scruss
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scruss.bsky.social
scruss
@scruss.bsky.social
290 followers 270 following 2.3K posts
aka Stewart Russell: hairy old Scottish nerdy git living in Toronto
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scruss.bsky.social
It's icy puddle time down at the lake!
#winter #toronto
November 19, 2025 at 2:05 PM
scruss.bsky.social
five bars for the five boroughs
Text "Free Wifi for New York City", in the style of the Zohran poster
November 12, 2025 at 7:09 PM
scruss.bsky.social
@bustedsneakers.bsky.social thanks to your mention of Wendy A. Woloson's book "Crap" the other week, I will forever have this image of a fake barf production line stuck in my head
Image of a factory production table with a regularly spaced array of fake barf dolloped on it. Image caption is "Figure 11.19. Tossing cookies at the H. Fishlove plastic vomit factory. Courtesy Stan and Mardi Timm"
November 11, 2025 at 8:08 PM
scruss.bsky.social
probably not my best idea
November 8, 2025 at 10:04 PM
scruss.bsky.social
First semi-coherent image out of the Raspberry Pi Pinhole Camera. Yes, I need to clean the sensor ...
blurry image of a model of a white goose with a yellow bill. Behind it is a white box with a barcode on top of a piece of equipment that the name ELENCO can sort-of be made out on
November 7, 2025 at 2:58 AM
scruss.bsky.social
welp, glass-clear acrylic varnish doesn't make a very good camera lens
a smeary, blurry rainbow mess of a picture. Nothing is discerned
November 7, 2025 at 12:25 AM
scruss.bsky.social
If you get a chance to see the Beta Band while they're on tour, *go*. They were fantastic at the Danforth Music Hall last night.
A smoke filled music stage with four men playing. The bass player is seated at left, the singer/guitarist near the centre, the drummer is seated playing large congas at the front, and the keyboard/turntable player is at right. Behind them is a projection screen showing a corgi dog romping through long grass
October 26, 2025 at 3:32 PM
scruss.bsky.social
State of the art high speed (up to 100 wpm) radio transcription tech - from Weinberger, J. (1922). The recording of high speed signals in radio telegraphy. Proceedings of the Institute of Radio Engineers, 10(3), 176-207.
wiggly traces from a morse code ink recorder with the corresponding characters underneath. Test transmissions show up to 100 words per minute, and actual transatlantic receptions at 40 wpm
October 24, 2025 at 8:22 PM
scruss.bsky.social
well, yeah, that too. This below was my original choice, but I think it would have got too many "Are you okay?" responses for me to handle
a predominantly brown oil painting in a light wood frame The subject of the painting is an indistinct figure, possibly female, who is lying face down with her head on a pillow or possibly a curbstone. Her hand is also lying on the same raised structure. She is in abject despair The painting is by Matthijs Maris, English title "Grief" (c. 1887) and is in the Burrell Collection in Glasgow
October 24, 2025 at 1:02 PM
scruss.bsky.social
What's it like inside your head?
abstract frieze composed of an orange line and a brown line that loop in the middle
October 24, 2025 at 1:51 AM
scruss.bsky.social
Biked a lovely new (if not quite open) section of The Meadoway between Midland and Marcos this morning.

And yes, the markings are blue.

#bike #toronto #TheMeadoway
Three bike paths join at a little grass roundel. The paths are fresh asphalt and the centre markings bright blue. In the background behind a line of shrubs, tower blocks are golden in the morning light
October 21, 2025 at 2:14 PM
scruss.bsky.social
that was ... intricate

(cc @larjguy.bsky.social - thanks for the picture!)
purely decorate pattern made from small hexagonal tiles
October 16, 2025 at 2:56 AM
scruss.bsky.social
said little kid, said shark costume. Everyone was smiling as they came off the arrivals ramp

#thanksgiving #yyz #joy
a family group with one adult and two children. The smaller child, in the centre, is wearing an inflatable shark costume and has their arms (well, fins) raised as if dancing about. There are two older adults in the background, unrelated, looking in a different direction (all faces have been hidden behind emoji)
October 13, 2025 at 10:34 PM
scruss.bsky.social
(with apologies to @chicagovtfloor.bsky.social ...)
purely decorative tiling made of cream, blue, red and black rectangles
October 10, 2025 at 11:25 PM
scruss.bsky.social
It's mine. i have it now. this is the greatest day of my life. etc.
A black squirrel sitting on a red fence clutching a rainbow sugar cookie. Its whiskers have sugar on them.
October 6, 2025 at 12:32 PM
scruss.bsky.social
these are great!

