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Water & Light at Sassi Mazar Balochistan May30, 2015
SUN SHINES IN THE NIGHT
Sassi punnu mausoleum got Solar Energy
Every year thousands of peoples from various parts of Sindh, Baluchistan and Punjab gather at the shrine of Sassi and Punnu in Singher village to attend a 3 days carnival. Singher village is , 52 Kilometers away from Hub town. Singher means chain, as the village is surrounded by the chain of hills where it is believed that Sassi and Punnu were buried under a landslide.
Before the monsoon a carnival organizing committee receives donation from the Baloch tribal chiefs of Sindh and Balochistan to bear the expenditures of the event. Collected funds are mostly used for providing food, water and accommodation to all the devotees there. Sufi Faqirs (singers) from Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab travel to perform songs on the occasion to pay homage to Sassi Punnu, the popular tragic romance of Sindh and Balochistan. Besides folk songs, a traditional Sindhi game malakhro similar to Japanese wrestling sumo also attracts a large number of the people to come there.
Lands from mountains with old graves scattered in the area and rainy water ways are quite difficult to cross for the travellers. Despite this, devotees, males and females, travel long distance to visit the site the entire year. For the local people, camel is the only means of transport and people gather there during the occasion.
There is only one well, which is useful for the communities otherwise the entire area underground water level is unsafe for human consumption. In case the area receives monsoon rains the people use rainy water from ponds.
For the benefit of peoples living in surroundings as well as devotees who visit during carnival and over the year, Masood Lohar, country Manager UNDP, GEF small grant program decided to use solar energy for providing clean and safe water and lighting on the mausoleum.
On 30th May 2015, Shaan Technologies Private Limited installed a 3 HP Solar Powered pump on a 250 ft deep well that is located near the tomb. Operating on a 3 kilowatt solar panel bank this pump provide 30 Gallon water per minutes & eliminates requirement of diesel generator operated pump that organizing committee previously used to supply water during the festival.
Now solar pump serves as a continuous source of clean water without any additional cost. A water tank is provided to store pumped water. This tank helped as a 24 hours ready source of water for the local people.
In addition to that 2 solar powered floodlights were also installed in front yard of tomb. These 14 watt LED lights runs on a 35 watt solar panel that provide sufficient power to run LED lamps up to 12 hours. Dusk to Dawn photo sensors is also used in the system that automatically turns on the light just before the sunset and turns off at dawn. This project was financed by the UNDP GEF Small grant program. Lodhie foundation contributed 10% cost of the project under its poverty alleviation initiative.
Project Summary
Location: Sassi Punnu Moseleum, Singher Village, Near Hub Dam, Baluchistan
Coordinates: 25°18'41"N 66°53'21"E
Nearby cities: Karachi, Hub City, Sonmiani / Winder city
Initiated By: UNDP, GEF Small Grant Program in association of Lodhie Foundation
Implemented by: Shaan Technologies Private Limited Karachi
Implantation Date: 30Th May 2015
Equipment installed:
(1) One 3HP DC Submersible water pump with 3KW Solar panels and Pump Controller
(2) Two Solar Powered LED Floodlights
Beneficiaries: Up to 2500 people living in the Singher village and surroundings
Folktale of Sassi & Punnu
Sassi Punnu is a famous folktale of love told in the length and breadth of Sindh, Pakistan. The story is about a faithful wife who is ready to undergo all kinds of troubles that would come her way while seeking her beloved husband who was separated from her by the rivals
Sassi was the daughter of a Brahman Hindu Rajah from Rohri . Upon Sassui's birth, astrologers predicted that she was a curse for the royal family’s prestige. The Raja ordered that the child be put in a wooden box and thrown in the Sindhu, present day’s river Indus. However, she was saved by a washer-man belonging to Bhanbhor, near Gharo district, Thatta . The washer-man raised her as his own daughter.
When Sassui became a young girl, she was as beautiful as the fairies of heaven. Stories of her beauty reached Punhun a prince from Kech Makran Balochistan and he became desperate to meet Sassi. The handsome young Prince therefore travelled to Bhambore. He sent his clothes to Sassi's father (a washerman) so that he could catch a glimpse of Sassi. When he visited the washerman's house, they fell in love at first sight. Sassui's father was dispirited, hoping that Sassi would marry a washerman and no one else. He asked Punnhun to prove that he was worthy of Sassui by passing the test as a washerman. Punnhun agreed to prove his love. While washing, he tore all the clothes as, being a prince, he had never washed any clothes; he thus failed the agreement. But before he returned those clothes, he hid gold coins in the pockets of all the clothes, hoping this would keep the villagers quiet. The trick worked, and Sassui's father agreed to the marriage.
At last Punnu (Punhoon) married her. However, his father, Ari, the King of Ketch, did not like his son getting married to a low-caste girl, so he instructed his other sons to go to Bhanbhor and bring back Punnu at any cost. They visited Punnu as his guests and during the night they intoxicated him and his wife. Later, they put their brother on one of the camels and left. When Sassi woke up in the morning, she was shocked to find Punnu missing and all his brothers gone. She understood their trickery. She left Bhambhor immediately to Kech Makran on foot in search of him. The Kech Makran is located along the Makran Coastal Highway in Baluchistan, Pakistan.
After crossing Pab Mountain, she reached the Harho range. She could not proceed further when her path was blocked by the Phor River. So she started retracing her steps. Soon she was accosted by a beastly goatherd who intended to molest her. Sassi prayed to God for protection. Immediately the ground below her feet started caving in like quicksand and she disappeared within seconds. Seeing the miracle, the goatherd repented sincerely, and to make amends for his misconduct, he made a grave in the site and became its custodian.
Punnu found no peace of mind at Kech. He languished and soon became an invalid. Under the circumstances, his father allowed him to return to Bhambhor.
During his return journey, Punnu happened to pass by the site where Sassi had met her death. When the goatherd came to know his story, he told him as to what had happened to Sassi. Punnu was beside himself on hearing the horrible news.
He prayed to God to unite him with Sassi. Again the ground became quicksand and he soon disappeared into the bowels of the earth. So came to an end the tragic love story of Sassi and Punnu. The legendary grave still exists in this valley.
The famous Sufi saint and poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai sings this historic tale in his sufi poetry “Shah jo Risalo” as an example of eternal love and union with Divine.
Sassi’s resting place is said to be about 45 miles away in the Pub range to the west of Karachi. A local man of some importance constructed a simple mausoleum in 1980 over the joint grave of Sassi and Punnu. It is often visited by tourists.
PI: Parviz Moin, Stanford University
Fuel injection and droplet breakup in a complex geometry combustor.
