I like the perspective convergence on this. I think it makes the buildings look really old and spooky! I wish the street lights weren't so bright as there's a lot of lens flare. Any tips for avoiding this in future shots would be appreciated.

One last deviation...far from perfect again, but one I happen to like for the somewhat surreal / fantasy-like look.

 

Thanks for your patience while I experimented with these, I hope to do better in future! :)

I recently had the chance to visit ✨Rarebreed Golf Resort-, owned by a friend of mine and her husband, and it was absolutely beautiful. The resort offers so many fun activities, and one of my favorites was playing tennis with my sister.

 

I arrived a little early, which gave me the perfect opportunity to snap some cute photos in my new outfit from ✨1Hundred. Between exploring the resort and taking in the gorgeous scenery, I ended up with so many pictures that I can't wait to share more from my stay in future blog posts.

 

Happy shopping! Be deranged, be glamorous, and don't forget to treat yourself by booking a relaxing getaway at ✨Rarebreed Golf Resort.

 

✨::Sponsor:

 

Outfit: 1 HUNDRED. - Just A Babydoll

 

Background Area: RareBreed Gofl Resort (on the Tenis Court)

 

::Additional:

 

Hair: Angelic - "Harper"

 

Hat: roslyn. whitney visor. fatpack

 

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This Green Tree Frog was found in my watering can, they like to hang out in cool, moist places. I relocated it to a place where the hunting would likely be better, but not before taking a few shots, which are the theme for today's photos. The next day it was back in the watering can, so I left it there and will be more careful in future when watering my plants.

I have a fascination with keys and I collect them so I may be working with them more in future photo projects. I think these keys and lock may have gone to an old suitcase.

 

260/365

B40-8 CR 5078 is in charge of an TV-11 as it rolls through 'The Trench' in downtown Pittsburgh, PA. This unit would be, in future years, adorned with a 'labor management' patch on its front. I can't say I'd recommend trying this angle today!

 

CR 5078. Pittsburgh, PA.

October 1988. Photographer unknown.

Adam Klimchock collection.

The way to end the fortnight of afternoon train sunshine meant our own twist on the glorious 2010 Bash photos.

 

Black 5 No. 45212 crosses Loch Eilt Causeway with the afternoon Jacobite. We have been very fortunate in the two week extension of the Afternoon train, and hopefully a permanent addition to the season in future years.

Created for TMI's Sunrise/Sunset challenge.

 

I was at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles yesterday and got a whole bunch of great shots (which you'll no doubt be seeing in future weeks :-)). The Getty is high on a hill and provides a view to the ocean on one side and a view into Los Angeles on the other. It's an architectural tour de force with stunning grounds, views ... and of course exhibits. (The setting and exterior are so spectacular I sometimes forget what the museum's primary purpose is!)

www.stazersee.ch/

 

"Ice Age"

 

www.deezer.com/track/20704

 

When winter comes

Along these shores

Old Hollywood

We're knocking down

We're sifting through

We are the actual tigers

When winter comes

They leave behind us

Throw your arms around my neck

And hold me tightly

There's a lot that we will get

I'm asking you...

Let your diamond bracelet fall

Over the ice age

Over the ice age

Those summer years

We'd follow them

In light of day

In light of us

We'll see it through

When they're playing our song

Those summer years

Have long since gone

Throw your arms around my neck

And whisper softly

Of a thing that we will get

I'm asking you

Let your diamond bracelet fall

Over the ice age

Over the ice age

I want to go back

I want to go back

In future times

We'll hold it closer

Imagining

We weren't older

Yet, through it all

They'll be playing our song

Throw your arms around my neck

And whisper softly

Of a thing that we will get

I'm asking you...

Let your diamond bracelet fall

Over the ice age

Over the ice age...

 

Pete Yorn

It was raining steadily as I finished my "ecotour loop" along grid roads and through the park. Several big bull Bison were at a waterhole, and I made this shot on foot - although not far from my car - as the biggest of them emerged. Enormous. Powerful. Iconic. Impressive. I could keep finding adjectives, but maybe a picture really is worth a thousand words...

 

There were few tourists out and an abundance of wildlife, so expect to see more from this day in future postings.

 

Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2025 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

I'm pretty exited about Logan so I wanted to make a quick fig. the torso and legs are pretty meh because my main focus was the face (Which is based of the picture to the left) Im really happy with the face but I'm not to sure on the hair, But at least the hair suits its purpose and looks bit like the image. I forgot to mention the torso was a lois lane torso with the curves painted over. In future I may update the torso and stuff but for now I like it. Please comment if you fave and enjoy :)

April 9th_2019

 

Forgive me when I post too many photos of the grouse!

 

On April 9th 3 friends and I drove south of the city to a Sharp-tailed Grouse lek. I hadn't thought about the degree of difficulty that might challenge me in climbing over the stile with a knee replacement. I really struggled so I do not think I will be returning to see the grouse in future years.

 

Thanks for your visits, comments and faves! They are all appreciated!

 

I bought a rainbow slinky a very long time ago for photographic purposes but have to give credit to hlngre23 who I then found had some amazing slinky shots. Despite that, I still didn't get round to using it. My new contact CatMacBride reminded me of it recently so thanks to her too. You should check out both their streams as they're amazing!

 

I'm looking forward to having more fun with it in future.

   

Included in the seasonal light trail at Fulham Palace, London. One of the less ostentatious displays on the trail around the grounds but finding one without a crowd in the way or not swarming with kids was proving problematical. Not cheap either so we'll probably be avoiding this sort of attraction in future years.

Just playing at photography evening class. this one is a crystal globe in front of a background I printed off the web. It's one of a series I took this week. I had great fun. I think I may try a different lens in future, to try and get the background in sharp focus as well as the lens ball. We shall see....

End of my Iceland series - for sure I will re-visit somewhen in future....

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Also known as Rough Tree Frog, Thai Bug-eyed Frog, or Spiny Wart Frog. An uncommon and cryptic frog in Malaysia. Its coloration and skin texture mimic tree bark making it perfectly camouflage.

Location: Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia.

Habitat: Lowland forest

Sighting: Uncommon

 

This species is a phytothelm breeder: tadpoles develop in treeholes (Frogs of Borneo). The frog lays its eggs in a frothy nest approximately 0.5 m above small bodies of water collected in tree holes or in cavities between tree root buttresses(Figueroa & Selveindran, 2011). A predominantly arboreal lifestyle high up in the trees could explain the rare sightings of these frogs (Frogs of Borneo).

 

The call of Theloderma horridum has been described as “low grunts or croaks, uttered singly at intervals” (Boulenger, 1903: 140), and can aid in future detection of the species

 

Sky:

166 x 8 seconds @ 50mm

ISO 5000

f/2.0

Hoya didymium filter

 

Foreground:

12 x 25 seconds @ 11mm

ISO 5000

f/2.8

 

Stitched in MS ICE.

 

First image with my new Nikon d5500 camera....my photos now come with 50% more pixels! ;-)

 

Also trying something different with this one. Shooting the foreground with a wide angle lens and the sky with a 50mm prime lens and compositing the two shots. Done really as a time saver but I think I will stick with the same lens in future as I prefer more detail in the foreground than I got with the 11mm lens.

 

This was shot on Friday night but I didn't initially head out to Lake Clifton to shoot a full panorama, I was wanting some more practice using a star tracker (iOptron Skytracker) but the batteries ran out halfway through my first shoot so onto plan B!

 

Back in 2015 I shot this almost exact same image with an 11mm lens, before I had started doing 35mm and 50mm panos........so essentially it's an upgrade to an old image you can find in my photostream.

I'm not sure whether the green tinge is due to the smoke haze that has been prevalent in these parts lately, due to controlled burns being undertaken almost daily, or whether it's because of the didymium filter I was using?

 

Prominent in this image are the Large & Small Magellanic Clouds and the Carina Nebula. The thrombolites you can see in the foreground are living fossils from the earliest periods of life on our planet. This lake is one of the few places in the world that you can still find them.

D&D Characters // Fantasy figbarf

 

So, my next line up of fantasy figures are some characters I want to play in future D&D games - or I may use them as template characters for my friends to play in a one-shot.

 

From left to right we have:

 

Elf Monk

 

Tiefling Grave Cleric

 

Aasimar Dragon Paladin

 

Half-Orc Ranger

 

Dwarf Wizard

  

Unfortunately, this year (2026) is the final year for the Snowbirds demonstration team. At the end of this year the team will be disbanded although it is said that they could be reformed sometime in future years after acquiring new aircraft (Pilatus PC-21). I have my doubts about that but time will tell.

It was in the middle of an old town center where I found this building. People said, that they have fight against this new concept. They wished that the old center will be old in future, but I loved the contrast here. (But for sure, I was simply a visitor!)

 

Non ridere di mi by Koiné

m.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6D2yCUau7A

Swamp (Rose) milkweed seedpod bursting open exposing it's seeds in my flower garden. Some of the seeds have separated, and are ready to float away on their parachutes to create more plants in future years.

Another attempt to follow MM 80% rule for this one ... I found an old piece of royal blue crushed velvet for the background. But I think I prefer the reflected light on the white background of the first one.

I must say I've been learning more about using my Macro lens and what it can do. Juggling focal range, dof and lighting - it's trying to remember and apply in future what I've learnt today that is difficult, even when I write it down and 'highlight' it. Each situation or placement of subjects requires its own decisions methinks! I have to watch I don't stress myself by trying too hard ! Ha ha - mult-tasking is not my forte ....

My most cheerful character Gwen in my most gloomy pic) (I think, she must be rehabilitated after the latest work with flame thrower in hands and red boots)

Mood: lazy and very bad (hope that I’ll become more adequate in the spring, but now I want only to sit in corner and to spoil mood for everybody XDD).

I really wished to make something colourful and mad, but could master only half-dresses of dancing hippie. Well, I probably will complete this in future.

Music: Depeche Mode - Dressed In Black

...or how Honky Tonk and Sister Bill got their nicknames. If it happened in the Hill Country, it probably happened at Mamacitas.

 

This is an essay about the Texas Hill Country, but it's going to take me a long way around to get to the Hill Country. I'll add a paragraph here and there as the spirit moves me. Nicknames are easy to come by in the Texas Hill Country. Any naming incident that sparks a full two minutes of laughter is apt to create a life long nick name.

 

I got mine early on when Sherry began her career as a Methodist minister. Churches she was assigned to by the Bishop had never or seldom had female pastors and for the most part the pastor was called Brother Smith, Brother John, Brother Ralph or Brother Bubba, maybe even Brother Slim or Brother whatever. At Sherry's first church one of the men was speaking to Sherry in front of a crowd and referred to her as Brother Sherry. The crowd erupted in laughter and that sparked me to ad lib, "Well I guess that makes me Sister Bill." It stuck, and from then on everywhere we've gone I've become Sister Bill. Strangly enough, the Brother Sherry didn't stick and she's always been Pastor Sherry. It's funny how that works. This system makes a good litmus test as to who you can trust too. Those who use it in derision are easy to pick up on and you can depend on it, they will become your enemies. It's always good to know who your enmies are. Next time I'm in the mood to post, I'll tell you who Honky Tonk is and how she got her nickname.

 

Joy got her name from British author,Ruth Hamilton. Joy is the pianist at the First United Methodist Church in Johnson City, Texas where Sherry and I spent nine exciting years before we moved to Kerrville five years ago. Joy is my age (80+-) and grew up in a series of Methodist churches. Her father was a Methodist preacher. When she was junior high age she was so good on piano, she started playing the church organ where her father preached. Joy became famous with her junior high school peers by playing the country-western/pop hit "Pistol Packing Mama" to a slow hymn cadence in church during certain parts of the service. Her father never was able to hear the plaintive admonition, "Laaaaaaay thaaaaaat pistooooool dooooown, baaaaabe, laaaaaay thaaaaaat pistoooooool doooooown; Pistooooooool Paaaaaaacking Maaaaaaama puuuuuut thaaaaaaat guuuuuuun awaaaaaaaaay." Of one thing you can be sure, every junior high kid in the Methodist church heard the message and nobody ever figured out why the kids would often become so giggly and out of control, especially when they heard the tune telling them, "Oh, she kicked out my windshield, she hit me over the head. She cussed and cried and said I'd lied and wished that I was dead. Lay that pistol down, babe, lay that pistol down, Pistol Packing Mama, put that gun away!"

