Dave Ferguson

@daveferguson

Not as bad as you might think. Tangential. Instructional design, job aids, Ensampler.com. May be related to Alistair MacLeod. Francophonesque. Pic: Dad. Chì mi Ceap Breatuinn, mo luaidh, Fada bhuam, thar an t-sàil.

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Dave Ferguson@daveferguson· 29d

I only know the local name for this collection: "Beach rocks (Inverness, Nova Scotia)." Provenance: I picked them up. Carefully curated to serve as paperweights, as indicated by the artisanal 8.5 x 11 inch platform on which they're displayed.

Eight rocks laid out on a paper notepad. Three of the rocks are on a five-inch-wide, slate-blue dish; the other five are directly on the notepad.

Three of the rocks have similar, mottled-pink coloring--not an exact match, more like stony third cousins. All three are somewhat flatt, but the one at the bottom left looks like it could have been a scratch pad for cuneiform writing, if it had been made of clay and been found in the ruins of Uruk.

Two others have a mottled, dark, gray-blue coloring and both look like teardrops, or perhaps raw material for tiny, six-centimeter stelae.

The common element in this collection is "rocks I found walking along the beach in my Nova Scotia home town."

Dave Ferguson@daveferguson· Jul 10

Win 11: here's the current file name in a field. I've put the font in a barely-detectable gray and put a slightly lighter but still barely-detectable highlight over it, for no particular reason.

Part of a message from Microsoft Word.

The title asks: Save your changes to this file?

Next: Avoid losing changes to this file in the future by saving it to a folder backed up to the cloud instead.

After that, there's a field for file name.

I'd opened an actual file, added a space, and saved it as HOW WILL MS ANNOY ME AS I SAVE.

It's very hard to tell that this is what I was pretending to save, because the file name itself is in faint gray type, with a lighter faint gray highlight over it. It's like you're trying to read the name through very thinly sliced American cheese.

Dave Ferguson@daveferguson· Jul 10

AAAhad an astonishing collection of detail maps on strips of paper. You could order these by phone, but Detroit had AAA offices. My dad would go, describe the trip, and the staff would assemble all the strips, highlighting the route page by page, and make a custom booklet.

The cover and a typical map page from a Triple-A TripTik, a collection of strip maps around 5 inches wide by 10 high. Workers would collect the individual strips for a customer's driving route, add a heavier-paper cover and back, and use a plastic comb binded to hold the collection together at the top. The "navigator" on the trip could flip the pages like a reporter's notebook as the trip progressed.

This photo shows, on the left, the glossy paper cover of a TripTik from the Canadian Automobile Association. On the right is a typical map page showing the route between Kamloops BC and Bellingham, Washington, a trip of around 200 miles or 325 kilometers.

Like many TripTik pages, there's a main route (the Trans-Canada Highway) and some alternate routes and nearby cities. Symbols indicated accommodation, local information, hospitals, and so on, and intermediate distances were marked. Additional information sometimes appeared on the same page. Larger cities would be printed on a double page, folded, with the map on the outer part and the details inside.

A green highlight on the map shows the route from Surrey (outside of Vancouver) to Kamloops, with an arrow to show Kamloops was the destination.

Dave Ferguson@daveferguson· Jul 6

I was an altar boy in the years just before the end of Vatican II, and one of the best things I remember is Father Morand, one of the assistant pastors, singing "In Paradisum" acapella at funerals.

Musical notation for the Gregirian chant "In paradisum," from the traditional Latin Requiem mass.

In paradisum deducant te angeli; in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres, et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem. Chorus angelorum te suscipiat, et cum Lazaro quondam paupere æternam habeas requiem.

"May the angels lead you into paradise; may the martyrs receive you at your arrival and lead you to the holy city Jerusalem. May choirs of angels receive you, and with Lazarus, who once was poor, may you have eternal rest."

Dave Ferguson@daveferguson· Jun 27

The intersection of the folds became more... tenuous, let's say, over the years. For whatever reason, that certificate was my first thought. I had it framed. It's on the wall above my desk.

A portion of my dad's naturalization certificate from 1957, showing gaps between several parts of the folds. Although the certificate was technically in one piece, it was close to losing that status when it was framed, fifty-two years after it was issued.