Image Credit: Cascade Tech. For further details, please refer to their paper titled "Simulation of Liquid Fuel Atomization by a Complex High-Shear Swirling Injector" by F. Ham, D. Kim, S. Bose, H. Le and M. Herrmann published in the Proc. ASME Turbo Expo 2014, GT2014-27220.
Scientific Discipline: Engineering
This research used resources of the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility at Argonne National Laboratory.
To what extent can media companies employ predictive analytics and other data driven approaches to improve content performance? This event, organized by NYC Media Lab and hosted by Bloomberg on February 25, fused short 5 minute presentations and discussion from startups, media companies and university researchers advancing the state of the art in a variety show intended to provoke discussion and debate on opportunities in this fast-moving field of interest.
Speakers included Brian Eoff, Lead Data Scientist, bitly; Ky Harlin, Director, Data Science, BuzzFeed; Mor Naaman, Associate Professor, Cornell Tech and Co-founder and Chief Scientist, Seen.co; Simon Smith, Senior Vice President, Platforms, News Corp; Joshua Schwartz, Lead Data Scientist, Chartbeat.com; and Lisa Strausfeld, Global Head of Data Visualization, Bloomberg LP.
Photos by Yang Jiang.
Learn more about NYC Media Lab at www.nycmedialab.org.
I see a bunch of people attrached to their own personal screens...seems alot like our level of connection to our phones and computers today.
Be well and hold your loved ones close again tonight. (Another crazy mass shooting again this afternoon. This time at a newspaper office.)
On the 4th & 5th October 2016, leading international thinkers in the areas of Data, Predictive Models, Technology and Decision making gathered at the RDS, Dublin, for Predict 2016. The speakers, many of whom I managed to photograph, discussed the latest progress in Predictive Modelling and its future – from Data to Software and Hardware technology, plus Predictive Modelling methods and the best examples of Data-driven Decision-making.
The organisers kindly invited me to the Predict event at the RDS but as I arrived a bit early I took few backstage or behind the scenes shots. In case your are interested I used a Sony A7RM2 coupled with a Sony 29-135 full frame lens. The lens does attract a lot of attention which does allow me to to have interesting people … volunteers, students from Brazil, photographers etc. Of course my lens did not attract as mush attention as the two cars [especially the DeLorean DMC-12. DMC-12s were primarily intended for the American market. All production models were therefore left-hand drive. Evidence survives from as early as April 1981, however, which indicates that the DeLorean Motor Company was aware of the need to produce a right-hand drive version to supply to world markets such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, India, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. My contacts in Belfast claim that 16 right-hand drive factory-authorised DeLoreans were produced.
Whereas nobody can predict when a flood might occur to your basement, or anyone's basement for that mater, it's best to be ready with a flood protection plan in case you're all of the sudden stuck with a flooded basement. Don't be bullied into accepting lower than the full worth of your hurricane damage insurance claim. If there may be ever a necessity for assistance with a leak or harm from water, In a position Restoration can be contacted 24 hours a day and seven days every week to help you with mould remediation, contents harm restore, and even general development. Principally, you'll come across passive water leakage detection system and lively water leakage detection system.
As predicted the GBRf duo were indeed reversing into Wellingborough GBRf yard seen from Finedon Road when i arrived from Harrowden. The black skies persisted as a slick shunting operation was put into practice. The MLA's were dropped off alongside the 20's in the sidings followed by a procession of manoeuvrers of various wagons as seen here. GBRf Metronet example 66719 'Metroland' then uncoupled from 66707 'Sir Sam Fay - Great Central Railway' and was switched off while 66707 continued to shunt the wagons further into the sidings before also being shut down. In the hour spent watching the sun seemed to only appear when the loco's were well into the yard, but a couple of opportunities did present themselves after a little perseverance and the odd hail shower!
The MLA consist was 503030, 503029, 503057, 503052, 503053 and finally 503024.
A new analysis tool developed at Argonne National Laboratory called JOBSNG helps policymakers or developers estimate the potential economic impacts of building new natural gas fueling stations. Photo: Shutterstock. Photo credit: Shutterstock. Read more »
This inovative chassis predicted modern "hybrid" technology in that an electric motor is used to propel the vehicle. The engine driven dynamo and large DC electric motor are right next to one another and eliminated the need for a mechanical clutch and gearbox.
Drones, robots and predictive software are the most important logistics trends of the future. Parcel delivery using drones may be a gamechanger in logistics. But large-scale use of drones for this purpose still remains a pipe dream. Drones may offer opportunities in some very specific fields in the short term. Postal operators such as Australia Post, Singapore Post and Swiss Post as well as online retailers such as Amazon and Rakuten have all reported testing drones. In addition, Google and Facebook are also testing their own versions.
David Lindenmayer, Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Australia speaking during the Session "Future-Proofing Ecosystems through Predictive Analytics with Australian National University" at the Annual Meeting 2018 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, January 23, 2018
Copyright by World Economic Forum / Sandra Blaser
For quite awhile now I have been trying to get a good photo of this scene. Either the horses moved, or stood in such a posture that it looked as if they didn't have any ears, or the sky was boring, or only one horse would be in the scene. I think this is one of my best shots, if not the best one so far.
(4476-twohorsesatpatchworkquiltpaintedbarnRIT)
Argonne researchers monitor the performance of a 6-cylinder stationary engine run on natural gas at the lab’s Distributed Energy Research Center. A number of Argonne programs focus on natural gas as a fuel, including a new analysis tool called JOBSNG that helps estimate potential economic impacts from building new natural gas fueling stations. Photo credit: Shutterstock. Read more »
About 40 years ago I worked for the local tourist office in Dun Laoghaire and I was based in Moran Park [the locals called it moron park] and at the time I would not have believed it if someone had predicted that I would about 20 years later be employed by a high-tech company based in Haigh Terrace only a few years away from the tourist office. My employment at Haigh Terrace did not last long because I was encouraged by senior management to move on. I returned to Dun Laoghaire about two years later because of an amazing an unexpected opportunity to join Ericsson. I remained with Ericsson for about ten years and then I decided to leave because the operation was to be re-located away from Dun Laoghaire.
The reason why I mention my working life in Dun Laoghaire is because I am very familiar with the area were the new Library is now located. When I worked for the Tourist Office a drugs culture was beginning to take root in Dun Laoghaire [it was one of the first areas to have such a problem]. Then when I was based in Haigh Terrace many of the staff were unwilling to work overtime as the area was not safe at night as Moran park was populated by dealers and their drug addicted clients. When I joined Ericsson the town of Dun Laoghaire was entering into an economic depression from which it has yet to recover … the fact that Ericsson and other multi-nationals relocated did not help.
Today if you walk along the main street you will see many empty shops especially near the peoples park. But despite the decline there is now much to like about the town. The People’s Park has been re-developed and it is now very attractive and well worth a visit. The East pier is amazing and the seafront is now an attractive area with many good restaurants.
