Main Concourse

The Main Concourse is the primary concourse of Grand Central Terminal, a railway station in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The space is located at the center of the terminal's station building.
The distinctive architecture and design of the Main Concourse helped earn several landmark designations for the station, including as a National Historic Landmark. The concourse, along with select other interior spaces, has been protected as an interior New York City Landmark since 1980. The room's Beaux-Arts design incorporates numerous works of art. The terminal is one of the world's ten most visited tourist attractions, with 21.6 million visitors in 2018, excluding train and subway passengers.
The Main Concourse is located on the upper platform level of Grand Central, in the geographical center of the station building. The concourse leads directly to most of the terminal's upper-level tracks, although some are accessed from passageways near the concourse. The Main Concourse is usually filled with bustling crowds and is often used as a meeting place.
While the Dining Concourse was completed and opened early, the Main Concourse was completed in 1913, and opened along with the rest of the terminal. It held numerous events, exhibitions, and other attractions over the coming decades. In World War II, its east balcony became a United Service Organizations canteen. In 1944 its ceiling proved to be damaged beyond repair, and was covered over with a false ceiling, replicating the artistry of the original work. In 1967, the first train departure display was installed in the Main Concourse. The display, affectionately known as the Big Board, was replaced with more modern equipment several times (in 1985, 1996, and 2019). Since the mid-20th century, the room started to deteriorate, as its windows were darkened, advertisements were installed on its walls, and bank kiosks were placed on its floor. In the late 1990s, a restoration project overhauled the terminal with a significant focus on the concourse, making it appear nearly like it did in 1913. The most major change was the addition of the east staircase, an element planned but never implemented until then. Since the renovation was completed in 1998, the concourse has been maintained to keep its original overall appearance. The building's purchase by the MTA in 2020 has ensured its well-kept state for the foreseeable future.
Layout and architecture.
The Main Concourse, on the terminal's upper platform level, is located in the geographical center of the station building. The cavernous concourse measures long by wide by high; a total of about . Its vastness was meant to evoke the terminal's "grand" status.
Iconography.
Many parts of the Main Concourse and rest of the terminal are adorned with sculpted oak leaves and acorns, nuts of the oak tree. Cornelius Vanderbilt chose the acorn as the symbol of the Vanderbilt family, and adopted the saying "Great oaks from little acorns grow" as the family motto. Among these decorations is a brass acorn finial atop the four-sided clock in the center of the Main Concourse. Other acorn or oak leaf decorations include carved wreaths under the Main Concourse's west stairs; sculptures above the lunettes in the concourse; metalwork above the elevators; reliefs above the train gates; and the electric chandeliers in the Main Waiting Room and Main Concourse. These decorations were designed by Sylvain Salières.
The overlapping letters "G", "C", and "T" are sculpted into multiple places in the Main Concourse and terminal, including in friezes atop several windows above the terminal's ticket office. The symbol was designed with the "T" resembling an upside-down anchor, intended as a reference to Cornelius Vanderbilt's commercial beginnings in shipping and ferry businesses. In 2017, the MTA based its new logo for the terminal on the engraved design; MTA officials said its black and gold colors have long been associated with the terminal. The spur of the letter "G" has a depiction of a railroad spike. The 2017 logo succeeded one created by the firm Pentagram for the terminal's centennial in 2013. It depicted the Main Concourse's ball clock set to 7:13, or 19:13 using a 24-hour clock, referencing the terminal's completion in 1913. Both logos omit the word "terminal" in its name, in recognition to how most people refer to the building.
Information booth and clock.
The 18-sided main information booth is in the center of the concourse. Its attendants provide train schedules and other information to the public; in 2015, they fielded more than 1,000 questions an hour, according to an MTA spokesman. A door within the marble and brass pagoda conceals a spiral staircase down to a similar booth on the station's Dining Concourse. The Main Concourse booth originally had a simple counter surrounding the enclosed staircase and clock, though by the end of 1914 the entire booth was enclosed with a glass roof, and eventually with window panels on its sides.
The booth is topped by a four-faced brass clock, one of Grand Central's most recognizable icons. The clock was designed by Henry Edward Bedford and cast in Waterbury, Connecticut. Its mechanism was designed by the Self Winding Clock Company and built by the Seth Thomas Clock Company, along with several other clocks in the terminal. Each face is made from opalescent glass, now often called opal glass or milk glass. An urban legend, which arose in news reports in the 1990s or even earlier, claimed that the clock faces were actually made of opal, a precious gem, and that renowned auction houses had estimated their worth at millions of dollars. This myth was spread by tour guides in the terminal, by its presentation as fact in Wikipedia from 2006 to 2013, and by major news publications into the present day. It was debunked by "Untapped New York" in 2020.
The clock was first stopped for repairs in 1954, after it was found to be losing a minute or two per day. One of the four original clock faces was damaged in 1968 by a police officer's bullet, while he chased members of the Youth International Party who staged a protest inside the terminal. The cracked face was removed in the 1990s during the terminal's restoration. It was replaced with a replica; the original is now part of the New York Transit Museum collection.
Along with the rest of the New York Central Railroad system's clocks, it was formerly set to a clock in the train dispatcher's office at Grand Central. Through the 1980s, they were set to a master clock at a workshop in Grand Central. Since 2004, they have been set to the United States Naval Observatory's atomic clock, accurate to a billionth of a second.
Departure and gate boards.
The terminal's primary departure board is located on the south side of the concourse, installed directly atop the two sets of ticket windows. Colloquially known as the "Big Board", it shows the track and status of arriving and departing trains.
There have been five departure boards used over the terminal's history: the 1913–1967 chalkboard, the 1967–1985 Solari board, the 1985–1996 Omega board, the 1996–2019 LCD board, and the 2019 fully digital display. For the first 54 years of the terminal's operation, train arrival and departure information was hand-chalked on a blackboard. The blackboard still hangs as a relic in its original place in the Biltmore Room, but in 1967, its function was supplanted by an electromechanical display in the main concourse over the ticket windows. This new display, dubbed a Solari board after its Italian manufacturer Solari di Udine, showed train information on rows of flip panels that made a distinctive flapping sound as they rotated to reflect changes. In 1985, the Solari board was replaced with the more technologically advanced Omega board, with flip panels controlled by a computer database of train information instead of manual inputs. It was built by watchmaker Omega SA to a design by Advanced Computer Systems of Dayton, Ohio, which also installed it. This board was removed during a terminal renovation in July 1996; it was replaced several months later with liquid-crystal displays that replicated the analog look of the older boards, yet were the first to span over both the east and west ticket offices. Between March and September 2019, the LCD boards — whose software had become unavailable — were removed from their housings and replaced by LED video wall screens. Designed by the MTA and New York's State Historic Preservation Office, the LED displays are brighter, easier to read, and ADA-compliant; they are also the first of the boards to offer real-time updates to train information. Commuter complaints about the new displays were published in the news, as had complaints over the three prior board replacements, in 1967, 1985, and 1996.
There are also arrival and departure displays at each of the platform gates, about 93 in total. Originally these were cloth curtains with train information stitched onto them, posted at the platform entrances. The signs were eventually replaced with flip panels, replaced again with the installation of the Omega Board in 1987, and supplanted again by LCD panels, which were replaced between 2017 and 2020.
Triple windows.
Natural light comes from large windows in the concourse's east and west walls. Each wall has three round-arched windows, about high, identical in size and shape to the three on the terminal's south facade. The design was inspired by the Palais Garnier in Paris. Catwalks, used mostly for maintenance, run across the east and west windows. Their floors are made of semi-transparent rock crystal, cut two inches () thick.
Ticket windows.
Two sets of ticket offices span the south side of the room, on the east and west of the entryway from Vanderbilt Hall. Many have been closed or repurposed since the introduction of ticket vending machines.
Main Concourse ceiling.
The Main Concourse's ceiling is an elliptical barrel vault, with its base at an elevation of 121.5 feet and its crown at 160.25 feet. A skylight was originally supposed to be installed to provide light into the terminal, and accommodations were made for a large ceiling light, in case an office building were to be constructed over the terminal.
