View On Black

One of several Mark Rothko pieces at the MOMA, NYC.

"The progression of a painter's work as it travels in time from point to point, will be toward clarity.. toward the elimination of all obstacles between the painter and the idea.. and the idea and the observer.. To achieve this clarity is inevitably to be understood."

- Mark Rothko (September 25, 1903–February 25, 1970), was a Latvian-born American painter. He is classified as an abstract expressionist.

She is enchanting, isn’t she !!!! She was just staring at me sitting close to my feet in Corfu, this last summer. My son Nicholas was cuddling her ;…such a calm, lovely creature ; what was she….thinking? Just a stray , adorable cat, strolling around the tavern ….With such a great impact on my mind and soul !!

“….The great creativity of consciousness is your heritage. It does not belong to mankind alone, however. Each living being possesses it, and the living world consists of a spontaneous cooperation between the smallest and the highest, the greatest and the lowly, between the atoms and the molecules, and the conscious reasoning mind” (“The Nature of Personal Reality” :A Seth Book—Jane Roberts)

laboratorio de ying, nyc.

A twins lens reflex "street"camera (TLR) is an eccentric thing. It presents to the world its single vulnerability, that it has two separate eyes with two separate functions. Another oddity about it is the way that it sees the world, as a perfect square.

One could also feel upon first seeing this thing, that it is actually taking not one but two pictures of you, a daunting idea. Of course, following this line of reasoning, the antique multiplying camera of a century ago would make any photographic subject numb with confusion.

The doubled idea: two eyes, two lenses, two participants (a photographer and his camera), two lovers and twin souls prevails here.

The English Aptus is the camera that appears in my imagination for this design, for unexplainable reasons.

The Aptus was successful and efficient for its time. It deservedly became a workhorse. It was also extremely plain, even more than the infamous Fotron. That is what inspired me to deeply upgrade it.

My design alters the Aptus to become two towers, reminiscent of a twins lens reflex, and a walkway that connects them. The camera has a double bellows, of fixed length: a modern one with glass and greenery, the other a traditional one lined with an interior leather and a cool clay exterior shell. The Dark Tower has a chute in the back for a the plates to drop down to the developing tank disguised as, and underneath a shared walkway. The clear tower and its bellows extends out to the street, so the journey for the public is from the darkness to a more natural, open yet enclosed surrounding and then onto the outside street). This Valentine's Day "Street" Camera kit comes with figures of pets and children to place along the street recalling an unconventional Shanghai "Longtang" or communal alley.

The exterior graphic for this camera was adapted from a lovely embroidered painting of the artist Keiko Minami. I developed the camera interior and the main design theme from a single (yet crucial) line in her painting which poetically suggested a shared plinth and a shared bearing wall.

Design, text and drawing are copyright 2014 by David Lo.

The Trotwood Walmart closed its doors in October of 2007. The reasoning behind the closure was poor sales. This is one of the few Walmarts closed without a direct replacement.

WEEK 16 – Barnes & Noble Ole Miss: Reunionited and It Feels So Good (II)

(cont. from Thursday) – there’s also a second entrance right next to this entrance! Not quite sure what the reasoning behind this one was, but hey, at least it makes the place very easy to access :P Also, as you can see behind that second entrance, there’s an entirely separate additional, even larger café seating area to the left of the Starbucks, in addition to the seating area to the right that I already showed y’all earlier. Entrance doors and seating options are two things that this place certainly isn’t hurting for, haha!

Like I said, this seating area is much larger than the other one, and (as much as I liked the wall décor) has a much better view, with that full-size wall of windows looking out the front of the Union (where, by the way, I can also see a B&N Starbucks Café sign – aha, figured one had to be around here somewhere!). I also like how, if you look really closely, you can see that the little sliver of window between the two sets of doors on the right has a vertical “Thank you for shopping” message.

(c) 2021 Retail Retell

These places are public so these photos are too, but just as I tell where they came from, I'd appreciate if you'd say who :)

Built in the same architectural style as Emerald and Mount Morgan stations, also in the Central Division of Queensland Railways, Archer Park was the next station north of Rockhampton's main Stanley Street station and is a long, covered station that was once busier than the main station. It sits beside the long straight section of North Coast line which runs down the middle of Denison Street in Rockhampton. It is now an excellent railway museum and something for this fine regional city to be proud of. If you are in the area, don't miss visiting it. Here is the rather long history.

Archer Park Railway Museum is a heritage-listed former railway station and now transport museum at Denison Street, Rockhampton, Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1897 to 1908. It was known as Archer Park railway station and Rockhampton Central railway station. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.

The Museum's main attraction is a rare French Purrey steam tram reconstructed using parts from the original fleet of steam trams operated by Rockhampton City Council.

Archer Park Railway Station, the former Rockhampton Central Railway Station, is situated on Denison Street and forms an important link with the social, cultural and transport history of Rockhampton and Central Queensland. It was the major railway station in Rockhampton from the turn of the century until the mid 1920s, and is an important element in the development of the railway network in Queensland, and the growth of the North Coast Railway in the early part of the twentieth century.

The Archer brothers had made a private expedition to the Rockhampton district in 1853, and were the first Europeans to record and chart the Fitzroy River. The Archers were also the first European pastoralists to arrive in the area. Their establishment of Gracemere Station led to further pastoral expansion into the area.

After the short lived Canoona gold rush of 1858, Rockhampton was proclaimed as a town and declared a port of entry in 1858. Following the gold rush the town of Rockhampton developed as an entry and export town for central Queensland. Rockhampton continued to eclipse its nearest rival Gladstone for nearly a century as the principal port for Central Queensland.

In 1863 the Parliament of Queensland passed the controversial Railway Bill, which committed Queensland to the use of a narrow gauge for the development of its Main Line railway in Queensland. Other colonies in Australia at this time had adopted broader gauges for use on their rail networks. The reasoning behind this decision was that a narrow gauge would have lower construction costs.

The first section of the Queensland railway network was opened between Ipswich and Bigges Camp (now Grandchester) on 31 July 1865, and later extended to link the towns of Warwick, Dalby and Toowoomba with Ipswich. At the time that the Railway Act had been passed, the 5000 citizens of Rockhampton objected to having no provision made for the construction of a railway to their hinterland, where copper was being exploited in the Peak Downs area. A railway was thought necessary to ensure development of the interior.

The first length of Central Western railway line was opened to Westwood some 30 miles (48 km) from Rockhampton in 1867. The line was extended beyond the coastal ranges in 1872, reaching Emerald in 1879. The Central Western Railway was progressively extended further west reaching Longreach in 1892, and remained an isolated railway system, with no connection to the southern division of Queensland railways until 1903.

In 1882 after Brisbane had acquired a railway to the seaside at Sandgate, Rockhampton clamoured for a similar connection to its resort at Emu Park. Construction of the Emu Park railway line was approved in 1885 and the line opened in 1888. The 1880s was a period of economic and civic expansion in Rockhampton as a result of the discovery and exploitation of the gold and ore body at Mount Morgan in the Dee Range forty kilometres from Rockhampton.

The line, similar to Bundaberg, featured a railway system divided by a major river. This consisted of a line running from a terminus in Stanley Street, Rockhampton to Gracemere and westwards, and the line at North Rockhampton to Emu Park with no physical connection. Two years after the opening of the Emu Park line, the Railway Department began investigating the possibility of linking Rockhampton's two separate railways. The bridging of the Fitzroy River and the cost of land resumptions to join the two terminus stations were to be major difficulties in connecting the two lines.

Trial surveys in 1890 investigated two routes, but the financial crisis of 1893 forestalled further work. The impetus for bridging the Fitzroy River came from the decision of the Queensland Government to construct a deepwater port at Broadmount (now Thompson Point) at the mouth of the Fitzroy River in 1894, and to link the Central Railway with North Rockhampton via a bridge across the Fitzroy and a line running via Denison Street. The original plan called for a single line down Denison Street and for a single track bridge, however the Rockhampton City Council protested against this decision. Following a visit to Rockhampton by railway engineer Henry Charles Stanley, the management of the Lakes Creek Meatworks at North Rockhampton convinced the Railway Department to construct a double line to North Rockhampton, as it was felt that developments in livestock and goods traffic would justify the initial outlay. In 1895 construction was approved for what was to be known as the Rockhampton Junction Railway. The new bridge and connecting line were the first examples of double lines outside of the Brisbane-Ipswich metropolitan area. The Rockhampton City Council gave half of Leichhardt Park (now Archer Park) and Denison Street which allowed for the construction of a central railway station. The Council approved this work in October 1896.

The future station at Archer Park was first sketched out in 1897 in Brisbane. The concept developed was for a station separate from the main line down Denison Street, but connected via a loop line crossing the southbound line by crossovers and slip points. A single platform was to be provided 300 feet (91 m) long and 20 feet (6.1 m) wide, with an arched carriage shade running full length of the platform. The track to the platform and the three track loop line left only a small strip of roadway available along Denison Street. The plan was subsequently altered to allow for a larger space for vehicular traffic on Denison Street.

An amended plan for the station building was prepared in late 1897. This incorporated a station building 140 feet (43 m) long, with a 10 feet (3.0 m) wide verandah running its full length along the street elevation. A cloak room was also added to the plan.

Final plans were produced in 1898 by architect Henrik Hansen (1843-?). Hansen had joined the Queensland Railways in 1877, and was responsible for the design of many utilitarian buildings and structures. He was also responsible for the design of the railway stations at Mount Morgan (1898), Cunnamulla (1898) and Winton (1898), the refreshment rooms at Toowoomba (1900), and Emerald railway station (1900). Hansen was also involved in the design of the new North Ipswich Railway Workshops (c.1901-13). Hansen was retrenched in 1904. Similar features of the stations designed by Hansen, particularly at Mount Morgan, Cunnamulla and Winton, included an all-over arch roof or carriage shade, designed to provide cover to passengers and goods being loaded at the platform.