The new Public Library, officially called DLR Lexicon, opened today and because the weather was beautiful this morning I decided to visit and form my own opinion about the new structure which as been described [denounced] as a monstrosity and an extravagant waste of more than €30 million of taxpayers’ money. Despite what the locals believe the development has attracted much positive comment with The Irish Times describing the building as follows: “The new building is an oblong wedge, both in plan and elevation – something that’s more obvious from the sea than it is up close. It tapers to an enormous gable window facing towards Howth, a grand gesture that offers some of the most spectacular views of Dublin Bay, while side windows look out to either Dún Laoghaire or Sandycove. Clad in Iberian granite on its monumental north elevation that addresses the park, and in English red brick with granite coursing on the Haigh Terrace side (in sympathy with many of the town’s Victorian buildings), it was consciously designed to link the busy seafront area known as The Metals with the main shopping street, which is in a bad way.”
Have a look at me photographs and form your opinion or better still pay a visit to Dun Laoghaire sooner rather than later.
(a) Current (early 2000s) and (b) climate-shifted distributions of the small yellow croaker Larimichthys polyactis (Sciaenidae). The climate-shifted distribution was predicted by a dynamic bioclimate envelope model described by Cheung et al. (2008), under a hypothetical increase in average global ocean temperature of 2.5°C. Boundaries of Exclusive Economic Zones are delineated by the dashed lines.
For any form of publication, please include the link to this page:
This photo has been graciously provided to be used in the GRID-Arendal resources library by: Riccardo Pravettoni
Kavitha Gopalan | Blogs-Mobodexter
Kavitha Gopalan
IOT is revolutionizing various industries and we cannot ignore the huge transformation it can bring to the health care industry. IOT combined with the analytics and cloud can provide unprecedented capabilities in healthcare – virtual healthcare, predictive diagnostics,... blogs.mobodexter.com/healthcare-transformation-through-iot/
Predicting Failure Leads to Success on Forbes’ Most Promising Company List
VEXTEC Corporation .Alumni and co-founders of VexTec, Robert Tryon Animesh Dey. Vanderbilt Photo / Daniel Dubois
Read more: www.vanderbilt.edu/magazines/vanderbilt-engineering/2010/...
The freight volumes on Australia's east coast are set to double by 2030 and triple by 2050, according to 'Meeting the 2050 Freight Challenge' report, published by industry body Infrastructure Partnerships Australia. The 2010 Inland Rail Alignment study predicted that the amount of land freight tonnage between Melbourne and Brisbane would grow to reach over seven million tonnes per annum (mtpa) by 2020 and more than 12mtpa by 2040. At the moment, only around 30% of freight along the corridor travels by rail. Inland Rail is expected to save up to 33% in costs compared to moving this amount of freight via alternative rail routes.
Inland Rail, set to run 1,730km between Melbourne and Brisbane through central-west New South Wales and Toowoomba, first came into shape in 2006, when the first report detailing a possible route was completed. In 2008, the Australian government funded A$12m towards a comprehensive Inland Rail Alignment Study, published in 2010, which estimated the project's cost at A$4.7bn and set its completion date in 2026. The Australian Government will now consider the report in the context of the 2016 Federal Budget.
Documents released in September 2015 estimate that the project would cost about $10bn, more than double the $4.7bn estimated in a 2010 study into inland rail.
It is almost certain the ¬government would have to tip significant funds into the so-called “Steel Mississippi”.
However, Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss says that if potential investors have “viable” alternatives to a plan led by the government-owned rail operator ARTC, these would be referred to Infrastructure ¬Australia.
The Inland Rail Implementation Group report will be considered by the government as it frames the 2016 federal budget and will be sent to Infrastructure Australia for analysis. The report was released in Canberra today by Mr Truss and Mr ¬Anderson.
A business case for the project, developed by the Australian Rail Track Corporation, will also be released and will go to Infrastructure Australia.
Mr Truss said the group had found that an early commitment to the project “will give certainty for businesses and will allow the private sector to invest in complementary projects leveraging Inland Rail’s enhanced logistics benefits”.
“The Implementation Group analysis indicates there is some scope for private sector funding,” Mr Truss said.
“However, the release of this report will now allow potential investors to consider the merits of the proposal.
“If viable alternatives emerge that are substantiated by evidence, these would be considered on their merits and referred to ¬Infrastructure Australia as appropriate.”
Earlier the government had made a surprise decision to postpone a scoping study into the future ownership of ARTC, which the National Commission of Audit last year recommended for privatisation.
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann and Mr Truss said the government wanted to develop the project in “the most efficient and cost-effective way possible”.
Mr Truss will today argue that the project will provide a dramatic fillip to productivity.
The new freight line would reduce transit time between Melbourne and Brisbane to less than a day.
It would remove 200,000 trucks, or 5.4 billion net tonne kilometres of freight, from roads each year.
Mr Truss said today that once the rail link was constructed it would take 500km off the distance between Perth and Brisbane.
“It will take hundreds of trains out of the central city areas of Sydney,” he said.
The release of the plan today comes as the government wrestles with selling its message of growth to the public.Last week’s national accounts showed that government spending had saved the economy from contracting in the June quarter. The project has long been supported by the Nationals given the number of rural electorates it would run through. The government has so far promised $300 million over four years for pre-construction, such as land acquisitions and environ-mental assessments.
This appears to be a plinth for the mounting of a "Predictor"; a heavy tripod based device to facilitate more efficient targeting of incoming aircraft. The British Army's new Bofors guns were intended as low-altitude anti-aircraft weapons. However, existing gunnery control systems were inadequate for the purpose; the range was too far to "guess" the lead, but at the same time close enough that the angle could change faster that the gunners could turn the traversal handles.
The Predictor solved the problem by doing all of the calculations mechanically through a complex system of gears. Inputs to its calculations included wind speed, gravity, ballistics of the gun and the rounds it fired, angle to the target in azimuth and altitude, and a user-input estimated speed. Some of these inputs were fed in via dials, which turned gearing inside the Predictor to calculate the range (from the change in angle and estimated speed) and direction of motion. The "output" of the device drove hydraulic servo-motors attached to the traversal and elevation gears of the otherwise unmodified Bofors gun, allowing it to follow the Predictor's indications automatically without manual intervention.
There are pictures of these machines and more information about their function on this site and wikipedia.
Click here for an aerial view of where this picture was taken.
Bernard Marr is a bestselling author, keynote speaker, strategic performance consultant, and analytics, KPI & Big Data guru.
He helps companies to better manage, measure, report and analyse performance. His leading-edge work with major companies, organisations and governments across the globe makes him an acclaimed and award-winning keynote speaker, researcher, consultant and teacher. Bernard is acknowledged by the CEO Journal as one of today's leading business brains.
