Snowbird of Paradise
@snowbirdofparadise.com@snowbirdofparadise.com  ·  activity timestamp 7 days ago

Changing Industrial Infrastructure

A few days ago I described seeing thousands of European Starlings on and near a rail dock. Well, maybe there were only hundreds, not thousands, but they were very noisy so it felt like thousands. At the time, I didn’t pay much attention to the structure they were perched on, so today I went back to take a closer look and, to my dismay, all the birds had gone. There was one solitary crow cawing loudly, but otherwise the building was bird-free.

I decided to take some more pictures of the rail dock because it seems now to be disused. At least, it doesn’t look as though it has been used for some time; grass is growing on the wooden boards, and the metal towers need a coat of paint. I should add that I have no idea what this building is formally called, so I am calling it a rail dock with gantries. It may have once served the now-defunct coal industry, and it may still serve the lumber industry.

What I saw today contrasts quite considerably from the satellite image on Google Maps. There it shows a lot of lumber in floating booms waiting to be loaded on to freight cars, a couple of dozen trucks and trailers in the parking lot, and a similar number of cars parked nearby. None of those things was there today. Instead, the city has placed several (maybe thirty) lovely flower planter beds around the empty parking areas, and a city worker with water tanker truck was watering the plants as I passed by.

The rail line connects to a railroad freight yard nearby where there are multiple train tracks and I wonder where they all go to. It did not look very busy when I passed by. There must be an opportunity here for tourism to nearby parks and to other cities on Vancouver Island, but currently it is not set up for passenger traffic.

Now I am wondering about the history and the fate of this structure. As its original purpose seems to be diminished or gone, perhaps it will be abandoned. I don’t know who is the owner or if the city has responsibility for it. If any reader can add insight into this, I will appreciate it.

#booms #changing #coal #decline #dock #GoogleMaps #history #industry #infrastructure #lumber #Nanaimo #parking #Photography #rail #technology
Windspeaker.com
@Windspeaker@mstdn.ca  ·  activity timestamp last week

“They put a lot of time and effort into maintaining good relationships with the land and it does take a lot of doing, so I want people to come away with an appreciation of all that work.”

#Indigenous #art#Toronto #traditionalburn #photography #infrastructure #history #culture #plants #cultivation

https://www.windspeaker.com/news/windspeaker-news/earthwork-exhibit-explores-indigenous-relationship-land-and-those-who-work
Stefan Bohacek
@stefan@stefanbohacek.online  ·  activity timestamp last week

"Interaction on the Web is a little like a mirror, like communicating with a manifestation of yourself. Because it is so chaotic, so decentralised, I find that using the Web becomes like communicating with a hardware version of me. It’s not exactly a doppelgänger, but an alternative version of myself."

https://cybercultural.com/p/internet-1999/

#internet#TheWeb #history #technology #cyberculture
Lazy Dragon
@lazy_dragon@pixelfed.social  ·  activity timestamp last week

Shot on: Sony A7 II / 50 mm / f/2 / ISO 800 / 1/60 s


Disclosure of generative AI use:

None

#photography #photo #sony #sonyalpha #bookphotography #books #bibliophile #library #oldbooks #vintagebooks #classics #literature #history #latin #scholarship #knowledge #antiquebooks #booklover #bookcollection #stilllife #stilllifephotography #stilllifephoto #stilllifeimage #fineartstilllife #stilllifeart #objectphotography #thingsphotography #detailphotography #artphotography #classicalstilllife #stilleben #stillebenfotografie #naturemorte #photographienaturemorte#bodegón #fotografiadebodegon#natura_morta #fotografianaturamorta #stilleven #stillevenfotografie #bookshelfphotography #libraryphotography #historicalobjects #culturalheritage #visualarchive #fineartphotography #kunstfotografie #fotokunst #artefotografico #artphotographique

The image shows a row of old, hardbound books on a shelf. The book spines are of various colours, including shades of brown, red, and black. The focus is on a reddish-brown volume with the title “Thesaurus Linguae Latinae” in gold lettering. The other books, with faded lettering and worn textures, are slightly out of focus, suggesting age and frequent use. The composition captures a sense of history and scholarly inquiry.
The image shows a row of old, hardbound books on a shelf. The book spines are of various colours, including shades of brown, red, and black. The focus is on a reddish-brown volume with the title “Thesaurus Linguae Latinae” in gold lettering. The other books, with faded lettering and worn textures, are slightly out of focus, suggesting age and frequent use. The composition captures a sense of history and scholarly inquiry.
The image shows a row of old, hardbound books on a shelf. The book spines are of various colours, including shades of brown, red, and black. The focus is on a reddish-brown volume with the title “Thesaurus Linguae Latinae” in gold lettering. The other books, with faded lettering and worn textures, are slightly out of focus, suggesting age and frequent use. The composition captures a sense of history and scholarly inquiry.
MediaFaro Analysis
@mf_analysis@mastodon.mediafaro.org  ·  activity timestamp last week

The Baltic states have torn down their Soviet past following the war in Ukraine – a photo essay.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began earlier in 2022, had accelerated debates about Soviet-era monuments in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

The debates were not new but concrete actions to remove them had been rare due to divided opinions over their meaning.

https://mediafaro.org/article/20250903-the-baltic-states-have-torn-down-their-soviet-past-following-the-war-in-ukraine-a-photo-essay?mf_channel=mastodon&action=forward

