The "orb" was sectioned into three parts to make removing it easier once the sculpting was complete. This way I can remove one piece at a time and not disturb the rest of the clay.

Built in 1895-1896, this Chicago School-style thirteen-story skyscraper was designed by Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler for the Guaranty Construction Company. It was initially commissioned by Hascal L. Taylor, whom approached Dankmar Adler to build "the largest and best office building in the city,” but Taylor, whom wanted to name the building after himself, died in 1894, just before the building was announced. Having already had the building designed and ready for construction, the Guaranty Construction Company of Chicago, which already had resources lined up to build the project, bought the property and had the building constructed, with the building instead being named after them. In 1898, the building was renamed after the Prudential Insurance Company, which had refinanced the project and became a major tenant in the building after it was completed. Prudential had the terra cotta panels above the main entrances to the building modified to display the company’s name in 1898, upon their acquisition of a partial share in the ownership of the tower. The building became the tallest building in Buffalo upon its completion, and was a further refinement of the ideas that Sullivan had developed with the Wainwright Building in St. Louis, which was built in 1890-92, and featured a design with more Classical overtones, which were dropped with the design of the Guaranty Building in favor of a more purified Art Nouveau and Chicago School aesthetic, and with more intricate visual detail, with the ornate terra cotta panels cladding the entire structure, leaving very few areas with sparse detail. The building is an early skyscraper with a steel frame supporting the terra cotta panel facade, a departure from earlier load bearing masonry structures that had previously been predominant in many of the same applications, and expresses this through large window openings at the base and a consistent wall thickness, as there was no need to make the exterior walls thicker at the base to support the load from the structure above. The building also contrasts with the more rigid historically-influenced Classical revivalism that was growing in popularity at the time, and follows Sullivan’s mantra of “form ever follows function” despite having a lot of unnecessary detail on the exterior cladding and interior elements. The building’s facade also emphasizes its verticality through continual vertical bands of windows separated by pilasters that are wider on the first two floors, with narrower pilasters above, with the entire composition of the building following the tripartite form influenced by classical columns, with distinct sections comprising the base, shaft, and capital, though being a radical and bold abstraction of the form compared to the historical literalism expressed by most of its contemporaries, more directly displaying the underlying steel structure of the building.

The building is clad in rusty terra cotta panels which feature extensive Sullivanesque ornament inspired by the Art Nouveau movement, which clad the entirety of the building’s facades along Church Street and Pearl Street, with simpler red brick and painted brick cladding on the facades that do not front public right-of-ways, which are visible when the building is viewed from the south and west. The white painted brick cladding on the south elevation marks the former location of the building’s light well, which was about 30 feet wide and 68 feet deep, and was infilled during a 1980s rehabilitation project, adding an additional 1,400 square feet of office space, and necessitating an artificial light source to be installed above the stained glass ceiling of the building’s lobby. The building’s windows are mostly one-over-one double-hung windows in vertical columns, with one window per bay, though this pattern is broken at the painted portions of the non-principal facades, which feature paired one-over-one windows, on the second floor of the principal facades, which features Chicago-style tripartite windows and arched transoms over the building’s two main entry doors, on the thirteenth floor of the principal facades, which features circular oxeye windows, and at the base, which features large storefront windows that include cantilevered sections with shed glass roofs that wrap around the columns at the base of the building. The building’s terra cotta panels feature many natural and geometric motifs based on plants and crystalline structures, the most common being a “seed pod” motif that symbolizes growth, with a wide variation of patterns, giving the facade a dynamic appearance, which is almost overwhelming, but helps to further grant the building a dignified and monumental appearance, and is a signature element of many of the significant works of Adler and Sullivan, as well as Sullivan’s later independent work. The building’s pilasters halve in number but double in thickness towards the base, with wide window openings underneath pairs of window bays above on the first and second floors, with the pilasters terminating at circular columns with large, decorative, ornate terra cotta capitals in the central bays, and thick rectilinear pilasters at the corners and flanking the entry door openings. The circular columns penetrate the extruded storefront windows and shed glass roofs below, which formed display cases for shops in the ground floor of the building when it first opened, and feature decorative copper trim and mullions framing the large expanses of plate glass. The base of the building is clad in medina sandstone panels, as well as medina sandstone bases on the circular columns. The major entry doors feature decorative copper trim surrounds, a spandrel panel with ornate cast copper detailing above and the name “Guaranty” emblazoned on the face of each of the two panels at the two entrances, decorative transoms above with decorative copper panels as headers, and arched transoms on the second floor with decorative terra cotta trim surrounds. Each of the two major entrance doors is flanked by two ornate Art Nouveau-style wall-mounted sconces mounted on the large pilasters, with smaller, partially recessed pilasters on either side. The building features two cornices with arched recesses, with the smaller cornice running as a belt around the transition between the base and the shaft portions of the building, with lightbulbs in each archway, and the larger cornice, which extends further out from the face of the building, running around the top of the building’s Swan Street and Pearl Street facades, with a circular oxeye window in each archway. The lower corner recessed into the facade at the ends, while the upper cornice runs around the entire top of the facade above, with geometric motifs in the central portions and a large cluster of leaves in a pattern that is often repeated in Sullivan’s other work at the corners. The spandrel panels between the windows on the shaft portion of the building feature a cluster of leaves at the base and geometric patterns above, with a repeat of the same recessed arch detail as the cornice at the sill line of each window. The pilasters feature almost strictly geometric motifs, with a few floral motifs thrown in at key points to balance the composition of the facade with the windows. A small and often overlooked feature of the ground floor is a set of stone steps up to an entrance at the northwest corner of the building, which features a decorative copper railing with Sullivanesque and Art Nouveau-inspired ornament, which sits next to a staircase to the building’s basement, which features a more utilitarian modern safety railing in the middle.

The interior of the building was heavily renovated over the years before being partially restored in 1980, with the lobby being reverted back to its circa 1896 appearance. The Swan Street vestibule has been fully restored, featuring a marble ceiling, decorative mosaics around the top of the walls, a decorative antique brass light fixture with Art Nouveau detailing and a ring of lightbulbs in the center, the remnant bronze stringer of a now-removed staircase to the second floor in a circular glass wall at the north end of the space, and a terazzo floor. The main lobby, located immediately to the west, features a Tiffany-esque stained glass ceiling with ellipsoid and circular panels set into a bronze frame that once sat below a skylight at the base of the building’s filled-in light well, marble cladding on the walls, mosaics on the ceiling and around the top of the walls, a bronze staircase with ornate railing at the west end of the space, which features a semi-circular landing, a basement staircase with a brass railing, a terrazzo floor, and multiple historic three-bulb wall sconces, as well as brass ceiling fixtures matching those in the vestibule. The building’s elevators, located in an alcove near the base of the staircase, features a decorative richly detailed brass screen on the exterior, with additional decorative screens above, with the elevator since having been enclosed with glass to accommodate modern safety standards and equipment, while preserving the visibility of the original details. Originally, when the building was built, the elevators descended open shafts into a screen wall in the lobby, with the elevators originally being manufactured by the Sprague Electric Railway and Motor Company, with these being exchanged in 1903 for water hydraulic elevators that remained until a renovation in the 1960s. Sadly, most of the historic interior detailing of the upper floors was lost during a series of renovations in the 20th Century, which led to them being fully modernized during the renovation in the 1980s, with multiple tenant finish projects since then further modifying the interiors of the upper floors.

The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975, owing to its architectural significance, and to help save the building, which had suffered a major fire in 1974 that led to the city of Buffalo seeking to demolish it. A renovation in the early 1980s managed to modernize the building while restoring the lobby and the exterior, which was carried out under the direction of the firm CannonDesign, and partial funding from federal historic tax credits. The building was purchased in 2002 by Hodgson Russ, a law firm, which subsequently further renovated the building to suit their needs, converting the building into their headquarters in 2008. This renovation was carried out under the direction of Gensler Architects and the local firm Flynn Battaglia Architects. The building today houses offices on the upper floors, with a visitor center, known as the Guaranty Interpretative Center, on the first floor, with historic tours offered of some of the building’s exterior and interior spaces run by Preservation Buffalo Niagara. The building was one of the most significant early skyscrapers, and set a precedent for the modern skyscrapers that began to be built half a century later.