He has written a number of seminal books and over 200 high profile reports and articles on enterprise performance. This includes the best-sellers 'Key Performance Indicators', 'The Intelligent Company', 'More with Less', 'Managing and Delivering Performance' and 'Strategic Performance Management', a number of Gartner Reports and the world's largest research studies on the topic. His expert comments regularly feature in high-profile publications including The Times, The Financial Times, Financial Management, the CFO Magazine and the Wall Street Journal.
He has worked with and advised many of the world's best-known organisations including Accenture, Astra Zeneca, Bank of England, Barclays, BP, DHL, Fujitsu, Gartner, HSBC, Mars, Ministry of Defence, Microsoft, Oracle, The Home Office, NHS, Orange, Tetley, T-Mobile, Toyota, Royal Air Force, SAP and Shell, among many others.
He currently focuses on helping clients to:
- create strategic performance frameworks
- develop relevant and meaningful KPIs and metrics
- develop business analytics and 'big data' strategies
- develop management dashboards and reporting solutions
- train and coach teams to become 'high performance organisations'
- align people management practices with strategic performance objectives
- understand the emerging trends of big data analytics
His engagements range from executive awareness and training sessions to the design and implementation of corporate performance management and reporting approaches. Bernard can be contacted at bernard.marr@ap-institute.com
BOOKS BY BERNARD MARR amzn.to/2dqqCbT
I rose very early to drive down south to the wildlife refuge—112 miles from home—in hopes of capturing the start of the sunrise. The weather forecast had predicted that it would be a fine day with a mixture of sun and clouds, and very little chance of any rain. Well, as I reached the final 30 miles or so while on the highway, a thick blanket of fog consumed the view ahead, making the conditions quite hazardous, and shortly afterward, the rain began to fall, although rather lightly, nonetheless, precipitation. So, upon arrival, it was damp and foggy. The fog was not as bad as it had been on the highway, but enough to minimize the distant scenery. Then the winds started to roll in, dropping the temperature to a very chilly state. I did not bring an extra layer to wear between the shirt and light jacket, so the chill was rough to manage.
Anyhow, the usual stop, before the circuit drive was the raised boardwalk overlook. Barn Swallows were struggling in their flight, for the strong winds and rain made it difficult. Along the railings, at just about every opening, one could appreciate some really nice spider web art. Realizing that there was no sunrise to capture in such conditions, I left the park for a bit so that I could get some local breakfast fare. When I returned, the visibility was improved somewhat, and more natural light was available, albeit, not that great. The rain continued between light drizzles to some downpours. Luckily, visitors can remain in their vehicles, but the dirt roads now become pretty messy.
In recent visits, the Glossy Ibis flocks have been seen, but typically too far for decent shots; however, on this rainy day, not too far off the drive, was a singly Glossy searching for a morning bite in the marsh waters. It was occasionally accompanied by a pretty Snowy Egret in high color (see the 4t shot in the series).
The Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in Galloway Township, but commonly known as Brigantine, New Jersey, was originally established in 1939 with the Brigantine name, and again in 1967 as a combination with the Barnegat Division, in order to protect the natural wetlands for the regular wildlife inhabitants and the migratory birds that follow the Atlantic Flyway as they travel north and south throughout the year. Later in 1984, the two joined under the name of the current Edwin B Forsythe in honoring the late NJ Congressman and Conservationist.
The overwhelming majority of the area is wetlands and the within that, most of it is of a salt marsh nature. The roughly 47,000 acres of protective landscape is quite vast—wonderfully seen from the observation towers—and a well maintained 8-mile main drive, with several shorter extensions and songbird trails for hikers are available for more exploration. There are a number of raised platform nesting sites away from the drive for some of the raptors (eagles, ospreys, falcons, etc.) and a few observation towers along the driving route. These do offer better wide range vantage points; however, given the way the vegetative growth by the roadside is nicely trimmed back within reason, much of the wildlife can be appreciated right from the vehicles. And speaking of wildlife, there is a wealth of fascinating birds and other critters to admire.
One does not need to be a birder to enjoy the visit, for the overall landscape is so very beautiful and peaceful. The famous Atlantic City with its numerous casino resorts and attractive skyline sits mostly to the south and east, depending on where you are at the time, and, of course, just beyond that is the great Atlantic Ocean. When capturing AC or any of the vast landscape under the right lighting conditions, namely “Magic Hour” toward the end of the day or early morning, the overall scenery can be captivating.
1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Alloy Gullwing
$5,010,000 USD | Sold
From Sotheby's:
“The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
Alan Kay (born 1940), Computer Scientist
In 1954, decades of incremental technological development, design, and success on the racetrack by Mercedes-Benz—inventor of the automobile and the dominant brand in automotive innovation—culminated with the launch of the most iconic car of all time, the 300 SL “Gullwing.” Instantly changing the game, it shifted the paradigm in automotive design and performance forever.
After names such as Stirling Moss and Juan Manuel Fangio, racing heroes indelibly etched into the automotive history books, had achieved unprecedented success in competition with the 300 SLR (W196S), Rudolf Uhlenhaut’s engineering brilliance saw these pure racecars take production form in the 300 SL “Gullwing” Coupe of 1954. The 300 SL was a fully road-legal production car, yes, but it was also so much more than that: Beneath its shapely skin was an Uhlenhaut-designed, racing-style tubular chassis, and its styling fundamentals would be closely mirrored in the gullwinged 300 SLR “Uhlenhaut Coupe,” which recently became the most valuable car in history after a $150 million RM Sotheby’s sale.
As the fastest production car in the world upon its debut, the 300 SL clearly had Silver Arrow dominance in its DNA. In sum, the Gullwing was an exquisite reflection of Mercedes-Benz’s position at the pinnacle of the automotive space in the mid-1950s, exceeding all that Ferrari, Jaguar, Alfa Romeo, and Aston Martin could throw at them.
More than 60 years later, it is for good reason that “Gullwing”’ is a name that resonates with everyone, not simply car collectors. It transcends generations, connects old with new, and is both classic and sporty. It can be found in lyrics of hip-hop songs, Hollywood cinema, and even Andy Warhol pop-culture contemporary art. DeLorean’s futuristic car pulled the Gullwing doors in the 1980s—as did Tesla in the 2020s with their Model X. All serves as recognition of the incredible, outsized impact of the Gullwing, a car that was only ever owned by the fortunate few.
BRED FOR COMPETITION
In the 1950s, as in the modern era, Mercedes-Benz understood that its clients valued exclusivity, so they limited Gullwing production to 1,371 standard cars. For dedicated racers, as well as those sophisticated enthusiasts who wanted the almost unattainable, the factory minted an additional 29 competition-bred special-order cars with a lightweight alloy body, a more powerful engine, and other bespoke options. These were the 300 SL Alloy Gullwings: The 300 SL variants most directly linked to the world-beating 300 SLRs, and cars that—even in comparison to their already desirable steel-bodied counterparts—have long been the ultimate prizes for the world’s top collectors.
