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Without any warning the previous evening snow began to fall at around 3 am. With a warmer temperature for the rest of the day I got my ‘skates’ on and got snapping just as soon as I woke up!
On my way to St Giles, I saw that the door to St Botolph seemed to be open. I went over to investigate, but found it shut fast.
But a nice lady who was about to enter the church said that it would be open at quarter to one, use the entrance in the Postman's Park. So, I vowed to return.
As I did, arriving back at five past one, only to find that one of their lectures was about to begin. I did think about staying for the lecture, then getting shots But in the end, rattled a few shots off before hightailing it out before the lecture began.
So sad then that this wonderful church was out of the public's view for so long, worth trying to see inside for the plaster ceiling.
--------------------------------------------
The eastern half of the City had four churches dedicated to St Botolph, each at one of the City gates, a reminder that St Botolph is traditionally the patron Saint of travellers and wayfarers. Three of the churches survive, and this is one of them.
St Botolph without Aldersgate sits on the corner of Aldersgate Street and Little Britain, across the road from the Museum of London, with Postman's Park wrapped around the other two sides of it. The medieval church was undamaged by the Great Fire, but when Aldersgate Street was widened in the late 18th Century the church was knocked down and rebuilt by Nathaniel Wright. The new church is modest, but in a good way, an introspective moment before the modernist noise of London Wall and the Barbican kick in.
For many years this church was hardly ever open. It is home to a particularly evangelical congregation, and the church's only services, the so-called Aldersgate Talks on Tuesday lunchtimes, are focused on the exegesis of Bible passages for the benefit of those who like that kind of thing best. I was quite excited to find the church open on a Saturday morning a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, there was a meeting on inside - lots of very earnest looking men in black suits who glared at me when I poked my head around the door. They didn't look very welcoming, so I fled.
However, all that has changed. St Botolph now partly serves as the visitor centre for Christian Heritage London, who have put up a sequence of display boards which detail a fairly fundamentalist protestant history of Christianity from the First Century (which was very good, apparently) to the Twentieth Century (which was very bad). So for the modest sum of one pound you may enter the church and read them. The exhibition is open every day except Tuesday and Sunday.
And the church? Well, after all that fuss about getting in I must admit that I was a little disappointed, I'm afraid. The ceiling is gorgeous, great sugary fondants of plaster swelling and dripping in geometric patterns. And the east end is lovely, the apse beautifully decorated, although of course the altar has been removed and the space turned into a meeting area. It was rebuilt further west in 1829 to facilitate more road-widening, but appears to have retained Wright's design, albeit updated later by the Victorians. Otherwise it appears an almost entirely 18th Century interior.
However, successive generations have not served it well. The 19th Century glass in the north windows by Ward & Hughes is not good, its preachy gallery style quite out of harmony with the decoration, and the post-war Farrar Bell scenes of events in evangelical history on the south side are pedestrian at best. The glass up in the clerestories looks better, though perhaps only because it is further away. And the modern congregation has gutted the furnishings, replacing them with modern chairs that are turned away from the east towards a side wall in the protestant manner. Perhaps the best thing of all is the sequence of good, interesting memorials which date back over four hundred years, although you may need to discreetly move some of the display boards to get to them.
Simon Knott, December 2015
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Cisternino è un comune italiano della provincia di Brindisi in Puglia. Fa parte del prestigioso club de I borghi più belli d'Italia. Si affaccia sulla valle d'Itria, nella cosiddetta Murgia dei trulli. Fino al 1927 è stata Terra di Bari. Sull'ultimo lembo della Murgia sud orientale pugliese si affaccia a sud-ovest sulla valle d'Itria tempestata di trulli. l territorio del comune di Cisternino fu abitato, fin dal Paleolitico medio-superiore, da nuclei umani provenienti dal nord della penisola o dall'area siculo-africana e che lasciarono, sulle colline dove fissarono i loro accampamenti stagionali, numerose tracce della loro vita, dedita alla caccia e alla raccolta di frutti spontanei e tuberi. Ancora oggi, nella zona di monte Specchia, sui colli di Restano e sulle incolte balze di Serra Amara, si rinvengono utensili preistorici d'ogni genere: punte di zagaglie, lame, raschiatoi e bulini per incidere ossi. Queste comunità umane andarono sempre più infittendosi, fino a raggiungere un numero considerevole di insediamenti nell'Età del Bronzo; decine di stazioni di questa età sono state recentemente localizzate in varie zone del territorio e quelle di Maselli, Ibernia piccola, Carperi, monte d'Alessio, monte le Fergole e Figazzano, hanno un'importanza non indifferente per la comprensione della preistoria brindisina.
Il nome Cisternino deriverebbe dall'eroe eponimo Sturnoi, compagno di Diomede, che dopo la Guerra di Troia avrebbe fondato una città vicina che, in seguito, occupata dai Romani, fu chiamata Sturninum, l'attuale Ostuni. L'abitato sarebbe stato saccheggiato dai Goti e successivamente sarebbe andato in rovina. L'attuale centro storico di Cisternino sarebbe rinato grazie ai monaci basiliani che nel Medioevo, lo chiamarono Cis-sturnium (al di qua di Sturnium). La prima testimonianza sul Casale di Cisternino è data dalla scoperta, al di sotto della chiesa romanica di S. Nicola, dei resti di una piccolo tempio cristiano, edificato realisticamente intorno all'anno 1000. Papa Alessandro III, con una bolla pontificia del 26 febbraio 1180 assegnava questa chiesa ed il Casale di Cisternino al Vescovo di Monopoli.
Il simbolo di Cisternino è lo scudo sormontato da una corona è suddiviso a croce di Sant'Andrea di rosso e d'oro. Al centro vi è un pastorale d'argento accostato da due rose di rosso sull'oro.
Comunemente chiamato Cistranese, il dialetto della parte centrale delle ultime colline della Murgia pugliese è il risultato della stessa sfumatura culturale del territorio: incrocio naturale tra influenze joniche/lucane e murgiano/baresi. A poche decine di chilometri a sud si trova il confine con il Salento. La lingua e il dialetto vive e si sviluppa naturalmente in relazione alle attività dei suoi abitanti, degli scambi culturali, sociali ed economici, della storia, della tradizione e della memoria orale popolare.
Nonostante oggi rientri nel territorio della Provincia di Brindisi, Cisternino mantiene i suoi legami con la Terra di Bari alla quale era legata prima del 1927, anno di costituzione della nuova circoscrizione provinciale. Questi legami sono evidenti soprattutto nel dialetto e nella cultura, tipica del sud-est barese e non di origini salentine.
Fra le manifestazioni folkloristiche più attese a Cisternino, c'è sicuramente Pasquetta. Chiamata nel dialetto dei suoi abitanti “Pasquarèdde”, questa festività si svolge presso il Santuario della Madonna d'Ibernia, dove ci si reca con dei dolci tipici (a forma di borsetta con due uova sode per i bambini, con uno a forma di bambola con un uovo sodo per le bambine), chiamato “u churrüchele”, esso porterebbe prosperità e fecondità. Non a caso, quella d'Ibernia è la Madonna della vita, della fertilità e dell'abbondanza, il santuario è molto utilizzato per celebrare il matrimonio sia per i motivi appena indicati che per la collocazione del tutto unica e panoramica. La più importante manifestazione alla quale partecipa l'intera popolazione cittadina è la festa dei santi patroni della città di Cisternino, San Quirico e Giulitta. Tale manifestazione cittadina rispetta tutte le più importanti tradizioni locali come decorazioni luminose, eventi religiosi , concerti bandistici ed in fine fuochi pirotecnici. Più semplicemente chiamata "la festa di San Quirico" cadendo sempre nella prima settimana di Agosto rappresenta per la popolazione locale e turistica la conclusione del periodo estivo. Di particolare importanza sono le consuete e più moderne edizioni del Festival Pietre che Cantano, del "Festival Internazionale Bande Musicali Valle d'Itria", del Festival Suoni Sacri e dal Pianeta, dell'Alterfesta. Le sagre più rinomate, invece, che si svolgono tra Cisternino e le sue frazioni, sono: la sagra delle orecchiette e quella del coniglio, che si svolgono nel mese di agosto, e la sagra dell'uva, che si tiene a settembre. Queste sagre sono sia un momento di ritrovo e di allegria per tutti i cittadini, ma soprattutto una maniera importantissima di tenere ancora vitale il patrimonio folkloristico di ogni regione, la base per l'identità della città, come del cittadino che la abita.
Without oils on their feathers the Anhinga has to sun after fishing to dry out. Something I did not know until recently. But this one really did not like us hanging around while sunning.
MICAELA REBELO Portraits by gga©
Fotografia: Gabriel García de Alba
Modelo: Micaela Rebelo
Gaffer/Productor: Román Pino
Maquillaje: Adrian War
Peindaos: Diana Desirée
Locaciones: Romiina Montero
Locacion: Hotel In Fashion
Lugar: Playa del Carmen, México
photo by gabriel garcia de alba
© All rights reserved. May not be reproduced or distributed without express written permission from the author
The installation display during The Arts of Banksy : Without Limits at Fever Exhibition Hall, Scotts Road.
EHANG GHOST SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES: Transmitter: PCM or 2.4GHz (at least Six Channels), Battery: 5400mah Li-po battery, Flight Precision: ± 0.5meters, Maximum angle of rotation: 360°, Drone Speed: 6 - 15meters/second, Control distance: 1000 meters (With G-Box Bluetooth), G-Box: 433mHz, 80mw, standard Bluetooth communication device, Flight time: Without guard rings and camera: about 26 minutes, With guard rings and without camera: about 14 minutes, Without guard rings and with camera: about 20 minutes, Drone Weight: With guard rings - 790 grams, 5400 mAh Battery: 320 grams, 2700mAh Battery: 180 grams, Gimbal: 225grams, 3-blade propeller: 10 grams per piece, Guard ring: 40 grams per piece, HD Camera: 60 grams, Landing gear: 31 grams per piece, Diagonal Distance: 36.0 cm, Motor: EHang EH9812 and EH9812R (reversible Motor), Drone Height: 10.0 cm, Height with Landing Gears: 19.0 cm, Battery: XT60 connector, 3-cells, 11.1 Volts, 5400 mAh, Li-po, GPS: UBlox 6M parallele compacted compass, Wind Resistance: < 10.7 meters /second, Night mode has LED lights to track drone in the sky, The Pilot can integrate with a third-party recording monitor to preview the photos and videos as the drone is flying, The G-BOX is a wireless interface unit designed specifically for controlling and interfacing with the GHOST Drone. The GHOST App cannot operate the Ghost without a G-BOX, Independently Flight Control System with ultra-fast processing capacity enable quick response at millisecond level. Ehang Ghost 2D Gimbal: extremely stable and high-precision Gimbal made of aircraft aluminum alloy material. Simple overall design makes the gimbal light and stable even the drone is heavily shaking, AUTO-RETURN: Auto return mode will be activated if the connection is lost, DATA SYNC: Flight data os the Drone’s current condition shows in the App, within 1000 meters-communication distance, POINT-TO-POINT FLYING: point the finger on the map and the Drone flies to that spot. No more “blind Flying”, TILT MODE: Tilt mode is an innovation to realize leveraging gestures to control the Drone, ONE-CLICK HOVER COMMAND: One-click hover command plays as a brake tohold Ghost at its current spot in the air for emergency situation, MICRO CONTROL MODE: It can adjust the Drone’s position in any direction over shorter distances, AUTO FOLOW MODE: The Ghost will automatically folow the Pilot when he/she makes turns and change direction, always keeping the camera on the Pilot. Original Ehang Ghost 3-Leaf CW/CCW Propeller, Propeller Guards, Motor and Propeller Assembled, Original Motor: EHang EH9812, Ehang EH9812R, (Reversible Motor). GPS - UBlox 6M compacted compass, Battery Charger (Ehang Ghost), Flight Controll Board (Ehang Ghost) G-Box: 433mHz, 80mw, Standard Bluetooth, 3S Battery, 11.1 volts, 5400 mAh, Li-po, ESC - Electronic Speed Controller (Ehang Ghost), Available Models: 1 - EHang Ghost Basic, 2 - Ghost Aerial with 2D gimbal and 3 - Ghost Aerial Plus with HD camera. Ehang Ghost: Deep and Vivid Colors.