The tender for construction of the Rockhampton Junction Railway was awarded to GC Willcocks in 1897. The contract involved the construction of the branch to Broadmount, the Denison Street line, and the Alexandra Railway Bridge. Construction was delayed until 1898 on the bridge due to flooding on the Fitzroy River.

Tenders were called in September 1897 for the construction of a residence for a station master for Archer Park. Thomas McWatters won the contract for £520, and the building was completed in sixteen weeks. In July 1898 tenders were called for the erection of a signal cabin at Archer Park, and one tender was received from Watson and McDonald for £168. The system of interlocking signalling and pointworks led to discussions between HC Stanley and Traffic Manager Thallon in 1898. Thallon had suggested to deviate the mainline so as to enter Archer Park railway station, to avoid running interlocking gear and signal wires along Denison Street. However the original plan to enable trains to run along Denison Street without entering Archer Park was retained.

Tenders were called for the Rockhampton Central Station in February 1899. Thomas Butterworth Renshaw and Harry Ricketts submitted a tender of £4,130. Electric lighting of the station was considered during construction; however gas was installed instead.

The Rockhampton Junction Railway was officially opened on 6 November 1899. With the completion of the Alexandra Railway Bridge, the Emu Park and Central Railway provided a unified rail link between the two halves of Rockhampton. The Archer Park station was not ready for the opening of the Junction Railway, and no official opening ceremony was held; however the station was opened for the use of the public from 11 December 1899. The official name Archer Park was adopted in October 1899, rather than Leichhardt Park, from which it was resumed.

Being the central station for Rockhampton, Archer Park superseded the Stanley Street station not long after its construction. Mail trains to Brisbane departed from Archer Park following completion of the Gladstone-Rockhampton link in 1903. Archer Park was designed as a passenger station, and did not handle goods traffic apart from parcels and mail. The station was also important as the departure and terminating point for services to Mount Morgan, Emu Park and the local suburban services to Lakes Creek at North Rockhampton. Excursions to the seaside at Emu Park and later Yeppoon were also extremely popular.

In 1906 plans were drawn up to extend the building to provide for a refreshment room. The refreshment room was to be provided at the northern end of the station building, and was to include a bar for patrons. The rooms opened in 1908, and were leased by private operators until the Government established the Railway Refreshment Room services in 1916.

Denison Street was to be a major problem for train operations within Rockhampton. As the route of the railway was along a major thoroughfare across several open level crossings, trains were limited to a maximum speed of 10 miles per hour (16 km/h). Trains were also required to provide an audible signal to warn motorists and pedestrians along Denison Street of their passage. The warning was given by the fireman on the engine ringing a brass hand bell.

The Central Western Line continued to expand throughout the early part of the twentieth century. Prior to 1922, up to twenty five daily departures and arrivals could be recorded at Archer Park. By 1922 the station layout at Archer Park was too restrictive to handle the increasing length of passenger and mail trains. With the completion of the North Coast Line from Rockhampton to Mackay in 1921, operational difficulties were increased as the length of mail trains frequently fouled the crossover, leading to the blocking of the main line. The length of trains also meant that vision between the signalman on duty and the driver of trains was obscured.

As the signal cabin for Archer Park was situated on the western side of the station loop lines, firemen looking back along the length of the train were unable to be given a proceed signal. To assist in the problem of observing passing trains on the main line in Denison Street, sheets of galvanised iron were removed to open up a view from the platform area.

The Stanley Street station was enlarged in 1923 to cater for longer trains, and two 600 feet (180 m) long platforms were provided. The station was further enlarged between 1924 and 1928, making it the major station in Rockhampton. The long distance mail and passenger trains all departed from the Stanley Street station leaving Archer Park to cater for more local services.

During the Second World War Archer Park station was again utilised for services to cope with the dispatch and transport of allied army troops stationed in the Rockhampton area.

The signal cabin on the Denison Street side of the station was moved into the station building in 1956. Prior to this the station had been downgraded in staffing in the early 1950s as an economy measure. The movement of the cabin had been protested by union representatives, as it would have also meant the loss of signalmen jobs. The move first proposed in 1922, and again in the early 1950s was accomplished by the end of 1956.

Further staff reductions took place in 1957. At the same time the General Manager for the Central Division recommended that only local passenger and railmotor services operate to and from Archer Park with all other services to by-pass the station. Summer traffic to Emu Park and Yeppoon maintained regular departures from the station as in the early part of the century. Most traffic was now generated from services to Mount Morgan, St Lawrence, and the Sunday-only train to Mackay.

Branch line closures in the Central Division further reduced train services from the station. The Emu Park line was closed in 1964 due to falling revenue, and with the withdrawal of the railmotor service from Archer Park to St Lawrence in 1968, the only trains to operate were Yeppoon services. The Yeppoon railmotor was withdrawn in 1969, and with no passenger services operating from the station, the decision was taken to close the station as of 2 February 1970. Tenders were invited in 1970 to attract a suitable lessee for Archer Park, but no offers were forthcoming. The station was then used as a freight terminal for a door to door service being developed by Queensland Railways. Every second post on the Denison Street side of the carriage shade was removed to facilitate vehicle access. Rooms in the station building were also used for storage. No maintenance was to be carried out on the building at the request of Queensland Railways.

Filling was placed at the northern end of the platform to allow motor vehicles access to the station area. In 1974 Queensland Railfast Express Pty Ltd were given a lease of the station area north of the entry vestibule. Partitions were removed in the refreshment rooms and the floor strengthened. Archer Park was the headquarters for QRX and its freight operations in Rockhampton from 1976 until 1989.

From 1982 until QRX vacated the site in 1989, local residents protested over noise and inconvenience generated from the freight activities on site. Rockhampton City Council made approaches to Queensland Railways for the station and yard to be developed as a museum complex. QRX found alternative accommodation at a location near Port Curtis Junction, and financed its move with assistance from Queensland Railways. Archer Park closed as a freight terminal and station on 14 January 1990. Mechanical and electric semaphore signalling was placed out of use, along with all points and crossovers leading into the station.

On 1 May 1990 Queensland Railways handed over the Archer Park station to the Rockhampton City Council as part of a plan to develop a museum on site. In 1996 conservation and refurbishment work was carried on the station building and carriage shed. The eastern or southbound main line along Denison Street was removed by Queensland Rail as part of its Main Line Upgrade programme. A section of the line two blocks in length was retained linking Archer Park station to its loop line; however all physical connection with the North Coast Line has now been removed.

Photo taken in the West Norway Museum of Decorative Art park, Bergen, Norway.

Throughout history, no other flower has been mentioned more than the rose, and for good reasoning. The rose has been mentioned in music, mythological stories, as an icon in movies, transformed into perfumes, and been sought as the go-to flower of love. Roses grow wild from the mountains of Norway, to as far south as Mexico. Roses were in such high demand during the 17th century, that royalty considered roses or rose water as legal tender, and were often used as barter and for payments. Today, now raised agriculturally for profit, the rose is the most popular selling flower nationally, and possibly globally.

www.roseshire.com/blogs/outsidethebox/15331185-ill-trade-...

Here goes my head-canon reasoning for having them Loony fellows around my Wild West Railroad: (As if these two needed any introductions!)

- On the left we have train engineer Roadrunner. He and his silver ore train are always ahead of schedule, and he is constantly on the lookout to do things to help out other railroad personnel. He is a model loyal employee, never complaining or talking back, is VERY efficient in his duties, and the best part is he works for birdseed!

- On the right is the hobo Wiley Coyote. This "Super Genius" bum is always trying to hop / derail / wreck / obliterate Roadrunner's train. (in which he hasn't succeeded once!) He is possibly formerly employed by ACME Corporation, as he always dynamite or other devious devices of their branding ready at a moment's notice. Wiley being without any money, one wonders whether he stole this TNT from the silver mine the payroll train comes from. (Disgruntled ex-mine worker maybe?)

These two will be on - or around - my Western silver mine train, (loco Number 7, slightly based off set 7597 and shown in WIP form in background) which will be finished in early November of this year.

Sunday was yet another prosperous day of flea market shopping! I think our luck might finally be turning around. Until last weekend, we were coming home entirely empty handed almost all the time (and with gas prices that really sucked). Anyways, there were THREE American Girl sellers this week. The same girl we bought things from last Sunday returned. I smartly decided we should walk around the entire flea market before double checking her wares. My reasoning was that I only carry a small amount of cash with me, and I didn't want to blow it all right away on scrappy clothes we picked through last week. I first found this amazing Asha doll boxed, for just $5! Oddly, the same seller wanted $5 for some of his loose, raggedy dolls (that's why I didn't buy any of those). I have the first edition doll from this same collection, who I found a few years ago (also boxed!). Asha's hair was a beast, but luckily it was easy to sort out.

The second booth we came across that was of interest had Molly's Velvet Theater Seats. Colleen and I have looked into buying these online in the past. They actually can be quite affordable to get on eBay/Mercari, but we hoped to get them for super cheap. The seller was eager to unload these seats, so she discounted them to $10 right away (I guess originally she wanted $20). I'm so happy for Colleen...it's not all that often that she finds something for Molly she doesn't already have! This seller had other American Girl goodies too, but her prices were a bit higher (not unreasonable, but like I said, I had limited funds to spend). On the last leg of the flea market, there was yet ANOTHER seller with AG items. She actually had been given the doll stuff by a friend, and didn't even want to be selling it. Her items were fairly cheap. I got all the outfit pieces you see here for $10. I was excited by the Girl of the Year garments...there were others too (like Lanie and Jess clothes I already owned). She is supposed to return in two weeks, so I'm hoping to pick through her booth again. I made the mistake of grabbing the wrong bottoms to Kanani's Beach Outfit...I'd like to see if the seller has the right ones. This stuff was in impeccable condition too...it looked like it was barely played with! This little girl had quite the cool collection (there were larger things at the booth too, like Kanani's Shave Ice Stand).

Dolls & outfits in photo from left to right:

-1994 African American Collection Second Edition Asha

-Molly's Velvet Theater Seats

-Girl of the Year 2011 "Meet" Kanani

-Girl of the Year 2009 "Meet" Chrissa

-Kanani's Beach Outfit

-American Girl Place Exclusive Doll Swimsuit

Not too sure what the reasoning behind this branding is as of yet. I can only assume it's to allow the use of the bus on the 35 and 36 outside of Uni term time??

