This photo is of Alex, a veteran and dedicated activist committed to progressive causes - here protesting against Assange's continued imprisonment and extradition.

Thousands of people gathered around the British parliament on Saturday 8 October 1922 to form the first ever human chain to surround the building to protest against Julian Assange's continued imprisonment and extradition. Many of the activists had travelled hundreds of miles - I met people who had travelled from Belgium, France and Germany.

The long line of people snaked around parliament's perimeter railings and across both Lambeth and Westminster bridges as well as traversing the south side of the river between St. Thomas' Hospital and Lambeth Palace, each person holding the hand of the person next to them. As a few people attached yellow ribbons to the railings by parliament they were immediately instructed by the police to remove them.

For the last eight months Julian Assange, who is being held in the maximum security Belmarsh Prison, has been kept completely isolated and without visitors, except for his lawyers. He been detained in appalling conditions and the former UN Special Rapporteur on torture, Neils Melzer, commented in 2019 that Assange showed 'all the symptoms typical for prolonged exposure to psychological torture,' adding that 'what we have seen from the UK Government is outright contempt for Mr Assange's rights and integrity.'

www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2019/11/un-expert-torture...

The United States wants to extradite Julian Assange to the United States on a supposed charge of espionage. However, Assange's real crime is that he revealed US and Western war crimes in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere. As the founder and chief editor of Wikileaks he has provoked Washington's fury by the publication of US Army intelligence files leaked by Chelsea Manning in 2010 as well as subsequent revelations which have embarrassed the American establishment, including Democratic Party emails which showed how senior officials in the party's national committee favoured Hilary Clinton over the more progressive and radical Bernie Sanders.

Former Home Secretary Priti Patel signed off on the extradition request earlier in the year, but that order is currently being appealed by Assange's lawyers, who are awaiting a decision by the High Court on whether they will agree to hear it.

As far as I understand it, the remit of the appeal has been restricted to examining the United States' claimed legal promises on how Assange will be treated, rather than to the wider issues of freedom of speech, the CIA plot to assassinate him, the extent to which the evidence against him has obviously been fabricated or as to whether his treatment in Belmarsh Prison has amounted to torture.

The former Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, attended Saturday's protest, as did the former leader of Unite, Len McLuskey, the independent (former Labour Party MP) Claudia Webbe, the comedian and actor Russel Brand and Mr Assange's wife, Stella. According to the Morning Star and the Evening Standard, Corbyn said

"I would say to MPs of any party, you're there to represent democracy and rights. That's what you sign up for. If Julian Assange is extradited, it will set forth fear among other journalists of doing anything to expose the truth. It becomes self-censorship of journalists all around the world. They'll say, 'hang, on, I'm not touching that, look what happened to Julian Assange.'"

morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/thousands-gather-human-...

www.standard.co.uk/news/london/russell-brand-julian-assan...

If Assange is convicted in the United States on the charges of espionage for exposing US war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as other wrongdoing by the United States and other governments, he faces up to 175 years in prison. Two days after the protest, it was reported that Assange had contracted covid.

Pennhurst Asylum

Spring City, PA

May 25th, 2014

I got to hang out with the awesome people Pennhurst Paranormal Association for 5 hours that was filled with paranormal stories, history and lots and lots of photography. And insane amount of photos to follow over the next few weeks. Stay tuned!

Some History of the place:

"Pennhurst was constructed and opened in 1908 as a state school for the mentally and physically disabled. Pennhurst's property was vast, covering 120 acres. Created to house over 10,000 patients at a point in time, Pennhurst was one of the largest institutions of its kind in Pennsylvania. Half of Pennhurst's residents were committed by court order and the other half were brought by a parent or other guardian. It was devoted strictly to the care, treatment and education of the disabled. Originally named Pennhurst Home for the Feeble Minded and Epileptic, it finally was just called Pennhurst State School. Pennhurst employed a large number of staff to help assist in maintaining the facility. This staff included a board of trustees, medical staff, dental staff, and specialists in psychology, social services, accounting, and various fields of education. The grounds of Pennhurst included a 300-bed hospital, which had a full nursing staff and two surgeons on call at all times. Others at Pennhurst included members of the clergy and farming experts who grew most of Pennhurst's food . Pennhurst was an essentially self-sufficient community, its 1,400-acre site containing a firehouse, general store, barber shop, movie theatre, auditorium and even a greenhouse. The buildings of Pennhurst were named after towns in Pennsylvania such as Chester and Devon. The original buildings were designed by architect Phillip H. Johnson. All of Pennhurst's electricity was generated by an on-site power plant. A cemetery lay on the property, as well as baseball and recreational fields for the residents. Many of Pennhurst's buildings were strictly for storage; however, the majority were dormitory and hospital-style living quarters for the residents. Many of the buildings had security screens that were accessed on the inside, to prevent patients from escaping, or jumping to their deaths. Most of the stairwells had security fences to keep patients from jumping over the railings. Many of the buildings are linked by an underground tunnel system designed for transportation of handicapped patients to and from the dormitory, recreational buildings and dietary.

Pennhurst was often accused of dehuminazitation and was said to have provided no help to the mentally challenged. The institution had a long history of staff difficulties and negative public image, for example, a 1968 report by NBC called "Suffer the Little Children". Pennhurst State School was closed in 1986 following several allegations of abuse. These allegations led to the first lawsuit of its kind in the United States, Pennhurst State School and Hospital vs. Halderman, which asserted that the mentally retarded have a constitutional right to living quarters and an education. Terry Lee Halderman had been a resident of the school, and upon release she filed suit in the district court on behalf of herself and all other residents of Pennhurst. The complaint alleged that conditions at Pennhurst were unsanitary, inhumane and dangerous, that these living conditions violated the fourteenth amendment, and that Pennhurst used cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the eighth and fourteenth amendments. After a 32-day trial and an immense investigation, prosecutors concluded that the conditions at Pennhurst were not only dangerous, with physical and mental abuse of its patients, but also inadequate for the care and habilitation for the mentally retarded. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania also concluded that the physical, mental, and intellectual skills of most patients had deteriorated while in Pennhurst.

In 1986, Pennhurst was ordered closed, and began a program of de-institutionalism that lasted several years. Once the buildings were closed, they began to rapidly deteriorate from lack of heating, moisture invasion and vandalism. Thousands of people began to illegally tour the property spray painting everything in sight and breaking all the glass in the place. Theft was rampant and the destruction of the property was in full swing. Patients were thrown out and a large homeless contingent developed in the area.

Pennhurst fell into complete ruin as the complex was shut down. Buildings were abandoned as they were, with patient’s clothes and belonging strewn about. Furniture, cabinets and medical equipment were left to decay as if someone had just got up and walked out the front door. This is the place that will eventually resurrect into one of the most studied properties in the ghost hunter media, and will become an amazing haunted attraction."

SOURCE: SOURCE: www.pennhurstasylum.com/index2.html#/history

For more info on photo tours and scheduling a paranormal investigation, contact Melissa at mjd.pennhurstpara@gmail.com

July 20th. Family is everything. I thought we'd do a family shot for the last pic in the theme of 'commit'. This is the first ever family jofolo pic on Flickr (and Ipernity) and also the first Mr jofolo shot. I should do more of these for the family album - they grow up so fast. It's hard to believe our eldest is now 15. We found out I was pregnant with her very early in our non married life, but you know when something is right. It was the push we both needed to settle. The next two followed very quickly and then we managed to get married before number four made her appearance. My lovely hubby and the kids (and the house, garden, and the dogs and cats and guinea pigs and frogs) are the biggest commitment I have ever made. And I love it!

Oh and after the serious shot we did the zombie shot in comments!

i have also chosen this as my weekly shot for the non themed 52s. week 29

A very interesting session at low tide one day last week. Perhaps the few weeks committed to an important issue has given me a new perspective, I don't know.

Committed to the drop.

