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Crease Pattern for the Sears (or Willis) Tower. The photograph of the original model is in Origami City. No diagrams exist at this point.
This is a fun model and one of my favorites I designed among the 20 models I worked on for Origami City. The sides of the model wrap around for a very secure, albeit tricky, lock.
A fortified manor house in Stokesay, Shropshire.
It was built in the late 13th century by Laurence of Ludlow, then the leading wool merchant in England, who intended it to form a secure private house and generate income as a commercial estate.
Laurence's descendants continued to own the castle until the 16th century, when it passed through various private owners. By the time of the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1641, Stokesay was owned by William Craven, the first Earl of Craven and a supporter of King Charles I.
After the Royalist war effort collapsed in 1645, Parliamentary forces besieged the castle in June and quickly forced its garrison to surrender. Parliament ordered the property to be slighted, but only minor damage was done to the walls, allowing Stokesay to continue to be used as a house by the Baldwyn family until the end of the 17th century.
In the 18th century the Baldwyns rented the castle out for a range of agricultural and manufacturing purposes. It fell into disrepair, and the antiquarian John Britton noted during his visit in 1813 that it had been "abandoned to neglect, and rapidly advancing to ruin".
Restoration work was carried out in the 1830s and 1850s by William Craven, the second Earl of Craven. In 1869 the Craven estate, now heavily in debt, was sold to the wealthy industrialist John Derby Allcroft who paid for another round of extensive restoration during the 1870s. Both of these owners attempted to limit any alterations to the existing buildings during their conservation work, which was unusual for this period. The castle became a popular location for tourists and artists, and was formally opened to paying visitors in 1908.
Allcroft's descendants fell into financial difficulties during the early 20th century, however, and it became increasingly difficult for them to cover the costs of maintaining Stokesay. In 1986 Jewell Magnus-Allcroft finally agreed to place Stokesay Castle into the guardianship of English Heritage, and the castle was left to the organisation on her death in 1992. English Heritage carried out extensive restoration of the castle in the late 1980s.
Architecturally, Stokesay Castle is "one of the best-preserved medieval fortified manor houses in England", according to historian Henry Summerson.
The castle comprises a walled, moated enclosure, with an entrance way through a 17th-century timber and plaster gatehouse. Inside, the courtyard faces a stone hall and solar block, protected by two stone towers.
The hall features a 13th-century wooden-beamed ceiling, and 17th-century carved figures ornament the gatehouse and the solar. The castle was never intended to be a serious military fortification, but its style was intended to echo the much larger castles being built by Edward I in North Wales.
Originally designed as a prestigious, secure, comfortable home, the castle has changed very little since the 13th century, and is a rare, surviving example of a near complete set of medieval buildings.
East-German postcard VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 55/71, 1971. Sophia Loren in The Fall of the Roman Empire (Anthony Mann, 1964).
Sophia Loren (1934) rose to fame in post-war Italy as a voluptuous sex goddess. Soon after, she became one of the most successful stars of the 20th Century, who won an Oscar for her mother role in La ciociara (Vittorio De Sica, 1960).
Sophia Loren was born Sofia Villani Scicolone in the charity ward of a Roman hospital in 1934. She was the illegitimate daughter of construction engineer Riccardo Scicolone and piano teacher and aspiring actress Romilda Villani. Riccardo was married to another woman and refused to marry Romilda, leaving her without support. Romilda, Sofia, and sister Maria returned to Pozzuoli to live with Sofia's grandmother. Pozzuoli was a small town outside Naples and one of the hardest hit during World War II. The family shared a two-room apartment with the grandmother and several aunts and uncles. The shy, stick-thin girl regularly went hungry and had to flee from bombings. At 14, Sofia had a voluptuous figure and entered a beauty contest. She was selected as one of the finalists but did not win. In 1950, she was one of the contestants in the Miss Italia competition. She earned 2nd place and was awarded ‘Miss Eleganza’. While attending the Miss Rome beauty contest, earlier in 1950, she had met judge Carlo Ponti, an up-and-coming film producer, 22 years her senior. Ponti had helped launch Gina Lollobrigida's career and now began grooming Sofia for stardom. He hired an acting coach to tutor her. At 16 she was in her first film, the Totó comedy Le Sei Mogli di Barbablù/Bluebeard’s Six Wives (Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia, 1950) under the name Sofia Lazzaro. She also appeared as an extra in Luci del varietà/Lights of the Variety (Federico Fellini, 1950), the smash hit Anna (Alberto Lattuada, 1951), and Quo Vadis (Mervyn Leroy, 1951). During the early 1950s, she secured work modelling for fumetti magazines. These comic-like magazines used actual photographs. The dialogue bubbles were called 'fumetti' - hence the popular name. At 17, she was cast by Ponti in her first larger role as the commoner who caught the prince's eye in the filmed opera La Favorita/The Favorite (Cesare Barlacchi, 1952). The next year she earned third billing after Silvana Pampanini and Eleanora Rossi-Drago in La Tratta Delle Bianche/The White Slave Trade (Luigi Comencini, 1953) and she played, complete with blackface and an Afro, the lead in another filmed opera, Aida (Clemente Fracassi, 1953) by Giuseppe Verdi. Her singing was dubbed by Renata Tebaldi. Ponti eventually changed her name to Sophia Loren.
Sophia Loren appeared for the first time with Marcello Mastroianni in the romantic comedy Peccato che sia una canaglia/Too Bad She's Bad (Alessandro Blasetti, 1954). They would make 13 films together, including Tempi nostri/A Slice of Life (Alessandro Blasetti, Paul Paviot, 1954), La bella mugnaia/The Miller's Wife (Mario Camerini, 1955), and La fortuna di essere donna/What A Woman (Alessandro Blasetti, 1956). L'Oro di Napoli/Gold of Naples (Vittorio de Sica, 1954), an anthology of tales depicting various aspects of Neapolitan life, was distributed internationally. At AllMovie, Jason Ankeny writes that in reviews "Loren was singled out for the strength of her performance as a Neapolitan shopkeeper, surprising many critics who had dismissed her as merely another bombshell". The film established her persona as a sensuous working-class earth mother. It also began a fruitful, career-long collaboration with De Sica. Sophia’s first film to find international success was La Donna del Fiume/The River Girl (Mario Soldati, 1955), in which she danced sensually the Mambo Bacan. Hal Erickson at AllMovie: "Through it all, Sophia Loren looks like a million lire - and she even gets to sing and dance!". She came to the attention of Stanley Kramer who offered her the female lead in The Pride And The Passion (Stanley Kramer, 1957) opposite Cary Grant and Frank Sinatra. Sophia played a Spanish peasant girl involved in an uprising against the French. This was the turning point in her career, and the film proved to be one of the top US box office successes of the year. Her next English-language film was Boy on a Dolphin (Jean Negulesco, 1957) with Alan Ladd, where she was memorable mostly for emerging from the water in a wet, skin-tight, transparent dress. With her va-va-va-voom image, she became an international film star and got a five-picture contract with Paramount Pictures. Among her Paramount films were Desire Under the Elms (Delbert Mann, 1958) with Anthony Perkins and based upon the Eugene O'Neill play, Houseboat (Melville Shavelson, 1958), a romantic comedy co-starring Cary Grant, and the Western Heller in Pink Tights (George Cukor, 1960) in which she appeared for the first time with blonde hair (a wig). Most of these films were received lukewarmly at best.
In 1960 Sophia Loren returned to Italy to star in the biggest success of her career, La Ciociara/Two Women (Vittorio De Sica, 1960). She played a widow desperately trying to protect her daughter from danger during WW II, only to end up in a destructive love triangle with a young radical (Jean-Paul Belmondo). Hal Erickson at AllMovie: "A last-minute replacement for Anna Magnani, Sophia Loren brought hitherto untapped depths of emotion to her performance in Two Women; she later stated that she was utilizing 'sensory recall,' dredging up memories of her own wartime experiences." Loren won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance, and also the Cannes, Venice ánd Berlin Film Festivals' best performance prizes. Next, she played in Spain Samuel Bronston's epic production of El Cid (Anthony Mann, 1961) with Charlton Heston, followed by the De Sica episode of the anthology Boccaccio '70 (Vittorio De Sica, Federico Fellini, Luchino Visconti, 1962). On the strength of her Oscar win, she also returned to English-language fare with Five Miles to Midnight (Anatole Litvak, 1963), followed a year later by The Fall of the Roman Empire (Anthony Mann, 1964), for which she received $1 million. Among Loren's other films of this period are The Millionairess (Anthony Asquith, 1960) with Peter Sellers, It Started in Naples (Melville Shavelson, 1960) with Clark Gable, Lady L (Peter Ustinov, 1965) with Paul Newman, Arabesque (Stanley Donen, 1966) with Gregory Peck, and Charlie Chaplin's final film, A Countess from Hong Kong (1967) with Marlon Brando. Despite the failure of many of her films to generate sales at the box office, she invariably turned in a charming performance and she wore some of the most lavish costumes ever created for the cinema. Her best Italian films include the triptych Ieri, oggi, domani/Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow (Vittorio De Sica, 1963), a comedy that poked fun at a Catholic priest and gently mocked the Italian law on birth control, and Matrimonio all' Italiana/Marriage Italian Style (Vittorio De Sica, 1964) with Loren as the hooker who lures Mastroianni into marriage.
