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Radiologist Moritz Kircher, who joined Memorial Sloan Kettering in 2010, is a physician-scientist with formal training in both clinical radiology and molecular imaging research. In the laboratory, his research is focused on the development of innovative nano-size materials that can be used to study detailed activities of cells. Specifically, he is developing nanoprobes, tiny particles of approximately 100 nanometers in size that can help image and treat tumors.
in 2011, Dr. Kircher was awarded a three-year brain and immuno-imaging grant by the Dana Foundation to support his research and was also named a Dana Neuroscience Scholar.
In this 2012 interview, Dr. Kircher discussed his research involving molecular imaging and nanoparticles.
How did you get interested in the field of imaging?
I realized in medical school that imaging might be the best way of diagnosing disease. This is because you don't have to try to detect disease in an indirect way, such as with a lab test or a stethoscope, but rather actually look inside the patient. You can see exactly where the disease is and what its extent is. This allows you to treat in a more focused manner. That's why I went into radiology.Back to top
What's the difference between traditional imaging and molecular imaging?
Molecular imaging is a new discipline within radiology. In contrast to the existing imaging techniques that we currently have in the clinic — like CT, ultrasound, and routine MRI — the goal of molecular imaging is to be able to look at what is happening within individual cells noninvasively from outside the patient.
This way you can assess not just gross anatomy and tumor size, but also get much more specific information on cellular and subcellular metabolic processes. This allows us to diagnose disease in a more sensitive and precise way.Back to top
How might molecular imaging benefit patients?
As molecular imaging techniques enter the clinic, they will allow for more-sensitive and earlier disease detection and also for more-individualized treatment. For example, there can be many different genetic alterations in the same tumor type. Patients may respond better to a particular treatment depending on the underlying molecular etiology of their tumors. An accurate molecular imaging technique would be a way to determine the molecular subtype of a patient's tumor. Hopefully, this would eventually help us to avoid surgical biopsies, which are not straightforward to perform in patients with brain tumors.
Molecular imaging agents could also allow us to see the extent of tumors and to hopefully detect them at such an early stage that the tumors can be completely removed and patients cured with surgery alone. In later-stage disease, currently it is very hard to find small metastases, such as peritoneal implants, and intraoperative molecular imaging techniques will be needed for complete tumor removal.
If we can combine molecular imaging with minimally invasive interventional radiology techniques, such as cryoablation and radiofrequency ablation, it may help us to avoid major surgeries altogether in the future.Back to top
Explain the research you're doing in your lab. What are nanoparticles?
In my lab we are developing new multimodal nanoparticles, also called nanoprobes. These are very sophisticated contrast agents that have multiple capabilities built into them. They can also have targeting ligands on them — which may be peptides or antibodies — that help them seek out the tumors.
Multimodal means you can see the same nanoparticle with different imaging techniques. For example, we are currently working on refining a nanoparticle that can be seen with MRI, Raman imaging, and photoacoustic imaging. The idea is that this particle can be seen before surgery with MRI, which gives a whole-body image of the patient and the tumor to allow for correct staging and optimal surgical planning. Then, during surgery, the same nanoprobes can be seen with Raman and photoacoustic imaging technologies.
These are both new modalities that currently are being used in experimental clinical settings. The advantage of Raman imaging is based on the fact that it is possible, by creating a particular nanoparticle structure and dye composition, to enhance the signal originating from those
nanoparticles more than a billionfold. This means that Raman imaging can be more sensitive than other techniques, allowing us to detect a very small number of nanoparticles in living organisms. At the same tim,e the Raman signal is unique (a spectral fingerprint), so when you get the signal, you know you are detecting the nanoprobe and nothing else.
Photoacoustic imaging is a mixture of optical imaging and ultrasound. It combines the high sensitivity of optical imaging with the better depth penetration and the three-dimensional capabilities of ultrasound. Because it can reach several centimeters into the tumor, it can give the surgeon a road map on how to perform the tumor removal. Raman imaging can then be used for surgery at the tumor margin, or the edge of the tumor.Back to top
Does this research have particular applications for the treatment of brain tumors?
One reason brain tumor surgery is so difficult compared with surgery on other organs is that you cannot remove any healthy brain tissue around the tumor margin without risking impairment in the patient.
Because a "wide excision" — removal of the tumor along with with a margin of normal tissue—cannot be performed, there are usually small tumor deposits left behind that can cause recurrence. In addition, the margins of brain tumors are often diffuse and infiltrative, with small tumor protrusions extending into the normal brain that cannot be seen with the naked eye.
Our nanoparticles have been shown to enable visualization of such microscopic tumor tissue in mouse models, and we hope this will eventually work in humans. We envision using a handheld Raman imaging device during surgery so that the neurosurgeon can do complete excisions without harming any normal, crucial neurological structures. Ultimately this principle could be applied to many other areas of the body, but right now we are focusing on the brain to establish a proof of principle.Back to top
What needs to be done before this work can move from the laboratory into a clinical setting?
We have now started to test the nanoparticle imaging method in the most advanced brain tumor mouse models available, which were developed by Brain Tumor Center Director Eric Holland. His models closely resemble human brain tumors in the way the tumors grow and form very infiltrative margins.
If the technique works well in these models, this is a very good sign it will work in humans. However we will also need to test it in larger animals before human trials. If all the laboratory studies go well and we don't see cytotoxic effects, then we can think about clinical trials. We believe these nanoparticles have a decent chance of being successful because they're based on gold, and that's an inert, nontoxic material that is already used in medical applications.Back to top


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The San Jose Earthquakes announced today that midfielders Marvin Chavez and Mehdi Ballouchy have received United States Permanent Residency cards and now count as domestic players on the club's roster.
Chavez appeared in 27 games in 2012, starting 23, and notched a career high 13 assists in his first season in San Jose. The native Honduran chipped in with three goals in a season that saw San Jose wrap up its' second MLS Supporters' Shield with a record of 19-6-9 (66 pts.), breaking the previous club mark of 64 points in a season. Additionally, Chavez was an instrumental part of a Quakes team that shattered the club record of 55 goals in a season, set in 1997, with 72 strikes.
The speedy midfielder joined the Earthquakes in 2012 after being acquired from FC Dallas on Dec. 16, 2011 for allocation money. He has four goals and 30 caps with the Honduras National Team, including a pair of tallies in 2012.
Ballouchy appeared in six games, starting four, for San Jose before suffering a torn left anterior cruciate ligament on Sept. 29, 2012 in the Earthquakes' 3-3 draw against FC Dallas. The midseason acquisition came to San Jose from New York on July 30, 2012 for a conditional 2013 SuperDraft pick and 2013 international player slot. The seven-year MLS veteran has 13 goals and 24 assists in 174 career games with three different clubs.
Ballouchy was born in Morocco, but moved to the United States with his brother as a teenager. Ballouchy was a member of the Morocco U-16 and U-17 national teams after working through the Raja Casablanca youth system. As a collegian, Ballouchy spent one season at Creighton before transferring to Santa Clara. He was named a Soccer America and NSCAA/adidas First Team All-American in 2005 while leading the Broncos to a spot in the NCAA Tournament under head coach Cam Rast.

