VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.--Officials cut the ribbon Feb. 27 ceremonially opening a brand new education center that will help Airmen stationed at this central coast base achieve their personal and professional education goals.

The $14.2 million center replaced a 60-year-old elementary school campus, which had been used as the education center for more than 40 years.

"We hear the dollar value, and I just can't stress how precious those dollars are in today's fiscal environment," said Col. Keith Balts, 30th Space Wing commander. "The fact that we get to do military construction at all, especially something for the quality of our Airmen and their families, says a lot about the importance we place on education."

One of the center's first customers was Senior Airman Antoine Marshall, 30th Force Support Squadron, who joined the Air Force four years ago with an associate degree in criminal justice.

"I just took the analyzing and interpreting literature CLEP (College Level Examination Program) exam," said Marshall, who's pursuing a bachelor's degree in organizational management. "It was my first one--I passed it. I'm extremely happy!"

The 38,384-square-foot facility includes 20 classrooms, computer lab, testing center, and 75-seat auditorium, as well as offices for various colleges and universities serving the Vandenberg community.

"I think the facility is great," said Marshall. "Overall, it provides a better environment to work and study, and it's just comfortable."

The design-build project was constructed by Corps contractor Teehee-Straub, a joint-venture team from Oceanside, Calif.

"The design was quite extensive, just due to the detail and the location," said Keith Hamilton, project executive for Teehee-Straub. "The site work was very challenging, and I think that was something that brought a lot of character to this building."

Teehee-Straub's 21st century design included sustainable development and energy efficiencies, such as light pollution reduction and water use reduction.

"This is a sustainable building," said Col. Kim Colloton, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District commander. "We can build our buildings smartly, so they can do more; it's more [money] that can go back into the base."

During construction, 75 percent of the construction and demolition debris was diverted from landfills and redirected back to the manufacturing process as reusable and recyclable material. Walk-off mats, exhaust systems and filtered heating and cooling improves indoor air quality. Low-flow fixtures and faucets, high-efficiency drip irrigation and drought-tolerant landscaping reduce potable water use by more than 40 percent. All are efficiencies the contractor believes will achive a LEED Silver rating (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, a Green Building Council rating system).

"We're just proud to be part of this," said Teehee-Straub managing partner Richard Straub. "The Corps of Engineers is one of our favorite customers, and we love supporting the Air Force in doing a job that will educate a lot of servicemen."

Discovery STO - 70 Ton, Single Stage to Orbit Fixed Wing Aircraft - Space Plane - Hypersonic Plane, U-TBCC / Unified Turbine Based Combined Cycle & Aerospike

Iteration 1, Mach 8-10 in amtmosphere, 195ft long, Heavy Lift Single Stage To Orbit Fixed Wing Aircraft. 70 TONS, ie 140,000 LBS, 60 ft X 15ft X 15ft payload bay. Up in the Falcon Heavy and Delta IV class, except not $400 million to launch giant payloads into orbit, but below $250 per lbs, or about $28 million to launch giant payloads, and normalized orbital flight, as normal as a 737 commercial flight. Load up, refuel, take off in an afternoon. I estimate this aircraft would cost about $750 million each for space capable. In atmosphere commercial, roughly $300 million each for a 200 passenger M8-10 (not designed yet)

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www.ioaircraft.com/hypersonic/ranger.php

Drew Blair

www.linkedin.com/in/drew-b-25485312/

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Unified Turbine Based Combined Cycle. Current technologies and what Lockheed is trying to force on the Dept of Defense, for that low speed Mach 5 plane DOD gave them $1 billion to build and would disintegrate above Mach 5, is TBCC. 2 separate propulsion systems in the same airframe, which requires TWICE the airframe space to use.

Unified Turbine Based Combined Cycle is 1 propulsion system cutting that airframe deficit in half, and also able to operate above Mach 10 up to Mach 15 in atmosphere, and a simple nozzle modification allows for outside atmosphere rocket mode, ie orbital capable.

Additionally, Reaction Engines maximum air breather mode is Mach 4.5, above that it will explode in flight from internal pressures are too high to operate. Thus, must switch to non air breather rocket mode to operate in atmosphere in hypersonic velocities. Which as a result, makes it not feasible for anything practical. It also takes an immense amount of fuel to function.

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tbcc, glide breaker, fighter plane, hyperonic fighter, stealth fighter, boeing phantom express, phantom works, boeing phantom works, lockheed skunk works, hypersonic weapon, hypersonic missile, scramjet missile, scramjet engineering, scramjet physics, boost glide, tactical glide vehicle, Boeing XS-1, htv, Air Launched Rapid Response Weapon, (ARRW), hypersonic tactical vehicle, hypersonic plane, hypersonic aircraft, space plane, scramjet, turbine based combined cycle, ramjet, dual mode ramjet, darpa, onr, navair, afrl, air force research lab, office of naval research, defense advanced research project agency, defense science, missile defense agency, aerospike, vtol, vertical take off, air taxi, personal air vehicle, boeing go fly prize, go fly prize,

Advanced Additive Manufacturing for Hypersonic Aircraft

Utilizing new methods of fabrication and construction, make it possible to use additive manufacturing, dramatically reducing the time and costs of producing hypersonic platforms from missiles, aircraft, and space capable craft. Instead of aircraft being produced in piece, then bolted together; small platforms can be produced as a single unit and large platforms can be produces in large section and mated without bolting. These techniques include using exotic materials and advanced assembly processes, with an end result of streamlining the production costs and time for hypersonic aircraft; reducing months of assembly to weeks. Overall, this process greatly reduced the cost for producing hypersonic platforms. Even to such an extent that a Hellfire missile costs apx $100,000 but by utilizing our technologies, replacing it with a Mach 8-10 hypersonic missile of our physics/engineering and that missile would cost roughly $75,000 each delivered.

Materials used for these manufacturing processes are not disclosed, but overall, provides a foundation for extremely high stresses and thermodynamics, ideal for hypersonic platforms. This specific methodology and materials applications is many decades ahead of all known programs. Even to the extend of normalized space flight and re-entry, without concern of thermodynamic failure.

*Note, most entities that are experimenting with additive manufacturing for hypersonic aircraft, this makes it mainstream and standardized processes, which also applies for mass production.

What would normally be measured in years and perhaps a decade to go from drawing board to test flights, is reduced to singular months and ready for production within a year maximum.

Unified Turbine Based Combined Cycle (U-TBCC)

To date, the closest that NASA and industry have achieved for turbine based aircraft to fly at hypersonic velocities is by mounting a turbine into an aircraft and sharing the inlet with a scramjet or rocket based motor. Reaction Engines Sabre is not able to achieve hypersonic velocities and can only transition into a non air breathing rocket for beyond Mach 4.5

However, utilizing Unified Turbine Based Combine Cycle also known as U-TBCC, the two separate platforms are able to share a common inlet and the dual mode ramjet/scramjet is contained within the engine itself, which allows for a much smaller airframe footprint, thus engingeers are able to then design much higher performance aerial platforms for hypersonic flight, including the ability for constructing true single stage to orbit aircraft by utilizing a modification/version that allows for transition to outside atmosphere propulsion without any other propulsion platforms within the aircraft. By transitioning and developing aircraft to use Unified Turbine Based Combined Cycle, this propulsion system opens up new options to replace that airframe deficit for increased fuel capacity and/or payload.

Enhanced Dynamic Cavitation

Dramatically Increasing the efficiency of fuel air mixture for combustion processes at hypersonic velocities within scramjet propulsion platforms. The aspects of these processes are non disclosable.

Dynamic Scramjet Ignition Processes

For optimal scramjet ignition, a process known as Self Start is sought after, but in many cases if the platform becomes out of attitude, the scramjet will ignite. We have already solved this problem which as a result, a scramjet propulsion system can ignite at lower velocities, high velocities, at optimal attitude or not optimal attitude. It doesn't matter, it will ignite anyways at the proper point for maximum thrust capabilities at hypersonic velocities.

Hydrogen vs Kerosene Fuel Sources

Kerosene is an easy fuel to work with, and most western nations developing scramjet platforms use Kerosene for that fact. However, while kerosene has better thermal properties then Hydrogen, Hydrogen is a far superior fuel source in scramjet propulsion flight, do it having a much higher efficiency capability. Because of this aspect, in conjunction with our developments, it allows for a MUCH increased fuel to air mixture, combustion, thrust; and ability for higher speeds; instead of very low hypersonic velocities in the Mach 5-6 range. Instead, Mach 8-10 range, while we have begun developing hypersonic capabilities to exceed 15 in atmosphere within less then 5 years.

Conforming High Pressure Tank Technology for CNG and H2.

As most know in hypersonics, Hydrogen is a superior fuel source, but due to the storage abilities, can only be stored in cylinders thus much less fuel supply. Not anymore, we developed conforming high pressure storage technology for use in aerospace, automotive sectors, maritime, etc; which means any overall shape required for 8,000+ PSI CNG or Hydrogen. For hypersonic platforms, this means the ability to store a much larger volume of hydrogen vs cylinders.

As an example, X-43 flown by Nasa which flew at Mach 9.97. The fuel source was Hydrogen, which is extremely more volatile and combustible then kerosene (JP-7), via a cylinder in the main body. If it had used our technology, that entire section of the airframe would had been an 8,000 PSI H2 tank, which would had yielded 5-6 times the capacity. While the X-43 flew 11 seconds under power at Mach 9.97, at 6 times the fuel capacity would had yielded apx 66 seconds of fuel under power at Mach 9.97. If it had flew slower, around Mach 6, same principles applied would had yielded apx 500 seconds of fuel supply under power (slower speeds required less energy to maintain).

Enhanced Fuel Mixture During Shock Train Interaction

Normally, fuel injection is conducted at the correct insertion point within the shock train for maximum burn/combustion. Our methodologies differ, since almost half the fuel injection is conducted PRE shock train within the isolator, so at the point of isolator injection the fuel enhances the combustion process, which then requires less fuel injection to reach the same level of thrust capabilities.

Improved Bow Shock Interaction

Smoother interaction at hypersonic velocities and mitigating heat/stresses for beyond Mach 6 thermodynamics, which extraordinarily improves Type 3, 4, and 5 shock interaction.

6,000+ Fahrenheit Thermal Resistance

To date, the maximum thermal resistance was tested at AFRL in the spring of 2018, which resulted in a 3,200F thermal resistance for a short duration. This technology, allows for normalized hypersonic thermal resistance of 3,000-3,500F sustained, and up to 6,500F resistance for short endurance, ie 90 seconds or less. 10-20 minute resistance estimate approximately 4,500F +/- 200F.

*** This technology advancement also applies to Aerospike rocket engines, in which it is common for Aerospike's to exceed 4,500-5,000F temperatures, which results in the melting of the reversed bell housing. That melting no longer ocurrs, providing for stable combustion to ocurr for the entire flight envelope

Scramjet Propulsion Side Wall Cooling

With old technologies, side wall cooling is required for hypersonic flight and scramjet propulsion systems, otherwise the isolator and combustion regions of a scramjet would melt, even using advanced ablatives and ceramics, due to their inability to cope with very high temperatures. Using technology we have developed for very high thermodynamics and high stresses, side wall cooling is no longer required, thus removing that variable from the design process and focusing on improved ignition processes and increasing net thrust values.

Lower Threshold for Hypersonic Ignition

Active and adaptive flight dynamics, resulting in the ability for scramjet ignition at a much lower velocity, ie within ramjet envelope, between Mach 2-4, and seamless transition from supersonic to hypersonic flight, ie supersonic ramjet (scramjet). This active and dynamic aspect, has a wide variety of parameters for many flight dynamics, velocities, and altitudes; which means platforms no longer need to be engineered for specific altitude ranges or preset velocities, but those parameters can then be selected during launch configuration and are able to adapt actively in flight.

Dramatically Improved Maneuvering Capabilities at Hypersonic Velocities

Hypersonic vehicles, like their less technologically advanced brethren, use large actuator and the developers hope those controls surfaces do not disintegrate in flight. In reality, it is like rolling the dice, they may or may not survive, hence another reason why the attempt to keep velocities to Mach 6 or below. We have shrunken down control actuators while almost doubling torque and response capabilities specifically for hypersonic dynamics and extreme stresses involved, which makes it possible for maximum input authority for Mach 10 and beyond.

Paradigm Shift in Control Surface Methodologies, Increasing Control Authority (Internal Mechanical Applications)

To date, most control surfaces for hypersonic missile platforms still use fins, similar to lower speed conventional missiles, and some using ducted fins. This is mostly due to lack of comprehension of hypersonic velocities in their own favor. Instead, the body itself incorporates those control surfaces, greatly enhancing the airframe strength, opening up more space for hardware and fuel capacity; while simultaneously enhancing the platforms maneuvering capabilities.

A scramjet missile can then fly like conventional missile platforms, and not straight and level at high altitudes, losing velocity on it's decent trajectory to target. Another added benefit to this aspect, is the ability to extend range greatly, so if anyone elses hypersonic missile platform were developed for 400 mile range, falling out of the sky due to lack of glide capabilities; our platforms can easily reach 600+ miles, with minimal glide deceleration.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.--Officials cut the ribbon Feb. 27 ceremonially opening a brand new education center that will help Airmen stationed at this central coast base achieve their personal and professional education goals.

The $14.2 million center replaced a 60-year-old elementary school campus, which had been used as the education center for more than 40 years.

"We hear the dollar value, and I just can't stress how precious those dollars are in today's fiscal environment," said Col. Keith Balts, 30th Space Wing commander. "The fact that we get to do military construction at all, especially something for the quality of our Airmen and their families, says a lot about the importance we place on education."

One of the center's first customers was Senior Airman Antoine Marshall, 30th Force Support Squadron, who joined the Air Force four years ago with an associate degree in criminal justice.

"I just took the analyzing and interpreting literature CLEP (College Level Examination Program) exam," said Marshall, who's pursuing a bachelor's degree in organizational management. "It was my first one--I passed it. I'm extremely happy!"

The 38,384-square-foot facility includes 20 classrooms, computer lab, testing center, and 75-seat auditorium, as well as offices for various colleges and universities serving the Vandenberg community.

"I think the facility is great," said Marshall. "Overall, it provides a better environment to work and study, and it's just comfortable."

The design-build project was constructed by Corps contractor Teehee-Straub, a joint-venture team from Oceanside, Calif.

