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View of the Southern Way anchored in a deep water channel on the west side of the Chandeleur Islands. Researchers use the smaller skiffs to access the shallow waters close to shore.
5/i365
In my adventures today I snaped this picture of my front yard. The freshly fallen snow was the challenge. Could my daughters remotely controlled Jeep 4x4 handle the winter elements. These tracks in the snow are the evidence of a challenge met and overcome.
Mauna Kea Beach Hotel - History
George Mason headed the Hawaii Department of Economic Development in the early 1960's (later he founded the Pacific Business News). It was determined that Hawaii's tourism industry had to expand beyond Waikiki to the outer islands. William Quinn, the first Governor of Hawaii, sent Mason to Caneel Bay Plantation in the U.S. Virgin Islands to study Laurence Rockefeller's investment and development of an environmentally friendly resort set on a very remote island, St. John. Mason had several conversations with Lesley Moore, Caneel Bay's hotel manager at the time. As a result an invitation was delivered to Laurence Rockefeller to visit Hawaii with the hope he would develop a similar resort on one of Hawaii's outer islands.
In 1960 Rockefeller arrived in Hawaii along with his long-time associate Allston Boyer who was instrumental in the development of Caneel Bay Plantation and Dorado Beach Hotel and Walter Collins representing the firm Belt, Collins & Associates known for providing master planning, landscape architecture and civil engineering. The visitors were given the use of a state airplane to visit possible resort locations. In fact Aloha Airlines donated the plane and crew. When Rockefeller later learned this, he insisted on paying for it. The entourage stayed overnight at the Parker Ranch, Volcano House and Kona Inn on the Big Island, Coco Palms on Kauai and Hotel Hana Maui - where Rockefeller met and visited with Robert Butterfield (then the hotel manager at Hotel Hana Maui and later the second hotel manager at Mauna Kea Beach Hotel). Rockefeller met with Parker Ranch owner Richard Smart. He asked to visit the beach he had seen while flying over the island. From the ranch headquarters in cool misty Waimea the small group descended the bumpy 2600 feet by jeep trail to visit the beach at remote Kauna'oa Bay. It was reported that George Mason, Allston Boyer and Laurence Rockefeller went swimming at Kauna'oa Bay. As Mason had hoped the visitors were awe struck by the crescent shaped beach, the warm Pacific waters and the spectacular view of the snow-capped Mauna Kea. In May, 1961 Rockefeller returned to Kauna'oa Bay with Robert Trent Jones and the governor of Hawaii to announce the plans for a massive investment in a resort and golf course. At that time Kauan'oa Bay's crescent shaped beach was isolated, had no water or electricity and was accessible only by a dirt road and foot paths. Richard Smart leased approximately 500 acres for 99 years to Laurence Rockefeller for building the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel on Kauna'oa Bay of the Kohala Coast. Smart said it was land too dry for his cattle!
Rockefeller first selected the architect John Carl Warnecke, a pioneer of contextual architecture - fitting a building into its environment. Warnecke later designed the Hawaiian State Capitol building. Rockefeller initially conceived the resort to follow the cottage format similar to his design for Caneel Bay Plantation and Little Dix Bay. Rockefeller is quoted “The design should follow the natural contours of the land, incorporate lava rock and in every possible way make the hotel invisible.” Nathaniel A. Owings, a founder of the architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, was leaning towards designing 100 beach cottages. A model cottage was built, it was later demolished after sustaining damage from tropical storms. The cottage concept was shelved in favor of a single large structure. Later Rockefeller turned to the architect Edward Charles Bassett of the Skidmore, Owings & Merrill firm to design the hotel that is part outdoors and part indoors, in fact the hotel has a door-less entry. Bassett also designed in 1962 the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland.
Belt Collins prepared for Pioneer Mill sugar plantation the first feasibility study for the Ka'anapali resort area on Maui. Belt Collins work at Mauna Kea included the construction of the hotel, its grounds, sewage plant, golf course, drilling of three wells and building a segment of the Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway from Kawaihae to the hotel. The construction of the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel was a huge logistical task. All building materials came by ferry. A temporary camp was created to house and feed the 500 construction workers.
As the resort neared completion, Rockefeller took a motor launch off shore. He looked back to the bay, the beach and his hotel-to-be with snow-capped Mauna Kea volcano, the backdrop. He determined the building's exterior was too bright. He ordered a repaint to better harmonize with the surroundings. He is quoted as saying "No man can outdo nature; mustn't even try."
Another expert of Rockefeller's team was Robert Trent Jones, Sr. He had designed Rockefeller's Dorado Beach golf courses in Puerto Rico. Regarding the third hole, Jones said, "Mr. Rockefeller, if you allow me to build a golf course here, this will be the most beautiful hole in the world." The debate continues if the par 3 third hole with an over-ocean inlet carry from tee to green is the most beautiful golf hole in the world. He seamlessly blended in the 18 fairways and greens to the black lava rock. The golf course was completed before the hotel opened. Jackie Pung, Hawaii's first woman golfing notable, was the initial teaching pro. "Rags" Ragland was the first director of golf at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel. The first pro shop was a shack that was originally a recreational facility for Parker Ranch employees who wanted to swim at Mauna Kea's beach.
