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Technical Issues

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Technical Issues:

 

Hi, everyone;

 

We were knocked of the Internet for 7 days so I couldn't update DesertFalconRising.

I am back up now and will add content soon. Hang in there.

 

Thanks,

DesertFalcon

Last Updated on Monday, 25 April 2016 10:04
 

Ransomware 'Petya' Encripts Your Hard Drive!

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Ransomware 'Petya' Encripts Your Hard Drive!

If malware that holds the files on your computer to ransom isn’t bad enough, news that there’s a new variant in the wild that locks down the whole of your computer by taking over the boot process just made the situation a whole lot worse.

Called ‘Petya’, the new threat bypasses looking for the most important files to encrypt, and just goes ahead and locks up the entire drive instead, according to G Data Software.

Find out how to avoid being a victim of this attack; It's as easy as 123.

READ MORE: TheNextWeb

Last Updated on Tuesday, 29 March 2016 10:49
 

The Importance Of An Anchor Why A Foreground Matters

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The Importance Of An Anchor - Why A Foreground Matters

Most everyone is familiar with the concept of an anchor in the nautical sense. The anchor keeps the vessel from drifting away, due to current or wind. It fixes the vessel to a certain position. While this is easily understood, fewer people are aware of the need for a similar concept in photography.

I enjoy using wide angle lenses for landscape photography, but I also recognize that a wider focal length brings additional compositional challenges. While a wide focal length can produce visually exciting images, it can also produce really boring, empty feeling images. The nature of wide angle lenses is that they create the feeling of space, of distance. That distance can really disconnect the viewer from your subject, if you are not careful. When using a wide focal length, it becomes incredibly important to anchor your image with a strong foreground.

Trailhead

The trailhead in the foreground of this image, leads you into the grander scene.

 

The nature of a wide angle means that it distorts the perspective of the objects, closest to the camera. There is a feeling of distance from your background, so the eye needs something closer to engage it, before moving on to the grander scene beyond. I’m sure you’ve seen visually stunning images of famous mountain ranges, sunsets, waterfalls, or wild natural scenes. I’m willing to be that your favorites all feature a small scale object in the foreground. Patterns in the ice or snow, wildflowers, rocks, or fallen autumn leaves. These serve as the visual anchors of the scene. Without them the image becomes much more boring, and far less grand.

There are many beautiful places on our planet, but photography, much like everything else, is very trendy. It is rare that you have an opportunity to capture something that has never been photographed before. The challenge then, is to find a way to set your work apart from the crowd. Anchoring your image through something unique is one of the key ways to accomplish this. Take for example, the new One World Trade Center in New York City. It has an incredible amount of emotional capital invested in it, because of the events of September 11th, 2001. So, it’s been photographed hundreds of thousands of times already since its completion. I wanted something different, and I saw the opportunity while in Battery Park further up Manhattan Island. Green space is at a premium in the big city, so when I saw an opportunity to shoot the tower, with the anchor of some flowers in the park in the foreground, I jumped on it, and am happy to have a different perspective on a familiar sight (image below).

The City

READ THE REST AT: Digital Photography School

 

Last Updated on Friday, 06 May 2016 17:42
 

Donald Trump - A Real Person!

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Donald Trump - A Real Person!

Last Updated on Friday, 18 March 2016 22:31
 

Self Parking Chairs

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Self Parking Chairs

Last Updated on Thursday, 25 February 2016 04:49
 

Here They Come!

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Here They Come!

 

Historic Discovery of Einstein's Gravity Waves

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Historic Discovery of Einstein's Gravity Waves

Gravity Waves

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced the detection of gravitational waves by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), a pair of ground-based observatories in Hanford, Washington, and Livingston, Louisiana.

Albert Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves in his general theory of relativity a century ago, and scientists have been attempting to detect them for 50 years. Einstein pictured these waves as ripples in the fabric of space-time produced by massive, accelerating bodies, such as black holes orbiting each other. Scientists are interested in observing and characterizing these waves to learn more about the sources producing them and about gravity itself. 
An artist's impression of gravitational waves generated by binary neutron stars. 
An artist's impression of gravitational waves generated by binary neutron stars. 
Credits: R. Hurt/Caltech-JPL

The LIGO detections represent a much-awaited first step toward opening a whole new branch of astrophysics. Nearly everything we know about the universe comes from detecting and analyzing light in all its forms across the electromagnetic spectrum – radio, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays. The study of gravitational waves opens a new window on the universe, one that scientists expect will provide key information that will complement what we can learn through electromagnetic radiation.

Just as in other areas of astronomy, astronomers need both ground-based and space-based observatories to take full advantage of this new window. LIGO is sensitive to gravitational waves within the range of 10 to 1,000 cycles per second (10 to 1,000 Hz). A space-based system would be able to detect waves at much lower frequencies, from 0.0001 to 0.1 Hz, and detect different types of sources. NASA is working closely with the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop a concept for a space-based gravitational wave observatory.

ESA is currently leading the LISA Pathfinder mission, launched last December and now in its commissioning phase, to demonstrate technologies that could be used for a future space-based gravitational wave observatory. NASA contributed its ST-7 Disturbance Reduction System to the payload as part of that demonstration.

NASA missions are searching the sky for fleeting X-ray and gamma-ray signals from LIGO events. Detecting the light emitted by a gravitational wave source would enable a much deeper understanding of the event than through either technique alone.

