Aston Martin V8 Vantage S Roadster (2013-18) Engine 4735cc AJ7 Quad Cam 32v V8

Production 6,231 V8 Roadsters

Registration Number JAU 8821 (Cherished number, now transferred to a DB11, originally allocated in Nottingham)

ASTON MARTIN SET

www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/sets/72157623759800132...

Introduced at the 2005 Geneva Auto Show The two seat, two -door coupé had a bonded aluminium structure for strength and lightness the Coupe features a hatchback style rear tailgate.

The V8 Vantage was initially powered by a 4.3 L (4300 cc) quad-cam 32-valve V8 which produced 380 hp and 302 lb·ft of torque However models produced after 2008 had a 4.7 litre 420 hp V8. Though based loosely on Jaguar's AJ-V8 engine architecture, this engine was unique to Aston Martin and featured race-style dry-sump lubrication, which enabled it to be mounted low in the chassis for an improved center of gravity. The cylinder block and heads, crankshaft, connecting rods, pistons, camshafts, inlet and exhaust manifolds, lubrication system, and engine management were all Aston Martin designs and the V8 engine was assembled by hand at the AM facility in Cologne, Germany.

The original V8 Vantage could accelerate to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 4.7 seconds topping out at 175 mph , Vantages with the enhanced 400 HP version of the 4.3 L V8 engine

The V8 Vantage retailed for £79,000 in 2006

The V8 Vantage S was unveiled in January 2011as a more potent version of the V8 Vantage available as both Coupé and Roadster. Powered by the same 4.7-litre AJ37 V8 found in the base Vantage, but with improved intake airflow, new mufflers, and new programming that keeps the exhaust system's bypass valves open for longer. The 4.7-litre V8 engine has been modified to deliver a peak power of 430 bhp giving a maximum speed of 189mph. he aerodynamic enhancements include a deeper front bumper with carbon fibre splitter, larger side sills, a carbon fibre diffuser, larger tailgate new wheels

Production of the V8 Vantage ended in 2017 while production of the V12 Vantage continued until 2018. In November 2017, Aston Martin unveiled a new redesigned Vantage.

The new model was unveiled in 2017 and began production in 2018.

Thanks for a stunning 61,328,365 views

Diolch am olygfa anhygoel, 61,328,365 hoblogaeth y Lloegr honno dros y Mynyddoedd

Shot 30-07-2017 exiting the 2017 Silverstone Classic REF 129-062

Boeing and NASA teams participate in a mission dress rehearsal to prepare for the landing of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft in White Sands, New Mexico, Monday, May 23, 2022. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) is Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. OFT-2 serves as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The next train wasn't due to pass through this crossing for over seven-and-a-half hours after I photographed it on Saturday night (15th May), but the signal light was in the "caution" state, per the railway system's rules. The amber-coloured beacon didn't seem as bright as it shows in the photo, which shows how much amber light was spilling over the rail corridor and surrounding farmland.

There wasn't much of note in this area of the sky last night, but I managed to capture a few significant objects in my image. You can see the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy (midway down the left-hand side of the photo), the bright star Canopus (up and to the left of the signal light), and the open star cluster Caldwell 96 (up and to the left of Canopus). If I'd hung around for a couple of hours, the view would have been better, with the Milky Way's band standing vertical at the end of the tracks.

I used a Lume Cube LED lamp to light the shot's foreground and captured the scene with my Canon EOS 6D Mk II camera, fitted with a Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art lens @ f/2.6, using an exposure time of 15 seconds @ ISO 6400.

Inside the Astrotech Space Operations Facility in Titusville, Florida, the United Launch Alliance (ULA) payload fairing has been secured around NASA’s Lucy spacecraft on Sept. 30, 2021. The payload fairing will encapsulate and protect the spacecraft during launch and ascent. Lucy is scheduled to launch no earlier than Saturday, Oct. 16, on a ULA Atlas V 401 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy Space Center is managing the launch. Over its 12-year primary mission, Lucy will explore a record-breaking number of asteroids, flying by one asteroid in the solar system’s main belt and seven Trojan asteroids. Additionally, Lucy’s path will circle back to Earth three times for gravity assists, making it the first spacecraft ever to return to the vicinity of Earth from the outer solar system. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

NASA image use policy.

Heritage Class Race Rover

Firm belivers in peaceful scientific exploration, the Unitron system's spacemen continued to find new uses for Magnetonium, the rare element discovered and mined in the M-Tron system. Powered by a magnetonium steam turbine and featuring oversized primary drive wheels, the Neon Urchin race rover was a torque monster. Another prominent feature is the dual guidance arrays flanking the open cockpit, giving the urchin its name.

For more on the origin of the GTR-RL, watch the video trailer.

The GTR-RL is organized into three classes of racing rovers.

Heritage class rovers are built using only elements available to the theme of the racer. (i.e. a space police 1 race rover would be built using only parts from the 1989 space police theme.) Heritage class rovers represent Lego space themes up through the insectoid theme of 1998-99.

Modern class rovers are built in the same way, but represent Lego space themes from the 2001 theme Life on Mars, through present day space themes.

Unlimited class rovers are built with an unrestricted element palette and can represent Collectible Minifig themes or fan themes such as Pinktron and Suntron, etc

Check out more Race Rovers

The crew access arm is seen as it swings into position for Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission, Thursday, July 29, 2021 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 will be Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test and will dock to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission, currently targeted for launch at 2:53 p.m. EDT Friday, July 30, will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

see it in motion at: n-e-r-v-o-u-s.com/projects/sets/zoetropes/

nylon 3D printed by Selective Laser Sintering, MDF, electronics, LEDs

A tree-like form with two leaves grows as the disc spins. The zoetrope illustrates Nervous System’s leaf venation inspired algorithm, hyphae, as it grows across 3D surfaces.

30.5 x 30.5 x 21 inches

Central hall of metro station Ploshchad Vosstaniya on the Kirovsko-Vyborgskaya Line (Line 1), Ploshchad Vosstaniya, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Some background information:

The Saint Petersburg Metro is the underground railway system of the city of Saint Petersburg. It has been open since 15th November 1955. Formerly known as the V.I. Lenin Order of Lenin Leningrad Metropoliten, the system exhibits many typical Soviet designs and features exquisite decorations and artwork making it one of the most attractive and elegant metros in the world, maybe only excelled by the Moscow Metro. Due to the city's unique geology, the Saint Petersburg Metro is also one of the deepest metro systems in the world and the deepest by the average depth of all the stations. The system's deepest station, Admiralteyskaya, is located 86 metres below ground. Serving 2.1 million passengers daily (resp. 763.1 million passengers per year), the Saint Petersburg Metro is the 19th busiest metro system in the world.

Ploshchad Vosstaniya is a metro station on the Kirovsko-Vyborgskaya Line of Saint Petersburg Metro. It is one of the system's original stations, opening on 15th November 1955. It is a deep underground pylon station at 58 metres (190 feet) depth. The main surface vestibule is situated on Ploshchad Vosstaniya (in English: "Uprising Square"), which gives its name to the station. The metro station Ploshchad Vosstaniya is connected to the metro station Mayakovskaya of the Nevsko-Vasileostrovskaya Line via a transfer corridor and a set of escalators. St.Petersburg-Glavny, also known as Moskovsky railway station (where all trains to or from Moscow depart or arrive), is located on the other side of the square, right opposite the metro station. Moskovsky railway station is one of Saint Petersburg’s six main railway stations.

