The Tokyo office of multinational recruitment specialists CDS, was an opportunity to maximize the value of their existing two-story premises and transform it into an efficient and modern workplace on the floor above with an attractive facility for meetings and interviews below.

The company’s globally diverse workforce challenged us to create a more collaborative work space straddling Western and Japanese office cultures. As is typical in Japan, staff work long hours at their desks, but they are highly engaged amongst their specialist teams. We challenged our client to break free the old cubicle culture by creating greater transparency to foster spontaneous communication, as well a diversity of relaxed work and meeting spaces. The central copy/meeting point fosters short team huddles; the generous window sofa area encourages casual meetings away from the desk, so as not to disturb working colleagues; and an attractive pantry and lounge blurs the boundary between breaks and productive meetings.

A feeling of openness and “buzz” was achieved by removing the stuffy suspended acoustical ceiling. Custom-made wooden lighting fixtures project light upward as well as downward, to reflect diffuse light off the exposed ceiling. A round central meeting room is comprised of an elegant timber frame supporting polycarbonate walls to enclose more sensitive internal meetings.

On the ground floor, a steady stream of candidates arrive for interviews well into the evening. As we worked closely with top management, assessing and mediating these diverse needs and flows through design became a central theme. Thirteen meeting rooms, some of which can be reconfigured into a 60-seat conferencing facility, offer a variety of meeting formats.

Visiting interviewees feel that their career is about to take-off as they walk around the circular “racing-strip” corridor surrounding the central “core” interview rooms.

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Dates have been a staple food of the Middle East and the Indus Valley for thousands of years. They are believed to have originated around Iraq, and have been cultivated since ancient times from Mesopotamia to prehistoric Egypt, possibly as early as 4000 BCE. The Ancient Egyptians used the fruits to make date wine, and ate them at harvest. There is archaeological evidence of date cultivation in eastern Arabia in 6000 BCE.

There is also archeological evidence of date cultivation in Mehrgarh around 7000 BCE, a Neolithic civilization in India now western Pakistan. Evidence of cultivation is continually found throughout later civilizations in the Indus Valley, including the Harappan period 2600 to 1900 BCE.

name: Dawn Lagerstedt

school: Washington Elementary 4th and 5th Grade

town:Schiller Park

state: Illinois

Alien Bee modelling light with barn doors to try to maximize light on taxidermy.

youtu.be/mqD7pkVyoOw Highlight Reel

Starring Ursula Andress, Peter Cushing, Bernard Cribbins, John Richardson, Rosenda Monteros, and Christopher Lee. Directed by Robert Day.

synopsis

Hammer Films co-produced this lavishly mounted adventure, the fourth adaptation of the novel by H. Rider Haggard. In Jerusalem, Leo Vincey (John Richardson) meets with a slave girl, Ustane (Rosenda Monteros), who has been charged with bringing him to an immortal queen, Ayesha (Ursula Andress). Ayesha, who desires Leo because of his resemblance to her long-dead lover, offers riches if he will travel to her lost city in the mountains, where a magical flame will also give him eternal life. Accompanied by his adventurous friend Major Horace Holly (Peter Cushing), Leo sets out for the fabled city across the desert, but along the way Ustane causes trouble when she decides she wants Leo for her own. She (1965) was followed by a sequel, The Vengeance of She (1968), although the follow-up did not star Andress.

Hammer Films, best known as the House of Horror, enjoyed a long history reaching as far back as the 1930s when it began as a production unit of the distribution company Exclusive Films. Exclusive had been started by William Hinds and Enrique Carreras, and Hammer remained a family-run firm throughout its heyday as a producer of small-budget but stylish horror movies. James Carreras, son of Enrique, presided over Hammer's famous repertory group of horror directors, writers, actors, editors, production designers, and composers, bringing his son Michael into the fold as a producer in the 1960s alongside William Hinds's son, Tony.

Though a small company with a modest studio at Bray, Hammer proved to be successful enough by the 1960s to attract the interests of Hollywood, and studios such as 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., and MGM made deals with the House of Horror to coproduce films and distribute them in the U.S. Taking advantage of these deals, Hammer sought to maximize profits and diversify their output by increasing budgets and branching out into other genres. She, released in 1965, proved a successful foray into a new direction for Hammer, though Michael Carreras soon grew leery of the increased budgets that accompanied his studio's change in course.

She, H. Rider Haggard's story of a lost world in the jungles of Africa, was destined for cinema almost from the beginning. Haggard published his novel in 1887, and by 1908, a one-reeler of the story had been directed by Edwin S. Porter for Thomas Edison's company. In 1917, a longer interpretation was released by Fox Film starring forgotten actress Valeska Suratt, promoted in publicity materials as the Vampire Woman. Eight years later, an English version surfaced with Betty Blythe as the title character. Prior to Hammer's production, the most well-known interpretation of She was produced by Merian C. Cooper for RKO in 1935. Cooper changed the setting to the frozen north and cast Helen Gahagan as She in her only film role. The material was ripe for an update when Hammer took on the project in 1963.

Originally, Universal partnered with Hammer to produce She, and the project was assigned to Tony Hinds. He hired John Temple Smith to write the first draft of the script, which mirrored the original novel, but the content proved too dark and violent for Universal. Hinds had the script rewritten by Berkeley Mather, but Universal still did not warm up to the material. The project passed to Michael Carreras, who asked David T. Chantler to write another version and steer it toward an adventure tale. MGM stepped in to co-finance and coproduce, tripling the budget of the average Hammer film and making She its most expensive production to date. But MGM knew how to exploit the film, which starred Ursula Andress--famous for her turn as the bikini-clad Bond Girl walking out of the ocean in Dr. No. The posters for She featured Andress's impressive physique, and publicity took advantage of her jet-set lifestyle. She became a commercial hit on two continents.

The film opens in Palestine just after World War I. Three adventure-loving war buddies, Leo Vincey, Holly, and Holly's valet, Job, are enjoying themselves in a bar when a sultry local named Ustane approaches them. Hammer stalwart Peter Cushing plays Holly with his typical charisma and charm, while Bernard Cribbins complements him as his right-hand man Job--a fitting name for a character who is defined by his devotion to his employer. John Richardson costars as leading man Leo Vincey, though he lacks the magnetism of Cushing. Unknown to the men, Ustane secretly serves She, called Ayesha, and the young maiden recognizes Vincey as the reincarnation of her queen's long-dead lover, Kallikrates. Ayesha had murdered Kallikrates 2,000 years earlier for being unfaithful to her, but she pines for him regardless.

Based on Ustane's story, the trio is lured by the idea of a quest for a lost civilization and set out on a journey across the desert. They soon discover they are lost, though they are not without the creature comforts of the upper-crust adventurer. Job the valet, who never forgets his place, serves Holly and Leo their whiskey despite the dire circumstances. The trio reunites with Ustane in her desert village, where her father rules a lost tribe who guard the entrance to Kuma, Ayesha's kingdom. The three adventurers enter Kuma, which had been the scheming queen's long-term plan all along. Ustane has fallen in love with Leo, but Leo has become entranced by Ayesha, known variously as She Who Waits and She Who Must Be Obeyed. Ayesha wants Leo to step into her eternal flame so the two can be united for all eternity, but her priest, Billali, played by Hammer legend Christopher Lee, is jealous of the newcomer. A beautiful but selfish despot, Ayesha does not care about her subjects, including Ustane. She foolishly executes several of her subjects, causing an uprising and complicating the situation for the adventurers.

She was the first film from Hammer to be built around a female star. Tall and statuesque, Ursula Andress was a perfect choice to play Ayesha, though in retrospect she claims to have disliked the role. Andress has been criticized by reviewers for her icy demeanor and aloof detachment, but these characteristics proved beneficial for playing the steely-eyed Ayesha. Costumed in a selection of warm-colored, Grecian-styled gowns and gold jewelry, she glows onscreen, partly due to the flattering, high-key lighting of cinematographer Harry Waxman. Born in Switzerland to German parents, the exotic-looking beauty spoke with an accent, which Hammer's producers found too distracting. Andress's entire role was then re-voiced and dubbed over by an actress named Monica Van Der Syl, who mimicked a slight Swiss accent so audiences did not suspect the truth. John Richardson's lines were also dubbed in post-production by the actor himself, perhaps to give his line readings an added emphasis, since he tended to be overshadowed by Cushing and Lee.

The large budget for She is apparent on screen in the effective location shooting. Instead of the original jungle setting of the novel, writer David T. Chantler opted for a Middle Eastern background. The production shot for two weeks in Israel's Negev desert and then returned to England to shoot the interiors. Hammer's modest Bray Studio proved too small for the scale of the lavish Kuma sets, so the production set up at Elstree Studios. The authentic desert scenes gave She an epic quality not associated with Hammer's stylish but intimate horror films.

She did propel Hammer in a new direction, launching its so-called Hammer Glamour films of the 1960s, which starred or spotlighted female characters. A sequel, The Vengeance of She, was released in 1968, starring Olinka Berova in the starring role. It was yet another Hammer adventure tale with a sexy female lead that quickly outshone Andress and She at the box office. Released in 1966, One Million Years B.C. starred Raquel Welch in a role that propelled her to stardom and created one of the most memorable movie posters of the 1960s. Hammer would continue to place emphasis on women characters into the 1970s, but, just as Michael Carreras predicted, the big budgets that allowed for the location work in She and One Million Years B.C. quickly evaporated. Due to changes in tax laws and industry financing, American studios pulled out of British coproduction deals in the late 1960s, leaving Hammer with higher budgets and higher financial expectations from unions.

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This is one of a series of images I made with the Bing Image Creator, which is an AI image generator powered by DALL-E 3.

For most of these images I tried to combine multiple elements together into one, rather than creating a scene with multiple separate elements. This pushes the limits of what the AI model can do, and maximizes the amount of human control over the images. For example, I might use the text prompt ‘photo realistic snake plane made out of carbon fiber and gold’.

Here is my take on AI generated images vs. human made art: I think that the quality of AI generated images will NOT dramatically improve, even many years into the future. The ultimate goal of a creative image is to create a certain emotional state in the viewer. - Emotions themselves - are the main tool used to do this. A purely logic driven machine can only create a crude, generalized model of something meant to create a certain emotional state. When someone makes a piece of art, it is always some combination of using logic and emotions to guide the process. Remember that the ultimate goal is to create a certain emotional state in the viewer. Only having access to logic, but not emotions, will always create a very generic looking work. You need to actually be able to feel emotions to fine-tune the work beyond that, since creating emotions is the ultimate goal.

The main difference between an AI model and a human is not the difference in the power of the logic that can be deployed. The difference is that a human can feel emotions, which is key to creating an image (or text) made to create a certain emotional state. The logic that the best AI image generator models currently have seems to already be at the level of what the best human can do (based on some of the results I got, which was quite a shock). The results are still crude and generic compared to what a human can do, because the AI models have no access to emotions, which are the main tool for making and refining a creative work designed to create certain emotional states.

All creative work is built with a combination of logic and emotions (emotions should always be the main tool), and by not having direct access to emotions, a machine can only create crude, generic results. When I make music I always try and use emotions rather than logic to guide the process as much as possible, since creating a certain emotional state in the listener is the ultimate goal. The best AI models have an amazing ability to use logic to mix two different styles of images together since that is a logic driven process. They can’t make those images from scratch, since that is an emotion driven process, since it is all about creating certain emotions in the viewer.

Imagine you were a chef trying to develop a new dish, but you were not allowed to taste the food at any point as you made it. Your ability to determine the correct amount of salt and other seasonings would be very crude and limited. There would always be the possibility of a disaster happening, since you could not add a bit of seasoning at a time and taste it, so you would have to just dump it all in at once. This is the same idea of an AI model that is trying to ultimately create emotional states using sophisticated logic, but without having any access to emotions to guide the process.

The results will always be very generic looking, with the occasional unexpected gruesome image being returned. The power of the logic I have seen in some of the images I have created is quite shocking, but the results are still crude and generic compared to what a human can do, since the AI model is trying to create emotional states without being able to actually feel emotions itself, which is vital to creating emotional states through an image (or text).

The AI models have an amazing ability to combine multiple types of images together into one, but they have no understanding of what the individual elements they are combining together truly are. Again, this is because the individual images are designed to create certain emotional states, and an AI model has no ability to feel emotions, meaning it has no ability to understand them.

Having said all that, there is a good chance that the ability of humans to customize AI generated images will keep going up, and this will allow for this tool to create highly creative works close to what a human could do from scratch after all. I don’t think that the AI models will ever be able to do this by themselves with a simple button push though, as I have made the case for above. Also, I would expect that the number of images that are generated with a button push will keep going up and up.

Now, does making good AI generated images take talent? I say the answer is yes simply because these images are not all equal in quality. To create the best image in a set of 1,000 to 100,000,000 images, and to do so consistently, takes skill. You need to learn something from every single image you create about what the AI model does well and does not do well. You also need creative and artistic skills to come up with really good text prompts, in addition to this. The skills involved in this are similar to the skills involved in coming up with a great line in text, like in books, poems, speeches, scripts, ect. This is like abstract art. I know from experience that randomly applying different colors of paint never yields anything impressive. It takes a lot of talent to make good abstract art. Random combinations of words in text prompts will never create the results that highly targeted ones will, when it comes to AI generated images.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

Some background:

The Hawker Hunter was a transonic British jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly developed Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet engine and the swept wing and was the first jet-powered aircraft produced by Hawker to be procured by the RAF. On 7 September 1953, the modified first prototype broke the world air speed record for aircraft, achieving a speed of 727.63 mph (1,171.01 km/h; 632.29 kn).

Overall, the Hunter’s service with the Swedish Air Force was not long, though. The J 34A day fighters were already retired from service in 1969 and partly sold, while the S 34Bs were kept active until 1974, when operations at F11’s home base were expanded: the Swedish Air Force Intelligence School (FV UndS) was relocated to Nyköping and Saab 35 Draken fully replaced the last S 29Cs and the recce Hunters (which both lacked trainer versions). But already a year later, when the Palme government presented its bill 1975:75, a dismantling of two flotilla administrations, Södermanland's air fleet (F 11) and Kalmar air fleet (F 12), was proposed. The background was that the Swedish Defense Forces' peace organization investigation (FFU) in January 1971, tasked with investigating how the air force's peace organization from the mid-1980s could be adapted to the development of the war organization. That the flotilla would be dismantled was a matter of course, as the FFU considered that the reconnaissance divisions should be redistributed to other flotillas, primarily for operational and readiness reasons. Furthermore, the aircraft that the flotilla was armed with, the S 32C Lansen and the S 35D Draken, were to be replaced in the 1980s with the new SH/SF 37 Viggen. This also meant that aerial reconnaissance could then be solved in three aviation divisions, instead of the five reconnaissance aviation divisions that then existed within the Air Force.

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Length: 49 ft 0.5 in (14.98 m)

Wingspan: 33 ft 8 in (10.26 m)

Height: 13 ft 2 in (4.01 m)

Wing area: 349 sq ft (32.4 m²)

Airfoil: Hawker 8.5% symmetrical

Empty weight: 14,122 lb (6,406 kg)

Gross weight: 17,750 lb (8,051 kg)

Max takeoff weight: 24,600 lb (11,158 kg)

Powerplant:

1× Rolls-Royce RM5B1 (Avon 23) turbojet engine, 9,000 lbf (40.8 kN) thrust

Performance:

Maximum speed: 623 mph (1,003 km/h, 541 kn, Mach 0.94) at 36,000 ft (11,000 m)

715 mph (621 kn; 1,151 km/h) at sea level

Range: 385 mi (620 km, 335 nmi) with internal fuel only,

1,900 mi (3,100 km, 1,700 nmi) ferry range with maximum external fuel

Service ceiling: 50,000 ft (15,000 m)

Rate of climb: 17,200 ft/min (87 m/s)

Wing loading: 51.6 lb/sq ft (252 kg/m²)

Thrust/weight: 0.56

Armament:

No internal guns;

4× underwing hardpoints with a total capacity of 7,400 lb (3,400 kg)

The kit and its assembly:

This fictional converted Hawker Hunter is a submission to the 2022 “Lightning, Canberra & Hunter” group build at whatifmodellers.com. The idea for a recce Hunter came when I wondered why there had not been a more dedicated variant than the FR.10, and when the GB came up I decided to build one from a Revell 1:72 kit. Sweden appeared as a good potential and attractive operator, as the Hunter would fit well between the Tunnan and Draken era – and I also had some donor parts from Swedish aircraft that would find their way into the rhinoplasty.

The kit is Revell’s 1:72 Hawker Hunter F.6 – initially I wanted to use an FGA.9 variant of this kit, but upon close inspection I found out that the Swedish Hunters were of a much earlier standard that made the FGA.9 an unsuitable starting point. While the Mk.4/50’s dog-teeth-less wings would be realized with a conversion set from Wolfpack, the early variants’ non-afterburner jet exhaust would have had to be scratched. It was eventually easier to procure a suitable variant of the Revell kit that offered this nozzle OOB, #04350, the first boxing from 2007 which was subsequently re-issued several times with slightly modified parts/sprues that depict later Hunter variants.

When I started building the kit, however, I found out that the kit was missing two parts – very untypical for Revell?! Apparently, the missing parts had broken off of the sprues during the packaging process, since both box and bag inside were still sealed when I received the kit. One missing piece was one of the separate dog-tooth slat sections for the wings, which could be easily replaced with the parts from the very crisp Wolfpack Hunter F.1/2/4/5 resin conversion set (which also includes a longer metal pitot) that was actually designed for the Revell kit, the other was a main landing gear cover. The latter was replaced by Revell of Germany for free within a couple of days after I had placed a request for a spare part at their service touchpoint. Great service!

The Revell Hunter is nice and probably the best contemporary kit of this aircraft in 1:72, even though it needs some PSR, esp. around the wing attachment seams on the fuselage. Beyond the wing modifications to create a Swedish F.4/Mk. 50 export variant I decided to thoroughly change the nose section, more than the FR.10’s small camera nose tip (which is available as a clear resin piece from Quickboost). I used the Saab 29 as a design benchmark and decided to replace the Hunter’s gun bays with camera compartments, using a leftover optional tray from a Heller S 29C to re-shape the area under the cockpit sides. I wanted to retain the original front landing gear well, though, so that only the “edges” from the Tunnan’s camera ports were transplanted under the Hunter’s front fuselage, creating pronounced “cheeks” and a more or less flat bottom.

To take the photo recce conversion even further I replaced the Hunter’s stub nose with a pointed alternative, a spare SF 37 nose with a forward-facing camera window from a Heller kit that I had received from a good friend a while ago. The Viggen nose was trimmed down to the same diameter as the Hunter’s, and its pitot was removed since the Hunter would retain the original wing-mounted sensor.

This recontoured nose section was blended into the Hunter’s fuselage with several layers/turns of PSR. My initial hope to retain the clear parts’ transparency for the finished S 34B soon evaporated, though, because the body work became so thorough that everything disappeared under layers of putty. At least the parts’ shape was retained, and they thoroughly changed the Hunter’s profile! At times I thought that the modified aircraft had a Soviet touch, and when I installed the landing gear it struck me that the pointed nose gave the Hunter a very F-105-ish look, like a missing link between the Thunderchief and the earlier RF-84G Thunderflash? Well, an idea for a potential future what-if project…

Anything else was taken OOB from the Revell kit, including the cockpit and the short drop tanks on the inner wing pylons.

Painting and markings:

This was a challenge. I did not want to give the fictional recce Hunter the J 34’s simple camouflage with dark green upper surfaces (Olive Green 328M) and grey undersides. The contemporary dark blue/olive green paint scheme was an alternative, but I found it to be quite boring and I also already had some Swedish whiffs with this scheme in my collection.

A suitable alternative eventually came from literature, where I found pictures of privately operated J 32E Lansen target tugs (SE-DCM and -DCN) which carried in the early Nineties a three-tone camouflage on their upper sides, consisting of mörk olivgrön (328M), mörkgrön (326M) and mörkblå (438M). I was not able to find pictures that provided detail information about the aircrafts’ concrete camouflage pattern, though, esp. from above, so that I adapted a pattern from an USN aggressor A-4E Skyhawk with adjusted colors to the Hunter airframe. The blue/green pattern on the contemporary J 32 and J 35 could not simply be expanded to a third shade, since the dark blue forms a kind of net pattern over the green background. The lighter green would always have looked like an enforced foreign matter, so that I rather went for an SEA-ish application in which all three colors appear pari passu. The aggressor pattern yet ensured that the dark blue would still form a kind of “river delta” within a murky green landscape.

