as it was dark - all I could see were all the flashing lights. Then yesterday evening, after a very stressful (for all of us) volunteer afternoon shift, I found myself stuck in a traffic jam (thanks to an accident) that went part way across the city, and it took an hour and a half to inch my way to a talk at the University - arrived very late for that. So, it feels wonderful to just sit and quietly type - before I have to go out and take my dead vacuum cleaner to a repair store, collect my prescription (which they were out of on Tuesday) and hopefully see to another couple of errands. LOL, for some strange reason, all my overseas Christmas letters (which should have been mailed by now) haven't even been started : )