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External cladding working its way up the South Central Tower in Southside, Birmingham city centre, August 2023
A recent addition to the Australian scene is the internal LCD mirrors instead of conventional external mirrors.
The power and persistence of Nature is demonstrated anew on man- made, space age technology. At Launch Pad 39B, Flicker Woodpeckers apparently decided to test the suitability of the Space Shuttle Discovery's external tank for a future home. Their "survey" resulted in about 71 holes ranging in size from 1/2 to 4 inches (1.27-10 cm.) in diameter in the tank's thermal protection foam insulation. Managers are assessing the damage and will determine what repairs need to be made. Discovery was slated for a liftoff on June 8 on Mission STS-70.
Image from NASA, originally appeared on this site: science.ksc.nasa.gov/gallery/photos/
Reposted by San Diego Air and Space Museum
Nikon D800E + 70-200mm F/2.8 Nikkor Lens vs. Sony A7r + 35mm F/2.8 Carl Zeiss Lens! Both in 45surfer bracket configurations, with Sony NEX-6 cameras attached to the upper cameras with a bracket, for shooting stills and video at the same time! Guess which is heavier! :) The new 45surfer rig is a bit lighter, but that will change a bit when Sony comes out with longer zooms for the Sony A7r.
Both are great! The Sony NEX-6 bracketed to the D800E has the 50mm F/1.8 lens on it, while the Sony NEX-6 bracketed to the Sony A7R has the 35mm F/2.8 lens on it!
Check out some video!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiOMrZIEzg8
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7gq_gCk0jE
The Sony ILCE7R A7r rocks! Was using the B+W 49mm Kaesemann Circular Polarizer MRC Filter on partly cloudy day with some intermittent sun, but mostly cloudy. Check out the low glare off the rocks and water and dramatic, polarizwer-enhanced sky! Super sharp images and crystal-clear pictures!
Was testing the Sony HVL-F60M External Flash on the Sony A7r. You can see it going off in some of the photos (check the exif if in doubt)--worked great, but it overheated a bit sooner than my Nikon flash on the D800E. But it's all good!
Here's some epic goddess video shot at the same time as stills using my 45surfer method/philosophy:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUbE0ay7UeI
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eC-M9fVwk9k
Join Johnny Ranger McCoy's youtube channel for goddess video shot @ the same time as the stills with the Sony A7 !
www.youtube.com/user/bikiniswimsuitmodels
Beautiful swimsuit bikini model goddess on a beautiful December Malibu afternoon! Shot it yesterday. :) Love, love, love the new Sony A7 R!
Was a fun test shoot. Many, many more to come!
All the best on your Epic Hero's Journey from Johnny Ranger McCoy!
Join my facebook!
www.facebook.com/45surfHerosJourneyMythology
Follow me on facebook www.facebook.com/elliot.mcgucken !
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the model, the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
After the Falklands War, Argentina was not only left with a much reduced aerial strike force – budget restraints, inner and external political pressure as well as delivery boycotts plagued the country for years in its efforts to rejuvenate the air force. Recent years were troublesome, too. In early 2005 the top seventeen brigadiers of the Air Force, including the Chief of Staff, Brigadier General Carlos Rohde, were sacked by President Néstor Kirchner following a scandal involving drug trafficking through Ezeiza International Airport. The primary concerns of the Air Force as of 2010 were the establishment of a radar network for control of the country's airspace, the replacement of its older combat aircraft (Mirage III, Mirage V) and the incorporation of new technologies. The possibility of purchasing surplus French Air Force Mirage 2000C fighters, like the option chosen by the Brazilian Air Force, had been considered.
As of 2010, budgetary constraints continued, leading to the disbanding of the Boeing 707 transport squadron and maintenance problems for half of the C-130 Hercules fleet. In August 2010 a contract was signed for two Mi-17E helicopters, plus an option on a further three, to support Antarctic bases. All the time, though, the FAA had been seeking to replace its ageing force with a more capable and more serviceable modern aircraft. Argentina’s Super Étendard fighters, which had been used to launch Exocet missiles in the 1980s and still served, come from France. Its Mirage III/ V/ “Nesher” fighters were originally bought second-hand from Israel and Peru, but they had deteriorated badly. Its A-4P Skyhawk models were originally sold to Argentina by the USA but phased out in 1999, the more modern A-4AR “Fightinghawks” were rebuilt and modernized ex USMC A-4Ms. What was left of those deliveries made up the bulk of the Argentinian jet fleet.
The acquisition of Spanish Mirage F1Ms, IAI Kfir Block 60s from Israel and Saab Gripen E/Fs from Sweden was considered, but all of those deals stalled, for various reasons. The Mirage F1 deal was scrapped by the Spanish government after pressure of the UK to not assist in FAA modernization over tensions between the countries over the Falkland Islands. The UK also managed to successfully veto the sale of Gripen E/Fs, as 30% of the Gripen's parts were manufactured there. British diplomacy furthermore worked to delay Argentina’s proposed Super Étendard modernization. To make matters worse, despite steadily worsening relations with Britain under the Obama administration, the USA would neither sell Argentina any jet fighters, nor supply spare parts or engines.
This only left Argentina with the original source for its Nesher/Dagger/Finger fighters as a reliable and (moreover) affordable option: Israel. The (realistic) object of desire was the successor of the Nesher, the Kfir, which entered service with the IAF in 1975. The Kfir was, like the Nesher, a Mirage III/V derivative, but a major improvement. Substantial structural changes had been made and IAI replaced the original Atar 9C of French origin with a more powerful J79 turbojet, which had been used at the time by IDF F-4 Phantom IIs of American origin, too. The Kfir received during its career progressive modifications to its airframe (in the form of canards which improved the fighter’s handling considerably), radar, electronics, and weapons, and these upgrades continued even after the Kfirs were retired from Israeli service in the late 1990s, on behalf of export customers like Colombia, Ecuador, and Sri Lanka.
The Kfir’s retirement in Israeli service led to a great number of surplus airframes with considerable flying hours left, so that the Kfir C.10/Block 60, a dedicated export variant with many updates, was developed on their basis and offered to foreign customers. These machines carried modern multi-mode radars and electronics on par with contemporary F-16 Block 40/50s, giving them the ability to use beyond visual range aerial weapons, advanced short range AAMs, and a variety of precision strike weapons. However, it would take a brave Kfir pilot to face a Eurofighter Typhoon in single combat… even so, the late an updated Kfirs were capable and redoubtable fighters.