Committed to Lomography Babylon using a Leica M3 and 50 mm Summicron dual-range lens. Developed using Ars-Imago R9 (rodinal) 1:99 in a semi-stand process for 80 minutes and scanned with an Epson V850 using Silverfast. Positive conversion and contrast done with Negative Lab Pro.

The other Europe with Tsipras -L' altra europa con Tsipras- η άλλη Ευρώπη με τον Τσίπρα

............................................................................................................................

done for Working Towards a Better World ❤️ WTBW ❤️

Angela Merkel said:

The willingness to learn new skills is very high

Politicians have to be committed to people in equal measures

When it comes to human dignity, we cannot make compromises

......................................................................................................................

Notional sun of justice

and you glorifying myrtle

don’t please don’t

forget my homeland! (poetry by Odysseas Elytis)

Της δικαιοσύνης ήλιε νοητέ

και μυρσίνη εσύ δοξαστική

μη παρακαλώ σας μη

λησμονάτε τη χώρα μου (ποίηση : Οδυσσέας Ελύτης)

......................................................................................................................

www.youtube.com/watch?v=niqrjP1VDeY

First one of 9 Combat Jumpers exiting the DC3 D-Day Doll airplane during the 2014 Wings over Camarillo Airshow. This guy even has a smile on his face!

Handheld pan shot from the ground.

This lone bird has committed to join flock feeding on the flattened corn is this field. Lots of flight action occurs in the early morning and late evening hours. The birds here are in continual movement between their feeding grounds and roost areas. Many flights are singles like with this bird, but they also often travel on short hops in small groups. The larger gatherings are generally for the intended longer flights or, perhaps when the entire feeding flock is spooked by something like a coyote attack.

IMG_9094; Sandhill Crane

Bringing your DB5 out to play in this weather takes a certain level of commitment!

Stagecoach have committed 50 buses to the Open Championship at Muirfield. Large fields are used as car parks and Stagecoach provide the shuttle service to Muirfield . In addition Drem Station car park becomes a bus station for the week of the event. The operation seems to run very smoothly with all the Stagecoach staff in good spirits and even the odd barbecue set up for lunch ( a few of the drivers had singed eyebrows) Stagecoach seem to rise to these occasions and the old Olympians sounded great even the scruffy ones. Well done Stagecoach .

If I was David Noton (or any seriously committed photographer) I would stay in a particular place (sometimes for up to 2 weeks at a time) to wait for the right light/conditions, in order to take away the image I came for. Unfortunately I cannot afford this luxury, I don't even have any holiday days left to take. So instead I have to do these day trips and rely on luck and hope the conditions are favourable. It usually turns out though that this is not the case and here is a classic example.

I went with the intention of shooting the Old Pier at Swanage, only to find to my horror an ugly landing stage in front of it spoiling the shot. Furthermore, the 'promised' stormy grey skies that would have made for some decent long exposures evaporated into nothingness.

This then is nothing more than a token shot from my day in Swanage, a beautiful place but for photography it was a waste of time. I came away with nothing but a disappoined camera and a fluffy toy rabbit I won in the amusement arcade.

If only I could live near these places, it might help.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Well I tried to do some Portraits of this group this year, and I did them in B&W as it fits their motif. This is my first time doing a portrait session like this, so I am grateful for the chance to do this.

Strobist info:

ISO 200

f 4

Shutter 1/10th

Ambient light to the right, a Canon 480 EXII flash to the left with a Firefly Softbox fired using a Hahnel Trigger.

This company is well-known on the rally scene with its beautifully-preserved Scania 141 and Volvo F88. It is history clearly proud of its as recounted on its website:

"The history of Swains of Stretton dates back almost 100 years, when we were founded by the great grandfather of the current director. We began in the forestry industry, hauling logs with horse drawn trailers from the forests of Wales and Shropshire, thence branching into the transportation of barytes from the mines at Snailbeach and gravel to the rail link at Minsterley, as well as transporting coal back to the mines. Over the next three decades, the company was involved in timber haulage and agricultural contracting. During the 50s, we moved into livestock haulage. Our first involvement in long distance transportation services was in the 1960s. During the 1970s, we became one of the pioneer companies of international haulage. Four generations later, Swains of Stretton is still committed to offering a reliable, professional and personal service in road haulage and international transportation" (25-Jun-16).

All rights reserved. These rights cannot be overridden by the rules of individual Flickr groups to which I agree to add my work. Please follow the link below for full terms and conditions and additional information about my work:

www.flickr.com/photos/northernblue109/6046035749/in/set-7...

WARNING: the photo is SAFE, but the text may not be suitable for younger or sensitive readers!

* * * * * * * *

When we first receive word that are to be detailed to the Tactical Unit, we naturally figure it has something to do with our stellar performance over the past few months. Actually, what they need are two white guys to replace the two who had committed the offense of High Treason when they conspired to betray our beloved Commander's trust by requesting a transfer to the 6th District. They are promptly busted down to Uniformed Patrol, whee they will have to serve their time in purgatory until said Commander feels that justice has been done...

We are rookies and therefore do not fully understand the inner-workings of the Third District. In short: we lack the good sense to decline the offer.

Our first night when we show up for work at the Tac Office, we don't know what to expect. We learn that the Tactical Unit consists of three separate teams that rotate at regular intervals: Days, Nights, and Relief. When you work the latter, you bounce back and forth to cover manpower shortages on the other two watches. Each team is headed up by a Sergeant, using the radio call-sign 361 (three-sixty-one), 362 (three-sixty-two), or 363 (three-sixty-three), depending on which watch his team is working. The Sergeant will then assign each of his two-man teams a letter suffix - A through D - giving us actual radio call-signs such as 361-Adam, 361-Boy, etc.

It doesn't make a lot of sense to put two rookie Tac-guys on the street as a team, but here we are, the blind leading the blind, walking out the door as 361-David. We're not about to ask anyone to take us by the hand, so we'll just have to wing it.

Just as we are about to hit the street, the early cars from the 3rd Watch are coming in for check-off, ready to hand in their reports, tickets, and whatever else they have to show for their 8 hours on the street.

Two wagon guys come in with some mope they just scooped up somewhere: "Anybody want this guy? We got him with some dope, but we just want to go home..."

Okay, they're offering us a freebie. We look at each other, and at the other guys on our team, wondering if we have to give them first crack at this pinch - based on seniority or some other unwritten rule we're ignorant of - but they turn up their nose: this caper is obviously beneath them...

Well, we figure this is better than nothing, and, since we don't know our ass from a hole in the ground when it comes to this tactical shit, we'd better take whatever we can get.

We knock out the paperwork in no time, and Kelly goes off to run the guy on the computer - a single terminal behind the central District Desk - to see if he has any outstanding warrants, which is standard procedure before we can take him to the lock-up. Lo and behold, the guy pops a murder warrant. Man, you should have seen the faces of the other guys on our team when thy find out what they had passed up. They are pissed!

The greatest revelation about working Tac is that we are part of a "team" in name only. We are actually competing with everybody else, and "points" is the name of the game and all of our arrests are logged in our daily activity report, better known as our "humper."

Right out of the gate, we'll hit 63rd Street, to see if we can scoop up a couple of hoes. They come in several varieties: He/Shes, Skanks or Skeezers, and Skullies. If a particular broad looks pretty good from a distance of 50 feet or more,

it's almost certainly a dude. Some of these guys have gone the whole nine yards, and are now the proud owners of a full set of female plumbing. Throw in some hormone shots and they'll even grow their own set of knockers. Most, however, have not yet gone that far, and they are still largely male under that no-so-subtle layer of make-up.

When you move in a little closer, you can see that Adam's Apple bobbing up and down, and, as the saying goes: if you're not careful, you may find out that the lovely lady has a bigger dick than you do...

Yet, for reasons I still don't comprehend, some guys will pay these gumps to suck their dick, and - since they're on the "receiving end" - they still firmly believe that they are not engaging in a homosexual sex-act.

