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On the cover is an illustration of a battleship that has been cut loose by sweeping waves and runs down the lofty New York Municipal tower where crowds had sought refuge from the rising flood waters.
“The late Professor Garrett P. Serviss, the well-known scientist-author hits upon the effects which would be produced on humanity by a second deluge. It is an impressive tale, and not a whit more improbable than the first Noachian deluge of Biblical days. Only the setting is modern, and the second great ark is, of course, vastly different from that used by Noah. . .” [From the Editor’s Note]
“An undersized, lean, wizen-faced man, with an immense bald head, as round and smooth and shining as a great soap-bubble . . . Cosmo Versal sat bent over a writing desk with a huge sheet of cardboard before him, on which he was swiftly drawing geometrical and trigonometrical figures. Compasses, T-squares, rulers, protractors, and ellipsographs obeyed the touch of his fingers as if inspired with life. . .
“My God!” he said. “That’s it! That Lick photograph of the Lord Rosse nebula is its very image, except that there’s no electric fire in it. The same great whirl of outer spirals, and then comes the awful central mass – and we’re going to plunge straight into it. Then quintrillions of tons of water will condense on the earth and cover it like a universal cloudburst. And then good-by to the human race – unless –unless I, Cosmo Versal, inspired by science, can save a remnant to repeople the planet after the catastrophe . . .” [Quoting from the story].
I actually miss doing the 365 thing, but since I've been slacking for so long, I'm starting a new set.
Maybe this time I'll get over my committment issues and stick with it.
And - 100 things about me you may or may not know.
1. I'm actually quite shy in person.
2. My hair's naturally a reddish brown, but it’s been chocolate brown, platinum blonde, and every shade in between.
3. Once it was even lime green, and yes – that was on purpose.
4. I started dyeing it when I was thirteen, and it’s been dyed so many times that I honestly don’t know exactly what color it is anymore.
5. I love old campy movies, like Pillow Talk with Rock Hudson and Doris Day.
6. I’m a news junkie – completely a CNN/BBC/NPR whore.
7. I have whole constellations of freckles.
8. I can’t say “Planetarium” without cracking up, and I've never been to one.
9. When I was a kid I made my face bleed trying to scrub my freckles off.
10. My middle name is in honor of my father’s mother who died from cancer when he was only 11 years old.
11. I don’t have a high school diploma.
12. But – I have a BBA, MBA, and JD.
13. I managed to get all three before my 24th birthday.
14. I've passed two bars now on my first try.
15. I’m going to eventually get a GED.
16. About five years ago I developed an extreme phobia to sharks.
17. I'm also afraid of drowning.
18. I’m incredibly accident prone – and I bruise easily. It's really best not to let me be around sharp objects.
19. Roses - but deep yellows with red blushed tips, lilies, irises, daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, orchids, bluebonnets and buttercups are my favorite flowers.
20. I’m notorious for starting craft projects and never finishing them.
21. I prefer Dr. Pepper to Coke – and I abhor Pepsi.
22. I’m addicted to coffee.
23. I’m an only child, but I have three half sisters and a half brother.
24. I haven't seen my brother since August 15, 1998. I miss him.
25. I love the smell of honeysuckle and watching for lightning bugs.
26. I have two cats, and one weighs 18 pounds and the other 22.
27. I had to bottle feed them when I first got them from the shelter because they didn’t know how to eat solid food - apparently I’m a good teacher.
28. I started wearing glasses in graduate school. Switched to contacts in law school. And switched again. Now I wear both.
29. My tongue is abnormally short, the lingual frenulum is attached too far toward the end of my tongue and should've been cut when I was a baby.
30. I have very small hands, my ring size is right about a 4 or a 4 1/2.
31. I am not, however a size 4 and I'm finally o.k. with that. I believe women should be curvy.
32. My first new car was stolen from my driveway before the first payment was even due on it.
33. My high school mascot was a gopher. Yep. A blue gopher.
34. I got an A in my graduate accounting class without ever getting a single problem completely correct.
35. I love fireworks, and nearly lost my hearing in my right ear when a firework blew up in my hand at 15.
36. I pierced my own belly button when I was 14. It made a puffy scar.
37. When I was 14, I also carved three initials into my inner ankle with the tip of a protractor.
38. I have a tattoo on my left hip.
39. I love going to look at Christmas lights.
40. The first time I saw real snow was in Arizona.
41. I get obnoxiously loud hiccups almost daily.
42. I have an amazing sense of smell, and remember times, places and people by their scent.
43. I have an annoying habit of chewing on ice.
44. I’m amazingly good at trivial pursuit. Except the sports questions. If it's not about hockey, I'm pretty worthless.
45. My mother was convinced that I would grow up to be an arsonist, as I'd torch all my toys in my easy bake oven.
46. I still love to color in coloring books.
47. I still have the first book I ever read – “Tip”.
48. I’ve willingly eaten rattlesnake. And yes, it tastes like chicken. Rubbery – but still chicken. I've also willingly eaten rabbit, shark, squid, octupus and alligator.
49. I have been in beauty pageants, and yes, I used aqua net hairspray and put vaseline on my teeth. I still consider myself to be a feminist.
50. I’ve only mowed a yard one time. I don’t even know how to start a lawn mower. I've changed my own oil in my old truck before.
51. I eat mustard with my french fries, which I like a little burned and soggy. I hate ketchup.
52. I firmly believe that “well done” meat is sacrilegious. If I wanted to eat a hockey puck, I would.
53. I love going fishing, and have helped butcher a deer - but I could never go hunting. The only thing that I've ever shot and killed was an armadillo when I was 16. I still feel bad about it.
54. Thunderstorms scare me, but not hurricanes.
55. I already have laugh lines.
56. I’d say I am a horrible procrastinator – but I can do that later.
57. It’s possible for me to get sunburned just driving to work.
58. My childhood nickname is Woody.
59. I know what government cheese tastes like.
60. I’m allergic to bee stings.
61. I love dark bitter beer, dark chocolate, but like my coffee milky and sweet.
62. My toenails are ALWAYS painted, but never blue, green, purple, etc. My fingernails are almost never painted - and if they are - it's just clear.
63. I have a temperature tolerance zone of about 5 degrees.
64. I used to have about 180 pairs of shoes.
65. I was offered a college scholarship through ROTC to be in military intelligence. I declined, and got a scholarship through a beauty pageant instead.
66. I'm a wicked shot with a rifle (best in the corps) but I hate guns.
67. I really like pink grapefruit jelly belly candy.
68. I love the smell of wisteria, ripe peaches, and fresh baked bread.
69. Rubies are my birthstone and my least favorite gem.
70. Red is perhaps my favorite color, but I like blue and green a lot.
71. My favorite colors in the crayon box were midnight blue and indian red. Not exactly p.c., eh?
72. I had to use Crayola® crayons or my hands broke out into a painful rash.
73. I’ve had brain surgery.
74. I’ve been in a drug induced coma.
75. Both happened before I was three months old.
76. #74 happened when a nurse overdosed me on sedatives meant for my mother to calm her down after #73.
77. The doctors tried to convince my parents to take me off the ventilators because they felt that I would grow up severely retarded.
78. Terri Schiavo’s story made me want a living will. And yes, I obviously know doctors can be wrong.
79. I wanted to be a doctor, but was pretty horrible at chemistry. So bad that I failed the second semester of honors chemistry and the professor felt sorry for me and gave me a D. So I became a doctor’s best friend/worst nightmare – an attorney.
80. Because of the movie “Cats Eye” I was always afraid to sleep with my closet doors open at night.
81. Favorite quote: “Don’t wait for your ship to come in, swim out to it.”
82. I believe in Christian family values, which includes the values that all people, regardless of sexual orientation should be able to marry and raise a family.
83. I jello wrestled in college. But no one who knew me then would believe it.
84. My biggest fear is failure.
85. I'm incredibly ticklish. Just thinking about being tickled makes me laugh.
86. I'm REALLY shy about singing in front of people, and have a very low singing voice. But I sang in church choir for years but often sang with the men because it was easier for me.