"The design was quite extensive, just due to the detail and the location," said Keith Hamilton, project executive for Teehee-Straub. "The site work was very challenging, and I think that was something that brought a lot of character to this building."

Teehee-Straub's 21st century design included sustainable development and energy efficiencies, such as light pollution reduction and water use reduction.

"This is a sustainable building," said Col. Kim Colloton, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District commander. "We can build our buildings smartly, so they can do more; it's more [money] that can go back into the base."

During construction, 75 percent of the construction and demolition debris was diverted from landfills and redirected back to the manufacturing process as reusable and recyclable material. Walk-off mats, exhaust systems and filtered heating and cooling improves indoor air quality. Low-flow fixtures and faucets, high-efficiency drip irrigation and drought-tolerant landscaping reduce potable water use by more than 40 percent. All are efficiencies the contractor believes will achive a LEED Silver rating (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, a Green Building Council rating system).

"We're just proud to be part of this," said Teehee-Straub managing partner Richard Straub. "The Corps of Engineers is one of our favorite customers, and we love supporting the Air Force in doing a job that will educate a lot of servicemen."

Continuing the de-clutter of my house. 100 CDs for 'Design Builder' an educational CD-ROM I developed in 1995/6 for the 'Innovative Design Engineering Research group in the Manufacturing Systems department at the University of Hertfordshire. It was a joint project under an early HEFCE initiative (TLTP) to encourage the use of learning technologies in universities, developed with Sheffield Hallam University.

The CD-ROM took the user through the design of a winch and demonstrated 'concurrent engineering' principles. The aim was to design a winch that was able to drag a RNLI Lifeboat up a ramp and to ensure that the design came in on cost. Each user was given a different problem and they could build their design using tens of thousands of real-world components. Virtual experts watched the user's decisions and would try to interject to offer advice from 'their perspective' on why decisions were good or bad. Unlike most educational CD-ROMs there was no right answer and the advice offered would often conflict with advice from other virtual experts. For example the company's accountant might complain that the materials chosen were expensive, while the materials expert would agree that the choice seemed most appropriate for the manufacturing process chosen.

Some serious blood and sweat went into this product. I know at times I was working 120 hours a week, with computers rendering 3D 'solutions' round the clock for weeks on end.

I think 2000 were produced and we sold about 150, along with a number of site licenses. Unfortunately, because the project was part-funded by HEFCE (the English University funding body) we had to sell the CD at 'cost' price (£60). So unfortunately, there was no way the development team could survive. Other TLTP projects which had chosen to develop simple 'electronic books' that could be churned out quickly, oddly where better equipped to continue. They could sell each 'book' for a similar price as our complex learning tool. Our product had about 4 'man years' development work in it. So there was no way we could quickly churn out new tools. I guess it wasn't a fair situation and the rules lead to a self-defeating situation, where lots of educational resources were produced but weren't updated because the teams had to disband within a year of completion. But we were idealistic and believed that we should be pushing the boundaries if we wanted lecturers to start to think about adopting electronic learning materials.

Most of the CDs were disposed off by the Uni years ago. Myself and the lecturer in charge of the project kept a box each. I don't know why as we had made the product freely available to download by then. I think we couldn't bring ourselves to throw them away because of all the effort that had gone into making the product. But I'm the only member left and I closed down the project's server earlier in the year. So I think it's time to say goodbye and get some space back. Pity, we were a very idealistic team and even 16 years after it's release, I've seen few pieces of educational software that attempt to be as adventurous as we were with this project.

A pastoral scene which I admit I didn't find very exciting during the assembly, but at least it didn't have any defects in the manufacturing process. For the price (for a 2000, around €25, minus 20 percent VAT to send outside of EU, plus 10 percent off as a puzzle.fr member, plus a 15 percent off summer sale), these were a good deal, especially if bought in large numbers so the shipping cost per unit is low.

The range of Grafika images is impressive, however I wish that owner Alizé Group would consider using higher resolution images. The National Gallery in Washington, DC, where this painting is located, has free, high resolution images (as do many museums, these days) that can be downloaded and used for commercial purposes provided that the work is in the public domain. This has been a huge technological breakthrough that has only materialized in the past five years or so, and it's time that puzzle companies increase the resolution of their art puzzles accordingly. Planet Puzzles offers custom "photo" puzzles (also, at a very good price), but limits the file size to 30 MB - which is a decent quality, but not as rich as the typical 200-250 MB that many museums offer on their web sites. I am guessing that Grafika's regular issue puzzles are also limited to about that size. I don't understand why in 2023 there would be any need to limit the file size to 30 MB, and I have asked them about this and received a boilerplate response. Computers are fast enough to process a 250 MB file nearly as quickly as a 30 MB one; there is no extra printing or production cost, yet richness of the image would be nearly 10 times better.

Still, compared to where the puzzle scene was a decade ago, I hardly feel the need to complain too loudly considering how much interesting new stuff is being made.

Pissarro paintings make extremely challenging puzzles. I thought this one was going to be even more difficult than it turned to be, but this and his Boulevard des Italiens are the two most difficult Grafika 2000 pcs. I've made thus far. (The Klimt 1500 pc. Birch Forest, also by Grafika, was more difficult than this one.)

Completed in 20 hr., 37 mins. with no box reference. 2000 total pieces: 37.1 secs./piece; 97.0 pcs./hr. Difficulty rating: 3.7/10.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.--Officials cut the ribbon Feb. 27 ceremonially opening a brand new education center that will help Airmen stationed at this central coast base achieve their personal and professional education goals.

The $14.2 million center replaced a 60-year-old elementary school campus, which had been used as the education center for more than 40 years.

"We hear the dollar value, and I just can't stress how precious those dollars are in today's fiscal environment," said Col. Keith Balts, 30th Space Wing commander. "The fact that we get to do military construction at all, especially something for the quality of our Airmen and their families, says a lot about the importance we place on education."

One of the center's first customers was Senior Airman Antoine Marshall, 30th Force Support Squadron, who joined the Air Force four years ago with an associate degree in criminal justice.

"I just took the analyzing and interpreting literature CLEP (College Level Examination Program) exam," said Marshall, who's pursuing a bachelor's degree in organizational management. "It was my first one--I passed it. I'm extremely happy!"

The 38,384-square-foot facility includes 20 classrooms, computer lab, testing center, and 75-seat auditorium, as well as offices for various colleges and universities serving the Vandenberg community.

"I think the facility is great," said Marshall. "Overall, it provides a better environment to work and study, and it's just comfortable."

The design-build project was constructed by Corps contractor Teehee-Straub, a joint-venture team from Oceanside, Calif.

"The design was quite extensive, just due to the detail and the location," said Keith Hamilton, project executive for Teehee-Straub. "The site work was very challenging, and I think that was something that brought a lot of character to this building."

Teehee-Straub's 21st century design included sustainable development and energy efficiencies, such as light pollution reduction and water use reduction.

"This is a sustainable building," said Col. Kim Colloton, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District commander. "We can build our buildings smartly, so they can do more; it's more [money] that can go back into the base."

During construction, 75 percent of the construction and demolition debris was diverted from landfills and redirected back to the manufacturing process as reusable and recyclable material. Walk-off mats, exhaust systems and filtered heating and cooling improves indoor air quality. Low-flow fixtures and faucets, high-efficiency drip irrigation and drought-tolerant landscaping reduce potable water use by more than 40 percent. All are efficiencies the contractor believes will achive a LEED Silver rating (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, a Green Building Council rating system).

"We're just proud to be part of this," said Teehee-Straub managing partner Richard Straub. "The Corps of Engineers is one of our favorite customers, and we love supporting the Air Force in doing a job that will educate a lot of servicemen."

The image on Flickr is NOT "true" high dynamic range. The youtube video youtu.be/1dVNZY_p96w contains a still of this image in "true" HDR, which is not the same thing as photography's definition of HDR. (You need to view the YouTube video on an HDR TV/monitor in order to see the proper colors for the wide color gamut and contrast)

This YouTube video is unlike HDR in normal photography where wide colors and highlights are compressed into an SDR image, instead in true HDR the large ranges are kept.

This still image was created as a YouTube video due to many HDR TVs not supporting any HDR image formats but most smart TVs support YouTube with its HDR video content...

Raw DNG image from the camera to the processed HDR conversion was performed using DaVinci Resolve color grading software.

The R|Z568M Nixie Tube is a revival of an antique technology: rediscovered, hand crafted, and made brand new by Dalibor Farny. Previously, no one was making any nixie tubes and the process was becoming a lost art. Thankfully due to much interest by hobbyists and enthusiasts both with and without technical knowledge of high voltage electronics, the nixie tube has made a comeback due to it's beautiful aesthetics and the fun of learning the design of power electronics. One can be a teenager or even an adult with an interest and buy a premade kit, or one can be an expert at electronics and design their own clock circuit & power supply from scratch. That is the beauty of such a simple yet complex device. Nowadays most use micro-controllers to run such nixie tube clocks allowing for people to learn programming too and for more features to be packed into such displays.

The R|Z568M Nixie Tube is one of the largest known nixie tubes measuring in at a symbol height of 50 mm (2 inches) and a glass diameter of 50 mm (2 inches). The total height including the glass and the base is 125 mm (4.9 inches) and the total diameter is 53 mm (2.1 inches). This is a huge beast of a nixie tube: both suitably bright and large enough for someone like me to read it across their room without their glasses on. The pleasant orange glow of the neon dimly lights a small room at night in darkness. There is a beautiful halo of blue almost bordering on purple violet light around each lit digit. This is from the mercury vapors being excited by the high voltage which helps ignite the neon around the metal digits. The mercury allows the nixie tube to last a long life: over 20 years or 200.000 hours running 24/7. To see the manufacturing process watch it here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxL4ElboiuA Also visit Dalibor Farny's website (which is a work of art in and of itself with it's animated nixie tubes as you scroll to read): www.daliborfarny.com/

This nixie tube is being used in a single digit Nixie Tube clock and being run at just under 1 watt. It works by cycling through the tens place of the hours, then then ones place of the hours, then the tens place of the minutes, and finally the ones place of the minutes. There is a brief pause between the start and end of the cycle allowing you to tell which numbers are at the beginning. The use of the single digit nixie tube clock is twofold: mostly to save money (the R|Z568M costs €135.00 without shipping or taxes!) and because it allows for more thorough cycling through all the available digits within the bulb thereby reducing the risk of cathode poisoning. In a multiple digit nixie tube clock, the tens place for the hours only alternates between the numbers 0, 1, and 2 leading to much higher uneven wear and tear on the device.

This photo is in 3D parallel view. More Instructions for viewing 3D images: www.3dphoto.net/text/viewing/technique.html

Stereo Viewer for all my photos: jongames.com/stereophoto/

Grade II listed historic house, now offices, constructed in 1824.

"Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland District of Cumbria, England. Historically in Westmorland, it lies 8 miles (13 km) south-east of Windermere, 19 miles (31 km) north of Lancaster, 23 miles (37 km) north-east of Barrow-in-Furness and 38 miles (61 km) north-west of Skipton, in the dale of the River Kent, from which comes its name. The 2011 census found a population of 28,586. making it the third largest town in Cumbria after Carlisle and Barrow. It is known today mainly as a centre for tourism, as the home of Kendal mint cake, and as a producer of pipe tobacco and snuff. Its local grey limestone buildings have earned it the nickname "Auld Grey Town".

A chartered market town, the centre of Kendal has formed round a high street with fortified alleyways, known locally as yards, off to either side, which allowed local people to shelter from the Anglo-Scottish raiders known as Border Reivers. The main industry in those times was the manufacture of woollen goods, whose importance is reflected in the town's coat of arms and in its Latin motto Pannus mihi panis (Cloth is my bread.) "Kendal Green" was a hard-wearing, wool-based fabric specific to the local manufacturing process. It was supposedly sported by the Kendalian archers instrumental in the English victory over the French at the Battle of Agincourt. Kendal Green was also worn by slaves in the Americas and appears in songs and literature from that time. Shakespeare notes it as the colour of clothing worn by foresters (Henry IV, Part 1).

Kendal Castle has a long history as a stronghold, built on the site of several successive castles. The earliest was a Norman motte and bailey (now located on the west side of the town), when the settlement went under the name of Kirkbie Strickland. The most recent is from the late 12th century, as the castle of the Barony of Kendal, the part of Westmorland ruled from here. The castle is best known as the home of the Parr family, as heirs of these barons. They inherited it through marriage in the reign of Edward III of England. Rumours still circulate that King Henry VIII's sixth wife Catherine Parr was born at Kendal Castle, but the evidence available leaves this unlikely: by her time the castle was beyond repair and her father was already based in Blackfriars, London, at the court of King Henry VIII." - info from Wikipedia.

Summer 2019 I did a solo cycling tour across Europe through 12 countries over the course of 3 months. I began my adventure in Edinburgh, Scotland and finished in Florence, Italy cycling 8,816 km. During my trip I took 47,000 photos.

Now on Instagram.

Become a patron to my photography on Patreon.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.--Officials cut the ribbon Feb. 27 ceremonially opening a brand new education center that will help Airmen stationed at this central coast base achieve their personal and professional education goals.

The $14.2 million center replaced a 60-year-old elementary school campus, which had been used as the education center for more than 40 years.

"We hear the dollar value, and I just can't stress how precious those dollars are in today's fiscal environment," said Col. Keith Balts, 30th Space Wing commander. "The fact that we get to do military construction at all, especially something for the quality of our Airmen and their families, says a lot about the importance we place on education."

One of the center's first customers was Senior Airman Antoine Marshall, 30th Force Support Squadron, who joined the Air Force four years ago with an associate degree in criminal justice.

"I just took the analyzing and interpreting literature CLEP (College Level Examination Program) exam," said Marshall, who's pursuing a bachelor's degree in organizational management. "It was my first one--I passed it. I'm extremely happy!"

The 38,384-square-foot facility includes 20 classrooms, computer lab, testing center, and 75-seat auditorium, as well as offices for various colleges and universities serving the Vandenberg community.

"I think the facility is great," said Marshall. "Overall, it provides a better environment to work and study, and it's just comfortable."

The design-build project was constructed by Corps contractor Teehee-Straub, a joint-venture team from Oceanside, Calif.

"The design was quite extensive, just due to the detail and the location," said Keith Hamilton, project executive for Teehee-Straub. "The site work was very challenging, and I think that was something that brought a lot of character to this building."

