The USB Wifi receiver at the top of the "pole" protected by its plastic bag and secured using cable ties.

146. - The External Oblique Muscles.

 

Original photograph taken with a Polaroid SX-70 Alpha1 SE using Impossible Project PX680 First Flush instant film.

 

Emulsion transfer onto heavyweight matt laser print of a scan from Gray's Anatomy 1st edition reprint.

 

See the full series here

 

Had some trouble with this, mostly due to the age of the film I think, so contrast has been slightly boosted after scanning.

External shot of AK1, showing the livery. The P13 bogies have yet to arrive. Hillside workshops. 24 March, 2011.

External entrance to boys locker room.

External view of Maclay Residences.

 

Image Disclaimer - Please note that all of the images shown are for illustrative purposes only. The rooms pictured are not necessarily typical of the accommodation available at Maclay Residences, which can vary in terms of size, configuration, and finish.

Detail of the bottom of the ariel showing how it was cut and bent to make an effective hook for Ernest's hopper windows.

Note also the way the USB extension cable is secured using cable ties.

External feedback often arises from doing something noteworthy to an outside perspective. This form of a feedback loop lacks regularity and consistency and true growth requires regimented self reflection.

--

When it rains in Norway, it fucking pours

External view of Kelvinhaugh Gate.

 

Image Disclaimer - Please note that all of the images shown are for illustrative purposes only. The rooms pictured are not necessarily typical of the accommodation available at Kelvinhaugh Gate, which can vary in terms of size, configuration, and finish.

Ethiopia

A bokeh shot of my Apple Wireless Keyboard sitting on my desk. In the background you can see my two 1TB External HDs.

.

 

A project for renovation of a property in Cuffley. Visit : www.allweathercoating.co.uk/case-studies/cuffley-2/

The Goldoni Theater is the oldest and still existing theater in Venice, as well as the fourth most ancient one throughout the city (after the Michiel Theater, the Tron Theater -1581- and the San Moisé Theater -1613). It was built by the Vendramin family in 1622 and was called by their name. The opening ceremony of the theater, also named San Salvador and San Luca Theater, took place in the Autumn of the same year with a performance of the acting company “Gli Accesi”.

For the very first 30 years only comedies were performed. In 1653 the theater was destroyed by a violent fire; the new owners, Andrea and Zanetta Vendramin decided to rebuild it inside the old undamaged walls and to entrust repairs to external managers, which were the only beneficiaries of the funds but were obliged to pay out to the Vendramin family an average annual income of 1.000 ducats and to incur all the expenses.

Andrea and Zanetta were the owners for more than 40 years and kept on subcontracting to external entrepreneurs; one of the most important ones worth to be mentioned is Gaspare Torelli, an outstanding figure within the Venetian cultural panorama in those times. Librettist, costume designer and set designer if needed, Torelli signed his first contract with the Vendramin family in 1681 and it was renewed two times (this had never occurred before). In those few years he was able to leave an important mark at all levels (scheduling and productions, structural improvements, etc.). He renovated and enlarged theater and stage and renewed the equipment so as to offer an excellent theatrical seasons to the Venetian public.

 

The success obtained by the dynamic presence of Gaspare Torelli was obstructed by the Grimani family, who was the owner of three theaters (San Samuele Theater, SS. Giovanni e Paolo and San Giovanni Grisostomo). In 1687 Torelli renewed his commitment to the Vendramins for ten years more; the Grimanis were worried about the steady success of the contending theater and so they convinced or forced the manager to accept the movement to the Parma Court proposed by the Farneses and to sublet to them the Vendramins’ contract and the ownership of some reserved loges at the San Salvador Theater. It was certainly an interference going beyond legal limits and it could not be accepted by the Vendramin family. After Andrea’s death in 1685, indeed, Zanetta and her sons Alvise, Francesco, Andrea and Antonio took legal action, were successful and in 1869 obtained the management of the theater again. The two families who owned the Venetian theaters ended to be in competition with each other at the beginning of the 18th century; in 1703 they came to terms (for the first time in their business about the theater) and signed a contract which regulated, for five years, the performances of the San Samuele Theater and the San Salvador Theater, which started to be more and more often named as San Luca Theater in documents. At the end of the preset period, the contract was not renewed. Antonio and Francesco Vendramin, who took over from Alvise, kept on managing the theater independently until the season 1752-1753 which was the turning point thanks to the employment of Carlo Goldoni in the San Luca Theater.

 

The first time Goldoni showed himself in a Venetian theater was in 1734, and since then he went on being appointed by the Grimani family to hold this job at the San Samuele Theater. Then he moved to the Sant’Angelo Theater where the stage management was Girolamo Medebach and where he stayed (writing and staging 40 comedies )until the expiry date of the contract in 1753. Due to personal conflicts with Medebach, too, Goldoni left the Sant’Angelo Theater and met the Vendramins who seized the moment and offered the well known Goldoni a very favorable contract based on making a deal directly with the owner and giving him his comedies which should have been immediately paid before their reading. The trust in Goldoni’s ability to produce successful and appealing comedies was absolute. This is why his incomes had almost doubled but the most relevant fact was that he was free to get his works printed wherever and by whichever editor he liked.

Thanks to this cultural and social attitude of the whole Venetian city and of its notables, Carlo Goldoni could start that Theater reform which let him create everlasting works and characters that have always been performed on all the stages and in every language all over the world. As a matter of fact comedies like Il Campiello, Gl’innamorati and I Rusteghi date back to that time. The last season passed by Goldoni at the San Luca Theater in the year 1761 was particularly flourishing and took to produce comedies like La trilogia della villeggiatura, Sior Todero brontolon, Le baruffe chiozzotte and Una delle ultime sere di carnovale. When Carlo Goldoni left to Paris, Francesco Vendramin kept on managing the theater like a business up to the time when, in 1775, the Security Committee of the Local Authority decided that the theater was not safe and needed a drastic restoration. It was also due to the fact that the way of managing the theater by the Vendramins had stopped the profitable rental system which obliged the lessees not only to organize the shows but also to maintain and renovate the theater facility, and the San Carlo Theater was an old and unsafe building at that moment. In Autumn 1776 the theater was reopened and its activity started again with the company of Antonio Sacchi but the audience didn’t immediately meet with the Vendramins’ expectations, maybe also because during the restoration the theater had come under some structural changes and extensions, like the entrance located in Calle Berizi (the present Calle del Teatro), a new foyer and some more loges (seventeen were totally added, five of which at the first order or “pepiano” and four at each of the three following orders of loges).

The theater activity went on at a mean level until the fall of the “Serenissima” Republic in 1797, also because of the financial difficulties which the Vendramin family was drawn into. In 1798, on the 18th of January, the Austrians came into possession of Venice, according to the Campoformio Treaty which decreed that Napoleon gave Venice to Austria.

 

During the short term of the French domination, in 1807 the Ministry of Interior reduced the city theaters, that could only be used proportionally to the population density. The Venetian theaters were reduced to four and the San Luca one was closed. It was a large, centrally located theater, whose static conditions were not worse than the other ones, so we can suppose within reason that its closure depended above all on political motivations, as the Vendramins were suspected to sympathize with the Austrians.

In 1815, when the Austrians came again, an imperial decree gave back to the San Luca Theater the possibility to be reopened. It happened officially in 1817 following a radical structural renovation.

Specific attention was paid both to the maintenance of the theater and its amenities and to the renovation of the theater lighting and scenery equipments, also because there had always been a high and urgent competition with the other Venetian theaters, especially with the new born La Fenice.

In 1833 the foyer was enlarged, the stage was lengthened and the theater curve was adjusted; on the 28th of September the ancient Theater of the Vendramins at San Luca changed its name into Apollo Theater.

In the night between the 12th and the 13th of December 1836 La Fenice Theater was destroyed by a very aggressive fire, so the Vendramins agreed to transfer the shows, which had already been made ready for the imminent Carnival, to the Apollo Theater. That season was outstanding indeed and the opera Pia de’ Tolomei by Gaetano Donizetti was performed the first time. There was no program reduction, except for a ballet which could not be performed because of the delimited size of the stage.

Due to the Carnival and in order to give more convenience to the spectators coming from La Fenice Theater, Domenico Vendramin made a suitable landing place prepared on the Carbon bank that was next to a covered street which led directly to the door of the theater hall.

Unfortunately in 1844, when he was again thinking about a new and relevant renovation, Domenico Vendramin died prematurely and so his widow, Regina de Marchi, took on the management of the theater; her first aim was to see that her husband’s plan would come true. The Apollo Theater was the first one in Italy to be equipped with gas illumination and to be completely illuminated. In Spring 1853 the painter Ferrari Bravo was given the task to renovate the theater: it was a significant restoration in a flowered neo gothic style, which gave the Apollo Theater the new feature that distinguished it until its end.

The second half of the 19th century was a very particular and difficult period; Regina de Marchi was an intelligent woman with a strong personality and managed the theater for almost forty years. She faced in a positive way all the problems caused by historical facts to a public and well-known place like an old local theater. She hosted the celebrations for the 1848 irredentist revolt and the short free time of the new republic and faced in a dignified way the Radetzky’s oppressive regime, the disappointment of the second independence war, censure and financial difficulties, but she was still there to manage the theater when the Italian troops entered Venice on the 19th of October, in 1866.

Starting from this date the Apollo Theater activity began again and lasted for about ten years more. It’s worth to be remembered the successful activity of the new “venetian” company by Angelo Moro Lin and its writer and poet Giacinto Gallina with his comedies Le barufe in famegia and La famegia in rovina.

In 1874 another restoration work led to remove dirt from decorations and to reinforce basic structures. At the time there were five orders of balconies and 162 loges; the parterre had 560 seats and a total capacity of 1.250 seats with three exits to the street (three in the parterre, one of which towards the foyer and the other two next to the orchestra); on the side of the left scene one more exit was beneath balconies (exit shared with the Carbon under portico, a passage still used nowadays to the scenery transfer). Something worthy of note is that the second line of balconies on the right was directly joined to the owner’s home. A relevant work converted the last order of loges into a gallery.

