EclectEcon

Lockdown Photo #75

Trying to straighten some of the photos on our walls. Not always an easy task.

Previous Lockdown Photos can be seen here.

Lockdown Photo #74

We've been playing a LOT of cribbage during the lockdown(s). This was the end of a recent game. Ms. Eclectic, playing black, was the dealer. It turned out that no matter what card I started with, she'd have pegged out.

Previous Lockdown Photos can be seen here.

Lockdown Photo #73

A soft-boiled egg cracker.We ordered it from Amazon because it was highly rated and recommended as the best soft-boiled egg cracker on the market (I barely tolerate soft-boiled eggs, but Ms Eclectic enjoys them). When we got it, we couldn't figure out how it works. We actually had to YouTube it.

Simple. You set the big end at the bottom over the egg, lift the ball along the pole to a knob at the top, and let it drop. It cracks the egg nicely.

I ordered one for my nephew, who complained that it didn't remove the shell. It just cracks the shell in a nice, convenient circle.

I've seen other devices on AliExpress that do something similar.

 

Previous Lockdown Photos can be seen here.

 

Lockdown Photo #72

Inside a toy in which coloured oil drops down through clear oil of different viscosity and spins a wheel.

Previous Lockdown Photos can be seen here.

Lockdown Photo #71

A foot massage device. It’s actually a bunch of big wooden beads on a contraption you’re supposed to run your feet over to reduce stress and make your feet feel better. Actually though it’s become a kid’s toy when the great grands come to visit.

Previous Lockdown Photos can be seen here.

Lockdown Photo #70

Omega 3-6-9 gelcaps

Previous Lockdown Photos can be seen here.

Lockdown Photo #69

An intriguing metal sculpture I received as an award from the London One-Act Festival a few years ago.

Previous Lockdown Photos can be seen here.

 

Lockdown Photo #68

One of the best types of smartphone charging cables made. McDodo. I get mine from Ali Express and end up supplying friends and progeny.

Why do I like them so much?

1. The L-shape makes them last longer but the best part is that ...

2. They can be plugged into a USB charging block either way. No more trying one way, then the other, and back again.

 

 

Previous Lockdown Photos can be seen here.

Lockdown Photo #67

Blades for my razor.

Previous Lockdown Photos can be seen here.

Lockdown Photo(s) #66

Tulips!

A potted plant I brought home from a rare venture to a grocery store last week.

Previous Lockdown Photos can be seen here.

Lockdown Photo #65

An electric three-hole punch. When Ms. Eclectic bought it about thirty years ago, I was sneeringly critical. But over the years we have both loved having it, and I have apologized often. It's a great piece of office equipment.

Previous Lockdown Photos can be seen here.

Lockdown Photo #64

The shadows made on the ceiling by the lamps from the condo lawn shining through the window frame.

Previous Lockdown Photos can be seen here.

Lockdown Photo #63

Looking into an oximeter. This one was quite inexpensive from AliExpress.

Previous Lockdown Photos can be seen here.

Lockdown Photo #62

A sand timer. We used to use it when we played a word game called Perquacky. It's bigger than the timer that came with the game, but we use this one because I'm so slow at forming words with the letters.

Previous Lockdown Photos can be seen here.

Lockdown Photo #61

The upright pole of a very old adjustable floor lamp that used to be in my grandmother's living room.

Previous Lockdown Photos can be seen here.

Lockdown Photo #60

The flower in the centre of a small area rug.

Previous Lockdown Photos can be seen here.

Lockdown Photo #59

Looking into my Yamaha 668ND

 

It's a french horn, not a motorcycle. Nickel, with a Detachable screw bell. The lacquer was removed to improve/change the sound quality, so it looks pretty dull.

Previous Lockdown Photos can be seen here.

Lockdown Photo #58

During the Canada-wide cellular outage with Rogers a few days ago.

No bars, only grey dots.
A lockdown with no cellular service ... 
At least we still had wifi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Previous Lockdown Photos can be seen here.

 

Lockdown Photo #57

A really nice wooden box with "Maker's Mark" (a premium brand of bourbon) wood-burnt onto it in several places. I found it next to the recycling bins several years ago and couldn't let it go.

Previous Lockdown Photos can be seen here.

Lockdown Photo #56

My Hohner Echo Harp harmonica.

Previous Lockdown Photos can be seen here.

Lockdown Photo #55

An angled side view -- ish of the menu screen on the printer.

Previous Lockdown Photos can be seen here.

Lockdown Photo #54

Looking into an old conch shell.
I remember this shell sitting on the hearth of an electric fireplace at my grandmother’s house. It was fun listening to the sound of the ocean when I put it to my ear.

The way it’s broken at the tip, it’s possible to play it like a bugle or ram’s horn. Very loud!

Previous Lockdown Photos can be seen here.

Lockdown Photo #53

A water buffalo etched on an old fashion glass from Kenya. A very thoughtful gift from Kais.

Previous Lockdown Photos can be seen here.

Lockdown Photo(s) #52

Keyboards. Our electric piano, and a Melodica I bought in England on a whim over a decade ago.

Previous Lockdown Photos can be seen here.

Lockdown photo #51

Our electric corkscrew. I love the LED fuchsia-coloured light.

Previous Lockdown Photos can be seen here.

 

Lockdown Photo #50

Looking up, inside a silicone stand that I put my Apple Watch when it's being charged.

Previous Lockdown Photos can be seen here.

People Respond to Incentives, Marriage and Divorce Version

 From Foreign Policy (morning brief, April 23, 2021):

Taiwan’s marriage leave policy is under fresh scrutiny after a couple married four times (and divorced three times) to take roughly one month off work, the New York Times reports. Taiwan is one of the few countries to offer paid leave for marriages, a generous eight days, a fact the notorious (but so far unnamed) couple took advantage of by wedding four times between April 6 and May 12 of last year.

The case became more controversial after the groom’s employer, a bank, refused to grant further leave past the initial eight days, prompting the groom to file a complaint with the labor department. The company was fined $700 for violating the law, but the fine was revoked last week by the head of the department.

Lockdown Photo #49

Inside the Tassimo.

Previous Lockdown Photos can be seen here.

Lockdown Photo #48

Not sausages.

A closeup of a portion of the underside of the lid of a large wicker basket.

Previous Lockdown Photos can be seen here.

Lockdown Photo #47

Looking up into a chandelier fixture.

Previous Lockdown Photos can be seen here.