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Week 4/52: Water
I took this one the day after election day, 2020, so posting it the morning before the inauguration makes some sense to me. Hard to know where we'll go, but it's definitely somewhere.
On an editing note, I wanted to try to make this one look more like a painting. My first go at it!
Currently on exhibit at BOSLArts Gallery
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/BOSL%20INNOVATION%20PAVILL...
Finished now. Not altogether satisfying, and not one of his best. But it had a lot of the touches that Pynchon readers expect (sentences with lists that give you whiplash... "wait for it" Dad jokes, ambiguity and feelings of dislocation).
Glad I read it, not sure what else I would have read instead.
Been at this Pulitzer Prize winner for a few weeks, and it's incredibly rewarding. Long, detailed, and packed in a tiny font, but very rewarding. A lot of it (so far, 20-25% in) is focused on the compromises and processes of amendments - - reminding us that the Founding Fathers were not a monolithic group, and that they represented only a subset of the American population (no women, no slaves, no Native Americans, and only property holders). Here and there Lepore reminds us of the absences of these voices and the efforts to limit amendments, even as delegates to state constitution conventions may have sought to make it easier for future generations to amend. But again, I'm not very far in.
UPDATE, one third in. I'm now up to about 1861, and it seems like this book isn't about the Constitution itself but about the intersection of the history of the United States and the Constitution... that is, its scope is broader than I expected and more than I wanted. I really wanted greater focus on all the com[promises etc that got us to the original constitution and how it got us to the point where California and Wyonimg have the same number of Senators and how nothing can be done about it. I'm looking at my body clock and doubting I have time for all of the rest of this book, as good as I'm sure it is.
Lumsdale Falls, Matlock
Several shoots of unculled and unprocessed images have been dormant on my hard drive since our Japan holiday so I thought I'd spend the day tidying up my directories and give you all a break from my recent offerings, although I've not finished with Japan yet.
A day out at Lumsdale Falls late October with fellow togs Eddie and Pat in search of flowing water and a chance to have a paddle in our wellies. If you've seen the recent humiliation I've suffered at the hands of Eddie... this is payback time. All puns gratefully received
On tour of the Lower Antelope Canyon. In the Navajo Nation Reservation area in LeChee, Arizona, United States.
Currently, we are unsure if this is a hybrid or "nature's freak" as this specimen was caught by our civil service officer after it caused havoc in one of the busiest highways in Kuala Lumpur.
Note:
Hybrid here means it's from the exotic pet circle @ runaway pet.
Nature's freak-in general this species' natural coloration is either dark brown or light black but the present snake is light orange.
Distribution: China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malay Peninsula, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos, Nepal, and Thailand.
Reproduction: This is an oviparous species. Females normally lay 16 to 33 eggs per clutch whereby incubation periods range from 55 to 73 days. Egg-laying takes place from January through March when it's slightly warmer. The females usually stay with her eggs for awhile. There have been reports of interbreeding between Indian cobra (Naja naja) x Monocled cobra (Naja kaouthia)
Description: The dorsal surface may be yellow, brown, gray, or blackish, with or without ragged or clearly defined cross bands. The O-shape marking can be olivaceous, brownish to black above with or without a yellow or orange-colored. In general , it has a black spot on the lower/inner surface of the hood on either side (surprisingly this specimen did not exhibit this trait), and one or two black cross-bars on the belly behind it
Length: Adults can reach a maximum of 2.3 m (7.5 ft) in length. Many larger specimens have been recorded, but this size are rare.
My Friend, in the stars...he was the most beautiful Horse I ever saw in my entire life, the Black horse called Nightmare ......star chasers dream ! Thank you for stopping by, my Flickr friends , thank you for all your support through out the past year , Best wishes Tim....see you soon.
Revelation Energy's Sunny Knott mine in Lackey, KY hasn't loaded in a few months. But former NREX SW10 1287 has been re-numbered LOC 1 & is waiting for the time when it will be called upon to spot hoppers for loading.
