#MP Weather News

[thebharatexpress]

IMD ALART: बारिश और ओले का अलर्ट , मौसम विभाग ने फिर जारी की चेतावनी, 4 दिनों तक मौसम अलर्ट

IMD ALART : MP Weather news: देशभर में इन दिनों मौसम की बदमिजाजी जारी हैं। मई के महीने में जहाँ धूप की तेज तपिस महसूस की जानी थी तो वही इन दिनों बाइश का आलम हैं। ज्यादातर जगहों पर तेज आंधी तूफ़ान के साथ बारिश का दौर जारी हैं, ��ासकर छत्तीसगढ़ और मध्यप्रदेश में इन दिनों मौसम का अलग ही मिजाज देखने को मिल रहा हैं। MP Mausam ka hal: पश्चिमी विक्षोम बना कारण MP Weather news: इसी बीच मौसम विभाग ने फिर से…

[umangharyana]

Aaj ka Mausam: देशभर में सर्दी का कहर जारी, कोहरे, बर्फबारी और बारिश से जनजीवन प्रभावित

Aaj ka Mausam 17 Jan 2025 : देश के कई हिस्सों में सर्दी अपने चरम पर है। कोहरा, बर्फबारी और बारिश ने आम जनजीवन को प्रभावित कर दिया है। भारतीय मौसम विभाग (IMD) ने कई राज्यों में अलर्ट जारी किया है। आइए जानते हैं प्रमुख राज्यों का मौसम हाल। दिल्ली: राष्ट्रीय राजधानी दिल्ली में कोहरे का असर गहराया। 117 फ्लाइट्स लेट हुईं और 10 रद्द करनी पड़ीं। इसके अलावा, 27 ट्रेनें भी देरी से पहुंचीं। आज दिल्ली का…

[bansalnews]

MP Weather Today  मध्यप्रदेश में सर्दी का सितम लगातार जारी है। बीते दिनों आसमान से छटे बादलों ने एक बार फिर कड़कड़ाती सर्दी का अ​हसास करा दिया है। तो वहीं मौसम विभाग ने भी प्रदेश की राजधानी भोपाल सहित 7 जिलों में शीतलहर का अलर्ट जारी कर दिया है।

[dear-ao3]

Good things about Connecticut:

We killed Henry Kissinger

Our state health insurance is pretty good (and you can be on it just for being broke you don’t have to be broke and a child, broke and disabled, broke and old, etc)

Beaches are not super touristy

We got cool museums and shit

Our state bug is a praying mantis and it’s illegal to kill them (some people will disagree that this is good but I think it’s pretty sweet)

Bad things about Connecticut:

Surprising amount of Tr*mp supporters

New England Weather™️

Pretends to be better drivers than the Mid-Atlantic states but isn’t actually

Still subject to most American Nonsense

more good things about ct:

commission on human rights and activities

our pizza. specifically my local place (will not say bc i will then be doxxing myself)

big y

the ct science center

my history teachers from 11 and 12th grade

the weather!!!

how pretty fall is

state mammal is a sperm whale

we killed henry kissinger

NATHAN HALE

more bad things about ct:

darien

the entireity of fairfield county

putnam.

the strange and confusing amount of confederate flags in the new london area

anyone with a summer house in cape cod

driving

the weird nazi problem?????????

vineyard vines enjoyers

[bananasbyler]

(Fuck it, I’m not getting sleep anyway. OKAY so regarding my last post, I forgot the first episode is called The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler. Also pigtails… I’m an idiot sometimes.

Also, I haven’t been in the ST loop in a while because the fandom was so dead a few months ago 😭 I didn’t even know about the Holly recast or teasers or whatever.)

ANYWAY let’s get into it:

Holly’s delivering a box of some sort in Vecna’s mailbox? My first thought was her being a girl scout but it doesn’t seem like the right outfit.

He’s looking normal, which must mean it’s a mind trick, deception, or upside down related of some sort since we know what happened to him physically in s4.

He’s wearing clothes typically worn in the 50s, when he was a kid, but in the role of an adult man or working father now. Again, another reason why this must be a “vision” or a new (?) power.

*I’d like to note the Poltergeist 2 nod as well, which is even more compelling.

Why is she seen at a U.S. military base (?) with Mike and Will. Is it some sort of Hawkins or California protection for people who know more (like Will, Hopper, Joyce, etc. with Dr. Owens)?

Or something to do with Holly’s package? Possibly a school project, which is why Mike and Will accompany her? They all seemingly came from school, considering the backpacks. How do they go from all 3 of them at the military base to her being alone with Vecna?

Mike and Will could have an argument, leaving Holly to go off on her own while they’re not watching. Mike could also pull the older sibling threatens younger sibling to stay put/go away/keep a secret but the younger sibling doesn’t and goes off and gets into trouble trope. I’m not sure if that’s really his character, but he is pretty whiny and Nancy did the same to him.

*Side note: their arm bands read MP, idk if that’s important.

