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requested.. i somewhat like it... the shadow looks cool i suppose.. and jordin is as pretty as ever <3
(title as requested by my wife)
A sunken river/barge boat in a waterway close to the Mississippi River in Louisiana.
An Air Force Lockheed Martin F-22 "Raptor" assigned to the 3rd Wing flies over Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Feb. 27, 2018. The Lockheed Martin F-22 "Raptor" is the U.S. Air Force’s premium fifth-generation fighter asset.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Lockheed Martin F-22 "Raptor" is a fifth-generation, single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). The result of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, the aircraft was designed primarily as an air superiority fighter, but also has ground attack, electronic warfare, and signal intelligence capabilities. The prime contractor, Lockheed Martin, built most of the F-22's airframe and weapons systems and conducted final assembly, while Boeing provided the wings, aft fuselage, avionics integration, and training systems.
The aircraft was variously designated F-22 and F/A-22 before it formally entered service in December 2005 as the F-22A. Despite its protracted development and various operational issues, USAF officials consider the F-22 a critical component of the service's tactical air power. Its combination of stealth, aerodynamic performance, and situational awareness enable unprecedented air combat capabilities.
Service officials had originally planned to buy a total of 750 ATFs. In 2009, the program was cut to 187 operational production aircraft due to high costs, a lack of clear air-to-air missions due to delays in Russian and Chinese fighter programs, a ban on exports, and development of the more versatile F-35. The last F-22 was delivered in 2012.
Development
Origins
In 1981, the U.S. Air Force identified a requirement for an Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) to replace the F-15 "Eagle" and F-16 "Fighting Falcon". Code named "Senior Sky", this air-superiority fighter program was influenced by emerging worldwide threats, including new developments in Soviet air defense systems and the proliferation of the Su-27 "Flanker"- and MiG-29 "Fulcrum"-class of fighter aircraft. It would take advantage of the new technologies in fighter design on the horizon, including composite materials, lightweight alloys, advanced flight control systems, more powerful propulsion systems, and most importantly, stealth technology. In 1983, the ATF concept development team became the System Program Office (SPO) and managed the program at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The demonstration and validation (Dem/Val) request for proposals (RFP) was issued in September 1985, with requirements placing strong emphasis on stealth and supercruise. Of the seven bidding companies, Lockheed and Northrop were selected on 31 October 1986. Lockheed teamed with Boeing and General Dynamics while Northrop teamed with McDonnell Douglas, and the two contractor teams undertook a 50-month Dem/Val phase, culminating in the flight test of two technology demonstrator prototypes, the YF-22 and the YF-23, respectively.
Dem/Val was focused on risk reduction and technology development plans over specific aircraft designs. Contractors made extensive use of analytical and empirical methods, including computational fluid dynamics, wind-tunnel testing, and radar cross-section calculations and pole testing; the Lockheed team would conduct nearly 18,000 hours of wind-tunnel testing. Avionics development was marked by extensive testing and prototyping and supported by ground and flying laboratories. During Dem/Val, the SPO used the results of performance and cost trade studies conducted by contractor teams to adjust ATF requirements and delete ones that were significant weight and cost drivers while having marginal value. The short takeoff and landing (STOL) requirement was relaxed in order to delete thrust-reversers, saving substantial weight. As avionics was a major cost driver, side-looking radars were deleted, and the dedicated infra-red search and track (IRST) system was downgraded from multi-color to single color and then deleted as well. However, space and cooling provisions were retained to allow for future addition of these components. The ejection seat requirement was downgraded from a fresh design to the existing McDonnell Douglas ACES II. Despite efforts by the contractor teams to rein in weight, the takeoff gross weight estimate was increased from 50,000 lb (22,700 kg) to 60,000 lb (27,200 kg), resulting in engine thrust requirement increasing from 30,000 lbf (133 kN) to 35,000 lbf (156 kN) class.
Each team produced two prototype air vehicles for Dem/Val, one for each of the two engine options. The YF-22 had its maiden flight on 29 September 1990 and in flight tests achieved up to Mach 1.58 in supercruise. After the Dem/Val flight test of the prototypes, on 23 April 1991, Secretary of the USAF Donald Rice announced the Lockheed team as the winner of the ATF competition. The YF-23 design was considered stealthier and faster, while the YF-22, with its thrust vectoring nozzles, was more maneuverable as well as less expensive and risky. The aviation press speculated that the Lockheed team's design was also more adaptable to the U.S. Navy's Navalized Advanced Tactical Fighter (NATF), but by 1992, the Navy had abandoned NATF.
Production and procurement
As the program moved to full-scale development, or the Engineering & Manufacturing Development (EMD) stage, the production version had notable differences from the YF-22, despite having a broadly similar shape. The swept-back angle of the leading edge was decreased from 48° to 42°, while the vertical stabilizers were shifted rearward and decreased in area by 20%. To improve pilot visibility, the canopy was moved forward 7 inches (18 cm), and the engine intakes moved rearward 14 inches (36 cm). The shapes of the wing and stabilator trailing edges were refined to improve aerodynamics, strength, and stealth characteristics. Increasing weight during development caused slight reductions in range and maneuver performance.
Prime contractor Lockheed Martin Aeronautics manufactured the majority of the airframe and performed final assembly at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Georgia; program partner Boeing Defense, Space & Security provided additional airframe components as well as avionics integration and training systems. The first F-22, an EMD aircraft with tail number 4001, was unveiled at Marietta, Georgia, on 9 April 1997, and first flew on 7 September 1997. Production, with the first lot awarded in September 2000, supported over 1,000 subcontractors and suppliers from 46 states and up to 95,000 jobs, and spanned 15 years at a peak rate of roughly two airplanes per month. In 2006, the F-22 development team won the Collier Trophy, American aviation's most prestigious award. Due to the aircraft's advanced nature, contractors have been targeted by cyberattacks and technology theft.
The USAF originally envisioned ordering 750 ATFs at a total program cost of $44.3 billion and procurement cost of $26.2 billion in fiscal year (FY) 1985 dollars, with production beginning in 1994. The 1990 Major Aircraft Review led by Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney reduced this to 648 aircraft beginning in 1996. By 1997, funding instability had further cut the total to 339, which was again reduced to 277 by 2003. In 2004, the Department of Defense (DoD) further reduced this to 183 operational aircraft, despite the USAF's preference for 381. A multi-year procurement plan was implemented in 2006 to save $15 billion, with total program cost projected to be $62 billion for 183 F-22s distributed to seven combat squadrons. In 2008, Congress passed a defense spending bill that raised the total orders for production aircraft to 187.
The first two F-22s built were EMD aircraft in the Block 1.0 configuration for initial flight testing, while the third was a Block 2.0 aircraft built to represent the internal structure of production airframes and enabled it to test full flight loads. Six more EMD aircraft were built in the Block 10 configuration for development and upgrade testing, with the last two considered essentially production quality jets. Production for operational squadrons consisted of 37 Block 20 training aircraft and 149 Block 30/35 combat aircraft; one of the Block 35 aircraft is dedicated to flight sciences at Edwards Air Force Base.
The numerous new technologies in the F-22 resulted in substantial cost overruns and delays. Many capabilities were deferred to post-service upgrades, reducing the initial cost but increasing total program cost. As production wound down in 2011, the total program cost is estimated to be about $67.3 billion, with $32.4 billion spent on Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) and $34.9 billion on procurement and military construction (MILCON) in then year dollars. The incremental cost for an additional F-22 was estimated at about $138 million in 2009.
Ban on exports
The F-22 cannot be exported under US federal law to protect its stealth technology and other high-tech features. Customers for U.S. fighters are acquiring earlier designs such as the F-15 "Eagle" and F-16 "Fighting Falcon" or the newer F-35 "Lightning II", which contains technology from the F-22 but was designed to be cheaper, more flexible, and available for export. In September 2006, Congress upheld the ban on foreign F-22 sales. Despite the ban, the 2010 defense authorization bill included provisions requiring the DoD to prepare a report on the costs and feasibility for an F-22 export variant, and another report on the effect of F-22 export sales on U.S. aerospace industry.
Some Australian politicians and defense commentators proposed that Australia should attempt to purchase F-22s instead of the planned F-35s, citing the F-22's known capabilities and F-35's delays and developmental uncertainties. However, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) determined that the F-22 was unable to perform the F-35's strike and close air support roles. The Japanese government also showed interest in the F-22 for its Replacement-Fighter program. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) would reportedly require fewer fighters for its mission if it obtained the F-22, thus reducing engineering and staffing costs. However, in 2009 it was reported that acquiring the F-22 would require increases to the Japanese government's defense budget beyond the historical 1 percent of its GDP. With the end of F-22 production, Japan chose the F-35 in December 2011. Israel also expressed interest, but eventually chose the F-35 because of the F-22's price and unavailability.
Production termination
Throughout the 2000s, the need for F-22s was debated, due to rising costs and the lack of relevant adversaries. In 2006, Comptroller General of the United States David Walker found that "the DoD has not demonstrated the need" for more investment in the F-22, and further opposition to the program was expressed by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon R. England, Senator John McCain, and Chairman of U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services Senator John Warner. The F-22 program lost influential supporters in 2008 after the forced resignations of Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force General T. Michael Moseley.
