View allAll Photos Tagged web-based
granite boulders on beach
Check out my Profile Page for more information on my images and my website and contact detailsCopyright © 2012 Neal Pritchard PhotographyThis photo may not be used in any form without prior permission. All rights reserved. All images may NOT be used on websites, blogs or in any other form of media print or web based without explicit written permission by Spool Photography
The car will be driven by David Heinemeier Hansson in the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge. While the PNR team is new to IMSA GT3 Cup, the personnel running the operation have decades of successful sports car racing experience. The effort is led by PNR Team Principal Ron Barnaba, winning Team Manager and Crew Chief Tim Olsen, and accomplished Race Engineer Marc Manning. Hansson is also working with top American Porsche driver Patrick Long as his driver coach for the second consecutive year.
The IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama features semi-professional and emerging drivers racing head to head in Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race cars. The series is broken into two classes, with the Platinum Cup class featuring newer and more powerful Porsche GT3s and the Gold Cup class for 2005½ to 2009 specification GT3s.
Following test and practice sessions today and Wednesday, Thursday features IMSA GT3 Cup qualifying at 12:15 p.m. and the first of the week’s two 45-minute sprints at 5:05 p.m. The second sprint race will close the IMSA GT3 Cup’s opening race week at 4:20 p.m. on Friday.
ABOUT 37signals: 37signals specializes in web-based collaboration apps and millions of entrepreneurs, freelancers, small businesses and departments inside big organizations rely on their products Basecamp, Highrise, Backpack and Campfire to increase productivity. 37signals is also behind the popular web-development framework Ruby on Rails – used by Twitter, Groupon and more – and the New York Times best-selling business book “REWORK”
ABOUT PORSCHE NAPLETON RACING (PNR): Porsche Napleton Racing (PNR) is the performance and competition division of the Chicago-area auto dealership Napleton Porsche of Westmont. Although the team joins driver David Heinemeier Hansson in their first full season in the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama in 2011, PNR is an established and full-service racing division and prep shop specializing in amateur and beginner-level competition, on up to entry-level professional racing series. The PNR group is also one of the top teams in the Cayman Interseries, winning several races with Hansson in that championship last year. The performance-focused PNR operation is just one division within Napleton Porsche of Westmont, which is the Ed Napleton Automotive Group’s flagship Porsche dealership.
1. ..., 2. Web based, 3. The magic mirror, 4. Tulipanes en el aire, 5. So Full, 6. Leaving The Dark Mine, 7. Hope, 8. Dancing in the moonlight, 9. Through The Bamboo Grove, 10. 698 Alien, 11. backlit poppy, 12. Untitled, 13. Untitled, 14. Åland 29th November 2009 , 15. :::: Pat :::: Revisited, 16. sine cosine for sonjiag
www.flickr.com/groups/knightandhisprincess/discuss/721576...
Fremantle is home to some of the states best heritage listed buildings
Check out my Profile Page for more information on my images and my website and contact detailsCopyright © 2013 Neal Pritchard PhotographyThis photo may not be used in any form without prior permission. All rights reserved. All images may NOT be used on websites, blogs or in any other form of media print or web based without explicit written permission by Spool Photography
It's very rare that I upload only the one photo a day on Flickr but having been so busy of late, but also because what I do on a daily basis is very much web based there's nothing I love doing most than to sit and read for a total recharge .
tasmanian beach sunset
Check out my Profile Page for more information on my images and my website and contact detailsCopyright © 2012 Neal Pritchard PhotographyThis photo may not be used in any form without prior permission. All rights reserved. All images may NOT be used on websites, blogs or in any other form of media print or web based without explicit written permission by Spool Photography
With summer in full swing here in Western Australia going to the beach is just a part of living here.
The days are gloriously warm and dry and the colours of a West Australian summer really shine ... Nothing like taking a stroll down to the local beach and being greeted by the Colours Of Summer ...
Check out my Profile Page for more information on my images and my website and contact detailsCopyright © 2012 Neal Pritchard PhotographyThis photo may not be used in any form without prior permission. All rights reserved. All images may NOT be used on websites, blogs or in any other form of media print or web based without explicit written permission by Spool Photography
Named Praça Doutor Souza Junior, this small plaza is dominated by two large Pōhutukawa trees (Metrosideros excelsa). Called Árbol de Hierro in Portuguese, these trees are native to the North Island of New Zealand. They were introduced as ornamental trees in gardens but have become invasive in some areas of the Azores. The tree on the left has characteristic red blooms while the one on the right is a cultivar that has yellow blooms.
It is fitting that a praca in Angra is named for Doutor António Joaquim Souza Junior who led the effort to wipe out the bubonic plague from Terceira and kept it from spreading to the rest of the Azores. He was born on the island in 1871 in Praia de Victória. After going to medical school on the mainland in Porto, he became a professor and later dean at the Medical School at Porto on the Mainland. Besides his medical career, he was also a well known and liked politician serving in City, National and Party offices.
His medical career was long and distiquished. He was a teacher, physician, bacteriologist and leader. In 1902, he participated in the campaign against the bubonic plague on the Mainland and served as Chief Physician of the Hospital do Bonfim. When the plague broke out on Terceica in 1908, he left the university and led the battle on his birth island. Due mainly to his efforts and leadership, the plague was stopped and did not spread to other Islands in the Azores.
During WWI, he again left the University to run a hospital for the army. During the war, he lost his 16-year-old daughter to illness. At the time of her illness, he was unable to leave the front and go home. In 1918, after the war, he returned to university and politics. He returned to the life he has lived before the war. However, it was obvious to friends that the war had changed him. Slowly, he was overcome with depression. In 1928, he decided to leave the university again to get some rest. A friend had a home in Porto Martins on east shore of the island of Terceira. He fixed it up, and opened a store. He spent the next 10 years of his life selling goods, and being a doctor to the people who lived in this town, without running water, electricity, or paved streets. He returned to Porto on the mainland shortly before he died on July 6, 1938. In Terceira, he will always be remembered as a native son who saved the island from the plague and loved the people of the Island.
References:
Pōhutukawa:
kids.kiddle.co/Metrosideros_excelsa
azoresbioportal.uac.pt/es/especies-de-las-azores/metrosid...
Doutor Souza Junior:
portodaspipas.blogs.sapo.pt/1281229.html
ruascomhistoria.wordpress.com/2022/04/04/quem-foi-quem-na...
pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/António_de_Sousa_Júnior
sigarra.up.pt/up/en/web_base.gera_pagina?p_pagina=antigos estudantes ilustres - antónio joaquim de sousa júnior
This is a building in Detroit, shot during an art event when imagery was projected onto it.
I placed it diagonally on black.
DLECTRICITY 2012 Installation, Artist: NBNY.
Nuit Blanche New York (NBNY) presents a curated collaborative response by artists, writers, architects, and urbanists to the multitude of visions of the new city. Through a unique online visual platform, participants in New York and Detroit visually interpreted a glossary of writing about Detroit as a collage of moving images, photographs and illustrations. These works have been facilitated by NBNY using an innovative new tool, ToBe– a web-based interface that allows users to collage media in a canvas where they can draw and modify a shared palette of shifting content. Juxtaposing outsiders and locals, the project takes inspiration from How to Recuperate an Urban Crisis, Andrew Herscher’s important new glossary of urban figurations on Detroit. “ToBe Detroit” illustrates the complication and conflict of perception and offers a platform for visual dialog as a means to explore community across geographic boundaries.
NY contributors include: Urtzi Grau, Cristina Goberna, Canyon Castator, Karen Wong, Cassim Shepard, Troy Conrad Theiren, Pedro Gadanho
Detroit contributors include: M Saffell Gardner, Dianetta Dye, Olayami Dabls, Brandon Walley, Glen Mannisto, Vince Carducci, Cedric Tai, Mo Will, Daniel Sperry
www.dlectricity.com/the-exhibition/projects/23-garfield-l...
The Totality of Reality up to October 6, 2012
Well that is a dilemma indeed.
On the one hand today is the fabulously talented Ge's birthday and it's Pretty Pink Tuesday : Pink Party theme .
2 great reasons to party .......Happy Birthday Ge!!!!!
The story behind this photo:
As you can see it was taken back around New Years. I was playing around with textures and layers, and must have been making something I thought I'd use for a PPT theme back then, but never did. I used the plastic bag from my newspaper as a background, purposely including the recycling logo and the name of the newspaper the Seattle PI.
Little did I know that on Jan 9th it would be announced that the paper would be put up for sale!
SO in light of all this, and the fact that the 60 day deadline has arrived, it looks like the paper will go to web based only. I wonder how many other newspapers will follow suit?
Yet another thing changing in our computer based society.
More info about the paper below.
Texture from Angelique(Liek)
Explore Mar 10 2009 #249
A wrecking yard (Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian English), scrapyard (Irish and British English) or junkyard (American English) is the location of a business in dismantling where wrecked or decommissioned vehicles are brought, their usable parts are sold for use in operating vehicles, while the unusable metal parts, known as scrap metal parts, are sold to metal-recycling companies.
Other terms include wreck yard, wrecker's yard, salvage yard, breakers yard, dismantler and scrapheap. In the United Kingdom, car salvage yards are known as car breakers, while motorcycle salvage yards are known as bike breakers. In Australia, they are often referred to as 'Wreckers'.
The most common type of wreck yards are automobile wreck yards, but junkyards for motorcycles, bicycles, small airplanes and boats exist too.
Many salvage yards operate on a local level—when an automobile is severely damaged, has malfunctioned beyond repair, or not worth the repair, the owner may sell it to a junkyard; in some cases—as when the car has become disabled in a place where derelict cars are not allowed to be left—the car owner will pay the wrecker to haul the car away.
Salvage yards also buy most of the wrecked, derelict and abandoned vehicles that are sold at auction from police impound storage lots,and often buy vehicles from insurance tow yards as well.
The salvage yard will usually tow the vehicle from the location of its purchase to the yard, but occasionally vehicles are driven in. At the salvage yard the automobiles are typically arranged in rows, often stacked on top of one another.
Some yards keep inventories in their offices, as to the usable parts in each car, as well as the car's location in the yard. Many yards have computerized inventory systems. About 75% of any given vehicle can be recycled and used for other goods.
In recent years it is becoming increasingly common to use satellite part finder services to contact multiple salvage yards from a single source.
In the 20th century these were call centres that charged a premium rate for calls and compiled a facsimile that was sent to various salvage yards so they could respond directly if the part was in stock. Many of these are now Web-based with requests for parts being e-mailed instantly.
Wow!
Explored - August 8, 2014 at No 1 - and over 23,000 views in only 1 day!
Thanks for all the comments and faves. You realize this only encourages me.
However, I can only take credit for this post-processing mashup based on a screen grab of an original fantastic image taken by flickrian photographer Tambako the Tiger
epiFlection.epiclectic.com - The Album
Twisted graphic enhancements of mostly found life form images captured from the web-based world, courtesy of the epiPhone camera, Photoshop and the warped mind of the epiclectic.
Disclaimer - If anyone objects to me reprocessing one of their images, please drop me a flickr mail and I will be more than happy to provide a link to your original image - or remove it from my public photo stream.
Call for Images - If you have a photograph you would like to submit for an official epiFlection treatment, send me a flickr mail with a link to your photo. Once posted, you will get credit, a link to your photo, and a great photo for downloading, printing, framing and giving as a wonderful gift to loved ones in your close circle of friends.
A friend running a web based flashlight and LED-/HID - headlight shop asked me to shoot his project.
Putting 11 IPF 930 with a total of 1100 Watts of HID conversion kits on a Nissan Navara Doublecab.
I can tell you that the actual lamps doesn't cost a fraction of the total amount. We're talking a 40A relay to each single light, including a spare to each section of lights. (4 on the roof, 3 in the upper bar of the bullbar and another 4 in the lower bar of the bullbar)
The cable list as follows
12 meters of 50mm2
6 meters of 35mm2
10 meters of 4mm2
25 meters of 2*2,5mm2
3 Optima Yellowtop batteries and it just goes on and on.
Here's some pictures of the 7 SPOTS in the bullbar.
The photos are taken att a landing field at Backamo Flygfält, south of Ljungskile, Sweden. The lenght of the visible light here is aproximately 800 meters, but because of the snowfall and all the moist in the air I would say that the trees, probably 1500 meters away would be well lit up if the conditions were better.
INSANE!!
Cloud-based approaches allow us to chart new dynamic ways to educate and learn that aligns with the way we think, share, study and collaborate within and beyond the classroom.
Plenary Session
9:15-9:30 Welcome
Konstantinos Doukas, CEO Doukas School (Conference Opening)
Konstantinos I. Doukas has been the CEO of Doukas School since 2006. He served as President of the Board of Directors of the Information Society S.A. initiatives between 2004-2010. He holds a diploma in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and an M.S. degree from the Dept. of Communication and Technology in Education, Columbia University (New York, USA). He served as a research assistant at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts (M.I.T.), during the Project Athena. He has coordinated and served as invited speaker in many national and international conferences. He is responsible for a number of Greek and European research projects in the new technologies in Education. A former international athlete of the Greek National Handball team, he still practices on an amateur basis, reaping overall benefits for his professional and personal life.
9:30-9:50 Invited Speaker
Marietta Giannakou, Member of the European Parliament, Head of the Greek European People’s Party Delegation, former Minister of National Education and Religious Affairs
Marietta Giannakou graduated from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Athens, with a specialization in Neurology and Psychiatry. She was a founding member of ONNED (youth segment of the New Democracy, N.D., party). In 1989 she became Head of the EP Delegation of N.D. and a member of the EPP Political Bureau. Between 1990-1991 she served as Minister of Health, Welfare and Social Security. Between 1992-1996, she served as the International Secretary of N.D. In 1992, she became Vice-President of EUCD. Between 1992-2004, she served as the National Coordinator of the European Commission against Drugs. She had the following positions with N.D.: Secretary of International and European Affairs, Member of the Executive Committee, Head of the N.D. Delegation. Member of the European Convention on the Future of Europe, representing the Hellenic
Parliament. Between 2004 – 2007, she served as a Member of the Hellenic Parliament and as Minister of National Education and Religious Affairs. She has been honored by the Republic of Chile for her contribution to the re-establishment of democracy, by the Federal Republic of Germany; by the Republic of Italy; by the European People’s Party, for her contribution as Member of the European Parliament for European integration, by the Republic of Poland, and the Republic of France. . MEP in 1984-1990, 1999-2000. MEP since 2009.
9:50-10:30 Keynote Speakers
Prof. Kostis Koutsopoulos, European Association of Geographers, “SoC: Towards a new education paradigm”
Professor Koutsopoulos was born in Volos, Greece. After completing his B.S. degree at the University of Athens, he got his M.S. and Ph.D. from the Departments of Geography and Civil Engineering. He taught at the University of Iowa until 1980, after which time he was elected as Chair of Geography at the National Technical University of Athens. He has been Director of the Geography and Spatial Analysis Lab, Chairman of the Geography and Regional Planning Department, Director of the Graduate Program “Environment and Development” and Dean of the Rural and Surveying Engineering School. He has organized numerous congresses, meetings and seminars and has participated as keynote speaker, invited speaker, session chair and conveyor in many others. He has presented 155 papers in various meetings; he has published 50 papers in refereed journals, written 61 books and authored 100 other publications. He has been serving in various capacities in scientific and academic boards and associations in Greece and abroad.
Karl Donert, Innovative Learning Network, “Cloud-based Education: the State-of-the-Art”
Karl Donert is a Geographer with a national and international profile, a strong track record in initiating innovative projects, as well as leading major networking activities. He is Director of the European Centre of Excellence: digital-earth.eu and adjunct faculty at the Centre for GeoInformatics at Paris Lödron University, Salzburg. Karl is President of EUROGEO (European Association of Geographers) and a UK National Teaching Fellow. He is a member of the Council of Europe groups on Education & Culture and Landscapes and Climate Change, a former Hon. Vice President of the Geographical Association, a Fellow of Academia Europea, the European scientific and Research Academy, the Royal Canadian Geographical Association and Royal Geographical Society-Institute of British Geographers. He has extensive experience in major educational developments. He was coordinator of the HERODOT Thematic Network for Geography in Higher Education, initiator of the digital-earth network on geo-media and participated in more than 100 other international projects mainly concerned with the innovative uses of ICT and education. He is Director and Chief Executive of Innovative Learning Networks Ltd, a UK company specialising in professional and academic networking, developing research & development partnerships and project management. An inspirational speaker, and a European leader in learning and teaching geography acts as a consultant to many organisations, working in this context to raise the profile and quality of learning and teaching activities and research in geographic media.
10:30-11:30 Conference Speakers
Prof. Demetrios G Sampson, University of Piraeus, “Cloud-based Digital Technologies for Opening Up Education: Keep Learning Beyond the Physical Classroom at the Digital Cloud”
Demetrios G. Sampson received his degree in Electrical Engineering from the Democritus University of Thrace, Greece in 1989 and a Ph.D. in Electronic Systems Engineering from the University of Essex, UK in 1995. He is a Full Professor of Digital Systems for Learning and Education at the Department of Digital Systems, University of Piraeus, Greece, a Research Fellow at the Information Technologies Institute (ITI), Centre of Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH), and an Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Science and Technology, Athabasca University, Canada. He is the Founder and Director of the Advanced Digital Systems and Services for Education and Learning (ASK) since 1999. He has been a Visiting Professor at a number of universities including National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan (2011), the University of Tunis (2012, 2013), Beijing Normal University, China (2013), Peking University Beijing, China (2013), and the University of North Texas, USA (2013). He is the co-author of more than 325 publications in scientific books, journals and conferences .He is a Senior and Golden Core Member of IEEE and was the elected Chair of the IEEE Computer Society Technical Committee on Learning Technologies (2008-2011). He is the recipient of the IEEE Computer Society Distinguished Service Award (July, 2012). He is a member of the ICT Advisory Board of the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation (ALESCO) since March 2014. He is Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Educational Technology and Society Journal.
Bart Verswijvel, European Schoolnet, “Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century”
Bart Verswijvel is a Flemish (Belgian) educator who was a Dutch teacher (mother tongue) in a secondary school for about 30 years. Since 2011, he has a part-time job at the Flemish National Support Service for eTwinning in Brussels. Since March 2012, Verswijvel has worked for European Schoolnet as a Pedagogical Adviser, and he is involved in several projects like the Future Classroom Lab, iTEC, eTwinning and Living Schools Lab. He is especially interested in the integration of ICT in education and in project work. He is a freelance speaker, leader of workshops, prize winner in several competitions like eTwinning Awards and Microsoft Innovative Teachers, and a Microsoft Expert Educator. In 2010, Bart was awarded the Queen Paola Prize for Education.
16:15-17:00 Round Table: The Cloud today and perspectives on the future
Tasos Pagakis manages Ericsson Brand, Internal, Marketing and PR Communications in Southeastern Europe. He has worked as a Corporate and brand communicator on and offline as of 1988 in global agencies, pitched for hundreds of businesses, shaped creative standards and created strategic plans for more than 370 globally accredited companies in 57+ market categories. He is a writer of numerous articles in international media, a Startups supporter and a believer of change towards sustainable business models. His achievements: 2010 Serbian Gold PR corp comms, 2009 Ermis Gold PR corp governance, 2009 Ermis Silver PR CSR, 2006 Gold EFFIE for retail, 2005 Gold TV award NY, 3 Gold Effies, 71 creative awards in NY, Epica, Montreaux, Eurobest, AdAge, Ermis Festivals (2000-2009). He has been a Saatchi&Saatchi strategy team member that created the European VISA campaign “Love every day”. He has been Project Manager of the VISA International 2004 Athens Olympics Brand presence plan. When in Lowe Worldwide, he designed and launched the “Insight Mining” strategic planning tool. He is an active supporter of the NGO’s Arcturos and Actionaid.
Dimitris Raftopoulos is Project Manager, EU Projects Consultant and Chair of Finances and European Projects Working Group at the European Centre for Women and Technology (ECWT). He focuses on Strategic Human Resources Management and Gender Issues specializing in implementing, managing and evaluating European Projects. Holding an MBA, he has dedicated his professional experience to human and entrepreneurial development. His knowledge is in the fields of: combating gender issues in the work environment, promotion of employability, strengthening of professional skills as well as EU-funded programmes related to local development, employment, education, social exclusion, mental health, relevant legislation, economics and social policies. He interacts well in multicultural environments and has gained excellent communication skills through his work experience. Additionally, he has held the position of Human Resource Manager for the Olympic Games of Athens 2004 and worked as a consultant for several organizations in the Greek public sector. Other positions he has held: Commercial Director and Development Director for ICT startups. He has been involved in many EU projects and has solid knowledge of managerial issues, building teams and on stimulating communications.
Workshops Summaries
Cloud Applications – Implementations
(conducted in parallel for 90 min. 12:00-13:30)
“Planet School”: blended learning for inclusive classrooms
“Planet School” is the most important blended learning platform for schools in Germany. But it is still not accessible and usable for everyone. The evaluation and further advancement of “Planet School” for inclusive education is the main focus of the study. The goal is to offer variable content. The revised version of “Planet School” addresses different types of learners with accessible and usable materials, including movies, television broadcasts, interactive learning content, etc. I expect enormous enhancement in the European and the international discourse on the participation of persons with disabilities at ICT and a big step towards anchoring in practice.
Ingo K. Bosse is a professor at the Technical University of Dortmund (Germany) in the Special Education program. He leads the department for Motor and Developmental Disabilities. His research interests lie in the field of special and inclusive education with the main focus on inclusive media education, the use of information and communication technologies for learning and assistive technologies. He is also interested in researching educational aspects for students with special needs in augmentative and alternative communication. Currently he is finalizing a project that investigated the potential of the blended learning platform “planet school”. Ingo Bosse takes part in the research cluster Technology for Inclusion and Participation (TIP) at the Technical University of Dortmund that initiates, supports, and coordinates interdisciplinary research projects that investigate new ways to improve the inclusion, participation and wellbeing of individuals with disabilities, impairments or disadvantages.
Prof. Dr. Ingo Bosse, Dortmund University of Technologies
“Putting away the umbrella”: What will you do when the Cloud comes?
Alan will talk about his use of Cloud based tools to support his work in a range of contexts from classrooms, to teacher support and training. Alan has presented hundreds of workshops in many European countries, and tries to provide ideas which can be used immediately, but also others which can be developed further over a longer period of time.
Alan will talk about his use of mobile devices, work with the Open University and ESRI and refer to opportunities for work outside the classroom. Alan is a Geographer, but ideas arerelevant for other subjects too.
Alan Parkinson is an experienced and award-winning teacher and author. He has worked across the UK and EU with the Geographical Association and as a freelance geography consultant. He is a Chartered Geographer and Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He is Education Director of Explorer HQ, creators of Mission: Explore. He teaches Geography at King’s Ely School. He blogs at livinggeography.blogspot.com
_________________________________
Le-MATH: Learning Mathematics through new communication factors
In the workshop we will discuss the preliminary guidelines for the two methods developed by the Le‐MATH project that is the MATHFactor and the MATHeatre. The guidelines are developed based on the collection and study of good practices in more than 10 European countries. We will see on-line video of actual implementation and discuss and analyze the video samples. This will give a clear overview and hands‐on to the participants and will help them understand the two methods and how these could improve the learning of mathematics as well as the change of attitudes towards mathematics. Participants are expected to teach mathematics to pupils in the age group 9‐18. The method can be used by other disciplines, so participants could be from different fields. Some participants will have the opportunity to play the role of pupils for few minutes and others will become evaluators.
Gregory Makrides holds a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from the IIT, USA. Since 1986, he has taught at Roosevelt University of Chicago, at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), USA, at the University of Nicosia, Cyprus, at the Cyprus Pedagogical Institute of the Ministry of Education and Culture of Cyprus. Since 2006 is the Director of Research and International Relations Service at the University of Cyprus and in parallel, he is also the Executive Director of the European Office of Cyprus, since 2007. He has publications in refereed journals, conference proceedings and in public press. He is an editor of the Mediterranean Journal for Research in Mathematics Education and the Editor of the Mathematics Magazine of the Cyprus Mathematical Society. He is the coordinator of several European funded projects and he has been a partner in several other EU funded projects as well as an external evaluator. He has chaired the organizing committee of more than 40 conferences since 1997 and has organized more than 100 National and Multinational competitions since 1995. He is the President and he has important posts in several organizations (CMS EAEC EACG MASSEE THALES etc).