Dave Ferguson@daveferguson· Jun 27

Down home (Inverness, a movable feast)

A broad view looking north along Broad Cove, near the beach at Inverness, Nova Scotia. Little whitecaps sail from the west (left) toward the shore, which is bordered by long grass that could remind you of machair in the Scottish Hebrides, home of many ancestors of townspeople. A boardwalk parallels the shore, with more open ground further inland.

Hills in the distance, and far to the west (left), like a whale caught idling, the rounded crest of Margaree Island, once the home of Cape Breton bard Angus Y. Macdonald.

Dave Ferguson@daveferguson· May 27

We were in Norway, Sweden, and Finland two years ago. The following photos show only part of the (included) breakfast at our hotel in Bergen. Every place we stayed had a similar, satisfyingly overwhelming variety.

Part of an appealingly-laid-out breakfast buffet at a hotel in Bergen, Norway. At the far side, bowls of sauces and dressings. Closer to the viewer, long plates with several kinds of cheeses, including (I think) Norwegian brown cheese. At the front, bowls with sliced radishes, cucumbers, and carrots; others with salad greens and cherry tomatoes.

Part of an attractive, ample breakfast buffet at a hotel in Bergen, Norway. One wide baking pan has flat, round omelets, looking like very eggy pancakes. The net pan holds fifteen or so sunny-side-up eggs.

Four dutch ovens and two frying pans hold scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, roasted potatoes, and similar items. The whole counter is watched over by heat lamps.

Still more -- and still not all -- of a breakfast buffet in Bergen, Norway. On a wide, chilled counter (the same one shown from the its other side with cheeses and vegetables) there are four trays with meat paté, sliced ham, sliced sausage, and similar meat, along with other dishes holding sardines, pickles, herring in tomato, pickles herring, mayonnaise, and a small dish labeled "Kavlar - cod caviar."

Dave Ferguson@daveferguson· May 7

Mom had hung onto an assortment of papers from her service, and one of them was on cloth-like rag paper, attesting that she was entitled to wear the "General Service" class War Service Badge. I asked if she still had the badge. No, she said, she had no idea what happened to it.

Canada's General Service Badge from World War II. It's a shield-shaped metal badge, the sort worn on jacket lapels and similar clothing.

The dull-gold-colored shield features three maple leaves, joined to a common stem. Above the shield is a stylized crown. Along the base of the crown are a cross flanked by two fleur-de-lys, representing the Crown of Canada.

A banner running below the botton of the shield reads "General Service."

Dave Ferguson@daveferguson· Apr 29

Coffee -- it can lift your spirits.

A basket of cardboard coffee sleeves at Discovery Coffee in Victoria BC.

A sign in front of the basket reads, "Coffee sleeves full of joy and kindness lovingly created for you by the students of Christ Church Cathedral School. We hope they brighten your day."

On the counter by the sign, a sleeve with a message in a child's printing:

Have a good coffee.

Dave Ferguson@daveferguson· Apr 29

This is a highway sign along the Ceilidh Trail on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. "Margaree" is pronounced "mar-GREE."

A two-destination highway sign along a country highway on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.

The upper portion reads "W.S.S.W. MARGAREE ROAD", with an arrow pointing right.

Below it, with an arrow pointing left, "W.S.S.W. MARGAREE."

The abbreviations are for West Side, Southwest Margaree" and "East Side, Southwest Margaree."

Dave Ferguson@daveferguson· Apr 26

A poster for the movie "Wag the Dog," in which a fake crisis is manufactured to help bolster the career of a flailing president of the United States.

Dave Ferguson@daveferguson· Apr 19

And that's when the universe nudged me to say "you could do that too." With this guitar I've continued learning things, and the effort to master things like hammering on or slides has been more enjoyable than I would have imagined. (Larrivée OM-03)

An acoustic guiar, leaning against a bench in a slightly cluttered room. The clutter is from unpacking the guitar--a portion of the box is under the bench, wads of packing paper and protective plastic wrap are on the rug.

The guitar has a light-colored top of sitka spruce, and slightly darker wood with a distinctive grain pattern on the sides (and on the back, which isn't visible). Larrivée, the guitar maker, calls this wood silver oak (Grevillea robusta) because it comes from India and that's the local name, not "lacewood."

The grain of silver oak is hard to capture in a photo. I think it looks as if there are layers of grain, some running horizonal and some vertical, as if the wood had been woven.

It's also a great-sounding guitar.

Dave Ferguson@daveferguson· Apr 9

Can confirm. And it’s easy to tell which building it is.

