Quite quiet on a Bank Holiday Monday, I expect Coal Drops Yard will become a very popular destination. In my opinion it has the feel that Covent Garden had when it opened in the early 1980’s. This spectacular display of flowers was only one of a series in the area. By my estimation it is made up of at least 20 x 9 tubs (180)

Wahkotowin...

A human under a blanket below the Mill Creek Bridge this morning. There is a Cree word called 'Wahkotowin'. It means something like kinship or 'we are all related'. The idea behind that word makes the issue of the unhoused more personal, to me. Scenes like this are painful to witness and, in my estimation, growing worse. The roots of this are complex. It's mess of economics and politics, yet it's also a blatant moral failure because this is a place that's as cold as a freezer.

Pentax

IMG1111

Vøringsfossen is one of the most visited waterfalls in Norway. The falls are 183 m (about 600 ft.) high. The falls are located in Eidfjord, not far from Highway 7, which connects Oslo with Bergen.

Bjoreia, the small river that flows into Vøringsfossen, has a hydroelectric dam in the Sysendalen valley above the falls, reducing the flow of water. In summer, the flow is increased to 12 m3/s, above its natural rate, not least to benefit the tourist trade. The Bjoreia also feeds the Tyssvikjo falls. When arriving at the viewing point, most people mistake the Tyssvikjo falls for the Vøringsfossen. The Tyssvikjo falls are higher but much smaller. The flowing rate of the Vøringsfossen is much higher.

The name (Old Norse *Vyrðingr) is derived from the verb vyrða 'esteem, revere'. The last element fossen, the finite form of foss 'waterfall', is a later addition.

The Vøringsfossen were in 1821 only known to the people who lived in the area. One of the first visitors from 'far away' was professor Christopher Hansteen (1784-1873) from Oslo, who visited the falls around 1821 and wrote about it. In the summer of 1821 he traveled across the Hardangervidda and arrived in Eidfjord. It was pointed out to him by his local guide that there was a gigantic waterfall nearby, much larger than all the small falls he found incredible at that time. Hansteen measured the height by throwing stones over the edge and measuring the time in which the stones reached the bottom. His estimation was 280 metres. He was fascinated by the sudden change of the 'flat' Hardangervidda into the steep and wild river valley. Back in Oslo, he wrote a very good article in Budstikken, making the Vøringsfossen a tourist attraction since then.

Every year 650.000 people visit the falls, and, according to the Norwegian Bureau of Tourism it is the second best visited natural attraction.

There are two good viewing points: at the Fossetromme, besides Highway 7 in Måbødalen. The best viewing point is at the Fossli Hotel. This photo is taken from the latter. The Vøringsfossen are the falls on the left, the falls on the right are the Tyssvikjo Fossen.

Every winter my good friends Paul and Jodie propose at least one visit to the Snowy Owl haunts of eastern Ontario, a trip that has had varying results in the bird department - but the trips are always perfect because of the great company and the end point - hot dogs and poutine at Landriault casse-croute. This time the birds were amazing - relaxed Snowies that were not concerned about people as they hunted/rested in the morning sun, several Bald Eagles that were very active, and some other surprises.

Often found in small groups in mixed flocks with Snow Buntings and Horned Larks, the Lapland Longspur is not unusual to find at this time of the year; this group, hovering near the entrance to a barn at a very isolated farm, was, in Paul's estimation, the largest flock of Longspurs (44 I think we settled on) he has seen in decades of birding in eastern Ontario.

I use to think I really, really need to get to the Quinault Rainforest trail to the Enchanted Forest, land of 10,000 waterfalls, in Washington State. This last weekend I made it to Eagle Creek and saw so many gorgeous spills and seasonal falls along with some major ones; it was outstanding in my estimation. Who needs Quinault when you have Eagle Creek.... but I still will get to Quinault someday.

I'm rambling; both in this post and I'm still on that trail hypnotized. I love this trail. I can't wait to return during the ice and snow.

Eagle Creek

Columbia River Gorge

Oregon

Châssis n°WP0ZZZ95ZJS905011

Estimation : 1.500.000 - 2.000.000 €

Vendu 1.960.000 €

Vente aux enchères "Made in Urban" chez ArtCurial le mardi 25 octobre 2016

Alias PA_1030 - 2013

Estimation : 250000 - 350000 €

See what it looks like in his real place, ie in the street HERE

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griffon_vulture

The griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus) is a large Old World vulture in the bird of prey family Accipitridae. It is also known as the Eurasian griffon. It is not to be confused with a different species, Rüppell's griffon vulture (Gyps rueppellii). It is closely related to the white-backed vulture (Gyps africanus).

Description

The griffon vulture is 93–122 cm (37–48 in) long with a 2.3–2.8 m (7.5–9.2 ft) wingspan. In the nominate race the males weigh 6.2 to 10.5 kg (14 to 23 lb) and females typically weigh 6.5 to 11.3 kg (14 to 25 lb), while in the Indian subspecies (G. f. fulvescens), the vultures average 7.1 kg (16 lb). Extreme adult weights have been reported from 4.5 to 15 kg (9.9 to 33.1 lb), the latter likely a weight attained in captivity.[2][3] Hatched naked, it is a typical Old World vulture in appearance, with a very white head, very broad wings and short tail feathers. It has a white neck ruff and yellow bill. The buff body and wing coverts contrast with the dark flight feathers.

Behaviour

Like other vultures, it is a scavenger, feeding mostly from carcasses of dead animals which it finds by soaring over open areas, often moving in flocks. It establishes nesting colonies in cliffs that are undisturbed by humans while coverage of open areas and availability of dead animals within dozens of kilometres of these cliffs is high.[4][5] It grunts and hisses at roosts or when feeding on carrion.

The maximum recorded lifespan of the griffon vulture is 41.4 years for an individual in captivity.[6]

It breeds on crags in mountains in southern Europe, north Africa, and Asia, laying one egg. Griffon vultures may form loose colonies. The population is mostly resident. Juveniles and immature individuals may migrate far or embark on long-distance movements.

Status in Europe and Asia

In Italy, the species managed to survive only in the island of Sardinia, but a few attempts at reintroducing the griffon in the peninsula have been recently made, too. As a result, several specimens have been spotted again in August 2006 on the Gran Sasso massif (central Italy). Populations in Italy are thought to be undergoing a vigorous increase, thanks to reintroduction schemes in neighbouring countries taking effect, and a ban on hunting the species.

In Croatia, a colony of griffon vultures can be found near the town of Beli on the island of Cres.[9] There they breed at lower elevations, with some nests just 10 m (33 ft) above sea level. Therefore, contact with people is common. The population makes frequent incursions in the Slovenian territory, especially in the mountain Stol above Kobarid. The bird is protected in an area called Kuntrep on the Croatian island of Krk [10]

In the United Kingdom, griffon vultures were made extinct at some point before the 1600s. Occasional vagrants appear in the UK,[citation needed] and in 2000 a vulture took up residence on the Channel Island of Guernsey.[11]

In Cyprus, there is an unsustainable colony of fewer than 30 birds (2016) at Episkopi, in the south of the island.[citation needed]

Colonies of griffon vultures can be found in northern Israel and in the Golan Heights, where a large colony breeds in the Carmel Mountains, the Negev desert and especially at Gamla, where reintroduction projects are being carried out at breeding centers in the Carmel and Negev.

In Greece, there are nearly 1000 birds[citation needed]. On Crete they can be found in most mountainous areas, sometimes in groups of up to 20.

Griffon vultures have been reintroduced successfully into the Massif Central in France; about 500 are now found there. Griffon vultures are regularly spotted over the Millau bridge.