Also, Mike is wearing the same outfit for the Holly scene and the one-on-one scene with El where he doesn’t seem upset or distressed. Meaning this is before or during when she disappears.

The bricks of the buildings look similar but not completely the same in the El photos and military photos. Top of the military base maybe? Or the radio station photos where the bricks seem closer in matching, and more weathered looking?

————————————————————————

FINAL THOUGHTS

My best guess is Mike is already meeting up with El, (maybe at the base or station?) he tells Holly to stay with Will, then Will loses Holly somehow (maybe he’s blinded by a vision or feeling. Or just simply loses her?), Holly talks with Vecna and disappears, all the while Mike is having his talk with El. He might blame himself or… unfortunately… Will. Thus creating a weird full circle of the one who disappeared (The Vanishing of Will Byers) lost the new one who disappeared (The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler)

Alternative: He blames Holly? (Doubt)

Alternative: Will and Mike both go to see El, Will leaves earlier than Mike, Mike loses Holly.

Alternative: these events take place throughout the day rather than a sequence.

Alternative: the events of this storyline take place over a number of episodes but probably ends the first episode with showing Holly going missing.

Alternative: They’re all meeting up with the party at the radio place.

Alternative: ??? Tell me some theories in the replies bc I’m seriously interested :] :3

[dramioneasks]

Christmas Fics 2023 (Part 2):

A Gold & Red Christmas by kitsunellie - not rated, one-shot - Draco really should be studying. Unfortunately, a certain Gryffindor girl can't seem to stop humming Christmas carols in the library.

How Hermione Granger (Almost) Missed Christmas by Anonymous - E, 3 chapters - Hermione Granger isn't about to let Draco Malfoy ruin her holiday season by taking credit for her werewolf rights legislation. When she hatches a plan to expose his lies, things go awry. Suddenly, she's learning all about werewolves in a more hands-on way than ever before. Come enjoy the holiday season with the pack at the Zabini Estate.

O' Little Town Of Balsam Grove by inadaze22 - M, one-shot - Chaos comes to the town of Balsam Grove and wrecks Draco's plans for the perfect proposal.

A Meowy Little Christmas by quicknotesquim - E, WIP - Draco Malfoy is roped into catsitting an elderly Crookshanks for his co-worker and longtime crush, Hermione Granger, over the Christmas holidays.

cold nose, warm heart by riddikulus_puff - T, one-shot - Draco Malfoy is a dramatic little bitch when it comes to him being ill and feeling under the weather; and of course, he, unfortunately, falls ill over the Christmas holidays when he is supposed to be celebrating with his wife. Though he has only fallen ill with the Muggle common cold, he claimed tragically that he was dying which meant that his wife, Hermione Granger-Malfoy, had to deal with his overdramatic arse.

Minute-Long Mistletoe by olivejuice28 - M, one-shot - Draco and Hermione find themselves stuck in a bit of a situation.

Wishing on a Fallen Star by Anonymous - E, WIP - Hermione has spent the last ten years learning everything there is to know about the human brain, in a fruitless search to try and restore her parent's memories. She trusted that the soul mark on her arm meant that one day she would find that special person who made her life feel less empty and hopeless. What she found were two broken men who felt more like home than anything else. Can she figure out the solution to this problem before she has to face another lonely Christmas alone?

Christmas Kisses by LittleSixx - M, WIP - MP Hermione Granger's friends are spending Christmas at Malfoy Manor because Blaise Zabini plans to propose to his boyfriend, Dean Thomas. Turns out everyone in attendance is conspiring to couple her up with the only other uncoupled guest ... Who happens to be the host.

A Winter Ball for Two by MarinaJune - T, one-shot - Hogwarts Eighth Year marks Draco's unlikely friendship with Granger, an inaugural Winter Ball, and, perhaps, new holiday traditions.

Where the Starlight Gleams by Anonymous - M, one-shot - Christmas is approaching, a newborn Scorpius won't stop screaming, and Draco reconnects with Hermione when he least expects it.

Hermione's Holiday Healing by Fawkeswriter01 - M, WIP - Upon deciding to end her ‘relationship’ with Viktor Krum, Hermione also chose to remain at Hogwarts for Christmas. She knew the Weasleys and Harry would be disappointed when she didn’t arrive at the Burrow with Ginny, but she needed some time to herself. Little did she know that Malfoy had also chosen to stay at the castle for the holidays. It surprised her even more when they began to grow close during their time together. What happens when Krum shows up at Hogwarts without any warning?

[sixpennydame]

The Better Man | Epilogue

Previous Chapter | Series Masterlist

Read in AO3 here

“Levi…”

You stretch your arms out to his side of the bed, expecting to feel his warm body. The late fall mornings were getting colder and you were yearning to cuddle beside him. But then you remembered: it’s nearly impossible for that man to sleep more than four hours a night, yet alone get him to sleep in the bed, even when he’s here in the comfort of home.

Our home, you think to yourself.