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English Attack! Platform: A Web 2.0 Platform for English language learners
English Attack! platform (www.english-attack.com), is an English-language learning service specifically designed for the digital generation that uses short-session online entertainment to encourage frequent digital immersion in real everyday English. English Attack! is an innovative learning method that combines interactive exercises based on hundreds of videos. The platform also offers a number of online games, thematic visual dictionaries, a number of Web 2.0 social features for the global community of English language learners, all in the context of a system of rewards and motivational games.
Ionela Lungu is a Project Manager professional specialized in the IT&C industry. She is holding a Bachelor of Computer Engineering and Automatic Control Degree from the Gheorghe Asachi University of Iasi. Currently she is coordinating the development team of ASSIST Software, a software development and outsourcing company from Suceava, Romania. She brings value to the company by constantly supporting the team members to update their knowledge, conquer new areas of expertise, and adhere to the quality management system of the company. She was also actively involved in the management team within European projects – FP7 and Eurostars.
_________________________________
ESRI’s Cloud in Education
GIS technology provides the education community with tools to develop a greater understanding of our world through geospatial data analysis. With GIS, students and faculty can integrate and evaluate data from many sources to develop new theories and knowledge. This helps prepare students to meet the demands of the twenty-first-century workforce, whether they are involved in science, government, or business. Libraries, museums, schools, and universities are also increasingly using GIS for resource management, facilities management, and advanced research. ArcGIS Online, ESRI’s Cloud platform, allows you to easily create maps, visualize your fieldwork data and share this content with anyone you choose. It is a great way to start using GIS and introduce key spatial concepts to your students (www.marathondata.gr)
Iro Giannakou, GIS Analyst at Marathon Data Systems (ESRI’s official distributor in Greece and Cyprus)Adonis Kontos, President at Marathon Data Systems (ESRI’s official distributor in Greece and Cyprus)
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Cloud Applications by ICT Companies (Apple and Microsoft)
Increasing collaboration and communication in the classroom and the institution with Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Partners in Learning Program.
Microsoft has a global strategy in education and with programs such as the Microsoft Partners in Learning Program, we aim to help educators and school leaders connect, collaborate, create, and share so that students can realize their greatest potential. In this workshop, we will be presenting the Microsoft global strategy in education and the different programs and resources that we provide to the educator community for free as well as the local programs of Greek Partners in Learning. In this context, we will showcase the Microsoft Office 365 Education, an online platform that can provide staff, faculty, and students at a school with free email, sites, online document editing and storage, IM, and web conferencing. Microsoft Office 365 platform that offers a holistic group of collaboration and communication tools is offered free for academic and education institutions. Our local partners will then present a complete Learning Management System based in Office365 that provides students, teachers, and staff with the enterprise-grade communication and productivity services they need with the power and flexibility each individual institution requires.
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Workshops: “Hands-On the Cloud”
(conducted in parallel for 90 min. 14:30-16:00)
Collaboration Snacks: Learn how to implement web 2.0 tools to organize communication and collaboration activities. In this workshop the participants explore Web 2.0 tools that can be used in the teaching practice. The tools will support different types of classroom activities. They can be implemented in different types of educational interaction like frontal teaching, group work or independent learning. The majority of the tools are web based and free to use. They can be used on a wide range of devices and support the idea of Bring Your Own Device. Participants are kindly requested to bring their own device for their successful participation in the workshop.
Bart Verswijvel, European Schoolnet is a Flemish (Belgian) educator who was a Dutch teacher (mother tongue) in a secondary school for about 30 years. Since 2011 he has a part time job at the Flemish National Support Service for eTwinning in Brussels. Since March 2012 Bart Verswijvel has worked for European Schoolnet as a Pedagogical Adviser, and he is involved in several projects like the Future Classroom Lab, iTEC, eTwinning and Living Schools Lab. He is especially interested in the integration of ICT in education and in project work. He is a freelance speaker, leader of workshops, prize winner in several competitions like eTwinning Awards and Microsoft Innovative Teachers, and a Microsoft Expert Educator. In 2010 Bart was awarded the Queen Paola Prize for Education.
_________________________________
Tablets use in School Classroom
“1:1 educational computing” describes the educational practice where each student has their own computing device. These devices are mobile and are equipped with a wireless connection. They also come in various forms (Smartphones, iPads, tablets, etc.) and have varying possibilities. This 1:1 practice, primarily as a methodology, offers many benefits. Some of them are as follows:
- The student becomes an active participant in his own learning and educational activities;
- The teacher becomes a partner and mentor. He or she organizes, inspires and creates experiential activities, releases the potential in the classroom, fosters initiative and critical thinking;
- computer technology makes numerous diverse tools available to the student. Technology enables teaching to become individualized, reinforces the role of multiple representations and promotes research and the quest for information.
Smart and mobile devices, with their user-friendly educational software, contribute effectively to learning. They create appropriate learning environments with opportunities for interdisciplinary instruction. Mainly, they cultivate 21st century competences, by combining skills, knowledge, attitudes and values. In this workshop, by working with tablets, we highlight the importance of the Cloud environment for the pedagogical framework we are presenting.
Vassilis Economu is IT Manager at Doukas School since 1994. From 2004, he is head of the Doukas School “1:1 Computing Team”, which aims to introduce and develop the Student Personal Computer into the educational procedure. From 2006, he is member of Doukas School “Quality Research Team”. He is a certified Validator specialized in the evaluation of companies according to the standards of the European Foundation for Quality Management – “Commitment to Excellence”. He has participated as researcher and analyst-programmer in more than 20 projects concerning ICT in Education and in Special Education as well. He has participated in the development of ICT software (more than 50 software titles). He continues to train hundreds of teachers to develop ICT in educational practice. He has developed various Management Information Systems in several programming environments. He has published articles and studies in educational magazines and has presented several papers in scientific conferences related to the “introduction of ICT in educational procedure” and “quality in education”.
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Collaboration in the Cloud with Linoit
Do you want to collaborate in a colorful cloud-environment? Than follow our sticky note-workshop about Lino. Lino is an online sticky notes service. Here, you can freely post, see and peel off sticky notes, memos, pictures and videos you make with your device, and even annex files on a canvas. Sticky notes posted while you’re offline will appear once you log on. You can organize your memos and ideas by changing the colors of your sticky notes, moving them and adding an icon on them. Lino is an ideal tool to share your ideas. You can create your own group to collaborate. Lino is also available as an app on your Smartphone or tablet.
Nicole Vandeborne, Basisschool Zavelberg
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Cloud computing and mobile devices for teachers
The computer is a useful utility inside and outside the classroom. This course aims to address a range of services available on Internet, considered of interest, usefulness and applicability for the teacher. The mentioned services are oriented to the organization of tasks and application in classroom context. The contents includes information management and e-mail, scheduling and events, storage and files synchronization, sharing data and settings between electronic devices. The adopted methodology wants to create skills and methodologies that helps to learn, search for, select and adopt the best options to increase efficiency and quality to the teacher’s work. Participants are kindly requested to bring their own device for their successful participation in the workshop.
Telmo Costa, 41 years old, graduated in 1995. Master in e-Learning Management and Production at the Carlos III University, Madrid. Teacher at Horácio Bento Gouveia School. School Coordinator of European Projects and coordinator of two Comenius Multilateral Partnerships. Trainer in ICT and Educational Technologies. 2008-2011: Teaching associate professional, coordinating ICT projects streamlined in the Madeira Region Education System. Training Portfolio: Cloud computing and mobile devices, School in the Cloud – Web 2.0 in the personal and professional Organization, Interactive Whiteboards, E-Portfolios, Evaluation of learning in ICT, School 2.0 – Web 2.0 in the Classroom Organization, Illustration of Contents, Multimedia presentation on education, Publications: Interactive Whiteboards, Training Support Book.
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Digital Media in the EFL Classroom
Enhancing all four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) has always been a challenging task for most EFL teachers. The main purpose of this workshop is to provide some tips that can be useful to teachers of English as a foreign language in the information age. Participants will leave with a better understanding of how tools and services on the cloud can help them achieve the educational objectives of activities that enhance all four language skills. Also, they will examine possible ways of improving their own teaching through the use of cloud technology.
Bessie Mitsikopoulou is Associate Professor at the Department of Language and Linguistics, Faculty of English Language and Literature, University of Athens. She holds a PhD in Critical Discourse Analysis (University of Athens), an MA in Applied Linguistics (University of Reading), a Postgraduate Specialist Diploma in Computers in Education (Institute of Education, University of London) and a BA in English Language and Literature (University of Athens). Her research interests are in the areas of critical discourse analysis, educational linguistics, new media and applications of new technologies in education, critical and academic literacies. Since January 2004, she has been Thematic Consultant of English Literacy for the Second Chance Schools in Greece, and a member of the Scientific Committee for Second Chance Schools. She has also been the Coordinator of the English Group for the Digital Platform Project of the Greek Ministry of Education. She has participated in several research and EU-funded projects in the areas of language education, curriculum reform, genre analysis and ICTs. Her recent book Rethinking Online Education: Media, ideologies, and Identities is published by Paradigm Publishers (2013).
Smaragda Papadopoulou holds a ΒΑ degree in Greek Language and Literature from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and an MSc in Technology Education and Digital Systems from the University of Piraeus. Her scientific interests lie primarily in the fields of technology-enhanced learning, e-learning and online training. So far she has worked as a language editor and proofreader of study guides for primary and secondary education students. She has also participated as an instructional material designer in e-learning projects concerning adult training in Information Communication Technologies (ICT). Since September 2011 she has been working as en eLearning specialist at the Research Centre for Language Teaching, Testing and Assessment and has developed the e-training programme for Primary EFL teachers.
Georgia Gyftoula, Centre of Self-Access Learning & Materials Development, University of Athens, has been a state Primary School English teacher since 1993. She holds a MEd in ELT by the Hellenic Open University and a MEd in Education Management and Administration by the University of Thessaly. She has been interested in implementing projects of Environmental Education, e-twinning and other European programmes as well as integrating ICT in her teaching. She is currently teaching at the 3rd Primary School of Zografou.
Ms. Chryssanthe Sotiriou has obtained a BA in English Literature from the English Department of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and a postgraduate diploma with distinction in Translation from the University of Mons-Hainaut in Belgium, being a scholar of the ‘Alexander Onassis’ Foundation. She has been involved in the Leonardo da Vinci Sectoral Programme: “Mobile and Wireless Technologies for Technology-Enhanced Language Learning (ΜW-TELL)” and in “Digital School”: Greek Ministry of Education. Her research interests include Project Based Learning (PBL), Game Based Learning (GBL) and the use of social media in Education. She has given lectures in seminars and conferences for teaching and the use of technology to teachers of primary and secondary education. She has many years of teaching experience, working as an EFL teacher at Doukas School in Athens, since September 1995; recently holding the position of Language Coordinator in High School.
Elinda Gjondedaj, Centre of Self-Access Learning & Materials Development, University of Athens
Organized by Doukas School - Website: www.schoolonthecloud.eu
Mark Vernon is a sound artist, musician and radio producer based in Glasgow, Scotland. He was a founding member of the art radio collective, 'Radio Tuesday' and has produced programmes and features for stations including WFMU, RADIA, Resonance FM, CKUT, Radio 101, VPRO and the BBC. His radio productions range from documentaries and radio plays to more experimental audio collage and soundscape pieces.
As well as works for radio his practice encompasses performance, publications, soundtracks, web-based works and releases on vinyl and CD. He is involved in numerous solo and collaborative projects under a variety of names including 'Vernon & Burns' and 'Hassle Hound' who have records out on Gagarin, Pickled Egg, Textile and Staubgold. He has also self-released several small editions of CDR's on his own meagre resource label.
Settings
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Canon 5d Mark II
Canon 17-40mm
Lee soft gnd 0.9
ISO 50, 21mm, f/16, 1'
Manuel focus using Live view where I zoom in 100%
One RAW file processed in Photoshop CS5
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Photographers view
Things are happening in Dan’s photo-life these days. A lot actually!
As mentioned, I upgraded to the Canon 5d mark II and the Canon 17-40mm a few days ago
And I love my new gear!
If you haven’t checked out the new, really great web based landscape photography magazine
you really should. Two issues have been launched so far and it seems to be an amazing project fully dedicated to landscape photography. Great reading!
The reason why I mention this magazine is that I’ve written an article which will be published in the fifth issue! I’m writing about a location I’ve been shooting before and the article will include these three photos I’ve taken:
chords from a descending sun traces of fire and three in a row
My last upload will also be on the front cover in the 18’Th issue. That’s pretty cool!
Just have to be patient ;)
The photograph
When you come to “Verdens Ende” (world’s end) the first thing that meats you’re eye is a little charming marina. The light lit up three sailboats laying friendly in a row and it shure was a beautiful sight. Which I got a few pictures from by the way ;)
When you walk further you get to a bridge that takes you to a tine little island. I got a couple of shots from this bridge as well ;)
From there you can climb and jump from isle to isle searching for places to photograph. Some of these small isles are pretty large and can give you a great view.
As I was wandering around in this beautiful location I found a spot I instantly fell in love with.
I’m very pleased with how the photo turned out. I called it “miniature lake” as I kind of think it looks just like that – A lake surrounded by mountains, a beach in the foreground and a forest on the right side. It makes me feel pretty big!
Hope you guys like it. Every comment and fav means the world to me.
The location
This place is called Verdens ende which means Worlds end. It’s a beautiful place and it really feels like the worlds end. It takes about 40 minutes of driving from my home to get there and I’ve been thinking of shooting on this location for a few months. So it was perfect to go here on my first session with my new gear. There are tons of possibilities here and a lot of fun for a photographer. I will definitely go back one day!
Another from my recent aerial ...
My tour of India is now online and accepting bookings for 2016 ... Check it out here at www.nevermindadventure.com/india-photographic-tour ... Hope to see a few of you guys there ...
As I have just returned from Iceland I will have a whole new series of Iceland images for viewing shortly ... Plus new dates for the 2016 Tour of Iceland limited to just 6 people ...
Check out my Profile Page for more information on my images and my website and contact detailsCopyright © 2013 Neal Pritchard PhotographyThis photo may not be used in any form without prior permission. All rights reserved. All images may NOT be used on websites, blogs or in any other form of media print or web based without explicit written permission by Spool Photography
A wrecking yard (Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian English), scrapyard (Irish and British English) or junkyard (American English) is the location of a business in dismantling where wrecked or decommissioned vehicles are brought, their usable parts are sold for use in operating vehicles, while the unusable metal parts, known as scrap metal parts, are sold to metal-recycling companies.
Other terms include wreck yard, wrecker's yard, salvage yard, breakers yard, dismantler and scrapheap. In the United Kingdom, car salvage yards are known as car breakers, while motorcycle salvage yards are known as bike breakers. In Australia, they are often referred to as 'Wreckers'.
The most common type of wreck yards are automobile wreck yards, but junkyards for motorcycles, bicycles, small airplanes and boats exist too.
Many salvage yards operate on a local level—when an automobile is severely damaged, has malfunctioned beyond repair, or not worth the repair, the owner may sell it to a junkyard; in some cases—as when the car has become disabled in a place where derelict cars are not allowed to be left—the car owner will pay the wrecker to haul the car away.
Salvage yards also buy most of the wrecked, derelict and abandoned vehicles that are sold at auction from police impound storage lots,and often buy vehicles from insurance tow yards as well.
The salvage yard will usually tow the vehicle from the location of its purchase to the yard, but occasionally vehicles are driven in. At the salvage yard the automobiles are typically arranged in rows, often stacked on top of one another.
Some yards keep inventories in their offices, as to the usable parts in each car, as well as the car's location in the yard. Many yards have computerized inventory systems. About 75% of any given vehicle can be recycled and used for other goods.
In recent years it is becoming increasingly common to use satellite part finder services to contact multiple salvage yards from a single source.
In the 20th century these were call centres that charged a premium rate for calls and compiled a facsimile that was sent to various salvage yards so they could respond directly if the part was in stock. Many of these are now Web-based with requests for parts being e-mailed instantly.
Once the cobwebs are out of the way, the mower will be ready to go. It can be controlled via Bluetooth using a mobile phone, so it's quite a fancy piece of kit.
Today the Hereios of the We're Here! group are focusing on apathetic procrastination.
southwest sunset
Check out my Profile Page for more information on my images and my website and contact detailsCopyright © 2012 Neal Pritchard PhotographyThis photo may not be used in any form without prior permission. All rights reserved. All images may NOT be used on websites, blogs or in any other form of media print or web based without explicit written permission by Spool Photography
IID 1692074
friends Today first November saw bear room park questions too like sunny outside really door open letter nice brother watch movies iPad cookie pick up at mall sorry away watch movie This box from card came from cousin really cool trick! open happy blue or yellow as role as English teacher very important thinking house Who help get eyeglasses fail book shelf mom coming visit projects together about movie know where place live up mountains English teachers play golf learn year sorry think need lie down When see again Which these slippers are yours them give this them some give them some apples brought home people at mall today throw trash out into puppy ran into woods close your eyes see Did heard singing earlier your mum dad come party Could help with project now watch this cake better showed this bag shoes breakfast church read manual This home now two cheeseburgers more have some more milk shake these like these ribbons these ribbons first teacher also She was also best friend new 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Hulu Roko series last This last slice cake promise! ask waiter bring some wine tonight! too need some wine too feel tired just need relax unwind three have three sisters when last time saw them state Check out state that shed roof falling apart never I’m never going drink wine again become Over years we’ve become really close between This just between high Give high five! really like your painting! something have something most She’s most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen another I’ll have another glass wine guys family are like family own get own place out Get out room leave put down that book listen old feel old! while wait here while shop mean didn’t mean sound angry on turn on lights keep keep lights on tonight student I’ve always been diligent student why This why don’t go out anymore kids! same shirt! big have celebrity big crush on Brad Pitt Taylor Swift Drake Kendrick William Bieber group sitting across table noisy huge project outgoing country Japan such beautiful country! help 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poverty this country run see bear here run your life small have small favour ask number have facebook youtube amazon weather walmart google wordle gmail target home depot google translate yahoo mail yahoo costco fox news starbucks food near me translate instagram Google maps walgreens best buy nba mcdonalds restaurants near me nfl amazon prime cnn traductor weather tomorrow espn lowes chick fil a news food zillow craigslist cvs ebay twitter wells fargo usps tracking bank of america calculator indeed nfl scores google docs etsy netflix taco bell shein astronaut macys kohls youtube tv dollar tree gas station coffee nba scores roblox restaurants autozone pizza hut usps gmail login dominos chipotle Google classroom tiempo hotmail aol mail burger king facebook login google flights sqm club maps subway dow jones sam s club motel breakfast english to spanish gas fedex walmart near me old navy fedex tracking southwest airlines ikea linkedin chase bank airbnb planet fitness spanish to english pizza google drive msn dunkin donuts capital one dollar general number favors ask off turn off television bring pepper spray with move Let’s move on next tourist spot like really like night night young live I’m going live like there’s no tomorrow Mr Morris here point have point believe hold Just hold hand today I’m going see today bring bring pen happen don’t submit your report on time next This next best thing without can’t live without phone go bed always wash face large There’s large amount data online about that topic all That’s all know about Dinosaurs million have million questions about this book must watch this movie together home go home now under hid it under bed water filled tub with water room at end corridor write prescription this mother very lovely woman area This area this house needs fixed national That virus has become national concern money She needs money buy medicine story She shared story media young She young hopeful fact It’s fact: shopping improve your mood month It’s that time month! different Just because she’s different it doesn’t mean she’s bad lot have lot explaining do right Turn right when reach corner study Let’s study English lessons together book borrow your English book eye She has pink eye job love job word Describe yourself one word are angry now I’m sure forget about this later business thriving issue This issue side Whose side are on anyway kind Always kind even strangers four There are four seasons year head Let’s head back it’s freezing out here far We’ve gone too far now we’re lost black She has long black hair long She has long brown hair both They both love chocolate ice cream little have two little boys with now house quiet without yes hope say yes after all this time has finally learned love since Ever since mom died has been cranky angry at world long That was such long time ago provide provide with list your services service have specific dental service treat this around went around block friend You’re good friend important You’re important father father important sit Let’s sit outside together away He’s away right when away power With great power comes great responsibility hour I’ve been checking temperature every hour game Let’s play game often buy from bakery as often as yet He’s yet home line There’s long line at grocery cashier political stay away from political discussions end It’s end era all pets Have ever tried this cake stand stand still minute bad did was bad lose can’t lose however buy this bag however need save up it first member She’s member babysitter’s club pay Let’s pay groceries law There’s law against jay-walking meet meet aunt car Let’s go inside car city This city that never sleeps almost I’m almost done with report include Did remember include summary your report continue continue working tomorrow set Great let set appointment later I’ll finish it later community community very tight knit much There’s much learn English language name What’s your name five give five reasons why need watch that video had puppy named Bark white love white sneakers least She’s least productive among all employees president She was class president back high school learn I’d love learn more about English language real real name change change that things get better team They hired team design their new office minute She’s laughing every minute every day best This best potato salad I’ve ever tasted several have several old clothes need donate idea It was your idea go beach remember kid loved that toy when was kid body She worked out hard achieve toned body information This information need nothing There’s nothing now ago Three years ago visited Japan first time right You’re right go back there lead Just lead way I’ll follow social feel awkward these social gatherings understand how feel big groups or small groups always feel little shy at first back Looking back knew was always introvert watch Let’s watch sun set on horizon together They’re together now follow I’ll follow home 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hair college met college interest Music interest mine death Death such heavy topic course course did take up college someone there someone who go with experience exciting experience! behind I’m scared check what’s behind that door reach can’t reach him won’t answer phone local This local business kill Smoking kill six have six books about Psychology remain These remain on top shelf effect Wow effect that mascara great! use use your phone yeah Yeah did call earlier suggest did suggest that class same English class control Where’s remote control raise It’s challenging discipline kids these days care don’t care about think perhaps Perhaps arrive at compromise little There’s little bird outside window late am running late doctor’s appointment hard That test was hard field He’s over there by soccer field else anyone else coming pass pass by grocery store former She was former housemate sell sell your old couch online major It’s major issue project sometimes Sometimes forget turn off porch 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whose Whose umbrella this matter does it matter anyway everyone Everyone thinks stole that file center hate being center attention couple couple on their honeymoon now site This site big! end It’s end era project This project file due tomorrow hit hit burglar with bat base All moms are their child’s home base activity musical activity suggest toddler star son draw star! table saw draw it while was writing on table need need enroll good preschool court There’s basketball court near house produce Fresh farm produce best eat could eat that all day American sister dating American teach love teach English lessons oil Could buy some cooking oil at store half Just half liter situation situation getting out hand easy thought said this was going easy cost cost fuel has increased! industry fuel industry hiking prices figure government figure out how fix this problem face can’t bear face this horrendous traffic again again street Let’s cross street image There’s image stored inside mind itself 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catch up soon please! step Watch your step baby baby adorable computer turn on computer type need type your password attention have your attention draw draw this film That film absolutely mind-blowing Republican Republican candidate tree That tree has been there generations source are source strength red I’ll wear red dress tonight nearly nearly died that accident! organization Their organization doing great things street kids choose Let choose color cause have see cause effect this experiment hair I’ll cut hair short change look look at items bought point point all this century We’re living 21st century Mary evidence evidence clearly shows that guilty window I’ll buy window curtains next week difficult Sometimes life difficult listen have listen your teacher soon launch course soon culture hope they understand culture better billion target have 1 billion dollars account by end year chance there chance that this brother brother always have back energy Now put that energy into walking period They covered period twenty years course Have seen course already summer I’ll go beach summer less Sometimes less more realize just realize that have meeting today hundred have hundred dollars that lend available am available work on your project plant Plant seed likely It was likely deer trail opportunity It was perfect opportunity test theory term I’m sure there’s Latin term it short It was just short stay at hotel letter already passed letter intent condition know condition am choice have no choice place Let’s meet out at meeting place single am single parent rule It’s rule law daughter knows how read now administration take this up with administration south am headed south husband just bought ring birthday Congress It debated at Congress floor She floor manager campaign handled their election campaign material She had nothing material report population population nearest big city was growing well wish well call am going call bank economy economy booming medical -She needs medical assistance hospital I’ll take nearest hospital church saw church last Sunday close -Please close door thousand There are thousand reasons learn English! risk Taking risk rewarding current your current address fire Make sure your smoke alarm works case fire future -The future full hope wrong That wrong answer involve need involve police defense your defense or reason did this anyone Does anyone know answer increase Let’s increase your test score security Some apartment buildings have security bank need go bank withdraw some money myself clean up by myself certainly certainly help clean up west drive West arrive California sport favorite sport soccer board see board seek Seek find per Lobster $20 per pound subject favorite subject English! officer Where find police officer private This private party rest Let’s take 15 minute rest behavior This dog’s behavior excellent deal used car good deal performance Your performance affected by your sleep fight don’t fight with throw German ball! top are top student quickly Let’s finish reading this quickly past past English was as good as it today goal speak English fluently second second goal increase confidence bed go bed around 10pm order would like order book author author this series world-famous fill need fill (up) gas tank represent represent family focus Turn off your phone TV focus on your studies! foreign It’s great having foreign friends drop don’t drop eggs! plan Let’s make plan blood hospital needs people give blood upon Once upon time princess lived castle agency Let’s contract agency help with marketing push door says ‘push ’ ‘pull ' nature love walking nature! colou color blue no ‘No’ one shortest complete sentences recently cleaned bathroom most recently think it’s your turn this time store I’m going store buy some bread reduce reuse recycle are ways help environment sound like sound wind chimes note take notes during lesson fine movie let’s buy popcorn! near Near far wherever are believe that heart goes on movement environmental movement international movement page turn page 62 enter enter building on left share Let share idea than Ice cream has more calories than water common Most people find something common with each other poor had poor harvest this year because it was dry other This pen doesn’t work try other one natural This cleaner natural there aren’t chemicals it race watched car race on TV concern Thank your concern but I’m fine series your favorite TV series significant job earns significant amount money similar These earrings don’t match but they are similar hot Don’t touch stove it’s still hot language Learning new language fun each Put flower each vase usually usually shop at corner store response didn’t expect response come soon dead phone dead let charge it rise sun rise at 7:00 a m animal kind animal that factor Heredity factor your overall health decade I’ve lived this city over decade article Did read that newspaper article shoot wants shoot arrows at target east Drive east three miles save save all cans recycling seven There are seven slices pie left artist Taylor Swift recording artist away wish that mosquito would go away scene painted colorful street scene stock That shop has good stock postcards career Retail sales good career some people despite Despite rain still have picnic central There good shopping central London eight That recipe takes eight cups flour thus haven’t had problems thus far treatment propose treatment plan your injury beyond town just beyond those mountains happy Kittens make happy exactly Use exactly one teaspoon salt that recipe protect coat protect from cold weather approach cat slowly approached bird lie Teach your children lie size size that shirt dog think dog good pet fund have savings fund college serious She serious she never laughs occur Strange things occur that empty house media That issue has been discussed media ready Are ready leave work sign That store needs bigger sign thought I’ll have give it some thought list made list things do individual buy individual or group membership simple appliance comes with simple instructions quality paid little more quality shoes pressure There no pressure finish right now accept accept credit card answer Give your answer by noon tomorrow hard That test was very hard resource library has many online resources identify can’t identify that plant left door on your left as approach meeting We’ll have staff meeting after lunch determine Eye color genetically determined prepare I’ll prepare breakfast tomorrow disease Face masks help prevent disease whatever Choose whatever flavor like best success Failure back door success argue It’s good idea argue with your boss cup Would like cup coffee particularly It’s particularly hot outside just warm amount It take large amount food feed elephant ability has ability explain things well staff There are five people on staff here recognize recognize person this photo indicate reply indicated that she understood 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Google is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence,[9] and consumer electronics. It has been referred to as "the most powerful company in the world"[10] and one of the world's most valuable brands due to its market dominance, data collection, and technological advantages in the area of artificial intelligence.[11][12][13] Its parent company Alphabet is considered one of the Big Five American information technology companies, alongside Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft.
