Thursday, July 30, 2009
How hot is it?
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
What job can you do that makes many people happy quickly?
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Who won the fireworks competition?
Each year there is a fireworks competition in Vancouver. The fireworks are set off from a barge in the water of English Bay, and depending on where barge is anchored, we can see between 1/3 to 1/2 of the fireworks from our balcony.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Does mint ever die?
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Why is my font all different sizes?
Would you like a pack of cards?
While sitting in a coffee shop recently I witnessed 2 very different groups of people.
One group was a couple. She had a little lap top open and was busy doing something with it. He had a cell phone or blackberry, and was busy texting on it. They both looked like they were in their 30s. They were at the same table but, other than a quick "thank you" for getting the coffee, they weren't talking.
The other group had 3 people in it, a couple of men and one woman. They were playing cards. Yes, cards, the pieces of paper with numbers and either hearts, diamonds, clubs or spades on them. How old-fashioned! And they were all likely in their 20s - not old codgers! They were having a great time talking and laughing with each other.
One group busy communicating with people they weren't physically with, the other communicating with people they were right next to. One group with no apparent emotional excitement, the other having a great time.
We could go into a whole discussion about technology making the world a cold, impersonal place... or... would you like a pack of cards?
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Did anyone test the wheelchair access?
I have the feeling that in many instances, the answer to this question will be "NO".
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Do you really want to be at the reception on time?
Recently, while having a lovely afternoon taking photos in VanDusen Botanical Gardens, we were witness to quite the wedding picture story.
The first thing we saw near the garden entrance were a couple of women in the same solid purple dresses, and then another purple dress and then finally, the white dress. Ahh, a wedding. The women in the purple dresses looked red and splotchy, the colour did nothing for any of them - but of course the bride's maid dresses are supposed to guarantee that the bride is the most beautiful woman in the wedding party, so that wasn't unexpected. After them a woman in a very nice dress in a different and lovely shade of purple - the mother of the bride - joined in the quest for the perfect photo site. Yes, there were men being dragged along side each of these women, being very attentive and looking like they'd love a stiff drink. The photographer was leading everyone into the garden.
My husband and I were in the garden for about 4 hours in total, and I saw various combinations of the wedding party people wandering around various parts of the garden quite frequently.
About an hour into it there was an unshod woman in a purple dress limping along well behind the group, carrying her shoes and complaining to her male companion about how far she had to walk. (Wearing new shoes for hours on end is not a good idea - she should have broken them in before the wedding. Sorry, I may be an older and wiser woman now, but even when I was getting married 18 years ago, I still broke in my new shoes before the wedding, as I did when I was a bride's maid too. Some women never learn, some of us do.)
About an hour after that, the full blown "We're supposed to be at the reception in 15 minutes you know" complaint from another unshod woman to another man who was trying to be attentive while carrying a small wiggling child. It looks like the bride and groom had given them the slip, they looked lost.
About half an hour later I saw the bride and groom and one bridesmaid dutifully following the photographer. The party was obviously dwindling.
Another half hour later, the bride and groom and photographer were heading to the exit alone.
We can only assume the whole wedding party made it out of the garden.
So did the woman complaining about being late for the reception miss the point? She's in the wedding party, the reception probably won't start without them... or if it does, wouldn't that be better anyway? The end of the evening when everyone has had way too much alcohol is typically the fun part, so why not start it off early? Have the guests happy before the food and the speeches, it will get things going to a happy place early! And maybe the grumpy wedding party will have a chance to relax because they're too tired to complain!
Nope, you guessed it, I'm not a romantic at heart.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Is that a bridge troll?
Bridge trolls: Mythical creatures that live under bridges and eat those who attempt to cross their bridge.
Great Blue Heron: Large bird that hunts fish and bugs at the water's edge using a patient waiting, then quick snapping at opportune moments method.
So why is this heron being a bridge troll?
We were recently at VanDusen Botanical Gardens taking photographs on a bright sunny summer day. When we got to this little bridge that crosses a pond we found a large group of people sitting or standing on the end of the bridge. It took a minute, but then we saw the Great Blue Heron that was standing in the middle of the bridge. None of the humans wanted to disturb the bird, so they were not crossing the bridge. More humans were standing on the other side of the bridge, they did not want to disturb the bird either.
Cameras were clicking and "wow" was being uttered. The bird occasionally snapped a dragon fly out of the air. This went on for a good 15 minutes. Most of the humans got bored and wandered away from the bridge, not crossing it.
So this heron was in control of the situation, he was being the bridge troll, not letting anyone cross the bridge.
It's amazing how wild animals can figure out humans and be in control of a situation like this. The heron was not timid. He was confident he had the situation under control and did quite a bit of stretching and scratching while standing on the bridge.
Real animals must have been the spark for the old bridge troll stories, but I wonder if they were all birds.
(Click on the image to see a bigger image.)