My first visit to MRL in 2015 I remembered seeing a flame cut whistle post on the mainline somewhere east of Garrison. We (Welch and I) had places to be seeing as we were racing towards Helena to get the local with an SD45 leader and I didn't remember seeing another one. I didn't prioritize it but I didn't forget it. So, since my experience on MRL's branch lines was nonexistent until this spring I had assumed that was a one-off. Imagine my surprise as I arrived at Sappington and saw this beauty!

The main elements of karesansui are rocks and sand, with the sea symbolized not by water but by sand raked in patterns that suggest rippling water. Plants are much less important and sometimes nonexistent. [wikipedia]

trad: Gli elementi principali di un karasansui (giardino Zen) sono rocce e sabbia, col mare simboleggiato non da acqua ma da sabbia rastrellata in modo da suggerire onde. Le piante sono molto meno importanti e qualche volta inesistenti.

The fielding of the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey in 2007 signaled the further evolution of the United States Marine Corps' rotatory air wing. Indeed, the tiltrotor design of the Osprey meant it could achieve airspeeds comparable to fixed wing aircraft whilst retaining the ability to hover and vertically land in tight spaces. These abilities have become quintessential assets to the Marines as they compete with the Songun People's Army in both urban and biological jungles in the Pacific, and train to deter terrorism across the globe writ large. Indeed, contrary to some circles in the defense community that insist on creating large, redundant fleets of light and ultra-light airlifters to deliver personnel and critical supplies, the Marines have demonstrated that the dynamism of rotorcraft has only just been tapped into and will likely produce more bountiful fruit than conventional airframes in the future.

Unfortunately, like during any paradigm shift, there are losers and capability gaps that must be filled lest future development be arrested. Two such capability gaps became apparent once the Osprey hit the battlefield: Armed escort and close-air support. Although the venerable AH-1 has traditionally performed these tasks, the aging design is practically on its last legs and will only be able to eke out marginal performance improvements to keep pace with the Osprey. More or less, the AH-1 is too old and too slow for the new blood invigorating the Marines' air wing, making the helicopter a loser in this situation. What's more, proposals to arm the V-22 itself have hit numerous snags as the design was intended for quick infil and exfil with air dominance assured by platforms like the F-35B. As to be expected, however, reality is often wont to contradict such optimistic outlooks, thus leaving the Osprey and its occupants vulnerable in many scenarios.

Cue the Future Marine Armed Rotorcraft (FUMAR) program intended to add another layer of airborne lethality to the Corps. Given the issues listed above, the FUMAR tender was a call for the defense industry to find a suitable replacement for the Zulu Cobra and begin low-rate production by the latter 2030s. Many considered this initial timeline to be unrealistic given the mechanical complexity of tiltrotors and lack of broad industry expertise in crafting them. Bell Helicopter--coincidentally the AH-1's manufacturer--disagreed. Utilizing data from its participation in the Osprey's design and production, Bell produced a contender for the FUMAR program practically overnight (by industry standards).

Bell's overarching objective was to recycle as much as they could from the AH-1 as to purportedly drive down production and training costs, theoretically matching the Corps' preferred timeframe for initial fielding. Again, reality nevertheless had its own designs. For starters, Bell's offer, the YAV-25 Adder, handled entirely differently from the Zulu Cobra and required significant control layout redesigning in order to match the platform's new subcomponents. This meant the projected savings on retooling pilots and maintenance crews would be negligible or entirely nonexistent. Secondly, the General Electric T700 engines from the the AH-1 were shoehorned into nacelles on the YAV-25. This translated to maintenance difficulties given the new arrangement, as well as under-performance issues at the extreme end of the FUMAR's required performance envelope. Lastly, numerous fabrication errors continue to plague the mechanisms responsible for storing the Adder aboard ships. Often, the YAV-25's wing will get stuck in position or fail to lock when intended for flight. Additionally, the folding rotors stress the actuator disks, resulting in fewer flight hours when vertical capabilities are employed--an issue that continues to haunt the V-22 as well.

All told, the YAV-25 is best considered a stopgap solution if the American defense industry fails to produce a more promising design. Much ruckus has been made over a Boeing contender, though details are few and far between at this point. Still, the likelihood of Boeing participation is high considering the firm has been described as "upset" over Bell's supposed headlong monopolization of V-22 data. Animosity might displace necessity as the mother of invention in this case.

Lots to say about this build. Firstly, this was intended to be finished last year as ten-years-on-Flickr anniversary build, but I suck and didn't do that. Secondly, this is definitely a redux of a very old build, found here. It's okay to point and laugh at it, I promise. Thirdly, much inspiration is owed to Aleks' superb Cobra models found above. Although I'm sure they're mechanically different in many ways, cloning his aesthetic was essential for this build and maintaining some semblance of lore continuity. Lastly, many thanks to Evan for indulging my laziness and adding decals to this thing for flair. Enjoy!

Back to grabbing a few more photos from my archives. If I wrote a description under a previously posted image taken on the same trip/outing, I will add it under today's photos. These five images were all taken on 20 March 2017, during a trip to Trinidad and Tobago with friends.

"Agoutis have five front and three hind toes; the first toe is very small. The tail is very short or nonexistent and hairless. Agoutis may grow to be up to 60 cm (24 in) in length and 4 kg (8.8 lb) in weight. Most species are brown on their backs and whitish or buff on their bellies; the fur may have a glossy appearance and then glimmers in an orange colour. Reports differ as to whether they are diurnal or nocturnal animals.... They can live for as long as 20 years, a remarkably long time for a rodent

In the wild, they are shy animals and flee from humans, while in captivity they may become trusting. In Trinidad, they are renowned for being very fast runners, able to keep hunting dogs occupied with chasing them for hours." From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_agouti

"This photo was taken on 20 March 2017, but I also saw and photographed these rather strange animals every day that we were staying at the Asa Wright Nature Centre on the island of Trinidad. They like to hang around the Asa Wright building, finding food, and then they seem to disappear into the forest for most of the day. Many of my photos of them came out blurry for some reason, but this one worked OK.

This adventure was only the second holiday (or was it actually my third?) of any kind, anywhere, that I have had in something like 30 or 35 years! The other holiday was a wonderful, one-week trip with my great friends from England, Linda and Tony, when we went down south to Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons in September 2012. I have had maybe half a dozen weekends away, including to Waterton National Park, which have helped keep me going.

Six birding/photographer friends and I decided that we would take this exciting trip together (from 12-21 March 2017), spending the first two or three days on the island of Tobago and then the rest of the time at the Asa Wright Nature Centre on the nearby, much larger island of Trinidad. We decided to take a complete package, so everything was included - flights (we were so very lucky to get Black Friday prices, which were 50% off!), accommodation at both places, all our food, and the various walks and day trips that we could chose from. Two of my friends, Anne B. and Brenda, saw to all the planning of flights and accommodations, which was so very much appreciated by the rest of us. I could never have done all this myself!

