It's been exactly two months since my last post. Yeah, I have lots of pictures to get up, but untill I do, here is a video for you to watch.
Yes I'm a gummy bear
Oh i'm a yummy jummy funny lucky gummy bear
I'm a jolly bear
Cause I'm a gummy bear
Oh im a movin, grovin, jammin, singin gummy bear
Oh yeah
ba ba da duby duby yum yum
ba ba da duby duby yum yum
ba ba da duby duby yum yum
Three times you can bite me
gummy gummy gummy gummy gummy bear
*pop*!!!!!!
Some pictures from September and October,
Just click on thumbnail to see full size image.
I'm not going to lecture on the social issues surrounding recreational drug use, nor will I be resorting to legal, religious or health arguments. Simply watch these two videos then decide what direction you want you life to take.
(Total run time, 2 min 30 seconds)
The original East Indiaman “Götheborg" ran aground at the entrance to Göteborg on 12 September 1745. The ship was fully laden with goods such as tea, porcelain, silk and spices, and had almost reached dock after her third voyage to China, which had lasted a full 30 months. There was not much left of the ship in December 1984, according to the divers who descended to the sea bed by the submerged rock, Hunnebådan, 900 metres from New Elfsborg Fortress. Yet it would emerge that, under layers of clay, there was a great deal to rediscover. A marine archaeological excavation lasting from 1986 to 1992 opened the door to a by gone century, adventurous voyages and trade with China. And awakened the dream of rebuilding the ship.
Quote from Home web page for the Swedish ship Götheborg .The replica of trading ship returned to it's home port in Göteborg on Saturday June 9 2007. Many people lined the harbour to watch the ship come in. The day was hot and clear, and there were many sunburns in evidence. I arrived early and set up my cameras and picnic lunch and waited. The harbour was packed with boats of all sizes, from seadoo up to the huge ferry that takes shipping trucks to Denmark. Below are some of the pictures taken of the celebrations.
June 6 is the Swedish national flag day. This is only the second year that it has been a statutory holiday, so the Swedes do not quite have the hang of it the same way Canada and US celebrate on the July 1 & 4 holidays.
This year there was free admission to Liseberg amusement park here in Göteborg.The weather was perfect for a day out doors, and it seems everyone had a great time as the pictures show.
So here are some pictures from my day out.
You can't have a national holiday without a parade, and every parade needs a marching band and cheerleaders
And performers on stilts
Let us not forget the jugglers
and acrobats
It has been a long time since there was anything common about common sense, now it seems that we are loosing the sense part of it as well. The complete news report shown below goes to show how we have let the terrorist and the politicians win.
First person shooter games (FPS) are a staple of the computer gaming community. Maps are available on the internet for a number of games, that are based on actual places, be they office buildings, or towns and cities, and yes even schools. does this make the creators of the maps terrorists? It seems that in Fort Bend Texas (USA) Having the skill to program a map is enough for authorities to respond with a knee jerk reaction that resulted in the student being arrested. And a good thing it was too, after searching the boys room, the police found that he was in possession of a deadly weapon, or more accurately, "a potential weapon." a common, house hold hammer. So, with a hammer, and a gaming computer, this talented student is suddenly treated like a mass murderer. Perhaps it is time that we check through our drawers to see how many "a potential weapons" we have in our possession.
While I agree with the concern that the US has with the number of school shootings, It needs to look closer at the profile of the people involved. There is no indication in this story, or other reports I have found on the story, that this student was having any problems at school. There are no reports of bad grades, no reports that he was picked on or bullied, no reports of past problems with the police, no reports of membership with the NRA or the KKK, no social irregularities that seem to be reported with the criminals involved with actual school shootings.
If we use the criteria that the school board has used in this case, I would be behind bars. My first computer game, a turn based game that could be played over a modem allowed me to create maps and assign military troops to each side. A number of the maps I created were based on the city I was living in at the time as well as maps of the military base I was serving on. I still play several online games including the one that the student created the map for. I am not a psychotic killer, I do not collect sharp objects, and while I strongly disagree with much of what is going on in American politics over the past decade, I am not likely to be blowing up civilians any time soon.
It is time that people in positions of authority took a step back, took a deep breath and loosened their sphincters a bit. When a potential problem arises, take steps to identify the extent of the problem, and look at the big picture, and assess how much is risk and how much is knee-jerk reaction.
======-Original-Article-========
Chinese Community Rallies Behind Student Removed From Clements
by Bob Dunn, Apr 30, 2007, 11 57 amMembers of the area Chinese community have rallied behind a Clements High School senior who was removed from the campus and sent to M.R. Wood Alternative Education Center after parents complained he’d created a computer game map of Clements.
About 70 people attended the Fort Bend Independent School District’s April 23 meeting to show support for the Clements senior and his mother, Jean Lin, who spoke to FBISD Board trustees in a closed session.
