NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor conducts research operations for the AngieX Cancer Therapy study inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox. The new cancer research seeks to test a safer, more effective treatment that targets tumor cells and blood vessels. Photo was taken by Expedition 56 crew

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Credit: NASA

Image Number: iss056e078397

Date: July 3, 2018

Most effective if seen while listening to 'Blinding' by Florence + The Machine.

Over the last week of traveling from Ohio to Boston to Amsterdam to Well, I've finally gotten enough time to tackle the final shoots in my Midwest folders.

While editing these two shoots, I found they flowed very well together. This series was a combination of two shoots: of Molly (styled by Jacob) and Ethan (styled by Gurbir). In this way, this was a collaboration of five minds.

See the whole series here.

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A revisiting of sorts of this shot.

Two things bothered me about the older photo at this location.

1.) That it needed the square crop to be effective.

2.) Low resolution. This is partly related to the crop mentioned in #1, but is also related to an older digital camera (which served me well, bless it) with only 3.1MP max.

Submitted to Photo Friday - 'Spiral'

Fireproof (and containing lead) Christmas icicles. Silver Sheen brand. Scan of the graphics on the box.

I put it on the balcony and noticed that the negative space made another flower.

Two photos in explore the same day, that's a surprise - and of the same flower!

And it just took over from the Clare Sheridan bust of Charlie Chaplin to become my most interesting photo. Ha ha, makes me laugh!

Seen as a medical miracle to help women with pregnancy issues and a dependable source of steady income for pharmaceutical companies, Diethylstilbestrol (DES) was given to millions of women around the world. It was meant to be a wonder drug for expecting moms but its devastating impacts are now hitting their daughters and sons, decades later. Diethylstilbestrol was considered safe and effective for both mothers and their developing babies until the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advised physicians in 1971 to discontinue prescribing diethylstilboestrol in pregnant women because of its link to a rare vaginal cancer.

Where are the Lessons learned from the DES Drugs Tragedy?

DES DiEthylStilbestrol Resources by NCBI (1):

Cancer, Breast Cancer, CCA, Vaginal Cancer.

DES DiEthylStilbestrol Resources by NCBI (3):

Fertility, Pregnancies and Various Studies.

DES DiEthylStilbestrol Resources by NCBI (2):

In-Utero Exposure to DES and DES Side Effects.

All our posts tagged DES and the DES-exposed.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

Some background:

The AH-1 Cobra was developed in the mid-1960s as an interim gunship for the U.S. Army for use during the Vietnam War. The Cobra shared the proven transmission, rotor system, and the T53 turboshaft engine of the UH-1 "Huey". By June 1967, the first AH-1G HueyCobras had been delivered. Bell built 1,116 AH-1Gs for the U.S. Army between 1967 and 1973, and the Cobras chalked up over a million operational hours in Vietnam.

The U.S. Marine Corps was very interested in the AH-1G Cobra, too, but it preferred a twin-engine version for improved safety in over-water operations, and also wanted a more potent turret-mounted weapon. At first, the Department of Defense had balked at providing the Marines with a twin-engine version of the Cobra, in the belief that commonality with Army AH-1Gs outweighed the advantages of a different engine fit. However, the Marines won out and awarded Bell a contract for 49 twin-engine AH-1J SeaCobras in May 1968. As an interim measure the U.S. Army passed on thirty-eight AH-1Gs to the Marines in 1969. The AH-1J also received a more powerful gun turret with a three-barrel 20 mm XM197 cannon based on the six-barrel M61 Vulcan cannon.

A second Kamov 32A12 joined the fleet in 2015, which replaced one of the K-1300s, and Heliswiss’ last K-1300 was retired in early 2022.

General characteristics:

Crew: 2, plus space for a passenger

Length: 54 ft 3 in (16,56 m) including rotors

44 ft 5 in (13.5 m) fuselage only

Main rotor diameter: 46 ft 2¾ in (14,11 m)

Main rotor area: 1,677.64 sq ft (156,37 m2)

Width (over landing gear): 12 ft 6 in (3.85 m)

Height: 17 ft 8¼ in (5,40 m)

Empty weight: 5,810 lb (2,635 kg)

Max. takeoff weight: 9,500 lb (4,309 kg) without slung load

13,515 lb (6,145 kg) with slung load

Powerplant:

1× P&W Canada T400-CP-400 (PT6T-3 Twin-Pac) turboshaft engine, 1,800 shp (1,342 kW)

Performance:

Maximum speed: 124 mph (200 km/h, 110 kn)

Cruise speed: 105 mph (169 km/h, 91 kn)

Range: 270 mi (430 km, 230 nmi) with internal fuel only,

360 mi (570 km 310 nmi) with external auxiliary tanks

Service ceiling: 15,000 ft (4,600 m)

Hovering ceiling out of ground effect: 3,000 m (9,840 ft)

Rate of climb: 2,500 ft/min (13 m/s) at Sea Level with flat-rated torque

External load capacity (at ISA +15 °C (59.0 °F):

6,000 lb (2,722 kg) at sea level

5,663 lb (2,569 kg) at 5,000 ft (1,524 m)

5,163 lb (2,342 kg) at 10,000 ft (3,048 m)

5,013 lb (2,274 kg) at 12,100 ft (3,688 m)

4,313 lb (1,956 kg) at 15,000 ft (4,600 m)

The kit and its assembly:

This is/was the second contribution to the late 2022 “Logistics” Group Build at whatifmodellers.com, a welcome occasion and motivation to tackle a what-if project that had been on my list for a long while. This crane helicopter conversion of a HueyCobra was inspired by the Mil Mi-10K helicopter – I had built a 1:100 VEB Plasticart kit MANY years ago and still remembered the helicopter’s unique ventral cabin under the nose with a rearward-facing second pilot. I always thought that the AH-1 might be a good crane helicopter, too, esp. the USMC’s twin-engine variant. And why not combine everything in a fictional model?

With this plan the basis became a Fujimi 1:72 AH-1J and lots of donor parts to modify the basic hull into “something else”. Things started with the removal of the chin turret and part of the lower front hull to make space for the ventral glass cabin. The openings for the stub wings were faired over and a different stabilizer (taken from a Revell EC 135, including the end plates) was implanted. The attachment points for the skids were filled and a styrene tube was inserted into the rotor mast opening to later hold the new four-blade rotor. Another styrene tube with bigger diameter was inserted into the lower fuselage as a display holder adapter for later flight scene pictures. Lead beads filled the nose section to make sure the CraneCobra would stand well on its new legs, with the nose down. The cockpit was basically taken OOB, just the front seat and the respective gunner dashboard was omitted.

One of the big challenges of this build followed next: the ventral cabin. Over the course of several months, I was not able to find a suitable donor, so I was forced to scratch the cabin from acrylic and styrene sheet. Size benchmark became the gunner’s seat from the Cobra kit, with one of the OOB pilots seated. Cabin width was less dictated through the fuselage, the rest of the cabin’s design became a rather simple, boxy thing – not pretty, but I think a real-life retrofitted cabin would not look much different? Some PSR was done to hide the edges of the rather thick all-clear walls and create a 3D frame - a delicate task. Attaching the completed thing with the second pilot and a dashboard under the roof to the Cobra’s lower hull and making it look more or less natural without major accidents was also a tricky and lengthy affair, because I ignored the Cobra’s narrowing nose above the former chin turret.

With the cabin defining the ground helicopter’s clearance, it was time for the next donors: the landing gear from an Airfix 1:72 Kamow Ka-25, which had to be modified further to achieve a proper stance. The long main struts were fixed to the hull, their supporting struts had to be scratched, in this case from steel wire. The front wheels were directly attached to the ventral cabin (which might contain in real life a rigid steel cage that not only protects the second crew member but could also take the front wheels’ loads?). Looks pretty stalky!

Under the hull, a massive hook and a fairing for the oil cooler were added. A PE brass ladder was mounted on the right side of the hull under the pilot’s cockpit, while a rear-view mirror was mounted for the ventral pilot on the left side.

The rotor system was created in parallel, I wanted “something different” from the UH-1 dual-blade rotors. The main rotor hub was taken from a Mistercraft 1:72 Westland Lynx (AFAIK a re-boxed ZTS Plastyk kit), which included the arms up to the blades. The hub was put onto a metal axis, with a spacer to make it sit well in the new styrene tube adapter inside of the hull, and some donor parts from the Revell EC 135. Deeper, tailored blades were glued to the Lynx hub, actually leftover parts from the aforementioned wrecked VEB Plasticart 1:100 Mi-10, even though their length had to be halved (what makes you aware how large a Mi-6/10 is compared with an AH-1!). The tail rotor was taken wholesale from the Lynx and stuck to the Cobra’s tail with a steel pin.

Painting and markings:

Another pushing factor for this build was the fact that I had a 1:72 Begemot aftermarket decal sheet for the Kamow Ka-27/32 in The Stash™, which features, among many military helicopters, (the) two civil Heliswiss machines – a perfect match!

Using the Swiss Helix’ as design benchmark I adapted their red-over-white paint scheme to the slender AH-1 and eventually ended up with a simple livery with a white belly (acrylic white from the rattle can, after extensive masking of the clear parts with Maskol/latex milk) and a red (Humbrol 19) upper section, with decorative counter-colored cheatlines along the medium waterline. A black anti-glare panel was added in front of the windscreen. The auxiliary tanks were painted white, too, but they were processed separately and mounted just before the final coat of varnish was applied. The PE ladder as well as the rotors were handled similarly.

The cockpit and rotor opening interior were painted in a very dark grey (tar black, Revell 06), while the interior of the air intakes was painted bright white (Revell 301). The rotor blades became light grey (Revell 75) with darker leading edges (Humbrol 140), dark grey (Humbrol 164) hubs and yellow tips.

For the “HELOG/Heliswiss” tagline the lower white section had to be raised to a medium position on the fuselage, so that they could be placed on the lower flanks under the cockpit. The white civil registration code could not be placed on the tail and ended up on the engine cowling, on red, but this does not look bad or wrong at all.

The cheatlines are also decals from the Ka-32 Begemot sheet, even though they had to be trimmed considerably to fit onto the Cobra’s fuselage – and unfortunately the turned out to be poorly printed and rather brittle, so that I had to improvise and correct the flaws with generic red and white decal lines from TL Modellbau. The white cross on the tail and most stencils came from the Begemot sheet, too. Black, engine soot-hiding areas on the Cobra’s tail were created with generic decal sheet material, too.

The rotor blades and the wheels received a black ink treatment to emphasize their details, but this was not done on the hull to avoid a dirty or worn look. After some final details like position lights the model was sealed with semi-matt acrylic varnish, while the rotors became matt.

A weird-looking what-if model, but somehow a crane-copter variant of the AH-1 looks quite natural – even more so in its attractive red-and-white civil livery. The stalky landing gear is odd, though, necessitated by the ventral cabin for the second pilot. I was skeptical, but scratching the latter was more successful than expected, and the cabin blend quite well into the AH-1 hull, despite its boxy shape.

A change in the rates of postage, effective on July 1, 1931, to 3 cents for the 1st ounce or fraction of an ounce, on letters for Canada, the British Empire, the United States, and certain other countries - 13 cents covered both postage and registration on letters weighing not more than 1 ounce.

