Invader

Invader

This picture was once again taken in Trinity College. The photo was processed to create soft or glamour look by applying Gaussian blur on a duplicated layer and changing its blend mode and opacity. These insects seems to be stuck there and not moving. It may have been caused by a sticky liquid produce by either the big insects, the green insects or the rose.

A pest is an organism which has characteristics that are regarded as injurious or unwanted. This is most often because it causes damage to agriculture through feeding on crops or parasitising livestock, such as codling moth on apples, or boll weevil on cotton.

The term pest may be used to refer specifically to harmful animals but is also often taken to mean all harmful organisms including insects, weeds, mites, fungi and viruses. Pesticides are chemicals that are used to control or protect other organisms from pests.

It is possible for an animal to be a pest in one setting but beneficial or domesticated in another (for example, European rabbits introduced to Australia caused ecological damage beyond the scale they inflicted in their natural habitat). The Western honey bee, one of the most beneficial of all insects, is itself a pest when it escapes into the wild in the Western Hemisphere, where it is not native (e.g., "killer bees"). Many weeds are also seen as useful under certain conditions, for instance Patterson's curse is often valued as food for bees and as a wildflower, even though it can poison livestock.

Deep In Touch

Deep In Touch

This yellow rose, exposing its opening petals shows a typical yet a strong image of freshness and complexity in the picture. Taken in the Trinity College and processed in photoshop to create its exotic shadows and deep colours.

Pray

Pray

This was taken at my house in Indonesia. My brother was praying to the Heavenly God (Tian Gong) for a blessing for his coming marriage. This photo had been processed to make it black and white while leaving the three oversized joss stick in original colour. The background had also undergoes photoshop new filter, "Lens blur".




Chinese religious belief that predates Taoism and Confucianism, but was later eventually incorporated into both Taoism and Confucianism.

Ancient Chinese believed in a non-corporeal entity called Shangdi, an omnipotent, just, monotheistic supreme God. Over time Shangdi became synonymous with Tian, or Heaven. Worship of Heaven is highly ritualistic, and the emperor has to hold official sacrifices and worship at an altar of heaven, the most famous of which is the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. There are no idols allowed in Heaven worship.

Heaven worship is closedly linked with ancestor veneration, as ancestors are seen as the medium between Heaven and humans. Rulers of China, also known as Sons of Heaven, derived their Mandate of Heaven, and thus legitimacy, from their supposed ability to commune with Heaven on behalf of his nation.

Early Abrahamic missionaries saw similarities between Shangdi/Tian and the Abrahamic God, and therefore translated their God into "Shangdi" in Chinese. Some Chinese Christian scholars assert that the Christian God and Chinese Shangdi are in fact the same entity.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

Yin Yang

Yin Yang

Trinity College does has many interesting flowers, and when its blooming, unique arrangement shows a similar symbol in daily life. The soon to bloom bud and the fully grown flower while seperated by the curvy yet gentle petals hinted this title.

The concepts of Yin and Yang originate in ancient Chinese philosophy and metaphysics, which describes two primal opposing but complementary forces found in all things in the universe.

In Western culture, Yin and Yang are often erroneously portrayed as corresponding to "evil" and "good" respectively. The truth is that neither Yin nor Yang is preferable or morally superior.

1. Yin and Yang do not exclude each other.

Everything has its opposite: although this is never absolute, only relative. No one thing is completely Yin or completely Yang. Each contains the seed of its opposite. For example, winter can turn into summer; "what goes up must come down".

2. Yin and Yang are interdependent.

One cannot exist without the other. For example, day cannot exist without night. Light cannot exist without darkness. Death cannot exist without Life.

3. Yin and Yang can be further subdivided into Yin and Yang.

Any Yin or Yang aspect can be further subdivided into Yin and Yang. For example, temperature can be seen as either hot or cold. However, hot can be further divided into warm or burning; cold into cool or icy. Within each spectrum, there is a smaller spectrum; every beginning is a moment in time, and has a beginning and end, just as every hour has a beginning and end.

4. Yin and Yang consume and support each other.

Yin and Yang are usually held in balance: as one increases, the other decreases. However, imbalances can occur. There are four possible imbalances: excess Yin, excess Yang, Yin deficiency, and Yang deficiency. They can again be seen as a pair: by excess of Yin there is a Yang deficiency and vice versa. The imbalance is also a relative factor: the excess of Yang "forces" Yin to be more "concentrated".

5. Yin and Yang can transform into one another.

At a particular stage, Yin can transform into Yang and vice versa. For example, night changes into day; warmth cools; life changes to death. However this transformation is relative too. Night and day coexist on Earth at the same time when shown from space.

6. Part of Yin is in Yang and part of Yang is in Yin.

The dots in each serve:

1. as a reminder that there are always traces of one in the other. For example, there is always light within the dark (e.g., the stars at night); these qualities are never completely one or the other.
2. as a reminder that absolute extreme side transforms instantly into the opposite, or that the labels Yin and Yang are conditioned by an observer's point of view. For example, the hardest stone is easiest to break. This can show that absolute discrimination between the two is artificial.

7. Forces regain balance with yin-yang curves

Look at curves, where one thing is resolved with another. Our own bodies possess plenty of yin-yang curves, as do the bodies of all other organisms. Yin-yang curves can be internal (part of the physique) or external (part of the trajectory of motion). Select and adapt with curvature.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

Pink Encounter

Pink Encounter

This was once again taken in Trinity College compound. I cannot remember if I had taken this image with the help of my flash light. The white light with the not so gentle shadow from the insect give me the hint. This bee must have been there looking for some nectar and in turn, pollination is helped by the bee. Even with an aperature of 5.6, in such a close up, the focus was turned on the yellow bunch of "bean sprout" and blur on the bee.