The paints I used were Humbrol 77, 163 and 224 – lighter than the original tones, but for better contrast, scale effect and some weathering it turned out O.K. The undersides were painted in standard Swedish grey (058M), and I used Humbrol 165 (RAF Medium Sea Grey) as a proxy. The drop tanks were painted in standard J 34 colors, as a small contrast, in Humbrol 116 (FS 34079) and 165.

The cockpit interior was painted in anthracite, the ejection seat received bright green cushions (seen on a Swedish Hunter on museum display); the landing gear and the respective wells’ interior became aluminum bronze (Humbrol 56), while the interior of the air intakes became shiny aluminum (Revell 99) except for the splitter plates, which received the external camouflage colors. Copying the real J 34s’ look, the area around the jet efflux was painted in Aluminum (Revell 99) and separated from the rest of the hull with a thin 0.5 mm black line (generic decal material). The camera windows were created with black decal material, which had some light reflexes manually added and received a coat with glossy varnish.

The kit received the usual light black ink washing and some post-panel-shading for dramatic effect, and with markedly lightened tones from above to simulate bleached paint.

The decals/marking came mostly from RBD Studio (today Moose Republic, very good stuff!) sheets for Saab 32 Lansen in Swedish service. The unusual tactical code in the form of a number in the squadron’s color (instead of a colored letter or a white or yellow two-digit numeral that came next) was taken over from a real-world F11 S 32C from around 1963 – an exotic option, but it falls into the S 34B’s time frame and was a suitable option for this whiffy model, too. To reflect the 1st squadron’s code color even more and add a small color highlight, I painted the front wheel well cover in red and placed a white “2” on it.

Finally, the model was sealed overall with matt acrylic varnish. The Swedish Hunters’ rather glossy finish was only carried during the aircrafts’ early career years, when the machines still carried the factory finish with British colors under a clear protective coat. When the machines were later re-painted with Swedish paints during overhauls, they received a matt finish.

This modified photo reconnaissance Hunter looks simple, but the nose modifications were more severe and demanding than expected. The result looks pretty strange, esp. the pointed nose takes away the Hunter’s Fifties look. The Swedish markings and the three-tone camouflage suit the Hunter well, though, the S 34B looks quite convincing.

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Another Rotundiary Illusion. This image contains two diametrically-opposed polar panoramas.

A rotunda (round room) in a full 360x360-degrees.

The Tokyo office of multinational recruitment specialists CDS, was an opportunity to maximize the value of their existing two-story premises and transform it into an efficient and modern workplace on the floor above with an attractive facility for meetings and interviews below.

The company’s globally diverse workforce challenged us to create a more collaborative work space straddling Western and Japanese office cultures. As is typical in Japan, staff work long hours at their desks, but they are highly engaged amongst their specialist teams. We challenged our client to break free the old cubicle culture by creating greater transparency to foster spontaneous communication, as well a diversity of relaxed work and meeting spaces. The central copy/meeting point fosters short team huddles; the generous window sofa area encourages casual meetings away from the desk, so as not to disturb working colleagues; and an attractive pantry and lounge blurs the boundary between breaks and productive meetings.

A feeling of openness and “buzz” was achieved by removing the stuffy suspended acoustical ceiling. Custom-made wooden lighting fixtures project light upward as well as downward, to reflect diffuse light off the exposed ceiling. A round central meeting room is comprised of an elegant timber frame supporting polycarbonate walls to enclose more sensitive internal meetings.

On the ground floor, a steady stream of candidates arrive for interviews well into the evening. As we worked closely with top management, assessing and mediating these diverse needs and flows through design became a central theme. Thirteen meeting rooms, some of which can be reconfigured into a 60-seat conferencing facility, offer a variety of meeting formats.

Visiting interviewees feel that their career is about to take-off as they walk around the circular “racing-strip” corridor surrounding the central “core” interview rooms.

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www.1001gardens.org/2017/06/decorative-bird-houses-10-rul...

There are several ways to attract birds to their garden or balcony: feeding them in winter, providing them with water for drinking and bathing, planting favorable plants, not using chemicals, or installing a nest box. Many species need artificial nesting sites because their natural habitats are becoming poorer: dead hedgerows and trees disappear, facades of new buildings are smooth and hermetic, old piles of wood and rocks are eliminated, and Walls are destroyed.

Even if the installation of a nest box does not compensate for this heavy trend, it is a concrete gesture for our winged friends and a source of wonder for adults and children. In this article, we have selected ten important principles or "commandments" to maximize the chances that your birdhouse will be used and appreciated by birds.

1 - Choose The right model

The size of the entry hole allows you to select the hosts you wish to privilege (read the different types of nest boxes):

For blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus), black tits (Parus ater) and tits (Poecile palustris), the hole will have a diameter of 25 mm.

For the Great Tit (Parus major), Sparrow (Passer montanus) and Black Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca), the diameter of the hole will be 28 mm.

It will reach 32 mm for the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) and the Nuthatch (Sitta europaea), and 45 mm for the Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris).

The shape is also important: if the chickadees, nuthatches or sparrows prefer the traditional nesting boxes, the familiar Red Robin (Erithacus rubecula) and the Blackbird (Turdus merula) prefer those with a large rectangular opening in the front and middle depths 100 mm).

The Gray Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata) needs a very shallow (60 mm) nest box in order to monitor the entry hole, while the Crested Troglodyte (Troglodytes troglodytes) is looking for a high nest box (140 mm ).

The interior of the nest should not be too smooth so that the young can grip and easily get out.

There are many types of ready-to-use nest boxes for different species in the market, but you can also build them yourself by associating your children. There are several plans available on the web, and do not forget that there are also nest boxes for bats!

2 - Fix it solidly

It is necessary to tie your nest box to a solid and stable support, thanks to one or to fixings which do not risk to rust or to alter with time (galvanized wire, sheathed electric wire, etc.). If you attach it to a living tree, be careful not to hurt it: do not use nails.

The growth of the tree will not be impeded by placing a piece of wood between the trunk and the wire.

3 - Choose a good material

The nest box must be solid, robust, made with boards at least 15 mm thick. Avoid treated wood (or use non-hazardous products): over time, it will take a duller shade that will help melt it into the environment.

The softest woods can, however, be treated with Sadolin, a product that is not very dangerous for birds: limit its application outside the nest box, avoiding the perimeter of the hole, and allowing it to dry well before installation.

Pressure impregnated wood should not be used with copper arsenate and chromium.

But the good nest boxes are not necessarily made of wood: for example, those of the company Schwegler are made of "wooden concrete", a mixture of cement and sawdust.