627 enters Angel Row with a 35 to Bulwell via QMC, Bilborough and Strelley wiih revised branding for the 34, 35 and 36.

*** I've decided to update my characters bio pages. Stay tuned for updates.

Name: Crimson Cloak (The Cloak)

Secret Identity: Gage Garnet, One time reporter and writer, he has almost fully devoted his time to crime fighting in recent years nearly forsaking his true identity.

Age: late 30s.

Skills/Powers:

* Super human stamina

* Advanced strength from constant conditioning and exercise

* Advanced intellect, intelligence, and deductive reasoning skills

* Knowledge of various forms of martial arts and fighting styles

* No known “super powers”

Weapons:

***All of the Cloak’s weapons are provided by his friend and inventor William Watts, the owner of WattTech Industries and fellow superhero Captain Electron.

The Crimson Cloak wears a suit of flexible body armor. His red cape and cowl are both bullet proof and flame proof. He wears a set of goggles that help to magnify his night vision, aiding him in low light environments. His preferred weapon of choice is a high tech staff that detaches at the center to create two smaller batons for close quarter combat. The tip of each baton is slightly electrified to aid The Cloak in dispatching his foes in a non-lethal manner. The Cloak also has an optional "gun" that he can use to launch various non-lethal projectiles at his enemies.

The Cloak utilizes a variety of modified WattTech vehicles to get to the scene of a crime fast. The Crimson Cycle, Crimson Cruiser, and the C.R.U.I.S.Er. www.flickr.com/photos/10211834@N07/26971335111/in/datepos...

Background/Origin Story:

Gage Garnet has always been a man obsessed with doing what is right, no matter the costs to himself or to others. During his youth, he was obsessed with comics and yearned to be like those men on the colorful pages. He and his brother Jack would spend hours dressing up like superheroes imagining that they were saving the world. As Gage matured, he showed more of an interest in writing and moved to the big city to pursue his interests. While working for The City Tribune, Gage covered a series of stories involving the rise of real heroes in the city. Men and women who put on costumes to fight crime, it was like his dream come true and here he was on the front lines documenting their rise to power.

Tragically, in the midst of Gage’s rise to success as a reporter, his family home is robbed and his parents are tragically murdered by the robbers. His younger brother Jack manages to escape the violence and will grow up to join the NBPD.

Feeling helpless and responsible for the murder, Gage crafts his own costume and trains with the help of Gothic. He soon adopts his alter ego The Crimson Cloak, and decides to track down those responsible for the murder.

It isn’t long before Gage is covering the stories of his own exploits, articles that soon reach the attention of a fledgling group of masked heroes known as the League of Heroes. The Cloak is invited to join the League. For the next few years, Gage fights crime along side the virtuous members of the League of Heroes. Keeping the city safe.

As the League of Heroes grows stronger and more powerful, Cobalt Cyclone, Silver Sentry, and Viridia all decide that it would be best to remove their masks publicly to gain the trust of the citizens and to remove any doubt that could be cast upon them by a growing crowd of skeptics. The Crimson Cloak disagrees with this measure, as he does not want his career in vigilantism to hurt his brother’s reputation at his new job on the police force. The Cloak declares that he will step down from the team and leave his career as a superhero behind. Gothic, a fellow teammate and also a detractor of this measure, does not wish to have his identity revealed though he will make an even more public statement of protest.

The day arrives for the big reveal, the heroes are all assembled on the steps of City Hall, Cobalt Cyclone steps up to the microphone and addresses the crowd… and BOOM! A bomb explodes from underneath the podium killing the Cobalt Cyclone, severely injuring Silver Sentry, and sending the crowd into a panic. The Crimson Cloak swings into action, and begins investigating the crime. By following the clues he soon comes to the conclusion that The Skull, the most powerful crime boss in the city was behind the plot. Though he is in for an even bigger surprise when he discovers that The Skull is in fact his former friend and teammate Gothic.

In the wake of the bombing, the League of Heroes falls apart. Public support for masked heroes hits an all time low. The Crimson Cloak decides that he will be all that stands between the evil that plagues the city and the justice that he feels the citizens deserve. Becoming darker and more detached, The Crimson Cloak becomes obsessed with his self-imposed duty even at the expense of losing his own identity in the process.

When looking back to scenes like this it makes it difficult to understand reasoning behind cutting back Lothian's service 12. Leyland Titan 563 is fully laden in York Place Edinburgh with the gothic octagonal towers of St Pauls and St Georges church forming the background together with two dissimilar street lamps.

To our story. The 12 was used by an incredible number of pasengers, little wonder, as it passed through the most heavily populated areas. On top deck seats a man who I well recall boarded each morning along Leith Links. He had a guest house nearby and flats and property all over central Edinburgh. But he still went to work. Back then fares were calculated in 'stages' and here the bus approaches St Andrew Sq stage; The previous stage at Elm Row was 5p cheaper. To avoid the 5p he paid the fare to Elm Row, then sat on the nearside to watch for an inspector, on occasions when inspectors boarded I'd see him quickly alighting and 'running' onwards to St Andrew Sq. When I approached him he gave the old adage 'Look after the pennies and the pounds take care of themselves.' He would know as by that time he was a millionaire !

563 was a fine bus, new in 1955 and running for years from Tollcross garage before transfer to Marine in 1969, four years before this quiet scene in York Place. The nearside advert heralds the arrival of Whitbread in Edinburgh and perhaps the start of a move away from the fine traditional local breweries - much lamented by Edinburgh's drouthy beer drinkers !

WEEK 11 – S Perkins Sprouts, Set I

Stepping inside the vestibule, here’s the only shot I got of the area, taking a look at the cartwell. I don’t know about you, but at first glance, this photo seems eerily similar to the photo I took of the old cartwell in this same vestibule, seen here. Like, it feels as if we’re looking the same direction (that is, to the left) and everything.

The thing is, though… I don’t think that’s true. As cool as it would be to say that this cartwell is in the exact same spot as Kroger’s was, with the reconfiguration that Sprouts did to this building it seems highly unlikely; and as a matter of fact, I think its placement is actually directly *across* from that original spot, extending off to the *right* as opposed to the left. My reasoning for that is that it seems to play into layout of the front end. But I know y’all haven’t seen that yet, so I’ll save full discussion of that for later. However, suffice to say here that it certainly couldn’t extend off to the left, as a result of the café and windows we saw placed immediately to the left of the vestibule two images back. So… a nice thought, but sadly, not meant to be :/

(c) 2021 Retail Retell

These places are public so these photos are too, but just as I tell where they came from, I'd appreciate if you'd say who :)

Members of the Imperium's Department of Clandestine Operations and Intelligence approached the New Carradock Naval Yards with a unique project: They wanted a starfighter built with two variants. The first, a spec ops starfighter that could be used for transportation by their undercover operatives. The second, an identical-looking fighter that would be released to the general public.

Their reasoning? The COI's fighters would appear to be inconspicuous and look like any of the civilian-variant fighters, allowing them to blend in and move freely without fear of detection.

The naval yards jumped at the challenge, and arguably went above and beyond expectations, building the new LRF-100 Preybird Medium Starfighter.

The COI variant was given excellent stealth capabilities and a much longer FTL range, while the civilian Preybird was built as an affordable but surprisingly reliable fighter that, combined with an impressive modular design that allowed customers with deeper pockets to get an even better ship, made it very popular and got it sold well.

Ironically, the Imperial Navy later called and asked for their own military variant, with beefed up firepower and defenses, after seeing the civilian variant in action and wanting a newer medium starfighter in their arsenal.

As such, the Preybird became a common sight throughout the MSI, in use by military and non-military alike.

LDD file: github.com/Arikelliott/LDD-Models/raw/master/LRF-100%20Pr...

Albert Dekker stars as Alexander Thorkel, a mad scientist who pursues a fantastic experiment deep in the Peruvian jungle. He uses radioactivity to miniaturize living things, including humans, reasoning that if people were one-tenth their normal size, there would be ten times as much food to go around. When fellow scientists penetrate his jungle retreat, the paranoid Dr. Thorkel shrinks them down to size to protect his secret, even killing one of them to demonstrate his power.

“Dr. Cyclops” was directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack, who directed “King Kong” for producer Merian C. Cooper.

Movie trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlSqylxm3jo

It feels lame saying I have a "dream" camera, but if there was such a thing this would be that camera. This will be the camera I always have with me and it will probably outlive me. A person I see as my photography mentor said something that I hadn't heard said about any other camera. She said that normally when buying a camera, buy the system that has the lenses you need or want; but with Leica just buy the camera and work up to the nicer lenses. Now having one, I totally agree with that reasoning. The camera is just built like no other and just feels incredible to use. This Voigtlander 35mm will suit me just fine as well.

“Don't be amazed if you see my eyes always wandering. In fact, this is my way of reading, and it is only in this way that reading proves fruitful to me. If a book truly interests me, I cannot follow it for more than a few lines before my mind, having seized on a thought that the text suggests to it, or a feeling, or a question, or an image, goes off on a tangent and springs from thought to thought, from image to image, in an itinerary of reasonings and fantasies that I feel the need to pursue to the end, moving away from the book until I have lost sight of it. The stimulus of reading is indispensable to me, and of meaty reading, even if, of every book, I manage to read no more than a few pages. But those few pages already enclose for me whole universes, which I can never exhaust.”

― Italo Calvino, If on a Winter's Night a Traveler

Unit 2 belonging to Troop D 4 (Beaver County.) This is the Beaver Barracks last CVPI and is supposedly being retired within the next few weeks. (Since retired) In this area for PSP they cap their cars out at 140,000 miles. This unit only has 110,000 miles. I am unsure the reasoning is behind its plan of retirement, best guess is age. Very clean 2011 with the Fire Suppression System like all PSP CVPI's have installed. Very friendly Troopers @ this post.