In November 2008, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates stated that the F-22 was not relevant in post-Cold War conflicts such as irregular warfare operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in April 2009, under the new Obama Administration, he called for ending production in FY2011, leaving the USAF with 187 production aircraft. In July, General James Cartwright, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated to the Senate Committee on Armed Services his reasons for supporting termination of F-22 production. They included shifting resources to the multirole F-35 to allow proliferation of fifth-generation fighters for three service branches and preserving the F/A-18 production line to maintain the military's electronic warfare (EW) capabilities in the Boeing EA-18G "Growler". Issues with the F-22's reliability and availability also raised concerns. After President Obama threatened to veto further production, the Senate voted in July 2009 in favor of ending production and the House subsequently agreed to abide by the 187 production aircraft cap. Gates stated that the decision was taken in light of the F-35's capabilities, and in 2010, he set the F-22 requirement to 187 aircraft by lowering the number of major regional conflict preparations from two to one.
In 2010, USAF initiated a study to determine the costs of retaining F-22 tooling for a future Service Life Extension Program (SLEP). A RAND Corporation paper from this study estimated that restarting production and building an additional 75 F-22s would cost $17 billion, resulting in $227 million per aircraft, or $54 million higher than the flyaway cost. Lockheed Martin stated that restarting the production line itself would cost about $200 million. Production tooling and associated documentation were subsequently stored at the Sierra Army Depot, allowing the retained tooling to support the fleet life cycle. There were reports that attempts to retrieve this tooling found empty containers, but a subsequent audit found that the tooling was stored as expected.
Russian and Chinese fighter developments have fueled concern, and in 2009, General John Corley, head of Air Combat Command, stated that a fleet of 187 F-22s would be inadequate, but Secretary Gates dismissed General Corley's concern. In 2011, Gates explained that Chinese fifth-generation fighter developments had been accounted for when the number of F-22s was set, and that the U.S. would have a considerable advantage in stealth aircraft in 2025, even with F-35 delays. In December 2011, the 195th and final F-22 was completed out of 8 test EMD and 187 operational aircraft produced; the aircraft was delivered to the USAF on 2 May 2012.
In April 2016, the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee proposed legislation that would direct the Air Force to conduct a cost study and assessment associated with resuming production of the F-22. Since the production halt directed in 2009 by then Defense Secretary Gates, lawmakers and the Pentagon noted that air warfare systems of Russia and China were catching up to those of the U.S. Lockheed Martin has proposed upgrading the Block 20 training aircraft into combat-coded Block 30/35 versions as a way to increase numbers available for deployment. On 9 June 2017, the Air Force submitted their report to Congress stating they had no plans to restart the F-22 production line due to economic and operational issues; it estimated it would cost approximately $50 billion to procure 194 additional F-22s at a cost of $206–$216 million per aircraft, including approximately $9.9 billion for non-recurring start-up costs and $40.4 billion for aircraft procurement costs.
Upgrades
The first aircraft with combat-capable Block 3.0 software flew in 2001. Increment 2, the first upgrade program, was implemented in 2005 for Block 20 aircraft onward and enabled the employment of Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM). Certification of the improved AN/APG-77(V)1 radar was completed in March 2007, and airframes from production Lot 5 onward are fitted with this radar, which incorporates air-to-ground modes. Increment 3.1 for Block 30 aircraft onward provided improved ground-attack capability through synthetic aperture radar mapping and radio emitter direction finding, electronic attack and Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) integration; testing began in 2009 and the first upgraded aircraft was delivered in 2011. To address oxygen deprivation issues, F-22s were fitted with an automatic backup oxygen system (ABOS) and modified life support system starting in 2012.
Increment 3.2 for Block 35 aircraft is a two-part upgrade process; 3.2A focuses on electronic warfare, communications and identification, while 3.2B includes geolocation improvements and a new stores management system to show the correct symbols for the AIM-9X and AIM-120D. To enable two-way communication with other platforms, the F-22 can use the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) as a gateway. The planned Multifunction Advanced Data Link (MADL) integration was cut due to development delays and lack of proliferation among USAF platforms. The F-22 fleet is planned to start receiving Increment 3.2B as well as a software upgrade for cryptography capabilities and avionics stability in May 2019. A Multifunctional Information Distribution System-Joint (MIDS-J) radio that replaces the current Link-16 receive-only box is expected to be operational by 2020. Subsequent upgrades are also focusing on having an open architecture to enable faster future enhancements.
In 2024, funding is projected to begin for the F-22 mid-life upgrade (MLU), which is expected to include new sensors and antennas, hardware refresh, cockpit improvements, and a helmet mounted display and cuing system. Other enhancements being developed include IRST functionality for the AN/AAR-56 Missile Launch Detector (MLD) and more durable stealth coating based on the F-35's.