In Saint Petersburg’s history, the question of building an underground transport system arose several times, the first time in 1820, when the idea was hatched to build an underground road in a tunnel. By the end of the 19th century, certain interested parties began discussing the possibility of opening the Russian Empire's first metropolitan railway system. Almost all pre-revolutionary designs featured the concept of an elevated metro system, similar to the Paris or Vienna metros. However, as was later discovered through the experience of operating open (ground-level) metro lines in the city, such schemes would likely have resulted in a poor metro service. Unfortunately, at the time, Russian engineers did not have sufficient expertise or technical resources for the construction of deep underground tunnels through the bedrock located far beneath St Petersburg. Hence, it was finally Moscow that got the first underground railway system in the Soviet Union in 1935.

In 1938 the question of building a metro for Saint Petersburg (by then renamed to Leningrad), resurfaced again. The initial project was designed by the Moscow institute 'Metrogiprotrans', but on 21st January 1941, "Construction Directorate № 5 of the People's Commissariat" was founded as a body to specifically oversee the design and construction of the Leningrad Metro. By April 1941, 34 shafts for the initial phase of construction had been finished. During the Second World War construction works were frozen due to severe lack of available funding, manpower and equipment. At this time, many of the metro construction workers were employed in the construction and repair of railheads and other objects vital to the besieged city.

In 1946 Lenmetroproyekt was created, to finish the construction of the metro first phase. A new version of the metro project, devised by specialists, identified two new solutions to the problems to be encountered during the metro construction. Firstly, stations were to be built at a level slightly raised above that of normal track so as to prevent drainage directly into them, whilst the average tunnel width was to be reduced from the 6 metres (20 feet) standard of the Moscow Metro to 5.5 metres (18 feet).

On 3rd September 1947, construction in the Leningrad subway began again and eight years later, on 7 October 1955, the electricity was turned on in the metro l. On 15th November 1955, the subway grand opening was held, with the first seven stations being put into public use. These stations later became part of the Kirovsko-Vyborgskaya Line, connecting the Moscow Rail Terminal in the city centre with the Kirovsky industrial zone in the southwest. Subsequent development included lines under the Neva River in 1958, and the construction of the Vyborgsky Radius in the mid-1970s to reach the new housing developments in the north. In 1978, the line was extended past the city limits into the Leningrad Oblast.

By the time of the USSR's collapse, the Leningrad Metro comprised 54 stations and 94.2 kilometres (58.5 miles) of track. But development even continued in the modern, post-Soviet period. Today, the Saint Petersburg metro comprises five lines with altogether 69 stations and 118,6 kilometres (74 miles) of track. However, the present state is not meant to be the end of the story. Plans have been made to extend the Saint Petersburg Metro to nine lines with altogether 126 stations and 190 kilometres (118 miles) of track. But delays due to the difficult geology of the city's underground and to the insufficient funding have cut down these plans to 17 new stations and one new depot until 2025. At the same time, there are several short and mid-term projects on station upgrades, including escalator replacements and lighting upgrades.

On 3rd April 2017, a terrorist bombing caused an explosion on a train between Sennaya Ploshchad and Tekhnologicheski Institut stations, on the Line 2. 14 people died and over 50 sustained injuries, while Russian president Vladimir Putin was in the city, when the attack happened. On the same day, Russia's National anti-terrorist unit defused another explosive device at Ploshchad Vosstaniya station (which you can see on this picture).

Saint Petersburg (in Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг) is Russia's second-largest city after Moscow, with currently 5.3 million inhabitants, part of the Saint Petersburg agglomeration with a population of 6.2 million (2015). An important Russian port on the Baltic Sea, it has a status of a federal city. Saint Petersburg is also the fourth-largest city in Europe, only excelled by Istanbul, London and Moscow. Other famous European cities like Paris, Berlin, Rome and Madrid are smaller. Furthermore, Saint Petersburg is the world’s northernmost megapolis and called "The Venice of the North", due to its many channels that traverse the city.

Situated on the Neva River, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea, it was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on 27th May 1703. On 1st September 1914, the name was changed from Saint Petersburg to Petrograd, on 26 January 1924 to Leningrad, and on 7 September 1991 back to Saint Petersburg. Between 1713 and 1728 and again between 1732 and 1918, Saint Petersburg was the capital of Imperial Russia. In 1918, the central government bodies moved to Moscow, which is located about 625 kilometres (388 miles) to the south-east.

Saint Petersburg is also the cultural capital of Russia. "The Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments" constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Saint Petersburg is home to the Hermitage, one of the largest art museums in the world. Many foreign consulates, international corporations, banks and businesses have offices in Saint Petersburg. The multinational Gazprom company has its headquarters in the newly erected Lakhta Center.

Most of the credit here goes to Ian, I stole practically at least half the design elements from him, and he outright built the entire nose after I failed at it for hours. So this is really a co-build, more than anything. Sîana here has 72 kinetic energy weapons (standard guns), four plasma cannon turrets (two guns per turret), and one definitely-not-original particle beam on the bow running the length of the ship (looted from a world the Archive declared off-limits). This is not to mention all her secondary weapons, which I'm too tired to do. Like all Old Coalition ships, she's got technology much more advanced than usual, and is almost self-aware in her system's conduct.

Now enjoy this long-ass backstory I made up while I should have been sleeping. Don't read if you're not interested in the 23rd Century theme. Even then, I doubt most of them will read all of it.

-----------------------------------

This ship, like the Îradrakaia, came out of the Hethorîon shipyards a very long time ago. In fact, it was so long ago that Hethorîon was a republic instead of barony, and had a population of two billion instead of one hundred million. Yes folks, this is an Old Coalition ship, only one of two of her class to survive. In fact, she's even in her Old Coalition colors, as she would have appeared before, during, and for quite some time after the Beacon Cataclysm.

Sîana was paired with her sister ship, Sîacha, for most of her career on the Thyrendi frontier. Sîacha went on to become the flagship of a Hethorîon fleet in an ancient succession war for the throne of Tarsis, the two ships earned much fame for their daring strategy which eventually won their master the throne. The new Emperor gave Sîana to his most loyal and adept Captain, to serve as the flagship for the new noble house of Sîanô (a name definitely related to the ship). The two sister ships parted ways, until the Thôvis Crusade several millennia later.

By this modern time in the Earth year of 1736, Sîana had been called in repeadetly against the heathen Sarthîm barbarians and their allies. The Coalition had seemingly secured most of the territory it set out to take by then, but the Great Foundries remained out of reach and unassailable to the exchausted Tarsin war machine. Sîana was caught up in the initial Sarthîon attack, and quickly isolated as the Imperial fronts collapsed across the entire theatre. While Sîacha and other ships managed to retreat to Imperial space in time to make a stand at the planet of Mysena, Sîana and her crew were not so lucky. They would spend the next four years behind enemy lines, blinded by the destruction of the regional warpspace beacon network, attempting to make their way home. What was worse is that their return went unheralded; by the time they made it back, as civil war erupted over yet another disputed succession and the Sarthîm barbarians continued their counter-attack. It would be another two years until Sîana made it home, where she'd stay for the next five hundred years until being called to battle against the new enemy of Earth.