Google was founded on September 4, 1998, by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were PhD students at Stanford University in California. Together they own about 14% of its publicly listed shares and control 56% of the stockholder voting power through super-voting stock. The company went public via an initial public offering (IPO) in 2004. In 2015, Google was reorganized as a wholly owned subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. Google is Alphabet's largest subsidiary and is a holding company for Alphabet's Internet properties and interests. Sundar Pichai was appointed CEO of Google on October 24, 2015, replacing Larry Page, who became the CEO of Alphabet. On December 3, 2019, Pichai also became the CEO of Alphabet.[14]
The company has since rapidly grown to offer a multitude of products and services beyond Google Search, many of which hold dominant market positions. These products address a wide range of use cases, including email (Gmail), navigation (Waze & Maps), cloud computing (Cloud), web browsing (Chrome), video sharing (YouTube), productivity (Workspace), operating systems (Android), cloud storage (Drive), language translation (Translate), photo storage (Photos), video calling (Meet), smart home (Nest), smartphones (Pixel), wearable technology (Pixel Watch & Fitbit), music streaming (YouTube Music), video on demand (YouTube TV), artificial intelligence (Google Assistant), machine learning APIs (TensorFlow), AI chips (TPU), and more. Discontinued Google products include gaming (Stadia), Glass,[citation needed] Google+, Reader, Play Music, Nexus, Hangouts, and Inbox by Gmail.[15][16]
Google's other ventures outside of Internet services and consumer electronics include quantum computing (Sycamore), self-driving cars (Waymo, formerly the Google Self-Driving Car Project), smart cities (Sidewalk Labs), and transformer models (Google Brain).[17]
Google and YouTube are the two most visited websites worldwide followed by Facebook and Twitter. Google is also the largest search engine, mapping and navigation application, email provider, office suite, video sharing platform, photo and cloud storage provider, mobile operating system, web browser, ML framework, and AI virtual assistant provider in the world as measured by market share. On the list of most valuable brands, Google is ranked second by Forbes[18] and fourth by Interbrand.[19] It has received significant criticism involving issues such as privacy concerns, tax avoidance, censorship, search neutrality, antitrust and abuse of its monopoly position.
In March 1999, the company moved its offices to Palo Alto, California,[52] which is home to several prominent Silicon Valley technology start-ups.[53] The next year, Google began selling advertisements associated with search keywords against Page and Brin's initial opposition toward an advertising-funded search engine.[54][22] To maintain an uncluttered page design, advertisements were solely text-based.[55] In June 2000, it was announced that Google would become the default search engine provider for Yahoo!, one of the most popular websites at the time, replacing Inktomi.
In 2003, after outgrowing two other locations, the company leased an office complex from Silicon Graphics, at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway in Mountain View, California.[59] The complex became known as the Googleplex, a play on the word googolplex, the number one followed by a googol zeroes. Three years later, Google bought the property from SGI for $319 million.[60] By that time, the name "Google" had found its way into everyday language, causing the verb "google" to be added to the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary, denoted as: "to use the Google search engine to obtain information on the Internet".[61][62] The first use of the verb on television appeared in an October 2002 episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.[63]
Additionally, in 2001 Google's investors felt the need to have a strong internal management, and they agreed to hire Eric Schmidt as the chairman and CEO of Google.[49] Eric was proposed by John Doerr from Kleiner Perkins. He had been trying to find a CEO that Sergey and Larry would accept for several months, but they rejected several candidates because they wanted to retain control over the company. Michael Moritz from Sequoia Capital at one point even menaced requesting Google to immediately pay back Sequoia's $12.5m investment if they did not fulfill their promise to hire a chief executive office, which had been made verbally during investment negotiations. Eric wasn't initially enthusiastic about joining Google either, as the company's full potential hadn't yet been widely recognized at the time, and as he was occupied with his responsibilities at Novell where he was CEO. As part of him joining, Eric agreed to buy $1 million of Google preferred stocks as a way to show his commitment and to provide funds Google needed.
Google generates most of its revenues from advertising. This includes sales of apps, purchases made in-app, digital content products on Google and YouTube, Android and licensing and service fees, including fees received for Google Cloud offerings. Forty-six percent of this profit was from clicks (cost per clicks), amounting to US$109,652 million in 2017. This includes three principal methods, namely AdMob, AdSense (such as AdSense for Content, AdSense for Search, etc.) and DoubleClick AdExchange.
In addition to its own algorithms for understanding search requests, Google uses technology its acquisition of DoubleClick, to project user interest and target advertising to the search context and the user history.
In 2007, Google launched "AdSense for Mobile", taking advantage of the emerging mobile advertising market.
Google Analytics allows website owners to track where and how people use their website, for example by examining click rates for all the links on a page. Google advertisements can be placed on third-party websites in a two-part program. Google Ads allows advertisers to display their advertisements in the Google content network, through a cost-per-click scheme.[138] The sister service, Google AdSense, allows website owners to display these advertisements on their website and earn money every time ads are clicked.[139] One of the criticisms of this program is the possibility of click fraud, which occurs when a person or automated script clicks on advertisements without being interested in the product, causing the advertiser to pay money to Google unduly. Industry reports in 2006 claimed that approximately 14 to 20 percent of clicks were fraudulent or invalid.[140] Google Search Console (rebranded from Google Webmaster Tools in May 2015) allows webmasters to check the sitemap, crawl rate, and for security issues of their websites, as well as optimize their website's visibility.
Consumer services
Web-based services
Google offers Gmail for email, Google Calendar for time-management and scheduling, Google Maps for mapping, navigation and satellite imagery, Google Drive for cloud storage of files, Google Docs, Sheets and Slides for productivity, Google Photos for photo storage and sharing, Google Keep for note-taking, Google Translate for language translation, YouTube for video viewing and sharing, Google My Business for managing public business information, and Duo for social interaction. In March 2019, Google unveiled a cloud gaming service named Stadia. A job search product has also existed since before 2017, Google for Jobs is an enhanced search feature that aggregates listings from job boards and career sites.
Some Google services are not web-based. Google Earth, launched in 2005, allowed users to see high-definition satellite pictures from all over the world for free through a client software downloaded to their computers.
Software
Google develops the Android mobile operating system, as well as its smartwatch, television, car, and Internet of things-enabled smart devices variations.
It also develops the Google Chrome web browser, and Chrome OS, an operating system based on Chrome.
Hardware
In January 2010, Google released Nexus One, the first Android phone under its own brand. It spawned a number of phones and tablets under the "Nexus" branding until its eventual discontinuation in 2016, replaced by a new brand called Pixel.
In 2011, the Chromebook was introduced, which runs on Chrome OS.
In July 2013, Google introduced the Chromecast dongle, which allows users to stream content from their smartphones to televisions.
In June 2014, Google announced Google Cardboard, a simple cardboard viewer that lets user place their smartphone in a special front compartment to view virtual reality (VR) media.
Other hardware products include:
•Nest, a series of voice assistant smart speakers that can answer voice queries, play music, find information from apps (calendar, weather etc.), and control third-party smart home appliances (users can tell it to turn on the lights, for example). The Google Nest line includes the original Google Home (later succeeded by the Nest Audio), the Google Home Mini (later succeeded by the Nest Mini, the Google Home Max, the Google Home Hub (later rebranded as the Nest Hub), and the Nest Hub Max.
•Nest Wifi (originally Google Wifi), a connected set of Wi-Fi routers to simplify and extend coverage of home Wi-Fi.
Enterprise services
Google Workspace (formerly G Suite until October 2020) is a monthly subscription offering for organizations and businesses to get access to a collection of Google's services, including Gmail, Google Drive and Google Docs, Google Sheets and Google Slides, with additional administrative tools, unique domain names, and 24/7 support.
On September 24, 2012, Google launched Google for Entrepreneurs, a largely not-for-profit business incubator providing startups with co-working spaces known as Campuses, with assistance to startup founders that may include workshops, conferences, and mentorships. Presently, there are seven Campus locations: Berlin, London, Madrid, Seoul, São Paulo, Tel Aviv, and Warsaw.
On March 15, 2016, Google announced the introduction of Google Analytics 360 Suite, "a set of integrated data and marketing analytics products, designed specifically for the needs of enterprise-class marketers" which can be integrated with BigQuery on the Google Cloud Platform. Among other things, the suite is designed to help "enterprise class marketers" "see the complete customer journey", generate "useful insights", and "deliver engaging experiences to the right people". Jack Marshall of The Wall Street Journal wrote that the suite competes with existing marketing cloud offerings by companies including Adobe, Oracle, Salesforce, and IBM.
Internet services
In February 2010, Google announced the Google Fiber project, with experimental plans to build an ultra-high-speed broadband network for 50,000 to 500,000 customers in one or more American cities.[178][179] Following Google's corporate restructure to make Alphabet Inc. its parent company, Google Fiber was moved to Alphabet's Access division.[180][181]
In April 2015, Google announced Project Fi, a mobile virtual network operator, that combines Wi-Fi and cellular networks from different telecommunication providers in an effort to enable seamless connectivity and fast Internet signal.
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes, its name comes from the face book directories often given to American university students. Membership was initially limited to Harvard students, gradually expanding to other North American universities and, since 2006, anyone over 13 years old. As of July 2022, Facebook claimed 2.93 billion monthly active users,[6] and ranked third worldwide among the most visited websites as of July 2022.[7] It was the most downloaded mobile app of the 2010s.[8]
Facebook can be accessed from devices with Internet connectivity, such as personal computers, tablets and smartphones. After registering, users can create a profile revealing information about themselves. They can post text, photos and multimedia which are shared with any other users who have agreed to be their "friend" or, with different privacy settings, publicly. Users can also communicate directly with each other with Facebook Messenger, join common-interest groups, and receive notifications on the activities of their Facebook friends and the pages they follow.
The subject of numerous controversies, Facebook has often been criticized over issues such as user privacy (as with the Cambridge Analytica data scandal), political manipulation (as with the 2016 U.S. elections) and mass surveillance.[9] Posts originating from the Facebook page of Breitbart News, a media organization previously affiliated with Cambridge Analytica,[10] are currently among the most widely shared political content on Facebook.[11][12][13][14][15] Facebook has also been subject to criticism over psychological effects such as addiction and low self-esteem, and various controversies over content such as fake news, conspiracy theories, copyright infringement, and hate speech.
Zuckerberg built a website called "Facemash" in 2003 while attending Harvard University. The site was comparable to Hot or Not and used "photos compiled from the online face books of nine Houses, placing two next to each other at a time and asking users to choose the "hotter" person". Facemash attracted 450 visitors and 22,000 photo-views in its first four hours. The site was sent to several campus group listservs, but was shut down a few days later by Harvard administration. Zuckerberg faced expulsion and was charged with breaching security, violating copyrights and violating individual privacy. Ultimately, the charges were dropped. Zuckerberg expanded on this project that semester by creating a social study tool. He uploaded art images, each accompanied by a comments section, to a website he shared with his classmates.
A "face book" is a student directory featuring photos and personal information. In 2003, Harvard had only a paper version[ along with private online directories. Zuckerberg told The Harvard Crimson, "Everyone's been talking a lot about a universal face book within Harvard. ... I think it's kind of silly that it would take the University a couple of years to get around to it. I can do it better than they can, and I can do it in a week."[29] In January 2004, Zuckerberg coded a new website, known as "TheFacebook", inspired by a Crimson editorial about Facemash, stating, "It is clear that the technology needed to create a centralized Website is readily available ... the benefits are many." Zuckerberg met with Harvard student Eduardo Saverin, and each of them agreed to invest $1,000 ($1,435 in 2021 dollars[30]) in the site.[31] On February 4, 2004, Zuckerberg launched "TheFacebook", originally located at thefacebook.com.
Six days after the site launched, Harvard seniors Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss, and Divya Narendra accused Zuckerberg of intentionally misleading them into believing that he would help them build a social network called HarvardConnection.com. They claimed that he was instead using their ideas to build a competing product. The three complained to the Crimson and the newspaper began an investigation. They later sued Zuckerberg, settling in 2008 for 1.2 million shares (worth $300 million ($354 million in 2021 dollars[30]) at Facebook's IPO).
Membership was initially restricted to students of Harvard College. Within a month, more than half the undergraduates had registered.[36] Dustin Moskovitz, Andrew McCollum, and Chris Hughes joined Zuckerberg to help manage the growth of the website.[37] In March 2004, Facebook expanded to Columbia, Stanford and Yale.[38] It then became available to all Ivy League colleges, Boston University, NYU, MIT, and successively most universities in the United States and Canada.
In mid-2004, Napster co-founder and entrepreneur Sean Parker—an informal advisor to Zuckerberg—became company president.[41] In June 2004, the company moved to Palo Alto, California.[42] It received its first investment later that month from PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel. In 2005, the company dropped "the" from its name after purchasing the domain name Facebook.com for US$200,000 ($277,492 in 2021 dollars). The domain had belonged to AboutFace Corporation.
In May 2005, Accel Partners invested $12.7 million ($17.6 million in 2021 dollars) in Facebook, and Jim Breyer added $1 million ($1.39 million in 2021 dollars) of his own money. A high-school version of the site launched in September 2005. Eligibility expanded to include employees of several companies, including Apple Inc. and Microsoft.
Facebook was sued by the Federal Trade Commission as well as a coalition of several states for illegal monopolization and antitrust. The FTC and states sought the courts to force Facebook to sell its subsidiaries WhatsApp and Instagram.[183][184] The suits were dismissed by a federal judge on June 28, 2021, who stated that there was not enough evidence brought in the suit to determine Facebook to be a monopoly at this point, though allowed the FTC to amend its case to include additional evidence. In its amended filings in August 2021, the FTC asserted that Facebook had been a monopoly in the area of personal social networks since 2011, distinguishing Facebook's activities from social media services like TikTok that broadcast content without necessarily limiting that message to intended recipients.
In response to the proposed bill in the Australian Parliament for a News Media Bargaining Code, on February 17, 2021, Facebook blocked Australian users from sharing or viewing news content on its platform, as well as pages of some government, community, union, charity, political, and emergency services.[187] The Australian government strongly criticised the move, saying it demonstrated the "immense market power of these digital social giants".
On February 22, Facebook said it reached an agreement with the Australian government that would see news returning to Australian users in the coming days. As part of this agreement, Facebook and Google can avoid the News Media Bargaining Code adopted on February 25 if they "reach a commercial bargain with a news business outside the Code".
Facebook has been accused of removing and shadow banning content that spoke either in favor of protesting Indian farmers or against Narendra Modi's government. India-based employees of Facebook are at risk of arrest.
On February 27, 2021, Facebook announced Facebook BARS app for rappers.
On June 29, 2021, Facebook announced Bulletin, a platform for independent writers.[197][198] Unlike competitors such as Substack, Facebook would not take a cut of subscription fees of writers using that platform upon its launch, like Malcolm Gladwell and Mitch Albom. According to The Washington Post technology writer Will Oremus, the move was criticized by those who viewed it as an tactic intended by Facebook to force those competitors out of business.
In October 2021, owner Facebook, Inc. changed its company name to Meta Platforms, Inc., or simply "Meta", as it shifts its focus to building the "metaverse". This change does not affect the name of the Facebook social networking service itself, instead being similar to the creation of Alphabet as Google's parent company in 2015.
In November 2021, Facebook stated it would stop targeting ads based on data related to health, race, ethnicity, political beliefs, religion and sexual orientation. The change will occur in January and will affect all apps owned by Meta Platforms.
In February 2022, Facebook's daily active users dropped for the first time in its 18-year history. According to Facebook's parent Meta, DAUs dropped to 1.929 billion in the three months ending in December, down from 1.930 billion the previous quarter. Furthermore, the company warned that revenue growth would slow due to competition from TikTok and YouTube, as well as advertisers cutting back on spending.
Analysts predict a "death spiral" for facebook stock as users leave while ad impressions increase, as the company chases revenue.
On March 10, 2022, Facebook announced that it will temporarily ease rules to allow violent speech against 'Russian invaders'. Russia then banned all Meta services, including Instagram.
At a crossroads – Needing to make an important decision
When you are at a crossroads, you are at a point in your life where you need to make a decision. The implication is that the decision you make will have big, life-altering consequences.
Bad apple – Bad person
You can use this idiom to describe someone who is not nice and maybe even criminal.
Barking up the wrong tree – Pursuing the wrong course
When you “bark up the wrong tree” you are pursuing the wrong solution to your problems.
Be closefisted – Stingy
If you are being “closefisted”, you don’t want to spend a lot of money.
Be cold-hearted – Uncaring
If you decide to be “cold-hearted”, you are making a deliberate decision not to care about someone or something.
Be on solid ground – Confident
When you are “on solid ground”, you are confident in your position or feel that you are safe.
Beat around the bush – Avoid saying
When you do this, you are taking a long time to say what you really need to say. You may be doing this because the “truth” is embarrassing or your unsure about how the listener will take it.
Behind you – Supportive
When you are “behind” someone, you are saying that they have your support.
Between a rock and a hard place – Facing difficulties
When you have to choose between two options, neither of which are ideal or “good”.
Blow off steam – Try to relax
When you are stressed or upset about something, sometimes you need to do something to keep you from thinking about it.
Born with a silver spoon in their mouth – Born wealthy
This idiomatic expression is used to describe someone who was born into a wealthy family.
Break the bank – Spend a lot
When you “break the bank”, you spend a lot of money on something. If something will “break the bank”, then it’s expensive.
Bright spark – Smart
A “bright spark” is someone who is smart and valuable to an organization.
ITM1692074
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direction direction city from here weapon No weapons are allowed government buildings employee That store only has three employees cultural There cultural significance those old ruins contain carton contains dozen egges peace World leaders gathered peace talks head head hurts control Keep control car base glass has heavy base it won’t fall over pain have chest pain apply Maria applied job play children play at park measure Measure twice cut once wide doorway was very wide shake Don’t shake soda fly fly France next year interview job interview went well manage Did manage find keys chair table has six matching chairs fish don’t enjoy eating fish particular That particular style looks good on camera use camera on phone structure building’s structure solid politics Mitch very active politics perform singer perform tonight bit It rained little bit last night weight Keep track your pet’s weight suddenly storm came up suddenly discover You’ll discover treasures at that thrift store candidate 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At a crossroads – Needing to make an important decision
When you are at a crossroads, you are at a point in your life where you need to make a decision. The implication is that the decision you make will have big, life-altering consequences.
Bad apple – Bad person
You can use this idiom to describe someone who is not nice and maybe even criminal.
Barking up the wrong tree – Pursuing the wrong course
When you “bark up the wrong tree” you are pursuing the wrong solution to your problems.
Be closefisted – Stingy
If you are being “closefisted”, you don’t want to spend a lot of money.
Be cold-hearted – Uncaring
If you decide to be “cold-hearted”, you are making a deliberate decision not to care about someone or something.
Be on solid ground – Confident
When you are “on solid ground”, you are confident in your position or feel that you are safe.
Beat around the bush – Avoid saying
When you do this, you are taking a long time to say what you really need to say. You may be doing this because the “truth” is embarrassing or your unsure about how the listener will take it.
Behind you – Supportive
When you are “behind” someone, you are saying that they have your support.
Between a rock and a hard place – Facing difficulties
When you have to choose between two options, neither of which are ideal or “good”.
Blow off steam – Try to relax
When you are stressed or upset about something, sometimes you need to do something to keep you from thinking about it.
Born with a silver spoon in their mouth – Born wealthy
This idiomatic expression is used to describe someone who was born into a wealthy family.
Break the bank – Spend a lot
When you “break the bank”, you spend a lot of money on something. If something will “break the bank”, then it’s expensive.
Bright spark – Smart
A “bright spark” is someone who is smart and valuable to an organization.
Build a case – Argue your point
When you “build a case” for something, you are preparing to argue a point or convince someone that your opinion is the right one.
Build castles in the sky – Daydream
When you fantasize about something you hope to have or achieve.
Burn your bridges – End a relationship
When you “burn your bridges” you end a relationship permanently.
Butter up – Flatter
When you “butter” someone up, you are telling them nice things about themselves.
Bought a lemon – Bad bargain
If something you bought is a “lemon” it is a bad product. In a sense, you wasted your money on it.
Break the ice – Start a conversation
When you start a conversation strangers with the end goal of making new friends.
