Operation “Salt City" resulted in the arrest of 248 individuals from May through September 2015. Of those arrested, 124 were active gang members. During the operation 22 firearms, more than $237,000 in U.S. currency, 70 grams of heroin, 266 grams of cocaine, and 723 grams of marijuana with a total estimated street value of almost $44,000 was taken off Syracuse streets by participating agencies.

Operation Salt City is part of the U.S. Marshals nation-wide “Triple Beam” gang reduction initiative. Triple Beam partners federal, state, and local law enforcement to reduce violent crime and take dangerous offenders off the streets. The goal of the U.S. Marshals Gang Enforcement Program is to seek out and disrupt illegal gang activity in areas of the country with smaller or nonexistent gang enforcement units by providing manpower, funding and the Marshals’ renowned fugitive tracking abilities.

Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals

The Postcard

A postcard bearing no publisher's name that was printed in Great Britain. The five Weymouth locations are identified on the back of the card:

The Beach and Promenade The Swannery

The Harbour

The Floral Clock Sandsfoot Gardens

The card was posted using a 3d. stamp in Weymouth on Thursday the 20th. June 1968 to:

Mrs. Dent,

Ewlme,

Beckley,

Sussex.

The message on the divided back was as follows:

"Having a nice time at

Weymouth. The weather

has been good since I

arrived on the 10th.,

staying until the 29th.

The Dorset countryside

is really beautiful.

Love,

June."

Weymouth

Weymouth is a seaside town in Dorset, England, situated on a sheltered bay at the mouth of the River Wey on the English Channel coast. The town is 11 kilometres (7 mi) south of Dorchester and 8 kilometres (5 mi) north of the Isle of Portland. The town's population in 2011 was 52,300.

Weymouth is a tourist resort, and its economy depends on its harbour and visitor attractions; the town is a gateway situated halfway along the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site on the Dorset and east Devon coast, important for its geology and landforms.

Weymouth Harbour has provided a berth for cross-channel ferries, and is home to pleasure boats and private yachts, and nearby Portland Harbour is home to the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, where the sailing events of the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games were held.

The history of the borough stretches back to the 12th century; including involvement in the spread of the Black Death, the settlement of the Americas, the development of Georgian architecture, and a major departure point for the Normandy Landings.

Austin Currie

So what else happened on the day that June posted the card?

Well, on the 20th. June 1968, Austin Currie, an elected member of Northern Ireland's parliament, called national attention to discrimination against the Roman Catholic minority in predominantly Protestant Northern Ireland by becoming a squatter.

Currie and two other people learned of a house in Caledon, County Tyrone, that had been allocated to a single, 19-year old Protestant woman, even though there were 269 families ahead of her on a waiting list for housing.

When police from the Royal Ulster Constabulary moved in to remove Currie and his group, he had a television crew present to film the action. The BBC Evening News broadcast the incident, and for many people in Britain, it was the first they heard of religious discrimination in Northern Ireland.

Stamp Counterfeiting

Also on that day, a federal law that had prohibited the printing of color images of United States postage stamps, was repealed when President Johnson signed legislation.

A White House statement said:

"Since stamp counterfeiting is today

virtually nonexistent, this restriction

is no longer necessary. There is no

reason now why the full meaning and

beauty of our postage stamps cannot

be communicated to all the world in

color reproduction."

Previously, stamp catalogs and encyclopedias could only display black-and-white images. The law had become obsolete after U.S. stamps were impregnated with an invisible phosphor which causes canceling machines to reject counterfeits".

David Ruffin

Also on the 20th. June 1968, David Ruffin was fired from The Temptations for missing a performance, after he developed a cocaine addition and began questioning Berry Gordy's handling of the group's financial affairs.

The Rolling Stones

Also on that day, the Number One chart hit record in the UK was 'Jumping Jack Flash' by the Rolling Stones.

via Instagram ift.tt/21HWRVs

View Large On Black

Bufflehead duck (female) with Canada Goose

Muriel Hepner Park

Denville, New Jersey

Thanks to Tom for the tipoff about activity on the pond. No Kingfisher or Mergansers today, just this little quacker mixed in with small #s of mute swans, mallards, and canada geese. There was a large raptor that passed over the back of the pond, only caught a glimpse... looked like a red-tailed hawk.

This photo desperately needs more depth of field, but lighting was nonexistent, and I didn't expect to catch the bufflehead mid-quack!

ISO 1600, 1/125s, wide open @ f/5.6

I had to run noise reduction twice on this photo because it was extremely grainy. I did a lower pass on the full photo, and a high strength pass on just the background. Still noisy!

© DRB 2008 all rights reserved

Unauthorized use or reproduction for any reason is prohibited

Seriously.

Or

Two Woman Agree to Split the Difference

Breasts aside, black cast statue and silvery metallic balloon were antagonizingly high contrast, so I pre-exposed the film against a neutral coloured wall before taking this shot to try to get some more detail out of Naked Lady. I think it worked pretty well, considering how I've been too lazy (I mean, have been practicing not using) to use a light meter, so all the exposure values and settings were made up on the spot, not the spot meter.

It is a good reminder that although some skills are like riding a bike, doing them well again after a long hiatus is another matter entirely. Twenty miles around a lake and then attempting a mountain (hill) after not riding (or even moving much) for three years is (wasn't) not a very good idea.

When FP100c and 3000b were my mediums of choice I was really good at over or under exposing and making up preflash levels, developing times, and temperatures so I could move the film's shadow and highlight sensitivity curves and dynamic range around. I don't think I could do it again so intuitively nowadays without burning through way too much near-nonexistent film first. This is probably a good argument for me to switch between formats either much more or much less often.

Now that I think about it, I actually had two light meters on my person when I took this shot. One old selenium meter that is on its last legs, and one super calibrated spot meter that I normally don't use in New York because it is vaguely gun-shaped.

Whatever, it's good practice, and this is already at the limits of this film's latitude.

Super square framing and shift correction takes practice too.

Wat Ong Teu Mahawihan (Temple of the Heavy Buddha) is one of many Buddhist Monasteries that are present in the city of Vientiane in Laos. This name is given to the temple due to the large, bronze Phra Ong Teu Buddha image that is present within the temple: the largest Buddha in Vientiane. This temple was initially constructed by King Settathirat I in the 16th century (known as the golden age of Buddhism in Laos) when Laos was being bombarded by the Burmese, but was later demolished during a foreign invasion. Thus, it may have gone through many reconstructions during the 19th or 20th century to attain the appearance it has today.

Though this temple is created in Vientiane, it has the basic shape for what is known as the ‘Luang Prabang I style’ with its scare use of brickwork and rectangular-like body.

Wat Ong Teu is said to have been placed along a cardinal point in accordance with three other temples, but that may just be coincidental.

ORIGIN

After commanding for the relocation of the capital of Laos from the city of Luang Prabang to Vientiane, King Setthathirat I produced many monasteries such as Wat That Luang and Wat Phra Kaew. The reason this particular wat (Lao for temple) was built was because Setthathirat I desired to create the Phra Ong Teu image that would be placed within it, and to have it as his person living quarters. There would be six other sculptures of this image present in other monasteries, but Wat Ong Teu Mahawihan contains the first of them. Since this time period is known as the golden age, the wat would evolve into a complex with a sim (ordination hall), a ho rackhang (bell tower), a ho kong (drum tower), a that (stupa), and a kuti (monks’ living quarters). Each of these parts of the complex all share the similar artistic motif of the architecture of the central wat, which is discussed later.

The original use of this wat was for ceremonies of allegiance to the king. However, in the 17th century, Souligna Vongsa as king transformed this temple into a Buddhist learning center in order to ‘teach, enlighten and inspire worshippers.’ In other words, it has become a school for monks coming from around Southeast Asia to study the dhamma. This becomes apparent because surrounding countries of Laos sent their monks to Vientiane to study this religion. Such a function is more understandable of Wat Ong Teu since there are many details that give the suggestion of a learning center.

RECONSTRUCTION

When Siam sacked Laos in 1827-28 as a punishment for almost all of the monasteries in Laos, including Wat Ong Teu, were destroyed. This was only made worse afterwards when the Ho bandits tried sack Vientiane again to take gold from Wat Ong Teu and others. In 1900, following the establishment of the Franco-Siamese treaty in 1843, the French chose Vientiane as their capital and started the reconstruction of its monasteries including Wat Ong Teu. As an addition, the French may have also created a school, in the same format and appearance as the rest of the complex to further exemplify the function of Wat Ong Teu as a place of study. The Lao Buddhist Institute was made in 1929 and still functions today as a school for the Theravada Buddhist religion.

ARCHITECTURE

In retrospect, the influence on the style of the original temple can be traced predominantly to India, though not directly. Indochina was part of the sphere of influence of India, known by George Coedès as the ‘Indianization of Southeast Asia.’ The religion and customs of Indian civilization came ‘thoroughly yet peacefully’ to the people of this region, especially due to marriage between Indian men and local women. Laos however, was a nonexistent country during this time. The kingdom of Lan Xang (‘Land of a million elephants’) wasn’t established until the mid-13th century of the common era just years after all direct contact with India was completely diminished. Instead, the original Wat Ong Teu took its traits from other mixed ideas of architecture from surrounding countries that were established earlier than the 13th century. In essence, the variant notions of these Southeastern Asian countries on the Theravada Buddhist architecture of India, such as Cambodia and Siam (present day Thailand), influenced the ideas of how Wat Ong Teu would be depicted. However, even though Laos borrowed traditions from these other cultures, the 16th century turned a new leaf for the Lao people in the form of a golden age. Thus, Wat Ong Teu has most of its own Lao Buddhist features and only minor details of surrounding influences.

After the temple’s destruction, some of the techniques used to create it were lost, but much of it wasn’t forgotten. Instead, modern techniques were blended in with the old during the temple’s reconstruction, especially in what was used to fortify the walls and roof. The result became a rich new style that is exclusive to Lao architecture. This primarily is because the modern reconstruction completed by the French kept sincere adherence to these Lao notions already established on temple aesthetics, with some artistic liberties since Laos at this time was only a protectorate of France.

ENTRY GATE

This multi-tiered archway serves as the entrance into the complex where the temple is located. It is miniature compared to that of Pha That Luang. The functionality of this seemingly simple archway is similar to that of the torana, or gateway, of Indian culture. The torana served as the passageway from secular ground to sacred ground. The only difference is that this archway does not have any images for which a person can meditate and it doesn’t involve circumambulating a stupa. This characteristic may be present in all the temples and stupas that exist in Laos, especially at King Setthathirat’s more famous architectural creation, Pha That Luang.

MAIN ENTRANCE

The entrance to Wat Ong Teu is known to have a good amount of eccentricities that are indigenous only to Laos and no other Buddhist temple in Asia. Just before going up the stairs at the front of the temple, one can find the frieze that is exceedingly baroque in detail, highlighting this Lao style. The green backdrop shimmers as many carved and gilded vine leaves curve in no apparent order or pattern. This motif is repeated throughout the whole front part of the temple, even surrounding the six small Buddhas that are just below the frieze. This foliage may be an allusion to the lotus flower which is an aniconic symbol of the Buddha. Another Lao characteristic of monasteries is the pointed double archway that flanks the six Buddhas. There are many variations of this characteristic, but the archway of Wat Ong Teu is the most simplistic aesthetically.

One of the most native features to Laos is the Naga, or mythical water serpent, that serves as the guardian of the entrance. The Naga was widely known in Southeast Asia before Buddhism arrived. They would symbolize the Hindu god Shiva in which they represented destruction and renewal. How they relate to the Buddha lies in the story of Siddhartha under the Bodhi tree.

This could also be the second area for which one would pass from less secular ground to completely sacred ground. Though Nagas are usually seen with multiple heads, Wat Ong Teu’s version of the Naga has a single head with a its bright green body stretched out. There are three sets of these Nagas that all give access to the same patio-type area in front the temple. This aspect is interesting because there is only one door that gives an entrance into the temple. It may be a reference to the original function of this wat as the king’s temple, with the front stairs only being walk on by the king while the others were reserved for normal patrons. The posts perpendicular to these Naga resemble the sort of pagoda or tower one would see in Laos.

The doors and windows are made of wood and are also decorated with many leaves and stems that spiral sporadically. These images are all carved, painted red and gilded to make the door and windows look as if they were made of metal. Each of the windows and the door have different images of the Buddha either directly or by aniconic representation. Some of them may evidently portray a Jataka, or story given of one of the Buddha’s past incarnations.