Curvature

Curvature

This picture was taken at the outside of the Trinity College Wynne Cottage. The interesting shape from the developing rose give it a pointed and curve blades looking like a chinese yam cha food or some monstrous drill bit. The image has been processed as to show only the gradual changes of the general colours and adding a mixture of contrast in the shadows.

A flower is regarded as a modified stem with shortened internodes and bearing, at its nodes, structures that may be highly modified leaves. In essence, a flower structure forms on a modified shoot or axis with an apical meristem that does not grow continuously (growth is determinate). The stem is called a pedicel, the end of which is the torus or receptacle. The parts of a flower are arranged in whorls on the torus. The four main parts or whorls (starting from the base of the flower or lowest node and working upwards) are as follows:

• Calyx – the outer whorl of sepals; typically these are green, but are petal-like in some species.
• Corolla – the whorl of petals, which are usually thin, soft and colored to attract insects that help the process of pollination.
• Androecium (from Greek andros oikia: man's house) – one or two whorls of stamens, each a filament topped by an anther where pollen is produced. Pollen contains the male gametes.
• Gynoecium (from Greek gynaikos oikia: woman's house) – one or more pistils. The female reproductive organ is the carpel: this contains an ovary with ovules (which contain female gametes). A pistil may consist of a number of carpels merged together, in which case there is only one pistil to each flower, or of a single individual carpel (the flower is then called apocarpous). The sticky tip of the pistil, the stigma, is the receptor of pollen. The supportive stalk, the style becomes the pathway for pollen tubes to grow from pollen grains adhering to the stigma, to the ovules, carrying the reproductive material.

Although the floral structure described above is considered the "typical" structural plan, plant species show a wide variety of modifications from this plan. These modifications have significance in the evolution of flowering plants and are used extensively by botanists to establish relationships among plant species. For example, the two subclasses of flowering plants may be distinguished by the number of floral organs in each whorl: dicotyledons typically having 4 or 5 organs (or a multiple of 4 or 5) in each whorl and monocotyledons having three or some multiple of three. The number of carpels in a compound pistil may be only two, or otherwise not related to the above generalization for monocots and dicots.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

Spade Roller

Spade Roller

This picture will be the last series taken from the Royal Melbourne Show 2006. This is another puke producing machine which will spins you 360 degrees with a up and down motion. There is a total of 3 section supported by the arms.

Cliff Hanger

Cliff Hanger

This picture was taken during the Royal Melbourne Show 2006. People sit on it and this machine will spin you 360 degrees vertical and horizontally. An excellent puke-producing machine. The light bulbs on its arms produce a smooth circular trail of light as it spins. A tripod is needed to produce this kind of picture as a few second exposure is needed and it's not possible to do it handheld without blurring the image.




On 17 January 2004, there was a cliff hanger incident that occurred in Florida. It caused Florida to close all Cliff Hanger Rides until investigation is finished on the structural failure on one of its cliff hanger.

(courtesy rideaccidents.com)

Helical Delirium

Helical Delirium

This photo was again taken at the Royal Melbourne Show 2006. One of the ride was this crazy free turning mobile which will turn in the forward direction and the backward direction too. Plus all the lateral movement. Whatever it was, this ride was scary. This picture was taken at dusk when the sky is not too dark but the optimum dark bluish colour. The discovery of this pattern of light streaks is quite accidental when I had wanted to take the full ride picture with slow shutter speed and noticed the side has these light streaks. I decide move myself and focus on that area. Therefore, it is important to take a while to review the picture you have taken to see if everything is OK and what you really wanted. This picture reminds me of bobsleight due to the almost vertical and bent surface of the "virtual" track.




Bobsleigh is a winter sport in which teams make timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sled. In the United States and Canada the sport is known as bobsled.

The sport of bobsleigh was invented in Switzerland. The first races were run on snow-covered roads, with the opening competition in 1884 at St. Moritz. The first club was formed in 1897, and the first purpose-built track was opened in 1902.

The Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (FIBT) was founded in 1923. Men's four-crew bobsleigh appeared in the first ever Winter Olympic Games in 1924, and men's two-crew bobsleigh was added in 1932. Bobsleigh was not included in the 1960 Winter Olympics, but has been in every Winter Olympics since. Women's bobsleigh started in competition in the early 1990s, and women's two-crew bobsleigh made its Olympic debut at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. Bobsleigh is also contested at World, European, and World Cup championships.

Switzerland and Germany have been the most successful bobsleighing nations over European, World, World Cup, and Olympic championships. The Swiss have won more medals than any other nation, and since the 1990s Germans have been dominant in international competition. Italy, Austria and Canada also have strong bobsleigh traditions.

Ideally, a modern track should be 1200 to 1300 metres long and have at least fifteen curves. Speeds may exceed 130 km/h, and some curves can subject the crews to as much as 5 g.

Modern sleighs combine light metals, steel runners, and an aerodynamic composite body. Competition sleighs must be a maximum of 3.80 m long (4-crew) or 2.70 m long (2-crew). The runners on both are set at 0.67 m gauge. Until the weight-limit rule was added in 1952, bobsleigh crews tended to be very heavy. Now, the maximum weight, including crew, is 630 kg (4-crew), 390 kg (men's 2-crew), or 340 kg (women's 2-crew). Metal weights may be added to reach these limits, as greater weight makes for a faster run.

Bobsleigh crews once consisted of five or six people; they were reduced to two- and four-person sleighs in the 1930s. A crew is made up of a pilot, a brakeman, and, in 4-crew only, two pushers. Athletes are selected based on speed and strength, necessary to push the sleigh to a competitive initial speed at the start of the race. Pilots must have the skill, timing and finesse to drive the sleigh along the best possible line to achieve the greatest possible speed.