IDEAFLY APOLLO SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES: Cool Appearance and Convenient for Carrying: the portable, streamlined design reflects the aesthetics of its industrial design, while also allowing the Pilot to easily pack it into a backpack for transport. Precise Hovering and Self-leveling with GPS: IdeaFly Apollo has an integrated flight control system including compass and GPS that provide precise position hold, fail safe and semi-autopilot. The aircraft flies stably under the control of iFly, barometer and GPS. Fail-Safe Mode: If the Apollo loses the signal from the controller for any reason or reaches preset 100 meter high or 300 meter distance limits, the return to home feature will initialize. The aircraft will ascend to 18 meters, then make a straight-line course back to the home position specified during GPS calibration. Once home the Quadcopter will safely descend to the ground and power itself off. 2 Axis Stabilization Gimbal: IdeaFly Apollo has an external adjustable gimbal designed for Boscam and GoPro cameras. Other similar light weight camera can also be mounted on the gimbal. Compared to those simple camera mounts that come with the kits made by other manufacturers, the gimbal on Apollo is controlled by the flight controller system and is self-leveling. A pilot can also tilt the camera to look up and down by turning the position on the transmitter. The Pilot conveniently capture flight footage for exciting POV shots. 2.4GHz Transmitter included: IdeaFly Apollo contains a remote controller and receiver, which help the Pilot avoid the inconvenience of purchasing such things. The only thing needed to do is to add TX batteries (8 x AA dry cell or NiMH). Stabilized Manual, Auto Hover, and Return to Home Modes: The IdeaFly Apollo quadcopter has three different flight modes. The stabilized manual mode is semi-autopilot and a pilot has more control than other modes. In auto hover mode the quadcopter will stop as soon as you release the controls, and will stay hovering at a fixed horizontal and vertical position. This setting is the easiest to fly and is generally preferred for shooting video as the Quadcopter won't drift or be as susceptible to wind gusts. If return to home mode is trigged the aircraft will return the takeoff position automatically. To work Return to Home requires proper calibration and connection to more than four GPS satellites. Low Voltage Protection : The IdeaFly Apollo offers two levels of low voltage protection, a function of the iFly autopilot system. It prevents your multi-rotor from crashing or other harmful consequences caused by low battery voltage. In the first level of protection, the LED indicator blinks red to warn the Pilot. In the second level protection the system will trigger the aircraft to land automatically. High-Intensity LED Indicators: LED status light on quadcopter provides with various kinds of feedback and warnings. Colors alternate between red, blue and purple and can either be flashing or solid.
Elsa has been deboxed. She is inserted in the base, but is without her cape.
I got the Beast Kingdom MC-005 Elsa 1/4 Scale Figure from Big Bad Toy Store today (Wednesday October 3, 2018). She is made from resin, has an excellent paint job, and stands 15 inches tall to the top of her head, or 16.5 inches to the top of her raised hand, or 18 inches tall on her stand. The base is 9.5 inches in diameter and 1 1/4 inches thick, with a non skid bottom. There is a silver plaque on the base which has the Edition number, 291, which is also on a separate Certificate of Authenticity. But there is no indication of the Edition size.
She is in her iconic Let It Go pose, same as the Maquette and many other figures. She comes in three parts, her body and dress, her cape, and the base. She has to be inserted into the base to stand, and the cape is inserted into her back. She is very stable on the base. There is silver glitter on her bodice and the snowflake and icicle patterns in her cape, and it does shed a little. She is a very accurate and very beautiful depiction of Snow Queen Elsa.
I show her being deboxed, then on the base without her cape, and finally fully assembled with her cape on.
Frozen Master Craft MC-005 Queen Elsa of Arendelle PX Previews Exclusive Statue
BY BEAST KINGDOM
BRANDS FROZEN, DISNEY
IN STOCK
$214.99
Sold by Big Bad Toy Store
Premiered in 2014, the animated motion picture Frozen has propelled Disney's motion pictures to new heights! In addition to instant fame to all characters in the movie, Frozen has also elevated Elsa to the number three spot on Disney's ranking for the most popular princess.
Beast Kingdom's MC-005 Frozen Elsa is based on the appearance of Elsa when she became the Snow Queen in the movie with her confident and resolute demeanor. The sculptor has painstakingly stayed true to the source materials from Disney so as to portray the perfect recreation of Elsa's elegance. With precise and detailed sculpting, this statue faithfully captures the look of confidence and elegant posture of Elsa.
Coupled with professional paint work and special paint materials, all details on the statue are accurate reproduction of the color scheme as seen in the animation. As she stands atop of her pearl luster base, Elsa is ready to unleash her powerful cryokinetic magic. Want to witness that breathtaking world of ice?
Come to Beast Kingdom and join Elsa in a return to the stunning scenery in the world of Frozen!
Product Features
1/4 scale
Previews Exclusive statue!
Features details from the film
Stands on her ice base!
Box Contents
Elsa of Arendelle 1/4 scale statue
More images at the manufacturer's Facebook page announcement of the figure:
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The full portfolio available from Stock photography by Tim Large at Alamy
Photographer:- TimLarge
Location:- Cheddar, Somerset, UK
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The National September 11 Memorial is a tribute of remembrance and honor to the nearly 3,000 people killed in the terror attacks of September 11, 2001 at the World Trade Center site, near Shanksville, Pa., and at the Pentagon, as well as the six people killed in the World Trade Center bombing in February 1993.
The Memorial’s twin reflecting pools are each nearly an acre in size and feature the largest manmade waterfalls in the North America. The pools sit within the footprints where the Twin Towers once stood. Architect Michael Arad and landscape architect Peter Walker created the Memorial design selected from a global design competition that included more than 5,200 entries from 63 nations.
The names of every person who died in the 2001 and 1993 attacks are inscribed into bronze panels edging the Memorial pools, a powerful reminder of the largest loss of life resulting from a foreign attack on American soil and the greatest single loss of rescue personnel in American history.
Monument to Charles Morrison / Moryson / Morison 1st Baronet (18 April 1587 – 20 August 1628) of Cashiobury Watford and wife Mary Hicks, by Nicholas Stone costing £400
He was the son & heir of Sir Charles Morrison the elder 1599 www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/p4uWb1 of Cassiobury, Watford & Dorothy www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/1e29dn daughter of Nicholas Clark / Clerke, of North Weston and Elizabeth daughter of Thomas Ramsey & Susannah Isham: Dorothy was the widow of Henry Long of Shingay
He is also shown kneeling on his father's monument here www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/Q204G4
He was made Knight of the Bath (KB) in 1603 at the English coronation of King James I and was created a baronet on 29 June 1611. He was an MP at various times between 1621 and 1628.
He m 1606 at Low Leyton, Mary younger co-heiress daughter of Baptist Hicks, 1st Viscount Campden & Elizabeth flic.kr/p/KMikLP daughter of Richard May of London and sister of Sir Humphrey May Alderman of London.
She was the younger sister of Juliana who m Sir Edward Noel, flic.kr/p/LBfa1M
Children - 2 sons who died young www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/6Gq9W0 and an heiress daughter
1. Elizabeth m 1627 www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/WbV32A Arthur 1st Baron Capell of Hadham ex 1649 flic.kr/p/8r4yTR only son of Sir Henry Capell of Rayne Hall Essex & Theodosia daughter of Sir Edward Montague of Boughton Castle & Elizabeth www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/69Uq6t daughter of James Harington of Exton flic.kr/p/Kvqctt (despite his prior engagement to Salisbury’s daughter) Cassiobury becoming the chief seat of the Capel family.
Charles left strict instructions to his ‘dear and best deserving wife’ to forbid a funeral service. This was not for motives of economy, for in his will dated February 1628 he bequeathed £50 to the poor of Watford and £400 to his household servants. He left his nephew the 4th earl of Bedford (Sir Francis Russell) £50 ‘to buy him a horse’, with a request to continue his friendship to the family, £40 to his father-in-law for the same purpose, and £20 to his cousin Edward Alford +++ for a mere nag, ‘ever acknowledging his faithful love to me and mine’.
His widow buried him, in accordance with his instructions, in the north aisle of Watford church, and provided this monument at a cost of £400 in tribute to 21 years of married life ‘without quarrel or cloud’. The epitaph praises his "piety, virtue and intelligence, and his outstanding prudence and dexterity in managing the public business of the province in which he flourished, besides the gentleness and elegance of his manners, humanity and beneficence"
His widow Mary m2 (2nd wife) Sir John Cooper, 1st Bart of Rockbourne, Hants a "handsome gambler" who died soon after from consumption She m3 Sir Edward Alford son of +++
www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1604-1629/member...
Picture with thanks - copyright John Salmon CCL www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4850121
Without admitting or denying anything, I'd just like to say that some studies show that rich, dark chocolate may actually be good for you, being a mono unsaturated fatty acid... 8-)
Photos Courtesy of PSP/FSU
© All rights reserved. May not be reproduced or distributed without express written permission. For more information, please contact atullo@troopersfund.org
Loved ones recall slain trooper
Buzz up! By Michael Hasch, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Cpl. Joseph Pokorny was many things -- a fearless policeman, an avid hunter, a private person who would give a friend the shirt off his back -- but most of all, he was a devoted father.
"He cared for his kids more than anything in the world," said his brother, Frank Pokorny, wiping tears from his eyes Monday outside his family's home in Beaver County.
Pokorny, 45, of Moon, a 22-year state police veteran, was shot and killed while making a traffic stop early yesterday near the Rosslyn Farms on-ramp to the Parkway West in Carnegie.
"He was a dedicated trooper and devoted father to his two children," said Robinson District Judge Carla Swearingen, one of the small but trusted circle of people Pokorny called friends.
Pokorny opted to work a steady midnight shift so he could be home during the day with his son, Joseph, 17, known as Jake, and daughter, Alexandre, 15, known as Ali.
"If he gave you his word, he stood by it. His biggest priority was his children. Everybody that knew him liked him," said Swearingen.
Pokorny was nearly 6 feet tall and 200 pounds, but he was small in childhood and learned at an early age how to defend himself from larger bullies, Frank Pokorny said.
"He was extremely fearless. He didn't take anything from anybody. He was a very hard-nosed person," his brother said.
Joseph Pokorny received a letter of commendation for bravery after an incident on July 8 when state police began chasing a man suspected of drunken driving and pulling a gun on a trooper.
When troopers tried to end the high-speed chase by putting spike strips on the Beaver Valley Expressway, the motorist turned around and began driving the wrong way.
When Pokorny saw the motorist trying to ram the side of a police car, he steered his cruiser into the path of the speeding car, hitting it head-on in a fiery collision.