ROOF

Seemingly the most intricate part of the exterior of Wat Ong Teu is its roof. It illustrates a myriad of different styles from around Asia that blend in an extraordinarily harmonious way.

A commonly used feature in Asia for the roof is the utilization of a curved roof. This non-linear approach was originated by the Chinese. In China, architects thought that evil spirits despised curved lines, therefore giving an apotropaic effect to the temple. Lao ideas of the curved roof should have been similar to China’s as well. This aspect is especially important when the principal function of this temple is to teach the Buddhist religion. Students learning the Buddhist religion should especially be protected from the evils of the outside world.

What is particularly interesting is the feature of multiple roofs that descend past the boundaries of the wall at a slope. This aspect is exclusive to Laos. Specifically, there are three or four superimposed roofs, with the two bottom roofs being supported by columns from within the temple. It is unknown as to the reason for this intricate design, but it may be another aspect of protection because multiple roofs could cause confusion among evil spirits.

The stone spire decoration with stacked superimposed, decreasingly sized disks in the center of the keel is definitively a Buddhist element. It is known that before the Buddha went through enlightenment, he was always covered by parasols to indicate his royalty as a prince. Therefore, it is not unusual to see a parasol-like spire atop this temple. The other flame-like decorations, called chaw faa (sky clusters), lining the edges and vertices of the roof are frequently used in Laos. This may also be another quality that emphasizes the apotropaic effect of the roof.

The exterior may have a lot detail that is used for protection and attraction, but the interior does not mirror the same intricacy. Within the temple, the floors are glossed and the walls and ceiling are painted with the same colors as the exterior. There is a red mat that is lined perfectly from the middle to the back of the sim where the Phra Ong Teu image resides. The most intricate objects within the temple are the columns that hold up the roof. They may have been made to look like oversized lotus flowers that have grown from the ground to support the roof of the temple. This may illustrate the natural world for which the Buddha himself would have liked to teach his followers.

MODERN TECHNIQUES

Once Laos became a French protectorate and reconstruction began, there may have been many liberties made to some of the minute details of the temple, but most of the essential attributes of the temple remain similar to the original construction. A very important change is in the stone and well-kept wood that fortifies the structure of the temple. The brackets are included in this use of preserved timber. Not only are there brackets on the outside, but in the inside as well. However, the columns are the objects that provide the most support for the 3 or 4 tiered roofs, so they are treated with more care than the brackets. Therefore, in essence, the modern approach is more of a post and lintel technique rather than the use of brackets. The lack of non-perishable material before French rule over Laos is indicative of their weak government.

Some details that are usually seen in developed countries in Europe and North America include small, hanging chandeliers as well as fans placed on each column that lines the sim. These simple touches do seem to emit a sort of waning of sacredness for which the temple was originally created, but it may not be complete departure from belief.

Most of the modern techniques may have been meant for the surrounding complex rather than the monastery itself, but the central theme of all these buildings and towers remain faithful to that of Wat Ong Teu.

ART

´HEAVY BUDDHA`

ACCOMPANIED BY TWO STANDING BUDDHAS

These original sculptures reside within the sim of the temple towards the furthest wall from the entrance. The Phra Ong Teu is made of a mix of metals, predominately bronze, and is seated atop a golden pedestal that was cast separate from the Buddha. The head may have been cast separately as well from the body and put together by the ‘tonged and grooved joint techniques’ showing the skill of Lao craftsmanship. The two standing Buddhas are connected to their own respective platforms. These sculptures are raised on top of a platform with a color scheme similar to the rest of the temple. More recently, these sculptures are draped in linen or silk cloth, depicting the saffron clothing monks usually wear in Laos, with neon-colored halos place on the wall behind them. This may just add an artistic effect to the Buddhas so that a more prestigious role could be emphasized of them. However, Lao artists of this time never thought of these or other Buddha images as art, only as a means to ‘educate and enlighten.’ Therefore, later use of this temple as a place for further learning of the Hinayana Buddhist religion would be the exact purpose for which the artists intended.

It is usual to see the Enlightened One alone or accompanied by bodhisattvas in a triad, but here all three of these sculptures depict the Phra Ong Teu Buddha. A strong indication that these sculptures are Buddhas is the parasols that are suspended over them. Each of the smaller Buddhas have a parasol above them that is attached to a post protruding out from behind them, but the main Buddha has a distinctively rectangular parasol that is fastened to the ceiling. These parasols act in the same way as the parasol located on the keel of the wat, but the parasols that hang over the Buddhas are more decorative. What is interesting is that the rectangular parasol hanging over the Phra Ong Teu is more of a Japanese trait than anything Laos. The only record of any Japanese interaction with Laos would be during a five-year period in WWII. The only action caused by them was the nationalistic passion that the Lao people had in opposition to them. Not enough time was put into having any influence on their art of this Buddha or the temple that it is in.

There are many other features of Phra Ong Teu Buddha that are common in relation to the codified Buddha, but it still has its Lao differences. The earliest image of the Buddha in Laos was influenced by the ‘Pha Bang Khmer style,’ but started to become more distinctive in the 16th century along with the golden age. For example, the tightly curled hair that is displayed on the main Buddha is strongly reminiscent of the Gandhara Style of India during the Gupta period, which is mirrored by the Pha Bang. However, the pointed swelling coming out of the top of the image’s head, signifying ‘transcendent knowledge,’ expresses an exclusively Lao idea. This type of swell may even be a facet solely of the Phra Ong Teu image that King Setthathirat created. Some other modified aspects of the image are the sharp ear rims with long lobes, the equal, extended length of the fingers and toes, and the sharp wide nose.

There are a few different mudras, or hand gestures, that these Buddhas portray. These gestures illustrate the Indian influence that is present in Laos. Both of the smaller standing Buddhas have their hands up with palms facing outward, meaning fearlessness. Their mudra differs from the main Phra Ong Teu Buddha. He instead adopts two different mudras that allude to the moments just before Siddhartha’s Enlightenment. Specifically, the left hand is placed in the lap with the palm facing up towards the face which represents the idea of meditation. The greater gesture that captures the Enlightenment within this image comes from his right hand. His hand is rested over his knee with fingers extended toward the earth. This symbolizes the calling of the Earth to protect the Buddha from Mara, India’s interpretation of the devil. This can then be connected to the Naga that was conjured up to help Siddhartha in his path for Enlightenment. In creating this image, King Setthathirat I proved his adherence to the Theravada Buddhism that has always been present in Laos since Lan Xang.

CONCLUSION

Of the many temples that are present in Vientiane, Laos today, Wat Ong Teu Mahawihan is one of the more undervalued temples. Every detail that makes up this composition of this monastery has some sort of allusion to the teachings or image of the Buddha. From the Nagas guarding the entrance of the temple to the fastidiously heavy Buddha at the back of the sim within the temple, from the carved windows and doors to the lotus columns supporting the roof, Wat Ong Teu is a complete illustration of the story of Siddhartha meditating under the Bodhi tree. No area of the temple is left untouched which results in a sense of sacred ground.

Though it may not be an international symbol, Wat Ong Teu is more widely known as an educational institute that provides widespread teaching of the Theravada Buddhism that originated in India. That belief hasn’t meandered to this day. As a center for learning, Wat Ong Teu still continues to house the teachings of the beginning of Buddhism straight from the Buddha, though the two parties live centuries apart. With respect to Laos, education of this religion is what allowed France to be interesting in them even though France’s main focus was Vietnam. From to the French came Lao nationalism in opposition to the Japanese. All of this sparked from monasteries in Laos, Wat Ong Teu included.

WIKIPEDIA

Operation “Salt City" resulted in the arrest of 248 individuals from May through September 2015. Of those arrested, 124 were active gang members. During the operation 22 firearms, more than $237,000 in U.S. currency, 70 grams of heroin, 266 grams of cocaine, and 723 grams of marijuana with a total estimated street value of almost $44,000 was taken off Syracuse streets by participating agencies.

Operation Salt City is part of the U.S. Marshals nation-wide “Triple Beam” gang reduction initiative. Triple Beam partners federal, state, and local law enforcement to reduce violent crime and take dangerous offenders off the streets. The goal of the U.S. Marshals Gang Enforcement Program is to seek out and disrupt illegal gang activity in areas of the country with smaller or nonexistent gang enforcement units by providing manpower, funding and the Marshals’ renowned fugitive tracking abilities.

Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals

I talked with a groundskeeper at Brookgreen Gardens about the moss, which isn't a moss but rather an airborne plant that lives on the nutrients it derives from the air. My specific question was as to why there is Spanish Moss hanging from nearly every tree in Brookgreen, in copious amounts, and yet right across Highway 17 in Huntington Beach State Park the plant is nonexistent. His best answer was that the State Park probably removes the plant, but this was clearly impossible given the hundreds of acres of maritime forest I hiked through the day before.

So if anybody out there has any ideas on why an airborne plant grows very successfully on one side of the road, yet does not exist on the other side of the road, feel free to give a response.

By the way, best viewed large for the full effect of the rays through the moss-covered limbs. Its quite lovely.

30 Likes on Instagram

5 Comments on Instagram:

thighigh412: #me #boylondon #ootd

thighigh412: #converse #bobmarley #tea #pittsburgh #me #girl #blonde

brennaninstagrams: Boy is lame

thighigh412: @brennaninstagrams hmm ill take that into consideration when dressin myself yung messiah

thighigh412: @brennaninstagrams u use a ouija board to write ur comments for u oooh I'm so swayed by the thoughts of nonexistent spirits

Posted via email to ☛ HoloChromaCinePhotoRamaScope‽: cdevers.posterous.com/chump-change-yap-style.

Via Wikipedia: Rai stones

Rai stones are large, circular stone disks carved out of limestone in the island of Yap, Micronesia. They have been used in trade by the locals and are described by some observers as a form of currency.

Form and value

Rai stones are circular disks carved out of limestone with a large hole in the middle. The size of the stones varies widely; the largest are 3 meters (10 ft) in diameter, 0.5 meters (1.5 ft) thick and weigh 4 metric tons (8,800 lb).

The extrinsic (perceived) value of a specific stone is based not only on its size and craftsmanship but also on the history of the stone. If many people — or no one at all — died when the specific stone was transported, or a famous sailor brought it in, the value of the rai stone increases.

Rai stones were used in social transactions such as marriage, inheritance, political deals, sign of an alliance, ransom of the battle dead or just in exchange for food. Many of them are placed in front of meetinghouses or specific pathways. Though the ownership of a particular stone changes, the stone itself is rarely moved. The names of previous owners are passed down to the new one.

History

Yapese quarried the limestone rocks from the islands of Palau and took them to Yap with canoes and rafts. Local legend holds that the Yapese discovered the rock of Palau about 500–600 years ago when an expedition led by a man called Anagumang landed on Palau. Limestone was nonexistent in Yap and therefore very valuable to the Yapese.

First Anagumang ordered his men to cut stone into the shape of fish but eventually a circular shape was chosen, probably because it was easier to transport. A pole was put through the hole in the center of the stone so that laborers could carry the stone. The largest of the disks probably needed hundreds of men to transport.

Residents of Palau, in turn, required Yapese to pay in beads, coconut meat and copra or in the form of services for the privilege of quarrying.

In 1871 an Irish-American David Dean O'Keefe was shipwrecked near Yap and was helped by the natives. Later he assisted the Yapese in acquiring rai and in return received copra and trepang, which were valuable exports in the Far East.[1] He provided the Yapese with iron tools. As a result, a form of inflation set in and rai stones acquired with his help were less valuable than more ancient ones.

In one instance, a rai being transported by canoe was accidentally dropped and sunk to the sea floor. Although it was never seen again, everyone agreed that the rai must still be there, so it continued to be transacted as genuine currency - perhaps the ultimate expression of fiat money.

The trade for rai stones eventually stopped at the beginning of the 20th century due to trade disputes between Spanish and German interests in the area. Quarries were abandoned. When Imperial Japanese forces took over Yap during World War II, they used some of the stones for construction or as anchors.

Although Western-style money has replaced the stones as everyday currency, the rai stones are still exchanged in traditional ways between the Yapese. They are a national symbol and are depicted on local license plates.

A 7-foot-diameter (2.1 m) rai stone is exhibited in the garden of the lobby of the Bank of Canada, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

See also

• Petrosphere

References

• ^ Powers, Dennis M. Tales of the Seven Seas: The Escapades of Captain Dynamite Johnny O'Brien. Lanham, MD: Taylor Trade, 2010. pp. 136-137

External links

"The Island Of Stone Money". www.npr.org/blogs/money/2010/12/10/131934618/the-island-o.... Retrieved 2010-01-05.