What a time we had, seeing so many beautiful and interesting things - and, of course, everything was a lifer for me. Some of these friends had visited Costa Rica before, so were familiar with some of the birds. There was a lot more to see on Trinidad, so we were glad that we chose Tobago to visit first and then spend a longer time at Asa Wright. It was wonderful to be right by the sea, though, at the Blue Waters Inn on the island of Tobago. Just gorgeous.

The Asa Wright Nature Centre, on Trinidad, is such an amazing place! We stayed in cabins up or down hill from the main building. Really, one doesn't need to travel away from the Centre for birding, as so many different species visit the Hummingbird feeders that are right by the huge, open veranda, and the trees of the rain forest high up a mountainous road. The drive up and down this narrow, twisting, pot-holed road was an adventure in itself! Never would I ever do this drive myself - we had a guide who drove us everywhere in a van/small bus. I had read many accounts of this road, lol! There was just enough room for two vehicles to squeeze past each other, and the honking of horns was almost continuous - either to warn any vehicle that might be coming fast around the next bend or as a sign that drivers knew each other. The drive along this road, from the coast to Asa Wright, took just over an hour each way.

I still miss the great food that was provided every single day at Asa Wright and the Rum Punch that appeared each evening. I never drink at all, so I wasn't sure if I would even try the Punch - glad I did, though, as it was delicious and refreshing. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were all served buffet-style, with a great variety of dishes from which to choose. To me, pure luxury. So very, very grateful to have been invited to be part of this amazing adventure."

There goes my favourite comic universe character!

I was just about to nick some master builder's design of the Hobgoblin's glider that would make a decent display piece, when to my surprise I found that none fit the bill.

So I made a couple of tiny ones. Neither one is entirely satisfactory, although I like them both. Not very faithful to the source material either, but very much fitting the fig scale-wise and not too cumbersome for display.

The left one uses Technic pins that protrude underneath, which limits the ways it can be attached to a support.

The right one just squeezes the figure's feet, producing a surprisingly firm clutch. However, points of connection to a support are pretty much nonexistent.

Opinions and comments are welcome!

A nonexistent object

This sparrow took a slightly different approach to winning (nonexistent) seeds from my pocket. This one did a balance beam act for the ages. Too bad, birdie! I have no seeds for you! Energy: wasted!

North Park

“If you would look at a flower, any thought about that flower prevents your looking at it. The words, the rose, the violet, it is this flower, that flower, it is that species, keep you from observing. To look, there must be no interference of the word, which is the objectifying of thought. There must be freedom from the word, and to look there must be silence; otherwise you can’t look. If you look at your wife or husband, all the memories that you have had, either of pleasure or of pain, interfere with looking. It is only when you look without the image that there is a relationship. Your verbal image and the verbal image of the other have no relationship at all. They are nonexistent.”—Jiddu Krishnamurti, Fifth Public Talk, October 5, 1966, in “Collected Works. Vol XVII)

“In Your presence is fullness of joy…”—Psalm 16

“Taste and see, taste and see how good the Lord is, how good the Lord is… blessed the one who takes refuge in Him alone.”

—Psalm 34

“Let us preach without preaching, not by words, but by our example, by the catching force, the sympathetic influence of what we do, the evident fullness of the love our hearts bear to You. Amen.”—Cardinal Newman [1801-1890]

I had just walked a few km with my friend and her dog in biting-cold weather (happy Easter!). We had brought two vehicles to the trail head, and I was about to find out why. As I followed my friend's pickup out of the parking area - imagine a dirt road, a grove of trees, endless rolling prairie hills ahead and a great valley behind, with no other vehicles, people, fences, houses, or sign of habitation - I happened to glance to my left. An owl was watching me from a bare cottonwood tree!

I stopped, waited a few minutes. Snapped a few shots from the car, but the bird was half obscured. Got out. Owl watching. Casually walked a zig-zag path down an embankment, through a sparse hedge. Owl still there. Got better shots. Owl flew to a different perch. I changed course. Owl continued watching. I feigned interest in nonexistent wildflowers. Gradually moved to an opening among the trees. Owl stayed put. Finally raised my hand held lens again (checked that VR setting was on) and there it was! Click-click-click (burst mode); adjust exposure, click-click-click; adjust again, click-click-click. Even shooting RAW, I bracket when possible because results are always better if you nail the exposure.

This is the final frame of the set. By this time the owl had enough of me and flew off to a higher perch in a different tree, and I called out a thank-you, gave a little bow, and left him or her in peace. The Great Horned Owl is a feared predator; its talons are reputed to have the most powerful grip of all North American raptors. But it is a shy bird that needs some privacy. This is why I love Grasslands and the surrounding area, and why I decided to move here nearly a decade ago. The wildlife photo ops are plentiful and pressure from humans on the animals is minimal. I can spend a few minutes with an amazing critter and know that I am probably the only human it will have to deal with this week, this month, perhaps all year. It makes a cold, rainy Easter weekend sunnier and warmer.

Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan. Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2017 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

So... This is it... This is our desert bloom this spring.

After what I believe has been the driest winter ever recorded in Arizona, our desert bloom has been nonexistent this year. In southern AZ, we have had something like a half inch of rainfall since the first week of December. So, the desert wildflowers never happened. There are a few cactus with some blooms. This ocotillo was looking really brilliant.

This was taken out in the Superstitions a few weeks ago.

Turn away if you are traumatized by trauma, by bad luck, by someone who wants to whine about the drama that life can bring to someone who feels very fortunate. Sometimes . . .

Many of you know that my Mom, who is almost 91, has Alzheimer's - we lose her by the minute, and that my sister had a double mastectomy recently and has a very scary form of cancer. Worries and worries, praying for prayers. THESE are the two big important things!

Then . . . we had major plumbing disasters at the cottage in New Orleans- and yes, we are SO lucky to have worked hard and have that sweet home as our "go to haven and happy place." Ugh- yeah . . . Pipes under the house ruptured when New Orleans had the rare snow and freeze for days. The fridge died. The queen palm died.

Getting in from New Orleans, back here to Riversong in Alabama, we had another disaster taking place- hot water heater began to leak and was a fountain when we got in at 1 AM! Lucky timing it hadn't been going on for 3 days.

Then, there was the storm here on the river a few weeks ago- we had a leak running like a waterfall into the art studio above the doors! And then, there was a pipe leak over a huge old knocked together bookcase that housed tons of our books! MAJOR excavation effort.

And yes- the 100 foot oak that fell- thank goodness it didn't hit the house! An ordeal to have taken down as most of the companies who came to look thought it was too dangerous. Uh . . . yeah.

When we had the grandson for Mardi Gras, one of the bathroom pipes burst and had to be capped so we had no hot water in the bathroom. We were in this week to have that fixed, and the OTHER pipe began to spray. BOTH fixed . . .

There is a leak between the house and the porch . . . Does that mean a roof problem?