"He saved one of our guys by taking on the other guy head-on," said state police Cpl. Kenneth Yuhas, one of several troopers offering condolences and support yesterday to Pokorny's parents, Florence and Joseph R. Pokorny, in Center Township.
"He actually put his life on the line by ramming the vehicle and stopping (it)," said Col. Jeffrey Miller, the head of the state police. "He was a very aggressive and conscientious corporal, always out there backing up the troops."
Pokorny, who joined the state police in 1983 after graduation from Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind., spent much of his career working dangerous undercover narcotics and vice details, his brother said.
In 1990, he joined the state police Tactical Narcotics Team based in Greensburg, Westmoreland County.
"He would never tell me stories about it except that it was scary and it was ugly," Frank Pokorny said. "(Other troopers) tell me he was always the first one through the front door with the battering ram."
Tom Alexander, who was Pokorny's football coach at Center Area High School, remembers "Joey" as a student who gave his all on the football field and in the classroom.
"Joey was one of those kids who played hard. He chose a rough career. He was a good student," Alexander said.
Pokorny's smile is what impressed state police Cpl. David Bova. "The thing I'll miss the most is his laugh and his big smile," Bova said.
"He was a great kid, a great adult who was fun-loving in high school but took his job seriously," said Anthony Mendicino, principal of Center Area High School, where Pokorny graduated in 1978.
Frank Pokorny said his brother did not decide to pursue a career in law enforcement until his last semester in school.
Following his promotion to corporal in September 2000, Joseph Pokorny served at various stations --including Belle Vernon, Fayette County -- until January 2003 when he became the vice supervisor for Troop B headquarters in Washington County.
Pokorny, who also is survived by a sister, Laura Hill, of Center, became a patrol supervisor in Moon in July 2004, but refused to be tied to a desk reading reports.
"He was, like, caffeinated. He was high-speed. He would go out and get the job done. He was not a slug," said Trooper Robin Mungo, a state police spokeswoman.
"He always wanted to be out on the road with the guys," Yuhas said.
But Frank Pokorny said his brother was "a very private" man.
"He certainly was not a mixer. He had a very small circle of friends. He was very guarded until you earned his trust and respect. Then he'd give you the shirt off his back," Frank Pokorny said.
"He was like a brother to me," said Ronald Evans, who often went hunting with the Pokorny brothers. "He was a great guy, the best. You knew you could count on him."
Crystal Hoffman, who lives near Joseph Pokorny's home in the Sharon Hill Manor neighborhood of Moon, said she regularly returned Pokorny's golden retriever when it broke free of its tether and ended up at her home.
"I didn't know Joe well, but he seemed to have a very a good sense of humor. He seemed like the kind of guy who really enjoyed life," Hoffman said.
The Pokorny brothers were avid hunters who made a number of trips together to hunt elk out West.
They last saw each other last week when Joseph Pokorny visited his brother's home in Hanover, Beaver County.
"He went out in the back woods to go hunting. He was an incredible woodsman. When he came back, he said he saw a buck but didn't shoot it. He smiled and said, 'I didn't want to.'"
Frank Pokorny, known as "Fearless Frank" for his special teams play for the Steelers in 1985 and '86, made no effort to hide his pain and tears.
"He was my older brother. I loved and miss everything about him."
Photographed while walking at San Antonio Open Space Preserve, Los Altos, California
Please click on the photo or press the L key to view the larger size
This beautiful Red-tailed Hawk was perched on a horizontal branch, no more than 50 feet from a heavily-used trail that winds up the hillside from the parking area. Many hikers and runners passed this hawk in both directions without noticing the hawk. The hawk itself was constantly moving its head about as it was searching for prey and in this photo was looking up the hill behind it at some movement that had attracted its attention.
Canon 7D Mark II. f/5.6 1/640 ISO 400
=======================
From Wikipedia: The red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members within the genus of Buteo in North America or worldwide. The red-tailed hawk is one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the "chickenhawk," though it rarely preys on standard-sized chickens. The bird is sometimes also referred to as the red-tail for short, when the meaning is clear in context.
Red-tailed hawks can acclimate to all the biomes within their range, occurring on the edges of non-ideal habitats such as dense forests and sandy deserts. The red-tailed hawk occupies a wide range of habitats and altitudes including deserts, grasslands, coniferous and deciduous forests, agricultural fields and urban areas. Its latitudinal limits fall around the tree line in the Arctic and the species is absent from the high Arctic. It is legally protected in Canada, Mexico and the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
The 14 recognized subspecies vary in appearance and range, varying most often in color, and in the west of North America, red-tails are particularly often strongly polymorphic, with individuals ranging from almost white to nearly all black. The subspecies Harlan's hawk (B. j. harlani) is sometimes considered a separate species (B. harlani). The red-tailed hawk is one of the largest members of the genus Buteo, typically weighing from 690 to 1,600 g (1.5 to 3.5 lb) and measuring 45–65 cm (18–26 in) in length, with a wingspan from 110–141 cm (3 ft 7 in–4 ft 8 in). This species displays sexual dimorphism in size, with females averaging about 25% heavier than males.
The diet of red-tailed hawks is highly variable and reflects their status as opportunistic generalist, but in North America, it is most often a predator of small mammals such as rodents. Prey that is terrestrial and diurnal is preferred so types such as ground squirrels are preferential where they naturally occur. Large numbers of birds and reptiles can occur in the diet in several areas and can even be the primary foods. Meanwhile, amphibians, fish and invertebrates can seem rare in the hawk’s regular diet; however, they are not infrequently taken by immature hawks.
Red-tailed hawks may survive on islands absent of native mammals on diets variously including invertebrates such as crabs, or lizards and birds. Like many Buteo, they hunt from a perch most often but can vary their hunting techniques where prey and habitat demand it. Because they are so common and easily trained as capable hunters, the majority of hawks captured for falconry in the United States are red-tails. Falconers are permitted to take only passage hawks (which have left the nest, are on their own, but are less than a year old) so as to not affect the breeding population. Adults, which may be breeding or rearing chicks, may not be taken for falconry purposes and it is illegal to do so. Passage red-tailed hawks are also preferred by falconers because these younger birds have not yet developed the adult behaviors which would make them more difficult to train.
Description:
Red-tailed hawk plumage can be variable, depending on the subspecies and the region. These color variations are morphs, and are not related to molting. The western North American population, B. j. calurus, is the most variable subspecies and has three main color morphs: light, dark, and intermediate or rufous. The dark and intermediate morphs constitute 10–20% of the population in the western United States but seem to constitute only 1-2% of B. j. calurus in western Canada. A whitish underbelly with a dark brown band across the belly, formed by horizontal streaks in feather patterning, is present in most color variations. This feature is variable in eastern hawks and generally absent in some light subspecies (i.e. B. j. fuertesi).
Most adult red-tails have a dark brown nape and upper head which gives them a somewhat hooded appearance, while the throat can variably present a lighter brown “necklace”. Especially in younger birds, the underside may be otherwise covered with dark brown spotting and some adults may too manifest this stippling. The back is usually a slightly darker brown than elsewhere with paler scapular feathers, ranging from tawny to white, forming a variable imperfect “V” on the back. The tail of most adults, which of course gives this species its name, is rufous brick-red above with a variably sized black subterminal band and generally appears light buff-orange from below. In comparison, the typical pale immatures (i.e. less than two years old) typically have a mildly paler headed and tend to show a darker back than adults with more apparent pale wing feather edges above (for descriptions of dark morph juveniles from B. j. calurus, which is also generally apt for description of rare dark morphs of other races, see under that subspecies description). In immature red-tailed hawks of all hues, the tail is a light brown above with numerous small dark brown bars of roughly equal width, but these tend to be much broader on dark morph birds.
Even in young red-tails, the tail may be a somewhat rufous tinge of brown. The bill is relatively short and dark, in the hooked shape characteristic of raptors, and the head can sometimes appear small in size against the thick body frame. The cere, the legs, and the feet of the red-tailed hawk are all yellow, as is the hue of bare parts in many accipitrids of different lineages. Immature birds can be readily identified at close range by their yellowish irises. As the bird attains full maturity over the course of 3–4 years, the iris slowly darkens into a reddish-brown hue, which is the adult eye-color in all races. Seen in flight, adults usually have dark brown along the lower edge of the wings, against a mostly pale wing, which bares light brownish barring. Individually, the underwing coverts can range from all dark to off-whitish (most often more heavily streaked with brown) which contrasts with a distinctive black patagium marking. The wing coloring of adults and immatures is similar but for typical pale morph immatures having somewhat heavier brownish markings.
Though the markings and hue vary across the subspecies, the basic appearance of the red-tailed hawk is relatively consistent. Overall, this species is blocky and broad in shape, often appearing (and being) heavier than other Buteos of similar length. They are the heaviest Buteos on average in eastern North America, albeit scarcely ahead of the larger winged rough-legged buzzard (Buteo lagopus), and second only in size in the west to the ferruginous hawk (Buteo regalis). Red-tailed hawks may be anywhere from the seventh to the ninth heaviest Buteo in the world depending on what figures are used. However, in the northwestern United States, ferruginous hawk females are 35% heavier than female red-tails from the same area. On average, western red-tailed hawks are relatively longer winged and lankier proportioned but are slightly less stocky, compact and heavy than eastern red-tailed hawks in North America. Eastern hawks may also have mildly larger talons and bills than western ones. Based on comparisons of morphology and function amongst all accipitrids, these features imply that western red-tails may need to vary their hunting more frequently to on the wing as the habitat diversifies to more open situations and presumably would hunt more variable and faster prey, whereas the birds of the east, which was historically well-wooded, are more dedicated perch hunters and can take somewhat larger prey but are likely more dedicated mammal hunters. In terms of size variation, red-tailed hawks run almost contrary to Bergmann's rule (i.e. that northern animals should be larger in relation than those closer to the Equator within a species) as one of the northernmost subspecies, B. j. alascensis, is the second smallest race based on linear dimensions and that two of the most southerly occurring races in the United States, B. j. fuertesi and B. j. umbrinus, respectively, are the largest proportioned of all red-tailed hawks. Red-tailed hawks tend have a relatively short but broad tails and thick, chunky wings. Although often described as long winged, the proportional size of the wings is quite small and red-tails have high wing loading for a buteonine hawk. For comparison, two other widespread Buteo hawks in North America were found to weigh: 30 g (1.1 oz) for every square centimeter of wing area in the rough-legged buzzard (Buteo lagopus) and 44 g (1.6 oz) per square cm in the red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus). In contrast, the red-tailed hawk weighed considerably more for their wing area: 199 g (7.0 oz) per square cm.