After several miscarriages and a highly-publicized struggle to become pregnant, Sophia Loren gave birth to her son Hubert Leoni Carlo Ponti in 1968. She started to work less and moved into her 40s and 50s with roles in films like De Sica's war drama I Girasoli/The Sunflowers (Vittorio De Sica, 1972), Il Viaggio/The Voyage (Vittorio De Sica, 1974) opposite Richard Burton, and reuniting with Marcello Mastroianni in the mob comedy La Pupa del Gangster/Get Rita (Giorgio Capitani, 1975). An artistic highlight was Una giornata particolare/A Special Day (Ettore Scola, 1977) which earned a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film. Loren played a bored housewife on the day of the first meeting between Mussolini and Hitler. Left alone in her tenement home when her fascist husband runs off to attend the historic event, Loren strikes up a friendship with her homosexual neighbour (Marcello Mastroianni). As the day segues into night, Loren and Mastroianni develop a very special relationship that will radically alter both of their outlooks on life. When a dubbed version of Una giornata particolare/A Special Day found favour with American audiences, Hollywood again came calling, resulting in a pair of thrillers, The Brass Target (John Hough, 1978) and Firepower (Michael Winner, 1979) which offered her a central role as a widow seeking answers in the murder of her chemist husband. In 1980, Loren portrayed herself, as well as her mother, in Sophia Loren: Her Own Story (Mel Stuart, 1980), a made-for-television biopic adaptation of her autobiography. Actresses Ritza Brown and Chiara Ferrari played Loren at younger ages. She made headlines in 1982 when she served an 18-day prison sentence in Italy on tax evasion charges, a fact that didn't damage her career or popularity. In her 60s, Loren ventured into various areas of business, including cookbooks, eyewear, jewellery, and perfume. In honour of her lengthy career, Loren was the recipient of a special Oscar in 1991. She also made well-received appearances in her final film with Mastroianni, Prêt-à-Porter/Ready to Wear (1994), Robert Altman's take on the French fashion scene, and in the comedy hit Grumpier Old Men (Howard Deutch, 1995) playing a femme fatale opposite Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon. In 1995 she received the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award. At the age of 72, she appeared scantily clad in the 2007 edition of the famous calendar of Italian racing tire giant Pirelli. It made her the oldest model in the calendar's history. The photos by Dutch photographers Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin proved that she was still a major international sex symbol. In 2007 Carlo Ponti died. It had been controversial in her native Italy when Sophia Loren had married her mentor Ponti in 1957. Not only was he 45 to her 23, but he had been married previously, and neither the Catholic Church nor the Italian government recognised his Mexican divorce. Ponti was charged with bigamy, but the charges were dropped when they had their marriage annulled. They continued living together - scandalous at the time - and remarried after his legal problems had been cleared. Ponti and Loren made three dozen films together. They had two children, symphony conductor Carlo Ponti Jr. and film director Edoardo Ponti. After four years off the big screen, Sophia Loren co-starred in a film version of the Broadway musical Nine (Rob Marshall, 2009). She played the mother of famous film director Guido Contini, portrayed by Daniel Day-Lewis. According to Jason Ankeny at AllMovie, "Loren proved she still had movie star charisma with a role in Chicago director Rob Marshall's Nine - a lavish tribute to all things Italian." Loren made a two-part television biopic of her early life titled La Mia Casa È Piena di Specchi/My House Is Full of Mirrors (Vittorio Sindoni, 2010), based on of the memoir written by her sister Maria Scicolone. At 80, Sophia Loren returned to the screen in Human Voice (2014) directed by her son Edoardo Ponti. At the presentation at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, 'the timeless beauty' stunned the press once again when she walked on the red carpet in a chic red pantsuit hand-in-hand with her 41-year-old son to promote the short film. Human Voice is based on the play by iconic French playwright Jean Cocteau and sees La Loren play a woman in her twilight years facing revelations from her past. In late 2014, she also presented her first memoir, Ieri, oggi, domani. La mia vita/Today and Tomorrow: My Life as a Fairy Tale. It includes old pictures, letters, and notes detailing encounters with Cary Grant and other film partners.
Sources: Jason Ankeny (AllMovie), Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Shyam Dodge (Daily Mail), Jenny (IMDb), Wikipedia, NNDB, TCM, and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Lance Cpl. Tayler Huey and Lance Cpl. Brandon Parmeter, both with 7th Marine Regiment, provide security while conducting a tactical recovery of aircraft and personnel mission in response to a scenario-based incident during an Integrated Training Exercise aboard Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California, Aug. 1, 2015.
(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Clarence A. Leake/Released)
Mural on the Fayette County Water Plant, Georgia
Russian swing-lens camera with Kodak Ultramax 400 film.
Red Oktober series.
Jakob Fugger of the Lily (German: Jakob Fugger von der Lilie) (6 March 1459 – 30 December 1525), also known as Jakob Fugger the Rich or sometimes Jakob II, was a major merchant, mining entrepreneur and banker of Europe. He was a descendant of the Fugger merchant family located in the Free Imperial City of Augsburg, where he was also born and later also elevated through marriage to Grand Burgher of Augsburg (German Großbürger zu Augsburg). Within a few decades he expanded the family firm to a business operating in all of Europe. He began his education at the age of 14 in Venice, which also remained his main residence until 1487. At the same time he was a cleric and held several prebendaries, even though he never lived in a monastery.
The foundation of the family's wealth was created mainly by the textile trade with Italy. The company grew rapidly after the brothers Ulrich, Georg and Jakob began banking transactions with the House of Habsburg as well as the Roman Curia, and at the same time began mining operations in Tyrol, and from 1493 on the extraction of silver and copper in Bohemia and the Kingdom of Hungary. As of 1525 they also had the right to mine quicksilver and cinnabar in Almadén.
After 1487 Jakob Fugger was the de facto head of the Fugger business operations which soon had an almost monopolistic hold on the European copper market.[1] Copper from Upper Hungaria was transported through Antwerp to Lisbon, and from there shipped to India. Jakob Fugger also contributed to the first and only trade expedition to India that German merchants cooperated in, a Portuguese fleet to the Indian west coast (1505/06) as well as a failed Spanish trade expedition to the Maluku Islands.
With his support of the Habsburg dynasty as a banker he had a decisive influence on European politics at the time. He financed the rise of Maximilian I and made considerable contributions to secure the election of the Spanish king Charles V to become Holy Roman Emperor. Jakob Fugger also funded the marriages which later resulted in House Habsburg gaining the kingdoms of Bohemia and Hungary.
Jakob Fugger secured his legacy and lasting fame through his foundations in Augsburg. A Chapel funded by him and built from 1509 to 1512 is Germany's first renaissance building and contains the tombs of the brothers Ulrich, Georg and Jakob. The Fuggerei which was founded by Jakob in 1521 is the world's oldest social housing complex still in use. The Damenhof, part of the Fuggerhäuser in Augsburg, is the first secular renaissance building in Germany and was built in 1515.
At his death on 30 December 1525 Jakob Fugger bequeathed to his nephew Anton Fugger company assets totaling 2,032,652 guilders.[2] He is considered to be one of the richest persons of all time,[3] and today he is well known as Jakob Fugger 'the Rich'. He is among the most well known Germans and arguably the most famous citizen of Augsburg. In 1967 a bust of him was placed in the Walhalla, a "hall of fame" near Regensburg that honors laudable and distinguished Germans. (Wikipedia)
When the crane operator has completed a safe and correctly placed hoist, the column form is received and bolted into place by a team of skilled riggers.
Marines with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Central Command, provide security as part of a Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel exercise at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia, Jan. 25, 2016. SPMAGTF-CR-CC is ready to respond to any crisis response mission in theater to include the employment of a TRAP force.
(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Akeel Austin/Released)
Another oldie I had forgotten about, until somebody happened upon it and hit the Fave button. This is from 13 years ago, when I was more fascinated with all things railroad. Nice to see it again. Original title: A Firm Handshake.
LEGAL NOTICE | protected work • All Rights reserved © B. Egger photographer retains ownership and all copyrights in this work.