Distinctive in many ways from their standard steel-bodied brethren, these incredibly rare and historically significant Alloy coupes thrived at fulfilling the purpose for which they were built. All the most important race victories achieved by the 300 SL were, in fact, secured by one of these lightweight competition versions of the model (in addition to “secret” works entries and prototypes). Works-supported drivers secured no fewer than 50 important victories in sports car races across Europe and North America between 1954 and 1957. Notable triumphs include the Nürburgring 1000 KM, Tour d’Europe, Mille Miglia, Coppa d’Oro, Acropolis Rally, and Liège–Rome–Liège (as well as multiple SCCA and European Rally championships).
CHASSIS NUMBER 5500786
This rare 300 SL Alloy example was ordered new by Rene Wasserman, an industrialist and sports car enthusiast living in Basel, Switzerland. Research confirms that it is the 21st of those 24 alloy-bodied cars scheduled for production during the 1955 calendar year (although it was actually completed before car number 20). The car’s factory build sheet, a copy of which is on file, notes that Wasserman ordered his new alloy Gullwing with a plethora of special options, including special high-gloss white paint (DB 50), a red leather interior (1079), two-pieces of matching luggage, sports suspension, sealed-beam headlights with separate parking lights, 3.64 ratio rear axle, Rudge wheels and instruments in English, and the Sonderteile (“special parts”) engine with an impressive 215-horsepower output—surely making it one of the most well-specified Gullwings built.
The car was completed on 5 October 1955, and rather than having it delivered to Switzerland, Wasserman picked up the car himself in late November and drove his new 300 SL back home. While it is not known when Wasserman sold the car, by the early 1960s it had been exported to the United States, where its second owner was Jerome Seavey of Chicago, Illinois, followed by John K. Scattergood III, a principal at Blenheim Motors, located in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania.
THE SENATOR’S GULLWING
This 300 SL remained in Pennsylvania with its next owner, Keystone State politician and enthusiast Senator Theodore Newell Wood. Along with representing the 20th District of Luzerne, Susquehanna, Pike, Wayne, and Wyoming counties in the Pennsylvania State Senate, Senator Wood enjoyed sports car racing in his spare time and served as the president of the Hill Climb Association. He also founded the Brynfan Tyddyn Road Races, which were held from 1952 to 1956, with the last year featuring Carroll Shelby as a driver. The SCCA even gave Senator Wood a free lifetime membership for his efforts in sponsorship and participation in racing in the Northeast.
After passing through the hands of Bill Kontes and Joe Marchetti, the 300 SL was acquired by Leslie Barth in 1983. Barth kept the car until 1989. In its next ownership, with Swedish businessman and collector Hans Thulin, it was consigned to Kienle Automobiltechnik in Stuttgart, Germany. One of the world’s foremost facilities, Kienle is known for their restorations of Mercedes-Benzes, and 300 SLs in particular. The car was sold to a German collector, who in turn commissioned Kienle to perform a full restoration. Notably, damage to alloy-bodied 300 SLs is remarkably common, as the aluminum is notoriously thin and can quite literally bend under the pressure of an ill-placed hand. Furthermore, the bodies are known to deteriorate at the mounting points, where aluminum meets steel. As a result, almost all lightweight examples have been reskinned or repaired at some point, and on this particular car, any parts of the body that were irreparable were replaced.
Upon completion, the car was repainted in traditional Mercedes-Benz Silver-Grey Metallic (DB 180) and retrimmed in its original interior color of red leather (1079). As is to be expected, the quality of the workmanship is absolutely superb, with the tremendous attention to mechanical detail and factory-correctness befitting a Kienle restoration.
After passing through a collector in Switzerland, the car was acquired by its current custodian. The Gullwing has been preserved in immaculate condition ever since, with its odometer displaying 2,607 kilometers (~1,620 miles) at time of cataloguing, presumably accrued since Kienle’s restoration. As a result of its limited road use, a recent inspection indicates that to bring the car back to its peak performance level, a light mechanical servicing would be in order. The inspection further revealed the car retains its numbers-matching chassis, engine, gearbox, rear axle, steering box, and front axles.
Undeniably exclusive, this spectacular 300 SL features all of the highly desirable options and accessories one would want on an Alloy Gullwing, including the more powerful Sonderteile engine, sports suspension, Rudge knock-off wheels, special-order upholstery, and a two-piece luggage set executed in matching red leather.
The 300 SLRs have long been regarded by the collector community as being the world’s most valuable cars. This was proved to be true in May 2022 when RM Sotheby’s sold the 300 SLR “Uhlenhaut Coupe” for nearly $150 million. As a special production counterpart, the 300 SL Alloy Gullwing represents the “holy grail” of all Gullwings—and as one of only 29 cars built, this example will instantly become the centerpiece of any truly great collection.
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Kristina and I headed over to RM Sotheby's at the Monterey Conference Center to view some glorious cars at their auction preview.
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Had a blast with our auto-enthusiast friend and neighbor, Fred, at Monterey Car Week 2022.
Objective: To evaluate the role of Fetuin A levels in predicting glycemic outcome in individuals with impaired fasting glucose.
Research Design and Methods: A total of 742 young individuals were recruited for the study out of which 177 had impaired fasting glucose, 468 had normoglycemia and 97 individuals with diabetes. These individuals were offsprings of diabetics (either mother or father or both) and were siblings amongst themselves belonging to age group of 18-35 years. Various biochemical investigations such as fasting plasma glucose, glycosylated Hb, serum insulin, C-peptide and Fetuin A were carried out. People with impaired fasting glucose were followed and analyzed according to glycemic outcome and quartile of Fetuin A level.
Results: A total of 66 individuals with prediabetes reverted back to normal, 28 progressed to diabetes and 83 remained with prediabetes over a mean±S.D follow up of 24±4.1 months. People in the highest quartile of fetuin A had the highest Insulin, Insulin Resistance, Increased loss of beta cell activity, decreased sensitivity to insulin and a higher rate of progression to diabetes (relative risk 11.96, 95% CI 5.9 to 24.01, p<0.001) and a significantly lower rate of reversion to normoglycemia (relative risk 5.62, 95% CI 3.16 to 9.9, p<0.001) than those in other Fetuin A quartiles.
fetuin A correlated positively with Insulin (r= +0.289, p<0.001), C-peptide (r=+ 0.177, p<0.001), %β cell function(r= -0.368, p<0.001), insulin resistance (r= +0.436, p<0.001) and glycosylated Hb (r=+0.958, p<0.05) and negatively with % sensitivity to insulin( r= -0.287, p<0.001). Cox regression analysis showed that baseline fetuin A, insulin levels and fasting glucose levels were predictive of reversion to normoglycemia.
