.

 

St Mary, Worlingworth, Suffolk

 

North Suffolk is a lattice of lanes, which meander as if they are so ancient they have forgotten their purpose. Worlingworth is a large village, and it comes as a surprise. The church of St Mary rears its 15th Century head above the pretty cottages, and you step through a gate into the tight, verdant graveyard, so tight that external shots are near impossible without a bit of trickery.

 

From the churchyard, the sheer scale of the Perpendicular windows is accentuated by the lack of a clerestory. You can see straight away that this is not going to be a dark church. The porch disguises the size of the church, being large in proportion. In fact, as there are no aisles, this is the second largest span of any church roof in Suffolk, after Laxfield.

 

As is usual in this part of the county, St Mary is open every day, and it is always a pleasure to step into the charming and interesting interior, with much to see. Simon Jenkins famously described the parish churches of England as one vast folk museum, and he might well have been thinking of Worlingworth in particular. Here, there is a real sense of the life of ordinary people in this parish over six centuries or more.

 

Best of all is quite the loveliest set of 17th century box pews in the county. Their doors are carved with the familiar arch, the wood burnished with the patina of age. The date 1630 can be seen at the front. Their sheer quality is perhaps a mark of burgeoning Laudian piety, but undoubtedly they serve their purpose so well that no later century has seen a reason to replace them. The effect of standing among them beneath that great roof is a little like being in a forest.

 

Some medieval fragments of glass survive in the nave windows. Those in the north side of the nave look so similar to some of the fragments incorporated into the east window at Yaxley that I wondered if they might have come from the same collection. On the south side are a series of familiar 15th Century Saints from the Norwich workshops, including St Apollonia, St Margaret, St Mary Magdalene and St Anne teaching the Blessed Virgin to read. Curiously, all are headless, as if the 16th Century iconolasts had felt it sufficient to, quite literally, deface them.

 

But perhaps the most interesting survivals here are more recent. In the south aisle, a huge picture shows the Worlingworth feast on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of George III in 1810. The church you are standing in can be seen to the left. If you look closely, you'll see an ox being roasted on a great spit. Turning to the north west, you can see the spit itself leaning up in the corner. In recent years the painting has been joined by another, depicting Worlingworth's Golden Jubilee feast for Elizabeth II in 2002. How's that for continuity?

 

In front of the spit is the famous Worlingworth fire engine, dating from the year of George III's accession, 1760. Once, these were a common sight, in churchyards or in the yards of stately homes. Mortlock says that this one was last used on Guy Fawkes Night, 1927. On it is the name of the makers, Newsham and Ragg of Cloth Fair, in the city of London. Sir John Betjeman spent the most creative years of his life living in a house in Cloth Fair, so I wonder if he knew of the Worlingworth fire engine?

 

The font cover is famous for its size and decoration. Only Ufford and Sudbury St Gregory surpass it, although there is something particularly lovely about its mannered early-18th Century restoration. The Victorians seemed to think that it had been brought here from Bury Abbey after the Reformation, but there is no evidence for this - in fact, surely the evidence points to exactly the opposite. It must have been designed for the space it now fills.

 

There are so many fascinating little details at Worlingworth. On the north wall, part of the St Christopher wall-painting survives. Prayers to St Christopher asked for him to intervene to preserve the supplicant from sudden death, an urgent priority in the years after the Black Death when so many had died unshriven. Once, almost every church had one of these. The painting was usually opposite the main entrance, so parishioners could pause in the open doorway to offer their prayers before going about their daily business. At Worlingworth the Saint has gone, but you can still see the fish, going about their business around his feet.

  

The chancel is made grand with memorials, several to the Major and then Henniker family of Thornham Hall, including one to the Dowager Duchess of Chandos, a Major daughter, depicting Faith and Hope. The royal arms consist of nothing other than the charged shield, with no supporters, crest or motto, of George III. There are some charming and poignant ledger stones around the font. The grandly named William Nelson Buckle, second son of the Rev. Charles Buckle, died on the 6th of August 1787, aged just five months, Relieved from Woe, Disease and anxious Care, with all those Passions which perplex us here... Next to him, James Barker to his dearest wyfe Susanna doth this last office of love, for she was Religious, Chaste, Discreet, Loveing... underneath, added almost as an afterthought, he observes that Her rest gives me a rest-lesse life, because she was a vertuous wyfe. But yet I rest in hope to see that Daye of Christ, and then see thee.

 

A more recent century has given brass plaque memorials to two men of the French family, rich patrons of this parish, who were killed in action during the First World War. Reverend Frederic French was the Rector of this church, and he lost a son and a grandson, less than a fortnight apart. Noel Lee French, the only son of the Rector's oldest son, Edward, who might one day have been heir to the French family fortunes, was killed in Egypt on the 27th of February 1915. As if this was not unbearable enough, the Reverend French's youngest son, William Cotton French, was killed near Neuve Chapelle thirteen days later, on the 12th of March. The plaques are set apart in the chancel, a large medieval consecration cross keeping one of them company. Other French memorials on the south side of the chancel include one to another son of the Rector, Hugh Davis Day French, a Conservator of Forests for the Indian Forestry Service, who died in Lucknow in 1903, and another to his brother Thomas Harvey French, who also died in India five years later.

 

One quiet medieval survival might be easily missed. This is the original dedicatory inscription on the font. It asks us to help ease the passage through Purgatory of Nicholas Moni, a request that may have gone unanswered in these last 450 years or so, but which has survived as he intended. It begins Orate pro Anima..., 'Pray for the Soul of...'