3 cents letter rate + 10 cents registration fee = 13 cents

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CAMPBELL CREEK, East of Kamloops. Originally the San Poel (Sans Poil?) River. It was named after Louis (or Lewis) Campbell, an American cattle drover who began building a fine ranch there in the 1860s, one that ultimately extended for about 6 miles along the south bank of the South Thompson River.

Campbell Creek, 35 miles long, runs into the south Thompson River, 13 miles east of Kamloops. There is a ranching settlement on the Creek, 11 miles southeast of Kamloops. Post office now called Barnhart Vale.

- from 1908 "Lovell's Gazetteer of the Dominion of Canada" - CAMPBELL CREEK, a rural post office in Yale County, B.C., 3 miles south of the North Thompson River, 8 miles from Ducks Station, and 10 miles from Kamloops, both on the C.P.R., 250 and 263 miles respectively west of Vancouver.

(from 1918 - Wrigley's British Columbia directory) - BARNHART VALE - a post office and settlement on Campbell Creek, 10 miles south of Kamloops, in Kamloops Provincial Electoral District, reached by stage from Kamloops. Farming, dairying and fruit-growing.

Barnhartvale, originally Barnhart Vale, is located at the southeast end of Kamloops, south of Dallas in British Columbia, Canada. The area includes riding stables, farms, honey bee farms, and ranches. There is a local store called Happy Valley Foods, and a local elementary school, Robert L. Clemitson. The main road which runs through Barnhartvale is Barnhartvale Road. Todd Road and Pratt Road are the main accesses through the subdivided western portion of Barnhartvale. In 1973, Barnhartvale and other outlying communities were amalgamated with the City of Kamloops. Barnhartvale was originally referred to as Campbell Creek or Campbell's Creek until 1909. It is now named after Peter Barnhart, who was the conductor on the first CPR train through Kamloops. He moved to Campbell Creek and opened a post office and in 1909 the name was changed to Barnhart Vale Post. In 1978 the spelling was formally changed to one word, Barnhartvale. 1865 marks the beginning of the written history of the area later named Barnhartvale. That was the year that James Todd and Lewis (Lew) Campbell, the first two pioneers, arrived. The next settlers in the region were John and William McLeod in 1879. A major road in the area is named after the Robert and Henry Pratt families who occupied the bulk of the valley after 1890.

(From Place Names of the Kamloops District; Kamloops Museum, 1978) - Campbell Creek Post Office was established 1 June 1905, named after a settler. Name changed to Barnhartvale Post Office 1 June 1909, Peter Ashton Barnhart, first postmaster. Barnhartvale Post Office closed 30 August 1951. Peter Barnhart was conductor on the first CPR train in 1886, but retired during the 1890's to run a hotel in Kamloops. In 1905 he settled a short distance up Campbell Creek and opened a Post Office to which he attached his own name - to the disgust of early settlers!

Peter Barnhart was the conductor on the first Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) transcontinental train in 1886. Barnhartvale, British Columbia, Canada is named after him.

Barnhart Vale Post Office - In 1905 Barnhart purchased property in what was then known as Campbell Creek and in 1906 opened a post office there. Initially naming his post office "Campbell Creek (South) Post Office", he changed the name to "Barnhart Vale Post Office" in 1909 because of confusions with "Campbell Creek Post Office" established by Lew Campbell at the Campbell Creek Ranch in 1905.

In 1978, the spelling was officially changed to "Barnhartvale".

The Post Office was established at Campbell Creek - 1 June 1905 - it became Barnhart Vale - 1 June 1909 - in 1978 the name came one word - Barnhartvale.

LINK to a list of all the Postmasters who served at the CAMPBELL CREEK / BARNHART VALE Post Office - www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/postal-heritage-philately/...;

sent from - / BARNHART VALE / NO 23 / 34 / B.C / - split ring cancel - this split ring hammer (A-1) was proofed - 9 June 1909 - (RF C).

by registered mail - / R / BARNHART VALE, B.C. / ORIGINAL No. (121) - registered boxed marking (in black ink)

via - / KAMLOOPS / 1 / NO 23 / 34 / B.C. / - cds transit backstamp

via the train - / X C. & V. R.P.O. X / 4 / NO 24 / 34 / B.C. / - rpo backstamp

via - / • MONTREAL • / 1 PM / 27 NO / 34 / CANADA / - transit backstamp

via - / • MONTREAL • / 1 PM / NO 28 / 34 / CANADA / - transit backstamp

arrival - / MONTREAL, P.Q. / NOV 28 1934 / REGISTERED / - boxed handstamp backstamp (in purple ink).

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Addressed to: Dept F.P. / Trico Mills / Montreal / Box 2503 /

Chassis n° AV35499

Les Grandes Marques du Monde au Grand Palais 2020

Bonhams

Parijs - Paris

Frankrijk - France

February 2020

Estimated : € 800.000 - 1.100.000

Sold for € 879.750

Talbot's reputation for producing highly effective competition cars owed a lot to the efforts of the Tolworth based motor dealership and racing preparation specialists, Fox & Nicholl, which looked after the works team from the beginning of 1930 to the end of 1932. The Fox & Nicholl Talbot 90s had dominated the 3-Litre class in prestigious international events such as the Le Mans 24-Hour race, despite displacing only 2.3 litres. For 1931, designer Georges Roesch produced a new car with a full 3-litre engine, which was lighter than its 2.3-litre predecessor and featured much larger valves in a staggered layout, giving improved breathing. This engine was fitted to a lighter and lower chassis, the new model being the AV105.

Famously registered 'GO 51' to 'GO 54' consecutively, the four Fox & Nicholl Talbot 105s enjoyed an outstanding run of successes during the 1931 and 1932 seasons. Highlights of the latter included 1st, 2nd and 3rd in class at the Brooklands 'Double Twelve' in 1931; 3rd overall at Le Mans and 1st un-supercharged car in 1931 and 1932; 1st, 2nd and 3rd in class in the Brooklands 500 in 1931 and 1st and 2nd in 1932; and 1st and 2nd in class at the TT in 1931 and 1932. There was also a glorious failure in the Mille Miglia in 1932 when a lone entry crashed after 900 miles when in 4th place overall.

In addition to its racetrack successes, the AV105 proved to be a formidable rally car. Roesch had always tested his cars in the Alps so it was no surprise when journalist Humfrey Symons borrowed an example to compete in the 1931 Coupe des Alpes (Alpine Rally). He lost no marks and won a Coupe des Glaciers, the highest possible award for a single entry.

The following year a more serious bid was mounted and a team of three tourer-bodied AV105s were prepared for the 1932 event by Fox and Nicholl. These cars were extremely successful, finishing without any penalties, and winning the Coupe des Alpes outright. Another AV105 team, this time with paired down cycle winged four-seater bodies, the famous 'BGH' cars, repeated the feat in 1934. The latter were the ultimate development of the competition Talbot and as such arguably represent the ultimate pre-war British racing sports car. By far the most developed of the three 'BGH' works cars was 'BGH 23' (sold by Bonhams in 2014) and the only other competition car that Talbot built to the same specification was 'AYL 2' offered here.

'AYL 2' was constructed at around the same time as the 'BGH' Alpine cars in 1934. It was ordered new by Dr E J H Roth, who was a leading Harley Street consultant and keen Talbot racer, having previously competed successfully with a 90 at Brooklands. Roth now wanted an even quicker Talbot to challenge for outright wins at the famed Surrey track, and saw the potential in a 'BGH'-style car. As such, the body was to the same general outline as the works Alpine team cars of 1934 but more pared down for track racing, being slightly narrower, with no hood fitted, the area this would normally reside in being panelled over. No windscreen was fitted and initially no passenger's side door, while the specification also included Zeiss headlamps, a Brooklands exhaust system, and André Telecontrol shock absorbers. As such, the car is widely regarded as a semi-works example.

Painted green with matching wheels, 'AYL 2' appeared for the first time at a Brooklands race meeting on 13th October 1934 and was raced by Roth in two races that day. Following this initial visit, Roth continued to race the car successfully at Brooklands, scoring a win in April 1935.

For the 1936 season, with Dr Roth in search of still greater performance and success at the track, 'AYL 2' was up-rated to single-seater specification with a new body manufactured by the famed ERA company of racing voiturette fame. For the BRDC 500-mile race of 1936, the car was prepared with works support to include the installation of the new 3.3-litre 110-type engine. It was driven in this, the most important Brooklands race of the year, by two of the best Brooklands drivers available, Chris Staniland (the 2nd quickest man ever to lap the circuit) and W M 'Mike' Couper. The latter was Talbot's crack 'works' Brooklands driver, famously piloting 'BGH 23' to many successes at the Surrey track. In single-seater form, 'AYL 2' never fulfilled its apparent potential; it is thought this was due to difficult handling caused by poor installation of the rear shock absorbers.

This period of the car's life, when it was fitted with the larger 110 engine, is nevertheless important, since 'AYL 2' is one of only two competition Talbots (the other being 'BGH 23') fitted with this engine in period. As a result, it is eligible today to run this larger and more powerful engine.

When 'AYL 2' was converted to a single-seater, its original sports car body was fitted in 1936 to an almost new Talbot AV105, registration number 'JJ 93'. The body would remain on this car for many years, unmodified apart from the useful addition of a passenger-side door and a windscreen.

In the 1950s, 'AYL 2', by now with its single seater body modified to two-seater configuration (and reregistered as 'JKJ 869' to take advantage of cheaper tax), passed through the trade (see advertisements on file) before being purchased by Arthur Archer, the highly respected Talbot restorer. By this time the original cylinder block was badly damaged; Archer scrapped the block but kept the rest of the car as a potential source of spares. Fortunately Archer never needed the spares and sold the car as a dismantled project to fellow Talbot specialist Ian Polson in 1975. He in turn sold the still dismantled project to John Ward, who rebuilt it using a replica body to the original pattern, as delivered to Dr Roth in 1934. Subsequently, 'AYL 2' was purchased by well-known long-term Talbot collector Nicholas Ward of Northern Ireland, Ward was able to purchase the remaining original parts that Archer had retained, and reunited the car with its original registration number.

Throughout this time the original 1934 team car-style body from 'AYL 2' had remained in good order, fitted to 'JJ 93' as mentioned above. Finally, in 2010, renowned Talbot collector and entrant John Ruston was able to purchase 'AYL 2' from Nicholas Ward and 'JJ 93' from its then owner Paul Wignall. 'AYL 2' was then reunited with its original body, as well as important original components such as road equipment and seats.

While owned by John Ruston and prepared and driven by Gareth Burnett, 'AYL 2' was again hugely successful both on road and track, exactly as its manufacturers had intended, winning two of the most highly regarded pre-war rally and race events: Plateau 1 overall at the Le Mans Classic in 2012 and the prestigious Flying Scotsman rally outright in 2013.

