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Brad McGinley, Cooper the Wonder Dog and I ventured down to the Garden of the Gods last weekend to shoot the moon setting behind Pikes Peak and the kissing camels. Hard to believe, I’ve only been to this iconic destination once previously and long before my photography was as serious as it is today. I’ve had this location on my radar for some time and always felt it one of the night destinations best shot during a large or full moon since the light pollution from the city would minimize the stars anyway.
This shot was taken just after 3:00 AM as the moon set behind Pikes Peak. Even though the nearly full moon set, there’s still plenty of light in the area lighting up the foreground. We tried several vantages in the park, but liked this one best for the shot.
It is a 4 shot panorama, 70mm, f/2.8, 2 minutes and ISO 100. It was a relatively calm night about 50+ degrees and I forgot that taking long exposures in warm(ish) weather yields hot spots on the sensor. Still I liked the photo enough to spend a few hours each night this week eliminating them so that I can add this shot to my gallery. A tedious manual process, but hopefully worth it in the long run.
This set was taken during the golden hour in an area NW of town known as Burrs Spur. (and old rail spur). Im trying to minimize my processing so, only crop and orientation. tweeking the light, and removal of sensor dust. Its not easy editing through the binoculars. The colors are provide from above so enjoy
The area that was to become West Palm Beach was settled in the late 1870s and 1880s by a few hundred settlers who called the vicinity "Lake Worth Country." These settlers were a diverse community from different parts of the United States and the world. They included founding families such at the Potters and the Lainharts, who would go on to become leading members of the business community in the fledgling city. The first white settlers in Palm Beach County lived around Lake Worth, then an enclosed freshwater lake, named for Colonel William Jenkins Worth, who had fought in the Second Seminole War in Florida in 1842. Most settlers engaged in the growing of tropical fruits and vegetables for shipment the north via Lake Worth and the Indian River. By 1890, the U.S. Census counted over 200 people settled along Lake Worth in the vicinity of what would become West Palm Beach. The area at this time also boasted a hotel, the "Cocoanut House", a church, and a post office. The city was platted by Henry Flagler as a community to house the servants working in the two grand hotels on the neighboring island of Palm Beach, across Lake Worth in 1893, coinciding with the arrival of the Florida East Coast railroad. Flagler paid two area settlers, Captain Porter and Louie Hillhouse, a combined sum of $45,000 for the original town site, stretching from Clear Lake to Lake Worth.
On November 5, 1894, 78 people met at the "Calaboose" (the first jail and police station located at Clematis St. and Poinsettia, now Dixie Hwy.) and passed the motion to incorporate the Town of West Palm Beach in what was then Dade County (now Miami-Dade County). This made West Palm Beach the first incorporated municipality in Dade County and in South Florida. The town council quickly addressed the building codes and the tents and shanties were replaced by brick, brick veneer, and stone buildings. The city grew steadily during the 1890s and the first two decades of the 20th century, most residents were engaged in the tourist industry and related services or winter vegetable market and tropical fruit trade. In 1909, Palm Beach County was formed by the Florida State Legislature and West Palm Beach became the county seat. In 1916, a new neo-classical courthouse was opened, which has been painstakingly restored back to its original condition, and is now used as the local history museum.
The city grew rapidly in the 1920s as part of the Florida land boom. The population of West Palm Beach quadrupled from 1920 to 1927, and all kinds of businesses and public services grew along with it. Many of the city's landmark structures and preserved neighborhoods were constructed during this period. Originally, Flagler intended for his Florida East Coast Railway to have its terminus in West Palm, but after the area experienced a deep freeze, he chose to extend the railroad to Miami instead.
The land boom was already faltering when city was devastated by the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane. The Depression years of the 1930s were a quiet time for the area, which saw slight population growth and property values lower than during the 1920s. The city only recovered with the onset of World War II, which saw the construction of Palm Beach Air Force Base, which brought thousands of military personnel to the city. The base was vital to the allied war effort, as it provided an excellent training facility and had unparalleled access to North Africa for a North American city. Also during World War II, German U-Boats sank dozens of merchant ships and oil tankers just off the coast of West Palm Beach. Nearby Palm Beach was under black out conditions to minimize night visibility to German U-boats.
The 1950s saw another boom in population, partly due to the return of many soldiers and airmen who had served in the vicinity during the war. Also, the advent of air conditioning encouraged growth, as year-round living in a tropical climate became more acceptable to northerners. West Palm Beach became the one of the nation's fastest growing metropolitan areas during the 1950s; the city's borders spread west of Military Trail and south to Lake Clarke Shores. However, many of the city's residents still lived within a narrow six-block wide strip from the south to north end. The neighborhoods were strictly segregated between White and African-American populations, a legacy that the city still struggles with today. The primary shopping district remained downtown, centered around Clematis Street.
In the 1960s, Palm Beach County's first enclosed shopping mall, the Palm Beach Mall, and an indoor arena were completed. These projects led to a brief revival for the city, but in the 1970s and 1980s crime continued to be a serious issue and suburban sprawl continued to drain resources and business away from the old downtown area. By the early 1990s there were very high vacancy rates downtown, and serious levels of urban blight.
Since the 1990s, developments such as CityPlace and the preservation and renovation of 1920s architecture in the nightlife hub of Clematis Street have seen a downtown resurgence in the entertainment and shopping district. The city has also placed emphasis on neighborhood development and revitalization, in historic districts such as Northwood, Flamingo Park, and El Cid. Some neighborhoods still struggle with blight and crime, as well as lowered property values caused by the Great Recession, which hit the region particularly hard. Since the recovery, multiple new developments have been completed. The Palm Beach Mall, located at the Interstate 95/Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard interchange became abandoned as downtown revitalized - the very mall that initiated the original abandonment of the downtown. The mall was then redeveloped into the Palm Beach Fashion Outlets in February 2014. A station for All Aboard Florida, a high speed passenger rail service serving Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Orlando, is under construction as of July 2015.
Credit for the data above is given to the following website:
To all who use eos 5DS: when shooting handheld and you want to take advantage of all 50.6 MP then do the recording in silent mode. It minimize shake and sharpens the image as here with a 200 mm lens
ⰕⰑⰏⰅ ⰑⰄ ⰑⰔⰕⰑⰨⰋⰜⰀ or Tome od Ostojića (Thomas of Ostojić), is an Ironclad Battleship based on the designs of the infamous naval designer Piotr Brosnov. Named after the duke of Ostojić and successful admiral, she and her class served as the flagships of their respective fleets. Her very wide and shallow design enabled her to easily crush pack ice, serving as an icebreaker in the frigid winter ocean, also minimizing her length, allowing for thicker deck armour over her vital machinery sections (her armour belt was not quite 2m tall), and her rotundity allowed her to turn on a dime by simply shutting off or reversing the inside engine. Powered by three double-expansion steam engines, each with their own boiler, she was actually able to make decent knottage for a ship of her girth, though her width did cause excess strain on the hull during inclement weather, having a tendency to slam through, rather than ride over, large waves.
Stats:
Year Commissioned: 1886
Length: 84 m
Width: 50 m
Displacement: ~9'950 tons
Main Guns: 2 * Double 13"
Secondaries: 6 * Single 6.4"
Tertiaries: 6 * Single 4.7"
Anti-TB: 12 * Single 2.1"
Armour: 10-13" Belt, 4.5" Deck
Speed: 15 kn
Range: 4'000 km
Last month, someone (me) posted pictures of the Russian yacht Livadia in the D&C discord, and Thomas of Tortuga and I both realized we'd built Popov vessels before. Mine had been lost in a hard drive crash, and his was painfully old and out-of-date, so we decided to have a build-off to see who could turn Livadia into a better 1880s-1890s battleship, based off of some wiki information implying the Russians actually intended to build a 12\'000-ton Battleship similar to her design, with Yodadud judging. This is my half of the result.
See Other Thomas' build in the links below:
OUTFIT
~ Sweet Evil - Fancy Skirt, Colour HUD
~ Sweet Evil - Loose T, Colour HUD
- Sweet Evil - Naughty Tablet - Color Hud
(Freya, HourGlass, Isis, Legacy, Physique, Maitreya) Tonic (Curvy/Fine/Minimizer), Venus)
www.flickr.com/photos/waitwheredidyougetthat/
www.flickr.com/groups/2654000@N24/
Mother Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) keeps her eyes on a large male bear who is approaching. This mother and cubs had been napping in the "sleep pit" dug out of the ground by the mother. The Polar Bears did not seem affected by the cold - it was "only" about 30 degrees F while we were there - but they used these pits to minimize exposure to the winds, which at times were very heavy.
Kaktovik, Barter Island, Arctic, Alaska.
This is part of my pandemic project. The project was created to minimize the number of people that I would come into contact with and to help keep my sanity. The location is a local university. From what I can tell the vast majority of classes are being held online leaving the campus empty with the exception of a few nursing students and an occasional group of Frisbee golf players.
The project started when my wife and I used the campus to walk the dog in the evening. I began to notice the architecture and interesting light fixtures. I started to return and photograph and soon had a project.
The project is to examine the lights and architecture of the empty Campus at night.
Canon 6D
LensBaby (Original)
One of the most iconic shots of Iceland with the falls in front and Kirkjufell looming behind. I left the Airbnb around midnight to visit this waterfall to minimize crowds.