Women compete in two-crew events, and men in both two- and four-crew competition.

Runs (lauf) begin from a standing start, with the crew pushing the sled for up to fifty metres before boarding. The runners of the sled follow grooves in the ice for this distance, so steering is unnecessary until after the sleigh exits the starting area. Races can be lost in the initial push but are rarely won there. Over the rest of the course, the sleigh's speed depends on its weight, aerodynamics, and runners; the condition of the ice; and the skill of the driver.

Race times are measured in hundredths of seconds, so any error can have a significant impact on the final race standings. Even small errors make for small decreases in speed and commensurate increases in time. Because any decrease in speed affects the sleigh for the remainder of the course, errors made high on the track will have a greater effect than those made closer to the finish.

The men's and women's standing are calculated over the aggregate of two runs. At the Olympic Winter Games and World Championships, all competitions (for either men or women) consist of 4 heats.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

Radiates

Radiates

Yes, Royal Melbourne Show 2006 nursery. The piglets are cute. Maybe they are so tired after the race that they had an afternoon sleep. Well, in this case a radiating out sleep pattern. Stare at them! Stare at them! How cute they are.



The domestic pig (Sus scrofa domesticus) is usually given the scientific name Sus scrofa, though some authors call it S. domesticus, reserving S. scrofa for the wild boar. It was domesticated approximately 5,000 to 7,000 years ago. Pigs are found across Europe, the Middle East and extend into Asia as far as Indonesia and Japan. The distinction between wild and domestic animals is slight, and domestic pigs have become feral in many parts of the world (for example, New Zealand) and caused substantial environmental damage.

Pigs are one of the oldest forms of livestock, having been domesticated as early as 5000 BC [1]. It is believed to have been domesticated either in the Near East or in China from the Wild Boar. The adaptable nature and omnivorous diet of the Wild Boar allowed early humans to domesticate it much earlier than many other forms of livestock, such as cattle. Pigs were mostly used for food, but people also used their hide for shields, their bones for tools and weapons, and their bristles for brushes.

Pigs are known to be intelligent animals and have been found to be more trainable than dogs or cats. Asian pot-bellied pigs, a smaller subspecies of the domestic pig, have made popular house pets in the United States beginning in the latter half of the 20th century. Regular domestic farmyard pigs have also been known to be kept indoors, but due to their large size and destructive tendencies, they typically need to be moved into an outdoor pen as they grow older. Most pigs also have an extreme fear of being picked up, but will usually calm down once placed back on the floor.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

Less a Poka Skirt

Less a Poka Skirt

This photo was taken at the Royal Melbourne Show 2006. This was at the nursery where there are many small and cute animals and patting is allowed. One of the crowd's main attention was this white lamb. It is cute and had a very soft fur. This girl was trying to take a picture with the lamb when it start to chew on her poka dots skirt. Of course I'm ready to take this picture when especially the addition of the halo ring makes this picture much more interesting.

Polka dot is a pattern consisting of dots. Polka dot patterns are quite variable: they range from a series of dots that are equally spaced and sized to a random arrangement of multicoloured dots of different sizes. Polka dots are most commonly seen on children's clothing, toys, and furniture, but they appear in a wide array of contexts. The pattern rarely appears in formal contexts, however, and is generally confined to more playful attire such as bathing suits. Occasionally white on black regularly spaced polka dots appear on more formal clothing.

While polka dots are ancient, they first became common on clothing in the late nineteenth century in Britain. At the same time polka music was extremely popular and the name was also applied to the pattern, despite no real connection between the two.

There were many other "polka" items some of which included "Polka-hats" and "Polka-jackets." Most disappeared With the fad of actual Polka dance. However only the polka dot fabric pattern remained popular and the name has been left intact over the years.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

Thru's a Cow's Eye

Thru's a Cow's Eye

This photo was taken at the Royal Melbourne Show 2006. There was some cows and a milking stand where I guess there are certain "show" times where they will milk the cow and show the kids where their tetra-packed chilled milk comes from. The milking station looks like a machined milking station. I had went actually wanting to see the racing pig show but I missed it.

Milking is the act of removing milk from the mammary glands of an animal, typically cows (cattle) and goats. A rarely used term for the milking of cows is vaccimulgence, derived from the Latin words vacca ("cow") and emulgere ("to milk out"). Milking is also used to describe the removal of venom from spiders and snakes, for the production of antivenom.

Cows can be milked by hand or by machine.

Hand milking is performed by massaging and pulling down on the teats of the cow's udder, squirting the milk into a bucket.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

Milking machines work in a way that is different from hand milking or calf suckling. Continuous vacuum is applied inside the soft liner to withdraw milk from the teat by creating a pressure difference across the teat canal (or opening at the end of the teat). Vacuum also helps keep the machine attached to the cow. The vacuum applied to the teat causes congestion of teat tissues (accumulation of blood and other fluids). Atmospheric air is admitted into the pulsation chamber about once per second (the pulsation rate), to allow the liner to collapse around the end of teat and relieve congestion in the teat tissue. The ratio of the time that the liner is open (milking) and closed (massaging or resting) is called the pulsation ratio.

The four streams of milk from the teatcups are usually combined in the claw and transported to the milkline or collection bucket (usually sized to the output of one cow) in a single milk hose. Milk is then transported (manually in buckets) or with a mechanical pump to a central storage vat or bulk tank. Milk is refrigerated on the farm in most countries either by passing through a heat-exchanger or in the bulk tank.

Milking machines keep the milk enclosed and safe from external contamination. The interior 'milk contact' surfaces of the machine are kept clean by a manual or automated washing procedure implemented after milking is completed. Milk contact surfaces must comply with regulations requiring food grade materials (typically stainless steel and special plastics and rubber compounds) and are easily cleaned.

