Geek get-together

Geeks are good at multi-tasking.

JL had designs on the blonde.

Food, friends and phones

The first Wednesday of every month the geeks of London rise up from their computers and migrate downtown to enjoy a good dinner, some draft beer and lots of conversation.

This month there was a new guest at the Geek Dinner, the new Apple iPad.

Next month there are two geek events: The monthly Geek Dinner and another PodCamp. If interested, click the link.

Cheers,
Rockinon

Addendum: When I worked at the paper I used to hear the term 'social networking'. I thought it was nothing more than another buzzword, full of whatever and signifying nothing. I'm an ag'iner and not believing in stuff comes easy and often my doubts are justified. Not here. Social networking is real. I was wrong.

By 8 a.m. I had about 60 hits. Now, it is not quite 2 p.m. and I'm at about 140 hits. It is clear from the locations from which these hits are coming and from what is being hit that the action is all be driven by this one post. You couldn't look for better evidence of social networking.

I'm uncomfortable with the term geek. Oh I know it is being used somewhat tongue in cheek here, but many of these folk are beyond geekdom, and I mean that in a good way. They all have lives outside of the computer world. If you could take away their cell phones and their notebooks (I wouldn't try.), you would still have a group of interesting people.

Primulas

Primula blooms

The first blooms of spring are beginning to brighten the land. I noticed these primula blooms hiding in the post winter wreckage of my wife flower garden. She doesn't read my blog so I'm safe.

Seven homes collapsed. Why?

A row of five unfinished homes collapsed in northeast London Saturday around dinner hour. Another two, several kilometres away, were also taken down by what were reportedly light winds. Why did these homes collapse?

Yes, seven homes were dropped to their knees by winds gusting to 67 km/h as measured at London International Airport. All were only partially built and thus were quite vulnerable, but vulnerable to what? All were two storey homes but after they collapsed it was mighty hard to tell.

One onlooker said, "It wasn't even that windy."

For the complete story and the answer to this puzzle, I have posted more information plus more pictures on Digital Journal.

Rabbits and chipmunks frequent my yard

Rabbits and chipmunks are common in my London, Ontario, subdivision.

If you have followed this blog at all, you know that rabbits, chipmunks, foxes, raccoons, skunks, groundhogs and other small animals frequent my yard. One winter there were deer tracks in the snow behind my home and one summer an armadillo was spotted. You might think that I live in the country, or almost, and you'd be right --- at least, for a few more short years. New subdivisions are going up and the day is coming when I will be deep in the urban landscape.

Winter is Over!

Warm weather brought thousands out to enjoy London's parks.

Warm enough to carry water

With the temperature climbing into the seventies on Good Friday in London, Ontario, Londoners in the thousands hit the parks: Some to walk, others to jog, or bike, or skateboard, but all to enjoy. Winter is over and these Canadians have come out to celebrate the spring.

London wasn't alone. People across the province, plus Quebec and Atlantic Canada, were all enjoying unseasonably warm temperatures. Forecasters were expecting warm weather records to fall in many places.

In London it's possible to walk from the north end of town, above the university, all the way to the southwest end of the city past Springbank Park using mainly walking paths along the Thames River. No one need battle traffic and congestion, unless you count other walkers, jogger, bikers and skateboarders.

Historic London

You'd never know from this picture but in London, Ontario, it is often down with the old and up with the new. In this picture, the castle-like building on the left is the former courthouse designed in 1827. On the right is the former jail which was added in 1842. The last hanging in London occurred on the grounds of the old jail.

Towering over both is a recently completed apartment tower. The bird sculpture featured recently hangs just above street level in one corner of this building.

It is believed that the courthouse was partially modelled after the ancestral home of Thomas Talbot's Malahide Castle, near Dublin, Ireland. In future London Daily Photo posts we will revisit these buildings and spend more time examining the old courthouse and jail. Both are worth a more extensive look.

Art Gallery

Museum London is now skinned with simple grey plates. Note chimney-like vent.

Officially it's Museum London but locally it's simply The Art Gallery. Located at The Forks of the Thames in downtown London, Ontario, the building itself is rather interesting, both to look at and to write about. First, the story which ran as an investigative news story when the local paper claimed the design is a rip-off of Louis Kahn’s Kimbell Art museum in Fort Worth, Texas. I don't think so. The Kahn building is an inspiration for the London's building. And, as any student of art can tell you, inspiration of this nature has a long and very proud history in the world of art. This is a non-issue.

Louis Kahn’s Kimbell Art museum is in Fort Worth, Texas.

Designed by Canadian architect Raymond Moriyama and built in 1980, Museum London was originally a deep rich blue, a colour almost demanded because of the gallery's location at the forks of the Thames. The original blue plates had a dynamic fan design filling each arch.

Unfortunately the metal plates rusted badly and a few years ago the blue skin disappeared to be replaced by the present grey panels. The dynamic fan shapes were replaced with rectangles. Some say this was done to save money. Supposedly, the fancy shapes came with a fancy price.

Inside, the lower level shallow pool has been removed. Rumour has it that a lady tumbled into the pool during the opening night celebration. Deemed a safety hazard, the pool was removed. Others say the pool was causing humidity problems in the gallery but I recall a similar pool in a large hall just past the entrance to the Detroit Institute of Art. It apparently caused no grief.

Note the original blue colour and fan shapes under arches.

And the unpainted, grey concrete walls are no longer unpainted and grey. Many have been sloppily painted white. Personally, I liked the unpainted walls but then I liked the original blue colour and the fan shapes at the top of the arches.

The vast majority of readers who have responded to this post, favoured the original Moriyama design over either the Fort Worth building or the modified London gallery.

Moriyama had it right.

Cheers!