There’s thunder and lightning outside at the moment, and I can’t watch TV – taping Black Adder for Mimi – so it’s back to updating.
Spent some idle time last week building a juice can-powered trebuchet out of Lego bricks, of course, from the collection that I hauled back from Vancouver. The first prototype pictured on the right fires a clump of six 2×4 bricks a good two metres; Mark suggests with a proper rope sling and a complete follow through of the counterweight, I could double that distance.
Actually been fiddling with toys a lot lately, in an attempt to avoid general depression. So along with trying to rebuild all the various Lego kits acquired by both me and sisters over the years (filling in the missing bits via Brickbay), I’ve also recently started to buy Transformers, the new Robots in Disguise series. They’re kind of spiffy, or at least the Autobots are – the Predacons (not Decepticons, this time around) really suck. C’mon, a flying squirrel? A skunk?! Soundwave’s tape rollers must be spinning in his grave.
Last Saturday, I went rock climbing for the first time – put the new Berkeley Ironworks corporate membership to work and went for the introductory belay class. Turned out quite fun too, I was taught us how to put on the harness (the most troubling part, for me – couldn’t tell front from back for a while), tie myself to the toprope with a double figure-eight knot, and belay with a carabiner and ATC. I didn’t have much difficulty with the actual climbing or belaying, although there was one brief moment of terror where I was at the very top of the wall, about to descend, and I made the mistake of looking down – and it suddenly occured to me that I was both trusting in a knot I had just learned to tie ten minutes before, and trusting a complete stranger who had just learned to belay in half that time.
Nonetheless, I was hyped enough to go out and spend a couple of hours buying a harness at REI on Saturday. Now I just need a pair of shoes and a climbing partner. Anyone?
Yes, I was in Vancouver for a week at the beginning of the month – didn’t do much, and generally kept a low profile. Roz and David were in Vancouver for the first weekend, so we went out for good food (vegetarian Lebanese at Habibi’s – excellent), did a bit of hiking in Lynn Headwaters Park, and walked the dogs. After they went back to Summerland, not much was done, relatives and friends took me out for lunch or dinner and I reciprocated, spent a couple of nights out with high school and university friends – otherwise I did a lot of reading and relaxing.
12:28 AM: Why doesn’t this sort of thing happen to me (in reverse)?
