This barn is the endpoint of my usual neighbourhood walk, so I take a lot of shot of it. Catching up on some images I meant to develop...

With the news just out that modern day Norfolk Southern is selling a surving piece of the original historic Norfolk Southern to RJ Corman I thought I'd share another shot from the one day I spent on part of the line. If you missed the news I'm talking about here's the link: www.railwayage.com/freight/short-lines-regionals/r-j-corm... I'm glad I shot this when I did, and I'd love to go back for some nice looking red Corman units in the street someday.

Anyway, here's the caption I wrote at the time:

Fayetteville, the seat of Cumberland County North Carolina is most widely known as the home of the US Army’s Fort Bragg. The city itself is larger than expected with a population of around 210,000 but has a reputation as kind of a tough town. It is so rough that soldiers stationed on post are advised to avoid downtown “Fayette-nam” as it’s derisively referenced. But to the visiting railfan willing to take a look around the city has a surprisingly lot to offer. And while I wouldn’t call it a particularly inviting place, I in no way felt ill at ease or unsafe photographing in town.

By far the dominant railroad in town is CSXT with their south end subdivision, the former Atlantic Coast Line main, seeing the passage of dozens of daily freight trains and four daily Amtrak trains on an 11 mile stretch of double track through the city.

The city is also served by the Norfolk Southern that arrives tri-weekly on a 43 mile branch from Fuquay-Varina that was an ORIGINAL pre-1974 Norfolk Southern.

And those roads both interchange with the famous and always independent shortline Aberdeen and Rockfish that calls Fayetteville the eastern endpoint of its 47 mile route.

CSXT also operates two branchlines out of the city, both of which are remaining stubs of the one time Cape Fear & Yadkin Valley Railroad dating from the 1880s.

This remarkable street running is made even more special by story behind it, since prior to this trip none of us even knew it existed. One evening while we were hanging out at the Salisbury depot after the big 611 celebration that had brought us to Carolina we ran into a long time regular local fan named John who was an ex original Norfolk Southern (pre-74) engineer. He told us about the street running on a surviving portion of the original NS down in Fayetteville that the modern NS still serves with tri weekly with local out of Varina. Being that Friday was our day that we planned to head off to hunt the Aberdeen and Rockfish anyway we crossed our fingers and headed out. Low and behold luck was with us, as shortly after we arrived in Fayetteville we heard NS E25 (the symbol for the branchline local) crackle on the radio and we knew we were in luck.

We were rewarded with multitude of shots of this train on the half mile long section of street running as well as working the A&R interchange. In this view the northbound return train is starting their trip home as they kick up dust down the middle of Hillsboro Street at about MP VF42.4 on the East Carolina Business Unit's Varina to Fayetteville District. Leading is NS 6784 an EMD SD60M blt. Mar. 1993 as Conrail 5537 with standard cab SD60 number 6659 blt. for the NS in Nov. 1988 trailing.

Fayetteville, North Carolina

Friday May 29, 2015.

This venerable SD40-2 blows out some carbon dragging 10 log loads around the curve at McKeever. Devotees of the late Copper Range Railroad will know this location as the southernmost endpoint of the CR. Their junction with the Milwaukee was just in front of the 1344.

May 22, 2017.

I often feel like, i am in somewhere to nowhere.

"Time present and time past are both perhaps present in time future.

And time future contained in time past." _ Eliot _

Time is a dynamic unity.

In the in-between position, we flow with the present, the flow of time.

It seems logical that we tend to think about a certain point in the linear time and strive to try to predict it.

It is akin to point out the possible endpoint of the flight path of an arrow.

But as a part of the flow, the stream of time, our deeds inevitably affect those we've contacted and impart a factor which affects the possibility of the time stream.

Only if we are determined to focus on the very moment we are living now rather than evermore looking forward to the next future moment will we have the ability of staying in peace and living the moment to the fullest.

If you ignore the present, you will miss the curtain to the future.

Henceforth, watch carefully what transpires when we "await".

"逝者如斯, 而未嘗往也; 盈虛者如彼, 而卒莫消長也. 蓋將自其變者而觀之, 則天地曾不能以瞬; 自其不變者而觀之, 則物與我皆無盡也. 而又羨乎? " ---赤壁賦

*pic: a classroom in National Taiwan University

Leaves.

I posted a shot for Sliders Sunday last week. It was one of a set of variations on the theme all based on one original picture.

I didn’t have time to publish the rest at the time so I’ll do it now, in case it interests anyone.

The fun for me is in creating these different endpoints and seeing which ones work and which don’t. It’s always interesting to hear which you prefer too as that often surprises me.

The original image is linked in the first comment. I did about ten variants in all but I’ll only share the ones that I like for some reason or the other.

Because the subject is all about curves and textures and shapes I thought it would work well in monochrome, and I think it does. Do you?

Thank you for taking the time to look. I hope you enjoy the images (and don’t get too bored!)

[This one was made using Nik Silver Efex.]

X - X marks the spot

The phrase “X marks the spot” often signifies a specific location where something can be located or found. Is your doll a pirate following a map to a hidden treasure chest full of gold? Is your doll an archaeologist who’s discovered an ancient map leading to an ancient burial ground? “X marks the spot” may also be used to signify a specific destination. Is your doll vacationing in a foreign city and following his/her visitors map to popular landmarks? Or perhaps the GPS in your doll's car shows he/she has arrived at her desired location. Aside from maps, “X marks the spot” can refer to a precise place or target to reach. Is your doll an entertainer and an X has been marked on the stage floor to show him/her where to stand? Maybe your doll is an athlete practicing archery or crossing a finish line of a race. The only requirement for this theme is that there must be a doll and a marked endpoint somewhere in your photo.

