GLOBADOM

Interesting ornamental berries (peppers?) on a bouquet at work.
Posted using scary magic-like technologies

This is the computer at my work that runs our big light-board sign. I have personally resurrected it twice. The latest, less severe revival involved replacing the power supply. But we didn’t have the correct one for this machine. The one on the table is able to run the computer, but the cable is too short to mount it in case. Even better, the computer can’t be turned off, as the power switch is no longer hooked up. For a moment I thought it couldn’t be turned on, either, but pushing the reset button brings it back to life. A new readerboard controller might cost several thousand dollars, so we’ll just keep using this one.
Posted using scary magic-like technologies

Night shot of the stained glass at a downtown cathedral; St. Andrew’s Wesley (United), I think. A digital camera makes such shots almost ludicrously easy: you shoot the long exposure (in my case, using the Nikon Coolpix 2500’s special night-shot mode), check it on the screen, and can manually adjust the EV adjustment and reshoot if you don’t like the results. I wouldn’t even try this with film, since it would be a case of bracketing several long exposures by guess and golly (my old SLR camera wouldn’t even try to meter this shot correctly; I’d either need to use an external light meter or do a lot of exposure bracketing, all with no feedback.)
Posted using scary magic-like technologies

Such a wheel is used exclusively for stylish, high-spoke-count wheels on lowrider bicycles like this one. Not as cool as the shop down the street that had a single-cylinder Harley-Davidson in the window.
Posted using scary magic-like technologies

Here’s a close-up of the hub in question. I think this is about a 96-spoke hub; it may be more.
Posted using scary magic-like technologies

Went to ICBC today to get pictures taken from my recent crash. They had this little display in the claim centre, and I took a great number of pictures of it. It’s a late-model Porsche 911 with severe crushing issues. The sign on the roof reads:

What happened?
In 1997, on a road in Langley, the driver of this vehicle was speeding when the car lost control. The car slid into a ditch, flipped over onto the roof and continued until it abruptly slammed into a culvert. The driver sustained serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.

As a service to my mother-in-law, and to desperate Christmas shoppers everywhere, I have a quick listing of Margaret’s pottery. The pieces are organized by price; most items are priced per piece, except the sets in the $25 category, where each photo shows a complete set for that price.

Five Dollar Pottery

Ten Dollar Pottery

Fifteen Dollar Pottery

Twenty Dollar Pottery

Twenty-Five Dollar Pottery

Contact The Lovely One

Greetings. I know you have all been awaiting my weekly sublime and ridiculous posting with great anticipation. So, to end your anguish, I submit the following:

So many ridiculous events occurred this week that it was difficult to choose just one. So, I didn’t. Instead, I decided to focus on one ridiculous individual. He stands on a street corner that I pass on my way to work. As I and others walk by, he says, every time, “Could you spare 35 cents?” I do not have any problem with individuals begging/busking for money. This particular individual’s act of asking is not what makes him ridiculous in my estimation. It is the peculiarity of the amount that creates the ridiculousness. The catch phrases used to be: “Brother could you spare a dime?” or “Could I get a quarter for the phone?” Therefore, is the request for 35 cents merely an inflationary measure? Or, is there a more creative reason for this? I have come up with a number of theories (my top three are listed below):

1. He has a girlfriend in Mazatlan and he must call her for at least one minute per day and his calling plan dictates 35 cents/minute.

2. He is trying to kick a gambling habit and only allows himself to play once on a quarter slot machine and twice on a nickel slot machine.

3. He is an obsessive compulsive interior designer who has decided to glue alternating quarters and dimes to the wall, but he feels going to the bank and getting large quantities of them is too easy.

Onto sublimity. I really thought I would have nothing to post in this area, until early this afternoon. I was sitting and watching people go by at a busy craft fair. A lady walked by and was pushing a baby girl in a stroller. Recently, I have been catching myself oohing and ahhing at infants and diminutive individuals. This seemed like a bit of a disturbing trend and not at all like me, but today it reached a new level. A sublime level. I actually wished I was a mommy. I wanted to be able to say, “yes, the adorable little girl in the pink coat with the fur trim and the smiling face is my child.” Maternal feelings. When you least expect them they creep up on you.

Pro tip: matching your bar tape to your frame, nice. Matching your fork colour to your frame, that’s okay, too. Matching your tires to your frame? Maybe too much.
Posted using scary magic-like technologies

It’s time to run the start of the star-crossed B Points race
Posted using scary magic-like technologies