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Decision made – 11 January 2025

Posted on by Zogman

I’ve hummed and hawed for weeks now, but today I made my decision and, of course, immediately regretted it.

We drove to the station and just missed the Glasgow train. Worse still, the next one was cancelled, so we sat in the barely heated waiting room and did what it was intended for, we waited. I expected the train to be mobbed. Folk rammed into the vestibule and the remainder standing on each other’s toes along the carriage, but no. There were plenty seats, we had our pick of them. Scotland knows how to run a railroad!

Once we arrived in Glasgow we headed to the Apple shop in Buchanan Street, but not before I took one three photos of the crowds coming and going on that wide retail avenue, just to make sure the 365 didn’t die off completely. One of the three made PoD. In the shop I buttonholed the bloke I’d been talking to last week. I know he probably wouldn’t remember me, but just in case he was on commission, I gave him a description of the phone I wanted and paid for it there and then. An iPhone 15 with 256GB of space on it was mine. A blue one, but a very weak, watered down blue.

We went to Cafe Nero for coffee and a pastry each to celebrate and in the process, missed the next train home. Another half hour late, because the next one was cancelled too! It was so cold that I encouraged Scamp to walk along with me into Buchanan Galleries to at least be warm while we waited for the train. Queen Street station was freezing.

The train arrived, we jumped on and were swiftly taken to Croy. Then and drove home via M&S. Dinner tonight was the remainder of the soup from earlier in the week.

After dinner, I started into charging the new iPhone and that’s where things got a bit tricky. I managed to get the phone charged, and I even went as far as to get it looking like a phone, but the problems started when I tried to install the data from my android phone. The iPhone refused to see it and it wasn’t until later in the evening I discovered that it can only be done on a completely empty phone, in other words, I had to return the iPhone to Factory Settings, losing all the work I’d done. I decided to do the reset and leave it there until tomorrow, In fact I left the blog until tomorrow as you’ve probably realised by now.

Tomorrow is another day and we’re both off to Hairmyres to get my eye examined by a consultant. It seems there is a bit of swelling that needs looked at.

No iPhones will be fiddled with until we get back.

More frost and more ice. – 10 January 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Out in the morning, then a lazy day.

I went out in the morning to book a face to face meeting with a doc at the health centre. It’s nothing serious, I’m just booking a PSA test. I had a biannual test in the years before Covid put an end to those things and I kept forgetting to get back in the loop. Alex nudged me about it yesterday, so now I have to see a doc next week to get my annual or biannual check-up authorised.

It was very sparkly and frosty when I was out and I was really glad to get back to the warmth of the house. We’d considered going out somewhere for lunch, but eventually talked ourselves out of it. Lunch was more of Scamp’s soup. It tasted better today. Better blended now the veg had softened and mixed together.

Inevitably my thoughts turned to what Hazy and I had been discussing yesterday, a new phone. I did have a look at an iPhone 16, but decided that ‘Apple Intelligence’ wasn’t for me. It all sounded a bit pie in the sky and none of the reviewers I read seemed to have a clear idea where the benefits were. There is advice that says “Never buy version 1 of anything. Wait until version 2 comes out. By then most of the bugs will be ironed out.” That Is how I think Apple Intelligence will pan out.

I did take a camera out for a walk today and took a few of my Dangerous Dan photos. It’s the dangerous practise of placing an expensive camera on the ice of a frozen pond, pressing the shutter button and quickly lifting said camera once the shutter goes click. So far I haven’t sunk any cameras, expensive or otherwise, but there’s still time! That didn’t get PoD. A swan looking as if it was skating across the frozen pond got that.

After I’d photographed the swan and the ice crystals on the pond I walked round the back of St Mo’s school and down to the shops. I was hoping to see some deer, but none were coming out to see me today. Got some veg in M&S to make a stir fry for dinner. It was pronounced good enough to eat by Scamp.

We watched a rather half hearted Grantchester episode and I came away not really knowing what had happened in it. Maybe just the manoeuvrings of the first episode of a new series, putting things in their place and maybe changing some things. Or else it might just have been a crap episode!

No plans for tomorrow. Dance teachers are back in the UK, I think, but not feeling well. There’s a lot of that about, I believe.

 

 

A day for a blether – 9 January 2025

Posted on by Zogman

I drove in to Glasgow in the late morning to meet Alex. It looked cold, and it was with the temperature down below zero.

The first space I could get into was up on the seventh floor of the Buchanan Galleries, nosebleed zone. There was a lovely view across Glasgow, but blocked with heavy wire netting, just in case someone would attempt a swan dive into the concrete below. I took the lift down, not wanting to knacker my knees walking down twenty odd flights of stairs.

I found Alex with a nice new crewcut waiting for me in the bus station. We waked around the corner because he wanted to take some photos of the Pavilion Theatre with the low sunlight just glancing off it. I’d tried and failed to photograph this old building in the past, so instead I watched him try.

Next stop was Caffè Nero for our morning coffee which I admit we lingered over for a while, not wanting to face the cold breeze outside ad also discussing computers and monitors. Next stop was Guitar Guitar in Argyle Street, away at the far end of Argyle Street. There seemed to be two guitars on his list, but both were electric and although I did get a chance to test my G, F and C chords, it still felt clumsy and heavy. Do you know, I’ve just realised that was the first time I ever played (slight exaggeration “played” an electric guitar! I’ve had a few acoustic guitars, but never an electric. He settled for a Les Paul copy, although I’d have chosen the Sunburst, even if the balance felt all wrong.

We walked back along Argyle Street, because now it was almost lunch time and we were heading to Paesano for a pizza. Another opportunity for a blether and to stay in the warm. We both agreed they were both lovely pizzas.

Alex wanted to photograph the sparkly lights around the GOMA and I was in agreement. I got a couple of decent shots, of the buildings with the warm light from the setting sun providing the warm colour of the surrounding buildings.

Another coffee before we were done, then we went our separate ways, me to get a cabbage for Scamp to add to her Minestrone soup and Alex to get the bus home.

The soup was lovely, warming and filling with added pasta. I didn’t think I was hungry, but of course a plate of soup is difficult to refuse!

I spoke to Hazy afterward as promised and she gave me loads of information that, like Alex’s knowledge of monitors left me with more questions than answers, but it did point me in the right direction. I think I’ve made my mind up Hazy. iPhone 15 with 128GB. That may change tomorrow, but it’s where I am tonight.

We have no plans for tomorrow at present, but looks like another cold night. Only -3.3ºc just now.

 

Window Shopping – 8 January 2025

Posted on by Zogman

We drove in to Glasgow on a cold, bright winter’s day.

We were going window shopping, both of us. Scamp was looking for a new fridge, big enough to hold all the foodstuffs we usually keep in our fridge, but not so big that she wouldn’t be able to reach the very top shelf. There were very few in John Lewis that fitted the bill, but we did find one or two.

The other thing she had her eye on was a new freezer. She didn’t think my idea of a wooden box in the garden would work, even if it is plenty cold enough for it to work. Freezers were a bit easier to find. We saw quite a lot of ‘under counter’ ones. This was the first serious look for one. We’ll probably try one of the larger Curry’s stores next week.

My search was for an iPhone. Maybe an iPhone 15 or maybe a 16. I want one that’s a fair bit smaller than my present Samsung which I feel is too clumsy. To be honest, I’ve never liked it since I got it. I tried a couple out in John Lewis and they did feel very neat and the screens were clear. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to speak to an expert (Hazy) tomorrow.

Then I walked down to the Apple shop and spoke to one of the assistants there about a new iMac. My eight year old iMac is definitely not working to its optimum. I got a few ideas from him, but I’m still not sure whether to get a complete replacement, basically the same as the one I have, but with seven or eight years of upgrades in it, plus more memory. My other option is to get a tiny wee box, a Mac Mini and a separate monitor. I’ve read a few reviews of the monitors online and none of them were very complimentary. Either way, it’s a lot of money to spend.

We had a scone and a cup of coffee for lunch in a seat that Scamp had carefully chosen to get a view from the Royal Concert Hall all the way up to the shambles they have made of Sauchiehall Street. It really is an eyesore. I managed to get a few shots from there of folk sitting having lunch on the steps of the concert hall. They must have been freezing.

We drove home and watched the final of this year’s Christmas University Challenge. The wrong team won. The other lot were better.

Hopefully meeting Alex tomorrow for a wander round Glasgow. That would make it my second in two days! Hope it’s not too cold!

A bit lighter – 7 January 2025

Posted on by Zogman

 

We actually went out for lunch today.

Not far, just down to Calders in the village and it was stowed! Every table seemed to be full of ladies of a certain age, to quote Greg Wallace. I felt quite out of place until I spotted a lone man on the edge of the restaurant. I didn’t feel so bad then. After that, more men joined the ranks and I treated easier. Lunch was quite good, just a panini for me and a toastie for Scamp. I had been well warned not to order coffee or I’d get something like a babychino. I ordered tea.

Drove home via the much larger Tesco in what is laughingly called the Town Centre. Looking for porridge oats and found none of the type I wanted, but we did get lots of other things. Scamp wanted a bottle of Kraken rum and I was joking that she’d be too small to reach it, when a bloke came along and offered to help us. He was fairly tall, over six feet he said, but I thanked him and I managed to capture the bottle. Friendly guy. Must be a visitor to Cumbersheugh.

