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.

Photo by Oscar Leiva / Silverlight

Comasagua is located in southwestern El Salvador in the Balsamo coastal range between San Salvador and La Libertad departments. The Balsamo Range is a coffee producing area with 3,452 coffee farmers with 33,502 ha of coffee. These coffee-dominated watersheds on the south slopes of the Balsamo mountain range are the water sources and recharge areas for water sources for the towns and villages in the upper watershed plus numerous fast-growing tourist cities and towns in the coastal zone directly south of Comasagua, including the city of La Libertad. The high elevation coffee farms in Comasagua produce high quality coffee. Nevertheless, most farms have yields far below potential and investment continues to be limited. Coffee rust hit many of these farmers severely in 2012.

There has never been a significant water resource management program in this area; the water issues are serious and highly conflictive within these watersheds. Collaboration between municipalities, communities and coffee producers is considered weak to nonexistent. There is visible contamination and sedimentation of rivers and streams that reach the coast. Catholic Relief Services works here to teach ways of preserving water resources with coffee producers and processers in this area through its project Blue Harvest. It´s goal: sustainable management of water resources for people in coffee growing areas of Central America by promoting sustainable coffee production in ways that restore and protect water resource and promoting social and political processes for effective, sustainable, and local management of water resources.

024

Fortune Global Forum 2018

October 16th, 2018

Toronto, Canada

3:30 PM

THE NEW GLOBAL CONSUMER: DOING BUSINESS IN A DIGITAL ECONOMY

The digital economy is no longer part of the economy. It is the economy. How can traditional brick-and-mortar firms reinvent themselves, their supply chains, and their marketplaces to avoid the fate of brands once thought of as everlasting but which are now nonexistent? And how are new platforms – from e-commerce to shared services – rewriting the rules of the game? A conversation on how businesses can manage expectations for digitally empowered customers, and how technology is being used to enhance the customer experience.

Alain Bejjani, Chief Executive Officer, Majid al Futtaim

Andrea Stairs, General Manager, Canada and Latin America, eBay

Ning Tang, Founder and CEO, CreditEase

Moderator: Phil Wahba, Senior Writer, Fortune

Photograph by Stuart Isett/Fortune

One really can never get enough of Benedict Cumberbatch... most of the planet is still waiting for Sherlock Season 5 to finally be filmed. But in the mean time, there's of course his biggest money maker, Dr. Strange.

Strange was most recently seen headlining the first half of the Avengers Infinity Saga - Infinity War, while coming back for the climactic battle with Thanos in Endgame. Hot Toys and Marvel Legends did their versions of this character a while ago, and now it was time for Figuarts and Mafex, with the latter being out of my price range... for now.

I do get bored, after all.

As the fancy box indicates, this is Strange from the Battle on Titan, before he made that ultimate sacrifice and disappeared for a movie. It comes decently packed, though is missing two key items - the multi armed effect, and a FREAKING STAND TO LEVITATE HIM WITH.

Contents do, however, include the figure, an alternate eye closed sculpt, 14 posing hands, one additional Crimson Bands of Cytorek hand, two small and medium Time Stone hand effects coupled with one "large" effect, two small, medium, and large general orange effects, his mystic sword, interchangeable Eye of Agamoto and Time Stone chest effect, and finally, a giant ass portal effect.

Even from the prototype pictures, it's easy to see that Tamashii Nations improved the figure aesthetically. I say that because I only own components of the first figure. Two major areas of discussion, namely the sculpt and the cape.

The sculpt I'm pretty sure my photos speaks for itself. Like with most of the recent Avengers release.. again.. MOST, because their Loki is made of the stuff I laugh at. Tamashii Nations have done a damn fine job of capturing the essence of the actor. The first one really isn't that great., nailing maybe the hairstyle and general facial structure.

The cape isn't super fancy per se, but it IS a wired cloth cape, though sadly the section that drapes over the shoulder is rigid plastic. The work on the Mafex cape admittedly destroys this, as it really does look like a scaled down Hot Toys version. This cape, however, is far superior to the Wile E Coyote steam roller accident prop that came with the first one. It's truly a sight to behold, possibly being the worst toy cape I've ever seen on any toy, with the only redeeming value being that it's decently painted. Furthermore, this wired cape still allows for some pretty cool posing.

Having said that, we're now free to move on to this figure.

The outfit is multi layered, which does look nice. Unfortunately, those layers are made of some pliable, yet still pretty rigid plastic, which looks great but generally gets in the way of everything. There's even a warning about permanent deformation if you leave Strange in his crossed leg pose for too long.

The Eye of Agamoto is something you want to keep your eye on because there is a tendency for the piece to go flying should you move the figure too quickly. Also, the Eye is connected to two raised and painted lines that represent the necklace strap, rather than being on an actual strap.

The translucent plastics used for the effects are also somewhat concerning, given the fragility of them and all. Especially the sword, where you have to shove the handle into a fist. The larger mystic mandalas are printed on clear plastic, which are less fragile, but more susceptible to scratching. There's also lovely warnings in the manual about potential paint wear as you pose the figure and attach the various mystic effects.

From an articulation perspective, Strange is about the same as Bucky, except that Strange has pull down hips. Based on previous practices and general logic, I'm going to go ahead and guess that they probably reused the actual body. You get ankles, single jointed knees, hips with thigh twist, waist, mid torso, standard shoulders with butterfly joints for lateral movement, single jointed elbows, wrist, neck, and head.

I've mentioned the hips, so here's some other highlights. The ankle joints are terrible, probably due to the bulk of the boot. Basically they're nonexistent. The coattails predictably get in the way of leg movement, as does the solid shoulder piece on the cape. All-in-all, it's a functional body with decent posing options, but I can't help but feel it's an older body that they didn't want to spend money to bring up to Ant Man standards.

Paint is generally above average. Work on the head and body are very good. Even in the areas of finer detail you can make out the masking is pretty sharp. Things like the Eye of Agamoto I can give a pass on as it is hard to get the paint into every tiny crevice. Paint work appears smooth. But, it's the hands that knock it down a peg for me. For starters, paint application is a bit thick, but maybe that's a material thing.

What you might not be able to make out is that wrist at the wrist there's a very small layer of black to help it blend in with the wrist and sleeves. The masking here is horrible.. like, they didn't even try, and it's consistent across all the hands I looked at. I wish they hadn't bothered at all, and just kept them as all flesh coloured.

Build quality, however, is all good. The usual criteria of joints, materials used, QC, tolerances, finish - none of those register a true concern or complaint from me and are up to what I expect from a Figuarts release.

Overall, I'd say this Dr. Strange is pretty much what the WW 84 Figuarts was like, namely its what they should have done in the first place, though I guess I can say that at least WW was better than Dr. Strange. While from an overall perspective the Figuarts certainly looks more like Benedict Cumberbatch as compared to the Mafex photos, you are getting a better articulated body and an outfit that works with you as opposed to against you... and a 120 USD preorder price tag.

To me, it's fascinating that each of the two figures chose a different key moment to include accessories for. Maybe this was planned so they didn't compete with each other?

*Sigh* I guess I'll just have to eventually get the other one too.

The common backyard spider has a unique physical design, which is rarely noticeable to the human eye simply because when full grown, it's about the size of your pinkie. However, to get extremely close up and personal with this insect revels an entirely different appearance like you might see in a scifi horror movie. Camera pixel size format was set at 8 megs using the RAW option for post editing resizing the spider 8 megs larger with full max macro exposure. The exposure was made using ele flash. DOF was nearly nonexistent since the aperture was auto set at f/5.6.

HUGE pile of receipts I need to enter into my somewhat nonexistent budget chart. Oh and taxes. I need to get on that. As you can imagine, working as a freelance musician does not make me the most ORGANIZED at keeping track of finances. Time to get on the stick...

56/365.

Commentary: Foreign media is in love with Thaksin

By Veera Prateepchaikul, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Post Publishing Co Ltd

Like it or not, exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra still manages to manipulate the media for his own vested interests, at home and abroad.

At home in Thailand, the press conference held almost weekly - usually on weekends when there are few newsworthy events - by his faithful mouthpiece, Noppadon Pattama, attracts a big crowd of newshounds. They tend to unhesitatingly report whatever he says, mostly about his boss' good points, which are laughable to most seasoned observers.

Here are just two examples of the incredible statements coming from Noppadon's mouth: One, Thaksin wholeheartedly favours a free press in Thailand. This was in direct response to the threat to gag the media by the Council for National Security (CNS). And two, Thaksin fully supports the sufficiency economy advocated by His Majesty the King.

While in exile, the globetrotting ex-premier has often been in the news. The foreign media's love affair with Thaksin puzzles many Thais, me included. Especially in recent days, when a number of articles appeared in foreign publications such as The Economist, Asian Wall Street Journal and Newsweek praising the ex-premier and Thansinomics, while pouring scorn on the coup makers and the Surayud government. Not even the sufficiency economy was spared the foreign media's wrath. Their attacks cast doubt among many that their relationship with Thaksin is strictly professional.

The Economist, in its Jan 13 edition, criticises the sufficiency economy. In an article, it blames the Surayud government's support of the sufficiency economy for making foreign firms think Thailand is rejecting globalisation. It cited the imposition of capital controls in early January. It also chides the UNDP for poor judgement in backing the sufficiency economy while a debate of the merits of the philosophy is nonexistent.

Here is an excerpt of the article:

"Perhaps it makes sense for the new government to obscure its predecessor's achievements while stealing its best clothes. The question is why the UNDP thinks it should provide cover for this whitewash by puffing the sufficiency economy as a miracle-cure for the developing world's woes. The answer is that the UNDP is a sucker for this sort of new-age waffle, especially if it has royal patronage. It has also lauded the not entirely dissimilar 'Gross National Happiness' theory of Bhutan's King Jigme Singye Wangchuck.

"In publishing such an unbalanced report on a theory that is untried... the UNDP has abandoned all sense of objectivity. It is also lending legitimacy to a regime that took power by force."

I beg to differ with the writer's claim about Thaksin's achievements. Perhaps, if the writer had done a little homework he would have realised that the so-called achievements are just an illusion. Did he ever realise how much public debt had been incurred by Thaksin to fulfil his populist schemes that we, the taxpayers, will have to repay? About 150 billion baht in total.

The country would have gone belly up in debt if Thaksin was allowed to stay on a few more years. The ex-premier and his cronies could then be sunbathing on some faraway beach with all the wealth they accumulated during their years in power.

