View allAll Photos Tagged NoBrainer
During a short walk at the middle of the day, I found this small, but beautiful spot at the Crezeepolder. This is actually in my hometown, not exactly a place to visit if you are looking to do some landscape photography... But while I was walking, I passed some high reed, and suddenly I was surrounded by al this yellow and purple flowers (and even some blue ones that aren't in this shot).
It was a nobrainer to return with some better light, and tide. With the high tide around sunset I was able to get some reflections from the swamp (just in time actually, the water was about 1 whole cm deep here). First I was hoping for some backlight on the flowers, to make them really pop. But that never happend, and I think I might even prefer this much softer, ambient light.
Those are a whole lot of words, for a simple shot of some beauty around the corner:)
Anyway, thanks for having a look! All faves and comments are highly appreciated!
"Kein Kinderspiel"
Zürich / Switzerland
Zeiss C-Biogon 35 2.8 @ Leica MP on Ilford Delta 100
Digitized with Sony A7RIII + Sigma 105 2.8 Makro + Kaiser FilmCopy
If you look hard you can -almost- see the massive grin on the face of Laurence, my son! Laurence is 15 and doing GCSE art (GCSEs are important exams that 16 year olds take in the UK) - and he has chosen to do photography as his module. Now you tell me, what better way to introduce a 15 year old kid to photography than to have a little fun doing some light painting like this! Boys and fire, what's not to love. Great fun as a project for the two of us :)
This is really pretty easy to do and produced this on the first attempt. Steel wool in a metal cage (I used a bird fat feeder) on a chain; the steel wool is lit with BBQ lighter fuel and you just swing it round your head. Dead easy.
Here are some things we learned:
1) Take BBQ lighter fluid just in case. Although a lighter or stroking a 9V battery is supposed to burn steel wool it didn't for me - the BBQ fuel saved the day.
2) Steel wool comes in compacted small balls which you want to uncompact and unravel as much as you can. More unravelled = more sparks = cooler.
3) Allow about 10 yards round the swing, it goes surprisingly far.
4) Get the swing right. It's nice to see a circle ie like on this.
5) One ball lasts about 30s.
6) Wear old clothes, you don't want to ruin anything nice with burn marks.
7) Nobrainer but don't do this near dry vegetation. We've had the most rain this Winter in the UK for 200 years so we don't have this problem at the moment.
8) Of course, use a tripod and a remote. 30s f/8 iso 200 worked for me, could even go f/11.
9) White balance - incandescent light
We have lots of ideas how to improve it and may upload another sometime!
Also, whilst I'm at it, a quick plug for my new extreme macro site at extreme-macro.co.uk/. Macro photography is what I normally do - 200 pages of stuff about moving to extreme macro (>1:1).
26/2/2014 - Explore #11, thank you!
Excerpt from brainproject.ca:
Through what she calls “paper paintings,” artist Andrea Bolley uses paper not as traditional collage but as a drawing element. She subverts the formal, manufactured aspects of the original paper by painting over the existing stripes with rich black and white paint. Highlights of pigment create even more sense of depth and space, and completely alter the paper’s initial processed feel toward a more painterly one.
"The handmade over the man-made" is what is important in these works. Here, the artist uses wallpaper and wrapping paper of black and white stripes that morph into the names of female artists from past history.
Bolley explores the overlooked part of history, female artists, and their impact on her practice. This piece was created in collaboration with Repaint History, a female founded start-up focused on bringing recognition to forgotten female artists of the past, because selective history is so passé.
While visiting Eureka Springs on Sunday we stopped to get a few shots of the Christ of the Ozarks statue. Did not notice the couple taking their own shot until I uploaded this. Did some post-editing in PicMonkey to enhance the shot, it was a grey, dull day and the light was not the best.
For 52 Weeks of Pix: Favorite Hobby. This is an easy one! I'm definitely an amateur photo hobbyist, that's amateur with a capital "A"!