If you ask these same customers if they're let one of these He/Shes fuck 'em in the ass, they are horrified: "What do you take me for...?" Well, you just said it was okay to be on the "receiving" end, right?

Anyway, with the AIDS epidemic running rampant, we make sure we know who we are dealing with before we slap the cuffs on any of our "ladies" of the night.

There aren't even that many He/Shes here on 63rd Street. Most customers looking for that type of action, take their business to the Wooded Island, just south of the Museum of Science & Industry, where they'll find a much wider selection to choose from, with very little police interference.

The real broads that work 63rd Street are usually revolting to look at from any distance. The Skanks and Skeezers may have a few months left before they hit rock-bottom, while the

Skullies as already there, in the final stages of disease, addiction and despair. Covered with open sores, they will give you a blow-job for a few bucks, with or without a condom. Once Crack arrives on the scene, it is not unusual for them to quote the prices for their services in "rocks" instead of dollars.

Regardless of their particular plumage, all prostitutes on 63rd Street usually hang out on street corners, preferably one with a corner tavern they can duck into when they see us coming down the street.

Most of them will do that slow stroll, with gyrating hips, while flashing their sagging little titties to entice passing motorists.

To make a legitimate arrest for prostitution, you have to use an under-cover office, and the prostitute must quote him a price for a specific sex act.

Well, our Tac Lieutenant doesn't want us to go through all that for no stinkin' misdemeanor arrest. Instead, we are to use an arcane, vaguely worded municipal ordinance, which only requires that we see them "flag down a lone motorist, and engage him in a brief conversation, which - in our experience as a law-enforcement officer - is the modus operandi of a prostitute plying her trade on the public way."

The uniformed officers who work 63rd Street will get to know the girls, and most of the time they'll give 'em a pass. Most of the time, they'll look out for the girls, and make sure they don't get hurt out there. Of course, in the "good old days" some coppers only treated them as human beings in return for a "freebie" to be cashed in on demand.

Tactical officers don't give anyone a break, unless they can "trade up" for something better, like a gun, some serious dope, or solid information on a violent felon. It's all about the number of heads you bring in at the end of the day. In the 3rd District - during that particular regime - quantity is more important than quality. It's true that you get more points for a homicide or rape offender, but we are not given the time necessary to trace down tips and leads in order to solve serious crimes. Instead, we have to some in with something...anything, no matter how insignificant or embarrassing it may be.

TO BE CONTINUED ON THE FOLLOWING PAGE OF THE ALBUM.

* * * * * * * *

The photo shows the same Tac Office where I worked back in 1988 and '89. This is where we processed our prisoners, and the small room in the back was a secure room where we could hold offenders for a short period of time, giving us the freedom to leave the office to track down additional leads and other offenders. This photo shows the same set-up used during the late-80s, but we had manual typewriters instead of computers...

In the book, I used a pseudonym for the many different officers I worked with over the years, but one I identified as Kenny, worked with me for most of my time on the job. Now that he has finally retired, I can give his real name: Kelly.

BASICS: Nevada Youth Training Center, Elko, NV. Rated at 110 beds. At time of visit there were 91 kids there, all male. NYTC is a rural facility, with 30-25 acres next to the highway. Average length of stay is 6.5 months. Levels are defined by uniforms. The kids are taken out to clear trails in Lemoille canyon. The director, Joe Payne, says they love it.

PICTURED: youths lining up to go to lunch in a cafeteria. The orange jumpsuits designate flight risks.

Stagecoach have committed 50 buses to the Open Championship at Muirfield. Large fields are used as car parks and Stagecoach provide the shuttle service to Muirfield . In addition Drem Station car park becomes a bus station for the week of the event. The operation seems to run very smoothly with all the Stagecoach staff in good spirits and even the odd barbecue set up for lunch ( a few of the drivers had singed eyebrows) Stagecoach seem to rise to these occasions and the old Olympians sounded great even the scruffy ones. Well done Stagecoach .

The wooden bangle like ornament worn on the feet of the Indian tribal lady or Lambadi. It symbolizes the woman is taken or committed.

This was never up for debate. Colleen and I knew as soon as I committed to buying Wild About Babysitting Fernessa, that we HAD to get the entire line. It's an unofficial line, you could say. Only Emberly and Roaralai are advertised with each other. But as they are all branded "Wild About," I would say it's fair to consider them a set. Tella could also be paired with the sleepover themed dolls, despite the fact that they are named something entirely different. I'm not sure if there is a version of her truly called "Stellar Sleepover," as I've seen stock images labeled as such online. But stock photos can be wrong, and my doll was labeled Wild About. Anyways, the concept of these gals being marketed with mini playsets and loads of accessories is so up my alley. Fernessa is the very reason I even got into collecting Cave Club dolls in the first place. Up until the day I laid eyes on her at Target after Christmas 2020, I always overlooked these dolls. She was my "gateway" dolly in that way, and she is responsible for the entire line (and all my other Cave Club friends) becoming part of the family. I would say she's my favorite from this set...but boy does she have steep competition. Both Colleen and I agree that Emberly has the coolest accessories. We both have a strangely strong affinity towards doll food. Likewise, Colleen has a pull towards sleepover dolls (as do I, but more so her), and I was always into the pet related ones. Thus why Wild About Cats and Wild About Sleepovers were so appealing. These four sets merge my major loves when it comes to dolls: food, babies, pets, and sleepovers. All they need now is to make a beach themed set and a school themed one, and my life will be complete! The quality and design elements of these sets are spot on. In fact, for their retail prices of $20 to $25, they were a better deal than their Monster High predecessors. Monster High dolls that retailed in the same range came with what, a pet and a bag....way lame compared to ALL these goodies. I also managed to snag all my gals, minus Tella, via the Amazon Warehouse for closer to $15 each. Banged up packaging = discounts for Shelly = more dollies!!! These dolls will forever be some of my favorites from the Cave Club line. They are perfection. I guess you could say I'm wild about the Wild About dolls!

Dolls in photo, from left to right:

-2019 Wild About Cats Roaralai

-2019 Wild About Babysitting Fernessa & Furrah

-2019 Wild About BBQs Emberly

-2020 Wild About Sleepovers! Tella

Committed to expired Fujifilm Superia 100 using a Leica M6 and 28 mm Summicron ASPH lens. Developed using a C-41 kit from Ars-Imago and scanned using an Epson V850 using Silverfast. Positive conversion, colour and levels done with Negative Lab Pro.

A mountain goat kid makes a daring leap across a divide in Badlands National Park. He made it but just barely. He landed on the small outcropping I noted, lost his grip and almost didn't make it. A collective gasp was let out by the dozen or so photographers that saw it. But he regained his footing and jumped to where the other kid is walking.

Committed to Lomography Fantome using a Leica M6 and 35 mm Summicron v3 lens. Developed using Ars-Imago R9 (rodinal) 1:50 as per the suggested times and scanned with an Epson V850 using Silverfast. Positive conversion and contrast done with Negative Lab Pro. Dust removal and further contrast adjustment in Photoshop.

Family Church is on mission to make disciples of Jesus in the places where we live, work and play. We are continuing a legacy of people committed to taking the gospel—the good news that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, was buried and raised from the dead—to the ends of the earth.

We were founded as the First Baptist Church of West Palm Beach in 1901 when there were fewer than 1,000 people living in the city. A small group met first in a home, then in the city’s reading room and then in a donated building on Clematis Street. As the church grew, we changed location and acquired buildings and property to accommodate the growth. Our current downtown worship center was built in the year 1965. Over the years, buildings have come and gone but our church has reinvented herself to continue spreading the gospel in South Florida.

This mission is more important now than ever before. There are an estimated 1.4 million people in Palm Beach County and 96% of them remain unconnected to God and His church. When Pastor Jimmy Scroggins came as our Lead Pastor in 2008, he brought to us a vision to plant 100 neighborhood churches. We want to more effectively go out to reach people rather than expecting them to come to us.