Calm before the storm – Peaceful
When you use this to describe your state of being or mind, you’re talking about a quiet period before anticipated trouble comes your way.
Chasing rainbows – Pursuing dreams
When you try to follow your dreams. The implication here, however, is that you might be better off forgetting your dreams.
Clear as mud – Hard to understand
When you are confused about something or a situation.
Cool as a cucumber – Calm
This idiomatic expression is meant to describe someone who is calm and relaxed.
Couch potato – Lazy
A couch potato is a lazy person. Specifically, someone who sprawls on their couch watching TV almost all day.
Cross that bridge when we get to it – Think about it later
When you say this, you are telling someone that you will think about something later. The implication is that it’s a problem or a decision that can be put off for now.
Chew it over – Think had about something
This idiom implies that you need to make an important decision and can’t afford to be hasty about it.
Come to light – Be revealed
When something “comes to light” something that was originally concealed from you is revealed.
Cut back on – Reduce
When you use this idiom, you are reducing something.
Cut to the chase – Speak concisely
When you tell someone to “cut to the chase”, you are expressing impatience. This is usually used when someone feels someone else is taking to long to deliver important news.
Crystal clear – Easy to understand
When you say that something is “crystal clear”, you are saying that it is understood.
Dead-end job – No more opportunities
When you are stuck in a “dead-end job”, you are in a career situation where there is no more room for advancement.
Dig deep – Strive
When you “dig deep” you put a lot of effort into a task.
Digging into – Looking closer
When you “dig into” something, you are looking for more information.
Don’t run before you can walk – Don’t assume something is easy
This is a descriptive idiom, it’s meant to make you think about how a baby needs to learn how to walk before they can run. It’s supposed to caution you about assuming you can just do something without learning the basics.
Down to earth – Practical
This describes someone who is known for being sensible and practical.
Eat like a bird – Small appetite
This is used to describe someone who doesn’t eat a lot.
Eat like a horse – Eat a lot
If you eat like a horse, you are eating a lot. You can “eat like a bird” most of the time but “eat like a horse” at a specific time because you are either very hungry or you really like the food.
Eat your words – Admit you were wrong
When you “eat your words” you are admitting that something you said earlier turned out to be wrong.
Every cloud has a silver lining – Things will get better
When you say this, you are telling yourself or someone else that you will get through your troubles.
Face the music – Face the consequences
When you “face the music”, you are owning up to a mistake and trying to make amends.
Find your feet – Adapt
When you are “finding your feet” you are learning how to adapt to a new situation, like a new job.
Follow in their footsteps – Imitate
This idiom is often used between children and their parents, but it can also refer to a mentor or someone you admire. If you “follow in someone’s footsteps”, you do the same thing that they did.
Food for thought – Something to think about
If you are given “food for thought” you have been given something to think about.
A frosty reception – To be unwelcome
If you received a “frosty reception”, you are not welcome.
Fly off the handle – Rages
You can use this idiom to describe someone who is visibly angry over a situation. Often this means that someone is shouting and maybe gesturing violently and even causing damage to property. It also implies that the angry reaction is disproportionate to the situation.
Get on with your life – Continue on after a setback
This is something you can say and should do after going through some problems.
Give them a run for their money – Compete
If you are competing with someone, you are giving them a “run for their money.”
Go Dutch – Split the bill
You can use this idiomatic expression when dining out with friends.
Go with the flow – Relax and get along
When you “go with the flow” you keep calm and just go along with whatever is happening around you.
Got off scot-free – Escaped
When you “get off scot-free”, you managed to escape any consequences for your actions.
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Hard to swallow – Unbelievable
If someone told you something that you just can’t believe, they told you something that is “hard to swallow”.
Have your whole life in front of you – Young
Someone who has their whole life in front of them is young and full of promise.
Hold out an olive branch – Apologize
When you do this, you try to make amends or peace with someone you’ve hurt or angered.
In hot water – In trouble
This idiomatic expression can be used to say that you are in a less than ideal situation.
Inching forward - Making slow progress
When you say this, you’re saying things are proceeding slowly.
Keep on the straight and narrow – Keep out of trouble
When you say this, you are implying that you are going to live in a morally correct way.
Keep your chin up – Stay positive
Even if you’re going through a hard time, you should keep thinking positive.
Kicked the bucket – Died
This is an irreverent phrase to say that someone has died. Be careful how you use it.
Let the cat out of the bag – Spoiled the secret
You “let the cat out of the bag” when you accidentally let someone in on a secret that they weren’t meant to know.
Look up to – Respect
When you “look up to” someone you are acknowledging that you respect them and value their opinion.
Loaded – Rich
When you call someone “loaded” you are saying that they are rich.
Lost at sea – Confused
If a situation is making you feel confused or lost, this is the idiom to use.
Making ends meet – Careful budgeting
If you. don’t have much money, you need to “make ends meet”. This means you carefully budget what you do have to meet your needs.
Make a mountain out of a molehill –Exaggerate
This idiom is used to say that someone is being over-dramatic with their complaints or concerns.
Make waves – Change things
When you “make waves”, you change a situation dramatically. This can also mean that you caused trouble.
Nip in the bud – Stop
When you do this, you take action to keep a situation from getting worse.
No sweat – Easy
When you say “no sweat” you are saying that a task was easy
Not your cup of tea – Not something you like
If you say that something is “not your cup of tea” you are saying it’s not something you particularly like or enjoy.
Once in a blue moon – Rare
This implies something that either won’t happen or rarely happens.
Out in the open – Public knowledge
When something is “out in the open”, it is a matter of public knowledge.
Over the moon – Very happy
You can use this to describe the feeling of getting something you’ve been looking forward to for a long time.
On cloud nine – Very happy
Similar to being over the moon.
Packed like sardines – Crowded
If people are “packed like sardines” in a venue, they are standing very close together in a small space.
Piece of cake –Easy
If you say something is a “piece of cake” you are saying that it is easy.
Pitch in - Contribute
When you “pitch-in”, you work with a group of people to reach a common goal.
Point of view – An opinion
Your “point of view” is what you think about someone or a situation.
Pony up – Pay
If you are paying back a debt, you are “ponying up” the money.
Pour oil on troubled waters – Calm things down
This basically means that you played peacemaker and kept an argument from developing into a physical fight.
Put your head in the sand – Deny something unpleasant
When you have your “head in the sand”, you are deliberately ignoring a bad situation.
Rags to riches – Became rich
Someone who went from “rags to riches” was born poor or underprivileged, but is now in a better social position.
Rain or shine – No matter what
This idiomatic expression is used to express the idea that nothing will stop you.
Reap the rewards – Received the benefits
When you “reap the rewards”, you are getting the benefits of your good work.
Rings a bell – Sounds familiar
When you think that you’ve heard a piece of information before but are not so sure.
Rule of thumb – General practice
A “rule of thumb” is an unwritten rule that is followed by the majority.
Separate the wheat from the chaff – Decide what is valuable
This picturesque idiom refers to how, when you harvest wheat, you need to separate it from the stalks and leaves. So, it means that you pick out or choose what is valuable to keep.
Shell out money – Pay
When you “shell out money”, you pay for an item.
Sitting on the fence – Neutral
When you “sit on the fence” you are avoiding making a decision. Often, this is a decision between two people with different opinions.
Smart cookie – Smart person
You can use this idiom to describe someone intelligent.
Spice things up – Make things interesting
When you “spice things up” you do something to break out of your normal routine.
Spill the beans – Tell
When you do this, you tell someone something they didn’t know. It may or not have been a secret previously.
Sticky fingers – Thief
If you accuse someone of having “sticky fingers” you are basically calling them a thief.
Take a side – Choose who to support
When you “take a side” in an argument, you are agreeing with one of those arguing.
Throw light on – Explain something
When you “throw light on” a situation, you help make sure that it is understood.
To move at a snail’s pace – Move slowly
This is another idiomatic phrase that’s meant to paint a picture. A snail moves slowly, so to move at its pace means things are going slowly.
Tread carefully – Be cautious
This implies that a situation is fraught and it might be easy to offend those involved.
Under the table – Secretive
When you do something “under the table”, you are trying to do something so that only a small amount of people are aware of it. It’s commonly used to describe something that is possibly unscrupulous. For example, bribes are given “under the table”.
Undermine your position – Act unconvincingly
When you behave in a way that makes you and your opinion seem untrustworthy.
Up in the air – Uncertain
When you say something is “up in the air”, you are saying that you are not sure that an event is happening.
Weather the storm – Survive
When you “weather the storm”, you endure a bad situation.
When it rains, it pours – Trouble comes
This refers to the fact that sometimes, many bad things happen to people at one time.
So there you have it, 10 idiomatic expressions and their meanings. These idioms are used by native English language speakers to add some color to their daily speech.
Google is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence,[9] and consumer electronics. It has been referred to as "the most powerful company in the world"[10] and one of the world's most valuable brands due to its market dominance, data collection, and technological advantages in the area of artificial intelligence.[11][12][13] Its parent company Alphabet is considered one of the Big Five American information technology companies, alongside Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft.
Google was founded on September 4, 1998, by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were PhD students at Stanford University in California. Together they own about 14% of its publicly listed shares and control 56% of the stockholder voting power through super-voting stock. The company went public via an initial public offering (IPO) in 2004. In 2015, Google was reorganized as a wholly owned subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. Google is Alphabet's largest subsidiary and is a holding company for Alphabet's Internet properties and interests. Sundar Pichai was appointed CEO of Google on October 24, 2015, replacing Larry Page, who became the CEO of Alphabet. On December 3, 2019, Pichai also became the CEO of Alphabet.[14]
The company has since rapidly grown to offer a multitude of products and services beyond Google Search, many of which hold dominant market positions. These products address a wide range of use cases, including email (Gmail), navigation (Waze & Maps), cloud computing (Cloud), web browsing (Chrome), video sharing (YouTube), productivity (Workspace), operating systems (Android), cloud storage (Drive), language translation (Translate), photo storage (Photos), video calling (Meet), smart home (Nest), smartphones (Pixel), wearable technology (Pixel Watch & Fitbit), music streaming (YouTube Music), video on demand (YouTube TV), artificial intelligence (Google Assistant), machine learning APIs (TensorFlow), AI chips (TPU), and more. Discontinued Google products include gaming (Stadia), Glass,[citation needed] Google+, Reader, Play Music, Nexus, Hangouts, and Inbox by Gmail.[15][16]
Google's other ventures outside of Internet services and consumer electronics include quantum computing (Sycamore), self-driving cars (Waymo, formerly the Google Self-Driving Car Project), smart cities (Sidewalk Labs), and transformer models (Google Brain).[17]
Google and YouTube are the two most visited websites worldwide followed by Facebook and Twitter. Google is also the largest search engine, mapping and navigation application, email provider, office suite, video sharing platform, photo and cloud storage provider, mobile operating system, web browser, ML framework, and AI virtual assistant provider in the world as measured by market share. On the list of most valuable brands, Google is ranked second by Forbes[18] and fourth by Interbrand.[19] It has received significant criticism involving issues such as privacy concerns, tax avoidance, censorship, search neutrality, antitrust and abuse of its monopoly position.
In March 1999, the company moved its offices to Palo Alto, California,[52] which is home to several prominent Silicon Valley technology start-ups.[53] The next year, Google began selling advertisements associated with search keywords against Page and Brin's initial opposition toward an advertising-funded search engine.[54][22] To maintain an uncluttered page design, advertisements were solely text-based.[55] In June 2000, it was announced that Google would become the default search engine provider for Yahoo!, one of the most popular websites at the time, replacing Inktomi.
In 2003, after outgrowing two other locations, the company leased an office complex from Silicon Graphics, at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway in Mountain View, California.[59] The complex became known as the Googleplex, a play on the word googolplex, the number one followed by a googol zeroes. Three years later, Google bought the property from SGI for $319 million.[60] By that time, the name "Google" had found its way into everyday language, causing the verb "google" to be added to the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary, denoted as: "to use the Google search engine to obtain information on the Internet".[61][62] The first use of the verb on television appeared in an October 2002 episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.[63]
Additionally, in 2001 Google's investors felt the need to have a strong internal management, and they agreed to hire Eric Schmidt as the chairman and CEO of Google.[49] Eric was proposed by John Doerr from Kleiner Perkins. He had been trying to find a CEO that Sergey and Larry would accept for several months, but they rejected several candidates because they wanted to retain control over the company. Michael Moritz from Sequoia Capital at one point even menaced requesting Google to immediately pay back Sequoia's $12.5m investment if they did not fulfill their promise to hire a chief executive office, which had been made verbally during investment negotiations. Eric wasn't initially enthusiastic about joining Google either, as the company's full potential hadn't yet been widely recognized at the time, and as he was occupied with his responsibilities at Novell where he was CEO. As part of him joining, Eric agreed to buy $1 million of Google preferred stocks as a way to show his commitment and to provide funds Google needed.
Google generates most of its revenues from advertising. This includes sales of apps, purchases made in-app, digital content products on Google and YouTube, Android and licensing and service fees, including fees received for Google Cloud offerings. Forty-six percent of this profit was from clicks (cost per clicks), amounting to US$109,652 million in 2017. This includes three principal methods, namely AdMob, AdSense (such as AdSense for Content, AdSense for Search, etc.) and DoubleClick AdExchange.
In addition to its own algorithms for understanding search requests, Google uses technology its acquisition of DoubleClick, to project user interest and target advertising to the search context and the user history.
In 2007, Google launched "AdSense for Mobile", taking advantage of the emerging mobile advertising market.
Google Analytics allows website owners to track where and how people use their website, for example by examining click rates for all the links on a page. Google advertisements can be placed on third-party websites in a two-part program. Google Ads allows advertisers to display their advertisements in the Google content network, through a cost-per-click scheme.[138] The sister service, Google AdSense, allows website owners to display these advertisements on their website and earn money every time ads are clicked.[139] One of the criticisms of this program is the possibility of click fraud, which occurs when a person or automated script clicks on advertisements without being interested in the product, causing the advertiser to pay money to Google unduly. Industry reports in 2006 claimed that approximately 14 to 20 percent of clicks were fraudulent or invalid.[140] Google Search Console (rebranded from Google Webmaster Tools in May 2015) allows webmasters to check the sitemap, crawl rate, and for security issues of their websites, as well as optimize their website's visibility.
Consumer services
Web-based services
Google offers Gmail for email, Google Calendar for time-management and scheduling, Google Maps for mapping, navigation and satellite imagery, Google Drive for cloud storage of files, Google Docs, Sheets and Slides for productivity, Google Photos for photo storage and sharing, Google Keep for note-taking, Google Translate for language translation, YouTube for video viewing and sharing, Google My Business for managing public business information, and Duo for social interaction. In March 2019, Google unveiled a cloud gaming service named Stadia. A job search product has also existed since before 2017, Google for Jobs is an enhanced search feature that aggregates listings from job boards and career sites.
Some Google services are not web-based. Google Earth, launched in 2005, allowed users to see high-definition satellite pictures from all over the world for free through a client software downloaded to their computers.
Software
Google develops the Android mobile operating system, as well as its smartwatch, television, car, and Internet of things-enabled smart devices variations.
It also develops the Google Chrome web browser, and Chrome OS, an operating system based on Chrome.
Hardware
In January 2010, Google released Nexus One, the first Android phone under its own brand. It spawned a number of phones and tablets under the "Nexus" branding until its eventual discontinuation in 2016, replaced by a new brand called Pixel.
In 2011, the Chromebook was introduced, which runs on Chrome OS.
In July 2013, Google introduced the Chromecast dongle, which allows users to stream content from their smartphones to televisions.
In June 2014, Google announced Google Cardboard, a simple cardboard viewer that lets user place their smartphone in a special front compartment to view virtual reality (VR) media.
Other hardware products include:
•Nest, a series of voice assistant smart speakers that can answer voice queries, play music, find information from apps (calendar, weather etc.), and control third-party smart home appliances (users can tell it to turn on the lights, for example). The Google Nest line includes the original Google Home (later succeeded by the Nest Audio), the Google Home Mini (later succeeded by the Nest Mini, the Google Home Max, the Google Home Hub (later rebranded as the Nest Hub), and the Nest Hub Max.
•Nest Wifi (originally Google Wifi), a connected set of Wi-Fi routers to simplify and extend coverage of home Wi-Fi.
Enterprise services
Google Workspace (formerly G Suite until October 2020) is a monthly subscription offering for organizations and businesses to get access to a collection of Google's services, including Gmail, Google Drive and Google Docs, Google Sheets and Google Slides, with additional administrative tools, unique domain names, and 24/7 support.
On September 24, 2012, Google launched Google for Entrepreneurs, a largely not-for-profit business incubator providing startups with co-working spaces known as Campuses, with assistance to startup founders that may include workshops, conferences, and mentorships. Presently, there are seven Campus locations: Berlin, London, Madrid, Seoul, São Paulo, Tel Aviv, and Warsaw.
On March 15, 2016, Google announced the introduction of Google Analytics 360 Suite, "a set of integrated data and marketing analytics products, designed specifically for the needs of enterprise-class marketers" which can be integrated with BigQuery on the Google Cloud Platform. Among other things, the suite is designed to help "enterprise class marketers" "see the complete customer journey", generate "useful insights", and "deliver engaging experiences to the right people". Jack Marshall of The Wall Street Journal wrote that the suite competes with existing marketing cloud offerings by companies including Adobe, Oracle, Salesforce, and IBM.
Internet services
In February 2010, Google announced the Google Fiber project, with experimental plans to build an ultra-high-speed broadband network for 50,000 to 500,000 customers in one or more American cities.[178][179] Following Google's corporate restructure to make Alphabet Inc. its parent company, Google Fiber was moved to Alphabet's Access division.[180][181]
In April 2015, Google announced Project Fi, a mobile virtual network operator, that combines Wi-Fi and cellular networks from different telecommunication providers in an effort to enable seamless connectivity and fast Internet signal.
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes, its name comes from the face book directories often given to American university students. Membership was initially limited to Harvard students, gradually expanding to other North American universities and, since 2006, anyone over 13 years old. As of July 2022, Facebook claimed 2.93 billion monthly active users,[6] and ranked third worldwide among the most visited websites as of July 2022.[7] It was the most downloaded mobile app of the 2010s.[8]
Facebook can be accessed from devices with Internet connectivity, such as personal computers, tablets and smartphones. After registering, users can create a profile revealing information about themselves. They can post text, photos and multimedia which are shared with any other users who have agreed to be their "friend" or, with different privacy settings, publicly. Users can also communicate directly with each other with Facebook Messenger, join common-interest groups, and receive notifications on the activities of their Facebook friends and the pages they follow.
The subject of numerous controversies, Facebook has often been criticized over issues such as user privacy (as with the Cambridge Analytica data scandal), political manipulation (as with the 2016 U.S. elections) and mass surveillance.[9] Posts originating from the Facebook page of Breitbart News, a media organization previously affiliated with Cambridge Analytica,[10] are currently among the most widely shared political content on Facebook.[11][12][13][14][15] Facebook has also been subject to criticism over psychological effects such as addiction and low self-esteem, and various controversies over content such as fake news, conspiracy theories, copyright infringement, and hate speech.
Zuckerberg built a website called "Facemash" in 2003 while attending Harvard University. The site was comparable to Hot or Not and used "photos compiled from the online face books of nine Houses, placing two next to each other at a time and asking users to choose the "hotter" person". Facemash attracted 450 visitors and 22,000 photo-views in its first four hours. The site was sent to several campus group listservs, but was shut down a few days later by Harvard administration. Zuckerberg faced expulsion and was charged with breaching security, violating copyrights and violating individual privacy. Ultimately, the charges were dropped. Zuckerberg expanded on this project that semester by creating a social study tool. He uploaded art images, each accompanied by a comments section, to a website he shared with his classmates.
A "face book" is a student directory featuring photos and personal information. In 2003, Harvard had only a paper version[ along with private online directories. Zuckerberg told The Harvard Crimson, "Everyone's been talking a lot about a universal face book within Harvard. ... I think it's kind of silly that it would take the University a couple of years to get around to it. I can do it better than they can, and I can do it in a week."[29] In January 2004, Zuckerberg coded a new website, known as "TheFacebook", inspired by a Crimson editorial about Facemash, stating, "It is clear that the technology needed to create a centralized Website is readily available ... the benefits are many." Zuckerberg met with Harvard student Eduardo Saverin, and each of them agreed to invest $1,000 ($1,435 in 2021 dollars[30]) in the site.[31] On February 4, 2004, Zuckerberg launched "TheFacebook", originally located at thefacebook.com.
Six days after the site launched, Harvard seniors Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss, and Divya Narendra accused Zuckerberg of intentionally misleading them into believing that he would help them build a social network called HarvardConnection.com. They claimed that he was instead using their ideas to build a competing product. The three complained to the Crimson and the newspaper began an investigation. They later sued Zuckerberg, settling in 2008 for 1.2 million shares (worth $300 million ($354 million in 2021 dollars[30]) at Facebook's IPO).
Membership was initially restricted to students of Harvard College. Within a month, more than half the undergraduates had registered.[36] Dustin Moskovitz, Andrew McCollum, and Chris Hughes joined Zuckerberg to help manage the growth of the website.[37] In March 2004, Facebook expanded to Columbia, Stanford and Yale.[38] It then became available to all Ivy League colleges, Boston University, NYU, MIT, and successively most universities in the United States and Canada.
In mid-2004, Napster co-founder and entrepreneur Sean Parker—an informal advisor to Zuckerberg—became company president.[41] In June 2004, the company moved to Palo Alto, California.[42] It received its first investment later that month from PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel. In 2005, the company dropped "the" from its name after purchasing the domain name Facebook.com for US$200,000 ($277,492 in 2021 dollars). The domain had belonged to AboutFace Corporation.
In May 2005, Accel Partners invested $12.7 million ($17.6 million in 2021 dollars) in Facebook, and Jim Breyer added $1 million ($1.39 million in 2021 dollars) of his own money. A high-school version of the site launched in September 2005. Eligibility expanded to include employees of several companies, including Apple Inc. and Microsoft.
Facebook was sued by the Federal Trade Commission as well as a coalition of several states for illegal monopolization and antitrust. The FTC and states sought the courts to force Facebook to sell its subsidiaries WhatsApp and Instagram.[183][184] The suits were dismissed by a federal judge on June 28, 2021, who stated that there was not enough evidence brought in the suit to determine Facebook to be a monopoly at this point, though allowed the FTC to amend its case to include additional evidence. In its amended filings in August 2021, the FTC asserted that Facebook had been a monopoly in the area of personal social networks since 2011, distinguishing Facebook's activities from social media services like TikTok that broadcast content without necessarily l
At a crossroads – Needing to make an important decision
When you are at a crossroads, you are at a point in your life where you need to make a decision. The implication is that the decision you make will have big, life-altering consequences.
Bad apple – Bad person
You can use this idiom to describe someone who is not nice and maybe even criminal.
Barking up the wrong tree – Pursuing the wrong course
When you “bark up the wrong tree” you are pursuing the wrong solution to your problems.
Be closefisted – Stingy
If you are being “closefisted”, you don’t want to spend a lot of money.
Be cold-hearted – Uncaring
If you decide to be “cold-hearted”, you are making a deliberate decision not to care about someone or something.
Be on solid ground – Confident
When you are “on solid ground”, you are confident in your position
A wrecking yard (Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian English), scrapyard (Irish and British English) or junkyard (American English) is the location of a business in dismantling where wrecked or decommissioned vehicles are brought, their usable parts are sold for use in operating vehicles, while the unusable metal parts, known as scrap metal parts, are sold to metal-recycling companies.
Other terms include wreck yard, wrecker's yard, salvage yard, breakers yard, dismantler and scrapheap. In the United Kingdom, car salvage yards are known as car breakers, while motorcycle salvage yards are known as bike breakers. In Australia, they are often referred to as 'Wreckers'.
The most common type of wreck yards are automobile wreck yards, but junkyards for motorcycles, bicycles, small airplanes and boats exist too.
Many salvage yards operate on a local level—when an automobile is severely damaged, has malfunctioned beyond repair, or not worth the repair, the owner may sell it to a junkyard; in some cases—as when the car has become disabled in a place where derelict cars are not allowed to be left—the car owner will pay the wrecker to haul the car away.
Salvage yards also buy most of the wrecked, derelict and abandoned vehicles that are sold at auction from police impound storage lots,and often buy vehicles from insurance tow yards as well.
The salvage yard will usually tow the vehicle from the location of its purchase to the yard, but occasionally vehicles are driven in. At the salvage yard the automobiles are typically arranged in rows, often stacked on top of one another.
Some yards keep inventories in their offices, as to the usable parts in each car, as well as the car's location in the yard. Many yards have computerized inventory systems. About 75% of any given vehicle can be recycled and used for other goods.
In recent years it is becoming increasingly common to use satellite part finder services to contact multiple salvage yards from a single source.
In the 20th century these were call centres that charged a premium rate for calls and compiled a facsimile that was sent to various salvage yards so they could respond directly if the part was in stock. Many of these are now Web-based with requests for parts being e-mailed instantly.
Something I have beeen working on for a little while. Took me a while to get the right tone for this image. Played around with many tones and in the end it could of been a number of end results but I settled for this coppery type tone.
Check out my Profile Page for more information on my images and my website and contact details
Copyright © 2012 Neal Pritchard Photography
This photo may not be used in any form without prior permission. All rights reserved. All images may NOT be used on websites, blogs or in any other form of media print or web based without explicit written permission by Spool Photography
epiFlection.epiclectic.com - The Album
Twisted graphic enhancements of mostly found life form images captured from the web-based world, courtesy of the epiPhone camera, Photoshop and the warped mind of the epiclectic.
Disclaimer - If anyone objects to me reprocessing one of their images, please drop me a flickr mail and I will be more than happy to provide a link to your original image - or remove it from my public photo stream.
Call for Images - If you have a photograph you would like to submit for an official epiFlection treatment, send me a flickr mail with a link to your photo. Once posted, you will get credit, a link to your photo, and a great photo for downloading, printing, framing and giving as a wonderful gift to loved ones in your close circle of friends.
A wrecking yard (Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian English), scrapyard (Irish and British English) or junkyard (American English) is the location of a business in dismantling where wrecked or decommissioned vehicles are brought, their usable parts are sold for use in operating vehicles, while the unusable metal parts, known as scrap metal parts, are sold to metal-recycling companies.
Other terms include wreck yard, wrecker's yard, salvage yard, breakers yard, dismantler and scrapheap. In the United Kingdom, car salvage yards are known as car breakers, while motorcycle salvage yards are known as bike breakers. In Australia, they are often referred to as 'Wreckers'.
The most common type of wreck yards are automobile wreck yards, but junkyards for motorcycles, bicycles, small airplanes and boats exist too.
Many salvage yards operate on a local level—when an automobile is severely damaged, has malfunctioned beyond repair, or not worth the repair, the owner may sell it to a junkyard; in some cases—as when the car has become disabled in a place where derelict cars are not allowed to be left—the car owner will pay the wrecker to haul the car away.
Salvage yards also buy most of the wrecked, derelict and abandoned vehicles that are sold at auction from police impound storage lots,and often buy vehicles from insurance tow yards as well.
The salvage yard will usually tow the vehicle from the location of its purchase to the yard, but occasionally vehicles are driven in. At the salvage yard the automobiles are typically arranged in rows, often stacked on top of one another.
Some yards keep inventories in their offices, as to the usable parts in each car, as well as the car's location in the yard. Many yards have computerized inventory systems. About 75% of any given vehicle can be recycled and used for other goods.
In recent years it is becoming increasingly common to use satellite part finder services to contact multiple salvage yards from a single source.
In the 20th century these were call centres that charged a premium rate for calls and compiled a facsimile that was sent to various salvage yards so they could respond directly if the part was in stock. Many of these are now Web-based with requests for parts being e-mailed instantly.
Blue
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whose Whose umbrella this matter does it matter anyway everyone Everyone thinks stole that file center hate being center attention couple couple on their honeymoon now site This site big! end It’s end era project This project file due tomorrow hit hit burglar with bat base All moms are their child’s home base activity musical activity suggest toddler star son draw star! table saw draw it while was writing on table need need enroll good preschool court There’s basketball court near house produce Fresh farm produce best eat could eat that all day American sister dating American teach love teach English lessons oil Could buy some cooking oil at store half Just half liter situation situation getting out hand easy thought said this was going easy cost cost fuel has increased! industry fuel industry hiking prices figure government figure out how fix this problem face can’t bear face this horrendous traffic again again street Let’s cross street image There’s image stored inside mind itself 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catch up soon please! step Watch your step baby baby adorable computer turn on computer type need type your password attention have your attention draw draw this film That film absolutely mind-blowing Republican Republican candidate tree That tree has been there generations source are source strength red I’ll wear red dress tonight nearly nearly died that accident! organization Their organization doing great things street kids choose Let choose color cause have see cause effect this experiment hair I’ll cut hair short change look look at items bought point point all this century We’re living 21st century Mary evidence evidence clearly shows that guilty window I’ll buy window curtains next week difficult Sometimes life difficult listen have listen your teacher soon launch course soon culture hope they understand culture better billion target have 1 billion dollars account by end year chance there chance that this brother brother always have back energy Now put that energy into walking period They covered period twenty years course Have seen course already summer I’ll go beach summer less Sometimes less more realize just realize that have meeting today hundred have hundred dollars that lend available am available work on your project plant Plant seed likely It was likely deer trail opportunity It was perfect opportunity test theory term I’m sure there’s Latin term it short It was just short stay at hotel letter already passed letter intent condition know condition am choice have no choice place Let’s meet out at meeting place single am single parent rule It’s rule law daughter knows how read now administration take this up with administration south am headed south husband just bought ring birthday Congress It debated at Congress floor She floor manager campaign handled their election campaign material She had nothing material report population population nearest big city was growing well wish well call am going call bank economy economy booming medical -She needs medical assistance hospital I’ll take nearest hospital church saw church last Sunday close -Please close door thousand There are thousand reasons learn English! risk Taking risk rewarding current your current address fire Make sure your smoke alarm works case fire future -The future full hope wrong That wrong answer involve need involve police defense your defense or reason did this anyone Does anyone know answer increase Let’s increase your test score security Some apartment buildings have security bank need go bank withdraw some money myself clean up by myself certainly certainly help clean up west drive West arrive California sport favorite sport soccer board see board seek Seek find per Lobster $20 per pound subject favorite subject English! officer Where find police officer private This private party rest Let’s take 15 minute rest behavior This dog’s behavior excellent deal used car good deal performance Your performance affected by your sleep fight don’t fight with throw German ball! top are top student quickly Let’s finish reading this quickly past past English was as good as it today goal speak English fluently second second goal increase confidence bed go bed around 10pm order would like order book author author this series world-famous fill need fill (up) gas tank represent represent family focus Turn off your phone TV focus on your studies! foreign It’s great having foreign friends drop don’t drop eggs! plan Let’s make plan blood hospital needs people give blood upon Once upon time princess lived castle agency Let’s contract agency help with marketing push door says ‘push ’ ‘pull ' nature love walking nature! colou color blue no ‘No’ one shortest complete sentences recently cleaned bathroom most recently think it’s your turn this time store I’m going store buy some bread reduce reuse recycle are ways help environment sound like sound wind chimes note take notes during lesson fine movie let’s buy popcorn! near Near far wherever are believe that heart goes 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thought list made list things do individual buy individual or group membership simple appliance comes with simple instructions quality paid little more quality shoes pressure There no pressure finish right now accept accept credit card answer Give your answer by noon tomorrow hard That test was very hard resource library has many online resources identify can’t identify that plant left door on your left as approach meeting We’ll have staff meeting after lunch determine Eye color genetically determined prepare I’ll prepare breakfast tomorrow disease Face masks help prevent disease whatever Choose whatever flavor like best success Failure back door success argue It’s good idea argue with your boss cup Would like cup coffee particularly It’s particularly hot outside just warm amount It take large amount food feed elephant ability has ability explain things well staff There are five people on staff here recognize recognize person this photo indicate reply indicated that she understood character trust people good character growth company has seen strong growth this quarter loss farmer suffered heavy losses after storm degree Set oven 300 degrees wonder wonder Bulls win game attack army attack at dawn herself She bought herself new coat region internet services are your region television don’t watch much television box packed dishes strong box TV There good movie on TV tonight training company pay your training pretty That pretty dress trade stock market traded lower today deal got good deal at store election Who think win election everybody likes ice cream physical Keep physical distance six feet lay baby crib general impression restaurant was good feeling have good feeling about this standard standard fee $10 00 bill electrician send bill message have text message on your phone fail fail see funny about that outside cat goes outside sometimes arrive When your plane arrive analysis I’ll give analysis when I’ve seen everything benefit There are many health benefits quinoa name What’s your name sex know sex your baby yet forward Move car forward few feet lawyer legal helped write present everyone present meeting begin section stadium are sitting environmental science economy politics political politician issues are news glass much heavier than plastic answer Could answer question skill best skill woodworking sister lives close PM movie starts at 7:30 PM professor Dr Smith professor operation mining operation employs thousands people financial keep accounts at financial institution crime police fight crime stage caterpillar larval stage butterfly ok Would it ok eat out tonight compare should compare cars before buy one authority City authorities make local laws miss you when see again design need design new logo sort Let’s sort these beads according color one only have one cat act I’ll act on your information today ten baby counted ten toes knowledge have knowledge fix that gun Gun ownership controversial topic station There train station close house blue favorite color blue state After accident was state shock strategy new corporate strategy written here little prefer little cars clearly instructions clearly written discuss We’ll discuss that at meeting indeed Your mother does indeed have hearing loss force It takes lot force open that door truth tell truth song That’s beautiful song example need example that grammar point democratic Does Australia have democratic government check check work sure it’s correct environment live healthy environment leg boy broke leg dark Turn on light it’s dark here public Masks must worn public places various That rug comes various shades gray rather Would rather have hamburger than hot dog laugh That movie always makes laugh guess don’t know just guess executive company’s executives are paid well set Set glass on table study needs study test prove employee proved worth hang hang your coat on hook entire ate entire meal 10 minutes rock There are decorative rocks garden design windows don’t open by design enough Have had enough coffee forget Don’t forget stop at store since She hasn’t eaten since yesterday claim made insurance claim car accident note Leave note you’re going late remove Remove cookies from oven manager manager look at your application help Could help move this table close Close door sound dog did make sound enjoy enjoy soda network Band name internet network legal legal documents need signed religious She very religious she attends church weekly cold feet are cold form fill out this application form final divorce was final last month main main problem lack money science studies health science at university green grass green memory has good memory card They sent card birthday above Look on shelf above sink seat That’s comfortable seat cell Your body made millions cells establish They established their business 1942 nice That’s very nice car trial They are employing on trial basis expert Matt IT expert that Did see that movie spring Spring most beautiful season firm ‘no was very firm she won’t change mind Democrat Democrats control Senate radio listen radio car visit visited museum today management That store has good management care She cares mother at home avoid should avoid poison ivy imagine imagine pigs could fly tonight Would like go out tonight huge That truck huge! ball threw ball dog no said ‘no ’ don’t ask again close Close window finish Did finish your homework yourself gave yourself haircut talk talks lot theory theory that’s good plan impact drought had big impact on crops respond hasn’t responded text yet statement police chief gave statement media maintain Exercise helps maintain healthy weight charge need charge phone popular That’s popular restaurant traditional They serve traditional Italian food there onto Jump onto boat we’ll go fishing reveal Washing off dirt revealed boy’s skinned knee direction direction city from here weapon No weapons are allowed government buildings employee That store only has three employees cultural There cultural significance those old ruins contain carton contains dozen egges peace World leaders gathered peace talks head head hurts control Keep control car base glass has heavy base it won’t fall over pain have chest pain apply Maria applied job play children play at park measure Measure twice cut once wide doorway was very wide shake Don’t shake soda fly fly France next year interview job interview went well manage Did manage find keys chair table has six matching chairs fish don’t enjoy eating fish particular That particular style looks good on camera use camera on phone structure building’s structure solid politics Mitch very active politics perform singer perform tonight bit It rained little bit last night weight Keep track your pet’s weight suddenly storm came up suddenly discover You’ll discover treasures at that thrift store candidate There are ten candidates position top flag flies on top that building production Factory production has improved over summer treat Give yourself treat job well done trip are taking trip Florida January evening I’m staying home this evening affect bank account affect how much buy inside cat stays inside conference There expert presenters at conference unit foot unit measure best Those are best glasses buy style dress out style adult Adults pay full price but children are free worry Don’t worry about tomorrow range doctor offered range options mention mention your story rather Rather than focusing on bad things let’s grateful good things far don’t move far from family deep That poem about life deep front face front edge stand close edge cliff individual These potato chips are individual serving size package specific Could more specific writer are good writer trouble Stay out trouble necessary It necessary sleep throughout Throughout life have always enjoyed reading challenge challenge better fear have fears shoulder have shoulder all work on your own institution Have attended institution higher learning middle am middle child with one older brother one younger sister sea sail seven seas dream have dream bar bar place where alcohol served beautiful are beautiful property own property like house instead Instead eating cake have fruit improve am always looking ways improve stuff When moved realized have lot stuff! claim claim fast reader but actually am average
At a crossroads – Needing to make an important decision
When you are at a crossroads, you are at a point in your life where you need to make a decision. The implication is that the decision you make will have big, life-altering consequences.
Bad apple – Bad person
You can use this idiom to describe someone who is not nice and maybe even criminal.
Barking up the wrong tree – Pursuing the wrong course
When you “bark up the wrong tree” you are pursuing the wrong solution to your problems.
Be closefisted – Stingy
If you are being “closefisted”, you don’t want to spend a lot of money.
Be cold-hearted – Uncaring
If you decide to be “cold-hearted”, you are making a deliberate decision not to care about someone or something.
Be on solid ground – Confident
When you are “on solid ground”, you are confident in your position or feel that you are safe.
Beat around the bush – Avoid saying
When you do this, you are taking a long time to say what you really need to say. You may be doing this because the “truth” is embarrassing or your unsure about how the listener will take it.
Behind you – Supportive
When you are “behind” someone, you are saying that they have your support.
Between a rock and a hard place – Facing difficulties
When you have to choose between two options, neither of which are ideal or “good”.
Blow off steam – Try to relax
When you are stressed or upset about something, sometimes you need to do something to keep you from thinking about it.
Born with a silver spoon in their mouth – Born wealthy
This idiomatic expression is used to describe someone who was born into a wealthy family.
Break the bank – Spend a lot
When you “break the bank”, you spend a lot of money on something. If something will “break the bank”, then it’s expensive.
Bright spark – Smart
A “bright spark” is someone who is smart and valuable to an organization.
Build a case – Argue your point
When you “build a case” for something, you are preparing to argue a point or convince someone that your opinion is the right one.
Build castles in the sky – Daydream
When you fantasize about something you hope to have or achieve.
Burn your bridges – End a relationship
When you “burn your bridges” you end a relationship permanently.
Butter up – Flatter
When you “butter” someone up, you are telling them nice things about themselves.
Bought a lemon – Bad bargain
If something you bought is a “lemon” it is a bad product. In a sense, you wasted your money on it.
Break the ice – Start a conversation
When you start a conversation strangers with the end goal of making new friends.
Calm before the storm – Peaceful
When you use this to describe your state of being or mind, you’re talking about a quiet period before anticipated trouble comes your way.
Chasing rainbows – Pursuing dreams
When you try to follow your dreams. The implication here, however, is that you might be better off forgetting your dreams.
Clear as mud – Hard to understand
When you are confused about something or a situation.
Cool as a cucumber – Calm
This idiomatic expression is meant to describe someone who is calm and relaxed.
Couch potato – Lazy
A couch potato is a lazy person. Specifically, someone who sprawls on their couch watching TV almost all day.
Cross that bridge when we get to it – Think about it later
When you say this, you are telling someone that you will think about something later. The implication is that it’s a problem or a decision that can be put off for now.
Chew it over – Think had about something
This idiom implies that you need to make an important decision and can’t afford to be hasty about it.
Come to light – Be revealed
When something “comes to light” something that was originally concealed from you is revealed.
Cut back on – Reduce
When you use this idiom, you are reducing something.
Cut to the chase – Speak concisely
When you tell someone to “cut to the chase”, you are expressing impatience. This is usually used when someone feels someone else is taking to long to deliver important news.
Crystal clear – Easy to understand
When you say that something is “crystal clear”, you are saying that it is understood.
Dead-end job – No more opportunities
When you are stuck in a “dead-end job”, you are in a career situation where there is no more room for advancement.
Dig deep – Strive
When you “dig deep” you put a lot of effort into a task.
Digging into – Looking closer
When you “dig into” something, you are looking for more information.
Don’t run before you can walk – Don’t assume something is easy
This is a descriptive idiom, it’s meant to make you think about how a baby needs to learn how to walk before they can run. It’s supposed to caution you about assuming you can just do something without learning the basics.
Down to earth – Practical
This describes someone who is known for being sensible and practical.
Eat like a bird – Small appetite
This is used to describe someone who doesn’t eat a lot.
Eat like a horse – Eat a lot
If you eat like a horse, you are eating a lot. You can “eat like a bird” most of the time but “eat like a horse” at a specific time because you are either very hungry or you really like the food.
Eat your words – Admit you were wrong
When you “eat your words” you are admitting that something you said earlier turned out to be wrong.
Every cloud has a silver lining – Things will get better
When you say this, you are telling yourself or someone else that you will get through your troubles.
Face the music – Face the consequences
When you “face the music”, you are owning up to a mistake and trying to make amends.
Find your feet – Adapt
When you are “finding your feet” you are learning how to adapt to a new situation, like a new job.
Follow in their footsteps – Imitate
This idiom is often used between children and their parents, but it can also refer to a mentor or someone you admire. If you “follow in someone’s footsteps”, you do the same thing that they did.
Food for thought – Something to think about
If you are given “food for thought” you have been given something to think about.
A frosty reception – To be unwelcome
If you received a “frosty reception”, you are not welcome.
Fly off the handle – Rages
You can use this idiom to describe someone who is visibly angry over a situation. Often this means that someone is shouting and maybe gesturing violently and even causing damage to property. It also implies that the angry reaction is disproportionate to the situation.
Get on with your life – Continue on after a setback
This is something you can say and should do after going through some problems.
Give them a run for their money – Compete
If you are competing with someone, you are giving them a “run for their money.”
Go Dutch – Split the bill
You can use this idiomatic expression when dining out with friends.
Go with the flow – Relax and get along
When you “go with the flow” you keep calm and just go along with whatever is happening around you.
Got off scot-free – Escaped
When you “get off scot-free”, you managed to escape any consequences for your actions.
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Hard to swallow – Unbelievable
If someone told you something that you just can’t believe, they told you something that is “hard to swallow”.
Have your whole life in front of you – Young
Someone who has their whole life in front of them is young and full of promise.
Hold out an olive branch – Apologize
When you do this, you try to make amends or peace with someone you’ve hurt or angered.
In hot water – In trouble
This idiomatic expression can be used to say that you are in a less than ideal situation.
Inching forward - Making slow progress
When you say this, you’re saying things are proceeding slowly.
Keep on the straight and narrow – Keep out of trouble
When you say this, you are implying that you are going to live in a morally correct way.
Keep your chin up – Stay positive
Even if you’re going through a hard time, you should keep thinking positive.
Kicked the bucket – Died
This is an irreverent phrase to say that someone has died. Be careful how you use it.
Let the cat out of the bag – Spoiled the secret
You “let the cat out of the bag” when you accidentally let someone in on a secret that they weren’t meant to know.
Look up to – Respect
When you “look up to” someone you are acknowledging that you respect them and value their opinion.
Loaded – Rich
When you call someone “loaded” you are saying that they are rich.
Lost at sea – Confused
If a situation is making you feel confused or lost, this is the idiom to use.
Making ends meet – Careful budgeting
If you. don’t have much money, you need to “make ends meet”. This means you carefully budget what you do have to meet your needs.
Make a mountain out of a molehill –Exaggerate
This idiom is used to say that someone is being over-dramatic with their complaints or concerns.
Make waves – Change things
When you “make waves”, you change a situation dramatically. This can also mean that you caused trouble.
Nip in the bud – Stop
When you do this, you take action to keep a situation from getting worse.
No sweat – Easy
When you say “no sweat” you are saying that a task was easy
Not your cup of tea – Not something you like
If you say that something is “not your cup of tea” you are saying it’s not something you particularly like or enjoy.
Once in a blue moon – Rare
This implies something that either won’t happen or rarely happens.
Out in the open – Public knowledge
When something is “out in the open”, it is a matter of public knowledge.
Over the moon – Very happy
You can use this to describe the feeling of getting something you’ve been looking forward to for a long time.
On cloud nine – Very happy
Similar to being over the moon.
Packed like sardines – Crowded
If people are “packed like sardines” in a venue, they are standing very close together in a small space.
Piece of cake –Easy
If you say something is a “piece of cake” you are saying that it is easy.
Pitch in - Contribute
When you “pitch-in”, you work with a group of people to reach a common goal.
Point of view – An opinion
Your “point of view” is what you think about someone or a situation.
Pony up – Pay
If you are paying back a debt, you are “ponying up” the money.
Pour oil on troubled waters – Calm things down
This basically means that you played peacemaker and kept an argument from developing into a physical fight.
Put your head in the sand – Deny something unpleasant
When you have your “head in the sand”, you are deliberately ignoring a bad situation.
Rags to riches – Became rich
Someone who went from “rags to riches” was born poor or underprivileged, but is now in a better social position.
Rain or shine – No matter what
This idiomatic expression is used to express the idea that nothing will stop you.
Reap the rewards – Received the benefits
When you “reap the rewards”, you are getting the benefits of your good work.
Rings a bell – Sounds familiar
When you think that you’ve heard a piece of information before but are not so sure.
Rule of thumb – General practice
A “rule of thumb” is an unwritten rule that is followed by the majority.
Separate the wheat from the chaff – Decide what is valuable
This picturesque idiom refers to how, when you harvest wheat, you need to separate it from the stalks and leaves. So, it means that you pick out or choose what is valuable to keep.
Shell out money – Pay
When you “shell out money”, you pay for an item.
Sitting on the fence – Neutral
When you “sit on the fence” you are avoiding making a decision. Often, this is a decision between two people with different opinions.
Smart cookie – Smart person
You can use this idiom to describe someone intelligent.
Spice things up – Make things interesting
When you “spice things up” you do something to break out of your normal routine.
Spill the beans – Tell
When you do this, you tell someone something they didn’t know. It may or not have been a secret previously.
Sticky fingers – Thief
If you accuse someone of having “sticky fingers” you are basically calling them a thief.
Take a side – Choose who to support
When you “take a side” in an argument, you are agreeing with one of those arguing.
Throw light on – Explain something
When you “throw light on” a situation, you help make sure that it is understood.
To move at a snail’s pace – Move slowly
This is another idiomatic phrase that’s meant to paint a picture. A snail moves slowly, so to move at its pace means things are going slowly.
Tread carefully – Be cautious
This implies that a situation is fraught and it might be easy to offend those involved.
Under the table – Secretive
When you do something “under the table”, you are trying to do something so that only a small amount of people are aware of it. It’s commonly used to describe something that is possibly unscrupulous. For example, bribes are given “under the table”.
Undermine your position – Act unconvincingly
When you behave in a way that makes you and your opinion seem untrustworthy.
Up in the air – Uncertain
When you say something is “up in the air”, you are saying that you are not sure that an event is happening.
Weather the storm – Survive
When you “weather the storm”, you endure a bad situation.
When it rains, it pours – Trouble comes
This refers to the fact that sometimes, many bad things happen to people at one time.
So there you have it, 10 idiomatic expressions and their meanings. These idioms are used by native English language speakers to add some color to their daily speech.
Google is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence,[9] and consumer electronics. It has been referred to as "the most powerful company in the world"[10] and one of the world's most valuable brands due to its market dominance, data collection, and technological advantages in the area of artificial intelligence.[11][12][13] Its parent company Alphabet is considered one of the Big Five American information technology companies, alongside Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft.