Nikon mount lens that is smaller than my #Leica #summicrondr lens. My new #Voigtlander #ultron40mmf2 pancake lens for my #nikonf4 #Slr #filmcamera Sharper and smaller than the Nikon primes. #nobrainer :)
Pentacon Six TL w/ Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 50mm f/4 and Fujifilm Neopan Acros (Kodak D76 1:1, Ilford rapid fixer). f/8, 1/250s. Epson V700 and Silverfast SE Plus 8.0 @ 3200 dpi, downsized to 1600 dpi. Retouched and cropped.
I had hoped to do this trip to the countryside for several weeks before it actually happened. Shooting medium format for landscapes is a nobrainer nowadays.
I really like how the light renders on Acros, and it's about the same price as Tri-X in 120. I believe that the sun flare is due to the single layer coating on the lens, but it looks interesting.
almost any homemade prophet can predict the future for Australia as bright without a crystal ball.
in particular the future for Fortitude Valley (Queensland) - where this street art is located - is obviously very bright as the inner city suburb has been neglected by developers for decades.
Who said I would forget (don't look at the date)
Vote here with
a comment - 1 point
a fave - 1 point
a comment and a fave - 3 point
Your choice, just saying - it is a "no brainer" compared to the B&W version below.
No Brainer
The impact of chemicals on children’s brain development: a cause for concern and a need for action
Science has shown that many thousands of people have been exposed to now mostly banned chemicals such as lead and PCBs at high enough levels to have had their brain development negatively affected. This report finds that there are other chemicals which are still in routine use in our homes where there is evidence of similar developmental neurotoxic (DNT) properties, and also identifies huge gaps in our knowledge of the impacts of other chemicals on brain development. It also points out the unpleasant reality that we are constantly exposed to a cocktail of chemicals, something which is still largely ignored by chemical safety laws.
In spite of the lessons of the past, regulators are continuing to only regulate after harm is caused, instead of acting to effectively protect the most precious of things; children’s developing brains.
In June 2007 CHEM Trust wrote the briefing Chemicals Compromising Our Children, which highlighted growing concerns about the impacts of chemicals on brain development in children. Almost 10 years later, CHEM Trust has revisited the issue with this report, which includes contributions from two of the most eminent scientists in this area, Professor Barbara Demeneix (Laboratory of Evolution of Endocrine Regulations, CNRS, Paris) and Professor Philippe Grandjean (Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark & Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, USA), who also peer reviewed the report.
Our brain and its development
Our brains are astoundingly complex, made up of over 85 billion neurons, which have grown, developed and interconnected during our lives. The brain is the organ that takes the longest to develop, with initial stages of cell division, creation of neurons and their migration taking place from the first hours after fertilisation and throughout the foetus’ time in the womb. However, brain development does not stop at birth – it’s not until our twenties that neurons are fully developed with their myelin coats.
Throughout this complex developmental process a range of signalling chemicals and other processes operate in order to control what happens. The thyroid hormone system is intimately involved in brain development and function, yet it is well established that this system can be disrupted – for example by a lack of iodine (essential to make thyroid hormone) or by certain chemicals. If developmental processes are disrupted, this most often creates permanent problems.
The complexity of brain development and function means that deficits can be very subtle – small reductions in IQ, disabilities that exist with a broad spectrum of seriousness such as autism, or in some cases conditions which do not have fully agreed diagnostic criteria.
Disruption of brain development by chemicals
We are all exposed to hundreds of man-made chemicals in our daily life, coming from everyday products including food, furniture, packaging and clothes. Many of these chemicals will have no negative effects on us, but it is now well established that some are able to disrupt normal development of the brain. Chemicals with long established DNT properties such as lead, PCBs and methylmercury, have been joined by others where DNT effects have been identified more recently, and which are being used in everyday products. There are also rising concerns about chemicals that are very similar to chemicals that have had their use restricted, but which we continue to use as there isn’t sufficient information about their toxic effects. We know even less about thousands of other chemicals in routine use, which have had no testing for DNT properties.