We are growing as a multicultural, multigenerational and multisite church. The name “Family Church” incorporates this vision and has allowed us to plant campuses across Palm Beach County and beyond. Our church planting residency program trains bi-vocational campus pastors as well as other pastors and ministry leaders in areas such as worship, assimilation, adults, students, kids and operations. These men and women are planting churches all over South Florida—turning a vision into a reality.

Each Family Church campus has been launched by a group of courageous individuals who are willing to go and make disciples. God raised up our first church plant, Family Church Abacoa in October 2010, out of a partnership between Family Church Downtown and Central Baptist Church. Our first Spanish-speaking campus, Iglesia Familiar Downtown, was launched in January 2011 and expanded in April 2014 when we partnered with Centro Familiar Cristiano to form Iglesia Familiar Greenacres. We are intentionally reaching out to the fastest-growing demographic in our area — those whose heart language is Spanish.

Family Church West was launched in October 2013 to reach our western communities, and Family Church Sherbrooke joined them to the south in October 2014. Then in March 2015, believing they would be better together, Family Church Abacoa partnered with Palm Beach Community Church to become Family Church Gardens. Continuing to pursue the vision of planting 100 neighborhood churches, Family Church Gardens launched the first Family Church “grandbaby,” Family Church Jupiter, in October 2015. We all partnered with the Church in The Farms and Harvest Bible Chapel in October 2016 to launch Family Church in The Farms.

God is still writing our story. There is no master plan other than His. We constantly challenge each other to be His ambassadors, joining God in the work He is doing to reconcile broken people to Himself. At each campus, we are committed to teach the Bible, build families and love our neighbors. We are on mission to be the church OUT THERE, helping people discover and pursue God’s design.

Credit for the data above is given to the following website:

gofamilychurch.org/story/

Committed to expired Kodak Ektachrome 100 using a Hasselblad 503CX and 100 mm f3.5 lens. Developed using an E6 kit from Ars-Imago and scanned using an Epson V850 using Silverfast.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on authentic facts. BEWARE!

Some background:

The Austrian Air Force in its current form was created in May 1955 by the victorious Allied powers, subject to restrictions on its use of guided missiles. The Austrian State Treaty of 1955 committed Austria to permanent neutrality. Pilot training started out with a four Yak-11 Moose and four Yak-18 Max aircraft donated by the Soviet Union, and Austria purchased further light trainer types under the Military Assistance Program. Until 1960 Austria purchased training and support aircraft under the MAP, but no modern fighter aircraft; the role of a fighter was rather inadequately filled by thirty already outdated Saab 29 Tunnan, bought second-hand from the Swedish Air Force in the early 1960s which equipped two fighter bomber squadrons.

The Austrian Lightnings’ planned service period of 10 years was almost doubled, though, due to massive delays with the Eurofighter’s development: In 2002, Austria had already selected the Typhoon as its new “Phase II” air defense aircraft, having beaten the F-16 and the Saab Gripen in competition, and its introduction had been expected to occur from early 2005 on, so that the Lightnings could be gradually phased out. The purchase of 18 Typhoons was agreed on 1 July 2003, but it would take until 12 July 2007 that the first Typhoon would eventually be delivered to Zeltweg Air Base and formally enter service with the Austrian Air Force. This operational gap had to be bridged with twelve F-5E leased from Switzerland for EUR 75 mio., so that Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) duties for the Austrian airspace could be continued.

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Length: 55 ft 3 in (16.84 m)

Wingspan: 34 ft 10 in (10.62 m)

Height: 19 ft 7 in (5.97 m)

Wing area: 474.5 sq ft (44.08 m²)

Empty weight: 31,068 lb (14,092 kg) with armament and no fuel

Gross weight: 41,076 lb (18,632 kg) with two AIM-9B, cannon, ammunition, and internal fuel

Max takeoff weight: 45,750 lb (20,752 kg)

Powerplant:

2× Rolls-Royce Avon 301R afterburning turbojet engines,

12,690 lbf (56.4 kN) thrust each dry, 16,360 lbf (72.8 kN) with afterburner

Performance:

Maximum speed: Mach 2.27 (1,500 mph+ at 40,000 ft)

Range: 738 nmi (849 mi, 1,367 km)

Combat range: 135 nmi (155 mi, 250 km) supersonic intercept radius

Range: 800 nmi (920 mi, 1,500 km) with internal fuel

1,100 nmi (1,300 mi; 2,000 km) with external overwing tanks

Service ceiling: 60,000 ft (18,000 m)

Zoom ceiling: 70,000 ft (21,000 m)

Rate of climb: 20,000 ft/min (100 m/s) sustained to 30,000 ft (9,100 m)

Zoom climb: 50,000 ft/min

Time to altitude: 2.8 min to 36,000 ft (11,000 m)

Wing loading: 76 lb/sq ft (370 kg/m²) with two AIM-9 and 1/2 fuel

Thrust/weight: 0.78 (1.03 empty)

Armament:

2× 30 mm (1.181 in) ADEN cannon with 120 RPG in the lower fuselage

2× forward fuselage hardpoints for a single AIM-9 Sidewinder AAM each

2× underwing hardpoints for 1.000 lb (454 kg) each

2× overwing pylon stations for 2.000 lb (907 kg each),

typically occupied with 260 imp gal (310 US gal; 1,200 l) ferry tanks

The kit and its assembly:

This was another submission to the “Hunter, Lightning and Canberra” group build at whatifmodellers.com in 2022 and intended as a rather simple build since it was based on an alternate reality plot: the weird story that Austria was offered a revamped fleet of ex-Saudi Arabian Lightnings is true(!), but the decision eventually fell in favor of revamped Saab J 35Ds from Sweden. For this what-if build I used the real historic timeline, replaced the aircraft, and built both story and model around this – and the result became the BAC Lightning F.56 in Austrian Air Force service.

Initially I wanted to use an Airfix BAC Lightning in The Stash™, a really nice model kit and a relatively new mold, but it turned out to be the kit’s F.2A variant. While very similar to the F.6, changing it into a F.53 analogue with the OOB parts turned out to be too complex for my taste. For instance, the F.2A kit lacks the ventral gun bay (it just comes with the auxiliary tank option since the guns are already located in front of the cockpit) and the cable conduits on the lower flanks. Procuring a suitable and priceworthy Airfix F.6 turned out to be impossible, but then I remembered a Hasegawa Lightning F.6 in The Stash™ that I had shot at ev!lbay many moons ago for a laughable price and without a concrete plan. However, this kit is pretty old: it has raised (yet quite fine, less robust than the Matchbox kit) panel lines and even comes with a pilot figure, but also many weak spots like the air intake and the jet exhausts that end in flat walls after some millimeters depth and a very basic cockpit. But for this rather simple what-if project the kit appeared to be a suitable basis, and it would eventually find a good use.

The Hasegawa Lightning was basically built OOB, even though I made some cosmetic amendments like a better seat for the pilot, hydraulic fluid lines on the landing gear made from wire or opening the flat walls inside of the air intake opening and the jet nozzles. Behind the radome, a simple splitter plate was added as well as a recessed bulkhead in front of an implanted Me 262 cockpit tub (the Hasegawa kit just offers a bare floor panel, nothing else!), the afterburners were extended inwards with parts from a Matchbox A.W. Meteor night fighter.

The Red Top AAMs and the in-flight refueling probe were omitted. Instead, I added extra F.53-style forward-swept pylons under the outer wings, scratched from 1.5 mm styrene sheet due to their odd, raked shape, and I added Sidewinder launch rails plus suitable missiles from a Hasegawa air-to-air weapons set to all four stations. After long consideration I also retained the ‘overburger’ tanks, partly because of the unique layout on the Lightning, and also because of operational considerations.

