Steph

fantastic pattern

John, that's so sweet of you. People like you are what make this hobby great.

I wondered -- I doubted -- you did it. Nice job capturing those in the dark from such a distance.

I moved it over to here, due to the advanced nature of the topic.

LOL ... I'm watching the 2nd event now ... not gonna rush this, but giving it an advance thumbs up. I can tell it's gonna be fun. Your partnership with the play-by-play announcer was a wonderful move. (And nice design on the race. )

majestic opening ceremony

Love it. Congratulations. Thanks for the update on this unusual topic.

Darn! But you had to take the chance.

I have all of two melon balls. I pulled out the white one and hoped for opalescence, but no. I tried to imagine that I was seeing a hint of orange, but it was just wishful thinking. I did get a little fire coming through the blue one. I don't know how to judge the pontils. Faceted I think on the white and maybe melted on the blue, but not sure. The marbles came with a date -- July 14, 1879.

Randy, are you reading?

bump

What he said.

over the top

Looking good!

Understood! Am I still allowed to be impressed by you?

Hi ... I don't recognize the yellow and white color combination. I guess it might be Champion Agate, a type of West Virginia swirl. (I also wonder if it could be Veiligglas -- from Amsterdam -- but I'm leaning American.)

no treble!

lulz

I'm all about that Ace, 'bout that Ace.

It's just part of our background from being little kids in America. Hence the "wait for ittttt" element to the joke. Takes a minute, but then the sounds float into place and we get a chuckle. And obviously you know more about my culture than I know about yours, so Dr. Seuss is someone to add to the roster of people you know.

Well, then maybe this is a "learn something new" moment ... he's a big part of American culture. The Cat in the Hat Green Eggs and Ham Horton Hears a Who ... oh and a very big biggie is: How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Do you know of the Grinch?

Okay, no more invisible ink ... still for Hoody ... Do you know Dr. Seuss? He wrote goofy rhyming books easily readable by children but also loved by many adults. Here's the one this picture was about: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Fish_Two_Fish_Red_Fish_Blue_Fish

Ooops ... I'll try to remember that and add more empty spoiler lines next time.