View allAll Photos Tagged status
Female nilgai or blue bull (Boselaphus tragocamelus), the largest antelope in Asia, endemic to India. The name blue bull comes from the bluish-grey coat of the males. Only the male nilgai have horns.
Seen in the Asian Savanna field exhibit of the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Conservation status: Least Concern
Copyright 2019 by Justin Bonaparte. All Rights Reserved.
Photographer: Justin Bonaparte
Model: Zenia Tong
Photo © Tristan Savatier - All Rights Reserved - License this photo on www.loupiote.com/423600121
Share this photo on: facebook • twitter • more...
Lindsey's amazing gold-gray-green eye (looks even better in large size)
Spotted this eye on a street of San Francisco. And yes, the other one is amazing too. And the rest of her is of the same caliber :)
If you like this photo, follow me on instagram (tristan_sf) and don't hesitate to leave a comment or email me.
The Eastern Mystery Bombus. Here is Bombus sandersoni. Rather late on the scene taxonomically...described in 1913 as a subspecies of B. vagans by the Franklin (famous bumble bee dude from the Northeast) and later elevated to species status. It is the trickest to ID species in the East. The only real characters are a not too short not too malar space (space between the eye and mandible) and often a lot of white hairs on T5 of the abdomen...but maybe sometimes not having white hairs to make things tricky. Generally uncommon, generally found in heavily wooded northern and Appalachian regions and frankly irritating in its ambiguity. Also, apparently just not sexy enough for anyone to want to study it, unlike the other generally over studied species of Bumble Bees. Specimen collected up at Mountan Lake in Virginia by Barbara Abraham and photo by Brooke Goggins.
~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~
All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.
Photography Information:
Canon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, Stackshot Sled, 65mm Canon MP-E 1-5X macro lens, Twin Macro Flash in Styrofoam Cooler, F5.0, ISO 100, Shutter Speed 200
We Are Made One with What We Touch and See
We are resolved into the supreme air,
We are made one with what we touch and see,
With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,
With our young lives each spring impassioned tree
Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range
The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.
- Oscar Wilde
You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML
Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:
Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:
Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:
bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf
Basic USGSBIML set up:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-_yvIsucOY
USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bdmx_8zqvN4
Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus
www.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml/collections
PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:
ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf
Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:
plus.google.com/events/c5569losvskrv2nu606ltof8odo
or
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c15neFttoU
Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:
Contact information:
Sam Droege
sdroege@usgs.gov
301 497 5840
The church of St John in Lateran. It was the original papal seat before St Peters at the Vatican. It is still the seat of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope and, despite its location outside of the Vatican City, it enjoys extra terrestrial status from Italy. Snapped through a coach window, so apologies for the reflections.
Mamallapuram
You got a car in front of your door ...
He got a cow in front of his door ...
any difference ?
2009-02-25
Please, no logo's in your comment
I'm SURE you were wondering what color my Tree Hydrangea is now. LOL. Last time, all the flowers were green. (see it in comments) Now, it's turning pink!! :-)
I'm new at photography, but at the bottom of this pic, it looks like a double exposure? The leaves. Whatever it is... I like it!! LOL. It's right out of the camera. (no Photoshop)
Taken with the macro lens.
STATUS ~ Winter Charm ❄️
(AD Shown W/ “Reborn Bork” Belly)
____________________________________
• Available at FWRD Event 12/14/2024 ‼️
____________________________________
Taxi 🚕 ~ maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/FWRD/228/88/44
____________________________________
#SecondLife #secondlifeavi #secondlifestyle #secondlifeworld #secondlifefashion #secondlifer #secondlifeworld #secondlifeavi #edit #family #slfam #slfamily #secondlifeedit #spamemojis #spam #like #like4like #spam4spam #Event #FWRDEvent #FWRD #secondlifeavatar #secondlifemodels
Airbus A310 - MSN 599
Status : Active
Registration : C-GTSH
Airline Air Transat
Country : Canada
Date : 1986 -
Codes TS TSC
Callsign : Air Transat
Web site : www.airtransat.com
Serial number599
Type310-304
First flight date16/10/1991
Test registrationF-WWCZ
Plane age25.4 years
Seat configurationC12 Y238
Engines2 x GE CF6-80C2A2
10/02/1992LufthansaD-AIDN
05/04/2004Air TransatC-GTSHLsd From Goal
STATUS ~ Half-Time 🏈
____________________________________
• Available @ the MAINSTORE & Marketplace
____________________________________
Taxi 🚕 : maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Marquises%20Island/172/172...
Marketplace📲 : marketplace.secondlife.com/p/STATUS-Half-Time/25714422
____________________________________
#SecondLife #secondlifeavi #secondlifestyle #secondlifeworld #secondlifefashion #secondlifer #secondlifeworld #secondlifeavi #edit #family #slfam #slfamily #secondlifeedit #spamemojis #spam #like #like4like #spam4spam #Event
3-1/2 year old Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abeli), "Aisha" playing with some of her enrichment items at the San Diego Zoo.
Conservation Status: Critically Endangered
El casco antiguo de Graz fue declarado Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la Unesco en 1999.
A orillas del río Mur se encuentra una colina llamada Schlossberg, que tiene una altura de 475 metros.
Hace más de 1.000 años se construyó un castillo que dio el nombre a la ciudad (que se deriva de la palabra eslovena gradec, que significa "pequeño castillo"). Desde el año 1125 la colina albergó una impresionante fortaleza. En 1809 Napoleón ordenó destruirla. En dicha colina se edificó en 1560 la Torre del reloj, uno de los símbolos de la ciudad. Entre las diferentes calles que forman parte del distrito Innere Stadt destaca la calle Sporgasse. La calle es más antigua que la ciudad ya que fueron los romanos, los primeros que trazaron una vía que iba desde el valle del río Mur hasta la ciudad romana de Savaria (actual Szombately, en Hungría). Los artesanos que trabajaban en esta calle son los que dieron el nombre a la calle. En la actualidad, la Sporgasse es una calle dedicada al comercio.
es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casco_histórico_de_Graz
Innere Stadt (German pronunciation: [ˈɪnəʀə ʃtat]) is the 1st district of the Austrian city of Graz, capital of the federal state of Styria. It is the part of the Old Town (in German: Altstadt) containing the Schloßberg and the city park (Stadtpark). The district borders are formed by the Mur river between Radetzkybrücke and Keplerbrücke, the Wickenburggasse, the Glacis, Jakominiplatz and the Radetzkystraße. The district covers an area of 1.16 km² and -as of 2011- has a population of 3,545.
In 1999, the Old Town was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innere_Stadt_(Graz)
Graz [ˈɡʁaːt͡s] es una ciudad austríaca, capital del estado federado de Estiria (en alemán, Steiermark). Con una población de 269.997 habitantes (1-1-2014) es la segunda ciudad más grande del país. Ciudad universitaria por excelencia, fue nombrada Capital Europea de la Cultura en el año 2003.
Graz está situada a orillas del río Mura al sureste de Austria. Se encuentra a 189 kilómetros de Viena, la capital de país.
La primera mención de la ciudad apareció en un documento escrito por el margrave de Estiria Leopoldo I. En la actualidad no se dispone del original aunque existe una copia del siglo XV.
El último representante de la dinastía Otakar fue Otakar IV de Estiria, margrave de Estiria y duque desde 1180. Otakar no tenía descendencia y había contraído la lepra. En el año 1186 Otakar se reunió con el duque Leopoldo V, de la Casa de Babenberg, en la localidad de Enns donde firmaron el Pacto de Georgenberger mediante el cual Otokar designaba a los Babenberg como sucesores.
En 1379 Graz se convierte en la residencia de los Habsburgo al ser nombrada capital de la Austria interna (en alemán Innerösterreich), territorio que comprendía Estiria, Carintia, Carniola y algunas posesiones en Italia. La estancia de la familia imperial se prolongó hasta 1619.
El 10 de abril de 1797, las tropas francesas hicieron su entrada en Graz por primera vez. Dos días más tarde, Napoleón llegó a Graz, donde permaneció unos días hasta su marcha a Göss, cerca de Leoben. El 14 de noviembre de 1805, el ejército francés, al mando del general Marmont, invadió la ciudad por segunda vez. La ocupación finalizó el 11 de enero de 1806 con la retirada de las tropas galas. El 30 de mayo de 1809 se produjo la tercera incursión de la legión francesa, esta vez bajo las órdenes de MacDonald. El 4 de enero de 1810 los franceses abandonaron Graz definitivamente.
Durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial el 16 % de los edificios fueron destruidos y 1788 personas perdieron la vida como consecuencia de la ofensiva. El casco histórico no se vio afectado por los ataques, a excepción de la Tummelplatz. La estación central y las plantas industriales del sur y el oeste de la ciudad fueron los objetivos de los bombardeos.
En los años posteriores a la proclamación de la independencia del país en 1955, se produjeron muchos de los cambios que conformaron la imagen actual de la ciudad. En el plano cultural destaca la creación de varios festivales. En 1968 se celebró la primera edición del steirische herbst, el festival de arte contemporáneo más antiguo de Europa. En 1985 se inauguró el Styriarte, festival dedicado a la música clásica. Ambos festivales se celebran cada año y son de gran importancia para la capital de Estiria. La fisionomía de Graz va a experimentar sucesivas modificaciones y ampliaciones. Así pues, se construyeron nuevos puentes y en 1972 se abrió la primera zona peatonal. A finales de los años 80 tiene lugar un importante crecimiento de la zona sureste. En 1988, Puntigam fue considerado como distrito independiente de Straßgang, quedando establecidos los diecisiete distritos en los que se divide Graz hoy en día.
En 1993 la ciudad recibió un premio de la organización ecologista Greenpeace. Ese mismo año organizó el Mes de la cultura europeo por encargo de la Unión Europea.
El casco antiguo de Graz fue declarado Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la Unesco en 1999.
Graz cuenta con 4 universidades que reúnen a cerca de 40 000 estudiantes. Es la segunda ciudad universitaria más importante de Austria después de Viena. Uno de cada 7 habitantes de Graz estudia.
Graz (/ɡrɑːts/ GRAHTS, German: [ɡʁaːts]) is the capital of the Austrian province Styria and the second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. On 1 January 2019, it had a population of 328,276 (292,269 of whom had principal residence status). In 2015, the population of the Graz larger urban zone who had principal residence status stood at 633,168. Graz has a long tradition as seat of universities: its six universities have almost 60,000 students. Its historic centre is one of the best-preserved city centres in Central Europe.[5]
For centuries, Graz was more important to Slovenes and Croats, both politically and culturally, than the capitals of Ljubljana, Slovenia and Zagreb, Croatia; it remains influential to this day.[6] In 1999, Graz's historic centre was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites and in 2010, the site was extended with Eggenberg Palace (German: Schloss Eggenberg). Graz was the Cultural Capital of Europe in 2003 and became a City of Culinary Delights in 2008.
The name of the city, Graz, formerly spelled Gratz, most likely stems from the Slavic gradec, "small castle". Some archaeological finds point to the erection of a small castle by Alpine Slavic people, which over time became a heavily defended fortification. In literary Slovene and Croatian, gradec still means "small castle". The German name 'Graz' first appears in records in 1128.
Graz is situated on the Mur river in southeast Austria. It is about 200 km (120 mi) southwest of Vienna. The nearest larger urban centre is Maribor in Slovenia which is about 50 km (31 mi) away. Graz is the capital and largest city in Styria, a green and heavily forested area.
The oldest settlement on the ground of the modern city of Graz dates back to the Copper Age. However, no historical continuity exists of a settlement before the Middle Ages. During the 12th century, dukes under Babenberg rule made the town into an important commercial center. Later, Graz came under the rule of the Habsburgs and, in 1281, gained special privileges from King Rudolph I.
In the 14th century, Graz became the city of residence of the Inner Austrian line of the Habsburgs. The royalty lived in the Schlossberg castle and from there ruled Styria, Carinthia, most of today's Slovenia, and parts of Italy (Carniola, Gorizia and Gradisca, Trieste).
In the 16th century, the city's design and planning were primarily controlled by Italian Renaissance architects and artists. One of the most famous buildings built in this style is the Landhaus, designed by Domenico dell'Allio, and used by the local rulers as a governmental headquarters.
Karl-Franzens-Universität, also called the University of Graz, is the city's oldest university, founded in 1585 by Archduke Karl II. For most of its existence, it was controlled by the Catholic church, and was closed in 1782 by Joseph II in an attempt to gain state control over educational institutions. Joseph II transformed it into a lyceum where civil servants and medical personnel were trained. In 1827 it was re-instituted as a university by Emperor Franz I, thus gaining the name 'Karl-Franzens Universität,' meaning 'Charles-Francis University.' Over 30,000 students currently study at this university.
The astronomer Johannes Kepler lived in Graz for a short period. There, he worked as a math teacher and was a professor of mathematics at the University of Graz, but still found time to study astronomy. He left Graz to go to Prague when Lutherans were banned from the city.
Ludwig Boltzmann was Professor for Mathematical Physics from 1869 to 1890. During that time, Nikola Tesla studied electrical engineering at the Polytechnic in 1875. Nobel Laureate Otto Loewi taught at the University of Graz from 1909 until 1938. Ivo Andric, the 1961 Nobel Prize for Literature Laureate obtained his doctorate at the University of Graz. Erwin Schrödinger was briefly chancellor of the University of Graz in 1936.
Graz lies in Styria, or Steiermark in German. Mark is an old German word indicating a large area of land used as a defensive border, in which the peasantry is taught how to organize and fight in the case of an invasion. With a strategic location at the head of the open and fertile Mur valley, Graz was often assaulted (unsuccessfully), e.g. by the Hungarians under Matthias Corvinus in 1481, and by the Ottoman Turks in 1529 and 1532. Apart from the Riegersburg Castle, the Schlossberg was the only fortification in the region that never fell to the Ottoman Turks. Graz is home to the region's provincial armory, which is the world's largest historical collection of late medieval and Renaissance weaponry. It has been preserved since 1551, and displays over 30,000 items.
From the earlier part of the 15th century, Graz was the residence of the younger branch of the Habsburgs, which succeeded to the imperial throne in 1619 in the person of Emperor Ferdinand II, who moved the capital to Vienna. New fortifications were built on the Schlossberg at the end of the 16th century. Napoleon's army occupied Graz in 1797. In 1809, the city withstood another assault by the French army. During this attack, the commanding officer in the fortress was ordered to defend it with about 900 men against Napoleon's army of about 3,000. He successfully defended the Schlossberg against eight attacks, but they were forced to give up after the Grande Armée occupied Vienna and the Emperor ordered to surrender. Following the defeat of Austria by Napoleonic forces at the Battle of Wagram in 1809, the fortifications were demolished using explosives, as stipulated in the Peace of Schönbrunn of the same year. The belltower and the civic clock tower, often used as the symbol of Graz, were spared after the people of Graz paid a ransom for their preservation.
Archduke Karl II of Inner Austria had 20,000 Protestant books burned in the square of what is now a mental hospital, and succeeded in returning Styria to the authority of the Holy See. Archduke Franz Ferdinand was born in Graz, in what is now the Stadtmuseum (city museum).
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students. At the end of 2016 there were 33,473 people with secondary residence status in Graz.
Oceanic climate is the type found in the city, but due to the 0 °C isotherm, the same occurs in a humid continental climate with based in Köppen system (Cfb/Dfb borderline). Wladimir Köppen himself was in town and conducted studies to see how the climate of the past influenced the Continental Drift theory. Due to its position southeast of the Alps, Graz is shielded from the prevailing westerly winds that bring weather fronts in from the North Atlantic to northwestern and central Europe. The weather in Graz is thus influenced by the Mediterranean, and it has more hours of sunshine per year than Vienna or Salzburg and also less wind or rain. Graz lies in a basin that is only open to the south, causing the climate to be warmer than would be expected at that latitude. Plants are found in Graz that normally grow much further south.
Politically, culturally, scientifically and religiously, Graz was an important centre for all Slovenes, especially from the establishment of the University of Graz in 1586 until the establishment of University of Ljubljana in 1919. In 1574, the first Slovene Catholic book [sl] was published in Graz, and in 1592, Hieronymus Megiser published in Graz the book Dictionarium quatuor linguarum, the first multilingual dictionary of Slovene.