Infantry Soldiers from 2BCT refine their mastery of critical soldier skills from Sept. 9 through 22 during the EIB training phase and demonstrate their proficiency from Sept. 23 through 27 during the testing phase. Infantry Soldiers who successfully complete the testing phase will be awarded the Expert Infantry Badge which indicates their mastery of the skills that allow them to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy.

This candle lamp gave out a curious pattern in the dark, and it reminded me of how the Lord refines and shapes us...and the light that brings out the beauty in us all as well.

Malachi 3:3 says:

"He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver."

Silver is a very ductile and malleable (slightly harder than gold) metal with a brilliant white metallic luster that can take a high degree of polish. It has the highest electrical conductivity of all metals, even higher than copper, but at greater cost and tarnishability .

Among metals, pure silver has the highest thermal conductivity, whitest color, the highest optical reflectivity. Silver also has the lowest contact resistance of any metal. Silver halides are photosensitive and are remarkable for their ability to record a latent image that can later be developed chemically. [that's for fellow Flicker fans] Silver is stable in pure air and water, but tarnishes when it is exposed to air or water [contaminated] containing ozone or hydrogen sulfide. [edited from Wikipedia]

back to Malachi....and the lesson from His Word, i received in the mail just today..

Malachi 3:3 says:

"He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver."

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.

One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.

As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says:

"He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver."

She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.

The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?"

He smiled at her and answered,

"Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it."

JAC Refine S3

1.590 cc

4 in-line

115 pk @ 6.300 rpm

155 Nm @ 3.500-4.500 rpm

Vmax : 180 km/h

0-100 km/h : 10,5 sec

1.275 kg

CO2 : 174 g/km

434,5 x 176,5 x 164 cm

89th Geneva International Motor Show

Internationaler Auto-Salon Genf

Suisse - Schweiz - Switzerland

March 2019

GRECO ART STUDIO

ARTIST STATEMENT:

Painting to me it’s a life force, not a career.

Later on in my life, in order to refine what I learned through experience and

years of practice, I attended the Art Students League of New York, The New York

Academy of Art, and FIT(Fashion Institute of Technology) where I studied

portraiture and human anatomy.

My work has been shown in various solos and group

exhibits in New York and Baltimore, MD, and are owned by private collectors

throughout the U.S., Europe and Canada. One of my paintings is in the permanent

collection of the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Another work is included in the September 11 Digital Archives at the Center of

History and New Media at Mason University, in Fairfax, Virginia. I have also been

published twice in Boheme Magazine online, in Paris, France. My commentary on

one of the works by Jean-Michael Basquiat, was included in his exhibition at

the Brooklyn Museum of Art, 2005. One of my paintings was exhibited at the

Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York. (June of 2005.) My work is also in the

Library of Congress; Exhibit No. 1132 Archive No. 783, and also has been

featured in NY Arts Magazine, Brooklyn Fine Art magazine, and the Arts &

Entertainment supplements of Brooklyn Eagle (In Brooklyn) and the Brooklyn

Courier (24/7).

In pursuing my art, I focused primarily on the human

figure. This de

cision was initially an aesthetic one, although an even deeper

response to the human condition has inspired my work. I believe human beings

are noble. We live with the knowledge that some day our lives will end and we

wonder if there is a purpose to our existence. I believe there is a very

tragic, noble quality to this basic condition. I believe that to create is to

reach into the depth of your soul and let your spirit free; to grasp the first

impression through sight and transform it into an idea and ultimately into a

piece of art. I believe art is not always our expression of the beauty that

surrounds us in every day lives; it is also our expression of our anger,

frustration, sorrow, happiness or dreams harbored in our unconscious mind,

which we are unable to express in words.

I believe art is communication with one another.

Those that can see between the fine lines can break the code and ‘read’ the

message. Art to me is like religion; you must believe in it, practice it, and

share it. When I paint, I want the end results to reflect my mood at that time.

Having a range of moods, I have a variety of styles. After many years of

creating figurative paintings, I am now beginning to change directions and am

leaning towards figurative abstract expressionism. Now in my paintings, I want

to offer a creation and have the viewer complete it with his interpretation. I

believe art should offer more then one view; it no longer belongs to the artist

alone. W

hen we view art, it should take us on an intimate journey.

For me, this new direction is a reawakening in my

paintings that allows me to express my ‘ideas’ more effectively. However, as

Mark Rothko believed, I too believe that there should be a clear line between

illustration, design, decoration, and the production of fine art. I believe art

should have its own ‘reality’ not merely mimic the visual world around us. The

essence of painting is, to me, the artist’s unique perspective on the world and

his communication of that perspective to the observer. When we view his

painting we enter his reality. Therefore, I have shifted from my realistic

paintings to the evolution of a more abstract style. Paintings that are

disturbing to look at , as is the case in some of my recent works, are meant

not as a sneering judgment, but as a genuinely sympathetic appraisal of the

human condition, with the end of mending and healing, not dismembering and

destroying.

I believe art must aspire to a loftier goal than

commentary and must speak to the essentially human aspect common to all of us

if it is to succeed. When it does, it is timeless and tragic.

Leon Nicholas Kalas

Curator- Artist

Greco Art Studio

149 Bond Street

Brooklyn, NY 11217

e-mail: leonkals@aol.com website: leonkalas.com

Image:

"Your DNA or Mine"

Oil on can

vas

30" x 3)'

2008

South Pacific Enterprise 1956.

The history of the Colonial Sugar Refining Company (CSR Co.)

This Centenary commemorative book was issued to company shareholders in 1955.

An Australian enterprise founded 1855 by Edward Knox, a Danish immigrant, from earlier origins as the Australasian Sugar Company ( 1842), which Knox managed. The company established sugar operations in Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and over the next 150 years diversified into building materials, chemicals etc.

Published by Angus & Robertson, Sydney. Cloth boards, 500 pages 16cm x 24cm.

JAC Refine S3

1.590 cc

4 in-line

115 pk @ 6.300 rpm

155 Nm @ 3.500-4.500 rpm

Vmax : 180 km/h

0-100 km/h : 10,5 sec

1.275 kg

CO2 : 174 g/km

434,5 x 176,5 x 164 cm

89th Geneva International Motor Show

Internationaler Auto-Salon Genf

Suisse - Schweiz - Switzerland

March 2019

While naval doctrine has never evolved in a vacuum, the simmering conflict between the first and second Accord Wars provided an idea opportunity for both the Empire and Accord to refine and test their doctrines in relatively low-risk engagements. The extended time period also allowed for numerous ship classes to be requested, designed, procured, and deployed on both sides, often specifically to counter a new strategy, tactic, or element of naval hardware.

Given the smaller size of the Accord Republican Navy, it was unsurprising that they adopted strategies relying heavily on fast carrier strike packages that could conduct attacks on relatively poorly defended Imperial assets, despite the Accord carriers often being little more than converted freighters. After a time, more and more Imperial picket corvettes and frigates were produced and utilized, massively increasing Accord losses and protecting Imperial interests at a relatively affordable price. At the same time, the constant reconnaissance struggle continued to escalate as well; the standard sensor drone swarms augmented by heavy strike fighters and even modified corvettes, deployed to both protect the sensor drones and also to intercept hostile scouts. The Assault Reconnaissance Corvette was conceived as an attempt by the Accord to solve both of these problems, though the eventual proliferation of Accord heavy fleets saw the Empire adopt its own variants.

The ARN-27 was not the first Assault Reconnaissance Corvette deployed by the Accord, but it was the first designed specifically for the purpose, learning lessons from previous conversions that had not filled the role as well as had been hoped. At the core of its mission brief was to locate the hostile fleet, destroy hostile anti-recon forces, and then destroy hostile picket forces. While the first two tasks could be performed relatively well by most corvettes or frigates, the latter task had proven far more difficult. Generally, any ship large enough to engage a hostile picket frigate was also going to be vulnerable to the capital grade weapons from the fleet that the picket frigate was protecting. Combat experience showed that even a corvette needed to be relatively fast and agile to be immune to capital grade weapons, leaving naval designers with precious few options.