Ex. NVS # 126 from Schwerin arrived in Almaty in 2004 in the years of the system's slight revival after the 90s. As all other Schweriners, it contained a second cabless twin car. The latter was in service until 2006 and 1027 was the last of the operating multiple-units here. The head car was running through the next years until the arrival of ex-Berliners in 2013.

Baytursynov koshesi, Almaty, KZ

Gare de Lyon 14/02/2019 12h10

Like if we were back in the 1980's and 1990's when the TGV colors were orange like here.

Set TGV 01, named ‘Patrick’, retires after 41 years of service. For this occasion, both power cars got back their original orange livery. Intermediate cars got back SNCF older blue-silver paint scheme, so TGV 01 now sports all three liveries it has had during its active career. Train spotters gathered at track J where the 01 stood for about ten minutes to change direction and re-depart.

TGV 01 "Patrick"

An explosion of colors to say farewell to the first TGV Sud-Est high-speed train. Set TGV 01, named ‘Patrick’, retires after 41 years of service. For this occasion, both power cars got back their original orange livery. Intermediate cars got back SNCF older blue-silver paint scheme, so TGV 01 now sports all three liveries it has had during its active career.

The SNCF TGV Sud-Est or TGV-PSE was a French high speed TGV train built by Alstom and operated by SNCF, the French national railway company. It is a semi-permanently coupled electric multiple unit and was built for operation between Paris and the south-east of France.

The TGV Sud-Est fleet was built between 1978 and 1988 and operated the first TGV service from Paris to Lyon in 1981.

Originally the sets were built to run at 270 km/h (168 mph) but most were upgraded to 300 km/h (186 mph) during their mid-life refurbishment in preparation for the opening of the LGV Méditerranée. The few sets which still have a maximum speed of 270 km/h (168 mph) operate on routes which have a comparatively short distance on the lignes à grande vitesse, such as those to Switzerland via Dijon. SNCF did not consider it financially worthwhile to upgrade their speed for a marginal reduction in journey time.

In December 2019, all TGV Sud-Est sets were retired from service. In early 2020, a farewell service which included TGV01 (Nicknamed Patrick), the very first TGV train ever build. This train included all 3 liveries that were worn during it's service.

FACTS & FIGURES (SNCF TGV "Sud-Est")

In service: 1981-December 2019

Manufacturer: GEC-Alsthom

Number built: 111

Numbers preserved / scrapped: 7 / 107

Formation: 10 cars (2 power cars, 8 passenger cars)

Capacity: 350

Length: 200 meters

Speed: 300 km/h

Electric system(s): 25 kV 50 Hz AC 1500 V DC

Safety system(s): TVM 300/TVM 430

[ Source & More: Wikipedia - SNCF TGV Sud-Est ]

“APOLLO APPLICATIONS – TECHNOLOGY EXPERIMENTS – MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR TECHNIQUES”

As with many other grand Shuttle & Apollo concepts, the Apollo Applications Program (AAP) is yet another that confuses me…along with Apollo “X” and the Apollo Extension System(s) (AES). I initially want to call this an AES configuration.

With that said, per Wikipedia, since it’s easier to find/reference than the random buried, obscure, inaccessible (to peons such as myself) or non-existent documentation that may/may not be out there:

“The Apollo Applications Program (AAP) was created as early as 1966 by NASA headquarters to develop science-based human spaceflight missions using hardware developed for the Apollo program. AAP was the ultimate development of a number of official and unofficial Apollo follow-on projects studied at various NASA labs. However, the AAP's ambitious initial plans became an early casualty when the Johnson Administration declined to support it adequately, partly in order to implement its Great Society set of domestic programs while remaining within a $100 billion budget. Thus, Fiscal Year 1967 ultimately allocated $80 million to the AAP, compared to NASA's preliminary estimates of $450 million necessary to fund a full-scale AAP program for that year, with over $1 billion being required for FY 1968. The AAP eventually led to Skylab, which absorbed much of what had been developed under Apollo Applications.

Origins

NASA management was concerned about losing the 400,000 workers involved in Apollo after landing on the Moon in 1969. A reason Wernher von Braun, head of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center during the 1960s, advocated for a smaller station after his large one was not built was that he wished to provide his employees with work beyond developing the Saturn rockets, which would be completed relatively early during Project Apollo. NASA set up the Apollo Logistic Support System Office, originally intended to study various ways to modify the Apollo hardware for scientific missions. Initially the AAP office was an offshoot of the Apollo "X" bureau, also known as the Apollo Extension Series. AES was developing technology concepts for mission proposals based on the Saturn IB and Saturn V boosters. These included a crewed lunar base, an Earth-orbiting space station, the so-called Grand Tour of the Outer Solar System, and the original Voyager program of Mars Lander probes.”

Above at:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Applications_Program

Further, per a diagram within David Shayler’s excellent book, “Apollo: The Lost and Forgotten Missions”, Springer-Praxis, this configuration sort of looks like what’s labeled “EXTENDED APOLLO SYSTEM UTILIZATION STUDY”.

So, the untethered Astronaut, in a hybrid Gemini-like space suit, possibly wearing an AMU-Lite, without a single hand-tool, is practicing “maintenance” & “repair” on a "serviceable" engineering/demonstrator module. Maybe it’s just a manual dexterity test?

No signature visible.

On Saturday, October 7, more than 1,700 of Rochester Regional Health’s friends and employees gathered at the Joseph A. Floreano Rochester Riverside Convention Center for the system’s signature celebration.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard launches from Space Launch Complex 41, Thursday, May 19, 2022, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) is Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test and will dock to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. OFT-2 launched at 6:54 p.m. ET, and will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

The old warehouse and barracks on Tern Island in the French Frigate Shoals, Hawaii.

Camera: Olympus OM-1

Lens: Olympus OM-System S Zuiko MC Auto-Zoom f/4 35-70mm. Red filter.

Film: Adox HR-50

Developer: Beerenol (Rainier Beer)

NASA video release July 12, 2011

Our solar system's most distant major planet, Neptune, has arrived at the same location in space where it was first discovered 165 years ago. To commemorate the event, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has taken images of the blue-green giant planet.

Neptune was first discovered 165 years ago and now has completed one full orbit around the Sun. To celebrate this milestone, astronomers used Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 to take a closer look at the planet. Images reveal high- altitude clouds composed of methane ice crystals. The methane absorbs red light resulting in the planet's aqua color. The clouds look pink because they are reflecting near-infrared light.

This video sequence compiles data from Hubble's observations of Neptune to show the blue-green planet rotating on its tilted axis. A day on Neptune is 16 hours long, and Hubble took images of the planet every four hours.

To read more go here

Video Credit: NASA, ESA, G. Bacon, and Z. Levay (STScI)

Science Credit: The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) and A. Simon-Miller (NASA/GSFC)

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.

