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Triptych I found this excellent pink-on-metallic print of a pair of unicorns (and shooting stars) in the bathroom of a phở restaurant near Fort Lauderdale. Looking at how the edges of the individual images line up, I believe the rightmost panel was intended to be placed on the left. I kind of like how the curator of this fine gallery has chosen to mix things up a little, instead having the background unicorn coming around after the unawares subject. Interactive multi-media!

Triptych

I found this excellent pink-on-metallic print of a pair of unicorns (and shooting stars) in the bathroom of a phở restaurant near Fort Lauderdale. Looking at how the edges of the individual images line up, I believe the rightmost panel was intended to be placed on the left. I kind of like how the curator of this fine gallery has chosen to mix things up a little, instead having the background unicorn coming around after the unawares subject. Interactive multi-media!

Canal Fort Lauderdale is made up of many little fingerling islands created by dredging out canals to allow people to park their yachts in their back yards. The local self-billed tourism industry name for the area is Venice of America, after they cleaned up the Spring Break shenanigans that the college kids were doing. I wonder if Venice calls itself The Snowbird Retirement Capital of Europe in some sort of sister-city cultural exchange.

Canal

Fort Lauderdale is made up of many little fingerling islands created by dredging out canals to allow people to park their yachts in their back yards. The local self-billed tourism industry name for the area is Venice of America, after they cleaned up the Spring Break shenanigans that the college kids were doing. I wonder if Venice calls itself The Snowbird Retirement Capital of Europe in some sort of sister-city cultural exchange.

inothernews: A grand piano, damaged by fire, is seen on a sandbar in Biscayne Bay in Miami, Florida. (Photo: Getty via the Telegraph) UPDATE: How it got there. I was trying to convince Allan to go rent a boat with me, and I’d take pictures as he tried to jump it over the piano.

inothernews:

A grand piano, damaged by fire, is seen on a sandbar in Biscayne Bay in Miami, Florida. (Photo: Getty via the Telegraph)

UPDATE: How it got there.

I was trying to convince Allan to go rent a boat with me, and I’d take pictures as he tried to jump it over the piano.

Tree Dunno what kind of tree this is, but it is fantastic. Also been enjoying the rooty Banyan and Mangrove trees in south FL. I didn’t get a chance to get any good closeups of the Mangroves through the Keys, and the Banyan are just too hugely epic to really capture well. I’ll have to go climb one when I get back. Same with the palms, I should probably try to get a coconut down and open using nothing but my bare hands and a conch shell.

Tree

Dunno what kind of tree this is, but it is fantastic. Also been enjoying the rooty Banyan and Mangrove trees in south FL. I didn’t get a chance to get any good closeups of the Mangroves through the Keys, and the Banyan are just too hugely epic to really capture well. I’ll have to go climb one when I get back. Same with the palms, I should probably try to get a coconut down and open using nothing but my bare hands and a conch shell.

Boomerang I’ve been in fancy bathrooms with couches and attendants and all that junk before, but Boomerang Café in Pompano Beach takes things to the next level by jamming an easy chair in their otherwise workmanlike facilities.

Boomerang

I’ve been in fancy bathrooms with couches and attendants and all that junk before, but Boomerang Café in Pompano Beach takes things to the next level by jamming an easy chair in their otherwise workmanlike facilities.

Burger Family Jack’s Old Fashion Hamburger House is a place I’ve been to many times throughout America so far, under different names and with different colour schemes and menus. It must be hard to compete against the big chains in fast food. Jack’s was ok, but nothing really exceptional, aside from the fact that the lettuce and tomato for the burger was served on the side in a zip-lock bag. The customers are always the same, including myself.

Burger Family

Jack’s Old Fashion Hamburger House is a place I’ve been to many times throughout America so far, under different names and with different colour schemes and menus. It must be hard to compete against the big chains in fast food. Jack’s was ok, but nothing really exceptional, aside from the fact that the lettuce and tomato for the burger was served on the side in a zip-lock bag. The customers are always the same, including myself.

Mexican Flan Helados Bill modelling Emerson’s cat ears. This caused no shortage of consternation for Emerson who was a cat, not just acting like a cat.

Mexican Flan Helados

Bill modelling Emerson’s cat ears. This caused no shortage of consternation for Emerson who was a cat, not just acting like a cat.

Do Want I found this van parked at a marina on the way to a sailing expedition. I’ve never seen one quite this awesomely proportioned, and although it probably handles like poop it would likely make a fine addition to my fleet of impractical vehicles.

Do Want

I found this van parked at a marina on the way to a sailing expedition. I’ve never seen one quite this awesomely proportioned, and although it probably handles like poop it would likely make a fine addition to my fleet of impractical vehicles.

Beach We sailed down the intracoastal, a channel cut into the shoreline that buffers mostly pleasure craft from the large surf offshore of the Atlantic coast. Part way along we stopped at one of the sandy islands that provides cover, and went for a swim on the outer edge. For whatever reason, it was markedly warmer than the intracoastal side, which I also had to jump in on the way back to the boat. I’m not sure what the water temperatures were, but a thermometer just arrived in the mail so I should be able to report back when I return to Florida. I had no idea that ‘cold’ tap water in California is ~12°C, and still feels damn brisk. I do wonder what temperature that shower in Belgium was..

Beach

We sailed down the intracoastal, a channel cut into the shoreline that buffers mostly pleasure craft from the large surf offshore of the Atlantic coast. Part way along we stopped at one of the sandy islands that provides cover, and went for a swim on the outer edge. For whatever reason, it was markedly warmer than the intracoastal side, which I also had to jump in on the way back to the boat. I’m not sure what the water temperatures were, but a thermometer just arrived in the mail so I should be able to report back when I return to Florida. I had no idea that ‘cold’ tap water in California is ~12°C, and still feels damn brisk. I do wonder what temperature that shower in Belgium was..