Most milking machines are powered by electricity but, in case of electrical failure, there can be an alternative means of motive power, often an internal combustion engine, for the vacuum and milk pumps. Milk cows cannot tolerate delays in scheduled milking without serious milk production reductions.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

Rusty Links

Rusty Links

This is my exact mood right now. Moody. What do you expect me when I dropped my 350D on the cement ground and had my 50mm f1.8 lens broken and rolling onto the streets? This picture was also taken in Smith Street. Took many shots of this. I had use a zoom while shooting technique to create a "sucking" feeling into the picture. There was a lot of trial and error. Well, I think this was one of the best. The angle of the lock was parallel to the camera zoom streaks.



Rust is the chemical formed when iron compounds corrode in the presence of oxygen and water. It is a mixture of iron oxides and hydroxides. Rusting is a common term for corrosion, and usually is corrosion of steel.

Rust is iron(III)oxide, which is formed by the dehydration of iron(II) hydroxide. Corrosion tends to progress faster in seawater than fresh water due to higher concentration of sodium chloride ions, making the solution more conductive. Rusting is also accelerated in the presence of acids, but inhibited by alkalis, through passivation. Rust can often be removed through electrolysis, however the base metal object can not be restored through this method.

Galvanization consists of coating metal with a thin layer of another such metal. Typically, zinc is applied by either hot-dip galvanizing or electroplating. Zinc is traditionally used because it is cheap, easy to refine and adheres well to steel. Zinc also provides cathodic protection to metal that itself is unplated, but close enough that any water touching bare iron is also in contact with some zinc. The zinc layer acts as a galvanic anode rusting in preference. Galvanization often fails at seams, holes and joints, where the coating is pierced.

Bluing is a technique that can provide limited resistance to rusting for small steel items, such as firearms; for it to be successful, water-displacing oil must always be rubbed onto the blued steel.

To prevent rust corrosion on automobiles, they should be kept cleaned and waxed. The underbody should be sprayed to make sure it is free of dirt and debris that could trap moisture. After a car is washed, it is best to let it sit in the sun for a few hours to let it air dry. In winter, or in salty conditions, cars should be washed more regularly as salt (sodium chloride) can accelerate the rusting process.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

Standing Clouds

Standing Clouds

Sorry for the slow update folks. Just finish my exam. Well, I bring you "Standing Clouds". This picture was taken in Smith Street. There was this big black clouds hanging in the bright bluish sky. What a contrast. I took several pictures of this phenomena from different places and angles and find this was the most interesting one.



Cumulonimbus (Cb) is a type of cloud that is tall, dense, and involved in thunderstorms and other bad weather. The clouds can form alone, in clusters, or along a cold front in a squall line.

Three ingredients are needed for the formation of a cumulonimbus cloud:

1. Plenty of moisture.
2. A mass of warm unstable air.
3. A source of energy to lift the warm, moist air mass rapidly upward.

The base of a cumulonimbus can be several miles across, and it can be tall enough to occupy middle as well as low altitudes : though formed at an altitude of about 3,000 to 4,000 meters (10,000 to 12,000 feet), its peak can reach up to 23,000 meters (75,000 feet) in extreme cases. Typically, it peaks at a much lower height.

Cumulonimbus storm cells can produce heavy rain (particularly of a convective nature) and flash flooding, as well as straight-line winds. Most storm cells die after about 20 minutes, when the precipitation causes more downdraft than updraft, causing the energy to dissipate. If there is enough solar energy in the atmosphere, however (on a hot summer's day, for example), the moisture from one storm cell can evaporate rapidly — resulting in a new cell forming just a few miles from the former one. This can cause thunderstorms to last for several hours.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

Doppler

Doppler

This was my friend's car, Carla. Yes, was. She sold this car. In fact, this picture was taken originally to help her sell the car. The distortion of the corner of the car make it looks much bigger than normal. The combination of the Xenon white light and the orange turn light give a sense of warmth and excitement to the picture. The title of this post has been dedicated to my coming Physics exam which has a chapter on Doppler. Doppler is the different in the frequence of sound received when the receiver or/and sender are moving. This is v distinct in nascar when you heard the high pitched sound coming and after the car passes it will be followed with a low and deep sound.




The earliest headlamps were fueled by acetylene or oil and were introduced by drivers in the late 1880s. Acetylene was popular because the flame was resistant to wind and rain. The first electric headlamps were introduced in 1898 on the Columbia Electric Car from the Electric Vehicle Company of Hartford, Connecticut, but they were optional. "Prest-O-Lite" acetylene lights were offered by a number of manufacturers as standard equipment for 1904, and Peerless made electrical headlamps standard in 1908. In 1912, Cadillac integrated their vehicle's Delco electrical ignition and lighting system, creating the modern vehicle electrical system.

Pop-up headlamps were introduced in 1937, on the Cord 812. They were mounted in the front fenders, which were smooth until the lights were activated, aiding aerodynamics when the headlamps were not in use. They also provided a means of fitting a large 7 inch round headlamp into an otherwise pointed front end.

HID stands for high-intensity discharge, the technical term for the electric arc that produces the light. Automotive HID lamps are commonly called 'xenon headlamps', because of the xenon gas used in the lamps. The xenon gas allows the lamps to produce minimally adequate amounts of light immediately upon startup and speed the warmup time.

HID stands for high-intensity discharge, the technical term for the electric arc that produces the light. Automotive HID lamps are commonly called 'xenon headlamps', because of the xenon gas used in the lamps. The xenon gas allows the lamps to produce minimally adequate amounts of light immediately upon startup and speed the warmup time.