In Belgium and the Netherlands, around 100 birds were present in the summer of 2007. These were vagrants from the Pyrenees population (see below).[12]

In Germany, the species died out in the mid-18th century. Some 200 vagrant birds, probably from the Pyrenees, were sighted in 2006,[13] and several dozen of the vagrants sighted in Belgium the following year crossed into Germany in search for food.[14] There are plans to reintroduce the species in the Alps. In September 2008, pieces of a griffon vulture bone, about 35,000 years old, were excavated from Hohle Fels cave in southern Germany, which are believed to form a flute.[15][16]

In Serbia, there are around 60–65 pairs of griffon vultures in the western parts of the country, around Zlatar mountain and also 35 birds in the canyon of the Trešnjica river.[17] They are under legal protection from hunting.[18]

In Switzerland, there is a population of several dozen birds.

In Austria, there is a remnant population around Salzburg Zoo, and vagrants from the Balkans are often seen.

In Spain and France, in 2008, there were 25.000 birds, from a low of a few thousand around 1980. Spain has the biggest colony of Griffon vultures in all Europe. It is located at Hoces del Río Duratón Natural Park (Province of Segovia).

The Pyrenees population has apparently been affected by an EC ruling that due to danger of BSE transmission, no carcasses must be left on the fields for the time being. This has critically lowered food availability, and consequently, carrying capacity. Although the griffon vulture does not normally attack larger living prey, there are reports of Spanish griffon vultures killing weak, young or unhealthy living animals as they do not find enough carrion to eat.[19] In May 2013, a 52-year-old woman who was hiking in the Pyrenees and had fallen off a cliff to her death was eaten by griffon vultures before rescue workers were able to recover her body, leaving only her clothes and a few of her bones. Due to her being the first human to be documented being eaten by griffon vultures, the story brought worldwide attention to the griffon vulture problems in Southern Europe.[20]

In Armenia there are 46-54 pairs according to last estimation of population; the trend demonstrates slight increasing.[21]

The main cause of the rapid decline in the griffon vulture population is the consumption of poisoned baits set out by people. Wildlife conservation efforts have attempted to increase awareness of the lethal consequences of using illegally poisoned baits through education about the issue

Physiology

Griffon vultures have been used as model organisms for the study of soaring and thermoregulation. The energy costs of level flight tend to be high, prompting alternatives to flapping in larger birds. Vultures in particular utilize more efficient flying methods such as soaring. Compared to other birds, which elevate their metabolic rate to upwards of 16 times their basal metabolic rate in flight,[23] soaring griffon vultures expend about 1.43 times their basal metabolic rate in flight. Griffon vultures are also efficient flyers in their ability to return to a resting heart rate after flight within ten minutes.[24]

As large scavengers, griffon vultures have not been observed to seek shelter for thermoregulation. Vultures use their bald heads as a means to thermoregulate in both extreme cold and hot temperatures. Changes in posture can increase bare skin exposure from 7% to 32%. This change allows for the more than doubling of convective heat loss in still air.[25] Griffon vultures have also been found to tolerate increased body temperatures as a response to high ambient temperatures. By allowing their internal body temperature to change independently of their metabolic rate, griffon vultures minimize their loss of water and energy in thermoregulating.[26] One study in particular (Bahat 1995) found that these adaptations have allowed the Griffon vulture to have one of the widest thermal neutral zones of any bird.[27]

Intraspecific competition

In respect to varying age ranges, the griffon vultures evidently show no difference in feeding rates. Inevitably, as resource availability increases, feeding rates tend to follow the same pattern. Upon studying the reintroduction of this species and its impact on the intraspecific competition, old adults are more inclined to display aggressive behavior and signs of dominance in comparison to the other age ranges. In terms of comparing the male and female sexes, there are no observed differences in competitive behaviors. Lastly, the reintroduced individuals of the species and the wild-bred do not differ in dominance or feeding rate despite the differences in upbringing.

Ce pont piétonnier était surchargé de cadenas d'amour mis par des touristes. Mais il y en avait tellement que le poids des cadenas (estimé à 45 tonnes !) était devenu un risque pour la structure du pont.

La municipalité de Paris a donc décidé de les retirer en juin dernier.

Nous verrons plein d'autres cadenas d'amour dans notre balade.

__________________________

The Pont des Arts (Arts Bridge)

This pedestrian bridge was overloaded by lovelocks placed by tourists. But there were so many that the weight of the padlocks (estimation of 45 tons !) had become a risk for the structure of the bridge. . .

So, Paris municipality decided to remove them last June.

We will see plenty of other lovelocks in our stroll.

__________________________

Paris

though we will not forage any because the Solent is by our easy estimation dirty and we won't risk it !

I just scanned my last roll of color film from France last night. Now I only have about five rolls of black and white to go and that whole trip will be completely scanned and mostly edited. It won't be long now before I start sharing those images with you in some fashion or another. This realization sparked another; I have barely shown you any of my trip to Maui. That in itself is kind of an interesting thing. I made plenty of beautiful images that I was/am happy with, so why so few of them put up here? I have my guesses. I think if you asked a lot of people who know my photography they would classify me as a landscape photographer. Which isn't an inaccurate estimation of the work I do, especially considering that like 80% of the images I post are landscapes of one type or another. But if you asked me, it is not the label I would give myself. See, I like landscapes. I love being outdoors and hiking. I love getting lost in forests and hanging out with sand in my shoes on beaches. So it is natural that I make lots of photographs in these places, but I wouldn't say it is my passion (though I do get excited by it more often than not). If I had to pin my passion down to a single subject matter I would probably surprise a lot of people and say I am more of a cityscape photographer at heart. I love cities and the populations in them. That is why the last few years have seen me travel to Edinburgh and Paris and London and back to Paris and Avignon. Give me an old city with history and culture and I will pick that over a beach at sunset 7 times out of 10.

I remember being in Maui and having tons of fun and exposing tons of film. The island was so beautiful. You could close your eyes and drop your camera and make wonderful images there. But by the end of our week there I was itching and eager to get off that island and be on my way to Paris. I yearned to be in those gritty streets surrounded by buildings that predated my great-great-great-great-great grandfather. To wander amongst crowds and see the spirit of the place... and of course to photograph it.

So maybe that is part of it. Maui was beautiful. No argument there. And I made some photos of it that I think are quite beautiful. And I enjoyed myself most thoroughly doing so. But some part of me was definitely looking beyond Maui to the streets of Paris and I think that same part of me is still at work here.

Growing stock

Growing stock has formed part of global forest resources assessments since the first report. In addition to providing information on existing wood resources, growing stock estimates constitute the basis for estimation of biomass and carbon stocks for most countries.

Country information on total growing stock and forest area was used to estimate growing stock per hectare as an indicator of how well or poorly stocked the forests are. FRA 2005 has also collected country information on commercial growing stock. Chapter 5 (Productive functions of forest resources) presents results for this indicator, as well as a more detailed discussion of total growing stock.

Information availability

Of the 229 countries and territories covered by FRA 2005, 150 countries, representing 88 percent of the world’s forest area, reported on growing stock for 2005. Oceania was the only region for which information was available for only a small portion of forest area (15 percent), given that Australia did not provide information on this variable. With a few exceptions, reporting countries gave information for all three reporting years (see Figure 5.6 in Chapter 5).

Although many countries provided information on growing stock, the quality of the information is variable. A few countries with repeated national forest assessments have very reliable information, but many countries do not have good inventory data to support growing stock estimates and changes in growing stock over time.

Status

In order to obtain consistent global, regional and subregional estimates of total growing stock, growing stock per hectare was estimated for each region/subregion for those countries providing information. These estimates were then multiplied by the total forest area of each region and subregion. Table 5.7 in Chapter 5 shows the status of growing stock in 2005 and its distribution by region and subregion.

Total growing stock is estimated at 434 billion m3, of which some 30 percent is found in South America.

The five countries with the greatest total growing stock account for almost 261 billion m3, which corresponds to 60 percent of the global total. Of these, Brazil has the largest growing stock, with 81 billion m3 or 19 percent of the total.

The global average for growing stock per hectare is 110 m3/ha. The countries with the highest growing stock per hectare are found in central Europe and in some tropical countries.

Trends

Based on data from the 147 countries that reported growing stock figures for all three reporting years, total growing stock shows a slight decreasing tendency at the global level (see Table 5.9 in Chapter 5). There are some regional tendencies: Africa, Asia and South America show a slight decrease, while Europe and North and Central America show a slight increase.

As regards growing stock per hectare, changes at the global level are not significant. At regional and subregional levels, however, there are more significant changes. For example, Europe, excluding the Russian Federation, shows a net increase of 0.3 percent (or 1.2 m3 per hectare) annually for the last 15-year period, while South and Southeast Asia show a net decrease of 1.0 percent (or 1.0 m3 per hectare) annually, mainly due to a decrease in growing stock per hectare in Indonesia.

Changes in total growing stock reflect the combined effects of changes in forest area and in growing stock per hectare. However, for many countries, changes in growing stock reflect only the changes in forest area, because their estimates of growing stock are based on a single figure per hectare determined at one point in time (see Chapter 5). Thus the actual trends may be more pronounced than those in this analysis.

Biomass and Carbon

At a casual glance, the amounts of biomass and carbon seem simply to reflect the extent of forests and their growing stock. A more meaningful understanding emerges in the context of the global carbon cycle, climate change and related international agreements such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Since half the dry weight of biomass is carbon (IPCC, 2003), the following analysis addresses biomass implicitly. For data related to biomass stock in forest and other wooded land, refer to Table 13 in Annex 3.

Forests, like other ecosystems, are affected by climate change, be it a sea-level rise that threatens coastal forests or changes in temperature and rainfall patterns. In some places, impacts may be negative, while in others they may be positive. However, forests also influence climate and the climate change process. They absorb carbon in wood, leaves and soil and release it into the atmosphere when burned, for example during forest fires or the clearing of forest land.

The Kyoto Protocol entered into force in the same year that this assessment was carried out. The protocol and the UNFCCC oblige all member countries to regularly assess and report national greenhouse gas emissions, including emissions and removals of carbon reflected as stock changes in forests. To that end, IPCC has created guidelines, methods and default values for all parameters needed to assess carbon stocks and their changes in forests (IPCC, 2003). It has thus furnished all countries with the means of estimating and reporting carbon stocks, greenhouse gas emissions and removals, irrespective of the availability of country-specific data. Striving for synergies and for streamlined country reporting to international organizations, FAO incorporated the IPCC guidelines on assessment of carbon stocks in forests into its guidelines for country reporting for FRA 2005.

Reporting on carbon stocks in forests under the UNFCCC, the Kyoto Protocol and to FAO may overlap, but are not necessarily identical. For FRA 2005, countries reported carbon stocks for the years 1990, 2000 and 2005. The UNFCCC mandates reporting carbon stock changes. However, in one of its methods, IPCC estimates net emissions of carbon as the difference between periodic carbon stocks.

In a further difference, UNFCCC members report on ‘managed forests’ only. The convention does not define ‘forest’ or managed forest. However, IPCC considers managed forests as “all forests under direct human influence” or “forests subject to the process of planning and implementing practices for stewardship and use aimed at fulfilling relevant ecological, economic and social functions” (IPCC, 2003). Given this broad definition, many countries may classify all their forests as managed forests. However, only by assuming both a steady state of biomass in ‘unmanaged forests’ and identical definitions of ‘forest’ will carbon stock changes be the same under the two reporting systems. Even in this case, estimates of the total carbon stock may still differ, depending on whether all forests are included or not in reporting under the UNFCCC.

Quantifying the substantial roles of forests as carbon stores, as sources of carbon emissions and as carbon sinks has become one of the keys to understanding and modifying the global carbon cycle. Global forest resources assessments have the potential to contribute to or substantiate estimates of the magnitude of stocks and flows by scientific bodies such as IPCC. Simultaneously, they complement and facilitate international reporting by countries on greenhouse gas emissions and removals under the UNFCCC.

Information availability

By integrating IPCC guidance into the guidelines for country reporting for FRA 2005, FAO sought to facilitate complete reporting on biomass and carbon pools by all countries. Yet many of the 229 countries and territories had difficulty in providing complete information for all pools of carbon, i.e. above- and below-ground biomass, dead wood, litter and soil carbon to a depth of 30 cm.

With few exceptions, countries that reported growing stock also successfully transformed this data into above- and below-ground biomass and then to carbon stock in forest biomass (Figure 2.11). Many countries based the conversion from growing stock to biomass on the IPCC good practice guidance factors (IPCC, 2003), reflecting a lack of country-specific biomass expansion factors.

Of the 151 countries that reported on forest biomass:

87 have used the IPCC good practice guidance biomass expansion factors exclusively;

41 have used the IPCC factors in combination with factors from other sources;

13 have used national data – either direct estimates or national expansion factors;

5 have used factors/models from FAO and FAO/UNECE publications;

5 are based on expert estimates.

Response rates for carbon pools other than forest biomass decreased steeply, to merely 20 percent of the countries, representing 51 percent of the total forest area for soil carbon.

It is clear that many countries do not possess country-specific information on the parameters necessary for calculating all carbon pools. However, perhaps blanks in the reporting tables also reflect political concerns, institutional and human capacity for reporting, or difficulties with the IPCC guidelines. Response rates for carbon in biomass were high from developing countries in all subregions except the Caribbean, while some large industrialized countries in North America and Oceania did not report biomass and carbon data at all or only incompletely, because they are currently in the process of finalizing their overall carbon inventories.

Overall, this report assesses carbon in all pools based on a fairly representative fraction of over half the global forest area for all components and more than 80 percent of total forest area for carbon in forest biomass.

Although countries were asked to provide information on carbon in forest soils in the top 30 cm, some countries used other threshold values. In these cases, the figures were adjusted to the common threshold of 30 cm.

Status

Carbon stock per hectare. Table 2.8 provides forest-area-weighted average carbon stocks per hectare for biomass, dead wood, litter and soils by region for the year 2005. Biomass and dead wood account for 44 and 6 percent of total forest ecosystem carbon respectively, while soils to a depth of 30 cm and litter contribute approximately 46 and 4 percent respectively.

Carbon stocks in forest biomass reach the highest values per hectare in Central and South America and Western and Central Africa, while East Asia, Northern Africa and Western and Central Asia report the lowest values.

IPCC (2000) estimated an average carbon stock of 86 tonnes per hectare in the vegetation of the world’s forests for the mid-1990s. The corresponding carbon in biomass and dead wood in forests reported here amounts to 82 tonnes per hectare for the year 1990 and to 81 tonnes per hectare for the year 2005.

Each cubic metre of growing stock equals different amounts of biomass and carbon in biomass in the regions. Table 2.9 provides average conversion factors compiled from country submissions. Globally, each cubic metre of growing stock equals, on average, 1 tonne of above-ground biomass, 1.3 tonnes of total biomass and 0.7 tonnes of carbon in biomass.

Total carbon stock. As a consequence of missing data, it is not possible to sum country data to obtain complete regional or global totals for carbon in any pool. Yet, in the context of climate change, these totals and their changes over the years are beyond mere academic interest. Figure 2.12 shows estimated total carbon stock for all pools by region. The figures were obtained by expanding reported data through the use of subregional estimates of carbon per hectare of forest, multiplied by the total forest area for each subregion.

The country reports indicate that global forest vegetation stores 283 Gt of carbon in its biomass, and an additional 38 Gt in dead wood, for a total of 321 Gt. A prior estimate by IPCC (2000) assumed 359 Gt of carbon in these pools. An assumed amount in FRA 2005 of only 10 tonnes per hectare of carbon in dead wood, on average, probably represents an underestimate and might be one reason for the discrepancy between the IPCC and country reports. Another may be exclusion of the biomass of undergrowth by some countries.

Soils (down to 30 cm) and litter contain 317 Gt of carbon according to country estimates in this assessment. There are large data gaps for major boreal forests with typically large amounts of soil carbon; thus the figures are likely underestimates.

The total carbon content of forest ecosystems for the year 2005 is, therefore, 638 Gt of carbon, which is more than the amount of carbon in the entire atmosphere. Roughly half of total carbon is found in forest biomass and dead wood combined, and half in soils and litter combined.