Just in case you forgot that my cat is cute, here is a reminder for you. Please feel free to subscribe to her nonexistent newsletter.

Grainger Market is a Grade I listed covered market, constructed as part of the 19th-century urban renewal replacing markets on the site of Grey Street. Designed by John Dobson, it opened in 1835. The market has two sections: The Eastern, which was a meat market laid out in a series of aisles; and the Western, which was a vegetable market with a large open hall. The vegetable market's roof was in ill-repair by 1898, and the current roof was installed in 1901. While the principal uses of the market have since changed, it still houses a number of butchers' stalls.

The market is home to a small branch of Marks & Spencer, a market stall known as Marks and Spencer's Original Penny Bazaar

Art is a diverse range of human activity and its resulting product that involves creative or imaginative talent generally expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas.

There is no generally agreed definition of what constitutes art, and its interpretation has varied greatly throughout history and across cultures. In the Western tradition, the three classical branches of visual art are painting, sculpture, and architecture. Theatre, dance, and other performing arts, as well as literature, music, film and other media such as interactive media, are included in a broader definition of the arts. Until the 17th century, art referred to any skill or mastery and was not differentiated from crafts or sciences. In modern usage after the 17th century, where aesthetic considerations are paramount, the fine arts are separated and distinguished from acquired skills in general, such as the decorative or applied arts.

The nature of art and related concepts, such as creativity and interpretation, are explored in a branch of philosophy known as aesthetics. The resulting artworks are studied in the professional fields of art criticism and the history of art.

In the perspective of the history of art, artistic works have existed for almost as long as humankind: from early prehistoric art to contemporary art; however, some theorists think that the typical concept of "artistic works" does not fit well outside modern Western societies. One early sense of the definition of art is closely related to the older Latin meaning, which roughly translates to "skill" or "craft", as associated with words such as "artisan". English words derived from this meaning include artifact, artificial, artifice, medical arts, and military arts. However, there are many other colloquial uses of the word, all with some relation to its etymology.

Over time, philosophers like Plato, Aristotle, Socrates and Immanuel Kant, among others, questioned the meaning of art. Several dialogues in Plato tackle questions about art: Socrates says that poetry is inspired by the muses, and is not rational. He speaks approvingly of this, and other forms of divine madness (drunkenness, eroticism, and dreaming) in the Phaedrus (265a–c), and yet in the Republic wants to outlaw Homer's great poetic art, and laughter as well. In Ion, Socrates gives no hint of the disapproval of Homer that he expresses in the Republic. The dialogue Ion suggests that Homer's Iliad functioned in the ancient Greek world as the Bible does today in the modern Christian world: as divinely inspired literary art that can provide moral guidance, if only it can be properly interpreted.

With regards to the literary art and the musical arts, Aristotle considered epic poetry, tragedy, comedy, Dithyrambic poetry and music to be mimetic or imitative art, each varying in imitation by medium, object, and manner. For example, music imitates with the media of rhythm and harmony, whereas dance imitates with rhythm alone, and poetry with language. The forms also differ in their object of imitation. Comedy, for instance, is a dramatic imitation of men worse than average; whereas tragedy imitates men slightly better than average. Lastly, the forms differ in their manner of imitation—through narrative or character, through change or no change, and through drama or no drama. Aristotle believed that imitation is natural to mankind and constitutes one of mankind's advantages over animals.

The more recent and specific sense of the word art as an abbreviation for creative art or fine art emerged in the early 17th century. Fine art refers to a skill used to express the artist's creativity, or to engage the audience's aesthetic sensibilities, or to draw the audience towards consideration of more refined or finer works of art.

Within this latter sense, the word art may refer to several things: (i) a study of a creative skill, (ii) a process of using the creative skill, (iii) a product of the creative skill, or (iv) the audience's experience with the creative skill. The creative arts (art as discipline) are a collection of disciplines which produce artworks (art as objects) that are compelled by a personal drive (art as activity) and convey a message, mood, or symbolism for the perceiver to interpret (art as experience). Art is something that stimulates an individual's thoughts, emotions, beliefs, or ideas through the senses. Works of art can be explicitly made for this purpose or interpreted on the basis of images or objects. For some scholars, such as Kant, the sciences and the arts could be distinguished by taking science as representing the domain of knowledge and the arts as representing the domain of the freedom of artistic expression.

Often, if the skill is being used in a common or practical way, people will consider it a craft instead of art. Likewise, if the skill is being used in a commercial or industrial way, it may be considered commercial art instead of fine art. On the other hand, crafts and design are sometimes considered applied art. Some art followers have argued that the difference between fine art and applied art has more to do with value judgments made about the art than any clear definitional difference. However, even fine art often has goals beyond pure creativity and self-expression. The purpose of works of art may be to communicate ideas, such as in politically, spiritually, or philosophically motivated art; to create a sense of beauty (see aesthetics); to explore the nature of perception; for pleasure; or to generate strong emotions. The purpose may also be seemingly nonexistent.

The nature of art has been described by philosopher Richard Wollheim as "one of the most elusive of the traditional problems of human culture". Art has been defined as a vehicle for the expression or communication of emotions and ideas, a means for exploring and appreciating formal elements for their own sake, and as mimesis or representation. Art as mimesis has deep roots in the philosophy of Aristotle. Leo Tolstoy identified art as a use of indirect means to communicate from one person to another. Benedetto Croce and R. G. Collingwood advanced the idealist view that art expresses emotions, and that the work of art therefore essentially exists in the mind of the creator. The theory of art as form has its roots in the philosophy of Kant, and was developed in the early 20th century by Roger Fry and Clive Bell. More recently, thinkers influenced by Martin Heidegger have interpreted art as the means by which a community develops for itself a medium for self-expression and interpretation. George Dickie has offered an institutional theory of art that defines a work of art as any artifact upon which a qualified person or persons acting on behalf of the social institution commonly referred to as "the art world" has conferred "the status of candidate for appreciation". Larry Shiner has described fine art as "not an essence or a fate but something we have made. Art as we have generally understood it is a European invention barely two hundred years old."

Art may be characterized in terms of mimesis (its representation of reality), narrative (storytelling), expression, communication of emotion, or other qualities. During the Romantic period, art came to be seen as "a special faculty of the human mind to be classified with religion and science".

A shell engraved by Homo erectus was determined to be between 430,000 and 540,000 years old. A set of eight 130,000 years old white-tailed eagle talons bear cut marks and abrasion that indicate manipulation by neanderthals, possibly for using it as jewelry. A series of tiny, drilled snail shells about 75,000 years old—were discovered in a South African cave. Containers that may have been used to hold paints have been found dating as far back as 100,000 years.

The oldest piece of art found in Europe is the Riesenhirschknochen der Einhornhöhle, dating back 51,000 years and made by Neanderthals.

Sculptures, cave paintings, rock paintings and petroglyphs from the Upper Paleolithic dating to roughly 40,000 years ago have been found, but the precise meaning of such art is often disputed because so little is known about the cultures that produced them.

The first undisputed sculptures and similar art pieces, like the Venus of Hohle Fels, are the numerous objects found at the Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura UNESCO World Heritage Site, where the oldest non-stationary works of human art yet discovered were found, in the form of carved animal and humanoid figurines, in addition to the oldest musical instruments unearthed so far, with the artifacts dating between 43,000 and 35,000 BC, so being the first centre of human art.

Cave paintings, Lascaux, France, c. 17,000 BCE

Many great traditions in art have a foundation in the art of one of the great ancient civilizations: Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, India, China, Ancient Greece, Rome, as well as Inca, Maya, and Olmec. Each of these centers of early civilization developed a unique and characteristic style in its art. Because of the size and duration of these civilizations, more of their art works have survived and more of their influence has been transmitted to other cultures and later times. Some also have provided the first records of how artists worked. For example, this period of Greek art saw a veneration of the human physical form and the development of equivalent skills to show musculature, poise, beauty, and anatomically correct proportions.

In Byzantine and Medieval art of the Western Middle Ages, much art focused on the expression of subjects about biblical and religious culture, and used styles that showed the higher glory of a heavenly world, such as the use of gold in the background of paintings, or glass in mosaics or windows, which also presented figures in idealized, patterned (flat) forms. Nevertheless, a classical realist tradition persisted in small Byzantine works, and realism steadily grew in the art of Catholic Europe.

Renaissance art had a greatly increased emphasis on the realistic depiction of the material world, and the place of humans in it, reflected in the corporeality of the human body, and development of a systematic method of graphical perspective to depict recession in a three-dimensional picture space.

In the east, Islamic art's rejection of iconography led to emphasis on geometric patterns, calligraphy, and architecture. Further east, religion dominated artistic styles and forms too. India and Tibet saw emphasis on painted sculptures and dance, while religious painting borrowed many conventions from sculpture and tended to bright contrasting colors with emphasis on outlines. China saw the flourishing of many art forms: jade carving, bronzework, pottery (including the stunning terracotta army of Emperor Qin), poetry, calligraphy, music, painting, drama, fiction, etc. Chinese styles vary greatly from era to era and each one is traditionally named after the ruling dynasty. So, for example, Tang dynasty paintings are monochromatic and sparse, emphasizing idealized landscapes, but Ming dynasty paintings are busy and colorful, and focus on telling stories via setting and composition. Japan names its styles after imperial dynasties too, and also saw much interplay between the styles of calligraphy and painting. Woodblock printing became important in Japan after the 17th century.

The western Age of Enlightenment in the 18th century saw artistic depictions of physical and rational certainties of the clockwork universe, as well as politically revolutionary visions of a post-monarchist world, such as Blake's portrayal of Newton as a divine geometer, or David's propagandistic paintings. This led to Romantic rejections of this in favor of pictures of the emotional side and individuality of humans, exemplified in the novels of Goethe. The late 19th century then saw a host of artistic movements, such as academic art, Symbolism, impressionism and fauvism among others.

The history of 20th-century art is a narrative of endless possibilities and the search for new standards, each being torn down in succession by the next. Thus the parameters of Impressionism, Expressionism, Fauvism, Cubism, Dadaism, Surrealism, etc. cannot be maintained very much beyond the time of their invention. Increasing global interaction during this time saw an equivalent influence of other cultures into Western art. Thus, Japanese woodblock prints (themselves influenced by Western Renaissance draftsmanship) had an immense influence on impressionism and subsequent development. Later, African sculptures were taken up by Picasso and to some extent by Matisse. Similarly, in the 19th and 20th centuries the West has had huge impacts on Eastern art with originally western ideas like Communism and Post-Modernism exerting a powerful influence.

Modernism, the idealistic search for truth, gave way in the latter half of the 20th century to a realization of its unattainability. Theodor W. Adorno said in 1970, "It is now taken for granted that nothing which concerns art can be taken for granted any more: neither art itself, nor art in relationship to the whole, nor even the right of art to exist." Relativism was accepted as an unavoidable truth, which led to the period of contemporary art and postmodern criticism, where cultures of the world and of history are seen as changing forms, which can be appreciated and drawn from only with skepticism and irony. Furthermore, the separation of cultures is increasingly blurred and some argue it is now more appropriate to think in terms of a global culture, rather than of regional ones.

In The Origin of the Work of Art, Martin Heidegger, a German philosopher and seminal thinker, describes the essence of art in terms of the concepts of being and truth. He argues that art is not only a way of expressing the element of truth in a culture, but the means of creating it and providing a springboard from which "that which is" can be revealed. Works of art are not merely representations of the way things are, but actually produce a community's shared understanding. Each time a new artwork is added to any culture, the meaning of what it is to exist is inherently changed.

Historically, art and artistic skills and ideas have often been spread through trade. An example of this is the Silk Road, where Hellenistic, Iranian, Indian and Chinese influences could mix. Greco Buddhist art is one of the most vivid examples of this interaction. The meeting of different cultures and worldviews also influenced artistic creation. An example of this is the multicultural port metropolis of Trieste at the beginning of the 20th century, where James Joyce met writers from Central Europe and the artistic development of New York City as a cultural melting pot.

The silhouette is a shadow, a shadow is nonexistent, shadow is the absence of light. The shadow is our part most primitive, that can walk to the light or to the darkness.

A silhueta é uma sombra, uma sombra é algo inexistente, sombra é ausência de luz. A sombra é a nossa parte mais primitiva, que pode caminhar para a luz ou para a escuridão.

The Roman Bridge crosses the old course of the Jarama River This 148-meter-long civil construction, composed of five arches (four small and one large) nestled among poplars and other deciduous trees that lend it an evocative image each autumn, is called a Roman bridge. But only the foundations and some studies of the ashlar blocks remain from Roman times because, in reality, it dates from the Middle Ages with significant additions during the 16th century that gave it its current appearance.

