Photographed at the Monterey Historic Races in 2009.

Motorsport News, Porsche Intelligent Performance, News

The 911 GT3 RSR is the most successful GT racer in the world

Once again, the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR is the world’s most successful GT race car. The fastest racing-911, developed following the rules of the GT2 category and based on the principles of Porsche Intelligent Performance, left its mark on race tracks around the globe with good lap times, excellent reliability and particularly low fuel consumption. Powered by a 450 hp four-litre six-cylinder boxer engine, the vehicle triumphed in the GT2 category in 2010 at the Le Mans 24 hour race, won championships in the Le Mans Series and the American Le Mans Series and claimed overall victories at the 24 hour races in Dubai and Spa-Francorchamps. It won against strong competitors including Ferrari, BMW, Aston Martin.

The Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, based on the road-legal 911 GT3 RS, not only impressed with race wins. In the American Le Mans Series, it was once again the GT vehicle with the best overall efficiency in the ratio of lap times and fuel consumption. For this, the vehicle was the overall winner of the environmental Michelin Green X Challenge for the second time in succession. And at the Le Mans 24 Hours, the RSR also won the Green X Challenge. “It’s giving the right signal to place more importance on the efficiency of a racing car,” says Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport. “Winning the Green X Challenge, which is a very important success for us, proves that the Porsche 911 is not only fast, but also very economical.”

In its current form, the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR of the 997 type has been sold to international customers since 2007. From year to year, the top model of 911 racing vehicles received ongoing modifications. The most conspicuous changes were made to the 2009-model. The capacity of the six-cylinder boxer engine at the rear grew from 3.8 to 4.0-litres, resulting in an optimised torque curve at reduced revs as well as better driveability. The most distinguishing feature of the still current 911 GT3 RSR is the redesigned front section with a large ventilation opening. Noticeable at first sight are the air outlet slots, the so-called louvers, on the front hood. They are an indication of the completely revamped air ducting of the radiators, which became necessary through the new design of supply and discharge air with the installation of an optional air-conditioning unit. The aerodynamics under the rear underwent further optimisation. The rear wing now features a wider adjustment range. Compared to the 2008-model, the weight-optimised brake system and the lighter wiring harness contribute to further improved driving dynamics.

A great deal of know-how from the successful RS Spyder sports prototype went into the gearbox of the 911 GT3 RSR. The sequential six-speed gearbox developed by Porsche engineers is considerably lighter than the unit fitted in the predecessor and has much less internal friction. The flatter angle to the drive shafts allow teams greater scope for the suspension set-up.

The foundation for today’s successes was already laid with the racing variants of the Porsche 911 996 type. Built to contest the GT class of the Le Mans 24 Hours, the 911 GT3 R clinched virtually all GT class wins in the 1999 American Le Mans Series. In 2001, the modified 911 GT3 RS version was raced. This vehicle was not just successful in its class, but also celebrated prestigious overall wins, with the two German Porsche works drivers Joerg Bergmeister and Timo Bernhard an team owner Kevin Buckler beating significantly more powerful prototypes at the Daytona 24 hour race in 2003. Porsche factory pilot Marc Lieb (Germany) won the 24 Hours of Spa with Romain Dumas (France) and Stéphane Ortelli (Monaco) in the same year beating all the much more powerful GT1 cars.

In the 2004 season, the successor model 911 GT3 RSR (996) made its debut. The output of its 3.6-litre six-cylinder boxer engine increased to 455 hp (335 kW) at 8,500 rpm, the maximum torque to 410 Nm at 7,200 rpm. By winning the American Le Mans Series (GT class), the Le Mans Endurance Series (GT) as well as the FIA GT Championship (N-GT), as well as class victories at the Le Mans and Spa 24 hour races and the Petit Le Mans event, the new racing sports car celebrated a brilliant debut season.

“It’s impressive how the 911 GT3 RSR has developed from year to year. The lap times alone are astounding, because despite the restrictions imposed on us again and again by the regulations, the car just got faster every year,” says Porsche works driver Joerg Bergmeister, who celebrated the majority of his successes at the wheel of the RSR. For this reason, the five-time winner of the American Le Mans Series is not at all anxious about tackling the 2011 season: “When you finish a season you always think: now we’ve reached our limit, now the car’s gone as far as it can go. And then Porsche comes up with something new again. And I reckon it won’t be any different in 2011.”

GO

Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (997) – Most important successes

2010

Winner American Le Mans Series (GT class)

Winner Le Mans Series (GT2 class)

1st place Le Mans 24 Hours (GT2 class)

1st place Dubai 24 Hours (overall win)

1st place Spa 24 Hours (overall win)

2009

Winner American Le Mans Series (GT2 class)

Winner Le Mans Series (GT2 class)

Winner FIA GT Championship (GT2 class)

1st place Nürburgring 24 Hours (overall win)

2008

Winner American Le Mans Series (GT2 class)

1st place Sebring 12 Hours (GT2)

1st place Nürburgring 24 Hours (overall win)

1st place Dubai 24 Hours (overall win)

2007

Winner International GT Open Championship

1st place Le Mans 24 Hours (GT2 class)

1st place Nürburgring 24 Hours (overall win)

1st place Spa 24 Hours (GT2 class)

1st place Petit Le Mans (GT2 class)

1st place Mil Milhas Sao Paulo (GT2 class)

Porsche 911 GT3 RSR – Technical description (2010 season)

Engine:

Water-cooled, six-cylinder boxer engine; four-valves per cylinder; 3,996 cc; stroke 80.4 mm; bore 102.7 mm; 331 kW (450 hp) at 7,800 rpm; max torque 430 Nm at 7,250 rpm; max revs 9,400 rpm; dry sump lubrication; individual throttle butterflies; fuel injection; air restrictors 2 x 28,6 mm.

Transmission:

Six-speed gearbox with sequential jaw-type shift; oil/water heat exchanger; single-mass flywheel; hydraulic disengagement lever; three-plate carbon-fibre clutch; rear wheel drive; limited slip differential 45/65%.

Body:

Monocoque body (basis 911 GT3 RS) of hot-galvanised steel; aerodynamiccally optimised front end with front spoiler; aerodynamically optimised front underfloor; adjustable rear wing; 90-litre safety fuel tank with fast filling function; air jack; welded-in safety cage; bucket-type racing seat (driver’s side only) with flame retardant seat cover; six-point seat belt adapted for use of the HANS Head and Neck Support; electric fire extinguishing system.

Suspension:

Front axle: McPherson spring strut axle; Sachs four-way gas pressure dampers; double coil springs (main and auxiliary spring); front axle arms adjustable for camber; adjustable sword-type anti-roll bar on both sides; power steering.

Rear: Multi-arm axle with rigidly mounted axle sub-frame; Sachs four-way gas pressure dampers; double coil springs (main and auxiliary spring); rear axle tie-bar reinforced and infinitely adjustable; adjustable sword-type anti-roll bar on both sides. Complete suspension infinitely adjustable (height, camber, track).

Brakes:

Brake system with balance bar control. Front: Single-piece six-piston aluminium fixed callipers; inner-vented, 380 mm in diameter; racing brake pads. Rear: Single-piece four-piston aluminium fixed callipers; inner-vented, 355 mm in diameter; racing brake pads.

Wheels:

Front: Three-piece BBS light-alloy wheels (11J x 18-34); central bolt.

Rear: Three-piece BBS light-alloy wheels (13J x 18-12.5); central bolt.

Electrical system:

Motec display with integrated data recording; multi-function display with integrated gearshift indicator; adjustable traction control; battery: 12 volt, 50 Ah, 140 Ah alternator.

Weight:

Approx. 1,220 kg complying with A.C.O. regulations, 1,245 kg complying with FIA regulations.

Saint-Paul, Reunion Island

White-Card Models

Before the actual set construction began, the Art Department created white card models. These models helped the director and production designer look at size and scale and determine camera angles. To plan shots and camera movement, filmmakers inserted a tiny lipstick camera into the model to get a perfect point of view.

People the world-over have been enchanted by the Harry Potter films for nearly a decade. The wonderful special effects and amazing creatures have made this iconic series beloved to both young and old - and now, for the first time, the doors are going to be opened for everyone at the studio where it first began. You'll have the chance to go behind-the-scenes and see many things the camera never showed. From breathtakingly detailed sets to stunning costumes, props and animatronics, Warner Bros. Studio Tour London provides a unique showcase of the extraordinary British artistry, technology and talent that went into making the most successful film series of all time. Secrets will be revealed.

Warner Bros. Studio Tour London provides an amazing new opportunity to explore the magic of the Harry Potter films - the most successful film series of all time. This unique walking tour takes you behind-the-scenes and showcases a huge array of beautiful sets, costumes and props. It also reveals some closely guarded secrets, including facts about the special effects and animatronics that made these films so hugely popular all over the world.

Here are just some of the things you can expect to see and do:

- Step inside and discover the actual Great Hall.

- Explore Dumbledore’s office and discover never-before-seen treasures.

- Step onto the famous cobbles of Diagon Alley, featuring the shop fronts of Ollivanders wand shop, Flourish and Blotts, the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, Gringotts Wizarding Bank and Eeylops Owl Emporium.

- See iconic props from the films, including Harry’s Nimbus 2000 and Hagrid’s motorcycle.

- Learn how creatures were brought to life with green screen effects, animatronics and life-sized models.

- Rediscover other memorable sets from the film series, including the Gryffindor common room, the boys’ dormitory, Hagrid’s hut, Potion’s classroom and Professor Umbridge’s office at the Ministry of Magic.

Located just 20 miles from the heart of London at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, the very place where it all began and where all eight of the Harry Potter films were brought to life. The Studio Tour is accessible to everyone and promises to be a truly memorable experience - whether you’re an avid Harry Potter fan, an all-round movie buff or you just want to try something that’s a little bit different.

The tour is estimated to take approximately three hours (I was in there for 5 hours!), however, as the tour is mostly self guided, you are free to explore the attraction at your own pace. During this time you will be able to see many of the best-loved sets and exhibits from the films. Unique and precious items from the films will also be on display, alongside some exciting hands-on interactive exhibits that will make you feel like you’re actually there.

The magic also continues in the Gift Shop, which is full of exciting souvenirs and official merchandise, designed to create an everlasting memory of your day at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London.

Hogwarts Castle Model - Get a 360 degree view of the incredible, hand sculpted 1:24 scale construction that features within the Studio Tour. The Hogwarts castle model is the jewel of the Art Department having been built for the first film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. It took 86 artists and crew members to construct the first version which was then rebuilt and altered many times over for the next seven films. The work was so extensive that if one was to add all the man hours that have gone into building and reworking the model, it would come to over 74 years. The model was used for aerial photography, and was digitally scanned for CGI scenes.

The model, which sits at nearly 50 feet in diameter, has over 2,500 fibre optic lights that simulate lanterns and torches and even gave the illusion of students passing through hallways in the films. To show off the lighting to full effect a day-to-night cycle will take place every four minutes so you can experience its full beauty.

An amazing amount of detail went into the making of the model: all the doors are hinged, real plants are used for landscaping and miniature birds are housed in the Owlery. To make the model appear even more realistic, artists rebuilt miniature versions of the courtyards from Alnwick Castle and Durham Cathedral, where scenes from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone were shot.

The is a photograph from the third running of the Athlone Flatline Half Marathon ("The Flatline") which was held at Athlone, Co. Westmeath, Ireland on Saturday 13th September 2014 at 11:00. There was beautiful weather for the event which started and finished at St. Aloysius College near the Canal Banks area of the town just slightly west of the River Shannon. This event was professionally organised and the very flat course meant that many runners both seasoned and new to the scene achieved season or personal bests. Almost 1,000 participants successfully completed the event in the beautiful September sunshine. Everyone involved must be congratulated for the flawless running of the event. This event is sure to go from strength to strength over the coming years. The event has grown from just over 600 in 2012, to over 900 in 2013 with around the same number finishing in 2014. Entry to the race closed weeks in advance.

This is a photograph which is part of a larger set of photographs taken at the start and finish of "The Flatline" 2014. The URL of the main set is www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157647516503901. This photoset contains photographs of the start (at the 600 meter mark) and then of the finish (at the 400 meter mark to go) up to a finish time of about 1:45.

Reading on a Smartphone or tablet? Don't forget to scroll down further to read more about this race and see important Internet links to other information about the race! You can also find out how to access and download these photographs.

Timing and event management was provided by Precision Timing. Results are available on their website at www.precisiontiming.net/result.aspx?v=2100 with additional material available on their Facebook page (www.facebook.com/davidprecisiontiming?fref=ts) See their promotional video on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-7_TUVwJ6Q

For reference the satellite navigation Coordinates to the event HQ are (Longitude: -7.948153, Latitude: 53.420575)

Overall Race Summary

Participants: Such is the popularity of the race this year that registration closed for the race in mid-August 2013. There were well over 850 participants who took to the start line.

Weather: The weather on the day was almost too warm for running which is a very rare complaint in Ireland. The runners were bathed in hot September sunshine for the duration of the race and into the early afternoon. In the sections of the race out towards Clonown and around the Bord na Mona areas there was a cooling.

Course: "The Flatline" ceratinly lived up to its name. It is as flat a course as one is likely to find. A garmin connect gps trace of the route is provided here [connect.garmin.com/activity/199678412] Geographically the course spends much of the race in County Roscommon with only the first and last kilometers actually in County Westmeath. This gives geographically inclined runners the novel opportunity to race in two Irish provinces in one race. The course had distance markers at every kilometre and mile along the way. There were official pacers provided by the race organisers.

Location Map: Start/finish area and registration etc on Google StreetView [goo.gl/maps/8qCes] - Ample parking was supplied with some over-flow car-parking options also available.

Refreshments: An Alkohol Frei bottle of Erdinger was provided to every finisher as they crossed the line. Light refreshments were served.