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classic sports cars | vintage motorcycles | Oldtimer Grand Prix
location | Soelk Pass, Styria 💚 Austria
📷 | 2004 BMW R 1200 CL :: rumoto images # 2825 bw
If a photographer can’t feel what he is looking at, then he is never going to get others to feel anything when they look at his pictures.
:: Bernard Egger, 写真家, カメラマン, 摄影师, rumoto images, фото, rфотограф, motoring, photography, Fotográfico, stunning, supershot, action, emotion, emotions, Faszination, classic, Classic-Motorrad, Leidenschaft, passion, Maschine, Moto, motocyclisme, Motorcycle, Motorcycles, Motorrad, Motorräder, Motorbike, Мотоциклы и байкеры, fine art, 摩托, バイク, 오토바이, Motocicletă, Мотоцикл, รถจักรยานยนต์, 摩托车, Motorcykel, Mootorratas, Moottoripyörä, Motosiklèt, Motorkerékpár, Motocikls, Motociklas, Motorsykkel, Motocykl, Motocicleta, Motocykel, Motosiklet, Sölkpaß, Soelk Pass, Styria, Austria, Австрия, Europe, BMW, BMW Motorcycles, Boxer, R1200CL, Cruiser, Tours, touring, travelling, Reisen, Motorradtour, alpine roads, Alpen, The Alps, Les Alpes, Le Alpi, Mountain Road, Bergstraße, Alpenpass, mono, monochrome, sepia, schwarzweiß, black and white, BW,
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Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, August 2002 ...
Some people consider a six-day cruise as the perfect vacation. Other's might agree, as long as the days are marked by blurred fence posts and dotted lines instead of palm trees and ocean waves. For them, BMW introduces the perfect alternative to a deck chair - the R 1200 CL.
Motorcyclists were taken aback when BMW introduced its first cruiser in 1997, but the R 1200 C quickly rose to become that year's best-selling BMW. The original has since spawned several derivatives including the Phoenix, Euro, Montana and Stiletto. This year, BMW's cruiser forms the basis for the most radical departure yet, the R 1200 CL. With its standard integral hard saddlebags, top box and distinctive handlebar-mounted fairing, the CL represents twin-cylinder luxury-touring at its finest, a completely modern luxury touring-cruiser with a touch of classic BMW.
Although based on the R 1200 C, the new CL includes numerous key changes in chassis, drivetrain, equipment and appearance, specifically designed to enhance the R 1200's abilities as a long-distance mount. While it uses the same torquey, 1170cc 61-hp version of BMW's highly successful R259 twin, the CL backs it with a six-speed overdrive transmission. A reworked Telelever increases the bike's rake for more-relaxed high-speed steering, while the fork's wider spacing provides room for the sculpted double-spoke, 16-inch wheel and 150/80 front tire. Similarly, a reinforced Monolever rear suspension controls a matching 15-inch alloy wheel and 170/80 rear tire. As you'd expect, triple disc brakes featuring BMW's latest EVO front brake system and fully integrated ABS bring the bike to a halt at day's end-and set the CL apart from any other luxury cruiser on the market.
Yet despite all the chassis changes, it's the new CL's visual statement that represents the bike's biggest break with its cruiser-mates. With its grip-to-grip sweep, the handlebar-mounted fairing evokes classic touring bikes, while the CL's distinctive quad-headlamps give the bike a decidedly avant-garde look - in addition to providing standard-setting illumination. A pair of frame-mounted lowers extends the fairing's wind coverage and provides space for some of the CL's electrics and the optional stereo. The instrument panel is exceptionally clean, surrounded by a matte gray background that matches the kneepads inset in the fairing extensions. The speedometer and tachometer flank a panel of warning lights, capped by the standard analog clock. Integrated mirror/turnsignal pods extend from the fairing to provide further wind protection. Finally, fully integrated, color-matched saddlebags combine with a standard top box to provide a steamer trunk's luggage capacity.
The CL's riding position blends elements of both tourer and cruiser, beginning with a reassuringly low, 29.3-inch seat height. The seat itself comprises two parts, a rider portion with an integral lower-back rest, and a taller passenger perch that includes a standard backrest built into the top box. Heated seats, first seen on the K 1200 LT, are also available for the CL to complement the standard heated grips. A broad, flat handlebar places those grips a comfortable reach away, and the CL's floorboards allow the rider to shift position easily without compromising control. Standard cruise control helps melt the miles on long highway stints. A convenient heel/toe shifter makes for effortless gearchanges while adding exactly the right classic touch.
The R 1200 CL backs up its cruiser origins with the same superb attention to cosmetics as is shown in the functional details. In addition to the beautifully finished bodywork, the luxury cruiser boasts an assortment of chrome highlights, including valve covers, exhaust system, saddlebag latches and frame panels, with an optional kit to add even more brightwork. Available colors include Pearl Silver Metallic, Capri Blue Metallic and Mojave Brown Metallic, this last with a choice of black or brown saddle (other colors feature black).
The R 1200 CL Engine: Gearing For The Long Haul
BMW's newest tourer begins with a solid foundation-the 61-hp R 1200 C engine. The original, 1170cc cruiser powerplant blends a broad powerband and instantaneous response with a healthy, 72 lb.-ft. of torque. Like its forebear, the new CL provides its peak torque at 3000 rpm-exactly the kind of power delivery for a touring twin. Motronic MA 2.4 engine management ensures that this Boxer blends this accessible power with long-term reliability and minimal emissions, while at the same time eliminating the choke lever for complete push-button simplicity. Of course, the MoDiTec diagnostic feature makes maintaining the CL every bit as simple as the other members of BMW's stable.
While tourers and cruisers place similar demands on their engines, a touring bike typically operates through a wider speed range. Consequently, the R 1200 CL mates this familiar engine to a new, six-speed transmission. The first five gear ratios are similar to the original R 1200's, but the sixth gear provides a significant overdrive, which drops engine speed well under 3000 rpm at 60 mph. This range of gearing means the CL can manage either responsive in-town running or relaxed freeway cruising with equal finesse, and places the luxury cruiser right in the heart of its powerband at touring speeds for simple roll-on passes.
In addition, the new transmission has been thoroughly massaged internally, with re-angled gear teeth that provide additional overlap for quieter running. Shifting is likewise improved via a revised internal shift mechanism that produces smoother, more precise gearchanges. Finally, the new transmission design is lighter (approximately 1 kg.), which helps keep the CL's weight down to a respectable 679 lbs. (wet). The improved design of this transmission will be adopted by other Boxer-twins throughout the coming year.
The CL Chassis: Wheeled Luggage Never Worked This Well
Every bit as unique as the CL's Boxer-twin drivetrain is the bike's chassis, leading off-literally and figuratively-with BMW's standard-setting Telelever front suspension. The CL's setup is identical in concept and function to the R 1200 C's fork, but shares virtually no parts with the previous cruiser's. The tourer's wider, 16-inch front wheel called for wider-set fork tubes, so the top triple clamp, fork bridge, fork tubes and axle have all been revised, and the axle has switched to a full-floating design. The aluminum Telelever itself has been further reworked to provide a slightly more raked appearance, which also creates a more relaxed steering response for improved straight-line stability. The front shock has been re-angled and its spring and damping rates changed to accommodate the new bike's suspension geometry, but is otherwise similar to the original R 1200 C's damper.
Similarly, the R 1200 CL's Monolever rear suspension differs in detail, rather than concept, from previous BMW cruisers. Increased reinforcing provides additional strength at the shock mount, while a revised final-drive housing provides mounts for the new rear brake. But the primary rear suspension change is a switch to a shock with travel-related damping, similar to that introduced on the R 1150 GS Adventure. This new shock not only provides for a smoother, more controlled ride but also produces an additional 20mm travel compared to the other cruisers, bringing the rear suspension travel to 4.72 inches.
The Telelever and Monolever bolt to a standard R 1200 C front frame that differs only in detail from the original. The rear subframe, however, is completely new, designed to accommodate the extensive luggage system and passenger seating on the R 1200 CL. In addition to the permanently affixed saddlebags, the larger seats, floor boards, top box and new side stand all require new mounting points.
All this new hardware rolls on completely restyled double-spoke wheels (16 x 3.5 front/15 x 4.0 rear) that carry wider, higher-profile (80-series) touring tires for an extremely smooth ride. Bolted to these wheels are larger disc brakes (12.0-inch front, 11.2-inch rear), with the latest edition of BMW's standard-setting EVO brakes. A pair of four-piston calipers stop the front wheel, paired with a two-piston unit-adapted from the K 1200 LT-at the rear. In keeping with the bike's touring orientation, the new CL includes BMW's latest, fully integrated ABS, which actuates both front and rear brakes through either the front hand lever or the rear brake pedal.
