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Weber Restorification Project Steampunk Grill
The Steampunk Weber now has a fan page on Facebook!
Soon to be seen at Steampunk Bizarre 2
Particularly in Texas, ironically an energy state, because when we run out of water due to the severe prolonged drought, we can no longer generate electricity. The standard steam turbine generator cannot operate without massive amounts of water. Normally, 25% of our water is used in the generation of electricity. But 25% of nothing is Zero. So, as it is predicted by everyone who studies weather Texas will run out of water sometime in 2012, and 25 million people will suddenly be without water and electricity. There are no quick fixes for either shortage. Texas is not connected to the national power grid, so massive power lines would have to built for hundreds of miles, a 2 year project. There is no water supply anywhere close to the state. NO ONE has any idea how to solve that problem. Therefore our population density will have to decrease to something like New Mexico/Arizona, which in the most optimistic scenario means 5 or 6 million people. We have almost 26 million. Those numbers don't match up, so about 20 million people will have to migrate out of Texas. To make matters even worse most will have to go by car and it is at least 1000 miles to regions that have the water and housing to accommodate any of them. This is logistical nightmare. If 20 million leave over a three year period, that adds 20,000 vehicles per DAY to our already congested interstates. That means that all highways going north and east from Texas will resemble parking lots for >1000 miles and become useless to the people in other states that normally use them. This will disrupt all shipping by trucks going east or north for the entire center of the country east and north of Texas. So, this catastrophic drought will trigger the largest migration ever in the industrialized world, and the impact will be so massive that our respect for the coming era of more violent weather and climactic change the Weather Modelers and tree huggers have been screaming about for over two decades, will rise to an appropriate level. All the corporate and Right Wing resistance to the ecological movement and the environmentalists will cease. It will be crystal clear to everyone that we learn how to adapt to nature or we will perish. There is no room for greed or any abuse of the environment in this necessary adaptation. Finally the most wasteful nation in the world (we are 5% of the world's population and we still use 30% of the energy recourses, unchanged in 20 years of public knowledge that this is the situation. Lots of talk and no improvement in 20 years is pathetic. I believe there are two reasons for this disgusting failure. We are inexplicable attached to stupid, needless and useless aspects of our consumerism lifestyle, like big powerful cars and trucks (come on that's teenager stuff---you don't need 350 HP to drive to work or carry a couple of 4x8 pieces of plywood???), lighting our homes and cities like its the middle of the day all night long, insisting on a perfect 70 degree indoor climate 24/7 regardless of the outdoor conditions in our homes and work places (for GOD's sake wear a couple of sweaters or wear shorts and T-shirts, dress codes are idiotic, open windows, build facilities where the temperature can be controlled by simple mechanical means), and our obsession with lawns (we waste 25% of our water on grass; I think it comes from a fantasy about the British Aristocracy---those stunning estates with the wide perfect grass---but guess what, you don't need to water grass in that climate). So let's give up all the childish obsessions, so we can survive.
Because Frederick Haymaker’s second wife, Rachel Davis died in childbirth in 1809, Frederick sent Rachel’s baby, James Davis, to Meadville to be raised by Rachel’s parents.
James was raised probably in Meadville, PA by his maternal grandparents for the first ten years of his life, and received only a limited education. At ten years of age he returned to live with his father, who had married again, and was living at Brady’s Run, Beaver County, PA. At the age of 14, he moved with his father back to Franklin Twp, OH and worked for his father in the woolen mill.
James D. served as a Justice of the Peace for several terms. At the age of 21, he engaged for two years in the manufacture of wooden pails in Franklin Mills; the next two years he had charge of a hotel at Fairport, on Lake Erie; then returning to Franklin he engaged in farming.
Today's We're Here Challenge: Because Of Water
I headed to the Whitewater Preserve because it is there Because Of Water that runs from the mountains to the valley floor. It is currently a small stream but after a good rain it really gets going and has caused a few deaths by drowning.
After that I did some quick shopping & photo snapping before coming home for the evening.