Teehee-Straub's 21st century design included sustainable development and energy efficiencies, such as light pollution reduction and water use reduction.

"This is a sustainable building," said Col. Kim Colloton, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District commander. "We can build our buildings smartly, so they can do more; it's more [money] that can go back into the base."

During construction, 75 percent of the construction and demolition debris was diverted from landfills and redirected back to the manufacturing process as reusable and recyclable material. Walk-off mats, exhaust systems and filtered heating and cooling improves indoor air quality. Low-flow fixtures and faucets, high-efficiency drip irrigation and drought-tolerant landscaping reduce potable water use by more than 40 percent. All are efficiencies the contractor believes will achive a LEED Silver rating (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, a Green Building Council rating system).

"We're just proud to be part of this," said Teehee-Straub managing partner Richard Straub. "The Corps of Engineers is one of our favorite customers, and we love supporting the Air Force in doing a job that will educate a lot of servicemen."

The HB Viva, announced in September 1966 and sold by Vauxhall until 1970, was a larger car than the HA, featuring coke bottle styling, and was modelled after American General Motors (GM) models such as the Chevrolet Impala/Caprice of the period. It featured the same basic engine as the HA, but enlarged to 1,159 cc, but with the added weight of the larger body the final drive gearing was reduced from 3.9 to 1 to 4.1 to keep the nippy performance (except the SL90 which retained the 3.9 diff having the power to cope with the higher ratio).

The automatic Viva HB was offered from February 1967, and fitted with the ubiquitous Borg Warner Type 35 system. Cars of this size featuring automatic transmission were still unusual owing to the amount of power the transmission systems absorbed: in a heartfelt if uncharacteristically blunt piece of criticism a major British motoring journal later described Viva HBs with automatic transmission as "among the slowest cars on the road".

The HB used a completely different suspension design from the HA, having double-wishbone and coil springs with integrated telescopic dampers at the front, and trailing arms and coil springs at the rear. Lateral location and anti-squat of the rear axle was achieved using upper trailing arms mounted at approximately 45° fixed to lugs at the top of the differential. Both front and rear could also be fitted with optional anti-roll bars. The HB set new standards for handling in its class as a result of the adoption of this suspension design, where many of its contemporaries stuck with leaf springs and MacPherson struts.

This time, apart from the standard and 90 stages of tune, there was also, for a brief time, a Brabham SL/90 HB that was purported to have been developed with the aid of world racing champion Jack Brabham. Brabham models were marked out externally by distinctive lateral black stripes at the front of the bonnet that curved down the wings and then headed back to end in a taper at the front doors. This model is almost impossible to find today. This model and the Viva GT are the two most sought after models made. The Brabham model differed from the standard Viva SL/90 in having a different cam-shaft, uprated suspension with anti-roll bars, different exhaust manifolds, and a unique twin-carb manifold, as well as differing interior trim. The Viva GT had substantially different engine and running gear and interior from the standard Viva HB models. It was distinguished by having a black bonnet with twin louvres and being all-over white. Later GTs came in different colours.

Two larger overhead camshaft engines from the larger Vauxhall Victor were also offered – a twin carb 1975 cc in the Viva GT from Feb 1968 and a 1599 cc making up the Viva 1600 from May 1968.

With the expanded engine programme, the HB saw numerous permutations of model offerings, with base, deluxe and SL trims offered with a choice of standard 1.2, tuned 90 1.2, Brabham 90 1.2 and the aforementioned overhead cam units offered during its run. The Brabham was effectively replaced by the 1600, although many complained of high fuel consumption with this engine. Front disc brakes came with the 90 and overhead cam engine models, while a larger 12 gallon fuel tank was also part of the 1600 and GT package.

The brakes were problematic: a 1971 survey of passenger cars registered in Sweden during 1967 place the HB Viva at the top of a list of cars identified as having faulty brakes as part of an annual testing procedure. Problems were concentrated on uneven braking and dragging brakes, generally at the rear, and affected 26% of the cars tested. Second on the list, with 24% of cars triggering brake fault reports, was the similarly configured Opel Kadett estate. Although it avoided the bottom spot in other individual categories, the poor score achieved by the brakes left the Viva with the highest overall rate of failure of the 34 passenger cars included in sufficient numbers to feature in the reports of the Swedish test results.

Originally offered as just a two-door saloon, a three-door estate joined the HB range in June 1967, but the advent of the four-door in October 1968 saw the HB breaking sales records worldwide. The introduction of the four-door option coincided with various minor improvements to the interior trim, while 'auxiliary' switches were relocated from a remote panel to positions nearer to the steering wheel. The GM "energy absorbing" steering column was now fitted to all models and the fuel tank capacity was increased from 8 to 12 British gallons (36 to 55 litres). The 4-door saloon was designed and engineered by Holden in Australia who exported it as a kit of parts back to Vauxhall in England.

In the later 1960s and early 1970s, Britain's Motor magazine polled readers about their cars: they included a poll of HB Viva 1600 owners. The answers given greatest prominence were to the final question which asked whether or not respondents would buy another car of the same model: just 21% of Viva 1600 owning respondents answered “yes”, which was the lowest score for this question achieved by any of the first seventeen models for which surveys were conducted. By the time of the readership poll, the HB Viva was within a year of being replaced even though the 1600 version itself had only been offered since 1968, so the sample will have been relatively small: it appears that the low satisfaction rate may have reflected not so much the car’s design but rather a lack of effective quality control in the manufacturing processes.

A van version of the Viva HB was developed, but it never got beyond the prototype/mock-up stage. However, General Motors New Zealand did sell versions of the three-door station wagon with no rear seat as 'van' models and continued this with the later HC version.

Aftermarket conversion specialists, Crayford, also ran off some convertibles based on the 2-door Viva. Very few of these conversions exist still, only two GT model HBs were converted, but both are known to survive, and will likely be on the show scene in the coming years.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.--Officials cut the ribbon Feb. 27 ceremonially opening a brand new education center that will help Airmen stationed at this central coast base achieve their personal and professional education goals.

The $14.2 million center replaced a 60-year-old elementary school campus, which had been used as the education center for more than 40 years.

"We hear the dollar value, and I just can't stress how precious those dollars are in today's fiscal environment," said Col. Keith Balts, 30th Space Wing commander. "The fact that we get to do military construction at all, especially something for the quality of our Airmen and their families, says a lot about the importance we place on education."

One of the center's first customers was Senior Airman Antoine Marshall, 30th Force Support Squadron, who joined the Air Force four years ago with an associate degree in criminal justice.

"I just took the analyzing and interpreting literature CLEP (College Level Examination Program) exam," said Marshall, who's pursuing a bachelor's degree in organizational management. "It was my first one--I passed it. I'm extremely happy!"

The 38,384-square-foot facility includes 20 classrooms, computer lab, testing center, and 75-seat auditorium, as well as offices for various colleges and universities serving the Vandenberg community.

"I think the facility is great," said Marshall. "Overall, it provides a better environment to work and study, and it's just comfortable."

The design-build project was constructed by Corps contractor Teehee-Straub, a joint-venture team from Oceanside, Calif.

"The design was quite extensive, just due to the detail and the location," said Keith Hamilton, project executive for Teehee-Straub. "The site work was very challenging, and I think that was something that brought a lot of character to this building."

Teehee-Straub's 21st century design included sustainable development and energy efficiencies, such as light pollution reduction and water use reduction.

"This is a sustainable building," said Col. Kim Colloton, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District commander. "We can build our buildings smartly, so they can do more; it's more [money] that can go back into the base."

During construction, 75 percent of the construction and demolition debris was diverted from landfills and redirected back to the manufacturing process as reusable and recyclable material. Walk-off mats, exhaust systems and filtered heating and cooling improves indoor air quality. Low-flow fixtures and faucets, high-efficiency drip irrigation and drought-tolerant landscaping reduce potable water use by more than 40 percent. All are efficiencies the contractor believes will achive a LEED Silver rating (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, a Green Building Council rating system).

"We're just proud to be part of this," said Teehee-Straub managing partner Richard Straub. "The Corps of Engineers is one of our favorite customers, and we love supporting the Air Force in doing a job that will educate a lot of servicemen."

Lancia Hyena:

Overview:

ManufacturerZagato on Lancia mechanicals

Also calledLancia Delta Zagato Hyena

Production1992–1996

24 made

AssemblyRho, Milan

DesignerMarco Pedracini at Zagato

Body and chassis

ClassSports car

Body style2-door coupé

LayoutTransverse front-engine, four-wheel drive

RelatedLancia Delta Integrale "Evoluzione"

Powertrain

Engine2.0 L I4 (turbocharged petrol)

Transmission5-speed manual

The Lancia Hyena was a 2-door coupé made in small numbers by Italian coachbuilder Zagato on the basis of the Delta HF Integrale "Evoluzione".

History:

The Hyena was born thanks to the initiative of Dutch classic car restorer and collector Paul V.J. Koot, who desired a coupé version of the multiple World Rally Champion HF Integrale. He turned to Zagato, where Hyena was designed in 1990 by Marco Pedracini. A first prototype was introduced at the Brussels Motor Show in January 1992.

Decision was taken to put the Hyena into limited production. Fiat refused to participate in the project supplying bare HF Integrale chassis, which complicated the manufacturing process: the Hyena had to be produced from fully finished HF Integrales, privately purchased at Lancia dealers. Koot's Lusso Service took care of procuring and stripping the donor cars in the Netherlands; they were then sent to Zagato in Milan to have the new body built and for final assembly. All of this made the Hyena very expensive to build and they were sold for around 140,000 Swiss francs or $75,000 (£49,430).

A production run of 75 examples was initially planned, but only 25 Hyenas were completed between 1992 and 1993.

Specifications:

The Zagato bodywork made use of aluminium alloys and composite materials; the interior featured new dashboard, console and door cards made entirely from carbon fibre. Thanks to these weight saving measures the Hyena was some 150 kilograms (330 lb) lighter than the original HF Integrale, about 15% of its overall weight. The two-litre turbo engine was upgraded from 205 to 250 PS (184 kW), and the car could accelerate from 0–100 km in 5.4 seconds.

[Text from Wikipedia]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancia_Delta#Lancia_Hyena

This miniland-scale Lego Lancia Hyena (1992 - Zagato) has been created for Flickr LUGNuts' 92nd Build Challenge, - "Stuck in the 90's", - all about vehicles from the decade of the 1990s.

Wotancraft's Traveler's Notebook and City Explorer Camera Bag Review - Part 1

Our job to find great stuffs from all over the world doesn't stop at product level, I believe understanding the concept and stories behind is far more important than product features. Only through digging deeper will I be able to bring true benefits to end users, in the process of doing this I learned a lot and makes my job an adventurous one. It is exactly this practice which sets us apart from a typical retail chain store.

This review is separated into two parts. Part 1 is a story in this post, Part 2 is a product review in the next post.

I first found Wotancraft from random searching on the net a year or so before, then I popped into a great store in Hong Kong called Annie Barton and found their products there. Admiring the quality and aesthetics I grew interest in the brand, I was scared away by the price though. So despite having the feeling that those bags suit my needs and in styles I adore, I found myself staring at them repeatedly on the net and never got myself one. What stopped me from getting one? The price tag and lack of knowledge about Wotancraft's true attention to details. Annie Barton told me each one of the bags were made by hand by those artisans in Taiwan, I couldn't believe it, no way, the bags are so well made I thought they were produced by professional mass producing bag maker. Judging from the details, each model requires literally hundreds of manufacturing processes and it was not possible to be made by just a few persons by hands. The story turned out entirely true when I got a chance to visit Taipei 20 days ago.

On the day I arrived Taipei, before other business engagements I shot right away to the Wotancraft showroom/shop. It was a huge disparity between what's inside the place and everything else surrounding it! Inside a dim florescent lit office building full of local trading businesses with zero taste and style decorations, I was still assuming Wotancraft a corporation you know, but once I entered the showroom, everything changed.

Surrounded by cozy fixtures made from aged wood and pig iron, products made from leather and canvas, I immediately felt homey. One side of the store was an open shelf displaying full product range and prototypes, while the other side is a service counter full of custom made leather straps for Panerai watches. I picked up the City Explorer series of bags and started examining each one of them until a friendly staff came out of the backyard and explained to me product details.

Soon I was unpacking my camera bag and started trying out almost every model possible. I guess camera bag to a guy is like fashion to a girl, you can spend hours enjoying the selection process in a setting like that. The staff noticed my Traveler's Notebook and some of my leather craft stuffs like camera case and straps. "James have the same notebook! He made crazy customization of it." That's when real conversation began.

By then I realized that each one of their bags were literally made by their own hands. Four artisans made up the entire Wotancraft company, the two I met in store were among them. It was not a corporation I presumed before, just a small bunch of people doing everything by themselves. Time to leave for a business engagement, hungered for more stories, I used Paypal to pay for the City Explorer 002 Ranger bag, left the showroom and determined to contact James about his Traveler's Notebook and come back a few days later. During my initial stay at the showroom, there were constant influx of Panerai fans looking for unique leather straps, but I'm not gonna cover that part of the story here.

3 days later, after a few email exchanges I finally met James, the soul behind Wotancraft. The company was created out of his pure passion in photography and watches, despite working as a bio-chemist after his graduation, he started to make his first prototype camera bag 5 years ago. Not satisfied with camera bags with trivial features and ugly looks, he explored different forms and materials and came up with a bag he would use. He was kind enough to show me all the thoughts he put into this City Explorer 002 Ranger bag, comparing it to his first prototype. I will cover the details in Part 2 in the next post.

Let's talk about James' Traveler's Notebook. In a typical Traveler's Notebook show me yours and I'll show you mine fashion, we exchanged our usage patterns. His cover is not the original but one made by himself, a very thoughtful implementation. There are two layers of leathers, a thicker one forms the shape while the outer thinner one gives its distinct Wotancraft look.

The thin leather on the cover is the same material James uses in his City Explorer series of camera bags. Stitched together on 3 sides, the notebook cover has an opening on one side doubling the cover as a pocket by itself. To increase the pocket size, James relocated the elastic string attachment point from the middle of the back to the edge, creating an inner space large enough for his stationery stuffs.

As a master of customization, he of course couldn't settle with a bookmark without his very own Wotancraft branded charm and leather tag. On typical day, James would use two types of notebooks inside - Traveler's Notebook lightweight paper for note taking, sketch paper for sketching. Inspecting his TN, I found inspirations common to creative people, not only would he take notes in meticulous details, he sketches out architectural structures purely out of his head, perhaps this keen practice is his way of precipitating his creativity into reality.