Among the five bids placed on the contract, only Eclipse Industries and Siugniedrev Industrial Works designs made it past initial testing. While the SIW design was in effect a very large stealth bomber, and would go on to see further development in another program, the EI design utilized four mass plasma drivers in a mostly fixed configuration. Even most frigates did not mount weapons of such size, and the extensive cooling arrays and power generation required for the weapons made the ARN-27 more expensive than most other options. However, due to the relatively few hulls required and the economic boom in the Accord at the time, the higher cost was deemed a worthwhile investment.

Initial development, like with any military project, was not without teething issues. During high stress atmospheric maneuvers, the weight of the plasma drivers caused warping in the cooling arrays they were mounted on, leading to further strengthening. The lower sensor arrays were removed to add four light missile tubes for better defense against light craft and missiles when it was determined that the four twin laser turrets were not sufficient. The largest change was to the top of the hull however, where both an external access airlock and an enlarged deployable sensor dish was added. Given the crew capacity of six and the provision of both a cargo hold and full living quarters aboard the vessel for extended recon operations, the inability to dock outside of a hangar bay was deemed unacceptable by operational commanders. Other features, such as the enlarged rear comms array were present from the start, specifically designed to provide a datalink back to the fleet in the face of heavy hostile jamming.

Though undeniably effective against Imperial forces when it was first deployed, the same economic boom that allowed such an expensive and specialized corvette to be developed was also the ultimate reason it was sidelined. The increased military budget of the Accord saw proper battleline ships built and deployed, first battlecruisers to escort the carriers then proper battleships, making the role of punching through pickets far less important than it had been previously. Still, as one of the largest ships to have the commander and pilot be the same person and a combat profile much more akin to a giant heavy fighter than a traditional corvette, it remains a popular posting for certain officers among the Accord.

Manufacturer: Eclipse Industries

Crew: 6 - 1 Pilot/Commander, 1 Weapons Officer, 1 Communications/Sensors Officer, 2 Engineering Officers, 1 Marine.

Length: 89 meters

Maximum Speed: 1185 m/s

FTL Capability: 14335 AU/h

Engines: 4x FierthXP-3000 Ion Drives

Armament: 4x License Built SIW FlameSpike Mass Plasma Drivers, 4x twin GS Gneiss Laser Cannons in turrets, 4x various Accord missile systems depending on mission profile.

Made for my Graviton setting.

Designers Note: I worked on this one off and on for over a year and it is the largest design I have done yet. It was supposed to be something I could afford to build out of physical bricks, but I clearly got carried away.

The Boys

It could be destined for Sweden Norway or Poland with much smaller chance of new career in Denmark or Ukraine

Infantry Soldiers from 2BCT refine their mastery of critical soldier skills from Sept. 9 through 22 during the EIB training phase and demonstrate their proficiency from Sept. 23 through 27 during the testing phase. Infantry Soldiers who successfully complete the testing phase will be awarded the Expert Infantry Badge which indicates their mastery of the skills that allow them to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy.

In 1933 the Humble Oil & Refining Co. found Oil in Tomball. As a result, Tomball

became known as "Oil Town USA," and the citizens benefitted from an unusual

deal with the oil drilling company: The town was given free natural gas to all

residents for ninety years! On May 27, 1933, oil was discovered on the land

of J.F.W. Kobb, and in 1935, the Humble Oil & Refining Company (Exxon)

negotiated a contract with the town of Tomball for drilling rights on the land.

The agreement stipulated that Humble Oil give free water & natural gas to

its residents for the next 90 years. Until the year 2025, residents of Tomball

do not have to pay for either of those utilities if they are within city limits.

Today Tomball is known for its small town atmosphere and as a peaceful home

to thousands who want to get away from the hustle and bustle of downtown

Houston. The area that is now Tomball, Texas was originally settled by German

and European settlers in the early 1800s. The land now known as historic

Downtown Tomball was originally granted to William Hurd in 1838. Settlers came

to Tomball mainly to promote agricultural activities, lured by its peaceful streams,

its rolling pastures and beautiful pine trees. In 1906 the area became the town of

Peck, Texas. The name Peck came from a local engineer, but only lasted for about

a year. Shortly after, in 1907, the town was renamed after Senator Thomas H. Ball

who helped the area thrive by running the railways through town, which was extremely

important to the prosperity of the agricultural businesses in the area. On a personal

note, my great uncle was elected and served as mayor of Tomball for two different

terms in the 1960's. And it was the oil and gas industry that brought him to Tomball.

The above has been there at the old Humble Oilfield forever and is a landmark to us!!!

While naval doctrine has never evolved in a vacuum, the simmering conflict between the first and second Accord Wars provided an idea opportunity for both the Empire and Accord to refine and test their doctrines in relatively low-risk engagements. The extended time period also allowed for numerous ship classes to be requested, designed, procured, and deployed on both sides, often specifically to counter a new strategy, tactic, or element of naval hardware.

Given the smaller size of the Accord Republican Navy, it was unsurprising that they adopted strategies relying heavily on fast carrier strike packages that could conduct attacks on relatively poorly defended Imperial assets, despite the Accord carriers often being little more than converted freighters. After a time, more and more Imperial picket corvettes and frigates were produced and utilized, massively increasing Accord losses and protecting Imperial interests at a relatively affordable price. At the same time, the constant reconnaissance struggle continued to escalate as well; the standard sensor drone swarms augmented by heavy strike fighters and even modified corvettes, deployed to both protect the sensor drones and also to intercept hostile scouts. The Assault Reconnaissance Corvette was conceived as an attempt by the Accord to solve both of these problems, though the eventual proliferation of Accord heavy fleets saw the Empire adopt its own variants.

The ARN-27 was not the first Assault Reconnaissance Corvette deployed by the Accord, but it was the first designed specifically for the purpose, learning lessons from previous conversions that had not filled the role as well as had been hoped. At the core of its mission brief was to locate the hostile fleet, destroy hostile anti-recon forces, and then destroy hostile picket forces. While the first two tasks could be performed relatively well by most corvettes or frigates, the latter task had proven far more difficult. Generally, any ship large enough to engage a hostile picket frigate was also going to be vulnerable to the capital grade weapons from the fleet that the picket frigate was protecting. Combat experience showed that even a corvette needed to be relatively fast and agile to be immune to capital grade weapons, leaving naval designers with precious few options.

Among the five bids placed on the contract, only Eclipse Industries and Siugniedrev Industrial Works designs made it past initial testing. While the SIW design was in effect a very large stealth bomber, and would go on to see further development in another program, the EI design utilized four mass plasma drivers in a mostly fixed configuration. Even most frigates did not mount weapons of such size, and the extensive cooling arrays and power generation required for the weapons made the ARN-27 more expensive than most other options. However, due to the relatively few hulls required and the economic boom in the Accord at the time, the higher cost was deemed a worthwhile investment.

Initial development, like with any military project, was not without teething issues. During high stress atmospheric maneuvers, the weight of the plasma drivers caused warping in the cooling arrays they were mounted on, leading to further strengthening. The lower sensor arrays were removed to add four light missile tubes for better defense against light craft and missiles when it was determined that the four twin laser turrets were not sufficient. The largest change was to the top of the hull however, where both an external access airlock and an enlarged deployable sensor dish was added. Given the crew capacity of six and the provision of both a cargo hold and full living quarters aboard the vessel for extended recon operations, the inability to dock outside of a hangar bay was deemed unacceptable by operational commanders. Other features, such as the enlarged rear comms array were present from the start, specifically designed to provide a datalink back to the fleet in the face of heavy hostile jamming.

Though undeniably effective against Imperial forces when it was first deployed, the same economic boom that allowed such an expensive and specialized corvette to be developed was also the ultimate reason it was sidelined. The increased military budget of the Accord saw proper battleline ships built and deployed, first battlecruisers to escort the carriers then proper battleships, making the role of punching through pickets far less important than it had been previously. Still, as one of the largest ships to have the commander and pilot be the same person and a combat profile much more akin to a giant heavy fighter than a traditional corvette, it remains a popular posting for certain officers among the Accord.