Some Useful Links

Our photographs on Flickr from the 2013 Flatline Half Marathon: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157635495089498/

Jimmy Mac's Photography Services on Facebook www.facebook.com/JimmyMacsPics

Precision Timing Results Page 2014: www.precisiontiming.net/result.aspx?v=2175

Precision Timing Results Page 2013: www.precisiontiming.net/result.aspx?v=1489

Precision Timing Results Page 2012: www.precisiontiming.net/result.aspx?v=1014

Facebook Event Page for the 2013 www.facebook.com/events/495900447163378/ (Facebook logon required)

Boards.ie Athletics Discussion Thread about the 2014 race: www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057148781

Boards.ie Athletics Discussion Thread about the 2013 race: www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056984967

Boards.ie Athletics Discussion Thread about the 2012 race: www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=80049447

GARMIN GPS Trace of the Route for 2013: connect.garmin.com/activity/199678412

Race HQ Venue in 2014: St.Aloysius College Athlone : staloysiuscollege.ie/

Race photographs from 2012's Flatline - supplied by PIXELS PROMOTIONS: pixelspromotions.zenfolio.com/p126168889 (on route) and at the Finish line pixelspromotions.zenfolio.com/p31872670 - please note these are not our photographs (see www.pixelspromotions.com/).

Can I use these photographs directly from Flickr on my social media account(s)?

Yes - of course you can! Flickr provides several ways to share this and other photographs in this Flickr set. You can share to: email, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Tumblr, LiveJournal, and Wordpress and Blogger blog sites. Your mobile, tablet, or desktop device will also offer you several different options for sharing this photo page on your social media outlets.

We take these photographs as a hobby and as a contribution to the running community in Ireland. Our only "cost" is our request that if you are using these images: (1) on social media sites such as Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter,LinkedIn, Google+, etc or (2) other websites, blogs, web multimedia, commercial/promotional material that you must provide a link back to our Flickr page to attribute us.

This also extends the use of these images for Facebook profile pictures. In these cases please make a separate wall or blog post with a link to our Flickr page. If you do not know how this should be done for Facebook or other social media please email us and we will be happy to help suggest how to link to us.

I want to download these pictures to my computer or device?

You can download the photographic image here direct to your computer or device. This version is the low resolution web-quality image. How to download will vary slight from device to device and from browser to browser. However - look for a symbol with three dots 'ooo' or the link to 'View/Download' all sizes. When you click on either of these you will be presented with the option to download the image. Remember just doing a right-click and "save target as" will not work on Flickr.

I want get full resolution, print-quality, copies of these photographs?

If you just need these photographs for online usage then they can be used directly once you respect their Creative Commons license and provide a link back to our Flickr set if you use them. For offline usage and printing all of the photographs posted here on this Flickr set are available free, at no cost, at full image resolution.

Please email petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com with the links to the photographs you would like to obtain a full resolution copy of. We also ask race organisers, media, etc to ask for permission before use of our images for flyers, posters, etc. We reserve the right to refuse a request.

In summary please remember when requesting photographs from us - If you are using the photographs online all we ask is for you to provide a link back to our Flickr set or Flickr pages. You will find the link above clearly outlined in the description text which accompanies this photograph. Taking these photographs and preparing them for online posting does take a significant effort and time. We are not posting photographs to Flickr for commercial reasons. If you really like what we do please spread the link around your social media, send us an email, leave a comment beside the photographs, send us a Flickr email, etc. If you are using the photographs in newspapers or magazines we ask that you mention where the original photograph came from.

I would like to contribute something for your photograph(s)?

Many people offer payment for our photographs. As stated above we do not charge for these photographs. We take these photographs as our contribution to the running community in Ireland. If you feel that the photograph(s) you request are good enough that you would consider paying for their purchase from other photographic providers or in other circumstances we would suggest that you can provide a donation to any of the great charities in Ireland who do work for Cancer Care or Cancer Research in Ireland.

We use Creative Commons Licensing for these photographs

We use the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License for all our photographs here in this photograph set. What does this mean in reality?

The explaination is very simple.

Attribution- anyone using our photographs gives us an appropriate credit for it. This ensures that people aren't taking our photographs and passing them off as their own. This usually just mean putting a link to our photographs somewhere on your website, blog, or Facebook where other people can see it.

ShareAlike – anyone can use these photographs, and make changes if they like, or incorporate them into a bigger project, but they must make those changes available back to the community under the same terms.

Creative Commons aims to encourage creative sharing. See some examples of Creative Commons photographs on Flickr: www.flickr.com/creativecommons/

I ran in the race - but my photograph doesn't appear here in your Flickr set! What gives?

As mentioned above we take these photographs as a hobby and as a voluntary contribution to the running community in Ireland. Very often we have actually ran in the same race and then switched to photographer mode after we finished the race. Consequently, we feel that we have no obligations to capture a photograph of every participant in the race. However, we do try our very best to capture as many participants as possible. But this is sometimes not possible for a variety of reasons:

     ►You were hidden behind another participant as you passed our camera

     ►Weather or lighting conditions meant that we had some photographs with blurry content which we did not upload to our Flickr set

     ►There were too many people - some races attract thousands of participants and as amateur photographs we cannot hope to capture photographs of everyone

     ►We simply missed you - sorry about that - we did our best!

You can email us petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com to enquire if we have a photograph of you which didn't make the final Flickr selection for the race. But we cannot promise that there will be photograph there. As alternatives we advise you to contact the race organisers to enquire if there were (1) other photographs taking photographs at the race event or if (2) there were professional commercial sports photographers taking photographs which might have some photographs of you available for purchase. You might find some links for further information above.

Don't like your photograph here?

That's OK! We understand!

If, for any reason, you are not happy or comfortable with your picture appearing here in this photoset on Flickr then please email us at petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com and we will remove it as soon as possible. We give careful consideration to each photograph before uploading.

I want to tell people about these great photographs!

Great! Thank you! The best link to spread the word around is probably http://www.flickr.com/peterm7/sets

Manyari killed herself a young zebra. See video on www.wildcast.net

Successfully auctioned off for $100K via eBay to benefit WITNESS (http://www.witness.org). Of course, it's sealed under plexiglass to protect the penmanship. Amazing to see so many signatures of folks I've grown up listening to.

A description from the program:

A vintage CMI keyboard - featuring signatures from 43 celebrity musicians, composers and producers on the keys. Among the artists participating are Stevie Wonder, Mark Knopfler, Sir George Martin, Brian Wilson, Peter Gabriel, Thomas Dolby, Bono, Steve Winwood, Herbie Hancock, Hans Zimmer, Elvis Costello, Kate Bush, Todd Rundgren, Barry Gibb, Billy Gibbons, Lindsey Buckingham, David Gilmour and Annie Lennox. The keyboard, which was discontinued in the late 1980s, is now a highly prized collectors item.

6 July 2015 | 187/365

"Yes, the cloning machine worked!"

This is what happens when you had a brain fart and took two of the same Lego blind bags even though you had already figured out they would contain the same Lego figurine. Willing to trade Lisa (and her pet cat Snowball V) for any interesting minifigure that you might have.

After six wildly successful and critically acclaimed season, HBO's Sex and the City DVD boxset lowered its curtain with an extraordinary finale befitting its remarkable run. Now Sex and the City DVD boxset, the first true comedy about sex and love from a female point of view (and the show that made cosmopolitans and designer shoes part of every single woman's night out), lives on in this luscious, uniquely entertaining, and one-of-a-kind book.

Sex and the City DVD boxset: Kiss and Tell, the official companion book, celebrates the show with behind-the-scenes stories on all six seasons and original interview with each of the primary actors. Ever wonder which designer made that outrageous outfit of Carrie's? What real-life stories inspired those shocking episodes? How many dates the fabulous foursome have really been on? Packed with over 750 full-color photographs, this stunning volume will answer all these questions and more with information not available anywhere eels. Topped off with a introduction by Sarah Jessica Parker, Sex and the City DVD boxset: Kiss and Tell will excite anyone who has experienced even the slightest flirtation with the sexiest, funniest show on television.

Sex and the City DVD boxset

dvdscollection

#Quotes:

It is no longer enough to satisfy your customers. You must delight them # Kotler

Successful test complete on September 7th of the European Structural Test Article (E-STA) partial tank vibration test (Y- axis at 80% power) performed on the Mechanical Vibration Facility (MVF) table at NASA Glenn’s Space Power Facility at Plum Brook Station, Sandusky, Ohio.

Photo: NASA / Radislav Sinyak

A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon assigned to the 18th Aggressor Squadron takes off from Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, Oct. 10, 2016, for the first combat training mission of RED FLAG-Alaska (RF-A) 17-1. The average Aggressor pilot has at least 1,000 fighter hours and hundreds of hours of studying to become experts in enemy tactics used to train U.S. Air Force, joint and coalition partners during U.S. Pacific Air Forces commander-directed RF-A exercises. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Karen J. Tomasik/Released)

After successfully arriving at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39B, Exploration Ground Systems’ mobile launcher continues its journey atop crawler-transporter 2 up to the pad surface on June 28, 2019. The mobile launcher began its final solo trek to the pad at midnight on June 27, departing from NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building. The mobile launcher will remain at the pad over the summer, undergoing final testing and checkouts. Its next roll to the pad will be with the agency’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion in preparation for the launch of Artemis 1. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

NASA image use policy.

25 years of age. I was a very successful local sportsman in rowing, road cycling, biathlon & short course triathlon, harriers and marathon running. I rode a Cannondale Criterium frame, Suntour Superbe Pro equipped, Mavic 4 rims, Vittoria tubulars. I wore a Castelli triathlon suit I bought in London in 1988, pretty spoofy I thought. I ran in Arthur Lydiard Racing Flats [quite expensive in those days] Apologies for scratch in pic on my right leg. I can't edit pics properly yet. Sorry photographer unknown. I was a v successful member of the Invercargill Rowing Club from 1981-1986. I had a 7% body fat percentage then. 8 weeks later I had my near-death motorcycle accident and ultimately lost my entire left leg [termed trauma hemipelvectomy as my hip and pelvis was amputated] plus suffered several serious internal injuries. I spent 3 weeks in ICU [intensive care unit] of 2 hospitals and a total of 101 days in hospital. Instant mid-life crisis at 25 years of age.

March 1, 2015

Credit SpaceX

Photo Courtesy of the "Peace Plus One - World Sustainability Project"

www.SustainabilitySymbol.com

and McMaster Institute for Sustainable Development in Commerce

www.Dragonpreneur.com

www.PeacePlusOne.com

SUBJECT:

北京能源网络 Beijing Energy Network

in partnership with the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

presents

北耳 Beijing Energy & Environment Roundtable (BEER)

featuring

» Chivas Lam, Venture Partner, Qiming Venture Partners

» Mark Levine, Group Leader, China Energy Group, Lawrence Berkeley National Labs

» Sebastian Meyer, Director of Research & Advisory, Azure International

» Edward Steinfeld, Professor of Political Economy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

发展未来能源技术：中美合作是答案吗？Developing Energy Technologies for the Future: Are U.S.-China Partnerships the Answer?

5:00pm - 6:15pm: Cocktail Session

6:15pm - 7:30pm: Panel Discussion

** About the Talk (报告内容) **

In the 20th century, we understood energy technology development to be something that took place within the confines of single national economies. The development phases were long, the capital requirements intense, and the levels of uncertainty and risk extremely high. When energy technologies found their way across borders, if they did at all, they did so as mature systems, ones that could be "transferred" from one place to another. Today, an entirely new pattern seems to be afoot. Overseas innovators are teaming with Chinese partners to co-develop energy technologies. Upstream innovations -- often pioneered in Europe, the U.S., and Japan -- are being translated into commercially-viable systems on Chinese soil and in conjunction with Chinese corporate partners and Chinese financing. Yet, as this process surges forward -- both because of the demand for such technologies in China, and the availability of Chinese financing -- significant questions remain. At the commercial level, which technologies are most suited for cross-border development, and which are not? Once financing is secured and cross-border partnerships are established, what is required to make joint technology development actually work? How should the process be organized, and by whom? At the policy level, to what extent can governments be relied upon over the long run to support co-development efforts? What are the risks of protectionist backlash? Under what circumstances might public financing be withdrawn? How do political risks differ across various types of energy technology? This panel will take an "inside-out" look at cross-border technology co-development, starting from the perspective of the commercial players themselves -- the most active drivers of the process -- and then drawing the broader ramifications for public policy and national interest.

** About the Speakers (报告人简历) **

Chivas Lam is a Venture Partner of Qiming Ventures focusing on the Cleantech Sector. Chivas brings over 25 years of operational experience in the General Industrial Manufacturing and Energy Sector. Prior to joining Qiming, Chivas was the President Asia Pacific of the Morgan Crucible Company. He successfully led reengineering and integration of multiple business units and was instrumental to operational enhancement and profit growth. Prior to Morgan Crucible, Chivas held various Senior Positions with GEC Alstom in Project Management and Business Development in China and Australia. Chivas started his career with Hong Kong Electric Company Limited.

Mark Levine is the Group Leader of the China Energy Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). Previously, he was director of the LBNL's Environmental Division, which is a leader in research on buildings energy efficiency, indoor air quality, and various clean energy technologies. His major passion in the past two decades has involved analyzing and promoting energy efficiency in China. Dr. Levine is a board member of five leading non-profits in the United States (American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, Center for Clean Air Policy, Center for Resource Solutions, the US-China Green Energy Council, and California Clean Energy Fund, an innovative green venture capital fund) and one in Asia. He has also founded or co-founded two successful non-profits, including the acclaimed Beijing Energy Efficiency Center. Dr. Levine graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University, earned a PhD from the University of California.

Sebastian Meyer has covered the wind industry in China since 2004, and has built up a successful research and advisory practice focused on the alternative energy space. Sebastian came to China from London, where he specialized in due diligence supporting project finance and M&A transactions related to alternative energy. He also worked in the transition economies of Europe through the 90’s heading the Warsaw equity research team and covering industrial manufacturers and privatization programs for Creditanstalt Investmentbank - the leading western investment bank focused on the region at the time. Sebastian’s career spans debt and equity financing, project finance, equity research and valuation, mergers & acquisitions, and management consulting within the context of alternative energy and transition economies.

Edward Steinfeld is a professor of political economy in the MIT Department of Political Science and co-director of the China Energy Group in the MIT Industrial Performance Center. Steinfeld received his BA, MA, and PhD in political science from Harvard University. In addition to a variety of academic articles, Steinfeld is the author of Playing Our Game: Why China's Rise Doesn't Threaten the West and Forging Reform in China: The Fate of State-Owned Industry. Steinfeld is the author of numerous articles in both academic and non-academic journals, including Comparative Politics, Political Studies, World Development, The Far Eastern Economic Review, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The South China Morning Post. Steinfeld is a member of the board of directors of the National Committee on US-China Relations, as well as a member of the academic committee of the Center for Industrial Development and Environmental Governance at Tsinghua University.