_____

After the Female Titan attack on Stohess, Levi insisted that he move you inside Wall Sina, on the outskirts of Mitras. It was safer, he’d argued, and less likely to have a large-scale titan attack, as protecting you was always first and foremost in his mind. Outside the capital, on two acres of land, you’d found a small, cozy cottage, the perfect size for the two of you (“Smaller houses are easier to clean,” Levi had noted). It was just far enough away that people wouldn’t pry into your business; a place where Levi could be at peace. 

But in the months following Stohess, there would be no peace for Levi; in fact, you’d barely seen him. You kept yourself busy with making pastries for the local market and making the cottage a home for Levi to come home to. It had been three months with no word, but you knew he’d come back. He’d promised you.

And that promise was kept when he rode up to the picket fence surrounding your home a few months later. He was weather-worn and exhausted, and he held you in his arms like your very presence was bringing him back to life. He told you of Kenny and the MP’s, of the military coup, and Historia's upcoming coronation. His eyes cast downward when he spoke of Kenny, but there was a hope there too; something you hadn’t seen on his face in a long time, maybe ever.

You also had news for him: you were pregnant.

Your tiny bump was unnoticeable under the layers of your late-summer dress, and at first, he’d just looked at you, as if he was trying to process what you were telling him. You thought he was unhappy at first, but then his face softened and he held you tightly, whispering in your ear that this was the happiest he’d ever felt. 

(So there was more than one reason why Levi was smiling so broadly at Historia’s coronation ceremony.)

Finally, it seemed like there was some good in the world.

For the next two months, Levi and the Survey Corps stayed in Mitras, where he became involved in Queen Historia’s efforts to bring all the orphans out of the Underground. He invited you to be a consultant with him, but you’d refused; you didn’t feel educated enough to be in a room full of government and military officials, but at home Levi would ask your opinion on matters. Working together towards making the world a better place, having the man you love beside you, it felt like a dream. And every evening Levi’s hands would rest gently on your belly as you slept.

But no good thing lasts forever.

“Re-taking Shiganshina and filling the hole in the wall should only take a few days”, he’d said. “I’ll be back in a week.”

“We’ll be here waiting for you.” Your belly had grown in the months Levi had been home, and his hands always gravitated toward it, as if willing his protection to the baby inside.  

A week came and went, but Levi didn’t return. When another week passed with no word, you started to worry.

News finally reached the village of the massacre of the Survey Corps and the nine survivors who were awarded a medal of valor by the queen. Levi’s name was listed among the nine. You breathed a sigh of relief.

He’ll be home soon.

When he did return, there was a change, like a dark cloud hanging over him. You understood - he’d lost Erwin, who’d been his guiding light for so many years. And he was angry - angry that he wasn’t able to defeat the Beast Titan, that he wasn’t able to keep his promise. You were happy and relieved to have him home, but he wasn’t fully here.

The cold floors creak as you softly walk to the room that will soon be your child’s nursery and there is Levi, sitting in the wingback chair next to the window. Ever the light sleeper, it only takes a few steps of your walking into the room before his eyes flit open.

“Another rough night?” you ask as you walk towards the chair. 

“I just didn’t want to wake you. You should rest as much as possible.”

You knew Levi felt guilty for not being with you during much of the pregnancy, and so he made up for it by being extra protective when he was around. He’d barely let you lift a finger, which you’d tried to tell him was unnecessary, but did love being doted over. 

He pulls you towards him and you stand in between his legs as he starts gently caressing your belly. “How are you feeling this morning?”

“Fine, but I feel huge,” you sigh. “I still have three months to go… how am I already this big?” you ask, hoping that Levi will reply with, “You’re not that big,” or “You look beautiful,” but he’s silent, his forehead resting on your stomach.

“Levi…what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” is his reply, but you know that’s not true. He hasn’t been fine since he returned, but what bothers you most is that he’s closing off his feelings.

“Hey,” you lift his head up to look at you, “don’t shut me out. I can tell you’re hurting. Just talk to me.”

You won’t be shut off from the man you love again. You won’t watch him being eaten away from the inside.

It takes him a few moments to respond, seemingly struggling to say the words out loud. “It’s just that everything I’ve known about the world has been wrong. Titans are humans. Kenny was my uncle. There are people - hell, a whole entire rest of the world - beyond these walls. Our duty as Scouts was to find out the truth, and we did that. But without Erwin, I’m not sure any of us know what to do with that truth.”

You sit on Levi’s lap as his heavy heart slowly begins to open up to you. “It’s only a matter of time now before we kill all the titans trapped in Wall Maria. Once spring comes, Hange plans for the Scouts to explore beyond the walls.” His arm, wrapped around your waist, pulls you in tighter. “My life has always been full of unknowns, but this..” he pauses and as you run your hands through his hair. “I don’t know what kind of world we’re about to open ourselves up to…and if I’m strong enough to protect humanity anymore.”

“You’re worried about the world you’re bringing your child into,” you add, your hands caressing his freshly shaven undercut. 