Visitors who arrive at this point always ask themselves the same question: But where is the Jarama River? Is this thin trickle of water? It is indeed surprising to find such a large bridge supporting an almost nonexistent flow of water. But the answer lies in the fact that, as has happened so many times throughout history, the riverbed was displaced for various reasns, in this case by almost half a kilometer. Therefore, the Jarama River should be sought further west because what flows there (when it does) is a meager irrigation canal, the Caz stream, which carries less water than a canteen with holes in it.

Nearby, there is a recreational area, right next to the actual Jarama, known as "La Chopera" (The Poplar Grove), where families come "with their picnic blankets and Tupperware" to spend the morning or afternoon in the shade and sit down to eat at one of the tables while the children play.

ABSOLUTELY BETTER ON BLACK

Uno stemma tra due lembi d'un ampio manto drappeggiato, e dentro lo stemma s'aprivano altri due lembi di manto con in mezzo uno stemma più piccolo, [...] e in mezzo ci doveva essere chissà che cosa, ma non si riusciva a scorgere.

da Il cavaliere inesistente di Italo Calvino

from The Nonexistent Knight by Italo Calvino

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This photos been taken during the last Christmas (25th december 2011) in Capracotta (Molise), Italy. At that time it was a very cold snow storm in the little village at 1421 m (A.M.S.L). My cousin (that you see in this photos) was wearing a traditional cloak from Capracotta called "Cuappot a Rota", so I could not resist to ask him to go out in the snow storm with this scenic and traditional cloak! :) It was very cold and windy so I was compleatily freezing, but I'm pretty satisfied with the result! :)

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*April Fool's Day

This custom is thought to have started in France during the 16th century but the British are credited with bringing it to the United States. The commonly accepted origin of April Fool's Day involves changes in the calendar. At one time, the New Year celebration began on March 25 and ended on April 1. However, in 1582, King Charles IX adopted the Gregorian calendar and accepted the beginning of the new year as January 1. Those who refused to acknowledge the new date or simply forgot received foolish gifts and invitations to nonexistent parties. The butt of such a prank was known as a "poisson d'avril" or "April fish."

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Sunset was nonexistent tonight, but looking across the lake we could see flames leaping into the air, so my volunteer fireman and I jumped in the car to investigate. The lake reeds were burning at Çakırca (site of most of my sunset shots).

These hardy reeds will actually just grow back next year stronger and healthier - and with the shrinking of the lake the reeds are not as waterlogged as they once were - and, of course, there is a tremendous amount of trash in the weeds so I suspect that helped to fuel the fire which was probably started by young kids smoking.

It was actually quite a community event with the entire village watching - including the local fire department and the jandarma - I, of course, was the only female in sight, but I was serenaded by an adorable young kid (about 11 years old) who wanted to sing me a song - a wonderful Azerbaijani song that is one of my favorites - so we crooned together while the fires burned.

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Brandon Q Morris "The Dark Origin"

[...] She´s accelerated.This does not correspond to the specification. She has to brake to reach the lower orbit her target is traveling on. DosRios 19/2 increases the performance of her engine. It fires in the opposite direction of movement. She gives a status report. The approach to the target is not going according to plan. DosRios 19/2 is not afraid. Her engine still has reserves. But a rendezvous course like the one she was ordered to take seems increasingly unlikely. The target object is constantly increasing in mass, but it still has too little gravitational pull. She hase to brake, not accelerate. DosRios 19/2 calculates several course variants. Most will become a hyperbole that will throw her out of the solar system. However, the curve always ends in the same place: at the core of its destination. The impact will destroy her. So she has try to prevent it. DosRios 19/2 sends another status message to Earth. Whoever programmed her might still have a chance to intervene. If DosRios 19/2 could understand herself, she would no longer have this hope. There is no power that can stop this flight. But she still does her job. The target is smeared. It looks as if a bird fell into a dog poop while landing and slithered along in it further. This is what Adam Smith will later tell his superior. DosRios 19/2 knows nothing about it. She only sees the measurement data that creates this image in a human consciousness. The matter thrown from its target appears viscous. It sticks like honey to the track that follows its destination. And she exerts powers that DosRios 19/2 doesn't know anything about, because she doesn't have a gravimeter on board. No one thought that you might need a gravimeter to study an interstellar visitor. Because gravitation, the pull of mass, seems hardly able to cause any surprises. DosRios 19/2 has to manage with a radar and various spectrometers. At least the radar shows that her target still exists. It's located right where the other probe is broadcasting from. Perhaps she will meet her at the end of her journey. It would mean death for both of them. DosRios 19/2 is not shocked. It is a simple fact that all existence is finite. Herr speed keeps increasing. Now the first temperature measurements are coming in. But they don't get through the input control. Some programmer has built in plausibility checks. Anything too low or too high is discarded. First, only every tenth value is discarded, then every third, then every second. DosRios 19/2 runs out of values. She decides there is a mistake. She always has that option. A very clever programmer gave her something like a superego that oversees the functioning of all components. It cannot manipulate them. But it can intervene and then forward the data unprocessed. Better the earth gets raw data than no data at all. She's getting faster. The engine doesn't stand a chance now. Her orbit is definitely a hyperbola. There is something in her path that is like her. DosRios 19/2 defines two tasks. First: collect data as long as possible. Second: increase the probability of the further existence of the sending object. DosRios 19/2 doesn't really know why she's making her decisions. Her superego is responsible for this. It has its own efficiency algorithms from the Alpha-Omega autonomous vehicle kit, adapted to robotic probes. DosRios 19/2 sends an emergency call. She doesn't call for help. It's too late for that. But she warns. A short time later she encounters her own reputation. The other object must have caught it and passed it on. DosRios 19/2 doesn't know if that's a good sign or a bad sign. She has no unit of evaluation because she was never meant to deal with humans. But there are leftovers. Some program parts are left over from the Alpha-Omega kit for autonomous vehicles. The responsible programmer did not consider it necessary to remove them. A vehicle on the road must be able to assess the reactions of a human opposite. DosRios 19/2 estimates that the other object will take her warning seriously. She also coded her nonexistent options in it. She can't dodge, so all she can do is hope that the other object dodges. DosRios 19/2 switches the engine to stand-by mode. She will use it at the last moment. Maybe she can still avoid the ricochet on the comet, her goal, and save her life. The superego empties its memory. On the final approach, there should be no additional risk of memory overflow. It sends a farewell signal to its parent probe. It's a simple unsubscribe. DosRios 19 no longer has to reserve resources for it. Then she folds the antenna in to reduce its cross-section. She receives a position report. The message must come from very close by. Only the other object is suitable for this. DosRios 19/2 calculates the position. The object is exactly in her trajectory. Apparently it can't move. DosRios 19/2 calculates three alternatives. Option 1, she does not ignite her engine at all. Both objects have an 80 percent chance of being destroyed. Option 2, she turns on the engine as planned. That gives her a 40 percent chance of surviving and the other object has a 5 percent chance of surviving. Option 3 contains full engine boost and an oxygen tank bleed. This will make her spin. DosRios 19/2 will then hit well above the core, for sure. The other object has an 80 percent chance of surviving. 64 versus 2 versus 80 percent. The efficiency algorithm has an easy game. DosRios 19/2 sends a logout confirmation to the foreign object. The folded antenna is also sufficient over the short distance. It's a gesture. Even a primitive controller should be able to do something with it. Then DosRios 19/2 starts its engine. It burns out within 12 seconds. She vents the oxygen tank. Suddenly she turns. She drifts along the comet's nucleus. Something silver flashes beneath her. Her folded antenna registers a logout confirmation. Then DosRios 19/2 crashes into a black rock. [...]

***

Brandon Q. Morris "Die dunkle Quelle"

[...] Ihre Bewegung beschleunigt sich. Das entspricht nicht der Vorgabe. Sie muss bremsen, um den niedrigeren Orbit zu erreichen, auf dem ihr Ziel unterwegs ist. DosRios 19/2 steigert die Leistung ihres Triebwerks. Es feuert entgegen ihrer Bewegungsrichtung. Sie gibt eine Statusmeldung ab. Die Annäherung an das Ziel läuft nicht plangemäß. DosRios 19/2 hat keine Angst. Ihr Triebwerk besitzt noch Reserven. Aber ein Rendezvous-Kurs, wie er ihr befohlen wurde, wird immer unwahrscheinlicher. Das Zielobjekt nimmt zwar dauernd an Masse zu, es hat aber immer noch zu wenig Anziehungskraft. Sie muss bremsen, nicht beschleunigen. DosRios 19/2 berechnet mehrere Kursvarianten. Aus den meisten wird eine Hyperbel, die sie aus dem Sonnensystem schleudern wird. Allerdings endet die Kurve stets an derselben Stelle: am Kern ihres Ziels. Der Aufprall wird sie zerstören. Also muss sie versuchen, ihn zu verhindern. DosRios 19/2 sendet eine weitere Statusnachricht an die Erde. Wer immer sie programmiert hat, besitzt jetzt vielleicht noch die Chance zum Eingreifen. Könnte DosRios 19/2 sich selbst verstehen, hätte sie diese Hoffnung nicht mehr. Es gibt keine Macht, die diesen Flug aufhalten kann. Aber noch erfüllt sie ihre Aufgabe. Das Ziel ist verschmiert. Es sieht aus, als wäre ein Vogel beim Landen in einen Hundehaufen gestürzt und darin noch ewig weitergeschlittert. So wird später Adam Smith es seinem Vorgesetzten erzählen. DosRios 19/2 ahnt nichts davon. Sie sieht nur die Messdaten, die in einem menschlichen Bewusstsein dieses Bild entstehen lassen. Die Materie, die aus ihrem Ziel geschleudert wird, scheint zähflüssig. Sie bleibt wie Honig an der Bahn kleben, der ihr Ziel folgt. Und sie übt Kräfte aus, von denen DosRios 19/2 nichts ahnt, denn sie hat kein Gravimeter an Bord. Niemand hat daran gedacht, dass man zur Erforschung eines interstellaren Besuchers ein Gravimeter benötigen könnte. Denn die Gravitation, die Anziehungskraft der Masse, scheint kaum in der Lage, irgendwelche Überraschungen zu verursachen. DosRios 19/2 muss sich mit einem Radar und verschiedenen Spektrometern behelfen. Das Radar zeigt immerhin, dass ihr Ziel noch existiert. Es befindet sich genau dort, woher die andere Sonde sendet. Vielleicht trifft sie sie am Ende ihrer Reise. Es würde ihrer beider Tod bedeuten. DosRios 19/2 ist nicht schockiert. Es ist eine simple Tatsache, dass jede Existenz begrenzt ist. Ihre Geschwindigkeit steigt weiter. Jetzt kommen die ersten Temperaturmessungen herein. Aber sie gelangen nicht durch die Eingabe-Kontrolle. Irgendein Programmierer hat Plausibilität-Checks eingebaut. Was zu tief oder zu hoch ist, wird verworfen. Zunächst wird nur jeder zehnte Wert verworfen, dann jeder dritte, dann jeder zweite. DosRios 19/2 gehen die Werte aus. Sie entscheidet, dass ein Fehler vorliegt. Diese Option hat sie immer. Ein sehr schlauer Programmierer hat ihr so etwas wie ein Über-Ich eingesetzt, das die Funktion aller Komponenten überwacht. Es kann diese zwar nicht manipulieren. Aber es kann eingreifen und die Daten dann unverarbeitet weiterleiten. Besser, die Erde erhält Rohdaten als gar keine Daten. Sie wird schneller. Das Triebwerk hat jetzt keine Chance mehr. Ihre Bahn ist auf jeden Fall eine Hyperbel. Auf ihrem Weg liegt etwas, das so ist wie sie. DosRios 19/2 definiert zwei Aufgaben. Erstens: Daten zu sammeln, so lange das möglich ist. Zweitens: die Wahrscheinlichkeit der weiteren Existenz des sendenden Objekts erhöhen. DosRios 19/2 weiß nicht so richtig, warum sie ihre Entschlüsse fasst. Ihr Über-Ich ist dafür zuständig. Es besitzt eigene Effizienz-Algorithmen aus dem Alpha-Omega-Bausatz für autonome Fahrzeuge, angepasst an robotische Sonden. DosRios 19/2 sendet einen Notruf. Sie ruft nicht um Hilfe. Dafür ist es zu spät. Aber sie warnt. Kurze Zeit später begegnet ihr der eigene Ruf. Das andere Objekt muss ihn aufgefangen und weitergeleitet haben. DosRios 19/2 weiß nicht, ob das ein gutes oder ein schlechtes Zeichen ist. Sie besitzt keine Bewertungseinheit, denn sie war nie dazu bestimmt, mit Menschen zu tun zu haben. Aber es gibt Reste. Einige Programmteile sind aus dem Alpha-Omega-Bausatz für autonome Fahrzeuge übrig geblieben. Der zuständige Programmierer hat es nicht für nötig gehalten, sie zu entfernen. Ein Fahrzeug im Straßenverkehr muss in der Lage sein, Reaktionen eines menschlichen Gegenübers einzuschätzen. DosRios 19/2 schätzt ein, dass das andere Objekt ihre Warnung ernst nehmen wird. Sie hat darin auch ihre nicht vorhandenen Optionen kodiert. Sie kann nicht ausweichen, also kann sie nur hoffen, dass das andere Objekt ausweicht. DosRios 19/2 schaltet das Triebwerk in den Stand-by-Modus. Sie wird es im letzten Moment verwenden. Vielleicht kann sie dem Kometen, ihrem Ziel, damit noch ausweichen und so ihr Leben retten. Das Über-Ich leert ihre Speicher. Im Endanflug soll sie kein Speicherüberlauf zusätzlich in Gefahr bringen. Sie sendet ein Abschiedssignal an ihre Muttersonde. Es ist eine simple Abmeldung. DosRios 19 muss erst einmal keine Ressourcen mehr für sie freihalten. Dann klappt sie die Antenne ein, um ihren Querschnitt zu verringern. Sie empfängt eine Positionsmeldung. Die Nachricht muss ganz aus der Nähe kommen. Nur das andere Objekt kommt dafür in Frage. DosRios 19/2 berechnet die Position. Das Objekt liegt genau in ihrer Flugbahn. Offenbar kann es sich nicht bewegen. DosRios 19/2 berechnet drei Alternativen. Auf Bahn 1 zündet sie ihr Triebwerk gar nicht. Beide Objekte werden zu 80 Prozent Wahrscheinlichkeit zerstört. Auf Bahn 2 schaltet sie das Triebwerk wie geplant ein. Das ergibt für sie selbst eine Überlebenschance von 40 Prozent, für das andere Objekt von 5 Prozent. Bahn 3 enthält einen Triebwerksschub in voller Stärke und eine Entlüftung des Sauerstofftanks. Das wird sie zum Trudeln bringen. DosRios 19/2 wird dann weit oberhalb des Kerns einschlagen, und zwar sicher. Das andere Objekt hat eine Überlebenschance von 80 Prozent. 64 versus 2 versus 80 Prozent. Der Effizienzalgorithmus hat leichtes Spiel. DosRios 19/2 schickt eine Abmelde-Bestätigung an das fremde Objekt. Über die kurze Distanz reicht auch die eingeklappte Antenne. Es ist eine Geste. Selbst eine primitive Steuerung sollte damit etwas anfangen können. Dann startet DosRios 19/2 ihr Triebwerk. Es brennt binnen 12 Sekunden aus. Sie entlüftet den Sauerstofftank. Plötzlich dreht sie sich. Sie treibt den Kometenkern entlang. Unter ihr blitzt etwas silbern auf. Ihre eingeklappte Antenne registriert eine Abmelde-Bestätigung. Dann prallt DosRios 19/2 gegen einen schwarzen Felsen. [...]