Following brief ownership by well-known German collector Michael Hinderer (who raced the car at the Goodwood Revival in 2015), 'AYL 2' was purchased by the current owner in 2017. A highly successful pre-war rally entrant, he wanted a car that would be equally at home on the rally stages as on the racetrack, and which was eligible for all of the world's great historic motoring events. 'AYL 2' has fitted the bill uniquely well. To ensure the car performed as well as possible, at time of purchase the engine was rebuilt around a new 110 cylinder block by Gareth Burnett. While in the vendor's ownership, the Flying Scotsman rally, Mille Miglia and Le Mans Classic were all completed successfully.

Being a man that likes his cars to drive and present as well as possible, the owner dispatched 'AYL 2' to Talbot specialist I S Polson at the end of the 2018 season with the brief to get the car running and driving on road and track to its very best capabilities. To this end the car was gone through from stem to stern. Works carried out included a complete rewire, top-end engine overhaul, remaking of the floor and associated brackets, re-fitting an original type radiator, re-plumbing the cooling system, rebuilding the seats, re-mounting the body, and overhauling the shock absorbers together with countless other smaller jobs (see invoices on file for circa £80,000). As such, the car only requires final set-up for a new owner to enjoy.

'AYL 2' is only offered for sale because a change in his plans means the owner will not be able to use the car as much as he feels an historic competition car of this quality deserves. A proven winner, this strong and successful post-Vintage thoroughbred is eligible to compete in all the world's best pre-war races and rallies, where its competition record speaks for itself. In the right hands, it is surely a car to be reckoned with, or in less skilled but equally enthusiastic hands, is a ticket for the very best the motoring world has to offer, just as it was for Dr Roth when new. Offered with current FIA HTP papers.

1 ball Noro Kureyon sock yarn

3.5 mm needles

Simple Yet Effective shawl (45" x 19")

Washing your hands is an effective measure in fighting the spread of coronavirus and, in fact, many diseases.

— WHO (World Health Organization)

Instagram

9 March 2020.

▶ NB: "Dorsum" refers to the back of the hand.

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▶ Image via WHO.

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Weigela

Latin: Weigela florida

Variegated Weigela is effective when it blooms in early May and later in the summer because of its variegated foliage.

To non-gardeners, spring ends when the azaleas finish blooming, but both the calendar and garden tell us it stretches into June. One of the late blooming shrubs that has been around so long many have overlooked it in contemporary gardens is called "old fashioned" - it's Weigela florida.

Weigela is a deciduous shrub growing to 8 feet tall and wide in an arching pile of branches. It belongs to the honeysuckle family. It has a brushy nature with gray-brown branches and in winter has about it a forlorn look.

In most cultivars, the flowers appear with the foliage, making the peak bloom usually in late April to mid-May. Individual flowers are tubular, about an inch long, and borne in small clusters near the ends of branches. Flower color is usually in shades of pink, red or combinations of these suffused with white.

Weigela was one of the deciduous shrubs - along with forsythia, deutzia, mock orange and quince - that dominated Victorian gardens during the latter half of the 19th century. It has been used in Chinese gardens as a hedge plant since at least the third century but was not introduced to the West until 1844 when Robert Fortune, the plant collector sent out by the Royal Horticulture Society in London, saw it in bloom in several coastal cities of southern China.

The plant breeders of France, Belgium and Holland soon began hybridizing the 10 closely related species, flooding gardens with many look-alike clones. During the initial breeding phase, flower display was the principle focus, but since WW II Dutch and Canadian breeders have concentrated more on producing compact plants with showy foliage color to give the plants a longer season of interest. In the past decade, there has been a great increase in interest amongst nurserymen as new, easily grown and colorful foliage forms have appeared.

Of the several hundred Weigela cultivars now listed Bristol Ruby and Red Princess are commonly available reds; Fairy and Boskoop Glory are pink; Candida and Mont Blanc are whites. The old cultivar Variegata has pink flowers and showy yellow and white margined leaves; Variegata Nana is a dwarf form. My Monet is a new compact growing white margined variegated form with wine colored blooms. Wine and Roses has dark burgundy colored leaves.

Weigela is an easy-to-grow plant hardy from zones 4 through 8. It's highly adaptable to almost any soil but is best in full sun. It will still bloom in light shade. Plants bloom on old wood in the spring but many will produce some flowers throughout the summer on new growth. Unpruned plants often develop some dead wood that needs to be removed as soon as noticed to keep the plants tidy.

Weigela is a drab shrub in the winter months so it's best mixed in the shrub border with evergreens to mask some of its winter nakedness. Some gardeners are now using this shrub more for its foliage effect in the summer and are less concerned about bloom production. By periodically shearing it back during the growing season plants can be kept small and the colorful foliage can provide the main display.

By: Gerald Klingaman, retired

Extension Horticulturist - Ornamentals

Extension News - May 15, 2009

Banff Provincial Park in Alberta, Canada

Zenza Bronica ETRS 6:4.5 medium format SLR

Zenzanon f3.5 150mm PE aspherical lens with electronic leaf shutter (~90mm effective vs 35mm frame)

AE prism view finder and speed grip

Kodak Portra 800 ISO - 120 roll film - 4800 dpi scan - img011

See [www.youtube.com/watch?v=hawoHRGaDFw] for Bronica medium format camera operation

For when the Coalition doesn't take a hint to buzz off.

This aircraft was designed as a rapid-response, hard hitting interceptor to knock Coalition landing and support craft out of the sky before they can drop their load.

The дракон, or Dragon, makes use of an internal weapons bay to minimize it's aerodynamic profile during hypersonic, SCRAMjet powered flight.

Designed to be extremely versatile, this aircraft can be launched from airfields, dropped from hangars of large assault craft, and deployed from large sea carriers equipped with a magnetic capture system.

Seats two - Pilot, navigator/gunner

Effective Range - Space Drop - Planetwide

- Airbase/Carrier - 10,000 miles at ground level

The Dragon also has the ability to deliver targeted nuclear munitions from near low orbit.

From Brighton City (ESH)

Flight Calibration Services Ltd (FCSL) provides cost effective flight calibration

Now EI-TCN

DSC07885 (2)

Effective April 1, SFO will close one of the two concourses at the International terminal. The A gates of the south side will close and all international flights will use the G gates usually used by United Airlines and its Star Alliance partners.

Today in Ireland and in the US new regulations relating to drones has been introduced [effective from the 21st of December 2015]. There are many similarities in the regulations but there is one major differences in that here in Ireland they have not mention the penalties for failure to register but in the US the cost of failure to register appears to be rather extreme … “civil penalties up to $27,500, or criminal penalties up to 3 years in prison and $250,000.” According to the minister the aim here in Ireland is to encourage drone users to be responsible citizens.

I have included the press releases from both administrations, have a read and see what you think.

Thursday, 17th December 2015: The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) today announced a new drone regulation which includes the mandatory registration of all drones weighing 1kg or more from Monday, 21st December 2015.

The use of drones worldwide is expanding rapidly and there are estimated to be between 4,000 – 5,000 drones already in use in Ireland. Ireland has taken a proactive role in this fast emerging area and is currently one of only a handful of EU Member states that has legislation governing the use of drones.

The new legislation is intended to further enhance safety within Ireland and specifically addresses the safety challenges posed by drones.

From 21st December 2015, all drones weighing 1kg or more must be registered with the IAA via www.iaa.ie/drones. Drone registration is a simple two-step process. To register a drone, the registrant must be 16 years of age or older (Drones operated by those under 16 years of age must be registered by a parent or legal guardian). A nominal fee will apply from February 2016 but this has been initially waived by the IAA in order to encourage early registration.

Mr Ralph James, IAA Director of Safety Regulation, said

“Ireland is already recognised worldwide as a centre of excellence for civil aviation and the drone sector presents another major opportunity for Ireland. We’re closely working with industry to facilitate its successful development here. At the same time, safety is our top priority and we must ensure that drones are used in a safe way and that they do not interfere with all other forms of aviation.

Mr James explained that drone registration has been made a mandatory requirement as this will help the IAA to monitor the sector in the years ahead. The IAA encourages all drone operators to take part in training courses which are available through a number of approved drone training organisations.

“We would strongly encourage drone operators to register with us as quickly as possible, to complete a training course and to become aware of their responsibilities. People operating drones must do so in safe and responsible manner and in full compliance with the new regulations”, he said.

Welcoming the introduction of drone regulation, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohoe TD highlighted the importance of the new legislation and commended the IAA for the efficient manner to have the new registration system in place so quickly.

“The core safety message promoted today advocates the safe use of drones in civilian airspace. The development of drone technology brings opportunities as well as challenges for businesses and services in Ireland. I expect hundreds if not thousands of drones to be bought as presents this Christmas so getting the message to ensure that new owners and operators are aware of their responsibilities and the requirement to register all drones over 1 kg from 21st December 2015 is key. Tremendous potential exists for this sector and Ireland is at the forefront of its development. The speedy response by the IAA to this fast developing aviation area will make sure that drones are properly regulated and registered for use. As a result, Ireland is well placed to exploit the drone sector and to ensure industry growth in this area,” he said.

The new legislation prohibits users from operating their drones in an unsafe manner. This includes never operating a drone:

• if it will be a hazard to another aircraft in flight

• over an assembly of people

• farther than 300m from the operator

• within 120m of any person, vessel or structure not under the operator’s control

• closer than 5km from an aerodrome

• in a negligent or reckless manner so as to endanger life or property of others

• over 400ft (120m) above ground level

• over urban areas

• in civil of military controlled airspace

• in restricted areas (e.g. military installations, prisons, etc.)

• unless the operator has permission from the landowner for takeoff and landing.

For further information please visit www.iaa.ie/drones and see the IAA’s detailed Q&A sheet.

The Federal Aviation Administration has officially launched the drone registration program first reported in October. Drone operators are required to register their UAVs with the Unmanned Aircraft System registry starting December 21. Failure to register could result in criminal and civil penalties.

Under the new system, all aircraft must be registered with the FAA including those 'operated by modelers and hobbyists.' Once registered, drone operators must carry the registration certificate during operation. This new system only applies to drones weighing more than 0.55lbs/250g and less than 55lbs/25kg. The only exception to the registration requirement is indoor drone flights.

Required registration information includes a mailing address and physical address, email address, and full names; however, no information on the drone's make, model, or serial number is required from recreational users. Non-recreational users will need to provide drone information, including serial number, when that particular registration system goes live.

Failure to register could result in civil penalties up to $27,500, or criminal penalties up to 3 years in prison and $250,000. A $5 registration charge is applied, but will be refunded to those who register before January 20. The registration certificate is sent in an email to be printed at home.

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My wife and I watched as this beautiful bird hunted and hovered over a large open field at Point Lobos in Carmel, California, occasionally dropping onto a small prey and returning with it to a tree branch to dine.

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From Wikipedia: The American kestrel (Falco sparverius) is the smallest and most common falcon in North America. It has about a two to one range in size over subspecies and sex, varying in size from about the weight of a blue jay to a mourning dove.

The American kestrel usually hunts in energy conserving fashion by perching and scanning the ground for prey to ambush, though it also hunts from the air. It sometimes hovers in the air with rapid wing beats while homing in on prey. Its diet typically consists of grasshoppers and other insects, lizards, mice, and small birds (e.g. sparrows). This broad diet has contributed to its wide success as a species. It nests in cavities in trees, cliffs, buildings, and other structures. The female lays three to seven eggs, which both sexes help to incubate.