This photo:

Lilith goes under the knife and 'X marks the spot' where Eden needs to make her incision (yikes!). I'm not totally sure if Eden is exactly qualified for surgery but Lilith seems to trust her...

Eden wear scrubs from a bundle of Barbie clothes found in a thrift shop. Surgical mask made by me. I painted some regular doll hands with white watercolour paint to make (temporary) surgical gloves. Lilith wears... not very much. Props all made by me:

Operating table: floating bookshelf

Drip stand : Barbie microphone stand with ear phones attached as tubes.

Saline bag: 1/1/2th hanger and IT hands bag

Lamp: halogen bulb attached to IT doll stand.

Took my parents to see the "Sensorio, Field of Light" in Paso Robles last night. Fiber optic threads sprouting to endpoints via octopus tentacles connected to buried bulbs - 58,000 of them planted in rolling hills amongst craggy oaks. Scrambled to get there before evening light disappeared, and barely made it. Definitely not part of the Central Coast thing growing up! Really unique experience. iPhone snaps - we'll see how the camera shots turn out later (though they ban tripods, so that was a separate challenge).

Nabij Moha komt ex NMBS 4605 door als TSP speciaal op weg naar de steengroeve Carmeuse op kilometer 28 van de voormalige spoorlijn 127, die dag het eindpunt. De lijn was ooit 33,6 kilometer lang tussen Landen en Statte en van 1875 tot 1963 in gebruik. Een overweg in de N 652 d.d. 21 oktober 2000

Near Moha ex NMBS 4605 rented as a TSP rail fan special nearing the Carmeuse quarry at kilometer 28 of the former railway line 127, that day and since 1981 the endpoint. The line was once 33.6 kilometers long between Landen and Statte, from 1875 until 1963 in use . Scene at a level crossing in the road N 652 dated October 21, 2000

Across the street from the southern endpoint of the Manhan Rail Trail, the tracks continue, but not the trail.

Nymphenburg palace/park

Munich Germany

The amount of water that flows through the park, is brought from the west via the Pasing-Nymphenburg canal.

A significant portion of this water plunges over the Great Cascade cascade from the upper to the lower pool.

The cascade is the endpoint of the line of sight along the central channel, the Grand Cascade was built by Joseph Effner 1717.

taken at late afternoon

The world is full of abandoned cars and vehicle graveyards. The short life of a car usually has a guaranteed endpoint: a trip to the scrapyard.

Seen and photographed at an auto scrapyard on the southern waterfront of San Francisco, California.

The reason for persevering that day, despite the weather being far worse than the forecast had forecast, was of course that it was the last day in service for the international trains from Brussels to Switzerland. While trains on this route have been operating since far back into the nineteenth century, this specific train (number 91, known under its erstwhile name Vauban) was created in 1988, connecting Brussels to Basel with through coaches to Milan. Later on, the whole rake (save for some reinforcement coaches) continued to Milan, but in the 2000s, the southern endpoint started to shift: in December 2004, the train was limited to Brig; in June 2007, it went to Interlaken instead; six months later, Zürich became the terminus; in 2012, this train (but not its counterpart, number 90) was truncated even further, to Basel; and finally, since December 2013, train 90 also starts in Basel and the train became composed of Belgian coaches once again. On this very last day, the consist was unusual, incorporating two SBB panorama coaches in front, and a SNCB Bistro coach (which does not have much work to do otherwise...). The whole thing was hauled by BB 26166, and seen passing Arzviller station, 02-04-2016.

Wednesday 20th May, 2009

Last night I had the most incredible dream of my life, which left me in a good mood all day today.

I was on an island called Euroside, so-called because mainland Europe could be seen from it, with my parents. It began to rain, and my Mum told me that it was raining everywhere in the whole world at that moment. I asked her what it meant, and she said that the end of time was coming. In that case, I responded, we had better start running.

We began to run along the road, and I turned to my parents and asked where my sister was, to be told that she was just behind us. Then, as time passed, more and more people joined our run, and soon it became clear to me that every single person I know and have known in my life was running along this road with me. I remember particularly my grandparents, some old friends from school who I haven't even thought about for years, and Ian Gav who, wearing sunglasses, snapped me when he overtook me, a beautiful woman in one hand and a camera in the other.

By this point, the sun was shining and the road was straight, the landscape open, the sky huge. I decided to run as fast as I possibly could, and ended up overtaking everybody except for one. It was the most vivid and beautiful feeling I've ever had in a dream, as I ran along this road in the sun, with everyone I know behind me. I followed the road to a large building - it could have been a hospital, or a school - where we continued to run along corridors, up and down stairs, until I reached a room that I knew was the endpoint. There, a cheap yellow radio was playing music and an old school friend named Frazer was sitting on a table.

"So you got here first," I said.

And then I woke up.

Okay, so there's a lot going on on this picture, let's break it down.

In the upper left corner in the distance there is a slight hint of the Pilis mountains, a bit closer below that the blocks of flats of Újpest are towering over the surroundings.

Focusing a bit closer, the big yard and chimney are part of the Istvántelek maintenance workshop, which used to be one of the most important base for the Hungarian State Railways. Nowadays mostly DMU-EMU carriages rest here for maintenance, and occasionally locomotives for smaller repairs.