The F-22 was designed for a service life of 8,000 flight hours, with a $350 million "structures retrofit program". Investigations are being made for upgrades to extend their useful lives further. In the long term, the F-22 is expected to be superseded by a sixth-generation jet fighter to be fielded in the 2030s.
Design
Overview
The F-22 "Raptor" is a fifth-generation fighter that is considered fourth generation in stealth aircraft technology by the USAF. It is the first operational aircraft to combine supercruise, supermaneuverability, stealth, and sensor fusion in a single weapons platform. The F-22 has four empennage surfaces, retractable tricycle landing gear, and clipped delta wings with reverse trailing edge sweep and leading edge extensions running to the upper outboard corner of the inlets. Flight control surfaces include leading-edge flaps, flaperons, ailerons, rudders on the canted vertical stabilizers, and all-moving horizontal tails (stabilators); for speed brake function, the ailerons deflect up, flaperons down, and rudders outwards to increase drag.
The aircraft's dual Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 augmented turbofan engines are closely spaced and incorporate pitch-axis thrust vectoring nozzles with a range of ±20 degrees; each engine has maximum thrust in the 35,000 lbf (156 kN) class. The F-22's thrust-to-weight ratio at typical combat weight is nearly at unity in maximum military power and 1.25 in full afterburner. Maximum speed without external stores is approximately Mach 1.8 at military power and greater than Mach 2 with afterburners.
The F-22's high cruise speed and operating altitude over prior fighters improve the effectiveness of its sensors and weapon systems, and increase survivability against ground defenses such as surface-to-air missiles. The aircraft is among only a few that can supercruise, or sustain supersonic flight without using fuel-inefficient afterburners; it can intercept targets which subsonic aircraft would lack the speed to pursue and an afterburner-dependent aircraft would lack the fuel to reach. The F-22's thrust and aerodynamics enable regular combat speeds of Mach 1.5 at 50,000 feet (15,000 m). The use of internal weapons bays permits the aircraft to maintain comparatively higher performance over most other combat-configured fighters due to a lack of aerodynamic drag from external stores. The aircraft's structure contains a significant amount of high-strength materials to withstand stress and heat of sustained supersonic flight. Respectively, titanium alloys and composites comprise 39% and 24% of the structural weight.
The F-22's aerodynamics, relaxed stability, and powerful thrust-vectoring engines give it excellent maneuverability and energy potential across its flight envelope. The airplane has excellent high alpha (angle of attack) characteristics, capable of flying at trimmed alpha of over 60° while maintaining roll control and performing maneuvers such as the Herbst maneuver (J-turn) and Pugachev's Cobra. The flight control system and full-authority digital engine control (FADEC) make the aircraft highly departure resistant and controllable, thus giving the pilot carefree handling.
Stealth
The F-22 was designed to be highly difficult to detect and track by radar. Measures to reduce radar cross-section (RCS) include airframe shaping such as alignment of edges, fixed-geometry serpentine inlets and curved vanes that prevent line-of-sight of the engine faces and turbines from any exterior view, use of radar-absorbent material (RAM), and attention to detail such as hinges and pilot helmets that could provide a radar return. The F-22 was also designed to have decreased radio emissions, infrared signature and acoustic signature as well as reduced visibility to the naked eye. The aircraft's flat thrust-vectoring nozzles reduce infrared emissions of the exhaust plume to mitigate the threat of infrared homing ("heat seeking") surface-to-air or air-to-air missiles. Additional measures to reduce the infrared signature include special topcoat and active cooling of leading edges to manage the heat buildup from supersonic flight.
Compared to previous stealth designs like the F-117, the F-22 is less reliant on RAM, which are maintenance-intensive and susceptible to adverse weather conditions. Unlike the B-2, which requires climate-controlled hangars, the F-22 can undergo repairs on the flight line or in a normal hangar. The F-22 has a Signature Assessment System which delivers warnings when the radar signature is degraded and necessitates repair. While the F-22's exact RCS is classified, in 2009 Lockheed Martin released information indicating that from certain angles the aircraft has an RCS of 0.0001 m² or −40 dBsm – equivalent to the radar reflection of a "steel marble". Effectively maintaining the stealth features can decrease the F-22's mission capable rate to 62–70%.
The effectiveness of the stealth characteristics is difficult to gauge. The RCS value is a restrictive measurement of the aircraft's frontal or side area from the perspective of a static radar. When an aircraft maneuvers it exposes a completely different set of angles and surface area, potentially increasing radar observability. Furthermore, the F-22's stealth contouring and radar absorbent materials are chiefly effective against high-frequency radars, usually found on other aircraft. The effects of Rayleigh scattering and resonance mean that low-frequency radars such as weather radars and early-warning radars are more likely to detect the F-22 due to its physical size. However, such radars are also conspicuous, susceptible to clutter, and have low precision. Additionally, while faint or fleeting radar contacts make defenders aware that a stealth aircraft is present, reliably vectoring interception to attack the aircraft is much more challenging. According to the USAF an F-22 surprised an Iranian F-4 "Phantom II" that was attempting to intercept an American UAV, despite Iran's assertion of having military VHF radar coverage over the Persian Gulf.