 

William Godbold gave the almsbox in 1622, and his inscription also survives.

Historical Board of Governors

 

Pierre Goldschmidt, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Safeguards, delivers his statement at the IAEA Board of Governors meeting. IAEA, Vienna, Austria. 1 March 2005

 

front row, left to right: Vilmos Cserveny, IAEA Director, Office of External Relations and Policy Co-ordination, Pierre Goldschmidt, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Safeguards, Ingrid Hall, Board of Governors Chairman 2004 - 2005 and Kwaku Aning, Secretary, Policy Making Organs

 

Photo Credit: Dean Calma / IAEA

                                                                                                                            

Villa Babylon,

 

State of the art luxury

 

With Feature external glass walls

 

Amazing panoramic views of the Taurus Mountains in an idyllic setting

   

Side Development one of the leading developers in the region is proud to bring to you its most exclusive and innovative project.

 

Villa Babylon sits on a 735 m2 plot nestling in the hillside of the Sarılar District of Side. Our architects have designed a very modern,contemporary development using only 25% of the available land for construction. The remaining 75% will be dedicated to fully landscaped gardens, each villa will have a modern wrap around pool, large sun terraces and many more 5 star facilities. An unobtrusive gated entrance with water features, 24 hour security means that within this corner of paradise your privacy is respected and guaranteed.

   

The Babylon lifestyle

   

After extensive research and many years of property sales and development –we are sure that the focus of this project must be to provide the highest standard of villa luxury available in this area. These unique glass villas will incorporate the following features:

 

VİLLA BABYLON

  

·Oversized master bedroom suite with dressing room and luxury bathroom

 

· 2 x twin Bedroom

 

· 1x Double Bedroom

 

· 1x Office

 

· 1 lounge

 

· 1x Raised Dining room

 

· 1x Large, open plan designer kitchen

 

· 1x Gymnasium,Sauna

 

· 4x Bathroom

 

· 1 x imposing reception area and hallway

 

· 1x Basement area –utility room –and wine cellar

 

· 1x state of the art fireplace

 

· Spacious parking area

 

· 1 Swimming pool 60 sqm2

 

· Large pool facing terrace –with second impressively sized terrace to take in the views of the Taurus mountains

 

· All floor to ceiling, feature windows are bespoke tinted , double glazed units .

 

· Solar linked under floor heating system

 

· Integral piped music systems

 

·24/7 Security with CCTV linkage

 

· Wireless internet

 

· Smart home system

 

· Centralised aircondion system

 

· Chrome and glass rails in all terraces and swimming pool areas

 

· The Total Size of Villa 412 sqm, Land size 735 sqm

 

Location

 

Villa Babylon is located in the Sarılar district of Side, just a 5 minute drive from restaurants, bars and shops of the Side Harbour and historic old town . You can stroll along the beautiful clean and sandy beaches of the Mediterranean, eat in the picturesque harbour and take in all of the culture of the historic antique Side Harbour –which is also a shopper’s paradise...

 

Stop press……..

 

The architect on this project submitted the plans and visuals for this project to the Antalya 2009/2010 design award competition and is currently on the finalist shortlist.(as at 05.08.2010)

         

Technical Specifications

   

List of Technical Specifications:

 

Building Exteriors

 

· The building will be of steel & reinforced concrete

 

· Interior and Exterior walls will be built from noise reducing bricks

   

· Exterior walls will be insulated and painted with high quality protective paint

 

· Building entrance flooring and stair wells will be granit seramic

   

· All teraceses will be fitted with ceramic tiles with marble skirting. Terace railings will be aluminium with safety perspex panels.

 

. Underfloor Water heating system with solar panels.

 

. Starting foundation,all outside walls and roof insulation.

 

.Special glass walls,double glazing,ınsulating,heat and solar controling,high light transmittance.

       

· Roof tiles will be fireproof with guttering set in concrete, 3 fold insulation / cladding for hot and cold weather and complete insulation against humidity.

  

· Drain pipes will be PVC

  

Villa Interiors:

  

· Air conditioning units (with 3 years guarantee) will be fitted in each room as standard

  

· Inner walls will be plastered & painted with satin washable paint, finished off with detailed plaster coving between walls and ceiling.

 

· High quality marble sills on all windows and teraces.

 

· High quality American panel interior doors will be used throughout.

 

Tiles & floor coverings

 

· First class ceramic tiles will be fitted to all floors.

 

· Bathrooms are fully tiled from floor to ceiling.

 

Windows and Terace doors

 

· All windows and Terace doors are aluminum double glazed for insulation & fitted with integrated shutters & fly screens.

 

· The front door is an American panel Security door constructed from steel.

 

Kitchen / Lounge

 

· The kitchen will be fitted with modern attractive luxury cabinets with granite worktop.

 

· The splashback between worktop and cupboards will be tiled in ceramic wall tiles.

 

· White goods fitted as standard are top quality from Siemens with a 3 year guarantee.

 

· Down lights will be fitted in kitchen and lounge area with dimmers.

 

Bathrooms

 

· All bathrooms will have attractive and custom designed fittings and fixtures.

 

· Bathrooms fitted with manually operated ventilation system.

 

· Modern vanity units and top quality chrome taps and fittings.

 

· Wall fitted toilet with hidden cistern.

 

· Walls and floor will be tiled with top quality ceramics.

 

· The Villa will have 4 bathrooms (1 of them ensuite).

     

Bedrooms

 

· Ensuite bathroom in Master bedroom .

     

· All bedrooms will have fitted wardrobes.