When it opened in July, 1965 the 154-room Mauna Kea was the most expensive hotel ever built at the time, at $15 million. The opening room rates on the Modified American Plan (MAP) started at $43, including breakfast and dinner in the Pavilion, which featured rotating menus of international cuisines. From 1965 to 1995, the Hotel operated contentedly without guestroom televisions. Esquire magazine named the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel one of the "Three greatest hotels in the world."
At the 1965 grand opening Rockefeller spoke this prayer. "May we all find inspiration in the majesty of the sea and the beauty of the surrounding mountains. May we learn again the joy of living and that good will is the key to brotherly love. May we recognize anew that material goods are but the means - stepping stone to the spiritual meaning and purpose of life."
The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel boasts an impressive art collection that includes priceless Pacific and Asian art pieces, curated for the resort’s opening, and handmade Hawaiian quilts from the 1960’s. These masterpieces elevate the status of Mauna Kea Beach Hotel to a museum in and of itself. Over 1600 pieces of authentic artwork and artifacts make Mauna Kea’s collection one of the most extensive collections of Asian and Oceanic artwork assembled by one individual, Mr. Rockefeller. The Art Collection showcases pieces from India, Southeast Asia, China, Japan, Melanesia, and Polynesia. Works of art include everything from custom, in-room watercolors, to a seventh-century sandstone Buddha, to elaborate Thai temple guardians. It was Mr. Rockefeller’s intention to informally display the pieces without signs or glass, in order to create the semblance of a noble manor teeming with abundant fine art.
Leslie H. Moore Jr., from Caneel Bay Plantation, was the first general manager of Mauna Kea. Allston Boyer hired Moore to manage Caneel Bay in 1956. Moore, a graduate of the Cornell University Hotel School, was previously the manager of the General Electric's Association Island at Henderson Harbor, NY. Moore left Mauna Kea to manage the White Elephant Hotel on Nantucket Island, MA. Executive assistants at opening were Richard Erb and James Reed and Clay James headed the food and beverage department along with executive chef Walter Blum. Mrs. Pi'lani Bell was the first executive housekeeper.
Robert H. Butterfield Jr managed the hotel from 1966 to 1982. He and his wife, Charlotte managed the Hotel Hana Maui from 1948 to 1965. Butterfield held a degree in Hotel Administration from the Cornell Hotel School, served wartime in the navy before working with Sugar Plantation owner Paul Fagan, the owner of remote Hotel Hana Maui. Butterfield died in 2011 at age 94 in Waimea, Hawaii. The hotel manager's residence was the "White House" (today the 8 room Jacaranda Inn) at Waimea, formerly the home of the Parker Ranch manager. It is where Rockefeller stayed during his many visits to the construction site and entertained guests.
In 1967 Laurence Rockefeller sold portions of his hotel assets to Eastern Airlines. Eastern acquired an 80% interest in the 306 room Dorado Beach resort for about $17 million and acquired a 60% interest in the 154 room Mauna Kea Beach Hotel for $10 million. As part of the deal Eastern also acquired a 40% interest in Rockresorts, Rockefeller's hotel management company.
In 1978 Laurence Rockefeller and Eastern Airlines sold the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel to UAL. Inc., the parent company of United Airlines and Western International Hotels for $51.5 million. The sell included 310 room hotel, 18-hole Robert Trent Jones golf course and about 100 acres of land adjacent to the hotel and golf course. Western International (later Westin) would operate the hotel. Western International at that time also owned and operated the Ilikai Hotel in Waikiki. Many repeat guests worried the hotel would lose its Rockefeller lustre. But Bob Butterfield in a 1981 interview is quoted "They (UAL, Inc.) told me, don't cut maintenance, don't cut anything.
William F. Mielcke, served as President of the Mauna Kea Resort for 21 years from 1980 to 2001. Previously he served as general manager at the Kona Surf. Mauna Kea Resort consists of the 258 room Mauna Kea Beach Hotel and the 350 room Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, two golf courses and real estate including single family homes, townhomes, condominiums and vacant land.
The hotel was purchased in 1989 for $315 million by Yoshiaki Tsutsumi of Seibu Railway. Fortune magazine named Tsutsumi as the world's richest man during the years 1987 to 1990. Seibu purchased the Mauna Kea Beach Resort from the partnership of Aoki Corp of Japan and the Robert M Bass Group of Fort Worth Texas – who had acquired Westin Hotels from UAL, Inc. The hotel moved from the Westin flag and management to Seibu's Prince Resorts Hawaii management in 1990.
In 1994, 30 years after opening, the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel closed for a 1 year renovation. This happened as the Hapuna Prince Hotel opens. Mauna Kea Beach reopened with Adi Kohler as the Managing Director - and - with TVs in the guest rooms. Kohler retired in June, 2000.
Prince Hotels Hawaii embarked on a three-year, $150 million renovation of the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel after it closed following major damage from a 2006 earthquake. Mauna Kea Beach Hotel re-opened in 2009, the renovations included larger, redesigned guest rooms, new restaurants, a new spa, a new club house, and new air conditioning and plumbing systems. Mauna Kea Beach Hotel was added to Marriott's Autograph Collection in 2015.
