View allAll Photos Tagged equalizer
This piece of American history, "the Equalizer," is a Colt model 1873, Single Action Army (SAA) revolver, the gun that you see in all the old western movies, and the gun that, along with the Winchester '73 repeating rifle, is generally referred to as one of the guns that won the west. You saw it in "Showdown at the O.K. Coral," and in real life, it was adopted as the standard U.S. military service revolver in 1892 and was favored by lawmen, cowboys and desperadoes alike. Often one would be armed with a Colt SAA and a Winchester '73, both chambered for the .44-40, a pretty meek cartridge by today's standards, but it got the job done and had the very real advantage of providing one round that fit both the rifle and the revolver.
I bought this one, chambered for the .44 special, 25 years ago, and had I really wanted to maximize the "Classic" value of it, I would probably have been better off buying one in the more traditional .45 Colt chambering; but this has the advantage that I can use the same dies for reloading the .44 special as I can for my .44 magnum, and with the cost of ammunition being what it is today, loading your own ammunition is a must, unless you're a lot wealthier than I am (I've been hand loading all my ammunition since I was 17}. I haven't shot it all that much (haven't done any shooting in the past couple of years), and when I have shot it, I've tended to baby it, using only light loads and staying far away from the near .44 magnum loads loads that Elmer Keith favored before he and Smith & Wesson developed the real .44 magnum by stretching the .44 special cartridge case a small fraction of an inch. It's a crying shame to leave it locked away in a dark closet, and I've really gotta take it to the range, which is only three miles from my house, and give it some exercise.
ODT, "Blast from the Past," "Arms," "Classic," "Historic."
The Pennsylvania Railroad's 52 T1 class duplex-drive 4-4-4-4 steam locomotives, introduced in 1942 (2 prototypes) and 1945-1946 (50 production), were the last steam locomotives built for the PRR and arguably its most controversial. They were ambitious, technologically sophisticated, powerful, fast and distinctively streamlined by Raymond Loewy. However, they were also prone to wheelslip both when starting and at speed, complicated to maintain and expensive to run.[citation needed] The PRR decided in 1948 to place diesel locomotives on all express passenger trains, leaving unanswered questions as to whether the T1's flaws were solvable, especially taking into account that the two prototypes did not have the problems inherent to the production unit. An article appearing in a 2008 issue of the Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical Society Magazine showed that inadequate training for engineers transitioning to the T1 may have led to excessive throttle applications, resulting in driver slippage.[7] Another root cause of wheelslip was faulty "spring equalization": The stiffnesses of the springs supporting the locomotive over the axles were not adjusted to properly equalize the wheel-to-track forces.[8] The drivers were equalized together but not equalized with the engine truck. In the production fleet the PRR equalized the engine truck with the front engine and the trailing truck with the rear engine, which helped to solve the wheelslip problem. - source Wikipedia
A "tea equalizer" at the Chá Porto Formoso museum factory. Founded in the 1920, the factory operated until the 1980s, serving both the national market and exporting internationally. The operations ceased due to the small production, limited by Sao Miguel's characteristics, and in 1998 the facilities were restored to operate at small volumes, compensated for by the side operation as a museum. It is very interesting to go through the factory and see each stage of the tea production process. Porto Formoso, together with the nearby Gorreana Tea Factory, are the only facilities in Europe to process the leaves of "Camellia sinensis" for tea production. Some scholars argue that this plant, the source of green tea and black tea, was introduced in the Azores in 1750 by the ships returning from the East.
New Haven Railroad Pullman heavyweight parlor car Noank, Pullman plan 3917, is seen in a yard, ca 1940's. This car is has an ice activated air conditioning system, with three ice storage bunkers mounted to the under-body. The trucks used on this car are of the more modern design six wheel straight equalized integral cast design with the pedestals included.
The name of the photographer that captured this image on film is unknown. This is a modified, enhanced and cropped photo scan that is from a B&W image that was on the Internet.
Copyright Disclaimer under Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for the purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
The Equalizer / El protector
--¿Qué ve cuando me mira?--¿Qué ve usted cuando me mira a mí?..
--"What do you see when you look at me?"-- "What do you see when you look at me?"...