Chaff dispensers were scratched from styrene profiles and placed at the fin’s base. A fairing for the retrofitted radar warning sensor was added to the fin tip, created from 1.5 mm styrene sheet.

Painting and markings:

To reflect the “alternate reality” role of the Lightning I gave the model a livery similar to the Saab J 35Ö that were actually procured: an adaptation of the USAF “Egypt One” scheme, carried primarily by the USAF F-16s. Adapting this simple three-tone camouflage from the flat F-16 to the Draken was easy and straightforward, but applying it to a Lightning with its many vertical surfaces turned out to be a tough challenge. I eventually came up with a paint scheme that reminds of the late RAF low-viz Lightning liveries, which existed in a wide range of patterns and graduations of grey.

The colors were authentic, FS 36118, 36270 and 36375 (using Humbrol 125, 126 and 127), and I decided to emphasize the camouflage of the flanks against the horizon, so that the vertical surfaces and the fin became FS 36270. The undersides of wings, stabilizers and fuselage became FS 36375. The dark FS 36118 was only applied to the upper sides of the wings and the stabilizer, and to a high dorsal section, starting at the wing roots. As a small contrast, the tank area on the spine was painted in light grey, simulating unpainted fiber glass. The radome was painted with a streaky mix of Humbrol 155 and 56.

As usual, the model received a light black ink washing, some post-panel-shading in lighter tones, and, due to the raised panel lines, was very lightly rubbed with graphite. The cockpit interior was painted in medium grey (Revell 47) with an olive drab fabric fairing behind the black pilot seat, which received ejection handles made from thin wire as eye candy. The landing gear and the respective wells were painted in Humbrol 56 (Aluminum Dope).

The decals are a wild mix: The fuselage roundels are actually wing markings from a Hasegawa J 35OE, as well as the huge orange "06" on the wings (I could not resist; they will later be partly obscured by the overwing tanks, but the heck with it!). The roundels on the wings come from a generic TL Modellbau sheet - I found that I needed larger markings than those on the Draken.

Both unit and individual aircraft identifiers are single black DIN font digits, also from TL Modellbau. The unit badges on the fin are authentic, even though from an earlier era: they came from an Austrian J 29 of Fliegerregiment 2 from a PrintScale sheet, and all stencils were taken from the OOB low-viz RAF markings sheet, plus four small warning triangles for the underwing pylons.

A ‘what-if’ model in the purest sense, since this model depicts what could really have been: ex Saudi-Arabian export BAC Lightnings over the Austrian Alps! However, refurbished Saab J 35D Draken made the race (and later followed by the Eurofighter Typhoon at ‘Stage 2’), so that this Lightning remains fictional. It does not look bad in the ‘Egypt One’ paint scheme, though, better than expected!

Since 9/11 the number of crimes committed daily by America's corporations & politicians has increased so dramatically that no one - & no single agency - is able to feel adequately informed. During this era of runaway mob scheming & proliferation I've read 25 & usually more serious news articles daily, which is the minimum number that must be examined & absorbed to enable more than a glimmer of the magnitude & scope of the criminality.

In the early months of George W. Bush's institutionalization of Federal Government as Mob Operation it was apparent that the people of the nation were under the spell of a psychopathic cult leader who, unlike the usual religious con men - say, Jim Jones, David Koresh, L. Ron Hubbard, Ayn Rand or the convicted felon, Joseph Smith - had at his disposal & command the whole vast apparatus of the empire's instruments for social control, including the police, army, legal system, churches, news press & television media. And of course the oligarchs & their executives (Bush's peers by birthright) were anxious to steal all that they could while the taking was easy ... & very easy it became, & very easy it still is.

Habeas corpus was taken away from us, as was posse comitatus. The Watergate criminal, ex-Admiral John Poindexter, was appointed to create Total Information Awareness, a DARPA program designed to spy on all citizens at all hours, which when public outcries arose against it was disbanded but instantly replaced here & there in various other government agencies, such as the CIA & NSA, in which agencies it grew like flies multiplying in a dung heap, as indeed it continues to do, most recently with drones supplied to local police forces, able to identify & track a milk carton from 60,000 feet above the earth. Again, under Mob Boss Bush, the capitalists joined in, & we became & are still spied upon by our telephone & internet servers, & banks, which collect & dispense the history of our once private individual activities & behaviors from birth to our death. Cameras serving police record our passage from Starbuck's to Sears. Like all people caught up in cults, we came to believe that all of this is as it must & should be, & we silently conform to it, as do trained dogs to their masters.

The deep function of what has happened is this: The wages we receive & the taxes we pay must all be instantly given up to the superrich. Our physical health is a commodity owned by the superrich, not us. Likewise, our welfare is owned by the aristocrats, not by us. In a few short years, for instance, student debt was made to exceed the nation's credit card debt - our children, in other words, were sold into debt peonage, & this is enforced by new law that says the children must pay it even after filing bankruptcy, & even in old age by garnishment from Social Security income. And of course there has been & will be no let up in the quest of the superrich to own Social Security, which surely they will in the near future unless a people's government is somehow - repeat, somehow - created.

As Thomas Frank has explained, a college graduate can no longer pursue his or her intellectual dream, such as becoming a teacher, artist or journalist committed to discovering & telling the truth, because student debt & laws enforcing payment compel immediate entrance into the empire's mainstream occupations, where the objectives to be pursued are the properties of others, not of oneself. Thus our children are now born into bonded servitude, for which on the whole wages are pitiful & increasingly buy little more than necessities.

All great institutions in the empire assure us that all of this criminality is necessary for two reasons: One, immensely determined evil external & internal personages are out to destroy our country, & we must surrender all of our civil rights & wealth in order to survive; & Two, alas alas, our nation has no money, & so must sell all of the people's assets & public services to the superrich. Well ... please, the first reason does not survive the briefest review of its merit, & let me not bother anyone with further words about it. And the second reason is equally preposterous, because the United States prints its own money, & under Obama did so to the tune of two trillion dollars given by the Federal Reserve to its clients, the big banks (which naturally did not, have not & will not do anything socially responsible with it). No economist who is committed to an understanding not of capitalist dogma, but rather to the truth of what was very well learned during & consequent to previous severe economic demand crises, such as the one we are now in, believes that 'shrinking government' is anything other than a vicious, irresponsible policy devised by & for the sole benefit of aristocrat thieves & their sociopathic politicians. Economics, after all, is a science, & as such its method & conclusions are dependent upon the collection & interpretation of empirical data, not any of which does in fact or in the least support shrinking government during a demand crisis. Indeed, the only agency known to be capable of or potentially possessed of the will to end such crises is a nation's government.

But all good sense is lost upon cultists, who will do anything to secure life in death, a clear clear E-meter reading, a galaxy to be an eternal god of with one's dead wife, morality in selfishness, up in down, straight in crooked, or - now - an American in Washington, DC (or in Dallas or Tombstone or any other city or town).

-----------

Hope Burning

Posted on May 30, 2012

By Robert Scheer

EXCERPTS: Obama as the cool triggerman is an image useful to White House operatives as they buff the president’s persona for the coming election. But what it reveals is the mindset of a political cynic whose seductive words cloak the moral indifference of a methodical executioner. Forget Harry Truman, who obliterated the civilian populations of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, or Lyndon Johnson, who carpet-bombed millions in Vietnam. The Democrats have got themselves another killer, one whose techniques are as devastatingly effective, but brilliantly refined.

The story obviously was planted in The New York Times to benefit the Obama political campaign.

.... Pfc. Bradley Manning was held for many months in solitary confinement for allegedly disclosing information of far lower security classification. The difference is that the top secrets in the news article are ones the president wants leaked in the expectation they will burnish his “tough on terrorism” credentials. This is clearly not the Obama whom many voted for in the hope that he would stick by his word, including the pledge he made on his second day in office to ban brutal interrogation and close the prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. “What the new president did not say was that the orders contained a few subtle loopholes,” the Times now reports concerning the early promises by Obama. “They reflected a still unfamiliar Barack Obama, a realist who, unlike some of his fervent supporters, was never carried away by his own rhetoric.”