Conclusions: Increased fetuin A levels had an adverse impact on glycemic outcomes thus suggesting that fasting plasma glucose and Fetuin A can be used as a tool to determine the susceptibility of an individual to develop pre-diabetes and thus diabetes mellitus.
Author(s) Details
Sukhraj Kaur
Department of Biochemistry, Government Medical College, Amritsar, Punjab, India.
Dr. Mridula Mahajan
Department of Biochemistry, Government Medical College, Amritsar, Punjab, India.
Read full article: bp.bookpi.org/index.php/bpi/catalog/view/53/534/471-1
View More: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rdG-Rbvi84
As predicted, it was more of an orange than a bloody red.
The bright star to the right is not Mars, which is out of frame to the top. It was much larger, redder, and brighter. It competed with the moon for attention.
Very SF. Cue the Theremin.
Pics showing Mars too were not of acceptable quality. They were just slightly over the edge of what the equipment could do, and frankly, what the photographer could do.
We'll be satisfied with this nice image of a great sky show.
The world has long relied on the U.N. to predict the future of human fertility and thus the projection of a world population reaching 11.7 billion before leveling off in 2100. But these two Canadian authors, one the CEO of a social and opinion research firm and one a journalist tell a compelling story of the factors that may foretell a dramatically different story of population collapse or peak humans to borrow from other resource trajectories. These indices predict a peak of 9 billion by 2040 to 2060 and then a steadily diminishing population which will impact economic growth and create challenges having to do with how cultures view immigration and racial purity.
Urbanization, education of women, technology and of course birth control are the chief reasons for the lowering of fertility globally. But also a desire for a more personally fulfilling life rather than one devoted to family and clan. The authors give us a fascinating overview of trends from the street as they travel around the world talking to women in representative countries such as Korea, Kenya, Brazil. All leading to the same conclusion. Women think having 2 children is enough.
Influencing factors in Western nations and the U.S. are familiar to us. High student debt has a direct correlation to the fertility rate in the U.S. and one not really being talked about as does bad economic times as was seen during the Great Recession. India currently has a high birth rate of 2.5 down from the 5.9 of the ‘50s as the government instilled into the culture the “We Two, Our Two” program of a complete family having only 2 children quite successfully. And as more women are educated and want to do more with their lives they are less likely to have more than two babies. Voluntary sterilization is also prevalent in India. Africa too may see a drop in birthrate as more girls are educated. And sterilization is often used in Brazil too.
Having presented a convincing case that the entire world’s population is heading for a below replacement fertility rate, the authors then turn to the discussion of immigration as the hope for the future of countries that aim to thrive. Asian countries with their built in cultural aversion to foreigners can expect their economies to stagnate as Japan is now. China does not permit immigration and Russia has trouble persuading anyone to come. Europe has some growing pains with all the displaced migrants from chaotic situations in Syria, Yemen and Libya to handle. Refugees are being passed around from country to country tending to become ghettoized where they settle. Canada has been the most successful at integrating refugees through private sponsorship and by selecting for skill level. Skill level is an important part of immigrant success. Relying on compassion alone does not help the host country as Sweden discovered when refugees flooded the country. In Canada refugees are only 10% of overall immigration.
A chapter on Canada’s immigration history is instructional in showing how the country went from being anti-immigration to being pro immigration to the point of losing a national identity.
The U.S. continues to be the most welcoming and desirable destination for immigrants despite current politics and would do well to keep being a welcoming country given that white millennials have had the lowest fertility rate at 0.95 of any previous generation. And Latino and Black fertility rates are dropping too in large part due to fewer teen pregnancy and more Black and Latina women becoming college educated.
As populations age there will be a need for young people to provide the labor to take care of this aging population and fill in as the workforce. The authors are also of the opinion that young people are the source of innovation as proven by the age of inventors past and CEOs of tech though I would question if their innovations were necessarily of benefit to the world when maturity is the more advantageous when it comes to innovations that take time to perfect. Still the smart phone in the back pocket is a window to the world and a source of empowerment that has led to declining birthrates as it has promoted the idea of self fulfillment over loyalty to clan. Meanwhile the authors do agree that the earth will likely benefit from a diminishing population becoming cleaner and less impacted by 9 billion people instead of the nearly 12 billion predicted.
Books that compare social trends from country to country are illuminating studies of the impact not only of culture and history, but of governments, media, popular culture and technology. A book about population is even more interesting to me as it addresses the status of women overall and how fertility rests on the choices women have. But the chief reason this book is so timely for the American reader is because of the perspective a diminishing population gives on immigration in these anti-immigrant era. For in order to keep our status as innovators and leaders of the world, indeed to keep America Great, we need to embrace immigration and accept that the future of America will also be browner and more mixed race.
Don’t go to Richmond Park on a predicted “Met Office Heat Wave” weekend in March!
You won’t be able to park
5 million people who probably live within walking distance will drive their enormous Range Rovers, Audis, Mercs, BMW’s and other prestige car marques to the park
20 million twats on bicycles think they own the roads and tracks
10 million designer dog owners will let their little test tube creations shite everywhere
If you do find somewhere to park then you will return to your car to find some *anker of a BMW owner has completely blocked you!
The only sounds you will hear will be that of vast jumbo jets on their approach run to Heathrow
A million green parrots squawking from every tree
When you do find some deer to photograph you will them come across some pissed up Eastern European (10.30 in the morning) chasing them with a can of beer in his hand.
The park is dead! Countless decaying fallen trees, no sign of any life what so ever!
Apart from that it was a great day out!
Nikon D7100 shooting RAW captures huge files…worked the mega high speed SD cards to death today…never buy slow cards again! Ultra Fast is the only way to go…even if it does break the bank !
Richmond Park is the largest Royal Park in London covering an area of 2,500 acres. From its heights there is an uninterrupted view of St Paul's Cathedral, 12 miles away.
Richmond Park has changed little over the centuries and although it is surrounded by human habitation, the varied landscape of hills, woodland gardens and grasslands set among ancient trees abound in wild life.
The royal connections to this park probably go back further than any of the others, beginning with Edward (1272-1307), when the area was known as the Manor of Sheen. The name was changed to Richmond during Henry VII's reign. In 1625 Charles I brought his court to Richmond Palace to escape the plague in London and turned it into a park for red and fallow deer. His decision, in 1637, to enclose the land was not popular with the local residents, but he did allow pedestrians the right of way. To this day the walls remain, although they have been partially rebuilt and reinforced.
In 1847 Pembroke Lodge became the home of the then Prime Minister, Lord John Russell and was later the childhood home of his grandson, Bertrand Russell.
It is now a popular restaurant with glorious views across the Thames Valley.