So, we had lost the fridge in New Orleans. Ah. We discovered when we got back to the river that we have lost the fridge here! Everything inside pretty much a loss, and Ken's insulin supply . . . that is a pretty essential and expensive thing- no doing without it. This fridge is only about 4 years old! How is it that my parents had one fridge my entire growing up??!

As for internet? TV? I would say nonexistent but in case you are seeing this, I guess it happened. I have no idea when this photo will make it up onto Flickr. I am beyond tired and wondering what is up with the Universe. For now, I just have to cope. I have had enough for a while.

Forgive me for whining, and for an absence, in case I can't make it in much- AT&T is practically doing a denial of service and even wants to shut off our land line- the only phone service that is half way reliable. Cell signal is rare down here.

I am SO thankful for all my great Flickr friends/family! THIS is what I love- sharing and learning more from each of you.

NOW I am done with my little pity party! I hope everybody has brighter days!! I know they are ahead. (Note to self.)

View On Black

The main elements of karesansui are rocks and sand, with the sea symbolized not by water but by sand raked in patterns that suggest rippling water. Plants are much less important and sometimes nonexistent. [wikipedia]

trad: Gli elementi principali di un karasansui (giardino Zen) sono rocce e sabbia, col mare simboleggiato non da acqua ma da sabbia rastrellata in modo da suggerire onde. Le piante sono molto meno importanti e qualche volta inesistenti.

Take One Step, Seas Life (Of Love(s Of) Life) - IMRAN™

Life is so full of ironies and visual wordplays. Take this photo of my current situation, for example. I'm standing in the cold waters of Tampa Bay on a warming afternoon, outside my blessed home.

I looked down and then up. Things were looking up and I was down with it. Engulfed by natural moistness from the Gulf, these are the thoughts that washed over me... intellectual and emotional waves of pleasure coming in and on a literal wet dreamscape... as I clicked the iPhone button to capture it all in one frame.

Everyone tells us to stay close to home, not venture too far from shore, to resist the call of the sea, to not cross the oceans. We are told to stay grounded, keep our feet firmly planted, not to rock the boat even if we are permitted to get on one.

But to the ones who were born to explore new horizons, travel the world and seven seas, cross every ocean, share the space-time continuum with kindred souls — soulmates and sail-mates, whose hearts, minds, bodies, and souls equally full of love, lust, desire, passion, adventure, and an insatiable hunger experience it all — to live lives even beyond the limits of imagination.

And it is with those distant unseen, maybe even nonexistent, ports of calling in mind, with hearts throbbing to have precious heartthrobs come along on the journey, that we venture out on the oceans of time. The irony of how even getting to the oceans calling our names sometimes means crossing rivers as obstacles along the way.

But the journey of a million lifetimes of love begins with a single step, with one look, with one kiss. Just as you start to get your feet wet, the sea of love itself rises to meet you, greet you, embrace you. And next thing you know you’re knee-deep in it. Hooked to the sea but unleashed in every sense.... nothing between where you are and where you want to be but Fate telling you the plot but you writing your Destiny.

Come, my beloveds, my sail-mates, let my words release the lines that tie you to the ordinary life, let my voice command you to your wildest dreams, let my eyes unwrap the sails draping you, let my fingers plot the poetry of our life’s journey mapped on the perfection of your body, as I penetrate the darkness of the night seas that scare you, together to open beautiful corridors like moist pink morning clouds, ready to be seen & seeded with an unbridled love of life... and an infinite life of love.

That is what I visualize from this photo. Can you see and feel it, my loves!

© 2020 IMRAN™

(I post my words from the iPhone screen as a stream of consciousness without any editing, so I often catch & fix typos or grammar issues later).

#Florida #TampaBay #ApolloBeach #love #life #lust #literature #prose #philosophy #sea #ocean #travel #lifecoach #IMRAN #gratitude #erotica #writing

By the mid 1980’s, freight traffic on Santa Fe’s Raton line was sparse, but not virtually nonexistent as it is today. Some of those few trains could, however be heavy enough to require helpers over Raton Pass. Here a westbound train at Raton, New Mexico enters the small yard with a significant group of EMD’s cut in a few cars ahead of the caboose.

This was not an easy panel to reach. It's usually visited by floating down the San Juan River and stopping along the way. Not having a boat, I drove down a very long way around, through Comb Wash, following a mostly nonexistent "road" for quite a few miles. At times the water in the wash was quite deep. There was a lot of mud, too. I was a bit worried, since I was solo and there was nothing to winch off of if I had become stuck.

Down along the river I came upon a group of people who were camped. They had floated the river, but were not aware of the nearby rock art. I remember, very clearly, their faces as I drove up - eyes wide and mouthes open. They were astounded that I had driven in. Someone once described me as tenacious. I guess I am.

Anyway, enjoy the rock art. I'll be posting a few from the very extensive panel.

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Explored: Highest Position: 288

Lake Manyara National Park is a national park in Arusha Region, Tanzania. The park consists of 330 km2 of arid land, forest, and a soda-lake which covers as much as 200 km2 of land during the wet season but is nearly nonexistent during the dry season.

Lake Manyara National Park is known for the flamingos that inhabit the lake. During the wet season they inhabit the edges of the lake in flocks of thousands but they are not so present during the dry season.

More than 400 species of birds inhabit the park and many remain throughout the year. Because of this Lake Manyara National Park is a good spot for bird watching. Visitors to the park can expect to see upwards of 100 different species of bird on any day.

Leopards, lions, elephants, blue monkeys, dik-dik, gazelle, hippo, giraffe, impala, and more inhabit the park and many can be seen throughout the year. There is a hippo pond at one end of the park where visitors can get out of their cars and observe from a safe distance. The leopards and lions are both known to lounge in the trees while not hunting for prey.

The signs of downsizing are evident as Amtrak train #40 departs the station at Lewistown. By the mid 80s, downsizing on the Middle Division was in full swing - towers were being closed, and the line going from three tracks to two. This is obvious here in this scene from 1985, where the right-most main is out of service and in the process of becoming nonexistent. While railfans on the western half of the Pittsburgh Line got their taste of this five years earlier, railfans out east held on a bit longer. Within a year, though, there wouldn't be much left of the Middle Division except two tracks and memories.

AMTK 313. Lewistown, PA.

August 19, 1985. Reuben S. Brouse photo.

Adam Klimchock collection.

[Preface: In view of our 73 degree "heat event," our wonderfully inept power company in the northern half of this state has *threatened* - so that they don't get sued again for negligence - to turn off all power starting at midnight tonight and lasting oh, maybe five days until they can find the switch in the dark! I have made my calls to my nonexistent federal representatives and my state senator and even called the governor's office, but they were all out busily defending the indefensible. Oh, you want the point. Okay, you may not see any uploads or receive comments from me for 12 hours to five days and, since three of my prescriptions run out and my pharmacy is "digital," I may shed this mortal coil, and join Nikola Tesla in railing against bureaucracies in general. Google it.]

