World Tour

RE: World Tour

Andrew J — Sun, 28 Jun 2020 19:46:16 GMT

I forgot to add a picture to do with electronics - not sure this counts but robots are definitely a thing on this site:

[View:/resized-image/__size/620x429/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-256a1725-3930-4b56-886d-c72c904681d8/2860.contentimage_5F00_191531.jpg:620:429]

It's a Starship delivery robot and they are now a fairly common sight around town although still novel enough to be fascinating. I think this one is on a practice run looking at opening deliveries into our neighbourhood as I can't use them right now. They're very clever and able to navigate the Redway system in MK, cross roads after waiting at give way markings for oncoming vehicles, avoiding people and so on - http://www.aboutmiltonkeynes.co.uk/qa-on-mk-starship-delivery-robots/.

[View:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbQN-a2d1s0:740:466]

RE: World Tour

kmikemoo — Wed, 24 Jun 2020 17:51:19 GMT

I forgot at add an art shot, so here is the most talked about piece of art in Appleton, Wisconsin.

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It's made of refashioned propane tanks. For a month or so, someone put a light blue bed sheet on him as a COVID mask. It was awesome. Wish I'd have snapped a picture.

RE: World Tour

phoenixcomm — Wed, 24 Jun 2020 15:05:11 GMT

Weill I used to live in Dallas, Texas a little North of the city. So here are some pictures of Deep Ellum[View:/resized-image/__size/270x521/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-256a1725-3930-4b56-886d-c72c904681d8/3225.contentimage_5F00_191514.png:270:521]

Well here is Beer Keg Man, and a TV on a wall I had to work to get the picture square as it was taken from an angle. I fixed it in Gimp[View:/resized-image/__size/307x462/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-256a1725-3930-4b56-886d-c72c904681d8/6862.contentimage_5F00_191515.jpg:307:462]

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[View:/resized-image/__size/356x537/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-256a1725-3930-4b56-886d-c72c904681d8/5282.contentimage_5F00_191517.jpg:356:537][View:/resized-image/__size/356x536/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-256a1725-3930-4b56-886d-c72c904681d8/2543.contentimage_5F00_191518.jpg:356:536]

And of course The Three Giants. and my favorite shot of the day, this was shot, never[View:/resized-image/__size/541x358/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-256a1725-3930-4b56-886d-c72c904681d8/0552.contentimage_5F00_191519.jpg:541:358]

made it into gimp as it is picture-perfect. All photos were taken with my Nikon F4 35mm

SLR on or about March 15, 2015

[View:/resized-image/__size/406x540/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-256a1725-3930-4b56-886d-c72c904681d8/3288.contentimage_5F00_191520.png:406:540]

RE: World Tour

jc2048 — Wed, 24 Jun 2020 13:07:09 GMT

I live in Colchester in the UK.

My 'tourist picture' is the local castle. It's a Norman keep. The present height is reckoned to be about two-

thirds of the original height; the locals were evidently good at recycling building material. It was built on the

foundations of a Roman temple [to Claudius] which was left over from when the town was a Roman colony.

[View:/resized-image/__size/620x465/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-256a1725-3930-4b56-886d-c72c904681d8/1581.contentimage_5F00_191507.jpg:620:465]

This is a view of the High Street, taken on a misty day last November. The very grand town hall was built in

Victorian times. In the background there is an old Victorian water tower, known locally as 'Jumbo'.

[View:/resized-image/__size/600x800/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-256a1725-3930-4b56-886d-c72c904681d8/8446.contentimage_5F00_191508.jpg:600:800]

This is the town from the north-east, an area where I've been taking exercise during the 'lockdown'. The castle

is behind the trees on the lefthand side of the skyline. Although it's not very evident from the photograph,

we're looking across a river valley, with the main part of the original town on the ridge the other side. It's

not quite as rural as it looks: behind the line of trees at the bottom of the meadow lies a railway line, a ring

road, out-of-town shops, a leisure centre, and the river itself, before you get to a park which leads up to the

castle.

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For my public art picture, a sculpture of Boudicca by the artist Jonathan Clarke. I'm not entirely sure about

what I think of it as a form of representation, but it's interesting, technically, because it's aluminium, cast

using a lost-polystyrene process [the model is made with polystyrene, packed around with sand, and then the

molten aluminium displaces the polystyrene].

[View:/resized-image/__size/620x465/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-256a1725-3930-4b56-886d-c72c904681d8/5707.contentimage_5F00_191510.jpg:620:465]

This is a somewhat different kind of sculpture: a crankshaft from a Paxman diesel marine engine.

