View allAll Photos Tagged Dabble
When I first started dabbling in RenderMan a few years ago, I began by converting LEGO Digital Designer files, with the idea that I could tackle LDraw later. Now that LDD is discontinued, someone else has written l2rib that can do the job of converting LDraw to RenderMan, but I thought it would be fun to add the capability to my program since I'm already so far into this.
This modular street scene shows what I've accomplished so far: the LDraw geometry extracts correctly and I've got most of the material types rendering properly, including subsurface scattering for the opaque colours. There's even a glow-in-the-dark ghost in this scene. (I still need to do glitter and speckle materials, and do a pass for colour correctness.) I support scene files that let you automatically attach lights to, say, "all round 1x1 bricks in transparent yellow", which made lighting the night time scene easy.
I've yet to smooth out the curved surfaces in a way that I like. I tried subdivision surfaces and they look lovely for some bricks but not others. This render enables subdivision surfaces for the bricks that work properly, which are most of them. When I have time, I think I'll add smoothed normals for the bricks that don't work with subdivision.
I downloaded some lovely HDRI images from HDRIHaven.com to light the scenes and provide backdrops. They're an excellent and free resource and I highly recommend their Patreon.
Each of these images took 2-4h to render on my 16 core machine. I haven't made serious attempts to optimize yet because I'm mostly enjoying playing with the look. This is how I relax after work. :)
As one of the rarest ducks in the world, every nest of Pateke is precious. This nest was tucked away deep inside a large swamp tussock overhanging the edge of the lake.
Photographed at Zealandia with the kind permission of sanctuary staff.
Family: Anatidae (Dabbling ducks)
Status: endangered endemic
Brown teal is one of three closely related species of teal in New Zealand. The other two being the flightless subantarctic Auckland teal and Campbell Island teal.
Once common throughout New Zealand, habitat destruction, especially swamp drainage and predation, have resulted in brown teal becoming one of our most nationally endangered species of waterfowl. Approximately 1300 birds were surviving nationwide in 1999making it one of the rarest ducks in the world!
Most birds are to be found on Great Barrier Island. There are a few brown teal on Kapiti, Mana, and Tiritiri Matangi Islands, the eastern side of Northland and a new population has recently been established in the Coromandel area. Brown teal are regularly present at the Waikanae Estuary, probably part of the Kapiti Island population.
In the South Island, a few birds survive in Fiordland.
Recognition: About half the size of the common mallard duck, brown teal stand 48cm tall and weigh just over half a kilo as an adult. The male is slightly larger than the female. Brown teal have a warm brown plumage, with dark-brown mottling on the breast. Breeding males have a glossy green head, a narrow white collar, broad green and narrow white bands on the wings and a white flank patch. A distinctive feature of all brown teal is their blue-black bill and the narrow white ring around the eye. Their eyes are brown. Males give a soft whistle, and the female a low quack and growl.
Brown teal are often referred to as bush ducks, since they prefer stream and bushland habitats. They are reluctant flyers and are shallow divers, dabbling just below the surface for food. Their favourite food is invertebrates and they mainly feed in the evening or at night.
Breeding: Most brown teal breed from June to October but are able to breed at almost any time of the year.
They begin breeding at about 2 years of age and can lay clutches of up to 8 eggs. • Brown teal build a bowl-shaped nest near water, under the cover of dense tussocks or ferns, constructed with grasses lined with down. The female incubates the eggs about 30 days while the drake guards the nest - they are strongly territorial during breeding. Chicks fledge at an age of about 2 months. Brown teal pairs generally have stable relationships. The oldest known teal in the wild lived over 6 years.
Brown teal at Karori Sanctuary. 18 brown teal were initially released in 2000 and 2001. Breeding started from late 2002 and good productivity has resulted in increased competition for preferred wetland habitats and, because these habitats are limited in the Sanctuary, losses have occurred as a result.
Supplementary feeding of maize has been largely discontinued since early 2006 to reduce productivity and competition for territories.
Genetic analysis of the population in 2006-2007 should clarify whether or not there has been a loss of genetic diversity and whether additional birds need to be released into the population in future.
Active monitoring over the breeding season has ceased due to the fact that the population is self-sustaining.
Brown teal are readily seen on the lower and upper lakes. Being forest dwellers as well as water dwellers, some are being regularly seen at the kaka feeders below the upper dam at dusk and also at the southern end of the Faultline Track. The brown teal’s omnivorous diet, restricted annual range and mainly terrestrial lifestyle give it a unique ecological niche among waterfowl, somewhat akin to a wetland rodent, and it serves as a classic example of the influence of selective forces that operated on birds in pre-human New Zealand.
Dabblers and Blowhards - A Criticism of PG
"... I've always felt the painters connection was too tightly focused, though I think this essay (which is ancient, and would either be more true of pg's work today or less depending on how much you agree with it) goes overboard and manages to miss the point ..."