The Styrian Slovenes did not consider Graz a German city, but their own, a place to study while living at their relatives' homes and to fulfill one's career ambitions. The student associations in Graz were a crucible of the Slovene identity, and the Slovene students in Graz were more nationally aware than some others. This led to fierce anti-Slovene efforts of German nationalists in Graz before and during World War II.
Many Slovenian Styrians study there. Slovenes are among the professors at the Institute for Jazz in Graz. Numerous Slovenes have found employment there, while being formerly unemployed in Slovenia. For the Slovene culture, Graz remains permanently important due to its university and the Universalmuseum Joanneum archives containing numerous documents from the Slovenian Styria.
A symposium on the relation of Graz and the Slovenes was held in Graz in 2010, at the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the first and oldest chair of Slovene. It was established at the Lyzeum of Graz in July 1811 on the initiative of Janez Nepomuk Primic [sl]. A collection of lectures on the topic was published. The Slovenian Post commemorated the anniversary with a stamp.
For the year that Graz was Cultural Capital of Europe, new structures were erected. The Graz Museum of Contemporary Art (German: Kunsthaus) was designed by Peter Cook and Colin Fournier and is situated next to the Mur river. The Island in the Mur is a floating platform made of steel. It was designed by American architect Vito Acconci and contains a café, an open-air theatre and a playground.
The historic centre was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999 due to the harmonious co-existence of typical buildings from different epochs and in different architectural styles. Situated in a cultural borderland between Central Europe, Italy and the Balkan States, Graz absorbed various influences from the neighbouring regions and thus received its exceptional townscape. Today the old town consists of over 1000 buildings, their age ranging from Gothic to contemporary.
The most important sights in the historic centre are:
Town Hall (Rathaus). The Schlossberg hill, a hill dominating the historic centre (475 m (1,558.40 ft) high), site of a demolished fortress, with views over Graz. The Clock Tower (Uhrturm) is a symbol of Graz, at the top of the Schlossberg hill. The New Gallery (Neue Galerie), a museum of art. The Schlossberg hill funicular (Schlossbergbahn), a funicular railway up the Schlossberg hill. The seat of Styria's provincial parliament (Landhaus), a palace in Lombardic style. It is one of the most important examples of Renaissance architecture in Austria and was built by Italian architect Domenico dell'Allio between 1557 and 1565.
The Armoury (Landeszeughaus) is the largest of its kind in the world.
The Graz Opera House (Opernhaus), the principal venue for opera, ballet, and operetta performances. It is the 2nd largest opera house in Austria.
The Graz Theatre (Schauspielhaus), Graz's principal theatre for productions of plays.
The Cathedral (Dom), a rare monument of Gothic architecture. Once, there were many frescos on the outer walls; today, only a few remain, like the Landplagenbild ("picture of plagues") painted in 1485, presumably by Thomas von Villach. The three plagues it depicts are locusts, pestilence and the invasion of the Turks, all of them striking the town in 1480. It features the oldest painted view of Graz.
The mausoleum of Emperor Ferdinand II next to the cathedral, the most important building of Mannerism in Graz. It includes both the grave where Ferdinand II and his wife are buried, and a church dedicated to St Catherine of Alexandria.
The Castle (Burg), with Gothic double staircase, built between 1438 and 1453 by Emperor Frederick III, because the old castle on the Schlossberg hill was too small and uncomfortable. The castle remained the residence of the Inner Austrian Court until 1619. Today, it serves as residence for the Styrian government.
The Painted House (Gemaltes Haus) in Herrengasse 3. It is completely covered with frescos (painted in 1742 by Johann Mayer).
The Museum of Contemporary Art Graz (Kunsthaus)
The Island in the Mur (Murinsel), an artificial island in the Mur river.
Buildings, inner courtyards (e. g. Early Renaissance courtyard of the Former House of Teutonic Knights in Sporgasse 22) and roofscape of the old town.
The Old Town and the adjacent districts are characterized by the historic residential buildings and churches found there. In the outer districts buildings are predominantly of the architectural styles from the second half of the 20th century.
In 1965 the Grazer Schule (School of Graz) was founded. Several buildings around the universities are of this style, for example the green houses by Volker Giencke and the RESOWI center by Günther Domenig.
Before Graz became the European Capital of Culture in 2003, several new projects were realized, such as the Stadthalle, the Kindermuseum (museum for children), the Helmut-List-Halle, the Kunsthaus and the Murinsel.
Telescope: Celestron C9.25 Edge HD Hyperstar
Camera: Canon T1i modified by Brent Oliver
Focal ratio: f2.3
Focuser: MicroTouch Focuser
Exposure: 2 hr 06 min (42 x 3 min) at ISO 400
Capturing software: Backyard EOS
Mode: RAW
Filter: IDAS-LPS-D1
Mount: iOptron iEQ45
Guiding: Orion StarShoot Autoguider with PHD and Stellarvue F60M3
Dithering: Yes
Calibration: 50 flats, 50 darks, 100 bias
Processing: PixInsight
Date: 17-Ene-2014
Location: Bogotá, Colombia
STATUS ~ Forever Valentine 💌
(Giftbox Prop & Phone Shown In AD Included)
____________________________________
• Available at FWRD Event 01/14/2025 ‼️
____________________________________
Taxi 🚕 ~ maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/FWRD/228/88/44
____________________________________
#SecondLife #secondlifeavi #secondlifestyle #secondlifeworld #secondlifefashion #secondlifer #secondlifeworld #secondlifeavi #edit #family #slfam #slfamily #secondlifeedit #spamemojis #spam #like #like4like #spam4spam #Event #FWRDEvent #FWRD #secondlifeavatar #secondlifemodels
MOT expiry date - 18.12.201
Road Tax Status - Vehicle has a SORN
V5C ( Logbook ) Issue Date - 14 August 2012
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
M.O.T fail
DateResultDetails
07/12/2015 14:03
Fail
Mileage:
133,853 miles
+ 10,026 miles travelled since last MOT.
Refusal Notices
Hazard warning lamps inoperative (1.4.b.1b)
Horn not working (1.6.2a)
Nearside front headlamp aim beam image obviously incorrect (1.8.a.1b)
Nearside front suspension component mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded (2.4.a.3)
Offside front seat belt anchorage prescribed area is excessively corroded (5.2.6)
Offside front suspension component mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded (2.4.a.3)
Offside rear coil spring fractured (2.4.c.1a)
Offside rear rear parking brake recording little or no effort (3.7.b.6a)
Offside rear suspension component mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded (2.4.a.3)
Parking brake: efficiency below requirements (3.7.b.7)
Advisory Notices
Unable to check all seat belts due to car being loaded
STATUS ~ Stay Close ⛓️
____________________________________
• Available at FWRD Event 12/14/2024 ‼️
____________________________________
Taxi 🚕 ~ maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/FWRD/228/88/44
____________________________________
#SecondLife #secondlifeavi #secondlifestyle #secondlifeworld #secondlifefashion #secondlifer #secondlifeworld #secondlifeavi #edit #family #slfam #slfamily #secondlifeedit #spamemojis #spam #like #like4like #spam4spam #Event #FWRDEvent #FWRD #secondlifeavatar #secondlifemodels
Status as of June 27th. Note shoots have limited extension since the heat hit early June. The leaves are filling out the limbs though.
Irrigating 14 hrs per day on a rolling 3 day schedule. Evapotranspiration is at 1.5" per week for grass.
Voigtlander 21mm f1.8 Ultron VM
STATUS ~ Main Chick @ The DREAMDAY this round. After June, this can be found on MP & at the MAINSTORE.
[BEORN] LEVI SHORTS TAXI// linktr.ee/beornstore ////// CAKEDAY EVENT
Hoodlem - Wish Upon Tattoo (BOM) GRAND EVENT ( UNISEX )
Name: Marina
Age: 34
Star Sign: Aquarius
Profession: Lawyer
Marital Status: Single ("actually...dating. is it how you call it on Earth?")
Family: "Sorry, that is too complicated for me to answer"
Marina Von Ribentropp is probably the most famous criminal lawyer of the Milky Way. Over the years, she defended hundreds of high profile men and women, both victims and offenders.