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It's a small reminder of an urban industrial past that is now mostly gone. Their Britannia Works was located just

behind me where I was taking that photograph. Here's some more information on the particular engine, if you're

interested in such things: https://www.paxmanhistory.org.uk/paxeng34.htm#12tp

Finally, the only local link to electricity I could think of was this

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The building you see through the archway is supposed to have been the home of William Gilberd, author of an

influential treatise on magnetism and [static] electricity.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Magnete

This is a better view of the plaque behind the lamp.

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RE: World Tour

kmikemoo — Sun, 21 Jun 2020 13:40:13 GMT

My city is also in Wisconsin, USA. It's called Appleton - although there are almost no apple trees in the city. It claims to have the oldest and longest running Flag Day celebration in the nation. Of course, not this year as COVID-19 has eliminated large gatherings. Appleton was the home of Harry Houdini and hosts a museum in hos honor.

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Many of our towns have some somewhat hidden history. As a generator guy, I was impressed that Appleton was (at one time) the most electrified city in the US. Below is a replica of one of the first commercial generating stations in the US. The original was torn down for a mill expansion.

[View:/resized-image/__size/640x480/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-256a1725-3930-4b56-886d-c72c904681d8/contentimage_5F00_191503.jpg:640:480][View:/resized-image/__size/480x640/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-256a1725-3930-4b56-886d-c72c904681d8/contentimage_5F00_191504.jpg:480:640]

One of the houses that it powered is below.

[View:/resized-image/__size/640x480/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-256a1725-3930-4b56-886d-c72c904681d8/contentimage_5F00_191505.jpg:640:480][View:/resized-image/__size/480x640/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-256a1725-3930-4b56-886d-c72c904681d8/contentimage_5F00_191506.jpg:480:640]

Interestingly, this house is across a decent sized river and downstream from where the generating plant was located. The distance would easily be two to three miles of transmission.

Automaker Henry Ford is also credited for promoting the expansion of electricity in Appleton.

All in my little city.

RE: World Tour

Jan Cumps — Sat, 20 Jun 2020 21:38:34 GMT

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Art Deco. Square Ambiorix, Brussels.

RE: World Tour

kmikemoo — Tue, 16 Jun 2020 20:57:45 GMT

[mention:f80b53cee57c44bc9d7c577d07d7c791:e9ed411860ed4f2ba0265705b8793d05] I would have been heartbroken if you hadn't mentioned Leinenkugels. They're internationally famous - at least in Wisconsin. [View:/resized-image/__size/16x16/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-256a1725-3930-4b56-886d-c72c904681d8/contentimage_5F00_3.png:16:16][View:/resized-image/__size/16x16/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-256a1725-3930-4b56-886d-c72c904681d8/contentimage_5F00_403.png:16:16]

RE: World Tour

phoenixcomm — Tue, 16 Jun 2020 20:14:40 GMT

[mention:f80b53cee57c44bc9d7c577d07d7c791:e9ed411860ed4f2ba0265705b8793d05] Well, now I live in Haslet, Texas about 15 minutes from Alliance Airport, and 30 minutes form JRB Navy Airstation, and a lot of long-horns, etc. But back when I was eight I lived in Middletown New Jersey. Now you have to understand we were always in the woods and later out off Sandy Hook, where a few times we were to close to the NAVY pier, as they had these tubes being lowered ( a missile don't you know )into a sub. Sorry off on a tare. but we all lived through this. As it happened I was in school but mom was in the basement doing was and a gas repairman was up in the kitchen working on the oven. Mom thought that there was an explosion. But when I got home lots of windows on our block were broken. In 11970 I went to Brookdale Community College at the now decommissioned NIKE base. One of the doors was not welded shut and you could go down into the pit, it was flooded dark and cold. Man, was I stupid in those days?

[View:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RpZT4j57Zs:740:466]

RE: World Tour

Jan Cumps — Tue, 16 Jun 2020 19:24:42 GMT

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Not my city, but a 40 minutes drive.

One of the 4 original boat lifts of Canal du Centre.

1888. Unesco world heritage.

[View:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Fk_Zw8UAak:740:466]

[View:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0hJy2PIqkI:740:466]

RE: World Tour

Andrew J — Mon, 15 Jun 2020 10:58:59 GMT

I live in Milton Keynes, often referred to by outsiders as 'a concrete jungle' and 'home of the concrete cows' and 'home of the roundabouts' - it's definitely the latter two, but definitely not a concrete jungle.