** About BEN & BEER (北京能源网路和北耳简介) **

The Beijing Energy Network (BEN) is a grassroots organization with a mission of promoting knowledge sharing, networking, and collaboration in understanding and tackling China’s energy and environmental challenges among individuals and organizations from diverse sectors such as government, finance, industry, media, advocacy, think tanks and academia. Our membership currently stands at over 1,900 strong.

The flagship activity of BEN is the Beijing Energy & Environmental Roundtable (BEER), an approximately twice-monthly happy hour/speaker series. BEER events are free and open to all with no RSVP necessary. We hope you will come early, stay late, listen and ask questions, catch up with old friends and make new ones.

Please note, we ask that our speaker's remarks remain off the record unless they otherwise grant permission. A listing of our past events can be found here.

If you would like to learn more, receive email updates from BEN, have a suggestion for an event, or are interested in possibly being a speaker yourself, please sign up to our Google Group, or if you can't access that link from China, send an email to beijing-energy-network+owner@googlegroups.com.

Identified Hunters: Moses Lessard (left) and James Halley Stone (right). Remainder unknown. Unknown date.

Part of the Jackie Bleecker Album

Note: Commercial use of this image is prohibited without CDHS permission. All CDHS Flickr content is available for personal use providing our Rights Statement is followed:

pioneer.mazinaw.on.ca/flickr_statement.php

I'm usually successful at avoiding confrontations when I'm doing street photography. The "I'm old, friendly and harmless" approach along with a big smile is almost guaranteed to defuse distrust and suspicion - - EXCEPT in this case. Here, it seems that I'm about to be subjected to (subdued by?) a swift karate attack and subsequent strip search by the Christmas holiday security officer at the Dayton Metro Library. "We're closed! You can't be here!" Maybe I looked like a homeless guy who wanted to sleep in the foyer with my Canon DSLR for a pillow? Maybe I went too far by waving hello to him through the window? Maybe I should check out the DAI instead next time? Exactly WHAT is going on in there after hours that they don't want photographed? Oh, and explaining that I used to work there and have famly working there now cut absolutely no ice. Regardless, it was an amusing encounter (for me, at least) and SO worth this photo.

PRESS RELEASE

Iligan City

October 24, 2009

Reference: Mark Cervantes

09098798946

“ILIGAN CITY HELD SUCCESSFUL

CLIMATE ACTION EVENT”

Today, Iligan City indeed witnessed the biggest collaboration work on environmental advocacy after 20 years. A collaboration which will formally discuss one of the most significant and relevant issues of the time, CLIMATE CHANGE. The 1-day event that ended late in the evening of October 24 hoped to have deepened the understanding of the Iliganon on climate change at the same time concrete climate actions will be discussed between the sectors who participated in this global event.

The October 24 “International Day of Climate Action” that is organized by the Iligan climaX or Climate Action Alliance which is composed of different non-government organizations, schools, private sectors, religious groups and the City Government of Iligan. The alliance aims to sustain its work on climate change action after October 24th. The said event is in solidarity with the global call of 350.org.

The kick-off of the event which is the 350 human formation that was organized in Iligan City National High School (ICNHS) was so far the biggest 350 human formation in the country. Students from ICNHS wore blue bandana’s with climaX logo on it courtesy of Hon. Henry Dy, Vice-Mayor of the City of Iligan. About 50 bikers joined the parade headed by Fr Albert Mendez of the Social Action Center of Iligan Dioces. More than a thousand joined the parade coming from more than 20 different organizations. Most of the participants who joined the parade wore the Climate Action shirt which was donated by DED through Laura Engel.

Upon arrival at MSU-IIT, Hon. Chonilo Ruiz, Dr. Brigida Roscom of MSU-IIT and Nanette Antequisa, Executive Director of EcoWEB led the ribbon cutting ceremony. A short program was held at IDS-Multi Purpose Hall wherein Nanette Antequsia, ED of EcoWEB gave the rationale of the whole event. Dr. Brigida Roscom Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development welcomed the participants wherein she stressed the October 24 is a special day since is United Nations Day but this year’s October 24th is more special because Iligan City will be taking a challenge towards climate action.

Mayor Lawrence LL. Cruz gave his speech wherein he highlighted the significance and relevance of the said issue. He then offered the organizers to join him in his trip to Manila to attend a national forum on Climate Change and EcoWEB, Inc decided to join him for national platforming. A representative of Cong. Vicente “Varf” Belmote, Jr graced the event and read the solons message which centers on supporting the call of climax to put priority on Disaster Risk Reduction and to support the Hyogo Framework for Action at the same time be active on climate change discussions. Hon. Chonilo Ruiz focused his discusion on the work of the City Government on Solid Waste Management. Hon. Ruiz participated in the whole day as early as 7am until the end of the climate action jam at 930pm.

Fr. Albert Mendez of the Social Action Center read the Pastoral Letter of Bishop Elenito Galido which centers on the moral obligation of everybody to protect the earth. Diane Therese M. Rubio, a Grade 5 student from Iligan City East Central School read a powerful challenge from the children to the Government Officials of Iligan City and the NGOs present in the event hall. Octava Chorale silenced the hall with their solemn doxology and national anthem while Kalimulan renewed the nationalistic and ultural pride of the Filipinos with their ethnic dance performace.

Jean Baptiste Pertriaux, a French Agronomist who is currently based in Iligan and is helping some farmers presented and discussed Organic Agriculture and Climate Change at the event hall. After his talk, Signos, a video documnentary on climate change was aired at the MSU-IIT Board Room. EcoWEB received two copies of Signos videos from GMA 7 and Spectrum, an NGO alliance from General Santos City.

The main library hallway was swarmed by various exhibits which showcased various initiatives on climate action including community based projects and organically grown vegetables. Exibitors includes the Ecosystems Work for Essential Benefits, Inc., City Environment Management Office (CEMO), Solid Waste Management Board (SWMB), Office of Hon. Chonilo Ruiz, Mindanao Tripartite Youth Core-MYCOP, Civil Society Organizations Forum for Peace, Inc., Social Action Center-Diocese of Iligan, Iligan School for the Deaf and KUMON-Iligan, Jean Baptiste Pertriaux, EcoWEB partners from Poona Piagapo Kolambogan, Lanao Food Processors, BIRTHDEV and Serviamus Foundation, Inc.

One of the highlights of the exhibits was the actions area which is centered to the photo stories and artworks of the deaf mute students of the Iligan School for the Deaf which is being assisted by Grace Quijano of KUMON-Iligan. Mayor Cruz visited the exhibit area wherein he was able to view some of the pictures during the January 2009 flashflood in Iligan which destroyed the school of the deafmute. Mayor Cruz advised Ms. Quijano and EcoWEB, Inc to meet with him again and discuss the said concern.

In the afternoon, the forum entitled “Building Resilient Communities: Navigating through the Fast Changing Climate” was held successfully by the Department of Reseach. The forum was held at the MSU-IIT Board Room.

Topics presented includes “Current Climate Patterns in Mindanao” by Mr. Ric Mercado of PAGASA Region X; “The Role of the Government on Climate Change” by Dir. Carmelito Lupo of the Office of the Civil Defense Region X; “Application of GIS for Identification of Flood-Prone Areas” by Mr. Dexter Lo of Xavier University; “Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change” by Mark Cervantes of EcoWEB, Inc and “Pugaan River Protection and Enhancement Project: Disaster Risk Reduction through micro-watershed management modeling in river basins” by Dr. Torres of Save Iligan River Movement; “Linking Climate Change and Solid Waste Management” by Hon. Chonilo Ruiz and finally, “Climate Change and Conflict” by Rock-rock Antequisa of the Catholic Aid for Overseas Development. The said forum ended at almost 7 in the evening because of some significant questions from the participants. Laura Engel of DED gave the closing remarks which centered on

her experience in Germany on environmental consciousness and activism.

The whole day event ended with a Climate Action Jam at the Public Plaza wherein 4 bands performed including a musician from a lumad community in Baragay Rogongon, Iligan City. Bands that shared their talents during the event includes Kapagintaw, Agus and Violy and Company. The Lunad musician played 5 seperate native instruments and challenged the participants to be active and vigilant in the preservation and protection of the indigenous culture like what they have in Brgy. Rogongon.

OCTOBER 24 organizers, participating and support groups includes;

CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS

Ecosystems Work for Essential Benefits, Inc./Mindanao Commission on Women

Serviamus Foundation Inc/Civil Society Organization-Forum for Peace

Social Action Center-Diocese of Iligan City/Kapamagogopa Inc

Spiritan Community/Save Iligan Rivers Movement

Philippine Federation of Environmental Concerns/BIRTHDEV

ICCRN, Inc/Radya Al-Salam Foundation, Inc./Kaabag Ranaw Inc.

Philippine Muslim Welfare Society/Kalimudan Foundation, Inc.

Pakigdait, Inc./RCJP/SALIDA/The Fraternal Order of Eagles/Life for Water

Mindanao Tripartite Youth Core-MYCOP/Bantay ng Bayan

Paglingkawas Multi-Purpose Cooperative

Higaonon Community of Iligan City

Community Based Organizations from Kolambugan, Maigo,

Poona Piagapo of Lanao del Norte and Opol of Misamis Orientatal

Philippine National Red Cross

ACADEME AND CULTURAL GROUPS

Mindanao State University-Iiligan Institute of Technology

(OVCRE and IPDM)/ Iligan City National High School/KUMON-Iligan

Xavier University-Cagayan de Oro

Iligan School for the Deaf/Kapagintaw Band/Agus Band

OCTAVA CHORALE/KALIMULAN/MUSIRAMA

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AND OFFICIALS

Congressman Vicente “Varf” Belmonte

Office of Mayor Lawrence LL Cruz/Vice Mayor Henry Dy

/Office of Councilor Chonilo Ruiz

Office of Councilor Orlando Maglinao/Office of Hon. Ariel Anghay

Iligan City Environment and Management Office

Solid Waste Management Board/Emergency 811

Department of Environment and Natural Resources

CENRO, Iligan /Iligan City Disaster Coordinating Counci/BACUD-Iligan

Office the Civil Defense-NDCC/PAGASA/104th Brigade

Municipality of Kolambugan-LN/Municipality Opol-Misamis Or.

Municipality of Poona Piagapo-LN

MEDIA

Violy Gloria of Mindanews

Mr. Richel Umel

INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES

Catholic Agency for Overseas Development

Deutscher Entwicklungsdienst-DED

Non-Violent Peace Force

OTHERS

Rivertracks/VitaPlus

Mark A. Cervantes

Project Officer

Disaster Risk Reduction

"Risk Reduction is the concrete translation of Precautionary Principle"

Ecosystems Work for Essential Benefits, Inc. (ECOWEB)

#1 Pitimini St., Corpus Christi Village

Brgy Tubod, Iligan City 9200, Philippines

Telefax: +63.63.2210322

Email: ecoweb2006@gmail.com; info@ecowebph.org

www.ecowebph.org

“Successful people enjoy the journeys they embark on, irrespective of whether they reach their destination or not.”

― Zain Hashmi

Osprey on a successful afternoon hunting expedition. Everglades National Park, FL

_DSC6709 - 2017-02-14 at 11-14-03 - Version 3

The end of successful net hunt with BaAka peoples of CAR. They hunt by using nets spread through the forest like a trawler net. After the net is spread the BaAka then race through the forest making as much noise as they could to scare any duiker in the area into the net (the noise, made before the nets are spread, also serves the purpose of frightening away any of the animals they don't want to encounter - elephants, buffalo, gorilla etc.

In this photo they are celebrating the capture of a blue duiker - the most commonly caught animal.

The following is an edited version of the Wikipedia entry:

The Baka, known in the Congo as Bayaka are an ethnic group inhabiting the southeastern rainforests of Cameroon, northern Republic of Congo, northern Gabon, and southwestern Central African Republic. They have been historically called pygmies (the term is no longer considered respectful).

The Baka are a hunter-gatherer people. Groups establish temporary camps of huts constructed of bowed branches covered in large leaves (though today more and more homes are constructed following Bantu methods). The men hunt and trap in the surrounding forest, using nets, poisoned arrows and spears to great effect. They sometimes obtain honey from beehives in the forest canopy. The men also fish using chemicals obtained from crushed plant material. Using fast-moving river water, they disperse the chemical downstream. This non-toxic chemical deprives fish of oxygen, making them float to the surface and easily collected by Baka men. Another method of fishing, performed only by women, is dam fishing, in which water is removed from a dammed area and fish are taken from the exposed ground. Women also gather wild fruits and nuts or practice beekeeping while tending to the children. The group remains in one area until it is hunted out then abandon the camp for a different portion of the forest. The group is communal and makes decisions by consensus.

The Baka people are skilled in using various plants in which they may wash out chemicals to use or mash it into a pulp etc to treat illness and infertility. Their skills in this traditional medicine are such that even non-Baka often seek out their healers for treatment.

Baka religion is animist; they worship a forest spirit known as Jengi, also called Djengi or Ejengi, whom they perceive as both a parental figure and guardian. Each successful hunt is followed by a dance of thanksgiving known as the Luma, which is accompanied by drumming and polyphonic singing. One of the most important traditional ceremonies is the Jengi ceremony, a long and secret rite of initiation which celebrates the boy's passage into adulthood.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!

Some background:

The Messerschmitt Me 262 F was a series of multi-purpose jet planes designed by Messerschmitt for the Luftwaffe that entered service during the final phase of the Second World War in Europe. The aircraft’s design was begun in the summer of 1943 under the project handle P.1099, intended as an improvement to the successful Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter and also as a replacement for the Arado Ar 234 bomber/reconnaissance aircraft. The primary focus was on more payload, being either usable for more fuel (since early jet engines had poor mileage and therefore range and endurance) or for weapons, including bombs in an internal bomb bay that would enable the aircraft to fulfil a similar tactical role as the British de Havilland Mosquito. Beyond this high-speed bomber (Schnellbomber) variant, the P.1099 would also be a suitable basis for a fast reconnaissance plane, interceptors and night fighters, and trainer versions were also planned.

