Aurora Borealis

Intense Red Section near Zenith
(Images enhanced in gimp)

Aurora Borealis, IS0 6400

Randi in Montreal, September 29, 2011

Randi spoke at the Centre St-Pierre in downtown Montreal - a secular community centre founded by the Oblates in a former Catholic school. Sign that you are in downtown Montreal: Audience members said "Tabernacle!" when he did the levitating matchbook trick.

Randi cannot be photographed. When wearing his Borsalino hat. 

He'd been making jokes about not appearing on photographs like a vampire during the post talk autograph/photo session. He'd also flirted with girls who wanted to get their pictures with him, even though he's been out of the closet for a while! 

I'd unintentionally set the camera to a slow exposure! I complemented him on his hat, which is the same brand as Pierre-Elliot Trudeau used to wear. He brightened up immediately at the mention of Trudeau's name. "A wonderful prime minister! Great man" he said.

With flash and the famous flying pig pin.

 

One version of the dowsing device that doesn't work at all. Randi said that similar devices have been used in Afghanistan to detect explosives, with fatal results. 

http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/231-a-direct-specific-challenge-from-james-randi-and-the-jref.html

An interesting report on these specific models 

Friends for Life Bike Rally

Support Person Brian Lawrence hands out refreshments at Friends for Life Toronto-Montreal Rally (660km) - about 300 riders!

http://www.bikerally.org/

For All Your Paranormal Needs

PERSONAL SENSES PARANORMAL SOCIETY of  Prescott, Ontario at 146 King Street West. I went in - they were friendly. The office used to be a travel agent and had really old cabinets built into the wall.

Poster warning of non-working traffic lights, Tokyo area, after earthquake

This is a poster designed by someone who works at a university in Tokyo! I helped a very little! Sleeping things just have a empty bubble in Japanese comics, instead of the ZZZZs we use. Since power cuts are going to continue in the eastern region of the main island of Honshu for the foreseeable future, the traffic lights might not be working. Artist: Yuki Nishimiya

Just Rusty

1944 Nickel

I found this in my change! It's an 1944 nickel - these were made of steel plated with chrome in order to save copper and nickel for the war. The 'V' is for victory, and I guess the torch is  a reference to the torch in "In Flanders Field". The chrome wore off easily and the steel quickly rusted. Around the rim of the reverse of the coin there are tiny Morse code dots and dashes that say "We Win When We Work Willingly". The Morse code for the letter "V" was used in allied propaganda broadcasts - the first four notes of Beethoven's 5th Symphony - Duh Duh Duh Daah - is V. It was used in Norman McLaren's "V for Victory" in 1941.

I can see a murder suspect's videos!

Jared Lee Loughner's Youtube videos have only gotten a few hundred views as of 7.19 pm EST.... rambling incoherent things. In the old days, as a reporter the best I'd get was "He was real quiet" but now we've got their rantings posted all over the place.  I'd watch them but my cat is tapping my shoulder and wants to go play.

"The sound of gunfire, off in the distance, I'm getting used to it now" Talking Head 2011

On the Seaway there is a section between Quebec, Ontario and New York State called 'Smugglers' Alley' - lots of heavily armed smugglers operate there - this is the sound of .30 or .50 calibre machine guns firing to welcome in the New Year - the lights you see are not muzzle flashes, just navigation buoys. There were times in the early 90s where you'd here this all the time, but now I only hear it on New Year's.