I don't think the hacker/painter correlation is far off the mark. We might not know of many painters who can hack but I think the idea might better be illustrated by someone who could be best described as a "Hacker" in his day.
Leonardo.
Leonardo had lots of attributes you could ascribe to modern day Hackers:
- inately curious (how else would you work out how the human heart valves worked or the observation that the hardening and constriction of the minute capillaries in old people (compared to young babies) has something to do with death. Something that modern science had to re-discover.
- wrote excessively in notebook diaries on ideas and creations he was working on. (I've seen a sample of these diaries as part of the Royal Library collection. Images of cross sections from human skulls to yet to be born in-eutero.)
- sketched out his ideas as a combination of pictures and words (using silverpoint on vellum: a prepared animal hide covered with ground up animal bones and glue. then built upon these prior ideas as finished works)
- emperical in outlook and willing to try new ideas: that is he observed what worked and not just theorised or accepted common wisdom. A good example of this can be found in the paint composition of "The Last Supper". Leonardo decided "fresco" didn't allow him to express his painterly style, shunned the conventional and tried "fresco" over "gesso" (gypsum). In this case it failed miserably. But this ability to experiment also allowed Leonardo to master oils. The results of this stable medium you can see today in "La Gioconda" in the Louvre in Paris.
- exhibited unnatural powers of concentration (shunning food, rest and drink for instance during the painting of "The Last Supper".)
- mastery of numerous different technologies
The key bit that most people might not realise is that for Leonardo, painting was his technological multiplier. Leonardo expressed his sketches as drawings and words and presented finished ideas in paint. It is through the act of painting that we recognise the most famous painting of the Renaissance. I think the key to understanding the relationship between hackers and painters is that the expression of the intangible thought through art is what matters. Painting and drawing of ideas is to Leonardo as Macs are to modern day hackers. The product might be different but in the end both, modern Hacker and Leonardo as painter create new, seemingly intangible things from pure thought. I'm not surprised pg went to study in Florence. What does surprise me is why it took so long to realise that it was not the location that elevated Leonardo but the "tech revolution" of the time, painting.
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One of this season's family of pateke hatchings at Zealandia.
Family: Anatidae (Dabbling ducks)
Status: endangered endemic
Brown teal is one of three closely related species of teal in New Zealand. The other two being the flightless subantarctic Auckland teal and Campbell Island teal.
Once common throughout New Zealand, habitat destruction, especially swamp drainage and predation, have resulted in brown teal becoming one of our most nationally endangered species of waterfowl. Approximately 1300 birds were surviving nationwide in 1999making it one of the rarest ducks in the world!
Most birds are to be found on Great Barrier Island. There are a few brown teal on Kapiti, Mana, and Tiritiri Matangi Islands, the eastern side of Northland and a new population has recently been established in the Coromandel area. Brown teal are regularly present at the Waikanae Estuary, probably part of the Kapiti Island population.
In the South Island, a few birds survive in Fiordland.
Recognition: About half the size of the common mallard duck, brown teal stand 48cm tall and weigh just over half a kilo as an adult. The male is slightly larger than the female. Brown teal have a warm brown plumage, with dark-brown mottling on the breast. Breeding males have a glossy green head, a narrow white collar, broad green and narrow white bands on the wings and a white flank patch. A distinctive feature of all brown teal is their blue-black bill and the narrow white ring around the eye. Their eyes are brown. Males give a soft whistle, and the female a low quack and growl.
Brown teal are often referred to as bush ducks, since they prefer stream and bushland habitats. They are reluctant flyers and are shallow divers, dabbling just below the surface for food. Their favourite food is invertebrates and they mainly feed in the evening or at night.
Breeding: Most brown teal breed from June to October but are able to breed at almost any time of the year.
They begin breeding at about 2 years of age and can lay clutches of up to 8 eggs. • Brown teal build a bowl-shaped nest near water, under the cover of dense tussocks or ferns, constructed with grasses lined with down. The female incubates the eggs about 30 days while the drake guards the nest - they are strongly territorial during breeding. Chicks fledge at an age of about 2 months. Brown teal pairs generally have stable relationships. The oldest known teal in the wild lived over 6 years.
Brown teal at Karori Sanctuary. 18 brown teal were initially released in 2000 and 2001. Breeding started from late 2002 and good productivity has resulted in increased competition for preferred wetland habitats and, because these habitats are limited in the Sanctuary, losses have occurred as a result.
Supplementary feeding of maize has been largely discontinued since early 2006 to reduce productivity and competition for territories.
Genetic analysis of the population in 2006-2007 should clarify whether or not there has been a loss of genetic diversity and whether additional birds need to be released into the population in future.
Active monitoring over the breeding season has ceased due to the fact that the population is self-sustaining.
