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==Many Years Ago==
*Drury and his brother are both dressed up, Drury as the Flash, Norbert as the Shade, both running about*
Norbert- Pew pew! You're dead Flash!
Drury- Nah, nah, I used my helmet to stop your shadow power... thing.
Norbert- The Flash can't do that!
Drury- Yeah, he can!
Norbert- No, no he can't Drury.
Drury- I'll ask Dad, he'll know.
Norbert- Yeah, he'll know you're wrong!
Drury- Haha! He'll say you're wrong, the Flash alwaaays wins. He's the fastest man alive!
*Li'l Drury runs up to the house and looks through the window, hearing his Dad's raised voice. He puts his head against the wall*
Mr Moth- -Get out of my house you dumb geek!
DeVoe- That, Mr Walker, is an oxymoron. One can not be, what was it? Both "Dumb" and a "Geek."
Mr Moth- No? Maybe you're the exception.
DeVoe- That is improbable. A more accurate theory would be that you lack the basic cognitive ability to deliver a truly damaging insult.
Mr Moth- Are you calling me stupid? Asshat.
DeVoe- Again-
Mr Moth- I get the picture, brainiac. But I told you-
DeVoe- And I recall making it clear that your opinions matters very little to me. Where is the child? Is that him outside?
Mr Moth- Forget it.
DeVoe- Allow me to phrase myself in a way that you might just comprehend- you failed our society and we are giving you the opportunity to redeem yourself.
Mr Moth- That's my boy!
DeVoe- Incorrect. That is not your boy. We are attempting to right a wrong. I assure you, the boy would flourish under our tutelage. Under his father's tutelage.
Mr Moth- And say I still said no?
DeVoe- Would you rather that we would take him by force? Neither of us want that, I'm sure.
Mr Moth- Right...
*Drury's dad opens the door, knocking Drury to the ground unknown to him*
Mr Moth- Norbert! Come inside!
Norbert- Dad?
Mr Moth- Come inside!
Drury- No! No! Run Norbert! They're taking you away!
DeVoe- Listen to me child, your brother is part of a world you can't hope to understand. One day I hope you'll realise that we're doing what's best for him.
Drury- No!
*Drury punches DeVoe*
Mr Moth- Idiot! Get off him!
Drury- I won't let you- I won't- I-
DeVoe- How... precious.
*Mr Moth holds Drury back, still kicking and screaming*
Drury- Noooooo!
*Present day. Drury wakes up in the middle of the night, next to Miranda who's still sleeping. Still shaken, he gets up to the window and is taken aback to see a dark figure watching him in the shadows. In the time it takes Drury to get his gun, the figure is gone. Now wide awake, Drury goes downstairs to the sitting room, where Gaige is, watching TV while simultaneously working on something*
Billings- *on TV* No, no, Gordon, I can't tell you who my source is, you'll just have to read my book. All I can say is, be prepared for me to drop all kinds of bombshells on our protector, and no I don't mean the Bat. Watch out Mr Mayor, I'll send you a signed copy.
Godfrey- And that's all we have time for! I'd like to thank Mr Dellbert Billings for being an excellent guest! I've been G. Gordon Godfrey. Goodnight!
Drury- What're you working on?
Gaige- Walker? Shouldn't you be in bed? Isn't it a school night?
Drury- Very funny.
Gaige- I try my best. Now. If you must know, I'm making my own beer.
Drury- Isn't that a little dangerous?
Gaige- It may well be. But I have to do something. Keeps me busy.
Drury- Oh sure, just maybe don't do it in the living room. Axel's not back from his date and-
Gaige- You won't let your own son drink? You are a real pushover, Walker.
Drury- He's underage.
Gaige- You're the mayor. I'm sure you could bend the rules.
Drury- Well it's not like you'd give him any anyway, is it?
Gaige- You never know. I might. I like him more than you.
Drury- You've made it quite clear that there's a lot of people you like more than me.
Gaige- Seven billion people on the planet Walker. Say if I were ranking people from best to worse, I'd put you at a solid six billion, nine hundred ninety-nine million four hundred thousand.
Drury- That's not so bad I guess.
Gaige- The bottom six hundred thousand are Luxembourgians. Luxembourgeoisie?
Drury- Luxembourgers.
Gaige- That. Stupid place. It's not even a proper country.
...
Gaige- It's so small. It's a teeny little tax haven: less people, less land, more money, so everyone's rich.
Drury- Think that's been debunked, it's just a stereotype.
Gaige- All stereotypes are based on fact. Your ancestors all wore kilts and ate haggis once upon a-
Drury- I don't think they did.
Gaige- We'll just agree that I'm right.
Drury- No. You're racist.
Gaige- When did you get so dull, eh?
Drury- I'm not dull.
Gaige- Yes you are. Anyway, you never said why you're up so late. Miranda finally kick you out?
Drury- Well, I... I had a bad dream.
Gaige- ... For fuck's sake! Are you five?!
Drury- We all have them! And someone was watching me!
Gaige- Ooooooh scary! By the way, I think you've got some squirrels in that nancy cave of yours... I heard some noise when I was down there.
Drury- ... I'll check it out.
Gaige- And watch out for the boogeyman eh? Ha!
====Billings' Apartment====
Billings- Home, sweet home. Heh.
*Billings puts on his silk dressing gown and sits down at his laptop. Then he hears a noise*
Billings- Someone there? ... Are you honestly picking on a disabled man? Really? Godsake... I stand by the second amendment just so you know... I'm not letting my leg stop me from bearing- Oh.
*The same black figure skulks out of the shadows behind Billings. The figure is distinctly bug-like in appearance. In shock Billings trips over*
Billings- Uh, eh.. That shit I said on TV, I didn't mean a word really, it's all for the cameras, you want me to change it, I'll change it!
*The figure draws a knife*
Billings- It was Pike! Carmen Pike! Carson's bird! She told me everything. Emailed it all! Look, my laptop!
*He narrowly misses a swipe from the assailant*
Billings- I'm telling the truth! I promise! She did it! She said it! Frankly I think she's unbalanced but hey, she told me what I wanted! *he cowers into the corner, shutting his eyes* I'll give you anything! ... don't kill me ...
*Finally opening his eyes Billings looks up, but the bug is gone*
Billings- ... Walker?
Chuck the Fastest Angry Bird in the Classic Angry Birds Game, Yellow Triangle Bird. Plants vs. Zombies Shaman (with staff) Rock Middle background. Large orange striped googley eyeball front row.
Worcester is a Cathedral City and the county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England.
The city is located some 17 miles (27 km) south-west of the southern suburbs of Birmingham, and 23 miles (37 km) north of Gloucester. The population is approximately 100,000. The River Severn flanks the western side of the city centre, which is overlooked by the 12th-century Worcester Cathedral.
The site of the final battle of the Civil War, Worcester was where Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army defeated King Charles I's Cavaliers, cementing the eleven-year Interregnum. Worcester was the home of Royal Worcester Porcelain, and for much of his life, the composer Sir Edward Elgar. It houses the Lea & Perrins factory where traditional Worcestershire Sauce is made. The University of Worcester is one of the UK's fastest-growing universities.
History
The trade route past Worcester which later formed part of the Roman Ryknild Street dates to Neolithic times. The position commanded a ford over the River Severn (the river was tidal past Worcester prior to public works projects in the 1840s) and was fortified by the Britons around 400 bc. It would have been on the northern border of the Dobunni and probably subject to the larger communities of the Malvern hillforts. The Roman settlement at the site passes unmentioned by Ptolemy's Geography, the Antonine Itinerary and the Register of Dignitaries but would have grown up on the road opened between Glevum (Gloucester) and Viroconium (Wroxeter) in the ad 40s and 50s. It may have been the "Vertis" mentioned in the 7th-century Ravenna Cosmography. Using charcoal from the Forest of Dean, the Romans operated pottery kilns and ironworks at the site and may have built a small fort.
In the 3rd century, Roman Worcester occupied a larger area than the subsequent medieval city, but silting of the Diglis Basin caused the abandonment of Sidbury. Industrial production ceased and the settlement contracted to a defended position along the lines of the old British fort at the river terrace's southern end. This settlement is generally identified with the Cair Guiragon listed among the 28 cities of Britain by the History of the Britons attributed to Nennius. This is not a British name but an adaption of its Old English name Weorgoran ceaster, "fort of the Weorgoran". The Weorgoran (the "people of the winding river") were precursors of Hwicce and probably West Saxons who entered the area some time after the 577 Battle of Dyrham. In 680, their fort at Worcester was chosen—in preference to both the much larger Gloucester and the royal court at Winchcombe—to be the seat of a new bishopric, suggesting there was already a well-established and powerful Christian community when the site fell into English hands. The oldest known church was St Helen's, which was certainly British; the Saxon cathedral was dedicated to St Peter.