Manufacturer: Eclipse Industries

Crew: 6 - 1 Pilot/Commander, 1 Weapons Officer, 1 Communications/Sensors Officer, 2 Engineering Officers, 1 Marine.

Length: 89 meters

Maximum Speed: 1185 m/s

FTL Capability: 14335 AU/h

Engines: 4x FierthXP-3000 Ion Drives

Armament: 4x License Built SIW FlameSpike Mass Plasma Drivers, 4x twin GS Gneiss Laser Cannons in turrets, 4x various Accord missile systems depending on mission profile.

Made for my Graviton setting.

Designers Note: I worked on this one off and on for over a year and it is the largest design I have done yet. It was supposed to be something I could afford to build out of physical bricks, but I clearly got carried away.

Infantry Soldiers from 2BCT refine their mastery of critical soldier skills from Sept. 9 through 22 during the EIB training phase and demonstrate their proficiency from Sept. 23 through 27 during the testing phase. Infantry Soldiers who successfully complete the testing phase will be awarded the Expert Infantry Badge which indicates their mastery of the skills that allow them to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy. PFC Tyler Fleming from 2-87 throws a grenade at a target.

U.S. Army photo by Spc. Charlotte Carulli

While naval doctrine has never evolved in a vacuum, the simmering conflict between the first and second Accord Wars provided an idea opportunity for both the Empire and Accord to refine and test their doctrines in relatively low-risk engagements. The extended time period also allowed for numerous ship classes to be requested, designed, procured, and deployed on both sides, often specifically to counter a new strategy, tactic, or element of naval hardware.

Given the smaller size of the Accord Republican Navy, it was unsurprising that they adopted strategies relying heavily on fast carrier strike packages that could conduct attacks on relatively poorly defended Imperial assets, despite the Accord carriers often being little more than converted freighters. After a time, more and more Imperial picket corvettes and frigates were produced and utilized, massively increasing Accord losses and protecting Imperial interests at a relatively affordable price. At the same time, the constant reconnaissance struggle continued to escalate as well; the standard sensor drone swarms augmented by heavy strike fighters and even modified corvettes, deployed to both protect the sensor drones and also to intercept hostile scouts. The Assault Reconnaissance Corvette was conceived as an attempt by the Accord to solve both of these problems, though the eventual proliferation of Accord heavy fleets saw the Empire adopt its own variants.

The ARN-27 was not the first Assault Reconnaissance Corvette deployed by the Accord, but it was the first designed specifically for the purpose, learning lessons from previous conversions that had not filled the role as well as had been hoped. At the core of its mission brief was to locate the hostile fleet, destroy hostile anti-recon forces, and then destroy hostile picket forces. While the first two tasks could be performed relatively well by most corvettes or frigates, the latter task had proven far more difficult. Generally, any ship large enough to engage a hostile picket frigate was also going to be vulnerable to the capital grade weapons from the fleet that the picket frigate was protecting. Combat experience showed that even a corvette needed to be relatively fast and agile to be immune to capital grade weapons, leaving naval designers with precious few options.

Among the five bids placed on the contract, only Eclipse Industries and Siugniedrev Industrial Works designs made it past initial testing. While the SIW design was in effect a very large stealth bomber, and would go on to see further development in another program, the EI design utilized four mass plasma drivers in a mostly fixed configuration. Even most frigates did not mount weapons of such size, and the extensive cooling arrays and power generation required for the weapons made the ARN-27 more expensive than most other options. However, due to the relatively few hulls required and the economic boom in the Accord at the time, the higher cost was deemed a worthwhile investment.

Initial development, like with any military project, was not without teething issues. During high stress atmospheric maneuvers, the weight of the plasma drivers caused warping in the cooling arrays they were mounted on, leading to further strengthening. The lower sensor arrays were removed to add four light missile tubes for better defense against light craft and missiles when it was determined that the four twin laser turrets were not sufficient. The largest change was to the top of the hull however, where both an external access airlock and an enlarged deployable sensor dish was added. Given the crew capacity of six and the provision of both a cargo hold and full living quarters aboard the vessel for extended recon operations, the inability to dock outside of a hangar bay was deemed unacceptable by operational commanders. Other features, such as the enlarged rear comms array were present from the start, specifically designed to provide a datalink back to the fleet in the face of heavy hostile jamming.

Though undeniably effective against Imperial forces when it was first deployed, the same economic boom that allowed such an expensive and specialized corvette to be developed was also the ultimate reason it was sidelined. The increased military budget of the Accord saw proper battleline ships built and deployed, first battlecruisers to escort the carriers then proper battleships, making the role of punching through pickets far less important than it had been previously. Still, as one of the largest ships to have the commander and pilot be the same person and a combat profile much more akin to a giant heavy fighter than a traditional corvette, it remains a popular posting for certain officers among the Accord.

Manufacturer: Eclipse Industries

Crew: 6 - 1 Pilot/Commander, 1 Weapons Officer, 1 Communications/Sensors Officer, 2 Engineering Officers, 1 Marine.

Length: 89 meters

Maximum Speed: 1185 m/s

FTL Capability: 14335 AU/h

Engines: 4x FierthXP-3000 Ion Drives

Armament: 4x License Built SIW FlameSpike Mass Plasma Drivers, 4x twin GS Gneiss Laser Cannons in turrets, 4x various Accord missile systems depending on mission profile.

Made for my Graviton setting.

Designers Note: I worked on this one off and on for over a year and it is the largest design I have done yet. It was supposed to be something I could afford to build out of physical bricks, but I clearly got carried away.

May 12, 2019 - Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio located at 951 Chicago Ave., Oak Park, IL.

"In 1889 Wright completed the construction of a small two-story residence in Oak Park on the Western edges of Chicago. The building was the first over which Wright exerted complete artistic control. Designed as a home for his family, the Oak Park residence was a site of experimentation for the young architect during the twenty-year period he lived there. Wright revised the design of the building multiple times, continually refining ideas that would shape his work for decades to come.

The semi-rural village of Oak Park, where Wright built his home, offered a retreat from the hurried pace of city life. Named “Saint’s Rest” for its abundance of churches, Oak Park was originally settled in the 1830s by pioneering East Coast families. In its early years farming was the principal business of the village, however its proximity to Chicago soon attracted professional men and their families. Along its unpaved dirt streets sheltered by mature oaks and elms, prosperous families erected elaborate homes. Beyond the borders of the village farmland and open prairie stretched as far as the eye could see.

The Oak Park Home was the product of the nineteenth century culture from which Wright emerged. For its design, Wright drew upon many inspirational sources prevalent in the waning years of the nineteenth century. From his family background in Unitarianism Wright absorbed the ideas of the Transcendentalists, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, who encouraged an honest life inspired by nature. The English Arts and Crafts movement, which promoted craftsmanship, simplicity and integrity in art, architecture and design, provided a powerful impetus to Wright’s principles. The household art movement, a distinct movement in middle-class home decoration, informed Wright’s earliest interiors. It aimed, as the name implies, to bring art into the home, and was primarily disseminated through books and articles written by tastemakers who believed that the home interior could exert moral influences upon its inhabitants. These various sources were tempered by the lessons and practices Wright learned under his mentors, Joseph Lyman Silsbee and Louis Sullivan.

For the exterior of his home, Wright adapted the picturesque Shingle style, fashionable for the vacation homes of wealthy East Coast families and favored by his previous employer, Silsbee. The stamp of Sullivan’s influence is apparent in the simplification and abstraction of the building and its plan. In contrast to what Wright described as “candle-snuffer roofs, turnip domes [and] corkscrew spires” of the surrounding houses, his home’s façade is defined by bold geometric shapes—a substantial triangular gable set upon a rectangular base, polygonal window bays, and the circular wall of the wide veranda.