 

General

 

· Energy saver keys are fitted as standard to minimise your expenses.

 

· Smoke detectors in all properties are fitted in accordance with safety Standards.

 

· Adequate electrical sockets, satellite TV connections, telephone and PC Connections are fitted as Standard.

       

I copy all my photographs to two external hard drives as well as leaving them on the computer's internal hard drive.

I always try to get the dedication of cathedrals correct, and this was it's original name, apparently.

 

Anyway.

 

Apart from the football, and meeting friends, the other main reason for being in Liverpool was to visit the Anglican Cathedral.

 

It is fairly modern. And huge.

 

I mean huge.

 

We could not go in through the west door as there was abseiling down the west end. In strong winds. Didn't sound very safe to us.

 

So we made our way to the south door, and into the huge space inside.

 

-------------------------------------------

 

Liverpool Cathedral is the Church of England Cathedral of the Diocese of Liverpool, built on St James's Mount in Liverpool and is the seat of the Bishop of Liverpool. It may be referred to as the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool (as recorded in the Document of Consecration) or the Cathedral Church of the Risen Christ, Liverpool, being dedicated to Christ 'in especial remembrance of his most glorious Resurrection'.[1] Liverpool Cathedral is the largest cathedral and religious building in Britain.[2]

 

The cathedral is based on a design by Giles Gilbert Scott, and was constructed between 1904 and 1978. The total external length of the building, including the Lady Chapel (dedicated to the Blessed Virgin), is 207 yards (189 m) making it the longest cathedral in the world;[n 1] its internal length is 160 yards (150 m). In terms of overall volume, Liverpool Cathedral ranks as the fifth-largest cathedral in the world[3] and contests with the incomplete Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City for the title of largest Anglican church building.[4] With a height of 331 feet (101 m) it is also one of the world's tallest non-spired church buildings and the third-tallest structure in the city of Liverpool. The cathedral is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.[5]

 

The Anglican cathedral is one of two cathedrals in the city. The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral of Liverpool is situated approximately half a mile to the north. The cathedrals are linked by Hope Street, which takes its name from William Hope, a local merchant whose house stood on the site now occupied by the Philharmonic Hall, and was named long before either cathedral was built.

 

J. C. Ryle was installed as the first Bishop of Liverpool in 1880, but the new diocese had no cathedral, merely a "pro-cathedral", the parish church of St Peter's, Church Street. St Peter's was unsatisfactory; it was too small for major church events, and moreover was, in the words of the Rector of Liverpool, "ugly & hideous".[6] In 1885 an Act of Parliament authorised the building of a cathedral on the site of the existing St John's Church, adjacent to St George's Hall.[7] A competition was held for the design, and won by William Emerson. The site proved unsuitable for the erection of a building on the scale proposed, and the scheme was abandoned.[7]

 

In 1900 Francis Chavasse succeeded Ryle as Bishop, and immediately revived the project to build a cathedral.[8] There was some opposition from among members of Chavasse's diocesan clergy, who maintained that there was no need for an expensive new cathedral. The architectural historian John Thomas argues that this reflected "a measure of factional strife between Liverpool Anglicanism's very Evangelical or Low Church tradition, and other forces detectable within the religious complexion of the new diocese."[9] Chavasse, though himself an Evangelical, regarded the building of a great church as "a visible witness to God in the midst of a great city".[9] He pressed ahead, and appointed a committee under William Forwood to consider all possible sites. The St John's site being ruled out, Forwood's committee identified four locations: St Peter's and St Luke's, which were, like St John's, found to be too restricted; a triangular site at the junction of London Road and Monument Place;[n 2] and St James's Mount.[10] There was considerable debate about the competing merits of the two possible sites, and Forwood's committee was inclined to favour the London Road triangle. However, the cost of acquiring it was too great, and the St James's Mount site was recommended.[10] An historian of the cathedral, Vere Cotton, wrote in 1964:

 

Looking back after an interval of sixty years, it is difficult to realise that any other decision was even possible. With the exception of Durham, no English cathedral is so well placed to be seen to advantage both from a distance and from its immediate vicinity. That such a site, convenient to yet withdrawn from the centre of the city … dominating the city and clearly visible from the river, should have been available is not the least of the many strokes of good fortune which have marked the history of the cathedral.[10]

 

Fund-raising began, and new enabling legislation was passed by Parliament. The Liverpool Cathedral Act 1902 authorised the purchase of the site and the building of a cathedral, with the proviso that as soon as any part of it opened for public worship, St Peter's Church should be demolished and its site sold to provide the endowment of the new cathedral's chapter. St Peter's place as Parish Church of Liverpool would be taken by the existing church of St Nicholas near the Pier Head.[10] St Peter's Church closed in 1919, and was finally demolished in 1922.

 

In 1909, free of Bodley and growing in confidence, Scott submitted an entirely new design for the main body of the cathedral.[28] His original design had two towers at the west end[n 5] and a single transept; the revised plan called for a single central tower 85.344 metres (280.00 ft) high, topped with a lantern and flanked by twin transepts.[30][n 6] The Cathedral Committee, shaken by such radical changes to the design they had approved, asked Scott to work his ideas out in fine detail and submit them for consideration.[28] He worked on the plans for more than a year, and in November 1910, the committee approved them.[28] In addition to the change in the exterior, Scott's new plans provided more interior space.[32] At the same time Scott modified the decorative style, losing much of the Gothic detailing and introducing a more modern, monumental style.[33]

 

The Lady Chapel (originally intended to be called the Morning Chapel),[9] the first part of the building to be completed, was consecrated in 1910 by Chavasse in the presence of two Archbishops and 24 other Bishops.[34] The date, 29 June — St Peter's Day — was chosen to honour the pro-cathedral, now due to be demolished.[35] The Manchester Guardian described the ceremony:

 

The Bishop of Liverpool knocked on the door with his pastoral staff, saying in a loud voice, "Open ye the gates." The doors having been flung open, the Earl of Derby, resplendent in the golden robes of the Chancellor of Liverpool University, presented Dr. Chavasse with the petition for consecration. … The Archbishop of York, whose cross was carried before him and who was followed by two train-bearers clad in scarlet cassocks, was conducted to the sedilla and the rest of the Bishops, with the exception of Dr. Chavasse, who knelt before his episcopal chair in the sanctuary, found accommodation in the choir stalls.

 

The richness of the décor of the Lady Chapel may have dismayed some of Liverpool's Evangelical clergy. Thomas suggests that they were confronted with "a feminised building which lacked reference to the 'manly' and 'muscular Christian' thinking which had emerged in reaction to the earlier feminisation of religion."[9] He adds that the building would have seemed to many to be designed for Anglo-Catholic worship

 

Work was severely limited during the First World War, with a shortage of manpower, materials and donations.[37] By 1920, the workforce had been brought back up to strength and the stone quarries at Woolton, source of the pinkish-red sandstone for most of the building, reopened.[37] The first section of the main body of the cathedral was complete by 1924. It comprised the chancel, an ambulatory, chapter house and vestries.[38] The section was closed with a temporary wall, and on 19 July 1924, the 20th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone, the cathedral was consecrated in the presence of George V and Queen Mary, and Bishops and Archbishops from around the globe.[37] Major works ceased for a year while Scott once again revised his plans for the next section of the building: the tower, the under-tower and the central transept.[39] The tower in his final design was higher and narrower than his 1910 conception.[40]

 

From July 1925 work continued steadily, and it was hoped to complete the whole section by 1940.[41] The outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 caused similar problems to those of the earlier war. The workforce dwindled from 266 to 35; moreover, the building was damaged by German bombs during the May Blitz.[42] Despite these vicissitudes, the central section was complete enough by July 1941 to be handed over to the Dean and Chapter. Scott laid the last stone of the last pinnacle on the tower on 20 February 1942.[43] No further major works were undertaken during the rest of the war. Scott produced his plans for the nave in 1942, but work on it did not begin until 1948.[44] The bomb damage, particularly to the Lady Chapel, was not fully repaired until 1955.

 

Scott died in 1960. The first bay of the nave was then nearly complete, and was handed over to the Dean and Chapter in April 1961. Scott was succeeded as architect by Frederick Thomas.[46] Thomas, who had worked with Scott for many years, drew up a new design for the west front of the cathedral. The Guardian commented, "It was an inflation beater, but totally in keeping with the spirit of the earlier work, and its crowning glory is the Benedicite Window designed by Carl Edwards and covering 1,600 sq. ft."[47]

 

The version recorded in Gavin Stamp's obituary of Richard Gilbert Scott, which appeared in The Guardian on 15 July 2017, differs slightly: "When his father died the following year (1960), Richard inherited the practice and was left to complete several jobs. He continued with the great work of building Liverpool Cathedral but, after adding two bays of the nave (using cheaper materials: concrete and fibreglass), he resigned when it was proposed drastically to alter his father's design. The cathedral was eventually completed with a much simplified and diminished west end drawn out by his father's former assistant, Roger Pinckney".[48]

 

The completion of the building was marked by a service of thanksgiving and dedication in October 1978, attended by Queen Elizabeth II. In the spirit of ecumenism that had been fostered in Liverpool, Derek Worlock, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Liverpool, played a major part in the ceremony.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverpool_Cathedral

The Barchetta was developed between 1990 and 1994 under the project name Tipo B Spider 176. It was designed by Andreas Zapatinas and Alessandro Cavazza under the supervision of Peter Barrett Davis and other car designers at the Fiat Centro Stile, and prototyping was carried out by Stola.

 

Production began in February 1995 and lasted until June 2005, with a brief pause due to the bankruptcy of coachbuilder Maggiora. The Barchetta was based on the chassis of the Mark 1 Fiat Punto. The Barchetta has 1,747 cc DOHC petrol engine fitted with variable camshaft timing, used for the first time in a Fiat production car, after being patented in 1970. The engine has 132 PS (97 kW; 130 hp) and 164 N·m (121 lb·ft) of torque. The Barchetta weighs 1056 kg (2328 lb) without air conditioning and can accelerate to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 8.9 seconds and has a top speed of 200 km/h (124 mph). It came in various trim levels which offered different features, for example, diamond cross stitch - patterned red leather instead of the standard black leather or fabric seats, alloy wheels instead of steel wheels, or fog-lights as an option. Arguably one of the biggest external cosmetic changes was made by the addition of the third brake light, first introduced by Fiat on the Lido and Riviera in 2000, and on sub models thereafter.

 

The Barchetta was revised in 2003, for its relaunch the following year, with some alterations inside and out. The most notable changes were the revised front spoiler and rear bumper. Production of the car eventually stopped in June 2005.

This image is part of a series of images showing various stages of the process to assemble an external tank beginning with the early stages of welding and ending with roll out of a completed external tank to the Pegasus barge at the dock at Michoud Assembly Facility. Several graphic images show the internal and external views of the Liquid Oxygen Tank, Intertank, Liquid Hydrogen Tank and a completed external tank with thermal protection system.

 

Image credit: NASA

This image is part of a series of images showing various stages of the process to assemble an external tank beginning with the early stages of welding and ending with roll out of a completed external tank to the Pegasus barge at the dock at Michoud Assembly Facility. Several graphic images show the internal and external views of the Liquid Oxygen Tank, Intertank, Liquid Hydrogen Tank and a completed external tank with thermal protection system.

 

Image credit: NASA

Strobist info:

 

Shot with Nikon D90

50mm

1/100 seconds

F10

ISO 100

SB-600 @ 1/64 power, snooted and hand held overhead and a bit to the right

Two Seagates and a Western Digital, the Seagates are 500 GB and the WD is 1 TB, all are 2.5" and USB-powered

Liguus fasciatus (Muller, 1774) - Florida tree snails from Florida, USA. (public display, Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum, Sanibel Island, Florida, USA)

 

The gastropods (snails & slugs) are a group of molluscs that occupy marine, freshwater, and terrestrial environments. Most gastropods have a calcareous external shell (the snails). Some lack a shell completely, or have reduced internal shells (the slugs & sea slugs & pteropods). Most members of the Gastropoda are marine. Most marine snails are herbivores (algae grazers) or predators/carnivores.

 

Liguus fasciatus is a land snail in Florida and Cuba that has an attractive, colorful shell. Over 120 nominal subspecies have been described, some of which are extinct from the activities of shell collectors.

-------------

From museum signage:

Once abundant in the hardwood trees in "hammocks" throughout southern Florida, the brightly-colored Liguus snails have almost disappeared due to the destruction of their habitats. Over 54 color forms, or "subspecies", have been described.

 

"Ligs", as they are popularly known among conchologists, prefer to live on the trunks and branches of smooth-barked trees, such as the gumbo limbo, the Jamaica dogwood and the wild tamarind, Lysiloma. Sinistrally coiled, or "left-handed" specimens are very rare. Heavy growths of fungi and lichens serve as their food. Winter freezes will kill them.

 

Enemies of these snails include birds, the introduced European rats, beetles and illicit shell collectors. Liguus are prolific breeders, but their main danger comes from fires, hurricanes, pollution and the cutting down of their preferred trees. Transplanted colonies now extinct in the Lower Florida Keys, are now surviving in the Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve.

 

When early naturalists [in the 1800s], like Titian R. Peale and Charles T. Simpson, explored southern Florida, they found the Liguus tree snails abundant in all the hardwood "hammocks" and along most of the Lower Florida Keys. Past hurricanes had spread this species to almost every area in southern Florida, except in pine forests, watery swamps and where severe freezes occurred.

 

In less than 150 years, man-made fires, new roads, tree-clearing and commercial farming have made many of the subspecies and unique color forms extinct. Shell collectors reduced the numbers of some colonies and mixed various forms, thus producing new hybrids. Thanks to wildlife sanctuaries, many populations of color forms still survive today.

------------

Shown above is a population sample of a natural colony of Liguus fasciatus tree snails collected in Miami, Florida.

 

Classification: Animalia, Mollusca, Gastropoda, Pulmonata, Orthalicidae

 

Locality: Brickell Hammock, Miami, far-southern Florida, USA

--------------

More info. at:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liguus

and

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liguus_fasciatus

 

pipes on atlantic avenue

External Black & White Abstract

 

For maximum effect, click the image, to go into the Lightbox, to view at the largest size; or, perhaps, by clicking the expansion arrows at top right of the page for a Full Screen view.

Don't use or reproduce this image on Websites/Blog or any other media without my explicit permission.

© All Rights Reserved - Jim Goodyear 2014-2017.

petitions.moveon.org/sign/change-flickr-back

 

Photos for participants and USLA. Tag waterbloggged! Others: DON'T PUT ON EXTERNAL SITES WITHOUT PERMISSION.

Canon EOS 7D

EF70-200mm f/2.8L USM @ 105mm

Topaz is owned by solarsenshi I tried out my new colour filters for my external flash. Hence the pinkish glow. No after processing needed at all :)

Norwich Hall accommodation with trees and greenery at the front.

Queridas mães brasileiras,

 

Talvez seja essa a primeira vez que, desta cadeira presidencial, alguém faz um pronunciamento no nosso dia, o Dia das Mães. Não por acaso, é também a primeira vez que nosso país tem uma presidenta, uma mulher que é filha, mãe e avó. Uma mulher, que como a maioria de vocês, já se emocionou nessa data.

Hoje, quero dar um abraço cheio de alegria e esperança em todas as mães brasileiras, em especial, nas que mais sofrem, nas que passam sacrifício para alimentar, criar e educar seus filhos. Sei que quando uma presidenta fala para as mães mais pobres, todas as outras mães a escutam com alma e coração. Por isso, sei que cada uma de vocês está atenta ao que eu vou dizer. Não são apenas palavras de conforto que tenho para as mães mais pobres do nosso país. Quero anunciar, hoje, o lançamento da ação Brasil Carinhoso, que irá tirar da miséria absoluta todas as famílias brasileiras que tenham crianças de 0 a 6 anos de idade.

O Brasil Carinhoso faz parte do grande programa Brasil Sem Miséria, que estamos desenvolvendo com sucesso em todo o território nacional. E será a mais importante ação de combate à pobreza absoluta na primeira infância já lançada no nosso país. O nome da ação diz tudo: Brasil Carinhoso. É o Brasil cuidadoso, o Brasil que cuida bem do seu bem mais precioso: as nossas crianças. Que tem carinho e amor por elas.