There has been a recent resurgence in interest in the idea of moving or optimizing the headlight beam in response not only to vehicular steering and suspension dynamics, but also to ambient weather and visibility conditions, vehicle speed, and road curvature and contour. A task force composed primarily of European automakers, lighting companies and regulators began working to develop design and performance specifications for what is known as Advanced Front-lighting Systems, commonly "AFS". Manufacturers such as Audi and Lexus have released vehicles equipped with AFS since 2002. Rather than the mechanical linkages employed in earlier directional-headlamp systems, AFS relies on electronic sensors, transducers and actuators. Other AFS techniques include special auxiliary optical systems within a vehicle's headlamp housings. These auxiliary systems may be switched on and off as the vehicle and operating conditions call for light or darkness at the angles covered by the beam the auxiliary optics produce. Development is underway of AFS systems that use GPS signals to anticipate changes in road curvature.

Headlamps require very little care. Sealed beam headlamps are modular. When the filament burns out, the entire module is replaced. Most 1985 and later-model vehicles in North America use headlamp lens-reflector assemblies that are considered a part of the car, and just the bulb is replaced if it fails. There are many different bulb types, and they are not interchangeable, so the correct bulb for the specific vehicle year, make and model must be purchased. Manufacturers vary the means by which the bulb is accessed and replaced.

Headlamp aim must be properly checked and adjusted on a regular, periodic basis. Misaimed lamps are dangerous and ineffective.

Over time, the front lens can deteriorate. It can become pitted due to abrasion of road sand and pebbles. It can become cracked, admitting water into the headlamp. "Plastic" (polycarbonate), can become cloudy and discolored, turning yellowish. This is due to oxidation of the painted-on lens hardcoat by ultraviolet light from the sun and the headlamp bulbs. If it is minor, it can be polished out using a reputable brand of a car polish that is intended for restoring the shine to chalked paint. In more advanced stages, the deterioration extends through the actual plastic material, rendering the headlamp useless and necessitating complete replacement. Sanding or aggressively polishing the lenses can buy a small amount of time, but doing so removes the protective coating from the lens, which when so stripped will deteriorate faster and more severely.

The reflector, made out of extremely thin vaporized aluminum deposited on a metal, glass or plastic base, can become oxidized or burnt and lose its specular reflective properties. This can happen if water enters the headlamp, if bulbs of higher wattage than specified is used, or simply with age and use. If the reflector when viewed by itself is not mirror-perfect, the headlamp should be replaced, for reflectors cannot effectively be restored

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

O' Me

O' Me

Not being self obsessed, this is me! Taken outside of the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA). A white Vespa scooter often parks at the outside. I have used one of its dirt stained mirror for my self portrait. The round mirror gives a sense of minimalistic or maybe, the original Vespa feeling. Mum, now you cannot say that there is no picture of me in my website.

The Vespa is a line of motor scooters that was first manufactured in Pontedera, Italy in 1946 by Piaggio & Co, S.p.A

Piaggio continues to manufacture the Vespa today, although the Vespa was much more widely used in the 1950s and 60s, when it also became the adopted vehicle of choice for the UK youth-culture known as Mods. The classic Vespas had unibody chassis pressed from sheets of steel, with bodywork covering the legs for protection from rain and mud. The direct drive engine was covered completely by a steel cowling to appeal to a broader market of people, often turned off by the dirty/greasy stereotype often applied to motorcycles.

The main stimulus for the design style of the Vespa dates back to Pre-WWII Cushman scooters made in Nebraska, USA. These olive green scooters were in Italy in large numbers, ordered originally by Washington as field transport for the Paratroops and Marines. The US military had used them to get around desperate Nazi defence tactics of destroying roads and bridges in the Dolomites (a section of the Alps) and the Austrian border areas.

Aeronautical engineer Corradino D'Ascanio, responsible for the design and construction of the first modern helicopter by Agusta, was given the job of designing a simple, robust and affordable vehicle for Enrico Piaggio. The vehicle had to be easy to drive for both men and women, be able to carry a passenger, and not get its driver's clothes dirty.

"Sembra una vespa!" ("It looks like a wasp!") exclaimed Piaggio president Enrico Piaggio when he first laid eyes on what would become the most successful scooter of all time. The name stuck [1].

Vespa is both Latin and Italian for wasp—derived from both the high pitch noise of the two-stroke engine, and adopted as a name for the vehicle in reference to its body shape: the thicker rear part connected to the front part by a narrow waist, and the steering rod resembled antennae.

When Vespa celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1996, more than 15 million of the scooters had been sold worldwide, making it the most successful scooter of all time. Other companies vied with Piaggio for market share, but none came close to emulating the success—or romance—of Vespa. The nostalgic image of Vespa, however, could not hide the fact that Vespa was making a loss.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

Frame Framed

Frame Framed

Ok, it's getting boring seeing all those flowers everyday. Here, a fresh change. I was framing for the motorcycle shiny headlight and in the mean time, framing the Melburnian through the reflection too. I had included myself in too to add a little twist and I do no really think you can take this photo unless you are seen due to the convex nature of the headlight. You can notice some dirt on the mirror itself.

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The Melburnian offers a variety of network groups which include Pilates and Thai Chi, Theatre Group, Film Group, Bridge Club, Book Club, Casual Golf Club, Walking Group, Yoga Classes, and Croquet.

You can also access an exclusive intranet service to contact friends in the building, check your email, find out about local events, book a tennis court, and reserve a table at your favourite restaurant.

(courtesy themelburnian.net)

Absorbtion Ray

Absorbtion Ray

This is the same flower as the flower, "Layering". However, this flower is more open up and has a nicer fall of light, exposing the layers of the petals with the nice not so harsh shadow. The title of this psot was due tot he centre of the flower which has a black "hole" in the middle of the colourful flower. Reminds me of my Chemisty.