 

In 1875 the actor Angelo Moro Lin and Regina de Marchi decided together to entitle the ancient San Luca Theater to Carlo Goldoni. It was obviously not only a question of name, but firstly in reference to a more pertinent “comic” characterization in honor of the great playwright and then a worthy homage to one of the most eminent sons of the city of Venice. In the evening of the 26th of February, 1875, a day after the anniversary of Goldoni’s birth (it was necessary to postpone the ceremony until one day later because of an over-the-top snowfall), the Apollo Theater died and the Carlo Goldoni Theater was born. A bust by the sculptor Soranzo, which is still present in the theater foyer, and given by the Prince Giovannelli, was shown. The ceremony was touching and Moro Lin, surrounded by his actors, made a successful speech in Venetian dialect and expressed the wish that a suitable monument would have been erected to the most famous poet of the city. All the company (who distinguished themselves as “goldonian company”) performed the comedy Una delle ultime sere di Carnovale, that is the last comedy written by Goldoni before leaving Venice indefinitely and by which he could, in some way and in a theater to him entitled, come back.

In 1880 Regina de Marchi, widow of the last member of the Vendramins, died and the grandniece Chiara Ciotto got the ownership of the theater, together with her husband Pietro Marigonda who became its director. When Pietro’s son, Antonio Marigonda, was the owner, the Goldoni Theater appeared to have some urban problems and needed some external refurbishment: these problems were solved by demolishing some crumbling buildings and by broadening the Calle del Teatro.

The façade of the theater was not adequate and some engineers were charged with planning a new one. The project was approved in May, 1909, and the construction was completed in only four months. This was the first, real façade of the ancient Vendramin Theater, which the contemporaries didn’t appreciate and which was named “railway style” façade.

Beyond the aesthetic opinion about the new façade, these years were very important for the theater activity because a clear commitment of redevelopment was focused on the very careful attention to the settlement of the artistic selection. All the best Italian companies and some foreign ones, too, referred to the Goldoni Theater and for this reason a statistical survey relating to the 1909 season about the box office takings placed Venice immediately after Milan and Rome.

 

After the Great War there was a remarkable relaunch of the theater activity and the Venetian audience never missed the dates with the great companies of that time. In 1923 the theater celebrated the fourth century of its existence, but the preceding year another exceptional event had inserted the Goldoni Theater in all the artistic and elite news sections of that time: Eleonora Duse had made a comeback to Venice twenty years later. In March 1922 (scarcely two years before her death) she acted two extraordinary plays: La donna del mare by Ibsen and La porta chiusa by Marco Praga.

The unexpected death of Antonio Marigonda caused a sudden stop in this very good time of artistic growth that led to a quick downfall of the activity until the closure of the theater. Piero and Andrea, Pietro Marigonda’s sons, managed the theater for a short time, till the year 1937 , when the ownership changed again and the theater was purchased by the Lawyer Giacomo Baldissera baron Treves de’ Bonfili, and the management was entrusted to ICSA (Imprese Cinematografiche Spettacoli e Affini: cinema, performances and similar Companies). The last ten years of the Goldoni Theater were not significant because of a programming of popular entertainment categories like the operetta and the revue. It is important to note that the Venetian audience took position against and was successful in avoiding the transformation of the Goldoni Theater into a movie theater, something that occurred to other ones, like the Rossini (ex San Benedetto Theater) and the Malibran (ex San Giovanni Grisostomo Theater).

During the painful years of the Second World War, the theater went on operating, also because Venice hosted the Ministry of Popular Culture and therefore the General Management Office for Performance. On the 15th of June, 1947, the theater was considered unusable and was permanently closed because of the unsafe structural conditions which needed an almost total rebuilding. That Summer in 1947 nobody could have never imagined that the old Goldoni Theater would go on being closed for such a long time and nobody could have supposed such a rough and many times changed path, the endless patience of Venetian people and the way of proceeding similar to a serialized novel with a lot of coups de théatre. The first ten years spent without an agreement between the last owner, the Lawyer Baldissera (who could not or did not want to be responsible of the necessary works), and the Municipal Administration that had decreed the building was a community benefit (so as to avoid a possible speculative use) and aimed at its expropriation. On the 5th of October, 1957, the Municipal Administration acquired the building from the Lawyer Baldissera but, at that point, the main problem was to find the necessary money to proceed.

The impasse seemed to break through by means of a project by the Fondazione Giorgio, but it had no follow-up. Two more years spent before the approval by the High Council for Public Works of a new project which was about restoration, not total renovation: it was considered a partial demolition of the building and the preservation of some structures.

At that time, there were also disputes between conservatives (who supported the theory “just like it was, just where it was”) and innovators (who were in favor of a modern structural work). The project seemed to be able to have a positive follow up and the reopening of the theater was expected, with a certain overoptimism, to occur in 1963. But in May 1962 the works were stopped because of legal disputes with the owners of the neighboring buildings. Two more years spent before a new project was approved, in September 1964. However, only in Summer 1969 the works started: a completely new building was constructed and its external structures were finished in 1973. The works could have been finished even that same year if new disputes between conservatives and innovators would not delay it. It was finally reached a compromise: to maintain the interior with the preceding distinctive features, although with some changes (four orders of loges and a gallery, instead of five orders of only loges and a raised parterre, with a consequent reduction of seats) and to construct a completely new exterior.

Finally, on the 22nd of April, 1979, with a total expense of almost three and a half milliards Lire, the theater was reopened, nineteen years later with respect to the first project, twenty nine years after the takeover by the Municipality and thirty two years after its closure. The opening performance was one of Carlo Goldoni’s masterpieces: La locandiera with Giancarlo Cobelli as a director and Carla Gravina as the leading character, together with Gabriele Ferzetti. The performance was brought touring for three years and a TV adaptation was produced, too, which can be still nowadays be seen by a DVD player.

The Municipality of Venice managed the theater for more than ten years, entrusting the conduction to various directors (among which an unforgettable person like Giorgio Gaber), until 1992, when its management was entrusted to the Teatro Stabile del Veneto, an association of which also the Giuseppe Verdi Theater of Padua is a part and that is still conducting the Goldoni Theater.

My own drawing of what I saw at: skyscraperinc.com/how-we-innovate/

 

Essentially, driving inovation can be done from within (internal) or by "hiring" external groups and entities to do that.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!

  

Some Background:

During the 1950s, Hindustan Aircraft Limited (HAL) had developed and produced several types of trainer aircraft, such as the HAL HT-2. However, elements within the firm were eager to expand into the then-new realm of supersonic fighter aircraft. Around the same time, the Indian government was in the process of formulating a new Air Staff Requirement for a Mach 2-capable combat aircraft to equip the Indian Air Force (IAF). However, as HAL lacked the necessary experience in both developing and manufacturing frontline combat fighters, it was clear that external guidance would be invaluable; this assistance was embodied by Kurt Tank.

 

In 1956, HAL formally began design work on the supersonic fighter project. The Indian government, led by Jawaharlal Nehru, authorized the development of the aircraft, stating that it would aid in the development of a modern aircraft industry in India. The first phase of the project sought to develop an airframe suitable for travelling at supersonic speeds, and able to effectively perform combat missions as a fighter aircraft, while the second phase sought to domestically design and produce an engine capable of propelling the aircraft. Early on, there was an explicit adherence to satisfying the IAF's requirements for a capable fighter bomber; attributes such as a twin-engine configuration and a speed of Mach 1.4 to 1.5 were quickly emphasized, and this led to the HF-24 Marut.

 

On 24 June 1961, the first prototype Marut conducted its maiden flight. It was powered by the same Bristol Siddeley Orpheus 703 turbojets that had powered the Folland Gnat, also being manufactured by HAL at that time. On 1 April 1967, the first production Marut was delivered to the IAF. While originally intended only as an interim measure during testing, HAL decided to power production Maruts with a pair of unreheated Orpheus 703s, meaning the aircraft could not attain supersonic speed. Although originally conceived to operate around Mach 2 the Marut in fact was barely capable of reaching Mach 1 due to the lack of suitably powerful engines.

 

The IAF were reluctant to procure a fighter aircraft only marginally superior to its existing fleet of British-built Hawker Hunters. However, in 1961, the Indian Government decided to procure the Marut, nevertheless, but only 147 aircraft, including 18 two-seat trainers, were completed out of a planned 214. Just after the decision to build the lukewarm Marut, the development of a more advanced aircraft with the desired supersonic performance was initiated.

 

This enterprise started star-crossed, though: after the Indian Government conducted its first nuclear tests at Pokhran, international pressure prevented the import of better engines of Western origin, or at times, even spares for the Orpheus engines, so that the Marut never realized its full potential due to insufficient power, and it was relatively obsolescent by the time it reached production.

Due to these restrictions India looked for other sources for supersonic aircraft and eventually settled upon the MiG-21 F-13 from the Soviet Union, which entered service in 1964. While fast and agile, the Fishbed was only a short-range daylight interceptor. It lacked proper range for escort missions and air space patrols, and it had no radar that enabled it to conduct all-weather interceptions. To fill this operational gap, the new indigenous HF-26 project was launched around the same time.

 

For the nascent Indian aircraft industry, HF-26 had a demanding requirements specification: the aircraft was to achieve Mach 2 top speed at high altitude and carry a radar with a guided missile armament that allowed interceptions in any weather, day and night. The powerplant question was left open, but it was clear from the start that a Soviet engine would be needed, since an indigenous development of a suitable powerplant would take much too long and block vital resources, and western alternatives were out of reach. The mission profile and the performance requirements quickly defined the planned aircraft’s layout: To fit a radar, the air intakes with movable ramps to feed the engines were placed on the fuselage flanks. To make sure the aircraft would fulfill its high-performance demands, it was right from the outset powered by two engines, and it was decided to give it delta wings, a popular design among high-speed aircraft of the time – exemplified by the highly successful Dassault Mirage III (which was to be delivered to Pakistan in 1967). With two engines, the HF-26 would be a heavier aircraft than the Mirage III, though, and it was planned to operate the aircraft from semi-prepared airfields, so that it would receive a robust landing gear with low-pressure tires and a brake parachute.

 

In 1962 India was able to negotiate the delivery of Tumansky RD-9 turbojet engines from the Soviet Union, even though no afterburner was part of the deal – this had to be indigenously developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). However, this meant that the afterburner could be tailored to the HF-26, and this task would provide HAL with valuable engineering experience, too.

Now knowing the powerplant, HAL created a single-seater airframe around it, a rather robust design that superficially reminded of the French Mirage III, but there were fundamental differences. The HF-26 had boxy air intakes with movable ramps to control the airflow to the two engines and a relatively wide fuselage to hold them and most of the fuel in tanks between the air ducts behind the cockpit. The aircraft had a single swept fin and a rather small mid-positioned delta-wing with a 60° sweep. The pilot sat under a tight canopy that offered - similar to the Mirage III - only limited all-round vision.