Google was founded on September 4, 1998, by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were PhD students at Stanford University in California. Together they own about 14% of its publicly listed shares and control 56% of the stockholder voting power through super-voting stock. The company went public via an initial public offering (IPO) in 2004. In 2015, Google was reorganized as a wholly owned subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. Google is Alphabet's largest subsidiary and is a holding company for Alphabet's Internet properties and interests. Sundar Pichai was appointed CEO of Google on October 24, 2015, replacing Larry Page, who became the CEO of Alphabet. On December 3, 2019, Pichai also became the CEO of Alphabet.[14]
The company has since rapidly grown to offer a multitude of products and services beyond Google Search, many of which hold dominant market positions. These products address a wide range of use cases, including email (Gmail), navigation (Waze & Maps), cloud computing (Cloud), web browsing (Chrome), video sharing (YouTube), productivity (Workspace), operating systems (Android), cloud storage (Drive), language translation (Translate), photo storage (Photos), video calling (Meet), smart home (Nest), smartphones (Pixel), wearable technology (Pixel Watch & Fitbit), music streaming (YouTube Music), video on demand (YouTube TV), artificial intelligence (Google Assistant), machine learning APIs (TensorFlow), AI chips (TPU), and more. Discontinued Google products include gaming (Stadia), Glass,[citation needed] Google+, Reader, Play Music, Nexus, Hangouts, and Inbox by Gmail.[15][16]
Google's other ventures outside of Internet services and consumer electronics include quantum computing (Sycamore), self-driving cars (Waymo, formerly the Google Self-Driving Car Project), smart cities (Sidewalk Labs), and transformer models (Google Brain).[17]
Google and YouTube are the two most visited websites worldwide followed by Facebook and Twitter. Google is also the largest search engine, mapping and navigation application, email provider, office suite, video sharing platform, photo and cloud storage provider, mobile operating system, web browser, ML framework, and AI virtual assistant provider in the world as measured by market share. On the list of most valuable brands, Google is ranked second by Forbes[18] and fourth by Interbrand.[19] It has received significant criticism involving issues such as privacy concerns, tax avoidance, censorship, search neutrality, antitrust and abuse of its monopoly position.
In March 1999, the company moved its offices to Palo Alto, California,[52] which is home to several prominent Silicon Valley technology start-ups.[53] The next year, Google began selling advertisements associated with search keywords against Page and Brin's initial opposition toward an advertising-funded search engine.[54][22] To maintain an uncluttered page design, advertisements were solely text-based.[55] In June 2000, it was announced that Google would become the default search engine provider for Yahoo!, one of the most popular websites at the time, replacing Inktomi.
In 2003, after outgrowing two other locations, the company leased an office complex from Silicon Graphics, at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway in Mountain View, California.[59] The complex became known as the Googleplex, a play on the word googolplex, the number one followed by a googol zeroes. Three years later, Google bought the property from SGI for $319 million.[60] By that time, the name "Google" had found its way into everyday language, causing the verb "google" to be added to the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary, denoted as: "to use the Google search engine to obtain information on the Internet".[61][62] The first use of the verb on television appeared in an October 2002 episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.[63]
Additionally, in 2001 Google's investors felt the need to have a strong internal management, and they agreed to hire Eric Schmidt as the chairman and CEO of Google.[49] Eric was proposed by John Doerr from Kleiner Perkins. He had been trying to find a CEO that Sergey and Larry would accept for several months, but they rejected several candidates because they wanted to retain control over the company. Michael Moritz from Sequoia Capital at one point even menaced requesting Google to immediately pay back Sequoia's $12.5m investment if they did not fulfill their promise to hire a chief executive office, which had been made verbally during investment negotiations. Eric wasn't initially enthusiastic about joining Google either, as the company's full potential hadn't yet been widely recognized at the time, and as he was occupied with his responsibilities at Novell where he was CEO. As part of him joining, Eric agreed to buy $1 million of Google preferred stocks as a way to show his commitment and to provide funds Google needed.
Google generates most of its revenues from advertising. This includes sales of apps, purchases made in-app, digital content products on Google and YouTube, Android and licensing and service fees, including fees received for Google Cloud offerings. Forty-six percent of this profit was from clicks (cost per clicks), amounting to US$109,652 million in 2017. This includes three principal methods, namely AdMob, AdSense (such as AdSense for Content, AdSense for Search, etc.) and DoubleClick AdExchange.
In addition to its own algorithms for understanding search requests, Google uses technology its acquisition of DoubleClick, to project user interest and target advertising to the search context and the user history.
In 2007, Google launched "AdSense for Mobile", taking advantage of the emerging mobile advertising market.
Google Analytics allows website owners to track where and how people use their website, for example by examining click rates for all the links on a page. Google advertisements can be placed on third-party websites in a two-part program. Google Ads allows advertisers to display their advertisements in the Google content network, through a cost-per-click scheme.[138] The sister service, Google AdSense, allows website owners to display these advertisements on their website and earn money every time ads are clicked.[139] One of the criticisms of this program is the possibility of click fraud, which occurs when a person or automated script clicks on advertisements without being interested in the product, causing the advertiser to pay money to Google unduly. Industry reports in 2006 claimed that approximately 14 to 20 percent of clicks were fraudulent or invalid.[140] Google Search Console (rebranded from Google Webmaster Tools in May 2015) allows webmasters to check the sitemap, crawl rate, and for security issues of their websites, as well as optimize their website's visibility.
Consumer services
Web-based services
Google offers Gmail for email, Google Calendar for time-management and scheduling, Google Maps for mapping, navigation and satellite imagery, Google Drive for cloud storage of files, Google Docs, Sheets and Slides for productivity, Google Photos for photo storage and sharing, Google Keep for note-taking, Google Translate for language translation, YouTube for video viewing and sharing, Google My Business for managing public business information, and Duo for social interaction. In March 2019, Google unveiled a cloud gaming service named Stadia. A job search product has also existed since before 2017, Google for Jobs is an enhanced search feature that aggregates listings from job boards and career sites.
Some Google services are not web-based. Google Earth, launched in 2005, allowed users to see high-definition satellite pictures from all over the world for free through a client software downloaded to their computers.
Software
Google develops the Android mobile operating system, as well as its smartwatch, television, car, and Internet of things-enabled smart devices variations.
It also develops the Google Chrome web browser, and Chrome OS, an operating system based on Chrome.
Hardware
In January 2010, Google released Nexus One, the first Android phone under its own brand. It spawned a number of phones and tablets under the "Nexus" branding until its eventual discontinuation in 2016, replaced by a new brand called Pixel.
In 2011, the Chromebook was introduced, which runs on Chrome OS.
In July 2013, Google introduced the Chromecast dongle, which allows users to stream content from their smartphones to televisions.
In June 2014, Google announced Google Cardboard, a simple cardboard viewer that lets user place their smartphone in a special front compartment to view virtual reality (VR) media.
Other hardware products include:
•Nest, a series of voice assistant smart speakers that can answer voice queries, play music, find information from apps (calendar, weather etc.), and control third-party smart home appliances (users can tell it to turn on the lights, for example). The Google Nest line includes the original Google Home (later succeeded by the Nest Audio), the Google Home Mini (later succeeded by the Nest Mini, the Google Home Max, the Google Home Hub (later rebranded as the Nest Hub), and the Nest Hub Max.
•Nest Wifi (originally Google Wifi), a connected set of Wi-Fi routers to simplify and extend coverage of home Wi-Fi.
Enterprise services
Google Workspace (formerly G Suite until October 2020) is a monthly subscription offering for organizations and businesses to get access to a collection of Google's services, including Gmail, Google Drive and Google Docs, Google Sheets and Google Slides, with additional administrative tools, unique domain names, and 24/7 support.
On September 24, 2012, Google launched Google for Entrepreneurs, a largely not-for-profit business incubator providing startups with co-working spaces known as Campuses, with assistance to startup founders that may include workshops, conferences, and mentorships. Presently, there are seven Campus locations: Berlin, London, Madrid, Seoul, São Paulo, Tel Aviv, and Warsaw.
On March 15, 2016, Google announced the introduction of Google Analytics 360 Suite, "a set of integrated data and marketing analytics products, designed specifically for the needs of enterprise-class marketers" which can be integrated with BigQuery on the Google Cloud Platform. Among other things, the suite is designed to help "enterprise class marketers" "see the complete customer journey", generate "useful insights", and "deliver engaging experiences to the right people". Jack Marshall of The Wall Street Journal wrote that the suite competes with existing marketing cloud offerings by companies including Adobe, Oracle, Salesforce, and IBM.
Internet services
In February 2010, Google announced the Google Fiber project, with experimental plans to build an ultra-high-speed broadband network for 50,000 to 500,000 customers in one or more American cities.[178][179] Following Google's corporate restructure to make Alphabet Inc. its parent company, Google Fiber was moved to Alphabet's Access division.[180][181]
In April 2015, Google announced Project Fi, a mobile virtual network operator, that combines Wi-Fi and cellular networks from different telecommunication providers in an effort to enable seamless connectivity and fast Internet signal.
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes, its name comes from the face book directories often given to American university students. Membership was initially limited to Harvard students, gradually expanding to other North American universities and, since 2006, anyone over 13 years old. As of July 2022, Facebook claimed 2.93 billion monthly active users,[6] and ranked third worldwide among the most visited websites as of July 2022.[7] It was the most downloaded mobile app of the 2010s.[8]
Facebook can be accessed from devices with Internet connectivity, such as personal computers, tablets and smartphones. After registering, users can create a profile revealing information about themselves. They can post text, photos and multimedia which are shared with any other users who have agreed to be their "friend" or, with different privacy settings, publicly. Users can also communicate directly with each other with Facebook Messenger, join common-interest groups, and receive notifications on the activities of their Facebook friends and the pages they follow.
The subject of numerous controversies, Facebook has often been criticized over issues such as user privacy (as with the Cambridge Analytica data scandal), political manipulation (as with the 2016 U.S. elections) and mass surveillance.[9] Posts originating from the Facebook page of Breitbart News, a media organization previously affiliated with Cambridge Analytica,[10] are currently among the most widely shared political content on Facebook.[11][12][13][14][15] Facebook has also been subject to criticism over psychological effects such as addiction and low self-esteem, and various controversies over content such as fake news, conspiracy theories, copyright infringement, and hate speech.
Zuckerberg built a website called "Facemash" in 2003 while attending Harvard University. The site was comparable to Hot or Not and used "photos compiled from the online face books of nine Houses, placing two next to each other at a time and asking users to choose the "hotter" person". Facemash attracted 450 visitors and 22,000 photo-views in its first four hours. The site was sent to several campus group listservs, but was shut down a few days later by Harvard administration. Zuckerberg faced expulsion and was charged with breaching security, violating copyrights and violating individual privacy. Ultimately, the charges were dropped. Zuckerberg expanded on this project that semester by creating a social study tool. He uploaded art images, each accompanied by a comments section, to a website he shared with his classmates.
A "face book" is a student directory featuring photos and personal information. In 2003, Harvard had only a paper version[ along with private online directories. Zuckerberg told The Harvard Crimson, "Everyone's been talking a lot about a universal face book within Harvard. ... I think it's kind of silly that it would take the University a couple of years to get around to it. I can do it better than they can, and I can do it in a week."[29] In January 2004, Zuckerberg coded a new website, known as "TheFacebook", inspired by a Crimson editorial about Facemash, stating, "It is clear that the technology needed to create a centralized Website is readily available ... the benefits are many." Zuckerberg met with Harvard student Eduardo Saverin, and each of them agreed to invest $1,000 ($1,435 in 2021 dollars[30]) in the site.[31] On February 4, 2004, Zuckerberg launched "TheFacebook", originally located at thefacebook.com.
Six days after the site launched, Harvard seniors Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss, and Divya Narendra accused Zuckerberg of intentionally misleading them into believing that he would help them build a social network called HarvardConnection.com. They claimed that he was instead using their ideas to build a competing product. The three complained to the Crimson and the newspaper began an investigation. They later sued Zuckerberg, settling in 2008 for 1.2 million shares (worth $300 million ($354 million in 2021 dollars[30]) at Facebook's IPO).
Membership was initially restricted to students of Harvard College. Within a month, more than half the undergraduates had registered.[36] Dustin Moskovitz, Andrew McCollum, and Chris Hughes joined Zuckerberg to help manage the growth of the website.[37] In March 2004, Facebook expanded to Columbia, Stanford and Yale.[38] It then became available to all Ivy League colleges, Boston University, NYU, MIT, and successively most universities in the United States and Canada.
In mid-2004, Napster co-founder and entrepreneur Sean Parker—an informal advisor to Zuckerberg—became company president.[41] In June 2004, the company moved to Palo Alto, California.[42] It received its first investment later that month from PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel. In 2005, the company dropped "the" from its name after purchasing the domain name Facebook.com for US$200,000 ($277,492 in 2021 dollars). The domain had belonged to AboutFace Corporation.
In May 2005, Accel Partners invested $12.7 million ($17.6 million in 2021 dollars) in Facebook, and Jim Breyer added $1 million ($1.39 million in 2021 dollars) of his own money. A high-school version of the site launched in September 2005. Eligibility expanded to include employees of several companies, including Apple Inc. and Microsoft.
Facebook was sued by the Federal Trade Commission as well as a coalition of several states for illegal monopolization and antitrust. The FTC and states sought the courts to force Facebook to sell its subsidiaries WhatsApp and Instagram.[183][184] The suits were dismissed by a federal judge on June 28, 2021, who stated that there was not enough evidence brought in the suit to determine Facebook to be a monopoly at this point, though allowed the FTC to amend its case to include additional evidence. In its amended filings in August 2021, the FTC asserted that Facebook had been a monopoly in the area of personal social networks since 2011, distinguishing Facebook's activities from social media services like TikTok that broadcast content without necessarily l
Well all good things must come to a end at some point. I arrived back home very late on thursday evening after hiking around Tasmania for 10 days with my brother. We visited some amazing places from lush rainforests to white sandy beaches with crystal clear blue water and some mountain regions in-between.
While I had thought about posting up one of the panoramic landscape images I have of Cradle Mountain as the first post but really we have all seen a million of them from pretty much the same angle, which surprised me when I was there and actually saw the spots most take their images from … I thought I would go with some thing different for the first post, no farms, no mountains and no beaches, my first post is closer to what originally inspired me to go to Tasmania in the first place … Peter Dombrovkis a legend in Tasmanian Wilderness Photography … I was SO LUCKY to see some of his original work up close in a couple of galleries while I was in Tasmania …
Canon 5D Mrk II. No HDR.
Curves and levels adjustments.
Remember to check out my Facebook Page listed on my profile page for more landscape images
Copyright © Spool Photography.
This photo may not be used in any form without prior permission. All rights reserved. All images may NOT be used on websites, blogs or in any other form of media print or web based without explicit written permission by Spool Photography
2 Image HDR/DRI using GND 0.6 soft. MacRitchie Reservoir, Singapore.
Nothing else but to come here to have a relaxing walk on the platform. It's good to just once in a while get off the boat you've been working on... Sit down, think about what you did during the course of the day, feet in the water... You know, the simple life that we've always yearned for after hours of work.
Surprisingly it took me a while to compose the shot as I didn't like the stuff that was going on the left side of the frame... But I decided to live with it.
A song from The Fixx comes in mind when I think of this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZciNthNnDA
UPDATE: Fixed foreground tonality and reduced overall image "structure".
UPDATE II (080914): Switch to sRGB for web based viewing.
A wrecking yard (Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian English), scrapyard (Irish and British English) or junkyard (American English) is the location of a business in dismantling where wrecked or decommissioned vehicles are brought, their usable parts are sold for use in operating vehicles, while the unusable metal parts, known as scrap metal parts, are sold to metal-recycling companies.
Other terms include wreck yard, wrecker's yard, salvage yard, breakers yard, dismantler and scrapheap. In the United Kingdom, car salvage yards are known as car breakers, while motorcycle salvage yards are known as bike breakers. In Australia, they are often referred to as 'Wreckers'.
The most common type of wreck yards are automobile wreck yards, but junkyards for motorcycles, bicycles, small airplanes and boats exist too.
Many salvage yards operate on a local level—when an automobile is severely damaged, has malfunctioned beyond repair, or not worth the repair, the owner may sell it to a junkyard; in some cases—as when the car has become disabled in a place where derelict cars are not allowed to be left—the car owner will pay the wrecker to haul the car away.
Salvage yards also buy most of the wrecked, derelict and abandoned vehicles that are sold at auction from police impound storage lots,and often buy vehicles from insurance tow yards as well.
The salvage yard will usually tow the vehicle from the location of its purchase to the yard, but occasionally vehicles are driven in. At the salvage yard the automobiles are typically arranged in rows, often stacked on top of one another.
Some yards keep inventories in their offices, as to the usable parts in each car, as well as the car's location in the yard. Many yards have computerized inventory systems. About 75% of any given vehicle can be recycled and used for other goods.
In recent years it is becoming increasingly common to use satellite part finder services to contact multiple salvage yards from a single source.
In the 20th century these were call centres that charged a premium rate for calls and compiled a facsimile that was sent to various salvage yards so they could respond directly if the part was in stock. Many of these are now Web-based with requests for parts being e-mailed instantly.
Amazing coastline from the South West
Check out my Profile Page for more information on my images and my website and contact detailsCopyright © 2013 Neal Pritchard PhotographyThis photo may not be used in any form without prior permission. All rights reserved. All images may NOT be used on websites, blogs or in any other form of media print or web based without explicit written permission by Spool Photography
All the videos of the trip...... I will post them here instead of YouTube....
See below why there is no sound when syreamed from WD MyCloud
VTS_02_2 Mutawinji to White cliffs
home.mycloud.com/action/share/4672c428-a61d-42f0-b196-608...
VTS_02_1 Broken Hill camp to Mutawinji NP
home.mycloud.com/action/share/7c4a5ab8-bc37-436d-9f30-31c...
VTS_01_1 Mt Eccles camp to Lava Lakes
home.mycloud.com/action/share/0fd269fc-ec64-4f9d-a4f1-b4d...
VTS_01_3 OCEAN RD TO ANTS & Sink Hole
home.mycloud.com/action/share/b31abb8b-283b-4453-a41f-6ee...
VTS_01_2 Warrambool-Gibson steps drive Apostles information centre
home.mycloud.com/action/share/bfe909a1-3bee-48e7-93e1-210...
VTS_01_1 Hay plain Shearing to HECLA
home.mycloud.com/action/share/4c85dfdf-eb47-4165-9b01-d3a...
VTS_01_2 HECLA Marina Eyre Pen Donnington Storm Bay
home.mycloud.com/action/share/eac5fd63-e6ee-448b-988f-a0e...
VTS_01_3 Ocean Rd to Port Phillip Bay Ferry
home.mycloud.com/action/share/f785970d-1c5a-4b08-89dd-e29...
VTS_03_1 Mail box Ocean Rd to Dot & Bet
home.mycloud.com/action/share/f5e0b567-3299-4027-9ab4-f6e...
END
There are several reasons why you might not be getting sound from MP4 videos played from your WD My Cloud on Windows 11. Here's a breakdown of common issues and troubleshooting steps:
1. Audio Codec Compatibility:
Unsupported Codec: MP4 is a container format, meaning it can hold video and audio encoded with various codecs. Your Windows 11 media player might not have the necessary codec to decode the audio stream within the MP4 file. This is a very common issue.
HEVC (H.265) Codec: Many modern MP4 videos use HEVC (High-Efficiency Video Coding) for better compression. Windows 11 often requires a separate HEVC Video Extension, which is typically a paid app from the Microsoft Store, to play these videos with native apps like Films & TV. While there might be workarounds for a free OEM version, it's not always reliable.
Solutions:
Install VLC Media Player: VLC is a highly recommended free and open-source media player that comes with a vast array of built-in codecs, making it excellent for playing almost any video file without needing additional codec packs.
Install HEVC Video Extensions: If you prefer to use Windows' native media players, you might need to purchase and install the "HEVC Video Extensions" from the Microsoft Store.
K-Lite Codec Pack: This is another popular option that provides a comprehensive set of codecs for playing various media formats.
2. Windows 11 Sound Settings:
Muted or Low Volume: Double-check your system's volume settings, including the master volume, application-specific volume for your media player, and any physical volume controls on your speakers or headphones.
Incorrect Output Device: Ensure that the correct audio output device (e.g., your speakers, headphones, or external DAC) is selected as the default playback device in Windows 11 sound settings.
Audio Enhancements: Sometimes, audio enhancements can cause issues. Try disabling them in your sound device's properties.
Sound Troubleshooter: Windows 11 has a built-in audio troubleshooter that can often identify and fix common sound problems.
Solutions:
Click the Speakers icon on the taskbar and verify the volume and selected output device.
Go to Start > Settings > System > Sound. Check your output device and consider turning off "Audio enhancements" under "Advanced settings."
Run the Playing Audio troubleshooter from Start > Settings > System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters.
3. WD My Cloud Specific Issues:
Plex Media Server: If you're using Plex Media Server on your WD My Cloud, ensure it's configured correctly and that the media files are properly recognized and transcoded if necessary. Sometimes, Plex might have issues with certain audio codecs, or the server itself might be experiencing problems.
Firmware Updates: Ensure your WD My Cloud device has the latest firmware installed, as updates can sometimes improve compatibility and resolve known issues.
Network Connectivity/SMB Issues: While less likely to affect only sound, network access problems (especially with SMB settings in Windows 11) could indirectly cause playback issues.
Solutions:
Check the WD My Cloud dashboard for firmware updates.
If using Plex, check its settings and logs for any errors related to audio or transcoding.
4. General Troubleshooting:
Update Audio Drivers: Outdated or corrupted audio drivers on your Windows 11 PC can cause sound problems. Check for updates through Device Manager or your computer manufacturer's website.
Restart Your PC and WD My Cloud: A simple restart of both your computer and the WD My Cloud can often resolve temporary glitches.
Try a Different Video Player: As mentioned, VLC is a great option. Trying another player can help determine if the issue is with your current player or the file/system itself.
Test with Local Files: Try playing an MP4 video with sound from your local hard drive (not the WD My Cloud) to determine if the issue is specific to the WD My Cloud connection or a broader Windows 11 sound problem.
For more detailed troubleshooting on Windows 11 sound issues, you can check out this video: How to Fix No Sound Problem in Windows 11. This video provides a comprehensive guide to resolving various audio problems within the Windows 11 operating system.
How to Fix No Sound Problem in Windows 11 [2025 Guide] - YouTube
MDTechVideos · 214K views
but do I need VLC running or do I download the the MP4 file? there is no audio when running the file on the My Cloud site
You've hit on a crucial point! When you're trying to play an MP4 file from your WD My Cloud and you're getting no audio when running the file on the My Cloud site itself, that changes the troubleshooting focus significantly.
Here's why:
"Running the file on the My Cloud site" usually means you're using the WD My Cloud's built-in web interface or its web-based player. This player has its own set of capabilities and limitations regarding audio and video codecs. It's not using your computer's installed VLC player or Windows' native media players directly.
Therefore, the answer to your question is:
You do NOT need VLC running, nor do you necessarily need to download the MP4 file, IF your primary goal is to get the sound working when playing directly from the My Cloud website.
Why the sound might be missing on the My Cloud website:
Browser Codec Limitations: Your web browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, etc.) might not have the necessary audio codec to play the specific audio stream in that MP4 file. Browsers rely on their own built-in media decoders, which might be more limited than a dedicated media player like VLC.
My Cloud Web Player Limitations: The WD My Cloud's built-in web player is designed for convenience but might not support all audio/video codecs. If the audio codec in your MP4 file is uncommon or very new (like some advanced Dolby formats, or specific high-efficiency codecs), the My Cloud's web player might not be able to decode it.
Transcoding Failure (if applicable): Some NAS devices (including My Cloud if it has a streaming/transcoding feature enabled for its web interface) might attempt to "transcode" (convert) the video/audio on the fly for better browser compatibility. If this transcoding fails for the audio track, you'll get video but no sound.
What to do when there's no audio playing from the My Cloud website:
Since the issue is occurring within the My Cloud's web interface, here are your best approaches:
Download the MP4 file and play it locally:
This is the most reliable way to confirm the file itself is fine.
Go to the My Cloud web interface, navigate to the MP4 file, and look for an option to "Download" it to your Windows 11 computer.
Once downloaded, play it using VLC Media Player on your PC. If VLC plays it with sound, then you know the file's audio is intact, and the issue lies with the My Cloud's web player or your browser.