Trends

From 1990 to 2005, carbon in biomass decreased in Africa, Asia and South America, remained approximately constant in Oceania and increased in Europe and in North and Central America. Not all subregions followed this trend. Thus total biomass carbon stocks increased in East Asia and in Western and Central Asia, and decreased in Central America (Table 2.10). The decrease in overall biomass carbon stocks since 1990 was driven by South and Southeast Asia (33 percent decrease), Western and Central Africa (7 percent) and South America (6 percent).

If an average change of total biomass carbon stocks of at least 0.5 percent per year is defined as significant, then of a total of 146 countries and territories, 42 reported decreases, 55 increases and 49 reported no significant change in total carbon stocks within forest biomass.

In interpreting the reliability and meaning of these results, it is helpful to examine carbon stocks per hectare concurrently. Based on the same significance level, 99 countries reported no substantial change of carbon stock per hectare for the 1990–2005 period, 11 countries reported a decrease and 36 countries an increase.

Of the 42 countries communicating significant declines in total carbon stocks in forest biomass, only 17 percent also described lower levels of carbon stocks per hectare. In contrast, 78 percent – overwhelmingly developing countries – presumed virtually identical carbon stocks per hectare at the beginning and end of the 15-year period. In these countries, therefore, a reduction in total carbon stock in forest biomass reflects a net loss of forest area. Of the 20 countries reporting the highest absolute reduction in carbon stock, 15 did not report decreases in carbon stock per hectare. Essentially all the carbon stock reduction, therefore, is due to a net loss of forest area. Of the two countries with the highest decrease in carbon stocks, Brazil and Indonesia, only Indonesia recorded a significantly lower level of carbon per hectare in 2005, indicating that not only the forest area but also the biomass and carbon stock per hectare had decreased.

In contrast, of all countries reporting significant total carbon stock increases (mainly Chile, China, many European countries, India, Japan and the United States), 67 percent also documented substantially higher levels of carbon stock per hectare, indicating a higher likelihood that stocks were actually assessed more than once. For 25 percent of these countries, carbon stocks per hectare remained essentially the same, pointing to an increase in forest area as the main reason for increased total stocks.

www.greenfacts.org/en/forests/l-3/3-climate-change.htm#0p0

“I will have no man in my boat,” said Starbuck, “who is not afraid of a whale.” By this, he seemed to mean, not only that the most reliable and useful courage was that which arises from the fair estimation of the encountered peril, but that an utterly fearless man is a far more dangerous comrade than a coward.”

― Herman Melville, MOBY-DICK, OR, THE WHALE

Châssis n°WAUZZZ85ZEA905077

Estimation : 330.000 - 400.000 €

Invendu

Without great patrons you don’t have great restaurants and bars. This is Michael William Duvett from a 2017 portrait, a loyal McSorley’s customer for the past 63 years, and in his estimation that meant coming in 3 times a week, and drinking 6-8 beers each time. That means he may have consumed about 60k mugs of their famous ale. He was there as a loyal customer, and seemed happy as any man you’d hope to meet and share a pint of beer with, at a 163 year old Manhattan pub.

After a good winter in Mexico, the numbers of monarchs in our area appears to be good this summer. At least one generation has already bread here; this one being the second by my estimation. Female seen here ovipositing on some Common Milkweed in my pollinator garden.

Two pictures actually taken by yours truly! The model A (now confirmed to be a replica), taken at a local cruise night (under overcast skies) on Friday, May 26th and the historic gas station (on a bright sunny morning) taken around 10:30 AM on Wednesday, May 23rd in Odell, Illinois. Of course all this is pretty much irrelevant information………but hey, this is what I excel at - “irrelevant information”.

Antique automotive aficionados will probably notice a couple of, or a few inconsistencies in respect to this Ford Model A…….. which I believe is either a 1928 or 1929 model (I never can tell the difference between a ’28 or ’29 Ford).

I did spend a fair amount of time attempting to match the ambient lighting conditions which may be evident………but I hope not. Although Photoshop does incorporate a “gizmo” called, “Match Color” (Image > Adjustments > Match Color) but not only do you have to hunt forever to find this adjustment, after finding it and trying to use it, I have never gotten the results which it is intended to produce. A useless menu option in my estimation.

The gas station was built in 1932 along old U.S. Route 66, also known as the Will Rogers Highway, the Main Street of America or the Mother Road. US 66 was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The highway, which became one of the most famous roads in the United States, originally ran from Chicago, Illinois, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona before ending at Santa Monica, California, covering a total of 2,448 miles (3,940 km).

In 1997, the station was listed in the National Register of Historic Places and then, due to the collaborative efforts of the Illinois Route 66 Association, the Village of Odell, Illinois State Historic Preservation Office, the National Park Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program, and Hampton Inn Landmarks, it was restored to its former glory.

So there you have it folks - more information (much more) I suspect than you ever needed.

Hope you enjoy …………..

Here's something interesting.

Not only is the Merrion Square terminus closed and buses have to park on Merrion Street and the surrounding area but also seeing EV31 on the 15B. EV31 only came back into service two or three days ago.

Bit of history, EV31 started off as Donnybrook, got withdrawn in 2021 and now reentered service in Summerhill due to the PAs being unreliable which is great news to hear that the PAs are gone for a while. EV31 was seen by Velocity yesterday doing an evening 33.

EV31 reentered service along with EV26, EV29 and AX493 (which wasn't Donnybrook, it was Ringsend). The rest are yet to enter service, I'd assume on Monday or something.

In my opinion I wouldn't say this batch of buses would be here for long. My estimation is two or three months. We'll see anyway.

So here's EV31, parked up at the City Tour, 44/61 and 133/X bus stop on Merrion Street, with the blocked off entry to the terminus visible in the distance with the Guardians of the Galaxy protecting it (aka Gards), so here it is resting after doing a 15B service

Three icons of Dubai - Burj al Arab hotel (left), Jumeirah Beach Hotel (mid), and the Burj Khalifa (formerly Burj Dubai) in the background. As a rough estimation of how big it is - the Burj Dubai (the world's tallest building) is about 7 miles (about 11.5 km) away from the Burj al Arab (the world's tallest hotel).

"You provide the will, and the Häkke Zarinaea-D provides the way."

---

A simple near-exact recreation of the Häkke Zarinaea-D auto rifle from Destiny: TTK. The stock is an estimation since there's no side view picture of the weapon yet to my knowledge and the reference image doesn't give a clear view of it either.

Reference image: prntscr.com/7uj922

boottocht op de Bosporus

Boğazda tekne turu

boat trip on the Bosphorus

Kanlıca is een wijk aan de Aziatische kant van de Bosporus, in de wijk Beykoz in Istanbul. Kanlica staat bekend om zijn populaire specialiteit, yoghurt gegarneerd met basterdsuiker, aangeboden in lokale restaurants en cafés.

Tijdens het Ottomaanse tijdperk was Kanlıca een luxe plaats, waar nobele en rijke mensen herenhuizen aan het water bouwden (Turks: Yalı). Momenteel is het een van de zeldzame kustplaatsen aan de Aziatische kant van de Bosporus met de meest historische houten herenhuizen aan het water.

Volgens Ottomaanse schattingen van 1882 had het district Kanlica een totale bevolking van 9.891, bestaande uit 6.095 moslims, 3.043 Grieken, 708 Armeniërs, 41 katholieken en 4 Latijnen.

Kanlıca, İstanbul'un Beykoz ilçesinde, Boğaz'ın Anadolu yakasında bir mahalledir. Kanlıca, yerel restoran ve kafelerde sunulan pudra şekeri serpilmiş yoğurduyla ünlüdür.

Osmanlı döneminde Kanlıca, soylu ve varlıklı kişilerin deniz kıyısında konaklar (Türkçe: Yalı) inşa ettiği lüks bir yerleşim yeri olmuştur. Halihazırda Boğaziçi'nin Anadolu yakasında en tarihi ahşap yalılara sahip ender sahil yerlerinden biridir.