Under the bridge you can see the usual S70 service, being a tad bit late due to the construction crew changing a junction a few stations up, only leaving one track left usable, seasoned with some railway interlocking problems.

And on the bridge ladies and gentlemen is the prototype Budapest S-Bahn, the brand new S76 service. At the moment it doesn't really serve much purpose, you could almost say it goes from nowhere to nowhere, the two endpoints being Rákos and Óbuda. In this current form it will probably remain the underdog competing with mostly crowded peaktime buses connecting Rákos to the circulation of Budapest, hopefully this is only the beginning and in the future the full potential of the so called "Ring railway" (Körvasút) will be recognized.

Anyway, for us railway fans it still serves as an interesting new gift, as apart from this service the Marcheggi bridge is only used once in a blue moon.

Title song by Kasabian.

Long Exposure Black And White Minimalist

Technical Info :-

| D80 | f16 | 248sec. | 18mm | ND400 | Silver Efex Pro | Adobe Light Room | Adobe PS3 |

Slate wall.

The Downing site is one of the two main city-centre sites for the University of Cambridge, housing predominantly biomedical science departments. I went there earlier in the year to attend one of over 400 free public lectures given as part of the University’s Science Festival.

The lecture, on "Playing Games like a Mathematician" was brilliant fun and given by Katie Steckles, a mad mathematician from Manchester University.

Did you know the record for completing Rubik’s cube from memory, one-handed, while blindfolded, is one minute 16 seconds? Well, feel your ignorance evapourate!

But I’m drifting as usual. The modern pedestrian entrance to the Downing site from the East is a staircase up from the lower street below. I noticed it had a curious and rather beautiful slate wall made of grey slates with thin layers of mortar between.

It strikes me as being a wildly inefficient way of making a wall. I can only assume it was done for architectural aesthetic reasons or perhaps as a way of reusing materials recovered from the buildings that occupied the site previously as a poignant memory of what went before - architects and planners like doing that in the UK it seems.

I had my trusty phone with me and I worked out that if I angled the lens in the right way I could get an image, not of flat layers, but of a star-burst of rays from one corner.

Hah! I thought. Such is the stuff... the making of a Sliders Sunday series.

And thus we have it…. This is the Sliders Sunday version. I’ll post the original in-camera image in the first comment, so you can see how far we came.

I’ve used the picture in various ways to make a short series of endpoints again, so you can see which you prefer (if any lol). I’m always interested to hear what other folk think.

I’ll also publish a black and white version done in Nik Silver Efex Pro as a straight rendition of the image.

Thank you for taking the time to look. I hope you enjoy the image. Happy Sliders Sunday!

[Handheld in daylight.

Processed as a black and white in Affinity Photo.

Taken into Topaz studio and used one of the AI Remix settings to create the colour and stripes.

Back into Photo and a simple single mirror in the distortion Mirror filter, playing about with different input and output angles and dragging the cursor around the image to find an interesting perspective.

Hues shifted a little using an HSL layer.

Sharpened using Unsharp Mask with that adjustment blended using Linear Light at reduced opacity.

Lighting filter with white light from top right and some texturing as well.

Frame formed by expanding the size of the canvas and having a dark blue fill layer underneath, then using Layer Fx to add a narrow white outline… then we are done.]

Sometimes... a wizard walks on this lands and he loves to launch a spell over the nature around him :)

Buy my art at Imagekind!

Čertovica pass, Slovakia

Čertovica (Hungarian: Ördöglakodalma-hágó) is a mountain pass in the Low Tatras mountain range in Slovakia. It connects regions of Liptov and Horehronie. With 1,232 metres (4,042 ft) AMSL, it is the highest paved mountain pass in Slovakia. It is open all year round, however it can be rarely closed during the winter because of the severe weather conditions. The pass was daily crossed by more than 2000 vehicles as of 2005. On the pass is also situated a minor ski resort and a chalet offering accommodation. The pass is also an important starting or endpoint for many hiking trips because it lies in the middle of the range and is close to some of the range's popular summits as the highest Ďumbier and third highest Chopok.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%8Certovica

X - X marks the spot

The phrase “X marks the spot” often refers to a specific location, target, or goal. For this theme we want to see what your doll(s) is after. Is your doll a pirate following a map to a hidden treasure chest full of gold? Is your doll vacationing in a foreign city and following his/her visitors map to popular landmarks? Perhaps your doll is an entertainer and an X has been marked on the stage floor to show him/her where to stand. Or maybe your doll is an athlete practicing archery or crossing a finish line of a race. The only requirement for this theme is that there must be a doll and a marked endpoint or desired target somewhere in your photo.

Mangled Mushrooms.

This is part of project inspired by Sliders Sunday which starts with the same image (I'll link it below) and sees what sorts of different endpoints I can get to.

This one is probably the most complicated - I wanted to give the impression of looking out from behind the mushrooms.

It's based on two main manipulations: firstly I converted to LAB space and then inverted the luminance channel. This changes black to white and vice versa but doesn't change the colour values in the image; secondly I used a perspective filter to give the impression of being on a ledge (the original is straight-on).

The trouble was this was a virtually monochrome image to start so it tended look like a negative. So I then added colour back using the white balance and split-toning.

The rest was tweaking the tones, and trying to get rid of the image noise (a process of effectively blurring then sharpening). So I ended up with layers for clarity, vignette, levels and unsharp mask.

