Same River

Do you think I take the same photos all the time, or is that just what I tell myself? Do I love it? No. I want better.

On with this show.

I tried to take a picture like this a while a go. Maybe a year. Maybe two. I keep botching it by moving the camera. I either need to concentrate, get the tripod, or pony up and crank the ISO more. This one is in focus. I could print this one.

A spark plug from the Volvo 740. I didn't pull the plugs when I got the car because I was afraid they were rusted in and wouldn't come out without a big fight. I'm not sure if the previous owner felt the same way or didn't know to worry. The plugs looked mostly fine, except they had been arced way out of gap. Replacing them didn't fix the stumbling idle. Replacing the distributor and cleaning the cap did.

I've taken too many fall pictures. Fall is gorgeous, but my photography canon is chock full of autumn photos. I delete most of the now. But I kept this one. The leaf colors are unique. Somehow the front leaf is still while the one behind it is moving, giving the background a texture. It looks like, -feels- like, a cold autumn day.

Just a bit faster...

TenFourFox 19 Beta turns out a Sunspider score of 1957.4 ms on the G4. That's 13% better that Tenfourfox 10. My 11 year old computer is barely keeping up with your smartphone.

Even better, the rendering performance is a lot better. Google suggestions don't cause the browser to choke up, and scrolling performance is now on par with older browsers.

There's a part of me that thinks it's odd for old computer to become faster over time, but I intellectually recognize that a lot bad/slow code has been written over time, and reworking can yield vast improvements.

I'm so proud.

Hago Fugo

"Bad Things Happen"

That was the brilliant, crystal clear thought that flashed in my mind. As in, a real, actual, obviously very bad thing was happening right there, literally in my hands.

A few moments before I was thinking the opposite: good things were happening. I had discovered that the layer of grease on my Revere Ware kettle turned to liquid when the water boiled. I grabbed a paper towel and started mopping the layer off the kettle, restoring it's beautiful mirror finish. Cleaning it was so much easier than trying to scrub the grease off with a sponge.

I was nearly finished when the paper towel, now coated with hot oil, touched the heating element and burst in to flames.

Oops.

Bad Things weren't quite happening yet (but would soon). I reflexively gave the flaming wad a little shake to put it out. It responded by doubling in size. Amused, I tried to blow it out. That totally didn't work and clearly pushed the fire deeper into the towel. A flame licked my finger and I dropped it on the stove top.

Things weren't going to plan, and thus Bad Things were happening. What to do?

Save the house and the stove top! Keep the fire alarm from going off! Don't make a mess of it!

I pinched the unburning edge of the flaming grease-sprite and dropped it in the sink, and turned on the water. (It wasn't greasy enough to flare...) Contained on 3 sides, with water to keep it from charing the sink pan, it looked contained. I poured two cups of tea while I waited for it to burn out.

A small reminder that disasters can strike when you least expect them... right before tea!

New Life to Old Things

Rusted, then brushed, oiled, and ground back to usefulness.

Rusted, then bolted, oiled, and ground back to usefulness.