Todos sabem que a principal bandeira do meu governo é acabar com a miséria absoluta no nosso país. Mas nem todos sabem que, historicamente, a faixa de idade onde o Brasil tem menos conseguido reduzir a pobreza é, infelizmente, a de crianças de 0 a 6 anos.

Para um país, é uma realidade duplamente amarga ter, ao mesmo tempo, gente ainda vivendo na miséria absoluta e esta pobreza se concentrar, com mais força, entre as crianças e os jovens.

A concentração da pobreza é igualmente cruel regionalmente, pois é no Nordeste e no Norte onde ela está mais presente. Setenta e oito por cento das crianças brasileiras em situação de pobreza absoluta vivem nestas duas regiões. E 60% delas estão no Nordeste. Ou seja, regiões mais pobres, crianças mais desprotegidas, mães e pais entregues, historicamente, à sua própria sorte.

A vida das crianças pobres tem melhorado muito nos últimos anos no Brasil. O índice de mortalidade infantil caiu 47,5% no país, e 58,6%, no Nordeste. Porém, muito ainda precisa ser feito e a situação se agrava em períodos de seca, como ocorre neste momento no Nordeste. Por estas razões, o Brasil Carinhoso, mesmo sendo uma ação nacional, vai olhar com a máxima atenção para as crianças destas duas regiões mais pobres do país: para o Norte e para o Nordeste.

Como outros programas do Brasil Sem Miséria, ele será uma parceria dos governos federal, estaduais e municipais e terá três eixos principais. O primeiro, e muito importante, vai garantir uma renda mínima de R$ 70,00 a cada membro das famílias extremamente pobres que tenham pelo menos uma criança de 0 a 6 anos. É uma ampliação e um reforço muito importante ao Bolsa Família. Isso, aliás, tem sido uma prática bem-sucedida do Brasil Sem Miséria.

O segundo eixo do Brasil Carinhoso será aumentar o acesso das crianças muito pobres à creche. E o terceiro, ampliar a cobertura dos programas de saúde para elas. Neste caso, além do reforço dos atuais programas de saúde, vamos lançar um amplo programa de controle da anemia e deficiência de vitamina A, e introduzir remédio gratuito contra asma nas unidades do Aqui Tem Farmácia Popular.

Quero enfatizar a importância de se ampliar efetivamente o acesso das crianças pobres às creches. E creche significa mais que um teto ocasional para essas crianças. A creche significa saúde, educação, comida, conforto, lazer e higiene. Significa atacar pela raiz a desigualdade. Para ampliar essa cobertura, vamos construir novas creches e, especialmente, ampliar e estimular convênios com entidades públicas e privadas.

Com o Brasil Carinhoso, estamos reforçando fortemente as ações do Brasil Sem Miséria que beneficiam as mulheres e as crianças. As crianças, aliás, têm sido a prioridade desde o início do programa, como mostram, por exemplo, os subprogramas Bolsa Gestante e o Bolsa Nutriz.

Fico muito feliz de poder anunciar o Brasil Carinhoso no Dia das Mães. É uma forma de reafirmar, de maneira ainda mais contundente, que nosso governo tem o maior conjunto de programas de apoio à mulher e à criança da nossa história. Ou seja, é o Brasil cuidando cada vez mais de quem dá a vida e de quem faz o futuro.

É um Brasil moderno e amoroso, cuidando de suas mães e dos nossos queridos brasileirinhos e brasileirinhas.

Um feliz Dia das Mães e uma vida mais feliz para todas as mães brasileiras é o que desejo de todo coração.

Obrigada e boa noite.

----------------------------

 

Governo lança o Brasil Carinhoso

 

A presidenta da República, Dilma Rousseff, lançou na tarde desta segunda-feira (14/5), em Brasília, a Agenda de Atenção Básica à Primeira Infância - Brasil Carinhoso, que vai beneficiar 2 milhões de famílias que vivem na extrema pobreza e têm crianças com até 6 anos de idade. Inicialmente, 2,7 milhões de crianças serão beneficiadas. Entre as ações do Plano, estão a ampliação do Bolsa Família, fortalecimento da educação, com o aumento da oferta de vagas nas creches, e cuidados adicionais na saúde, com a suplementação de vitamina A, de ferro, e medicação gratuita contra asma.

O Bolsa Família será ampliado para garantir que, em cada família que tiver pelo menos uma criança com até 6 anos e 11 meses de idade, cada pessoa dessa família tenha renda mínima superior a R$ 70,00 mensais. Assim, todos os membros da família vão ultrapassar a linha da miséria – renda mensal de até R$ 70 por pessoa. Os recursos começam a ser pagos no próximo mês de junho no cartão do Bolsa Família, de acordo com o calendário de pagamento do programa.

A ampliação do Bolsa Família terá impacto imediato de 40% na redução da miséria (considerando os valores repassados a todas as faixas etárias) e de 62% entre as crianças de 0 e 6 anos.

Mais 1.512 creches - Na área da educação, o governo vai aumentar o número de vagas nas creches. No lançamento do Brasil Carinhoso, o governo federal assinou um acordo com as prefeituras para a construção de mais 1.512 creches em todo o país, no Programa Proinfância, ação que integra o Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento (PAC 2). Serão repassados para as prefeituras os recursos para custear cada nova vaga aberta nas creches públicas ou conveniadas.