The HF-26's conical nose radome covered an antenna for a ‘Garud’ interception radar – which was in fact a downgraded Soviet ‘Oryol' (Eagle; NATO reporting name 'Skip Spin') system that guided the HF-26’s main armament, a pair of semi-active radar homing (SARH) ‚Saanp’ missiles.

 

The Saanp missile was developed specifically for the HF-26 in India but used many components of Soviet origin, too, so that they were compatible with the radar. In performance, the Saanp was comparable with the French Matra R.530 air-to-air missile, even though the aerodynamic layout was reversed, with steering fins at the front end, right behind the SARH seaker head - overall the missile reminded of an enlarged AIM-4 Falcon. The missile weighed 180 kg and had a length of 3.5 m. Power came from a two-stage solid rocket that offered a maximum thrust of 80 kN for 2.7 s during the launch phase plus 6.5 s cruise. Maximum speed was Mach 2.7 and operational range was 1.5 to 20 km (0.9 to 12.5 miles). Two of these missiles could be carried on the main wing hardpoints in front of the landing gear wells. Alternatively, infrared-guided R-3 (AA-2 ‘Atoll’) short-range AAMs could be carried by the HF-26, too, and typically two of these were carried on the outer underwing hardpoints, which were plumbed to accept drop tanks (typically supersonic PTB-490s that were carried by the IAF's MiG-21s, too) . Initially, no internal gun was envisioned, as the HF-26 was supposed to be a pure high-speed/high-altitude interceptor that would not engage in dogfights. Two more hardpoints under the fuselage were plumbed, too, for a total of six external stations.

 

Due to its wing planform, the HF-26 was soon aptly called “Teer” (= Arrow), and with Soviet help the first prototype was rolled out in early 1964 and presented to the public. The first flight, however, would take place almost a year later in January 1965, due to many technical problems, and these were soon complemented by aerodynamic problems. The original delta-winged HF-26 had poor take-off and landing characteristics, and directional stability was weak, too. While a second prototype was under construction in April 1965 the first aircraft was lost after it had entered a spin from which the pilot could not escape – the aircraft crashed and its pilot was killed during the attempt to eject.

 

After this loss HAL investigated an enlarged fin and a modified wing design with deeper wingtips with lower sweep, which increased wing area and improved low speed handling, too. Furthermore, the fuselage shape had to be modified, too, to reduce supersonic drag, and a more pronounced area ruling was introduced. The indigenous afterburner for the RD-9 engines was unstable and troublesome, too.

It took until 1968 and three more flying prototypes (plus two static airframes) to refine the Teer for serial production service introduction. In this highly modified form, the aircraft was re-designated HF-26M and the first machines were delivered to IAF No. 3 Squadron in late 1969. However, it would take several months until a fully operational status could be achieved. By that time, it was already clear that the Teer, much like the HF-24 Marut before, could not live up to its expectations and was at the brink of becoming obsolete as it entered service. The RD-9 was not a modern engine anymore, and despite its indigenous afterburner – which turned out not only to be chronically unreliable but also to be very thirsty when engaged – the Teer had a disappointing performance: The fighter only achieved a top speed of Mach 1.6 at full power, and with full external load it hardly broke the wall of sound in level flight. Its main armament, the Saanp AAM, also turned out to be unreliable even under ideal conditions.

 

However, the HF-26M came just in time to take part in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and was, despite its weaknesses, extensively used – even though not necessarily in its intended role. High-flying slow bombers were not fielded during the conflict, and the Teer remained, despite its on-board radar, heavily dependent on ground control interception (GCI) to vector its pilot onto targets coming in at medium and even low altitude. The HF-26M had no capability against low-flying aircraft either, so that pilots had to engage incoming, low-flying enemy aircraft after visual identification – a task the IAF’s nimble MiG-21s were much better suited for. Escorts and air cover missions for fighter-bombers were flown, too, but the HF-26M’s limited range only made it a suitable companion for the equally short-legged Su-7s. The IAF Canberras were frequently deployed on longer range missions, but the HF-26Ms simply could not follow them all the time; for a sufficient range the Teer had to carry four drop tanks, what increased drag and only left the outer pair of underwing hardpoints (which were not plumbed) free for a pair of AA-2 missiles. With the imminent danger of aerial close range combat, though, During the conflict with Pakistan, most HF-26M's were retrofitted with rear-view mirrors in their canopies to improve the pilot's field of view, and a passive IR sensor was added in a small fairing under the nose to improve the aircraft's all-weather capabilities and avoid active radar emissions that would warn potential prey too early.

 

The lack of an internal gun turned out to be another great weakness of the Teer, and this was only lightly mended through the use of external gun pods. Two of these cigar-shaped pods that resembled the Soviet UPK-23 pod could be carried on the two ventral pylons, and each contained a 23 mm Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23L autocannon of Soviet origin with 200 rounds. Technically these pods were very similar to the conformal GP-9 pods carried by the IAF MiG-21FLs. While the gun pods considerably improved the HF-26M’s firepower and versatility, the pods were draggy, blocked valuable hardpoints (from extra fuel) and their recoil tended to damage the pylons as well as the underlying aircraft structure, so that they were only commissioned to be used in an emergency.

 

However, beyond air-to-air weapons, the HF-26M could also carry ordnance of up to 1.000 kg (2.207 lb) on the ventral and inner wing hardpoints and up to 500 kg (1.100 lb) on the other pair of wing hardpoints, including iron bombs and/or unguided missile pods. However, the limited field of view from the cockpit over the radome as well as the relatively high wing loading did not recommend the aircraft for ground attack missions – even though these frequently happened during the conflict with Pakistan. For these tactical missions, many HF-26Ms lost their original overall natural metal finish and instead received camouflage paint schemes on squadron level, resulting in individual and sometimes even spectacular liveries. Most notable examples were the Teer fighters of No. 1 Squadron (The Tigers), which sported various camouflage adaptations of the unit’s eponym.

 

Despite its many deficiencies, the HF-26M became heavily involved in the Indo-Pakistan conflict. As the Indian Army tightened its grip in East Pakistan, the Indian Air Force continued with its attacks against Pakistan as the campaign developed into a series of daylight anti-airfield, anti-radar, and close-support attacks by fighter jets, with night attacks against airfields and strategic targets by Canberras and An-12s, while Pakistan responded with similar night attacks with its B-57s and C-130s.

The PAF deployed its F-6s mainly on defensive combat air patrol missions over their own bases, leaving the PAF unable to conduct effective offensive operations.  Sporadic raids by the IAF continued against PAF forward air bases in Pakistan until the end of the war, and interdiction and close-support operations were maintained. One of the most successful air raids by India into West Pakistan happened on 8 December 1971, when Indian Hunter aircraft from the Pathankot-based 20 Squadron, attacked the Pakistani base in Murid and destroyed 5 F-86 aircraft on the ground.

The PAF played a more limited role in the operations, even though they were reinforced by Mirages from an unidentified Middle Eastern ally (whose identity remains unknown). The IAF was able to conduct a wide range of missions – troop support; air combat; deep penetration strikes; para-dropping behind enemy lines; feints to draw enemy fighters away from the actual target; bombing and reconnaissance. India flew 1,978 sorties in the East and about 4,000 in Pakistan, while the PAF flew about 30 and 2,840 at the respective fronts.  More than 80 percent of IAF sorties were close-support and interdiction and about 45 IAF aircraft were lost, including three HF-26Ms. Pakistan lost 60 to 75 aircraft, not including any F-86s, Mirage IIIs, or the six Jordanian F-104s which failed to return to their donors. The imbalance in air losses was explained by the IAF's considerably higher sortie rate and its emphasis on ground-attack missions. The PAF, which was solely focused on air combat, was reluctant to oppose these massive attacks and rather took refuge at Iranian air bases or in concrete bunkers, refusing to offer fights and respective losses.

 

After the war, the HF-26M was officially regarded as outdated, and as license production of the improved MiG-21FL (designated HAL Type 77 and nicknamed “Trishul” = Trident) and later of the MiG-21M (HAL Type 88) was organized in India, the aircraft were quickly retired from frontline units. They kept on serving into the Eighties, though, but now restricted to their original interceptor role. Beyond the upgrades from the Indo-Pakistani War, only a few upgrades were made. For instance, the new R-60 AAM was introduced to the HF-26M and around 1978 small (but fixed) canards were retrofitted to the air intakes behind the cockpit that improved the Teer’s poor slow speed control and high landing speed as well as the aircraft’s overall maneuverability.

A radar upgrade, together with the introduction of better air-to-ai missiles with a higher range and look down/shoot down capability was considered but never carried out. Furthermore, the idea of a true HF-26 2nd generation variant, powered by a pair of Tumansky R-11F-300 afterburner jet engines (from the license-built MiG-21FLs), was dropped, too – even though this powerplant eventually promised to fulfill the Teer’s design promise of Mach 2 top speed. A total of only 82 HF-26s (including thirteen two-seat trainers with a lengthened fuselage and reduced fuel capacity, plus eight prototypes) were built. The last aircraft were retired from IAF service in 1988 and replaced with Mirage 2000 fighters procured from France that were armed with the Matra Super 530 AAM.

  

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Length: 14.97 m (49 ft ½ in)

Wingspan: 9.43 m (30 ft 11 in)

Height: 4.03 m (13 ft 2½ in)

Wing area: 30.6 m² (285 sq ft)

Empty weight: 7,000 kg (15,432 lb)

Gross weight: 10,954 kg (24,149 lb) with full internal fuel

Max takeoff weight: 15,700 kg (34,613 lb) with external stores

 

Powerplant:

2× Tumansky RD-9 afterburning turbojet engines; 29 kN (6,600 lbf) dry thrust each

and 36.78 kN (8,270 lbf) with afterburner

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 1,700 km/h (1,056 mph; 917 kn; Mach 1.6) at 11,000 m (36,000 ft)

1,350 km/h (840 mph, 730 kn; Mach 1.1) at sea level

Combat range: 725 km (450 mi, 391 nmi) with internal fuel only

Ferry range: 1,700 km (1,100 mi, 920 nmi) with four drop tanks

Service ceiling: 18,100 m (59,400 ft)

g limits: +6.5

Time to altitude: 9,145 m (30,003 ft) in 1 minute 30 seconds

Wing loading: 555 kg/m² (114 lb/sq ft)

 

Armament

6× hardpoints (four underwing and two under the fuselage) for a total of 2.500 kg (5.500 lb);

Typical interceptor payload:

- two IR-guided R-3 or R-60 air-to-air-missiles or

two PTB-490 drop tanks on the outer underwing stations

- two semi-active radar-guided ‚Saanp’ air-to-air missiles or two more R-3 or R-60 AAMs

on inner underwing stations

- two 500 l drop tanks or two gun pods with a 23 mm GSh-23L autocannon and 200 RPG

each under the fuselage

  

The kit and its assembly:

This whiffy delta-wing fighter was inspired when I recently sliced up a PM Model Su-15 kit for my side-by-side-engine BAC Lightning build. At an early stage of the conversion, I held the Su-15 fuselage with its molded delta wings in my hand and wondered if a shortened tail section (as well as a shorter overall fuselage to keep proportions balanced) could make a delta-wing jet fighter from the Flagon base? Only a hardware experiment could yield an answer, and since the Su-15’s overall outlines look a bit retro I settled at an early stage on India as potential designer and operator, as “the thing the HF-24 Marut never was”.