For more information, please visit:

https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/news/ligo20160211

http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=137628

 

 How much does your flying really cost?

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 How much does your flying really cost?

FEBRUARY 7, 2016 BY DAN RAMSEY

A good new year’s resolution for a frugal pilot is to determine how much his or her flying habit REALLY costs. No, not the number that you tell your significant-other (or the tax collector), the actual costs of owning or renting and flying an airplane. Calculating those costs annually is a good way to discover whether you’re getting the most for each dollar you spend on flying. Knowing the numbers doesn’t mean that you’re going to dramatically cut back — in fact, it may mean you spend more on some expenses.

However, it does mean that you are focusing on value. Remember, a frugal pilot isn’t cheap. She or he seeks value, safety, and fun. The best place to start is to set up a spreadsheet, either on a computer or a tablet of paper. Electronic spreadsheets are easier as you can tell them to do the calculations for you automatically, and they are easier to update than paper. Once your spreadsheet is set up, future tracking of flying costs will be easier.

Here’s how to break down your Frugal Flying Budget:

Fixed Costs Fixed costs are those expenses that go on whether you fly or not. If you own an aircraft, fixed costs include the cost of an annual inspection and repairs, insurance, ongoing maintenance (such as oil and filter), hangar or tie-down rent, association dues, taxes, and maybe interest on an aircraft loan. If you rent your aircraft, there may be no fixed costs — one of the many advantages of renting. If you’re part of a flying club, your monthly membership dues may be the only fixed cost you have. If you’re in a partnership, the fixed costs will be calculated, then split between the partners as outlined in the partnership agreement (equally, by hours flown, with deductions for service to the partnership, etc.)

Variable Costs Variable costs are the expenses that go up when you do. For aircraft owners, that means the cost of fuel and maybe oil if usage is significant. If you’re renting “wet” (with fuel), the variable costs are included in your rental fee, otherwise, add your fuel purchases in. Partnerships typically pay full variable costs; the fuel you use is the fuel you buy.

Total Costs

The next step is to calculate total fixed and variable costs. This is where an electronic spreadsheet is really handy. For example, you list these costs in columns titled Per Year, Per Month, Per Hour, and Percent of Total. If you’re comfortable with spreadsheets you can include an editable cell that allows you to change the number of hours flown during a year (Hr/Year) to give you total and per-hour costs if you fly 25 hours a year versus 100 hours annually. If you’re really into frugal flying, you’ll add a comparison of owning versus renting based on local rental rates. If oil consumed is an issue, you can calculate a factor for replacement oil based on how many flight hours it takes to burn a quart of oil. You can calculate fuel costs based on current price and burn rate at 65% vs. 75% power. Get creative.

Replacement Costs There is one other cost factor that can be significant in your calculations: Replacement costs. It’s typically a variable cost based on how many hours are flown. The ownership question is: How are you going to pay for something not covered by insurance, such as a lost engine or a major repair? It’s a legitimate question that aircraft owners and partners (not renters, of course) answer in various ways. Some owners say: I’ll deal with it when it happens. Others say: Let’s set aside some money for each flight hour to pay for potentially high repair costs. Partnerships often do this. But no one really knows when a major expense will come along, so some owners and partnerships set up a reserves fund and pay into it for every hour flown. It could be a percentage of variable costs (such as 25%) or it could be calculated based on the difference between tach/Hobbs time and the estimated Time Between Overhaul (TBO) on the most costly items — engine and propeller. Still others simply add an estimated number to their Variable Costs, such as $10 an hour, to help cover major repairs. The decision of how to handle major, often unforseen, expenses is a big one for all aircraft owners — frugal or otherwise. Once your frugal flying budget is set up and populated, you can easily perform what-ifs: What would costs be if I flew twice as many hours a year, if I took on a partner, if I rented instead of owned, if fuel prices (variable costs) went down, if I upgraded avionics (fixed costs), if I paid off a loan or found lower-cost insurance? These and other scenarios can help you get greater value from each dollar you spend as a frugal pilot.

See you in the pattern!

Original Source: http://generalaviationnews.com/2016/02/07/how-much-does-your-flying-really-cost/

Last Updated on Tuesday, 09 February 2016 20:38
 

Human sounds convey emotions clearer and faster than words

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Human sounds convey emotions clearer and faster than words

Date:
January 18, 2016
Source:
McGill University
Summary:
It takes just one-tenth of a second for our brains to begin to recognize emotions conveyed by vocalizations. It doesn't matter whether the non-verbal sounds are growls of anger, the laughter of happiness or cries of sadness. More importantly, the researchers have also discovered that we pay more attention when an emotion (such as happiness, sadness or anger) is expressed through vocalizations than we do when the same emotion is expressed in speech.
READ MORE: ScienceDaily
 

Another Historic Rocket Landing - The Falcon has Landed

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Another Historic Rocket Landing - The Falcon has Landed

 

HISTORIC ROCKET LANDING! - Jeff Bezos - BLUE ORIGIN

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HISTORIC ROCKET LANDING! - Jeff Bezos - BLUE ORIGIN

 

Space Music (Tomahawk) and Interesting Earthquake Theory

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Space Music (Tomahawk) and Interesting Earthquake Theory

Put on your headphones for best sound!

 


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