Only a handful Me 262 F-2a Pulkzerstörer were eventually fielded and operated before the end of hostilities – beyond the low production numbers the lack of fuel and loss of suitable airfields highly limited the aircraft’s potential. Probably less than ten were used by operational units, including JG 53 “Pik As”, in which they served alongside other interceptors, including other Me 262 variants. Typically, bomber formations were approached from the side of a bomber formation, where their silhouettes were widest, and while still out of range of the bombers' machine guns. This broadside-attack tactic was very effective, and the aircraft’s high speed allowed the interceptors to turn around 180° and make at least a second attack run from the opposite side, before the machines dashed off and returned to their bases.

General characteristics

Crew: One

Length: 14,32 m (46 ft 11 in) overall

12,00 m (39 ft 3¾ in) fuselage only, w/o brake parachute housing

Wingspan: 12,61 m (41 ft 3¾ in)

Height: 4,43 m (14 ft 6 in)

Wing area: 24,2 m² (236 sq ft)

Empty weight: 5.061 kg (11,148 lb)

Loaded weight: 8.762 kg (19,300 lb)

Max. take-off weight: 10.062 kg (22,163 lb)

Powerplant:

2× Junkers Jumo 004 C turbojets with 12 kN (2,697 lb st) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 930 km/h (577 mph, 505 kn)

Cruising speed: 805 km/h (500 mph, 438 kn) at 6.500 m (21,290 ft)

Range: 1.340 km (830 ml, 728 nm) at 6000 m with internal fuel only

Service ceiling: 11,450 m (37,570 ft)

Rate of climb: 18 m/s (3,540 ft/min) at max. weight

Armament:

1× 55 mm (1.96 in) MK 112 machine cannon with 60 rounds

1× 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 108 machine cannon with 100 rounds

Hardpoints under the outer wings for racks with twelve 55mm R4M unguided air-to-air missiles

The kit and its assembly:

This became a submission to the late 2021 “Gunships” group build at whatifmodellers.com – what would such a competition be without at least one gun-toting German Luft ’46 interceptor? The Messerschmitt P.1099 lent itself for such a build. Since 1996 Revell offers a 1:72 IP model kit of this paper aircraft, depicting more or less the two planned versions: a basic single-seat day fighter and a heavy two-seater Zerstörer, both based on the same basis.

This what-if model was based on Revell’s interpretation of the P.1099A, and the kit goes together well. Fit is very good, even though some designs are IMHO a bit dubious. The kit’s weakest point: Revell unfortunately missed the important detail of the modified engine nacelles: the kit comes with standard Me 262 wings and engines, but due to CoG reasons the P.1099 would have had its engines moved back by about 900 mm, as mentioned in the background. I corrected this on this build with some PSR – sounds simple, but since the nacelles are not expected to be stuck to the wings in their new position roughly 1 cm further back, some serious bodywork had to be done.

Otherwise the kit was basically built OOB. I just left away the inner wheels from the main landing gear because I found the twin wheels to be “too much” for this upgraded Me 262. The P.1099 might have been heavier than the Me 262, but…? And the wheels’ tractor-like tread design looks IMHO out of place, too, so that I replaced them with a pair of MiG-21 wheels, left over from a KP kit.

The cockpit was taken OOB, even though I have doubts concerning the canopy. And when you look at mockup pictures of the P.1099 you realize that cockpit access had been facilitated through a side door at starboard, similar to the D. H. Mosquito. The cockpit tub does not consider this hatch at all, and the engraved door on the fuselage (it’s actually there!) is so tiny that only a Halfling might use it?

Well, I stuck with it “as is” and just added a pilot figure (specifically from a Matchbox Hawker tempest, because it is one of the rare cases that you get a WWII pilot wearing an oxygen mask) and a “barrel” behind the bulbous pilot seat because there’s a lot of free space in this single seat variant that is otherwise occupied by a rear gunner in Revell’s P.1099B kit. I also have doubts concerning the kit’s canopy, since the original P.1099 had a cockpit for two seated side-by-side, with a canopy that resembled the D.H. Mosquito’s a lot. I am also not certain about the stabilizers – the kit comes with standard Me 262 parts, but trustworthy sources I consulted suggest that not only the fin had been enlarged (depicted well in Revell’s kit), but also the stabilizers? To improve this, I implanted a pair of modified stabilizers that came from a Heller PZL P.23 light bomber. Sounds odd, but they were a very good match in size, shape and thickness!

The only major modification concerns the armament, even though it became just a “graft-on” solution. On the lower left side, the upper gun port was PSRed away. On the right side I added a bulged fairing for the MK 112. It was sculpted from a Matchbox Saab J29 drop tank and blended into the hull with PSR. Protruding spent cases fairings were added for both guns. The MK 112 gun barrel is a resin piece, left over from a ModelTrans tank conversion set and actually depicts a German 55 mm gun, so that this became a perfect donor piece.

Since the airframe still looked rather clean and boring I finally added a pair of JATO bottle racks to the rear fuselage (scratched from styrene profile but left empty) and a brake parachute fairing under the fin, carved from a piece of sprue.

Furthermore, a display adapter was installed into the fuselage for in-flight pictures.

Painting and markings:

This became a challenge, because I wanted a rather unusual livery, neither a standard RLM 81/82/76 late-war combo nor an improvised-cammo-over-bare-metal finish. After some research I settled upon something that was actually carried by some He 177 bombers around 1944: a uniform RLM 74 (Graugrün, Humbrol 245) upper surface with “cloudy” mottles in RLM 76 (Humbrol 247). This appears like a winter camouflage, but it’s actually quite effective at medium altitude, esp. over a cloudy landscape. The original bombers had light blue (RLM 65) undersides, but for the P.1099 from a later period and as a fighter I rather used a darker shade of RLM76 in the form of Tamiya XF-23 (Light Blue). The model received a black ink washing and some post-panel-shading.

The cockpit interior became RLM 66 (Schwarzgrau, Humbrol 67) while the landing gear and the well were painted in uniform RLM 02 (I used Revell 45, a slightly more greenish tone), with wheel discs in RLM 66, too.

Unit markings became minimal and quite sober. I gave the aircraft a typical late-war “Reichsverteidigung” fuselage band, and in JG 53’s case it is plain black. The black band was deliberately chosen because it is a good, much darker contrast to the murky RLM 74, so that the latter appears lighter than it actually is, lowering the contrast to the RLM 76 spots.

The decals were puzzled together from various sources. As an aircraft of the 3rd group the unit’s ID color would be yellow, reflected in the tactical code and the fin tip. For some contrast and to emphasize the long gun barrel I gave it white and black stripes – as a security measure for ground handling. For some more variety I painted one air intake in very dark grey (Revell 06, Anthracite) and the other one in steel Metallizer, simulating replacement parts. The Balkenkreuze come from various sheets – I used simplified “low viz” versions all around. The undulating yellow bar for the 3rd group comes from a TL Modellbau sheet, while the yellow “4” came from a Fw 190 A sheet from Sky Models. A small “4” on the nose was added as a wacky detail, too, the “Pik As” unit markings came IIRC from a Hobby Boss Bf 109 sheet. Since they turned out to have poor contrast/opacity I only used a few stencils from the P.1099A sheet, but due to the disruptive paint scheme this is not apparent.

Finally, the model was sealed with a coat of matt acrylic varnish (Italeri) and a wire antenna, scratched from heated black sprue material, was added between cockpit and fin.

Well, this modified Messerschmitt P.1099A looks simple, but the modified engine nacelles as well as the gun fairing under the nose called for serious PSR. The result looks quite natural, though, and AFAIK this weapon configuration was actually on German drawing boards. However, I am not certain about the cockpit canopy and other details on Revell’s kit, reference information is contradictive.

The paint scheme looks good, even though it was lent from a heavy bomber, and the poor Humbrol enamels did not yield a finish that I had hoped for – the paintwork could certainly have been better, but the overall impression of a late-war Pulkzerstörer is O.K., and this eventually counts.

Congratulations to Paloma on her promotion to 1st kyu brown belt. Paloma has demonstrated outstanding instructional skills and is an invaluable contributor to the group. I am very proud of her achievement.

Portrait of successful young business team standing at bright office, smiling happy, looking at camera.

"A SUCCESSFUL MARRIAGE REQUIRES FALLING IN LOVE MANY TIMES, ALWAYS WITH THE SAME PERSON"

Black and white publicity photograph of Anne Murray with her hand to her chin. She is a highly successful retired Canadian singer known for her versatile contributions to country, pop, and adult contemporary music.

The photo of Anne Murray was likely taken around 1980 or in the early 1980s. The hairstyle and style of clothing are consistent with the early 1980s. A similar photo used for press purposes has been dated to 1980. Other press photos from this era are also dated to 1981, 1984, 1985, and 1986.

Career Overview - Global Success Murray has sold over 55 million album copies worldwide during her career spanning more than 40 years.

Awards - She has won numerous accolades, including four Grammy Awards and a record 26 Juno Awards. In 1984, she was promoted to Companion of the Order of Canada, one of the nation's highest civilian honors.

Paving the Way Murray is recognized as one of the pioneering Canadian female artists who achieved international success, inspiring later stars like Céline Dion and Shania Twain.

Notable Hits Her famous songs include the breakout hit "Snowbird" (1970), "Danny's Song," "A Love Song," and her Grammy-winning number-one hit, "You Needed Me" (1978). Retirement She retired from touring and recording in 2008, performing her final public concert in Toronto in May of that year.

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

Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian country, pop and adult contemporary music singer who has sold over 55 million album copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. She has won four Grammys including the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1979. While released at the very end of 1969, “Snowbird” became a massive hit in 1970, reaching (#1) on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart and making Murray the first Canadian woman to earn a gold record in the United States. This song typified her signature crossover sound. Murray skillfully blended country, pop, and adult contemporary styles, appealing to a wide audience. She had 28 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, eight (#1) hits on the Adult Contemporary chart, and 25 Top 10 hits on the Hot Country Songs chart throughout her career.

Murray released 14 albums in the 1970s, with several reaching the Top 10 in Canada, including the chart-toppers “Annie” (1972) and “Let’s Keep It That Way” (1978). Known for her warm alto voice, wholesome image, and stylistic versatility, Anne Murray became a “queen of middle-of-the-road (MOR) and country radio” during the 1970s and 1980s. She was cited as an influence by subsequent Canadian stars like k.d. lang, Jann Arden, Shania Twain, and Sarah McLachlan.

LINK to video - Anne Murray - Snowbird [LIVE, 1996] - www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFKmqmYcRLM&list=RDwFKmqmYcRL...

LINK to video - Anne Murray: from small town singer to Snowbird superstar | Life story and performances - www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMjlbq5EeyA

LINK to video - Anne Murray never thought she'd have a new album - www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et7yfsSM3s8

The Isetta was one of the most successful microcars produced in the post-World War II years—a time when cheap, short-distance transportation was most needed. Although the design originated in Italy, it was built in a number of different countries, including Spain, Belgium, France, Brazil, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Because of its egg shape and bubble-like windows, it became known as a bubble car—a name later given to other similar vehicles.

The Isetta caused a sensation when it was introduced to the motoring press in Turin in November 1953, it was unlike anything seen before. Small (only 2.29 m (7.5 ft) long by 1.37 m (4.5 ft) wide) and egg-shaped, with bubble-type windows, the entire front end of the car hinged outwards to allow entry and in the event of a crash, the driver and passenger were to exit through the canvas sunroof. The steering wheel and instrument panel swung out with the single door, as this made access to the single bench seat simpler. The seat provided reasonable comfort for two occupants, and perhaps a small child. Behind the seat was a large parcel shelf with a spare wheel located below. A heater was optional, and ventilation was provided by opening the fabric sunroof.

Power came from a 236 cc (14.4 in³), 7.1 kW (9.5 hp) two-cylinder two-stroke motorcycle engine. The engine was started by a combination generator-starter known as Dynastart. A manual gearbox provided four forward speeds and reverse. A chain drive connected the gearbox to a solid rear axle with a pair of closely-spaced 25 cm (10 in) rear wheels. The first prototypes had one wheel at the rear; this made the car prone to roll-overs, so they placed two rear wheels 48 cm (19 in) apart from each other. This narrow track eliminated the need for a differential. The front axle was a modified version of a Dubonnet independent front suspension. The Isetta took over 30 seconds to reach 50 km/h (31 mph) from rest. Top speed was only about 75 km/h (47 mph). The fuel tank held only 13 litres (3.5 gallons). However, the Isetta would get somewhere between 50 mpg-imp (5.6 L/100 km; 42 mpg-US) and 70 mpg-imp (4.0 L/100 km; 58 mpg-US) depending on how it was driven.

Two models were offered - the little egg-shaped Turismo with narrow 50 cm (20 in) rear track, and the Autocarro, a commercial version with full-width rear axle. The Autocarro was offered in several body styles, a flatbed pickup, enclosed truck, a tilt-bed, or even a fire engine. The Autocarro was an extremely popular type of vehicle in Italy, and numerous manufacturers produced some variant of the type. Iso had previously produced a motorcycle-type Isocarro. The Iso Autocarro was larger than most, with its four-wheel layout, conventional rear axle with differential and leaf springs, and a large tubular frame. It was good for a 500-600 kg (1,102-1,323 lb) load. The name Isetta Autocarro was also used.

In 1954, Iso entered several Isettas in the legendary Mille Miglia where they took the top three spots in the economy classification: over a distance of 1,600 km (1,000 mi) the drivers achieved an average speed of over 70 km/h (43 mph). In view of its maximum speed, which was just 15 km/h (9 mph) higher, this was an almost incredible figure. However, despite its initial success, the Isetta was beginning to slip in popularity at home. This was mainly due to renewed competition from FIAT with its 500C model.

Renzo Rivolta wanted to concentrate on his new Iso Rivolta sports car, and was extremely interested in doing licencing deals. Plants in Spain and Belgium were already assembling Isettas and Autocarros using Italian made Iso components. BMW began talking with Rivolta in mid-1954 and bought not just a licence but the complete Isetta body tooling as well. Rivolta didn't stop with licencing the Isetta to BMW. He negotiated similar deals with companies in France and Brazil.

