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Well in advance of Halloween, large, creepy, white webs seem to be floating around the air in Dallas -- sticking to cars, trees and hair.
The silky strands hovering around the city could be attributed to sprouting spiders.
"Often, in the fall," Dallas Zoo invertebrate keeper Tim Brys told ABC News, "you have baby spiders of various species that, something triggers them to hatch and then, directly after hatching, they'll spread a long silk line out behind their abdomen. The wind catches that and lifts them into the air like a balloon.
"The process is actually called 'ballooning' and it helps spread them out," he said. "It helps cut down on competition because they're being spread to different areas."
The Dallas Zoo has received calls from residents inquiring about the ghostly strands that could range in length from a few inches to as much as 10 feet. They can look a lot like the Halloween decorations that pop up around this time of year -- except these stringy layers of webs are the real deal.
Ballooning is not exclusive to Dallas. It happens wherever spiders live, but may be more noticeable in Dallas right now because of the weather -- specifically, because of cold nights and hot days, and a lack of breeze during the day, Brys said.
"It happens every year, pretty much, but we normally don't notice it as much as we have this year," he said. "What I've been told is the weather conditions have caused the ballooning spiders to not be able to balloon as far or as well, and that their lines are probably getting tangled up as they're blowing."
While some of the spider species that are "ballooning" may be poisonous, Brys said the younger, hatching baby spiders' venom is not dangerous.
Those with the arachnophobia fear not: Brys assured the public there is nothing to worry about.
"Most people will never see these spiders and will never even know they were there because they're so small," he said. "So there's really nothing to worry about, and there's really nothing you have to do about it."
Brys, a bug specialist who works with spiders on a daily basis, pointed out the timing of the lofty webs.
"The timing for Halloween is pretty good," he said. "I had somebody ask me yesterday if it was possible that maybe Spider-Man was lurking around the area. I laughed and told them that, although I don't think there is any, you know, that I can't discount that there may be a superhero in the area, it's most likely baby spiders ballooning."


