summer

Vroom Vroom!!!

August 29, 2015 — 13 Comments

audi 2

F/5.0, 1/60, ISO 800.

Day 241 / 365

Five Guys in an Audi Quattro arrive at the border.  The Customs agent stops them and says, “It’s illegal to put 5 people in a Quattro.”  “What do you mean it’s illegal?” ask the driver.  “Quattro means four,” replies the Customs agent.  “Quattro is just the name of the automobile,” the driver retort disbelievingly. “Look at the papers: this car is designed to carry 5 persons.” “You can’t pull that one on me,” replies the Customs agent. “Quattro means four. You have five people in your car and you are therefore breaking the law.”  The driver replies angrily, “You idiot! Call your supervisor over,  I want to speak to someone with more intelligence!”  “Sorry,” responds the Customs agent, “he can’t come. He’s busy with 2 guys in a Fiat Uno.”

 

Interesting Fact:  August Horch founded his first car company, A. Horch & Cie. in 1899. But just 10 years later, Horch wasn’t seeing eye-to-eye with his Chief Financial officer and left his own company to start August Horch Automobilwerke GmbH. Unfortunately, Horch soon learned the Horch name belonged to his former company when he was notified of a copyright infringement. In response, Horch changed the new company’s name to the latin translation of his last name. In German “horch” means “hear,” which in Latin is “audi”. ( http://www.carcrushing.com/12-things-didnt-know-audi/)

Out Of The Shadows Into The Light.

August 28, 2015 — 12 Comments

Orange Truck

F/5.6, 1/30, ISO 800.

Day 240 / 365

A police officer sees a man driving around with a pickup truck full of penguins. He pulls the guy over and says: “You can’t drive around with penguins in this town! Take them to the zoo immediately.” The guy says OK, and drives away.  The next day, the officer sees the guy still driving around with the truck full of penguins, and they’re all wearing sun glasses.  He pulls the guy over and demands: “I thought I told you to take these penguins to the zoo yesterday?”

The guy replies: “I did… today I’m taking them to the beach!”

Interesting Fact: In the early days of automobile manufacturing, vehicles were sold as a chassis only, and third parties added bodies on top.[5] In 1913 the Galion Allsteel Body Company, an early developer of the pickup and dump truck, built and installed hauling boxes on slightly modified Ford Model T chassis,[6] and from 1917 on the Model TT. Seeking part of this market share, Dodge introduced a 3/4-ton pickup with cab and body constructed entirely of wood in 1924.[7] In 1925 Ford followed up with a Model T-based steel-bodied, half-ton with an adjustable tailgate and heavy-duty rear springs.[8] Billed it as the “Ford Model T Runabout with Pickup Body,” it sold for US$281. 34,000 were built. In 1928 it was replaced by the Model A which had a closed-cab, safety glass windshield, roll-up side windows and three-speed transmission. In 1931 Chevrolet produced its first factory-assembled pickup.[9] Ford Australia produced the first Australian “ute” in 1932.[10] During the second world war, the United States government halted the product of privately-owned pickup trucks. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickup_truck )

Tea Is Ready!

August 25, 2015 — 29 Comments

tea time

F/16.0, 1/50, ISO 100.

Day 237 / 365

What Starts With “T” What Ends With “T” & It Is Full Of “T”?

Teapot.

Interesting Fact: From the end of the 17th century tea was shipped from China to Europe as part of the export of exotic spices and luxury goods. The ships that brought the tea also carried porcelain teapots. The majority of these teapots were painted in blue and white underglaze. Porcelain being completely vitrified will withstand sea water without damage, so the teapots were packed below deck whilst the tea stayed on top in the dry. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teapot )

I Choose To Shine!

August 24, 2015 — 14 Comments

Sunflowers

F/6.0, 1/60, ISO 250.

Sunflowers

Day 236 / 365

Roses are red, violets are blue. sunflowers are yellow, i bet you were expecting something romantic but no this is just gardening facts.

Interesting Fact: The sunflower is native to the America’s and was used extensively by Native American Indians for food, as oil, in bread, medical ointments, dyes and body paints. ( http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/plants/sunflowers.html )

 

We Claim This Island! Now What Do We Do?