1882 Osmanlı tahminlerine göre Kanlıca kazasının 6.095'i Müslüman, 3.043'ü Rum, 708'i Ermeni, 41'i Katolik ve 4'ü Latin olmak üzere toplam nüfusu 9.891'dir.

Kanlıca is a neighborhood on the Asian side of the Bosphorus strait, in the Beykoz district of Istanbul. Kanlica is known for its popular specialty, yogurt topped with caster sugar, offered in local restaurants and cafés.

During the Ottoman era, Kanlıca has been an upscale locality, where noble and wealthy people constructed waterfront mansions (Turkish: Yalı). Currently, it is one of the rare seaside places on the Asian side of the Bosphorus with the most historic wooden waterfront mansions.

According to Ottoman estimations of 1882, the district of Kanlica had a total population of 9.891, consisting of 6.095 Muslims, 3.043 Greeks, 708 Armenians, 41 Catholics and 4 Latins.

Kailasa Temple, Ellora, Maharashtra, India

Kailasa Temple has been dubbed as ‘Cave 16’ of the Ellora Caves, and is notable for being the largest monolithic structure in the world that was carved out of a single piece of rock. Apart from the temple’s impressive size, it is also remarkable for its sculptures, as well as for the fine workmanship of its other architectural elements. The Kailasa Temple [known also as the Kailasanatha (which translates as ‘Lord of Kailasa’) Temple] is an ancient Hindu temple located in the western Indian region of Maharashtra.

A UNESCO World Heritage, this temple is part of the Ellora Caves, a religious complex consisting of 34 rock-cut monasteries and temples. This temple derives its name from Mount Kailasa, the Himalayan abode of the Hindu god Shiva. It is generally believed that this temple was constructed in the 8th century AD, during the reign of Krishna I, a ruler of the Rashtrakuta Empire. As the Kailasa Temple is supposed to represent the sacred mountain of Shiva, this temple was dedicated to this particular Hindu god. The construction of the Kailasa Temple is thought to have taken place between 757 and 783 AD. It has been commonly estimated that over this period of about two and a half decades, a total of 200,000 (other estimations range from 150,000 to 400,000) tons of rock were excavated out of a vertical basalt cliff in the Charanandri Hills to form the magnificent temple. It may be added that the temple was carved from top to bottom with only simple hammers and chisels.

On the ascent to Mount Blinnenhorn (Corno Cieco), 3374 m asl, border Canton of Valais, Switzerland and Italy. Roziann is estimation the remaining time to the summit (actually, approx. twenty minutes)

quatre-vingt dix-sept [97] de trois six cinq.

hah i'm so behind with my 365 at the moment. i think i'm missing three pictures? but i took this yesterday with melanie and i have another trippy one to upload from this day. just have to edit and it's going to take forever... plus i'm sort of super busy this week so should be fun!

oh and i thought i was gonna get my braces off sooooon but guess what, that mofo of an orthodontist says in a month he'll give an estimation of the date and it should be a few more appointments before then. in other words, not for a while.

Décrit comme l'un des appareils photo Leica les plus importants après l'UR-Leica, seuls 22 à 25 appareils photo de la série 0 ont été produits en 1923 à des fins de tests, soit deux ans avant le lancement public du premier appareil photo Leica !

La série Leica-0 n'est pas seulement le prototype du Leica I, mais le prototype de tous les appareils photo Leica 35 mm à ce jour.

Il sera mis aux enchères le mois prochain et devrait rapporter, suivant les estimations des experts plus de 2 140 000 $ 🤔

La dernière fois qu'un appareil photo Leica de la série 0 a été mis aux enchères (numéro 105), il s'est vendu pour un prix bien plus élevé : 15 millions de dollars !

Son prix estimé initial était similaire , mais la vente finale a été motivée par un facteur de rareté supplémentaire, car il a été personnellement utilisé par Oskar Barnack.

La série 0 du Leica numéro 121 n'a pas cet avantage, mais il s'agit toujours d'un élément incroyablement rare de l'histoire de l'appareil photo qui attirera sans aucun doute les collectionneurs.

Sa mise aux enchères est prévue le 7 octobre 2023 !

________PdF______________________________________

Described as one of the most important Leica cameras after the UR-Leica, only 22 to 25 Series 0 cameras were produced in 1923 for testing purposes, two years before the first camera was publicly launched Leica photo!

The Leica-0 series is not only the prototype of the Leica I, but the prototype of all Leica 35mm cameras to date.

It will be auctioned next month and should bring in, according to expert estimates, more than $2,140,000 🤔

The last time a Leica 0 series camera came up for auction (number 105), it sold for a much higher price: $15 million !

Its initial estimated price was similar , but the final sale was driven by an added rarity factor, as it was personally used by Oskar Barnack.

The Leica Series 0 number 121 does not have this advantage, but it is still an incredibly rare piece of camera history that will undoubtedly attract collectors.

Its auction is scheduled for October 7, 2023 !

California is a state in the Western Region of the United States that lies on the Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California to the south. With over 39 million residents across an area of 163,696 square miles (423,970 km2), it is the most populous U.S. state, the third-largest by area, and most populated subnational entity in North America.

Prior to European colonization, California was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre-Columbian North America. European exploration in the 16th and 17th centuries led to the colonization by the Spanish Empire. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821, following its successful war for independence, but was ceded to the United States in 1848 after the Mexican–American War. The California gold rush started in 1848 and led to social and demographic changes, including depopulation of Indigenous tribes. The western portion of Alta California was then organized and admitted as the 31st state in 1850, as a free state, following the Compromise of 1850.

The Greater Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay areas are the nation's second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, with 19 million and 10 million residents respectively. Los Angeles is the state's most populous city and the nation's second-most; California's capital is Sacramento. Part of the Californias region of North America, the state's diverse geography ranges from the Pacific Coast and metropolitan areas in the west to the Sierra Nevada mountains in the east, and from the redwood and Douglas fir forests in the northwest to the Mojave Desert in the southeast. Two-thirds of the nation's earthquake risk lies in California. The Central Valley, a fertile agricultural area, dominates the state's center. The large size of the state results in climates that vary from moist temperate rainforest in the north to arid desert in the interior, as well as snowy alpine in the mountains. Droughts and wildfires are an ongoing issue, while simultaneously, atmospheric rivers are turning increasingly prevalent and leading to intense flooding events—especially in the winter.

California has the nation's largest economy with a gross state product of $4.132 trillion as of Q3 2024. It is the world's largest sub-national economy, and would by most estimations rank 5th globally by nominal GDP. The state also leads the nation in agricultural output, led by its production of dairy, almonds, and grapes. With the busiest port in the country (Los Angeles), California plays a pivotal role in the global supply chain, hauling in about 40% of goods imported to the US. Notable contributions to popular culture, ranging from entertainment, sports, music, and fashion, have their origins in California. California is the home of Hollywood, the oldest and one of the largest film industries in the world, profoundly influencing global entertainment. The San Francisco Bay and the Greater Los Angeles areas are seen as the centers of the global technology and U.S. film industries, respectively.

My first attempt at a moonrise, was hoping for it to rise behind Kelston Roundhill but its 250m above sea level so my estimation was out. Also too much cloud.

Lilacs are the most sensuous of flowers in my estimation. The fragrance, the colors the voluptuousness. They are just starting to peak in my cool garden in the woods. I brought in a bouquet yesterday and the fragrance filled the house. I felt like I was sketching under the influence.

By my best estimations, my old greyhound Rex is 65 human years old now.

A pleasant surprise for the New Year was the appearance of this North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis), on the south side of the open water, West Pond, Thomson Marsh, Kelowna, BC.

As I see them* only once every two to three years, this is an occasion worth a few extra images! The first four shots show Mr/s Otter (a pretty large one in my estimation) chomping down his freshly caught small carp. In fact s/he dove and came up with at least three during my first observation....

The next three images show him/her picking up on the observer (paparazzo),

and, in the final eight frames, deciding to get a closer look....