The CL Bodywork: Dressed To The Nines
Although all these mechanical changes ensure that the new R 1200 CL works like no other luxury cruiser, it's the bike's styling and bodywork that really set it apart. Beginning with the bike's handlebar-mounted fairing, the CL looks like nothing else on the road, but it's the functional attributes that prove its worth. The broad sweep of the fairing emphasizes its aerodynamic shape, which provides maximum wind protection with a minimum of buffeting. Four headlamps, with their horizontal/vertical orientation, give the CL its unique face and also create the best illumination outside of a baseball stadium (the high-beams are borrowed from the GS).
The M-shaped windshield, with its dipped center section, produces exceptional wind protection yet still allows the rider to look over the clear-plastic shield when rain or road dirt obscure the view. Similarly, clear extensions at the fairing's lower edges improve wind protection even further but still allow an unobstructed view forward for maneuvering in extremely close quarters. The turnsignal pods provide further wind coverage, and at the same time the integral mirrors give a clear view to the rear.
Complementing the fairing, both visually and functionally, the frame-mounted lowers divert the wind blast around the rider to provide further weather protection. Openings vent warm air from the frame-mounted twin oil-coolers and direct the heat away from the rider. As noted earlier, the lowers also house the electronics for the bike's optional alarm system and cruise control. A pair of 12-volt accessory outlets are standard.
Like the K 1200 LT, the new R 1200 CL includes a capacious luggage system as standard, all of it color-matched and designed to accommodate rider and passenger for the long haul. The permanently attached saddlebags include clamshell lids that allow for easy loading and unloading. Chrome bumper strips protect the saddlebags from minor tipover damage. The top box provides additional secure luggage space, or it can be simply unbolted to uncover an attractive aluminum luggage rack. An optional backrest can be bolted on in place of the top box. Of course, saddlebags and top box are lockable and keyed to the ignition switch.
Options & Accessories: More Personal Than A Monogram
Given BMW's traditional emphasis on touring options and the cruiser owner's typical demands for customization, it's only logical to expect a range of accessories and options for the company's first luxury cruiser. The CL fulfills those expectations with a myriad of options and accessories, beginning with heated or velour-like Soft Touch seats and a low windshield. Electronic and communications options such as an AM/FM/CD stereo, cruise control and onboard communication can make time on the road much more pleasant, whether you're out for an afternoon ride or a cross-country trek - because after all, nobody says you have to be back in six days. Other available electronic features include an anti-theft alarm, which also disables the engine.
Accessories designed to personalize the CL even further range from cosmetic to practical, but all adhere to BMW's traditional standards for quality and fit. Chrome accessories include engine-protection and saddlebag - protection hoops. On a practical level, saddlebag and top box liners simplify packing and unpacking. In addition to the backrest, a pair of rear floorboards enhance passenger comfort even more.
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Der Luxus-Cruiser zum genußvollen Touren.
Die Motorradwelt war überrascht, als BMW Motorrad 1997 die R 1200 C, den ersten Cruiser in der Geschichte des Hauses, vorstellte. Mit dem einzigartigen Zweizylinder-Boxermotor und einem unverwechselbar eigenständigen Design gelang es auf Anhieb, sich in diesem bis dato von BMW nicht besetzten Marktsegment erfolgreich zu positionieren. Bisher wurden neben dem Basismodell R 1200 C Classic die technisch nahezu identischen Modellvarianten Avantgarde und Independent angeboten, die sich in Farbgebung, Designelementen und Ausstattungsdetails unterscheiden.
Zur Angebotserweiterung und zur Erschließung zusätzlicher Potenziale, präsentiert BMW Motorrad für das Modelljahr 2003 ein neues Mitglied der Cruiserfamilie, den Luxus-Cruiser R 1200 CL. Er wird seine Weltpremiere im September in München auf der INTERMOT haben und voraussichtlich im Herbst 2002 auf den Markt kommen. Der Grundgedanke war, Elemente von Tourenmotorrädern auf einen Cruiser zu übertragen und ein Motorrad zu entwickeln, das Eigenschaften aus beiden Fahrzeuggattungen aufweist.
So entstand ein eigenständiges Modell, ein Cruiser zum genussvollen Touren, bei dem in Komfort und Ausstattung keine Wünsche offen bleiben.
Als technische Basis diente die R 1200 C, von der aber im wesentlichen nur der Motor, der Hinterradantrieb, der Vorderrahmen, der Tank und einige Ausstattungsumfänge übernommen wurden. Ansonsten ist das Motorrad ein völlig eigenständiger Entwurf und in weiten Teilen eine Neuentwicklung.
Fahrgestell und Design:
Einzigartiges Gesicht, optische Präsenz und Koffer integriert.
Präsenz, kraftvoller Auftritt und luxuriöser Charakter, mit diesen Worten lässt sich die Wirkung der BMW R 1200 CL kurz und treffend beschreiben. Geprägt wird dieses Motorrad von der lenkerfesten Tourenverkleidung, deren Linienführung sich in den separaten seitlichen Verkleidungsteilen am Tank fortsetzt, so dass in der Seitenansicht fast der Eindruck einer integrierten Verkleidung entsteht. Sie bietet dem Fahrer ein hohes Maß an Komfort durch guten Wind- und Wetterschutz.
Insgesamt vier in die Verkleidung integrierte Scheinwerfer, zwei für das Abblendlicht und zwei für das Fernlicht, geben dem Motorrad ein unverwechselbares, einzigartiges Gesicht und eine beeindruckende optische Wirkung, die es so bisher noch bei keinem Motorrad gab. Natürlich sorgen die vier Scheinwerfer auch für eine hervorragende Fahrbahnausleuchtung.
Besonders einfallsreich ist die aerodynamische Gestaltung der Verkleidungsscheibe mit ihrem wellenartig ausgeschnittenen oberen Rand. Sie leitet die Strömung so, dass der Fahrer wirkungsvoll geschützt wird. Gleichzeitig kann man aber wegen des Einzugs in der Mitte ungehindert über die Scheibe hinwegschauen und hat somit unabhängig von Nässe und Verschmutzung der Scheibe ein ungestörtes Sichtfeld auf die Straße.
Zur kraftvollen Erscheinung des Motorrades passt der Vorderradkotflügel, der seitlich bis tief zur Felge heruntergezogen ist. Er bietet guten Spritzschutz und unterstreicht zusammen mit dem voluminösen Vorderreifen die Dominanz der Frontpartie, die aber dennoch Gelassenheit und Eleganz ausstrahlt.
Der gegenüber den anderen Modellen flacher gestellte Telelever hebt den Cruisercharakter noch mehr hervor. Der Heckbereich wird bestimmt durch die integrierten, fest mit dem Fahrzeug verbundenen Hartschalenkoffer und das abnehmbare Topcase auf der geschwungenen Gepäckbrücke, die zugleich als Soziushaltegriff dient. Koffer und Topcase sind jeweils in Fahrzeugfarbe lackiert und bilden somit ein harmonisches Ganzes mit dem Fahrzeug.
Akzente setzen auch die stufenförmig angeordneten breiten Komfortsitze für Fahrer und Beifahrer mit der charakteristischen hinteren Abstützung. Luxus durch exklusive Farben, edle Oberflächen und Materialien.
Die R 1200 CL wird zunächst in drei exklusiven Farben angeboten: perlsilber-metallic und capriblau-metallic mit jeweils schwarzen Sitzen und mojavebraun-metallic mit braunem Sitzbezug (wahlweise auch in schwarz). Die Eleganz der Farben wird unterstützt durch sorgfältige Materialauswahl und perfektes Finish von Oberflächen und Fugen. So ist zum Beispiel die Gepäckbrücke aus Aluminium-Druckguß gefertigt und in weissaluminium lackiert, der Lenker verchromt und die obere Instrumentenabdeckung ebenfalls weissaluminiumfarben lackiert. Die Frontverkleidung ist vollständig mit einer Innenabdeckung versehen, und die Kniepads der seitlichen Verkleidungsteile sind mit dem gleichen Material wie die Sitze überzogen.
All dies unterstreicht den Anspruch auf Luxus und Perfektion.
Antrieb jetzt mit neuem, leiserem Sechsganggetriebe - Boxermotor unverändert.
Während der Boxermotor mit 1170 cm³ unverändert von der bisherigen R 1200 C übernommen wurde - auch die Leistungsdaten sind mit 45 kW (61 PS) und 98 Nm Drehmoment bei 3 000 min-1 gleich geblieben -, ist das Getriebe der R 1200 CL neu. Abgeleitet von dem bekannten Getriebe der anderen Boxermodelle hat es jetzt auch sechs Gänge und wurde grundlegend überarbeitet. Als wesentliche Neuerung kommt eine sogenannte Hochverzahnung zum Einsatz. Diese sorgt für einen "weicheren" Zahneingriff und reduziert erheblich die Laufgeräusche der Verzahnung.