Access the My Cloud via Network Drive (SMB):
This bypasses the My Cloud's web interface and allows you to play the file directly using your Windows 11 PC's media players (like VLC, or even Films & TV if you have the right codecs installed).
How to do it:
Open File Explorer on your Windows 11 PC.
In the left-hand pane, click "Network" (or "This PC" and then "Network location" if mapped).
You should see your WD My Cloud listed under "Network."
Double-click it to browse its shared folders.
Navigate to your MP4 file.
Right-click the MP4 file, choose "Open with," and select VLC Media Player.
This method leverages your local PC's powerful media players and codecs, not the limited web player.
Check My Cloud Settings (Less Common for Audio):
Log into your My Cloud dashboard. Look for any settings related to media streaming, web access, or transcoding. While less common to have an "audio mute" setting, it's worth a quick check for anything obvious. Ensure the My Cloud's firmware is up to date.
In summary:
If you're only getting no audio when playing via the My Cloud's web interface, the problem is likely with the web player's codec support.
Your best immediate solution is to either download the file and play it with VLC, or access the file directly via your network drive (SMB share) and play it with VLC. This leverages VLC's superior codec support on your local machine.
epiFlection.epiclectic.com - The Album
Twisted graphic enhancements of mostly found life form images captured from the web-based world, courtesy of the epiPhone camera, Photoshop and the warped mind of the epiclectic.
Disclaimer - If anyone objects to me reprocessing one of their images, please drop me a flickr mail and I will be more than happy to provide a link to your original image - or remove it from my public photo stream.
Call for Images - If you have a photograph you would like to submit for an official epiFlection treatment, send me a flickr mail with a link to your photo. Once posted, you will get credit, a link to your photo, and a great photo for downloading, printing, framing and giving as a wonderful gift to loved ones in your close circle of friends.
(Article excerpt): While spiders were busy spinning webs in space, researchers on Earth weaved their knowledge of this activity into educational materials to inspire and motivate students. Now, this free, Web-based guide is being re-released through Scholastic and Sony Pictures as curriculum for educators to leap on the excitement surrounding the release of the film, “The Amazing Spider-Man 2.”
For those who may have missed it, this guide’s inspiration came from real science using spiders in space. And although the spiders were exposed to microgravity and radiation in space, they did not morph into mutants; rather, they adapted quite well and provided a biology lesson learned around the world.
Using information gleaned from the Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus Science Insert-05 (CSI-05) investigation conducted aboard the International Space Station, BioServe Space Technologies, Baylor College of Medicine and NASA developed an educational guide for teachers called “Spiders in Space.” The learning tool was also funded by grants from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Houston Endowment Inc., and previous work supported by the National Space Biomedical Research Institute.
Launched with the STS-134 mission aboard space shuttle Endeavour to the space station in 2011, CSI-05 allowed researchers to observe spiders in a microgravity environment. Two golden orb spiders, or Nephila clavipes, were flown aboard the space station in a special habitat. This allowed researchers to study the spiders’ web-spinning practices to see if that behavior or the characteristics of the web they produced would change over time. The habitat’s cameras collected imagery throughout the spiders’ time in microgravity to document any differences between those in space and the same type of spiders on the ground.
Read full article:
www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/spider/
Image credit: Danielle Anthony
Original image:
www.flickr.com/photos/nasa2explore/13969408522/in/set-721...
More about space station research:
www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/index.html
View more photos like this in the "NASA Earth Images" Flickr photoset:
www.flickr.com/photos/28634332@N05
________________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
. . . flight to Bangkok
________________________
The Airbus A340 is a long-range, four-engine, wide-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed and produced by the European aerospace company Airbus. The A340 was assembled at Toulouse, France. It seats up to 375 passengers in the standard variants and 440 in the stretched -600 series. Depending on the model, it has a range of between 6,700 to 9,000 nautical miles (12,400 to 16,700 km; 7,700 to 10,400 mi). Its distinguishing features are four high-bypass turbofan engines and three-bogie main landing gears.
The A340 was manufactured in four fuselage lengths. The initial variant, A340-300, which entered service in 1993, measured 63.69. The shorter -200 was developed next, and the A340-600 was a 15.96 metres stretch of the -200. The -600 was developed alongside the shorter A340-500, which would become the longest-range commercial airliner until the arrival of the Boeing 777-200LR. The -200 and -300 models were powered by the 151 kilonewtons (34,000 lbf) CFM56-5C, while the 267-kilonewton (60,000 lbf) Rolls-Royce Trent 500 was the exclusive powerplant for the extended-range -500 and -600 models. The initial A340-200 and -300 variants share the fuselage and wing of the twin-engine Airbus A330 with which it was concurrently designed. The heavier A340-500 and -600 are longer and have larger wings.
Launch customers Lufthansa and Air France placed the A340 into service in March 1993. In September 2011, 379 orders had been placed (not including private operators), of which 375 were delivered. The most common type were the A340-300 model, with 218 aircraft delivered. Lufthansa is the biggest operator of the A340, having acquired 59 aircraft. The A340 is used on long-haul, trans-oceanic routes due to its immunity from ETOPS restrictions; however, with reliability and fuel efficiency in engines improving, airlines have gradually phased out the type in favour of the more economical Boeing 777 twinjet, while Airbus has positioned the larger variants of the Airbus A350 as a successor. Airbus announced on 10 November 2011 that A340 production had been concluded.
DEVELOPMENT
BACKGROND
When Airbus designed the Airbus A300 during the 1970s, it envisioned a broad family of airliners to compete against Boeing and Douglas, two established US aerospace manufacturers. From the moment of formation, Airbus had begun studies into derivatives of the Airbus A300B in support of this long-term goal. Prior to the service introduction of the first Airbus airliners, Airbus had identified nine possible variations of the A300 known as A300B1 to B9. A 10th variation, conceived in 1973, later the first to be constructed, was designated the A300B10. It was a smaller aircraft that would be developed into the long-range Airbus A310. Airbus then focused its efforts on the single-aisle market, which resulted in the Airbus A320 family, which was the first digital fly-by-wire commercial aircraft. The decision to work on the A320, instead of a four-engine aircraft proposed by the Germans, created divisions within Airbus. As the SA or "single aisle" studies (which later became the successful Airbus A320) underwent development to challenge the successful Boeing 737 and Douglas DC-9 in the single-aisle, narrow-body airliner market, Airbus turned its focus back to the wide-body aircraft market.
The A300B11, a derivative of the A310, was designed upon the availability of "ten ton" engines. It would seat between 180 and 200 passengers, and have a range of 6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km). It was deemed the replacement for the less-efficient Boeing 707s and Douglas DC-8s still in service. The A300B11 was joined by another design, the A300B9, which was a larger derivative of the A300. The B9 was developed by Airbus from the early 1970s at a slow pace until the early 1980s. It was essentially a stretched A300 with the same wing, coupled with the most powerful turbofan engine at the time. It was targeted at the growing demand for high-capacity, medium-range, transcontinental trunk routes. The B9 would offer the same range and payload as the McDonnell Douglas DC-10, but would use between 25% to 38% less fuel. The B9 was therefore considered the replacement for the DC-10 and the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar.
To differentiate the programme from the SA studies, the B9 and B11 were redesignated the TA9 and TA11 (TA standing for "twin aisle"), respectively. In an effort to save development costs, it was decided that the two would share the same wing and airframe; the projected savings were estimated at US$500 million (about £490 million or €495 million). The adoption of a common wing structure also had one technical advantage: the TA11's outboard engines could counteract the weight of the longer-range model by providing bending relief. Another factor was the split preference of those within Airbus and, more importantly, prospective airliner customers. Airbus vice president for strategic planning, Adam Brown, recalled,
North American operators were clearly in favour of a twin[jet], while Asians wanted a quad[jet]. In Europe, opinion was split between the two. The majority of potential customers were in favour of a quad despite the fact, in certain conditions, it is more costly to operate than a twin. They liked that it could be ferried with one engine out, and could fly 'anywhere' - ETOPS (extend-range twin-engine operations) hadn't begun then.
DESIGN EFFORT
The first specifications of the TA9 and TA11 were released in 1982. While the TA9 had a range of 3,300 nautical miles (6,100 km), the TA11 range was up to 6,830 nautical miles (12,650 km). At the same time, Airbus also sketched the TA12, a twin-engine derivative of the TA11, which was optimised for flights of a 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km) lesser range. By the time of the Paris Air Show in June 1985, more refinements had been made to the TA9 and TA11, including the adoption of the A320 flight deck, fly-by-wire (FBW) flight control system and side-stick control. Adopting a common cockpit across the new Airbus series allowed operators to make significant cost savings; flight crews would be able to transition from one to another after one week of training. The TA11 and TA12 would use the front and rear fuselage sections of the A310. Components were modular and also interchangeable with other Airbus aircraft where possible to reduce production, maintenance and operating costs.Airbus briefly considered a variable camber wing; the concept was that the wing could change its profile to produce the optimum shape for a given phase of flight. Studies were carried out by British Aerospace (BAe) at Hatfield and Bristol. Airbus estimated this would yield a 2% improvement in aerodynamic efficiency. However, the plan was later abandoned on grounds of cost and difficulty of development.
Airbus had held discussions with McDonnell Douglas to jointly produce the aircraft, which would have been designated as the AM 300. This aeroplane would have combined the wing of the A330 with the fuselage of the McDonnell Douglas MD-11. However, talks were terminated as McDonnell Douglas insisted on the continuation of its trijet heritage. Although from the start it was intended for the A340 would be powered by four CFM56-5 turbofan engines, each capable of 25,000 pounds-force (110 kN), Airbus had also considered developing the aircraft as a trijet due to the limited power of engines available at the time, namely the Rolls-Royce RB211-535 and Pratt & Whitney JT10D-232.
On 27 January 1986, the Airbus Industrie Supervisory Board held a meeting in Munich, West Germany, after which board-chairman Franz Josef Strauß released a statement, "Airbus Industrie is now in a position to finalise the detailed technical definition of the TA9, which is now officially designated the A330, and the TA11, now called the A340, with potential launch customer airlines, and to discuss with them the terms and conditions for launch commitments". The designations were originally reversed because the airlines believed it illogical for a two-engine jet airliner to have a "4" in its name, whilst a quad-jet would not. On 12 May 1986, Airbus dispatched fresh sale proposals to five prospective airlines including Lufthansa and Swissair.
PRODUCTION AND TESTING
In preparations for production of the A330/A340, Airbus's partners invested heavily in new facilities. Filton was the site of BAE's £7 million investment in a three-storey technical centre with an extra 15,000 square metres of floor area. BAe also spent £5 million expanding the Chester wing production plant by 14,000 m2 to accommodate a new production line. However, France saw the biggest changes with Aérospatiale starting construction of a new Fr.2.5 billion ($411 million) assembly plant, adjacent to Toulouse-Blagnac Airport, in Colomiers. By November 1988, the first 21 m pillars were erected for the new Clément Ader assembly hall. The assembly process, meanwhile, would feature increased automation with holes for the wing-fuselage mating process drilled by eight robots. The use of automation for this particular process saved Airbus 20% on labour costs and 5% on time.
British Aerospace accepted £450 million funding from the UK government, short of the £750 million originally requested. Funds from the French and German governments followed thereafter. Airbus also issued subcontracts to companies in Austria, Australia, Canada, China, Greece, Italy, India, Japan, South Korea, Portugal, the United States of America, and the former Yugoslavia. The A330 and A340 programmes were jointly launched on 5 June 1987, just prior to the Paris Air Show. The order book then stood at 130 aircraft from 10 customers, apart from the above-mentioned Lufthansa and International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC). Eighty-nine of the total orders were A340 models. Over at McDonnell Douglas, ongoing tests of the MD-11 revealed a significant shortfall in the aircraft's performance. An important carrier, Singapore Airlines (SIA), required a fully laden aircraft that could fly from Singapore to Paris, against strong headwinds during mid-winter in the northern hemisphere. The MD-11, according to test results, would experience fuel starvation over the Balkans. Due to the less-than-expected performance figures, SIA cancelled its 20-aircraft MD-11 order on 2 August 1991, and ordered 20 A340-300s instead. The MD-11 failed commercially and unsuccessfully competed with the A340.
The first flight of the A340 occurred on 21 October 1991, marking the start of a 2,000-hour test flight programme involving six aircraft. From the start, engineers noticed that the wings were not strong enough to carry the outboard engines at cruising speed without warping and fluttering. To alleviate this, an underwing bulge called a plastron was developed to correct airflow problems around the engine pylons and to add stiffness. European JAA certification was obtained on 22 December 1992; FAA followed on 27 May 1993.
ENTRY INTO SERVICE AND DEMONSTRATION
Airbus delivered the first A340, a -200, to Lufthansa on 2 February 1993. The 228-seat A340-200, named Nürnberg, entered service on 15 March. The A340s were intended to replace aging DC-10s on the airline's Frankfurt–New York services. Meanwhile, Air France took its first A340-300 on 26 February, the first of nine it planned to operate by the end of the year. The A340 replaced the Boeing 747s on Paris–Washington D.C., flying four times weekly. Coincidentally, the first Air France A340 was the 1000th Airbus aircraft to leave the Toulouse facility since the consortium's beginning.
During the Paris Air Show, on 16 June 1993 an A340-200 named The World Ranger took off for a round-the-world demonstration and publicity-stunt flight. The aircraft, carrying 22 persons, had been modified for the flight, including the addition of five center tanks. Taking off at 11:58 local time, The World Ranger made only one stop en route – in Auckland, New Zealand – and arrived back in Paris 48 hours and 22 minutes later, at 12:20. The flight broke six world records at the time. Among the six was the longest non-stop flight by an airliner, when the aircraft flew 19,277 kilometres (10,409 nmi) from Paris, arriving in Auckland in record time. The A340 would hold this record for a total of 12 years; in 2005, a Boeing 777-200LR flew from Hong Kong eastward toward London, successfully completing a 21,602 kilometres (11,664 nmi) journey.
FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS AND END OF PRODUCTION
During the 1990s, the A340-300 was challenged by the more fuel-efficient Boeing 777-200ER twinjet. In addition, airlines were looking for replacement aircraft for their 1970s-era Boeing 747-100s and -200s, so Airbus investigated a stretched airframe in the form of the A340-400X. This proved unpopular, as the CFM56 engines were at the limits of their growth capability and the range would have decreased to around 10,000 km (5,400 nmi). A new plan to develop an A340 variant with a larger wing and engine combination was decided upon. Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce and General Electric competed to be selected as the supplier of the new engine to power the type; talks between General Electric and Airbus over an exclusive engine arrangement collapsed in 1997 following disagreement over cost and risk-sharing. Airbus ultimately decided to adopt a variant of the Rolls-Royce Trent engine series, which was viewed as cost-effective as it did not involve developing an independent power plant. In April 1996, Airbus announced that it would offer a stretched variant of the aircraft, designated as the A340-600. The A340-500/600 would be developed as ultra-long range (ULR) aircraft.
During the 2000s, sales slowed despite the introduction of the A340-500 and A340-600 and their high gross weight variants, the A340-500IGW and A340-600HGW, respectively as the Boeing 777-200LR and -300ER began to dominate the long-range, 300-400 seating sector. Airbus confirmed in January 2006 that it had conducted studies into developing an A340-600E (Enhanced). Airbus projected that it would be more fuel-efficient than earlier A340s, closing the 8–9% disparity with the Boeing 777 via the use of the new Trent 1500 engine as well as technologies derived from the A350 programme. In 2007, Airbus predicted that another 127 A340 aircraft would likely be produced through 2016, the projected end of production.
On 10 November 2011, Airbus announced the end of the A340 program. At that time, the company indicated that all firm orders had been delivered. The decision to terminate the program came as A340-500/600 orders came to a halt, with analyst Nick Cunningham pointing out that the A340 "was too heavy and there was a big fuel burn gap between the A340 and Boeing’s 777". Bertrand Grabowski, managing director of aircraft financier DVB Bank SE, noted "in an environment where the fuel price is high, the A340 has had no chance to compete against similar twin engines, and the current lease rates and values of this aircraft reflect the deep resistance of any airlines to continue operating it”. Airbus has positioned the larger versions of the A350, specifically the A350-900 and A350-1000, as the successors to the A340-500 and A340-600.
As a sales incentive amid low customer demand during the Great Recession, Airbus had offered buy-back guarantees to airlines that chose to procure the A340. By 2013, the resale value of an A340 declined by 30% over ten years, and both Airbus and Rolls-Royce were incurring related charges amounting to hundreds of millions of euros. Some analysts have expected the price of a flight-worthy, CFM56-powered A340 to drop below $10 million by 2023. As an effort to support the A340's resale value, Airbus has proposed reconfiguring the aircraft's interior for a single class of 475 seats. As the Trent 500 engines are half the maintenance cost of the A340, Rolls-Royce proposed a cost-reducing maintenance plan similar to the company's existing program that reduced the cost of maintaining the RB211 engine powering Iberia's Boeing 757 freighters. Key to these programs is the salvaging, repair and reuse of serviceable parts from retired older engines. Airbus could offer used A340s to airlines wishing to retire older aircraft such as the Boeing 747-400, claiming that the cost of purchasing and maintaining a second-hand A340 with increased seating and improved engine performance reportedly compared favourably to the procurement costs of a new Boeing 777.
DESIGN
The Airbus A340 is a widebody twin-aisle passenger airliner which, along with its sibling the A330, has the distinction of being the first truly long-range aircraft to be produced by Airbus. It is powered by four FADEC turbofan jet engines, optimized to perform long distance routes. The A340 had built upon developments made in the production of earlier Airbus aircraft and as such shares many features with those aircraft, such as a common cockpit design with the Airbus A320 and A330; as the aircraft was developed at the same time as the A330 the two aircraft employ many similar components and sections, such as identical fly-by-wire control systems and similar wings. Both before and after the A340 entered revenue service, the features and improvements that were developed for the type were usually shared with the A330, a significant beneficial factor in performing such programs.
The A340 is a low-wing cantilever monoplane, the wing itself is virtually identical to that of the A330. The wings were designed and manufactured by BAe, which developed a long slender wing with a very high aspect ratio to provide high aerodynamic efficiency.[Nb 1] The wing is swept back at 30 degrees and, along with other design features, allows a maximum operating Mach number of 0.86. The wing has a very high thickness-to-chord ratio of 12.8 per cent, which means that a long span and high aspect ratio can be attained without a severe weight penalty. For comparison, the rival MD-11 has a thickness-to-chord ratio of 8–9 per cent. Each wing also has a 2.74 m tall winglet instead of the wingtip fences found on earlier Airbus aircraft. The failure of International Aero Engines' radical ultra-high-bypass V2500 "SuperFan", which had promised around 15 per cent fuel burn reduction for the A340, led to multiple enhancements including wing upgrades to compensate. Originally designed with a 56 m span, the wing was later extended to 58.6 m and finally to 60.3 m. At 60.3 m, the wingspan is similar to that of the larger Boeing 747-200, but with 35 percent less wing area.
The flight deck of the A340 is a glass cockpit, based upon the control systems first used on the smaller A320. Instead of a conventional control yoke, the flight deck features side-stick controls. The main instrument panel is dominated by a total of six cathode ray tube monitors which display information to the flight crew; on later aircraft these monitors have been replaced by liquid crystal displays. Flight information is directed via the Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS) and systems information through the Electronic Centralised Aircraft Monitor (ECAM). The aircraft monitoring system is connected to various sensors throughout the aircraft and automatically alerts the crew to any parameters detected outside of their normal range; pilots can also manually inspect systems of their choosing at any time. The information display system is designed to be easily interpreted and give a clear picture of the aircraft's operational status. Instead of paper manuals, electronic CD-ROM-based manuals are used; Airbus offers web-based updates to electronic documentation as an option.
Many measures were taken from the start of the A340's design process to reduce the difficulty and cost of maintenance, which was reportedly half of that of the earlier Airbus A310 despite the increase in size. The aircraft's four engines featured improved controls and monitoring systems that enabled engine parameters to be more readily checked and avoid unnecessary early removals; the four-engine approach also avoided the stringent ETOPS requirements such as more frequent inspections. The A340 also has a centralised maintenance computer which provides comprehensive easily understandable systems information, which can be transmitted in real-time to ground facilities via the onboard satellite-based ACARS datalink. Some aspects of the maintenance, such as structural changes, remained unchanged, while increased sophistication of technology in the passenger cabin, like the in-flight entertainment systems, were increased over preceding airliners.
OPERATIONAL HISTORY
The first variant of the A340 to be introduced, the A340-200, entered service with the launch customer, Lufthansa, in 1993. It was followed shortly thereafter by the A340-300 with its operator, Air France. Lufthansa's first A340, which had been dubbed Nürnberg (D-AIBA), began revenue service on 15 March 1993. Air Lanka (later renamed Sri Lankan Airlines) became the Asian launch customer of the Airbus A340; the airline received its first A340-300, registered (4R-ADA), in September 1994. British airline Virgin Atlantic was an early adopter of the A340; in addition to operating several A340-300 aircraft, Virgin Atlantic announced in August 1997 that it was to be the worldwide launch customer for the new A340-600. The first commercial flight of the A340-600 was performed by Virgin in July 2002.
Singapore Airlines ordered 17 A340-300s and operated them until October 2013. The A340-300s were purchased by Boeing as part of an order for Boeing 777s in 1999.[75] The airline then purchased five long-range A340-500s, which joined the fleet in December 2003. In February 2004, the airline's A340-500 performed the longest non-stop commercial air service in the world, conducting a non-stop flight between Singapore and Los Angeles In 2007, Singapore Airlines launched an even longer non-stop route using the A340-500 between Newark and Singapore, SQ 21, a 15,344 kilometres (8,285 nmi) journey that was the longest scheduled non-stop commercial flight in the world. The airline continued to operate this route regularly until the airline decided to retire the type in favour of new A380 and A350 aircraft; its last A340 flight was performed in late 2013.
The A340 was typically used by airlines as a medium-sized long-haul aircraft, and was often a replacement for older Boeing 747s as it was more likely profitable. Airbus produced a number of A340s as large private jets for VIP customers, often to replace aging Boeing 747s in this same role. In 2008, Airbus launched a dedicated corporate jetliner version of the A340-200: one key selling point of this aircraft was a range of up to 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km). Airbus had built up to nine different customized versions of the A340 to private customer's specific demands prior to 2008.
The A340 has frequently been operated as a dedicated transport for heads of state. A pair of A340-300s were acquired from Lufthansa by the Flugbereitschaft of the German Air Force; they serve as VIP transports for the German Chancellor and other key members of the German government. The A340 is also operated by the air transport division of the French Air Force, where it is used as a strategic transport for troop deployments and supply missions, as well as to transport government officials. A one-of-a-kind aircraft, the A340-8000, was originally built for Prince Jefri Bolkiah, brother of the Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah. The aircraft was unused and stored in Hamburg until it was procured by Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal of the House of Saud, and later sold to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, then-President of Libya; the aircraft was operated by Afriqiyah Airways and was often referred to as Afriqiyah One.
In 2008, jet fuel prices doubled compared to the year before; consequently, the A340's fuel consumption led airlines to reduce flight stages exceeding 15 hours. Thai Airways International cancelled its 17-hour, nonstop Bangkok–New York/JFK route on 1 July 2008, and placed its four A340-500s for sale. While short flights stress aircraft more than long flights and result in more frequent fuel-thirsty take-offs and landings, ultra-long flights require completely full fuel tanks. The higher weights in turn require a greater proportion of an aircraft's fuel fraction just to take off and to stay airborne. In 2008, Air France-KLM SA's chief executive Pierre-Henri Gourgeon disparagingly referred to the A340 as a "flying tanker with a few people on board". While Thai Airways consistently filled 80% of the seats on its New York City–Bangkok flights, it estimated that, at 2008 fuel prices, it would need an impossible 120% of seats filled just to break even. Other airlines also re-examined long-haul flights. In August 2008 Cathay Pacific stated that rising fuel costs were hurting its trans-Pacific long-haul routes disproportionately, and that it would cut the number of such flights and redeploy its aircraft to shorter routes such as between Hong Kong and Australia. "We will ... reshap[e] our network where necessary to ensure we fly aircraft to where we can cover our costs and also make some money." Aviation Week noted that rapid performance increases of twin-engine aircraft has led to the detriment of four-engine types of comparable capacity such as the A340 and 747.
