#Fitness Equipment California

[gymdoctors]

The Role of Preventative Maintenance for Fitness Equipment

Regular exercise is important for staying healthy, and many people choose to exercise at home using equipment like treadmills, ellipticals, and weight machines. But just like any other machines, fitness equipment needs proper care and maintenance to work well and last a long time. This is where preventative maintenance comes in. By regularly maintaining your exercise equipment, you can keep it in good condition and avoid expensive repairs. In this article, we'll talk about why preventative maintenance is important for fitness equipment and how it benefits individuals and fitness facilities.

Improving Performance

Regular maintenance helps improve the performance and reliability of exercise equipment. Over time, dust, dirt, and other debris can build up in different parts of the equipment, like the motor or the belt. These things can make the machine run less smoothly and may even cause it to break down. By cleaning and lubricating the equipment regularly, you can remove these obstructions and make sure the machine works well. This not only makes your workouts better but also makes the equipment last longer.

Avoiding Expensive Repairs

One of the main benefits of preventative maintenance is that it helps you avoid costly repairs. By catching small issues early on and fixing them, you can prevent them from turning into big problems that require expensive Weight Machine Repairs. For example, if you notice a loose bolt or a squeaky sound coming from your weight machine, it's important to address these issues right away. Ignoring them could lead to more damage and possible safety risks. Regular maintenance helps you find these problems early and fix them, saving you time and money in the long run.

Keeping Users Safe

Exercise equipment that isn't properly maintained can be dangerous for users. Loose parts, worn-out belts, or malfunctioning electronics can increase the chances of accidents and injuries. Preventative maintenance includes inspecting and tightening bolts, checking cables and connections, and testing safety features. These measures make sure the equipment is safe to use. By prioritizing user safety, individuals and fitness facilities can create a secure and reliable exercise environment.

Extending Equipment Lifespan

Fitness equipment is a big investment, whether you're buying it for your home or for a commercial gym. By doing preventative maintenance, you can make your equipment last longer. Regular cleaning, lubrication, and calibration help prevent wear and tear, so you won't have to replace parts or machines as often. By taking care of your exercise equipment, you can get the most out of your investment and use it for a longer time.

To sum it up

Preventative maintenance is crucial for keeping fitness equipment in good shape. By regularly maintaining your machines, you can improve their performance, avoid expensive repairs, ensure user safety, and make them last longer. For all your Exercise Equipment Service needs, including Lifefitness repair and weight machine repair, trust the experts at Gym Doctors. With their expertise, you can keep your fitness equipment in top shape and enjoy uninterrupted workouts for years to come. For more information about the company, reach out to https://www.gymdoc.com/.

[fishenjoyer1]

Fish of the Day

today's fish of the day is the giant pacific octopus!

The giant pacific octopus, also called the North Pacific Octopus, scientific name Enteroctopus dofleini, is known for being the largest species of octopus! Living exclusively in temperate waters, their range stretches from Southern California up to Alaska, and from the West coast of Northern America, to the Aleutian Islands, and East coast of Japan. Giant pacific octopi live along coral ranges, rocky outcroppings, and intertidal zones where catching prey is easier. The bite of the giant pacific octopus contains a venom that breaks down proteins in animals, softening muscle tissues and organs over the course of a few hours. Their diet consists of almost anything they can fit in their beak: fish, crabs, lobster, shrimp, some smaller sharks and dogfish, clams, snails, and seagulls. They can tear apart animals with far tougher skin than their own due to a beak structure that can be found on all octopi, made of chitin. This diet can support them getting sizes as large as 29 feet! Their arm span alone can reach 19 feet across, and the heaviest recorded specimen was almost 200 pounds!

Many scavengers predate on octopi, and the great pacific octopus is no different, even drawing in larger predators due to their size. Many marine mammals, such as harbor seals, sea otters, various dolphins, and sperm whales have been found hunting great pacific octopi, along with large sharks. Humans also hunt great pacific octopi with commercial fishing for consumption across the world, taking 3.3 million tons annually. However, great pacific octopi are especially known for their high intelligence, which is used to avoid many of these predators. Octopi are known for being able to survey their surroundings and camouflage at will in many different ways. These animals have 9 brains, one in each of their 8 arms and a central brain, which does more than the others, each of the arms controlling over 200 suckers, which they have the control over like we do of our individual fingers, giving them high control over their movements. Along with the ability to create havoc in research environments, dissasemling expensive equipment, and escaping. 

Like many other cephalopods, the giant pacific octopus can change colors, using this to blend into the rocks around their hiding caves. This color changing ability is quite interesting for study however, when the octopus is resting they turn a milky white color, and when the octopus is occupied by other worries, they turn a deep red color. However, it is found that throughout an octopus's rest they will change into molted patterns that are also found in alert octopi: leading to the theory that octopi too, can dream. In other situations, these octopi have been known to create molted patterns to seduce partners, and to confuse prey. Other than their color changing abilities, they also have been known to surround themselves in shells and other remains of previous meals, to disguise their body when venturing for food. These animals also possess the well known ability to squirt ink out of their siphon, used to confuse predators. They also have been known for changing the texture of their skin, to blend in better with their surroundings. Their intelligence is so high that it is thought the octopi are some of the only invertebrates that engage in play activities.

Giant pacific octopi spent around 90% of their time inside of dens, venturing out only to find prey, and bringing them back into the den to consume. This creates an 'octopus garden' on the outside of the den, where there are piles of bones and shells piling up. However, depending on population, throughout the year these octopi will migrate, in accordance to seasonal changes. Eastern populations tend to locate new dens when the water experiences temperature changes in summer and winter, whereas western populations will move dens to shallower waters in early summer and winter, and then move to deeper waters in the later summer and winter. Northern populations, both the Alaskan and Northeastern, do not seem to have migration patterns.

Their lifespan is relatively long compared to other octopi. Sexual maturity is achieved at 1-2 years of age, but the giant pacific octopus, with a lifespan of 3-5 years, will wait until it reaches a sufficient body mass. This is because a giant pacific octopus will only ever go through one sexual event in a lifetime. After laying eggs within their den, males will fertilize. The female octopi will then brood over these eggs for 6 months, refusing to leave the den for any purpose, eventually dying of starvation, just as the eggs hatch. Eggs are cared for, by having the mother keep them well aerated with cool water from her siphon, and she'll clean them to ensure algae or parasites wont prey on the eggs. Males will also die after reproduction, although they will do this in their own dens. After hatching, the eggs grow quickly, reaching adult sizes within a year. Thus, continuing the cycle.

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

[octuscle]

alright, I've had my fun being a himbo silver fox. Turn me into a big beefy spartan warrior instead.

You put most of the guys here in the shade. Figuratively speaking, because you're fitter and stronger despite your age. And often also literally, because they kneel in your shadow and are at your service. Dude, you want to give that up? You're a legend here at the gym!