The entrance to Apostolic Nunciature (essential the Vatican embassy) in Washington DC. The gold-and-white Vatican flag hangs over the entrance. Carved above that entrance are the arms of the Holy See: a pair of keys, crossed to form an X, and the three-level papal tiara, traditionally used to crown a pope.

Dave Ferguson@daveferguson· Apr 2

One real problem for Trump in replacing Bondi as AG is that his preferred candidate has been unavailable for the last forty years.

Donald Trump in 1984, sitting on a couch and talking into several microphones. Roy Cohn is sitting next alongside and looking like embalming had already begun on his face.

Photo from an April 2017 article in The New Yorker.

Dave Ferguson@daveferguson· Mar 28

Flora L'Orignal dite Laporte. I swear I am not making up the fact that this picture was taken in Minnesota. Flora herself, however, is like me, from Cape Breton Island.

A small toy moose, lying on a car's steering column, with dashboard dials visible in the background. She has brown fur, bright if slightly beady eyes. She's a female moose, and they don't have antlers. The light-brown objects on top of her head are obviously a moose tiara.

Dave Ferguson@daveferguson· Mar 25

A screen grab from an Insta post by @hereswhykevin.bsky.social

A scene from inside an airport. Seven or eight ICE agents, dressed in weekend-bro casual with protective vests from Homeland Security's consignment shop, are helping TSA by yakking with each another. Showing keen planning, the group's only steps away from some restrooms. And purely by coincidence, they're just outside a glass-walled room that has a sign over the entrance reading "Oversize Baggage."

No one from the DHS Loitering Brigade is THAT oversized, so the sign's clearly a metaphor.

Dave Ferguson@daveferguson· Mar 18

(delete/repost due to typo) Very tangentially, a headstone in Highgate Cemetery, outside of London. Given the poor quality (long-ago photo from a disposable camera), I'll repeat the relevant part: GORDON BELL Middle name Ernest, though he placed no importance on it.

A poor-quality photo of a simple, rectangular headstone in Highgate Cemetery, outside London.

The name, in all caps: GORDON BELL

Below that, in smaller letters: Middle name Ernest, though he placed no importance on it.

Dave Ferguson@daveferguson· Feb 7

I used to keep a battered copy of The Portable Chaucer in the passenger door pocket of my car. Waiting for kids, stuck in long DC traffic jams, (re)reading during a mid-journey meal. Patched the cover w cardboard and clear plastic tape.

A 1969s era paperback collection of the works of Chaucer.

Against a black background, a medieval man in a lime-green robe, wearing a red headdress with folds falling to his shoulders, is riding a horse. The man had red boots with spurs, as if he were one of the four-and-twenty pilgrims in the Canterbury Tales, setting out on the two-day trip to the shrine of “the holy blissful martyr” Thomas à Becket.

The book title is The Portable Chaucer, part of a series of collections. Near the bottom of the cover, bands of orange-red and chartreuse, matching the man’s outfit, list some of the works inside.

Dave Ferguson@daveferguson· Feb 4

Surely you don’t want him to walk—okay, okay, drive a golf cart—sixteen whole streets over to Union Station? Not enough ICE goons to stand shoulder to shoulder the whole way.

The Columbus Fountain, directly in front of Union Station in Washington DC. Wikipedia describes it as a semicircular double-basin fountain with a 45-foot-tall shaft in the center. The shaft bears a full-length, 15 foot statue of Christopher Columbus. He’s wearing a mantle, staring forward with his hands folded in front of him. Beneath him is a ship prow that features a winged figurehead that represents the observation of discovery. A globe, representing the Western Hemisphere, is on top of the shaft with four eagles on each corner connected by garland.

The photo shows the 65-foot width of the fountain, with Union Station in the background, under a bright blue sky.

Dave Ferguson@daveferguson· Jan 26

Found it. I nuked my Teitter account so don't know the source. From Sept 2017.

From a 2017 post on Twitter as the Cajun Navy, volunteers in Louisiana, prepared to go to Texas to help hurricane victims.

The photo is a closeup of a Costco shopping cart. The bottom shelf us packed with "emergency spices" and two cases of chicken stock.

The main part of the cart is crammed with Camillia red beans and Tony Chachère sauce. As it should be.