The area that was to become West Palm Beach was settled in the late 1870s and 1880s by a few hundred settlers who called the vicinity "Lake Worth Country." These settlers were a diverse community from different parts of the United States and the world. They included founding families such at the Potters and the Lainharts, who would go on to become leading members of the business community in the fledgling city. The first white settlers in Palm Beach County lived around Lake Worth, then an enclosed freshwater lake, named for Colonel William Jenkins Worth, who had fought in the Second Seminole War in Florida in 1842. Most settlers engaged in the growing of tropical fruits and vegetables for shipment the north via Lake Worth and the Indian River. By 1890, the U.S. Census counted over 200 people settled along Lake Worth in the vicinity of what would become West Palm Beach. The area at this time also boasted a hotel, the "Cocoanut House", a church, and a post office. The city was platted by Henry Flagler as a community to house the servants working in the two grand hotels on the neighboring island of Palm Beach, across Lake Worth in 1893, coinciding with the arrival of the Florida East Coast railroad. Flagler paid two area settlers, Captain Porter and Louie Hillhouse, a combined sum of $45,000 for the original town site, stretching from Clear Lake to Lake Worth.
On November 5, 1894, 78 people met at the "Calaboose" (the first jail and police station located at Clematis St. and Poinsettia, now Dixie Hwy.) and passed the motion to incorporate the Town of West Palm Beach in what was then Dade County (now Miami-Dade County). This made West Palm Beach the first incorporated municipality in Dade County and in South Florida. The town council quickly addressed the building codes and the tents and shanties were replaced by brick, brick veneer, and stone buildings. The city grew steadily during the 1890s and the first two decades of the 20th century, most residents were engaged in the tourist industry and related services or winter vegetable market and tropical fruit trade. In 1909, Palm Beach County was formed by the Florida State Legislature and West Palm Beach became the county seat. In 1916, a new neo-classical courthouse was opened, which has been painstakingly restored back to its original condition, and is now used as the local history museum.
The city grew rapidly in the 1920s as part of the Florida land boom. The population of West Palm Beach quadrupled from 1920 to 1927, and all kinds of businesses and public services grew along with it. Many of the city's landmark structures and preserved neighborhoods were constructed during this period. Originally, Flagler intended for his Florida East Coast Railway to have its terminus in West Palm, but after the area experienced a deep freeze, he chose to extend the railroad to Miami instead.
The land boom was already faltering when city was devastated by the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane. The Depression years of the 1930s were a quiet time for the area, which saw slight population growth and property values lower than during the 1920s. The city only recovered with the onset of World War II, which saw the construction of Palm Beach Air Force Base, which brought thousands of military personnel to the city. The base was vital to the allied war effort, as it provided an excellent training facility and had unparalleled access to North Africa for a North American city. Also during World War II, German U-Boats sank dozens of merchant ships and oil tankers just off the coast of West Palm Beach. Nearby Palm Beach was under black out conditions to minimize night visibility to German U-boats.
The 1950s saw another boom in population, partly due to the return of many soldiers and airmen who had served in the vicinity during the war. Also, the advent of air conditioning encouraged growth, as year-round living in a tropical climate became more acceptable to northerners. West Palm Beach became the one of the nation's fastest growing metropolitan areas during the 1950s; the city's borders spread west of Military Trail and south to Lake Clarke Shores. However, many of the city's residents still lived within a narrow six-block wide strip from the south to north end. The neighborhoods were strictly segregated between White and African-American populations, a legacy that the city still struggles with today. The primary shopping district remained downtown, centered around Clematis Street.
In the 1960s, Palm Beach County's first enclosed shopping mall, the Palm Beach Mall, and an indoor arena were completed. These projects led to a brief revival for the city, but in the 1970s and 1980s crime continued to be a serious issue and suburban sprawl continued to drain resources and business away from the old downtown area. By the early 1990s there were very high vacancy rates downtown, and serious levels of urban blight.
Since the 1990s, developments such as CityPlace and the preservation and renovation of 1920s architecture in the nightlife hub of Clematis Street have seen a downtown resurgence in the entertainment and shopping district. The city has also placed emphasis on neighborhood development and revitalization, in historic districts such as Northwood, Flamingo Park, and El Cid. Some neighborhoods still struggle with blight and crime, as well as lowered property values caused by the Great Recession, which hit the region particularly hard. Since the recovery, multiple new developments have been completed. The Palm Beach Mall, located at the Interstate 95/Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard interchange became abandoned as downtown revitalized - the very mall that initiated the original abandonment of the downtown. The mall was then redeveloped into the Palm Beach Fashion Outlets in February 2014. A station for All Aboard Florida, a high speed passenger rail service serving Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Orlando, is under construction as of July 2015.
Credit for the data above is given to the following website:
Length: 663 m
Width: 215 m
Height: 185 m
Lack of heavy cruisers in the Federation Navy during the first year of Great Insectoid war led to birth of Conquistador class. In order to minimize engineering time and costs as a basis for a new ship naval architects have chosen an already reliable and mass-prodused vessel - Crusader VI class cruiser .
Result of short development was the Conquistador - elongated version of Crusader, as it may seem.
Heavier body required two additional engines that can rotate in 360 degrees on a sides of leading-edge extensions. Two reactors of ship's progenitor couldn't provide enough power for increased number of engines and gun turrets, so engineers came to a simple decision - to install additional powerplant in the middle of the ship.
But even with additional reactor vessel often experienced severe power outages during intense firing on a full speed, and the problems with reactors overheating were not solved until the end of the war.
Navy also wished to improve flight characteristics in the atmosphere, since the Crusaders were rather poor at flying over the surface of the planets. For this purpose, a few aerodynamic fins were added to the hull, which helped in steering the ship, and two engines on the sides of the fuselage were able to rotate, which not only increased maneuverability, but also greatly reduced the load on the repulsors, which create most of the lifting force, which remained unchanged since development of Crusader.
The combat use of Conquistadors can be called quite successful, even despite the existing problems. However, since the creation of this machine from the very beginning was a temporary measure, by the end of the war, when Federation United Navy no longer lacked specialized heavy cruisers and other types of ships, Conquistadors were quickly withdrawn from service in the main fleets.
P.S. Kinda love writing backstories for my ships much more than building them.
"Projected and built on the main design of the canceled ONE-WING x-33, the "War Shuttle" was the first reusable war space ship.
Weapons, combat sensor and cameras and docking bay are all hidden in the main body of the ship, to minimize the air resistance, and to maximize their technical life.
www.flickr.com/photos/46304451@N04/7486422326/
The WS-02's primary objective was to destroy his target main energy source, or to nuke it. Two single-shot cannon was also added to the ship, just to weaken his target rather then risk killing it...but was quite impossible, and in the end the target was always destroyed by a big hole in the hull."
There's no cockpit, because this is a drone. probably the most expansive drone ever built... I think that, for the near future style of this ship, there are no human that want to risk their life in space in some-kind-of dog-fight! So, for me, is more plausible to have a pilot comfortably sitting on a distant-from-battle space or ground station.
One of the few species of diurnal owl, the great Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) has evolved with little pigmentation in its feathers. This not only helps to camouflage these birds of prey, but also provides more space for air to be held within its feathers, keeping them warm. When seen, these beautiful birds are often spotted near airfields or farmland, perched on telephone poles, as these landscapes are similar to the tundras of the north and allow them to hunt in the ambushing style that they prefer.
Early 2014 saw an eruption of snowies across much of the northeast U.S. It is believed that this high density of owls was due not to a food shortage up north, but a surplus which caused a population spike!
Throwback Thursday: This photo is a reprocessing of an early 2014 shot, minimizing noise and artifacts.
I’m interested in the silent shutter for lunar and planetary images because eliminating mechanical shutter wear could free me to improve the quality of my images by taking many more frames and getting better lucky images for stacking when atmospheric seeing isn't at it’s best. Because the extra noise introduced by the electronic rolling shutter used for silent shutter images is far below the eight bit resolution offered by compressed images, I decided to compare the quality of processed images taken with the two techniques as well as the original images.
These images are from my first night out with the a6300 which was at prime focus on a Questar f15 1400/89mm telescope. Images were take at ISO 200 for 1/50 sec. I took about 40 images each with the mechanical shutter (with the electronic first curtain shutter option to minimize vibration) and with the fully electronic silent shutter. The quality of the images was auto graded and the best 8 were selected from each batch. Because of the wide, half degree, field of view atmospheric seeing can cause mirage like distortions of the Moon’s surface. This isn’t a problem for small area shots of the Moon or planetary images because of the smaller field of view. For full disk Moon images, the results of stacking are improved if each image is geometrically normalized before stacking. I use Nebulosity’s 8 parameter affine transformation. The cost of this is that each frame takes about one hour to align. This translates to a practical limit of 8 images for an overnight alignment run. Processing consisted of deconvolution and wavelet processing in Lynkeos to recover resolution lost to the atmosphere and diffraction in the small, 89mm objective, telescope. The exposure curves are then adjusted to enhance contrast and slightly boost saturation in Photoshop.