 

True to the initial idea, work started on the tail, and I chopped off the fuselage behind the wings’ trailing edge. Some PSR was necessary to blend the separate exhaust section into the fuselage, which had to be reduced in depth through wedges that I cut out under the wings trailing edge, plus some good amount of glue and sheer force the bend the section a bit upwards. The PM Model's jet exhausts were drilled open, and I added afterburner dummies inside - anything would look better than the bleak vertical walls inside after only 2-3 mm! The original fin was omitted, because it was a bit too large for the new, smaller aircraft and its shape reminded a lot of the Suchoj heavy fighter family. It was replaced with a Mirage III/V fin, left over from a (crappy!) Pioneer 2 IAI Nesher kit.

 

Once the rear section was complete, I had to adjust the front end - and here the kitbashing started. First, I chopped off the cockpit section in front of the molded air intake - the Su-15’s long radome and the cockpit on top of the fuselage did not work anymore. As a remedy I remembered another Su-15 conversion I did a (long) while ago: I created a model of a planned ground attack derivative, the T-58Sh, and, as a part of the extensive body work, I transplanted the slanted nose from an academy MiG-27 between the air intakes – a stunt that was relatively easy and which appreciably lowered the cockpit position. For the HF-26M I did something similar, I just transplanted a cockpit from a Hasegawa/Academy MiG-23 with its ogival radome that size-wise better matched with the rest of the leftover Su-15 airframe.

 

The MiG-23 cockpit matched perfectly with the Su-15's front end, just the spinal area behind the cockpit had to be raised/re-sculpted to blend the parts smoothly together. For a different look from the Su-15 ancestry I also transplanted the front sections of the MiG-23 air intakes with their shorter ramps. Some mods had to be made to the Su-15 intake stubs, but the MiG-23 intakes were an almost perfect fit in size and shape and easy to integrate into the modified front hill. The result looks very natural!

However, when the fuselage was complete, I found that the nose appeared to be a bit too long, leaving the whole new hull with the wings somewhat off balance. As a remedy I decided at a rather late stage to shorten the nose and took out a 6 mm section in front of the cockpit - a stunt I had not planned, but sometimes you can judge things only after certain work stages. Some serious PSR was necessary to re-adjust the conical nose shape, which now looked more Mirage III-ish than planned!

 

The cockpit was taken mostly OOB, I just replaced the ejection seat and gave it a trigger handle made from thin wire. With the basic airframe complete it was time for details. The PM Model Su-15s massive and rather crude main landing gear was replaced with something more delicate from the scrap box, even though I retained the main wheels. The front landing gear was taken wholesale from the MiG-23, but had to be shortened for a proper stance.

A display holder adapter was integrated into the belly for the flight scenes, hidden well between the ventral ordnance.

 

The hardpoints, including missile launch rails, came from the MiG-23; the pylons had to be adjusted to match the Su-15's wing profile shape, the Anab missiles lost their tail sections to create the fictional Indian 'Saanp' AAMs. The R-3s on the outer stations were left over from a MP MiG-21. The ventral pylons belong to Academy MiG-23/27s, one came from the donor kit, the other was found in the spares box. The PTB-490 drop tanks also came from a KP MiG-21 (or one of its many reincarnations, not certain).

  

Painting and markings:

The paint scheme for this fictional aircraft was largely inspired by a picture of a whiffy and very attractive Saab 37 Viggen (an 1:72 Airfix kit) in IAF colors, apparently a model from a contest. BTW, India actually considered buying the Viggen for its Air Force!

IAF aircraft were and are known for their exotic and sometimes gawdy paint schemes, and with IAF MiG-21 “C 992” there’s even a very popular (yet obscure) aircraft that sported literal tiger stripes. The IAF Viggen model was surely inspired by this real aircraft, and I adopted something similar for my HF-26M.

 

IAF 1 Squadron was therefore settled, and for the paint scheme I opted for a "stripish" scheme, but not as "tigeresque" as "C 992". I found a suitable benchmark in a recent Libyian MiG-21, which carried a very disruptive two-tone grey scheme. I adapted this pattern to the HA-26M airframe and replaced its colors, similar to the IAF Viggen model, which became a greenish sand tone (a mix of Humbrol 121 with some 159; I later found out that I could have used Humbrol 83 from the beginning, though...) and a very dark olive drab (Humbrol 66, which looks like a dull dark brown in contrast with the sand tone), with bluish grey (Humbrol 247) undersides. With the large delta wings, this turned out to look very good and even effective!

 

For that special "Indian touch" I gave the aircraft a high-contrast fin in a design that I had seen on a real camouflaged IAF MiG-21bis: an overall dark green base with a broad, red vertical stripe which was also the shield for the fin flash and the aircraft's tactical code (on the original bare metal). The fin was first painted in green (Humbrol 2), the red stripe was created with orange-red decal sheet material. Similar material was also used to create the bare metal field for the tactical code, the yellow bars on the splitter plates and for the thin white canopy sealing.

 

After basic painting was done the model received an overall black ink washing, post-panel shading and extensive dry-brushing with aluminum and iron for a rather worn look.

The missiles became classic white, while the drop tanks, as a contrast to the camouflaged belly, were left in bare metal.

 

Decals/markings came primarily from a Begemot MiG-25 kit, the tactical codes on the fin and under the wings originally belong to an RAF post-WWII Spitfire, just the first serial letter was omitted. Stencils are few and they came from various sources. A compromise is the unit badge on the fin: I needed a tiger motif, and the only suitable option I found was the tiger head emblem on a white disc from RAF No. 74 Squadron, from the Matchbox BAC Lightning F.6&F.2A kit. It fits stylistically well, though. ;-)

 

Finally, the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (except for the black radome, which became a bit glossy) and finally assembled.

  

A spontaneous build, and the last one that I completed in 2022. However, despite a vague design plan the model evolved as it grew. Bashing the primitive PM Model Su-15 with the Academy MiG-23 parts was easier than expected, though, and the resulting fictional aircraft looks sturdy but quite believable - even though it appears to me like the unexpected child of a Mirage III/F-4 Phantom II intercourse, or like a juvenile CF-105 Arrow, just with mid-wings? Nevertheless, the disruptive paint scheme suits the delta wing fighter well, and the green/red fin is a striking contrast - it's a colorful model, but not garish.

This is the addon plumbing for a constructors' hut in Denmark.

Photo by Jeaneen Lund

Manali, (alt. 1,950 m or 6,398 ft) in the Beas River valley, is an important hill station in the Himalayan mountains of Himachal Pradesh, India, near the northern end of the Kullu Valley. Manali is administratively a part of the Kullu district. The population is approx. 30,000. The small town was the beginning of an ancient trade route to Ladakh and, from there, over the Karakoram Pass on to Yarkand and Khotan in the Tarim Basin. Manali and its surrounding areas are of great significance to the Indian culture and heritage as it was the home and abode of the Saptarshi or seven sages. The ancient cave temple, Hidimba Devi Temple, is not far from town.

Contents

[hide]

 

* 1 Geography

* 2 Demographics

* 3 Etymology

* 4 History

* 5 Transport

* 6 Tourism in Manali

o 6.1 Tourist Attractions

o 6.2 Places around Manali

o 6.3 Adventure Sports

* 7 Notes

* 8 References

* 9 External links

 

[edit] Geography

 

Manali is located at [show location on an interactive map] 32°10′N 77°06′E / 32.16, 77.1[1]. It has an average elevation of 2625 metres (8612 feet).

 

[edit] Demographics

 

As of 2001 India census[2], Manali had a population of 6265. Males constitute 64% of the population and females 36%. Manali has an average literacy rate of 74%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 80%, and female literacy is 63%. In Manali, 9% of the population is under 6 years of age.

 

[edit] Etymology

 

Manali is named after the Brahmin lawgiver Manu. The word Manali literally means “the abode of Manu”. Legend has it that sage Manu stepped off his ark in Manali to recreate human life after a great flood had deluged the world. Manali is known as the "Valley of the Gods". The Old Manali village has an ancient temple dedicated to sage Manu.

 

[edit] History

 

In ancient times, the valley was sparsely populated by nomadic hunters known as "rakshas". The next arrivals were the shepherds who arrived from the Kangra valley and settled to take up agriculture. Some of the earliest inhabitants of the region are the 'naur' or 'nar', which is a caste unique to the Kullu valley. Only a few naur families are known to exist now. A naur family in the village Soyal near Haripur on the west bank of Manali was famous for the vast land they owned and their practice of having 'rakshas' as their labourers.

 

The British were responsible for introducing apples and trout which were not native to Manali. It is said that when apple trees were first planted the fruits were so plentiful that often branches, unable to bear the weight would collapse. To this day apple along with plum and pear remains the best source of income for the majority of its inhabitants.

 

Tourism in Manali received a real boost after the rise of militancy in Kashmir in the late 1980s. This once quiet village was transformed into a bustling town with hundreds of hotels and restaurants.

 

[edit] Transport

Mall street, Manali

 

Manali is well connected by road to Delhi through NH-21 which goes on the Leh and is the world's highest motorable road.[citation needed] Leading up to Manali from New Delhi are the towns of Panipat and Ambala in Haryana, Chandigarh(Union Territory), Ropar in Punjab, and Bilaspur, Sundernagar, and Mandi in Himachal.

 

Manali is not easily approachable by rail. The nearest broad gauge railheads are at Chandigarh (315 km), Pathankot (325 km) and Kalka (310 km). The nearest narrow gauge railhead is at Joginder Nagar (135 km)

 

The nearest airport is at Bhuntar, which is about 50 km from Manali. The only private airline in the region is Jagson Airlines. Offlate services have been started by Air Deccan as well as Indian Airlines who fly daily to Bhuntar Airport.

