night

I Think I’m On The Right Track

November 16, 2015 — 15 Comments

Light Rail

F/ 14.0 , 25.0, ISO 200.

Day 320 / 365

What do you call a train that eats toffee?

A chew, chew train.

Interesting Fact: The system began operating its first segment in April 2000, expanded in phases during the next decade, and was completed with the opening of its southern terminus on January 31, 2011. The line generally runs parallel to the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay, while its northern end and its western branch travel through the lower Hudson Palisades. HBLR has twenty-four stations along a total track length of just over 34 miles (55 km) and serves over 54,000 weekday passengers.[1] There are plans for expansion through extensions and additional stations. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson%E2%80%93Bergen_Light_Rail#Historical_overview )

Let Me Lift Up Your Smile

November 13, 2015 — 11 Comments

crane

F/14.0, 259.0, ISO 64.

Day 217 / 365

There were three workers; one crane operator, one pole climber, one guide.
The guide tied the crane to the end of a pole. The crane operator would then pick the pole up on end. The climber climbed to the top and dropped a tape measure which the guide promptly read and noted the measurement. The crane operator then lowered the pole to the ground and repsitioned to pick up another pole.
This went on several times when the foreman came over and asked why they couldn’t measure the poles while they were laying on the ground?
The worker replied, “we need to know how tall the poles are, not how long”.

source: http://www.jokebuddha.com/Crane#ixzz3rRDzfNPL

Interesting Fact: It is assumed that Roman engineers lifted these extraordinary weights by two measures. First, as suggested by Heron, a lifting tower was set up, whose four masts were arranged in the shape of a quadrangle with parallel sides, not unlike a siege tower, but with the column in the middle of the structure (Mechanica 3.5).[6] Second, a multitude of capstans were placed on the ground around the tower, for, although having a lower leverage ratio than treadwheels, capstans could be set up in higher numbers and run by more men (and, moreover, by draught animals).[7] This use of multiple capstans is also described by Ammianus Marcellinus (17.4.15) in connection with the lifting of the Lateranense obelisk in the Circus Maximus (ca. 357 AD). The maximum lifting capability of a single capstan can be established by the number of lewis iron holes bored into the monolith. In case of the Baalbek architrave blocks, which weigh between 55 and 60 tons, eight extant holes suggest an allowance of 7.5 ton per lewis iron, that is per capstan.[8] Lifting such heavy weights in a concerted action required a great amount of coordination between the work groups applying the force to the capstans. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crane_(machine)#History )

I Don’t Think Anyone Will Row Row Row That Boat Gently Down The Stream

November 12, 2015 — 26 Comments

Binghamton ferry

F/22.0, 159.0, ISO 64.

Day 316 / 365

What do you do with a sick boat?

Take it to the DOC!

Interesting Fact:

Binghamton was one of six identical screw-propelled double-ended ferryboats built by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry-dock Company at Newport News, Virginia in 1904-05 to designs by Gardner & Cox, naval architects. She was launched on February 20, 1905, with Miss Charlotte Emery, daughter of John M. Emery, the newly promoted superintendent of the Hoboken Ferry Company and Ferry Department of the DL&W, serving as her sponsor. Binghamton was completed a month later and left the Newport News yard on March 25 for the trip to Hoboken, New Jersey. She was placed in commission on April 3. Her Captain for the first crossing was Oren D. Relyea.

Her normal run was from the Hoboken Terminal to Barclay Street, a twelve-minute journey of approximately 1 and 3/4 miles, a trip made continuously nearly every day for more than sixty years (on occasion she substituted on the Hoboken – 23rd Street run). ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binghamton_(ferryboat) )

 

 

It’s Not A 3D Print Of The Save Icon

November 11, 2015 — 14 Comments

Floppy disk

F/5.3, 1/60, ISO250.

Day 315 / 365

What does a baby computer call his father?

Data!

Interesting Fact: The earliest floppy disks, developed in the late 1960s, are 8 inches (200 mm) in diameter;[1] they became commercially available in 1971.[2] These disks and associated drives were produced and improved upon by IBM and other companies such as Memorex, Shugart Associates, and Burroughs Corporation.[3] The term “floppy disk” appeared in print as early as 1970,[4] and although in 1973 IBM announced its first media as “Type 1 Diskette” the industry continued to use the terms “floppy disk” or “floppy”. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floppy_disk )

First They Are Sour Then They Are Sweet

November 10, 2015 — 6 Comments

lime

F/ 13.0, 1/60, ISO 320.

Day 314 / 365

There was a scientist who wanted to see how smart kids were before they went to kindergarten.
He blind-folded them and gave them a lime lifesaver to eat. He asked them if they knew what kind it was.
“Lime” they all replied
“Very good!” the scientist said “What about this one?” He gave them a honey flavored one and asked them if they knew what it was but no one knew.
“C’mon!” he said “It’s what your mommy calls your daddy”
All of the sudden one kid spits it out and yells out “EVERYBODY SPIT IT OUT – THEY’RE A$$HOLES!”

Interesting Fact: To prevent scurvy during the 19th century, British sailors were issued a daily allowance of citrus, such as lemon, and later switched to lime.[8] The use of citrus was initially a closely guarded military secret, as scurvy was a common scourge of various national navies, and the ability to remain at sea for lengthy periods without contracting the disorder was a huge benefit for the military. The British sailor thus acquired the nickname, “Limey” because of their usage of limes. ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lime_(fruit) )

Blow The Speakers

November 9, 2015 — 23 Comments

Loudspeaker

F/4.5, 1/ 60, ISO 320.