Their combat radius was a bit short, though, due to the thirsty and somewhat outdated J79 engine, but their aerial refueling capability compensated for this flaw and made them well-suited to intimidation and presence patrols. The Kfir’s relatively small price tag made it, despite the airframe’s overall age, very attractive for small nations with limited defense budgets – and consequently it attained Argentinian interest.
Argentinian negotiations went so far that Israel not only agreed to sell 18 revamped Kfir fighters from ex-IDF overstock, IAI also offered to adapt the airframes to a different engine, the French Atar 9K-50 afterburning turbojet, which were not part of the deal, though. This appeared like a backward roll, since the Kfir was originally constructed to replace the French Atar 9C with the American J79 in Israel’s Mirage III/V copy – but this move was the only way to provide Argentina with a suitable engine that was freely available on the Western world market without British or American bans and interventions.
The result of this deal became the so-called Kfir C.9, even though this was just an internal designation at IAI and never officially adopted in order to avoid political problems. In the course of 2013 and 2014, the engine-less Kfir airframes were delivered as knocked-down kits via ship to Argentina. At Argentina’s nationalized aircraft manufacturer Fábrica Argentina de Aviones SA (FAdeA) in Córdoba they were mated with the new engines, imported separately from France, and equipped with imported and domestic avionics. In Argentinian service and to the public, the aircraft became known as FAdeA “IA-96A” and was, keeping up the FAA’s tradition to christen its fleet of various Mirage III derivatives after domestic animals, called “Quique” (lesser grison).
The IA-96A/Kfir C.9 was specifically tailored to the Argentinian needs and restrictions. Despite wishes to buy Kfirs according to the more versatile and capable C.10 export standard with a modern Elta EL/M-2032 multi-mode radar, Argentina’s highly limited defense budget and other equipment constraints imposed by foreign suppliers and governments only allowed the procurement of what basically was a re-engined Kfir C.7 with some minor updates.
In contrast to the Kfir C.10, the older C.7 was only outfitted with the Elta EL/M-2021B radar. This was a multi-mode radar, too, which still offered air-to-air and air-to-surface capability, but it was less powerful than the C.10 standard and offered only a relatively short range of max. 46 mi/74 km.
Like the Israeli C.7, the C.9 had inflight refueling capability through a fixed but removable probe, and it featured a HOTAS-configured cockpit. Individual updates were a new, frameless wrap-around windshield for a better field of view, two 127×177mm MFDs in the cockpit, full HMD capability, a simple TAV38 laser rangefinder in a small fairing under nose, and improved avionics to deploy state-of-the-art guided weapons of Israeli and French origin (see below).
Outwardly, the C.9’s biggest difference to the original C.7 configuration – even though it was not very obvious – was the modified rear fuselage, which had to be changed in order to cover the longer and more slender Atar 9K-50 engine and its afterburner. In fact, the original IAI Nesher blueprints and toolings had been dusted off and used to produce these new parts.
Since the lighter Atar 9K-50 would not need the J79’s extra cooling and had a lower air mass flow, the Kfir’s characteristic auxiliary air intake at the fin’s root as well as several prominent air scoops along the fuselage disappeared, giving the aircraft a more streamlined look. As a positive side effect, this measure, together with the slimmer fuselage, improved aerodynamics, compensating for the slight reduction of overall thrust through the engine swap, and the longer fuselage made the aircraft directionally more stable, so that no fin fillet was necessary anymore. With the resulting short fin, the IA-96’s profile resembled that of the South African Atlas Cheetah E a lot, even though the latter were modernized Mirage IIIs and not converted IAI Kfirs. Compared with the Kfir C.7, top speed and service ceiling were slightly reduced, but the Atar 9K-50 consumed considerably less fuel, so that the unrefueled range of the short-legged Kfir with its thirsty J79 was markedly improved. The new engine was furthermore more responsive, so that overall performance and agility of the IA-96A remained on par with the Kfir or became even slightly better.
Beyond the aircraft order, Argentina also procured a modernized weapon arsenal from Israel for its new multi-role fighter generation. This included an undisclosed number of Derby medium range air-to-air missiles with an active-radar seeker, BVR capability and a range of 28 mi (45 km), Gabriel III anti-ship missiles with fire-and-forget capabilities and a range of more than 40 mi (60 km), as well as Griffin LGB guidance sets that could be added to various standard iron and cluster bombs. Furthermore, ten second-hand Thomson-CSF ATLIS II laser/electro-optical targeting pods were procured from France. Even though these pods lacked FLIR capabilities and were limited to being primarily a daylight/clear-weather system, they gave the Quique, in combination with the Griffin LGBs, full precision strike capability, esp. against ship targets – a clear political statement into the British direction.
The Quique fleet was supposed to replace all the older FAA types. With the roll-out of the first IA-96A in early 2015, all vintage FAA Mirages were officially decommissioned in November of the same year. Furthermore, all FAA’s A-4 Skyhawks were grounded as of January 2016, too (also for the lack of spares), even though a handful A-4ARs remained airworthy as a reserve and the rest in storage. Quique deliveries ended in September 2017 with the eighteenth machine, and all of them were allocated to FAA’s Grupo 5 de Caza at Villa Reynolds, 200 km (125 ml) in the South of Córdoba, where they had been assembled. However, since becoming operational, the aircraft were frequently deployed to other Argentinian air bases, including El Plumerillo Military Air Base in the Mendoza Province at the Chilean border and Rio Gallegos in Patagonia, in reach of the Malvinas/Falklands Islands.