The town was almost destroyed in 1041 after a rebellion against the punitive taxation of Harthacanute. During this time, the townsfolk relocated to (and at times were besieged at) the nearby Bevere Island, 2 miles upriver. The following century, the town (then better defended) was attacked several times (in 1139, 1150 and 1151) during "The Anarchy", i.e. civil war between King Stephen and Empress Matilda, daughter of Henry I. This is the background to the well-researched historical novel The Virgin in the Ice, part of Ellis Peters' "Cadfael" series, which begins with the words:
"It was early in November of 1139 that the tide of civil war, lately so sluggish and inactive, rose suddenly to wash over the city of Worcester, wash away half of its lifestock, property and women and send all those of its inhabitants who could get away in time scurrying for their lives northwards away from the marauders". (These are mentioned as having arrived from Gloucester, leaving a long lasting legacy of bitterness between the two cities.)
By late medieval times the population had grown to around 10,000 as the manufacture of cloth started to become a large local industry. The town was designated a county corporate, giving it autonomy from local government.
Worcester was the site of the Battle of Worcester (3 September 1651), when Charles II attempted to forcefully regain the crown, in the fields a little to the west and south of the city, near the village of Powick. However, Charles II was defeated and returned to his headquarters in what is now known as King Charles house in the Cornmarket, before fleeing in disguise to Boscobel House in Shropshire from where he eventually escaped to France. Worcester had supported the Parliamentary cause before the outbreak of war in 1642 but spent most of the war under Royalist occupation. After the war it cleverly used its location as the site of the final battles of the First Civil War (1646) and Third Civil War (1651) to try to mount an appeal for compensation from the new King Charles II. As part of this and not based upon any historical fact, it invented the epithet "Fidelis Civitas" (The Faithful City) and this motto has since been incorporated into the city's coat of arms.
In 1670, the River Severn broke its banks and the subsequent flood was the worst ever seen by Worcester. A brass plate can be found on a wall on the path to the cathedral by the path along the river showing how high this flood went and other flood heights of more recent times are also shown in stone bricks. The closest flood height to what is known as The Flood of 1670 was when the Severn flooded in the torrential rains of July 2007.
The Royal Worcester Porcelain Company factory was founded by Dr John Wall in 1751, although it no longer produces goods. A handful of decorators are still employed at the factory and the Museum is still open.
During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Worcester was a major centre for glove making, employing nearly half the glovers in England at its peak (over 30,000 people). In 1815 the Worcester and Birmingham Canal opened, allowing Worcester goods to be transported to a larger conurbation.
The British Medical Association (BMA) was founded in the Board Room of the old Worcester Royal Infirmary building in Castle Street in 1832. While part of the Royal Infirmary has now been demolished to make way for the University of Worcester's new city campus, the original Georgian building has been preserved. One of the old wards opened as a medical museum, The Infirmary, in 2012.
In 1882 Worcester hosted the Worcestershire Exhibition, inspired by the Great Exhibition in London.There were sections for exhibits of fine arts (over 600 paintings), historical manuscripts and industrial items.The profit was £1,867.9s.6d. The number of visitors is recorded as 222,807. Some of the profit from the exhibition was used to build the Victoria Institute in Foregate Street, Worcester. This was opened on 1 October 1896 and now houses the city art gallery and museum. Further information about the exhibition can be found at the museum.
During World War II, the city was chosen to be the seat of an evacuated government in case of mass German invasion. The War Cabinet, along with Winston Churchill and some 16.000 state workers, would have moved to Hindlip Hall (now part of the complex forming the Headquarters of West Mercia Police), 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Worcester and Parliament would have temporarily seated in Stratford-upon-Avon. The former RAF station RAF Worcester was located east of Northwick.
In the 1950s and 1960s large areas of the medieval centre of Worcester were demolished and rebuilt as a result of decisions by town planners. This was condemned by many such as Nikolaus Pevsner who described it as a "totally incomprehensible... act of self-mutilation". There is still a significant area of medieval Worcester remaining, but it is a small fraction of what was present before the redevelopments.
The current city boundaries date from 1974, when the Local Government Act 1972 transferred the parishes of Warndon and St. Peter the Great County into the city.
Governance
The Conservatives had a majority on the council from 2003 to 2007, when they lost a by-election to Labour meaning the council had no overall control. The Conservatives remained with the most seats overall with 17 out of 35 seats after the 2008 election.
Worcester has one member of Parliament, Robin Walker of the Conservative Party, who represents the Worcester constituency as of the May 2010 general election.
The County of Worcestershire's local government arrangement is formed of a non-metropolitan county council (Worcestershire County Council) and six non-metropolitan district councils, with Worcester City Council being the district council for most of Worcester, with a small area of the St. Peters suburb actually falling within the neighbouring Wychavon District council. The Worcester City Council area includes two parish councils, these being Warndon Parish Council and St Peter the Great Parish Council.
Worcester Guildhall, the seat of local government, dates from 1721; it replaced an earlier hall on the same site. The Grade I listed Queen Anne style building is described by Pevsner as 'a splendid town hall, as splendid as any of C18 England'.
Economy
The city of Worcester, located on the River Severn and with transport links to Birmingham and other parts of the Midlands through the vast canal network, became an important centre for many light industries. The late-Victorian period saw the growth of ironfounders, like Heenan & Froude, Hardy & Padmore and McKenzie & Holland.
Glove industry
Gloves, Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum
One of the flourishing industries of Worcester was glove making. Worcester's Gloving industry peaked between 1790 and 1820 when about 30,000 were employed by 150 companies. At this time nearly half of the Glove manufacturers of Britain were located in Worcestershire.
In the 19th century the industry declined because import taxes on foreign competitors, mainly from France, were greatly reduced. By the middle of the 20th century, only a few Worcester gloving companies survived since gloves became less fashionable and free trade allowed in cheaper imports from the Far East.
Nevertheless, at least 3 large glove manufacturing companies still survived until the late 20th century: Dent Allcroft, Fownes and Milore. Queen Elizabeth II's coronation gloves were designed by Emil Rich and manufactured in the Worcester-based Milore factory.
Manufacturing
Lea & Perrins advertisement (1900)
The inter-war years saw the rapid growth of engineering, producing machine tools James Archdale, H.W. Ward, castings for the motor industry Worcester Windshields and Casements, mining machinery Mining Engineering Company (MECO) which later became part of Joy Mining Machinery and open-top cans Williamsons, though G H Williamson and Sons had become part of the Metal Box Co in 1930. Later the company became Carnaud Metal Box PLC.
Worcester Porcelain operated in Worcester until 2008, when the factory closed down due to the recession. However, the site of Worcester Porcelain still houses the Museum of Royal Worcester which is open daily to visitors.
One of Worcester's most famous products, Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce is made and bottled at the Midland Road factory in Worcester, which has been the home of Lea & Perrins since 16 October 1897. Mr Lea and Mr Perrins originally met in a chemist's shop on the site of the now Debenhams store in the Crowngate Shopping Centre.
The surprising foundry heritage of the city is represented by Morganite Crucible at Norton which produces graphitic shaped products and cements for use in the modern industry.
Worcester is the home of what is claimed to be the oldest newspaper in the world, Berrow's Worcester Journal, which traces its descent from a news-sheet that started publication in 1690. The city is also a major retail centre with several covered shopping centres that has most major chains represented as well as a host of independent shops and restaurants, particularly in Friar Street and New Street.
The city is home to the European manufacturing plant of Yamazaki Mazak Corporation, a global Japanese machine tool builder, which was established in 1980.
Retail trade
The Kays mail order business was founded in Worcester in the 1880s and operated from numerous premises in the city until 2007. It was then bought out by Reality, owner of the Grattan catalogue. Kays' former warehouse building was demolished in 2008.
Worcester’s main shopping centre is the High Street, home to the stores of a number of major retail chains. Part of the High Street was modernised in 2005 amid much controversy.[citation needed] Many of the issues focussed on the felling of old trees, the duration of the works (caused by the weather and an archaeological find) and the removal of flagstones outside the city’s 18th-century Guildhall. The other main thoroughfares are The Shambles and Broad Street, while The Cross (and its immediate surrounding area) is the city’s financial centre and location of the majority of Worcester’s main bank branches.
There are three main covered shopping centres in the city centre, these being CrownGate Shopping Centre, Cathedral Plaza and Reindeer Court. There is also an unenclosed shopping area located immediately east of the city centre called St. Martin's Quarter. There are three retail parks, the Elgar and Blackpole Retail Parks, which are located in the inner suburb of Blackpole and the Shrub Hill Retail Park neighbouring St. Martin's Quarter.