87. My heritage is Native American, German and Irish.
88. I took years of tap, ballet and jazz lessons.
89. I actually got pulled over once for going one mile over the speed limit.
90. I eat tomatoes the way other people eat apples. When I eat apples, I eat everything but the seeds.
91. I once broke a cello by bashing it in with my head. It’s a rather complicated story. Suffice it to say that it was my cello, and was a very expensive accident. I don't play any longer, and I'm not sure I could even read music anymore.
92. I often talk in my sleep – with my eyes open. I used to sleep walk.
93. I've had chicken pox about six times.
94. I abhor people who smack when they eat. It drives me insane.
95. I bought a truck when I was 19 that was a standard without having a clue how to drive it. I learned. Quickly. Though I did get out at a stop light and kick it one time when I stalled it.
96. I love gourmet food, but every once in a while, only mac & cheese will do.
97. I always wanted to be a trapeze artist in the circus. My brother Michael and I would make trial tightrope runs on my Granny's clothesline after watching circus of the stars. I’m still amazed we didn’t die.
98. I have three dimples when I really smile.
99. I have a hard time sleeping if the sheets aren’t cold, and will often wake up in the middle of the night to flip the pillow so I can sleep on the "cold" side
100. I still have hope.
See Philippe! It's just a step by step process. My number one rule when carving waxes....(or doing almost any complicated task)....is: Start with what you know! With rings for example....it is the finger size....and I start with a block of wax that is VERY "squared up"...this is necessary because most of the layout work (using machinist's squares, dividers and protractors, etc. ) depends on true and flat surfaces. I preserve the original true surfaces for as long as I can....for I've learned you might need them later for a subsesquent measurement. The other rule is to not hurry.....this wax took me 13 hours. (but I goof off a lot...) See....I'm no magician.....just a slow worker! All the 'carving' on this pattern was done with hand-held files....huge and coarse (16" machinist's bastard, medium cut).....to very small and fine. (watchmaker's escapement files...very fine cut #6) total of 7 different files.
Created with fd's Flickr Toys.
FOOD PRODUCTS & MATERIALS SAMPLES:
Frozen Products / Frozen Foods / LUTOSA Shoestrings French Fries, LUTOSA Crinkle Cut, LUTOSA Potato Nuggets Plain, LUTOSA Straight Cut, LUTOSA Steak Fries, LUTOSA Skinny Fries, LUTOSA Hash Brown Plain, LUTOSA Mash Potato Plain, LUTOSA Potato Croquettes, LUTOSA Potato Wedge, LUTOSA Potato Slice, LUTOSA Potato Noissettes, LUTOSA Garden Wedge, LUTOSA POM ABC, LUTOSA Spicy Wedge, LUTOSA Rosti w 3 vegetables, Golden River Fritas French Fries, "GERMAN - NOWACO" Shoestring Fries, "EARLY DAWN" Frozen Fries, MYDIBEL Shoestring Fries, Frenchies Frozen French Fries, Frenchies Super Long, Frenchies Crinkle Cut, Frenchies Hash Brown Tray, PARKLANE 'Lutosa" Fries, Parklane Hash Brown, Maple Leaf Crinkle Cut, Budget Fries / French Fries / Nuggets / Mash Potato / Hash Brown / Patties / Hotdog / Siomai / Siopao / Siopao Sauce / Egg Dry Noodles / Styr Fried Noodles Powder / Teriyaki Sauce Powder / Oyster Sauce Powder / Peanut Sauce Powder / Sweet Chili Sauce Powder / Rice Mix Powder / Gravy Powder / French Fries Powder / Popcorn Powder / Snack Seasonings / Spices powder / Ice Coating Dip / Choco Syrups / Snow cone Shave Ice Syrup / Soft Serve Ice Cream Premix Powder / Ice Scramble Premix Powder / Shake Premix Powder / Palamig Powder Drinks / Gulaman Powder / Black Gulaman / Jelly Powder / Waffle Mix Powder / Iced Teas Powder / Hot Beverage Powder / Coffee Premixes Vendo Powder / Vendo Drinks Powder / Milk Tea Powder / Hot Drinks / Cone (Apa) / Whipped Cream / Food Coloring / Cake Flavoring / Airbrush Colors / Hot Chili Flakes / Toppings / Mallows, Sunflower Seeds / Cookies / Crushed Graham / Fun Frappe Whipped Cream / Mini Chocolate Droplets / Mini lentils (mini nips halo halo), Nata-de-Coco / Crystals / Rice crispies / sprinkles / Tapioca black pearl sago / Kisses / Pasalubong Milk Candy / Snackfoods Food/ Pringles / Food Condiments / Mayonnaise / Ketchup / Soy Sauce (Toyo) / Vinegar (Suka) / Hot Sauce / Patis (Fish Sauce) / Margarine / Cooking Oil / Tomato Paste, Bread Crumbs Fryers, Paste Accord, Curine Salt, Praque Powder, Hot Chili Flakes, Fried Diced Garlic, Food Coloring, Cake Flour, Corn Starch, Cocoa, Paper Cups / Paper bowl / Plastic cups w/ Flat Cover / Plastic Cups w/ Dome Cover / Styro Box / Styrofoam / Straw / Plastic Bag / Paper Bag / Trash Bag / Hotdog Plates / Hotdog Wrap Paper / Box / French Fries Holder / Kikiam Tray / Spoon & Fork / Glassine / Tissue Paper / Business Equipments / DishWashing Liquid / School Supplies & Office Supplies / Pencils, Ball-pen, Markers, Highlighter, Chalk, Crayola, Notebook, Binder, Clear-book, Record Book, School Forms, Class Record, Formal Theme Elem, HS, School Register, Lesson Plan, Yellow Pad, Intermediate Pad (Long-pad), Writing Pad, Quiz pad paper, Crosswise paper, lengthwise Paper, Column Pad, Index Card, Post-It-Notes, Club Carbon Paper, Art Paper, Construction Paper, Oslo Paper, Stencil Paper, Graphing Paper, Crepe paper, Felt Paper, Manila Paper, Cartolina, Illustration Board, Bond Paper, Colored paper, photo paper, Brown Envelope, File Envelope, Payroll envelope, Document Brown Envelope, Plastic Envelope, Envelope, File Folder, Folder Jacket, Sliding Folder, Plastic Folder, Expandable Folder, Kraft Folder, Morroco Folder, Portfolio, Correction pen (Liquid Paper), Eraser Chalkboard, Blackboard Eraser, Whiteboard Eraser, Pencil Eraser, School Glue (WHITE GLUE), Red-stone Paste, Clear Glue, Removable Glue, Envelope Moistener, Paste and Tube, clipboard, paper clips, Double Clip, Binder clips, Paper Fastener, Plastic Fastener, Metal Fastener, Pan – O Paper Clip, Alligator Clip, Push pins (Pin Board), Thumb Tacks, Stapler, staple, staple remover, paper puncher, Stamp pads, Ink for stamp, Office tape, scotch tape, Cello Tape, Packaging Tape, Sealer Tape , Sharpener, Ruler, protractor, compass, scissors, Typewriter Ribbon, Rubber bands, Air Freshener, clay bar.
Our Daily Challenge ... geometry
"7 Days of Shooting" "Week #27 - Weights and Measures" "Shoot Anything Saturday”
Early 18th century high tech. Still works perfectly as intended, operator error excepted.
Serves all your chart plotting, CAD drawing, ciphering needs at any altitude, in any weather conditions, marine environment tested tough. Some ink required. Graphite, vellum, and paper not included.
Cognitive & fine motor skills as well as deductive reasoning required for safe operation. Zero carbon footprint.
Taken along the footpath to Vesuvius' Gran Cono summit. Facing south-southeastward.
Ah, that Mediterranean haze. It's the product of the local atmosphere's high aerosol (suspended particle) count. That in turn can be due to various factors, including the automotive and urban pollution no doubt present this close to the Neapolitan megalopolis. But the main cause reportedly is dust blown northward from the Sahara Desert. The grand result of all these tiny floating bits of matter is the region's milky, misty, opalescent air.
In the left foreground we see a small stretch of the volcano's relatively steep western flank. On the Gran Cono, rocks and pumice shards generally have an angle of repose of about 30 degrees from horizontal. According to my own highly sophisticated measurement technology—a plastic protractor pressed against my PC screen—the lower slope is almost exactly that, with the upper portion being up to 40 degrees or so.