Her origins, though, have often proceeded her sure formidable career highlights, especially when it comes to mere gossip.
Born in La Superba, Marina is the daughter of the controversial man whose talent with words and notions started one of the most shocking political revolutions of the Colonial Earth years.
Heinrich Von Ribentropp was the quintessential ordinary man. He used to work as an employer in a German insurance company, he still lived with his parents and with little to none love life...but he was probably smarter than everyone gave him credit for. One day he decided to try and enter a tv quiz show called Crosswords to finally show what he could achieve. He was sure that was the right path for him, and so it was.
Heinrich found his audition smooth and simple, as his time on the show, which was the longest ever recorded on earthling television. Mr Von Ribentropp also broke every winning record, becoming a multimillionaire in the span of just a few months, and when he lost his title to a new champion and quit the show everyone was shocked and saddened. But Heinrich was content with what had just happened. He didn't care about fame, he wanted something else, something else to invest his winning in.
Space colonisation had always fascinated him, so when the department formerly known as NASA needed some investors for new colonial explorations, he was one the one who offered the most conspicuous sum of money for something that NASA itself hadn't even ever planned: a personal area for an earthling to colonize.
At the time, La Superba was a tiny young star, still not livable and in need of all the necessary chemical treatments to become a habitable place.
This unprecedented colonization began in a very naive way, with no rules and fears from NASA and Earth. Heinrich was a smart man, very beloved and very well known, everyone trusted him, especially with such a thrilling experiment in which nothing could really was wrong. Every aspect of this project was going to be controlled and monitored by NASA, so he could own a Star, of course. And he did. In a few years, La Superba became fully inhabited (mostly by german people, as Heinrich himself wished). Heinrich was soon elected emperor of that newfound land, and he began his empire always acting kind, generous and modern.
"I am one of us!" he often shouted from the huge balcony of his baroque castle.
"What is this empire you talk about? We are just a bunch of friends. An enormous bunch of friends!"
Heinrich got married, he had children, he was acclaimed. But things gradually shifted from dream to nightmare, until the friendly emperor became a pale memory buried in the past.
Marina rarely talks about his father. She rarely talks about his bigger sister, Zoe, she never mentions the anarchist who shot Heinrich Von Ribentropp and the joyful roar and the applause exploding in La Superba city at the news that the emperor, the quiz champion who started a kingdom and then went crazy, had been assassinated by someone who had cheered for him in the past. Everything beautiful and terrible happened on that Star in less than thirty years, and Marina never even fully lived those years there. She had always been far from Zoe, far from her father, far from her nonexistent mother. She was only close to Florence, her little sister, who had never put a single foot on La Superba, unlike Marina.
With a story like hers, one could imagine Marina as a fragile soul. Yet she has never shown any fragility throughout her life. Or any emotion, as many still rumour to this day.
She was born there, after all. She inhaled those very same substances that changed a Star into a human-like place. That must have changed her too, right?
There is still no scientific evidence of the effects such substances have on human or humanoid creatures, but Marina has always been far from an emotional person.
Years ago, her therapist defined her as incapable of showing affection towards other people, and she was working on changing that when she decided to leave Pluto, the planet where she worked and lived, for London, coming back to the same Earth she spent her teen years on.
She also left her equally cold boyfriend, Giles, to fully start a new life, far from her old self.
And then, one day, she met someone. Someone named Keanu Pritchard. Someone who taught her the meaning of the word "affection".
Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja)
Status: Conservation dependent
Population Trend: Declining.
Other Names: Thrasaetus harpyia
Distribution: Neotropical. Southern MEXICO (formerly north to Veracruz, but now probably only in Chiapas) south locally through Caribbean Central America to COLOMBIA east to VENEZUELA and the GUIANAS and south through eastern BOLIVIA and BRAZIL to extreme northeastern ARGENTINA (Misiones); formerly in western COLOMBIA and western ECUADOR, but nearly extirpated in that region.
Movements: Locally migratory or nomadic in Brazil (Sick 1993), but apparently not in other areas (Venezuela, Panama).
Habitat and Habits: Lowlands and foothills. Generally gallery rainforest, but can also survive in isolated patches of forest and late second-growth where it is not persecuted. Seldom soars over the canopy or over open spaces. Not particularly wary, but nevertheless very inconspicuous, despite its great size.
Food and Feeding Behavior: Sloths, monkeys, agoutis, armadillos, deer, large birds (including guans, curassows, and macaws), large lizards, and snakes. Hunts from a perch in the canopy. sometimes at the edge of a river, or makes short flights from tree to tree with surprising agility, looking (and listening) for prey. In Brazil, it has attacked dogs, chickens, lambs, and kids (goats), but there are no reports of them pursuing children, despite the fears of some rural people (Sick 1993).
Breeding: Nest is a huge platform of sticks with a shallow central cup, placed in a high crotch of a huge emergent tree (often Ceiba) in forest. Eggs 1-2, white, usually with brownish nest stains. Only one eaglet survives to fledge.
Conservation: Endangered (perhaps Critically Endangered) in Mexico and Central America, where it has been extirpated in most of its former range. Vulnerable in most of South American portion of range. Collar et al. (1992, 1994) and BirdLife International categorized this species as Near Threatened. Generally rare everywhere in inhabited areas, but sometimes common away from human settlements in the Amazonian region. Trophy shooting of birds is a chronic problem throughout its range, particularly on the periphery of its range, where such persecution is often a by-blow of deforestation. Indeed, most records of its occurrence are based on birds that were shot for one reason or another. The capture of birds (particularly juveniles) for pets or curiosities is also a pervasive problem.
Source: www.globalraptors.org/grin/SpeciesResults.asp?specID=8040
Embraer 170/175 - MSN 110
Status : Active
Registration : C-FEKS
Airline Sky Regional Airlines
Country : Canada
Date : 2010 -
Codes RS SKV
Callsign : Maple
Web site : www.skyregional.com
Serial number110
Type175SU
First flight dateUnknown
Test registration
Plane age14.2 years
Seat configurationC12 Y64 Seat
Engines 2 x GE CF34-8E5A1
C-FEKS06/12/2005Air Canada
C-FEKS29/04/2013Sky Regional Airlines
The NGC 507 Group of Galaxies is also known as one of the the pisces clusters. The NGC 507 eliptical galaxy lies at a distance of approximately 225 million light years. This cluster of galaxies is a member of the giant Perseus-Pisces supercluster
I shot this image over 2 nights on the 29th and 30th October from my little backyard observatory in Fremont Michigan. Consisting of 29 x 15 minute sub exposures (7.25 hours) using the Canon XSi at 800 ISO mounted on the TMB 130SS F7 Refractor.
This is a 1/3 crop and there are many more tiny fuzzies (galaxies) in the original image.
Location: Fremont Michigan USA
Date of Shoot 3rd October 2010
Camera: modified Canon XSi
29x15 min sub exposures at 800ISO with flat and dark frames.
Scope: TMB130SS F7 Refractor using WO/TMB 2.7" Field Flattener.
Auto-guided with Orion Auto Guider on Stellarvue 10x60
Mount: Mountain Instruments MI-250 (pier mounted)
Image Acquired using Nebulosity II, stacked with Deep Sky Stacker and processed with Photoshop CS3.
This image was selected as the winner for the October 2010 Cloudy Nights DSLR Challenge
✨NEW✨ STATUS ~ Attraction 😍
____________________________________
• Available @ the MAINSTORE & Marketplace
____________________________________
Taxi 🚕 : maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Marquises%20Island/172/172...
Marketplace📲 : marketplace.secondlife.com/p/STATUS-Attraction/26056576
____________________________________
#SecondLife #secondlifeavi #secondlifestyle #secondlifeworld #secondlifefashion #secondlifer #secondlifeworld #secondlifeavi #edit #family #slfam #slfamily #secondlifeedit #spamemojis #spam #like #like4like #spam4spam #Event
Elephants on the run
Elefanten auf der Flucht
Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers an area of 19,485 km2 (7,523 sq mi) in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in northeastern South Africa, and extends 360 km (220 mi) from north to south and 65 km (40 mi) from east to west. The administrative headquarters are in Skukuza. Areas of the park were first protected by the government of the South African Republic in 1898, and it became South Africa's first national park in 1926.
