BeautifulZealot

birdblog:

Leucism, or leukism, is an abnormal plumage condition caused by a genetic mutation that prevents pigment, particularly melanin, from being properly deposited on a bird’s feathers. As a result, the birds do not have the normal, classic plumage colors listed in field guides, and instead the plumage have several color changes, including: white patches where the bird should not have any; paler overall plumage that looks faint, diluted or bleached; or overall white plumage with little or no color discernible.

Leucism is relatively unusual in birds, and albinism is rare. From 2000-2006, Project FeederWatch participants reported fewer than 1000 leucistic birds. Given that participants report about 5.5 million birds each season, the percentage of leucistic birds being reported is very small.

Leucistic Red-Tailed Hawk photos by J Centavo on Flickr

(via notexactlylegal)

derekhetrick:

Here’s a bunch of recent sketches of a few characters that I’ve had bouncing around my head. They’re bouncing pretty close to something I might try fleshing out into a comic sometime for practice, but no promises.

The word Helframe has been stuck in my head for a while so I’ll probably call it that. Probably have something to do with transformation sequences and demon fights.

(I vomited lots of captions up on the pictures instead of rambling down here teehee)

(via aishaneko)

(Source: jamesvega, via prettyfly4ajedi)

jtotheizzoe:

How the Duck Hunt Gun Worked

This settles a mystery that has plagued my now semi-grown-up brain for decades, even more than the memory of that hound’s taunting laughter.

If you’re like me, and you played a lot of Duck Hunt growing up, you never quite figured out how the dang gun worked. I mean, I assumed it was shooting something at the screen, like maybe a beam of infrared, and the Nintendo console would somehow triangulate where I was shooting from, and somehow calculate how big my TV was, decipher some x,y coordinates from that and then determine if I had actually hit the duck.

Of course, none of that takes into account that it still registered the kills when I was cheating experimenting by putting the gun right on the screen and pulling the trigger wildly. Well, thanks to the folks at Mental Floss, I know the truth.

The gun didn’t shoot anything.

It was a receiver! Check it out:

When you point at a duck and pull the trigger, the computer in the NES blacks out the screen and the Zapper diode begins reception. Then, the computer flashes a solid white block around the targets you’re supposed to be shooting at. The photodiode in the Zapper detects the change in light intensity and tells the computer that it’s pointed at a lit target block — in others words, you should get a point because you hit a target. In the event of multiple targets, a white block is drawn around each potential target one at a time. The diode’s reception of light combined with the sequence of the drawing of the targets lets the computer know that you hit a target and which one it was. Of course, when you’re playing the game, you don’t notice the blackout and the targets flashing because it all happens in a fraction of a second.

My sleep tonight will be that much sounder, now that this has been settled. Now if we could just explain that Power Glove …

(via prettyfly4ajedi)

(Source: lordspock, via prettyfly4ajedi)

jewnieissherlocked:

nice-assgard:

justcallmephel:

tessaviolet:

blua:

#IT’S REAL AND LOOKS TINY BECAUSE OF THE SHORT FOCAL LENGTH

I can’t brain this. They look like miniatures.

this lens will cost you your arms, your legs, and your grand kids.

But it’s worth it, look at those bad boys.

I need to see more pictures like this! Now please!

Ohoho yes, I’ve found it again. Hurrah!

(Source: cineraria, via aishaneko)

hints-of-sarcasm:

by Adams Doyle | Biography | Shop

Wow these are wonderful. 

(Source: paintvrlife, via everitte)