Aircraft: 1942 North American P-51C Mustang (NL61429)
Unit: CAF red Tail squadron
Base: Front Range Airport, CO
Website: One Mile High Photography
Facebook: www.facebook.com/OneMileHighPhotography
Requested by Lite.
I also used Jalopy's pic for a reference for the face
All Sizes for better quality
I get some odd requests sometimes. Perhaps the oddest was to create a Jaguar E-Type hearse.
At that point, either I was speaking to someone a little bit crazy, or there was something else going on that I didn't know about.
Thankfully it was the second.
See, there's a movie called 'Harold & Maude' - Great, but I hadn't heard of it or seen it. A black comedy, but then, it was also filmed before I was born.
I still haven't seen it, but at least someone else had been presented with the challenge to also recreate the E-Type Hearse, though in full-scale.
There is an excellent article published through Petrolicious about the real car and the reproduction:
petrolicious.com/articles/building-this-jaguar-e-type-hea...
For me though, I just needed to make a Lego Jaguar E-Type Hearse, which I have, to the 101st LUGNuts Build Challenge theme: 'A Matter of Life and Death'.
Just in time for Halloween.
A request from the lovely Tadge.
I do enjoy wearing this dress very much.
Hope you aren't getting bored of me in it?
Only a selection of images from each photo-shoot are posted here. If you'd like to see additional images from certain models you'll need to subscribe to my Patreon account where I will be publishing content I don't post here. You'll also have the option to make fan requests for more photos, or new photo-shoots, with your favourite models. My subscription rates are very low , staring from only $1/month, so check it out as I could really do with your support. - www.patreon.com/realitydysfunction
Instagram: @realitydysfunction www.instagram.com/realitydysfunction
Various photoshop brushes
A humble request to all of my contacts to check out the group [www.flickr.com/groups/smoke_and_mirrors], become a member, see the most amazing smoke manipulation group online and help us pick the best image for the year 2012.
www.flickr.com/groups/smoke_and_mirrors/discuss/721576287...
Thanks in advance! :)
A customer requested that we design a bullpup semi-auto sniper rifle. So we did just that. We designed the rifle with ergonomics in mind. The ideal cartridge in mind was the .308 Win, for power, availability and speed. One of our designers came back with a futuristic design. We loved it and gave it the ok. Two weeks later a prototype is built and ready for field testing. So we sent another member who loves sniper rifles to do the testing. 100 shots, 3 inch grouping at one mile. With that data the rifle would go into mass production stages. Our customer would get the first order of 20 rifles.
Rifle Statistics:
Materiel: Titanium Alloy with polycarbonate accents
Length: 1100mm (1300mm incl. silencer)
Weight: 9 kilos
Caliber: .308 Win
Configuration: Bullpup
Mag Cap: 25 round box mag
Cost: $30,000 or €20.785
Reserve order only.
I really don't have anything better to do, so I remade it. The additions may look like crap, since I had to shoop them on. The pastie I have is fucked up, since it spawns an M200 in the top right corner, which I can't remove from the pastie or I'll get error #1085.
PLEASE VIEW ALL SIZES, IT HAS SOME GREAT DETAILS ON IT
Credits:
Duke for his bipod which I should've recolored more.
Jake for the description.
Please note that this is NOT my design, it was made by Lemon's Revenge, AKA Athena32. www.halofanon.wikia.com/wiki/User:Athena32
Feel free to comment.
Amy
To all my fans! By popular request! The exalted goddess is a famous model with a major agency! She was tall, thin, fit, defined, and toned! Pretty, piercing blue eyes set against wavy brown hair! And she was a lot of fun--lots of stories and laughs during and after the shoot! Wish you'd been there!
Here're a couple of videos I shot while shooting stills, with the awesome NEX-6 and a 50 mm Prime f/1.8 lens for the rich/creamy video bokeh!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzbV8ArnBnY
Watch the gorgeous model in the Full 1080P HD she deserves! I shot the video at 60p and slowed it down to 24p in post in adobe premiere 6.0. :)
Also had a B&H CP (Circular Polarizer) on both the 70-200 mm Nikon D800 lens and the 50mm e-mount lens on the Sony NEX6.
Awesome "magic hour" light and feel in the January AM due to the strange cloudy/sunny weather! That's the glorious fun of shooting at the Malibu beach! Forecasts mean nothing (they predicted sun, sun, sun), and you have to have fun adpating to the world's greatest studio with the world's greatest lights (the sun in all its manifestations), props, and backdrops!