Mauna Kea Beach Hotel management through 50 plus years of operation:
Leslie Moore - appointed first General Manager in 1965
Bob Butterfield - appointed General Manager in 1966.
Adi Kohler - Mauna Kea Beach Hotel's 3rd Hotel Manager appointed in 1978.
William F Mielcke - named President of Mauna Kea Resort in 1980 (retired in 2001)
Adi Kohler - named Managing Director of Mauna Kea Resort in 1994 (retired in 2000)
Charlie Park - named the hotels fifth Hotel Manager in 1997.
Donn Takahashi - named President of Prince Resorts Hawaii 2004
Jon Gersonde - named General Manager - Mauna Kea Beach Hotel in 2008 (left in 2014 to be Managing Director Turnberry Isle, Miami)
Phyllis Branco - named Hotel Manager in 2010 (left in 2015 to be General Manager at Hilo Doubletree Naniloa Hotel)
Craig Anderson - named Vice President of operations Mauna Kea Resort in 2015 (previously was general manager at the Westin Moana Surfrider)
Information compiled by Richard L. Johnson (October, 2016). I was the Beverage Manager at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel from approximately 1973 to 1975. I worked for Roger Bird, the Food and Beverage Manager. Bob Butterfield was the GM and Adi Kohler the Assistant GM. Michael White was the Pavillion Dining Room Manager. Kim Dietrich was the Executive Chef. I was a 1971 graduate from the U of Hawaii School on Travel Industry Management. Upon graduation Caneel Bay Plantation Assistant Manager George Pynn hired me as the night auditor. The telegram confirmation from Pynn was something like "$350 a month plus room and board. Also, a one way ticket from Honolulu to Charlotte Amalie, US Virgin Islands." I worked through several jobs ending as the Assistant Manager at Rockefeller's St. John National Park Cinnamon Bay Campground. Richard Erb, Caneel Bay Plantation's General Manager helped me in securing the Beverage Manager position at Mauna Kea.
Descend from the high wolds near the remote villages of Guiting Power and Hawling, down towards Andoversford in the valley below. If you follow the old Gloucester road, rather than the busy A40 you will approach the twin villages as travellers have for hundreds of years. A ribbon of houses that skirts the margins of an infant River Coln, the waters of which glister over two fords and through many a clear pool between clumps of yellow flags, dividing the two villages.
Shipton or 'sheep farm' was divided into two parishes in the middle ages each with it's own small church, though they are barely a mile apart. Shipton Oliffe long in the ownership of the Oliffe family grew in importance and when the two parishes were united in 1766 St. Mary's Shipton Solers fell out of use. By 1883 St. Mary's was reduced to a cow byre and only the intervention of the rector Charles Pugh and his wife saved the church for future generations.
St. Oswald, Shipton Oliffe, a small Norman church with 13th century additions, stands below the level of the road. Once owned by the Abbey of St. Peter, Gloucester the church has a 13th century west bellcote with two bells above two gothic windows inserted by H. A. Prothero in 1903-4. A blocked Norman north door gives evidence of the church's early origins while the Early English chancel has retained many of it's original features including an east window with a shafted rere-arcade. The chancel has an Early Decorated south window, a stepped sedilia and a rare Late Decorated canopied piscina. A 13th century south chapel is separated from the nave by a two-bay arcade inserted by Prothero in 1904. The church has a Perpendicular octagonal font, a pulpit by W. Ellery Anderson 1937 and a plaster 19th century Royal Arms. There is an area of wall painting above the chancel arch which may be early 13th century and other texts of the 17th and 18th centuries. The east window has stained glass by Burlison and Grylls. In the churchyard are an interesting collection of tea-caddy tombs.
St. Mary, Shipton Solers was probably consecrated in 1212 as this date was inscribed over the chancel, a discovery made during the sympathetic 1929-30 restoration by W.E. Ellery Anderson. A simple 13th century church of nave and chancel with a west bell-cote added in 1884, lengthened in the Perpendicular period. Most of the windows reflect this 15th century refurbishment although a 13th century lancet survives in the chancel. North and south doors face each other across the nave, the south door appears to be late medieval. When passing through the Early English chancel arch you step down into the chancel, an unusual feature probably a consequence of the sloping ground. Perpendicular king-posts support a wagon roof with carved bosses. Consecration crosses painted in red lead survive in both nave and chancel, possibly late medieval in date, the nave walls have post-Reformation biblical texts. The altar is a 13th century stone mensa found buried beneath the floor during the restoration work carried out in 1929-30. An elaborate painted reredos was carved by Ellery Anderson in 1929, oak panelling was fitted at this time. The nave has a Jacobean pulpit with tester and a modern hourglass stand (the original was stolen) which dates from the 1660 Restoration when sermons were meant to last for over an hour. At the west end of the nave is an octagonal 15th century font. There are a few fragments of medieval glass as well as several attractive 1930s windows by Geoffrey Webb whose web signature can be seen beneath a depiction of the Madonna and Child. Two of the windows have rebus designs, one depicting a house amongst fields of corn commemorates Ernest Fieldhouse while the other shows a ship and tun representing Shipton. St. Mary's is now in the able custody of The Churches Conservation Trust.
The Shiptons are near Andoversford 7miles from Cheltenam, just over an hour from Stratford-upon-Avon.
