The Toyota Tao of Pooh

Comfort in a parking lot far from home
Laval, QC
August 2016
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I'm not a bumper sticker person, so I don't understand why anyone would muck up the paint on their car so they can serve up free advertising for multi-billion-dollar global conglomerates.

But on occasion, I'll come across a vehicle that makes me smile. And given my weakness for all things Winnie the Pooh, it was destiny that I'd eventually cross paths with this particular Toyota Yaris.

Whoever owned the car must have been a hardcore A. A. Milne fan, because a stuffed Pooh was sitting proudly in the middle of the back seat. Mad respect.

I share it now because it brought happiness to me when I first saw it on a warm afternoon just north of Montreal 3-and-a-half years ago. And it brings me happiness now that the world feels a lot colder.

Indeed, it may yet be a figuratively blustery day in the 100 Acre Wood, but as long as you're surrounded - really, virtually, or some combination thereof - by those who bring you joy, you'll have everything you need to get through the storm.

Thanks Pooh. And thanks to the stranger who made this moment happen.

#chomedey #laval #montreal #quebec #canada #throwback #winniethepooh #red #toyota #yaris #random #street #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #blackberry #passport #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Dog wrap

Pictures again?
London, ON
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Y'all seem to be enjoying the dog pics. I'm not sure Calli is on-board, but I'm not giving her much choice here. More on the way, k?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #calli #callitheschnauzer #dog #dogs #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #actofdog #covid19 #coronavirus #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Empty roads late at night

Don't stand here
London, ON
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Wonderland Road North, Sunday, 10:44 p.m.

The streets are, to no one's surprise, empty. Most folks - outside of the essential heroes keeping us healthy, fed, and serviced - have anywhere to go, so what would normally be a heavily trafficked arterial road is now an overly wide stretch of empty asphalt. It's more than a little sad to see.

But what looks like sadness to some presents as opportunity to others. And I think to myself, "Myself, when is it going to be this abandoned again?"

Which explains how I came to be wandering around the lanes late at night taking photos of this surreal scene that could have been lifted straight out of Will Smith's I Am Legend. Not exactly the smartest move, but I'll call it a reasonable risk worth taking. Because I feel an overwhelming need to remember what this extraordinary period in human history both looks and feels like, and sometimes that storytelling involves doing things a little differently.

That word: Storytelling. Make sure you tell your story through all of this, in any way that makes sense to you. When all else is stripped away, this is what we're left with.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #socialdistancing #random #urban #suburban #street #wonderland #road #night #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

No humping

Swept away
London, ON
March 2017
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Be careful when you take pictures of rail yards.

Why?

Because train cops are a thing (who knew?) Moreover, some of them track social media. And sometimes they call your employer and accuse you of trespassing.

For the record, I was being a good boy here. I stood on a public sidewalk, and used my longish lens to reach into the railyard and capture this gloomy scene on a foggy morning.

Once I explained this to my new train cop friend, he agreed I didn't deserve to be tossed into the choo-choo pokey. And I had a new story to add to my growing list.

If only all adventures could be this trivial. If only this represented our biggest worry when heading out to share stories from the world around us.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #train #rail #throwback #weather #wx #fog #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #dslr #zoom #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Dog burrito time

The best place for a nap
London, ON
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

When the world feels a bit like a disturbed snow globe, it never hurts to wrap your puppy up like a burrito and gently rock her to sleep.

Calli the Wonderschnauzer is usually a bit more, um, high-strung than she is here. But Dahlia, like all our kids, has a certain soft touch with this otherwise bouncy dog. And Calli happily goes into chill mode whenever her big human sister wants to spend some quality time together.

It's a reminder that everything around us has something of a silver lining. We may not have the freedom of movement and gathering that we normally enjoy. We may think the overwhelming sense of uncertainty and loss of control represent the sum total of our current situation

We may want to rethink that narrative.

There's a flip side to all of this, and it revolves around time; specifically the ample amounts of it that we've been gifted. To just be. With the people - and sometimes animals - who make us whole.

I hope, as we stare out from our isolated windows and wonder what comes next, we're able to recognize the blessing among the fear.