 

Naturally Joy grew into a natural musician and could improvise without even having to consciously think about it. During the nine years we were rewarded with her weekly concerts, I noticed that she would often spontaneously begin the add character to the hymns. Some came out with the feel of honky tonk country western and some even took on a boogie beat. She did this naturally, but seemed not to be able to do it on demand. Perhaps demand made her self conscious. For that reason when Ruth Hamilton begged me to tape "Honky Tonk" (that's the name Ruth began to call her because she could never remember the name Joy Feuge) and send her the tape, I made a noble effort. I was never able to get a tape, but Ruth's name "Honky Tonk" stuck and that's what we call Joy to this day. Next, I'll tell you something about a Texas Hill Country institution, Mamacita's Mexican Restaurant, serving Mexican food, but owned and operated by an American Muslim Iranian. That gets him in trouble with the area's fundamentalist cowboy Christians from time to time, to which he pays no attention and simply continues to oeprate a superb small chain of Mexican restaurants. He operates one in San Antonio, one in San Marcos, one in Fredericksburg and one in Kerrville. It just goes to show, you can't hold a good man down.

 

I've been eating at Mamacita's restaurants for years now and when I began writing this piece couldn't even remember the owner and founder's name. Sherry found this link on the internet and it is so interesting and complete I'm going to post it word for word:

 

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

 

Mamacita’s Mexican Restaurant: Oh Mama!

Profile

By Kathryn Jones

Thursday, 24 January 2008

 

There are four Mamacita’s Mexican Restaurants in Texas, the largest of which seats 400 people.

Premier Business Partners:

DeCoty Coffee Co.

   

Known to most as simply “Hagi,” Hossein Hagigholam left Iran for the United States in 1976 with a dream to make it big in the land of opportunity.

 

His initial plan was to study civil engineering. But, as fate should have it, he now owns and operates four Mamacita’s Mexican Restaurants in Kerrville, Texas, with four other locations in Fredericksburg, New Braunfels, San Marcos and San Antonio, Texas. The smallest location seats 250 people and the largest seats 400 people.

 

In an interview with Food and Drink, Hagi reveals how he transitioned from a lonely dishwasher who could barely speak English to a successful entrepreneur with plans to turn his Tex-Mex restaurant into a nationally recognized franchise.

 

The ride has not been an easy one, he adds, but with a little faith and hard work, dreams really can come true.

 

Food and Drink: What brought you to the United States?

Hossein Hagigholam: From the time I was a boy, I wanted to come to America. Before the revolution in Iran, lots of Iranians came to the United States to become engineers and doctors, and then they went back home.

 

Without any knowledge of English, my first place to go was Houston. There was a school for English as a second language called ESL Houston.

 

If there were 40 students, 35 of them were Iranians, so the teachers learned how to speak our language instead of us learning English.

 

I knew in order to make it in the United States I had to learn the language, so I researched which college in Texas had less Iranians. Shreiner College had only one Iranian student, so that’s how I ended up in Kerrville. While I studied, I found a job in the restaurants.

 

If you are a foreigner and don’t know any English, the only job you have is washing dishes. I later became a bus boy and then a waiter.

 

As a waiter, that’s when you really make it big. I was so happy about how much money I was making as a waiter that I took three jobs: the breakfast shift in one restaurant, the lunch shift in another and the dinner shift in the third.

 

I remember one time a customer asked me if we took Visa, and I thought they were asking me if I had a visa. I thought I was in trouble somehow, so I ran home as fast as I could.

 

My manager called me the next day and asked, “What happened?” I said, “Someone wanted me to show him my visa.” He said, “No, you idiot! They were asking you if we accept Visa – the credit card.”

 

FAD: I can see how you would feel anxious about that. In 1979, American hostages were taken at the embassy in Tehran and President Jimmy Carter called for all Iranian students in the U.S. whose visas had expired to leave the country by the spring of 1980. You must have been devastated.

HH: The world just shattered on me, because now I had to go back. I had learned English, started earning money and I was dating Ruth.

 

The only way I could stay in the country was if she married me, and she wouldn’t marry me. She said, “Look, I’m 20 and you’re 21. We’re young and you come from another country and my parents won’t let me.”

 

I finally talked Ruth into marrying me. You talk about begging! Her parents gave their permission because of the difficult situation, but it was on the condition that we live apart for six months.

 

I tell people I really got married for the green card, but we’re still married after 25 years and we adopted two wonderful children. I think that says a lot.

 

FAD: Is it true you named the restaurant after Ruth?

HH: She is Spanish and I used to call her “Mamacita” when I was a waiter. I decided to name the restaurant Mamacita’s because it means grandmother, good-looking lady – all the goodies.

 

FAD: In 1985, you and a business partner opened the first Mamacita’s in Kerrville. Was it challenging to get it off the ground?

HH: Not really. We opened the second restaurant in Fredericksburg in 1988, followed by one in San Marcos in 1996, and then the biggest location, which is in San Antonio, in 2003.

 

And then, in 2005, we tore our original restaurant down and built a new restaurant. If there were a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for most expensive restaurant ever built per capita, it would be this restaurant, because we spent $10 million in a city with a population of only 25,000 people.

 

It is very tough to make money when you open a $10 million restaurant, but because of our confidence and if you treat people the way you want to be treated, anything can work. In fact, Kerrville is a German town. People say, “How could an Iranian come to the United States and build a Mexican restaurant in a German community and make it?” My answer to that is, “Only in America, of course.”

 

FAD: Can you share some tips in how to run a successful restaurant?

HH: If a restaurant has five elements, the owner will hit the jackpot in this business. If he has four out of five, he will make a living out of it. And if he has less than that, it is better not to mess with the restaurant business.

 

These elements are quality, service, location, atmosphere and reasonable prices.

 

Of course quality and service are always important, but I wanted to give an atmosphere that not every causal restaurant can do. In our Kerrville location, we have a third of the actual size of the Alamo inside of our restaurant.

 

A mechanical Davy Crockett sits on top of the roof that plays the music like the movie “Alamo.” Also, in our San Antonio location, we created a village that makes you feel like you are outside even though you are inside. It has fiber-optic stars and village shops and bakeries in it.

 

FAD: Having worked in restaurants when you were in college, would you say that makes you a more empathetic boss?

HH: Many casual restaurants have just one general manager that takes care of the quality of the food and the service.

 

When I used to work in the bottom line myself, I found that it was difficult to put all of this work on the shoulder of one person and expect him to control costs and increase sales.

 

So, this is why each of our locations has two general managers – one for back of house and one for front of house. We also took away any administrative work for them. Each of our locations has at least six managers.

 

This is what makes us different. I believe in spending money to make money when it comes to [hiring good employees.] We have a good 4 percent budgeted to training at all times.

 

We talk to them about the golden rule [of the restaurant business.] If you treat someone the way you want to be treated, it will increase the sales.

 

FAD: What is Mamacita’s perspective on providing customers with exceptional service?

HH: All of our customers can testify that no customer can walk out unless a manager has visited their table. We believe if a customer is unhappy, they will tell us when they leave.

 

Usually, if they are unhappy, they don’t say anything and just don’t come back.

 

But by having a manager shake hands and talk to them, they will feel comfortable enough to tell us what we did wrong.

 

We appreciate the compliments, but what we really want to hear is if there are any complaints.

 

I tell my management that when people go out to eat, they are in a good mood.

 

You never see a husband tell his wife, “Let’s go out to eat,” and the wife gets upset about it. Everybody is happy when they go out to eat, and if they choose your restaurant, you should feel honored. So, do whatever it takes to please them. They like attention.

 

You know, lots of Middle Eastern people that have businesses complain because they say we lost business because of the 9/11 terrorist action.

 

I disagree on that because my business has been doing well and I think it is because of how we treat people.

 

I make a lot of speeches about America, the land of opportunity. What I always emphasize at the end is this: Whoever doesn’t make it in this country, it is their own fault. I am one of those guys that really appreciate the country for what it has done for me.

 

FAD: What’s next for Mamacita’s?

HH: We would like to open locations in Austin, Houston and Dallas in the near future. We’ll do it one at a time. I don’t open a restaurant until I have its general managers ready. I have no plan after that yet.

 

You never know. Maybe a successful, nationally recognized chain will discover us and we could make a deal to take this nationwide.

 

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

 

When Hagi shut down the Kerrville Mamacita's Restaurant to build that ten million dollar culinary mansion, some of the Shiite Christians in Kerrville became very upset because the architect had put a small, simple dome on the structure and it reminded them of a Muslim Mosque for some reason. They demanded the dome be removed, despite the fact the State Capitol in Austin has a dome, some churches have domes and the dome, while a Moorish design, is commonplace in Spain and Mexico AND this is a MEXICAN food restaurant, OK? My friend Frank Clark says Hagi told him, "I don't have the kind of money to buy this quality of advertising." As expected, the dome remained, the new reataurant opened and the furror subsided.

 

Second to the mechanical Davy Crockett who from time to time activates and play the fiddle on the ramparts of the similated Alamo in Mamacita's in Kerrville are the murals painted by Haigi's brother whose name I have never heard and can't find on the internet. Hagi's brother is a truly outstanding artist and at some time in the future I'm going to photograph some of the interior and post it here. Mexican restaurants around the Southwest are famous for their absolutely crude murals, but Mamacita's redeems them all. Hagi's brother is a wonderful muralist.

 

For almost fifteen years now, Mamacita's has been a part of Hill Country living for Sherry and me and the good people of the First Methodist Church in Johnson City Texas. We meet there to celebrate birthdays and for a long time after Sherry and I moved to Kerrville we met regularily at Mamacita's in Fredericksburg. Same driving distance from Kerrville and from Johnson City.

 

I recommend Mamacita's to anyone as being the best eating experience you'll ever have. Their New York strip is flawless and substitute the baked potatoe for guacamole salad and you'll have a low carb meal to die for. The Mamacita's salad is perfect weight control meal IF you'll skip the taco shell. If you're not on a diet the Mexican food is delicious, the tortillas are always hot and honey with butter is always available on request.

 

As Kathryn Jones described in her profile, I can't remember ever eating at Mamacita's without someone from management stopping by the table and asking if everything is alright, which reminds me of the only negative experience I've ever had at a Mamacita's restaurant.

 

Several years ago Sherry and I met seven or eight of the Johnson City folks at the Fredericksburg Mamacita's for one of our monthly reunions. As always I was low-carb dieting and ordered a Mamacita's Salad to get some healthy carbs as opposed to sugar laden carbs. Unlike any other Mamacita's salad I'd ever eaten this one was very short on vegetables. I mentioned it to the person next to me and when the waiter came around asking if everything was ok, that person told him my complaint. It has always been my policy NOT to complain at a restaurant, but I've worked too many police cases concerned with what a cook can do to a customer in way of retaliation. Spit in the food is the least of the possibilities. Whatever the revenge, there's always someone in the kitchen who wants to get even with the cook and so the retaliation gets reported. So, there I sit, not wanting to complain but really disappointed in the amount of vegetables I was served. My friend from Johnson City has spilled the beans and I'm forced to admit I thought the salad was skimpy. The waiter went to the kitchen and returned witha such a large plate of vegetables AND chicken which I hadn't complained about that it was obvious the cook was angered and this amount of food was his way of retaliating and an attempt to make me look foolish for daring to complain. I did eat some more vegetables and the shared the rest of the extra food with everyone at the table. Johnson City folks are not short on appetite, so nothing went to waste. I can see the cook's point of view. He or she probably sees tons of salad thrown out by customers who eat the grilled chicken, pick around on the vegetables and then send the remainder back to the kitchen to be disposed of. I was still disappointed in the arrogance of the cook and the attempt to make me look ridiculous. Maybe the cook was having trouble their spouse, who knows? In fifteen years that's the only negative experience I've had at a Mamacita's.

 

The Texas Hill Country is full of anomaly, so it's no wonder that an Iranian man can become a millionaire with Mexican restaurants in German communities. Fredericksburg is even more German than Kerrville. San Marcos and San Antonio have strong German influences too. Go figure. Now I want to tell you about a mystery writer who writes murder mysteries in and around Blanco County, yep, Blanco county where I was a reserve deputy for several years after I retired from SWT Police Dept. as an investigator.