To the west and south of the Kruger National Park are the two South African provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga. In the north is Zimbabwe, and to the east is Mozambique. It is now part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, a peace park that links Kruger National Park with the Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe, and with the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique.
The park is part of the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere an area designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as an International Man and Biosphere Reserve (the "Biosphere").
The park has nine main gates allowing entrance to the different camps.
(Wikipedia)
Name
African Elephant or African Bush Elephant [Loxodonta africana]
Introduction
The Elephant is the world's largest land mammal, and weighs up to 7 tonnes and reaches heights of 3.3 m at the shoulder. Elephants can live to a potential age of 70 years. The massive tusks of older bulls can weigh up to 50 or 60 kilograms, but tusks weighing up to 90 kilograms have been recorded.
Appearance
What is the trunk and what is it used for?
The Elephant's trunk is a modified nose which is very sensitive and can even detect water under ground. There are as many as 50 000 muscles in an Elephant trunk. The sensitive finger-like appendages at the tip of the trunk enables them to pick the smallest twig or flower, pull the toughest reed of grass or even pick out a thorn from their feet.
Do elephants have knees or elbows?
The joints that are perceived as 'knees', are in fact wrists. This is a common misunderstanding due to the belief that a leg joint that bends between the foot and the body must be a knee. The main difference between us and the elephants is that our foot bones and hand bones are separate, whereas those of the elephant are one in the same, and have evolved to suit this four-legged mammal.
Why do elephants have tusks?
The tusks are used for obtaining food, fighting (amongst males) and for self defence. They are actually their upper incisors, and grow continuously until they die at around 60 years old. Although their skin is up to 3cm (1 inch) thick, it is quite sensitive.
Diet
Elephants are voracious feeders which in a day consume up to 272 kg (600 pounds) of grass, tender shoots and bark from trees. An adult Elephant can drink up to 200 litres of water in a single session. A single Elephant deposits up to 150kg (330 pounds) of dung every day - about one dollop every 15 minutes!
Breeding
African Elephant are not seasonal breeders. Generally they produce one calf every 3 to 4 years. The gestation period is about 22 months. At birth calves weigh about 100 kg (220 pounds) and are fully weaned between 18-24 months. An orphaned calf will usually be adopted by one of the family's lactating females or suckled by various females. Elephants are very attentive mothers, and because most Elephant behavior has to be learned, they keep their offspring with them for many years. Tusks erupt at 16 months but do not show externally until 30 months. Once weaned, usually at age 4 or 5, the calf still remains in the maternal group. Females mature at about 11 years and stay in the group, while the males, which mature between 12 and 15, are usually expelled from the maternal herd. Even though these young males are sexually mature, they do not breed until they are in their mid, or late 20s or even older and have moved up in the social hierarchy.
Behaviour
Mature males form bachelor groups and become solitary bulls. Elephant form strong family units of cows, calves and young offspring. Such herds are always led by an old female. Apart from drinking large quantities of water they also love wading or swimming in it. Elephants clearly relish mud baths.
It was once thought that family groups were led by old bull elephants, but these males are most often solitary. The female family groups are often visited by mature males checking for females in oestrus. Several interrelated family groups may inhabit an area and know each other well.
How do you tell an elephant's mock charge from a serious one?
It is imperative to keep in mind that Elephant are extremely intelligent, and each individual has a distinct character. Although there will be exceptions to the rules, the common signs of a mock charge are bush-bashing, dust-throwing, trumpeting and other vocalizations, open ears and an intimidating presence, can be considered a mock-display. Aggressive or startled elephants usually make sudden headshakes and flap their large ears against their head. Serious charges usually occur after all attempts to intimidate have failed, and the Elephant feels threatened. The ears are pinned back and head and trunk are lowered. Ultimately, the key lies in the intelligence of the animal and how they will react to the 'target' and unfamiliar actions, and a conscious decision is made.
Why do elephants rhythmically flap their ears?
Contrary to common belief, it is not an expression of anger. Being an animal of such a large size, with no sweat glands and a dark body colour, elephants flap their ears to cool the body and rid themselves of irritating insects.
Where are they found?
Once ranging across most of Africa the Elephant population has declined dramatically across the continent. In South Africa the Addo Elephant and Kruger National Park protect large herds. Due to rigorous conservation measures the Elephant population in South Africa has grown from a estimated 120 in 1920 in 4 locations, to 10 000 at 40 locations to date.
Notes
The African Elephant has recently been classified into two separate species, the more common African Bush Elephant [Loxodonta Africana] and the smaller African Forest Elephant [Loxodonta cyclotis] of the rainforest of Central Africa.
(krugerpark.co.za)
Der Kruger-Nationalpark (deutsch häufig falsch Krüger-Nationalpark) ist das größte Wildschutzgebiet Südafrikas. Er liegt im Nordosten des Landes in der Landschaft des Lowveld auf dem Gebiet der Provinz Limpopo sowie des östlichen Abschnitts von Mpumalanga. Seine Fläche erstreckt sich vom Crocodile-River im Süden bis zum Limpopo, dem Grenzfluss zu Simbabwe, im Norden. Die Nord-Süd-Ausdehnung beträgt etwa 350 km, in Ost-West-Richtung ist der Park durchschnittlich 54 km breit und umfasst eine Fläche von rund 20.000 Quadratkilometern. Damit gehört er zu den größten Nationalparks in Afrika.
Das Schutzgebiet wurde am 26. März 1898 unter dem Präsidenten Paul Kruger als Sabie Game Reserve zum Schutz der Wildnis gegründet. 1926 erhielt das Gebiet den Status Nationalpark und wurde in seinen heutigen Namen umbenannt. Im Park leben 147 Säugetierarten inklusive der „Big Five“, außerdem etwa 507 Vogelarten und 114 Reptilienarten, 49 Fischarten und 34 Amphibienarten.
(Wikipedia)
Der Afrikanische Elefant (Loxodonta africana), auch Afrikanischer Steppenelefant oder Afrikanischer Buschelefant, ist eine Art aus der Familie der Elefanten. Er ist das größte gegenwärtig lebende Landsäugetier und gleichzeitig das größte rezente landbewohnende Tier der Erde. Herausragende Kennzeichen sind neben den Stoßzähnen und dem markanten Rüssel die großen Ohren und die säulenförmigen Beine. In zahlreichen morphologischen und anatomischen Merkmalen unterscheidet sich der Afrikanische Elefant von seinen etwas kleineren Verwandten, dem Waldelefanten und dem Asiatischen Elefanten. Das Verbreitungsgebiet umfasst heute große Teile von Afrika südlich der Sahara. Die Tiere haben sich dort an zahlreiche unterschiedliche Lebensräume angepasst, die von geschlossenen Wäldern über offene Savannenlandschaften bis hin zu Sumpfgebieten und wüstenartigen Regionen reichen. Insgesamt ist das Vorkommen aber stark fragmentiert.
Die Lebensweise des Afrikanischen Elefanten ist durch intensive Studien gut erforscht. Sie wird durch einen stark sozialen Charakter geprägt. Weibliche Tiere und ihr Nachwuchs leben in Familienverbänden (Herden). Diese formieren sich wiederum zu einem enger verwandten Clan. Die einzelnen Herden treffen sich zu bestimmten Gelegenheiten und trennen sich danach wieder. Die männlichen Tiere bilden Junggesellengruppen. Die verschiedenen Verbände nutzen Aktionsräume, in denen sie teils im Jahreszyklus herumwandern. Für die Kommunikation untereinander nutzen die Tiere verschiedene Töne im niedrigen Frequenzbereich. Anhand der Lautgebung, aber auch durch bestimmte chemische Signale können sich die einzelnen Individuen untereinander erkennen. Darüber hinaus besteht ein umfangreiches Repertoire an Gesten. Hervorzuheben sind auch die kognitiven Fähigkeiten des Afrikanischen Elefanten.
