Elvis is timeless

Elvis is timeless. Born in 1935, he was one of the first southern rock and roll artists, he died in 1977. He was only 42. He has now been dead almost the same length of time that he was alive. Yet even my oh-so-young granddaughters recognize a statue or picture of Elvis.

It's hard to find a young person who would recognize Marc Bolan of T. Rex who died in the same year. Or a young person who could identify Ronnie Van Zant of ‎Lynyrd Skynyrd fame who died when the group's plane crashed. But Elvis is recognizable worldwide.

The music of T. Rex and especially that of Lynyrd Skynyrd carries on. Skynyrd's Sweet Home Alabama still gets lots of airplay. But most of the Elvis Presley songbook is forgotten. Presley was reduced to playing his oldies but goodies while he was still alive. There were never many requests for the songs featured in his movies. songs like "Queenie Wahine's Papaya."

No, it is Elvis himself who carries on. Elvis was truly memorable. He had a remarkable presence.

Angel's Diner in Guelph

My wife and I had to travel an hour east of London to Guelph. While there we stopped for lunch at Angel's Diner. It's a restaurant that brings back memories of the '50s and an era before the advent of the chain restaurants.

It may invoke those memories but in truth Angel's is a small, southwestern Ontario chain. I didn't know this until I got home and went online for more info on the place. I was surprised. I'll have to surprise my wife and take her to Angel's Diner in London.

Wheel rims: creativity on display

When I was a boy, rims similar to this were called mags and often made in the Detroit area where I lived.

Mags are light weight, strong, spoked wheels made from a magnesium alloy. They were expensive and high maintenance.

An aftermarket item, young men quickly discovered that new rims and tires were a quick way to modify a car. To save money, the new rims were often cast rather than forged.

Today, snow tires are the only tires regularly mounted on traditional steel rims. Disgustingly plebian, all too often these winter-use rims are left naked, no wheel covers.

As spring arrives, pay attention and you will notice literally dozens and dozens of different alloy wheel rim designs being remounted for warm weather use. I'm absolutely amazed at the number of different designs. New cars come with alloy wheels and ever make, every model, carries its own unique design.

I believe coming up with a new look is getting tough. The other day I saw an expensive SUV with horrible looking alloy rims. In a word, they were "ugly." But I digress. The point of this post is that the great creativity of the human race is on display in the myriad number of alloy rim designs with each striving to be unique.

Boler Bears at the Byron ski hill

 

Two Boler Bears made an appearance Saturday at the Byron neighbourhood ski hill much to the delight of the young children at the hill with their parents.

Homework posted online

There's a debate surrounding the idea of using home computers for teaching young students in Ontario. Those favouring computers may be winning. My ten-year-old granddaughter does math homework that is posted online.

With teachers throughout the province presently engaging in rotating strikes, the online course material is drawing even more attention than usual. Some of the teachers clearly feel threatened by the growing practice.

Dreamland: A Virtual Reality Arena

The large photo of young woman boxer overlaid with geometric shapes piqued my interest. What exactly was in the building behind the poster? A sign, it looked like it could be the name of the business, said Dreamland VR.

VR? Virtual reality? What exactly is virtual reality boxing? There was nothing on the exterior of the building that made it any clearer. Clearly, I was attempting to venture into a world totally unfamiliar to an old geezer like me.


When I got home, I hit the Web. I found the Dreamland VR site. There I read the boast that it was a 2400 sq. ft., 8 player, wireless arena, the largest in Canada offering full body tracking and 4D effects. The boast was lost on me. I was no closer to understanding what went on behind the Dreamland VR walls.



In just a few days it is spring break. I'm going to have three granddaughters to entertain plus a great niece. I have some stuff planned. Traditional stuff that we have done in the past and I know the little girls are looking forward to doing again. But this VR place has me curious. I'm going back to learn more first hand. If I take the little girls, I  may have more to say about London's state-of-art VR arena.

Caution: Rudolph Crossing

I call it the Rudolph crossing. Someone stuck a red dot on the end of the deer's nose on the yellow warning sign warning motorists that deer may be encountered crossing the road in this area.

The kids think the sign is funny. I think it is visually witty. And the traffic department doesn't seem to care as the red sticker had been stuck to the sign for ages.