Pictures of you

[eleanorigby]

You're not surly, old or even broad.

You look like you're very nice. Cute, too!

And those kids upthread are to die for--little kids are so great. Made my day to see them.

[Chacoguy]

Originally Posted by SurlyOldBroad

Edit: Chacoguy, is that your kid? Whoever that kid belongs to, can I squeeze him to death? Aaaahhh!

Grandson, Gweebos are OLD.

[Euryphaessa]

Originally Posted by Chacoguy

Grandson, Gweebos are OLD.

Nah, it's just you.

[Chacoguy]

[Uthrecht]

Originally Posted by SurlyOldBroad

There are not nearly enough MySpace angles in this thread!

So here I am, cell phone in hand, a low-res pic taken from a high angle, snapped from inside my bathroom. You're welcome.

You managed to hit all the technical aspects of the selfie. We'll wait for the judges to get back on your form.

Originally Posted by eleanorigby

You look like you're very nice. Cute, too!

Unexpected windfall of points from the E. Rigby judge!

[Metallic Squink]

Originally Posted by SurlyOldBroad

There are not nearly enough MySpace angles in this thread!

So here I am, cell phone in hand, a low-res pic taken from a high angle, snapped from inside my bathroom. You're welcome.



Edit: Chacoguy, is that your kid? Whoever that kid belongs to, can I squeeze him to death? Aaaahhh!

You are so pretty! What a great picture!

[McNutty]

Originally Posted by SurlyOldBroad

There are not nearly enough MySpace angles in this thread!

So here I am, cell phone in hand, a low-res pic taken from a high angle, snapped from inside my bathroom. You're welcome.

You're pretty cute for a mean old lady / surly old broad.

[mwm]

Originally Posted by PSXer

this is me hanging out with my friend Agamemnon

I see this and all I can think is, "Private Pyle, what is your major malfunction!?" Do you have a friend they call Joker?

[Carolia]

So I got new glasses. They're progressive lenses, which is short for "old people glasses that don't look like old people glasses." I'm kind of fond of them now, although they need to be adjusted so they stop sliding down my face.



Also, I have my very own stuffed sushi that I refuse to let the girl steal. He's mine!

[Chacoguy]

That's a really cute picture.

[Wolf Larsen]

Carolia, I showed Mrs. Larsen the first picture and asked who is that? She thought it was a picture of A, the daughter of some friends of ours. You two really look alike. We're going to A's wedding late this summer.

[bufftabby]

Obligatory new hair selfie:

[Peeking Duck]

You're beautiful, bufftabby! Your haircut really suits you.

[Swivels]

Very nice, bufftabby! I like the hair and the glasses.

Shockingly, I was out dancing this afternoon, while one of my friends had fun with my camera. I'd already spent 2.5 hours standing in the sun watching the Pride Parade, so I'm a touch red, but I still like the photo.


Dancing in the Street by jools_78, on Flickr

[Peeking Duck]

Great shot, Swivels!

[Scuba Ben]

Wonderful shot, Swivels! I presume you're the one being dipped. (Your partner has an excellent lunge -- it took me a long time to learn to lunge when executing a dip.)

[Zeener Diode]

Originally Posted by bufftabby

Obligatory new hair selfie:

Yowsah!

[Swivels]

Yes, I'm the one being dipped, and my partner for that shot definitely has good form. He's one of the few people I trust to get me that close to upside-down over pavement...they shut down some of the roads downtown on weekends over the summer, so we literally were dancing in the middle of the street.

[Stealth Potato]

This is me in the middle of a 100-mile bike ride in the mountains.



Not long after this photo was taken I somehow managed to drop my phone into that lake. Oh well, it's not like I had any reception out there anyway.

[Atalanta]

So how did you retrieve this picture? I am confused.

[Stealth Potato]

Originally Posted by Atalanta

So how did you retrieve this picture? I am confused.

I jumped in after it. The phone is basically hosed, but I managed to recover the data at least.

[bufftabby]

That lake is gorgeous. At least that's a more respectable way for your phone to drown than dropping it in the toilet.

[Chacoguy]

Are you wearing a holster?

[Zeener Diode]

Originally Posted by Chacoguy

Are you wearing a holster?

He's in training for the next Olympic event: cycle-by shooting.

[Atalanta]

Originally Posted by Stealth Potato

I jumped in after it. The phone is basically hosed, but I managed to recover the data at least.

I don't understand this at all. You went on a 100 mile ride with a camera phone and a knife. You took a picture of yourself in an area that had no signal. You then dropped your phone in a lake, jumped in after it, and retrieved the pictures off the device?

[Uthrecht]

It sounds like you understand it.

[Atalanta]

Originally Posted by Uthrecht

It sounds like you understand it.

If by "doesn't make any sense at all" means I understand it, then sure.

I spilled a glass of water over my phone, in my kitchen, with tools and towels and rice, and immediately tried to save it--it was a goner. I don't understand how submerging a device and then having a significant delay in attempting to save it is possible. I also don't understand how a phone, that has been submerged, then can have a salvageable memory card...if in the wild and away from emergency phone surgery supplies. Maybe that's what the knife is for.

[SmartAleq]

SD cards are a lot more sturdy than phone electronics. Plus, they're socketed inside the phone and it's a snug fit so it's more likely to resist water. Pulling stuff off a memory card is fairly easy if it's not physically borked.

[McNutty]

Originally Posted by Atalanta

I also don't understand how a phone, that has been submerged, then can have a salvageable memory card...if in the wild and away from emergency phone surgery supplies.

Basically, it's because SD cards are pretty simple devices. A chip or two and some contacts. Won't work if all wet, but I wouldn't be surprised if in a lot of cases, you could dunk one, let it dry out, and have it still work just fine long enough to read the contents, or even indefinitely.

Maybe that's what the knife is for.

You keep mentioning a knife. What knife?

[SmartAleq]

It does look like a sheathed knife hanging from his belt, with his hand over the hilt. Might be something else, but if I were out on a bike in the middle of nowhere I'd wanna have a good stout knife with me. Bears and especially resistant salami--you never know, man.

[KidVermicious]

WHAT ARE YOU PACKING, STEALTH POTATO? And what arcane and unholy powers did you use to retrieve that photo?

You're suspicious. I'm watching you.

[Chacoguy]

I've run compact flash cards through the wash and had 'em work just fine.

[Atalanta]

Originally Posted by McNutty

Basically, it's because SD cards are pretty simple devices. A chip or two and some contacts. Won't work if all wet, but I wouldn't be surprised if in a lot of cases, you could dunk one, let it dry out, and have it still work just fine long enough to read the contents, or even indefinitely.

You keep mentioning a knife. What knife?

Huh. I guess I just got unlucky. Like I said, I didn't understand it. And everything I have read about saving phones from water damage says time and keeping it stable are key to its resilience.

Also, looks like a knife stage left. I'm not sure I would have a knife on my thigh while mountain biking but hey what do I know?

[Stealth Potato]

Oh boy, looks like I got some 'splainin' to dooo.

bufftabby: What is a lake but a fish toilet? Food for thought.

Chacoguy, KidVermicious: Yup, the belt contains my two companions in the wilderness, a good 6" multi-purpose knife and my .45-caliber freedom launcher.

Originally Posted by Atalanta

If by "doesn't make any sense at all" means I understand it, then sure.

I spilled a glass of water over my phone, in my kitchen, with tools and towels and rice, and immediately tried to save it--it was a goner. I don't understand how submerging a device and then having a significant delay in attempting to save it is possible. I also don't understand how a phone, that has been submerged, then can have a salvageable memory card...if in the wild and away from emergency phone surgery supplies. Maybe that's what the knife is for.

As for the phone: basically, I dropped it while leaning over a ledge trying to get a cool picture of the water. There was actually a fairly strong current at this part of the lake; the water levels are low and one end seems to be draining into the other. The current caught the phone and carried it away a bit, but fortunately for me the water was very clear and the sediment at the bottom reasonably firm, so I managed to pluck it out within about sixty seconds.