Operation “Salt City" resulted in the arrest of 248 individuals from May through September 2015. Of those arrested, 124 were active gang members. During the operation 22 firearms, more than $237,000 in U.S. currency, 70 grams of heroin, 266 grams of cocaine, and 723 grams of marijuana with a total estimated street value of almost $44,000 was taken off Syracuse streets by participating agencies.

Operation Salt City is part of the U.S. Marshals nation-wide “Triple Beam” gang reduction initiative. Triple Beam partners federal, state, and local law enforcement to reduce violent crime and take dangerous offenders off the streets. The goal of the U.S. Marshals Gang Enforcement Program is to seek out and disrupt illegal gang activity in areas of the country with smaller or nonexistent gang enforcement units by providing manpower, funding and the Marshals’ renowned fugitive tracking abilities.

Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals

This was my first time actually plane watching at Miami International Airport (MIA). I checked some spotter websites to find some good locations. They recommended The Holes as being an "official" site so we checked it out. I was pretty disappointed; there was a lot of construction going on and parking was nonexistent. My wife dropped me off. The area is totally exposed. Even though it was December it was pretty hot - no shade, no place to sit, no other people around. The holes are actually pretty small so it's hard to get a lens through the hole. Arrivals were almost impossible to shoot but you could see planes taxiing by for takeoff. After an hour I was cooking so we bagged it. We then went to the area close to the El Dorado furniture store. Much better. There were a bunch of spotters from around the world there. It was a great atmosphere. Nicely shaded, safe, close to some stores and a lot of good traffic to watch. I saw a bunch of planes from airlines I had not seen before, including some airlines I had not heard of. Some of the planes didn't show up on Flight Radar 24 so they were very pleasant surprises. All in all a very good day and I'd love to go back there!

I took these photos in December 2019.

The theory behind this toy is specatularly cool: a micro-magnifying device which hooks to a television screen to display enormous close-up images of teeny tiny things.

The implementation of the concept, however, leaves much to be desired. Specifically, the focus distance is extremely short; essentially, the device must be in physical contact with the object being examined. Thus, it works for flat, static objects like cloth, paper, or leaves, but is almost useless for really cool things like insects, worms, or fish.

Additionally, the focusing technique is extremely fussy, and the depth of field, as is to be expected with what is essentially a microscope, is nonexistent; thus, getting an object, even a static, flat object, in focus is difficult, and keeping the object in focus is even more of a challenge since the Eyeclops is a hand-held device.

This one was donated to the classroom by a student who, while fascinated by anything science-related, had quickly become disenchanted with this toy.

I, too, found the results with the Eyeclops extremely discouraging. As a teaching tool in a classroom full of fidgety kids, the Eyeclops is basically worthless. Even as a "here, go play with this" time-filler, the Eyeclops is more trouble than it is worth.

Great concept, lousy execution.

Day 291, The 365 Toy Project

18 October 2010

This is a serie about how my maps grow organically. This city was ment to be facing north, but that's easy to draw the larger areas in the bottom of the paper. That's why I flipped the map at the end 180°. Another reason: the sun is in the south, facing the south slopes and the northern bank of the fiord. There's more sunshine, a better climate, thus more suitable for housing. The opposite side is more suitable for skiing.

Due to the colour changes of the paper you could notice that I spent three evenings (thus, also three days) drawing it. The fourth day is used for perfecting, scanning, and thinking out bus networks ;)

youtu.be/tTVWQ8dxPW0

Starring Richard Garland, Pamela Duncan, Russell Johnson, Leslie Bradley, Mel Welles, and Ed Nelson. Directed by Roger Corman.

ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS is one of a handful of B films that Roger Corman did for Allied Artists when he wasn't churning 'em out for Nicholson and Arkoff at AIP. It also happens to be one of his most beloved 50s monster efforts. Frequent collaborator Charles Griffith concocted the script and strays from the abundant humor present in LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS and CREATURE FROM THE HAUNTED SEA, playing it straight this time (that is if you can accept a giant talking crab as serious). Griffith also appears in the film (he gets decapitated early on) and directed some underwater scenes.

A group of scientists find themselves marooned on a nuclear-affected atoll in the Pacific where they have come searching for members of a previous expedition. After doing some research, they learn that the other scientists were eaten by giant mutated land crabs, and that these creatures have also absorbed their minds. The menacing crustaceans begin to snack on this new set of guests, using telepathy (articulating with the voices of the person they just devoured) in order to summon their next victim.

Like all of the early Corman films, this was made on shoestring but was reportedly his highest grosser up until that time. It's a tight 60+ minute effort with very little time for chat, and the giant crabs don't look too bad at all in comparison with other 50s sleaze creatures. The film boasts a classic Corman stock ensemble: Richard Garland (PANIC IN YEAR ZERO) and Pamela Duncan (THE UNDEAD) are the heroic love interests, the vastly underrated Russell Johnson (still years away from "Gilligan's Island") is a life-saving technician, Mel Welles and Leslie Bradley are scientists with accents (you haven't lived until you've heard a giant crab speak with Welles' Mushnik persona, and Beach Dickerson and Ed Nelson are in there as well. Nelson also operated the crab and legend has it that Jack Nicholson did as well!

ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS has been released on DVD by Allied Artists Classics, a company whose legitimacy is still in question. Previously released on VHS, they utilize the same substandard transfer and it fairs no better on the digital format. The full frame black and white image is looks generations down in quality, with nonexistent black levels and video tape dropouts during the start of the show. The print source is in decent shape, but the overall appearance is dark and dingy. Sound quality is OK, if you can get past some hiss. This would be fine if this was an under-$10 budget release, but this baby retails for about $25! If you're willing to shell out the bucks, the quality is acceptable and this title is essential to any 50s monster movie buff's collection. Also included is the original trailer and a still gallery

A group of scientists travel to a remote island to study the effects of nuclear weapons tests, only to get stranded when their airplane explodes. The team soon discovers that the island has been taken over by crabs that have mutated into enormous, intelligent monsters. To add to their problems, the island is slowly sinking into the ocean. Will any of them manage to escape?

colinhuggins.bandcamp.com/track/beethoven-piano-sonata-no...

NY Times, Dec. 4 2011

Colin Huggins was there with his baby grand, the one he wheels into Washington Square Park for his al fresco concerts. So were Tic and Tac, a street-performing duo, who held court in the fountain — dry for the winter. And Joe Mangrum was pouring his elaborate sand paintings on the ground near the Washington Arch.

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Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times

Kareem Barnes of Tic and Tac collected donations on Sunday.

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Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times

Joe Mangrum showed his sand paintings on Sunday.

In other words, it was a typical Sunday afternoon in the Greenwich Village park, where generations of visitors have mingled with musicians, artists, activists, poets and buskers.

Yet this fall, that urban harmony has grown dissonant as the city’s parks department has slapped summonses on the four men and other performers who put out hats or buckets, for vending in an unauthorized location — specifically, within 50 feet of a monument.

The department’s rule, one of many put in place a year ago, was intended to control commerce in the busiest parks. Under the city’s definition, vending covers not only those peddling photographs and ankle bracelets, but also performers who solicit donations.

The rule attracted little notice at first. But the enforcement in Washington Square Park in the past two months has generated summonses ranging from $250 to $1,000. And it has started a debate about the rights of parkgoers seeking refuge from the bustle of the streets versus those looking for entertainment.

At a news conference in the park on Sunday organized by NYC Park Advocates, the artists waved fistfuls of pink summonses while their advocates, including civil rights lawyers, called on the city to stop what they called harassment of the performers.

“This is a heavy-handed solution to a nonexistent problem,” said Ronald L. Kuby, one of the lawyers.

The rule is especially problematic in Washington Square Park, performers say, because there are few locations across its 10 acres that are beyond 50 feet from a memorial or fountain — whether the bust of Alexander Lyman Holley, who introduced the Bessemer steel process to this country, or the statue of the Italian liberator Giuseppe Garibaldi.

Then there is the park’s international reputation as a gathering place for folk music pioneers and the Beats.

“Washington Square is the live-music park of New York City, and it would be close to impossible for any one of us to follow these regulations,” said Mr. Huggins, who has received nine summonses with fines totaling $2,250.

But Adrian Benepe, the parks commissioner, argues that there is ample room for performers away from the monuments. And, he added, a musician who is not putting out a tin cup is welcome to sit on the edge of the fountain or under a monument.

“It’s the whole issue of the ‘tragedy of the commons,’ ” he said. “If you allow all the performers and all the vendors to do whatever they want to do, pretty soon there’s no park left for people who want to use them for quiet enjoyment. This is a way of having some control and not 18 hours of carnival-like atmosphere.”

Gary Behrens, an amateur photographer visiting from New Jersey, applauded the city’s efforts to rein in the performers. “I’m O.K. with the guitar, but the loud instruments have taken over the park,” he said.

The lawyers and advocates, however, challenged the idea that street performers were selling a product as a vendor does. And threatening a lawsuit, they faulted the city for creating what they called “First Amendment zones” through the rules.

“Is this place zany?” asked Norman Siegel, the former director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. “You bet. Public parks are quintessential public forums. Zaniness is something we should cherish and protect.”

Park visitation has soared along with the rise of tourism in the last 15 years, and with it vendors and artists interested in a lucrative market.