If future budgets allow it, ten more IA-96A/Kfir C.9 might be ordered soon in order to replace the Argentinian Navy’s vintage Super Étendard fleet (which has been, since the decommissioning of ARA Veinticinco de Mayo in the late Eighties, land-based, anyway). The acquisition of four to six two-seaters, also modernized ex-IDF aircraft following the IA-96A pattern, with full attack capability and tentatively designated IA-96B, has been under consideration, too.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 15.65 m (51 ft 4 in)
Wingspan: 8.22 m (27 ft 0 in)
Height: 4.55 m (14 ft 11 in)
Wing area: 34.8 m² (375 ft²)
Empty weight: 7,285 kg (16,061 lb)
Gross weight: 11,603 kg (25,580 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 16,200 kg (35,715 lb)
Powerplant:
1× SNECMA Atar 9K50C-11 afterburning turbojet engine,
49.2 kN (11,100 lbf) dry thrust and 70.6 kN (15,900 lbf) with afterburner
Performance:
Maximum speed: 2,350 km/h (1,460 mph, 1,270 kn) / Mach 2.2 at high altitude
1,390 km/h (860 mph; 750 kn) at sea level
Combat range: 1,300 km (810 mi, 700 nmi), clean, with internal fuel only
Ferry range: 2,600 km (1,600 mi, 1,400 nmi) w. three 1,300 l (340 US gal; 290 imp gal) drop tanks
Service ceiling: 17,000 m (56,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 233 m/s (45,900 ft/min)
Armament:
2× Rafael-built 30 mm (1.18 in) DEFA 553 cannon with 140 RPG
Nine external hardpoints for a maximum payload of 5,775 kg (12,732 lb) and a wide range of ordnance, including bombs such as the Mark 80 series, unguided air-to-ground rocket pods, Paveway and Griffin series of LGBs, guided air-to-ground missiles like the AGM-65 Maverick, and AIM-9 Sidewinders, Shafrir/Python/Derby-series AAMs
The kit and its assembly:
This what-if model was inspired by a short entry about the IAI Kfir I had found at Wikipedia: a proposed C.9 variant for Argentina, as a revamped and re-engined C.7, even though the entry lacked any further details and I was not able to dig anything about the C.9 up in the WWW. However, I tried to interpret this scarce basis and deduct a model from it, because the story was/is so good. Having recently read a lot about the Argentinian Mirage III/Nesher fleet and the Malvinas/Falklands conflict helped a lot, too. With many import limitations imposed by Great Britain and the USA as well as Argentina’s highly restricted budget, I eventually settled upon the idea of a rather simple, re-engined Kfir of C.7 standard, so that outwardly not much had to be changed – a better radar would have been desirable (Block 60 standard), but I’d assume that this would not have been possible with Argentina’s highly limited funds that already prevented updates to the existing and rather vintage (if not outdated) aircraft fleet.
The basis for the model is a Hasegawa Kfir, which I bought without box (and it turned it to lack the dashboard). The Hasegawa Kfir is a C.2 and the model is very similar to the Italeri kit (a C.7, but it is virtually identical), but it has a much better fit, goes together more easily and calls for considerably less PSR. As another bonus, the Hasegawa kit comes with a wider range of ordnance and also has the construction benefit of a connecting ventral “floor”, which makes the fuselage more stable and therefor suitable for my modification (see below).
The different engine for the C.9 variant was the biggest challenge – the Kfir’s rear fuselage is wider and shorter than the Mirage III’s with the Atar engine. These are just subtle differences at 1:72 scale, but not easy to realize: I needed a completely new rear fuselage! As a convenient solution, I dug out a PM Model Nesher (which is no Nesher at all, just a poor Mirage III at best) from the donor bank and let the saw sing. This kit is horrible in many ways (really, stay away!), but it’s tail section and the jet nozzle, pimped with an afterburner interior, were acceptable as conversion fodder.
Blending the (crappy!) Mirage III parts into the crisp Hasegawa Kfir took some serious PSR, though, including the need to fill 3mm wide gaps along the delta wing roots and bridging disparate fuselage shapes and diameters at the implant’s intersections. The Kfir’s fin was re-transplanted and lost its characteristic auxiliary air intake for the J79 engine, so that the profile became more Mirage III/V-esque. Due to the longer afterburner section, the brake parachute fairing had to be extended, too. The longer (just 3-4mm), more slender tail section and the cleaner fin change the Kfir’s look markedly – for the better, IMHO, and the model could also depict an Atlas Cheetah E!
Further minor mods include an in-flight refueling receptacle, scratched from wire and white glue for the tip, the modified windshield (the OOB part was simply sanded smooth and polished back again to transparency) and the ordnance; the Gabriel ASMs were created on the basis of a photograph, and they once were AIM-54 Phoenix AAMs from a Matchbox F-14, modified with new wings, a blunted tip and a pitot made from thin wire. Their pylons were once parts of F-14 wing root pylons from an Italeri F-14, with launch rails made from styrene profiles. The Derby AAMs are heavily modified Matchbox Sidewinders with an extended, pointed tip, mounted onto the OOB pylons. The ventral drop tank comes from the Hasegawa kit.
Painting and markings:
This was quite a challenge, because I wanted to apply something modern and plausible, yet avoid standard paint schemes. In fact, a realistic Argentinian Kfir C.9 from the late 2010s would probably have been painted in an overall pale grey or in two pale shades of grey with little contrast (as applied to the very late Mirage IIIs and the A-4ARs), with subdued low-viz markings and no roundels at all. I found this boring, but I also did not want to apply a retro SEA scheme, as used on the Nesher/Dagger/Finger during the Falklands War.
After turning over many options in my mind, I settled upon a two-tone grey livery, somewhat of a compromise between air superiority and attack operations, esp. over open water. The pattern was inspired by the livery of late Turkish RF-4Es, which were supposed to be painted in FS 36118 over an FS 36270 (or 36375, sources are contradictive and pictures inconclusive) overall base with a rising waterline towards the rear and the light undersides color spilling over to the wings’ upper surfaces. This scheme is simple, but looks pretty interesting, breaks up the aircraft’s outlines effectively, and it could be easily adapted to the delta-wing Kfir.
However, I changed two details in favor of an IMHO better camouflage effect at height. Firstly, the fin’s upper section was painted in the light grey (it’s all dark grey on the Turkish Phantoms), what IMHO reduces the strong contrast against the sky and the horizon. For a similar reason I secondly raised the underside’s light grey waterline towards the nose, so that the upper dark grey area became an integral anti-glare panel in front of the windscreen and the aircraft show less contrast from a frontal point of view. On the Turkish F-4s, the dark grey slopes downwards for a wrap-around area directly behind the radome.
