Photograph taken at an altitude of Seven metres, in the magic of the Golden hour around sunrise at 05:31am, (sunrise was at precisely 06.15am) on Saturday 6th September 2014 off the Patricia Bay Highway 17, on Lochside Drive close to Frost Avenue and the Lochside Waterfront Park, in beautiful Sidney by the sea on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

  

Here, I am standing beside the wooden decked viewing platform, looking over towards Mt Baker in Washington State, USA from beautiful Sidney by the sea on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Also known as Koma Kulshan, she is an active glaciated andesitic stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the North Cascades of Washington State in the United States, standing 3,286 metres tall and was first ascended in 1868, her last eruption recorded in 1880.

  

These Canada Geese, along with many other small groups, fly across the lake from East to West every morning and back again every evening at Sunset, and I love to watch the classic Vee formations and listen to the honking as they pass me by. In flight, a group of Geese are called, a Skein.

  

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Nikon D800 116mm 1/500s f/2.8 iso100 RAW (14 bit) Manual focus. Manual exposure. Matrix metering. Auto white balance.

  

Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8G ED IF VRII. Jessops 77mm UV filter. Nikon MB-D12 battery grip. Two Nikon EN-EL batteries. Nikon DK-17M Magnifying Eyepiece. Nikon DK-19 soft rubber eyecup. Manfrotto MT057C3 057 Carbon Fiber Tripod 3 Sections (Payload 18kgs). Manfrotto MH057M0-RC4 057 Magnesium Ball Head with RC4 Quick Release (Payload 15kgs). Manfrotto quick release plate 410PL-14.Jessops Tripod bag. Optech Tripod Strap.Digi-Chip 64GB Class 10 UHS-1 SDXC. Lowepro Transporter camera strap. Lowepro Vertex 200 AW camera bag. Nikon MC-DC2 remote shutter release. Nikon GP-1 GPS unit.

  

LATITUDE: N 48d 38m 15.80s

LONGITUDE: W 123d 24m 12.85s

ALTITUDE: 7.0m

  

RAW (TIFF) FILE SIZE: 103.00MB

PROCESSED (JPeg) SIZE: 15.02MB

  

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Processing power:

HP Pavillion Desktop with AMD A10-5700 APU processor. HD graphics. 2TB with 8GB RAM. 64-bit Windows 8.1. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. Nikon VIEWNX2 Version 2.10.0 64bit. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit

  

Exhibition Jean Tinguely - Machine Spectacle 1 Oct 2016 - 5 Mar 2017 in the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam

 

Jean Tinguely is famous for his playful, boldly kinetic machines and explosive performances. Everything had to be different, everything had to move. Precisely twenty-five years after his death, the Stedelijk Museum opens a Tinguely retrospective: the largest-ever exhibition of the artist to be mounted in a Dutch museum.

 

The Swiss artist Jean Tinguely (1925–1991) played a key role in the rise of kinetic art in the fifties. With over a hundred machine sculptures, most of which are in working order, paired with films, photos, drawings, and archive materials, the presentation takes the public on a chronological and thematic journey of Tinguely’s artistic development and ideas, from his love of absurd play to his fascination for destruction and ephemerality.

The presentation features his early wire sculptures and reliefs, in which Tinguely imitated and animated the abstract paintings of artists such as Malevich, Miró, and Klee; the interactive drawing machines and wild dancing installations constructed from salvaged metal, waste materials, and discarded clothing; and his streamlined, military-looking black sculptures.

 

Tinguely’s self-destructive performances are a special feature of the Stedelijk presentation. The enormous installations Tinguely created between 1960–1970 (Homage to New York, Étude pour une fin du monde No. 1, Study for an End of the World No. 2, and La Vittoria) were designed to spectacularly disintegrate in a barrage of sound. The presentation also spotlights the exhibitions Tinguely organized at the Stedelijk, Bewogen Beweging (1961) and Dylaby (1962), and the gigantic sculptures he later produced: HON – en katedral (“SHE – a cathedral,” 1966), Crocrodrome (1977) and the extraordinary Le Cyclop (1969–1994), which is still on display outside Paris. The survey ends with a dramatic grand finale, the remarkable, room-filling installation, Mengele-Totentanz (1986), a disturbing display of light and shadow never previously shown in the Netherlands. Tinguely realized the work after witnessing a devastating fire, reclaiming objects from the ashes to piece together his installation: scorched beams, agricultural machinery (made by the Mengele company), and animal skeletons. The final piece is a gigantic memento mori, yet also an invocation of the Nazi concentration camps. Its juddering movements and piercing sounds evoke a haunting, grisly mood.

 

Jean Tinguely created his work as a rejection of the static, conventional art world; he sought to emphasize play and experiment. For Tinguely, art was not about standing in a sterile white space, distantly gazing at a silent painting. He produced kinetic sculptures to set art and art history in motion, in works that animated the boundary between art and life. With his do-it-yourself drawing machines, Tinguely critiqued the role of the artist and the elitist position of art in society. He renounced the unicity of “the artist’s hand” by encouraging visitors to produce work themselves. Collaboration was integral to Tinguely’s career. He worked extensively with artists like Daniel Spoerri, Niki de Saint Phalle (also his wife), Yves Klein, and others from the ZERO network, as well as museum directors such as Pontus Hultén, Willem Sandberg, and Paul Wember. Thanks to his charismatic, vibrant personality and the dazzling success with which he presented his work (and himself) in the public sphere, Tinguely was a vital figure within these networks, acting as leader, inspirator, and connector.

Amsterdam has enjoyed a dynamic history with Tinguely. The exhibitions Bewogen Beweging (1961) and Dylaby (1962), for which Tinguely was (co)curator, particularly underline the extraordinarily close relationship that sprang up between the museum and the artist. Not only did he bring his kinetic Méta machines to the Netherlands, he also brought his international, avant-garde network, leaving an enduring impression on museumgoers who flocked to see these experimental exhibitions. Close relationships with Willem Sandberg, then director of the Stedelijk Museum, and curator Ad Petersen prompted various retrospectives and acquisitions for the collection: thirteen sculptures, including his famous drawing machine, Méta-Matic No. 10 (1959), Gismo (1960), and the enormous Méta

We had a complete change this Christmas – we cancelled it! - we went walking in The Lakes, or Wasdale more precisely. We were staying at Irton Hall B & B, they had over 70 in for Christmas dinner but we ate jam bread on the slopes of Sca Fell Pike. Fantastic. We had a front wheel puncture on a run flat tyre on the new car with a 100 mile still to drive on the afternoon of Christmas eve on our way there. I drove straight to the nearest ATS – where I have an account – they shook their heads and directed me to Westhoughton Tyres, the lads there were fantastic and got us on our way in good time. BMW dealer advice was run on the flat tyre and then throw it away - £250! Where I would have got a tyre on the western side of the Lakes over Christmas I don’t know, ATS didn’t have one to sell me.

 

The weather was forecast good for Christmas day but after a fine start it was raining before we even left the car park in Wasdale. We headed up Lingmell and ran into snow on the summit. The path onto Sca Fell Pike was very icy, snow covered and visibility was low, the snow kept falling. We didn’t linger long, it was too cold to have dinner up there so we dropped down onto the Corridor Route, where we had our dinner. We went that way to stretch the walk out, having originally intended to cross to Great End. The tops were so icy, glazed, with not enough snow to get a grip on that we decide to leave it for another day. From Styhead we headed back to Wasdale and a dull but fine finish to the day. A drink in the bar at Irton Hall was on the radar.

 

Every morning we headed into Wasdale early, it got colder, icier and sunnier as the days went by. We went up Yewbarrow, it was an icy scramble up and I decided it was too dangerous to go down Stirrup Crag to Dore Head so went back the same way. It turned out to be the right decision as we lingered on the top, going to view points that we wouldn’t have and getting some decent photos. One morning we walked over the Screes tops, Illgill Head and Whin Rigg, dropping down the steep slope to The southern end of Wast Water. Having said that I would never walk the Screes path alongside Wast Water again the memory of how awful it is in the rain had faded. There is only really a quarter of a mile out of three miles that is really bad, every rock was like glass with the potential to break a leg every step. It seemed a long way and I was getting killer looks from Herself.

 

We made our way onto Sca Fell on a beautiful morning, clear blue sky. The snow line had got lower most nights but we never had the low level snow that caused problems in the rest of the country. I chose a, sometimes, pathless way to the summit, partly because I’d never been that way but also to stay in the sun, to keep the view and to avoid the ways that would be a touch dangerous, it was -4 and seared with ice for the last 600 feet. After 15 minutes on the summit wispy thin cloud came racing in, crossing the Lake District in minutes, the photos show it heading towards us and I was glad to have got the clear photos first. Looking out to sea a great mattress of cloud was heading straight for us. It was calm and sunny one minute and the next we were engulfed in thick cloud with 30 yards visibility at the most. I have never had a clear sky turn to cloud so fast – ever! We were going down to Slightside next which was OK, about a mile following the ridge down, the problem was getting back to Wasdale from there. We needed to get to Great Howe which meant a pathless trek a mile SW across Quagrigg Moss – a bog full of tarnlets, it would be a nightmare in low visibility. After getting some accurate compass bearings and heading down off Slightside we suddenly dropped out of the cloud and could see our target, brilliant, we legged it across the semi frozen bog and finally felt able to rest and grab a sandwich and cup of tea. We had to find our way down Raven Crags, which was interesting – and steep! We needed to get to the footbridge to get onto the Burnmoor Tarn path back to Wasdale. As we got closer to Burnmoor Tarn the light that I had been cursing gave us a gorgeous sunset. I had one eye on a gap in the cloud low down in the sky out at sea and I was hoping the sun would break through, it did. Burnmoor Tarn was like a mirror, reflecting the surrounding mountains, including Yewbarrow and parts of the Mosedale Horseshoe in the far distance. There was just the two of us, we had barely seen a soul all day, it was a fantastic end to a tough day. As we dropped into Wasdale I caught the deep pink and orange of the last of the sun, I was shooting into it but I had nothing to lose. There would have been quite a few tripods at the opposite end of the lake but I think I was in the better place – for a change.

 

On our final walking day we decided to head up Great Gable. It was clear of cloud for a change but ominously the surrounding tops, including the Sca Fells were cloud covered. Another beautiful but very cold morning, it was going to be very icy up there so we elected to go via Styhead and the tourist track. We would choose a way off once we were up there. Long before we got to the top, although we couldn’t see it, we knew the cloud was swirling in and out on the summit so it was going to be hit and miss for the photos. The cloud was down for the last 500 feet but once on the frozen top it kept clearing briefly – very briefly. There were more people up there than we had seen the entire trip previously. People were getting out after Christmas, many had parked at the top of Honister for the fairly easy walk in across Green Gable, some were not dressed for winter walking it has to be said. We left for an icy scramble down to Aaron Slack, up onto Green Gable them we galloped down Aaron Slack to Styhead and back to Wasdale.

 

Photo: Erhardt Kidson.

Published in: Community Eye Health Journal Vol. 18 No. 55 OCTOBER 2005 www.cehjournal.org

Located in the small community of San Antonio de Pichincha, the Monument of Mitad del Mundo (or Middle of the World in Spanish) marks the site of 0° latitude. More precisely, the monument is situated at 0°00′08″ S, but is nonetheless a symbol of the Equator in this South American country named for the important geographical line. There is an interactive open-air museum, the Museo de Sitio Intiñan, that sits on the actual Equator, where tourists can watch scientific experiments.

 

Quito (or Kitu in Quechua, and formally known as San Francisco de Quito) is the capital of Ecuador. The city comes closer than any other capital city to the equator, and at an elevation of 9,350 feet above sea level, it is the second-highest official capital city in the world. Quito is situated in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes Mountains.

 

In 2008, the city was designated as the headquarters of the Union of South American Nations.

 

The historic center of Quito is one of the largest, least-altered, and best-preserved in the Americas. Quito and Kraków, Poland, were the first World Cultural Heritage Sites declared by UNESCO, in 1978. The central square of Quito is located about 16 miles south of the equator; the city itself extends to within about 1 kilometer (or 0.62 miles) of zero latitude.

 

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

Photograph taken at an altitude of Nine metres, in the magic of the Golden hour around sunrise at 05:41am, (sunrise was at precisely 06.15am) on Saturday 6th September 2014 off the Patricia Bay Highway 17, on Lochside Drive close to Frost Avenue and the Lochside Waterfront Park, in beautiful Sidney by the sea on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

  

Here, we are looking over towards Mt Baker in Washington State, USA from beautiful Sidney by the sea on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Also known as Koma Kulshan, (pronounced kō-ō’mah’ kool-shän’),she is an active glaciated andesitic stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the North Cascades of Washington State in the United States, standing 3,286 metres tall and was first ascended in 1868, her last eruption recorded in 1880.

  

The name Mount Baker first appeared in print in Captain Vancouver’s 1798 narrative of his voyage around Vancouver Island. Legend has it that his third-lieutenant, Joseph Baker, was the first to spot the mountain while they sailed into Dungeness Bay on April 30th, 1792. Also known by the Lummi as Kwud-Shad, and Koba (meaning 'high mountain always covered with snow', was the Skagit name.

  

These Canada Geese, along with many other small groups, fly across the lake from East to West every morning and back again every evening at Sunset, and I love to watch the classic Vee formations and listen to the honking as they pass me by. In flight, a group of Geese are called, a Skein.

 

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Nikon D800 70mm 1/1000s f/2.8 iso100 RAW (14 bit) Manual focus. Manual exposure. Matrix metering. Auto white balance.

  

Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8G ED IF VRII. Jessops 77mm UV filter. Nikon MB-D12 battery grip. Two Nikon EN-EL batteries. Nikon DK-17M Magnifying Eyepiece. Nikon DK-19 soft rubber eyecup. Manfrotto MT057C3 057 Carbon Fiber Tripod 3 Sections (Payload 18kgs). Manfrotto MH057M0-RC4 057 Magnesium Ball Head with RC4 Quick Release (Payload 15kgs). Manfrotto quick release plate 410PL-14.Jessops Tripod bag. Optech Tripod Strap.Digi-Chip 64GB Class 10 UHS-1 SDXC. Lowepro Transporter camera strap. Lowepro Vertex 200 AW camera bag. Nikon MC-DC2 remote shutter release. Nikon GP-1 GPS unit.

  

LATITUDE: N 48d 38m 15.77s

LONGITUDE: W 123d 24m 12.83s

ALTITUDE: 8.0m

  

RAW (TIFF) FILE SIZE: 103.00MB

PROCESSED (JPeg) SIZE: 9.00MB

  

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Processing power:

HP Pavillion Desktop with AMD A10-5700 APU processor. HD graphics. 2TB with 8GB RAM. 64-bit Windows 8.1. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. Nikon VIEWNX2 Version 2.10.0 64bit. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit

   

The Carnival of Basel (German: Basler Fasnacht) is the biggest carnival in Switzerland and takes place annually between February and March in Basel. It has been listed as one of the top fifty local festivities in Europe.

The Basler Fasnacht starts on the Monday after Ash Wednesday at precisely 4:00 am with the so-called Morgestraich. The carnival lasts for exactly 72 hours and, therefore, ends on Thursday morning at 4:00 am. During this time the Fasnächtler (the participants) dominate the old town of central Basel, running free in the streets and restaurants. Basler Fasnacht is often referred to as die drey scheenschte Dääg ("the three most beautiful days").

 

Unlike the Carnival celebrations held in other cities on the Rhine (such as those in Cologne, Mainz and Düsseldorf), the Basel Carnival displays a clear separation between participants and spectators.

The approximately 18,000 active Fasnächtler are dressed up in a wide variety of costume designs, including a mask known as a Larve. Participants are completely covered and remain incognito during the festivities; it is considered highly inappropriate to identify oneself. Members of the various Cliques wear uniform costumes that fit a specific theme, except for during Morgestraich and Fasnacht Tuesday. It is very common for costumes to represent famous persons, such as politicians, or even comic characters or animals. There are also more traditional masks that are reminiscent of Napoleonic soldiers, harlequins (Harlekin) and the famous Waggis.

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The Museum der Kulturen Basel was opened more than 150 years ago. The collection was continuously enlarged by private collectors and by the museum’s own expeditions. Today the focus is on preserving, researching and communicating the collections.

 

The institution now known as the Museum der Kulturen Basel can trace its origins back to the mid-19th century. The Museum der Stadt Basel, which opened in 1849 in Augustinergasse, also contained valuable pieces from ancient America. Basel therefore had one of the first ethnological collections in Europe that was open to the public.

 

While initially ethnological collections were mainly brought back by notable Basel citizens from their travels, ethnography became increasingly a matter for scientific research. During subsequent decades, scholars such as Fritz and Paul Sarasin, Felix Speiser and Paul Wirz contributed to the growth of the collection. It was thus that over generations Basel built up important collections on particular areas, for example Melanesia and Indonesia.

