Category: oddities

Inspirational

I found myself staring at the chopsticks (which we never use) that come with sushi from Tienda Inglesa, wondering what this message in Japanese might say. Something inspirational like

?

Bon appétit? Buen provecho? Happy sushi?

So I did the obvious (which nobody could do a few years ago) and ask ChatGPT (GPT stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer, but you knew that).

Me: What does this say in English?

ChatGPT: The Japanese characters in the image are written vertically and read as: おはし (ohashi). In English, this means: “Chopsticks.” Let me know if you’d like help with pronunciation or more context!

Uh, no. I’m good….

From days gone by

Looking towards what was an auto shop at the back of what was an Esso gas station, waiting my turn to get a trunk-full more of firewood because spring is not coming quickly enough, I had to admire the artistry of the wrought iron on the gate. No spikes threatening to lacerate anyone who tries to climb over. In fact, the spikes are curved like handles to aid in any attempt.

Another time….

Speaking of trees

This is not how you cut one down, regardless of whether you call it felling (eastern north North America) or falling (western north North America). In fact, I’m not even sure how they would accomplish this without a rope and a bit (or a lot) of luck. If you’ve ever used a chain saw, you’ve probably experienced the blade binding—not fun.

As a refresher, here’s how it’s done:

Out of curiosity, I spent one dog walk photographing stumps. I never realized how boring photographs of tress stumps are. So, you’re welcome. Anyway, it seems that perhaps as many as five percent of the trees cut were done by people who actually knew what they were doing.

(In my opinion.)