Despite its modest scale, the interior of the home is an early indication of Wright’s desire to liberate space. On the ground floor Wright created a suite of rooms arranged around a central hearth and inglenook, a common feature of the Shingle style. The rooms flow together, connected by wide, open doorways hung with portieres that can be drawn for privacy. To compensate for the modest scale of the house, and to create an inspiring environment for his family, Wright incorporated artwork and objects that brought warmth and richness to the interiors. Unique furniture, Oriental rugs, potted palms, statues, paintings and Japanese prints filled the rooms, infusing them with a sense of the foreign, the exotic and the antique.

In 1895, to accommodate his growing family, Wright undertook his first major renovation of the Home. A new dining room and children’s playroom doubled the floor space. The design innovations pioneered by Wright at this time marked a significant development in the evolution of his style, bringing him closer to his ideal for the new American home.

The original dining room was converted into a study, and a new dining room replaced the former kitchen. The dining room is unified around a central oak table lit through a decorative panel above and with an alcove of leaded glass windows in patterns of conventionalized lotus flowers. The walls and ceiling are covered with honey-toned burlap; the floor and fireplace are lined with red terracotta tile.

The new dining room is a warm and intimate space to gather with family and friends. The Wrights entertained frequently, and were joined at their table by clients, artists, authors and international visitors. Such festive occasions, according to Wright’s son, John, gave the house the air of a “jolly carnival.”

The 1895 playroom on the second floor of the Home is one of the great spaces of Wright’s early career. Designed to inspire and nurture his six children, the room is a physical expression of Wright’s belief that, “For the same reason that we teach our children to speak the truth, or better still live the truth, their environment ought to be as truly beautiful as we are capable of making it.” Architectural details pioneered by Wright in this room would be developed and enhanced in numerous commissions throughout his career.

The high, barrel-vaulted ceiling rests on walls of Roman brick. At the center of the vault’s arc a skylight, shielded by wood grilles displaying stylized blossoms and seedpods, provides illumination. Striking cantilevered light fixtures of oak and glass, added after Wright’s 1905 trip to Japan, bathe the room in a warm ambient glow. On either side of the room, window bays of leaded glass with built-in window seats are at the height of the mature trees that surround the lot, placing Wright’s children in the leafy canopy of the trees outside.

Above the fireplace of Roman brick, a mural depicting the story of the Fisherman and the Genie from The Arabian Nights is painted on the plastered wall. An integral architectural feature within the room, the mural was designed by Wright and executed by his colleague, the artist Charles Corwin. It is a fascinating blend of decorative motifs; forms from exotic cultures—such as Egyptian winged scarabs—are combined with flat, geometric designs that echo the work of Wright’s international contemporaries, Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the Vienna Secessionists.

In 1898 Wright built a new Studio wing with funds secured through a commission with the Luxfer Prism Company. The Studio faced Chicago Avenue and was connected to his residence by a corridor. Clad in wood shingles and brick, the Studio exterior is consistent with the earlier home. However, the long, horizontal profile, a key feature of Wright’s mature Prairie buildings, sets it apart. Adjacent to the entrance, a stone plaque announces to the world, “Frank Lloyd Wright, Architect.” Decorative embellishments and figural sculptures set off the building’s artistic character and impressed arriving clients.

The reception hall serves as the entrance to the Studio. A waiting room for clients and a place for Wright to review architectural plans with contractors, this low-ceilinged space connects the main areas of the Studio—a library, a small office, and the dramatic two-story drafting room, the creative heart of the building.

The studio staff worked on drafting tables and stools designed by Wright in rooms decorated with eclectic displays of artwork and objects. Japanese prints, casts of classical sculptures, as well as models and drawings executed in the drafting room, filled the interiors of the Studio. In Wright’s home the integration of art and architecture served to nurture and intellectually sustain his family. In the Studio, these same elements served a further purpose, the marketing of Wright’s artistic identity to his clients and the public at large.

In September of 1909, Wright left America for Europe to work on the publication of a substantial monograph of his buildings and projects, the majority of which had been designed in his Oak Park Studio. The result was the Wasmuth Portfolio (Berlin, 1910), which introduced Wright's work to Europe and influenced a generation of international architects. Wright remained abroad for a year, returning to Oak Park in the fall of 1910. He immediately began plans for a new home and studio, Taliesin, which he would build in the verdant hills of Spring Green, Wisconsin. Wright’s Oak Park Studio closed in 1910, though Wright himself returned occasionally to meet with his wife Catherine who remained with the couple's youngest children at the Oak Park Home and Studio until 1918. The Home and Studio was the birthplace of Wright's vision for a new American architecture. Wright designed over 150 projects in his Oak Park Studio, establishing his legacy as a great and visionary architect.

Previous text from the following website: flwright.org/researchexplore/homeandstudio

Brazil has revamped energy policy under the Temer administration, opening opportunities to private companies in the oil & gas and power sectors and reducing the role of state oil company Petrobras. The oil licensing agency ANP held its fourth pre-salt bid round on June 7 and Petrobras is looking to divest assets in refining, pipelines, and LNG. Will Brazil meet its oil and gas production targets and sustainably develop the vast pre-salt reserves? How can the country diversify its electricity matrix? Will the current energy policy priorities be sustained under the next administration?

The Inter-American Dialogue hosted a panel discussion on the recent oil licensing rounds, opportunities for private investment in the oil, gas and power sectors, and the outlook for energy policy next year.

www.thedialogue.org/analysis/energy-policy-in-brazil-what...

Petcoke is a by-product of crude oil refining. It is a thick, black, powdery dust that is being stored in huge mounds along the Calumet River on Chicago's far southeast side 10th ward not far from the Indiana border.

Just across the border in Whiting, Indiana is the British Petroleum processing plant that produces the petcoke. Right now, the plant produces around 2,000 tons of the stuff every day, but that is set to rise to around 6,000 tons.

Residents of the mostly African-American and Latino 10th ward are angry because the dust blows around their neighborhood and covers everything with a layer of fine powder. They cannot open their windows. Each day they have to wipe the dust off of furniture, appliances, etc. Yet, even that is not good enough for the dust even enters homes through chimneys and furnaces. Dust gets in children's eyes and cases of asthma are on the rise. A resident even said that her kid's birthday party was ruined when some of the black dust blew into their backyard and covered the food, so they were forced to throw it out and end the celebration. There is also worry about the long-term effects of being exposed to whatever materials or elements are contained in the dust.

So far, the city of Chicago has been slow to react to the concerns of local residents. Mayor Emanuel has an ordinance on the table to regulate petcoke, but critics say that it contains a loophole that might allow companies to continue to store petcoke along the river.

A spokesman for 10th ward alderman John Pope said that ' they want to make sure they get everything right legally, not only to protect the area residents, but also the businesses involved'.

The worlds oldest standing oil refinery

Refining

Happened by a refinery at night and couldn’t resist stopping for a few shots.

Title / Titre :

Camp etiquette involves shaving daily and putting on a tie when cleaning up after work at Eldorado Mining and Refining Ltd. /

Au camp de l’Eldorado Mining and Refining Ltd, il est de mise de se raser quotidiennement et de porter la cravate après le travail

Creator(s) / Créateur(s) : Eldorado Mining & Refining Ltd.

Date(s) : circa / vers 1930

Reference No. / Numéro de référence : ITEM 3375959

central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?app=fonandcol&id=3375...

Location / Lieu : Port Radium, Northwest Territories, Canada / Port Radium, Territoires-du-Nord-Ouest, Canada

Credit / Mention de source :

Eldorado Mining & Refining Ltd. Eldorado Nuclear Limited fonds. Library and Archives Canada, C-023984 /

Eldorado Mining & Refining Ltd. Fonds Eldorado Nuclear Limited. Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, C-023984

The following is an account of Lake Hart published in 1947 -

Although for long it has been deserted, Lake Hart, on the lonely mulga plains, has Australia's Prize Salt Deposit.

Standing beside the transcontinental railway, 137 miles [219 kilometres] from Port Augusta, is a 7,000 tons dump of the best quality salt in Australia. Behind it, stretching far northwards, is Lake Hart, the place from which the salt was taken.