As is the case with many raptors, the red-tailed hawk displays sexual dimorphism in size, as females are up to 25% larger than males. As is typical in large raptors, frequently reported mean body mass for Red-tailed Hawks are somewhat higher than expansive research reveals. Part of this weight variation is seasonal fluctuations, hawks tending to be heavier in winter than during migration or especially during the trying summer breeding season, and also due to clinal variation. Furthermore, immature hawks are usually lighter in mass than their adult counterparts despite averaging somewhat longer winged and tailed. Male red-tailed hawks may weigh from 690 to 1,300 g (1.52 to 2.87 lb) and females may weigh between 801 and 1,723 g (1.766 and 3.799 lb) (the lowest figure from a migrating female immature from Goshute Mountains, Nevada, the highest from a wintering female in Wisconsin). Some sources claim the largest females can weigh up to 2,000 g (4.4 lb) but whether this is in reference to wild hawks (as opposed to those in captivity or used for falconry) is not clear.[24] The largest known survey of body mass in red-tailed hawks is still credited to Craighead & Craighead (1956), who found 100 males to average 1,028 g (2.266 lb) and 108 females to average 1,244 g (2.743 lb). However, these figures were apparently taken from labels on museum specimens, apparently from natural history collections in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, without note to the region, age or subspecies of the specimens. However, 16 sources ranging in sample size from the aforementioned 208 specimens to only four hawks in Puerto Rico (with 9 of the 16 studies of migrating red-tails), showed that males weigh a mean of 860.2 g (1.896 lb) and females weigh a mean of 1,036.2 g (2.284 lb), about 15% lighter than prior species-wide published weights. Within the continental United States, average weights of males can range from 840.8 g (1.854 lb) (for migrating males in Chelan County, Washington) to 1,031 g (2.273 lb) (for male hawks found dead in Massachusetts) and females ranged from 1,057.9 g (2.332 lb) (migrants in the Goshutes) to 1,373 g (3.027 lb) (for females diagnosed as B. j. borealis in western Kansas). Size variation in body mass reveals that the red-tailed hawks typically varies only a modest amount and that size differences are geographically inconsistent. Racial variation in average weights of great horned owls (Bubo virginianus) show that mean body mass is nearly twice (the heaviest race is about 36% heavier than the lightest known race on average) as variable as that of the hawk (where the heaviest race is only just over 18% heavier on average than the lightest). Also, great horned owls correspond well at the species level with Bergmann’s rule.
Male red-tailed hawks can reportedly measure 45 to 60 cm (18 to 24 in) in total length, females measuring 48 to 65 cm (19 to 26 in) long. The wingspan typically can range from 105 to 141 cm (3 ft 5 in to 4 ft 8 in), although the largest females may possible span up to 147 cm (4 ft 10 in). In the standard scientific method of measuring wing size, the wing chord is 325.1–444.5 mm (12.80–17.50 in) long. The tail measures 188 to 258.7 mm (7.40 to 10.19 in) in length. The exposed culmen was reported to range from 21.7 to 30.2 mm (0.85 to 1.19 in) and the tarsus averaged 74.7–95.8 mm (2.94–3.77 in) across the races. The middle toe (excluding talon) can range from 38.3 to 53.8 mm (1.51 to 2.12 in), with the hallux-claw (the talon of the rear toe, which has evolved to be the largest in accipitrids) measuring from 24.1 to 33.6 mm (0.95 to 1.32 in) in length.
Identification:
Although they overlap in range with most other American diurnal raptors, identifying most mature red-tailed hawks to species is relatively straightforward, particularly if viewing a typical adult at a reasonable distance. The red-tailed hawk is the only North American hawk with a rufous tail and a blackish patagium marking on the leading edge of its wing (which is obscured only on dark morph adults and Harlan’s hawks by similarly dark colored feathers).
Other larger adult Buteo in North America usually have obvious distinct markings that are absent in red-tails, whether the rufous-brown “beard” of Swainson's hawks (Buteo swainsonii) or the colorful rufous belly and shoulder markings and striking black-and-white mantle of red-shouldered hawks (also the small “windows” seen at the end of their primaries). In perched individuals, even as silhouettes, the shape of large Buteos may be distinctive, such as the wingtips overhanging the tail in several other species, but not in red-tails. North American Buteos range from the dainty, compact builds of much smaller Buteos, such as broad-winged hawk (Buteo platypterus) to the heavyset, neckless look of ferruginous hawks or the rough-legged buzzard which has a compact, smaller appearance than a red-tail in perched birds due to its small bill, short neck and much shorter tarsus, while the opposite effect occurs in flying rough-legs with their much bigger wing area.
In flight, most other large North American Buteo are distinctly longer and slenderer winged than red-tailed hawks, with the much paler ferruginous hawk having peculiarly slender wings in relation to its massive, chunky body. Swainson's hawks are distinctly darker on the wing and ferruginous hawks are much paler winged than typical red-tailed hawks. Pale morph adult ferruginous hawk can show mildly tawny-pink (but never truly rufous) upper tail, and like red-tails tend to have dark markings on underwing-coverts and can have a dark belly band but compared to red-tailed hawks have a distinctly broader head, their remiges are much whiter looking with very small dark primary tips, they lack the red-tail’s diagnostic patagial marks and usually (but not always) also lack the dark subterminal tail-band, and ferruginous have a totally feathered tarsus. With its whitish head, the ferruginous hawk is most similar to Krider's red-tailed hawks, especially in immature plumage, but the larger hawk has broader head and narrower wing shape and the ferruginous immatures are paler underneath and on their legs. Several species share a belly band with the typical red-tailed hawk but they vary from subtle (as in the ferruginous hawk) to solid blackish, the latter in most light-morph rough-legged buzzards. More difficult to identify among adult red-tails are its darkest variations, as most species of Buteo in North America also have dark morphs. Western dark morph red-tails (i.e. calurus) adults, however, retain the typical distinctive brick-red tail which other species lack, which may stand out even more against the otherwise all chocolate brown-black bird. Standard pale juveniles when perched show a whitish patch in the outer half of the upper surface of the wing which other juvenile Buteo lack. The most difficult to identify stages and plumage types are dark morph juveniles, Harlan’s hawk and some Krider’s hawks (the latter mainly with typical ferruginous hawks as aforementioned). Some darker juveniles are similar enough to other Buteo juveniles that it has been stated that they "cannot be identified to species with any confidence under various field conditions." However, field identification techniques have advanced in the last few decades and most experienced hawk-watchers can distinguish even the most vexingly plumaged immature hawks, especially as the wing shapes of each species becomes apparent after seeing many. Harlan’s hawks are most similar to dark morph rough-legged buzzards and dark morph ferruginous hawks. Wing shape is the most reliable identification tool for distinguishing the Harlan’s from these, but also the pale streaking on the breast of Harlan’s, which tends to be conspicuous in most individuals, and is lacking in the other hawks. Also dark morph ferruginous hawks do not have the dark subterminal band of a Harlan’s hawk but do bear a black undertail covert lacking in Harlan’s.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Dassault Mirage IV was a French supersonic strategic bomber and deep-reconnaissance aircraft. Developed by Dassault Aviation, the aircraft entered service with the French Air Force in October 1964. For many years it was a vital part of the nuclear triad of the Force de Frappe, France's nuclear deterrent striking force. The Mirage IV was retired from the nuclear strike role in 1996, and the type was entirely retired from operational service in 2005.
During the 1960s, there were plans of export sales for the Mirage IV; in one proposal, Dassault would have entered a partnership with the British Aircraft Corporation to jointly produce a Mirage IV variant for the Royal Air Force and potentially for other export customers, but this project did not come to fruition. The Mirage IV was ultimately not adopted by any other operators.
Development
Origins
During the 1950s, France embarked on an extensive military program to produce nuclear weapons; however, it was acknowledged that existing French aircraft were unsuitable for the task of delivering the weapons. Thus, the development of a supersonic bomber designed to carry out the delivery mission started in 1956 as a part of the wider development of France's independent nuclear deterrent. In May 1956, the Guy Mollet government drew up a specification for an aerially-refuelable supersonic bomber capable of carrying a 3-metric-ton, 5.2-metre-long nuclear bomb 2,000 km (without aerial refuelling). According to aviation authors Bill Gunston and Peter Gilchrist, the specification's inclusion of supersonic speed was "surprising" to many at the time.
The final specifications, jointly defined by government authorities and Dassault staff, were approved on 20 March 1957. Sud Aviation and Nord Aviation both submitted competing proposals, both based on existing aircraft; Sud Aviation proposed the Super Vautour, a stretched Sud Aviation Vautour with 47 kilonewtons (10,500 lbf) thrust Atar engines and a combat radius of 2,700 kilometres (1,700 mi) at Mach 0.9. Dassault's proposal for what became the Mirage IV was chosen on the basis of lower cost and anticipated simpler development, being based upon a proposed early 1956 twin-engined night-fighter derived from the Dassault Mirage III fighter and the unbuilt Mirage II interceptor. In April 1957, Dassault were informed that they had won the design competition.
Dassault's resulting prototype, dubbed Mirage IV 01, looked a lot like the Mirage IIIA, even though it had double the wing surface, two engines instead of one, and twice the unladen weight. The Mirage IV also carried three times more internal fuel than the Mirage III. The aircraft's aerodynamic features were very similar to the III's but required an entirely new structure and layout. This prototype was 20 metres (67 ft) long, had a 11 metres (37 ft) wingspan, 62 square metres (670 sq ft) of wing area, and weighed approximately 25,000 kilograms (55,000 lb). It was considerably more advanced than the Mirage III, incorporating new features such as machined and chem-milled planks, tapered sheets, a small amount of titanium, and integral fuel tanks in many locations including the leading portion of the tailfin.
The 01 was an experimental prototype built to explore and solve the problems stemming from prolonged supersonic flight. The sizable technological and operational uncertainties (no plane had yet been found able to cruise at over Mach 1.8 for long periods of time) were only one part of the problem. The weapon-related issues were the other. It took 18 months to build the 01 in Dassault's Saint-Cloud plant near Paris. In late 1958, the aircraft was transferred to the Melun-Villaroche flight testing area for finishing touches and ground tests. On 17 June 1959, French General Roland Glavany, on a five-year leave from the French Air Force since 1954, took the 01 for its maiden flight.
For its third flight, on 20 June 1959, the 01 was authorised to fly over the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget airport in front of France's President Charles de Gaulle.[citation needed] On 19 September 1960, René Bigand (replacing Glavany as test pilot) increased the world record for speed on a 1000-kilometre closed circuit to 1,822 km/h (1,132 mph) around Paris and the Melun base. Flight 138, on 23 September, corroborated the initial performance and pushed the record on a 500 km closed circuit to an average of 1,972 km/h (1,225 mph), flying between Mach 2.08 and Mach 2.14. The Mirage IV 01 prototype underwent minor modifications during testing in the autumn of 1959, most noticeably, the tail was enlarged (slight reduction in height, large increase in chord).
Production
In order to increase range, studies were made of a significantly larger Mirage IVB design, powered by two Snecma license-built Pratt & Whitney J75 engines and having a wing area of 120 m² (1,290 sq ft) compared to 70 m² (750 sq ft) of the prototype IV, as well as a speed of Mach 2.4 and a gross weight of 64,000 kilograms (140,000 lb). The Mirage IVB proposal had been instigated as a response to interest by de Gaulle in ensuring that two-way (including the aircraft's return to France) strike missions could be flown. However, development of the aircraft was ultimately cancelled in July 1959 due to the greater cost involved, a decision having been taken to rely upon aerial refueling instead also being a factor.
With the Mirage IVB considered to be too expensive, the medium-sized Mirage IVA, slightly larger than the first prototype, was chosen for three more prototypes to be produced. This aircraft had a wing area of 77.9 square metres (839 sq ft) and weighed about 32,000 kilograms (70,000 lb)[12] On 4 April 1960, a formal order for 50 production Mirage IVA aircraft was issued. The three prototype aircraft were built between 1961 and 1963, with first flights on 12 October 1961, 1 June 1962, and 23 January 1963. By 1962, the second prototype had conducted simulated nuclear bombing runs in the trials range at Colomb-Bechar in southern Algeria. The third prototype was equipped with the navigation/bombing systems and flight refuelling probe. The fourth prototype Mirage IVA-04 was essentially representative of the production aircraft that would follow.