Brown teal are readily seen on the lower and upper lakes. Being forest dwellers as well as water dwellers, some are being regularly seen at the kaka feeders below the upper dam at dusk and also at the southern end of the Faultline Track. The brown teal’s omnivorous diet, restricted annual range and mainly terrestrial lifestyle give it a unique ecological niche among waterfowl, somewhat akin to a wetland rodent, and it serves as a classic example of the influence of selective forces that operated on birds in pre-human New Zealand.
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas / Massapequa Preserve, also known as the Peter J. Schmitt Preserve, is 423 acres of land located in the center of Massapequa, an unincorporated Hamlet within the Town of Oyster Bay, beginning at the intersection of Ocean Ave. and Merrick Road. These undeveloped acres of land feature woodlands, lakes, and freshwater wetlands that border Massapequa Creek and stretch for about 4 miles. Massapequa Preserve is the largest passive use park in Nassau County; its beauty is maintained by several volunteer groups and organizations that work to maintain the natural ecosystems in the area. Massapequa Preserve was originally part of the New York City water supply property and was acquired by Nassau County in 1981. Currently, it is being managed by the Nassau County Department of Recreation and Parks. Massapequa Preserve offers multiple small bodies of water to explore, including a reservoir. The Massapequa Reservoir is known to be a popular fishing spot and may be the most heavily fished pond on Long Island. This is due to the routine stocking of trout that happens twice a year. Massapequa Reservoir is stocked with brown and rainbow trout in the spring and fall which draw crowds of people around these times. Other common fish to catch in the Massapequa Reservoir include Largemouth Bass, Trout, Sunnies, Carp, Catfish, and Pickerel. Local fishers enjoy the easily accessible bodies of water.
Abbey Road, Great Massingham, Norfolk, UK. Originally called Rose & Crown until when it was closed in 2001 and then re-opened in 2006 as the Dabbling Duck.
All photographic images are the exclusive property of Paddy Ballard. The photographs are for web browser viewing only and may not be reproduced, copied, stored, downloaded or altered in any way without prior permission.
Learn how to make paper with this step-by-step tutorial.
Source by babbledabbledo
sharekid.com/how-to-make-paper-babble-dabble-do/
#ShareKid
The Blackberry curve 8520 cell phone nestled in the right hand thermal jacket pocket that Ray was wearing to ward off the early morning March chill, buzzed seductively against his flesh and bones. He had dabbled with various settings from discreet buzzing to loud and obnoxious audible alert, with a variety of ringtones from the faintly amusing to the wildly irritating, and had settled on a subtle blending of the two extremes. Three silent buzzes followed by a simulated old fashioned telephone ring, reminiscent of the old days of the seventies and episodes of 'The Sweeney' with large numerical dials and deeply recessed earpieces as BT advertisements numbed the public into submission at every commercial break. By the second ring, Ray had halted where he stood, stepping away from the plastic sheeting to take the call, and muttering something under his breath about never a moments peace with this modern day technology.
Ray's cold fingers fumbled for the device deeply nestled in the warmth of his pocket, pulling the phone out and raising it into the light of the day, squinting eyes too vane to allow the positioning of spectacles, fighting hard as his right arm pushed the silicon dial awash with LED symbols and flashing icons away just far enough to be able to read the black lettered information. An incoming text. How Ray hated this new fangled technology with giggle bytes and data rivers or some such gobbledegook jargon that jumbled his brain and addled his mind, a man still grappling with the concept of the common abacus, and round teabags let alone state of the art LCD crystal displays and tiny contracptions with more computing power than the first manned space shuttles!
By the time that he had pressed the button that displayed the wording of the incoming text, eyes struggling to comprehend the succinct string of words that made up the sentence, Ray knew that his life was over. Perhaps with just a faint hint of relief, he sighed deeply and expelled the air, his body posture sinking somewhat where he stood. Sometimes short and sweet is far more preferable to elongated and protracted instances, none more so than in this case, as the penny dropped and an icy chill crept deliciously around Ray's spine like a hypodermic infusion of some exotic and debilitating chemical compound that rendered him all but paralysed, motionless with a macabre understanding of his imminent fate. In his heart he knew that this day would surely come, though the timing was a little off as, ever the perfectionist, he pondered how he had not yet quite completed his job. Oh for a few more hours, and the personal satisfaction of finishing what he but a few days earlier, begun.
