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Canon DSLR Challenge | all galleries >> CSLR 140 : Sound (hosted by Nico Conradie) >> CSLR Challenge 140 - Eligible > 2nd Place
"Ker-Whoosh!"
by Jim H
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02-MAR-2009 Jim H.

2nd Place
"Ker-Whoosh!"
by Jim H

The Blue Room

Someone had to do it. You know they did.
Meet Maurice.
Not quite up to the standards set by the facilities at the John Wesley Powell Museum, but certainly a 9 on a scale of 10 in a world beset by wimpy water saving units.


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Guest 03-Mar-2009 23:58
LOL, I have cleaned a few of these and I knew what it was! SUPERB shot! Clean and flawless, lots of motion, and I love the commentary as well, thanks for a great capture.
Lisa Marie
alexeig03-Mar-2009 22:07
I love the detail
Canon DSLR Challenge03-Mar-2009 13:49
Spectacular shot Jim! Excellent detail and tone. - angioman
jnconradie03-Mar-2009 05:16
Jim, thanks so much for taking the time out to write back so interestingly and in detail.

Between you and Pops... well I think you know just about everything about anything... you guys can write your own wikipedia, I think! :-)

And I still think it is a stunning photograph... semi-abstract... semi-real... lots of movement... lots of interest. Excellent.

Regards Nico

Canon DSLR Challenge03-Mar-2009 01:31
Well.... you asked for it Nico????.... Good one Jim... very thorough and conclusive.

Interesting topic... next time one needs to "drop off some friends at the Pool" ... look for the 'grab rail' for fear of being carried off on a journey of discovery?

Ummmm... "what do you talk about in these Forum???... Oh.... just stuff?... ;-)


Regards Melbob
ctfchallenge03-Mar-2009 01:00
I miss toilets that flush. The government here has told us how many gallons of water we are allowed to pay for to flush. Now, they're telling us what kind of lightbulbs we have to use.

I think the old Soviet Union might be something to consider. :)

Oh. sorry... the image... Yes. I like it. Great motion. ~Lydia
Canon DSLR Challenge02-Mar-2009 20:12
Sorry about that, Nico :) This is a very wonderful old-style 5 gallon per flush toilet from the mid 1950s doing what it does so well.

The first generations of new "water saving" models often require multiple flushes to get the job done, so they don't save much, if any water, and have earned the disdain of virtually all Americans, no matter how environmentally conscious. Newer designs can be much better, however.

But the federal government here outlawed the sale of the old ones long before the low-flow units were really perfected. So a LOT of really useless toilets were installed all over this country over a period of years. And now our nation is plagued by them.

One learns to keep one's pants pulled up far from the floor, wear shoes with decent water-resistance, and to always be prepared to run, as necessary, when using an unfamiliar commode. Sometimes, repeated intermediate flushes can be used as a safety precaution. Of course, that wastes more water than a single flush from one of the good old units.

Sales of toilet plungers have probably increased ten-fold since that federal decree was promulgated. (I should have bought stock in a plunger maker or a Roto-Rooter franchise back then. Darn!)

This Blue-Room fixture was named “Maurice” in honor of the late Morris Udall, a long time Congressman from Arizona. That’s a long story, but came from an op-ed piece about the woes of the water-saving WCs that made reference to a very prized toilet which could, as the author put it, “suck down an entire act of Congress”.

The John Wesley Powell Museum is another rather obscure reference as well.

If you're ever in Green River Utah, and happen to pay a visit to this very interesting place:

http://johnwesleypowell.com/

You owe it to yourself to visit their bathroom facilities. I recommend holding on tightly to any articles of loose clothing or small children, however, because when you light one of those babies off, the effect is kind of like what you see in the movies when a window breaks out of an airliner at 40,000 feet and the cabin depressurizes.

Very effective, and much appreciated, but holy cow! We're talking a full 11 on a scale of 10 for flush effectiveness and the sound pressure levels are truly “rock concert” grade. I think it’s supposed to give you a feel for the sensations the Powell expedition experienced when negotiating the rapids of the Green River all those years ago in those small wooden boats.

They really should issue hearing protection and have a “you must be this large to ride this ride” sign!

I guess they're not too worried about saving water right there on the banks of the mighty Green River ;-)

Anyhow, this all became a source of discussion and amusement for my family after we were forced to replace Maurice’s “sister” in the downstairs powder room many years back and found that her replacement is, unfortunately, one of those units that requires about three flushes per job. Since that time, everyone in our family has come to an acute appreciation for the differences between superior stools and poor privies. And we tend to “rate” the effectiveness of various porcelain fixtures as we encounter them.

Maurice is the standard by which we judge all others. You’ve always got to have a benchmark!

Jim H.
Canon DSLR Challenge02-Mar-2009 18:55
Great shot! LOL...yes, someone had to do it and it's perfect for this challenge. -dtallakson
jnconradie02-Mar-2009 18:44
Please, Jim... do help me out here. You could just as well have written in Mandarin... I did not follow that at all. And I have no clue at all what I am looking at. Please? :-)

The image itself speaks of your usual professionalism and creative flair. Fabulously done, whatever it is! :-) Kind regards Nico