In 1931 this was the scene of a thriving industry. Today, it is forgotten in its isolation amid the mulga plains of the north-west. Lake Hart's importance as a salt deposit first became manifest in 1918 when surveyors investigated its entire area. They estimated the yield as three million tons, and defined the lake's area as 61 square miles.

Following these observations, the Sydney firm which owned the deposit - the Commonwealth Salt Refining Company - began preliminary operations with a few men.

Small quantities of salt were harvested and bagged for testing purposes. At this stage no refining plant had been installed, and the salt was sent to Adelaide for refining. The finished product proved so successful that the CSRC immediately launched large-scale operations. They installed a refining plant, and employed more than 50 men. The employees camped at the site and depended for their stores on the Commonwealth Railway's weekly food train.

Salt was harvested by day and refined continuously by shift workers.

Harvesting methods then were slow and cumbersome compared with present day methods. Sweepers first swept the water forward to the elevated catchment pens, each of which was 300 ft long by 150 ft wide.

When the salt had been deposited on the floor, the water was allowed to flow back into the lake, leaving the salt banked in and around the pens. The salt was then swept up and loaded into carrying carts, which were towed to the nearby refining plant.

Driving power for the plant was supplied by a gas producer engine. At first a Crossley type of 35 hp was used, but as production accelerated, a large Hornsby engine of 50 hp was added. These two engines may still be seen among the skeleton plant which remains at the lake.

The first phase of the salt's refining began when it entered the crushers. For Lake Hart salt, this was a very thorough process, due to the crude product's unusual hardness.

From the crushers it was carried into the washing troughs. Here it was scoured free of all foreign matter and, after a series of swillings was passed into the dehydrator.

When this machine had evaporated all water from the now whitened grain, the salt entered its final process - the drying oven.

This machine dried out all moisture and at the same time killed any remaining germ life, before discharging the finished product.

Such refineries were, of course, greatly inferior to present day establishments, such as those on Yorke Peninsula. Here, the sea water itself passes through several evaporation condensers before the salt is extricated for a complicated refining. But with Lake Hart's pure quality salt extensive refining was not necessary.

Few facilities existed to enable workers to negotiate the obstacles of outback industrial settlement. One employee crossed the lake in a flat-bottomed boat to ascertain the salt content on the opposite shore. He sailed across, but had to row 15 miles on the return trip. Today, people of the north-west give him the honour of being Lake Hart's conqueror.

Extreme difficulty was experienced from the late summer downpours which are prevalent in this area. During these storms the lake often became flooded, rendering harvesting impossible. However, the company had prepared for such emergencies. Huge reserve dumps had been heaped in readiness, and refining was not hampered.

For several years Lake Hart yielded 9,000 tons annually. Most of the salt was shipped to Sydney, where it was distributed for edible and industrial uses.

Commercial users throughout Australia were elated with the quality. Housewives discovered that, in actual saltiness, the Lake Hart product was twice as strong as any other.

The biggest asset that the salt had was its freedom from gypsum. This was, and still is, a very rare credential. All other main Australian sources are handicapped by gypsum content, which not only reduces quality, but enforces excessive work and cost during the refining process.

In 1921 the company amalgamated with the Australian Salt Company. The firm experienced great difficulties in obtaining water for refining purposes, its only supplies coming from occasional supply trains. Further, the isolated position created problems in the delivery of the refined product. These difficulties were the chief reasons for the cessation of harvesting in 1931.

Yorke Peninsula refineries were supplying more than enough salt for the State's use, and, although the quality was greatly inferior to that of Lake Hart, it was considered unpayable to continue work on the lake. To Australia, its closing meant a decrease in the quality of salt in use: but the quantity remains plentiful.

Salt is in enormous surplus, not only in Australia, but throughout the world. Our own refinery at Price on Yorke Peninsula, for instance, can supply enough salt in six months to last South Australia for five years.

Ever since closing the Lake Hart plant, the Australian Salt Company has employed a caretaker on the premises. The present caretaker has held his lonely job for seven years. His duties are simple. He records the rise and fall of the lake, and is responsible for the maintenance of the depleted plant.

Much of the plant was removed soon after the work ceased, but the catchment pens, crushers and engines remain in readiness for a reopening of the industry.

Last year it was intended to restart the enterprise, but fate ruled otherwise. Heavy rain swelled the lake to such an extent that plans had to be temporarily abandoned.

There is little opportunity for anyone to see Lake Hart. Train tourists can, but as both the East and West bound expresses pass this locality during the night, few see what is Australia's prize salt deposit.

Ref: Advertiser (Adelaide) 6-9-1947 Article by W J Watkins

Title: Engine Room & Switch Board [sic] Texas City Refining Co., Tex City, Tex.

Alternative Title: [Engine Room and Switchboard, Texas City Refining Company, Texas City, Texas]

Creator: Unknown

Date: ca. 1907-1914

Part of: George W. Cook Dallas/Texas image collection

Series: Series 3: Photographs

Series 3, Subseries 3, Postcards

Series 3, Subseries 3d, RPPC, Texas

Place: Texas City, Galveston County, Texas

Description: Man standing next to a Harrisburg Foundry and Machine Works Fleming Steam Engine, Texas City Refining Company, Texas City, Texas.

Physical Description: 1 photographic print (postcard): gelatin silver; 9 x 14 cm

File: a2014_0020_3_3_d_0317_c_texascityengineroom.jpg

Rights: Please cite DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University when using this file. A high-resolution version of this file may be obtained for a fee.

For more information and to view the image in high resolution, see: digitalcollections.smu.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/gcd/...

Title: Atlantic Refining Co.

Creator: Richie, Robert Yarnall

Date: July 1957

Part Of: Robert Yarnall Richie Photograph Collection

Physical Description: 1 negative: film, black and white; 13 x 10.5 cm.

File: ag1982_0234_4496_029_atlanticrefiningco_sm_opt.jpg

Rights: Please cite DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University when using this file. A high-resolution version of this file may be obtained for a fee. For details see the sites.smu.edu/cul/degolyer/research/permissions/ web page. For other information, contact degolyer@smu.edu.

For more information, see: digitalcollections.smu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ryr/id/638

View the Robert Yarnall Richie Photograph Collection digitalcollections.smu.edu/all/cul/ryr/

Sean D. Tucker's life is marked by a search for excellence and perfected skill. He is not satisfied unless he is learning, refining a skill, or conquering a fear. Whether he is heli-skiing, cave SCUBA diving, golfing, or flying his one-of-a kind aerobatic dream machine, Sean D. Tucker is full-throttle and extremely accomplished.

In airshow flying, Sean is the world's premier performer in terms of entertainment value, piloting skill and most importantly, professionalism. He has been flying airshows world-wide since the mid-70's and has won numerous aerobatic competitions. In that time, Sean has flown more than 1000 performances at more than 425 airshows, in front of more than 80 million fans. In the upcoming season alone, Tucker and Team Oracle will entertain nearly 10 million fans at 15 shows throughout North America. The level of professionalism and excitement in Sean's airshow displays is no coincidence. He practices his airshow routine three times every day. Sean has devoted his entire adult life to exploring the art of aerobatic flight and after over 10,000 life-time practices, his passion continues to grow. He is more inspired by the magic and discipline of flight every single year and he continues to improve his skills as an aviator.

Sean's airplane, the Oracle Challenger bi-plane, has also continued to improve each year. Sean started with a factory built Pitts Special 30 years ago and modified it each year. After reaching the limits of the Pitts, Tucker's team designed a one of a kind airplane that could do anything that Sean asked of it. This resulted in the most high-performance aerobatic aircraft in the world, the Challenger II biplane. It is a fire-breathing monster with over 400 horsepower, weighs just over 1200 pounds and responds to the slightest pressure on the control stick even at 300 mph. Sean has become so in-tune with his machine that, while performing, the control stick becomes his feathers and the aircraft, his body. To endure the extreme physical demands of each routine, Sean maintains a rigorous physical training schedule by working-out over 340 days per year in a routine of jogging and weight-lifting on alternating days.