2 jours et 2 nuits de showcases exclusifs, expériences immersives, créations artistiques inédites et rencontres sur les 8 niveaux du Centre Pompidou, juste avant sa fermeture pour rénovation et le lancement d'une riche programmation hors les murs.
Le plus grand événement jamais organisé au Centre Pompidou, conçu avec le label indépendant pionnier Because Music, qui célèbre ses 20 ans.
Because You Love Me by Celine Dion
For all those times you stood by me
For all the truth that you made me see
For all the joy you brought to my life
For all the wrong that you made right
For every dream you made come true
For all the love I found in you
I'll be forever thankful baby
You're the one who held me up
Never let me fall
You're the one who saw me through through it all
You were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldn't speak
You were my eyes when I couldn't see
You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn't reach
You gave me faith 'coz you believed
I'm everything I am
Because you loved me
You gave me wings and made me fly
You touched my hand I could touch the sky
I lost my faith, you gave it back to me
You said no star was out of reach
You stood by me and I stood tall
I had your love I had it all
I'm grateful for each day you gave me
Maybe I don't know that much
But I know this much is true
I was blessed because I was loved by you
You were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldn't speak
You were my eyes when I couldn't see
You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn't reach
You gave me faith 'coz you believed
I'm everything I am
Because you loved me
You were always there for me
The tender wind that carried me
A light in the dark shining your love into my life
You've been my inspiration
Through the lies you were the truth
My world is a better place because of you
You were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldn't speak
You were my eyes when I couldn't see
You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn't reach
You gave me faith 'coz you believed
I'm everything I am
Because you loved me
HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!
Because you are all unique and wonderful people my dear Flickr friends! ox
It's the Little Things #328
Siempre existen esos dÃas. Esos dÃas donde nada sale bien....donde... por un mÃnimo detalle todo se arruina y por una cadena de errores el dÃa termina mal.
Tiendo a cometer errores, suelo ser inseguro, suelo pensar mucho las cosas antes de hacerlas (lo que deriva a que no haga muy bien todo)... valoro mucho lo que tengo... tengo miedo a perder o dañar a las personas que valoro.
Al no querer dañar a las personas que me rodean, no hago cosas que sà deberÃa hacer... a veces (siempre) me termina pasando la cuenta y me doy cuenta que erré. Es ahÃ, cuando con lágrimas logro darme cuenta de las personas y cosas que tengo a mi lado.
Tengo mejores amigos, pero amigos como tú. Nunca tendré. No te quiero perder. Digan lo que digan, comenten lo que comenten... las personas no te conocen, eres una persona maravillosa y siempre te lo he dicho. Mi mayor temor en estos momentos es que me dejes de lado. No lo hagas, porfavor. Te quiero mucho. Soy humano... y me cuesta hacer las cosas de la forma correcta. Para Ro.
En la foto: de verdad me quedé dormido.
scanned from a negative, escaneado de un negativo
A very pretentious self portrait.
Un autoretrato pretencioso
Because of the spooky colours and composition, this photo of the Pantheon in Paris could be on the cover of a Dan Brown-like book.
Dress: *Just BECAUSE* Sabrina Dress - FatPack
Hair: TRUTH Collective (HUD.Unpack) Dusk / - Brunette
Photos taken at Sunny's Studiio
Backdrop: FOXCITY - It's Your Funeral
Collab with Night
I wanted to include this picture because it shows the characteristic desert landscape of Rajasthan. At its most extreme the Thar desert is uninhabited and inhospitable, but much of the larger surrounding desert fringe is arable, and also provides habitat for an amazing variety of animals and birds, including the Indian Gazelle, Red Fox and a wild cat called caracal; eagles, harriers, falcons, buzzards, kestrel and vultures, and a variety of reptiles.
Sedos, the City of London's premier theatre company, presents the modern day musical love Story I Love You Because, by Joshua Salzman and Ryan Cunningham, at the Bridewell Theatre from 16-20 September 2014.
Find out more at www.sedos.co.uk/2014/iloveyoubecause.htm
Photos by Michael Smith
Taken last night while I was hanging with the girls.
