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This is the gift I've been dreaming about — a giant universal remote control!
It's made for elderly folks with vision issues, but I just love how bizarrely huge the thing is. Buttons as big as my thumb: UI heaven! :-)
Second version of the wireless remote controller.
This controller drive 4 local flashes in TTL mode and 4 external remote flashes via the buildin RFM12B transceiver on 868 Mhz. Multiple values can be adjusted for the local and remote flashes. Every flash can be enabled/disabled separately. Also on every flash channel the type can be changed. Every flash have a powersetting in 1/3 EV steps from 1/256 to full power.
2 extra buttons are foresee to change the global flash EV offset level into 1/3 EV steps, one button for the 4 local flashes and one button for the 4 remote flashes. This value stay separate on the display. This quick adjustment is helpfull to change the global for /background lighting without the need to change the individual flashpower.
The controller can be set as Master or as Slave via the mode switch. The number of remote flashes are unlimited, only the software need to set to the correct number of flashes. From the controller every flash can be tested to fire alone or together with all the flashes. All flashes works in TTL mode or manual mode. In TTL mode the power is set by the mastercontroller. No need to move the the flashes to change the power.
Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo
* * Costa Rica
For decades the remote Pacific Coast of northern Costa Rica — the Guanacaste province — was the domain of die-hard surfers and backpackers, with other visitors deterred by the grueling five-hour drive from the country's main airport in San José.
In 1982 the Costa Rican government passed law 6370 allowing for the development of the State owned area of land known as Polo Turistico Golfo de Papagayo located in the province of Guanacaste. The area includes tropical dry forests, 15 miles of Pacific coastline and 31 separate beaches Guanacaste was mostly the domain of cowboys called sabaneros, whose legacy lingers at local rodeos.
In Costa Rica (which means "rich coast") all beaches are public. The local municipality owns coastal land 200 meters (656 feet) inland from the average high tide, often referred to as the maritime zone. The 50 meters (164 feet) closest to the ocean are reserved for public use while the next 150 meters (492 feet) called the “concessionable” area, may be leased to private parties. Maritime zone concession agreements are used by municipalities throughout the country to promote tourism development. Between 1991 and 1999, 23 concessions were granted.
Costa Rica’s Pacific coast tourism has promoted different models of tourism -- beach, golf, tennis resorts, all-inclusive resorts, residential vacation home rentals, cruise tourism, and camping (ecotourism/sustainable tourism). And in the case of Papagayo Peninsula - Costa Rica desired to turn it into a showcase for environmental and social best practices. The government concessioned 2,075 acres from the Polo Turistico Golfo de Papagayo to the Papagayo Peninsula Development (Ecodevelopment Papagayo S.A.). Peninsula Papagayo’s concession expires in approximately 75 years, on January 15, 2091.
* * Papagayo Peninsula development (Ecodevelopment Papagayo S.A.).
Wayne Bishop, co-founder of Minneapolis architecture firm Walsh Bishop Inc., visited Costa Rica in 1994, he was wowed by the country's natural beauty. So Bishop spent the next several years looking for land on which he could build a Western-style resort. Bishop identified and successfully pursued Peninsula Papagayo, a 2,000+ acre world class property located in the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica. He was the original founder/developer of the Peninsula Papagayo resort area. Grupo Situr was the parent company of Ecodesarrollo Papagayo but was bought out by the Florida Ice and Farm.
Today, Ecodesarrollo (Eco-development) Payagayo S.A., has the Costa Rican government's mandate to further develop Peninsula Papagayo. Peninsula Papagayo is currently owned 30% by Florida Ice and Farm, a public Costa Rican company that produces and distributes beverages and foods throughouth Central American and 70% by Marvin Schwan Charitable Foundation, an evangeloco Lutheran foundation based in St. Louis, MO. The Marvin M. Schwan Charitable Foundation's endowment comes from the fortune made by its namesake in the frozen ice cream and pizza business located in Marshall, Minnesota. Wayne Bishop sold his interest to the Schwan Foundation.
Ecodesarrollo Payagayo's CEO is Alan Kelso, who has extensive real estate development experience in Costa Rica dating from 1995. Jim Preskitt is the SVP of Ecodesarrollo Peninsula Papagayo.
* * The Four seasons Resort and Golf Club
In the last few years, Guanacaste has been transformed by a collection of hotels and real estate developments aimed at America and European affluent baby boomers.
The Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo opened in January 2004. The resort was built on the Pacific coast of Guanacaste province in northwest Costa Rica, in the least populated, sunniest and driest part of the country. It is a 40-minute drive from the nearest airport in Liberia, where Delta, Continental and American Airlines have added nonstop service from several cities in the United States. Most of the hotel's 153 rooms are in three four-story buildings, with views of either the Virador Bay to the north or the Blanca Bay to the south.
Designed by the Costa Rican architect Ronald Zürcher, the resort's earth-toned stucco buildings seem to grow out of a hillside that slopes down to an isthmus, surrounded by tropical dry forest and sandy beaches on both sides. In an Architectureal Digest interview Ronald Zurcher says that his challenge was to build something respectful. "I didn't want to compete with nature," he explains, pointing to some white constructions several miles away, on the other side of the Golfo de Papagayo, that do just that. "See how those buildings stand out? But if you're over there, looking this way, you don't see our hotel at all—it's camouflaged." He send Papagayo dirt to a paint laboratory so that his buildings would blend in with the ground on which they sit. Zurcher took characteristics from two of Costa Rica's common creatures - the turtle and the armadillo - to the resorts design. Zrcher gave several of the resort's low-lying buildings the round shape of a turtle's shell and mimicked the armadillo's arched, humped back for the roofs of many of the buildings on higher ground. "I noticed that armadillos walk in families, one after the other," he says. "So instead of having large, single roofs, I've done the roofs in pieces, each one in the shape of an armadillo. From a distance the buildings look like families of armadillos."
Some advice also came from Isadore Sharp, the chairman of the Four Seasons chain. Originally, Zurcher wanted a waterfall to connect one swimming pool to its lower neighbor. Sharp vetoed the idea, saying that the sound of the waterfall would drown out the sound of the waves and when people come to an ocean resort, they want to hear the sound of the waves. "He was right, of course," says Zurcher.
Atop one of Peninsula Papagayo’s highest plateaus, overlooking the waters of Bahía de Culebra sits Four Seasons Golf Club Costa Rica, designed by Arnold Palmer. Sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean are on 14 of the 18 holes. The signature hole, the par 4 number 6, El Bajo, features a dramatic 200 foot downhill tee shot to a green perched out on a cliff with the ocean behind it. Indigenous monkeys (the howler monkey and the squirrel monkey) will monitor the golfers playing Arnold Palmer's Signature 18-hole, Par-72 championship course.golf course. Serving the golf course is the 28,000 square-foot Robert Zurcher designed clubhouse. Zurcher found inspiration for the building from a conch shell. Some say the result is likened to the Sydney Opera House.