“I’ll protect you and our child with every inch of my being, but I hate that I don’t know what’s coming next.”

Levi has always been so sure of himself and his abilities. Erwin gave him a bigger reason to focus that brute strength. Now, Levi is like an unmanned ship careening into dangerous waters. 

And he needs you to be his anchor.

“The future is scary right now, no doubt about that. There are times when I’m so terrified of being a mother. But when I feel that way, the one thing that keeps me sane through it all, Levi, is knowing that I’m not doing this alone.”

“And you’re right, the world is changing - there’s nothing any of us can do about that. But think about where we came from, and how far we’ve come. Through it all, there’s been one constant,” your hand gently turns his face towards yours.

“Us.”

You lean your forehead against his. “We have each other. No matter what the future holds for you, me, and Paradis, I will be by your side.”

Levi’s shoulders drop as he lays his head on your chest. You love this man deeply and you know he loves you too. 

And whatever happens, you’ll face it together.

Previous Chapter | Series Masterlist

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[merpmonde]

On the JR Nara line

Uji city and the the building on the 10-yen coin can be accessed by train from Kyôto by going roughly a third of the way to Nara. Other famous sites near the line are Fushimi Inari Taisha (Inari stop), and the studios of Kyoto Animation, famous for the music and sports anime K-On and Free! (Kohata stop).

The most recent type on the route is the 221 Series, and it's already getting on a bit, introduced in 1989. It won one of the Japan Railfan Club's two main new train design awards, the Laurel Prize, the following year. The 221 is used on the fastest Miyakokji Rapid services, which do the Kyôto to Nara run in under 45 minutes.

Green 103 Series sets can also be seen. This is the oldest type still in active JR service (if not, it's close), as it was introduced in 1963. In 2016, when I first visited Japan, I was living near Paris, and some Métro and suburban lines were running trains of a similar age, if not older, and these were atrocious in hot weather - no air conditioning, and ventilation only provided by opening windows! The RATP MP 59 used on Métro line 11 was stinky to boot; it was withdrawn just before the Games, no wonder! Point is, the 103 doesn't have air con either, but is at least trying...

[chussyracing]

What has been happening in the world of motorsports lately?

(it's very long again, so the roundup is under the cut)

Franco Colapinto becomes a new Williams driver for the last 9 races of the season, Logan Sargeant was dropped with immediate effect

apparently Franco found out on Monday only and he knows he won’t get the seat in 2025 because Carlos has already been confirmed

as a result, Oliver Goethe moves up from F3 to F2 immediately with MP Motorsport in Franco’s place and Noah Stromsted drove in his place in F3 for Campos in the last race of the season in Monza

also gentle (not so gentle) reminder that Roman Staněk was with Trident for the last race weekend in Monza and everything after is uncertain for him

the whole story is: he has two main sponsors, one of them is his own father who decided to stop supporting him, so he can no longer afford it, he got an offer for 2025 from DAMS, but they ask for € 4.7 mil

Roman got replaced by Christian Mansell for the rest of the season (he is not related to Nigel btw) in Trident

Zak O’Sullivan is in a similar situation, Monza was his last race because of funding issues despite being a part of Williams driving academy, he got replaced by Luke Browning from F3

And on top of that, there are rumours that Richard Vershoor is also unhappy in the team and looking for a way out

Also since Kevin the icon he is, got a race ban for Baku, Ollie will step up for him and Gabriele Mini from F3 will fill in for Ollie in Prema to create an all Italian lineup for Italian team

Leo Fornaroli is stepping up to F2 with Invicta Racing next year

Ferrari announced a new technical structure: Loic Serra (technical director chassis), Fabio Montecchi (chassis project engineering), Marco Adurno (vehicle performance), Diego Tondi (aero), Matteo Togninalli (track engineering) and Diego Ioverno (sporting director and head of chassis operations), Enrico Gualtieri (power unit division)

Safety car crashed in Parabolica during a high speed test before Monza but both driver and passenger are ok and there was also another safety car ready if they are needed during the race weekend (what is concerning is a message I saw somewhere about it potentially being a brake failure)

apparently drivers were not very happy with the changes in Monza track and discussed it in length in the WhatsApp group, their main issue was that these track modifications are not communicated with drivers beforehand

last week George did Pirelli testing for Mercedes and Liam Lawson for Red Bull and Ollie did a wet weather test for Ferrari

also did you know Ollie has a younger brother who will race in EURO F4 in Spielberg

Lenovo becomes F1’s global partner, so they will have naming rights for 2 races in 2025

Pato O’Ward will be driving in an FP1 session in Mexico for McLaren

Williams started their Komatsu-Williams Engineering Academy for young talents

Maya Weug joined 7th round of FRECA in Imola with KIC Motorsport

Newey joined Aston Martin, so expect them to have big psychological advantage (they had a press con to announce it, he spoke about wanting to work with either Lewis or Fernando, he spoke about British bias and how it was involved in Abu Dhabi 2021…, he will start working for them early in 2025, he will also become a shareholder in the team with more rights than other teams could offer him besides being a leader of technical division)