One way to see the quality of the low intensity data near the noise floor is to examine the terminator region. You can see detail extend into the dark part of the moon in the processed images. The post processing of the two images was similar, but not identical. As you can see in the raw images there were slight differences in exposure although the camera settings were the same except for the silent shutter setting. These may be because of the silent shutter or differences in transparency of the sky between the two sets of exposures.
My current thoughts on astrophotography with the a6300 so far are as follows.
Measurements that I’ve seen of the images of the electronic silent rolling shutter on the Sony a7 series cameras show about a stop of increase in noise at low ISO speed compared to the mechanical shutter.
For dim targets like DSOs where noise must be minimized and relatively few, long exposure, images are stacked - the mechanical shutter is clearly a win.
For small bright targets like planets where resolution must be maximized and cropped video is frequently used, the extra noise in video capture (or wide FOV silent shutter shots) isn’t an issue. Stacking more images can reduce noise and the video codecs don’t capture the full raw dynamic range in any case. Video (or silent shutter for the widest FOV) works well to capture the thousands of frames that are preferred, without mechanical wear on the shutter mechanism.
Full disk images of the moon are an in between case. The images are bright and the number that I stack is limited by the long processing time for the affine geometric normalization. I’d like to have more full disk images to choose from, without wearing out my mechanical shutter. From my results so far it seems that to see a difference that silent shutter makes in quality of the final result takes pixel peeping and may be mostly due to seeing and transparency variation.
Diana fixed a special black dress for her birthday. We minimize our envirolmental footprint by buing used items when ever we can. Diana had to do some rework on this $1 resale special
Diana fixed a special black dress for her birthday. We minimize our envirolmental footprint by buing used items when ever we can. Diana had to do some rework on this $1 resale special
My Petrol Station: OMV Tübingen
NEWS from BASF
worldaccount.basf.com/wa/EU~de_DE/Catalog/Chemicals/pi/BA...
OMV MaxxMotion Performance Diesel
seit Sommer 2020 10% mehr Additive zugesetzt.
Verbrauch 0,5 Liter besser als mit Shell Premium Diesel.
6,8 Liter für Arbeit von Tübingen nach Stuttgart, mit etlichen Steilstrecken.
Rauf und Runter,
Weinsteige, B27 Richtung Kirchentellinsfurt und Nordring,
von 260 m ü. M. bis 500m.
Flotte Fahrt!
Jetzt 18 ct mehr seit 2019
16 ct mehr als das normale Diesel - früher waren es 12 ct.
(Shell V-Power Diesel + 18 ct - das ist heftig! )
Mit Dieseladditivpaketen der BASF wird aus einem spezifikationsgerechten Grundkraftstoff ein Premium Dieselkraftstoff.
So bleibt der Motor im optimalen Zustand. Das Detergent im Paket hält die Einspritzdüsen sauber, der Cetanzahlverbesserer fördert ein vollständige und saubere Verbrennung des Kraftstoffs. Spezielle Komponenten schützen den Motor und das Einspritzsystem vor Verschleiß (Korrosion, Pumpenschäden).
Der Schaumverhinderer unterbindet Auslaufen des Dieselkraftstoffs während des Tankens. BASF bietet seinen Kunden unter dem Markennamen Keropur® DP maßgeschneiderte Additivpakete an. Die umfangreichen Labor- Motorenprüfstandstests werden in Ludwigshafen durchgeführt.
Keropur® DP Diesel Performance Packages
New Generation
- for smooth and powerful mobility,
better fuel economy and lower emissions.
www.performancechemicals.basf.com/ev/internet/keroline/en...
Die Additive entfernen bereits bestehende Ablagerungen (clean-up Effekt) und verhindern die Bildung von neuen Ablagerungen (keep-clean Effekt).
-
OMV (formerly "Österreichische Mineralölverwaltung", ÖMV), is an international, integrated oil and gas company, headquartered in Vienna. It is active in the upstream (Exploration and Production) and downstream businesses (Refining and Marketing as well as Gas and Power). With group sales of EUR 23 bn, a global workforce of 24,124 and a market capitalisation of EUR 9 bn (end of 2015), OMV is one of the largest listed industrial companies in Austria.
-
Durch die verbesserte Kraftstoffqualität kann außerdem der Kraftstoffverbrauch des Motors gesenkt werden.
Dies bedeutet, dass letztendlich weniger Emissionen freigesetzt werden.
Beste Schmiereigenschaften unter den Premium Diesel.
(Aral Ultimate hatte bei Tests von Monzol in einem Labor die schlechtesten Schmiereigenschaften)
OMV Tübingen - Premium Diesel - Bestes Winterdiesel - OMV MaxxMotion Performance Diesel bis Minus 35° Grad.
OMV Maxx Motion Diesel war hier unter den Premium Diesel der beste mit 270 um.
Deposit Control for a Cleaner Engine - Ablagerungen Kontrolle
The cleaner engine system results in better performance, improved combustion and a longer engine life.
BASF Keropur® – Key Performance Features
-
in fast allen Premium Dieselkraftstoffen enthalten.
Modern engines ( turbo charged engines) require a high fuel quality. Keropur® performance packages are designed to perform not only in conventional engines but also in modern powertrain Technologies.
www.performancechemicals.basf.com/ev/internet/keroline/en...
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Keropur® DP - seit 2017 - neues Spitzenprodukt
BASF received approval for its Keropur® DP detergent technology in the recently launched TOP TIER™ Diesel standard. Keropur DP is a highly efficient fuel additive chemistry that enables optimum performance in modern high pressure, common rail direct injection engines. Keropur DP helps to minimize emissions and maximize power and fuel economy through engine cleanliness.-
www.basf.com/us/en/company/news-and-media/news-releases/2...
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BASF TESTS
Keropur® DP 5000 Series efficiently removes internal diesel injector deposits
TESTS mit PSA DW10 Dieselgeneration
Direct Injection Engine Test (Clean Up)
Additized fuel engine power is restored and deposits are completely removed.
- Optimaler Kaltstart
- Ablagerung werden vollständig entfernt
- Volle Leistung kehrt zurück
- Anhaftung von Ablagerungen wird verhindert durch einen Schutzfilm
- Removes and prevents engine deposits very efficiently
- Full engine power can be restored and power loss prevented
- Engine operability can be enhanced significantly
- Engine start-up behavior can be improved
Horsepower is the best way to measure the output of modern engines – so let’s compare them to horses. These elegant animals embody features such as strength, velocity and vitality, and are symbolic of smoothness and acceleration.
Smooth running engines with full power and quick acceleration - BASF’s new Keropur® DP 5000 diesel additives enable your engine to perform in peak condition throughout its entire service life for an optimal driving experience.
www.performancechemicals.basf.com/ev/internet/keropur_dp/...
Samsung Galaxy S7
-
Exif data
Camera
Samsung SM-G930F - S7
Aperture
f/1.7
Focal Length
4.2 mm - 26 mm crop
Exposure
0.1 sec (1/10)
Flash
No Flash
ISO Speed
800
In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between. Architects often used multiple gargoyles on a building to divide the flow of rainwater off the roof to minimize the potential damage from a rainstorm. A trough is cut in the back of the gargoyle and rainwater typically exits through the open mouth.
This is part of my pandemic project. The project was created to minimize the number of people that I would come into contact with and to help keep my sanity. The location is a local university. From what I can tell the vast majority of classes are being held online leaving the campus empty with the exception of a few nursing students and an occasional group of Frisbee golf players.
The project started when my wife and I used the campus to walk the dog in the evening. I began to notice the architecture and interesting light fixtures. I started to return and photograph and soon had a project.
The project is to examine the lights and architecture of the empty Campus at night.
Canon 6D
Voigtländer 28mmf2.8
With work finished at Deepstep, the train is now headed for the NS interchange in Tennille, GA southbound on Tybee St. Very late morning on this early September day is about as good as you can do for minimization of shadows and not too high sun.
Yoshiko is notoriously unlucky so she's covering eyes, nose, and mouth to minimize her risk of catching ANYTHING. Fortunately, her unique hairstyle and occult interest make her recognizable even while masked.
Almost an optical illusion. We loved that garden.
Beautiful flowers at Reford Gardens.
Visit : www.refordgardens.com/
Ripples in water. Concentric circles in water.
MAKING CIRCLES IN THE WATER (2011)
Faire des ronds dans l'eau (2011)
Balmori Associates, New York, USA.
Visit: www.balmori.com
GROUNDED IN ECOLOGY
Balmori Associates is an international urban and landscape design firm founded by Diana Balmori. Balmori Associates is recognized across the globe for its creative interfacing of landscape and architecture and expanding the boundaries between nature and structure. As distinguished leaders in the field of urban design and the design of innovative public spaces Balmori Associates gives form to the processes of sustainability, producing ‘green infrastructures’ while revealing the constructed and natural operations of a site.
Balmori Associates strives to achieve the highest standards of environmental responsibility by rooting our work in two basic sustainable design principles: Low-Impact and Regenerative . Low-Impact to reduce potential detrimental effects of local and project-related construction, development or consumption and to minimize environmental impacts, while sustaining the health and resilience of ecological systems. Regenerative Design to integrate building systems within landscape for resource renewal and the restoration of constructed landscape.
