View allAll Photos Tagged Reliable
Sunday 17th November saw the launch of Lothian Country new service X38 operating between Linlithgow, Kirkliston and Edinburgh.
Here is 177 at Waterloo Place departing on the first X38 service to Linlithgow.
Cypripedium calceolus (Gelber Frauenschuh, lady's-slipper orchid) Kreuzenstein, Niederösterreich, Austria. It was a dry periode, but they survived untill the rain came a week later. Steinheil Cassar 2.8/50.
We had our first big snowfall overnight, and I know it wasn’t an isolated system. The temperatures are still too warm to photograph interesting snowflakes reliably, but I spent most of today editing this one that has a quintessential snowflake charm. A classic – view large!
Symmetrical, balanced snowflakes are rare. This particular crystal isn’t perfect symmetrical, but it has the same combination of large and small branches in the same order. It’s about as good as you can get unless there are unnatural environments at play (like growing a snowflake in a laboratory). It’s these close-to-symmetrical snowflakes that are icon and symbolic of winter. I thought it would be a good fit for the first snowfall.
The very center of the snowflake has an interesting feature, but one you need to imagine on the opposite side of the crystal. There is a little “button” of sorts, which protrudes from the opposite side of the snowflake that began as a twin to the larger crystal we see growing here. The growth was likely a different origin than yesterday’s snowflake where a cavity in the ice split the snowflake into two planes. In this case, it started life as a column.
Warmer temperatures (around -5C or warmer) tend to force snowflakes to form into columns rather than plates. These types of crystals might be more common in my area than most because we get lake-effect snow where crystals could begin forming at warmer temperatures, but Georgian Bay is a fair distance away from here and the snow has time to rise higher in the atmosphere and switch from columnar growth to plate-like growth. This creates some very interesting structures at the heart of a snowflake, which you’d be familiar with if you have followed my series in past years!
I think tomorrow I will share a column-type crystal to illustrate these features to put the tiny inverted button at the center of this snowflake into greater context.
The other interesting feature in this snowflake is the colour in the branches, not created by the thin film interference phenomenon we’ve seen in previous snowflakes but by a simple prism effect. Snowflakes can very easily act as prisms, and if light hits them the right way you can see rainbows of light running along the branches. The central spine or “ridge” of a branch can be rather geometric as well with hard edges that facilitate the creation of these colours! Some of the colours might be due to lens aberrations caused by the actual prism colours being too bright, but I keep the spirit of those colours in the areas surrounding the over-exposed prism areas (such as the top and bottom branches).
Snowflakes can be a symbol of winter, but there is plenty of complexity to ponder as they fall by the trillions. If you’re curious about understanding this scientific puzzle or you enjoy macro photography and would like to make images like this yourself, pick up a copy of Sky Crystals! Every photographic technique is explained in complete detail and all of the science is explained for any curious mind to understand: www.skycrystals.ca/book - let it snow!
Many Thanks to the +13,880,000 visitors of my photographic stream
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© Ioan C. Bacivarov
All the photos on this gallery are protected by the international of copyright and they are not for being used on any site, blog or forum, transmitted or manipulated without the explicit written permission of the author. Thank you in advance
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A reliable observer informs me that all the eggs are now gone from this Red-necked Grebe nest in Bronte Harbour. They could have been within a few days of hatching. The cause of the egg disappearance is not known to me. Oakville, Ontario
July 27 update: The pair are still in attendance and one was sitting on an eggless nest.
Metra SW1 #1 sits at the Blue Island Vermont Street station on the Rock Island District with electric bilevels to be serviced. Built in 1939, this unit still serves daily having also worked under the Illinois Central and Rock Island.
Pushing her hard is the SD Reliable (right), accompanied by SD Impulse (left), and (centre) the SD Resourceful.