Parse that sentence carefully to learn much of what is morally decrepit in our journalism as well as politics. The word “realist” is now identical to “hypocrite,” and the condemnation of immoral behavior addresses nothing more than “rhetoric” that only the “fervent” would take seriously. The Times writers all but thrill to the lying, as in recounting the new president’s response to advisers who warned him against sticking to his campaign promises on Guantanamo prisoners: “The deft insertion of some wiggle words in the president’s order showed that the advice was followed.”

Please Continue to Full Text: www.truthdig.com/report/item/hope_burning_20120531/

###

After I jumped , it hit me that life is beautiful , full of magic !!!

Committed.

July 16th. It's such a shame you're not allowed to do this to stroppy teenagers these days.

Stagecoach have committed 50 buses to the Open Championship at Muirfield. Large fields are used as car parks and Stagecoach provide the shuttle service to Muirfield . In addition Drem Station car park becomes a bus station for the week of the event. The operation seems to run very smoothly with all the Stagecoach staff in good spirits and even the odd barbecue set up for lunch ( a few of the drivers had singed eyebrows) Stagecoach seem to rise to these occasions and the old Olympians sounded great even the scruffy ones. Well done Stagecoach .

This morning was the wettest, windiest and foggiest day you could imagine, saturated, but happy to see the Mighty steam locomotive 6029 pass. Assisted by C502 and S311.

First of all (1 & 2) down and through the Goondah Sweeper then (3) entering Binalong.

It is on its way to do shuttles at Dubbo over the weekend. - www.canberrarailwaymuseum.org/dubboshuttles

New South Wales, Australia

- if it wasn't snow, it was only a minor technicality in the difference!!!

SO I finally committed to digitising this, one of my first MOCs completed just out of my darkage, and one of my first ever mechs.

Updates to LDD have made it a really great tool for turning MOC's into "digital backups" - I tweaked this during the process, adding parts I didn't have originally, but most techniques are the same and are actually legal.

I must say that where LDD sucks, is the instruction view - it's really haphazard about which elements are constructed before others, making a simple build seem unduly difficult.

What's really great about LDD is the scope to test colour schemes. I've been looking at this for too long now and I'm still not sure I like it. I prefer the plain white variation with the red accents just on it's artistic merits, but it's not really a suitable colour scheme for a giant mech...

LDD reconstruction -poster002

Once you've committed yourself to a particular wave, it's too late to take advantage of the bigger one behind it ...

*********************************

I'm spending the winter months of 2014-2015 in a warm spot on the beach in Indialantic, FL (if I have Internet access, it doesn't matter too much where I'm physically located).

In addition to my sunrise walks along the beach, I’m also shooting various other afternoon scenes that look interesting — especially during the “golden hour” that extends from roughly an hour before sunset to an hour afterwards. The view in all of these shots is basically eastwards (sometimes northeast or southeast), so the sun is always setting behind me in the west. Thus, I’ll sometimes see some pink skies, or some interesting mixtures of late-afternoon sunlight and blue/purple colors — but not the fiery red/yellow/pink skies that accompany the sunsets in the west ...

These are some of the shots that I thought were somewhat interesting ...

ÅLESUND HIGH SCHOOL

(High school)

Ålesund upper secondary school currently has almost 800 students and about 130 employees at our two locations in Ålesund, on Volsdalsberga and in Øwregata (Latin school).

Learning through good experiences, these are the school's slogans. We believe that good experiences can open doors to good learning. Students should experience being seen and heard, respected and included. They will experience committed and good teachers who know their subject and who are happy with their students. In the face of knowledge and community, students will experience both challenges and mastery.

Education program at the school:

- Creo (a three-year basic line that leads to study competence)

- Sports subjects

- Media and communication

- Nature use

- Service and transport

- Study specialization

- Technical and Industrial Production

studievalg.no/skoler/videregaende/more-og-romsdal/alesund...

======================

Ålesund (Norwegian pronunciation: [²oːləsʉn] (About this soundlisten)) is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal County, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sunnmøre and the centre of the Ålesund Region. The town of Ålesund is the administrative centre of Ålesund Municipality, as well as the principal shipping town of the Sunnmøre district. The town is a sea port and is noted for its concentration of Art Nouveau architecture. Although sometimes internationally spelled by its older name Aalesund, this spelling is obsolete in Norwegian. However, the local football club Aalesunds FK still carries that spelling, having been founded before the official change.

Legend has it that Gangerolf (outside of Norway better known as Rollo), the 10th-century founder of the dynasty of the dukes of Normandy, hailed from the community of Giske, north-west of Ålesund. At least three statues of Rolle exist: in the town park in Ålesund, in the city of Rouen, France, and in Fargo, North Dakota, United States.

In 1835, Ålesund had 482 inhabitants.[5] By 1900, the population had increased to 11,777.[10]

In the night of 23 January 1904, the town was the scene of the Ålesund Fire, one of the most terrible of the many conflagrations to which Norwegian towns, once built largely of wood, have been subjected. Practically the entire town was destroyed during the night, a gale aiding the flames, and the population had to leave the town in the middle of the night with only a few minutes' notice. Only one person died in the fire, the 76-year-old Ane Heen, but more than 10,000 people were left without shelter.[11]

Jugendstilsenteret - The Art Nouveau Centre of Norway

Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany had often been on vacation to Sunnmøre. After the fire, he sent four warships with materials to build temporary shelters and barracks. After a period of planning, the town was rebuilt in stone, brick, and mortar in Jugendstil (Art Nouveau), the architectural style of the time. The structures were designed by approximately 20 master builders and 30 Norwegian architects, most of them educated in Trondheim and Charlottenburg, Berlin, drawing inspiration from all over Europe. To honor Wilhelm, one of the most frequented streets of the town is named after him.

The town has an unusually consistent architecture, most of the buildings having been built between 1904 and 1907. Jugendstilsenteret is a national interpretation centre, visitors can learn more about the town fire, the rebuilding of the town and the Art Nouveau style. Ålesund is a partner in the Art nouveau network, a European network of co-operation created in 1999 for the study, safeguards and development of the Art nouveau.

The term "Little London" was often applied to the community during the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany due to the Norwegian resistance work that took place here. Among other things, the city was central to the flights to Scotland and England.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%85lesund

Construction, Week 59

You've likely been wondering, as I know I have (!), how Kroger managed to remove the hand-painted schoolchildren's tiles from the Committed to Excellence wall: well, now you know! You may have even seen a glimpse of this in the background of the last pic, too. Looks like they carefully removed some, then just got tired of it and ripped the entire wall out, haha! That's one way to ensure they'd all get down in one piece, anyway :P

(c) 2016 Retail Retell

These places are public so these photos are too, but just as I tell where they came from, I'd appreciate if you'd say who :)

These birds haves committed to the drop down to the pond in a steep descent... more a free fall drop (i.e., parachute) than a glide-in. This shot against a cloudy western sunset sky results in a silhouette view of the crane against the clouds... but if you're familiar with these birds such shots offer no difficulty regarding their ID. The sky colors change so rapidly and the bird groups continually arrive... you need to be constantly shooting to capture the ever changing spectacle! All of the subsequent shots this evening will be of silhouettes of the Cranes against the sky.

IMG_8253; Sandhill Cranes

Osprey in full dive to catch a fish. Newcastle Maine

This is going to get me committed …

I didn't set out to make a Big Bertha, it just happened along the way.

I'd like to make a ULF camera at some point, and I'd like it to be able to take big old lenses.

There was a discussion on the LFPF a few months ago, where the weights of these lenses was discussed.

It's difficult to gauge the heft of a big lens without actually handling one,

so when this one came up, I bought it as a surrogate.