A material's absorption spectrum shows the fraction of incident electromagnetic radiation absorbed by the material over a range of frequencies. An absorption spectrum is, in a sense, the inverse of an emission spectrum.

Atoms and molecules may change states when they absorb specific amounts of energy. Atomic states are defined by the arrangement of electrons in atomic orbitals. An electron in some orbital may be excited to a more energetic orbital by absorbing exactly one photon which has energy equal to the energy difference of the two orbitals.

Molecular states are defined by the molecule's modes of vibration and rotation. These vibrational and rotational modes are quantised, similar to the atomic orbitals, and may be excited by absorbing single photons.

In both the atomic and molecular cases, the excited states do not persist: after some random amount of time, the atoms and molecules revert back to their original, lower energy state. In atoms, the excited electron returns to a lower orbital, emitting a photon. In molecules, the vibrational or rotational mode decays, also emitting a photon.

When this decay occurs, the photon produced is not necessarily emitted in the same direction as the original photon. This applies to any situation where gases lie between a light source and an observer: the observer will see gaps in the spectrum of the light corresponding to the wavelengths of the photons which were absorbed. These gaps occur despite the re-emission of photons because the re-emitted photons are equally likely to travel in all directions, and it is statistically unlikely to travel along the original path to the observer. These gaps appear as black lines in an image of the spectrum.

Every chemical element has absorption lines at several particular wavelengths corresponding to the differences between the energy levels of its atomic orbitals. Absorption spectra can therefore be used to identify elements present in a gas or liquid. This method is used in deducing the presence of elements in stars and other gaseous objects which cannot be measured directly.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

Diamond Petals

Diamond Petals

Doesn't the flower bud looks hard and solid? It indeed looks like to me so. I guess this flower will grow to become the previous picture, "Layering". I had broken the "rule" of photography by placing my flower facing the smaller portion of the picture.

The rule of thirds is a compositional rule of thumb in photography.

The rule states that an image can be divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines. The four points formed by the intersections of these lines can be used to align features in the photograph. Proponents of this technique claim that aligning a photograph with these points creates more tension, energy and interest in the photo than simply centering the feature would.

The photograph to the right demonstrates the application of the rule of thirds. The horizon sits at the horizontal line dividing the lower third of the photo from the upper two-thirds. The tree sits at the intersection of two lines, sometimes called a power point. Points of interest in the photo don't have to actually touch one of these lines to take advantage of the rule of thirds. For example, the brightest part of the sky near the horizon where the sun recently set does not fall directly on one of the lines, but does fall near the intersection of two of the lines, close enough to take advantage of the rule.

The application of the rule of thirds to photographs is considered by many to make them more aesthetically pleasing and professional-looking. The rule of thirds can be applied by lining up subjects with the guiding lines, placing the horizon on the top or bottom line instead of the center, or allowing linear features in the photograph to flow from section to section. In addition, many photographers recommend treating any "rule" of composition as more of a guideline, since pleasing photographs can often be made while ignoring one or more such rules.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

Layering

Layering

Yes, taken in Royal Melbourne Park again. Seems like my post have the word "Royal Melbourne Park" in the first line. This picture has been cropped to an almost perfect square to concentrate the complexity of the way the flower is made from layer and layers of petals. The depth of field was nice enough to highlight the center of it. The shadow at the bottom give a nice touch to the lighting. Some insects can be sen marching on th petals and "stamping" them out in photoshop is not really hard but this way, the flower will look more natural.

A petal (Greek: leaf, tablet), regarded as a highly modified leaf, is one member or part of the corolla of a flower. The corolla is the name for all of the petals of a flower; the inner perianth whorl, term used when this is not the same in appearance (color, shape) as the outermost whorl (the calyx). It is the inner part of the perianth that comprises the sterile parts of a flower and consists of inner and outer tepals. These tepals are usually differentiated into petals and sepals. The term "tepal" is usually applied when the petals and sepals are similar in shape and color. In a "typical" flower the petals are showy and colored and surround the reproductive parts. The number of petals in a flower (see merosity) is indicative of the plant's classification: dicots having typically four or five petals and monocots having three, or some multiple of three, petals.

There exists considerable variation in form of petals among the flowering plants. The petals can be united towards the base, forming a floral tube. In some flowers, the entire perianth forms a cup (called a calyx tube) surrounding the gynoecium, with the sepals, petals, and stamens attached to the rim of the cup.

The flowers of some species lack or have very much reduced petals. These are often referred to as apetalous. Examples of flowers with much reduced perianths are found among the grasses.

The petals are usually the most conspicuous parts of a flower, and the petal whorl or corolla may be either radially or bilaterally symmetrical. If all of the petals are essentially identical in size and shape, the flower is said to be regular or actinomorphic (meaning 'ray-formed'). Many flowers are symmetrical in only one plane (i.e., symmetry is bilateral) and are termed irregular or zygomorphic (meaning yoke- or pair-formed). In irregular flowers, other floral parts may be modified from the regular form, but the petals show the greatest deviation from radial symmetry. Examples of zygomorphic flowers may be seen in orchids and members of the pea family. The petal is the colorful, often showy part of a plant.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

Leading Ahead

Leading Ahead

This photo is taken at Royal Melbourne Park. It was quite a pity that I had not taken my polariser with me as there was a very strong sunlight and it reflects on the flower creating some highlights. Using a polariser will cause the colour to be much deeper and rich. However, I like the angle of this shot and how the big flower is contrasting with the small one.