subset: commoncrawl


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How high or low can you get your telescope magnification? The answers depend on many factors that combine to give each telescope a useful magnification range. This range is not fixed, however, and depends on the nature of eyesight, the telescope's aperture and optical design, atmospheric conditions, and even the type and size of the object looked at.
Consider the complete viewing experience: starlight passes through the atmosphere, through the telescope, and finally into your eyes. Each segment of the journey plays a role in determining the telescope magnification range to use on a given night. Let's take up the segments separately.
Our Eyesight
Eyesight is an engineering marvel. Think about it. Our eyes have an automatic iris, automatic focus, an aspheric lens, a curved image surface, a chemical image intensifier, a windshield washer-wiper, and a lens cover, all as standard equipment. And this is without mentioning the wonder of stereo vision!
While our eyes are not perfectly color corrected, our brain processes out the errors. Other defects vary from individual to individual. Fortunately, the common ones can all be compensated when one uses a telescope.
Among the most prevalent defects is astigmatism, which can be ameliorated with eyeglasses or by using only the small central area of our eye's pupil. To see an example of this, make a diamond-shaped aperture by pressing your thumbs and forefingers together. The harder you push them together, the smaller the aperture will become. Now place this opening close to your eye. You will probably see some improvement in resolution and depth of focus. (You may look silly to your companions at the dinner table, but it's great for reading the menu when you forget your glasses.)
Those who suffer near- or farsightedness can simply remove their eyeglasses to use a telescope, since the instrument can be focused to compensate for either defect. Floaters, those bits of debris in our eyes, are mainly a problem when we use magnifications that produce very small exit pupils that accentuate their visibility.
Telescope Magnification vs Our Eyesight
There are six important factors to consider with a telescope. The first is telescope magnification, and by this I mean angular magnification. We see the universe in terms of angles. A 50-power telescope will make the ½° disk of the Moon appear 25° wide.
To achieve low telescope magnification, use long-focal-length eyepieces. Telecompressor lenses can shorten the effective focal length of some telescopes, lowering the magnification of a given eyepiece used with that telescope. High telescope magnifications can be obtained by using short-focal-length eyepieces.
Barlow lenses (which can even be "stacked") allow even a short-focal-length telescope to achieve absurdly high magnifications. But beware: these high magnifications may not be what we want! The 600-power, 2.4-inch "department store" telescope is a prime example of a malicious turn-off to budding amateur astronomers — the resulting field at that high magnification is too small, too dim, too fuzzy, and too shaky to be of much use. I'll discuss optimum magnification later.
F/number is of little importance visually. A "fast" telescope implies a short focal length and a large field. Fast, however, is a term borrowed from photography (an f/5 telescope can take a photograph with one-fourth the exposure time of an f/10 instrument). Visually, well-made fast and slow telescopes of the same aperture have no difference in image brightness or resolution.
Many binocular users know this already. While aperture, telescope magnification, and exit pupil are the key specifications for binoculars, manufacturers never give the f/number of the objective as a specification. It means nothing as far as visual image brightness is concerned! I find that photographers have the most difficulty understanding this concept, because their experience that a faster f/number means brighter images on film and in the viewfinder is so ingrained.
Field angle is another confusing subject on telescope magnification. The true field of a telescope is the amount of actual sky we see in the eyepiece. It is determined by the field-stop diameter (the ring inside the front of the eyepiece that defines the edge of the field) and the focal length of the telescope.
Here's some information on typical telescope magniciation maximum fields for reference:
|Focuser size
focal length
focal length
Eyepieces of very long focus may use the inside edge of the barrel as a field stop. This is why 2-inch eyepieces can have much larger true fields than 1¼-inch eyepieces. The in-side diameter of a typical 2-inch barrel is 1.7 times larger and has three times the area of the smaller barrels. Many eyepieces have field stops that are accessible for measurement by calipers. Others have field stops between the lens elements; such a stop's size cannot easily be used to determine the true field.
Regardless, you can find the true field of any eyepiece-telescope combination by the star-drift method. Point the telescope at a star near the celestial equator and, with the drive turned off, time the passage of the star centrally across the field. Since equatorial stars appear to move 15 arcminutes for each minute of time, you simply multiply the drift time in minutes of time by 15 to find the true field angle in arcminutes.
A rough approximation to the true field is obtained by dividing the apparent field of the eyepiece by the telescope magnification. It's rough because eyepieces do not magnify linearly across the field, and a factor involving geometric "pincushion" distortion must be applied. Needless to say, this is usually known only to the designer. So use the star drift to determine true field accurately.
Apparent field is the angle perceived by your eye when the field stop is seen through the eyepiece. If you want to know which of two eyepieces is likely to have a larger apparent field, hold one up to each eye as if you were looking through binoculars. Position them so the field circles overlap, and it will be very clear which circle is larger.
Exit pupil is the image of the objective formed by the eyepiece. It's where you place your eye to view the entire field. Its diameter is equal to the objective diameter divided by the magnification. Binocular makers indirectly specify the exit pupil by always specifying the magnification and the aperture. The exit pupil may also be defined by the objective's f/number. For example, an eyepiece of 35-millimeter focal length, when used on an f/5 telescope, will give a 7-mm exit pupil. There is no single best exit pupil for low power or high power. As we shall see, it depends on many factors.
Resolution can be defined in many ways. By tradition, telescope manufacturers use the Dawes limit as a specification. During the 19th century in England, Rev. William R. Dawes observed with small refractors and found that he could just distinguish the components of faint double stars of equal magnitude when their separation was equal to 4.56 arcseconds divided by the aperture in inches. Of course it's just a guideline, since much larger or smaller scopes differ somewhat in performance. Furthermore, resolution is poorer when double stars have components of differing magnitudes.
The Dawes limit tells us nothing about the effects of contrast on resolving planetary details. It also ignores the fact that telescopes with apertures larger than about 9 inches can seldom achieve their theoretical ½-second or better resolution because of bad atmospheric seeing. Also, if the naked-eye resolution is 1 arcminute (for people with the best eyesight), you only need 120 power to see the resolution limit imposed by either Dawes' formula or the atmosphere. In practice, two or three times that magnification is more comfortable. Any telescope magnification is possible, but I don't believe extraordinarily high powers reveal more than using 300x to 500x on any telescope.
Aperture gain will give you an idea of the faintest stars visible with a telescope. For example, the area gain of a 70-mm aperture over our eye's 7-mm aperture is 100 times. That's equal to a five-magnitude difference, so if 6th-magnitude stars are visible with the naked eye, then 11th-magnitude stars should be seen in the 70-mm telescope. This reasoning ignores light loss in the optics.
The Atmosphere
When a deep blue, breezy afternoon turns to a dark and clear night, with stars twinkling brilliantly, we have a night of high transparency. The dark sky and high contrast afford ideal conditions for viewing galaxies, nebulae, and faint stars. Unfortunately the other side of the coin — air turbulence — is often present. On such nights the seeing is often poor. A small telescope shows twinkling stars jumping about playfully, but large apertures average out the motions, giving us steady blobs. Many novice observers are unaware that transparency and good seeing usually avoid one another. The hazy summer doldrums often produce the best seeing and are excellent for revealing double stars and planetary details.
Another factor we must all confront is encroaching light pollution combined with atmospheric haze from industrial pollution. While everyone should pitch in to make our planet cleaner, the immediate answer for an observer is to pack the car and travel to a remote site. It is no coincidence that very portable telescopes, big and small, are becoming more popular, and that star parties are popping up at dark-sky sites all over the country.
Our Targets
Before selecting a viewing magnification, consider carefully what it is you are going to be looking at. If you want to see small and faint galaxies, globular clusters, and faint stars, there is no substitute for aperture. Years ago, big heavy mirrors and long focal ratios were the rule. Eyepieces back then couldn't handle fast f/ratios well. Today, with modern, highly corrected eyepieces and coma correctors, large and compact Dobsonian telescopes can perform as never before, and they're really portable. With 13- to 25-inch Dobsonians, you can use all the power the atmosphere and optical quality will permit. Subject brightness is rarely a limit.
A subject's contrast is sometimes as important as its brightness. Often small refractors outperform larger reflectors because of superior contrast. Increasing the telescope magnification will reduce the size of the exit pupil and darken the background sky. This is why the faintest stars are always seen best with moderately high magnifications. The contrast of extended objects such as galaxies and nebulae is fixed relative to the sky background and only looks better as you boost magnification because details become more visible. In general you can increase the magnification to darken the sky (the field stop is a good reference for "black") as long as there is still sufficient sky showing around the object of interest to provide contrast. This appears to contradict the old adage about using big exit pupils when viewing nebulae. Don't worry; trust your eyes and experience.
Resolution — how much do you need? Most large reflectors exhibit better resolution when used with an off-axis aperture mask. This is because you can wait with frustration for those magic, fleeting moments when the atmospheric seeing allows high-resolution glimpses with a large aperture, or you can reduce the aperture and trade off some resolution for much more time when the view is satisfying. Once again, a small aperture gives a sharp image that jumps around in bad seeing, while a large aperture often averages the image into a fuzzy blob.
If you consider astronomical viewing as a supremely rewarding, aesthetic experience, then the universe is your painting and your telescope is the palette. Frame the subject properly. Open clusters in particular can be blown out by too much power — you may not even recognize what you're viewing. I don't think seeing Alcyone and a few stars in the Pleiades at 300x compares with a good sharp view at 20x to 60x. Leave plenty of breathing room around the subject so it appears in context with its surroundings. One advantage of a short-focal-length telescope is that you have field to spare for all your framing needs. You can always go up in power with these instruments. Long-focal-length telescopes, on the other hand, are limited when wide fields are needed.
Low-power subjects are those 1° or more wide. Open clusters, large galaxies, diffuse nebulae, and the Milky Way star fields are examples. The Beehive Cluster is 1° across, the Pleiades about 2°, and the Hyades 5°. The Veil Nebula is great at low and high power, but the North America Nebula needs at least a 3° field to show its distinctive shape.
Now comes the question of how low you can go with your telescope magnification. First, consider the exit-pupil limits of refractors and reflectors. The 7-mm diameter of the dark-adapted eye's pupil seems to be a popularly enshrined value among astronomers. It is promoted by the 7-mm exit pupil of so-called night binoculars and corresponds to the exit pupil of a telescope used at a magnification of 3.5x per inch of aperture.
What we can physically fit into our eye as an exit pupil and what is appropriate may not be the same. Furthermore, they differ for reflectors and refractors. A refractor has no limits on how low the power can go and how large the exit pupil can be. This idea is heresy to many, so let me explain. Consider a 4-inch f/4 refractor with a 55-mm eyepiece. The exit pupil has a diameter of about 14 mm. Since you can use only about 7 mm, some would say that half the aperture is wasted and are you really using a 2-inch telescope. They would say you are wasting light and wasting resolution.
However, the truth is that while you are wasting potential aperture, you are not wasting light because your eye is fully illuminated, and you have the brightest possible image that you can ever have at that low telescope magnification. Think of using 7 x 50 binoculars in the daytime when your eye's pupil is only 3.5 mm. Does the image appear dimmer than it does in 7 x 25 binoculars, which have a pupil that matches your eye's? Of course not. Also, the resolution reduction for a 2-inch scope compared to a 4-inch is totally invisible at that magnification.
If a 14-mm exit pupil at 8x doesn't cost you anything in brightness or resolution, does it have any benefits? Sure. At 8x, a 2-inch eyepiece will produce a true field 6° or more in diameter. If you want that large a field to view the Milky Way, for example, why not have it! I'm not arguing that it is particularly wonderful to have an 8x scope, but the concept is valid.
Does the same argument hold true for reflecting telescopes? No! The central obstruction that exists with conventional reflectors places a much stricter limit on the situation. Central obstructions run from less than 20 percent of the objective diameter for some Newtonians, to 45 percent or more on some Cassegrain telescopes. A 14-mm exit pupil on the latter would have a black spot in its center more than 6 mm in diameter. While this is an extreme case, it points out the value of reflectors with small secondary obstructions and keeping the exit pupil to about 7 or 8 mm. Large secondaries also limit your visual performance by blacking out the center of your eye's pupil, which is the sharpest part.
The bottom line for low power is to frame the subject. In fact, the best view occurs with the highest power that com-fortably includes the target object. As mentioned before, higher powers darken the background sky, reveal fainter stars, and show more detail. The resulting smaller exit pupil also minimizes the effects of eyesight defects and reduces the size of the dark spot caused by a reflector's central obstruction.
High-power subjects include the Moon, planets, globular star clusters, planetary nebulae, small galaxies, small open clusters, and double stars. Here the power is limited by the atmosphere, telescope aperture and optical quality, the quality of your eyepieces and Barlows, and the stability of the telescope mounting.
A steady atmosphere is a prerequisite for effective high-power observing. Look for a minimum of star twinkling and try to observe subjects high in the sky. Well-made apochromatic and fluorite refractors produce excellent planetary images, and so do traditional long-focus refractors and reflectors with relatively small diagonals. Telescopes of fast focal ratio require complex (and expensive) eyepieces and good-quality Barlows for best results. Barlows can improve image quality and provide more eye relief for comfortable, relaxed high-power viewing.
Also, don't neglect the telescope mounting's rigidity or the smooth drive that is necessary for high-powered observing. A shaky mount can ruin the benefits of an optically excellent instrument. Dobsonians are inherently stable, but they must be moved frequently at a high telescope magnification. This situation can be minimized by using wide-angle eyepieces, which extend the viewing time before having to reposition the instrument.
When telescope magnification gets too high; subjects become dim and lose contrast. They are also more affected by atmospheric seeing and any misalignments and defects in the optics. When using high power, use the "lowest" high power possible.
Image Sharpness
How sharp can you get your telescope magnification? As I noted earlier, Dawes based his resolution limit on his practical viewing experience. But why does a limit exist? Light consists of electromagnetic waves. Just like ripples on a pond when we toss in a few stones, light waves that interact can reinforce in some places and cancel in others. Circular telescope apertures diffract light so that it forms a series of bright and dark rings surrounding a star's image. These are most pronounced if we view the image with the eyepiece slightly inside or outside of focus.
In focus a star's image becomes a small dot with one or more faint diffraction rings around it. Imperfect telescopes and atmospheric turbulence make it difficult to see this pattern. In a perfect image the central dot, called the Airy disk, contains 84 percent of the light collected by the aperture. The first ring has about 7 percent, and the rest is distributed in successively fainter rings.
The 19th-century English physicist Lord Rayleigh established a slightly more lenient resolution limit than Dawes' for double stars. In his view, two stars are just resolvable if the center of one star's Airy disk lies in the first dark ring of the other's diffraction pattern. This Rayleigh limit equals 5.5 arcseconds divided by the telescope aperture in inches. Once you have enough magnification to see the diffraction pattern clearly, further telescope magnification is "empty."
Experienced planetary observers use 20x to 30x per inch of aperture to see the most planetary detail. Double-star observers go higher, up to 50x per inch (which corresponds to a ½-mm exit pupil). Beyond this, telescope magnification power and eye limitations degrade the view.
The atmosphere limits our sharpness. It is rare to find atmospheric conditions that allow any telescope to perform at more than two or three times the resolution capability of a good 4-inch. Sharpness is not exactly the same as resolution. Spherical aberration, defocusing, or adding a central obstruction subtracts light from the Airy disk and adds it to the diffraction rings. With a 50 percent central obstruction, the Airy disk is only 10 times as bright as the first ring, compared to 50 times as bright for an unobstructed telescope. The obstructed system may still split double stars at the Rayleigh limit, but just a touch of atmospheric defocusing will really mess things up.
The shift in light from the Airy disk to the diffraction rings also reduces contrast, rendering planetary details less sharp. Planetary observers using Newtonian reflectors want the smallest possible secondary mirrors for exactly this reason. Owners of large Dobsonians find that, for the finest resolution and contrast, an off-axis aperture mask (best placed near the mirror to minimize tube currents) gives the best of all possible worlds — unobstructed, color-free images. A 17-inch mirror can have a 6-inch unobstructed aperture.
Observational astronomy is an aesthetic pursuit for most amateurs. It seems presumptuous to try to quantify how high or low we can go, given the variety of instruments, subjects, atmospheric conditions, and eyesight that exists. I think, however, that two generalizations are valid: For the best low-power views, use the highest power that frames the subject. For the best high-power views, use the lowest power that reveals the detail you're looking for.
Common Telescope Myths
Through the years, many myths (or, if you prefer, misconceptions) have become woven into the fabric of amateur astronomy. The following is a selection that involves telescope magnification. A number of the answers described here are further explained in the preceding article.
- A 7-mm exit pupil gives the lowest useful magnification.
Not so! With a refractor there is no limit on the size of the useful exit pupil. Use whatever is necessary to get the field you need to frame the subject. A reflector's low-power limit is reached when the black spot in the exit pupil (caused by the secondary obstruction) becomes obtrusive.
While a 7-mm exit pupil, by matching that of the eye, does give the brightest views of deep-sky objects, it does not necessarily give the best ones. Higher magnifications, despite their smaller exit pupils, will reveal more details, maintain contrast, show fainter stars, and help by-pass defects in the eye itself.
- Exit pupils larger than 7 mm waste light and resolution.
With refractors, larger pupils do waste aperture. But the magnification is so low that the wasted aperture is of little concern: both image brightness and resolution are as great as possible at that magnification. With reflectors, however, larger pupils do waste light, but primarily because the black spot in the pupil caused by the secondary obstruction becomes larger. Both light loss and field shadowing occur with reflectors, but as with refractors there is no resolution loss because of the low power.
- Faster telescopes show brighter images.
This is a misconception carried over from photographic use, where the fast f/ratios do mean brighter images and shorter exposures for extended objects. Telescopes with equal apertures and equal magnifications have the same visual image brightness, regardless of the objective's f/number.
- Long-focal-ratio telescopes give higher-contrast images.
In general, refractors offer the potential for higher contrast because mirror coatings, by their nature, tend to scatter more light. But when comparing well-made, highly corrected refractors, there is no gain in contrast with instruments of long focal ratio.
Reflectors too, if well made and having the same size of secondary obstruction, will have the same contrast at the same telescope magnification regardless of the f/ratio.
- The highest useful telescope magnification is 50x per inch of aperture.
What is "useful"? Although small telescopes little affected by the atmosphere may give pleasing images even up to 100x per inch of aperture, no more detail is seen than at 50x per inch. On the other hand, large instruments, more affected by atmospheric seeing, may top out at 20x or 30x per inch. In practice, a 3- or 4-inch refractor may work well at 200x, but it is rare indeed that any size instrument benefits from more than two or three times that telescope magnification.
- Barlow lenses degrade image quality.
There may have been some truth to this when Barlows were made with low-index glasses and not specifically designed for use with modern eyepieces. Modern, high-index Barlows actually improve eyepiece performance by reducing astigmatism at the edge of the field. Furthermore, using a Barlow reduces the effective f/number of the objective and permits using longer-focal-length eyepieces (with their longer eye relief) for high-magnification viewing.