BMW Isetta 250

2 tone coloured BMW Isetta 250

While it retained the "Bubble Window" styling, it differed from the Italian model in that its headlamps were fixed separately to the sides of the bodywork and it carried the BMW badge below the windscreen. The car was also redesigned to take a modified version of the 250 cc four-stroke engine from the BMW R25/3 motorcycle and the front suspension was changed. The single-cylinder generated 9 kW (12 hp) at 5800 rpm. The crankcase and cylinder were made of cast iron, the cylinder head of aluminium. However, the head was rotated by 180° compared with the motorcycle engine. The twin-bearing crankshaft was also different in the Isetta power unit, being larger and featuring reinforced bearings. One of the reasons for this was the heavy Dynastart unit which combined the dynamo and self-starter. The fuel mixture was provided by a Bing sliding throttle side draft motorcycle carburetor. In addition to further changes of detail, the BMW engineers enlarged the sump for installation in the car and cooled the engine by means of a radial fan and shrouded ducting.

The power train from the four-speed gearbox to the two rear wheels was also unusual: fixed to the gearbox output drive was something called a Hardy disc, which was a cardan joint made of rubber. On the other side of it was a cardan shaft, and finally a second Hardy disc, which in turn was located at the entrance to a chain case. A duplex chain running in an oil bath led finally to a rigid shaft, at each end of which were the two rear wheels. Thanks to this elaborate power transfer, the engine-gearbox unit was both free of tension and well soundproofed in its linkage to the rear axle.

In Germany, the Isetta could even be driven with a motorcycle license. The top speed of the Isetta 250 was rated as 85 km/h (53 mph).

The first BMW Isetta rolled off the line in April 1955, and in the next eight months some 10,000 of the "bubblecars" were produced.

This particular model commemorates King Ludwig of Bavaria, builder of Neuchwanstein Castle and patron of the opera composer Richard Wagner

Only by for Austria successful outcome of Ottoman wars in Europe the conditions were given to turn the old Hofburg, which until now was more fortress than imperial residence, into a befitting palace of a powerful dynasty. When Emperor Charles VI in 1711 succeeded to the throne, stood along the Schaufler alley until St. Michael's square yet the old two-story Chancellery Wing from the time of Ferdinand I. It was significantly lower than the Amalien wing and the Leopoldine wing, bordering the Interior Castle courtyard on the southwest and the southeast side. Between the Chancellery Wing and the Swiss courtyard there was a by Daniel Suttinger created Gate construction. In its place erected Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt in 1712 the so-called Carolingian Triumphal Arch but which was as well demolished in 1728 because now they had laid the foundation for a much more representative Chancellery Wing and in 1723 started the construction work. Hildebrandt's plans provided the unification of the entire inner castle but failed in the end due to the immense cost. 1726 he had to cede construction management to in the meantime appointed Court architect Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach. This one let the already finished construction at Schaufler alley remain but put in front of it the splendid late baroque wing at the courtyard side. Fischer too could due to lack of sufficient liquid funds of the Imperial family his ideas which comprehended also the entire castle not fully realize. Work came to a halt in 1735 and was finally discontinued. The St. Michael's gate was only from 1888 after the demolition of the old Hofburg theater finished.

Herakles of Mattielli

In Chancellery wing were until 1806 when Emperor Franz II/I resigned the Roman-German Imperial Crown the central offices of the administration of the Holy Roman Empire housed. This included especially as the most important Imperial authority the Aulic Councel. 1810 lived here the French ambassador Berthier, when he, on behalf of Napoleon, asked for the hand of Maria Louise, the daughter of Francis I. At the time of the Vienna Congress in some rooms of the Imperial Chancellery Wing was housed the king of Bavaria. 1848 served archduke Johann a suite of rooms as an apartment. In the summer of this year, he received in Great Audience Hall a delegation from Frankfurt Imperial Diet, offering him the dignity of a "German Imperial Regent". A few years later the rooms were renovated, refurbished and converted into apartments for the Imperial family. Traditionally, no Austrian Emperor has taken over the apartment of his predecessor. Franz Joseph moved into his apartment in 1857, three years after his marriage, and lived there until his death in 1916. The apartment of his wife Elisabeth was in the neighboring Amalien wing. Today, the Imperial Apartments as well as the recently opened Sisi Museum and the former Court Silver and Table Room can be visited. The latter is dedicated to the culture of courtly household and the court ceremonial.

While the front is not very spectacular in Schaufler alley, turns the five-story face side of the Imperial Chancellery Wing towards the interior courtyard. This one served till the 16th century as a tournament court. In 1561 issued Thurnierbuch (tournament book) is yet of tournaments of the future Emperor Maximilian II reported which this one had held here in June of last year. In the 17th century but here no more tournaments took place but mounted tournaments, as the then popular horse ballet. The long facade facing the courtyard is accented by three only little projecting risalits with portals and balconies (1727/29) and divided by giant pilasters. The design of the façade is already reminiscent of the design language of French classicism. Franz Joseph and Elisabeth got through the Imperor's gate in central projection to their rooms on the first floor. The leading upwards Emperor's stairway has a magnificent stucco marble equipment and is decorated with gilted bronze vases. But it is hardly ever used. Today's visitor entrance to the Imperial Apartments is located beneath the dome of St. Michael's gate. The five windows above the Emperor's gate are preceded by a long balcony which rests on strong consoles. On the attic of the central projection is attached the huge blazon of Emperor Charles VI with the double-headed eagle. It is overtopped by the German imperial crown and surrounded by a golden chain with the Golden Fleece. Flanked is it by two, carrying trumpets genii. Beside the portals of the side projections stand each two sandstone sculptures of Lorenzo Mattielli. They show the deeds of Hercules. On the ground floor were housed until 1918 various court offices, as the Chamber for payments of the Court, the House, Court and State Archives (until 1902) and the Control office of the Court. In the premises of once Imperial linen room was from 1921 to 1987 the Vienna tapestry manufacture whose leading products have been exported throughout the world.

Study of Franz Joseph

Additionally to the living quarters of the Emperor - those of the Empress were in neighboring Amalien wing - belongs to the Imperial Apartments the Guard room where the bodyguards were on sentry duty but most of all the large Audience waiting room and the Audience chamber, where the Emperor, standing at his desk, used to receive his visitors individually. Under Maria Theresa, took place the deliberations of the Imperial, Court and State Councils of the former Imperial Chancellery in Audience waiting room. Unfortunately, this beautiful, decorated in white, red and gold hall was similarly to fairy-tale grotto recently equipped with figurines in the national costume of the individual crown lands in order to document that here waited people from all walks of life and from all provinces of the country for an audience. During his long reign, there were at least more than 250,000. In this room, hang large, many-figured murals (1832) of Biedermeier painter Peter Krafft, showing scenes from the life of Emperor Franz I. From the ceiling hangs a eighty-flammy Bohemian crystal chandelier still dating from the time of Maria Theresa. The originally fitted with candles chandelier of the Imperial apartments were in 1891 electrified. The ornate pottery kilns partly still stem from the 18th century. They were heated externally via the situated behind the rooms heating passage with wood. In the equipment of his private rooms the personal modesty of the emperor is reflected. Unlike his wife, he had not even running water injected. Noteworthy is also the simple iron military bed that served him for decades as a place to sleep. His office, in which he most of the time was yet active from six o'clock in the morning is adorned with numerous photos and paintings of his family. Here hangs also a famous portrait of the Empress by Franz Xaver Winterhalter. The equipment of the 22 official and residential premises of Emperor Franz Joseph and his wife Elisabeth, which today can be visited as Imperial Apartments, stems from several eras: from late Baroque to Rococo and the Empire to the 19th century neo-Baroque. These include also the four rooms of Stephan's apartment which is named after Archduke Stephan Viktor. The former theater corridor which enabled a direct connection to the old Hofburg Theater is walled off today.

www.burgen-austria.com/archive.php?id=512

This particular trap contained three large Texas Coral Snakes (Micrurus tener).

What would become arguably the most successful fighter aircraft since World War II started modestly, and like many late 20th-Century fighter designs, as a result of lessons learned in the Vietnam War. Among those lessons was that large, heavy fighters were not always the answer: the F-4 Phantom II, while a superlative aircraft, had often found itself outclassed by smaller, more nimble North Vietnamese MiG-17s and MiG-21s. The call for the US Air Force to develop its own lightweight fighter was spearheaded by fighter pilot and air combat theorist John Boyd. At first, Boyd’s proposals were dismissed by the USAF, who feared losing funding for the F-15 Eagle then in development. Boyd and others were able to convince the USAF of the usefulness of a light, cheap fighter as a complement to the heavy, expensive F-15, and finally the USAF agreed to issue a requirement for a Lightweight Fighter (LWF)—though with no guarantee that it would actually buy it.

Both General Dynamics and Northrop responded with designs, which would become the YF-16 and YF-17 Cobra. The first YF-16 was rolled out in December 1973, and first flew in January of the next year—accidentally, as the prototype veered off the runway and the test pilot felt it safer to takeoff rather than try to steer it back. The YF-16 won the flyoff against the YF-17, and the USAF selected it to go into service as the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Simultaneously, the YF-16 won a flyoff for the Multinational Fighter; the MNF was planned to be the successor to a number of aircraft in NATO service, and the competition between the YF-16, YF-17, France’s Mirage F.1M, and the SEPECAT Jaguar was fierce. Once selected, production of the F-16 would be vastly expanded, with it not only being produced in the United States, but also in the Netherlands and Belgium as well (to be followed later by Turkey and South Korea). In a short time, the F-16 had come a long way.

Production F-16s differed from the prototype by being slightly larger and heavier, though the initial production batch retained the “small tail” tailplanes of the prototype. Though heftier than the prototype, the F-16 retained the basis of Boyd’s ideal lightweight fighter: it was extremely maneuverable, to the point that a number of early F-16s crashed as the aircraft could take more than the pilot. Its maneuverability is due both to a favorable thrust-weight ratio and its deliberately unstable design: the F-16 was one of the first fighters to employ a wholly-fly-by-wire control system, with the hydraulic controls of older fighters being replaced by microprocessors controlled by a central computer. The microprocessors are able to make the dozens of decisions per second required by the design. For this reason, the F-16 is also known as the “Electric Jet.” General Dynamics had attempted to mitigate these effects on the pilot by reclining the ejection seat backwards and moving the control stick to the side. The pilot also has superb visibility due to the F-16’s bubble canopy.

The Fighting Falcon’s baptism of fire would not take long. Israel, which had been among the first to purchase the F-16, scored the type’s first air-to-air kill over Lebanon in 1981, as well as its first significant strike mission, the raid on Iraq’s Osirak reactor. In the following year, Israeli F-16s scored possibly as many as 30 victories over Syrian MiGs during the 1982 Lebanon War. Pakistani F-16s were to see limited action during the Soviet-Afghan War, shooting down 10 Afghani and Soviet aircraft that strayed into Pakistan’s airspace. For the United States, the F-16 would see its first action in the First Gulf War, though here the USAF used the Falcon’s large payload in strike missions; USAF F-16s saw no aerial action during this conflict.

By the early 1990s, the USAF relegated its F-16A models to the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, reequipping its units with later mark F-16Cs. Many of the ANG’s F-16As were upgraded to ADF standard. The last USAF F-16A left service around 2000; aircraft not placed in storage at AMARC in Arizona have been sold to other nations, while some are scheduled for conversion to QF-16 drones.

F-16As are among the most prolific fighters in the world, in service worldwide, flown by ten nations, three of which are in NATO. These aircraft (save those flown by Venezuela) have been significantly upgraded to F-16 MLU (Mid-Life Upgrade) standard, making them equivalent to F-16Cs. Besides Israeli and Pakistani kills in the type, a Dutch F-16AM shot down a Serbian MiG-29 during the Kosovo War in 1999. Other NATO F-16AMs have seen service over Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. These older models of F-16s will remain in service until probably 2020 at least, to be replaced by the F-35A Lightning II.

Here the whole team of Thunderbirds come over the crowd at the Air Force Academy's graduation ceremony in 1981. The team had just converted to the F-16 not long before, and this was one of their first shows in the type. They opened the show by rocketing over just as the graduates pitched their hats in the air (and scaring the hell out of the crowd, which included me). Still a great show, and the first time I got to see the team in the F-16--I had only seen them in the T-38 Talon to this point.

In 1962, the US Navy issued a requirement for an eventual replacement for the A-4 Skyhawk. Of the proposals submitted by various companies, Vought’s design won the competition in February 1964. What became the A-7 Corsair II was based on the already successful F-8 Crusader fighter, a decision which figured heavily in the Navy’s selection of the aircraft. The A-7, however, was smaller and shorter, with a much less sleek fuselage but a larger wing. It was the first operational American aircraft to use a turbofan engine, a HUD, and an internal INS linked to the bombing radar, permitting very accurate bombing in all weathers. After a remarkably trouble-free development, the YA-7A first flew in September 1965 and entered service a year later, with a combat debut in December 1967 over Vietnam. Because the A-4 was more maneuverable, the A-7 only supplemented the Skyhawk in US Navy service until the early 1980s; likewise, it was not chosen by the US Marine Corps for the light attack role, as the Marines preferred upgraded A-4s and later the AV-8A/B Harrier series.

The USAF, however, would acquire the A-7 in large numbers, at first as an interim to bridge the gap between the F-105 Thunderchief and the F-111 Aardvark, and to replace the ancient A-1 Skyraiders then serving as COIN, close air support, and rescue support aircraft. The A-7D made a number of changes, including USAF-style boom/plug refueling port, the more reliable and powerful Allison TF41 engine, and deletion of the A-7A’s twin 20mm cannon for a single M61A1 Vulcan 20mm gatling cannon. The A-7D entered USAF service in September 1968, and its combat service over Vietnam impressed the US Navy enough that the follow-on A-7E Corsair II incorporated both the TF41 engine and the M61A1 gun armament. Aside from the two-seat TA-7C/A-7K conversion trainers and EA-7L electronic warfare trainers, the A-7E was the penultimate Corsair II variant. Vought proposed an advanced, supersonic long-range strike variant, the A-7F, but this only went to the prototype stage.