The American kestrel is a common bird used in falconry, especially by beginners. Though not as strong a flyer as many other larger falcons, proper training and weight control by the falconer allows many American kestrels to become effective hunters of birds in the size range of sparrows and starlings, with occasional success against birds up to approximately twice their own weight.

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Addossata alla facciata del palazzo del Monte di Pietà, la fontana fu commissionata, forse a Carlo Maderno, da Paolo V Borghese (1605-1621), agli inizi del XVII secolo, ma la realizzazione venne purtroppo affidata ad un ignoto e grossolano artista che deturpò l'originario disegno indubbiamente interessante. Vi sono raffigurati tutti gli elementi araldici della famiglia del pontefice.

Dalla valva di una pesante e massiccia conchiglia emerge l'aquila borghesiana, con aspetto tutt'altro che rapace, che poggia le zampe ad artiglio troppo divaricate su due piccoli basamenti. La composizione posa sulla voluta centrale di un fregio triangolare al centro del quale un mascherone, energicamente modellato, versa dalla bocca l'acqua che ricade nella vasca semplicissima con il bordo arrotondato. Ai lati del mascherone, nell'incavo delle volute terminali fuoriescono le teste di due draghi, più simili a coccodrilli, che gettano nella vasca due sottili fili d'acqua. Nonostante il suo discutibile valore artistico la fontana, a parte l'efficace effetto celebrativo, presenta una indubbia vivacità espressiva se non altro per la strana, ma originale, composizione.

Leaning against the facade of the Monte di Pietà palace, the fountain was commissioned, perhaps to Carlo Maderno, by Paolo V Borghese (1605-1621), at the beginning of the 17th century, but the construction was unfortunately entrusted to an unknown and crass artist who defaced the original design is undoubtedly interesting. All the heraldic elements of the pontiff's family are depicted.

From the valve of a heavy and massive shell emerges the bourgeois eagle, with an aspect that is anything but rapacious, which rests its claw-like legs too wide apart on two small bases. The composition rests on the central volute of a triangular frieze in the center of which a mask, energetically modeled, pours water from the mouth that falls into the very simple tub with a rounded edge. On the sides of the mask, in the hollow of the terminal volutes, the heads of two dragons emerge, more like crocodiles, which throw two thin threads of water into the tub. Despite its questionable artistic value, the fountain, apart from the effective celebratory effect, presents an undoubted expressive vivacity if only for the strange, but original, composition.

Adossée à la façade du bâtiment Monte di Pietà, la fontaine a été commandée, peut-être à Carlo Maderno, par Paolo V Borghese (1605-1621), au début du 17e siècle, mais la construction a malheureusement été confiée à un artiste inconnu et grossier qui a dégradé le design original est sans aucun doute intéressant. Tous les éléments héraldiques de la famille du pontife sont représentés.

De la valve d'un obus lourd et massif émerge l'aigle bourgeois, avec un aspect tout sauf rapace, reposant ses pattes en forme de griffes trop écartées sur deux petites bases. La composition repose sur la volute centrale d'une frise triangulaire au centre de laquelle un masque, modelé énergiquement, verse de l'eau de la bouche qui tombe dans la baignoire très simple au bord arrondi. Sur les flancs du masque, au creux des volutes terminales, émergent les têtes de deux dragons, plus comme des crocodiles, qui jettent deux fins fils d'eau dans la cuve. Malgré sa valeur artistique discutable, la fontaine, outre l'effet festif efficace, présente une vivacité expressive incontestable ne serait-ce que pour la composition étrange mais originale.

All change in South Manchester from today with the Bee Network Trance 3 becoming effective.

This view captured in September 2024 from the top of Stagecoach Manchester Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC 10863 (SN17 MKL) shows three buses southbound and a northbound service, all on the 192 service.

The 192 service linking Hazel Grove, Stockport and Piccadilly becomes a Bee Network service from today albeit Stagecoach will still operate the route on behalf of Transport for Greater Manchester from Stockport garage.

The service operates every 3 or 4 minutes over the Stockport-Piccadilly section during the main part of the day.

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HMS Belfast is a Town-class light cruiser that was built for the Royal Navy. She is now permanently moored as a museum ship on the River Thames in London and is operated by the Imperial War Museum.

Construction of Belfast, the first ship in the Royal Navy to be named after the capital city of Northern Ireland and one of ten Town-class cruisers, began in December 1936. She was launched on St Patrick's Day 1938. Commissioned in early August 1939 shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, Belfast was initially part of the British naval blockade against Germany. In November 1939, Belfast triggered a German mine and, in spite of fears that she would be scrapped, spent more than two years undergoing extensive repairs. Belfast returned to action in November 1942 with improved firepower, radar equipment, and armour. Belfast saw action escorting Arctic convoys to the Soviet Union during 1943 and in December 1943 played an important role in the Battle of North Cape, assisting in the destruction of the German warship Scharnhorst. In June 1944, Belfast took part in Operation Overlord supporting the Normandy landings. In June 1945, she was redeployed to the Far East to join the British Pacific Fleet, arriving shortly before the end of the Second World War. Belfast saw further combat action in 1950–52 during the Korean War and underwent an extensive modernisation between 1956 and 1959. A number of further overseas commissions followed before she entered reserve in 1963.

In 1967, efforts were initiated to avert Belfast's expected scrapping and to preserve her as a museum ship. A joint committee of the Imperial War Museum, the National Maritime Museum, and the Ministry of Defence was established and then reported in June 1968 that preservation was practical. In 1971, however, the government decided against preservation, prompting the formation of the private HMS Belfast Trust to campaign for her preservation. The efforts of the Trust were successful, and the government transferred the ship to the Trust in July 1971. Brought to London, she was moored on the River Thames near Tower Bridge in the Pool of London. Opened to the public in October 1971, Belfast became a branch of the Imperial War Museum in 1978. Since 1973 she has been home to the City of London Sea Cadets who meet on board twice a week. A popular tourist attraction, Belfast received over 327,000 visitors in 2019. As a branch of a national museum and part of the National Historic Fleet, Belfast is supported by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, admissions income, and the museum's commercial activities.

Belfast is a cruiser of the third Town class. The Town class had originated in 1933 as the Admiralty's response to the Imperial Japanese Navy's Mogami-class cruiser, an 11,200-ton cruiser mounting fifteen 6-inch (152 mm) guns with a top speed exceeding 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph). The Admiralty's requirement called for a 9,000-ton cruiser, sufficiently armoured to withstand a direct hit from an 8-inch (203 mm) shell, capable of 32 knots (59 km/h) and mounting twelve 6-inch guns. Seaplanes carried aboard would enable shipping lanes to be patrolled over a wide area, and the class was also to be capable of its own anti-aircraft defence. Under the Director of Naval Construction the new design evolved during 1933. The lead ship of the new class, the 9,100-ton HMS Southampton, and her sister HMS Newcastle, were ordered under the 1933 estimates. Three more cruisers were built to this design, with a further three ships built to a slightly larger 9,400-ton design in 1935–36. By 1935, however, the Admiralty was keen to improve the firepower of these cruisers to match the firepower of the Japanese Mogami and American Brooklyn-class cruisers; both were armed with fifteen 6-inch guns. The Admiralty rejected a design featuring five triple turrets as impractical, while an alternative design fitting four quadruple turrets was rejected as an effective quadruple turret could not be developed. In May 1936 the Admiralty decided to fit triple turrets, whose improved design would permit an increase in deck armour. This modified design became the 10,000-ton Edinburgh subclass, named after Belfast's sister ship HMS Edinburgh. Belfast was ordered from Harland and Wolff on 21 September 1936, and her keel laid on 10 December 1936. Her expected cost was £2,141,514; of which the guns cost £75,000 and the aircraft (two Supermarine Walruses) £66,500. She was launched on Saint Patrick's Day, 17 March 1938, by Anne Chamberlain, the wife of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. The launch was filmed by Pathé News. From March to August 1939, Belfast was fitted out and underwent sea trials.

When completed, Belfast had an overall length of 613 feet 6 inches (187.0 m), a beam of 63 feet 4 inches (19.3 m) and a draught of 17 feet 3 inches (5.3 m). Her standard displacement during her sea trials was 10,420 long tons (10,590 t). She was propelled by four three-drum oil-fired Admiralty water-tube boilers, turning Parsons geared steam turbines, driving four propeller shafts. She was capable of 32.5 knots (60.2 km/h; 37.4 mph) and carried 2,400 long tons (2,400 t) of fuel oil. This gave her a maximum range of 8,664 nautical miles (16,046 km; 9,970 mi) at 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph)

Belfast's main armament comprised twelve Mk XXIII 6-inch guns in four triple turrets directed by an Admiralty Fire Control Table. With a rate of fire of up to eight rounds per gun per minute, her main battery was capable of a total maximum rate of fire of 96 rounds per minute. Her secondary armament comprised twelve 4-inch guns in six twin mounts. Her initial close-range anti-aircraft armament was sixteen 2-pounder "pom-pom" guns in two eight-barrel mountings, and two quadruple Vickers .50 machine guns. She also mounted six Mk IV 21-inch torpedo tubes in two triple mounts, and fifteen Mk VII depth charges.

Belfast was protected by a 4.5-inch (114 mm) main armour belt, with deck armour of 3 inches (76 mm) over her magazines, and 2 inches (51 mm) over her machinery spaces Her six-inch turrets were protected by up to 4 inches (102 mm) of armour.

Belfast's aviation capability was provided by two catapult-launched Supermarine Walrus amphibious biplanes. These could be launched from a D1H catapult mounted aft of the forward superstructure, and recovered from the water by two cranes mounted on either side of the forward funnel. The aircraft, operated by the Fleet Air Arm's HMS Belfast Flight of 700 Naval Air Squadron, were stowed in two hangars in the forward superstructure.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

Some background:

The history of the Swiss Air Force began in 1914 with the establishment of an ad hoc force consisting of a handful of men in outdated and largely civilian aircraft. It was only in the 1930s the military and civilian leadership decided to establish an effective air force. On 13 December 1929, in what was in retrospect referred to as the "bill to create an air force", the Federal Council asked the Swiss Federal Assembly to approve the spending of 20 million francs for the purchase of 65 French Dewoitine D.27 fighters and the manufacture of 40 Dutch (Fokker C.V-E) reconnaissance planes under license.

Although the opposition Social Democratic Party collected 42,000 signatures in a petition opposing the bill, Parliament passed it handily and declined to allow a referendum on the issue, optional at that time for spending bills. This was the start of a massive armament program that would consume more than a billion francs over the next ten years, but after Hitler's rise to power in Germany, the Social Democrats added their support to the efforts.

When enough monoplane fighters had widely become available for the Swiss Air Force in 1943, the C-3400/-3401 biplanes were quickly removed from front-line service. They served on in second-line surveillance and aerial patrol units, or they were transferred to training units, where most of the type (a total of 119 were built) survived the hostilities. The last C-3400/-3401 was finally withdrawn from service in 1954, and only a single specimen survived in the collection of the Aviation Museum (Flieger Flab Museum) in Dübendorf, Switzerland.