Built in 1953 as UP SW9 1826, it was rebuilt (Sep92) by UP-Omaha as UP SW10 1240, retired in mid-1998 & sold to Connell Leasing (Jul98), leased (Oct99) long-term to CP Rail, repainted & renumbered CP 1287, but returned (2002) due to reliability problems, to NREX 1287 (May05) & placed in their lease fleet.
It has been leased to various coal companies since & may've been sold to Revelation Energy.
I am currently busy with some private projects; this picture is from my neighbourhood:
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The name Shepherd's Bush is thought to have originated from the use of the common land here as a resting point for shepherds on their way to Smithfield Market in the City of London.
An alternative theory is that it could have been named after someone in the area, because in 1635 the area was recorded as "Sheppards Bush Green".
The secret world of the STS
This is the last episode of the current series of STS: Who Dares Shoots, unless Flickr commission another series or they decide to film a celebrity version or a Christmas special. So far, we have seen the recruits cope with barren living conditions, strength sapping yomps to locations on their doorstep, marmite and whiskey initiation ceremonies and shooting conditions to push them to their very limits of tolerance and sanity.
However, they must prove themselves and pass the most hideous task of all... a task so brutal and torturous that most military organisations have outlawed it. To this day only the STS and the SAS (a more humane version than the STS it must be said) employ the skills of the “Umpire”.
It is the Umpire’s sole purpose to utilise tactics that have been outlawed by the Geneva convention since the end of the Second World War. However, at the highest level, they are still permitted solely for training purposes in case the STS are ever called into action behind enemy lines or for domestic crises. Each recruit must recognise these tactics and handle the situation without retaliation. To this day all active Umpires within the STS are not known publicly and only the recruits from each intake have seen their faces. Their word is final and overrules all DT commands such is the responsibility of their role.
Unbeknown to the recruits, the Umpire had been planted within this intake from the very outset – watching, listening, observing! From the very start, subtle tactics were being employed – on day one, up on the glen overlooking Buachaille Etive Mòr the first signs were visible, but not to the uninitiated. Only when the recruits congregated around a feature such as a pond or a rock for foreground interest did the Umpire come into play, strategically placing tripod legs in the way of the recruit’s compositions. Later in the day the recruits travelled the road that winds down the glen to Loch Etive, bypassing the cliché shot that is James Bond and Skyfall - it’s only for the tourists now, although C4 couldn’t resist and bagged a couple of frames.
At the end of the glen is a lone tree framed by a classical glacial-formed u-shaped valley. Few know of this location and even fewer have ventured this far down, but C6 had recced the location in advance... could he be a DT or more importantly the Umpire? Many shots were taken at this location by all the recruits but equally, many were ruined by a tog wandering across their compositions and setting up a tripod mid-shoot. It wasn’t C6!
Maybe, in future uploads some of the recruits will share with us the number of canned images spoilt by the Umpire. I have it on good authority that C4 canned 137! If you find this Dick Dastardly technique of sabotage too unpalatable to cope with, rest assured it’s all in the name of training.
In most locations the recruits coped admirable, jostling for key positions, but keeping their cool about elbows and tripods in confined spaces. All except C7 who tended to wander off on his own at locations. The DTs will have to bring him in for a chat to see if the tactics of the Umpire from day one has psychologically affected the youngest member of the intake.
The climax came at Elgol and a location generally known in togging circles as Joe Cornish’s boulder or JCB... some of the wittier recruits renamed the ‘B’ with an anatomical part, but after all this is a family series so we’ll leave that up to your own imagination.
Such is the choice of locations and compositions in this area that the recruits split up in order to mitigate the effect of the Umpire – could they have worked it out? Where they all on the way to completing and passing the course... the next few hours would tell. C4 and C8 headed straight for JCB and bagged a few early bankers while the others spread themselves out leaving the Umpire to revert back to normal togging. It was only with the setting sun did the recruits congregate at JCB, but the Umpire had anticipated this and had encamped there first. It was a massacre... big tripod legs came out, spread wide and low. No gorilla pods, beanbag or handheld shooting here. The recruits were flummoxed – this was meant to be one of the holy grails of Skye for togs!