Gabrielle was awake quite a bit, and I hadn't uploaded any of her lately, so....
Taken with the Nikkor 50mm/1.4 AI
Because of HJC withdrawing the 509 route First Bradford have taken advantage and started putting at least one Double decker on the 681 each day.
{♪} No cometeré los mismos errores que tu
No me permitiré causarle tanto dolor a mi corazón
No cejaré como tu lo hiciste
Tu caÃda fue tan grande
Que he aprendido de la manera difÃcil
A nunca dejar las cosas llegar tan lejos
Por tu culpa
Nunca me arriesgo
Por tu culpa
He aprendido a jugar del lado seguro
Para que no me lastimen
Por tu culpa
Me es muy difÃcil confiar
No solo en mi, sino en todos los que me rodean
Por tu culpa
Tengo miedo
Perdà el camino
Y no pasó mucho tiempo antes de que me señalaras
No puedo llorar
Por que se que para ti eso refleja debilidad
Me veo forzada a fingir, una risa, una carcajada
Cada dÃa de mi vida
Es imposible que mi corazón se pueda romper
Cuando ni siquiera estaba completo
Por tu culpa
Nunca me arriesgo
Por tu culpa
He aprendido a jugar del lado seguro
Para que no me lastimen
Por tu culpa
Me es muy difÃcil confiar
No solo en mi, sino en todos los que me rodean
Por tu culpa
Tengo miedo
Te vi morir
Te escuché llorar
Cada noche mientras dormÃas
Yo era tan joven
Debiste buscar una mejor opción que apoyarte en mi
Nunca pensaste en nadie más
Solo veÃas tu dolor
Y ahora yo lloro
En la mitad de la noche
Por lo mismo
Por tu culpa
Nunca me arriesgo
Por tu culpa
He aprendido a jugar del lado seguro
Para que no me lastimen
Por tu culpa
Me he esforzado mucho por olvidar todo
Tengo miedo
No se como dejar que alguien entre en mi vida
Tengo miedo
Me avergüenza mi vida por que está vacÃa
Por tu culpa
Tengo miedo
Por tu culpa... {♪}
{♫} Because Of You / Kelly Clarkson {♫}
Quien sea se sentirá sola/o identificada/o :) ahaahah lo que si... No es alguien que este dÃa a dÃa conmigo :) POR SUERTE!
Se ve muy flaco mi brazo :O...
FELIZ CUMPLE CAMI (^)
Melissa is a true hero on the bike and in the world of Animal Rescue. She does more for dogs-in-need than anyone I have ever met. She has the kindest heart for animals in need, and when she's not busy finding homes for these kind creatures, she turns into "The Hammer" a spandex-clad racing fiend on two-wheels!!
Please check out her site and help support her most wonderful effort: www.animalmattersonline.org
Also, please check out www.rescuerehabhome.org/ which she is also affiliated with :)
Usually when we talk about energy, we are refering to an ongoing source of power, something that is able to generate power, such as an electric generator. In a similar manner, when we speak of an energetic person, we usually mean a vigorous person, someone who possesses enormous energy. When we are around such a person, we feel there is a bank of energy happening. That person works so hard that we feel guilty being idle around him or her. We feel that we should do something too, and we begin to work very hard. Then no one can say that we have been bad boys and girls, that we haven't done our chores, washed the dishes or ironed the sheets. Because we feel that person's enormous energy, we begin to perk up, and we stop being idle. We begin to take part in the energy.
Then there is another kind of energy, which is self-existing. Self-existing energy is not dependant on something or somebody else; it simply takes place continuously. Although the source of such energy is difficult to track down, it is universal and all-pervasive. It happens by itself, naturally. It is based on enthusiasm in the sense that we trust what we are doing, and freedom in the sense that we are completely certain that we are not going to be imprisoned by our own energy, but instead, freed constantly. In other words, we realise that such energy does come up by itself, and that we can work with it. This self-existing energy is the potentiality of siddhi, a Sanskrit word that refers to the ability to use the existing energies of the universe in a very special and appropriate way.