Mr. Benepe insisted that the rules would not scare off future music legends.

“If Bob Dylan wanted to come play there tomorrow, he could,” he said, “although he might have to move away from the fountain.”

Oddly, the dispute coincided with the 50th anniversary of the so-called Folk Riot in Washington Square Park, when the parks commissioner tried to squelch Sunday folk performances. Hundreds of musicians gathered in protest, the police were called in and a melee ensued.

In April, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg wrote a letter commemorating the Folk Riot, saying he applauded “the folk performers who changed music, our city and our world beginning half a century ago.”

Operation “Salt City" resulted in the arrest of 248 individuals from May through September 2015. Of those arrested, 124 were active gang members. During the operation 22 firearms, more than $237,000 in U.S. currency, 70 grams of heroin, 266 grams of cocaine, and 723 grams of marijuana with a total estimated street value of almost $44,000 was taken off Syracuse streets by participating agencies.

Operation Salt City is part of the U.S. Marshals nation-wide “Triple Beam” gang reduction initiative. Triple Beam partners federal, state, and local law enforcement to reduce violent crime and take dangerous offenders off the streets. The goal of the U.S. Marshals Gang Enforcement Program is to seek out and disrupt illegal gang activity in areas of the country with smaller or nonexistent gang enforcement units by providing manpower, funding and the Marshals’ renowned fugitive tracking abilities.

Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals

The American experience in Vietnam and that of the Egyptians in the Arab-Israeli Wars brought home to the Soviet Union that its current fleet of ground-attack aircraft, such as the Su-7 Fitter series and MiG-23BN Flogger, would not survive in a modern combat environment. In both Vietnam and the Sinai, low-flying aircraft had proved themselves especially vulnerable to ground fire, and with the increasing lethality of surface-to-air missiles, the Soviet Union needed an armored aircraft that could survive in this environment. Two other factors also influenced Soviet thinking: the knowledge that the United States was working on just such an aircraft (the A-10 Thunderbolt II) and that the Il-2 Shturmovik, which had proven so valuable to the Soviet war effort in World War II, had never truly been replaced.

Unusually for the Soviet Union, the requirement for an armored ground-attack fighter was made a competition between the design bureaus then in operation. It came down to a competition between Sukhoi’s T-8 design and Ilyushin’s Il-102, which was essentially a jet-powered Il-2 (complete with rear gunner); the T-8, which showed more than a little inspiration from the Northrop A-9 (which had been the loser of the competition with the A-10), won the competition in 1975. Development was relatively smooth—to be expected from an aircraft that was meant to be simple to maintain and operate in forward areas, and had no “new” technology involved—and the first Su-25 regiment was operational by May 1981.

Like the A-10, survivalbility was paramount in the design. The twin engines were spaced far apart to avoid losing both to a single hit, though the Su-25 differed from its Western counterpart in having a single tail and engines set low in the fuselage. It also differed by not being designed around its gun armament: though the Su-25 was equipped with a powerful 30mm cannon, its main armament would be conventional rockets and bombs, carried on no less than ten hardpoints. Like the A-10, the pilot sat in a thickly armored titanium “bathtub,” though with much less visibility; Su-25 pilots complained of the nonexistent visibility to the rear and not much better vision to the front. A laser designator was mounted in the nose rather than radar.

The Su-25 was committed to combat immediately, as it was desperately needed in the Soviet war in Afghanistan. Despite never having more than fifty Su-25s at any one time in theater, these regiments flew twice as many sorties as any other Soviet unit, using a combination of rockets, bombs, and guided missiles against mujahedeen positions. Losses were also comparatively low, as the Su-25 could absorb damage from the light weapons used by the Afghanis; only when American-supplied Stinger missiles reached the mujahedeen did the Su-25 face a genuine ground threat, and its loss rate was still much lower than the catastrophic losses taken by Mi-24 helicopter gunship crews. This reliability and ability to carry large amounts of ordnance earned it the nickname “Rook” and “Comb” (due to the plethora of hardpoints) from grateful Soviet ground troops. NATO gave it the reporting name of Frogfoot. The Su-25 had proved its worth, and units were given the revived designation of Shturmovik.

Production continued, and the 1990s were to see the Su-25 used in many of the small “brushfire” wars of the last decade of the 20th Century. Frogfoots were used by the Iraqis extensively first in the Iran-Iraq War, suffering the least amount of losses of any Iraqi type in service; their luck was not as good in the First Gulf War, where most of the Iraqi fleet was destroyed on the ground, with two also shot down in the air. Russia itself has used their Frogfoots twice, most extensively in the Chechnya Wars of the 1990s, where Su-25s took heavier losses due to outdated tactics and more sophisticated shoulder-fired missiles of the Chechen rebels; in the South Ossetian War of 2008, fought against Georgia, Su-25s fought each other.

The Su-25 remains in large numbers and has been extensively exported to 25 nations, and remains in production after over a thousand have been built. A modest upgrade is being done to Russian Su-25s, though a more extensive and ambitious upgrade, the Su-25KM Scorpion, has been done with Georgian aircraft: this upgrade uses Israeli technology and allows the Scorpion to carry Western ordnance. Like the A-10, the Su-25 has no real replacement on the horizon and will likely remain in service for some years to come.

This Su-25K is a Soviet aircraft belonging to the 200th Independent Shturmovik Regiment over Afghanistan in the 1980s. This aircraft wears standard Su-25 camouflage of two shades of green over brown uppersurfaces and light blue undersurfaces. Like most Su-25s, it carries a heavy amount of armament in the form of two Kh-29 (AS-14 Kedge) guided missiles, two UBL rocket pods, four FAB-1000 general purpose bombs, two R-60 (AA-8 Aphid) self-defense missiles, and two external fuel tanks.

I am at a park on Temple Street in Yau Ma Tei, watching a game of xiangqi ("Elephant Game"), or Chinese chess, in progress.

While all variants of chess trace back to the original game that used to be played in India, the Chinese chess is very different from Western chess now. Some concepts, such as the palace, the river, and the cannon, do not have Western equivalents.

A game of Chinese chess is always fun to watch, play, or even kibitz (though my nonexistent Cantonese skills would prevent me from doing the latter two).

This was my first time actually plane watching at Miami International Airport (MIA). I checked some spotter websites to find some good locations. They recommended The Holes as being an "official" site so we checked it out. I was pretty disappointed; there was a lot of construction going on and parking was nonexistent. My wife dropped me off. The area is totally exposed. Even though it was December it was pretty hot - no shade, no place to sit, no other people around. The holes are actually pretty small so it's hard to get a lens through the hole. Arrivals were almost impossible to shoot but you could see planes taxiing by for takeoff. After an hour I was cooking so we bagged it. We then went to the area close to the El Dorado furniture store. Much better. There were a bunch of spotters from around the world there. It was a great atmosphere. Nicely shaded, safe, close to some stores and a lot of good traffic to watch. I saw a bunch of planes from airlines I had not seen before, including some airlines I had not heard of. Some of the planes didn't show up on Flight Radar 24 so they were very pleasant surprises. All in all a very good day and I'd love to go back there!

I took these photos in December 2019.

Vancouver, BC

Operation “Salt City" resulted in the arrest of 248 individuals from May through September 2015. Of those arrested, 124 were active gang members. During the operation 22 firearms, more than $237,000 in U.S. currency, 70 grams of heroin, 266 grams of cocaine, and 723 grams of marijuana with a total estimated street value of almost $44,000 was taken off Syracuse streets by participating agencies.

Operation Salt City is part of the U.S. Marshals nation-wide “Triple Beam” gang reduction initiative. Triple Beam partners federal, state, and local law enforcement to reduce violent crime and take dangerous offenders off the streets. The goal of the U.S. Marshals Gang Enforcement Program is to seek out and disrupt illegal gang activity in areas of the country with smaller or nonexistent gang enforcement units by providing manpower, funding and the Marshals’ renowned fugitive tracking abilities.

Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals

Sort of a homage to Richard Prince - probably most famous for taking shots of Marlboro ads/billboards containing photos of cowboys in picturesque vistas. I think one of them may still hold the record for highest price ever paid for a photograph at auction. They're nice shots of someone else's shot recontextualized, or maybe decontextualized. I never really understood why his cowboys were so significant. Something about commenting on the American Myth of the Wild West and the Frontier or some "inside art baseball" stuff like that. Not to denigrate his work, just never pinned my needles at a gut level (I like his Hollywood Nurses a lot better).

Maybe a hundred and fifty years later the frontier has collapsed into something smaller and personal. Maybe it's push up bras and diet shakes and Viagra. I don't know.

And maybe this owes more to Dali's paranoid critical perspective anyway in the sense that I can see him taking the original shot and rotating it and seeing how the satin sheet can be wrapping a nonexistent head, the legs can turn into arms, panties into a bra, etc.

I blew the tones though. Oh well.

H&M billboard, 21st&Chestnut (? above the PhillyCarShare lot), rotated

The world is full of amazing and gorgeous wonders - the sky and everything in it is just one of them. It's amazing how the colors that paint sunset can fade from glorious to nonexistent in the blink of an eye.

I will be like the wind to you, one that blows so fierce that you never miss its departure. Soon this turbulent wind will be as silent as the sunset that fades into the sparkling dark of night.

Photographs and words are © Copyright Galactic Dreams (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on blogs, websites, or in other media without advance written permission from Galactic Dreams.

The city of Eger is noted in the history books for managing to stop the expansion of the Ottoman empire in a siege. Eger, which was defended by about 2100 people, was faced with the Ottoman army of about 150000 men - and still came out on top... Even though it later fell and was about the most north/western position the Ottomans managed to settle in it is still seen as a symbol of national heroism.

There are several nice things to see in the city for instance the city's cathedral shown here. The cathedral has both a nice exterior but above all - a very ornamental interior with painted murals covering the walls and ceiling.

I think the text writing inside the dome is a bible quote but my Hungarian is close to nonexistent so I am assuming that there are others more qualified for an identification.

I have to give an extra thanks to my friends for being kind enough to wait for me while I shot this.

You should really watch this Large On Black since that brings out more details. My pictures aren't balanced for a white background and a lot of the finer details are lost in this small format.

So far, the only issue I have with video on Flickr is the current inability to choose the frame that is shown as the thumbnail for the video. Otherwise, streaming playback is a blast, even in HD!

Theme:

Lunch Time. I noticed that I was putting off producing videos because I felt like I never had time. I was talking to some friends and when we went to lunch, I brought my camera and shot a little bit.

PROJECT:

I am a storyteller and filmmaker, a little green behind the ears, but ripening every day. That is the purpose of this process. To ripen into a mature storyteller and filmmaker.

CHALLENGES:

For me, the biggest challenge was getting started. Taking the camera out of my car, mounting it onto my monopod and shooting.

DISAPPOINTMENTS:

I was feeling very uninspired as I shot this. I felt like I was just going through the motions. Since I didn't have a shot list, I was really just winging it. I was trying to mix my shots, but I felt like my movement could have been better.

Successes:

I always enjoy my work after I finish. When I finished this piece, I thought it was very respectable.

This is the fastest turnaround I have produced a video production. It is only 40 seconds, but I shot less than 6 minutes of footage, edited it and found music in what feels like less than an hour. It would not surprise me if I turned this around in less than 3 hours from pre-production (which was nonexistent) to delivery.

EQUIPMENT:

Nikon D5100

Manfrotto 561BHDV-1 Monopod

MUSIC:

"Off to Osaka" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Little League’s roots extend as far as baseball’s history itself – even into the 18th century.

Soldiers of the Continental Army played ball at Valley Forge during the American Revolution. U.S. citizens played more modern versions of the British games of cricket and rounders through the early 19th century, often called "town ball." In the 1840s, New Yorker Alexander Joy Cartwright and his acquaintances played a game they called "base ball" that was very similar to the game we know today. (Stories later arose saying Abner Doubleday invented the game, but historians generally regard the stories as myths.)

On June 19, 1846, in a contest many historians consider the first scheduled baseball game, Cartwright’s New York Knickerbocker Baseball Club was defeated by the New York Baseball Club, 23-1, in four innings.

During the American Civil War, soldiers on both sides played baseball to pass the time between battles. In 1869, the Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first openly professional baseball team. By the end of the 19th century, baseball was known as "America’s Pastime."

As early as the 1880s, leagues were formed for pre-teen children in New York, but they were affiliated with adult "club" teams and did not flourish. Children often played "pickup" baseball in streets or sandlots instead, and with substandard equipment. Cast-off bats and balls were taped and re-taped, and catcher’s equipment in children’s sizes was almost nonexistent.

