last night it was all about the river

this moonscape brought to you by minecraft

Well, brought to you by real life minecraft anyway.

There has been, for as long as I can remember, a gravel pit here bisected by a gravel road. But it has changed into this much larger moonscape in the last year or so.

The view off to the left and back from where I stopped the car.

Looking back...

Off to the right...

It really is incredible, when you think about it, what we do to the landscape in order to build roads, buildings, and other things we take for granted.

black and white

More fun with black and white.

These are out of the camera jpegs again. The only adjustments are to exposure. I lifted most of them a little bit. Otherwise, this is what the camera gave.

soon it is coming

A couple of bikes to sell, and then the kid gets her new bike. She is looking forward to it.

The photo is a piece of crap, but you get the idea. To say that she is excited about this is a real understatement.

hard bike party

There are days when I feel a need for an old man bike.

The hard bike can cause some hurt...

Some sponge in the ride would be nice sometimes you know...

But.

On the other hand.

There are times when all that is needed is the right hard bike for the occasion.

Happy Birthday my young friend

My young friend had a birthday party today. He turned 1.

He invited us all over to visit. Many people came.

We hung out together and he ate dirt. Later, he hugged his mommy.

The dog ate a bone.

And he practiced walking along the edge of the back porch. The sun was bright and caused him to squint a little, but that is ok, most of the time, he was in the shade. His mommy also put lots of sunscreen on him.

There was cake too!

At first, he was not sure what to do with it.

But later, after trying it a bit, he figured it out.

Hope you had a happy birthday little buddy.

Lr 6

Upgraded to the latest offering from Adobe today and wanted to share with you something.

This is right out of the camera:

As you can see, it is a shot into bad light mess.

This is what Lr 5 did with it, processed the way I would usually handle a shot like this:

Not too bad, but it was not good enough to share it back in November when I took it.

Now, this is the Lr 6 version:

I cannot quite put my finger on it, but it seems to pop a bit more. Looking into the brightest parts of the picture, it was able to pull more detail out. The light textures on the water are better as well.

So far, I am liking what I see from an editing perspective.

b+w/d+n

b+w/d+n

(black and white per day plus n)

A new gallery on flickr.

black and white OMD

Inspired a bit by Kirk Tuck, I decided to operate my OMD as a black and white film camera. This is what I created.

These are out of the camera jpegs with no adjustments done in Lightroom but for a minor crop or two.

Seems to work. I think I have found my new normal for a bit.

I think that one day very soon, I will go out and use these camera settings and "shoot a role of film" - iso 400, monotone superfine jpegs straight from the camera, shoot in manual and nail exposure in camera, PanaLeica 25mm f1.5 lens, OMD E-M5 camera body, green filter on the monotone, and contrast up one tick - and see what I get. Should this come to pass, I will share the results here.

homes for dreaming

I was thinking about what my ultimate urban dream home would look like, and this is it.

Imagine, if you will, a "standard" urban lot where you live now. In the area I live in, this means a lot holding a 2500 square foot house (including basement) with about three meters separating the house from the neighbour's house if the home owner is lucky. Most have a decent sized front yard, and a medium sized back yard.

The problem is with this layout is that the front yard is mostly used for "look at me look at me" landscaping and is often under utilised. Because of this mostly wasted space, the back yard is smaller than it could be, which limits its use. I don't like big front yards. Impress me they do not.

So here is my dream.

Take that lot.

Place a 1000 square foot house on it. Smaller is bigger if done right. We collectively collect too much junk. Small spaces encourage having only what is needed and nothing else.

Here, we would need a basement to follow building codes, so that 1200 feet should include the basement. This means that a very small house is being built. Position the house at the very front of the lot, with a minimum of space for a flower garden. Windows there can be small, neat, and shutterable - with old school shutters. There is no need for a garage. The cars, if they even exist in this scenario, can suck it up and be outdoors. and be parked beside each other beside the house. Discussions with the city regarding variances may be needed since bylaws often limit how close to the road a house can be built. Closer is better in this case.

Excavate the rear of the house if needed to provide a walk out basement. A sunken patio would do it. One with grapes growing over it and a nice sheltered table outside. This works better of course if the urban lot has a slope on it, but can be done without it. Done right, it looks amazing (I have seen it done right). This gives a space to get the bicycle collection inside without tracking through the living space. Doors should be double wide French doors which open right out onto the patio. The back yard would be a major part of the living space during the warmer months. I envision reading and eating areas that are both practical and cosy. Both my wife and I would live outdoors but for sleeping most of the time given any kind of choice in the matter.