Lawrence will apparently pay him massive amount of money (rumour has it it is Eddie Jordan who is asking for a big pay check for himself and many teams said no to that), after Newey and de la Rosa and Honda, he is also looking to sign Max Verstappen (and there is a possibility to get him in the team, Lance could head to WEC instead) – next thing you know he will also sign Christian Horner and Checo Perez to have a full RBR

Nico Rosberg, Guenther Steiner (and somebody else I freaking forgot, maybe Ted Kravitz) spoke about neither Kimi nor George having their seat secure for 2026, because Toto Wolff is still eyeing any opportunity to sign Max Verstappen

The team also sold stakes in the team to HPS and Accel

All teams were in compliance of the cost cap rules for 2023, BUT Honda and Alpine were found of procedural breech (aka none of them spent more money on catering, but these two made a mistake sort of not submitting the paperwork on time or filled incorrectly…)

Ella Lloyd is the wildcard entry for F1 Academy’s race weekend in Singapore

Red Bull junior academy signed Christopher Feghali, Ernesto Rivera, Rocco Coronel and Jules Caranta

Not only is the situation messy in junior series, it is also kinda messy in FE (Nato stays with Nissan while Fenestraz is out, Wehrlein and da Costa stay with Porsche, Günther will drive for DS Penske…)

Rumouredly, Val received an offer from Audi for one year, he was asking for more – at least 1+1 deal, besides him Binotto has Bortoleto highest on his list (and Theo Pourchaire further down the list) with McLaren potentially letting him go from their junior program if Audi wants him

Zak Brown spoke about the papaya rules shit and said how they will probably back Lando now because he is in mathematical contention for the title and Oscar will help him however he can and whatnot

Fun fact: in rally Greece, Seb Ogier spoke shit about Thierry Neuville that the “championship leader is not that fast) and then he crashed and Thierry won

For the first time ever, 4 women finished inside top 10 in NASCAR

James Vowles would apparently like Ferrari to release Carlos early so he could join them for post season test in Abu Dhabi

Santander is officially out of Ferrari with Unicredit taking their place and instead, they will become the partner of F1

Hyundai is ending in WRC next year and they would rumouredly like to join WEC

Ferrari Challenge will be a supporting series for the Las Vegas F1 GP

According to Ted Kravitz, Liam Lawson could be replacing Daniel as soon as for this weekend (that goes along what James Vowles said about trying to sign Liam for the rest of the season but Red Bull not wanting to let him go since they might need him for at least 3 races this season)

Nico the professional shit-stirrer he is, claimed that he got an offer in his e-mail inbox to buy Alpine for 1 billion dollars

Another fun fact: Ferrari already collected more points than they did for the whole season last year

Red Bull is running their engines on lower modes due to reliability concerns (part of the reason why Max had the lowest speed of all in a speed trap during the Monza GP)

All front wings are under compliance with the technical rules as per FIA (clarification that apparently Red Bull and Ferrari asked for, especially taking McLaren and Mercedes into consideration)

There is a funky feud for racing number 12 going on behind the scenes with Doohan asking for it first publicly and Mercedes asking for it for Kimi even before “secretly”, so now both teams are waiting for the result

This was meant to go into one of the previous roundups but F1 is talking to the teams to see if after season rookie race would be possible for them, which could give opportunity especially to driver who won junior series but never got into the sport

McLaren signed a sponsorship deal with NTT Data for their F1 Academy team

Also rumours and gossip from my fave source: Red Bull hired Rob Wilson to help Checo Perez get his lost form back (he is basically an observer, watches you drive and then gives you a long list of stuff you need to improve to get faster)

Williams got Globant sponsorship deal thanks to signing Franco for the rest of the season

Due to sustainability concerns, F1 might combine Canada and Miami to be a double header

There are also rumours that Ferrari tried to sign GP as a race engineer for Lewis next year

Non-sport fun

Oscar posted from a cockpit of a plane with a funny caption and then deleted because he posted it on 11th September

Max, Lando and Nico flew together to Baku for some reason

Charles won the karting marathon with his friends for LC8 team, spoke at yacht conferences and predicted weather

Lewis was sat with Noah Lyles and Anna Wintour at US open which is honestly kinda iconic

Charles and Goerge met up with Domenicali at what might be Briatore’s yacht party???

I just found out Kimi Antonelli’s girlfriend is from Czechia thanks to my sister lol

Hamda Alqubaisi from F1 Academy apparently got engaged so congrats!!!! (I thought she is like 16 I am so sorry Hamda)

Apparently Fernando Alonso got a new AM Valkyrie car that immediately broke down while he was driving it in Monaco and he was unable to fix it (he also said that they don’t get discounts on the cars from the team)

oh and kinda sports related but it is completely out of question right now BUT there is talks about F1 coming to Brno with the new resurfaced track and possible new facilities as they return on the MotoGP calendar for 2025

[the--quotifyer--innit]

Modern! BBC Ghosts! AU. Part 2

Kitty- Aromantic, and Asexual. She helps out at the local daycare and has a golden retriever caller Spider (after Peter Parker.) She studies Music, History, and Biology at Uni, loves animals, pineapples, meeting new people, and babies, and hates arguments, cars, and bitter foods.