Well I hope you enjoy it, or at least some of the series. Thanks very much for your patience with my foolery and of course for your visit!

Just another view of this job I stumbled into and a more broadside view of these squat little GE 4-motor units.

The historic city of Savannah was a place long on my bucket list of places to visit in this country, but not really for the trains. In fact I knew almost nothing about rail operations in the city and other than a cursory glance at my rail atlas while passing through on Amtrak to Florida I never gave it much thought. So I was quite surprised to learn how astonishingly busy the terminal complex is and was amazed when I read that the port here is the third largest in the nation trailing only the Los Angeles/Long Beach complex and the Northern New Jersey/New York City area. With nearly 6 million TEUs handled in 2022 it's no surprise that railroad traffic is heavy.

Additionally Savannah sits astride CSXT's I95 corridor so sees multiple thru trains as well as hosting 8 Amtrak trains a day. While an endpoint terminal for Norfolk Southern, the city is still a major point on the road dating back to its time as the historic headquarters of the Central of Georgia Railway.

Along with two Class 1s, Genesee and Wyoming has three operations in the city including the Savannah Port Terminal Railroad which is the contract operator of the old Savannah State Docks Railroad on behalf of owner Georgia Ports Authority. Lastly, Watco also has a presence in the city with its relatively new Savannah and Old Fort Railway operating a former CSXT branch to the Seapoint Terminal downriver beyond Fort Jackson.

But my visit to the city wasn't a train trip and the full day was spent walking miles through the squares and gardens while enjoying some fabulous libations in cocktail bars, on rooftops, or just wandering the streets. The historic city is awash in Colonial, antebellum and Civil War era history seemingly everywhere you look so I was rightfully distracted. That being said, after a brunch bloody marh and catfish and grits down on River Street I had an hour to explore before striking north for the long drive to Virginia.

Without any idea what might be running we drove toward the port district where I stumbled upon this Georgia Central Railway crew shoving a long heavy train into a yard near the huge International Paper plant. IP is the current owner of the mill that has been in operation since 1936 and currently produces over 500,000 tons of paper products per year. The GC has been a subsidiary of GWRR since 2005 when the GC's then parent Rail Management Corporation was bought by Genesee and Wyoming. Once famous amongst fans for running with a fleet of vintage high hood ex Southern GE U23Bs those are alas not long gone. The GC enters Savannah on a former Seaboard Air Line route that was built in 1896 though I'm honestly not sure the heritage of the rails here or even whose property this yard is. If any local fans can provide more details I'd be grateful to learn more.

Continuing the hand me down GE tradition are GC 537 and 555 both GE B32-8s blt. Oct. and Nov. 1989 as NS 3537 and 3555 respectively. They are smoking as they shove a long line of loaded wood chip hoppers over into the big yard just south of the mill which is behind me here.

Savannah, Georgia

Wednesday March 30, 2023

be unruly even if under good emperors

music:

youtu.be/TmDkzVvherk?si=eC1eY3LbPaqYqHOZ

Portishead - Only You

youtu.be/wyUSfuL9dxY?si=CxSvJx7W6LzY1Z4r

Forest Swords - Panic (Official Video)

.

youtu.be/YD-yg0bpF7A?si=YQOlgrzeDuKMeN4F

Twilight of American Democracy: Mapping A Democratic Breakdown in the USA, with Bernard E. Harcourt

youtu.be/i6TaQD_4pfY?si=rmjTgFU7NoTOlbzA

Hegel and the Heritage Foundation: Family Resemblance and New Beginnings [Full Intro to Hegel 13/13]

Hegelian self-consciousness through the master-slave dialectic

Hegelian self-consciousness is the state where a being recognizes itself as a distinct, independent entity through its interaction with and acknowledgment by another self-conscious being. It is a dynamic process of self-reflection mediated by the "other" (another person or an object). For Hegel, a purely isolated consciousness cannot achieve true self-consciousness; recognition from another is necessary for one's existence to be affirmed, leading to the development of a unified, self-aware self.

Hegel's Master-Slave dialectic describes how self-consciousness develops through a life-or-death struggle for recognition between two individuals, leading to a reversal where the slave, through labor and engagement with the world, achieves a more profound and independent sense of self than the master, who remains dependent and dependent on the servant for sustenance and affirmation.

youtu.be/Da6cbuAfnbA?si=cDtz3SFrBZri_s4f

I, CLAUDIUS - 'Lost your stutter, too, I see' ( + ̂ )

youtu.be/bKz-HtOPvjE?si=3RoK3jCCflelHB_r

Hegel: the master-servant dialectic

youtu.be/9Dqyq-UjoVA?si=shtyiOKOfR3gCcxr

Hegel: Philosophy of world history and spirit

How do freedom, reason, passion, the state, and ethical life fit into the world-historical process?

youtu.be/EpFFyQ7rv8Q?si=VjFoh2I-oq5HQgmr

Mary Beard and Why America Isn’t Rome (And Why That Matters) | The David Frum Show

youtu.be/5i5mDO6ai_c?si=9He2nMD7lhDsyP_f

Rulers and Power | Mary Beard and David Mitchell

self-consciousness

unruly

I hope Americans never get to have a good emperor

forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit

perhaps even these things will be good to remember one day

Vincit qui se vincit

Felicior Augusto, melior Traiano

what have the romans ever done for us?

they believed in the republic... that's why they were killed

youtu.be/FeCTilEwRmY?si=oAHndul3fLoE3P-8

Claudius gets some valuable advice.