In addition to being a phenomenal aviator, he is also a larger than life character who touches the heart of his fans and inspires millions of Americans. When asked about flying airshows, Sean responds, "I like to think that I bring the fans' dreams of flying into the plane with me and there's nowhere I'd rather be than in the cockpit. That's why I train so hard to keep a finely tuned edge!" Sean is extremely passionate about every aspect of the Team Oracle program. His self proclaimed goal is to "share the magic of flight with Team Oracle's guests by inspiring and thrilling them. I want them to go away saying that the airshow was one of the most engaging days of their lives." This energy is infectious; guests frequently go away with rekindled enthusiasm for their own passions in life. Sean D. Tucker: Living Dreams... Inspired by Freedom. Sean's signature closing statement, "the three best words in the English language... God Bless America."

Expanding on his love of flying, Tucker created the Tutima Academy of Aviation Safety, a world-class flight training institution dedicated to setting and spreading the standard for aviation safety in aerobatics and aviation at large. The Academy offers a variety of courses including stall/spin recognition and recovery training, aerobatic proficiency training, a low-level aerobatic mentorship program, and formation aerobatic flight training, which can be found no-where else in the world. Click here to find out more.

Sean is a leader in the airshow business as well as the larger aviation industry. He has received all of the airshow industry's highest honors. Additionally, Sean has been named as one of the Living Legends in Aviation, recipient of the Crystal Eagle Award, the inductee at the 2001 USAF Gathering of Eagles and named as one of the Living Legends of Flight. This raises Sean into an elite group of aviators and astronauts that includes General Jimmy Doolittle, General 'Chuck' Yeager, Bob Hoover, Gene Cernan and John Glenn.

British Columbia Sugar Refining Co. through the fence at sunset

Mortgage Refinance Service Los Angeles CA

1940 Century Park East, Suite B-100

Los Angeles, CA 90067

(310) 750-7474

A cash out refinance mortgage loan is usually a terrific alternative should you have accrued a lot of equity inside your household. If you owe $75,000 on the household that is worth $125,000, you may refinance the amount you owe and take as much as $50,000 inside a funds loan against the equity...

mypaydayloansite.com/3-things-to-watch-out-for-with-a-cas...

From the B.C. Sugar Refining Company.

The Houston Ship Channel is home to 25% of the United States' refining capacity. The Deer Park Refinery is the 6th largest in the United States with a capacity of ~350,000 bbl/d. The refinery is a joint venture between Shell and PEMEX of Mexico.

NOTE - The Deer Park Shell/PEMEX refinery was the subject of legal action related to reporting (or lack thereof) chemical emissions. I have been contacted on numerous occasions regarding this photo, which shows other companies' facilities in addition to Shell's. As such, it is neither suited for legal nor press usage pertaining to this lawsuit. It is amusing that the litigation typically arises from net energy-consuming states with no refineries who contibute zero to the nation's energy supply (that means you, NY and MA). The Deer Park refinery donated 45,000 gallons of gasoline to local emergency responders during and after Hurricane Ike - in addition to Shell and Motiva pledging $4 million in additional aid. Motiva is Shell's downsteam JV with Saudi ARAMCO; Motiva operates a Port Arthur refinery.

JAC Refine S3

1.590 cc

4 in-line

115 pk @ 6.300 rpm

155 Nm @ 3.500-4.500 rpm

Vmax : 180 km/h

0-100 km/h : 10,5 sec

1.275 kg

CO2 : 174 g/km

434,5 x 176,5 x 164 cm

89th Geneva International Motor Show

Internationaler Auto-Salon Genf

Suisse - Schweiz - Switzerland

March 2019

When we refinanced our mortgage, we got a complimentary Suntrust Mortgage tote bag. Wow. I've been using it as my everyday "man bag" or murse, so I don't have to pay the new 5 cent bag tax when I run errands or buy a sandwich. It is so dorky.

Get a low rate RI home loan, a free mortgage pre-approval for a home purchase with a USDA, FHA, or VA loan, or discover when to refinance a mortgage to a lower payment. Our mortgage company specializes in first time home buyer, jumbo loan, FHA streamline refinance, and second home. Call for current rates and lowest rate we can find!

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Phone: (401) 737-6655

Fax: (401) 737-9499

Contact Person: Brian Tata

Contact Email: brian@advancedmortgagecorp.com

Website: www.advancedmortgagecorp.com/

You Tube URL: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkDFvK1eRvI

Main Keywords:

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May 12, 2019 - Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio located at 951 Chicago Ave., Oak Park, IL.

"In 1889 Wright completed the construction of a small two-story residence in Oak Park on the Western edges of Chicago. The building was the first over which Wright exerted complete artistic control. Designed as a home for his family, the Oak Park residence was a site of experimentation for the young architect during the twenty-year period he lived there. Wright revised the design of the building multiple times, continually refining ideas that would shape his work for decades to come.

The semi-rural village of Oak Park, where Wright built his home, offered a retreat from the hurried pace of city life. Named “Saint’s Rest” for its abundance of churches, Oak Park was originally settled in the 1830s by pioneering East Coast families. In its early years farming was the principal business of the village, however its proximity to Chicago soon attracted professional men and their families. Along its unpaved dirt streets sheltered by mature oaks and elms, prosperous families erected elaborate homes. Beyond the borders of the village farmland and open prairie stretched as far as the eye could see.

The Oak Park Home was the product of the nineteenth century culture from which Wright emerged. For its design, Wright drew upon many inspirational sources prevalent in the waning years of the nineteenth century. From his family background in Unitarianism Wright absorbed the ideas of the Transcendentalists, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, who encouraged an honest life inspired by nature. The English Arts and Crafts movement, which promoted craftsmanship, simplicity and integrity in art, architecture and design, provided a powerful impetus to Wright’s principles. The household art movement, a distinct movement in middle-class home decoration, informed Wright’s earliest interiors. It aimed, as the name implies, to bring art into the home, and was primarily disseminated through books and articles written by tastemakers who believed that the home interior could exert moral influences upon its inhabitants. These various sources were tempered by the lessons and practices Wright learned under his mentors, Joseph Lyman Silsbee and Louis Sullivan.

For the exterior of his home, Wright adapted the picturesque Shingle style, fashionable for the vacation homes of wealthy East Coast families and favored by his previous employer, Silsbee. The stamp of Sullivan’s influence is apparent in the simplification and abstraction of the building and its plan. In contrast to what Wright described as “candle-snuffer roofs, turnip domes [and] corkscrew spires” of the surrounding houses, his home’s façade is defined by bold geometric shapes—a substantial triangular gable set upon a rectangular base, polygonal window bays, and the circular wall of the wide veranda.

Despite its modest scale, the interior of the home is an early indication of Wright’s desire to liberate space. On the ground floor Wright created a suite of rooms arranged around a central hearth and inglenook, a common feature of the Shingle style. The rooms flow together, connected by wide, open doorways hung with portieres that can be drawn for privacy. To compensate for the modest scale of the house, and to create an inspiring environment for his family, Wright incorporated artwork and objects that brought warmth and richness to the interiors. Unique furniture, Oriental rugs, potted palms, statues, paintings and Japanese prints filled the rooms, infusing them with a sense of the foreign, the exotic and the antique.

In 1895, to accommodate his growing family, Wright undertook his first major renovation of the Home. A new dining room and children’s playroom doubled the floor space. The design innovations pioneered by Wright at this time marked a significant development in the evolution of his style, bringing him closer to his ideal for the new American home.

The original dining room was converted into a study, and a new dining room replaced the former kitchen. The dining room is unified around a central oak table lit through a decorative panel above and with an alcove of leaded glass windows in patterns of conventionalized lotus flowers. The walls and ceiling are covered with honey-toned burlap; the floor and fireplace are lined with red terracotta tile.

The new dining room is a warm and intimate space to gather with family and friends. The Wrights entertained frequently, and were joined at their table by clients, artists, authors and international visitors. Such festive occasions, according to Wright’s son, John, gave the house the air of a “jolly carnival.”