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Saturday, December 10, 2011
Winter buzz
4 comments:
As much as I like his fire, I think that Latos would probably serve the Padres better as trade bait. Same with Headley. I do not expect the Padres to contend in the next year or two, and if the Padres can get some top prospects in exchange for these guys, may as well do it. It may not be the popular view, but sometimes you need to take the big-picture view and plan long term.ReplyDelete
I think that's probably a good point: is it likely that Latos is part of the next truly good Padres team, at least 2 years away?ReplyDelete
I can't see him resigning once he hits FA, so he probably won't be around more than a year or two once their prospects start to show up.
SP is the deepest position in the minors with good depth from AA on down.
If he brings back a top SS prospect, think Profar of Texas or similar, why wouldn't you make that move?
Mark, most teams that had a guy of Matt Latos talent whose career had been off to such a great start (better then Peavy), would lock him up like teams have done with Cahill, Romero, Gallardo, Buchholz, Lester, etc.ReplyDelete
Personally, I think if the Padres go into next season without signing him long-term, it's going to be a costly mistep, a move that could limit his career length in San Diego.
Latos as far as rookie pitchers calling Petco home, is about as consistent as can be. His lines against in the various scenarios are very good:
Home: 635 OPS
Away: .637 OPS
vs RHB: .612 OPS
vs LHB: .659 OPS
Using Cahill's contract as a basis - 5/30m contract with 2 options - for Latos would be a route I think they should be going. His deal bought out 3 FA years, while only having to guarantee him one of them. Doing the same for Latos now would have him under the Padres control through the 2018 season.
Getting a stud SS would be awesome, but removing our best picher in the majors or minors, kind of defeats the purpose. Using Headley to bring a future long-term SS that is near or ready, now that I think is a better use of resources, along with signing Latos of course.
It might take 50-60m to get him to sign after 2012 if he has his best season yet, and with the way he ended 2011 I'm expecting as much. Do it now while the risk is still manageable. Please.
Interesting comments on this thread, although I'm disappointed that none of the local tattoo artists have weighed in.ReplyDelete


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Clipping versus coiling of ruptured intracranial aneurysms – outcome analysis and evaluation of complication rates between both methods
Clipping und Coiling bei rupturierten intrazerebralen Aneurysmen – Analyse über Outcome und Komplikationsrate beider Methoden
Suche in Medline nach
|8. Mai 2006
Objective: In the last decade the endovascular management of aneurysms has developed to become the treatment of choice. Aim of the present study was to document the influence of the treatment modality (clipping versus endovascular treatment) on outcome and periprocedural complication rates.
Methods: From July 2000 to December 2004, 322 patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage were treated either by early clipping (EC) or endovascular Guglielmi detachable coils (GDCs) treatment (ET) after 3-D angiography in our department. The decision for clipping or coiling was made by neurosurgeons and neuroradiologists after angiography. There was no difference in the conservative therapy modalities ,such as HHH-therapy in both groups. 63 patients in the EC group were classified Hunt and Hess (HH) I and II, 58 patients HH III-V; 77 patients in ET group were graded HH I/II and 73 HH III-V. 95% of the aneurysms in the EC group were located in the anterior circulation, 33% of aneurysms treated by coiling (ET) were in the posterior circulation. 90% of MCA aneurysms were treated by clipping. The outcome was analysed according to the Glascow Outcome Score (GOS).
Results: The rate of general complications was similar in both groups, only dependent on initial HH grading.The incidence of vasospasm and infarction after treatment revealed no differences (periprocedural infarction in 8% and 10%). Over 80% of the ET aneurysms were coiled without a remnant neck in the 3 months angiographic follow-up. There were no significant differences in GOS in both groups (GOS 2/3: 25% EC and 26% ET, GOS 4/5: 67% EC and 64 % ET after 6 months. Only in patient group GOS 1 (deceased) was there a higher number of endovascular patients, which may be due to worse HH grades in this group.
Conclusions: In contrast to the results of the ISAT study, we could not indentify significant differences between coiled or clipped patient groups. We present the results of our interdisciplinary treatment concept in which to date, 45% of patients with aneurysmal SAH were clipped.