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Boeing and NASA teams participate in a mission dress rehearsal to prepare for the landing of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft in White Sands, New Mexico, Monday, May 23, 2022. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) is Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. OFT-2 serves as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen as it is rolled out of the horizontal integration facility at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Demo-1 mission, Feb. 28, 2019 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Demo-1 mission will be the first launch of a commercially built and operated American spacecraft and space system designed for humans as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission, currently targeted for a 2:49am launch on March 2, will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

The Space Launch System’s booster is seen a few hours ahead of the second and final qualification motor (QM-2) test, Tuesday, June 28, 2016, at Orbital ATK Propulsion Systems test facilities in Promontory, Utah. During the Space Launch System flight the boosters will provide more than 75 percent of the thrust needed to escape the gravitational pull of the Earth, the first step on NASA’s Journey to Mars. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Cu tren EC 275 METROPOLITAN Praha hlavni nadrazi - Budapest Nyugati p.u.

Budapest Nyugati p.u.,

07.08,2023

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Demo-1 mission, Friday, March 1, 2019 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Demo-1 mission launched at 2:49am ET on Saturday, March 2 and was the first launch of a commercially built and operated American spacecraft and space system designed for humans as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Lockheed Martin’s In-space Upgrade Satellite System (LM LINUSS™) is a pair of LM 50™ 12U CubeSats designed to demonstrate how small satellites can serve an essential role in sustaining critical space architectures in any orbit. LM LINUSS was designed to demonstrate how small CubeSats can regularly upgrade satellite constellations to add timely new capabilities and extend spacecraft design lives. The system’s mission is to validate essential maneuvering capabilities for Lockheed Martin’s future space upgrade and servicing missions, as well as to showcase miniaturized Space Domain Awareness capabilities. More info: www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/products/satellite.html

The Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft jettisons the heat shield as it lands at White Sands Missile Range’s Space Harbor, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in New Mexico. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) is Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. OFT-2 serves as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard is seen after being rolled out of the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission, Wednesday, May 18, 2022 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 will be Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test and will dock to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission, currently targeted for launch at 6:54 p.m. ET on May 19, will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

West 34th Street 02/05/2015 09h27

Plumes of steam rising from the streets in New York is always a big mystery for people but it is almost as representative of New York City as skyscrapers. Also here in the West 34th Street a manhole with steam finding a way out from the world under the streets.

Beneath part of a text from Ask Citylab about this phenomenon:

Dear CityLab: I often see manholes with steam coming out of them. What is that stuff?

Almost as representative of New York City as skyscrapers—though probably not as iconic—are the plumes of steam rising from beneath the ground. Sometimes they come out of the manhole covers; other times, they blow from giant white and orange tubes, like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. Walking by them evokes a mix of curiosity and disgust. After all, how clean can something be if it’s coming from underground?

On Saturday, October 7, more than 1,700 of Rochester Regional Health’s friends and employees gathered at the Joseph A. Floreano Rochester Riverside Convention Center for the system’s signature celebration.

After shooting the train at I190 I headed north toward Holden where the line quickly takes on decidedly more rural and old time feel. The scene with an original ex B&M depot is one of the signatures on the line and even with the "wrong light" I was still pleased with the result.

A sucker for history, I'll never pass up a shot that includes classic "props" from a line's past.

And as for history, how about a little courtesy of the Holden Historical Society?

In 1869, the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad (BB&G) commenced construction of a railroad from Worcester (at Barber), through Holden, to Gardner. This 26-mile line, which cost 1.2 million dollars to build, opened in 1871. It was extended 10 miles to Winchendon in January, 1874 and later that same year the company leased the Monadnock Railroad north another 16 miles to Peterborough, New Hampshire. The BB&G thus attained a total length of 52 miles.

Beset by financial reversals, the Monadnock lease was surrendered to the Cheshire Railroad in 1880. The BB&G was leased itself to the Fitchburg Railroad in 1884. The following year it was merged into the Fitchburg and became that road's Worcester Division. In 1900 the Fitchburg was leased and soon thereafter merged into the Boston & Maine Railroad (B&M), becoming the B&M's Fitchburg Division. As a part of the B&M system's Fitchburg Division the line through Holden was referred to at different times by various names including the Worcester & Contoocook (N.H.) Branch, the Worcester & Hillsboro (N.H.) Branch, the Peterboro (N.H.) Branch, and finally after the line was severed north o f Gardner, as the Worcester Branch of the Fitchburg Division. At Worcester, the line joined the B&M Portland Division's "Worcester Main Line" at Barber.

The original 52-mile BB&G line through Holden remained under B&M control for 73 years. In 1974, the line was bought by the Providence and Worcester Railroad (P&W). The last B&M freight left Holden for Worcester in January 1974 and the P&W operated its first train over the line on February 2, 1974.

At various times, passenger stops existed at Chaffins, Dawson, Holden, Jefferson, and at North Woods. Holden and Jefferson were small country depots, while the others were flag stops with small shelters. Only two station structures remain: the Holden depot in its original location and the Jefferson depot which was moved in 1975 to a site next to the Wong Dynasty Chinese Restaurant on Reservoir Street.

In 1878 there were four round trip passenger trains between Worcester and Winchendon. This increased to six round trips at the turn of the century. Under B&M ownership, the old BB&G line became part of a rather unlikely through passenger route from Worcester to Concord, NH. This service ended after the floods of 1936 severed the line north of Peterboro. However, a round trip passenger local from Worcester to Peterboro would survive another 17 years, handling passengers and mail. In its last years, it acquired a certain degree of fame and became known as the "Peterboro Local" or the "Blueberry Special." By the early 1950s the B&M was hemorrhaging financially from passenger train losses and was given permission to discontinue this train. It made its last run, with extra coaches and much fanfare, on March 7, 1953. It had remained a steam train with an ancient wooden combine and one coach almost to the very end, at which time steam power had been taken off and a diesel locomotive substituted.

B&M operated through symbol freights Worcester to Mechanicville, NY (WM-1), and Mechanicville, NY, to Worcester (WM-2), as well as a local freight that switched customers between Worcester and Gardner. The through freights between Worcester and Mechanicville, NY, operated until about 1968. WM-1 would arrive punctually in Holden at 7:30 every evening, switch the small yard, and then depart for Gardner and points west. The eastbound WM-2 passed through in the small hours of the night. The local switcher out of Worcester worked during the day. By the end of B&M control, through service on the line had been discontinued and the Worcester switcher ventured out the line only to service customers as needed.

The line underwent a dramatic renaissance when the P&W commenced operations in 1974. The P&W rehabilitated the line and operates through freights from Providence, RI, and other southern New England points to Gardner, where traffic is interchanged with the B&M. Currently (2005), P&W runs about six trains each way through Holden weekly, hauling coal, lumber, scrap iron, paper goods, plastic resins and other commodities.

Currently there are no customers receiving or shipping by rail in Holden.

Building a new tramway through city streets has always been disruptive, and the return of trams to Manchester in the early 1990s was no exception. Here, the new track and station at the top of Market Street are being built, and as you can see there's quite a lot of building work going on.

Only one track has been laid so far, to allow buses to travel along Market Street for a while. In the background we can see buses of GM Buses and Stuart''s of Hyde plying their trade.

The photo is one of a set taken to show the progress of construction before the system's first phase opened in April 1992.

If you'd like to know more about the Manchester Museum of Transport and its collection of vintage buses, go to www.gmts.co.uk.

What do you do when trash is piling up and there's nowhere to put it? You invent teleportation of course! Then you retrofit a fleet of municipal custodial vehicles to power miniaturized teleporters and send them on their way. The original vehicle had its nose lengthened to house the power cells and micro-reactor necessary to power the device, and the whole frame was reworked to bear the weight of the device. The result is a somewhat ungainly vehicle that is notoriously difficult to control.