.

.

photo:

Portrait of Trajan

Venice, National Archaeological Museum

Inv. N. 5

Marble, 57 cm

Roman Imperial period

legate of Domenico Grimani, 1523

www.meravigliedivenezia.it/en/virtual-objects/MAN_128.html

National Archaeological Museum of Venice

Ritratto di Traiano

Venezia, Museo Archeologico Nazionale

Inv. N. 5

Marmo, h cm 57

Epoca romana imperiale

Legato di Domenico Grimani, 1523

www.meravigliedivenezia.it/it/oggetti-virtuali/MAN_128.html

Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Venezia

Do we need a master to self-actualize?

No, you do not need a "master" to self-actualize; it is an individual journey to realize one's full potential, and a master can be an unnecessary intermediary. Maslow's theory views self-actualization as an innate desire to become the best version of oneself, a process achievable by anyone through personal growth, self-acceptance, and engaging in fulfilling work that aligns with their aptitudes.

Understanding Self-Actualization

An inherent need: Self-actualization is a fundamental drive to fulfill one's potential.

An individual journey: The path to self-actualization is unique for each person and is not defined by external success, fame, or status.

A process, not an endpoint: It's a continuous journey of personal growth, not a final state of perfection.

What is Required for Self-Actualization?

Instead of a master, the focus should be on personal development:

Self-awareness and acceptance: Understanding and accepting yourself is a crucial first step.

Personal growth: This involves continuous learning, developing skills, and working on relationships.

Fulfillment: Engaging in activities that align with your intrinsic values and aptitudes brings a sense of fulfillment.

Mindfulness and presence: Living in the moment and letting go of self-doubt can foster progress.

Purpose and authenticity: Living a life aligned with your inner truth and purpose is key to self-actualization.

Fayetteville, the seat of Cumberland County North Carolina is most widely known as the home of the US Army’s Fort Bragg. The city itself is larger than expected with a population of around 210,000 but has a reputation as kind of a tough town. It is so rough that soldiers stationed on post are advised to avoid downtown “Fayette-nam” as it’s derisively referenced. But to the visiting railfan willing to take a look around, the city has a surprisingly lot to offer. And while I wouldn’t call it a particularly inviting place, I in no way felt ill at ease or unsafe photographing around town.

By far the dominant railroad in Fayetteville is CSXT with their south end subdivision, the former Atlantic Coast Line main, seeing the passage of dozens of daily freight trains and four daily Amtrak trains on an 11 mile stretch of double track through the city. The city was also served by the Norfolk Southern at the time that came down tri-weekly on a 43 mile branch from Fuquay-Varina that was an ORIGINAL pre-1974 Norfolk Southern. As of the date of this post that branch survives and has just been taken over by a new R.J. Corman owned shortline.

And those roads both interchange with the famous and always independent shortline Aberdeen and Rockfish that calls Fayetteville the eastern endpoint of its 47 mile route.

CSXT also operates two branchlines out of the city, both of which are remaining stubs of the one time Cape Fear & Yadkin Valley Railroad dating from the 1880s.

Here is northbound Amtrak train 90, the Palmetto, about 5 hrs into its 16 hr and 830 mile trip from Savanna to New York City. A single P42DC leads 7 cars pulling to a stop beside the Dutch Colonial Style brick depot built by the Atlantic Coast Line in 1911 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. They are on Main 2 of CSXT's South End Sub at MP A209.7.

Fayetteville, North Carolina

Friday May 29, 2015

Streaking Clouds and Coastal Waterfalls

Theme Description: The phrase “X marks the spot” often refers to a specific location, target, or goal. For this theme we want to see what your doll(s) is after. Is your doll a pirate following a map to a hidden treasure chest full of gold? Is your doll vacationing in a foreign city and following his/her visitors map to popular landmarks? Perhaps your doll is an entertainer and an X has been marked on the stage floor to show him/her where to stand. Or maybe your doll is an athlete practicing archery or crossing a finish line of a race. The only requirement for this theme is that there must be a doll and a marked endpoint or desired target somewhere in your photo.

This Photo: See Spot mark a puppy pad? ;)

Elizabeth, ever the friendly neighbor, offers to help Craig train his dog, Pokey, how to use a puppy pad for his bathroom business so that he can stay indoors while Craig and girlfriend Gracie go to work each day. The strategy: Keeping the dog on the leash, command the dog to "go potty," and if on the pad, reward with food.

15 minutes later...

Craig: "Are you sure this works?"

[Pokey continues licking his lips, waiting for Elizabeth to hand him a doggie treat.]

Elizabeth: "It worked for Squeaky's dog, Ollie. We used food as positive reinforcement."

Craig: "That may be the problem. Did I mention Pokey is stubborn and on a diet? I think he wants to skip over the positive behavior part and go directly to the food part!"

this is what happens when you just play around with a photo and have no clue what you did to get to this endpoint LOL

Flattop Mountain Trail, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. This sign marks an endpoint of two trails, Flattop Mountain Trail and TonaHutu Trail. Also, present is the North Inlet Trail off of the TonaHutu Trail at a distance of 0.3 miles. While reaching this sign is viewed as reaching the summit, the actual unmarked summit is at a somewhat higher location. My original plan was to also hike around 400 added feet to the top of Hallet Peak, but considering the growing cloud cover and possibility of a storm, I chose to descend back to the trailhead quickly without taking any further photos.

