My photo

My photo disappeared from my profile...or maybe I removed it sometime? In any case, Blogger wants it to be a URL now... so, I need to post my new profile picture here.

Pictures of walls

Here's an interesting site I stumbled upon. It's just pictures of random statements, or maybe not so random, that people have made all over the world.

Some of them are quite funny. How many people thought the same thing, but just never took the time to put their comment up?

As much as people don't like graffiti of any sort, I do. I'd rather see some sort of political or social commentary or maybe even art rather than just tagging.

Getting Up: Half-Assed Review

By Alain Saffel

I am always on the hunt for old software. Rarely do I pick up a title brand new, unless I absolutely have to have it. You can also find some real gems that were never very popular. I made one of those discoveries recently.

I picked up a title called Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure. It’s a PC game about graffiti. It looks great, and I even loaded it up on my laptop, but my laptop isn’t up to the task of running this software. I haven’t loaded it on my desktop computer but I know the video card isn’t compatible. I need a 64 meg card that can do shading. Hmm. Have to invest in that.

No matter, that just gives me an excuse to upgrade. Right? Oh, I could just go the video card route, but the desktop is a few years old, and just might need to be seriously upgraded (read: new.)

I still look at all the trains passing by here, but really haven’t taken the time to get out take pictures, but I figured this would be one way to get my graffiti fix.

The game looks interesting because it’s not a first-person shooter; it’s a first-person painter. I’ll have to change my mindset to running away instead of standing up to foes. I know you do have access to a variety of weapons, but the focus of the game doesn’t seem to be on that.

Once I’ve upgraded my computer or video card, I’ll go a little more in depth about the game. I’m hoping it will be one of those games that will be so good I have to tear myself away from it, or risk divorce. Diablo was one of those games. I haven’t been gaming much, so it’s about time I get into something again. :)

I think it’s time to head out to the local computer store and see what they have for decent video cards…

Update: A few years later. I ended up getting a new computer and eventually put this in. It didn't work well at all. Avoid it!

High tech graffiti

I still have my eye out for trains with good graffiti on them. The traffic has been a little lean at the local railyard though. I actually haven't even been out this winter taking pictures. Maybe it's just the cabin fever.

I did spot something really cool with Stumbleupon tonight though. Laser graffiti. It's performance graffiti art. Check out the video.



I haven't had a chance to really look through the site, but eyebeam.org is the source of this cool video.

As for graffiti, I still have a load of photos I have to sort through to put up on the site. I know I'll get to it. :)

Another round

Graffiti near Pinnacle Pellet

I now have a huge backlog of great graffiti and I am going to post it all on here. I also have some really nice photos from some trips I've taken recently and I'll post some of that.

This set of graffiti was taken in Williams Lake near the Pinnacle Pellet plant. I've included a photo of it at the bottom of the post. While I was away at school recently, a guy I used to work with was actually killed there. He was hit by a train car they were loading (near the hopper above the track on the right.) Apparently the car wasn't secured properly and he tried to jump up and get the brake. I am not sure on the precise details, and I'm not sure I want to know.

I worked for CN back in my college days and got all the horror stories from the guys there. I took their advice, true stories or not.


This is one of my recent favourites. I love the colour.


Railyard danger

One of the stories (don't know if it's true or not) I was told was about a guy who had been crushed between the couplers that join the cars. I don't know how he managed it. Perhaps he was crossing between two uncoupled cars close together when an engine pushed them together? Anyway, he was still alive and his family was called. His wife rushed down to see her dying husband. When the cars were uncoupled, he died.

Another story I remember was a funny one. One of the guys told me when I was going to sit down on the job, to clean off my shovel, place it on the track and sit on the flat part of the shovel. There were two reasons for this: first, you didn't want to get your ass dirty so when your supervisor showed up, he'd see dirt on your ass and know you were sitting down on the job. The second reason prompted a story about a guy who just sat on the track, but sat on one of the slightly open joints between two rails. A train came along and the gap closed. (Apparently the weight of the engines pushes the track slightly.) Well, this guy was in a bit of trouble with the train coming at him and his pants caught in the gap between the rails. He was in a panic to get his pants off before he got hit by the train.

I don't know if it's a true story or if that actually happens, but it's a good story and that's all that matters.

I was warned about sitting on the track in the railyard. The cars often move silently and you might not notice the random car rolling towards you until it hit you or cut you in half. At least on the track away from the yard you're less likely to get the random car, but you never know.

More graffiti on the way!

It would seem as if I haven't been out taking any pictures of graffiti at all, but that would be wrong. I have. In fact, I was out yesterday doing it. I just haven't been posting them! I'm sorry. Truly I am, because there has been some great stuff.

Today I will put up some of the graffiti I've been capturing.