For production, various portions of the aircraft were subcontracted to Sud Aviation (wings and rear fuselage) and Breguet Aviation (tailfin), which was still a separate company from Dassault until 1967; Dassault manufactured the front fuselage and flight-control system internally. Manufacture of both the prototypes and subsequent production aircraft was often hindered by an explicit requirement that there would be no reliance upon foreign suppliers to maintain France's nuclear capabilities; due to this, the Mirage IV initially lacked an inertial navigation system as French industry could not yet produce this device.
On 7 December 1963, the first production Mirage IVA performed its maiden flight. A series of 62 aircraft was built, and they entered service between 1964 and 1968. Although Dassault had designed the Mirage IV for the low-level flight role right from the start, the final batch of 12 aircraft ordered in November 1964 differed from the earlier aircraft in several areas, including the flight controls, avionics, and structural details, for the purpose of providing improved low-level performance. It had been planned for this batch to be powered by the newer Pratt & Whitney/SNECMA TF106 turbofan engine. The improvements featured upon the last 12 Mirage IVs were later retroactively applied to the whole fleet.
In December 1963 Dassault proposed a Mirage IV-106 variant with 2 Snecma TF106 (license-built Pratt and Whitney) engines, an enlarged 105,000 gross-weight fuselage, terrain-avoidance radar, and armed with a proposed French version of the American Douglas GAM-87 Skybolt air-launched ballistic missile. This version would have been very costly, and ultimately was not ordered.
Proposed export variants
In 1963, the Australian government sought a replacement for the Royal Australian Air Force fleet of English Electric Canberra bombers, largely in response to the Indonesian Air Force's purchase of missile-armed Tupolev Tu-16 bombers. Dassault proposed a version of the Mirage IVA with Rolls-Royce Avon engines. Australian Air Marshall Frederick Scherger seriously considered purchase of the IVA in 1961 because it was considered to be proven hardware already in service (in contrast to the BAC TSR-2 which was still in development), before settling on the General Dynamics F-111C. The IVA was one of five aircraft types that were short listed for the role, but the F-111C was eventually selected.
In April 1965, the British Government cancelled the TSR-2 reconnaissance-strike aircraft. In response, Dassault and British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) proposed a modified Mirage IV variant as a replacement in July 1965. The aircraft, known as the Mirage IV* or Mirage IVS (S for Spey) would be re-engined with more powerful Rolls-Royce Spey turbofan engines with a total of 185 kilonewtons (41,700 lbf), larger (fuselage depth increased by 7.6 centimetres (3 in), had an approximately 0.61 metres (2 ft) forward fuselage extension, and was to weigh 36,000 kilograms (80,000 lb)), and use avionics planned for the TSR-2, although BAC preferred the French Antilope radar. Although designed by Dassault, the production was to be carried out jointly between Dassault and its subcontractors (wing, mid-fuselage, and tail) and BAC (front and rear fuselage). The final assembly location was not determined before this proposal was rejected. The Mirage IV* was to carry a bombload of up to 9,100 kilograms (20,000 lb). While the IV* was claimed to meet most of the Royal Air Force (RAF)'s requirements, and to be £1 million cheaper than the American-made F-111K was preferred (only to be cancelled in turn) and the Spey-engined Mirage abandoned.
The Mirage IV* met nearly every RAF requirement except for field length, and some claim it exceeded the F-111 slightly in speed and had at least equal range. The estimated cost was 2.321 million pounds per aircraft (for 50) or 2.067 million (for 110), less than the price of the F-111K. BAC claimed that the British government evaluation into the Mirage IV* was "relatively superficial". However, some British government officials, including Parliament members Julian Risdale and Roy Jenkins, questioned the Mirage IV*'s capacity to operate from unprepared airstrips or to operate at low level, or claimed that the F-111 was a superior aircraft "in a class of its own". However, Bill Gunston notes that low-level Mirage IV missions had been planned since 1963 and Mirage IVs operated regularly at low level since 1965, and argues that the ability of a strategic bomber to operate from unprepared airstrips is historically unimportant. RAF pilots who test-flew the Mirage IV were "favourably impressed" with its low altitude performance.
BAC and Dassault had also hoped to sell the Mirage IV* to France and to export the Mirage IV* to various nations, such as India, possibly Israel, and others; the lack of a British sale put an end to such possibilities. Some aviation journalists claim that the rejection of the Mirage IV* may have dampened French interest in joint Anglo-French cooperation.
Design
The Mirage IV shares design features and a visual resemblance to the Mirage III fighter, featuring a tailless delta wing and a single square-topped vertical fin. However, the wing is significantly thinner to allow better high-speed performance and has a thickness/chord ratio of only 3.8% at the root and 3.2% at the tip; this wing was the thinnest built in Europe at that time and one of the thinnest in the world. While being significantly smaller than an expensive medium bomber proposal for the role, the Mirage IV was roughly three times the weight of the preceding Mirage III.
The Mirage IV is powered by two Snecma Atar turbojets, fed by two air intakes on either side of the fuselage that had intake half-cone shock diffusers, known as souris ("mice"), which were moved forward as speed increased to trim the inlet for the shock wave angle. It can reach high supersonic speeds: the aircraft is redlined at Mach 2.2 at altitude because of airframe temperature restrictions, although it is capable of higher speeds. While broadly similar to the model used on the Mirage III, the Atar engine had a greater airflow and an elevated overspeed limit from 8,400 rpm to 8,700 rpm for greater thrust during high altitude supersonic flight. While the first Mirage IV prototype was fitted with double-eyelid engine nozzles, production aircraft featured a complicated variable geometry nozzle that automatically varied in response to the descent rate and airspeed.
The aircraft has 14,000 litres (3,700 gal (US)) of internal fuel, and its engines are quite thirsty, especially when the afterburner is active. Fuel was contained within integral tanks within the wings, as well as a double-skinned section of the fuselage between and outboard of the inlet ducts, underneath the ducts and engines, and forward of the main spar of the tail fin; this provided a total internal capacity of 6,400 kilograms (14,000 lb). A refueling probe is built into the nose; aerial refuelling was often necessary in operations as the Mirage IV only had the fuel capacity, even with external drop tanks, to reach the Soviet Union's borders, thus refuelling was required to allow for a 'round trip'. In the event of nuclear war between the major powers, it was thought that there would be little point in having the fuel to return as the host air bases would have been destroyed; instead, surviving Mirage IVs would have diverted to land at bases in nearby neutral countries following the delivery of their ordnance.
The two-man crew, pilot and navigator, were seated in tandem cockpits, each housed under separate clamshell canopies. A bombing/navigation radar is housed within an oblique-facing radome underneath the fuselage between the intakes and aft of the cockpit; much of the Mirage IV's onboard avionics systems, such as the radar communications, navigational instrumentation, and bombing equipment, were produced by Thomson-CSF. Other avionics elements were provided by Dassault itself and SFENA; one of the only major subsystems not of French origin onboard was the Marconi-built AD.2300 doppler radar. Free-falling munitions could also be aimed using a ventral blister-mounted periscope from the navigator's position.
The Mirage IV has two pylons under each wing, with the inboard pylons being normally used for large drop tanks of 2,500-litre (660 gal (US)) capacity. The outer pylons typically carried ECM and chaff/flare dispenser pods to supplement the internal jamming and countermeasures systems. On later aircraft, this equipment typically included a Barax NG jammer pod under the port wing and a Boz expendables dispenser under the starboard wing. No cannon armament was ever fitted aboard the type. The early Mirage IVA had a fuselage recess under the engines which could hold a single AN-11 or AN-22 nuclear weapon of 60 kt yield. The Mirage IV can carry 12 solid-fuel rockets diagonally down below the wing flaps, for rocket-assisted take off (RATO).
From 1972 onward, 12 aircraft were also equipped to carry the CT52 reconnaissance pod in the bomb recess. These aircraft were designated Mirage IVR for reconnaissance. The CT52 was available in either BA (Basse Altitude, low-level) or HA (Haute Altitude, high-altitude) versions with three or four long-range cameras; a third configuration used an infrared line scanner. The CT52 had no digital systems, relying on older wet-film cameras. The first operational use of the system took place during missions in Chad in September 1974.
During the 1980s, a total of 18 Mirage IVs were retrofitted with a centreline pylon and associated equipment to carry and launch the nuclear ASMP stand-off missile. The Mirage IVA could theoretically carry up to six large conventional bombs at the cost of drop tanks and ECM pods, such armament was rarely fitted in practice.
Operational history
Introduction and early operations
"We don't have fighter aircraft, we have fear-inducing aircraft"
French President Charles de Gaulle, speaking of the Mirage IV in 1963.
In February 1964 deliveries of the Mirage IV to the French Air Force started, with the first French Mirage IV squadron being declared operational on 1 October that year. The Mirage IV bomber force soon consisted of nine squadrons of four aircraft (2 pairs – one aircraft carrying the nuclear bomb, one a buddy-refuelling tanker) each. When fully built up, the force consisted of three wings. These wings were each divided into three bomber squadrons, each equipped with a total of four Mirage IVs, with each deployed at a different base to minimise the potential for an enemy strike to knock out the entire bomber force.
After establishment of its own deterrent force, the Force de Dissuassion, more commonly known as the Force de frappe, France withdrew from the military command structure of NATO in 1966. De Gaulle viewed the operational establishment of the Mirage IV fleet, a critical component of the independent Force de frappe, as highly influential to his decision to withdraw France from NATO, and that an independent French nuclear deterrent was necessary to ensure independence as a nation. From 1964 to 1971, the Mirage IV was France's sole means of delivering nuclear ordnance. At this point they were each armed with a single 60 kiloton nuclear bomb.
Alert status consisted of an active inventory of 36 Mirage IVs. At any one time 12 aircraft would be in the air, with a further 12 on the ground kept at four minutes' readiness and the final 12 at 45 minutes' readiness, each equipped with an onboard functional nuclear weapon. These 36 active aircraft would be rotated with 26 reserve aircraft; the latter were kept in an airworthy condition or were otherwise subject to maintenance activities. Within the first decade of the type entering service, in excess of 200,000 hours were flown and 40,000 aerial refuelling operations were performed by the Mirage IV fleet alone; at one point, Mirage IV operations were consuming up to 44 per cent of the French Air Force's total spare parts budget.
The primary objectives of the Mirage IVA force were major Soviet cities and bases. With aerial refueling], the plane was able to attack Moscow, Murmansk or various Ukrainian cities when sortieing from French bases. A justification of the Mirage IV given by Armée de l'air Brigadier General Pierre Marie Gallois, an architect of the French nuclear deterrent, was that: "France is not a prize worthy of ten Russian cities".
In order to refuel the Mirage IVA fleet, France purchased 14 (12 plus 2 spares) U.S. Boeing C-135F tankers. Mirage IVAs also often operated in pairs, with one aircraft carrying a weapon and the other carrying fuel tanks and a buddy refueling pack, allowing it to refuel its partner en route to the target. Even so, some sources state that some of the mission profiles envisioned were actually one-way, with the crew having no chance of returning after bombing a Soviet city. The inability for the Mirage IV to return after missions had been a point of controversy during the aircraft's early development.
Both flight and grounds crews received training principally by Strategic Air Forces Command 328, stationed at Bordeaux. Several Nord Noratlas were specially modified, having received the Mirage IV's radar, control consoles, and additional electrical generators, for the purpose of training navigators; these were later replaced by a pair of customised Dassault Falcon 20 outfitted with much of the Mirage IVP's avionics.