The phone was still on when I pulled it out of the lake, but it abruptly shut off a few seconds later.

I'll mention that it's a Google Nexus 4, whose only storage is 16GB of hardwired onboard memory -- so popping out the SD card was not an option. It also can't be disassembled without tools, so I couldn't remove the battery to save the device either. So I wrapped it in a clean dry pair of socks and stuffed in my bag, hoping for the best.

I tried letting it sit in rice for a day, but it still wouldn't power on, so I had to resort to slightly more drastic measures. Basically I pried off the back of the thing, disconnected the battery cable, and submerged it in 99% isopropyl alcohol. After a bit of swishing, I blowdried it and let it sit for a while. When it no longer smelled of isopropanol I plugged the battery back in, plugged it into a charger, and after a few minutes of waiting and cursing, it booted up and I was able to transfer my photos and data.

Originally Posted by Atalanta

Also, looks like a knife stage left. I'm not sure I would have a knife on my thigh while mountain biking but hey what do I know?

Well, I wasn't mountain biking as such; just road biking through the mountains. There is at least asphalt, which is a good thing considering the grades -- one moment I'm struggling at 8 miles per hour, the next I'm going 48 miles per hour. And the knife is in a good sheath so hopefully I wouldn't stab myself in a wreck, but in a wreck at 48mph I expect the knife would be the least of my worries.

[Satellite^Guy]

That looks like it could potentially be bear country, or the habitat for something else that could mistake a stealth potato for a tasty treat. I'd definitely want at least a knife for protection. Possibly a samurai sword.

[Stealth Potato]

Originally Posted by Satellite^Guy

That looks like it could potentially be bear country, or the habitat for something else that could mistake a stealth potato for a tasty treat. I'd definitely want at least a knife for protection. Possibly a samurai sword.

Yeah, it definitely could be bear country, which is why I carry the .45, too. Although to be honest, if I ran into, say, a mama grizzly, .45 probably wouldn't do much besides give her something to be annoyed about while she picked her teeth with my femur.

[jayjay]

I'd just like to note that, in those shorts, your potatoes are NOT stealth...

[Stealth Potato]

Originally Posted by jayjay

I'd just like to note that, in those shorts, your potatoes are NOT stealth...

[eleanorigby]

I don't care about the knife, the gun or the camera. I'm just admiring the scenery.


<turning into creepy cougar-type person>

Love your new hair, bufty. And I think that pic should be your new avatar, swivels! Great shot, full of energy and life and joy.

[KidVermicious]

Oh, he's one of those wimpy roadies. No wonder he carries a gun.

[Chacoguy]

Originally Posted by KidVermicious

Oh, he's one of those wimpy roadies. No wonder he carries a gun.

As opposed to a weapon?

[Stealth Potato]

Originally Posted by KidVermicious

Oh, he's one of those wimpy roadies. No wonder he carries a gun.

Hey, you try covering a hundred hilly road miles in six hours on those big fat knobbly mountain tires and wasteful suspension. You'll need a gun to put your legs out of their misery!

[Chacoguy]

Kid V? Maybe, Jeff? Not so much.

[Jeff]

I eat mileage for breakfast and wash it down with gravel and bear spray.

TRUE STORY.

[Chacoguy]

All BS aside, Jeff can walk you into the ground. He's very polite and gracious as you lay there panting.

[sturmhauke]

Are you saying those fat shins have an actual purpose?!

[Wolf Larsen]

Shock absorbers.

[Jaglavak]

Originally Posted by Stealth Potato

Yeah, it definitely could be bear country, which is why I carry the .45, too.

So, do you get any hassle for the open carry?

[Stealth Potato]

Originally Posted by Jaglavak

So, do you get any hassle for the open carry?

Out in the middle of nowhere? Not hardly. It's rare enough that I even see other people out there, aside from the occasional passing car on the highway. In the few towns I stop in at, nobody seems to notice or think it unusual.

[Dragon]

I'm bored....