 

In 1892, a special commission was founded to deal with the ethnographic collection, and in 1917, the ethnological collection acquired a dedicated museum. An independent department for ethnographic studies was founded as early as 1904.

 

In 1944, the ethnological and ethnographic collections were given the official title «Museum für Völkerkunde und Schweizerisches Museum für Volkskunde». This name remained in existence for more than fifty years – until 1996 – when the new name of «Museum der Kulturen» came to reflect what had long been a guiding principle for the museum. Indeed, the museum had cultivated a spirit of intercultural dialogue and partnership between cultures from an early stage. A highlight in the museum’s history was the visit of the Dalai Lama in Mai 2001 to open the exhibition «Tibet. Buddhas, Gods, Saints».

 

The museum underwent extensive structural renovations between 1978 and 1986. After more than 150 years in Augustinergasse, the new museum entrance will, after the fundamental realignment of the museum’s layout and design, be situated directly on Münsterplatz from September 2011.

Sergiu Pasca arrived at his Stanford lab on October 28, 2025, dressed like a scientist from another era. The navy suit, the precisely knotted tie, the substantial black frames all evoked that postwar period when researchers believed they could decode the fundamental mysteries of life itself. But the work happening in his laboratory at the Clark Center represents something thoroughly contemporary: growing human brain tissue in dishes to understand psychiatric disease.

 

The photograph captures him surrounded by the tools of his trade. Molecular models sit on the desk before him, physical representations of the chemical architecture underlying consciousness itself. Framed certificates hang shadowed on the wall behind. Everything arranged with precision, yet something in his expression suggests the restless intelligence that drives breakthrough science.

 

Pasca has accomplished what many thought impossible. His assembloids, organized clusters of human brain cells that recapitulate specific regions and their connections, have fundamentally altered how neuroscience approaches mental illness. These aren't merely collections of neurons floating in culture medium. They're structured tissues that develop recognizable features of cortex, striatum, thalamus. More remarkably, when fused together, they form connections that mimic how different brain regions communicate in living humans.

 

The implications ripple outward. For the first time, researchers can watch human brain development unfold in real time, introduce genetic variations linked to autism or schizophrenia, and observe the cellular consequences. No need for autopsy tissue or animal models that approximate but never fully capture human neurobiology. The actual substrate of human thought, grown from stem cells, available for study.

 

He came to this work through an unusual path. Born in Romania, trained in medicine before turning to research, Pasca brought a clinician's attention to human suffering alongside a scientist's appetite for mechanism. His early papers on Timothy syndrome, a rare genetic condition causing autism and heart defects, revealed how calcium channel mutations disrupted cortical development. But it was the assembloid work that established him as a pioneer.

 

By his late thirties, he was directing his own center, publishing in Science and Nature, being recognized with awards typically reserved for researchers decades older. The compression of achievement suggests not just talent but a particular kind of obsessive focus. He had found his problem: how brains build themselves and what goes wrong in psychiatric disease.

 

The assembloid studies have yielded concrete insights. In certain forms of autism, the difficulty lies not in individual neurons but in how brain regions communicate. His team fused cortical and striatal organoids and watched the connections form aberrantly in tissue carrying autism-associated mutations. Other work revealed how neural stem cells in schizophrenia patients show accelerated maturation, potentially explaining the timing of symptom onset.

 

This represents detective work at the cellular scale, tracking developmental divergences that manifest years later as a child who cannot speak or an adult who experiences psychosis. The molecular models on his desk aren't decorative but essential: they represent the chemical reality underlying every thought, every perception, every psychiatric symptom.

 

What makes Pasca's approach distinctive is its philosophical grounding in experimental rigor. By creating these miniature brain circuits, he's solved one of neuroscience's oldest problems: access to living human tissue during the critical period when circuits form. The assembloids provide a window into processes previously hidden, happening in utero or early childhood, long before symptoms appear.

 

The work has practical applications. Pharmaceutical companies use assembloids to test drug candidates on actual human brain tissue. Clinicians may eventually use patient-derived organoids to predict treatment response. But the deeper contribution is conceptual: a new way to think about brain development and its vulnerabilities.

 

That October afternoon, photographed in his laboratory, Pasca embodied a particular type of scientist. The formal attire speaks to seriousness of purpose. The molecular models and certificates frame achievement already substantial. But the eyes suggest someone still engaged with fundamental questions, still building toward insights not yet realized. He's made brains in dishes not as spectacle but as tool, a means toward helping people whose brains diverged from typical developmental trajectories.

 

His career will likely be defined by this work. The questions he's pursuing couldn't be more urgent: What causes autism? Why does schizophrenia emerge in early adulthood? Can we intervene earlier, more precisely? The answers are taking shape in his lab, one assembloid at a time, grown from stem cells into structures that think but cannot yet speak.

We had a complete change this Christmas – we cancelled it! - we went walking in The Lakes, or Wasdale more precisely. We were staying at Irton Hall B & B, they had over 70 in for Christmas dinner but we ate jam bread on the slopes of Sca Fell Pike. Fantastic. We had a front wheel puncture on a run flat tyre on the new car with a 100 mile still to drive on the afternoon of Christmas eve on our way there. I drove straight to the nearest ATS – where I have an account – they shook their heads and directed me to Westhoughton Tyres, the lads there were fantastic and got us on our way in good time. BMW dealer advice was run on the flat tyre and then throw it away - £250! Where I would have got a tyre on the western side of the Lakes over Christmas I don’t know, ATS didn’t have one to sell me.

 

The weather was forecast good for Christmas day but after a fine start it was raining before we even left the car park in Wasdale. We headed up Lingmell and ran into snow on the summit. The path onto Sca Fell Pike was very icy, snow covered and visibility was low, the snow kept falling. We didn’t linger long, it was too cold to have dinner up there so we dropped down onto the Corridor Route, where we had our dinner. We went that way to stretch the walk out, having originally intended to cross to Great End. The tops were so icy, glazed, with not enough snow to get a grip on that we decide to leave it for another day. From Styhead we headed back to Wasdale and a dull but fine finish to the day. A drink in the bar at Irton Hall was on the radar.

 

Every morning we headed into Wasdale early, it got colder, icier and sunnier as the days went by. We went up Yewbarrow, it was an icy scramble up and I decided it was too dangerous to go down Stirrup Crag to Dore Head so went back the same way. It turned out to be the right decision as we lingered on the top, going to view points that we wouldn’t have and getting some decent photos. One morning we walked over the Screes tops, Illgill Head and Whin Rigg, dropping down the steep slope to The southern end of Wast Water. Having said that I would never walk the Screes path alongside Wast Water again the memory of how awful it is in the rain had faded. There is only really a quarter of a mile out of three miles that is really bad, every rock was like glass with the potential to break a leg every step. It seemed a long way and I was getting killer looks from Herself.

 

We made our way onto Sca Fell on a beautiful morning, clear blue sky. The snow line had got lower most nights but we never had the low level snow that caused problems in the rest of the country. I chose a, sometimes, pathless way to the summit, partly because I’d never been that way but also to stay in the sun, to keep the view and to avoid the ways that would be a touch dangerous, it was -4 and seared with ice for the last 600 feet. After 15 minutes on the summit wispy thin cloud came racing in, crossing the Lake District in minutes, the photos show it heading towards us and I was glad to have got the clear photos first. Looking out to sea a great mattress of cloud was heading straight for us. It was calm and sunny one minute and the next we were engulfed in thick cloud with 30 yards visibility at the most. I have never had a clear sky turn to cloud so fast – ever! We were going down to Slightside next which was OK, about a mile following the ridge down, the problem was getting back to Wasdale from there. We needed to get to Great Howe which meant a pathless trek a mile SW across Quagrigg Moss – a bog full of tarnlets, it would be a nightmare in low visibility. After getting some accurate compass bearings and heading down off Slightside we suddenly dropped out of the cloud and could see our target, brilliant, we legged it across the semi frozen bog and finally felt able to rest and grab a sandwich and cup of tea. We had to find our way down Raven Crags, which was interesting – and steep! We needed to get to the footbridge to get onto the Burnmoor Tarn path back to Wasdale. As we got closer to Burnmoor Tarn the light that I had been cursing gave us a gorgeous sunset. I had one eye on a gap in the cloud low down in the sky out at sea and I was hoping the sun would break through, it did. Burnmoor Tarn was like a mirror, reflecting the surrounding mountains, including Yewbarrow and parts of the Mosedale Horseshoe in the far distance. There was just the two of us, we had barely seen a soul all day, it was a fantastic end to a tough day. As we dropped into Wasdale I caught the deep pink and orange of the last of the sun, I was shooting into it but I had nothing to lose. There would have been quite a few tripods at the opposite end of the lake but I think I was in the better place – for a change.

 

On our final walking day we decided to head up Great Gable. It was clear of cloud for a change but ominously the surrounding tops, including the Sca Fells were cloud covered. Another beautiful but very cold morning, it was going to be very icy up there so we elected to go via Styhead and the tourist track. We would choose a way off once we were up there. Long before we got to the top, although we couldn’t see it, we knew the cloud was swirling in and out on the summit so it was going to be hit and miss for the photos. The cloud was down for the last 500 feet but once on the frozen top it kept clearing briefly – very briefly. There were more people up there than we had seen the entire trip previously. People were getting out after Christmas, many had parked at the top of Honister for the fairly easy walk in across Green Gable, some were not dressed for winter walking it has to be said. We left for an icy scramble down to Aaron Slack, up onto Green Gable them we galloped down Aaron Slack to Styhead and back to Wasdale.

 

Early Muslims precisely defined astronomy as a definite field of scientific research; translated available information and critically reviewed it; developed observing equipments (such as the telescope, the celestial mirror or armillary sphere, the quadrant, the astrolabe, etc.), astronomical tables, calculations and techniques; established a large number of observatories; innovated algebra and introduced applied mathematics for the first time to astronomy; invented the sciences of trigonometry, spherical trigonometry, algorithm, geometrical optics, spherical graphics and its applications in celestial observations; proved the spheroidal and the rotational movement of the Earth; invented longitudes and latitudes and very precisely measured the distance of a longitudinal degree; calculated the circumference, diameter and size of each of the Earth, the Moon, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn with great precision;. Ref: www.quranandscience.com/early-muslim-scientists/187-contr...

 

Doha, Qatar

 

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Lens: Zeiss Distagon T* 2/25 ZE

Focal Length: 25 mm

Exposure: ¹⁄₅₀ sec at f/2.0

ISO: 500

Exifer tutorial part 6 of 7: Adding GeoTags. This part of the tutorial is more complicated. It requires several additional tools; the Flickr-specific tools are rapidly evolving, too, so don't expect the instructions to be precisely accurate. I will start with basic GeoTagging and then describe 3D GeoTagging with Google Earth. This is a very quick run-through. For more help, check out GeoTagging Flickr and other Flickr discussion groups mentioned in this tutorial's introduction.

 

This screenshot uses the outdated GMiF 3.5 Greasemonkey script (requires Firefox), by .CK. He is now developing a much better maps.yuan.cc/ which doesn't require Firefox; however, since it's so new, I haven't gotten a chance to get used to it - sorry. I will refer to Yuan.CC Maps in step 7, though. GMiF is handy because you can use a geotagging GUI on any Flickr photo page. Just install the script and click on the new Gmap icon above the photo. It brings up this slick interface which allows you to easily get a photo's coordinates. You can see this Catch anything? photo's description that I set in the GMiF options; it adds links so anyone looking at your photo can view a map with the picture pinpointed on it (see step 7 for an example of the new Yuan.CC Maps). Note that using this technique requires you to upload your photo before adding the GeoTags to it. If you want your photo pre-tagged, you can use this technique on a random photo and just take note of the coordinates without actually applying the data to the photo. Then use Exifer to manually enter in the GeoTags as Keywords (see part 4 and below for syntax). You can avoid having to use this technique if you have a GPS that you can hook up to your computer. Some cameras even have GPS built in.

 

As a final enhancement option, you can use Google Earth (I recommend installing this program whether you use Flickr or not! There are Windows and Mac versions.) Simply create a KML bookmark in the place (heading, range, and angle, as well) you'd like your Flickr photo. Then look at the KML file in a text viewer (like Notepad or EditPad) and you'll see XML data for longitude, latitude, range, tilt, and heading. Plug these into the GeoTags shown in part 4 (ge:tilt, geo:lat, etc.) and then add the Google Earth link to the photo description. (I previously tried ITag software to get the GeoTags, but in the long run, it was easier to just use the text files.) See Rob Roy's FlickrFly for more about Flickr and Google Earth.

 

Please make general comments on the main set page. Specific comments can be added to each picture, as well.

exifer6-addgeo

We had a complete change this Christmas – we cancelled it! - we went walking in The Lakes, or Wasdale more precisely. We were staying at Irton Hall B & B, they had over 70 in for Christmas dinner but we ate jam bread on the slopes of Sca Fell Pike. Fantastic. We had a front wheel puncture on a run flat tyre on the new car with a 100 mile still to drive on the afternoon of Christmas eve on our way there. I drove straight to the nearest ATS – where I have an account – they shook their heads and directed me to Westhoughton Tyres, the lads there were fantastic and got us on our way in good time. BMW dealer advice was run on the flat tyre and then throw it away - £250! Where I would have got a tyre on the western side of the Lakes over Christmas I don’t know, ATS didn’t have one to sell me.

 

The weather was forecast good for Christmas day but after a fine start it was raining before we even left the car park in Wasdale. We headed up Lingmell and ran into snow on the summit. The path onto Sca Fell Pike was very icy, snow covered and visibility was low, the snow kept falling. We didn’t linger long, it was too cold to have dinner up there so we dropped down onto the Corridor Route, where we had our dinner. We went that way to stretch the walk out, having originally intended to cross to Great End. The tops were so icy, glazed, with not enough snow to get a grip on that we decide to leave it for another day. From Styhead we headed back to Wasdale and a dull but fine finish to the day. A drink in the bar at Irton Hall was on the radar.

 

Every morning we headed into Wasdale early, it got colder, icier and sunnier as the days went by. We went up Yewbarrow, it was an icy scramble up and I decided it was too dangerous to go down Stirrup Crag to Dore Head so went back the same way. It turned out to be the right decision as we lingered on the top, going to view points that we wouldn’t have and getting some decent photos. One morning we walked over the Screes tops, Illgill Head and Whin Rigg, dropping down the steep slope to The southern end of Wast Water. Having said that I would never walk the Screes path alongside Wast Water again the memory of how awful it is in the rain had faded. There is only really a quarter of a mile out of three miles that is really bad, every rock was like glass with the potential to break a leg every step. It seemed a long way and I was getting killer looks from Herself.

 

We made our way onto Sca Fell on a beautiful morning, clear blue sky. The snow line had got lower most nights but we never had the low level snow that caused problems in the rest of the country. I chose a, sometimes, pathless way to the summit, partly because I’d never been that way but also to stay in the sun, to keep the view and to avoid the ways that would be a touch dangerous, it was -4 and seared with ice for the last 600 feet. After 15 minutes on the summit wispy thin cloud came racing in, crossing the Lake District in minutes, the photos show it heading towards us and I was glad to have got the clear photos first. Looking out to sea a great mattress of cloud was heading straight for us. It was calm and sunny one minute and the next we were engulfed in thick cloud with 30 yards visibility at the most. I have never had a clear sky turn to cloud so fast – ever! We were going down to Slightside next which was OK, about a mile following the ridge down, the problem was getting back to Wasdale from there. We needed to get to Great Howe which meant a pathless trek a mile SW across Quagrigg Moss – a bog full of tarnlets, it would be a nightmare in low visibility. After getting some accurate compass bearings and heading down off Slightside we suddenly dropped out of the cloud and could see our target, brilliant, we legged it across the semi frozen bog and finally felt able to rest and grab a sandwich and cup of tea. We had to find our way down Raven Crags, which was interesting – and steep! We needed to get to the footbridge to get onto the Burnmoor Tarn path back to Wasdale. As we got closer to Burnmoor Tarn the light that I had been cursing gave us a gorgeous sunset. I had one eye on a gap in the cloud low down in the sky out at sea and I was hoping the sun would break through, it did. Burnmoor Tarn was like a mirror, reflecting the surrounding mountains, including Yewbarrow and parts of the Mosedale Horseshoe in the far distance. There was just the two of us, we had barely seen a soul all day, it was a fantastic end to a tough day. As we dropped into Wasdale I caught the deep pink and orange of the last of the sun, I was shooting into it but I had nothing to lose. There would have been quite a few tripods at the opposite end of the lake but I think I was in the better place – for a change.