The Isabella Plantation is a stunning woodland garden which was created after World War II from an existing woodland, and is organically run, resulting in a rich flora and fauna.
Richmond Park has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a National Nature Reserve.
Predicting a spooky future: Greek independent feature film 'Ο Χειμώνας' (The Winter) by Konstantinos Koutsoliotas
Kelly Whalen, Kelly Kinkaid, and Melanie Nelson on stage talking about how to predict trends to create content at FINCON12.
A commercial postcard produced by Valentine's. Dating from the interwar years. No message on reverse.
Picture Of Bryant Park In New York City The Day After New York City Was Hit With A 7.6 Inch Snowstorm. The Snowstorm Was Predicted To Be A Blizzard With 12 to 18 Inches Of Snow Predicted But It Was Much Less. Photo Taken Wednesday March 15, 2017.
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Predictive Cruise Control, combined with GPS, can help drivers obtain even better fuel economy. The Driver Shift Aid and the Driver Reward System can also contribute to improved fuel economy. On hilly or mountainous terrain, the system slightly increases the speed of the truck as it approaches a hill, then feathers off the throttle automatically when the truck is about to crest the hill.
About 40 years ago I worked for the local tourist office in Dun Laoghaire and I was based in Moran Park [the locals called it moron park] and at the time I would not have believed it if someone had predicted that I would about 20 years later be employed by a high-tech company based in Haigh Terrace only a few years away from the tourist office. My employment at Haigh Terrace did not last long because I was encouraged by senior management to move on. I returned to Dun Laoghaire about two years later because of an amazing an unexpected opportunity to join Ericsson. I remained with Ericsson for about ten years and then I decided to leave because the operation was to be re-located away from Dun Laoghaire.
The reason why I mention my working life in Dun Laoghaire is because I am very familiar with the area were the new Library is now located. When I worked for the Tourist Office a drugs culture was beginning to take root in Dun Laoghaire [it was one of the first areas to have such a problem]. Then when I was based in Haigh Terrace many of the staff were unwilling to work overtime as the area was not safe at night as Moran park was populated by dealers and their drug addicted clients. When I joined Ericsson the town of Dun Laoghaire was entering into an economic depression from which it has yet to recover … the fact that Ericsson and other multi-nationals relocated did not help.
Today if you walk along the main street you will see many empty shops especially near the peoples park. But despite the decline there is now much to like about the town. The People’s Park has been re-developed and it is now very attractive and well worth a visit. The East pier is amazing and the seafront is now an attractive area with many good restaurants.
The new Public Library, officially called DLR Lexicon, opened today and because the weather was beautiful this morning I decided to visit and form my own opinion about the new structure which as been described [denounced] as a monstrosity and an extravagant waste of more than €30 million of taxpayers’ money. Despite what the locals believe the development has attracted much positive comment with The Irish Times describing the building as follows: “The new building is an oblong wedge, both in plan and elevation – something that’s more obvious from the sea than it is up close. It tapers to an enormous gable window facing towards Howth, a grand gesture that offers some of the most spectacular views of Dublin Bay, while side windows look out to either Dún Laoghaire or Sandycove. Clad in Iberian granite on its monumental north elevation that addresses the park, and in English red brick with granite coursing on the Haigh Terrace side (in sympathy with many of the town’s Victorian buildings), it was consciously designed to link the busy seafront area known as The Metals with the main shopping street, which is in a bad way.”
Have a look at me photographs and form your opinion or better still pay a visit to Dun Laoghaire sooner rather than later.
1. "Our habits predict the future.", 2. "I'm thankful for every moment.", 3. "The power from God keeps us young.", 4. Smiling in the sunshine comforts the soul., 5. "If you want to be rich, be kind.", 6. Find a new friend... they are your treasures., 7. "Weave in faith and God will find the thread.", 8. Water is nature's mirror.,
9. Happy Holidays from our home to yours..., 10. Was my photo debut a success? Was it? I'm such a handsome looking duck!, 11. Celebrate!, 12. The Wind, 13. Hearty laughter..., 14. Spirit, 15. Blossoms..., 16. The Wisdom to Laugh,
17. A choice..., 18. Goodness..., 19. "Love the people whom fate brings you together, but do so with all of your heart.", 20. "When quince blossoms bloom and say "Hello Spring!", 21. "Love doesn't make the world go round, but it makes the ride worthwhile.", 22. "We delight in the beauty of the butterfly.", 23. "The measure of God's love is that He loves without measure.", 24. "Nature is my medicine.",
25. The bonds that unite families and friends are not forged for a little while, they are for eternity. ...", 26. Create a moment of joy!, 27. Hugs are contagious!, 28. Moments..., 29. Standing alone with thoughts of my own, 30. Megumi's moment, 31. Christmas angel memories, 32. The little things in life...,
33. Megumi - a young profile, 34. lake view, 35. "By associating with the cat, one only risks becoming richer.", 36. "One of the meanings of an iris flower is love.", 37. WALTZ OF THE BUTTERFLIES, 38. "Last night, I dreamed about a smile.", 39. "Bloom where you're planted.", 40. A Happy Valentine's Day Teatime!,
41. "One is nearer God's Heart in a garden", 42. "Learn to use your imagination.", 43. "Today and everyday, remember to share hugs where ever you go.", 44. This seems only like yesterday..., 45. "One small cat changes coming home to an empty house to coming home.", 46. "I asked God for the chance to find things that I might enjoy life.", 47. "The Lord teaches us to believe in ourselves.", 48. "I love Spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden.",
49. "Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him.", 50. Have a great Flag Day!, 51. "God is the friend of silence.", 52. "Let us always meet each other with a smile.", 53. "There are few things in the life more heartwarming than to be welcomed by a cat.", 54. "When you smile, you discover the beauty within yourself.", 55. To my flickr friends..., 56. "♥ May your day be filled with SMILES ♥",
57. "The God of love my shepherd is.", 58. “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”, 59. “Beauty without virtue is like a rose without scent.”, 60. "One day, while I was walking around, I bumped into some friends saying "Hello!", 61. You posses the inner strength to make your dreams come true., 62. "It is in their eyes that their magic resides.", 63. Thanks for laughing along with me., 64. Why me?,
65. Megumi - catnip content..., 66. "The end to perfect summer day at the beach is watching the sunset.", 67. "Nature is a volume of which God s the author.", 68. "Kindness gives birth to kindness.", 69. Happy Mother's Day, 70. "Begin tomorrow with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense.", 71. "You are full of promise.", 72. "A friend hears the song in my heart."
Created with fd's Flickr Toys
Octopus predicted right! Karmen Smolnikar says:
Did you hear? Legendary German octopus predicted Spain will win...
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/europe/10521867.stm
Spain against Holland on Sunday!