Blasting Fever

Blasting Fever

This is the same kind of flower that was in the two day ago. This picture provides a more blasting feeling accompanied a blurred outer part giving a feeling of motion blur. My guess of this flower is that the "arms" will spread open slowly.

The internal struture of a flower consists of 4 whorls:

• Sepals (collectively called calynx)
• Petals (collectively called corrolla)
• Stamens (the male part)
• Carpel or Pistil (the female part)

The sepals protect the flower in the bud stage and usually appear green in colour. The petals are colourful and attract insects for pollination. Stamens are comprised of the filament and the anther which has pollen sacs. These pollen sacs in turn produce pollen grains. The carpel consists of ovary, style and stigma. Due to pollination the pollen grains are transferred from the anthers to the stigma. Due to this fertilisation occurs. The pollen grains are taken to the ovary by the style and the ovary changes into the fruit and the ovules inside theovary change into seeds.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

Tangled Origami

Tangled Origami

This is one of the flower I took in Royal Melbourne Park using the reverse focus method too. That is the core of a flower, folding itself up like an origami. I have never known that there is such a pattern in flower until that day. Maybe we can call it entanglement or maybe a nicely folded origami.

Although almost any laminar material can be used for folding, the choice of material used greatly affects the folding and final look of the model.

Normal copy paper with weights of 70–90 g/m² can be used for simple folds, such as the crane and waterbomb. Heavier weight papers of 100 g/m² or more can be wet-folded. This technique allows for a more rounded sculpting of the model, which becomes rigid and sturdy when dry.

Special origami paper, often also referred to as "kami", is sold in prepackaged squares of various sizes ranging from 2.5 cm to 25 cm or more. It is commonly coloured on one side and white on the other; however, dual coloured and patterned versions exist and can be used effectively for colour-changed models. Origami paper weighs slightly less than copy paper, making it suitable for a wider range of models.

Foil-backed paper, just as its name implies, is a sheet of thin foil glued to a sheet of thin paper. Related to this is tissue foil, which is made by gluing a thin piece of tissue to kitchen aluminium foil. A second piece of tissue can be glued onto the reverse side to produce a tissue/foil/tissue sandwich. Foil-backed paper is available commercially but not tissue foil. Both types of foil materials are suitable for complex models.

Artisan papers such as unryu, lokta, hanji, gampi, kozo, saa have long fibres and are often extremely strong. As these papers are floppy to start with, they are often backcoated or resized with methylcellulose or wheat paste before folding. Also, these papers are extremely thin and compressible, allowing for thin, narrowed limbs as in the case of insect models.

The practice and study of origami encapsulates several subjects of mathematical interest. For instance, the problem of flat-foldability (whether a crease pattern can be folded into a 2-dimensional model) has been a topic of considerable mathematical study.

Technical origami, also known as origami sekkei, is a field of origami that has developed almost hand-in-hand with the field of mathematical origami. In the early days of origami, development of new designs was largely a mix of trial-and-error, luck and serendipity. With advances in origami mathematics however, the basic structure of a new origami model can be theoretically plotted out on paper before any actual folding even occurs. This method of origami design was pioneered by Robert Lang, Meguro Toshiyuki and others, and allows for the creation of extremely complex multi-limbed models such as many-legged centipedes, human figures with full complement of fingers and toes, and the like.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

Cuddle Up

Cuddle Up

Yes, this was taken again in the Royal Mebourne Park. I do not know the name of this flower but they grow in abundance and looks like balls. I shot the picture using back focusingmthod to get such an extreme close up. The long "fingers" seems to be cuddling each other in the center part, might have been to the freezing night.

Honey, Where Are You

Honey, Where Are You

Honey, the honey is there honey. This picture was taken at the Royal Botanical Garden. I was shooting over a railing and leaning my weight forward to get a closer shot of this busy worker. I was shooting through my kit lens. Even though I have the option of a better optics with my 50mm f1.8, the kit lens has a 17cm min focus while the other needs 50cm.




Honey is a sweet and viscous fluid produced by honeybees from the nectar of flowers. "The definition of honey stipulates a pure product that does not allow for the addition of any other substance.

Honey is significantly sweeter than table sugar and has attractive chemical properties for baking. Honey has a distinctive flavor which leads some people to prefer it over sugar and other sweeteners.

Liquid honey does not spoil. Because of its high sugar concentration, it kills most bacteria by plasmolysis. Natural airborne yeasts cannot become active in it because the moisture content is too low. Natural, raw honey varies from 14% to 18% moisture content. As long as the moisture content remains under 18%, virtually no organism can successfully multiply to significant amounts in honey, though, importantly, enough bacteria survive to make honey dangerous for infants.

Honey is a mixture of sugars and other compounds. The specific composition of any batch of honey will depend largely on the mix of flowers consumed by the bees that produced the honey. Honey has a density of about 1500 kg/m³ (50% denser than water), which means about 12.5 pounds per US gallon.

Typical honey analysis

• Fructose: 38%
• Glucose: 31%
• Sucrose: 1%
• Water: 17%
• Other sugars: 9% (maltose, melezitose)
• Ash: 0.17%

Blended

Most commercially available honey is blended, meaning that it is a combination of honeys from different sources. China is the world's largest producer of honey (256,000 tonnes in 2001), followed by the United States (100,000 tonnes), Argentina (90,000 tonnes), Turkey (71,000 tonnes), Mexico, Ukraine and India

Comb honey A popular honey product. The honey is sold still in the wax comb. Comb honey was once packaged by installing wooden framework in special supers, but this labor intensive method is dying, and being replaced by plastic rings or cartridges. After removal from the hive, a clear cover is usually fitted onto the cartridge so customers can see the product.

Honey is not always edible. Because it is gathered from flowers in the wild, there are situations in which it may be toxic.

