the lisasho

Paused

I’m mostly over here these days, travelling around the world for a few months. Stop in and say hi if you’d like.

thedailywhat:

Kids These Days of the Day: Schoolchildren in Montreal are shown tech relics from the late 20th century (floppy disks, a rotary phone), and asked to describe their intended use.

Anachrolarity ensues.

[geekosystem.]

“Ah, oui, comme ça!” Ahahahahaha. [sob]

thedailywhat:

Astronomy Photo of the Day: The International Space Station pockmarks the sun in astrophotographer Thierry Legault definitive photo of today’s partial solar eclipse.

(Embiggen.)

[badastronomy.]

Gave us those nice bright colors, the greens of summer. →

I love my digital cameras. I love traveling with a few small cards instead of an immense pile of film. I love being able to use the fridge door for its intended use- food. Mostly, I love seeing an image immediately, being able to tweak a little bit here and there on the spot if I think I can do better.

But I do miss film sometimes, if only for the romance of it. Spending hours alone in my high school darkroom, nervously watching images appear on paper and crossing my fingers that I didn’t make a mistake. The excitement of opening a box of slides days after a trip, as if I was experiencing the trip all over again with each slide I held up to the light. The thrill of realizing that I totally nailed that shot, whew.

I started shooting semi-seriously a little too late to appreciate Kodachrome personally -my drug of choice was Velvia after I moved on from B&W- but my mother was a photographer and I remember rolls of the stuff floating around the house. As an art student, she only shot in black and white. But with a family and the advent of the living room slide show, Kodachrome nudged out the competition and became her preferred medium. There was nothing like it at the time. The colors were richer, the light more vibrant. And it could be shot and held onto for a long time- sometimes for years. (A bonus for professional photographers and cluttered family homes alike.)

After she died, I found a couple of unexposed rolls of Kodachrome stuffed into boxes along with all of the family slides. Never did get them processed. Guess they’re Christmas ornaments now.

More taxes? More liquor? What? →

Washington State sure loves its ever-increasing ballot initiatives, referendums, and amendments. Here’s a handy-dandy little tool to cut through all the doublespeak and jargon and figure what in the hell all of this year’s state ballot measures actually mean.

(Brought to my attention by the stellar City Club crew.)

thedailywhat:

Multipurpose Glassware Design Concept of the Day: One Glass To Rule Them All: whatever your poison, Sven Milcent and Utopik Design Lab’s “One Glass for Every Drink” has you covered with an interchangeable base that allows you to seamlessly switch from Kir Royals by the helipad, to digestifs in the sauna.

Helipad and sauna sold separately.

[yanko.]

Want.

GPOYW: Hard Hat Edition

On the site of a new community health center being built in southeast Seattle. I’m running its $7M capital campaign. We’re getting close. (You can tell because I’m smiling.)

Game, set, match

Got into a pissing contest with a sixty-something rich lady in the gym locker room yesterday.

I didn’t mean to, honestly. I was hurriedly getting dressed after my workout because I was going to be late to meet a friend. Her locker was next to mine and she was lightly swearing under her breath at a bracelet that had just broken. “That’s what I get for buying the cheap stuff,” she muttered, looking at me. I smiled politely. “See, I don’t have a LOT of nice jewelry,” she said, “just a few choice items.” I smiled again and started to close my locker. “Like this,” she said, showing me a giant sapphire ring. “I got this in Thailand. More affordable there.” I politely blocked the light reflection that was shining in my eye off the gargantuan rock on her finger. “Yes, Thailand is good for that sort of thing,” I said and turned around. “Oh, you’ve been? I was there last year,” she said. “Yes, two years ago,” I said, pausing, but still trying to leave. “Well, South America is a good place for gems, too,” she said. “Have you been there, too?” I replied yes, I lived in Ecuador and Peru for a while.

And that’s where it got ugly.

Rich Lady: “Where?”
Me: “Quito and Cusco.”
RL: “I LOVED Machu Picchu. But I enjoyed Argentina the most. Did you visit Buenos Aires? What a great city!”
M: “Sure, but I prefer Brazil.”
RL: “I loved Curitiba.”
M: “I found it sterile. Enjoyed Sao Paulo, though.”
RL: “Well, Florianopolis was the best.”
M: “Agreed.”

[stare]

RL: “I usually pick up some pieces in the markets in India, but the quality isn’t always great, you know?”
M: “Haven’t been, but I noticed that in China.”
RL: “It’s like Cambodia that way.”
M: “That was my experience, too.”

[stare]

RL: “Have you been to Africa?”
M: “Yes, Zanzibar and Tanzania.”
RL: “I climbed Kilimanjaro.”
M: “So did I.”
RL: “Really. I used a British guide service that was based there, not REI like everyone else.”
M: “My guide was a Tanzanian friend who lives there.”
RL: “Summited?”
M: “Yes, via the Machame route.”
RL: “I did too, but on the Marangu route. In 2006.”
M: “I did it in 2001.”

[stare]

RL: “Well, it’s nothing compared to Antarctica, really.”
M: …

Match point.

Although Milne said he'd give anything to have a taste of the whisky, "It is not going to happen and I am not going to get excited about it," he said. "But if there was ever an opportunity, it could be a wonderful one to have." →

100-year-old Scotch pulled from explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton’s frozen Antarctic crate will be chemically tested, not tasted. Pity.

We employ very intelligent office supplies, and it’s heartening to learn that my colleagues will go to great lengths to ensure their safety and well-being.