What is this man doing?

by bruce colthart on June 10, 2008

The prototype for Studio 54?If you know what he’s doing, I may be able to guess your profession and even your age…

{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }

Judy Dunn June 16, 2008 at 10:39 am

Did you ever watch the improv show, “Whose Line Is It, Anyway?” (Drew Carey was the host.)

They had a segment where the teams were handed an object and asked what it was/what it could be used for.

I must not be in the demographic you refer to, because I’m just guessing here:

• removing the lid from a Starbucks cappuccino (see the straw?)
• making a pottery vase
• lifting a white tire for a tiny person’s car
• moving a candle
• making a doorknob
• lifting one of those clay things you bake whole garlics in
• making an inkwell for his big white quill pen
• making a swimming pool for his kids
• building a terrarium

So, don’t keep us in suspense. What IS the man doing?

bruce colthart June 16, 2008 at 11:47 am

Judy -

I like the cappuccino angle – perhaps struggling with the lid?

I’ll reveal the answer in a day or two, but don’t hold your breath; it’s not all that exciting…

Thank you for injecting some fun into it!

Dr Fron Tech June 17, 2008 at 9:57 pm

I see the electronic drawing tablet pen.
“he’s” making believe that thing is some kind of a nuclear material or bio-hazard container.
It’s a big salt or material of some sort shaker with a cushioned bottom.
He’s looking at the reflection of the sky in his birdbath.

bruce colthart June 18, 2008 at 8:02 pm

Franq –

I can always count on you for quality ideas. I like the birdbath idea; maybe even looking for his soul there. However, the biohazard container seems like the most plausible scenario.

bruce colthart June 18, 2008 at 8:25 pm

Okay both you readers, this is what it really is, which is far less interesting than most all of the proposed ideas. It’s an antique old can of Pounce drafting powder, meant for preparing drafting vellum for inking. I’ve had it since college, or shortly after, and hereby revealing my minimal age, I did use it for drawing (but not drafting). I keep it handy to this day, in the warm, humid weather, to keep the side of my palm from sticking to the surface of the Wacom drawing tablet that I use regularly instead of a mouse. It’s one of those odd/nostalgic/useful things on my desk, versus the simply odd and/or nostalgic.

Aren’t you glad I kept you waiting?

Hello?

Hello?

……….

Judy Dunn June 23, 2008 at 3:02 pm

Oh. Sigh. It was a little more fun not knowing.

I never knew what drafting powder was. Is it like the pool players and the discus throwers use to keep from getting stuck?

Judy Dunns last blog post..Hard Hat Blues: Websites ‘Under Construction’

bruce colthart June 23, 2008 at 3:35 pm

Yes Judy, sometimes pain – even dull pain – goes hand in hand with revelation.

I’d like to say that drafting powder helped me find my true inner self, God, and other colorful apparitions, but no, it’s [merely] just what you thought it was – a technician’s fine-grained pal.

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