Die Nahrung besteht sowohl aus weicher wie auch harter Pflanzenkost. Die genaue Zusammensetzung variiert dabei regional und jahreszeitlich. Generell verbringt der Afrikanische Elefant einen großen Teil seiner Tagesaktivitäten mit der Nahrungsaufnahme. Die Fortpflanzung erfolgt ganzjährig, regional gibt es Tendenzen zu einer stärkeren Saisonalisierung. Bullen kommen einmal jährlich in die Musth, während deren sie auf Wanderung zur Suche nach fortpflanzungswilligen Kühen gehen. Während der Musth ist die Aggressivität gesteigert, es finden dann auch Rivalenkämpfe statt. Der Sexualzyklus der Kühe dauert vergleichsweise lange und weist einen für Säugetiere untypischen Verlauf auf. Nach erfolgter Geburt setzt er in der Regel mehrere Jahre aus. Zumeist wird nach fast zweijähriger Tragzeit ein Jungtier geboren, das in der mütterlichen Herde aufwächst. Junge weibliche Tiere verbleiben später in der Herde, die jungen männlichen verlassen diese.
Die wissenschaftliche Erstbeschreibung des Afrikanischen Elefanten erfolgte im Jahr 1797 mit einer formalen artlichen Trennung des Afrikanischen vom Asiatischen Elefanten. Der heute gebräuchliche Gattungsname Loxodonta wurde offiziell erst dreißig Jahre später eingeführt. Die Bezeichnung bezieht sich auf markante Zahnunterschiede zwischen den asiatischen und den afrikanischen Elefanten. Im Verlauf des 20. Jahrhunderts wurden mehrere Unterarten unterschieden, darunter auch der Waldelefant des zentralen Afrikas. Letzterer gilt heute genetischen Untersuchungen zufolge als eigenständige Art, die weiteren Unterarten sind nicht anerkannt. Stammesgeschichtlich lässt sich der Afrikanische Elefant erstmals im beginnenden Mittleren Pleistozän belegen. Der Gesamtbestand gilt als gefährdet. Ursachen hierfür sind hauptsächlich die Jagd nach Elfenbein und Lebensraumverlust durch die zunehmend wachsende menschliche Bevölkerung. Der Afrikanische Elefant zählt zu den sogenannten „Big Five“ von Großwildjagd und Safari.
(Wikipedia)
Glandular bush frog (immature)
© Harshith JV
Place: Honey Valley, Coorg, Karnataka
Common names: Glandular bush frog, Rough-skinned bush frog, Southern bubble-nest frog
Species ID/Genera: Raorchestes glandulosus (Jerdon, 1853)
Status: Vulnerable (IUCN)
Info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raorchestes_glandulosus , www.iucnredlist.org/details/58847/0 , www.arkive.org/raorchestes/raorchestes-glandulosus/
File name: IMG_1489.enhanced.upload.JPG
File date: August 30, 2015 at 20:11 IST
Also at: www.flickr.com/photos/harshithjv/21588680888/ , 500px.com/photo/123229919/ , www.facebook.com/HJV.Photography/photos/974141922608466/ , plus.google.com/u/0/+HarshithJV/posts/3pA6eqcLiVJ
#photography #macro #frog #bushfrog #Amphibia #Amphibian #Anura #Rhacophoridae #Chordata #Raorchestes #glandulosus #90mm #tamron #canon #600d #canon600d #honeyvalley #coorg #madikeri
[Belantti] Face Enhancement 4 (for so kawaii sunday) maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Legenda/174/95/699
STATUS ~ Gravity
@ After December, this can be found on MP
Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, tr. Sankt-Peterburg,) is Russia's second-largest city after Moscow, with 5 million inhabitants in 2012, part of the Saint Petersburg agglomeration with a population of 6.2 million (2015). An important Russian port on the Baltic Sea, it has a status of a federal subject (a federal city).
Situated on the Neva River, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea, it was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on 27 May [O.S. 16 May] 1703. During the periods 1713–1728 and 1732–1918, Saint Petersburg was the capital of Imperial Russia. In 1918, the central government bodies moved to Moscow, which is about 625 km (388 miles) to the south-east.
Saint Petersburg is often considered Russia's cultural capital. The Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Saint Petersburg is home to the Hermitage, one of the largest art museums in the world. Many foreign consulates, international corporations, banks and businesses have offices in Saint Petersburg.
A proponent of westernising Russia, Peter the Great, who established the city, originally named it, Sankt-Peterburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербург; note that the Russian name lacks the letter s between Peter and burg). On 1 September 1914, after the outbreak of World War I, the Imperial government renamed the city Petrograd (Russian: Петрогра́д, meaning "Peter's city", in order to expunge the German name Sankt and Burg. On 26 January 1924, shortly after the death of Vladimir Lenin, it was renamed to Leningrad (Russian: Ленингра́д), meaning "Lenin's City". On 6 September 1991, the original name, Sankt-Peterburg, was returned. Today, in English the city is known as "Saint Petersburg". Local residents often refer to the city by its shortened nickname, Piter (Russian: Пи́тер,).
The city's traditional nicknames among Russians are the Window to the West and the Window to Europe. The northernmost metropolis in the world St. Petersburg is often called the Venice of the North or Russian Venice because of its structure which is built on water and its strongly European-inspired architecture, which is combined with the Russian heritage too. Furthermore, St. Petersburg is called Venice of the North because of an annual natural phenomenon called White Nights which arise due to the closeness to the polar region. Just as Venice is associated with romance, in St. Petersburg the White Nights have a high value for love couples.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Petersburg
www.thoughtco.com/when-was-st-petersburg-known-as-petrogr...
San Petersburgo (en ruso, Санкт-Петербург /sankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk/ Sankt-Peterburg) es la segunda ciudad más poblada de Rusia después de la capital nacional Moscú, con 5 351 935 habitantes (2018) y un área metropolitana de 5,85 millones. Está situada en la Región de Leningrado, nombre que compartía con la ciudad durante la época soviética (1924-1991). Los otros nombres de la ciudad fueron Petrogrado (en ruso, Петроград, Petrograd; del 31 de agosto de 1914 hasta el 24 de enero de 1924) y Leningrado (en ruso, Ленинград, Leningrad; después de la muerte de Lenin, el 24 de enero de 1924 hasta el 6 de septiembre de 1991). Conocida también como la “Venecia del Norte”, debido a sus más de 400 puentes que atraviesan a los numerosos canales que por ella pasan.
Fue fundada por el zar Pedro el Grande el 27 de mayo de 1703 con la intención de convertirla en la "ventana de Rusia hacia el mundo occidental". A partir de entonces se convirtió en capital del Imperio ruso durante más de doscientos años. Cuando estalló la Revolución rusa, la ciudad fue el centro de la rebelión. En marzo de 1918 la capital fue trasladada a Moscú. En enero de 1924, tras la victoria bolchevique, la creación de la Unión Soviética (1922) y el fallecimiento de Lenin (1924), San Petersburgo (en ese entonces llamado Petrogrado) cambió su nombre a Leningrado, en honor al dirigente comunista Lenin. Durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, tuvo lugar el sitio de Leningrado, que duró 29 meses, en los cuales los alemanes bombardearon constantemente la ciudad y la bloquearon para que no pudiera abastecerse. Tras la derrota de Alemania en 1945, la ciudad fue nombrada Ciudad heroica por las autoridades soviéticas. Al desaparecer la URSS con el consiguiente colapso del comunismo, la ciudad fue renombrada San Petersburgo y se ha convertido en un importante centro económico y político de la actual Rusia.
San Petersburgo es hoy en día la segunda ciudad más grande de la Federación Rusa y una de las más grandes de Europa. El centro de la ciudad y otros monumentos de sus alrededores son considerados Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la UNESCO desde 1990. San Petersburgo es, además, sede de la Corte Constitucional de Rusia.
El nombre de San Petersburgo es de origen alemán y significa "ciudad de San Pedro". Pedro el Grande la nombró así en honor a su santo patrono, rechazando el de Petrograd, que quisieron darle, en su honor, sus súbditos alemanes que había contratado para construir y trabajar en los astilleros y la ciudad.
La ciudad cambió de nombre varias veces: Se llamó Petrogrado (Петроград Petrograd, que significa ciudad de Pedro, adaptación al ruso del alemán Petersburg) entre 1914 y 1924, a raíz del conflicto con Alemania durante la Primera Guerra Mundial, y Leningrado (Ленинград Leningrad tras la muerte de Lenin) entre 1924 y 1991; y nuevamente San Petersburgo después de un plebiscito. Coloquialmente los peterburgueses y rusos en general llaman a esta metrópolis Peterburg o de manera aún más familiar Piter (en ruso Питер).