 

On our final walking day we decided to head up Great Gable. It was clear of cloud for a change but ominously the surrounding tops, including the Sca Fells were cloud covered. Another beautiful but very cold morning, it was going to be very icy up there so we elected to go via Styhead and the tourist track. We would choose a way off once we were up there. Long before we got to the top, although we couldn’t see it, we knew the cloud was swirling in and out on the summit so it was going to be hit and miss for the photos. The cloud was down for the last 500 feet but once on the frozen top it kept clearing briefly – very briefly. There were more people up there than we had seen the entire trip previously. People were getting out after Christmas, many had parked at the top of Honister for the fairly easy walk in across Green Gable, some were not dressed for winter walking it has to be said. We left for an icy scramble down to Aaron Slack, up onto Green Gable them we galloped down Aaron Slack to Styhead and back to Wasdale.

 

The Cathedral has a heliometer (solar "observatory") of 1690, one of a number built in Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries. The device itself is quite simple: a tiny hole in one of the minor domes acts as Pinhole camera, projecting an image of the sun onto the floor at solar noon (12:00 in winter, 13:00 in summer). There is a bronze line, la Meridiana on the floor, running precisely N/S. The ends of the line mark the positions as at the summer and winter solstices; signs of the zodiac show the various other dates throughout the year.

 

The purpose of the instrument was to standardise the measurement of time and the calendar. The convention in Sicily had been that the (24-hour) day was measured from the moment of sun-rise, which of course meant that no two locations had the same time and, more importantly, did not have the same time as in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. It was also important to know when the Vernal Equinox occurred, to provide the correct date for Easter. On the belltowers there were six medieval bells.

 

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

La cathédrale possède un héliomètre (« observatoire » solaire) datant de 1690, l'un des nombreux construits en Italie aux xviie siècle. L'appareil lui-même est assez simple : un trou minuscule dans l'un des dômes mineurs agit comme un sténopé, projetant l'image du soleil sur le sol à midi solaire. Une ligne de bronze (méridienne) court sur le sol du nord au sud : les extrémités de la ligne marquent les positions du soleil aux solstices d'été et d'hiver ; les signes du zodiaque montrent les autres dates tout au long de l'année.

 

Le but de l'instrument était de normaliser la mesure du temps et le calendrier. La convention en Sicile avait été que la journée de 24 heures était mesuré à partir du lever du soleil, ce qui signifiait qu'il n'y avait pas deux endroits ayant le même temps. Il était également important de savoir quand avait lieu l'équinoxe vernal, afin de fournir la date exacte de Pâques.

 

Blackrock covers a large but not precisely defined area, rising from sea level on the coast to 90 metres (300 ft) at White's Cross on the N11 national primary road. Blackrock is bordered by Booterstown, Mount Merrion, Stillorgan, Foxrock, Deansgrange and Monkstown.

  

Blackrock is a large commercial centre with cafes, restaurants, boutiques, hairdressers and barbers, a tattoo and piercing studio, pharmacies, supermarkets, art galleries, antiques and home improvements outlets as well as bars such as The Breffni, Jack O'Rourkes, O'Donohues, Flash Harrys, Conways, The Wicked Wolf and the Ten Tun Tavern.

 

The Blackrock Shopping Centre was built in 1984 by Superquinn who managed the development and are the anchor store. Superquinn has now become Supervalu.

 

There are many high street finance branches for AIB, Bank of Ireland, EBS, National Irish Bank, Ulster Bank and the Blackrock Credit Union. Permanent TSB closed their Blackrock branch in March 2010 but retain their administrative offices on Carysfort Avenue.

 

There are many office buildings that house large corporations such as Zurich Financial Services and AIG, and car dealers such as Carroll & Kinsella Motors, Maxwell Motors (generally BMW) and Eco Aer (eco electric vehicles).

The petrol station here disappeared precisely between July 2015 and September 2016. In July 2015 it was there and operating, by September 2016 nothing was left, just a barren site awaiting redevelopment. Since then nothing has happened and the site is now overgrown with bushes and small trees, so I'm guessing site contamination would be the reason for the delay. It does seem a bit mad that a perfectly good service station could be removed in this way and razed to the ground only for nothing more to happen.

Here's a much earlier view of mostly the pole sign at the same service station. Nice Capri in the background! Is that a high performance Escort too, over to the right? This is in 1984 so this garage was Esso branded for a long time, quite probably a company owned site. Maybe that's why they were keen to get rid of it.

www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.750237,-1.2668198,3a,75y,209.76...

We had a complete change this Christmas – we cancelled it! - we went walking in The Lakes, or Wasdale more precisely. We were staying at Irton Hall B & B, they had over 70 in for Christmas dinner but we ate jam bread on the slopes of Sca Fell Pike. Fantastic. We had a front wheel puncture on a run flat tyre on the new car with a 100 mile still to drive on the afternoon of Christmas eve on our way there. I drove straight to the nearest ATS – where I have an account – they shook their heads and directed me to Westhoughton Tyres, the lads there were fantastic and got us on our way in good time. BMW dealer advice was run on the flat tyre and then throw it away - £250! Where I would have got a tyre on the western side of the Lakes over Christmas I don’t know, ATS didn’t have one to sell me.

 

The weather was forecast good for Christmas day but after a fine start it was raining before we even left the car park in Wasdale. We headed up Lingmell and ran into snow on the summit. The path onto Sca Fell Pike was very icy, snow covered and visibility was low, the snow kept falling. We didn’t linger long, it was too cold to have dinner up there so we dropped down onto the Corridor Route, where we had our dinner. We went that way to stretch the walk out, having originally intended to cross to Great End. The tops were so icy, glazed, with not enough snow to get a grip on that we decide to leave it for another day. From Styhead we headed back to Wasdale and a dull but fine finish to the day. A drink in the bar at Irton Hall was on the radar.

 

Every morning we headed into Wasdale early, it got colder, icier and sunnier as the days went by. We went up Yewbarrow, it was an icy scramble up and I decided it was too dangerous to go down Stirrup Crag to Dore Head so went back the same way. It turned out to be the right decision as we lingered on the top, going to view points that we wouldn’t have and getting some decent photos. One morning we walked over the Screes tops, Illgill Head and Whin Rigg, dropping down the steep slope to The southern end of Wast Water. Having said that I would never walk the Screes path alongside Wast Water again the memory of how awful it is in the rain had faded. There is only really a quarter of a mile out of three miles that is really bad, every rock was like glass with the potential to break a leg every step. It seemed a long way and I was getting killer looks from Herself.

 

We made our way onto Sca Fell on a beautiful morning, clear blue sky. The snow line had got lower most nights but we never had the low level snow that caused problems in the rest of the country. I chose a, sometimes, pathless way to the summit, partly because I’d never been that way but also to stay in the sun, to keep the view and to avoid the ways that would be a touch dangerous, it was -4 and seared with ice for the last 600 feet. After 15 minutes on the summit wispy thin cloud came racing in, crossing the Lake District in minutes, the photos show it heading towards us and I was glad to have got the clear photos first. Looking out to sea a great mattress of cloud was heading straight for us. It was calm and sunny one minute and the next we were engulfed in thick cloud with 30 yards visibility at the most. I have never had a clear sky turn to cloud so fast – ever! We were going down to Slightside next which was OK, about a mile following the ridge down, the problem was getting back to Wasdale from there. We needed to get to Great Howe which meant a pathless trek a mile SW across Quagrigg Moss – a bog full of tarnlets, it would be a nightmare in low visibility. After getting some accurate compass bearings and heading down off Slightside we suddenly dropped out of the cloud and could see our target, brilliant, we legged it across the semi frozen bog and finally felt able to rest and grab a sandwich and cup of tea. We had to find our way down Raven Crags, which was interesting – and steep! We needed to get to the footbridge to get onto the Burnmoor Tarn path back to Wasdale. As we got closer to Burnmoor Tarn the light that I had been cursing gave us a gorgeous sunset. I had one eye on a gap in the cloud low down in the sky out at sea and I was hoping the sun would break through, it did. Burnmoor Tarn was like a mirror, reflecting the surrounding mountains, including Yewbarrow and parts of the Mosedale Horseshoe in the far distance. There was just the two of us, we had barely seen a soul all day, it was a fantastic end to a tough day. As we dropped into Wasdale I caught the deep pink and orange of the last of the sun, I was shooting into it but I had nothing to lose. There would have been quite a few tripods at the opposite end of the lake but I think I was in the better place – for a change.

 

On our final walking day we decided to head up Great Gable. It was clear of cloud for a change but ominously the surrounding tops, including the Sca Fells were cloud covered. Another beautiful but very cold morning, it was going to be very icy up there so we elected to go via Styhead and the tourist track. We would choose a way off once we were up there. Long before we got to the top, although we couldn’t see it, we knew the cloud was swirling in and out on the summit so it was going to be hit and miss for the photos. The cloud was down for the last 500 feet but once on the frozen top it kept clearing briefly – very briefly. There were more people up there than we had seen the entire trip previously. People were getting out after Christmas, many had parked at the top of Honister for the fairly easy walk in across Green Gable, some were not dressed for winter walking it has to be said. We left for an icy scramble down to Arron Slack, up onto Green Gable them we galloped down Arron Slack to Styhead and back to Wasdale.

 

We had a complete change this Christmas – we cancelled it! - we went walking in The Lakes, or Wasdale more precisely. We were staying at Irton Hall B & B, they had over 70 in for Christmas dinner but we ate jam bread on the slopes of Sca Fell Pike. Fantastic. We had a front wheel puncture on a run flat tyre on the new car with a 100 mile still to drive on the afternoon of Christmas eve on our way there. I drove straight to the nearest ATS – where I have an account – they shook their heads and directed me to Westhoughton Tyres, the lads there were fantastic and got us on our way in good time. BMW dealer advice was run on the flat tyre and then throw it away - £250! Where I would have got a tyre on the western side of the Lakes over Christmas I don’t know, ATS didn’t have one to sell me.

 

The weather was forecast good for Christmas day but after a fine start it was raining before we even left the car park in Wasdale. We headed up Lingmell and ran into snow on the summit. The path onto Sca Fell Pike was very icy, snow covered and visibility was low, the snow kept falling. We didn’t linger long, it was too cold to have dinner up there so we dropped down onto the Corridor Route, where we had our dinner. We went that way to stretch the walk out, having originally intended to cross to Great End. The tops were so icy, glazed, with not enough snow to get a grip on that we decide to leave it for another day. From Styhead we headed back to Wasdale and a dull but fine finish to the day. A drink in the bar at Irton Hall was on the radar.

 

Every morning we headed into Wasdale early, it got colder, icier and sunnier as the days went by. We went up Yewbarrow, it was an icy scramble up and I decided it was too dangerous to go down Stirrup Crag to Dore Head so went back the same way. It turned out to be the right decision as we lingered on the top, going to view points that we wouldn’t have and getting some decent photos. One morning we walked over the Screes tops, Illgill Head and Whin Rigg, dropping down the steep slope to The southern end of Wast Water. Having said that I would never walk the Screes path alongside Wast Water again the memory of how awful it is in the rain had faded. There is only really a quarter of a mile out of three miles that is really bad, every rock was like glass with the potential to break a leg every step. It seemed a long way and I was getting killer looks from Herself.

 

We made our way onto Sca Fell on a beautiful morning, clear blue sky. The snow line had got lower most nights but we never had the low level snow that caused problems in the rest of the country. I chose a, sometimes, pathless way to the summit, partly because I’d never been that way but also to stay in the sun, to keep the view and to avoid the ways that would be a touch dangerous, it was -4 and seared with ice for the last 600 feet. After 15 minutes on the summit wispy thin cloud came racing in, crossing the Lake District in minutes, the photos show it heading towards us and I was glad to have got the clear photos first. Looking out to sea a great mattress of cloud was heading straight for us. It was calm and sunny one minute and the next we were engulfed in thick cloud with 30 yards visibility at the most. I have never had a clear sky turn to cloud so fast – ever! We were going down to Slightside next which was OK, about a mile following the ridge down, the problem was getting back to Wasdale from there. We needed to get to Great Howe which meant a pathless trek a mile SW across Quagrigg Moss – a bog full of tarnlets, it would be a nightmare in low visibility. After getting some accurate compass bearings and heading down off Slightside we suddenly dropped out of the cloud and could see our target, brilliant, we legged it across the semi frozen bog and finally felt able to rest and grab a sandwich and cup of tea. We had to find our way down Raven Crags, which was interesting – and steep! We needed to get to the footbridge to get onto the Burnmoor Tarn path back to Wasdale. As we got closer to Burnmoor Tarn the light that I had been cursing gave us a gorgeous sunset. I had one eye on a gap in the cloud low down in the sky out at sea and I was hoping the sun would break through, it did. Burnmoor Tarn was like a mirror, reflecting the surrounding mountains, including Yewbarrow and parts of the Mosedale Horseshoe in the far distance. There was just the two of us, we had barely seen a soul all day, it was a fantastic end to a tough day. As we dropped into Wasdale I caught the deep pink and orange of the last of the sun, I was shooting into it but I had nothing to lose. There would have been quite a few tripods at the opposite end of the lake but I think I was in the better place – for a change.

 

On our final walking day we decided to head up Great Gable. It was clear of cloud for a change but ominously the surrounding tops, including the Sca Fells were cloud covered. Another beautiful but very cold morning, it was going to be very icy up there so we elected to go via Styhead and the tourist track. We would choose a way off once we were up there. Long before we got to the top, although we couldn’t see it, we knew the cloud was swirling in and out on the summit so it was going to be hit and miss for the photos. The cloud was down for the last 500 feet but once on the frozen top it kept clearing briefly – very briefly. There were more people up there than we had seen the entire trip previously. People were getting out after Christmas, many had parked at the top of Honister for the fairly easy walk in across Green Gable, some were not dressed for winter walking it has to be said. We left for an icy scramble down to Arron Slack, up onto Green Gable them we galloped down Arron Slack to Styhead and back to Wasdale.

 

We had a complete change this Christmas – we cancelled it! - we went walking in The Lakes, or Wasdale more precisely. We were staying at Irton Hall B & B, they had over 70 in for Christmas dinner but we ate jam bread on the slopes of Sca Fell Pike. Fantastic. We had a front wheel puncture on a run flat tyre on the new car with a 100 mile still to drive on the afternoon of Christmas eve on our way there. I drove straight to the nearest ATS – where I have an account – they shook their heads and directed me to Westhoughton Tyres, the lads there were fantastic and got us on our way in good time. BMW dealer advice was run on the flat tyre and then throw it away - £250! Where I would have got a tyre on the western side of the Lakes over Christmas I don’t know, ATS didn’t have one to sell me.

 

The weather was forecast good for Christmas day but after a fine start it was raining before we even left the car park in Wasdale. We headed up Lingmell and ran into snow on the summit. The path onto Sca Fell Pike was very icy, snow covered and visibility was low, the snow kept falling. We didn’t linger long, it was too cold to have dinner up there so we dropped down onto the Corridor Route, where we had our dinner. We went that way to stretch the walk out, having originally intended to cross to Great End. The tops were so icy, glazed, with not enough snow to get a grip on that we decide to leave it for another day. From Styhead we headed back to Wasdale and a dull but fine finish to the day. A drink in the bar at Irton Hall was on the radar.

 

Every morning we headed into Wasdale early, it got colder, icier and sunnier as the days went by. We went up Yewbarrow, it was an icy scramble up and I decided it was too dangerous to go down Stirrup Crag to Dore Head so went back the same way. It turned out to be the right decision as we lingered on the top, going to view points that we wouldn’t have and getting some decent photos. One morning we walked over the Screes tops, Illgill Head and Whin Rigg, dropping down the steep slope to The southern end of Wast Water. Having said that I would never walk the Screes path alongside Wast Water again the memory of how awful it is in the rain had faded. There is only really a quarter of a mile out of three miles that is really bad, every rock was like glass with the potential to break a leg every step. It seemed a long way and I was getting killer looks from Herself.

 

We made our way onto Sca Fell on a beautiful morning, clear blue sky. The snow line had got lower most nights but we never had the low level snow that caused problems in the rest of the country. I chose a, sometimes, pathless way to the summit, partly because I’d never been that way but also to stay in the sun, to keep the view and to avoid the ways that would be a touch dangerous, it was -4 and seared with ice for the last 600 feet. After 15 minutes on the summit wispy thin cloud came racing in, crossing the Lake District in minutes, the photos show it heading towards us and I was glad to have got the clear photos first. Looking out to sea a great mattress of cloud was heading straight for us. It was calm and sunny one minute and the next we were engulfed in thick cloud with 30 yards visibility at the most. I have never had a clear sky turn to cloud so fast – ever! We were going down to Slightside next which was OK, about a mile following the ridge down, the problem was getting back to Wasdale from there. We needed to get to Great Howe which meant a pathless trek a mile SW across Quagrigg Moss – a bog full of tarnlets, it would be a nightmare in low visibility. After getting some accurate compass bearings and heading down off Slightside we suddenly dropped out of the cloud and could see our target, brilliant, we legged it across the semi frozen bog and finally felt able to rest and grab a sandwich and cup of tea. We had to find our way down Raven Crags, which was interesting – and steep! We needed to get to the footbridge to get onto the Burnmoor Tarn path back to Wasdale. As we got closer to Burnmoor Tarn the light that I had been cursing gave us a gorgeous sunset. I had one eye on a gap in the cloud low down in the sky out at sea and I was hoping the sun would break through, it did. Burnmoor Tarn was like a mirror, reflecting the surrounding mountains, including Yewbarrow and parts of the Mosedale Horseshoe in the far distance. There was just the two of us, we had barely seen a soul all day, it was a fantastic end to a tough day. As we dropped into Wasdale I caught the deep pink and orange of the last of the sun, I was shooting into it but I had nothing to lose. There would have been quite a few tripods at the opposite end of the lake but I think I was in the better place – for a change.

 

On our final walking day we decided to head up Great Gable. It was clear of cloud for a change but ominously the surrounding tops, including the Sca Fells were cloud covered. Another beautiful but very cold morning, it was going to be very icy up there so we elected to go via Styhead and the tourist track. We would choose a way off once we were up there. Long before we got to the top, although we couldn’t see it, we knew the cloud was swirling in and out on the summit so it was going to be hit and miss for the photos. The cloud was down for the last 500 feet but once on the frozen top it kept clearing briefly – very briefly. There were more people up there than we had seen the entire trip previously. People were getting out after Christmas, many had parked at the top of Honister for the fairly easy walk in across Green Gable, some were not dressed for winter walking it has to be said. We left for an icy scramble down to Arron Slack, up onto Green Gable them we galloped down Arron Slack to Styhead and back to Wasdale.

 

www.DrBrianHale.com

 

It's all about the optimized bite!

Levers and Buttons is a video game, more precisely an asymmetrical, cooperative VR puzzle for two players. One player controls a character in two-dimensional space, the other acts in virtual reality. Both are stationed on a spaceship that has caught fire and is to be protected from burning out. The player in virtual reality has to solve puzzles to extinguish the fire and is supported by his/her fellow player. Everything in the game revolves around communication between the players. Levers and Buttons is equally suitable for inexperienced and experienced VR users. The game was awarded at the 2018 Prix Ars Electronica with a Golden Nica in the category u19 - CREATE YOUR WORLD.

 

Credit: Klemens Horvath

I still don't really know *precisely* what S.M.A.R.T does to actually *help* me. It sure doesn't save your data. Nice that it provides interfaces to programs like SpinRite, though. Errors are not good, however.

 

Hard drive problems! We went to watch Flapjack last night at 2:30AM and noticed the folder wasn't there. In fact, folders stopped after the letter S (And this folder started with T for The Marvelous Adventures Of Flapjack). In fact, a lot of the drive was seemingly missing. Adding to the confusion, I could do "dir t*" and see all the folders that started with T, but if I simply did "dir", it would stop at S. This is bad.

 

Opened case to hook to a different SATA port, my first line of defense that so often fixes SATA drive problems. Replaced my cable. Noticed my RAM wasn't fully seated. In fact, it's physically mangled to the point where I had to pull 2 of my 4G. That's okay -- I regret buying the extra 2G, and it cost me infinitely more time than it saved anyway.

 

Burned an ISO of SpinRite and ran SpinRite. It said it would take 43 hours. Ran downstairs, found the optical digital cable from our X-Box that recently died of a crashed drive (lost all savegames!), and hooked it from Carolyn's computer to my stereo. Since she has a backup of our complete music collection, we had music restored again! Enabled her 2nd monitor, played with the optical/HDMI settings on my stereo, and we had it so that we could watch videos on the big 52-inch TV and nice 7.1 stereo again. Though her computer only outputs in 4:3, so we would probably stick to fullscreen shows.

 

But then SpinRite petered out and said it couldn't finish, so I rebooted and am now moving files off. This will likely take a good week. I'm probably going to order another drive to copy recovered files to. And then RMA this drive to Western Digital. It's only 7 months into its 5yr warranty. They're going to lose money on me.

 

data recovery.

S.M.A.R.T System Monitor screen, S.M.A.R.T, SpinRite, Western Digital Caviar Green WD15EADS00R6B0 harddrive, errors, screenshot, sectors.

Hades. blurry.

 

upstairs, Clint and Carolyn's house, Alexandria, Virginia.

 

December 12, 2009.

  

... Read my blog at ClintJCL.wordpress.com

... Read Carolyn's blog at CarolynCASL.wordpress.com

   

...View video of SpinRite in action at: www.flickr.com/photos/clintjcl/4179386545/

SEE ALL PICTURES FOR DETAILS. . .EXCELLENT CONDITION $275.00 SOLD ONLY WITH GRAVITY BOOTS

 

Full inversion option: compared with competing brands, engineering tests have shown that Teeter inversion tables are the most precisely balanced to allow controlled lockout in full inversion

Quick and easy assembly: 85% pre-assembled with less than ¼ the average number of parts of other inversion tables; includes tools for assembly and DVD guide

Value-added materials: Laminated Owner’s Manual comes attached to the unit; Instructional DVD includes five exercise and stretching Healthy Back Classes by Dr. Shawn; 90-page book on inversion

Heat treated steel for added strength in key structural components

Auto-locking hinges to secure the bed frame from disconnecting from the base for portability and security when during stretching or exercise

Specialized pivot bearings for a lifetime of squeak-free rotation

Adjustable roller hinges with cam locks offers added stability and choice of three rates of rotation

 

Adjustable tether strap allows user to pre-set angle before inverting

 

De-rattler knob reduces shifting for smooth, quiet rotation – the only style on the market to structurally engage the main shaft

Injection-coated rubber hand grips for added durability

 

Triple-plated chrome main shaft: embossed height markers in both in. and cm. allow easy adjustment for users from 4’8” to 6’6” (142 to 198 cm)

 

Removable nylon mat: adjustable and washable

High quality finishes: scratch-resistant powder coating and triple-plated chrome

Curved front ankle clamps for greater comfort and security

Easily folds for storage to 28" x 16" x 66" (71 x 41 x 168 cm)

 

Enhance your stretching experience with the Teeter Hang Ups® F7000 Inversion Table. In addition to all of the patented and unique features of our base model, the F7000 is designed to include features that improve user-friendliness and effectiveness. The highlight of the F7000 is the EZ-Stretch Traction Handles, which provide added benefit to inverted stretching and decompression. The handles make it possible to achieve the equivalent of a fully inverted stretch even while at lesser angles. In addition, they can be used as a tool for intermittent traction and oscillation.

 

The benefits of inversion start at an angle of just 20 degrees and are fully realized at 60 degrees, which is equivalent to the angle of the A-frame rear legs.

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Plague and Holy Trinity Column

Object ID: 17797 Church Place

The Baroque Trinity Column was erected according to chronogram in 1714.

 

(further information you can get by clicking on the link at the end of page!)

Historical data

The first settlement core of Wolkersdorf was the "Old Market" to the west of the present course of the Brünnerstraße (Brno street) direction Ulrichskirchen. An exact age determination of the emergence of the "Old Market" is not possible, but the evidence points to the time just before 1050. However, it seems that even before a settlement whose provenance cannot precisely determinated has existed. The foundation is often associated with the legendary figure of a Wolfger, who allegedly was a Frankish follower of the Salian king Henry III. (from 1046 Emperor). After him, the naming of the place is supposed to be done, but it is rather to presume that the place-name, as in other places in the Weinviertel, also can be explained from the settlement history and it's the case of a secondary place name, which refers to the surroundings of the actual Nuremberg.

The castle buildings in its present location - about a whatsoever former noble residence in the "Old Market" can only be speculated - in the first half of the 13th Century was built, as well as the "new market" was born. The Lords of Wolkersdorf who called themselves after the place were emerged from a lesser branch of the lords of Ulrichskirchen.

A close binding to the Babenberg Duke House in the connection with the third Crusade should have emerged, which has been rumored frequently, but it is not possible for various reasons. If the close binding to the Babenberg Court, which in the 13th Century undeniably has existed, really through joint crusade participations came off, this only can be the case of the so-called "German Crusade" under the Emperor Henry VI., however, this was canceled very quickly due to the death of Henry.

Thither also suggest other evidences, such as today's Wolkersdorfer city coat of arms, consisting of ​​the colors of the burgraves of Nuremberg (Black/Silver). Even the oldest surviving deed of gift for Wolkersdorf end of the 13th Century comes from the Nuremberg burgraves, the fief relationship but already seems to have existed far longer.

The nobility of the Wolkersdorfer after the extinction of the Babenberg in the 70s of the 13th Century stood in opposition to King Ottokar of Bohemia, what made him object of a mention in Grillparzer's drama "King Ottokar's Fortune and End".

After the nobility of the Wolkersdorfer had left the place, there were frequently changing owners, among them the Dachsberger and the Starhemberger. Since 1481 and completely in 1538 was the domination Wolkersdorf owned by the Habsburgs and was following the testament of Queen Anne in 1547 the Wiener Hofspital (Court Hospital of Vienna) incorporatedl and belonged even after its repeal in 1782 to the endowment fund of the Hofspital until the purchase by Hugo Graf Abensperg-Traun in the year 1870. In 1884, the Wolkersdorfer Savings Bank acquired the castle, in 1967 it became the property of the former market town, since 1969 the municipality of Wolkersdorf.

In the eventful history of the place it came in the wake of the sieges frequently to devastations, such as in 1275 in the course of the siege by King Ottokar of Bohemia, in 1458 by the Bohemian King George of Podebrad or 1605 by the Calvinist Prince of Transylvania Stephan Botchkay. In the course of the Thirty Years' War it were mainly the Swedes under Field Marshal Torstensson Lienhart by which Wolkersdorf was affected. 1809 finally Napoleon's troops burned a portion of the "Old Market" down. 1866, the Rußbach (brook) was the demarcation line between Prussia and Austria, thus separating Wolkersdorf into a northern Prussian and a southern Austrian part.

Wolkersdorf was in the first half of the 14th Century raised to market; 1436 with Lewpolt Gerngrass first a citizen of the market Wolkersdorf documentarily is mentioned. Under King Albert II 1439 the district court Wolkersdorf by transfers from the regional courts Marchegg and Korneuburg was created, as the name suggests, the High Court was located on the Judgment mountain. Sometimes Wolkersdorf even had three judges, one for the "Old Market", one for the "New Market" and one for the approximately 1784 emerged 'settlers line" (New Line), today the Kaiser-Josef-Straße.

A school in Wolkersdorf is first mentioned in 1446. 1460 took place the meeting of the Lower Austrian estates in Wolkersdorf.

Of importance to Wolkersdorf was already in the Middle Ages a trade route that ran from Vienna, at Stadlau crossing the Danube, via Wolkersdorf, Gaweinstal and Mistelbach to Poysdorf and there reaching the old "Nikolsburger road", which was the forerunner of the in 18th Century developed Brünnerstraße. Through the construction of the Brünnerstraße under Joseph II Wolkersdorf quickly developed into the largest settlement of the beginning hill landscape of the Wine Quarter and in 1870 it was connected to the railway network.

Promoted business settlements of the municipality from 1960 made ​​Wolkersdorf to an important economic center. This position was taken into account on 22 June 1969 by elevating Wolkersdorf to the status of the city. In the years 1966-1972 Wolkersdorf grew through the association with the communities Riedenthal, Münichsthal, Pfösing and the market town of Oberndorf.

Intensive infrastructure projects were formative for the 70s and 80s. In 1978, the Provincial Government of Lower Austria founded the industrial center Lower Austria Nord/Wolkersdorf to the south of the Ostbahn (eastern railway) and to the east of Brno road. Intensive residential construction activity, active youth work and the development to school center shape the face and character of the city as a gateway to the Wine Quarter.

Wolkersdorf successfully puts up the gap between urbanized and rural structure. The result is a high quality of life - with high developed infrastructure, diverse recreational spaces, rest areas and green spaces in and around Wolkersdorf. The proximity to Vienna as well as the pronounced Weinviertler cultural landscape attract many guests to Wolkersdorf .

www.wolkersdorf.at/index.php/subsection=Wolkersdorf_-_His...

We had a complete change this Christmas – we cancelled it! - we went walking in The Lakes, or Wasdale more precisely. We were staying at Irton Hall B & B, they had over 70 in for Christmas dinner but we ate jam bread on the slopes of Sca Fell Pike. Fantastic. We had a front wheel puncture on a run flat tyre on the new car with a 100 mile still to drive on the afternoon of Christmas eve on our way there. I drove straight to the nearest ATS – where I have an account – they shook their heads and directed me to Westhoughton Tyres, the lads there were fantastic and got us on our way in good time. BMW dealer advice was run on the flat tyre and then throw it away - £250! Where I would have got a tyre on the western side of the Lakes over Christmas I don’t know, ATS didn’t have one to sell me.

 

The weather was forecast good for Christmas day but after a fine start it was raining before we even left the car park in Wasdale. We headed up Lingmell and ran into snow on the summit. The path onto Sca Fell Pike was very icy, snow covered and visibility was low, the snow kept falling. We didn’t linger long, it was too cold to have dinner up there so we dropped down onto the Corridor Route, where we had our dinner. We went that way to stretch the walk out, having originally intended to cross to Great End. The tops were so icy, glazed, with not enough snow to get a grip on that we decide to leave it for another day. From Styhead we headed back to Wasdale and a dull but fine finish to the day. A drink in the bar at Irton Hall was on the radar.

 

Every morning we headed into Wasdale early, it got colder, icier and sunnier as the days went by. We went up Yewbarrow, it was an icy scramble up and I decided it was too dangerous to go down Stirrup Crag to Dore Head so went back the same way. It turned out to be the right decision as we lingered on the top, going to view points that we wouldn’t have and getting some decent photos. One morning we walked over the Screes tops, Illgill Head and Whin Rigg, dropping down the steep slope to The southern end of Wast Water. Having said that I would never walk the Screes path alongside Wast Water again the memory of how awful it is in the rain had faded. There is only really a quarter of a mile out of three miles that is really bad, every rock was like glass with the potential to break a leg every step. It seemed a long way and I was getting killer looks from Herself.

 

We made our way onto Sca Fell on a beautiful morning, clear blue sky. The snow line had got lower most nights but we never had the low level snow that caused problems in the rest of the country. I chose a, sometimes, pathless way to the summit, partly because I’d never been that way but also to stay in the sun, to keep the view and to avoid the ways that would be a touch dangerous, it was -4 and seared with ice for the last 600 feet. After 15 minutes on the summit wispy thin cloud came racing in, crossing the Lake District in minutes, the photos show it heading towards us and I was glad to have got the clear photos first. Looking out to sea a great mattress of cloud was heading straight for us. It was calm and sunny one minute and the next we were engulfed in thick cloud with 30 yards visibility at the most. I have never had a clear sky turn to cloud so fast – ever! We were going down to Slightside next which was OK, about a mile following the ridge down, the problem was getting back to Wasdale from there. We needed to get to Great Howe which meant a pathless trek a mile SW across Quagrigg Moss – a bog full of tarnlets, it would be a nightmare in low visibility. After getting some accurate compass bearings and heading down off Slightside we suddenly dropped out of the cloud and could see our target, brilliant, we legged it across the semi frozen bog and finally felt able to rest and grab a sandwich and cup of tea. We had to find our way down Raven Crags, which was interesting – and steep! We needed to get to the footbridge to get onto the Burnmoor Tarn path back to Wasdale. As we got closer to Burnmoor Tarn the light that I had been cursing gave us a gorgeous sunset. I had one eye on a gap in the cloud low down in the sky out at sea and I was hoping the sun would break through, it did. Burnmoor Tarn was like a mirror, reflecting the surrounding mountains, including Yewbarrow and parts of the Mosedale Horseshoe in the far distance. There was just the two of us, we had barely seen a soul all day, it was a fantastic end to a tough day. As we dropped into Wasdale I caught the deep pink and orange of the last of the sun, I was shooting into it but I had nothing to lose. There would have been quite a few tripods at the opposite end of the lake but I think I was in the better place – for a change.

 

On our final walking day we decided to head up Great Gable. It was clear of cloud for a change but ominously the surrounding tops, including the Sca Fells were cloud covered. Another beautiful but very cold morning, it was going to be very icy up there so we elected to go via Styhead and the tourist track. We would choose a way off once we were up there. Long before we got to the top, although we couldn’t see it, we knew the cloud was swirling in and out on the summit so it was going to be hit and miss for the photos. The cloud was down for the last 500 feet but once on the frozen top it kept clearing briefly – very briefly. There were more people up there than we had seen the entire trip previously. People were getting out after Christmas, many had parked at the top of Honister for the fairly easy walk in across Green Gable, some were not dressed for winter walking it has to be said. We left for an icy scramble down to Aaron Slack, up onto Green Gable them we galloped down Aaron Slack to Styhead and back to Wasdale.