"Stealing its best clothes?" That is a preposterous statement. On the contrary, there may be no clothes left for any of us.

Thaksin's achievements? A walk through the Suvarnabhumi airport, his "mother of all achievements", is certainly an eye-opener.

Sufficiency economy is not an economic theory but a philosophy on how to live. Like Buddhism, it preaches moderation and sustainability. It definitely does not reject capitalism or globalisation. For an individual, it means living within his or her means. If someone earns 10,000 baht a month, they should not spend all their earnings or borrow against them by using credit cards.

The foreign media can write whatever it wants as there is press freedom here. But a little effort to do better homework is what makes the difference between a good article and a shoddy one.

(p.s. the picture is taken from www.planetbangkok.com/archives/2004/10/a_stillunanswer.html - you can read that article as well)

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.

One really can never get enough of Benedict Cumberbatch... most of the planet is still waiting for Sherlock Season 5 to finally be filmed. But in the mean time, there's of course his biggest money maker, Dr. Strange.

Strange was most recently seen headlining the first half of the Avengers Infinity Saga - Infinity War, while coming back for the climactic battle with Thanos in Endgame. Hot Toys and Marvel Legends did their versions of this character a while ago, and now it was time for Figuarts and Mafex, with the latter being out of my price range... for now.

I do get bored, after all.

As the fancy box indicates, this is Strange from the Battle on Titan, before he made that ultimate sacrifice and disappeared for a movie. It comes decently packed, though is missing two key items - the multi armed effect, and a FREAKING STAND TO LEVITATE HIM WITH.

Contents do, however, include the figure, an alternate eye closed sculpt, 14 posing hands, one additional Crimson Bands of Cytorek hand, two small and medium Time Stone hand effects coupled with one "large" effect, two small, medium, and large general orange effects, his mystic sword, interchangeable Eye of Agamoto and Time Stone chest effect, and finally, a giant ass portal effect.

Even from the prototype pictures, it's easy to see that Tamashii Nations improved the figure aesthetically. I say that because I only own components of the first figure. Two major areas of discussion, namely the sculpt and the cape.

The sculpt I'm pretty sure my photos speaks for itself. Like with most of the recent Avengers release.. again.. MOST, because their Loki is made of the stuff I laugh at. Tamashii Nations have done a damn fine job of capturing the essence of the actor. The first one really isn't that great., nailing maybe the hairstyle and general facial structure.

The cape isn't super fancy per se, but it IS a wired cloth cape, though sadly the section that drapes over the shoulder is rigid plastic. The work on the Mafex cape admittedly destroys this, as it really does look like a scaled down Hot Toys version. This cape, however, is far superior to the Wile E Coyote steam roller accident prop that came with the first one. It's truly a sight to behold, possibly being the worst toy cape I've ever seen on any toy, with the only redeeming value being that it's decently painted. Furthermore, this wired cape still allows for some pretty cool posing.

Having said that, we're now free to move on to this figure.

The outfit is multi layered, which does look nice. Unfortunately, those layers are made of some pliable, yet still pretty rigid plastic, which looks great but generally gets in the way of everything. There's even a warning about permanent deformation if you leave Strange in his crossed leg pose for too long.

The Eye of Agamoto is something you want to keep your eye on because there is a tendency for the piece to go flying should you move the figure too quickly. Also, the Eye is connected to two raised and painted lines that represent the necklace strap, rather than being on an actual strap.

The translucent plastics used for the effects are also somewhat concerning, given the fragility of them and all. Especially the sword, where you have to shove the handle into a fist. The larger mystic mandalas are printed on clear plastic, which are less fragile, but more susceptible to scratching. There's also lovely warnings in the manual about potential paint wear as you pose the figure and attach the various mystic effects.

From an articulation perspective, Strange is about the same as Bucky, except that Strange has pull down hips. Based on previous practices and general logic, I'm going to go ahead and guess that they probably reused the actual body. You get ankles, single jointed knees, hips with thigh twist, waist, mid torso, standard shoulders with butterfly joints for lateral movement, single jointed elbows, wrist, neck, and head.

I've mentioned the hips, so here's some other highlights. The ankle joints are terrible, probably due to the bulk of the boot. Basically they're nonexistent. The coattails predictably get in the way of leg movement, as does the solid shoulder piece on the cape. All-in-all, it's a functional body with decent posing options, but I can't help but feel it's an older body that they didn't want to spend money to bring up to Ant Man standards.

Paint is generally above average. Work on the head and body are very good. Even in the areas of finer detail you can make out the masking is pretty sharp. Things like the Eye of Agamoto I can give a pass on as it is hard to get the paint into every tiny crevice. Paint work appears smooth. But, it's the hands that knock it down a peg for me. For starters, paint application is a bit thick, but maybe that's a material thing.

What you might not be able to make out is that wrist at the wrist there's a very small layer of black to help it blend in with the wrist and sleeves. The masking here is horrible.. like, they didn't even try, and it's consistent across all the hands I looked at. I wish they hadn't bothered at all, and just kept them as all flesh coloured.

Build quality, however, is all good. The usual criteria of joints, materials used, QC, tolerances, finish - none of those register a true concern or complaint from me and are up to what I expect from a Figuarts release.

Overall, I'd say this Dr. Strange is pretty much what the WW 84 Figuarts was like, namely its what they should have done in the first place, though I guess I can say that at least WW was better than Dr. Strange. While from an overall perspective the Figuarts certainly looks more like Benedict Cumberbatch as compared to the Mafex photos, you are getting a better articulated body and an outfit that works with you as opposed to against you... and a 120 USD preorder price tag.

To me, it's fascinating that each of the two figures chose a different key moment to include accessories for. Maybe this was planned so they didn't compete with each other?

*Sigh* I guess I'll just have to eventually get the other one too.

Best viewed large. This is a shot from earlier this year, when some friends and I went hiking in the hills of the Columbia River Gorge. This image was originally two separate slides (or prints, not sure which at the moment) that I scanned in and merged through Photoshop. It's interesting to think what pinhole might have done with this scene, though the exposure would have likely been something like eight minutes long, thus rendering the subjects as nonexistent.

Anyway. I'm a bit more than marginally happy with the job that Pentax did... I like the colors and the sense of that hairpin turn just behind the camera, but the focus is very soft... too soft by far, but it is a 'different' enough photo that I decided to go ahead and post it.

Although now that I think about it... it would have been quite funny to have another subject waiting just around the corner, ready to pounce on the unsuspecting hikers. ;)

Adding another four images from my archives. If I wrote a description under a previously posted photo taken on the same day, I will add it under this afternoon's posts.

"Agoutis have five front and three hind toes; the first toe is very small. The tail is very short or nonexistent and hairless. Agoutis may grow to be up to 60 cm (24 in) in length and 4 kg (8.8 lb) in weight. Most species are brown on their backs and whitish or buff on their bellies; the fur may have a glossy appearance and then glimmers in an orange colour. Reports differ as to whether they are diurnal or nocturnal animals.... They can live for as long as 20 years, a remarkably long time for a rodent

In the wild, they are shy animals and flee from humans, while in captivity they may become trusting. In Trinidad, they are renowned for being very fast runners, able to keep hunting dogs occupied with chasing them for hours." From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_agouti

"This photo was taken on 20 March 2017, but I also saw and photographed these rather strange animals every day that we were staying at the Asa Wright Nature Centre on the island of Trinidad. They like to hang around the Asa Wright building, finding food, and then they seem to disappear into the forest for most of the day. Many of my photos of them came out blurry for some reason, but this one worked OK.

This adventure was only the second holiday (or was it actually my third?) of any kind, anywhere, that I have had in something like 30 or 35 years! The other holiday was a wonderful, one-week trip with my great friends from England, Linda and Tony, when we went down south to Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons in September 2012. I have had maybe half a dozen weekends away, including to Waterton National Park, which have helped keep me going.

Six birding/photographer friends and I decided that we would take this exciting trip together (from 12-21 March 2017), spending the first two or three days on the island of Tobago and then the rest of the time at the Asa Wright Nature Centre on the nearby, much larger island of Trinidad. We decided to take a complete package, so everything was included - flights (we were so very lucky to get Black Friday prices, which were 50% off!), accommodation at both places, all our food, and the various walks and day trips that we could chose from. Two of my friends, Anne B. and Brenda, saw to all the planning of flights and accommodations, which was so very much appreciated by the rest of us. I could never have done all this myself!

What a time we had, seeing so many beautiful and interesting things - and, of course, everything was a lifer for me. Some of these friends had visited Costa Rica before, so were familiar with some of the birds. There was a lot more to see on Trinidad, so we were glad that we chose Tobago to visit first and then spend a longer time at Asa Wright. It was wonderful to be right by the sea, though, at the Blue Waters Inn on the island of Tobago. Just gorgeous.

The Asa Wright Nature Centre, on Trinidad, is such an amazing place! We stayed in cabins up or down hill from the main building. Really, one doesn't need to travel away from the Centre for birding, as so many different species visit the Hummingbird feeders that are right by the huge, open veranda, and the trees of the rain forest high up a mountainous road. The drive up and down this narrow, twisting, pot-holed road was an adventure in itself! Never would I ever do this drive myself - we had a guide who drove us everywhere in a van/small bus. I had read many accounts of this road, lol! There was just enough room for two vehicles to squeeze past each other, and the honking of horns was almost continuous - either to warn any vehicle that might be coming fast around the next bend or as a sign that drivers knew each other. The drive along this road, from the coast to Asa Wright, took just over an hour each way.

I still miss the great food that was provided every single day at Asa Wright and the Rum Punch that appeared each evening. I never drink at all, so I wasn't sure if I would even try the Punch - glad I did, though, as it was delicious and refreshing. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were all served buffet-style, with a great variety of dishes from which to choose. To me, pure luxury. So very, very grateful to have been invited to be part of this amazing adventure."

OccupyAugusta did an impressive job on Sat., Oct. 15, 2011 as they marched on downtown Augusta protesting the evil greed that created the current economic crisis.

The bankers, Wall Street traders, insurance industry, politicians proved they cannot be trusted when left to their own devices when the Bush administration made oversight almost nonexistent.

And sure enough when the foxes were in charge of the hen-house it was a slaughter of American jobs, the evaporation of retirement funds, a flood of home foreclosures, sending the world economy into crisis.