Viktor Mikhaylovich Vasnetsov (Russian 1848-1926)

Reproduction, Talllinn, Estonia.

About the original:

295,3 x446 cm (9.6' x 14.6')

Oil on canvas

The State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia

The original is in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. It took the artist 20 years to complete.

This piece depicts the mythical Russian knights Dobrynya Nikitich, Ilya Muromets and Alyosha Popovich.

My thanks (again!) to Flickrite Manuel for having identified this piece. I don't know how he does it!

========================================================

A Bogatyr (Russian: богатырь) is a stock character in medieval East Slavic legends, akin to a Western European knight-errant.

Bogatyrs are mainly found in Rus' epic poems called Bylinas and came into existence during Vladimir the Great's reign as part of his elite warriors, akin to Knights of the Round Table except, King Arthur accompanied his men on most of their adventures unlike Prince Vladimir.

Bogatyrs are described as warriors of immense strength, courage and bravery, rarely using magic while fighting enemies in order to maintain the "loosely based on historical fact" aspect of Bylinas.

They are characterized as having resounding voices, with patriotic and religious pursuits, defending Rus' from foreign enemies (Turks at the time) and their religion. In modern Russian, the word is used to describe a courageous hero, an athlete or a physically strong person.

The word bogatyr is not, originally, a Russian word. There have been different theories about the origin of the word but researchers agree that bogatyr is not of Slavic origin.

Many researchers suspect the word bogatyr is derived from Mongolian word: baatar, bagadur, baghtur, bator, batyr, and batur, all meaning along the lines of hero, warrior, and brave. This reasoning originates from noted interactions between Mongols and Rus-Kievan people in the form war and battle, the chance of one influencing the other and vice versa being high.

The word bogatyr is used similarly in other modern languages such as Polish (bohater), Hungarian (bator) and Persian (bahadur) meaning hero, and/or athlete.

The first time bogatyr is used to denote "hero" and subsequently becoming synonymous with each other was recorded in Stanisław Sarnicki's book Descriptio veteris et novae Poloniae cum divisione ejusdem veteri et nova, (A description of the Old and the New Poland with the old, and a new division of the same,) printed in 1585 in Cracow (in the Aleksy Rodecki's printing house), in which he says, "Rossi… de heroibus suis, quos Bohatiros id est semideos vocant, aliis persuadere conantur."[4] ("Russians... try to convince others about their heroes whom they call Bogatirs, meaning demigods.")

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogatyr

========================================================

Viktor Mikhaylovich Vasnetsov (Russian: Ви́ктор Миха́йлович Васнецо́в) was a Russian artist who specialized in mythological and historical subjects. He is considered the co-founder of Russian folklorist and romantic nationalistic painting (see also neo-romanticism), and a key figure in the Russian revivalist movement.

Viktor Vasnetsov was born in the remote village of Lopyal in Vyatka Governorate in 1848, the second of the six children.

His father Mikhail Vasilievich Vasnetsov, known to be philosophically inclined, was a member of priesthood, and of scholarly dictation in the natural sciences and astronomy. His grandfather was an icon painter.

Two of Mikhail Vasnetsov's three sons, Viktor and Apollinary, became remarkable painters, the third one becoming a schoolteacher. It was in Lopyal that Viktor started to paint, mostly landscapes and scenes of village life. Recalling his childhood in a letter to Vladimir Stasov, Vasnetsov remarked that he "had lived with peasant children and liked them not as a narodnik but as a friend".

From the age of ten, Viktor studied in a seminary in Vyatka, each summer moving with his family to a rich merchant village of Ryabovo. During his seminary years, he worked for a local icon shopkeeper. He also helped an exiled Polish artist, Michał Elwiro Andriolli, to execute frescoes for Vyatka's Alexander Nevsky cathedral.

Having graduated from the seminary, Viktor decided to move to Saint Petersburg to study art. He auctioned his paintings of Woman Harvester and Milk-maid (both 1867) in order to raise money required for the trip to the Russian capital.

In August 1867 Viktor entered the Imperial Academy of Arts. Three years later, the Peredvizhniki movement of realist painters rebelled against the Academism.

Vasnetsov befriended their leader Ivan Kramskoi, referring to him as his teacher. He also became very close to his fellow student Ilya Yefimovich Repin.

It is ironic, but Viktor, whose name is associated with historical and mythological paintings, initially avoided these subjects at all costs. For his graphic composition of Christ and Pontius Pilate Before the People, the Academy awarded a small silver medal to him.

In the early 1870s he executed a lot of engravings depicting contemporary life. Two of them ("Provincial Bookseller" from 1870 and "A Boy with a Bottle of Vodka" from 1872) won him a bronze medal at the World Fair in London (1874).

At that period he also started producing genre paintings in oil. Such pieces as "Peasant Singers" (1873) and "Moving House" (1876) were warmly welcomed by democratic circles of Russian society.

In 1876 Repin invited Vasnetsov to join the Peredvizhniki colony in Paris. While living in France, Viktor studied classical and contemporary paintings, academist and Impressionist alike.

At that period, he painted "Acrobats" (1877), produced prints, and exhibited some of his works at the Salon. It was in Paris that he became fascinated with fairy-tale subjects, starting to work on "Ivan Tsarevich Riding a Grey Wolf" and "The Firebird." Vasnetsov was a model for Sadko in Repin's celebrated painting "Sadko in the Underwater Kingdom." In 1877 he returned to Moscow.

In the late 1870s Vasnetsov concentrated on illustrating Russian fairy tales and the epic narrative poem Bylinas, executing some of his best known pieces: "The Knight at the Crossroads" (1878), "Prince Igor's Battlefield" (1878), "Three princesses of the Underground Kingdom" (completed 1884 ), "The Flying Carpet"(1880), and "Alionushka" (1881).

These works were not appreciated at the time they appeared. Many radical critics dismissed them as undermining the realist principles of the Peredvizhniki. Even such prominent connoisseurs as Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov refused to buy them. The vogue for Vasnetsov's paintings would spread in the 1880s, when he turned to religious subjects and executed a series of icons for Abramtsevo estate of his patron Savva Mamontov.

In 1884-1889 Vasnetsov was commissioned to paint frescos in the St Vladimir's Cathedral of Kiev. This was a challenging work which ran contrary to both Russian and Western traditions of religious paintings. The influential art critic Vladimir Stasov labelled them a sacrilegious play with religious feelings of the Russian people. Another popular critic, Dmitry Filosofov, referred to these frescoes as "the first bridge over 200 years-old gulf separating different classes of Russian society".

While living in Kiev, Vasnetsov made friends with Mikhail Vrubel, who was also involved in the cathedral's decoration. While they worked together, Vasnetsov taught the younger artist a great deal. It was in Kiev that Vasnetsov finally finished "Ivan Tsarevich Riding a Grey Wolf" and started his most famous painting, the "Bogatyrs."

In 1885 the painter travelled to Italy. The same year he worked on stage designs and costumes for Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's opera "The Snow Maiden."

The following two decades were productive for Vasnetsov. He increasingly turned to other media during this period. In 1897 he collaborated with his brother Apollinary on the theatrical design of another Rimsky-Korsakov premiere, "Sadko."

At the turn of the century, Vasnetsov elaborated his hallmark "fairy-tale" style of Russian Revivalist architecture. His first acclaimed design was a church in Abramtsevo (1882), executed jointly with Vasily Polenov. In 1894, he designed his own mansion in Moscow. The Russian pavilion of the World Fair in Paris followed in 1898. Finally, in 1904, Vasnetsov designed the best known of his "fairy-tale" buildings — the façade of the Tretyakov Gallery.

Between 1906 and 1911, Vasnetsov worked on the design of the mosaics for Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Warsaw; he was also involved in the design of Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Moscow.

In 1912, he was given a noble title by Czar Nicholas II. In 1914, he designed a revenue stamp intended for voluntary collection for victims of World War I.

Even prior to the Russian Revolution, Vasnetsov became active as a regent of the Tretyakov Gallery. He allocated a significant portion of his income to the State Historical Museum, so that a large part of the museum's collection was acquired on Vasnetsov's money. After the October Revolution he advocated removing some of the religious paintings (notably those by Alexander Ivanov) from churches to the Tretyakov Gallery.

In 1915 Vasnetsov participated in the designing of a military uniform for the Victory parade of Russian army in Berlin and Constantinopole. Vasnetsov is credited with the creation of the budenovka (initially named bogatyrka), a military hat reproducing the style of ancient Rus' cone-shaped helmets.

He died in Moscow in 1926.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Vasnetsov

The Teangarí's heart grew ever more burdened. The handmaiden's death brought him no closure, and his prized daughter quickly became a torn shade of her former self. Twisted by emotions she had never felt, Talamh's magics began to draw upon hatred and rage – manifesting upon the land with growing calamity.

The kingdom was beset by plague and famine all at once, that which gave now taking away. Desperate, the Queen called upon the Teangarí. She knew what needed to be done, and begged her old friend to see her reasoning. Given no choice, he agreed – Talamh was to be banished.

Art by Ruslan Skifonich,

www.artstation.com/artwork/5DP0E

Other title thought was 'here's a picture of my arse' but that doesnt have the same ring to it somehow.

Channeling a little of Mr Springsteen...ok so its a flag in the pocket and not a baseball cap and i'm standing in front of a couple of bushes and not the US flag ...plus I'm wearing a tablecloth for a shirt...

(remains quiet as I'm talking myself out of the reasoning for this picture)

View On Black

Apps: Hipstamatic, Imaengine, iColorama, Mextures, Superimpose, Snapseed, Pixlromatic

“All of our reasoning ends in surrender to feeling”

–Blaise Pascal

Better in L

NO BANNERS, please!

The theme for Smile on Saturday is" looks like the letter" I chose X for the below reasoning.

found this lovely old derelict fence on an equally lovely derelict house at Deloraine and thought....it looks like the letter X.

The 24th letter in the Latin alphabet and in the English alphabet the letter most commonly represents the unknown and is the Roman numeral for 10.