 

We had a complete change this Christmas – we cancelled it! - we went walking in The Lakes, or Wasdale more precisely. We were staying at Irton Hall B & B, they had over 70 in for Christmas dinner but we ate jam bread on the slopes of Sca Fell Pike. Fantastic. We had a front wheel puncture on a run flat tyre on the new car with a 100 mile still to drive on the afternoon of Christmas eve on our way there. I drove straight to the nearest ATS – where I have an account – they shook their heads and directed me to Westhoughton Tyres, the lads there were fantastic and got us on our way in good time. BMW dealer advice was run on the flat tyre and then throw it away - £250! Where I would have got a tyre on the western side of the Lakes over Christmas I don’t know, ATS didn’t have one to sell me.

 

The weather was forecast good for Christmas day but after a fine start it was raining before we even left the car park in Wasdale. We headed up Lingmell and ran into snow on the summit. The path onto Sca Fell Pike was very icy, snow covered and visibility was low, the snow kept falling. We didn’t linger long, it was too cold to have dinner up there so we dropped down onto the Corridor Route, where we had our dinner. We went that way to stretch the walk out, having originally intended to cross to Great End. The tops were so icy, glazed, with not enough snow to get a grip on that we decide to leave it for another day. From Styhead we headed back to Wasdale and a dull but fine finish to the day. A drink in the bar at Irton Hall was on the radar.

 

Every morning we headed into Wasdale early, it got colder, icier and sunnier as the days went by. We went up Yewbarrow, it was an icy scramble up and I decided it was too dangerous to go down Stirrup Crag to Dore Head so went back the same way. It turned out to be the right decision as we lingered on the top, going to view points that we wouldn’t have and getting some decent photos. One morning we walked over the Screes tops, Illgill Head and Whin Rigg, dropping down the steep slope to The southern end of Wast Water. Having said that I would never walk the Screes path alongside Wast Water again the memory of how awful it is in the rain had faded. There is only really a quarter of a mile out of three miles that is really bad, every rock was like glass with the potential to break a leg every step. It seemed a long way and I was getting killer looks from Herself.

 

We made our way onto Sca Fell on a beautiful morning, clear blue sky. The snow line had got lower most nights but we never had the low level snow that caused problems in the rest of the country. I chose a, sometimes, pathless way to the summit, partly because I’d never been that way but also to stay in the sun, to keep the view and to avoid the ways that would be a touch dangerous, it was -4 and seared with ice for the last 600 feet. After 15 minutes on the summit wispy thin cloud came racing in, crossing the Lake District in minutes, the photos show it heading towards us and I was glad to have got the clear photos first. Looking out to sea a great mattress of cloud was heading straight for us. It was calm and sunny one minute and the next we were engulfed in thick cloud with 30 yards visibility at the most. I have never had a clear sky turn to cloud so fast – ever! We were going down to Slightside next which was OK, about a mile following the ridge down, the problem was getting back to Wasdale from there. We needed to get to Great Howe which meant a pathless trek a mile SW across Quagrigg Moss – a bog full of tarnlets, it would be a nightmare in low visibility. After getting some accurate compass bearings and heading down off Slightside we suddenly dropped out of the cloud and could see our target, brilliant, we legged it across the semi frozen bog and finally felt able to rest and grab a sandwich and cup of tea. We had to find our way down Raven Crags, which was interesting – and steep! We needed to get to the footbridge to get onto the Burnmoor Tarn path back to Wasdale. As we got closer to Burnmoor Tarn the light that I had been cursing gave us a gorgeous sunset. I had one eye on a gap in the cloud low down in the sky out at sea and I was hoping the sun would break through, it did. Burnmoor Tarn was like a mirror, reflecting the surrounding mountains, including Yewbarrow and parts of the Mosedale Horseshoe in the far distance. There was just the two of us, we had barely seen a soul all day, it was a fantastic end to a tough day. As we dropped into Wasdale I caught the deep pink and orange of the last of the sun, I was shooting into it but I had nothing to lose. There would have been quite a few tripods at the opposite end of the lake but I think I was in the better place – for a change.

 

On our final walking day we decided to head up Great Gable. It was clear of cloud for a change but ominously the surrounding tops, including the Sca Fells were cloud covered. Another beautiful but very cold morning, it was going to be very icy up there so we elected to go via Styhead and the tourist track. We would choose a way off once we were up there. Long before we got to the top, although we couldn’t see it, we knew the cloud was swirling in and out on the summit so it was going to be hit and miss for the photos. The cloud was down for the last 500 feet but once on the frozen top it kept clearing briefly – very briefly. There were more people up there than we had seen the entire trip previously. People were getting out after Christmas, many had parked at the top of Honister for the fairly easy walk in across Green Gable, some were not dressed for winter walking it has to be said. We left for an icy scramble down to Arron Slack, up onto Green Gable them we galloped down Arron Slack to Styhead and back to Wasdale.

 

We had a complete change this Christmas – we cancelled it! - we went walking in The Lakes, or Wasdale more precisely. We were staying at Irton Hall B & B, they had over 70 in for Christmas dinner but we ate jam bread on the slopes of Sca Fell Pike. Fantastic. We had a front wheel puncture on a run flat tyre on the new car with a 100 mile still to drive on the afternoon of Christmas eve on our way there. I drove straight to the nearest ATS – where I have an account – they shook their heads and directed me to Westhoughton Tyres, the lads there were fantastic and got us on our way in good time. BMW dealer advice was run on the flat tyre and then throw it away - £250! Where I would have got a tyre on the western side of the Lakes over Christmas I don’t know, ATS didn’t have one to sell me.

 

The weather was forecast good for Christmas day but after a fine start it was raining before we even left the car park in Wasdale. We headed up Lingmell and ran into snow on the summit. The path onto Sca Fell Pike was very icy, snow covered and visibility was low, the snow kept falling. We didn’t linger long, it was too cold to have dinner up there so we dropped down onto the Corridor Route, where we had our dinner. We went that way to stretch the walk out, having originally intended to cross to Great End. The tops were so icy, glazed, with not enough snow to get a grip on that we decide to leave it for another day. From Styhead we headed back to Wasdale and a dull but fine finish to the day. A drink in the bar at Irton Hall was on the radar.

 

Every morning we headed into Wasdale early, it got colder, icier and sunnier as the days went by. We went up Yewbarrow, it was an icy scramble up and I decided it was too dangerous to go down Stirrup Crag to Dore Head so went back the same way. It turned out to be the right decision as we lingered on the top, going to view points that we wouldn’t have and getting some decent photos. One morning we walked over the Screes tops, Illgill Head and Whin Rigg, dropping down the steep slope to The southern end of Wast Water. Having said that I would never walk the Screes path alongside Wast Water again the memory of how awful it is in the rain had faded. There is only really a quarter of a mile out of three miles that is really bad, every rock was like glass with the potential to break a leg every step. It seemed a long way and I was getting killer looks from Herself.

 

We made our way onto Sca Fell on a beautiful morning, clear blue sky. The snow line had got lower most nights but we never had the low level snow that caused problems in the rest of the country. I chose a, sometimes, pathless way to the summit, partly because I’d never been that way but also to stay in the sun, to keep the view and to avoid the ways that would be a touch dangerous, it was -4 and seared with ice for the last 600 feet. After 15 minutes on the summit wispy thin cloud came racing in, crossing the Lake District in minutes, the photos show it heading towards us and I was glad to have got the clear photos first. Looking out to sea a great mattress of cloud was heading straight for us. It was calm and sunny one minute and the next we were engulfed in thick cloud with 30 yards visibility at the most. I have never had a clear sky turn to cloud so fast – ever! We were going down to Slightside next which was OK, about a mile following the ridge down, the problem was getting back to Wasdale from there. We needed to get to Great Howe which meant a pathless trek a mile SW across Quagrigg Moss – a bog full of tarnlets, it would be a nightmare in low visibility. After getting some accurate compass bearings and heading down off Slightside we suddenly dropped out of the cloud and could see our target, brilliant, we legged it across the semi frozen bog and finally felt able to rest and grab a sandwich and cup of tea. We had to find our way down Raven Crags, which was interesting – and steep! We needed to get to the footbridge to get onto the Burnmoor Tarn path back to Wasdale. As we got closer to Burnmoor Tarn the light that I had been cursing gave us a gorgeous sunset. I had one eye on a gap in the cloud low down in the sky out at sea and I was hoping the sun would break through, it did. Burnmoor Tarn was like a mirror, reflecting the surrounding mountains, including Yewbarrow and parts of the Mosedale Horseshoe in the far distance. There was just the two of us, we had barely seen a soul all day, it was a fantastic end to a tough day. As we dropped into Wasdale I caught the deep pink and orange of the last of the sun, I was shooting into it but I had nothing to lose. There would have been quite a few tripods at the opposite end of the lake but I think I was in the better place – for a change.

 

On our final walking day we decided to head up Great Gable. It was clear of cloud for a change but ominously the surrounding tops, including the Sca Fells were cloud covered. Another beautiful but very cold morning, it was going to be very icy up there so we elected to go via Styhead and the tourist track. We would choose a way off once we were up there. Long before we got to the top, although we couldn’t see it, we knew the cloud was swirling in and out on the summit so it was going to be hit and miss for the photos. The cloud was down for the last 500 feet but once on the frozen top it kept clearing briefly – very briefly. There were more people up there than we had seen the entire trip previously. People were getting out after Christmas, many had parked at the top of Honister for the fairly easy walk in across Green Gable, some were not dressed for winter walking it has to be said. We left for an icy scramble down to Arron Slack, up onto Green Gable them we galloped down Arron Slack to Styhead and back to Wasdale.

 

Fireworks over the Verrazzano Bridge

Exhibition Jean Tinguely - Machine Spectacle 1 Oct 2016 - 5 Mar 2017 in the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam

 

Jean Tinguely is famous for his playful, boldly kinetic machines and explosive performances. Everything had to be different, everything had to move. Precisely twenty-five years after his death, the Stedelijk Museum opens a Tinguely retrospective: the largest-ever exhibition of the artist to be mounted in a Dutch museum.

 

The Swiss artist Jean Tinguely (1925–1991) played a key role in the rise of kinetic art in the fifties. With over a hundred machine sculptures, most of which are in working order, paired with films, photos, drawings, and archive materials, the presentation takes the public on a chronological and thematic journey of Tinguely’s artistic development and ideas, from his love of absurd play to his fascination for destruction and ephemerality.

The presentation features his early wire sculptures and reliefs, in which Tinguely imitated and animated the abstract paintings of artists such as Malevich, Miró, and Klee; the interactive drawing machines and wild dancing installations constructed from salvaged metal, waste materials, and discarded clothing; and his streamlined, military-looking black sculptures.

 

Tinguely’s self-destructive performances are a special feature of the Stedelijk presentation. The enormous installations Tinguely created between 1960–1970 (Homage to New York, Étude pour une fin du monde No. 1, Study for an End of the World No. 2, and La Vittoria) were designed to spectacularly disintegrate in a barrage of sound. The presentation also spotlights the exhibitions Tinguely organized at the Stedelijk, Bewogen Beweging (1961) and Dylaby (1962), and the gigantic sculptures he later produced: HON – en katedral (“SHE – a cathedral,” 1966), Crocrodrome (1977) and the extraordinary Le Cyclop (1969–1994), which is still on display outside Paris. The survey ends with a dramatic grand finale, the remarkable, room-filling installation, Mengele-Totentanz (1986), a disturbing display of light and shadow never previously shown in the Netherlands. Tinguely realized the work after witnessing a devastating fire, reclaiming objects from the ashes to piece together his installation: scorched beams, agricultural machinery (made by the Mengele company), and animal skeletons. The final piece is a gigantic memento mori, yet also an invocation of the Nazi concentration camps. Its juddering movements and piercing sounds evoke a haunting, grisly mood.

 

Jean Tinguely created his work as a rejection of the static, conventional art world; he sought to emphasize play and experiment. For Tinguely, art was not about standing in a sterile white space, distantly gazing at a silent painting. He produced kinetic sculptures to set art and art history in motion, in works that animated the boundary between art and life. With his do-it-yourself drawing machines, Tinguely critiqued the role of the artist and the elitist position of art in society. He renounced the unicity of “the artist’s hand” by encouraging visitors to produce work themselves. Collaboration was integral to Tinguely’s career. He worked extensively with artists like Daniel Spoerri, Niki de Saint Phalle (also his wife), Yves Klein, and others from the ZERO network, as well as museum directors such as Pontus Hultén, Willem Sandberg, and Paul Wember. Thanks to his charismatic, vibrant personality and the dazzling success with which he presented his work (and himself) in the public sphere, Tinguely was a vital figure within these networks, acting as leader, inspirator, and connector.

Amsterdam has enjoyed a dynamic history with Tinguely. The exhibitions Bewogen Beweging (1961) and Dylaby (1962), for which Tinguely was (co)curator, particularly underline the extraordinarily close relationship that sprang up between the museum and the artist. Not only did he bring his kinetic Méta machines to the Netherlands, he also brought his international, avant-garde network, leaving an enduring impression on museum goers who flocked to see these experimental exhibitions. Close relationships with Willem Sandberg, then director of the Stedelijk Museum, and curator Ad Petersen prompted various retrospectives and acquisitions for the collection: thirteen sculptures, including his famous drawing machine, Méta-Matic No. 10 (1959), Gismo (1960), and the enormous Méta

We had a complete change this Christmas – we cancelled it! - we went walking in The Lakes, or Wasdale more precisely. We were staying at Irton Hall B & B, they had over 70 in for Christmas dinner but we ate jam bread on the slopes of Sca Fell Pike. Fantastic. We had a front wheel puncture on a run flat tyre on the new car with a 100 mile still to drive on the afternoon of Christmas eve on our way there. I drove straight to the nearest ATS – where I have an account – they shook their heads and directed me to Westhoughton Tyres, the lads there were fantastic and got us on our way in good time. BMW dealer advice was run on the flat tyre and then throw it away - £250! Where I would have got a tyre on the western side of the Lakes over Christmas I don’t know, ATS didn’t have one to sell me.

 

The weather was forecast good for Christmas day but after a fine start it was raining before we even left the car park in Wasdale. We headed up Lingmell and ran into snow on the summit. The path onto Sca Fell Pike was very icy, snow covered and visibility was low, the snow kept falling. We didn’t linger long, it was too cold to have dinner up there so we dropped down onto the Corridor Route, where we had our dinner. We went that way to stretch the walk out, having originally intended to cross to Great End. The tops were so icy, glazed, with not enough snow to get a grip on that we decide to leave it for another day. From Styhead we headed back to Wasdale and a dull but fine finish to the day. A drink in the bar at Irton Hall was on the radar.

 

Every morning we headed into Wasdale early, it got colder, icier and sunnier as the days went by. We went up Yewbarrow, it was an icy scramble up and I decided it was too dangerous to go down Stirrup Crag to Dore Head so went back the same way. It turned out to be the right decision as we lingered on the top, going to view points that we wouldn’t have and getting some decent photos. One morning we walked over the Screes tops, Illgill Head and Whin Rigg, dropping down the steep slope to The southern end of Wast Water. Having said that I would never walk the Screes path alongside Wast Water again the memory of how awful it is in the rain had faded. There is only really a quarter of a mile out of three miles that is really bad, every rock was like glass with the potential to break a leg every step. It seemed a long way and I was getting killer looks from Herself.

 

We made our way onto Sca Fell on a beautiful morning, clear blue sky. The snow line had got lower most nights but we never had the low level snow that caused problems in the rest of the country. I chose a, sometimes, pathless way to the summit, partly because I’d never been that way but also to stay in the sun, to keep the view and to avoid the ways that would be a touch dangerous, it was -4 and seared with ice for the last 600 feet. After 15 minutes on the summit wispy thin cloud came racing in, crossing the Lake District in minutes, the photos show it heading towards us and I was glad to have got the clear photos first. Looking out to sea a great mattress of cloud was heading straight for us. It was calm and sunny one minute and the next we were engulfed in thick cloud with 30 yards visibility at the most. I have never had a clear sky turn to cloud so fast – ever! We were going down to Slightside next which was OK, about a mile following the ridge down, the problem was getting back to Wasdale from there. We needed to get to Great Howe which meant a pathless trek a mile SW across Quagrigg Moss – a bog full of tarnlets, it would be a nightmare in low visibility. After getting some accurate compass bearings and heading down off Slightside we suddenly dropped out of the cloud and could see our target, brilliant, we legged it across the semi frozen bog and finally felt able to rest and grab a sandwich and cup of tea. We had to find our way down Raven Crags, which was interesting – and steep! We needed to get to the footbridge to get onto the Burnmoor Tarn path back to Wasdale. As we got closer to Burnmoor Tarn the light that I had been cursing gave us a gorgeous sunset. I had one eye on a gap in the cloud low down in the sky out at sea and I was hoping the sun would break through, it did. Burnmoor Tarn was like a mirror, reflecting the surrounding mountains, including Yewbarrow and parts of the Mosedale Horseshoe in the far distance. There was just the two of us, we had barely seen a soul all day, it was a fantastic end to a tough day. As we dropped into Wasdale I caught the deep pink and orange of the last of the sun, I was shooting into it but I had nothing to lose. There would have been quite a few tripods at the opposite end of the lake but I think I was in the better place – for a change.