Transition and upgrades
Initially, the basic attack flight profile was "high-high-high" at a speed of Mach 1.85, engaging targets up to a maximum radius of 3,500 km (2,175 mi). In the late 1960s, when the threat of surface-to-air missile defences made high-altitude flight too hazardous, the Mirage IVA was modified for low-altitude penetration. Flying low, the maximum attack speed was reduced to 1,100 km/h (680 mph) and the combat radius was also decreased. By 1963, the majority of missions involving the Mirage IV were being planned as low-level flights. By 1964, Mirage IVAs were conducting training penetration runs at an altitude of 200 ft, without the assistance of terrain-following radar, which subjected pilots to considerable workload and those on board to high levels of turbulence.
To improve survivability, the French Air Force began dispersing Mirage IVs to pre-prepared rough strips during the 1960s; while the use of hardened bunkers had been assessed, it was found to be financially impractical. By the 1970s, it had become clear that vulnerability of the Mirage IV to air defences, even while flying at low altitudes, had made the delivery of gravity bombs such as the AN-11 or AN-22 impractical. Thus, it was decided to pass a greater share of the deterrent role onto land-based missiless and submarine-launched ballistic missiles alternatives; as a result, a single wing of Mirage IVs was stood down in 1976, partially due to fleet-wide attrition losses.
In 1973, it was reported that a force of 40 Mirage IVs would continue to perform as a part of France's nuclear deterrent until the 1980s, and that steady improvements were to be undertaken. In 1975, all Mirage IVs were progressively painted in a new green/grey camouflage scheme. In 1979, in response to the decreasing effectiveness of free-fall bombs used by both its strategic and tactical nuclear forces, development of the ASMP stand-off missile was initiated; the ASMP would possess a range of up to 400 km (250 mi) and was alternative armed with either a single 150 or 300 kiloton nuclear warhead. Various test launches of dummy and later live ASMPs were performed using the Mirage IV as the launch platform between 1981 and 1983.
In July 1984, a contract was formally issued for the upgrade of a total of 18 Mirage IVAs to carry the ASMP missile in the place of traditional bombs; these aircraft were redesignated Mirage IVP (Penetration). The conversion of Mirage IVAs to IVPs involved a large number of modifications and re-workings of the aircraft. A deep centerline pylon was added, which could accommodate either a single ASMP missile or a CT52 reconnaissance pod. The main radar and electronics suite were removed and replaced by newer counterparts; other modified systems included the navigation system, flight control system, and various elements of the cockpit. On 12 October 1982, the first modernised Mirage IVP performed its first flight; it re-entered active service on 1 May 1986.
In August 1985, a French proposal that would have seen Mirage IVPs stationed at air bases inside neighbouring West Germany was made public; this deployment would have marked a significant philosophical departure from traditional French nuclear defence policy. Aviation authors Bill Gunston and Peter Gilchrist allege that French officials had historically discounted the option of recovering Mirage IVs in friendly territory as unduly optimistic, as those nations might become unfriendly or hostile in the aftermath of a French nuclear attack.
Phase-Out
On 31 July 1996, the Mirage IVP was formally retired in its bomber capacity, the nuclear mission having been transferred from the Mirage IV to the newer Dassault Mirage 2000N. EB 2/91 was disbanded and EB 1/91 was redesignated Escadron de Reconnaissance Stratégique (Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron),[citation needed] using five remaining Mirage IVPs based at Mont-de-Marsan; the remaining aircraft were stored at Chateaudun. In the reconnaissance role, the Mirage IVP has seen service over Bosnia, Iraq, Kosovo and Afghanistan.
ES 1/91 Gascogne's surviving Mirage IVPs were retired in 2005 and are conserved and stored at the Centre d'Instruction Forces Aériennes Stratégiques (CIFAS) at Bordeaux Mérignac. The retirement of all reconnaissance-configured Mirage IVPs in 2005 meant that the French Air Force's Mirage F1CRs were for some time the only aircraft capable of carrying out aerial reconnaissance missions. The long term replacement for the Mirage IVP was Mirage 2000N aircraft outfitted with a modern PRNG Pod de Reconnaissance Nouvelle Génération (New Generation Reconnaissance Pod), equipped with digital camera equipment.
The Mirage IV had been popular with its crews, who found it enjoyable to fly. In addition, it required surprisingly little maintenance considering its age and complexity.
I wanted a clean shot without the people, but didn't have much time to wait for it to clear, and more people were going in.
Baddesley Clinton House and the Bridge over the Moat is a Grade I listed building.
Manor house. Late C15, on earlier site; south-east range refronted c.1736: late C19 service wing added to north-east side of south-west range designed and built by Edward Heneage Dering. Courtyard plan. North-east range: stone ashlar; old brick flues, bridge end stack to right with octagonal brick flue. 2-storey, 6-window range. Gatehouse at right of centre: 4-centred outer archway encloses 4-centred doorway with spandrels. Panelled and studded door to inner doorway. 6-light stone mullion and transom window to first floor. Battlemented parapet to gatehouse. 2-light stone mullion window with 4-centre arched heads to lights, at left of centre 3-light stone mullion window with 4-centre arched heads to lights, at right,. 5-light stone mullion window to left of centre. Two 3-light stone mullion windows, with flat stone arches having keystones, to left. Continuous hoodmould to right, and to left of centre. 4-light stone mullion window to first floor right. 3-light stone mullion window to first floor right of centre. 4-light stone mullion window to first floor left of centre. Two 3-light stone mullion window to first floor left. South-east range: red brick; old plain-tile roof; various brick stacks,with octagonal or diagonally set brick flues, 2 storey A-window range. Irregular fenestration, mostly of C18 three-light wood casements with segmental brick heads. south-west range: stone ashlar; old plain-tile roof; various brick stacks. 2-storey, 6-window range. Irregular fenestration, mostly of 3-light stone mullion windows. Single-storey addition to centre with hipped old plain-tile roof, has 2 round-arched blind recesses to moat. Wood casement window to ground floor. Courtyard: irregular fenestration. Interior: entrance hall has close-studded timber-framing to walls. Great hall has stone fireplace of decorative pillars supporting a frieze and atlantes flanking rectangular panel with round heraldic central panel with strapwork surroundings. Dining room has late C16 panelling and carved wood fireplace with pillars supporting a frieze and with richly carved central heraldic panel. Drawing room has C17 panelling and chimney piece placed here C18 Henry Ferrers' Bedroom, also known as the state bedroom has panelling and chimney-piece of c.1629. Other rooms also have panelling and carved chimney pieces. Bridge. Early C18. Red brick. 2 round arches, plain brick parapet. History: site held by the Clintons, then was bought by John Brome in 1438. Held by the Brome family, and passed by inheritance to the Ferrers family in 1517. Henry Ferrers (1549-1633) carried out much work at the house. (Buildings of England: Warwickshire: 1966, pp8l-82; Baddesley Clinton: national Trust Guide Book, 1986) (60)
Baddesley Clinton House and Bridge over the Moat - Heritage Gateway
Baddesley Clinton is a National Trust property.
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Portuguese
Gramado é um município do estado do Rio Grande do Sul, no Brasil. Localiza-se na Serra Gaúcha, mais precisamente na Região das Hortênsias, a uma latitude 29º 22' 44" sul e a uma longitude 50º 52' 26" oeste, estando a uma altitude de 830 metros. Sua população estimada em 2013 é de 34 110 habitantes. Possui uma área de 237,019 quilômetros quadrados. Seu principal acesso se dá através da RS-115, embora também seja atendida pelas rodovias RS-235 e RS-373.
Sua demografia é etnicamente variada, com forte influência alemã e italiana, o que se reflete especialmente na culinária e na arquitetura urbana e rural.
English
Gramado is a municipality and small tourist town, southeast of Caxias do Sul and east of Nova Petrópolis in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, in the Serra Gaúcha region. The town was originally settled by Azorean descendants and later received a contingent of German and Italian immigrants. Gramado is one of the towns along the scenic route known as Rota Romântica (Romantic Route).
Spanish
Gramado es un municipio brasileño del Estado de Río Grande del Sur, situado a 115 kilómetros al norte de Porto Alegre, capital del Estado. Limita con los municipios de Caxias do Sul (al norte), Três Coroas (al sur), Canela (al este), Nova Petrópolis y Santa Maria do Herval (al oeste).
Ubicada en la "Sierra Gaucha", la ciudad de Gramado es poseedora de riquezas naturales exuberantes, siendo el polo turístico más importante de Rio Grande do Sul y uno de los destinos más buscados por el turismo interno brasileño. Conocida como la "Suiza del Brasil", Gramado convoca a turistas el año entero atraídos por sus bellezas naturales entre las que predominan sierras, valles, arroyos cristalinos y bosques de pinos, su clima templado y su legado europeo, sobre todo alemán e italiano.
German
Gramado ist eine Stadt in Rio Grande do Sul im Süden Brasiliens. Die Stadtgemeinde hat 31.655 Einwohner. Gramado liegt auf einer Höhe von 830 Metern in der Serra Gaúcha in der Region der Hortensien. Das Gemeindegebiet grenzt an Canela (im Osten), Caxias do Sul (im Norden), Nova Petrópolis (im Westen), Santa Maria do Herval (im Südwesten) und Três Coroas (im Südosten). Gramado liegt 115 km nördlich der Bundesstaatshauptstadt Porto Alegre.
Wikipedia
Hasselblad 500C/M, Carl Zeiss 80mm f2.8, Fujiflim PRO 400H. Colo's Classic Car Show 2013, Columbus Zoo
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La chiesa di Santa Maria della Catena è una struttura in stile gotico-catalano che si trova nei pressi della Cala a Palermo. Venne costruita, al posto di una piccola cappelletta, tra il 1490 e il 1520 a opera dell'architetto Matteo Carnilivari e prese questo nome poiché su un muro della chiesa era posta un'estremità della catena che chiudeva il porto della Cala. Una versione più leggendaria parla di un miracolo che nel XIV secolo fece sciogliere al sole le catene di alcuni prigionieri condannati ingiustamente, che avevano chiesto aiuto alla "Vergine delle Grazie". L'opera è forse l'esempio più significativo del maturare di un'interpretazione locale del Rinascimento nell'architettura siciliana e palermitana in particolare, con un connubio di elementi tardo rinascimentali e gotico-catalani. Annessa alla chiesa vi è la casa conventuale del 1602, che dal 1844 è sede dell'Archivio di Stato. L'architettura della chiesa è caratterizzata da una serrata correlazione tra interno ed esterno. All'interno tre navate sono seprate da tozze colonne rinforzate da pilastri rettangolari, che reggono gli archi catalani (ribassati) della volta intervallati da archi ogivali di traverso. All'esterno si nota una medesima impostazione, con le lesene che percorrono le mura perimetrali e il portico tripartito da archi catalani, come le navate, in cima a una scalinata (inizialmente a due rampe, ampliata nel 1845). Le colonne, in una ricerca anticlassica, appaiono sproporzionate e mortificate dall'esuberanza degli archi con le nervature policrome, dalle fantasiose reinterpretazioni dei capitelli ionici e dagli apparati scultorei minori. Le bifore sono ornatissime e la zona absidale è caratterizzata da un complesso gioco di spazi a base ottagonale, coordinati dalla concezione unitaria. All'interno sono conservate una Natività con Adorazione dei Pastori, tela del XVII secolo di autore ignoto, una Natività e un'Adorazione dei Magi, bassorilievi del XVI secolo attribuiti a Vincenzo e Antonello Gagini che scolpirono anche i capitelli delle colonne e i portali d'ingresso. La prima cappella di destra è dedicata a Santa Brigida, con al centro una tela di pittore ignoto del XVII secolo che raffigura la santa in gloria, mentre ai lati e sul soffitto vi sono degli affreschi risalenti al XVIII secolo di Olivio Sozzi, che raffigurano da sinistra la Vergine che incorana santa Brigida, Santa Brigida in gloria e Cristo che gli mostra il suo costato insanguinato. La seconda cappella contiene l'accesso a un'ex-cappella votiva: la porta era l'antico ingresso della chiesa. L'affresco in questa cappella risale al XIV secolo ed è la venerata effigie della Vergine delle Grazie. In esso la Vergine tiene Gesù Bambino in braccio, che assomiglia a un adulto rimpicciolito a stazza di bambino, poiché secondo i bizantini Gesù, essendo stato sempre molto saggio, non poteva mai essere stato bambino. Ha anche la testa calva per evidenziare la sua saggezza. Ai quattro angoli della cappella si trovano le statue di quattro sante: Margherita (a sinistra dell'altare) Ninfa (a destra dell'altare), Barbara (a sinistra davanti all'affresco) e Oliva (destra). Tutte le statue sono attribuite ai Gagini.