See the photos at these links!

occupyaugusta.org/occupy/wp-content/lg-gallery/October%20...

occupyaugusta.org/occupy/gallery?file=October%2015%202011/

Occupy Augusta, GA: Occupy Wall Street Pages:

Occupy Augusta, GA on Facebook:

www.facebook.com/pages/OCCUPY-AUGUSTA/178325418914632

Occupy Augusta, GA on Twitter:

twitter.com/#!/OWSaugustaGA

Occupy Augusta, GA on WordPress.org:

occupyaugusta.org/occupy

Occupy Augusta, GA on discussion page of WordPress.org (#OccupyAugusta ) in Solidarity with #OWS and #OccupyTogether:

occupyaugusta.org/discuss/index.php

Occupy Augusta, GA on MeetUp:

www.meetup.com/occupytogether/Augusta-GA/382952

Occupy Augusta, GA on Tumblr:

occupyaugustaga.tumblr.com

Occupy Wall Street Movement in other Georgia cities:

www.facebook.com/northganow

Check out this OccupyAugusta video by Jane Pietkivitch

She shot and edited video from the Occupy Augusta march on downtown on Saturday (10-15-11).

The OccupyAugusta movement is doing a fantastic job coordinating and the enthusiasm is no less that in New York

www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=302389719777944

Established in 1848 at the very start of the California Gold Rush, Drytown is one of the oldest towns in Eastern California. The town was named after Dry Creek, near the line of trees behind the buildings here, which were quite rich in placer deposits. The town was not "dry" however, with some 26 saloons in a town of around 200 in 1849.

In 1855, the now nonexistent town of Rancheria immediately South of Drytown was the scene of a brutal massacre: after some Hispanic bandits were driven out of Drytown, they angrily sacked Rancheria, killing six including shooting a woman and hacking a man to death with an axe. An angry posse chased the bandits all the way to Chinese Camp where they supposedly killed or hanged them all; anti-Hispanic activity broke out all along the region, with a spate of lynch mobs. it is unclear, but perhaps 20 ethnic Mexicans and Chileans were killed, many of whom were probably innocent. The "Chilean" quarter of Drytown was burned to the ground, including the Catholic Church, with armed men preventing those trying to fight the fire. A second large fire two years later coincided with the decline of placer deposits, and subsequently Drytown declined to its present state, a sleepy community with a line of antique shops.

Drytown, California

One really can never get enough of Benedict Cumberbatch... most of the planet is still waiting for Sherlock Season 5 to finally be filmed. But in the mean time, there's of course his biggest money maker, Dr. Strange.

Strange was most recently seen headlining the first half of the Avengers Infinity Saga - Infinity War, while coming back for the climactic battle with Thanos in Endgame. Hot Toys and Marvel Legends did their versions of this character a while ago, and now it was time for Figuarts and Mafex, with the latter being out of my price range... for now.

I do get bored, after all.

As the fancy box indicates, this is Strange from the Battle on Titan, before he made that ultimate sacrifice and disappeared for a movie. It comes decently packed, though is missing two key items - the multi armed effect, and a FREAKING STAND TO LEVITATE HIM WITH.

Contents do, however, include the figure, an alternate eye closed sculpt, 14 posing hands, one additional Crimson Bands of Cytorek hand, two small and medium Time Stone hand effects coupled with one "large" effect, two small, medium, and large general orange effects, his mystic sword, interchangeable Eye of Agamoto and Time Stone chest effect, and finally, a giant ass portal effect.

Even from the prototype pictures, it's easy to see that Tamashii Nations improved the figure aesthetically. I say that because I only own components of the first figure. Two major areas of discussion, namely the sculpt and the cape.

The sculpt I'm pretty sure my photos speaks for itself. Like with most of the recent Avengers release.. again.. MOST, because their Loki is made of the stuff I laugh at. Tamashii Nations have done a damn fine job of capturing the essence of the actor. The first one really isn't that great., nailing maybe the hairstyle and general facial structure.

The cape isn't super fancy per se, but it IS a wired cloth cape, though sadly the section that drapes over the shoulder is rigid plastic. The work on the Mafex cape admittedly destroys this, as it really does look like a scaled down Hot Toys version. This cape, however, is far superior to the Wile E Coyote steam roller accident prop that came with the first one. It's truly a sight to behold, possibly being the worst toy cape I've ever seen on any toy, with the only redeeming value being that it's decently painted. Furthermore, this wired cape still allows for some pretty cool posing.

Having said that, we're now free to move on to this figure.

The outfit is multi layered, which does look nice. Unfortunately, those layers are made of some pliable, yet still pretty rigid plastic, which looks great but generally gets in the way of everything. There's even a warning about permanent deformation if you leave Strange in his crossed leg pose for too long.

The Eye of Agamoto is something you want to keep your eye on because there is a tendency for the piece to go flying should you move the figure too quickly. Also, the Eye is connected to two raised and painted lines that represent the necklace strap, rather than being on an actual strap.

The translucent plastics used for the effects are also somewhat concerning, given the fragility of them and all. Especially the sword, where you have to shove the handle into a fist. The larger mystic mandalas are printed on clear plastic, which are less fragile, but more susceptible to scratching. There's also lovely warnings in the manual about potential paint wear as you pose the figure and attach the various mystic effects.

From an articulation perspective, Strange is about the same as Bucky, except that Strange has pull down hips. Based on previous practices and general logic, I'm going to go ahead and guess that they probably reused the actual body. You get ankles, single jointed knees, hips with thigh twist, waist, mid torso, standard shoulders with butterfly joints for lateral movement, single jointed elbows, wrist, neck, and head.

I've mentioned the hips, so here's some other highlights. The ankle joints are terrible, probably due to the bulk of the boot. Basically they're nonexistent. The coattails predictably get in the way of leg movement, as does the solid shoulder piece on the cape. All-in-all, it's a functional body with decent posing options, but I can't help but feel it's an older body that they didn't want to spend money to bring up to Ant Man standards.

Paint is generally above average. Work on the head and body are very good. Even in the areas of finer detail you can make out the masking is pretty sharp. Things like the Eye of Agamoto I can give a pass on as it is hard to get the paint into every tiny crevice. Paint work appears smooth. But, it's the hands that knock it down a peg for me. For starters, paint application is a bit thick, but maybe that's a material thing.

What you might not be able to make out is that wrist at the wrist there's a very small layer of black to help it blend in with the wrist and sleeves. The masking here is horrible.. like, they didn't even try, and it's consistent across all the hands I looked at. I wish they hadn't bothered at all, and just kept them as all flesh coloured.

Build quality, however, is all good. The usual criteria of joints, materials used, QC, tolerances, finish - none of those register a true concern or complaint from me and are up to what I expect from a Figuarts release.

Overall, I'd say this Dr. Strange is pretty much what the WW 84 Figuarts was like, namely its what they should have done in the first place, though I guess I can say that at least WW was better than Dr. Strange. While from an overall perspective the Figuarts certainly looks more like Benedict Cumberbatch as compared to the Mafex photos, you are getting a better articulated body and an outfit that works with you as opposed to against you... and a 120 USD preorder price tag.

To me, it's fascinating that each of the two figures chose a different key moment to include accessories for. Maybe this was planned so they didn't compete with each other?

*Sigh* I guess I'll just have to eventually get the other one too.

2 Arrival of Thor - Icelandic Coast Guard 2011-10-27 Reykjavik.jpg

ICGV Þór arriving at the port of Reykjavík on 27 October 2011

History

Iceland

Name:Þór

Namesake:Thor

Ordered:2006

Builder:ASMAR, Talcahuano, Chile

Laid down:2008

Launched:29 April 2009

Commissioned:23 September 2011

In service:2011–

Identification:

IMO number: 9426893

MMSI number: 251604000

Callsign: TFIA

General characteristics

Class and type:Rolls-Royce Marine AS "UT 512 L" type offshore patrol vessel

Displacement:3,920 t (4,321 st)

Length:93.80 m (307.7 ft)

Beam:16 m (52 ft)

Height:30 m (98 ft)

Draught:5.80 m (19.0 ft)

Installed power:2 × 4,500 kW Rolls Royce Bergen diesel

Propulsion:

2 × 450 kW bow tunnel thrusters and one in the aft

883 kW retractable azimuth thruster

Speed:20.1 knots (37.2 km/h; 23.1 mph)

Boats & landing

craft carried:2 MOB boats

Complement:48

Sensors and

processing systems:

1 × S-band radar, 2 × X-band radar

Synthetic aperture sonar

Armament:

1 × Bofors 40 mm gun

2 × 12.7 mm machine guns

Aviation facilities:Helicopter in-flight refuelling capabilities (HIFR).

Notes:Bollard pull: 120 t (132.3 st)

ICGV Þór (Thor) is an UT 512L type offshore patrol vessel designed by Rolls Royce for the Icelandic Coast Guard, built to replace the aging ICGV Óðinn. The construction of the ship was approved by the Icelandic government on 4 March 2005. Construction of the ship began at the ASMAR Naval Shipyard in Talcahuano, Chile on 16 October 2007. Construction was delayed by over a year due to the 2010 Chilean earthquake, but damage to the structure of the ship was not as detrimental as had been expected. After repairs, the ICGV Þór was delivered to ICG personnel on 23 September 2011 in Chile. She arrived in Reykjavík on 27 October 2011. Its main tasks are EEZ patrol, fishery inspection and search and rescue support. The ship is named after the Norse god Thor.

The origins of the ship date back to 4 March 2005, in a proposal drafted by then-Minister of Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs (which is now a nonexistent entity),[1] Björn Bjarnason, regarding the purchase of a new vessel, in order to replace the aging ICGV Óðinn, and aircraft for the Icelandic Coast Guard. The Althing decided that this was an exigent matter, and so a high priority was placed upon the proposal.[2] A needs analysis pertaining to the acquisition of a multi-purpose vessel and aircraft for the ICG was initiated on 31 September 2005. The main demands were that the vessel should be designed for rescue work and patrolling, pollution prevention, fuelling search and rescue helicopters, and meeting civil defence requirements anywhere around the country. In addition, it was to be equipped for response to, and prevention of, terrorist threats and be suitable for operations involving the police or customs authorities, and for all types of rescue and salvage work. The bollard pull of the vessel was to take account of the greatly increased volume of passenger and cargo shipping in Iceland's economic zone and coastal waters.[2]

1/100 Elyn Kshatriya

1/100 Elyn Gatling Guns x 4

Custom decals laid out by Dade W. Bell and printed by Samuel.