Thanks for your views, faves and comments!

Esfera de Chumbo de 1t suspensa por cabos.

#Flickr21Challenge #Planet #Planeta #Arte #Ar #PontoFinal #EndPoint #SESC #SESC24

Queenscliff is a small town on the Bellarine Peninsula in southern Victoria, Australia, south of Swan Bay at the entrance to Port Phillip. A former 1880s seaside resort, it is now known for its Victorian era heritage and tourist industry and as one of the endpoints of the Searoad ferry to Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula.

This object was directly inspired by Lasdary's photograph and uses exactly the same number of cubes. It took perhaps ten hours of folding spread out over a week to make the ring. The final, pink cube was especially annoying to attach.

The ring is fairly flexible; I estimate that you could probably remove up to four cubes from it and still be able to attach the endpoints.

Færderseilasen, also called Færder'n, is a regatta that held on the second weekend in June by the Royal Norwegian Yacht Club.

The regatta starts in Oslo for ordinary sailboats and in Son for old yachts. The fastest of the sailboats reach Færder Lighthouse. The endpoint is in Horten.[1] Smaller boats turn around at Hollenderbåen or Medfjordbåen. The regatta is open for any member of the Royal Norwegian Yacht Club (KNS), and boats are placed in classes according to their sailing potential. The trip from Oslo to Færder to Horten is about 83 nm long. (Wikipedia)

Best viewed on black.

Biblical Korean JetLi nearing endpoint from Balanga

Genesis Transport Service, Inc. | 818595 | SR Daewoobus BV115 fleet by CMANC/Santarosa Motor Works, Inc. (SRWMI - Philippines)

🚏 Original / Authorized Franchise Route: Mariveles, Bataan - Avenida, Manila

🚏 Modified Route Currently Served in Balanga, Bataan - Avenida, Manila

🕚 Date Taken on January 2023

📍 Photo Shot Location @ Doroteo Jose St. cor. Tomas Mapua St., Sta. Cruz, Manila

🚍 Landmark: LRT 1 Doroteo Jose Station, Manila Grand Opera, Amaia Skies Avenida, Puregold Doroteo Jose

Our endpoint is at this pleasant little tarn.

Footpath waymarkers are indicators that designate the course of public footpaths. In contrast to this owl carving, they are usually small, circular discs affixed to trees, posts, or other structures along the trail. Waymarkers are frequently paired with footpath signs, which provide details about the path, including its number and endpoint.

Footpath waymarkers play a crucial role in guiding individuals and ensuring they remain on the correct route. They are particularly beneficial in regions with numerous trails or where the path is unclear. Additionally, waymarkers can assist in discouraging individuals from encroaching on private property.

Waymarkers for footpaths can be constructed from different materials such as wood, metal, and plastic. They are usually built to be resistant to weather conditions and long-lasting, allowing them to endure the elements.

In England and Wales, with the exception of the 12 Inner London boroughs and the City of London, the right of way is a legally safeguarded privilege that allows the public to walk along designated paths. A public footpath refers to a route where the public has a legally protected right to walk. In certain regions, public footpaths create a closely knit network of short trails. It is likely that many footpaths in rural areas have existed for hundreds of years. Most footpaths are depicted on Ordnance Survey maps at scales of 1:25,000 and 1:50,000.

The right of access on a public footpath normally only extends to walking (there may be other unrecorded rights as well), so there is usually no right to cycle or ride a horse on a public footpath. However, it is not a criminal offence to do so unless there is a traffic order or bylaw in place specifically: it is a civil wrong to ride a bicycle or a horse on a public footpath, and action could be taken by the landowner for trespass or nuisance by the user.

This waymarker is located in Hartley Wintney, a sizable village and civil parish within the Hart district of Hampshire, England. It is situated approximately 5 kilometres northwest of Fleet and 13 kilometres east of Basingstoke. The parish encompasses the smaller neighbouring village of Phoenix Green, along with the hamlets of Dipley, Elvetham, Hartfordbridge, and West Green.

According to the 2011 census, the population of the parish was recorded as 4,999.

www.thesignshed.co.uk/collections/waymarker-signs?srsltid...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rights_of_way_in_England_and_Wales

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hartley_Wintney

The Orient Express is the name of a long-distance passenger train service originally operated by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. It ran from 1883 to 2009 and is not to be confused with the Venice-Simplon Orient Express train service, which continues to run.

The route and rolling stock of the Orient Express changed many times. Several routes in the past concurrently used the Orient Express name, or slight variants thereof. Although the original Orient Express was simply a normal international railway service, the name has become synonymous with intrigue and luxury travel. The two city names most prominently associated with the Orient Express are Paris and Istanbul, the original endpoints of the timetabled service.

This isn't an objectively great photo, but I like it because it tells a bit of a story of you know what you're looking at...a story that seems to beget more questions than it answers.

On a hot hazy spring day in southeastern Florida a Florida East Coast switcher goes about its duties on the north end of the compact Fort Pierce yard near MP 241.7 on the Flagler Sub mainline. 414 is a GP40-2 blt. new for the railroad in Nov. 1972 and has spent its entire life plying the rails of the Sunshine State and is seen here in a telephoto view from the Citrus Avenue overpass.