Copyright ©
Todos los derechos reservados, prohibido la publicación o modificación sin la autorización del autor.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
The A-14 program originally started in 2005 as a private venture, initiated by Northrop-Grumman together with the Elbit Group as a joint venture through Elbit’s Texas-based aircraft division M7 Aerosystems, an approved supplier to major aerospace clients. The aircraft was intended to replace the USAF’s A-10 attack aircraft as well as early F-16s in the strike role from 2010 onwards. The time slot for the project turned out to be advantageous, because at that time the USAF was contemplating to replace the simple and sturdy A-10 with the much more complex F-35, eventually even with its VTOL variant, and the highly specialized F-117 was retired, too.
The A-14 revived conceptual elements of Grumman’s stillborn A-12 stealth program for the US Navy, which had also been part of the USAF’s plans to replace the supersonic F-111 tactical bomber, but on a less ambitious and expensive level concerning technology, aiming for a more effective compromise between complexity, survivability and costs. The basic idea was an updated LTV A-7D (the A-10’s predecessor from the Vietnam War era), which had far more sophisticated sensor and navigation equipment than the rather simple but sturdy A-10, but with pragmatic stealth features and a high level of survivability in a modern frontline theatre or operations.
M7 Aerosystems started on a blank sheet, even though Northrop-Grumman’s A-12 influence was clearly visible, and to a certain degree the aircraft shared the basic layout with the F-117A. The A-14 was tailored from the start to the ground attack role, and therefore a subsonic design. Measures to reduce radar cross-section included airframe shaping such as alignment of edges, fixed-geometry serpentine inlets that prevented line-of-sight of the engine faces from any exterior view, use of radar-absorbent material (RAM), and attention to detail such as hinges and maintenance covers that could provide a radar return. The A-14 was furthermore designed to have decreased radio emissions, infrared signature and acoustic signature as well as reduced visibility to the naked eye.
The resulting airframe was surprisingly large for an attack aircraft – in fact, it rather reminded of a tactical bomber in the F-111/Su-24 class than an alternative to the A-10. The A-14 consisted of a rhomboid-shaped BWB (blended-wing-and-body) with extended wing tips and only a moderate (35°) wing sweep, cambered leading edges, a jagged trailing edge and a protruding cockpit section which extended forward of the main body.
The majority of the A-14’s structure and surface were made out of a carbon-graphite composite material that is stronger than steel, lighter than aluminum, and absorbs a significant amount of radar energy. The central fuselage bulge ended in a short tail stinger with a pair of swept, canted fins as a butterfly tail, which also shrouded the engine’s hot efflux. The fins could have been omitted, thanks to the aerodynamically unstable aircraft’s fly-by-wire steering system, and they effectively increased the A-14’s radar signature as well as its visual profile, but the gain in safety in case of FBW failure or physical damage was regarded as a worthwhile trade-off. Due to its distinctive shape and profile, the A-14 quickly received the unofficial nickname “Squatina”, after the angel shark family.
The spacious and armored cockpit offered room for the crew of two (pilot and WSO or observer for FAC duties), seated side-by-side under a generous glazing, with a very good field of view forward and to the sides. The fuselage structure was constructed around a powerful cannon, the five-barrel GAU-12/U 25 mm ‘Equalizer’ gun, which was, compared with the A-10’s large GAU-8/A, overall much lighter and more compact, but with only little less firepower. It fired a new NATO series of 25 mm ammunition at up to 4.200 RPM. The gun itself was located under the cockpit tub, slightly set off to port side, and the front wheel well was offset to starboard to compensate, similar in arrangement to the A-10 or Su-25. The gun’s ammunition drum and a closed feeding belt system were located behind the cockpit in the aircraft’s center of gravity. An in-flight refueling receptor (for the USAF’s boom system) was located in the aircraft’s spine behind the cockpit, normally hidden under a flush cover.