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Technology of Photography by Mohit Bansal Chandigarh
Technology of photography, things, methods, and processes used in the production of photographs.
Mohit Bansal Chandigarh tells that The most generally used photographic method is the black-and-white negative-positive system. In the camera, the lens extends an image of the picture being recorded onto a film coated with light-sensitive silver salts, such as silver bromide. A shutter built into the lens admits light reflected from the scene for a given time to produce an invisible but developable image in the sensitized layer, thus exposing the film.
During development (in a darkroom) the silver salt crystals that have been struck by the light are converted into metallic silver, forming a visible deposit or density. The more light that reaches a given area of the film, the more silver salt is rendered developable and the denser the silver deposit that is formed there. An image of various brightness levels thus yields a picture in which these brightnesses are tonally reversed—a negative. Bright subject details record as dark or dense areas in the developed film; dark parts of the subject record as areas of low density; i.e., they have little silver. After development, the film is treated with a fixing bath that dissolves away all undeveloped silver salt and so prevents subsequent darkening of such unexposed areas. Mohit Bansal Chandigarh also told a wash removes all soluble salts from the film emulsion, leaving a permanent negative silver image within the gelatin layer.
A positive picture is obtained by repeating this process. According to Mohit Bansal Chandigarh, the usual procedure is enlargement: the negative is projected onto a sensitive paper carrying a silver halide emulsion similar to that used for the film. Exposure by the enlarger light source again yields a latent image of the negative. After a development and processing sequence, the paper then bears a positive silver image. In contact printing, the negative film and the paper are placed face to face in intimate contact and exposed by diffused light shining through the negative. The dense (black) portions of the negative image result in little exposure of the paper and, so, yield light image areas; thin portions of the negative let through more light and yield dark areas in the print, thus re-creating the light values of the original scene.
Basic camera functions
Mohit Bansal Chandigarh tell, In its simplest form, the camera is a light-tight container carrying a lens, a shutter, a diaphragm, a device for holding (and changing) the film in the correct image plane, and a viewfinder to allow the camera to be aimed at the desired scene.
The lens projects an inverted image of the scene in front of the camera onto the film in the image plane. The image is sharp only if the film is located at a specific distance behind the lens. This distance depends on the focal length of the lens (see below Characteristics and parameters of lenses) and the distance of the object in front of the lens. To photograph near and far subjects, all but the simplest cameras have a focusing adjustment that alters the distance between the lens and the film plane to make objects at the selected distance produce a sharp image on the film. In some cameras focusing adjustment is achieved by moving only the front element or internal elements of the lens, in effect modifying the focal length.
Mohit Bansal Chandigarh told that the shutter consists of a set of metallic leaves mounted in or behind the lens or a system of blinds positioned in front of the film. It can be made to open for a predetermined time to expose the film to the image formed by the lens. The time of this exposure is one of the two factors controlling the amount of light reaching the film. The other factor is the lens diaphragm, or aperture, an opening with an adjustable diameter. The combination of the diaphragm opening and exposure time is the photographic exposure. To obtain a film image that faithfully records all the tone gradation of the object, this exposure must be matched to the brightness (luminance) of the subject and to the sensitivity or speed of the film. Light meters built into most modern cameras measure the subject luminance and set the shutter or the lens diaphragm to yield a correctly exposed image.
Principal camera types
According to Mohit Bansal Chandigarh, the simplest camera type, much used by casual amateurs, has most of the features listed in the previous section—lens, shutter, viewfinder, and film-holding system. The light-tight container traditionally had a box shape. Present-day equivalents are pocket cameras taking easy-load film cartridges or film disks. Typically, a fixed shutter setting gives about 1/50-second exposure; the lens is permanently set to record sharply all objects more than about five feet (1.5 meters) from the camera. Provision for a flash may be built in. Though simple to handle, such cameras are in daylight restricted to pictures of stationary or slow-moving subjects.
The 35-mm miniature camera
According to Mohit Bansal Chandigarh perforated 35-millimeter (mm) film (originally standard motion-picture film) in cartridges holding 12 to 36 exposures with a nominal picture format of 24 × 36 mm is employed in miniature cameras. Smaller image formats down to 18 × 24 mm (half frame) may be used. The 35-mm camera has a lens with a range of apertures and a shutter with exposure times typically from one second to 1/1,000 second or shorter, and it can focus on subject distances from infinity down to five feet or less. A winding lever or built-in motor advances the film from one frame to the next and at the same time tensions (cocks) the shutter for each exposure. At the end of the film load, the film is rewound into the cartridge for removal from the camera in daylight.
Mohit Bansal also told A 35-mm camera usually has a direct-vision viewfinder, often combined with a rangefinder or autofocus system for accurate distance settings. Most current versions incorporate a light meter coupled with the exposure settings on the camera. Advanced models may have interchangeable lenses and an extended accessory system. Many 35-mm cameras are single-lens reflex types (see below).
The ultraminiature or subminiature
Mohit Bansal Chandigarh told that this camera takes narrow roll film (16-mm or 9.5-mm) in special cartridges or film disks. The picture size ranges from 8 × 10 mm to 13 × 17 mm. These formats are used for making millions of snapshooting pocket-size cameras; special versions may be as small as a matchbox for unobtrusive use.
The view, or technical, camera
Mohit Bansal Chandigarh also told that for studio and commercial photography the view, or technical, the camera takes single exposures on sheet films (formerly plates) usually between 4 × 5 inches and 8 × 10 inches. A front standard carries interchangeable lenses and shutters; a rear standard takes a ground-glass screen (for viewing and focusing) and sheet-film holders. The standards move independently on a rail or set of rails and are connected by bellows. Both standards can also be displaced laterally and vertically relative to each other's center and swung or tilted about horizontal and vertical axes. These features provide versatility in image control (sharpness distribution, subject distance, and perspective), though not speed in use. The view camera is nearly always mounted on a tripod.
The medium-size hand camera
Mohit Bansal told this type of camera takes sheet film (typical formats of from 21/2 × 31/2 inches to 4 × 5 inches), roll film, or 70-mm film in interchangeable magazines; it has interchangeable lenses and may have a coupled rangefinder. Special types use wide-angle lenses and wide picture formats (e.g., 21/4 × 41/2 to 21/4 × 63/4 inches [6 × 12 to 6 × 17 centimeters]). The medium-size hand camera was popular with press photographers in the first half of the 20th century. Older versions had folding bellows and a lens standard on an extendable baseboard or strut system. Modern modular designs have a rigid body with interchangeable front and rear units.
The folding roll-film camera
Mohit told the folding roll-film camera, now rare, resembles the 35-mm miniature camera in shutter and viewfinder equipment but has bellows and folds up to pocketable size when not in use. Generally, it takes roll films holding eight to 16 exposures; typical picture sizes are 21/4 × 21/4, 21/4 × 31/4, or 13/4 × 21/4 inches. Some 35-mm cameras were also produced with bellows.
The single-lens reflex
According to Mohit Bansal Chandigarh the ground-glass screen at the back of the studio, or view, the camera slows down picture taking because the screen must be replaced by the film for exposure. The single-lens reflex camera (Figure 2) has a screen, but the film remains constantly in position. A 45° mirror reflects the image-forming rays from the lens onto a screen in the camera top. The mirror moves out of the way during the exposure and back again afterward for viewing and focusing the next picture. The image on the screen therefore temporarily disappears from view during the exposure. Present-day single-lens reflexes are either 35-mm cameras or advanced roll-film models. Most 35-mm reflexes have optical prism systems for eye-level screen viewing, built-in light-meter and electronic exposure-control systems, interchangeable lenses, and numerous other refinements. Often the camera is part of an extensive accessory system. Advanced roll-film reflexes are even more modular, with interchangeable viewfinders, focusing screens, and lenses.
The twin-lens reflex
The twin-lens reflex is a comparatively bulky dual camera (Figure 3) with a fixed-mirror reflex housing and top screen mounted above a roll-film box camera. Mohit Bansal told Its two lenses focus in unison so that the top screen shows the image sharpness and framing as recorded on the film in the lower section. The viewing image remains visible all the time, but the viewpoint difference (parallax) of the two lenses means that the framing on the top screen is not exactly identical with that on the film.
The leaf shutter
The leaf, or diaphragm, shutter consists of a series of blades or leaves fitted inside or just behind the lens. The shutter opens by swinging the leaves simultaneously outward to uncover the lens opening. The leaves stay open for a fixed time—the exposure time—and then close again. A combination of electromagnets or electromagnets and springs drives the mechanism, while an electronic circuit—often coupled with a light metering system—or an adjustable escapement in mechanical shutters controls the open time. Mohit Bansal Chandigarh told taht this is typically between one second and 1/500 second.
Focal-plane shutter
The focal-plane shutter consists of two light-tight fabric blinds or a combination of metal blinds moving in succession across the film immediately in front of the image plane. The first blind uncovers the film and the second blind covers it up again, the two blinds forming a traveling slit the width of which determines the exposure time: the narrower the slit, the shorter the time. The actual travel time is fairly constant for all exposure times. A mechanism or electromagnet and control circuit triggers the release of the second blind. Mohit Bansal Chandigarh told focal-plane shutters are usually adjustable for exposure times between one second (or longer) and 1/1,000 to 1/4,000 second.
Diaphragm and shutter settings
In the lens diaphragm, a series of leaves increases or decreases the opening to control the light passing through the lens to the film. The diaphragm control ring carries a scale of so-called f-numbers, or stop numbers, in a series: such as 1.4, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22, and 32. The squares of the f-numbers are inversely proportional to the amount of light admitted. Mohit Bansal Chandigarh told in the above international standard series, each setting admits twice as much light as the next higher f-number, or stop (giving twice as much exposure).
Shutter settings on present-day cameras also follow a standard double-or-half sequence—e.g., 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1,000 second, and so forth. The shorter the exposure time, the "faster" the shutter speed.
Exposure values
Mohit Bansal Chandigarh told this is an attempt to simplify the mathematics of f-number and shutter speed-control functions led to the formulation of exposure values (EV). These run in a simple whole-number series, each step (EV interval) doubling or halving the effective exposure. The lower the EV number, the greater the exposure. Thus, EV 10 gives twice as much exposure as EV 11 or half as much as EV 9. Each EV value covers a range of aperture/speed combinations of the same equivalent exposure; for instance, f/2.8 with 1/250 second, f/4 with 1/125 second, and f/5.6 with 1/60 second. For a time some cameras carried an EV scale and coupled the aperture and speed settings; at a given EV setting in such cameras selecting various speeds automatically adjusted the aperture to compensate and vice versa. Exposure-value setting scales became obsolete with exposure automation, but the notation remains in use to indicate either exposure levels or—at specified film speeds—lighting levels requiring a given exposure.
Automatic-diaphragm systems
Mohit Bansal Chandigarh told on a camera, with a viewing screen (view camera or single-lens reflex) viewing and focusing are carried out with the lens diaphragm fully open, but the exposure is often made at a smaller aperture. Reflex cameras (and increasingly also view cameras) therefore incorporate a mechanism that automatically or semiautomatically stops down (reduces) the lens to the working aperture immediately before the exposure.
Methods of focusing and framing
The ground-glass (now mostly grained plastic) screen is the most direct way of viewing the image for framing and for sharpness control. The screen localizes the image plane for observation. The image is also visible without a screen, but then the eye can locate the image plane of maximum sharpness only with a precisely focused high-power magnifier. This aerial focusing method avoids interference of the ground-glass structure with sharpness assessment.
Focusing Aids
The eye is not good at recognizing slight unsharpness, so focusing screens (especially in reflex cameras) often incorporate focusing aids such as a split-image wedge alone or with a microprism area, in the screen center. The split-image wedge consists of a pair of prism wedges that split an out-of-focus image into two sharp halves laterally displaced relative to one another. When the lens has correctly focused the image becomes continuous across the wedge area—a point that the eye can assess more precisely. The microprism area contains several hundred or thousand-minute wedges that give a blurred image very ragged outlines and a broken-up texture; these clear abruptly as the image becomes sharp.
The focusing screen is often overlaid by a pattern of fine concentric lens sections. Called a Fresnel screen, it redirects the light from the screen corners toward the observer's eye and makes the image evenly bright.
Cameras without a screen generally are equipped with a distance scale, the lens is set to the estimated object distance. More advanced cameras have an optical rangefinder as a distance-measuring aid; it consists of a viewfinder (see below) and a swinging mirror a few inches to one side of the viewfinder axis. As the eye views an image of the object, the mirror superimposes a second image from a second viewpoint. On turning the mirror through the correct angle, which depends on the object distance, the two images are made to coincide. The mirror movement can be linked with a distance scale or coupled with the lens focusing adjustment. When the lens is incorrectly focused, the rangefinder shows a double or split image. In place of a rotating mirror, the rangefinder may use swinging or rotating optical wedges (prisms).
Technology of Photography
Autofocus systems
Some cameras evaluate the coincidence (or lack thereof) between two rangefinder images by image analysis with a microchip system. This signals electronically when the lens is set to the correct distance and often carries out the distance set by a servomotor built into the camera. Such focusing automation makes the camera even simpler to use. Alternative automatic ranging systems used in amateur cameras depend on triangulation with infrared rays or pulses sent out by a small light-emitting diode (LED), or on the measurement of the time an ultrasonic signal takes to be reflected back from the subject (sonar).
While these devices measure distance automatically, single-lens reflex cameras may incorporate electronic image-analysis systems to measure sharpness. The signal output of such systems actuates red or green LEDs in the camera finder system to show whether the image is sharp or not. The same signal can control a servomotor in the lens for fully automatic focusing. These devices are limited at low lighting and contrast levels—where the human eye also finds sharpness assessment difficult.
The sighting devices in cameras lacking screens are called viewfinders; they show how much of the scene will appear in the film. The simplest viewfinder is a wireframe above the camera front, with a second frame near the back to aid the eye incorrect centering. Most present-day finders are built into the camera and are compact lens systems. Bright-frame finders show a white frame reflected into the view to outline the field recorded on the film. An alternative form is a reflecting viewfinder in which the photographer looks down into a field lens on top of the camera. The upper section of a twin-lens reflex camera is such a reflecting finder.
As the viewfinder axis in a camera other than a single-lens reflex does not usually coincide with the lens axis, the finder's and the lens's views do not exactly match. This parallax error is insignificant with distant subjects; with near ones, it is responsible for the familiar fault of a portrait shot of a head that appears partly cut off in the picture even though it was fully visible in the finder. Camera viewfinders may have parallax-compensating devices.
The optical finder gives a direct upright and right-reading view of the subject with the camera held at eye level. The traditional reflex camera, held at waist level, showed a laterally reversed view. Modern reflexes have a pentaprism arrangement that permits upright, right-reading, eye-level viewing by redirecting the image from the horizontal screen on top of the camera.