text: Dates: 1969-1997. Size: .5 linear feet; 638 drawings; 21 photographs. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, Chicago Theater Collection. Virgil Johnson is an award-winning costume designer whose work has been seen at numerous theaters in Chicago, including Goodman, Court, Victory Gardens, Body Politic, Steppenwolf, Northlight, St. Nicholas and Apollo. Collection includes costume sketches and renderings as well as programs and notes. [Finding aid]


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Hay prices are dollars per ton or dollars per bale when sold to retail outlets. Basis is current delivery FOB barn or stack, or delivered customer as indicated.
Grade guidelines used in this report have the following relationship to Relative Feed Value (RFV), Acid Detergent Fiber (ADF), TDN (Total Digestible Nutrients), or Crude Protein (CP) test numbers:
Grade RFV ADF TDN CP
Supreme 185+ <27 55.9+ 22+
Premium 170-185 27-29 54.5-55.9 20-22
Good 150-170 29-32 52.5-54.5 18-20
Fair 130-150 32-35 50.5-52.5 16-18
Utility <130 36+ <50.5 <16
(Columbia Basin)
(USDA Market News)
Moses Lake, Wash.
Feb. 7
This week FOB Last week Last year
5,291 11,180 1,160
Compared to Jan. 31: Supreme Alfalfa steady to firm in a light test. Fair/Good Alfalfa steady to $5 higher. Demand is light to moderate. Trade moderate this week mainly from the local dairies. Buyers are only interested in buying a little to add to their already heavy supplies. Feedlots remain full. Exporters remain quiet processing previously bought inventory. Retail/Feedstore Alfalfa and Orchard grass steady. Buyer demand good with light to moderate supplies.
Tons Price
Alfalfa Large Square Supreme 400 $225
Fair/Good 650 $195-200
Fair 2900 $145-155
Alfalfa Small Square Premium 75 $250
Good 145 $220-250
Alfalfa/Timothy Mix Small Square Premium 125 $220-250
Alfalfa/Grass Mix Large Square Fair 200 $170
Orchard Grass Small Square Premium 116 $250-275
Timothy Grass Large Square Good 45 $210
Fair 125 $110
Utility 510 $100
(USDA Market News)
Portland, Ore.
Feb. 7
This week FOB Last week Last year
4,976 6,432 1,813
Compared to Jan. 31: Prices generally steady with week ago offerings. Trading was light during the week in some areas. In other areas, the drought in California have forced buyers to purchase Oregon grown hay. Many producers have sold all that they plan to sell for this season.
Tons Price
Alfalfa Small Square Premium 26 $235
Orchard Grass Small Square Premium 22 $230-245
10 $235
Grass Mix-Five Way Small Square Premium 3 $275
Alfalfa Large Square Fair 175 $165
Alfalfa Large Square Supreme 100 $220
Good 400 $175
Mid Square Prem./Sup. 33 $200
Alfalfa Mid Square Good/Prem. 200 $205
Alfalfa/Rye Mix Small Square Premium 23 $230
Good 6 $180
Fescue Grass Small Square Premium 21 $220
Beardless Barley Small Square Fair 2 $100
Alfalfa Large Square Supreme 314 $235-250
300 $295
Premium 950 $225
Good 2029 $180-225
Fair 3 $170
Small Square Supreme 200 $250
Good 30 $200
30 $175
Oat Large Square Premium 49 $150
Barley Large Square Utility 50 $75
(USDA Market News)
Moses Lake, Wash.
Feb. 7
This week FOB Last week Last year
12,550 39,450 4,200
Compared to Jan. 31: Premium and Supreme Alfalfa steady. Fair/Good Alfalfa firm. Trade moderate this week. Higher milk prices and drought worries are all helping the short-term market. Retail/feed store/horse not tested this week. Buyer demand good with light to moderate supplies.
Tons Price
Alfalfa Large Square Supreme 750 $210
2200 $220
Good/Prem. 600 $200
Good 8100 $180-200
Fair/Good 900 $170-175
(USDA Market News)
Moses Lake, Wash.
Feb. 7
This week FOB Last week Last year
11,556 5,975 4,319
Compared to Jan. 31: Prices remained firm in most areas, with advancements by as much as $10 to $20 higher in the Imperial Valley. Some rain fall was reported in the Northern and Central Regions of the state, with some much need snow falling in the Sierra Nevadas. The hay market continues to march higher, with the impacts of the drought becoming more of a reality. Additionally, firmer milk prices have spurred the dairymen to begin buying some higher quality hay. Producers are already concerned about the water situation next year. According to the Wall Street Journal, most farmers haven't received water they're due ince 2008 when federal regulators began restricting water exports from the Delta to residents in the south to protect "threatened" fish such as the smelt and the salmon. The federal regulations have caused millions of acre-feet of water to be flushed into the Bay instead of being sent down the line to irrigate crop lands in the Central and Southern regions of the state. Livestock producers are beginning to search for hay outside their normal marketing areas, with reports of hay moving out of Oregon, Nevada, and the Imperial Valley to try and meet demand while supplies last. Trade activity was active on very good buyer demand. All prices reported FOB at the stack or barn unless otherwise noted. Regions are defined at bottom of report.
Includes the counties of Siskiyou, Modoc, Shasta, Lassen and Plumas.
Tons Price
Alfalfa Fair 200 $230
300 $235
Alfalfa/Timothy Mix Fair 100 $230
Alfalfa/Rye Mix Premium 100 $265
Grass Good 50 $280
Includes the counties of Tehama, Glenn, Butte, Colusa, Sutter, Yuba, Sierra, Nevada, Placer, Yolo, El Dorado, Solano, Sacramento, Amador and Alpine.
Tons Price
Alfalfa Premium 50 $250
Oat Good 150 $230
Includes the counties of San Joaquin, Calaveras, Stanislaus, Tuolumne, Mono, Merced and Mariposa.
Tons Price
Alfalfa Premium 160 $300
Includes the counties of Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare and Inyo.
Alfalfa Good 250 $265
Includes the counties of Kern, Northeast Los Angeles, and Western San Bernardino.
Tons Price
Alfalfa Premium 50 $280
Includes the counties of Eastern San Bernardino, Riverside and Imperial.
Tons Price
Alfalfa Supreme 1425 $230-250
Premium 3221 $220-230
1675 $230-245
Good 925 $180-195
Fair/Good 300 $170
Fair 450 $160
Bermuda Grass Premium 300 $198
Good 1200 $150-160
400 $180
Bermuda Straw Good 250 $100


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BP points finger at contractors in hotly anticipated accident report
BP PLC is shifting at least part of the blame for the Deepwater Horizon explosion and subsequent oil spill to Halliburton Co. and Transocean Ltd., its subcontractors on the failed exploration project.
The British oil giant, in a highly anticipated internal probe released today, said the April 20 accident that killed 11 workers and spewed 172 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico stemmed from a series of failures by all the companies working on the project.
"It is evident that a series of complex events, rather than a single mistake or failure, led to the tragedy," outgoing BP CEO Tony Hayward said in a statement. "Multiple parties, including BP, Halliburton and Transocean, were involved."
The four-month-long investigation, led by BP's head of safety and operations Mark Bly, concluded in a 193-page report that a "complex and interlinked series of mechanical failures, human judgments, engineering design, operational implementation and team interfaces" were to blame for the accident.
The report specifically faults Halliburton's work in cementing the bottom of the well and BP and Transocean's incorrect acceptance of a pressure test. The probe also found that Transocean employees failed to recognize or act on the rapid rise of hydrocarbons into the well until they were nearly at the surface. Transocean owned and operated the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that exploded while drilling the BP well.
The report also points out failures in well-control procedures and the blowout preventer as well as the drilling rig's fire and gas system that did not prevent the explosion.
But Hayward was quick to point out that the report clears BP's well design as a factor in the disaster.
"It would appear unlikely that the well design contributed to the incident, as the investigation found that the hydrocarbons flowed up the production casing through the bottom of the well," Hayward said.
BP executives are already running damage control, saying they have always shared the blame with the other companies working on the project.
"We have said from the beginning that the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon was a shared responsibility among many entities," the oil giant's incoming CEO Bob Dudley said. "This report makes that conclusion even clearer, presenting a detailed analysis of the facts and recommendations for improvement both for BP and the other parties involved."
Bly, the probe's leader, went so far as to say the purpose of the probe "was not to apportion blame or liability but rather to learn, recommend areas for improvement and share our lessons with others."
But the other companies involved in the accident are not buying it.
"This is a self-serving report that attempts to conceal the critical factor that set the stage for the Macondo incident: BP's fatally flawed well design," a Transocean spokesman said in an e-mailed statement. "In both its design and construction, BP made a series of cost-saving decisions that increased risk -- in some cases, severely."
Halliburton, too, found fault with the report and was quick to point the finger back at BP.
"We have noticed a number of substantial omissions and inaccuracies in the document," a Halliburton spokeswoman said in an e-mail, adding that the company was confident it performed all its work "in accordance with BP's specifications."
"Deepwater operations are inherently complex and a number of contractors are involved, which routinely make recommendations to a single point of contact, the well owner," the Halliburton spokeswoman said. "The well owner is responsible for designing the well program and any testing related to the well. Contractors do not specify well design or make decisions regarding testing procedures as that responsibility lies with the well owner."
Transocean is conducting its own investigation into the accident and has accused BP of withholding documents needed to complete the probe.
"Transocean's investigation is ongoing and will be concluded when all the evidence is in, including the critical information the company has requested of BP but has yet to receive," the spokesman said.
Environmentalists and lawmakers say they are also awaiting the results of other investigations before pointing fingers.
Kieran Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity, said the conservation group will wait to hear the assessments from the departments of Interior and Justice "to find what really happened and who is to blame."
"BP's internal investigation doesn't pass the smell test. Rather than accept the blame and financial consequences for its disaster, BP is continuing to point fingers at everyone it can," Suckling said in a statement. "This report is more concerned with calming BP's shareholders than taking responsibility for its actions."
Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming and a top Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, also blasted BP for its conclusions.
"This report is not BP's mea culpa," Markey said in a statement. "BP is happy to slice up blame, as long as they get the smallest piece."
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, took a different approach, calling the negligence of all the companies outlined in the report "shameful."
"The American people have a right to expect that industry and the federal government have the know-how and wherewithal to ensure safe offshore drilling operations," Issa said. "People, particularly those whose lives have been directly affected by this disaster, should be angry about all that went wrong."
Click here to read the report.