He'd had a good run, after all, though it had certainly been anything other than easy. Six years under the police protection system, a new passport and identity for him and Margaret, and their two children, uprooted with a change of scenery and location, a new car and a pack of lies told to friends and relatives who could never be contacted again, each and every day of his life waking up and thanking his lucky stars to still be alive and kicking, taking their toll on flesh and blood. Old before his time, the colour now long since vacating the roots of his hair and lines appearing that had never been present before the trial and convictions that lead to his hasty retreat, he had lived with the reality of his actions and the fear of reprisals like a black cloud hanging over his being, awaiting the arrival of the Grim Reaper who now, finally, it seemed had shown his face in public. Thoughts of awakening in bloodstained cotton sheets to a severed horses head or ambush on a deserted road by machine toting hoodlums had long since gone, but the real and palpable presence of a payback of sorts had always haunted him as he strived to offer his uprooted family some semblance of normality in their newly formed lives. Behind him stood the anonymous man, cell phone in right hand, placed back into his jacket pocket as his right hand reached inside his left breast pocket to grip the holstered Beretta nine millimetre pistol with it's YMM Wraith QD silencer neatly screwed in place. An excellent choice for any assassin of worth and merit, noted for it's feel and usability, trustworthy and accurate at close range. And after all, this was to be a most personal and close range assassination.
Ray pressed the 'OK' button on his phone, calmly pressing the back arrow until the screen had returned to it's home page and managing a wry smile before turning around to face the short man in the dark overcoat who walked three strides towards him whilst reaching into his pocket. Not quite the mysterious gangster with the strangely alluring features that Ray had imagined might end his days. The man was slightly grubby, stocky build with a head and neck that were indecipherable from one another, short hair and piggy eyes that seemed dark and sullen. There was a slight nervous tick in his left eye, the base of the eye lid flicking continuously, causing the surrounding facial skin to wrinkle somewhat before flinching back into place. Great, thought Ray to himself as his life clock slipped effortlessly down, killed by the runt of the assassin's litter!
" Not the face. Please. My family will want to pay their respects ", Ray calmly spoke, looking directly into the cold and dark relentless brown eyes of the man who would terminate his very existence within the next few seconds. The killer was, sadly for his victim as conservative with his sentiment as he was with the fripperies of conversation. There is so much work involved in facial reconstructing, rebuilding a smashed and broken face being intrinsically based upon the recognition of the fact that there exists a safe and predictable correlation between the skull and overlaying soft tissue. Sadly in Rays case, this would not be so. Tissue depth markers at recognised anatomical points on the skull, artists sketches from a treasured family portrait, Pathologist, Anthropologist, Odontologist and forensic input and records, acetate sheets and overlays, you know, it really is quite a complex task to recreate a face so that it is fit to view by the deceased's loved ones, and so little respect is paid to the role of the morticians who lovingly recreate with smoke and mirrors the likeness of those that we so loved and cared for when their facial features were their own with purity and grace. It's also funny what goes through the mind of a man who is about to meet his maker, you know. Not memories of childhood, a Mothers love, family life and the smiles of the children who loved him so, no, not so in this case. Ray sucked in a vast lungful of the morning air and contemplated on the mornings work so far. The taste of the glorious bacon butty and luke warm tea from a plastic cup that he'd bought from the roadside café on his way into the city, the smell of the fresh air and his love of the simple things in life as he plied his trade and set up the plastic sheeting prior to repainting the Victorian metal railings on the outside perimeter of the Covent Garden architecture. It was a good day to die, as good as any, better than many.
The bullet that killed Ray took an extraordinary journey through the confines of his skull. You see, most people believe that a metal projectile travelling through the air at great speed, actually around fourteen thousand feet per second in the case of this nine millimetre shell, would simply smash it's way through the flesh and bone of a man's face, exiting through the rear and embedding itself within the cement foundation of the pillared wall behind. But, in reality, the bullet can deviate thanks to the presence of the various layers of cranial matter, hard bone and nervous system, the ricochet principal and, well, the angle of entry I guess. Ray was out of luck with his initial request. The killer smiling and waving his left index finger in front of Rays eyes in a most callous and condescending manner as if to refuse his request before placing the tip of his silencer just an inch from Rays right eye socket.
And therein lies the reason why the projectile took the pathway that it ultimately chose. Proximity to the skull, entry through the eye socket, pathway to the brain and rebounds off the temporal lobe, all played their part as the bullet smashed and tore it's way in a zig zag pattern within Rays head. It did not help that this was a dum-dum bullet, originally conceived by Captain Neville Bertie-Clay way back in the annals of time in Calcutta for big game hunting, and designed to expand upon impact, leaving a mighty big exit wound whilst exacting bloody and cataclysmic carnage within, allowing the big he-man white hunters to stroll up and finish the writing beats off with a foot on their head and arm proudly on hips for that all important photographic portrayal of the moment of the kill. Soft nosed, copper and brass jacket open to the tip, a round that was chosen specifically to illustrate the dangers and perils of informing on people in a position of power and privilege who do not look favourably upon the damning evidence of police informants, Rays own bullet was in itself a tiny and shiny work of art, hand made, solid and dependable. I say bullet, when in fact the one that entered his eye socket and rattled through his skull in fact came with two other accomplices, both fired into his still beating chest as he lay prone and flinching on the ground. Well, if a job is worth doing, as the old saying goes.