I used Humbrol 125 (FS 36118, a pretty bluish interpretation of “Gunship Gray”) and 126 (FS 36270, US Medium Grey) as basic colors. The Gunship Gray was, after a light washing with black ink, post-shaded with FS 35164 (Humbrol 144), giving the dark grey an even more bluish hue, while the Medium Grey was treated with FS 36320.
The cockpit was painted in Camouflage Grey (Humbrol 156), the landing gear with the wells as well as the air intake ducts in standard gloss white (Humbrol 22). The Derby AAMs became light grey (Humbrol 127) with a beige radome tip, while the Gabriel ASM received a multi-color livery in black, white and light grey.
Decals and markings are purely fictional - as mentioned above, I’d assume that a real-world FAA Kfir would these days only carry minimal national markings in the form of a simple fin flash, no roundels at all and just a tiny tactical code (if at all), and everything toned-down or black. However, I wanted the model to be identified more easily, so I added some more markings, including small but full-color FAA roundels on fuselage and wings as well as full-color fin flashes, all procured from an Airfix Pucará sheet. The “Fuerza Aérea Argentina” inscription on the nose came from a Colorado Decals Mirage III/V sheet. The tactical code was taken from an Airfix sheet for an Argentinian Mirage III – it’s actually “I-016”, just turned upside down for a (much) higher/later number. 😉
After shading effects, the model only received little weathering in the form of graphite around the jet nozzle and the guns under the air intakes. Then it was sealed with matt acrylic varnish.
In the end a rather subtle conversion – even though the different rear fuselage was a major PSR stunt! The most obvious modification is probably the intake-less fin? The transplanted, different rear fuselage is hard to recognize and only true Mirage/Kfir experts might tell the changes – or the model is directly mistaken for a Mirage V fighter bomber? And even though the model carries a grey-in-grey scheme which I originally wanted to avoid, I think that the bluish touch and the integral, wavy pattern still look interesting?
However, I also like the story behind this whif that has real life roots – the real Kfir C.9 just failed to materialize because of lack of funding, and its introduction would certainly have had severe consequences for the unstable Argentinian-British relationships, since this capable aircraft would certainly pose a serious threat to the shaky peace in the Southern Atlantic and have stirred up the more or less dormant Falklands/Malvinas conflict again.
Mixed-use is a style of urban development, urban planning and/or a zoning type that blends residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment uses into one space, where those functions are to some degree physically and functionally integrated, and that provides pedestrian connections.[1][2][3] Mixed-use development may be applied to a single building, a block or neighborhood, or in zoning policy across an entire city or other political unit. These projects may be completed by a private developer, (quasi-) governmental agency, or a combination thereof. A mixed-use development may be new construction, reuse of an existing building or brownfield site, or a combination. Traditionally, human settlements have developed in mixed-use patterns. However, with industrialization as well as the invention of the skyscraper, governmental zoning regulations were introduced to separate different functions, such as manufacturing, from residential areas. Public health concerns and the protection of property values stood as the motivation behind this separation.[4] The practice of zoning for single-family residential use was instigated to safeguard communities from negative externalities; including air, noise, and light pollution; associated with heavier industrial practices.[4] In the United States, the heyday of separate-use zoning was after World War II, but since the 1990s, mixed-use zoning has once again become desirable as it works to combat urban sprawl and increase economic vitality.[4][5]
In most of Europe, government policy has encouraged the continuation of the city center's role as a main location for business, retail, restaurant, and entertainment activity, unlike in the United States where zoning actively discouraged such mixed use for many decades. As a result, much of Europe's central cities are mixed use "by default" and the term "mixed-use" is much more relevant regarding new areas of the city, when an effort is made to mix residential and commercial activities – such as in Amsterdam's Eastern Docklands – rather than separate them.[6][7]
Expanded use of mixed-use zoning and mixed-use developments may be found in a variety of contexts, such as the following (multiple such contexts might apply to one particular project or situation):[8]
as part of smart growth planning strategies
in traditional urban neighborhoods, as part of urban renewal and/or infill, i.e. upgrading the buildings and public spaces and amenities of the neighborhood to provide more and/or better housing and a better quality of life - examples include Barracks Row in Washington, D.C. and East Liberty, Pittsburgh
in traditional suburbs, adding one or more mixed-use developments to provide a new or more prominent "downtown" for the community - examples include new projects in downtown Bethesda, Maryland, an inner suburb of Washington, D.C., and the Excelsior & Grand complex in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, an inner suburb of Minneapolis
greenfield developments, i.e. new construction on previously undeveloped land, particularly at the edge of metropolitan areas and in their exurbs, often as part of creating a relatively denser center for the community – an edge city, or part of one, zoned for mixed use, in the 2010s often labeled "urban villages". Examples include Avalon in Alpharetta, Georgia and Halcyon in Forsyth County, Georgia, at the edge of the Atlanta metropolitan area
the repurposing of shopping malls and intensification of development around them, particularly as many shopping malls' retail sales, and ability to rent space to retailers, decrease as part of the 2010s retail apocalypse
Any of the above contexts may also include parallel contexts such as:
Transit-oriented development - for example in Los Angeles and San Diego where the cities made across-the-board zoning law changes permitting denser development within a certain distance of certain types of transit stations, with the primary aim of increasing the amount and affordability of housing[9]
Older cities such as Chicago and San Francisco have historic preservation policies that sometimes offer more flexibility for older buildings to be used for purposes other than what they were originally zoned for, with the aim of preserving historic architecture[10]
Benefits[edit]
Economic
Mixed-use developments are home to significant employment and housing opportunities.[11] Many of these projects are already located in established downtown districts, meaning that development of public transit systems is incentivized in these regions.[12] By taking undervalued and underutilized land, often former heavy industrial, developers can repurpose it to increase land and property values.[11] These projects also increase housing variety, density, and oftentimes affordability through their focus on multifamily, rather than single-family housing compounds.[13]
Social
This development pattern is centered around the idea of “live, work, play,” transforming buildings and neighborhoods into multi-use entities. Efficiency, productivity, and quality of life are also increased with regards to workplaces holding a plethora of amenities.[12] Examples include gyms, restaurants, bars, and shopping. Mixed-use neighborhoods promote community and socialization through their bringing together of employees, visitors, and residents.[12] A distinctive character and sense-of-place is created by transforming single use districts that may run for eight hours a day (Ex. Commercial office spaces running 9am - 5pm) into communities that can run eighteen hours a day through the addition of cafes, restaurants, bars, and nightclubs.[13] Safety of neighborhoods is in turn increased as people stay out on the streets for longer hours.