Taken at the Rochester (NY) Museum and Science Center.
Almost forgot... this is one of my rare SOOC shots!
The Remote Operating Centre, designed to redefine the way in which vessels are controlled. Instead of copying existing wheelhouse design the ROC used input from experienced captains to place the different system components in the optimum place to give the master confidence and control. The aim is to create a future proof standard for the control of vessels remotely.
The Remote Operating Centre, designed to redefine the way in which vessels are controlled. Instead of copying existing wheelhouse design the ROC used input from experienced captains to place the different system components in the optimum place to give the master confidence and control. The aim is to create a future proof standard for the control of vessels remotely.
Presented is a series of images of the Grand Canyon Lodge, the venerable hotel on the North Rim of Arizona’s Grand Canyon, in Grand Canyon National Park. The Grand Canyon, one of the world’s most spectacular wonders, received special federal protection beginning in 1886. In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt elevated the canyon and its surrounding territory to National Monument status, and in 1919 under President Woodrow Wilson, it became a National Park. The South Rim is easily accessible and is the locale familiar to most visitors and tourists. The North Rim is different. It is on the remote Arizona Strip, the last part of the United States to be explored, and which well into the 20th century remained the least accessible and least visited corner of the country. Being on the Kaibab Plateau approximately 1,000 feet higher in elevation than the South Rim, it is also a colder and snowier locale which must be closed to traffic and tourism in the winter. However, “in season”, the North Rim is a land of drama and beauty.
Camping, lodging, and visitor’s services are provided at the North Rim village on Bright Angel Point. The center of the village is its hotel, the Grand Canyon Lodge. The first lodging in that area was Wylee Way Camp, a “mom-and-pop” service established 1917. The North Rim was incorporated into the Grand Canyon National Park in 1921. To provide better services, Wylee Way Camp was acquired in 1927 by the Utah Parks Company, a subsidiary of the Union pacific Railroad, and concessioner for other National Parks. They built a National Parks worthy village, including a hotel, cabins, and other services. The hotel (the Lodge) was designed by Los Angeles architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood (1890-1960), famous for other National Park lodges, railroad stations, and other large scale public buildings. The hotel was constructed from Kaibab limestone and local timbers for an esthetic both grand and rustic. It opened in 1928, but was heavily damaged by a fire in 1932. In those first few years, lessons had been learned about the building, local climate, and the need to withstand winter snow. The Lodge was redesigned to preserve its character but improve the construction, then it was rebuilt then reopened in 1937. In 1987, it was declared a National Historic Landmark. The Lodge is built at the edge of the cliffs at Bright Angel Point. Its rear elements, including porches and verandas and an apse-like Sun Room provide spectacular panoramic views of the Canyon.
Presented are eleven views, eight of the Grand Canyon Lodge, one of the cabins adjacent to the Lodge, and two of a statue in the Lodge. Images 01, 02, and 03 are evening views of the lobby, showcasing its stone and timber construction, its furnishings and architectural accoutrements, and its rustic elegance and Arizona aesthetic. Image 04 is a night view of the Sun Room, a simple but elegant space whose south facing windows reveal stunning daytime views of the Grand Canyon itself. Images 05 and 06 are of the east wing Recreation Room, revealing again the rustic motifs of stone, timber, and Arizona iconography. Image 07 at sunset looks northeast to the west wing (Dining Room and veranda) and the Sun Room. Image 08 is a midday view from the east veranda across the edge of Sun Room to reveal architectural details such as the lamps and buttresses, with the Canyon in the background. Image 09 is not a view of the Lodge, instead one of the rustic cabins adjacent to the Lodge that serve as the actual guest housing. Images 10 and 11 show the statue of Brighty, a burro and legendary figure in the history of the North Rim. Brighty was a famed resident of the Canyon circa 1892-1922, brought there by prospectors, and later providing many services for the camps and visitors, including Wylee Way Camp and President Roosevelt himself. Especially popular with children, Brighty was honored in 1953 by “Brighty of the Grand Canyon”, an award winning children's novel by Marguerite Henry later adapted as a movie in 1967. The bronze statue that commemorates Brighty is in the Sun Room of the Grand Canyon Lodge.
grand canyon lodge _ 04 _ north rim _ (© 2015 megart)
Companion files:
grand canyon lodge _ 01 _ (© 2015 megart)
grand canyon lodge _ 02 _ (© 2015 megart)
grand canyon lodge _ 03 _ (© 2015 megart)
grand canyon lodge _ 04 _ (© 2015 megart)
grand canyon lodge _ 05 _ (© 2015 megart)
grand canyon lodge _ 06 _ (© 2015 megart)
grand canyon lodge _ 07 _ (© 2015 megart)
grand canyon lodge _ 08 _ (© 2015 megart)
grand canyon lodge _ 09 _ (© 2015 megart)
grand canyon lodge _ 10 _ (© 2015 megart)
grand canyon lodge _ 11 _ (© 2015 megart)
most of them are replaced by the huge Sony AV-RM2000 in the middle. The silver 90-degree-thingy is the remote for a commercial Linux PVR computer.
Businesses that do dealings online now offer the customer service aspect of shopping an online operation. You can live chat with a representative if you have questions or if site navigation is confusing and you can't find out what you are looking for or just have questions about product specifications.