And I guess that is the end of Rays tale. Screams of horror as the assassin walked back into the London shadows, his gloved hand separating sim card from main body, dumping the pay-as-you-go cell phone into the nearest garbage bin before stopping for a quick skinny latte and slice and a cinnamon swirl in Starbucks as the screams rang out from passers by somewhere in the distance. An unextraordinary little man who stood up for what he believed to be a just and right pathway to the truth, that ultimately cost him his life and his family their liberty as once more they were ushered in secrecy to yet another location with alternate passports and renewed fear at every knock on the door, every footstep heard behind them as they walked, every passing glance from a stranger in a street. Later that morning the police arrived in their droves, wet behind the ears bobbies on the beat brushed aside by the nonchelant and cavalier mannerisms of seasoned detectives and wannabee side kicks jostling for hierarchy and privileges of rank. Pawing over the evidence amongst the spent cartridge shells and blood and guts they would find Rays cell phone and on it from an source linked back via a network of communications that appeared to come from far overseas, a sinple final message.......
" Alfie sends his warmest regards........ "
.
.
Written March 27th 2011
Photograph taken in central Covent Garden, London, England on March 17th 2011 early morning.
Nikon D700 125mm 1/40s f/6.3 iso200
Nikkor AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 G ED IF VRII. UV filter.
Will be posted on Dabbled.org on Thanksgiving: dabbled.org/2009/11/thanksgiving-creative-cakes-and-sweet...
1. Turkey Cake Pops, 2. Thanksgiving_Turkey_Cake_Stuffing, 3. Thanksgiving Turkey cookie with pop up timer.... POP! Let's EAT!, 4. Thanksgiving Cake, 5. Mmmm Oreo Turkey Cookies, 6. DSC01337, 7. i made cookies!, 8. DSC_5246-Thanksgiving Cake, 9. Pilgrim Pumpkin Cake
Created with fd's Flickr Toys
At UT I dabbled in metal casting and fabrication. For my final I had this idea for a one-man grill. It is kind of lonely but with a sense of humor, something close to independence. The Steak Grill is made of steel and based on measurements from what was a delicious steak. It was some of the most fun I have had working on a school project and I have wanted to get back into a metal shop like that ever since.
The best part is it works. I guess you could only do one side of a T-bone but a couple dogs and a burger is perfect. The Steak Grill has had a few homes over the years and was trapped in a busted car trunk for a while.
Now that the grill is preserved in pictures I would like to try to get the rust off, or at least keep it from getting worse. Even if it was clean I am not sure how to keep it that way and still be able to eat off of it.
The Steak Grill won me an “A” and I have the pictures so maybe it is time for it to retire to rust somewhere permanent with the base buried like it sprouted out of the ground.
For more photos and videos by Mark Lewis visit mlewisphotovideo.com
For more <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/favorites" rel="nofollow">photos </a>and <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/video" rel="nofollow">videos </a>by <a href="mailto:mark@mlewisphotovideo.com" rel="nofollow">Mark Lewis </a>visit <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/home" rel="nofollow">www.mlewisphotovideo.com</a>
...a dabbling duo at Holes Bay, Poole UK
Many of the Teal seen in the South & West of England are continental birds from around the Baltic and Siberia. In Winter, the UK is home to most of the North-west European wintering population, making it an Amber List species.
At UT I dabbled in metal casting and fabrication. For my final I had this idea for a one-man grill. It is kind of lonely but with a sense of humor, something close to independence. The Steak Grill is made of steel and based on measurements from what was a delicious steak. It was some of the most fun I have had working on a school project and I have wanted to get back into a metal shop like that ever since.
The best part is it works. I guess you could only do one side of a T-bone but a couple dogs and a burger is perfect. The Steak Grill has had a few homes over the years and was trapped in a busted car trunk for a while.
Now that the grill is preserved in pictures I would like to try to get the rust off, or at least keep it from getting worse. Even if it was clean I am not sure how to keep it that way and still be able to eat off of it.
The Steak Grill won me an “A” and I have the pictures so maybe it is time for it to retire to rust somewhere permanent with the base buried like it sprouted out of the ground.