Due to the gun installation in the fuselage, however, no single large weapon bay to minimize radar cross section and drag through external ordnance was incorporated, since this feature would have increased airframe size and overall weight. Instead, the A-14 received four, fully enclosed compartments between the wide main landing gear wells and legs. The bays could hold single iron bombs of up to 2.000 lb caliber each, up to four 500 lb bombs or CBUs, single laser-guided GBU-14 glide bombs, AGM-154 JSOW or GBU-31/38 JDAM glide bombs, AGM-65 Maverick guided missiles or B61 Mod 11 tactical nuclear weapons, as well as the B61 Mod 12 standoff variant, under development at that time). Retractable launch racks for defensive AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles were available, too, and additional external pylons could be added, e.g. for oversize ordnance like AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) or AGM-158 Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM), or drop tanks for ferry flights. The total in- and external ordnance load was 15,000 lb (6,800 kg).
The A-14 was designed with superior maneuverability at low speeds and altitude in mind and therefore featured a large wing area, with high wing aspect ratio on the outer wing sections, and large ailerons areas. The ailerons were placed at the far ends of the wings for greater rolling moment and were split, making them decelerons, so that they could also be used as air brakes in flight and upon landing.
This wing configuration promoted short takeoffs and landings, permitting operations from primitive forward airfields near front lines. The sturdy landing gear with low-pressure tires supported these tactics, and a retractable arrester hook, hidden by a flush cover under the tail sting, made it possible to use mobile arrested-recovery systems.
The leading edge of the wing had a honeycomb structure panel construction, providing strength with minimal weight; similar panels covered the flap shrouds, elevators, rudders and sections of the fins. The skin panels were integral with the stringers and were fabricated using computer-controlled machining, reducing production time and cost, and this construction made the panels more resistant to damage. The skin was not load-bearing, so damaged skin sections could be easily replaced in the field, with makeshift materials if necessary.
Power came from a pair of F412-GE-114 non-afterburning turbofans, engines that were originally developed for the A-12, but de-navalized and lightened for the A-14. These new engines had an output of 12,000 lbf (53 kN) each and were buried in blended fairings above the wing roots, with jagged intakes and hidden ducts. Flat exhausts on the wings’ upper surface minimized both radar and IR signatures.
Thanks to the generous internal fuel capacity in the wings and the fuselage, the A-14 was able to loiter and operate under 1,000 ft (300 m) ceilings for extended periods. It typically flew at a relatively low speed of 300 knots (350 mph; 560 km/h), which made it a better platform for the ground-attack role than fast fighter-bombers, which often have difficulty targeting small, slow-moving targets or executing more than just a single attack run on a selected target.
A mock-up was presented and tested in the wind tunnel and for radar cross-section in late 2008. The A-14’s exact radar cross-section (RCS) remained classified, but in 2009 M7 Aerosystems released information indicating it had an RCS (from certain angles) of −40 dBsm, equivalent to the radar reflection of a "steel marble". With this positive outcome and the effective design, M7 Aerosystems eventually received federal funding for the production of prototypes for an official DT&E (Demonstration Testing and Evaluation) program.
Three prototypes/pre-production aircraft were built in the course of 2010 and 2011, and the first YA-14 made its maiden flight on 10 May 2011. The DT&E started immediately, and the machines (a total of three flying prototypes were completed, plus two additional airframes for static tests) were gradually outfitted with mission avionics and other equipment. This included GPS positioning, an inertial navigation system, passive sensors to detect radar usage, a small, gyroscopically stabilized turret, mounted under the nose of the aircraft, containing a FLIR boresighted with a laser spot-tracker/designator, and an experimental 3-D laser scanning LIDAR in the nose as a radiation-less alternative to a navigation and tracking radar.
Soon after the DT&E program gained momentum in 2012, the situation changed for M7 Aerosystems when the US Air Force considered the F-35B STOVL variant as its favored replacement CAS aircraft, but concluded that the aircraft could not generate a sufficient number of sorties. However, the F-35 was established as the A-14’s primary rival and remained on the USAF’s agenda. For instance, at that time the USAF proposed disbanding five A-10 squadrons in its budget request to cut its fleet of 348 A-10s by 102 to lessen cuts to multi-mission aircraft in service that could replace the specialized attack aircraft.