Combine the 50mm lens's optical steady shot (OSS) and the shallow-depth-of-field of the F/1.8 with Sony NEX-6 latest face-tracking auto focus, and you can see how the moving video keeps the model's pretty blue eyes in focus, while blurring the background!
She was tall, thin, fit, toned, defined, and beautiful!
Modeling the Gold 45 Revolver(TM) Gold'N'Virtue(TM) Bikini!
Nikon D800 Photographs of a Beautiful Wavy-HAired Brunette Swimsuit Bikini Model shot with the new Nikon D800 and Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II AF-S Nikkor Zoom Lens.
Shot in both RAW & JPEG, but all these photos are RAWs finished in Lightroom 4 ! :)
May the HJM Goddesses guide, inspire, and exalt ye along yer heroic artistic journey! Best wishes from Johnny Ranger McCoy!
The school that I attended in Omaha, 1955-56.
**********************************
Some of the photos in this album are “originals” from the year that my family spent in Omaha in 1955-56. But the final 10 color photos were taken nearly 40 years later, as part of some research that I was doing for a novel called Do-Overs, the beginning of which can be found here on my website
www.yourdon.com/personal/fiction/doovers/index.html
and the relevant chapter (concerning Omaha) can be found here:
www.yourdon.com/personal/fiction/doovers/chapters/ch9.html
Before I get into the details, let me make a strong request — if you’re looking at these photos, and if you are getting any enjoyment at all of this brief look at some mundane Americana from 60+ years ago: find a similar episode in your own life, and write it down. Gather the pictures, clean them up, and upload them somewhere on the Internet where they can be found. Trust me: there will come a day when the only person on the planet who actually experienced those events is you. Your own memories may be fuzzy and incomplete; but they will be invaluable to your friends and family members, and to many generations of your descendants.
So, what do I remember about the year that I spent in Omaha? Not much at the moment, though I’m sure more details will occur to me in the days to come — and I’ll add them to these notes, along with additional photos that I’m tweaking and editing now.
For now, here is a random list of things I remember:
1. I attended the last couple months of 6th grade, and all of 7th grade, in one school. My parents moved from Omaha to Long Island, NY in the spring of my 7th grade school year; but unlike previous years, they made arrangements for me to stay with a neighbor’s family, so that I could finish the school year before joining them in New York.
2. Our dog, Blackie, traveled with us from our previous home in Riverside, and was with us until my parents left Omaha for New York; at that point, they gave him to some other family. For some reason, this had almost no impact on me. It was a case of “out of sight, out of mind” — when Blackie was gone, I spent my final three months in Omaha without ever thinking about him again.
3. Most days, I rode my bike to school; but Omaha was the place where one of my sisters first started attending first grade — in the same school where I was attending 6th grade. I remember walking her to school along Bellevue Avenue on the first morning, which seemed to take forever: it was about a mile away.
4. As noted in a previous Flickr album about my year in Riverside, I was a year younger than my classmates; but I was tall for my age, and thus looked “normal” at a quick glance. But because I was a year younger, I was incredibly shy and awkward in the presence of girls. Omaha was certainly not “sin city,” but by 6th grade and 7th grade, puberty was beginning to hit, and the girls had grown to the point where they were occasionally interested in boys. The school tried to accommodate this social development by teaching us the square dance (and forbidding the playing of songs by Elvis Presley, whose music was just beginning to be heard on the radio). I was an awful dancer, and even more of a shy misfit than my classmates; I continue to be an awful dancer today.
5. My bike ride to school was uneventful most days; but the final part of the ride was a steep downhill stretch on Avery Road, lasting three or four blocks. My friends and I usually raced downhill as fast as we could; but one day, my front bicycle wheel began to wobble on the downhill run, and my bike drifted uncontrollably to the side of the road and then off into a ditch. I got banged up pretty badly.
6. But this accident was nothing compared to my worst mishap: a neighborhood friend and I enjoyed playing “cowboys and Indians” in the woods near his home (and his younger brother usually tagged along). I had a bow and a few arrows for our adventure, and we often shot at trees a hundred feet away. Unfortunately, the arrows often disappeared into the underbrush (because we were lousy shots) and were difficult to find. Consequently, one of us came up with the clever idea of standing behind the “target” tree, so that we could see where the randomly-shot arrows landed. Through a series of miscommunications, I poked my head out from behind the tree just as my friend shot one of the arrows … and it skipped off the side of the tree and into my face, impaling itself into my cheek bone about an inch below my eye. An inch higher, and I would not be typing these words … (meanwhile, my friend's younger brother grew up to be an officer in the U.S. Air Force, and he tracked me down on the Internet, decades later).