A false ceiling of square boards, installed in 1944, bears an elaborate mural of constellations painted with more than 2,500 stars and several bands in gold set against a turquoise backdrop. It is a less-detailed version of an earlier mural painted directly on the ceiling itself. The original mural, conceived in 1912 by architect Warren and painter Paul César Helleu and executed in 1913 by Brooklyn's Hewlett-Basing Studio, became water-damaged and faded by the 1920s. In 1945, New York Central covered it with cement-and-asbestos boards and a new version of the mural. Both the original mural and its mid-century copy contain several astronomical inaccuracies: the stars within some constellations appear correctly as they would from earth, other constellations are reversed left-to-right, as is the overall arrangement of the constellations on the ceiling. Though the astronomical inconsistencies were noticed promptly by a commuter in 1913, they have not been corrected in any of the subsequent renovations of the ceiling.
There are half-moon clerestory windows on the north and south sides, with carvings by Salières, alternately depicting a globe adorned with Mercury's staff and a winged wheel that symbolizes the speed of the railway, adorned with lightning bolts to symbolize the line's then-recent electrification. Both designs include laurel and oak branches.
Balconies.
The Main Concourse has balconies on its north, west, and east sides, overlooking the main floor. Its east and northeast balconies house an Apple Store. The southern end of the west balcony includes Cipriani Dolci, a restaurant and bar that is part of Cipriani S.A. The west and northwest balconies also housed a Michael Jordan's Steakhouse for years; the space is currently is vacant.
Entrances and exits.
The concourse, in the terminal's center, leads north to its train shed as well as an escalator, placed centrally on the north wall, leading up to the MetLife Building. There is only one entrance from the south end a wide bridge spanning over the Oyster Bar ramps leading into Vanderbilt Hall. Passageways also lead from the west and east ends of the concourse, on either side of the west and east sets of stairs. These passageways lie underneath the east and west balconies, with shops and ticket machines along the walls, and lead to additional passageways that largely make up the station interior.
Staircases.
Two nearly-identical sets of staircases are placed on either side of the concourse space. The east and west sets each have central stairwells leading down to the Dining Concourse, flanked by sets of stairs leading up to the balconies. The concourse was originally designed to have both sets of staircases, though a change in design led to only the west staircase having been built by the time the terminal opened. During the terminal's restoration in the 1990s, the east staircase was added. It uses the same stone as the west staircase, as well, as a similar design (modified for ADA compliance, and to show close observers that it is not original). The staircases were modeled after those of the Palais Garnier in Paris.
Other details.
The concourse floor is made of pink Tennessee marble.
The concourse is lit by ten globe-shaped chandeliers in the Beaux-Arts style, each of which weighs and contains 110 bulbs.
Underneath the east and west balconies lie two intricately carved marble water fountains. The fountains, which date to the terminal's opening, still operate and are cleaned daily, though they are rarely used.
The concourse's large American flag was installed there a few days after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center.
The four corners of the Main Concourse have roughly square towers, lobbies for the office tower proposed to be built atop the terminal since its planning began. The four towers each contain a bank of four elevators, along with intricate staircases.
Historical elements.
The Main Concourse has featured numerous advertisements, displays, and kiosks on its floor since the terminal's opening. Among the long-term elements was a massive illuminated clock, in place from 1959 to the late 1980s. Additionally, Kodak displayed a large photographic display, the Colorama, over the east balcony from 1950 to 1989.
History and uses through time.
While the Dining Concourse was completed and opened early, the Main Concourse was completed in 1913, and opened along with the rest of the terminal. It held numerous events, exhibitions, and other attractions over the coming decades.
During World War II, the terminal became heavily used by troops moving across the United States. Due to Grand Central's importance in civilian and military transit, many of the terminal's windows were covered with blackout paint, which would prevent aerial bombers from easily detecting the building. The war also prompted the Farm Security Administration to install a mural on the Main Concourse's east wall in 1941. The mural, which had a montage of photographs, was part of a campaign to sell war bonds, and its unveiling was a nationally broadcast event that also drew 3,000 people on-site. In 1943, this mural was replaced by another, , also installed over the east wall. A large flag also hung in the Main Concourse honoring the 21,314 New York Central Railroad employees that participated in the war. The terminal also hosted a canteen operated by the United Service Organizations. Known as the Service Men's Lounge, the space on the east balcony had pool and ping pong tables, a piano, lounge chairs, and lunch counters. The terminal was used for military funeral processions as well.
In 1944 its ceiling proved to be damaged beyond repair, and was covered over with a false ceiling, replicating the artistry of the original work. In 1967, the first train departure display was installed in the Main Concourse. The display, affectionately known as the Big Board, was replaced with more modern equipment several times (1985, 1996, and 2019). Since the mid-20th century, the room started to deteriorate, as its windows were darkened, advertisements were installed on its walls, and bank kiosks were placed on its floor. In the late 1990s, a restoration project overhauled the terminal with a significant focus on the concourse, making it appear nearly like it did in 1913. The most major change was the addition of the east staircase, an element planned but never implemented until then. Since the renovation was completed in 1998, the concourse has been maintained to keep its original overall appearance. The building's purchase by the MTA in 2020 has ensured its well-kept state for the foreseeable future.
Uses.
The size of the Main Concourse has made it an ideal advertising space. During World War II, a large mural with images of the United States military hung in the concourse, and from the 1950s to 1989, the Kodak Colorama exhibit was a prominent fixture. A illuminated clock hung in the Main Concourse at the entrance to the main waiting room from the 1960s to the 1990s. The clock, sometimes referred to as "Big Ben", had chimes, and after 1986, news and stock information. The clock was sponsored by at least five companies; its first and most significant was Westclox. All of these advertisements and fixtures were removed around the time of the terminal's renovation in the 1990s; only four advertisement screens remain on the concourse, each about .
The Main Concourse has also been used as a gathering venue. In the 1960s, the terminal's tenant CBS installed a CBS News television screen above the ticket offices to follow the spaceflights of Project Mercury; thousands would gather in the Main Concourse to watch key events of the flights. Politicians such as U.S. presidents Calvin Coolidge and Harry S. Truman; presidential candidates Thomas Dewey and Robert F. Kennedy; and governor Herbert Lehman have also held events within the concourse. The Main Concourse has also been used for memorials, including events to commemorate U.S. ambassador to France Myron T. Herrick and former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis after their deaths; celebrations for Martin Luther King Jr. Day; and an impromptu memorial created after the September 11 attacks in 2001. Several celebrations have also taken place at the terminal, such as a celebration for the New York Giants after they won the NFL championship in 1933; an event for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1941; and several large parties and New Year's celebrations.
Various special exhibits and events have also been held at the Main Concourse throughout the years.
Art.
The Main Concourse is one of the most-photographed places in New York City and the United States. One of the most famous photographs of the space shows light streaming from its clerestory windows down to the floor. The work is reproduced online through hundreds of different images, with variations in angles, cropping, flipping, filters, and watermarks, as well as the author and date attributed to the works. Photographer Penelope Umbrico collected a sample of such images in "Four Photographs of Rays of Sunlight in Grand Central", on display in the terminal's Dining Concourse.
Architectural influence.
The Main Concourse inspired multiple works of architecture and art. These include the nearby Biltmore Hotel (designed by Warren & Wetmore and built in 1913), which held a palm court modeled after the Main Concourse. The building was gutted by developers in 1981, and although preservationists managed to secure an agreement to approximately re-create the space, a new agreement in 1983 prompted a $500,000 donation to a landmarks fund instead.
The concourse's architecture, including its central clock, is depicted on the stage of "Saturday Night Live", an NBC television show. The soundstage reconstruction of the terminal in Studio 8H was first installed in 2003.
An additional inspiration taken from the Main Concourse is at the terminal's wine-and-liquor store Central Cellars. The space was formerly the Grand Central Theatre or Terminal Newsreel Theatre, open from 1937 to around 1979. The theater lobby featured an astronomical mural, which has similar colors and style to the Main Concourse ceiling. A renovation in the early 2000s removed a false ceiling, revealing the mural as well as the theater's projection window.