Far far beyond that crunchy, crumbly surface lies the city of Castellammare di Stabia, facing the Gulf of Naples. The Pompeii archaeological complex is also partially visible, I think, at far left behind the upper section of the slope.
The high ground on the horizon is the eastern side of the Sorrento Peninsula. It's composed of Mesozoic-era limestones with some Quaternary pyroclastic deposits wafted in from you-know-where.
Speaking of slopes, if you've ever driven around the Sorrento area, you know how vertiginous its peninsula's hillsides are in many places. With all those hairpin turns and tight bends around projecting masses of rock, it's not a good place for drivers to take their eyes off the road.
The other photos and descriptions of this series can be found in my Integrative Natural History of Mount Vesuvius & the Gulf of Naples album.
Detail from an old school protractor.
Instruments ~ 7 Days of Shooting
Thank you to everyone who pauses long enough to look at my photo, make a comment or Fave it.
Frank Stella (born Malden, Massachusetts, May 12, 1936) is an American painter and printmaker. In the 1960s, Stella began to use a wider range of colors, typically arranged in straight or curved lines. Later he began his Protractor Series of paintings, in which arcs, sometimes overlapping, within square borders are arranged side-by-side to produce full and half circles painted in rings of concentric colour. These paintings are named after circular cities he had visited while in the Middle East earlier in the 1960s. The Irregular Polygon canvases and Protractor series further extended the concept of the shaped canvas.
[274.3 x 274.3 cm]
gandalfsgalleymodern.blogspot.com/2011/10/frank-stella-fl...
Ever wonder what one should take with them on an extended international backpacking adventure? Well, here's what I took on a 4-month long backbacking trip to Japan. This is going to be a long read, with(almost) every piece of gear I carry with me on a trip like this, and brief descriptions where necessary.
Let me start by telling you how I organize gear. 1-Shelter(including clothing and sleep system). 2-Food/Water(including cook systems and water procurement systems). 3-Tools(including weapons, blades, electronics, etc). 4-Miscellaneous(Camera gear, repair kits, IFAKs, etc.) 5-Carry systems(backpacks, mostly)
Starting with Shelter(see top left of image):
-Koppen Viggo 20 sleeping bag. I've been meaning to get a quality bag, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. If it keeps you warm, then you can make do with it.
-Coghlan's Bug net. In the red stuff-sack. Absolutely essential on warm/temperate adventures. Trust me. No, really, trust me.
-Eno Singlenest hammock. Do NOT buy a lower quality hammock. Again, trust me on this one. I've seen FOUR cheap hammocks break without any misuse. Buy a quality hammock. Also note: Mine came with very heavy, solid steel carabiners and no hanging line. I've replaced the biners with Metolius FS Mini biners. They are incredibly light weight while retaining a 22KN strength rating. Highly recommended! For hanging line, I use 750 cord; light and strong enough to hang on.
UPDATE: I still use this hammock, but my suspension system has changed. I now use Amsteel Blue as my hanging line, and I use a knotless setup with aluminum descender rings.
-Blue blanket borrowed from ANA airline after I landed in Tokyo. I don't carry anything like this usually, but this one's sort of like a souvenir to me.
-Carabiners. Aformentioned Metolius FS Minis.
-Small green bundle of fabric is a home-made sil-nylon pack cover. Sil-nylon is incredibly light(I mean INCREDIBLY light), much less bulky than many other waterproof fabrics, but is not as durable. Mine has held up well, though.
-Green folded fabric is a home-made bivy sack. I do not use a tent for a few very good reasons. I'm often stealth-camping, and a tent is WAAAY to overt for that, and a tent is heavy and bulky to carry. I haven't used a tent in years and I've had absolutely no regrets. There are some sacrifices made when using a minimal system such as a bivy, though. Ask me about it if you want some pros and cons.
-Sleeping pad. I use a cheap, Wal-Mart sleeping pad, cut to shape in order to fit in the floor of my Alpacka Packraft. There are lots of good reasons to use a cheap, closed-cell foam pad instead of an expensive pad, but the primary reason is that your sleeping pad will probably be destroyed by use over time, and a ruined $8 pad is easier to swallow than a ruined $80 pad.
-Being used as a tablecloth in the image, a cheap 6'x10' tarp. For the same reasons I use a cheap sleeping pad, I use a cheap tarp. I do have to make a note here, though: Not all cheap tarps are the same. I wish I could give you advice on which brands to avoid and which ones to buy, but I really don't remember the brands of the tarps I've bought. Anyway, many cheap tarps have extremely weak eyelets, a weak weave, and(if this is important to you like it is to me), a gloss coat. Some, however, do not have those problems. It's hit-and-miss. Good luck when shopping around, and let me know if you find a decent brand.
Clothing:
-Under Armour compression boxers, 2 pairs. Not recommended. On long treks, they do not wick away sweat as advertised, so you'll end up clammy. They also ride up a bit, and I used to hate that, but I've realized that letting them ride up -though slightly uncomfortable- helps to minimize chafing in and round your sensitive bits.
-5.11 Level 1 9” socks, 3 pairs. The ONLY socks I adventure with. Fantastic elasticity, great durability, and don't start to stink for a loooong time. Great socks!
UPDATE: While I still love how comfortable they are, they aren't as durable as I used to think. I've now owned about a dozen pairs of these, and I've stopped buying them. I've switched to Vermont Darn-Tough socks. More durable, about as comfortable, and they have a lifetime warranty.
-Starter longsleeve base shirt and Starter shortsleeve base shirt, one each. I'm not a snob. I love quality gear, but when a cheap option works this well, I'll advocate its use. These Wal-Mart shirts work just as well as my Under Armour shirts, at a much lower price point. Recommended.
-5.11 Taclite Pro pants, 1 pair. Never ask me about these pants, because I will never stop talking about them. I have a confession(something some of you know already): I love good pants. I REALLY love good pants, and I've spent thousands of dollars on quality pants over the past few years, and out of ALL of them, the 5.11 Taclite Pros are the pick of the litter. They are the best pants I've ever owned, without a doubt. I have them in several colors, but my favorite color is Tundra.
-Lightweight synthetic shorts, 1 pair. Useful in hot weather and as swimming trunks. Here's just a general note: Avoid cotton in all of your clothing. Seriously, just avoid it.
-Light fleece pajama pants, 1 pair. Used as (surprise!) pajamas, but also as an insulating layer in cold weather.
-Light fleece pullover, 1. Insulator in cold weather.
-Columbia HeatMode 2 jacket. Thin jacket for wind/light rain protection. I use this often but it's now out of production. I always travel with a light jacket made of a tightly-woven, synthetic material for wind and rain protection.
-Tru-Spec Web belt. A great belt for it's $6 price point! Recommended if a higher quality belt isn't in the budget. Also, it's flexible enough to be comfortable underneath a backpack hip-belt.
-Baseball cap, for sun protection.
-Shemagh, for 8 trillion different reasons. I recommend everyone have a shemagh on them at all times. Great for lots of things, but I use mine primarily as a scarf, for sun protection, and as a face mask.
-Lightly insulated gloves, for cold weather and for keeping your hands clean while adventuring. I use mine often, always have a pair of gloves! Standard Mechanix gloves are basically a Gold-Standard for adventure gloves.
-Marmot Precip hardshell jacket and pants. Although pricey, I recommend these. I'd actually pay the high price to buy them again if anything happens to mine. Durable, light, packed with features. Great rain suit!
UPDATE: I did end up buying a second set of these after my first ones disintegrated, and my second set is now also disintegrating. I no longer recommend this set. I'll update when I find a good alternative.
-Finally, I separate my clean clothes and my dirty clothes in their own mesh bags.
Food(Top right of the image):
-I won't get into my usual backpacking food, but there are lots of good resources on the web for that kind of info. Message me if you want to know my usual choices.
-I will mention the protein powder, though. If you're hiking and doing a lot of physically demanding tasks, FEED YO' MUSCLES, SON!