 

At all those birthday parties at Mamacitas there was the "viewing of the presents and cards" ritual which I've described in the narrative of another ritual. Sherry always shops for certain people on our list and I shop for others, we've never discussed it, it just seemed to fall into place. One of the people I always bought the present for was "Honky Tonk" who is the pianist at the First Methodist Church in Johnson City and a very close friend as well. I always bought her music CDs and usually gospel music. She found out I collected author-signed books and so that's what she always gave me for my birthday.

 

My eyes were really bad for a long time and so I collected a bunch of those books without seriosly reading them. One set of books were by a young mystery writer named Ben Rehder. Joy (Honky-Tonk) went to several book signings and so I built up a collection Ben's novels. All of his novels take place in Blanco County of which Johnson City is not only the County Seat, but is the home town of former president, Lyndon B. Johnson.

 

When I retired in 1998 I was seventy-one years old and had never written anything more than a police report, but upon retiring I began to write essays and short stories and had so much fun I completely lost my identity as a police sketch artist and watercolorist. I've read a lot of the local Blanco county writing generated by the Blanco County Historical Society and others and I'm here to testify this stuff will put you to sleep quicker than prescription drugs. So you have the picture; there I was with faulty glasses, a collection of novels obviously done by a local guy...nothing here I can't wait a while for...right?

 

So, several years later and a new pair of glasses, this time prescribed by an optometrist and NOT a opthomologist...HURRAY, I can read again. So, I picked up a Ben Rehder novel and VIOLA' this guy is really good. This is really just like Blanco County. He's talking about the Sherrif's Office and I rode for several years as a reserve deputy with one of the full time deputies and we had experiences very similar to the ones Ben tells about in his novels.

 

I did feel like Ben's tales were a little tame though. Like in "Murder, She Wrote" it seemed like Blanco County might begin to compete with Cabot Cove for the title, Murder Capital of the World. I was tempted to write Ben and tell him to let go a little bit and make the cases really as bizarre as the ones we actually worked. There was the guy who carried female garments in his car and when he came up on a dead deer along the road, he'd dress the remains in the female attire and have his carnal way with them. A combination the density of cell phones and Baptists got the guy arrested pretty quickly and his case was investigated and taken to the district attorney.

 

Another case I wanted to tell Ben about was the one involving some young men who had small explosives used on coyote bait. They began a campaign to blow up all the rural mail boxes in the north part of the county. In this case the volume of the explosion plus the denisty of ranchers, pickup trucks and deer rifles brought about arrests before too many mail boxes had to be replaced or before someone was killed or injured getting their mail or before the county has to investigate the strange deaths of two young men blown up in a pickuptruck sitting in front of a rural mailbox. It would have probably been written up as a double suicide.

 

I had three of Ben's autographed books and read all three nonstop and was amazed at the quality of his writing and the universal appeal these books would have. When he spoke of eating at Ronny's Barbeque, it was like being home. I have eaten at Ronny's many times and it's just like Ben tells it.

 

When I finished each novel I passed them on to my best bud, Frank Clark, who wanted to read them because although he doesn't come from a law-enforcement background, he comes from a Central Texas deer hunting background. His wife called me and complained; she said she wasn't getting her sleep. He wakes her up all through the night laughing his ass off, so I decided I gotta get online and order everything this guy has written.

 

Online at Ben's website I was amazed to find out that Ben is writing these in a vein of HUMOR. It even cites the genre as being humorous mystery novels. What humor? These are serious law enforcement novels of Blanco County, just the way she is! Damn! Did I ever feel like a hick. I ordered everything he's written and Holy Moly which isn't even off the press yet.

 

As of today Holy Moly is the only one I haven't read. "Gun Shy" is my favorite, but there's not one in the set that isn't a fantastic read. In my case, I can't put them down and it's a good thing I'm retired, otherwise I'd have used up all my sick leave for the next two decades. Frank is still reading and Michele is beginning to look a little "red in the eye" but otherwise we'll just have to wait for "Holy Moly" to come out and hope Ben is presently working on a new novel. The main man is a game warden who helps with the Sherrif's Department's criminal cases. That's the truth or at least very close to reality, we had a game warden in Hays County who was skilled and certified in Forensic Hypnosis and worked with police sketch artists on all kinds of cases.

 

This ends my little essay on the 'Life in the Texas Hill Country" and I apologize for it being a lot longer than I intended it to be. In closing, I'll simply say, "If you're not already living in the Hill Country, start now making your plans to move here; the life you save may be your own."

 

I'm a terrible proof reader and it may be weeks before I get around to the first tip toe back through....be patient, I'm old...ok?

 

www.benrehder.com/

 

This is Ben Rehder's website and you'll be relieved to know Ben doesn't have to rely on the likes of me for his publicity. Kinky Friendman of Texas Monthly fame recommends Ben highly.

 

Der sumpfige Streifen mit einigen Wasserlöchern gleich links neben der Kanalausfahrt könnte meiner Vermutung nach ein Überbleibsel der Ausfahrt aus der historischen Schleusentreppe sein. Und falls Sie sich fragen, wo die "Luise" abgeblieben ist, lie liegt weiter rechts in der Ausfahrt des alten Schiffshebewerks an ihrem Landungssteg.

 

The marshy strip with a few water holes just to the left of the canal exit could, in my opinion, be a remnant of the exit from the historic flight of locks. And if you're wondering where the “Luise” has gone, the excursion boat is moored further to the right at the exit of the old ship lift at its landing stage.

 

An der Grenze der Hochfläche des Barnim zur Niederungslandschaft Oderbruch, etwa 60 km von Berlin entfernt, überwinden Schiffe den Höhenunterschied von 36 m mit einem Fahrstuhl. Das alte Schiffshebewerk Niederfinow ist das älteste seiner Art in Deutschland, das noch in Betrieb ist, und das schon seit dem 21. März 1934. Nach einer Bauzeit von sieben Jahren und Kosten von 27,5 Millionen Reichsmark konnte so die benachbarte vierstufige Treppenschleusenanlage abgelöst werden. Der Schleusengang verkürzte sich von zwei Stunden auf 20 Minuten. Das Schiffshebewerk befördert in seinem Trog (82,5 m lang, 12 m breit und 2,50 m Wassertiefe) Schiffe innerhalb von nur fünf Minuten über eine Hubhöhe von 36 Metern innerhalb des Oder-Havel-Kanals am Rande einer Hochfläche. Mit einer Länge von 94 Metern, einer Breite von 27 Metern und einer Höhe von 52 Metern ist das bestehende Schiffshebewerk aufgrund der modernen Bauweise der heutigen Lastschiffe an seine Kapazitätsgrenze gestoßen. So entstand gleich neben dem „Alten“ seit 2008, das nach zweijährigem Probebetrieb im Oktober 2022 eingeweiht wurde. Es wird mit 133 Metern Länge und 55 Metern Höhe zukünftig auch größeren Schiffen das Passieren des Eberswalder Urstromtals ermöglichen. Sein Trog erhält eine nutzbare Länge von 115 Metern, eine Breite von 12,5 Metern und eine Trogwasser-Tiefe von 4 Metern. Wassergefüllt wiegt er 9.800 Tonnen gegenüber 4.300 Tonnen bei dem alten Schiffshebewerk, das aber parallel noch weiter betrieben wird.

 

Quellen: bad-freienwalde.de/schiffshebewerk-niederfinow/

und de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schiffshebewerk_Niederfinow_Nord, beide gekürzt und leicht bearbeitet

 

On the border between the Barnim plateau and the Oderbruch lowlands, about 60 km from Berlin. ships overcome the difference in height of 36 m with a lift. The old Niederfinow Ship Lift is the oldest of its kind in Germany still in operation, and has been since 21 March 1934. After a construction period of seven years and costs of 27.5 million Reichsmarks, it replaced the neighbouring four-stage flight of locks system. The lock passage was reduced from two hours to 20 minutes. The ship lift transports ships in its caisson (82.5 metres long, 12 metres wide and 2.50 metres deep) over a lift height of 36 metres within the Oder-Havel Canal at the edge of a plateau in just five minutes. With a length of 94 metres, a width of 27 metres and a height of 52 metres, the existing ship lift has reached its capacity limit due to the modern design of today's cargo ships. This led to the construction of a new lift right next to the ‘old’ one in 2008, which was inaugurated in October 2022 after two years of trial operation. With a length of 133 metres and a height of 55 metres, it will enable even larger ships to pass through the Eberswalde glacial valley in future. Its caisson has a usable length of 115 metres, a width of 12.5 metres and a water depth of 4 metres. When filled with water, it weighs 9,800 tonnes, compared to 4,300 tonnes for the old ship lift, which will continue to operate in parallel.

 

Sources: bad-freienwalde.de/schiffshebewerk-niederfinow/

and de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schiffshebewerk_Niederfinow_Nord, both abridged and slightly edited

 

An imposing and vivid 'necropolis' on an outcrop with a 180 degree view of the upper Ebro Valley. In the image, a small and greatly deteriorated artificial cave can be seen under the surface of sarcophagi. The 40 or so schematic body impressions are of all sizes with many scales of infancy expressed. There are some basins associated with a ridge and it is difficult to ascertain if they are natural, modified or artificial. Some other intermittent surface marks are of interest and will be covered in future posts.

 

AJ

Hello you lovely people! ♡

 

Today we are celebrating the special anniversary of the Gallant Magazine with it's new Spring Issue. I feel incredibly honored to be included in this issue together with so many talented and amazing artists and creators. Everyone did an amazing job and I loved reading it! Please feel free to check out the Magazine here:

• Gallant Magazine - Spring Issue •

 

Let's continue with a huge "THANK YOU!" to our special guest in this picture: Dahvie Gloom, for participating in this picture and sponsoring eyes to everyone! Thank you very much for your kindness and generosity, Dahvie. You're amazing! It was a blast to have you in this picture and I hope we'll get the chance for more collaborations in future!

 

Also, I want to give a huge "THANK YOU!" (look how huge it is!) to the Kagune Brothers: Dexy & Yubly! Damn, you two are my favorite people. Thank you so, so much for your patience, while I tweak background sceneries, poses and lightings for hours. Your company means everything to me. You're always supporting me and have my back when creativity is a bitch. In all honesty: Thank you. Thank you so fucking much! (The British & American way of saying 'Thank you' xD!)

 

Last but not least I want to thank all the creators for being damn amazing at what they're doing! What would SL be without you guys. Damn, I'm glad each of you is here to make this world a bit better and more colorful! Also, I want to thank the readers. Yes, you! Exactly. Oi! Where are you going? Stay here when I am talking to you >:O

 

Thank you for reading my nonsense and following my pictures! You are the BEST. It means a whole lot. You put a smile on my face. So... Thank you. Thank you very much for all of your support and kindness. You are amazing!

  

- Credits -

 

on Dahvie:

 

Hair: Dura - B&G 82

Face Mask: [TNK] - Yotssu Mask Cross

Katana: [TNK] - Denki Katana - Marble

Harness: V-Tech - Harness

Mesh Shirt: [House of Ruby] - Wild Spring Crop Top

Pants: xJax - Steampunk Skinny Jean

Shoes: [Vale Koer] - Retro Dunk

Ear & Tail: Sweet Thing

  

on Hikaru:

 

Hair: [Burley] - Joe

Mask: [ContraptioN] - The Modified Mask

Prosthetic Arm: [ContraptioN] Compass Hideout - SK3LET0 Series

Glove: //Ascend// - Trevor Bento Glove

Eyes: Clemmm - Marks the Spot & Mutated Coal

Eye Chest: {aii} - TOXIC DreamWeaver's Eye

Face Mask: [TNK] - YOTSSU MASK - DARKSIDE

Backpack: AITUI - Bagged Boards - Savage

Goggles: :Zombie Suicide:: - Steampunk Goggles

Shirt: RIOT - Cole Harnessed Tank

Pants: GUTCHI - Streetwear Joggers

Waist Wrap: +HILU+ - NUREGOTO

Boots: [Cubic Cherry] - {Lenn} combat boots

Arm Band: [CerberusXing] - Spiked Fury

Owl: [ContraptioN] - Messenger Owl

  

on Yubly:

 

Body Piercing: +ARTIFICIAL HALLUCINATION+ - Hellraiser

Necklace: [Gild] - Chain Loop

Mask: [TNK] - Hashono Gas Mask

Gloves: [ContraptioN] - Rosssa Buster Gloves

Backpack: AITUI - Bagged Boards

Shoes: Anxiety - Oscar Soles

Pants: GUTCHI - Bandana Denim

Top: ::Gabriel:: - Strap open shirt black

  

on Dexy:

 

Hair: Foxy - Lovesick

Ears: [MANDALA] - STRETCHED Ears

Top: BTTB - kort shirt

Backpack - DAPPA - Yami Backpack

Boots: [omnis] - Shi-Boots

Arm: [omnis]- BlackWidow

Garter/Fishnets: [Cynful] - Lucid Dream

Halo: BTTB - holy heartache halo

  

Decoration:

 

Backdrop: VARONIS</a - StarDust Background

Neon Signs: OLQINU - cyber survivor

Cigarettes: Apple Fall - 'Lucky Numbers'

  

• Soundtrack •

  

Went on a night photography course last night, hoping to kick start myself back into it and also possibly to meet some like-minded people for future night shooting.