But, I am leaving you with one of my favorite shots of the summer. Light's good. Log has character. The Arroyo Bluet that is perched is sharp, and the Vivid Dancer is nicely blurred showing forward movement though he had been hovering and pestering the guy on the log. It also shows the relative sizes. The Bluet is 44mm and the Dancer is 39. There are two species even smaller, and I got one California Pond Dancer, an anomaly at about 19mm.

For the last 5,000 years, in cultures and folklore around the world, a red dragonfly is said to be one of two omens at polar opposites on the omen spectrum: eternal love and death. In one Asian folk tale, red dragonflies always show up when someone dies. My dragonflies are defective. I will reread the instruction manual and make sure that I've got the incantation right.

Nothing is mentioned about blue dragons or damsels. It probably meant masculinity, but the California schools deems that to be inappropriate and almost as unacceptable as the Swift Forktail.

See you ... tomorrow or Monday, pissants willing. (Google it.)

Animal milk has long been claimed as the go-to source of calcium by the dairy industry, but as it turns out, milk is bad for you. Calcium from animal milk is not absorbed as well as that from plant-based sources, and it can be accompanied by a number of dangerous health problems.

1. Broken bones

In a Swedish medical study, women who consumed large quantities of dairy milk daily were more likely to sustain fractures than those who drank little to no milk.

2. Prostate cancer

3. Lactose intolerance

Cow’s milk contains a sugar called lactose that can be difficult for people to digest, resulting in symptoms such as nausea, cramps, gas, bloating, and diarrhea. It can also develop later in life and result in months of worsening symptoms.

4. Acne

In multiple studies, the consumption of all types of cow’s milk was linked to an increased prevalence and severity of acne in both boys and girls.

5. Cholesterol

A single serving of milk can contain as much as 24 mg of cholesterol, whereas vegan food has no cholesterol.

6. Ovarian cancer

A Swedish study showed that women who consumed four or more servings of dairy products each day were twice as likely to develop serous ovarian cancer as those who consumed two or fewer servings of dairy products each day.

7. Milk allergies

Unlike lactose intolerance, milk allergies, usually in young children, are characterized by potentially strong and dangerous reactions, such as vomiting or anaphylaxis.

8. Antibiotics

Many cows are pumped full of antibiotics. This practice is leading to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which may decrease the effectiveness of antibiotics used on humans.

8. Antibiotics

Many cows are pumped full of antibiotics. This practice is leading to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which may decrease the effectiveness of antibiotics used on humans.

10. Weight gain

Despite industry claims, a study of more than 12,000 children showed that the more milk they drank, the more weight they gained, and skim and 1 percent milk appeared, counter-intuitively, to lead to more weight gain than drinking 2 percent or whole milk. The study also found that replacing soda with milk did not lead to weight loss.

11. Bone loss

Instead of promoting bone health, animal protein in dairy products can have a calcium-leaching effect.

www.peta.org/living/food/reasons-stop-drinking-milk/

Some evidence suggests that the consumption of milk and other dairy products leads to an increased risk of prostate cancer. Conversely, dairy-free diets have been followed to slow the progress of prostate cancer.

Did you know that in Medieval England parents would tie rabbits’ feet around their babies’ necks to ward off illness? Doctors would also spit on wounds because saliva was believed to have healing properties.Indeed, history is replete with unfounded health beliefs, and to everyone’s detriment, the milk myth is among the most tenacious.Milk is much more than just a drink; it’s a cultural phenomenon that can be traced back thousands of years. And still today, the milk myth resonates loud and clear: in 2001, the average American child consumed 104 quarts of cow’s milk.Milk depletes the calcium from your bones .The milk myth has spread around the world based on the flawed belief that this protein and calcium-rich drink is essential to support good overall health and bone health in particular at any age. It is easy to understand that the confusion about milk’s imaginary benefits stems from the fact that it contains calcium – around 300 mg per cup. But many scientific studies have shown an assortment of detrimental health effects directly linked to milk consumption. And the most surprising link is that not only do we barely absorb the calcium in cow’s milk (especially if pasteurized), but to make matters worse, it actually increases calcium loss from the bones. What an irony this is! Here’s how it happens. Like all animal protein, milk acidifies the body pH which in turn triggers a biological correction. You see, calcium is an excellent acid neutralizer and the biggest storage of calcium in the body is – you guessed it… in the bones. So the very same calcium that our bones need to stay strong is utilized to neutralize the acidifying effect of milk. Once calcium is pulled out of the bones, it leaves the body via the urine, so that the surprising net result after this is an actual calcium deficit.Knowing this, you’ll understand why statistics show that countries with the lowest consumption of dairy products also have the lowest fracture incidence in their population (there’s more on this later).But the sad truth is that most mainstream health practitioners ignore these proven facts. I know it firsthand because when I was diagnosed with osteoporosis, my doctor recommended that I drink lots of milk in addition to taking Fosamax.

Fortunately, I did neither, because I knew that…Cow’s milk is custom-designed for calves

Thanks to our creative ingenuity and perhaps related to our ancient survival needs, we adopted the dubious habit of drinking another species’ milk. Nobody can dispute that cow’s milk is an excellent food source for calves. Weighing around 100 pounds at birth, a calf typically gains approximately eight times its weight by the time it is weaned. But unlike humans, once calves are weaned, they never drink milk again. And the same applies to every mammalian species on this planet.Also, each mammalian species has its own “designer” milk, and cow’s milk is no exception. For example, cow’s milk contains on average three times the amount of protein than human milk which creates metabolic disturbances in humans that have detrimental bone health consequences.

It’s important to bear in mind that mother’s milk is excellent nourishment for human babies, but its composition is very different from cow’s milk.

Scientific studies show that milk increases fracture risk

Many scientific studies contradict the conventional wisdom that milk and dairy consumption help reduce osteoporotic fractures. Surprisingly, studies demonstrating that milk and dairy products actually fail to protect bones from fractures outnumber studies that prove otherwise. Even drinking milk from a young age does not protect against future fracture risk but actually increases it. Shattering the “savings account” calcium theory, Cumming and Klineberg report their study findings as follows:

“Consumption of dairy products, particularly at age 20 years, was associated with an increased risk of hip fracture in old age. (“Case-Control Study of Risk Factors for Hip Fractures in the Elderly”. American Journal of Epidemiology. Vol. 139, No. 5, 1994).

And the 12 year long Harvard Nurses’ Health Study found that those who consumed the most calcium from dairy foods broke more bones than those who rarely drank milk. This is a broad study based on 77,761 women aged 34 through 59 years of age.

In the authors’ own words:

“These data do not support the hypothesis that higher consumption of milk or other food sources of calcium by adult women protects against hip or forearm fractures.” (Source: Feskanich D, Willett WC, Stampfer MJ, Colditz GA. Milk, dietary calcium, and bone fractures in women: a 12-year prospective study. American Journal of Public Health. 1997).