For more photos and videos by Mark Lewis visit mlewisphotovideo.com
For more <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/favorites" rel="nofollow">photos </a>and <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/video" rel="nofollow">videos </a>by <a href="mailto:mark@mlewisphotovideo.com" rel="nofollow">Mark Lewis </a>visit <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/home" rel="nofollow">www.mlewisphotovideo.com</a>
Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), a species of "dabbling" ducks, as opposed to '"divers", that breed throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas / Massapequa Preserve, also known as the Peter J. Schmitt Preserve, is 423 acres of land located in the center of Massapequa, an unincorporated Hamlet within the Town of Oyster Bay, beginning at the intersection of Ocean Ave. and Merrick Road. These undeveloped acres of land feature woodlands, lakes, and freshwater wetlands that border Massapequa Creek and stretch for about 4 miles. Massapequa Preserve is the largest passive use park in Nassau County; its beauty is maintained by several volunteer groups and organizations that work to maintain the natural ecosystems in the area. Massapequa Preserve was originally part of the New York City water supply property and was acquired by Nassau County in 1981. Currently, it is being managed by the Nassau County Department of Recreation and Parks. Massapequa Preserve offers multiple small bodies of water to explore, including a reservoir. The Massapequa Reservoir is known to be a popular fishing spot and may be the most heavily fished pond on Long Island. This is due to the routine stocking of trout that happens twice a year. Massapequa Reservoir is stocked with brown and rainbow trout in the spring and fall which draw crowds of people around these times. Other common fish to catch in the Massapequa Reservoir include Largemouth Bass, Trout, Sunnies, Carp, Catfish, and Pickerel. Local fishers enjoy the easily accessible bodies of water.
Of all dabbling drakes, gadwalls are the drabbest but they still make nice wakes.
River Witham, Lincolnshire
Blogged at www.dabbled.org
1. Geek out to the max Cupcakes! iPhone Icons,
2. Rubic's Cube Birthday Cake Love the idea of the m&m's!,
3. Hans Solo encased in carbonite...very clever Star Wars cake!,
4. Motherboard cake - great computer geek idea,
5. Gamer Bride- the bride is apparently 'playing' her wedding cake,
6. Star Trek Wedding Cake - wow, this is an actual classy star trek cake!,
7. Tetris Cake - they have a bunch of how to make it pictures, too,
8. Geek Cake - everyone loves code on a cake, right?,
9. Death Star Cake - now THAT is a great simple idea for doing a Star Wars themed cake!
Created with fd's Flickr Toys.
Early Spring as small shallow wetland open large numbers of dabbling duck and geese species can be seen in the open shallow wetlands. Huron Wetland Management District in east Central South Dakota. Photo: Sandra Uecker\USFWS
He was beautiful but he came a bit too close for me to get all of him in the shot. He was scooping up little bits of food right under the surface.
Male American Wigeon (Anas Americana)
My photos can also be found at kapturedbykala.com
You can't usually see the filtering elements on a duck's bill but you can on this wild Shoveler (Anas clypeata), a male just moulting out of eclipse plumage. Shovelers have an enormous bill, expanded at the tip into a spoon shape. They filter feed in a similar manner to Blue Whales by taking a gulp of water then using their tongue like a syphon to push the water out of the sides. All along the bill edge (top and bottom) are comb-like structures called lamellae that filter out the edible bits from the gulp of water (just like Blue Whales). Most dabbling ducks have between 50 and 70 lamellae on their upper and lower mandibles whereas Shovelers have around 180 on their upper and 220 on their lower mandible, so about four times more than other dabbling ducks (eg Mallard, Pintail, Teal). These lamellae are also noticeably longer in Shovelers. Despite this, the lamellae are not normally visible but unusually they can be clearly seen here (but you may need to view large). It looks to me like there would be more than 180 on the upper mandible but I'll go with what the books tell me. They eat both animal and vegetable matter, but probably eat more water plants than animal matter. The animals they eat includes small water-snails, shrimps, water boatmen, water beetles and even tadpoles occasionally.
The name "Shovelere" was first noted in c1460 but was applied to the Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia) which was becoming increasingly rare in Britain. In 1674 John Ray applied the name to this duck and the name has stuck ever since.
American Black Duck
The American Black Duck (Anas rubripes) is a large dabbling duck. American Black Ducks are similar to mallards in size, and resemble the female mallard in coloration, although the black duck's plumage is darker. It is native to eastern North America and has shown reduction in numbers and increasing hybridization with the more common mallard as that species has spread with man-made habitat changes.
Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge
The Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge is a United States National Wildlife Refuge located in southern New Jersey along the Atlantic coast north of Atlantic City, in Atlantic and Ocean counties. The refuge was created in 1984 out of two existing refuge parcels created to protect tidal wetland and shallow bay habitat for migratory water birds. The Barnegat Division (established in 1967) is located in Ocean County on the inland side of Barnegat Bay. The Brigantine Division (established in 1939) is located approximately 10 miles (16 km) north of Atlantic City along the south bank of the mouth of the Mullica River. The two divisions are separated by approximately 20 miles (32 km). The refuge is located along most active flight paths of the Atlantic Flyway, making it an important link in the network of national wildlife refuges administered nationwide by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Forsythe Refuge is a part of the Hudson River/New York Bight Ecosystem and The New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route. The refuge is named for Edwin B. Forsythe, conservationist Congressman from New Jersey.