-Hard-sided, watertight container. I carry most of my food in a container of this description. It keeps delicate food items or potentially messy food items from getting crushed, it has an air-tight seal to keep animals from sniffing out your food, and it's waterproof. Alternatively, you could use a roll-top dry-bag, but that wont keep your food from getting crushed.
-Jetboil Flash. I avoided Jetboil systems for a long time, primarily because of their price, but when I encountered a fellow traveler using one in the Redwood forests of Northern California, I was blown away. I bought one a few days later, and now I'm spoiled and I never want to use any other cooking system again. Highly recommended!
-Lexan spoon, but no fork. I don't carry a fork because chopstix are easily crafted from twigs or acquired from restaurants. Here in Japan, they give them to you at the cash register when you buy food at grocery stores.
-Spare fuel canister. I actually don't usually carry a spare, since one canister lasts so long, but when I took this photo, my current canister was running low, so I bought a replacement.
-P-38 can opener. Always.
Water(In front of the sleeping pad):
-Nalgene SILO 1.5l water bottle. Nalgenes are an industry standard, and for good reason. However, I'm not picky, as witnessed by the next bullet point...
-Generic 1.5l softdrink bottle, repurposed as a water bottle. Same capacity as the SILO, lighter, but not as durable. I'm not a loyalist to any brand here, not even Nalgene, just be sure to use a reasonably durable bottle.
-Katadyn Hiker Pro water filter. I've been using this filter for years. Highly recommended. I did install a pre-filter the day I got it, though. I use cheap, very small, very light fuel filters. Don't get hung up on certain brands or models, though. I've used MSRs and other Katadyns, and I've done lots of personal research, and they all seem to do the same thing with similar results. Just don't get a Lifestraw. Seriously.
Tools:
-Morakniv HighQ Robust(Not pictured). This tool, as well as the next three tools listed, were in my system until I was arrested in Tokyo and they were confiscated. As a knife guy, I could talk at length about options and philosophies of use, but I'll just leave it at this: Moraknives are the best fixed-blade knife you can buy at their price-point.
-5.11 folding knife. Cheap garbage(Not pictured). I got it as a promo item when I ordered some other 5.11 gear, but I brought it in place of a better, more expensive knife in case anything happened to it. I'm lucky I did...
-Lockpicks. I have Sparrows, SouthOrd, and Peterson lockpicks. I've picked my fair share of locks, and I want to tell you all something. Home-made lock picks are better than each of the above-named brands. My standard set contains the following picks, all hand-made by myself: A shallow hook, a deep hook, a DeForest diamond, a Bogota 2-peak rake, a top-of-the-keyway serrated tension wrench, and 2 bottom-of-the-keyway smooth tension wrenches in different sizes. I carry my picks in a Sparrows Sentry case. Sometimes I carry shims as well, but I wasn't carrying any when I came to Japan.
UPDATE: My every-day lock pick selection has changed. If I'm going minimalist, a set of SEREpicks are what I carry, but if I can spare the extra room, I also bring a traveler's hook, some shims, an EZ-Decoder, and a few bypass tools.
-Leatherman Wave(Not pictured). Always have your multi-tool. There are lots of variations, only you can decide witch one is best for you.
-The pliers on the bottom of the image are a stand-in for a multi-tool. I found them in an abandoned building, so I took them with me. Pliers are incredibly useful, which is one of the primary reasons for carrying a multi-tool.
-No-name, fixed blade knife(bottom-center, next to my Rhodia note pad). I bought this a few days after I got out of jail in Tokyo, and I was pleasantly surprised. It's roughly three-quarter tang, hand-profiled, very hard carbon steel blade. It's been great so far!
-Four-Sevens QT2A-X flashlight, with a poorly-done, home paintjob. I've been using this light for a few years now, and I cannot recommend it. I'm a “Flashaholic,” a term coined by Nutnfancy, so I am VERY particular when it comes to flashlights. This light does not stand up to my requirements. Ask me about it if you want to know more.
UPDATE: ARMYTEK, Surefire, or Streamlight are all great options. I've been carrying Armytek now for a while, and I can't recommend them enough.
-The light is in a home-made .93 Kydex holster. Very cheap, very trim, very effective, great retention.
-Also attached to the light is a Tac-Ord lanyard. I will always recommend attaching your light to a lanyard.
-Fenix diffuser head, modified for use on the above flashlight.
-Fenix Headband, for turning any light with a body diameter of 18-22mm into a headlight. Recommended! However, the process is slow. The retention screw must be completely removed in order to set the light into the clamp. A faster system would be nice, but I haven't found one that's better than this.
-Streamlight Nano/Terralux TLF-KEY1 frankenlight. I recommend both of these micro flashlights, but I recommend the frankenlight even more! With the body of the Streamlight and the head of the Terralux. :p
-Suunto A30 compass with a 550 lanyard. Great compass, very accurate, glow-in-the-dark, rotating bezel. Recommended.
-Garmin eTrex Legend handheld GPS. This thing is definitely dated, has an old, unreliable antenna, and has frustrating controls. Not recommended at all.
-Goal Zero Guide 10+ charger(pictured) paired with the Nomad 7 solar panel(not pictured). This system has served me well over the past 4 years. It charges 4x AA or AAA(with adapter) batteries at a time, and you can usually get enough sunlight in a day to make 2 full charges. It'll also charge my camera batteries, one at a time, and has a USB 2.0 port, so will charge cell phones, MP3 players, whatever. It's a decent, inexpensive system. You can't expect super high performance in a light, backpack-able package, but this is probably as good as you're going to get in this philosophy of use. I will say that it is the most versatile system I've ever found in my research. Recommended. Ask me about it if you want more info.
-8 Goal Zero NiMh, 2300mAH AA batteries, stored in a Bluecell battery case.
-8 Goal Zero NiMh, 800mAH AAA batteries, stored in a Bluecell battery case.
Miscellaneous Stuff:
-50-100' of 550 paracord. Innumerable uses.
-100' of bank-line. Choose your own diameter, I use #15. Great for anything that requires less bulk and strength than paracord.
-Sewing kit. Plenty of thread, multiple needles, stored in a plastic, flip-top tube container. I use mine constantly.
-Primary phone: Nokia Lumia 520 (Windows-based). Not recommended. Windows hasn't been working on their phone OS as long as Android and Apple has, so there are more bugs than the competitors.
-Secondary phone: Motorolla Moto G(Gen1) 8gb, Global GSM(Android-based). Fantastic phone at it's price! I did a lot of research before buying this phone, and I've been very happy with it.
UPDATE: Still using the Moto G series of phones. I'm currently using the Moto G 5 Play, and I'll be buying the 6 when this one dies.
-Note! The Maps.Me Android app is amazing for international travel. Requires no data, no service, nothing. You download whatever maps you want, and you can zoom in, search, navigate- all possible without any connection at all! Great app, very detailed maps for almost every country in the world.
UPDATE: STILL MY RECOMMENDED TRAVEL MAP APP!
-Notepad. Pictured is a French-made Rhodia dotPad #12. Not recommended. Assembled with a single staple, covers are falling off after 2 months of carry and use.
-Writing utensils: Pictured are a 1) Pilot Opt. 0.5 mechanical pencil. Terrible eraser, mediocre spring-tensioned clip. 2) Pilot 3-color, 0.5 Frixion pen. At first I was stoked on this pen. The ink used will disappear with heat, so you get a rubberized-plastic eraser that is designed to create heat through friction, making the ink almost completely disappear. But, after asking around, I've heard stories of ink disappearing when left on hot dashboards and such. That's a dealbreaker. 3) Stabilo Worker 0.3 pen. Not recommended. Running about $8, its ball-point system will NOT keep your lines anywhere near 0.3mm. More like .7 or so. Personally, I'd replace each of these with Zebra pens and pencils. Simple, attractive, reliable.
-Extra pencil lead. I like harder lead rather than softer, but I haven't done enough research or testing to recommend any certain brand.
-Full-sized notebook. The one I'm currently carrying another French-made book- a Jour & Etoffe Color-Fil, 6mm-ruled notebook. Recommended, but good luck finding one. I'm actually kind of particular with my notebooks, but carry whatever you want.