Just inside the house in the basement is the "mud" room. It would take up the whole basement but for the laundry/furnace area. Here the bikes, tools, potting equipment, grow lights for seedlings, and all that lot live. Put in the plumbing for water and a tiny coffee bar (serious here).

Upstairs is a small office, living room, kitchen, and bedroom. Nothing else is really needed. We don't entertain in our house now, and I have no desire to do so in the future. Our friends are of the best quality, and are not legion.

Now think back to that lot. Remember that it is set up for a 2500 square foot house. With a tiny house on it, the gap between the house and the neighbours is bigger. With the house near/at the front of the lot, the backyard is bigger.

This means a lot to my wife. The space would be hers.

She would love to be an urban farmer. A visit to her Pinterest boards and Facebook pages makes this abundantly clear.

Imagine a yard with field stone paths, raised beds, soaker hose irrigation, a proper open compost heap, no lawn, vegetables mixed with herbs mixed with flowers. Lay it out right, and there would be perpetual blooms all through the growing season. Lay it out right, and the shorter plants would be close to the house, with the plant height becoming progressively taller as the edge of the property is reached. Hem the yard in with wooden fences as tall as code allows - not to block out the neighbours so much but to block what would look like a chaotic mess from the views of more conventional neighbours.

I would want a pond. A pond right off of the outdoor eating area. I do not like decks. The outdoor eating area would be a patio. A patio with a pond with running water, fish, and frogs. A pond deep enough that fish will survive winter. And lots of blooming water plants. And a cat. There needs to be a cat dozing in the sun. Not an option. They are fun to pet and their purring is good for the soul.

A yard like this would make our most common vacation activities much more enjoyable. We do not travel. We do staycations more often than not. Paradise is where you make it, and home should be it or it is really not home.

The above is my dream. It is also my wife's dream. It is a dream built around what she wants and what I want. Ideally, she would like to be in the country, with a small hobby farm. Away from the noise and cramped conditions of the city. I understand that. Ideally, I would be in the heart of an urban core. I don't mind people being around as long as I can escape into my mind on the bicycle and use active transport to get around as much as possible. She understands that.

A small place in the city, where she can grow food and landscape into a little piece of paradise where I can ride to work and play may be just the kind of dream that will come true someday.

having the two wheeled hankering again

I have been a lazy bum for the last few weeks and have hardly biked at all. By hardly, I mean haven't at all.

I don't know what has gotten into me except for being stupid busy and being in a situation where I am working too far from home to realistically cycle to work.

Thing is, I miss it.

It is time to ramp it back up again even as winter rears its ugly head once again.

To that end, New Year's Day will see me biking one city over on my winter bike for some needed repair work. I am not the best at repairing my bicycle. A good friend of mine is. He lives one city over. So...

The winter monster needs a new drive train. Specifically, chainrings, chain, cables, rear derailleur, and cassette all are due for a replacement. I am feeling cheap though, and am planning on digging into my pile of spare parts and will be converting the monster into a single speed.

It should look hilarious. The frame is a too small for me 2011 Kona Lana'i with about what feels like 1m of seat post sticking up. It is almost a step through. However, it is perfect in the snow and handles being loaded down quite well.

So imagine that too small frame with a single speed drive train, studded tires, a rear rack and fender, a front rack and frankenstein fender, and a skid plate like splash guard over the bottom bracket.

It should be fun.

A change is as good as a new bike.

stream of consciousness

I have a new way of displaying some of my photographic work. There is no theme, no pattern. It is a collection of what I happen upon (both in the archives and out in the world) as I happen upon it.

Feel free to wander over and take a look. It will be updated on a fairly regular basis.

Stream of Consciousness

the curious relationship between us and fur

There is something about furry creatures which appeals to us at a very deep level. Even when we try to resist it, the furry out there win us over.

In this case, there is no hope.

Why even try?

these wheels are different

I got a new car.

Definitely, it is cute.