Day 213 / 365

A guy is sitting in the restaurant when suddenly he realize that he needed to pass gas. The music was really, really loud, so he timed his
gas with the beat of the music. After a couple of songs, he started to feel better. He finished his coffee, and noticed that everybody was staring at him….
Then he suddenly remembered that he was listening to his iPod.

Interesting Fact: Johann Philipp Reis installed an electric loudspeaker in his telephone in 1861; it was capable of reproducing clear tones, but also could reproduce muffled speech after a few revisions.[3] Alexander Graham Bell patented his first electric loudspeaker (capable of reproducing intelligible speech) as part of his telephone in 1876, which was followed in 1877 by an improved version from Ernst Siemens. During this time, Thomas Edison was issued a British patent for a system using compressed air as an amplifying mechanism for his early cylinder phonographs, but he ultimately settled for the familiar metal horn driven by a membrane attached to the stylus. In 1898, Horace Short patented a design for a loudspeaker driven by compressed air; he then sold the rights to Charles Parsons, who was issued several additional British patents before 1910. A few companies, including the Victor Talking Machine Company and Pathé, produced record players using compressed-air loudspeakers. However, these designs were significantly limited by their poor sound quality and their inability to reproduce sound at low volume. Variants of the system were used for public address applications, and more recently, other variations have been used to test space-equipment resistance to the very loud sound and vibration levels that the launching of rockets produces. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudspeaker#History )

 

 

New York, Concrete Jungle Where Dreams Are Made Of There’s Nothin’ You Can’t Do Now You’re In New York

November 6, 2015 — 19 Comments

Empire State Building

F/16.0, 57.0, ISO 64.

Day 310 / 365

Two men are sitting drinking at a bar at the top of the Empire State
Building when the first man turns to the other and says, “You know,
last week I discovered that if you jump from the top of this building,
by the time you fall to the 10th floor, the winds around the building
are so intense that they carry you around the building and back into
the window.”

The bartender just shakes his head in disapproval while wiping the
bar.

The second guy says, “What are you a nut? There is no way that could
happen.” “No, it’s true,” said the first man, let me prove it to you.”
He gets up from the bar, jumps over the balcony, and plummets to the
street below. When he passes the 10th floor, the high wind whips him
around the building and back into the 10th floor window and he takes
the elevator back up to the bar. He met the second man, who looked
quite astonished. “You know, I saw that with my own eyes, but that
must have been a one time fluke.”

“No, I’ll prove it again,” says the first man as he jumps. Again just
as he is hurling toward the street, the 10th floor wind gently carries
him around the building and into the window.

Once upstairs he urges his fellow drinker to try it. “Well, what the
hey,” the second guy says, “it works, I’ll try it!” He jumps over the
balcony plunges downward, passes the 11th, 10th, 9th, 8th floors
…and hits the sidewalk with a ‘splat.’ Back upstairs the Bartender
turns to the other drinker, saying “You know, Superman, sometimes you
can be a real jerk.”

Interesting Fact: On July 28, 1945, a B-25 bomber that was lost in fog slammed into Empire State Building north wall of the 78th and 79th floors. Fourteen people were killed (it was a Saturday, so many offices were empty). Elevator operator Betty Lou Oliver survived a plunge of 75 stories inside an elevator, the Guinness World Record for the longest survived elevator fall recorded. There was no important structural damage to the building, which opened for business on the following Monday. ( https://www.walksofnewyork.com/blog/empire-state-building-facts )

I’m A Little Teapot Short And Stout

November 5, 2015 — 10 Comments

teapot

F/ 4.5, 1/60, ISO 250.

Day 309 / 365

What does the teapot say to its bag?

I don’t want another seep out of you!

Interesting Fact:  Tea drinking in Europe was initially the preserve of the upper classes since it was very expensive. Porcelain teapots were particularly desirable because porcelain could not be made in Europe at that time. It wasn’t until 1708 that Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus devised a way of making porcelain in Dresden, Germany, and started the Meissen factory in 1710.[5] When European potteries began to make their own tea wares they were naturally inspired by the Chinese designs. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teapot )

Dear Autumn, I Am Not Ready For What Comes Next

November 3, 2015 — 59 Comments

autumn night

F/ 25.0, 393.0, ISO 64.

Day 307 / 365

A couple goes to an art gallery. They find a picture of a naked women with only her privates covered with leaves.
The wife doesn’t like it and moves on but the husband keeps looking.
The wife asks: “What are you waiting for?”
The husband replies: “Autumn.”

Interesting Fact: As winter approaches, leaves make a coating for themselves which blocks their water source; in the absence of water, the leaves no longer produce chlorophyll (chlorophyll is what makes leaves green). ( http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/learning/learn-about-the-weather/how-weather-works/autumn-facts )

Is This Spooning Or Forking?

November 2, 2015 — 22 Comments

utensils

F/ 5.6, 1/60, ISO 160.

Day 306 / 365

What did the plate say to the spoon and fork?

“Dinner’s on me!”

Interesting Fact: The word fork comes from the Latin furca, meaning “pitchfork“. Some of the earliest known uses of forks with food occurred in Ancient Egypt, where large forks were used as cooking utensils.[1] Bone forks had been found in the burial site of the Bronze Age Qijia culture (2400–1900 BC) as well as later Chinese dynasties’ tombs.[2] The Ancient Greeks used the fork as a serving utensil.[3] The Greek name for fork is still used in some European languages, for instance in the Venetian, Greek, and Albanian languages. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fork )