You wipe the sweat from your brow. Next set of bench presses. Fuck, that was way too easy! You add weight. And again. And again. Now it fits. With a loud grunt, you perform the last repetition. And as the barbell falls back into its holder, you yell "Sparta"! The other guys in the gym look a little irritated. But you're almost everyone's role model here. You can get away with anything. It's almost 10 p.m. on the west coast when you finish your workout. In Greece, it's already 08:00 in the morning. For fuck's sake, why do you care? Because an ancestor from Greece moved to California a few hundred years ago? Hardly…

That was a damn good workout… Outside on the village square, you wash off your sweat at the fountain before putting your tunic back on. You like the morning. The air is still cool, most people are out in the fields and there is hardly a sound to be heard apart from the hammering of the forge. And it's all the nicer to listen to the hammering of the blacksmiths when you know they're working on your new sword and helmet. If and when you need them? You don't know. But it can never take long. In fact, you're always at war.

Let those Persian bastards come! You are few. You are far worse equipped. But you are not afraid. The defense of your homes and your families is the most important thing in your lives. And you are not only brave, you are strong and skillful. You know the battlefield like the back of your hand. And the smith of your armor and sword is a master of his trade!

THIS! IS! SPARTA!

[hometoursandotherstuff]

Over-the-top modern 2021 mansion in Los Angeles, California. 12bds, 17ba, $139M. It also has $5M worth of Italian brand La Contessina furniture that's included with the house.

Look at this loooong sparking chandelier that pools on the floor. (There's a dedicated caretaker's quarters, but it's gonna take more than one person to maintain all this.)

Remember that all the furniture is included. Wonder why they chose brown. Now, here we are in the main living area with a huge bar. (aka "The Nightclub.")

On view here is this 6 car elevator to show off your car collection to guests (what, only 6?).

"The Nightclub" extends way out to the patio.

The wine room holds 1, 050 bottles, with a Murano glass art installation overhead. Wow, this wall of wine bottles is way different from the house I posted yesterday, with the bottle walls.

For entertaining, the residence has multiple bars. This is an ice-cold vodka-tasting room (notice the fans in the ceiling & the frost on the walls). Hanging on hooks are fur coats for the guests to wear. (Is this crazy or what?)

Home gym with a ridiculous amount of Peloton equipment. How many people are they expecting? There's also a climbing wall and a cigar lounge.

This looks like one of the more casual seating areas and bar. Don't expect to see the kitchen that's fitted with Wolf appliances and is supposedly a chef's dream. You don't concern yourself with something as mundane as cooking.

Here's the hot tub room with a massive chandelier.

The home theater is fitted with plush Belgian leather seats.

Beautiful views from the patios and terraces.

Check out the reclining marble tub in the primary suite. The wall opens to a large deck. (Guests get a penthouse suite.)

Massive en-suite bath. That big glass room on the right is the shower.

Her closet.

His closet.

The colossal 23-foot LED screen out by the pool comes up from the floor.

Around this bar are illuminated swing seats, plus a full commercial kitchen hidden from sight, for entertaining, b/c nobody wants to see a kitchen.

This home is really focused on entertaining.

The house is on a 2.08 acre lot and not to worry, bulletproof glass, and a hidden state-of-the-art safe room ensures security and peace of mind. A high-tech 36 camera security system with a full security command center including staff quarters vigilantly watches over the property.

[wheelsgoroundincircles]

1932 Ford

Magnificent Hot Rod built by "Socal" in California on a real 1932 Ford base, it is equipped with a 350ci V8 engine from Oldsmobile and a TH 400 automatic transmission. It also has 4 disc brakes, adjustable shock absorbers, air conditioning, heating and electric windows, all mounted very discreetly. Its complete interior as well as the headliner is in custom-made aged leather, VDO meters and gauges are present as well as a discreet CD radio. The engine is fitted with a large "Weiand" intake pipe, a 4-barrel "Demon" carburetor, a special air filter, electronic ignition and coupled 4-into-1 exhaust manifolds. to a double "Flowmaster" line. This Hot Rod has won many competitions in the USA, it is in perfect condition, everything is functional and it has been designed so that it is very pleasant to drive.

[mastersoftheair]

"Masters of the Air details. Part 6-Bombsight and bombing.

"[...] I was brought in to Masters of the Air to teach actors how to look like they knew what they were doing, and the bombardier work would certainly be important to the series.

"[...] The Norden bombsight was being developed in the 1920’s by Carl Lucas Norden, a Swiss engineer, who worked for the US Navy. He developed this sight (eventually the Mark 15 series for the Navy and the M series for the Army) and the autopilot system that goes along with it. The autopilot was needed as it could fly the aircraft more precisely on the bomb run than the pilot could. Just don’t tell the pilot this!

"The Mk 15 Norden sight was a beautiful hand-built and fit device with an analog computer that would calculate the point in space at which to drop the bombs. The Bombardier would input information to the sight in the form of altitude, air speed and the ballistics of the bomb. On the bomb run he would pick up the target with the crosshairs in the optics and engage a motor drive that would keep the crosshairs synchronized on the target during the approach. On the run he would also make fine adjustments to be sure the crosshair stayed on the target for range and drift. When the sighting angle reached the predetermined dropping angle the sight sent an electrical signal to the intervalometer that would drop the selected bombs at the specified interval.

"The mission order would define what bombs were to be used and what the nose and tail fuses were to be used and their delay settings, if any. The order would also specify the aiming point and the interval to be set in to the intervalometer. This would space the bombs across the ground as desired. Maybe you wanted the bombs dropped quickly, right next to each other, to try and put a hole in the roof of the hardened sub pens. Or maybe you wanted to walk them down a long runway. The intervalometer would be set for your ground speed and how many feet apart you wanted the bombs to hit on the ground.

"If you wanted to drop a string of bombs all down a line, like a runway or a front line, then you would want the center bomb of the stick to hit in the middle so you would adjust the trail plate on the bombsight the right amount to drop the first bomb early and have the center bomb right in the middle. This center bomb spot would be the mean point of impact or MPI.

"When I arrived on set at MoTA they had several nose sections with varying amounts of the bombardier’s equipment and controls. They had one real Norden sight head called the hero sight in the hero fuselage. The hero label was attached to the best props where special or close up filming with lead actors might take place.

"The stabilizer is the lower half of the bombsight and contains the yaw gyro for the autopilot. The bombsight head sits on the stabilizer and pivots to keep pointed at the target.

"The hero sight was sitting on a prop stabilizer, and it needed more accessories and work to look as good as the real sight head. I asked if they had a better stabilizer around and they thought so, but where it was seemed to be uncertain. It was eventually located and cleaned up for mounting in the hero nose. It was still missing some items namely the directional panel and an Automatic Bombing Computer or ABC. The ABC was used on the bomb run so they could perform evasive maneuvers and not have to do the run and drift calculations again. I was told that a Norden Bombsight expert in the UK said that they didn’t use the ABC early in the war, if at all. I had to differ with that opinion as it was most certainly used throughout the early war and almost all the way through. Its use dropped off later in the war if anything.