f&b world magazine, a food and beverage industry magazine based in manila, downloaded one of my flickr photos and published it without permission, and without credit, despite its creative commons license. shame on you, f&b world! at least you could have picked a better photo.
update 21 march 06: mattered settled! quite amicably, really. thank you for all your support!
-Spartan: my first real Victorinox, carried it a few months until i bought the camper. Found it!
-Camper: my first Victorinox i bought, awesome little knife!
-Rucksack: huge locking blade+large saw= amazing for work in the woods.
-Waiter bought because it was on sale somewhere and it sit in my backpackas my corkscrew and tweezers knife.
-The no name one has a new point on it (on both blades) it took a long time because i only have whetstone.
The Gift of Life
"How dare you start on this journey, without taking a ticket from Me? Come down; do the task allotted to you. I order you to come to the Prayer Hall this noon and carry on with Arathi, as usual."
"That was the command, the divine command of the Lord to Sri Seshagiri Rao, whose body and mind were 'ready steady set' for the last journey.
Baba did sound harsh. Yes, He appeared so unkind not only to the people around but also to the subject in question, Sri Seshagiri Rao, who was more than willing to shed his mortal coil after a fall and subsequent ill health, and had even started declaring aloud the eternal truths: "This body composed of the five elements is disintegrating into its components; I am being liberated!"
But Swami had different plans for this sage-like servitor who for 14 long years had tended the shrine at the old Mandir and later at the Prashanti Nilayam Sanctum Sanctorum with great dedication and love. Sri Seshagiri Rao just obeyed Swami's order and in the evening he was seen attending the shrine - the signs of illness were gone.
Six months later, this pious person fell ill again. His condition became worse and you could see that he was indeed suffering. His brother rushed in panic from Bangalore and requested Swami that Sri Seshagiri Rao be allowed to be taken to the Victoria hospital in Bangalore.
But, Swami had this to tell him, "Do not worry at his present plight. I am allowing him to work out the suffering he has to undergo. After this, he has the chance to die peacefully and quite happily. Otherwise, I could have despatched him months ago, when he had a fall." And that is exactly what happened.
Sri Seshagiri Rao recovered quite mysteriously in a month. He was hale and hearty and spent six weeks in bliss doing his chores in the shrine and spreading happiness around. And then suddenly one day, his health deteriorated and he took to bed. One evening Swami went to his bedside. Along with Swami was Prof. Kasturi, a great devotee and the first editor of Sanathana Sarathi. For what happened that momentous evening, let's hear from Sri Kasturi himself:
"Swami asked me to bring a cup of hot milk. Spoon by spoon, He fed him the entire cup, calling on him by name and telling him that it was his Baba that was feeding him! Then, He rose and moved; turning back while at the door, He looked at him and said, 'Now you can go!' And, Seshagiri Rao obeyed within an hour! Baba knew when he had to come down and when he had to 'go'."
Baba with the Cowans
This is not one isolated incident in the life of Baba. We all know of what happened to Walter Cowan, the oft-quoted story of resurrection recorded beautifully by Dr. Hislop in My Baba and I. We will not go into details here about that incident because there are many more. For every incident we know, there are hundreds and thousands that we do not know. Sai's power has been working silently, selflessly and relentlessly all-round the clock, all-round the globe transforming people, uniting families, enlivening spirits and resurrecting lives, for He is the master of Time and destiny.
In the first week of August, 1953 in Puttaparthi, there happened another incident which, as Howard Murphet describes in Sai Baba: Man of Miracles, was as dramatic in its way as the Christ's raising of "Lazarus" from the dead. The "Lazarus" here was Mr. V Radhakrishna, about sixty years of age, a factory owner and well-known citizen of Kuppam, Andhra Pradesh.
He was in Puttaparthi with his wife, daughter, Vijaya and son-in-law, Sri Hemchand. The Dasara celebrations were on but he was there in Puttaparthi with a different mission - to ask Baba to cure him of his frightful gastric ulcers.
Two days had passed by in Puttaparthi and when Mr. Radhakrishna found Swami taking a stroll in the hall one day, he ran to Him and fell at His feet imploring Him thus: "Swami, I prefer to die. I cannot bear this pain anymore. Let me be merged in Your Feet." Swami lifted him up by his shoulders and in a comforting tone said, "It is alright. The pain will soon subside," and sent him back.
Sometime later, Mr. Radhakrishna was attacked by fits, fell down and bit his tongue. Swami came immediately and placed Vibhuti on his forehead. His stomach was bloated. Swami sat by his side for sometime, patting his stomach. Before He left, He reassured everybody saying, "Do not worry. Everything will be alright."
The next day was truly a nightmare. The patient could not pass urine and his stomach became even more bloated. He was unconscious. A male nurse brought by Mr. K S Hemchand, the son-in-law, pronounced him near death after failing to find any pulse and making other examinations. There was no way of saving him, the nurse opined. And by evening the patient became very cold. The three anxious relatives heard what they thought was the "death rattle" in his throat and watched him turning blue and stiff. His stomach looked full enough to burst at the slightest touch.
Vijaya, and Mrs. Radhakrishna, went to see Swami. They told Him that Radhakrishna seemed to be dead. (Those days, devotees were very few and they had much greater access to Swami). But Swami just laughed and walked away into His bedroom. Crestfallen, the mother and daughter returned to the 'dead' man's bedside and waited and prayed. As if listening to their prayers, after a while, Swami came and looked at the body but did not say or do anything. The whole of the second night passed with the three fervently praying and anxiously waiting for any signs of life. But that was not to be. There were no signs. Yet, nothing could disturb their rock-like faith in Baba.
When the Venkatagiri Raja, a longtime devotee of Baba, offered to take Mr. Radhakrishna in his car to a bigger hospital in a town some distance away, Mrs. Radhakrishna firmly said, "We cannot do anything unless Swami commands us. Everything depends on Swami's will." She completely believed that somehow or other Baba would save Radhakrishna as He had promised that everything would be alright.
The whole body turned black. His nails turned blue. The night passed. No one slept. At about four in the morning of the third day, all the people around went away wiping their tears and all the three relatives began to weep silently. The body was more than ever like a corpse - dark, cold, quite stiff and beginning to smell. Other people who came to see and sympathise told Mrs. Radhakrishna that she should have the corpse removed from the ashram. But she replied, "Not unless Swami orders it". Some even went to Baba and suggested that, as the man was dead and the body smelling of decomposition, it should either be sent back to Kuppam or cremated at Puttaparti. Swami simply replied, "We'll see."
Radhakrishna with his Saviour
When Mrs. Radhakrishna went to see Swami again - to tell Baba what people were saying to her, and to ask Him what she must do, He answered: "Do not listen to them, and have no fear; I am here." And further, He reassured her saying that He would soon come to see her husband.
Mrs. Radhakrishna returned and waited along with her daughter and son-in-law by the body. 10 minutes, half an hour, an hour passed, but there was no sign of Swami. There seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel and just when they were about to give up totally, the door opened and there stood Baba in His red robe, copious hair, and shining smile. It was then about half past two in the afternoon of the third day.
As soon as she saw Baba, Mrs. Radhakrishna broke down completely. Vijaya was also crying. They were like Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus, weeping before their Lord who, they thought, had come too late. And Swami, as if there was nothing serious to it, said jokingly, "Is Radhakrishna having labour pains?" Everyone was silent.
"Let's see what the matter is," He said and walked into the room.
At what point is a person dead? Can anyone say? There are instances where suddenly a 'corpse' will move; in fact, when Jesus received word that Lazarus was dead, He said to His disciples, "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go that I may awake him out of sleep."
Anyway, to continue with the story, Baba gently asked the tearful women and sorrowful Mr. Hemchand to leave the room. There were only Swami and the dead man in the room and what happened inside only He knows. A few minutes passed, and the door opened and Swami beckoned all the three in. As they nervously walked in, they could scarcely believe their eyes! Was it true? Or, was it an illusion?
There on the bed Radhakrishna was looking up at them and smiling! Amazingly the stiffness of death had vanished and his natural colour was returning! All the three clasped Swami;s Feet and washed them with their tears. Baba went over, stroked the patient's head and said to him, "Talk to them; they are worried."
"Why worried?" asked Radhakrishna, puzzled, "what happened to me?"
With a loud laugh, Swami replied, "Delivery."
Everyone laughed. It was a strange scene, laughter in the midst of tears.
Mr. Radhakrishna looked at Swami who was sitting near his head and said, "I'm all right. You are here."
Swami then turned to Mrs. Radhakrishna and said, "I have given your husband back to you, now get him a hot drink."
When she brought a tumbler of Horlicks, Swami Himself fed it to Radhakrishna slowly spoon by spoon. For another half an hour He remained there, gently touching Radhakrishna and strengthening the man He had 'raised'.
Swami then asked Vijaya, "How old is your father?"
"Sixty years," she replied.
Then, Swami reminded them how, four or five years ago, Mrs. Radhakrishna once had told Him, "Swami, in my husband's family, all his brothers died in their sixtieth year. Kindly save my husband." And how Swami had promised her then that He would save her husband. Swami then turned toward Mrs. Radhakrishna and said, "You have forgotten that conversation. But I have not. Today, I have given the gift of life to your husband."
Then Swami placed His hand on Mrs. Radhakrishna's head, blessed the whole family and left the room.
After two hours, He was back. He asked Mr. Radhakrishna, "Radha Krishnayya! Where did you go?" He replied, "That place was very peaceful, very comfortable; very, very nice, Swami. Why did you bring me back? It was heavenly there."
It seems later, Swami confided to Sri Kasturi, "His children are still young. He did not even write a will. He has yet to perform the marriages of his children. That's why I saw to it that he was brought back. The extra years of life that I have given now I shall deduct from his next birth." What meticulous attention to correct the calculation of life span!
Next day, Mr. Radhakrishna was strong enough to walk to Bhajan. On the third day he wrote a seven-page letter to one of his daughters who was abroad in Italy . The family stayed a few more days at Prashanti Nilayam, then with Baba's permission returned to their home in Kuppam. The gastric ulcers and complications had vanished forever.