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Length: 7.2 m (23 ft 7 in)

Wingspan: 10.02 m (32 ft 10 in)

Height: 3 m (9 ft 10 in)

Wing area: 23 m2 (250 sq ft)

Airfoil: NACA M-12

Empty weight: 1,360 kg (2,998 lb)

Gross weight: 1,740 kg (3,836 lb)

Powerplant:

1× BMW VI 7.3 V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine, 634 kW (850 hp),

driving a three-bladed variable pitch metal propeller

Performance:

Maximum speed: 400 km/h (250 mph, 220 kn) at 3,000 m (9,843 ft)

Service ceiling: 11,500 m (37,700 ft)

Rate of climb: 16.67 m/s (3,281 ft/min)

Time to altitude: 5,000 m (16,404 ft) in 5 minutes 30 seconds

Wing loading: 75.7 kg/m2 (15.5 lb/sq ft)

Power/mass: 0.36 kW/kg (0.22 hp/lb)

Armament:

2× fixed, forward-firing 7.5 mm (.295 in) MAC 1934 machine guns with 600 RPG

4× underwing hardpoints for 20 lb (9.1 kg) bombs (rarely used)

The kit and its assembly:

This whiffy biplane was/is just a kit travesty – the fictional EKW C-34 is a Kawasaki Ki-10 (the ICM kit) with mild mods and Swiss pre-WWII markings. I had an eye on the quite elegant Japanese fighter for a while, and due to its engine with German roots (its Kawasaki Ha9-IIa was a license-built water-cooled BMW VI V12 engine) I thought about a European operator – and eventually I decided to make it a Swiss aircraft.

The ICM kit was built almost OOB, the only changes I made were the spatted wheels (IIRC left over from an ICM Polikarpov I-15 biplane), which needed some tweaks on the OOB struts, and the different, closed canopy (from a Hobby Boss A6M Zero), because I wanted a relatively modern look, comparable with the contemporary Avia B-534 biplane. Mounting it was tricky, because of the “step” under the windscreen, so that I had to add a console under it, and some PSR was necessary to blend the canopy, which was cut into three parts for open display, into the rounded back of the Ki-10. A scratched antenna mast was added, too, to fill the respective opening in the rear part of the dorsal glazing. Thanks to the many braces of the A6M canopy, the implant looks quite organic.

The ICM Ki-10 went together quite well, it’s a rather simple kit with only a single sprue and few parts. The biggest challenge was the upper wing, though, which is only carried by the struts. The locator pins are only marginal, and finding a proper position took some time and superglue.

I furthermore modified the propeller with a long metal axis and a tube adapter inside if the fuselage, so that it could spin freely.

Painting and markings:

The reason why the Ki-10 became a Swiss aircraft was the paint scheme – a quite attractive tricolor splinter pattern (apparently inspired by the similar German camouflage in RLM 61,62 and 63?) was the Swiss Air Force’s standard at the breakout of WWII, and I adopted it for the C-3401, too.

The pattern is vaguely based on a real C-35 biplane (presented at the Dübendorf Aviation Museum), which I deem to look authentic, and I tried to emulate its colors as good as possible. I settled on Desert Yellow (Humbrol 94, the tone is officially called “Ochre” but appears to be quite yellowish), French Khaki Green (ModelMaster 2106) and Chestnut Brown (ModelMaster 2107, another French WWII aircraft tone), with light grey (Humbrol 64) undersides. Painting the splinter scheme with a brush on a biplane like this was tricky, though. The cockpit interior was painted with a grey-green tone similar to RLM 02 (Humbrol 45), the wing struts became black.

As usual, the model received a light black ink washing, plus some post-panel shading and dry-brushing to emphasize details and to weather it, but only lightly, because the aircraft would not have been involved in fights.

The roundels on the upper wings came from a generic TL-Modellbau national markings sheet, while the red bands for the national insignia under the lower wings and on the rudder were painted. The white cross on the fin comes from a Swiss BAe Hawk trainer (Italeri), while the slightly bigger white cross under the lower wings was scratched from white decal stripes. The tactical code comes from a Croatian MiG-21UM trainer (KP kit), the unit badge is fictional and came from a Spanish Heinkel He 70.

The model was sealed overall with matt acrylic varnish, and as a final step the rigging was applied, made from heated black sprue material, using the real Ki-10 as benchmark for the connections/positions.

A pretty result, and the simple travesty of the elegant Ki-10 into a late interwar biplane from Continental Europe works surprisingly well. The spats and the closed canopy might not have been necessary, but they modernize and change the aircraft, so that its use during WWII – even though not in any offensive role – becomes even more believable. The splinter scheme suits the aircraft well, too, even though its application was a bit tricky, as well as the Swiss roundels.

In an effort to provide effective policing in an era when urban populations were rising (and council housing estates were begin built at an amazing rate throughout the UK) – but police numbers were falling due to poor wages and conditions in comparison to other industries – the concept of Unit Beat Policing (UBP) was warmly embraced by chief officers.

Thus in the Royal Burgh of Inverness, then the only true sizeable conurbation in the Highlands & Islands, the Burgh Police decided to adopt the UBP plan in 1967.

Development of personal radios was a considerable boon to the concept – prior to this, in the earlier part of the 1960s, communication between officers and base was by means of police telephone posts, a tall metal pillar located at strategic locations (usually junctions, or visible from a distance) where officer or public could open the box door and speak to the police control desk via direct telephone line. The pillars had a light above, remotely activated from HQ when there was a message for the patrolling officer. The officer’s gratitude was usually freely and fulsomely expressed when a helpful young schoolboy tracked him down to let him know “your light’s flashing, officer”. See, I was always public-spirited!

Basically, in Inverness UBP involved splitting the town – other than the Town Centre which had always comprised 2 foot beats - into 6 foot beats (or cycle beats as necessary).

1. Longman

2. Merkinch

3. Muirtown

4. Dalneigh/Park

5. Hilton/Drummond

6. Raigmore/Crown

These Beats were each allocated an officer on a permanent basis, who would be rostered to perform duty for a set period each day, usually Day Shift or Late Shift. Beats were also joined into pairs (“Area”)(Beats 1 and 2 were Areas 1, 3 and 4 Area 2, and 5 and 6 Area 3) and each was allocated a ‘panda’ vehicle with one officer, and policing provided on a 24-hour system. The officer(s) in the car would attend all urgent calls in the Area, as well as undertaking patrol duty, and if further enquiry or follow-up was necessary, this would be passed on to be undertaken by the Beat Officer. Such Beat Man (in those days female officers did not perform the same shift-duration, or the same duties, as male officers, and were paid at a lower rate) might well live within the Beat he was to patrol, as most Constables then lived in police authority housing, and police housing was generally provided in every part of town. Any new estate would invariably have a pair of semi-detached houses allocated (if Council estate) or purchased by the Police Authority if a private estate.

The Area cars would be painted in “panda” colours. The original idea was to have black cars with white doors – as per real pandas, and hence how the name “panda car” originated – but this scheme was possibly regarded as too severe and stark, and perhaps also considered too “American” as most USA police cars of the era seen in films and on television were “black and white”.

By the time UBP was in operation around the UK, the favoured colour scheme was light blue with white doors. This was likely an economy measure and most manufacturers tended to produce cars in light blue. (Other forces did use their initiate to avoid the need for repainting costs – purchase of a black car and white car, or a white and a light-blue, and swapping the doors between vehicles, and then resorting same when the cars were ready for replacing!)

As such ,when Inverness commissioned its “panda cars”, light blue with white doors was the favoured colour scheme. At the time, there was a wide choice of British made small cars for the purpose. Mini, Ford Anglia, Hillman Imp, Morris 1000 – and also Triumph Herald. Inverness Burgh elected to use the Herald, likely because they would have been cheapest price in tendering and which would have been supplied by the local Standard-Triumph Dealer, James Ferries & company of Eastgate, Inverness. It is believed that three such vehicles would have been supplied, as feature in the accompanying photograph, two of which can be seen to have VRM of GST691F and GST693F. One might presume the one behind would be GST692F. The “F” suffix was issued between 1st August 1967 and 31st July 1968, and of course the “ST” signified the vehicle was registered in Inverness. The Inverness County Council ran the local Motor Taxation Office until circa 1975, DVLA gradually taking over much of the work as the vehicle registration and licensing system of the UK was gradually computerised.

The Triumph Heralds shown in the photograph were all light blue apart from the doors (they were two-door models) which were white and which bore the wording POLICE in blue on each door. They were fitted with a single rotating blue roof beacon. The only other markings were blue metal plates embossed POLICE which was picked out in white, fitted to the front grill and rear boor lid. They were not reflective. Judging by the aerial they also had a fixed radio set installed but this was not continued with replacement vehicles. Instead officers carried a portable PR (Personal Radio), as did foot beat officers.

The photograph was taken early in 1969, by which time the Burgh force had merged with Inverness-shire Constabulary (on 16th November 1968) to form the Inverness Constabulary, and the location is the door of Farraline Park Police Station, a "temporary" location, from when the Burgh Police Station at Castle Wynd in the town Centre, was demolished in 1958 until a new permanent home was built – Police Headquarters, at Old Perth Road. The public office door is visible in the photo – the staff/prisoner entrance was down the lane about where the rearmost Herald is sitting.

At some stage a fourth car was obtained, theoretically for a fourth Area – since the Inverness Police boundaries had (post merger) spread beyond the former burgh boundary and the town and its environs was growing at a considerable rate. The fourth car tended however to be used as a spare vehicle, as one of the other 3 was usually out of service at any given time due to their non-stop use. Subsequent replacement Panda cars were thus ordered in due course by the new force, and Heralds were replaced by 2 Triumph Toledos which were not robust enough for 24-hour police work. By the time the writer joined the force in April 1973, Inverness boasted four “pandas” 2 Triumph Toledo (Area 2 and Spare)(“K” registered) and two Ford Escort Mk1 (UST 220L and UST 221L). The Fords were far more robust and superior, but they all came as 2-door which was such a nuisance when trying to get prisoners in and out of the rear. The Triumphs were a slightly lighter version of blue that the Escorts. Also in 1973, Inverness boasted:

a light blue Bedford Beagle small van (mainly for Rural Beats use),

a navy blue BMC J4 van (for prisoners, found bicycles and any other loads, and for attending calls which were not urgent, as it was not unusual for it to be overtaken by cyclists!) and

a white Ford Cortina Mk3 saloon (mainly for supervisory use).

Completing the local “fleet” were:

CID Ford Escort in fluorescent yellow-green (VRM UST218L and

CID Ford Cortina Estate in bright dark blue (VRM was similar – possibly UST 227L)

Officers in the one-man stations were not then supplied with a vehicle – they used their own private cars, as did senior officers, and claimed mileage. The Traffic Department was then (1973) based at Force HQ at Inverness Castle, and operated 3 fancy patrol cars for use on the trunk roads.

I am grateful to Retired Supt Norman MacLeod for providing me with this photograph – which captures a significant time in policing in the Highlands. Norman, who had been a cadet with Inverness-shire Constabulary, became the first new recruit appointed to the Inverness Constabulary when he was appointed Constable on 31st March 1969.