-Generic protractor/ruler combi-tool. I happen to enjoy technical drawing, so I carry something like this often, just to aid in my doodling. However, a ruler is very useful in travel. Most multi-tools will have one engraved in the handles.
-Tissues
-Primary wallet: Keep one wallet with your day-money and photocopies of your Ids in an accessible pocket.
-Secondary wallet: Keep another wallet with the rest of your money and your actual Ids in a separate pocket, preferably a more secure one.
-A few lighters. I don't smoke, but lighters come in handy every so often.
-MP3 Player. I hate iPods, so I've been trying different players over the years. The latest iteration of Sandisk's Sansa series, the Sport+ is actually pretty good. No removable battery, but it has expandable memory, so you can use your micro SD card.
UPDATE: The Sansa series was awful, so I found a generic MP3 player buy a company called Niusute, and it's been GREAT. I've had it for about a year now, and it's held up well. It doesn't have a user-replaceable battery, but it does have expandable memory, and its best feature is that it has a battery life of 80 hours! I use it constantly, and I generally recharge it once a week.
-Micro SD to regular SD adapter, in protective case.
-I am very partial to JVC Marshmallow headphones. I recommend them to everyone, but I bought a different kind of headphone after reading lots of favorable reviews. They have something of a cult following, but frankly, I have not found any reason to like the MonoPrice Hi-Fis. Mediocre. Better than dollar-store headphones, but not by a whole lot.
-Extra ear pieces for my headphones. I always manage to lose mine.
-On this trip, I brought a small Japanese dictionary. The one pictured is excellent. I did some research before settling on this one, and I'm glad I chose it. Recommended for anyone traveling to Japan.
-Pack towel. Never go anywhere without your towel! Arthur Dent will tell you why.
-Business cards. I don't have any reason to have my own, but I collect them everywhere I go from people I meet. It's easier than asking people for their Facebook or E-mail. Just get their business card and stick it in your wallet.
-Lenovo Thinkpad E440, with a Core i5. I usually don't travel with a full-sized computer, but I wanted to edit photos as I went, so I brought my photo-editing computer with me. Included is the appropriate charging cable, a wireless mouse, and a mouse pad. A note on the mouse: Bring a wired mouse when traveling if you bring a mouse at all. It wont take any of your valuable rechargeables, so they can be used elsewhere.
-Silicon Power 1TB external HDD. Highly recommended! I've had this for about a year and a half now, and I've thrown it in snow, dropped it on concrete, dropped it into a sink full of water... And it comes with its own cable, stored neatly in a built-in compartment. Great hard drive!
UPDATE: Still recommend these! Great hard drives!
Hygiene:
-Antibacterial wipes
-Nail clippers
-Razor
-Toothbrush
-Castile soap stored in a repurposed glycerin bottle. This stuff is amazing. I use Dr. Bronner's. It's made of plant material, non-toxic, biodegradable, and extremely versatile! It can be used as shampoo, body wash, face wash, shaving cream, and even toothpaste. As an added bonus for the Tea Tree variety of Castile soap- it acts as a bug deterrent. For about half a day after using it, it works very effectively to repel mosquitoes, gnats, ticks, whatevs. Highly recommended in every flavor!
-My hygiene supplies are all stored in a Kifaru zipper pouch.
Camera Gear: I'm not going to get much into camera gear here. It's not all pictured, but ask me about it if you want to know anything. I'm going to list a few things here, though. Just the “notable” things, I guess.
-Nikon D750.
-Canon 70D.
-5 batteries for each. A mix of OEM and non-OEM. There are lots of good off-brand batteries, do your research before buying.
-Joby Gorillapod Focus with the Ballhead-X. Highly recommended! Love this tripod.
-A zoom lens. At least 250mm, but keep weight in mind if you're backpacking.
-A 50mm lens. Because it's beautiful.
-A wide-angle lens.
-I personally love fish-eye lenses, so I carry one with me. I love being able to see ~so much~ and the distortion doesn't bother me at all.
-Chargers with car adapters.
-LowePro Toploader Pro 70AW. This is another thing that you shouldn't ever ask me about. I will talk your ear off about the quality and features for hours. Of ALL LowePro gear, for that matter. I also have their ProTactic 350. LowePro gear is not particular cheap, but it's worth every penny you'll pay for it. Would you put $5,000 worth of camera and lenses in a $20 case? I wouldn't. Amazing gear. Also, the AW versions have a built-in rain cover.
-Attached to the above bag is a LowePro lens case, compatible with LowePro's SlipLock attachment system.
-Extra memory cards. Seriously, bring extras.
Carry System:
-REI XT-85. I've been using it for two years. Highly recommended.
-Adidas Cinch-bag. Bought it in college, and it's still in great shape. Highly recommended. I bring this with me for times when I can store or hide my XT-85, so I can explore a city without being weighed down. There are lots of small packs that will fill this role, but this is what I had on hand, and I like it.
Not pictured: Here are things I usually bring, but didn't bring on this trip; or gear that I DO have now, but didn't put it in the picture for some reason.
-Handcuff key and Master bump key. Located in a hidden pocket somewhere on my clothing. When I was arrested in Tokyo, and they VERY thoroughly searched ALL of my belongings, they never found these. :)
-IFAK. Stands for Individual First Aid Kit. There isn't one pictured because my custom-built level 1 IFAK went missing before my trip. Whoops.
-A mesh bug shirt. These aren't super effective, but I often carry one because they are extremely lightweight, and offer a ~little~ bit of protection. Just enough to keep you from losing your mind as you set up your net over your sleep system.
-When I'll be filtering water from sources that are likely to contain critters, such as agricultural run-off, I will carry a water purifier in addition to my water filter. My purifier of choice is the Steri-Pen Adventurer Opti with the purpose-built solar charging case.
-Many of you know how much I love packrafting. When you carry one, you have to include the other components of the system. For me, these components are as follows: Packraft, paddle, repair kit, inflation bag, dry bag for the rest of your gear, paracord for lashing your gear to the raft while traveling by water, seat, seat back, riser seat, and stuff-sack. The entire system usually weighs about 7 pounds with the gear that I own and use. It's possible to get your entire packrafting system down to about 5 pounds.
-Guns. When I travel in places where I can legally carry a pistol, I carry a Glock 19(Gen 4) in one of two ways. When I carry openly, it's in a G-Code XST RTI holster on a Low-Ride RTI platform, attached to my clothing belt(not my pack belt). When I'm concealing, I add a Kifaru Koala to my pack system, and I carry the pistol in the Koala's dedicated CCW compartment. In either case, I always use Glock 17 magazines outfitted with Arredondo +6 extensions. Arredondo products are very highly recommended by me! Awesome stuff. I carry spare magazines in either a G-code dual mag holder(RTI variety), or in the mag caddies inside the Kifaru Koala.
-The Kifaru Koala is another piece of gear that I'll talk forever about. It's amazing. Perfect. Lovely. Perfect. Comfy. Perfect. I love it! Added bonus: Last year, Kifaru dropped the price on the Koala. Yay!
-Last but not least... Kelsey. Poor Kelsey got left at home on this trip. It was a difficult decision, and I've regretted it many times over since arriving in Japan. I only hope she'll forgive me when I get back. I'm sorry, Kelsey. :(
I think that pretty much covers it! That was even longer than I thought it would be... If you've made it this far, I'm sure you can tell by now that I'm very particular about the gear I use, and most of what I own has been thoroughly researched before it was purchased. I love quality gear, and it's very important to me to use gear that performs its intended task very well. I never buy anything just because it's the first thing I found on Amazon that does vaguely what I need it to do. No, I spend months, and sometimes even YEARS(no kidding) researching a particular piece of equipment before buying it. If I own it, it's because I have deemed it to be better than any other piece of gear that fits the exact niche I set out to fill.
A quickie tonight as I have had to prepare for an away day at work tomorrow. Thanks to Dwayne for getting me these whilst in Tesco tonight :-)
This was taken with the protractor and set square lying on my laptop monitor set to a white page (I turned the laptop upside down)with a polarising filter on my lens -it is called photoelasticity and is so easy to do.
video tutorial here www.flickr.com/groups/40407795@N00/discuss/72157626185092...