Exposure-metering systems
Exposure meters, or light meters, measure the light in a scene to establish optimum camera settings for correct exposures. A light-sensitive cell generates or controls an electric current according to the amount of light reaching the cell. The current may energize a microammeter or circuit controlling LEDs to indicate exposure settings. In most modern cameras the current or signal acts on a microprocessor or other circuit that directly sets the shutter speed or lens aperture. The cell usually is silicon or other photodiode generating a current that is then amplified. In older cadmium sulfide cells the light falling on the cell changed the latter's resistance to current passing through it. Selenium cells, still used in some cameras, also generate a current but are larger and less sensitive.
Single-lens reflex cameras have one or more photocells fitted in the pentaprism housing to measure the brightness of the screen image. The exposure reading depends on the light coming through the lens (TTL metering) and so allows for the lens's angle of view, close-up exposure corrections, stray light, and other factors. Some TTL systems divert the light from the lens to a photocell before it reaches the screen (e.g., by beam-splitting arrangements or the use of photocells behind a partly reflecting mirror), or they measure the light reflected from the film or from a specially structured first shutter blind at the beginning of, or during, the exposure. Such off-the-film (OTF) measurement is also used for electronic flash control (see below).
View cameras may use a photocell on a probe that can be moved to any point just in front of the focusing screen, thus measuring image brightness at selected points of the image plane. This takes place before the exposure, and the probe is then moved out of the way. Professional photographers also use hand-held separate exposure meters and transfer the readings manually to the camera.
Flash systems
Flash is a widely used artificial light source for photography, providing a reproducible light of high intensity and short duration. It can be synchronized with an instantaneous exposure. Being battery powered, small flash units are self-contained.
Electronic flash
The most common flash system depends on a high-voltage discharge through a gas-filled tube. A capacitor charged to several hundred volts (by a step-up circuit from low-voltage batteries or from the line voltage supply) provides the discharge energy. A low-voltage circuit generating a high-voltage pulse triggers the flash, which lasts typically 1/1,000 second or less. Small electronic flash units may be built into or clipped onto the camera. Larger units are attached with brackets. Large professional units with floodlight and spotlight fittings are used in studio photography. Even small flashes often have adjustable reflectors, for example, to illuminate an indoor subject by the flash reflected from the ceiling or walls.
Automatic and dedicated flash
Electronic flash units often incorporate a fast-responding photodiode that cumulatively measures the light reflected from the subject and switches off the flash when that light has reached a preselected amount (computer flash). This flash-duration control thus adjusts the flash exposure automatically as long as the subject is within a certain distance range (typically from two to 20 feet). At lower power or near subject distances the duration of a computer flash may drop to 1/50,000 second.
With certain camera–flash combinations OTF metering inside the camera can control the flash duration by suitable contacts made when the flash is attached to the camera. These "dedicated" flashes (so named because their control circuitry has to match that of specific cameras) may also signal in the camera finder when the flash is ready to operate and to set the camera automatically to its synchronizing shutter speed (see below).
An older type of flash is an oxygen-filled glass envelope containing a specific amount of aluminum or zirconium wire and means for igniting the wire in the bulb. The wire burns away with a brilliant flash lasting typically about 1/100 to 1/50 second. Each flashbulb can, however, yield only one flash. Current flashbulb systems use four to 10 tiny bulbs, each in its own reflector, arranged in cube or bar carriers that plug into cameras designed for them. The individual flashes are fired in turn by a battery and circuit in the camera through mechanically generated current pulses or other means. In view of the greater convenience of electronic flash, flashbulbs in their various forms are largely obsolescent.
Firing and synchronization
Flash units are usually fired with a switch in the camera shutter to synchronize the flash with the shutter opening. A contact in the camera's flash shoe (hot shoe) or a flash lead connects the unit with this shutter switch. The shutter contact usually closes the instant the shutter is opened. A focal plane shutter must fully uncover the film (generally at a shutter speed of 1/60 second or slower) for flash synchronization. With flashbulbs, the shutter must also stay open while the flash reaches its peak brightness—about 1/50 second.
System cameras
From the development of the 35-mm miniature camera in the 1930s evolved the concept of the system camera that could be adapted to numerous jobs with a range of interchangeable components and specialized accessories. Today, most moderately advanced 35-mm miniatures take interchangeable lenses, close-up and photomicrographic attachments, filters, flash units, and other accessories. The most elaborate camera systems also include such accessories as alternative finder systems; interchangeable reflex screens, film backs, and magazines; and remote-control and motor-drive systems. Modular professional roll-film and view cameras are built up from a selection of alternative camera bodies, film backs, bellows units, lenses, and shutters. This is the nearest approach to the universal camera, assembled as required to deal with practically every type of photography.
Characteristics and parameters of lenses
The lens forming an image in the camera is a converging lens, the simplest form of which is a single biconvex (lentil-shaped) element. In theory, such a lens makes a light beam of parallel rays converge to a point (the focus) behind the lens. The distance of this focus from the lens itself is the focal length, which depends on the curvature of the lens surfaces and the optical properties of the lens glass. An object at a very long distance (optically regarded as at "infinity") in front of the lens forms an inverted image in a plane (the focal plane) going through the focus. Light rays from nearer objects form an image in a plane behind the focal plane. The nearer the object, the farther behind the lens the corresponding image plane is located—which is why a lens has to be focused to get sharp images of objects at different distances.
Focal length and image scale
The image scale, or scale of reproduction, is the ratio of the image size to the object size; it is often quoted as a magnification. When the image is smaller than the object, the magnification of the object is less than 1.0. If the image is 1/20 the size of the object, for example, the magnification may be expressed either as 0.05 or as 1:20. For an object at a given distance, the scale of the image depends on the focal length of the lens (Figure 4). A normal camera lens usually has a focal length approximately equal to the diagonal of the picture format covered. A lens of longer focal length gives a larger scale image but necessarily covers less of the scene in front of the camera. Conversely, a lens of shorter focal length yields an image on a smaller scale but—provided the angle of coverage is sufficient (see below)—takes in more of the scene. Many cameras, therefore, can be fitted with interchangeable lenses of different focal lengths to allow varying the image scale and field covered. The focal length of a lens in millimeters (sometimes in inches) is generally engraved on the lens mount.
The aperture, or f-number, is the ratio of the focal length to the diameter of an incident light beam as it reaches the lens. For instance, if the focal length is 50 millimeters and the diameter of the incident light beam is 25 millimeters, the f-number is 2. This incident-beam diameter is often roughly the lens-diaphragm diameter, but it may be appreciably larger or smaller. The maximum aperture (f-number at the largest diaphragm opening) is also marked on the lens, usually in the form f:2, f/2, or 1:2.
Angle of coverage
A lens must cover the area of a camera's film format to yield an image adequately sharp and with reasonably even brightness from the center to the corners of the film. A normal lens should cover an angle of at least 60°. A wide-angle lens covers a greater angle—about 70° to 90° or more for an ultrawide-angle lens. A long-focus lens covers a smaller angle.
The angle of coverage depends on the lens design. Designations like "wide angle" or "narrow-angle" are not necessarily synonymous with "short focus" and "long focus," as the latter terms refer to the focal length of the lens relative to the picture format.
Optical performance
A simple lens produces a very imperfect image, which is usually blurred away from the center. The image may have color fringes around object outlines, and straight lines may be distorted. Such defects, called aberrations, can be eliminated—and even then not completely—only by replacing the single lens element by a group of elements of appropriate shape and separation. Aberrations arising from some of the lens elements then counteract opposite aberrations produced by other elements. The larger the maximum aperture, the greater the angle of coverage, and the higher the degree of correction aimed at, the more complex camera lenses become. Lens design for relative freedom from aberrations involves advanced computer programming to calculate the geometric parameters of every lens element. Some aberrations can also be corrected by making one or more of the surfaces of a lens system aspheric; i.e., with the variable curvature of a paraboloid or other surface rather than the constant curvature of a spherical one.
Lenses usually consist of optical glass. Transparent plastics also have come into use, especially as they can be molded into elements with aspheric surfaces. They are, however, more sensitive to mechanical damage.
There are a number of lens aberrations, each with its own characteristics. Chromatic aberration is present when the lens forms images by different-colored light in different planes and at different scales. Color-corrected lenses largely eliminate these faults. Spherical aberration is present when the outer parts of a lens do not bring light rays into the same focus as the central part. Images formed by the lens at large apertures are therefore unsharp but get sharper at smaller apertures. The curvature of field is present when the sharpest image is formed not on a flat plane but on a curved surface. Astigmatism occurs when the lens fails to focus image lines running in different directions in the same plane; in a picture of a rail fence, for instance, the vertical posts are sharp at a focus setting different from the horizontal rails. Another aberration, called coma, makes image points near the edges of the film appear as irregular, unsharp shapes. Distortion is present when straight lines running parallel with the picture edges appear to bow outward (barrel distortion) or inward (pincushion distortion).
Resolving power and contrast-transfer function
One way of testing lens performance is to observe the image it forms of patterns of increasingly closely spaced black lines separated by white spaces of line width. The closest spacing still recognizable in the image gives a resolving power value, expressed in line pairs (i.e., black line plus white space) per millimeter. Photographs of such line patterns, or test targets, show the resolving power of the lens and film combination. For example, a resolution of 80–100 line pairs per millimeter on a fine-grain film represents very good performance for a normal miniature camera lens.
The visual sharpness of an image depends also on its contrast. Opticians, therefore, often plot the contrast with which the image is reproduced against the line spacing of that image. The resulting contrast-transfer curve, or function, gives a more reliable indication of the lens performance under practical picture-taking conditions.
Special lens types
Apart from general-purpose camera lenses of various focal lengths, there are lenses of special characteristics or design.
Telephoto lenses
Long-focus lenses are bulky because they comprise not only the lens itself but also amount or tube to hold it at the appropriate focal distance from the film. Telephoto lenses are more compact; their combinations of lens groups make the back focus (the distance from the rear lens element to the film) as well as the length of the whole lens appreciably shorter than the focal length. Strictly, the term telephoto applies only to a lens of this optically reduced length; in practice, long-focus lenses of all types tend to be called indiscriminately telephoto or "tele" lenses.
If a camera lens is interchangeable, an accessory teleconverter lens group can be positioned between the prime lens and the camera. This turns a normal lens into an even more compact telephoto system, which is less costly than a telephoto lens but which reduces the speed of the prime lens and usually impairs sharpness performance.
Wide-angle and retrofocus lenses
Short-focus, wide-angle lenses are usually mounted near the film. Single-lens reflex cameras need a certain minimum lens-to-film distance to accommodate the swinging mirror. Wide-angle (and sometimes normal-focus) lenses for such cameras, therefore, use retrofocus designs. In these, the back focus is appreciably longer than the focal length. Both a telephoto and a retrofocus lens must be specially designed for its particular use to ensure optimum image performance.
Fish-eye lenses
For image angles greater than 110°, it becomes difficult to bring the lens close enough to the film to allow the rays between the lens and film to diverge sufficiently. The fish-eye lens overcomes this difficulty by making the rays diverge less behind the lens than they do in front. The resulting image shows appreciable distortion, with image details near the edges and corners progressively compressed. Fish-eye lenses usually cover angles between 140° and 210° and are used for unusual wide-angle effects where the distortion becomes a deliberate pictorial element. They also have certain scientific applications, for instance, to cover a horizon-to-horizon view of the sky in recording cloud formations.
Dubai Marina
Dubai Marina
Fish-eye night view of the Dubai Marina, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Geoff Tompkinson/GTImage.com
Mirror lenses
Images can also be formed by light reflected from curved mirrors. This method, long used in astronomical telescopes, is applied to long-focus lens systems of short overall length by folding the light path back onto itself. A mirror lens or catadioptric system has no chromatic aberrations. Other aberrations are corrected by incorporating one or more appropriate lens elements. The arrangement of the system, with a central opening in the primary mirror, makes stopping down with a customary diaphragm difficult, and neutral-density filters are used to control light transmission.
Variable-focus lenses
In variable-focus lenses, the focal length can be varied by movement of some of the elements or groups within the lens system. One lens can thus replace a range of interchangeable lenses.
The variable-focus, or zoom, the lens was originally developed for motion-picture photography, in which adjustment of the focal length during a shot produced a zooming-in or zooming-out effect (hence the name). It is now widely used in single-lens reflex cameras where the reflex finder permits accurate continuous assessment of image coverage. In a true zoom lens, the image changes in scale but not in sharpness during zooming; some varifocal lenses, however, need refocusing at different focal lengths. Due to correction requirements over a range of focal lengths, zoom lenses are complex systems containing from 12 to 20 elements. Zoom lenses for still cameras have focal-length ratios from 2:1 to 4:1 or more (e.g., 35–135 mm for a 35-mm reflex).
Lens-changing systems
Miniature and roll-film cameras hold interchangeable lenses in a screw or quick-change bayonet mounts. In a focal-plane shutter camera, the usable range of focal lengths is practically unlimited. In cameras with leaf shutters, either the lens is mounted in front of the shutter or the lens is changed with the shutter. Some designs use convertible lenses with the rear components built into the camera together with the shutter; interchangeable front groups then provide different focal lengths in combination with the fixed rear group. View-camera lenses—usually with their own shutters—are mounted on lens boards that clip into and out of the front camera standard.
Afocal attachments provide the effect of alternative focal lengths with a fixed camera lens. They are magnifying or reducing telescopes without a focal length (hence afocal), yielding a virtual image that the camera lens projects onto the film. Their designated magnification factor indicates the effect on the image scale; e.g., a 1.5× tele attachment magnifies the image on the film 11/2 times, while a 0.7× wide-angle attachment reduces the image scale to 0.7 times that of the prime camera lens.
Lens coating
When light passes from one optical medium to another (especially from air to glass and vice versa in a lens), about 4 to 8 percent of it is lost by reflection at the interface. This light loss builds up appreciably in complex multielement lenses. Some of the reflected light still reaches the film as ghost images or light spots or as general contrast-reducing scattered light.
To reduce such losses, the air-to-glass surfaces of modern lenses typically carry a microscopically thin coating of metallic fluorides. The coating eliminates most reflected rays. Complete elimination can occur only for the light of one wavelength if the coating thickness and refractive index are exactly right. In practice, a coated lens surface reflects about 0.5 percent of incident white light—1/10 of the light lost by an uncoated lens. Multiple coatings can reduce reflections over a wider wavelength range.