Environmental
Mixed-use neighborhoods and buildings have a strong ability to adapt to changing social and economic environments. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, New York retail businesses located on long, commercially-oriented blocks suffered severely as they were no longer attracting an audience of passersby. By combining multiple functions into one building or development, mixed-use districts can build resiliency through their ability to attract and maintain visitors. Pedestrian and bike-friendly infrastructure is also fostered in these districts due to their increased density and reduced distances between housing, workplaces, retail businesses, and other amenities and destinations.[4] Mixed-use projects promote health and wellness, as these developments often provide better access (whether it be by foot, bicycle, or transit) to farmer's markets and grocery stores.[13]
Drawbacks[edit]
Equity
Due to the neoliberalist nature of large scale real estate developments, mega-mixed-use projects often fall short on meeting equity and affordability goals. High-end residential, upscale retail, and Class A office spaces appealing to high-profile tenants are often prioritized due to their speculative potential.[11] These projects are made to be attractive to businesses and individuals with significant capital.
Financing
Mixed-use buildings can be risky given that there are multiple tenants residing in one development.[12] Mega-mixed-use projects, like Hudson Yards, are also extremely expensive. This development has cost the City of New York over 2.2 billion dollars.[14] Critics argue that taxpayer dollars could better serve the general public if spent elsewhere.[14] Additionally, mixed-use developments, as a catalyst for economic growth, may not serve their intended purpose if they simply shift economic activity, rather than create it. A study done by JLL found that “90 percent of Hudson Yards’ new office tenants relocated from Midtown."[14]
Aesthetics
Mixed-use projects may be seen as disjointed from the surrounding environment. Preserving local character, histories, and charm conflicts with building designs that represent economic growth and modernity.[11] Mixed-use projects are often at the center of this conflict.
This unfortunate tractor seems to have overheated. Behind it is a BMS/Morris van which has reached the end of the road and in the background, inverted, is a large mid 50's American car with 4 headlights.
The slide is labled "Shirley Tip" but I don't think that is correct. the slide was destined for the bin by it's owner who was having a clear-out.
Copyright Geoff Dowling; All rights reserved
16-yr-old Betsy's poor lower leg suffered an attack by an Ilizarov external fixator. Assembled and applied by Dr. Bradley Hotchner; used to correct a bent, stunted fibula/tibia two-punch combo. We're assuming it did its job.
Self portrait in the reflection of the eyes of my daughter in the hands of my son with the three graces in Washington DC.
This drawing gives a lot of information why an external fast shutter is needed. The drawing shows different macro capture formats. Each circle shows a shutter-lag. Central we start with a shutter lag of 3.5 ms. To edge this time increased to 50 ms. The illustration is an insect moving at a speed of 2m/sec or 7.2 km/h. The shutter lag is the time elapsing between pressing the button and taking the picture. The higher the shutter lag is how the insects can travel more distance. Central includes drawing a macro ratio of 2:1 or 18x12mm picture frame. You can clearly see that this macro setting is not large enough to fully display the bug. So you need at least a macro ratio of 1:1 in order to fully display the bug. In a larger shutter-lag, you use a larger frame. The speed of 2 m/sec is not abnormally high because many insects fly much faster. A DSLR camera usually has a shutter lag of around 50 msec, so you see that a frame of 180mmx120mm is too small to keep the insect in picture. Many insects fly with a speed between 2 and 4m/s or 7 to 15 km/h. A shutter lag of 3.5 ms is very well suited for macro shooting up to 1:1. Do you want closer shots then you are lucky that the insect is still in full screen. This is why I try the shutter lag so low. For larger insects, the shutter lag can be longer because the recording frame is also larger. An external shutter is especially necessary for smaller insects and closeup shots.
Chicago Air & Water Show 2010 - they're back! The Blue Angels practice thisThursday and Friday - the show is August 14-15, it is hard to work when they are flying around here! They are AWESOME! Shot over Olive Park today (08/12/2010) the first day of practice.
6 plane, F/A - 18 Hornet, USN Blue Angels formation! Taken from the John Hancock Center
www.blueangels.navy.mil/index.htm
Prime contractor:Boeing
Principal contractor (airframe):Northrop Corporation
Powerplant:Two General Electric F404-GE-400 low-bypass, turbofan engines; each in the 16K-pound thrust class
Radar:Hughes APG-65 with long-range detection in both head-on and tail-on aspects
Length: 56 feet
Height: 15.3 feet
Wingspan: 40.4 feet (with missiles)
Wing area: 400 square feet
Speed: Mach 1.7+ (1,200 mph)
First flight: November 1978
Crew: One (two in two-seat trainer version)
Combat radius: 500-plus nautical miles
Combat ceiling: 50K feet (approx.)
Fuel: 11K lbs. internal, 16K lbs. w/external tanks (approx.)
Max takeoff weight:56K lbs. (approx.) fighter escort missions
Cost: Approximately $18 million
While going thru yet another external hard drive, I ran across this one. Columbus & Greenville GP7 614 & next to it is Norfolk Southern GP38-2 5190, both of which are somewhere in the yard in Columbus, Mississippi. Canon New F-1, Canon FD 50mm 1.8 Lens, Ektachrome 100 Professional , Epson 4990 scan.
We have updated our DJ.SF Sam Cottage - Stone version. It includes additional external wall textures, new internal wall and floor textures, some additional features like outdoor lights. Plus the cottage has been resized to a more appropriate size and has an extra mezzanine floor. LI is only 51. Available inworld for 300L at Decor Junction store where our DJ.SF original mesh items are.
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Builders%20Republic/27/231/33
"The Galt Arena Gardens is one of the oldest continuously-operating ice hockey arenas in the world and the oldest operating arena in Ontario. Galt Arena Gardens was built throughout 1921 and opened in January 1922. It was located in the city of Galt, which is now a part of the city of Cambridge, Ontario. It is the home of the junior hockey team, Cambridge Redhawks as well as the Special Hockey International team, Cambridge Ice Hounds. The arena is noted for its impressive external facade. Hockey legend Gordie Howe played in the arena for the Galt Red Wings during the 1944-1945 season before playing in the National Hockey League. Former New York Americans centreman Norman Himes grew up right across the street from the arena at 91 Shade Street. He played OHA senior hockey in the arena for the Galt Terriers. Ontario Hockey Association teams including the Galt Rockets and Galt Black Hawks also played at the building.