The best shots are in this section, IMHO....

*That's not to say that they're not in the area; they're around and moving from one feeding spot to another; I just don't see them.... Other folks keep me informed....

Photographed with an Olympus Pen D and Ilford FP4. I biased the exposure towards the highlights.

a trip along the coast today with the son ,didn't produce the hoped for variety ,but we did manage to get up close to a couple of the commoner species ,this is one of the best starling shots i have ever taken in my estimation ,let the jury decide

Lake Ainsworth, at Lennox Head, is the closest fresh water lake to the ocean in the world. From my estimation, it would also have to be up there as one with the shortest visibility when underwater thanks to all of the tannins from the surrounding vegetation. It's a great spot and the water, albeit a little cold, is very refreshing.

From the archive – a tribute to my Grandfather: Brenner Pass at Brennerbad, Italy

This photo was taken by my Grandfather in the sixties of the last century before I was born.

While scanning some of my color slides and negatives I also scan his ones, because there were some great pictures in his archive. My Grandfather was a passionate amateur photographer and bought his first single-lens-reflex camera in 1952: an Exakta Varex VX with a 50mm Standard-Lens.

Unfortunately my Grandfather died too young at the age of 60 in the year 1981. So there was no chance for him to enjoy his retirement.

Here you can see a picture from him taken in the sixties during a summer holiday in the Alps. It was taken at the Brenner Pass near Brennerbad in Italy. While waiting for the train to pass by, there was obviously some time to take this picture.

He took this picture with his Exakta Varex VX equipped with a 50mm Zeiss-Lens.

Even today this completely manual camera stills works fine and from time to time I take this great old instrument, to make photos just like 60 years ago, which is very inspiring and pure. You don't need any batteries, but an external light meter or good estimation.

No camera handle's this kind of situation well. Birding will definatly give you all the diverse situations you can imagine. Many of them will not be ideal. You have to take the shot with these guys or you might not get one at all. Be prepared to swing and shoot you wont have time to worry about f-stops or shutter speed. I try to use and average based on the brightness of the light. ( an estimation )

2G9A5841.jpg (Specially from my archives for Michael and Born to be Wild members).

Karivoro is the Silver Back of Kwitunda group (Virunga National Park in Rwanda). This guy is 20 years old.

He looks so benevolent and full of wisdom. But don't try to get too much close of his children, he could, at once, show you his incredible strenght.

Meeting free gorillas in Rwanda was one of my biggest fantasy (done now, but don't worry i have many others :-)))

The last estimation that happened in 2014 took an inventory of 880 Mountain Gorillas. About 350 in Rwanda side, 450 in Uganda and less than a hundred in Congo where they are still threatened.

But Uganda and Rwanda keepers are actually establishing a new inventory and as many groups had enough babies, they think that the number of Wild Mountain Gorillas had increased. So, it's a little spark of optimism in a stupid world.

Circa 1966/67 North American Aviation (NAA) artist’s concept of the Saturn V launch vehicle on the pad. I think by Gary Meyer. Per Mr. Meyer’s website, he worked/did work for NAA 1961-63. He created this magnificent work during that time. That is, an earlier version of it. That image, amongst others, was featured in NAA’s ca. 1963 film, “The Apollo Mission”.

My date estimation is based on the paint scheme of the vehicle, which is basically that of AS-500F, in addition to the more representative LUT configuration. So, if I’m correct on the date - which I think I am - does it mean this is not Mr. Meyer’s work? Did another artist subsequently modify/update his original version? Or did he, in a freelance ‘post-1963’ capacity? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The earlier/original version is contained within:

archive.org/details/Jeff_Quitney_me/20171201-The+Apollo+M...

Credit: Jeff Quitney (THANK YOU Good Sir!!!), and the WONDERFUL Internet Archive website

Lower Moor Farm NR, Wiltshire, UK

Family : Corduliidae

Sub-Family : Corduliinae

Species : Cordulia aenea aenea

A medium-sized dragonfly with a total body length of 50-55mm and a wingspan of around 70mm. Widely distributed throughout much of Europe spreading eastwards through Russia to Korea and Japan. Flying time for this beautiful species is from May to early July. Although it likes sunny locations this dragonfly is often active in overcast weather, unlike many other species that 'go to ground' as soon as the sun disappears.

Preferred habitat is a freshwater pond situated within, or close to, deciduous woodland. Sparse emergent vegetation, scattered bankside trees, and a carpet of leaf litter on the pond floor offers the best conditions for breeding. Other habitats include gravel pits, slow-moving rivers, canals, and in southern Europe around alpine lakes. The larval period lasts from two to three years and the survival rate is extremely low. The number of larvae that develop into adults can be less than 1% according to some estimations.

All my insect pics are single, handheld shots of live insects.

My estimation, six feet from tip to tip.

Offshore Delray beach there was an incredible lightning storm tonight. At least once every second there were flashes so i grabbed my tripod and headed to the beach to see what i could get. As soon as i had my focus and a rough estimation of exposure, i just fired away trying to time the shutter with the lightning.

this was by far the best of the lot. it's hard to portray just how immense this was. much better when you press "L". Comments always greatly appreciated. :)

my first Explore!!! May 15th #349

My pulse rate is 79 to 80 beats per minute. 🌞

Baruch HaShem! !ברוך השם

Blessed is The Name!!

___________________________________

SpO2 Defined as Peripheral Oxygen Saturation

incenter.medical.philips.com/doclib/enc/fetch/586262/5864...

Introduction

The body's need for oxygen is certain. Its availability at a tissue level is some- times in doubt. Blood gas measurements provide critical information regard- ing oxygenation, ventilation, and acid-base status.

However, these measurements only provide a snapshot of the patient's condition taken at the time that the blood sample was drawn. It is well known that oxygenation can change very quickly. In the absence of continuous oxygenation monitoring, these changes may go undetected until it is too late.

Pulse oximeters measure blood oxygen saturation noninvasively and continuously.

What is SpO2?

A blood-oxygen saturation reading indicates the percentage of hemoglobin molecules in the arterial blood which are saturated with oxygen. The reading may be referred to as SaO2. Readings vary from 0 to 100%. Normal readings in a healthy adult, however, range from 94% to 100%.

The term SpO2 means the SaO2 measurement determined by pulse oximetry. As explained in the section "Considerations When Using Pulse Oximetry," under some circumstances pulse oximetry gives different readings, and the use of a different term indicates this.

How Does Pulse Oximetry Work?

Within the Sp02 sensor, light emitting diodes shine red and infrared light through the tissue. Most sensors work on extremities such as a finger, toe or ear. The blood, tissue and bone at the application site absorb much of the light. However, some light passes through the extremity. A light-sensitive detector opposite the light source receives it.

SpO2 Sensors

Most sensors work on extremities such as a finger, toe or ear. The sensor measures the amount of red and infrared light received by the detector and calcu- lates the amount absorbed. Much of it is absorbed by tissue, bone and venous blood, but these amounts do not change dramatically over short periods of time.

The amount of arterial blood does change over short periods of time due to pulsation (although there is some constant level of arterial blood). Because the arterial blood is usually the only light absorbing component which is changing over short periods of time, it can be isolated from the other compo- cents.

_______________________________________________

Oxygen Saturation As Presented in Wikipedia:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen_saturation_(medicine)

Oxygen saturation is a term referring to the fraction of oxygen-saturated hemoglobin relative to total hemoglobin (unsaturated + saturated) in the blood. The human body requires and regulates a very precise and specific balance of oxygen in the blood. Normal blood oxygen levels in humans are considered 95-100 percent. If the level is below 90 percent, it is considered low resulting in hypoxemia.[1] Blood oxygen levels below 80 percent may compromise organ function, such as the brain and heart, and should be promptly addressed. Continued low oxygen levels may lead to respiratory or cardiac arrest. Oxygen therapy may be used to assist in raising blood oxygen levels. Oxygenation occurs when oxygen molecules (O

2) enter the tissues of the body. For example, blood is oxygenated in the lungs, where oxygen molecules travel from the air and into the blood. Oxygenation is commonly used to refer to medical oxygen saturation.