Digital camera snap of group expression/w accordion

www.flickr.com/photos/psychoactivartz/3857622177/sizes/l/...

Local voters took heed of the message on the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority bus, and turnout was high on November 3.

Hassle. As I mentioned in the last post, I'm in an environment with a culture that's got so many techniques to block the type of effective communication that's desperately needed in this area, with all manner of delusional bullshit that keeps it all in place, an area that's so full of psychosocial issues that when you try to even begin to address it with most people from around here, they're highly likely, while telling you that Kidderminster really isn't all that bad - it's all your mind, sort of thing - or that they're above it all, to only go all Kidderminster if they pick up on even the slightest eyebrow movement that suggests that you aren't one of The Assimilated.

I've just got back after summoning up the courage to leave the confines of my house, since I'm effectively socially excluded from parts of town, because a local probable psychopath got obsessed with me ages ago and wanted some sort of fantastic, crazed denouement to satisfy his psychotic bloodlust. I also braved the outside world with my otherworldly witchcraft device, my smartphone. Mom warned me, mentioning my phone, that I was asking for it, just like she said Jodie Foster did, when we watched The Accused, decades ago. There's that spider and its web.

Anyway, I've decided to quit the centre of town completely for the foreseeable future, if not forever. From now on, no more Tesco's or Sainsbury's or Marks or the McDonalds in the often disturbing Weavers Wharf. Now it's to the outskirts to The Cooperative, although if The Assimilated find out about that, who knows. Maybe I'll just start building a Space Shuttle in the back garden.

The drive was uneventful, although that didn't stop me from me scanning the area for warnings of Assimilation, especially when I passed the local Cop Shop. Nothing amiss. When I parked up at The Coop, I was going to do a video, even though my battery was nearly empty, because the scene looked bizarrely, for Kidderminster, at least, unthreatening. The Olds, who seem to go to The Coop in droves, appeared quite calm and human on the surface, although you can never really tell, sometimes. I didn't bother investigating.

As I was getting ready to shoot the video, what do you know, but there was this middle-aged bloke chomping on a sandwich, just like Clint in his heyday. The look, though prolonged, wasn't of the Animal or serial killing variety, though. I seemed to remember him and I'm pretty sure he had connections with the local filth, so I thought I'd better investigate.

We got talking and he was, indeed, local filth. Initially, it was the usual crap, but we talked a bit more and we chilled out a bit and started discussing The Issue of Kidderminster. He said that the town's got a negative energy - a phrase he just kept repeated with genuine, deep feeling - all over the place and it's the worst place he's ever worked. Unfuckingbelievable. We chatted a bit more and I thought he was a good fella and I've got no problem with him eating like Clint. If he's sussed this place, he can eat how the fuck he likes, as far as I'm concerned, not that I'd stop him, anyway: he looked well hard. He's doing something soon - getting the fuck out of here - and he's looking forward to it. I wished him all the very best, and I hope he does escape in time to avoid becoming one of The Assimilated.

I'd given him my theory about how the inability of people to be able to communicate effectively had wide-reaching implications for all sorts of things, including policing. I also mentioned that the Police's training could be improved in many ways that the negative energy he saw in the town could affect the filth, especially as they had to often deal with the extremes of it. He didn't give me the slightest indication of any bad vibes. He'll be all right after a bit when he leaves. He's got the right attitude, even though he was still acting a bit filth, even with Jase.

I went into The Coop to get my stuff. Uneventful. This totally fit chick gave me a look of total lust - I'm not kidding: absolute lust - as I was going to pay for my geek food. I'm still tripping, now, about how fit she was, even though, at 42, the only pussy I'm really into, these days, is stray cats. When I picked up on her vibe, though, I got the same gagging vibe that I haven't had for ages, but she sussed and went cold. Fucking bitch, she was nice, I'm tellin ya, but why the fuck do they do that? What-is-their-problem!?! Fucking shit, though, she was fit. Lush. Well, anyway, as I was saying I'm 42, now, things happen at that age, and so it doesn't really matter, at the end of the day. I'll sit in my garden and watch the cats. Her loss.

Outside, I went to take this snap. It took ages. Eventually, some sort of manager came out and I was interviewed. He turned out to be all right, though, did Ben, so I gave him my lecture on the transformational potential of social media. He was up for it, until I got to the really juicy stuff, when he started to ask me questions about what I was doing and why from a slightly suspicious mainstream angle.

I'm getting quite good at dealing with this, though, without acting like a BB-Fucking-C Wannabe. He told me that The Coop likes to work with the community, which is good and which everyone knows, so I gave him a few tips about how they could use social media, in the certain knowledge that he'd forget it all as soon as we parted.

Filthy Clint made me think and wonder about the differences and potential of the negative energy versus the Smartphone Era approach. He also got me wondering why it is that I find so many men and women in the filth who are all right when you get past most of the institutional stuff and the training. I think it's partly because it's what they have to do, although exposure to people with psychosocial issues must be a pretty big problem in their personal lives, especially some of the types I've met who initially joining the filth for some sort of power trip.

But it's got to be more than that. Compared with many people who work in the NHS, there isn't that sense I tend to get, that they've got some sort of irrational superiority complex, something which means I can usually suss that someone works in the 'caring professions' pretty quickly. All I can think of is that it's because people in the filth are often subject to marginalization in a number of ways that must give them a bit of The Knowledge, instead of being put on a crazy pedestal by mainstream culture, which I think is potentially dangerous and screws many NHS employees up in ways too many of them will probably never understand.

I wasn't going to bother with this, but I might as well mention it in passing. In the days when I went to a local coffee shop in Kidderminster's town centre, I spotted and once talked with (I was on happy pills at the time, so don't blame me), one of the malicious gossips who changed a lot about my life and environment, starting way back in 1996. She worked for the NHS and absolutely everything about this woman, from the way she talks, her body language and her personal appearance, proves to me, at least, that the implications of the abuse of information, people's lack of awareness of self and context, along with the lack of skills to attain that, has potential long-term implications for everyone's health and enjoyment of life.

That needs to change. It almost certainly won't, so, like Filthy Clint, I'm out of here ASAP, before I become one of The Assimilated.

Effective Lens: 18mm f/0.30

Number of frames: 75

Lens on FF: 85mm f1/4

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3D red/cyan anaglyph created from glass plate stereograph at Library of Congress - Prints & Photographs Online Catalog: www.loc.gov/pictures/

LOC Title: Manassas, Virginia. Fortifications

Date: March 1862

Photographer: The LOC gives credit to George N. Barnard – a second card version from “Brady’s Album Gallery” of this same image indicates “Barnard & Gibson” (James Gibson).

Link to glass plate: www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/civwar/item/2018671825/

Notes: Seldom seen in 3D, a stereograph of Union soldiers inside the Confederate fortifications at Manassas, after the surprise evacuation of the Confederate Army in March 1862.

Apparently the March evacuation surprised the North, as well as President Jefferson Davis in the South, who later claimed he wasn't informed of it, expecting his army to hold its ground instead of retreating back towards Richmond. Davis and Gen. Joe Johnston argued about this movement for years after the war ended. Union Gen. McClellan was criticized for not advancing on Manassas sooner, and took heat from Congress after it became known that many of the Confederate works held only "Quaker guns," - tree trunks made to look like cannons.

Below is some additional background information on the fortifications and evacuation, and a couple extracts of the sensational type articles, appearing in the press, on the awful treatment (by both sides) of the dead at Manassas.

For those still interested, at the very bottom is a small sampling of the back and forth arguments carried on between Jefferson Davis and Gen. Johnston, a quarter century later, concerning the Manassas evacuation.

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

Barnard & Gibson took several photographs of these same fortifications, one of which is included in Alexander Gardner’s Photographic Sketch Book, as plate 11. Below is the description of the scene from the Sketchbook.

Gardner’s Photographic Sketch Book of the War, Vol.,1

Plate 11. Fortifications at Manassas.

"This sketch represents a portion of the Confederate fortifications at Manassas after their occupation by the Union Army. The works were laid out by General Beauregard, well known as an engineer of great ability; but their construction illustrates the inexperience in military matters of the men who rallied at this spot to resist the authority of the Government. The casks were filled with earth, and were intended to supply the lack of more suitable gabions, but would have offered very little resistance to artillery. The flooring was laid for the use of the guns, the four short posts marking the embrasure. The interior of the works was badly drained, and the trenches were almost constantly filled with stagnant water. The fortifications formed a semi-circle about four miles in length, but contiguous to this position were the ridges and earthworks of Centreville, extending the line to nearly fifteen miles. The armament consisted principally of six and twelve pounder field batteries, with a few old fashioned thirty-twos, brought from the Norfolk Navy Yard. Located, however, upon high tabled-land, bounded by ravines and the most impenetrable thickets bordering Bull Run, the works did not require very heavy ordinance. Had they been assaulted, the musket and bayonet would have proved far more serviceable in repelling the attack than artillery, although there is no doubt that the small number of heavy cannon was attributable to their scarcity in the South rather than to confidence in the natural strength of the position. The fortifications are now rapidly being leveled, and in a few years will have entirely disappeared. The soil composing them is of a light character, and washed away in every rain, filling up the ditches and reducing the sharply defined works to sloping mounds, over which the farmer’s plow is already turning the furrow."

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New York Herald

Wednesday, March 12, 1862

MANASSAS EVACUATED

The Retreat of the Rebels from Centreville, Occoquan, Fairfax Court House, Winchester and Manassas.

The Rebel Stronghold Occupied by Union Troops

The Latest Details.

“Washington, March 11, 1862. The whole rebel fortifications at Manassas were abandoned and everything possible burned. Our troops occupy the place.

Before dark last night, Colonel Averill, with a large body of cavalry, entered the far famed rebel works at Manassas Junction, and bivouacked for the night amidst the ruins of the rebel stronghold, with the Stars and Stripes glittering in the brilliant moonlight.

In their march from Centreville no signs of the rebels were discovered. The fields that were a few months ago ensangined with the blood of contending armies and resonant with the sound of booming cannon and rolling musketry, the shouts of marshalled hosts and the groans of the dying, was silent and deserted. The fortifications which so lately bristled with the artillery and gleaming bayonets of the rebel force, were bare and blackened. The retreating rebels had swept it with the besom of destruction that had everywhere marked their departure. They were all gone, horse, foot and dragoons. They had slit their tents with their swords, and set fire to all that was inflamable. Nothing was left except the bare and blackened walls and the smouldering ashes of the bonfires made of their tents, baggage, equipments and stores, for which they could find no transportation….

Everything at Manassas indicates precipitate flight on the part of the rebels. All the log huts are standing, and an immense number of canvass tents. Some caissons were found, but no guns. Piles of bullets and cartridges were left in the tents, and an immense quantity of quartermaster stores. In one place were discovered about thirty thousand bushels of corn, which had been set fire to and was still smouldering.

They brought back abundant rebel trophies, pack saddles, army orders, muskets, revolvers, bowie knives, letters, &c. Over one thousand pack saddles were found, all new, and marked “C.S.A.”