In August 2013, Congress and the Air Force examined various proposals for an A-10 replacement, including the A-14, F-35 and the MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle, and, despite the A-14’s better qualities in the ground attack role, the F-35 came out as the overall winner, since it was the USAF’s favorite. Despite its complexity, the F-35 was – intended as a multi-role tri-service aircraft and also with the perspective of bigger international sales than the more specialized A-14 – regarded as the more versatile and, in the long run, more cost-efficient procurement option. This sealed the A-14’s fate and the F-35A entered service with U.S. Air Force F-35A in August 2016 (after the F-35B was introduced to the U.S. Marine Corps in July 2015). At that time, the U.S. planned to buy 2,456 F-35s through 2044, which would represent the bulk of the crewed tactical airpower of the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps for several decades.
Since the A-14’s technology was considered to be too critical to be marketed to export customers (Israel showed early interest in the aircraft, as well as South Korea), the program was cancelled in 2016.
General characteristics:
Crew: 2 (pilot, WSO)
Length: 54 ft 11 1/2 in (16.78 m)
Wingspan: 62 ft 11 1/2 in (19.22 m)
Height: 11 ft 3 3/4 in (3.45 m)
Wing area: 374.9 ft² (117.5 m²)
Empty weight: 24,959 lb (11,321 kg)
Loaded weight: 30,384 lb (13,782 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 50,000 lb (22,700 kg)
Internal fuel capacity: 11,000 lb (4,990 kg)
Powerplant:
2× General Electric Whitney F412-GE-114 non-afterburning turbofans
with 12,000 lbf (53 kN) thrust each
Performance:
Maximum speed: 630 mph (1,010 km/h, 550 kn) at 40,000 ft altitude /
Mach 0.95 at sea level
Cruise speed: 560 mph (900 km/h, 487 kn) at 40,000 ft altitude
Range: 1,089 nmi (1,253 mi, 2,017 km)
Ferry range: 1,800 nmi (2,100 mi, 3,300 km)
Service ceiling: 50,000 ft (15,200 m)
Rate of climb: 50,000 ft/min (250 m/s)
Wing loading: 133 lb/ft² (193 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 0.48 (full internal fuel, no stores)
Take-off run: 1,200 m (3,930 ft) at 42,000 lb (19,000 kg) over a 15 m (30 ft) obstacle
Armament:
1× General Dynamics GAU-12/U Equalizer 25 mm (0.984 in) 5-barreled rotary cannon
with 1,200 rounds (max. capacity 1,350 rounds)
4x internal weapon bays plus 4x external optional hardpoints with a total capacity of
15,000 lb (6,800 kg) and provisions to carry/deploy a wide range of ordnance
The kit and its assembly:
A major kitbashing project which I had on my idea list for a long time and its main ingredients/body donors already stashed away – but, as with many rather intimidating builds, it takes some external motivation to finally tackle the idea and bring it into hardware form. This came in August 2020 with the “Prototypes” group build at whatifmodellers.com, even though is still took some time to find the courage and mojo to start.
The original inspiration was the idea of a stealthy successor for the A-10, or a kind of more modern A-7 as an alternative to the omnipresent (and rather boring, IMHO) F-35. An early “ingredient” became the fuselage of a Zvezda Ka-58 stealth helicopter kit – I liked the edgy shape, the crocodile-like silhouette and the spacious side-by-side cockpit. Adding wings, however, was more challenging, and I remembered a 1:200 B-2A which I had turned into a light Swedish 1:72 attack stealth aircraft. Why not use another B-2 for the wings and the engines, but this time a bigger 1:144 model that would better match the quite bulbous Ka-58 fuselage? This donor became an Italeri kit.
Work started with the fuselage: the Ka-58’s engine and gearbox hump had to go first and a generous, new dorsal section had to be scratched with 1mm styrene sheet and some PSR. The cockpit and its glazing could be retained and were taken OOB. Under the nose, the Ka-58’s gun turret was omitted and a scratched front landing gear well was implanted instead.
The wings consist of the B-2 model; the lower “fuselage half” had its front end cut away, then the upper fuselage half of the Ka-58 was used as benchmark to cut the B-2’s upper wing/body part in two outer wing panels. Once these elements had been glued together, the Ka-58’s lower nose and tail section were tailored to match the B-2 parts. The B-2 engine bays were taken OOB and mounted next, so that the A-14’s basic hull was complete and the first major PSR session could start. Blending the parts into each other turned out to be a tedious process, since some 2-3 mm wide gaps had to be filled.
Once the basic BWP pack had been finished, I added the fins. These were taken from an 1:72 F-117 kit (IIRC from Italeri), which I had bought in a lot many moons ago. The fins were just adapted at their base to match the tail sting slope, and they were mounted in a 45° angle. This looks very F-117ish but was IMHO the most plausible solution.
Now that the overall length of the aircraft was defined, I could work on the final major assembly part: the wing tips. The 1:144 B-2 came with separate wing tip sections, but they proved to be much too long for the Squatina. After some trials I reduced their length by more than half, so that the B-2’s jagged wing trailing edge was kept. The result looks quite natural, even though blending the cut wing tips to the BWB turned out to be a PSR nightmare because their thickness reduces gently towards the tip – since I took out a good part of the inner section, the resulting step had to be sanded away and hidden with more PSR.
Detail work started next, including the cockpit glazing, the bomb bay (the B-2 kit comes with one of its bays open, and I kept this detail and modified the interior) and the landing gear, the latter was taken from the F-117 donor bank and fitted surprisingly well.
Some sensors were added, too, including a flat glass panel on the nose tip and a triangular IRST fairing under the nose, next to the landing gear well.
Painting and markings:
For a stealth aircraft and a prototype I wanted something subdued or murky, but not an all-black or -grey livery. I eventually settled for the rather dark paint scheme that the USAF applied to its late B-52Gs and the B-1Bs, which consists of two tones from above, FS 36081 (Dark Grey, a.k.a. Dark Gunship Grey) and 34086 (Green Drab), and underneath (FS 36081 and 36118 (Gunship Grey). The irregular pattern was adapted (in a rather liberal fashion) from the USAF’s early B-1Bs, using Humbrol 32, 108 and 125 as basic colors. The 108 turned out to be too bright, so I toned it down with an additional coat of thinned Humbrol 66. While this considerably reduced the contrast between the green and the grey, the combination looks much better and B-1B-esque.
The wings’ leading edges were painted for more contrast with a greyish black (Tar Black, Revell 09), while the landing gear, the interior of the air intakes and the open bomb bay became glossy white. The cockpit was painted in medium grey (Humbrol 140) and the clear parts received a thinned inner coating with a mix of transparent yellow and brown, simulating an anti-radar coating – even though the effect turned out to be minimal, now it looks as of the plastic parts had just yellowed from age…
After the initial livery had been finished the model received a black ink washing and some post-panel shading with slightly brightened variations of the basic tones (using Humbrol 79, 144 and 224). Decals were added next, an individual mix from various sources. The “Stars-and-Bars” come from a PrintScale A-7 sheet, most stencils come from an F-16 sheet.
After some more detail painting and a treatment with graphite on the metal areas (exhausts, gun port), the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).
Batman’s next Batwing? Maybe, there’s certainly something fictional about this creation. But the “Squatina” turned out much more conclusive (and even pretty!) than I expected, even though it became a bigger aircraft than intended. And I am positively surprised how good the bodywork became – after all, lots of putty had to be used to fill all the gaps between parts that no one ever expected to be grafted together.
Luminance HDR 2.3.1 tonemapping parameters:
Operator: Mantiuk06
Parameters:
Contrast Equalization factor: 0.73
Saturation Factor: 1.08
Detail Factor: 12.7
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PreGamma: 0.24
Yes My Dear Visitor .. You might wonder about my point … Well I will explain it for you, Sit somewhere in an open area I prefer the beach usually it makes me think a lot.
Then Start thinking about the universe we live in, think about every single creature in this world animals, birds, plants, humans .. Etc.
There is no one strong in it, yes NO ONE, the Lion can be hunt by human or by another lion, A big huge elephant you know how big they are but it can be killed if a small little mice goes in its ears, Human can be killed by animals or from their own kind.
NO one stays the hero Forever and no one stays the bravest or strongest in this world forever.
Countries they were leading the world one day and now its vice versa and they are controlled by the countries the were controlling earlier.
Read the news papers watch the news .. no one stays as they are.