Self-existing energy is difficult to describe in words or concepts. When we try to describe this pattern of energy, we are only fingerpainting. Basically, it is the energy of the psychological realm. No matter what state of mind we are in, we experience a particular quality of life, that is, we experience an emotion. We begin to feel an electric spark taking place. That energy can come out of having a quarrel with our wife or out of having a severe accident or a love affair. It comes out of being either rejected or accepted.
This energy is created both when we fail to do something and when we accomplish something. Rejection or acceptance by the world does not mean that the energy is either invalid or valid. Rather, there is transparent energy happening all the time. Whether we are in a appropriate situation, in accordance with the laws of the universe, or we are in a inappropriate situation, not in accordance with the laws of the universe, energy is constantly taking place. This energy, from the vajrayana or tantric point of view, is simply the energy that exists. It does not mean being hard-working or extremely industrious, always doing things, being a busybody, or anything like that. This energy can come from all kinds of challenges, in the positive or negative sense. Such energy takes place constantly.
Self-existing energy permeats all of our emotional relationships: our emotions towards our relatives, our lovers, our friends, and our enemies. It also permeats our philosophical beliefs: either something is happening "right" according to our beliefs, or something has gone "wrong" according to our beliefs. Some situations try to dislodge us from our philosophical or religious commitments, and some situations try to draw us into certain commitments. All kinds of energies take place. So when we talk about energy, we are not talikng about vigor alone but about that which exists in our lives. It is as though flint and steel were rubbing against each other and sparking constantly, again and again. That is, the phenomenal world exists, and we either rub against it or with it, and that rubbing is constantly creating a spark.
According to the tantric understanding of reality, energy is related to the experience of duality, the experience that you exist and others exist. Of course, both those concepts are false, but who cares about that? -- at the time, anyway.The deceptive existence of you and other rubs together, nevertheless. Sometimes you are conquering the world and sometimes the world is conquering you. It is like riding on a balloon in the ocean: sometimes the balloon rides on you and you are underneath the ocean; sometimes you ride on the balloon and the balloon is underneath the ocean. That play of duality takes play constantly; that kind of electricity takes place all the time.
So the basic notion of energy is nothing particularly magical or miraculous. It is simply rubbing together of the duality of you and the phenomenal world, you and other. We are talking about that spark, that fire. It is real fire, real water, real earth, and real air: the real elements are working with you. Still, at this point we have no idea who you are, actually. Let's just say we are talking about the basic you. Let's leave it vague at this point; otherwise it is going to get too complicated. Just leave it at you, this vague stuff that exists somewhere or other in the middle of the cosmos.
At this point the question arises of how we can handle, or utilize, such energy. In fact, that has been a question for a long, long time. For 2,500 years the same question has been asked: how can we handle self-existing energy; how can we work with it? Fundamentally, that question is the question of how to handle duality, or the basic split.
The split between self and other is taking place constantly, constantly creating energy, and we are always trying to work with it. Our approach is usually to try to unify the split in order to avoid the energy. We may say, "I am a good man; I am a bad man; I am Joe; I am Mary". In doing so, we are trying to bring self and other together in a superficial sense, as if no energy existed at all, as though everything were going smoothly: "There is nothing to worry about; everything's going to be okay. I am Mary, and that's smooth. There is no gap between I and am and Mary at all". Or we try to avoid the split by refusing to say "I am". Instead we might say, "My name is Mary." Still we have a problem. That approach of smoothing things out and trying to make everything presentable and respectable brings enormous problems, enormous questions. In fact, instead of getting rid of the energy, it raises further energy.
The attempt to define who we are and who we are not is basically split into two approaches: the theistic approach and the nontheistic approach. In the nontheistic approach we simply acknowledge the dualistic gap rather than trying to unify it or conceal it. In the theistic approach, there is an ongoing attempt to conceal that gap completely. There is a notion of spiritual democracy. In fact, that approach is often used in dealing with political and social problems: "Blacks are not against whites -- we are all the same species. Since we all live on the same earth, we should regard ourselves as a brotherhood".