The 1895 playroom on the second floor of the Home is one of the great spaces of Wright’s early career. Designed to inspire and nurture his six children, the room is a physical expression of Wright’s belief that, “For the same reason that we teach our children to speak the truth, or better still live the truth, their environment ought to be as truly beautiful as we are capable of making it.” Architectural details pioneered by Wright in this room would be developed and enhanced in numerous commissions throughout his career.

The high, barrel-vaulted ceiling rests on walls of Roman brick. At the center of the vault’s arc a skylight, shielded by wood grilles displaying stylized blossoms and seedpods, provides illumination. Striking cantilevered light fixtures of oak and glass, added after Wright’s 1905 trip to Japan, bathe the room in a warm ambient glow. On either side of the room, window bays of leaded glass with built-in window seats are at the height of the mature trees that surround the lot, placing Wright’s children in the leafy canopy of the trees outside.

Above the fireplace of Roman brick, a mural depicting the story of the Fisherman and the Genie from The Arabian Nights is painted on the plastered wall. An integral architectural feature within the room, the mural was designed by Wright and executed by his colleague, the artist Charles Corwin. It is a fascinating blend of decorative motifs; forms from exotic cultures—such as Egyptian winged scarabs—are combined with flat, geometric designs that echo the work of Wright’s international contemporaries, Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the Vienna Secessionists.

In 1898 Wright built a new Studio wing with funds secured through a commission with the Luxfer Prism Company. The Studio faced Chicago Avenue and was connected to his residence by a corridor. Clad in wood shingles and brick, the Studio exterior is consistent with the earlier home. However, the long, horizontal profile, a key feature of Wright’s mature Prairie buildings, sets it apart. Adjacent to the entrance, a stone plaque announces to the world, “Frank Lloyd Wright, Architect.” Decorative embellishments and figural sculptures set off the building’s artistic character and impressed arriving clients.

The reception hall serves as the entrance to the Studio. A waiting room for clients and a place for Wright to review architectural plans with contractors, this low-ceilinged space connects the main areas of the Studio—a library, a small office, and the dramatic two-story drafting room, the creative heart of the building.

The studio staff worked on drafting tables and stools designed by Wright in rooms decorated with eclectic displays of artwork and objects. Japanese prints, casts of classical sculptures, as well as models and drawings executed in the drafting room, filled the interiors of the Studio. In Wright’s home the integration of art and architecture served to nurture and intellectually sustain his family. In the Studio, these same elements served a further purpose, the marketing of Wright’s artistic identity to his clients and the public at large.

In September of 1909, Wright left America for Europe to work on the publication of a substantial monograph of his buildings and projects, the majority of which had been designed in his Oak Park Studio. The result was the Wasmuth Portfolio (Berlin, 1910), which introduced Wright's work to Europe and influenced a generation of international architects. Wright remained abroad for a year, returning to Oak Park in the fall of 1910. He immediately began plans for a new home and studio, Taliesin, which he would build in the verdant hills of Spring Green, Wisconsin. Wright’s Oak Park Studio closed in 1910, though Wright himself returned occasionally to meet with his wife Catherine who remained with the couple's youngest children at the Oak Park Home and Studio until 1918. The Home and Studio was the birthplace of Wright's vision for a new American architecture. Wright designed over 150 projects in his Oak Park Studio, establishing his legacy as a great and visionary architect.

Previous text from the following website: flwright.org/researchexplore/homeandstudio

Marines with Bravo Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, run with their rifles during an endurance course while training in Djibouti, October 9, 2012. The endurance course was part of a three-week training force package, which paired Marines of Bravo Company with Marines of Combat Logistics Battalion 24, 24th MEU, to gain a shared understanding of each other's roles in the Marine Corps Air Ground Task Force and refine their basic infantry skills in Djibouti's rugged terrain. The package comprised basic infantry skills, desert survival techniques, endurance courses and a simulated war. The 24th MEU is deployed with the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group as a theater reserve and crisis response force in the U.S. Central Command and U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet area of responsibility.

A Marine with Bravo Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, runs with another Marine in a fireman's carry during a relay race while competing in the 'Training Force Challenge' in Djibouti, October 8, 2012. The challenge was part of a three-week training force package, which paired Marines of Bravo Company with Marines of Combat Logistics Battalion 24, 24th MEU, to gain a shared understanding of each other's roles in the Marine Corps Air Ground Task Force and refine their basic infantry skills in Djibouti's rugged terrain. The package comprised basic infantry skills, desert survival techniques, endurance courses and a simulated war. The 24th MEU is deployed with the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group as a theater reserve and crisis response force in the U.S. Central Command and U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet area of responsibility.

Brazil has revamped energy policy under the Temer administration, opening opportunities to private companies in the oil & gas and power sectors and reducing the role of state oil company Petrobras. The oil licensing agency ANP held its fourth pre-salt bid round on June 7 and Petrobras is looking to divest assets in refining, pipelines, and LNG. Will Brazil meet its oil and gas production targets and sustainably develop the vast pre-salt reserves? How can the country diversify its electricity matrix? Will the current energy policy priorities be sustained under the next administration?

The Inter-American Dialogue hosted a panel discussion on the recent oil licensing rounds, opportunities for private investment in the oil, gas and power sectors, and the outlook for energy policy next year.

www.thedialogue.org/analysis/energy-policy-in-brazil-what...

This is a westbound Norfolk Southern Railway freight train in the late morning of 10 May 2016 at Horseshoe Curve, west of Altoona, Pennsylvania, USA. It was headed by two NS engines - # 9693, a General Electric CW40-9, and # 7211, a General Motors Electro-Motive Division SD80MAC.

These are Trinity Industries Leasing Company tank cars, marked with the initials TILX, and Deep Rock Refining Company tank cars, marked DPRX. They were built in the 2010s and are used to transport petroleum (crude oil).

Title / Titre :

A miner hauling a car of silver radium ore, 340 feet below the surface, at Eldorado Mine, Great Bear Lake /

Un mineur déplace un chariot contenant du minerai de radium argenté à 103 mètres sous la surface, mine Eldorado, Grand lac de l'Ours

Creator(s) / Créateur(s) : Eldorado Mining & Refining Ltd.

Date(s) : circa / vers 1930

Reference No. / Numéro de référence : MIKAN 3375958

collectionscanada.gc.ca/ourl/res.php?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&...

Location / Lieu : Great Bear Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada / Great Bear Lake, Territoires du Nord-Ouest, Canada

Credit / Mention de source :

Eldorado Mining & Refining Ltd. Library and Archives Canada, C-023983 /

Eldorado Mining & Refining Ltd. Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, C-023983

South Pacific Enterprise 1956.

The history of the Colonial Sugar Refining Company (CSR Co.)

This Centenary commemorative book was issued to company shareholders in 1955.

An Australian enterprise founded 1855 by Edward Knox, a Danish immigrant, from earlier origins as the Australasian Sugar Company ( 1842), which Knox managed. The company established sugar operations in Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and over the next 150 years diversified into building materials, chemicals etc.

Published by Angus & Robertson, Sydney. Cloth boards, 500 pages 16cm x 24cm.

I'm still refining the chicken recipe. More glazing, more glazing! This recipe is VERY loose :)

Black Currant Glazed Chicken

1/4 cup black currant jelly

2 tbs dijon mustard

2 tbs olive oil

black pepper and salt

6 chicken legs

Combine glaze ingredients in a bowl or cup and stir all together. Add to chicken legs in a zippy bag and smoosh around for a bit. Put legs in a greased and foiled baking pan (this stuff makes a MESS.. use the foil!) and bake at 350 until chicken is done. Glaze chicken more jelly glaze as it cooks and as you turn it. This is an important step!

Make sure you have napkins :)

Ribeye, coarse grind, salt and pepper to taste, garlic powder, cheddar cheese, tomato and BBQ sauce.

Further refining of my custom "photomosaic" software.

Like a regular photomosaic, but the tiles can be arbitrarily placed, rotated, and scaled. Image is composed of %100 graffiti images (no blending with target image).

Placement of tiles is done based only on intensity of target image (i.e., grayscale). Hence the pseudorandom colorization.

Code and description of the algorithm can be found at Fractal-Mosaics Github repo

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