Do not have trim in the nest box (straw, moss ...), the birds will bring. However, for large species such as owls or peaks, a layer of sawdust or chips may be placed in the bottom.

4 - Choose a sheltered place

The place chosen should be quiet, rather far from a busy road or road. It is especially important to install the nest box in a place as sheltered as possible from the weather.

The orientations East, South-East or even Northeast are ideal. The nest box should not be exposed all day long to the sun or the permanent shade. Place it away from the prevailing winds, for example behind a bush, avoiding leaves from obstructing the entrance of the nest.

Be careful, the inside of the nest box must remain dry: it is necessary to ensure that the planks are well joined. It is advisable to lean it slightly forward to facilitate the flow of rain on the roof.

The nest box should not be on the trajectory of a trickle of water that would form after a downpour. You can drill a small exhaust hole at the floor to facilitate fluid evacuation.

Avoid wet locations (the presence of moss on trunks or rocks is an unfavorable index). Some birds such as red throats require that the nest box is relatively hidden, for example against a wall where ivy grows.

5 - Protecting it from predators

It is important to install the nest box away from predators (cats, squirrels ...): for example, you can place a wide mesh around the nest box, place spiny branches at the base of the stake or Trunk, plant a rosebush or fix a "stop-cat" around the trunk.

It must be placed at a height, ideally at least two meters from the ground, at least 1.50 meters. Place it preferably against a trunk rather than a branch.

Here are some recommended heights for several species:

Troglodyte cute (Troglodytes troglodytes): 1,5 meter - 4 meters

Family Robin (Erithacus rubecula): 1.5 meters - 5 meters

Song thrush (Turdus philomelos): 1.5 meters - 2 meters

Gray Wagtail (Motacilla alba): 1.5 meters - 2 meters

Treecreeper (Certhia brachydactyla): 1.5 meters - 5 meters

Blackbird (Turdus merula): 1.5 meters - 6 meters

Green Peak (Picus viridis): 2 meters - 6 meters

Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros): 2 meters - 6 meters

Nuthatch (Sitta europaea): 2 meters - 6 meters

Creche falcon (Falco tinnunculus): 8 meters - 12 meters.

A metal plate placed around the entrance will prevent it from being enlarged by mammals.

For cats to not kill birds in the nest box by entering the leg, the depth should be at least 13 cm from the hole (for circular entry models). For shallow nests, such as those for robins or cockroaches, you can, for example, place a wire net around it.

Caution, predators should not get too close by a well-placed branch or a nearby wall. However, the presence of perches in the vicinity is important because the parents generally do not enter the hole directly.

6 - Install it at any time of the year

It is best to install your nest box in autumn or early winter: it will be spotted by birds before spring. Some species such as tits can settle very early (as of late winter), while others like winter troglodytes can spend the winter there.

It is actually possible to set up nest boxes all year round, including in April, May or June, even if those set up later will have less chance of being occupied before the following season. Installing nest boxes spread out over time allows you to target the species you prefer or not: for example, a nest box for Redstart with a white forehead placed before the end of April will prevent it from being occupied by sparrows or tits.

Some birds such as the Gray Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata) return late in their migration (late May), others nest several times during the year and some who have abandoned a nesting site will be delighted to find one available. Finally, your nest box will surely be spotted by birds visiting your garden and these will occupy it perhaps next spring.

The use of a nest can indeed take up to a year, do not lose patience! On the other hand, if a nest box is not occupied two years after its establishment, it is because the place is not suitable.

7 - Install a reasonable number

Avoid placing two nest boxes for the same species too close together; The distance of "safety" varies according to the species: at least 20 meters for tits and 70 meters for the White-fronted Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) and Nuthatch (Sitta europaea).

But you can install several nests of birds that do not compete directly with each other, like fruit-eating and frugivorous species.

For colonial species (sparrows, starlings, swallows), this question of minimum distance does not arise, of course. Nest boxes should be installed as far away as possible from feeders and bird baths.

8 - Limit your visits

Limit your visits. Use binoculars to look away from parents and young people without disturbing them. If you find chicks on the ground, pick them up and put them back in the birdhouse so they are safe.

9 - Clean it at the end of the season

The nest should be easily accessible to be cleaned at the end of the nesting season. Also, prefer models with a removable top for easy cleaning. In autumn, from September, empty the nest box, brush inside, clean it if necessary with water, dry it and apply a pest control product that is safe for birds.

For example, you can use thyme oil. The birds themselves use certain plants to keep pests away (read Some birds use their botanical knowledge to build their nests). Make sure that the boards are tight and that the tie is solid.

10 - Convince the others

Convince your friends, your acquaintances, your company, your association or your town hall to also install nest boxes. Natural cavities are increasingly scarce, and modern buildings offer fewer and fewer bird-friendly sites: you can help them!

The new 2014 Moomba Boats Mondo is just that, MONDO! This 20-foot 6-inch water sports tow boat is not big in price or stature, but it offers huge performance and monster comfort. The wakes behind this little behemoth benefit from 1300 lbs of ballast perfect for rocking a curl or launching off both sides. The rough water ride and handling of the Mondo dwarf all other 20-footers. And the "MONDO" vibe continues on the inside with room for 13 people and convenient storage for all of their stuff. The only areas the Moomba Mondo doesn't measure-up is its price and physical size. The Moomba Mondo is gigantic when you want it and tiny when you need it. The new Mondo is big on "no worries".

Value

The Moomba Mondo is not a value performance boat simply because the price is lower than the next water sports boat builder's. Moomba maximizes the value to you by providing increased benefits without necessarily increasing the cost of the boats. Moomba Boats takes great pride in providing reliable functional features designed to foster the "No Worries" lifestyle for you and your family no matter what your budget. There is no better example of that commitment than the new 2014 Moomba Mondo.

Size

At 20 feet 6 inches you would expect the Moomba Mondo to be all about its convenient size, but "20-footer" just begins to describe this wake boat. Don't get us wrong, this Moomba is easy on your tow vehicle weighing in at at 3800 lbs and fits nicely into a standard garage thanks to the new OZ HD tower, but its real value comes in the form of performance and comfort.

Performance

Wether you're into wake surfing, wakeboarding, knee boarding, slalom skiing or just cruising the lake the Moomba Mondo will come through big for you. You can fine tune the multi-discipline hull design for water conditions or wakes across the wake spectrum with the Multisport Wakeplate. Pull-up the new Swivle-head Pylon and the Mondo can accommodate a slalom set too. Set the perfect speed for your session with the new graphical Digital Cruise Pro II display. Fill the Gravity III-D Ballast to 1300 lbs or beyond as an upgradable quick-connect plumbed-in system. If you slide towards surfing take advantage of a Mondo curl unaffected by the swim platform with Surf+. If cruising is more your style, throttle the Indmar Assault 330feel the control of the rack and pinion steering commanding perfectly tuned under water gear. The Moomba Mondo will do it all and without leaving anyone at the dock.

Comfort

The sacrifice for a price-point 20-foot boat can be interior comfort, but the Mondo goes big in this area too. The Mondo will accommodate 13 people, but this Moomba is not just a people mover. You can relax "no worries" style in the Mondo. Deep seating throughout the boat makes the ride safe and supportive while allowing tons of room for gear in the non-skid lined storage areas. The fiberglass floor with snap-out carpet adds even more convenience. The wide hybrid bow gives you the seating space without the "me too" pickle fork design. The driver will enjoy a swivel seat with the Rise-R flip-up bolster for all sized captains. The Mondo interior design has a fresh sporty look that combines multiple textures and colors of high quality Spradling vinyl. The new 3-pice rear seat reveals a center step into the lounge covering conveniently located wet storage. Opt for the new Sundeck Walk Across with Nonskid and make the trip from the swim deck to the interior truly no worries.

Style

And since we all know having fun on the lake gets even better when we look good doing it, the Moomba Mondo was designed with a customizable fresh style inside and out. The Moomba Mondo sports a sleek profile that can be accentuated by new available gel coat and graphics. The new Torqued gel coat scheme with Rally graphics gives the Mondo a rally sport atitude. The classic gel coat with the new Distortion graphic gives the Mondo a distinct look of orderly chaos. Finish either of these configurations with the Chrome or new Black Chrome Moomba and you won't be able to take your eyes off of your Mondo. The Moomba Mondo interior follows the exterior with a sporty design that can be as unique as the owners themselves.

The next big thing in "no worries" wake boating is small. Visit your local Moomba Boats dealer and test drive the 2014 Mondo.

Overall Length w/o Platform: 20' 6"

Overall Length w/ Platform: 22' 6"

Width (Beam): 99"

Overall Width w/ Trailer: 102"

Draft: 25"

Weight - Boat only: 3,800 lbs

Weight - Boat and Trailer: 4,650 lbs

Capacity - Passenger: 13

Capacity - Weight: 2,000 lbs

Capacity - Fuel: 39 gals

Capacity - Ballast (Standard): 1,300 lbs

Engine - Electronic Fuel Injection: 330 HP, V-8

A Sandia team is collaborating with Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore national labs and Intel Federal LLC to optimize DRAM packages, pictured here and found in many consumer laptops, to increase compute platform performance.

Learn more at bit.ly/3H1R4Wv

Photo by Craig Fritz.

Inspired by a commercial photo. I tried to maximize the shadows while preserving the shape. This is a departure from my everyday photography and I enjoyed it.

Maximize your location to tell the story.

Model : Nadine.

Often we forget to also incorporate the location by only focussing on the model. By "mixing" the two together and adding some props. You can really enhance the shot.

Saturday : July 14

Workshop fashion to the max.

www.fotografie-workshops.nl

The URC-300 software-defined transceiver is a versatile platform that maximizes RF performance and provides clear ground-to-air and line-of-sight communications.

View from the top of the last of the four prefabricated bridge units (PBUs). The crane in the background prepares to erect the final PBU of the weekend, completing a major activity in the rapid replacement of one of the I-195 bridges over River avenue in Fairhaven.

Because of cutting-edge bridge projects like this one, which minimize the duration of construction and maximize mobility, MassDOT is recognized a national leader in innovative bridge construction.

Mitch Barns, Chief Executive Officer, Nielsen, USA and Tonye Cole, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Sahara Group,.Nigeria and Ilene S. Gordon, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer,.Ingredion, USA and Peter T. Grauer, Chairman, Bloomberg, USA and Linda A. Hill, Wallace Brett Donham Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School, USA at the Annual Meeting 2017 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, January 19, 2017

Copyright by World Economic Forum / Christian Clavadetscher

Tonye Cole, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Sahara Group, Nigeria at the Annual Meeting 2017 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, January 19, 2017

Copyright by World Economic Forum / Christian Clavadetscher

Making the most of your floor area. Seurasaari, Helsinki

Model: Rebeca Florêncio

Cliente: Alysson Lorena Design

Beauty and Hair: Rosângela Augusta

Fotografia e tratamento: Jackson Carvalho

www.artedigitalstudio.com.br

b>Supra Ride System

The Supra Ride System (SRS) integrates features and design to maximize wake riding performance in the 2014 SC350-550.

ProEdge Wakeboard Tower: Starting with your connection to this professional wake maker, the ProEdge Tower is a Supra system in and of itself. Complete with an adjustable weightless folding mechanism, Bridge and Garage Block fold stops, Swivel Board Racks, 4 Spin Speakers and an integrated bimini, this tower is way beyond better. It also features thoughtful details like LED tower accent lighting, upholstery-matched hand-covered panels, rope spool posts to keep excess rope from hanging down into the lounge or storing your rope when you're just cruising and a pull strap to elevate your boat cover for optimum runoff. New for this year the ProEdge Tower is available with the Contrast option that offers 13 color choices on tower base farings and bimini arms to further customize your Supra SC350-550.  

Wake Enhancement and Speed Control: The Supra SC's 900-pound Liquid Lead Ballast and optional 1300-pound expandable Flex system with the wake-shaping SmartPlate can create ideal wakes for every level of rider. Zero Off speed control with GPS mapping and the unaffected wakes under Supra’s PURE Surf swim platform finish this perfect ride. The VISION Touch dash brings all of this function to your finger tips with 16 available Supra Rider Profiles that house speed, ballast and SmartPlate position information. Also at your finger tips is the redundancy of manual wake enhancement and speed controls with simple toggle switches. This includes two quick bump sticks on either side of the steering wheel for SmartPlate and Zero Off speed control without wasted distracting motion.  

Designed to Ride.: The Supra SC is not only designed to create large sculpted wakes, it's built to perform beyond better while making them. The running attitude of the SC, even at full ballast, does not impede the driver's view. SC handling does not degrade with weight or slow speeds. You can turn around to get a fallen rider with ease and not have to worry about taking water over the transom or the bow in the process. The SC is a deep boat and because of that you feel safe on the inside whether your surfing, riding or cruising. 

Maximize/full screen for better res.

Tara Schwetz, Acting Principal Deputy Director, National Institutes of Health

Susan Monarez, Acting Deputy Director, Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H)

Howard Fillit, Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer, Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation

The back cover of the new social media book Maximizing LinkedIn for Sales and Social Media Marketing by Neal Schaffer.

Underneath the desk surface are a couple of slide out drawers, as well as shelves on either side of the workstation. This is where the CPU, router, etc. sits, as well as the flatbed scanner.

It is that age when a simple quick run to go touch the gate makes you happy

Today one of the largest and most influential airlines in the world, Southwest Airlines has humble origins: it was formed as Air Southwest by Herb Kelleher in 1967 to provide service between Houston and Dallas. By keeping his airline entirely within Texas, this allowed Kelleher to avoid heavy Federal taxes. After fighting off a legal challenge by Braniff and Continental, the airline began revenue service in 1971, but not before Kelleher changed the name to Southwest Airlines. It began with four Boeing 737s, which remains the airline's only operating type (albeit much advanced versions) to this day.