Mallards are “dabbling ducks”—they feed in the water by tipping forward and grazing on underwater plants, and almost never dive.
Although the Chestnut Teal occurs at wetlands hundreds of kilometres inland, the species’ strongholds are usually near the coast. It is one of the few species of Australian ducks that can tolerate habitats with highly saline water. They regularly occur in estuaries, inlets, exposed mudflats, coastal lagoons, saltmarsh and evaporation ponds at saltworks. Nevertheless, they also occur at freshwater wetlands. They usually feed at the margins of wetlands, among aquatic vegetation in the shallows or upending in deeper water, or dabbling on recently covered mudflats or sand.
Mallard Duck
The Mallard or Wild Duck is a Dabbling Duck which breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, the Falkland Islands and South Africa. This duck belongs to the subfamily Anatinae of the waterfowl family Anatidae.
The male birds (drakes) have a glossy green head and are grey on wings and belly, while the females have mainly brown-speckled plumage. Mallards live in wetlands, eat water plants and small animals, and are gregarious. This species is the ancestor of most breeds of domestic ducks.
One of the most rare ducks in the world! Photographed at Zealandia, Karori Sanctuary, Wellington, New Zealand.
Family: Anatidae (Dabbling ducks)
Status: endangered endemic
Brown teal is one of three closely related species of teal in New Zealand. The other two being the flightless subantarctic Auckland teal and Campbell Island teal.
Once common throughout New Zealand, habitat destruction, especially swamp drainage and predation, have resulted in brown teal becoming one of our most nationally endangered species of waterfowl. Approximately 1300 birds were surviving nationwide in 1999making it one of the rarest ducks in the world!
Most birds are to be found on Great Barrier Island. There are a few brown teal on Kapiti, Mana, and Tiritiri Matangi Islands, the eastern side of Northland and a new population has recently been established in the Coromandel area. Brown teal are regularly present at the Waikanae Estuary, probably part of the Kapiti Island population.
In the South Island, a few birds survive in Fiordland.
Recognition: About half the size of the common mallard duck, brown teal stand 48cm tall and weigh just over half a kilo as an adult. The male is slightly larger than the female. Brown teal have a warm brown plumage, with dark-brown mottling on the breast. Breeding males have a glossy green head, a narrow white collar, broad green and narrow white bands on the wings and a white flank patch. A distinctive feature of all brown teal is their blue-black bill and the narrow white ring around the eye. Their eyes are brown. Males give a soft whistle, and the female a low quack and growl.
Brown teal are often referred to as bush ducks, since they prefer stream and bushland habitats. They are reluctant flyers and are shallow divers, dabbling just below the surface for food. Their favourite food is invertebrates and they mainly feed in the evening or at night.
Breeding: Most brown teal breed from June to October but are able to breed at almost any time of the year.
They begin breeding at about 2 years of age and can lay clutches of up to 8 eggs. • Brown teal build a bowl-shaped nest near water, under the cover of dense tussocks or ferns, constructed with grasses lined with down. The female incubates the eggs about 30 days while the drake guards the nest - they are strongly territorial during breeding. Chicks fledge at an age of about 2 months. Brown teal pairs generally have stable relationships. The oldest known teal in the wild lived over 6 years.
Brown teal at Karori Sanctuary. 18 brown teal were initially released in 2000 and 2001. Breeding started from late 2002 and good productivity has resulted in increased competition for preferred wetland habitats and, because these habitats are limited in the Sanctuary, losses have occurred as a result.
Supplementary feeding of maize has been largely discontinued since early 2006 to reduce productivity and competition for territories.
Genetic analysis of the population in 2006-2007 should clarify whether or not there has been a loss of genetic diversity and whether additional birds need to be released into the population in future.
Active monitoring over the breeding season was ceased in 200x due to the fact that the population is self-sustaining.
Brown teal are readily seen on the lower and upper lakes. Being forest dwellers as well as water dwellers, some are being regularly seen at the kaka feeders below the upper dam at dusk and also at the southern end of the Faultline Track. The brown teal’s omnivorous diet, restricted annual range and mainly terrestrial lifestyle give it a unique ecological niche among waterfowl, somewhat akin to a wetland rodent, and it serves as a classic example of the influence of selective forces that operated on birds in pre-human New Zealand.
After dabbling at Kaiser's with the GoPro, I checked the wind and it was still in the 20-25mph range. I packed up my gear and started driving, looking for somewhere to fly from during the golden hour before sunset, I drove about 2 blocks from my house when I saw the sign for a mini park. All you see is a steep dirt wall with a small trail going up the center, I'd never been up there but thought I would check it out.
As I'm walking up the dirt wall I almost fall down a few times because the wind is so strong, maybe this was a bad idea..