Our diverse portfolio includes executed projects at all scales, and award-winning competitions and has garnered numerous awards for design excellence; and sustainability is a central concern in all our work. In 1998, Balmori Associates’ Master Plan won the international competition for the waterfront development of the Abandoibarra district of Bilbao, Spain. We provided design leadership on the greenroof at Silvercup Studios in Queens, New York, the largest scientifically monitored green roof in the United States. In the fall of 2012 Korean Prime Minister and several ministries moved from Seoul to Sejong, South Korea new multifunctional administrative city, a zero-waste urban plan designed by Balmori Associates. (Info from Balmori's website)
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LES JARDINS DE MÉTIS | REFORD GARDENS
Visit : www.refordgardens.com/
From Wikipedia:
Elsie Stephen Meighen - born January 22, 1872, Perth, Ontario - and Robert Wilson Reford - born in 1867, Montreal - got married on June 12, 1894.
Elsie Reford was a pioneer of Canadian horticulture, creating one of the largest private gardens in Canada on her estate, Estevan Lodge in eastern Québec. Located in Grand-Métis on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, her gardens have been open to the public since 1962 and operate under the name Les Jardins de Métis and Reford Gardens.
Born January 22, 1872 at Perth, Ontario, Elsie Reford was the eldest of three children born to Robert Meighen and Elsie Stephen. Coming from modest backgrounds themselves, Elsie’s parents ensured that their children received a good education. After being educated in Montreal, she was sent to finishing school in Dresden and Paris, returning to Montreal fluent in both German and French, and ready to take her place in society.
She married Robert Wilson Reford on June 12, 1894. She gave birth to two sons, Bruce in 1895 and Eric in 1900. Robert and Elsie Reford were, by many accounts, an ideal couple. In 1902, they built a house on Drummond Street in Montreal. They both loved the outdoors and they spend several weeks a year in a log cabin they built at Lac Caribou, south of Rimouski. In the autumn they hunted for caribou, deer, and ducks. They returned in winter to ski and snowshoe. Elsie Reford also liked to ride. She had learned as a girl and spent many hours riding on the slopes of Mount Royal. And of course, there was salmon-fishing – a sport at which she excelled.
In her day, she was known for her civic, social, and political activism. She was engaged in philanthropic activities, particularly for the Montreal Maternity Hospital and she was also the moving force behind the creation of the Women’s Canadian Club of Montreal, the first women club in Canada. She believed it important that the women become involved in debates over the great issues of the day, « something beyond the local gossip of the hour ». Her acquaintance with Lord Grey, the Governor-General of Canada from 1904 to 1911, led to her involvement in organizing, in 1908, Québec City’s tercentennial celebrations. The event was one of many to which she devoted herself in building bridges with French-Canadian community.
During the First World War, she joined her two sons in England and did volunteer work at the War Office, translating documents from German into English. After the war, she was active in the Victorian Order of Nurses, the Montreal Council of Social Agencies, and the National Association of Conservative Women.
In 1925 at the age of 53 years, Elsie Reford was operated for appendicitis and during her convalescence, her doctor counselled against fishing, fearing that she did not have the strength to return to the river.”Why not take up gardening?” he said, thinking this a more suitable pastime for a convalescent woman of a certain age. That is why she began laying out the gardens and supervising their construction. The gardens would take ten years to build, and would extend over more than twenty acres.
Elsie Reford had to overcome many difficulties in bringing her garden to life. First among them were the allergies that sometimes left her bedridden for days on end. The second obstacle was the property itself. Estevan was first and foremost a fishing lodge. The site was chosen because of its proximity to a salmon river and its dramatic views – not for the quality of the soil.
To counter-act nature’s deficiencies, she created soil for each of the plants she had selected, bringing peat and sand from nearby farms. This exchange was fortuitous to the local farmers, suffering through the Great Depression. Then, as now, the gardens provided much-needed work to an area with high unemployment. Elsie Reford’s genius as a gardener was born of the knowledge she developed of the needs of plants. Over the course of her long life, she became an expert plantsman. By the end of her life, Elsie Reford was able to counsel other gardeners, writing in the journals of the Royal Horticultural Society and the North American Lily Society. Elsie Reford was not a landscape architect and had no training of any kind as a garden designer. While she collected and appreciated art, she claimed no talents as an artist.
Elsie Stephen Reford died at her Drummond Street home on November 8, 1967 in her ninety-sixth year.
In 1995, the Reford Gardens ("Jardins de Métis") in Grand-Métis were designated a National Historic Site of Canada, as being an excellent Canadian example of the English-inspired garden.(Wikipedia)
Visit : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsie_Reford
LES JARDINS DE MÉTIS
Créés par Elsie Reford de 1926 à 1958, ces jardins témoignent de façon remarquable de l’art paysager à l’anglaise. Disposés dans un cadre naturel, un ensemble de jardins exhibent fleurs vivaces, arbres et arbustes. Le jardin des pommetiers, les rocailles et l’Allée royale évoquent l’œuvre de cette dame passionnée d’horticulture. Agrémenté d’un ruisseau et de sentiers sinueux, ce site jouit d’un microclimat favorable à la croissance d’espèces uniques au Canada. Les pavots bleus et les lis, privilégiés par Mme Reford, y fleurissent toujours et contribuent , avec d’autres plantes exotiques et indigènes, à l’harmonie de ces lieux.
Created by Elsie Reford between 1926 and 1958, these gardens are an inspired example of the English art of the garden. Woven into a natural setting, a series of gardens display perennials, trees and shrubs. A crab-apple orchard, a rock garden, and the Long Walk are also the legacy of this dedicated horticulturist. A microclimate favours the growth of species found nowhere else in Canada, while the stream and winding paths add to the charm. Elsie Reford’s beloved blue poppies and lilies still bloom and contribute, with other exotic and indigenous plants, to the harmony of the site.
Commission des lieux et monuments historiques du Canada
Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.
Gouvernement du Canada – Government of Canada
© Copyright
This photo and all those in my Photostream are protected by copyright. No one may reproduce, copy, transmit or manipulate them without my written permission.
As we over here in Grimsby, Ontario continue with our efforts to minimize our risk of infecting others or being infected ourselves, I have been looking around at things that catch my eye as I look for possible images and keep doing things that are part of my ‘normal’ life. I happened to pass a potted shamrock sitting on the counter below a kitchen window and noticed the undersides of a somewhat-too-dry plant were showing off a rich magenta colour. The magenta is a nice contrast to the green top surface of the leaves, as they should given they are on opposites sides of the colour wheel. Popping on my macro lense, I tightly framed the sweeping curves to capture the colours, shapes and the light reflected and transmitted by the leaves to yield this abstract. Keeping busy in the house. - JW
Date Taken: 2020-03-27
Tech Details:
Taken using a tripod-mounted Nikon D800 fitted with an Tamron 90mm 1:2.8 Macro 1:1 (272E) lense, ISO100, Daylight WB, Aperture Priority Mode, f/11.0, 1/3 sec with an EV-2.67 exposure bias (to avoid blowing out highlights). PP in free Open Source RAWTherapee from Nikon RAW/NEF source file: use tone curve 2 in parametric mode to darken the shadows and get a clean black background, slightly boost contrast and Chromaticity and reduce lightness to get better magenta in the leaf underside in L-A-B mode, slightly reduce Vibrance mainly to tame the magenta, use the Shadows/Highlights tool to recover highlight detail, apply noise reduction, sharpen (edges only), save PP in free Open Source GIMP: use the hue-saturation-brightness tool to slightly reduce the saturation of the magenta channel and also darken it and then slightly boost saturation of the green channel and darken it, sharpen, crop a bit of the left side (resulting in an image 7000px wide) to better balance the image by removing a bit of excess black background, save, scale image to 6000px wide, save, add fine black-and-white frame, add bar and text on left, save, scale image to 2048 px wide for posting online, sharpen very slightly, save.
Constructed during the 2010-2011 school year and designed to take advantage of the waterfront, the building integrates sustainable features that minimize environmental impacts to conserve energy and resources. It features a green roof, photovoltaic solar energy and occupancy-controlled lighting.
Environmental Features:
The Canal Building’s west-facing wall sports an array of metal-sheathed angled “fins” designed to shade windows from the afternoon sun, reducing the need for air conditioning.
On the rooftop, there’s a 10-kilowatt array of 25 solar panels and a “green roof” landscaped with sedum, a native drought-resistant plant. The green roof will reduce stormwater runoff by capturing rainwater, and will help insulate the space below it to reduce energy requirements.
“Occupancy-controlled lighting” in every room means that lights are automatically turned off when the room is empty. The building has been designed so that 80 per cent of the occupied space is lit by natural light. One floor has a “day lighting” control, which shuts off or dims lighting when natural light is sufficient.
This is Carleton’s first “Intelligent Building,” which integrates all systems through a single Building Automation System (BAS). The BAS allows the operator a single point access for monitoring and troubleshooting all HVAC controls, lighting, IT communications and security. This also allows the building to run more efficiently through real-time metering and adjusting, reducing the building’s carbon footprint.
The Canal Building has water-saving features, as well as energy efficient HVAC and electrical equipment. Its energy use is at least 28 per cent less than the National Energy Code standard.
Explored May 4, 2015 #241.