Alban Faust

Alban Faust is a luthier and player of traditional Swedish music, designated a Swedish Riksspelman ("musician of the realm") in 2009. Born in Germany, Faust later moved to Dalsland, Mellerud, Sweden.
Since 1990 Faust has owned his own business, "Borduninstrument Alban Faust" (Alban Faust Drone Instruments), at which he produces säckpipa (Swedish bagpipes), as well as other types of French and German bagpipes. Faust is also a musician, and chairman of the folk music organisation Dalslands Spelmansförbund.
Appointment as Riksspelman.
In summer, 2009, Faust played before a Swedish jury on the nyckelharpa and traditional mouthblown säckpipa, as well as demonstrating a bellows-blown säckpipa of his own invention, which he had invented to eliminate the effects of mouth-blown moisture on the pipe reeds, and allow the player to sing or speak while piping. The jury approved of his efforts, and Faust was awarded the silver Zorn Badge designating him a Riksspelman.


Regional Connector

The Regional Connector Transit Project is a light rail subway tunnel under construction in Downtown Los Angeles. It is designed to connect the existing Metro Rail A (Blue) and E (Expo) Lines at 7th Street/Metro Center station to the existing L (Gold) Line and Union Station. When completed, the project will provide a one-seat ride into the core of Downtown for passengers on those lines who currently need to transfer, and it will reduce or eliminate transfers for many passengers traveling across the region via Downtown.
The project is being implemented by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). It has been given high priority by Metro in its long-range plan and has funding set aside in Measure R.
The Draft Environmental impact statement was completed in September 2010 and selection of a preferred alternative was completed in late October 2010. The Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) was certified by the Metro Board on April 26, 2012. Pre-construction on the project began in December 2012. The contract for heavy construction on the project was signed on July 9, 2014, and its official groundbreaking was held on September 30, 2014.
Originally scheduled to open in 2020 but delayed due to construction difficulties, the project was 77.6% complete . Revenue operations are currently forecast to begin in August 2022.
Route.
The project's tunnels begin at the A\E Flower Street Tunnel 7th Street/Metro Center station, the previous terminal built in the early 1990s, and continue north under Flower Street. The line turns to run under 2nd Street and dives below the 2nd Street Tunnel and the B/D subway with clearances as low as . In Little Tokyo, the line turns off 2nd to serve the replacement underground station before the routes split to their own surface portals, connecting to former L Line tracks.
Station listing.
The project will include three new Metro subway stations. From northeast to southwest, the stations are:
At previous points during planning and construction, Little Tokyo/Arts District was referred to as 1st St/Central; Historic Broadway as Los Angeles City Hall or 2nd Street/Broadway; and Grand Av Arts/Bunker Hill as Bunker Hill or 2nd Place/Hope Street.
Planned services.
Metro plans to discontinue the L Line and use parts of its route to reconfigure the A and E Lines into the following:
Due to the restructuring of service, the A Line will become the longest light rail line in the world at , surpassing the Coast Tram in Belgium. It will become even longer upon completion of Phase 2B of the Gold Line Foothill Extension.
Background.
The connector was envisioned as early as 1984 when planning and building the Metro Blue Line and restudied with a through connection in the Pasadena Light Rail Corridor studies in 1989. LACMTA originally envisioned the Blue Line running through Downtown L.A. to Union Station and onward to Pasadena with potential future lines to the northwest (Burbank/Glendale) and to the south and west (Exposition Park/Santa Monica). The connector was not completed due to lack of funds and realignment of the Red Line Eastside Extension, which later became an extension of the Pasadena Gold Line.
The connector was formally studied for the first time as a standalone project in a Major Investment Study in 1992–1993, in preparation of the Long Range Transportation Plan. The project was revived in 2004, when LACMTA staff initiated a technical feasibility assessment for a potential regional connector. This study focused on conceptual methods to provide a regional connector and to alleviate potential operational constraints.
The 2004 staff study looked at the potential alignments that would not be entirely underground, due to funding constraints from the voter-approved 1998 Prop A ban on local county subway funding. Most of the alignments were under Flower Street, surfacing between 5th Street and 1st Street and proceeding east to Alameda Street, connecting to the Eastside light rail corridor (now part of the Metro Gold Line), and continuing either north toward Union Station and Azusa or east toward East Los Angeles.
LACMTA staff analyzed at-grade street-running couplets, transit mall, elevated and hybrid subway/at-grade/elevated alignments along east-west streets such as Temple Street, First Street, Second Street and Third Street and utilizing available grade-separated infrastructure such as the Second Street Tunnel through Bunker Hill (between Hill and Figueroa Streets) or the Third Street Tunnel (between Hill and Flower Streets) to minimize costs, improve operating times and improve the feasibility of constructing the project.
In July 2006, the LACMTA Board voted to approve funding and staff to initiate a Major Investment Study (MIS) for the Regional Connector in conjunction with approval of a similar study for the extension of the Red Line subway. In June 2007, the LACMTA Board approved the consultants to perform the Alternative Analysis and MIS, and in July 2007 the Alternatives Analysis was initiated. In November 2007, preliminary outreach meetings for the Alternative Analysis were held at Central Library and the Japanese American National Museum (JANM). The results from these meetings were presented to the public in February 2008, including the descriptions of the eight route alternatives identified for analysis, narrowed down to two later in 2008. At the January 2009 Metro Board Meeting, the Regional Connector was approved and received funding to continue in the environmental study process (Draft EIS/EIR).
Environmental review process.
The Alternatives Analysis yielded two LRT (light rail) build alternatives, plus the required "No Build" and "TSM" (Transportation System Management) options. A third LRT build alternative was added in February 2010, at the request of Little Tokyo stakeholders (including property, business, and homeowners).
The operational intent of the project is to allow through running of service between the four corridors (Blue Line corridor, Expo corridor, Gold Pasadena corridor, and Gold Eastside corridor). All three build alternatives begin at the station, which is currently the northern terminus of the Blue Line and the eastern terminus of the Expo Line which opened on April 28, 2012. All three build alternatives connect to the existing Gold Line at Alameda Street near Temple Street or 1st Street.
On October 28, 2010, the LACMTA Board of Directors opted for a fully underground option, rejecting at-grade and underground emphasis alternatives. This route remains underground below Flower and 2nd Streets until northwest of 1st/Alameda. By that point, the route would have split into two branches. Each branch would then emerge from a tunnel - one heading north to Union Station, the other east to the Eastside.
Metro added this alignment in February 2010, after receiving public input on the other two options. This option puts the connector underground beneath 1st/Alameda. The fourth new station (at 1st/Alameda southwest block) would replace the existing station. The third station (nearest the Civic Center) was shifted slightly west toward Broadway, to take advantage of redevelopment efforts in the historic core. This option is generally fastest and has fewest impacts during operations, but it would have more construction impacts and higher costs.
Comparison of alternatives.
The following table summarizes key characteristics of each alternative:<ref name="Draft EIS/EIRSummary">http://www.metro.net/projects_studies/connector/images/deis-deir/Executive-Summary.pdf</ref><ref name="Draft EIS/EIRAlternatives">http://www.metro.net/projects_studies/connector/images/deis-deir/Chapter-2.pdf</ref>
Selected alternative.
In September 2010, Metro published the Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (Draft EIS/EIR). The report recommended adoption of the "Fully Underground LRT Alternative" (LRT 3 above).<ref name="Draft EIS/EIR">http://www.metro.net/projects/connector/draft-eis-eir-report/</ref>
In October 2010, Metro staff reaffirmed this recommendation, but with the 5th/Flower station removed. The report cited concerns for the overall project cost and the proposed station's short distance from Metro Center/7th Street Station, a mere three blocks, which might not have met FTA funding standards. However, proponents of a 5th/Flower station cited the high density of very large high-rise office buildings within one block of a 5th/Flower station and that such a station would relieve what is expected to be extreme pressure at Metro Center/7th Street (already experiencing pressure) once the Expo Line, then the Regional Connector are complete.
At the Metro Board meeting in late October 2010, the Board certified the Draft EIS/EIR and accepted the staff recommendation of Fully Underground Alternative with the 5th/Flower station deleted as the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA). The project staff will now conduct a final study of the LPA, which will culminate in a Final Environmental Impact Study/Environmental Impact Report (Final EIS/EIR).
Project funding.
Measure R guarantees the Regional Connector $160 million for implementation. In February 2014, the federal government granted Metro $670 million in New Starts funds and $160 million in infrastructure loans for the project.
Construction.
Pre-construction activities began in December 2012, with the start of the relocation of utility pipes. Major heavy construction was scheduled to begin in 2013, but was delayed by lawsuits, among other factors. The main contractor was finally issued a "Notice to Proceed" in early July 2014; the official groundbreaking for heavy construction on the project was held on September 30, 2014.
Most sections of the Regional Connector tunnel will be built using the tunnel boring machine (TBM) construction method, though some sections (especially the locations of the three future subway rail stations) will be built using the cut-and-cover construction method with an emphasis on maintaining as much road access as possible during construction. Metro has an agreement with the Los Angeles Music Center to use the most advanced state of the art noise-suppression measures underneath 2nd Street where it passes Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Colburn School of Music. This commits Metro to use procedures to ensure that the rumble of trains does not intrude on the sound quality of recordings made in the venues or mar audiences' musical experience within this sensitive stretch of the tunnel.
Two modest, one-story brick buildings had to be demolished since the Little Tokyo/Arts District station will be moved underground and across the street. One of the structures existed since at least 1898 and both played an important role in the cultural life of the Little Tokyo neighborhood for decades.
By late 2017, one of the two tunnels had been completed; the second tunnel was completed in January 2018. Extra work and expense were required to work around century-old water and electric infrastructure beneath downtown Los Angeles. Metro has revised its estimate for the project completion to mid 2022, more than a year after the original estimated completion date.
In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent state-mandated closings of local businesses and stay-at-home orders that resulted in reduced traffic, the city of Los Angeles was able to shut down local roads, allowing Metro to accelerate construction. According to an independent monitoring report released by Metro in March 2020, at the current pace revenue service on the Regional Connector would begin in August 2022.


Asa P. Robinson

Asa Peter Hosmer Robinson (1822–1898) was the founder of Conway, Arkansas.
Early life.
Asa Peter Hosmer Robinson was born on October 10, 1822, in Hartford County, Connecticut, to Ludyah and Sophia Eliza ( Hosmer) Robinson. He was the eldest of seven children. His father became a prominent businessman in Newburg, New York. Robinson attended the local schools of Newburg and studied civil engineering in college. He married Lucy Blodgett in New York in 1845. Lucy died in 1859.
Career.
Robinson became a "rodman" in surveying the route of the Erie Railroad. Following the American Civil War, he accompanied a cavalry expedition from the banks of the Missouri River to the city of Denver, Colorado. Robinson then journeyed to Kansas where he worked for the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad.
In 1869 Robinson came to Arkansas to construct the first of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway. He then became the chief railroad engineer for the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad. In connection with his work on the Little Rock & Fort Smith Robinson received one square mile of land south of the Cadron Ridge in Faulkner County, extending south roughly from what is today Prince Street to Dave Ward Drive. He reserved the northeast corner of his property for the establishment of a town site, and the southern half as private hunting lands and as a plantation for raising shorthorn cattle, hogs, and sheep. Robinson drove a stake in the ground at the place where Conway Station was to be constructed.
A post office was built at Cadron Gap, but later transferred to Conway Station in 1872. The station became the county seat of Faulkner County in 1873. One year later Robinson married his second wife, Mary Louise De St. Louis of Montreal, Canada. Conway, Arkansas, was incorporated in 1875, and Robinson was elected the town's mayor in 1887. He also became president of the local school board. He personally pledged land for the courthouse square, and several local churches. He was actively engaged in Republican politics. In 1884, Robinson laid out the federal Hot Springs Reservation.
Death and legacy.
Robinson died in Conway, Arkansas, on October 12, 1898, two days after his 76th birthday. Robinson Avenue in Conway is named in his honor.


Assur group

In mechanical engineering, an Assur group is a kinematic chain with zero degree of mobility, which added or subtracted from a mechanism do not alter its original number of degrees of freedom. They have been first described by the Russian engineer (1878–1920) in 1914.,
The simplest of all Assur groups (also known as dyads) have two links and three joints, of which two are potential joints. Using an underscore "_" to indicate a guide following or preceding a slider in a translating (prismatic) joint, all possible dyadic isomers will be: RRR, RR_T, RRT_, RT_R, T_R_T, T_RT_, _TRT_, R_T_T, R_T_T, RT_T_, R_TT_ and RT__T.
Higher order Assur groups are known such as simple and multiple triads, simple and multiple thertad, pentad hexad etc.
When an Assur group is connected to the same link, zero degree-of-freedom entities known as Baranov trusses are obtained.
MechDesigner from PSMotion, OSMEC from ESDU and MeKin2D are software programs known to use Assur group/modular approach for the motion analysis of planar linkage mechanisms.