Custom mixed paint scheme with 12 layers of paint for both candy purple colors.

Paints are Gaia, Gunze, Vallejo, and Citadel.

This project took FOREVER and I frankly stopped keeping track of the hours once I hit 150. This is mainly due to all of the paint layers required to give the proper shading and depth I was after. Plus the fact that I'm a slow builder. lol Note that I also went with my concept of painting the frame in a lighter color than the armor. We often see MS frames painted in dark and/ or metallic colors, but I thought it would look much more interesting if the frame was a light color contrasted with the darker "candy purple" armor (kinda like my Ple Qubeley). Also note how I went farther with the idea of making the finish matte. I think this adds an interesting appearance to the candy surface and is actually more realistic and less toy-like than the usual gloss finish seen on candy colors (contrast with my Ple Qubeley...).

The pictures truly don't do the real thing justice and I'll try to take better photos (and a video) with my D5100 outside when it cools down in the fall... Until then, I think these pics will suffice.

With this project done, I'm done building Kshatriyas. Too much of my life has been taken up with these things and it's time to move on. Still, I'm the "Ple Guy" so I had to at least make this one. ;-) (Wink) As for how Ple could end up piloting the Kshatriya, below is the story file I created to go on the base when I have a custom label printed later...

An Alternate Timeline...

In the original events of ZZ Gundam, Elpeo Ple sacrificed herself to protect Judau Ashta from the Psycho Gundam Mk-II piloted by her clone, Ple Two. However, in this alternate timeline, Glemy Toto’s attempts to clone Ple failed... and as a result, Ple didn’t die at the hands of her now-nonexistent clone. Thus, the “butterfly effect” of the changed timeline allowed Ple to survive the First Neo-Zeon War.

With the First Neo Zeon War over, Ple headed to Jupiter with Judau and Roux, but eventually grew bored with her relatively peaceful life (not to mention her “third-wheel” status with her friends), and decided to return to the Earth Sphere. During the long voyage home, she was disappointed to find that she missed the events of the Second Neo-Zeon War (Char’s Counterattack), and vowed to never miss out on any further action.

So when Ple heard about Full Frontal’s group of Neo-Zeon remnants, The Sleeves, she joined them without hesitation (and received the customized purple Kshatriya for her personal MS). This was because of a longing for excitement more than any kind of belief in Neo-Zeon ideology, and the battlefield was once again filled with the giddy shout of, “Purupurupurupuru!”. However, she quickly switched sides when she discovered that Frontal was merely using her as a “test” against the Unicorn Gundam’s NT-D system (her ability to defeat her own NT-D-controlled funnels and fight the Unicorn to a standstill is a significant departure from the original timeline).

Being a natural Newtype and not subject to the side-effects of the Cyber-Newtype process (complicated by the horrible events of childhood), Ple was able to avoid most of the unfortunate, and ultimately fatal, events that befell her clone, Marida Cruz (Ple Twelve), in the original timeline. As a result, she and the Kshatriya were able to survive the Third Neo-Zeon war relatively unharmed... a feat for which she rewarded herself with a nice, long bubble bath.

In late 1815 and early 1816, the Lafitte brothers agreed to act as spies for Spain, which was in the midst of the Mexican War of Independence. The brothers were collectively known as "Number thirteen". Pierre would keep the Spanish informed of happenings in New Orleans, and Jean was sent to Galveston Island, a part of Spanish Texas that served as the home base of privateer Louis-Michel Aury, who claimed to be a Mexican revolutionary. By early 1817, other revolutionaries had begun to congregate at Galveston, hoping to make it their base to wrest Mexico from Spanish control. Lafitte visited in March 1817. Two weeks into his stay, the two leaders of the revolutionaries left the island. The following day, Lafitte took command of the island and appointed his own officers. On April 18, he sailed for New Orleans to report his activities. With Spanish permission, Lafitte returned to Galveston, promising to make weekly reports of the activities there.

Lafitte's motives were not selfless; he essentially turned Galveston Island into a new Barataria. Like Barataria, Galveston was a seaward island that protected a large inland bay. It had the advantage of being outside the authority of the United States, and it was largely uninhabited, except by Karankawas.

Lafitte quickly began improving his new colony. Existing houses were torn down, and 200 new, sturdier buildings were constructed. Ships operating from Galveston flew the flag of Mexico, but they engaged in no revolutionary activities, as Lafitte worried about a potential Spanish invasion. Aury returned to Galveston several months later, but left in July when he realized that the men were unwilling to revolt.

In less than a year, Lafitte's colony grew to 100–200 men and several women. All newcomers were personally interviewed by Lafitte and required to take an oath of loyalty to him. The headquarters of the operation was a two-story building facing the inland harbor, where landings were made. The building was surrounded by a moat and painted red; it became known as Maison Rouge. Most regular business was conducted aboard Lafitte's ship, The Pride, where he also lived. Lafitte created letters of marque from a nonexistent nation for all of the ships sailing from Galveston. These letters gave the ships permission to attack ships from all nations.

In April 1818, the United States passed a law prohibiting the import of slaves into any port in the United States. The law left several loopholes, however. It essentially gave permission to any ship to capture a slave ship, regardless of the country from which it originated. Furthermore, any newly imported slaves who were turned over to the customs office would be sold within the United States, with half the profits of the sale going to the people who turned them in. Lafitte worked with several smugglers, including Jim Bowie, to profit from the poorly written law. Lafitte's men would target ships that carried slaves. Smugglers would purchase the slaves for a discounted price, march them to Louisiana, and turn them in to customs officials. A representative of the smuggler would purchase the slaves at the ensuing auction, and the smuggler would be given half of the purchase price. The smuggler was then the lawful owner of the slaves and could transport them to sell in other parts of the United States.

The colony experienced hardships in 1818. After a Karankawa woman was kidnapped, the Indian tribe attacked and killed five members of Lafitte's colony. The corsairs aimed the artillery at the Indians, killing most of the men in the tribe. A hurricane in September covered almost all of the island in water, killing several people and destroying four ships and most buildings. Only six homes were habitable afterwards.

Around 1820, Lafitte reportedly married Madeline Regaud, possibly the widow or daughter of a French colonist who had died during an ill-fated expedition to Galveston. In 1821, the schooner USS Enterprise was sent to Galveston to remove Lafitte from the Gulf after one of the pirate's captains attacked an American merchant ship. Lafitte agreed to leave the island without a fight, and in 1821 or 1822 departed on his flagship, the Pride, burning his fortress and settlements and reportedly taking immense amounts of treasure with him. All that remains of Maison Rouge is the foundation, located at 1417 Avenue A near the Galveston wharf.

-Wikipedia

My Peacock mantis shrimp trying to catch a nonexistent crab.

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.

1/100 Elyn Kshatriya

1/100 Elyn Gatling Guns x 4

Custom decals laid out by Dade W. Bell and printed by Samuel.

Custom mixed paint scheme with 12 layers of paint for both candy purple colors.

Paints are Gaia, Gunze, Vallejo, and Citadel.

This project took FOREVER and I frankly stopped keeping track of the hours once I hit 150. This is mainly due to all of the paint layers required to give the proper shading and depth I was after. Plus the fact that I'm a slow builder. lol Note that I also went with my concept of painting the frame in a lighter color than the armor. We often see MS frames painted in dark and/ or metallic colors, but I thought it would look much more interesting if the frame was a light color contrasted with the darker "candy purple" armor (kinda like my Ple Qubeley). Also note how I went farther with the idea of making the finish matte. I think this adds an interesting appearance to the candy surface and is actually more realistic and less toy-like than the usual gloss finish seen on candy colors (contrast with my Ple Qubeley...).

The pictures truly don't do the real thing justice and I'll try to take better photos (and a video) with my D5100 outside when it cools down in the fall... Until then, I think these pics will suffice.

With this project done, I'm done building Kshatriyas. Too much of my life has been taken up with these things and it's time to move on. Still, I'm the "Ple Guy" so I had to at least make this one. ;-) (Wink) As for how Ple could end up piloting the Kshatriya, below is the story file I created to go on the base when I have a custom label printed later...

An Alternate Timeline...

In the original events of ZZ Gundam, Elpeo Ple sacrificed herself to protect Judau Ashta from the Psycho Gundam Mk-II piloted by her clone, Ple Two. However, in this alternate timeline, Glemy Toto’s attempts to clone Ple failed... and as a result, Ple didn’t die at the hands of her now-nonexistent clone. Thus, the “butterfly effect” of the changed timeline allowed Ple to survive the First Neo-Zeon War.

With the First Neo Zeon War over, Ple headed to Jupiter with Judau and Roux, but eventually grew bored with her relatively peaceful life (not to mention her “third-wheel” status with her friends), and decided to return to the Earth Sphere. During the long voyage home, she was disappointed to find that she missed the events of the Second Neo-Zeon War (Char’s Counterattack), and vowed to never miss out on any further action.

So when Ple heard about Full Frontal’s group of Neo-Zeon remnants, The Sleeves, she joined them without hesitation (and received the customized purple Kshatriya for her personal MS). This was because of a longing for excitement more than any kind of belief in Neo-Zeon ideology, and the battlefield was once again filled with the giddy shout of, “Purupurupurupuru!”. However, she quickly switched sides when she discovered that Frontal was merely using her as a “test” against the Unicorn Gundam’s NT-D system (her ability to defeat her own NT-D-controlled funnels and fight the Unicorn to a standstill is a significant departure from the original timeline).

Being a natural Newtype and not subject to the side-effects of the Cyber-Newtype process (complicated by the horrible events of childhood), Ple was able to avoid most of the unfortunate, and ultimately fatal, events that befell her clone, Marida Cruz (Ple Twelve), in the original timeline. As a result, she and the Kshatriya were able to survive the Third Neo-Zeon war relatively unharmed... a feat for which she rewarded herself with a nice, long bubble bath.

One really can never get enough of Benedict Cumberbatch... most of the planet is still waiting for Sherlock Season 5 to finally be filmed. But in the mean time, there's of course his biggest money maker, Dr. Strange.

Strange was most recently seen headlining the first half of the Avengers Infinity Saga - Infinity War, while coming back for the climactic battle with Thanos in Endgame. Hot Toys and Marvel Legends did their versions of this character a while ago, and now it was time for Figuarts and Mafex, with the latter being out of my price range... for now.

I do get bored, after all.