 

[edit] Tourism in Manali

Traditional home, Manali, 2004

River Beas and mountains as seen from Van Vihar

A view of Rohtang Pass in Manali

Mountain ranges in Manali

Bridge in the middle of town with prayer flags

Buddha Statue at Buddhist monastery

Image:Snowfallinmanali.JPG

A view of Circuit House Road covered in snow

  

[edit] Tourist Attractions

 

Manali is a popular Himalayan tourist destination and accounts for nearly a quarter of all tourist arrivals in Himachal Pradesh. It is visited by many trekkers who follow the hashish trail. Manali's charas is considered to be the best in India. The valleys provide natural U.V lights as fields are high up the mountain and high grade grows directly from the sunlight.ala. Manali's cool atmosphere provides a perfect haven for the ones afflicted by the hot Indian summers. It is famous for adventure sports like skiing, hiking, mountaineering, para gliding, rafting, trekking, kayaking, and mountain biking. It also offers hot springs, spectacular religious shrines and temples, Tibetan Buddhist temples, and trekking in the surrounding mountains.

 

Naggar Fort south of Manali is a reminder of the 1500 year old Pal Dynasty. Made from rocks, stones, and elaborate wood carvings, it is an ensemble of the rich and elegant artworks of Himachal. The castle was later converted to a rest house and luxury hotel. Tourists often stop at the castle to see the small shrine located in the building's courtyard, a fine example of architecture and design from the Pal Dynasty.

 

The often visited site in Manali is the Dhungri or Hadimba Temple. Erected in 1533, this temple is dedicated to the local deity Hadimba, wife of the Pandava prince, Bhim. A major festival is held here in the month of May. The temple is noted for its four-storeyed pagoda and exquisite wooden carvings.

 

Manali is known for its shiny gompas or Buddhist monasteries. With the highest concentration of Tibetan refugees in the entire Kullu valley, it is famous for its Gadhan Thekchhokling Gompa, built in 1969. The monastery is maintained by donations from the local community and through the sale of hand-woven carpets in the temple workshop

 

The smaller and more modern Himalayan Nyingamapa Gompa stands nearer the bazaar, in a garden blooming with sunflowers. Its main shrine, lit by dozens of electric bulbs and fragrant with Tibetan incense, houses a colossal gold-faced Buddha, best viewed from the small room on the first floor.

 

The Museum of Traditional Himachal Culture, near the Hadimba temple, is worth a visit, which houses artifacts of folk art of the entire Kullu valley.

 

[edit] Places around Manali

 

Rohtang Pass, at an altitude of 13,050 feet above sea level, is another adventure tourist site where it can be cold even on a summer day. It is the highest point on the Manali-Keylong road and provides a wide panoramic view of mountains rising far above clouds, which is truly breath taking. Close by is a small lake called Dassaur Lake. Beas Kund, the source of river Beas, is also nearby. In winter, the road of Rothang Pass is closed.

 

Rahala waterfalls: About 16 km from Manali at the start of the climb to the Rohtang Pass, are the beautiful Rahalla Falls at an altitude of 2,501 m.

 

Monasteries: Manali is known for its shiny gompas or Buddhist monasteries. It is maintained by donations from the local community and by sale of hand-woven carpets in the temple workshop.

 

Rani Nala - 46 km from Manali, it is the glacier point where snow is available throughout the year.

 

Vashist Hot Water Springs and Temple: Around 3 km from Manali, across the Beas river is Vashist, a small village with natural sulphur springs. Modern bathhouses,now closed, due to a conflict with the elders of the village and Manali council. Vasistha [3] a sage narrated Yoga Vasishtha an ancient scripture to Rama. A unique and an extremely profound discourse, that provides innumerable insights and secrets to the inner world of consciousness. This extremely huge scripture covers all the topics that relate to the spiritual study of a seeker. Vaishisht, also boasts a pair of old stone temples, opposite each other above the main square. Dedicated to the local patron saint Vashista, the smaller of the two opens on to a partially covered courtyard, and is adorned with elaborate woodcarvings those lining the interior of the shrine, blackened by years of oil-lamp and incense smoke, are particularly fine. In this ornate quadrangle is the resting place of the local and transient sadhus, drinking chai, and smoking chillums with whoever will join them in reverence to The Lord Shiva and Guru Vashshist. The temple baths are separated into male and female and the water is often unbearably hot.

  

Solang valley, popularly known as Snow Point, is 13 km northwest of Manali and famous for its 300-meter ski lift. It is a picturesque spot and offers splendid views of glaciers and the snow-capped mountains. Jagatsukh, the former capital of Manali, is also an important spot.

 

At a distance of 3 km northwest of Manali is Old Manali, famous for its orchards and old guesthouses. There is ruined fort here by the name of Manaligarh. There is also the Manu Maharishi Temple, dedicated to sage Manu.

 

Manikaran: 85 km from Manali and 45 km from Kullu, lies in the Parvati Valley. Here icy cold waters of the Parvati river co-exist with hot-water springs side-by-side. The springs are known for their healing properties.

 

[edit] Adventure Sports

 

Skiing is a major pastime in Manali. Facilities for skiing are available at Solang Nullah (January-March) and Rohtang La (during summer). The Mountaineering Institute at Solang Nullah is a good training institute. Heli skiing is possible at the deep snowfields.

Skiing at Solang

 

The Mountaineering Institute and Allied Sports is about 3 km from the Mall and offers mountaineering and kayaking courses. Kayaking is possible on the Beas River.

 

There are several good hikes from Manali. The 12 km hike up the western banks of the Beas to the Solang Valley is noteworthy. Lama Dugh meadow is a 6 km hike up to the Manalsu Nala, west of Manali town.

 

For the best trekking expedition, take a trek from Solang Valley, on to Dhundhi and from there to Dussar lake and then onwards to Manali. This stretch will take you to places you would have only dreamt of. Pure, unadulterated adventure and fun. Be sure to have a good guide at your disposal who knows this area otherwise you would be lost forever. The trek would typically last for 5 days.

 

In the summers, several travel agencies organize paragliding on the slopes of the Solang Nullah. The charges generally include accommodation, food, equipment, and a guide, but not transport.

 

From May to July and, depending on the monsoons, from mid-September to mid-October, some basic rafting is possible on the Beas. The trips generally begin at Pirdi and continue 16 km down to Jhiri.

 

The HPTDC provides day permits for fishing. Permits can be obtained also at Patlikhul. Angling in the Kullu valley is possible at Larji, Katrain and Kasol.

 

Beas Kund is the lake from which the River Beas originates. It is considered holy and sacred. Besides being a holy pilgrimage place, it is a popular destination for trekking.

River Crossing over Beas is a popular sport in Manali

 

Manali is among the most popular adventure sports destinations in India. Manali offers opportunities for mountaineering, skiing, trekking, paragliding, white water rafting, river crossing and mountain biking. Yak skiing is a sport unique to this area.[4]. Manali also featured in Time magazine's "Best of Asia" for its "Extreme Yak Sports".[4]

Waterloo grilles diffusers louvres

.

 

As much as I do not like to think about it...autumn is well underway. I am keeping my brain in Hawaii, but my body has been shooting some gorgeous fall foliage back in reality.

 

The sun is life.

External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar met Diplomatic Advisor to the President of UAE, H.E. Dr. Anwar Mohammed Gargesh in Abu Dhabi

equinis correction, ring fixation

Traveller Zoom compact camera

TZ41

bis 20x zoom optisch

 

External competition image

 

Can you help identify any of the following: date, location or individuals in the images?

 

From L-R

1. Donal Jackson

2. (Child)

3. Jimmy Jackson

Some images are not Defence Forces competitions but may contain members of the Defence Forces playing in external competitions.

I bought this red corset on line. Its not v-high quality but it has allowed me to have some fun. Its a lovely red pattern and I thought I would try it externally. In this mode I think it really only goes with leggings or trousers. I went for a white blouse to give it a chance to shine

steamy ladies jessica and bailey in grabouw/elgin today

 

bailey is still a classic coal burner but jessica has been converted to oil burning

 

South African Class 19D 4-8-2

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South African Class 19D 4-8-2

 

Delivered1937–1953

First run1937

The South African Railways Class 19D 4-8-2 of 1937 was a steam locomotive.

Between 1937 and 1949, the South African Railways placed 235 Class 19D steam locomotives with a 4-8-2 Mountain type wheel arrangement in service. Between 1951 and 1955, 33 more were built for other operators like the Rhodesia and Angolan railways and the Nkana and Wankie mines, which makes the Class 19D the most numerous South African steam locomotive type ever built.[1][2][3][4]

 

Contents [hide]

* 1Manufacturers2Characteristics2.1Watson Standard boilers2.2Tenders3Service3.1South African Railways3.2Other operators3.2.1Benguela Railway3.2.2Rhodesia Railways3.2.3Nkana Mines3.2.4Wankie Colliery3.3Industrial4Red Devil predecessor5Works numbers and renumbering6Illustration7References8

External links

Manufacturers[edit]

The Class 19D 4-8-2 steam locomotive was the final development of the Class 19 family of locomotives. At the request of Colonel F.R. Collins, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the South African Railways (SAR) from 1922 to 1929, the original basic design of the Class 19 was done in the late 1920s by Test Engineer M.M. Loubser, who was himself later to serve as the CME from 1939 to 1949.[3][5][6]

  

W.A.J. Day

The final development of the Class was done in 1937 by W.A.J. Day, CME from 1936 to 1939. The Class 19D was a revised version of the Class 19C with piston valves and Walschaerts valve gear instead of rotary cam poppet valve gear.[2][3]

Between 1937 and 1955, 268 Class 19D locomotives were built in seven batches by six locomotive manufacturers in Czechoslovakia, Germany and the United Kingdom and delivered to the SAR and several other operators in Southern Africa.[2]

* The first forty were built in Germany in 1937, twenty with domeless boilers by Friedrich Krupp AG in Essen and numbered in the range from 2506 to 2525, and twenty by the Borsig Lokomotiv Werke in Hennigsdorf, Berlin and numbered in the range from 2526 to 2545.[2][7]

* In 1938, a further 95 locomotives were ordered, built by three manufacturers. Škoda Works in Czechoslovakia built fifteen numbered in the range from 2626 to 2640, Krupp built forty, this time with domed boilers and numbered in the range from 2641 to 2680, and Borsig built forty numbered in the range from 2681 to 2720.[2][7][8]