Shocking statistics ignored by mainstream medicine

In the Save Our Bones Program one of the topics I discuss is the complete disregard of scientific evidence that discredits milk and dairy products as the best source of calcium.

One exception is Amy Lanou Ph.D., nutrition director for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in Washington, D.C., who states that:

“The countries with the highest rates of osteoporosis are the ones where people drink the most milk and have the most calcium in their diets. The connection between calcium consumption and bone health is actually very weak, and the connection between dairy consumption and bone health is almost nonexistent.”

Surprised? You shouldn’t be, because as I mentioned earlier in this article…

Milk is an acidifying animal protein

Like any other animal derived protein-rich food, milk has a positive potential renal acid load (PRAL) which triggers a protective biological reaction to neutralize all the damaging acidic protein before it reaches the kidneys.

The body is designed for survival, so it sacrifices bone density to protect the kidneys and urinary tract because the latter are essential to survival. And the most readily available source of acid neutralizer is in the bones. So even though milk contains calcium, it ends up sapping your bones of that crucial mineral. But that’s not all because…

Today’s milk is a processed food

Until the end of the 19th century in Europe and the beginning of the 20th century in the US, milk was consumed unpasteurized or raw. Later on, homogenization became the industry’s standard. These processes further alter milk’s chemistry and actually increase its detrimental acidifying effects.

Raw milk advocates claim that if cow’s milk is left “as is” it is a healthy and wholesome drink. It is true that raw milk is less acidifying than processed milk and that pasteurization and homogenization may cause a long list of digestive and other health problems, but I still don’t recommend drinking any kind of cow’s milk.

Nowadays, milking cows are given antibiotics and most are also injected with a genetically engineered form of bovine growth hormone (rBGH). A man-made or synthetic hormone used to artificially increase milk production, rBGH also increases blood levels of the insulin-growth factor 1 (IGF-1) in those who drink it. And higher levels of IGF-1 are linked to several cancers.

This should not be ignored, especially in view of recent information by Samuel Epstein, MD, Professor of Environmental Medicine at the University of Illinois School of Public Health, and Chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition. In an article titled “Monsanto’s Hormonal Milk Poses Serious Risks of Breast Cancer, Besides Other Cancers” (www.preventcancer.com/press/releases/july8_98.htm, June 21, 1998) Dr. Epstein concludes that:

“Drinking rBGH milk would thus be expected to significantly increase IGF-1 blood levels and consequently to increase risks of developing breast cancer and promoting its invasiveness.”

Even though organic milk is from cows that are not given antibiotics or rBHG, if you truly care about your bone health and your overall health, you should…

Avoid drinking cow’s milk

As I explain in the Save Our Bones Program and contrary to mainstream recommendations, drinking milk and eating lots of dairy products are not the answer to reversing osteoporosis. And while in the Save Our Bones Program no food is completely off limits, I strongly recommend that you explore the different milk substitute options that I will list for you here.

But first, I’d like to clarify that unsweetened fermented or cultured dairy products such as yogurt, kefir, and sour cream are acid neutral. Yogurt in particular is chock-full of beneficial qualities. As is the case with milk, organic yogurt does not have rBGH, but even several of the most well-known yogurt brands have stopped using the bovine growth hormone (rBGH). You should call your favorite yogurt company to confirm. One more clarification: when I say unsweetened I mean without sugar or any artificial sweetener. However, you can add honey or stevia, a zero calorie plant-derived sweetener that is delicious and alkalizing as well. I like to carry around stevia packets in my purse so that I’m always able to sweeten food or drinks when I’m on the go.

The best milk substitutes

My favorite milk substitute is unsweetened almond milk, not only because it is alkalizing (as almonds are), but also because it’s delicious and tastes very similar to milk. I even cook with it!

If almond milk is hard to get, you can also try rice or soy milk. I strongly suggest consuming only organic soy milk to insure it’s not made with genetically modified soy. There is also some controversy about unfermented soy products, so try to use it in moderation.

What Else Haven’t They Told You? What else have you been told about bone health by your doctor or other “experts” that is flat out wrong? What other “facts” (like drinking milk does a body good) are keeping you from optimal health? Myths like these are a big reason I created the Save Our Bones Program. To give you the straight scoop on how to deal with osteoporosis the natural way.

And remember, if you ever hear someone ask “Got milk?” smile and think to yourself “No, because I know better!”

saveourbones.com/osteoporosis-milk-myth/

WHY MILK IS BAD FOR YOU

Today we need to talk about WHY milk is bad for you and your bones. Not just any milk, but specifically any milk coming from another animal. Those who know me know that I am usually a VERY positive person, and the word “bad” isn’t usually in my vocabulary. However, my goal in this video is to make you aware of what you are putting in your body so that you can see HOW important it is to eat pure foods and to see which foods are optimal for your body. There is a LOT that society has taught us that isn’t healthy, and I want to expose some of those myths. Today, I will be sharing my take on why milk is really not good for you, and I will give you alternatives that you can enjoy that are much healthier. Ok, are you ready? Here are my top reasons why MILK is BAD for you:

MILK ISN’T WHAT IT USED TO BE

Today’s milk is a processed food. Until the end of the 19th century in Europe and the beginning of the 20th century in the US, milk was consumed unpasteurized or raw. Later on, homogenization became the industry’s standard. These processes further alter milk’s chemistry and actually increase its detrimental acidifying effects.

UNWANTED INGREDIENTS

Under current industrial methods, cow’s milk is often a toxic bovine brew of man-made ingredients like bio-engineered hormones, antibiotics (55% of U.S. antibiotics are fed to livestock), and pesticides—all of which are bad for us and the environment. For example, unintentional pesticide poisonings kill an estimated 355,000 people globally each year. In addition the drugs pumped into livestock often re-visit us in our water supply.

COWS MILK BELONGS TO COWS

We are the only animals on the planet who take another animals milk and drink it for consumption. We are biologically designed to drink our own mother’s milk. Would you go and put your mouth to a cow’s nipple and start drinking it? It’s not a naturally occurring desire in my mind.

The biochemical make-up of cow’s milk is perfectly suited to turn a 65-pound newborn calf into a 400-pound cow in one year. It contains, for example, three times more protein and seven times more mineral content while human milk has 10 times as much essential fatty acids, three times as much selenium, and half the calcium. Some may like cow’s milk but drinking it is both unnecessary and potentially harmful.

IT DEPLETES BONE CALCIUM

Despite popular opinion, recent studies and exposes have shown that dairy can actually CREATE osteoporosis in your bones. According to the SAVE OUR BONES CAMPAIGN and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, not only do we barely absorb the calcium in cow’s milk (especially if pasteurized), but to make matters worse, it actually increases calcium loss from the bones. This increases your risk for fractures and more.

FREQUENT MILK CONSUMPTION = INCREASED RISK OF OSTEOPOROSIS

According to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, “The countries with the highest rates of osteoporosis are the ones where people drink the most milk and have the most calcium in their diets. The connection between calcium consumption and bone health is actually very weak, and the connection between dairy consumption and bone health is almost nonexistent.”