James' TN is so far the best Traveler's Notebook mod I've ever seen, functional and pleasing. I've got to make one myself someday :) Stay tuned for Part 2.

More on Scription blog: scription.typepad.com/blog/2012/03/wotancrafts-travelers-...

Coconut candy refer to various candies made with coconut or coconut flavorings.

In Vietnamese cuisine, kẹo dừa coconut candy is most commonly produced in Bến Tre province, Vietnam with coconut milk and coconut cream.

In the United States, coconut candy was sometimes spelled as cocoanut candy. These included various traditional confections in the United States. Mason Pecan Cocoanut Candy was made in the 1950s in Milprint, Milwaukee. Squirrel Brand made Cocoanut Zippers. There was also a Mason Cherry Cocoanut candy produced in Mineola, New York. Welch's made Cocoanut Candy Bar from Hinde & Dauch. Welch's Cocoanut candy was also produced by the James O. Welch Company.

Sauerkraut candy is made with grated coconut. Grated coconut is often used in various chocolate confections.

VIETNAM

The Bến Tre Province is nicknamed by Vietnamese as the "Land of Coconut" (Xu Dua). The Vietnamese term for coconut candy is "kẹo dừa", with kẹo = candy and dừa = coconut. Coconut candy was originally associated with Mỏ Cày, a small township within the Bến Tre province.

MANUFACTURING PROCESS

The production of Vietnamese coconut candy starts with the grating of fresh coconut flesh. The grated flesh is then pressed to extract coconut milk and coconut cream. The next step is the addition of malt syrup and sugar to this mixture of coconut milk and cream. The ratio of the various ingredients is a closely guarded secret of individual coconut candy manufacturers. The mixing process is often entrusted only to family members of the factory owner. Slight variations in the ingredient ratios can lead to very different texture and taste in the final product.

The mixture is then heated to a very high temperature in large woks over fires generated by the burning of coconut shells. While being heated, the mixture is stirred continuously to ensure even heat distribution. Traditionally, this stirring process was done manually with large wooden paddles. In larger modern manufacturing facilities, these paddles have been replaced by electric motors. The mixture eventually caramelises to a thicker texture. Recognising when the mixture has been cooked to the right level is more of an art than an exact science. While it is still hot and soft, the thickened mixture is then stringed out into moulds and allowed to cool. The final step sees the candy strings cut into rectangular lozenges, then wrapped and packaged.

Traditionally, coconut candy is wrapped in two layers of wrappings. The inner layer is edible rice paper, and the outer layer is paper soaked in vegetable oil. These measures were necessary to stop the candy from sticking to the paper wrapping. Larger manufacturers now use heat-sealed foil paper, which does not stick to the candy.

ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE

Bến Tre currently has over one hundred coconut candy manufacturers, making up thirty percent of local enterprises. However, the market is dominated by a handful of well-known brands, with most manufacturers producing candy under licence for these brands. Coconut candy is sold throughout Vietnam. It is also exported to other Asian countries, Australia, Europe, and North America.

COCONUT CANDY TYPES

Bounty (chocolate bar) contains coconut (it is known as Bounty outside of the U.S.)

Coconut ice

Ferrero Raffaello

Perle de coco

Ounhmangu

WIKIPEDIA

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

Some background:

In the grand scope of World War 2 fighter aircraft there is a little-remembered French design designated the Arsenal "VG-33". The aircraft was born from a rather lengthy line of prototype developments put forth by the company in the years leading up to World War 2 and the VG-33 and its derivatives represented the culmination of this work before the German invasion rendered all further work moot.

The aircraft never saw combat action in the Battle of France. Its arrival was simply too late to have any effect on the outcome of the German plans. Therefore, with limited production and very limited combat service during the defence of Paris in May 1940, it largely fell into the pages of history with all completed models lost.

Specifications:

Crew: 1

Length: 28.05 ft (8.55 m)

Width: 35.43 ft (10.80 m)

Height: 10.83ft (3.30 m)

Weight: Empty 4,519 lb (2,050 kg), MTOW 5,853 lb (2,655 kg)

Maximum Speed: 398 mph (641 kmh at 10.000m)

Maximum Range: 746 miles (1,200 km)

Service Ceiling: 39,305 ft (12.000 m; 7.458 miles)

Powerplant:

1x Hispano-Suiza 12Y-77 V-12 liquid-cooled inline piston engine

with two Brown-Boveri exhaust turbochargers, developing 1,100 hp (820 kW).

Armament:

1x 20mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannon, firing through the propeller hub

4x 7.5mm MAC 1934 machine guns in the outer wings

The kit and its assembly:

I found the VG-33 fascinating - an obscure and sleek fighter with lots of potential that suffered mainly from bad timing. There are actually VG-33 kits from Azur and Pegasus, but how much more fun is it to create your own interpretation of the historic events, esp. as a submission to a Battle of Britain Group Build at whatifmodelers.com?

I had this project on the whif agenda for a long time, and kept my eyes open for potential models. One day I encountered Amodel's Su-1 and Su-3 kits and was stunned by this aircraft's overall similarity to the VG-33. When I found the real VG-38 description I decided to convert the Su-3 into this elusive French fighter!

The Su-3 was built mainly OOB, it is a nice kit with much detail, even though it needs some work as a short run offering. I kept the odd radiator installation of the Suchoj aircraft, but changed the landing gear from a P-40 style design (retracting backwards and rotating 90°) into a conservative, inward retracting system. I even found forked gear struts in the spares box, from a Fiat G.50. The covers come from a Hawker Hurricane, and the wells were cut out from this pattern, while the rest of the old wells was filled with putty.

Further mods include the cleaned cowling (the Su-3's fuselage-mounted machine guns had to go), while machine guns in the wings were added. The flaps were lowered, too, and the small cockpit canopy cut in two pieces in, for an opened position - a shame you can hardly see anything from the neat interior. Two large antenna masts complete the French style.

Painting and markings:

Again, a rather conservative choice: typical French Air Force colors, in Khaki/Dark Brown/Blue Gray with light blue-gray undersides.

One very inspiring fact about the French tricolor-paint scheme is that no aircraft looked like the other – except for a few types, every aircraft had an individual scheme with more or less complexity or even artistic approach. Even the colors were only vaguely unified: Field mixes were common, as well as mods with other colors that were mixed into the basic three tones!

I settled for a scheme I found on a 1940 Curtiss 75, with clearly defined edges between the paint fields. Anything goes! I used French Khaki, Dark Blue Grey and Light Blue Grey (for the undersides) from Modelmaster's Authentic Enamels range, and Humbrol 170 (Brown Bess) for the Chestnut Brown. Interior surfaces were painted in dark grey (Humbrol 32) while the landing gear well parts of the wings were painted in Aluminum Dope (Humbrol 56).

The decals mainly come from a Hobby Boss Dewoitine D.520, but also from a PrintScale aftermarket sheet and the scrap box.

The kit was slightly weathered with a black ink wash and some dry-painting, more for a dramatic effect than simulating wear and tear, since any aircraft from the VG-33 family would only have had a very short service career.

Well, a travesty whif - and who would expect an obscure Soviet experimental fighter to perform as a lookalike for an even more obscure French experimental fighter? IMHO, it works pretty fine - conservative sould might fair over the spinal radiator outlet and open the dorsal installation, overall both aircraft are very similar in shape, size and layout. :D

Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is an additive manufacturing process that can be used for many different applications.

The SLM process starts by numerically slicing a 3D CAD model into a number of finite layers. For each sliced layer a laser scan path is calculated which defines both the boundary contour and some form of fill sequence, often a raster pattern. Each layer is then sequentially recreated by depositing powder layers, one on top of the other, and melting their surface by scanning a laser beam.

The powder is spread uniformly by a wiper. A high power-density fibre laser with a 40µm beam spot size fully melts the pre-deposited powder layer. The melted particles fuse and solidify to form a layer of the component.

For more information please visit www.twi-global.com/technologies/welding-surface-engineeri...

If you wish to use this image each use should be accompanied by the credit line and notice, "Courtesy of TWI Ltd".

Kaolin (China clay) is used in the manufacture of paper products and ceramics and in fillers in plastics and rubber. Exposure occurs mostly in those involved in the mining and processing of kaolin but also in those involved in manufacturing processes utilizing kaolin. Inhaled kaolin appears as small golden brown particles and usually results in pulmonary fibrosis. In this image kaolin is present within alveoli and fibrosis is absent.

Image contributed by Dr. Yale Rosen - @yro854

Chowking (Chinese: 超群) is a Philippine-based chain that pioneered the Asian quick-service restaurant concept in the Philippines. The concept combines a Western fast-food service style with Chinese food. Chowking predominantly sells noodle soups, dimsum, and rice toppings. The company was founded in 1985 at a time when Western-style burger joints were dominating the Philippine fast food scene.

In 1989, Chowking started expanding its market share amid the volatility in the domestic market. It started its franchising operations[1] and made its entry into the provincial markets the same year. On January 1, 2000, Chowking became a wholly owned subsidiary of Jollibee Foods Corporation, the Philippines' biggest fast-food chain. The change in ownership gave rise to store renovations and a new corporate look and mindset that is visible from front-end to back-end.

Typical exterior of a Chowking restaurant

Chowking restaurant in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig.

Chowking chao fan in a box.To ensure its continued growth, Chowking explored markets outside the Philippines. As of 2008, Chowking has over 400 stores within the Philippines and in markets such as the United States, Middle East and Indonesia. Chowking has steadily been expanding its network in the Philippines. It is able to ensure the freshness of its food and the reliability of its supply through its main commissaries in Highland, Muntinlupa City and Sucat, Parañaque City as well as satellite commissaries in Iloilo, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, and Pangasinan. In Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Chowking's commissary serves ten stores and is expanding to other areas.

In 2008, Chowking announced the completion of a Php270-million (USD 5.65-million) modernization program, which will help set the stage for the company’s future growth. Called “Project DMSSM”(pronounced “dimsum”) for “Designed, Modernized and Streamlined Supply Chain and Manufacturing,” the two-year modernization program that started in 2006 involves the expansion and renovation of Chowking’s Noodle Building, increased automation, and the improved integration of food manufacturing processes in its two commissaries in Muntinlupa City

The picture was taken from sample of an ancient bridge in Brazil dating from the 1860’s. Its structure is made in puddle iron, an historical structural material. It dates from the end of the 18th century and it was produced until the early 20th century. It represented a technological advance over cast iron. This material supplied the growing demand during the industrial revolution in England as it had a reduced production cost. On its manufacturing process, highly qualified workers called puddlers would try and remove the slag off the melting metal manually with the help of long shovels. This well paid job would lead them to an early death at an average age of 40 years old. Despite their effort, the resulting product still contained a considerable amount of slag, as we can see in the image. Many famous structures were built using this material such as the Eiffel tower and several bridges and railways across Europe.

Study conducted by the researchers: Juan Manuel Pardal (Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering) and Yuri Sande Renni (Mechanical Engineering Graduation Student) - from Universidade Federal Fluminense, Laboratório de Metalografia e Tratamentos Térmicos (LABMETT) - Niterói – Brazil.

Courtesy of Mr. FRANCISCO RANGEL , MCTI/INT

Image Details

Instrument used: Quanta SEM

Magnification: 2,500x

Horizontal Field Width: 119 µm

Voltage: 20 kV

Working Distance: 12.4

Grade II listed historic building (right) constructed as the House and Cotton Manufactory. It was divided into dwellings in the early-to-mid 1800's. John Wakefield's Bank was established here in 1788.

"Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland District of Cumbria, England. Historically in Westmorland, it lies 8 miles (13 km) south-east of Windermere, 19 miles (31 km) north of Lancaster, 23 miles (37 km) north-east of Barrow-in-Furness and 38 miles (61 km) north-west of Skipton, in the dale of the River Kent, from which comes its name. The 2011 census found a population of 28,586. making it the third largest town in Cumbria after Carlisle and Barrow. It is known today mainly as a centre for tourism, as the home of Kendal mint cake, and as a producer of pipe tobacco and snuff. Its local grey limestone buildings have earned it the nickname "Auld Grey Town".

A chartered market town, the centre of Kendal has formed round a high street with fortified alleyways, known locally as yards, off to either side, which allowed local people to shelter from the Anglo-Scottish raiders known as Border Reivers. The main industry in those times was the manufacture of woollen goods, whose importance is reflected in the town's coat of arms and in its Latin motto Pannus mihi panis (Cloth is my bread.) "Kendal Green" was a hard-wearing, wool-based fabric specific to the local manufacturing process. It was supposedly sported by the Kendalian archers instrumental in the English victory over the French at the Battle of Agincourt. Kendal Green was also worn by slaves in the Americas and appears in songs and literature from that time. Shakespeare notes it as the colour of clothing worn by foresters (Henry IV, Part 1).

Kendal Castle has a long history as a stronghold, built on the site of several successive castles. The earliest was a Norman motte and bailey (now located on the west side of the town), when the settlement went under the name of Kirkbie Strickland. The most recent is from the late 12th century, as the castle of the Barony of Kendal, the part of Westmorland ruled from here. The castle is best known as the home of the Parr family, as heirs of these barons. They inherited it through marriage in the reign of Edward III of England. Rumours still circulate that King Henry VIII's sixth wife Catherine Parr was born at Kendal Castle, but the evidence available leaves this unlikely: by her time the castle was beyond repair and her father was already based in Blackfriars, London, at the court of King Henry VIII." - info from Wikipedia.

Summer 2019 I did a solo cycling tour across Europe through 12 countries over the course of 3 months. I began my adventure in Edinburgh, Scotland and finished in Florence, Italy cycling 8,816 km. During my trip I took 47,000 photos.

Now on Instagram.

Become a patron to my photography on Patreon.

Soda Springs (Geyser) is a group of thousands of natural carbonated springs in the area of Soda Springs, Idaho. The springs were a landmark on the Oregon Trail.

“Past volcanic activity has shaped the landscape, and the residual geothermal activity has caused the numerous hot bubbling springs that gave it its name. Geothermal activity hundreds of feet below the ground heats water and mixes in carbon dioxide gas. Soda Springs gets its name from the naturally carbonated water. The resulting increased pressure contributes to the number of springs and was the cause of the geyser.”