 

What the course taught me is that, for me personally, the key is to keep shooting…that's where most of my lessons in photography have been found so far (rather than blindly following the guru).

 

Also, in terms of shooting in central London at night: 1) There's almost too much light, and 2) It's really hard to make the familiar sights in any way interesting

 

Will have to get off the well-worn track to find interesting things to shoot in future

Shown heading down Loch Long on route to Falmouth. The Australis spent five or six years as a storage tanker at Finnart. Her departure is the result of the pending closure of the Grangemouth refinery. Whilst the Grangemouth refinery is privately owned, it will mean Scotland will in future have to rely on imports because politicians - in both Holyrood and Westminster - failed to act to save the last oil refinery facility in Scotland. Yet another example of politicians stupidity and short-sightedness!

www.michaeleek.co.uk

© Daniela Hartmann, flickr.com

 

Photographed at the trade fair "CeBIT" in Hannover, Germany. Brave New World. Pushing the shopping cart in future just virtual? Online-shopping. But I like it to go shopping... ;-)

"Brave New World" is a novel by Aldous Huxley. The ironic title ultimately derives from Miranda's speech in Shakespeare's The Tempest, Act V, Scene I: "O wonder!

How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world! That has such people in't!"

__________

La foto es una perspectiva de la CeBIT (feria de informática más grande de Europa que se celebra en Hannóver).

comercio electrónico.

Un mundo feliz (Brave New World en inglés, literalmente ‘Un Nuevo Mundo Valiente’) es la novela más famosa del autor británico Aldous Huxley. El título tiene origen en una obra del autor William Shakespeare, La Tempestad, en el acto V, cuando Miranda pronuncia su discurso.

__________

Aufgenommen auf der CeBIT in Hannover (übrigens am Stand vom Beschaffungsamt; ich habe das Foto dann noch ein wenig nachbearbeitet).

Schöne neue Welt. Wird der Einkaufswagen in der Zukunft nur noch virtuell geschoben? Einkaufen per Mausklick im Internet.

Aber ich mag das Einkaufen gehen..... ;-)

"Schöne neue Welt" ist ein Roman von Aldous Huxley. Ursprünglich stammt der Ausdruck jedoch aus dem 5. Akt von Shakespeares Drama "The tempest": O Wunder! Was gibt's für herrliche Geschöpfe hier! Wie schön der Mensch ist! Schöne neue Welt, die solche Bürger trägt!

  

All my images are copyrighted.

If you intend to use any of my pictures for non-commercial usage, you have to sign them with © Daniela Hartmann, flickr.com. Please write a comment if you have used it and for what purpose. I would be very happy about it. I am curious about the context in which the image is used.

 

If you have any commercial usage, you need to contact me always first. USE WITHOUT PERMISSION IS ILLEGAL.

 

You find some of my photos on Getty Images.

My name there is "alles-schlumpf".

    

A spectacular crop unfortunately, but I always enjoy the challenge of shooting them. I had zoomed out to give a better chance of catching the rapid flight. In future i'll work on using more focal length of the lens.

A still life study from my glass casting lab at work. I tried out my new camera, a Moskva 5 medium format folding camera, for the first time. It is tricky to use but can give a soft, dreamy look if shot wide-open that I want to estasblish in future. Fujifilm Acros I developed in Rodinal (1:100) semi-stand.

At the beginning of quarantine I re-watched Cowboy Bebop, and since I have been working on a model of Spike's iconic fighter/racer, the Swordfish. The sleek nature of the racing ship combined with the roughly tacked on cannon has always been a compelling design to me, and I am pretty satisfied with my recreation of it. In future iterations I would love to integrate the folding wings and landing gear as well as a more accurately shaped engine.

 

Thank you for viewing!

jeaniewaydelich.wordpress.com/2016/05/27/lotd-714/

Gunung Baru

 

Panasonic LX3

f2@60s

iso100

 

Photo taken from the edge of the crater lake inside Gunung Rinjani. Sadly both the summit of Rinjani and lakeside were technically closed when I visited due to the pictured chap above being a bit too active. Fortunately, and as anyone who knows me can testify too, I've never been one to follow rules anyway and after an aborted attempt to climb the summit (due to inappropriate footwear) I managed to sneak down to the lakeside for a night under the stars in one of the most beautiful and relaxing places I can remember visiting. Also very photogenic so expect to see a few more of this place pop up in future uploads.

 

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

 

This is my first posting since getting back from my 3 1/2 month trip round indo. My first thought was I should post something that is a nice representation of a typical indonesian scene, (namely water+island+boat... have plenty of these!). However though I felt and still suspect my photography greatly improved over the trip I would have to say my confidence in selection and editing of my photos is pretty low at the moment. Hence this one going up first as it's one of the few I'm confident enough with the content and editing right now.

 

If you would like to critique my photos in any way positive or (perhaps more valueably) negative i would be greatly appreciative as though i'm unlikely to treat your opinions as gospel it will likely help me learn. and please dont be afraid of appearing unnecesarily harsh. (put it in a flickr mail if you want!)

 

ta

Information from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Cod

 

Cape Cod

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

This article is about the area of Massachusetts. For other uses, see Cape Cod (disambiguation).

For other uses, see Cod (disambiguation).

 

Coordinates: 41°41′20″N 70°17′49″W / 41.68889°N 70.29694°W / 41.68889; -70.29694

Map of Massachusetts, with Cape Cod (Barnstable County) indicated in red

Dunes on Sandy Neck are part of the Cape's barrier beach which helps to prevent erosion

 

Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is an island and a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States. It is coextensive with Barnstable County. Several small islands right off Cape Cod, including Monomoy Island, Monomoscoy Island, Popponesset Island, and Seconsett Island, are also in Barnstable County, being part of municipalities with land on the Cape. The Cape's small-town character and large beachfront attract heavy tourism during the summer months.

 

Cape Cod was formed as the terminal moraine of a glacier, resulting in a peninsula in the Atlantic Ocean. In 1914, the Cape Cod Canal was cut through the base or isthmus of the peninsula, forming an island. The Cape Cod Commission refers to the resultant landmass as an island; as does the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in regards to disaster preparedness.[1] It is still identified as a peninsula by geographers, who do not change landform designations based on man-made canal construction.[citation needed]

 

Unofficially, it is one of the biggest barrier islands in the world, shielding much of the Massachusetts coastline from North Atlantic storm waves. This protection helps to erode the Cape shoreline at the expense of cliffs, while protecting towns from Fairhaven to Marshfield.

 

Road vehicles from the mainland cross over the Cape Cod Canal via the Sagamore Bridge and the Bourne Bridge. The two bridges are parallel, with the Bourne Bridge located slightly farther southwest. In addition, the Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge carries railway freight as well as tourist passenger services.

Contents

[hide]

 

* 1 Geography and political divisions

o 1.1 "Upper" and "Lower"

* 2 Geology

* 3 Climate

* 4 Native population

* 5 History

* 6 Lighthouses of Cape Cod

* 7 Transportation

o 7.1 Bus

o 7.2 Rail

o 7.3 Taxi

* 8 Tourism

* 9 Sport fishing

* 10 Sports

* 11 Education

* 12 Islands off Cape Cod

* 13 See also

* 14 References

o 14.1 Notes

o 14.2 Sources

o 14.3 Further reading

* 15 External links

 

[edit] Geography and political divisions

Towns of Barnstable County

historical map of 1890

 

The highest elevation on Cape Cod is 306 feet (93 m), at the top of Pine Hill, in the Bourne portion of the Massachusetts Military Reservation. The lowest point is sea level.

 

The body of water located between Cape Cod and the mainland, bordered to the north by Massachusetts Bay, is Cape Cod Bay; west of Cape Cod is Buzzards Bay. The Cape Cod Canal, completed in 1916, connects Buzzards Bay to Cape Cod Bay; it shortened the trade route between New York and Boston by 62 miles.[2] To the south of Cape Cod lie Nantucket Sound; Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, both large islands, and the mostly privately owned Elizabeth Islands.

 

Cape Cod incorporates all of Barnstable County, which comprises 15 towns: Bourne, Sandwich, Falmouth, and Mashpee, Barnstable, Yarmouth, Dennis, Harwich, Brewster, Chatham, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro, and Provincetown. Two of the county's fifteen towns (Bourne and Sandwich) include land on the mainland side of the Cape Cod Canal. The towns of Plymouth and Wareham, in adjacent Plymouth County, are sometimes considered to be part of Cape Cod but are not located on the island.

 

In the 17th century the designation Cape Cod applied only to the tip of the peninsula, essentially present-day Provincetown. Over the ensuing decades, the name came to mean all the land east of the Manomet and Scussett rivers - essentially the line of the 20th century Cape Cod Canal. Now, the complete towns of Bourne and Sandwich are widely considered to incorporate the full perimeter of Cape Cod, even though small parts of these towns are located on the west side of the canal. The canal divides the largest part of the peninsula from the mainland and the resultant landmass is sometimes referred to as an island.[3][4] Additionally some "Cape Codders" – residents of "The Cape" – refer to all land on the mainland side of the canal as "off-Cape."

 

For most of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, Cape Cod was considered to consist of three sections:

 

* The Upper Cape is the part of Cape Cod closest to the mainland, comprising the towns of Bourne, Sandwich, Falmouth, and Mashpee. Falmouth is the home of the famous Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and several other research organizations, and is also the most-used ferry connection to Martha's Vineyard. Falmouth is composed of several separate villages, including East Falmouth, Falmouth Village, Hatchville, North Falmouth, Teaticket, Waquoit, West Falmouth, and Woods Hole, as well as several smaller hamlets that are incorporated into their larger neighbors (e.g., Davisville, Falmouth Heights, Quissett, Sippewissett, and others).[5]

 

* The Mid-Cape includes the towns of Barnstable, Yarmouth and Dennis. The Mid-Cape area features many beautiful beaches, including warm-water beaches along Nantucket Sound, e.g., Kalmus Beach in Hyannis, which gets its name from one of the inventors of Technicolor, Herbert Kalmus. This popular windsurfing destination was bequeathed to the town of Barnstable by Dr. Kalmus on condition that it not be developed, possibly one of the first instances of open-space preservation in the US. The Mid-Cape is also the commercial and industrial center of the region. There are seven villages in Barnstable, including Barnstable Village, Centerville, Cotuit, Hyannis, Marstons Mills, Osterville, and West Barnstable, as well as several smaller hamlets that are incorporated into their larger neighbors (e.g., Craigville, Cummaquid, Hyannisport, Santuit, Wianno, and others).[6] There are three villages in Yarmouth: South Yarmouth, West Yarmouth and Yarmouthport. There are five villages in Dennis including, Dennis Village(North Dennis), East Dennis, West Dennis, South Dennis and Dennisport.[7]

 

* The Lower Cape traditionally included all of the rest of the Cape,or the towns of Harwich, Brewster, Chatham, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro, and Provincetown. This area includes the Cape Cod National Seashore, a national park comprising much of the outer Cape, including the entire east-facing coast, and is home to some of the most popular beaches in America, such as Coast Guard Beach and Nauset Light Beach in Eastham. Stephen Leatherman, aka "Dr. Beach", named Coast Guard Beach the 5th best beach in America for 2007.[8]

 

[edit] "Upper" and "Lower"

 

The terms "Upper" and "Lower" as applied to the Cape have nothing to do with north and south. Instead, they derive from maritime convention at the time when the principal means of transportation involved watercraft, and the prevailing westerly winds meant that a boat with sails traveling northeast in Cape Cod Bay would have the wind at its back and thus be going downwind, while a craft sailing southwest would be going against the wind, or upwind.[9] Similarly, on nearby Martha's Vineyard, "Up Island" still is the western section and "Down Island" is to the east, and in Maine, "Down East" is similarly defined by the winds and currents.