The A-7 served in every conflict the United States entered into from 1968 to 1991, including Vietnam, operations against Lebanon, Libya, and Iran in the 1980s, and the First Gulf War. The latter was the swansong for the type in US service, with only two US Navy A-7E squadrons seeing service. With the drawdown of the 1990s, the A-7D was rapidly retired from USAF and Air National Guard units in favor of the F-16 Falcon; the A-7E left US Navy service in favor of the F/A-18 Hornet. The aircraft was exported in the 1970s to Greece as the A-7H and Portugal as the A-7P, both of which saw service in the Third World War. Thailand received ex-US Navy A-7Es in the mid-1990s. Greece retired the last operational A-7s in the world in 2014.

(The following is a fictional history of a fictional naval air arm.)

With the adoption of the US Navy-style carrier battlegroup by the FIRN/FIRNAA in the late 1970s, the FIRNAA also adopted the Navy-style carrier air wing of F-14 Tomcats, A-6 Intruders, and A-7 Corsair IIs. The latter were deemed to be of low priority, with the FIRNAA acquiring and upgrading ex-US Navy A-4E Skyhawks, and there was some controversy over the need to buy the A-7 at all. The sale went through because of the A-7’s ability to carry more ordnance further, and the first order for 36 A-7Es and five two-seat TA-7Cs were placed in 1985. As the A-7 production line had closed by that time, these came from ex-US Navy stocks and were refurbished before delivery; the only addition to the aircraft was a Pave Penny laser designator, which allowed the A-7E to drop precision guided weaponry. TA-7Cs were also in short supply, so instead Vought converted five ex-USAF A-7Es to A-7K standard, though these aircraft had a bulged refuelling probe and were designated TA-7K. (The TA-7K retained its boom/plug system, making it a “hermaphrodite.”) The first FIRNAA A-7E entered service in August 1986 with NAS-17, and both it and NAS-18 were fully operational with the Corsair II before the end of the Third World War. The last batch entered service with NAS-19, with the last being delivered in July 1988. These aircraft would provide yeoman service during the First Gulf War.

Though the United States was rapidly retiring the A-7, the FIRNAA decided to keep the aircraft due to its range instead of acquiring more F/A-18 Hornets. Because of its lack of speed and the desire to keep the aircraft in service at least until 2005, the FIRNAA commissioned a study to upgrade its Corsair IIs. Vought had gone out of business by this time (1993), but the A-7F study was resurrected and the contract given to Predator Propulsion. Initially designated A-7P (for Predator Propulsion, but dropped due to confusion with the Portuguese A-7Ps) and then A-7S, this upgrade included completely updating the avionics, with a new HUD system, LANTIRN compatibility, the ability to carry the AGM-84 Harpoon and AGM-84E SLAM, and most importantly, the A-7F’s Pratt and Whitney F100 turbofan. Since the A-7S lacked the lengthened fuselage and modified tail of the A-7F, the engine was derated to 24,000 pounds, though the afterburner was retained. This increased the top speed and range of the A-7E, as the F100 was more fuel efficient. The first A-7S flew in July 1994 and entered service in December 1995; by 1996 the entire fleet had been upgraded.

Despite the expense of the upgrade, the A-7S’ career was to be brief. The decision to acquire the F/A-25 Rafale to replace it was made only two years after the A-7S entered service, and it began to be withdrawn from service in 1999. The outbreak of war in Afghanistan and Iraq only delayed withdrawal for a short time, though the A-7S would fly combat missions in what was the Corsair II’s final combat deployment. Both NAS-17 and NAS-18 would convert to the Rafale, while NAS-19 retained it’s A-7s until the squadron’s disbandment in 2004. The last FIRNAA Corsair IIs made a four-ship flypast of Viper Lake IFAAS in August 2004, marking 18 years of faithful service. Eleven A-7s were lost during the aircraft’s career, six in combat during the Third World War and the First Gulf War, and the remainder in accidents; these were replaced from US Navy stocks, making total procurement 52 aircraft.

(Back in the real world...)

Though I prefer 1/144 scale for my own personal models, there is not yet a 1/144 kit of the A-7; Tamiya, however, makes a 1/100 kit. After finding one in Indiana in 2010, I built it out of the box as a standard A-7E. I used a darker gunship gray over medium gray color scheme (which would probably be unworkable for carrier operations in real life). I used kit decals, but the tailcodes and crocodile tail motif were hand-painted. It is armed with 12 Mk 82 750-pound bombs and two AIM-9B Sidewinders, which were not as difficult to put on as I had originally thought.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

Some background:

The Ling-Temco-Vought A-7 Corsair II was a carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft introduced to replace the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. The A-7 airframe design was based on the successful supersonic Vought F-8 Crusader, although it was somewhat smaller and rounded off. The Corsair II initially entered service with the United States Navy during the Vietnam War. It was later adopted by the United States Air Force, including the Air National Guard, to replace the Douglas A-1 Skyraider and North American F-100 Super Sabre. The aircraft was also exported to several foreign countries, including Greece, Portugal, Thailand and New Zealand.

In 1999, the National Government selected an order of 28 F-16A/B Fighting Falcon aircraft to replace the complete fleet of A-4 Skyhawks and A-7 Corsair IIs, but this procurement plan was cancelled in 2001 following election by the incoming Labour Government under Helen Clark. This was followed by the disbanding of several fixed wing aircraft squadrons, with the consequence of removing the RNZAF's air combat capability. The last A-7 flight in RNZAF service took place on 1st of October 2001. Subsequently, most of the RNZAF's fighter pilots left New Zealand to serve in the Royal Australian Air Force and the Royal Air Force.

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Length: 46 ft 2 in (14.06 m)

Wingspan: 38 ft 9 in (11.8 m), 23 ft 9 in (7.24 m) wings folded

Height: 16 ft 1 in (4.9 m)

Wing area: 374.9 sq ft (34.83 m²)

Airfoil: NACA 65A007 root and tip

Empty weight: 19,127 lb (8,676 kg)

Max takeoff weight: 41,998 lb (19,050 kg) overload condition.

Fuel capacity: 1,338 US gal (5,060 l; 1,114 imp gal) (10,200 lb (4,600 kg)) internal

Powerplant:

1 × Allison TF41-A-2 non-afterburning turbofan engine, 15,000 lbf (66.7 kN) thrust

Performance:

Maximum speed: 600 kn (690 mph; 1,111 km/h) at Sea level

Range: 1,070 nmi; 1,231 mi (1,981 km) maximum internal fuel

Ferry range: 1,342 nmi; 1,544 mi (2,485 km) with maximum internal and external fuel

Service ceiling: 42,000 ft (13,000 m)

Wing loading: 77.4 lb/sq ft (378 kg/m²)

Thrust/weight: 0.50

Take-off run: 1,705 ft (519.7 m) at 42,000 lb (19,000 kg)

Armament:

1× M61A1 Vulcan 20 mm (0.787 in) rotary cannon with 1,030 rounds

6× under-wing and 2× fuselage pylon stations (for mounting AIM-9 Sidewinder AAMs only)

with a total ordnance capacity of 15,000 lb (6,803.9 kg)

The kit and its assembly:

An idea that had been lingering on my project list for some years, and a recent build of an RNZAF A-7 by fellow modeler KiwiZac at whatifmodelers.com eventually triggered this build, a rather simple alternative livery whif. I had this idea on the agenda for some time, though, already written up a background story (which was accidently deleted early last year and sent the project into hiatus - until now) and had the kit as well as decals collected and stashed away.

The basis is the Hobby Boss A-7, which is available in a wide range of variant in 1:72 scale. Not cheap, but IMHO the best Corsair II kit at the moment, because it is full of ample surface details, goes together nicely and features a complete air intake, a good cockpit tub and even some maintenance covers that can be displayed in open position, in case you want to integrate the kit in a diorama. In my case it’s the A-7E kit, because I wanted a late variant and the US Navy’s refueling probe instead of the A-7D’s dorsal adapter for the USAF refueling boom system.

For the fictional RNZAF A-7N no fundamental changes were made. I just deliberately used OOB parts like the A-7D’s Pave Penny laser targeting pod under the air intake. As a personal addition I lowered the flaps slightly for a more lively look. Around the hull, some blade antennae were changed or added, and I installed the pair of pitots in front of the windscreen (made from thin wire).

The FLIR pod came with the kit, as well as the drop tank under the inner starboards wing pylon and the AIM-9Bs. Only the GBU-8s were externally sourced, from one of the Hasegawa USAF ordnance sets.

For the finalized kit on display I mounted the maintenance covers in open position, but for the beauty pics they were provisionally placed in closed position onto the kit’s flanks. The covers had to be modified for this stunt, but since their fit is very good and tight they easily stayed in place, even for the flight scenes!

Painting and markings:

This was the more interesting part – I wanted „something special“ for the fictional RNZAF Corsair II. Upon delivery, the USAF SEA scheme would certainly have been the most appropriate camouflage – the A-4K’s were painted this way and the aforementioned inspiring build by KiwiZac was finished this way.

Anyway, my plan had been from the start a machine in late service with low-viz markings similar to the A-4Ks, which received an attractive three-tone wrap-around scheme (in FS 34102, 34079 and 36081) or a simple all-around coat of FS 34079.

Both of these schemes could have been a sensible choice for this project, but… no! Too obvious, too simple for my taste. I rather wanted something that makes you wonder and yet make the aircraft look authentic and RNZAF-esque.

While digging for options and alternatives I stumbled upon the RNZAF’s C-130 Hercules transporters, which, like Canadian machines, carry a wrap-around scheme in two tones of grey (a light blue grey and a darker tone with a reddish hue) and a deep olive green tone that comes close to Dark Slate Grey, together with low-viz markings. A pretty unique scheme! Not as murky as the late A-4Ks and IMHO also well suited for the naval/coastal environment that the machine would patrol.

I was not able to positively identify the original tones on the CAF and RNZAF Hercs, so I interpreted various aircraft pictures. I settled upon Humbrol 163 (RAF Dark Green) 125 (FS 36118, Gunship Grey) and Revell 57 (RAL 7000, similar to FS 35237, but lighter and “colder”). For the wraparound scheme I used the C-130s as benchmark.

The cockpit became Dark Gull Grey (Humbrol 140) while the landing gear and the air intake duct became – behind 5mm of grey around the intake lip - white. The maintenance hatches’ interior was painted with a mix of Humbrol 81 and 38, for a striking zinc chromate primer look.

After a light black ink wash the kit received some panel post-shading for more contrast esp. between the dark colors and a slightly worn and sun-bleached look, since the aircraft would be depicted towards the end of its active service life.

Decals were the most challenging task, though: finding suitable RNZAF roundels is not easy, and I was happy when Xtradecal released an appropriate sheet that offers kiwi roundels for all positions (since motifs for port and starboard have to be mirrored). The Kiwi squadron emblem actually belongs to an RNZAF A-4K (from an Old Models sheet). The serial codes were puzzled together from single letter (TL Modellbau), most stencils come from the Hobby Boss OOB sheet.

A simple build, yet a very interesting topic and in the end also an IMHO very cool-looking aircraft in its fictional livery. Building the Hobby Boss A-7 was easy, despite some inherent flaws of the kit (e .g. totally blank dashboard and side consoles, and even no decals included!). The paint scheme lent from the RNZAF Hercs suits the SLUF well, though.

They look like good fishing lures

This large turkey was taken by a 23-year Army veteran, during one of the guided SRS hunts. John Barnes of DOE successfully used his turkey calling skills to bring the bird within range.

By: James Therrell, Materials Disposition Engineering, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions

© ESA-CNES-ARIANESPACE

Some background:

The MBR-04 series were the first combat-ready Destroids and the most successful land-combat weapon Destroids that were built with OverTechnology of Macross. The abbreviation MBR (Main Battle Robot) indicates the model was developed as a walking humanoid weapon emphasizing the heavy armor firepower of an artillery combat vehicle, designed to replace mainline battle tanks. The Type 04 series was developed jointly by Viggers and Chrauler. Unlike the variable fighters, which had to be designed to accommodate transformation mechanisms, the MBR series featured a structure with a large capacity that allowed plenty of room for machinery and armor.

A short-range sub-variant, under the project handle "Cheyenne", was developed in 2010, too, but it was only produced in small number for evaluation purposes. It was based on the Defender's structure, but it carried a different armament, consisting of a pair of 37 mm six-barrel gatling guns plus AMM-1 missiles, and a more clutter-resistant radar system against fast and low-flying targets. The Cheyenne was intended as a complementary aerial defense unit, but the results from field tests were not convincing, so that the project was mothballed. However, in 2012 the concept was developed further into the ADR-04-Mk.XI "Manticore", which was fully tailored to the short-range defense role.

General characteristics:

Equipment Type: aerial defense robot, series 04

Government: U.N. Spacy

Manufacturer: Viggers/Chrauler

Introduction: March 2009

Accommodation: 1 pilot

Dimensions:

Height 11.37 meters (overall)

10.73 meters (w/o surveillance radar antenna)

Length 4.48 meters (hull only)

7.85 meters (guns forward)

Width 8.6 meters

Mass: 27.1 metric tons

Power Plant:

Kranss-Maffai MT828 thermonuclear reactor, output rated at 2800 shp;

plus an auxiliary GE EM10T fuel power generator, output rated at 510 kW

Propulsion:

2x thrust nozzles mounted in the lower back region, allowing the capability to perform jumps,

plus several vernier nozzles around the hull for Zero-G manoeuvers

Performance:

Max. walking speed: 72 kph when fully loaded

Design features:

- Detachable weapons bay (attaches to the main body via two main locks);

- Type 966 PFG Contraves radar and fire control set (a.k.a. Contraves II)

with respective heat exchanger on the upper back

- Rotating surveillance antenna for full 360° air space coverage

- Optical sensor unit equipped with four camera eyes, moving along a vertical slit,

protected by a polarized light shield;

- Capable of performing Zero-G manoeuvers via 16 x thrust nozzles (mounted around the hull);

- Reactor radiator with exhaust ports in the rear;

- Cockpit can be separated from the body in an emergency (only the cockpit block is recovered);

- Option pack featuring missiles or enlarged ammunition bays;

Armament:

2x Erlikon 78mm liquid-cooled high-speed 2-barrel automatic cannon with 200 rounds each,

mounted as arms

The kit and its assembly:

A kind of nostalgia trip, because my first ever mecha kit I bought and built in the Eighties was this 1:100 Destroid Defender! It still exists, even though only as a re-built model, and I thought that it was about time to build another, “better” one, to complete my collection of canonical Macross Destroids.