The Oregon Trail passed through Soda Springs. At the time it was known as the "Oasis of Soda Springs". Between Fort Laramie and Fort Boise, Soda Springs was a major landmark Soda Springs is the second oldest settlement in Idaho. Sulphur Springs was the first hot spring that the Oregon Trail immigrants encountered in the soda springs area. Pyramid springs was discovered by fur trappers and pioneers, they discovered the springs by noticing mounds of soda formed rock and clay Johnkirk Townsends said in his diary, “Our encampment on the 8th was near what are called the’White Clay pits,” still on Bear River. The soil is soft chalk, white and tenacious: and in the vicinity are several springs of strong super carbonated water which bubble up with all the activity of artificial fountains. The taste was very agreeable and refreshing, resembling Saratoga water but not so saline. The whole plain to the hills is having depressions on their summits from which once issued streams of water. The extent of these eruptions, at some former period, must have been very great. At about half a mile distant, is an eruptive thermal spring of the temperature of 90 [degrees], and near this is an opening in the earth front which a stream of gas issues without water.”

This spring was known for its excellent water quality. Fred J. Kiesel of Ogden Utah heard of the excellent water and set up a bottling plant with W.J. Clark of Butte, MT. The product name was "Idanha." The natural mineral company was incorporated in 1887 and began distributing it around the nation and the globe. The water became so prestigious that it took first place at the Chicago's World Fair in 1893, and again in the World's Fair in Paris, France.

On November 30, 1937, a well drilling operation while attempting to build a natural hot springs swimming pool was surprised when it unintentionally released Soda Springs’s famous captive geyser, which surprised everyone by shooting 100 feet into the air. It has been capped and a timer activates it once every hour. The water is approximately 72 degrees Fahrenheit. There is now a park and a visitor center at the site.In addition to its captive geyser, Soda Springs also boasts a man-made lava flow, from the dumping of molten rock left over from Monsanto's phosphate mining and manufacturing process one mile north of the town.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soda_Springs_Geyser

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_...

As part of the required course knowledge pupils need to be able to outline the process involved in taking a square wooden blank and preparing it for turning between centres. These pictures depict that process chronologically.

Stage 1 * Preparation of wooden blank. Cut to size. Sand square. Mark across diagonals. Centre punch the centre point. Use spring dividers to mark circumference. Repeat on other end.

Stage 2 * Plane off corners down to circumference line. This takes cross section from square to octagon. This reduces force on cutting toll in initial prep of blank. Mount between fork [driven] centre and dead [or live ] centre at tailstock end. Apply grease a dead centre end. apply force from tailstock end to force fork into material at driven end. Adjust toolstock height to suit. Check for clearance.

Stage 3 * Roughout using scraper to diameter. Use combination of gouges and skew chisels to add beads and other decorative detailing as required. Ensure spindle speed is appropriate for material and cross section under consideration. Obey all safety instructions.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.--Officials cut the ribbon Feb. 27 ceremonially opening a brand new education center that will help Airmen stationed at this central coast base achieve their personal and professional education goals.

The $14.2 million center replaced a 60-year-old elementary school campus, which had been used as the education center for more than 40 years.

"We hear the dollar value, and I just can't stress how precious those dollars are in today's fiscal environment," said Col. Keith Balts, 30th Space Wing commander. "The fact that we get to do military construction at all, especially something for the quality of our Airmen and their families, says a lot about the importance we place on education."

One of the center's first customers was Senior Airman Antoine Marshall, 30th Force Support Squadron, who joined the Air Force four years ago with an associate degree in criminal justice.

"I just took the analyzing and interpreting literature CLEP (College Level Examination Program) exam," said Marshall, who's pursuing a bachelor's degree in organizational management. "It was my first one--I passed it. I'm extremely happy!"

The 38,384-square-foot facility includes 20 classrooms, computer lab, testing center, and 75-seat auditorium, as well as offices for various colleges and universities serving the Vandenberg community.

"I think the facility is great," said Marshall. "Overall, it provides a better environment to work and study, and it's just comfortable."

The design-build project was constructed by Corps contractor Teehee-Straub, a joint-venture team from Oceanside, Calif.

"The design was quite extensive, just due to the detail and the location," said Keith Hamilton, project executive for Teehee-Straub. "The site work was very challenging, and I think that was something that brought a lot of character to this building."

Teehee-Straub's 21st century design included sustainable development and energy efficiencies, such as light pollution reduction and water use reduction.

"This is a sustainable building," said Col. Kim Colloton, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District commander. "We can build our buildings smartly, so they can do more; it's more [money] that can go back into the base."

During construction, 75 percent of the construction and demolition debris was diverted from landfills and redirected back to the manufacturing process as reusable and recyclable material. Walk-off mats, exhaust systems and filtered heating and cooling improves indoor air quality. Low-flow fixtures and faucets, high-efficiency drip irrigation and drought-tolerant landscaping reduce potable water use by more than 40 percent. All are efficiencies the contractor believes will achive a LEED Silver rating (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, a Green Building Council rating system).

"We're just proud to be part of this," said Teehee-Straub managing partner Richard Straub. "The Corps of Engineers is one of our favorite customers, and we love supporting the Air Force in doing a job that will educate a lot of servicemen."

There are two ways a company can increase profits: spend less or earn more. You spend less by focusing on the bottom line – the expense line – and trying to find ways to make it go down. You earn more by focusing on the top line – the revenue line – and trying to find ways to make it go up.

Spend less on the bottom line. You can do this by getting more efficient in your operations or by doing fewer things. As companies grow larger they can get more efficient by doing things at a larger scale. For example, Wal-Mart can reduce its cost per item by buying things in huge quantities. Companies also gain efficiency over time. As they do things over and over, they learn to do them more efficiently. This is known as the experience curve, first noted in 1930s airplane manufacturing. These scale and learning effects combined are known as economies of scale. Over time these economies get harder and harder to achieve. Each subsequent increase in efficiency requires more effort than the last. This phenomenon is known as the Law of Diminishing Returns.

Earn more on the top line. You can do this by getting more customers or by getting your current customers to spend more. There are lots of ways to achieve this. You can get more customers by entering new markets, by launching new products and services, or by better promotion. You can induce them to spend more by offering them more things, or increasing the value you deliver enough to justify higher prices. To stick with the Wal-Mart example: the company has grown not only by opening new stores but by continually offering customers more things inside the store, like groceries and prescription pharmaceuticals. And it’s paid off: Although Wal-Mart is a recent entrant in the grocery business, it is already the top grocery store in the US today.

Reducing the bottom line is about gaining efficiencies and economies. You get there by doing things efficiently and consistently. It’s about doing the things you are already doing, but doing them better and better.

Growing the top line is about moving into new markets, developing new product and service lines, and discovering new, sometimes breakthrough opportunities. You get there by being creative and thinking differently. It’s not about doing old things better, it’s about doing new things.

As many companies have discovered, these two approaches – consistency and creativity – are in fundamental conflict. Innovation leader 3M learned this painful lesson when they tried to implement six-sigma quality controls in the early 2000s. As they implemented new controls to improve efficiency, they found themselves systematically squeezing the creativity out of the business. “We all came to the conclusion that there was no way in the world that anything like a Post-it note would ever emerge from this new system,” said Michael Mucci, who worked at 3M for 27 years.

Six sigma gets its name from manufacturing process controls. A six-sigma process is one in which 99.99966% of products are defect-free. That translates to 3.4 defects per million. Great for quality and cost control, but not so great for creativity and innovation. The problem is that you can’t cut your way to growth.

Motorola, who invented Six Sigma in 1986, has fallen on hard times. In an ironic demonstration of service logic eating product logic, Google is acquiring Motorola’s mobile phones group for $12.5 billion.

This image is excerpted from a U.S. GAO report:

www.gao.gov/products/GAO-20-626T

DRUG SAFETY: COVID-19 Complicates Already Challenged FDA Foreign Inspection Program

Note: This figure includes the 10 countries with the most foreign drug establishments shipping to the United States and does not include those countries with fewer than 70 establishments. The count of foreign establishments represents the number of establishments that were known to ship or likely would ship a drug to the United States as of March 2019. This count excludes about 380 establishments that participate in some aspect of the manufacturing process, such as sterilizers and analytical labs, but would not ship products to the United States directly. Such establishments are also subject to inspection.

1) Aramith builds the Valley Cougar cue ball to our specifications. It is a premium product designed to be perfectly balanced, perfectly round and the same weight as the object balls.

2) Aramith also builds premium object balls. There are a number of these where the finish does not meet up to their impressively high standards.

3) Rather than waste would be an absolutely perfect ball but for a minor finish flaw, Aramith takes these balls and grinds them down further to a smaller size; but still smooth, perfectly round and perfectly balanced. They will still show numbers and stripes because Aramith’s quality manufacturing process for their object balls is “more than skin deep” (yet another reason their balls are standard equipment in every Valley and Dynamo pool table)

4) The resulting core is evenly coated with magnetic material and topped with a resin coating and the Cougar logo. Sure, we could have them use a completely blank core but recycling finish-flawed balls helps to reduce waste for Aramith, and cost for us, and we can keep the cost of the ball down for you.

5) Either by accident from one good hard break too many, or on purpose (Usually just after "Hold my beer and watch me do this") by slamming the ball on a concrete floor or pounding it with a hammer, someone occasionally cracks the outer coating of a Valley Cougar Cue Ball revealing the “dirty secret” inside for all the world to see. Not a surprise, we’re aware of this. It’s part of the manufacturing process. Now, if you crack open a cue ball to find something like feathers, raisin bran, a Flux Capacitor, red pepper hummus or a Titleist golf ball – we want to know about it.

They're reliable, they are balanced, they separate, but they're not indestructible. (and if we said they were, some would make it their mission in life to try to destroy them)

"Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland District of Cumbria, England. Historically in Westmorland, it lies 8 miles (13 km) south-east of Windermere, 19 miles (31 km) north of Lancaster, 23 miles (37 km) north-east of Barrow-in-Furness and 38 miles (61 km) north-west of Skipton, in the dale of the River Kent, from which comes its name. The 2011 census found a population of 28,586. making it the third largest town in Cumbria after Carlisle and Barrow. It is known today mainly as a centre for tourism, as the home of Kendal mint cake, and as a producer of pipe tobacco and snuff. Its local grey limestone buildings have earned it the nickname "Auld Grey Town".

A chartered market town, the centre of Kendal has formed round a high street with fortified alleyways, known locally as yards, off to either side, which allowed local people to shelter from the Anglo-Scottish raiders known as Border Reivers. The main industry in those times was the manufacture of woollen goods, whose importance is reflected in the town's coat of arms and in its Latin motto Pannus mihi panis (Cloth is my bread.) "Kendal Green" was a hard-wearing, wool-based fabric specific to the local manufacturing process. It was supposedly sported by the Kendalian archers instrumental in the English victory over the French at the Battle of Agincourt. Kendal Green was also worn by slaves in the Americas and appears in songs and literature from that time. Shakespeare notes it as the colour of clothing worn by foresters (Henry IV, Part 1).

Kendal Castle has a long history as a stronghold, built on the site of several successive castles. The earliest was a Norman motte and bailey (now located on the west side of the town), when the settlement went under the name of Kirkbie Strickland. The most recent is from the late 12th century, as the castle of the Barony of Kendal, the part of Westmorland ruled from here. The castle is best known as the home of the Parr family, as heirs of these barons. They inherited it through marriage in the reign of Edward III of England. Rumours still circulate that King Henry VIII's sixth wife Catherine Parr was born at Kendal Castle, but the evidence available leaves this unlikely: by her time the castle was beyond repair and her father was already based in Blackfriars, London, at the court of King Henry VIII." - info from Wikipedia.

Summer 2019 I did a solo cycling tour across Europe through 12 countries over the course of 3 months. I began my adventure in Edinburgh, Scotland and finished in Florence, Italy cycling 8,816 km. During my trip I took 47,000 photos.

Now on Instagram.

Become a patron to my photography on Patreon.

www.theregister.com/2022/09/09/bis_eases_tech_export_rest...

www.bbc.co.uk/news/62803224.amp

US bars 'advanced tech' firms from building China factories for 10 years

US tech companies that receive federal funding will be barred from building "advanced technology" facilities in China for 10 years, the Biden administration has said.

The guidelines were unveiled as part of a $50bn (£43bn) plan aimed at building up the local semiconductor industry.

It comes as business groups have pushed for more government support in an effort to reduce reliance on China.

They are faced with a global microchip shortage which has slowed production.

"We're going to be implementing the guardrails to ensure those who receive CHIPS funds cannot compromise national security... they're not allowed to use this money to invest in China, they can't develop leading-edge technologies in China.... for a period of ten years," according to US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo., explaining the US Chips and Science Act.

"Companies who receive the money can only expand their mature node factories in China to serve the Chinese market."

The US and China are locked in a long-running dispute over trade and technology.

In August, US President Joe Biden had signed a law committing $280bn (£232bn) to high tech manufacturing and scientific research, amid fears that the US is losing its technological edge to China.

The investments include tax breaks for companies that build computer chip manufacturing plants in the US.

The US currently produces roughly 10% of the global supply of semiconductors, which are key to everything from cars to mobile phones, down from nearly 40% in 1990.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington had opposed the semiconductor bill, calling it reminiscent of a "Cold War mentality."

Some US chipmakers are already experiencing the impact of Washington's crackdown on selling US technology to China. Earlier this month, Nvidia and AMD were told by US officials to stop the sale of artificial intelligence chips to China.

Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities called the restrictions a "gut punch" for Nvidia.

"This is really a shot across the bow at China and it's really going to fan those flames in terms of geopolitical (tensions)," Mr Ives had told teh BBC.

asiatimes.com/2022/09/european-giants-buck-us-decoupling-...

European giants buck US decoupling from China

Germany’s BASF and Switzerland’s ABB launch big new China factories while France’s Airbus steals Chinese market share from Boeing

Blaring headlines such as “US bans ‘advanced tech’ firms from building facilities in China for a decade” and “China’s zero-Covid policies are crippling its economic outlook” distract from more mundane but arguably more important corporate news coming out of China.

Those new developments include the start of production at BASF’s new industrial complex in Zhanjiang and the final commissioning of ABB’s state-of-the-art robotics factory in Shanghai, big new European investments that buck the trend of US “decoupling” with China.