* Locomotive building was interrupted by the Second World War and post-war locomotive procurement saw European suppliers being replaced by British ones. In 1947, the first fifty post-war Class 19D locomotives were delivered by Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns (RSH) of Darlington, England and numbered in the range from 2721 to 2770. Of this order, engine no. 2734, RSH works no. 7247, was lost at sea off the east coast of England. Its replacement with RSH works number 7360 was paid for by insurance and it was given the number 2734 of the lost locomotive.[1]

* The final batch of fifty Class 19D locomotives for the SAR were delivered in 1949 by the North British Locomotive Company (NBL) of Glasgow, Scotland and numbered in the range from 3321 to 3370. These engines were delivered with Type MX Torpedo tenders.[9][10][11]

* In 1951, six were built by NBL for the Caminho de Ferro de Benguela (CFB) in Angola.[3][9]

* Between 1951 and 1953, Henschel and Son built 21 more for the Rhodesia Railways (RR) and the Nkana copper mine in Northern Rhodesia.[3][12]

* In 1955, four more were built by NBL for the Wankie coal mine in Southern Rhodesia.[3][9]

Characteristics[edit]

The Class 19D, nicknamed Dolly, was very similar to its predecessor Class 19C, but Day specified piston valves and Walschaerts valve gear instead of rotary cam poppet valve gear. The cylinders were redesigned with straighter steam ports while the valve gear itself was revamped with a longer steam lap and greater valve travel. In all other respects they were identical to the Class 19C. The last five locomotives of the first batch from Krupp, numbers 2521 to 2525, were fitted with exhaust steam injectors.[2][3][4]

The cylinders were of the combined type, being cast in two identical and interchangeable sections, each made up of one cylinder and half of the smokebox saddle. They were of cast iron and had liners fitted. The design of the steam passages provided for a large cross-sectional area for both live and exhaust steam.[2]

All coupled wheels were flanged. The axle boxes of the leading and trailing wheels were equipped with roller bearings while the solid bronze coupled wheel axle boxes were soft grease-lubricated. Soft grease lubrication was used throughout for the motion gear, except the piston rods, valve spindles and main crossheads which were oil-lubricated. Two four-feed sight lubricators, arranged in the cab, supplied oil to the steam chests and cylinders.[2]

Watson Standard boilers[edit]

The Class 19D was delivered with a Watson Standard no. 1A boiler, fitted with Ross Pop safety valves and set at 200 pounds per square inch (1,379 kilopascals) pressure. The regulator was of the multiple-valve type, with the valves arranged on the saturated steam side of the superheater header in accordance with SAR practice. The boiler was one of the range of standard type boilers which were designed by Day's predecessor as CME, A.G. Watson, as part of his standardisation policy. The locomotive was also equipped with a Watson cab with its distinctive inclined front.[1][2][4][10][11]

  

Despite the specifications, the first batch of Class 19D locomotives, built by Krupp and Borsig and delivered in 1937 and 1938, came in two variations. The Krupp-built locomotives were delivered with domeless boilers, while the Borsig-built locomotives conformed to the specifications with domed boilers.[1][2][4]

While the domeless boilers did not conform to the specified Watson Standard no. 1A boiler as far as the dome was concerned, they were accepted nevertheless, probably since all their other dimensions were identical to that of the Watson Standard boiler. It appears that Krupp had decided on their own accord that a dome was not necessary since there was no regulator in the dome, but merely a standpipe. Krupp substituted the dome with a manhole cover on which the two Pop safety valves were mounted, while the steam was collected through a battery of collecting pipes, situated high up in the boiler in a similar manner to that which was used in the Class 16E.[1][2]

All the subsequent Class 19D orders were delivered with domed Watson Standard no. 1A boilers with the usual standpipe steam collector high up in the dome, from where steam was led to the multi-valve regulator in the smokebox. Technically, whenever the loading gauge permitted the use of domes, their use was preferable to the domeless system which resulted in crowding multiple pipes into the boiler and other complications better left out of boilers. Operationally, according to drivers, there was no apparent difference in locomotive performance between the two boiler types.[1][2][13]

The Watson Standard boilers are interchangeable between locomotives. In the process of locomotives undergoing major overhauls, these twenty Krupp-built domeless boilers migrated between engines during subsequent years. As a result, locomotives from the other builders and even some Classes 19A and 19C locomotives eventually ended up with some of these domeless boilers.[4]

Tenders[edit]

As a result of having been built over such a long time span by so many different manufacturers, the six main groups of the Class 19D all had different all-up weights and axle loadings, as shown in the table and the specifications in the infobox. Over the eleven years during which the Class 19D was being produced for the SAR, some alterations occurred.[1][10][11]

* As built, the Class 19D was delivered with Type MT tenders with a 12 long tons (12.2 tonnes) coal and a 6,000 imperial gallons (27,300 litres) water capacity, even though the axle load of 16 long tons 11 hundredweight (16,820 kilograms) of these tenders exceeded the permissible limits on the branch lines for which the Class 19D was intended. Upon delivery, their new Type MT tenders were exchanged for the smaller modified Type MP1 tenders from some of the reboilered mainline locomotives. The Type MP1, many of which were later rebuilt to Type MR tenders, had a lighter axle load of 13 long tons 15 hundredweight (13,970 kilograms) and was therefore more suitable for branch line work. This policy was followed with all the Classes 19B, 19C and 19D, except the last batch of Class 19D for the SAR, numbers 3321 to 3370.[1][2]

* During 1944 Dr. M.M. Loubser, then CME, who had been involved with the design of the Class 19 family from the very beginning in the late 1920s, made further improvements to the Class 19D. All the post-war locomotives came equipped with vacuum brake systems in addition to the steam brakes. The two 21 inches (533 millimetres) vacuum cylinders were fitted under the running boards on either side at a point about midway between the leading and driving coupled wheels, while the vacuum chamber was arranged in line with the intermediate coupled wheels.[1][2]

  

Buckeye bogie

* The final batch from NBL, numbers 3321 to 3370, had Type MX tank wagon type tenders with cylindrical water tanks, similar in appearance to the American Vanderbilt type tenders. They were built to the design of Dr. M.M. Loubser, ran on three-axle Buckeye bogies and became commonly known as Torpedo tenders.[1][4]

Service[edit]

South African Railways[edit]

During the service life of the Class 19D, several tender exchanges occurred to best equip a locomotive for the region it was allocated to and the type of service it was to be employed in. In line service, type MX Torpedo tenders were usually preferred for their larger coal and water capacities. The result was that by the time the Class 19D was withdrawn from service in the late 1980s, many had exchanged their Type MP1 or Type MR tenders for Type MX Torpedo tenders and vice versa. Type MX Torpedo tenders also ended up attached to Class 19B and Class 19C locomotives.[1][14]

The Class 19D was the most numerous South African branch line locomotive and, at 235 built for the SAR, was only twenty less in number than the Class 15F mainline locomotive, the most numerous South African steam class. The Class 19D was very versatile and saw main- and branch line service all over South Africa with the exception of the Western Cape, where the Class 19C was used.[3]

  

Tasks varied from mainline local and international passenger trains on the section between Warrenton and Mafeking en route between South Africa and Northern Rhodesia via Bechuanaland and Southern Rhodesia, to secondary and branch line duties and in later years as shunting engines. On occasion, South African Class 19D locomotives worked through from Mafikeng in South Africa via Botswana all the way to Bulawayo in Zimbabwe. SAR Class 19D locomotives were also hired out for shunting work to the Rhodesia Railways for use at Beit Bridge and to Mozambique for use at Lourenco Marques.[3]

From c. 1972, the new Union Carriage & Wagon-built Blue Train was stabled at Pretoria. After Capital Park’s blue-liveried Class S2 no. 3793 was withdrawn along with the rest of its class in 1979-1980, the Pretoria station carriage-shunt duties were taken over by a blue-painted Class 19D no. 2749, the only member of the class to serve in a different SAR livery from the usual black. Apart from shunting work, the blue Dolly was often specially requested to work the Cullinan train during the Jacaranda season.[15]

The Class 19D served until right at the end of the South African steam era and were amongst the last steam locomotives to be replaced by electric and diesel-electric traction.[3]

Other operators[edit]

Other Southern African railways and some industries also purchased locomotives built to the Class 19D design. When these foreign versions are included, a total of 268 locomotives were built to the Class 19D design making them even more numerous than the Class 15F.[3]

Benguela Railway[edit]

Six were built for the Caminho de Ferro de Benguela (CFB or Benguela railway) in Angola by NBL in 1951, as their 11th Class and numbered in the range from 401 to 406.[9] These locomotives were wood- or coal-fired, depending on where they were operating, and had tenders with slatted frames installed on top of the bunker to increase their fuel capacity when wood was used. In August 1972, for example, numbers 401, 402 and 406 were based at Lobito and were observed to be coal-fired. At the same time, numbers 403 and 405 were observed at Luso and no. 404 at Nova Lisboa, all wood-fired.

Rhodesia Railways[edit]

Between 1951 and 1953, Henschel and Son built twenty for Rhodesia Railways, their 19th class, numbered in the range from 316 to 335. They had tenders similar to the SAR Torpedo type, but with plate frame bogies instead of cast frame Buckeye bogies.[3][12][16]

A single RR 19C class, no. 336, was built by Henschel in 1953 as a condensing locomotive. After a collision in 1956, it was rebuilt into a non-condensing 19th Class and re-entered service in 1958. The condensing tender was rebuilt to a Torpedo tender by mounting a tank and coal bunker, supplied locally in Bulawayo, on the frame.[16][17] This rebuilt tender is the one paired with no. 330 which is preserved in the Bulawayo Railway Museum.[18]

By June 1975, only three were left in service, all allocated to the Bulawayo shed, but with two out-stationed at Mafeking in South Africa.[19]

Nkana Mines[edit]

Two were built by Henschel for the Nkana copper mines in Northern Rhodesia in 1952, numbered 107 and 108.[17] In 1967, they were sold to a Rhodesian scrap merchant who, in turn, sold them to Rhodesia Railways where they were overhauled and placed back in service in 1968 as RR 19B Class no. 337 and 338.[12][16]

Wankie Colliery[edit]

In 1955 four more without superheating and numbered in the range from 1 to 4 were built to the design of the Class 19D by NBL for the Wankie Colliery in Southern Rhodesia.[16]

Industrial[edit]

As they were being retired, several Class 19D locomotives were sold into industrial service. By the late 1980s, some of them were already at work at Dunn's, Saiccor, Loraine Gold Mine and Bamangwato Concessions Ltd. (BCL) in Botswana, and more were to follow.[3]