The FEC is truly anachronistic in the modern era of PSR driven mega freights mixed with intermodal, autos, and manifest. The FEC carries on the tradition of short fast trains running on strict timed schedules and seems to be quite successful doing so. While the old rule of thumb is that anything under a 500 mile haul should be left to truckers (and frankly very few Class 1s anymore seem to have any intermodal lanes even that short) the FEC thrives on much less. The entire railroad is only about 360 miles long and not only do they offer intermodal service with ramps at the roads endpoints in Jacksonville and Miami but they also have several intermodal ramps at intermediate points such as the compact one seen here. Amazingly the railroad offers five day a week pick ups on train 335 to Miami only 120 miles south and six days a week on train 230 going north about 230 miles to the ramp in Jacksonville (and connections beyond via NS or CSXT. And take a look at those trailers loaded up down there? If the FEC can meet the demands of the worlds largest retailer, Wal-Mart, they must be doing something right!

Now why can't other roads pull of this same feat? The markets exist...the trucks are on our highways. Time for railroad's to step back up, don't you agree?

Fort Pierce, Florida

Monday April 25, 2016

While walking in the neighborhoods, one comes across these structures sprouting in the roadside gardens... take a book leave a book, it says...

From this one, I picked up a hardcover, John Updike Poetry book, called Endpoint

also Littlefreelibrary.org

some of these structures are dedicated to poetry, I have a posting from years ago, which I like a lot..

please see large...

★Rear Perspective Shot Version★

Biblical Korean JetLi nearing endpoint from Balanga

Genesis Transport Service, Inc. | 818595 | SR Daewoobus BV115 fleet by CMANC/Santarosa Motor Works, Inc. (SRWMI - Philippines)

🚏 Original / Authorized Franchise Route: Mariveles, Bataan - Avenida, Manila

🚏 Modified Route Currently Served in Balanga, Bataan - Avenida, Manila

🕚 Date Taken on January 2023

📍 Photo Shot Location @ Doroteo Jose St. cor. Tomas Mapua St., Sta. Cruz, Manila

🚍 Landmark: LRT 1 Doroteo Jose Station, Manila Grand Opera, Amaia Skies Avenida, Puregold Doroteo Jose

Leaves.

I posted a shot for Sliders Sunday last week. It was one of a set of variations on the theme all based on one original picture.

I didn’t have time to publish the rest at the time so I’ll do it now, in case it interests anyone.

The fun for me is in creating these different endpoints and seeing which ones work and which don’t. It’s always interesting to hear which you prefer too as that often surprises me.

The original image is linked in the first comment. I did about ten variants in all but I’ll only share the ones that I like for some reason or the other.

I’ve been going to A MFA self-help group (Mirror Filterers Anonymous) in recent months. They’re a friendly bunch and have helped me control my addiction. Sadly I shall have to admit to them my lapse - they will not be pleased :(

Don’t you just like the organic textures and leaves? (No obligation to say yes!) This reminds me of beetle exoskeletons for some reason :)

Thank you for taking the time to look. I hope you enjoy the images (and don’t get too bored!)

[This one was made from the B&W version with a twofold mirror filter in Afinity Photo and dragging the cursor (origin) around in the image to find something interesting. I like the whole leaves in it though another version uncovered some moths!]

Fontana di Trevi, Roma.

The Trevi Fountain is a fountain in the Trevi rione in Rome, Italy. Standing 25.9 meters (85 feet) high and 19.8 meters (65 feet) wide,it is the largest Baroque fountain in the city, and it is one of the most famous fountains in the whole world.

The fountain at the junction of three roads marks the terminal point of the "modern" Acqua Vergine, the revived Aqua Virgo, one of the ancient aqueducts that supplied water to ancient Rome. In 19 BC, supposedly with the help of a virgin, Roman technicians located a source of pure water some 13 km (8 miles) from the city. (This scene is presented on the present fountain's façade.) However, the eventual indirect route of the aqueduct made its length some 22 km (14 miles). This Aqua Virgo led the water into the Baths of Agrippa. It served Rome for more than four hundred years. The coup de grâce for the urban life of late classical Rome came when the Goth besiegers in 537/38 broke the aqueducts. Medieval Romans were reduced to drawing water from polluted wells and the Tiber River, which was also used as a sewer.

The Roman custom of building a handsome fountain at the endpoint of an aqueduct that brought water to Rome was revived in the 15th century, with the Renaissance. In 1453, Pope Nicholas V finished mending the Acqua Vergine aqueduct and built a simple basin, designed by the humanist architect Leon Battista Alberti, to herald the water's arrival.

Unlike the Bzmot motorcars usually found here, classic loco-hauled trainsets like the one pictured above allow you to admire the beautiful landscape that surrounds the railway line between Miskolc and Tornanádaska a bit better.

On this snap, our train is passing the endpoint entry signal of Jósvafő-Aggtelek station, which indicates that it is safe to enter the station from this direction.

These mechanically operated semaphores are quite a rare sight nowadays, but there is still a decent amount of them in operation scattered throughout the Hungarian railway network.

They're often romanticised, reminding many of the olden days, the simpler times. So much so, that a German railway fan actually decided to collect the location of as many of them as possible, displaying them on a map.

I saved my favorite, and last, subway shot from February's NYC trip for last-- this is a scene that will soon, or may already, be impossible for the public to see.

In early February 2020, the New York City Subway's Grand Central-Times Square Shuttle was on the verge of historic, disruptive, transformative change- change that was planned. The system as a whole though- and indeed, the city, nation, and world- were also on the verge of very much unplanned, historic, disruptive, transformative change due to the emergence and spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the devastation wrought by it.