Thomas- *bisexual panic*, (virgin). He is a writer for the local Newspaper and likes writing about Romantic Mysteries in his own time. He lives alone in his flat, loves talking to people, drama, hates the word 'Peanuts' (no one knows why.), cold water showers, and pepperoni pizza (Robin wonders how he functions without pepperoni pizza.)

Pat- He is a social worker for young children, pan, and is a trans man. married with two kids. Very likable and socially awkward at times. He loves bright colors, and teaching people things about nature, and watermelons, but hates cold weather, when animals die, and when people sneeze without covering it in their elbow.

Mary- Lesbian, She works at the Museum and can go on for hours about the Middle Ages. She lives next door to Captain, and they go for coffee every morning before work. She hates fire, sparklers, and barbeques, and loves chickens (as pets, she has six.), dinner parties, and apple pie.

Julian- #singlepringlesforlife. He's an MP, naturally, and has one child with his ex-wife. Rachel comes to stay with him for a week, and then her mother, and so on. He is still friends with his wife. He likes competing, people, and new foods but hates wet clothes (Never go out in the rain without an umbrella) and exercise.

[guerrerense]

876 At Oscawana por David Blazejewski Por Flickr: With a free weekend alone I finally took a trip long on my list and made the trek out to the Hudson Line to hunt Metro North heritage units and pay a visit to a few famous locations that I'd never before seen for myself. Tops on the list was Oscawana Island and the twin tunnels on the legendary former New York Central water level route mainline. The weather was less than ideal and far from comfortable with temps in the 90s, high humidity and thick haze making for poor shooting conditions, but I had fun nonetheless. In the short 90 minutes I spent here I shot eight trains and missed a few others before leaving as massive thunderstorms approached. Not many people shoot going away photos of trains and I'm sure this won't draw much interest. But I take a documentary approach to photography including the bad in with the good because someday once everything has changed, as it inevitably will, this will be an interesting scene for somebody. And I treat this as my trip journal and travelogue so try to include at least one shot of each train at each spot. This was the fifth of the eight trains I'd shoot, southbound Metro North train 876 the 4:31 PM departure from Poughkeepsie due at Grand Central 1 hr 46 min later. They are on Main 2 of Metro North's Hudson Line at MP 36.8 passing thru the 200 ft long west bore with P32AC-DM 226 (GE blt. Aug. 2001) shoving on the rear. This is the original New York Central Railroad mainline which opened between New York City and Albany in 1851 as the Hudson River Railroad, and the first tunnel here (the one out of sight to my left that Main 1 passes thru) dates from the line's construction through here in 1849 while the parallel one beneath my feet with Mains 2 and 4 dates from 1912 when four tracks were installed (the original tunnel had two). In 1864 the Hudson River Railroad was purchased by Cornelius Vanderbilt along with the New York and Harlem. Meanwhile in 1853 Erastus Corning had assembled a plethora of small local lines as the New York Central Railroad running from Albany to Buffalo and in 1867 Vanderbilt merged it with his road to create the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad and the rest as they say is history. By the 1950s as the railroad was showing signs of weakness but also modernizing under the leadership of A.E. Perlman. Around that era the four track mainline was equipped with CTC and reduced to three mains thru here. If anyone can fill me in the exact dates of the changes here I'd be most grateful. Hamlet of Crugers Cortlandt, New York Friday August 2, 2024

[beardedmrbean]

Finland's parliament will vote on a controversial healthcare bill on Tuesday, with five government party MPs already stating they won't support it.

The controversy is mostly over the reduced services at several regional hospitals, but Helsingin Sanomat looks at another aspect of the new law.

It changes the rules around how public bodies commission surgical operations, to allow them to buy surgery from sub contractors in the private sector.

At present the law states that any surgeon in the public sector operating with patients under anaesthetic must do so in a facility that has an emergency department.

That is, the facility itself should be able to handle anything that might go wrong.

This rules out the plentiful private sector operating theatres in Finland, which are unable to directly sell their services to public sector providers.

Some wellbeing services counties do work around this by offering vouchers to patients in an effort to reduce waiting lists, but the new law will allow the private sector to take a bigger chunk of the market.

Lapland tourism

Iltalehti reports on a series of stories that have hit the international press in recent weeks on over-tourism in Finnish Lapland.

The region has styled itself as a winter wonderland, the home of Santa Claus, and it welcomes thousands of visitors every year. But the side effects of that mass tourism are now raising questions.

The tabloid reports that locals have started to protest about the effect on the housing market, with short-term rentals now taking up a bigger proportion of the housing stock in Rovaniemi.