"The ABC is quite visible on top of the stabilizer so I thought the hero sight should have the ABC not only for authenticity but for eye candy too. I asked my daughter, Sydney, to send out the directional panel and ABC set from our museum’s bombsight back home in California.

"[...] Like with the pilots and their own preference for hand positions on the throttles, the bombardiers were given the options of the two different hand configurations bombardiers often used to adjust the sight on the run. The more uncomfortable two-handed method or the single hand. Which eye to use while looking through the eyepiece was also their own decision as this would have been a preference item as well.

"We also taught them how to look over the sight to pick up the target then transition down to the eye piece and to uncage and adjust the gyro for leveling the optics in case this might be of interest to the directors. We went over the control sequence for the bomb bay doors, bomb select and intervalometer adjustments and the bomb run itself.

"[...] The standard procedure for the bomb run was developed early on by the 8th AF which was to navigate to a point where the bomb run would begin. This was called the Initial Point or IP. From the IP it was either a straight line into the target, or evasive maneuvers along this line to the target.

"At the IP, the bombardier would open the bomb bay doors. This would change the drag and the airspeed accordingly. It was up to the pilot to adjust power to maintaining a specific airspeed and altitude which was critical to accurate bombing. The pilot would also re-trim the aircraft so it would fly hands off at which point he would engage the servos of the autopilot and turn control of the aircraft over to the bombardier. The Bombardier would fly the aircraft through the bombsight and its connection to the autopilot.

"The main bombardier actor, Elliot Warren, portrayed James R. Douglass. Elliot was a quick learn and did a great job. He was a pleasure to work with and I really enjoyed his scenes.

"[...]Props made several Norden sights. Rubber ones and some with more detail. One was set up with squibs to detonate when the sight was shot by the actor with his 45 cal M1911 pistol. They were wired and the squibs went off with the sound of the pistol. It looked pretty good on camera.

"It was AAF policy to try and destroy the bombsight so it would not fall in to enemy hands. Some of the manuals actually discuss what should be done to destroy it. I would hope that the large gyro in the sight head was not spinning at its normal 25,000 RPM when the bullet hit the 2-pound rotor, as I would imagine that it would come apart and potentially send shrapnel back at the guy holding the gun!

"The lighting folks would control the instruments and lights throughout the fuselages, like the bomb bay door open light on the bombardier’s panel. We put in a lag between the bomb door handle operation and the door open light coming on. Not an accurate lag as we obviously will not be filming for the actual 20 seconds or so needed to open the electric bomb bay doors. It was a delight to work with the lighting crew and they did magical work especially with the custom made instrumentation.

"[...] Here is a full-on rant about the Norden so you might want to skip out!

"Keep in mind that this is my own opinion. An American who is discussing the Norden sight. Your mileage may vary.

"Recently there has been, what I call a ‘revisionist historians’ view of the Norden Bombsight. In short, this modern interpretation, pretty much lead by Malcolm Gladwell’s TED Talk on YouTube and his book Bomber Mafia, calls in to question the usefulness of the Norden. Basically, saying it was not effective and some of his followers have even been using the term ‘useless’ recently.

"Just keep a few thoughts of this rant in mind.

"The bomb sighting systems we had going into WWII were based on technology left over from WWI. They were simple sights with wires to sight down. They were meant for aircraft speeds and altitudes from WWI. Now skip ahead to the new bombers flying two to three times as fast and at altitudes up to 30,000 feet instead of 3000 feet.

"An all-new system was needed to solve this new complex bombing problem. Sperry was working on it and Norden, who had left employment at Sperry, started his own effort.

"The Sperry and Norden sights were the leaders of synchronous sights going in to WWII. They both were good sights which were constantly being improved. They had each also developed a highly advanced autopilot that the bombardier used to fly the aircraft on the bomb run.

"These were visual sights, so it was necessary to see the target in order to be effective. Not so easy in Europe all year long. Radar and other methods were coming online to help with all weather bombing but there were many limitations in play.

"Results would certainly vary from target to target, and it was a brand new technology made up of gyros to keep the optics level, a mechanical computer to make the calculations, motors to drive the optics. Lots of parts needed to be able to work at 200 degrees F to 50 below, not to mention the complex autopilot system.

"So, my main question is: If this new technology was so bad then what exactly was it that brought the German war effort to its knees?

"The RAF was going after cities and targets at night and the AAF was trying to hit specific strategic targets like submarine production, aircraft and weapons plants, fuel and machine parts to make the weapons work. The very things the Germans needed to wage war.

"What brought this production essentially to a halt?

"I submit that it was the bombing campaign.

"If it was the bombing campaign, then it was likely the Norden and Sperry sights that made it possible. Mostly the Norden as it was chosen as the primary system and the Sperry S-1 sight was discontinued.

"The invasion of fortress Europe was certainly needed to push the Germans all the way back to Berlin, but I would also submit that these efforts were made easier by the results of the bombing campaign.

"There were certainly mistakes and errors all throughout this campaign as there was a massive learning curve in doing something that had never been accomplished on such a scale before. How to amass hundreds to a thousand plus bombers to rally together to attack a target effectively and then get home. The attrition was unbelievably steep in the early years as so beautifully depicted in Master’s.

"Just how do you get back in that bomber the next day and face near certain death once again like they did. Again, as seen in Master’s. Just a few of the wonderful aspects of this series and the history behind it.

"Having a PR campaign about the weapon that would help win the war, like Harold T. Barth created for Norden, was not such a bad thing. If it rallied the troops and home front to keep up morale, then I think it was a good thing. Just open any wartime magazine and look at the full page ads all throughout. Each ad promoting the companies contribution to winning the war effort. BF Goodrich with their new Rivnut or Seeger Refrigerator building bomb racks and feed chutes for the 50's. It was a nationwide industrial and personal team effort to wage this war against the Axis. Norden was one of them.

"Barth said that the sight could hit a pickle barrel from 20,000 feet. When the press asked if this was true Norden replied ‘sure if you tell me which pickle you want me to hit’. Some folks nowadays are taking this literally and complaining that it really couldn’t hit a specific pickle. No kidding. Say it isn’t so. Those bastards!

"To Mr. Gladwell and his followers, I'll ask again: What was it, in your mind, that allowed all of those bombs to take out the German AND the Japanese war efforts? If it wasn’t Sperry’s S-1 and Norden’s M series bombsights, then just exactly what was it?

"Rant over. Flak vest, with crotch protector, and helmet, on."