There are several types of honey that are known to be toxic to humans. The most common of these in the northern hemisphere, popularly known as Mad Honey, is produced from the flowers of rhododendrons, mountain laurels and azaleas. The nectar of these plants may contain grayanotoxin, a compound which is both psychoactive and poisonous to humans but harmless to bees. The effects of Mad Honey have been reported in Western literature as early as 401 BC (see Xenophon's description of the effects of toxic honey in the Anabasis). The shape of the azalea flower, however, makes access to nectar difficult for honeybees. Furthermore, during the time when azaleas bloom, there are usually other flowers available that are more appealing to the honeybee. Thus, lethal honey is rarely encountered. Mad Honey is also sometimes called Green Honey, Crazy Honey or Meli Chloron (ancient greek).

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

Rowing Down Yarra

Rowing Down Yarra

This is the 200th post!!! Yeah... This picture was taken at Yarra River facing the East side. The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) can be seen at the back. The position of the rower was perfect for the shot. The rower was actually a small boy accompanied by, I guess, his grandfather. It will look really romantic if there was a sun at the back and making an orange tinge. However, too bad the sun sets at the west.

With regard to watercraft, rowing is propulsion, usually of a small boat, by forcing one or more oars mounted on the craft via rowlocks to push against the water. The purpose can be transport, recreation or sport.

The most common instances, called sculling, are those where one rower pulls on two oars, each a single straight piece mounted to an oarlock on the gunwhale of the boat, thereby moving the boat in the direction opposite that which the rower faces. A single oar per rower, called sweeping, multiple rowers (usually coordinated by a coxswain), articulated oars that facilitate efficient rowing in the direction the rower faces, maneuvers aimed at turning or at rowing in the opposite direction, and some combinations of these, are also well established aspects of rowing.

For the principal case described above, keeping equal forces on the two oars, efficiently coordinating the application of vertical and horizontal force according to the point in the cycle of rowing, and muscular strength and endurance, are major aspects of effective rowing.

In ancient times, rowing boats (known as galleys) were extensively used during war. The Persians and the Athenians fought many sea battles in rowing boats. The Athenians rammed their enemy's ships at great speed - sometimes using up to 170 oarsmen. They also used moving seats which allowed the oarsmen to use their legs and propel the ship faster.

Galleys were an advantage over sailing ships due to being easier to manoevure and quicker. The Vikings took it one step further and added sails to their rowing boats, called longships, allowing them to move very quickly with a tailwind. Their usage continued until the advent of steam propulsion.

In Venice, gondolas are popular forms of transport propelled by oars - although more modern versions have an outboard motor. The technique [1] of rowing is considerably different from the style used in sport, due to the oarsman facing forward. This allows the boat to manoeuover very quickly - useful in the narrow and busy canals of Venice.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

Pan Pan Pan

Pan Pan Pan

This picture was taken at the Princess Bridge. I used a panning technique to create a blur effect on the background and clear for the Mazda MX-5 car. Aiming at the car and following it, I press the shutter gently and continue following it during the 1/20s of my non breathing life and hope for the best. The car was further sharpened in photoshop. The title was given to match Mazda's catch phrase of "Zoom Zoom Zoom".



The Mazda MX-5 (also known as Miata in North America and Roadster in Japan) is a sports car built by Mazda in Hiroshima, Japan, since 1989. As of 2006, the MX-5 was one of the world's best-selling sports cars, with over 750,000 cars sold in total.

MX-5 was designed with a traditional FR (front-engine, rear-wheel-drive) layout and 4-wheel independent double wishbone suspension. It comes with a longitudinally mounted four cylinder engine coupled to a manual transmission (an automatic transmission is available as an option).

The body is a conventional, but very light, unibody shell. The MX-5 also incorporates a unique trusswork called the Powerplant Frame (PPF) which connects the engine to the differential, minimizing flex and creating a tight, responsive feel. Many MX-5s feature limited slip differentials and antilock brakes. Traction control is an option available on some models.

With an approximate 50:50 front/rear weight balance, the car has very neutral handling, which makes it easy to drive for the beginner, and fun for the advanced driver.

There have been three generations of the MX-5, consisting of major stylistic and mechanical upgrades. The first generation, designated NA, sold over 400,000 units. It was produced from 1989 to 1997, initially with a 1.6-liter straight-4 engine, and from 1994 with a 1.8-liter engine. The NA can be recognized by its distinctive pop-up headlights. The second generation NB was introduced in 1999 with a slight increase in engine power; it can be recognized by the fixed headlights. The third generation NC was introduced in 2005 with a 2.0-liter engine; it can be recognized by the fender bulges over the wheel wells.

The MX-5 has won over 150 awards in its history,^[2] including making Car and Driver magazine's annual Ten Best list seven times; Wheels Magazine 's Car of the Year for 1989 and 2005; Sports Car International's "best sports car of the 1990s" and "ten best sports cars of all time"; 2005-2006 Car of the Year Japan; and 2005 Australian Car of the Year.

In video games, MX-5s are featured in a number of titles including the Need For Speed Underground series, the Project Gotham Racing series, the Gran Turismo series, Juiced and Forza Motorsport.

On TV, an episode of American sitcom Newsradio had the owner of the radio station give MX-5s to all his employees. Band Blink 182 had a red MX-5 dropped from a crane in the music video for their song "Rock Show". Also, a pair of episodes of the sitcom Saved by the Bell, titled "Wicked Stepbrother" parts 1 and 2, revolved around one of the characters getting a Miata. On books, Lawrence Sanders's McNally series has the main character mentioning his 1990 red Miata a few times in each of the stories, and the Guinness Book of Records registered the MX-5 as the world's best-selling sports car in 2002.^[5]

(courtesy wikipedia.com)