Contents [hide]

1Definition

2Physiology

3Measurement

4Pulse oximetry

5Medical significance

6See also

7References

8External links

Definition[edit]

In medicine, oxygen saturation (SO2), commonly referred to as "sats," measures the percentage of hemoglobin binding sites in the bloodstream occupied by oxygen.[2] At low partial pressures of oxygen, most hemoglobin is deoxygenated. At around 90% (the value varies according to the clinical context) oxygen saturation increases according to an oxygen-hemoglobin dissociation curve and approaches 100% at partial oxygen pressures of >10 kPa. A pulse oximeter relies on the light absorption characteristics of saturated hemoglobin to give an indication of oxygen saturation.

Physiology

The body maintains a stable level of oxygen saturation for the most part by chemical processes of aerobic metabolism associated with breathing. Using the respiratory system, red blood cells, specifically the hemoglobin, gather oxygen in the lungs and distribute it to the rest of the body. The needs of the body's blood oxygen may fluctuate such as during exercise when more oxygen is required [3] or when living at higher altitudes. A blood cell is said to be "saturated" when carrying a normal amount of oxygen.[4] Both too high and too low levels can have adverse effects on the body.

Measurement[edit]

An SaO2 (arterial oxygen saturation, as determined by an arterial blood gas test[5]) value below 90% causes hypoxemia (which can also be caused by anemia). Hypoxemia due to low SaO2 is indicated by cyanosis. Oxygen saturation can be measured in different tissues:

Venous oxygen saturation (SvO2) is measured to see how much oxygen the body consumes. Under clinical treatment, a SvO2 below 60% indicates that the body is in lack of oxygen, and ischemic diseases occur. This measurement is often used under treatment with a heart-lung machine (extracorporeal circulation), and can give the perfusionist an idea of how much flow the patient needs to stay healthy.

Tissue oxygen saturation (StO2) can be measured by near infrared spectroscopy. Although the measurements are still widely discussed, they give an idea of tissue oxygenation in various conditions.

Peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) is an estimation of the oxygen saturation level usually measured with a pulse oximeter device. It can be calculated with pulse oximetry according to the following formula:

SpO2 = HbO2/ (HbO2 + Hb)

Example: Pulse Oximeter

Pulse oximetry is a method used to estimate the percentage of oxygen bound to hemoglobin in the blood. This approximation to SaO2 is designated SpO2 (peripheral oxygen saturation). The pulse oximeter consists of a small device that clips to the body (typically a finger, earlobe or an infants foot) and transfers its readings to a reading meter by wire or wirelessly. The device uses light-emitting diodes in conjunction with a light-sensitive sensor to measure the absorption of red and infrared light in the extremity. The difference in absorption between oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin makes the calculation possible.[5]

Medical significance

Effects of decreased oxygen saturation[6]

SaO2Effect

85% and aboveNo evidence of impairment

65% and lessImpaired mental function on average

55% and lessLoss of consciousness on average

Healthy individuals at sea level usually exhibit oxygen saturation values between 96% and 99%, and should be above 94%. At 1600 meters altitude (about one mile high) oxygen saturation should be above 92%.[7]

An SaO2 (arterial oxygen saturation) value below 90% causes hypoxia (which can also be caused by anemia). Hypoxia due to low SaO2 is indicated by cyanosis, but oxygen saturation does not directly reflect tissue oxygenation. The affinity of hemoglobin to oxygen may impair or enhance oxygen release at the tissue level. Oxygen is more readily released to the tissues (i.e., hemoglobin has a lower affinity for oxygen) when pH is decreased, body temperature is increased, arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2) is increased, and 2,3-DPG levels (a byproduct of glucose metabolism also found in stored blood products) are increased. When the hemoglobin has greater affinity for oxygen, less is available to the tissues. Conditions such as increased pH, decreased temperature, decreased PaCO2, and decreased 2,3-DPG will increase oxygen binding to the hemoglobin and limit its release to the tissue.[8]

Here is my first model of 2022! This is a GE 30 Ton steeple cab. According to my research, only two of these were built, and were for the Hutchinson & Northern (Numbered #1 and #2). #1 still exists to this day, and occasionally operates at the Orange Empire railroad museum in Perris California.

This model is powered by a circuit cubes system, with the Bluetooth battery cube in the cab and a cubit motor in each truck driving the outermost axles. This model has been in progress for a while now, and I recently got that spark of inspiration to go and finish it.

As for most of my models, I don't have an estimation of when it will be built in physical bricks, but since it has a fairly low part count, and is easily R40 compatible, I could easily start and complete the build process quickly, and have it running on my layout.

Prototype photos: www.rrpicturearchives.net/locopicture.aspx?id=147184

‘Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement’

Rita Mae Brown (but I heard this from my friend Brian)

Over the last decade I have taken a score of cross-country hikes up the East Fork of Willow Creek starting at the campground on the goat path we call 299. In that time the furthest I’d ever made it up this branch was about a third of the way. Each time I’d turn around it was with a bit of reluctance and a feeling that I was missing something cool beyond my reach. I knew I couldn’t get up and back in a day but then I thought, what if I dropped in from near Horse Mountain and just went straight down, one way?

I spent a week viewing topo maps and Google Earth as well as doing a little reconnaissance from Horse Mountain looking for access points into the drainage. I even created a formula for estimating the timing based on my accumulated data and past experience. With this, and a consultation from my magic eight ball, my estimations were that I could complete the trek in approximately 12 hours. It was going to be tough but with an early jump I’d be out before dark. I set the date for the last Saturday in May. Amanita was coming to the coast that night, so I asked her to meet me on 299 at nine. If I got out early, I’d cracked the two Boont Ambers I’d already stashed in my pack, catch a little buzz and watch the cars drive by as I reflected on what I knew would be a memorable day, no matter what happened.

But the forecast deteriorated for Saturday (heavy rains) so I recalibrated for Sunday, and instead of picking me up Amanita wanted to go. I warned her that my calculations could be a bit off and it was going to be grueling, but she said she had stamina and wanted to take part. Duly warned with written disclosures in triplicate, notarized and sent to the county recorders office, I agreed. I was actually excited to share the experience with a like minded soul. And she is.

The weather was cloudy, which was perfect for photography, and though our jump wasn’t as swift as we’d hoped, we left the trailhead by 8:30 and made it to Horse Mountain Creek by ten. The creek was beyond any expectations and running strong! The hop down to the East Fork was a series of easy cascades through a very diverse forest peppered by large boulders. Right along the banks were azaleas, and even a few dogwoods.

An hour in, my left wader sprung a leak filling my shoe with water. No matter, I knifed the boot above the sole to allow water to drain when on land. My foot would be wet, but I could deal with it. What were my options anyway?

A small picturesque waterfall greeted us at the confluence, and though we were a little further behind, the day was still young and photo ops were everywhere. We moved down the creek with fun anticipation for what was around each corner.

But time was ticking. We did have to keep moving.

The upper section was a bit narrower than anticipated, and the respites of benches and bars diminished. I’d checked the USGS and Google maps, but at 80 foot intervals the story played differently with boots in the creek. The consequences of this weren’t lost on me. But I knew the lower section and it wasn’t going to be that difficult in the dark, and the hike was absolutely going to end in the dark, which was fine. I still felt in control.

As the drainage remained narrow and our progress relegated to either animal trails or the creek, another hurdle came into play: downed trees. The story was always the same, an old grown tree comes down and takes out what it can before resting over the creek. Then, when winter waters swell, any debris coming downstream backs up and creates what seemed like an unstable mortar to the old growth bricks. It created the worst footing, and like the side of a shampoo bottle, as we descended it was rinse, lather, repeat. Our ETA kept getting later.

As we came over a small ridge that pushed the creek to the right, I saw what I’d anticipated we’d find up here, a significant waterfall. The entire creek dumped about 25 feet into what was the largest swim hole we’d witness on the trip. Neither of us felt all that fatigued, so there was little resistance to stopping and pulling out the cameras. We took a bunch of pictures, rehydrated, and ate. I got out my Satellite app and checked our progress.