Fue fundada por el zar Pedro el Grande el 16 (27) de mayo de 1703 con el propósito de deslocalizar la capital ubicada en Moscú, y de hecho fue capital de Rusia de 1712 a 1918. Por ello y por su ubicación geográfica le dio el sobrenombre de "La ventana a Europa". Pedro había vivido y estudiado en los Países Bajos por algún tiempo, por eso decidió bautizar su nueva ciudad con un nombre derivado del holandés Sint Pietersburg: Sankt Piterburj; pero pronto se germanizó a Sankt Petersburg.
En la misma desembocadura del río Nevá los suecos tenían anteriormente una fortaleza llamada Nyenschantz (Nevanlinna en finés) y un arrabal llamado Nyen. Todo el entorno geográfico de la desembocadura del Nevá estaba ocupado por marismas antes de que se construyese la ciudad.
A fines del siglo XVII, Rusia veía estancado su crecimiento económico por no tener salida al mar. El sueño del joven zar, Pedro el Grande, era corregir la situación abriendo una “ventana a Europa”. Dado que no podía hacerlo por el sur, pues el Imperio otomano impedía el acceso al mar Negro, apuntó en dirección contraria, a un territorio de Suecia cercano al Báltico. A fin de materializar sus aspiraciones, en agosto de 1700 declaró la guerra a los suecos, Guerra del Norte, quienes al principio lograron repeler sus ataques. Pero él no se dio por vencido, y en octubre de 1702 los hizo retirarse del Ládoga, el mayor lago de Europa, que está unido por el Nevá al Báltico, del cual dista unos 60 kilómetros. Aunque los suecos se atrincheraron en la fortaleza insular de Nóteburg, cerca del punto donde el río sale del lago, Pedro logró tomar aquella plaza militar y le cambió el nombre a Shlissel’burg (ciudad clave).
Posteriormente, una guarnición sueca defendió el fortín de Nienshants, cerca de la desembocadura del Nevá. Rusia la derrotó el 26 de abril de 1703 y asumió el dominio de todo el delta. Sin demora, Pedro comenzó a construir una ciudadela en la cercana isla Záyachi (de las liebres) para controlar la boca del río. Así, el 16 de mayo de 1703, hace poco más de tres siglos, puso la primera piedra de lo que hoy se conoce como la Fortaleza de San Pedro y San Pablo. Esta es la fecha aceptada de la fundación de San Petersburgo, llamada así en honor del apóstol Pedro, santo patrón del zar.
La construcción de la ciudad bajo condiciones climáticas adversas produjo una intensa mortalidad entre los trabajadores y requirió un continuo aporte de nuevos obreros. Dado que aquella zona estaba muy poco poblada, Pedro el Grande utilizó su prerrogativa de zar para atraer forzosamente a siervos trabajadores de todas las partes del país. Una cuota anual de 40.000 siervos llegaba a la ciudad equipados con sus herramientas y sus propios suministros de comida. Habitualmente recorrían cientos de kilómetros a pie en filas, escoltados por guardas que, para evitar las deserciones, no dudaban en usar la violencia física. Como consecuencia de su exposición al clima, las deficientes condiciones higiénicas y las enfermedades, la mortalidad durante estos primeros años fue muy elevada, llegando a perecer año tras año hasta el 50% de los trabajadores que llegaban.
Dado que la construcción de la ciudad se inició en tiempos de guerra, el primer edificio nuevo de la ciudad fue un fuerte militar que se llamaría fortaleza de San Pedro y San Pablo y que se levanta aún sobre la isla Záyachi en la ribera derecha del río Nevá. Los diseñadores de la nueva fortaleza eran ingenieros alemanes invitados por el propio Zar, pero la mayor parte de la mano de obra la pusieron los siervos rusos también para las labores de drenaje de los alrededores del río y los palacios y otros edificios de piedra de las afueras. Era la ciudad más artificial del mundo, diseñada para convertirse en la capital de Rusia. Una ciudad con relativo paralelismo es Venecia, en la cual se inspiró asimismo el zar Pedro, que prohibió los puentes permanentes sobre el Nevá para que se asemejase al Gran Canal y fomentó la construcción de canales en las calles siguiendo el patrón de Ámsterdam.
Pese a los inconvenientes de su ubicación en el lejano norte, el zar siguió adelante con su empresa. Trajo la madera de la región del Ládoga y de Nóvgorod. Las piedras para las edificaciones las obtuvo de diversos modos. Uno de ellos fue estipular que todo ruso que introdujera productos comerciales en la localidad aportara unas cuantas a modo de cuota. Además, prohibió hacer viviendas de este material, primero en Moscú y luego en el resto de su imperio, lo que indujo a los albañiles desempleados a mudarse a la nueva población.
Según la Bol’shaya Sovyetskaya Entsiklopedia (la gran enciclopedia soviética), los trabajos marcharon “a un ritmo vertiginoso para la época”. No tardaron en aparecer canales de drenaje, pilotes, calles, casas, iglesias, hospitales y oficinas del gobierno. El mismo año de la fundación se iniciaron las obras de un astillero, conocido como el Almirantazgo, que llegaría a ser el cuartel general de la armada rusa.
En 1710 se comenzó el Palacio de verano, residencia estival de los zares. En 1712, la capitalidad pasó de Moscú a San Petersburgo, y con ella muchas dependencias oficiales. Como fue el caso del traslado de la Casa de la Moneda de Moscú a San Petersburgo en 1724. El primer palacio de piedra, construido en 1714 y aún en pie, tenía por ocupante a Aleksandr Ménshikov, primer gobernador de la zona. Aquel mismo año se colocaron en la Fortaleza de Pedro y Pablo los cimientos de la catedral de igual nombre, cuya imponente aguja dorada se distingue en la silueta urbana. También se erigió a orillas del Nevá el Palacio de Invierno, que fue reedificado en diversas ocasiones. Más tarde se levantó en su lugar el actual, que cuenta con unas mil cien habitaciones y que hoy forma parte de un céntrico museo estatal, el famosísimo Ermitage.
En su primer decenio de existencia, San Petersburgo registró un asombroso crecimiento, hasta el punto de estimarse en 34.500 el número de edificios existentes en 1714. Siguieron añadiéndose palacios e inmensas construcciones, muchas de las cuales demuestran el gran influjo de la religión en la historia de Rusia.
Entre ellas figura la catedral de Kazán, con su columnata frontal en semicírculo. Su imponente presencia contribuye a que la arteria más famosa de la ciudad, la avenida Nevski, sea considerada una de las más grandiosas avenidas del mundo. De fecha posterior es la catedral de San Isaac, edificada sobre 24.000 pilotes hundidos en suelo pantanoso y que ostenta una enorme cúpula revestida de 100 kilos de oro puro.
La arquitectura avanzó igualmente a pasos agigantados en el extrarradio. Así, en 1714 se empezó a edificar una residencia para el zar, el palacio Peterhof, en Peterhof (hoy Petrodvoréts). Al mismo tiempo, en la cercana localidad de Tsárskoye Seló (hoy Pushkin) se construía el suntuoso palacio de Catalina, la esposa de Pedro el Grande. En la segunda mitad del siglo XVIII se concluyeron otras dos lujosas mansiones en las afueras: Pávlovsk y Gátchina.
Realzaban la belleza de la nueva capital los centenares de puentes que cruzaban los brazos fluviales y los múltiples canales, por los que se ha ganado el apelativo de “Venecia del norte”. Arquitectos franceses, alemanes e italianos colaboraron con colegas rusos de gran talento para producir “uno de los núcleos urbanos más espléndidos y armoniosos de Europa”
La abolición de la servidumbre en 1861 por el zar Alejandro II de Rusia provocó una fuerte corriente de inmigrantes pobres provenientes de todas las regiones del país. La mano de obra barata permitió un intenso incremento de la industria en la segunda mitad del siglo XIX y San Petersburgo llegó a ser uno de los ejes industriales más grandes de Europa. En consecuencia, surgieron a su vez los movimientos obreros radicales.
