Sky

The sky (or celestial dome) is everything that lies above the surface of the Earth, including the atmosphere and outer space.

In the field of astronomy, the sky is also called the celestial sphere. This is viewed from Earth's surface as an imaginary dome where the sun, stars, planets, and the moon are seen to be traveling. The celestial sphere is conventionally divided into regions called constellations. Usually, the term sky is used informally as the point of view from the Earth's surface; however, the meaning and usage can vary. In some cases, such as in discussing the weather, the sky refers to only the lower, more dense portions of the atmosphere.

During daylight, the sky appears to be blue because air scatters blue sunlight more than it scatters red. At night, the sky appears to be a mostly dark surface or region scattered with stars. During the day, the Sun can be seen in the sky unless obscured by clouds. In the night sky (and to some extent during the day) the moon, planets and stars are visible in the sky. Some of the natural phenomena seen in the sky are clouds, rainbows, and aurorae. Lightning and precipitation can also be seen in the sky during storms. Birds, insects, aircraft, and kites are often considered to fly in the sky. Due to human activities, smog during the day and light pollution during the night are often seen above large cities.

Sky (building)

Sky (also known as 605 West 42nd Street) is a mixed-use building in Midtown Manhattan developed by the Moinian Group. The building was originally known as "Atelier II" due to its proximity to another Moinian rental, Atelier. The building contains residences and retail space. The building is one of two major developments by Moinian in the Special Hudson Yards District, the other being 3 Hudson Boulevard. At 656 ft., is the 59th tallest building in New York City.

History and construction

The Moinian Group purchased the site in 2005. It originally held a gas station and a parking facility. The project first broke ground in 2008, but construction was stalled due to the recession from 2009 until 2012, and the project was dubbed, like several nearby developments, a "zombie project" because Moinan retained ownership of the site but did not continue development. Activity resumed with a redesign by David Rockwell, replacing the original by Costas Kondylis. Construction began again in 2013, and was completed by the end of 2015.Tishman Realty & Construction was the firm responsible for the construction of the building.

Sky blue

Sky blue is the name of a color that resembles the color of the sky at noon. The entry for "sky-blue" in Murray's New English Dictionary (1919) reports a first sighting of the term in the article on "silver" in Ephraim Chambers's Cyclopaedia of 1728. However, many writers had used the term "sky blue" to name a color before Chambers. For example, we find "sky blue" in A Collection of Voyages and Travels (London: Awnsham and John Churchill, 1704), vol. 2, p. 322, where John Nieuhoff describes certain flowers: "they are of a lovely sky blue colour, and yellow in the middle". The sense of this color may have been first used in 1585 in a book by Nicolas De Nicolay where he stated "the tulbant of the merchant must be skie coloured".

Displayed at right is the web colour sky blue.

Variations of sky blue

Celeste

Celeste (pronounced che-les-te in Italian se-lest in English) is the colloquial name for the pale turquoise blue colour associated with Italian bicycle manufacturer Bianchi S.p.A and sometimes known as Bianchi Green. In Italian, as the name indicates (Celestial), it is an attempt to reproduce the colour of clear skies. In English, this colour may also be referred to as Italian sky blue.

Military glider

Military gliders (an offshoot of common gliders) have been used by the military of various countries for carrying troops and heavy equipment (see Glider infantry) to a combat zone, mainly during the Second World War. These engineless aircraft were towed into the air and most of the way to their target by military transport planes, e.g., C-47 Skytrain or Dakota, or bombers relegated to secondary activities, e.g., Short Stirling. Military gliders do not soar. Once released from the tow craft near the front, they were to land on any convenient open terrain close to target, hopefully with as little damage to the cargo and crew as possible as most landing zones (LZ) were far from ideal. The one-way nature of the missions meant that they were treated as disposable leading to construction from common and inexpensive materials such as wood.

Troops landing by glider were referred to as air-landing as opposed to paratroops. Landing by parachute caused the troops to be spread over a large drop-zone, whereas gliders could land troops in greater concentrations precisely at the target landing area. Furthermore, the glider, once released at some distance from the actual target, was effectively silent and difficult for the enemy to identify. Larger gliders were developed to land heavy equipment like anti-tank guns, anti-aircraft guns, small vehicles, such as jeeps, and also light tanks (e.g., the Tetrarch tank). This heavier equipment made otherwise lightly armed paratroop forces a much more capable force. The Soviets also experimented with ways to deliver light tanks by air, including the Antonov A-40, a gliding tank with detachable wings.

Glider (band)

Glider is a 4 piece jazz/rock combo created by Jim Bogios and David Immergluck - both members of Counting Crows. The band also includes bass player Yoshi Sako (Beatropolis) and Danny Eisenberg (Acacia Collective, Ryan Adams Band) on the Hammond B3. Glider was formed to allow Jim Bogios and David Immergluck to play music that they both enjoyed as children when they were not playing with Counting Crows, and was primarily modeled after Booker T and the M.G.'s and The Meters. Bogios, Immergluck and Eisenberg have had numerous collaborations around the San Francisco Bay Area. The band has never released a studio recording, but a number of bootleg recordings and videos from live shows and a handful of studio recordings have been circulated among fans. Between 2003 and 2009, Glider played shows in San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley and Sacramento between Counting Crows tours. Glider has been inactive since their last show on December 26th 2009 at Cafe Du Nord in San Francisco.

Glider (furniture)

A glider or platform rocker is a type of rocking chair that moves as a swing seat, where the entire frame consists of a seat attached to the base by means of a double-rocker four-bar linkage. The non-parallel suspension arms of the linkage cause the chair to simulate a rocking-chair motion as it swings back and forth.

Gliders are used as alternatives to porch swings, and are also popular as nursery furnishing for assisting parents in feeding newborn babies. Because pinch points are moved away from the floor, a glider is marginally safer for pets and toddlers.

History

Early patents described different mechanisms for glider chairs, such as rails and four-bar linkages supported by springs. Patents using a swinging seat suspended from a four-bar linkage appeared in 1939, and this is now the general configuration used by most glider chairs.

In the southern United States, porch gliders were referred to as divans. Especially popular was the "basket weave" pattern in the hot non- air conditioned South of the 1950s and 1960s.

Streamline (comics)

Streamline is a British Golden Age superhero comic, which appeared in the short-lived magazine Streamline Comics (1947), which only ran for four issues. The character was co-created by Denis Gifford and Bob Monkhouse, and later appeared as a character in the 2000 AD strip Zenith and the independent title Black Tower Comics Group Adventures.

Publication history

Streamline was co-created by Denis Gifford and Bob Monkhouse, first appearing in Streamline Comics #1 (1947) published by Cardal Publishing. The comic ran for four issues, black and white throughout inside, with Streamline the main feature. The Streamline strip was drawn in #1 by Denis Gifford, and in #2-4 by science-fiction writer Bryan Berry.

In Streamline's debut appearance, The Adventure of the Flaming Fiends, scientist Keenan King is suspicious when he witnesses a fire at the 21st National Bank, returning to his laboratory to experiment on himself with the mysterious Elixir X. Obtaining a suitable costume, he encounters another bank on fire and discovers robbers in asbestos suits but is beaten back by the heat and forced to leave in order to a rescue the bank security guard. By the time of the next bank fire, he has formulated a liquid that dissolves asbestos. Splashing it over the robbers who are then vulnerable to the heat and flames, and hits them out of the bank to the awaiting police.