** Key players involved with the Four Seasons Resort
*Charles M. Schwan Charitable Foundation
Marvin Maynard Schwan (1929 -1993), was the founder and first president of Marshall, Minnesota based Schwan’s Sales Enterprises, Inc., one America’s largest privately held companies and one of the biggest producers and distributors of frozen and prepared food. At the time of his death at age 63, Schwan’s personal worth was $1.3 billion and the company controlled a quarter of the frozen pizza business (Tony’s Pizza and Red Baron) in the U.S. During his lifetime, Schwan created the Marvin M. Schwan Foundation, which is a major supporter of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.. Two thirds of Marvin Schwan's estate was left to the Marvin M. Schwan Foundation under the trusteeship of his brother Alfred Schwan and life-long friend Larry Burgdorf.
The mission of the Charles M Schwan Charitable Foundation is: "To provide financial support to specific religious organizations as specified by the foundations governing documents." However, the principal amount of tne trust can provide for corpus investments in real estate. In round numbers the charitable foundation invested $140 million in the Costa Rica Four Seasons Hotel and $280 million in the Grand Cayman Island's Ritz Carlton.
The 2010 IRS form 990 for the Marvin M Schwan Charitable Foundation list the following:
The Kings Foundation Investment Papagayo LLC - $12.2 million and Investment Wings of Papagayo LLC - $124.7 million for a total investment value of $136.9 million in the Four Seasons Hotel Costa Rica
The Kings Foundation Investment Cayman LTD - $276.9 million total investment value in The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, a luxury resort in the Cayman Islands
In the fiscal year ending 2012 The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman and its developer Michael Ryan, in whom the Charlest M Schwan Charitable Foundation invested, defaulted on a series of loans and the resort was auctioned off by creditors. During the course of these events, the Marvin M. Schwan Charitable Foundation realized a loss of over $249 million on the investment it held in The Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman. However, to ensure the investment was not totally lost the foundation purchased $13.8 million of outstanding notes belonging to the developer Michael Ryan for an 11% ownership stake in the refinanced resort. The total assets of the foundation dropped from about $750 million to $500 million following the Ritz Carlton Grand Caymen debacle.
* Alan Kelso - Ecodesarrollo Payagayo CEO
The developer of Peninsula Papagayo is Ecodesarrollo Papagayo, S.A. – a Costa Rica company controlled by The Charles M. Schwan Charitable Foundation. The CEO, Alan Kelso, has extensive real estate development experience in Costa Rica dating from 1995. Unlike most developers in Costa Rica, he is a native. Kelso grew up in San Jose, Costa Rica and would waterski on the Peninsula Papagayo's calm bays as a kid. Kelso claims it is the most beautiful piece of land he's ever seen. Kelso had made his name putting together the Los Suenos Marriott Ocean & Golf Resort 140 miles south of Peninsula Papagayo. Kelso was brought in to the Peninsula Papagayo project by the minority partner, Florida Ice and Farm, the Costa Rican beer company, in 1991. Kelso brought in the Costa Rican architect Ronald Zürcher who had designed the Los Suenos Marriott.
* Ronald Zürcher, Architect
Ronald Zürcher graduated from the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City,and began his independent architectural practice in Costa Rica in 1978. Over the years, his practice has grown to include major hospitality design projects. Recent projects include Andaz Peninsula Papagayo - the 153 resort is on Culebra Bay and the JW Marriott Guanacaste Resort & Spa at Hacienda Pinilla, Costa Rica.
Jim Preskitt - Ecodesarrollo Payagayo SVP
Preskitt's professional life included marketing positions at the Hawaii's Big Island resorts of Mauna Kea and Four Seasons. He formerly was vice president of marketing for Hualalai Development Co., developer or the 700-acre residential-resort-golf community property on the coast just north of the Keahole Airport. Also, Preskitt, was in charge of marketing homes and lots for the Kaunaoa Development at Mauna Kea Resort. Preskitt's reputation in Hawaii was marketing to the “decamillionaire” (those with a net worth of $10 million or more).
Luis Argote, Four Season's Hotel Opening General Manager.
Luis received his Bachelor’s degree from the National Education Cooperation Institute (INCE) of Hotel and Restaurant Management, Caracas, Venezuela. A native of Venezuela, Argote is fluent in Spanish, French and English. He came from the Four Seasons Mexico City to the Four Seasons Costa Rica. He served as GM from 2004 to 2011. He currently serves as General Manager at the Four Seasons Hotel Casa Medina Bogota.
Pascal Forotti, Four Seasons Costa Rica General Manager
Pascal was appointed General Manager in 2011. He was the second in command at the Ty Warner owned Four Seasons New York for 3 years prior to moving to Costa Rica. He enjoys hearing the waves crash everday - so different from the fire trucks and taxi cabs of NYC. Pascal's hometown is Esch, Luxembourg. His Hotel Management degree is from Lycee Technique Hotelier Alexis Heck. The hotel school is named after Alexis Heck (1830-1908), hotel owner in Diekirch and a pioneer of tourism in Luxembourg.
Compliled by Dick Johnson
October 2015.
Mauna Kea Beach Hotel - History
George Mason headed the Hawaii Department of Economic Development in the early 1960's (later he founded the Pacific Business News). It was determined that Hawaii's tourism industry had to expand beyond Waikiki to the outer islands. William Quinn, the first Governor of Hawaii, sent Mason to Caneel Bay Plantation in the U.S. Virgin Islands to study Laurence Rockefeller's investment and development of an environmentally friendly resort set on a very remote island, St. John. Mason had several conversations with Lesley Moore, Caneel Bay's hotel manager at the time. As a result an invitation was delivered to Laurence Rockefeller to visit Hawaii with the hope he would develop a similar resort on one of Hawaii's outer islands.
In 1960 Rockefeller arrived in Hawaii along with his long-time associate Allston Boyer who was instrumental in the development of Caneel Bay Plantation and Dorado Beach Hotel and Walter Collins representing the firm Belt, Collins & Associates known for providing master planning, landscape architecture and civil engineering. The visitors were given the use of a state airplane to visit possible resort locations. In fact Aloha Airlines donated the plane and crew. When Rockefeller later learned this, he insisted on paying for it. The entourage stayed overnight at the Parker Ranch, Volcano House and Kona Inn on the Big Island, Coco Palms on Kauai and Hotel Hana Maui - where Rockefeller met and visited with Robert Butterfield (then the hotel manager at Hotel Hana Maui and later the second hotel manager at Mauna Kea Beach Hotel). Rockefeller met with Parker Ranch owner Richard Smart. He asked to visit the beach he had seen while flying over the island. From the ranch headquarters in cool misty Waimea the small group descended the bumpy 2600 feet by jeep trail to visit the beach at remote Kauna'oa Bay. It was reported that George Mason, Allston Boyer and Laurence Rockefeller went swimming at Kauna'oa Bay. As Mason had hoped the visitors were awe struck by the crescent shaped beach, the warm Pacific waters and the spectacular view of the snow-capped Mauna Kea. In May, 1961 Rockefeller returned to Kauna'oa Bay with Robert Trent Jones and the governor of Hawaii to announce the plans for a massive investment in a resort and golf course. At that time Kauan'oa Bay's crescent shaped beach was isolated, had no water or electricity and was accessible only by a dirt road and foot paths. Richard Smart leased approximately 500 acres for 99 years to Laurence Rockefeller for building the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel on Kauna'oa Bay of the Kohala Coast. Smart said it was land too dry for his cattle!