Landmarks
The most famous landmark in Worcester is its imposing Anglican Cathedral. The current building; known as Worcester Priory before the English Reformation, is officially named The Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Construction begun in 1084 while its crypt dates from the 10th century. The chapter house is the only circular one in the country while the cathedral also has the distinction of having the tomb of King John.
The Hive, situated on the northern side of the River Severn at the former cattle market site, is Worcester's joint public and university library and archive centre, heralded as "the first of its kind in Europe". It is a prominent landmark feature on the Worcester skyline. With seven towers and a golden rooftop, The Hive has gained recognition winning two international awards for building design and sustainability.
There are three main parks in Worcester, Cripplegate Park, Gheluvelt Park and Fort Royal Park, the latter being on one of the battles sites of the English Civil War. In addition, there is a large open area known as Pitchcroft to the North of the city centre on the east bank of the River Severn, which, apart from those days when it is being used for horse racing, is a public space.
Gheluvelt Park was opened as a memorial to commemorate the Worcestershire Regiment's 2nd Battalion after their part in the Battle of Gheluvelt, during the First World War.
The statue of Sir Edward Elgar, commissioned from Kenneth Potts and unveiled in 1981, stands at the end of Worcester High Street facing the Cathedral, only yards from the original location of his father's music shop, which was demolished in the 1960s. Elgar's birthplace is a short way from Worcester, in the village of Broadheath.
There are also two large woodlands in the city, Perry Wood, at twelve hectares and Nunnery Wood, covering twenty-one hectares. Perry Wood is often said to be the place where Oliver Cromwell met and made a pact with the devil. Nunnery Wood is an integral part of the adjacent and popular Worcester Woods Country Park, itself next door to County Hall on the east side of the city.
The fastest member of the animal kingdom (clocked at 200+ mph), this falcon was observed with its kill in its wintering range at Bolivar Flats.
The River Swale in Richmond, North Yorkshire.
It is said to be the fastest flowing in England and its levels have been known to rise 10 feet in 20 minutes. A major tributary of the River Ure, which becomes the River Ouse, that empties into the North Sea via the Humber Estuary. The river gives its name to Swaledale, the valley through which it flows.
The river and its valley are home to many types of flora and fauna typical to the Yorkshire Dales. Like similar rivers in the region, the river carves through several types of rock and has features typical of both river and glacial erosion. The River Swale has been a contributory factor in the settlements that have been recorded throughout its history. It has provided water to aid in the raising of crops and livestock, but also in the various mining activities that have occurred since Roman times and before.
Tourism now plays a major role in the economy of the river valley. The Yorkshire Dales Cycle Way follows the valley between Fremington and Gunnerside. The Coast to Coast Walk passes through Richmond to Reeth and is crossed at Keld by the Pennine Way, which goes through the upper valley from Buttertubs Pass to Muker.
Information Source:
THE CHEETAH
The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is an atypical member of the cat family (Felidae) that is unique in its speed, while lacking climbing abilities. As such, it is placed in its own genus, Acinonyx. The word "cheetah" is derived from the Sanskrit word chitrakāyaḥ, meaning "variegated body", via the Hindi चीता cītā.
The fastest land animal, it can accelerate from 0 to 110 km/h in three seconds and reach speeds up to 120 km/h for short bursts covering distances up to 460 m.
Often mistaken for the leopard, the cheetah does have distinguishing features, such as the long "tear-streak" lines that run from the corners of its eyes to its mouth. The body frame of the cheetah is quite different from the leopard, most notably it is thinner and has a longer tail, and unlike the leopard, its spots are not arranged into rosettes.
DESCRIPTION
The cheetah's chest is deep and its waist is narrow. It's coarse, short fur s tan with round black spots measuring from 2 to 3 cm (0.79 to 1.2 in) across, affording it some camouflage while hunting. There are no spots on its white underside, but the tail has spots, which merge to form four to six dark rings at the end. The tail usually ends in a bushy white tuft. The cheetah has a small head with high-set eyes. Black "tear marks" run from the corner of its eyes down the sides of the nose to its mouth to keep sunlight out of its eyes and to aid in hunting and seeing long distances.
The adult cheetah weighs from 40 to 65 kg (88 to 140 lb). Its total body length is from 115 to 135 cm (45 to 53 in), while the tail can measure up to 84 cm (33 in) in length. Males tend to be slightly larger than females and have slightly bigger heads, but there is not a great variation in cheetah sizes and it is difficult to tell males and females apart by appearance alone. Compared to a similarly-sized leopard, the cheetah is generally shorter-bodied, but is longer tailed and taller (it averages about 90 cm (35 in) tall) and so it appears more streamlined.
Some cheetahs also have a rare fur pattern mutation: cheetahs with larger, blotchy, merged spots are known as 'king cheetahs'. It was once thought to be a separate subspecies, but it is merely a mutation of the African cheetah. The 'king cheetah' has only been seen in the wild a handful of times, but it has been bred in captivity.
The cheetah's paws have semi-retractable claws(known only in three other cat species) offering the cat extra grip in its high-speed pursuits. The ligament structure of the cheetah's claws is the same as those of other cats; it simply lacks the sheath of skin and fur present in other varieties, and therefore the claws are always visible, with the exception of the dewclaw. The dewclaw itself is much shorter and straighter than other cats.
Adaptations that enable the cheetah to run as fast as it does include large nostrils that allow for increased oxygen intake, and an enlarged heart and lungs that work together to circulate oxygen efficiently. During a typical chase its respiratory rate increases from 60 to 150 breaths per minute. While running, in addition to having good traction due to its semi-retractable claws, the cheetah uses its tail as a rudder-like means of steering to allow it to make sharp turns.
Unlike "true" big cats, the cheetah can purr as it inhales, but cannot roar. By contrast, the big cats can roar but cannot purr, except while exhaling.
The cheetah is a vulnerable species. Out of all the big cats, it is the least able to adapt to new environments. It has always proved difficult to breed in captivity, although recently a few zoos have managed to succeed at this. Once widely hunted for its fur, the cheetah now suffers more from the loss of both habitat and prey.
INTER-SPECIFIC PREDATORY RELATIONSHIPS
Cheetahs are outranked by all the other large predators in most of their range. Because they are designed for extreme bursts of short speed at the expense of both power and the ability to climb trees, they cannot defend themselves against most of Africa's other predator species. They avoid fighting typically and will surrender a kill immediately to even a single hyena, rather than risk any injury, as anything that slows them down is essentially life threatening. The cheetah's death rate is very high during the early weeks of its life; up to 90% of cheetah cubs are killed during this time by lions, leopards, hyenas, wild dogs, or even by eagles. Cheetah cubs often hide in thick brush for safety. Mother cheetahs will defend their young and are at times successful in driving predators away from their cubs. Coalitions of male cheetahs can also chase away other predators, depending on the coalition size and the size and number of the predator. Because of its speed, a healthy adult cheetah has no predators.
A cheetah has a 50% chance of losing its kills to other predators. Cheetahs avoid competition by hunting at different times of the day and by eating immediately after the kill.
DIET and HUNTING
The cheetah is a carnivore, eating mostly mammals under 40 kg, including the Thomson's Gazelle, the Grant's gazelle, the springbok and the impala. The young of larger mammals such as wildebeests and zebras are taken at times, and adults too, when the cats hunt in groups. Guineafowl and hares are also prey. While the other big cats mainly hunt by night, the cheetah is a diurnal hunter. It hunts usually either early in the morning or later in the evening when it is not so hot, but there is still enough light.
The cheetah hunts by vision rather than by scent. Prey is stalked to within 10–30 m (33–98 ft), then chased. This is usually over in less than a minute, and if the cheetah fails to make a catch quickly, it will give up. The cheetah has an average hunting success rate of around 50% - half of its chases result in failure.
Running at speeds up to 70 miles puts a great deal of strain on the cheetah's body. When sprinting, the cheetah's body temperature becomes so high that it would be deadly to continue - this is why the cheetah is often seen resting after it has caught its prey. If it is a hard chase, it sometimes needs to rest for half an hour or more. The cheetah kills its prey by tripping it during the chase, then biting it on the underside of the throat to suffocate it, for the cheetah is not strong enough to break the necks of the four-legged prey it mainly hunts. The bite may also puncture a vital artery in the neck. Then the cheetah proceeds to devour its catch as quickly as possible before the kill is taken by stronger predators.