As the fancy box indicates, this is Strange from the Battle on Titan, before he made that ultimate sacrifice and disappeared for a movie. It comes decently packed, though is missing two key items - the multi armed effect, and a FREAKING STAND TO LEVITATE HIM WITH.

Contents do, however, include the figure, an alternate eye closed sculpt, 14 posing hands, one additional Crimson Bands of Cytorek hand, two small and medium Time Stone hand effects coupled with one "large" effect, two small, medium, and large general orange effects, his mystic sword, interchangeable Eye of Agamoto and Time Stone chest effect, and finally, a giant ass portal effect.

Even from the prototype pictures, it's easy to see that Tamashii Nations improved the figure aesthetically. I say that because I only own components of the first figure. Two major areas of discussion, namely the sculpt and the cape.

The sculpt I'm pretty sure my photos speaks for itself. Like with most of the recent Avengers release.. again.. MOST, because their Loki is made of the stuff I laugh at. Tamashii Nations have done a damn fine job of capturing the essence of the actor. The first one really isn't that great., nailing maybe the hairstyle and general facial structure.

The cape isn't super fancy per se, but it IS a wired cloth cape, though sadly the section that drapes over the shoulder is rigid plastic. The work on the Mafex cape admittedly destroys this, as it really does look like a scaled down Hot Toys version. This cape, however, is far superior to the Wile E Coyote steam roller accident prop that came with the first one. It's truly a sight to behold, possibly being the worst toy cape I've ever seen on any toy, with the only redeeming value being that it's decently painted. Furthermore, this wired cape still allows for some pretty cool posing.

Having said that, we're now free to move on to this figure.

The outfit is multi layered, which does look nice. Unfortunately, those layers are made of some pliable, yet still pretty rigid plastic, which looks great but generally gets in the way of everything. There's even a warning about permanent deformation if you leave Strange in his crossed leg pose for too long.

The Eye of Agamoto is something you want to keep your eye on because there is a tendency for the piece to go flying should you move the figure too quickly. Also, the Eye is connected to two raised and painted lines that represent the necklace strap, rather than being on an actual strap.

The translucent plastics used for the effects are also somewhat concerning, given the fragility of them and all. Especially the sword, where you have to shove the handle into a fist. The larger mystic mandalas are printed on clear plastic, which are less fragile, but more susceptible to scratching. There's also lovely warnings in the manual about potential paint wear as you pose the figure and attach the various mystic effects.

From an articulation perspective, Strange is about the same as Bucky, except that Strange has pull down hips. Based on previous practices and general logic, I'm going to go ahead and guess that they probably reused the actual body. You get ankles, single jointed knees, hips with thigh twist, waist, mid torso, standard shoulders with butterfly joints for lateral movement, single jointed elbows, wrist, neck, and head.

I've mentioned the hips, so here's some other highlights. The ankle joints are terrible, probably due to the bulk of the boot. Basically they're nonexistent. The coattails predictably get in the way of leg movement, as does the solid shoulder piece on the cape. All-in-all, it's a functional body with decent posing options, but I can't help but feel it's an older body that they didn't want to spend money to bring up to Ant Man standards.

Paint is generally above average. Work on the head and body are very good. Even in the areas of finer detail you can make out the masking is pretty sharp. Things like the Eye of Agamoto I can give a pass on as it is hard to get the paint into every tiny crevice. Paint work appears smooth. But, it's the hands that knock it down a peg for me. For starters, paint application is a bit thick, but maybe that's a material thing.

What you might not be able to make out is that wrist at the wrist there's a very small layer of black to help it blend in with the wrist and sleeves. The masking here is horrible.. like, they didn't even try, and it's consistent across all the hands I looked at. I wish they hadn't bothered at all, and just kept them as all flesh coloured.

Build quality, however, is all good. The usual criteria of joints, materials used, QC, tolerances, finish - none of those register a true concern or complaint from me and are up to what I expect from a Figuarts release.

Overall, I'd say this Dr. Strange is pretty much what the WW 84 Figuarts was like, namely its what they should have done in the first place, though I guess I can say that at least WW was better than Dr. Strange. While from an overall perspective the Figuarts certainly looks more like Benedict Cumberbatch as compared to the Mafex photos, you are getting a better articulated body and an outfit that works with you as opposed to against you... and a 120 USD preorder price tag.

To me, it's fascinating that each of the two figures chose a different key moment to include accessories for. Maybe this was planned so they didn't compete with each other?

*Sigh* I guess I'll just have to eventually get the other one too.

The Duquesne Incline is one of those which follows very closely the tracks of an early coal hoist. Old newspapers indicate the existence of such a conveyance as early as 1854. Residents apparently referred to it as "Kirk Lewis' incline" and located it on the present site of The Duquesne Incline's Upper Station. Grandview Avenue was then the High Street, and the area was just beginning to be converted from farmland to homesites. This pleasantly-situated acreage was an excellent area to absorb some of the expanding population of the city, but the problem of easy access was still to be solved.

Although plans for a freight and passenger incline are known to have existed much earlier, financial backing was exceedingly hard to find--even the modest sum of $47,000--and actual construction was delayed. Eventually, of course, difficulties were overcome and the Incline was built. It was opened to the public May 20, 1877. The Duquesne Incline was the first Pittsburgh incline designed and built by Samuel Diescher, for Kirk Bigham and Associates. Mr. Diescher, an engineer, had become the country's foremost builder of inclines. He was also to design and build most of those that followed.

At the time of its public opening, it was one of four inclined planes serving the summit of Coal Hill, which later came to be known as Mount Washington. The Duquesne Incline was operated, from 1877 until 1962 by The Duquesne Inclined Plane Company. From 1964 until the present, the Incline has been operated by the Society for the Preservation of The Duquesne Heights Incline; it has been owned by the Port Authority of Allegheny County.

Background

When The Duquesne Incline was opened to the public in May of 1877, it was one of four such inclined planes climbing Mount Washington, carrying passengers and freight to the residential area that had spread along the top of the bluff. Originally known as Coal Hill, the mountain itself had supplied coal fuel to the early settlers at the Point, the garrisons at the fort, and eventually to the local industries that appeared along the riverbanks as the town grew. Pittsburgh's early glass industry was particularly prevalent, near the current site of The Duquesne Incline. The primitive coal hoists that carried coal cars from the mine mouths on the hillside were the forerunners of the more elaborate cars that served as the Rapid Transit of their era.

The industrial base of Pittsburgh started expanding rapidly in the 1860s. This growth created a huge demand for labor, which was partially satisfied by immigrants from Europe. This growth also led to a serious housing shortage.

At this time, public transit was practically nonexistent. People needed to live within walking distance of their place of employment. While industry occupied most flat lands near the rivers, only the steep, surrounding hillsides provided land for housing. Coal Hill, later known as Mount Washington, was close to industry with alot of land available for building homes; but, there was a lack of good roads.

Immigrants, predominantly from Germany, settled Mount Washington and worked in the plants adjacent to the Monongahela River. They became weary of climbing steep footpaths and steps to their homes, from the river valley, after work. They remembered the Steilbahns(inclines) of their former country, and proposals were advanced to construct one or more of them along Coal Hill. The Monongahela Incline was the first of these to be built in 1869-1870; The Duquesne Incline followed in 1877.

In the 25 years following the opening of the Monongahela Incline, on May 28, 1870, at least 17 of these inclined planes were built in the Pittsburgh area; and as the city grew and expanded over the hills that almost surround it, inclines enjoyed great popularity and steady patronage. Speaking of The Duquesne Incline in the Autumn of 1880, Scientific American magazine noted that "on Sundays during the summer, 6,000 passengers are carried during the day and evening, the cars ascending and descending as rapidly as filled and emptied."

As the hilltop communities were virtually inaccessible by any other means, many of Pittsburgh's inclines carried horses and wagons as well as foot passengers. All carried some light freight. The meager roads that wound up the steep slopes were barely passable to a team of horses pulling a loaded wagon.

An early fare schedule at The Duquesne Incline advises that packages weighing less than 100 pounds would be carried for five cents, but "no charge will be made for one ordinary market basket carried by a passenger." Some of the freight, carried by The Duquesne Incline, traveled in a separate compartment, below the passenger compartment.

The rates of fare for foot passengers varied from one cent to five cents among the different inclines, with special commuter rates for regular riders. Well within the memory of present-day riders of The Duquesne Incline was the rectangular yellow commutation ticket with 39 numbers arranged on it to be punched by the conductor, one for each ride. For the 40th ride, the passenger surrendered the ticket.

It was many years before improved road-building methods and the invention of the electric streetcar and the motorcar gradually lessened the dependence of Pittsburgh residents on the hill-climbing inclines. As late as the 1940s, a Yellow Ticket still sold for one dollar, netting The Duquesne Incline only two and one-half cents per ride. But in spite of these low fares, the inclines have gradually disappeared. As part of the general decline in public transportation, only the Duquesne and Monongahela Inclines still exist in Pittsburgh.

The last Pittsburgh-area incline to close was the Castle Shannon Incline, which closed in 1964. This incline also served Mount Washington, with a lower station at the corner of East Carson Street and Arlington Avenue, just east of the present Station Square Light Rail Subway Station. This incline was closed by its owner, the Pittsburgh Railways Company, just prior to all of their streetcar and bus routes being taken-over by the Port Authority of Allegheny County. The Second Class County Port Authority Act of 1959 empowered the Authority to run all mass transit routes and modes, in Allegheny County; due to this state law, the Duquesne and Monongahela Inclines were also purchased by the Port Authority.

To ensure safety for patrons crossing busy West Carson Street, a pedestrian bridge across the street was completed in February of 1932. Originally, this bridge included steps leading directly to both inbound and outbound streetcar islands, in the middle of West Carson Street, in addition to connecting the Incline car boarding platforms(located on the second floor of the station building) to the northern sidewalk of West Carson Street(adjacent to the current parking lot).

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.