Der lang übersetzte, als "overdrive" ausgelegte, sechste Gang erlaubt drehzahlschonendes Fahren auf langen Etappen in der Ebene und senkt dort Verbrauch und Geräusch. Statt eines Schalthebels gibt es eine Schaltwippe für Gangwechsel mit einem lässigen Kick. Schaltkomfort, Geräuscharmut, niedrige Drehzahlen und dennoch genügend Kraft - Eigenschaften, die zum Genusscharakter des Fahrzeugs hervorragend passen.
Dass auch die R 1200 CL, wie jedes seit 1997 neu eingeführte BMW Motorrad weltweit, serienmäßig über die jeweils modernste Abgasreinigungstechnologie mit geregeltem Drei-Wege-Katalysator verfügt, muss fast nicht mehr erwähnt werden. Es ist bei BMW zur Selbstverständlichkeit geworden.
Fahrwerkselemente für noch mehr Komfort - Telelever neu und hinteres Federbein mit wegabhängiger Dämpfung.
Ein cruisertypisches Merkmal ist die nach vorn gestreckte Vorderradführung mit flachem Winkel zur Fahrbahn und großem Nachlauf. Dazu wurde für die R 1200 CL der nach wie vor einzigartige BMW Telelever neu ausgelegt.
Die Gabelholme stehen weiter auseinander, um dem bulligen, 150 mm breiten Vorderradreifen Platz zu bieten.
Für die Hinterradfederung kommt ein Federbein mit wegabhängiger Dämpfung zum Einsatz, das sich durch hervorragende Komforteigenschaften auszeichnet. Der Gesamtfederweg wuchs um 20 mm gegenüber den anderen Cruisermodellen auf jetzt 120 mm. Die Federbasisverstellung zur Anpassung an den Beladungszustand erfolgt hydraulisch über ein bequem zugängliches Handrad.
Hinterradschwinge optimiert und Heckrahmen neu.
Die Hinterradschwinge mit Hinterachsgehäuse, der BMW Monolever, wurde verstärkt und zur Aufnahme einer größeren Hinterradbremse angepasst.
Der verstärkte Heckrahmen ist vollständig neu, um Trittbretter, Kofferhalter, Gepäckbrücke und die neuen Sitze sowie die modifizierte Seitenstütze aufnehmen zu können. Der Vorderrahmen aus Aluminiumguss wurde mit geringfügigen Modifikationen von der bisherigen R 1200 C übernommen.
Räder aus Aluminiumguss, Sitze, Trittbretter und Lenker - alles neu.
Der optische Eindruck eines Motorrades wird ganz wesentlich auch von den Rädern bestimmt. Die R 1200 CL hat avantgardistisch gestaltete neue Gussräder aus Aluminium mit 16 Zoll (vorne) beziehungsweise 15 Zoll (hinten) Felgendurchmesser, die voluminöse Reifen im Format 150/80 vorne und 170/80 hinten aufnehmen.
Die Sitze sind für Fahrer und Beifahrer getrennt ausgeführt, um den unterschiedlichen Bedürfnissen gerecht zu werden. So ist der breite Komfortsattel für den Fahrer mit einer integrierten Beckenabstützung versehen und bietet einen hervorragenden Halt. Die Sitzhöhe beträgt 745 mm. Der Sitz für den Passagier ist ebenfalls ganz auf Bequemlichkeit ausgelegt und etwas höher als der Fahrersitz angeordnet. Dadurch hat der Beifahrer einen besseren Blick am Fahrer vorbei und kann beim Cruisen die Landschaft ungestört genießen.
Großzügige cruisertypische Trittbretter für den Fahrer tragen zum entspannten Sitzen bei. Die Soziusfußrasten, die von der K 1200 LT abgeleitet sind, bieten ebenfalls sehr guten Halt und ermöglichen zusammen mit dem günstigen Kniebeugewinkel auch dem Beifahrer ein ermüdungsfreies Touren.
Der breite, verchromte Lenker vermittelt nicht nur Cruiser-Feeling; Höhe und Kröpfungswinkel sind so ausgelegt, dass auch auf langen Fahrten keine Verspannungen auftreten. Handhebel und Schalter mit der bewährten und eigenständigen BMW Bedienlogik wurden unverändert von den anderen Modellen übernommen.
HighTech bei den Bremsen - BMW EVO-Bremse und als Sonderausstattung Integral ABS.
Sicherheit hat bei BMW traditionell höchste Priorität. Deshalb kommt bei der R 1200 CL die schon in anderen BMW Motorrädern bewährte EVO-Bremse am Vorderrad zum Einsatz, die sich durch eine verbesserte Bremsleistung auszeichnet. Auf Wunsch gibt es das einzigartige BMW Integral ABS, dem Charakter des Motorrades entsprechend in der Vollintegralversion. Das heißt, unabhängig ob der Hand- oder Fußbremshebel betätigt wird, immer wirkt die Bremskraft optimal auf beide Räder. Im Vorderrad verzögert eine Doppel-Scheibenbremse mit 305 mm Scheibendurchmesser und im Hinterrad die von der K 1200 LT übernommene Einscheiben-Bremsanlage mit einem Scheibendurchmesser von 285 mm.
Fortschrittliche Elektrik: Vierfach-Scheinwerfer, wartungsarme Batterie und elektronischer Tachometer.
Vier Scheinwerfer, je zwei für das Abblend- und Fernlicht, geben dem Motorrad von vorne ein einzigartiges prägnantes Gesicht. Durch die kreuzweise Anordnung - die Abblendscheinwerfer sitzen nebeneinander und die Fernscheinwerfer dazwischen und übereinander - wird eine hohe Signalwirkung bei Tag und eine hervorragende Fahrbahnausleuchtung bei Dunkelheit erzielt.
Neu ist die wartungsarme, komplett gekapselte Gel-Batterie, bei der kein Wasser mehr nachgefüllt werden muss. Eine zweite Steckdose ist serienmäßig. Die Instrumente sind ebenfalls neu. Drehzahlmesser und Tachometer sind elektronisch und die Zifferblätter neu gestaltetet, ebenso die Analoguhr.
Umfangreiche Sonderausstattung für Sicherheit, Komfort und individuellen Luxus.
Die Sonderausstattung der R 1200 CL ist sehr umfangreich und reicht vom BMW Integral ABS für sicheres Bremsen über Komfortausstattungen wie Temporegelung, heizbare Lenkergriffe und Sitzheizung bis hin zu luxuriöser Individualisierung mit Softtouchsitzen, Chrompaket und fernbedientem Radio mit CD-Laufwerk.
2009 Challenge, Day 265: SECURE
Sorry guys for not being able to comment on your streams!!! Just came back from doctors, with flu I have slight bronchitis, sinus, allergies..... but not dying yet he says!!! between dozing on and off I'll check your stream. While waiting for prescriptions to be filled (45 min.!!!, I snapped this shot for today's challenge!!!
Thanks for stopping by and commenting!!
Cliffside Apartments, a five storey masonry building prominently located on the cliffs at Kangaroo Point, was built in 1936-37 to the design of architect and engineer R. Martin Wilson. The building is sited on two blocks originally part of an early land purchase by John and George Harris in 1855. The land passed through the hands of several owners until it was purchased by Mrs Doris R. Booth at the beginning of 1930. At the time that Mrs Booth bought the site it was a sheer cliff of solid porphyry with a railway and wharves at its base.
Mrs Booth was born in 1895 in a house named Cliffside next to the railway gates on the cliff at Kangaroo Point. She married Captain Charles Booth in 1919 and together they travelled to New Guinea in 1920. Mrs Booth distinguished herself by breaking convention and securing her own miner's right and then becoming a licensed recruiter of labour. She was the only resident white woman in the Bulolo Valley and stayed there alone (in her house, also named Cliffside) while her husband prospected at Edie Creek. From September 1926 to January 1927 she organized and managed a racially segregated bush hospital to control a dysentery epidemic. She received an O.B.E for this work in 1928. Later that year in London, she recorded these and other adventures in Mountains, Gold and Cannibals which was written with the assistance of M. O'Dwyer.
Mrs Booth returned to New Guinea in 1929 and gradually wrested control over the family business affairs from her husband, whom she left in 1932. The Booths became embroiled in an acrimonious court case when in 1933 Charles Booth sued in the Central Court of the Territory of New Guinea for restitution of property. The case was a test case as no Mandated Territory law explicitly safeguarded married women's property rights. Judge F. B Phillips held that British and Australian Acts passed before 1921 superseded the common law notion of male control of joint property and gave Mrs Booth the verdict. The judgement was upheld in a subsequent appeal in the High Court and territorial law was amended by the Status of Married Women Ordinance 1935-36. Booth returned to prospecting and Mrs Booth went on to become a successful mine manager and company director and amongst other achievements was appointed as the sole woman member of the first and second Legislative Councils of Papua New Guinea in 1951-57.