As late as 2011, two Class 19Ds which had been used on the Vaal Reefs Gold Mine in the 1980s until they were retired and dumped at Jan Kempdorp where they stood unprotected for about twenty years, were bought by BCL Selebi-Phikwe. The locomotives, possibly numbers 2678 and 2689, were to be overhauled for use by the mine there, which was still operating ex-SAR Class 19D and ex-RR 19th class locomotives. By June 2012, the first of these two was put into service and it was expected that the second was to follow during the course of the year.[20][21]

Red Devil predecessor[edit]

As a trial run before SAR mechanical engineer David Wardale was granted permission to proceed to rebuild a Class 25NC 4-8-4 locomotive to the Class 26 Red Devil in 1979, he was allowed to carry out modifications to a Class 19D locomotive. The locomotive selected for the experiment was Krupp-built no. 2644, a particularly poor-steaming member of the Class at the time.[3]

  

No. 2644 at SANRASM's South Site, 3 February 2011, before being vandalised to the extent that it was scrapped in 2014

A gas producer combustion system (GPCS) and dual Lempor exhaust were installed, along with some other small improvements. The Lempor had a four-jet blastpipe with extended petticoats to provide truer ejector proportions. To accommodate the arrangement, the smokebox was extended by 300 millimetres (11.8 inches). Steam flow in the cylinders was improved by streamlining the edges of the piston valves which were each equipped with an additional valve ring to reduce leakage. The firebox was modified to the GPCS system wherein principal combustion is effected using secondary air introduced above the firebed through ducts in the firebox sides, while primary air was restricted through dampers and a redesigned grate.[3]

Firebox turbulence was created by steam jets and clinkering was inhibited by introducing exhaust steam under the grate. Sanding was improved and de-sanding jets were installed to clean the rails after the locomotive had passed.[3]

The modifications improved the locomotive's steaming rate and enabled it to achieve significantly higher power and significantly lower fuel consumption than other unmodified Class 19D locomotives, the coal savings and increased output being in the order of 20% to 25%. The success of this experiment convinced the SAR management at the time of the viability of the project which culminated in the Class 26 Red Devil.[3][4][22]

 

We acquired a pulsejet engine and SA007 decided it would be fun to try it out.

The engine is fastened to a piece of train rails to weigh it down and prevent actual lift-off. The fuel line is crafted out of electrical wire (with the wires being removed from the jacket). The air intake line is made from CAT 5E network cable (also with inner wiring removed from the outer jacket). The prototype fuel tank was made from a piece of bicycle inner-tube, later we just used a cut plastic bottle. The high-voltage current which ignites the spark-plug is provided by a neon sign transformer.

 

Actual phrases overheard during construction and test-firing:

 

* "This (electrical) wire is rated for 300 volts, so it'll probably be okay to use as a gasoline fuel line"

* "This piece of train rails will weigh it down sufficiently to prevent lift-off....probably"

* "With us being boardmembers, shouldn't we put a stop to this?"

* "That length of CAT5E network cable is perfect as an air intake hose"

* "Wait, doesn't this count as a weapon?" (weapons are prohibited from entering the hackerspace)

* "We *do* have the paramedics on speed-dial, right?"

* "I am picturing a couple of nerds desperately running after an escaped pulse-jet-driven drinks cart"

* "Anyway, even *if* it escapes, it can't go farther than the compound gates" (300 metres away)

Over the years, Digital Wyzdom has acquired mastery over external penetration testing. With its experts developing several penetration methodologies and attack tools for a number of systems, it stands out as one of the best company in the field of forensics and software security. Both government and commercial organizations are on the list of their clients. Performing every task, in line with the organization's philosophy, Digital Wyzdom team stands true to its values. goo.gl/gCBwcq

(Image 16 of a series)

 

Former and current employees and family members of Lockheed Martin and NASA escort ET-138 on its one-mile-trip to the Michoud Harbor for loading the tank on NASA’s Pegasus barge, July 8.

 

Commemorating 37 years of successful tank deliveries, NASA and Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company will hold a ceremony on Thursday, July 8, at the agency's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans to rollout the final external tank for the last space shuttle flight.

 

The last external tank scheduled to fly on a shuttle mission was completed on June 25 by Lockheed Martin workers at Michoud. The tank, designated ET-138, will travel on a wheeled transporter one mile to the Michoud barge dock. It will be accompanied by the Storyville Stompers, a traditional area brass band, and hundreds of handkerchief-waving employees in typical New Orleans fashion and spirit during the ceremony. ET-138 will then travel on a 900-mile sea journey to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where it will support shuttle Endeavour's STS-134 launch.

 

Michoud Space Systems workers, of Lockheed Martin Corporation, Littleton, Colo., have delivered 135 flight tanks to NASA during the 25 years of flying the space shuttle.

 

Learn more:

www.nasa.gov/topics/shuttle_station/features/et138_rollou...

Above the external Tudor era priests door are the carvings of a Bishop and donkey / ass- Church of St Michael the Archangel, South Littleton, Worcestershire

The USS Torsk (SS-423) is docked at the Baltimore Maritime Museum and is one of two Tench Class submarines still located inside the United States. It is nicknamed the "Galloping Ghost of the Japanese Coast." In 1945, Torsk made two war patrols off Japan, sinking one cargo vessel and two coastal defense frigates. The latter of these, torpedoed on 14 August 1945, was the last enemy ship sunk by the U.S. Navy in World War II.

Contents

[hide]

 

1 Service history

1.1 1944-1945

1.2 1946-1968

1.3 1968-1972 & legacy

2 See also

3 External links

4 References

 

[edit] Service history

[edit] 1944-1945

 

Her keel was laid down on 7 June 1944 at the Portsmouth Navy Yard. She was launched on 6 September 1944 sponsored by Mrs. Allen B. Reed, and commissioned on 16 December 1944 with Commander Bafford E. Lewellen in command.

 

Completed on the last day of 1944, Torsk trained out of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Newport, Rhode Island, and New London, Connecticut, until 11 February 1945, when she headed for Florida. On 16 February, the submarine arrived at Port Everglades, Florida, where she provided services for antisubmarine research. She departed that Florida port on 20 February, transited the Panama Canal, and reached Hawaii on 23 March.

 

After a repair and training period, she got underway from Pearl Harbor for her first war patrol. Torsk paused briefly at Guam en route to an area off Kii Suido which she reached on 11 May and began lifeguard duty. Air contacts were few in this period, and the submarine found no opportunity to conduct rescue operations. Toward midnight on 11 May, she set course for her patrol area off the northeastern coast of Honshū. She arrived there on 13 May and, for two days, attempted to contact other members of the wolf pack, "Lewellen's Looters." On 16 May, she made rendezvous with submarines Sand Lance (SS-381) and Cero (SS-225). For more than a fortnight, their careful coverage of the east coast of Honshū turned up nothing more interesting than naval mines.

 

On 2 June, while patrolling between Honshū and Hokkaidō, Torsk came upon a small coastal minelayer. The submarine fired six torpedoes—which the small vessel avoided by maneuvering—and then dove and rigged for depth charges which did not materialize. Torsk had another disappointing encounter on 4 June when, while patrolling off Kobe Saki, she fired four torpedoes at a 700-ton freighter without scoring. The following day, she set her course homeward, stopped at Midway Island on 11 June, and returned to Pearl Harbor on 16 June.

 

After refitting and the installation of new equipment, the submarine got underway for her second war patrol on 17 July. She spent the first two days of August at Guam and set her course for the Sea of Japan.

 

She passed through the minefields of Tsushima Strait on 10 August and, on the morning of 11 August, rescued seven Japanese merchant seamen who had survived the sinking of the Koue Maru some four days before. Early that afternoon, the submarine entered her patrol area and, on the following morning off Dogo Island, Torsk made a submerged periscope attack which sank a small coastal freighter.

 

On 13 August, she patrolled off Ando Saki and, after sighting a number of fishing boats during the morning, sighted another small freighter which she promptly sank. Later the same day, she made an unsuccessful attack on a cargo ship as it entered Wakasa Wan; then dodged through a 75-boat fishing fleet, and outdistanced the maru's escort.

 

Off Amarubi Saki on the morning of 14 August, Torsk sighted a medium cargo ship and took up the chase. A 745-ton Kaibokan-class patrol escort vessel accompanied the freighter to seaward, presenting the submarine with a tempting target. At 1035, as the freighter and her escort approached Kasumi Ko, Torsk launched one of the new experimental Mark 28 torpedoes at the escorting ship. Minutes later, the "fish" found its mark; an explosion bent the stern of the frigate up to a 30 degree angle, and shortly thereafter the target sank. As the freighter entered the harbor half an hour later, Torsk attempted to sink her but was unsuccessful, possibly because the torpedoes struck undetected reefs near the mouth of the harbor.

 

Around noon, another frigate appeared, apparently a reinforcement which had been called in. Continuing her aggressive action, Torsk fired a Mark 28 torpedo at the frigate which had already detected the submarine's presence. Commander Lewellen then initiated deep submergence procedures and ordered the crew to rig for silent running. After a tense five minutes, she reached 400 feet (120 m) and there she launched another torpedo, this time the new acoustic Mark 27. Almost immediately, a loud explosion announced that the first torpedo had found its mark, and a minute later a second explosion sounded, followed by strong breaking up noises. The secret new torpedoes had proven their worth in battle and Torsk was credited, not only with two enemy warships, but also with sinking the last Japanese warship sunk in World War II. Held down by enemy planes and patrol vessels, the submarine remained submerged more than seven hours. Then, she surfaced and headed for the Noto peninsula.

 

On 15 August, following four highly successful days of aggressive patrolling, Torsk received word of the cessation of hostilities. She continued her patrol in the Sea of Japan, conducting visual and photo surveillance and destroying floating mines. On 31 August, what was thought to be a torpedo wake was sighted, an indicator that not everyone had heard the news of the war's ending..

 

The submarine set her course for the Mariana Islands on 1 September, passed through Tsushima Straits on 3 September, and arrived at Guam on 9 September, successfully completing her second war patrol.

[edit] 1946-1968

 

She departed the Marianas on the next day, proceeded via Pearl Harbor and the Canal Zone, and arrived at New London in mid-October. For the next seven years, she operated out of that port serving as a training ship, participating in exercises and tests, and occasionally making naval reserve training cruises. In June 1949, she was assigned to Submarine Squadron 2; and; in the summer of 1950, she was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea. The ship returned to New London in the fall for fleet exercises and, the following year, extended her operations into the Caribbean Sea.