On September 6, BASF announced the inauguration of the first manufacturing plant at its Zhanjiang Verbund industrial complex in China’s southern Guangdong province. The plant is designed to produce 60,000 metric tons of engineering plastics per year, primarily for supply to the Chinese automotive and electronics industries.

It will raise BASF’s annual engineering plastics capacity in the Asia-Pacific region to 420,000 metric tons. Headquartered in Germany, BASF is the world’s largest producer of chemicals.

The Zhanjiang Verbund site is about nine square kilometers in size and the total investment is expected to reach about 10 billion euros (US$10.1 billion) by 2030. It will be BASF’s largest foreign investment to date and the first heavy chemical industry project in China to be wholly owned and operated by a foreign company.

“Verbund” is BASF’s approach to integrated manufacturing. As explained on the company’s website, “The driving principle of the Verbund concept is to add value through the efficient use of resources. At our Verbund sites, production plants, energy and material flows, logistics, and site infrastructure are all integrated.”

“The Verbund system creates efficient value chains that extend from basic chemicals all the way to consumer products. In this system, chemical processes make use of energy more efficiently, achieve higher product yields and conserve resources. By-products of one process are used as starting materials for another process. We thus save on raw materials and energy, minimize emissions, cut logistics costs and realize synergies.”

BASF currently operates six Verbund sites – in Germany, Belgium, Texas, Louisiana, Malaysia and Nanjing. The Zhanjiang Verbund will be the company’s seventh and third largest.

According to Dr. Markus Kamieth, BASF’s executive director responsible for the Asia-Pacific, “The Zhanjiang Verbund site will be built with the latest digital technologies and to the highest safety standards. It will provide high-quality, low-carbon-footprint products and build up stronger business connections with customers in South China, underlining our commitment to the Chinese market.”

A second plant dedicated to the production of thermoplastic polyurethanes is scheduled to come on stream in 2023. That will be followed by the construction of a steam cracker for the production of ethylene and other petrochemical products. BASF plans to power the entire Zhanjiang site with renewable energy by 2025. Expansion and diversification of production are expected to continue until the site is fully utilized at the end of the decade.

On September 2, China Daily reported that ABB’s new robotics factory in Shanghai is in the final stage of commissioning and should be operational within the next few months. Built at a cost of about 150 million euros, it will be “a center where robots make robots,” according to Sami Atiya, head of ABB’s Robotics & Discrete Automation business.

A multinational enterprise headquartered in Zurich, ABB is also a leader in process automation, motors power transmission products and electrification.

When ground was broken on the facility in 2019, ABB announced that it would be “the most advanced, automated and flexible factory in the robotics industry worldwide, utilizing the latest manufacturing processes and [having] the largest R&D, production and application base of robotics in China.”

The announcement continued:

Production in the highly automated facility will be based on automation cells, with robots moving from station to station, enabling greater customization and more flexibility than in traditional, linear production systems. Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) will deliver parts to the production robots just in time, while the latest collaborative technologies will ensure that humans and robots can work safely side by side, bringing greater flexibility and agility to production processes and combining the advantages of robots with the unique capabilities of people.

A digital twin will provide everyone from managers and engineers to operators and maintenance teams data insights and machine learning power to improve performance and maximize productivity. ABB will use a machine learning-based system to inspect robots as they are being assembled, to ensure the highest quality standards.

ABB’s new factory fits with China’s 14th Five-Year Plan, which aims to make the country “a global hub for robotics innovation by 2025, putting together a group of leading enterprises with international competitiveness and forming several industrial clusters with an international influence,” according to a Ministry of Industry and Information Technology document published in English by Beijing-based Pandaily technology media company.

In July, French aerospace giant Airbus announced that it had received orders for 292 A320 passenger aircraft from Air China, China Eastern, China Southern and Shenzhen Airlines, “demonstrating the positive recovery momentum and prosperous outlook for the Chinese aviation market.”

China Southern Airlines – which canceled orders for more than 100 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in May – ordered 96 new units. The Boeing orders were reportedly canceled due to safety concerns and an uncertain delivery schedule, but in the eyes of many observers the main reason was politics

China’s nationalist Global Times gloated:

“It is natural for the US side to feel sour after losing the competition to Airbus… Who can feel rest assured engaging in large-scale trades with a country that talks about ‘decoupling’ frequently, wields the stick of sanctions, and often introduces bills to restrict trade with others out of thin air?”

Boeing lamented: “As a top US exporter with a 50-year relationship with China’s aviation industry, it is disappointing that geopolitical differences continue to constrain US aircraft exports.”

Could European politicians, worked up over Xinjiang and Taiwan, follow the American lead and sabotage the success of European companies in China? They already have, on one notable occasion.

In the third quarter of 2021, after the Swedish government banned the use of Huawei and ZTE’s 5G telecom equipment in Sweden, Ericsson’s sales in China fell 74% year-on-year. Its share of China Mobile 5G radio access network orders dropped from 11% to 2% and China’s contribution to its total revenues dropped by half to 4%.

Luckily for Ericsson, China did not account for a large share of its global business and strong demand for 5G equipment in other countries offset almost all of what it lost in China. It is, however, difficult to imagine a similar outcome with industrial chemicals, robots and aircraft for European producers.

In June, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China released its latest Business Confidence Survey. It concluded that “while most European companies in China posted positive revenues and were profitable in 2021, doing business became more difficult for the majority.”

This was primarily due to Covid but regulatory barriers and uncertainty were also cited as reasons for dissatisfaction. Supply chains, staffing and IT are increasingly being localized. European executives feel caught between the desire to reassess their exposure to China and the fact that it is too important a market to abandon.

Contrary to this conclusion, BASF, ABB and Airbus seem to be going full speed ahead. Perhaps Europe’s alarming experience with sanctions on Russia will temper its policy toward China.

As part of the required course knowledge pupils need to be able to outline the process involved in taking a square wooden blank and preparing it for turning between centres. These pictures depict that process chronologically.

Stage 1 * Preparation of wooden blank. Cut to size. Sand square. Mark across diagonals. Centre punch the centre point. Use spring dividers to mark circumference. Repeat on other end.

Stage 2 * Plane off corners down to circumference line. This takes cross section from square to octagon. This reduces force on cutting toll in initial prep of blank. Mount between fork [driven] centre and dead [or live ] centre at tailstock end. Apply grease a dead centre end. apply force from tailstock end to force fork into material at driven end. Adjust toolstock height to suit. Check for clearance.

Stage 3 * Roughout using scraper to diameter. Use combination of gouges and skew chisels to add beads and other decorative detailing as required. Ensure spindle speed is appropriate for material and cross section under consideration. Obey all safety instructions.

El proceso de fabricación de pan de oro utilizado en las pequeñas artesanías de una calle de Mandalay es el más tradicional y mecánico: casi todo el proceso consiste en asestar martillazos para dar el grosor necesario al trozo de pan de oro.

The gold leaf manufacturing process used by the small handycrafts in a street of Mandalay is the most traditional and simple: almost all the process consists in strongly hammering to achieve the necessary thickness to the piece of gold leaf.

Get more information about the market: www.imarcgroup.com/transparent-electronics-market

The global transparent electronics market reached a value of US$ XXX Million in 2017. Transparent electronics is an emerging form of technology which focuses on the manufacturing of invisible electronic circuits and optoelectronic devices. Transparent Conducting Oxides (TCOs) and Thin Film Transistors (TFTs) are used in the production of transparent electronics. The progressions in transparent electronics technology are mainly dependent on advancements in manufacturing processes and material sciences.

Want more information about this market? Request a free report sample: www.imarcgroup.com/request?type=report&id=1070&fl...

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3 / 52 : Before & After

In a world full of "distressed" denim, where jeans are broken in and ripped up to look like they've been worn for years, raw denim is beautifully simple. The whole idea is that the denim is never washed during the manufacturing process and the color fades naturally as you wear them. I bought my first pair of raw denim jeans back in November 2009, petit new standards from APC (I'm a skinny guy), and they are pretty much the only jeans I have worn since.

There was an interview in a GQ many years ago with eccentric designer, who mentioned that he only ever washed his jeans by wearing them into the ocean. I remember reading that interview with my sister and agreeing that that was super badass. I decided I wanted to do the same with these jeans, so brought them along with me on my trip to Vietnam last year and gave them their first wash in the Gulf of Thailand off the coast of Phu Quoc island. Did it make a difference? I have no idea, but whatever. I think it's super awesome.

I've washed them another two times since then and the color has faded quite a bit. There are clear lines on the back pockets where my wallet goes and you can see in this picture where I always put my cell phone.

Sadly, all the wear and tear of the past two years has taken it's toll and a little whole is opening up. I'm taking them in to get it fixed up tomorrow and hopefully they'll be alright. I decided I'd start on a new pair too and thought it would be interesting to compare them side-by-side. It's hard to believe how different they are!

Camera Info: Canon 7D | 35mm | f/ 3.2 | ISO 1250 | 1/30 s

Every brass model factory has a packaging department. This is where the entire run of fully completed models lands for the very first time in the manufacturing process. Compare the models on these trays to previous images. These models are completely assembled. All they need now is to be lovingly wrapped in plastic and tucked inside their foam lined, custom made cardboard boxes.

You can follow my story about Building Brass Model Trains in the order it was meant to be told in my album: www.flickr.com/photos/jeff_lemke/albums/72157664865492920

Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is an additive manufacturing process that can be used for many different applications.

The SLM process starts by numerically slicing a 3D CAD model into a number of finite layers. For each sliced layer a laser scan path is calculated which defines both the boundary contour and some form of fill sequence, often a raster pattern. Each layer is then sequentially recreated by depositing powder layers, one on top of the other, and melting their surface by scanning a laser beam.

The powder is spread uniformly by a wiper. A high power-density fibre laser with a 40µm beam spot size fully melts the pre-deposited powder layer. The melted particles fuse and solidify to form a layer of the component.

For more information please visit www.twi-global.com/technologies/welding-surface-engineeri...

If you wish to use this image each use should be accompanied by the credit line and notice, "Courtesy of TWI Ltd".

In the heart of Old Town, historic factory is among the oldest in Grasse ... Indeed the current premises sheltered from their beginning in 1782, a perfume factory. In 1926, after the famous painter Jean Honoré Fragonard, it takes the name of Parfumerie Fragonard. Since then, every day, we produce are our perfumes, cosmetics and soaps in a respectful environment of tradition. We would be happy to welcome you and offer you a guided tour during which you will discover the different manufacturing processes and packaging our products. At the end of your visit, you can admire 3000 years of history of perfume through our private museum.

Dedicated to the perfume and aromatic plants, Flower Factory is surrounded by a beautiful garden scented plants ... the gates of Grasse, this contemporary factory opened in 1986 is equipped with very modern machinery for the manufacture and packaging of our products.

WORKSHOP ODOR "Perfumer's Apprentice"

Available on the French Riviera and Paris, in factories, workshops Perfumers Apprentice can discover the expertise of Perfumer: the history of perfume, raw materials and different extraction methods.

Experience unforgettable sense centered on the composition of a toilet water (100 ml) in aromatic notes of citrus and orange blossom, by assembling the different species made available. A fun and exciting experience in the world of perfumery, which proposes the course led by the teacher, the bottle and its bag, apron "apprentice" printed Fragonard, the diploma signed by the teacher and the summary of the composition .

One of our guides will accompany you as a result of the workshop for a visit "Prestige" from our factory.

Located in one of the oldest houses in the historic center of the city, this perfume offers original creations of Didier Gaglewski.

Didier Gaglewski, "nose" in Grasse, began offering its achievements in the framework Living in Provence and in Paris, Germany and Switzerland. Both "artisan", "artist", he decided to offer his achievements directly driven by the idea that the quality, originality and respect perfume composition will dress with fun, humor and quality its customers.

Requiring each of its perfumes, made ​​in the privacy of his laboratory, took several months of research. In partnership with Michelle Cavalier and the "garden of La Bastide," Didier Gaglewski also remains closer to the flowers and working the land. Try to trace extraction techniques inherited from the past and plants specific to the region perfumes seduce and make a very personal and authentic. This atypical creator is distinguished by its compositions made ​​in Grasse basin, its choice to favor natural raw materials and the search for sobriety.

Front satisfaction and customer demands wishing to regain the proposed perfumes, shop in Grasse, 12 rue of the Oratory, just steps from the International Perfume Museum to discover the scents and recent creations.

The country house of Aromas

Based in Saint Cézaire on Siagne in the Pays de Grasse, the Bastide aromas manufactures and packages fragrances since 1995.

Saint Cézaire on Siagne is a typical Provencal village a few kilometers from Grasse, the world capital of perfumery.

The homemade studio human scale can meet all your demands. The 100% handmade is carried out in the workshop without intermediary, under the control of a chemist.

La Bastide des Aromas, respects the traditions of the Grasse region and offers the exclusive fragrances custom made in the workshop on-site, high quality, with particular stress on the fragrance concentration, her outfit and originality.

It is chilly and rainy in Arizona for Super Bowl 48 but BMW turned up the heat with their all-electric i3 and hybrid i8 sports car. To add additional flavor to the recipe New England Patriots’ starting corner Kyle Arrington and wife VaShonda Arrington joined the experience for the energetic weekend festivities.

Kyle spent a few days in both vehicles during his activities, which included stops at the Nike Football Super Bowl Hospitality Gifting Suite at the immaculate Scottsdale Resort & Conference Center, the NFL Experience, family outings and dinner with his spouse. Vashonda’s centerpiece moment was raising funds for the Off the Field Player’s Wives Association’s “14th Annual Super Bowl Fashion Show” held at the upscale Scottsdale Fashion Mall. The wives, kids and a handful of former NFL players walked the runway with grace and style. Guests included Holly Robinson Peete, Antonio Cromardie, Steve Young, Kevin Hart and many more. She enjoyed the earthly interior of the i3 and spoke passionately about the need regarding increased sustainability in the world.