The earliest use of X as a noun predates the 11th century according to the Oxford Dictionary.

The letter in Tolkien's Runic language often represents the partnership between the known and the unknown. Wisdom of the Elves are revealed at this gateway, marked by the letter X.

Now that's gotta make you smile

"Exploring The Myth of Shangri-La"

West China : Day 7

A group of monks debating in front of main prayer hall of Dachang Lhamo Kirti Monastery.

How do Tibetan buddhist monks debate?

They have a special system of logic, with which they debate each other so they learn to work with the concepts they learned in the classes. So in fact this way they train in logical thinking and exact expression. It takes a while to learn this specific technique of logical reasoning.

They use traditional formal ways to hold a debate: the standing 'attacker' poses a statement and claps his hands, the opponet is sitting, and needs to defend himself with a logical answer. Then the attacker tries to undermine the logic of the defender, or comes up with a new argument.

These debates are usually cause for lots of fun, because it is easy to make mistakes in this very formal debate, but also the monks try to be very creative with their answers.

One of the funny examples of such a debate is:

Does a farmer have a tail?

No, of course not

Does a farmer have a cow, a horse or a dog?

Yes.

Then a farmer has a tail!

© Sayid Budhi ~ All rights reserved 2011

Technique: I worked the picture in raw, gave it a yellowish tone and desaturated. I used a texture which I "multiplied" and then used a "humid paper" filter, also used new layer orange color which I also multiplied.

I was looking at the picture which I had treated and asked myself why did I treat it this way? Why a faux vintage. It´s because it it looks better, well, I would cenrtainley not say it looks better but different. And then I realized the way I treated gets closer to how I remembered that place, to how I wanted to file it in my memory. That´s my self reasoning why I gave a vintage treatment to the picture ; )

國立台灣文學館 - 推理文學在臺灣特展 / 古典打字機 - 推動西方文明

National Museum of Taiwanese Literature - Reasoning literature in Taiwan special exhibition / Classical typewriter - To promote Western civilization

Museo Nacional de la literatura taiwanesa - Razonamiento de la literatura en Taiwan exposición especial / Máquina de escribir clásica - Promover la civilización occidental

国立の台湾の文学館 - 推理の文学は台湾特に展にあります / 古典のタイプライター - 西方が文明的なことを推進します

Nationalmuseum der taiwanesischen Literatur - Begründung Literatur in Taiwan Sonderausstellung / Klassische Schreibmaschine - Zur Förderung der westlichen Zivilisation

Musée national de la littérature taiwanaise - Raisonnement de la littérature à Taiwan exposition spéciale / Machine à écrire classique - Pour promouvoir la civilisation occidentale

Tainan Taiwan / Tainan Taiwán / 台灣台南

管樂小集 2017/10/07 台南孔子廟 Confucian temple Tainan performances 1080P

{ 旅笠道中 Wearing hats travel in road }

{View large size on fluidr/觀看大圖}

PENTAX SMC TAKUMAR 50mm 1:1.4

{My Blog / 管樂小集精彩演出-觸動你的心}

{My Blog / Great Music The splendid performance touches your heart}

{My Blog / 管楽小集すばらしい公演-はあなたの心を心を打ちます}

{Mi blog / La gran música el funcionamiento espléndido toca su corazón}

{Mein Blog / Große Musik die herrliche Leistung berührt Ihr Herz}

{Mon blog / La grande musique l'exécution splendide touche votre coeur}

Melody 曲:JAPAN / Words 詞:Sheesen / Singing : Sheesen

{ 夢旅人 1990 Dream Traveler 1990 }

家住安南鹽溪邊

The family lives in nearby the Annan salt river

隔壁就是聽雨軒

The next door listens to the rain porch

一旦落日照大員

The sunset Shineing to the Taiwan at once

左岸青龍飛九天

The left bank white dragon flying in the sky

Bella Dahl Jeans Girl

Yet another blast from the past that I found as I populate my new back-up server. THIS ONE was from the Coolpix 850. I get a call from the then director of marketing of Nikon telling me she wants a picture for PhotoEast that they can blow up to 8 feet by 10 feet shot with the to be announced at the show Coolpix 850 and she wants me to shoot it. It is a Monday. I say "COOL".Then she says find me a very well endowed model, and I want her to be blond. I say "SURE!" (here reasoning was computer geeks and dweebs did not get out from behind the computer screen much) . She then tells me the camera will be at my studio late Friday afternoon, hand delivered from Japan. I say "OK...." She thinks some of the menus will be in English. Again "ok......." Then she's says I need camera ready art, scaled and on my desk Monday 9am EST or 6am PST. I say "........o......k......"

So I go into the office of Altamira Group, late, get yelled at for showing up late, (I was the Artist In Residence at Altamira Group, the developer of Genuine Fractals now known as Perfect Resize from onOne) I tell them the story of the morning, the the CLO (Chief Legal Officer) say "GREAT!!! My wife has just started this company called Bella Dahl Jeans, and I'm sure she will let you shoot the promo pictures (as a favor.... for no fee being the implied thought here) and your tardiness will be forgiven!

The camera a arrives at 7pm Friday, it hat most of the menus operational. The ones that had text were 50% Japanese and 50% Spanish. No English. Japanese I get, Spanish left me scratching my head. The prototype only shot jpeg or tif. Tiffs had a 7 second shutter lag time from pressing the trigger to the camera taking the shot and a 48 second write time to card before you could shoot again. The model I got through an agent friend of mine would strike a moldelly "pose" every time she thought we were taking a picture. For the first two hours I got pouty lips and half open eyes the only thing missing was someone saying "ooo la la." So to get the shot I wanted I would tell her I was going to take the shot, she'd hold her pouty lip half eye opened ooo la la pose tell her the shutter clicked (why she could not hear it was because it was an electronic shutter, the click sound she was hearing after I took "the picture" was the camera advancing the digital film) then she'd relax into these really cool poses which I then took the shot. I told her we had to wait a two minutes for the camera to process, so she would think I was not going to shoot her and she would strike another very beautiful natural pose while stealthily I'd snap another frame. This went on ALL day Saturday for 11 hours.

This image was lit using a thermonuclear device (the sun) as the point light source (no batteries harmed in the production of this image) a Westcott Scrim Jim 3'x6' diffuser and a Westcott Sunlight reflector (I built my "Hollywood" lighting career with just these two light modifiers).

I spend all night Saturday, till 1 am, then from 5 am on Sunday on computer technology so slow (am Mac Preforma 360) that the only way to speed it up was to physically push the computer. Al Gore had just barely invented the internet, AOL came on floppy disks with every Macworld magazine and the only way to send data was on a 2880 baud modem made by Global Village that hat a peer to peer transfer software. It took four hours to scale the file and nine, count them nine hours to transfer the file to New York. But I made the deadline.

Acquired from Stagecoach but never used, Optare Solo 47213 is seen in Howards yard shortly before being disposed of.

I'm not 100% sure of the reasoning behind this one, I think it came as part of a deal with a couple of others from Stagecoach that were actually used.

Photographer: Fred H. Politinsky

Subject: Science Fiction, Fantasy

Where all is but dream, reasoning and arguments are of no use, truth and knowledge nothing.

---- John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)

View my photography at www.flickr.com/photos/jackpot999 and at www.flickriver.com. (Click on "Users" and enter Bebop18.)

View my jazz photography on GOOGLE at NPR JAZZ PHOTOGRAPHY JAZZ POOL - FLICKRIVER. (Click on "Recent.")

Please do not publish this or any of my other images without my permission.

There's a lot of reasoning behind the placement of the Showcase pavilions. American Adventure, as the host pavilion, originally was to sit where Showcase Plaza now resides- thus establishing Mexico and Canada on either side. China and Japan had to be separated architecturally but some pairings made too much sense- the United Kingdom and France for example.

The waterways trailing in from International Gateway provide an ideal metaphorical English Channel and Seine River.

France Pavilion

Epcot

Walt Disney World Resort

Lake Buena Vista, FL

There has been a number of different bus pairings for the City Sightseeing Inverness fleet over the years that I know what was used, and in my opinion this particular pairing is likely the best one since 2016. D&E Coaches have Volvo B9TL Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 S90 YST (Originally LX60 DXH) and Dennis Trident Plaxton President S88 YST (Originally SK52 OHN, later XIL 1484) this year and they're seen here picking up passengers at Inverness Bus Station for the Red Route (Gemini) and Blue Route (President).

Perhaps you're wondering what the Sightseeing fleet has consisted of over the years? Here's what I know.

From 2011 (the first year of Sightseeing services) up to and including 2016, Jacobite Tours in collaboration with Stagecoach Highlands (Jacobite owned and operated the services, Stagecoach provided staff and vehicle maintenance as well as keeping the vehicles in their Inverness depot) had two 1989 Leyland Olympian engined Alexander RH buses registered 1983 NT (Originally Lothian G338 CSG - Number 338) and 2080 NT (Originally Lothian F358 WSC - Number 358). 1983 NT was fully open top while 2080 NT was part-open part-closed top. At one point early in its tenure 2080 NT was named "Bobby Bus" on a post on the City Sightseeing Inverness FB page but that was just for that post and not an official name.

In 2017 these were replaced by two 2004 Dennis Trident Alexander ALX400s, both partial open top. The custom reg plates were kept and re-used with LX53 JZM (Originally Stagecoach Number 17969) becoming 1983 NT and LX53 JZH (Originally Stagecoach Number 17965) becoming 2080 NT. One interesting thing was that they inherited the rather unusual "eyelashes" around the headlights that the Olympians that came before them had. I'd assume people involved in running the service would know the reasoning behind that, but it is not something you see every day.

2018 was set to continue in identical fashion with the same two ALX400s running the service, however 2080 NT unfortunately caught fire in around April/Early May time and very little of it was left after the fire was extinguished. That of course meant it had to be scrapped. I haven't been able to find much on what vehicles helped cover the service for the remainder of 2018, I know at one point Jacobite Tours NE55 BUS helped out but I don't know if it was the same for the rest of the year or not. Any info on this matter would be appreciated to fill in this gap in the history.