God Made the universe in a very nice and perfect system that no one stays with their power so that they wont reach to the level of deception and destroy every and not to let people believe in their power.
Yes this is the amazing life we live one day you are the boss and control everything and one day you will be controlled by someone else.
But over all we are all controlled by only one person in this huge universe By GOD yes Some people under estimates the power of GOD and they don’t know what GOD can do in life, he can make you rich in a second or make you poor in another.
What made me write all of the above is when I was driving that day and the sun kept really bothering me with those sharp rays Since my sunglasses wasn’t with me and after a while the sun rays it was gone at that moment I saw the clouds covering the sun it even made me See the sun as its moon or a piece of candy.
Anyway myself I don’t have much time to write more so enjoy the shot.
May Day Eve - Sony A77 II with Hoya Cross Screen Filter on Sony DT 18-70 mm 1:3.5-5.6 Zoom - Photographer Russell McNeil PhD (Physics) lives on Vancouver Island, where he works as a writer.
CLAHE stands for Contrast Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization, implemented as plugin module for ImageJ.
Suggested by Bushman.K it was found to be not quite compatible with the solar images, but works well on the Moon :)
The lunar image of 04.07.2015, around 23:30 MSK, taken with TIS DMK23 via 2x Barlow on Meade series 6000 80 mm f/6 triplet refractor.
Panoramic image of six panels, 20% of 1000 (ok, 200) frames stacked, stitched in MS ICE, deconvolved (AstraImage Richardson-Lucy, Cauchy, 0,3-9), wavelet-sharpened (1-10-15-5-1), CLAHEd in ImageJ (127-255-2), wavelet again (1-5-10-5-1) and some contrast added in PS.
Note: the white square is the histogram trap for deconvolution to correctly normalise the processed image. I was finally able to save Aristarchus from becoming saturated.
A Model 2 coilgun, heavily customized by an unknown interplanetary gang. Has a cut-down stock, a different, much more compact barrel assembly made from an ''Ultracompact'' kit. Has a customized Mk.3 bayonet found on an M2c MIR, but it can come without it as well. The gun itself is fairly rare, as the gang didn't last long before disappearing.
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I got bored and did this. Hope you like it I guess.
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Credit goes to caiobrazil (a fella from dA), for the inspiration.
Luminance HDR 2.3.1 tonemapping parameters:
Operator: Mantiuk06
Parameters:
Contrast Equalization factor: 0.94
Saturation Factor: 1.16
Detail Factor: 3.9
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PreGamma: 1
Seven Steps: Equalization - 3 (of 7) - Canon EOS M & Canon 18-55mm IS STM (EF-M Mount) - Photographer Russell McNeil PhD (Physics) lives on Vancouver Island, where he works as a writer.
Student activists from CT Students for a Dream (C4D) and supporters rally to demand justice in higher education for undocumented students with legislation that equalizes access to student-generated funds: State Capitol, Hartford, Connecticut, Thursday, April 13, 2017.
"In Connecticut, public colleges and universities set aside a proportion of tuition revenue to be used as ‘institutional aid’ to assist students with a demonstrated financial need. However, immigrant students who have grown up in CT and have graduated high school here are not eligible for this student-generated aid. All Connecticut students, including undocumented students, pay tuition and therefore contribute towards this institutional aid pool of funds. Yet Connecticut does not allow immigrant students access to institutional aid themselves. This aid is student funded, we believe all students who pay tuition should be be eligible to receive it.”
A little girl splashing her mother with brightly colored powder celebrates the Indian Hindu festival of Holi in Foster City, California. The look of joy on her face is worth a million dollars. The ancient tradition "Holi", also known as the "Festival of Colors" dates back to as early as the fourth century and commemorates the beginning of spring, the harvest and the triumph of good versus evil. Rooted in Indian mythology, the festival also celebrates equality. The colors that people throw at each other during the festival serve as a symbolic equalizer in the contest of India's caste system (it means that the caste doesn't matter anymore).
the great equalizer.
Water is in short supply in the deserts of Namibia. All kinds of animals gather in these small collections of water called waterholes. They drink together peacefully till some of the big cats show up.