The diet of a cheetah is dependent upon the area in which it lives. For example, on the East African plains, its preferred prey is the Thomson's Gazelle. This small antelope is shorter than the cheetah (about 58–70 cm (23–28 in) tall and 70–107 cm (28–42 in) long), and also cannot run faster than the cheetah (only up to 80 km/h (50 mph)), which combine to make it an appropriate prey. Cheetahs look for individuals which have strayed some distance from their group, and do not necessarily seek out old or weak ones.
Excepted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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MALA MALA
MalaMala is the oldest and largest private game reserve in South Africa. One of the first areas of private land to switch from hunting to conservation, it is spread over 70 sq miles of the Mpumalanga Lowveld. The property shares a 12 mile unfenced border with Kruger National Park and contains the longest stretch of the Sand River of any of the Sabi Sand resorts. Its varied habitats - riverine forest, acacia bushveld, and savannah - support a broad selection of wildlife, and provide excellent opportunities for spotting the Big 5 (Buffalo, Elephant, Leopard, Lion & Rhinoceros).
Upon checking in, your game ranger will greet you and accompany you throughout your stay. The rangers, selected for their knowledge of African plant, animal, and bird-life, oversee your personal service. They will be your guide for your twice daily, four-hour game drives, sit with you at meals and impart their knowledge of African wildlife with stories about the individual behavior of animals within the MalaMala reserve.
Game drives are conducted in an open safari vehicle, accompanied by a professional Shangaan tracker. Despite the refined attention to detail, you are immediately aware that you are in Africa and that the unexpected may happen. Breakdowns and stuck vehicles are a hazard of driving through donga and bush, but the staff handles this with aplomb. Radio contact, a large reserve, and excellent guides enhance the probability of seeing the big five. The camp also offers guided bush walks.
The soybean crop in Brazil is the fastest growing over the past three decades and accounts for 49% of the area planted in grain country. The increase in productivity is linked to technological advances, the management and efficiency of producers. The grain is an essential component in the production of animal feed and increasing use for human consumption is rapidly growing.
*Copyright © 2012 Lélia Valduga, all rights reserved.
Skybus is the fastest year-round service flying to and from the Isles of Scilly. The journey takes just 20 minutes from Land’s End Airport to St. Mary’s, 30 minutes from Newquay Airport, and from Exeter it’s an hour. You’ll be flying in a 19-seater plane, where you'll meet your pilot and watch them at work; it’s ‘Real Flying’, as one passenger put it. Flying with Skybus is easy- whether it’s the perfectly-timed transfers, your free luggage allowance, the friendly staff at Land’s End Airport or the onward connections at Newquay and Exeter, we’ll help you to relax before you’ve even checked in.
Another of my poorly copied shots from an old print - taken sometime last century I guess when I was standing on top of Chapel Carn Brea .
From the brow of Britain’s westernmost hill the sea is only a number of fields away on three sides and the commanding view of the surrounding area and the distant Scilly Isles makes it unsurprising that this prominent hill has played an important role in the area since the Neolithic Age, although it is named after a medieval chapel which stood here.
Chapel Carn Brea is riddled with remains of barrows (it is believed that there were originally over ten) and considered to be connected to other ancient burial sites along the coast from Lands End to St Just. Of the original barrows, there are two of particular note: an entrance grave on the brow of the hill from the late Neolithic period and of a type only found in Penwith and Scilly, and another older specimen, a long barrow dating from the early Neolithic period. The entrance grave, with its long chamber and two capstones, would have been covered by an imposing mound measuring over 60’ in diameter and 16’ in height. In the Bronze Age, two stone chambers (cists) were added above the original grave and, when excavated in the C19th, were found to contain burial remains. To the west of this cairn, the earlier long barrow is a long mound of granite rocks.
The chapel of this hill’s name was erected on top of the entrance grave in the C13th: a hermitage dedicated to St Michael of Brae which had been reduced to rubble by the early C19th. A beacon was also lit on the summit, maintained by hermits using the chapel, which served to guide travellers on sea and land and could also have been used to communicate (beacons were used to inform London of the arrival of the Spanish Armada, for example). The beacon is still lit every Midsummer’s Eve to celebrate the solstice, starting a series of beacon lightings across the county.
The geographical significance of Chapel Carn Brea continues and the C20th witnessed further construction on the site of the summit barrow in the shape of a military observation post for WWII.
Behind the De Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter coming in to land at Land's End Airport one can see Longships Lighthouse .
The waters surrounding Cornwall’s most westerly point, Lands End, have always been known for their treacherous nature for it is here that the many bodies of water merge and where, in stormy weather, the view from shore is one of a furious, boiling sea pounding against granite. William Turner encapsulated the tumult in his watercolour entitled 'Longships Lighthouse, Land's End'. Since man first took to the water, this area has seen many a boat come to grief on its rocks and, indeed, the local area is famed for having taken advantage of the regular spoils from wrecked ships. It is even said that certain folk would lure ships to their demise with lights and beacons so that they might benefit from the spilled cargo. Such people were known as wreckers.
No surprise, then, that a lighthouse was proposed for this area as far back as the 1700s. The location was not on shore, but on the largest of a group of rocks about one mile west of Land’s End, known as the Longships. The original tower was a fairly stubby affair, built by a Lieutenant Smith in 1795. Although sturdy, given the ferocity of the sea in inclement weather, the lighthouse’s short stature caused its beam to be interrupted by lively seas and, so, confused its signal. A taller tower replaced it in 1873, designed this time by Trinity House’s engineer James Douglass, also responsible for creating the present Eddystone lighthouse a few years later. It was manned by teams of two keepers until 1967, and was made fully automatic in 1988.
According to the authors of a new book, The Fastest Billion – the story behind Africa’ s Economic Revolution, Africa’ s current sustained growth level is set to not only continue but rise over the next four decades so that, come 2050, the continent’ s GDP will equal the combined GDPs of the US and the EU at current prices. There is a possibility that Africa’ s growth could outstrip that of Asia over this time span. Some have described this scenario as over-optimistic and an exercise in wishful thinking. But the authors of the book put forward sound arguments based on analyses of trends going back centuries to support their thesis. Editor Anver Versi talked to the book’ s lead author, economist Charles Robertson, to outline the case for a defence of the theory.
The one thing most economists and historians are agreed upon is that we have not yet discovered a magic formula that allows us to explain why civilizations rise and fall when they do. The best we can do is in retrospect and assign this or that cause to the rise of this power and the decline of that power but what triggers the change that turns a humdrum nation into a mighty empire, or what series of events bring about the collapse of a mighty power continues to baffle us. There are so many ifs and buts, so many accidental turns, so much good fortune or bad fortune involved in the destiny of nations that crystal ball gazing by crunching numbers has shown up many prophets of the future to be little more than educated idiots.
Take this passage quoted by Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and the former MD of the World Bank, in a foreword to The Fastest Billion: “Imagine a continent torn by multiple wars, beset by ethnic and religious warfare, malnutrition, disease and illiteracy – all of it complicated by poorly drawn borders, a still potent post-colonial stigma and the incessant meddling of outside powers.
“With a single exception, per capita income hovers at $400, primary school education reaches only a fraction of the region’s vast population and its authoritarian rulers ensure any revenues generated by the region’s rich natural resources are spent on personal, rather than national priorities. Prospects for pulling the multitudes who live at, or just above, subsistence levels seem remote, at best.”
The above passage surely describes Africa? Wrong. It describes Developing Asia in the mid 1970s, “an area of the world,” writes Okonjo-Iweala, “that had endured 200 years of decline, imperial domination and economic stagnation before beginning on the path that would transform it into the most economically vibrant zone on earth.”
So much for ‘ expert’ prediction! While the description of Developing Asia given above was accurate, the conclusion that therefore it was doomed to failure has been shown to be so much hogwash. The error was to omit any reference to the human spirit and to assume that the people would continue to live in the misery that history had dumped them into. In fact, any sensible reading of history would show that the world’ s great empires more often than not rose out of the ashes of defeat and destruction. If there is a pattern to discern, it is that those people who are most able to adapt and adopt to their times that emerge stronger and richer while those that become rigid and inflexible are fated to wither and decline.
History also shows that the need to adapt and adopt is strongest among people who face the most challenging environments and that necessity is, indeed, the mother of invention. It was true of war-torn, famine-riddled Europe in the Middle Ages and it has been true for the Asia described above. But when the turning point arrives, by whatever mysterious routes it is reached, the ascent is often rapid and spectacular.
“In the 1960s,” author Robertson told me, “all the indicators pointed to Burma (now Myanmar) as the success story while Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia were riven by deadly ethnic violence and civil strife. Today, Singapore is 59 times richer than Myanmar and perhaps the most successful country in the world.”