Although the far-side output location for the teleporter is a closely guarded secret, the rumor-mill places it high above a barren lava plain on the third moon of one of the system's gas giants. Speaking of rumors, gossip and tall tales surround the trash teleporter. There are stories of city workers looking the other way or taking payoffs as organized crime syndicates dispose of evidence and "competition". Although the manufacturers insist that the portals are one-way, city workers insist they have seen "things" coming back through the gateway: from the odd grotesque hand reaching through, to the occasional swarm of flying creatures funneling out of the vortex. There's even whispers that the municipal garage is now inhabited by a shape-shifting beast that made its way through when the teleporter was left on overnight by a careless worker...

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard launches from Space Launch Complex 41, Thursday, May 19, 2022, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) is Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test and will dock to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. OFT-2 launched at 6:54 p.m. ET, and will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Boeing and NASA teams participate in a mission dress rehearsal to prepare for the landing of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft in White Sands, New Mexico, Monday, May 23, 2022. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) is Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. OFT-2 serves as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Place Royale 04/06/2018 19h15

A Bombardier Flexity Outlook Cityrunner with fleetnumber 3060 is passing the Place Royale (in Dutch Koningsplein) on line 93. In the background the Eglise Saint-Jacques-sur-Coudenberg (Sint-Jacob-op-de-Koudenbergkerk).

Trams in Brussels

The Brussels tram network is the 16th largest tram system in the world by route length, and in 2012 carried some 123.5 million passengers. As of 2017, the tram system's total route length was 141.1 km, making it one of the larger tram networks in Europe. In 2016, the Brussels tram system consisted of 17 tram lines (three of which – lines 3, 4 and 7 – qualified as premetro lines). The operator is STIB/MIVB.

Route Length: 141.1 km

Passengers (2012): 123.5 million

Routes: 20

Fleet (2017): 396 trams

[ Source and much more: Wikipedia - Trams in Brussels ]

Warning: Long somewhat emotional post to follow that you are not obligated to read.

When I first decided to be a teacher, I wanted to do so because I wanted to make a difference in the world. I wasn't a very good student and school had been a little bit of hell for me at times.

I wanted to do better than that for kids.

After teaching a couple of years, I was encouraged to apply to be a part of a cohort group working on leadership degrees. There was this prediction at that time that there was going to be this great shortage of administrators (and teachers) so the system I work for paid for certain "chosen" people to get their degree in educational leadership. I applied and was accepted.

A couple of months before I graduated, an assistant principal position became available in the middle of the year. Before I knew it, I was interviewing as "practice" because who in their right mind would hire someone who had only been working as a teacher for 3 1/2 years?

After they announced that they didn't have any sense I had gotten the job, I called my husband to tell him. As I was telling him, I burst into tears.

What had I gotten myself into?

Five years later, I got named principal of an elementary school. An elementary school with a "problem" faculty. When I applied for that position, I did it because I felt like it was expected of me. And I went into the position with the attitude that I would be able to make changes and save the world -- at least the world as it applies to an elementary school principal. I remember that one of my former professors from my undergraduate program called me to congratulate me. It seems silly now but I spoke of the things I was going to do... as if I understood what the role was all about.

I've learned to not speak with authority about a position in which I've not lived.

The past six years have had their ups and downs. I haven't hated being a principal -- but neither have I loved it. I wanted to save the world and the reality is that I feel less able to make any real differences that matter. There have been some small victories but they pale in comparison with the dream I had when first stepping into the role.

And the stress... oh, the stress! Everybody has an opinion of what you should do, how you should do it, where you should do it and with what outfit you should do it in. On one hand, I don't really care what people think. On the other hand, my skin isn't thick enough to continue to listen to the ridiculousness that some of my "difficult" teachers want to dish out in my system's infamous anonymous surveys. I wonder how they'd fare if I let the parents and teachers rip them apart anonymously.

A few weeks ago, I made an appointment with my boss. Without any emotion, I simply asked to be moved back to an assistant principal position. When I walked out of that meeting, I felt 100 pounds lighter. The lack of emotions surprised me and encouraged me.

Over the weekend, all the principals received an email to let us know that administrative assignments would be announced on Tuesday.

Tomorrow.

This evening I was supposed to attend a school board meeting -- not for any real reason but it is just one of the things we are expected to do as a principal. I drove across town to the meeting and as I drove into the parking lot, I could feel my chest tighten and tears began to well in my eyes. I drove around the parking lot. I drove up the street and then around the block. I rationalized with myself but I just could not park that car and walk in. Finally, I began driving towards home.

The iPod gods must have been working to soothe me because "All That You Have Is Your Soul" came on.

And then I remembered the real reason for me needing to the change. I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to change the world.

I know I've made the right decision. Until then, it is a little unsettling to just not know. But tomorrow I'll know.

Change can be good!

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard is seen at sunrise on the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the Orbital Flight Test-2 mission, Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 will be Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test and will dock to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission, currently targeted for launch at 1:20 p.m. EDT, will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

System's Hot Legs.

Police Parade in Warsaw

Plac Józefa Piłsudskiego, Warsaw, July 24th, 2009

Digital, Mark II, 24-70 Canon Zoom Lens, 21 MgPx

Engine (chassis): Detroit Diesel 8.2 V-8 diesel

Transmission: Eaton-Fuller RT-6613 thirteen speed

Engine (excavator): Detroit Diesel 4-53T four cylinder

Excavator operated out of the state Canal system's Waterford, New York location.

Photo courtesy of Auctions International.

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has captured new details of the auroras on our Solar System’s largest planet. The dancing lights observed on Jupiter are hundreds of times brighter than those seen on Earth.

These observations of Jupiter’s auroras were captured with Webb’s Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam) on 25 December 2023 (F335M filter). Scientists found that the emission from the trihydrogen ion, known as H3+, is far more variable than previously believed. H3+ is created by the impact of high energy electrons on molecular hydrogen. Because this emission shines brightly in the infrared, Webb’s instruments are well equipped to observe it.

A video of these observations can be found here.

[Image description: Three panels, each showing a close-up near-infrared image of Jupiter’s north pole, in shades of orange. The planet is mostly dark. Thick, bright arcs and rings caused by aurorae cover the pole. The centre and right panels each show the aurora a few minutes later in time, as Webb’s field of view slowly scans over the planet.]

Read more

Credits: ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, J. Nichols (University of Leicester), M. Zamani (ESA/Webb); CC BY 4.0

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard is seen after being rolled out of the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission, Wednesday, May 18, 2022 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 will be Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test and will dock to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission, currently targeted for launch at 6:54 p.m. ET on May 19, will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft onboard is seen as it is rolled out of the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission, Thursday, July 29, 2021 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 will be Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test and will dock to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission, currently targeted for launch at 2:53 p.m. EDT Friday, July 30, will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Inside the Vertical Integration Facility near Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Centaur stage for NASA’s Lucy mission is lowered onto the Atlas V first stage on Sept. 16, 2021. Lucy is scheduled to launch no earlier than Saturday, Oct. 16, on a ULA Atlas V 401 rocket from Pad 41. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy Space Center is managing the launch. Over its 12-year primary mission, Lucy will explore a record-breaking number of asteroids, flying by one asteroid in the solar system’s main belt and seven Trojan asteroids. Additionally, Lucy’s path will circle back to Earth three times for gravity assists, making it the first spacecraft ever to return to the vicinity of Earth from the outer solar system. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

NASA image use policy.