subset: commoncrawl


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Old Fremantle: photographs, 1850-1950
University of Western Australia Press, 2004 - History - 231 pages
Old Fremantle covers the first hundred years of the camera in Fremantle. Over 240 early original photographs scanned and printed in color tell a vivid story of Fremantle from early interaction with the Aborigines through the development of port and town, the goldrushes and wars, to 1950. More than 25,000 words of text, which include commentary by Phillip Adams and George Seddon, background material, maps, and an index, make this a serious reference work as well as a visual delight for all ages.
From inside the book
Results 1-1 of 1
Page 227
Rowing, FREO 617 153. Ephemera (1 to r): author; FREO ephemera collection
154. Bandmaster Fay, FREO glass negative 1337 155. 1896 band, FREO 1335
156. Football team, FREO 951 157. Princess May team, FREO 1437 158.
Orchestra ...
Rowing, FREO 617 153. Ephemera (1 to r): author; FREO ephemera collection
154. Bandmaster Fay, FREO glass negative 1337 155. 1896 band, FREO 1335
156. Football team, FREO 951 157. Princess May team, FREO 1437 158.
Orchestra ...
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97 High Street Aborigines Alfred arrived Arthur Head Australind boat-building boats Brown built Castle Hotel Chaney Stout Church Cliff Street Clifton corner demolished East Fremantle fish foreground Frank Hurley Fremantle Harbour Fremantle Mail Fremantle Ports Fremantle Prison Fremantle's FREO ephemera collection FREO Wise album George glass plate heliograph Henry Street High Street High Street looking HMS Hood images Italian John later Long Jetty looking east Lumpers Lunatic Asylum Manning's Folly Market Street Mayhew Nixon & Merrilees North Fremantle opalotype Opposite Panorama Park passenger bridge Perth photograph was taken Photographers of Fremantle portrait railway station Recreation Ground residence river jetty Rocky Bay Rottnest Round House RWAHS seen ship South Beach South Jetty South Terrace Stephen Montague Stephen Montague Stout Stratton Fogarty Studio submarines Swan River verandahs Victoria Quay Water Police West Australian Western Australia Western Mail Western Mail Christmas wharf World Yagan


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Baby Boot Camp
First Baptist Church, at 115 W. Main Street, is having "Baby Boot Camp" on September 20, 2008, from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. This is a baby shower for expectant teenage and young adult mothers. The special day will include baby care/wellness, inspirational encouragement from experienced moms, breakfast and lunch, and a surprise at the shower.
Please register by September 15 at the Spencer County Family Resource Center. Call Becky Wilson at 477-3202 or 477-0199. Limited to 10.
Women's Bible study at First Baptist Church
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WE SAW THE HOST OF AMAZING RACE. Genesa @wokeupinwonder IN SWITZERLAND. info requested
Laine @wasabisauceSaw Amazing Race in Berlin (Alexanderplatz) tonight. Cool things are happening. Also, I had a gingerbread macaron. The best.
Quote from: georgiapeach on December 01, 2012, 07:41:08 PMCan someone who uses Instagram please see the TIME the mat pic was posted please?9:45pm Local time (5hrs ago)
Can someone who uses Instagram please see the TIME the mat pic was posted please?
Not sure about this... Lund, Sweden??Emmi Kovanen @emmikovanenAt breakfast. With the Amazing Race contestants. No biggie, see u next season. Posted 10:30AM Lund time.
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"You too can get your kicks on Route 66 if you live in apartments near San Bernardino. With an annual Route 66 celebration, Little League baseball, casinos and three motorspeedways, this fast-paced Inland Empire city is alive with activity and adventure. And if you just want to relax, there's plenty of options for taking it easy in San Bernardino, too.
San Bernardino is divided into districts and then neighborhoods. In the Downtown District, which is the business district of San Bernardino, find golf courses, mountain resorts, museums, historic sites, shopping and centrally located apartments. Downtown San Bernardino is also the site of the annual Route 66 Rendezvous, a four-day, three-night cruisin' classic car show that takes over 35 blocks of downtown and brings in more than 500,000 cars to the area. Another part of the event is the Berdoo Bikes and Blues Rendezvous, a two-day blues and rock 'n roll concert festival.
Heal your spirit in the restorative waters at the Arrowhead Springs Hotel and Spa, an area that has some of the hottest springs in the world, located in the Arrowhead Springs District. It may be a further drive from San Bernardino apartments than the city spas, but the enormous, spectacular arrowhead on the side of mountain is worth the visit; in the early days of San Bernardino, it guided Indians to the springs.
Make some memories outside your apartment at the San Bernardino National Orange Show Fair, an event that's been happening annually for more than 90 years. Here, more than 80,000 patrons enjoy entertainment, art, exhibits, music, food and carnival rides. The best part is that admission to this event is cheap, even if you attend all five days.
For more historic culture, visit any of San Bernardino's arts and culture venues. The Robert V. Fullerton Museum houses multiple art collections, ranging from the ancient to the contemporary. See one of the city's best historical and architectural attractions when you visit the Heritage House, a stately Victorian home built in 1891 that's now a library. The California Theater of Performing Arts, with its dark red curtains and gold-roped trim, is a former vaudeville movie palace that's now a 1,718-seat auditorium featuring musicals, plays, concerts, ballet, recitals and fashion shows. All of these exciting venues are just around the corner from San Bernardino apartments.
San Bernardino has something for everyone, no matter if you love the thrill of the driver's seat or just prefer to watch the race. Whether you're exploring a new place or revisiting your hometown, ApartmentGuide.com's advanced search features will help you quickly and easily find ideally located San Bernardino apartments."


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LAS VEGAS – In the opening bout at UFC 170, Ernest Chavez of Orange County earned a split-decision victory (28-29, 29-28, 29-28) over Yosdenis Cedeno of Miami on Saturday at Mandalay Bay Events Center.
Cedeno started with some big leg kicks that raised red welts on Chavez's left leg. But Chavez took Cedeno down, transitioned to side control and took Cedeno's back before they scrambled up. That scenario played out again in the second round, with Chavez unable to take advantage of great position on the ground.


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Create Your Own Anime and/or Story!Post Reply
Back in the medieval times , there was a girl named... Brigette, she was abused by her father, only her mother protected her until she died, shes all alone and become a victim of her father's wantonness. Shes only 7 when she started selling vegetables that she picks from the woods. Despite of her age and appearance of a really poor peasant, bare foot and ragged petticoat, she learned the trade from her mother when shes still alive and tries hard in selling them at the market place, in a lil corner in order for her to survive.
At night, she fears of going home, for surely her father will give her some good beating so she runs in the woods where she can claim some peace and harmony with the birds.
Brigette has a voice of an angel. Sometimes shell sing the Gloria in the woods and all the kinds of birds will start gathering around her as if to witness her angelic singing.
Brigette is a born story teller with a talent of mimic blessed with an angelic singing voice.The kids near by the woods who have heard her will beg more of her singing, or calling of the birds or sometimes story telling....
Continuation......(i have to think about it.... :P)
Rara Avise
Before the Big Bang ... before there was a defined universe ..... there was, KAMI-SAMA SENKI!!!!!!!! The battle between gods was intense and the competition was fierce. Never the less, Buddha stepped up to the plate and lasted the longest in the hot dog eating contest. All the other Gods perished from over eating which left Buddha all alone and very gassy (from eating all those damned hot dogs). So, since no one else was around, he relieved himself of all this excess gas. It came out with such a force that it expanded the space around him exponentially. Not only that but ... let's just say that it was a "squirter" ... so massive objects were thrown into this newly created space. This event is what we have come to know as the Big Bang but the background static that we hear is not from cosmic radiation but from lingering echoes of the most massive fart in known history.
Former Crunchyroll Employee
lolllll! basoukazuma : 10
bellus-san, 10
Two brothers, Wren and Lain fight in a world where demons exist to devour every human being alive. That's the least of there worries though for they easily kill them with thier half demon abilities. Besides there is an evil empire trying to conquer the world and they are summoned to help kingdoms stop them. They ally themselves with friends both old and new, and some enemies, to stop the empire but secrets they discover about thier past constantly stand in thier way. They must overcome the past, present and future as they fight against the empire and the powerful demonic rulers of darkness.
Probably not that good but... yea
Little BIG Planet
here's another that i'll just make up to push the topic...
once upon a time there was a pregnant woman. then she gave birth to a baby girl w/ pink fur all over her body. the mother was ashamed and left her baby (Naru) out in the woods...man that woman's mean! anyways... naru is found by the mystical animals only found in that forest and raised by the mystical wolfs, as she grows she thinks she is a wolf and despises humans when she witnesses her 'mother' (wolf mom) shot by a hunter, a yr later the wolfs tell her that she is human, disgusted she does not believe them and will not accept it, but the pack wants her to live life as a human and choose so naru goes to a human town where everyone stares at her pink fur... will she choose to stay and will the humans be nice... nobody knows!
join or invite friends to the endangered animals group!
basoukazuma: 9. amusing, but you made me LEARN. :tongue2:
Vahner: 10. i like it.
nynjgirl(sp?): 7.8
it's kind of hard to rate the story above u and then write one because someone might beat you.
an onigiri tries to escape being eaten......what? it can be a gripping story, you know.
lol everyone don't forget to rate each other's stories ^_^
oh srry x] then rate whosever's you read and put their name in front. for example:
MatsuoYuki: 10
Once upon a time there was this girl named bridget,but she was actually a boy,she was just raised as a girl and he liked to play with her yo-yo
and he became soo good that she started hitting people with it
and people thought that he was a girl until they found out the horrible truth
and he dresses like a nun and looks like a girl.,... ew
frostmore: 7 hahahahaha.
these stories are funni. :]]
i rate frostmore's story: ew!!!!!!!!
join or invite friends to the endangered animals group!
BasouKazuma: thats ...... creative 10/10
Little BIG Planet
x] yes they are, aeshataro lol
umm once upon a time
there was a girl named Milk-chan.
Milk-chan was so sad because everyone hated her anime, Super Milk Chan!
She was just a poor little Milk chan after all! So she finished her Anime series and started making what would become the most popular manga of them all.... Super Butter Chan!
o.o well... yeah i don't like super milk chan but i decided to make something out of her :O BUTTERRRR
This is actually the story behind an RPG i'm doing called Blood of the Innocents, but I suppose it would work well as an anime.
A middle-aged man works in a mine in the town where he has lived all his life. He has never married, has few aspirations in life, and has never experienced much outside of his home town, but is fairly content with his position in life, as he sees little else he could do. One day, he is the sole survivor of a terrible accident in the mine, and finds himself suddenly an outcast, shunned by the families of "more important" men who were not so lucky that day. Unsure, and unable to to make a living, he leaves his town, confused and alone. He soon meets and befriends a young man, who turns out to be the black-sheep youngest prince of a neighboring country, which is currently at war. The prince himself has been ostracized by his father and those he has grown up with after he survived a battle in which most of the men under his command were killed. He grew disillusioned with the war and his place in court, and took to wandering himself. After a time traveling together the companions find lodging with some of the survivors of a razed village. It is while they are there that a messenger from the prince's father finds him. The prince's older brother has been killed in battle, and his father gravely wounded. It now falls upon him to take control of his kingdom, whether he likes it or not. The prince and his companion travel to the capital city, where the prince takes the throne. The prince, wary of the people in court who turned on him before, appoints the man to be his adviser.
Much later, after many events I have yet to write, the war has ended. The Prince, now king, has lost all his hope under the horror of war and the burden of rule. He discharges the man from his post, not wishing for him to be trapped in life as he is. The man returns to his old home town, only to discover it has been destroyed.
Coding is a bitch.
Ah, mujou...
join or invite friends to the endangered animals group!