Rockefeller first selected the architect John Carl Warnecke, a pioneer of contextual architecture - fitting a building into its environment. Warnecke later designed the Hawaiian State Capitol building. Rockefeller initially conceived the resort to follow the cottage format similar to his design for Caneel Bay Plantation and Little Dix Bay. Rockefeller is quoted “The design should follow the natural contours of the land, incorporate lava rock and in every possible way make the hotel invisible.” Nathaniel A. Owings, a founder of the architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, was leaning towards designing 100 beach cottages. A model cottage was built, it was later demolished after sustaining damage from tropical storms. The cottage concept was shelved in favor of a single large structure. Later Rockefeller turned to the architect Edward Charles Bassett of the Skidmore, Owings & Merrill firm to design the hotel that is part outdoors and part indoors, in fact the hotel has a door-less entry. Bassett also designed in 1962 the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland.
Belt Collins prepared for Pioneer Mill sugar plantation the first feasibility study for the Ka'anapali resort area on Maui. Belt Collins work at Mauna Kea included the construction of the hotel, its grounds, sewage plant, golf course, drilling of three wells and building a segment of the Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway from Kawaihae to the hotel. The construction of the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel was a huge logistical task. All building materials came by ferry. A temporary camp was created to house and feed the 500 construction workers.
As the resort neared completion, Rockefeller took a motor launch off shore. He looked back to the bay, the beach and his hotel-to-be with snow-capped Mauna Kea volcano, the backdrop. He determined the building's exterior was too bright. He ordered a repaint to better harmonize with the surroundings. He is quoted as saying "No man can outdo nature; mustn't even try."
Another expert of Rockefeller's team was Robert Trent Jones, Sr. He had designed Rockefeller's Dorado Beach golf courses in Puerto Rico. Regarding the third hole, Jones said, "Mr. Rockefeller, if you allow me to build a golf course here, this will be the most beautiful hole in the world." The debate continues if the par 3 third hole with an over-ocean inlet carry from tee to green is the most beautiful golf hole in the world. He seamlessly blended in the 18 fairways and greens to the black lava rock. The golf course was completed before the hotel opened. Jackie Pung, Hawaii's first woman golfing notable, was the initial teaching pro. "Rags" Ragland was the first director of golf at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel. The first pro shop was a shack that was originally a recreational facility for Parker Ranch employees who wanted to swim at Mauna Kea's beach.
When it opened in July, 1965 the 154-room Mauna Kea was the most expensive hotel ever built at the time, at $15 million. The opening room rates on the Modified American Plan (MAP) started at $43, including breakfast and dinner in the Pavilion, which featured rotating menus of international cuisines. From 1965 to 1995, the Hotel operated contentedly without guestroom televisions. Esquire magazine named the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel one of the "Three greatest hotels in the world."
At the 1965 grand opening Rockefeller spoke this prayer. "May we all find inspiration in the majesty of the sea and the beauty of the surrounding mountains. May we learn again the joy of living and that good will is the key to brotherly love. May we recognize anew that material goods are but the means - stepping stone to the spiritual meaning and purpose of life."
The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel boasts an impressive art collection that includes priceless Pacific and Asian art pieces, curated for the resort’s opening, and handmade Hawaiian quilts from the 1960’s. These masterpieces elevate the status of Mauna Kea Beach Hotel to a museum in and of itself. Over 1600 pieces of authentic artwork and artifacts make Mauna Kea’s collection one of the most extensive collections of Asian and Oceanic artwork assembled by one individual, Mr. Rockefeller. The Art Collection showcases pieces from India, Southeast Asia, China, Japan, Melanesia, and Polynesia. Works of art include everything from custom, in-room watercolors, to a seventh-century sandstone Buddha, to elaborate Thai temple guardians. It was Mr. Rockefeller’s intention to informally display the pieces without signs or glass, in order to create the semblance of a noble manor teeming with abundant fine art.
Leslie H. Moore Jr., from Caneel Bay Plantation, was the first general manager of Mauna Kea. Allston Boyer hired Moore to manage Caneel Bay in 1956. Moore, a graduate of the Cornell University Hotel School, was previously the manager of the General Electric's Association Island at Henderson Harbor, NY. Moore left Mauna Kea to manage the White Elephant Hotel on Nantucket Island, MA. Executive assistants at opening were Richard Erb and James Reed and Clay James headed the food and beverage department along with executive chef Walter Blum. Mrs. Pi'lani Bell was the first executive housekeeper.
Robert H. Butterfield Jr managed the hotel from 1966 to 1982. He and his wife, Charlotte managed the Hotel Hana Maui from 1948 to 1965. Butterfield held a degree in Hotel Administration from the Cornell Hotel School, served wartime in the navy before working with Sugar Plantation owner Paul Fagan, the owner of remote Hotel Hana Maui. Butterfield died in 2011 at age 94 in Waimea, Hawaii. The hotel manager's residence was the "White House" (today the 8 room Jacaranda Inn) at Waimea, formerly the home of the Parker Ranch manager. It is where Rockefeller stayed during his many visits to the construction site and entertained guests.
In 1967 Laurence Rockefeller sold portions of his hotel assets to Eastern Airlines. Eastern acquired an 80% interest in the 306 room Dorado Beach resort for about $17 million and acquired a 60% interest in the 154 room Mauna Kea Beach Hotel for $10 million. As part of the deal Eastern also acquired a 40% interest in Rockresorts, Rockefeller's hotel management company.
In 1978 Laurence Rockefeller and Eastern Airlines sold the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel to UAL. Inc., the parent company of United Airlines and Western International Hotels for $51.5 million. The sell included 310 room hotel, 18-hole Robert Trent Jones golf course and about 100 acres of land adjacent to the hotel and golf course. Western International (later Westin) would operate the hotel. Western International at that time also owned and operated the Ilikai Hotel in Waikiki. Many repeat guests worried the hotel would lose its Rockefeller lustre. But Bob Butterfield in a 1981 interview is quoted "They (UAL, Inc.) told me, don't cut maintenance, don't cut anything.
William F. Mielcke, served as President of the Mauna Kea Resort for 21 years from 1980 to 2001. Previously he served as general manager at the Kona Surf. Mauna Kea Resort consists of the 258 room Mauna Kea Beach Hotel and the 350 room Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, two golf courses and real estate including single family homes, townhomes, condominiums and vacant land.
The hotel was purchased in 1989 for $315 million by Yoshiaki Tsutsumi of Seibu Railway. Fortune magazine named Tsutsumi as the world's richest man during the years 1987 to 1990. Seibu purchased the Mauna Kea Beach Resort from the partnership of Aoki Corp of Japan and the Robert M Bass Group of Fort Worth Texas – who had acquired Westin Hotels from UAL, Inc. The hotel moved from the Westin flag and management to Seibu's Prince Resorts Hawaii management in 1990.