Barnes & Noble #2369 (23,736 square feet)

1220 Carl D. Silver Parkway, Central Park, Fredericksburg, VA

Opened November 7th, 2012; originally Borders (1997-fall 2011)

The Fredericksburg Barnes & Noble served as a prototype location at the time of opening in 2012, presumably gutting the space of its' old Borders characteristics, though it's possible that they kept most of the department signage. Knowing that now the store does seem like a bridge between mid-late 2000s location such as Chesterfield, which were usually 25-30,000 square feet and mostly retained the look they'd had since the 90s, and the newest, even more minimalist 12,000 square foot prototype location that opened in Virginia Beach in November. The perimeter of the store has a drop tile ceiling, with a warehouse-style ceiling in the middle that'd end up being the entire ceiling style at Virginia Beach, and overall a more modern approach was taken with the décor instead of the more older fashioned stores. Of prominence is a department up front dedicated to their Nook tablets, though it's apparent that this area is given little attention anymore since a vinyl display was moved into it and the area wasn't staffed. I get the impression that the devices were pretty popular back in 2012, but since then the company doesn't really emphasize them anymore in the now much more completive tablet market, instead focusing more on physical book sales like the old days. Likewise the DVD/CD section was scaled down significantly compared to the physical media heydays of the 2000s, only utilizing a few shelves here instead of a whole separate department, and in the newer VA Beach store those products are completely nonexistent, understandably so. In a way the store serves as a time capsule of sorts showcasing how some things were about eight years ago in 2012, and while that might seem like a long amount of time to some people I for one was still in high school with a slide keyboard phone so that feels like the Neanderthal days to me!

Left to right:: Adrianne Curry, Cindy Morgan, Clare Kramer, Jen Stuller, Gina Misiroglu, Marjorie Liu, J. Michael Straczynski

Katrina Hill (ActionFlickChick.com), Adrianne Curry (America's Next Top Model), Cindy Morgan (Tron), Clare Kramer (Buffy, Season 5), Jen Stuller (Ink-Stained Amazons and Cinematic Warriors), Gina Misiroglu (Encyclopedia of Women in Popular Culture), Marjorie Liu (Black Widow), and J. Michael Straczynski (Wonder Woman) discuss why comics, television, and movies do not depict more action heroines and look specifically at why movies starring traditional comic book superheroines are nearly nonexistent.

Samsung nx100, 50-200, f:5,6, 1/320 s, ISO 400

'Lost Plot' a group show by Jack Teagle, Liam Barrett, Rose Robbins & Simon Daly.

preview: Thursday 6th Sept 7-9pm

open: Fri 7th Sept - Sat 6th Oct

www.facebook.com/events/306289422802840/

A freak tidalwave has left the contents of a nonexistent attic washed up on the gallery walls...

Four artists based in the south west of England take over Here Gallery . Together they have created a parallel culture, fragments of stories and illustrated memorabilia that combine elements of the familiar and unfamiliar.

Jack Teagle is a freelance illustrator, comic artist and painter, his most recent comic "Fight 2!" was published by Nobrow Press. Jack joined forces with fellow illustrator Liam Barrett earlier this year, to exhibit as part of the Pick Me Up graphic arts fair held at Somerset House, London.

Rose Robbins self-publishes comics as one half of Often and Mistakes, she was recently awarded "Best New Blood" at D&AD 2012. Simon Daly has also self-published his comics, including fantastical tales of electronic music pioneer Delia Derbyshire. Simon's experience in a variety of filmmaking roles, from music videos to software development, has led to collaborations with several artists, most recently assisting Liam and Rose in animating their work.

Manufacturer: UltraFire Aeronautics/Rogue Automotive

Nationality: USA

First assembled: September 6, 2049

Birthplace: Phoenix, Arizona U.S.A

Engine: Ultrafire 2o Turbofan + 1 Brushless E-motor w/ 20 kWh Solid State Battery

Power: 3,500 ft/lbs of thrust/200 HP(electric-only)

0-60: 1.5 seconds

Top speed: 320.24 MPH

Stationed in a mid-sized plant in northern Phoenix, Arizona, right in the shadow of Phoenix Deer Valley Airport, you'll find a company by the name of Ultrafire Aeronautics. Established in the early 21st century, Ultrafire started out by manufacturing clean-burning microturbine generators and auxiliary power units for small aircraft. Over time they would become a bit of an innovator in the industry, building carbon-neutral turbofan engines for light jets and other aircraft. They've even won military contracts to build and maintain engines for heavy transport aircraft, alongside turbine generators. Light aircraft is their bread and butter though, which is why they're well-known in the field for making some of the most power-dense engines in the industry. Their latest product, the 2o series of turbofans, takes this pursuit of power density to the extreme. The 2o is very small for a turbofan engine, comparable in size to ICE engines seen in light commercial vehicles, but produces an impressive 3,500 ft/Ibs of thrust. Power density isn't its only party trick, boasting some of the best fuel efficiency for an engine in its class thanks to advanced materials used in its construction and a high bypass ratio. Its one of the best products the company has ever produced with a multitude of potential uses, which is why its within Ultrafire's best interest to make sure it makes some splashes marketing-wise. How they made those splashes is unique, to put it lightly.

Ultrafire's current CEO, James Barlow, is an avid automotive enthusiast. He got his start working for Nomad Heavy Industries as an engineer before finding his way to Ultrafire in the late 2030s. Every project in the company has been touched by him, but he's never headed anything for Ultrafire. By 2047, the seeds of change would be planted when he took order of a Rogue Firepower GT MAX. The Firepower GT MAX was a variant of the Firepower hypercar built by midwestern company Rogue Automotive. Unlike the regular track-oriented Firepower GT, The GT MAX was a sleek, slippery take on the car focused entirely on top speed. That focus on speed gave James some ideas, and after a few meetings with Rogue themselves, something truly unique was kicked into development.

Turbine-powered cars are rare if not virtually nonexistent, even well into the 21st century. Fuel efficiency is too poor, manufacturing and maintenance is too pricey, throttle response is notoriously bad, and noise can be too loud. For an automobile used for more general daily activities, this isn't exactly sustainable. For something more "premium" and high-performance that isn't going to see daily use, more exotic powertrains become a bit more viable. Despite this, what Ultrafire did isn't any less insane. At the 2049 New York International Auto Show, Rogue Automotive had something special in their booth. Sitting next to the car that more or less inspired it, the out-of-production Firepower GT MAX, Ultrafire's latest creation stole the entire show. Dubbed the 2o-49 Rush, it was as though somebody took a bondafide fighter jet, shrunk it down, took off the wings and replaced them with 4 high-performance wheels. Since it was sitting in Rogue's booth, it was clear that Ultrafire wasn't shy about the Rush's parentage. The Rush was very much co-developed with the high-performance marque from Illinois, with them in charge of developing and assembling the platform, handling components and electronics. Ultrafire themselves were in charge of final assembly, the design itself (and therefore the body), and of course the powertrain. The Rush is by far the most unique place the 2o Turbofan will ever find itself, not just because its an aerospace powertrain in a car, but because its not working alone.

The 2o Turbofan is relatively unmodified for the Rush. Same compact size, same surprising efficiency, same 3,500 Ibs of thrust. Keeping with the Rush's clear aerospace theme, it also has a prominent exhaust nozzle at the end. The Rush doesn't feature an afterburner for obvious reasons, but there's still incredibly hot gases exiting the nozzle at high speed even at idle. Not ideal for use on dense public roads. That's why the Rush is a hybrid. Situated up front is a small electric motor powering the rear wheels. When the Rush is set to "touring" mode, it is strictly electric-only, quietly and docilely puttering around with 200 HP. No loud turbine, no poor throttle response, and no hot exhaust melting anyone behind it. Which gives everyone the chance to take in the Rush's incredible design. Its no exaggeration that it looks like a fighter jet that lost its wings. The single-seat isn't accessed by a door, but a rear-hinged bubble canopy emulating some of the best attack aircraft serving in the world's air forces. This canopy even features detonation cords to shatter it. In fighter jets this is done right before a pilot ejects, but in the Rush it's just so the driver can escape in case of a rollover. Also taken from these aircraft are a pair of rear vertical stabilizers. Like the stabilizers seen in fighter jets, they provide high-speed stability without causing aerodynamic drag. Downforce is mainly provided by the front and side splitters, and the large rear diffusor. The wheels are even subjected to this focus on aero, being the very same flat nanocomposite disks seen on the Firepower GT MAX. With this fighter jet focus on looks and aero, it'd be disappointing if the speed didn't match. Does it? It has an actual jet engine, what do you think?

As said before, the 2o Turbofan engine produces a very impressive 3,500 Ibs of thrust. There's no solid way to convert that to the more familiar horsepower, but it honestly doesn't matter with the numbers the Rush puts down. When the Rush is switched to the "Max" setting, the turbofan spools up and unleashes everything it has at outright supersonic speed. The advanced launch control system combined with the immense power allows the Rush to accelerate from 0-60 in an unbelievable 1.5 seconds. Top speed of the Rush is currently unknown. They have so far only been able to properly test it on the runway of the Phoenix Deer Valley Airport that they call home. They managed to break the mythical 300 MPH barrier before the driver needed to slow down, utilizing the active chutes to not end up in the grass. The specific number they clocked was 320.24 MPH, but Ultrafire themselves theorize the Rush wasn't even close to giving it all they had. At the Rush's unveiling at New York, they stated that they're working with Rogue Automotive to set up a run at the famous Bonneville salt flats to see just what the Rush can really do. While straightline speed is clearly where the Rush shines the brightest, its not all it can do. Rogue was in charge of building the Rush's platform and handling components, and considering Rogue has a Le Mans-winning factory race team, its not hard to guess how the Rush performed on their test track in Peoria, IL. The Rush actually has a "track" setting, where both the Turbofan and electric powertrain components work together. The turbofan providing surging power in the straight lines, with the electric motor filling in on the slower sections to compensate for the turbofan's poor throttle response. So hypothetically, the Rush can be a decent track racer. Due to its slippery aero, long length and weight, there are better choices. Which is fair because again, top speed is where the Rush does its best work. And that work is incredible, with the current official top speed the Rush has put down easily setting it up as the worlds fastest production car. And yet, the Rush will never sit on that throne on the account that it doesn't come close to meeting the definition of a production car.

The Rush can only really exist thanks to low volume production car laws, and it certainly takes advantage of the fact. Only 10 Rushes ever were, each selling for an eye-watering price of $2 Million each. Despite this high price, the Rush quickly sold out. Making profit solely off the Rush was never the primary goal of the Ultrafire, however. Marketing and demonstrating the advanced 2o Turbofan engine was, and the Rush seemingly did that job well. Ultrafire signed a contract with Patton Defense to deliver 1,500 2o turbines. It's not too likely that Patton Defense made this choice solely due to the Rush, but the simple fact is that this contract was signed about 4 months after the Rush was produced and started making noise. The chances that the Rush at least caught the attention of one of the world's largest defense corps and one thing lead to another is without question more than zero.