"We are worried about the overgrowth of tourism. Tourism has grown so rapidly, it’s not under control any more," 43-year-old Rovaniemi resident Antti Pakkanen told Associated Press.

Pakkannen is part of a housing network that organised a protest match on the issue in September.

Locals say they want better regulation to prevent tourism distorting the housing market.

Gloomy snowless Christmas

Ilta-Sanomat looks at weather forecasts in a bid to predict whether or not we'll see a white Christmas.

The paper says Finland is in for a mild festive season, with parts of the country set to see current snow cover melt before Santa comes to town.

Southwest Finland and Uusimaa are most at risk of a gloomy, snowless Christmas, with Christmas Eve showers falling as rain in those regions.

[umangharyana]

देशभर में ठंड का प्रकोप: बारिश, बर्फबारी और कोहरे का अलर्ट, जानिए हर राज्य का आज के मौसम हाल

Aaj ka Mausam 11 Jan 2025 : सर्दी के बढ़ते कहर के बीच भारत के कई हिस्सों में ठंड, कोहरा और बारिश का असर तेज हो गया है। भारतीय मौसम विभाग (IMD) के अनुसार, देश के 16 राज्यों में घने कोहरे और 10 राज्यों में बारिश की संभावना जताई गई है। कोहरे के कारण हवाई और रेल यातायात प्रभावित हो रहे हैं, जबकि पहाड़ी इलाकों में बर्फबारी ने ठंड और बढ़ा दी है। 10 राज्यों में बारिश का अलर्ट जम्मू-कश्मीर, हिमाचल…

[cryingoflot49]

Book Review

When Pirates Ruled the Waves by Paul Harris

If you don’t like what’s on the radio, then start your own radio station. That’s what some pirate broadcasters around the British Isles did and the government was not at all happy about it. Journalist and MI5 agent Paul Harris tells the story in his self-published book When Pirates Ruled the Waves.

It all starts in the early 1960s. The BBC has a monopoly on the airwaves and licenses are never granted to independent broadcasters. Large portions of the U.K. receive no radio signals at all and what is received by a moderate portion of the population does not come in clearly. And to be honest, as Paul Harris puts it, the programming on BBC radio just plain sucks. There is very little music and lots of educational and information broadcasts. Interest levels are low and few people ever listen to it. Even worse, the BBC is payed for with taxes and yet they insist on broadcasting things that tax-paying listeners have no interest in hearing.

Then the Isle of Man, where they are geographically incapable of receiving the BBC, gets permission to open their own radio station. So a few businessmen see a gap in the market and begin operating pirate stations located either on boats or abandoned military forts from World War II that are located in international waters, outside the boundaries of British territory. The radio operators have a plan to eventually go legitimate, thinking that when the government sees how popular they are they will be granted licenses and become legal. The pirate stations’ transmissions catch on like wildfire, not only with teenagers who listened to rock and pop, but also with adults like men driving to and from work and housewives who like having music to play while doing chores. The stations cater to their tastes by playing pop and easy listening music while also broadcasting news, information of local interest, weather reports, and advertising. The advertisers are legitimate businesses, some being big corporations. For a time, everyone is happy except the BBC and the government. Then a fight breaks out between competing pirate stations and one station owner gets killed.

A good half of the book tells the story of the stations themselves. That is the most interesting part. The other half of lesser interest is about the politics surrounding the pirate stations. The Labour party are strictly against legalization and tolerance of the pirate stations while the Tories are silently sympathetic on the other hand. While Labour is at first gunshy about addressing the issue, they eventually take a strong stance and fight with all they can to maintain the BBC monopoly. Eventually British laws are changed and claims to territorial waters are altered to run the pirates out of business. The passages about the government are not entirely uninteresting, but they do get tedious and if you have no especial interest in the bickering of British politicians it might seem like a bit too much.

Thankfully the stories of the two sides in this conflict are effectively intertwined so the dull parts are balanced by the more exciting parts. The exciting passages give details about some of the rowdies and eccentrics who start the pirate radio stations like horror rock singer Screaming Lord Sutch and Roy Bates who eventually turned his radio station on Roughs Tower into the micronation called The Principality of Sealand, although this book does not give any details about that development. The sections on British parliamentary procedures border on absurd humor since, by the author’s account, the Labour MP’s take themselves a little too seriously.

The last chapter could have ruined the book if Paul Harris had taken it too far. He accuses Labour of being part of a communist conspiracy to brainwash British people with BBC broadcasting. What he fails to account for is that such brainwashing would be impossible considering so few people were listening to the BBC at the time. Besides, Labour doesn’t appear to be the Stalinist dictators he claims they are; in this context they are more like a bunch of senile fuddyduddies who are too out of touch with popular opinion to see how wrong they are. The American Republican party did not invent paranoid conspiracy theorists and political cranks; judging by the ranting of Paul Harris, right wing loonies were alive and kicking in Britain during the 1960s too. Fortunately his tirade doesn’t last more than a couple pages and if it had, this book would be less credible than it is.