 

Over time, the reasons for the traditional nomenclature became unfamiliar and their meaning obscure. Late in the 1900s, new arrivals began calling towns from Eastham to Provincetown the "Outer Cape", yet another geographic descriptor which is still in use, as is the "Inner Cape."

[edit] Geology

Cape Cod and Cape Cod Bay from space.[10]

 

East of America, there stands in the open Atlantic the last fragment of an ancient and vanished land. Worn by the breakers and the rains, and disintegrated by the wind, it still stands bold.

“

”

Henry Beston, The Outermost House

 

Cape Cod forms a continuous archipelagic region with a thin line of islands stretching toward New York, historically known by naturalists as the Outer Lands. This continuity is due to the fact that the islands and Cape are all terminal glacial moraines laid down some 16,000 to 20,000 years ago.

 

Most of Cape Cod's geological history involves the advance and retreat of the Laurentide ice sheet in the late Pleistocene geological era and the subsequent changes in sea level. Using radiocarbon dating techniques, researchers have determined that around 23,000 years ago, the ice sheet reached its maximum southward advance over North America, and then started to retreat. Many "kettle ponds" — clear, cold lakes — were formed and remain on Cape Cod as a result of the receding glacier. By about 18,000 years ago, the ice sheet had retreated past Cape Cod. By roughly 15,000 years ago, it had retreated past southern New England. When so much of Earth's water was locked up in massive ice sheets, the sea level was lower. Truro's bayside beaches used to be a petrified forest, before it became a beach.

 

As the ice began to melt, the sea began to rise. Initially, sea level rose quickly, about 15 meters (50 ft) per 1,000 years, but then the rate declined. On Cape Cod, sea level rose roughly 3 meters (11 ft) per millennium between 6,000 and 2,000 years ago. After that, it continued to rise at about 1 meter (3 ft) per millennium. By 6,000 years ago, the sea level was high enough to start eroding the glacial deposits that the vanished continental ice sheet had left on Cape Cod. The water transported the eroded deposits north and south along the outer Cape's shoreline. Those reworked sediments that moved north went to the tip of Cape Cod.

 

Provincetown Spit, at the northern end of the Cape, consists largely of marine deposits, transported from farther up the shore. Sediments that moved south created the islands and shoals of Monomoy. So while other parts of the Cape have dwindled from the action of the waves, these parts of the Cape have grown.

Cape Cod National Seashore

 

This process continues today. Due to their position jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean, the Cape and islands are subject to massive coastal erosion. Geologists say that, due to erosion, the Cape will be completely submerged by the sea in thousands of years.[11] This erosion causes the washout of beaches and the destruction of the barrier islands; for example, the ocean broke through the barrier island at Chatham during Hurricane Bob in 1991, allowing waves and storm surges to hit the coast with no obstruction. Consequently, the sediment and sand from the beaches is being washed away and deposited elsewhere. While this destroys land in some places, it creates land elsewhere, most noticeably in marshes where sediment is deposited by waters running through them.

[edit] Climate

 

Although Cape Cod's weather[12] is typically more moderate than inland locations, there have been occasions where Cape Cod has dealt with the brunt of extreme weather situations (such as the Blizzard of 1954 and Hurricane of 1938). Because of the influence of the Atlantic Ocean, temperatures are typically a few degrees cooler in the summer and a few degrees warmer in the winter. A common misconception is that the climate is influenced largely by the warm Gulf Stream current, however that current turns eastward off the coast of Virginia and the waters off the Cape are more influenced by the cold Canadian Labrador Current. As a result, the ocean temperature rarely gets above 65 °F (18 °C), except along the shallow west coast of the Upper Cape.

 

The Cape's climate is also notorious for a delayed spring season, being surrounded by an ocean which is still cold from the winter; however, it is also known for an exceptionally mild fall season (Indian summer), thanks to the ocean remaining warm from the summer. The highest temperature ever recorded on Cape Cod was 104 °F (40 °C) in Provincetown[13], and the lowest temperature ever was −12 °F (−24.4 °C) in Barnstable.[14]

 

The water surrounding Cape Cod moderates winter temperatures enough to extend the USDA hardiness zone 7a to its northernmost limit in eastern North America.[15] Even though zone 7a (annual low = 0–5 degrees Fahrenheit) signifies no sub-zero temperatures annually, there have been several instances of temperatures reaching a few degrees below zero across the Cape (although it is rare, usually 1–5 times a year, typically depending on locale, sometimes not at all). Consequently, many plant species typically found in more southerly latitudes grow there, including Camellias, Ilex opaca, Magnolia grandiflora and Albizia julibrissin.

 

Precipitation on Cape Cod and the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket is the lowest in the New England region, averaging slightly less than 40 inches (1,000 mm) a year (most parts of New England average 42–46 inches). This is due to storm systems which move across western areas, building up in mountainous regions, and dissipating before reaching the coast where the land has leveled out. The region does not experience a greater number of sunny days however, as the number of cloudy days is the same as inland locales, in addition to increased fog. Snowfall is annual, but a lot less common than the rest of Massachusetts. On average, 30 inches of snow, which is a foot less than Boston, falls in an average winter. Snow is usually light, and comes in squalls on cold days. Storms that bring blizzard conditions and snow emergencies to the mainland, bring devastating ice storms or just heavy rains more frequently than large snow storms.

[hide]Climate data for Cape Cod

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year

Average high °C (°F) 2.06

(35.7) 2.5

(36.5) 6.22

(43.2) 11.72

(53.1) 16.94

(62.5) 23.5

(74.3) 26.39

(79.5) 26.67

(80.0) 25.06

(77.1) 18.39

(65.1) 12.56

(54.6) 5.44

(41.8) 26.67

(80.0)

Average low °C (°F) -5.33

(22.4) -5

(23.0) -1.33

(29.6) 2.72

(36.9) 8.72

(47.7) 14.61

(58.3) 19.22

(66.6) 20.28

(68.5) 15.56

(60.0) 9.94

(49.9) 3.94

(39.1) -2.22

(28.0) -5.33

(22.4)

Precipitation mm (inches) 98

(3.86) 75.4

(2.97) 95

(3.74) 92.5

(3.64) 83.6

(3.29) 76.7

(3.02) 62.2

(2.45) 65

(2.56) 74.7

(2.94) 84.8

(3.34) 90.7

(3.57) 92.7

(3.65) 990.9

(39.01)

Source: World Meteorological Organisation (United Nations) [16]

[edit] Native population

 

Cape Cod has been the home of the Wampanoag tribe of Native American people for many centuries. They survived off the sea and were accomplished farmers. They understood the principles of sustainable forest management, and were known to light controlled fires to keep the underbrush in check. They helped the Pilgrims, who arrived in the fall of 1620, survive at their new Plymouth Colony. At the time, the dominant group was the Kakopee, known for their abilities at fishing. They were the first Native Americans to use large casting nets. Early colonial settlers recorded that the Kakopee numbered nearly 7,000.

 

Shortly after the Pilgrims arrived, the chief of the Kakopee, Mogauhok, attempted to make a treaty limiting colonial settlements. The effort failed after he succumbed to smallpox in 1625. Infectious diseases such as smallpox, measles and influenza caused the deaths of many other Kakopee and Wampanoag. They had no natural immunity to Eurasian diseases by then endemic among the English and other Europeans. Today, the only reminder of the Kakopee is a small public recreation area in Barnstable named for them. A historic marker notes the burial site of Mogauhok near Truro, although the location is conjecture.

 

While contractors were digging test wells in the eastern Massachusetts Military Reservation area, they discovered an archeological find.[citation needed] Excavation revealed the remains of a Kakopee village in Forestdale, a location in Sandwich. Researchers found a totem with a painted image of Mogauhok, portrayed in his chief's cape and brooch. The totem was discovered on property on Grand Oak Road. It is the first evidence other than colonial accounts of his role as an important Kakopee leader.

 

The Indians lost their lands through continued purchase and expropriation by the English colonists. The documentary Natives of the Narrowland (1993), narrated by actress Julie Harris, shows the history of the Wampanoag people through Cape Cod archaeological sites.

 

In 1974, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council was formed to articulate the concerns of those with Native American ancestry. They petitioned the federal government in 1975 and again in 1990 for official recognition of the Mashpee Wampanoag as a tribe. In May 2007, the Wampanoag tribe was finally federally recognized as a tribe.[17]

[edit] History

Cranberry picking in 1906

 

Cape Cod was a landmark for early explorers. It may have been the "Promontory of Vinland" mentioned by the Norse voyagers (985-1025). Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524 approached it from the south. He named Martha's Vineyard Claudia, after the mother of the King of France.[18] The next year the explorer Esteban Gómez called it Cape St. James.

 

In 1602 Bartholomew Gosnold named it Cape Cod, the surviving term and the ninth oldest English place-name in the U.S.[19] Samuel de Champlain charted its sand-silted harbors in 1606 and Henry Hudson landed there in 1609. Captain John Smith noted it on his map of 1614 and at last the Pilgrims entered the "Cape Harbor" and – contrary to the popular myth of Plymouth Rock – made their first landing near present-day Provincetown on November 11, 1620. Nearby, in what is now Eastham, they had their first encounter with Native Americans.

 

Cape Cod was among the first places settled by the English in North America. Aside from Barnstable (1639), Sandwich (1637) and Yarmouth (1639), the Cape's fifteen towns developed slowly. The final town to be established on the Cape was Bourne in 1884.[20] Provincetown was a group of huts until the 18th century. A channel from Massachusetts Bay to Buzzards Bay is shown on Southack's map of 1717. The present Cape Cod Canal was slowly developed from 1870 to 1914. The Federal government purchased it in 1928.

 

Thanks to early colonial settlement and intensive land use, by the time Henry Thoreau saw Cape Cod during his four visits over 1849 to 1857[21], its vegetation was depauperate and trees were scarce. As the settlers heated by fires, and it took 10 to 20 cords (40 to 80 m³) of wood to heat a home, they cleared most of Cape Cod of timber early on. They planted familiar crops, but these were unsuited to Cape Cod's thin, glacially derived soils. For instance, much of Eastham was planted to wheat. The settlers practiced burning of woodlands to release nutrients into the soil. Improper and intensive farming led to erosion and the loss of topsoil. Farmers grazed their cattle on the grassy dunes of coastal Massachusetts, only to watch "in horror as the denuded sands `walked' over richer lands, burying cultivated fields and fences." Dunes on the outer Cape became more common and many harbors filled in with eroded soils.[22]

 

By 1800, most of Cape Cod's firewood had to be transported by boat from Maine. The paucity of vegetation was worsened by the raising of merino sheep that reached its peak in New England around 1840. The early industrial revolution, which occurred through much of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, mostly bypassed Cape Cod due to a lack of significant water power in the area. As a result, and also because of its geographic position, the Cape developed as a large fishing and whaling center. After 1860 and the opening of the American West, farmers abandoned agriculture on the Cape. By 1950 forests had recovered to an extent not seen since the 18th century.

 

Cape Cod became a summer haven for city dwellers beginning at the end of the 19th century. Improved rail transportation made the towns of the Upper Cape, such as Bourne and Falmouth, accessible to Bostonians. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Northeastern mercantile elite built many large, shingled "cottages" along Buzzards Bay. The relaxed summer environment offered by Cape Cod was highlighted by writers including Joseph C. Lincoln, who published novels and countless short stories about Cape Cod folks in popular magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post and the Delineator.

 

Guglielmo Marconi made the first transatlantic wireless transmission originating in the United States from Cape Cod, at Wellfleet. The beach from which he transmitted has since been called Marconi Beach. In 1914 he opened the maritime wireless station WCC in Chatham. It supported the communications of Amelia Earhart, Howard Hughes, Admiral Byrd, and the Hindenburg. Marconi chose Chatham due to its vantage point on the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded on three sides by water. Walter Cronkite narrated a 17-minute documentary in 2005 about the history of the Chatham Station.