You gotta love the FW&D who minimized the cuts and fills between, of course, Fort Worth and Denver, and generally just built the railroad to the contour of the land. Here, the engineer on BNSF's ZLACALT1-29A guides his 5,400 tons & 6,800 feet up and over each hump in the track profile just east of Bellevue, TX (water tower in back left side) on the Wichita Falls Sub.
It's been a long time since I wanted to explore "leaving my mark" on Flickr through videos, like many of us do. But each time, I felt "entangled" in a maze of "compatible video formats" and how to get hold of my videos in the first place. Well, there has to be a first for everything and this is it for Jacqueline. I wanted to make the "classic crossdresser walking video". As many of you know, walking on heels is an "important step" in becoming a perso who loves dressing as a woman. For me, it's everything about "walking on heels". It's the basis for my "feminity", my little corner of the world. -- You will excuse the small length, only a minute but there are a lof things between pressing the "Record" button and "Publish" button, here, on Flickr, so I tried to minimize my risks by only making a small video. Wow! It pleases me. I love looking at myself walking in front of a mirror, as many other things "feminine"... In case you had a doubt, I'm forever hooked on feminity...
This Marbled Godwit stands on one leg, in a balancing act, on the shore at Elkhorn Slough. The reason birds stand on one leg is to minimize heat loss.
Ambient Lighting.
Some sliders pushed to try and minimize image limitations.
Probably should have used the iPhone but I was curious if she would be bothered by the Big Camera.
She wasn't.
Gave it a sniff and then promptly ignored me crawling around the kitchen floor with it, pointing it at her, snapping away.
Being a Mandatory Day Off for the boys (day spa day - which is why she was in the front half of the house) I even pulled out the backboard and black stretchy velvet, the go-to setup for the boys, and shot some pictures as she explored it.
Results were horrible - black is definitely not her color, giving her a very unhealthy blue cast.
So the search for the proper backdrop for Miss Mila commences.
And no - we still don't have everybody together. Henry seems fine - or at least uninterested. Toby not so much. I don't think he necessarily means her ill, but his level of interest (think dog staring at a ball about to be thrown) makes me uncomfortable - especially when she gets within a few feet of him (gate in between) which she does occasionally as she's pretty confident the boys aren't going to cross the gate.
We keep hearing that we just need to let her swat him on the nose, but we haven't reached that level of desperation yet.
So she gets the back half of the house during the day and the boys the front, staying in her suite at night. Neither party seems bothered by the arrangement so we'll continue to be patient and it let it play out.
365:2021 - #30
Simplified version of the previous post "Refuge Sun Over Kalil Tree". That one was saturated with color and had a lot of post processing. This one is processed even more, but I tried to minimize the distractions of the image.
I have a beautiful daydream: Our major department store has chosen me to be their bra model for their semi-annual intimate apparel sale. There will be a color full-page ad in the Sunday newspaper.
To celebrate this daydream, I have begun a series of pictures of me in my favorite brassieres, in a style of photography and lighting typical of bra ads, packages, and catalog pages.
If the bra can be bought new, or if it is vintage and I have found old pictures or ads of it on the web, I will have a link under my Flickr picture to a Pinterest board section featuring the bra in my "Cindy Denmark's Clothing Items" ( www.pinterest.com/cindy_denmark/cindy-denmarks-clothing-i... ).
So above, to begin, is Cindy Denmark, professional lingerie model, in her Lilyette by Bali Comfort Lace Minimizer Bra 428, featured here on Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/cindy_denmark/cindy-denmarks-clothing-i... .
I made this from 22 exposures with the help of enfuse to minimize noise, maximize detail, and turn the crowd into ghosts (not really what I was going for). I also used Rawtherapee rather than Canon's software to work with the images. It allows for finer control and seems to maintain more detail.
I tried to minimize the stain across the middle. Actually it is probably where the fixitve bath had a bubble or somehow the print was not submerged completely. Old dark room experts will know.
A triple take: 3 simultaneous shots: Our granddaughter, JP and myself.
Our two granddaughters inside the Garden...
REFORD GARDENS | LES JARDINS DE METIS
Beautiful flowers at Reford Gardens.
Visit : www.refordgardens.com/
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MAKING CIRCLES IN THE WATER (2011)
Faire des ronds dans l'eau (2011)
Balmori Associates, New York, USA.
Visit: www.balmori.com
GROUNDED IN ECOLOGY
Balmori Associates is an international urban and landscape design firm founded by Diana Balmori. Balmori Associates is recognized across the globe for its creative interfacing of landscape and architecture and expanding the boundaries between nature and structure. As distinguished leaders in the field of urban design and the design of innovative public spaces Balmori Associates gives form to the processes of sustainability, producing ‘green infrastructures’ while revealing the constructed and natural operations of a site.
Balmori Associates strives to achieve the highest standards of environmental responsibility by rooting our work in two basic sustainable design principles: Low-Impact and Regenerative . Low-Impact to reduce potential detrimental effects of local and project-related construction, development or consumption and to minimize environmental impacts, while sustaining the health and resilience of ecological systems. Regenerative Design to integrate building systems within landscape for resource renewal and the restoration of constructed landscape.
Our diverse portfolio includes executed projects at all scales, and award-winning competitions and has garnered numerous awards for design excellence; and sustainability is a central concern in all our work. In 1998, Balmori Associates’ Master Plan won the international competition for the waterfront development of the Abandoibarra district of Bilbao, Spain. We provided design leadership on the greenroof at Silvercup Studios in Queens, New York, the largest scientifically monitored green roof in the United States. In the fall of 2012 Korean Prime Minister and several ministries moved from Seoul to Sejong, South Korea new multifunctional administrative city, a zero-waste urban plan designed by Balmori Associates. (Info from Balmori's website)
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LES JARDINS DE MÉTIS | REFORD GARDENS
Visit : www.refordgardens.com/
From Wikipedia:
Elsie Stephen Meighen - born January 22, 1872, Perth, Ontario - and Robert Wilson Reford - born in 1867, Montreal - got married on June 12, 1894.
Elsie Reford was a pioneer of Canadian horticulture, creating one of the largest private gardens in Canada on her estate, Estevan Lodge in eastern Québec. Located in Grand-Métis on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, her gardens have been open to the public since 1962 and operate under the name Les Jardins de Métis and Reford Gardens.
Born January 22, 1872 at Perth, Ontario, Elsie Reford was the eldest of three children born to Robert Meighen and Elsie Stephen. Coming from modest backgrounds themselves, Elsie’s parents ensured that their children received a good education. After being educated in Montreal, she was sent to finishing school in Dresden and Paris, returning to Montreal fluent in both German and French, and ready to take her place in society.
She married Robert Wilson Reford on June 12, 1894. She gave birth to two sons, Bruce in 1895 and Eric in 1900. Robert and Elsie Reford were, by many accounts, an ideal couple. In 1902, they built a house on Drummond Street in Montreal. They both loved the outdoors and they spend several weeks a year in a log cabin they built at Lac Caribou, south of Rimouski. In the autumn they hunted for caribou, deer, and ducks. They returned in winter to ski and snowshoe. Elsie Reford also liked to ride. She had learned as a girl and spent many hours riding on the slopes of Mount Royal. And of course, there was salmon-fishing – a sport at which she excelled.
In her day, she was known for her civic, social, and political activism. She was engaged in philanthropic activities, particularly for the Montreal Maternity Hospital and she was also the moving force behind the creation of the Women’s Canadian Club of Montreal, the first women club in Canada. She believed it important that the women become involved in debates over the great issues of the day, « something beyond the local gossip of the hour ». Her acquaintance with Lord Grey, the Governor-General of Canada from 1904 to 1911, led to her involvement in organizing, in 1908, Québec City’s tercentennial celebrations. The event was one of many to which she devoted herself in building bridges with French-Canadian community.
During the First World War, she joined her two sons in England and did volunteer work at the War Office, translating documents from German into English. After the war, she was active in the Victorian Order of Nurses, the Montreal Council of Social Agencies, and the National Association of Conservative Women.
In 1925 at the age of 53 years, Elsie Reford was operated for appendicitis and during her convalescence, her doctor counselled against fishing, fearing that she did not have the strength to return to the river.”Why not take up gardening?” he said, thinking this a more suitable pastime for a convalescent woman of a certain age. That is why she began laying out the gardens and supervising their construction. The gardens would take ten years to build, and would extend over more than twenty acres.
Elsie Reford had to overcome many difficulties in bringing her garden to life. First among them were the allergies that sometimes left her bedridden for days on end. The second obstacle was the property itself. Estevan was first and foremost a fishing lodge. The site was chosen because of its proximity to a salmon river and its dramatic views – not for the quality of the soil.
To counter-act nature’s deficiencies, she created soil for each of the plants she had selected, bringing peat and sand from nearby farms. This exchange was fortuitous to the local farmers, suffering through the Great Depression. Then, as now, the gardens provided much-needed work to an area with high unemployment. Elsie Reford’s genius as a gardener was born of the knowledge she developed of the needs of plants. Over the course of her long life, she became an expert plantsman. By the end of her life, Elsie Reford was able to counsel other gardeners, writing in the journals of the Royal Horticultural Society and the North American Lily Society. Elsie Reford was not a landscape architect and had no training of any kind as a garden designer. While she collected and appreciated art, she claimed no talents as an artist.