 

On our final walking day we decided to head up Great Gable. It was clear of cloud for a change but ominously the surrounding tops, including the Sca Fells were cloud covered. Another beautiful but very cold morning, it was going to be very icy up there so we elected to go via Styhead and the tourist track. We would choose a way off once we were up there. Long before we got to the top, although we couldn’t see it, we knew the cloud was swirling in and out on the summit so it was going to be hit and miss for the photos. The cloud was down for the last 500 feet but once on the frozen top it kept clearing briefly – very briefly. There were more people up there than we had seen the entire trip previously. People were getting out after Christmas, many had parked at the top of Honister for the fairly easy walk in across Green Gable, some were not dressed for winter walking it has to be said. We left for an icy scramble down to Aaron Slack, up onto Green Gable them we galloped down Aaron Slack to Styhead and back to Wasdale.

 

No visit to Cambodia is complete without attending at least one traditional Khmer dance performance, often referred to as 'Apsara Dance' after one of the most popular Classical dance pieces. Traditional Khmer dance is better described as 'dance-drama' in that the dances are not merely dance but are also meant to convey a story or message. There are four main modern genres of traditional Khmer dance: 1) Classical Dance, also known as Court or Palatine Dance (lakhon preah reach troap or lakhon luong); 2) Shadow theater (sbeik thom and sbeik toot); 3) Lakhon Khol (all-male masked dance-drama.); 4) Folk Dance (Ceremonial and Theatrical).

   

As evidenced in part by the innumerable apsaras (celestial dancers) that adorn the walls of Angkorian and pre-Angkorian temples, dance has been part of Khmer culture for well more than a millennium, though there have been ruptures in the tradition over the centuries, making it impossible to precisely trace the source of the tradition. Much of traditional dance (especially Classical) is inspired by Angkorian-era art and themes, but the tradition has not been passed unbroken from the age of Angkor. Most traditional dances seen today were developed in the 18th through 20th centuries, beginning in earnest with a mid-19th century revival championed by King Ang Duong (reigned 1841-1869). Subsequent Kings and other Khmer Royals also strongly supported the arts and dance, most particularly Queen Sisowath Kossamak Nearireach (retired King Norodom Sihanouk's mother) in the mid-20th century, who not only fostered a resurgence in the study and development of Khmer traditional dance, but also helped move it out of the Palace and popularize it. Queen Sisowath Kossamak trained her grand daughter Princess Bopha Devi in the art of traditional dance from early childhood, who went on to become the face of Khmer traditional dance in the 1950s and 60s both in Cambodia and around the world. Many traditional dances that are seen in performances today were developed and refined between the 1940s and 1960s under the guidance and patronage of Queen Sisowath Kossamak at the Conservatory of Performing Arts and the Royal University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh. Almost all of the Theatrical Folk dances that are presented in modern performances were developed during this period. Like so much of Cambodian art and culture, traditional dance was almost lost under the brutal repression of the Khmer Rouge regime of the late 1970s, only to be revived and reconstructed in the 1980s and 90s due, in large part, to the extraordinary efforts of Princess Bopha Devi.

   

Classical dance, including the famous 'Apsara dance,' has a grounded, subtle, even restrained, yet feather-light, ethereal appearance. Distinct in its ornate costuming, taut posture, arched back and feet, fingers flexed backwards, codified facial expressions, slow, close, deliberate but flowing movements, Classical dance is uniquely Khmer. It presents themes and stories inspired primarily by the Reamker (the Cambodian version of the Indian classic, the Ramayana) and the Age of Angkor.

   

Folk Dance come in two forms: ceremonial and theatrical. As a general rule, only Theatrical Folk Dance is presented in public performances, with Ceremonial Folk Dances reserved for particular rituals, celebrations and holidays. Theatrical Folk Dances such as the popular Good Harvest Dance and the romantic Fishing Dance are usually adaptations of dances found in the countryside or inspired by rural life and practices. Most of the Theatrical Folk Dances that are seen in performances today were developed at the Royal University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh in the 1960s as part of an effort to preserve and perpetuate Khmer culture and arts.

   

Shadow theatre comes in two forms: Sbeik Thom (big puppets that are actually panels depicting certain characters from the story) and Sbeik Toot (small articulated puppets). The black leather puppets are held in front of a light source, either in front or behind a screen, creating a shadow or silhouette effect. Sbeik Thom is the more uniquely Cambodian, more formal of the two types, restricting itself to stories from the Reamker. The performance is accompanied by a pin peat orchestra and narration, and the puppeteers are silent, moving the panels with dance-like movements. Sbeik Toot has a far lighter feel, presenting popular stories of heroes, adventures, love and battles, with or without orchestra and with the puppeteers often doing the narration.

   

Lakhon Khol is all male masked theatre presenting exclusively stories from the Reamker.

 

Most dance performances in Siem Reap offer a mixture of Classical and Theatrical Folk dances. A few venues offer Shadow Theater. Many of the dance performances in Siem Reap consist of 4-6 individual dances, often opening with an Apsara Dance, followed by two other Classical dances and two or three Theatrical Folk dances. The Apsara Dance is a Classical dance inspired by the apsara carvings and sculptures of Angkor and developed in the late 1940s by Queen Sisowath Kossamak. Her grand daughter and protégé, Princess Bopha Devi, was the first star of the Apsara Dance. The central character of the dance, the apsara Mera, leads her coterie of apsaras through a flower garden where they partake of the beauty of the garden. The movements of the dance are distinctly Classical yet, as the dance was developed for theatrical presentation, it is shorter and a bit more relaxed and flowing than most Classical dances, making it both an excellent example of the movements, manner and spirit of Classical dance and at the same time particularly accessible to a modern audience unaccustomed to the style and stories of Khmer dance-drama.

   

Another extremely popular dance included in most traditional dance performances in Siem Reap is the Theatrical Folk Dance known as the 'Fishing Dance.' The Fishing Dance is a playful, energetic folk dance with a strong, easy-to-follow story line. It was developed in the 1960s at the Royal University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh and was inspired by the developer's interpretation of certain rather idealized and stereotyped aspects aspects of rural life and young love. Clad in rural attire, a group of young men and women fish with rattan baskets and scoops, dividing their attention between work and flirtatious glances. Women are portrayed as hardworking, shy, demurring and coy, whereas the young men are strong, unrestrained, roguish and assertive. As the dance continues a couple is separated from the group allowing the flirtations between them to intensify, only to be spoiled by the male character playing a bit too rough, leading to her coy rejection. He pokes and plays trying to win her back, bringing only further rejection. Eventually he gently apologizes on bended knee and after some effort, draws a smile and her attention once again. Just as they move together, the group returns, startling the couple and evoking embarrassment as they both rush to their 'proper' roles once again. The men and women exit at opposite sides of the stage, leaving the couple almost alone, but under pressure of the groups, they separate, leaving in opposite directions, yet with index finger placed to mouth, hint of a secret promise to meet again. (In an interesting side note, placing one's index finger to the lips to denote quiet or secrecy is not, generally speaking, a gesture found in Cambodia, but is common in the West. Its employment in the dance probably indicates a certain amount of 'foreign influence' amongst the Cambodian choreographers when the dance was developed in the 1960s.)

 

Source: Canby Publications Co., Ltd.

Cadishead and Irlam Guardian Oct 7, 1966 at Irlam Library.

HISTORY MADE AT '775' PHONE SWITCH

New AFN Exchange is commissioned.

 

With smooth efficiency, Irlam's telephone system changed from manual operating to dialling at precisely 8.30am on Wednesday. In a building behind Irlam Post Office, engineers rapidly cut out the circuits connected to the old Exchange leaving each telephone in the district directly linked to the new equipment.

 

Within seconds, Irlam, as a name, was erased from the phone list and became number - 775 - and the Morth's first all-figure number exchange was in operation. It is the third in the country to have dispensed with a name.

 

As soon as the changeover was made, engineers and other operators began testing subscribers' lines, the circuits to other exchanges and the 29 local call boxes - S.T.D. had arrived.

 

Continental

The 2,000 subscribers served by the new exchange are now able to dial numbers on 96 local exchanges on the sunscriber trunk dialling network without the aid of an operator. They can also dial numbers on 193 Continental exchanges through the International Subscriber Dialling system.

 

An informal gathering to inaugurate the new system was held in Irlam Council Chamber in the afternoon, attended by representatives of the district's civic and industrial interests - and several of the old exchange operators.

 

Councillor M. Roberts, chairman of the Council, who was accompanied by his wife, welcomed them and Mr H.W. Peddle, Telephone Manager for the Manchester area who, he said, had done a great deal for the district's telephone service.

 

Mr Peddle at the outset, mentioned three other people in the gathering who (now retired) had rather unique associations with the service.

 

Latest type

They were Mr W. Bate, a G.P.O. engineer at the Irlam Exchange for 39 years, Mr W. McKechnie, caretaker and lone night operator there for many years, and Mrs E. Charlesworth, a former assistant supervisor, who lives in Stretford.

 

Mr Peddle explained that the new exchange (the electro-mechanical type) was the latest of its kind, although they would later be putting electronic equipment into some others.

 

The old exchange opened in 1933 and at the time of its closure had three supervisors with 19 day operators and 11 at night.

 

Mr Peddle thanked Miss E. Dennison, the Supervisor, and her staff for the way they had "kept Irlam going" and giving good service, particularly during the last six months, when the preparations, new cables, phones, &c., "were bound to cause trouble."

 

Irlam would not be entirely cut off from the ladies, he said for some of them would be transferred to Manchester and would be assisting subscribers who needed help. Other operators have been moved to Warrington and Northwich.

 

The new exchange, its equipment and other work connected with the introduction of the service had cost £180,000. It was required to deal with the district's rapidly rising telephone traffic caused by industrial and housing development. The manual exchange had been handling an average of 13,500 calls each day and that was increasing at a rate of 30 per cent a year.

 

The number of telephones in use in the area had increased by 80 per cent in the last five years. There was enough equipment in the new exchange for a good few years.

 

Historic

Opening of the new exchange also meant that most of the 250 people waiting for telephones would be provided with a service within a short time.

 

Councillor Roberts described the changeover as an historic event in the history of Irlam. He trusted it would give a quicker and more efficient service and he congratulated everyone who had been concerned with it.

 

It was a forward step, said the chairman, but they would lose the personal touch of the old excange operators from whom he had always received every courtesy and help. Afterwards the official party toured the new exchange and guides were provided to explain the new system and how it works. When teething troubles are over the exchange will be maintained by two engineers.

  

It was different in the old days... Seen here examining subscribers' checking equipment in the new telephone exchange on Wednesday are (left to right) Mr W. McKechnie (caretaker-night operator for many years on the old exchange), Councillor M. Roberts, chairman of Irlam Council, Mrs Roberts, an engineer, Mr W. Bate (engineer at the old exchange for 39 years), Mr H.W. Peddle, Manchester Area Telephone Manager and Mrs E. Charlesworth, a former assistant supervisor.

First outing with a camera for quite a while. Think its time to play a bit more

This photograph was taken at an altitude of Thirty metres, in the height of a misty and ethereal golden hour around sunrise, (Sunrise was at precisely 04:42am), at 03:59am on Tuesday 20th June 2017, off Rectory Lane in the grounds of Foots Cray Meadows, over the River Cray in Bexley, Kent, England.

  

Nikon D7200 20mm 1/400s f/4.5 iso100 RAW (14Bit) Size L (6000x4000). Auto focus AF-C with 3D-tracking enabled. Manual exposure. Matrix metering. Auto white balance.Auto Active D-lighting.

  

Nikkor AF-S 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED. Phot-R 77mm UV filter.Nikon MB-D15 Battery grip pack. Nikon EN-EL battery (2). Manfrotto 055Xprob Carbon Fiber Tripod 3 Sections. Manfrotto 327RC2 Magnesium Ball Head. Manfrotto quick release plate 200PL-14. Jessops Tripod bag. Nikon MC-DC2 remote shutter release. Hoodman H-EYEN22S soft rubber eyecup. Matin quick release neckstrap. My Memory 32GB Class 10 SDHC. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag. Expert Shield screen protector for D7200. Nikon GP-1 GPS module.

  

LATITUDE: N 51d 25m 20.56s

LONGITUDE: E 0d 7m 15.69s

ALTITUDE: 30.0m

   

Nikon MC-DC2 remote shutter release

Hoodman HGEC soft eyecup

Expert Shield screen protector for D7200

  

RAW (TIFF) FILE SIZE: 69.00MB

PROCESSED (JPeg) SIZE: 18.03MB

 

PROCESSING POWER:

 

Nikon D7200 Firmware versions A 1.10 C 1.02 (9/3/17) L 2.015 (Lens distortion control version 2)

 

HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB SATA storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit (Version 1.2.4 24/11/2016). Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.

   

A bridesmaid's dress has to match precisely with the other bridesmaids dresses. Find a vintage shop which design and make vintage styles.Ensure accessories match with clothing.Familiarize with the styles that were in vogue pertaining to the era. Matching hairstyle,make-up and accessories can literally make all travel back in time.

Unable to get a matching vintage bridesmaid dress, seek the services of a dressmaker who can make bridesmaid dresses in vintage style or even from a vintage bridesmaid pattern.It is one of most anticipated evenings in your life. You want to be noticed and prefer to wear a unique dress and look very different. Your choice ought to be the most unique evening dress, the vintage prom dress. There is a great demand for vintage prom dresses of the 50s and 60s. Vintage prom dresses come in bright colors, usually in pink, green and yellow. Pleasing to the eye, the floral prints are sure to make heads turn.

At precisely 1900 hours on Friday, I took Jersey Shore Fightin’ Texas Aggie Ring up to the local Jughandle Brewing company for their first pin cask tapping. (Well, they called it a “pin cask,” but I call it a “pin keg” since it wasn’t made of wood.)

 

The “pin cask” contained a most excellent “Grape Stomp” barley wine. (11% ABV / 48 IBU). It was brewed with old-vine Concord grapes grown in the backyard and lovingly individually peeled by the wife of one of the owners.

 

The brewererry used a champagne yeast for the barley wine. It was quite flavorful and you could taste the grapes in the background of the cacophony of flavors. Hopefully, they will try this again next year after the grapes mature.

 

Of course, Jersey Shore Fightin’ Texas Aggie Ring wanted to go in for an “Aggie Ring Dunk.” I asked Aggie Ring, “Do you think other old Aggie Rings still ‘Ring Dunk’ occasionally?”

 

“Well,” replied Jersey Shore Aggie Ring. “If there are old Aggie Rings out there who don’t ‘Ring Dunk’ from time to time for old time’s sake, then the Aggie who wears them is a bit dead inside and has lost some of their Aggie Spirit.”

 

“Let’s go!” Jersey Shore Aggie Ring yelled out. “I’m not getting any younger!”

 

#AggieRing

We had a complete change this Christmas – we cancelled it! - we went walking in The Lakes, or Wasdale more precisely. We were staying at Irton Hall B & B, they had over 70 in for Christmas dinner but we ate jam bread on the slopes of Sca Fell Pike. Fantastic. We had a front wheel puncture on a run flat tyre on the new car with a 100 mile still to drive on the afternoon of Christmas eve on our way there. I drove straight to the nearest ATS – where I have an account – they shook their heads and directed me to Westhoughton Tyres, the lads there were fantastic and got us on our way in good time. BMW dealer advice was run on the flat tyre and then throw it away - £250! Where I would have got a tyre on the western side of the Lakes over Christmas I don’t know, ATS didn’t have one to sell me.

 

The weather was forecast good for Christmas day but after a fine start it was raining before we even left the car park in Wasdale. We headed up Lingmell and ran into snow on the summit. The path onto Sca Fell Pike was very icy, snow covered and visibility was low, the snow kept falling. We didn’t linger long, it was too cold to have dinner up there so we dropped down onto the Corridor Route, where we had our dinner. We went that way to stretch the walk out, having originally intended to cross to Great End. The tops were so icy, glazed, with not enough snow to get a grip on that we decide to leave it for another day. From Styhead we headed back to Wasdale and a dull but fine finish to the day. A drink in the bar at Irton Hall was on the radar.

 

Every morning we headed into Wasdale early, it got colder, icier and sunnier as the days went by. We went up Yewbarrow, it was an icy scramble up and I decided it was too dangerous to go down Stirrup Crag to Dore Head so went back the same way. It turned out to be the right decision as we lingered on the top, going to view points that we wouldn’t have and getting some decent photos. One morning we walked over the Screes tops, Illgill Head and Whin Rigg, dropping down the steep slope to The southern end of Wast Water. Having said that I would never walk the Screes path alongside Wast Water again the memory of how awful it is in the rain had faded. There is only really a quarter of a mile out of three miles that is really bad, every rock was like glass with the potential to break a leg every step. It seemed a long way and I was getting killer looks from Herself.