It's there. Trust the burrito-wrapped dog and our very perceptive daughter.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #calli #callitheschnauzer #dog #dogs #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #actofdog #covid19 #coronavirus #photography #parenthood #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Little man amid the waves

Tentative
Delray Beach, FL
December 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

On a late December afternoon, I stood on the #DelrayBeach sand and did nothing more than watch our son walk into the surf.

The weather refused to cooperate, and eventually the rains forced everyone to scatter.

By any definition, not the best beach day.

But here's the thing: Definitions don't always tell the full story.

First, it was a cool-ish, windy day to begin with, so the place wasn't as crowded as it would usually be at this time of year. That's a bonus for me, because I hated crowds long before COVID-19 made it socially acceptable.

Second, the winds were epic, which resulted in delightfully strong waves. Understandably dangerous for swimming, but a sensory treat for anyone whose idea of fun is to stand there and drink it in. Like me.

Third, the approaching rains made for an entertaining sky, including the eventual appearance of a rainbow on the horizon (photo for another day, I promise.)

In other words, it wasn't the experience most folks would associate with the so-called Perfect Beach Day ideal. But we can't live life waiting for ideals to present themselves. I'd rather make do with whatever we get, whenever we get it.

This is what we got. And by its own definition, it was a uniquely wonderful day that we won't soon forget.

Given where the planet finds itself today, memories like this one take on even more importance. Hold onto them tightly.

#delray #beach #florida #fla #road #trip #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #vacation #explore #waves #atlantic #ocean #water #texture #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Lighting up those boxes in the sky

Order from light
London, ON
March 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

When the setting sun decides to dance across the facade of a nearby apartment building, we have a choice.

Look up. Or look away.

I'll always look up. Because I'd hate to miss a good show.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #architecture #architecturephotography #design #texture #shadow #sun #downtown #building #photography #Nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography #dslr #zoom #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

She sleeps

Ignorance is bliss
London, ON
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Little dog. Big bed. Even bigger dreams.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #calli #callitheschnauzer #dog #dogs #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #actofdog #covid19 #coronavirus #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everythıng

Seeing signs, everywhere

Just look down
London, ON
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I'm seeing signs like this - inspirational, poignant, kind - pop up all over my #LdnONT neighborhood, and I'm going to guess it's happening near you, as well.

I'll share more of them in my feed here, and I hope you'll do the same.

In the meantime, I'm going to try to follow this specific sign's advice. Because we all need more reasons to smile, even if those reasons aren't always immediately apparent.

#london #ontario #canada #chalk #circle #message #socialdistancing #random #suburban #street #photography #coronavirus #covid19 #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Tread carefully

Painted by the sun
London, ON
February 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

We're blessed to work in a building that offers up architectural wonder around every corner. All we have to do is keep our eyes open - and our spirits willing.

Since we're all working from home, the sights will have to wait for a while. As will the in-person moments of warmth that no videoconferencing platform can ever hope to replicate. Technology can only do so much.

Yet as I poke through my recent photo archives, I keep coming across snippets here and there, quickly captured scenes of a building that's become much more than a mere office to many of us.

Maybe I subconsciously knew something was up. Perhaps I suspected, deep down, that we wouldn't be able to take walkarounds like this for granted.

Whatever compelled me to shoot this scene of the main staircase, looking back in time at a simple moment during a simple workday reminds me we're still ridiculously lucky to be who we are, where we are, with what we have.

Soon enough we'll get back to this staircase, and our colleagues, and our lives. It grieves me how many among us can't say the same.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #345ridout #infotechrg #itrg #historic #architecture #architecturephotography #design #texture #shadow #sun #downtown #office #building #stilllife #monochrome #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

A random toilet by the roadside

Not sure what to make of this
London, ON
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

[Insert cheeky sign-of-the-times comment here.]

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #calli #callitheachnauzer #dog #dogs #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #actofdog #covid19 #coronavirus #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everythıng

A frightening crowd of people

Before anyone knew better
London, ON
January 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

This photo makes me cringe.

I took it January 26th - which may as well have been a lifetime ago. My wife surprised me with two tickets to the London Knights game, so off we went to Budweiser Gardens with around 9,000 of our closest friends to take in some admittedly awesome minor-league hockey.