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Fishers get doubleheader split, three games back of playoff berthSpecial to the Sunday News
August 24. 2013 10:54PM
READING, Pa. - Adam Loewen doubled home two runs in the top of the 10th inning to give the Fisher Cats a 3-1 win over Reading and a split of Saturday's day-night doubleheader with the Fightin Phils at First Energy Stadium.
With the win, and Trenton's 4-2 loss to Portland, the Fisher Cats trail the second place Thunder by three games in the standings. New Hampshire has nine games left to pass the Thunder and earn a playoff berth.
In the top of the tenth inning, Kenny Wilson reached on a hit-by-pitch and Lance Zawadzki walked. Loewen's two-out double off the left field wall scored both runners to give New Hampshire the win. Three Fisher Cats relievers combined to toss five scoreless innings in relief of Casey Lawrence, who was making his first Double-A start of the season.
Ryan Tepera (10-8) worked the bottom of the eighth and ninth to earn the win. Evan Crawford allowed two singles in the bottom of the tenth but finished up for his first save with some help from a diving Lance Zawadzki who took a hit away from Reading's Troy Hanzawa on a grounder to end the game.
New Hampshire scored the first run of the game in the top of the first inning. Andy Burns doubled, moved to third on a groundout, and scored on a passed ball.
The Fightin Phils tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the second when Kelly Dugan drilled the first pitch of the frame for his ninth home run, the only run allowed by Lawrence in five innings.
Earlier in the day, the Fightin Phils scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning for a 4-2 win. Edgar Duran walked, moved to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a single by Zach Collier. Collier scored on a double by Kelly Dugan.
The Fisher Cats opened the scoring in the top of the first inning. Wilson reached on an error and Burns and Kevin Nolan walked. Loewen grounded into a fielders choice as Wilson scored to make it 1-0. Catcher Pierce Rankin homered in his second at bat of the season for New Hampshire in the top of the fourth inning for a 2-0 lead.
Reading tied the game in the bottom of the fourth inning on a bunt single by Collier and two-run homer by Maikel Franco.
Tyson Brummett (1-6) went the distance in the loss, allowing four hits and four runs. Hector Neris (4-4) retired all seven batters he faced in relief for Reading to earn the win.
The series concludes Sunday afternoon at 1:35 p.m. RHP Deck McGuire (8-9, 5.07) will start for the Fisher Cats against RHP Roy Halladay, who is making an MLB rehab start for the Fightin Phils.


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Red, White & Blue: It's a Grand Old Flag
Here's our guide to using flag decor.
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Three cheers to the red, white, and blue for their stamp on an aesthetic that is truly all-American.
Within the vast area of the United States, decorative syles change from region to region. Seaside homes in New England use maritime objects to establish their whereabouts, while in the country's opposite corner, Mexican-influenced pieces mark the Southwest. But from sea to shining sea, there is one decoration indigenous to all 50 states.
The American flag is synonymous with great style. Ralph Lauren wove the stars and stripes into his coveted sweaters. Jasper Johns famously painted the flag on a piece of plywood. For years, it's been a pop culture honor for the recording artist chosen to belt the anthem about this star-spangled beauty at the Super Bowl. Neighborhoods are dotted with USA's symbol come Fourth of July. But don't let your tribute to Old Glory stop on the front porch for that one day in the summer. Plenty of interior spaces and merchandise have reaped the style perks from the stars and stripes.
A 48-star flag commands a salute in this family room, painted marine blue. Needlepoint star pillows top the comfy seating pieces.
Blue-and-white rugs are casually overlapped, New England style, in this living room furnished with white slipcovered love seats. An arch-shaped niche is the perfect spot to display an antique version of Old Glory.
Twin four-poster beds show their patriotism with mismatched pillows that rest on top of white linens.
Another guest bedroom borrows its scheme, perhaps, from nautical equipment. An American flag drapes over a life preserver hung on the wall. Over iron beds, vintage spreads get a colorful lift with decorative pillows in plaid and flag-embellished fabrics. Blue-and-white-striped panels hang over the window.
This lake house begs for guests ready to celebrate Independence Day. Celebratory swags decorate the generously sized porch.
Red-and-white-striped cushions on outdoor furniture take color and pattern direction from the flag overhead.
Painted red armchairs with cushions made of a mini-flag print are inspired by an American flag that stretches the wall of a porch that overlooks the Atlantic Ocean from the Massachusetts shoreline.
Under the eaves of a historic New England colonial home, wallpaper depicting rows of books and a ceiling sprinkled with gold stars nod to the colors and design of the flag, even without its presence.
A quilted pillow offers a folk-art presentation with coordinating mini-prints used to piece together this American icon.
Decadent fruit bars are ready for a Fourth of July party with the addition of mini flags poked into their icing-topped crusts.
For patriots who are collectors, Americana from artwork and fans to books and buttons gives new meaning to "country style."
Decorative balls are striped and star-spangled in an antique wood tray.
Inspired by a red, white, and blue palette, a wall was carved with spaces to sleep six grandchildren. A curtain that stretches across each bed niche provides privacy.
Tufted and embellished with fringe, a curvy slipper chair; www.frenchlaundry.com
The Sidecar, price available upon request from Moore & Giles [1-800-737-0169]
This beautifully crafted bar cart, The Sidecar by Moore and Giles, is a great way to store liquor, glassware, bar tools, and anything else needed to complete your own miniature bar. The cart, made of Virginia black walnut, birch, leather, aluminum, and brass, is wheeled to make sure the party can travel with you. Perfect for drink-lovers without the space for a full bar.


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Elizabeth Chesick Recognized with 2012 AAPT Distinguished Service Citation
Chesick earned her B.A. in physics at Wellesley College and her M.S. in physics at Tufts University, specializing in high energy and particle physics, before taking a position as Physics and Geometry Teacher at Day Prospect Hill School in New Haven, CT. In 1963 she moved to The Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr where she taught Physics and Physical Science and ended her professional career as Chair of the Science Department. During this time Chesick spent nine years teaching physic in the ninth grade with great success. Her expertise as a teacher has been recognized with the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Math Teaching for Pennsylvania (1988) and the Rosamond Cross Chair for Excellence in Teaching (The Baldwin School, 1997).
A member of AAPT since 1959, Chesick has served as Section Representative, Vice President, and President of Southeastern Pennsylvania Section of AAPT. She served as Chair of the AAPT Committee on Professional Concerns, the Committee on International Education and as a member of Nominating Committee, Programs Committee, Membership and Benefits Committee, Finance Committee, and Awards Committee. She has also served on the Area Committee on Minorities in Physics, Committee on the Interests of Senior Physicists, and the Committee on Physics in Pre-College Education. She co-authored "The Role, Education, Qualifications, and Professional Development of Secondary School Physics Teachers," an AAPT publication.
She represented AAPT as an official delegate to the 1986 International Conference on Physics Education in Tokyo and to the US/Japan/China Conferences on Physics Education in 1989, 1991, and 1993.
Chezick has served as a Physics Teacher Resource Agent (PTRA) at the inception of the program, mentoring and leading her colleagues. In 2008 she was elected as the AAPT At Large High School Representative on the AAPT Executive Board, serving until 2011.
About the Distinguished Service Citation
About AAPT
For more information: Contact Marilyn Gardner, Director of Communications, email@example.com, (301) 209-3306, (301) 209-0845 (Fax), www.aapt.org.


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Robert Clarence Irwin was born on December 1, 2003 and the abundance of energy he brings to Australia Zoo is contagious!
At only 13 years old, Robert is a chip off the old block, and with his cheeky grin and natural curiosity, he loves nothing more than catching lizards and skinks, learning about wildlife and the Australian bush, and hanging out with his much-loved sister, Bindi. His hobbies include mountain biking, paleontology and photography.
Like his mum and sister, Robert has also been quite the jetsetter and travelled all over the world attending special events like the Emmys and the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards as well as many trips to incredible natural locations to explore environments and wildlife around the world.
Robert travelled to South Africa in 2009 for an exciting filming project, making his cameo appearance, alongside star sister Bindi in the full-length feature film Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove.
Both Wildlife Warriors, Bindi and Robert received the 'Biggest Greenies' award at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards in 2009, dedicating it to their dad Steve and the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve (SIWR) in Cape York. This was topped off by their induction into the "Hall of Slime" in 2011.
Every year, Robert is stoked to be a part of the annual Australia Zoo crocodile research trip on the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve in far north Queensland, helping the experienced croc team catch and tag crocodiles with tracking devices before releasing them back into the wild. Robert is super keen to learn all he can about the natural behaviours and migratory patterns of these modern-day dinosaurs!
Australia Day 2012 was a very exciting day for Robert, as he publically fed Australia Zoo's American alligators for the first time, much to the delight of zoo guests. This was followed by a significant milestone on his 10th birthday in December 2013, when Robert fed his very first saltwater croc in Australia Zoo's world-famous Crocoseum which he continues to do today!
Robert has also co-created his own popular book series: "Robert Irwin: Dinosaur Hunter" for which he completed the illustrations.
In November 2013, Robert, Terri and Bindi earned the greatest reward ever when after campaigning for seven years, the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve - a special conservation property dedicated to Steve - was finally declared safe from mining by the Queensland State Government.
In 2013, Robert starred alongside Terri and Bindi in Steve Irwin's Wildlife Warriors, which was nominated for a prestigious 2013 TV Week Logie Award. That same year Robert was nominated for a Logie for ?Most Popular New Talent?.
2014 and 2015 marked another significant milestone for Robert. He co-hosted his very own first TV series called Wild But True, airing on the Discovery Kids Channel throughout South East Asia and the Discovery Kids Channel on Foxtel in Australia. Following on in his dad?s footsteps, the TV series about bio-mimicry allows Robert to share his passion for wildlife and conservation with the world. His work throughout the series even earned him an Emmy nomination in 2016!
In his 13th year, Robert continues to travel around the world with his family visiting locations from the African savannah, to the mountains of New Zealand, cities and wilderness in America and Europe and all throughout the Australian bush while he completes his schooling.
This March was jammed packed with fun. After arriving home from an awesome trip to America, visiting Florida, Texas and Oregon to do some great conservation work, we spent a few days here at my home at Australia Zoo. Then we were heading off...
Read all of Robert's Blogs in the Zoo Club!