Here are some things I like about it:

• It is cute
• I hides the dirt well - yay for grey
• The seats are surprisingly good for an inexpensive car
• The car is small and easy to park
• The steering is very light and aids in making the car more maneuverable at low speeds
• The turning circle is absurdly tiny
• My family fits in it, including my teenage daughter
• The shifter is notchy enough that I can feel it go into gear - it is not numb and loose and lacking in tactile feedback
• The fit and finish is what one would expect from a Japanese car - about perfect
• It is shockingly good over bumps for such a small car
• It is nimble (not to be confused with sports car like)
• The fuel economy is stellar and not at all what the official mileage numbers or most online reviewers would indicate - I am pulling 5.8 L/100km and am doing nothing special
• The view out of the car is great and lane changes are easy
• The fact that I can see past the end of the wipers and know where the hood ends
• The six way adjustable driver's seat
• Heated mirrors - winter, you see
• The traction control OFF button!!!
• The BlueTooth phone connection
• The huge glove box
• It drives like a bigger car than it is due to it sharing the underpinnings with a larger car
• It is the Tardis - larger inside than out 
• How buzzy and quirky the engine sounds
• Assuming that nothing got left off of the maintenance schedule, how cheap this car will be to run (no timing belt service - chains for the win!!! I think, anyway...)

Here are some things I don't like about it:

• The roof is a tad thin
• The steering is overly light on the highway
• The car, like all small cars, is not a fan of heavy crosswinds
• The clutch is a pile of mush (easy to use, light, but a pile of mush)
• No heated seat option - yes, I am a wimp
• No A/C with a stick shift available for the super base model which meant I had to order the SV car with power stuff and spend more money - are you listening Nissan?!? Strip car WITH A/C next time please and thanks
• The key - the opening for the keychain is absurdly small - for real
• The signal and windshield wiper switches are about 5mm too far away from the steering wheel for someone of my hand size (or finger length)
• How buzzy and quirky the engine sounds

Here are some things which amuse me about it:

• The reviews which slam the lack of "soft touch" plastics in an inexpensive car as if "soft touch" plastics actually matter after the initial oooh ahhh of the new car wears off - I mean, really... who cares? Does anyone really fondle their dashboard? This car is about functional transport and not about impressing your neighbours with how fancy your pants are with your special "soft touch" plastics - if hard plastic on the interior of the car bothers you, buy something else
• The reports of poor mileage from the car - what are people doing? Doing every shift at 5000rpm and accelerating at full throttle every time they move it? Drive it like it is designed to be driven and the mileage is quite good
• The way the car feels just a little bit French which is likely true since Nissan is owned by Renault which is a whole lot French - it reminds me in some ways of my family's old Peugeot
• How cute it is
• How much fun it is to tootle about in
• How buzzy and quirky the engine sounds - really, it is neat, strange, and amusing to me all at once

Here is another picture of it:

après crash report

It has been sixteen days since I crashed.

On the way to watch a race in Montréal, I zigged when I should have zagged and a friend zagged when he should have zigged and I hit the ground.

Hard.

On asphalt.

Mid fall, the bar end shifter on my Sutra connected with the meaty tissue directly below my kneecap. I was very lucky. North of that, and the shifter would have hit the kneecap itself, and potentially done serious damage. South of that, and the shifter would have connected directly with the front and side of my shin bone.

So the result of the crash was a chunk torn out of my leg, an infection that could have gone bad but didn't, some road rash, and something I was not expecting.

I am now spooked. 

I was not expecting that.

I have crashed before, both on road and off. Many many times in fact. But never have I been completely spooked. I remember one very bad road crash a long time ago which took a while to recover from physically, and longer to recover from mentally, but I don't remember feeling spooked like this. I remember wanting a break from riding, but not feeling spooked.

I desperately want to resume riding, and did last night for the first time since crashing, but while I did not show how nervous I was, I felt like a spider dancing on a hotplate when the bicycle was in motion. I was very aware of the shifter. Very aware of the tightness in my knee. Very tense in turns on gravel paths. Very aware of every bump and shifting bit of dirt under the wheels. I did not want to fall.

Normally, I don't think about this stuff, and normally, the bicycle just does its thing while I ride and I don't fall. Falling does not even enter my mind. The bicycle and I act as one.

Last night, the bicycle and I felt like complete strangers, and while I know it will pass, the transition from strangers back to good friends is something of a painful process.

They're taking the Hobbits to Montreal(sengard): a photo essay

Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal: a photo essay

This is the fifth year that the race series has run. One race in Quebec City, and one in Montreal.

Our initial plan was to see the Quebec City race, but due to scheduling conflicts, we attended the Montreal one.

Here is a smattering of the race, in pictures.