David Lardner

David Ellis Lardner (11 March 1919 – 19 October 1944) was an editor, a movie critic, and later a war correspondent for "The New Yorker" magazine. He was the fourth son of humorist Ring Lardner. He was killed when a land mine exploded under the jeep he was riding in while covering the European Theatre of World War II. He had been in Europe for four months.
Background.
David Lardner, the last of four sons born to noted writer and humorist Ring Lardner and Ellis Abbott, remained unnamed for two months after his birth, and his father ran a contest for naming suggestions, none of which were used.
David Lardner became an anonymous reporter and interviewer for "The Talk of the Town" column in "The New Yorker" in 1939 at the age of 20, as well as a movie reviewer. Shortly after he married his wife Frances, he was given responsibility for another department, "Notes on Sports."
His two children, Katharine and Joe, were born while he was writing this column.
David's opinionated style of writing is what made him valuable at "The New Yorker". He only gave his opinion of things that he was knowledgeable about, which included movies and sports.
The "Notes on Sports" column continued intermittently for more than two years, but was discontinued permanently when David left to cover World War Two in London.
He asked for an overseas assignment after being rejected for military service because of poor eyesight.
Death.
Lardner and Russell Hill, correspondent for the "New York Herald Tribune", were riding in a jeep from the combat-devastated city of Aachen to a press camp on 19 October 1944. Lardner had only joined the First Army press corps a few days before, on his first war assignment.
Hill suggested that they take a short-cut. The road chosen had just been swept for mines by engineers but the mines had been left stacked by the road for retrieval the following day, and the vehicle swerved into a pile of them. "One report said the jeep touched off a string of seven antivehicular mines."
Lardner was blown from the jeep and knocked unconscious. He died a few hours later in a hospital. Hill was also injured, and the driver was killed. Lardner was 25.


John Dunn (pipemaker)

John Dunn (ca. 1764–1820) was a noted pipemaker, or maker of bagpipes. Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, Dunn was a cabinet maker by profession, initially a junior partner with George Brummell. In the trade directories, he also appears in his own right as a turner (Whitehead 1790) and a plumb maker and turner (Mackenzie & Dent 1811). His address was Bell's Court, off Pilgrim Street. He was buried on 6 February 1820 in St. John's, Newcastle. His father may have been one John Dunn of Longhorsley; if so, he was born on 3 September 1764. He should not be confused with one M. Dunn, the maker of several surviving sets of Union pipes.
Work with bagpipes.
Dunn was a maker of Northumbrian smallpipes and is regarded as the first to have added keys to the chanter, (c. 1800 AD), extending the range of the instrument from an octave to a twelfth. He may thus be regarded as an inventor of the modern instrument.
The earliest evidence of such a keyed chanter is the illustration and fingering chart in
John Peacock's tunebook, "A Favorite Collection of Tunes with Variations Adapted for the Northumberland Small Pipes, Violin, or Flute", first published by William Wright, of Newcastle, in about 1800. This depicts a simple keyless chanter with an octave range from G to g, as well as "J. Peacock's New Invented Pipe Chanter with the addition of Four Keys", these keys were for the notes low D, E, F sharp, and high a.
Subsequent makers, particularly Robert Reid, added more keys to extend the range further, and include chromatic notes.
A set of pipes with a single-octave chanter was presented by John Dunn to John Peacock in 1797; this set now lacks the original chanter, but still carries the original engraved ferrule on the drone-stock reading: 'The Gift of John Dunn to John Peacock Newcastle 1797'. The engraved inscription is generally thought to have been done in the workshop of Thomas Bewick. It was acquired by the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne, with the support of the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2004, and is now in the Morpeth Chantry Bagpipe Museum.
Several sets survive made by Dunn, one of which is the set he made for Robert Bewick, now in the Morpeth Chantry Bagpipe Museum.
After John's death in 1820, his son, also named John, continued the business, and an entry in Thomas Bewick’s cash book in October 1822 states that 'Dunn', evidently the son, was paid five shillings for a ‘job at pipes’. This son was still listed as a cabinet maker in trade directories up to 1855.


Alexander van Bredael

Alexander van Bredael (1 April 1663 – 14 July 1720) was a Flemish painter known for Italianate landscapes and genre scenes of fairs, cattle markets and villages. He was a prominent member of the Antwerp artistic family van Bredael.
Life.
He was born in Antwerp into an artist family as the son of Peeter van Bredael, a well-known painter specializing in market scenes and village feasts set in Italianate landscapes. His mother was Anna Maria Veldener, the daughter of the prominent sculptor Jenijn Veldener. Two of his brothers, Jan Peeter the Elder and Joris became painters.
Alexander trained under his father. He became a master in the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke in 1685.
On 11 August 1685, he married Cornelia Sporckmans, daughter of the Antwerp history painter Hubert Sporckmans. They had three daughters and six sons of whom Jan Frans became a painter. Alexander van Bredael died in Antwerp.
His pupils include his son Jan Frans, Peeter Busschop, Johan Baptist Govaerts, Guielmus van Ryn and Pieter Snyers.
Work.
Alexander van Bredael painted in a wide variety of genres including cattle market scenes, Italianate landscapes and village scenes. He is probably best known for his depiction of festivals and processions set in his native Antwerp. His village scenes are reminiscent of the genre scenes of David Teniers the Younger. He also took his inspiration from other Flemish artists. For instance, his composition "" likely drew its inspiration from similar paintings representing processions in cities by Flemish artists such as Pieter van Aelst and Erasmus de Bie.
He painted many scenes of cattle markets, which offered him the opportunity to showcase his skill in depicting group scenes populated with many figures as well as his ability to paint animals. He made various Italianate landscapes often including harbour scenes such as the .
Alexander van Bredael produced designs for the tapestry workshops in Oudenaarde. In 1698 he is recorded as supplying designs for six tapestries with genre scenes depicting peasants and gypsies. He provided designs for tapestries that are referred to as "Teniers scenes or tapestries". This refers to tapestries related to the Flemish genre painters David Teniers the Younger and David Teniers III. Even though it is not possible to connect the tapestries known as Teniers tapestries, which were woven in numerous weaving centers in Flanders, to any specific designs of these genre painters, these tapestries have been called Teniers tapestries since the early 18th century. Correspondences between the merchant Pieter van Verrren and Alexander van Bredael of 1700 make clear Alexander van Bredael designed some Teniers tapestries. A tapestry depicting an eyeglass vendor was sold at Christie's on 5 February 2003 in New York. It is possible that the landscape in this tapestry was drawn by Pieter Spierinckx, particularly since such a collaboration between Bredael and Spierinckx on Teniers tapestries is mentioned in documents of 1707.


North Easton station

North Easton station is a former railroad station designed by noted American architect H. H. Richardson. It is located just off Oliver Street in North Easton, Massachusetts, and currently houses the Easton Historical Society. The station was built in 1881 and served commuter trains until 1958. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 as Old Colony Railroad Station. In 1987, it also became part of the H. H. Richardson Historic District of North Easton, a National Historic Landmark District. The proposed Phase 2 of South Coast Rail would return commuter rail service to the location in 2030 as Easton Village station.
History.
The Easton Branch Railroad opened from Stoughton to North Easton on May 16, 1855. Originally part of the Boston and Providence Railroad, it became part of the Dighton and Somerset Railroad in 1866.
A new station was commissioned in 1881 by Frederick Lothrop Ames, director of the Old Colony Railroad, during the same year that Richardson designed the Ames Gate Lodge for his nearby estate. Frederick Law Olmsted landscaped its grounds. It is a relatively small station, a single story in height with Richardson's characteristic heavy masonry and outsized roof. Its long axis runs north-south with the tracks, now disused, along its west side. The building is laid out symmetrically within, with a large passenger room at each end (one for women, the other for men).
The station's facade is constructed of rough-faced, random ashlar of gray granite with a brownstone belt course and trim. Two large, semicircular arches punctuate each of the long facades, inset with windows and doorways, and ornamented with carvings of a beast's snarling head; a further semicircular arch projects to form the east facade's porte-cochere. Eaves project deeply over all sides, supported by plain wooden brackets.
Commuter rail service past Stoughton was cut on September 5, 1958. In 1969, the Ames family purchased the property from the Penn Central Railroad and gave it to the historical society. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. In 1987, it also became part of the H. H. Richardson Historic District of North Easton, a National Historic Landmark District.
A new MBTA Commuter Rail station, Easton Village, is proposed to be built at the site as part of the South Coast Rail project. An high-level platform will be constructed across the track from the historic building.


Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government

The secretary of state for housing, communities, and local government, also referred to as the communities secretary, is a Cabinet position heading the UK's Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, previously known as the Department for Communities and Local Government from 2006 to 2018.
This department was created in 2006 by then British prime minister Tony Blair to replace John Prescott's Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, which had taken on the local government and regions portfolios from the defunct Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions in 2002.
The secretary of state took over the responsibilities of the minister of state for communities and local government. This post, within the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, was created in 2005, on the transfer of several functions from the deputy prime minister himself.
Responsibilities.
As well as general responsibilities within the department's remit, the secretary of state has the power to determine "called in" planning applications and "recovered" appeals in England.