Because of gate space and costs, Southwest's operations in Dallas were from the old airport, Love Field, rather than Dallas-Ft. Worth International. Kelleher deliberately copied the business model of Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA): PSA used quick turnaround times to maximize profit, customer incentives, and dressing their stewardesses in trendy short skirts and boots; his intention was to turn Southwest into Texas' version of PSA, and it generally worked.

After a few tough early years, which included fighting Congress for the ability to operate interstate flights from Love Field, Southwest began to thrive, albeit slowly. Its capital increased to the point that it could buy out MuseAir and Morris Air, two rivals; the latter gave Southwest access to California and the Pacific Northwest. Southwest gained a reputation for employee satisfaction, as the airline's shares were mostly held by employees. It also gained a reputation for cutting corners, leading to several million dollars in fines. Nonetheless, Southwest's business model began to attract attention: with a fleet much smaller than the big American airlines such as Delta and United, Southwest was turning a considerable profit. This only increased when Southwest became one of the first airlines to get a website and allow for online booking, in 1994.

Because of its limited flight network, aircraft utilization, and popularity, Southwest was one of the few airlines that weathered the post-9/11 airline downturn well. It also embarked on an aggressive advertising campaign, provided free snacks and no baggage fees, and encouraged its employees to "have fun," leading to a great deal of online exposure--pilots would make Star Wars references, while flight attendants would rap the safety briefing. This reputation as a "fun" airline only added to Southwest's appeal, as well as its status as one of the safest airlines in the world.

Today, Southwest is the largest low-cost airline in the world and one of the largest in the United States; its business model has been followed with great success elsewhere, such as European carriers Easyjet and Ryanair. Its market share and route network extended even further with its acquisition of AirTran in 2014.

By far the most famous of Southwest's special liveries, "Shamu One" debuted in May 1988, and immediately drew rave reviews for its inventiveness and eye-catching lines. The famous killer whale's profile stretched the length of the plane and was even repeated on the engine covers. Southwest went a step further: passengers flying on Shamu One were given commemorative pins, inflatable Shamu One airplanes, and shirts, while the crew wore special uniforms.

It proved to be a huge success for both Southwest and its partner in promotion, Sea World of Texas. So popular was Shamu One that four other Southwest 737s would wear the livery, as Shamus Two through Five. In 2014, however, after controversy over Sea World's treatment of animals, Southwest decided to end its partnership and repainted the Shamus, ending one of the most famous aircraft liveries to ever fly.

This model depicts Shamu One, N334SW, in Southwest's older "Desert Gold" scheme. N334SW was painted as Shamu throughout most of its service, and never flew with any other airline. It was withdrawn from service sometime in the early 21st Century, and scrapped by 2014.

After having followed advice to really maximize shutter speed (my last shot was at 1/1250), I was inspired by the example of Todd Baker and decided to back off on shutter speed (risking motion blur), in order to catch more photons.

This was at 800mm, 1/800, f/11, ISO1600, IS mode 1 (handheld, as in all my shots thusfar).

Just from reviewing on the camera screen I knew I had gotten my best ISS shots yet. But when I looked at them on my computer, I literally exclaimed aloud when I saw this one, which is considerably more detailed than the preceding and following photos.

I have no doubt about what I'm seeing here; just below center, you can see the corrugated structure of one of the large radiator arrays. Compare with this NASA photo.

This shot was captured within about two seconds of maximum altitude (85 degrees), when the station was about 347km overhead.

Taking these shots involves technical know-how and some skill, but a lot of luck is involved; as I said, this shot just popped out as being much more detailed than its neighbors. Did I happen to be tracking much better at that instant? Or did I happen to pass through a column of air with particularly good seeing, at least for that fraction of a second? Maybe the lens' image stabilization was at its peak performance for that moment? The relative positions of me, the sun, and the ISS lit that radiator array up just right?

Then there's the issue of focus. Previously, I used live-view when the camera was on a tripod to try to optimize my focus on a star or the moon beforehand. Now I just focus through the viewfinder while I'm handholding the rig - in this case, with the ISS as the focus target. I've decided that unless I build a micrometer drive to precisely turn the focus ring (I think the presence of the teleconverters prevent focus drive over USB/computer, by the way), that I can't reliably dial in the last bit of focus perfection, and that there's just a degree of randomness I have to accept; sometimes I'll get lucky like tonight, and sometimes it won't be quite as good.

Hopefully, at the next good opportunity, I'll be shooting with a 7D, which may help me just a bit more than the 50D - a great camera.

Some of the attendees of the job search workshop. Taken right before I gave my talk about www.howigotmyjob.com, which was actually captured in video by Amelia Pauley Louden and will be uploaded at that website.

Tonye Cole, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Sahara Group, Nigeria at the Annual Meeting 2017 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, January 19, 2017

Copyright by World Economic Forum / Christian Clavadetscher

In this picture: Jahanara is being stimulated.

CEID (Center for Early Intervention on Deafness)

CEID is an inclusive program that provides a wide range of exemplary services and supports for families to maximize the communication potential of children, from birth through age five, who are deaf, hard of hearing, and/or have severe speech and language delays.

CEID's philosophy believe in a "Total Communication" approach, which combines spoken English, hearing aids, and Signing Exact English (S.E.E.).

Signing Exact English (S.E.E.) is a sign language system in which signs and finger spelling represent the word order, grammar, and vocabulary of spoken and written English. It’s different than ASL (American Sign Language), which has it’s own grammar and syntax, as all sing languages.

Local: Berkeley, USA

CEID (Centro de Intervenção Precoce em Surdez)

CEID é um programa inclusivo que oferece apoio e serviços para famílias no intuito de melhorar o potencial de comunicação de crianças, – desde seu nascimento até a idade de 5 anos – surdas, com perda auditiva e ou com grave atraso na linguagem e fala.

A filosofia do Centro acredita na “Comunicação Total”, que combina inglês falado, uso de aparelhos auditivos e SEE (Signing Exact English).

S.E.E. é um sistema de língua de sinais no qual sinais e soletração através dos dedos e mãos representam a ordem das palavras, a gramática e o vocabulário exato do inglês falado e escrito. É, portanto, diferente da Língua de Sinais Americana, que possui gramática e sintaxe própria, como toda língua de sinais.

To maximize depth of field I used two sperate exposures with slightly different focus points and then combined them in PS. A technique called focus stacking.

Strobist Info: The main light was a YN560-II in a softbox camera left at 7 o'clock, fill light from a Strobie 130 in a softbox camera right at 4 o'clock, back lighting in the center of the flowers was a hand held YN560-II with a Honl snoot behind and below the flower. All three strobes in manual mode were triggered by a Yongnuo RF-603N.