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Silversea's Prince Albert II (Part 5)by Paul Motter, CruiseMates Editor | July 6, 2009
This small expedition vessel offers all the luxury and charm of Silversea, but in more exotic -- and challenging -- settings.
Svalbard At Last (Continued) During that night's expedition briefing, we were told the ship would relocate overnight to a place where they hoped to see walruses. The ship would arrive at approximately 9:00 a.m., and the tour would leave at 9:45. We were told the times were approximate, but I didn't expect what happened the next morning.
Just as we were having our first morning coffee the announcement came into our room, "Ladies and gentlemen the ship has dropped anchor and we are going to start loading the Zodiacs in about 30 minutes." That put the first tour at 8:45, an hour ahead of schedule -- and before the ship was even scheduled to arrive.
They further announced, "We were not able to get the ship to the location we want due to a large ice sheet, so we are only going out for a little ice cruising."
What to do? We were still waking up, plus they said, "only ice cruising" and we had seen plenty of ice the previous abominable day. Waffling, I decided not to go, which was a big mistake.
click on pictures below for larger images:
|walruses in Svalbard ice
I was fully dressed and on deck a half-hour later when I saw the Zodiacs all heading in the same direction. They had seen the walruses but couldn't reach them until the captain used the ship to break the impeding ice shelf, which allowed the tenders to get to the walruses.
Through my binoculars I saw the walruses swim right up to the Zodiacs, and I was extremely envious of the people who were close enough to kiss one -- not that you would ever want to do that.
Summary -- Be Prepared According to the Treaty of Svalbard under the governance of Norway with over 40 nations in agreement, only a few thousand residents live in Svalbard year round, with a few more in the summer. There were settlements of Norwegian, Russian, German and American residents established for coal mining, fishing, hunting or tourism. But only the tourist spots have endured; the rest are largely ghost towns today.
Svalbard was our final destination, and now that the ship is there, it will remain there for future cruises over most of the summer. It will proceed with little structured itinerary to wherever the wildlife is -- and that is the right thing to do. Some cruises will go to Greenland and Iceland later this summer. In retrospect, I would have preferred to fly into Svalbard to join the ship.
Prince Albert II has the complete onboard Silversea experience -- great food, service and accommodations. The tours are a completely different story, however. Keep the following precautions in mind and you will have a great expedition cruise on Prince Albert II and a true Silversea experience.
- In a polar region you need a complete set of waterproof clothing. Under these conditions the expedition team cannot do it alone -- you must take personal responsibility for your own safety and comfort. You need to bring waterproof pants that fit over your regular pants, and waterproof gloves. The ship will provide you with a waterproof parka in polar climates and they should have rubber boots for you onboard unless you have a very odd-sized foot.
- Always dress in this waterproof gear head to toe if you are going out on a skiff tour, even if they say "no landing." It can rain or you can get splashed -- and once this happens, you will get a body chill very quickly. This is not only painful, it is dangerous.
- Be prepared for a tour to leave at any time despite what you are told beforehand. Nature does not work by a schedule. If you miss something during your cruise it is too late and too bad.
- We recommend for those prone to seasickness that you avoid long sea voyages over known rough waters on Prince Albert II. The ship has stabilizers and ballast tanks, but its size makes it subject to constant motion in high seas.
Back to Top of Article >> Silversea's Prince Albert II (Part 1)


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BT Retail has deployed a new cloud-based, business intelligence system to help get the best out of its customer relationship management data.
BT Retail has integrated the Informatica Cloud business intelligence platform with its Salesforce CRM databases in an attempt to deliver more agile decision making across BT Retail.
The telco said the move would "accelerate executive decisions" by gleaning information and unifying reporting from 5,000 Salesforce users across BT Retail, BT Business and BT Conferences.
The platform would "increase the value of data" by ensuring the relevant Salesforce information is available to the BT Retail leadership team, providing the data "at the moment of value and making sure that it is timely and holistic", BT Retail said.
Chris Hammond, project director at BT Business, said: "The easy-to-use cloud integration service ensures that everyday reporting performed through Salesforce is complete and up-to-date. This supports agile and accurate decision making, enabling BT retail to get ever closer to customers by understanding their lifestyles and their businesses."
The Informatica Cloud system will be further extended to integrate data for reporting from other areas of the business that currently do not use Salesforce, including BT Directories, said Hammond.
In other business intelligence news Oracle recently announced it has agreed to buy "social intelligence" vendor Collective Intellect, which has technologies that allow companies to track and analyse the conversations their customers are having on social media websites.


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CHICAGO (Reuters) - Rain and wind from the remnants of Hurricane Isaac are expected to move into the central U.S. Midwest on Friday and into the weekend, stalling crop harvests and causing some localized damage, an agricultural meteorologist said.
Isaac continued to cause headaches, bringing heavy rainfall and the threat of flash flooding to the lower Mississippi Valley as Gulf Coast residents prepared to start their cleanup efforts.
Before Isaac slammed into the U.S. Gulf Coast on Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said 6 percent of the country's corn crop had been harvested and 8 percent of the soybean crop was dropping leaves, ready for harvest.
"Certainly it will slow harvest and some of the corn crop could be hurt. The stalks are fragile and brittle," Don Keeney, meteorologist for MDA EarthSat Weather, said.
Corn plants already had been weakened and yields slashed by the stress from the worst drought in America's heartland in more than 50 years. Much of the crop was pushed to maturity and is set to be harvested as it is more vulnerable than normal to harm from wind and rain.
Keeney said 2 to 4 inches of rain with locally heavier amounts could be expected in a broad swath from eastern Missouri through Illinois, Indiana and into Ohio with winds of 10 to 15 miles per hour (16 to 24 km per hour) and heavier gusts.
Rainfall late on Thursday moved into the rice-harvesting region of Arkansas, the largest U.S. rice producer.
"They had heavy rains of 1 to 3 inches or more in the central and south and that has moved north now. There was some damage but I don't think there were any major catastrophic losses," Keeney said.
Rain from the lumbering hurricane moved across the lush crop region of the U.S. Deep South, known as the Delta, into the central Midwest.
Large soybean, cotton and rice crops are grown in the South, while corn and soybeans are produced in the Midwest.
Before the storm hit, the Louisiana soybean harvest was 18 percent complete, Mississippi's 9 percent and Arkansas' 8 percent, according to U.S. government crop reports.
Arkansas farmers were harvesting at a breakneck pace on Thursday in an attempt to gather as much as possible before the storm blanketed their mature crop.
Crop experts and farmers said the rice heads were heavy and full of grain, leaving the crop vulnerable to harm if it blew over and rendering it difficult or impossible to harvest.
Editing by Dale Hudson


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The Glo to Sleep Therapy Mask can reduce anxiety and tension. This revolutionary technique will allow your body to focus on the process of sleep in an effective way and at the same time will naturally reduce stress.
Put on your Glo to Sleep, gently raise your eyes upwards, hold your gaze on one of the soft points of blue light within the therapeutic eye mask and then breathe deeply. You can choose between the Classic version when you expose the interior of the mask to light before going to rest or the Deluxe Glo to Sleep batteries operated. With both versions, your thoughts will begin to slowly drift into peaceful state of mind.
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WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- President Obama is ending 2013 with record numbers of Americans saying they disapprove of his job performance, a Washington Post-ABC poll indicates.
He ends his fifth year as president tied with his worst approval ratings ever and his advantages over congressional Republicans eroding in many areas, results of the poll released Tuesday indicated.
Approval rates of both parties in Congress were worse than Obama's in the latest Post-ABC poll, but pollsters said the president suffered the most damage from his administration's self-inflicted wounds -- such as the faulty rollout of healthcare.gov -- and a year of partisan bickering that included a partial government shutdown in October.
Fifty-five percent of respondents polled said they disapprove of the way Obama is handling his job as president while 43 percent said they approve, results indicated.
On the question of who is seen as better able to handle the country's main problems, Obama and Republicans tied at 41 percent.
The latest poll indicated Republicans were seen as better able to handle the economy than Obama, 45 percent to 41 percent. On who would better protect the middle class, Obama led the congressional GOP by 6 percentage points, 46 percent to 40 percent.
Congressional approval stands at 16 percent, up 4 percentage points in the past month.
Obama had positive numbers for two key attributes -- whether he understands the problems of everyday Americans and whether he is honest and trustworthy, the Post said.
Results are based on a nationwide phone survey of 1,005 adults conducted Thursday through Sunday. The margin of error is 3.5 percentage points.