It's a 36" Air Ministry Reconnaissance Lens, a telephoto, F/6.3, with a flange distance of around 650mm at infinity.

It's too big for my camera, so I did a quick and dirty adapter-

This is like ULF aversion therapy- it's like one of those realistic doll babies they give to teenagers, to put them off getting pregnant.

If I did make a ULF Portrait camera, it wouldn't go anywhere, it couldn't-

I had a look at a head and shoulders setup on 8x10, and the bellows draw was 800mm-

a bigger format would need even more-

So at least this thing has brought home some of the considerations involved in going extra large-

Hard working busker

Susannah McCorkle (1946 – 2001) McCorkle was an American jazz singer. For many years she suffered from depression and at the age of 55 she committed suicide by jumping off her apartment balcony on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

Twenty five years ago before my wife, Brenda, and I moved to Paris from New York City, we were treated to a night on the town by her bosses as a going away and thank you gift for her hard work. Luckily we knew exactly what we wanted to do. We had been big fans of Susannah McCorkle for years and had never gotten to see her perform. At the time she was going to be appearing at the night club, Rainbow and Stars, atop Rockefeller Center. And that’s what we did. The day before the show I stopped by the club and dropped off a note and package to her. I wrote that we were very excited to see her show. I also mentioned that we were soon moving to Paris. Besides the note I added a bunch of MAD Magazines that contained my work. The next day the phone rang and it was Susannah McCorkle herself!! She wanted to tell me that she was thrilled with my note. She also told me that she gets packages like mine all the time, except they usually contained really bad original songs that people sent her. She thought my package was a lot of really bad original songs and she laughed when it turned out to be MAD Magazines. She told me to meet her after the show. It was a great performance and it was obvious she made sure we had the best table in the place! We were really happy to meet her. We found out that years before she had lived in Paris and that's where she heard a Billie Holiday album for the first time. It influenced her to become a singer. From then on we became friends. Susannah was wonderful! We were able to see her perform a number of times after that, on some of our trips back to New York. In 1996 her albums were being put on CDs. She called me because she wanted me to do the illustration for The Songs of Johnny Mercer CD. She wanted me to base my drawing on the photograph, by Bradley Olman, from the original LP. I felt a little weird doing that, but that’s what the lady wanted!! I couldn’t say no. We didn’t know about her ongoing battle with depression. Only her closest friends did. We were devastated on hearing about her death. It took me over a year before I could listen to her music. Eventually I was able to and now, when I listen, I just remember how great it was knowing her and having her as a friend.

;-) Texto en castellano mas abajo ;-)

Excuse me the many mistakes that sure I have committed in the translation, I hope that it is understood regardless!

Introduction to the trilogy blog-pride-persons

I am going to dedicate this trilogy of photos to explain, and to explain myself too, because I use the captions (feet) of my photos as if they were my personal blog. To explain it I have to develop before the bases on which it is sustained. And the principal base consists of the vision that I have of the others and in my concept of person.

What do you see when you look at the others? You see women, fat men, disabled persons, children, bald men, gays, nice girls, blacks, foreigners, unfaithful, millionaires, old people … an infinite variety of adjectives. These adjectives are very useful for us, essential of fact, allow us to represent, to understand and to handle our reality. But this great skill leads us with excessive frequency to big mistakes, in fact, for me it is the cause of almost all (to not say all) the misfortunes caused by the man. We forget the obvious thing, the basic, forget that the adjectives are … adjectives. We replace the noun, what we are really, our common base, our essence, the substantive, to an alone specific adjective. This noun that defines us is … person, we are persons. I will put an example of what I want to say, when you see a woman, what do you see?, you see a woman who is a person, or you see like I do it, a person who is a woman. In the second case the noun is person, the essence and the main, and as characteristic note the adjective says to us that this person is woman, which awards some differentiated characteristics. In this second example I relate to a person and the adjective only is bear in mind when it is pertinent. Nevertheless in the first case, the noun is woman, to whom I give the person's category, and there is when the problems come. In this case, if I am a man the relation is totally different, we are different and share the characteristic of which both are persons. And as the adjectives are relative, we can do that some weigh more than other; we can do that they have different intensities, in this case, might be more or less person, we might apply the whole scale; and also they can change, today you are blond and tomorrow dark-haired, today you are person and tomorrow not. In this case it would produce machismo, even with our better intentions. And like with this adjective with all, and already you know the multiple discriminations that it produce: feminism, racism, homophobia, etc … all with the same evil of base. It is possible even in positive tone, like with the handsome ones, one does not see any more than the beauty and it annuls any other characteristic of the multiple ones that define a person. In fact not only annul them, but that in addition we invent ourselves. If she is handsome then implies that she is silly, is presumed, serves only as object of desire, that is … This one is another evil that is frequent, and with all the adjectives, for me, for example, to be a woman only means it, does not imply any other associate adjective, more clever to be a woman?, or more silly? The reality clarifies us it, the intelligence is another different and independent characteristic, in general the adjectives are not related a priori between themselves, for much that we insists in the contrary to simplify the world (sometimes yes, but the less). An adjective only means … what it means (it seems to be easy, but at the moment of the truth …). All of us make these mistakes, in a degree or other, but we must try to avoid it and to have very clear what we are and what are the others … we are persons!

Explanatory note: For these big brains, always there is someone, which instead of catching the message, has realized that woman is not an adjective, morphologically speaking, but a noun, to say to them that I have done it to conscience, I have used it for the example, not only because it concerns the half of the population, but because as noun subordinated to the principal noun, it should expand the concept that I want to express on any type of not conceptual barrier that should intervene, or this it is my intention (wooow!, this is a phrase!;-D).

Si veis que está mal traducido, echarme una manita y decírmelo, please! ;-D

Introducción a la trilogía blog-orgullo-personas.

Voy a dedicar esta trilogía de fotos a explicar, y a explicarme a mi misma de paso, el porque utilizo los pies de fotos como si fueran mi blog personal. Para explicarlo he de desarrollar antes las bases sobre las que se sustenta. Y la base principal consiste en la visión que tengo de los demás y en mi concepto de persona.

Nota aclaratoria: Para esas grandes inteligencias, siempre hay alguna, que en vez de captar el mensaje, se haya dado cuenta de que mujer no es un adjetivo, morfológicamente hablando, sino un sustantivo, decirles que lo he hecho a conciencia, lo he utilizado para el ejemplo, no solo porque afecta a la mitad de la población, sino porque como sustantivo supeditado al sustantivo principal, debería expandir el concepto que quiero expresar sobre cualquier tipo de barrera no conceptual que pudiera interponerse, o esa es mi intención (¡¡hala!!,¡¡vaya frase me he marcado!! ;-D).

PS: Si quieres ver un video con este look (If you want see a video with this look):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_uECwjsm1M

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on authentic facts. BEWARE!

Some background:

The Austrian Air Force in its current form was created in May 1955 by the victorious Allied powers, subject to restrictions on its use of guided missiles. The Austrian State Treaty of 1955 committed Austria to permanent neutrality. Pilot training started out with a four Yak-11 Moose and four Yak-18 Max aircraft donated by the Soviet Union, and Austria purchased further light trainer types under the Military Assistance Program. Until 1960 Austria purchased training and support aircraft under the MAP, but no modern fighter aircraft; the role of a fighter was rather inadequately filled by thirty already outdated Saab 29 Tunnan, bought second-hand from the Swedish Air Force in the early 1960s which equipped two fighter bomber squadrons.

The Austrian Lightnings’ planned service period of 10 years was almost doubled, though, due to massive delays with the Eurofighter’s development: In 2002, Austria had already selected the Typhoon as its new “Phase II” air defense aircraft, having beaten the F-16 and the Saab Gripen in competition, and its introduction had been expected to occur from early 2005 on, so that the Lightnings could be gradually phased out. The purchase of 18 Typhoons was agreed on 1 July 2003, but it would take until 12 July 2007 that the first Typhoon would eventually be delivered to Zeltweg Air Base and formally enter service with the Austrian Air Force. This operational gap had to be bridged with twelve F-5E leased from Switzerland for EUR 75 mio., so that Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) duties for the Austrian airspace could be continued.