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Limiting the price tag of the Missionary Ridge Fire to the $40.8 million cost of suppressing the blaze falls far short of the true financial impact, says the man who gathered numbers for a report by a Colorado State University professor.
The best reckoning of overall cost suppression, rehabilitation and financial impacts comes to $152.8 million, says Steve Kelly, a retired U.S. Forest Service employee.
Until his team went to work in 2004, no attempt had been made to set a value on hidden or indirect costs such as lost sales, wages and sales tax, the value of food and gifts to firefighters by appreciative townspeople and merchants, uninsured property loss and post-fire water treatment, said Kelly, who today lives in Cortez.
No one had done a detailed analysis of the total cost of the Missionary Ridge Fire, said Kelly, who spent seven months in 2004 gathering data. He talked to about 100 people.
The report by CSU professor Kurt Mackes appeared in the Journal of Testing and Evaluation.
We did the report using only verifiable figures to show what the real cost was, Kelly said. We wanted to encourage people to do preparatory work so the next fire wont be so severe.
The peripheral costs are divided among three categories suppression, rehabilitation and impact, Kelly said.
Among uncalculated direct, or suppression costs, were insured and uninsured property loss, Small Business Association loans, saleable timber burned, American Red Cross aid, destroyed La Plata Electric Association power lines and what the National Guard spent on personnel, helicopter and truck rental, and travel reimbursement.
Insured property loss (56 residences, 27 outbuildings) came to $17.7 million. Grants and loans for uninsured property loss reached $7 million.
These indirect costs push the price of suppression to $90.2 million instead of $40.8 million.
Post-fire rehabilitation short- and long-term tree planting, debris-flow hazard mapping and archaeological site restoration adds $8.6 million.
Among impact costs a total of $50.4 million are intangibles such as lost sales and property taxes, the lost income of businesses (including the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and hotels and motels); lost campground fees and grazing permits; lost payroll receipts; and later, the cost of controlling non-native plants and repairing roads and culverts.
A special-value impact of $3.2 million was put on the life of the firefighter killed by a falling tree.
Kelly said the last number comes from formulas on risk to life and health calculated by W.K. Viscusi of Duke University.


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Lady Gaga urges Madonna to 'push me against a wall and kiss me' and end feud
Lady Gaga wants to kiss and make up with long-time rival Madonna.
Lady Gaga has urged Madonna to "push me up against a wall and kiss me" to end their long-running feud.
The Poker Face singer opens up her life in new biopic Gaga: Five Foot Two, in which she discusses the highs and lows of her career. Her long-running feud with the Queen of Pop has seen Gaga frequently hit headlines over the years, but the star is now keen to put the rivalry behind her once and for all.
"I'm Italian and from New York, so if I have a problem, I'm gonna tell you to your face," she addressed Madonna while talking to the camera in the biopic. She then added: "I just want Madonna to push me up against a wall, kiss me and tell me I'm a piece of s**t."
The regular comparisons between Gaga and Madonna is what has caused friction between the pair and led them to criticise each other in interviews - especially after the singer was accused of ripping off Madonna's Express Yourself with her 2011 track Born This Way.
But Gaga also appeared to have tried to call time on the feud last December (16), when she praised her rival for the rousing female empowerment speech she gave at the Billboard Women in Music Awards.
"@Madonna your speech at the Billboard Music Awards was inspiring," she tweeted. "You're so brave & strong. Thanks for being that for us girls we need that."
Gaga's documentary will also see her discuss her split from fiance Taylor Kinney. The breakdown of their relationship is documented in the biopic, with the singer telling viewers: "Me and Taylor are fighting, so that sucks. My threshold for bulls**t with men is just - I don't have one anymore. In relationships, you have to move together."
She also appeared to hint that her success had been responsible for the end of her engagement, while comparing the romance to her former relationships with Matthew "Matty Dada" Williams, who she dated before finding fame, and former bar manager Luc Carl, who she dated between 2005 and 2011.
"My love life has just imploded," she moaned. "I sold 10 million (records) and lost Matt. I sold 30 million and lost Luc. I did a movie (A Star is Born, with Bradley Cooper) and lost Taylor. It's like a turnover. This is the third time I've had my heart broken like this."
Gaga has since found love with agent Christian Carino.
Belfast Telegraph Digital


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Spa Trail Card is a discount card, NOT a gift card. To purchase a Resort Gift Card, please click here.


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Monday, April 11, 2011
The Dogs of Venice
19 comments:
and what a cute meower it is at that...ReplyDelete
What a clever post --- and how observant in your art travels around Venice to see this obvious motif which I have never noticed !ReplyDelete
LOVE the painting of the dog listening to music. Pets make very good audiences. My 3 cats all like to be in the room when I'm practicing the harp. Sometimes they even like to try to balance on my left leg when I'm playing, though it kinda messes with my phrasing when they dig in their claws...ReplyDelete
Great post! I had to write an essay and spent a semester studying the architectural ideas of Ruskin. One thing him and I had in common was that we both enjoyed the works of JMW Turner! That's where it ended.ReplyDelete
I did notice in Venice that so many stores and shops had their own dog and I loved that aspect of this city.
Thanks for sharing the art! I went to the Academia but we were lead by my professor so I missed these great and amusing pieces!
Loving your blog!
Wow. I love all of the Canine artworks, Thanks for sharing! So now we can "Take our Dogs to Italy," right?ReplyDelete
What? No Dog masks?? What kind of carnival is that!
Oh, that little cat in Burano is wonderful! Such luck that you got to go to Burano to catch him--such a colorful spot to venture off to! I love Burano. Did you happen to go into the restaurant with all the paintings covering every wall everywhere? It was a magical place.ReplyDelete
I just wanted to say I once witnessed a man jump into a Venetian canal to save an elderly woman's dog. He climbed out, grabbed the dog and ran to a public fountain to try to wash the germs off both of them... the lady followed, sobbing and crying "thank you, thank you" in Italian. It was quite a drama! They do love their dogs and apparently will risk their health to prove it!ReplyDelete
I actually did see quite a few cats when I went to Venice in October(although come to think of it a lot of them were around Burano). But did snap a photo of one of the prettiest kitties I've ever seen right outside my hotelReplyDelete
The mystery of the missing cats - a case for Commissario Brunetti? LOVED this post as a dog-spotter myself, and have just spent a happy time (when I should be working) linking to all your Paris dog posts!ReplyDelete
'DOG SPOTTER'ReplyDelete
! ! !
Oh thank you Karen @ Pas Grand-Chose.
Now I have found my true calling, just like Train Spotters and Extra Terrestial Spotters.
I can rest easy.
I did notice in Venice that so many stores and shops had their own dog and I loved that aspect of this city.ReplyDelete
Thanks for sharing the art!


text:
Mirror, Mirror, the new adaptation of Snow White directed by Tarsem Singh (Immortals), stars Julia Roberts as the evil Queen, Lily Collins as Snow White and Armie Hammer as the charming Prince Alcott. The film is slight but fun, which just might be enough to lure tween girls away from The Hunger Games.
Here are three good reasons why you should go see it:
Julia Roberts is royally evil
Sure, Roberts has flirted with her naughty side before (see: Duplicity, Closer or Larry Crowne – on second thought, dont see Larry Crowne) – but now she"s letting her witch flag fly. As Mirror Mirror"s vain Queen, she"s manipulative, spoiled and cruel, locking Snow White in her room, starving her subjects and employing black magic when she doesn"t get her way. The role is a tad campy and Roberts"s faux-British accent shaky, but the actress wins points for boldly taking on a part that casts her as beautiful but aging.
The costumes are jaw-dropping
Hey, I wouldn"t mention them if they weren"t fantastic. From the seven dwarves" clever accordion stilts to Snow"s swan dress (including swan-head fascinator) to the Queen"s how-does-she-get-through-the-doorway ball gowns – all by designer Eiko Ishioka, who sadly died last January – there"s always a visually arresting ensemble onscreen. Plus, if you think Armie Hammer looked hot as Harvard twins in The Social Network, wait until you see him in royal regalia as Prince Alcott.
It"s silly fun
Between The Hunger Games and Bully (also opening this weekend), there"s a lot of heavy competition at the box office. Mirror Mirror doesn"t begin to take itself seriously. Plus, all of the actors seem like they"re having a grand time, including Nathan Lane as the Queen"s gutless henchman, Brighton; the delightful actors playing the protective, sweet dwarves; and Hammer doing his best dull-witted hunk. Even the ethereally beautiful Collins holds her own as a modern Snow White, who grows from simpering miss to saucy outlaw, not content to be rescued by any prince … not even one as cute as Alcott.
Mirror Mirror opens Friday.