In the 1920s, the American Legion formed a baseball program for teen-age boys that exists today. American schools also started baseball programs. But there was still a void for pre-teen boys who wanted to play in organized games. Other smaller programs cropped up from time to time, but did not catch on beyond local areas.

In 1938, a man named Carl Stotz hit upon the idea for an organized baseball league for the boys in his hometown of Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Carl had no sons of his own, but he often played ball with his young nephews, Jimmy and Major Gehron, and wanted a way to provide an organized program for them.

Carl gathered several of the neighborhood children and experimented with different types of equipment and different field dimensions during that summer. The program still did not have a name, and no games were played.

In 1939, Carl and his wife Grayce took the experiment a step further, enlisting the help of brothers George and Bert Bebble and their wives, Annabelle and Eloise, respectively. Carl, George and Bert were the managers of the first three teams: Lycoming Dairy, Lundy Lumber and Jumbo Pretzel. John and Peggy Lindemuth soon joined the group, with the eight volunteers making up the very first Little League board of directors.

Carl also talked to his friends in the community and came up with the name: Little League. His idea was to provide a wholesome program of baseball for the boys of Williamsport, as a way to teach them the ideals of sportsmanship, fair play and teamwork.

The sponsorships (the fee was $30) helped to pay for equipment and uniforms for 30 players. Since then, sponsorship of Little League both at the local league level and at the Headquarters level have helped to keep costs to parents to a minimum.

www.littleleague.org

www.vacationpa.com

Photo courtesy of Kalin Miller

yeah right, happy april fool's day everyone.

1. 6/365 in which Grumpy Informs Us That He Likes His Disaronno On The Rocks, 2. Haven't You Ever Seen Fried Green Tomatoes?, 3. 5/365 in which Grumpy Lounges On Some Twizzlers, 4. And The Memories Keep Being Torn Down, 5. Sarah Tailgate Style, 6. You Decide, 7. 4/365 in which Grumpy Shows Off His Fortune, 8. I Am Giving Up On Half Empty Glasses,

9. 17/365 in which Grumpy Embraces The Irish Spirit, 10. I Shall Have No Sorrow To Die, 11. Zantedeschia, 12. Drinking Tiger, Nonexistent Lion, 13. 1/365 in which Grumpy Shows Off Where He Got To Eat Dinner, 14. Boy I'm Glad You're Not A Saint Bernard, 15. 28/365 in which Grumpy Has No Clue Homer Is Sneaking Up Behind Him, 16. Pure of Heart,

17. Neanderthals Developed Tools, 18. That's Not How I Roll, 19. This Is Unacceptable, 20. A Wonderful Way To Celebrate Aging, 21. Sexy With A Star Studded Cast, 22. I Did Not Choose The One Less Traveled, I Didn't Trust The Look In That Squirrel's Eye, 23. The Tulip Sea, 24. 31/365 in which Grumpy Is Irritated By Our Commute,

25. 29/365 in which Grumpy Relaxes In A Tree With Some Cherry Blossoms, 26. 3/365 in which Grumpy Relates His Feelings For Verizon, 27. I Can't Believe I'm Speaking Greek, 28. 30/365 in which Grumpy Has An Upset Tummy, 29. 2/365 in which Grumpy Gears Up For Baseball Season, 30. Starving For Truth, 31. Don't Sign That Paper Tonight, 32. He Cuts A Rather Dashing Figure On Horseback,

33. Are You Ever Going To Stop Talking To Laura? We're On Vacation...., 34. 23/365 in which Grumpy Celebrates Easter, 35. 15/365 (part 1) in which Grumpy Climbs A Giant Apple (to save the girl), 36. Cheweez Are Delicious, 37. 6 of 365: You Should Not Drive Or Operate Machinery, 38. Butt to Butt, 39. I'm Sorry About All The Things I Said To You, 40. My Shoes Look Really Cute Sitting Over There On The Chair,

41. Blood Beans, 42. 5/365 Kisses Long Distance, 43. And I Think To Myself....., 44. O Say Can You See, 45. 26/365 in which Grumpy Takes A Dip, 46. 12 of 365: Are You Going To Miss Me? A Tremendous Amount?, 47. Letting Go Of All I've Held Onto, 48. But I Won't Feel Blue Like I Always Do,

49. 25/365 in which Grumpy Teaches His Flickr Friends Something, 50. 20/365 in which Grumpy Shows Some Team Spirit, 51. 18/365 in which Grumpy Has His Name Spelled Out In.... Jelly Beans, 52. 16/365 in which Grumpy Takes A Bubble Bath, 53. A Thousand Angels Dance Around You, 54. I Wish I Could Bubble Wrap My Heart, 55. Abe, Honest Or Otherwise, 56. I Woke Up This Morning With A Funny Taste In My Head,

57. 14/365 in which Grumpy Hangs Out In The Egg, 58. 22/365 in which Grumpy Is NOT Pleased With The Cold Spring Weather, 59. Bread Line, 60. Described As Not Very Sophisticated, 61. Sweet Caroline, Good Times Never Seem So Good, 62. Go All Bride Of Frankenstein, 63. 13/365 in which Grumpy Gets Into The Advil, 64. Some Hearts Just Get Lucky Sometimes,

65. Candy Love, 66. 10/365 in which Grumpy Decided To Join Me In The Shower After The Whole Donut Incident, 67. Top O' The Mornin To You, 68. Jupiter Spoke To Him In A Dream, 69. Oh, Beans!, 70. Water Hibiscus, 71. 24 of 365: We're Living In A Laundry Room, 72. 21/365 in which Grumpy Has To Visit With Some Relatives

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

This was my first time actually plane watching at Miami International Airport (MIA). I checked some spotter websites to find some good locations. They recommended The Holes as being an "official" site so we checked it out. I was pretty disappointed; there was a lot of construction going on and parking was nonexistent. My wife dropped me off. The area is totally exposed. Even though it was December it was pretty hot - no shade, no place to sit, no other people around. The holes are actually pretty small so it's hard to get a lens through the hole. Arrivals were almost impossible to shoot but you could see planes taxiing by for takeoff. After an hour I was cooking so we bagged it. We then went to the area close to the El Dorado furniture store. Much better. There were a bunch of spotters from around the world there. It was a great atmosphere. Nicely shaded, safe, close to some stores and a lot of good traffic to watch. I saw a bunch of planes from airlines I had not seen before, including some airlines I had not heard of. Some of the planes didn't show up on Flight Radar 24 so they were very pleasant surprises. All in all a very good day and I'd love to go back there!

I took these photos in December 2019.

Tôi có một cái kẹp bằng cây tầm vông (kẹp để hái trái trên cây) do lâu dùng đến nên có 2 con ong bầu đục lổ và ở trong đó.

Ong bầu không có đàn, nó sống đơn lẻ, nó thường khoét gỗ và ở trong đó.

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Carpenter bees (the genus Xylocopa in the subfamily Xylocopinae) are large, hairy bees distributed worldwide. There are some 500 species of carpenter bee in 31 subgenera. Their name comes from the fact that nearly all species build their nests in burrows in dead wood, bamboo, or structural timbers (except those in the subgenus Proxylocopa, which nest in the ground). Members of the related tribe Ceratinini are sometimes referred to as "small carpenter bees".

Taxonomy The genus was described by French entomologist Pierre André Latreille in 1802. The name is derived from the Ancient Greek xylokopos/ξῦλοκὀπος "wood-cutter". Bumble bees live for a maximum of 5 days.

Characteristics

Carpenter bees have large compound eyes In several species, the females live alongside their own daughters or sisters, creating a sort of social group. They use wood bits to form partitions between the cells in the nest. A few species bore holes in wood dwellings. Since the tunnels are near the surface, structural damage is generally minor or nonexistent.

Carpenter bees can be important pollinators on open-faced flowers, even obligate pollinators on some, such as the Maypop (Passiflora incarnata), though many species are also known to "rob" nectar by slitting the sides of flowers with deep corollas.

In the United States, there are two eastern species, Xylocopa virginica, and Xylocopa micans, and three other species that are primarily western in distribution, Xylocopa varipuncta, Xylocopa tabaniformis orpifex and Xylocopa californica. X. virginica is by far the more widely distributed species. Some are often mistaken for a bumblebee species, as they can be similar in size and coloration, though most carpenter bees have a shiny abdomen, while in bumblebees the abdomen is completely clothed with dense hair. Males of some species have a white or yellow face, where the females do not; males also often have much larger eyes than the females, which relates to their mating behavior. Male bees are often seen hovering near nests, and will approach nearby animals. However, males are harmless since they do not have a stinger. Female carpenter bees are capable of stinging, but they are docile and rarely sting unless caught in the hand or otherwise directly provoked.

Many Old World carpenter bees have a special pouch-like structure on the inside of their first metasomal tergite called the acarinarium where certain species of mites (Dinogamasus spp.) reside as commensals. The exact nature of the relationship is not fully understood, though in other bees that carry mites, the mites are beneficial, feeding either on fungi in the nest, or on other, harmful mites.

Behavior

Carpenter bee nest in a tree trunk

Carpenter bee gallery in a split piece of 2X4 woodCarpenter bees are traditionally considered solitary bees, though some species have simple social nests in which mothers and daughters may cohabit. However, even solitary species tend to be gregarious, and often several will nest near each other. It has been occasionally reported that when females cohabit, there may be a division of labor between them, where one female may spend most of her time as a guard within the nest, motionless and near the entrance, while another female spends most of her time foraging for provisions.

Carpenter bees make nests by tunneling into wood, vibrating their bodies as they rasp their mandibles against the wood, each nest having a single entrance which may have many adjacent tunnels. The entrance is often a perfectly circular hole measuring about 16 millimetres (0.63 in) on the underside of a beam, bench, or tree limb. Carpenter bees do not eat wood. They discard the bits of wood, or re-use particles to build partitions between cells. The tunnel functions as a nursery for brood and storage for the pollen/nectar upon which the brood subsists. The provision masses of some species are among the most complex in shape of any group of bees; whereas most bees fill their brood cells with a soupy mass, and others form simple spheroidal pollen masses, Xylocopa form elongate and carefully sculpted masses that have several projections which keep the bulk of the mass from coming into contact with the cell walls, sometimes resembling an irregular caltrop. The eggs are very large relative to the size of the female, and are some of the largest eggs among all insects.

There are two very different mating systems that appear to be common in carpenter bees, and often this can be determined simply by examining specimens of the males of any given species. Species in which the males have large eyes are characterized by a mating system where the males either search for females by patrolling, or by hovering and waiting for passing females, whom they then pursue. In the other type of mating system, the males often have very small heads, but there is a large, hypertrophied glandular reservoir in the mesosoma, which releases pheromones into the airstream behind the male while it flies or hovers. The pheromone advertises the presence of the male to females

James got in trouble for taking this photo. I had a feeling cameras weren't allowed in casinos. They were a weird scene. Almost virtually no Westerners (we got stared at a bit) and no one was drinking anything except hot tea. Heavy smoking a la Vegas but the alcohol I associate with gambling was nonexistent and definitely not free. We were the only ones sitting at the bar from which this photo was taken. As it was the middle of the afternoon, the curtains were closed on the stage facing the bar. At night, girly singing and dancing shows are conducted mostly by Eastern Europeans.

The Luandan skyline, as seen from across the harbor, reveals a city undergoing a period of tremendous growth. Luanda, the capital city of Angola. It is estimated that due to the long civil war that forced people to flee smaller towns and villages throughout the country, 5 million people-- around 1/3 of Angola's entire population-- live in Luanda. The result of this is an overburdened infrastructure, inconsistent or nonexistent essential utilities, and a terrible traffic problem. In the face of these obstacles, it is also a city that is undergoing a construction boom, as investors in the oil and other industries continue to show an interest in the country's future.

The transitional sites are difficult to define, simply by nature of being areas of transition between different habitat types. They are best described as interspersed patches of several different vegetative communities, including pine rockland, upland mixed woodland, rockland hammock, maritime hammock, and mangrove swamp. Herbaceous species were virtually nonexistent in the interior portions of the transitional zones. Where these areas graded into the freshwater wetlands, we encountered giant leather fern, Jamaica swamp sawgrass, and sand cordgrass. Buttonwood was by far the most common woody species on these grids. Other frequently encountered woody species were white indigoberry (Randia aculeata), cabbage palm (Sabal palmetto), and Florida swampprivet (Forestiera segregata). Brazilian pepper was also common on some of the transitional sites. Also of note was the occurrence of joewood (Jacquinia keyensis), a State-Threatened species that we found on three of the transitional sites.