[dandylovesturtles]

i'm curious, and i don't know if you've explained this before so I'm sorry if you have, but why did you choose picacho peak as the location for the amulet's creator?

There's not really a special reason for this. I knew I wanted it to be somewhere far enough away from NYC that they couldn't feasibly travel there and back by any normal means before the deadline was up, so it had to be somewhere pretty far west. And I wanted it to be somewhere remote, but not so much that they couldn't get Leo back to a hotel after he collapsed. I toyed with a couple different ideas, including places in California and Canada/Alaska, but eventually I settled on going for somewhere in the desert because it's such a different environment for the boys to visit, and I thought that would be fun.

So then it was just a matter of looking up state/national parks in Arizona and New Mexico and picking one I liked. I didn't want to go for the most well-known tourist destinations (so I basically just ruled out any that I, as a person who has never been out west, had heard of before), but that was still feasibly able to be traversed without any special equipment (since they were just running off without any preparation). Picacho fit the bill and I liked the look out of - it's just kind of jutting out of the desert all by itself, which as a setting intrigued me.

That's basically it; there wasn't any deeper connection I was trying to make with it. I did appreciate all the people who were from Arizona getting a kick out of it, though. Turns out people like it when you namedrop their general area in a fanfic haha.

Thanks for the ask! I'm sorry this was a super boring answer.

[macgyvertape]

Fallout show thoughts (spoilers ep 3&4)

I do enjoy this pre birthday party flashback, we get to see Cooper Howard object to his movie character shooting someone in the head vs what The Ghoul just did to a bunch of living people last episode

Funny how Maximus and Lucy are both very bad at surviving in the Wasteland especially thinking through the "what are the consequences of me doing this" part

wow this show is going hard on the fucked up Knight and disposable/replaceable Squire servitude thing. Way more interesting to me than the BoS in the games, and it's funny how the Squires are essentially caddies carrying around giant military equipment golf bags

Norm's little smirk when he started with the Overseer power play made him my favorite character in the vault

classic water chip broke

the pre-war costuming and accessories are so well done. Seems like they really gave those teams a budget and time

"All I gotta do is act naturally. We'll make a scene about a man that's sad and lonely". Really on the nose with The Ghoul/Cooper Howard's backstory reveal and the thumbs up

Though the Hollywood sign just made me realize, if this is happening post Fallout New Vegas, and in California so where the fuck is the NCR

Damn Roger looks horrifying, way scarier than Ghouls have been since FO3. Also Ghoul on Ghoul cannibalism

Dressing up a acquaintance in your dead husband's stuff and then fucking him while calling him your dead husband's name is super fucked up! But fascinating coping mechanism in a setting with no therapy, where the vault is downplaying the actions of the murders, she's pregnant while the father is dead, and none of them can leave to interact with different people! That and the cousin technically-not-fucking is totally wild and yet perfectly fits with the humor of the setting

Damn that's a height difference between Norm and Chet

Slight distraction from Lucy killing her first person where it's unintentionally hilarious how high Martha jumped

Surprised I haven't seen any character take radaway so far. Overall ep4 is my least favorite just for the amount of whump

Cooper/The Ghoul is really getting all the fun episode call backs and bookends

[hotluncheddie]

The logo on Steve's trousers is quicksilver I had no idea if it was a surfer brand but its generally sold in sporting apparel stores but the Internet says:

'Born on the beach, Quiksilver's core concept of fashion with function has now been embraced by all who enjoy active outdoor lifestyles. The cresting wave and snow capped mountain logo symbolises excellence and authenticity. The logo was inspired by a famous Japanese woodcut depicting a typhoon wave and Mt Fuji.' - quicksilver brand website

'Quiksilver is an American brand of surf-inspired apparel and accessories that was founded in 1969 in Torquay, Victoria, but is now based in Huntington Beach, California. It is one of the world's largest brands of surfwear and boardsport-related equipment.' - Wikipedia

woah thank you!!! i've never heard of this brand but thats really cool!!

I still cant tell if they're the ones he wears in the actual scenes but i found these online and they look pretty similar in terms of fabric weight wise so maybe the ones in the jk picture are what he wears!!!

i just love fashion so its fun to have a new brand!!! exiting!!! ty so so much anon!!!

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Arctic Weather Satellite tested for life in orbit

ESA's Arctic Weather Satellite has passed its environmental test campaign with flying colors—meaning that the satellite has been declared fit for liftoff and its life in the harsh environment of space.

This new satellite, which is slated for launch in June, has been designed to show how it can improve weather forecasts in the Arctic—a region that currently lacks data for accurate short-term forecasts.

The set of final tests were carried out at IABG in Germany and included positioning the satellite on a shaker to simulate the vibrations it will have to endure during liftoff, and enclosing it in a thermal vacuum chamber where it was exposed to the extreme swings in temperature that it will experience as it orbits Earth.

Ville Kangas, ESA's Arctic Weather Satellite Project Manager, said, "This last testing program is extremely important to make sure that the satellite is robust enough to survive launch and the harshness of the space environment. I am extremely happy to say that everything went very well, and I extend my thanks to IABG and OHB Sweden for their diligent work."

The Arctic Weather Satellite is equipped with a 19-channel cross-track scanning microwave radiometer, which benefits from the heritage technology of the Microwave Sounder developed for the MetOp Second Generation satellites.

The instrument will provide high-resolution humidity and temperature soundings of the atmosphere in all weather conditions.

The satellite is actually the forerunner of a potential constellation of satellites, called EPS-Sterna, that ESA would build for Eumetsat if this first prototype Arctic Weather Satellite works well.

The EPS-Sterna mission is envisaged as a constellation of six microsatellites in three orbital planes to supply an almost constant stream of temperature and humidity data from every location on Earth.

This would, for the first time, allow for very short-range weather forecasting, or "nowcasting," in the Arctic. The set of six microsatellites would be replenished three times.

While the Arctic is the focus, meteorologists will also use the constellation to improve weather forecasts globally.

Embracing the concept of New Space, the prototype Arctic Weather Satellite has been developed and built on a very tight schedule of just 36 months and on a tight budget.

Ville added, "Led by our prime contractor, OHB in Sweden, over 30 companies have been involved in the development of the mission. I think I can I speak for everyone in saying how thrilled we are to see the satellite fit and well and ready for its next steps."

The satellite is now being shipped back to Sweden for a last few checks before it is packed up ready for shipment to the Vandenberg launch site in California in the U.S.

IMAGE....ESA's Arctic Weather Satellite being prepared for environmental tests at IAGB in Ottobrunn, Germany. The photograph shows the satellite on the shaker—a test that ensures that the satellite will survive liftoff. The satellite is equipped with a 19-channel cross-track scanning microwave radiometer, which benefits from the heritage technology of the Microwave Sounder developed for the MetOp Second Generation satellites. Credit: ESA–P. Sebirot

[gymdoctors]

Northern California's Premier exercise equipment sales and service provider. we repair any and all exercise and fitness equipment and specialize in cardio equipment repair service.