text:
EA Mobile Games has released a video teaser highlighting eleven (if my count is right) gaming titles that will be heading to the Nokia Windows Phones. We first heard about the exclusive partnership during Nokia World and again during the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show.
The titles spotted in the minute long video include:
- Tiger Woods PGA Tour
- Monopoly
- Spy Mouse
- Yahtzee
- The Game of Life
- Spy Mouse
- Vampire Rush
- Mirrors Edge
- SIMS Medieval
- Parking Mania
- 2 Real Racing
- Picnic Wars.
The video doesn't show much of each title but just enough to spark your interest. Nokia is due to have over twenty titles for an exclusive period available for their Lumia Windows Phones. It will be interesting to see what the remaining titles will be.
source: YouTube; Thanks, pedenske, for the tip!
Update: Additional upcoming titles from EA Games include:
- Madden 12
- NBA Jam
- Dead Space
- Bejeweled 2
- Connect 4
- Risk
- Trivial Pursuit
- Bop It!
We've got an all out discussion on these titles over in the forums that you can find here.


text:
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text:
Cubs 3, Padres 2
Jeff Samardzija knew what Cubs manager Dale Sveum was doing by
not visiting the mound in the eighth inning.
Sveum left Samardzija on his own when he wriggled out of two
bases-loaded jams in the inning, and the Cubs beat the San Diego
Padres 3-2 Saturday night.
"Me and Dale might have had a meeting if he would have taken me
out right down there in the dugout," Samardzija joked. "But
that's what Dale is all about. Dale is all about putting confidence
in players. There are a lot of under the radar things he does that
puts confidence in his players. He did it for me there, too. He
didn't even have a mound visit or anything. As a player, that says
a lot."
Said Sveum about his decision: "He bared down and got two huge
outs. That's why you leave a guy like that in the game."
In his second straight solid outing, Samardzija (8-11) limited
the damage to one run in the decisive eighth when the Padres twice
loaded the bases and cut the lead to one run.
Darwin Barney homered and drove in two runs for Chicago, which
broke a four-game losing streak. In the Cubs' last eight games,
their only two wins have come in Samardzija's starts.
"Tip my hat to Barney, too, for giving me those two runs,"
Samardzija said. "When you have a two-run cushion instead of one,
it helps."
Trailing 3-1 heading into the eighth inning, pinch-hitter Mark
Kotsay led off with a walk and went to second on Will Venable's
single. The Padres loaded the bases when Alexi Amarista's sacrifice
bunt attempt hugged the third base line but stayed fair for a
Yonder Alonso followed with a sacrifice fly. But Samardzija got
rookie Jedd Gyorko on a fly out. After a passed ball, Samardzija
intentionally walked Chase Headley to load the bases. He then
struck out Logan Forsythe to end the inning.
"I thought from their standpoint, (Samardzija) is their guy,"
Padres manager Bud Black said. "He was throwing the ball well. He
wobbled a little bit there but he hung in there and threw
Samardzija allowed two runs on seven hits. The right-hander
struck out seven and walked two.
Samardzija threw a six-hitter in his last start, an 11-1 win
over Washington last Sunday.
The light-hitting Barney, who had three hits, connected for a
solo shot in the fifth inning and added a go-ahead RBI double in
the Cubs' two-run seventh.
Barney, hitting .221, equaled his career high with his seventh
homer and first since July 14.
Kevin Gregg pitched the ninth for his 26th save in 30
Eric Stults (8-11), winless in his last seven starts, gave up
three runs on six hits in 6 1-3 innings. The lefty is 0-4 since his
last win on July 14.
The Cubs went ahead 2-1 in the seventh after a leadoff walk to
Darnell McDonald. With one out, Barney hit a ball into the left
field corner. As McDonald rounded third, Forsythe took the relay
throw on the grass just behind third base.
But Forsythe's throw sailed high into the stands behind home
plate, allowing Barney to go to third. Anthony Rizzo followed with
a two-out RBI single.
Barney homered with one out in the fifth inning, his seventh, to
give the Cubs a 1-0 lead. The ball just barely cleared the left
field wall, landing in the first row.
Venable tied the score 1-all with his 19th home run in the
sixth. Venable, who extended his career high with his homer and had
three hits, has hit safely in 19 of 20 games.
NOTES: Fourteen of Venable's 19 homers have come at pitching
friendly Petco Park. … Stults was the first lefty starter the
Cubs have faced in 16 games. … Barney's home run was Chicago's
400th extra-base hit this season. The Cubs have 403, tops in the
NL. … Padres OF-1B Kyle Blanks, on the DL since July 12 with left
Achilles inflammation, will play in a rehab game Sunday with
Triple-A Tucson. … Cubs C Welington Castillo (sore rib) missed
his third straight start but is expected back in the lineup on
Sunday. … Cubs LHP Chris Rusin (2-3, 3.08 ERA) faces Padres
righty Andrew Cashner (8-8, 3.74) in Sunday's finale.


text:
DODGE CITY — Motorcycle enthusiasts in Dodge City are hoping to rev up a 100-year-old tradition next year.
The Dodge City 300 motorcycle race drew 17,000 people to Dodge City in 1914 and more than 20,000 in 1921. Dodge City historian Roger Burnett says the race was the premier event of motorcycle racing at the time.
The Hutchinson News reports (http://bit.ly/11mAWjy) the Dodge City motorcycle community is organizing a weeklong event next July to mark the race's 100th anniversary. It will include motorcycle displays music, fireworks and — of course — motorcycle races.
The organizers are working to raise funds, with plans to bring in businesses like Harley-Davidson and Indian Motorcycle, both of which were involved in the original races. Main Street Dodge City and area businesses are also supporting the event.


text:
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text:
When your on a first date and the bitch your with decides to crank it up a notch, jumps on top of you, wraps her legs around your waist, visciously inserts her tongue into the back of your esophagus, all while dry humping the hell out of your dong.
"Ah man, last night me and Shannon were watchin this movie and then out of no where she jumped on top of me and began Straddle Blasting the fuck outta me!"
by Daniel, Jordan, Christian, Taylor and Chase. November 13, 2007


text:
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) - South Carolina's health and environmental department is offering the public a chance to comment on the agency's regulations.
The Department of Health and Environmental Control on Monday begins a series of public meetings. The first gathering is happening in Greenville. There is another meeting Tuesday in Columbia, and a third discussion is taking place Wednesday in North Charleston.
Last month, Gov. Nikki Haley said South Carolina needs to get rid of government rules that hamper businesses and created an 11-member task force to review regulations and make recommendations on which ones to throw out or alter.
The order also requires her 16 Cabinet agencies to report their suggestions to the task force by mid-May. DHEC says it is taking public comments for consideration before preparing the agency's report.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


text:
Breaking News from City Hall:
Christmas is back.
Mayor Nutter, after sustaining two days of controversy, wants "Christmas" back up on the signs at the entrance to the German Christmas Village at City Hall. Nutter told PhillyClout he spoke with the village organizer and the sign should be back up by tomorrow.
Nutter said the decision came after "personal reflection" on the matter.
"We are an international, multi-ethnic, multi-faith city," Nutter said. "I took some time to step back from all of this to think about it in a larger context."
Nutter, who said he had nothing to do with the orignal conversations with the organizer that lead to the letters being removed, downplayed how much impact the national news coverage had on the decision. Nutter said that he felt the village was not necessarily a religious site.
"The Christmas Village is not a religious service. It's an outdoor fair. It's a very commercial enterprise," Nutter said.
The tempest in a holiday teapot kicked off Monday when workers were spotted taking the word Christmas off the archways into the traditional German Christmas Village outside City Hall in Dilworth Plaza. The organizer took down the word after Managing Director Richard Negrin told him the city had received complaints.
In a statement yesterday, Thomas Bauer of the German American Marketing, Inc., said the move was in "response to what the Managing Director of the City of Philadelphia asked for."
Negrin said that he never specifically asked for the word to be removed, but talked with Bauer about the complaints.
"He's a great guy who saw a problem, who was trying to help me," Negrin said.


text:
< Stardust
Revision as of 05:55, 28 June 2013 by Simone.seurer.sungard.com (Talk | contribs)
Milestone Builds for Upcoming Releases
At the moment no milestone builds for upcoming releases available.
Online Update Site
The easiest way to install Stardust 1.0 is via the official Eclipse Update Site.
Offline Update Site
If you prefer to download offline update sites and install from these, you can use the following URLs instead:
- Stardust 1.0 for Eclipse 4.3 (Kepler) available
- Stardust 1.0 SR1 (coming in September 2013)
- Stardust 1.0 SR2 (coming in February 2014)
Terms and Conditions
All software is provided under the terms and conditions of the Eclipse Foundation Software User Agreement