La revolución de 1905 tras la derrota en la guerra ruso-japonesa comenzó en San Petersburgo y se extendió rápidamente por otras provincias. Como consecuencia el zar Nicolás II autorizó la creación del primer parlamento ruso o Duma.
Durante la Primera Guerra Mundial, se decidió que San Petersburgo era un nombre demasiado germánico para la ciudad y se le cambió por el de Petrogrado el 31 de agosto de 1914.
En 1917 San Petersburgo vio los primeros movimientos de la Revolución rusa. En primer lugar se destituyó al zar Nicolás II de su trono y se instaló en la ciudad el Gobierno provisional. En octubre una segunda fase de la revolución hizo que el poder pasase a los Sóviets y se formó el primer gobierno soviético de bolcheviques y socialistas revolucionarios (SR) de izquierda, el Sovnarkom. El líder bolchevique Lenin decidió trasladar la sede del gobierno de San Petersburgo a Moscú, por estar más alejada de los frentes de la Guerra Mundial y de los núcleos antirrevolucionarios. Moscú se convirtió en capital desde entonces hasta el día de hoy. Al morir Lenin en 1924, San Petersburgo tomó el nombre de Leningrado en su honor.
La pérdida de la capitalidad trajo un descenso poblacional a la ciudad, que se redujo a un tercio de lo que era en 1915.
Durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, Leningrado fue sitiada por las fuerzas armadas de la Alemania nazi (Wehrmacht) desde el 8 de septiembre de 1941 hasta el 27 de enero de 1944, un total de 29 meses. Por orden de Adolf Hitler, la ciudad era constantemente bombardeada y sistemáticamente privada de sus suministros. Se calcula que este asedio produjo la muerte de más de 1.500.000 personas, de las cuales cerca de 1.000.000 eran civiles. El 1 de mayo de 1945 (oficialmente el 8 de mayo de 1965) le fue otorgado a la ciudad el título de Ciudad Heroica.
Antes de la disolución de la Unión Soviética el 12 de junio de 1991, el 54 % de la población decidió restaurar el antiguo nombre de la ciudad, los de 39 calles emblemáticas y los de seis puentes. Tres meses después también se recuperó el escudo concedido a la ciudad por la emperatriz Catalina la Grande en 1780.
es.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Petersburgo
Another capture-release specimen from the same photoshoot as the earlier parrot snake. Stressed out, this colubrid snake released musk (an oily, putrid odour) from its cloaca in order to make it less appealing, and then curled up into this defensive position.
This subject was one of many subjects collected by a herpetology group working on a photographic field manual of Herps in Ecuador. There were more than 30 different individuals all held in sub-standard conditions over the course of days. Held in plastic and cloth bags, they were stressed out, mishandled, at least one died to my knowledge, and at the end they were released far from where they were caught. Although I wasn't involved in the project, or capture, I still photographed some of the species, and offered my logistical help to them on where they could find other species. It's one of those unfortunate incidents which was an eye-opener for me, and really forced me to look at my own practices and question them, even those small actions or subjects. They may appear small or insignificant, but it speaks to an overall respect for nature, and it can be a slippery slope into poorer and poorer practice. The tacit approval I gave amounted to an endorsement and I consider myself as much to blame as those doing the collecting. These practices are rife within macrophotography, and one should not expect experience, professionalism or status to be an indicator of a person's ethical standards. Always question whether something needs to be done and if it doesn't, don't support it.
Snail-eating snake (Dipsas sp.) from Sani lodge, Ecuador.
EE Legend
- Health injury/stress levels (scale 1-10-->☠️)
👣-Translocation
⏳-time in captivity
📷 - in situ - studio
🎨 - Use of cloning or extensive post processing
He turned 9 years old today, happy birthday to my original self-MOC.
Name: Shadow
Title: “The Forgotten Legend”
Gender: Male
Species: Ghost
Race: Necrospherian
Occupation: None.
Prevailing Element: Nightmares/Shadow
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Powers: Sensory Manipulation/Overload, Mind-Reading through Dreams, Perceived Super Speed
Typical Tool(s): Arm-Mounted Guns, Rifle, Axe, His Opponents.
MOC Status: Assembled.
Shadow is known as a Necrospherian, a ghost-like creatures who are the spirits of many worlds, all residing on the planet Etyosa. This planet is ruled by the tyrant, Fractus (Phantom), who seeks out the strongest of his kind to amass an army. Under his reign, those who are deemed weak or have no potential are exiled. Shadow, being one who would fight against his ruler’s tyranny from a rebel faction, was not only exiled, but sent to a planet in the physical realm. This was his punishment; he could not hide from those who would see him as a monster. He was able to be incorporeal for only short bursts, unable to escape or try to figure a plan in secret.
He had discovered that the locals often wore masks to hide their face and would wear armor, this was a planet of warriors. Shadow had crafted a mask, armor, and even a cape for flare to blend in with the crowd. When time came around to fight another, he had used what the locals deemed as “nightmare” powers. His powers were mental manipulation and super speed, able to take almost any opponent and force them into a dream like state where he could have complete control of what were to happen. He would be able to read the minds of those he took control of, knowing their weaknesses, and creating a nightmare that would defeat the enemy. This was not something a Necrospherian could do in their own realm, but no other has been exiled to a physical world, so Shadow was unaware of this power.
After his powers were shown, he had become the rival of many, and yet would always win any battle that came his way. He became a leader with a small group of elemental warriors, and fought many enemies. One of which, was his original enemy, Fractus (Phantom), who had started to bring his army into Shadow’s world to overtake it. He had made friends, lost friends, even became reacquainted with his original rebel group.
However, something completely unpredictable had occurred. Without any warning, the whole planet was engulfed with a bright, blinding light. Where all if not most of the inhabitants were sent to what looked like a whole new world. Enemies, friends, all covered in a pink dust that fell like sand once brushed off themselves. To those that were not of Shadow’s kind were completed oblivious, acting as if nothing had changed. While all Necrospherians had noticed the change. This was the work of the Aeonyx, Kairos, who had copied the planet’s creatures for his own pleasure, but due to the physiology of the ghosts, they were merely moved from one planet to this fabricated planet. They could sense Kairos, and have been sent to a world they cannot escape. The Aeonyx had realized his mistake, and sent beings of his creation, the false Aeonyx, to secretly find and destroy these beings. If they were to spread the word of Kairos’ plan, all is lost, making it easier for him to be found by Lady Void.
The Necrospherians had teamed up, even Fractus with Shadow, many battles, many lost, with only a handful of them left. One of which, was Shadow, who had changed drastically since this occurrence. He had been spending many, many years trying to run and fight against Kairos and his minions. He had become a veteran fighter, a master of his “nightmare” powers, and had casted off his mask as a symbol of his Necrospherian pride. He had the remains of his team stored away, in the event that he could escape this planet, he can try and bring them back. Despite his increased skill, he had grown frail with time, and while still a more than capable fighter, realized he could not do this alone.
He had heard of a small group of fighters who were under the command of a white, sleek robot that had possessed the powers of magnetism. Shadow had studied him as well as his team for multiple nights, and had discovered that he was not a confident or skilled leader, but had potential to be. Minion, the leader, had a great team who did not see eye-to-eye or even all together at one place, but had studied many battles they have gone through.
Shadow had decided to intervene when Minion and his team were in a losing battle with Vanity, one of the false Aeonyx. Calling her out for what she is and revealing to everyone that this whole world was the work of a great overseer. From there on out, Shadow became a guide and an elder to this team, to not only bolster a better leader and team, but use them to defeat Kairos, and travel back to his home world.
[Belantti] Face Enhancement 4 (for so kawaii sunday) maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Legenda/174/95/699
STATUS ~ Gravity
@ After December, this can be found on MP
MO: 9671448
Name: EEMSLIFT DAFNE
Vessel Type - Generic: Cargo
Vessel Type - Detailed: Cargo/Containership
Status: Active
MMSI: 244810443
Call Sign: PCXF
Flag: Netherlands [NL]
Gross Tonnage: 5460
Summer DWT: 4200 t
Length Overall x Breadth Extreme: 111.6 x 16.8 m
Year Built: 2014
Home Port: DELFZIJL