Chemical exposures are so ubiquitous that experts have recognized that babies are born “pre-polluted”. Scientific paediatric and gynaecology & obstetrics societies have consistently warned about chronic health implications from both acute and chronic exposure to chemicals such as pesticides and endocrine disruptors.
The report identifies evidence of DNT properties for the following chemicals:
- Bisphenol A (BPA)
a chemical that was used to make baby bottles, is currently being phased out of till receipts (in the EU), but is still used in the making of food can linings and many polycarbonate plastics. There are also concerns about closely related chemicals that are not restricted, including Bisphenol S.
- Brominated Flame Retardants (BFRs)
a group of chemicals added to furniture, electronics and building materials. The evidence for neurodevelopmental effects is strongest for the PBDE (polybrominated diphenyl ether) group of BFRs, which are already banned or nearly banned in the EU, though they are still in furniture in our homes, and in dust. However, other BFRs are now being found in dust and human blood serum, with concerns that these BFRs might have similar effects.
- Phthalates
a group of chemicals used as plasticisers in PVC and in other products. Some chemicals in this group are now banned in the EU, but many others are still in use.
- Per- and poly-fluorocarbons (PFCs)
used as non-stick coatings or breathable coatings, are a large group of chemicals, a few of which are in the process of being restricted by the EU. There is evidence that some PFCs can disrupt the action of the thyroid hormone. PFCs are very persistent in the environment, and many of them can accumulate in our bodies – they are routinely found in blood.
- Perchlorate
a contaminant of food, related to the use of certain fertilisers and hypochlorite bleach, and is known to disrupt the thyroid hormone system.
Are we protected?
The EU has the most sophisticated regulations in the world for controlling chemical use. However, there are a number of key flaws in this system:
- There is often inadequate safety information about individual chemicals, including a lack of information about neurodevelopmental effects.
- The processes to ban chemicals are too slow, and the restrictions created often have big loopholes as a result of industry lobbying.
- Chemicals are addressed one at a time, so one chemical may have its use restricted, but closely related chemicals remain in use.
- We are always exposed to multiple chemicals, but regulations almost always assume we are only exposed to one at a time, even though numerous scientists have shown that chemical effects can add together in our bodies.
Policy recommendations
It is clear that our children are not currently being protected from chemicals that can disrupt brain development. We have identified a range of policy measures that could improve the situation, including:
- Acting faster to ban chemicals of concern, including addressing groups of similar substances, not just those where we have the most information.
- Ensuring that any safety testing of chemicals includes evaluation of DNT effects.
- Ensuring better identification and regulation of neurodevelopmental toxic chemicals.
- Ensuring that all uses of chemicals are properly regulated; for example there is a lack of effective regulation of chemicals in food packaging including paper, card, inks, glues and coatings.
- The UK and Ireland should remove the requirement for an open flame test for furniture. This test is not required in the rest of the EU, and leads to increased use of flame retardant chemicals.
Finally, it is important to note that EU regulations have already controlled a number of chemicals of concern, and that EU laws provide a tool to address these problems. We therefore think it is vital for the UK Government to work to stay aligned with EU chemicals laws, whatever the eventual outcome of the UK’s Brexit process.
Though full protection will only come from proper regulation of chemicals, the report also includes a chapter with tips for reducing your and your family’s exposures in daily life.
Sources and More Information
- Download the full report, No Brainer The impact of chemicals on children’s brain development: a cause for concern and a need for action, chemtrust, 2017.
- IT’S A NO BRAINER! Action needed to stop children being exposed to chemicals that harm their brain development!, chemtrust, MARCH 7, 2017.
The impact of chemicals on children’s brain development: a cause for concern and a need for action
Science has shown that many thousands of people have been exposed to now mostly banned chemicals such as lead and PCBs at high enough levels to have had their brain development negatively affected. This report finds that there are other chemicals which are still in routine use in our homes where there is evidence of similar developmental neurotoxic (DNT) properties, and also identifies huge gaps in our knowledge of the impacts of other chemicals on brain development. It also points out the unpleasant reality that we are constantly exposed to a cocktail of chemicals, something which is still largely ignored by chemical safety laws.
In spite of the lessons of the past, regulators are continuing to only regulate after harm is caused, instead of acting to effectively protect the most precious of things; children’s developing brains.
In June 2007 CHEM Trust wrote the briefing Chemicals Compromising Our Children, which highlighted growing concerns about the impacts of chemicals on brain development in children. Almost 10 years later, CHEM Trust has revisited the issue with this report, which includes contributions from two of the most eminent scientists in this area, Professor Barbara Demeneix (Laboratory of Evolution of Endocrine Regulations, CNRS, Paris) and Professor Philippe Grandjean (Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark & Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, USA), who also peer reviewed the report.
Our brain and its development
Our brains are astoundingly complex, made up of over 85 billion neurons, which have grown, developed and interconnected during our lives. The brain is the organ that takes the longest to develop, with initial stages of cell division, creation of neurons and their migration taking place from the first hours after fertilisation and throughout the foetus’ time in the womb. However, brain development does not stop at birth – it’s not until our twenties that neurons are fully developed with their myelin coats.
Throughout this complex developmental process a range of signalling chemicals and other processes operate in order to control what happens. The thyroid hormone system is intimately involved in brain development and function, yet it is well established that this system can be disrupted – for example by a lack of iodine (essential to make thyroid hormone) or by certain chemicals. If developmental processes are disrupted, this most often creates permanent problems.
The complexity of brain development and function means that deficits can be very subtle – small reductions in IQ, disabilities that exist with a broad spectrum of seriousness such as autism, or in some cases conditions which do not have fully agreed diagnostic criteria.
Disruption of brain development by chemicals
We are all exposed to hundreds of man-made chemicals in our daily life, coming from everyday products including food, furniture, packaging and clothes. Many of these chemicals will have no negative effects on us, but it is now well established that some are able to disrupt normal development of the brain. Chemicals with long established DNT properties such as lead, PCBs and methylmercury, have been joined by others where DNT effects have been identified more recently, and which are being used in everyday products. There are also rising concerns about chemicals that are very similar to chemicals that have had their use restricted, but which we continue to use as there isn’t sufficient information about their toxic effects. We know even less about thousands of other chemicals in routine use, which have had no testing for DNT properties.
Chemical exposures are so ubiquitous that experts have recognized that babies are born “pre-polluted”. Scientific paediatric and gynaecology & obstetrics societies have consistently warned about chronic health implications from both acute and chronic exposure to chemicals such as pesticides and endocrine disruptors.
The report identifies evidence of DNT properties for the following chemicals:
- Bisphenol A (BPA)
a chemical that was used to make baby bottles, is currently being phased out of till receipts (in the EU), but is still used in the making of food can linings and many polycarbonate plastics. There are also concerns about closely related chemicals that are not restricted, including Bisphenol S.
- Brominated Flame Retardants (BFRs)
a group of chemicals added to furniture, electronics and building materials. The evidence for neurodevelopmental effects is strongest for the PBDE (polybrominated diphenyl ether) group of BFRs, which are already banned or nearly banned in the EU, though they are still in furniture in our homes, and in dust. However, other BFRs are now being found in dust and human blood serum, with concerns that these BFRs might have similar effects.
- Phthalates
a group of chemicals used as plasticisers in PVC and in other products. Some chemicals in this group are now banned in the EU, but many others are still in use.
- Per- and poly-fluorocarbons (PFCs)
used as non-stick coatings or breathable coatings, are a large group of chemicals, a few of which are in the process of being restricted by the EU. There is evidence that some PFCs can disrupt the action of the thyroid hormone. PFCs are very persistent in the environment, and many of them can accumulate in our bodies – they are routinely found in blood.
- Perchlorate
a contaminant of food, related to the use of certain fertilisers and hypochlorite bleach, and is known to disrupt the thyroid hormone system.
Are we protected?
The EU has the most sophisticated regulations in the world for controlling chemical use. However, there are a number of key flaws in this system:
- There is often inadequate safety information about individual chemicals, including a lack of information about neurodevelopmental effects.