SOURCE: www.squirrelcart.com/
Linking Fischertechnic and Lego.
With FT I use the TXT controller, with Lego I use the Maindstorms inventor hub and the Techinc hub. To make them work together I use 2 Lego remote controllers. On each remote control there are 4 servos. This controls 4 buttons, the 3 remaining buttons can be operated manually. The servos are controlled by the TXT controller. The RoboPro program on the PC is used for this purpose. The servos themselves are controlled by my DE0 module but this can also be done with an I2C module on the TXT. All hubs use the Pybricks Python software: v3.2.0b4 Pybricks Beta v2.0.0-beta.9
There are 2 Pybricks programs running simultaneously, each controlling a different type of hub.
It is now easy to send commands from the TXT to both hubs. This can be done simultaneously or separately. The big problem with Lego hubs is that they have almost no inputs. Thus, we lack the nice 8 channel digital inputs that are present with the TXT. Through my DEO module, I even have 120 digital inputs. Via the servo controlled remote I can now at least send multiple commands to the Lego modules. The large PC screen where the program can be displayed is also indispensable.
Now to send commands from the Lego hubs to the TXT are a number of possibilities. I use a lot of hall sensors. Small magnets connected to Lego parts can send commands this way quickly and easily. I can also listen in on multiple serial lines from the hubs. That data can be used by the TXT. Thus, positions of the motors can be displayed, as well as other data from the hub. The TXT can display this data on the PC screen.
Pybricks does not have a hub to hub at this time. Now, however, commands can be sent from one hub to the TXT which then forwards them to the 2nd hub.
Well, my wireless remote shutter thingy arrived... (thanks Tim!)
So, I set my 100mm Macro Lens up next to the post I know the birdies perch on in my garden...., focused on the perch, switched it onto Manual focus, dialed in f8, messed with the settings... and started making my beads.
As soon as I saw a bird on the perch I waited a few seconds before pressing the remote tigger, I wanted to get him doing something different... hey presto.
Bird while you bead! YAY!
For 366 and FGR - Show Some Remote Control.
This is the best you're getting out of me today, *again* I'm coming down with a cold. My work day today felt like about 17 years. Bleurgh. Time to lie down with a hot Ribena.
www.simplifiedbuilding.com/blog/installing-a-railing-in-a...
Kee Klamp address the problems of installing a railing in a remote location
I didn't want to make the drive from the Bay Area to Crater Lake in one day, so after reading a bit about Castle Lake and Heart Lake in the Shasta Trinity National Forest, I figured I'd make a stop in the area for a night. As far as driving goes, Castle Lake is relatively remote, yet it was still packed with families and folks from summer camps. Not a bad thing, but it certainly wasn't serene.
I hiked up to Heart Lake, which is a gorgeous little pond tucked above Castle Lake. There too, I encountered a surprising number of people, and an unexpected abundance of Japanese tourists. It was one of the prettier hikes I had done in recent times, and the views of Castle Lake from Heart Lake were wonderful. It's not the greatest vantage point for Castle Lake (you don't need to climb all the way to Heart Lake for that), but I found a quiet boulder and just relaxed with the lake and Mt. Shasta before me.
Wildfires were raging around California and Oregon, so the air was awfully smoky, and Shasta was just barely visible, sadly. Just another reason to head up there again sometime.
Cheers.
巴基斯坦－Gilgit-Baltistan地区－喀喇昆仑中央国家公园－K2BC徒步－Concordia-K2BC－K2与Godwin-Austen冰川
View of Godwin-Austen glacier, with majestic K2 in background, near K2 base camp, located in CKNP (Central Karakoram National Park), Gilgit-Baltistan region, northern Pakistan.
© All rights reserved. You may not use this photo in website, blog or any other media without my explicit permission.
Second version of the wireless remote controller.
This controller drive 4 local flashes in TTL mode and 4 external remote flashes via the buildin RFM12B transceiver on 868 Mhz. Multiple values can be adjusted for the local and remote flashes. Every flash can be enabled/disabled separately. Also on every flash channel the type can be changed. Every flash have a powersetting in 1/3 EV steps from 1/256 to full power.
2 extra buttons are foresee to change the global flash EV offset level into 1/3 EV steps, one button for the 4 local flashes and one button for the 4 remote flashes. This value stay separate on the display. This quick adjustment is helpfull to change the global for /background lighting without the need to change the individual flashpower.
The controller can be set as Master or as Slave via the mode switch. The number of remote flashes are unlimited, only the software need to set to the correct number of flashes. From the controller every flash can be tested to fire alone or together with all the flashes. All flashes works in TTL mode or manual mode. In TTL mode the power is set by the mastercontroller. No need to move the the flashes to change the power.
Through the village roads...
The prayer in the morning... an old villager in front of her cottage.
Captured by Nikon D7000.