The mind is driven by thoughts and fueled by inventive answers. The i3 is 100% pure electric and the i8 is a plug-in hybrid sports car, which means its power is sourced from both gasoline and electricity. The i8 is comprised of a Life module and a Drive module. The 3-liter gasoline motor is placed in the rear and the smaller electric engine is housed up front. In addition, the i8 is essentially an AWD vehicle channeling traction from both axles simultaneously but doesn’t utilize the company’s hallmark xDrive system. A few common i8 performance specs include:

•0 to 60 mph = 4.2 seconds

•Top speed = 155 mph (electronically limited)

•Electric only top speed = 75 mph

•Pure electric range = 22 miles

Born electric, the i3 is engineered with BMW’s LifeDrive architecture, which is also structured into two categories, the Life Module and the Drive Module. Comprised of high-strength carbon, the Life Module protects and provides comfort for the driver and passengers. The second platform, the Drive Module, encompasses the electric drive system, the suspension and the HVAC. Since the car is lighter, the liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery (developed in-house by BMW) is smaller and only needs three hours for a full stage-2 (240-volt) charge. Additionally, BMW attempts to use as much renewable energy as possible for the manufacturing process of the carbon fiber i3.

The journey continues towards educating the world on the benefits of going green. BMW is both an innovator and leader in this technology category and has already spearheaded a positive movement. Expect more BMW i products down the line since they have only just begun.

goo.gl/cgwjEu

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Excellent hand painted polyresin Personalized Photo Frames crafts, every our resin Personalized Picture Frames will need a series of manufacturing processes to make sure the Engraved Picture Frames in high quality and well made.

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Fashionable and trendy home decoration photo frames. The Unique Picture Frames will light up your room and make your home look more fashion and elegant. Got one Vintage Picture Frames and make your life more lovely.

Sometimes there are a few models that get kicked back to the finishing department because of a small flaw of some sort. Other times the finishing group gets a small run of extra models to assemble and fit out. If the models land on this table they still need a bit of work before they can be cleaned, clear coated, and sent on to the final assembly area.

When models are made in runs that number in the hundreds it's not unusual for the builder to make a few extra models. This is over and above what the importer paid to have manufactured. In this example these extra models belong to the builder.

The reason they are made is so that if parts, or bodies, or drive mechanisms are damaged during the process of making the models (that the importer contracted to buy from the builder) there will still be enough extra parts left over to replace those damaged parts or models. This often translates into entire models being able to be built from all the left over parts.

It's far easier and less expensive to create extra parts at the very beginning of the manufacturing process (extra parts you think you might need) than it is to have to create new parts at the end of a production run (starting from scratch and delaying production to get the proper number of units completed as contracted).

You can follow my story about Building Brass Model Trains in the order it was meant to be told in my album: www.flickr.com/photos/jeff_lemke/albums/72157664865492920

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.--Officials cut the ribbon Feb. 27 ceremonially opening a brand new education center that will help Airmen stationed at this central coast base achieve their personal and professional education goals.

The $14.2 million center replaced a 60-year-old elementary school campus, which had been used as the education center for more than 40 years.

"We hear the dollar value, and I just can't stress how precious those dollars are in today's fiscal environment," said Col. Keith Balts, 30th Space Wing commander. "The fact that we get to do military construction at all, especially something for the quality of our Airmen and their families, says a lot about the importance we place on education."

One of the center's first customers was Senior Airman Antoine Marshall, 30th Force Support Squadron, who joined the Air Force four years ago with an associate degree in criminal justice.

"I just took the analyzing and interpreting literature CLEP (College Level Examination Program) exam," said Marshall, who's pursuing a bachelor's degree in organizational management. "It was my first one--I passed it. I'm extremely happy!"

The 38,384-square-foot facility includes 20 classrooms, computer lab, testing center, and 75-seat auditorium, as well as offices for various colleges and universities serving the Vandenberg community.

"I think the facility is great," said Marshall. "Overall, it provides a better environment to work and study, and it's just comfortable."

The design-build project was constructed by Corps contractor Teehee-Straub, a joint-venture team from Oceanside, Calif.

"The design was quite extensive, just due to the detail and the location," said Keith Hamilton, project executive for Teehee-Straub. "The site work was very challenging, and I think that was something that brought a lot of character to this building."

Teehee-Straub's 21st century design included sustainable development and energy efficiencies, such as light pollution reduction and water use reduction.

"This is a sustainable building," said Col. Kim Colloton, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District commander. "We can build our buildings smartly, so they can do more; it's more [money] that can go back into the base."

During construction, 75 percent of the construction and demolition debris was diverted from landfills and redirected back to the manufacturing process as reusable and recyclable material. Walk-off mats, exhaust systems and filtered heating and cooling improves indoor air quality. Low-flow fixtures and faucets, high-efficiency drip irrigation and drought-tolerant landscaping reduce potable water use by more than 40 percent. All are efficiencies the contractor believes will achive a LEED Silver rating (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, a Green Building Council rating system).

"We're just proud to be part of this," said Teehee-Straub managing partner Richard Straub. "The Corps of Engineers is one of our favorite customers, and we love supporting the Air Force in doing a job that will educate a lot of servicemen."

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket blasts off from Space Launch Complex-41 with NASAs Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-K) payload. This was the first of 13 ULA launches scheduled for 2013, the 35th Atlas V mission, and the 67th ULA launch.

Photo courtesy United Launch Alliance

----

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The first of NASA's three next-generation

Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS), known as TDRS-K, launched

at 8:48 p.m. EST Wednesday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in

Florida.

"TDRS-K bolsters our network of satellites that provides essential

communications to support space exploration," said Badri Younes,

deputy associate administrator for Space Communications and

Navigation at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "It will improve the

overall health and longevity of our system."

The TDRS system provides tracking, telemetry, command and

high-bandwidth data return services for numerous science and human

exploration missions orbiting Earth. These include the International

Space Station and NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

"With this launch, NASA has begun the replenishment of our aging space

network," said Jeffrey Gramling, TDRS project manager. "This addition

to our current fleet of seven will provide even greater capabilities

to a network that has become key to enabling many of NASA's

scientific discoveries."

TDRS-K was lifted into orbit aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V

rocket from Space Launch Complex-41. After a three-month test phase,

NASA will accept the spacecraft for additional evaluation before

putting the satellite into service.

The TDRS-K spacecraft includes several modifications from older

satellites in the TDRS system, including redesigned

telecommunications payload electronics and a high-performance solar

panel designed for more spacecraft power to meet growing S-band

requirements. Another significant design change, the return to

ground-based processing of data, will allow the system to service

more customers with evolving communication requirements.

The next TDRS spacecraft, TDRS-L, is scheduled for launch in 2014.

TDRS-M's manufacturing process will be completed in 2015.

NASA's Space Communications and Navigation Program, part of the Human

Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at the agency's

Headquarters in Washington, is responsible for the space network. The

TDRS Project Office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in

Greenbelt, Md., manages the TDRS development program. Launch services

were provided by United Launch Alliance. NASA's Launch Services

Program at the Kennedy Space Center was responsible for acquisition

of launch services.

For more information about TDRS, visit:

www.nasa.gov/tdrs

NASA image use policy.

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.

Follow us on Twitter

Like us on Facebook

Find us on Instagram

It is chilly and rainy in Arizona for Super Bowl 48 but BMW turned up the heat with their all-electric i3 and hybrid i8 sports car. To add additional flavor to the recipe New England Patriots’ starting corner Kyle Arrington and wife VaShonda Arrington joined the experience for the energetic weekend festivities.

Kyle spent a few days in both vehicles during his activities, which included stops at the Nike Football Super Bowl Hospitality Gifting Suite at the immaculate Scottsdale Resort & Conference Center, the NFL Experience, family outings and dinner with his spouse. Vashonda’s centerpiece moment was raising funds for the Off the Field Player’s Wives Association’s “14th Annual Super Bowl Fashion Show” held at the upscale Scottsdale Fashion Mall. The wives, kids and a handful of former NFL players walked the runway with grace and style. Guests included Holly Robinson Peete, Antonio Cromardie, Steve Young, Kevin Hart and many more. She enjoyed the earthly interior of the i3 and spoke passionately about the need regarding increased sustainability in the world.

The mind is driven by thoughts and fueled by inventive answers. The i3 is 100% pure electric and the i8 is a plug-in hybrid sports car, which means its power is sourced from both gasoline and electricity. The i8 is comprised of a Life module and a Drive module. The 3-liter gasoline motor is placed in the rear and the smaller electric engine is housed up front. In addition, the i8 is essentially an AWD vehicle channeling traction from both axles simultaneously but doesn’t utilize the company’s hallmark xDrive system. A few common i8 performance specs include:

•0 to 60 mph = 4.2 seconds

•Top speed = 155 mph (electronically limited)

•Electric only top speed = 75 mph

•Pure electric range = 22 miles

Born electric, the i3 is engineered with BMW’s LifeDrive architecture, which is also structured into two categories, the Life Module and the Drive Module. Comprised of high-strength carbon, the Life Module protects and provides comfort for the driver and passengers. The second platform, the Drive Module, encompasses the electric drive system, the suspension and the HVAC. Since the car is lighter, the liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery (developed in-house by BMW) is smaller and only needs three hours for a full stage-2 (240-volt) charge. Additionally, BMW attempts to use as much renewable energy as possible for the manufacturing process of the carbon fiber i3.

The journey continues towards educating the world on the benefits of going green. BMW is both an innovator and leader in this technology category and has already spearheaded a positive movement. Expect more BMW i products down the line since they have only just begun.

NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellites, known as TDRS-K, aboard an Atlas V rocket, was rolled to its launch position, Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station beginning at 10 a.m. January 29. TDRS-K will augment NASA’s space communications network, providing high data-rate communications to the International Space Station, Hubble Space Telescope, launch vehicles and a host of other spacecraft. “With this launch, NASA has begun the replenishment of our aging space network,” said Jeffrey Gramling, TDRS project manager. “This addition to our current fleet of seven, will provide even greater capabilities to a network that has become key to enabling many of NASA’s scientific discoveries.” The TDRS Project Office at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., manages the TDRS development program.

----

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The first of NASA's three next-generation

Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS), known as TDRS-K, launched

at 8:48 p.m. EST Wednesday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in

Florida.

"TDRS-K bolsters our network of satellites that provides essential

communications to support space exploration," said Badri Younes,

deputy associate administrator for Space Communications and

Navigation at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "It will improve the

overall health and longevity of our system."

The TDRS system provides tracking, telemetry, command and

high-bandwidth data return services for numerous science and human

exploration missions orbiting Earth. These include the International

Space Station and NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

"With this launch, NASA has begun the replenishment of our aging space

network," said Jeffrey Gramling, TDRS project manager. "This addition

to our current fleet of seven will provide even greater capabilities

to a network that has become key to enabling many of NASA's

scientific discoveries."

TDRS-K was lifted into orbit aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V

rocket from Space Launch Complex-41. After a three-month test phase,

NASA will accept the spacecraft for additional evaluation before

putting the satellite into service.

The TDRS-K spacecraft includes several modifications from older

satellites in the TDRS system, including redesigned

telecommunications payload electronics and a high-performance solar

panel designed for more spacecraft power to meet growing S-band

requirements. Another significant design change, the return to

ground-based processing of data, will allow the system to service

more customers with evolving communication requirements.

The next TDRS spacecraft, TDRS-L, is scheduled for launch in 2014.

TDRS-M's manufacturing process will be completed in 2015.

NASA's Space Communications and Navigation Program, part of the Human

Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at the agency's

Headquarters in Washington, is responsible for the space network. The

TDRS Project Office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in

Greenbelt, Md., manages the TDRS development program. Launch services

were provided by United Launch Alliance. NASA's Launch Services

Program at the Kennedy Space Center was responsible for acquisition

of launch services.

For more information about TDRS, visit:

www.nasa.gov/tdrs

NASA image use policy.

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.

Follow us on Twitter

Like us on Facebook

Find us on <a href="http:/

Talk about science "friction" -- Ares rockets and a cool new way to weld.

Caption: Using a metal joining technique called friction stir welding, the Ares Projects team at the Marshall Center has completed welding the first liquid hydrogen tank dome being developed to define manufacturing processes for the upper stage of the Ares I -- the rocket that will launch explorers to the moon, Mars and beyond in coming decades. The innovative welding process produces high-strength welds that are uniformly joined together -- a vital requirement for next-generation launch vehicles and hardware designed for long-term space travel.

The completed dome is the first development hardware assembled for the Ares I upper stage.

Image credit: NASA/MSFC

More about Ares rockets:

www.nasa.gov/ares

p.s. You can see all of the Ares photos in the Ares Group in Flickr at: www.flickr.com/groups/ares/ We'd love to have you as a member!

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

Some background:

In the grand scope of World War 2 fighter aircraft there is a little-remembered French design designated the Arsenal "VG-33". The aircraft was born from a rather lengthy line of prototype developments put forth by the company in the years leading up to World War 2 and the VG-33 and its derivatives represented the culmination of this work before the German invasion rendered all further work moot.

The aircraft never saw combat action in the Battle of France. Its arrival was simply too late to have any effect on the outcome of the German plans. Therefore, with limited production and very limited combat service during the defence of Paris in May 1940, it largely fell into the pages of history with all completed models lost.

Specifications:

Crew: 1

Length: 28.05 ft (8.55 m)

Width: 35.43 ft (10.80 m)

Height: 10.83ft (3.30 m)

Weight: Empty 4,519 lb (2,050 kg), MTOW 5,853 lb (2,655 kg)

Maximum Speed: 398 mph (641 kmh at 10.000m)

Maximum Range: 746 miles (1,200 km)

Service Ceiling: 39,305 ft (12.000 m; 7.458 miles)

Powerplant:

1x Hispano-Suiza 12Y-77 V-12 liquid-cooled inline piston engine

with two Brown-Boveri exhaust turbochargers, developing 1,100 hp (820 kW).

Armament:

1x 20mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannon, firing through the propeller hub

4x 7.5mm MAC 1934 machine guns in the outer wings

The kit and its assembly:

I found the VG-33 fascinating - an obscure and sleek fighter with lots of potential that suffered mainly from bad timing. There are actually VG-33 kits from Azur and Pegasus, but how much more fun is it to create your own interpretation of the historic events, esp. as a submission to a Battle of Britain Group Build at whatifmodelers.com?

I had this project on the whif agenda for a long time, and kept my eyes open for potential models. One day I encountered Amodel's Su-1 and Su-3 kits and was stunned by this aircraft's overall similarity to the VG-33. When I found the real VG-38 description I decided to convert the Su-3 into this elusive French fighter!

The Su-3 was built mainly OOB, it is a nice kit with much detail, even though it needs some work as a short run offering. I kept the odd radiator installation of the Suchoj aircraft, but changed the landing gear from a P-40 style design (retracting backwards and rotating 90°) into a conservative, inward retracting system. I even found forked gear struts in the spares box, from a Fiat G.50. The covers come from a Hawker Hurricane, and the wells were cut out from this pattern, while the rest of the old wells was filled with putty.