Several ice hockey arenas are older, including the Aberdeen Pavilion in Ottawa, built in 1898, and the Stannus Street Rink, of Windsor, Nova Scotia, built in 1897, but are no longer in operation for ice hockey. The 1910 Matthews Arena in Boston is still in operation, but it closed for several seasons due to fires and for renovations.
The arena was most recently renovated in 1997, replacing the concrete floor, the spectator seating and the dressing rooms. The Arena was closed for the entire 1997-98 season. The renovation reduced seating capacity from 2,000 to 1,100.
Galt is a community in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario on the Grand River. Prior to 1973, it was an independent city, incorporated in 1915, but amalgamation with the village of Hespeler, the town of Preston and the village of Blair formed the new municipality of Cambridge. Being the largest constituent community in the city, it is commonly seen as the downtown core of Cambridge. The first mayor of Cambridge was Claudette Millar.
There was considerable resistance among the local population to this "shotgun marriage" arranged by the provincial government and a healthy sense of rivalry had always governed relations among the three communities. Even today, many residents identify Galt, Preston, and Hespeler as still being cities or towns in their own right. Each unique centre has its own history that is well documented in the Cambridge City Archives.
No current population data is available for the former Galt since the Census reports cover only the full area of Cambridge.
The former Galt covers the largest portion of the amalgamated municipality, making up the southern half of the city. It is located on the Grand River and has a very long history as an industrialized area. The former Preston and Blair are located on the western side of the city, while the former Hespeler is in the most northeasterly section of Cambridge.
Cambridge is a city in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, located at the confluence of the Grand and Speed rivers. The city had a population of 138,479 as of the 2021 census. Along with Kitchener and Waterloo, Cambridge is one of the three core cities of Canada's tenth-largest metropolitan area.
Cambridge was formed in 1973 by the amalgamation of Galt, Preston, Hespeler, the settlement of Blair, North Dumfries, as well as east and west Galt. The former Galt covers the largest portion of Cambridge, making up the southern half of the city, while Preston and Blair cover the western side. Hespeler makes up the most northeastern section of Cambridge. Historical information and records of each entity are well documented in the Cambridge City Archives." - info from Wikipedia.
Late June to early July, 2024 I did my 4th major cycling tour. I cycled from Ottawa to London, Ontario on a convoluted route that passed by Niagara Falls. During this journey I cycled 1,876.26 km and took 21,413 photos. As with my other tours a major focus was old architecture.
Find me on Instagram.
The Castillo San Felipe del Morro is a massive fort built by the Spaniards between 1539 and 1786 to protect the half-mile-wide entrance to San Juan Bay and San Juan harbor. The fortress has six levels and rises 140 feet above the Atlantic Ocean. Its external walls are 18 feet (5.5 m) thick.
The current appearance is based on a 1587 design that followed state of the art Spanish military fortification design principles. El Morro suffered several attacks from the English in 1595 and 1598 and the Dutch in 1625. In 1898, during the Spanish-American War, United States Navy ships fired upon the fortification, destroying the lighthouse, which was rebuilt in 1908.
It remained a Spanish garrison until Puerto Rico was ceded to the United States as a result of the Spanish–American War of 1898. The fort became a part of a large U.S. Army post, called Fort Brooke. During World War II, the United States Army added a massive concrete bunker to the top of El Morro to serve as a Harbor Defense Fire Control Station to direct a network of coastal artillery sites and to keep watch for German submarines which were ravaging shipping in the Caribbean. The fort was de-militarized in 1961 and turned over to the National Park Service which still maintains the fort today.
Most of the external bits and pieces fitted.
Nearly ready for paint
Build log
www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234994786-bt...
Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays! Pretty cute cowgirl! Sony A7R Test Photos: ILCE7R A7r Golden Cowgirl Model with Gold 45 Revolver! Carl Zeiss Sony Sonnar T* FE 35mm f/2.8 ZA Lens. finished in Lightroom 5.3 ! Wearing cowboy boots, a cowboy hat, and cutoff jeans shorts while modeling 45surf t-shirts and hoodies! Tall, fin, fit, and tan with long, silky long blond hair and pretty blue eyes! A goddess!
Was testing the Sony HVL-F60M External Flash on the Sony A7r. You can see it going off in some of the photos (check the exif if in doubt)--worked great, but it overheated a bit sooner than my Nikon flash on the D800E. But it's all good!
Here's some epic goddess video shot at the same time as stills using my 45surfer method/philosophy:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7gq_gCk0jE
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiOMrZIEzg8
Join Johnny Ranger McCoy's youtube channel for goddess video shot @ the same time as the stills with the Sony A7 !
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7gq_gCk0jE
Beautiful swimsuit bikini model goddess on a beautiful December Malibu afternoon! Shot it yesterday. :) Love, love, love the new Sony A7 R!
Was a fun test shoot. Many, many more to come!
All the best on your Epic Hero's Journey from Johnny Ranger McCoy!
Modeling the black & white 45surf & black & gold "Gold 45 Revolver" Gold'N'Virtue clothes with the main equation to Moving Dimensions Theory on the swimsuits: dx4/dt=ic. Yes I have a Ph.D. in physics! :) You can read more about my research and Hero's Journey Physics here:
herosjourneyphysics.wordpress.com/ MDT PROOF#2: Einstein (1912 Man. on Rel.) and Minkowski wrote x4=ict. Ergo dx4/dt=ic--the foundational equation of all time and motion which is on all the shirts, clothes, and swimsuits. Every photon that hits my Nikon D800e's sensor does it by surfing the fourth expanding dimension, which is moving at c relative to the three spatial dimensions, or dx4/dt=ic!
May the Hero's Journey Mythology Goddess inspire you (as they have inspired me!) along your own artistic journey! Love, love, love the 35mm Carl Zeiss Lens on the new Sony A7R! :)
All the Best on Your Epic Hero's Journey from Johnny Ranger McCoy!
Pretty girl in a Santa Hat / Stocking Cap!