Elsie Stephen Reford died at her Drummond Street home on November 8, 1967 in her ninety-sixth year.
In 1995, the Reford Gardens ("Jardins de Métis") in Grand-Métis were designated a National Historic Site of Canada, as being an excellent Canadian example of the English-inspired garden.(Wikipedia)
Visit : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsie_Reford
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Visit : www.refordgardens.com/
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LES JARDINS DE MÉTIS
Créés par Elsie Reford de 1926 à 1958, ces jardins témoignent de façon remarquable de l’art paysager à l’anglaise. Disposés dans un cadre naturel, un ensemble de jardins exhibent fleurs vivaces, arbres et arbustes. Le jardin des pommetiers, les rocailles et l’Allée royale évoquent l’œuvre de cette dame passionnée d’horticulture. Agrémenté d’un ruisseau et de sentiers sinueux, ce site jouit d’un microclimat favorable à la croissance d’espèces uniques au Canada. Les pavots bleus et les lis, privilégiés par Mme Reford, y fleurissent toujours et contribuent , avec d’autres plantes exotiques et indigènes, à l’harmonie de ces lieux.
Created by Elsie Reford between 1926 and 1958, these gardens are an inspired example of the English art of the garden. Woven into a natural setting, a series of gardens display perennials, trees and shrubs. A crab-apple orchard, a rock garden, and the Long Walk are also the legacy of this dedicated horticulturist. A microclimate favours the growth of species found nowhere else in Canada, while the stream and winding paths add to the charm. Elsie Reford’s beloved blue poppies and lilies still bloom and contribute, with other exotic and indigenous plants, to the harmony of the site.
Commission des lieux et monuments historiques du Canada
Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.
Gouvernement du Canada – Government of Canada
© Copyright
This photo and all those in my Photostream are protected by copyright. No one may reproduce, copy, transmit or manipulate them without my written permission.
REFORD GARDENS | LES JARDINS DE MÉTIS
From Wikipedia:
Elsie Stephen Meighen - born January 22, 1872, Perth, Ontario - and Robert Wilson Reford - born in 1867, Montreal - got married on June 12, 1894.
Elsie Reford was a pioneer of Canadian horticulture, creating one of the largest private gardens in Canada on her estate, Estevan Lodge in eastern Québec. Located in Grand-Métis on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, her gardens have been open to the public since 1962 and operate under the name Les Jardins de Métis and Reford Gardens.
Born January 22, 1872 at Perth, Ontario, Elsie Reford was the eldest of three children born to Robert Meighen and Elsie Stephen. Coming from modest backgrounds themselves, Elsie’s parents ensured that their children received a good education. After being educated in Montreal, she was sent to finishing school in Dresden and Paris, returning to Montreal fluent in both German and French, and ready to take her place in society.
She married Robert Wilson Reford on June 12, 1894. She gave birth to two sons, Bruce in 1895 and Eric in 1900. Robert and Elsie Reford were, by many accounts, an ideal couple. In 1902, they built a house on Drummond Street in Montreal. They both loved the outdoors and they spend several weeks a year in a log cabin they built at Lac Caribou, south of Rimouski. In the autumn they hunted for caribou, deer, and ducks. They returned in winter to ski and snowshoe. Elsie Reford also liked to ride. She had learned as a girl and spent many hours riding on the slopes of Mount Royal. And of course, there was salmon-fishing – a sport at which she excelled.
In her day, she was known for her civic, social, and political activism. She was engaged in philanthropic activities, particularly for the Montreal Maternity Hospital and she was also the moving force behind the creation of the Women’s Canadian Club of Montreal, the first women club in Canada. She believed it important that the women become involved in debates over the great issues of the day, « something beyond the local gossip of the hour ». Her acquaintance with Lord Grey, the Governor-General of Canada from 1904 to 1911, led to her involvement in organizing, in 1908, Québec City’s tercentennial celebrations. The event was one of many to which she devoted herself in building bridges with French-Canadian community.
During the First World War, she joined her two sons in England and did volunteer work at the War Office, translating documents from German into English. After the war, she was active in the Victorian Order of Nurses, the Montreal Council of Social Agencies, and the National Association of Conservative Women.
In 1925 at the age of 53 years, Elsie Reford was operated for appendicitis and during her convalescence, her doctor counselled against fishing, fearing that she did not have the strength to return to the river.”Why not take up gardening?” he said, thinking this a more suitable pastime for a convalescent woman of a certain age. That is why she began laying out the gardens and supervising their construction. The gardens would take ten years to build, and would extend over more than twenty acres.
Elsie Reford had to overcome many difficulties in bringing her garden to life. First among them were the allergies that sometimes left her bedridden for days on end. The second obstacle was the property itself. Estevan was first and foremost a fishing lodge. The site was chosen because of its proximity to a salmon river and its dramatic views – not for the quality of the soil.
To counter-act nature’s deficiencies, she created soil for each of the plants she had selected, bringing peat and sand from nearby farms. This exchange was fortuitous to the local farmers, suffering through the Great Depression. Then, as now, the gardens provided much-needed work to an area with high unemployment. Elsie Reford’s genius as a gardener was born of the knowledge she developed of the needs of plants. Over the course of her long life, she became an expert plantsman. By the end of her life, Elsie Reford was able to counsel other gardeners, writing in the journals of the Royal Horticultural Society and the North American Lily Society. Elsie Reford was not a landscape architect and had no training of any kind as a garden designer. While she collected and appreciated art, she claimed no talents as an artist.
Elsie Stephen Reford died at her Drummond Street home on November 8, 1967 in her ninety-sixth year.
In 1995, the Reford Gardens ("Jardins de Métis") in Grand-Métis were designated a National Historic Site of Canada, as being an excellent Canadian example of the English-inspired garden.(Wikipedia)
Visit : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsie_Reford
Visit : www.refordgardens.com/
LES JARDINS DE MÉTIS
Créés par Elsie Reford de 1926 à 1958, ces jardins témoignent de façon remarquable de l’art paysager à l’anglaise. Disposés dans un cadre naturel, un ensemble de jardins exhibent fleurs vivaces, arbres et arbustes. Le jardin des pommetiers, les rocailles et l’Allée royale évoquent l’œuvre de cette dame passionnée d’horticulture. Agrémenté d’un ruisseau et de sentiers sinueux, ce site jouit d’un microclimat favorable à la croissance d’espèces uniques au Canada. Les pavots bleus et les lis, privilégiés par Mme Reford, y fleurissent toujours et contribuent , avec d’autres plantes exotiques et indigènes, à l’harmonie de ces lieux.
Created by Elsie Reford between 1926 and 1958, these gardens are an inspired example of the English art of the garden. Woven into a natural setting, a series of gardens display perennials, trees and shrubs. A crab-apple orchard, a rock garden, and the Long Walk are also the legacy of this dedicated horticulturist. A microclimate favours the growth of species found nowhere else in Canada, while the stream and winding paths add to the charm. Elsie Reford’s beloved blue poppies and lilies still bloom and contribute, with other exotic and indigenous plants, to the harmony of the site.
Commission des lieux et monuments historiques du Canada
Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.
Gouvernement du Canada – Government of Canada
© Copyright
This photo and all those in my Photostream are protected by copyright. No one may reproduce, copy, transmit or manipulate them without my written permission.
I added a filter in post-processing to this image, trying to minimize the really bad heat haze distortion that had given the photo a rather unpleasant bluriness. Never before had I seen The Famous Five from this angle, as I had never driven along this particular road. You can see the new coniferous trees that were recently planted along the fence line and within the field, added by the new landowners. I really hope that they let the row of granaries stay there.
In the morning of 25 September 2015, six of us were lucky enough to explore a tiny part of the land belonging to Frances and David Dover. For two of us (myself and our leader), this was our second visit - for the rest, it was a first time there. This photo was taken looking across the large pond on the Dovers' property.
I will copy and paste the description I posted on Flickr from our first visit to the Dover's acreage, on 7 August 2015 (to jog my own memory!):
"Yesterday, 7 August 2015, four of us were extremely fortunate to have the chance to visit the home and highly varied topographic 62-acre property belonging to Frances and David Dover. We felt honoured and privileged to meet and spend time with Frances and David, and also their daughter Carolyn and her husband Clair. A delightful family who welcomed us so warmly into their home and land.
This acreage of grassland, forest, rolling hills - and special gardens - is not far from Millarville, SW of Calgary. In fact, it's in an area that I often drive through when I only have time for, or only feel like doing, a short drive. Amazing what little gems exist out there.
This is not just a beautiful property, but is very special for various reasons. For one thing, read any history of Alberta and you will find the Dover family, including David's mother, Mary Dover. Second, among the trees and open "lawns", there are Peony flower beds, containing 100-150 heritage Peonies, each one different, that have now multiplied to more than 300 plants. Unfortunately, they bloomed a couple of weeks early this year, and all the flowers had gone to seed. Another open area had a different kind of ground cover - Thyme, which smelled wonderful. If I remember correctly, this was the open space where the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra performed on one occasion!