Posted for the Macro Mondays group's weekly theme of "Back To School".
You can find a wider angle view of the instruments in the comments below.
HMM to all in the group and a big thank you to anyone who takes the time and trouble to view, comment on and/or fave this one. :)
Things also needed for completion:
_Ruler
_Protractor
_Pen
_Argon
_Welding Rod
_Welding Machine
_Fork Jig
_Bending Machine
_Heatsinks
_Reamer
_Lathe
_File
_Saw
_Workbench
_Vise
_Sanding paper
_Plan
...Hands, Eyes and Heart
I did not have instructions for either the pentagonal or heptagonal boxes, but the instructions I had for the hexagonal and octagonal boxes were essentially identical except for the angle of a single crease. I guessed that the same instructions could also be used to produce the other two boxes by making that single change. I could easily figure out what angle would be needed for the pentagonal and heptagonal shapes, but figuring out how to create a fold at that angle without using a protractor - merely using additional folds to the paper - took a bit more thinking. But in the end I triumphed!
I created pdf instruction files for the pentagonal and hexagonal boxes so that viewers could compare two sets of instructions and see for themselves how similar they were. I put a lot of time and effort into making the instructions as clear and explicit as possible so that even a complete novice could follow them easily. I took photographs of every step of the folding-in-progress, and used photoshop to add extra information (circles around specified points, red lines indicating fold lines, etc) in several spots. I did not, however, put a lot of time and effort into making the pdf files visually pleasing. In general I put each instruction, with photo(s), on a separate page, so there's a fair deal of empty white space. But what the documents lack in formatting, they more than make up for in detail. They are certainly more detailed than any other instructions I have seen for the hexagonal model or similar models. You can find them online at ...well when I tried to paste in the link to the site I kept getting error messages, so I'll post the link as a comment below.
52 weeks of 2016
Chapter 2 - Storytelling
Please don't use my images on websites or any other media without asking for my written permission.
10th Regiment, Advanced Camp completes the Land Navigation Course during Cadet Summer Training at Fort Knox, Ky., July 16, 2022. Cadets are given a map, protractor, compass, and must find points on the Land Navigation course without the use of GPS devices. | Photo by 2nd Lt. Courtney Huhta, CST Public Affairs Office
Frank Stella 1972.
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
"The arcs and curves of York Factory A, a work of Stella's Protractor Series, are loosely based off of decorative Persian designs. Frank Stella had just returned from a visit to Iran before beginning the Protractor Series and was deeply impacted by the interweaving circular city plans that resembled 'snakes swallowing their tails.' "
43/365. May 8, 2009. Explored on May 8, 2009 #464! Thank you everyone! :)
Every time you leave,
I'm inconsolable.
<3.
Sorry to post and run, but I'm at work right now. When I get off work, I have to go help decorate for a wedding. I'll try to catch up with you all later! <3
I won't be online this weekend. I have a wedding tomorrow, and Sunday is Mother's Day. So I will catch up with you all + upload my 365 Sunday night/Monday!
I hope you all enjoy your weekend! :)
And a big thanks to :Meg: for the amazing testimonial! :)
Also, thank you so much Reαlly, Rαchel? for the dedication! :) & thanks so much to kaleamolloy for the dedication! :)
<3.
All images copyright © olivia house / ©oliviahousephotography. All rights reserved. Use without permission is illegal.
Preparing for a short VFR flight from N'Djamena (ICAO code FTTJ) to an airstrip outside Dourbali and back using pjedvajs Pilatus PC-9M in FlightGear 2.4.0 (an open source flight simulator).
I have not done this in a while, but have some nice memories from doing similar things in the past. Specially when I manage to pass the checkpoints on time. :-)
This time I cheated though, having "Real wheather", which would have updated the weather on regular intervals using fresh weather data (METAR), turned off.
The cruise altitude is 1000 ft AGL (above ground level) and the cruise speed 180 KIAS (knots indicated air speed).
The steps taken when preparing the map was:
1. Plotting the track using the pen and the protractor,
2. jotting down the true track and back track along with magnetic track and backtrack calculated using readings from the closest isogonic line (showing the magnetic deviation along that line),
3. marking easily recognizable checkpoints along the track,
4. measuring the distances by "copying" them using the divider and measure them against the graduation along the meridians (to do it against the parallels would indicate longer distances towards the poles), and finally
5. calculate the time I should pass each of the checkpoints from the air speed and distances using the flight computer and jot them down beside the checkpoints.
Do notice the lack of minute marks. I missed them a lot while flying.
The mistakes I did was that I measured the distance to the last checkpoint to short and that I somehow forgot to do the TAS (true air speed) to KIAS calculation... But at the altitude (968ft airport elevation + 1000 ft AGL = 1968 ft) it doesn't do as much difference as it could have done at say 20,000ft.
The flight was done on a FlightGear multiplayer server that was connected to a server that was saving a track of the flight. The flight track can be viewed at the FlightGear Tracker web site.
The flight computer is a Jeppesen CR-3. I have in the past, a couple of years ago, been able to do the wind calculations, but this time I cheated and had zero wind. Why the CR and not an E6-B? The CR can be manipulated with one hand, except for when plotting the wind dot, and all the parts is fastened together.
The chart is ONC K-3 (Operational navigation chart, sheet K-3), or rather the part of it that could fit an A4 sized sheet of paper while being true to scale (1:1 million), about 160 by 100 nautical miles. The chart was downloaded from the Map Collection of the Perry-Castañeda Library at the University of Texas Libraries. After the map was printed on a colour laser printer I laminated the upper side to make it possible to use it with a "grease" pencil. The grease pencil can be erased using water.
The photograph has been edited in GIMP to do a slight colour correction and a not so slight curve adjustment making the most of the image a lot brighter and the chart more readable.
Another great old house from our historic district. It was repainted a few years ago and the detail is amazing! (This reminds me so much of a protractor that I considered using a shot of one instead of this, but I don't seem to own one, so never mind!)
For the All New Scavenger Hunt #8 - Half.
Cadets from 10th Regiment, Advanced Camp, completed their land navigation qualification at Fort Knox, Ky., July 28, 2023. Armed with a compass, protractor, pencil, map, and a list of coordinates, the Cadets set out, fueled by determination, to find each of their points in under 4 hours. | Photo by Rosalita Mitchell, Ball State University, CST Public Affairs Office
I'm taking Genevieve Crabe's Mandala class on www.craftartedu.com; and this is my first one, drawn with a ruler, compass, and protractor. (I know! SCARY, huh, except NOT! She takes all the mystery out of the little bit of math and makes it easy. Way easy! This is the first template she walks you through, there's one more, which I will do, and then I will make my own. Such fun! BTW, mine is different than hers by the tangles in the sections.
Collage, glue, pigment ink on paper.
18" x 24"
2012
Enrique Castrejon
MOCA Fresh Art 2012
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
Measured in inches
Scale 1/8" = 1/8"
Angle Degrees Equation:
(360˚- X˚= Y˚)
Enrique Castrejon: Artist Statement
I linearly dissect and cut appropriated images found in variety of eclectic media sources such as newspapers, magazines, advertisements and photographs, art books, Sotheby’s auction catalogs, porn, personal photos and online sources into smaller identifiable geometric shapes. I investigate and describe what I see through measurements. I transform this selected graphic imagery into quantified drawings mapped by measuring distances between points (x inches), at times calculating the varied angle degrees created within the shapes (360˚-A˚= B˚), and/or written data related to the image of each shape. The distances around the shapes are measured in inches and their corresponding degree angles are calculated with a protractor and calculator. These precise measurements abstract the image interfering and altering its fixed meaning, creating other possible interpretations through this linear dissection. The final results are written around the shapes creating an intricate explosive web of verifiable units. This repetitive and meditative process allows me to map out the drawing and reveal the invisible mathematical language found in everything. Also, in creating these fragmented and measured drawings from the cut up parts of the whole and reconfigured, I challenge our perceptions of what is real, forcing us to think critically about information that is constantly bombarding our everyday lives through images selected in directed advertisements, pop-culture sources, editorials and news stories found in printed and online media.