Channeling Clint Eastwood & Sergio Leone on an old western set! The cowgirl puts the 45 in 45surf! :)
These photos were shot in Sony RAW ( .ARW ) and finished in the new Lightroom 5.3!
“SPACE SHUTTLE ON PAD --- NASA's Space Shuttle
Enterprise, stands on the Kennedy Space Center’s launch pad 39A highlighted against the darkened Florida sky during tests on the high-intensity lighting systems. Orbiter 102 Columbia will be the first vehicle to actually fly an orbital Space Shuttle mission, but the Enterprise is being used in a variety of ground tests in preparation for the first orbital flight.”
And/Or:
“While serving as a practice and launch complex fit-check verification tool - representing the flight vehicles - Enterprise/Orbiter Vehicle 101 (OV-101) is seen on Pad 39A, 11 May 1979, during a test of the high-intensity lighting systems, with a full moon overhead.”
science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/enterpris...
The Pashupatinath Temple (Nepali: पशुपतिनाथ मन्दिर) is a famous, sacred Hindu temple dedicated to Pashupatinath and is located on the banks of the Bagmati River 5 kilometres north-east of Kathmandu Valley in the eastern city of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. This temple is considered one of the sacred temples of Hindu faith. The temple serves as the seat of the national deity, Lord Pashupatinath. This temple complex is on UNESCO World Heritage Sites's list Since 1979. This "extensive Hindu temple precinct" is a "sprawling collection of temples, ashrams, images and inscriptions raised over the centuries along the banks of the sacred Bagmati river" and is included as one of the seven monument groups in UNESCO's designation of Kathmandu Valley as a cultural heritage site. One of the major Festivals of the temple is Maha Shivaratri on which day over 700,000 devotees visit here.
The twelve Jyotirlinga (in India) are the body and the Jyotirlinga at Pashupatinath in Kathmandu (Nepal) is the head over this body.
The temple is one of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams (Holy Abodes of Shiva) on the continent. Kotirudra Samhita, Chapter 11 on the Shivalingas of the North, in Shiva Purana mentions this Shivalinga as the bestower of all wishes.
HISTORY
The temple was erected anew in the 15th century by Lichhavi King Shupuspa after the previous building had been consumed by termites. Countless further temples have been erected around this two-storied temple. These include the Vaishnav temple complex with a Ram temple from the 14th century and the Guhyeshwari Temple mentioned in an 11th-century manuscript.
LEGEND ABOUT THE TEMPLE ORIGIN
Pashupatinath Temple is the oldest Hindu temple in Kathmandu. It is not known for certain when Pashupatinath Temple was founded. But according to Nepal Mahatmaya and Himvatkhanda, the deity here gained great fame there as Pashupati, the Lord of all Pashus, which are living as well as non-living beings. Pashupatinath Temple's existence dates back to 400 AD. The richly-ornamented pagoda houses the sacred linga or holy symbol of Lord Shiva. There are many legends describing as to how the temple of Lord Pashupatinath came to existence here. Some of them are narrated below:
THE COW LEGEND
Legend says that Lord Shiva once took the form of an antelope and sported unknown in the forest on Bagmati river's east bank. The gods later caught up with him, and grabbing him by the horn, forced him to resume his divine form. The broken horn was worshipped as a linga but overtime it was buried and lost. Centuries later an astonished herdsmen found one of his cows showering the earth with milk. Digging deep at the site, he discovered the divine linga of Pashupatinath.
THE LINCHCHAVI LEGEND
According to Gopalraj Vamsavali, the oldest ever chronicle in Nepal, this temple was built by Supuspa Deva, a Linchchhavi King, who according to the stone inscription erected by Jayadeva 11 in the courtyard of Pashupatinath in 753 AD, happened to be the ruler 39 generations before Manadeva (464-505 AD).
THE DEVALAYA LEGEND
Another chronicle states that Pashupatinath Temple was in the form of Linga shaped Devalaya before Supuspa Deva constructed a five storey temple of Pashupatinath in this place. As the time passed, the need for repairing and renovating this temple arose. It is learnt that this temple was reconstructed by a medieval King named Shivadeva (1099-1126 AD). It was renovated by Ananta Malla adding a roof to it. Thousands of pilgrims from all over the world come to pay homage to this temple, that is also known as 'The Temple of Living Beings'.
OTHER BELIEFS
There are several complex stories involving the origins of Pashupatinath. One story goes, in brief, that Shiva and Parvati came to the Kathmandu Valley and rested by the Bagmati while on a journey. Shiva was so impressed by its beauty and the surrounding forest that he and Parvati changed themselves into deers and walked into the forest. Many spots in the Kathmandu Valley are identified as places where Shiva went during his time as a deer. After a while the people and gods began to search for Shiva. Finally, after various complications, they found him in the forest, but he refused to leave. More complications ensued, but ultimately Shiva announced that, since he had lived by the Bagmati in a deer's form, he would now be known as Pashupatinath, Lord of all animals. It is said that whoever came here and beheld the lingam that appeared there would not be reborn as an animal.
FINDING OF SHIVA LINGA AT PASHIPATINATH TEMPLE
It is said that the wish-fulfilling cow Kamadhenu took shelter in a cave on the Chandravan mountain. Everyday Kamadhenu went down to the place the lingam was sunken into the soil and poured her milk on top of the soil. After ten thousand years some people saw Kamadhenu pouring milk on that same spot everyday, and started to wonder what that would be. So they removed the soil and found the beautiful shining lingam and started worshiping it.
TEMPLE COMPLEX
The area of Pashupatinath encompasses 264 hectare of land including 518 temples and monuments. Main pagoda style temple is located in the fortified courtyard within the complex guarded by Nepal Police and has a police outpost post along with living quarter within. In front of the western door there is a huge statue Nandi bull, in bronze. Along with many temples and shrines of both Vaishnav and saiva tradition.
