The worst was one fine Easter morning. We were all sitting at the kitchen table preparing to dig in to our Easter breakfast. The table was nicely set. Our plates were full. I remember my mother putting two English muffins into the toaster which was placed in the middle of the table. She pressed down on the lever and sat back down. AS the toaster heated up, all the roaches which had been feasting on crumbs came spilling out over the sides, a river of twitching antenna that ran over the butter dish, our plates and down the legs of the table. Ugh.

via What’s your worst roach story? : AskReddit.

Transocean, owner of the drilling rig that caught fire and sank in the Gulf of Mexico three weeks ago, has asked a Houston federal court to limit its liability for the resulting oil spill to $26.8 million, a small fraction of the anticipated damages from the accident.

via Owner of gulf oil drilling rig tries to limit liability for spill.

Ropes on a Boat, Bako, Malaysia, originally uploaded by Rod Edwards.

Traveling up to Bako National Park on Malaysian Borneo (from the provincial capital of Kuching), one has opportunity to take in many, many photogenic sites. Big shrimp nets are a common thing to pass, and those big nets are serviced by locals in extremely quaint & colorful boats.

For more from Malaysia, see:
www.flickr.com/photos/dreadsword/sets/72157623526546967/

Also Bako:
www.flickr.com/photos/dreadsword/4268405838/in/set-721576…

www.flickr.com/photos/dreadsword/4444235133/in/set-721576…

Kids, Bangladesh, originally uploaded by Rod Edwards.

This is a shot of a group of mischevious kids from the town of Rayenda, deep in the south of Bangladesh. The kids of Bangladesh are a wild and crazy bunch, without the reservations of the generally pretty conservative adults. They’ll happily spend the day following you around, chatting in the English they know, teaching you Bangla, and generally having a great time and offering commentary on everything you do.

Keep in mind, I’m talking about rural kids; this shot is from deep in floodplain hinterlands. We certainly didn’t get the same crowds of kids in Dhaka (the national capital) or Khulna (a large regional city).

Truth be told, the mob scene that followed you around wherever you went could be trying at times – there were days when we literally run away from our gang of youthful friends – laughing the whole way, mind you, but running nonetheless.

A few weeks ago (the night of the Canada-US gold medal hockey game) my wife, several friends, and I were in Calgary overnighting to take in the game in advance of ski trip to Kicking Horse and Revelstoke.

We used the Priceline iPhone app to book a room at the Marriott downtown for a comically low price, and the hotel happened to be across the street from the iconic Calgary Tower.

The day we had in Calgary was sunny and cloudless – perfect conditions for a cheesy hipstamatic shot of the tower – enjoy!

The city of Dhaka is the wildest, craziest place I’ve ever been (my wife and I were there in 2008). More people than you can imagine, packed into a smaller space than you can imagine, all frantically leading their lives. Its polluted, destitute, and heartwarming. Its a place where a little old lady can follow you for an hour to make sure you don’t get lost, and have a conversation with you translated by a group of Oxford-accented lawyers having lunch next to streetside dentist who will happily pull your teeth as you stand there.

This shot is from a cycle rickshaw in the Old City – the craziest part of a crazy city, where history, people, commerce, and life is densely piled in until the sun is barely visible above.

Edit: Every time I look at this picture, I wonder how our rickshaw driver from that day is doing.

Warmth, originally uploaded by Paul Flynn – ‘Toronto Paul’.

Captured by Toronto Paul, found on Flickr. Click it for a bigger version.

Ad Hoc Drum Kit, Mabul Island, Borneo, originally uploaded by Rod Edwards.

From my Malaysian adventures, 2008.

This drum kit is made out of some miscellaneous real drum parts, twisted metal, big galon paint pails, and a water tank of some kind.

You can find this drum kit at the ass end of nowhere, right next to the most spectacular scuba diving in the world. This picture is from Uncle Chang’s dive shop and school, located on Mabul Island, right next to the world famous Sippadan Island.

Sippadan is famous for the ridiculous reef wall that surrounds the island, the spectacular coral, and the awesome wildlife. You have to elbow your way through crowds of sea turtles and sharks to keep up with your dive group.

Sippadan is also notable for the fact that Malaysia and the Philippines periodically hold small scale wars over possession of the island. The only inhabitants now are some Malaysian soldiers, who live in the crumbly remains of the island’s resort, which was in use until it was invaded by Philippines, and was shut down after the ensuing hostage crisis.

Anyway, we didn’t get invaded while there, and did enjoy stellar diving and the entertainment implied by this cobbled together drum kit.

Note that Canada is significantly worse that the US and most European industrialized nations, and is near the bottom in the “change” measurement. The message is clear: Canada’s technological competitiveness is poor, and were doing little to improve it.