My Experience:
Borong, a remote and peaceful hamlet with abundance of unspoiled nature, under subdivision of Rabangla, in south Sikkim, is situated 17 kms from the tourist town of Rabangla (Ravangla). Being 120 kms away from Siliguri in North Bengal, India, Rabangla is situated at an elevation of 8000 ft with its famous Maenam wildlife santuary (35 square kilometres) for Great Himalayan Bears, Red Pandas, and Birds. The literal meaning of 'Maenam-La' is "Treasure house of medicines". Maenam is also famous for a 12km trekking from Rabangla to Maenam top at 3140m, for its spectacular lookout point. We had a wonderful trekking experience this time, through this forest for a stretch of 18 kms (up and down). It seemed to me truly a paradise for nature lovers.
Borong is a place where you will hear only the sounds of your foot steps apart from the singing of birds of varied species, especially during dawn. River Rangit flows downhill through the gorge. People there, are so simple, warm, and honest...distinctly different from urban complexities and consumerisms. Being one of the oldest hubs of Buddhist culture, Borong hosts the oldest monastery in Sikkim, built in 1730, is known as Old Ralong Monastery (probably known as Borong Monastery). A new monastery, called Ralong Monastery, was built later, only 3 kms away from the old one. Both the monasteries are the treasure house of architectures, frescos, artifacts, and religious herritage. Many of the Buddhist Monks seemed to me as the epitome of holiness.
Borong is a model village for organic cultivation where everything is organic...including tea and alcohol. It has recently gained fame due to increasing popularity of village tourism and eco-tourism activities. Every small house of the villagers has a bit of land cultivating organic tea, vegetables, fruits and a variety of plant spices, especially cardamom and turmeric. Tastes and flavors of foods, vegetables are mouth-watering. Drinking- water is straight from the natural springs. It is strictly a plastic and smoking free zone. In a clear day you will find majestic Mt Kanchenjungha (28,170 ft, third highest mountain in the world), Mt. Pandim (21,952 ft), Mt. Narsing (19,029 ft) and Black Kabru. [en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mountains_by_elevation].
In the month of March-April you will have a spectacular display of Rhododendrons everywhere here, and in the late October, awesome Cherry blossoms all around.
We stayed in 'Wild Flower Retreat', a wonderful resort in Borong. The hospitality, food and lodging was simply amazing there. It was my immense pleasure to relax with a cup of coffee and viewing the great mountaiin peaks right in front from the resort courtyard. We had a wonderful experience of an unique way of making 'Organic Paper' from a special kind of plant cultivated in the village, originally discovered in this region of Himalayan forests. The product of this small scale industry, within the premises of 'Wild Flower Retreat', reminded me the Papyrus of Ancient Egypt.
Borong is a place, I'm sure, with all its grandeur, beauty and uniqueness will call you again and again...anytime a year...if you want to escape from your burdened and stressful life, and acquire some knowledge and wisdome, you never had before. Once you go there...will feel the pulse...and energy you build-upfrom inside...an 'Elixer' having a power of its own, much superior than any tonic prepared in human laboratories...!!!
Our antipiracy guru Ibrahim Rodríguez sent in a package of awesome Venezuelan gifts and ornaments to the Envato office today, so we took a quick snap showing them off! Thanks Ibrahim!!!
In the picture (L to R): Stu (in the background), Jordan, Oz, Collis
This interesting picture, courtesy of the US Navy, I have posted with a fairly high pixel level so it can be seen very clearly.
The Remote Minehunting System (RMS) and an AN/AQS-20 are brought onboard USS Independence (LCS 2) from the Gulf of Mexico waters on Jan. 7, 2012 during mine countermeasure mission module developmental testing. The two organic mine warfare capabilities were captured by a Twin Boom Extensible Crane (TBEC) onboard the littoral combat ship.
Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo
* * Costa Rica
For decades the remote Pacific Coast of northern Costa Rica — the Guanacaste province — was the domain of die-hard surfers and backpackers, with other visitors deterred by the grueling five-hour drive from the country's main airport in San José.
In 1982 the Costa Rican government passed law 6370 allowing for the development of the State owned area of land known as Polo Turistico Golfo de Papagayo located in the province of Guanacaste. The area includes tropical dry forests, 15 miles of Pacific coastline and 31 separate beaches Guanacaste was mostly the domain of cowboys called sabaneros, whose legacy lingers at local rodeos.
In Costa Rica (which means "rich coast") all beaches are public. The local municipality owns coastal land 200 meters (656 feet) inland from the average high tide, often referred to as the maritime zone. The 50 meters (164 feet) closest to the ocean are reserved for public use while the next 150 meters (492 feet) called the “concessionable” area, may be leased to private parties. Maritime zone concession agreements are used by municipalities throughout the country to promote tourism development. Between 1991 and 1999, 23 concessions were granted.
Costa Rica’s Pacific coast tourism has promoted different models of tourism -- beach, golf, tennis resorts, all-inclusive resorts, residential vacation home rentals, cruise tourism, and camping (ecotourism/sustainable tourism). And in the case of Papagayo Peninsula - Costa Rica desired to turn it into a showcase for environmental and social best practices. The government concessioned 2,075 acres from the Polo Turistico Golfo de Papagayo to the Papagayo Peninsula Development (Ecodevelopment Papagayo S.A.). Peninsula Papagayo’s concession expires in approximately 75 years, on January 15, 2091.
* * Papagayo Peninsula development (Ecodevelopment Papagayo S.A.).