Okonjo-Iweala writes: “Just as SSA has suffered through its despots and destitution, so the seedlings of transformation have pushed through the African soil. As an increasing number of economists, investors and financial policy makers have realised, SSA has emerged from its own malaise, into a dawn that promises growth to rival, if not surpass, that recorded by Asia’s Tigers over the past two decades.”
Harsh lessons
At the heart of the argument presented by the book is the observation that all societies move through various stages of development to arrive at what we now consider advanced stages. The theory is that Africa has now arrived at the same level of economic, social and political development as China, Korea and India 20-30 years ago and that given the geo-economic structure of the world, is poised to grow along the same type of trajectory as the Asian Tigers but perhaps at a faster pace, due to its advantages in possessing vast natural resources, huge tracts of cultivable land and a population structure in which productive youth will outnumber the elderly or the very young.
Robertson describes the four phases of the global economic transformation that began 200 years ago. These four phases saw countries move from agrarian to industrial states, from tyranny to pluralistic middle-class societies and increasingly into economies driven by the information age.
“These stages of growth have become the benchmarks by which we recognise a nation’s economic progress and its population’s steady journey from subsistence towards unprecedented prosperity and political pluralism now enjoyed by the world’s most advanced countries,” writes Robertson. “The process will not be complete by 2050, but Africa is set to be the final beneficiary of this revolution.”
What is more, says Robertson, the most remarkable progress will occur in the next two generations. “We expect the billion Africans who in the past decade have already experienced the fastest growth the continent has ever seen to become the fastest two billion, and Africa’ s GDP to increase from $2 trillion today to $29 trillion in today’ s money by 2050.” By that date, the argument goes, Africa will produce more GDP than the US and Eurozone combined do today.
But how can we know this is not another false dawn, I wanted to know. After all, Africa has experienced periods of rapid growth in the past, in the 1960s and ’70s before falling back into stagnation and worse. How can we know that this time things will be different?
Robertson’s response is that at independence, African nations, most of which were artificial constructs held together only by colonial administrative networks, were innocents abroad and not at all prepared for the sophisticated, cut-throat world into which they were suddenly plunged. The colonial structures were replaced by neo-colonial ones which sought, above all, to maintain the status quo of Africa as the source of cheap raw materials for the North’s industrial engines. The struggle for spheres of political and ideological influence during the Cold War pushed African national interests out of sight and led to the championing of dictators such as Mobutu Sese Seko as open agents for Western interests.
Many of Africa’s civil wars at this time were over valuable mineral resources and were supported, financed and armed by outside forces. Apartheid South Africa, acting as a Western outpost in Africa, caused considerable destabilisation in Southern Africa through murderous wars and devastated national economies at all levels through the use of land mines, many of which remain hidden in place to this day.
Even the best African leaders were inexperienced and easily duped by sharp practices from the developed world. IMF and World Bank policies, which were primarily designed to extract debt-service revenues through exports, damaged agriculture almost beyond repair and conditionalities that forced governments to cut spending on education and health. Growth figures from this era mask the fact that a good deal of it was debt. Grandiose white elephant projects ate up precious foreign revenues and income from resources were looted by local elites in conjunction with their foreign collaborators. Trillions of dollars were siphoned out of Africa.
These were harsh lessons but Africans learnt them – some more quickly than others. Yvonne Mhango, an economist with Renaissance Capital, teams up with Robertson to describe the change. “More wealth has been created in Africa in the past 10 years than at any point in the continent’s history. It is a transformation that is both bottom up – new businesses and even whole sectors have sprung up and engulfed the continent – and top down.
“Governments have got policy spectacularly right and created the low-debt, low-inflation, much-improved macro conditions that have enabled growth to take off. Africa’s private sector is thriving, supported by better governance. The consequences,” they write, “have been a quintupling of exports, record inflows of foreign direct investment and a doubling of per capita GDP.”
Africa’s public debt, once regarded as a huge rock crushing a starving continent, is now among the lowest of any continent. Thanks to debt forgiveness by the IMF and the World Bank, many African nations today enjoy improved currency stability, low public debt/GDP ratios and low budget deficits. Governments have been able to increase the maturity of their lengths of their domestic debts to 10 years, and in the case of Kenya, to even 30 years.
The contrast to the West, the book says, is stark. “If developed market finance ministers were offered three wishes today, many would ask for Africa’s public debt ratio, Africa’s budget balance and Africa’s growth.” The book points out that if Germany, Japan and the US had applied to join the Eurozone in recent times, they would have been rejected as they would have failed to meet the prudent ratios enshrined in the Maastricht criteria. On the other hand, the vast majority of Africa’ s top performing nations would have met the Maastricht public finance criteria with ease.
Sustaining growth
While Africa has got its macro economic management right, the heady heights envisioned for the continent will depend primarily on whether or not Africa can sustain its growth levels. This in turn will depend on several factors – good governance, greater democratisation, political stability, continuing global demand for commodities, greater diversification into manufacturing and services, FDI, energy generation, deeper provision of banking and financial services, support for SMEs, better quality of education, technology and skills transfer, reduction of corruption and an accelerated creating and improvement of infrastructure. The book deals with each one of these factors and comes to the conclusion that by and large, Africa is on track to deliver on all fronts. However, the authors are quick to acknowledge that not all African countries will develop at the same rate or to the same extent. Countries under authoritarian or military rule, those still mired in conflicts or those whose economies are still severely underdeveloped are likely to either stagnate or fall behind. The general trend however, is positive.
For example, according to Freedom House, the number of democracies in Africa has risen from only three in 1990 to 19 in 2012, of which nine are completely free democracies and Africa’s share of the number of people killed in violent conflict, once among the highest, has been dropping steadily. Today, only the DRC, Somalia and Sudan are among the top 10 most deadly countries in the world and only five of SSA’s 48 countries come in the top 30. This includes South Africa and Uganda, where the causes of death are less to do with political violence but due to homicides.
On the crucial question of growth rates, the book says Africa is today at the same stage as India was after its 1991 reforms and developing Asia was in the 1980s.
Africa’s mean growth rate of 5.6% in the 2000s is more than double its rate of 2.2% in the 1990s and is higher than the global average. Given the similarities between the growth curves of India after 1990 and Africa today, “to maintain an average SSA growth rate equal to what India achieved on its growth trajectory, countries with per capita GDP below $10,000 should grow by 7.3% this decade, 8.6% in the 2020s, 10.5% in the 2030s and a remarkable 12.6% from 2040–49,” says the book. According to this scenario, in 2038, roughly 300m Nigerians will be enjoying an average per capita income of $10,000 and their GDP will have reached $3 trillion, similar to Germany today. By 2050, Kenya’ s GDP will reach $1 trillion, Ethiopia $1.5 trillion and Uganda $755bn.
However, these are best-case projections that will be fiercely contested by other economists. Just as Western economists got their growth projections for Asia in the 1970s and for Africa in 2000 horribly wrong, the figures for Africa above could also err in the other direction and prove over-optimistic. Only time will tell whose crystal ball was fuzzy and whose was clear. What we do know is that real life has the happy – or at times the unhappy – knack of making complete nonsense of economic projections.
What we can count on however is that the pace of economic development is getting faster. “The pace of accelerating growth never happens overnight,” Charles Robertson told me. “What took the UK centuries can now be a matter of decades, even years. The US and Germany ‘ borrowed’ and then improved on UK technology in the 19th century, Japan did the same more quickly in the 20th century and China accelerated the process still further over the past 30 years. Today Africa has the greatest room to boom on the back of two centuries of global progress.”
Technological leapfrogging
Robertson points out that many of the ills and malaise associated with Africa were the norm in 17th and 18th century Europe. In fact, Europe and Asia have had absolute autocratic rule through the system of hereditary monarchs for far longer in their histories than they have had democratic government. The longest stretch of authoritarian rule in Africa is just a shade over 40 years and it is on its way out in most of the continent. It should also be borne in mind that Europe’s rise owes a great deal – some historians claim it owes virtually all – to colonisation of resource-rich foreign lands and the exploitation of native labour. This generated the capital and provided the raw materials to usher in the industrial revolution which came in response to the opportunities provided by cheaply produced raw materials such as cotton, sugar, tea, coffee and minerals including vast quantities of gold from Africa and Latin America.
The rise of the Asian Tigers, on the other hand, has been generated by the application of technology to traditional modes of production and mass production of goods for export. Africa is on the same path.
Interestingly, the largest inflows of FDI into Africa came in 2011, rising by 27% to $80bn (and expected to reach $150bn by 2015). What is significant about these new inflows is that 30% of the capital invested in Africa has gone to manufacturing, 38% to infrastructure and only 28% in extraction. This is in sharp contrast to earlier trends when most of FDI went into extractive industries. The implication is that this investment, which produces tangible goods and services, is the real driver of per capita GDP growth as it creates jobs and new skills.
With growth levels low in the OECD countries, Africa is becoming an increasingly attractive destination given the very high returns from the continent. Another catalyst for growth is that productivity gains are made ever easier by technological transfers: “The pace of technological innovation globally is now so rapid, and so easy to transfer to Africa – as evidenced by the boom in mobile phone technology and the rolling out of broadband – that Africa is not just the recipient of technology but via M-Pesa banking, an exporter of it.”
In other words, Africa is ideally poised to leapfrog centuries of industrial development and benefit from the achievements of the information age. It has an added advantage in that it does not have to carry baggage from the past and can slip easily into ultra-modern production and distribution modes. If these trends persist, then there is every chance that the growth figures projected by The Fastest Billion can be achieved.
Human development
What about human development? Sustained economic growth is virtually impossible without considerable human development. Here too we learn that Africa is improving faster than other developing regions. Primary school enrolment, according to the book, was already 96% on average across the continent and secondary school enrolment should reach 50% by 2020 and be close to 100% by 2050. The authors expect to see a 72% real increase in healthcare and 69% rise in education from today’s levels: “We expect health care spending to rise 16-fold by 2050, from $123bn to $1,944bn in today’s money, helped by public expenditure rising from 2.8% of GDP to 4.1%.”
The rate of urbanisation, essential to make the transition from rural subsistence to urban consumerism, is keeping pace with China’s at around 50%. This has created a boom in the construction industry and inspired the development of modern, purpose-built cities in Kenya and Ghana. Large infrastructure projects should allow easier and cheaper movement of people and goods, boosting intra-African trade and making African exports more competitive. The introduction of low cost airlines should take the sting out of tedious road travel and felicitate commerce and movement.
Africa’s century?
For a considerable time to come, Africa’s revenues will continue to depend on the extraction and export of commodities. Here too, the continent finds itself in a good place. Oil revenues that averaged around $34bn per year in SSA in the 1990s more than trebled to $124bn by 2005 and have doubled again to around $250bn. It is also likely to become one of the biggest producers and exporters of natural gas in the near future while new oil and gas discoveries in East Africa are expected to transform economies in this sub-region.
It is estimated that only 20% of Africa’ s sub-soil minerals have been discovered so far. In a world increasingly reliant on natural resources to fuel industries, Africa’s advantage can be considerable.
The Fastest Billion makes a sober case that Africa’s rise is virtually inevitable given current world trends. Add to the economic argument that progress, for example in the field of education, which is being revolutionised by distance learning (some of it provided free), in financial services through innovative models, in an expansion of trade through the internet and the creative energy released by the private sector, could be faster than anticipated, and the prediction that this century will belong to Africa begins to take on a solid shape.
*The Fastest Billion, published by Renaissance Capital.
Authors: Charles Robertson with Yvonne Mhango, Michael Moran, Arnold Meyer, Nothando Ndebele, John Arron, Johan Snyman, Jim Taylor, Dragan Trajkov, Sven Richter, Bradley Way.
- See more at: africanbusinessmagazine.com/uncategorised/why-africa-will...
This bat arrived on our boat one night when we were many miles offshore. We tried several times to release it but it kept flying back to the boat, skittering about on deck where someone might have accidentally stood on it. I picked it up and put it on a pile of rope where it sat quietly. By morning it had gone. I noticed that the bat had a protruding tail like a mouse, and was not fully attached to the webs (uropatagium). I have put a view of its tail as an inset for interest. Now I was aware that there are so called free-tailed bats, so I looked it up and quickly established that this is a Mexican Free-tailed Bat (Tadarida brasiliensis). This species is famous for having incredibly large gatherings, including more than a million animals that roost under a single bridge is Austin, Texas. Wikipedia mentions it supposedly has the fastest horizontal speed of any mammal (99 mph) though I find that a little difficult to believe. It is also supposed to fly at the highest altitude of any bat, at altitudes around 3,300m. It has a wide distribution from the southern USA down to the middle of South America, including part of Brazil, hence its scientific name brasiliensis. Its generic name Tadarida probably comes from a Sicilian word for bat (taddarita), though no clues were given by the author Rafinesque when he coined the name in 1814.
Brightline’s newest section of track between Orlando and Cocoa allows them to reach a top speed of 125 MPH, making them the fastest train in the state of Florida. The line parallels Route 528 for most of the way to Cocoa, so with a little luck and some very good timing, we were able to pull off a pace shot of Brightline’s Orlando-wrapped trainset as it accelerates up to 125 MPH. Brightline used a lot of foresight in planning this line, as is evident when looking at the bridges and signal installations on the line. At each ABS signal installation, there are 2 sets of signals, with the heads on one side turned 90 degrees. The bridges follow the same principle, with each being built to accommodate 2 tracks for a future expansion.
The cheetah's flexible spine, oversized liver, enlarged heart, wide nostrils, increased lung capacity, and thin muscular body make this cat the swiftest hunter in Africa. Covering 7-8 meters in a stride, with only one foot touching the ground at a time, the cheetah can reach a speed of 110 km/h in seconds. At two points in the stride, no feet touch the ground.
Were you thinking Superman? Not even close! It's the fearless protector of Central City to the rescue!
MOCpages - www.mocpages.com/moc.php/393364
Can you guess the driver, too? :)
Nice action shots will be possible with these, I guess. However, some more infrastructure is required (plus at least one proper rival).
It seems to me that the visible steering wheel (which, regarding its position, doesn't meet the prototype at all, it's just there by chance) is an important detail - you virtually see the fig grabbing it (which in fact it does not) to keep the car on the racing line.
YouTube [Full-HD] Video: youtu.be/DjUHAZZsbeg
Here I’m presenting the video # 1300 on YouTube channel. The day when India’s first ever semi-bullet train “Gatiman” was about to inaugurate which was projected to clock 160 Kmph, merely 10 Kmph more than the existing King Habibganj (Bhopal) Shatabdi Express. Seen here is the last ever King’s run, 12002 New Delhi - Habibganj Shatabdi Express knocking at exact 150 Kmph behind “Navkirti”, Ghaziabad (GZB) WAP-5 # 30013. This specific locomotive was built using ABB body shell of fire damaged # 30008 which was originally built by Asea Brown Boveri Ltd (ABB). After this instant Habibganj Shatabdi train pushed to # 2 as India’s Fastest Train. Sorry for my camera manual focus for neglecting this moment for 30 seconds.
Maserati Ghibli (AM115-49) (1967-73) Engine 4930cc V8
Production 1,170 coupés and 125 Spyders (including 45 Spyder SS)
Registration Number RBY 780 K (Greater London)
MASERATI SET
www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/sets/72157623795907478...
Maserati Ghibli is the name of three different cars produced by Italian automobile manufacturer Maserati: the AM115, a V8 grand tourer from 1966 to 1973; the AM336, a V6 twin-turbocharged coupé from 1992 to 1998; and the M157, an executive saloon from 2013 onwards. and takes its name from the hot dry South-Westerly wind of the Libyan Desert
The AM115 was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Ghia as a a two-door, 2+2 V8-engined grand tourer. first unveiled as a concept at the 1966 Turin Motor Show it is characterised by its low sharp nose that features pop up headlights built with a steel body and finished with leather front sport seats and alloy wheels. with two minimal rear seats, initially the car was powered by a quad-cam 4,719 cc (4.7 L; 288.0 cu in) dry sump V8 engine of 306bhp mated to either a five-speed ZF manual transmission, or three speed automatic transmission. with deliveries started in March 1967. The fastback Coupe was joined by a Roadster version in 1969.
The Ghibli SS was introduced in 1969 with its engine enlarged to 4,930 cc (4.9 L; 300.8 cu in) with 4× vertical twin-choke Weber carburettors and an output of 330bhp Its top speed of 280 km/h (174 mph) made it the fastest Maserati road car ever produced. SS-engined cars have additional /49 designation (ex. AM115/49
Diolch am 92,760,937 o olygfeydd anhygoel, mae pob un yn cael ei werthfawrogi'n fawr.
Thanks for 92,760,937 amazing views, every one is greatly appreciated.
Shot 23.04.2022 at the Bicester Spring Scramble, Bicester, Oxfordshire 158-270
Clicked@Marina Beach
Not at all happy with the results because of heavy traffic make the shot like heavy of tube of light trials........
One of the brilliant chapters in Indian Railways comes to an end, the tag of Fastest diesel hauled Shatabdi is now gone and its all down to a normal LHB Shatabdi express.
Fervent about these EMD locomotives, always wanted to capture this at such a high speed and glad that i could capture this at its maximum permissible speed of 130kmph at the second attempt.
It wasn't a happy show at the first attempt but still happy to have got a picture worth to be saved in the gallery.
Siliguri's WDP-4 20073 with its ever captivating bold cab slows down to counter a TSR of 30 kmph with NJP bound Shatabdi express from Howrah.
X Fastest shot on to flickr ...took this shot about 20 minutes ago. I have been trying to catch this family who nest in a tree in my garden for a few days.....success. It’s a male blackbird and two chicks. I read up on blackbirds and apparently the male bird will feed the young for a long time, even longer than the female. It’s amusing as the chicks are almost as large as their father. The slight green blur on the left is a lily leaf I was hiding behind. I did have to alter the exposure level on the Raw shot using NX shame it would have been nice to have a SOOC shot but not this time
THANKS FOR YOUR VISIT HAVE A GREAT DAY
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbaEVA259IE
"Fastest Girl In Town"
You’ve got the bullets
I’ve got the gun.
I’ve got a hankering for getting into something
I hit the bottle, you hit the gas,
I heard your 65 can really haul some ass.
I’m feeling frisky, you're feeling good
I guess the whiskey is doing what it should
I got the cigarettes
You’ve got a lighter
And when the sun goes down we’ll start a little fire
Ain’t no use in trying to slow me down
‘Cause you’re running with the fastest girl in town
Ain’t you baby?
I like ‘em crazy.
My reputation follows me around
Just makes me want to give them more to talk about
Let’s go to town for a little while
I’ll be wearing nothing but a tattoo and a smile
Ain’t no use in trying to slow me down
‘Cause you’re running with the fastest girl in town
Ain’t you baby?
You’re kinda crazy.
Come on!
I see the blue lights, we better run.
Throw out the bottle and I’ll hide the gun
If he pulls us over I’ll turn on the charm
You’ll be in the slammer and I’ll be on his arm.
Ain’t no use in trying to slow me down
‘Cause you’re running with the fastest girl in town
Ain’t you baby?
Well I told you I was crazy.
No I ain’t no body’s baby.
Hey!
He’s got the bullets
He’s got a gun
I got the hankering for getting into something.
Fastest AF, most accurate AF, best tracking AF camera Ive EVER used or owned......FUJI XT3, 50-140mm 2.8
Leyland Compton Milk Float (Worlds Fastest Milkfloat) (1976) Engine 4200cc V8
Registration Number JFV 36 S (Preston)
This one is rather different to Ernies electric milk cart, rattling down the road. It is powered by a TVR V8 of 4200cc all alloy engine built to produce around 320bhp with a fast road cam and flat pistons. It has Jaguar front and rear axles, disc brakes, 22 inch alloy wheels, power steerind, Edelbrook twin cooling rad and fans. The body is of alloy and fibreglass with a body wrap
And at the time of this picture (probably still is) was Guiness World Record holder as the fastest Milk Float, with its record run timed at Bruntingthorpe, Leicestershire on 25th June 2014 driven by Rob Gill as a promotion for Weetabix On the Go Brakfast Drinks
Morrison-Electricar was a British manufacturer of milk floats and other battery electric road vehicles (BERV). Their first vehicle was built for a bakery in 1933, and the company ceased to exist when it was finally sold to M & M Electric Vehicles in 1983. In 1948 Austin purchased a 50 per cent share of the company to form Austin Crompton Parkinson Electric Vehicles Ltd though the vehicles still carried their Morrison Electricar badges. Austin formed part of BMC in 1952 which became Leyland Motors in 1969 and finally British Leyland The electric vehicle business became Crompton Leyland Electricars Ltd. In 1972, British Leyland sold their share of the business to Hawker Siddeley, better known for aircraft manufacture, and the company became Crompton Electricars Ltd. Ten years later, Hawker Siddeley decided to sell the business, and it was bought by M & M Electric Vehicles, who were based in Atherstone, Warwickshire. This was effectively the end of Morrison-Electricar, although M & M subsequently adopted the Electricars name for the vehicles that they manufactured.
Diolch yn fawr am 66,582,382 o olygfeydd anhygoel, mwynhewch ac arhoswch yn ddiogel
Thank you 66,582,382 amazing views, enjoy and stay safe
Shot 01.07.2018 at the American Car Show, Tatton Park, Manchester Ref 135-184
The area that was to become West Palm Beach was settled in the late 1870s and 1880s by a few hundred settlers who called the vicinity "Lake Worth Country." These settlers were a diverse community from different parts of the United States and the world. They included founding families such at the Potters and the Lainharts, who would go on to become leading members of the business community in the fledgling city. The first white settlers in Palm Beach County lived around Lake Worth, then an enclosed freshwater lake, named for Colonel William Jenkins Worth, who had fought in the Second Seminole War in Florida in 1842. Most settlers engaged in the growing of tropical fruits and vegetables for shipment the north via Lake Worth and the Indian River. By 1890, the U.S. Census counted over 200 people settled along Lake Worth in the vicinity of what would become West Palm Beach. The area at this time also boasted a hotel, the "Cocoanut House", a church, and a post office. The city was platted by Henry Flagler as a community to house the servants working in the two grand hotels on the neighboring island of Palm Beach, across Lake Worth in 1893, coinciding with the arrival of the Florida East Coast railroad. Flagler paid two area settlers, Captain Porter and Louie Hillhouse, a combined sum of $45,000 for the original town site, stretching from Clear Lake to Lake Worth.
On November 5, 1894, 78 people met at the "Calaboose" (the first jail and police station located at Clematis St. and Poinsettia, now Dixie Hwy.) and passed the motion to incorporate the Town of West Palm Beach in what was then Dade County (now Miami-Dade County). This made West Palm Beach the first incorporated municipality in Dade County and in South Florida. The town council quickly addressed the building codes and the tents and shanties were replaced by brick, brick veneer, and stone buildings. The city grew steadily during the 1890s and the first two decades of the 20th century, most residents were engaged in the tourist industry and related services or winter vegetable market and tropical fruit trade. In 1909, Palm Beach County was formed by the Florida State Legislature and West Palm Beach became the county seat. In 1916, a new neo-classical courthouse was opened, which has been painstakingly restored back to its original condition, and is now used as the local history museum.
The city grew rapidly in the 1920s as part of the Florida land boom. The population of West Palm Beach quadrupled from 1920 to 1927, and all kinds of businesses and public services grew along with it. Many of the city's landmark structures and preserved neighborhoods were constructed during this period. Originally, Flagler intended for his Florida East Coast Railway to have its terminus in West Palm, but after the area experienced a deep freeze, he chose to extend the railroad to Miami instead.
The land boom was already faltering when city was devastated by the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane. The Depression years of the 1930s were a quiet time for the area, which saw slight population growth and property values lower than during the 1920s. The city only recovered with the onset of World War II, which saw the construction of Palm Beach Air Force Base, which brought thousands of military personnel to the city. The base was vital to the allied war effort, as it provided an excellent training facility and had unparalleled access to North Africa for a North American city. Also during World War II, German U-Boats sank dozens of merchant ships and oil tankers just off the coast of West Palm Beach. Nearby Palm Beach was under black out conditions to minimize night visibility to German U-boats.
The 1950s saw another boom in population, partly due to the return of many soldiers and airmen who had served in the vicinity during the war. Also, the advent of air conditioning encouraged growth, as year-round living in a tropical climate became more acceptable to northerners. West Palm Beach became the one of the nation's fastest growing metropolitan areas during the 1950s; the city's borders spread west of Military Trail and south to Lake Clarke Shores. However, many of the city's residents still lived within a narrow six-block wide strip from the south to north end. The neighborhoods were strictly segregated between White and African-American populations, a legacy that the city still struggles with today. The primary shopping district remained downtown, centered around Clematis Street.
In the 1960s, Palm Beach County's first enclosed shopping mall, the Palm Beach Mall, and an indoor arena were completed. These projects led to a brief revival for the city, but in the 1970s and 1980s crime continued to be a serious issue and suburban sprawl continued to drain resources and business away from the old downtown area. By the early 1990s there were very high vacancy rates downtown, and serious levels of urban blight.
Since the 1990s, developments such as CityPlace and the preservation and renovation of 1920s architecture in the nightlife hub of Clematis Street have seen a downtown resurgence in the entertainment and shopping district. The city has also placed emphasis on neighborhood development and revitalization, in historic districts such as Northwood, Flamingo Park, and El Cid. Some neighborhoods still struggle with blight and crime, as well as lowered property values caused by the Great Recession, which hit the region particularly hard. Since the recovery, multiple new developments have been completed. The Palm Beach Mall, located at the Interstate 95/Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard interchange became abandoned as downtown revitalized - the very mall that initiated the original abandonment of the downtown. The mall was then redeveloped into the Palm Beach Fashion Outlets in February 2014. A station for All Aboard Florida, a high-speed passenger rail service serving Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Orlando, is under construction as of July 2015.
Credit for the data above is given to the following website:
Hello guys this is me Alexander, sorry for the inactivity because of school exams and this project ! I was busy these last days because there is a contest on LEGO ideas about the Flintstones and the goal was to build an invention that fits into the Flintstones universe.
So I build the Flintstones express, the fastest air shuttle of Bedrock !
You can comment this project, all you have to do is go to this page and comment : Contest page
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Original picture by me
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Alex THELEGOFAN | Contest page | Instagram
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Sailfish hunting sardines in the open ocean off the coast of Mexico. Image courtesy of Rodrigo Friscione
SAMLESBURY HALL IS A HISTORIC HOUSE IN SAMLESBURY, LANCASHIRE, ENGLAND, 6 MILES EAST OF PRESTON. IT WAS BUILT IN 1325 BY GILBERT DE SOUTHWORTH, AND WAS THE PRIMARY HOME OF THE SOUTHWORTH FAMILY UNTIL THE EARLY 17TH CENTURY.
SAMLESBURY HALL MAY HAVE BEEN BUILT TO REPLACE AN EARLIER BUILDING DESTROYED DURING A RAID BY THE SCOTS, DURING THE GREAT RAID OF 1322. THE HALL HAS BEEN MANY THINGS IN ITS PAST INCLUDING A PUBLIC HOUSE AND A GIRLS' BOARDING SCHOOL, BUT SINCE 1925, WHEN IT WAS SAVED FROM BEING DEMOLISHED FOR ITS TIMBER, IT HAS BEEN ADMINISTERED BY A REGISTERED CHARITABLE TRUST, THE SAMLESBURY HALL TRUST.
GHOST STOREY
SAMLESBURY HALLIS REPUTEDLY HAUNTED BY A 'WHITE LADY’.THE WHITE LADY IS THOUGHT TO BE THE GHOST OF LADY DOROTHY SOUTHWORTH.
LADY DOROTHY LIVED AT THE HALL DURING THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. HER FAMILY WERE STAUNCH CATHOLICS BUT DOROTHY FELL IN LOVE WITH A NEIGHBOUR WHO HAPPENED TO BE A PROTESTANT.
BECAUSE OF FAMILY CONFLICT, THE YOUNG LOVERS COULD ONLY MEET IN SECRET, AND EVENTUALLY THEY DECIDED THEY WOULD ELOPE. ON THE NIGHT OF THEIR ESCAPE, THE YOUNG MAN MADE HIS WAY TO THE HALL, BUT BEFORE HE COULD GET TO DOROTHY, HER BROTHER CREPT UP ON HIM AND KILLED BOTH HIM AND TWO OF HIS ACCOMPLICES WITH HIS SWORD.
BLUEBIRD K7
THE ENGINE FOR THE BLUEBIRD K7 WAS MADE IN THE SAMLESBURY ENGINEERING WORKS WHICH WAS IN THE GROUNDS OF THE HALL IN 1960. THIS WAS ALSO THE SITE FOR MANY OF THE EARLY BUS ENGINES MADE ON THAT TIME. THE BLUEBIRD K7 WAS RECORDED AS THE FASTEST WATER SPEED RECORD DRIVEN BY DONALD CAMPBELL CBE BEFORE IT SPECTACULARLY EXPLODED IN CONISTON WATER IN 1967 KILLING DONALD CAMPBELL.
Displayed in the main hall of Chicago's Museum of Science & Industry is one of the fastest and most famous steam locomotives of the late 19th Century. This 4-4-0 American Standard is New York Central & Hudson River RR Locomotive #999. Built in 1893 for the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad by the company's West Albany Shops, this engine was a one-off design that was specifically intended to pull the railroad's prestigious "Empire State Express." Her designers optimized her for speed and glamour. She had extremely tall, 86.5" drivers, 15" cylinders and a boiler pressure of 180 psi. She also had air brakes on her pilot truck, which was very unusual for the time. Dolled up with highly polished pipes, bands and other trim and painted in a satin black finish with gold leaf lettering on the tender, she was made for the limelight.
On May 10th of 1893, pulling the Empire State Express, this engine was alleged to have gone 112.5 mph on a stretch of her run from Syracuse, NY to Buffalo. If true, it would have made her the first man-made machine to exceed 100 mph. Alas, the methods used to document that speed at the time were crude and engineering analysis in more recent times have raised serious questions as to its accuracy. That said, she was still likely the fastest of her time. In the 1920s, she was replaced in her high-profile role by newer technology and relegated to branch line and switching service. An overhaul during that period replaced her outsized drivers with 70" wheels and she lost much of her glitz. Although she was effectively retired in 1924, she spent another two and a half decades as an exhibition locomotive, before being retired for good in the mid-1950s. In 1962, the New York Central Railroad donated her to the Chicago Museum of Science & Industry, where she is displayed today, sadly with the 70" drivers, not the ultra-tall ones that made her famous.
A Red Kite (Milvus milvus) grabs a chunk of meat from the water during the daily feeding session at Bwlch Nant Yr Arian, Wales - a female Goosander racing to try and get there first!
The Railjet (branded as Railjet Express (RJX) for the fastest services and as Railjet (RJ) for services with additional stops) is a high-speed rail service in Europe operated by the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) and Czech Railways (ČD).
It was introduced with the timetable change of 2008–2009. It operates at speeds of up to 230 km/h (143 mph). The railjet is the premier service of the ÖBB and operates both domestically within Austria and on international services to adjacent major cities in Germany, Hungary, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Italy and Slovakia.[6]
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Praha hlavní nádraží (IATA: XYG) is the largest railway station in Prague, Czech Republic.
It opened in 1871 as Franz Josef Station, after Franz Joseph I of Austria. During the First Republic and from 1945 to 1948 the station was called Wilson Station (Czech: Wilsonovo nádraží), after former President of the United States Woodrow Wilson.
In 2014, the station served 224,505 trains (610 daily) and more than 53,000,000 passengers.[1][2]
The Art Nouveau station building and station hall were built between 1901 and 1909, designed by Czech architect, Josef Fanta, on the site of the old dismantled Neo-Renaissance station designed by Czech architects Antonín Viktor Barvitius and Vojtěch Ignác Ullmann.[3]
The station was extended by a new terminal building, built between 1972 and 1979, including an underground metro station and a main road on the roof of the terminal. The new terminal building claimed a large part of the park, and the construction of the road cut off the neo-renaissance station hall from the town.
In 2011 a partial refurbishment of the station was completed by Italian company Grandi Stazioni,[4] which has leased retail space for 30 years from 2002.[5] In 2016 Grandi Stazioni has lost the concession after failing to complete the renovation of the historic building by the extended contractual deadline.[6]
The station was the embarkation point for the children evacuated by Nicholas Winton who were evacuated to London Liverpool Street station via the Port of Harwich. In 2009 a statue was unveiled on platform 1 commemorating this.
The former main entrance, now the entrance to Fanta's Cafe (Fantova Kavárna)
Look into the main hall of the Art-Nouveau station building (Fantova budova)
The station is an international transport hub, handling services to Germany (Munich, Bavaria-Bohemia RE (Regio-Express) services, and EuroCity/EuroNight services to Berlin, Dresden and Hamburg), Poland, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Serbia, Russian Federation, Ukraine and Croatia in summer. Services are operated by express trains, and also by ČD Class 680 Pendolino. Services to Moravia, Silesia, Slovakia and Poland are also operated by open-access train operators LEO Express, RegioJet and Arriva.
In addition to the international services, trains serve most of the larger Czech cities, such as Brno, Plzeň, České Budějovice and Olomouc.
Suburban services
The station is served by most of the Esko Prague lines which are not dispatched from the nearby Masaryk Railway station.
In front of the main station building are situated bus stops towards Český Krumlov, České Budějovice, Tábor and other Czech cities. Also Airport Express bus service to Václav Havel Airport Prague maintained by České dráhy departs from Wilsonova street in front of the historical building.
Panoramic view of the entrance hall
Local transport
The station is served by the Prague Metro's Line C, and numerous tram routes call outside the station.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praha_hlavn%C3%AD_n%C3%A1dra%C5%BE%...