7. In the summer of 1956, my parents decided to spend their summer vacation prospecting for uranium (seriously!) in the remote hills of eastern Utah, where my dad had grown up on the Utah-Colorado border. This entailed a long, long drive from Omaha; and it involved leaving me and my two sisters with my grandparents near Vernal, UT. My grandparents lived in a very small mining village outside of Vernal; and while they had electricity and various other modern conveniences, they also had an outhouse in the back yard. Trips to the “bathroom” in the middle of the night were quite an adventure. On the way back to Omaha at the end of this vacation trip (with no uranium ore having been found), we stopped for a couple of days of camping somewhere in the mountains of Colorado; you’ll see a couple of photos from that camping trip in this album.
8. There were no lizards in Omaha, and thus no opportunity for lizard-hunting with my slingshot—which had been a significant hobby in my previous homes in Riverside and Roswell. Indeed, there was almost nothing to shoot at … and I couldn’t find anyone with whom I could play (and hopefully win) marbles, to use as slingshot ammunition. But for reasons I never questioned or investigated (but about which I’m very curious now), there was a small vineyard in the field behind our house, and I was able to climb over the fence and retrieve dozens of small, hard, green grapes. They turned out to be excellent ammunition … but I never did find any lizards.
9. A few months before my parents left for New York, I told them about the latest craze sweeping the neighborhood: “English bikes,” with three speeds, thin tires, and hand-brakes. I desperately wanted one, but Dad said it was far too expensive for him to buy as a frivolous gift for me: at the time, English bikes had an outrageous price tag of $25. I was told that I would have to earn the money myself if I wanted one … and the going rate for young, scrawny kids who shoveled sidewalks, pulled weeds from gardens, and did babysitting chores, was 25 cents per hour. That works out to 100 hours of work … but I did it, over the course of the next few months, and when I got to New York, the first thing I did was buy my English bike.
10. Toward the end of my 7th-grade school year, everyone in my class was subjected to a vision test: we were lined up in alphabetical order, and one-by-one read off a series of letters that we could barely see on a large placard taped onto the classroom blackboard. Because my surname starts with a “Y,” I was usually near the end of the line … and by the time I got to the front, I had usually memorized the letters (because they never bothered to change them, from one student to the next) without even realizing it consciously. But on this particular occasion in 7th grade, for some reason, they decided to line us up in reverse alphabetical order … and I was the first in line. For the first time in my life, I realized that I could not see anything of the letters, and that I was woefully near-sighted. When I got to New York, my parents took me to an optometrist to get my first set of glasses (and, yes, all of the neighborhood kids did begin taunting me immediately: “Four eyes! Four eyes!”) … and I’ve worn glasses ever since.
11. Three years after I arrived in New York, the glasses saved my vision when a home-brewed mix of gunpowder and powdered aluminum blew up in my face in the school chemistry lab (where I had an after-school volunteer job as a “lab assistant”). I suffered 2nd-degree burns on my face from the explosion, but the glasses protected my eyes. That, however, is a different story for a different time.
She requested a shot same as Robyn so here it goes...modified the angle a bit. Did you notice that the lamp is still at the frame same as Robyns shoot? Hehe
See it here
www.flickr.com/photos/chixsenz/4744078295/in/set-72157623...
How do I edit?
Rule 3: Get everything correct in editing camera raw and the minor details in photoshop.
I had a request from an admirer for a photo of my painted toes and an anklet under my pantyhose. Here is my favorite silver anklet under L'eggs Silken Mist Black Mist nylon. I love how my toes look here.
As requested, a reproduction of the LEGO marketing shot, using my 1/2 scale replicas.
(A full layout shot with streets and cars and stuff is coming in a few weeks)
wearing an awesome godesia romper. emily was kind enough to make one for us in a special color combo. the girls love it!
If you would like to request license options on my images please contact me directly
All images on this blog are copyright protected, registered with the US Copyright Office, and vigorously protected. In order to avoid what could be costly contact for you with my attorney, get my written permission before any use, additionally any approved web use of this image is also required to be linked to this URL and properly credited. NO commercial use is allowed without my written approval and compensation. Images are protected and their use is tracked.
SP33, the midday Sydney to Canberra Xplorer, stops at Mittagong.
The semaphore signal visible is one of three semaphores remaining at Mittagong. The signal was used to authorise down trains into the now removed up refuge.
The disused brick platform visible on the left was the dock platform.
Mittagong, NSW.
Sunday, 28 August 2022.
My boss has asked me to go in to the office today. He says he would like my assistance with something he found hard. He would like my input, well I think that’s what he means, he definitely said something about input
Thought this outfit looked professional
Random photo :3
Just wondered if you guys had any dolls or photoshoots you want to see from me! I have a bit of time as I'm still on Xmas holidays so yeahh, please leave a comment!:D
Just the latest pic taken today on request of the nice people at Velocity USA who want to feature it on their site. New additions since last shown is a Campag Centaur skeleton brake caliper and those simply awesome skinny Primo Champ tyres (.75") - more often seen gracing racing wheelchairs. Thought the low angle might make it seem more imposing and scary. Poor thing's had enough of cute!