It was time to have a conversation……she already knew.

At this point the scenery may have been the most consistently beautiful, but the thought of moving quickly was taking a stronghold. The day had yielded to the evening, and shortly afterward the evening sounds went silent, minus the perceived infinity of the creek.

The last of the light afforded Amanita and I a view of this robust little feeder creek that had split and was spilling two identical waterfalls into the main stem. That was my last picture of the trip, and we were not even close to done. My eyes adjusted to the waning light until it couldn’t any longer.

With the grip of night, things changed. First, without the visual stimulation my senses started focusing on other things, like cumulative fatigue and the pain from a couple of spills I had taken a few hours back. I also starting feeling increased groin tightness (I could barely lift my left leg) which added to the challenge of the obstacle course ahead. Secondly, my depth perception went to shit. With the understory being between knee and chest level, the headlamps would illuminate the top of the brush but its light didn’t always penetrate to the forest floor, so where we were stepping was was often dark and precarious.

Maybe it was because she’d grown up in the forest, but Amanita seemed to move as well in the dark as she did during the day. In contrast, my movements were not dissimilar to a drunken sailor in the middle of a three day shore leave. I took roughly a half dozen spills that night, the worst being slipping off a rock and free falling onto my backpack right into the creek. Due to the energy it was taking to get back, even with temps nearing 50 I never felt cold, though I knew stopping would change that. We just kept moving.

It’s funny. During the day, even when the canopy was dense, the light from above provided a feeling of openness. At night that all went away. A headlamp looking up ended at the tree canopy and it created a sense of being in a tunnel. When Amanita and I separated the view of her light downstream only enhanced this sense, and when a curve in the creek took that away and the only light present was my own, it almost felt claustrophobic. It was a weird feeling. Surreal.

At ‘who the fuck knows’ o’clock, totally beat up and ready to be back, I found a route to the left of the creek that clearly was the path of least resistance. In the dark I had no real reference but it felt familiar. As I returned to the creek I thought, if there is a large patch of Maiden’s Hair ferns next to a swift rapid, then finally I’d know where we were; and there it was, our first reference point!

We were only an hour away (if this were daytime).

Because of the darkness, even though we were getting closer, finding known reference points was hard. A little later I started sensing we were closer and I told Amanita to stay near and look for a flat spot to the left. At that point there would be a small trail and that would take us to the campground. We never found that trail, but Amanita found another one and since it wasn’t bush whacking or a water crossing, we were taking it! Running on fumes with my head down, I heard the best words of the day, ‘is that a picnic table?’.

We were back!

Within a minutes we were walking on the road, wet and exhausted, but relieved. The walk through the campground would take 15 minutes. I dropped my pack, opened the back, pulled out a Boont, cracked it and handed it to Amanita. We split it while talking about our takes on what became an epic adventure. We guessed what time it was. She estimated 1:45 AM and I said 1:22 (the over-under was 1:34).

We finished the beer just as we got to the car. As I sat on the road two cops drove by on 299 and shined their lights on us. They apparently deemed us harmless (it was true). I asked Amanita the time and she said it was 4:00 AM sharp, which surprised us both. Too tired to change out of my wet clothes I crawled into Amanita’s car, cranked the heat, closed my eyes and thought about what we’d just done. We’d hiked virtually non-stop for 19 1/2 hours, including eight in darkness. We’d literally hiked May into June. I was now cold.

She dropped me off at my car on Horse Mountain, I transferred my gear and headed home following her taillights. As I dropped off the mountain, the pastels of morning started whispering. My drive home was loaded with emotion. I felt I’d potentially placed somebody I care about into harms way; I had accomplished something most folks would never do; Questions were answered that I’d been asking for a decade (they were important to me); and I had just seen places that possibly nobody had been to in years.

Like I said, no matter what happened, I’d set this day up the be memorable, and in a weird way, I was proud of that.

As we hit the coast the sun rose over the same mountains that had just fed our misadventure.

The views are admittedly not very good on either side of Paradise Ridge... there was a fire lookout at the peak once upon a time, but now even those views are blocked by trees! It's more about the experience now, by my estimation. This is looking to Mineral King... note the snow.

Now posted over at Eurobricks!

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love minifigs. This is probably the most fun I've had messing about with minifigs in a long time. I enjoyed this so much I've actually done two sets of the figs. I'll post the others in the new year. Not one of these figs has an off the shelf combination of legs and torso.

This must be the first 100% purist set of figs I've posted, I've always loved Brickwarriors, Brickarms, eclipse, CB and pretty much all of the aftermarket stuff.

LIST OF FIGS

Entertainer

Elven Wardancer

Clan Chieftain

Necromancer

Stone-Cutter

GameKeeper

Blacksmith

Drow Underdark Paladin

Tomb King

Serving Girl

Valkyrie

Reptrian Sentinel

Nomad Raider

Valyrio Palace Guard

Northern Bannerman

Gorgon

Some Background

I did a quick estimation and reckon I've used elements from at least these themes.

City, CMF, LOTR, STAR WARS, Prince of Persia, Indiana Jones, Monster Fighters, Lego Movie, Castle, POTC, MARVEL, DC, Lone Ranger, Harry Potter, Ninjago, Artic, CHIMA, Pharoahs Quest.

For a while now this hobby has been getting more and more irritating. I rarely have time off work at the moment due to extended shifts and when I do the weather is invariably poor. Add to that the lack of anything interesting happening on the rails, particularly anywhere near me, and my interest has slowly dwindled.

A fortnight ago, having lost my Father a week or so earlier, I was looking for something to do on a rest day that would cheer me up. An excellent forecast for the S&C saw me take a 2 hour drive, followed by a 30 minute walk, for a one shot move at Garsdale as there was a red Tug on the gypsum. Stood in a field for an hour in virtually unbroken sunshine. The one lump of cloud eased over the sun when the train was about 5 minutes away in my estimation based on its RTT progress and I was confident it would pass by. Then I heard the train coming. This out of focus, unedited shot was the train at 200mm. I knew it was all I'd get as I was set up for 70mm but I took it out of annoyance. I didn't even bother raising the camera to my eye and taking the real thing. The sun came back out as the last wagon passed me and that did it for me as I vowed then to f*** it off big-style. I can now concentrate on more fulfilling ways of spending time, such as watching my granddaughter grow up and tinkering with motorbikes, as opposed to spending time, effort and fuel money with little or no reward.

Good luck to all.

A trip to master Greybeard’s house was always an ordeal. They might say say nice things about him off in the court of Northania, but I’m quite sure that none of those fools had ever spent more than a minute in his presence. Me on the other hand, I’d had more than my fill.

But here I am again, for all my complaining on the road for another day lectures, and insults from a cranky old man who’s far past his prime. But I know it’ll be worth it, because one day I’ll be the best. One day, I’ll be the teacher. One day, I won’t have to take orders from an old man – I’ll be giving them. I wonder what my pupils will call me…

Well, I decided to take a stab at some castle building - an area where I don't really have a lot of expertise - and so reworked my first castle themed creation I posted over on Mocpages (not visible here on flickr due to it being terrible) The reworked version presents my first real foray into a theme I'm looking forward to building in again. I hope you enjoy!

More views and a look at the previous version can be found over on mocpages

Soli Deo Gloria!

Mamiya C220

80mm f2.8

Fomapan 100

Micanopy Cemetery, Florida

"Mr. Thomas McCredie, one of the oldest and most beloved citizens of Micanopy, died at his home on Sunday night about 10 o'clock after an illness of several weeks' duration with an affection of the stomach. Deceased had been a resident of Micanopy since the place was a mere village and no man stood higher in the estimation of the community. "

Part of a wonderful day with Jane. This wedding gown was from her wardrobe it was magical wearing it and being a bride. A wedding gown in my estimation is the most feminine of gowns to wear.

Stay Safe and well