A few weeks ago I found a kitten that had been separated from its mum. Earlier this week she became eligible for adoption, and I took her home. She's much the same affectionate and needy cat as she was on that magical day, but she also doesn't seem phased at all when I go out for the day, which is great.
That's all 
On Friday I went to the pub to meet some friends and get some fancy "Good Beer Week" beers, and on the way I heard an incessant mewing from the garden of a dilapidated house on Barkers Rd. There was a tiny kitten in there calling for mama. I tried to say hello and got hissed at for my troubles, so I let her be.
But she was still there when I walked home, and when I checked the next morning too. And still crying out for help. Something had to be done.
I don't have a pet, so I contacted a mate who's got a cat carrier and we plucked little Hami from the garden and took her home. Gradually over the morning while I was meant to be working from home, she went from fearful and hissy, to purring and affectionate, to meowing whenever I wasn't in the room to comfort her. She also became very playful and exploratory for a cat who was anchored to that spot in the garden! She ate a little chicken and some kitten food, though we estimated she was too young for it at 4 weeks based on weight.
It was a very rewarding day, but young kittens need specialist care, so I took her to a local vet. They said she had fleas, and had maybe missed a growth phase from living on the streets. I reckon she'd have been in trouble without human intervention - she spent 14 hours straight in the exact same spot and didn't seem fit to finding her own food.
Maybe in a few weeks I'll be taking her home again. Who knows
there's a motorcyclist in my building. it's some sort of cafe racer thing. it actually is a harley, but not what you'd picture as one. every morning i hear him start it up and leave, every evening i hear him arrive home. fair enough, motorbikes be loud.
but what i hear is him doing his best. he doesn't loiter around letting it idle to wake up the apartment building. he doesn't rev it hard when he leaves. but he does make a concerted effort to get out on the main road as quickly and quietly as possible. he understands that there's a time and a place to rev the thing past 10k RPM, but it's not his neighbourhood at 8am on a Monday.
he's a local hero
The Elise is, or was, a car built the old way, but in the current day. To the end it was a well thought out package, good engine, light chassis, convenient features, and not much more.
In the 90s, this was the stuff you wanted. There was some whizz-bang stuff around for sure, the occasional party-piece digital dash or automatic climate control, but the "infotainment" system wasn't the point and the car wasn't an extension of your phone which is an extension of your computer. The best cars were the ones that combined the right engine with the right body, to produce the right package. The Viper and the McLaren F1 and the NSX, the 3 and 5 series of the time, the Lancer Evo, the Ferrari 550 and so many others.
This all changed maybe a decade ago as cars moved more and more into their role as tools. Hybrid, EV and CVT came along, dulling the experience to hit different goals, and more than ever cars were prized on the size and resolution of the screens within them, and the ability of the software that ran on them.
But the Elise didn't change, it kept to the old way. Some would call it outdated, but some would say it stuck to a working formula, eschewing the needless pivot that modern cars took. It's not part-EV or full of screens or tech, but that's intentional - because leaving those things out is still a good idea, and putting them in would compromise the formula.
More than just being an example of a bygone approach to car design, the Elise was true to itself. It didn't become an SUV with the name of a sports car (hi, Eclipse, Mustang), it didn't adopt the name of an old unrelated race car to extract profit (looking at you, 718 Cayman/Boxster, McLaren LT), nor did it bloat in size (3-series) or call itself a coupe while actually being a 4-door SUV (dammit, Mercedes). 'Til the end, the Elise was the Elise - sub-1000kg, bonded aluminium chassis, fibreglass body, high sills. Difficult to get in and out of, a bit cramped and noisy, but fantastic - and a hole in the car world that will never be filled.
I move the guitarsso she'll stop fucking with it and she decides to sit on it
Spotted near work. Didn't say TURBO on the steering wheel.
Concave window though hnng
that is the worst thing i've ever seen. the owner actually needs a good beating
Getting that pesky cone off today!
She loves the box. Seriously
one thing this comparison highlights is how far back the rear axle is to fit the gear tunnel
god that tundra is hideous
not sure if two tone or bad paint match. seriously in that profile shot the side looks all 1 colour, except the front bumper and parts of the back. strange
so that I could give them back a rock.
probably a good thing you didn't come across them 
i'm sure they'd be inclined to retaliate, and you're pretty vulnerable on a bike.
sounds like a rad day, ketchup excluded though!
those are bats in the distance. or flying foxes really. same thing.
i'm not even really sure what we're looking at. chrysler charger """road & track"""? with pronounced buttresses, and converted to run on LPG.
my windscreen is filthy because i've been using my car a lot for adventures and haven't had time to clean.
it's dirty for the right reasons
what's with the american brands always tying products to a year? it can't just be the new Astre, it's gotta be for 1973!!
this was a big thing in the 60s too
@thejwt oh god, that tandem high speed stuff with the red...crown? whatever it is. that's really cool
@svend you're way too humble for such thought exercises
@highlander said in Your 5 car garage:
- 1971 Datsun 240Z (Blue w/blue interior)
- 1980 Nissan 280ZX Turbo Black Gold edition
- 1993 Nissan 300ZX TT Pearl White with chrome wheels.
- 2018 Nissan 370Z
- 2023 Nissan Z
jeez. thought i was a z fan! i'd definitely take 2 and 3, but sadly given "money no object", there are just more exciting cars in the world.
@thejwt verossa is a weird, weird choice
@tripper i think it's hard to see them appreciating much in the near future. the price is already so high. not sure about canadian dollars, but surely that's around Carrera GT or F50 money - can we really expect it to go above those?
@musashi66 i'm not going to argue with you about the F40. nice choice. Sam who runs this podcast has one, loves it. and a lot of the guests' 5 car lists have the F40 on there.
@farscythe have you driven a cappuccino? i haven't but i expect they're tiny. would be hilarious having one parked next to a cobra