Lock 23 on the old Erie Canal was built in 1841 during an enlargement phase of the canal. It replaced the original lock

# 26. It can be seen about 1/4 mile east of the current canal system's Lock 8 on the Mohawk River in Rotterdam, NY along the bike path.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen after being into a vertical position on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Demo-1 mission, Feb. 28, 2019 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Demo-1 mission will be the first launch of a commercially built and operated American spacecraft and space system designed for humans as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission, currently targeted for a 2:49am launch on March 2, will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Many of the larger icy moons of the Sol system's gas giants have interior oceans of liquid water, kept liquid through tidal heating caused by the interactions of the two gravity wells. The exoplanet Krysto, home of the famed ICEPLANET team 2002, was a true planet rather than a moon, but it did have a particularly large and close moon.

It took the Iceplaneteers some time to realize the potential of Krysto's subsurface ocean - the deeply hostile surface conditions combined with Blacktron factional conflicts meant that their limited resources were mostly put to other tasks - but after some time a mission was planned to melt a shaft through the thick icecap to the internal sea of Krysto.

The Aquarius Project, as it was called, centered initially around a large submarine, the Interior eXploration Vessel Aquarius, but there were other vehicles besides the IXV Aquarius. The Delphinus-1 was a rover used for exploring the subglacial seabed, though it did have a limited swimming ability. The rather large laser cannon proved necessary as there were a number of very large and rather dangerous creatures that called the interior ocean their home.

~~~

This has a little too much yellow and not enough white to really mesh well with my previous "Alt-Seatron" Aquarius Project creations, but I'm mostly pleased with the overall design. In order to mesh with but remain distinct from the Ice Planet factional colours, the intent is that the IP2002 colours are used on the surface, and for the Aquarius Project interior exploration stuff the blue is replaced by yellow and the trans neon orange by trans red.

On April 30, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope observed Comet ISON again. The comet is in the upper middle, showing the long tail. Various galaxies and stars appear behind it.

In this image, Hubble trained its telescope on the stars instead of following the comet. The result is that the comet appears fuzzier, but the stars and galaxies are more detailed and precise. These dimmer features don't pop out if the camera is moving, following along with ISON. To see them, you really need to dwell in one place until they emerge from the noise.Credit: NASA/ESA/STScI/AURA

--------

More details on Comet ISON:

Comet ISON began its trip from the Oort cloud region of our solar system and is now travelling toward the sun. The comet will reach its closest approach to the sun on Thanksgiving Day -- 28 Nov 2013 -- skimming just 730,000 miles above the sun's surface. If it comes around the sun without breaking up, the comet will be visible in the Northern Hemisphere with the naked eye, and from what we see now, ISON is predicted to be a particularly bright and beautiful comet.

Catalogued as C/2012 S1, Comet ISON was first spotted 585 million miles away in September 2012. This is ISON's very first trip around the sun, which means it is still made of pristine matter from the earliest days of the solar system’s formation, its top layers never having been lost by a trip near the sun. Comet ISON is, like all comets, a dirty snowball made up of dust and frozen gases like water, ammonia, methane and carbon dioxide -- some of the fundamental building blocks that scientists believe led to the formation of the planets 4.5 billion years ago.

NASA has been using a vast fleet of spacecraft, instruments, and space- and Earth-based telescope, in order to learn more about this time capsule from when the solar system first formed.

The journey along the way for such a sun-grazing comet can be dangerous. A giant ejection of solar material from the sun could rip its tail off. Before it reaches Mars -- at some 230 million miles away from the sun -- the radiation of the sun begins to boil its water, the first step toward breaking apart. And, if it survives all this, the intense radiation and pressure as it flies near the surface of the sun could destroy it altogether.

This collection of images show ISON throughout that journey, as scientists watched to see whether the comet would break up or remain intact.

The comet reaches its closest approach to the sun on Thanksgiving Day -- Nov. 28, 2013 -- skimming just 730,000 miles above the sun’s surface. If it comes around the sun without breaking up, the comet will be visible in the Northern Hemisphere with the naked eye, and from what we see now, ISON is predicted to be a particularly bright and beautiful comet.

ISON stands for International Scientific Optical Network, a group of observatories in ten countries who have organized to detect, monitor, and track objects in space. ISON is managed by the Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics, part of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

NASA image use policy.

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.

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I discovered this lovely Victorian house earlier this week. I have since learned that it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The information below comes from the National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form.

npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/da02787d-5a69-4348-8f9d-b...

I have omitted the detailed descriptions of the building's elevations, windows, doors and roof. I've also cut tedious details about the pool house and the landscaping. It is worth noting, however, that in 1980, the house was served by a curved driveway that extended all the way to the front steps. It is no longer there and, in fact, there is no access to house from N. Willamette Boulevard.

I gather that high expectations that the house would be restored, which go back to the 1980s, have yet to be realized. The first thing I would do is repaint the house, because otherwise it's akin to a piece of fine furniture that's been left out to weather on the front yard.

Introduction

The John Mock House is one of Portland's best-preserved examples of Queen Anne/Victorian architecture. It is excellently situated above the Willamette River and was designed and built by unknown person or persons on the site of two previous Mock houses, the oldest dating from 1853.

The interior is superbly detailed and is substantially unaltered from its original state. The Mock House has been continuously associated with persons and events vital to the evolution of Portland's architectural, political and cultural heritage and deserves recognition by the National Register.

Biographical Information About Past Owners

1. John Mock's Parents

In 1833 Henry Arnold Mock and his wife, Maria Elizabeth Meyer, emigrated to America from Germany. Settling in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, five years later on October 4, 1838, Maria gave birth to the couple's only child, John. In Mechanicsburg, Henry engaged in several occupations including that of a sailor, farmer, and shoemaker. By 1844, he had saved enough money to move his family to Platte County, Missouri, and purchase a forty-acre farm. There the family settled and worked the land for eight years.

In the spring of 1852, lured into the westward migration, Henry Mock sold his farm, packed both his family and his most valued worldly possessions into a wagon, and began their journey across the Great Plains to Oregon. By this time, John was fourteen years old and a man by pioneer standards. He proved himself particularly adept in the handling of the family's four-yoke oxen wagon, often with two additional cows hitched up. In fact, John was so skillful at driving the team that all six original animals survived the Plains crossing.

In the late summer of 1852, the Mock family arrived in The Dalles, Oregon. There they sold two of their oxen, loaded the wagon on a river scow, and drifted down the Columbia River. John, however, stayed behind, and drove the remaining oxen and cows overland, where he met his parents at the Upper Cascades. Here they disembarked from the scow and proceeded further down the river by wagon to the Lower Cascades. At the Lower Cascades, Henry and Maria again boarded the scow, John drove the oxen and cows overland, and by early fall both groups arrived in Sandy, Oregon. In Sandy, the family reloaded the wagon and made their way to Portland, arriving in October 1852.