In 1994, 30 years after opening, the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel closed for a 1 year renovation. This happened as the Hapuna Prince Hotel opens. Mauna Kea Beach reopened with Adi Kohler as the Managing Director - and - with TVs in the guest rooms. Kohler retired in June, 2000.
Prince Hotels Hawaii embarked on a three-year, $150 million renovation of the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel after it closed following major damage from a 2006 earthquake. Mauna Kea Beach Hotel re-opened in 2009, the renovations included larger, redesigned guest rooms, new restaurants, a new spa, a new club house, and new air conditioning and plumbing systems. Mauna Kea Beach Hotel was added to Marriott's Autograph Collection in 2015.
Mauna Kea Beach Hotel management through 50 plus years of operation:
Leslie Moore - appointed first General Manager in 1965
Bob Butterfield - appointed General Manager in 1966.
Adi Kohler - Mauna Kea Beach Hotel's 3rd Hotel Manager appointed in 1978.
William F Mielcke - named President of Mauna Kea Resort in 1980 (retired in 2001)
Adi Kohler - named Managing Director of Mauna Kea Resort in 1994 (retired in 2000)
Charlie Park - named the hotels fifth Hotel Manager in 1997.
Donn Takahashi - named President of Prince Resorts Hawaii 2004
Jon Gersonde - named General Manager - Mauna Kea Beach Hotel in 2008 (left in 2014 to be Managing Director Turnberry Isle, Miami)
Phyllis Branco - named Hotel Manager in 2010 (left in 2015 to be General Manager at Hilo Doubletree Naniloa Hotel)
Craig Anderson - named Vice President of operations Mauna Kea Resort in 2015 (previously was general manager at the Westin Moana Surfrider)
Information compiled by Richard L. Johnson (October, 2016). I was the Beverage Manager at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel from approximately 1973 to 1975. I worked for Roger Bird, the Food and Beverage Manager. Bob Butterfield was the GM and Adi Kohler the Assistant GM. Michael White was the Pavillion Dining Room Manager. Kim Dietrich was the Executive Chef. I was a 1971 graduate from the U of Hawaii School on Travel Industry Management. Upon graduation Caneel Bay Plantation Assistant Manager George Pynn hired me as the night auditor. The telegram confirmation from Pynn was something like "$350 a month plus room and board. Also, a one way ticket from Honolulu to Charlotte Amalie, US Virgin Islands." I worked through several jobs ending as the Assistant Manager at Rockefeller's St. John National Park Cinnamon Bay Campground. Richard Erb, Caneel Bay Plantation's General Manager helped me in securing the Beverage Manager position at Mauna Kea.
Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo
* * Costa Rica
For decades the remote Pacific Coast of northern Costa Rica — the Guanacaste province — was the domain of die-hard surfers and backpackers, with other visitors deterred by the grueling five-hour drive from the country's main airport in San José.
In 1982 the Costa Rican government passed law 6370 allowing for the development of the State owned area of land known as Polo Turistico Golfo de Papagayo located in the province of Guanacaste. The area includes tropical dry forests, 15 miles of Pacific coastline and 31 separate beaches Guanacaste was mostly the domain of cowboys called sabaneros, whose legacy lingers at local rodeos.
In Costa Rica (which means "rich coast") all beaches are public. The local municipality owns coastal land 200 meters (656 feet) inland from the average high tide, often referred to as the maritime zone. The 50 meters (164 feet) closest to the ocean are reserved for public use while the next 150 meters (492 feet) called the “concessionable” area, may be leased to private parties. Maritime zone concession agreements are used by municipalities throughout the country to promote tourism development. Between 1991 and 1999, 23 concessions were granted.
Costa Rica’s Pacific coast tourism has promoted different models of tourism -- beach, golf, tennis resorts, all-inclusive resorts, residential vacation home rentals, cruise tourism, and camping (ecotourism/sustainable tourism). And in the case of Papagayo Peninsula - Costa Rica desired to turn it into a showcase for environmental and social best practices. The government concessioned 2,075 acres from the Polo Turistico Golfo de Papagayo to the Papagayo Peninsula Development (Ecodevelopment Papagayo S.A.). Peninsula Papagayo’s concession expires in approximately 75 years, on January 15, 2091.
* * Papagayo Peninsula development (Ecodevelopment Papagayo S.A.).
Wayne Bishop, co-founder of Minneapolis architecture firm Walsh Bishop Inc., visited Costa Rica in 1994, he was wowed by the country's natural beauty. So Bishop spent the next several years looking for land on which he could build a Western-style resort. Bishop identified and successfully pursued Peninsula Papagayo, a 2,000+ acre world class property located in the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica. He was the original founder/developer of the Peninsula Papagayo resort area. Grupo Situr was the parent company of Ecodesarrollo Papagayo but was bought out by the Florida Ice and Farm.
Today, Ecodesarrollo (Eco-development) Payagayo S.A., has the Costa Rican government's mandate to further develop Peninsula Papagayo. Peninsula Papagayo is currently owned 30% by Florida Ice and Farm, a public Costa Rican company that produces and distributes beverages and foods throughouth Central American and 70% by Marvin Schwan Charitable Foundation, an evangeloco Lutheran foundation based in St. Louis, MO. The Marvin M. Schwan Charitable Foundation's endowment comes from the fortune made by its namesake in the frozen ice cream and pizza business located in Marshall, Minnesota. Wayne Bishop sold his interest to the Schwan Foundation.
Ecodesarrollo Payagayo's CEO is Alan Kelso, who has extensive real estate development experience in Costa Rica dating from 1995. Jim Preskitt is the SVP of Ecodesarrollo Peninsula Papagayo.
* * The Four seasons Resort and Golf Club
In the last few years, Guanacaste has been transformed by a collection of hotels and real estate developments aimed at America and European affluent baby boomers.
The Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo opened in January 2004. The resort was built on the Pacific coast of Guanacaste province in northwest Costa Rica, in the least populated, sunniest and driest part of the country. It is a 40-minute drive from the nearest airport in Liberia, where Delta, Continental and American Airlines have added nonstop service from several cities in the United States. Most of the hotel's 153 rooms are in three four-story buildings, with views of either the Virador Bay to the north or the Blanca Bay to the south.
Designed by the Costa Rican architect Ronald Zürcher, the resort's earth-toned stucco buildings seem to grow out of a hillside that slopes down to an isthmus, surrounded by tropical dry forest and sandy beaches on both sides. In an Architectureal Digest interview Ronald Zurcher says that his challenge was to build something respectful. "I didn't want to compete with nature," he explains, pointing to some white constructions several miles away, on the other side of the Golfo de Papagayo, that do just that. "See how those buildings stand out? But if you're over there, looking this way, you don't see our hotel at all—it's camouflaged." He send Papagayo dirt to a paint laboratory so that his buildings would blend in with the ground on which they sit. Zurcher took characteristics from two of Costa Rica's common creatures - the turtle and the armadillo - to the resorts design. Zrcher gave several of the resort's low-lying buildings the round shape of a turtle's shell and mimicked the armadillo's arched, humped back for the roofs of many of the buildings on higher ground. "I noticed that armadillos walk in families, one after the other," he says. "So instead of having large, single roofs, I've done the roofs in pieces, each one in the shape of an armadillo. From a distance the buildings look like families of armadillos."