text:
Final Rest Stop
Dan Holm 7/12/2004 10:01:45 AMExcellent shot, excellent presentation, Heather! It's rich in interesting detail and color! #147139
Marcie A. Fowler 7/12/2004 10:02:15 AMBeautifully done. Love the colors!! #644016
Paul C. Gazzanigo 7/12/2004 10:26:01 AMBeautiful, Heather! #644044
Donna J. Taff 7/12/2004 11:08:59 AMVery beautiful, Heather!!!!! #644114
Kristen McKain 7/12/2004 2:01:17 PMgorgeous!!! #644264
Robin L. Wehrman 7/12/2004 2:26:15 PMOutstanding shot Heather! awesome colors and a great find!!!! #644292
Dale Ann Cubbage 7/12/2004 3:38:17 PMGreat shot, I love what you've done with it. Very interesting and colorful! #644382
Darren K. Fisher 7/12/2004 7:26:55 PMWOW those colors really pop, and your image so very well composed. #644755
Jill Battaglia 8/14/2004 6:16:18 AMLove it! Congrats Heather! #707963
Louis Hartman 8/14/2004 7:43:05 AMgreat shot #708377
Jennifer Rennison 8/14/2004 8:29:01 AMExcellent image! Congratulations, Heather! #708607
Deborah Sandidge 8/14/2004 8:40:35 AMBeautiful and creative, congratulations, Heather! #708712
Kelly Abernathy 8/14/2004 9:54:37 AMCongratulations! -K #709142
Murry Grigsby 8/14/2004 11:21:45 AMCongrats again Heather! #709557
Donna J. Taff 8/14/2004 12:33:03 PMCongratulation's, Heather!!!!! #709915
Karen Engelbreth 8/14/2004 10:56:49 PMCongratulations Heather! #711119
Robin L. Wehrman 8/16/2004 6:02:28 AMCongratulations to you Heather on your win!! #714331
Jim Kinnunen 3/16/2005 11:21:18 PMWonderful image Heather! #1183459
Karen Engelbreth 3/31/2005 12:15:00 AMBig congrats on your POTD, Heather! #1218330
Anette Linnea Rasmussen 3/31/2005 12:17:04 AMGreat job Heather, love it!
Best wishes, Linnea #1218332
Costas Partassides 3/31/2005 12:17:36 AMcongrats on your photo of the day ! nice saturated colors ! #1218333
Siete Meeter 3/31/2005 12:17:54 AMgreat shot
Dan Holm 3/31/2005 12:20:15 AMAwesome shot, Heather!! Congratulations on your POTD!! #1218338
Bill Houghton 3/31/2005 12:21:42 AMGreat shot Heather. Congratulations on your win. Bill #1218340
Carris Prior 3/31/2005 1:43:45 AMhey great job! did you digitaly fix that? if so i'd love ot see the original #1218397
Carolyn J. Connolly 3/31/2005 1:58:57 AMExcellent POTD image, Heather - sincere congratulations! :-) Did you consider re-entering it for this month's theme! It would be perfect! ;-) #1218398
Cindy K. Bracken 3/31/2005 2:47:31 AMThis is wonderful, Heather! Love the color.
Claudia Kuhn 3/31/2005 4:11:17 AMCongrats Heather on your potd here!! #1218665
Scott Pedersen 3/31/2005 4:27:45 AMCool photo. #1218730
Linda D. Lester 3/31/2005 4:32:53 AMI would also love to see a before and after! The colors are awesome! Great job, Heather #1218747
Dolores Neilson 3/31/2005 4:43:10 AMCongrats Ms. Heather! Great seeing it again!! #1218798
Laura Clay-Ballard 3/31/2005 5:39:14 AMThat polarizer really did the trick! You took an old truck and turned it into a piece of art. Great shot. And congrats on potd #1218912
Heather K. McFarland 3/31/2005 5:53:19 AMThanks for your kind comments folks! Yes I did re-enter this for the theme contest this month!
This was shot in RAW mode, Nikkor 28mm, 1/20 sec at F14, Cokin Blue/Gold Polarizer. For post processing I did curve adjustment and then used Craig Minielly's photoshop action called shadow soft and painted back the detail in the truck only. You can purchase Craig's outstanding actions at - http://www.craigsactions.com
Some of you wanted to see the original so here it is. #1218936
Heather K. McFarland 3/31/2005 5:54:22 AMFirst time didn't work like it used to. Trying again #1218941
Jennifer Byard 3/31/2005 5:59:55 AMWow! Those colors really pop! Great work. #1218966
Danilo Piccioni 3/31/2005 6:19:45 AMFantastic Heather! I am really impressed with your gallery! and Congratulations on this POTD!
Michelle Lea Guinn 3/31/2005 6:31:35 AMWonderful photo, and Congratulations on your POTD!!! mlg #1219116
Claudette Foote 3/31/2005 6:40:14 AMHeather wonderful photo.... WOW..... love the color.... #1219151
Lori Carlson 3/31/2005 6:44:16 AMThank you for sharing all that Heather!
Nancy Donnell 3/31/2005 6:57:48 AMOooh, I love shooting at junkyard, rusty things, and old cars. What a find. Your colors are wonderful, Heather! Way to go!
Ruben L. Wade 3/31/2005 7:05:27 AMBeautiful! May I get to be as creative and talented with a camera as you. CONGRATS on a great Picture. #1219222
Kay Beausoleil 3/31/2005 7:33:12 AMAn eye-catching POTD, Heather -- congratulations, and good luck for this month's contest! #1219283
Leanne M.E. Boyd 3/31/2005 8:10:58 AMCongratulations Heather, on your POTD! Excellent work! #1219353
Wendy Stevenson 3/31/2005 9:38:29 AMGreat find and super shot Heather!! Congrats on your POTD!!! #1219536
Kathleen R. Struckle 3/31/2005 10:03:47 AMAwesome image Heather,wonderful color! Congrats on POTD!! #1219586
Rhonda Journeay 3/31/2005 10:32:24 AMBeautifully done...congratulations! #1219630
Evy Johansen 3/31/2005 11:59:50 AMLove this image! Big congratulations on your well deserved POTD, Heather! #1219814
Kathleen K. Parker 3/31/2005 2:24:43 PMCongratulations, Heather!!!
Mary L. Lemley 3/31/2005 3:23:56 PMI now have a "thing" for rusty, old, and copper patina!!!!!! This is a WOW shot especially with color-popping! My pic of friend's old dump-truck, with foliage growing around it was something I entered but lacking the pop of this. Also, thank-you very much for helping solve my gallery glich!!! HELLO MARY LEMLEY, TRY REFRESH BUTTON NOW AND AGAIN!!LOL!!!! #1220161
Janet Kinney 3/31/2005 4:44:41 PMgreat shot and thanks for sharing how you did it. #1220278
Greg McCroskery 3/31/2005 5:55:27 PMCongratulations and great work, Heather! I love the subject, setting, and your wonderful treatment of this excellent image!
Ed Heaton 3/31/2005 6:05:02 PMNice work Heather,
Matic Kuder 4/1/2005 1:20:45 AMGreat work! I love it!
Alice Fugate 4/1/2005 5:23:10 AMI love looking for the "nostalgic look" as I'm going down the road here. It always brings back the memories from home. You did that with this picture. Love It! Congrats on POTD!!!!!
Donna La Mattino Pagakis 4/1/2005 8:28:52 PMNicely done Heather, congratulations!! #1222905
Jeff Robinson 4/21/2005 5:11:09 AMOutstanding work Heather! Congrats. Jeff #1274114
Candy Jones 4/21/2005 7:27:50 AMCongrats! I knew this one would make it in, it was one of my fav's! :-) #1275106
Danilo Piccioni 4/21/2005 8:33:22 AMCongratulations on this FANTASTIC finalist! #1275657
Dan Holm 4/21/2005 11:11:54 PMCongratulations on your WIN, Heather! #1279093
Jordi Delgado 4/22/2005 12:47:15 AMConfratulations, Heather!! Fantastic shot!!
:-)) #1279250
Diane Dupuis 4/22/2005 5:42:57 AMCongrats! #1280164
Murry Grigsby 4/22/2005 6:33:33 AMCongrats again on another win Heather!! :0) #1280382
Jim Kinnunen 4/22/2005 7:55:24 AMCongrats on this well deserved win, Heather! :-) #1280689
Tom Andersen 4/22/2005 8:47:06 AMCongratulations on another 1st Place win, Heather! Wonderful image! #1280835
Piotr M. Organa 4/22/2005 10:08:32 AMWow! Two big winners!!!
Kay Beausoleil 4/22/2005 10:17:41 AMSo happy for your win, Heather -- congratulations! #1281182
Jennifer Rennison 4/22/2005 10:51:57 AMCongratulations on your first place win, Heather! #1281293
Cathy Barrows 4/22/2005 2:06:59 PMCongrats on your win!...wow a twofer #1281831
Wendy Stevenson 4/22/2005 2:22:32 PMCongratulations Heather on this excellent theme win!!! And congratulations on your two FIRST PLACE wins!!! Spectacular!! #1281898
Karen Engelbreth 4/22/2005 2:28:34 PMCongrats on your win, Heather! #1281920
Joline Frazier 4/22/2005 3:02:41 PMCongratulations again. This is a beautiful piece of history. The effects are lovely. #1281978
Allan L. Whitehead 4/23/2005 5:31:16 AMWOW, two (2) first place wins. Magnificently done Heather , congratulations on your wonderful win in March's contest, it's richly deserved, my friend - your friend, Allan #1283279
Allan L. Whitehead 4/23/2005 5:31:17 AMWOW, two (2) first place wins. Magnificently done Heather , congratulations on your wonderful win in March's contest, it's richly deserved, my friend - your friend, Allan #1283280
Kristen McKain 4/23/2005 7:25:33 AMCongrats to you, Heather. #1283629
Carolyn J. Connolly 4/23/2005 11:01:47 AMMANY congratulations on your First Place win with this excellent image, Heather - it's VERY deserved! :-) #1284212
Noel Baebler 4/23/2005 4:45:43 PMCongratulations, Heather! Terrific rust! #1284723
Leonard Pierce 4/24/2005 7:36:37 AMcongrats #1286531
Janet L. Skinner 4/24/2005 7:38:30 AMCONGRATULATIONS on this excellent first place win, Heather!!!!!!!!! #1286542
Dolores Neilson 4/26/2005 3:33:21 AM:) #1292003
Joel M. Hanger 4/29/2005 9:57:54 AMGreat Job! My dad had a truck just like this and he had named her Elmira! How awesome!!! Great job! and congratulations! #1303862
Melody Molinaro 5/20/2005 8:40:42 AMI LOVE the colors in this! Great work! #1371923
Marthie L. Bredenkamp 6/30/2005 6:41:01 AMCONGRATULATIONS on this first place win, Heather #1538924
Found this old truck while traveling through Elmira, MI. Nikkor 28mm, 1/20 sec at F14, Cokin Blue/Gold Polarizer.
Uploaded on 7/12/2004 8:05:03 AM
Camera: Nikon D1X Digital SLR Camera
Copyright for this gallery photo belongs solely to Heather K. McFarland. Images may not be copied, downloaded, or used in any way without the expressed, written permission of the photographer.
Contact photographer via gallery.
Log in to follow or message this photographer or report this photo.


text:
WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. — This beautiful pure bred German shepherd recently was surrendered to the SPCA of Westchester with his canine companion after his elderly owner went into a nursing home.
Lucky is very stressed but also very loving and just confused as to how he ended up at the shelter.
He gets along with his canine companion but does not love all other dogs, so he'd have to meet your dog to ensure they are compatible.
Overall, Lucky would love to just have a warm home to spend his golden years where he feels safe and secure.
If you would like to give Lucky a home, visit the website or contact:
SPCA of Westchester 590 N. State Road Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510
The SPCA is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays. No appointment is necessary.
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