To know more visit : https://www.gymdoc.com/

[talesfrom-theupsidedown]

Sink or Swim [Billy Hargrove x GenderNeutral!reader] Ch. 1

Summary: Working at the local Snack Shack at Hawkins Pool wasn’t your dream but it’s a decent summer job before college. It did come with a perk of being in proximity to the recent California transfer and resident asshole, Billy Hargrove. Having a nice view of the handsome blond was good enough, but when circumstances lead you to an encounter with Billy and then a chance to become friends, perhaps even more, you can’t stay away. Maybe Billy Hargrove isn’t such an asshole after all. [Canon with a variation]

Warnings: eventual mentions of abuse, smoking, alcohol, sexual themes.

Word Count: 2.8k

Author’s Note: I’m so freaking excited to finally be sharing this story! Please let me know your thoughts! Reblogs and comments are much appreciated. :) I will also be adding each chapter to AO3 and Wattpad shortly after this posts, if you prefer to read over there. I’ll be posting under the username @avengerofyourheart​ , which is also my main blog here on tumblr. Love you!! 

Part One        Part Two>>> 

Sink or Swim Series Masterlist

_________________________________________________________

The first official encounter you had with Billy Hargrove was unexpected, brief and…surprisingly sweet. Every one after that seemed to be moronic (on your part) and…embarrassing. 

Naturally. 

Getting a job at the Snack Shack at Hawkins Community Pool wasn’t your first choice, but it was just for the summer. In the fall, you were headed to college and would get to leave your small town behind. In the mean time, you would be selling junk food to your former classmates and their younger siblings every day. Awesome. 

Billy got a job as one of the lifeguards, which wasn’t much of a surprise. From what you could collect through gossip floating around the high school, the mullet-wearing, muscled, Camaro-driving asshole was a former surfer from California, so the position fit him. And despite confirmation of his prickly personality, you weren’t mad about the sight of Billy in nothing but a pair of red swim trunks, sunglasses, and a whistle around his neck. 

Hot damn.

Billy never knew you existed in school, since you were less than popular and ran in different circles. Not surprising. You saw him around, though, even sharing a few classes together. He seemed bored with school and didn’t really try but somehow still got passing grades. Billy was the athletic type, enjoying gym class but especially basketball. Or maybe it was just fun for him to mess with King Steve Harrington, and it was enjoyable for you to witness at times as well. Knowing Steve all your life, you agreed that he could stand to be taken down a peg or two. The bigger the hair, the bigger the ego and Steve’s had grown exponentially the past few years in both regards. 

Then there was graduation and the idea of freedom and new beginnings. But first, you had to survive the summer.

During employee orientation just after school let out, you were there and Billy showed up late as one could expect. A few days of training followed with you learning all the equipment in the Snack Shack and which scoop was the correct portion for every item. Not exactly rocket science. At the same time, the lifeguards were getting CPR certification and practicing rescue drills. Looked like more fun than you what you were doing. 

Billy tended to hang back from the group during the vocal instructions, sometimes smoking a cigarette when he probably shouldn’t be. But when it came to the practical learning, he was all in, practicing CPR on dummies and “rescuing” his co-workers during drills. His swimming was strong and for timed rescues he did the best. Huh. Perhaps he’s not so apathetic about everything as it would seem. 

Once the pool opened, you were given morning shifts at first, which was fine but the Snack Shack was not that busy until kids started begging their parents for lunch. Time crawled when there wasn’t anything to do, but it did give you a chance to peek at the happenings at the pool. Swimming classes were early, before the pool opened to the public. Most of the time you were just setting up so hearing the gaggle of six-year-olds arriving had you glancing over to see what was up. 

Billy Hargrove was quite the enigma. Given his reputation, yes, he could be an asshole at times. During public hours when he was in the chair, he had a tendency to blow his whistle and yell across the pool at the supposed offender, often threatening a permanent ban. Well, that’s one approach. It did seem to do the trick, though. At least they knew he was serious and it could be said that personal safety was a serious matter that justified a heavier-handed method.

During those early mornings twice a week, though, when Billy was surrounded by tiny kids in water wings and swim suits with little skirts attached, he almost…transformed. He spoke softer and smiled more than you thought him capable of. It was really sweet, watching him explain what he wanted the kids to do while on dry land before even getting in the pool. He forced the parents to stay across the way and out of ear reach, knowing that he could still get their attention should one of their precious little ones need to go to the bathroom or something. Billy didn’t seem to want the parents hovering, otherwise. Makes sense. 

The little ones adored him, surprisingly. Listening to his softer, gentle instructions when one of them was crying or lifting them up to sit on the side for a short break. Being small and learning a lot of new, scary things at once could be overwhelming, you assumed. Billy gave each one of them a high-five at the end of lessons and a few even gave him a hug. 

One morning, you had just opened the metal gate at the counter and turned around to grab some tongs when you heard a voice behind you.

“Hey.” 

Turning to the sound, you were surprised to see Billy on the other side of your counter. 

“…hi?” you replied, startled. 

“So, I’m sure you’re not open yet but could I trouble you for a popsicle? I got a little girl with a skinned knee and parents on their way. I promised her one if she’d quit crying. I can’t handle crying kids,” Billy said gruffly. Although you had seen evidence to the contrary, you just nodded. 

“Sure. Flavor preference?” you croaked out through a suddenly dry throat. 

“Nah. Whatever you have. I don’t have my wallet with me but I can swing by later and—“

“Don’t worry about it,” you interrupted, handing him the frozen treat. “Emergency popsicles are on the house.”

“Oh. Okay. Thanks.” 

Billy offered a tight smile and walked away to a tiny girl seated on a lounge chair wrapped in a towel, the saddest expression on her face. She was trying to be brave but her body was still shaken by a sob every few moments. Billy crouched down to her level and handed her popsicle, now distracted enough for him to disinfect and bandage the skinned knee. Huh. So Billy did have a soft side, if maybe not for anyone his own size. Interesting. 

A week or two later it was abundantly clear that whoever was closing up the Snack Shack was doing a shit job and it just made your job harder in the mornings. Nothing was properly cleaned and ingredients weren’t prepped like they should be. After a gentle mention to your supervisor, somehow the solution was that you would be switching to the late shift so the job would be done right. Because properly training and disciplining your co-workers was little too much work. Great. 

You mourned the loss of the slow mornings and peeks of Swim Instructor Billy for a moment, but you got over it. Afternoon shifts were crazy busy and at least the time passed quickly. You hadn’t seen Billy come by since that first morning, but that was to be expected. Since then, you had your duties and he had his. Interaction with him just never really happened. 

Until it did. 

One night after the pool closed, you had pulled down the metal gate at the snack shack counter and were finishing the last of your clean up. Suddenly, music began to play from the direction of the pool. Peeking out the side door in curiosity, you spotted Billy with a boom box, music now blaring from the lifeguard tower. He climbed down and went about his evening checklist as the sun began to set. 

Once the pool closed, the last lifeguard was in charge of cleaning the pool, properly arranging the lounge chairs even though they would be shifted within minutes tomorrow morning, and sweeping leaves off the deck. While many of the other lifeguards often bitched about the responsibility and would do a half-assed job, Billy seemed okay with it. Oddly enough, he did it well and without complaint. The music probably made the tasks more bearable. 

Returning to your own closing tasks, you finished wiping down all the counters, washed the dishes to let them air dry, and the last item on your list was taking out the trash. You could dump it on the way out so you gathered your backpack and stowed away your apron and visor. So stylish. 

Backpack slung over one shoulder, you tried to carry a rather heavy trash bag in each hand while also opening the side door and making sure it was locked. Once you stepped outside, though, a peculiar sight quickly distracted you. 

To your surprise, the supposed asshole and lifeguard extraordinaire, Billy Hargrove, was currently lip-synching while using a push-broom as a microphone stand. Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell” blasted from the speakers as the other Billy before you head-banged to the beat and pumped a fist into the air as the words “More. More. More…more, more more!” rang out across the empty pool deck. As the chorus ended, Billy raised his face to the sky and jumped in place, his handsome features sharpened by the blue light emitting from the pool. A wide smile stretched across Billy’s face as the makeshift mic stand became an electric guitar in his hands.

Entranced by the sight, you unconsciously shifted the weight of one of the trash bags and lost your grip, knocking over a stack of empty buckets. Smooth. 

The sound caused Billy’s head to whip toward you and his posture stiffened, eyes shifting around for other witnesses. Gathering your senses, you finally let the door close behind you and raised your free hand in an awkward greeting. 

“Sorry, I—“ 

But nothing else came out. 

Dammit. Giving up at an attempt in human communication, you picked up the trash and hauled ass toward the parking lot. The short glance backward that you allowed yourself showed that Billy was back to sweeping, his head down. Your heart sank. For a split second you got to see another side of Billy. Maybe what everyone else has said was a ruse. What was Billy like when no one else was around? You sure felt free enough to be yourself in the safety of an empty space. Or that you thought was empty. Unintentionally, you had intruded on that and ruined Billy’s moment. 

Sigh. 

Maybe you could make up for it…

Tossing the trash bags in the parking lot dumpster, you walked over to your nearby bike, unlocked it, and rode home with the evening’s exchange running on rotation the whole way home. 

_______________

A few days later, you got a chance to act on your plan when it was just the two of you closing up again. If your intruding on Billy’s post-work jams made him uncomfortable, then it was time to even the playing field. 

By humiliating yourself. 

Finishing up your inside projects first, you then headed outside to place the patio chairs on top the tables in preparation of sweeping your own area. Billy spared you a glance upon your appearance but quickly returned to his attention to ridding the pool of leaves and dead bugs. His boombox blared music once again, playing songs from the local rock station. 

Heart pounding, you started to sweep and waited until a familiar sang came on. Soon the band Foreigner blasted from the stereo. Perfect. Abandoning your task, you bobbed your head to the beat as the first lyrics began. 

“Well, I’m hot-blooded, check it to see

I’ve got a fever of a hundred and three

Come on, baby, do you do more than dance? 

I’m hot-blooded, hot-blooded.”

Lip-synching in an exaggerated manner, you spun around with the broom in your hands and taking a page out of Billy’s book, chose to use it as a microphone. You jerked your limbs about, perhaps to be taken as dancing, and dove into the second verse. 

“You don’t have to read my mind,

to know what I have in mind.

Honey, you ought to know. 

Yeah, you move so fine,

let me lay it on the line.

I wanna know what you’re 

doing after the show.” 

Having gotten lost in the moment, you finally took a glance in the pool’s direction to see Billy standing in place, the pool net loose in his grip. Was that a smile you could see on his face? Bingo. You finished out the song with some air guitar and a windmill or two, leaning against a table to catch your breath as the last notes of Foreigner ended. 

To your surprise, you heard clapping and you whirled around to see the sound coming from Billy. Now feeling the humiliation of your little show, you weren’t sure what to do now. Finally settling on an awkward bow in reply, you then ran back inside the Snack Shack to stow away your apron and grab your bag. Aiming to reach the parking lot and be gone by the time Billy appeared, you thankfully succeeded. You rode your bike down the street and around the corner just in time to hear the easily identifiable Camaro roar to life. 

Perhaps your next encounter with Billy wouldn’t involve personal embarrassment. The possibility was unlikely at this point, but one could dream. 

____________

The next week, you were having one of the worst days ever at your job so far. Some kid spilled a soda all over your counter and down onto the floor and the most you could do in the moment was throw down some towels. By the time you got a break in customers, you were left with a solid, sticky mess. Your manager also hadn’t staffed enough people for the weekend so you had to fend for yourself once again. 

No one else had taken out the trash and had instead piled up bags by the side door so you were taking one of multiple trips out to the parking lot long after closing. Lifting the dumpster lid with one hand, you chucked one bag inside with the other but as you raised the second bag, a sharp metal edge caught the plastic and ripped. Of course it did. The 6 inch hole began to spill out its contents of half-empty soda cups and chip bags. At least it wasn’t the bag full of food scraps. 

“God-fucking-DAMMIT!!” you screamed at the top of your lungs, dropping the bag to the pavement. 

“Oh, shit,” you heard from you behind you. 

Turning swiftly to the sound, you spotted Billy Hargrove with car keys in hand, fresh from a shower. 

Perfect. It had to be him who was still around. 

Once again embarrassed, you glanced at the mess around you, including a half-full lukewarm soda cup that was open and now soaking into your shoe. 

“Sorry, I—“ 

Nothing else came out. Once again, you couldn’t progress in communication any further in his presence. Picking up the bag but upside down, you finally got it inside the dumpster and started collecting the trash that had fallen out. From your crouched position, you suddenly saw another pair of hands helping. 

“You don’t have to do that,” you managed to squeak out. 

“It’s no big deal,” Billy replied, tossing a few items in the dumpster and then holding the lid for you to throw in the last of it. 

“Thank you.” 

Finding the courage to meet his eye, you discovered you were only a few feet from Billy. You’d never seen him that closely. Damp curls framed his face with bright blue eyes catching yours and a cautious smile on his lips. Damn, he was cute. 

“I’m Billy,” he said, offering his hand. 

“Hargrove,” you finished his name. “I know. We had two classes together last year.” You almost accepted his shake but remembered what you had just touched and pulled away. 

“Right,” Billy replied, sheepish. “Remind me?” 

Catching on, you shared your name. 

“Y/N,” he repeated. “Of course. Nice visor.” 

The blond flicked the bill with one finger, unsettling the visor on your head. 

You huffed out a laugh, tugging it back on. “Yeah, well. Not everyone can pull off the look. I consider myself lucky.” 

Billy burst out a genuine chuckle, causing a warm, happy flip in your stomach.

“Well. I’ll see you around, Y/N,” he said, walking backward toward his car. 

“Yup. Bye.” 

You received the gift of watching Billy’s backside in motion for a few moments before you had the sense to stop staring. Time to finally finish this hellish workday and go home. 

_______________________

Part Two>>>

______________________________________________________

Thoughts??? I just love a softer Billy, okay? He deserves all the good things, starting with maybe...a friend? I guess we’ll see. :D Also I know Hot Blooded was in a ~certain scene~ but I’m choosing to take it back, mmkay? I’d love to know your thoughts on this fic! Reblogs, comments, etc., are very much appreciated. You can even send me an ask if you’d like! I appreciate youuuu. :) 

Also if you want to be added to my tag list, please let me know! 

Billy tag list: 

@every-dayiwakeup @feelmyroarrrr @someonehelpshit @ria132love @sebbytrash​ @withahintofpestoaioli​ @nogitsunbae​ @ickypuppi3​ @prettybillycore​  

[amazingarchitecturewebsite]

Canyon View House in #LosAngeles, California by Jacobschang Architecture @jacobschangarch. Read more: Link in bio! Photography: Sara Liggoria-Tramp Jacobschang Architecture: This hillside canyon adjacent to Griffith Park with expansive views, a large leveled landscape and mature trees are what drew the owners to the property. The existing house however, possessed a handful of conditions that required attention: there were two kitchens, a motorized bathroom wall opened to the living room, built-in cabinets were built to fit outdated hi-fi equipment and a disorienting variety of polyurethaned woods… #usa #california #архитектура www.amazingarchitecture.com ✔ A collection of the best contemporary architecture to inspire you. #design #architecture #amazingarchitecture #architect #arquitectura #luxury #realestate #life #cute #architettura #interiordesign #photooftheday #love #travel #construction #furniture #instagood #fashion #beautiful #archilovers #home #house ‎#amazing #picoftheday #architecturephotography ‎#معماری (at Los Angeles, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CkgkEP4O4lr/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Faith Bottum

Published: Aug 19, 2023

The California State Board of Education issued on July 12 a new framework for teaching math based on what it calls “updated principles of focus, coherence, and rigor.” The word “updated” is certainly accurate. Not so much “principles,” “focus,” “coherence” or “rigor.” California’s new approach to math is as unfair as it is unserious.

The framework is voluntary, but it will heavily influence school districts and teachers around the Golden State. Developed over the past four years, it runs nearly 1,000 pages. Among the titles of its 14 chapters are “Teaching for Equity and Engagement,” “Structuring School Experiences for Equity and Engagement” and “Supporting Educators in Offering Equitable and Engaging Mathematics Instruction.” The guidelines demand that math teachers be “committed to social justice work” to “equip students with a toolkit and mindset to identify and combat inequities with mathematics”—not with the ability to do math. Far more important is teaching students that “mathematics plays a role in the power structures and privileges that exist within our society.”

California’s education bureaucrats are seeking to reinvent math as a grievance study. “Big ideas are central to the learning of mathematics,” the framework insists, but the only big idea the document promotes is that unequal outcomes in math performance are proof of a racist society.

To achieve equal outcomes, the framework favors the elimination of “tracking,” by which it means the practice of identifying students with the potential to do well. This supposedly damages the mental health of low-achieving students. The problem is that some students simply are better at math than others. To close the gap, the authors of the new framework have decided essentially to eliminate calculus—and to hold talented students back.

The framework recommends that Algebra I not be taught in middle school, which would force the course to be taught in high school. But if the students all take algebra as freshmen, there won’t be time to fit calculus into a four-year high-school program. And that’s the point: The gap between the best and worst math students will become less visible.

As written, the framework appears to violate the California Mathematics Placement Act of 2015, which requires proper courses for advanced students. A petition signed by roughly 6,000 parents and other concerned citizens may have spurred the drafters of the framework to add an amendment that reads, “Students may take Algebra 1 or Mathematics 1 in middle school.” But the completed document still pushes students not to take algebra in middle school. Instead, the framework recommends investigating whether the traditional five-year progression—Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Precalculus (including trigonometry) and Calculus—could be shortened so students would still be able to take calculus during senior year. As it stands now, students must either double up or enroll in a summer course to be able to take calculus—or go to a private school, which students from underprivileged backgrounds can’t afford to do.

A growing opposition from college professors should embarrass the Board of Education. More than 400 professors were incensed by a proposed data-science course as a math track that students might follow instead of Algebra II. “For students to be prepared for STEM and other quantitative majors in 4-year colleges . . . learning Algebra II in high school is essential,” they wrote in an open letter. “This cannot be replaced with a high-school statistics or data-science course, due to the cumulative nature of mathematics.”

Brian Conrad, a mathematics professor at Stanford, has created a website to debunk the framework. He writes that the California framework “selectively cites research to make points it wants to make,” and that it “contains false or misleading descriptions of many citations from the literature in neuroscience, acceleration, de-tracking, assessments, and more.” He gets so worked up that he calls a version of chapters 6 and 7 (which respectively cover kindergarten through fifth grade and sixth through eighth grades) an “embarrassment to professionalism.”

The jargon- and acronym-laden California framework, Mr. Conrad says, “promotes a cartoon view” of how students acquire “reliable mathematical skills.” It is equivalent, he says, to supporting that children need not “learn how to spell because there are spell-checkers and spelling is not part of analytical thinking.” The five-member writing team, supervised by a 20-member oversight team, didn’t collaborate with any recognized STEM experts in industry about what training graduates will need in the workplace, Mr. Conrad says.

“Those who claim to be champions of equity should put more effort and resources into helping all students to achieve real success in learning mathematics,” Mr. Conrad says, “rather than using illegal artificial barriers, misrepresented data and citations, or fake validations to create false optics of success.” California should stop trying to turn math into a social-science course.

--

==

Considering California already underperforms compared to the nation - with an average that never approaches Proficient and barely skims over the top of Basic - the last thing it needs is more students who know more about identity politics and less about actual math.

[ Source: Nation's Report Card - Note: twelfth-grade results not available. ]

[wheelsgoroundincircles]

Custom 1953 Muntz Jet Convertible

This 1953 Muntz Jet convertible underwent a three-year custom build under previous ownership, and it was purchased by the seller in 2021. The car is powered by a fuel-injected 5.7-liter LT1 V8 engine paired with a four-speed automatic transmission and a Ford 9″ rear end, and it is finished in Apple Pearl with a white Carson-style removable top over gray snakeskin-style Naugahyde upholstery. Features include custom bodywork, an Art Morrison frame, power-assisted steering, four-wheel disc brakes, airbag suspension, Painless Performance wiring, and more modified and fabricated details. This custom-built Muntz is now offered with a copy of Rodder’s Journal magazine featuring a story on the build and a clean California title in the name of the seller’s business.

Custom 1953 Muntz Jet Convertible

The steel, aluminum, and fiberglass body is mounted on an Art Morrison ladder frame that was boxed and finished in semi-gloss black, and the floor was raised 3″. The exterior was repainted in a Sherwin Williams two-stage Apple Pearl mixed by the late Stan Betz. Features include a chopped Duvall-style windshield, 1950 Chevrolet headlights, dual Appleton spotlights, 1951 Ford Victoria side windows, and a white removable Carson-style top fabricated to match the height of the chopped windshield. Additional equipment includes color-matched rear fender skirts and chrome bumpers. Wear from fitting the top is noted on the rear deck.

Custom 1953 Muntz Jet Convertible

Steel wheels sourced from a 1976 Dodge measure 15″ and are mounted with Cadillac Sombrero-style covers and whitewall tires. A matching spare fitted with a BFGoodrich Silvertown tire is mounted within a rear-mounted Continental-style chrome carrier. A Mustang II front end accommodates power rack-and-pinion steering , and the car rides on an electronically-adjustable Air Ride Technologies airbag suspension system along with 2” lowered front spindles, Strange Engineering tube shocks, a rear Panhard bar, and front and rear sway bars. The seller reports that the front control arm bushings were recently replaced.

Custom 1953 Muntz Jet Convertible

Custom 1953 Muntz Jet Convertible

Braking is handled by GM G-body-sourced calipers matched with Ford Granada discs up front and Ford SVO-specification calipers and discs at the rear.

Custom 1953 Muntz Jet Convertible

The cabin was customized by Jim’s Auto Trim of San Diego, California, and features Glide bucket seats and a rear bench trimmed in gray snakeskin-style Naugahyde upholstery, along with matching treatments for the dash trim, headliner, and door panels. Additional equipment includes a 1952 Lincoln steering wheel mounted to a shortened Lincoln steering column, gray cut-pile carpet, and a Pioneer stereo housed within a custom center cubby.

The engine-turned “Hollywood” instrument cluster houses Stewart Warner gauges consisting of an 8k-rpm tachometer, a 160-mph speedometer, and auxiliary readings for fuel level, battery charge, oil pressure, and water temperature. The five-digit odometer displays 25k miles, though total chassis mileage is unknown. A Lokar pedal assembly was fitted during the build.

Custom 1953 Muntz Jet Convertible

The Corvette-sourced 5.7-liter LT1 V8 features a polished fuel intake manifold along with billet aluminum valve covers, and additional features include an Opti-Spark distributor, a Griffin aluminum radiator, and a wiring loom sourced from Painless Performance Wiring. A set of long-tube headers are connected to a 2.5″ exhaust system equipped with dual Dynaflow mufflers. The seller reports that the oil was recently changed.

Custom 1953 Muntz Jet Convertible

Power is routed to the rear wheels via a four-speed 4L60E automatic transmission and a Ford 9″ rear end with with 3.55:1 gears and Strange Engineering 31-spline axles. Additional photos of the underside, drivetrain, and suspension components are presented in the gallery below.

Custom 1953 Muntz Jet Convertible

The car was featured in issue #36 of Rodders Journal magazine

[mastersoftheair]

"Masters of the Air detail- Part 4-The Lemmons magneto scene E4.

"Apple released one scene with Master Sgt. Lemmons, the Crew Chief, and the rest appeared recently in E4.

"He had an engine problem that they were troubleshooting just before the engine start for the mission. Lemmons actually rode in the gear well of number 3 fixing the engine, as the Fortress taxied out on three engines.

"Cary, the director for the first four episodes, was asking about what Lemmons could be fixing and wanted to know if various things were plausible. One was changing a carburetor, uh, no. It’s not only a massive job but doesn’t fit with Lemmons riding in the gear well. I suggested working on a magneto, as just about the only things that you can get to, through the access panel in the firewall on a B-17, are the magnetos and the starter.

"Okay he said, can we change the magneto? Uh, no, not within the confines of this scene and taxiing out to takeoff. How about setting the magneto points as it would fit the timeline, look good and would be plausible. He said to set it up. Okay, off we go.

"Edit- I did not have access to Lemmons book or John Orloff’s notes at the time this scene was being discussed. Soon after Jessica was kind enough to give me a copy of Lemmons book and it said that he indeed did adjust the magneto points from inside of the gear well.

"I talked to Stewart Heath from BGI. A guy who can, and did, make miracles happen. We talked about the magneto, and I showed him what it and the B-17 accessory section looked like through the firewall opening. He was also going to build a B-17 engine nacelle for this scene!

"I said that almost any radial engine magneto would work and that I could source one if he needed. He said go so I contacted Carl Scholl at Aerotrader in California and asked if he had a mag for a Curtis Wright R1820. Of course he did! And he shipped it off to us in the UK. Thanks Carl.

"Stewart made the nacelle and a box housing the real mag, a dummy mag and starter. It was painted black and looked pretty good on camera.

"Raff Law is the actor who portrayed Sgt. Lemmons. He and I sat down with the ‘accessory box’ and I taught him how to look like he was setting up and adjusting the points on a magneto.

"I pictured the original WWII radial engine feeler gauge tool, with the bent ends, in my toolbox back home and hoped that Props Department may have something close. They supplied some nice period tools and Raff learned what he needed to do on the table at our “office”. Next was time for him to practice in the nacelle that Stewart and BGI built.

"During the building of the nacelle the oil tank was a topic of discussion. I gave them some photos, especially of the stenciling which could be visible and they, as usual, did a wonderful job.

"The nacelle was set up for the scene and the video walls were set up underneath the nacelle. Incidentally the wheels and tires used on MOTA were actual un-airworthy B-17 wheels and tires from the Collings Foundation. Some of you Collings pilots might recognize the flat spots on the tires!! It is cool to see some actual B-17 parts that flew a lot and made it into the series. We will not talk about the tread pattern though will we…

"Several camera angles set up in and around the nacelle and really looked good and helped to convey just how difficult it must have been for Sgt. Lemmons to accomplish what he did. Amazing for sure. I only hope that the Lemmons family is happy with the result.

"So much was put into making this and every scene as rich and authentic as possible that it is a shame that so many of these details didn’t make the final cut. But that’s the way this business is, it’s better to have too much and cut things out than to have too little and the need for more. MOTA was way up on the quality and detail and doing it with all of this specialized aircraft equipment is many times more difficult to do than most other subjects. Well done folks! So many people behind the scenes going above and beyond to make this special [...]"