Now that the snow has melted and the nights aren’t super cold, signs of spring are springing up all over.
Leaves are starting to pop out on the shrubbery.
Moss is perking up.
Forsythias start blooming.
And the rare and elusive tree seal makes its first appearance in the maple tree.
Continuing with the onslaught of ducks, I present these two grainy photos that I took on my sad but trusty little flip phone back in 2009. They probably amuse me more than they should.
Skilled duck rider.
Less adept duck rider.
It also amuses me to think that people first encountering my blog these days may think I have some sort of duck fetish. No, really I don’t. I have more of a fetish for running with themes. (Cf. that time when I got carried away with potatoes. Or utensils. Or bread. And dare I even mention pants? (I dare.))
Beware of rabbits lurking in the shadows, leaving behind baskets full of belly ache.
This is how I felt much of this past winter.
That door is alarmed, you say? Well, this guardrail is downright dismayed.
This campus sculpture is distressed.
And this leaf is appalled.
Yesterday, I posted a set of photos of happy faces. This seemed like a reasonable follow-up, since some days, you just don’t want to put on a happy face. (You see them too, right? This is not the first time I’ve shared found faces. If you’ve been visiting for a while, you may even recognize the little leafy guy in the bottom photo.)
I confess that when I first read this sign, it made me think about blocking the loading dock. Thank goodness they didn’t catch me and tow me away! Even now, so many months later, when I read this sign, I find myself thinking about ways I could block that loading dock. I try to come up with creative ways to block it. I could set up a lemonade stand in front of it! Or maybe sculpt a statue of a clown in front. Or make giant origami installation. My thoughts are in clear violation of this notice. If you don’t hear from me for a while, you’ll know why…
This week’s friday foto finder theme is “notice.” To see what other notices have been noticed, haul yourself over to the fff blog. (But whatever you do, don’t think about blocking this loading dock.)
This is a picture I took of myself in 2008. I may have shared it before…I don’t remember! It’s hard to keep track of things when you have a pumpkin for a head.
Web design has come a long way in recent years, and the many varied themes and templates can make much of it easier for the casual web designer. But before you get started, it’s still helpful to know a few basics of web design that can lead to a more effective web site.
When you start out on your own web design, try to keep these points in mind to make your site more effective. Of course, never lose sight of the ultimate goal of web design: to trap visitors and drain them of their bodily fluids.
Step right up and behold this wondrous array of freakish specimens of the fungal world!
First up, be amazed by these amazing balls of mushroom! Amazeballs!
And what, pray tell, is this large object? A hat? A chair? A satellite dish? It’s a mushroom, I say!
What’s that strange gray flower, you say? That’s no flower!
These petals are all fungus, my friends!
Gray too dull for you? Need more color in your fungal bouquet? How about a bit of green to brighten you fungal arrangement?
And what’s this emerging from the mulch? Is that a yellow balloon, being inflated from below? Decorations for the mole’s birthday party? Why, no! It’s a mushroom!
What’s up in that tree? Has someone adorned the trunk with a festive flouncing of ruffles? Why no! These lovelies have planted themselves!
And this strange thing poking up through the garden mulch reminds me of something…I can’t quite place it…
And what’s that disk hovering low to the ground, practically glowing in the twilight? Is that a tiny UFO, bringing tiny aliens to earth?
Well, no! Would you believe it’s merely a mushroom?
Watch your head as you exit the gallery, and don’t forget to pay a visit to the gift shop on your way out.
This evening’s presentation was brought to you by the Fans of Fungal Fabulousness, a completely fictitious group of mushroom maniacs. It was also brought to you by an excess of tiredness and a bit too much caffeine late in the day.
When one purchases a soft drink from a convenience store, one frequently has the choice to buy one in a bottle or in a can.
An ordinary-looking drink can.
An ordinary-looking drink bottle.
What’s this?
I don’t understand this confusing world anymore!
When my cousin and I visited Beijing a couple years ago, we came across this monstrous hybrid of a beverage container while going about our business. Naturally, we were compelled to buy one, and try it out. It turns out that Glinter, the soft drink that comes in the bottle-can/can-bottle (cottle? ban? bancottle? cottleban? Dear-god-what-is-this-world-coming-to-container?) is a fairly ordinary-tasting concoction. I say “ordinary-tasting” because I don’t much remember what it tasted like, though probably something much like Sprite or 7-up, but perhaps (judging by the image on the…packaging) more orangey. (A web search tells me that this soft drink is from Malaysia. I won’t link to it, since it plays music, and I hate when websites play music. But feel free to google it. If you dare.)
This week’s friday foto finder theme is “novelty.” My kids end up getting all sorts of cheap novelties from birthday parties and things, but mostly they are pretty uninteresting. (Can novelties get old? Yup, I think so.) But rather than dig out some plastic doodads, I thought I’d share these photos I had of something I found to be pretty novel.
Speaking of novel, when I asked John what the phrase “the frankenstein of beverage containers” evoked for him, he replied, “you’re talking about the Vessyl, right?” Of course, not knowing what the hell he was talking about, I thought he said “vessel.” But it turns out that the Vessyl is a weird cyber-monstrosity of a beverage holder. It’s a cup that, using advanced technology, tells you what beverage is in it. Or, as ValleyWag puts it, it is “the $200 smart cup that helps dummies remember what they’re drinking.” That is certainly…novel. (I wonder why they didn’t call it the iCup?)
And speaking of novel gadgets that actually are a bit more appealing (at least to me, seeing as I can usually remember what drink I’ve poured), have you seen this pen that can scan objects for color and mix inks to match them? I don’t really have a use for such a thing, but it does sound like it would be fun to play with.
To see what other novelties have been shared this week, or to share photos of your own novelties, pay a visit to the fff blog.
collecting tokens 