Further mods include the cleaned cowling (the Su-3's fuselage-mounted machine guns had to go), while machine guns in the wings were added. The flaps were lowered, too, and the small cockpit canopy cut in two pieces in, for an opened position - a shame you can hardly see anything from the neat interior. Two large antenna masts complete the French style.

Painting and markings:

Again, a rather conservative choice: typical French Air Force colors, in Khaki/Dark Brown/Blue Gray with light blue-gray undersides.

One very inspiring fact about the French tricolor-paint scheme is that no aircraft looked like the other – except for a few types, every aircraft had an individual scheme with more or less complexity or even artistic approach. Even the colors were only vaguely unified: Field mixes were common, as well as mods with other colors that were mixed into the basic three tones!

I settled for a scheme I found on a 1940 Curtiss 75, with clearly defined edges between the paint fields. Anything goes! I used French Khaki, Dark Blue Grey and Light Blue Grey (for the undersides) from Modelmaster's Authentic Enamels range, and Humbrol 170 (Brown Bess) for the Chestnut Brown. Interior surfaces were painted in dark grey (Humbrol 32) while the landing gear well parts of the wings were painted in Aluminum Dope (Humbrol 56).

The decals mainly come from a Hobby Boss Dewoitine D.520, but also from a PrintScale aftermarket sheet and the scrap box.

The kit was slightly weathered with a black ink wash and some dry-painting, more for a dramatic effect than simulating wear and tear, since any aircraft from the VG-33 family would only have had a very short service career.

Well, a travesty whif - and who would expect an obscure Soviet experimental fighter to perform as a lookalike for an even more obscure French experimental fighter? IMHO, it works pretty fine - conservative sould might fair over the spinal radiator outlet and open the dorsal installation, overall both aircraft are very similar in shape, size and layout. :D

Some cool turning manufacturing images:

Image from web page 49 of “The velvet and corduroy business a short account of the a variety of processes connected with the manufacture of cotton pile goods” (1922)

Image by Net Archive Book Pictures

Identifier: velvetcorduroyin00cook

Title:...

Read more about Image from web page 49 of "The velvet and corduroy business a short account of the various processes connected with the manufacture of cotton pile goods" (1922)

(Posted by a Precision Machining China Manufacturer)

* High Modulus Custom Carbon Racing Bicycle Frame

* Italian Bottom Bracket or BB30

* Tapered head tube/fork

* Best Road Bike Available in Formigli Collection

* 20% lighter 27% more rigid than Asiel

MSRP- $5999.99

The Asiel RF is our top of the line, flagship carbon racing frame. It is the result of 20 years of technological advancement, offering superior materials, manufacturing processes, and design. The Asiel RF is hand made with a tapered head tube/fork, BB30 bottom bracket (or Italian thread), and an integrated seat post. This makes for a no-compromises race frame that is unmatched in performance and is 20% lighter and 27% stiffer than the Asiel. A new paint scheme has also been developed to give this high caliber frame a unique and stunning look.

* FRAME Carbon with Carbon drop outs

* FORK Full Carbon Fork 1 1/2 to 1/ 1/8

* HEADSET Integrated *Dedda, Cane Creek or FSA headset included with frame purchase

* BOTTOM BRACKET Italian Thread OR BB30

* SEATPOST Integrated

Availble in one color scheme as shown.

The composite used to build the RF is an IM600 carbon fiber with a tensile strength equal to 48,000 lbs. Utilizing a special nanotechnology, Formigli optimizes the pre-impregnation of epoxy resin into the IM600 carbon fabric resulting in a final product that is 20% lighter and 27% more rigid and responsive than the Asiel.

Geometric Design

The Asiel RF was conceived with the vision to obtain a frame with maximum tensional stiffness. This was achieved through our research in tube design that optimizes the stresses of torque.

Looking at the rear of the frame, you can notice a significant drop in the seat-stays. This solution gave the frame more rigidity in the rear, thus obtaining a greater responsiveness in wheel traction. This drop can be felt especially in the hills and in sprints. It is most noticeable in low gears. Looking at the center of the frame, the bottom of the seat tube near the bottom bracket, the tube has a larger cross-section supporting the weight of the cyclist on a broader base. This gives the frame greater resistance and higher performance under stress.

We decided to build the Asiel RF with an internally integrated seat post with a slight rise of the seat post support and compensating the eventual rise with internal carbon plugs, shaped like the tube. The fork was designed with a tapered steering tube which provides a greater circumference to support the frame, improving the stability of the bike, as well as reducing the vibrations that are formed especially on high speed descents.

Fabric Composition

Layers: 6 layers + 3k cross weave (the upper, visible layer)

Laminate: Layered unidirectional and bidirectional oriented 12k

Resin: Epoxy

Fiber: Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)

Fabric: Preimpregnated fabric yarn (long fiber) molded with a vacuum sealing technique and chemically bonded 120°c.

Mechanical Properties

Tensile Strength: R. 220 Kgmmg

Modulus Elasticity: 38,000 Kgmmg

Fatigue: 100 million cycles/ 1400 MPa maxiumum load

Physical weight of carbon at 18°c is 1.86 kg/ dm3 (30% resin)

----------

Available at KGS Bikes kgsbikes.com with the added value of our BalancePoint™ positioning system to design your perfect custom bicycle.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.--Officials cut the ribbon Feb. 27 ceremonially opening a brand new education center that will help Airmen stationed at this central coast base achieve their personal and professional education goals.

The $14.2 million center replaced a 60-year-old elementary school campus, which had been used as the education center for more than 40 years.

"We hear the dollar value, and I just can't stress how precious those dollars are in today's fiscal environment," said Col. Keith Balts, 30th Space Wing commander. "The fact that we get to do military construction at all, especially something for the quality of our Airmen and their families, says a lot about the importance we place on education."

One of the center's first customers was Senior Airman Antoine Marshall, 30th Force Support Squadron, who joined the Air Force four years ago with an associate degree in criminal justice.

"I just took the analyzing and interpreting literature CLEP (College Level Examination Program) exam," said Marshall, who's pursuing a bachelor's degree in organizational management. "It was my first one--I passed it. I'm extremely happy!"

The 38,384-square-foot facility includes 20 classrooms, computer lab, testing center, and 75-seat auditorium, as well as offices for various colleges and universities serving the Vandenberg community.

"I think the facility is great," said Marshall. "Overall, it provides a better environment to work and study, and it's just comfortable."

The design-build project was constructed by Corps contractor Teehee-Straub, a joint-venture team from Oceanside, Calif.

"The design was quite extensive, just due to the detail and the location," said Keith Hamilton, project executive for Teehee-Straub. "The site work was very challenging, and I think that was something that brought a lot of character to this building."

Teehee-Straub's 21st century design included sustainable development and energy efficiencies, such as light pollution reduction and water use reduction.

"This is a sustainable building," said Col. Kim Colloton, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District commander. "We can build our buildings smartly, so they can do more; it's more [money] that can go back into the base."

During construction, 75 percent of the construction and demolition debris was diverted from landfills and redirected back to the manufacturing process as reusable and recyclable material. Walk-off mats, exhaust systems and filtered heating and cooling improves indoor air quality. Low-flow fixtures and faucets, high-efficiency drip irrigation and drought-tolerant landscaping reduce potable water use by more than 40 percent. All are efficiencies the contractor believes will achive a LEED Silver rating (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, a Green Building Council rating system).

"We're just proud to be part of this," said Teehee-Straub managing partner Richard Straub. "The Corps of Engineers is one of our favorite customers, and we love supporting the Air Force in doing a job that will educate a lot of servicemen."

Soda Springs (Geyser) is a group of thousands of natural carbonated springs in the area of Soda Springs, Idaho. The springs were a landmark on the Oregon Trail.

“Past volcanic activity has shaped the landscape, and the residual geothermal activity has caused the numerous hot bubbling springs that gave it its name. Geothermal activity hundreds of feet below the ground heats water and mixes in carbon dioxide gas. Soda Springs gets its name from the naturally carbonated water. The resulting increased pressure contributes to the number of springs and was the cause of the geyser.”

The Oregon Trail passed through Soda Springs. At the time it was known as the "Oasis of Soda Springs". Between Fort Laramie and Fort Boise, Soda Springs was a major landmark Soda Springs is the second oldest settlement in Idaho. Sulphur Springs was the first hot spring that the Oregon Trail immigrants encountered in the soda springs area. Pyramid springs was discovered by fur trappers and pioneers, they discovered the springs by noticing mounds of soda formed rock and clay Johnkirk Townsends said in his diary, “Our encampment on the 8th was near what are called the’White Clay pits,” still on Bear River. The soil is soft chalk, white and tenacious: and in the vicinity are several springs of strong super carbonated water which bubble up with all the activity of artificial fountains. The taste was very agreeable and refreshing, resembling Saratoga water but not so saline. The whole plain to the hills is having depressions on their summits from which once issued streams of water. The extent of these eruptions, at some former period, must have been very great. At about half a mile distant, is an eruptive thermal spring of the temperature of 90 [degrees], and near this is an opening in the earth front which a stream of gas issues without water.”

This spring was known for its excellent water quality. Fred J. Kiesel of Ogden Utah heard of the excellent water and set up a bottling plant with W.J. Clark of Butte, MT. The product name was "Idanha." The natural mineral company was incorporated in 1887 and began distributing it around the nation and the globe. The water became so prestigious that it took first place at the Chicago's World Fair in 1893, and again in the World's Fair in Paris, France.

On November 30, 1937, a well drilling operation while attempting to build a natural hot springs swimming pool was surprised when it unintentionally released Soda Springs’s famous captive geyser, which surprised everyone by shooting 100 feet into the air. It has been capped and a timer activates it once every hour. The water is approximately 72 degrees Fahrenheit. There is now a park and a visitor center at the site.In addition to its captive geyser, Soda Springs also boasts a man-made lava flow, from the dumping of molten rock left over from Monsanto's phosphate mining and manufacturing process one mile north of the town.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soda_Springs_Geyser

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_...

So, you always wanted to know how 85% asbestos magnesia insulation was made? };^) Well, here you go, a detailed diagram outlining the magnesia manufacture process by the company that claims to be the originator of this toxic asbestos material.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

Some background:

In the grand scope of World War 2 fighter aircraft there is a little-remembered French design designated the Arsenal "VG-33". The aircraft was born from a rather lengthy line of prototype developments put forth by the company in the years leading up to World War 2 and the VG-33 and its derivatives represented the culmination of this work before the German invasion rendered all further work moot.

The aircraft never saw combat action in the Battle of France. Its arrival was simply too late to have any effect on the outcome of the German plans. Therefore, with limited production and very limited combat service during the defence of Paris in May 1940, it largely fell into the pages of history with all completed models lost.

Specifications:

Crew: 1

Length: 28.05 ft (8.55 m)

Width: 35.43 ft (10.80 m)

Height: 10.83ft (3.30 m)

Weight: Empty 4,519 lb (2,050 kg), MTOW 5,853 lb (2,655 kg)

Maximum Speed: 398 mph (641 kmh at 10.000m)

Maximum Range: 746 miles (1,200 km)

Service Ceiling: 39,305 ft (12.000 m; 7.458 miles)

Powerplant:

1x Hispano-Suiza 12Y-77 V-12 liquid-cooled inline piston engine

with two Brown-Boveri exhaust turbochargers, developing 1,100 hp (820 kW).

Armament:

1x 20mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannon, firing through the propeller hub

4x 7.5mm MAC 1934 machine guns in the outer wings

The kit and its assembly:

I found the VG-33 fascinating - an obscure and sleek fighter with lots of potential that suffered mainly from bad timing. There are actually VG-33 kits from Azur and Pegasus, but how much more fun is it to create your own interpretation of the historic events, esp. as a submission to a Battle of Britain Group Build at whatifmodelers.com?

I had this project on the whif agenda for a long time, and kept my eyes open for potential models. One day I encountered Amodel's Su-1 and Su-3 kits and was stunned by this aircraft's overall similarity to the VG-33. When I found the real VG-38 description I decided to convert the Su-3 into this elusive French fighter!

The Su-3 was built mainly OOB, it is a nice kit with much detail, even though it needs some work as a short run offering. I kept the odd radiator installation of the Suchoj aircraft, but changed the landing gear from a P-40 style design (retracting backwards and rotating 90°) into a conservative, inward retracting system. I even found forked gear struts in the spares box, from a Fiat G.50. The covers come from a Hawker Hurricane, and the wells were cut out from this pattern, while the rest of the old wells was filled with putty.

Further mods include the cleaned cowling (the Su-3's fuselage-mounted machine guns had to go), while machine guns in the wings were added. The flaps were lowered, too, and the small cockpit canopy cut in two pieces in, for an opened position - a shame you can hardly see anything from the neat interior. Two large antenna masts complete the French style.

Painting and markings:

Again, a rather conservative choice: typical French Air Force colors, in Khaki/Dark Brown/Blue Gray with light blue-gray undersides.

One very inspiring fact about the French tricolor-paint scheme is that no aircraft looked like the other – except for a few types, every aircraft had an individual scheme with more or less complexity or even artistic approach. Even the colors were only vaguely unified: Field mixes were common, as well as mods with other colors that were mixed into the basic three tones!

I settled for a scheme I found on a 1940 Curtiss 75, with clearly defined edges between the paint fields. Anything goes! I used French Khaki, Dark Blue Grey and Light Blue Grey (for the undersides) from Modelmaster's Authentic Enamels range, and Humbrol 170 (Brown Bess) for the Chestnut Brown. Interior surfaces were painted in dark grey (Humbrol 32) while the landing gear well parts of the wings were painted in Aluminum Dope (Humbrol 56).

The decals mainly come from a Hobby Boss Dewoitine D.520, but also from a PrintScale aftermarket sheet and the scrap box.

The kit was slightly weathered with a black ink wash and some dry-painting, more for a dramatic effect than simulating wear and tear, since any aircraft from the VG-33 family would only have had a very short service career.

Well, a travesty whif - and who would expect an obscure Soviet experimental fighter to perform as a lookalike for an even more obscure French experimental fighter? IMHO, it works pretty fine - conservative sould might fair over the spinal radiator outlet and open the dorsal installation, overall both aircraft are very similar in shape, size and layout. :D