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Length: 55 ft 3 in (16.84 m)

Wingspan: 34 ft 10 in (10.62 m)

Height: 19 ft 7 in (5.97 m)

Wing area: 474.5 sq ft (44.08 m²)

Empty weight: 31,068 lb (14,092 kg) with armament and no fuel

Gross weight: 41,076 lb (18,632 kg) with two AIM-9B, cannon, ammunition, and internal fuel

Max takeoff weight: 45,750 lb (20,752 kg)

Powerplant:

2× Rolls-Royce Avon 301R afterburning turbojet engines,

12,690 lbf (56.4 kN) thrust each dry, 16,360 lbf (72.8 kN) with afterburner

Performance:

Maximum speed: Mach 2.27 (1,500 mph+ at 40,000 ft)

Range: 738 nmi (849 mi, 1,367 km)

Combat range: 135 nmi (155 mi, 250 km) supersonic intercept radius

Range: 800 nmi (920 mi, 1,500 km) with internal fuel

1,100 nmi (1,300 mi; 2,000 km) with external overwing tanks

Service ceiling: 60,000 ft (18,000 m)

Zoom ceiling: 70,000 ft (21,000 m)

Rate of climb: 20,000 ft/min (100 m/s) sustained to 30,000 ft (9,100 m)

Zoom climb: 50,000 ft/min

Time to altitude: 2.8 min to 36,000 ft (11,000 m)

Wing loading: 76 lb/sq ft (370 kg/m²) with two AIM-9 and 1/2 fuel

Thrust/weight: 0.78 (1.03 empty)

Armament:

2× 30 mm (1.181 in) ADEN cannon with 120 RPG in the lower fuselage

2× forward fuselage hardpoints for a single AIM-9 Sidewinder AAM each

2× underwing hardpoints for 1.000 lb (454 kg) each

2× overwing pylon stations for 2.000 lb (907 kg each),

typically occupied with 260 imp gal (310 US gal; 1,200 l) ferry tanks

The kit and its assembly:

This was another submission to the “Hunter, Lightning and Canberra” group build at whatifmodellers.com in 2022 and intended as a rather simple build since it was based on an alternate reality plot: the weird story that Austria was offered a revamped fleet of ex-Saudi Arabian Lightnings is true(!), but the decision eventually fell in favor of revamped Saab J 35Ds from Sweden. For this what-if build I used the real historic timeline, replaced the aircraft, and built both story and model around this – and the result became the BAC Lightning F.56 in Austrian Air Force service.

Initially I wanted to use an Airfix BAC Lightning in The Stash™, a really nice model kit and a relatively new mold, but it turned out to be the kit’s F.2A variant. While very similar to the F.6, changing it into a F.53 analogue with the OOB parts turned out to be too complex for my taste. For instance, the F.2A kit lacks the ventral gun bay (it just comes with the auxiliary tank option since the guns are already located in front of the cockpit) and the cable conduits on the lower flanks. Procuring a suitable and priceworthy Airfix F.6 turned out to be impossible, but then I remembered a Hasegawa Lightning F.6 in The Stash™ that I had shot at ev!lbay many moons ago for a laughable price and without a concrete plan. However, this kit is pretty old: it has raised (yet quite fine, less robust than the Matchbox kit) panel lines and even comes with a pilot figure, but also many weak spots like the air intake and the jet exhausts that end in flat walls after some millimeters depth and a very basic cockpit. But for this rather simple what-if project the kit appeared to be a suitable basis, and it would eventually find a good use.

The Hasegawa Lightning was basically built OOB, even though I made some cosmetic amendments like a better seat for the pilot, hydraulic fluid lines on the landing gear made from wire or opening the flat walls inside of the air intake opening and the jet nozzles. Behind the radome, a simple splitter plate was added as well as a recessed bulkhead in front of an implanted Me 262 cockpit tub (the Hasegawa kit just offers a bare floor panel, nothing else!), the afterburners were extended inwards with parts from a Matchbox A.W. Meteor night fighter.

The Red Top AAMs and the in-flight refueling probe were omitted. Instead, I added extra F.53-style forward-swept pylons under the outer wings, scratched from 1.5 mm styrene sheet due to their odd, raked shape, and I added Sidewinder launch rails plus suitable missiles from a Hasegawa air-to-air weapons set to all four stations. After long consideration I also retained the ‘overburger’ tanks, partly because of the unique layout on the Lightning, and also because of operational considerations.

Chaff dispensers were scratched from styrene profiles and placed at the fin’s base. A fairing for the retrofitted radar warning sensor was added to the fin tip, created from 1.5 mm styrene sheet.

Painting and markings:

To reflect the “alternate reality” role of the Lightning I gave the model a livery similar to the Saab J 35Ö that were actually procured: an adaptation of the USAF “Egypt One” scheme, carried primarily by the USAF F-16s. Adapting this simple three-tone camouflage from the flat F-16 to the Draken was easy and straightforward, but applying it to a Lightning with its many vertical surfaces turned out to be a tough challenge. I eventually came up with a paint scheme that reminds of the late RAF low-viz Lightning liveries, which existed in a wide range of patterns and graduations of grey.

The colors were authentic, FS 36118, 36270 and 36375 (using Humbrol 125, 126 and 127), and I decided to emphasize the camouflage of the flanks against the horizon, so that the vertical surfaces and the fin became FS 36270. The undersides of wings, stabilizers and fuselage became FS 36375. The dark FS 36118 was only applied to the upper sides of the wings and the stabilizer, and to a high dorsal section, starting at the wing roots. As a small contrast, the tank area on the spine was painted in light grey, simulating unpainted fiber glass. The radome was painted with a streaky mix of Humbrol 155 and 56.

As usual, the model received a light black ink washing, some post-panel-shading in lighter tones, and, due to the raised panel lines, was very lightly rubbed with graphite. The cockpit interior was painted in medium grey (Revell 47) with an olive drab fabric fairing behind the black pilot seat, which received ejection handles made from thin wire as eye candy. The landing gear and the respective wells were painted in Humbrol 56 (Aluminum Dope).

The decals are a wild mix: The fuselage roundels are actually wing markings from a Hasegawa J 35OE, as well as the huge orange "06" on the wings (I could not resist; they will later be partly obscured by the overwing tanks, but the heck with it!). The roundels on the wings come from a generic TL Modellbau sheet - I found that I needed larger markings than those on the Draken.

Both unit and individual aircraft identifiers are single black DIN font digits, also from TL Modellbau. The unit badges on the fin are authentic, even though from an earlier era: they came from an Austrian J 29 of Fliegerregiment 2 from a PrintScale sheet, and all stencils were taken from the OOB low-viz RAF markings sheet, plus four small warning triangles for the underwing pylons.

A ‘what-if’ model in the purest sense, since this model depicts what could really have been: ex Saudi-Arabian export BAC Lightnings over the Austrian Alps! However, refurbished Saab J 35D Draken made the race (and later followed by the Eurofighter Typhoon at ‘Stage 2’), so that this Lightning remains fictional. It does not look bad in the ‘Egypt One’ paint scheme, though, better than expected!

These birds haves committed to the drop down to the pond in a steep descent... more a free fall drop (i.e., parachute) than a glide-in. This shot against a cloudy western sunset sky results in a silhouette view of the crane against the clouds... but if you're familiar with these birds such shots offer no difficulty regarding their ID. The sky colors change so rapidly and the bird groups arrive constantly... you need to be constantly shooting to capture the ever changing spectacle! All of the subsequent shots this evening will be of silhouettes of the Cranes against the sky.

IMG_8247; Sandhill Cranes