- The processes to ban chemicals are too slow, and the restrictions created often have big loopholes as a result of industry lobbying.
- Chemicals are addressed one at a time, so one chemical may have its use restricted, but closely related chemicals remain in use.
- We are always exposed to multiple chemicals, but regulations almost always assume we are only exposed to one at a time, even though numerous scientists have shown that chemical effects can add together in our bodies.
Policy recommendations
It is clear that our children are not currently being protected from chemicals that can disrupt brain development. We have identified a range of policy measures that could improve the situation, including:
- Acting faster to ban chemicals of concern, including addressing groups of similar substances, not just those where we have the most information.
- Ensuring that any safety testing of chemicals includes evaluation of DNT effects.
- Ensuring better identification and regulation of neurodevelopmental toxic chemicals.
- Ensuring that all uses of chemicals are properly regulated; for example there is a lack of effective regulation of chemicals in food packaging including paper, card, inks, glues and coatings.
- The UK and Ireland should remove the requirement for an open flame test for furniture. This test is not required in the rest of the EU, and leads to increased use of flame retardant chemicals.
Finally, it is important to note that EU regulations have already controlled a number of chemicals of concern, and that EU laws provide a tool to address these problems. We therefore think it is vital for the UK Government to work to stay aligned with EU chemicals laws, whatever the eventual outcome of the UK’s Brexit process.
Though full protection will only come from proper regulation of chemicals, the report also includes a chapter with tips for reducing your and your family’s exposures in daily life.
Sources and More Information
- Download the full report, No Brainer The impact of chemicals on children’s brain development: a cause for concern and a need for action, chemtrust, 2017.
- IT’S A NO BRAINER! Action needed to stop children being exposed to chemicals that harm their brain development!, chemtrust, MARCH 7, 2017.
Not sure who own the copyright, it was my idea, words, iterations and chosen the central image and outpaint it and choose subsequent images square by square ... so I was 'actively' involved... but do I own the copyright legally ... spiritually and idea generations for sure.
this same picture on OpenArt.ai platform : openart.ai/community/SlKvxgqD48M2KsUQaThP
I've blogged about this on the 2nd #FixTheWorld or #GiveUp newsletter
Will AI/ML be a friend or foe? The Empowered Age of the Polymath in our dystopian & divisive world.
tiny.cc/FTWoGiveUp2Flickr (link at the end of the blog post for free AI engine resources and invite to best platform I use)
NB: #NoBrainer: Free to join OpenArt.ai portal, daily 100 free credits that can make 100 free Stable diffusion (need to pay now for Dalle2) art: OpenArtFlickr.AIArtistOfThe.World
You know we should never get too attached to things...It can make us lazy about trying something new. I sold a bunch of my cameras, digital and film with some nice lenses in hopes of financing a new digital camera. Then I got an opportunity to visit a friends home in Colorado...Now, I'm temporarily without a camera so I decided to stretch my creative horizons with an old camera I found in the bottom of one of my camera bags...A 99¢ Ansco Pix Panorama! So now I'm free of all those decisions when taking a shot. With this incredibly light camera I just click and crank the somewhat impossible to turn plastic knob...I think I'm on to something here...Maybe I'll cancel that camera I ordered.
Okay, I just purchased an iPod Hi-Fi (on Apple's 30th birthday!). It's sitting in front of me and I'm listening to it right now. Here is my impression after two days of usage...it is a VERY nicely designed product. The size is perfect and the ability to run on battery is highly convenient. As expected, it mates with the iPod beautifully (I have an iPod mini). The million dollar question is how does it sound? Well, honestly, do NOT expect to be amazed. Once you stop expecting earthshattering performance from it, it'll pleasantly surprise you. Some music sounds better on it than other (see end of this review). I'd say the sound quality/performance is good but not jawdropping, EXCEPT when you turn the volume up...way up! It can power a nice sized backyard party. I would not, however, buy it as a home theatre system replacement. It just doesn't have the floor-shaking bass nor the head-turning soundstage. Don't get me wrong, it sounds very good for what it is. It's perfect for the bedroom, in the backyard, on a boat, at tailgate parties. But is it worth the price for me? I'm still debating with myself on that question. It would be a nobrainer if I have an Airport Express and a 5G iPod already.
Music with emphasis on the following sounds great on iPod HF:
1. acoustic guitar/banjos
2. female vocals (superb!)
3. piano
4. music with real instruments
Music with too much of these doesn't sound as good on iPod HF:
1. music with a lot of bass
2. violin
3. synthesized music
4. tracks with weak recording
5. sound effect heavy music
Eastbound billboard on the Santan Freeway Loop 202 for University of Phoenix.
An education built toward a career. Total no-brainer.
University of Phoenix. Let's get to work.
Please visit www.phoenix.edu.
The Santan Freeway Loop 202 is in the southeast valley of Phoenix. Onsite Insite offers billboards along the Santan Freeway between I-10 and the Price Freeway Loop 101 in Chandler, AZ.
Well honestly, I am not sure how I feel about Georgia passing a law today that allows the sale of liquor on Sunday. At first thought, I was like YEA!!!!! But when I really start thinking through it, I don’t know. I know it is not a liberal way of thinking but I am happy to being in the Bible belt south. Do I agree with everything that happens here, no (I would love to go to Chic-fil-a after church. #NoBrainer). Yet, I do like the fact that we try to have some morals in this ‘anything goes world’. Keeping it real, I know me. I won’t appreciate the new law until I am late to an event on one far off Sunday and the person hosting the event ask me to grab a case of beer. Until then…., I don’t plan on buying alcohol on Sundays. I will just by it on Saturday like I have been doing. #6Ps. Proper planning prevents piss poor performance!!!!
P.S. I know 7th day is Saturday and entry is about alcohol sales on Sunday.
Eastbound billboard on the Santan Freeway Loop 202 for University of Phoenix.
An education built toward a career. Total no-brainer.
University of Phoenix. Let's get to work.
Please visit www.phoenix.edu.
The Santan Freeway Loop 202 is in the southeast valley of Phoenix. Onsite Insite offers billboards along the Santan Freeway between I-10 and the Price Freeway Loop 101 in Chandler, AZ.
I was stopped at a light and this Cadillac was in front of me. I couldn't help noticing the tag on it. A Gators tag but it was the letters that all but screamed at me. And it doesn't take brains to figure out what it means!
I don't think that tag is supposed to be legally issued here. I wonder if someone was to turn it in, would it be recalled? Examples of recalled tags here include one with "OU812" and another one, commemorating the Challenger space shuttle, with "KABOOM" on it. Both were issued and later recalled.
It might be of some interest to know that the driver of this car cut around me as I was waiting to pull out of an intersecting street. This tells me he is "attitudey" and probably knows what his license plate means.
Notice the green hood? Guess what I was driving!
I still have the cap of my USB memory stick. But I will probably lose it quite soon.
At least since the Duofold from 1921, pen caps have been parked at the other end of the pen when not in use.
Moving that idea to the memory stick should be quite a nobrainer? Or is someone sitting on a U.S.patent for "Structural adaption of electronic computer memory stick to prevent accidential loss of protective connector cover"?
This is what's required to get an iPod connected to a 2006 Jeep Commander.
I've used an FM transmitter for a couple of years and have been *desperate* to do this. Every trip out of Manhattan I'd swear I was going to buy the adapter kit, but it wasn't ever an easy splurge. Mopar has listed one for over $200, and that always felt a bit much, despite my growing frustration with static and searching for a clear channel. But after making the Manhattan-Hutchinson drive FOUR times this weekend, I decided I couldn't live any longer. Lucky for me, a better (newer?) version was available for $113. A nobrainer, as I've spent way more than that on FM transmitters over the years.
Anyway, it looks a lot worse than it was (despite requring a 1-inch hole saw!) and I'm so pleased with the outcome. Crystal clear sound, clean installation, and no more channel surfing.