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Monday, April 16, 2007

Monday, Monday...

Another cold and rainy start to the week here at Foggygates- I think I'm beginning to notice a trend.

In fact, it's so rainy here in New England that all the Patriot's Day celebrations and activities have been called off- all the parades in Concord and Arlington and the other towns, the re-enactment of the embattled farmers standing up against the British troops at Lexington Green -everything. About the only Patriot's Day acitvity going on is the Boston Marathon, and I understand that they are offering free snorkel equipment to the runners.

But even as the rain continues and I keep checking the basement for flooding, I'm reminded that there are worse ways to start the week...

I could, for example, be a human traffic light-


10 comments:

Joey Polanski said...

A lot o these "Monday Monday" pitchrs seem like they might be good cannidates for th Revrend Anaglyphs Unusual Thing.

Forrest Proper said...

Joey- true enough, although I was also thinking that they might well be examples of the hard work of some of the undergraduates in the vocational division of Polaski University.

Mike said...

Oh God, basement flooding. I have had a lifetime of that. Basement flooding is the only reason I am glad to be living in Utah.

Forrest Proper said...

Mike- do you even have basements in Utah?

Mike said...

Colonel--Well I personally don't but they do have them. They don't have flooding problems because they don't have water.

Forrest Proper said...

Mike- then they lack imagination. There's all sorts of other things you can flood a cellar with...

Anonymous said...

Call me an uber-geek, but I actually know what the gentleman in the picture is really doing.

Well, it is in my professional field I guess.

Forrest Proper said...

Reverend- I'm all ears (and blinking lights)...

Anonymous said...

Well, they're not actually lights, but big 'ear trumpets' as I guess you know.

By spreading the listening points of his ears apart several feet, the chap in the natty uniform is in effect 'widening' his stereo field and enhancing his listening acuity; that is, his ability to pinpoint a sound source.

He is doing this because he is, most likely, listening for either plane or boat engines. I would normally be inclinded to say planes, but his uniform looks too early for that, so maybe boats. Or horses, I guess.

I would bet money that he is some kind of military spotter. Devices like this were used on a larger scale in both the First and Second World Wars to pick out the sound and direction of enemy planes.

Hey, in fact, I just did a search and there is a lot of stuff here, including your picture.

Forrest Proper said...

Reverend- well, I'll be damned! Of course, now I can see the tubes go to his ears. I'd just assumed they'd plugged the thing into his brain for electricity.

Many thanks!!