Barnum and Bailey For Emerson’s fifth birthday we went down to check out the circus in Miami. The actual circus, not the ridiculousness of Ocean Drive. It’s been a long while since I’ve been to a ‘traditional’ circus, and it was entertaining and overpriced as always. I think I’d like to try riding one of these motorcycle cages, but maybe with only me in there.

Barnum and Bailey

For Emerson’s fifth birthday we went down to check out the circus in Miami. The actual circus, not the ridiculousness of Ocean Drive. It’s been a long while since I’ve been to a ‘traditional’ circus, and it was entertaining and overpriced as always. I think I’d like to try riding one of these motorcycle cages, but maybe with only me in there.

The Sadness About six months ago, I heard of the Friendly’s Burgermelt (click for tantalizing promo photo) through the usual channels that poke fun at the ridiculousness that is American fast-food. I felt that a first-person impression needed to be made, but at the time nobody I knew was within waddling distance of a Friendly’s. While in Florida I was looking for some lunch and a Friendly’s came up in the search results. Destiny awaited me, as this was my chance to go have a burgermelt myself, and see how it compared to the other burger-shaped craziness I experienced recently at Ann’s Snack Shop in Atlanta (and I suppose the undocumented burger at Voodoo, also in Atlanta). I thought I was going to go blob it up and eat something over-the-top as a proper American experience. When I pulled up to the Friendly’s, I started heading toward the restaurant and saw a black Escalade ESV (the 222” long monster one) in the parking lot. As I passed by I noticed nobody was inside, but it sounded like something was running, so I doubled back to confirm that it was indeed the Escalade. For the next twenty minutes while I was eating the Escalade continued to idle, and I’ll presume it was so the owners could leave the AC running to keep their gargantuan black vehicle cool in the Florida sun. Finally a middle aged couple left the restaurant and drove off in it. I can only guess that they ate at least two burgermelts each, and totally outdid me by burning an additional gallon of gas while they were at it.

The Sadness

About six months ago, I heard of the Friendly’s Burgermelt (click for tantalizing promo photo) through the usual channels that poke fun at the ridiculousness that is American fast-food. I felt that a first-person impression needed to be made, but at the time nobody I knew was within waddling distance of a Friendly’s.

While in Florida I was looking for some lunch and a Friendly’s came up in the search results. Destiny awaited me, as this was my chance to go have a burgermelt myself, and see how it compared to the other burger-shaped craziness I experienced recently at Ann’s Snack Shop in Atlanta (and I suppose the undocumented burger at Voodoo, also in Atlanta).

I thought I was going to go blob it up and eat something over-the-top as a proper American experience. When I pulled up to the Friendly’s, I started heading toward the restaurant and saw a black Escalade ESV (the 222” long monster one) in the parking lot. As I passed by I noticed nobody was inside, but it sounded like something was running, so I doubled back to confirm that it was indeed the Escalade. For the next twenty minutes while I was eating the Escalade continued to idle, and I’ll presume it was so the owners could leave the AC running to keep their gargantuan black vehicle cool in the Florida sun. Finally a middle aged couple left the restaurant and drove off in it. I can only guess that they ate at least two burgermelts each, and totally outdid me by burning an additional gallon of gas while they were at it.

Mississippi Lighthouses on license plates? Sign me up, I’m going to Mississippi.

Mississippi

Lighthouses on license plates? Sign me up, I’m going to Mississippi.

Airboat We’re running on about three hours sleep here, after partying until dawn at a Merengue club on Ocean Drive the night before. Louis got to realize his childhood dream of sitting in the driver’s seat of an airboat until the staff caught us and yelled at him. I guess we should have just gone to rent one instead of taking the tour.

Airboat

We’re running on about three hours sleep here, after partying until dawn at a Merengue club on Ocean Drive the night before. Louis got to realize his childhood dream of sitting in the driver’s seat of an airboat until the staff caught us and yelled at him. I guess we should have just gone to rent one instead of taking the tour.

Wet Willie’s Like all normal western Canadians, I have an unreasonable thing for the Slurpee, our national summer beverage. While stationed in Nova Scotia I was shocked to discover that slurpees don’t really exist east of Ontario, as that’s also where the 7-11s stop. Myself and a few other western ex-pats went as far as to buy a cheap slurpee machine so we could make them ourselves in the lab. I can only imagine Regan and Jim’s reactions if they saw the daiquiri bars in south Florida—a row of fifteen to twenty flavours of pre-spiked icy beverage, just waiting to have additional test-tube deployed shots upended into it.

Wet Willie’s

Like all normal western Canadians, I have an unreasonable thing for the Slurpee, our national summer beverage. While stationed in Nova Scotia I was shocked to discover that slurpees don’t really exist east of Ontario, as that’s also where the 7-11s stop. Myself and a few other western ex-pats went as far as to buy a cheap slurpee machine so we could make them ourselves in the lab. I can only imagine Regan and Jim’s reactions if they saw the daiquiri bars in south Florida—a row of fifteen to twenty flavours of pre-spiked icy beverage, just waiting to have additional test-tube deployed shots upended into it.

The Fake I really enjoy the effect when setting sunlight slides in under black thunderclouds, illuminating the foreground and making it look like a regular commute consists of people fleeing something that is about to eat them. If only this guy in the front had turned his lights on so the picture would look more like a photo and less like a bad photochop.

The Fake

I really enjoy the effect when setting sunlight slides in under black thunderclouds, illuminating the foreground and making it look like a regular commute consists of people fleeing something that is about to eat them.

If only this guy in the front had turned his lights on so the picture would look more like a photo and less like a bad photochop.