In 2019 1983 NT finally found itself with an official sidekick again, in the form of 2002 Trident President SK52 OHN which had just come up from Lothian Buses in Edinburgh. Interestingly it remained closed top when it came up here but nonetheless it served its slot in the tour throughout 2019 and looked very smart while doing so, as Plaxton Presidents tend to do.

2020 saw no City Sightseeing services due to a certain virus which shall remain nameless as let's be honest I don't need to name it for it to be obvious what one I'm on about...

Then came 2021. A year of big change for City Sightseeing. Operation of the tour was taken over by D&E Coaches under their new Tours division, and alongside updating the tour to now consist of 2 routes running hourly, there was a new vehicle on the scene. 2011 Volvo B9TL Gemini 2 LX60 DXH under its new reg S90 YST made its debut in 2021, alongside the remaining ALX400 which had also been re-registered to S99 YST. It was never guaranteed which one would serve which route, sometimes the Gemini would be on Red, sometimes the ALX would be. There was an occasional showing from D&E's B7TL ALX400 P17 YST, once due to a fault with one of the buses, the other due to weather conditions (Although oddly with the weather conditions time, it was the fully open top Gemini that was out rather than the partial open top ALX!). But what of SK52 OHN? Well, it unfortunately was sidelined, sat in the depot the entire year doing nothing and looking like it might not see service again...

And so we come to 2022, this year. The Red Route starts up first and the Gemini 2 takes to the streets to serve it as expected. Fast forward to the end of May, up starts the Blue Route, but there's a problem. Both the ALX400 and President are listed as SORN. Another newer bus perhaps?? Well not exactly, initially taking to the blue route was a newly purchased white Enviro 200 MMC, YX22 OHC. Not much of a red livery sightseeing bus! But this was not a permanent fixture, as fast forward again to the second weekend of June, and a red bus is spotted...the President has returned! SK52 OHN against the odds comes back under its new reg S88 YST and has *almost* not missed a day of service since, with YX22 OHC only appearing once when S88 YST was oddly put on the Belladrum Shuttle Service one weekend, and SK71 CLN covering once for an unknown reason. ALX400 S99 YST remains SORN and its future unknown, but for now we rejoice that the President is here to stay, for now at least.

UPDATE NOVEMBER 2022: Sightseeing services have concluded for the year and all 3 sightseeing buses are now SORN for the winter. Time will tell who will return in 2023...

S90 YST was new to Go-Ahead London in January 2011 as LX60 DXH (Fleet Number WVL377). It was converted to fully open top in 2018 and used on the London City Tour. It joined the D&E Coaches fleet in 2021 when they acquired the City Sightseeing Inverness tour operation from Stagecoach Highlands/Jacobite Tours and was re-registered to its current reg of S90 YST.

S88 YST was new to Lothian Buses in November 2002 as SK52 OHN (Fleet Number 651). Its first livery was, rather obviously, the Harlequin livery, which it had from its first day until approximately the end of 2011. 2012 saw it get repainted into the Forth Bridges Bus & Boat Tour livery and a new registration of XIL 1484 while continuing with its original fleet number. It ran in this livery until 2017, at which point it was painted into the new 3 Bridges Tour livery, the design of which is based on the current Madder & White Fleet Of The Future corporate livery Lothian currently use. 2019 saw the bus transfer to Stagecoach Highlands (Inverness) to replace an ALX400 which had caught fire in 2018. With its original reg SK52 OHN re-applied, SK52 OHN received its City Sightseeing Inverness livery and ran one of the service slots throughout that year. It transferred to D&E Coaches in 2021 as part of their acquisition of the Sightseeing tour operations into their subsidiary D&E Tours, however SK52 OHN sat out that year with D&E's newly obtained Gemini 2 and the ALX400 that came from Stagecoach running instead. This year, with the ALX400 not returning, SK52 OHN made a triumphant return under its latest reg plate S88 YST.

If you've read this far comment S88YST :)

Date Taken: June 19th, 2022

Device Used: Nokia 3.1 Plus

Date Uploaded: August 25th, 2022

Upload Number: 006

Interested in seeing some bus videos? You'll find buses both real and virtual on my YouTube channel, as well as other cool bus-themed stuff too! - www.youtube.com/@ZZ9sTransport

© ZZ9's Transport Photography (ZZ9 Productions). All Rights Reserved. Modification, redistribution, reuploading and the like is prohibited without prior written permission from myself.

When they get to that age.... no point reasoning with them

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Life through a childrens eyes. Every way of perception generates sensations. And how she responds to those sensations (which evolves as how she learns) results in feelings.

Talking about us, to change the way we feel about life's circumstances we have to go back to sensations, to feel them in their purest state, letting go of our learning processes, letting go of prejudice, letting go of the fear to fall.

Remake your life, living all sensations freely, without reasoning, without vices. You can feel what you want about any circumstance in life. Enjoy your life, wherever you are.

This is not a new MOC. I mean, just take a look at the dust on it.

This ship started out as one of two identical ships. I forget the exact reasoning now, but at some point I decided to make this one all rusty and decrepit. I had planned on using it for my FEZ webcomic, but that has kinda stalled.....

Albert Dekker stars as Alexander Thorkel, a mad scientist who pursues a fantastic experiment deep in the Peruvian jungle. He uses radioactivity to miniaturize living things, including humans, reasoning that if people were one-tenth their normal size, there would be ten times as much food to go around. When fellow scientists penetrate his jungle retreat, the paranoid Dr. Thorkel shrinks them down to size to protect his secret, even killing one of them to demonstrate his power.

“Dr. Cyclops” was directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack, who directed “King Kong” for producer Merian C. Cooper.

Movie trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlSqylxm3jo

Another good-bye to my son as he left early this morning to return to the land of books and intellectual reasoning.

I miss him already.

SET 1 – West Point Wal-Mart

Besides the already-uncommon logo, something else about this store that makes it even more unique is the fact that it’s one of very few (well, comparatively, anyway) “green” Wal-Marts ever to have existed. By that, I’m referring to the fact that the color scheme of the façade – instead of Wal-Mart’s usual blue, red, and gray of the 90s and 2000s – was green, tan, and white.

It’s my understanding that this paint scheme was adopted as a way of making the stores look a little more upscale – presumably also tying in with the more architecturally interesting façade – and possibly also improving the image of the chain, trying to distance itself from its existing colors which by then had become all but synonymous with the discounter. For at least one other onetime green Walmart, yet another reasoning was given: the Oxford Wal-Mart originally opened as a green store so as to appease residents concerned about all the trees that had to be razed for the construction! (Here on Alt Hwy 45 in West Point, I doubt that reasoning would have worked as well, but who knows :P )

That Oxford store, by the way, is no longer green, and indeed most green Walmarts over the years have obviously since repainted to newer looks – the idea that the paint scheme was a way of making the stores more custom and upscale sadly dropped in favor of yet more cookie-cutter looking stores. It would seem to me that the green design died off with the old Wal-Mart logo, which makes it especially fitting that both of them are still surviving together here in West Point… probably until the bitter end (that is, whenever the store’s first remodel will ever take place).

(c) 2022 Retail Retell

These places are public so these photos are too, but just as I tell where they came from, I'd appreciate if you'd say who :)

Friend was testing out his new pipe and attempting to reason why he couldn't blow smoke rings. He'll get it eventually. :) Nikon D5000 Lens. 85mm 1.8 Lighting. Lamp and LED flashlight

Rapid strata formation in soft sand (field evidence).

Photo of strata formation in soft sand on a beach, created by tidal action of the sea.

Formed in a high tidal event. Stunning evidence which displays multiple strata/layers.

Why this is so important ....

It has long been assumed, ever since the 17th century, that layers/strata observed in sedimentary rocks were built up gradually, layer upon layer, over many years. It certainly seemed logical at the time, from just looking at rocks, that lower layers would always be older than the layers above them, i.e. that lower layers were always laid down first followed, in time, by successive layers on top.

This was assumed to be true and became known as the superposition principle.

It was also assumed that a layer comprising a different material from a previous layer, represented a change in environmental conditions/factors.

These changes in composition of layers or strata were considered to represent different, geological eras on a global scale, spanning millions of years. This formed the basis for the Geologic Column, which is used to date rocks and also fossils. The evolutionary, 'fossil record' was based on the vast ages and assumed geological eras of the Geologic Column.

There was also circular reasoning applied with the assumed age of 'index' fossils (based on evolutionary beliefs & preconceptions) used to date strata in the Geologic Column. Dating strata from the assumed age of (index) fossils (faunal succession) is known as Biostratigraphy.

We now know that, although these assumptions seemed logical, they are not supported by the evidence.

At the time, the mechanics of stratification were not properly known or studied.

An additional factor was that this assumed superposition and uniformitarian model became essential, with the wide acceptance of Darwinism, for the long ages required for progressive microbes-to-human evolution. There was no incentive to question or challenge the superposition, uniformitarian model, because the presumed, fossil 'record' had become dependant on it, and any change in the accepted model would present devastating implications for Darwinism.

This had the unfortunate effect of linking the study of geology so closely to Darwinism, that any study independent of Darwinian considerations was effectively stymied. This link of geology with Darwinian preconceptions is known as biostratigraphy.

Some other field evidence, in various situations, can be observed here: www.flickr.com/photos/101536517@N06/sets/72157635944904973/

and also in the links to stunning, experimental evidence, carried out by sedimentologists, given later.

_______________________________________________

GEOLOGIC PRINCIPLES (established by Nicholas Steno in the 17th Century):

What Nicolas Steno believed about strata formation is the basis of the principle of Superposition and the principle of Original Horizontality.

dictionary.sensagent.com/Law_of_superposition/en-en/

“Assuming that all rocks and minerals had once been fluid, Nicolas Steno reasoned that rock strata were formed when particles in a fluid such as water fell to the bottom. This process would leave horizontal layers. Thus Steno's principle of original horizontality states that rock layers form in the horizontal position, and any deviations from this horizontal position are due to the rocks being disturbed later.”)