Do you remember the GOT MILK ads that you used to see everywhere? Did you know that they had a ____ million dollar lawsuit against that ad due to the fact that this wasn’t true?

They had to stop saying that milk creates strong bones. Many of those ads disappeared after that lawsuit.

UNNCESSARY WEIGHT GAIN

As beverages go, milk is relatively high in calories. One cup of 2% milk has 138 calories, for instance. Drinking three cups a day adds 366 calories to the diet — a lot for anyone watching their weight.

EXACERBATES ACNE & CREATES GAS

Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found an association between dairy consumption and acne. They suggest that removing milk or dairy can help to clear your skin.

IT’S AN ACIDIFYING ANIMAL PROTEIN

Like any other animal derived protein-rich food, milk has a positive potential renal acid load (PRAL) which triggers a protective biological reaction to neutralize all the damaging acidic protein before it reaches the kidneys.

What does this mean exactly? Any body that is in an acidic state is at higher risk for cancer, disease, soreness, short recovery time, and more.

DRINKING CREATES EXCESS MUCUS

There’s not much more I need to say here. Give it a try and see for yourself.

IT PROMOTES ANIMAL CRUELTY

Many of the animals today are factory farmed and abused.

Those are just a FEW of the reasons why milk isn’t the most optimal of foods for our bodies. But remember that it doesn’t stop there. Milk is found in cheeses, yogurt, non-vegan ice creams, whey protein, whipped creams, and ANY type of dairy product. I’ve put together more links and information in the description below..So I know what you are thinking..WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO EAT?! Don’t worry because I have a great substite for you! I highly recommend that you check out my Blueberry Milkshake, Fullyraw Coffee, Banana Nice Cream, Fullyraw Frappuccino, and more. And please take a look at my video below! Feel free to leave your thoughts and comments!

www.fullyraw.com/why-milk-is-bad-for-you/

I went out with Matty to shoot some photos for an interview. We wanted to do something different, so we tried to incorporate Matty's love of the outdoors and his creativity into skating nonexistent "spots".

We rigged up this old washer and a plywood roll in on a bmx jump. The last part was rolling on the hard packed dirt.

This is my very First Bee image photographed in our garden in Masirah Island, Oman.

You can see this bee is "robbing" nectar by slitting the side of this Tecoma Stans flower.

Facts:

Carpenter bees (the genus Xylocopa in the subfamily Xylocopinae) are large bees distributed worldwide. There are some 500 species of carpenter bee in 31 subgenera. Their name comes from the fact that nearly all species build their nests in burrows in dead wood, bamboo, or structural timbers (except those in the subgenus Proxylocopa, which nest in the ground). Members of the related tribe Ceratinini are sometimes referred to as "small carpenter bees".

In several species, the females live alongside their own daughters or sisters, creating a small social group. They use wood bits to form partitions between the cells in the nest. A few species bore generally minor or nonexistent.

Carpenter bees can be important pollinators on open-faced flowers, even obligate pollinators on some, such as the Maypop (Passiflora incarnata), though many species are also known to "rob" nectar by slitting the sides of flowers with deep corollas.

(Wikipedia)

Thank you for your visits, faves and comments. Constructive criticism and suggestions are most welcome!

Have a great day! Take care!!

“By believing passionately in something that still does not exist, we create it. The nonexistent is whatever we have not sufficiently desired.”

― Franz Kafka

Photo: Iftakhar Elius

16/09/2013

Dhaka

Last nites sunsets were about to nonexistent because it was raining heavily where i was. I was even contemplating going home because it was rainy and no signs of colors in the sky. And the sun was just about beyond the horizon. Low and behold, persistence pays off again.

There was a short time after the NS takeover of the former D&H south end that decent power could still be found south of Schenectady. It’s currently nonexistent and boring.

Some photos of the desert around Kanab, Utah. I really enjoy exploring around Kanab with all of the sandstone outcrops and canyons everywhere. However, it can be a bit treacherous because almost all of the roads are on loose sand so traction is almost nonexistent. I’ve had to pull folks out and have come close to needing that service as well. So, if you go out here, come prepared. . I shot this with an Olympus 35 LC rangefinder which has a fixed 42mm f1.7 Zuiko lens. The film I developed in Rodinal @ 1:50

March 17, 2011.

No one is free, even the birds are chained to the sky - Bob Dylan

Lately I've been extremely uninspired. This image is worse than yesterday's :/

View here, I insist.

It's been 100 days since I started my 365. 265 more days to go; 265 more days of dreams, wishes, magic, and hope; 265 more days of growing up.

SHS Omadhaun, the second ship in the Amarok-Class, in standard livery circa June 1941 during training exercises.

Some of the least-damaged ships in the Súþfolcstede harbour, Amarok and her sisters were among the first hulks to be re-floated, repaired, and re-armed as they were some of the least damaged. Patrolling the seaways around Sjælleneard from Oyashimese incursion and Ordenric Reclamation fleets (nonexistent), they would be one of the earliest large naval vessels operated by the Sæþrymm of the Hléowiegan Sweordbroþors.

The Order's harbour-town of Súþfolcstede is of great age. It is unknown when the Order first learned of the Southern Passages into the Ælfeneard, but the first permanent settlements within it are known to have occurred during the mid-1700s. Súþfolcstede was the major resupply route unto it until the discovery of the Wearpport in Bistralis in 1841, a much safer and year-round route into the Ælfeneard. An earthquake would hit Bistralis in 1908 however, detonating the magazines in the fort-city of Wearpburg. The force of this explosion ruptured the delicate matrix of magic and ritual maintaining the Wearpport, promptly destroying both itself and the entire central area of the Bistralian continent. A single voyage through the Southern Passages was attempted by way of Súþfolcstede to link back with the Ælfeneard in 1919, but was unsuccessful. The vast majority of the ships sailed back with skeleton crews, their men speaking of hellish demons and frightful spectres in the now Wearp-infested passages into the Ælfeneard, all heavy with damage from the ice in that cold abyss. Few were able to be repaired in time for the Great Stupid War of 1924, and afterwards the rapidly declining social and economic structure of the Ordenric homelands could not warrant enough resources to make a second attempt at entering the Ælfeneard by way of the Southern Passages. The economy was in shambles from the massive war-debts the Stupid War had incurred, and the feudalist society of the Ordenric was beginning to wane and crumble under the massive weight of the recent industrializations and war. From 1927 on, Súþfolcstede would be on its own.

In 1887, a small Gúteic tropical fishing settlement and trading post was started near the rich Ordenric port-city. Soon it would grow into a relatively rich series of plantations held as a private colony of the Gúteic knightly order of the Order of Swordbrothers of Sanct Magnhild. However, with the disbanding of the Order of Swordbrothers of Sanct Magnhild after the 2nd Schlassbeck War for heresy (where Gútemark was incorporated into the Holy Seladællian Confederation), she would largely remain forgotten...