Some advice also came from Isadore Sharp, the chairman of the Four Seasons chain. Originally, Zurcher wanted a waterfall to connect one swimming pool to its lower neighbor. Sharp vetoed the idea, saying that the sound of the waterfall would drown out the sound of the waves and when people come to an ocean resort, they want to hear the sound of the waves. "He was right, of course," says Zurcher.
Atop one of Peninsula Papagayo’s highest plateaus, overlooking the waters of Bahía de Culebra sits Four Seasons Golf Club Costa Rica, designed by Arnold Palmer. Sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean are on 14 of the 18 holes. The signature hole, the par 4 number 6, El Bajo, features a dramatic 200 foot downhill tee shot to a green perched out on a cliff with the ocean behind it. Indigenous monkeys (the howler monkey and the squirrel monkey) will monitor the golfers playing Arnold Palmer's Signature 18-hole, Par-72 championship course.golf course. Serving the golf course is the 28,000 square-foot Robert Zurcher designed clubhouse. Zurcher found inspiration for the building from a conch shell. Some say the result is likened to the Sydney Opera House.
** Key players involved with the Four Seasons Resort
*Charles M. Schwan Charitable Foundation
Marvin Maynard Schwan (1929 -1993), was the founder and first president of Marshall, Minnesota based Schwan’s Sales Enterprises, Inc., one America’s largest privately held companies and one of the biggest producers and distributors of frozen and prepared food. At the time of his death at age 63, Schwan’s personal worth was $1.3 billion and the company controlled a quarter of the frozen pizza business (Tony’s Pizza and Red Baron) in the U.S. During his lifetime, Schwan created the Marvin M. Schwan Foundation, which is a major supporter of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.. Two thirds of Marvin Schwan's estate was left to the Marvin M. Schwan Foundation under the trusteeship of his brother Alfred Schwan and life-long friend Larry Burgdorf.
The mission of the Charles M Schwan Charitable Foundation is: "To provide financial support to specific religious organizations as specified by the foundations governing documents." However, the principal amount of tne trust can provide for corpus investments in real estate. In round numbers the charitable foundation invested $140 million in the Costa Rica Four Seasons Hotel and $280 million in the Grand Cayman Island's Ritz Carlton.
The 2010 IRS form 990 for the Marvin M Schwan Charitable Foundation list the following:
The Kings Foundation Investment Papagayo LLC - $12.2 million and Investment Wings of Papagayo LLC - $124.7 million for a total investment value of $136.9 million in the Four Seasons Hotel Costa Rica
The Kings Foundation Investment Cayman LTD - $276.9 million total investment value in The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, a luxury resort in the Cayman Islands
In the fiscal year ending 2012 The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman and its developer Michael Ryan, in whom the Charlest M Schwan Charitable Foundation invested, defaulted on a series of loans and the resort was auctioned off by creditors. During the course of these events, the Marvin M. Schwan Charitable Foundation realized a loss of over $249 million on the investment it held in The Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman. However, to ensure the investment was not totally lost the foundation purchased $13.8 million of outstanding notes belonging to the developer Michael Ryan for an 11% ownership stake in the refinanced resort. The total assets of the foundation dropped from about $750 million to $500 million following the Ritz Carlton Grand Caymen debacle.
* Alan Kelso - Ecodesarrollo Payagayo CEO
The developer of Peninsula Papagayo is Ecodesarrollo Papagayo, S.A. – a Costa Rica company controlled by The Charles M. Schwan Charitable Foundation. The CEO, Alan Kelso, has extensive real estate development experience in Costa Rica dating from 1995. Unlike most developers in Costa Rica, he is a native. Kelso grew up in San Jose, Costa Rica and would waterski on the Peninsula Papagayo's calm bays as a kid. Kelso claims it is the most beautiful piece of land he's ever seen. Kelso had made his name putting together the Los Suenos Marriott Ocean & Golf Resort 140 miles south of Peninsula Papagayo. Kelso was brought in to the Peninsula Papagayo project by the minority partner, Florida Ice and Farm, the Costa Rican beer company, in 1991. Kelso brought in the Costa Rican architect Ronald Zürcher who had designed the Los Suenos Marriott.
* Ronald Zürcher, Architect
Ronald Zürcher graduated from the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City,and began his independent architectural practice in Costa Rica in 1978. Over the years, his practice has grown to include major hospitality design projects. Recent projects include Andaz Peninsula Papagayo - the 153 resort is on Culebra Bay and the JW Marriott Guanacaste Resort & Spa at Hacienda Pinilla, Costa Rica.
Jim Preskitt - Ecodesarrollo Payagayo SVP
Preskitt's professional life included marketing positions at the Hawaii's Big Island resorts of Mauna Kea and Four Seasons. He formerly was vice president of marketing for Hualalai Development Co., developer or the 700-acre residential-resort-golf community property on the coast just north of the Keahole Airport. Also, Preskitt, was in charge of marketing homes and lots for the Kaunaoa Development at Mauna Kea Resort. Preskitt's reputation in Hawaii was marketing to the “decamillionaire” (those with a net worth of $10 million or more).
Luis Argote, Four Season's Hotel Opening General Manager.
Luis received his Bachelor’s degree from the National Education Cooperation Institute (INCE) of Hotel and Restaurant Management, Caracas, Venezuela. A native of Venezuela, Argote is fluent in Spanish, French and English. He came from the Four Seasons Mexico City to the Four Seasons Costa Rica. He served as GM from 2004 to 2011. He currently serves as General Manager at the Four Seasons Hotel Casa Medina Bogota.
Pascal Forotti, Four Seasons Costa Rica General Manager
Pascal was appointed General Manager in 2011. He was the second in command at the Ty Warner owned Four Seasons New York for 3 years prior to moving to Costa Rica. He enjoys hearing the waves crash everday - so different from the fire trucks and taxi cabs of NYC. Pascal's hometown is Esch, Luxembourg. His Hotel Management degree is from Lycee Technique Hotelier Alexis Heck. The hotel school is named after Alexis Heck (1830-1908), hotel owner in Diekirch and a pioneer of tourism in Luxembourg.
Compliled by Dick Johnson
October 2015.
Our antipiracy guru Ibrahim Rodríguez sent in a package of awesome Venezuelan gifts and ornaments to the Envato office today, so we took a quick snap showing them off! Thanks Ibrahim!!!
In the picture (L to R): Stu (in the background), Jordan, Oz, Collis
Montblanc Elizabeth I writing instrument seriously tempted my pocket book. MAC nixed the purchase.