When Pirates Ruled the Waves is an informative story about an overlooked and forgotten issue from the U.K.’s past. Coming from a journalist, the writing is simple and clear. It offers a glimpse into a lost era in the history of radio that we probably can’t relate to so much today now that we have access to whatever we want to hear on the internet. It is that different perspective and the challenge of understanding it that makes this kind of obscure book valuable. I’m not sure what radio is like in the British Isles these days, but here in America it sucks. That is because all our stations are owned by giant corporations who want to dictate what we listen to. It is a whole different problem now. So much has changed and yet so little is different.

[paved-un-paved]

Shooting Sports: What's in The Bag?

(This article is re-posted from 2021. Gear update coming soon.)

(Photo by Hernan Bernal)

I've been making pictures for over two decades now, and I still work on improving my photography every day - and improving the gear I use. I have found sports to be the most demanding field I've ever worked in, it being tougher - and ultimately, more satisfying - than even chasing wildlife in the Florida Everglades.

Any good photographer will tell you that you can get great pictures with any decent camera, and when I started covering cycling races, I had just come back from a short photography hiatus with a new-to-me Nikon D80. It marked my return to DSLRs after having sold all my Canon gear some time before. The D80 got me hooked on Nikon, and I sold a bunch of good photos from it, but I kept on "trading up" until I got to the kit I use now. My biggest reasons for upgrading included faster autofocus, weather-sealing on the body and lenses, and a more usable ISO range.

So what do you see me shooting with now out at races? I am a hardcore minimalist, but I still use two camera bodies, one with a wide lens and one with a telephoto. The Nikon Z 6 has become my primary camera - a big surprise to me, considering how many people want to talk down its sports capabilities. I may think differently about it if I were shooting 150mph race cars or motorcycles, but it does extremely well when photographing cyclists whizzing past me at 30+ mph.

My Nikon 70-200/4 VR is almost always attached to the Z 6 via the clunky FTZ adapter. The 70-200 is a staple in almost every sports photographer's bag, and that's why I resisted it for so long - trying to be different, but I was going about it the wrong way. I now see why this incredibly versatile lens is so damn popular. I picked the f/4 over the f/2.8 because of weight. Endurance sports are the only sports I shoot, and they are almost always out in the open and in the daytime - so I don't really need that extra stop. And after running from one end of a criterium course to the other all day while carrying almost 30 pounds of gear, I realized I needed to lighten up the backpack. The secondary body is one that I had wanted even back when I was still shooting Canon, having been released in 2012: the Nikon (former) flagship body, the D4. Tough as hell, and it shoots 11 frames per second - rat-tat-tat-tat! Ergonomic even with its considerable heft, it looks and handles the business. Mated to a Nikon 16-35/4 and hanging from a Peak Design Slide strap, it's really not bad to carry around.

The 16-35 is the newest addition to the kit, having traded in my beloved Nikon 16mm fisheye and the utilitarian Nikon 24/2.8 lens I used for a while. I don't get the awesome distortion from the 16-35 that I did from the dedicated fisheye prime, but then the same distortion could easily become gimmicky at times. So the fisheye stayed in the bag more often than not. The 16-35 gives me that amazing wide-angle perspective I love, with a very useful zoom range.

Rounding out the lens selection, I held onto my Nikon 300/4 with a 1.4x teleconverter, for when I really need more reach. It's a cracker of a lens, but it has made less appearances at race courses since I have had the 70-200. What else is in the bag? Snacks, tons of batteries, a Think Tank Pee Wee Pixel Pocket Rocket case for all the memory cards, a Think Tank Hydrophobia rain cover for the unpredictable Sunshine State weather, a Nikon SB-900 flash, and a few other odds and ends. A rugged WD My Passport SSD hard drive serves as a backup and storage for second shooters. The pack itself is a Mindshift Gear (Think Tank again) MP-7 v2.0 backpack. It's pretty light and fits everything just right, laid out in a way that makes sense for an active outdoors photographer.

Finally, hanging defiantly from an exterior zipper is a French keychain of the lion mascot from longtime Tour de France sponsor Crédit Lyonnais, to remind me of determination and pushing past limits; just like I can always ride my bike faster, I can always make an even better picture.

[jcmarchi]

Ready to Upgrade Your Sports Live Production

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/ready-to-upgrade-your-sports-live-production/

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Perfect for sports broadcasters, the BirdDog X4 Ultra features a 20x optical zoom, NDI|HX3 for high-quality, low-latency video streaming, and 2160p60. With Wi-Fi 6 for ultrafast connectivity and a built-in battery for on-the-go flexibility, it’s ideal for live sports productions anywhere.

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CR-N100 4K NDI PTZ Camera from Canon is perfect for sports coverage. It features a 1/2.3″ dual-pixel CMOS sensor, Hybrid AF, DIG!C DV6 processor, optical image stabilization, 20x optical zoom, and UHD 4K video capture. With NDI|HX and SRT support built-in, it seamlessly integrates into your NDI network for effortless setup.

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