Before moving into environmental politics (and the national parks), my research and teaching focused on the political economy of international trade. So, of course I thought of Paul Samuelson's 1948 Factor Price Equalization Theorem when I saw this scene at the Hot Springs Historic District in Big Bend National Park.
The scene also illustrates a common practice studied by economic anthropologists, the silent trade. (Marcel Mauss, "The Gift," is the locus classicus.) A community may leave out gifts for a neighboring community, who will take the gifts and leave gifts of their own. If both sides are happy with the rate of exchange, the gift-giving (or trade) continues.
Here, Mexican artists leave craft goods for American tourists, who pay for the goods by putting money in the can at left. The Department of Homeland Security defines this practice as "smuggling" and may confiscate the items if you purchase them.
And, yes, I'm a lot of fun at parties.
Publicada en "Cómo la hice":
www.comolahice.com/2012/04/ecualizador/
Publicada en ALTFoto, el 16/04/2012:
Luminance HDR 2.3.0 tonemapping parameters:
Operator: Mantiuk06
Parameters:
Contrast Equalization factor: 0.76
Saturation Factor: 1.58
Detail Factor: 24.8
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PreGamma: 1
By their very nature, Raintings are already sort of artsy, but I added some auto enhance, equalize and sharp to it. This was a row of shrubs and their shadows after dark.
ABOUT RAINTINGS
Rainting is a word I coined describing a painterly effect, achieved by photographing the subject through glass that is being rained on, like a windshield or other. It achieves an oftentimes pretty or soft flowing effect, and sometimes other-worldly. It is usually creative, fun, and fluid, seldom harsh in my opinion. I have an album of them on Flickr. Rainting is already in "The Urban Dictionary" but I would like it to also be in a more sophisticated/educational type of dictionary. I started a public Flickr group of Raintings on New Year's Day 2020.
The more collegiate type of dictionaries say that the word has to actually be used by people before they're likely to publish it. So if you like the word and my idea, say it loud and say it clear and take a few Raintings and post them to my new group. Using my word and trying my new group are not inclusive of one another.
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This particular image has what I call a Faux Rainting effect. It wasn't actually raining; just a spray bottle of water on my truck window. I'll put it in my new Raintings group, but eventually I'll try to label the ones that didn't actually use *real* rain. The majority will be real rain, as that is what I used to take my beginning "Raintings" when hadn't yet thought of a name for what I described above. And that is why I rhymed my word of Rainting with Painting. My State of Oregon USA is known for lots of rain; so I shouldn't have to resort to Faux Rainting too often (grin).
Actually it was half faux rainting and half real as it started to rain while I was out.
For Dave C. and other Flickr friends, the *soul* of this one was taking some nighttime shadow pix and also enjoying the real rain, as we need it so badly with all of Oregon's fires lately. My daughter and granddaughter, as well as hundreds of others, lost their home, vehicles, everything completely.
A spokesman for the fire department said that some light/moderate rain would be extremely welcome, but that too much/or I surmise too hard of rain can pose bad problems. It seemed light to me tonight. I hope it was.
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"DSCN7971RaintingAAShrubs&ShadowsRESAMeqlshrpInitFlickr092520"
This is my first attempt at making a stereographic projection. I was amazed how long it took to process this image with Hugin. It took several hours and I am on a very fast computer. There still are a few flaws in it, but overall it turned out pretty nicely I think. I posted adrian3.com/3/15 if you are curious to learn a little more about the panoramic shots I have been posting recently.
"Cobra has come to deploy a number of air assets, and G.I.Joe ground forces need to be able to sweep the skies of airborne threats. Enter the Equalizer. Based on the venerable Mauler tank, the Equalizer is armed with a pair of 30 mm autocannons and six SAMs built around a search and tracking radar system. Optimized for short-to-medium range air defense, the Equalizer can track multiple targets, including helicopters, low flying planes, and even missiles, and attack them in order of threat level.
Its 30mm autocannons can also be directed in the direct fire role against ground targets. They are fearsome weapons against any light or medium armored opponent, and their high elevation makes them useful in urban combat and mountain operations. The Equalizer has a crew of three - a driver, commander, and weapons operator."