The Shia Islamist opposition party recently resigned from parliament due to its belief that government reforms were nonexistent.

Got Tomatoes? Today's theme for Veganmofo is favorite late summer food...it's got to be tomatoes! We have a ton and as the past two days have been rainy (I'm just pretending that the heat ad humidity are nonexistent), this is the perfect day to make soup! As they say, Soup's on!

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

5 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

2 pounds very ripe tomatoes

6 cups vegetable broth

1 head green kale, torn from stems

1 cups black barley

1 cup soy milk or creamer

Salt and pepper to taste

Nooch Parm for garnish

Core the tomatoes and roughly chop.

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until tender. Add the tomatoes, vegetable stock and kale and bring to a boil.

Turn the heat down to medium and continue to cook for 10 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. Add the barley and cook until al dente. Add the soy milk, stir and remove from heat.

Feeds 4-6

Got some super slick neodymium magnets from www.gaussboys.com/ and set it down with a mini-dab of special resin from the thermogalactic space gun. Ta-dah!

To be honest, what I spent on the setup wasn't cheap - but we didn't want to look the part either. So we graduated from the poster board and thumbtack display to a somewhat more presentable wood and silver bullet display board.

Due to my nonexistent woodworking skills the plywood basically still looks like plywood. I imagined it to be super cool if I could buff it out and make it look expensive, but bah, what have you.

So there, is the story about our display board. So far.

Stivan, a small settlement on Adriatic Sea island Cres in Kvarner bay, is an almost abandoned place. Incredibly stony ground, almost nonexistent arable soil, not close enough to the sea shore to be of interest for tourists, offers little to survive. Some old fig trees and olive trees and sheep, this is all one can rely on. But it is situated in a great landscape, in an open, rather flat (as the whole south part of the island) Mediterranean landscape, harsh, wind-swept and sunny, with mild spring and autumn climate and hot summers. Yet, 200 years ago men was capable not only to survive here but also to live full lives and to build large stony farmhouses like this one on my pictures. Now it is a ruin worth nothing, defeated by time and overtaken by Wulfen's Spurge (Euphorbia wulfeni).

Suspended Animation Classic #331

Originally published April 30, 1995 (#18)

(Dates are approximate)

Big Bang Comics; Hermes Versus The Eyeball Kid

By Michael Vance

“Now, for the first time ever, the greatest heroes of all times must unite to defeat the evil mastermind who threatens the very existence of two worlds” in Big Bang Comics’ “The Criss-Cross Crisis”.

Well, maybe not for the first time, since The Knights of Justice, The Round Table of America, and the Whiz Kids (all super teams) are a wonderful homage to DC Comics heroes from the 1950s and earlier.

Inside this pastiche are two parallel Earths. A portal between both has been opened, and collision threatens. Heroes who believe in truth, justice and the American Way must seal the portal.

In the 1950s, characterization meant a name, costume, and powers. Plot was king. Art was straightforward and uncluttered, lacking the visual dynamics of today. Adventure was everywhere, and comic books were fun.

Then came “Big Bang Comics: Untitled”. In the real world, the change of artistic styles from the 1950s to the 1990s was slow. This stylistic change between issue three and four of “Big Bang” is startling.

Here, The Round Table of America is decommissioned, their headquarters converted into a museum. A super-villain held in stasis there escapes, vowing revenge. The rest of this issue is clenched fists, power bursts, and broken teeth.

Characterization is still two dimensional, plot is almost nonexistent, and the art is cluttered, confusing, and full of visual pyrotechnics. The fist is king, and comic books are ‘realistic’, grim, and gritty.

If different is better, then these adventures of The Round Table must be fantastic, right?!

They are just different.

These old and new stylistic issues are recommended for their respective old and new audiences.

“Big Band Comics” #s 3 & 4/32 pages and 24 pages, $1.95 each from Caliber Press/writers: Chris Ecker and Gary S. Carlson; artists: (#3) Steve Adams, (#4) Bart Schmitz/available in comics shops and by mail.

MINIVIEW: “Hermes Versus The Eyeball Kid”. Outrageous, wildly creative adventures as Hermes and assorted old gods reenter today’s world. Recommended.

I made these from felt. You can go to youtube on Diane Morello channel, and see, how they are made. Diane is so nice, you can email her for a free pattern too. I adjusted patter a bit, because my dolls foot is a bit wider and rise is nonexistent, but overall it is similar.

Pegaso was an established company noted for its trucks and motor coaches, but also produced sports cars for seven years. Pegaso chief technical manager by then was Wifredo Ricart, former designer of the Alfa Romeo 512, and fellow rival of Enzo Ferrari, who at the time had also worked for Alfa Romeo. 1956 Pegaso Z-102 Touring Panorámica Superleggera 86 cars built 6 1/2 years production line (3 built with wraparound windshield that is called a Panorámica for the wrap around windshield & 270 HP 4 Cams HEMI V8 3.2 LITER, 11 TO 1 COMPRESSION RATIO, All in a 2600 LBS. car.) Design.The Z-102 employed racing-car technology in its chassis and alloy body. Everything was produced in-house at Barcelona, where the Pegaso cars factory was, with the exception of the external coachwork, either by Carrozzeria Touring, Saoutchik or Serra (although early Z-102 units carry Pegaso-made bodies). A four-cam all-alloy V8 engine, dry-sump lubrication, and a 5-speed non-syncromesh gearbox mounted with the differential as a unit were within a pressed steel chassis.The Z-102 started life as two prototypes in 1951 as a coupe and a drophead. The coupe and convertible had dumpy steel bodies, and weight was an issue to the extent that Pegaso made the decision to revert to alloy for the coachwork. Coachbuilder Touring then 'beautified' the design, replacing the grille with a two-piece cross, lowering the car, repositioning the foglights, and simplifying various details to give it a clean profile, similar to the contemporary Aston Martin DB2 and the Lancia Aurelia, that was the most memorable and numerous of all Z-102 bodies.The Z102 entered production with a 2.5 (2472cc) litre engine as used in the prototypes, though later there were variants with 2.8 (2816cc), and 3.2 (3178cc) litre DOHC desmodromic 32-valve V8 360 hp (270 kW) engines with multiple carburetors or optional supercharger. Horsepower ranged from 175 to 360, and, transferred through a five-speed gearbox and gear-driven camshaft, the fastest could reach 155 miles per hour (249 km/h), exceeding Ferrari autos, thus making it the world's fastest production car at the time.The base model had an 120 mph (192 km/h) top speed. The main beams of the car's frame had large lightening holes, and the wheel wells under the body were used as stressed members.This rear-wheel-drive car had its transmission in the rear, connected to the differential (making it a transaxle). But it was unusually located behind the differential within a reverse A-frame whose apex was at the rear of the chassis. A fuel tank was situated on each side of the transmission.The rear suspension was of the De Dion type, with the unusual feature that, to restrain the tube from side-to-side movement, its tube had a small wheel at its midpoint that rolled in a vertical channel on the front of the differential (which in a De Dion system is bolted to the chassis) instead of using a Watts linkage or a Panhard rod.However, the cars were heavy and brutish to drive and competition success was virtually nonexistent. Because the cars were built on a cost-no-object basis, this caused financial difficulty in the company. A simplified and cheaper version, the Z-103 with 3.9, 4.5 and 4.7 litre engines, was put into production, but to no avail, and the Z-102 was discontinued after 1958. Just 86 cars were produced, and out of these, only 28 cabriolets were built.Racing and elegance contests.The Pegasos raced in several competitions, but with no real success. In the 1953 Le Mans trials, driver Juan Jover was seriously injured after crashing at more than 200 km/h. They competed also in the 1954 Carrera Panamericana, driven by Joaquin Palacio, with increasingly promising results in the first stages, but again an accident prevented an excellent final position. Furthermore, on September 25, 1953, in Jabbeke (Belgium), a Z-102 Touring BS/2.8 (the old Barchetta used at Le Mans, 2.8 litre single supercharger), driven by Celso Fernández, broke four official R.A.C.B. (Royal Automobile Club de Belgique) worldwide records (fastest of them, 243.079 km/h (= 151.042 mph) average in the flying-start kilometer), previously owned by a Jaguar XK120. The original Z-102 BSS/2.5 Bisiluro Especial Competición (2.5 litre twin supercharged) meant to take on the records couldn't be used because of a blown engine. Pegasos achieved much better results in several Concours d'Elegance contests. A Pegaso Z-102 coupé by Saoutchick, owned by Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza, was in this respect the epitome of coachwork sophistication, as it had seats upholstered with leopard skin and controls in gold, and in such a finish it won the 1953 Enghien-les-Bains (France) Grand Prix d'Elegance.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pegaso_Z-102

Ponderosa Canyon is so named because of the huge Ponderosa Pines on the canyon floor.

In the slick rock sandstone of the White Cliffs the soil is thin or nonexistent and plants cannot easily take hold. The lack of plants causes this region to endure intense erosion with each rainstorm forming deep canyons, rounded domes and pointed nipples.

Where the roots of trees and plants can get established they help stabilize the soil and rock underneath. This is evident in the Grey Cliffs, the sequence of rock that lies above the White Cliffs. The Grey Cliffs are made of rock that consists of a combination of sand, shale, and clay. This combination produces better soils allowing dense vegetation, which better protects the rock underneath by absorbing some of the rainfall and preventing flash floods.

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.

1/100 Elyn Kshatriya

1/100 Elyn Gatling Guns x 4

Custom decals laid out by Dade W. Bell and printed by Samuel.

Custom mixed paint scheme with 12 layers of paint for both candy purple colors.

Paints are Gaia, Gunze, Vallejo, and Citadel.

This project took FOREVER and I frankly stopped keeping track of the hours once I hit 150. This is mainly due to all of the paint layers required to give the proper shading and depth I was after. Plus the fact that I'm a slow builder. lol Note that I also went with my concept of painting the frame in a lighter color than the armor. We often see MS frames painted in dark and/ or metallic colors, but I thought it would look much more interesting if the frame was a light color contrasted with the darker "candy purple" armor (kinda like my Ple Qubeley). Also note how I went farther with the idea of making the finish matte. I think this adds an interesting appearance to the candy surface and is actually more realistic and less toy-like than the usual gloss finish seen on candy colors (contrast with my Ple Qubeley...).