The construction of Cliffside in 1936-37 attested to Doris Booth's extraordinary independent effort and acumen. After securing the land adjacent to her childhood home, Mrs Booth granted power of attorney to her sister Mrs Selma Dore who took responsibility for supervising the design and construction of the building. Work on the ambitious project began in late 1935 when R. Martin Wilson began his first drawings. Wilson was both an architect and engineer and it is possible that he was commissioned on the basis of his engineering expertise, a skill that would obviously be required on this job. However, both Wilson and Doris Booth had close connections with the Burns Philp Company and it is possible that this connection brought them together. Burns Philp Ltd. had financed the Booths' first foray into the goldfields of New Guinea and Wilson and his father had provided extensive architectural services to the company.
A tender notice appeared in the Architects and Builders Journal of Queensland in June 1936, and George Mitchell's tender was accepted in July. A Special Note in the Bill of Quantities stated that "Contractors are advised to visit and inspect the site and satisfy themselves as to the nature of excavations to be carried out, as it is anticipated rock will be met with. No blasting will be allowed. All excavations in rock to be done by the use of an air compressor." Wilson went on to specify that all rock and fill from the excavations was to be re-used to form terraces, steps and paving.
Cliffside was considered the height of modernity when it was opened in June 1937. The Telegraph reported on June 7 that "Cliffside Flats at River Terrace, Kangaroo Point, have given Brisbane an example of the most advanced flat design in Australia." Although the practice of converting houses to flats was well established in Brisbane, the development of the purpose-designed flat was slower in Brisbane than in other parts of the country. The Telegraph described that "Until quite recently the flat-habit was looked on by Brisbane with mixed feelings of disfavour and doubt, but now the general desire for easier living, coupled with the acute problem of obtaining competent domestics, is spreading the flat-habit over a wider field." The article went on to expound the virtues of properly designed and planned flats, of which Cliffside was the foremost example.
Cliffside was equipped with all modern conveniences including built-in furniture, dining nooks and serverys, electric refrigerators, electric hot water, water softening and incinerator and laundry chutes. The design of the building maximised privacy, views, light and the flow of air. Each of the eight flats had their own private entrance and floors were sound-proofed. The slope of the site was used to advantage so that no more than one and a half flights of stairs had to be scaled to gain access to any one of them. Plumbing connections were housed in a special duct with access from outside the building so that maintenance and repairs could take place without bothering the tenants. A caretaker's quarters was part of the original design, as was the provision of lock-up garages. The building was designed in the popular interwar style of English Revival or Tudor Revival with elements such as eaves and bay windows having a half-timbered appearance. As the promotional literature stated, Cliffside was "the newest, the best and the most attractive offering in Brisbane".
At the opening of Cliffside on June 10, Alderman L.W Luckins announced that the Brisbane City Council was introducing new bylaws to regulate the standards of construction and design of flat buildings, emphasising, however, that not everyone would be able to achieve the "heights of quality embodied in Cliffside". These ordinances were ratified by the Executive Council of Brisbane City Council in August 1937 and dealt with issues such as plot ratios, sanitation and fire rating. 1936-37 was the peak time for interwar flat construction in Queensland. In the following years, construction decreased due to the uncertain investment climate created by the threat of war in Europe as well as the refusal of banking institutions to lend on flat constructions.
Cliffside is a fine example of the work of R. Martin Wilson and demonstrates his skill in the fields of both architecture and engineering. Born in Brisbane in 1886, he was the son of architect Alex B Wilson and studied and worked with his father from 1902-8. He received a Bachelor of Engineering at the University of Queensland in 1915 and won the Walter and Eliza Hill Travelling Fellowship allowing him to study architectural engineering in the United States from 1915 to 1917. He went on to London and studied at the Architectural Association as well as completing a town planning course at London University. From 1919, he lectured in engineering at University of Queensland and was the first person to gain a Masters in Engineering at that institution.
He practised with his father as Alex B. and R. Martin Wilson, Architects and Architectural Engineers, Brisbane from 1920, becoming a registered architect in 1929. He was active in professional bodies such as the Institute of Architects and the Town Planning Association. Alex Wilson retired in 1928 and R.M Wilson was later joined by his son, Blair in the firm of R.M Wilson and Son.
Mrs Booth retired to Brisbane in 1960. She sold Cliffside in 1966 to Guiseppe and Angelo Angelino, whose family company retain ownership of the building.
Source: Queensland Heritage Register.
Caney Junction, Moss, Meade Fork, Governor George Allen, and “LENOWISCO Unfair to Local Landowners”—Life in Southwest Virginia
The demand for coal during World War II was intense, and no one knew with any certainty when the war would end, or how it would turn out. The Clinchfield Coal Company determined the most economically recoverable coal deposits on the south side of Sandy Ridge, in Dickenson County, Va., were nearing depletion. The unaffiliated coal producer advised the Clinchfield Railroad of its desire to mine what was known as the Clintwood coal reserves. It would require a branch off the CRR main through demanding terrain. Location studies were initiated in 1943 and completed in 1944. The 14.6-mile line from a junction just south of Fremont to the proposed tipple site at Moss required a “ramp” from the mainline junction (to be named “Caney”) blasted from the side of the mountain to gain sufficient elevation to turn west into 2250-foot Bear Pen Gap Tunnel.
As all this unfolded, the Clinchfield Coal Company was acquired by the Pittston Company, which itself was controlled by the Allegheny Corporation—the overarching financial giant that controlled the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad. The C&O filed a petition of intervention to the Clinchfield’s line, arguing it was better positioned to serve the new production area. Chessie’s Road wanted to build a line out of Jenkins, Ky. (on its Sandy Valley & Elkhorn Extension) to reach a proposed tipple site on the western side of what is today known colloquially as “Red Onion Mountain.” The name came from an old country store and bootleg “joint” at the top of the ridge---an appropriate choice since the Commonwealth of Virginia later built Red Onion Prison not far away. The “supermax” facility houses the “worst of the worst” in Virginia’s penal network and was opened in 1998. Of the 800 inmates housed there, there are indeed some notorious characters. Red Onion is the home of surviving "Beltway sniper" Lee Boyd Malvo. A portion the off-site infrastructure planning and construction fell into LENOWISCO’s lap during this period, so I spent a lot of time working with officials in the towns of Pound and Clintwood, and Dickenson and Wise Counties on the provision of access roads, water, and wastewater services. As it turned out, the only feasible way to provide sewer service was through a line down McFall Branch on the west side of the mountain to an expanded sewage plant in Pound. Much of the line was built on the former C&O right of way. The construction of the line was not without some local bellyaching and controversy, as some of the greedier landowners along the route expected their palms to be greased with generous “giverment” money for easements. During this project, I spent an inordinate amount of my professional work time dealing with these constant brushfires. One of our employees was threatened by a local landowner (who didn’t even live there!), so I had to step in (with legal help) to put a stop to such stuff. The sewer line to Red Onion Prison did not rate high in my list of “favorite” projects. When then-governor George Allen visited the construction site, he was driven there over the very road where we were trying to secure the easements. Some local morons (of which there were many) had erected signs along the way---like the old Burma Shave signs once familiar along the country’s many pre-Interstate highways. One sequence of signs read (in order): “LENOWISCO Unfair to Local Landowners,” “Millions for Others, Nothing for Us,” “Where’s OUR Money?,” and “God Bless America—and Welcome Governor Allen.” Not surprisingly, as soon as I rolled up to the site where site prep on the prison was underway, a staffer came over to the car. “Mr. Flanary—the Governor wants to talk with you.” To his credit, once I explained, Allen had a good laugh, patted me on the shoulder, and told me we were doing a great job. I sincerely appreciated the boost. The sewer line was completed on time and within budget, and I checked that one off my “to do” list.
So, getting back to the railroad part of the story---In a surprise ruling, the ICC granted rights to both the Clinchfield and C&O to build their respective branches. Construction finally began on the Clinchfield’s line in January 1946 with the first load of coal loaded at Moss (by a high-lift loader, as the tipple wasn’t yet finished) the following June. The line cost the railroad $2.6 million, but it would pay for itself many times over during its years of regular operation. In the 70s, for example, the Fremont Branch (as it was named) required the services of two “Moss Turns” every working day. Moss also had a coal prep plant, so as lesser quality seams were mined, loads ran in both directions on the branch. Raw coal from other Clinchfield-served mines were pulled to Moss to be processed with coal being fed directly to the plant, with the returning runs bringing the clean coal back to the main at Caney.
The C&O also experienced delays in building an ambitious rail line out of Jenkins to a tipple at “Meade.” The branch required a long tunnel under Pine Mountain (not to mention a switchback just to start the assault out of Jenkins), then a coiling descent to the Pound River and McFall Branch to reach the mine site. This ill-advised adventure cost the C&O $3 million and would turn out to be an enormous mistake. The tunnel under Pine Mountain had to go through a mixture of limestone, sandstone, shale, conglomerate, coal, loose earth, mud and gas (methane) pockets. The bore had to be lined with a thick wall of concrete reinforced with heavy structural beams. Even with more modern construction technology and materials, progress on some days could only be measured in inches. The tipple at Meade Fork didn’t last long, however, as it was more economical to build an underground shaft from there to the large tipple and prep plant at Moss. Except for some truck mines loading at Pound, Va., there wasn’t much left for the C&O to pull from its Meade Fork Extension. The compound 2-6-6-2s that worked the line (same class as former C&O 1309 running out of Cumberland, Maryland today) were replaced by GP7s and GP9s, but the trips from Jenkins through Pine Mountain became rare by the late 50s and early 60s. To no one’s surprise, the ICC soon allowed the C&O to abandon the line. The tunnel under Pine Mountain soon was impassable because of cave ins, so both portals were sealed.
When I photographed CSX Extra 7880 South approaching the junction at Caney on August 12, 1994, most of the coal activity on the branch was over. Given the date, I might have been in the area dealing with the prison sewer issue. A chip loading operation near the old Moss site kept the line open a little longer, with the woodchips headed to the large papermill in Kingsport, Tennessee. As that plant cut back production with ownership changes, the Fremont Branch fell into complete disuse. It’s still in place, however, as hope springs eternal that its services might be needed yet again one day. There are still many recoverable metallurgical coal reserves within reach of the line.
I do like the complicated "granny knots" people use - here on a narrowboat on the Macclesfield Canal near Bosley, Cheshire.
It looks good in monochrome - but detracts attention from the green nylon knot.
Pararescuemen with the 83rd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron secure the area after being lowered from an HH-60 Pave Hawk during a mission in Afghanistan on Nov. 7, 2012. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jonathan Snyder)
I tried SO HARD to get the red hand rail perfectly centered, but, alas! it was not to be.
Pentax K-S2, SMC Pentax-M 200/4
For the Pentax Forums Single in March 2016 Challenge
Night comes and goes with little possibility of sleep. As the first rays of morning penetrate their small cell, Larry and Rita finish catching Niles up on everything that’s happened, and how they came to be here. Niles listens with astute interest as Larry finishes the tale, clenching his fists when he gets to Eric’s betrayal. They share the gloom of their cell in silence. Niles looks over to Cliff, staring pensively at the ground. He hasn’t said a word since they got here.
Niles: Cliff? You haven’t said anything all night. What’s troubling you?
Cliff pulls his gaze from the floor, Brain’s words still echoing through his mind.
Cliff: Huh? Yeah, I’m fine.
The four of them sit there for an hour or so, attempting despite the humidity of the morning to go to sleep. It doesn’t come. After a while, Rita sits up and finally plucks up the courage to ask the question they’ve all been wanting to ask since they arrived.
Rita: Niles… what did you mean before, when you said you had to leave? Where were you going? And no dodging the question this time!
Larry and Cliff look at Niles. Niles fidgets uncomfortably against the wall. He takes a moment before answering.
Niles: It’s… complicated.
They watch him eagerly.
Niles: There’s a lot I can’t tell you. Not because I don’t want to, believe me… but because it would be irresponsible of me. However, due to the current circumstances…
He looks around the cell.
Niles: I may not have much choice. Perhaps I was wrong to think you all unready…
He takes a long, drawn out breath. He is about to speak, but before the words can see the light of day a rumbling noise comes from behind the door. All of them look over to it as it is heaved open and Mallah, grin on his leathery face, barges in.
Mallah: It’s time.
Before anyone can protest, he grabs Niles under the shoulders and hauls him onto his back. Larry jumps up, but halts as Niles raises a hand to him.
Niles: Listen to me! Find Senec – tell him Niles Caulder sent you! He’ll know what needs to be done…
Mallah slams the door shut behind him, and just like that he’s gone. Larry looks round to the others, and is comforted by the fact they look just as confused as he is.
====================
Every step Mallah takes causes Niles great discomfort as he bounces around on his back. Mallah adjusts his grip, pulling Niles’ arms over his shoulders. Niles murmurs uncomfortably.
Niles: Don’t you get tired of lugging people around all day? It seems that’s all you do.
Mallah looks ahead and grunts.
Mallah: I enjoy it. Keeps the mind active.
Niles: But I remember you, Mallah. You used to be such an excitable little chimp; so full of life. What happened?
Mallah: Life grinds you down. I read Sartre and smoke cigarettes now. What more can I say?
Niles sighs as Mallah walks into the central room decked out with machinery. Niles isn’t surprised to see Brain, proudly stood to the side of the machine he had called ‘The White Room’. As he is dumped on the ground, he spots a forlorn looking Eric Morden sat on a crate at the edge of the room, looking at his feet. Mallah steps over Niles and joins Brain.
Brain: Niles Caulder… after all these years, our debt will be settled.
Niles sits up on his arms and groans.
Niles: Oh not this nonsense again. If you’re going to kill me bloody well get on with it.
Brain scoffs obnoxiously.
Brain: And ruin all my fun? Oh no no mon cheri, we do this on my terms I am afraid. Mallah, prepare ‘im.
Mallah moves around the other side of the machine and disappears out of view.
Brain: Mallah will momentarily administer a small, epidermal injection to your spine. Following this, you will lose all control of your body and will be completely paralysed.
Niles: Afraid I’m going to run away, are you?
Brain: Silence!
Niles smirks.
Brain: You will then be placed inside the void of the White Room, where you will be subject to… uhm… torture… of the mind… and soul…
Niles frowns and holds up a hand.
Niles: A moment, if you would. Are you even remotely certain of what this thing will do?
Brain pauses for a second.
Brain: The creators of the machine left detailed instructions…
Niles: Yes, on how to build the thing. But do you actually know what it will do to me once I’m inside?
Brain pauses again.
Brain: Well… not exactly, no.
Niles sighs.
Niles: So you don’t even know if this thing will work?
Mallah re-emerges from round the machine, clutching a syringe and a straitjacket.
Mallah: Of course it will you ‘airless monkey! I ‘ave worked long and ‘ard to ensure this machine is in perfect working condition! Your death will be as unpleasant as it needs to be!
He joins Brain and glares at Niles on the floor.
Niles: Your master here didn’t sound so certain.
Mallah looks round at Brain.
Mallah: Really, my love?
Brain: Of course not! I know ‘ow ‘ard you ‘ave worked! It is impossible it will fail!
Niles: If you’re so uncertain why don’t you test it out?
Brain and Mallah go quiet. Brain considers for a moment and laughs mockingly at Niles.
Brain: Very good, Caulder, very good. And who would you ‘ave me test it on, eh? Myself, perhaps? Mallah? Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice and… you shall not again!
Niles chuckles along with them for a moment and turns and points over to the corner of the room.
Niles: What about him?
Eric, still sat moping on his crate, is startled and looks over at them. Mallah looks at Brain for a second and shrugs. Brain goes quiet, and after a moment whispers under his mechanical breath.
Brain: Everything ‘appens for a reason…
He snaps back into life.
Brain: Fine Caulder. ‘Ave it your way. Mallah, prepare ‘im!
Mallah rushes across the room. Before Eric can even register what’s going on, he is pulled to his feet and dragged over to face the White Room. He tries to plead with Brain, but a meek grunting sound is all his mouth can produce. Mallah forces his arms into the straitjacket and secures it tightly around his body. He then seizes Eric by his scalp, pulling him into the air like a wet dishcloth, and jabs the needle into the base of his spine. He squirms, thrashing his legs about wildly, then goes still. A bead of sweat drips down his forehead and into his wet, unblinking eye. He tries to scream, but it makes it as far as his throat and gives up – it’s like his jaw is wired shut. Niles watches with morbid fascination as Mallah holds his rigid body securely against his chest and pulls the door to the White Room open.
Niles notices how the machine’s interior seems to go on forever, like a morose optical illusion; a terrible white horizon stretching out into a bleak infinity. Mallah drops Eric down on a single seat in what must be the centre of the machine and closes the door on him. Niles shifts uncomfortably on the ground. Mallah goes to a control panel next to the machine and presses a couple of buttons. A terrible mechanical sound fills the air as the White Room buzzes into life, and Niles is suddenly aware how glad he is to be out here and not inside the machine, now vibrating angrily. Mallah grabs a lever, the lights in the compound flickering madly, and pulls it down.