________________

The New York Herald

Saturday, March 15, 1862

“The desire to visit Manassas is becoming so prevalent that it is now styled the “Manassas mania.” Increasing crowds visit the place daily, taking Centreville and Bull run in the route. It is amusing to note the diversified trophies that are brought back. A surgeon showed me three skulls he succeeded in getting. He says he know they are skulls of secessionists, because, in the first place, they were dug upon ground occupied by the rebels during the Bull run fight; and, secondly, because of their thickness….

Captain McRelvy tells me that he counted over two hundred dead horses strewn along the roads. The story about their throats being cut is untrue. They all died of exhaustion and disease. He also learned that great mortality existed among the troops when the evacuation took place.

A number of contrabands came in to-day. They were sent to Washington.”

_______________

Chicago Tribune

Tuesday, March 18, 1862

The Gibraltar of Virginia.

[From the New York Evening Post, 13th.]

"….It is acknowledged by those who have examined the works of Manassas that an army encamped there, and which for so many months occupied our own army of 200,000 men, and with its “Quaker” guns and ingenious boldness of pickets so deceived our military authorities—that this great Manassas did not really number sixty thousand men; while the “Gibraltar of Virginia” is nothing but an immense humbug. It is not very surprising that Englishmen, who like Sir James Freguson and others, visited the Manassas lines, and afterwards saw, within our own, what a vast force the rebels were holding in check with their small army, went home despising the “Federals,” and full of admiration of the rebels and their faith in their success.”

_______________

The Burlington Weekly Hawk-eye.

Saturday, May 03, 1862.

Rebel Outrages on the dead.

“WASHINGTON, April 30.—The Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War made a lengthy report regarding the treatment by the rebels at Manassas of the remains of Federal officers and soldiers killed there. They say the facts disclosed are of painful, repulsive and shocking character—that the rebels have crowned this rebellion by the perpetration of deeds unknown even to savage warfare. Investigations have established this beyond controversy….The outrages on the dead will revive the recollections of the cruelties to which savage tribes subject their prisoners. They were buried, in many cases, with their faces downward—they were left to decay in the open air, their bones being carried off as trophies; sometimes, as the testimony proves, to be used as personal ornaments; one witness deliberately avows that the head of one of our most gallant officers was cut off by a Secessionist to be used as a drinking cup on the occasion of his marriage.”

_______________

Below is a relatively brief extract of a lengthy 1885 article – a response from Gen. Johnston to Jefferson Davis’ criticisms of his generalship, in Davis’ 1881 book, “Rise and Fall of the Confederacy.” I‘ve transcribed the opening paragraph to help get your bearings, and then I skip 11 pages to the part where Johnston defends his handling of the Manassas evacuation, and where he quantifies the amount of Confederate materials lost in it; how it was not his fault – the fault belonged to the Government (i.e. Jefferson Davis).

The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine

Volume 30, May 1885 to October 1885

Manassas to Seven Pines - by Gen. Joseph E. Johnston

A REPLY TO JEFFERSON DAVIS…

“When the State of Virginia seceded, being a citizen of that State, I resigned my office in the United States Army. And as I had seen a good deal of military service, in the Seminole and Mexican wars and in the West, the President of the Confederacy offered me a commission in the highest grade in his army. I accepted the offer because the invasion of the South was inevitable. But I soon incurred Mr. Davis's displeasure by protesting against an illegal act of his by which I was greatly wronged. Still he retained me in important positions, although his official letters were harsh. In 1864, however, he degraded me to the utmost of his power by summarily removing me from a high command. Believing that he was prompted to this act by animosity , and not by dispassionate opinion , I undertake to prove this animosity by many extracts from his “Rise and Fall of the Confederacy ” ( D. Appleton & Co .: 1881 ) , and my comments thereon . [This was the opening paragraph of Johnston’s article. –PT]

[Skipping 11 pages to Johnston’s account of the Manassas Evacuation]

“By a singular freak of the President's memory, it transferred the substance of these passages from his letter to my three. Referring again to the conference at Fairfax Court House,

Mr. Davis says ( page 464):

“Soon thereafter, the army withdrew to Centreville, a better position for defense, but not for attack, and thereby suggestive of the abandonment of an intention to advance.”

…..On the 20th of February, after a discussion in Richmond, his cabinet being present, the President directed me to prepare to fall back from Manassas, and do so as soon as practicable. I returned to Manassas on February 21, and on the 22d ordered the proper officers to remove the public property, which was begun on the 23d…The Government had collected three million and a quarter pounds of provisions there, I insisted on a supply of but a million and a half. It also had two million pounds in a meat-curing establishment near at hand, and herds of live stock besides. On the 9th of March, when the ground had become firm enough for military operations, I ordered the army to march that night, thinking then, as I do now, that the fifteen days was time enough in which to subordinate an army to the Commissary Department. About one million pounds of this provision were abandoned, besides half as much more spoiled for want of shelter. This loss is represented (page 468) as so great as to embarrass us to the end of the war, although it was only six days’ supply for the troops then in Virginia. Ten times as much was in railroad stations of North Carolina at the end of the war.

Mr. Davis says (page 467):

“it was regretted that earlier and more effective means were not employed for the mobilization of the army,…or at least that the withdrawal was not so deliberate as to secure the removal of our ordnance, subsistence, and quartermaster’s stores.”

The quartermaster’s and ordnance stores were brought off; and as to subsistence, the Government, which collected immediately on the frontier five times the quantity of provisions wanted is responsible for the losses. The President suggested the time of withdrawal himself, in the interview in his office that has been mentioned. The means taken, was the only one available,--the Virginia Midland Railroad.”

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

Red/Cyan (not red/blue) glasses of the proper density must be used to view 3D effect without ghosting. Anaglyph prepared using red cyan glasses from The Center For Civil War Photography / American Battlefield Trust. CCWP Link: www.civilwarphotography.org/

- Effective focal length = 240 mm

- Chase Field (Home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, can be seen on the left side of the photograph.

New and beginning farmers are able to recieve education, experience and support from the Agricultural Land Based Training Association (ALBA), whose graduates of their Farmer Education Course (PEPA) can then move on to agricultural related careers or continue a farming association for up to five incubator years where they can rent farm land, at their 100-acre facility in Salinas, Ca., on Nov. 14, 2018.

The Agricultural Land Based Training Association (ALBA) is a training program that helps low income farmworkers and others learn how to become farmers. New farmers begin with a series of classroom courses and on-hands training, and graduate to farming their own piece of land on the farm. Eventually these new graduates hope to become successful farmers.

ALBA’s Farmer Education and Enterprise Development (FEED) Program educates and trains new farmer-entrepreneurs to plan, launch, and establish viable organic farm businesses or advance their careers. To accomplish this, ALBA has 100 acres of organic land, an experienced team with diverse expertise, and a hands-on, 5-year farmer development program. FEED is comprised of three main components:

1.The Farmer Education Course (PEPA) is a one year, bilingual, 300-hour curriculum featuring classroom instruction and field-based training, readying participants to launch an organic farm business.

2.The Organic Farm Incubator allows course graduates to launch their farm on ALBA’s land. Starting at ½ acre, farmers gradually scale up to 5 acres over 4 years under ALBA’s supervision before transitioning to fully independent farming.

3.ALBA Organics, aggregates, markets and ships participants’ products to growing markets around California. Doing so gives farmers access to clients that would otherwise be out of reach and allows them to focus on growing and business management in their initial years.

For more information about PEPA please see www.albafarmers.org/programs/

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) is the USDA’s focal point for the nation’s farmers and ranchers and other stewards of private agricultural lands and non-industrial private forest lands. FPAC agencies implement programs designed to mitigate the significant risks of farming through crop insurance services, conservation programs and technical assistance, and commodity, lending, and disaster programs. The FPAC team includes, Farm Service Agency (FSA) (www.fsa.usda.gov/), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) (www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/site/national/home/), and Risk Management Agency (RMA) (www.rma.usda.gov/).

USDA FPAC Farm Service Agency (FSA) is equitably serving all farmers, ranchers, and agricultural partners through the delivery of effective, efficient agricultural programs for all Americans. FSA is a customer-driven agency with a diverse and multi-talented work force, dedicated to achieving an economically and environmentally sound future for American Agriculture. The vision is to be a market-oriented, economically and environmentally sound American agriculture delivering an abundant, safe, and affordable food and fiber supply while sustaining quality agricultural communities.

Here, FSA works with non-profit organizations such as ALBA to provide program information and outreach to beginning farmers, socially disadvantaged farmers and limited income farmers. ALBA works with a unique farmer base of nontraditional, diverse and beginning farmers.

FSA staff has worked with ALBA for many years in the following ways:

1. Provide classroom training to new ALBA students at the ALBA farm during their regular coursework. FSA provides training on:

a. How to apply for a farm loan and prepare a cash flow statement.

b. How to apply for FSA programs that help with risk management on the farm, such as the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) or other regional crop insurance options.

c. How to apply for Disaster Assistance through FSA in case of an adverse weather event or other emergency.

2. FSA has provided micro loans, operating loans and ownership loans to help ALBA farmers become independent and successful in their operations. FSA has provided Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) and Noninsured Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) payments to these farmers.

3. FSA has provided bookkeeping training courses to ALBA students, on farm tours, and has helped students apply for USDA scholarships to attend agricultural conferences and other trainings.

4. FSA has referred ALBA farmers to NRCS for help with resource management issues.

“These farmers are the future face of American Agriculture. It is so important for FSA to help them get a strong start in ensuring the success of their operations, said FSA County Executive Director Vivian Soffa. Carlos will need support when he graduates from ALBA and hopefully FSA will be able to assist him with his capital needs when he is farming on his own in this very competitive agriculture market. Familiarity with FSA’s programs at the beginning of a new farmer’s endeavor may be the difference between success and failure.”

For more information please see www.usda.gov.

USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.

autum

24/7 live-in maid sissy barbie wearing a yellow satin uniform with matching cap, gloves and shoes. The uniform is trimmed with black satin and lace.

Close up of the matching yellow padlock through the zip's pull tab and through the two metal rings of the collar. This prevents sissy barbie removing her uniform without permission of Mistress Lady Penelope. Mistress has found this form of discipline highly effective. Only when a long hard day's work has been completed to Mistress' satisfaction might the padlock key and the key to the servant's quarters be given to the maid. Naturally the key to the maid's chastity device is retained by her Mistress. Once sissy barbie has returned to the servant's quarters she can unlock the padlock and remove her uniform. As her petticoat has an attached bodice and shoulder straps, she cannot remove that until the uniform has been removed. After that she may don her nightie and begin her night's sleep, though being a 24/7 live in maid, she is always on call and she may well have to serve her Mistress wearing her nightie.

Sometimes when it is likely she will be called, she is not given the key to the padlock and has to sleep in uniform ready to 'scramble' within seconds of being called to serve. This does tend to flatten her petticoat unfortunately and that has to rectified the following day.

If the maid has been negligent in her duties in any way or does not pass Mistress Lady Penelope's inspection of her work and attire, she will not be given any keys but instead be locked in the sturdy steel cage in Mistress' dungeon as punishment. The cage has a hard floor and is too small for any more than a cat nap. All night the errant maid will be shifting from one uncomfortable position to another in the cold dark dungeon, not knowing the time. She will remain silent to avoid further punishment for waking her Mistress in her nice soft warm bed.