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|45 in.
|19 in.
|38 in.
|31.3 lbs.
|Batteries Included:
|Certifications and Listings:
|Chute Rotation Turning Radius:
|180 Degree
|Clearing Depth:
|10 in
|Clearing Width:
|12 in
|Discharge Distance:
|20 ft.
|Drive System:
|Auger Assisted
|Maximum Plowing Capacity:
|650 lbs./min.
|Power Type:
|Type of Snow:
|Light, Fluffy
|Wheel Size:
|2.5 in
|Factory Reconditioned
|Ultra Series 13.5 Amp 18 in. Electric Snow Thrower - SJ620
|Ultra Series 13.5 Amp 18 in. Electric Snow Thrower - SJ620-RM,
Adjustable Handle
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The duration of this warranty applies only if the product is put to personal use around the household. If the product is put to any business, commercial or industrial use or is rented or leased, then the duration of this warranty is 90 days from the date of original purchase. It is the owner's responsibility to correctly perform all maintenance and minor adjustments explained in the owner's manual.
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This warranty is intended to cover product defects only. Snow Joe®, LLC is not liable for indirect, incidental or consequential damages in connection with the use or misuse of the Snow Joe® + Sun Joe® products covered by this warranty. This warranty does not cover any cost or expense incurred by the purchaser in providing substitute equipment or service during reasonable periods of malfunction or non-use of this product while waiting for a replacement part or unit under this warranty. Some states do not allow exclusions of incidental or consequential damages so the above exclusions may not apply in all states. This warranty may give you specific legal rights in your state.
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We're here to help Monday through Friday from 9AM to 6PM EST. You can reach us at 1-866-766-9563, online at snowjoe.com, via email at firstname.lastname@example.com, or tweet us @snowjoe.
Customers who have purchased Snow Joe® products exported from the United States and Canada should contact their Snow Joe® + Sun Joe® Distributor (Dealer) to obtain information applicable for your country, province or state. If for any reason, you are not satisfied with the distributor's service, or if you have difficulty obtaining warranty information, contact your Snow Joe® + Sun Joe® seller. If in the event your efforts are unsatisfactory, please reach out to us directly.


text: Looks – Oh, So Simple! Two shadows — Ricepaper and Espresso Looks 2/25/08February 25, 2008 It's too bad the pictures didn't do this justice, because it DID come out really nice in person. Just really subtle and softly smoky. I wanted something super quick and simple, but I wanted something that was noticeable.I used Ricepaper eyeshadow all over lid, Espresso eyeshadow in outer crease and corner of lid, and Ricepaper eyeshadow above crease. I wore Margin blush on cheeks with Sculpt sculpting powder to contour. I had Gentle Coral tinted lip conditioner on my lips.


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ToysView all
Shop By Age
Just like games, toys can be imaginative, educational, and (of course) fun! That's why we carry a growing selection of toys along with thousands of games.
For example, imagination is the only limit with our wide selection of LEGO products, marvel at beautiful detailed Schleich figurines, and construct buildings and vehicles with Erector sets. And don't forget educational (and really fun) science kits from Thames & Kosmos and ScienceWiz.
For our full selection, you can browse our toy collection by age (to the left), or by type, brand, theme, or category (below).


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|The latest software has really clever wizards which let you knock out a design in no time. But design isn't about knowing which buttons to press. It's about creating the mood, delivering the message and making the sale. If you want to look professional, leave it to the professionals. Good design sells. Fact. Bad design – or even just average design – may do more damage to your business than you might care to think. We'd recommend you invest at least a third of your budget in getting some decent artwork. After all, it's not about how many items you distribute, it's about how many responses you get.
Talk to your local studio about your next project and we'll give you a comprehensive quote for the whole package.
Did you know… we update our blog regularly to give new design and marketing tips and advice.