Wayne Bishop, co-founder of Minneapolis architecture firm Walsh Bishop Inc., visited Costa Rica in 1994, he was wowed by the country's natural beauty. So Bishop spent the next several years looking for land on which he could build a Western-style resort. Bishop identified and successfully pursued Peninsula Papagayo, a 2,000+ acre world class property located in the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica. He was the original founder/developer of the Peninsula Papagayo resort area. Grupo Situr was the parent company of Ecodesarrollo Papagayo but was bought out by the Florida Ice and Farm.
Today, Ecodesarrollo (Eco-development) Payagayo S.A., has the Costa Rican government's mandate to further develop Peninsula Papagayo. Peninsula Papagayo is currently owned 30% by Florida Ice and Farm, a public Costa Rican company that produces and distributes beverages and foods throughouth Central American and 70% by Marvin Schwan Charitable Foundation, an evangeloco Lutheran foundation based in St. Louis, MO. The Marvin M. Schwan Charitable Foundation's endowment comes from the fortune made by its namesake in the frozen ice cream and pizza business located in Marshall, Minnesota. Wayne Bishop sold his interest to the Schwan Foundation.
Ecodesarrollo Payagayo's CEO is Alan Kelso, who has extensive real estate development experience in Costa Rica dating from 1995. Jim Preskitt is the SVP of Ecodesarrollo Peninsula Papagayo.
* * The Four seasons Resort and Golf Club
In the last few years, Guanacaste has been transformed by a collection of hotels and real estate developments aimed at America and European affluent baby boomers.
The Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo opened in January 2004. The resort was built on the Pacific coast of Guanacaste province in northwest Costa Rica, in the least populated, sunniest and driest part of the country. It is a 40-minute drive from the nearest airport in Liberia, where Delta, Continental and American Airlines have added nonstop service from several cities in the United States. Most of the hotel's 153 rooms are in three four-story buildings, with views of either the Virador Bay to the north or the Blanca Bay to the south.
Designed by the Costa Rican architect Ronald Zürcher, the resort's earth-toned stucco buildings seem to grow out of a hillside that slopes down to an isthmus, surrounded by tropical dry forest and sandy beaches on both sides. In an Architectureal Digest interview Ronald Zurcher says that his challenge was to build something respectful. "I didn't want to compete with nature," he explains, pointing to some white constructions several miles away, on the other side of the Golfo de Papagayo, that do just that. "See how those buildings stand out? But if you're over there, looking this way, you don't see our hotel at all—it's camouflaged." He send Papagayo dirt to a paint laboratory so that his buildings would blend in with the ground on which they sit. Zurcher took characteristics from two of Costa Rica's common creatures - the turtle and the armadillo - to the resorts design. Zrcher gave several of the resort's low-lying buildings the round shape of a turtle's shell and mimicked the armadillo's arched, humped back for the roofs of many of the buildings on higher ground. "I noticed that armadillos walk in families, one after the other," he says. "So instead of having large, single roofs, I've done the roofs in pieces, each one in the shape of an armadillo. From a distance the buildings look like families of armadillos."
Some advice also came from Isadore Sharp, the chairman of the Four Seasons chain. Originally, Zurcher wanted a waterfall to connect one swimming pool to its lower neighbor. Sharp vetoed the idea, saying that the sound of the waterfall would drown out the sound of the waves and when people come to an ocean resort, they want to hear the sound of the waves. "He was right, of course," says Zurcher.
Atop one of Peninsula Papagayo’s highest plateaus, overlooking the waters of Bahía de Culebra sits Four Seasons Golf Club Costa Rica, designed by Arnold Palmer. Sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean are on 14 of the 18 holes. The signature hole, the par 4 number 6, El Bajo, features a dramatic 200 foot downhill tee shot to a green perched out on a cliff with the ocean behind it. Indigenous monkeys (the howler monkey and the squirrel monkey) will monitor the golfers playing Arnold Palmer's Signature 18-hole, Par-72 championship course.golf course. Serving the golf course is the 28,000 square-foot Robert Zurcher designed clubhouse. Zurcher found inspiration for the building from a conch shell. Some say the result is likened to the Sydney Opera House.
** Key players involved with the Four Seasons Resort
*Charles M. Schwan Charitable Foundation
Marvin Maynard Schwan (1929 -1993), was the founder and first president of Marshall, Minnesota based Schwan’s Sales Enterprises, Inc., one America’s largest privately held companies and one of the biggest producers and distributors of frozen and prepared food. At the time of his death at age 63, Schwan’s personal worth was $1.3 billion and the company controlled a quarter of the frozen pizza business (Tony’s Pizza and Red Baron) in the U.S. During his lifetime, Schwan created the Marvin M. Schwan Foundation, which is a major supporter of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.. Two thirds of Marvin Schwan's estate was left to the Marvin M. Schwan Foundation under the trusteeship of his brother Alfred Schwan and life-long friend Larry Burgdorf.
The mission of the Charles M Schwan Charitable Foundation is: "To provide financial support to specific religious organizations as specified by the foundations governing documents." However, the principal amount of tne trust can provide for corpus investments in real estate. In round numbers the charitable foundation invested $140 million in the Costa Rica Four Seasons Hotel and $280 million in the Grand Cayman Island's Ritz Carlton.
