Random Photos

[dlgoff]

No, no, no... It's not a Spy Balloon. It's just a Chinese weather balloon that got blown a little off course while over China...

I'm hearing on the news that they don't want to shoot it down because of falling debris. I'm wondering if there's something inside that could be really bad.

 

[berkeman]

I'm hearing on the news that they don't want to shoot it down because of falling stuff. I'm wondering if there's something inside that could be really bad.

My impression was that they didn't want the debris falling where there could be people. Not to mention the fighter jet's cannon fire going through the balloon and strafing some poor campers on the ground miles away. It seems like there should be some way to bring it down in a reasonably controlled way, but it's really high up right now, so we don't have any simple bow-and-arrow ways to start deflating it. Maybe it's time for the Skunk Works to do a quick killer weather balloon project...

 

[berkeman]

Okay, it looks like we will let it traverse the US and then use it for target practice when it crosses the Atlantic coast...

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Okay, it looks like we will let it traverse the US and then use it for target practice when it crosses the Atlantic coast...

View attachment 321706

That is stupid unless they plan to retrieve it. As former Sec of Defense Leon Panetta stated earlier, we need to bring it down and figure out what information they might have collected. It flew over many areas of the US where we have sensitive defense secrets.

 

[Borg]

But wait, there's more!
Another Chinese 'surveillance balloon' is flying over Latin America

 

[Borg]

Not to mention the fighter jet's cannon fire going through the balloon and strafing some poor campers on the ground miles away.

Ice-based shrapnel or a fuel dump over the ballon followed by flares maybe.

 

[Point Conception]

 

[pinball1970]

Ice-based shrapnel or a fuel dump over the ballon followed by flares maybe.

Is it too high for a drone to have a go at it?

 

[pinball1970]

View attachment 321729View attachment 321730View attachment 321731

Crane? @Astranut can help?

 

[Borg]

Is it too high for a drone to have a go at it?

I think it's too high. Somewhere around 60,000 feet.

 

[DennisN]

Ah well, maybe I can make up for it. Bath, bath, here is water flowing into

@epenguin , I thought the last photo in your post depicted a Roman, but it seems to actually be a Celtic and Roman mix.

Aquae Sulis (Latin for Waters of Sulis) was a small town in the Roman province of Britannia. Today it is the English city of Bath, Somerset.

and

In the localised Celtic polytheism practised in Great Britain, Sulis was a deity worshiped at the thermal spring of Bath (now in Somerset). She was worshiped by the Romano-British as Sulis Minerva¹ whose votive objects and inscribed lead tablets suggest that she was conceived of both as a nourishing, life-giving mother goddess and as an effective agent of curses wished by her votaries.

¹ So it seems Sulis was originally a Celtic deity, and the Romans adapted/merged it with the Roman goddess Minerva.

An interesting example of the mix of cultures in Britain (there are many other examples in Britain). Celts, Romans, Saxons, Picts, Vikings, Normans... that's why I'm fascinated by the history of Britain.

 

[pinball1970]

Scotland today so hopefully get an opportunity to get some decent images.

 

[DennisN]

Scotland today so hopefully get an opportunity to get some decent images.

That's cool, where are you going to?

I will start digitizing my UK photo collection today .
I was a little disapponted with the quality of my scans, so instead I'm going to try to photocopy with my Sony A7R camera and a macro lens. I'm setting up a mini photo studio at home at the moment .

 

[pinball1970]

That's cool, where are you going to?

I will start digitizing my UK photo collection today .
I was a little disapponted with the quality of my scans, so instead I'm going to try to photocopy with my Sony A7R camera and a macro lens. I'm setting up a mini photo studio at home at the moment .

Newton Stewart near Stranraer. It's raining so anything from distance will look a bit misty. I have a new tablet so see how they come out.

 

[Algr]

Did anyone here get a photo of the comet? I tried, but with the skies near me I could barely find the big dipper.

 

[DennisN]

Did anyone here get a photo of the comet?

@collinsmark did: here (1) and here (2).

 

[Point Conception]

Okay, it looks like we will let it traverse the US and then use it for target practice when it crosses the Atlantic coast...

View attachment 321706

 

[Ivan Seeking]

View attachment 321760

Hardly a panic. They are being overly dramatic.

 

[epenguin]

@epenguin , I thought the last photo in your post depicted a Roman, but it seems to actually be a Celtic and Roman mix.
and
¹ So it seems Sulis was originally a Celtic deity, and the Romans adapted/merged it with the Roman goddess Minerva.

An interesting example of the mix of cultures in Britain (there are many other examples in Britain). Celts, Romans, Saxons, Picts, Vikings, Normans... that's why I'm fascinated by the history of Britain.

Thank you – actually when I recovered the picture from my albums I was slightly embarrassed to not remember who that was. Now you have stirred some memory and I think you are right about that.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

A Bald Eagle in Dutch Harbor

 

[Ivan Seeking]

The view from my room

 

[BillTre]

The view from my room

View attachment 321805

Where?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Where?

Dutch Harbor, Unalaska, Alaska

 

[BillTre]

Unalaska, Alaska

Does these disappear and release energy where they touch?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Does these disappear and release energy where they touch?

Haha, not un as in anti-. But I don't recall ever finding out exactly how that name originated.

I spent Christmas and New Years there that year - 3 weeks total. We also had an ice storm with 100+ MPH winds while I was there. Crazy place to be in the winter! I was there for a big job. But at least I got to work on the side of the island with a runway. On the other side, the plane lands on the beach.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Oh yes, I posted these before. This shows bald eagles raiding a fishing boat. The birds are everywhere! And you can get so close that you could reach out and pet them, if you don't like your finger. The Aleut name for them translates approximately as "rats of the sea".

 

[Swamp Thing]

Does these disappear and release energy where they touch?

Haha, not un as in anti-.

But Greece has a Kythera / Antikythera pair.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

With me being divorced and playing the field, my customer knew my weak spot: They promised me there is a beautiful woman behind every tree, in Dutch Harbor! And they weren't lying!!!

How many trees do you see?

 

[Andy Resnick]

Cool photos!

The first location looks like it could be a nice place for long exposures when it's dark (ca 2+ s).
(I'm thinking of really long light trails from traffic)

I have tried doing a few of those, but I haven't found a particularly good spot yet.

Thanks! Yes- when it got dark, I was able to get photos like these:

I was staying in the Crowne Plaza (West Loop), room 1101. All the rooms numbered xx00 and xx01 have this view!

 

[Andy Resnick]

I love the way it looks like you're surrounded by people in that last shot, but then you notice how many of them have a pushchair (I think) with a checked cover.

Thanks! Yeah, a lot of those blobs are actually reflections of me: