I like the look of dandelions but I’m not too fussy about what they do to my lawn.

And since our lawn is a chemical free zone, the dandelions love it.

After seeing a water powered weeding tool at Lee Valley Tools, but choking on the price, I thought I’d try a little something.

It’s a bit like using a canoe to shovel gravel, but what the heck. I fired up the power washer, and after a little experimentation I found that if I planted the wand (pun intended) right at the heart of the dandelion, then rotated the handle in a circular motion (while keeping the wand tip planted)…

I could pretty much float that weed right out of its steely grip !

You will have to actually bend over to pull out the weed, but other than that, it’s virtually work free.

The irony of course is that I’m burning gasoline to fuel the power washer, so it’s not exactly environmentally perfect.

Maybe I’ll have to spring the dough for that Lee Valley tool after all…?  No way.

I love how even the most benign objects can look scarey in close up.

This thing is growing down the street from me.  r u n a w a y !!!!!

 

British Columbia is busting out all over with blossoms.

This is one of the many varieties of Magnolia in our front yard.

Spring in Vancouver. There’s nothing quite like coming across these guys in February.

These were just outside Green Thumb Theatre on Victoria and Venables in Vancouver.

The new lense passed Ozzie’s inspection.

This is taken with the Nikon AF-S DX 12-24 f/4G IF-ED – meant for use with digital cameras and giving true 12-24.

It focuses down to 1 foot – Ozzie’s pushing well inside that, but then again, he’s a cat.

Here’s a shot from outside the side door of our house.

Just back from a quick weekend off the grid.

There’s nothing quite like the blues, greens and greys of British Columbia in the winter time.

There’s also something to be said for not having a phone, TV or Internet connection.

No rest for the new Trim Santa. Spotted hard at work at Granville Island.

 

 

Here’s a screen saver full of pics from around Vancouver taken over the last couple of weeks. It’s great if you’ve got a big monitor or two.
Native size is 1920 x 1277 but will resize to fit your monitor.

Unzip the file and run setup. It will self install and comes with some controls you can tweak if you’re so inclined.

Sorry, it’s Windows only 🙁

Download the .zip file here.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Nikon Canada has issued a recall on batteries for some of their high end digital cameras.

Says Nikon’s web site (the emphasis is mine):

It has come to our attention that some Rechargeable Li-ion Batteries EN-EL3 for Nikon digital-SLR cameras may, on rare occasions, overheat causing the battery to become deformed or, in the worse case, to catch fire.

That’ll get your attention.

I have 2 batteries for my camera. As luck (?) would have it, one was subject to recall, leaving me with another to keep me going.

Despite the inconvenience, I’m impressed with the way Nikon replaced my battery. Using the form on their web site, I sent my battery by courier leaving Vancouver on Dec 12th. Yesterday, Dec 19th, a brand new battery showed up on my door via courier.

Makes buying a high end camera with a battery that might ‘catch fire’ almost pleasurable.

So, congrats and Merry Christmas to Department 410 at Nikon in Mississauga.

Not all EN-EL3 batteries are affected, so check their web site for the complete range.

I see now that Nikon has issued a service advisory for a variety of their digital cameras, from the high end D2H to cheaper models. Great, Just what you need for Christmas. Again, check their web site for info.

Lotus Land is covered in a lovely blanket of white. Well, the higher parts of it anyway.

This was my North Vancouver backyard this afternoon.

Heavenly.

There’s something about spending the week working with bits that makes spending a weekend spent working with a power washer one little piece of heaven. Flame on.

A Chinatown alley, San Francisco.

This was my first trip back to San Francisco after leaving Radical. Their office on Berry St. in China Basin had since shut down when I came back in 2001 for the Webby Awards, CBC Radio 3’s first time nominated . I found the irony of this telco box in the high-tech mecca of North America too much to resist. From what I could tell it was still functioning, in spite of (or perhaps because of) a few sketchy looking splices.