Ben Lexcen

Benjamin Lexcen AM (born Robert Clyde Miller, 19 March 1936 – 1 May 1988) was an Australian yachtsman and marine architect. He is famous for the winged keel design applied to "Australia II" which, in 1983, became the first non-American yacht to win the prestigious America's Cup in 132 years.
Early life.
Born in the small town of Boggabri, New South Wales on 19 March 1936. After his parents, labourer Edward William Miller and Ethel Doreen, née Green abandoned him as a child he stayed briefly at Boys' Town, Engadine, before going to his grandfather at Newcastle. He left school at age 14 to pursue a locomotive mechanic's apprenticeship but soon found his attention turning to sailboats. At 16, he designed his first sailboat "The Comet" with his friend William Bennett in Hamilton, NSW, and began to make a name for himself in local competition. Miller did his sailmaking apprenticeship with Norman Wright in Queensland. Miller's designs were highly innovative. His entry, "Taipan" in the 1960 18Footer World Championship started the modern era of the class and Miller won the World Championship in 1961 with the successor, "Venom". With friend Craig Whitworth, he founded a boat-building, sail-making and ship-chandlery firm (Miller and Whitworth) and designed boats part-time as well. One of his lasting early successes was the design that became the International Contender. It was selected in 1967, in multi boat trials, as a potential Olympic successor to the Finn dinghy. The Contender was awarded International status in 1968 and now has fleets in more than twelve countries throughout the world. His keelboat designs of the early 1970s featured clean, easily driven hulls and relatively small sail area. He had great success with a series of these designs starting with the innovative "Ginkgo". Miller competed in the 1972 Munich Olympics representing Australia in sailing with Denis O'Neil and Ken Berkeley as fellow crew members.
America's Cup.
Miller was commissioned by Alan Bond to build "Apollo", an ocean racer. This partnership continued when Bond first challenged for the America's Cup in 1974 with the Miller-designed 12-metre class yacht "Southern Cross", named for the southern hemisphere constellation. Their challenge for the Cup was unsuccessful but Miller was kept on as the designer for future yachts, all of them designed to the 12-metre class rules as used for America's Cup competition at the time.
During the first years of his partnership with Bond, Miller withdrew his partnership from his sail-making company but the company retained its name of Miller and Whitworth. Soon after the 1974 Cup challenge, Miller changed his name to avoid confusion with his former company. Keen to prevent the possibility of there being any confusion surrounding his name and business interests in the future, he asked a friend who worked for Reader's Digest to find out the least-used surname within their membership. The result was Lexcen. "Ben" was the name of his dog.
Bond challenged for the 1977 America's Cup using the Lexcen and Johan Valentijn designed 12M "Australia" against media mogul Ted Turner and again with a Lexcen modified "Australia" in 1980 against Dennis Connor, losing both times.
After the 1980 challenge Lexcen realised that to win against the defenders, with their 100+ years of America's Cup experience, they would need a superior boat. His next design featured a host of advanced design features, not the least of which was a revolutionary winged keel, intended to lower the drag and to make the boat more stable and maneuverable in the water. The keel design reduced tip vortex, a turbulence resulting in conventional keels from the pressure differential between the windward (low pressure) and leeward (high pressure) sides. Australia II's design was to prove highly controversial, protested because some part of the design was done before and during the testing of the keel by Netherlands tank testing facility.
"Australia II" was a revolutionary design approach with her winged keel and hull design comprising the shortest waterline length ever measured on a 12-metre. To yachtsmen accustomed to seeing racing yachts out of the water, Australia II is striking. Its conventional long slim topsides flare down to a short waterline hinting at the dramatic, minimal, slippery underwater hull shape which was fast to turn as well as easily driven and quick to accelerate. Ben often remarked that Australia II is a whole boat, not just a keel. The New York Yacht Club, holders of the Cup, formally protested both that Australia II was not a legal 12 Metre, and that the design itself was not of Australian origin. The ruling arrived at on the boat confirmed that "Australia II" complied with both the 12-metre class and the America's Cup rules. The questions on her design origin were not formally answered at the time, but the controversy re-emerged in 2009 (see Later claims of Dutch Design for details). Claims that Peter van Oossanen was the designer of the "Australia II"'s keel instead of by Ben have been strongly rejected by John Bertrand and by John Longley, a key member of the "Australia II" team using documentary evidence.
The 1983 America's Cup saw Lexcen's "Australia II", with John Bertrand at the helm, take on the NYYC skipper Dennis Conner and the defender yacht, "Liberty". The Australians were sure they had a fast boat. Australia II had dominated the challenger eliminations just as Liberty had dominated the closer defender trials, honing her tuning and performance. But mechanical failures on Australia II and skillful sailing by the defenders caused "Australia II" to fall behind, losing the first two races. "Australia II" stormed back to take three of the next four. Dennis Conner had creatively registered three different configurations (sail area, spar length and ballast) for Liberty and he successfully called for lay days to choose advantageous weather to suit his most competitive versions of the boat. This was the first time in history that the series depended on the result of the last race, and the pressure of defending the Cup was now firmly on Liberty. In the deciding race on 26 September, Conner prepared Liberty in her very competitive light weather configuration with big sail area and low weight. Australia II won the start and held an early lead but was overtaken by Liberty which built up a substantial margin. At the start of the penultimate leg (a square run) the breeze was very light and Liberty was vulnerable. Liberty chose a starboard tack leg and declined to cover Australia II which allowed them to run deeper and faster assisted by breeze and windshifts allowing Australia II to overtake the Americans by the leeward mark. Liberty then engaged Australia in a spectacular tacking duel with nearly 50 tacks and a number of faked "dummy" tacks trying to break the Australians' cover. Australia II held on till both boats reached the starboard layline in amongst the spectator fleet and tacked several boat lengths ahead of Liberty and sailed to the finish to take the race. Australia II became the first challenger to wrest the Cup from the United States since its inception in 1870. Lexcen was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his contributions to the winning design.
Lexcen was commissioned by Bond once again in 1986 to design a defender for the 1987 America's Cup. He designed "Australia III" and "Australia IV" for Bond's two boat defense program. "Australia IV" was ultimately defeated by the Iain Murray designed and skippered "Kookaburra III" in the Defender Trials. Steve Ward (builder of all four "Australias" maintains that Lexen's design was not at fault but that "Australia IV" was uncompetitive due to last minute design modifications ordered by the upper echelons of Bond Corporation. "Australia IV" was originally designed to be longer on the waterline with less sail area similar to Conner's winning design. Australia competed in the Cup without a Lexcen designed boat for the first time in ten years. "Kookaburra III" lost in the finals to Dennis Conner and his American challenger, "Stars & Stripes 87", 4 races to nil.
Death.
Lexcen died suddenly in Manly, New South Wales on 1 May 1988, of a heart attack at 52 years of age. He is buried at Frenchs Forest Cemetery located in Davidson, New South Wales.
Legacy.
In 1988, the Toyota Lexcen was released by Toyota Australia in Ben Lexcen's honour. The car was a rebadged Holden VN Commodore and was built in Australia under the Button Plan. Production lasted until 1997.
In 1988 the University of New South Wales named its newly created sports scholarships the Ben Lexcen Sports Scholarships. These scholarships were the first sports scholarships to be offered by an Australian university.
In 2006, Lexcen was posthumously inducted into the America's Cup Hall of Fame.


Russian destroyer Leytenant Zatsarenny

Leytenant Zatsarenny () was an Imperial Russian Navy destroyer of the four-strong (named after Ivan Shestakov (1820–1888)).
"Leytenant Zatsarenny" herself was named after a torpedo boat captain who had distinguished himself in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878.
She was sunk on 30 June 1917, when she ran onto a German naval mine that had been laid only days before by the Ottoman Navy light cruiser "Midilli" (formerly the Imperial German Navy′s ). "Midilli" had laid seventy mines off the mouth of the Danube, followed by another ten off Fidonisi Island, which to the Germans was then known as "Schlangen Insel" (Snake Island), off Sulina.
"Leytenant Zatsarenny" was rediscovered in July 2007 by Russian divers.
Design and construction.
The was developed to meet a requirement for larger destroyers for the Black Sea Fleet based on experience of the Russo-Japanese War. The basis of the design was the , a German design being built for the Baltic Fleet, but the new ships were larger and had longer range. "Leytenant Zatsarenny" was long overall, with a beam of and a draft of . Displacement (ship) was . Four coal-fired Normand boilers were fitted, feeding two triple expansion steam engines rated at , which gave a design speed of . "Leytenant Zatsarenny" reached a speed of during sea trials but by 1912 this speed had dropped to . Two funnels were fitted.
The ship was originally designed to have a gun armament of six 75 mm guns, but was completed with the forward gun replaced by a single 120 mm (4.7 in gun). Three 450 mm (18 inch) torpedo tubes were fitted, while 40 mines could be carried. After 1909, another 75 mm gun was replaced by a 120 mm gun, while after 1914, the remaining 75 mm guns were replaced by two 47 mm anti-aircraft guns and the mine load increased to 50. The ship had a crew of 91–94.
"Leytenant Zatsarenny" was laid down at the Naval Yard, Nikolayev (now Mykolaiv), Ukraine on 3 September 1906 Old Style (OS) ((16 September New Style (NS)), and was launched on 16 October 1907 OS, entering service on 3 October 1909 (OS).
Service.
"Leytenant Zatsarenny" remained part of the Black Sea fleet during the First World War, although the low speed of the "Leytenant Shestakov"s limited their usefulness. Operations included escort operations, support for fleet operations, minelaying, landing sabotage teams and bombarding Turkish fortifications and ports. On 1–6 January 1915 (OS) "Leytenant Shestakov", along with other ships, took part in the destruction of the steamer and three sailing ships off Sinop.
From January to April 1916, "Leytenant Zatsarenny" took part in the Trebizond Campaign, a Russian land and amphibious offensive that resulted in the capture of the Turkish cite of Trabzon. On 2 November (NS) (20 October (OS)) that year, "Leytenant Zatsarenny", along with sister ship and the destroyer , carried out a raid against Turkish coastal craft hidden at the mouth of the Terme River, with 20 Turkish barges and sailing craft being captured or destroyed.
"Leytenant Zatsarenny" was sunk on 17 June 1917 (OS) (30 June NS), when she ran onto a German naval mine that had been laid only days before by the Ottoman Navy light cruiser "Midilli" (formerly the Imperial German Navy′s ). "Midilli" had laid seventy mines off the mouth of the Danube, followed by another ten off Fidonisi Island, which to the Germans was then known as "Schlangen Insel" (Snake Island), off Sulina.


Alice Hindson

Alice Maud Charlotte Hindson (1896–1984) was an English weaver. She was one of the founders of the Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers in England.
Early life and education.
Hindson was born in Andover, Hampshire in 1896, the daughter of John Hutchinson Hindson, a clergyman, and Lavinia Hindson. She attended Cheltenham Ladies College. During World War I, the college became a hospital for wounded soldiers and Hindson worked there as a quartermaster. The family moved to Brockenhurst after the death of her father and in 1920 she attended the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London, studying drawing, lettering and wood engraving under Noel Rooke who had been a student of Edward Johnston.
Career.
Hindson began illustrating books and in 1921 joined the Society of Scribes and Illuminators, serving as its secretary from 1928 to 1931. At "the Central", Hindson learned draw-loom weaving from tutor Luther Hooper. Many of her designs woven in Chinese silk, and derived from her wood engravings, were illustrated in Hooper's 1932 book, "The New Draw-Loom". In the early 1930s, Hindson spent over a year in Ditchling and wove with Elizabeth Peacock where she scaled up and created a bedspread, but it was for her small detailed patterns using naturally dyed silks that she was known. She returned to Brockenhurst and in 1931 became a founder of the Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers. She was the author of "Designer's Drawloom: an introduction to Drawloom Weaving and Repeat Pattern Planning" published by Faber and Faber in 1958 and described the use of the shaft drawloom developed by Luther Hooper.
Personal life.
Little is recorded of Hindson's personal life although she had three brothers and a sister on the 1901 census. The 1939 census records that Hindson was living with her mother and sister and working as an ARP ambulance driver. They were all living off private means.


HMS E50

HMS "E50" was a British E class submarine built by John Brown, Clydebank. She was launched on 13 November 1916 and was commissioned on 23 January 1917. "E50" was damaged in a collision with the Imperial German Navy submarine "UC-62" while submerged in the North Sea off the North Hinder Light Vessel on 19 March 1917.
E 50 was lost on 1 February 1918, and it was earlier believed that she struck a mine in the North Sea off the South Dogger Light Vessel. In 2011 the wreck was found by a Danish Expedition much closer to the Danish coast, 65 NM west of Nymindegab.
Design.
Like all post-"E8" British E-class submarines, "E50" had a displacement of at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of and a beam length of . She was powered by two Vickers eight-cylinder two-stroke diesel engines and two electric motors. The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a submerged speed of . British E-class submarines had fuel capacities of of diesel and ranges of when travelling at . "E50" was capable of operating submerged for five hours when travelling at .
"E50" was armed with a 12-pounder QF gun mounted forward of the conning tower. She had five 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes, two in the bow, one either side amidships, and one in the stern; a total of 10 torpedoes were carried.
E-Class submarines had wireless systems with power ratings; in some submarines, these were later upgraded to systems by removing a midship torpedo tube. Their maximum design depth was although in service some reached depths of below . Some submarines contained Fessenden oscillator systems.
Salvage and commemoration.
The conning tower from E 50 was in a very bad state, when it was rediscovered by a Danish expedition in 2011.The tower was already torn off the hull and was laying isolated on the seabed, seriously damaged by heavy fishing gear. The Danish team decided to raise the remnants in order to prevent complete destruction, and could do so in compliance with international law.
Afterwards the tower went through a very comprehensive restoration, and since 2015 it has been on display at Sea War Museum Jutland in Thyborøn, where also the 31 men, who lost their life in the submarine, are commemorated on a plaque in front of the tower.


Theodor Ketterer

Theodor Ketterer (1815 - 1884) was a renowned Black forest clockmaker who worked in Furtwangen, (Germany).
Although his cuckoo clocks were not as popular and known as the ones made by the Beha company, they were of the highest quality and made in low numbers.
Both the cases and movements were similar to the Behas; however, there are some differences.


Jean-Baptiste Delettrez

(Antoine) Jean-Baptiste Delettrez (1 May 1816 – 25 May 1887) was a renowned 19th-century French clockmaker.
Delettrez and Achille Brocot, son of the respected clockmaker Louis-Gabriel Brocot, established the clockmaking company "Brocot et Delettrez" in Paris on 20 October 1851, with premises at 62 Rue Charlot. Delettrez worked alongside Achille Brocot for several years and their clock movements are considered to be the most effective made during the late 19th century. Their speciality was a range of clocks based on the innovations of Brocot père and his other son Antoine, but generally of Achille's greatly advanced original design, some having a unique single-arm double-wheel escapement, some having a temperature-compensated pendulum, some having two dials, one of which showed the time and the other which showed a calendar and often other information such as phases of the moon, times of sunrise & sunset in Paris, etc. The firm was awarded a 1st class prize at the Paris World Exposition of 1857 for a commercial clock of this type.
This innovative and fruitful partnership continued until the death of Brocot fils in 1878, after which event Delettrez continued on his own. His typical later product was a conventional 8-day mantle clock that struck the hours and half-hours, still based on the standard Brocot escapement and suspension that he had helped to refine. These elegant and much-admired timepieces were typically made to order for retailers, including several in Britain, with dials carrying the name of the retailer rather than that of their maker, but whose mechanism was stamped with the cartouche (JBD).
He married his cousin Caroline Delettrez in Paris on 2 April 1845. They had two sons, Louis and Jules, both of whom later carried on the family tradition of metalworking, the former as a manufacturer of bronze objets d'art and the latter as a goldsmith.


Crosshead guide


James Mansergh

James Mansergh FRS (29 Apr 1834 – 15 Jun 1905) was an English civil engineer.
Mansergh was born in Lancaster. He started his career in railway work and then designed many sewerage schemes and fresh water schemes.
His most famous projects were:
He became a member of the council of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1884, vice-president in 1895 and was elected to the chair of the institution from November 1900 to November 1901.
He became the elected chairman of the Engineering Standards Committee, when it was formed in 1901 from a combination of organizations, which later became the British Standards Institution. He served as High Sheriff of Radnorshire for 1901.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1901. His candidature citation read:
President of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Author of 'Lectures on Water Supply, Prospecting for Water, Prospecting and Boring' delivered at the School of Military Engineering, Chatham, also of 'The Supply of Water to Towns,' and other works. The designer of the waterworks and sewerage of Lancaster, Lincoln, Stockton, Middlesbrough, Rotherham, Southport, Burton-on-Trent, Melbourne (Australia), Birmingham, and many other towns. These designs include some of the largest schemes of water supply, sewerage or sewage disposal for Halifax, Herford, St Helens, Darlington, Whitby, the Potteries, Derby, Southampton, Durham, Shrewsbury, Malvern, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Plymouth, York, Antigua, Philadelphia (US), and other places. Was a member of the Royal Commission on Metropolitan Water Supply. Eminent as a hydraulic engineer.
In March 1903 he received the honorary freedom of his native town of Lancaster
He died at 51 Fitzjohn's Avenue, Hampstead, London and was buried in Hampstead Cemetery.
External links.


Foliot (timepiece)


Felipa Tzeek Naal

Felipa Tzeek Naal is a Mexican artisan specializing in traditional Maya palm frond weaving. Her work is well-known regionally and has been recognized by the Fomento Cultural Banamex, who named her a "grand master".
She lives in Nunkini, a small village in the municipality of Calkiní Municipality, Campeche in the southeast of Mexico. Since before the Conquest, the Maya wove mats and baskets from the leaves of a local palm called "huano", with fretwork and geometric designs. The artisan and her daughter, María Olga Kantum Tzeek are the only ones left who still practice this craft, weaving fine pieces with traditional designs. Felipa learned these designs from her grandmother.
Frond collection is done by the entire family, cut while young and unopened to keep their shine. The leaves are then separated and left to dry, then they are bleached using sulfur. Many of the leaves are then dyed with plants such as "chackxin" traditionally in reds and ochre. Weaving is done with the hands only and no frames. Designs are woven into the pieces using two or more colors, and/or undyed fronds and can be intricate, forming various geometric forms.
Commonly made pieces include baskets of various sizes, carrying bags, toys, fans, and mats of various sizes. Large baskets have bases made with a studier palm leaf called chilib.


Isaiah Lukens

Isaiah Quinby Lukens (24 August 1779 – 12 November 1846) was an American clockmaker, gunsmith, machinist, and inventor from southeastern Pennsylvania. He was a founding member and first Vice President of the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. He was elected to membership in the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia in June 1812, where he served as curator for multiple decades beginning in 1813. In 1820, he was elected to the American Philosophical Society.
Lukens was blinded in one eye by "a chip of steel when dressing a grindstone" (c.1816), after which he took Joseph Saxton as his assistant. According to George Escol Sellers, whose father was close friends with Lukens, "he called [Saxton] his pupil, and he did honor to his preceptor".
Early Life and Family.
Lukens was the son of Seneca Lukens and Sarah (Quinby) Lukens, who were married on June 10, 1777. The family was descended from Jan Lucken, who immigrated to the Pennsylvania colony in October 1683, with Daniel Pastorius, and was one of the original settlers of Germantown. Lukens grew up on his family's farm in Horsham, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, and learned from his father to construct clocks and watches. He moved to Philadelphia around 1811.
Personality.
George Escol Sellers wrote that he was "naturally of a social disposition, although an impediment in his speech made him appear shy and diffident in ladies' society. He called his shop his wife, and he really loved it."
Scientific Activities.
Lukens used a telescope with a plössl (symmetrical) eyepiece to observe the solar eclipse on September 18, 1838. His data were compiled with the independent observations of 14 other scientists from Philadelphia, and published in "The American Journal of Science and Arts" in 1840.


Mora clock

Gustavian Mora clocks are a type of longcase clock which were made in, and derived their name from, the town of Mora in Dalarna province, Sweden. Production began in the late 18th century and continued through most of the 19th finally succumbing to the increased competition from newer styles and cheaper mass production methods.
History.
Mora clock faces are often marked with the inscription "A A S Mora"—the initials of Krång Anders Andersson (1727-1799) of Östnor, traditionally known as the first clockmaker in the district of Mora. The discovery of his initials on a clock movement dated 1792 has been taken as evidence that the cottage clock industry was already flourishing by this time.
This cooperative manufacture of clocks in Mora arose as a source of supplemental income for the farm families of this agriculturally poor region. Each family would "specialise" by making one or more of the parts required. A finished clock would often be sold without a case—the buyer then arranging for one to be made, often locally. This helps to explain the great variety of cases that exist.
Regional differences exist within Sweden as to the styles of Mora Clocks made. The style of Mora Clocks made in the North of Sweden though featuring the same basic shape differed quite markedly from those Mora Clocks made in the South of Sweden.
Gunnar Pipping has estimated that more than 50,000 Mora clock mechanisms were made throughout the 19th century. At the peak period of their production, as many as 1,000 clocks were being made each year. Within 80 years, however, competition from inexpensive German and American clocks helped put an end to this cottage industry. Regional difference existed in the style of Mora clocks made during this period.
Mechanism.
The clocks have eight-day movements and strike the hours on two bells mounted above the clock mechanism or alternatively on a spiral wire gong. The weights were made of cast iron.


Pioneer station

Pioneer is a planned light rail station in the Los Angeles County Metro Rail system. It is the southern terminus of the West Santa Ana Branch Transit Corridor project, located in Artesia at Pioneer Boulevard. Measure M funds are programmed for a scheduled completion in 2041, though the project timeline is expected to be accelerated for an earlier opening.
The station is located adjacent to the former Pacific Electric West Santa Ana Branch Artesia station, built in 1906. Passenger services operated until 1950.


Eleanor Mosley

Eleanor Mosley (or Elinor Mosely; 1700–?) was an English milliner and a member in the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers. Mosley successfully ran her own millinery business as a single woman in eighteenth-century London.
Life and career.
Eleanor Mosley was the daughter of a successful apothecary in York, England. In April 1718, when she was seventeen years old, she was entered into an apprenticeship to George Tyler and his wife, Lucy. The apprenticeship was registered with the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers, of which George Tyler was a registered member or master. Between 1714 and 1725, George and Lucy Tyler took on six young women as apprentices. Since George Tyler was registered as a clockmaker with the Clockmakers' Company, it is likely these young women were actually apprenticed to his wife Lucy.
In 1727, Mosley completed her apprenticeship, became a member, or mistress, in her own right of the Clockmakers' Company, and set up her own business in London. That same year, she took on her own sister, Catherine, as an apprentice and one month later took a second apprentice, Mary Bate, the daughter of a clergyman from Kent. She was paid £50 for each girl. At least two other of Mosley's sisters were also milliners - Elizabeth, who was apprenticed to a milliner in York; and Dorothy, who eventually took over Mosley's business.
Mosley moved her business to a rented shop on Lombard Street in 1729 and in 1736 was able to purchase her own property on nearby Gracechurch Street. She lived and worked at this location with her apprentices for at least a decade. This area of London around Lombard and Gracechurch Streets was the principal market area of the city and home to wealthy merchants such as goldsmiths, mercers, apothecaries, and bankers. In 1732, Mosley took on her third apprentice, Mary Newton, the daughter of a London goldsmith. Eleanor's first two apprentices completed their apprenticeships in 1734 and she then took on her fourth apprentice that same year. She took on two apprentices in 1738 and her seventh, and final, registered apprentice in 1739. Eleanor apparently was the sole proprietor of her business, as no other names were recorded on the tax roles as business partner or co-owner. In addition to her apprentices, Eleanor probably had domestic servants to run her household and possibly other shop assistants.
The Clockmakers' Company recorded Mosley's marriage in 1747 (although she may have actually married in 1744), when she was in her forties. Mosley's marriage happened rather late in life, however it was not unheard of in this time period. Although the property on Gracechurch Street remained in her maiden name, after 1744 she no longer lived there. The name of Mosley's husband was not recorded in the Clockmakers' Company registers and it is unknown whether she continued in business in another location, took on any more apprentices, or even remained in London. It would not have been unusual for Mosley to have remained in business of some sort after her marriage, as most women in eighteenth-century London continued to work after getting married. In 1749, Eleanor's sister Dorothy starting renting the shop from Eleanor. The last official mention of Eleanor Mosley was in 1752 when Dorothy took possession of the property. It is not known if Dorothy Mosley bought the property or if she inherited it due to Eleanor's death.
In a time when most unmarried women worked as domestic servants, Mosley was both a trained craftswoman as well as a businesswoman who successfully ran her own shop for at least fifteen years in a well-to-do area of London. Additionally, she was a member of a livery company in her own right - most women acquired membership through their husbands. Mosley commanded high apprenticeship premiums and never had less than two apprentices at any one time. After marrying in her forties, she passed her business on to her sister.
London livery companies (trade guilds) and apprenticeships.
Although guilds had been formed around specific trades, by the eighteenth century many of the London guilds, known as Livery Companies, no longer had monopoly control of their indicated trades. Only a few companies by this time specified the actual trade to be practiced by its members, so members of the company could practice a trade completely unrelated to the named trade of the company. In order to run a business and trade within the walls of the City of London, membership in one of the companies was required for both men (known as masters) and women (known as mistresses).
Milliners did not have a trade company of their own so they had to belong to other companies. Only Mosley and one other woman were recorded in the Clockmakers' records as milliners among the female members of the company, although it is highly likely other women were also milliners. Some companies did continue to specify which trade could be practiced by their members and among those more milliners are found. Although female membership in the companies accounted for only one to two percent of the total membership, a significant number of them were milliners. In the Haberdashers' Company nearly half of the girls apprenticed in the first half of the eighteenth century were apprenticed to milliners. In the Grocers' Company, two-thirds of the girls apprenticed between 1717 and 1743 were to milliners. In the Clothworkers' Company, of the eighty apprenticeships where the trade was noted, 25 were to milliners.
Membership in a guild could be attained through completing an apprenticeship (which is what Mosley did), through one's father, purchasing a membership, or by marriage. Wives could claim membership through their husbands and conversely they could transfer membership to their husbands when they married. Most women gained membership through their husbands.
For company apprenticeships, parents paid a premium to the master or mistress. Apprenticeships started when children were in their teens and lasted seven years. The premiums paid for a millinery apprenticeship were relatively high - approximately the same amount as might be required to apprentice a boy to a merchant or apothecary.
Milliners.
The traditional definition of a milliner differs from the definition used now which exclusively means hatmaker.
The "Oxford English Dictionary" defines an eighteenth century milliner as 'a haberdasher of small wares; seller of fancy wares, accessories and apparel, either originally (deriving from) those wares coming from Milan or from selling a thousand things.' However, there may be another derivation of the word. According to the "Berg Companion to Fashion," milliner derives from the word "Millaner" which referred to merchants from the city of Milan who traveled to northern Europe with a variety of goods, such as silk, ribbons, lace, ornaments, and other general finery. They also brought news of the latest styles and variations on dress and served both men and women. The term dates to the early sixteenth century. Milliners also would have dealt in the fine straw hats from Florence which may have led to some to settle on hat making.
Although no trade cards belonging to Eleanor Mosley have been found, these trade cards from c.1757-1758 show the variety of goods a milliner might carry.
In 1747, "The London Tradesman" (a guide to the trades) gave a list of a milliner's responsibilities:
"The Milliner is concerned in making and providing the Ladies with Linen of all sorts, fit for Wearing Apparel, from the Holland Smock to the Tippet...the Milliner furnishes them with Holland, Cambrickm Lawn and Lace of all sorts and makes these Materials into Smocks, Aprons, Tippers, Handkerchiefs, Neckties, Ruffles, Mobs, Caps. The make up Cloaks, Manteels, Mantelets, Cheens and Capucheens of Silk, Velvet, plain or brocaded and trim them with Silver and Gold Lace or Black Lace. They make up and sell Hats, Hoods, and Caps of all Sorts and Materials; they find them in Gloves, Muffs and Ribbons: they sell Petticoats and Hoops of all Sizes."
In the seventeenth century, milliners were predominantly men but a change in fashionable dress for women led to milliners being mostly women. The mantua, an open front gown with a loose-fitting unboned bodice cut all in one piece with the skirt, much like an over robe became popular. The gown was worn over a corset and petticoat and the skirts of the gown were draped up to reveal the petticoat. The mantua started as an informal at-home gown but evolved into a more formal style that became acceptable at court. The gap in the front of the bodice was filled in with a stomacher which were often covered with lace, ribbons, and various other trimmings. Previously, most women's clothing had been made by tailors but this new style was easier to make and seamstresses moved into making mantuas. Before this seamstresses mostly made simple items such as shirts, chemises, cuffs, and collars. Even as the style of the mantua became more complicated and went out of style, women continued to make all sorts of clothing for women and the term mantuamaker became synonymous with dressmaker.
Female milliners rose from the ranks of the mantuamakers and sat atop the hierarchy employing the mantuamakers, seamstresses, and other specialists. Milliners often offered more than one service. A compilation of occupations listed in ads by women in business in England between 1760 and 1830 showed milliner combined with over a dozen other trades such as blackworker(embroiderer), draper, dressmaker, stationer, toy dealer, straw hat maker, haberdasher and furnisher of funerals. The cut and style of dresses throughout much of the eighteenth century did not change much making the trimmings of even more importance - many of which came directly from the milliner. Clothing was the second biggest expense in the eighteenth century after food and as such was often remade or restyled. From the style of dress, to trimmings, accessories, caps, and remaking of gowns the milliner was an important source of materials and advice on the latest style
Image and reputation.
Milliners had to be their own best advertising and subsequently they and their apprentices and shop girls were well dressed in the latest styles. Even if they had their own shop, milliners or their employees often had to visit the homes of their clients to show them goods or to deliver finished items. The painting by François Boucher, "The Milliner (The Morning)" has come to personify the image of the milliner: a well-dressed young woman with the tools of her trade - her bandboxes, trims, and wooden stick for taking measurements.
This print by Denis Diderot from his Encyclopédie shows a dressmakers shop filled with well-dressed respectable young women helping female customers choose from a variety of dresses and accessories. Mosley's own shop was likely quite similar.
Other images, such as Robert Dighton's "A Mourning Rambl"e shows young women who seem to more interested in flirting with male customers than in making sales. This satirical print by James Caldwell compares the "Charming Millener" to a demirep (which is a woman of questionable morals).
"The London Tradesman" actually warned young women against going into the millinery trade:
"The vast Resort of young Beaus and Rakes to Milliners' Shops exposes young creatures to many Temptations, and insensibly debauches their Morals before they are capable of Vice...Nine out of ten young Creatures that are obligated to serve in these shops are ruined and undone: Take a Survey of all common Women of the Town, who take their Walks between "Charing-Cross" and "Fleet-Ditch" and, I am persuaded, more than half of them have been bred milliners, have been debauched in their Houses, and are obliged to throw themselves upon the Town for want of Bread, after they have left them. Whether it is owing to the Milliners , or to the Nature of the business, or to whatever cause is owing, the Facts are clear, and the Misfortunes attending the Apprenticeship so manifest...it ought to be the last shift a young Creature is driven to."
This and other period criticisms as well as the prevalence of satirical prints have led some historians to believe that milliners were not respected and thought to be nothing less than prostitutes.
Other historians have looked more closely at the trade and women's roles in the eighteenth century and believe that milliners were actually highly respected.
Work by Amy Erickson and Jessica Collins with the records of the Clockmakers' and Clothworkers' companies show that the girls apprenticed to milliners came from mainly middling class families - their fathers were clergyman, apothecaries, goldsmiths, clerks, shopkeepers, and other similar trades and occupations. By contrast, the fathers of most of the boys apprenticed in the Clockmakers' company were from lower-status trades. With premiums to apprentice a girl to a milliner higher than those paid in general for boys, it is unlikely that parents would have paid to put their daughters into an occupation that was so associated with prostitution. Jessica Collins also notes that of the seventeen milliners operating through the Clothworkers' Company, most were based in the more prominent areas of London further demonstrating that the millinery trade was prestigious.
While "The London Tradesman" may have warned against milliners,in the same year "A General Description of All Trades" called millinery 'a considerable trade" and in 1761, the "Parents and Guardians Directory" noted that "A milliner, in good business, will not take a girl with less than £40 or £50.' An apprenticeship to a clockmaker, he thought, required a premium of £10 to £40. Furthermore, this same directory suggested the costs to set up a millinery would require £400 to £500, while it might take only £100-£200 to set up a clockmakers' shop. These were not inconsiderable sums at this time.
Some critics thought milliners encouraged vanity and excessive vanity among their customers but others believed that female milliners preserved female modesty by allowing them to be dressed by other women rather than male tailors. Additionally, rather than encouraging prostitution it was thought to be a way for poor women to avoid prostitution.
In the eighteenth century, millinery was considered a respectable trade for middle class women and impoverished upper class women - women who would not want to lower themselves by becoming domestic servants or performing actual labor. Far from putting their daughters in trade because they were unmarriable, Amy Erickson suggests that parents apprenticed their daughters in order to provide them with a reasonable living when the family did not have the money for a dowry and also to gain skills that might attract a husband and sustain them throughout their lives. Mary and Ann Hogarth, sisters of the artist William Hogarth, contemporaries of Mosley, never married and supported themselves through their own millinery shop. One of their business cards was designed by their brother. To be a successful milliner required not just being a skilled crafts-person, but a sense of style and a head for business. Eleanor Mosley's own life and career serve as a case in point as to the respectability of the trade. She came from a respectable middling class family, served her apprenticeship, and became a member of a trade guild in her own right. Her business was located in a high-end area of London, which she successfully ran for at least fifteen years. Other well-to-do tradesmen paid high premiums to apprentice their daughters to her.
Taken together, the evidence shows that millinery was an acceptable and respectable trade with high expectations that it would provide for a woman, whether single or married, for her entire life.


GEMSS mine system

The GEMSS mine system (Ground Emplaced Mine Scattering System) was a United States mine-laying system, part of the Family of Scatterable Mines used to rapidly emplace large tactical minefields in friendly territory. It consisted of two different types of dispensers, the towed M128 "Frisbee Flinger" and the auxiliary M138 "Flipper" portable mine layer, and deployed mines similar to those used in the GATOR mine system minus the aeroballistic casing. GEMSS was eventually replaced in US service by the Volcano mine system.
Operation.
The M128, fitted on a modified M794 trailer, first entered service in 1986. With an empty weight of 4,733kg, when fully loaded with 800 mines (a process which could take up to 20 minutes) the system weighed 6,364kg. Typical loadout consisted of 666 anti-tank (AT) mines and 124 anti-personnel (AP) mines. The M128 could be towed by a variety of wheeled or tracked prime movers. One M128 was issued to each combat engineer company operating with heavy forces. Over the course of 25 minutes, an M128 could lay three rows of mines, each 888 meters long and 60 meters wide, separated by two lanes each 50-100 meters in width. The area density was .005 mines per square meter, with a linear density of .75 AT land mines per meter of front.
The M138 "Flipper" was introduced in 1991 as a supplemental system to the M128. Weighing 55kg, the unit could be mounted to any vehicle in about ten minutes. Four Flippers were assigned to each unit with an M128, or to platoons operating as part of light forces. Three Flippers operating together could lay a minefield of the same size and density as one laid by an M128 in the same amount of time.
Mines.
GEMSS deployed two types mines, the M74 anti-personnel (AP) mine and the M75 anti-tank (AT) mine, along with an inert M79 practice mine. All three were the same size with a diameter of 199mm and height of 66mm.
The M74 mine weighed in total with an explosive weight of . Arming as it travels through the air, the mine would deploy four tripwires when it came to a rest on the ground. The movement of a tripwire or physical disturbance of the mine itself would cause it to explode. Expiration of the self-destruct timer or running out of power would also cause it to explode. For storage and transportation, a sealed container could hold forty mines, divided between eight sleeves, while six containers could fit on a pallet.
The M75 mine was slightly heavier at total and an explosive weight of . In terms of arming, functioning and storage it was the same as the M74, however instead of deploying tripwires it would explode if a vehicle passed over it. Additionally, one in every five M75 was fitted with an antidisturbance switch.


Charles Gillam Sr.

Charles Gillam Sr. (born 1945) is a self-taught woodcarver and mixed-media artist from New Orleans. He is the founder and director of the Algiers Folk Art Zone & Blues Museum in New Orleans.
Biography.
Charles Gillam Sr. was born in 1945 in rural Louisiana, and raised in the Ninth Ward neighborhood of New Orleans. He learned to paint by watching street artists in the French Quarter where he shined shoes with his brother. He received his first commission from the House of Blues who hired him to create a wood bust of the notable Blues musician, Charlie Patton, the "father of Delta Blues." Since that point onward, every House of Blues in the United States has one of his carvings. In 2000, Gillam, along with folk artist Dr. Charles Smith, founded the Algiers Folk Art Zone & Blues Museum. The Algiers Folk Art Zone & Blues Museum is a community-based art collective that features regional folk art and teaches the importance of recycling to children. Every November, the Museum hosts an annual Folk Art Festival which raises funds for self-taught artists and celebrates New Orleans food, music, and art
Artworks.
Charles Gillam Sr. is mostly inspired by the culture of his hometown. His primary subject matter is New Orleans's Culture, Jazz and Blues artists. He often uses driftwood found in the Mississippi river for his sculptures. Over the last decade, he has created over 100 busts of famous Jazz musicians including portraits of Louis Armstrong and Aaron Neville. Gillam also creates art using found objects turns them into portraits of Blues men, paintings, and carved heads of New Orleans musicians.
"Ain't That a Shame".
"Ain't That a Shame" is an acrylic painting on wood featuring Fats Domino playing piano on the roof of his flooded studio. The small 24"x14" work was created in 2005 and Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Collections.
His work is held in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and the National Blues Museum.
External links.
Image of Charles Gillam Sr


Clamp or split-muff


The Cunning Shoemaker

The Cunning Shoemaker is an Italian fairy tale collected by Laura Gonzenbach in "Sicilianische Mahrchen". Andrew Lang included it in "The Pink Fairy Book".
Synopsis.
A shoemaker left his home and went to another town to make money. He earned enough to buy a donkey and headed home, but on the way, he saw robbers. He tried to hide his money in the donkey's mane so that it would not be stolen. When the donkey shook its head and let the money drop, the shoemaker claimed that the donkey could produce money from nowhere. The thieves bought the donkey for fifty gold pieces, and the shoemaker told them that they must each keep it one night apiece, to avoid quarrels over the money. One by one, the robbers learned they had been tricked but said nothing, so the others would be fooled, too. Finally, they all spoke to each other and decided to get revenge on the shoemaker.
The shoemaker saw them coming and had his wife put a bladder of blood around her neck. When the thieves arrived, he told them he would give them the money and told his wife to get it. When she lagged, he stabbed the bladder, and she fell down as if dead. Then he played the guitar and she got up, and the robbers bought the guitar for forty more gold pieces. Each one stabbed his wife and unsuccessfully tried to revive her.
They set out after the shoemaker again. He told his wife to free the dog when they arrived and to tell the robbers she sent it to retrieve her husband. Then the shoemaker hid in a vineyard. When the thieves arrived, the wife did as she was told. After she freed the dog, the shoemaker returned to the house. The robbers bought the dog from him for forty more gold pieces. When each one freed it in turn, though, it merely ran back to the shoemaker.
Finally, the robbers put the man in a bag and lugged him to the sea, but first they rested in a church because it was hot. A swineherd with a herd of pigs came by, and the shoemaker told that he was in the bag because they wanted him to marry the king's daughter and he wouldn't. The swineherd traded places with him, the shoemaker left with the pigs, and the robbers threw the bag into the sea. When the thieves later saw the shoemaker with the herd of pigs, he told them there were pigs in the sea and they had to tie a stone around their necks to make sure they reached those depths. They did so and drowned.