With this objective, the vintage kit was built basically OOB, just with some detail enhancements. The biggest structural change is a new hip joint arrangement, made from steel wire. It allows a more or less flexible 3D posture of the legs, for a more dynamic “walking” pose, and the resulting gaps were filled with paper tissue drenched in white glue and acrylic paint.

A more cosmetic change concerns the Defender’s optical sensor array on its “head”. OOB it just consists of a wide “slit” with a square window – very basic, but that’s how the defender is depicted in the TV series. However, I have a Macross artbook with original design sketches from Studio Nue, which reveal more details of this arrangement, and these include a kind of louvre that covers the mobile sensor array’s guide rails, and the sensor array itself consists of several smaller optical units – the relatively new 1:72 Defender from WAVE features these details, too, but the old 1:72 Defender from Arii (and later Bandai) also only has a red box, even though under a clear cover, which is IMHO dubious, though. The louvres were created from hemispherical styrene profile bits, the sensor array was scratched with a front wheel from an 1:100 VF-1 and more styrene bits.

The guns/arms were taken OOB, but I reduced the opening at the shoulder (and with it the angle the arms can be swiveled) with styrene profile material, which also hides the foo fit of the shoulder halves that hold the guns and a reinforcement styrene plate inside of them.

While I could have enlarged the ammunition boxes on the Defender’s shoulders (they are extended backwards), I left them in the original and OOB configuration. Another hull mod I eventually did not carry out were clear replacements for the molded searchlights. Having some visible depth and true clear covers would have been nice, but then I doubted the benefits vs. the mess their integration into the body would mean, so that I went for a simple paint solution (see below).

A final cosmetic modification tried to improve the look of the shanks – but it did not help much. On the Defender, there are two continuous ridges that run across the lower legs. This is a molding simplification and wrong because the Defender (and all other 04-Series chassis’) only features the ends of the ridges.

I tried to sand the inner sections away, but upon gluing the parts finally together I realized that the fit of these parts is abysmal, and PSRing on the resulting concave surface between the leftover humps was a nightmare. Did not work well, and it looks poor.

With this in mind, a general word about the Arii 1:100 Destroids with the Series 04 chassis: there are three kits (Defender, Tomahawk and Phalanx), and you’d expect that these used the same lower body just with different torsos. But that’s not the case – they are all different, and the Defender is certainly the worst version, with its odd “toe” construction, the continuous ridges and the horrible fit of the lower leg halves as well as the shoulders that hold the stub arms. The Tomahawk is better, but also challenging, and IMHO, when you are only looking for the lower body section, the Phalanx is the best kit or the trio.

Painting and markings:

This Defender was supposed to remain canonical and close to the OOB finish, so this became a simple affair.

All Macross Destroids tend to carry a uniform livery, and esp. the Tomahawk/Defender/Phalanx family is kept in murky/dull tones of green, brown and ochre: unpretentious "mud movers".

The Defender appears to carry an overall olive drab livery, and I settled on RAL 7008 (Khakigrau), which is - according to the RAL color list - supposed to be a shade of grey, but it comes out as a dull, yellowish green-brown.

This tone was applied overall from a rattle can, and the few contrast sections like the ammunition boxes or the dust guards of the knee joints were painted with NATO olive green (RAL 6014, Gelboliv, Revell 46). The hull was later treated with Modelmaster Olive Drab (FS 34087), which adds a more greenish hue to the basic paint.

The kit received a thorough black ink washing, then some dry-brushing with Humbrol 72 (Khaki Drill) was applied. The decals came next, taken from the OOB sheet, plus four decals for those vernier thrusters that had not been molded into the kit’s surface. The only change is a different piece of “nose art” on the left leg, replacing the original, rather small decal. It actually belongs to a Czech AF MiG-21MF (one of the two famous Fishbeds from Pardubice in 1989, aircraft “1114”) and filled the bumpy area over the lower leg’s seam (see above) well – a kind of visual distraction from the PSR mess underneath...

Finally, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish, its major sub-assemblies put together. The optical sensors received lenses with clear paint over a silver base. The large searchlights were painted, too, with a silver base plus white and clear blue reflections on top, covered with a generous coat of Humbrol’s Clearfix to mimic a clear, glossy cover.

After final assembly, some mineral pigments were dusted onto the model’s lower areas with a soft, big brush.

I knew that the Defender was trouble, but esp. the legs turned out to be horrible to build. However, the small cosmetic changes really improve the model’s look, and I am quite happy with the result.

Day 2 of 2

Taught course by Frances Scott of EPOC Training Solutions (held at EMBL-EBI, Feb 2014)

Only specialist companies such as Kevala Stairs can successfully produce magnificent glass stairs which add glamour and exclusivity to any interior.

Kevala Stairs design team help and guide clients through the development process of beautiful contemporary glass stairs. Style and shape are developed in accordance with the design brief or project requirements.

Designing and manufacturing glass staircases can be a challenging task compared to the use of more conventional materials. Its unique properties need to be taken into consideration both to produce superior quality, and to exploit its unique possibilities.

Special architectural glass is used for glass stairs production. Processes such as chemical treatment, tempering and lamination ensure the integrity and safety of each glass staircase.

Only glass lets natural light to penetrate through the stair treads and balustrades allowing the soft illumination of the surrounding interior.

The marvel of engineering, the beautiful ice-like sculpture simply draws and the climb must be experienced. The levitation effect, the urge of holding on to something “solid” and the butterflies in the stomach combine with the admiration of clever engineering and excitement of being entertained.

Feature glass staircases, often spanning across several floors, are increasingly incorporated in to many interiors. Whether commercial, industrial or residential they add a clean and contemporary feel.

Despite its seemingly fragile and delicate nature, the use of glass in architecture and interior is rising.

The flight of the Double Eagle II balloon came to a safe and successful end in a wheat field near Miserey, France, about sixty miles northwest of Paris, on August 17, 1978. The event closed a chapter in the history of flight that had begun when the first human beings ventured aloft in 1783. At long last, a crew of balloonists had crossed the Atlantic Ocean.

In 1844, the American writer Edgar Allen Poe had captured the attention of the public with his "Balloon Hoax," an article in the New York Sun claiming that balloonist Monck Mason had flown the Atlantic. The earliest-known serious attempt at a crossing came in 1873, when the well-known Civil War balloonist John Wise, sponsored by the newspaper Daily Graphic, took off from New York City but was forced down by a storm over the Catskills. The old dream was reborn in the 1970s, as a new generation of aeronauts sought fresh challenges. Flying a balloon across the ocean was not something to be undertaken lightly, however. Before the success of Double Eagle II, seventeen attempts had been made to cross the Atlantic by balloon with the loss of seven lives.

Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson, and Larry Newman, all of Albuquerque, New Mexico, made the 3,100-mile flight from Presque Isle, Maine, to Miserey in 137 hours, 6 minutes. Lift-off had been at 8 42 p m on August 11. Their helium-filled balloon, the Double Eagle II, was 112 feet high, 65 feet in diameter, and had a capacity of 160,000 cubic feet. Abruzzo, Anderson, and Newman rode in a 15 x 7 x 4 1/2-foot gondola named The Spirit of Albuquerque, equipped with a twin-hulled catamaran that would float in case of an emergency water landing. Also carried along by Newman, a hang-glider pilot and owner of a hang-glider manufacturing company, was a glider which was attached to the gondola with the idea of using it for the descent at the end of the flight. It had to be cast off to lighten the balloon, however, before the crew reached their goal.

The most recent attempt before that of the Double Eagle II was in July 1978 by two Englishmen who took off from Saint John's, Newfoundland. They fell short of their goal, Brest, France, by only 103 miles. Abruzzo and Anderson themselves had made an attempt in September 1977, but were forced down by bad weather off the coast of Iceland. Their balloon for that try was the Double Eagle.

The Double Eagle II was constructed by Ed Yost of Tea, South Dakota, who had himself made a trans-Atlantic attempt in 1976. The gondola was equipped with computers for navigation and radio gear for communication with land monitoring stations. It carried a VHF radio, two single sideband HF radios, an ADF beacon transmitter, an amateur band radio, a maritime radio, and a hookup to the Nimbus 6 satellite, which transmitted their latitude and longitude to Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.

Officially, the Atlantic crossing was attained at 10:02 p.m. on August 16, when the Double Eagle II crossed the Irish coast. But the goal of the three pilots was le Bourget airfield near Paris, where Lindbergh had landed. However, late in the afternoon of the 17th, with ballast low and daylight fading, the pilots reached the decision to land in the French province of Normandy. Thus at 7:48 p.m. they came down in a wheat field near Miserey and were immediately surrounded by crowds who had been following the balloon's path.

During the crossing, the altitude of the Double Eagle II had varied from a heart-stopping low point of 3,500 feet on August 13 when clouds screened the sun and cooled the gas, causing the balloon to sink, to a high point of 24,950 feet on August 16.

The success of the Double Eagle II, after so many others had failed, was not simply a matter of luck. It can be attributed to a combination of twentieth-century technology, better understanding of weather patterns, and the skill and experience of a crew who achieved one of the oldest goals in flying.

Mo's Story

When Mohava Marie Niemi, Newport’s crusty, big hearted chain smoking mother died in 1992 at the age of 79, she left behind much more than a successful business and a trunk full of colorful anecdotes. Her greatest legacy, perhaps, was the work ethic she instilled in her family, which survives to this day.

Mo’s entry into the business world began in 1940 when she and her father bought the Bay Haven Inn on Newport’s salty waterfront. In 1946 they sold the tavern when Mo joined her friend Freddy Kent, to start a café called “Freddie and Mo’s” (a few years later when Freddie became ill, Mo bought her friend out, thus sealing the legacy of Mo’s.) The newly divorced mother of two growing sons found it necessary to take a second job, so she became an announcer at local radio station KNPT, where she did a neighborhood talk show, a job she kept until the mid-seventies.

Mo married a second time in 1955. Her new husband, Kaino “Dutch” Niemi, was a Finnish fisherman with whom Mo had a happy thirty-six year marriage.

In the early years, it was Dutch’s lucrative fishing venture aboard the F/V Sea Lion III that helped make ends meet at the restaurant. Later, when Dutch turned the wheelhouse over to a younger crew, he could be found every morning at a table in Mo’s commiserating with his old fishing pals, solving the problems of the world and smoking his trademark stogie.

The combination of Mo Niemi’s warm, hospitable personality and many unforgettable events gave the “little joint on the waterfront” its unique charm.

Early one morning a woman returned to her car parked outside the restaurant, put it in drive instead of reverse, and crashed through the front of the café. Mo far from disgruntled, put her arm comfortingly around the woman and said, “Well, we’ll just put in a garage door so you can drive in anytime you want.” To this day, the garage door on the front of the restaurant is raised on nice days and turns Mo’s into an instant sidewalk café.

Mo liked the majority of the people she met, and she did meet many people over the years, including the rich and famous. It was her giving way to come down to the “joint” during the dinner rush and play hostess. She’d see the line of people waiting for a table, then go straight to the cook and say, “Give me a plate of Halibut, and some of those oysters,” which she would then pass out to the hungry people standing in line. “Here,” she’d say, “You’d better try some of these.” In this same way she entertained dignitaries such as Governor Tom McCall, Senator Mark Hatfield, and Representative Les AuCoin. Once news commentator Paul Harvey walked in and asked, “is there a Mo here? I’m supposed to meet her.”

Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Henry Fonda, Lee Remmick and the entire cast and crew of “Sometimes A Great Notion,” the movie made from author Ken Kesey’s novel, became friends of Mo’s while filming in Newport. Mo, herself, was in a scene which took place in the Bay Haven Inn, renamed The Snag in the film.

Senator Robert Kennedy, who came through Newport on his presidential campaign tour in May of 1968, liked the chowder so much he took a couple of buckets with him on the plane and even invited Mo to join them for the trip to Los Angeles. She politely declined, and then bitterly regretted her decision. Shortly thereafter Kennedy was shot to death after a campaign speech at the Ambassador Hotel.

The summer of 1968 also earmarked the opening of Mo’s Annex, sister to Original Mo’s, across the street and overlooking Yaquina Bay. Four years later in 1972, Mo’s West at Devil’s Punchbowl in Otter Rock opened.

By the mid-seventies, Mo was taking a less active role in the chowder business and was beginning to leave the nuts and bolts of management to her granddaughter, Cindy McEntee, who had been working in and around the restaurant since grade school. About this time the idea of packaging chowder base and selling it frozen to retail outlets was born. Today not only can you buy the frozen base in many grocery stores, you can also order Mo’s fresh clam chowder base on-line, to be shipped anywhere in the continental U.S.

Since the early days, the atmosphere of Mo’s has remained unchanged. Only the two stories of chowder factory, packing and shipping facilities added to the rear give a hint to the widespread popularity and demand for Mo’s Clam Chowder. The Chowder Factory produces about 500,000 pounds of clam chowder a year, some packaged and shipped to grocery stores and the rest delivered fresh to all the Mo’s Restaurants.

In the late seventies and early eighties, Mo’s expanded to Lincoln city overlooking Siletz Bay, Florence on the Siuslaw River and Cannon Beach with its ocean view.

Mo and her restaurants have been and continue to be written up in dozens of newspapers and magazines around the United States. In 1999 Mo’s Clam Chowder was a featured entrée at the first luncheon ever held in the Smithsonian Institute, which celebrated “Best American Regional Foods.”

She was very proud of the notoriety, but most of all grateful for the restaurants’ popularity, and she gave back graciously to her community. Mo gave of herself completely, promoting “Newport the Friendliest,” with her time, energy and money. That legacy continues to this day in her granddaughter Cindy McEntee. For her “outstanding development of her business and her contributions to the community” Cindy was awarded the 2001 1st runner up, National Small Business Person of the Year from President George W. Bush.

Cindy continues to run the business today along with the help of her daughter Gabrielle and son Dylan. In January of 2005 Cindy published a book, Mo’s On The Waterfront, Tradition Turned Legend to honor the life of her beloved grandmother and to celebrate the business she created over 55 years ago.

A trip to the Oregon Coast is not complete without a stop at Mo’s. We look Forward to serving you!

for more www.moschowder.com/index.php

Technicians send and monitor a series of commands to the James Webb Space Telescope that are designed to mimic how it will function in space. Tests like these help to assess the overall health of the observatory, while also ensuring that two halves of the observatory that have been temporarily connected with ground harnesses are ready for final assembly next year.