WI: Phone banking using the predictive dialers in Milwaukee
Friday, October 17, 2008
(Photo credit: Casie Yoder)
Chilly morning upon us - Still going strong!
Despite predicted clear skies all night and a dip to 9-10c, at 8.45pm it was still thick cloud cover so I promptly set-up the trap, having missed out the previous night. By this morning.... boy it was chilly!
Still the trap and the surrounding walls had plenty of moths present, mostly Willow Beauty and Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing.
Plenty of new species for the garden aswell, including Iron Prominent, Knot Grass, Small Phoenix and Flame Carpet.
Amazingly Common Carpet was new for year, and just shows you that it is never too late for a moth to appear in your trap!
Catch Report - 12/08/13 - Back Garden Stevenage - 1x 125w MV Robinson trap
Macro Moths
1x Iron Prominent [NFG]
2x Knot Grass [NFG]
1x Flame Carpet [NFG]
1x Small Phoenix [NFG]
1x Common Carpet [NFY]
1x Pale Mottled Willow
1x Square-spotted Clay
19x Willow Beauty
1x Single-dotted Wave
1x July Highflyer
1x Grey Dagger
9x Silver-Y
7x Straw Underwing
1x Dot Moth
1x Flame Shoulder
25x Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
1x Phoenix
2x Dun-bar
2x Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
2x Snout
1x Cloaked Minor
18x Common Rustic
3x Dark Arches
1x Black Arches
2x Marbled Beauty
1x Yellow Shell
4x Riband Wave
1x Uncertain
6x Large Yellow Underwing
3x Shuttle-shaped Dart
3x Square-spot Rustic
3x Scalloped Oak
1x Early Thorn
1x Copper Underwing
3x Orange Swift
2x Lesser Yellow Underwing
1x Maple Pug
1x Cabbage Moth
2x Bright-line Brown-eye
Micro Moths
1x Bryotropha domestica [NFG]
1x Caloptilia rufipennella [NFG]
1x Gypsonoma dealbana [NFG]
1x Cochylimorpha straminea [NFG]
1x Acleris aspersana [NFG]
2x Emmelina monodactyla
10x Agriphila tristella
6x Pleuroptya ruralis
3x Endotricha flammealis
2x Blastobasis lacticolella
1x Aleimma loeflingiana
2x Evergestis forficalis
2x Cameraria ohridella
2x Bryotropha terrella
1x Orthopygia glaucinalis
2x Epiphyas postvittana
6x Agriphila straminella
1x Pandemis corylana
1x Eudemis profundana
1x Amblyptilia acanthadactyla
1x Caloptilia alchimiella
4x Carcina quercana
1x Trachycera suavella
1x Blastobasis adustella
2x Euzophera pinguis
3x Eudonia mercurella
3x Agriphila geniculea
1x Celypha striana
1x Batia unitella
1x Chrysoteuchia culmella
1x Spilonota ocellana
2x Plutella xylostella
Venice Italy, November 2010 HDR
The Rialto Bridge (Italian: Ponte di Rialto) is one of the four bridges spanning the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. It is the oldest bridge across the canal.
The first dry crossing of the Grand Canal was a pontoon bridge built in 1181 by Nicolò Barattieri. It was called the Ponte della Moneta, presumably because of the mint that stood near its eastern entrance.[2]
The development and importance of the Rialto market on the eastern bank increased traffic on the floating bridge, so it was replaced in 1255 by a wooden bridge.[2] This structure had two inclined ramps meeting at a movable central section, that could be raised to allow the passage of tall ships. The connection with the market eventually led to a change of name for the bridge. During the first half of the 15th century two rows of shops were built along the sides of the bridge. The rents brought an income to the State Treasury, which helped maintain the bridge.
Maintenance was vital for the timber bridge. It was partly burnt in the revolt led by Bajamonte Tiepolo in 1310. In 1444 it collapsed under the weight of a crowd watching a boat parade and it collapsed again in 1524.
The idea of rebuilding the bridge in stone was first proposed in 1503. Several projects were considered over the following decades. In 1551 the authorities requested proposals for the renewal of the Rialto Bridge, among other things. Plans were offered by famous architects such as Jacopo Sansovino, Palladio and Vignola, but all involved a Classical approach with several arches, which was judged inappropriate to the situation. Even the great Michelangelo was considered as designer of the bridge.
The present stone bridge, a single span designed by Antonio da Ponte, was finally completed in 1591. It is remarkably similar to the wooden bridge it succeeded. Two inclined ramps lead up to a central portico. On either side of the portico the covered ramps carry rows of shops. The engineering of the bridge was considered so audacious that architect Vincenzo Scamozzi predicted future ruin. The bridge has defied its critics to become one of the architectural icons of Venice.
PI: Parviz Moin, Stanford University
This project aims to demonstrate that LES of complex geometries at flight Reynolds numbers is possible with today’s large-scale computers, which is a crucial step toward extended use of LES in transportation and power industries.
This image illustrates detailed simulation inside a flow control device. The main jet oscillates between the upper and lower outputs (separated by a triangular block in this cross-section); contours of streamwise velocity are shown. Actual aircraft will have dozens of these ports installed along the tail and wings for control.
Image credit: J. Kim, Center for Turbulence Research, Stanford University
Scientific discipline: Engineering
This research used resources of the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility at Argonne National Laboratory.
Picture Of Bryant Park In New York City The Day After New York City Was Hit With A 7.6 Inch Snowstorm. The Snowstorm Was Predicted To Be A Blizzard With 12 to 18 Inches Of Snow Predicted But It Was Much Less. Photo Taken Wednesday March 15, 2017.
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Le berger Phorbas recueillit le bébé Œdipe abandonné par ses parents à cause de la terrible prédiction qui le concernait.
On the 4th & 5th October 2016, leading international thinkers in the areas of Data, Predictive Models, Technology and Decision making gathered at the RDS, Dublin, for Predict 2016. The speakers, many of whom I managed to photograph, discussed the latest progress in Predictive Modelling and its future – from Data to Software and Hardware technology, plus Predictive Modelling methods and the best examples of Data-driven Decision-making.
The organisers kindly invited me to the Predict event at the RDS but as I arrived a bit early I took few backstage or behind the scenes shots. In case your are interested I used a Sony A7RM2 coupled with a Sony 29-135 full frame lens. The lens does attract a lot of attention which does allow me to to have interesting people … volunteers, students from Brazil, photographers etc. Of course my lens did not attract as mush attention as the two cars [especially the DeLorean DMC-12. DMC-12s were primarily intended for the American market. All production models were therefore left-hand drive. Evidence survives from as early as April 1981, however, which indicates that the DeLorean Motor Company was aware of the need to produce a right-hand drive version to supply to world markets such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, India, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. My contacts in Belfast claim that 16 right-hand drive factory-authorised DeLoreans were produced.