 

We made our way onto Sca Fell on a beautiful morning, clear blue sky. The snow line had got lower most nights but we never had the low level snow that caused problems in the rest of the country. I chose a, sometimes, pathless way to the summit, partly because I’d never been that way but also to stay in the sun, to keep the view and to avoid the ways that would be a touch dangerous, it was -4 and seared with ice for the last 600 feet. After 15 minutes on the summit wispy thin cloud came racing in, crossing the Lake District in minutes, the photos show it heading towards us and I was glad to have got the clear photos first. Looking out to sea a great mattress of cloud was heading straight for us. It was calm and sunny one minute and the next we were engulfed in thick cloud with 30 yards visibility at the most. I have never had a clear sky turn to cloud so fast – ever! We were going down to Slightside next which was OK, about a mile following the ridge down, the problem was getting back to Wasdale from there. We needed to get to Great Howe which meant a pathless trek a mile SW across Quagrigg Moss – a bog full of tarnlets, it would be a nightmare in low visibility. After getting some accurate compass bearings and heading down off Slightside we suddenly dropped out of the cloud and could see our target, brilliant, we legged it across the semi frozen bog and finally felt able to rest and grab a sandwich and cup of tea. We had to find our way down Raven Crags, which was interesting – and steep! We needed to get to the footbridge to get onto the Burnmoor Tarn path back to Wasdale. As we got closer to Burnmoor Tarn the light that I had been cursing gave us a gorgeous sunset. I had one eye on a gap in the cloud low down in the sky out at sea and I was hoping the sun would break through, it did. Burnmoor Tarn was like a mirror, reflecting the surrounding mountains, including Yewbarrow and parts of the Mosedale Horseshoe in the far distance. There was just the two of us, we had barely seen a soul all day, it was a fantastic end to a tough day. As we dropped into Wasdale I caught the deep pink and orange of the last of the sun, I was shooting into it but I had nothing to lose. There would have been quite a few tripods at the opposite end of the lake but I think I was in the better place – for a change.

 

On our final walking day we decided to head up Great Gable. It was clear of cloud for a change but ominously the surrounding tops, including the Sca Fells were cloud covered. Another beautiful but very cold morning, it was going to be very icy up there so we elected to go via Styhead and the tourist track. We would choose a way off once we were up there. Long before we got to the top, although we couldn’t see it, we knew the cloud was swirling in and out on the summit so it was going to be hit and miss for the photos. The cloud was down for the last 500 feet but once on the frozen top it kept clearing briefly – very briefly. There were more people up there than we had seen the entire trip previously. People were getting out after Christmas, many had parked at the top of Honister for the fairly easy walk in across Green Gable, some were not dressed for winter walking it has to be said. We left for an icy scramble down to Arron Slack, up onto Green Gable them we galloped down Arron Slack to Styhead and back to Wasdale.

 

Upper: No.11 'Maitland' makes a spirited start from Douglas at precisely 10.00am on a June day in 1959 on what is thought to possibly be a Douglas to Ramsey through train, a service which ran at that time around that period. (A scanned B&W negative from my personal collection, taken by an unknown photographer).

 

Lower: On 26th April 2024, a member of the Isle of Man Steam Railway station staff oversees the departure of the 13:50 Douglas to Port Erin service hauled by none other than No.11 'Maitland', resplendent in Ailsa green livery.

 

© Gordon Edgar - All rights reserved. Please do not use my images without my explicit permission

I got precisely the rail spot I wanted! Queueing since 4am paid off... I was #5 in the presale line. :)

 

Actually, the 6th person arrived at 10-ish. D'OH. OH WELL! 8D

 

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

Vegan FAQ! :)

 

The Web Site the Meat Industry Doesn't Want You to See.

 

Please watch Earthlings.

Shale is precisely tipped down the chute from an aerial ropeway bucket into the crushing plant at Hanson's Claughton Manor Brickworks near Lancaster.

 

© Gordon Edgar - All rights reserved. Please do not use my images without my explicit permission

We had a complete change this Christmas – we cancelled it! - we went walking in The Lakes, or Wasdale more precisely. We were staying at Irton Hall B & B, they had over 70 in for Christmas dinner but we ate jam bread on the slopes of Sca Fell Pike. Fantastic. We had a front wheel puncture on a run flat tyre on the new car with a 100 mile still to drive on the afternoon of Christmas eve on our way there. I drove straight to the nearest ATS – where I have an account – they shook their heads and directed me to Westhoughton Tyres, the lads there were fantastic and got us on our way in good time. BMW dealer advice was run on the flat tyre and then throw it away - £250! Where I would have got a tyre on the western side of the Lakes over Christmas I don’t know, ATS didn’t have one to sell me.

 

The weather was forecast good for Christmas day but after a fine start it was raining before we even left the car park in Wasdale. We headed up Lingmell and ran into snow on the summit. The path onto Sca Fell Pike was very icy, snow covered and visibility was low, the snow kept falling. We didn’t linger long, it was too cold to have dinner up there so we dropped down onto the Corridor Route, where we had our dinner. We went that way to stretch the walk out, having originally intended to cross to Great End. The tops were so icy, glazed, with not enough snow to get a grip on that we decide to leave it for another day. From Styhead we headed back to Wasdale and a dull but fine finish to the day. A drink in the bar at Irton Hall was on the radar.

 

Every morning we headed into Wasdale early, it got colder, icier and sunnier as the days went by. We went up Yewbarrow, it was an icy scramble up and I decided it was too dangerous to go down Stirrup Crag to Dore Head so went back the same way. It turned out to be the right decision as we lingered on the top, going to view points that we wouldn’t have and getting some decent photos. One morning we walked over the Screes tops, Illgill Head and Whin Rigg, dropping down the steep slope to The southern end of Wast Water. Having said that I would never walk the Screes path alongside Wast Water again the memory of how awful it is in the rain had faded. There is only really a quarter of a mile out of three miles that is really bad, every rock was like glass with the potential to break a leg every step. It seemed a long way and I was getting killer looks from Herself.

 

We made our way onto Sca Fell on a beautiful morning, clear blue sky. The snow line had got lower most nights but we never had the low level snow that caused problems in the rest of the country. I chose a, sometimes, pathless way to the summit, partly because I’d never been that way but also to stay in the sun, to keep the view and to avoid the ways that would be a touch dangerous, it was -4 and seared with ice for the last 600 feet. After 15 minutes on the summit wispy thin cloud came racing in, crossing the Lake District in minutes, the photos show it heading towards us and I was glad to have got the clear photos first. Looking out to sea a great mattress of cloud was heading straight for us. It was calm and sunny one minute and the next we were engulfed in thick cloud with 30 yards visibility at the most. I have never had a clear sky turn to cloud so fast – ever! We were going down to Slightside next which was OK, about a mile following the ridge down, the problem was getting back to Wasdale from there. We needed to get to Great Howe which meant a pathless trek a mile SW across Quagrigg Moss – a bog full of tarnlets, it would be a nightmare in low visibility. After getting some accurate compass bearings and heading down off Slightside we suddenly dropped out of the cloud and could see our target, brilliant, we legged it across the semi frozen bog and finally felt able to rest and grab a sandwich and cup of tea. We had to find our way down Raven Crags, which was interesting – and steep! We needed to get to the footbridge to get onto the Burnmoor Tarn path back to Wasdale. As we got closer to Burnmoor Tarn the light that I had been cursing gave us a gorgeous sunset. I had one eye on a gap in the cloud low down in the sky out at sea and I was hoping the sun would break through, it did. Burnmoor Tarn was like a mirror, reflecting the surrounding mountains, including Yewbarrow and parts of the Mosedale Horseshoe in the far distance. There was just the two of us, we had barely seen a soul all day, it was a fantastic end to a tough day. As we dropped into Wasdale I caught the deep pink and orange of the last of the sun, I was shooting into it but I had nothing to lose. There would have been quite a few tripods at the opposite end of the lake but I think I was in the better place – for a change.

 

On our final walking day we decided to head up Great Gable. It was clear of cloud for a change but ominously the surrounding tops, including the Sca Fells were cloud covered. Another beautiful but very cold morning, it was going to be very icy up there so we elected to go via Styhead and the tourist track. We would choose a way off once we were up there. Long before we got to the top, although we couldn’t see it, we knew the cloud was swirling in and out on the summit so it was going to be hit and miss for the photos. The cloud was down for the last 500 feet but once on the frozen top it kept clearing briefly – very briefly. There were more people up there than we had seen the entire trip previously. People were getting out after Christmas, many had parked at the top of Honister for the fairly easy walk in across Green Gable, some were not dressed for winter walking it has to be said. We left for an icy scramble down to Arron Slack, up onto Green Gable them we galloped down Arron Slack to Styhead and back to Wasdale.

 

A view of the lashing iako to ama. Actually the people of Anuta use the same words for iako and ama as the Hawaiian and some other Polynesian islanders.

The attachment float to the iakos (outriggers) consists of a combination of stanchion connectives with a unique lashing going around the boom and divergent upward from the float.

It took me a while to figure it out but the result effectively strenghtens the attachement to a very high level and makes it impossible to move.

I don't know where or precisely when (probably late 1930's) this was taken. That's my mother front and center. I have no idea who the little girl is. Perhaps a cousin or just a girl she befriended. It's not my sister and in any event it's several years too early - my sister was born in 1944. So it all remains a mystery. The sign is no help.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

 

The Elephant and the Event Horizon

 

26 October 2006

 

Exclusive from New Scientist Print Edition.

  

What happens when you throw an elephant into a black hole? It sounds like a bad joke, but it's a question that has been weighing heavily on Leonard Susskind's mind. Susskind, a physicist at Stanford University in California, has been trying to save that elephant for decades. He has finally found a way to do it, but the consequences shake the foundations of what we thought we knew about space and time. If his calculations are correct, the elephant must be in more than one place at the same time.

  

In everyday life, of course, locality is a given. You're over there, I'm over here; neither of us is anywhere else. Even in Einstein's theory of relativity, where distances and timescales can change depending on an observer's reference frame, an object's location in space-time is precisely defined. What Susskind is saying, however, is that locality in this classical sense is a myth. Nothing is what, or rather, where it seems.

  

This is more than just a mind-bending curiosity. It tells us something new about the fundamental workings of the universe. Strange as it may sound, the fate of an elephant in a black hole has deep implications for a "theory of everything" called quantum gravity, which strives to unify quantum mechanics and general relativity, the twin pillars of modern physics. Because of their enormous gravity and other unique properties, black holes have been fertile ground for researchers developing these ideas.

  

It all began in the mid-1970s, when Stephen Hawking of the University of Cambridge showed theoretically that black holes are not truly black, but emit radiation. In fact they evaporate very slowly, disappearing over many billions of years. This "Hawking radiation" comes from quantum phenomena taking place just outside the event horizon, the gravitational point of no return. But, Hawking asked, if a black hole eventually disappears, what happens to all the stuff inside? It can either leak back into the universe along with the radiation, which would seem to require travelling faster than light to escape the black hole's gravitational death grip, or it can simply blink out of existence.

  

Trouble is, the laws of physics don't allow either possibility. "We've been forced into a profound paradox that comes from the fact that every conceivable outcome we can imagine from black hole evaporation contradicts some important aspect of physics," says Steve Giddings, a theorist at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

  

Researchers call this the black hole information paradox. It comes about because losing information about the quantum state of an object falling into a black hole is prohibited, yet any scenario that allows information to escape also seems in violation. Physicists often talk about information rather than matter because information is thought to be more fundamental.

  

In quantum mechanics, the information that describes the state of a particle can't slip through the cracks of the equations. If it could, it would be a mathematical nightmare. The Schrödinger equation, which describes the evolution of a quantum system in time, would be meaningless because any semblance of continuity from past to future would be shattered and predictions rendered absurd. "All of physics as we know it is conditioned on the fact that information is conserved, even if it's badly scrambled," Susskind says.

  

For three decades, however, Hawking was convinced that information was destroyed in black hole evaporation. He argued that the radiation was random and could not contain the information that originally fell in. In 1997, he and Kip Thorne, a physicist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, made a bet with John Preskill, also at Caltech, that information loss was real. At stake was an encyclopedia - from which they agreed information could readily be retrieved. All was quiet until July 2004, when Hawking unexpectedly showed up at a conference in Dublin, Ireland, claiming that he had been wrong all along. Black holes do not destroy information after all, he said. He presented Preskill with an encyclopedia of baseball.

  

What inspired Hawking to change his mind? It was the work of a young theorist named Juan Maldacena of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. Maldacena may not be a household name, but he contributed what some consider to be the most ground-breaking piece of theoretical physics in the last decade. He did it using string theory, the most popular approach to understanding quantum gravity.

  

In 1997, Maldacena developed a type of string theory in a universe with five large dimensions of space and a contorted space-time geometry. He showed that this theory, which includes gravity, is equivalent to an ordinary quantum field theory, without gravity, living on the four-dimensional boundary of that universe. Everything happening on the boundary is equivalent to everything happening inside: ordinary particles interacting on the surface correspond precisely to strings interacting on the interior.

  

This is remarkable because the two worlds look so different, yet their information content is identical. The higher-dimensional strings can be thought of as a "holographic" projection of the quantum particles on the surface, similar to the way a laser creates a 3D hologram from the information contained on a 2D surface. Even though Maldacena's universe was very different from ours, the elegance of the theory suggested that our universe might be something of a grand illusion - an enormous cosmic hologram (New Scientist, 27 April 2002, p 22).

  

The holographic idea had been proposed previously by Susskind, one of the inventors of string theory, and by Gerard't Hooft of the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands. Each had used the fact that the entropy of a black hole, a measure of its information content, was proportional to its surface area rather than its volume. But Maldacena showed explicitly how a holographic universe could work and, crucially, why information could not be lost in a black hole.

  

According to his theory, a black hole, like everything else, has an alter ego living on the boundary of the universe. Black hole evaporation, it turns out, corresponds to quantum particles interacting on this boundary. Since no information loss can occur in a swarm of ordinary quantum particles, there can be no mysterious information loss in a black hole either. "The boundary theory respects the rules of quantum mechanics," says Maldacena. "It keeps track of all the information."

  

Of course, our universe still looks nothing like the one in Maldacena's theory. The results are so striking, though, that physicists have been willing to accept the idea, at least for now. "The opposition, including Hawking, had to give up," says Susskind. "It was so mathematically precise that for most practical purposes all theoretical physicists came to the conclusion that the holographic principle and the conservation of information would have to be true."

  

All well and good, but a serious problem remains: if the information isn't lost in a black hole, where is it? Researchers speculate that it is encoded in the black hole radiation (see "Black hole computers"). "The idea is that Hawking radiation is not random but contains subtle information on the matter that fell in," says Maldacena.

  

Susskind takes it a step further. Since the holographic principle leaves no room for information loss, he argues, no observer should ever see information disappear. That leads to a remarkable thought experiment.

  

Which brings us back to the elephant. Let's say Alice is watching a black hole from a safe distance, and she sees an elephant foolishly headed straight into gravity's grip. As she continues to watch, she will see it get closer and closer to the event horizon, slowing down because of the time-stretching effects of gravity in general relativity. However, she will never see it cross the horizon. Instead she sees it stop just short, where sadly Dumbo is thermalised by Hawking radiation and reduced to a pile of ashes streaming back out. From Alice's point of view, the elephant's information is contained in those ashes.

  

Inside or out?

  

There is a twist to the story. Little did Alice realise that her friend Bob was riding on the elephant's back as it plunged toward the black hole. When Bob crosses the event horizon, though, he doesn't even notice, thanks to relativity. The horizon is not a brick wall in space. It is simply the point beyond which an observer outside the black hole can't see light escaping. To Bob, who is in free fall, it looks like any other place in the universe; even the pull of gravity won't be noticeable for perhaps millions of years. Eventually as he nears the singularity, where the curvature of space-time runs amok, gravity will overpower Bob, and he and his elephant will be torn apart. Until then, he too sees information conserved.

  

Neither story is pretty, but which one is right? According to Alice, the elephant never crossed the horizon; she watched it approach the black hole and merge with the Hawking radiation. According to Bob, the elephant went through and floated along happily for eons until it turned into spaghetti. The laws of physics demand that both stories be true, yet they contradict one another. So where is the elephant, inside or out?

  

The answer Susskind has come up with is - you guessed it - both. The elephant is both inside and outside the black hole; the answer depends on who you ask. "What we've discovered is that you cannot speak of what is behind the horizon and what is in front of the horizon," Susskind says. "Quantum mechanics always involves replacing 'and' with 'or'. Light is waves or light is particles, depending on the experiment you do. An electron has a position or it has a momentum, depending on what you measure. The same is happening with black holes. Either we describe the stuff that fell into the horizon in terms of things behind the horizon, or we describe it in terms of the Hawking radiation that comes out."

