String, the curse of the kites.

 

No breeze; no worry. Throw the kite in the air and start running. The kite will soar. Of course, it will come down as soon as one stops running. That's the theory. Now, about this string . . . 

Signs of spring

Forget the first robin as the first sign of spring. Try the appearance of bikes and scooters replacing snow shovels and snow blowers. Tonight I took two of my granddaughters to the park. It was cold, it was windy but to them it was spring. Why? No snow.

New Ont. licence plate an urban fiasco

Shot in a dark corner of a parking lot.

The CBC, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, reports "Ontario's new licence plates (are) 'virtually unreadable' at night. . . . A lot of folks agree. I know. Many of my friends have complained about the new provincial plates.

And yet, when I went out to take pictures of the "unreadable" plates, all my images were rather clear. Flash, dark parking lot at night, bright parking lot at night: all pictures in all situations were legible.

I've worked at two newspapers and once was the organizer of an annual photojournalism seminar. I know all too well how newspapers love a good story. I wondered how many journalists  actually went out and inspected the plates in use.

I also wondered how many journalists contacted folk in other regions who have also had to deal with problem plates. And plates can be a problem and not just in Ontario.

The same plate shot with an on-camera flash.

Modern reflective materials can, in the right situation, reflect too much light. The strong resulting glare can obliterate the lettering on a licence plate.

I'm sure the plates have problems and I'm sure 3M is working on a solution. As much as I detest the present provincial government, I don't think they can be faulted.

The Globe and Mail reported, "OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique said that the OPP tested the new plates in three different lighting conditions with automated licence plate readers, which are used in Amber Alert child abduction cases. The provincial police force publicly declared last month that there were no visibility problems with the new blue-on-blue plates.

There's a story here but it is not the neat, clean one being reported in some newspapers and on television. As much as I dislike the Premier Doug Ford government, I think we can cut him some slack with this brouhaha. 

The last plates were not all the great either. You do recall the peeling paint issue, right? 


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1. Found on the Net: In some states, defective manufacturing of plates has been a problem. New York’s governor last year ordered that state’s DMV to replace peeling laminate on some older plates for free, when it became apparent that defective materials or workmanship was causing a rash of delaminations. A few years ago, Illinois recalled 1.1 million license plates because their reflective coating was bubbling and peeling.

2. One interesting claim I came across, but have been unable to substantiate, is that the new, flat licence plates are more environmentally friendly. The process requires the use of fewer nasty chemicals. Unfortunately, flat surfaces are more prone to glare, one of the problems that have done in the new Ontario plates.

Read more here: https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/transportation/back-seat-driver/article28724602.html#storylink=cp

Making good licence plates is tough

In the Canadian province of Ontario the present, and very unpopular, provincial government is recalling its recently redesigned licence plate and it is not the one shown. The one shown is the licence plate that the new design replaced. The paint often peeled from the old plate leaving it difficult to read.

The new plate is difficult to read too but especially at night. The reflective glare from the new plate can be so severe under certain circumstances that the reflected light renders the new plate totally unreadable. I'd run a picture except that in each picture I shot the plate was quite legible.

I'll keep trying.

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.