- The weight nonexistent .., the nonexistent world ...

- El inexistente peso.., del inexistente mundo...

I went to Yellowstone during the last part of spring. The snow was still quite deep in the mountains, but in the Yellowstone valley is was relatively nonexistent except in the mountains. This is an image from the north end of Grand Prismatic Spring. The Grand Prismatic Spring gets its name from the many different colors that can be observed in the hot water which is caused by the bacteria living in microbial mats.

Grand Prismatic Spring is the largest hot spring in the United States and is about 160 °F.

Photographs are © Copyright Galactic Dreams (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on blogs, websites, or in other media without advance written permission from Galactic Dreams.

Skrzyczne is a mountain in southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, close to the town of Szczyrk. It is the highest mountain of the Silesian Beskids[3] and the fifth most topographically prominent peak in Poland.[4][a]

Skrzyczne is one of the peaks which make up the Crown of Polish Mountains, or a list of the highest points in each of Poland's 28 mountain ranges.[5] The peak can be reached by hiking paths, and there is also a gondola lift which starts in Szczyrk and comes up to around 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) above sea level.[6] The slopes of the mountain are also known for the many blueberries which grow on them and which are frequently collected by hikers and other visitors.[7]

A mountain hut, PTTK Skrzyczne, is located very close to the peak of the mountain. The first hut, built in 1933, was destroyed in a fire.[8] A second hut was built in the late 1930s, and stands to this day.[9] There is likewise a tall (87 metres (285 ft)) radio and television tower atop Skrzyczne,[10] which makes it easy to recognise the peak from afar.

In addition to multiple hiking trails, the Skrzyczne area also hosts a ski resort with several pistes,[11] as well as mountain biking trails.[12] Several trail races also cross the peak, most notably Zamieć, a 24-hour race which takes place in the winter.[13]

Legend has it that Skrzyczne takes its name from the croaking of frogs (in Polish: skrzyczenie), which supposedly inhabited the (now nonexistent) ponds near the peak.[14]

Millipedes have very poor – sometimes nonexistent – eyesight, and sense their way around using their short, segmented antennae, which continually tap the ground as they move along; millipedes are very clean creatures, spend a lot of time cleaning and polishing various parts of their body, and have a special brush-like group of hairs on the 2nd or 3rd pair of their legs which they use to clean their antennae

___________________________________________

American Giant Millipede – 2020SEP27 – Charlotte, NC

Look what I found! A Giant Millipede, Narceus americanus: it grows twice as large as any other North American millipede, a cylindrical millipede (distinguished from flat millipedes), dark reddish-brown or black, a red line on each segmente edge; like all millipedes, they have 2 pairs of legs on most segments, rather than 1 pair of legs on each segment (like a centipede).

Does it bite? No (uniike a centipede). What about cyanide? Although not this species, some secrete hydrogen cyanide, quite poisonous. Remember, millipedes are toxic – but as long as they are not eaten, hands washed after touching them, they're pretty harmless; however, many have a defensive secretion, benzoquinone, that can cause chemical burns on human skin, generally mild, but powerful enough to cause temporary skin discoloration, itching, and blisters – some millipedes’ secretions are much more powerful, though.

The division of an animal into repeating body parts is called segmentation, clearly seen in millipedes, the word meaning “one thousand foot;” despite that name, millipedes with the most legs come up shy of the 1,000-leg mark, only about 750.

Hope you enjoy the 10% of 99 captures I took here this day!

Thin to nonexistent sun on this day in May, 2014 as a Providence and Worcester ethanol extra hustles south on the Providence Main through a private crossing in Millbury MA. Although my notes on this train are sketchy at best (sadly true for most of my collection), I believe the consist was a pair of B39 (3902 and 3909) matched with a GP38 (2008). Of the 4 sets I have, this was easily the best light of the lot. With both 3902 and 3909 now in GW orange, I'm ok with that.

310/365 Work with textures

I took the original image on October 31st/2009 @ Palm Beach Zoo

West Palm Beach, Florida, USA.

Nikon D5000

....................................................................................................................................................................................

Textures with my gratitude to SkeletalMess: Bore2Death Thank you very much Jerry!!

The Gateway Arch reflecting some nonexistent pink lighting.

I exposed this properly, but my Xtol died! My negative came out nearly undeveloped. I could barely make out this image on the negative :-(

Shot at 1600iso, it was going to be beautiful! I should have used my D76 like I was going to. Thanks to the miracle of scanning technology, I didn't have to throw these negatives in the trash.

30 minutes at f8, 1600iso and a really bright moon.

The vertical lines are the film base I'm sure. The images are almost nonexistent.

Underdeveloped by about 5 stops.

The fair owns tons of old carts like these, most from now nonexistent haulers.

St. Paul, MN

1958 BMW Isetta 300 on display at the Exotic Sports Car Show & Concours d'Elegance, Littleton, Colorado.

The Isetta was one of the most successful microcars produced in the post-WWII years—a time when cheap, short distance transportation was most needed. Although the design originated in Italy, it was built in a number of different countries, including Spain, Belgium, France, Brazil, Germany and Britain. Because of its egg shape and bubble-like windows, it became known as a bubble car—a name later given to other similar vehicles. Other countries had other nicknames: In Germany it was das rollende Ei (the rolling egg) or the Sargwagen (meaning something like "coffin car"; the name apparently came from the small (or rather nonexistent) distance between the passengers and oncoming traffic). In France it was the yogurt pot. In Brazil it was the bola de futebol de fenemê (football (soccer) ball of a truck), and in Chile it is still called the "huevito" (little egg). (Wikipedia)

This month’s challenge called I Smell A (Modern) Rat asks us what would rat rodding be like if we applied the same principles to modern cars. For this I chose a Dodge Magnum with a V-8 Hemi. Instead of a more predictable post-apoc Mad Max look, I went with a beach combing car with rugged tires, wood paneling, and a nonexistent roof and tailgate. Just enough rust and patina adds a bit of well loved character while a wooden deck and benches gives this “Magnum Opus” a boat-like appearance that’s suitable for fishing, surfing, or just soaking up some rays. Its the perfect modern rat rod for a hot summer day!

_______________________________________________

Zen Mind

If you can't touch it, show it, taste it, does it have any reality?

source

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Explored: Highest Position: 66

Lake Manyara National Park is a national park in Arusha Region, Tanzania. The park consists of 330 km2 of arid land, forest, and a soda-lake which covers as much as 200 km2 of land during the wet season but is nearly nonexistent during the dry season.

Lake Manyara National Park is known for the flamingos that inhabit the lake. During the wet season they inhabit the edges of the lake in flocks of thousands but they are not so present during the dry season.

More than 400 species of birds inhabit the park and many remain throughout the year. Because of this Lake Manyara National Park is a good spot for bird watching. Visitors to the park can expect to see upwards of 100 different species of bird on any day.