Anyway, the reason this scene, one of the most spectacular underground views in New York in my opinion, will soon be invisible is due to the reconstruction and reconfiguration of the Times Square-Grand Central Shuttle.

Officially known as the IRT Times Square/Grand Central Shuttle, it runs a short distance under 42nd Street between two of the busiest and most important spots in all of New York City. It's a vital part of the subway system, linking the 1, 2, 3, 7, A, C, E, N, R, and Q train services at the enormous 42nd St - Times Square station complex to the 4, 5, 6, and 7 trains at Grand Central- and of course Metro-North's busy Hudson, Harlem and New Haven lines at Grand Central Terminal itself. The shuttle is especially historic, as for the first 14 years of its existence from 1904 to 1918, when services were reconfigured, it was an integral part of New York's "First Subway", the Interborough Rapid Transit line from City Hall to northern Manhattan. As such, there are many remnants of that era, mainly regarding Track 2, which was removed sometime after 1918- hence, for over a century the Shuttle has only, and officially, had Tracks 1, 3, and 4.

At the time of my visit, the shuttle line was about to undergo its greatest change in slightly over a century of existence, (other than a brief but revolutionary experiment with automated operation from 1959-1964) with both endpoint stations being rebuilt to smooth passenger flow, and the line simplified from its current 3-track arrangement to two tracks. This will involve complicated underground construction work that will ultimately improve and streamline service, but will significantly change the look and feel of the Shuttle.

Here at the Times Square end of the line, the curve of the 1904 alignment of the original Interborough main line is still clearly evident, over a century after trains used the curve. the IRT West Side Line tunnel (here under Broadway) cuts through the old curve, and in the distance, a southbound [1] local train blurs by towards Lower Manhattan and outer Brooklyn.

In this general vicinity was once a Potawatomie Village

Archaeological evidence suggests that Chief Menominee's Village was located approximately 2½ miles southeast of here on the northern bank of the Yellow River near Wolf Creek.

The Potawatomi Trail of Death was the forced removal by militia in 1838 of about 859 members of the Potawatomi nation from Indiana to reservation lands in what is now eastern Kansas.

The march began at Twin Lakes, Indiana (Myers Lake and Cook Lake, near Plymouth, Indiana) on November 4, 1838, along the western bank of the Osage River, ending near present-day Osawatomie, Kansas. During the journey of approximately 660 miles over 61 days, more than 40 people died, most of them children. It was the single largest Indian removal in Indiana history.

Although the Potawatomi had ceded their lands in Indiana to the federal government under a series of treaties made between 1818 and 1837, Chief Menominee and his Yellow River band at Twin Lakes refused to leave, even after the August 5, 1838, treaty deadline for departure. Indiana governor David Wallace authorized General John Tipton to mobilize a local militia of one hundred volunteers to forcibly remove the Potawatomi from the state. On August 30, 1838, Tipton's militia surprised the Potawatomi at Twin Lakes, where they surrounded the village and gathered the remaining Potawatomi together for their removal to Kansas. Father Benjamin Marie Petit, a Catholic missionary at Twin Lakes, joined his parishioners on their difficult journey from Indiana, across Illinois and Missouri, into Kansas. There the Potawatomi were placed under the supervision of the local Indian agent (Jesuit) father Christian Hoecken at Saint Mary's Sugar Creek Mission, the true endpoint of the march.

The world is full of abandoned cars and vehicle graveyards. The short life of a car usually has a guaranteed endpoint: a trip to the scrapyard. But, where there is junk there is another man's treasure. These wrecked or decommissioned vehicles are brought to this scrapyard where their usable parts are sold for use in operating vehicles. The unusable parts, known as scrap metal parts, are crushed on-site and then sold to metal-recycling companies for further processing where they are melted down and ultimately made into new products.

Russia, the Caucasus, Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Dombay village

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Dombay glade is located at an altitude of 1650m above sea level. It formed by the mouth of the river Amanauz and its two tributaries - Alibek and Dombai-Elgen. Mountains frame Dombay a solid wall. To the east is Buu-Elgen (killed deer), on the south-east - Dombai-Elgen, the highest mountain in the Western Caucasus (4048 m), and Ptysh mountain. In the south - an array Dzhuguturlu-Chat (Rookery of goats), the south-west and west - Amanauz-Bashi, on the east - Proud Herzog and Sulakhat. Endpoints of ridges are Semenov-Bashi and Mussa-Achitar. Below you can see the village Dombay, and slightly above 2nd and 3rd lift station (2265m and 2500m respectively).

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Россия, Кавказ, Карачаево-Черкесия, посёлок Домбай

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Домбайская поляна расположена на высоте 1650 м над уровнем моря. Её образуют устья реки Аманауза и двух её притоков – Алибека и Домбай-Ёльгена. Горы обрамляют Домбайскую поляну сплошной стеной. На востоке это Буу-Ёльген (Убитый олень), на юго-востоке – Домбай-Ёльген, высочайшая вершина Западного Кавказа (4048 м), и Птыш. На юге – массив Джугутурлу-Чат (Лежбище туров), на юго-западе и западе – Аманауз-Баши, на востоке — гордый Эрцог и Сулахат. Конечные точки хребтов Семёнов-Баши и Мусса-Ачитара, являются популярнейшими «кругозорами». Внизу можно разглядеть посёлок Домбай, а чуть выше 2я и 3я станции канатной дороги (2265м и 2500м соответственно).

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Better to look at LARGE size =)

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