If you've never been, add it to your list of things to do when this entire mess is over. The tickets are cheap, the hockey is remarkably high-caliber, and the feeling is one of community. This is what the game should be all about.

As I often do when I'm out and about, I brought the camera, and I stole a few frames in between watching the good guys win.

Looking through my typically 20-20 lens of hindsight, I’m struck by how the sight of crowds now makes me feel. Knowing what we know now, I wonder how we’ll ever go back to being comfortable among knots of people again. Disclosure: I never liked crowds to begin with.

That’s a thought for another today, though. For now, it’s enough to remember a simpler night in a simpler time, when our biggest worry was who would put more pucks in a net before time ran out.

What we wouldn’t give to go back.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #knights #hockey #sports #night #datenight #budweisergardens #downtown #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #canon #canon_photography #canonphotography #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Bloody hell

Oops
London, ON
March 2017
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Sorry for the jarring photo. Sometimes the optimal path is the unconventional one.

I took this three years ago, and while it looks like the aftermath of a bar fight, I assure you I'm not a bar person, and I don't get into fights. Well, unless testy Twitter exchanges with trolls count. Which they don't.

It was a nosebleed. I don't get many of them, but when I do, they're spectacular. So, weirdo-photog that I was - and presumably still am - it needed a random photo.

I forgot the pic almost as soon as I took it, one of those artifacts of the smartphone-photography-digital age that barely registers as a conscious memory before it fades into the dusty corners of an ever-growing archive. We've all got 'em.

But thanks to the magic of Google Photos, it surfaced once again this morning as part of those On-This-Day reminders that now appear helpfully at the top of our feed. Technology being what it is, forced memories have become a thing whether we want them or not.

We'll call this one a want, though, because on this particular morning 3 years after I took bizarro photo, I needed a reminder that some days suck more than others. And someone else always has it worse off than we do.

I'm thankful today didn't start with a nosebleed. I'm even more thankful that I have what I have at a time when so many do not.

Sometimes it takes a freaky old photo to remind us what matters most.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #throwback #blood #bloody #nose #nosebleed #red #white #ohcanada #stilllife #blackberry #priv #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Cutting costs from my kitchen

We've been super-busy at Info-Tech Research Group pulling together the research you need to navigate this #pandemic.

Our latest #InfoTechBrief video - from my ad hoc kitchen studio - zeroes in on #CostCutting, and why you can't afford to put it off.

Watch the video on our YouTube channel here.

What else do you want to know about? Let us know!

#covid19 #coronavirus #it #budget #planning #research #video

Related entries:

• Info-Tech Research Group YouTube Channel
• Video - Child/Dependent Care Best Practices

One tired puppy

Nap time
London, ON
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Talk to the paw, please. All this social distancing and sheltering in place and being surrounded 24/7 by my humans is tiring me out.

Still, I'd have it no other way. They're good peeps. And they give me treats.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #calli #callitheachnauzer #dog #dogs #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #actofdog #covid19 #coronavirus #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Losing Henrietta in an empty parking lot

Don't park so close to me
London, ON
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

This is what social distancing looks like when it's practised in a grocery store parking lot.

Mind you, this is how I usually park, miles away from others, often so far away from where we're going that it may as well be in another zip code.

At least now I have a legit excuse.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #socialdistancing #retail #apocalypse #random #suburban #street #photography #honda #civic #civicnation #car #carporn #cargram #automotive #red #color #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Pigeons before the storm

When gathering was still a thing
London, ON
February 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

A lot can change in a few short weeks.

I shot this on Clarence Street on February 26th, an otherwise ordinary day on an ordinary lunch hour on an ordinary #LdnONT downtown sidewalk. I had been deliberately heading out for midday walks with nothing more than a smartphone, part of my plan to sharpen my street photography skills.

The pigeons struck me as amusing - and surprisingly unafraid as I crouched down and composed from a number of angles. I got the usual stares from the humans around me, but for some reason the birds weren't bothered at all.

The lesson from this, I think, is this: Be more like birds. Just not now. Maybe after all this is over.

In the meantime, I think more walks are called for. I expect them to be a lot emptier than the scene you see here.

But I'll bring the smartphone. Just in case my newfound feathered friends decide to make another appearance.