Read more: www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/both-halves-of-nasa-s-w...

Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn

NASA Image Use Policy

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Only by for Austria successful outcome of Ottoman wars in Europe the conditions were given to turn the old Hofburg, which until now was more fortress than imperial residence, into a befitting palace of a powerful dynasty. When Emperor Charles VI in 1711 succeeded to the throne, stood along the Schaufler alley until St. Michael's square yet the old two-story Chancellery Wing from the time of Ferdinand I. It was significantly lower than the Amalien wing and the Leopoldine wing, bordering the Interior Castle courtyard on the southwest and the southeast side. Between the Chancellery Wing and the Swiss courtyard there was a by Daniel Suttinger created Gate construction. In its place erected Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt in 1712 the so-called Carolingian Triumphal Arch but which was as well demolished in 1728 because now they had laid the foundation for a much more representative Chancellery Wing and in 1723 started the construction work. Hildebrandt's plans provided the unification of the entire inner castle but failed in the end due to the immense cost. 1726 he had to cede construction management to in the meantime appointed Court architect Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach. This one let the already finished construction at Schaufler alley remain but put in front of it the splendid late baroque wing at the courtyard side. Fischer too could due to lack of sufficient liquid funds of the Imperial family his ideas which comprehended also the entire castle not fully realize. Work came to a halt in 1735 and was finally discontinued. The St. Michael's gate was only from 1888 after the demolition of the old Hofburg theater finished.

Herakles of Mattielli

In Chancellery wing were until 1806 when Emperor Franz II/I resigned the Roman-German Imperial Crown the central offices of the administration of the Holy Roman Empire housed. This included especially as the most important Imperial authority the Aulic Councel. 1810 lived here the French ambassador Berthier, when he, on behalf of Napoleon, asked for the hand of Maria Louise, the daughter of Francis I. At the time of the Vienna Congress in some rooms of the Imperial Chancellery Wing was housed the king of Bavaria. 1848 served archduke Johann a suite of rooms as an apartment. In the summer of this year, he received in Great Audience Hall a delegation from Frankfurt Imperial Diet, offering him the dignity of a "German Imperial Regent". A few years later the rooms were renovated, refurbished and converted into apartments for the Imperial family. Traditionally, no Austrian Emperor has taken over the apartment of his predecessor. Franz Joseph moved into his apartment in 1857, three years after his marriage, and lived there until his death in 1916. The apartment of his wife Elisabeth was in the neighboring Amalien wing. Today, the Imperial Apartments as well as the recently opened Sisi Museum and the former Court Silver and Table Room can be visited. The latter is dedicated to the culture of courtly household and the court ceremonial.

While the front is not very spectacular in Schaufler alley, turns the five-story face side of the Imperial Chancellery Wing towards the interior courtyard. This one served till the 16th century as a tournament court. In 1561 issued Thurnierbuch (tournament book) is yet of tournaments of the future Emperor Maximilian II reported which this one had held here in June of last year. In the 17th century but here no more tournaments took place but mounted tournaments, as the then popular horse ballet. The long facade facing the courtyard is accented by three only little projecting risalits with portals and balconies (1727/29) and divided by giant pilasters. The design of the façade is already reminiscent of the design language of French classicism. Franz Joseph and Elisabeth got through the Imperor's gate in central projection to their rooms on the first floor. The leading upwards Emperor's stairway has a magnificent stucco marble equipment and is decorated with gilted bronze vases. But it is hardly ever used. Today's visitor entrance to the Imperial Apartments is located beneath the dome of St. Michael's gate. The five windows above the Emperor's gate are preceded by a long balcony which rests on strong consoles. On the attic of the central projection is attached the huge blazon of Emperor Charles VI with the double-headed eagle. It is overtopped by the German imperial crown and surrounded by a golden chain with the Golden Fleece. Flanked is it by two, carrying trumpets genii. Beside the portals of the side projections stand each two sandstone sculptures of Lorenzo Mattielli. They show the deeds of Hercules. On the ground floor were housed until 1918 various court offices, as the Chamber for payments of the Court, the House, Court and State Archives (until 1902) and the Control office of the Court. In the premises of once Imperial linen room was from 1921 to 1987 the Vienna tapestry manufacture whose leading products have been exported throughout the world.

Study of Franz Joseph

Additionally to the living quarters of the Emperor - those of the Empress were in neighboring Amalien wing - belongs to the Imperial Apartments the Guard room where the bodyguards were on sentry duty but most of all the large Audience waiting room and the Audience chamber, where the Emperor, standing at his desk, used to receive his visitors individually. Under Maria Theresa, took place the deliberations of the Imperial, Court and State Councils of the former Imperial Chancellery in Audience waiting room. Unfortunately, this beautiful, decorated in white, red and gold hall was similarly to fairy-tale grotto recently equipped with figurines in the national costume of the individual crown lands in order to document that here waited people from all walks of life and from all provinces of the country for an audience. During his long reign, there were at least more than 250,000. In this room, hang large, many-figured murals (1832) of Biedermeier painter Peter Krafft, showing scenes from the life of Emperor Franz I. From the ceiling hangs a eighty-flammy Bohemian crystal chandelier still dating from the time of Maria Theresa. The originally fitted with candles chandelier of the Imperial apartments were in 1891 electrified. The ornate pottery kilns partly still stem from the 18th century. They were heated externally via the situated behind the rooms heating passage with wood. In the equipment of his private rooms the personal modesty of the emperor is reflected. Unlike his wife, he had not even running water injected. Noteworthy is also the simple iron military bed that served him for decades as a place to sleep. His office, in which he most of the time was yet active from six o'clock in the morning is adorned with numerous photos and paintings of his family. Here hangs also a famous portrait of the Empress by Franz Xaver Winterhalter. The equipment of the 22 official and residential premises of Emperor Franz Joseph and his wife Elisabeth, which today can be visited as Imperial Apartments, stems from several eras: from late Baroque to Rococo and the Empire to the 19th century neo-Baroque. These include also the four rooms of Stephan's apartment which is named after Archduke Stephan Viktor. The former theater corridor which enabled a direct connection to the old Hofburg Theater is walled off today.

www.burgen-austria.com/archive.php?id=512

Five years ago several random areas on the mountains were fenced in order to find out if the land which was completely barren by grazing was able to give birth to vegetation again. The results are obvious. In spite the dry and warm Ikarian summers and the fact that the fences were sometimes purposefully broken to let goats in, nature won the bet. The land which appeared to be just rocks, grew first small thorny bushes, then heather, then the other sturdy plants that concise the Mediterranean mountain macchia. Where were they? Where have the seeds come from? Only the few Oregon pines (seen in the distance) were planted by volunteers. The rest is nature's own work.

Photo taken during the exploration of Cape Papas in Ikaria. Read the whole story in our blog (in Greek): Εξερευνώντας το Ακρωτήριο Πάπας.

© Ορειβατικός Σύλλογος Ικαρίας

2013 World Water Week.

Tuesday, September 3.

Africa Focus: Cooperation and Hydro-Diplomacy - Successful Approaches to Optimise Transboundary Water Management, K2.

Photo: Mikael Ullén.

Successful parachute test today at U.S. Army Yuma Proving ground in Arizona. This is the second test in a series of eight that will certify Orion's parachutes for human space flight.

successfully landed the stage one on a barge in the ocean moments later - usually the smoke/contrail goes up but this rocket was heading east to the atlantic--which is seven miles from where I was standing

Mo's Story

When Mohava Marie Niemi, Newport’s crusty, big hearted chain smoking mother died in 1992 at the age of 79, she left behind much more than a successful business and a trunk full of colorful anecdotes. Her greatest legacy, perhaps, was the work ethic she instilled in her family, which survives to this day.

Mo’s entry into the business world began in 1940 when she and her father bought the Bay Haven Inn on Newport’s salty waterfront. In 1946 they sold the tavern when Mo joined her friend Freddy Kent, to start a café called “Freddie and Mo’s” (a few years later when Freddie became ill, Mo bought her friend out, thus sealing the legacy of Mo’s.) The newly divorced mother of two growing sons found it necessary to take a second job, so she became an announcer at local radio station KNPT, where she did a neighborhood talk show, a job she kept until the mid-seventies.

Mo married a second time in 1955. Her new husband, Kaino “Dutch” Niemi, was a Finnish fisherman with whom Mo had a happy thirty-six year marriage.

In the early years, it was Dutch’s lucrative fishing venture aboard the F/V Sea Lion III that helped make ends meet at the restaurant. Later, when Dutch turned the wheelhouse over to a younger crew, he could be found every morning at a table in Mo’s commiserating with his old fishing pals, solving the problems of the world and smoking his trademark stogie.

The combination of Mo Niemi’s warm, hospitable personality and many unforgettable events gave the “little joint on the waterfront” its unique charm.

Early one morning a woman returned to her car parked outside the restaurant, put it in drive instead of reverse, and crashed through the front of the café. Mo far from disgruntled, put her arm comfortingly around the woman and said, “Well, we’ll just put in a garage door so you can drive in anytime you want.” To this day, the garage door on the front of the restaurant is raised on nice days and turns Mo’s into an instant sidewalk café.

Mo liked the majority of the people she met, and she did meet many people over the years, including the rich and famous. It was her giving way to come down to the “joint” during the dinner rush and play hostess. She’d see the line of people waiting for a table, then go straight to the cook and say, “Give me a plate of Halibut, and some of those oysters,” which she would then pass out to the hungry people standing in line. “Here,” she’d say, “You’d better try some of these.” In this same way she entertained dignitaries such as Governor Tom McCall, Senator Mark Hatfield, and Representative Les AuCoin. Once news commentator Paul Harvey walked in and asked, “is there a Mo here? I’m supposed to meet her.”

Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Henry Fonda, Lee Remmick and the entire cast and crew of “Sometimes A Great Notion,” the movie made from author Ken Kesey’s novel, became friends of Mo’s while filming in Newport. Mo, herself, was in a scene which took place in the Bay Haven Inn, renamed The Snag in the film.

Senator Robert Kennedy, who came through Newport on his presidential campaign tour in May of 1968, liked the chowder so much he took a couple of buckets with him on the plane and even invited Mo to join them for the trip to Los Angeles. She politely declined, and then bitterly regretted her decision. Shortly thereafter Kennedy was shot to death after a campaign speech at the Ambassador Hotel.

The summer of 1968 also earmarked the opening of Mo’s Annex, sister to Original Mo’s, across the street and overlooking Yaquina Bay. Four years later in 1972, Mo’s West at Devil’s Punchbowl in Otter Rock opened.

By the mid-seventies, Mo was taking a less active role in the chowder business and was beginning to leave the nuts and bolts of management to her granddaughter, Cindy McEntee, who had been working in and around the restaurant since grade school. About this time the idea of packaging chowder base and selling it frozen to retail outlets was born. Today not only can you buy the frozen base in many grocery stores, you can also order Mo’s fresh clam chowder base on-line, to be shipped anywhere in the continental U.S.

Since the early days, the atmosphere of Mo’s has remained unchanged. Only the two stories of chowder factory, packing and shipping facilities added to the rear give a hint to the widespread popularity and demand for Mo’s Clam Chowder. The Chowder Factory produces about 500,000 pounds of clam chowder a year, some packaged and shipped to grocery stores and the rest delivered fresh to all the Mo’s Restaurants.

In the late seventies and early eighties, Mo’s expanded to Lincoln city overlooking Siletz Bay, Florence on the Siuslaw River and Cannon Beach with its ocean view.

Mo and her restaurants have been and continue to be written up in dozens of newspapers and magazines around the United States. In 1999 Mo’s Clam Chowder was a featured entrée at the first luncheon ever held in the Smithsonian Institute, which celebrated “Best American Regional Foods.”

She was very proud of the notoriety, but most of all grateful for the restaurants’ popularity, and she gave back graciously to her community. Mo gave of herself completely, promoting “Newport the Friendliest,” with her time, energy and money. That legacy continues to this day in her granddaughter Cindy McEntee. For her “outstanding development of her business and her contributions to the community” Cindy was awarded the 2001 1st runner up, National Small Business Person of the Year from President George W. Bush.

Cindy continues to run the business today along with the help of her daughter Gabrielle and son Dylan. In January of 2005 Cindy published a book, Mo’s On The Waterfront, Tradition Turned Legend to honor the life of her beloved grandmother and to celebrate the business she created over 55 years ago.

A trip to the Oregon Coast is not complete without a stop at Mo’s. We look Forward to serving you!

for more www.moschowder.com/index.php

2013 World Water Week.

Tuesday, September 3.

Africa Focus: Cooperation and Hydro-Diplomacy - Successful Approaches to Optimise Transboundary Water Management, K2.

Photo: Mikael Ullén.

The S2 Packaging project has been long due an overhaul.

The four leaf clover package is looking a bit tired so we’ve binned it and brought in a new approach to the visualisation of the package.

The pupils are still taught about graphic composition techniques and apart from the planning stages the whole project is realised using digital skills.

As a department we believe that teaching pupils skills in the graphic industry standard software applications is the correct approach. These skills are entirely transferable and the graphic interface will be familiar to them if they choose to progress in the subject through to tertiary level and beyond. Given the results that S2 pupils can now achieve in S2 it is exciting to imagine what they progress to in S5/6.

The concept here is to design the packaging for a new snack product. Basic layout skills are taught and then pupils progress towards realising their ideas in Adobe Illustrator. Vector skills such as typography, basic Bezier path tools, scaling and colour manipulation are taught at this point. At all times pupils must work from their pre-planned thumbnail planning sketches. Upon completion of the front and back panel of the package in Illustrator the artwork is then rotated, cropped, and saved as two jpegs in Photoshop. Two materials are created in Cinema 4D and the bitmap artwork is now added to the texture channel. The materials are then mapped onto a crisp packet mesh that I created in a pre rigged studio environment and rendered as a high resolution file.

As you can see from the pupil photos everyone was pleased with their results! Jay was heard to say, “That was a pretty good lesson.” I think so too.

The last customer has left and Edith and Persimmon are relaxing with a cup of tea in the garden. They had quite a busy day with many customers. Elouise and Emmett stopped by. And Peonia dashed in and out for some cupcakes ; )