I reach the top of this mound and it's a secluded green oasis! Beautiful! There's a large Xmas Tree light installation that could snare my kite/string but otherwise this park is looking really good.
I'm so happy to have the Trooper kite with me now, this session would have never happened with my Rokkaku or modified Levitation Delta.
*Taken from a camera suspended from a kite line.
At UT I dabbled in metal casting and fabrication. For my final I had this idea for a one-man grill. It is kind of lonely but with a sense of humor, something close to independence. The Steak Grill is made of steel and based on measurements from what was a delicious steak. It was some of the most fun I have had working on a school project and I have wanted to get back into a metal shop like that ever since.
The best part is it works. I guess you could only do one side of a T-bone but a couple dogs and a burger is perfect. The Steak Grill has had a few homes over the years and was trapped in a busted car trunk for a while.
Now that the grill is preserved in pictures I would like to try to get the rust off, or at least keep it from getting worse. Even if it was clean I am not sure how to keep it that way and still be able to eat off of it.
The Steak Grill won me an “A” and I have the pictures so maybe it is time for it to retire to rust somewhere permanent with the base buried like it sprouted out of the ground.
For more photos and videos by Mark Lewis visit mlewisphotovideo.com
For more <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/favorites" rel="nofollow">photos </a>and <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/video" rel="nofollow">videos </a>by <a href="mailto:mark@mlewisphotovideo.com" rel="nofollow">Mark Lewis </a>visit <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/home" rel="nofollow">www.mlewisphotovideo.com</a>
At UT I dabbled in metal casting and fabrication. For my final I had this idea for a one-man grill. It is kind of lonely but with a sense of humor, something close to independence. The Steak Grill is made of steel and based on measurements from what was a delicious steak. It was some of the most fun I have had working on a school project and I have wanted to get back into a metal shop like that ever since.
The best part is it works. I guess you could only do one side of a T-bone but a couple dogs and a burger is perfect. The Steak Grill has had a few homes over the years and was trapped in a busted car trunk for a while.
Now that the grill is preserved in pictures I would like to try to get the rust off, or at least keep it from getting worse. Even if it was clean I am not sure how to keep it that way and still be able to eat off of it.
The Steak Grill won me an “A” and I have the pictures so maybe it is time for it to retire to rust somewhere permanent with the base buried like it sprouted out of the ground.
For more photos and videos by Mark Lewis visit mlewisphotovideo.com
For more <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/favorites" rel="nofollow">photos </a>and <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/video" rel="nofollow">videos </a>by <a href="mailto:mark@mlewisphotovideo.com" rel="nofollow">Mark Lewis </a>visit <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/home" rel="nofollow">www.mlewisphotovideo.com</a>
All three were my babysitters when I was little. The one on the left, Heidi, turned 50, and Suzie and Anita, to her right are her younger sisters. Mostly we had Suzie and Anita when we were little.. but all three of them had long hair then, and we would spend hours brushing it when one of them would come over.
At UT I dabbled in metal casting and fabrication. For my final I had this idea for a one-man grill. It is kind of lonely but with a sense of humor, something close to independence. The Steak Grill is made of steel and based on measurements from what was a delicious steak. It was some of the most fun I have had working on a school project and I have wanted to get back into a metal shop like that ever since.
The best part is it works. I guess you could only do one side of a T-bone but a couple dogs and a burger is perfect. The Steak Grill has had a few homes over the years and was trapped in a busted car trunk for a while.
Now that the grill is preserved in pictures I would like to try to get the rust off, or at least keep it from getting worse. Even if it was clean I am not sure how to keep it that way and still be able to eat off of it.
The Steak Grill won me an “A” and I have the pictures so maybe it is time for it to retire to rust somewhere permanent with the base buried like it sprouted out of the ground.
For more photos and videos by Mark Lewis visit mlewisphotovideo.com
For more <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/favorites" rel="nofollow">photos </a>and <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/video" rel="nofollow">videos </a>by <a href="mailto:mark@mlewisphotovideo.com" rel="nofollow">Mark Lewis </a>visit <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/home" rel="nofollow">www.mlewisphotovideo.com</a>
After dabbling at Kaiser's with the GoPro, I checked the wind and it was still in the 20-25mph range. I packed up my gear and started driving, looking for somewhere to fly from during the golden hour before sunset, I drove about 2 blocks from my house when I saw the sign for a mini park. All you see is a steep dirt wall with a small trail going up the center, I'd never been up there but thought I would check it out.
As I'm walking up the dirt wall I almost fall down a few times because the wind is so strong, maybe this was a bad idea..
I reach the top of this mound and it's a secluded green oasis! Beautiful! There's a large Xmas Tree light installation that could snare my kite/string but otherwise this park is looking really good.
I'm so happy to have the Trooper kite with me now, this session would have never happened with my Rokkaku or modified Levitation Delta.
*Taken from a camera suspended from a kite line.