 

Much of the East-facing Atlantic seacoast of Cape Cod consists of wide, sandy beaches. In 1961, a significant portion of this coastline, already slated for housing subdivisions, was made a part of the Cape Cod National Seashore by President John F. Kennedy. It was protected from private development and preserved for public use. Large portions are open to the public, including the Marconi Site in Wellfleet. This is a park encompassing the site of the first two-way transoceanic radio transmission from the United States. (Theodore Roosevelt used Marconi's equipment for this transmission).

 

The Kennedy Compound in Hyannisport was President Kennedy's summer White House during his presidency. The Kennedy family continues to maintain residences on the compound. Other notable residents of Cape Cod have included actress Julie Harris, US Supreme Court justice Louis Brandeis, figure skater Todd Eldredge, and novelists Norman Mailer and Kurt Vonnegut. Influential natives included the patriot James Otis, historian and writer Mercy Otis Warren, jurist Lemuel Shaw, and naval officer John Percival.

[edit] Lighthouses of Cape Cod

Race Point Lighthouse in Provincetown (1876)

 

Lighthouses, from ancient times, have fascinated members of the human race. There is something about a lighted beacon that suggests hope and trust and appeals to the better instincts of mankind.

“

”

Edward Rowe Snow

 

Due to its dangerous constantly moving shoals, Cape Cod's shores have featured beacons which warn ships of the danger since very early in its history. There are numerous working lighthouses on Cape Cod and the Islands, including Highland Light, Nauset Light, Chatham Light, Race Point Light, and Nobska Light, mostly operated by the U.S. Coast Guard. The exception is Nauset Light, which was decommissioned in 1996 and is now maintained by the Nauset Light Preservation Society under the auspices of Cape Cod National Seashore. These lighthouses are frequently photographed symbols of Cape Cod.

 

Others include:

 

Upper Cape: Wings Neck

 

Mid Cape: Sandy Neck, South Hyannis, Lewis Bay, Bishop and Clerks, Bass River

 

Lower Cape: Wood End, Long Point, Monomoy, Stage Harbor, Pamet, Mayo Beach, Billingsgate, Three Sisters, Nauset, Highland

[edit] Transportation

 

Cape Cod is connected to the mainland by a pair of canal-spanning highway bridges from Bourne and Sagamore that were constructed in the 1930s, and a vertical-lift railroad bridge. The limited number of access points to the peninsula can result in large traffic backups during the tourist season.

 

The entire Cape is roughly bisected lengthwise by U.S. Route 6, locally known as the Mid-Cape Highway and officially as the Grand Army of the Republic Highway.

 

Commercial air service to Cape Cod operates out of Barnstable Municipal Airport and Provincetown Municipal Airport. Several bus lines service the Cape. There are ferry connections from Boston to Provincetown, as well as from Hyannis and Woods Hole to the islands.

 

Cape Cod has a public transportation network comprising buses operated by three different companies, a rail line, taxis and paratransit services.

The Bourne Bridge over the Cape Cod Canal, with the Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge in the background

[edit] Bus

 

Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority operates a year-round public bus system comprising three long distance routes and a local bus in Hyannis and Barnstable Village. From mid June until October, additional local routes are added in Falmouth and Provincetown. CCRTA also operates Barnstable County's ADA required paratransit (dial-a-ride) service, under the name "B-Bus."

 

Long distance bus service is available through Plymouth and Brockton Street Railway, with regular service to Boston and Logan Airport, as well as less frequent service to Provincetown. Peter Pan Bus Lines also runs long distance service to Providence T.F. Green Airport and New York City.

[edit] Rail

 

Regular passenger rail service through Cape Cod ended in 1959, quite possibly on June 30 of that year. In 1978, the tracks east of South Dennis were abandoned and replaced with the very popular bicycle path, known as the Cape Cod Rail Trail. Another bike path, the Shining Sea Bikeway, was built over tracks between Woods Hole and Falmouth in 1975; construction to extend this path to North Falmouth over 6.3 miles (10.1 km) of inactive rail bed began in April 2008[23] and ended in early 2009. Active freight service remains in the Upper Cape area in Sandwich and in Bourne, largely due to a trash transfer station located at Massachusetts Military Reservation along the Bourne-Falmouth rail line. In 1986, Amtrak ran a seasonal service in the summer from New York City to Hyannis called the Cape Codder. From 1988, Amtrak and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation increased service to a daily frequency.[24] Since its demise in 1996, there have been periodic discussions about reinstating passenger rail service from Boston to reduce car traffic to and from the Cape, with officials in Bourne seeking to re-extend MBTA Commuter Rail service from Middleboro to Buzzards Bay[25], despite a reluctant Beacon Hill legislature.

 

Cape Cod Central Railroad operates passenger train service on Cape Cod. The service is primarily tourist oriented and includes a dinner train. The scenic route between Downtown Hyannis and the Cape Cod Canal is about 2½ hours round trip. Massachusetts Coastal Railroad is also planning to return passenger railroad services eventually to the Bourne-Falmouth rail line in the future. An August 5, 2009 article on the New England Cable News channel, entitled South Coast rail project a priority for Mass. lawmakers, mentions a $1.4-billion railroad reconstruction plan by Governor Deval Patrick, and could mean rebuilding of old rail lines on the Cape. On November 21, 2009, the town of Falmouth saw its first passenger train in 12 years, a set of dinner train cars from Cape Cod Central. And a trip from the Mass Bay Railroad Enthusiasts on May 15, 2010 revealed a second trip along the Falmouth line.

[edit] Taxi

 

Taxicabs are plentiful, with several different companies operating out of different parts of the Cape. Except at the airport and some bus terminals with taxi stands, cabs must be booked ahead of time, with most operators preferring two to three hours notice. Cabs cannot be "hailed" anywhere in Barnstable County, this was outlawed in the early nineties after several robbery attempts on drivers.

 

Most companies utilize a New York City-style taximeter and charge based on distance plus an initial fee of $2 to $3. In Provincetown, cabs charge a flat fare per person anywhere in the town.

[edit] Tourism

Hyannis Harbor on Nantucket Sound

 

Although Cape Cod has a year-round population of about 230,000, it experiences a tourist season each summer, the beginning and end of which can be roughly approximated as Memorial Day and Labor Day, respectively. Many businesses are specifically targeted to summer visitors, and close during the eight to nine months of the "off season" (although the "on season" has been expanding somewhat in recent years due to Indian Summer, reduced lodging rates, and the number of people visiting the Cape after Labor Day who either have no school-age children, and the elderly, reducing the true "off season" to six or seven months). In the late 20th century, tourists and owners of second homes began visiting the Cape more and more in the spring and fall, softening the definition of the high season and expanding it somewhat (see above). Some particularly well-known Cape products and industries include cranberries, shellfish (particularly oysters and clams) and lobstering.

 

Provincetown, at the tip of Cape Cod, also berths several whale watching fleets who patrol the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Most fleets guarantee a whale sighting (mostly humpback whale, fin whale, minke whale, sei whale, and critically endangered, the North Atlantic Right Whale), and one is the only federally certified operation qualified to rescue whales. Provincetown has also long been known as an art colony, attracting writers and artists. The town is home to the Cape's most attended art museum, the Provincetown Art Association and Museum. Many hotels and resorts are friendly to or cater to gay and lesbian tourists and it is known as a gay mecca in the summer.[26]

 

Cape Cod is a popular destination for beachgoers from all over. With 559.6 miles (900.6 km) of coastline, beaches, both public and private, are easily accessible. The Cape has upwards of sixty public beaches, many of which offer parking for non-residents for a daily fee (in summer). The Cape Cod National Seashore has 40 miles (64 km) of sandy beach and many walking paths.

 

Cape Cod is also popular for its outdoor activities like beach walking, biking, boating, fishing, go-karts, golfing, kayaking, miniature golf, and unique shopping. There are 27 public, daily-fee golf courses and 15 private courses on Cape Cod.[27] Bed and breakfasts or vacation houses are often used for lodging.

 

Each summer the Naukabout Music Festival is held at the Barnstable County Fair Grounds located in East Falmouth,(typically) during the first weekend of August. This Music festival features local, regional and national talent along with food, arts and family friendly activities.

[edit] Sport fishing

 

Cape Cod is known around the world as a spring-to-fall destination for sport anglers. Among the species most widely pursued are striped bass, bluefish, bluefin tuna, false albacore (little tunny), bonito, tautog, flounder and fluke. The Cape Cod Bay side of the Cape, from Sandwich to Provincetown, has several harbors, saltwater creeks, and shoals that hold bait fish and attract the larger game fish, such as striped bass, bluefish and bluefin tuna.

 

The outer edge of the Cape, from Provincetown to Falmouth, faces the open Atlantic from Provincetown to Chatham, and then the more protected water of Nantucket and Vineyard Sounds, from Chatham to Falmouth. The bays, harbors and shoals along this coastline also provide a robust habitat for game species, and during the late summer months warm-water species such as mahi-mahi and marlin will also appear on the southern edge of Cape Cod's waters. Nearly every harbor on Cape Cod hosts sport fishing charter boats, which run from May through October.[28]

[edit] Sports

 

The Cape has nine amateur baseball franchises playing within Barnstable County in the Cape Cod Baseball League. The Wareham Gatemen also play in the Cape Cod Baseball League in nearby Wareham, Massachusetts in Plymouth County. The league originated 1923, although intertown competition traces to 1866. Teams in the league are the Bourne Braves, Brewster Whitecaps, Chatham Anglers (formerly the Chatham Athletics), Cotuit Kettleers, Falmouth Commodores, Harwich Mariners, Hyannis Harbor Hawks (formerly the Hyannis Mets), Orleans Firebirds (formerly the Orleans Cardinals), Wareham Gatemen and the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox. Pro ball scouts frequent the games in the summer, looking for stars of the future.

 

Cape Cod is also a national hot bed for baseball and hockey. Along with the Cape Cod Baseball League and the new Junior Hockey League team, the Cape Cod Cubs, many high school players are being seriously recruited as well. Barnstable and Harwich have each sent multiple players to Division 1 colleges for baseball, Harwich has also won three State titles in the past 12 years (1996, 2006, 2007). Bourne and Sandwich, known rivals in hockey have won state championships recently. Bourne in 2004, and Sandwich in 2007. Nauset, Barnstable, and Martha's Vineyard are also state hockey powerhouses. Barnstable and Falmouth also hold the title of having one of the longest Thanksgiving football rivalries in the country. The teams have played each other every year on the Thanksgiving since 1895. The Bourne and Barnstable girl's volleyball teams are two of the best teams in the state and Barnstable in the country. With Bourne winning the State title in 2003 and 2007. In the past 15 years, Barnstable has won 12 Division 1 State titles and has won the state title the past two years.

 

The Cape also is home to the Cape Cod Frenzy, a team in the American Basketball Association.

 

Soccer on Cape Cod is represented by the Cape Cod Crusaders, playing in the USL Premier Development League (PDL) soccer based in Hyannis. In addition, a summer Cape Cod Adult Soccer League (CCASL) is active in several towns on the Cape.

 

Cape Cod is also the home of the Cape Cod Cubs, a new junior league hockey team that is based out of Hyannis at the new communtiy center being built of Bearses Way.

 

The end of each summer is marked with the running of the world famous Falmouth Road Race which is held on the 3rd Saturday in August. It draws about 10,000 runners to the Cape and showcases the finest runners in the world (mainly for the large purse that the race is able to offer). The race is 7.2 miles (11.6 km) long, which is a non-standard distance. The reason for the unusual distance is that the man who thought the race up (Tommy Leonard) was a bartender who wanted a race along the coast from one bar (The Cap'n Kidd in Woods Hole) to another (The Brothers Four in Falmouth Heights). While the bar in Falmouth Heights is no longer there, the race still starts at the front door of the Cap'n Kidd in Woods Hole and now finishes at the beach in Falmouth Heights. Prior to the Falmouth race is an annual 5-mile (8.0 km) race through Brewster called the Brew Run, held early in August.