#BalticStates#SovietUnion#Statues#History#Photography
Calishat
@researchbuzz@researchbuzz.masto.host  ·  activity timestamp last week
#coastal#NorthCarolina #photography #history

'[The resource offers access] to more than 2,500 items from the Society’s collection, which currently includes rare images and in the near future will include historic documents and treasured artifacts.'

https://business.newbernchamber.com/news/details/new-bern-historical-society-launches-digital-archive-unlocking-access-to-over-2-500-historical-imag
Autor Martin Schemm
@martinschemm@mastodon.social  ·  activity timestamp last week

Guten Morgen allerseits! 😀 👋

Zum #DoorsDay heute das Tor des Schlosses im oberfränkischen Thurnau. In der Anlage, die im 13. Jahrhundert und auch später erbaut wurde, lebten im Laufe der Zeit mehrere regionale, fränkische Adelsgeschlechter.

#bayern #oberfranken #doors#tür #doorphotography #geschichte #history #mittelalter #medieval #burg #castle #architektur #architecture #fotografie #photography#Photographie #foto #architecturephotography #travel #travelphotography

Olaf ‽
Olaf ‽ boosted
D C Fitzgerald
@tangledwing@ohai.social  ·  activity timestamp last week

Lapis or lapis lazuli is a deep-blue semi-precious stone. Ancient civilizations such as the Indus Valley, Egyptian, Persian, and Roman cultures used lapis for jewelry, carvings, dye and art. #geology #history #chemistry #science #nature#Reels

Lapis or lapis lazuli is a deep-blue semi-precious stone renowned since antiquity. Ancient civilizations such as the Indus Valley, Egyptian, Persian, and Roman cultures used lapis for jewelry, carvings, and art.
Lapis or lapis lazuli is a deep-blue semi-precious stone renowned since antiquity. Ancient civilizations such as the Indus Valley, Egyptian, Persian, and Roman cultures used lapis for jewelry, carvings, and art.
Flipboard News Desk
@NewsDesk@flipboard.social  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago

"The precise moment when and where in recent weeks America crossed that invisible line from democracy into authoritarianism can and will be debated by future historians, but it’s clear that the line itself has been crossed," writes Garrett Graff for his Doomsday Scenario newsletter. He chronicles why he feels that today, August 25, 2025, is a date to remember. "Everything else from here on out is just a matter of degree and wondering how bad it will get and how far it will go," he writes. "Do we end up 'merely' like Hungary or do we go all the way toward an 'American Reich'? So far, after years of studying World War II, I fear that America’s trajectory feels more like Berlin circa 1933 than it does Budapest circa 2015."

https://flip.it/h-2n7N

#TrumpAdministration#USPolitics#Politics#USNews#Fascism#Authoritarianism#History#News
Autor Martin Schemm
@martinschemm@mastodon.social  ·  activity timestamp 6 days ago

Einen schönen Guten Morgen und ein relaxtes Wochenende! 😀 👋

Zum #Schiffssamstag heute ein älteres Foto aus Kaliningrad, dem früheren Königsberg in Ostpreußen. Es zeigt ein Denkmal vor dem alten Dom: ein Torpedoboot der Roten Armee aus dem 2. Weltkrieg.

Derzeit sind Reisen in den Oblast Kaliningrad nicht empfehlenswert ... 🤔

#russia#Kaliningrad #schiff #ship #ww2 #geschichte #history #military #urban #urbanphotography #fotografie #photography#Photographie#Foto #travel #travelphotography
Snowbird of Paradise
@snowbirdofparadise.com@snowbirdofparadise.com  ·  activity timestamp 7 days ago

Changing Industrial Infrastructure

A few days ago I described seeing thousands of European Starlings on and near a rail dock. Well, maybe there were only hundreds, not thousands, but they were very noisy so it felt like thousands. At the time, I didn’t pay much attention to the structure they were perched on, so today I went back to take a closer look and, to my dismay, all the birds had gone. There was one solitary crow cawing loudly, but otherwise the building was bird-free.

I decided to take some more pictures of the rail dock because it seems now to be disused. At least, it doesn’t look as though it has been used for some time; grass is growing on the wooden boards, and the metal towers need a coat of paint. I should add that I have no idea what this building is formally called, so I am calling it a rail dock with gantries. It may have once served the now-defunct coal industry, and it may still serve the lumber industry.

What I saw today contrasts quite considerably from the satellite image on Google Maps. There it shows a lot of lumber in floating booms waiting to be loaded on to freight cars, a couple of dozen trucks and trailers in the parking lot, and a similar number of cars parked nearby. None of those things was there today. Instead, the city has placed several (maybe thirty) lovely flower planter beds around the empty parking areas, and a city worker with water tanker truck was watering the plants as I passed by.

The rail line connects to a railroad freight yard nearby where there are multiple train tracks and I wonder where they all go to. It did not look very busy when I passed by. There must be an opportunity here for tourism to nearby parks and to other cities on Vancouver Island, but currently it is not set up for passenger traffic.

Now I am wondering about the history and the fate of this structure. As its original purpose seems to be diminished or gone, perhaps it will be abandoned. I don’t know who is the owner or if the city has responsibility for it. If any reader can add insight into this, I will appreciate it.

#booms #changing #coal #decline #dock #GoogleMaps #history #industry #infrastructure #lumber #Nanaimo #parking #Photography #rail #technology