Para cada criança do Bolsa Família matriculada, o município vai receber 50% a mais do valor que já é repassado pelo governo federal. Com isso, o governo quer estimular a matrícula de crianças do Bolsa Família nas creches de todo o país. Hoje, o Fundo de Manutenção e Desenvolvimento da Educação Básica e de Valorização dos Profissionais da Educação (Fundeb) repassa R$ 2.725 por aluno/ano matriculado em creche. As crianças do Bolsa Família receberão valor adicional de R$ 1.362 ao ano. Outra ação prevista no Brasil Carinhoso é o aumento em quase 70% do valor que o governo federal repassa aos municípios para reforçar a alimentação nessas creches.

Até 2014, serão construídas 6.427 escolas de educação infantil que atenderão crianças de 0 a 5 anos. Por meio do Fundo Nacional de Desenvolvimento da Educação, o governo federal destina recursos para a construção de unidades, a aquisição de equipamentos e mobiliário e define o projeto arquitetônico. Cabe à Prefeitura oferecer um terreno próprio.

Com o Brasil Carinhoso, o Programa Saúde da Escola, que atendia estudantes de 5 a 19 anos, passará a atender crianças de 0 a 5 anos. Nesse programa, as escolas contam com apoio das equipes da Estratégia Saúde da Família, que atuam na prevenção de doenças e na promoção da saúde. Os profissionais de saúde fazem avaliações oftalmológicas, auditivas, nutricionais, odontológicas e psicossociais. Além disso, atualizam o calendário vacinal e detectam casos de hipertensão e demais doenças.

Medicamento gratuito - O governo vai ampliar a prevenção e o tratamento de doenças que afetam as crianças. Uma das ações incluídas no Brasil Carinhoso é a distribuição gratuita de remédios para o tratamento da asma na rede Aqui tem Farmácia Popular. Segundo o Ministério da Saúde, a asma é a segunda principal causa de internação de crianças de até cinco anos no SUS. No ano passado, 71 mil crianças nesta faixa etária foram internadas no SUS em decorrência da asma.

O Ministério da Saúde acordou com a indústria e com o varejo farmacêuticos a inclusão de três medicamentos para o tratamento da asma, em dez apresentações, a partir de junho. São eles: brometo de ipratrópio; diproprionato de beclometasona; e sulfato de salbutamol. A inclusão dos três medicamentos ampliará o orçamento atual do programa Saúde Não Tem Preço (de R$ 836 milhões em 2012) em R$ 30 milhões por ano. Anualmente, o programa Farmácia Popular atende 200 mil pacientes que compram medicamentos com desconto para o tratamento da asma. Estima-se que com a gratuidade, este número alcance entre 600 mil e 800 mil. Deste total, cerca de 50% são crianças com até 11 anos.

Suplementação nutricional - O Brasil Carinhoso também tem ações de suplementação nutricional (sulfato ferroso + vitamina A). Com isso, o governo pretende reduzir os casos de anemia em 10% e a deficiência de Vitamina A em 5% ao ano nas crianças menores de 5 anos.

A distribuição de doses de vitamina A para crianças entre 6 meses e 5 anos nas Unidades Básicas de Saúde (UBSs) e em campanhas de vacinação, em 2.755 municípios brasileiros, começa em agosto deste ano. Serão priorizados os municípios que integram o plano Brasil Sem Miséria. Aproximadamente 20% das crianças brasileiras apresentam deficiência de vitamina A. A suplementação adequada reduz em 24% o risco de morte infantil e em 28% a mortalidade por diarreia. Além disso, a deficiência de vitamina A aumenta o risco das crianças desenvolverem anemia, e, quando severa, provoca deficiência visual.

O suplemento de ferro será distribuído nas Unidades Básicas de Saúde para crianças com idades entre 6 meses e 18 meses. Essa distribuição já é feita nos municípios brasileiros, mas agora se estenderá para as unidades de saúde. A medida visa prevenir a anemia logo nos primeiros meses de vida e contribuir para o desenvolvimento cognitivo das crianças, além de reduzir a mortalidade infantil por anemia nutricional.

No Brasil, uma em cada grupo de cinco crianças menores de 5 anos apresenta anemia. Em crianças menores de 2 anos a prevalência chega a 60%. Em 2010, foram registradas 27 mortes de crianças de 0 a 5 anos por anemia nutricional. Em 2000, foram 68 mortes.

 

Mais informações

Ministério do Desenvolvimento Social e Combate à Fome (61) 3433-1021

Ministério da Saúde (61) 3315-2745

Ministério da Educação (61) 2022-7500

 

Photos for participants and USLA. Tag waterbloggged! Others: DON'T PUT ON EXTERNAL SITES WITHOUT PERMISSION.

Flattening the gluing surface in preparation for the external keel.

Testing my new external flash.

 

Flash to the right

 

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This is the external structure of a cilliate, likey a paramecium. It was negative stained using Nigrosin to reveal the pelical external structure. The peristome is at the upper right.

 

A culture rich in ciliates was applied to a microscope slide and 1 drop of 2 % Nigrosin in water was added. The drop was smeared across 2/3 of the slide and let to dry. As the water evaporates, the stain concentrates and most of the ciliates are found in the more concentrated end of the smear.

 

Imaged using an Olympus BHS with a NEO SPlan 50 NIC objective and using a Sony A7S. This is a metallurgical objective and thus well suited for use without a coverglass.

The impressive mammisi at Dendera dating mainly to the Roman period. Much of the rich external carving was never finished, but on the south side it is fairly complete and in good condition (aside from the defaced Bes figures above the capitals).

 

The Temple of Hathor at Dendera is one of Egypt's best preserved and most beautiful ancient shrines. This magnificent edifice dates to the Ptolemaic period, late in Egyptian history, though the site long had been the cult centre for the goddess Hathor for centuries before (the earliest extant remains date to c360BC but a temple is recorded here as far back as c2250BC). Most of the main building dates to the reigns of the last Cleopatras and further decoration and building work within the complex continued in the Roman period up to the reign of Trajan.

 

The dominant structure in the complex is the Temple of Hathor, an enormous structure with a rectangular facade punctuated by the Hathor-headed columns of the hypostyle hall within. This hall is an architectural wonder, a masterpiece of ancient Egyptian design and decoration, which covers every surface and has been recently cleaned, revealing a superb astrological ceiling in all its original vibrant colours.

 

Sadly there was much iconoclasm here during the early Christian period and most of the reliefs of the walls and pillars have been defaced. Worse still is the damage to the 24 Hathor-head capitals: not one of the nearly a hundred huge faces of the goddess that once smiled down on this hall has been left unblemished, most with their features cruelly chiselled away.

 

The main temple building is otherwise structurally intact, and extends into further halls and chapels beyond, again with much relief decoration (much of which is again defaced). In one corner is an entrance to a crypt below, an unusual feature in Egyptian temple architecture consisting of several narrow passages adorned with carved relief decoration in good condition.

 

There are further sanctuaries and chapels above on the roof of the temple, accessed by a decorated staircase and including the room where the famous Dendera Zodiac was formerly located (today its place in the ceiling taken by a cast of the original, now displayed in Paris). The highest part of the roof complex is no longer accessible to tourists, but I can still recall making the ascent there on our first visit in 1992.

 

Several other buildings surround the main temple, the most impressive of which is the mammisi or 'birth-house'. This consists of a large rectangluar hall surrounded by a colonnade near the entrance to the site and has some well preserved relief decoration on its exterior. Most of this structure dates to the Roman period, but the ruins of its predecessor built under Nectanebo II (Egypt's last native pharoah) stand nearby.

 

Dendera temple is one of the most rewarding in Egypt and shouldn't be missed. It is one of the most complete and evocative ancient monuments in the country and its recent restoration has revealed a surprisingly extensive amount of colour surviving within (we were amazed by the dramatic contrast with the soot-blackened ceiling we'd beheld on our previous visit in the 1990s). Despite its relative youth (in Egyptian terms at least!) it is easily one of my favourite sites in Egypt.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dendera_Temple_complex

Cooling towers, Willington, Derbyshire.

This weeks theme is Curves.

MILF - Short for Millennium Falcon. Photos of our Lego build.

arche17.com

gregoire_capron@hotmail.com, Feasibility Study, barn conversion, listed building, removable roof, rendering work, graphic work, Open Air Theatre, Amphitheatre, architectural rendering, architectural graphics, Garden of Sculpture, Performance Space, External Performance.

Guido Imbens is a scientist who builds bridges—between data and understanding, between correlation and causation, between abstract mathematical theory and real-world application. In a world flooded with information, he has spent his career developing methods to extract meaningful answers to some of the most pressing questions in economics and social science: What happens if we raise the minimum wage? Does a new medical treatment actually improve health outcomes? How do we measure the effect of education on future earnings?

 

Born in the Netherlands, Imbens trained as an econometrician but became, in many ways, a statistician at heart. He has a precise, almost engineering-like approach to problems, which has served him well in his work on causal inference—the study of how to determine cause-and-effect relationships from data. Alongside Joshua Angrist, his longtime collaborator, Imbens developed methods for using natural experiments—situations where external forces create conditions similar to a randomized trial—to uncover causal relationships. Their work, foundational to modern empirical research, earned them the 2021 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.

 

When I photographed Imbens at his home near Stanford on February 20, 2025, I was struck by the world he had built around him. Books lined the shelves—more than just professional tomes on econometrics, but works of history, philosophy, and literature. The walls were filled with photographs, all his own, documenting the life of his family with the same dedication and care he applies to his research. Outside, among the quiet order of an academic’s world, was something unexpected: chickens. He raises them in his backyard, tending to them with the same quiet, methodical attention he gives to data and equations.

 

His wife, Susan Athey, a celebrated economist in her own right, was there as well. The two share not just a home but a lifetime of intellectual collaboration, an ongoing conversation about economics, technology, and policy. Though Imbens is deeply analytical, he is also warm and engaging, his penetrating eyes suggesting a mind always at work, always questioning. There is no arrogance in his brilliance—just a deep curiosity and a willingness to engage, to explain, to refine.

 

Though he is now well into an illustrious career, his work remains as relevant as ever. As machine learning and AI become dominant forces in research, Imbens is at the forefront of integrating these new tools with rigorous causal reasoning. His focus remains unchanged: ensuring that in our rush to analyze data, we do not lose sight of the deeper question—what causes what, and how can we be sure?

 

Even outside his formal research, Imbens has a scientist’s impulse to observe, to document. His photographs, like his econometric models, are about capturing relationships—not just moments in time, but the threads that connect them. His home, his research, his life’s work—all reflect the same principle: the search for clarity in a world of complexity.

 

Caught a glimpse of this giant 65,000 pound gas tank at the California Science center.

Gold leaf and textural "stone" spray over foam board

Electrolux Design Lab Final 2010, London

SONY DSC

OMG! the external spiral staircase fell over!

A wet, fun day taking pics and playing dress up.

Electrolux Design Lab Final 2010, London

Many people (OK, a few) can spell or pronounce this from memory!