TEMPLES AND SHRINES IN THE INNER COURTYARD
Vasuki nath temple
Unmatta Bhairav temple
Surya narayan temple
Kirti mukh bhairav shrine
Budanil kantha shrine
Hanuman shrine
184 shivaling shrine
TEMPLES AND SHRINES IN THE OUTER COMPLEX
Ram mandir
Virat swaroop temple
12 jyotirlingha and Pandra Shivalaya
Guhyeshwari Temple
MAIN TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE
This main temple is built in the Nepalese pagoda style of architecture. All the features of pagoda style is founded here like cubic constructions, beautifully carved wooden rafters on which they rest (tundal). The two level roofs are of copper with gold covering. The temple resides on a square base platform with a height of 23,07 m from base to pinnacle. It has four main doors, all covered with silver sheets. This temple has a gold pinnacle (Gajur). Inside are two Garbhagrihas, outer and inner. The inner garbhagriha or sanctum sanctorum is where the idol is placed and outer sanctum is an open corridor like space.
THE DEITY
The sacro sanctum, or the main idol is a stone Mukhalinga with a silver yoni base bound with silver serpent. The lingam is one metre high and has faces in four directions. These faces represents various ascepts of Shiva; Sadyojata (also known as Barun), Vamdeva (also known as Ardha nareshwor), Tatpurusha, Aghor & Ishana (imaginative). Facing West, North, East, South and Zenith respectively representing five primary elements namely earth, water, air, light and ether. Each face has tiny protruding hands holding rudraksha mala on right hand and a kamandalu on the other.Unlike other shiva lingams in India and Nepal this pashupati shiva lingam is always Dressed in its golden vastra except during abhishakam, so pouring milk and ganga jal is only possible during abhishakam through the main priests.
PRIESTS
Daily rituals of Pashupatinath are carried out by two sets of priests; one being the Bhatt priests and other Bhandari. Bhatta or Bhatt are the one who performs the daily ritual and can touch the lingam, where as Bhadaris are the helper and temple care taker priests but are not qualified perform pooja rituals or to touch the deity.
Bhatta or Bhat are highly educated Vedic bhramin Scholars from Brahmin family from South Indian State Karnataka.Unlike other Hindu temples priesthood of Pashupatinath is not hereditary. Priests are selected from a group of scholars educated by Shri Shankaracharya Dakshinamnaya Peeth Sringeri on Rig Vedic Recitation, initiated in Pashupata Yoga by Kashi Math, Shiva Āgama and learned Recitation of Samaveda from Haridwar. After qualifying and fulfilling all those criteria they will be selected for Priesthood by Raj Guru of Pashupatinath Temple undergoing strict examination on Vedas and Shiva Agamas and then the qualifies are sent to Kathmandu for performing Puja and Daily Worship of Lord Shri Pashupatinath This tradition is reported to have started by the request of Adi Shankaracharya in the 8th century, who sought to unify the different states of Bharatam (Unified India) by encouraging cultural exchange. This procedure is also followed in other temples around Bharata-varsa which were sanctified by Adi Shankaracharya. The unique feature of this temple is that only 4 Bhatta priests can touch the deity. Current Bhatt priests of the temple are;
- Ganesh Bhat (15th head priest of the Pashupatinath Temple aka Mool Bhat) from Udupi.
- Ram Karanth Bhat from Mangaluru.
- Girish Bhat from Sirsi.
- Narayan Bhat(Recently appointed) from Bhatkal
- Raghavendra Bhat (Priest for Vasuki Nath temple only)
Bhandaris or Rajbhandari are the treasurers, temple caretakers, and assistant priest of the temple. These Bhandaris are the descendants of helper priests brought up by early Bhatts, but were allowed to settle in Kathmandu valley and later assimilated in existing Newar caste of Rajbhandari - a high-caste Chathariya/Kshatriya clan of Kashyapa gotra. Their main function is to help the Bhatta priest and perform maintenance of the inner Garbhagriha. They can have little or no Vedic knowledge but still qualify as assistant priests if they belong from the same family lineage and undergo some basic criteria like caste, gotra, lineage purity, educational qualification, etc. They work in set of four and change in every full moon day. There are a total of 108 Bhandaris.
ENTRY AND DARSHAN
Temple courtyard has 4 entrances in all directions. The western entrance is the main entrance to the temple courtyard and rest three entrances are only opened during big festival. Temple security (Armed Police Force Nepal) is selective regarding who is allowed entry into the inner courtyard. Practicing Hindus and buddhist of Indian and Tibetan descendent are only allowed into temple courtiyard. Practicing Hindus of western descent are not allowed into the temple complex along with other non Hindu Visitors. Sikh and Jain groups are allowed into the temple compound if they are of Indian ancestry. Others can look at the main temple from adjacent side of the river and has to pay a nominal fee of $10 (1000 Nepali rupee) for visiting hundreds of small temples in the external premises of the temple complex. The inner temple courtyard remains open from 4 am to 7 pm for the devotee but the Inner Pashupatinath Temple where the Lingam of lord Pashupatinath is established is open from 5am to 12 pm for the morning ritual and viewing and from 5pm to 7 pm for evening ritual. Unlike many other Saiva temples devotees are not allowed to enter in the inner-most Garbhagriha but are allowed to view from the exterior premises of the outer Garbhagriha.
FESTIVALS
There are many festivals throughout the year. Thousands of people attend these festival. The most important festival is the Maha Shiva Ratri, Bala chaturthi and Teej.
CONTROVERSY OF 2009
In January 2009, after the forced resignation by the chief priest of Pashupatinath temple, the Maoist-led government of Nepal "hand picked" Nepalese priests to lead the temple, thus bypassing the temple's long-standing requirements. This appointment was contested by the Bhandaris of the temple, stating that they were not against the appointment of Nepalese priests but against the appointment without proper procedure. After the appointment was challenged in a civil court, the appointment was overruled by Supreme Court of Nepal. However, the government did not heed the ruling and stood by its decision. This led to public outrage and protests over a lack of transparency. The paramilitary group of the CPN (Maoist), called YCL, attacked the protesters, leading to over a dozen injuries. Lawmakers and activists from opposition parties joined protests, declaring their support for the Bhatta and other pro-Bhatta protesters. After long dissatisfaction and protest by Hindus both in and outside Nepal, the government was forced to reverse its decision that had been declared illegal by the Supreme Court of Nepal and reinstate Bhatta priests.
2015 EARTHQUAKE
The main temple complex of Pashupatinath and the sanctum sanctorum was left untouched but some of the outer buildings in the World Heritage Site were damaged by the April 2015 Nepal earthquake.
WIKIPEDIA