The 2010 IRS form 990 for the Marvin M Schwan Charitable Foundation list the following:
The Kings Foundation Investment Papagayo LLC - $12.2 million and Investment Wings of Papagayo LLC - $124.7 million for a total investment value of $136.9 million in the Four Seasons Hotel Costa Rica
The Kings Foundation Investment Cayman LTD - $276.9 million total investment value in The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, a luxury resort in the Cayman Islands
In the fiscal year ending 2012 The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman and its developer Michael Ryan, in whom the Charlest M Schwan Charitable Foundation invested, defaulted on a series of loans and the resort was auctioned off by creditors. During the course of these events, the Marvin M. Schwan Charitable Foundation realized a loss of over $249 million on the investment it held in The Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman. However, to ensure the investment was not totally lost the foundation purchased $13.8 million of outstanding notes belonging to the developer Michael Ryan for an 11% ownership stake in the refinanced resort. The total assets of the foundation dropped from about $750 million to $500 million following the Ritz Carlton Grand Caymen debacle.
* Alan Kelso - Ecodesarrollo Payagayo CEO
The developer of Peninsula Papagayo is Ecodesarrollo Papagayo, S.A. – a Costa Rica company controlled by The Charles M. Schwan Charitable Foundation. The CEO, Alan Kelso, has extensive real estate development experience in Costa Rica dating from 1995. Unlike most developers in Costa Rica, he is a native. Kelso grew up in San Jose, Costa Rica and would waterski on the Peninsula Papagayo's calm bays as a kid. Kelso claims it is the most beautiful piece of land he's ever seen. Kelso had made his name putting together the Los Suenos Marriott Ocean & Golf Resort 140 miles south of Peninsula Papagayo. Kelso was brought in to the Peninsula Papagayo project by the minority partner, Florida Ice and Farm, the Costa Rican beer company, in 1991. Kelso brought in the Costa Rican architect Ronald Zürcher who had designed the Los Suenos Marriott.
* Ronald Zürcher, Architect
Ronald Zürcher graduated from the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City,and began his independent architectural practice in Costa Rica in 1978. Over the years, his practice has grown to include major hospitality design projects. Recent projects include Andaz Peninsula Papagayo - the 153 resort is on Culebra Bay and the JW Marriott Guanacaste Resort & Spa at Hacienda Pinilla, Costa Rica.
Jim Preskitt - Ecodesarrollo Payagayo SVP
Preskitt's professional life included marketing positions at the Hawaii's Big Island resorts of Mauna Kea and Four Seasons. He formerly was vice president of marketing for Hualalai Development Co., developer or the 700-acre residential-resort-golf community property on the coast just north of the Keahole Airport. Also, Preskitt, was in charge of marketing homes and lots for the Kaunaoa Development at Mauna Kea Resort. Preskitt's reputation in Hawaii was marketing to the “decamillionaire” (those with a net worth of $10 million or more).
Luis Argote, Four Season's Hotel Opening General Manager.
Luis received his Bachelor’s degree from the National Education Cooperation Institute (INCE) of Hotel and Restaurant Management, Caracas, Venezuela. A native of Venezuela, Argote is fluent in Spanish, French and English. He came from the Four Seasons Mexico City to the Four Seasons Costa Rica. He served as GM from 2004 to 2011. He currently serves as General Manager at the Four Seasons Hotel Casa Medina Bogota.
Pascal Forotti, Four Seasons Costa Rica General Manager
Pascal was appointed General Manager in 2011. He was the second in command at the Ty Warner owned Four Seasons New York for 3 years prior to moving to Costa Rica. He enjoys hearing the waves crash everyday - so different from the fire trucks and taxi cabs of NYC. Pascal's hometown is Esch, Luxembourg. His Hotel Management degree is from Lycee Technique Hotelier Alexis Heck. The hotel school is named after Alexis Heck (1830-1908), hotel owner in Diekirch and a pioneer of tourism in Luxembourg.
Compiled by Dick Johnson
October 2015.
In the days before wire free technology.
One of the old black & white photos now automatically
colourised.
visit colourise.sg/
for free uploads of your B&W photos.
Saab's Remote Tower concept could be exactly what small and medium-sized airports need in order to be competitive. The concept aims at remotely controlling several airports from a single Remote Tower Centre.
The technical solution enables an airport tower to be remotely operated via the digital network. Compressed data from cameras at the airport provides a 360-degree real-time view of the airport at the Remote Tower Centre. The controller working position is equipped with the same controls as in a normal tower.
REPLACED: Some quality improvements necessary for larger printing, and a less panoramic crop.
I got up early today (Wednesday 9/26) and went out on the beach at the north end of Pea Island just below the bridge. If you walk out a ways there is a jetty with a remote automated weather station on it.
I got these out there just before the sun came up.
Another one that looks like HDR, but the light was just right to capture it as a single image.
Olympus OM-D E-M5 and M.Zuiko 9-18mm f/4-5.6 lens and 32x ND filter.
Please visit the Entropic Remnants website or my Entropic Remnants blog -- THANKS!
UPDATE: I've printed this at 36x24 inches on metallic paper and it's hanging in my living room and it's lovely as a large print. One of my favorite landscapes I've taken with the OM-D E-M5.