That approach of covering up of separateness, pretending that the black man is a white man, is the cause of all kinds of problems; but the theistic approach can go much further than that, to the point of covering up any differences: "Let us have real unity. We can conceal this problem. We can iron it out completely, like a cloth. Let us work in such a way that when we have ironed our sheet we can even conceal seams. In fact, we can make the whole sheet seem to be made out of one big cloth. God is in us and we are God. It's all one, so don't worry".
Another way to cover the gap is to try to eliminate discomfort. The modern world has provided us with all sorts of conviniences: television, beautiful parents, lots of toys to play with, automobiles, and so on. There are notices everywhere offering entertainment and telling us how to handle ourselves. Even while we are flyingin an airplane, we have food to entertain us. The world has provided all kinds of entertainment to make us feel better, to make sure that we do not feel bad or lonely. When we board an airplane, the stewardess says, "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen. I hope you have a comfortable flight. Call us if you need any help". That is a theistic remark, and such remarks occur all the time.
On the other hand, we could act without guidelines. This possibility may be completely unappealing to people who are used to their luxury. Nevertheless, it is a very thruthful way to relate with things, and there is no room for deception. In this approach there is no hospitality; we have to provide our own hospitality. We have to work on ourselves. We are provided with kits, K-rations, booklets, and our own parachutes, and off we go.If we land on the top of a tree, we try to make the best of it; if we land in a gorge, we try to make the best of it. That is the nontheistic lifestyle: we can't do everything for one another. We have to make do for ourselves. We have to learn how to live with nature. So the nontheistic tradition is much harsher than the theistic tradition. It is very skeptical, unyielding, and somewhat outrageous.
We are not comparing Eastern and Western philosophies here, but theistic and nontheistic traditions, wherever they occur. We might hypothesize that Easterners think in a different way than Westerners, and that Eastern philosophy expresses this different style of thought. But philosophy is not that neatly divided into East and West. The basic thinking processes of the East and the West are the same. The only difference that exists is between the thinking style of ego and nonego. Failing to acknowledge that difference in style becomes a tremendous problem.
The standard approach to ecumenicism is to try to pretend that theism and nontheism are not different. But this is another theistic attempt to conceal the discomfort or the energy that comes from experiencing duality. We should be aware that differences exist. Then true ecumenicism, or continuity, can come about Because of the differences.
In comparing theism and nontheism, we are discussing different approaches to separateness. In the theistic approach, we know that things are separate, but since we don't like it, we feel we should Do something about it. We don't like the separateness; so we try to overcome it to the best of our ability, and that becomes an enormous problem. In the nontheistic approach, we also know that things are separate; therefore things are unified. Things are different, but that is not regarded as a problem. Fire is hot and water is cold, but still they can co-exist. Fire can boil water, changing it into steam, and water can kill fire. We should not be embarrassed about the functions of the universe.
We are still talking about energy -- energy and reality. And we are concerned with what actual reality is. Is reality a gap, a crack, or is reality a big sheet of cloth, all-pervasive. In the nontheistic tradition of Buddhist tantra, when we begin to have a relationship with the world, we do not try to make sure that the world is part of us. In fact, the question of separation does not come up at all. According to the nontheistic tradition, we do not believe ourselves to be creatures. We are some kind of being -- or nonbeing, for that matter -- but we were never created, and therefore we are not particularly creatures. Nevertheless, there is a sense of continuity, without hysteria, without panic, without any congratulatory remarks or attempts to smooth things out. The world exists and we exist. We and the world are separate from that point of view -- but so what? We could regard the separateness as part of the continuity rather than trying to deny it.
In the nontheistic approach, there is continuity, openness, and oneness -- but in the sense of zeroness rather than even oneness. The nonexistence of a dualistic barrier does not quite mean that we are one, but that we are zero. Nontheism is the basis for understanding that. Tantra is continuity, so the thread of tantra runs through our life from beginning to end. In a sense, the beginning is part of the end, so a complete circle, or mandala, is formed. The beginning is the beginning of the end, and the end is the beginning of the beginning. That continuity is tantra. It is the continuous thread of openness that we could experience throughout our lives. Because of that, whatever sense perceptions or realms of experience come up, we can work through them.