Dave Ferguson@daveferguson· Jan 26

It doesn't get cold enough in Victoria for me to need them, but I can get forty pairs of handwarmers at the nearest Costco for CA$ 20. Admittedly, on sale for $3 off. Am I a quartermaster now?

Screen grabbed from a Costco ad, showing a rectangular box of Little Hotties hand warmers. The text says the box has 40 pairs. Cost is $22.99 Canadian, less a $3 discount.

Dave Ferguson@daveferguson· Jan 25

Who wore it better—Iron Felix or Photo-Op Greg?

A full-figure statue in Moscow of Felix Dzerzhinski, head of the first three secret police organizations under Lenin. The statue includes a long coat extended as far as its feet.

Greg Bovino, looking like he’s on the set of “What Not to Wear: Gestapo Edition.”

Wearing a knee-length military coat with brass buttons, and odds and ends of tough guy flair, he stands leaning mainly on his left foot, inexplicably ignoring the right, and looks as if he’s not sure he has his jackboots on the right feet.

Dave Ferguson@daveferguson· Jan 20

Not available at 5:37 am Pacific (8:37 Eastern).

A screen grab of a State Department page, linked to on the post to which this one is a reply.

The screen has only the State Department seal and a "we're sorry, technical difficulties" message.

Dave Ferguson@daveferguson· Jan 19

I have no doubt. I got that sort of highly specific ad after I bought a sgian dubh (“black knife,” a small and often just decorative item tucked into the top of your dominant/hand kilt sock) a few years back.

A sgian dubh (SKI-on DOO), or black (dubh) knife next to its leather sheath.

The knife typically has a blade under four inches. It’s usually worn tucking into the top of knee-high stockings worn as part of traditional Highland Scots dress like the kikt and sporran.

Dave Ferguson@daveferguson· Jan 19

…and (b) cloth magazine-holder-like things for kiddie bookshelves, designed I assume by only children, now childless themselves.

A sort of bookcase. It has two triangular wooden sides, with four wide pockets (magazine-holder “slings”). The open ends of the four pockets—into which you’d place books or magazines—running up the front of the bookcase, like a set of hammocks forming stairs.

The front of each pocket consists of fabric sewn together, with a rod inserted through that sewn tube and joined to the bookcase sides.

The example in the photo has five thin early-reader books placed tastefully in the four slings by a underemployed person who specializes in home-for-sale staging.

Dave Ferguson@daveferguson· Jan 19

Well, that’s me wrong. I went searching and found (a) a wooden whatsit to wear on your thumb to hold pages open…

Closeup of someone’s hand holding an open book. The person’s thumb is at the bottom center of the book, between the open pages.

The thumb’s inserted through a hole in a wooden object, shaped like an elongated diamond. The long sides of this diamond extend sideways onto the open pages
to hold them down.

Dave Ferguson@daveferguson· Jan 2

I figure anyone leaning on SAT scores as a qualifier for people over 21 is like the third-party presidential candidate whose official bio noted he'd been "only three merit badges short of Eagle Scout." Photo by Nik (unsplash.com/@helloimnik) on Unsplash (unsplash.com/photos/mcdon...)

Dave Ferguson@daveferguson· Dec 26

Here's a chart I worked up once for Canadians attending a conference in Las Vegas.

A chart with mnemonics for converting temperatures from Fahrenheit to Celsius. For example, for 0 degrees F, the mnemonic is "zero, North Pole near-o," and the Celsius equivalent us -18 degrees.

Fahrenheit temperatures go up 10 degrees per line. Example: 60 F, "Six, spring flower mix," and the C equivalent us 16 degrees.

Dave Ferguson@daveferguson· Nov 19

It's HARD to spend that kind of money at Target. From my in-depth study of an image at the bottom of your link, I think it's a separate box (12" long!) with ultra-super-duper chips for having AI play your video games while you run chatbots for hire.

An image from an NVIDIA page about the RTX PRO 6000 workstation edition. In the photo, which has pretty dim lighting, you can see a laptop, an external monitor, something that might be a workstation on a low riser, a keyboard, and a bunch of other tech boxes.

In the foreground is the RTX Pro, a black box standing on end, about 12 inches high and five wide. Presumably it connects to all that other stuff, though not necessarily all at the same time.

All the equipment seems to be on a big shiny floor, or possibly a desk the size of a city park, since no edges are visible.

Dave Ferguson@daveferguson· Nov 15

I like this thread so much I'll share a very tangential sighting from today's grocery shopping: