Robot Claw

Safari!

July 18th, 2021

Yesterday we visited a local animal park. We’d been twice before but due to covid they were a bit different this year. Specifically: they’d turned themselves into a drive-through safari!

After paying it was a short drive from the entrance to the first gate, beyond which we saw this:

Yes those are camels, and amongst them were also ostriches. In seconds we were mobbed!

We had little cups of food and the animals knew it. They were absolutely fearless when it came to getting the food of us, and didn’t hesitate to stick their heads right into the car.

Yes that’s a gigantic camel helping itself to food from the caddy between us in the car!

The animal flocked around us (and every car) so much that we couldn’t move until the attendants scared them away just long enough for us to drive forward a bit. Of course the cloud of camels and ostriches simply moved to the next car in line 🙂

A bit further along were some zebra! I hastily closed the window because of all the animals in the safari this was the one with warning signs. Apparently zebra can bite!

Next we drove into a forested section full of fallow deer, sika deer, albino deer, llamas and a certain evil bird (see below). This part overloaded with cuteness, mostly because of all the pretty deer and their big dewy eyes.

Of course had no food left since the ostriches and camels had taken it all!

The evil birds were these guys:

I have an ancestral fear of these (as do all Australians) so we closed the windows when they got near. This guy was tapping on the window with his razor-sharp beak as he stared at me with murderous intent. I gibbered as we drove on…

The last section had rhea, oxen, and a few other unusual cow like things. Alas we had no food for we surely would have fed the elegant rhea! They came right up to the car and looked at us with their lovely gray and blue eyes.

It took us a little under an hour to drive through and it was much better than we expected! They did a great job of converting their zoo, and the density of animals was hilarious. A great time was had by all 🙂

Posted in Animals, Miscellaneous, Nature, Pets | 1 Comment »

Bonsai!

July 16th, 2021

I got this as a gift:

It’s a candy kit to make an edible bonsai! Start by kneading the chocolate caramel to make it soft:

Gently fill the molds with the candy:

After a half hour in the freezer it had solidified:

While I was trimming the flash Kristin was cooking a green sponge cake. It was as easy as powder and water mixed together and microwaved. It looked… unusual:

But stone the crows it looked convincing when broken apart and placed onto the branches:

And here’s the finished product (which was about 2 inches tall):

Looks good enough to eat doesn’t it?

And we did! It wasn’t bad at all; basically chocolate caramel mixed with cake. Easily one of the best candy food kits I’ve ever made – or eaten 🙂

Posted in Crafts, Food, Models, Nature | Comments Closed

Ramen 8: World of Chook!

July 10th, 2021

Time for more chicken ramen!

Lucky Me Chicken (300 Calories, 14 g fat, 1410 mg sodium)

This is a weirdly tasting product, vaguely like ‘Chinese food’ but not at all like (artificial) chicken. The more I ate the greasier it tasted, and about halfway through it had become so repulsive I couldn’t finish it. But I suspect this was more me than the product, and it may be a taste enjoyed by some? An unsure 4/10.

Mama (260 Calories, 11 g fat, 1420 mg sodium)

Another imported product, this time for the Thai market. Once again this tasted nothing like the ‘chicken’ taste I’m used to, and instead was reminiscent of burned toast. The broth was weirdly dark and oily, and the noodles gelatinous. One of the worst I’ve tasted in the dozens I’ve eaten so far. An easy 0/10.

Tradition Chicken Style Noodle Bowl (340 Calories, 15 g fat, 1430 mg sodium)

The last two products by this manufacturer were bad, but I wondered if one of them had a defect since it didn’t contain any flavor. So when I opened this larger-sized version of the same thing I was optimistic since it had not one but two flavor packets – and a tiny fork!

Alas, once prepared it smelled just as bad as the brick version that I also reviewed last time. It’s a truly awful smell – like a dark old house – and difficult to ignore. The noodles had the consistency of electrical wiring and the taste was like dirty water. After three products by this manufacturer, I wonder who their audience is?

I’d give this maybe 1/10, but this score is tempered by the fact that KLS ate it! I therefore asked for her comments, and she said: “Bland and inoffensive, 4/10!”

Posted in Blog, Food, Miscellaneous | Comments Closed

Fireworks 2021

July 6th, 2021

We let fireworks off for July 4! Since they’d been made illegal here in Albany we went to Rochester and let them off with J and J.

That’s most of them, and as you can see we had quite a few! Here’s some highlights:

Of course it was great fun; lots of sparks and noise and flashes. The entire neighborhood echoed with the sound of people letting off bigger fireworks, but we enjoyed our modest selection 🙂

We had a BBQ and ate too much as well.

We had no idea what some of the fireworks actually did and had a few nice surprises when they went high into the air or did something else spectacular. Here’s a compilation video:

It was a great evening. Happy July 4!

Posted in Blog, Family, Miscellaneous | 2 Comments »

Portrait Contest: Halftime

June 25th, 2021

Bernard and I are having another contest, and this time it’s an art contest! To be specific: portraits. We’re each creating portraits and they are judged by the same five judges as last years postcard contest. While we’re sending these to each other on postcards, the cards themselves have no role in the judging this time.

The rules were simple: we would alternate choosing the subjects week by week, and create neck up portraits in any medium or style. The judges decision would be final.

That was five weeks ago, and we’re now halfway through. Let’s review the results so far!

Elvis Presley

I started choosing subjects with The King and right out of the gate Bernard ignored the ‘neck up’ rule with his ‘portrait’ (on the left)! The judges gave it to him 4-1, but since comments were as blatant as “Wins because of the pose” and “Wins only because of the guitar” I felt the contest had derailed almost immediately. Nonetheless the judges decision was final and Bernard took the early lead.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

The best subjects are ones with many different looks, and you can see from my watercolour (on the left) and Bernard’s pencil sketch that Arnie fits the bill! The judges were torn on this one, and one even declared a tie, but ultimately Conan defeated The Terminator and I won 3.5 – 1.5. Judges comments included “Conan is too slick” and “Terminator doesn’t have enough color”.

Cleopatra

Perhaps I chose Cleo since I expected an easy win, but it’s certain I wasn’t prepared for the magnus opus created by Bernard (on the right). KLS joked that mine (on the left) was very masculine, but even had I demonstrated a better grasp of facial anatomy I daresay Bernard would still have got – as he deserved – the 5-0 win. Incidentally while the photos don’t show it well, both of these feature metallic inks! Judges comments included “The detail is extraordinary!”

Bruce Lee

Bernard chose Bruce Lee, perhaps because he had an image in mind? But Cleo had lit a bonfire under me and there was no way I was handing him another win, so I started taking things seriously. My portrait (on the right) swept all judges for a decisive 5-0 win. Comments included “I love the eyes” and “Excellent use of shading“.

Steve Irwin

We agreed to let Kristin and Lakshmi choose a subject each, and KLS was first up with her choice of the crocodile hunter himself! This was a difficulty subject since he’s so known for holding animals that it was hard to produce a neck-up image that conveyed his essence well. I took a bold approach with the stencil art on the left, and Bernard… well he chose to ignore the rules again. Once again the judges overlooked this infraction and gave him the 5-0 win, even commenting (as one did) that he won “even though it isn’t a portrait”. As for my image, I expect this is not a contest that will reward a novel approach and will return to more conventional styles ahead!

So halfway though, Bernard is up 3-2. Since two of his wins were (arguably) due to images that flaunted the rules the neck-up rule has now been abandoned.

Five more subjects to come, and it’s still anyone’s game! Who will we draw, and who will win? Find out in five weeks!

Posted in Art, Blog, Family, Postcards | Comments Closed