[edit] Education

 

Each town usually consists of a few elementary schools, one or two middle schools and one large public high school that services the entire town. Exceptions to this include Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School located in Yarmouth which services both the town of Yarmouth as well as Dennis and Nauset Regional High School located in Eastham which services the town of Brewster, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro, and Provincetown (optional). Bourne High School is the public school for students residing in the town of Bourne, which is gathered from villages in Bourne, including Sagamore, Sagamore Beach, and Buzzards Bay. Barnstable High School is the largest high school and is known for its girls' volleyball team which have been state champions a total of 12 times. Barnstable High School also boasts one of the country's best high school drama clubs which were awarded with a contract by Warner Brothers to created a documentary in webisode format based on their production of Wizard of Oz. Sturgis Charter Public School is a public school in Hyannis which was featured in Newsweek's Magazine's "Best High Schools" ranking. It ranked 28th in the country and 1st in the state of Massachusetts in the 2009 edition and ranked 43rd and 55th in the 2008 and 2007 edition, respectively. Sturgis offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme in their junior and senior year and is open to students as far as Plymouth. The Cape also contains two vocational high schools. One is the Cape Cod Regional Technical High School in Harwich and the other is Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical High School located in Bourne. Lastly, Mashpee High School is home to the Mashpee Chapter of (SMPTE,) the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. This chapter is the first and only high school chapter in the world to be a part of this organization and has received much recognition within the Los Angeles broadcasting industry as a result. The officers of this group who have made history are listed below:

 

* President: Ryan D. Stanley '11

* Vice-President Kenneth J. Peters '13

* Treasurer Eric N. Bergquist '11

* Secretary Andrew L. Medlar '11

 

In addition to public schools, Cape Cod has a wide range of private schools. The town of Barnstable has Trinity Christian Academy, Cape Cod Academy, St. Francis Xavier Preparatory School, and Pope John Paul II High School. Bourne offers the Waldorf School of Cape Cod, Orleans offers the Lighthouse Charter School for elementary and middle school students, and Falmouth offers Falmouth Academy. Riverview School is located in East Sandwich and is a special co-ed boarding school which services students as old as 22 who have learning disabilities. Another specialized school is the Penikese Island School located on Penikese Island, part of the Elizabeth Islands off southwestern Cape Cod, which services struggling and troubled teenage boys.

 

Cape Cod also contains two institutions of higher education. One is the Cape Cod Community College located in West Barnstable, Barnstable. The other is Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay, Bourne. Massachusetts Maritime Academy is the oldest continuously operating maritime college in the United States.

[edit] Islands off Cape Cod

 

Like Cape Cod itself, the islands south of the Cape have evolved from whaling and trading areas to resort destinations, attracting wealthy families, celebrities, and other tourists. The islands include Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, as well as Forbes family-owned Naushon Island, which was purchased by John Murray Forbes with profits from opium dealing in the China trade during the Opium War. Naushon is one of the Elizabeth Islands, many of which are privately owned. One of the publicly accessible Elizabeths is the southernmost island in the chain, Cuttyhunk, with a year-round population of 52 people. Several prominent families have established compounds or estates on the larger islands, making these islands some of the wealthiest resorts in the Northeast, yet they retain much of the early merchant trading and whaling culture.

Aftermath

Name: Peter Renshaw

Location: Kinglake West.

Date: 2009MAR26

Description:

 

First time in the back paddock. The plants you see in the foreground are what is left of a 1acre paddock of exotic Camellias and Rhododendrons. They are bending in the direction of the fire path.

 

The text below is a talk I gave on how we (brother, sister, myself and mates) organised and executed plans to get immediate power & water at my Dads house. Authorities simply didn't react fast enough.

 

==================

 

Final draft for talk at Trampoline

 

update latest news

 

Now published at seldomlogical.com/gsd.html.

 

A quick intro to the fire is here www.flickr.com/photos/bootload/sets/72157615800278371/. Be aware this is a draft & I'll be posting later a linked & more polished version at seldomlogical and my wp site. For the purposes of the talk on the day I subtitled the talk Kick-starting Volunteers to not only make the title shorter but to put the talk in a bigger context. The ideas here can be applied to situations like Black Saturday but could just as easily be applied to Volunteers, even Startups. They all face the same types of problems.

 

Hello, my name is Peter. My talk is called "Getting stuff

done with nothing". Before I begin I'll tell you something

about myself. My first computer was a ZX-80. I don't get

out much and I haven't been to a meeting for a long time.

I'm one of those Gen-X slackers, I went to school for 20

or so years and I've worked mostly in Startups and

software. So you could say I'm a bit of an expert on the

topic. Well at least one.

 

Getting stuff done with nothing

Why is it that some individuals adapt to change faster than

others? How is it that people with no authority, few

resources can make such a difference? The ideas I want to

explore has its roots in the slow decline of volunteering,

the unfolding financial crisis and the 7th February 2009.

A day we now know as Black Saturday.

 

How do you avoid sabotaging yourself trying to help?

How do you get stuff done, with nothing?

 

Black Saturday

 

It was 46 degrees that day. I'd thought about going to Dads

about 70 kilometers from where I live. But with a total

fire ban and hot conditions I chose the pool instead

staying close to home. It wasn't till I got home about six

o'clock that evening that I got a call from a distressed

sister saying Dad was fighting off fires at his property at

Kinglake West and his phone was going flat. Later I got

another call at around 8 o'clock to say the house had

survived but he was still fighting. [0]

 

I was 70 kilometers away, it was getting dark so I drove to

the nearest place I could see the range, snapped a few

shots and uploaded them to Flickr. My brother and sister

who lived closer shot up to Whittlesea trying to get into

the fire-zone to help. Foolish maybe, but it was to have

positive implications later. [1] I knew that if Dad

survived the first two hours with house intact - as long

as he kept his wits about him, he would survive. So I

started planing, writing and collecting any information

I could to see if I could help out further down the line.

  

49 days later

 

It's now forty nine days since the fire and work is

still going on. A casual comment by a CFA volunteer on my

Flickr account [2] suggesting that for the next major fire

a similar site might do exactly what I was doing -

collecting information and acting as a clearing house.

This was going to be initial idea for my talk. "How to

apply technology and apply it to solve the communications

and logistic problems" I encountered with the fires. Maybe

it could be applied to other relief efforts. What about

the recession? Could it help people who loose their jobs

to re-train? Get new skills?

 

But thinking about it more, it turned out to be the wrong

question to ask. I don't think technology is the problem.

[3] I think the real problem is much more fundamental. I

think it's people and how they tackle obstacles. I don't

want to get bogged down in theory. What I want concentrate

on something practical. How to apply some quick hacks that

anyone can master in times of need.

  

Personal qualities not technology

 

To get things done you have to overcome hurdles. Some

are personal and internal. Others are external and totally

out of your control. When I started thinking about what

personal qualities might be important, I was struck by the

fact you might need to experiment and apply various

combinations to achieve a result. So I have tried to narrow

the list, to what I think are the 10 qualities that make a

difference.

  

1) Controlling emotion

 

Emotions effect the way we make decisions. Emotions come in

many forms as we react to stress. Each person reacts

slightly differently. Limiting your emotional reaction, lets

you move forward to make decisions. It's a trait that only

you can control. Some sort of control is an advantage over

none. No control over you emotions can let fear control

you. Fear is by far the most damaging emotion I can think

of. Fear paralyses you into in-action. In-action is not

only counter productive but it's also the fastest way to

sabotage yourself. Fear is also contagious. If you are

fearful, it has a nasty habit of rubbing-off onto others.

I don't know the solution to avoiding or controlling fear

but I do know you should be aware it exists. You should try

to negate it's side effects. The better control you have

over fear, the more effective you can be. [4]

  

2) Listening

 

How well you listen greatly effects any outcome to try to

achieve. Not listening is one of the quickest ways to fail

when you encounter external hurdles. Not listening you miss

details. Details that could mean the difference between

knowing what is required or taking a risk and guessing. A

requirement achieved is a form of measurable success.

Guessing simply wastes time. If in doubt ask someone "on

the ground". They know things you don't. Listen now and

you save time and effort later.

  

3) Mindset

 

If you have a rigid mindset. If you cannot adapt quickly

enough. You risk not only failing to achieve the things you

set out to do. You will be susceptible to blunder. A

blunder is when the action you take, results in a worse

situation than when you start. Blunders have many causes.

But the most likely culprit is a fixed or rigid mindset.

Mindset is the combined effect of "how you react

emotionally to current events" and "the decisions you make

as a result". So ask yourself. "Are you undermining

yourself because you have a rigid mindset?"

  

4) Empathy & imagination

 

Can you walk in the shoes of another person? Can you

identify their problems and solve them? Empathy and

imagination are an effective antidote to blunders, rigid

mindsets and cognitive traps in thinking. [5] Don't just

try and blunder your way through a solution. First put

yourself into situation you are trying to improve and

use your mind to to project, how you might make the

current situation into a better or best situation. [6]

  

5) Communication not Info-mania

 

An info-maniac is someone who misuses information. If you

hold onto information, shun or avoid the source or nature

of information. You are self sabotaging yourself. You need

to collect enough of the right type of relevant

information. Don't worry about the having too much

information. You will be surprised what people might be

looking for or find. [7] Working as a team has its own

challenges. When communicating to more than one person

make sure they have the right mindset and ensure they are

communicating together to get the job done.

  

6) Thrift and resources

 

Up till now, the focus has primarily been on the how.

Little thought has been given to cost. If you have few

resources and need them quickly it is up to you to work out

how important they are. Weigh the costs of buying verses

loaning. Don't buy if you can help it. The time honoured

"Beg, borrow and ask" works, well some of the time. A simple

solution is to hack what you already have and see if it can

fit the purpose. A roll of fencing wire and duct tape may

work wonders but not miracles.

 

This is where you have to get creative. A good resource can

be friends or people you know. It may even be complete

strangers. In some cases you will have to pay cash. Before

you do check with people on the ground if they really need

this item. If you pay cash it might be better to accept a

higher price for a receipt instead of trying to negotiate

a discount. This avoids disputes. Pay a bit more to avoid

potential conflict. [8]

  

7) Speed

 

We are often told to do things "fast". But saying and

doing are two different things. Where do you start? Well

start at the basics. The basics of life are 'food', 'water'

and shelter. So for a given situation concentrate first on

the basics. Be able to say with certainty you have

reliability. Day in, day out. Every day. Speed is also

about getting real results without wasting unnecessary time

and resources. Any lack of the above qualities will hinder

your efforts. So I think the measure of speed is about

delivering the basics. Then using a combination of

listening, empathy and imagination you can move your way

forward.

 

But speed alone isn't good enough.

 

It's a constant. What you really want is acceleration.

What forces can you use to increase the accelerate the rate

you do things? Well the answer to this and a potential

road-block is probably a combination of and Info-mania.

Collect enough information on problem at hand and you get a

data glut and as long as the relevance of the information

is high someone can probably find the right information.

The trick is then to get the right people to take notice.

 

We got "feet on the ground" to Dad in less than 48 hours.

Delivering a delivering a generator and essentials. Yet I

was shocked that it took another 48 hours for support teams to

touch base in Flowerdale a mere 26 kilometers further

north. [9] This changed quickly when Pete William started

writing the "helpflowerdale" blog. Things sped up when the

information flow sped up. [10]

  

8) Search for simplicity

 

KISS or Keep it Simple Stupid. Easy to say, much harder to

do in practice. The advantage of simplicity is it helps

keeps you focused on what is achievable. Focusing on simple

outcomes is also cost and time effective. Complex things

consume resources. How do you find simple solutions in

real-life complexity?

 

I have no real answers. But I did get a few valuable

insights trying to work out how to solve the problem of

water. After the fires, I knew delivering the basics was

going to be a big problem. And the most important basic is

water. But how do you source, deliver and maintain a clean

water supply 70 kilometers away?

 

How did I simplify the problem? Well first I had the right

mindset. I knew in the middle of summer in remote areas

that damaged water tanks, no pumps and when the power is

down there will be no reliable water. I also knew speed was

of the essence. The simplicity hack I applied was knowing

that water being a basic was required quickly. I confirmed

by ringing up people on the ground that water storage was a

problem. Then spread the news around this is what was

required. It just so happened that other people where

already thinking along the same lines pre-warned because of

the information I spread, "empathised" and offered help.

The actual situation itself is complicated and I couldn't

tackle this problem myself but I got a call from a good

friend who is an expert in logistics and just happened to

have a water solution in the form of a Shutz. By chance I

also got access to various forms of transport.

 

Is this a case of good luck or searching for a simpler way?

I'm not sure. I do know that by knowing this was a priority

and using resources I secured the water containers and got

them delivered. [11], [12]

  

9) Follow through, re-evaluate

 

What you start you finish. Don't leave loose threads. Then

quickly re-evaluate. Do you really need to continue?