Limited Edition 4810 and Limited Edition 888
Montblanc's Patron of Art Edition has annually honoured a legendary benefactor of the arts and culture since this special writing instrument line was originally conceived in 1992. This year’s edition is dedicated to an all time great cultural force - Elizabeth I. Regarded the most successful monarch to ever ascend an English throne, under Elizabeth's astute and skillful rule, England "came of age" and, witnessing groundbreaking achievements, was transformed from a "remote backwater" to a globally dominant imperial power. Great battles were won. The New World - or the "Americas" - was discovered and the English Renaissance reached its zenith because of Elizabeth's artistic patronage.
Patron of Art Edition Elizabeth I - Limited Edition 888
Patron of Art Edition Elizabeth I - Limited Edition 4810
The "best educated woman of her generation..." Elizabeth was "passionately" interested in the arts and her "luminous" court stimulated some of the greatest artistic achievements of all time. William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe flourished during her reign as did the poet Edmund Spenser, the painter Nicholas Hillyard and the English composers William Byrd, John Dowland and Thomas Tallis.
Elizabeth I was also a gifted writer and the 2010 Montblanc Patron of Art Edition is therefore composed of two writing instruments conceived with sumptuously striking and clever adornments celebrating her intellect and inimitable regal flair. Patron of Art Edition Elizabeth I, limited to 4810 pieces and limited to 888 pieces, will debut in April 2010 and May 2010, respectively. And, as their presentation has always been associated with the Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award - which annually celebrates contemporary arts and cultural patrons - the Patron of Art Edition continues a story linking a historical figure with future talent.
Elizabeth I - A Legend in her Own Lifetime
Centuries after her death, Elizabeth I (1533 - 1603), is still considered as one of England's "most popular and influential rulers". She was born at Greenwich Palace on 7 September 1533 to Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII, although her arrival was greeted with "surprise and displeasure", by the Court. The "failure" to produce a son for King Henry jeopardized Queen Anne’s life due to her husband's obsession with conceiving a male heir. Charged with adultery, she was beheaded in May 1536.
A retinue of governesses raised the young princess Elizabeth and though she was shunned by her father, Catherine Parr, the "remarkable" sixth and last wife of Henry VIII, oversaw the education which groomed the future queen for greatness and the Patron of Art Edition Elizabeth I will celebrate their special bond. Under the Cambridge scholar Roger Ascham, Elizabeth studied the classics, read history and theology and became fluent in six languages - Greek, Latin, French, Italian, Spanish and German. Her love of music and, skill as a musician, developed from the 60 instrumentalists who resided at Hatfield House, her childhood residence. From age 11, she composed prayers and poems and, when jailed for suspected treason against Mary I, her cousin in 1554, she etched onto a glass prison window a two-line verse with a diamond.
Upon ascending the throne on 15 January 1559, Elizabeth's writing focussed on government matters. She wrote powerful speeches, such as that which she delivered at Tilbury in Essex where English troops had gathered to prepare for Spanish invasion in 1588. Brandishing a silver breastplate over a flowing white velvet gown she arrived on horseback demonstrating the "courage and leadership the English expected" of a monarch - but had never been displayed by a female - and declared to the troops: “I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman but I have the heart and stomach of a king and of a King of England, too".
Nine days later, the defeat of the Spanish Armada proved England's "finest hour". Elizabeth's popularity reached a level no "English woman had enjoyed as a public figure" and she attained supreme power comparable to a "biblical and mythological figure". Her grand mode of dress overawed her subjects while the flourishing of her Renaissance court stimulated new literary, artistic and musical achievements. "Theatres thrived", and, as Shakespeare elevated the English language to its highest level of development, England’s literacy rate soared. Elizabeth attended the debut of Shakespeare's romantic comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream. Numerous works were dedicated to her including poet Edmund Spenser's masterpiece The Fairie Queen. Composers William Byrd, John Dowland and Thomas Tallis also toiled at her court.
The discoveries of adventurers Sir Francis Drake, who circumnavigated the world in 1580, Walter Raleigh's exploration of eastern Venezuela in 1594 and Humphrey Gilbert’s conquering of Newfoundland for the English throne in 1583, spearheaded a new age expansion by the end of Elizabeth's reign. Upon her passing on 24 March 1604, the pioneering monarch, it is said, "departed this life mildly like a lamb, easily like a ripe apple from the tree".
The Limited Edition Celebrating the Elizabethan Age
Patron of Art Edition Elizabeth I. 4810
The design and adornments of the Patron of Art Edition Elizabeth I 4810 reflects the life, reign and heraldic regalia of Elizabeth I. Hand engraved on the 18 K gold nib is a bejewelled gold crown which she brandished ascending the throne in 1559. Lacquer barrel and cap signify the spots which appear on an ermine cape, part of the traditional coronation attire which Elizabeth also flaunted. While an ivory coloured Montblanc emblem tops the cap, the clip descends from gold plated Tudor Rose. This "double rose" motif became England’s floral emblem after Henry VII, Elizabeth's grandfather, commandeered it as the symbol of the Tudor Dynasty upon taking the crown from Richard IIII in 1485. The green cabochon embellishing the gold-plated cross upon the clip also reflects the bejewelled cross upon Elizabeth's crown.
Encircling the gold plate band adorning the cap - as well as the cone - is an elegant interlaced pattern inspired by the pretty needlework sleeve Elizabeth conceived for a prayer book she created especially for her stepmother, Catherine Parr, as a New Year's gift in 1544. Entitled The Mirror of the Sinful Soul, it was Lady Elizabeth's own English translation of the French verse originally composed by Queen Margaret of Navarre. A friend of Anne Boleyn, the French Queen gave the original manuscript to her and the religious poem was also a favourite of Catherine Parr’s. Today, Elizabeth I’s handmade book is owned by the University of Oxford's Bodleian Library. Etched by gold plated cap ring is "Video et Taceo" - or "I see and I keep silent". This maxim of Elizabeth I signified her moderate political views and cautious approach to foreign affairs.
Patron of Art Edition Elizabeth I Limited Edition 888
This 750 solid gold fountain pen features a barrel and cap in precious lacquer. Hand engraved on its 18 K gold nib is a bejewelled gold crown in which Elizabeth I ascended the throne in 1559. Topping the cap is the Montblanc emblem rendered in shimmering mother-of-pearl. The clip descends from a solid gold Tudor Rose while its embellishment - a princess cut green garnet - reflects the bejewelled crown. The intricate interlaced motif, derived from the needlework cover of The Mirror of the Sinful Soul, beautifies the solid gold cap and barrel. Elizabeth I's "Video et Taceo" maxim is embossed upon the cap ring.
Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award
Celebrating Past and Present
The Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award is presented in 11 countries and represents an exemplary bond forged between past and present and, since its inception in 1992, this merit has been directly linked with the Patron of the Art Edition. The prize, therefore, combines a tribute to an historic patron of the arts while acknowledging a contemporary one. By recognizing the importance of private patronage, the award conveys to the public its crucial role in fostering the arts and culture.
Each recipient of the Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award is chosen by an international jury of artists and receives financial support of € 15.000 in each country for a cultural project of their own choice. Montblanc also presents the honoree and the jury members with the precious Patron of Art Edition. Sought after by collectors around the world, Montblanc's Patron of Art Edition are writing instruments that will last a lifetime. And like every Montblanc writing instrument, these exceptionally handcrafted fountain pens have been created with the highest demand of craftsmanship that has made Montblanc the benchmark for writing culture.
Prized by connoisseurs and avid collectors, the Montblanc Patron of the Art Edition is a commemorative keepsake meant to be passed down through generations. Manufacturing tools, specially developed for the making of every Montblanc Limited Edition, are destroyed at the end of each production run. As a consequence, these intricately handcrafted pens are collector’s items. Limited Editions produced between 1992 and 2000, for example, have sold at auction for sums greatly exceeding their original retail price, ranging from (US) $ 2,200 to (US) $35,000. And nine years after its 1992 debut, Montblanc Patron of the Art Lorenzo de Medici sold at Christie’s in New York for more than six times its initial cost of (US) $1292.00, ultimately fetching (US) $8225.00.
This interesting picture, courtesy of the US Navy, I have posted with a fairly high pixel level so it can be seen very clearly.
The Remote Minehunting System (RMS) and an AN/AQS-20 are brought onboard USS Independence (LCS 2) from the Gulf of Mexico waters on Jan. 7, 2012 during mine countermeasure mission module developmental testing. The two organic mine warfare capabilities were captured by a Twin Boom Extensible Crane (TBEC) onboard the littoral combat ship.
A great example of my daily uniform (for the colder months)
My knit hat, which I wear so often people recognise by me it and don't recognise me without it.
My beige quilted jacket, which is surprisingly warm.
My totally awesome red & white scarf from the Red Cross.
My knit cardigan that's kind of ugly but very, very warm!
My custom messenger bag from Timbuk2.
My painted jeans - that's not painted for art, they were perfectly normal jeans until I splattered them working and now I wear them whenever I'm going to be messy.
My converse all-stars.
Remote Helicopters Australia is a Top End based company covering all aspects of commercial helicopter work including; charter, precision lifting operations, mining and exploration support, aerial filming and photography, firefighting and abatement and feral animal control.
They operate a diverse fleet of turbine Helicopters enabling us to service a wide variety of tasks for our clients.
Safety is paramount. Because of this they use Spidertracks Real Time Aircraft tracking ensuring we know where our aircraft are at all times.
Their machines are maintained to the highest standards and are piloted by a team of highly trained professionals. RHA can provide a helicopter suited for the task you require.
Their main base of operations is located at 7 Mettam Road, Wishart, Darwin (10 km from Darwin’s CBD).
In the days before wire free technology.
One of the old black & white photos now automatically
colourised.
visit colourise.sg/
for free uploads of your B&W photos.
Saab's Remote Tower concept could be exactly what small and medium-sized airports need in order to be competitive. The concept aims at remotely controlling several airports from a single Remote Tower Centre.
The technical solution enables an airport tower to be remotely operated via the digital network. Compressed data from cameras at the airport provides a 360-degree real-time view of the airport at the Remote Tower Centre. The controller working position is equipped with the same controls as in a normal tower.
REPLACED: Some quality improvements necessary for larger printing, and a less panoramic crop.
I got up early today (Wednesday 9/26) and went out on the beach at the north end of Pea Island just below the bridge. If you walk out a ways there is a jetty with a remote automated weather station on it.
I got these out there just before the sun came up.
Another one that looks like HDR, but the light was just right to capture it as a single image.
Olympus OM-D E-M5 and M.Zuiko 9-18mm f/4-5.6 lens and 32x ND filter.
Please visit the Entropic Remnants website or my Entropic Remnants blog -- THANKS!
UPDATE: I've printed this at 36x24 inches on metallic paper and it's hanging in my living room and it's lovely as a large print. One of my favorite landscapes I've taken with the OM-D E-M5.
Have to protect the remote sometimes from the dogs tails...
Added to MSH: Monthly Scavenger Hunt - 3 Bubble Wrap
61 of 118 Pictures in 2018 - Gadget/Contraption
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area biologists are using remote camera traps to study the 2013 Springs Fire's impact on wildlife. These camera traps are located in Rancho Sierra Vista and Point Mugu State Park.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOBn-g5VTfM
This is an obscure little British sci-fi, from producers who did everything but sci-fi before (or after). This might explain why Devil Girl from Mars (DGfM) is such a departure from the usual sci-fi formulae. On the surface of things, DGfM is akin to the usual saucer-alien-invasion motif. That kinship is only skin deep, though. Beneath the surface is a delightfully different movie.
Synopsis
Reports come in of a strange meteor landing the remote area of Scotland. A professor of astrophysics and a newspaper reporter are traveling up from London to find it. They stop for the night at a country inn. Meanwhile, a man who escaped from prison has snuck into the inn to seek help from his girlfriend who works there. Also staying at the inn is a fashion model hiding/sulking from a failed romance, and a young boy, the nephew of the man and woman who run the inn. With a grand flash, a flying saucer lands dramatically near the inn. Inside is Nyah, a tall shapely woman dressed in black leather, a black leather skull cap and long black leather cape. She announces that she's from Mars. The male population has grown weak and feeble on Mars, so they are looking for breeding stock. She's the first of what will be a wave of invaders taking the best men, now her trip has proven the success of "organic metal" ships. The people are powerless to stop her. She cannot be shot or electrocuted. Nyah has a force field around the inn, so no one can escape or get help. Nyah has a big robot which can disintegrate things with his head-beam, so resistance is futile. The professor does some recon aboard the ship. He feels the ship's power source is its achilles heel. The men draw straws to see who will go with Nyah -- essentially a suicide mission to destroy her ship. While they argue, the convict tells Nyah that he's the one. Her ship leaves and blows up high in the sky. The earth is safe. The end.
Sure, it's low on action and very talky. It was adapted from a stage play, after all. But there's just so many little touches in DGfM that are delightful. One thing is the total reversal of the usual they're-after-our-women trope. This is so refreshing. What makes this even more fun is that the men do not act all wolfish and slobbery about being a stud for martian women. Instead, they act like it's exile to Siberian salt mines. This, despite Nyah being a hot chick in her own way. Hollywood could not have done this story. Another very fun visual is Nayh herself, all in black with Vulcan-like eyebrows and stoic demeanor. She's like Spock's evil sister or Darth Vadar's wife. This is just great fun for viewing. The model work and matte art are pretty good for a low-budget B-film.
As mentioned above, DGfM reverses the usual alien agenda. Instead of the ruthless alien trying to take away our curvaceous ladies, a leggy lady arrives to take away earth's hunkiest men.
This isn't treated like the usual adolescent fantasy about being the lone guy in the girls' dorm. No, the men at the Bonnie Charlie Inn regard Nyah's plan as a terrible fate. Perhaps the Brits were able to see beyond their underpants that the martian women's plans would mean the subjugation of the entire earth. There was much more at stake than their own personal gratification. How un-Hollywood!
The writer sets up an interesting contrast between earthly love and the martian woman's buisness-like approach to procreation. Between Robert, the convict and Doris, we see her loyalty and charity. Robert shows a sort of desperate reaching out for help, but then the willingness to sacrifice himself for others. Between the reporter, Michael, and Miss Prestwick, the budding of new romance which softens his cynicism and coaxes her out of her funk over a failed prior romance. Mr. and Mrs. Jamison show parent-like concern of little Tommy. The Professor shows an altruism for mankind. All these earthly manifestations of love stand in contrast to Nyah's passionless approach to duty.
DGfM features a little thing that gets attention in films much later. Her ship is made of "organic metal" which can heal itself. She miscalculated the density of earth's atmosphere, so upon entry a part of her ship broke off. That was the meteor people reported. Nyah had to land in Scotland instead of London, as originally planned, so that her ship could heal itself. In the meantime, she figures to take the best of the men at the inn, just to make the side trip worthwhile. We won't see the concept of organic metal and ships healing themselves until the Alien series in the 90s. Stargate Atlantis has it's Wraith ships which are partially organic too. DGfM might be the first film to feature self-healing ships.
The robot in DGfM is tall, but like many other B-movie robots, it's so slow and clumsy it's hard imagine it inspiring fear. Oh sure, it has its disintegrator beam, but it's even slower than a muzzle-loading musket to fire. Instead of running away (or even just walking away) from it, everyone stands "paralyzed" in fear while the walking refrigerator lumbers up to them. This is necessary, of course, since it's a sound-stage production, not an action film, but it looks a little odd. They could have tackled Nayh and taken away her remote control before robo-fridge could manage turning around. Perhaps in the early 50s the concept of killer robots were more frightening.
Many B-films end on a supposedly happy note when the lone alien is killed, as if there was no other threats out there. DGfM might look like one of these loose-thread flicks, but it's not. Nyah's ship was THE experimental prototype of the organic metal ship. Only such a ship could make the trip from Mars and hold up to our harsh Earth conditions. She said that when she returns to Mars, it will prove the success of the organic metal and a whole fleet of ship will be built like hers. By Robert blowing up her ship, the Martians will assume the organic metal ship was a failure and not re-try Nayh's organic metal approach. This buys Earth much needed time. All this assumes Nayh had no radio chats with Mars once she got here. A naive assumption.
Bottom line? Devil Girl is certainly worth watching, not for the effects or action, but just for the sheer role-reversal aspect.
Full sized remote controlled digger. Remote control by Laing Plc. Lightweight artificial rocks by artificialrocks.co.uk.
Many of these electricity boxes have been painted, they add lovely colours to the otherwise grey streets of the city.
While COVID-19 makes it hazardous to approach strangers; I have decided to start on this new project of photographing electricity boxes in Helsinki.
"Gokhan Burhan is a visual artist and designer.
Making collages, prints and paintings with a focus on typography and abstraction.
Graphic design and illustrations for various projects with a diverse selection of clients.
He has lived and worked in Istanbul, London and Helsinki."
Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Maughon, right, the master gunner for Company C, 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division and Staff Sgt. Scott Colson, left, a tank commander in Company C, 2nd Bn. 12th Cav. Regt. remote fire a tank during calibration fire at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, Oct. 1. (U.S. Army photo by Capt. John Farmer, 1st BCT, 1st CD Public Affairs).
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area biologists are using remote camera traps to study the 2013 Springs Fire's impact on wildlife. These camera traps are located in Rancho Sierra Vista and Point Mugu State Park. This is a bobcat.
Maybe Kate Bush is right? www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-28854330
As someone who has been known to take the odd shot at a gig, I'm in two minds as to whether Kate Bush was right to ask fans not to take photos at her upcoming gigs.
Every single one of Ed Sheerans fans has their eyes locked on their phone here and he's standing right in front of them. A happy medium would be great but all it takes is for one person to ruin it for everyone.
My homemade wired remote I made for my Rebel XTi. It's made entirely out of parts from Radio Shack and is MUCH cheaper than Canon's wired remote.
Project box $2.29
Switch $2.99
2x button = $4.58
Cable $5.49
Not shown: Right-Angle 3/32" Stereo Headset Plug, cat no. 274-298, $2.79
Wire + Solder = negligible cost.
Total = $18.14 if you have all the necessary tools (drill with 1/2" and 3/4" bits, soldering iron, screwdriver, needle-nose pliers may be needed for wire manipulation)
In contrast: Canon Remote Switch RS-60E3 = $30.00
Graveyard of the Garasia people.
Garasia, an interesting ethnic group inhabiting the Aravali foothills of remote Sabarkatha district in Gujarat has a curious history. Though a depressed class and classified as a de-notified tribe, the Garasias resembles closely with the advanced Rajput clans in many ways. Due to these, the British administration had even categorized the Garasias as a branch of Rajputs who were petty land holders. Even today amidst poverty and deep isolation I was surprised to see Garasias not only as prime agriculturalists but also holders of large chunk of lands in the remote slopes of Aravali Mountains. Their houses are widely dispersed each surround by a large farmstead.
Yet the Garasias are poor and deprived of basic services like, health, education
and safe drinking water. Farming is mostly rain fed. According to historical records, in colonial India as land became scarce both through colonial expansion and slash-and-burn agriculture Garasias became further marginalized and associated themselves with Bhils, a more primitive tribal group. The nationalist movement created further division between groups as the Rajput identity was grounded in traditional customs and their heritage as rulers.
Garasias of Sabarkatha form two distinct groups – the Garasia Rajputs and the
Garasia Bhils.
The Garasia Rajputs: In the medieval time the Rajputs from Rajasthan and surrounding plains of Gujarat had appropriated Bhil territories and in part to strengthen their rule and maintain peace, some of them married to Bhil women.
Their offspring formed a distinct caste – the Garasia Rajputs. They served as delegates between the ruling Rajputs and Bhils. The Garasia Rajputs are a lower
status caste than the Rajputs but consider themselves higher to Bhils with whom
they do not inter marry. Garasia Rajputs see themselves as tribalized Rajputs and they believe that that their Rajput ancestors moved to remote forest to avoid subjugation by a conquering group.
The Garasia Bhils: The Garasia Bhils are those who married to Bhil women and were not accepted into Garasia society because of the lower status of the Bhils. The Bhil Garasias are also called Dungri Garasias.
The Garasias live mostly in huts consisting of two/three rooms with mud wall partitions. The roofs are built of flat tiled roofs. There is a smaller hut attached to the main one meant for cattle. However, for the other animals like goats and hens there
are open air facilities. The Garasia women are known for their colourful attires and silver jewellery. Dhols (drums) and bow-arrows are also part of the material culture of the Garasias.
The huts belonging to various families are widely dispersed and there is no central place where people can meet together. I visited a few houses in the village and while interacting with the inhabitants I discovered the gender divisions - women’s responsibility include cooking, tending to cattle, milking the animals and looking after the children. The men do the physical labour such as ploughing, harvesting and building the houses. There is a strong prevalence of joint family system though there is very little unity or cooperation between the village clans.