While an agenda document does not specify details, the board is holding a special meeting tonight to address the boy’s actions and the discipline that was meted out as a result, sources close to the matter say. The boy’s name was not identified last week, and the district has declined to discuss his case.
Richard Chen, president of the Fort Bend Chinese-American Voters League and a acquaintance of the boy’s family, said he is a talented student who enjoys computer games and learned how to create maps (also sometimes known as “mods”), which provide new environments in which games may be played.
The map the boy designed mimicked Clements High School. And, sources said, it was uploaded either to the boy’s home computer or to a computer server where he and his friends could access and play on it. Two parents apparently learned from their children about the existence of the game, and complained to FBISD administrators, who investigated.
“They arrested him,” Chen said of FBISD police, “and also went to the house to search.” The Lin family consented to the search, and a hammer was found in the boy’s room, which he used to fix his bed, because it wasn’t in good shape, Chen said. He indicated police seized the hammer as a potential weapon.
“They decided he was a terroristic threat,” said one source close to the district’s investigation.
Sources said that although no charges were filed against the boy, he was removed from Clements, sent to the district’s alternate education school and won’t be allowed to participate in graduation ceremonies with classmates.
“All he did was create a map and put it on a web site to allow students to play,” Chen said. “The mother thinks this is too harsh.”
FBISD officials declined to comment on the matter Monday. “Our challenge is, people in the community have freedom of speech and can say what they want, but we have laws” covering privacy issues, especially involving minors, that the district has to respect, said spokeswoman Nancy Porter.
Speakers at the FBISD Board’s April 23 meeting alluded to the Clements senior’s punishment, and drew a connection to the April 16 shootings at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, in which a Korean student shot and killed 32 people.
The Asian community “faces new pressures” as a result of the shootings, William Sun told board members. “We urge the school and community not to label our Asian students as terrorists.”
“We should teach our children not to judge others harshly” and not to target people as being a threat because of their race, said Peter Woo, adding that the school district should lead the way in such efforts.
But Chen said Monday he and other community members don’t consider FBISD’s actions in the case to be racially motivated, and don’t think they blew the incident out of proportion.
“They all think the principal has to do something – but how much? We do understand with the Virginia Tech incident…something has to be done,” Chen said. “Someone just made a mistake, and we think the principal should understand that.”
Inspired by a recent issue of Practical Photography, I decided to try my hand at macro photography. One problem, a macro lens was going to cost me more than I'm likely to earn for the rest of this year. After doing a little moping, I remembered that I had all my film cameras in a box in the closet. Digging through I found an old 2x teleconverter from my Pentax MX. 20 minutes with a screw driver and I had the lenses out of the teleconverter. What I was let with was a simple extension tube. Slap it on the camera between the body and the lens, and voila! instant macro pictures. (Well I did have to punch up the exposure quite a bit as the teleconverter does not open up the aperture, so all the pictures came out under exposed. Below are some examples of my day out in the woods.
You can click on the Image to see the full size picture
Spring bud ready to open
The base of a leaf
Perhaps a Buttercup?
A Thorny Issue
Well I just returned from the land of no bandwidth, and like a true geek the first thing I do is get on the internet and catch up on a weeks worth of blogs, comics, and emails. Surprisingly the world did not come to an end in my absence, in fact the only thing of significance was that I received an email from someone I hadn't heard from in 16 years.
So, where was I and what did I do, you ask. Well it is the week of clean up at the summer house (Cottage for folks in North America) a lot of raking of leaves and twigs, washing windows, hauling water, dusting and vacuuming, and waiting for the telephone repair man to show up. But, there was also some interesting sites to be seen.
The first day was spent turning on the heat, and making the house livable for the next week. On the second day the sun was shining so we took a walk up to the lily pond (GPS N58 05.990 E11 46.504) and there were thousands of frogs all over the place.
And when you have this many frogs, they can only be doing one thing... Getting Jiggy. It was an amphibian orgy of frogs. I always thought that frogs, like fish, fertilized the eggs after the female laid the eggs. 40+ years, and I am still learning about the birds and bees.
The evening was spent with a sun-downer watching the sky turn brilliant red promising another fine day tomorrow. It made me think that Mordor is not as far off as I imagined it to be.
Wednesday and Thursday was a nasty storm. No rain, but high winds and heavy clouds. not much opertunity for photos, but I did take a few long exposures of the waves on the shore. These waves are nowhere near the size of the ones we use to get a Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia, but they were fine for me to play with the camera for a little bit.
Southern Sweden also has a bonfire tradition on Easter Friday. The fires are built to ward off the witches that fly to Blueberry hill on Friday. I think that the fires are more like landing lights so that the witches don't get lost. What ever the reason for it, it is a good opportunity to get together with the neighbours and meet the people who live around you and catch up on what has been going on over the winter.
There is not much cuter than a puppy with a teddy bear in it's mouth. All together now, AWWwwwww Puppie!