  

Wait a minute, you might think. Maybe there are two copies of the information. Maybe when the elephant hits the horizon, a copy is made, and one version comes out as radiation while the other travels into the black hole. However, a fundamental law called the no-cloning theorem precludes that possibility. If you could duplicate information, you could circumvent the uncertainty principle, something nature forbids. As Susskind puts it, "There cannot be a quantum Xerox machine." So the same elephant must be in two places at once: alive inside the horizon and dead in a heap of radiating ashes outside.

  

The implications are unsettling, to say the least. Sure, quantum mechanics tells us that an object's location can't always be pinpointed. But that applies to things like electrons, not elephants, and it usually spans tiny distances, not light years. It is the large scale that makes this so surprising, Susskind says. In principle, if the black hole is big enough, the two versions of the same elephant could be separated by billions of light years. "People always thought quantum ambiguity was a small-scale phenomenon," he adds. "We're learning that the more quantum gravity becomes important, the more huge-scale ambiguity comes into play."

  

All this amounts to the fact that an object's location in space-time is no longer indisputable. Susskind calls this "a new form of relativity". Einstein took factors that were thought to be invariable - an object's length and the passage of time - and showed that they were relative to the motion of an observer. The location of an object in space or in time could only be defined with respect to an observer, but its location in space-time was certain. Now that notion has been shattered, says Susskind, and an object's location in space-time depends on an observer's state of motion with respect to a horizon.

  

What's more, this new type of "non-locality" is not just for black holes. It occurs anywhere a boundary separates regions of the universe that can't communicate with each other. Such horizons are more common than you might think. Anything that accelerates - the Earth, the solar system, the Milky Way - creates a horizon. Even if you're out running, there are regions of space-time from which light would never reach you if you kept speeding up. Those inaccessible regions are beyond your horizon.

  

As researchers forge ahead in their quest to unify quantum mechanics and gravity, non-locality may help point the way. For instance, quantum gravity should obey the holographic principle. That means there might be redundant information and fewer important dimensions of space-time in the theory. "This has to be part of the understanding of quantum gravity," Giddings says. "It's likely that this black hole information paradox will lead to a revolution at least as profound as the advent of quantum mechanics."

  

“This paradox will lead to a revolution as profound as the birth of quantum mechanics”

  

That's not all. The fact that space-time itself is accelerating - that is, the expansion of the universe is speeding up - also creates a horizon. Just as we could learn that an elephant lurked inside a black hole by decoding the Hawking radiation, perhaps we might learn what's beyond our cosmic horizon by decoding its emissions. How? According to Susskind, the cosmic microwave background that surrounds us might be even more important than we think. Cosmologists study this radiation because its variations tell us about the infant moments of time, but Susskind speculates that it could be a kind of Hawking radiation coming from our universe's edge. If that's the case, it might tell us something about the elephants on the other side of the universe.

  

From issue 2575 of New Scientist magazine, 26 October 2006, page 36-39

  

Black hole computers

  

Hawking radiation owes its existence to the weirdness of the quantum world, in which pairs of virtual particles pop up out of empty space, annihilate each other and disappear. Around a black hole, virtual particles and anti-particles can be separated by the event horizon. Unable to annihilate, they become real. The properties of each pair are linked, or entangled. What happens to one affects the other, even if one is inside the black hole.

  

Seth Lloyd of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology believes that this phenomenon can be used to get information out of a black hole. His model, first suggested by Gary Horowitz of the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Juan Maldacena of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, shows that when an in-falling Hawking particle interacts with matter inside the black hole, it sends information about the matter to its partner outside the black hole. If this scheme works, black holes could conceivably be used as quantum computers.

  

According to Leonard Susskind of Stanford University, however, it makes no sense to talk about the location of information independent of an observer. To an outside observer, information never falls into the black hole in the first place. Instead, it is heated and radiated back out before ever crossing the horizon. The quantum computer model, he says, relies on the old notion of locality. "The location of a bit becomes ambiguous and observer-dependent when gravity becomes important," he says. So the idea of a black hole computer remains controversial.

 

By Amanda Gefter

Blackrock covers a large but not precisely defined area, rising from sea level on the coast to 90 metres (300 ft) at White's Cross on the N11 national primary road. Blackrock is bordered by Booterstown, Mount Merrion, Stillorgan, Foxrock, Deansgrange and Monkstown.

  

Blackrock is a large commercial centre with cafes, restaurants, boutiques, hairdressers and barbers, a tattoo and piercing studio, pharmacies, supermarkets, art galleries, antiques and home improvements outlets as well as bars such as The Breffni, Jack O'Rourkes, O'Donohues, Flash Harrys, Conways, The Wicked Wolf and the Ten Tun Tavern.

 

The Blackrock Shopping Centre was built in 1984 by Superquinn who managed the development and are the anchor store. Superquinn has now become Supervalu.

 

There are many high street finance branches for AIB, Bank of Ireland, EBS, National Irish Bank, Ulster Bank and the Blackrock Credit Union. Permanent TSB closed their Blackrock branch in March 2010 but retain their administrative offices on Carysfort Avenue.

 

There are many office buildings that house large corporations such as Zurich Financial Services and AIG, and car dealers such as Carroll & Kinsella Motors, Maxwell Motors (generally BMW) and Eco Aer (eco electric vehicles).

We had a complete change this Christmas – we cancelled it! - we went walking in The Lakes, or Wasdale more precisely. We were staying at Irton Hall B & B, they had over 70 in for Christmas dinner but we ate jam bread on the slopes of Sca Fell Pike. Fantastic. We had a front wheel puncture on a run flat tyre on the new car with a 100 mile still to drive on the afternoon of Christmas eve on our way there. I drove straight to the nearest ATS – where I have an account – they shook their heads and directed me to Westhoughton Tyres, the lads there were fantastic and got us on our way in good time. BMW dealer advice was run on the flat tyre and then throw it away - £250! Where I would have got a tyre on the western side of the Lakes over Christmas I don’t know, ATS didn’t have one to sell me.

 

The weather was forecast good for Christmas day but after a fine start it was raining before we even left the car park in Wasdale. We headed up Lingmell and ran into snow on the summit. The path onto Sca Fell Pike was very icy, snow covered and visibility was low, the snow kept falling. We didn’t linger long, it was too cold to have dinner up there so we dropped down onto the Corridor Route, where we had our dinner. We went that way to stretch the walk out, having originally intended to cross to Great End. The tops were so icy, glazed, with not enough snow to get a grip on that we decide to leave it for another day. From Styhead we headed back to Wasdale and a dull but fine finish to the day. A drink in the bar at Irton Hall was on the radar.

 

Every morning we headed into Wasdale early, it got colder, icier and sunnier as the days went by. We went up Yewbarrow, it was an icy scramble up and I decided it was too dangerous to go down Stirrup Crag to Dore Head so went back the same way. It turned out to be the right decision as we lingered on the top, going to view points that we wouldn’t have and getting some decent photos. One morning we walked over the Screes tops, Illgill Head and Whin Rigg, dropping down the steep slope to The southern end of Wast Water. Having said that I would never walk the Screes path alongside Wast Water again the memory of how awful it is in the rain had faded. There is only really a quarter of a mile out of three miles that is really bad, every rock was like glass with the potential to break a leg every step. It seemed a long way and I was getting killer looks from Herself.

 

We made our way onto Sca Fell on a beautiful morning, clear blue sky. The snow line had got lower most nights but we never had the low level snow that caused problems in the rest of the country. I chose a, sometimes, pathless way to the summit, partly because I’d never been that way but also to stay in the sun, to keep the view and to avoid the ways that would be a touch dangerous, it was -4 and seared with ice for the last 600 feet. After 15 minutes on the summit wispy thin cloud came racing in, crossing the Lake District in minutes, the photos show it heading towards us and I was glad to have got the clear photos first. Looking out to sea a great mattress of cloud was heading straight for us. It was calm and sunny one minute and the next we were engulfed in thick cloud with 30 yards visibility at the most. I have never had a clear sky turn to cloud so fast – ever! We were going down to Slightside next which was OK, about a mile following the ridge down, the problem was getting back to Wasdale from there. We needed to get to Great Howe which meant a pathless trek a mile SW across Quagrigg Moss – a bog full of tarnlets, it would be a nightmare in low visibility. After getting some accurate compass bearings and heading down off Slightside we suddenly dropped out of the cloud and could see our target, brilliant, we legged it across the semi frozen bog and finally felt able to rest and grab a sandwich and cup of tea. We had to find our way down Raven Crags, which was interesting – and steep! We needed to get to the footbridge to get onto the Burnmoor Tarn path back to Wasdale. As we got closer to Burnmoor Tarn the light that I had been cursing gave us a gorgeous sunset. I had one eye on a gap in the cloud low down in the sky out at sea and I was hoping the sun would break through, it did. Burnmoor Tarn was like a mirror, reflecting the surrounding mountains, including Yewbarrow and parts of the Mosedale Horseshoe in the far distance. There was just the two of us, we had barely seen a soul all day, it was a fantastic end to a tough day. As we dropped into Wasdale I caught the deep pink and orange of the last of the sun, I was shooting into it but I had nothing to lose. There would have been quite a few tripods at the opposite end of the lake but I think I was in the better place – for a change.

 

On our final walking day we decided to head up Great Gable. It was clear of cloud for a change but ominously the surrounding tops, including the Sca Fells were cloud covered. Another beautiful but very cold morning, it was going to be very icy up there so we elected to go via Styhead and the tourist track. We would choose a way off once we were up there. Long before we got to the top, although we couldn’t see it, we knew the cloud was swirling in and out on the summit so it was going to be hit and miss for the photos. The cloud was down for the last 500 feet but once on the frozen top it kept clearing briefly – very briefly. There were more people up there than we had seen the entire trip previously. People were getting out after Christmas, many had parked at the top of Honister for the fairly easy walk in across Green Gable, some were not dressed for winter walking it has to be said. We left for an icy scramble down to Arron Slack, up onto Green Gable them we galloped down Arron Slack to Styhead and back to Wasdale.

 

Ahh, now THIS one, I know precisely what I was thinking about, Chris ('Captain America') Evans joking about James Spader playing a VERY scary rogue A.I robot in the Avengers movie Age Of Ultron.

 

I didn't plan it, but good old human face recognition wetware wired into our brains means that you can detect an ominous profile in this sketch.....

 

"There are NO strings on me...."

 

"we have nothing ours

but the time, enjoyed precisely by those who have no whereabouts"

 

Escadinhas de St. André - Lisboa, Portugal

 

Photograph taken prior to the magic of The Golden Hour around Sunrise (Sunrise was at precisely 07:46am), at an altitude of Seven metres, at 06:59am on Monday December 8th 2014 off Botany Road and Marine Drive, on the sandy shoreline of Botany Bay in Broadstairs, Kent, England.

  

A very chilly morning on the beach, around One degree, and a bracing wind that pounded flesh and bones, but well worth the one and a half hour journey there to enjoy a lovely sunrise. The seven bays in Broadstairs consist of: (From south to north) Dumpton Gap, Louisa Bay, Viking Bay, Stone Bay, Joss Bay, Kingsgate Bay and Botany Bay.

  

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Nikon D800 32mm 1/1.3s f/2.8 iso125 RAW (14Bit) Manualfocus. Manual exposure. Matrix metering. Auto white balance.

  

Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8G ED IF. Jessops 77mm UV filter. Nikon MB-D12 battery grip. Two Nikon EN-EL batteries. Nikon DK-17M Magnifying Eyepiece. Nikon DK-19 soft rubber eyecup. Manfrotto MT057C3 057 Carbon Fiber Tripod 3 Sections (Payload 18kgs). Manfrotto MH057M0-RC4 057 Magnesium Ball Head with RC4 Quick Release (Payload 15kgs). Manfrotto quick release plate 410PL-14.Jessops Tripod bag. Optech Tripod Strap.Digi-Chip 64GB Class 10 UHS-1 SDXC. Lowepro Transporter camera strap. Lowepro Vertex 200 AW camera bag. Nikon MC-DC2 remote shutter release. Nikon GP-1 GPS unit.

  

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LATITUDE: N 51d 23m 17.00s

LONGITUDE: E 1d 26m 26.21s

ALTITUDE: 7.0m

  

RAW (TIFF) FILE SIZE: 103.00MB

PROCESSED (JPeg) SIZE: 11.19MB

  

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Processing power:

HP Pavillion P6-2388EA Desktop with AMD A10-5700 APU processor. AMD Radeon HD 7570 graphics. 2TB with 8GB RAM. 64-bit Windows 8.1. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. Nikon VIEWNX2 Version 2.10.3 64bit. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit

   

Australia has precisely one KB Toys! They have a sign up at Taren Point, declaring their location proudly. We pass it quite often when we're on our way to pick up cat food or office supplies, or to visit friends, actually, and we've always been curious about what it's like. So I checked their website and we made plans to visit yesterday with a Lego-loving friend of ours! He drove up from Wollongong for the day, and we were going to have lunch and do some serious toy hunting.

 

Unfortunately, as of earlier this month, they started closing on Tuesdays. Alas. The site had only said closed on Mondays.

 

So our pilgrimage will be postponed to another day! As a result, we went to our usual toy-related haunts in the Shire (Kmart, BIG W, Target and Toys"R"Us, The Reject Shop), along with lunch at Din Tai Fung.

 

Because we meandered around so much, I found these two dolls for nice discounts! The Frightfully Tall Ghouls and Gooliope had pretty steep retail prices. The Gooliope, I found at Target for $19.99. The Draculaura, I found at Toys R Us for $20.01. Given those prices, I think it was kind of meant to be, no?

 

It was really sad hunting for dolls yesterday, though. I found very few, and those that I did find were the same dolls I've been seeing for months. I have to wonder if Monster High is dead as a brand in Australia. Electrified was the last line I saw, and it hit the Reject Shop's shelves pretty fast. The only store in my area still carrying it is Big W.

 

Heck, KMart doesn't have any MH at all. Nor Ever After High or DC Super Hero Girls. It's kind of shocking, really. I guess I'll have to stick to buying online from now on.

Norway's 1,250-mile coast is a mix of dramatic fjords, colorful fishing villages, narrow straits, islands and inlets, and scenery that changes by the hour -- and it's precisely these views that attract traditional cruise passengers to a Nordnorge voyage. Young European backpackers, on the other hand, use the ship as a means of transportation between towns. Still others bring their cars onboard, as well as their kids for family vacations. In addition to passengers and cars, the ship carries all manner of goods -- from crates of fresh produce to home repair supplies.

 

I had to keep reminding myself that Nordnorge (the name is taken from Norway's most northerly region) is not a cruise ship in the usual sense. Classed as one of Hurtigruten's six Contemporary Ships, it's a combination of a UPS delivery service on water, a ferry and a cruise ship. (Note: Prior to September 2007, Hurtigruten was known as Norwegian Coastal Voyage to Americans; it's now marketed as Hurtigruten worldwide.) My first (and lasting) impression of the Nordnorge exceeded all expectations. She looks every bit a cruise ship, with polished wood stairways, brass everywhere, fascinating Norwegian artwork and plenty of panoramic windows. Forget about your typical workhorse ferryboat. The Nordnorge is one classy ship. And yet, there's that ever-present self-service aspect -- toting your own luggage up the gangway, picking up your daily program at the excursion desk, fetching your own after-dinner coffee in the lounge and even making up your own bed at night.

 

Once you wake up to the fact that you're part of remote Norway's everyday lifeline, you appreciate the frequent, brief stops. What other cruise line offers 33 port calls in six days? No matter where we were, there was always someone eagerly waiting for the ship to dock. I loved watching disembarking Norwegian passengers being greeted with hugs and the family dog. And yes, there are shore excursions, but not many. Due to the shortness of time in port, you disembark in one town, hop on a bus tour and meet the ship at the next port. Didn't I say this is a different kind of cruising?

 

Nordnorge spends summers cruising Norway's coast. In winter, the ship heads to Antarctica for reasonably priced expedition-style adventures complete with naturalists and lectures. During Antarctica trips, the number of passengers is limited to 350. Six inflatable landing craft are carried in the car storage area and used for wet landings and wildlife watching. The Nordnorge is rated Ice Class C, ice hardened but not an icebreaker.

 

Nordnorge Fellow Passengers

The passenger mix is one of cruising's most diverse, and it changes from port to port. Backpackers on for the day or night tend to be young Europeans. Families with small children make up part of the drive-on group. Full cruise passengers are primarily 50-plus and European. There were only a handful of Americans on my trip. Announcements are made in Norwegian, English, German and any other language spoken by large tour groups.

 

Nordnorge Dress Code

There is no dress code. Slacks and polo shirts are the norm at dinner. For daytime activities onboard or ashore, bring warm layers, rain gear and walking shoes.

 

Nordnorge Gratuity

The ship has a "non-tipping" policy. The Norwegian crew is well paid and does not rely on tips in lieu of wages. Tips are not expected, but if you feel like rewarding one of the crew for a special service, simply hand your tip to the individual.