There are two large ponds on the property and another smaller area of water that they hope to turn into a Japanese Garden. It was while walking around the latter that a large brown 'shape' could be seen through the dense trees - a handsome Moose buck. I will look properly at the four or so photos I just managed to get and will slip one of them into my photostream sometime soon, just for the record, definitely not for the photo quality : ) This was also where a Great Horned Owl was seen flying through the trees by some of us (not me, ha!).
There are grassy paths winding through the acreage, up and down hill, that take David seven hours to mow. They are not pristine, velvety paths, but instead, they seem to take nothing away from the wildness of the whole area. One of the animals that have passed through is the Cougar. In fact, several years ago, I saw a video taken on a nearby (or adjacent?) property, where a 'kill' and night-time camera had been set up and a total of six different Cougar individuals were seen!
Even the Dover's home is unique and beautiful. It is completely built of concrete - floors, walls, ceilings, roof, deck, and so on. A Hummingbird feeder and regular bird feeders, set up on the patio, attract a variety of birds. We sat on the patio after our walk to eat our packed lunches - and to enjoy a delicious Orange Pound Cake that Frances had made for us, along with refreshing Iced Tea - thank you so much for this, Frances! Yesterday, while I was waiting for one of three tiny Calliope Hummingbirds to come back, I was lucky enough to see a little Mountain Chickadee, along with many Pine Siskins. We could also hear a Red-tailed Hawk in the area.
There is just so much I could write about this visit and family. Instead, or for now, I will add several links to more information on the Internet. This was a memorable day for us. Thank you so much, Frances and David, Carolyn and Clair, for being so kind and welcoming us into your home and gardens.
books.google.ca/books?id=Tr36Tq_gadcC&pg=PA290&lp...
www.westernwheel.com/article/20110727/WHE06/307279983/-1/...
David's mother, Mary Dover (her father was A. E. Cross), was "a dynamic and distinguished Calgarian, particularly known for her work with the military during World War II." As well as being an army officer, and an alderman, she was also a preservationist. See the following link.
www.albertachampions.org/champions-mary_dover.htm#.VcY1KP...
ww2.glenbow.org/search/archivesMainResults.aspx?XC=/searc...
glencoe.org/documents/10184/637479/The-History-of-Elbow-P... page 44-45 ."
After our visit to the Dover's on 25 September 2015, I decided to drive eastwards along a road that I'd never driven before, until I reached the main road going south. From there, it was a fairly short drive to the Saskatoon Farm. As usual, I wandered round the grounds with my camera and then, when I was ready to leave, I ordered a pizza to take home with me. The inside of the gift shop has recently been renovated and they now have a pizza oven and area. Or should I say, they "had", as the last time I called in, I was told that they no longer make the pizzas.
Milkweed seeds after the rain. Our front yard milkweed plants, though dried and minimized, had just weathered 17 inches of snow. A few days later, a short warm spell quickly melted all the local snow, which culminated with a warm (for December in New England) rain that dewed up our surroundings. These stay-at-home milkweed seeds took it all in. Here are two seeds, all dewed up! Laowa 25mm at 2.5X.
-ever since i bought domo, he goes EVERYWHERE with me ^_^
-i've also minimized the amount of junk i carry 'round :D yay!
This is part of my pandemic project. The project was created to minimize the number of people that I would come into contact with and to help keep my sanity. The location is a local university. From what I can tell the vast majority of classes are being held online leaving the campus empty with the exception of a few nursing students and an occasional group of Frisbee golf players.
The project started when my wife and I used the campus to walk the dog in the evening. I began to notice the architecture and interesting light fixtures. I started to return and photograph and soon had a project.
The project is to examine the lights and architecture of the empty Campus at night.
Canon 6D
Trioplan 100mm f2.8
I created this image with my wide angle Fujinon XF 10-24 lens, but it minimized the size of this peak a little too much. So I simply cropped it during editing. Two Trees Trail, Riverside, CA
acrylic on canvas, 2016, 70 x 100 cm
“La manipulation des élites est encore plus facile que celle des masses.” [Jean Yanne]
Les dix stratégies de la manipulation par Noam Chomsky
www.breizh-info.com/2015/01/13/les-dix-strategies-de-la-m...
1/ La stratégie de la distraction
Élément primordial du contrôle social, la stratégie de la diversion consiste à détourner l’attention du public des problèmes importants et des mutations décidées par les élites politiques et économiques, grâce à un déluge continuel de distractions et d’informations insignifiantes. La stratégie de la diversion est également indispensable pour empêcher le public de s’intéresser aux connaissances essentielles, dans les domaines de la science, de l’économie, de la psychologie, de la neurobiologie, et de la cybernétique. « Garder l’attention du public distraite, loin des véritables problèmes sociaux, captivée par des sujets sans importance réelle. Garder le public occupé, occupé, occupé, sans aucun temps pour penser; de retour à la ferme avec les autres animaux. » Extrait de « Armes silencieuses pour guerres tranquilles »
2/ Créer des problèmes, puis offrir des solutions
Cette méthode est aussi appelée « problème-réaction-solution ». On crée d’abord un problème, une « situation » prévue pour susciter une certaine réaction du public, afin que celui-ci soit lui-même demandeur des mesures qu’on souhaite lui faire accepter. Par exemple: laisser se développer la violence urbaine, ou organiser des attentats sanglants, afin que le public soit demandeur de lois sécuritaires au détriment de la liberté. Ou encore : créer une crise économique pour faire accepter comme un mal nécessaire le recul des droits sociaux et le démantèlement des services publics.
3/ La stratégie de la dégradation
Pour faire accepter une mesure inacceptable, il suffit de l’appliquer progressivement, en « dégradé », sur une durée de 10 ans. C’est de cette façon que des conditions socio-économiques radicalement nouvelles (néolibéralisme) ont été imposées durant les années 1980 à 1990. Chômage massif, précarité, flexibilité, délocalisations, salaires n’assurant plus un revenu décent, autant de changements qui auraient provoqué une révolution s’ils avaient été appliqués brutalement.
4/ La stratégie du différé
Une autre façon de faire accepter une décision impopulaire est de la présenter comme « douloureuse mais nécessaire », en obtenant l’accord du public dans le présent pour une application dans le futur. Il est toujours plus facile d’accepter un sacrifice futur qu’un sacrifice immédiat. D’abord parce que l’effort n’est pas à fournir tout de suite. Ensuite parce que le public a toujours tendance à espérer naïvement que « tout ira mieux demain » et que le sacrifice demandé pourra être évité. Enfin, cela laisse du temps au public pour s’habituer à l’idée du changement et l’accepter avec résignation lorsque le moment sera venu.
5/ S’adresser au public comme à des enfants en bas-âge
La plupart des publicités destinées au grand-public utilisent un discours, des arguments, des personnages, et un ton particulièrement infantilisants, souvent proche du débilitant, comme si le spectateur était un enfant en bas-âge ou un handicapé mental. Plus on cherchera à tromper le spectateur, plus on adoptera un ton infantilisant. Pourquoi ? «Si on s’adresse à une personne comme si elle était âgée de 12 ans, alors, en raison de la suggestibilité, elle aura, avec une certaine probabilité, une réponse ou une réaction aussi dénuée de sens critique que celle d’une personne de 12 ans». Extrait de «Armes silencieuses pour guerres tranquilles»
6/ Faire appel à l’émotionnel plutôt qu’à la réflexion
Faire appel à l’émotionnel est une technique classique pour court-circuiter l’analyse rationnelle, et donc le sens critique des individus. De plus, l’utilisation du registre émotionnel permet d’ouvrir la porte d’accès à l’inconscient pour y implanter des idées, des désirs, des peurs, des pulsions, ou des comportements…
7/ Maintenir le public dans l’ignorance et la bêtise
Faire en sorte que le public soit incapable de comprendre les technologies et les méthodes utilisées pour son contrôle et son esclavage. « La qualité de l’éducation donnée aux classes inférieures doit être la plus pauvre, de telle sorte que le fossé de l’ignorance qui isole les classes inférieures des classes supérieures soit et demeure incompréhensible par les classes inférieures. Extrait de « Armes silencieuses pour guerres tranquilles »
8/ Encourager le public à se complaire dans la médiocrité
Encourager le public à trouver « cool » le fait d’être bête, vulgaire, et inculte…
9/ Remplacer la révolte par la culpabilité
Faire croire à l’individu qu’il est seul responsable de son malheur, à cause de l’insuffisance de son intelligence, de ses capacités, ou de ses efforts. Ainsi, au lieu de se révolter contre le système économique, l’individu s’auto-dévalue et culpabilise, ce qui engendre un état dépressif dont l’un des effets est l’inhibition de l’action. Et sa Et sans action, pas de révolution!…
10/ Connaître les individus mieux qu’ils ne se connaissent eux-mêmes
Au cours des 50 dernières années, les progrès fulgurants de la science ont creusé un fossé croissant entre les connaissances du public et celles détenues et utilisées par les élites dirigeantes. Grâce à la biologie, la neurobiologie, et la psychologie appliquée, le « système » est parvenu à une connaissance avancée de l’être humain, à la fois physiquement et psychologiquement. Le système en est arrivé à mieux connaître l’individu moyen que celui-ci ne se connaît lui-même. Cela signifie que dans la majorité des cas, le système détient un plus grand contrôle et un plus grand pouvoir sur les individus que les individus eux-mêmes.