A request was made in 1941 for further, new C17 class locomotives and the specifications were forwarded to the United States where the United States Army Transportation Corps (USATC) drew up plans for a 2-8-2 with specifications similar to a C17 class. The locomotives are also known is United States of America as USATC S118 Class steam locomotives. These locomotives were intended as a standard design for use on narrow gauge railways in other parts of the world as a wartime measure. Thus twenty engines obtained from the United States under Lend-Lease arrangements and later purchased. They were the only ones of their type to come to Australia out of a total of 741 similar engines built for USATC. They were unloaded in Sydney in 1943 and railed to Brisbane for assembly.[1][2][3][4]
Per Queensland Railway's classification system they were designated the AC16 class, C representing they had four driving axles, and the 16 the cylinder diameter in inches. Because the classification was already being used by an existing class they were designated American C16, i.e. AC16. The American steam locomotive earned it the nickname of Yank. The engines entered traffic with their US Army road numbers but had "A" appended to differentiate them from existing engines with the same numbers.[1][2]
The engines were supplied with conical profile tyres. These were altered to QR standard cylindrical profile and pressed one-sixteenth of an inch inwards on the wheels to reduce wear. In 1943 the decision was taken to alter the second and third coupled wheels to thin flanges. A number of other modifications were carried out over the years.
The engines were fitted with Walschaerts valve gear. The original tenders rode poorly and resulted in a speed limit of 30 mph being imposed with a prohibition on passenger train working. The axle load of these tenders also restricted the engines to main line usage. The floor level shovelling plate made the fireman’s work more difficult. One feature that did proved popular was the use of louvre coal boards and these subsequently became standard on all QR steam engines. The headlight mounted on the smokebox door proved to have advantages and was later adopted for some other classes.[2]
In 1958, No. 217A was fitted with a tender taken from a withdrawn C16 class locomotive. The previous restrictions were then lifted. All 19 members of the class then remaining in service had been similarly treated by 1963.[1][2]
After being fitted with these tenders, seven of the class was attached to Alpha where they had a brief period of glory in the early 1960s when they replaced the C17 Class hauling the air-conditioned Midlander between Alpha and Longreach. The American engines with a larger boiler capacity were able to reduce running times in the sections that contained many long banks. Diesel locomotive took over the working in 1963.
I got a request by flickr mail for a white blouse, black skit, off bulk hose and black pumps, here it is. CK black pencil, button down blouse on sale at Steinmarts, Hanes off black thigh high hose and J Rene black patent sling back pumps. I thought I would look like a waitress but now I think more a hostess.
The requested resource could not be found but may be available again in the future. Subsequent requests by the client are permissible.
Thank you Nevada Hamaker (www.flickr.com/photos/nevadahamaker/) for letting me use Miki's pic :-D
this ones a request from my good buddy hepe who, "...kinda miss the war zone known as Manila on New Year's eve. :)"... this isn't really a shot from nye... i couldn't get any good shots that night. everyone started early around 9pm and when i got home at 10pm the whole city skyline was enveloped in pyro smoke. thus, rendering the balcony totally useless! got a few more though from this same night... will post them around chinese new year which is in... uhmm... 2 weeks! =)
this is almost out of the cam shot. fine tuned it with a few layers in photoshop. enjoy and have a great fiery week!
Here is andyklogan's request of an Optare Versa in Yorkshire Tiger Livery! Next upload will be Unorm001' E200Hybrid
The Mustang has the phrase “By Request” on it just under the side windows. That was the name of the airplane of famed pilot and leader of the 332nd, Col. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.
Welcome to Nightingales Winter
Our sim is open to all, we request you remain PG whilst here.
There are so many winter activities o enjoy here including skating on the rink or on the trail round the sim, enjoy the balloon tour, travel up the hill to the fairground, cafe and grab a sledge, doughnut or handglider down. You dont even need to walk up the hill, get fired by our canon. Explore and find Santas Workshop, cuddle spots, poses area and N-O Fishing. We also have two floating islands. Wedding and Events area available just ask us.
Most of all have fun with us. Nightingale
Canon EOS R3 + EOS-R + Canon EF 85mm f1.4L IS
* If you have requests or comments, please describe these in photo comment space.
"He went like one that hath been stunned,
And is of sense forlorn:
A sadder and a wiser man,
He rose the morrow morn."
Written of the Wedding-Guest
in the closing lines of
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Some critics love that he took opium,
because they believe they can
discover it everywhere in his writings.