BEDDING PLANES.

'Bedding plane' describes the surface in between each stratum which are formed during sediment deposition.

science.jrank.org/pages/6533/Strata.html

“Strata form during sediment deposition, that is, the laying down of sediment. Meanwhile, if a change in current speed or sediment grain size occurs or perhaps the sediment supply is cut off, a bedding plane forms. Bedding planes are surfaces that separate one stratum from another. Bedding planes can also form when the upper part of a sediment layer is eroded away before the next episode of deposition. Strata separated by a bedding plane may have different grain sizes, grain compositions, or colours. Sometimes these other traits are better indicators of stratification as bedding planes may be very subtle.”

______________________________________________

Several catastrophic events, flash floods, volcanic eruptions etc. have forced Darwinian, influenced geologists to admit to rapid stratification in some instances. However they claim it is a rare phenomenon, which they have known about for many years, and which does nothing to invalidate the Geologic Column, the fossil record, evolutionary timescale, or any of the old assumptions regarding strata formation, sedimentation and the superposition principle. They fail to face up to the fact that rapid stratification is not an extraordinary phenonemon, but rather the prevailing and normal mechanism of sedimentary deposition whenever and wherever there is moving, sediment-laden water. The experimental evidence demonstrates the mechanism and a mass of field evidence in normal (non-catastrophic) conditions shows it is a normal everyday occurrence.

It is clear from the experimental evidence that the usual process of stratification is - that strata are not formed by horizontal layers being laid on top of each other in succession, as was assumed. But by sediment being sorted in the flowing water and laid down diagonally in the direction of flow. See diagram:

www.flickr.com/photos/truth-in-science/39821536092/in/dat...

The field evidence (in the image) presented here - of rapid, simultaneous stratification refutes the Superposition Principle and the Principle of Lateral Continuity.

We now know, the Superposition Principle only applies on a rare occasion where sedimentary deposits are laid down in still water.

Superposition is required for the long evolutionary timescale, but the evidence shows it is not the general rule, as was once believed. Most sediment is laid down in moving water, where particle segregation is the general rule, resulting in the simultaneous deposition of strata/layers as shown in the photo.

See many other examples of rapid stratification (with geological features): www.flickr.com/photos/101536517@N06/sets/72157635944904973/

Rapid, simultaneous formation of layers/strata, through particle segregation in moving water, is so easily created it has even been described by sedimentologists (working on flume experiments) as a law ...

"Upon filling the tank with water and pouring in sediments, we immediately saw what was to become the rule: The sediments sorted themselves out in very clear layers. This became so common that by the end of two weeks, we jokingly referred to Andrew's law as "It's difficult not to make layers," and Clark's law as "It's easy to make layers." Later on, I proposed the "law" that liquefaction destroys layers, as much to my surprise as that was." Ian Juby, www.ianjuby.org/sedimentation/

The example in the photo is the result of normal, everyday tidal action formed in a single incident. Where the water current or movement is more turbulent, violent, or catastrophic, great depths (many metres) of stratified sediment can be laid down in a short time. Certainly not requiring the many millions of years assumed by evolutionists.

The composition of strata formed in any deposition event. is related to whatever materials are in the sediment mix, not to any particular timescale. Whatever is in the mix will be automatically sorted into strata/layers. It could be sand, or other material added from mud slides, erosion of chalk deposits, coastal erosion, volcanic ash etc. Any organic material (potential fossils), alive or dead, engulfed by, or swept into, a turbulent sediment mix, will also be sorted and buried within the rapidly, forming layers.

www.flickr.com/photos/truth-in-science/39821536092/in/alb...

See many other examples of rapid stratification with geological features: www.flickr.com/photos/101536517@N06/sets/72157635944904973/

Stratified, soft sand deposit. demonstrates the rapid, stratification principle.

Important, field evidence which supports the work of the eminent, sedimentologist Dr Guy Berthault MIAS - Member of the International Association of Sedimentologists.

(Dr Berthault's experiments (www.sedimentology.fr/)

And also the experimental work of Dr M.E. Clark (Professor Emeritus, U of Illinois @ Urbana), Andrew Rodenbeck and Dr. Henry Voss, (www.ianjuby.org/sedimentation/)

Other experimental work:

arxiv.org/pdf/cond-mat/9809432.pdf

www.nature.com/articles/386379a0

Location: Sandown, Isle of Wight. Photographed: 08/12/2017

This field evidence demonstrates that multiple strata in sedimentary deposits do not need millions of years to form and can be formed rapidly. This natural example confirms the principle demonstrated by the sedimentation experiments carried out by Dr Guy Berthault and other sedimentologists. It calls into question the standard, multi-million year dating of sedimentary rocks, and the dating of fossils by depth of burial or position in the strata.

Mulltiple strata/layers are evident in this example.

Dr Berthault's experiments (www.sedimentology.fr/) and other experiments (www.ianjuby.org/sedimentation/) and field studies of floods and volcanic action show that, rather than being formed by gradual, slow deposition of sucessive layers superimposed upon previous layers, with the strata or layers representing a particular timescale, particle segregation in moving water or airborne particles can form strata or layers very quickly, frequently, in a single event.

youtu.be/wFST2C32hMQ

youtu.be/SE8NtWvNBKI

And, most importantly, lower strata are not older than upper strata, they are the same age, having been created in the same sedimentary episode.

Such field studies confirm experiments which have shown that there is no longer any reason to conclude that strata/layers in sedimentary rocks relate to different geological eras and/or a multi-million year timescale. www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PVnBaqqQw8&feature=share&amp.... they also show that the relative position of fossils in rocks is not indicative of an order of evolutionary succession. Obviously, the uniformitarian principle, on which the geologic column is based, can no longer be considered valid. And the multi-million, year dating of sedimentary rocks and fossils needs to be reassessed. Rapid deposition of stratified sediments also explains the enigma of polystrate fossils, i.e. large fossils that intersect several strata. In some cases, tree trunk fossils are found which intersect the strata of sedimentary rock up to forty feet in depth. upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/08/Lycopsi... They must have been buried in stratified sediment in a short time (certainly not millions, thousands, or even hundreds of years), or they would have rotted away. youtu.be/vnzHU9VsliQ

In fact, the vast majority of fossils are found in good, intact condition, which is testament to their rapid burial. You don't get good fossils from gradual burial, because they would be damaged or destroyed by decay, predation or erosion. The existence of so many fossils in sedimentary rock on a global scale is stunning evidence for the rapid depostion of sedimentary rock as the general rule. It is obvious that all rock containing good intact fossils was formed from sediment laid down in a very short time, not millions, or even thousands of years.

See set of photos of other examples of rapid stratification: www.flickr.com/photos/101536517@N06/sets/72157635944904973/

Carbon dating of coal should not be possible if it is millions of years old, yet significant amounts of Carbon 14 have been detected in coal and other fossil material, which indicates that it is less than 50,000 years old. www.ldolphin.org/sewell/c14dating.html

www.grisda.org/origins/51006.htm

Evolutionists confidently cite multi-million year ages for rocks and fossils, but what most people don't realise is that no one actually knows the age of sedimentary rocks or the fossils found within them. So how are evolutionists so sure of the ages they so confidently quote? The astonishing thing is they aren't. Sedimentary rocks cannot be dated by radiometric methods*, and fossils can only be dated to less than 50,000 years with Carbon 14 dating. The method evolutionists use is based entirely on assumptions. Unbelievably, fossils are dated by the assumed age of rocks, and rocks are dated by the assumed age of fossils, that's right ... it is known as circular reasoning.

* Regarding the radiometric dating of igneous rocks, which is claimed to be relevant to the dating of sedimentary rocks, in an occasional instance there is an igneous intrusion associated with a sedimentary deposit -

Prof. Aubouin says in his Précis de Géologie: "Each radioactive element disintegrates in a characteristic and constant manner, which depends neither on the physical state (no variation with pressure or temperature or any other external constraint) nor on the chemical state (identical for an oxide or a phosphate)."

"Rocks form when magma crystallizes. Crystallisation depends on pressure and temperature, from which radioactivity is independent. So, there is no relationship between radioactivity and crystallisation.

Consequently, radioactivity doesn't date the formation of rocks. Moreover, daughter elements contained in rocks result mainly from radioactivity in magma where gravity separates the heavier parent element, from the lighter daughter element. Thus radiometric dating has no chronological signification." Dr. Guy Berthault www.sciencevsevolution.org/Berthault.htm

Radiometric dating based on unverifiable assumptions.

scienceagainstevolution.info/v8i8f.htm

Rapid strata formation and rapid erosion at Mount St Helens.

slideplayer.com/slide/5703217/18/images/28/Rapid+Strata+F...

Published papers

efficalis.com/sedimentology/paper

Visit the fossil museum:

www.flickr.com/photos/101536517@N06/sets/72157641367196613/

Just how good are peer reviews of scientific papers?

www.sciencemag.org/content/342/6154/60.full

www.examiner.com/article/want-to-publish-science-paper-ju...

The neo-Darwinian idea that the human genome consists entirely of an accumulation of billions of mutations is, quite obviously, completely bonkers. Nevertheless, it is compulsorily taught in schools and universities as 'science'.

www.flickr.com/photos/truth-in-science/35505679183

Dr James Tour - 'The Origin of Life' - Abiogenesis decisively refuted.

youtu.be/B1E4QMn2mxk

Darwinism. An interview with Dr Purdom. youtu.be/hG0MIyySsPQ

Rapid stratification refutes evolutionist timescale

evidenceoverignorance.wordpress.com/rapid-stratification-2/ evidenceoverignorance.wordpress.com/rapid-stratification-2/

Further reading:

Geology, the dreadful science.

malagabay.wordpress.com/2013/07/08/geology-the-dreadful-s...

malagabay.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/law-of-superpositio...