The G.I.Joe Equalizer www.yojoe.com/vehicles/89/equalizer/ was clearly inspired by Cold War era SPAAGs such as the German Flakpanzer Gepard. I loved the unusually realistic camouflage, and always thought this looked like an absolutely badass toy. The turret on the original seems a little outsize to me, so I redesigned it to be a little smaller, while still keeping the same weapons and radars. My version also has space for the weapons operator to take cover in a "hatches down" position. The hull is simply a recolored rebuild of my Mauler hull, which is a little fragile, but has a nice, low profile. Building new versions of existing vehicles saves a lot on design (R&D) time, and many Joe vehicles were recolored over the years, so I might be doing more of this, including some more personal takes on old designs.
I lightened this, gave it an equalization technique, a maximum technique and light sharpening. These trees are where I live. My neighborhood is likely the second largest Christmas Tree Capital of the World, Monroe & Alpine area of Oregon.
The larger brothers and sisters of these trees have already been heading out to other parts of the nation by huge truckloads. Seems early to me, but some people buy their tree right after Thanksgiving.
If you are tempted to criticize the size, resolution or quality of this image ~ please don't ~ I used a Sony Mavica Digital (sub-megapixel) camera, which was State of the Art in 1999 ~ Digital Cameras have since come a long way
(810babychristmastrees&snoweqlmaxresamltshpadj)
(MVC-810 most likely file number)
The *soul* for this photo is it made my soul feel good to see all these adorable baby Christmas Trees, and rather than being harmed by the winter snow, they seemed to be thriving on it.
"G.I.Joe fields several multirole armored vehicles that can be relied on to provide close-in air defense - most notably the Equalizer and the Mean Dog, both of which are also ferocious in the ground combat role. Unlike these weapons systems, the Sky Sweeper is a dedicated air defense platform, with limited uses against ground targets.
It carries a radar-guided double 25mm cannon and four short range Surface-to-Air Missiles that are transported horizontally, but typically rotated 90 degrees and launched vertically. But the Sky Sweeper's most potent contribution to air defense comes in the form of a large search radar that it can unfold and rotate in 360 degrees from its roof. This radar gives much longer range warning of air threats, including aircraft and missiles, and the information it collects is effectively used as a force multiplier, to increase the effectiveness of other anti aircraft weapons systems. The Sky sweeper carries basic short range air defense package of its own and it will enhance existing anti-aircraft capabilities of any G.I.Joe vehicles it operates in tandem with."
The Sky Sweeper was released as part of the futuristic themed BattleForce2000, back in 1987, when the 21st Century seemed like far away. BattleForce2000 had various separating and combining features that never worked very well in practice, and many Joe fans consider this subteam to be a bit of an embarrassment. But the basic vehicles had some pretty promising designs and one of the strongest IMO was the Sky Sweeper - a dedicated "anti aircraft tank."
www.yojoe.com/vehicles/87/skysweeper/
I've done away with the separating bunker that becomes part of a larger "Future Fortress" gestalt, and focused on the basic design and function. Between the role and the name of the Sky Sweeper, I wanted to give it the best possible air defense capabilities I could, so I imagined it as a long-range radar carrier. I even considered giving it no weapons at all, but in the end the side missiles and rear turret won out because it is just more fun that way.
A music score...
colorful and varied they way music should be.
Please do use the equalizer when you listen to your music you might find "hidden" notes on your favorite song.
This is my latest machine, just finished yesterday.
I am calling it The Piano Player. It was made for my father's 75th birthday party which is tomorrow. He taught himself to play piano when I was a kid, and I remember him sitting with his earphones on playing away with no music to hear. I thought it would be fitting for me to make this for him since I am a self taught woodworker.
When the handle is turned, the keys that the fingers rest on move up and down and the corresponding equalizer bars in the back move with them. It is made from Cherry (frame), Maple (keys and mechanical parts), walnut (black keys and finishing dowels), Padauk (equalizer bars), and Yellowheart (hands). The final machine took close to 60 hours to finish, including having to make a custom box to transport it in. That does not include the concept and study models I started with. Dimensions are approx. 22"x16"x10"
I hope to have video edited and ready for upload sometime this coming week, along with a bunch more pictures