From this point of view energy is very simple, extremely simple: energy is separate from you; therefore, energy is part of you. Without You separateness cannot exist. That is the dichotomy in Buddhist logic: you have form; therefore you do not have form. You cannot have form if you do not have formlessness, if you do not acknowledge or perceive formlessness. In the same way, you exist Because you do not exist. Such riddles are regarded by Buddhists as the truth.
According to the tantric tradition of nontheism, energy is vital and important. Of course, in this approach we are viewing the world purely as a psychological process: if we do not have mind, we do not exist. The world comes out of our mind; it is created by our mind. From that point of view, working with energy, or developing siddhi, means that we do not have to depend on feedback but that we relate with life as straightforwardly and directly as possible. We relate directly to our domestic world, our enemies, our friends, our relatives, business partners, policemen, the government, or whatever happens in our life. We relate directly with energy as much as possible.
We are not talking about centralizing energy within ourselves, making ourselves into little atom bombs and then exploding. Working with energy in a tantric sense is a decentralized process. That is very important point. We are talking about energy as something spreading, opening. Energy becomes all-pervasive. It is all and everywhere. If we centralize energy in ourselves, we are asking for trouble. We will find that we become like baby snakes who are vicious and angry but still very small. Or we may find that we are like extremely passionate, horny little baby peacocks. So it is important to remember that, in Buddhist tantra, energy is openness and all-pervasiveness. It is constantly expanding. It is decentralized energy, a sense of flood, ocean, outer space, the light of the sun and moon.
CHOGYAM TRUNGPA / Journey without Goal / Shambhala Publications
Just because this one makes me smile.
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it was because of my grandmother that i never got to know my grandfather. for some reason that i'm sure made total sense to her, she caused a bit of a rift in our family a long time ago. i was maybe 13 or 14 when it all happened and for the next few years after i didn't really see them all that much. and then i didn't see them at all.
until a few years ago: my grandfather was in the hospital in London and my dad had been going up to visit him, so i asked if i could come along. and for the first time in nearly 20 years, i got to see him again. and talk to him.
and i realized how much i had missed him. and it made me want to laugh, and to smile. and it made me want to cry.
i got to go visit him back in Windsor only one more time before he died. it was one of the days that i will remember for the rest of my life. he was staying (i believe) at the Villa Maria, which sits right on the Detroit River nearly under the Ambassador Bridge. we sat outside at a table, and watched the ships go by, and he told stories i had never heard before—things about when he was in the air force, and when he was over in the war. i wished to god i had had a tape recorder, because i'm never going to remember all of the things he said.
and when i went down for his funeral, i saw my grandmother again for the first time since i was 14 or 15. and i was polite. and i said hello. and she looked quite the same as i remembered (though obviously older), but at the same time it was like being introduced to a stranger.
and i couldn't tell if i wanted to hate her, or to hug her.
but maybe she wasn't totally to blame—i've been an adult now for quite some time, and if had really wanted to rectify the situation, couldn't i have at least tried...?
i don't know.
it doesn't really matter now though.
i had been thinking about all of this more and more since he died, and i had been working up the courage to get back in touch with her when my father called to tell me that she was ill, that they had had to move her from her house to 'The Lodge' because she couldn't take care of herself anymore.
and i thought about going down to visit. i struggled with it.
and ultimately, i decided that i would go see her over christmas, and that i would see how i felt about things then.
and then she died.
5 am christmas morning.
just hours before we were going to visit.
my dad woke me up around 6, and him and my brother and myself, we went down to see her.
it wasn't quite the way i was expecting it to happen, but i did get to go visit her in the end. and tried my best to say my goodbyes.
* * * *
the photo?
oh, right.
so, a few days later we were at the house, moving her stuff back from 'The Lodge'.
"if you see anything you want, take it" they said—so this is what i have, this jacket (his) and its twin (hers). and since i can't have THEM anymore, i guess these will have to make do.
* * * *
THE DETAILS : shot against the red wall in my office using a 580EX bounced off the ceiling and side wall.