The Mock family's first three weeks in Portland were spent camping in Sullivan's Gulch. Turning their cattle loose in order to graze, the animals ran off during an unwatched moment. In the search that followed, the Mocks stumbled upon what is now St. John's, where they met Dr. Charles Staples, Portland's first practicing and properly educated physician.

Dr. Staples convinced the family to occupy a house on his property and weather the winter storms there. Henry, Maria, and John remained guests of Dr. Staples until the spring of 1853, when, with the advice of Dr. Staples, Henry Mock took up a donation land claim of 317 acres in the vicinity of what is now the University of Portland. That claim included what are today’s North Portland neighborhoods of University Park, Mock’s Crest and Mock’s Bottom. With the aid of neighbors, the Mock's built their first log cabin, which was the family home until 1874.

2. John Mock

During his first four years in Portland, John Mock cleared, worked, and helped further develop the family farm. Yet, by 1857 and at the age of eighteen, John left home for a career in mining and running a pack train. Taking advantage of his pioneer experiences, John was apparently successful as both a miner and "mule skinner."

However, after six years he returned to his Portland home, lived with his mother and father, and began again to work the farm.

In 1867, Maria Elizabeth Mock died. At this point, John purchased the farm from his aging and apparently disheartened father. Gathering his savings, Henry Arnold returned to his native Germany where he was promptly swindled out of his small fortune. He was thus forced to return to the U.S., where he lived with his son John until 1883, when he died at the age of ninety-one.

On August 4, 1874, John Mock married Mary M. Sunderland, originally of Iowa. John immediately began the construction of a new family cabin of hewn log. Finished in the same year, the cabin was much more spacious and thus able to house an ever growing family. Included were his wife, Mary; his father, Henry; his oldest daughter, Mary Elizabeth; hisonly son, John Benjamin; his second daughter, Lillie Catherine;and his last child, Margaret Alice.

Tragically, in 1889, the Mock family cabin burned down, along with virtually all of the family's possessions. As a result, John Mock initiated the construction of the house that still stands today, known as Mock's residence. Completed in 1894, John Mock lived there until 1918, when he died.

John Mock, as one of the founders of Portland, was originally well known for his pioneering efforts in raising livestock and mining in the local area. Later, as a City Councilman, he was instrumental in developing and initiating a street-railway system that reached out to the St. John's area. Moreover, John Mock donated large tracks of land to the city for the implementation of a street system which led to the development of a fine residentia lcommunity. Finally, near the end of his life, John Mock donated the land for the building of Columbia University, presently the University of Portland.

Both Mock's Crest, near the University, and Mock's Bottom, near Swan Island, are named for John Mock, acknowledging his contribution to Portland as one of its original pioneers and most active and concerned of citizens.

3. Owners After John Mock's Death

After John Mock's death, the present home was subsequently owned and occupied by his children and in-laws at various times: Margaret Alice Mock, the youngest child who remained single her entire life, and who was noted for the creation of a generous scholarship fund for graduating senior at Roosevelt High School; Lillie Catherine (Mock) Amos, the second daughter of John Mock, and wife of the well-known physician and famous prohibitionist Dr. William F. Amos; Mary Elizabeth (Mock) Yeon, the eldest Mock child and wife of John B. Yeon.

Mr. Yeon was a well-known Oregon logger, builder, real estate developer, and is considered the "father of the Columbia River Highway." John B. Yeon is the grandfather of the noted architect, John Yeon.

In the mid-1950's, the family sold the Mock home to Harold LaDuke, for which the LaDuke Terrace addition is named.

4. The Owners in 1980

The Mock House is now owned and occupied by Mr. Lewis E. Alexander, and his wife, Fern T. Alexander. Both are Native Americans and hail from Oklahoma.

Mr. Alexander is of the Creek-Seminole people and Mrs. Alexander is of Oto-Missouria origin. Presently, Mr. Alexander is the Executive Director of the Portland Urban Indian Council, Inc., providing a variety of social services for the local Native American population.

In the recent past, Mr. Alexander has served both the Schrunk and Goldschmidt administrations in the Mayor's Office. Between 1970 and 1972, he was Manpower Coordinator for the City of Portland, in which he served as the Mayor's staff advisor on all manpower and related programs. Further, he was Chairperson of the Mayor's Manpower Area Planning Council and was instrumental in codifying and developing a program of evaluating the City's Manpower planning problems. Mr. Alexander has remained active in Indian cultural affairs throughout his life.

Former President of New Mexico Council of AmericanIndians, and presently a member of several other regional and national Indian organizations, in 1974, he was selected the administrative coordinator for the "Native American's Earth" presentation at Expo '74 in Spokane, and was an active member of Expo '74's general manager's staff,

In 1968, Mrs. Alexander was named the American Indian of the Year and travelled to Washington, D.C. to receive the honor. During the administration of President Kennedy, she was appointed "counselor" to the Department of the Interior in regards to Indian affairs~a position Mrs. Alexander still remains active in today. Like her husband, she is very active in local, regional, and national Indian affairs and participates in several related organizations. Presently, Mrs. Alexander is the

Chairperson and the Director of Communications for the North American Indian Woman's Association of Oregon.

Description of the House

The interior of the Mock's Residence consists of a 1,500 square foot basement; a 2,000 square foot first floor a 1,900 square foot second floor; and an attic with 1,000 usable square feet. The basement is used as a laundry room and recreational area, whereas the attic, though largely unfinished, has one insulated room for storage purposes.

1. The First Floor

The first floor was originally designed to and presently serves as the family living area. Likewise, the second floor was designed expressly for individual sleeping and dressing rooms, and remains so today.

The entry hall allows access from the front porch through the main doors to the main hall-foyer. The entry is 6' x 5'6" and contains an inner pair of 8' high doors, with stained glass inserts, that separate it from the hall-foyer. The floor is surfaced in ceramic tile, and the doors and wainscoting are natural-finish hardwood panels. The main hall-foyer is irregular in shape, approximately 22' x 8'6" in size. The floors are fully carpeted and the ceiling is textured with a cut crystal chandelier. The walls are painted, yet all doors and the accompanying wood decor are of natural finish.

An open curved stairway leads to the second floor. The newel post and rails are carved hardwood and given a natural finish.

Between the entry hall and stairway is an 8' x 5'6" cloakroom. It has hanging space for clothing on both sides and a sit down storage bench. This walk-in cloakroom is fully carpeted and has a half rounded stained glass window facing the front yard.

To the left of the entry hall as one enters the hall-foyer, is the sitting room. Measuring 14' x 17', one enters the sitting room through a 5' x 8' pocket door from the hall-foyer. The room has a textured ceiling, painted walls, and a bowed front window stretching the full width of the room. The sitting room is fully carpeted.

The living room, originally the parlor and music room, is to the right of the hall-foyer and is entered through a pair of 5' x 8' pocketed doors. The room is irregular in shape, yet averages 29' x 14' in size. A high cased opening topped with fancy spindle work and a cut out lyre separates the south nine feet of the room. This section of the living room is lined with built-in bookcases, except for the window areas.

The fireplace at the north end of the room is surrounded by a natural finish oak mantle and side sections with a beveled edge plate glass mirror back. It has a ceramic tile face and an iron plate fire screen with adjustable vents. The ceiling is textured, the walls are painted, and the floor is carpeted.