#london #ontario #canada #519london #519ldn #519shooters #random #urban #downtown #clarence #street #random #walkabout #pigeon #bird #birds #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #google #pixel2 #teampixel #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Staring into the silent abyss

I wonder where this path will lead us
London, ON
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Calli the Wonderschnauzer and I took a new route this morning. I figured as long as the neighborhood looks and feels like a ghost town, we should take advantage of it by going places we haven't gone recently. If at all.

As we stood in this spot overlooking a valley that seemed frozen in time, I deliberately let her graze for a while as I listened to the soundtrack around us.

It was different.

Instead of the relentless white noise of traffic, the wind whispered through the bare trees. I could make out the sounds of individual birds. With my eyes closed, I could almost visualize where each one came from in the invisible 360-degree circle that now surrounded us. It was quite the soundtrack.

Normally I watch the clock when we're outside. Places to go and people to see and all that. But there's nowhere to go these days, and I'm reasonably certain a few extra minutes out in the clear cold perfection of a near-silent Sunday morning is good for both of us.

Nobody wants any of this, especially the creeping sense of uncertainty that now marks every random interaction with a stranger outside the safety of home.

But like any major life circumstance, that's well beyond our control, so there's no sense expending any energy on it.

The in-between moments like this one, where we find the wonder in a new-to-us spot on a perfectly turned out morning? That's another story entirely, and my wish today is for you to find - and share - a similar moment, as well.

They're out there. We just have to go out and find them.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #calli #callitheachnauzer #dog #dogs #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #actofdog #covid19 #coronavirus #photography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Everybody needs more cowbell

Happy sounds
London, ON
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

"Guess what? I got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell."
Christopher Walken (as Bruce Dickinson)
Saturday Night Live, April 2000

As you can see here, we have a cowbell. My late in-laws inexplicably bought it on a visit to The Alamo when my wife was a munchkin. And as we were cleaning things out of their condo, this kitschy old brown bell somehow made it into one of the boxes we carted back to London.

Just as inexplicably, this cowbell showed up on the dining room table as I set up my very ad hoc COVID-19-safe home office earlier this week. It's been sitting on my laptop ever since.

Periodically, and much to my limitlessly patient wife's chagrin, I'll pick it up and ring it. I'm not sure what motivates me to do so. But deep in my convoluted brain, there's a synaptic flash from decades ago, when my in-laws were perhaps younger than I am now. I imagine my father-in-law finding the cowbell and giving it a ring with an understated grin on his face. And I imagine my MIL shaking her head in mock annoyance. Or maybe it's real annoyance. It almost doesn't matter.

What does indeed matter is that a ridiculous piece of family history makes me - and occasionally our kids - smile at a time when we could all use more excuses to do so. I wish I could go back in time and thank them both for planting the seed for a future moment of brightness.

Whatever "stuff" you may have floating around the house, I hope you'll find something and think, hard, about the stories it could tell. I promise you it'll make you feel better.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #cowbell #bell #snl #stilllife #home #office #covid19 #coronavirus #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Where I dream of challah

Just add honey
London, ON
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Challah. Aka egg bread. Aka the most comforting bread on the planet.

My wife, bless her, made this loaf today, and I couldn't resist a tiny peek after she took it out of the oven to let it cool.

Challah is a central pillar of Jewish culinary tradition. It's part of the Kiddush service that ushers the Sabbath in on Friday night, and it's just as integral to just about every other holiday and celebration.

Jews like to eat. Food often seems to both shape and dominate our day-to-day life. And challah is almost always a part of the process. Growing up, challah was a touchstone of the week, something we looked forward to, as it marked the beginning of a very special couple of days.

Now I'm all grown up, and the world feels like a much harsher place. So on a cold, grey, windy afternoon when global and local life seemed to be spinning off its axis, it was this seemingly simple loaf that pulled me back in and reconnected me with a very powerful and comforting memory.

I hope you find whatever it is that brings you comfort. And when all this is over, there will always be extra challah in our kitchen, where friends will always be welcome to drop in and share.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #challah #egg #bread #food #eat #jewish #judaism #stilllife #home #covid19 #coronavirus #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything