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Globethics.net celebrated the 10th anniversary since its founding workshop in 2004 with an event in Geneva, Switzerland on Wednesday 10 December 2014. The event was organised on 10 December, international Human Rights Day deliberately with the topic "Access to Information as a Human Right: The Ethics of Regulation and Freedom". Globethics.net is committed to the principle of open access, to the sharing of knowledge and information for the benefit of all.
Personal Statement by Prof. Dr Christoph Stückelberger (video)
From seemingly insignificant events in childhood – which others might have dismissed or forgot – came the vision for a global platform to promote ethics that now reaches millions and forms the basis for countless studies on the subject.
At the 10th anniversary celebrations of Globethics.net in Geneva on 10 December, Prof. Dr Christoph Stückelberger recalled a number of formative moments in his life that shaped both himself and the organisation he founded.
The time his mother told him to help his friends before playing, the support he got from his wife over decades, his efforts to promote global development, his realisation of the potential of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), the value of networking, service and support, the risks of an entrepreneurship, and the need for good governance and growth.
In all, he can point to 10 incidents in his life to which he says he could ascribe a gene: the gene of value, partner, inclusion, innovation, networking, service, supporters, entrepreneurial, governance and growth. In the same way that they are his DNA, so are they the fabric of Globethics.net.
The three pillars - ethics, development and the internet - of Globethics.net are linked to Stückelberger's life story. He explains that firstly, as a professor of ethics, he seeks to understand how to strengthen the behaviour of human beings based on values, convictions and faith and not just opportunistic views or power struggles.
Secondly, 15 years in development organisations have shaped his worldview. "How can we provide access to food, knowledge, the basic needs, the human rights, to transformation?" he asks.
The third factor is the use of the internet and ICT. When he realised the potential of the internet, he went on to create the largest electronic library in the world on ethics with 1.5 million resources in a variety of languages, used by people from 200 countries around the world. In addition, the global network of registered practitioners on Globethics.net numbers 127,000.
Stückelberger's vision for Globethics.net is one in which information is not only more widely accessed but also more fully understood and used. He has a deep conviction that ethical values lay the foundation for communities of trust and to strengthen "people with values" (the Globethics.net motto).
The insecurity of a globalised world has led to a call for more values, he says. Religious and cultural clashes, conflicts, worldwide corruption and bad governance cause many people to look to values to promote good societies, politics and economic structures.
"Since the financial crisis of 2008-09, there has been an atmosphere of mistrust in business and politics that can lead to fatalism or extremism. So what can we do to rebuild trust? Trust needs trustworthy people. Our contribution is to rebuild trust. Therefore, Globethics.net it is a concrete investment in economic development," he says.
Trust-building was hard in critical situations, such as after emergencies or in failing states with little structure but it is easier if the country had a long tradition of mutual understanding, he said.
Furthermore, the presence of Globethics.net is comforting to practitioners and students of ethics in places that are hostile to the study of ethics. "We have a lot of people who want to make a difference but often feel isolated, especially in corrupt environments where they feel helpless. People experiencing this say Globethics.net is a lovely initiative because it brings us together. We are encouraged by others who are also struggling.
"If we look at the world, we could be pessimistic but from a faith perspective we are not alone. We have our fellow people, we have God. We are realistic but at the same time have energy to transform the world. Through our online community of 127,000 people from 200 countries, we feel this energy in the community of ‘people with values'."
Downloads from the library occur more frequently in developing and emerging countries. People in Ethiopia download more material than people in the United States, for example. "That is how we want it. It's a contribution to justice and fairness if the Congo, Ethiopia and the Philippines are downloading. That's excellent.
"We want to cooperate with worldwide organisations but at same time work with grassroots the students, the future leaders who want to make a difference. It's really amazing how this willingness is coming together," he said.
A neighbor spilled a not insignificant amount of oil/gas/? up the street, and it all flowed to our end of the street in the rain last week. Killed a lot of grass in the neighbor's yard. The spill is quite obvious under his boat, and he's made no effort to clean it up.
Ginkgo biloba 'Troll' 3/2022 Ginkgo D3- (Jeddeloh Nursery, Germany) Dwarf Ginkgo, Size at 10 years: 3x3ft., Green Foliage, Insignificant flower, USDA Hardiness Zone 4-10, Michigan Bloom Month -, In Garden Bed D3 for 30 MONTHS (Duvall). Planted in 2019.
Buchholz & Buchholz Nursery: A deciduous dwarf, arguably the slowest and most compact of all ginkgo dwarf forms growing only about 1" per year. Troll is a witches'-broom found in Norway but introduced by Jeddeloh Nursery in Germany around 15 years ago. Leaves are typically fan shaped and representative of the species except for being about half the size. Light gray to brown stems are distinctly stubby and thickened. A male form meaning no smelly fruit. Good for Bonsai or rock gardens.
Missouri Botanical Garden: 'Troll' is a dwarf shrubby cultivar that matures over time to only 3' tall and as wide. It typically grows in a bushy mound, although it can be trained to grow as a small pyramidal tree. As with species plants, the fan-shaped leaves (biloba means two-lobed) are rich green to blue green during the growing season, but change to bright yellow in fall.
2020 Note: trimmed off some bottom branches to improve the shape and make it easier to manage nearby weeds.
Photo by F.D.Richards, SE Michigan. Link to additional photos of this plant from 2019, 20, 21, 22:
www.flickr.com/search/?user_id=50697352%40N00&sort=da...
#dwarf, #Conifer, #Tree, #GinkgoBiloba, #Ginkgo, #MaidenhairTree
Ginkgo biloba 3/2022 Ginkgo U3- (prehistoric tree) Ginkgo Maidenhair tree, Size at 10 years: 60x50ft., Fan shaped leaves, insignificant flower, USDA Hardiness Zone 3, Michigan Bloom Month -, In Garden Bed U3 for 24.9 YEARS (-). Planted in 1997.
Missouri Botanical Garden: Ginkgo biloba is a large, deciduous tree that matures to 100' tall and is considered to be a living fossil. It is the only surviving member of a group of ancient plants believed to have inhabited the earth up to 150 million years ago. It features distinctive two-lobed, somewhat leathery, fan-shaped, rich green leaves with diverging (almost parallel) veins. Leaves turn bright yellow in fall. Ginkgo trees are commonly called maidenhair trees in reference to the resemblance of their fan-shaped leaves to maidenhair fern leaflets (pinnae). Ginkgos are dioecious (separate male and female trees). Nurseries typically sell only male trees (fruitless), because female trees produce seeds encased in fleshy, fruit-like coverings which, at maturity in autumn, are messy and emit a noxious, foul odor upon falling to the ground and splitting open.
Have one on the NE fenceline and another near the birdhouse garden in front. Makes you think. Leaves are used to make “extracts” that are used as medicine. Oldest living tree species. Can live as long as 1,000 years and grow to a height of 120 feet.
Photo by F.D.Richards, SE Michigan. Link to additional photos of this plant from 2015, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22:
www.flickr.com/search/?user_id=50697352%40N00&sort=da...
#Conifer, #Tree, #T2J, #GinkgoBiloba, #Ginkgo, #MaidenhairTree
We are constantly on the lookout for anything different, however tiny and insignificant to the mainstream visitors, for there is such a wealth of unique creatures that can be so rewarding to see in person. Here, the minute scene of an ant near the plant wen was quite appealing. In spite of the wen's nature as an invasive growth, in this stage, and with an appreciation for nature, there was a visual attraction to the way in which it occupied that exact spot on the leaf, and even better, for the tiny, tiny ant added a storyline.
The late, Doris Duke, had left a wonderful legacy in converting a good portion of her magnificent estate into a Natural Wildlife Preserve for the public’s education and enjoyment—just short of 1,000 of the almost 3,000 acres is open to visitors. The other area is restricted to staff and for a wide range of projects. The paths throughout the estate offer such splendid scenery. One is forever exploring, always seeing something beautiful. There are so many pleasant surprises, from the general landscape scenery with the many lakes, ponds, and waterfalls, plus old stone structures in bridges and buildings, to the world of birds and other wildlife, including furry critters, tiny insects, and wonderful plants, from fascinating wildflowers to such impressive trees. The bucolic nature of the preserve is so relaxing—akin to meditating while experiencing the preserve. Also, if one appreciates fine, classic sculptures, some of Doris Duke’s collection can be seen around the park, including the statue garden court within the old hay barn ruin.
There is no best time to visit, for throughout the year’s seasonal changes, visitors will never leave disappointed, for each trip offers something memorable.
CHECK OUT OUR ALBUMS ON DUKE FARMS, FOR IT IS SUCH A WONDERFUL PLACE FOR ALL TO ENJOY AND LEARN ABOUT NATURE’S ENDLESS GIFTS.
GINKGO biloba 'Jade Butterflies' (Stanley and Sons Nursery) 2020 photo - Common Name: Dwarf Ginkgo, Size at 10 years: 4x4ft., Green Foliage, Insignificant flower, USDA Hardiness Zone x, In Garden Bed HR-VC4 for 7.9 YEARS (HLG). Planted in 2012.
Missouri Botanical Garden: ‘Jade Butterflies’ is a slow-growing, dwarf, male tree that grows in an upright, vase-shaped form to only 4-6’ tall over the first 10 years. However, some authorities estimate this tree may reach as much as 10-12’ tall over the first 10 years. Mature height is currently unknown. Deeply bi-lobed leaves purportedly resemble butterflies with jade green wings, hence the cultivar name. Foliage turns a uniform and very showy golden yellow in autumn. Insignificant greenish male flowers bloom in catkins in spring.
Location: Michigan State University, Hidden Lake Gardens, Tipton, MI. 42°01'47.7"N 84°06'37.3"W
pruh-nuhn-see-ey-shuh n: GINK-oh by-LOE-buh
#GINKGO #DwarfGinkgo
Additional photos of this plant:
www.flickr.com/search/?user_id=50697352%40N00&sort=da...
Satellite View using Google Maps: www.google.com/maps/place/42%C2%B001'47.7%22N+84%C2%B006'...
Other plants in Garden HR-VC4: www.flickr.com/search/?user_id=50697352%40N00&sort=da...
There are hundreds of platforms for social interaction and introducing a brand new platform might be risky, but a platform with a new dimension sounds interesting even in this high competitive marketplace, Howdoo is a messaging application which handovers the power to the users. It knows the importance of one’s time and value of data.
Almost all existing platform have been stealing the data without even notice to the owner (like Facebook and YouTube, unlike them Howdoo not even protect the data but also incentivized them the crypto token (uDoo) for their participation and sharing data after Proof of Contribution for fair and transparent reward. Say no totrust breeching social networks and join hands with the Howdoo, the trustworthy media.
This blockchain based social interaction forum is decentralized, encrypted, fair, transparent, and immutable. The Howdoo will have worldwide access with international money transfer availability with insignificant fees. Howdoo will reduce the risks of cyberbullying, misuse of data, offensiveness and harmful data. So this would be the media that everyone desires.
What’s more? Then let me tell you that you actually get paid for sharing the data and viewing the advertisements in the news feed. The token sale is ending on June 12, 2018.
ETH address: 0x895F650c7CDA6930600f34343f409b103893C403
A lo largo de mi vida, he visto detalles insignificantes, que a simple vista, no significaban nada, pero con el paso del tiempo esos pequeños detalles lo son todo, son ´´ el ser o el no ser ´´.
Por tanto me gustaría dedicar esta fotografía a esas personas que consideran los pequeños detalles mas que eso, que insignificantes, porque realmente son los que verdaderamente importan, y marcan el camino de cada persona.
En mi caso, esos pequeños detalles me han marcado alegrías, y por tanto voy a seguir confiando en ellos, aunque otros seres no confíen, y luchare por ser feliz, que a día de hoy me puede considerar afortunado por lo que tengo, familia, amigos (quizás no muchos, pero siempre se ha dicho que es mejor pocos muchos, que muchos pocos), y la felicidad por marcarme nuevos retos, y ayudar en lo que este en mi mano a mis amigos, ya que ellos también lo harían por mi.
Esta foto esta realizada en el Museo de Escultura Policromada de Valladolid
"The landscapes are insignificant for large landscapers,. Rare and remarkable landscapes are to small" - Friedrich Nietzsche
Photo: Yuri Borba - Date: 04.05.2014 | The rare beauty of the sunrise at Stone Guaratiba, West Zone of Rio
Hunter Project Soul ™ © | VISIONS OF EVERYDAY Series - AUTUMN COLORS.
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"As paisagens insignificantes existem para os grandes paisagistas; as paisagens raras e notáveis são para os pequenos."– Friedrich Nietzsche
Foto: Yuri Borba - Dia: 05/04/2014 | A rara beleza que do amanhecer em Pedra de Guaratiba, Zona Oeste do Rio.
Projeto Caçador de Almas ™© | Série VISÕES DO COTIDIANO – CORES DO OUTONO.
“The Insignificant is Significant”, A Library and Art Installation, a continuation of the series, “The Quiet and Ugly Artist (Hanoi, 1965-2015)”.
Since 2009, Daniel Kerkhoff, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A., has been creating his own artist-in-residencies in communities in Ghana, Ecuador, and Vietnam.
Embedding himself in a community, he develops multiple connections through creating art (installations), writing poetic journals, making art with children, curating exhibitions, working with artists, assisting art libraries and community libraries, documenting walks and the community, and just being a part of everyday life.
Along with painting, collage, art installations, photography, and writing, his art practice involves connecting, sharing, and weaving people and places.
“The Insignificant is Significant”, A Library and Art Installation, a continuation of the series, “The Quiet and Ugly Artist (Hanoi, 1965-2015)”.
Assisting and creating libraries is part of my art practice.
During my art residencies, I continue to bring books and materials, art work, maps, magazines and journals, CDs, DVDs, and photos to the community centers in Adugyama, Ashanti Region Ghana and Sisid-anejo, Cañar, Ecuador. I also give a variety of art books, journals, and materials to fellow artists and art spaces.
In Accra, Ghana, I bring art books and magazines to The Nubuke Foundation and The Center for Contemporary Art, Ghana. In Cuenca, Ecuador, I'm connected to In-Arte Contemporáneo and bring art magazines and information. In Hanoi, I have provided various art publications and books to Cuci Fine Art, Chay Art, and Chaap Collective.
I bring art publications, art work, and music created by friends and colleagues of mine. I document their work in these different communities, creating another form of connection and awareness.
I consider this a weaving project, a form of sharing that can have many on-going effects. –Daniel Kerkhoff, www.danielkerkhoff.com
“Playing Catch, Giving and Receiving”
You are invited to play catch with my prints. Two dimensional prints that hang on the wall are transformed into three dimensional balls, a form of sculpture that is also performance and participatory.
Playing catch is a common past time that's relaxing and connecting. It is an act of giving (throwing) and receiving (catching) involving a ball, and, in this case, prints transformed into a ball (sculpture).
Instead of viewing the stationary print on a wall or a sculpture on the floor, it is viewed moving through time and space, dependent on the participants and their actions.
It is visual, transformative, therapeutic, sharing, interactive, and connecting, simple and playful actions of giving and receiving.
--Daniel Kerkhoff, www.danielkerkhoff.com
“The Insignificant is Significant”, A Library and Art Installation, a continuation of the series, “The Quiet and Ugly Artist (Hanoi, 1965-2015)”
“Walking the Path, Prints on Prints”
You are invited to walk on my prints, using them as a path.
It’s another way of experiencing art like a stepping stone meditation,
a different awareness may take place on an intentional walk, slower,
deliberate, a winding pathway, your prints touching these prints.
You become, in a way, the performer, the participant, the collaborator,
your soles connecting and becoming a part of these prints, adding steps,
humbling, engaging, liberating, creating another connection.
The title of this series is: "Paper Trail, A4 (All Over the Place)" from "The Quiet and Ugly Artist (Hanoi, 1965-2015)". These prints are collages made from my daily life in Hanoi -- collections of receipts, maps, brochures, business cards, food wrappers and waste.
They are my journal, a record of my consumption and daily activities, stamped with symbols that reflect my connection with Hanoi. They are painted over,
fragments remain revealed, information becomes cloudy, is lost and buried, like memory and history.
I created these collages during my artist-in-residency in Hanoi from
February 6, 2015 to October 26, 2015.
Walking is an important part of my art residencies. I document a familiar route in the community I’m living in by walking slowly, taking photos, and picking up “treasures”.
--Daniel Kerkhoff, www.danielkerkhoff.com
Standing next to this man-made behemoth (those propeller blades are each 90 feet long) can make a man feel insignificant. The diameter of the base is about 15'. They need a crane to lift the crane that works on these things. To stand under the hub that holds the propellers blades on the tower and hear it croak and scream, well, it gave me shivers and I am fearless ;-)
As the title suggests though, I have another 'thing' to mention today. I went to a funeral for a cousins of my Father's. I did not know Beulah very well, so when the stories from other relatives started I found it hard not to listen to them. It seems that Beulah was a sharing and giving type of person. She taught 1st graders. In fact the theme of the sermon was "If you can read this, hug a Teacher." After dinner, as the stories flew, I learned that Beulah was even more then a caring teacher. One cousin stood up and lamented about that in desperation she called on Beulah for some type of emergency. Then someone else stood up with another emergency story ... and then another ... It was immensely displayed that Beulah was the person that so many called on in emergencies and called just for advice. She was always there to help whomever, whenever.
Beulah stood tall. Beulah was more reliable then this behemoth pictured here. Beulah made this man feel more insignificant than anything man-made!
"The Unexceptional" series
Hasselblad + Carl Zeiss Planar T* 80mm f2.8 + Arista EDU Ultra 400 @ 320 iso + HC-110 B @ 6.5 minutes
Each day, we are surrounded by seemingly insignificant objects, taking them from one place to the other, or leaving them on a table for weeks, without paying any attention to them. We ignore or forget them, using things only when we need to, making sure they don’t interfere or inhabit our space. But what if they were not so stable and subservient? What if they could swivel, bounce or even fly. And what if they did so all at the same time?
We want to imagine a place where objects could live and move, harmoniously, and of their own accord. Without interfering with each other these objects would bounce, roll, turn and cross each other’s paths.
This experiment is about re-discovering our daily surroundings.
This is the making of the interactive video that was originally made for If You Could Collaborate exhibition. Each object is assigned to a letter on the keyboard, and can be activated or deactivated at any time. The online version will be soon available to play with at dansedance.com
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CREDITS
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DIRECTOR / Julien Vallée
CONCEPT / Julien Vallée & Nicolas Burrows
D.O.P. / Simon Duhamel
FLASH DEVELOPMENT / Jérémi Dallaire
SOUND DESIGN / Nicolas Burrows & René-Pierre T.-Guérin
MOTION DESIGN / Julien Vallée
MUSIC / Montoire
ADDITIONAL KEYING / Pierre-Olivier Nantel & Marie-Michele Bergeron
Watch this video on Vimeo. Video created by Julien Vallée.
Grasshoppers are insects of the suborder Caelifera within the order Orthoptera, which includes crickets and their allies in the other suborder Ensifera. They are probably the oldest living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshoppers are typically ground-dwelling insects with powerful hind legs which enable them to escape from threats by leaping vigorously. They are hemimetabolous insects (they do not undergo complete metamorphosis) which hatch from an egg into a nymph or "hopper" which undergoes five moults, becoming more similar to the adult insect at each developmental stage. At high population densities and under certain environmental conditions, some grasshopper species can change colour and behaviour and form swarms. Under these circumstances they are known as locusts.
Insects in the group are plant-eaters, with a few species at times becoming serious pests of cereals, vegetables and pasture, especially when they swarm in their millions as locusts and destroy crops over wide areas. They protect themselves from predators by camouflage; when detected, many species attempt to startle the predator with a brilliantly-coloured wing-flash while jumping and (if adult) launching themselves into the air, usually flying for only a short distance. Other species such as the rainbow grasshopper have warning coloration which deters predators. Grasshoppers are affected by parasites and various diseases, and many predatory creatures feed on both nymphs and adults. The eggs are the subject of attack by parasitoids and predators.
Grasshoppers have had a long relationship with humans. Swarms of locusts can have devastating effects and cause famine, and even in smaller numbers, the insects can be serious pests. They are used as food in countries such as Mexico and Indonesia. They feature in art, symbolism and literature.
CHARACTERISTICS
Grasshoppers have the typical insect body plan of head, thorax and abdomen. The head is held vertically at an angle to the body, with the mouth at the bottom. The head bears a large pair of compound eyes which give all-round vision, three simple eyes which can detect light and dark, and a pair of thread-like antennae that are sensitive to touch and smell. The downward-directed mouthparts are modified for chewing and there are two sensory palps in front of the jaws.
The thorax and abdomen are segmented and have a rigid cuticle made up of overlapping plates composed of chitin. The three fused thoracic segments bear three pairs of legs and two pairs of wings. The forewings, known as tegmina, are narrow and leathery while the hindwings are large and membranous, the veins providing strength. The legs are terminated by claws for gripping. The hind leg is particularly powerful; the femur is robust and has several ridges where different surfaces join and the inner ridges bear stridulatory pegs in some species. The posterior edge of the tibia bears a double row of spines and there are a pair of articulated spurs near its lower end. The interior of the thorax houses the muscles that control the wings and legs.
The abdomen has eleven segments, the first of which is fused to the thorax and contains the tympanal organ and hearing system. Segments two to eight are ring-shaped and joined by flexible membranes. Segments nine to eleven are reduced in size; segment nine bears a pair of cerci and segments ten and eleven house the reproductive organs. Female grasshoppers are normally larger than males, with short ovipositors. The name of the suborder "Caelifera" comes from the Latin and means chisel-bearing, referring to the shape of the ovipositor.
Those species that make easily heard noises usually do so by rubbing a row of pegs on the hind legs against the edges of the forewings (stridulation). These sounds are produced mainly by males to attract females, though in some species the females also stridulate.
Grasshoppers may be confused with Ensifera (crickets, etc.), but they differ in many aspects; these include the number of segments in their antennae and the structure of the ovipositor, as well as the location of the tympanal organ and the methods by which sound is produced. Ensiferans have antennae that can be much longer than the body and have at least 20–24 segments, while caeliferans have fewer segments in their shorter, stouter antennae.
PHYLOGENY
Grasshoppers belong to the suborder Caelifera. Although, "grasshopper" is sometimes used as a common name for the suborder in general, some sources restrict it to the more "advanced" groups. They may be placed in the infraorder Acrididea and have been referred-to as "short-horned grasshoppers" in older texts to distinguish them from the also-obsolete term "long-horned grasshoppers" (now bush-crickets or katydids) with their much longer antennae. The phylogeny of the Caelifera, based on mitochondrial ribosomal RNA of thirty-two taxa in six out of seven superfamilies, is shown as a cladogram. The Ensifera, Caelifera and all the superfamilies of grasshoppers except Pamphagoidea appear to be monophyletic.
In evolutionary terms, the split between the Caelifera and the Ensifera is no more recent than the Permo-Triassic boundary; the earliest insects that are certainly Caeliferans are in the extinct families Locustopseidae and Locustavidae from the early Triassic, roughly 250 million years ago. The group diversified during the Triassic and have remained important plant-eaters from that time to now. The first modern families such as the Eumastacidae, Tetrigidae and Tridactylidae appeared in the Cretaceous, though some insects that might belong to the last two of these groups are found in the early Jurassic. Morphological classification is difficult because many taxa have converged towards a common habitat type; recent taxonomists have concentrated on the internal genitalia, especially those of the male. This information is not available from fossil specimens, and the palaentological taxonomy is founded principally on the venation of the hindwings.
The Caelifera includes some 2,400 valid genera and about 11,000 known species. Many undescribed species probably exist, especially in tropical wet forests. The Caelifera have a predominantly tropical distribution with fewer species known from temperate zones, but most of the superfamilies have representatives worldwide. They are almost exclusively herbivorous and are probably the oldest living group of chewing herbivorous insects.
The most diverse superfamily is the Acridoidea, with around 8,000 species. The two main families in this are the Acrididae (grasshoppers and locusts) with a worldwide distribution, and the Romaleidae (lubber grasshoppers), found chiefly in the New World. The Ommexechidae and Tristiridae are South American, and the Lentulidae, Lithidiidae and Pamphagidae are mainly African. The Pauliniids are nocturnal and can swim or skate on water, and the Lentulids are wingless. Pneumoridae are native to Africa, particularly southern Africa, and are distinguished by the inflated abdomens of the males.
BIOLOGY
DIET AND DIGESTION
Most grasshoppers are polyphagous, eating vegetation from multiple plant sources, but some are omnivorous and also eat animal tissue and animal faeces. In general their preference is for grasses, including many cereals grown as crops. The digestive system is typical of insects, with Malpighian tubules discharging into the midgut. Carbohydrates are digested mainly in the crop, while proteins are digested in the ceca of the midgut. Saliva is abundant but largely free of enzymes, helping to move food and Malpighian secretions along the gut. Some grasshoppers possess cellulase, which by softening plant cell walls makes plant cell contents accessible to other digestive enzymes.
SENSORY ORGANS
Grasshoppers have a typical insect nervous system, and have an extensive set of external sense organs. On the side of the head are a pair of large compound eyes which give a broad field of vision and can detect movement, shape, colour and distance. There are also three simple eyes (ocelli) on the forehead which can detect light intensity, a pair of antennae containing olfactory (smell) and touch receptors, and mouthparts containing gustatory (taste) receptors. At the front end of the abdomen there is a pair of tympanal organs for sound reception. There are numerous fine hairs (setae) covering the whole body that act as mechanoreceptors (touch and wind sensors), and these are most dense on the antennae, the palps (part of the mouth), and on the cerci at the tip of the abdomen. There are special receptors (campaniform sensillae) embedded in the cuticle of the legs that sense pressure and cuticle distortion. There are internal "chordotonal" sense organs specialized to detect position and movement about the joints of the exoskeleton. The receptors convey information to the central nervous system through sensory neurons, and most of these have their cell bodies located in the periphery near the receptor site itself.
CIRCULATION AMD RESPIRATION
Like other insects, grasshoppers have an open circulatory system and their body cavities are filled with haemolymph. A heart-like structure in the upper part of the abdomen pumps the fluid to the head from where it percolates past the tissues and organs on its way back to the abdomen. This system circulates nutrients throughout the body and carries metabolic wastes to be excreted into the gut. Other functions of the haemolymph include wound healing, heat transfer and the provision of hydrostatic pressure, but the circulatory system is not involved in gaseous exchange. Respiration is performed using tracheae, air-filled tubes, which open at the surfaces of the thorax and abdomen through pairs of valved spiracles. Larger insects may need to actively ventilate their bodies by opening some spiracles while others remain closed, using abdominal muscles to expand and contract the body and pump air through the system.
JUMPING
A large grasshopper, such as a locust, can jump about a metre (twenty body lengths) without using its wings; the acceleration peaks at about 20 g. Grasshoppers jump by extending their large back legs and pushing against the substrate (the ground, a twig, a blade of grass or whatever else they are standing on); the reaction force propels them into the air. They jump for several reasons; to escape from a predator, to launch themselves into flight, or simply to move from place to place. For the escape jump in particular there is strong selective pressure to maximize take-off velocity, since this determines the range. This means that the legs must thrust against the ground with both high force and a high velocity of movement. However, a fundamental property of muscle is that it cannot contract with both high force and high velocity at the same time. Grasshoppers overcome this apparent contradiction by using a catapult mechanism to amplify the mechanical power produced by their muscles.
The jump is a three-stage process. First, the grasshopper fully flexes the lower part of the leg (tibia) against the upper part (femur) by activating the flexor tibiae muscle (the back legs of the grasshopper in the top photograph are in this preparatory position). Second, there is a period of co-contraction in which force builds up in the large, pennate extensor tibiae muscle, but the tibia is kept flexed by the simultaneous contraction of the flexor tibiae muscle. The extensor muscle is much stronger than the flexor muscle, but the latter is aided by specializations in the joint that give it a large effective mechanical advantage over the former when the tibia is fully flexed. Co-contraction can last for up to half a second, and during this period the extensor muscle shortens and stores elastic strain energy by distorting stiff cuticular structures in the leg. The extensor muscle contraction is quite slow (almost isometric), which allows it to develop high force (up to 14 N in the desert locust), but because it is slow only low power is needed. The third stage of the jump is the trigger relaxation of the flexor muscle, which releases the tibia from the flexed position. The subsequent rapid tibial extension is driven mainly by the relaxation of the elastic structures, rather than by further shortening of the extensor muscle. In this way the stiff cuticle acts like the elastic of a catapult, or the bow of a bow-and-arrow. Energy is put into the store at low power by slow but strong muscle contraction, and retrieved from the store at high power by rapid relaxation of the mechanical elastic structures.
STRIDULATION
Male grasshoppers spend much of the day stridulating, singing more actively under optimal conditions and being more subdued when conditions are adverse; females also stridulate, but their efforts are insignificant when compared to the males. Late-stage male nymphs can sometimes be seen making stridulatory movements, although they lack the equipment to make sounds, demonstrating the importance of this behavioural trait. The songs are a means of communication; the male stridulation seems to express reproductive maturity, the desire for social cohesion and individual well-being. Social cohesion becomes necessary among grasshoppers because of their ability to jump or fly large distances, and the song can serve to limit dispersal and guide others to favourable habitat. The generalised song can vary in phraseology and intensity, and is modified in the presence of a rival male, and changes again to a courtship song when a female is nearby. In male grasshoppers of the family Pneumoridae, the enlarged abdomen amplifies stridulation.
LIFE CYCLE
In most grasshopper species, conflicts between males over females rarely escalate beyond ritualistic displays. Some exceptions include the chameleon grasshopper (Kosciuscola tristis), where males may fight on top of ovipositing females; engaging in leg grappling, biting, kicking and mounting.
The newly emerged female grasshopper has a preoviposition period of a week or two while she increases in weight and her eggs mature. After mating, the female of most species digs a hole with her ovipositor and lays a batch of eggs in a pod in the ground near food plants, generally in the summer. After laying the eggs, she covers the hole with soil and litter. Some, like the semi-aquatic Cornops aquaticum, deposit the pod directly into plant tissue. The eggs in the pod are glued together with a froth in some species. After a few weeks of development, the eggs of most species in temperate climates go into diapause, and pass the winter in this state. Diapause is broken by a sufficiently low ground temperature, with development resuming as soon as the ground warms above a certain threshold temperature. The embryos in a pod generally all hatch out within a few minutes of each other. They soon shed their membranes and their exoskeletons harden. These first instar nymphs can then jump away from predators.
Grasshoppers undergo incomplete metamorphosis: they repeatedly moult (undergo ecdysis), each instar becoming larger and more like an adult, with the wing-buds increasing in size at each stage. The number of instars varies between species but is often six. After the final moult, the wings are inflated and become fully functional. The migratory grasshopper, Melanoplus sanguinipes, spends about 25 to 30 days as a nymph, depending on sex and temperature, and lives for about 51 days as an adult.
SWARMING
Locusts are the swarming phase of certain species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae. Swarming behaviour is a response to overcrowding. Increased tactile stimulation of the hind legs causes an increase in levels of serotonin. This causes the grasshopper to change colour, feed more and breed faster. The transformation of a solitary individual into a swarming one is induced by several contacts per minute over a short period.
Following this transformation, under suitable conditions dense nomadic bands of flightless nymphs known as "hoppers" can occur, producing pheromones which attract the insects to each other. With several generations in a year, the locust population can build up from localised groups into vast accumulations of flying insects known as plagues, devouring all the vegetation they encounter. The largest recorded locust swarm was one formed by the now-extinct Rocky Mountain locust in 1875; the swarm was 2,900 km long and 180 km wide, and one estimate puts the number of locusts involved at 3.5 trillion. An adult desert locust can eat about 2 g of plant material each day, so the billions of insects in a large swarm can be very destructive, stripping all the foliage from plants in an affected area and consuming stems, flowers, fruits, seeds and bark.
PREDATORS, PARASITES D PAHOGENS
Grasshoppers have a wide range of predators at different stages of their lives; eggs are eaten by bee-flies, ground beetles and blister beetles; hoppers and adults are taken by other insects such as ants, robber flies and sphecid wasps, by spiders, and by many birds and small mammals.
The eggs and nymphs are under attack by parasitoids including blow flies, flesh flies, and tachinid flies. External parasites of adults and nymphs include mites. Female grasshoppers parasitised by mites produce fewer eggs and thus have fewer offspring than unaffected individuals.
The grasshopper nematode (Mermis nigrescens) is a long slender worm that infects grasshoppers, living in the insect's hemocoel. Adult worms lay eggs on plants and the host becomes infected when the foliage is eaten. Spinochordodes tellinii and Paragordius tricuspidatus are parasitic worms that infect grasshoppers and alter the behaviour of their hosts. When the worms are sufficiently developed, the grasshopper is persuaded to leap into a nearby body of water where it drowns, thus enabling the parasite to continue with the next stage of its life cycle, which takes place in water.
Grasshoppers are affected by diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi and protozoa. The bacteria Serratia marcescens and Pseudomonas aeruginosa have both been implicated in causing disease in grasshoppers, as has the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana. This widespread fungus has been used to control various pest insects around the world, but although it infects grasshoppers, the infection is not usually lethal because basking in the sun has the result of raising the insect's temperature above a threshold tolerated by the fungus. The fungal pathogen Entomophaga grylli is able to influence the behaviour of its grasshopper host, causing it to climb to the top of a plant and cling to the stem as it dies. This ensures wide dispersal of the fungal spores liberated from the corpse.
The fungal pathogen Metarhizium acridum is found in Africa, Australia and Brazil where it has caused epizootics in grasshoppers. It is being investigated for possible use as a microbial insecticide for locust control. The microsporidian fungus Nosema locustae, once considered to be a protozoan, can be lethal to grasshoppers. It has to be consumed by mouth and is the basis for a bait-based commercial microbial pesticide. Various other microsporidians and protozoans are found in the gut.
ANTI-PREDATOR DEFENCES
Grasshoppers exemplify a range of anti-predator adaptations, enabling them to avoid detection, to escape if detected, and in some cases to avoid being eaten if captured. Grasshoppers are often camouflaged to avoid detection by predators that hunt by sight; some species can change their coloration to suit their surroundings.
Several species such as the hooded leaf grasshopper Phyllochoreia ramakrishnai (Eumastacoidea) are detailed mimics of leaves. Stick grasshoppers (Proscopiidae) mimic wooden sticks in form and colouration. Grasshoppers often have deimatic patterns on their wings, giving a sudden flash of bright colours that may startle predators long enough to give time to escape in a combination of jump and flight.
Some species are genuinely aposematic, having both bright warning coloration and sufficient toxicity to dissuade predators. Dictyophorus productus (Pyrgomorphidae) is a "heavy, bloated, sluggish insect" that makes no attempt to hide; it has a bright red abdomen. A Cercopithecus monkey that ate other grasshoppers refused to eat the species. Another species, the rainbow or painted grasshopper of Arizona, Dactylotum bicolor (Acridoidea), has been shown by experiment with a natural predator, the little striped whiptail lizard, to be aposematic
RELATIONSHIP WITH HUMANS
IN ART AND MEDIA
Grasshoppers are occasionally depicted in artworks, such as the Dutch Golden Age painter Balthasar van der Ast's still life oil painting, Flowers in a Vase with Shells and Insects, c. 1630, now in the National Gallery, London, though the insect may be a bush-cricket.
Another orthopteran is found in Rachel Ruysch's still life Flowers in a Vase, c. 1685. The seemingly static scene is animated by a "grasshopper on the table that looks about ready to spring", according to the gallery curator Betsy Wieseman, with other invertebrates including a spider, an ant, and two caterpillars.
Grasshoppers are also featured in cinema. The 1957 film Beginning of the End portrayed giant grasshoppers attacking Chicago.[59] In the 1998 Pixar film A Bug's Life, the heroes are the members of an ant colony, and the lead villain and his henchmen are grasshoppers.
SYMBOLISM
Grasshoppers are sometimes used as symbols, as in Sir Thomas Gresham's gilded grasshopper in Lombard Street, London, dating from 1563;[a] the building was for a while the headquarters of the Guardian Royal Exchange, but the company declined to use the symbol for fear of confusion with the locust.
When grasshoppers appear in dreams, these have been interpreted as symbols of "Freedom, independence, spiritual enlightenment, inability to settle down or commit to decision". Locusts are taken literally to mean devastation of crops in the case of farmers; figuratively as "wicked men and women" for non-farmers; and "Extravagance, misfortune, & ephemeral happiness" by "gypsies".
AS FOOD
In some countries, grasshoppers are used as food. In southern Mexico, grasshoppers, known as chapulines, are eaten in a variety of dishes, such as in tortillas with chilli sauce. Grasshoppers are served on skewers in some Chinese food markets, like the Donghuamen Night Market. Fried grasshoppers (walang goreng) are eaten in the Gunung Kidul Regency, Yogyakarta, Java in Indonesia. In Native America, the Ohlone people burned grassland to herd grasshoppers into pits where they could be collected as food.
It is recorded in the Bible that John the Baptist ate locusts and wild honey (Greek: ἀκρίδες καὶ μέλι ἄγριον, akrídes kaì méli ágrion) while living in the wilderness; attempts have been made to explain the locusts as suitably ascetic vegetarian food such as carob beans, but the plain meaning of ἀκρίδες is the insects.
AS PESTS
Grasshoppers eat large quantities of foliage both as adults and during their development, and can be serious pests of arid land and prairies. Pasture, grain, forage, vegetable and other crops can be affected. Grasshoppers often bask in the sun, and thrive in warm sunny conditions, so drought stimulates an increase in grasshopper populations. A single season of drought is not normally sufficient to stimulate a massive population increase, but several successive dry seasons can do so, especially if the intervening winters are mild so that large numbers of nymphs survive. Although sunny weather stimulates growth, there needs to be an adequate food supply for the increasing grasshopper population. This means that although precipitation is needed to stimulate plant growth, prolonged periods of cloudy weather will slow nymphal development.
Grasshoppers can best be prevented from becoming pests by manipulating their environment. Shade provided by trees will discourage them and they may be prevented from moving onto developing crops by removing coarse vegetation from fallow land and field margins and discouraging luxurious growth beside ditches and on roadside verges. With increasing numbers of grasshoppers, predator numbers may increase, but this seldom happens sufficiently rapidly to have much effect on populations. Biological control is being investigated, and spores of the protozoan parasite Nosema locustae can be used mixed with bait to control grasshoppers, being more effective with immature insects. On a small scale, neem products can be effective as a feeding deterrent and as a disruptor of nymphal development. Insecticides can be used, but adult grasshoppers are difficult to kill, and as they move into fields from surrounding rank growth, crops may soon become reinfested.
Some grasshopper species, like the Chinese rice grasshopper, are a pest in rice paddies. Ploughing exposes the eggs on the surface of the field, to be destroyed by sunshine or eaten by natural enemies. Some eggs may be buried too deeply in the soil for hatching to take place.
Locust plagues can have devastating effects on human populations, causing famines and population upheavals. They are mentioned in both the Koran and the Bible and have also been held responsible for cholera epidemics, resulting from the corpses of locusts drowned in the Mediterranean Sea and decomposing on beaches. The FAO and other organisations monitor locust activity around the world. Timely application of pesticides can prevent nomadic bands of hoppers from forming before dense swarms of adults can build up. Besides conventional control using contact insecticides, biological pest control using the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium acridum, which specifically infects grasshoppers, has been used with some success.
IN LITERATURE
The Egyptian word for locust or grasshopper was written snḥm in the consonantal hieroglyphic writing system. The pharaoh Ramesses II compared the armies of the Hittites to locusts: "They covered the mountains and valleys and were like locusts in their multitude."
One of Aesop's Fables, later retold by La Fontaine, is the tale of The Ant and the Grasshopper. The ant works hard all summer, while the grasshopper plays. In winter, the ant is ready but the grasshopper starves. Somerset Maugham's short story "The Ant and the Grasshopper" explores the fable's symbolism via complex framing. Other human weaknesses besides improvidence have become identified with the grasshopper's behaviour. So an unfaithful woman (hopping from man to man) is "a grasshopper" in "Poprygunya", an 1892 short story by Anton Chekhov, and in Jerry Paris's 1969 film The Grasshopper.
In mechanical engineering
The name "Grasshopper" was given to the Aeronca L-3 and Piper L-4 light aircraft, both used for reconnaissance and other support duties in World War II. The name is said to have originated when Major General Innis P. Swift saw a Piper making a rough landing and remarked that it looked like a "damned grasshopper" for its bouncing progress.
Grasshopper beam engines were beam engines pivoted at one end, the long horizontal arm resembling the hind leg of a grasshopper. The type was patented by William Freemantle in 1803.
WIKIPEDIA
Homebound today due to gammy eye, I was stuck for a subject for day four. This houseplant is a mystery to me for several reasons. I can't find out what it's called via enquiry or inverstigation. It was given to me by my mum, who was given several of them by a friend who didn't know what it was called. My husband loves it and keeps repotting it, which just makes it get bigger. It's nearly two feet tall now and has these extremely insignificant flowers budding occasionally from the fleshy stem. They are barely two or three millimetres tall (sorry for the mixed sizing...lol). I really dislike it, but it refuses to die. The biggest mystery is why I don't do the one thing that I know will kill it - put it in a cold place - I guess I just can't do that to my beloved man...;-)
Lower Devonian fossilized Crinoid ~370-400 million years old. It hails from the Hunsruck slate formation in Bundbach, Germany.
Lower Devonian fossilized starfish (Furcaster palaeozoicus). It hails from the Hunsruck slate formation in Bundbach, Germany. Also a distinctly less aesthetically appealing, but no less important Orthoceras on the left edge.
Another of the insignificant buildings just outside the Bhaktapur Durbar Square- I really cannot recall why I took this picture despite my local Bhaktapur telling me that it is not part of the Durbar Square so don't worry about it. I was probably curious about the 'CBR Bhaktapur 1986' sign on it, so I probably took this picture hoping to find out later from the net what this is all about. The CBR Organization is social NGO particularly devoted to promoting and protecting the rights of disabled children and the physically challenged Community Based Rehabilitation. This organization was set up by the Bhaktapur Jaycees in 1985 (the sign says 1986 though), to work on disability issues. The Bhaktapur CBR is the first organization in Nepal to implement CBR program formally in a comprehensive model for the rehabilitation of the physically challenged adults and children in their own community. (Bhaktapur Durbar Square, Nepal, Oct/ Nov 2019)
"There is nothing insignificant in the world. It all depends on the point of view."
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Another lengthy southbound double stack intermodal rolls downgrade into the Mojave Sink on 24 June 2012. Dash 9-44CW's #4667, 4979, C45ACCTE #6993 and ES44DC #7836 are the BNSF quartet at the front, it's not easy street though as the dynamic brakes will be needing to work well to give a controlled descent into the Sink.
It's a wild ride up and down those mountains...
24 June 2012.
“The Insignificant is Significant”, A Library and Art Installation, a continuation of the series, “The Quiet and Ugly Artist (Hanoi, 1965-2015)”.
Since 2009, Daniel Kerkhoff, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A., has been creating his own artist-in-residencies in communities in Ghana, Ecuador, and Vietnam.
Embedding himself in a community, he develops multiple connections through creating art (installations), writing poetic journals, making art with children, curating exhibitions, working with artists, assisting art libraries and community libraries, documenting walks and the community, and just being a part of everyday life.
Along with painting, collage, art installations, photography, and writing, his art practice involves connecting, sharing, and weaving people and places.
“The Insignificant is Significant”, A Library and Art Installation, a continuation of the series, “The Quiet and Ugly Artist (Hanoi, 1965-2015)”.
Assisting and creating libraries is part of my art practice.
During my art residencies, I continue to bring books and materials, art work, maps, magazines and journals, CDs, DVDs, and photos to the community centers in Adugyama, Ashanti Region Ghana and Sisid-anejo, Cañar, Ecuador. I also give a variety of art books, journals, and materials to fellow artists and art spaces.
In Accra, Ghana, I bring art books and magazines to The Nubuke Foundation and The Center for Contemporary Art, Ghana. In Cuenca, Ecuador, I'm connected to In-Arte Contemporáneo and bring art magazines and information. In Hanoi, I have provided various art publications and books to Cuci Fine Art, Chay Art, and Chaap Collective.
I bring art publications, art work, and music created by friends and colleagues of mine. I document their work in these different communities, creating another form of connection and awareness.
I consider this a weaving project, a form of sharing that can have many on-going effects. –Daniel Kerkhoff, www.danielkerkhoff.com
“Playing Catch, Giving and Receiving”
You are invited to play catch with my prints. Two dimensional prints that hang on the wall are transformed into three dimensional balls, a form of sculpture that is also performance and participatory.
Playing catch is a common past time that's relaxing and connecting. It is an act of giving (throwing) and receiving (catching) involving a ball, and, in this case, prints transformed into a ball (sculpture).
Instead of viewing the stationary print on a wall or a sculpture on the floor, it is viewed moving through time and space, dependent on the participants and their actions.
It is visual, transformative, therapeutic, sharing, interactive, and connecting, simple and playful actions of giving and receiving.
--Daniel Kerkhoff, www.danielkerkhoff.com
“The Insignificant is Significant”, A Library and Art Installation, a continuation of the series, “The Quiet and Ugly Artist (Hanoi, 1965-2015)”
“Walking the Path, Prints on Prints”
You are invited to walk on my prints, using them as a path.
It’s another way of experiencing art like a stepping stone meditation,
a different awareness may take place on an intentional walk, slower,
deliberate, a winding pathway, your prints touching these prints.
You become, in a way, the performer, the participant, the collaborator,
your soles connecting and becoming a part of these prints, adding steps,
humbling, engaging, liberating, creating another connection.
The title of this series is: "Paper Trail, A4 (All Over the Place)" from "The Quiet and Ugly Artist (Hanoi, 1965-2015)". These prints are collages made from my daily life in Hanoi -- collections of receipts, maps, brochures, business cards, food wrappers and waste.
They are my journal, a record of my consumption and daily activities, stamped with symbols that reflect my connection with Hanoi. They are painted over,
fragments remain revealed, information becomes cloudy, is lost and buried, like memory and history.
I created these collages during my artist-in-residency in Hanoi from
February 6, 2015 to October 26, 2015.
Walking is an important part of my art residencies. I document a familiar route in the community I’m living in by walking slowly, taking photos, and picking up “treasures”.
--Daniel Kerkhoff, www.danielkerkhoff.com
GINKGO biloba 'Jade Butterflies' (Stanley and Sons Nursery) 2020 photo - Common Name: Dwarf Ginkgo, Size at 10 years: 4x4ft., Green Foliage, Insignificant flower, USDA Hardiness Zone x, In Garden Bed HR-VC4 for 7.9 YEARS (HLG). Planted in 2012.
Missouri Botanical Garden: ‘Jade Butterflies’ is a slow-growing, dwarf, male tree that grows in an upright, vase-shaped form to only 4-6’ tall over the first 10 years. However, some authorities estimate this tree may reach as much as 10-12’ tall over the first 10 years. Mature height is currently unknown. Deeply bi-lobed leaves purportedly resemble butterflies with jade green wings, hence the cultivar name. Foliage turns a uniform and very showy golden yellow in autumn. Insignificant greenish male flowers bloom in catkins in spring.
Location: Michigan State University, Hidden Lake Gardens, Tipton, MI. 42°01'47.7"N 84°06'37.3"W
pruh-nuhn-see-ey-shuh n: GINK-oh by-LOE-buh
#GINKGO #DwarfGinkgo
Additional photos of this plant:
www.flickr.com/search/?user_id=50697352%40N00&sort=da...
Satellite View using Google Maps: www.google.com/maps/place/42%C2%B001'47.7%22N+84%C2%B006'...
Other plants in Garden HR-VC4: www.flickr.com/search/?user_id=50697352%40N00&sort=da...
I like the comfy-cozy feeling of familiarity just as much as anyone. But I also like to explore and investigate new things. That's part of what makes life interesting. Think of how boring your existence would be if there was no change at all... to anything... even to the small and insignificant crap... like a website's homepage.
Like many, I had a bit of a 'WTF moment' when I first saw the new flickr homepage, and do not care for some of the changes. But you know what... it took only a few return visits to get used to.
Unfortunately, I've spent some time reading the feedback about the new homepage. Fortunately, I was not disappointed and saw some really interesting and stupid comments:
"This isn't the flickr I paid for"
Really... one stinkin' homepage constitutes ALL of flickr?
"I won't be renewing my pro account"
So sorry to hear that... buh-bye...
"we all need to find another website. This one isn't going to work anymore."
You're absolutely RIGHT! the whole site is useless now!!! Okey-dokey, where'd I put that link to Webshots...
"Bring back the old homepage - or else I will leave Flickr when my account runs out next year!!"
This genius doesn't quite grasp the concept of forcing someone into immediate action through empty threats...
"ai no tet ai em not rutelli bat "
I have absolutely no clue what that means... but it looks like whining to me.
"The most pointless useless and destructive upgrade ever seen on a site"
This person's profile says that they've "been doing photography since Sept 2007". Apparently that's when they first discovered the internet as well...
"Where's the undo button?"
Here 'ya be... Undo Button (next time, use Google before asking stupid questions)
"Bloody awful!! The beginning of the end or the end of the beginning?"
We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender...
"WTF was the point of this? It's like programmer masturbation!"
Here's a towel... now go away...
"Count me in as another who loathes the Recent Activity goulash that's just been inflicted."
HEY! I happen to LOVE goulash...
"Wow... seems like the new home page is really going over well."
Okay... I liked that one...
"I can't believe i paid to be on this shit site!"
I can't believe I made it to page five in the feedback thread...
"Listen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "
You can hear the ocean...
"really cant be bothered to figure it out"
You 'figured it out' at least once before... how hard could it be this time? Or have you turned into a total moron since you signed up?
"This is just TRAGIC!"
OMG!!! IT'S ARMAGEDDON!!!!! THE WORLD IS COMING TO AN END!!!! AND IT'S NOT EVEN DECEMBER 21ST, 2012 YET!!! OMG, IT'S A TRAGEDY!!! WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
Now... having said all that, I will agree with the majority of the whiners... the new 'Activity Settings' interface itself is something of an over-functional clusterfuck. And it would be nice to have mutually exclusive segregation without the need to continually check and un-check a bunch of selection boxes. But if you find the default combination of activity on your images and those of others to be confusing... well, I'm sorry, but you really need to exercise your brain more often.
The flickr homepage is just ONE page on a truly gargantuan website, the heart and soul of which is the massive collection of photos and images we all post to our 'photostreams'.
To hell with the homepage.
Accept it, or not.
But stop moaning like little children and move on to something more important...
Fade to Black...
"The Unexceptional" series
Shot some Arista 400 (Tri-X) @ 320 iso, this really seemed to open up the shadows as the images are not as contrasty when developed in D76 as my previous results were.
Bessa R3a + Ultron 35mm f1.7 + Arista Premium 400 @ 320 iso + D-76 1:1 @ 9 minutes
Day 20 of February Photo Challenge. All photos and processing will be done on my phone (Android).
Today's theme is "itsy bitsy"
Hesperia, CA - Families seem to thrive when they spend time together. It may seem insignificant at the time but even just sitting around watching the dust settle in the afternoon sky can eventually have a momentous place in memory. Getting close to a loved one is in our nature of nurture (although as a child it seems a bit annoying) there is a reason for it. That was unusually mild for a summer's day; a slight breeze cooled the shadowed porch as a confused rooster called out periodically in the background. I think the rooster just liked the sound of his voice. Longtime friends, BBQ, good beer, and a cool summer's day. There's not a whole lot one can complain about.
Each day, we are surrounded by seemingly insignificant objects, taking them from one place to the other, or leaving them on a table for weeks, without paying any attention to them. We ignore or forget them, using things only when we need to, making sure they don’t interfere or inhabit our space. But what if they were not so stable and subservient? What if they could swivel, bounce or even fly. And what if they did so all at the same time?
We want to imagine a place where objects could live and move, harmoniously, and of their own accord. Without interfering with each other these objects would bounce, roll, turn and cross each other’s paths.
This experiment is about re-discovering our daily surroundings.
This is the making of the interactive video that was originally made for If You Could Collaborate exhibition. Each object is assigned to a letter on the keyboard, and can be activated or deactivated at any time. The online version will be soon available to play with at dansedance.com
---
Watch this video on Vimeo. Video created by Julien Vallée.
A tiny, insignificant water patch 'requires' the placing of a yellow 'safety' cone to trip up the unwary or the blind as they try to negotiate crowds! Next phase - every time it rains we must have all outdoor platforms covered in forests of cones!
A stream of stars appears to be falling out of NGC 3628, which lies some 35 million ly distant. This tidal stream is not an insignificant brook, but more of a river. It is the largest tidal stream in our cosmic neighborhood. This image only captures approximately 1/3 of the total size of the tidal tail, which is estimated to be close to 300,000 ly long. (Three times the length of the galaxy)
Major galactic interactions are responsible for the large scale stream seen in this image. However, there are also smaller scale interactions also taking place in the stream. It is believed that an Omega Centauri like structure lies in the stream as a result of a passing dwarf galaxy colliding with the tidal tail. (White star-like structure in the midst of the first 3rd of the stream)
Last year astronomer David Martinez-Delgado discussed this object while presenting at an IAU symposium focusing on Low Surface Brightness objects in our universe. (See “Ultra-deep Imaging with Amateur Telescopes” arxiv.org/pdf/2001.05746.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3SlxNgNaQeagCkwNy...)
The paper references Mark Hansons impressive ultra-deep mosaic of this area that captures the entire stream. (Note the inset image in the article taken by the Subaru 8.2m telescope that shows the Centauri like object in question.)
As I feel the awe the accompanies looking to objects like this, I also love the possibilities we have of learning more about them. The great physicist Henri Poincare reminds us that besides the wonder we feel in looking up, the study of astronomy has other useful purposes…
”Astronomy is useful because it raises us above ourselves; it is useful because it is grand; …. It shows us how small is man's body, how great his mind, since his intelligence can embrace …this dazzling immensity, where his body is only an obscure point, and enjoy its silent harmony."
— Henri Poincaré
Image Acquisition info:
Date: February 2020
Location: Fairview, UT
Telescope: AT 16 RC
Camera: Atik 16200
LRGB: 630:190:170:170 (19 hours)
Why does an insignificant landscape feature such as Jug Rock call to me? That is one of the mysteries of the universe. Once I receive such a call, I am obligated to answer it by examining the feature up close.
Taken from near the end of the trail to Delicate
Arch, where the trail has a drop-off on one side.
I've been thinking a lot lately about my flickr stream and about my photography work in general. There are roughly 36 million flickr photostreams and a staggering 3.5 billion photos! Why do I even bother? Why add another insignificant 500+ photos to that? Why add another photostream? My photos won't be the best, my editing will be flawed, and my contact list will always be smaller then someones. As I ponder on this I reach the conclusion that I am not here for me, and nor am I here only for you. I am here for the same One who chose to place my life in a world of 6.7 billion other people. God has plans for my life, a blueprint of fantastic design that will bring ultimate glory to Himself. Part of that plan is to be a Christian, to be saved, to show forth the glory of his great grace and mercy when he chooses to keep me when I so often fall away. Along with that comes the use of my talents, abilities, and those things I am good at or have been gifted in. God has blessed me immensely with photography. I was born with a great eye for photographic beauty to even be able to see image potential. Earlier this year my brother, (who is also a phenomenal photographer himself) and I started a small business selling photo cards and a few months ago we made our first net profits after only a few months of work. Then someone I haven't even met paid for a CS4 web design premium that was upgraded to CS5 without my asking. In light of these things and a sensing that God was moving me in this area I spent some of the money that He has so richly provided for me from my farm job and bought a Canon Rebel T2i. So now I find myself here, caught up in it all and searching for my niche in this industry. Photography is still a hobby and I won't go into it for a living, for God has called me to be a missionary, but I won't ever give it up either, not until He asks me too. With the understanding of how small a part I play I want to change my drive when posting. There are tons of snow flakes (photographers) out there producing, just posting any old thing, even great things, people like me. But I am a Christian, part of a community, a "snow ball" that is a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that we might proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9 Focus on the last part, we are called that we might proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us. That is what I want to do, proclaim the excellencies of Him who called me. I want to be a missionary who declares this though all that he does. This is not just a then thing, it is also a now thing, I must start today, start posting for His glory by posting for your encouragement and refreshment. I must use my unique talents and imagination to take pictures and videos that show I have been taken out of darkness and brought into His marvelous light. Think on this, it should make those of us who are apart of this Christian snowball community to get really excited; excited to wake up, excited to go to work, excited to live for we are in the light! The world needs to know this! Let's stand out amid the other 36,000,000 flickerers to show glory to God as we are called to do. That won't all look the same person to person, nor should it, but ask God to guide and help you do all for His glory.