The pictures truly don't do the real thing justice and I'll try to take better photos (and a video) with my D5100 outside when it cools down in the fall... Until then, I think these pics will suffice.

With this project done, I'm done building Kshatriyas. Too much of my life has been taken up with these things and it's time to move on. Still, I'm the "Ple Guy" so I had to at least make this one. ;-) (Wink) As for how Ple could end up piloting the Kshatriya, below is the story file I created to go on the base when I have a custom label printed later...

An Alternate Timeline...

In the original events of ZZ Gundam, Elpeo Ple sacrificed herself to protect Judau Ashta from the Psycho Gundam Mk-II piloted by her clone, Ple Two. However, in this alternate timeline, Glemy Toto’s attempts to clone Ple failed... and as a result, Ple didn’t die at the hands of her now-nonexistent clone. Thus, the “butterfly effect” of the changed timeline allowed Ple to survive the First Neo-Zeon War.

With the First Neo Zeon War over, Ple headed to Jupiter with Judau and Roux, but eventually grew bored with her relatively peaceful life (not to mention her “third-wheel” status with her friends), and decided to return to the Earth Sphere. During the long voyage home, she was disappointed to find that she missed the events of the Second Neo-Zeon War (Char’s Counterattack), and vowed to never miss out on any further action.

So when Ple heard about Full Frontal’s group of Neo-Zeon remnants, The Sleeves, she joined them without hesitation (and received the customized purple Kshatriya for her personal MS). This was because of a longing for excitement more than any kind of belief in Neo-Zeon ideology, and the battlefield was once again filled with the giddy shout of, “Purupurupurupuru!”. However, she quickly switched sides when she discovered that Frontal was merely using her as a “test” against the Unicorn Gundam’s NT-D system (her ability to defeat her own NT-D-controlled funnels and fight the Unicorn to a standstill is a significant departure from the original timeline).

Being a natural Newtype and not subject to the side-effects of the Cyber-Newtype process (complicated by the horrible events of childhood), Ple was able to avoid most of the unfortunate, and ultimately fatal, events that befell her clone, Marida Cruz (Ple Twelve), in the original timeline. As a result, she and the Kshatriya were able to survive the Third Neo-Zeon war relatively unharmed... a feat for which she rewarded herself with a nice, long bubble bath.

Reklama-mural nieistniejących Zakładów Przemysłu Dziewiarskiego im. Pawła Findera w Łodzi,

Mural-advert of nonexistent Paweł Finder Knitting Factory in Łódź,

@ al. Unii Lubelskiej, Łódź.

Markets are so colorful, so busy, so full of EVERYTHING - it's hard to choose just one small detail and draw things from one side of one stall.

These sacks are HUGE (and probably very heavy-) and people were very particular about which type of rice they wanted.

(The names were also in Thai, but I just drew the English names - my written Thai being somewhat nonexistent.)

Pred Koncert u Vijecnici _ Before Concert in Vijecnica,

Sarajevo String Quartet before Concert in Vijecnica with Zubin Mehta,

Performance by the Sarajevo Symphony Orchestra and Chorus at the ruins of the Sarajevo National Library,

OPUS: Pogledaj Dom Svoj Andjele;

From Grand OPUS; Sarajevo City of Light,

SARAJEVO WAR 1994;

BOSNIA in Tragic WAR,

POETIC Beauty and Strength of the Human Spirit,

Set among the ruins of the Vijecnica, On June 19, 1994,

“Mozart: The Requiem from Sarajevo.”

Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta, José Carreras…

During the years of terror cast upon Bosnia and my city of Sarajevo, photography remained my only medium of artistic expression. My painting conditions were nonexistent, (shortage of materials, time and peace). My photographs were captured while walking between steps. Each step representing life or death… In this town of sorrows, agony surrounded by walls of hatred and evil, I encountered the most extraordinary beings in this world. They are genuine people, without hatred; people who survive inside the walls of a besieged city, without electricity, fuel, food, water, etc. Sarajevo became the massacred city where every new day is awaited as a miracle; awaited with patience and disbelief that you are still alive. There was a light that continued to glow from this destroyed city and its people; they had not lost their spirit. Exhibitions and concerts were still being attended by people who shed the tears of happiness, knowing that they couldn’t kill the art. A horrifying beauty was born.

Intensely preoccupied with exploring light at edge of shadow,

Observation of physical and psychological reality, Symbolism,

Picture is based on light and darkness counterpoints, with elements of Chiaroscuro. acutely observed realism brought a new level of emotional intensity,

Strong, dramatic expression, City Life and Street Scenes,

Perception beyond the Veil, including the veil of religion; POETIC TransRealism;

‘The true light came to the world and resided in the world,

And the world did not understand it,’

Mirza Ajanovic POETIC Photography,

The nonexistent subway station and suburb Kymlinge seen from a hot air balloon in late summer 2003. Kymlinge was originally planned to lie between Kista and Solna but it was never built. However, the subway station was constructed "just in case" along the line and can be seen as the open field. Note the rectangle of rocks in the upper half, marking where the stairways would have exited.

When I Lived There - 1/00 - 4/00

Who I Lived With - Just myself.

When It Felt Like Home - It didn't. It was a really cool space that I wanted to like, but living here I realized I really need defined rooms and coziness, not just a big open space with a concrete floor. I never felt safe or comfortable, always exposed and annoyed.

Current Status - Still standing.

For three months before moving here, after leaving California, I lived first with my friend and her family, and then in a Residence Inn. Technically those two places should have their own pages in this series but it's just too depressing to remember and contemplate.

This "loft" apartment taught me that industrial buildings are not meant to be lived in. Soundproofing was nonexistent; I was able to hear, very clearly, the guy upstairs sneeze, pee, talk on the phone, have sex... The industrial-size heating system was so loud when it was on that I couldn't carry on a conversation. One of my friends said that this place was like some fictional bad-guy's hangout, but the romance of this notion was totally negated by the realities of living there. The fictional bad-guy does not have to listen to his neighbor pissing in the toilet.

Update 6/6/10 - pix of the interior

1/100 Elyn Kshatriya

1/100 Elyn Gatling Guns x 4

Custom decals laid out by Dade W. Bell and printed by Samuel.

Custom mixed paint scheme with 12 layers of paint for both candy purple colors.

Paints are Gaia, Gunze, Vallejo, and Citadel.

This project took FOREVER and I frankly stopped keeping track of the hours once I hit 150. This is mainly due to all of the paint layers required to give the proper shading and depth I was after. Plus the fact that I'm a slow builder. lol Note that I also went with my concept of painting the frame in a lighter color than the armor. We often see MS frames painted in dark and/ or metallic colors, but I thought it would look much more interesting if the frame was a light color contrasted with the darker "candy purple" armor (kinda like my Ple Qubeley). Also note how I went farther with the idea of making the finish matte. I think this adds an interesting appearance to the candy surface and is actually more realistic and less toy-like than the usual gloss finish seen on candy colors (contrast with my Ple Qubeley...).

The pictures truly don't do the real thing justice and I'll try to take better photos (and a video) with my D5100 outside when it cools down in the fall... Until then, I think these pics will suffice.

With this project done, I'm done building Kshatriyas. Too much of my life has been taken up with these things and it's time to move on. Still, I'm the "Ple Guy" so I had to at least make this one. ;-) (Wink) As for how Ple could end up piloting the Kshatriya, below is the story file I created to go on the base when I have a custom label printed later...

An Alternate Timeline...

In the original events of ZZ Gundam, Elpeo Ple sacrificed herself to protect Judau Ashta from the Psycho Gundam Mk-II piloted by her clone, Ple Two. However, in this alternate timeline, Glemy Toto’s attempts to clone Ple failed... and as a result, Ple didn’t die at the hands of her now-nonexistent clone. Thus, the “butterfly effect” of the changed timeline allowed Ple to survive the First Neo-Zeon War.

With the First Neo Zeon War over, Ple headed to Jupiter with Judau and Roux, but eventually grew bored with her relatively peaceful life (not to mention her “third-wheel” status with her friends), and decided to return to the Earth Sphere. During the long voyage home, she was disappointed to find that she missed the events of the Second Neo-Zeon War (Char’s Counterattack), and vowed to never miss out on any further action.

So when Ple heard about Full Frontal’s group of Neo-Zeon remnants, The Sleeves, she joined them without hesitation (and received the customized purple Kshatriya for her personal MS). This was because of a longing for excitement more than any kind of belief in Neo-Zeon ideology, and the battlefield was once again filled with the giddy shout of, “Purupurupurupuru!”. However, she quickly switched sides when she discovered that Frontal was merely using her as a “test” against the Unicorn Gundam’s NT-D system (her ability to defeat her own NT-D-controlled funnels and fight the Unicorn to a standstill is a significant departure from the original timeline).

Being a natural Newtype and not subject to the side-effects of the Cyber-Newtype process (complicated by the horrible events of childhood), Ple was able to avoid most of the unfortunate, and ultimately fatal, events that befell her clone, Marida Cruz (Ple Twelve), in the original timeline. As a result, she and the Kshatriya were able to survive the Third Neo-Zeon war relatively unharmed... a feat for which she rewarded herself with a nice, long bubble bath.

ABSOLUTELY BETTER ON BLACK

È il Gral che è in noi a muovere le nostre spade.

L'amore dell'universo può prendere forma di tremendo furore e spingerci a infilzare amorosamente i nemici.

Il nostro Ordine è invincibile in guerra proprio perché combattiamo senza fare alcuno sforzo né alcuna scelta ma lasciando che il sacro furore si scateni attraverso i nostri corpi.

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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MOD traffic on the Birmingham to Bristol line is almost nonexistent, so it was worth going out for this, routed via Selly Oak due to engineering works near Fenny Compton. DB Cargo Class 66 66125 is seen cruising through Northfield with the 12:17 (7 late) Fenny Compton M.O.D. to Marchwood M.O.D.

66s 110 and 104 (I think) passed through on a Scours Lane Jn to Bescot engineers train just as I got here, so no pic.

When I made this image of a southbound on the CN Bessemer Subdivision in October 2012 I wasn't thrilled about the crossing gate arm being in the shot. So I never processed or posted it.

More than a decade later my opinion changed. Motive power consists of solid Bessemer & Lake Erie locomotives are rare to nonexistent now, particularly on the original B&LE. So now despite the crossing gate I've decided this photo is worthy after all.

The train is crossing KO Road north of Greenville, Pennsylvania.

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.