2020 New Random Pics

[Racerbvd]

[GH85Carrera]

Dry washing for placer gold at the St. Elmo mine - Randsburg, California ca. 1897.


LIGHTHOUSE, Þrídrangaviti, Westman Islands, Iceland
(Photo by: Morgunblaðið/Árni Sæberg, 2009)
Precariously perched on a rock pillar in the Westman Islands around six miles from Iceland’s mainland, the Þrídrangaviti lighthouse is arguably the most isolated lighthouse in the world, and most definitely the scariest. The solitary structure, sitting some 120ft above the raging North Atlantic sea was built in 1939 (without helicopters), which makes imagining how they ever built this place, even more impossible.
Sæberg flew with the national coastguard helicopter, TF LÍF to take the photo of the lighthouse. It's quite incredible how people actually managed to build this lighthouse, just as WW2 began. In 1939 there were no helicopters so people would have had to sail to the cliff and scale it. In an old article in Morgunblaðið, project director Árni G. Þórarinsson says in an interview, "The first thing we had to do was create a road up to the cliff. We got together of experienced mountaineers, all from the Westman Islands. Then we brought drills, hammers, chains, and clamps to secure the chains. Once they got near the top there was no way to get any grip on the rock so one of them got down on his knees, the second stood on his back, and then the third climbed on top of the other two and was able to reach the nib of the cliff above. I cannot even tell you how I was feeling whilst witnessing this incredibly dangerous procedure."
Þrídrangar, the three pillars of rock are in fact four pillars named Stóridrangur, Þúfudrangur, Klofadrangur and the fourth one is nameless. In 1938 a road was constructed to Stóridrangur and the following year the lighthouse was raised. Many years later a helipad was set up on Stóridrangur where helicopters can land.






After 199 days of consecutive contact with the enemy, the 4th Infantry Division passed to the command of the Seventh Army, and moved by motor and railroad to the vicinity of Luneville, France. Here the Division Artillery, 70th Tank Battalion, and 610th Tank Destroyer Battalion were attached to other units, while the remainder of the division rested. In the interim, some troops observed "Sandlot Warfare" instruction. Notice even how the "Dragon's Teeth" of the Siegfried Line were recreated in miniature.

[Racerbvd]

[GH85Carrera]

Back in the day: Steven Barnes, Larry Niven, and Jerry Pournelle demonstrate their writing process.


A woman taking a break outside of her small general store in Weslaco, Texas. 1964.


"Louis Mountbatten addressing men of the British Royal Armoured Corps, Mandalay, Burma, 21 Mar 1945" (Imperial War Museum)




B-24 Liberator during low-level attack of the Ploesti oil refineries, Ploesti Romania, 1 August 1943.

[Fast Freddy 944]

..moving picture..

[GH85Carrera]

[Racerbvd]

[Baz]

[Racerbvd]

[WPOZZZ]

Originally Posted by Baz

Ahhh, Gina Gershon. Definitely part of the hot/bat**** crazy matrix.

[red 928]

[svandamme]

Originally Posted by red 928

That's a challenging wank.

[astrochex]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

Dry washing for placer gold at the St. Elmo mine - Randsburg, California ca. 1897.

I love Randsburg! Its very close to Ridgecrest, so when I worked at China Lake I would always try to pass through. Its a cool silver mining living ghost town.

[GH85Carrera]

[svandamme]

on my way to supermarket.. saw some folks picking thrash by the road, like cleaning up the berms from stuff others chucked out the window.


(not actual picture)

on my way back from the supermarkt, Window open, radio off..
ze Bimmer comes to a halt, they look confused
I goes
IIIIIICE CRREEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAMM

Then i says : on one condition only
you bettter not litter the wraps, ok ?!

I take off again before they are able to fully come to grips with the ice cream that just materialized

That was fun.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by astrochex

I love Randsburg! Its very close to Ridgecrest, so when I worked at China Lake I would always try to pass through. Its a cool silver mining living ghost town.

Just past Johannesburg

I always pulled in to take a look at Randsburg as well.

I have been fortunate enough to get to the high ranges at CL and hike around. Amazing places.

[GH85Carrera]

March 22, 1881, infamous Old-West cattle rustler & highwayman “Big Nose” George Parrott (unknown-1881), alias George Manuse or George Warden, met his earthly demise when he died from the effects of having been strung up from a telegraph pole by a lynch mob after murdering a jailor & escaping from the Rawlins Jail in the town of Rawlins in Wyoming Territory where he had been awaiting execution for murder.
☞Because no one came forward to claim Parrot’s body, two local doctors, Dr. Thomas Maghee & Dr. John Eugene Osborne, took possession of
Parrott’s corpse in order to study the outlaw’s brain for clues to his criminality. The top of Parrott’s skull was sawn off & later presented to 15-year-old Lillian Heath, then a medical assistant to Maghee. Heath later became the first female doctor in Wyoming in 1893 -- just three years after Wyoming Territory became the State of Wyoming. She is said to have variously used the George Parrot’s skull cap as an ash tray, a pen holder, & a door-stop.
Skin from Parrott’s thighs & chest was removed & sent to a tannery in Denver, where it was made into a pair of shoes & a medical bag. Dr. Osborne later wore the shoes to his inaugural ball after being elected as the first Democrat Governor of the State of Wyoming. Parrott’s dismembered body was stored in a whiskey barrel filled with a salt solution for about a year whilst the experiments continued, after which he was buried in the back yard behind Dr. Maghee’s medical office.
The death of Big Nose George faded into history until May 11, 1950, when construction workers unearthed a whiskey barrel filled with bones whilst working on the Rawlins National Bank. Inside the barrel was a skull with the top sawn off, a bottle of some sort of vegetable compound, & the shoes that were said to have been made from Parrott’s skin. Dr. Lillian Heath, then in her 80s, was contacted & the skull cap was sent to the scene. It was found to be a perfect match to the skull in the barrel, & DNA analysis later confirmed that the remains were those of Big Nose George.
Today, the shoes made from the skin of Big Nose George are on permanent display at the Carbon County Museum in Rawlins, together with the bottom part of the outlaw’s skull. Parrott’s skull cap is now on display at the Union Pacific Museum in Omaha, Nebraska. The medical bag made from Big Nose George Parrot’s skin has become lost to history.
The left-hand photograph depicts the moustachioed visage or Old-West Outlaw Big Nose George Parrott. The right-hand photograph depicts pioneer female Old-West doctor, Lillian Heath, M.D. late in her life as she displays the top of Big Nose George’s skull.


A “Powder monkey”aboard USS New Hampshire, 1864. His chief role was to carry gunpowder from the powder magazine in the ship's hold to the artillery pieces, either in bulk or as cartridges, to minimize the risk of fires and explosions.




US Soldiers on New Georgia near Munda in July/August 1943
Note they are carrying (L to R) a M1928 Thompson, M1 Garand, and a M1903 rifle
A cropped version of this picture was used for the cover of the September 6, 1943 LIFE Magazine Issue
LIFE Magazine Archives - William C Shrout Photographer


St. Elmo, Colorado was settled in the 1870's and grew to be a town of over 2,000 residents. The town sits in one of the most scenic spots in Colorado, and was a popular tourist destination even in the 1800s. Today St. Elmo has many historic buildings remaining.

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by Baz

^There is absolutely nothing visible in this photo that I object to or would find difficult to live with. sigh

[Racerbvd]

[GH85Carrera]

A megalithic lid & entrance into the top of the mountain found in the Andean high country of Cosma, Peru


Helmcken Falls, Wells Gray Provincial Park, BC, Canada!!


In preparation for the Rhine crossing, a treadway bridge was built by the 17th Armored Engineer Battalion, detached from the 2nd Armored Division. On the night of 23 March, 1945 Company E and C constructed two preliminary treadway rafts over the Rhine, south of Wesel and opposite Spellen (now part of the town of Voerde). In the morning, a bridge that could bear mechanized transport started at 9:45 am, and by 4:00 pm the first truck crossed the floating bridge. Over 1152 feet of M2 treadway and 93 pneumatic floats were used in the project, which required just six hours and fifteen minutes to complete, setting a record for the size of the bridge. After the Rhine had been bridged, the 75th Infantry Division crossed on 24 March and the 35th Infantry Division crossed 25–26 March 1945.
Source: Bridging the Rhine, 17th Armored Engineer Battalion in World War 2.


American GIs of the 3rd U.S. Army forge the Rhine River. Here, some of these troops crouch low as enemy fire opens during their crossings of the Rhine in assault boats at Oberwesel, Germany. This is perhaps one of the more famous photos of the war.


Top View of a Boeing B-52H Stratofortress and British Avro Vulcan in Flight Near Edwards Air Force Base, California, 7/10/1961..USAF Image