Communicate together. Is someone else doing this? Check

with someone on the ground again. Then continue. If you

promise to do something, do it. No one else is going to do

it. It is up to you.

 

Are you going to let your mates down?

  

10) Motivation, "the mongrel factor"

 

The final personal quality is how much of the "mongrel

factor" you have. No, it has nothing to do with "Blue

Heelers" (the TV show) [13] but the mongrel breed of dog.

How hard do you "snap" and "snarl" [14] to extract that

last 5 percent effort required to complete a task? The

difference between those who give up and those who succeed

can partially be explained to how hard they are willing to

push themselves. [15]

  

The future of Volunteers

I don't think technology alone can solve the types of

problems. You need intelligent application of technology.

Instead we should look at how we as individuals respond

using technology to amplify results. I also saw a complete

change in community attitudes to 'volunteering'. Before the

fire, volunteering was a dirty word. After the fire people

felt guilty not helping.

 

The fires may be over. But your chance to make a difference

begins now. Black Saturday might be the fractal training

run for the current recession. Lots of people, young people

especially are now going find themselves without the

opportunities to work and no path to improve themselves.

 

What are YOU! going to do? Are you! (point to individual)

going to let your mates down?

  

Reference

 

[0] Bootload, flickr, "You can read a summary and view

pictures of the fires first hours here",

[Accessed Thursday, 26th March, 2009]

flickr.com/photos/bootload/3260244634

 

[1] We (my brother, sister, her bloke, myself and a good

mate) undertook two distinct operations. Operation Genny:

objective to deliver power in the form of a generator.

Operation Shutz: objective to deliver clean water supply

tanks up to 3000 litres with 1 tank capable of being put on

a ute. We completed both. We had feet on the ground within

48 hours of the fire occurring for the generator. The water

supply following some 2 weeks later.

 

None of this would have been possible if emotional sister

and determined brother used speed to the fire zone within

couple of hours. The reward, a pass to move through the

police road blocks. Had it not been for this quick

thinking. Nothing we planned would have come to fruition.

 

[2] miniopterus, Flickr, "I should have said, good job

tracking the events. I imagine that next time we have fires,

we might see something similar to your Flickr diary.",

flickr.com/photos/bootload/3298613958

[Accessed Thursday, 26th March, 2009]

  

[3] To technologists who forge and yield hammers every

problem can appear to be a nail. In this case I don't think

a technology solution is applicable as tackling how people

deal with decision making. You need intelligent application

of technology. Instead we should look at how we as

individuals respond using technology to amplify results.

 

[4] Fear is there for a reason. Men may perceive women to

be inferior when it comes to emotion. But like the second

law of thermodynamics, all that built up emotion is going

to leak out some time in the future. So in the long run,

I think women have an edge over men dealing with emotion.

But in the short term it is men who edge women out with

self control. There is a downside here. Apply too much

control and you might emotionally overheat and become

brittle when you cool down leaving yourself open to

cracking. Hard objects become brittle and crack under

stress.

 

[6] google, "enter 'from: kinglake west to: Flowerdale

VIC, Australia' and view the maps tab. This reveals the

distance from Kinglake West."

[Accessed Friday, 27th March, 2009]

  

[5] Zachary Shore, "Blunder: Why Smart People Make Bad

Decisions, Blunder Intro, P5."

www.zacharyshore.com/static/content/blunder_intro.pdf

[Accessed Friday, 27th March, 2009]

  

[6] CVS2BVS: Current View of Situation to Best View of

Situation is a quick hack to make you think of moving

forward. What is you current view? What is your best

view? How do you get there? You have to ask the question

before you can find a solution.

  

[7] ITConversations, Tech Nation, Zachary Shore, "Why

Smart People Make Bad Decisions: Professor, Naval

Postgraduate School"

itc.conversationsnetwork.org/shows/detail4007.html

[Accessed Friday, 27th March, 2009]

  

[8] Sourcing the Shutz (ruggised 1000 Lt, portable water

container) I negotiated a price by quoting a friends name

in cash. Then I get a phone call asking for more money. A

quick call back to my referring mate sorted this out. But

had I got a receipt I could have avoided this. In the end

it worked out. But the risk was there. You can read more

about sourcing the Shutz here:

www.flickr.com/photos/bootload/sets/72157614178152108/

[Accessed Friday, 27th March, 2009]

  

[9] google, "To find the distance from Kinglake West to

Flowerdale enter 'from: Kinglake West to: Flowerdale VIC,

Australia' into google and click the maps tab.

  

[10] Pete Williams, blogspot, "Flowerdale - Survivor

Spirit", "A cry for help from the forgotten people of

Flowerdale"

"... The final straw for my sister in law came at 6.00am

today (12/02/09) when those left fought to save one of the

remaining houses that caught on fire overnight. They fought

with no water, no fire trucks and no support from the Army

that was in the area. They lost the fight. ..."

helpflowerdalenow.blogspot.com/2009/02/cry-for-help-from-...

[Accessed Friday, 27th March, 2009]

  

[11] bootload, flickr, "flickr set: 'Shutz IBC 1000L' where

I order and collect the Shutz water tank"

www.flickr.com/photos/bootload/sets/72157614178152108/

[Accessed Friday, 27th March, 2009]

  

[12] bootload, "flickr set: 'Eltham to Kinglake West'

where we deliver the tanks"

www.flickr.com/photos/bootload/sets/72157614178001242/

[Accessed Friday, 27th March, 2009]

  

[13] IMDb, "Blue Heelers, The Mongrel Factor"

www.imdb.com/title/tt0527723/

[Accessed Friday, 27th March, 2009]

  

[14] Australian Sports Commission, "Participating in Sport:

Predicting sports suitability", "... Coaches who observe

such testing sessions are assessing the ‘mongrel factor’

which athletes show a doggedness to continue when the test

becomes hard?"

www.ausport.gov.au/participating/got_talent/overview/pred...

[Accessed Friday, 27th March, 2009]

  

[15] Simon Britton, "Mongrel Nation",

culturenow.com/site/item.cfm?item=24814

[Accessed Friday, 27th March, 2009]

 

To Andy, James, Kev, Mum and Trace. They know how to get

things done with nothing. Thanks Trace, Colin for reading

the article.

,Pay Visit to my: Getty Image // Twitter I Face Book // My Blog // My Modern Met // Red Bubble // perf Spot // deviant ART Here

 

_______________________________

 

My Photography Started since my child hood, when I was a student of Mirzapur cadet college, and those days back in 1973 we use to be a member of our college photographic club and learn the photography in B&W at 35mm format.

 

Later My Joining to Army had some difficulties in my hobbies although i had digital camera and occasionally i use to shoot,

 

I got a gift SLR fuji camera back in 1987 from my Brother in law, who Loves photography too, and use to shoot on film camera .

 

Although I do not have any Certificate based education or a degree from any Institution, but I had Study a lot of books , journals, and web digest at various time and level.

 

Further more abt my photography and the gears that I had use and am using now , and also to wish in future shall be delivered below the comment box separately.

 

If you like to know more abt me as flickr er plz visit me hereFlickr ID ; Knowing Me More as Flickr er Here.

abt Abt me plz visit me here ABOUT MEand My FAQ Here

 

I Love moving around and walk through lens and sight , My Photo Walks are organized Photo Walk Collections Here . also see the List of Walk in the comment box below , Further more you may view my set on the following

 

1, My WishList

 

2, My Gears Display

 

3, My PurchaseList/Cart

My Website : Twitter : Facebook : Instagram : Photocrowd

 

The much maligned (and deservedly so in my opinion) 20 Fenchurch St tower reflecting the last of the sunset on mid-Summers day.

 

It's nickname is the Walkie-Talkie but I think a better name would be the 'Sore Thumb' as that's what it looks like against the skyline of the other City skyscrapers.

 

Taken during the recent 'London 24in24' event. Click here to see more from this event and previous Photo24 events : www.flickr.com/photos/darrellg/albums/72157667520181380

 

For those anywhere near London, you can find details of the next London Flickr Group Photowalk on Saturday July 20th here : www.flickr.com/groups/londonflickrgroup/discuss/721577219...

 

From Wikipedia, "The building won the Carbuncle Cup in 2015, awarded by Building Design magazine to the worst new building in the UK during the previous year. The chairman of the jury that decided the prize, Thomas Lane, said "it is a challenge finding anyone who has something positive to say about this building", whilst a town planner at the nearby Royal Town Planning Institute described the building as "a daily reminder never to let such a planning disaster ever happen again."

 

During the building's construction, it was discovered that for a period of up to two hours each day if the sun shines directly onto the building, it acts as a concave mirror and focuses light onto the streets to the south. Spot temperature readings at street-level including up to 91 °C (196 °F) and 117 °C (243 °F) were observed during summer 2013, when the reflection of a beam of light up to six times brighter than direct sunlight shining onto the streets beneath damaged parked vehicles, including one on Eastcheap whose owner was paid £946 by the developers for repairs to melted bodywork. Temperatures in direct line with the reflection became so intense that City A.M. reporter Jim Waterson managed to fry an egg in a pan set out on the ground. The reflection also burned or scorched the doormat of a shop in the affected area. The media responded by dubbing the building the "Walkie-Scorchie" and "Fryscraper".

 

In September 2013, the developers stated that the City of London Corporation had approved plans to erect temporary screening on the streets to prevent similar incidents, and that they were also "evaluating longer-term solutions to ensure the issue cannot recur in future". In 2014, a permanent awning was installed on the south side of the higher floors of the tower."

 

© D.Godliman

OMGOMGOMG. I had a chance to try out the new Celestron RASA 8! For those of you who are familiar with our weather in Seattle, you'll understand our excitement about getting a 4-day stretch of PERFECT (and cold) weather during new moon.

 

Because the RASA is f/2, I collected a TON of data which I will process in the coming cloudy days, but I wanted to post this one photo of M42 ASAP because it is a true testament of what this astrograph can do.

 

This is a mere ~1 hr of data from a Bortle 8-9, urban sky. For you f/7 imagers out there, YOU would have to expose for 14.4 hours to get the same signal to noise! To help with the massive amount of light pollution in my area, I used the Celestron RASA LPR filter that just threads in to the top of the RASA corrector.

 

I'm VERY excited about the potential of this scope. It's an extremely fast, high performing, and affordable scope, AND it's probably one of the easiest systems I've used.

 

More tips in future posts (including a "how-to" on flat taking), but here's a good one to start out with: Make sure you have the right spacing between the camera and the RASA corrector for best optical performance. Incorrect spacing will really hurt imaging quality. If your stars are in focus in one part of the field, but out of focus elsewhere in the field, you should suspect that spacing might be the culprit.

 

Image details:

34x2min

12x5sec exposures (HDR Composition)

=69 min

Celestron RASA 8" f/2 Astrograph

Celestron RASA Light Pollution Reduction filter

ZWO ASI294MC-Pro Camera @ -15-degrees C

QHY Mini guide scope with ZWO178MC guide camera.

Sequence Generator Pro

PHD2

Stacking, HDR Composition, and additional processing with PixInsight

Background gradient removal with AstroPixelProcessor

  

Excerpt from the plaque:

 

Sanctuary of Salt by Homan Ho Man-chung

 

“Sanctuary of Salt” is a laboratory that studies salt as a creative medium. It exhibits the forms and records of salt crystals, along with a series of works on the relationship between human and salt as well as nature at large. This year’s work presents three people who are indissoluble with Yim Tin Tsai, from salt workers to scientists, collaborating to explore the possibilities of salt, recording the process and the story, and documenting their common endeavour in search of tales of salt in future.

Sorry, life is ruthless sometimes. I am but it is as if I were not. See you in future, i expect.

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TSQBWcSi-U

A herd of moo-cows mooching about on the South Downs in the evening sunshine. Rumour is the local dairy herd is about to be disbanded due to falling milk prices so might not see cattle like this on the Downs in future.

This is my first time travel to Uji city and this is a such nice place to visit and I love a lot this place.

No tourism so crowded and have a nice river view and sunset directions.

In future I could like to come again this place.

Going through some older shots while I have to be quiet as I recover from a bout of pneumonia. I have decided that in future I must make more of an effort to get rid of unwanted shots as I take them. My delete box is filling up!