We've all met the tenanted bin before ...
A black Toronto "Litter Only" park trash bin under some pine trees on grass. A raccoon is peeking out of the top of the bin, with its front legs resting on the lip of the bin
October 1, 2025 at 7:55 PM
scruss.bsky.social
It was Little Guy Time at Ken Whillans and Terra Cotta Conservation areas today!
#LittleGuys #caterpillars #fuzzy #ontario
Very fuzzy yellow caterpillar on damp earth Yellow Woolly Bear Caterpillar, Spilosoma virginica Yellow tufted fuzzy caterpillar hanging down from a wooden railing. Banded Tussock Moth (Halysidota tessellaris) very fuzzy black caterpillar with a thick reddish band of hair on its body. Isabella Tiger Moth caterpillar (aka banded woollybear) - Pyrrharctia isabella Fuzzy, spiny white caterpillar with black bands on a mossy log. Hickory Tussock Moth (Lophocampa caryae)
September 29, 2025 at 1:36 AM
scruss.bsky.social
Semi-successful tetrapod cast using surplus crayons in a 3d printed mould.

Bad surface finish and the filler sprue is blocked. This meant that the wax had to form a void somewhere as it cooled/contracted. The small hole near the centre of the cast is a void, probably 10% of the volume

#tetrapod
a small blue four-footed structure cast roughly in wax, still surrounded by two out of four of its mould pieces. Excess wax can be seen blocking the filling port at right. There's a small holed in the object near the centre where an internal void has formed as the wax cooled and contracted. This might be as much as 10% of the total model volume
September 24, 2025 at 6:37 PM
scruss.bsky.social
Always good stuff at the Aga Khan museum

'Exchange' and 'Red Card', both by Hassan Hajjaj, 2006 (outside display in the park)
Two photographs framed by cans of vegetables. The left (Exchange) shows two women, veiled and in long sportswear, exchanging a word while holding team pennants. Right picture (Red Card) again shows two women, veiled, but one on the right in light blue holds a referee's red card and has a football near her feet, while the one in the left (in black) makes an appeal
September 23, 2025 at 2:26 PM
scruss.bsky.social
Hanging out with the Blue Raspberry Lion at the Aga Khan Museum

(That's not the piece's real name, but we call it that and make sure to say hello every time we visit)
An elegant decorated middle eastern dish, featuring riotous vegetal decoration around the edge. In the middle is painted a bluish lion. This lion is wasp-waisted with a long curling thin tail. It has delicate paws, red-rimmed eyes and a tiny mouth. It looks fierce only in the fashion sense, and may be judging your choice of outfit
September 23, 2025 at 2:24 PM
scruss.bsky.social
He seems to be going for this look
Fake Nose & Moustache Practical Joke Eyeglasses
September 18, 2025 at 6:59 PM
scruss.bsky.social
I have no idea why I felt that this was necessary. Maybe ewoks would like mokes? #ewok
The Mini "MOKE" logo, mutated to spell "EWOK"
September 17, 2025 at 11:34 PM
scruss.bsky.social
terrible car, excellent logo
a silver on black simulated car badge, with the word MOKE centred in heavy capital letters
September 17, 2025 at 11:11 PM
scruss.bsky.social
Chrystia stood. Unbelievable.
September 16, 2025 at 2:58 AM
scruss.bsky.social
Spiny little guy - do not pet
(Hickory Tussock Moth caterpillar, one of the "ouchworms")
A very fuzzy white caterpillar with pronounced black spots along its body and very long head and tail spines. It is venomous.
September 14, 2025 at 5:03 PM