By 2014, Singapore Airlines had phased out the type, while Emirates Airlines decided to accelerate the retirement of its A340 fleet. International Airlines Group, the parent of Iberia Airlines (which is also the operator of the last production A340 built), is overhauling its A340-600s for continued service for the foreseeable future, while it is retiring its A340-300s. The IAG overhaul featured improved conditions and furnishings in the business and economy classes; the business-class capacity was raised slightly while not changing the type's overall operating cost. Lufthansa, which operates both Airbus A340-300s and -600s, concluded that, while it is not possible to make the A340 more fuel efficient, it can respond to increased interest in business-class services by replacing first-class seats with more business-class seats to increase revenue.
In 2013, Snecma announced that they planned to use the A340 as a flying testbed for the development of a new open rotor engine. This test aircraft is forecast to conduct its first flight in 2019. Open rotor engines are typically more fuel-efficient but noisier than conventional turbofan engines; introducing such an engine commercially has been reported as requiring significant legislative changes within engine approval authorities due to its differences from contemporary jet engines. The engine, partly based on the Snecma M88 turbofan engine used on the Dassault Rafale, is being developed under the European Clean Sky research initiative.
VARIANTS
There are four variants of the A340. The A340-200 and A340-300 were launched in 1987 with introduction into service in March 1993 for the -200. The A340-500 and A340-600 were launched in 1997 with introduction into service in 2002. All variants were available in a corporate version.
A340-200
The -200 is one of two initial versions of the A340; it has seating for 261 passengers in a three-class cabin layout with a range of 13,800 kilometres (7,500 nmi) or seating for 240 passengers also in a three-class cabin layout for a range of 15,000 kilometres (8,100 nmi). This is the shortest version of the family and the only version with a wingspan measuring greater than its fuselage length. It is powered by four CFMI CFM56-5C4 engines and uses the Honeywell 331–350[A] auxiliary power unit (APU). It initially entered service with Air France in May 1993. Due to its large wingspan, four engines, low capacity and improvements to the larger A340-300, the -200 proved heavy and unpopular with mainstream airlines. Only 28 A340-200s were produced. The closest Boeing competitor is the Boeing 767-400ER.
One version of this type (referred to by Airbus as the A340-8000) was ordered by the prince Jefri Bolkiah requesting a non-stop range of 15,000 kilometres (8,100 nmi). This A340-8000, in the Royal Brunei Airlines livery had an increased fuel capacity, an MTOW of 275 tonnes (606,000 lb), similar to the A340-300, and minor reinforcements to the undercarriage. It is powered by the 150 kilonewtons (34,000 lbf) thrust CFM56-5C4s similar to the -300E. Only one A340-8000 was produced. Besides the -8000, some A340-200s are used for VIP or military use; users include Royal Brunei Airlines, Qatar Amiri Flight, Arab Republic of Egypt Government, Royal Saudi Air Force, Jordan and the French Air Force. Following the -8000, other A340-200s were later given performance improvement packages (PIPs) that helped them achieve similar gains in capability as to the A340-8000. Those aircraft are labeled A340-213X. The range for this version is 15,000 kilometres (8,100 nmi).
As of April 2016, there are 11 Airbus A340-200s in service, of which 6 are used in government fleets.
A340-300
The A340-300 flies 295 passengers in a typical three-class cabin layout over 6,700 nautical miles (12,400 km). This is the initial version, having flown on 25 October 1991, and entered service with Lufthansa and Air France in March 1993. It is powered by four CFMI CFM56-5C engines and uses the Honeywell 331–350[A] APU, similar to the -200. Its closest competitor is the Boeing 777-200ER. The A340-300 will be superseded by the A350-900. 218 -300s were delivered in total.
The A340-300E, often mislabelled as A340-300X, has an increased MTOW of up to 275 tonnes (606,000 lb) and is powered by the more powerful 34,000 lbf (150 kN) thrust CFMI CFM56-5C4 engines. Typical range with 295 passengers is between 7,200 to 7,400 nautical miles (13,300 to 13,700 km). The largest operator of this type is Lufthansa, who has operated a fleet of 30 aircraft. The A340-300 Enhanced is the latest version of this model and was first delivered to South African Airways in 2003, with Air Mauritius receiving the A340-300 Enhanced into its fleet in 2006. It received newer CFM56-5C4/P engines and improved avionics and fly-by-wire systems developed for the A340-500 and -600.
As of April 2016, there were 135 Airbus A340-300s in service.
A340-500
The A340-500 was introduced as the world's longest-range commercial airliner. It first flew on 11 February 2002, and was certified on 3 December 2002. Air Canada was supposed to be the launch customer, but filed for bankruptcy in January 2003, delaying delivery to March. This allowed early deliveries to the new launch customer, Emirates, allowing the carrier to launch nonstop service from Dubai to New York—its first route in the Americas. The A340-500 can fly 313 passengers in a three-class cabin layout over 16020 km (8650 nm). Compared with the A340-300, the -500 features a 4.3-metre fuselage stretch, an enlarged wing, significant increase in fuel capacity (around 50% over the -300), slightly higher cruising speed, a larger horizontal stabilizer and a larger vertical tailplane. The centerline main landing gear was changed to a four-wheel bogie to support additional weight. The A340-500 is powered by four 240 kN (54,000 lbf) thrust Rolls-Royce Trent 553 turbofans and uses the Honeywell 331–600[A] APU. It was the world's longest-range commercial airliner until the introduction of its direct rival, Boeing 777-200LR, in February 2006.
Due to its range, the -500 is capable of travelling non-stop from London to Perth, Western Australia, though a return flight requires a fuel stop due to headwinds. Singapore Airlines used this model (initially in a two-class, 181-passenger layout, later in a 100-passenger business-only layout) for its Newark–Singapore nonstop route, SQ 21: an 18-hour, 45-minute "westbound" (really northbound to 130 km (70 nm) abeam the North Pole; then south from there across Russia, Mongolia and People's Republic of China), 18-hour, 30-minute eastbound, 15,344 kilometres (8,285 nmi) journey that was the longest scheduled non-stop commercial flight in the world, this flight route ceased operation in 2013. The Singapore Airlines -500 is the first aircraft to include a corpse cupboard, used for storing the body of a passenger who dies during a flight.
The A340-500IGW (Increased Gross Weight) version has a range of 17,000 km (9,200 nmi) and a MTOW of 380 t (840,000 lb) and first flew on 13 October 2006. It uses the strengthened structure and enlarged fuel capacity of the A340-600. The certification aircraft, a de-rated A340-541 model, became the first delivery, to Thai Airways International, on 11 April 2007. Nigerian airline Arik Air received a pair of A340-542s in November 2008, using the type to immediately launch two new routes, Lagos–London Heathrow and Lagos–Johannesburg; a non-stop Lagos–New York route began in January 2010. The A340-500IGW is powered by four 250 kN (56,000 lbf) thrust Rolls-Royce Trent 556 turbofans.
In April 2016, there were 8 A340-500s in service.
A340-600
Designed to replace early-generation Boeing 747 airliners, the A340-600 is capable of carrying 379 passengers in a three-class cabin layout 13,900 km (7,500 nmi). It provides similar passenger capacity to a 747 but with 25 percent more cargo volume, and at lower trip and seat costs. First flight of the A340-600 was made on 23 April
2001. Virgin Atlantic began commercial services in August 2002. The variant's main competitor is the 777-300ER. The A340-600 will eventually be replaced by the A350-1000.
The A340-600 is 12 m longer than a -300, more than 4 m longer than the Boeing 747-400 and 2.3 m longer than the A380. It held the record as the world's longest commercial aircraft until February 2010 with the first flight of the Boeing 747-8. The A340-600 is powered by four 250 kN (56,000 lbf) thrust Rolls-Royce Trent 556 turbofans and uses the Honeywell 331–600[A] APU. As with the -500, it has a four-wheel undercarriage bogie on the fuselage centre-line to cope with the increased MTOW along with the enlarged wing and rear empennage. Upper deck main cabin space can be optionally increased by locating facilities such as crew rest areas, galleys, and lavatories upon the aircraft's lower deck. In early 2007, Airbus reportedly advised carriers to reduce cargo in the forward section by 5.0 t to compensate for overweight first and business class sections; the additional weight caused the aircraft's centre of gravity to move forward thus reducing cruise efficiency. Affected airlines considered filing compensation claims with Airbus.
The A340-600HGW (High Gross Weight) version first flew on 18 November 2005 and was certified on 14 April 2006. It has an MTOW of 380 t and a range of up to 14,630 km (7,900 nmi), made possible by strengthened structure, increased fuel capacity, more powerful engines and new manufacturing techniques like laser beam welding. The A340-600HGW is powered by four 61,900 lbf (275 kN) thrust Rolls-Royce Trent 560 turbofans. Emirates became the launch customer for the -600HGW when it ordered 18 at the 2003 Paris Air Show; but postponed its order indefinitely and later cancelled. Rival Qatar Airways, which placed its order at the same airshow, took delivery of only four aircraft with the first aircraft on 11 September 2006. The airline has since let its purchase options expire in favour of orders for the Boeing 777-300ER.
In July 2015, seven airlines worldwide operated A340-600s. In April 2016, there were 77 A340-600s in service
OPERATORS
A total of 227 aircraft (all A340 variants) were in airline service in July 2015 with operators Lufthansa (41), Iberia (24), South African Airways (17), Swiss International Air Lines (15), Air France (13), Virgin Atlantic (11), Etihad Airways (11), Cathay Pacific (8), Scandinavian Airlines (8), and other airlines with fewer aircraft of the type.
ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENTS
As of September 2015, the A340 has never been involved in a fatal incident, although there have been five hull losses:
20 January 1994 – an Air France A340-200 registered F-GNIA was burnt out after a fire started during servicing at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.
24 July 2001 – an A340-300 of SriLankan Airlines was destroyed on the ground at Bandaranaike International Airport; being one of 26 aircraft which were damaged or destroyed during a major attack upon the airport by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam militants.
2 August 2005 – Air France Flight 358, a crash and fire after A340-300 F-GLZQ overran runway 24L at Toronto Pearson International Airport while landing in a thunderstorm. The aircraft slid into Etobicoke Creek and caught fire. All 297 passengers and 12 crew survived; 43 people were injured, 12 serious.
9 November 2007 – an Iberia Airlines A340-600 was badly damaged after sliding off the runway at Ecuador's Mariscal Sucre International Airport. The landing gear collapsed and two engines broke off. All 333 passengers and crew were evacuated via inflatable slides, and there were no serious injuries. The aircraft was scrapped.
15 November 2007 – an A340-600 was damaged beyond repair during ground testing at Airbus' facilities at Toulouse Blagnac International Airport. During a pre-delivery engine test, multiple safety checks had been disabled, leading to the non-chocked aircraft accelerating to 57 km/h and colliding with a concrete blast deflection wall. The right wing, tail, and left engines made contact with the ground or wall, leaving the forward section elevated several meters and the cockpit broken off; nine people on board were injured, four of them seriously. The aircraft was written off and was later used at Virgin Atlantic's cabin crew training facility in Crawley. It was due to be delivered to Etihad Airways.
20 March 2009 – Emirates Flight 407 was an Emirates flight flying from Melbourne to Dubai-International using an A340-500. The flight failed to take off properly from Melbourne Airport, hitting several structures at the end of the runway before eventually climbing enough to return to the airport for a safe landing. The occurrence was severe enough to be classified an accident by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
WIKIPEDIA
A wrecking yard (Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian English), scrapyard (Irish and British English) or junkyard (American English) is the location of a business in dismantling where wrecked or decommissioned vehicles are brought, their usable parts are sold for use in operating vehicles, while the unusable metal parts, known as scrap metal parts, are sold to metal-recycling companies.
Other terms include wreck yard, wrecker's yard, salvage yard, breakers yard, dismantler and scrapheap. In the United Kingdom, car salvage yards are known as car breakers, while motorcycle salvage yards are known as bike breakers. In Australia, they are often referred to as 'Wreckers'.
The most common type of wreck yards are automobile wreck yards, but junkyards for motorcycles, bicycles, small airplanes and boats exist too.
Many salvage yards operate on a local level—when an automobile is severely damaged, has malfunctioned beyond repair, or not worth the repair, the owner may sell it to a junkyard; in some cases—as when the car has become disabled in a place where derelict cars are not allowed to be left—the car owner will pay the wrecker to haul the car away.
Salvage yards also buy most of the wrecked, derelict and abandoned vehicles that are sold at auction from police impound storage lots,and often buy vehicles from insurance tow yards as well.
The salvage yard will usually tow the vehicle from the location of its purchase to the yard, but occasionally vehicles are driven in. At the salvage yard the automobiles are typically arranged in rows, often stacked on top of one another.
Some yards keep inventories in their offices, as to the usable parts in each car, as well as the car's location in the yard. Many yards have computerized inventory systems. About 75% of any given vehicle can be recycled and used for other goods.
In recent years it is becoming increasingly common to use satellite part finder services to contact multiple salvage yards from a single source.
In the 20th century these were call centres that charged a premium rate for calls and compiled a facsimile that was sent to various salvage yards so they could respond directly if the part was in stock. Many of these are now Web-based with requests for parts being e-mailed instantly.
Todays picture looks planned, thought-out and composed. In reality it was a drive by shooting. There is no way in hell I was going to park my car, get out and stand behind this old man sitting on the bench and take his picture without his permission. What if he turned around or if someone saw me? I couldn't go up and ask the guy if I could take the picture because what if he said I can't? What if he asked why? What if he said yes but then moved or sat in a different way? Also try explaining to people you want the picture for a web based project. The word picture plus internet in the same sentence will not get you good feedback. So, I had to resort to the lowest form of photography, voyeurism. After I was done passing this guy I saw another excellent shot, it was a woman dressed in total black "abaya" and she was sitting on the bench. Not only that but there was another local man in white "deshdasha" who was walking and was about to pass by from behind her. That meant I could have gotten another shot like the one I have now except it involved two local people. That would have made the picture a lot more powerful, more postcard like. But, I decided it wasn't worth the risk, I would definitely would have been spotted by the guy and would have gotten into a lot of trouble. I hope this will be my last voyeur shot.
After a cold wet and windy night camping on the beach I woke early and hike a couple of km's up the coast to this gorgeous little cove on the Southern Ocean of Western Australia called Elephant Cove. Named so because to the large granite boulders some as large as houses that dot the cove and give one the impression that a heard of elephants are in group.
12 image stitch taken with the Canon 5D Mrk II
Full size 16bit tif is around 57 inches in length.
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Copyright © Spool Photography.
This photo may not be used in any form without prior permission. All rights reserved. All images may NOT be used on websites, blogs or in any other form of media print or web based without explicit written permission by Spool Photography
Parked trailer full of crushed cars ready for their final journey to the recycling plant.
A wrecking yard (Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian English), scrapyard (Irish and British English) or junkyard (American English) is the location of a business in dismantling where wrecked or decommissioned vehicles are brought, their usable parts are sold for use in operating vehicles, while the unusable metal parts, known as scrap metal parts, are sold to metal-recycling companies.
Other terms include wreck yard, wrecker's yard, salvage yard, breakers yard, dismantler and scrapheap. In the United Kingdom, car salvage yards are known as car breakers, while motorcycle salvage yards are known as bike breakers. In Australia, they are often referred to as 'Wreckers'.
The most common type of wreck yards are automobile wreck yards, but junkyards for motorcycles, bicycles, small airplanes and boats exist too.
Many salvage yards operate on a local level—when an automobile is severely damaged, has malfunctioned beyond repair, or not worth the repair, the owner may sell it to a junkyard; in some cases—as when the car has become disabled in a place where derelict cars are not allowed to be left—the car owner will pay the wrecker to haul the car away.
Salvage yards also buy most of the wrecked, derelict and abandoned vehicles that are sold at auction from police impound storage lots,and often buy vehicles from insurance tow yards as well.
The salvage yard will usually tow the vehicle from the location of its purchase to the yard, but occasionally vehicles are driven in. At the salvage yard the automobiles are typically arranged in rows, often stacked on top of one another.
Some yards keep inventories in their offices, as to the usable parts in each car, as well as the car's location in the yard. Many yards have computerized inventory systems. About 75% of any given vehicle can be recycled and used for other goods.
In recent years it is becoming increasingly common to use satellite part finder services to contact multiple salvage yards from a single source.
In the 20th century these were call centres that charged a premium rate for calls and compiled a facsimile that was sent to various salvage yards so they could respond directly if the part was in stock. Many of these are now Web-based with requests for parts being e-mailed instantly.
As part of a side-partnership, I was asked to help design the interface of a web-based application for organizations who want to manage a large collection of digitized videos.
This view is the first of many to come and represents a registered user's view of videos that are currently within the collection.
As always any thoughts, feedback or questions are welcome :o)
Best viewed at original size.
Taxi to Paragon Mainstore
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Product Description:
ROMANTIC COUPLES DANCE VOL 1
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These are generic couples slow dances for slow romantic songs.
Romantic Couples Dance 01 - 40.00 sec
Romantic Couples Dance 02 - 37.25 sec
Romantic Couples Dance 03 - 35.12 sec
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Dance Pack Contents
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Romantic Slow Dance 01 (F)
Romantic Slow Dance 01 (M)
Romantic01 [Sync Poseball]
Romantic Slow Dance 02 (F)
Romantic Slow Dance 02 (M)
Romantic02 [Sync Poseball]
Romantic Slow Dance 03 (F)
Romantic Slow Dance 03 (M)
Romantic03 [Sync Poseball]
Romantic Couples Dance Vol. 1 [LOADER] HUD (auto-loads animations into the Paragon Couples Dance HUD)
❗ Please check out the state-of-the-art Paragon Couples Dance HUD v.2!
☒ This product only contains animations (.anim files) with no audio supplied or dance hud. Music used in our videos are for demonstration purposes only.
☒ Disclaimer: Default SL bodies/rig was used as a standard to adjust these dances. Due to the varied height and body shapes between two couples, clipping may occur when two avatars are in close contact with each other. Unfortunately, animations do not work like rigged clothing in SL. Further adjustments can be made on the poseballs and hover.
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Product Features
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◘ Bento hands/fingers (detailed finger articulation)
◘ Motion-captured on an 46-camera Optitrack Prime 41 optical mocap system for the smoothest and natural flowing animations.
◘ Authentically danced/choreographed and mocap recorded by Miguel Maganda & Rebekah Shibao
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Paragon Dance Animations Social Media
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Like/Follow us on social media and/or join Paragon Dance Animations group to stay updated on new releases, specials, and events.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ParagonDanceAnimations
Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/paragondanceanimations/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/paragondanceanimations/
Group url: secondlife:///app/group/6f12165e-7e7b-3e6a-b858-1a9e8ae45d4b/about
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PARAGON COUPLES DANCE HUD V.2
V.201 is now a FREE upgrade for those who already own the HUD.
NEWEST FEATURES:
- Now compatible with many non-Paragon/3rd party couple dances (see below for compatible brands)
- Web-based Media Sequencer - no notecards, just enable the media prim and fill in the fields.
- Hover Control Panel - height adjustment w/ saving functionality for each avatar.
- function added in the menu.
- Avatars no longer walk towards each other before the dance.
- Optimized functions, improvements and fixed minor bugs since v.1 (see change log)
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A recent drive up the Pinnacles here in Western Australia on a afternoon I was hoping the clouds would hang around till sunset. Mother nature came to the party and provided a nice sunset to one of Western Australia's landmarks ...
While the actual sunset was a lot stronger in color than when I took this image I felt that the pinnacles themselves seemed to be overshadowed by the sunset, so I went with an earlier series of captures taken around 15-20 min before the sunset ... I think this shows the true beauty of the area along with a soft colorful sunset that does overshadow the pinnacles ....
Raw file post processed with capture one 6
image stitch with cs5
no HDR
Canon 5d Mrk II camera ...
Remember to press L on your keyboard to view the large file sample on Black ...
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Copyright © Spool Photography.
This photo may not be used in any form without prior permission. All rights reserved. All images may NOT be used on websites, blogs or in any other form of media print or web based without explicit written permission by Spool Photography
A wrecking yard (Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian English), scrapyard (Irish and British English) or junkyard (American English) is the location of a business in dismantling where wrecked or decommissioned vehicles are brought, their usable parts are sold for use in operating vehicles, while the unusable metal parts, known as scrap metal parts, are sold to metal-recycling companies.
Other terms include wreck yard, wrecker's yard, salvage yard, breakers yard, dismantler and scrapheap. In the United Kingdom, car salvage yards are known as car breakers, while motorcycle salvage yards are known as bike breakers. In Australia, they are often referred to as 'Wreckers'.
The most common type of wreck yards are automobile wreck yards, but junkyards for motorcycles, bicycles, small airplanes and boats exist too.
Many salvage yards operate on a local level—when an automobile is severely damaged, has malfunctioned beyond repair, or not worth the repair, the owner may sell it to a junkyard; in some cases—as when the car has become disabled in a place where derelict cars are not allowed to be left—the car owner will pay the wrecker to haul the car away.
Salvage yards also buy most of the wrecked, derelict and abandoned vehicles that are sold at auction from police impound storage lots,and often buy vehicles from insurance tow yards as well.
The salvage yard will usually tow the vehicle from the location of its purchase to the yard, but occasionally vehicles are driven in. At the salvage yard the automobiles are typically arranged in rows, often stacked on top of one another.
Some yards keep inventories in their offices, as to the usable parts in each car, as well as the car's location in the yard. Many yards have computerized inventory systems. About 75% of any given vehicle can be recycled and used for other goods.
In recent years it is becoming increasingly common to use satellite part finder services to contact multiple salvage yards from a single source.
In the 20th century these were call centres that charged a premium rate for calls and compiled a facsimile that was sent to various salvage yards so they could respond directly if the part was in stock. Many of these are now Web-based with requests for parts being e-mailed instantly.
Volunteers using the web-based Milky Way Project brought star-forming features nicknamed "yellowballs" to the attention of researchers, who later showed that they are a phase of massive star formation. The yellow balls -- which are several hundred to thousands times the size of our solar system -- are pictured here in the center of this image taken by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Infrared light has been assigned different colors; yellow occurs where green and red overlap. The yellow balls represent an intermediary stage of massive star formation that takes place before massive stars carve out cavities in the surrounding gas and dust (seen as green-rimmed bubbles with red interiors in this image).
Infrared light of 3.6 microns is blue; 8-micron light is green; and 24-micron light is red.
This is a long circuit and we knew, because of a ferry booking, that we would probably not be able to complete it and would therefore have to pick a spot to return from early. We hoped to see the seal colony at least. Unfortunately, at the very beginning - the west side of Sand Voe - the web-based maps suggested a coastal route that took us into walking along a steep and slippery incline, with drops, if we did slip, straight down into the voe. We assumed that 'any second' we'd come across worn grass that suggested we had hit the path and we persevered, slow and careful, on the slope that none of us were entirely comfortable walking along. The path did not materialise and we eventually climbed the steep slope to a safe flat area. This section cost us more time than we had wanted and we therefore decided, disappointed, to turn back before we reached the seal colony. The walk back - first away from the coast up the main branch of the Pettadale Burn and then across the spongy gorse/grasses to North Voe - was a good work-out for our legs but not hugely interesting. We will have to come back and do the full hike.
The diagram above illustrates a typical campaign contact strategy with the Web site at the heart of the dialogue. It shows how all on-line and off-line channels can be fully integrated and connected to the Web site to ensure that highly targeted and relevant user journeys can be achieved based on how much we know about the user and the channel that has referred them to the Web site.
australian beach
Check out my Profile Page for more information on my images and my website and contact detailsCopyright © 2012 Neal Pritchard PhotographyThis photo may not be used in any form without prior permission. All rights reserved. All images may NOT be used on websites, blogs or in any other form of media print or web based without explicit written permission by Spool Photography
With the sunset view of the skyline City of Perth from KIngs Park
Check out my Profile Page for more information on my images and my website and contact detailsCopyright © 2013 Neal Pritchard PhotographyThis photo may not be used in any form without prior permission. All rights reserved. All images may NOT be used on websites, blogs or in any other form of media print or web based without explicit written permission by Spool Photography