August 23, 2015 — 22 Comments

Great Egrets

F/6.3, 1/1250, ISO 400.

Great Egrets

Day 235 / 365

Why does the bird bring toilet paper to the party?

Because he is a party pooper.

Interesting Fact: The pristinely white Great Egret gets even more dressed up for the breeding season. A patch of skin on its face turns neon green, and long plumes grow from its back. Called aigrettes, those plumes were the bane of egrets in the late nineteenth century, when such adornments were prized for ladies’ hats. ( http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Egret/lifehistory )

 

 

 

 

You Are The Mint To My Mojito!

August 22, 2015 — 12 Comments

Mojito

F/4.8, 1/60, ISO 100.

Mojito

Day 234 / 365

When life hands you lemons, find someone with tequila and salt!

Interesting Fact: Havana is the birthplace of the Mojito, although the exact origin of this classic cocktail is the subject of debate. One story traces the Mojito to a similar 16th century drink known as “El Draque”, after Francis Drake.[4] In 1586, after his successful raid at Cartagena de Indias Drake’s ships sailed towards Havana but there was an epidemic of dysentery and scurvy on board. It was known that the local South American Indians had remedies for various tropical illnesses; so a small boarding party went ashore on Cuba and came back with ingredients for a medicine which was effective. The ingredients were aguardiente de caña (a crude form of rum, translates as fire water from sugar cane) added with local tropical ingredients; lime, sugarcane juice and mint.[8] Drinking lime juice in itself would have been a great help in staving off scurvy and dysentery.[9] Tafia/Rum was used as soon as it became widely available to the British (ca. 1650). Mint, lime and sugar were also helpful in hiding the harsh taste of this spirit. While this drink was not called a Mojito at this time, it was still the original combination of these ingredients. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mojito )

Hey Honey!

August 21, 2015 — 13 Comments

Bumblebee flower

F/ 6.3, 1/1000, ISO 800.

Bumblebee

Day 233 / 365

What did the bee say to the other bee when they landed on the same flower?

Buzz off.

Interesting Fact: Bumblebees live in society that consists of up to 400 individuals. They are divided in three groups: queen, worker bees and drones. Worker bees develop from the eggs during the spring. They collect pollen and feed newly born bees. Drones develop from the eggs during the summer. They die immediately after fertilization. ( http://www.softschools.com/facts/animals/bumblebee_facts/582/ )

 

Orange You Glad To See Me?!

August 20, 2015 — 6 Comments

orange you glad

F/3.5, 1/60, ISO 100.

Day 232 / 365

Why did the orange fail his driving test?

He kept peeling out.

Interesting Fact: Because oranges do not spoil easily and are full of vitamin C during the years of world exploration sailors planted orange and other citrus trees along trade routes to prevent scurvy which is a disease that develops from a deficiency of vitamin C. ( http://snip.ly/LNaQ#http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/food/oranges.html )

At Night I Can’t Sleep, In The Morning I Can’t Wake Up.

August 19, 2015 — 9 Comments

north arlington

F/ 14.0, 30.0, ISO 100.

Day 231 / 365

How can you go without sleep for seven days and not be tired?

Sleep at night.

Interesting Fact: In the early 1900s, a few notable photographers, Alfred Stieglitz and William Fraser, began working at night. The first known female night photographer is Jessie Tarbox Beals. The first photographers known to have produced large bodies of work at night were Brassai and Bill Brandt. In 1932, Brassai published Paris de Nuit, a book of black-and-white photographs of the streets of Paris at night. During World War II, British photographer Brandt took advantage of the black-out conditions to photograph the streets of London by moonlight. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_photography )

Party On My Log!

August 18, 2015 — 11 Comments

Double-crested Cormorants

F/ 6.3, 1/500, ISO 320.

Double-crested Cormorants

Day 230 / 365

Which side of the Cormorant has the most feathers?

The outside.

Interesting Fact: Cormorants often stand in the sun with their wings spread out to dry. They have less preen oil than other birds, so their feathers can get soaked rather than shedding water like a duck’s. Though this seems like a problem for a bird that spends its life in water, wet feathers probably make it easier for cormorants to hunt underwater with agility and speed. ( http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Double-crested_Cormorant/lifehistory#at_food )