C8 had already proved to be nimble out in the wild and opted for the lowest position on the right where most of the other togs, including the Umpire couldn’t get into. The ever so enthusiastic and highly competitive C5 took his chance and encamped on the left - right under the nose of the Umpire... brave man! C2 arrived next but was forced to wait until the slightest of gaps opened... fair play to the recruit, he took his chance and was in like Flynn. Four down... three to go!
C4 arrived next but had to wait, so took the opportunity to polish his equipment as no chance of gate-crashing that spot. Eventually C2 gave way, presumably suffering from cramp, and allowed C4 to grab a few desperate shots as the last sun rays retracted from the JCB. Five down... two to go!
Alas, this is as good as it got. C6 never made it to the JCB, but to his credit opted for other, less shot compositions (that will count well with the DTs in the final selections – originality counts big!) It is not clear if C7 was ever aware of JCB, but true to his unique skills-set went in search of other gems (which will also count well with the DTs).
But readers do not be disheartened with this outcome, the objective of this STS course is to find the very limits of togging endurance, tenacity, team building and comradeship... and to push beyond. The important thing is, not one recruit went VW.
If you have a location, if no one else will go with you and if you can find them, maybe you can join the Tog-Team!
But remember – the first rule of STS is: You do not talk about STS.
And finally, if you’re out shooting and a man wearing a red cap walks into your shot or sets up a tripod too close for comfort, just remember he may be a member of the STS. Just don’t mess with the best!
Currently getting to use my newly cleaned Panagor macro lens ! this is closed to f/8 where I get maximum sharpness. I love its colors ! I appears that wide open doesn't give me much sharpness... Mabye it's just my lens after I cleaned it and the fungus leftovers (or I'm bad at cleaning a lens, that is also possible...) or it's the same for all samples.
Still this bee picture turned out pretty good !
Sony A7 iii / Panagor PMC Auto Macro 55mm f/2.8
An old CSX C40-9W and an SD70MAC power through Southern Georgia as they head north toward Waycross on an autorack train.
now:
new down tube
1x11 (SRAM red crankset)
XD rear driver (10-42 cassette)
TRP spyre SLC brakes
Compass Randonneur Handlebars
This seemingly thin book is heavy on wisdom. If you think of the chain that goes
data -> information -> knowledge -> wisdom,
a lot of books don't spend much time on the wisdom, and if you want wisdom you'll do well here. He has basically 20 short essays on aspects of dealing and resisting; a typical essay will start with an expression of the principle involved, follow with historical examples of how is was handled in the past, and conclude with concrete actions you can take which follow the principle.
It's good and I think you'd do well with it. After you've read it, leave it on the bathroom window sill for your guests.
Current weather conditions - Happy Easter Weekend! Yes I'm still alive after a long recovery from my open heart surgery
This is my current reading! As a matter of fact, I've almost finished it. It's a delightful little book on the basic and necessary elements for landscape photography. Author Michael Frye, an excellent landscape photographer himself, makes, all the time, interesting and instructive comparisons to the methods and ideas of great masters like Ansel Adams, Eliot Porter and Edward Weston, including the well-known Zone System. A real bargain for what it actually delivers.
Currently feasting on capturing the sunrise – so much easier at this time of the year when it's rising so late.
Today's sunrise venue was Seaham Harbour, on the Durham Heritage Coast. It's officially the last day of Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. Tomorrow is the solstice, marking the start of Winter..
I am at JMU currently with my son on “move in/orientation day” for this semester and I am “supposed” to be at the parent orientation presentations, BUT, when I woke up this morning my one ankle was raging in pain due to Achilles Tendonitis which made sitting in cramp auditorium seats painful. So I found some comfy seats in the next building and as I was kicked back relaxing I saw these incredible clouds float in front of me in the huge window. So I took out the best camera I have (..at the time my iPhone LOL!) and grabbed a couple of shots.