Enrique Castrejon lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. Castrejon’s work is also traveling nationally in a group exhibition called Out of Rubble, organized and curated by Susanne Slavick, that looks at how artists have “reacted to the wake of war – its realities and representations.” Castrejon was also a featured artist and panelist on a KPCC 89.3 radio program, Air Talk with Larry Mantel on the topic of Chicano Art & Pacific Standard Time exhibit with participating artists and panelists Gronk, Patissi Valdez and Sonia Romero.
On March 6th 1890, a New York pharmaceutical manufacturer named Eugene Schieffelin released 60 European Starlings into Central Park. Although this action might seem trivial and harmless at first, it has caused irreversible widespread ecological damage all across North America.
At the time, Schieffelin was the chairman of the North American Acclimization Society, a society that strived to introduce European flora and fauna into North America for economic and cultural reasons. One of his main goals was an effort to release every type of bird mentioned in a Shakespearean play into New York City. The society had released other birds that were mentioned in Shakespearean plays, such as nightingales and skylarks but none had survived.
120 years later there are now more than 150 million non-native and invasive European Starlings in the United States. The Starlings dominated bird food webs and ecological niches. The protractor muscles of European Starlings’ beaks allow them to pry and probe better than other birds. In addition, they can open their bills after pushing them into the soil, which allows for easier foraging skills compared to other native New York birds. Starlings have also been known to bully other birds by kicking species such as bluebirds, flickers and woodpeckers out of their nests.
This is what's in The Bag I carry everywhere:
Left Column:
-North Face Summit Series micropuff insulating parka. Compresses into its own pocket to 8”x8”x3”.
-Arc’Teryx Theta AR Gore-tex Proshell. 100% Wind and waterproof. Possibly the best shell money can buy. Craigslist will often have them for a fraction of retail in past years’ models.
[The shell and micropuff worn together provide about all the layering I need for whatever weather may strike when paired with whatever regular shirt or fleece or wool sweater I have on for the time of year.]
-Northface Horizon Peak Surplus cargo pants. Ultralight, breathable, moisture-wicking, quick-drying. In the winter months I throw in a pair of Under Armour long-johns.
-Smartwool hiking socks.
-Extra pair of microfiber skivvies.
-Arc’Teryx Covert Beanie
-Seirus Hyperlite All-Weather softshell/neoprene gloves
Left center:
-Arc’Teryx B.A.C. breathable, quick-drying ball cap. [Usually worn]
-Mil-spec low-profile ANSI-rated shatter-resistant sunglasses. [Usually worn]
Center:
-MSR Mini-works charcoal/ceramic water filter. [Typically wrapped in the micro-puff jacket in the bottom of the pack to insulate the ceramic filter element from shock. ]
-Eaton FR160B Microlink self-powered AM/FM/NOAA radio with LED flashlight, Solar power, hand-crank dynamo and USB Cell-phone charger. [Bought this after my cell-phone died and my car-charger stopped working right and I kept leaving my wall-charger at work. Figured I always have my backpack. This way, I now also always have a cell-phone charger. And a NOAA radio. And a flashlight. Cool, eh?]
-Ka-Bar USMC Fighting Knife. Of course I have one of these. (hidden behind sleeping bag, sorry)
-Estwing Sport Hatchet. If you haven’t read Gary Paulsen’s “Hatchet”, you really aren’t a survivalist.
-8x10 camouflage tarp. I slip this down along the back panel in the bag. It weighs next to nothing, but will provide more than adequate shelter if I can’t get to my tent in the truck.
Snugpak 40*F Jungle Bag. Works well for 9 months of the year around my area. When paired with a fleece or wool blanket, it’s good for even the chillier nights. Probably wouldn’t cut it above the snowline for too long, but with the AMK Heatsheets space-blanket bivy in my shoulder bag, I could get by.
-SealLine USMC Waterproof compression drysack. Because a wet sleeping bag is worthless, and it weighs almost nothing.
-100% wool military surplus blanket. Because it’s rad and warm and comforting.
Right:
-Stainless steel water bottles. Keeps water cold in the summer. Can be heated over a fire.
MSR Pocket-Rocket micro-compact stove. The smallest most-powerful stove I’ve found for the price-point. Simmers decently.
-Brunton stove canister with Brunton collapsible stove stabilizer. Keeps your stove from tipping over.
-SnowPeak Mini Solo titanium cookset. 28 oz pot, 10 oz cup, lid. Ultralight cookset. Easy to clean.
-SnowPeak stove canister. Small enough I just felt like throwing it in as a backup.
-Silicon hotpad. Those little wire handles on the cookset get pretty hot. This helps. It’s virtually melt-proof, waterproof and doesn’t take up much room.
-The stove fits in the little red case, which fits inside the cookpot along with the stove stabilizer and the pot-holder, and the cup fits over the end of the pot. It all fits tidily in a mesh bag with the canisters.
-Starbucks VIA instant coffee single serve packets. Because an emergency is not the time to have a caffeine headache.
-AMK (Adventure Medical Kits) Ultralight & Watertight .7 first-aid kit.
-Buck tactical folding lock-back knife.
-Laminated/waterproof maps: Two metro regions, two states, three full topographical maps of closest national parks/forests. Compass and protractors are in the shoulder bag.
-Hand sanitizer
-Hygiene/shaving kit
-Insect repellant (“All Terrain” all-natural)
-Spare eyeglasses
-2x 12-hr green glowsticks
-Surefire E2D flashlight
-Blackhawk S.O.L.A.G. Nomex/Leather protective gloves. Sometimes stuffed into the shoulder bag if I’ve been using them.
Hi guys! Hope you're well!
Firstly, if you go into Starbucks today before 12 you can get a free latté, i'm definitely going to pop in this morning. Sit in there and read for a bit I think.
Well not much to report.
Got up yesterday, had breakfast and went into town. Bought these French curves and some things for lunch and came back again... took my photos for the day.
Similar to day 1
www.flickr.com/photos/peterchinnock/5820242953
You pull up a white screen on your computer and prop up anything really plasticy such as a ruler, protractor, CD case etc etc... and then with a polarising filter you twist until the the planes don't allow light through this makes the screen appear black. The plastic then distorts the polarised light so it can get through the filter. Engineers used to use this to test stress and strain on models.
Polarised light is light in on plane, vertical or horizontal.
Say these:
| | | | | | | | |
Are light rays coming out your computer towards you.
The polarising filter is essentially lots of tiny lines with gaps between where the light can pass:
| | | | | | | | |
However, when we twist the filter, we change the gaps which the light can pass through too:
/ / / / / / / /
This will reduce the amount of light passing through. We can continue to rotate it round to 90degrees.
- - - - - - - - - - -
No vertically polarised light will be able to pass through like this. Except distorted light which happens as it passes through the plastic.
Started explaining it and got a bit carried away!
Little vid I made sort of showing the effect:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_m4RTl2tsQ
Spent the rest of the day doing a ground floor plan for my building which took ALL DAY. from 2 ish til 11 with a break for lunch and dinner.
I've got 4 more to do and 4 days to do them in. Super week this is planning out to be hehe
Have a great day guys, enjoy your coffee if you pick one up!
Hit 'L'
at the Parassinikkadavu Shree Muthappan Temple.
He's the god for the common man.
Shree Muthappan is the Hunter God in Kerala, the benevolent protractor who speaks to the devotees through a human medium.
The human medium is severely austere before he embodies the lord & gradually enters into a divine trance.
The dancer is dressed elaborately and distinctively. The basic colors used are white, red & yellow much like an early Kathakali character. Other then a fish shaped headgear, Thiruvappana is also adorned with armlets, upper armbands, breast pieces and tasselled mirror work waistbands, all of which combine to create enormously heavy apparel. The headgear of Vellattam is a layer upon layer of plaited straw decorated with Chekki flower (Ixora javanika) and Tulsi (Basil – Ocimum Sanctum) with many decorative ornaments tied to it. The headgear symbolizes Shiva’s matted locks, goddess Ganga and the crescent moon. He carries a bow-and-arrow in one hand and a sword in the other.