I love bringing my Sphero along on my explorations! :D

The second stop on the way home from my college visit was in Richmond!

The Richmond Kmart appears to be a former Grants (and thus reminded me of the Erie Kmart that I visited last summer). It is very noticeably bigger than Anderson; it is also very nice; it has a Kmart Express gas station and it has a former Kmart Cafe (that still has the counter/displays, the full menu board and even the register! Looks like a more recent KCafe closure from what I've seen; if anybody else here has any more information I would like to know more about it!). This store appears to be doing fairly well for one of the last remaining stores in/near the Miami Valley.

Of course, I had to check out the Kmart Express after my main store rounds were complete, so I headed over there and looked around. This is the second Kmart Express I've seen, but the first one I have actually visited, as the other one (at the now nonexistent Brooklyn Super Kmart) had already closed. I didn't buy anything at this KExpress though, as I had spent my money in the main store. Hopefully next time I can buy some coffee or donuts from Kmart Express while going to/from Anderson (if I plan another college visit to Anderson U, which is likely)!

Hopefully the Richmond Kmart will still be able to remain "normal" for a good time longer...I like this store! :D

Kmart #7246 - 3150 National Road West - Richmond, Indiana

Everglades National Park, South Florida, U.S.

As we came around a bend in our small skiff (boat), we caught a glimpse of this 15+ foot crocodile, which immediately slid into the water creating a huge splash. It was an amazing sight. Then he hung around and I was able to get this image with a 600mm lens.

The American crocodile is considered an endangered species in nearly all parts of its North, Central, and South American range. Survey data, except in the United States, is poor or nonexistent, but conservationists agree that illegal hunting and habitat depletion has reduced populations of this wide-ranging reptile to critical levels.

A small, remnant population lives in southern Florida, but most are found in southern Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. Their habitat of choice is the fresh or brackish water of river estuaries, coastal lagoons, and mangrove swamps.

A prehistoric-looking creature, it is distinguishable from its cousin, the American alligator, by its longer, thinner snout, its lighter color, and two long teeth on the lower jaw that are visible when its mouth is closed.

This species is among the largest of the world's crocodiles, with Central and South American males reaching lengths of up to 20 feet (6.1 meters). Males in the U.S. population rarely exceed 13 feet (4 meters), however.

Their diet consists mainly of small mammals, birds, fish, crabs, insects, snails, frogs, and occasionally carrion. They have been known to attack people, but are far more likely to flee at the sight of humans.

Most countries in the American crocodile's range have passed protection laws, but unfortunately, few governments provide adequate enforcement.

_DSC6491 - 2017-02-14 at 10-55-12

Lunchbox for the HBO series Six Feet Under, or its sadly nonexistent Hanna Barbera style cartoon.

Published by Bart Gold under Creative Commons license: Attribution 3.0 US (CC-BY)

Twentieth century philosopher Isaiah Berlin was born in this elaborate Art Nouveau building in Riga shortly after it was built in 1906 and lived here for the first six years of his life.

His life story (from Wikipedia):

Sir Isaiah Berlin OM, FBA (6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997) was a British social and political theorist, philosopher and historian of ideas of Russian-Jewish origin, regarded as one of the leading thinkers of the twentieth century and as the dominant liberal scholar of his generation. He excelled as an essayist, conversationalist and raconteur; and as a brilliant lecturer who improvised, rapidly and spontaneously, richly allusive and coherently structured material. He translated works by Ivan Turgenev from Russian into English and, during the war, worked for the British Diplomatic Service. The Independent stated that "Isaiah Berlin was often described, especially in his old age, by means of superlatives: the world's greatest talker, the century's most inspired reader, one of the finest minds of our time ... there is no doubt that he showed in more than one direction the unexpectedly large possibilities open to us at the top end of the range of human potential."

Operation “Salt City" resulted in the arrest of 248 individuals from May through September 2015. Of those arrested, 124 were active gang members. During the operation 22 firearms, more than $237,000 in U.S. currency, 70 grams of heroin, 266 grams of cocaine, and 723 grams of marijuana with a total estimated street value of almost $44,000 was taken off Syracuse streets by participating agencies.

Operation Salt City is part of the U.S. Marshals nation-wide “Triple Beam” gang reduction initiative. Triple Beam partners federal, state, and local law enforcement to reduce violent crime and take dangerous offenders off the streets. The goal of the U.S. Marshals Gang Enforcement Program is to seek out and disrupt illegal gang activity in areas of the country with smaller or nonexistent gang enforcement units by providing manpower, funding and the Marshals’ renowned fugitive tracking abilities.

Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals

Doubtful Sound is a very large and naturally imposing fjord (despite its name) in Fiordland, in the far south west of New Zealand. It is located in the same region as the smaller but more famous and accessible Milford Sound.

Doubtful Sound was named 'Doubtful Harbour' in 1770 by Captain Cook, who did not enter the inlet as he was uncertain whether it was navigable under sail. It was later renamed Doubtful Sound by whalers and sealers.

A Spanish scientific expedition commanded by Alessandro Malaspina visited Doubtful Sound in February 1793 to conduct experiments measuring the force of gravity using a pendulum, a part of the effort to establish a new metric system. The officers of the expedition, which included Felipe Bauzá y Cañas, a cartographer, also made the first chart of the entrance and lower parts of the Sound, naming features of it. Today these form a unique cluster of the only Spanish names on the map of New Zealand: Febrero Point, Bauza Island and the Nee Islets, Pendulo Reach and Malaspina Reach.

There are three distinct arms to the sound, which is the site of several large waterfalls, notably Helena Falls at Deep Cove, and the Browne Falls which have a fall of over 600 metres. The steep hills are known for their hundreds of waterfalls during the rainy season.

Access to the sound is either by sea, or by the Wilmot Pass road from the Manapouri Power Station. Most areas of the sound itself are only accessible by sea however, as the road network in this area of New Zealand is sparse or nonexistent, as is the human population.

Charles John Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham, Governor-General of New Zealand (1957-1962) wrote about this part of Fiordland:

"There are just a few areas left in the world where no human has ever set foot. That one of them should be in a country so civilized and so advanced as New Zealand may seem incredible, unless one has visited the south-west corner of the South Island. Jagged razor backed mountains rear their heads into the sky. More than 200 days of rain a year ensure not a tree branch is left bare and brown, moss and epiphytes drape every nook. The forest is intensely green. This is big country... one day peaceful, a study in green and blue, the next melancholy and misty, with low cloud veiling the tops... an awesome place, with its granite precipices, its hanging valleys, its earthquake faults and its thundering cascades."

Doubtful Sound is unusual in that it contains two distinct layers of water that scarcely mix. The top few meters is fresh water, fed from the high inflows from the surrounding mountains, and stained brown with tannins from the forest. Below this is a layer of cold, heavy, saline water from the sea. The dark tannins in the fresh water layer makes it difficult for light to penetrate. Thus, many deep-sea species will grow in the comparatively shallow depths of the Sound.

This fiord is home to one of the southernmost population of bottlenose dolphins. The Doubtful Sound bottlenoses have formed a very insular sub-group of only about 70 individuals, with none having been observed to leave or enter the Sound during a multi-year monitoring regime. Their social grouping is thus extremely close, which is also partly attributed to the difficult and unusual features of their habitat, which is much colder than for other bottlenose groups and is also overlaid by the freshwater layer.

Other wildlife to be found in Doubtful Sound includes fur seals and penguins (Fiordland crested and blue), or even rare large whales (Southern Right Whale, Humpback Whale, Minke Whale, Sperm Whale and some Giant Beaked Whales. Orca, the Killer Whales and Long-Finned Pilot Whales can be found also. The waters of Doubtful Sound are also home to an abundance of sea creatures, including many species of fish, starfish, sea anemones and corals. It is perhaps best known for its black coral trees which occur in unusually shallow water for what is normally a deep water species.

The catchment basin of Doubtful Sound is generally steep terrain that is heavily forested except for locations where surface rock exposures are extensive. Nothofagus trees are dominant in many locations. In the understory there are a wide variety of shrubs and ferns.

Phottix recently came out with a new remote that uses 2.4GHz wireless. The Phottix Plato. It's a little pricier (~$45) but from first glance, I can see a couple of advantages over the Cleon.

[0] Digital encoding gives you a more discrete signal and helps to avoid misfires.

[1] Smart codes rolls the codes automatically to avoid contention with other remotes or RF signals.

[2] Two-way communications between receiver and transmitter confirms you are within range or not. It also seems to have a longer range.

[3] Interchangeable end-cords allows you to use the same remote on various cameras simply by replacing the connecting cord. For instance, use the N8 cord for the D300 and the N6 cord for the D80.

[4] Uses more common batteries rather than the expensive "exotic" ones the Cleon uses.

[5] Slicker looking construction.

So... I decided to get one. Tonight I came home from a business trip and found my Plato sitting in my mailbox. There were three items in the package... well five if you count the two double-packs of AAA batteries.

[0] Transmitter

[1[ Receiver

[3] Cable

Both the transmitter and receiver take common AAA batteries. This is a great improvement over some of the older Phottix and Cactus wireless remotes that took a combination of CR2 and type-N... both of which are rather expensive. There was also a single instruction sheet which was as expected written in Engrish although admittedly it's not as bad as some other products I've seen. There was however one glaring error which I will go into about later.

After installing the batteries, both the transmitter and receivers immediately power up. Shutting each of them down requires a push of their power/select button for about 3 seconds. Both have an auto-poweroff feature that shuts them off after an hour of inactivity.

Unlike previous Phottix RF remotes, this one uses rolling codes instead of choosing from amongst preset frequencies. So instead of flipping DIP switches on each device to match one another, the transmitter and receivers must be paired like bluetooth devices. The set comes pre-synced to one another from the factory but you can reset the code by resyncing them. This is accomplished by first turning on the receiver and transmitter. The transmitters picks a code. Then on the receiver, you set it to learning mode by tapping the power button five times. On the transmitter, you push the shutter release button and the two are now synced. You can sync as many as 16 million receivers to the same transmitter. The remote uses the 2.4GHz band which can get congested so in certain environments, it may take a while for the pair to negotiate with one another. But once paired the likelihood of misfires or inadvertent triggers is nearly nonexistent. There are two status LEDs on the transmitter. Half-pressing the shutter release button will confirm that you're in range by lighting them both green as well as passing a half-press action to the camera which should respond in kind (ie. activate AF and VR) depending on how the camera is configured.

The transmitter and receiver are make and model agnostic. The vendor specific interface is handled by the cable. In my case, I am using the N8 cable for the D200 and D300. One end of the cable plugs into the camera and the other end is a simple three-contact 3.5mm "headphone" style plug which can be plugged into the receiver or the transmitter. When plugged into the receiver, the transmitter is in wireless mode. If however you wish to trigger things via a wired remote, you can plug the cable into the transmitter directly. All functions are the same in either mode. Note that the instruction sheet says that it is the receiver that can be used for wired triggering operations but this is in fact incorrect.

The transmitter has two buttons. The big button is the shutter release. The smaller button is the mode select and power button. Holding down this button for about 3 seconds powers the transmitter on or off. There is a series of LEDs that indicate which type of triggering mode you've selected. The following modes are supported:

[] Single - Pressing the shutter release acts like a single press of your camera's shutter release.

[] 2s Delay - Pressing the shutter release button invokes a 2-second delay before a single release signal is sent.

[] Continuous - Pressing the shutter release button once will cause the remote to trigger five individual releases. Holding down the button will act like holding down the shutter release on your camera. The camera's behaviour will be governed by the drive-mode in such a case.

[] Bulb - Pressing the button once is the same as holding down the shutter release on the camera. Press it again to release. This is intended to be used with the bulb shutter-speed setting but if combined with any other shutter speed will act like a press once to activate and press again to release so for instance, if you are in AF-C and don't have bulb set for the shutter-speed, your camera will continue shooting until you tap the button again.

Again, half-press operation is supported and in wireless mode, the two status LEDs at the top will turn green to confirm transmitter-to-receiver signal reception. A full press will turn the two LEDs red. In wired mode only LED #1 will show status.

The receiver has a single button for on/off and learning mode selection. There are also two LEDs. In normal operation, the left most LED will repeatedly flash red to indicate that the unit is on and ready. The right LED will turn green when it receives a trigger signal from the transmitter. Putting the receiver into learning mode causes the right LED to flash rapidly. The receiver also has a hot-shoe mount so it can be conveniently secured to the flash shoe.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with this remote. It's certainly a nice improvement over the older Cleon and would highly recommend it over the Cleon line even though it's about $10 more expensive.