Aeons have passed by. Civilisations have emerged, grown and perished. Man, Nature, Science - everything has changed. But if there is one thing that has remained constant it is God. His love, His compassion for humanity, His concern and His impeccable glory. Another startling episode that amply demonstrates this happened in Prashanti Nilayam, just two decades back and it stands as a testimony to the inscrutable and infinite power of Sai. This time it was a young student, a research scholar staying in the hostel in Prashanti Nilayam.
One person who was a witness and totally involved in this whole incident was Mr. Narasimha Murthy who was the warden of the hostel then. And this is what he narrated in the Divine Presence of Baba in Sai Kulwant Hall on the 1 st of November 2004:
It was the month of October, 1985, the sixtieth birthday celebrations year. In the early hours of morning, I was woken up. One of the PhD Scholars was a chronic asthma patient. He was unable to breathe.
Click here to listen to Mr. Narasimha Murthy's voice.
We rushed him to the Puttaparthi General Hospital . The boy's name was Narayan Sharma. He was from Bombay , a classmate of the current warden of the hostel, Sri Shiva Shankar Sai.
By the time we took him to the hospital, the body had become cold and blue. There was a lady doctor who attended on him. There was no pulse, no breath. Dr. Chari, the Medical Superintendent of the hospital then, rushed from his home. He also checked him up and informed all of us present there, 'He is no more. The boy is dead.'
It was approaching six in the morning. You could imagine the plight of the warden when such a thing happens. I did not even dare to go to the Mandir and submit to Swami what had happened. It was Dr. Chari who walked to the Mandir and submitted to Swami the whole episode. Swami said, "Nothing will happen to him. He is fine".
Swami, then materialized Vibhuti and gave it to Dr. Chari and said, "Apply it on his chest and put hot-water bags on his back." Dr. Chari returned and the Vibhuti and hot water bags were applied.
Yet, we were in a state of fix. We did not know what to do as there was no pulse, no breathing still. The body was still cold and blue. For all practical purposes, he was dead. The doctors then told me, 'Mr. Narasimha Murthy, now it is your turn to go and report to Swami.'
Sri Narasimha Murthy narrating the incident on Nov 1st 2004
It was 6.30 in the morning. I walked up to the Mandir. I reported to Swami. Swami said, "Nothing has happened to him." In fact, He gave me a thermos flask filled with hot coffee and said, "Go and give it to him." I was bewildered.
I returned with this flask to the hospital. When I reached the hospital, the lady doctor looked at me with the flask and asked, 'For whom is this coffee?' I could barely say anything. I just very reluctantly showed the patient.
Her face became completely expressionless. But there was a sense of, "Mr. Warden, you have lost your brain." These were her unspoken words.
I did not know what to do with the coffee. The body of Narayana Sharma was covered with a white sheet. Only his toes were seen. And then suddenly, we saw movements! His toes were moving!
We were overjoyed. And then the lady doctor, with great joy, went up to the boy. The boy could not open his eyes, but the toes were moving. And she put her finger at the nose. Slowly, the breathing was coming back. And then, she whispered these words into his ears, "See boy, Swami has sent coffee for you. Please take it." One spoon of coffee was fed into his mouth and he took it in! Then, slowly spoon by spoon coffee was being fed into his mouth. The lady doctor checked him again. The pulse was returning. Confident that the boy is back, she was connecting the BP apparatus to the boy's arm and just then Swami arrived with late Sri V. K. Narasimhan, the editor of Sanathana Sarathi at that time. Hearing Swami's voice, the boy slowly tried to open his eyes. Swami came near the boy and said, "What boy! Everybody said you are dead. Still you are alive!" The boy looked at Swami. His face was expressionless. Then Swami asked all the three doctors present there, Dr. Chari and two lady doctors, "Was he dead?"
All of them said, "Yes, Swami. He was dead."
Then He asked one of the lady doctors, "How do you say that he was dead."
"Swami, according to us, there was no pulse, no breathing, no heartbeat; the body was cold and blue. Going by medical science, that is death."
"Then how did he come back," He asked.
"Swami, You are God. You can do anything." The lady doctor replied.
The drama of Lazarus was re-enacted. Only the venue was different.
There were about 50 classmates, who had assembled outside the General Hospital . They had come hearing that their friend has made his exit from the world. Swami looked out of the window. All the boys looked very sad.
Swami then looked at me and said, "Go and tell them what has happened here." Swami confirmed that He had brought back the boy to life.
And then Swami materialized a kind of brownish chocolate and gave it to the boy. The boy immediately put it into his mouth. After returning to the Mandir, Swami materialized three bottles of tablets and sent them to the hospital with detailed instructions as to how these tablets are to be administered.
The boy was soon in the hostel busy with his research. And he completed his PhD.
For an incarnation, it is sheerly His powers, His inner strength which achieves everything and nothing else. Instruments are only superfluous. There is nothing that is impossible for him", the warden concluded.
Now let's move on to something which happened in the nineties. It is the story of Mr. Venkateswaran, a long-time devotee of Bhagavan who now resides in the Prashanti Nilayam ashram. This is what he has to tell about his miraculous 'return':
"It happened on the afternoon of 1st October, 1994 . Along with students and some guests, I was inside Trayee Brindavan (Swami's residence in Bangalore ). While Swami was speaking, I felt a sudden tightness in my chest. I began to sweat profusely and felt strangely breathless.
Three quick pinches of Vibhuti from my pocket, followed by a chant of 'Sai Rama' three times was all I could muster before leaning on the person in front of me. I was slipping into darkness. I then saw an orange robe in an ocean of light.
This was followed by a vision of my inert body lying on the floor. I could not believe it! I felt so free, so utterly free.
Then a voice in the distance echoed, 'Get up! Your Sai Rama has come, get up!'
My hazy memory does not recall what happened next, but I was informed later that immediately after I had passed away, a physician sitting nearby had examined me and found no vital signs. With some difficulty this was conveyed to Swami who was sitting on the jhoola [swing] in the front. Our Merciful Lord stood up immediately, picked up His silver tumbler, and walked to where my body was.
He poured some water on His fingers and let it trickle into my mouth. Then, He said the words that I have just quoted: 'Get up! Your Sai Rama has come!'
Mr. Venkateswaran with his 'Sai Rama' before his operation
My inert body jerked and my eyes opened to see Bhagavan. Looking at all those seated around, Bhagavan firmly asked, 'What other miracle do you want? Venkatesh was gone, and I brought him back.' I was helped back into my room."
In fact, Swami gave him another lease of life when in 1999, a full five years after his resurrection, He blessed him to undergo a heart surgery at the modern temple of healing, the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences. Not only that, He made a special visit to the Hospital, materialized Vibhuti and blessed him profusely before his surgery.
Mr. Venkateswaran is still doing fine and dedicates his time in the ashram doing Swami's work.
Resurrections may not be as common a phenomenon as Swami creating Vibhuti, rings, chains, etc., but time and again, Swami has brought people back to life whenever the situation demanded it. We know how Swami 'raised' Subbamma just to keep His promise and fulfill her last wish. For those, who have not read this thrilling episode in
' Sathyam Shivam Sundaram', here is a brief account:
"Subbamma was the person most anxious about Swami's 'health' when He was a young boy and most worried about the hundreds of pilgrims who gathered at Puttaparthi. Baba even now says that the grinding stone in her house was always busy, preparing chutney (an Indian dish) out of the heaps of coconuts that the pilgrims offered. She was grinding almost eight hours of the day! She had immense love and devotion to the Lord and Baba had said that He would satisfy her one desire... to have the Darshan of Baba in her last moments. And this is how he fulfilled it.
It was in the fifties. Subbamma fell ill and was taken to Bukkapatnam. But in spite of her illness, she came over one day in a bullock cart to see the Prashanti Nilayam (the new Mandir), which was then under construction. She was soon bedridden and could not move; her condition worsened and Baba was away in Bangalore !
Subbamma, in her delirium, talked about Baba and the vision of Shirdi Sai Baba which she had been privileged to see, of the manifold Leelas of the Krishna she had witnessed, and, when she came to, her talk was about the same incidents and the same Person. She was in the midst of relatives who did not have much sympathy with these sentiments, for they felt that her love for the strange little miraculous Boy had taken her away from attachment to her kith and kin. So, they told her that her Baba was a hundred miles away, and it would be better for her to concentrate her failing attention on men and matters nearer and closer. But, her Faith did not falter.
Meanwhile, Baba left Bangalore for Tirupathi, where He spent some time with a few devotees. Of course, Baba knew that Subbamma's soul was struggling to free itself from the mortal coil, and that she was rolling in her deathbed at Bukkapatnam. The people around her announced that she had breathed her last.
But, some peculiar glow on her face, made them nervous to take the body to the cremation ground. A few wiser persons shook their heads when it was suggested that she had died. They advised patience, and admonished the relatives; 'The bird has not flown yet,' they said.
How could that bird fly, even though the door of the cage was lying open? She must have the Darshan and she must wait until Baba comes. And, Baba too was hurrying towards her bedside. He left Tirupathi by car, and arriving at Puttaparthi, proceeded to Bukkapatnam, three full days after the first announcement of Subbamma's end!
Her eyes had lost the glint, she was placed on the floor and people were evincing an uneasy impatience. Baba sat by her and in a low voice called out, "Subbamma," "Subbamma," just twice and no more! Then, to the wonderment of everyone crowding around, Subbamma opened her eyes!
She extended her hand towards Baba and grasped His palm firmly and began to stroke it lovingly; Baba put His fingers to her lips; her mouth opened a little, as if she knew that Baba was giving her something to slake the thirst of the soul.
From the fingers of Baba there poured into her mouth the Immortal Ganga and Subbamma joined the ranks of the Released!
What a deliverance! Can anything better that! Swami knows who deserves what and when.
Some people might ask why does Swami resurrect this individual and not another? Why does He save some people from serious illnesses or from near-death situations and not others? Why does He use His powers only for some and not others?
Raising Lazarus
To this, Howard Murphet gives a beautiful explanation in Sai Baba: Man of Miracles:
"Perhaps, in the same way one might ask why Christ did not cure all the sickness around him in his day. And why was Lazarus the only one He called back from the tomb? Did Jesus - and did Sai Baba later - make a special effort against the power of death for a greatly loved family of close devotees? Maybe, but I think there is more to it than that.
When Jesus was informed that Lazarus was sick he made the enigmatic remark: 'This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby'. So what would normally, under ordinary conditions, be a death-dealing disease may be an occasion for the glorification of God through the works of a God-man.
Then, too, there is the profound and complex question of karma. To what extent is the specific ailment or the approach of death karmic, and how far should the Godman interfere with the patient's karma?"
So, that probably gives the answer. The bottom line is this: God is Omnipotent and Omniscient. He can do anything. He is not in the business of displaying His powers at every opportunity. There must be a very sound reason for Him to do anything. He knows our past, present and future. He knows what is good for us. And He makes no mistakes.
Unaware of anything beyond the present and the past of the current life, we sometimes complain. But the solution does not lie in complaining but surrendering everything at His lotus Feet. Because He is ever ready to help. He stands at the doorstep of our heart waiting for a small opening just like the sunlight which eagerly enters a dark room and brightens it by way of even a small slit at the door.
So let us open our hearts to Him. Let us Trust Him. For, with Him by our side, nothing is impossible."
Source: Radio Sai E-Magazine, June 2005