Other plants, flowers, fruit or thingys that I've photographed using strobes can be seen in my Strobe Lit Plant set. In the description for that set, I list resources that I've used to learn how to light with off camera flash. www.flickr.com/photos/9422

Other Iris pictures that I've taken can be seen here. www.flickr.com/photos/9422878@N08/sets/72157623861858581/...

This looks best when viewed large against a dark background, and you can view it in that enlightened manner by pressing "L" on your keyboard.

Peter T. Grauer, Chairman, Bloomberg, USA at the Annual Meeting 2017 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, January 19, 2017

Copyright by World Economic Forum / Christian Clavadetscher

Linda A. Hill, Wallace Brett Donham Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School, USA at the Annual Meeting 2017 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, January 19, 2017

Copyright by World Economic Forum / Christian Clavadetscher

29525 Tudor Way Magnolia, TX 77355

www.heritagetexas.com/property/48265106/29525-tudor-way-m...

This log retreat located on a serene 9+ acre fenced property was designed to maximize it’s potential with an appropriately scaled yet fully equipped modern home. The double tongue and groove log construction is beautifully accented by hand hewn log beams, railings, large windows, and impressive vaulted ceilings offering scale and charm. Despite the quaint quality of the exterior an expansive interior awaits………

The open main level features a well equipped mudroom, chef’s kitchen, stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, large dining area, sitting areas, master suite, and great room with an open floor plan. All of which open to unobstructed views of the surrounding

pine and oak forest, a wraparound deck, sauna, hot tub, and terraced patio.

The main level master suite features a luxurious and meticulously detailed bathroom and large walk in closet. Noteworthy features include custom designed and built cabinetry and closet systems with an abundance of hidden storage space.

The upper level features an open game room, views from every room, two large guest suites each with spacious walk-in closets and attached bathrooms. This retreat also includes a large air conditioned shop and separate living quarters.

The careful planning, creative design, and intense attention to detail make it this a highly sought after country retreat near the city.

Contact for listing details:

www.heritagetexas.com/property/48265106/29525-tudor-way-m...

Brand: Hot Wheels

Series: 1999 McDonald's 10/16

Livery: N/A

Scale: 1/64

Base: Black plastic - ©1999 Mattel

Collector/casting number: N/A

Country of manufacture: China

Place/date of purchase: Value Village 2020

Condition: Play worn 6/10

Remarks/comments:

Designed to maximize the day-to-day activities of players, coaches and staff, the new Allen N. Reeves Football Complex elevates the Clemson University football program, and promotes the recruitment, training and development of student athletes with likely the most functional facility of its type in college or pro football. The building, designed by GMC's sports group and HOK, adjoins the indoor practice facility and outdoor practice fields, consolidating football operations into one complex. Clemson staff visited 36 similar faciltiies across the country and took the best parts from each and made them better. The 142,500-square-foot complex is the largest and most programmatically inclusive football-specific training facility in the nation. Knowing that this facility will serve as a home away from home for many of the users, the project provides amenities that allow the student-athletes to train, study and unwind in the same place. Features include 1.5 acres of outdoor leisure and entertainment space, state-of-the-art hydrotherapy, training, weight equipment and technology, a steam room and recovery room and a Gatorade fuel bar. The design maximizes adjacencies and functionality, with a centralized player concourse that allows coaches and athletes to move efficiently through their routines and better utilize valuable practice and training time. The concourse is connected to the lobby through a slide, bringing Coach Swinney’s focus on fun to the forefront in the design. The multiple atriums in teh facility keep the coaches on the second floor in constant contact with players on the first floor. The complex also features miniature golf, bowling, a movie theater, gaming lounge and basketball, volleyball and bocce ball courts, giving players an opportunity for some friendly competition. Compelling graphics and displays throughout the facility celebrate the team’s storied history and reflect the Clemson spirit, including a scale replica of Memorial Stadium’s famous Hill and Howard’s Rock. Of course the home of the national champions would not be complete without a prominent spot to display their trophies including the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship trophy, which sits proudly in the main atrium. The project is targeting LEED Silver certification.

Goodwyn Mills Cawood

www.gmcnetwork.com

In many cases space is limited. Work with Tuff Shed to maximize the use of your building. In the pictured building not an inch went to waste in this wall. This building contains a full sealed partition allowing for linen storage on one side and chemical storage on the other.

Maximizing open slots at the top of racks that fill warehouses and distribution centers has been a challenge for companies seeking to store heavy loads at high height, but the Crown RM 6000 allows businesses to gain utilization, flexibility and financial benefits by leveraging existing open rack space versus building new warehouses or adding onto existing facilities. Learn more at www.crown.com.

Designed to maximize the day-to-day activities of players, coaches and staff, the new Allen N. Reeves Football Complex elevates the Clemson University football program, and promotes the recruitment, training and development of student athletes with likely the most functional facility of its type in college or pro football. The building, designed by GMC's sports group and HOK, adjoins the indoor practice facility and outdoor practice fields, consolidating football operations into one complex. Clemson staff visited 36 similar faciltiies across the country and took the best parts from each and made them better. The 142,500-square-foot complex is the largest and most programmatically inclusive football-specific training facility in the nation. Knowing that this facility will serve as a home away from home for many of the users, the project provides amenities that allow the student-athletes to train, study and unwind in the same place. Features include 1.5 acres of outdoor leisure and entertainment space, state-of-the-art hydrotherapy, training, weight equipment and technology, a steam room and recovery room and a Gatorade fuel bar. The design maximizes adjacencies and functionality, with a centralized player concourse that allows coaches and athletes to move efficiently through their routines and better utilize valuable practice and training time. The concourse is connected to the lobby through a slide, bringing Coach Swinney’s focus on fun to the forefront in the design. The multiple atriums in teh facility keep the coaches on the second floor in constant contact with players on the first floor. The complex also features miniature golf, bowling, a movie theater, gaming lounge and basketball, volleyball and bocce ball courts, giving players an opportunity for some friendly competition. Compelling graphics and displays throughout the facility celebrate the team’s storied history and reflect the Clemson spirit, including a scale replica of Memorial Stadium’s famous Hill and Howard’s Rock. Of course the home of the national champions would not be complete without a prominent spot to display their trophies including the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship trophy, which sits proudly in the main atrium. The project is targeting LEED Silver certification.

Goodwyn Mills Cawood

www.gmcnetwork.com

Maximize your cafeteria seating capacity now with the help of a redesign and or new cafeteria seating from Carroll Seating Company. We offer a complete line of cafeteria tables and chairs to meet all your unique needs. Check out our website or give us a call in the Chicago area at 847-434-0909 today! bit.ly/1390FgU

Maximize your Marketing with Signage

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCfk9y-kt_I

Maximize your hotel business revenue through automated hotel reservation system called Channel Manager that maintains Property management system and front office system with no manual work process.

Taken with Pentax Q and Samyang 650-1300mm lens