The maid will worry all night that she has angered her Mistress so much that Mistress Lady Penelope might decide to leave her locked up for two nights and the intervening day too. Sissy barbie knows that would be very severe punishment and will do everything humanly possible during her working day to avoid making her Mistress decide to do that. She also worries that perhaps Mistress Lady Penelope might be so busy that Mistress simply forgets to release her. The maid knows she is an insignificant convenience in Mistress Lady Penelope's life, Mistress might very well notice when she does not get her breakfast in bed but then forget that her maid is not cleaning the house, doing the laundry and all the other things she does unseen, Mistress Lady Penelope might get so excited by her social life that she forgets that her maid is locked in a little cage in the dungeon, dutifully remaining silent, not knowing whether it is day or night but acutely feeling the passage of every minute and regretting what she did to be receiving such severe punishment.

Sissy barbie will be waiting to hear her Mistress' footsteps and when she hears them, praying Mistress will come towards the dungeon door, unlock it and turn on the light. The maid will probably cower and quiver in case she is to be punished further, all the time hoping she is to be released, though she knows when that happens she will be required to begin a new days work, after a visit to the bathroom, fluffing out her petticoat and correcting whatever she did wrong the day before. The loss of one night's sleep is bad, but two nights in a row is torture, so the errant maid will be very careful not to risk another and will perform her duties to the letter despite being very weary. She will be extremely grateful to her Mistress for her release. The maid will have lost all track of time and if Mistress Lady Penelope is feeling magnanimous, might tell her maid how long she has been caged.

If you are interested in maid training, look at Mistress Lady Penelope's excellent free web site

mistressladypenelope.com

You can make an appointment with Mistress Lady Penelope by calling 07970183024

The Halberstadt CL.IV was one of the most effective ground attack aircraft of the First World War. It appeared on the Western Front towards the end of the German offensives in 1918. Flights of four to six aircraft flew close support missions, at an altitude of less than one hundred feet, suppressing enemy infantry and artillery fire just ahead of the advancing German troops. After these late German offensives stalled, Halberstadt CL.IVs were used to disrupt advancing Allied offensives by striking at enemy troop assembly points.

The Halberstadt CL.IV performed well in combat as a low-level attack airplane, relying on its good maneuverability to avoid ground fire. When not on close support or ground attack missions, it was used as a standard two-seat fighter for escort work. Towards the end of the war, on bright, moonlit nights, CL.IV squadrons attempted to intercept and destroy Allied bombers as they returned from their missions. Night sorties against Allied airfields were also made with the CL.IV.

The source of the NASM airplane was a collection of Halberstadt CL.IV aircraft and spare parts obtained shortly after the First World War by Paul Strähle, a former fighter pilot who had served with Jagdstaffel 18. In 1919, he acquired three complete surplus Halberstadt CL.IVs, spare parts, engines, and three additional fuselages. He intended to use the Halberstadts as a nucleus of a civilian passenger transport service called Luftverkehr Strähle. Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, these aircraft and spares were initially confiscated by the Inter-Allied Control Commission, but later were sold back to Strähle and assigned civil registration. The first of the three complete airplanes was reassembled and flight operations began in 1921. This Halberstadt was put on public display in Germany in the 1960s. One of the other aircraft was sold in 1924, and the third was flown by Strähle until 1938. This Halberstadt, along with all of the spare parts and fuselages still in Strähle's possession, were put in storage at that time.

In the 1982, Strähle sold the one remaining complete Halberstadt and the spare parts and components to Ken Hyde and Stan Parris of Warrenton, Virginia. They in turn traded all the Halberstadt equipment to the United States Air Force Museum for six surplus North American T-28 trainers in 1984. In addition to the one complete airframe, there were sufficient parts to assemble two more Halberstadts. The National Air and Space Museum had earlier expressed interest in the Halberstadt collection, one of the fuselages in particular, because it had flown in combat during the First World War and it still retained its original German camouflage paint. The fuselage, serial number 8130, was later determined to have been built under license by L.F.G. (Roland), making it even more rare and valuable. In October 1984, the U.S. Air Force Museum donated to NASM the historically significant fuselage and a set of wings, a tail section, and a large number of other spare parts.

In 1987, author and World War I aviation authority, Peter M. Grosz, working on behalf of the Museum fur Verkehr and Technik (MVT), later renamed the Deutches Technikmuseum, in Berlin, suggested a cooperative arrangement by which MVT would restore all three Halberstadts: the NASM example and the two airframes still in the possession of the U.S. Air Force Museum. In return, MVT would keep one of the Air Force Museum aircraft for its own collection. An agreement between the parties was struck, and in February 1989 the Halberstadts were prepared for shipment to Germany. The restoration of NASM's Halberstadt CL.IV was completed by MVT in June 1991. Source: airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/halberstadt-cliv?ob...

© 2017 Skip Plitt Photography, All Rights Reserved.

This photo may not be used in any form without permission from the photographer. None of my images are in the Creative Commons. If you wish to use one of my images please contact me at: skipplittphotography@gmail.com

Todos los derechos reservados. Esta foto no se puede utilizar en cualquier forma sin el permiso del fotógrafo.

"Bear Warning - Votiers Flats and Shannon Terrace Day Use Areas closed

Effective Date: August 16, 2019 until further notice

Where: All trails and area between Votiers Flats and Shannon Terrace Day Use Areas in Fish Creek Provincial Park

Why: Multiple bears feeding in the area."

www.albertaparks.ca/parks/kananaskis/kananaskis-country/a...

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The 8 photos I have posted this morning, 17 August 2019, were taken on the second walk I went on four days ago. On 13 August 2019, I did something that I always try to avoid - go on two walks on the same day. This time, there were two birding outings that I really wanted to go on, one in the morning and the other in the evening. Both were in Fish Creek Park.

It had been quite a few years since I had walked west of Bow Bottom Trail and I had forgotten what the area looked like until this new walk. Quite a few birds were seen, likewise mosquitoes. I didn't take many photos, but it was nice to catch an American Goldfinch doing what American Goldfinches love to do - collect the seeds from the invasive Creeping (formerly Canada) Thistles. A baby House Wren was spotted near the top of a distant broken tree, peering out of a cavity. I couldn't even see it with the naked eye, so I was surprised to see the tiny beak in my photos. A couple of wildflowers caught my eye, and a friend pointed out a line of fungi on a distant, unapproachable tree trunk.

The 13 photos I posted yesterday morning were from the morning birding walk, at Mallard Point. The expert eyes were searching for Warblers that have started to arrive here. These tiny birds that are fast moving and always seem to be hiding, are not easy to see, and definitely not easy to photograph, as all bird photographers know. As usual, my eyes also wander to wildflowers and fungi. The Wandering Garter Snake that slithered across the narrow trail and disappeared into the long grass came as a surprise. Definitely not my favourite thing! Managed a quick shot in between people and have posted it just for the record. The Osprey, and the little Clay-coloured Sparrow with a beak full of insects, were enjoyed by all. Actually, the air was full of tiny flying insects, as you can tell by all the tiny specks in my Osprey shots.

We were very lucky with the weather for both walks, which is always so much appreciated. A Frost Warning was issued for last night, 16 August!

Doncaster 1979. With a bigger water tank and monitor, the DP 2 was a larger and more effective version of the DP 1 - 1000 gallon tank, part domestic water tender and partly to charge foam vehicles.

Late Alastair Collins collection - used with permission.

It was a substantial rock and it wasn't in any danger of coming loose.

The effective clutch spread out just below the rise of the dunes. Not silhouetted against the moonlit sky. Downwind so as not to give away its presence. Partially buried the clutch waited.

A single animal came over the rim of the dune, bones and rags pushing against the relentless wind. It staggered forward on the downslope. It was not well. The clutch let it pass. It took some time to leave their sight again, the stars seemed to move faster in the sky. But it was determined, relentless. It crested the next shifting dune, only the wind keeping it from falling over. The dune passed over the buried clutch and it emerged again to discuss what to do.

Consensus formed, the effective clutch moved as one. It quickly overtook the staggering animal, this time surrounding it and then one revealed itself. Even so, the creature was so far gone it took some time before it registered one’s presence as surprise and cast FEAR at one.

‘Stockmate,-where-find-thee-food?’ one danced as greeting to the long lost harvester. In this context, in the limited language options of harvesters, it was a more general question about history than food.

HUNGRY! the long lost kin cast back. SHARE! It wanted to pierce one’s crop and feed first. The effective clutch did not have much to give having been sent as a foraging party for the collective swarm. The swarm had been initially very successful. First overrunning and draining the staggeringly rich meat animal hive in the walled trading post. So many animals. So few stings. The swarm had drained it of all resources in a few days and was on the move again. Not long after there had been more meat animals in troops and herds and even one boat the harvesters had been able to capture. It had been a fortuitous beginning to the swarm’s mission. But since the boat the desert had dried up. The occasional mindless animal, lizards, birds, rodents but no meat animals, no large prey. No herds. The effective clutch was wandering far afield from the chosen path of the swarm, which the effective clutch had first scouted, in search of ichor.

Instead the clutch had come across this lone harvester, counted as lost when the Factor had given it to the One-who-traded-corpses-for-words. The Factor had offered it the choice of its own clutchmate or the harvesterkin and the One-who-traded-corpses had taken the clutches’ stockmate and vanished into the desert.

SHARE, one cast back in agreement and the lost kin was on one. Falling before one, tooth extended, the piercing, the pain. One rubbed the head of the kin to reassure it. A rare gesture to be sure but not unheard of. If the starving kin noticed it made no sign. It drank until there was nothing left and then reluctantly released. One knelt down before it.

SHARE, it cast gently, share story. Not food.

The story would take all the kin’s forms of communication, sign and dance and cast in turn to convey. It was too complex for any one. The harvester had been the prisoner of the One-who-traded-corpses. The One-who-traded-corpses had kept it weak and barely fed on camels, an animal the harvesters were very familiar with. It had cast in the manner of the meat animals much, it had signed and danced too but mostly cast. Always casting. Always inquiring. It had grown more and more desperate, more and more frustrated. It had made the Lost Harvester very nervous, then anxious, then terrified. It clearly wanted something but the lost harvester had no idea as to what. The kin had attempted to escape often, only to be thwarted or recaptured. It had even tried to drink the One-who-traded-corpses to kill it and be free or die in the attempt. And still its captor had neither released the kin nor finished it off but let it drink some and then subdued it. The One-who-traded-corpses had dragged it here, far from hive on a metal camel, to the outskirts of a meat-animal city. One last exchange of meat animal casting and sign and dance, one last desperate plea the lost harvester did not understand and then it released the lost harvester. Starving, no possibility of making it to the hive but free, the lost harvester had walked for days. Now though, it was safe. It danced a dance of joy to be found. To be part of the collective again and part of the stock again. It could show the swarm where the meat animal city was. There would be ichor enough for months! One’s mates in the effective clutch came near. The lost harvester doubled its dancing to see the other two.

And while its back was turned One struck it and killed it and retrieved its ichor.

[sorry, i kinda haven't decided what to do with the drawing yet.]