10 Bears

Step Three: Segment colours using K-means

Step two: Convert from RGB into LAB:

Not trying to resurrect an old thread - but I realised I hadn't posted any further info on the code/analysis I wrote, so here are a few images and description of the method: Step one: read in the base image

I appreciate the artistry and skill - but personally I've never liked it, or topiary for that matter. Broadly speaking, I prefer trees as nature intended - burrs 'n all!

Thanks for that - I've passed it on to others who may have use for it.

Yes, its always been like that. I believe the way round it is to cancel all the bids with a suitable reason eg item broken/lost/stolen etc. then dont end your advert, but take all the description down and replace with SOLD SOLD SOLD, and let the advert run its course with no bids on. Of course you may get some idiots putting in bids anyway, but just remove them asap. This way = no selling fees (just the fees for putting the advert up to pay).

I like the look of them. Definitely not for my home as they just wouldn't suit it's aged charms, but I get the feeling they would be appreciated in an art gallery or post-modernist office building or such like. Got to give him credit for creating a new concept...

You're probably right, but being harsh was unintentional! I have tried to put my view of the situation over as a series of observations/expected behaviours leading to an almost inevitable conclusion. I have had clients who would only pay for 0.75m tubes in areas where they knew there were red deer (more usual to use a 1.8m tube), despite my advice that there will be a problem. When the inevitable happened, and the deer chewed the tops out of ~40% of the stock, they were astounded! (but I didn't say I told you so!) My point was, if you think about what deer do, then think about what a nice new afforested area is - it shouldn't really be a surprise as to the outcome...

Corco, Don't take this the wrong way, but what did you expect would happen when you planted trees without guards? I presume you knew the deer were in the area beforehand (easy assumption to make as they are everywhere - literally). You no doubt knew they are transitory herbivores ie they wander about and eat vegetation. You could also work out that you were planting trees out at roughly head/browse height for deer. So... the deer spot a nice new food/marking/fraying source and they then do what deer do. They eat, fray and mark your tree stock as you could have worked out in advance that this was very likely to happen. Unfortunately you are paying the price for trying to do the establishment on the cheap. You say you have access to used tubes, it is not ideal to put them on after establishment, but you need to get the tubes on ASAP to protect your tree stock. You will also have to employ a stalker for a period of time (as you have already suggested) if this is a particularly bad problem. Tube up your oak as well in advance - don't wait for a problem there as the deer will simply move from one compartment to another as soon as the tubes are on the first group of trees. Aside from deer there are of course rabbits to consider (depending on the size of your stock), and voles that cause ring-barking damage to establishing trees. Tubes protect from these as well. So, you have reaped what you sowed, again quite literally! It shouldn't be too late to remedy the situation - but just get those tubes on ASAP and take the hit on the costs so you get the future benefits. All the best.

Ha, very good - I missed that one. Yes, mCaVities definitely!

You cant make this up. My building has had a fire alarm go off this morning, and within the last hour a caravan has just burst in to flames on the same stretch of motorway as yesterday: Caravan Fire On M6 Southbound Near Carnforth | Local News | Bay News | News & Info | The Bay Top tip. If travelling on the M6 between Junction 33 and 35 - make sure you have a fire extinguisher with you! Right, I'm off to inspect some cavities in trees. Can't find the torch but these petrol and matches will do the job perfectly...

Well, if we just look at this solely from the planning perspective, you will still need planning permission. You mention running only 14 days a year. Obviously this is because you are trying to work within the permitted development rules, where only 14 days would fall within this remit. However, you are proposing to put in a 4X4 or trials track. This is a formal 'Land use Change' that requires planning permission without exception. It doesn't matter that you will have your track wrapped up in your woodland - you are trying to change a natural environment, for essentially, an unnatural one thereby permission is required. As I said previously, that is without considering any statutory environmental designations, habitats or protected species that may be on the site. Just because you are, or may be, unaware of them does not give you a pass from potential prosecution. Simply, ignorance is no defence in law and if you are found out, you can be prosecuted. Follow my original advice. Talk to the local planning office and a local environmental consultant and take it from there. Anything else is speculation that could steer you down the wrong track...

My understanding of planning in this instance is different to yours. As I understand it, if you are intending to use the site for a new use, ie from a woodland to a designated course/track, open for commercial use, then you are affecting a land use change and will need planning permission for this. Also, your site may contain protected/designated species that would prevent you from using the site like this. Ignoring the environmental impact of changing your site like this could potentially see fines or worse. You will need to seek advice on this as well. So, I would suggest you have a call or email your local planning office to confirm what their take on this plan will be, and seek advice from an environmental or ecological consultant.

I like that. Simple, clean and lovely grain. Good job.

I live on a reasonably long road that has no pavements. Can you imagine that? Pedestrians, cyclists, cars, vans, tractors and the village bus all manage to share the road space, without any incident in living memory. Justifying this enforcement notice on these grounds is a travesty. I'll sign your petition Steve - where have you put it now?...

Thanks Gray - I'm sure its just a 24hr bug (children are dirty, germ ridden little blighters - or mine are in any case!). It was just a funny day at the whim of the universe - my best laid plans all put to waste by a lorry load of shortbread! I didn't see that coming when I got up this morning, but then again, I bet the lorry driver didn't see it coming either. Now, Jaffa cakes, there's an idea for tea break tomorrow!

There are several factors that are personal to you and the job that would affect the price, including the height you hold the wand from the ground (the effects the swadth width), the speed you can walk across the ground, the rate of flow from your own equipment and not forgetting the chems you are using. All these and more affect the price of the job. It is possible to calculate all this up with some accuracy, and almost pointless to give a bland '5p a spot' type answer. Have you done the PA6? If so you should be able to work it out as it is all part of the course.

I have a big deadline looming for the end of the week so this meant that I had a lot planned for today. My wife had to leave early for a compulsory training course she had to go on, meaning that I was taking the children to school as well. No problem I thought, drop them off at school and then straight on to work. Unfortunately, the day didn't get off to the best start as one of my children awoke with D n V, and as my wife had already left the house, this meant that I had to call the emergency babysitters (grandparents), They live roughly an hour and a half away but they managed to arrive at mine for just after 10:15am this morning. After making sure everything was OK, I dashed out as quickly as I could - only half an hours drive and I will be able to get to work and get on with my day. This bit of the story takes the biscuit. I was happily going south on the M6, when this happened about 1000 yards in front of me: Shortbread lorry fire closes M6 near Lancaster - BBC News What this then turned in to was: - 2 3/4 hours sat in stationary traffic, then - Turned round on the motorway and headed back to the last junction, - Another half an hour sat waiting for some movement off the junction - 30 minutes to get through the junction, then - 3/4 hour in stop start traffic trying to get to a turning to escape the area as the first village off the motorway had 3 way traffic control its the main road! So, that meant that my half hour journey today took 4 1/2 hours! I finally arrived at work at 15:00. Somewhat behind the days original schedule... To be honest, I'm glad no-one was hurt, although someone also told me there was a 4 car bump because of the fire. My view was blocked by two lorries, so couldn't see very far, but I'm not sure about any related crash. It was funny seeing people get increasingly frustrated with the situation. I just adopted a pragmatic approach thinking there is no point worrying about it as I can't change any part of it. I just sat in the car, had a car picnic, and listened to the radio. So, its going to be an even busier day tomorrow. Never mind, I don't think I'll be able to stop for a brew and a biscuit until I'm caught up!

And do you get the same results as the video is claiming i.e. prolonged burn, greater heat, less smoke etc.?

I came across this video and thought it was worth a share. I've not tried this yet (I will have to wait for the wife to let the fire burn down long enough...), but it looks to be an interesting way of getting your fire to burn more efficiently [ame] [/ame] I have also in the last few days serviced the wood burner door with new fire rope - it is amazing the increase in efficiency/increased gasification. I knew the door needed doing but just didn't get round to it, then since the largest of the 3 woodsheds I have at home (about 5 cube) has been emptied since being full at the start of December, I decided it was time to fix the firebox door! So following improving the burn from the door fix, I will be keen to see how this fire building technique fares and to see if I get any better/longer burns. Has anyone else already tried this technique?

Here's a tip. In a Chrome browser, right click on the image, select 'search Google for image', look at the results and Bingo! you have your answer. This is the result you are looking for... Medusa Tree - Greenville South Carolina SC

As suggested above, I have always used newspaper delivery bags. Just the job... Newspaper Delivery Bags FOR Door TO Door Distribution | eBay

Yes you are correct Andy. Georeferencing is a simple term meaning to tie one part of a map, say an aerial image or a raster background map to known coordinates such as GPS points taken at specific features on site. You should take your vectors (GPS points) at recognisable places that you would find on your base map (so scale of the base map is important here) such as corners of buildings or walls etc. and reasonably spread about your site. You will then be able to find these reference points on your map and drape the GPS coordinates over them, thereby linking the two. You don't have to have a fully projected CAD topo, but you do have to have a way of matching the base map, with GPS points and the vector map (CAD) otherwise you wont know where each is in time and space. In most GIS, you can write an attributes table to tell the GIS where a particular reference point is (such as the wall corner), and again relate that to your base map. The vector map will then be projected over the top of the raster with minimal distortion if you have enough reference points. There are other methods to achieve this though, such as using robotic surveying or terrestrial laser scanners, but I think they are probably a bit much for your needs!

I think you are quite right in your assumptions Aaron, and I too would try to get the local TO involved, however, they may be a little reluctant in the given situation. Although you are claiming the trees are at risk, and to some degree this may be true, there is no suggestion that the risk is imminent and from the view of the map, there is very little 'public interest' (TO term) in the trees as these are behind private houses - so in affect not really in the public domain (I will stand corrected if there is a public right of way through the field). Still, try to get the TO on site (sorry to say, but good luck with that!) and have a look to see the damage and present your plans. Also again, keep logs of all this and look out for the planning application notice for the field. Make sure you and your neighbours object as strongly as you can. This needs to be based on facts only, and from differing viewpoints ie not the same view that they are killing the trees... submitted over and over again as this will actually only count as one objection. Keep us posted...

I agree with you here Jon, however, I have known and experienced police dismissing reports of similar situations as this, using the civil argument as justification for dusting their hands as they walk away. My purpose for mentioning this to the OP was to forewarn that this tactic may be used and not to be put off by it. You are also correct in suggesting that court will not redistribute any 'fines' levied from the 'defendant' to the claimant, as all these essentially end up in the UK Government's Consolidated Fund (essentially the Gov's current account). However, both the Magistrate and the Crown Courts can award compensation orders, albeit for differing amounts. The OP should list the elements of their fiscal claim for loss or damage on a TIC (taken into consideration) form should they decide to take the defendant to court, and this will form an element of the claim. At the Magistrates, the maximum loss/damages claim permitted is up to £5000, whereas at the Crown Court the compensation order is potentially unlimited, but, the amount will be governed by the potential of the offender to pay. Since 2012, in cases as this, courts are required to provide compensation orders to successful claimants, ie seek some form of compensation for damages/loss etc. unless the court can provide clear and just reasons as to why they are not going to award one. So in short, it is certainly worth seeking redress through the courts if you are looking to recover monies for loss of value or damage to property as there is now a reasonable chance you will recover some monies should you win your case.