In 2017, it was reported that there are 22million trees and shrubs in MK which is around 100 for every resident. If I had to estimate it, I would put the overall area of the town at 34sq miles (89 sq kilometres) and I live within spitting distance of the centre of town. In fact, the wife and I often go for long walks around the town circling back to home - 6 to 9 miles - and never have to leave what feels like countryside. Our garden has been home to deer, foxes, herons, woodpeckers and numerous other birds and just on the other side of the back fence is the Grand Union Canal. We've even had a herd of cows locked in to our front garden by the Parks Trust when they escaped from a nearby field - what a mess to come home to the day after getting married!

All these pictures were taken within 0.5 miles of my house so within what might be classed the bounds of the town centre (despite many applications, it's never yet been granted city status.)

Gridlock on the Grand Union canal:

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We have art trails around the parkland and this is one example:

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Home to the Peace Pagoda, a Buddhist monument. You get an idea of what the town is actually like by looking into the distance across the trees (10's of thousands of people live amongst those!):

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This path leads directly to the town centre less than a mile in the distance:

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Although it's at night, you can get a feel for what the town is like. This is looking across a lake to a pub in the foreground; the lit up building in the background is the theatre and the white blob, tower and wheel are from a fun fair that has set up.

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And of course we have our old churches still. Milton Keynes was developed through the 1970's and 1980's and subsumed smaller villages into its larger area so we have areas that still retain that village feel.

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You can probably tell I'm proud to live here!

RE: World Tour

shabaz — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 18:42:14 GMT

Hi John,

Great idea : ) Chippewa Falls looks lovely from the photos.

I'm not sure my home-town has any major electronics-related history, although it is home to more factories than the average town.

One claim to fame is this telescope, built in late 1700's by William Herschel, and was the world's largest for 40 years.

Image source: Wikipedia[View:/resized-image/__size/422x464/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-256a1725-3930-4b56-886d-c72c904681d8/2870.contentimage_5F00_191488.jpg:422:464]

Also, this interesting character.. I used to think it was an astronaut, I walked past it on my way to school, as kids we loved seeing it:

[View:/resized-image/__size/386x646/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-256a1725-3930-4b56-886d-c72c904681d8/7178.contentimage_5F00_191489.jpg:386:646]

Turned out it was for marketing asbestos suits : )

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RE: World Tour

genebren — Sat, 13 Jun 2020 20:16:29 GMT

Nice idea John. Here is a quick tour of my little part of the world, San Antonio, Texas. We are still keeping to ourselves at this time (trying to avoid the next wave of the virus), so this will be a pictures from the recent past. We are located just outside the city limits of San Antonio, on the north side of the city. One of the things that we love in this area is the variety of nature that surrounds us (and visits us) here.

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This just a few of the visitors that stop by to see us from time to time.

My wife and I enjoy nature and San Antonio has several parks (more than 240) that we love to visit. We are active in both the Master Gardner and Master Naturalist programs, and work with some of the parks. Here a a few of our activities:

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In the first picture is one of our favorite nature parks, located on the north side of town. Here is a restoration project that we worked on to restore the ecosystem to a more natural state, which in this case in a Savanna habitat. Here we cut and cleared several trees in the area to allow the grass and scrubs to thrive (this was about one year after our last cutting). The second picture is a gardening program that my wife runs (and I help at) that allows families to work a plot and grow and harvest vegetables. This program is for families of home schooled children, who come out once a week for a twelve weeks. We have 20 plots and we run two sessions a year. The park was part of an old dairy farm that was gift to the city, there is a small dairy barn and some historic buildings.

San Antonio is a large city (465 sq. miles), with a population of 1.493 million people. The area is made up of a large downtown area, and a sprawling mixed of open and residential areas. This sunset view from the north side, looking south towards the heart of the city barely shows any of the downtown region:

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There are a lot of iconic sites in the city like 'The Alamo' and missions that were parts of the early settlements, but one of the more touristy attractions of the city is the 'River Walk'. Here is a very colorful look at the River Walk:

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The River walk is a collection of hotel and restaurants that border a portion of the San Antonio river as it winds through the downtown. The actual river (sourced from springs from a large aquifer) is diverted under the city, with only a small portion is at the surface. This area suffered many floodings and was reworked by the army corp of engineers, which later became the river walk that we see here. They operate barges (seen here passing below a walkway) and provide tours and taxi services.

Enjoy!

RE: World Tour

DAB — Sat, 13 Jun 2020 17:11:49 GMT

Nice tour John,

Thanks

DAB