====================
Larry paces around the cell anxiously. He watches Cliff as he tries and fails one more time to pry the door off its hinges and fall back against the wall, defeated.
Larry: We can’t give up this easily!
Rita sits on the ground, replaying Niles’ final words in her head.
Rita: What did Niles mean – ‘find Senec?’ What’s Senec?
Larry: That’s not gonna matter if we can’t get out of here. Come on big guy, one more try!
Cliff holds his hands up.
Cliff: It won’t budge man, I’m tellin’ ya. Can’t Casper the unfriendly ghost come out?
Larry: He doesn’t exactly take requests, Cliff…
Cliff: How convenient…
Rita: BOYS!
She stands up, arms to her side, and glares at them. Larry is about to reply, before he realises why she’s shut them up. The walls of their cell begin to shake as if hit by a minor earthquake, and the single bulb suspended from the ceiling starts to flicker.
Larry: Oh god… Niles…
He opens his jacket and puts a hand on his chest. Nothing.
Larry: Come on, please…
Cliff goes over to him and stares at his chest, like a hapless father watching his wife in labour. He raises his fists encouragingly and bounces up and down on his knees.
Cliff: Yeah, c’mon buddy… you can do it! I didn’t mean what I said before!
They both stare at Larry’s chest as the tremors intensify. As nothing continues stubbornly to happen, Rita takes a breath and unbeknownst to the boys kneels down.
Rita: Here goes nothing…
She focuses all her attention on her right hand. She pictures herself as the hulking mass of flesh in her bed, as the puddle on the floor of the cave, as a monster hiding away from the world… and remembers Cliff’s words: ‘I don’t think you’re a monster…’ Her arm melts. She grits her teeth and concentrates all her energy on her now flat right arm, keeping the rest of her body together. Her arm shifts, and she winces as she imagines it twisting along the ground. After a few seconds her arm responds, and it begins to stretch out across the ground of their cell and towards the door like a fleshly, shapeless snake. It reaches the gap underneath the door and pushes through it to the outside. She winces as she focuses her attention on now getting it to move upwards, and sure enough it does. She feels it winding its way up the cool metal door of their cell like a rapid growing vine, stopping as it reaches the bolt on the outside of the door. She shuts her eyes, imagines herself undoing it, and opens her eyes in surprise as she hears the bolt slide out of its lock and the cell door creak open.
Larry and Cliff don’t move. Rita falls back against the ground, exhausted, and focuses on reforming her arm.
Rita: A woman’s work is never done.
Larry and Cliff dart over to her, lifting her up gently.
Larry: Rita… wow…
Rita: Niles…
Cliff pushes the door open fully and makes a break for it, followed closely by Larry and a recovering Rita. The three of them run down the corridor and towards the source of the noise, careful to maintain their balance as the corridor around them shakes violently. They burst into the compound’s central room and freeze when they lay their eyes upon the White Room, shuddering aggressively and smoking. The wires sprouting out from its roof tremble as brilliant white light radiates out from a single window on its door, casting deep shadows around the room. They spot the Brain and Mallah, embracing to the side of it, and a deep dread fills their hearts. They are about to cry out for it to stop, but notice Niles, sprawled across the ground before it and covering his eyes. They rush over to him.
Rita: Niles! What’s happening?
He holds up a hand.
Niles: I think we may be about to find out…
They stare at the White Room as its movement reaches an erratic crescendo and ends. They shield their eyes from the dazzling white light that fills the room as the door erupts off its hinges and a silhouetted figure emerges from within.
Accepted by MOF 2013 (Mersin Olba Photographic Association, Turkey).
I have to say, the worst International Salon ever! You don't get told what mark you got. You don't get an email with a report card, you just have to keep looking at the website then trawl through to find your name and see whether you got an acceptance or not.
I must say though, they are very loyal to their own people! Haha!
do you know that feeling? it was not your day, everything is a bit to much for you. you need some rest, some scureness, some love.
Lano and me are friends since more than 4 years in sl. this is just a normal snapshot - thats what we do all the day when we have time to met: sit together, chat, tell each other about our days and we try do give each other a feeling of secureness, some power, just a bit love. all the things friends do, you know.
i´m blessed. because i do not only have friends in rl. i also have a real friend in a virtual world :).
(near that we of course talk all the day about cute avatars, shopping, our business, ugly hair, wonderful sims, what the heck we have to wear tomorrow, because there is a party and we both have NOTHING to wear and such..... for the ladies - yes. men talk about thinks like that. for the gents: no, you do not need to be gay to do so. but it helps ^^. gay men have more fun GRINS.
“Our notion of the perfect society embraces the family as its center and ornament, and this paradise is not secure until children appear to animate and complete the picture.” -Amos Bronson Alcott
Although sitting high and dry on land at the edge of Okanagan Lake in Penticton BC, The SS Sicamous appears to be securely tied to the dock.
Julia has made several comments about being nervous about her upcoming ballet, jazz and tap recital -- which is in April. Despite the reassurances and the extra lessons to catch her up with her classmates who have been dancing together since they were 3 or 4, she has continued to express worry over remembering the routine... the steps... the turns...
Today, the class invited the parents in to watch the jazz routine. Julia was so focused on her routine that she seemed to barely notice all the adults in the room. The girls did great but I don't think any were as excited while simultaneously being relieved as Julia was.
She looked as if she had been dancing with these girls all along. The look of satisfaction in her face lets me know that she is secure in at least one of the dance routines coming up in April. We have plenty of time to practice and learn the others.
I have to admit I wasn’t up to opening this set but once I started taking all the items out it definitely changed my mood. The Mood Changers Poppy Parker Gift Set, the first W Club Exclusive of 2015, comes packed with a ton of goodies! The doll comes with three different heads, three outfits, two pantyhose, two jewelry sets, four pairs of interchangeable hands which one pair are painted “gloved” hands, two pairs of shoes and a clutch purse that actually goes perfectly well with the three outfits. Out of the three heads, the raven haired turned out to be my most favorite which is surprising as it was my least favorite from the promos. I’m also in love with the sea foam green outfit which turned out to be inspired from a 60s Space Age fashion.
The main selling point with this gift set is of course the ‘Quick Switch’ feature which allows easy head swapping. This is the second version of ‘Quick Switch’, the first version was from the Mommy Dearest set, and in my experience the heads do stay secure as you turn it from side to side and all around. I think this is such a great innovation and I want this feature for every IT doll that is being released and here’s why… After last year’s Convention I was on a beheading spree but little did I know I was actually doing something wrong. As I pulled the heads off after using a heating pad to soften them, I was leaving a mark on the side of their necks… it’s not a crack or anything but it’s a white line that forms as I pull the heads off and even after I realized what I was doing, some of them still get a mark on their neck even if I was being careful. So then I had to request Patient Care for upper torso replacements which turned out to be daunting after asking them multiple times. Another reason why I think ‘Quick Switch’ is a great idea is that this feature can actually save a lot of space! This set sort of solved my space issue with my Poppy Parkers. Also let’s say you have multiple versions of the same character and you’re the type of collector who does not display them all at once, you can use a single body then you can just switch heads in an instant to change the look of the doll which also leads to the idea of a gift set with a doll that comes with different versions of head sculpts and I think Adele, Vanessa and Veronique are great candidates for those dream sets. One issue that I found out with ‘Quick Switch’ though after comparing Mood Changers to a Poppy with a regular neck knob is that it can’t look down and I’m still trying to figure out why is that. Not an issue for me personally, but it’s definitely an issue to other collectors as that’s the one and only restriction that this feature has that I can think of at the moment. Back in 2013’s big body upgrade announcement, it was mentioned that all releases from Integrity Toys will have the ‘Quick Switch’ feature in the future and hopefully by then they already come up with Version 3.0 that has no movement restrictions. If the ‘Quick Switch’ system turned out to be unsuccessful then we can always have another alternative by utilizing the pull-apart system with the new bodies by pulling from the torso joint instead of pulling from the neck I guess. That reminded me of those Fashionistas Swappin' Style Barbies though.
The only gripe that I have with this set is that the red haired Poppy comes with a wonky eye and with that eye lash drooping just makes it worse. You see, I’m not lucky with my Poppys, after receiving Lotta Danger last year and Go See!, I sometimes feel like giving up. Good thing the other two heads look great. Also the pink dress came with sequins already falling off and the black pantyhose already came with pulls and runs. I just wish the factory workers could just realize that costumers are just going to complain and just going to send those items back… so why not consider a do over right then and there? Obviously that’s not how things go at the factory.