The rhythmic footwork as he hops and swirls appropriately portrays the Hunter God. The brisk movement becomes light and soft at times and then using the sword Muthappan dances with frenzy to the resonant beat of the chenda. This magnificent rendering invokes a deep sense of reverence.
The dancer is offered Paan (folded betel leaves with chunam & betelnut in the middle) and Kallu (toddy). He drinks the toddy in a traditional kerala mug called Kindi. The other offerings made to the lord include boiled rice with shredded coconuts, ghee, black pepper and barbequed fish. This is known as Payyankutti.
The evening rituals include only Vellattam & mornings have both Vellattam as well as Thiruvappana. According to an ancient belief Vellattam is identified with Shiva while Thiruvappana is identified with Vishnu.
This is one of the few temples in India where meat & liquor are offered to the deity. Another important thing here is that there is no restriction on who can enter the temple. People from all religions and caste are permitted
Information courtesy – Parassinikkadavu Shree Muthappan Temple
I've been having fun making lot of shavings over the last few days. The time came to pull the pile of wood that's going to be my workbench, out of the corner of my garage where it's been for the last 7 years, and get on with it. I had got as far as laminating the 4 inch thick worktop and cutting the big mortice and tenon joints for the massive legs and stretchers and then I lost steam. My plane became dull and I faffed around looking for a big piece of plate glass to sharpen it on. I wanted a big 2ft long piece which was harder to find than I thought, so the wood slowly made it's way to the back of the garage and I made do with an old kitchen worktop. Not having a bench to make the bench didn't help either...
www.flickr.com/photos/philandpam/2159441291
Since building my frame I've had a renewed desire to finish my bench and create a nice space for making things, so I cleared a load of junk out of the garage and made some space to get building. I used the simplest method to sharpen my plane, I just ran some wet and dry sandpaper under the tap and slapped it on a tile on the kitchen floor, then I used a protractor to eyeball a 25 degree angle and just ran the iron up and down the sandpaper by hand, holding the angle as best I could. The wet sandpaper held itself in place from the surface tension and the water provided lubrication too. I started with 240 grit, then 400, 800, and 2500, then did the same for a 30 degree secondary bevel. It didn't take long at all and I was soon making nice fine shavings that you could see your fingers through.
The legs are gluing at the moment and maybe I'll get around to gluing the stretchers in tomorrow. Then it's time to mortice a slot for the face vice and and a planing stop, and the job I'm least looking forward too, flattening the top...
Get your bearings before you break out the protractor and tackle the topographic map.
Once you master: always read a military map "Right and Up"... you'll be rattling off 8-digit grid coordinates in no time.
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Geometry Tools
The current Toybox 52 Theme is Geometry. So I asked some advice from Blueprint, who knows all about it - he’s always to be found with a pair of compasses in hand and loves to sketch and draw geometric shapes. More info. Ref: D1097_17
Cadets from 10th Regiment, Advanced Camp, completed their land navigation qualification at Fort Knox, Ky., July 28, 2023. Armed with a compass, protractor, pencil, map, and a list of coordinates, the Cadets set out, fueled by determination, to find each of their points in under 4 hours. | Photo by Rosalita Mitchell, Ball State University, CST Public Affairs Office
Most triangulation pillars are situated on top of hills, however the summit of Farley Mound is occupied by a pyramidal monument, so this one has to stand to one side. This means that it doesn't have an uninterupted 360 degree view as the Iron Age mound that the monument is on obscures the view to the south-west.
Trigpoints are the common name for these "triangulation pillars". These concrete pillars, are about 4' tall, and were used by the Ordnance Survey in order to determine the exact shape of the country. They are generally located on the highest bit of ground in the area, so that there is a direct line of sight from one to the next. By sitting a theodolite (an accurate protractor built into a telescope) on the top of the pillar, accurate angles between pairs of nearby trigpoints could be measured. This process is called "triangulation".
A major project to map out the shape of Great Britain began in 1936. The network of triangulation pillars, with accurately known positions, led to the excellent OS maps. The coordinate system used on these maps is known as the "National Grid", and it is essential that you are familiar with this system if you are to get the most of OS maps.
Greenock war memorial stands in front of the entrance gates of Wellpark in Regent Street, Greenock. It was unveiled on Saturday 4th October 1924. The architect was Messrs. Wright & Wylie and the sculptor Alexander Proudfoot, both of Glasgow. Proudfoot was born in Liverpool of Scottish parents and served in the Artists Rifles in WWI. During the war he also designed and patented a new form of protractor / rangefinder for the Vickers machine gun and later began to model relief landscapes of the trenches for army intelligence. After the war he became head of sculpture at Glasgow School of Art. The Greenock monument is loaded with symbolic meaning which is detailed in the booklet which was issued for the unveiling ceremony.
Tried a bit of cross polarization today, something I have wanted to try for a long while and ended up doing the protractors and ruler that everybody do's, but hay they work the best and every body has has a set. A couple of polarizing filters, a light source and a bit of macro photography and here is the result.
This was taken for the 3 Legged Thing 'A Year in the Life' 52-week challenge. This weeks subject is artificial light, and what could be more artificial than a cross-polarisation shot?
This is similar to something I've done before, but I think this version is a superior image...
ORLANDO, Fla. – The 143d Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) Best Warrior Competition began in earnest today as 12 Soldiers from the 143d ESC and the 321st Military Intelligence Battalion demonstrated their physical power and mental might to complete a gauntlet of Soldier skills.
Dawn had yet to illuminate the lakes and trees blanketing Camp Blanding, Fla., when the Soldiers endured an Physical Fitness Test directed by Army Reserve drill sergeants from A Company, 2nd Battalion, 485th Infantry Regiment (Initial Entry Training) out of Jacksonville, Fla. After completing pushups, sit-ups and a two-mile run, the competitors had less than hour to eat, clean, change uniforms, don rucksacks and step into a van bound for Camp Blanding’s live fire ranges.
The 143d ESC cadre and A-2/485 drill sergeants managed the ranges that tested the each competitor’s competency with the M4 Carbine, M9 Pistol and M203 Grenade Launcher—all while wearing a gas mask. The Soldiers were then ferried deep into Camp Blanding’s dense forest. The troops applied their land navigation skills to physically locate three distant points on a map using only a compass and protractor.
As the hot, dry day relinquished control to a cold, moonless night, the competitors returned to the field with weapons in hands and night vision goggles over their eyes. Muzzle flashes pierced the darkness as the competitors attempted to eliminate their artificially illuminated targets.
The exhausted yet enthusiastic dozen returned then to their barracks to clean weapons, write an essay and prepare for another grueling day that begins with a 10-mile road march.
Photos by Sgt. John L. Carkeet IV, 143d ESC, and Spc. Aaron Barnes, 321st MI BN
I spent a Saturday morning at the superb North Carolina Museum of Art. I hope to return several times, and to keep adding to a set that will show the range of the collections, the beautifully designed new building, and the outdoor sculpture park and greenway that connect it to North Carolina's capitol city.
online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052748704895204575...
www.briandavidjoyner.com/photography/2010/the-new-north-c...
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"To many artists of Frank Stella’s generation, the highly subjective paintings of the abstract expressionists seemed mannered and self-indulgent. Stella’s response was to systematize the abstract picture using geometry and a strict but arbitrary set of procedures. Explaining that his art “is based on the fact that only what can be seen there is there,” he sought to distill the image to paint and canvas alone. He stripped his paintings of story or statement—even a brushstroke conveyed too much personality. Stella methodically developed images in series, first mapping the designs on paper before transferring them to canvas. Little was left to chance.
Raqqa II belongs to Stella’s aptly titled Protractor Series, begun in 1967. Though never completed, the series was to include thirty-one compositions, each to be carried out in three different formats: interlaces, rainbows, and fans. He titled the paintings after ancient, circular-plan cities. (Raqqa in Syria was an important trade center under the Arab caliphs.) Raqqa II does not lie quietly on the wall. It dominates its surroundings. What at first glance appears like a childlike pattern is actually a highly complex exercise in perception. Bright bands of flat color arc and overlap, promising an illusion of receding space. However, their containment within a strict system of seven shaped and framed units confounds that illusion. The monumental scale and aggressive confidence of Raqqa II typify American art during the 1960s."