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1-The strategy of distraction
The primordial element of social control is the distraction strategy which consists of diverting the public's attention from major problems and the changes decided by political and economic elites, through the flooding technique or flooding continuous distractions and insignificant information.
Distraction strategy is also essential to prevent the public from becoming interested in essential knowledge in the area of science, economics, psychology, neurobiology and cybernetics. Keeping the audience's attention deviated from real social problems, imprisoned by themes without real importance.
Keeping the public busy, busy, busy, with no time to think, back to the farm like other animals (quoted in the text ′′ Silent weapons for quiet wars ′′).
2-Creating problems and then offering the solutions.
This method is also called a ′′ problem-reaction-solution ". It creates a problem, a ′′ situation ′′ planned to cause a certain reaction from the public, with the aim that this is the source of the measures they want to accept. For example: letting urban violence intensify or intensify, or organize bloody attacks, with the aim of the public being those requiring security laws and policies to the detriment of freedom. Also: create an economic crisis to make social rights demotion and dismantle public services accept as a necessary evil.
3-The Strategy of Graduation.
To make an unacceptable measure accepted, you only need to apply it gradually, to dropper, for consecutive years. This is how radically new socioeconomic conditions (neoliberism) were imposed during the decades of the 80 s and 90 s: minimum state, privatisation, precariousness, flexibility, mass unemployment, wages that no longer guarantee dignified incomes , so many changes that would have brought about a revolution if they were implemented at once.
4-The Strategy of Deferring.
Another way to get an unpopular decision accepted is to present it as ′′ painful and necessary ", gaining public acceptance, in the moment, for future application. It is easier to accept a future sacrifice than an immediate sacrifice. First, because effort isn't that taken immediately. Second, because the public, the mass, always tends to naively hope that ′′ everything will be better tomorrow ′′ and that the required sacrifice could be avoided. This gives the audience more time to get used to the idea of change and accept it resigned when the time comes.
5-Reach to the public like children.
Most advertisements directed at the large audience use speeches, arguments, characters and a particularly childish intonation, many times close to weakness, as if the viewer was a few years old creature or a mental moron. When you try to deceive the viewer the more you tend to use a childish tone. Why? Why? ′′ If someone addresses a person as if they are 12 or under, then based on suggestionability, they will probably tend to a response or reaction even without a critical sense like that of a 12 person. years or less ′′ (see ′′ Silent Weapons for quiet wars ′′).
6-Using emotional aspect much more than reflection.
Take advantage of emotion it's a classic technique to provoke a short circuit on a rational analysis and finally the critical sense of the individual. Additionally, the use of emotional register allows the unconscious access door to implant or inject ideas, desires, fears and fears, compulsions, or induce behaviors.
7-Keeping the public in ignorance and mediocrity.
Making the public incapable of understanding the technologies and methods used for their control and slavery.
′′ The quality of education given to lower social classes must be as poor and mediocre as possible, so that the distance of ignorance that plans between lower classes and upper classes is and remains impossible to fill from the lower classes ".
8-Stimulating the public to be complacent with mediocrity.
Pushing the audience to think it's fashionable to be stupid, vulgar and ignorant...
9-Strengthening self-guilt.
Making the individual believe that he is only the culprit of his disgrace, because of his insufficient intelligence, skills or efforts. So, instead of rebelling against the economic system, the individual devalues himself and blames himself, which in turn creates a depressive state, one of whose effects is the inhibition of his action. And without action there is no revolution!
10-Knowing individuals better than they know themselves.
Over the past 50 years, science's rapid progress has generated a growing gap between public knowledge and those possessed and used by dominant elites. Thanks to biology, neurobiology, and applied psychology, the ′′ system ′′ has enjoyed advanced knowledge of the human being, both in its physical and psychological form. The system has managed to learn better about the common individual than he knows himself. This means that, in most cases, the system exercises greater control and greater power over individuals, greater than that which the same individual exercises over himself.
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Jan Theuninck is a Belgian painter
www.boekgrrls.nl/BgDiversen/Onderwerpen/gedichten_over_sc...
www.forumeerstewereldoorlog.be/wiki/index.php/Yperite-Jan...
www.graphiste-webdesigner.fr/blog/2013/04/la-peinture-bel...
The entire wing assemblies are ever so slightly inclined inwards.
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It's been, what...three, four years since my last proper MOC? Well, now that I know I'll be renting the same room for the rest of my time at university, I moved a good chunk of my collection in with me and went on a Bricklink spree.
Then I had a quick conversation with EB member LilMeFromDaFuture, (www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=112692&s...) and he was looking into different combinations of slopes to minimize the stepped effect of SNOT wings. Well, if you really want to get rid of that stepped edge, you flip the entire thing around and put the flat edge on the outside, right? So I did that.
As usual, reference material is Toromodel:
www.flickr.com/photos/toromodel/albums/72157620639122395
And the venerable Starship Modeler:
www.starshipmodeler.com/starwars/smith_sw.htm
And you can still see some of the influence of Larry Lars's speeder, especially in the canopy.
So named because Satan himself must have planted that tree that makes it basically impossible to get an unobstructed shot? My attempt to get as far to the right as possible minimizes the tree, but also kind of minimizes the falls.
A mother and cubs look for seafood along the shores of Glendale Cove, British Columbia. This is another capture from my Tide Rip Tour outings. All these bear shots were taken off a boat specially designed for bear viewing. I like Tide Rip because they are very conscious of minimizing any disturbance to the bears. They float the boat towards the bears with no motor, and stay a very safe distance (around 100m I think) from them. They do not allow eating on the boat, no perfumes or noise of any kind. This is also a very safe way for the bear-watchers to view these amazing animals.
© Mark K. Daly - All Rights Reserved Worldwide In Perpetuity - No Unauthorized Use. Absolutely no permission is granted in any form, fashion or way, digital or otherwise, to use my Flickr images on blogs, personal or professional websites or any other media form without my direct written permission.
Griffon vultures have been used as model organisms for the study of soaring and thermoregulation. The energy costs of level flight tend to be high, prompting alternatives to flapping in larger birds. Vultures in particular utilize more efficient flying methods such as soaring. Compared to other birds, which elevate their metabolic rate to upwards of 16 times their basal metabolic rate in flight, soaring griffon vultures expend about 1.43 times their basal metabolic rate in flight. Griffon vultures are also efficient flyers in their ability to return to a resting heart rate after flight within ten minutes.
As large scavengers, griffon vultures have not been observed to seek shelter for thermoregulation. Vultures use their bald heads as a means to thermoregulate in both extreme cold and hot temperatures. Changes in posture can increase bare skin exposure from 7% to 32%. This change allows for the more than doubling of convective heat loss in still air. Griffon vultures have also been found to tolerate increased body temperatures as a response to high ambient temperatures. By allowing their internal body temperature to change independently of their metabolic rate, griffon vultures minimize their loss of water and energy in thermoregulating. One study in particular (Bahat 1995) found that these adaptations have allowed the Griffon vulture to have one of the widest thermal neutral zones of any bird.
It declined markedly throughout the 19th–20th centuries in much of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, mainly due to direct persecution and "bycatch" from the poisoned carcasses set for livestock predators (Snow and Perrins 1998, Ferguson-Lees and Christie 2001, Orta et al. 2015). In some areas a reduction in available food supplies, arising from changes in livestock management practices, also had an impact (Ferguson-Lees and Christie 2001, Orta et al. 2015). It is very highly vulnerable to the effects of potential wind energy development (Strix 2012) and electrocution has been identified as a threat (Global Raptors Information Network 2015). Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) used for veterinary purposes pose a threat to this species. One case of suspected poisoning caused by flunixin, an NSAID, was recorded in this species in 2012 in Spain (Zorrilla et al. 2015). Diclofenac, a similar NSAID, has caused severe declines in Gyps vulture species across Asia.
I've spent the past few months figuring out how to scale down many of the things i don't need and keeping my home office very minimal. That included ditching the large 30" apple cinema display (it blocked my view out the windows!) and going back to a simple laptop with two headless servers (on old G5 osx server pictured, and one ubuntu dual core 2.8ghz hp proliant server hidden behind the desk)
I've hidden my speakers behind the desk and stream via an airport express station to minimize cord plugins. The two cables visible below the desk have been hidden (ethernet for the osx server and some other cable) didn't see them in the photo til it was too late.
I've purchased an all-in-one scanner/printer that fits comfortably in the sliding glass door cabinet for easy access.
My old and faithful aeron chair finally made it's return home from vermont. Thank you for the gift adam, it's lasted me years!
For white board drawings, i use dry erase markers on the glass windows. I make sure i don't write any sensitive data on them as they're clearly visible from the street :)
This provides maximum desk space to work with while not being distracted. i work from home occasionally (i'm a senior linux systems engineer for mtv networks/viacom) so i wanted someplace enjoyable to work without losing focus on my tasks.
I didn't have any stones to put in the vase for the flower, so i ended up using all the silver change i could find. This works great because it looks interesting, but also makes it easy to ditch extra pocket change into it conveniently. No pennies allowed!
Pre-cleaning: www.flickr.com/photos/mkosut/2583927058/in/set-7215759430...