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Fossil Watch ES4433
We Price Match!Seen it cheaper?
This watch is supplied with:
- check Official Fossil presentation box
- check Official Fossil guarantee
- check Instruction manual (where applicable)
This product can be shipped to:
- UK (United Kingdom)
- EU (European Union)
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Should you find any item not to your liking, simply return the unwanted item(s) to us using the enclosed returns form and your purchase will be refunded in full. We assure you of a smooth, easy, and zero hassle returns procedure if you change your mind for any reason. Please note that earrings and other items of body jewellery cannot be returned for refund as unwanted items in the interests of hygiene. Currently, refunds are processed in an average of 2 days after receipt (Live statistic)
FREE Click & Collect for orders over £25.00 from any mainland participating partner showrooms* (excluding airports and orders paid for by PayPal or Interest Free Credit). For more information on our new Click & Collect scheme please see this link (*UK only)
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Established in 1984, the Fossil brand is inspired by classic American vintage wear. Fossil watches are designed to make statements, looking to act as a first impression for how wearers are viewed by others. Within the Fossil watch collection Swiss craftsmanship is blended seamlessly with timeless designs and contemporary functionality, resulting in a range that has something to define almost anyone. Fossil designers use a wide variety of materials and styles throughout the watch collection, from deconstructed leathers to multi-faceted, colourful metals, technology-laden cases to minimalistic aesthetics and more, providing the discerning watch-buyer with multiple choices to make a strong statement. Fossil watches are more than just a practical accessory they are a lifestyle choice that lets the world know who you are at a glance. To experience the same level of quality with different styles, Fossil also makes watches for a variety of other brands including including Diesel, Armani, Adidas and Marc Jacobs.
Watch Shop is an authorised Fossil stockist.
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budeee on Family Tree Circles
view: full | list
Journals and Posts
strong of ireland
I have found so far that thomas and john strong(brothers) were tried and convicted of assaulting a habitat of lisduff along with maher and darby they were transported to tasmania 1850 on board the hydrabad.
Thomas went on to marry bridget maloney and they lived in the cygnet area, his brother did not marry but had a child (FEMALE)
Thomas paid for his mother mary strong to come to tasmania in 1855 she came out on the ship australasia, mary died abt 1870 john her other son was informant on death cert.
We are having a lot of trouble trying to find out where they were actually from at this stage some think it was tullamore ireland but we cannot find anything on them as yet.
I have also found more info on my donaghers, emma being my grandmother who married alfred latham, in franklin tasmania i am still having trouble locating a birth cert for her but her brothers charles and james refer to her as nok in their war enlistments.
Charles was in ww1 and while in england married emily luton they had 1 daughter named theodora they came back to australia and lived in victoria,for some reason charles went to qld, emily is buried at faulkner cemetry vic and her daughter married robert brehaut and they are also buried at faulkner.
Charles aslo lied about his age and enlisted for ww2 he enlisted in qld and when he returned he had a farm at coreen qld he was a keen bowler at yepoon qld he died 1964 and is buried at yepoon cemetry.
James the other brother enlisted for ww1 and unfortunatly he was killed in 1915 at war.
I am still trying to find info on emma my grandmother as i have nothing to say she is a daughter of sarah and james donagher, on her marriage cert she says they are her parents, and like i said her brothers refer to her as their sister all other researches i have found doing this family also have nothing to say emma cecelia donagher is a child of sara and james donagher.
john latham
I had thought my john latham of franklin tasmania had come from porlock somerset, but i found way back that its not right he came from birmingham england, i now have all the correct details of john and mary latham.
searching for nicholas blackaby of tasmania, australia
Nicholas Blackaby married Susan Johnson, she was born 1894 Deloraine Tasmania.
where are they buried?
I am trying to locate the exact burial spot of some of my ancestors, i know from newspaper clippings they were buried at the catholic cemetry in cygnet Tasmania.
I have contacted the local priest who could not tell me, he suggested i try the catholic church in Hobart, still no luck i contacted the council they dont have records either.I also contacted the funeral directors and they have never bothered to answer me back My aunts/uncles have told me they went to some of these funerals at the cemetry, i did find out that there was an accident years back with a truck which destroyed a row of headstones this is where we think my ancestors are buried. We have searched and searched but can find nothing. Would anyone know how i can try and get records of their actual burial spots. Thank-you......Kaye
- Displaying 1-5 of 5 Journals
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Sorry men, but
women like being outside, gardening, sports, do-it-yourself projects and of
course boating. Remember years ago when men could sneak out of the house and go
to the manly lumber yard or the hardware store on Saturday mornings? If your spouse
was in the car she didn't dare get out and enter those "men-only" stores. Women
would be glared and stared out the door as if a suspected shoplifter.
After years of
the home improvement, lumber and hardware stores catering to the men, women
received inspiration, confidence and lessons from icons like Martha Stewart
that women can use power tools and
shovel dirt as well. The home improvement chain stores realized that women can
also make purchases for their homes and spend money too! Females soon discovered after watching
multiple choices of cable television shows that we could bring home the bacon,
fry it in the pan, grow a garden, and envision lovely yards with our shopping
list in hand. This is a familiar and cherished phrase at our house, what's on
my "honey do" list this weekend? My husband Tom is either very blessed or very
cursed for being such a great handyman. My friends and neighbors have told me
numerous times how lucky I am and my return comment is "Back off, he's already
When we purchased
our 25-year-old Gibson Houseboat, his knowledge and being a handyman was a
blessing. From bow to stern or head to
toe, it needed to be remodeled, updated and have some TLC. I am the creative one of this partnership
with visions and ideas and Tom is the one who makes most of my dreams come true
and most of my visions as I requested.
I can make it
look good, but he's into operations and can make it run. I love browsing through magazines and even
marine catalogs to find ways to improve our houseboat and keep Tom's honey-do
list filled. He is impressed when I use nautical terms and actually have a
useful suggestion, rather than just the color of the bedding and placement of the
furniture. Yep, it's not just a guy thing.
Of course with
renovating, there is that dreaded word "budget." Some projects are known as
money pits, some fixer-uppers and some smart investments. Everyone needs to
make his environment his own and his surroundings pleasing to his taste. We can
all go to boat shows and visualize owning that $350, 000 luxury yacht, but
reality hits you between the eyes when you walk into your own small nest and
sit on your saggy, sloppy and not so sumptuous sofa.
Priorities. Which
comes first: the new engine or new furnishings? The bow thruster or appliances?
Some water enthusiasts do not care if their houseboat even has a motor or not.
I have seen some motor boxes-due to neglect-make a great plant container box. Many people become nauseated or do not like
the gentle motion of great waves crashing into their salon as that foolish
threesome on PWCs speed past you to see what color eyes you have bulging out
your head. Some folks just want to live on their boat, enjoy the beautiful
sunrises and sunsets of the days and be inspired by the atmosphere, sights, sounds
and smells of the water. Yes smells. Tom swears that wonderful aroma
brings him back to days of his childhood. Everyone has his own desires and
wishes and mine is the best of both worlds. I live on my boat on weekends and
take it out for those great barbecues on the front deck with a cool beverage,
my hubby, relaxing music in the background, the sun setting on the trees and no
cell phone service. A refrigerator filled with food, a head and my own bed in
the back helps. That is relaxing, rejuvenating and so restful drifting up and
down the lake, but if you stop do not forget to anchor. It's not very romantic and actually quite
embarrassing to become beached and stuck in the clay or deep mud and having to call
on the radio for a tow. Especially when everyone who has their radio on can
hear your desperate call. Plus it's
really not very romantic when you're sharing your nice meal with the captain of
the tow boat. Sorry, that will not make
his services cheaper either!
I guess you
know that answer to the question about priorities-furniture or motors,
appliances or bow thrusters. If you know my husband then you know the answer.
My budget is only a fourth compared to what he spent on the guts and operating
necessities, so that was my strategy. I renovated and restored at my own pace. I
would walk through those manly home improvement stores that are now tame and
catering to the female market and get ideas from my much loved cable shows. As
the boat improved, so did I. My outdated
project that looked like it came from the projects, now was getting a much
needed facelift and is ready for project runway. Being a team is essential as
well as being patient. Whether you are waiting for payday to continue your plan
or the weather to improve, your day will come.
If you want
your environment to be calm and serene then visualize that with every choice
you make before you purchase. If you want it to be a manly men's only club and
environment then visit your favorite bar and visualize the atmosphere with neon
beer signs up on the wall. It is your houseboat and your choice and this is our subscription to Houseboat magazine. Just remember men, it's not just a guy thing.
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Metal technician in welding technology
Welding engineers are specialists in bonding technology. They join panels, pipes or metals parts of machines and equipment by applying various welding methods and adhering to international standards.
To do this, they program and operate moving or stationary automatic units such as welding robots or UP welding equipment.
At a glance
Period of training: 3.5 years
Prerequisite: Good grades from secondary school or polytechnic school
The collective contractual wage during the 1st year of the apprenticeship is €620 in Nenzing.
Interests and talents
- A grasp of technology and manual dexterity are among your strengths.
- You are flexible and happy to work in a team.
- You adopt a focused approach, and optimal work results are important to you.
Otmar Meyer
Liebherr-Werk Nenzing GmbH
Dr. Hans Liebherr Straße 1
6710 Nenzing
- Phone+43 50809 41-371


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Mumble 1.2.11 Free
Mumble is a free and open source audio chat software that has a goal to offer everyone ability to chat in a group environment. This includes setting up an audio call with large amount of people for school project, business meeting or (most often) organized video gaming. This and many other online communication sessions can be greatly enriched with the help of Mumble, which can take control over management of user permissions and other features that will be attractive to moderators who want to tightly control who can talk with who (especially important for use in business, or in gaming with separate rooms for each gaming sessions, group or game). Mumble is there to help you do just that with ease. Users can host their own servers, invite users to manage their own channels, record their audio sessions and manually control when they want to mute their own microphone or mute incoming audio communication.
Main interface of mumble is very well designed. Main dashboard is focused on listing the chat rooms from the server you are connected with. Detailed customizations of your chat experience can be found in the tools that are located above in the main men line.
Mumble is a perfect for anyone who is interested in having complete control over the audio chat between large amount of people at the same time. It is distributed in two basic modules – Mumble client and Mumble server. This configuration ensures the maximum security, audio quality and reliability of the audio chat between users.
Mumble Features:
- Low latency and low bandwidth usage
- Brilliant voice quality (speech preprocessing and noise cancellation)
- Echo removal
- Positional audio (determine players' locations in supported games with your ears)
- Overlay
- ACL for users
- Text-to-speech (hear program's and server's status updates)
Please support us, use one of the buttons below to unlock the content and you will have access in the link for download.


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It's not every day we get a brand new decaf! Although it's not a brand new coffee to us, it's from a farm we've been working with for years but this year we had the opportunity to send some off for sugar cane decaffeination in Colombia. This gives us a decaf which has provenance and quality which we can keep building on in years to come.
Colombia Finca La Chorrera Washed Caturra SC Decaf
Brown sugar, raspberry jam, apple
In the cup expect brown sugar mixed in with raspberry jam, with a delicate apple acidity that finishes super sweet and well balanced.
Colombia Finca La Chorrera Washed Caturra
White grape, green apple, white sugar
In the cup expect a super clean and bright white grape acidity, with a mouth covering white sugar sweetness, with hints of green apple and kiwi fruit that linger in the aftertaste.
Costa Rica Sumava Finca Monte Llano Bonito Yellow Honey Villa Sarchi
Caramel, dark chocolate, apple
In the cup this coffee starts out with caramel, dark chocolate and a creamy body, but it finishes on a crisp white grape acidity with a deliciously refreshing apple aftertaste.


text: Thorndale Ceiling Light in Americana color options. This 5-arm ceiling mounted wooden chandelier fits perfectly in rooms with low ceilings such as, bedrooms, hallways, and foyers. It measures 10.5" high x 19" wide and comes with all the hardware necessary to mount. 60 watt bulb maximum per socket (bulbs not included). Handcrafted in Pennsylvania. UL approved and comes with a 5 year warranty.