One gains access to the dining room via a 4' x 8' high pocket door at the north end of the living room. The ceiling was hand-painted by New York artist Charles Ammann in 1930. The chandelier has eight branches and is of Victorian design. The fixture was originally gas fueled, but has since been converted to electricity. The fireplace, at the southern end of the room, is similar in styling to the one in the living room. It has a ceramic face and hearth, an iron plate fire screen, and a natural finish oak wood mantle. However, the side shelves have more spindle work and there is a smaller mirror. The northern wall has a scenic mural of the "Villa d'Este." Painted in moss green and blue, it was done by an unknown artist at an unknown date. The woodwork in the room is largely painted in satin enamel, excepting the spindle work, the doors, and the dado inserts. The remaining walls are likewise painted and the floor is carpeted. The dining room measures 19' x 14'.

The breakfast room, presently serving as an informal bar, opens off of the dining room through a high cased opening topped by fine wood spindle work. Facing the east, the room is walled by two full sides of glass windows taking full advantage of the sun during the first half of the day. The remaining two walls and ceiling are painted to compliment the dining room, and the floor is completely surfaced with ceramic tile. The breakfast room measures 6' x 10'.

At the north end of the hall-foyer is the center hall. Measuring 3' x 10', it has a dropped ceiling topped with a fancy wood spindle work. The floor is carpeted, the walls are painted, and the center hall leads one to the main floor bathroom and to the office.

The office is 10' x 8'6" and has a dropped ceiling. This room does not reflect the architectural period of the house as do the other rooms. The office has wainscote-height paneling and built-in cabinets shelves. The floor is carpeted.

The main floor bathroom measures 7'6" x 15'. It has a built-in vanity with a large mirror and double swag lights, the ceiling is original hand painted, and has a wall-hung water closet. The bathroom has been fitted by a modern toilet and 4'6"tub with an overhead shower.

The kitchen is a modern "U"-shaped design with several built-in appliances. One can enter the kitchen from the rear hall or from the pantry via the dining room. The kitchen is 12' x 16'6", it has a 9' kitchen bar with an eating shelf and a 7'6" nook with space for a small kitchen table. The room is well lighted and fully carpeted.

The pantry is located between the dining room and kitchen and has access to both. The walls are lined with upper and lower cabinets for storage, and there is an open counter space. The pantry is carpeted and opens up on to the back porch.

The rear stair is three feet wide and leads off the rear hallway to the second floor central hallway. Given a natural wood finish, it has one landing and winders that provide for a ninety-degree turn.

2. The Second Floor

The second floor consists of a main hallway, a small rear hall, a bathroom, a master bedroom, and five additional bedrooms. All the rooms on this floor have wood panel doors with transom lights above each.

The main hallway averages 8'6" x 12' and opens off the main stairway from the first floor hall-foyer. The hallway runs north and south and thus divides the second floor into east and west sections. At the southern end of the hallway is a stained glass insert door leading onto the front balcony. The hall carpet is the same as that of the main floor: a gold acrilan over a 70-ounce foam pad with a high/low tip sheared pattern.

The rear hall, located at the north end of the second floor, ranges from four to five feet in width. Carpeted, it leads to the rear stairway which, in turn, takes one down to the first floor, providing easy access to the pantry and kitchen.

The master bedroom is irregular in shape, yet average 24' x 14' in size. It has ivory colored wallpaper, ivory colored woodwork finish, and a pink wool carpet. Both windows in the room are boxed out. The east window is an Austrian shade with over drapes and valances in green and gold antique satin. The front corner windows have draw sheers, with a draw drapes valance. The front corner window seat is covered with green crushed velvet.

The master bedroom has its own bathroom, while the remaining five bedrooms share the hallway bathroom. The master bedroom bathroom is now a modern facility with tiled floor and walls. Entering through café doors, the bathroom contains a marble-top vanity, a 3' x 4'6" shower, and a hung water closet.

Within the entry-hall of the master bedroom are the original hall lights above a large framed mirror. Further centered in the sitting area hangs a Maria Theresa cut crystal chandelier.

The remaining five bedrooms range in size from as large as 18'6" x 10'6" to as small as 12' x 8'. Located on both sides of the main hall, they now serve as guest rooms for visiting friends and relatives.

The northeast bedroom has double closets- and an off-white acrylic carpet, and washable pink wallpaper; the southwest bedroom' has two windows with a view of the city, a connecting door with the west-center bedroom, the walls are painted, and retains its original carpet; the west-center bedroom, adjoining the southwest bedroom, has painted walls, a wool blue carpet, and a set of boxed out windows with stained glass; the northwest bedroom is painted and is floored with a green nylon carpet; the final bedroom also serves as a linen storage room. With its original carpet, this bedroom has an entire wall devoted to storage containing doors and drawers. Further, the room has a walk-in closet with drawers and shelves for more storage.

The hallway bathroom is for the occupants of the five subordinate bedrooms. Measuring 8'x9' in size, it is a completely new and modern facility excepting its original six foot long bathtub.

The upper-half story serves as an attic for the Mock House. It is basically unfinished except for one room with a 1,000 square foot area. Serving as a storage room, it is insulated, contains several storage cabinets, and usually remains locked.

Of further interest: In 1971, a four-ton Rheem central air-conditioning unit was installed. It serves the entire main floor, the master bedroom, and two more bedrooms on the second floor.

The system's installation was an amazing feat, in that first it could be installed at all in a structure such as Mock's Residence, and second; that it was accomplished without compromising the home's appearance.

npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/da02787d-5a69-4348-8f9d-b...

Star Hawk Vx

Less than three lunar months after the mysterious disappearence of Unitron system's Star Hawk V test prototype, sightings were reported of a Galaxy Patrol fighter that bore a striking resemblance to the missing craft.

Galaxy Patrol Engineering and Weapons Division added upgraded proton fusion gravity drive engines designed for a much larger craft, making the Vx capable of achieving incredible speeds and distances. Unitron surveillance gear was scrapped in favor of twin triple-barrel plasma cannons and photon missile batteries.

The Vx also displays the Galaxy Patrol’s dark blue and orange livery and characteristic bling.

Unitron system representatives deny any link to their missing craft.

Made for Disty's architecture contest. A quick little entry and nothing fancy, but I wanted to make an entry of some kind and those treads jumped out at me as perfect for a bridge. Purple tiles because I have little System and purple is a great color anyway.

There's a fair bit of System with the studs, cheese, and tiles, but with all the pins inside holding it together I think the System's less than a quarter of the parts.

And a Merry Christmas everyone!

Boeing and NASA teams work around Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft after it landed at White Sands Missile Range’s Space Harbor, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in New Mexico. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) is Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. OFT-2 serves as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Clem's travels took him to New Zealand on at least one occasion. Here in the city of Auckland he captured the system's penultimate new bus, No.132. It was a 1959 built BUT RETB/1 with bodywork by Park Royal to a very low slung design. Livery was yellow and cream in case anyone was wondering.

I've no direct date to hand for the photo, but the system closed in 1980 and there's a Range Rover on the left . . . the first of which were built in 1970, so I guess that gives us the decade!

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen as it is rolled out of the horizontal integration facility at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Demo-1 mission, Feb. 28, 2019 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Demo-1 mission will be the first launch of a commercially built and operated American spacecraft and space system designed for humans as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission, currently targeted for a 2:49am launch on March 2, will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)