Polystrate fossils prove rapid stratification. kgov.com/list-of-the-kinds-of-polystrate-fossils List of polystrate fossils: kgov.com/list-of-the-kinds-of-polystrate-fossils

Rapid stratification refutes evolution timescale:

evidenceoverignorance.wordpress.com/rapid-stratification-2/

Soft tissue, including DNA, found in fossils claimed to be millions of years old. Peer-reviewed journal articles on surviving endogenous biological material including tissue and DNA. docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1eXtKzjWP2B1FMDVrsJ_992ITF...

Published paper:

www.scirp.org/(S(351jmbntvnsjt1aadkposzje))/reference/ReferencesPapers.aspx?ReferenceID=974471

Bijou Creek flood.

pubs.geoscienceworld.org/sepm/jsedres/article-abstract/37...

Greenland ice core dating.

answersingenesis.org/environmental-science/ice-age/do-gre...

The Chinese fossil faking industry.

www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-fake-fossils-perve...

Fake Chinese fossils

www.paleodirect.com/fake-chinese-fossils-fossil-forgery-f...

aka: Lethal Neglect

One of the methods suggested to get rid of "inferior" populations was euthanasia. A

1911 Carnegie Institute report mentioned euthanasia as one of its recommended

"solutions" to the problem of cleansing society of unfit genetic attributes. The most

commonly suggested method was to set up local gas chambers. However, many in the

eugenics movement did not believe that Americans were ready to implement a large-scale

euthanasia program, so many doctors had to find clever ways of subtly implementing

eugenic euthanasia in various medical institutions. For example, a mental institution in

Lincoln, Illinois fed its incoming patients milk infected with tuberculosis (reasoning that

genetically fit individuals would be resistant), resulting in 30-40% annual death rates.

Other doctors practiced euthanasia through various forms of lethal neglect...

Eugenics in the United States.

A beautifully produced brochure, resplendent in a presentation envelope, and issued by the County of London Electric Supply Company to commemorate the opening of their new power house (power station) on the banks of the River Thames at Creekmouth in Barking. This great event took place on 19 May 1925 and, one strongly suspects, was the one time Royalty set foot at Creekmouth! The brochure has a potted history of the company that has been incorporated in 1891 to serve parts of South West London and some inner parishes adjacent to the City of London itself. These two supply areas were the reasoning behind their first two power stations at City Road, Islington and in Wandsworth.

The UK's fledgling electricial supply industry was rather an unholy mess with not just a multiplicity of supply undertakings (private and municipal) but also a wide range of supply voltages and phases. Some consolidation took place and the County of London Company was typical of the larger players in that they extended their supply area serviving a multiplicity of administrative areas that did not develop undertakings of their own as well as becoming 'bulk' suppliers of power to 'independent' undertakings. By the early 1920s their supply area had grown to cover much of East London and South Essex as seen on the map.

The construction of Barking "A" as it would become known was first mooted in post-WW1 years to firstly increase capacity and also to ensure more thermally efficient production of supply than their older and smaller stations could obtain. The riverside plant allowed easy delivery of the coal fuel by river and allowed for the necessary cooling water. The designers and consultants were Merz & McLellan, the bulk of the equipment supplied by Vickers of Barrow and the turbines were by C A Parsons.

Barking was also effectively the outcome of increased co-operation the company had with three other closely connected concerns - the City of London Electric Lighting Company; the South London Electric Supply Corporation Limited; and the South Metropolitan Electric Light and Power Company Limited. This cooperation was something increasingly demanded of the industry by increased legislation and in 1926 the Central Electricity Board was formed. The CEB not only instituted the National Grid, interconnection requiring a national standard of production, but also 'designated' efficient stations. City Road was not, and closed in 1929, Wandsworth was and Barking saw expansion with the construction of the "B" section stage that was commissioned in 1933 and reached full capacity in 1939. The Company was nationalised in 1948 and it fell to the state to construct what was Barking "C" in 1954. Barking "A" was decommissioned in 1969, "B" in 1976 and finally "C" in 1981. The whole site was then cleared.

The brochure has a number of colour plates and sketches by artist Norman Howard as well as photographs of the plant. It is spledidly printed and produced by one of the better printing houses of the day, the esteemed George W Jones, at "The Sign of the Dolphin" in Gough Square, Fleet Street. This illustration shows what the station would have looked like if all the originally intended phases had been constructed as originally intended. The site that would over time become home to three 'stations'.

di·lem·ma (n)

A situation with unsatisfactory choices: a situation in which somebody must choose one of two or more unsatisfactory alternatives.

An argument leading to undesirable choice: in logic, a form of reasoning that, though valid, leads to two undesirable alternatives.

===============

Created in Fractal Explorer 2.02.

Birch Shieldbugs found in the Carlisle area of Cumbria in 2015: Overview

As numerous shots of Birch Shieldbug adults and final-instar nymphs were taken last year, my focus for 2015 was mainly on the earlier instars.

Nine batches of first-instar nymphs were found between 5 July and 11 September: eight in High Stand Plantation and one in Kingmoor North. All of these were located on the leaves of small, catkin-bearing birch trees. Interestingly, no eggs were found, which presumably means that either these are much harder to spot than the nymphs, or that the eggs hatch out relatively shortly after being laid (I base this inference on the fact that over the same period I found four batches of Bronze Shieldbug eggs, and this species is probably less common).

Despite the fact that the total number of first-instars found must have amounted to almost 200, it proved to be surprisingly difficult to keep track of the later instars. On one occasion I failed to find a single nymph on a 4m-high sapling which just a few days earlier had been home to about 40 hatchlings! Nevertheless, I did ultimately manage to achieve my objective and photograph the missing instars. The last adults of the year (two) were found on 4 December in Finglandrigg Wood, compared with 13 November last year at the same site.

The following length measurements were taken on a variety of nymphs, and are discussed further in the Note on Identification below.

First-instar: 1.4 mm (13 Sep)*

Second-instar: 1.4mm (12 Jul), 1.5mm (18 Sep)

Third-instar: 2.6mm, 2.6mm, 3.2mm, 3.3mm (24 Jul)

Fourth-instar: 4.7mm (30 Aug), 4.5mm (teneral, 7 Sep)

Fifth-instar: 7.4mm (23 Sep)

(*Estimated by photographing the leaf held against my measurement grid)

All Birch Shieldbug photos taken this year and submitted to Flickr are included in my Birch Shieldbug (Year 2015) album, where more detailed information can be found. All of the shots included in the montage - with the exception of Photo 9 - are taken from here. This particular photo was taken last year, and is included in my Shieldbugs of Cumbria album. (Once I'd knocked off all the nymphs I rather lost interest in this species, and didn't take any decent quality shots of any of this year's adults!) The contents of the montage are as follow:

Photo 1: Adult (overwintered), Finglandrigg Wood, 8 May

Photo 2 (A): First-instar nymphs, High Stand Plantation, 9 July

Photo 2 (B): First-instar nymphs, High Stand Plantation, 9 July

Photo 2 (C): First-instar nymphs, High Stand Plantation, 11 August

Photo 2 (D): First-instar nymphs, Kingmoor North, 11 September

Photo 3: Second-instar nymphs and tenerals, Kingmoor North, 18 September

Photo 4: Second-instar nymphs, High Stand Plantation, 12 July

Photo 5: Third-instar nymph, High Stand Plantation, 24 July

Photo 6: Fourth-instar nymph, Finglandrigg Wood, 30 August 15

Photo 7: Final-instar nymph, High Stand Plantation, 4 September

Photo 8: Final-instar nymph, Kingmoor North, 23 September

Photo 9: Adult, Glasson Moss, 23 August 2014

Note on identification: Although I saw my first early-instar nymphs on 5 July, it wasn't till mid-September that I felt I could identify all of the first three nymphal stages with any confidence! This was partly due to the fact that there seems to be some confusion elsewhere on exactly what constitutes a first-instar Birch Shieldbug nymph. In order to avoid any ambiguity, I've explained my reasoning below.

Working on the assumption that a first-instar nymph is the nymph that first appear when an egg hatches - even if it doesn't actually move - then clearly the four batches of nymphs show in Photo 2 are first-instars. The last one of these batches was monitored on a daily basis for a week (from 11 September) till the nymphs started to moult into the second nymphal stage, as shown in Photo 3. So despite the fact that these don't appear to be noticeably larger than the first-instars, it is my understanding they still constitute second-instar nymphs. The nymphs shown in Photo 4 were found to be essentially the same size as those of Photo 3, and so largely on that basis, they were also classified as second-instars.

The nymphs shown in Photos 7 and 8 are obviously final-instars, and it can be inferred from the degree of development of the wing buds that the one shown in Photo 6 is a fourth-instar. The nymph shown in Photo 5 was assumed to be a third-instar largely on the basis of its length measurement, as it neatly spanned the size gap between second and fourth-instars.

Cachoeira "Véu da Noiva", Bonito - PE, Brasil.

_____________________________________

"A confiança é ato de fé, e esta dispensa raciocínio."

[Carlos Drummond de Andrade]

"Trust is an act of faith, and this waiver reasoning."

[Carlos Drummond de Andrade]

The word "aikido" is formed of three kanji:

合 - ai - joining, unifying, combining, fit

気 - ki - spirit, energy, mood, morale

道 - dō - way, path

気　is often used as a feeling as in 気がする('I feel', as in terms of thinking but with less cognitive reasoning) 気持ち(feeling/sensation) 気分(mood/morale). Also Energy or force.　電気(electricity) 磁気 (magnetism).

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I'm sick and I'm tired of reasoning

just want to break out shake off this skin

I can't escape myself

All my problems lume larger than life

I can swallow another slice

Seems like my shadow marks every strike

can't learn to live with what's trapped inside

I can't escape myself

So many feelings end up in here

left so alone I'm with oh, an atmoshere

I'm sick and I'm tired of reasoning

just want to break out shake off this skin

I can't escape myslef

I can't escape myself - The Sound

In the early fog

before the birdsong

I walked through the mist

that clung to my hair

and wrapped around the

folds of my jacket

what was this disparity

this presence of fog

denial of sun

I considered it for a season

a temporary season

of reasoning

that led me to a stream

flowing slow through the dawn

in the early fog

before the birdsong

KDS