Leopards, lions, elephants, blue monkeys, dik-dik, gazelle, hippo, giraffe, impala, and more inhabit the park and many can be seen throughout the year. There is a hippo pond at one end of the park where visitors can get out of their cars and observe from a safe distance. The leopards and lions are both known to lounge in the trees while not hunting for prey.

Boulevard of ghosts presents a still from nonexistent drama "Gale Nights" featuring no one else but myself.

View large in lightbox.

www.boulevardofghosts.com

The blue-winged grasshopper, Oedipoda caerulescens, is a grasshopper in the genus Oedipoda.

Oedipoda caerulescens frequents dry areas with low and open vegetation: dunes, heathlands, grasslands on sand and sunlit limestone rocks. Many stations correspond to land recently used for human activities, such as coal spoil heaps, quarries and pits, the ballast of railway tracks, etc. It is exclusively a terrestrial insect, and its cryptic coloration often matches its substrate. It presses itself to the ground and remains motionless, and jumps only at the very close approach of danger. A remarkable behavior is the "hook" landing which serves to confuse potential attackers. Thus, the grasshopper lands and swings round to face the direction it has come from. The sudden disappearance of the blue hind wings of the adult makes it difficult for predators to shift quickly enough to a different kind of search to relocate the prey. The female lays her eggs in bare, dry soil. In this species, acoustic emissions are virtually nonexistent. The diet consists mainly of grasses.

Nothing new here ... Haven't done any Aurora photography for over a month. Admittedly, I got a little spoiled after the fantastic displays of mid-November and haven't been staying out all night agressively seeking them , like I normally do, but .... the Aurora has been weak to nonexistent hereabouts since that time.

Aurora tourism has gotten big here in recent years, so thousands of hopefuls have been streaming into the Yukon for months, and generally just NOT seeing anything. The relatively anemic solar activity of late has been a bit dismaying, given the fact that we're supposedly on the verge of a solar maximum. The nearly flatlined solar dynamics of recent years had led to expectations of an unusually poor solar max this time and it's now looking as if it may be even worse than predicted. There is already some (very discouraging) speculation in scientific circles that we may already be in the maximum portion of this solar cycle. One thing is for sure ... We are developing a greater awareness of previously unrecognized variability in our daystar's behavior. Hopefully, things will pick up as the new year progresses, but I, for one, am not expecting much until the usual mysterious uptick in Auroral activity which always occurs six weeks or so either side of the vernal equinox ...

THEME: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUAcDMHuC2E

Introducing my Self-MOC! This is actually the 12th version (12.4 to be exact) and a character reboot, though, and I have revamped the whole thing again since this version, too. I will post a picture showing some of the previous versions (I don't have pictures of pre-7th versions, except for the very first), just so you can get an idea of the evolution of the character.

---DESCRIPTION---

Nicknamed "Rahksha" due to her Makuta heritage, Nyctoria is somewhat of a Toa: the most accurate way to put it is, she's a protector...of sorts. She has a strong link with the Netherverse, enabling her to draw on its dark power to perform necromancy, as well as harvest souls and summon them as Netherwalkers (inhabitants of the Netherverse) with her scythe. She can also reanimate corpses to serve her by using seals on their Kanohi.

However, the power of the Netherverse always takes it toll, and the user's soul - and therefore body - will decay the more they use it. The only way to maintain oneself is to harvest the souls of others. Hence, Nyctoria hunts down villains to defeat and consume.

While Nyctoria does defend others from Makuta and other threats, she is not altrustic in her motives -- she will just as easily consume innocents if there is no other source available, and rarely helps others unless she perceives them or the target as useful in her quest for revenge against her "father", Teridax -- and by extension, her de facto creator, Mutran.

As an individual, Nyctoria is largely anti-social, apathetic and an on-off misanthrope - hardly surprising considering her origins. That being said, she is not without a sense of justice and empathy, although her concept of morality is nonexistent at worst and dubious at best.

---BIO---

NAME: Nyctoria

ALIASES: Rahksha, Daughter of Teridax, Destral's Shadowborne

SPECIES: Rahkshi/Toa (mutant; Kraata infused with energy from a Nui Stone)

GENDER: Female

KANOHI: N/A

ELEMENT: Shadow

WEAPON: Harvest Scythe - "Slayer's Slave"

These were blooming with the day lilies at the Theater Guild last week. The bush is practically nonexistent!

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Explored: Highest Position: 41

Lake Manyara National Park is a national park in Arusha Region, Tanzania. The park consists of 330 km2 of arid land, forest, and a soda-lake which covers as much as 200 km2 of land during the wet season but is nearly nonexistent during the dry season.

Lake Manyara National Park is known for the flamingos that inhabit the lake. During the wet season they inhabit the edges of the lake in flocks of thousands but they are not so present during the dry season.

More than 400 species of birds inhabit the park and many remain throughout the year. Because of this Lake Manyara National Park is a good spot for bird watching. Visitors to the park can expect to see upwards of 100 different species of bird on any day.

Leopards, lions, elephants, blue monkeys, dik-dik, gazelle, hippo, giraffe, impala, and more inhabit the park and many can be seen throughout the year. There is a hippo pond at one end of the park where visitors can get out of their cars and observe from a safe distance. The leopards and lions are both known to lounge in the trees while not hunting for prey.

“By believing passionately in something that still does not exist, we create it. The nonexistent is whatever we have not sufficiently desired.”

Yeah I’ve been nonexistent for the past week, deal with it

Here’s my Two-Face from Batman Forever (1995)! He’s not purist but I think he looks really good and I’m proud of how he suit came out. I have something else planned to come out later today so I might post my Batman Forever Riddler tomorrow

Anyways, hope it was okay. Toodles!

The greatest LEGO Space theme that never was, Seatron was conceived right after Futuron and would have given us our first (and more creative and interesting) LEGO aliens most of a decade before the UFO theme released.

All we have is some intriguing preliminary shots of a fascinating theme with a white, black and trans red "surface" palate and an Aquanauts-like yellow, black and trans blue "underwater" palate.

Anyway, I think it would have been a great theme, and it's well worth a MOC or several. And it being FebRovery let's make a rover.

Probably the Seatron faction minifigures would have been more Futuron-like than CS-like, but my Futuron minifig supplies are practically nonexistent.

I've done some Seatron-like MOCs before, connected with the Ice Planet faction as explorers of a subsurface ocean within Planet Krysto (a subtheme I call "Ice Planet: Aquarius Project"), but this is my first actual Seatron MOC.

Though difficult to reach due to harsh rainy seasons and, at times, nonexistent roads, the Omo Valley continually rewards its visitors with a unique and astonishing beauty. The entire region has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1980.

The Surma occupy an area near the Sudanese border. They practice scarification and beauty mutilation and are one of the last tribes in the world where the women wear large lip plates. Many of their warriors prefer to rest naked, occasionally putting on a simple plaid cloth for warmth. The traditional way of life is quickly changing since the arrival of military outposts and Presbyterian missions.