The frogs were not the only ones pairing off, there were a number of duck on the water front this past week. still no swans, but we will be keeping our eyes open for their return.
And here is the summer house as seen from the shore. there is usually one or the other of the cats sitting by the grill soaking up the sun, and can you blame them?
This boat must belong to a Norwegian. Someone should tell them that the water goes on the outside of the boat. Perhaps moving the boat out of the forest to a lake, or the ocean will help it fulfill it's intended function. (I know I'll be hearing from Krikkert on this one)
And one last sunset picture to close the post. I hope everyone had a relaxing time for their easter break. only another 5 weeks left until the May break. I know where I will be.
After getting settled with the panorama pictures (see previous entry), I have sorted through some of my other pictures taken over the past three months. Here is a brief walking tour of Göteborg as seen through the lens of my camera. I have included GPS coordinates to each picture if you are visiting the city, you can see some of the sights, or you can use Google Maps to locate each point.
King Gustav II Adolf founded Göteborg in 1621. This statue is of the King depicting his decision to "Build a city here" The statue is in the middle of Gustav Adolf square in the center
of the old city.
the locals) This statue is about 4m tall and is surrounded by
a fountain. The Hasselblad museum is at the very top end
of the Avenue
Poseidon statue. This one is a more modest 1.7m (life size)
There is a disturbingly large number of statues without
clothes on. Maybe what American's think of Swedes is true.
GPS - N57 41.846 E11 58.773
architecture. This tower, located on top of a hill in Slottsskogen
(a large public park) was built in the 1800's While it looks like
a lookout tower or a fortress keep, it is actually a water tower.
To contrast the old with the new, I present "The Lego Building" This unusual design is a popular tourist site on the water front. The tall ship has been converted into a restaurant and I believe
that it is a permanent fixture on the waterfront. If traveling by
public transit, it is located at Lilla Bommens Torg. Both the
trams and the ferry will take you to this location.
GPS - N57 42.743 E11 57.970
And speaking of ferries, There are a number of boats that travel
up and down the harbour and are included as part of the regular
public transit system. They are included in your fare and you
can transfer between buses, trams and ferries. The public transit
system in Göteborg is very efficient, and a pleasure to ride
GPS - N57 42.127 E11 56.986
Also located on the waterfront is the naval museum.
This museum is made up of several retired ships moored together
and includes a submarine. Cost is around 70 Kroner per adult
which is about $13 Canadian. If you are interested in ships this
is a must see attraction while in the area.
GPS - N57 42.534 E11 57.603
As with most harbour cities, Göteborg has facilities for
handling both Large quantities of commercial container
ships and dry docks for repairing and refitting ships below
the water line. The cargo cranes in the top image are some
of the largest in Europe and were built in China and brought
to Göteborg by barge. The ship in dry dock is one of the ferries
which shuttle trucks and passengers between Göteborg and Denmark.
GPS - N57 41.484 E11 52.549 (Top)
GPS - N57 42.456 E11 57.091 (Bottom)
Even with the excellent public transit system the locals enjoy walking
and bicycling.The city is laced with walkways and bicycle paths
making it safe and convenient to get around under your own power.
Swedes are well known in the international community for their love
of nature. There are many public parks and gardens within walking
distance of any part of the city. Even downtown, it feels more like
a large town than the second largest city in the country.
GPS - N57 42.003 E11 57.127
Being a coastal city Göteborg gets "typical London weather"
That being, foggy, cool, windy, and ever changing. Truly it
can be said that if you don't like the weather wait 5 minutes
and it will change.
GPS - N57 40.581 E11 58.199
Even when sleeping in the long mid-winter nights Göteborg
is a beautiful city I recomend visiting in late spring, early
summer (Beginning of April until mid June) But any time
you are able to come for a visit there will be things to see.
GPS - N57 41.485 E11 57.735
For folks who wonder what Göteborg looks like,here are four HUGE panorama pictures Take of the city looking from South West (left) to North-North-East (Far Right) Once the pictures load, you can click to enlarge then to full size, then use the slide bars to move around the pictures and see the details.Be patient as these pictures are between 700Kb and 1Mb in size. They may take a while to load depending on your internet connection and computer.
Images are best viewed at a screen resolution of 900 pixels Vertical size or more.
City 1 Looking North From Slottskogan
GPS Coords N57 41.540 E11 56.652
Size: 5888 x 868 Pixels
City 2 Looking West-North-West (far left) to East-North-East (far right) from Botanical Gardens
GPD Coords N57 40.814 E11 57.047
Size: 5000 x 900 Pixels
City 3 Looking West-North-West (far left) to East-North-East (far right) From Guldheden in the winter
GPS Coords N57 41.485 E11 57.735
Size: 7638 x 798 Pixels
GPS Coords N57 40.814 E11 57.047
Size: 5000 x 900 pixels