USNS Robert E. Peary (T-AKE-5) is a Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo and ammunition ship of the United States Navy. She is the fourth Navy ship named for Arctic explorer, Rear Admiral Robert E. Peary (1856–1920). Crew complement: 49 military, 123 civilians. Aircraft carried:two helicopters, either Sikorsky or Aerospatiale Pumas.
Name: USNS Robert E Peary
Namesake: Robert Peary
Builder: National Steel and Shipbuilding
Laid Down: 12 December, 2006.
Launched: 27 October 2007
Christened: 9 February 2008.
Motto: “King of the Team”.
Gross tonnage: 43,758 tons.
Max dry cargo weight:
5,910 long tons (6,005 t)
Max dry cargo volume: 83,000 cubic feet (22,000m³)
Max cargo fuel weight: 2,350 long tons (2,390t)
Cargo fuel volume: 18,000 barrels (2,900 m³)
(DFM: 10,500) (JP5:7,500)
Armament: 2–6 × 12.7 mm machine guns; or 7.62 mm medium machine guns.
Aircraft carried: two helicopters (Sikorsky or Pumas)
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SD Reliable: The SD prefix represents the operating contractor Serco Denholm Marine, who took over most of the MOD harbour vessels and tugs after the disbanding of the RMAS in March 2008.(copyright Dave Forbes). Vessels currently in service can be recognised by their black hulls with white beading and white-coloured upperworks
SD Reliable (based Faslane):
Gross Tonnage: 271
Length: 29.14m;
Beam: 9.59m.
Year Built: 2009.
SD Impulse:
Gross tonnage: 319 tonne
Length: 33 m
Beam: 10 m
Draught: 4.2 m
SD Resourceful:
designed to offer towage and assistance services to large vessels and maritime objects on inland waters, in ports, and on coastal waters in heavy weather conditions. Azimuth steering - i.e.360 degrees turn for propellers. Used for Harbour and coastal berthing operations, inc fire fighting.
Length overall (inc. fenders): 29.14 m
Beam (inc. fenders): 9.98 m
Depth at side (at half length): 4.00 m
Draught aft (approx): 4.8 m
Passengers:
Max 15 (12 pax, 3 crew)Crew: Accommodation for 6
Max Speed (knots): 13.1 ahead/13.3 astern knots
New England aster is one of the most reliable plants in my garden to attract insects. Plus I love the color of the petals.
One of the insects I haven't yet seen is the hover fly, which used to mob this plant. Given the paucity of butterflies this year, this is worrisome.
Eye update:
I'm not seeing blurry anymore, but I can read only at a very limited range. This replacement lens was supposed to give me a range of distance vision. So far, that's not happened. I'll give it time. No matter what, after both eyes are done, I"m sure I'll get prescriptions for corrective eyeglasses that will work out fine. I went into this knowing I would have to and preferring to wear glasses.
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copyright © Mim Eisenberg/mimbrava studio. All rights reserved.
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The Menindee Lakes is a natural series of lakes that fill with water when the Darling-Baaka River floods. In the 1960s, a series of engineering projects augmented the Menindee Lakes, allowing water to be directed into the lakes and held back or released. This ensured a reliable water supply for the city of Broken Hill, the township of Menindee and secure supply of water for the Lower Darling River and supply to South Australia.
The Menindee Lakes system provides important habitat, nursery and recruitment for native fish, such as the Murray Cod and Golden Perch. It is important habitat for a huge variety of native and migratory bird species. The Menindee Lakes system is vital to the communities of the Far West, providing recreation and amenity, as well as attracting tourism, recreational fishing, horticulture and viticulture.
The Darling-Baaka River is central to the cultural, spiritual and economic lives of the Barkindji people.
The health of the Menindee Lakes and the Darling-Baaka River are intimately linked. The lakes fill from the Darling-Baaka River and water stored in the Menindee Lakes keeps the Lower Darling flowing during dry times. The Great Darling Anabranch is a series of ephemeral creeks, billabongs and lakes that wind their way to the Murray River to the west of the main Darling-Baaka River Channel.
Irrigation expands:
There has been a rapid expansion of irrigation along the rivers in the Northern Basin of the Murray Darling Basin, particularly cotton. Irrigation of cotton has expanded by 4,000% since the 1970s. In 1971 Australia grew 81,000 bales of cotton. By 2012 Australia grew 5.3 million bales. Irrigation dams - Wee Waa
Much of the cotton is grown along the rivers of the Murray Darling in very large irrigation enterprises, with most of the cotton grown on tributaries of the Darling-Baaka River.
Large private storages were built to hold water and other structures were built to capture flood waters. Water licences and water sharing plans allow irrigators to suck huge quantities from the tributaries of the Darling-Baaka even when flows are modest.
The result has been that low and medium flows have virtually stopped flowing down the Darling-Baaka River. Only the largest floods that cannot be captured upstream, or specially protected environmental flows, now make it down to the Menindee Lakes and Lower Darling-Baaka River.
An easy target?
After the Millennium Drought exposed just how over-allocated the river systems of the Murray-Darling Basin were, the Murray-Darling Basin Plan was agreed between the Commonwealth and the states. The Plan aimed to make the Murray-Darling Basin system more sustainable by returning more water to the rivers through buying back water licences and other measures to recover water for the environment.
Menindee Slogan Bus:
The irrigation industry views the water flowing into the Menindee Lakes as wasteful and unproductive (not growing crops). They would prefer water to be taken from the Menindee Lakes to meet the targets under the Basin Plan rather than for the irrigation industry to be compelled to use less water. The industry points to the volume of water that evaporates from the Menindee Lakes each year as a key reason to reduce the amount of water flowing into and being stored in the lakes. The amount of water that evaporates from shallow private storages in equally hot and dry climates is rarely mentioned.
Scientists and environmentalists view the water that flows down our rivers, fills wetland and billabongs, and spills over floodplains as highly productive for nature and vital for sustaining complex ecosystems that have evolved over eons. These flows are also vital for replenishing underground aquifers and for sustaining downstream communities and Indigenous cultures.
Some politicians view the Menindee Lakes as an easy target. The population around Menindee is sparse, without much economic or political clout. The birds, fish and wildlife can not vote, lobby or protest. Taking water from the Menindee Lakes system is seen as politically easier than seeking to recover water from loud, well-connected and politically savvy irrigators. The location of the Menindee Lakes in a remote part of NSW that is out of sight and out of mind for many citizens located on the eastern seaboard also makes it hard for the issue to gain political traction.
A plan to decommission the Menindee Lakes:
After the Menindee Lakes filled from a major flood event in Queensland and NSW 2012, they were rapidly emptied by the Murray Darling Basin Authority and the NSW Government. Usually the lakes would hold water for many years after they filled, but by 2014 they were emptied. As a consequence, Broken Hill was in danger of running out of water and the government announced a plan to drill bores to supply the city with low-quality bore water. Locals were outraged at this plan and were concerned that the Menindee Lakes had been deliberately drained so quickly as part of a plan to justify the decommissioning of the lakes.RIP Menindee Lakes
Another flood filled the Menindee Lakes in late 2016, but again they were rapidly drained, almost inexplicably into a flooding river. By then end of 2017 they were again dry just as drought started to bite and Broken Hill was facing another artificial water shortage.
Flush with cash from privatising the electricity networks, the NSW Government spent $500 million building a 270 kilometres water pipeline from the Murray River at Wentworth to Broken Hill. This ended the city’s reliance on the Darling-Baaka River and Menindee Lakes for water supply. Cotton Australia applauded the construction of the pipeline saying in their Annual Report, "The pipeline is a win for the community, the environment and irrigating farmers, and a solution Cotton Australia and its allies have long lobbied for." Meanwhile the local community was concerned that the pipeline would allow the NSW Government to decommission the Menindee Lakes without worrying about Broken Hill's water supply.