 

Early in 1952, she completed her conversion to a Fleet Snorkel submarine and was deployed again to the Mediterranean that summer. Returning on 27 November, she continued operations out of New London ranging from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Havana, Cuba, as she trained prospective submarine personnel and laid exercise mine fields. In 1955, she was reassigned to Submarine Squadron 6 at Norfolk, Virginia. There, her duties included services to aircraft and surface ships to help them hone their skills in antisubmarine warfare. She made frequent Caribbean voyages and participated in Operation "Springboard." In June 1959, she proceeded via the Saint Lawrence Seaway to the Great Lakes, visited various ports on Lake Ontario and Lake Michigan, then returned to the Norfolk operating area in mid-August.

 

In the early 1960s, she made Mediterranean deployments; joined Commonwealth countries in Exercise "New Broom X", and continued her duties in training antisubmarine forces in the Atlantic. During the Cuban Missile Crisis in the fall of 1962, she patrolled in support of the blockade of that Caribbean island.

[edit] 1968-1972 & legacy

 

On 4 March 1968 the veteran submarine was decommissioned and, following modifications at the Boston Navy Yard, was assigned to the Washington Navy Yard for use in training reserves. Torsk operated out of Washington until 1971 and, on 15 December of that year, was struck from the Naval Vessel Register. On 26 September 1972, she was turned over to the state of Maryland to be used as a museum ship in the Inner Harbor at Baltimore, Maryland. She is currently part of the fleet collection of Historic Ships in Baltimore.

 

Torsk received two battle stars for World War II service and the Navy Commendation Medal for her service during the Cuban Missile Crisis. She set the all-time record of career dives, at 11,884. She is also the only submarine converted in the Fleet Snorkel program that has the original snorkel.

youare.com

Model: Sofia // Art Project 2014

I am in ur Marketz. Abusin' externalities.

 

This is the beginning of something fun I think. More lolonomics to come.

 

original background photo by flickr user: ZuRe

15 October 2013

  

Bad day. Not because of external reasons, really. I was just in a weird, pessimistic and unmotivated mood. So for the most part, it wasn't a very good day.

  

I woke up at a decent time, but I didn't have to go to the school today. So I sort of just… sat around. I still had residual bad feelings from yesterday about not planning ahead precisely, and not being efficient with my time.

 

I know I shouldn't beat myself up so much, and I know that there's no such thing as a "perfectly" functional adult. But I find it difficult to achieve a healthy balance between being "responsibly" critical of myself, and raking myself over the coals for every "mistake."

  

Even though I suppose I haven't really made a mistake. I just felt like I SHOULD be planning every aspect of my life better, and I SHOULD be using every moment of my time in a productive/fulfilling way.

 

Again, I know this is a cognitive error. There is no "should." And I let that inaccurate concept of "should" ruin my moments, by making myself feel tense and overwhelmed by the sheer number of options of other things I could be doing.

  

The funny thing is, instead of this bad anxious feeling motivating me to action, I have a tendency to freeze up instead and not act at all. I've found that this unhealthy mental process is at the heart of most of my procrastination--I put pressure on myself to do things a certain way or perform to a certain standard, and then the pressure feels so overwhelming that even starting a task seems difficult.

  

I could list so, so many examples of how this has manifested itself in my life: school assignments, arriving on time ANYWHERE, replying to emails or phone calls, application processes (hello, I only applied to one college and it was the night before the deadline), and also this one awful, awful time last year when I felt so much pressure to say something interesting that I essentially became mute for about an hour. I sincerely wish I was joking.

  

It happens with art. It happens with writing. It happens very often in littler ways. It sucks, and it's painful, but I'm working on it.

 

Actually, this photo project is an attempt to make me okay with not taking perfect pictures or writing perfect descriptions or uploading perfectly on time! So that helps. But it's a daily struggle, nonetheless.

  

Anyway, when I find myself overwhelmed like this, I make things much worse by procrastinating. And then I feel even WORSE about not using my time properly… while continuing to not use my time properly. It's like, the more things I feel like I should be doing, the more I can't motivate myself to do anything but waste time.

  

Of course, it really comes down to the question of "Who SAYS I'm wasting time?" And consistently answering that properly is what's truly required to reach a healthy mental process.

 

But instead of accepting this idea, loosening myself, and allowing myself to act as I wish without self-scrutiny… I feel compelled to respond in unhealthy ways. For example, by making rigid lists, budgets, schedules, "rules" and "tests" for myself. More on that later.

  

Anyway, so I languished quite terribly for the entire morning, and then showered and made lunch. I was ready to go early, and I walked to the home where the teacher lives who wanted me to give her son private lessons.

  

This was a bright spot in my bad day! I got to walk in a section of the town that I'd never really seen before, so that was interesting. And I met the two boys that I'm going to be giving lessons to, Victor and Emilio. They're both in Bachillerato, so they're older. And so my job is seriously just going to consist of speaking to them in English to help with pronunciation and fluency.

  

I didn't actually know that today was going to be a "lesson." After briefly talking about pricing with the parents, I met the boys and sat to talk with them. We seriously just talked about movies, music, video games (bonding over The Walking Dead game!), differences in youth culture between America and Spain, and random other stuff.

  

They're 17-year-old boys, so naturally they wanted to talk about 17-year-old boy stuff, like "Is college in the United States really just like American Pie?" They also wanted to know if Knife Party is just a band name or if knife parties are like, a thing… oh boy. Also whether Grand Theft Auto is how life really is in America ("If you steal a plane and get away, do the cops stop chasing you?").

  

It was an incredibly entertaining conversation, and they spoke to me totally in English, so that was good. Their mother came in eventually and was like "Okay, it's been over an hour," and just handed me the money right there, like a prostitute or something. But I'm never going to complain about quick and easy cash. I almost feel like being an English teacher is too easy, sometimes.

  

Afterwards, I decided to renew my pharmacy-seeking efforts, since today was the day that mattered in regards to refilling my birth control. I walked up Bulevar and found a pharmacy, showed my prescription to the pharmacist, and easily received the pack of pills.

  

I understand that it might seem like a personal thing to talk about getting birth control pills, but it's not something I feel uncomfortable addressing, especially because I want to explain the differences between the process in the U.S. and in Spain.

 

Also, I don't just take them FOR CONTRACEPTIVE PURPOSES. A lot of people assume that's their only use, but I used to have other symptoms that have stabilized and/or disappeared since I started taking birth control pills about 4 years ago. I would continue to take the pills for those reasons alone.

  

For example, I suspect that these bad/dramatic emotions I've been experiencing will probably subside in a couple of days as my hormones get put in their place. Crossing my fingers!

  

So yeah, my month's prescription cost me 5,95 euros. Less than 6 euros. And I say "prescription," but I suppose it would be more accurate to say "supply," since a prescription isn't required for a girl to get birth control pills here in Spain. That also means that costly appointments that keep resulting in more surprise medical bills are NOT required to renew a prescription. Also, there was no health insurance involved at all--it's just like going to the store to buy headache medicine.

  

I'm dwelling on all of this because this summer I ran into a BIG HEADACHE INDEED trying to get a month's supply of pills. Involving a routine, required appointment that cost me roughly $600 after all the separate bills, the results of which were "you should probably follow up on this because the results weren't 'definitely-not-cancer.'" Needless to say, I'm taking my chances there.

  

And on top of that, I have to pay an additional $28 each month every time I need to refill my prescription. Welcome to "not having health insurance in America"! Pah. It's the most frustrating and dehumanizing thing in the world to be told that your ability to live and be healthy is dependent upon your ability to pay inflated sums for basic care.

  

But I'm in Spain now. Which has a lovely, reasonable, efficient healthcare system. Do you realize what a relief it is to know that you don't have to apologize or be punished for having imperfect health? I was so excited when the pharmacist told me the price. I was like "THAT'S IT?? Oh my god, it's so cheap here!" He looked puzzled and then shocked when I told him the price of my prescription in America.

  

Anyway, now that we've made it past my long rant about healthcare, I happily left the pharmacy and walked home. And as these things always seem to go, I passed like 3 other pharmacies on my way back. Even though there were none to be found last night. That's life.

  

Instead of going straight home, I instead went to my usual cafe for some cinnamon tea. And this is where the part about unhealthy and rigid responses comes in. I started drawing up a strict and detailed budget, recording my recent spendings, estimating my earnings, subtracting my expenses and trying to determine what I'm left with in the end. And then trying to determine how many more private lessons I should give to get closer to my goal.

  

I don't think that was necessarily unhealthy. If I force myself to follow it rigidly and beat myself up over any deviations, that will be bad. But I'm actually kind of glad that I got a realistic look at my budget, to keep in mind at least somewhat.

  

But then it sort of snowballed and suddenly I had made an inventory of every food item in my kitchen, with stars next to the foods that are most perishable so I know to make meals with them first. And I had planned each meal for the next three days. And somehow got this idea in my head that I would plan every meal so I could shop most efficiently and use each item to its fullest potential.

  

There's nothing wrong with looking ahead and having an idea of specific meals I might want to cook in the coming days. But I don't think it's very healthy to have a specific plan for EACH EGG IN MY REFRIGERATOR. I'm not even a naturally organized person. And I like variety. And I don't always know what I'll be hungry for.

  

The healthy way to respond to feelings of "Am I using my time/money/resources as I SHOULD be?" is to say "There really isn't a way that I SHOULD do anything, and mistakes are natural. What matters is that I am operating in a way that suits me and makes me feel okay."

  

But my typical solution instead is "I SHALL PREVENT MYSELF FROM EVER MAKING ERRORS BY CREATING THIS PERFECT LIST AND PERFECT PLAN, PERFECTLY ORGANIZED AND PERFECTLY TIMED AND PERFECTLY EXECUTED AND..."

  

"Stop the music! Well ain't I human, like everybody else?"

  

(It sounds silly, but this Kinks lyric often provides a great mental axe to cut through my thoughts and stop my weird perfectionist cycles from continuing).

  

There's no realistic way to follow the sorts of rules I impose upon myself without being truly miserable and squeezing all the spontaneity and flavor out of life. So although a plan might inherently be a good thing, I have difficulty planning in a realistic and healthy way. It's either no plan because I feel too overwhelmed to act, or a disgustingly specific plan that's nearly impossible to stick to.

  

Middle ground. Gray areas. That's what I'm always seeking. That's the healthiest place to be.

  

I promise, I'm working on it. It's honestly getting better. It's just tough on days like today when the bad feelings seem to defeat the logical thought patterns.

  

Going to bed (although I went late) was the best thing for me. Sometimes days just need to be discarded, so you can start fresh and try to be better the next day.