Sure enough, plans to reconfigure the Menindee Lakes are back on the table as a project to 'recover water from the environment' under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan's Sustainable Diversion Limit Adjustment Mechanism. The NSW Government wants to save up to 100 gigalitres of water each year by reducing the volume water stored in Menindee Lakes by up to 80%. A range of proposals have been put forward for consultation.
The Darling River Action Group has labelled the plans as 'ecological genocide.' They strongly oppose the huge reduction in habitat that will occur if reconfiguration plans go ahead. They worry that changing the times between and length of inundation in the lakes will have a major impact on fish breeding and birdlife. The Barkindji native title holders are also strongly opposed to the plans, with significant concerns about the impact on their culture, community, environment and sacred sites.
Fish kills and dry rivers and lakes:
Fish Kill Menindee In the teeth severe drought, predictions of environmental catastrophe on the Darling River came true as millions of fish floated dead on the surface. Hot weather and a lack of flows led to a blue-green algae bloom that stripped the water of oxygen when it died, suffocating many millions of fish along a length of the Darling-Baaka River. Images of giant Murray Cod many decades old floating on the surface of a stagnant, bright green river shocked Australians. If water had been stored in the Menindee Lakes, a flow of water in the Darling-Baaka River could have been maintained and millions of fish and other creatures would have survived. It was noted that the very large mature Murray Cod that had died would have survived numerous previous droughts, so what had changed?
A report by the Australian Academy of Science concluded:
The conditions leading to this event are an interaction between a severe (but not unprecedented) drought and, more significantly, excess upstream diversion of water for irrigation. Prior releases of water from Menindee Lakes contributed to lack of local reserves.
A small flow in mid-2019 led to a partial revival of the Darling-Baaka River and water in the upper lakes of the Menindee Lakes system. However, the Menindee Lakes and Darling-Baaka River face three major threats:
1) The proposed re-configuration of the Menindee Lakes system;
2) The continuing overallocation of water extraction licences in the Northern Basin of the Murray-Darling system;
3) The extent and proposed licencing of floodplain harvesting, which is capturing huge quantities of water before it can even reach the waterways of the Darling-Baaka River.
Source: Save Menindee Lakes (www.savemenindeelakes.org.au/the_history)
CSXT 323 shows off an honorable mention to the L&N RR, aka "The Old Reliable" while hanging out in Bedford Park Intermodal Yard in Bedford Park, Illinois.
Der in der Ursprungslackierung gehaltene 628 486 / 673 legt einen kurzen Halt im Bahnhof Garching / Alz ein. In wenigen Augenblicken wird er seine Fahrt als RB 27090 in Richtung Mühldorf fortsetzen. Seit 25 Jahren verrichten diese Triebzüge nun schon zuverlässig ihren Dienst auf den nicht-elektrifizierten Nebenbahnen im südlichen Oberbayern (25. Mai 2019).
The 628 486 / 673 in its original paint makes a short stop at Garching / Alz station. In a few moments it will continue its journey as RB 27090 in the direction of Mühldorf. For 25 years now, these multiple units have been reliably in service on the non-electrified branch lines in southern Upper Bavaria (25 May 2019).
For several years, A408 was my go-to train for a good chase on the IC mainline through central Illinois. Nothing to do on my days off? Go look for A408. Here, a pair of IC SD70's roar south past the ancient and long-disused Tuscola Farmers' Co-Op elevator at Hayes. Those were the days!
Corallorhiza trifida, Präbichl, Steiermark, Austria. This tiny orchid grows unrecognised by most hikers next to the beaten track. Fortunately, I know where they grow.
fave things together - old reliable leather gloves and fresh reliable coffee .
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now i think this is kinda texture-y but would be delighted to hear how this could be a more compelling photo such that more folks might feel "ah ha" about it. Thoughts?
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strobist note: .
shot low w flash low power and to side camera right using honel diffuser and wee low power LED light in same line as flash but on camera left for slight light running in/over left
A gorgeous, but short-blooming perennial favorite! These shrubs were planted in 2009 and have reliably come up every spring.
The farther we are from noisy cities, the more we interact with nature and the more we have to work with our hands. Of course, we cannot completely abandon the benefits of civilization, otherwise life on the countryside will turn into a struggle. But sometimes even the rejection of smartphones, computers and information flows allows us to feel truly alive.
This simple little tractor was inspired by the classic LEGO Town 6608 “Tractor” set from 1982. It's always interesting for me to dig back into the past in search of real gems in old sets. LEGO makes it possible to take this simple and recognizable things and create a modern version based on it.
Inherited by the Wisconsin Central with the 1993 acquisition of the Fox River Valley Railroad and actually used for a few years afterwards. – By late August of 1996 when this photo was taken these aging GP9 locomotives had found themselves parked on storage tracks at Shops Yard in North Fond du Lac.
These old warriors were originally built by EMD for the C&NW, QNS&L and M&StL Railways. – But after almost forty years of loyal service, their reliable usefulness had finally all but ended here with the WC 1701 & 4514 already retired and the WC 1702 listed as stored. ~~ A Jeff Hampton Photograph ©
Deansgate Junction signal box panel.
The original 1880 built lever box was closed in 1957 and was replaced by the current building which houses the 1991 NX panel and controls trains to and from Northenden and Mobberley as well as the trams towards Timperley.
A very busy and cramped box, it is double manned as it oversees the busy crossings at Navigation Road and Hale as well as its own at Deansgate Lane.
With the bio-mass services now running this way, the signallers are even busier and there is never really any time when there isn't a train on the panel. Despite the age of the place there seem to be few issues with the signalling compared with other locations and systems and it keeps plodding along, accommodating the intense service.
* There's an unfunny old joke about a 'Wabbit living in a Westinghouse" which you'll be pleased to know I can't remember!
The Volvo 200 Series replaced the 1966-1974 Volvo 140 Series. The 200 series was a remodeled version of its direct predecessor. Both series were designed by Volvo In-house car designer Jan Wilsgaard (N, 1930-2016).
The Volvo 200 series cars were very reliable, with an emphasis on safety aspects.
Private import from Sweden.
1986 cc L4 B20 petrol engine runs on LPG.
Performance: 97 bhp.
1296 kg.
Production Volvo 200 series: 1974-May 1993 (in Europe).
Production Volvo 244 this version: 1974-1978.
Original first reg. number: Aug. 7, 1975.
New Dutch special reg. number: May 13, 2014 (private import, still valid).
With current owner since Aug. 8, 2015.
Photo taken by © Waldemar.
Amsterdam, Oud-West, Bilderdijkpark, Oct. 14, 2021.
© 2021 Sander Toonen Halfweg | All Rights Reserved
My equipment got compact and light weighted. The telescope was the heaviest element among the equipment except the battery. It is natural and pertinent.
The mount performed precise work through the night with 250mm counterweight shaft and 4.8kg counterweight, and 17.5kg weight in total on the genuine stone bag. It was pointing Polaris, ready for Polar Drift Alignment on PHD2 Guiding. Mechanism for polar alignment was precise and stiff, just the same as Losmandy G11.
I hope to try next generation ZWO AM7 and AM3 in the future. Please make the bottom plate thicker. I will put heavier weights.
equipment: AstroPhysics 130GTX "Granturismo," Field Flattener at f/6.7 focal length 873mm, 22.1mm Spacer, EOS Adapter, Kipon EOS-EOS R adapter, and Canon EOS R-SP4II, modified by Seo-san on ZWO AM5 Equatorial Mount, auto guided at a star with Fujinon 1:2.8/75mm C-Mount Lens, Pentax x2 Extender, ZWO ASI 120MM-mini, GPUSB, and PHD2 Guiding
I put the guide camera and lens on the side of the mount body at the night, but it was a minor mistake. Minor drifting of stars was remarkable on some frames of longer exposure.
Small and lighter guide scope must not have moved remarkably, but long and heavier scope may have moved more against the mount body due to slip between telescope and rings and/or elastic deformation of dovetail, dovetail plate, and rings. I will put the small and light guide scope on the dovetail plate or the ring next trial.
site: 1,530m above sea level at lat. 36 26 01 North and long. 138 30 24 East in Rhododendron Park in Tsumagoi near Mt.Asama 群馬県嬬恋村しゃくなげ園. Ambient temperature was around 2 degrees Celsius or 36 degrees Fahrenheit. Wind was mild. SQML was 20.80.
Custom Reliable carrier at the St. Clair power boat races 2008. This appears to be a peterbilt model
Another reliable source of photos for me in Oxford is the bikes of Radcliffe Square. Here late afternoon sunshine has created some great shadows.
Not sure if I prefer the colour or the monochrome version of this shot. In theory it should work better in B&W as it becomes a simpler shot that's more about the shadows but the lovely warm light of the colour version maybe gives it the edge.......
From Wikipedia : "Radcliffe Square is a square in central Oxford, England. It is surrounded by historic Oxford University and college buildings. The square is cobbled, laid to grass surrounded by railings in the centre, and is pedestrianised except for access.
The square is named after John Radcliffe, a student of the university who became doctor to the King, made a large fortune, and left a significant legacy to the University and his college (University College), which is nearby in the High Street to the south.
The centrepiece of the square is the circular and imposing Radcliffe Camera, a library (originally for science) paid for by John Radcliffe's legacy, built 1737–48."
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Suzuki Grand Vitara on the lava fields near Hverfjall crater, Iceland. I drove more than 3000 kms without any hiccups on this ride (that too when it had already run more than 125k kms).
It looks amazing against the fall colors and that incredible sky. What do you say?
11/2020. More from the 12x20 Canham. This time with the Wollensak Velostigmat Series 1A 17.5” f6.8. Had to crop out a bad light leak on the left side. Some of my film holders are not particularly reliable.
These iphone scans off the light table are pretty bad. I'll be making better scans with a Nikon D810 I recently picked up.
Seen here reliably removing a child, but maybe should own up to removing those poor cats...
Penge South London
Over the years the P&W has always been known for running several trips each year with the company business train over the system entertaining many charter groups and organizations. Freshly painted engines were usually the rule rather than the exception. Fresh from the Plainfield, CT paintshop, former Susquehanna B40-8 4006, now P&W 4003 basks in the morning sunshine at the company headquarters in Worcester, MA on December 16, 2006 ready to head up the P&W employee Santa Claus train. Sadly, I believe scenes like this will certainly become a memory soon enough. It was something we took for granted, and I'm glad I didn't ignore it.
Model:
Eden Reliable Source
Fashion credits:
jumpsuit: Rayna Eye Candy restyled by me
sweater: Barbie Fashionistas
boots: Momoko
Reliable Disposal, a subsidiary of Republic Services, serves customers in Southwest Michigan. This truck was seen collecting garbage in Union Pier, Michigan, where garbage collection is an open market.
Reliable's older units were painted yellow. I believe this truck was bought at, or just before, the merger with Allied Waste, when Republic was starting to consolidate their own brands. The newest trucks being run out of Reliable's yard are ACX Pythons in Republic Blue.
Blue: Piaggio Vespa 150 GL (1957)
From 1955 to 1962, 'Motor Industry S.A. (M.I.S.A.)' in Jette (Brussels) assembled Vespas for Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and what was then Belgian Congo. The Vespa 150 is a sturdy scooter with soft, powerful brakes. In Jette, it was only produced in metallic blue. This version is unique and difficult to find today.
Yellow: Piaggio Vespa 180 Rally (1968)
The Vespa 180 Rally is one of the best Vespas ever made. With its pure lines and reliable 180 cc engine, it is high on many Vespa lovers' wish list. It is very rare today.
Squadra Abarth & Rally Collection
Lier, Belgium.