Drove home and as the light was really good, I walked over to St Mo’s and got today’s PoD which looks very similar to many of my St Mo’s photos. Very few birds on the ice today. St Mo’s pond has remained frozen for almost a week now and I think the waterfowl are fed up with it. It was fun for them to take turns doing slides as they came in to land, but the joke isn’t funny any more. I think they have now gone on strike and left the pond to find somewhere warmer to overwinter. But the blue skies and the sheets of ice do make good photos!

We’re finally working our way through the University Challenge Christmas quiz. We’ve not got to the final with the two successful sets of finalists fairly closely matched.

Alex sent me a link to a half hour film about <Don’t Look Hazy!> Culross. I didn’t like the style of the bloke who was presenting it, but the filming and the history stuff was interesting. We must go back there in the spring. Get a few shots from the top of the hill. Strangely, I’ve never climbed up the steep path between the houses.

Feeling lighter today. Much less worried about the iMac. I know it’s not quite right yet, but I’ve been given a way out.

We may go in to Glasgow tomorrow.

 

Out for a drive – 6 January 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Just messages and some printer paper, not much else.

While I was buying the printer paper in Curry’s, Scamp was looking at fridges upstairs in the shop, but she wasn’t impressed with the selection. I still sense a purchase may be imminent. I’m surprised a freezer isn’t also on the purchase list. I’m actually surprised that we need a fridge and/or a freezer. I believe if we built a box in the back garden and filled it with what’s in the fridge we could keep them at sub zero temperatures in Scotland for the foreseeable future.

From Coatbridge, we went to Morrisons at The Fort and that was just for messages and a couple of bottles of beer and a couple of bottles of wine. The roads were cleared of snow and ice, but the pavements were covered in frozen snow and ice.

After lunch I managed to get out to take some photos, but the light was getting low and although I got a few sunset photos, they weren’t the best quality. I really need to get out and take time to take photos. I feel I’ve just been snapping shots to cover the 365 and that’s not what it was intended to do. Soooo, I’m intending to continue with blog posts, but I might be more selective with the photos. If I don’t think a particular day’s photos aren’t worth posting, I’ll replace it with one taken from earlier in the year, or even from last year.  After all, it’s my 365, so my rules!

Hoping for some warmer, or less cold weather tomorrow.

A Coot goes for a walk – 5 January 2025

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Like most of  the days recently, Very little happened today.

We did get some snow, but although it lay for a while there wasn’t a great deal of it. Not even enough to make a tiny wee snowman.

Scamp had finished a complicated jigsaw with the strangest looking pieces made of thin plywood. They looked and smelled like they had been laser cut, but I think their laser must have been blunt because the gaps between the pieces were much wider than from an ordinary jigsaw.

I went for a walk in St Mo’s with the A6500 toting a 70-180mm lens. I got a few good few shots with the combination and most of them were of birds wandering about  on the frozen ice of St Mo’s pond.  PoD went to a Coot walking across the snow covered ice, looking like it was just about to fall into a hole in the ice.

Spoke to Jamie in the evening an heard about Simonne’s upcoming visit to warmer climes and the weather.

Tomorrow I’ve more ideas for fixing this poor maligned iMac.

I told you there wasn’t much happening!

Icy! – 4 January 2025

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The ice from yesterday had melted slightly during the night

However, early in the morning today it froze solid, leaving treacherous black ice on the pavements and on the roads. We weren’t intending going far, but we did need milk and something for tomorrow’s breakfast, so we would need to go out at some time today.

I spent a lot of time pruning down the catalog that almost worked yesterday in the hope that it would just work, but it didn’t, well not completely. I left where it was, not wanting to destroy about three year’s work and helped Scamp.

Today the tree and the decorations were coming down and being packed away. Technically it’s not twelfth night until tomorrow, but Scamp was ready to get started today. With two of us working on it, it didn’t take too long, about an hour all in including the time to record the number of cards we’d received. That was a bit of a cheat as neither of us had sent any cards this year. When it was done, the living room looked a wee bit bigger and a big bit emptier. It’s always the same every year.

Later in the afternoon we decided that there had been enough of a thaw and we’d walk down to the shops. As always, the estate paths and roads had not been salted and the paths were quite treacherous. But we made it there and back again without too much trouble and I even got a photo, a single photo of a wee weed growing from a gap in a low wall.

I fancied making Paella for dinner and coincidentally Scamp had the same idea. While I was waiting for the chicken to defrost I sat down at the disaster that is the iMac and completely removed all the photos I’d carefully placed yesterday and then started clean and it’s looking a lot better. Not perfect, but definitely much better.

We may get some white stuff tomorrow.

Dining out – 3 January 2025

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But not until about 6pm. Until then we’d need to starve.

We were going out to dinner at John and Marion’s, but were a bit worried about the weather. No snow as yet, that was due for Saturday or Sunday, but there was ice on the paths and no guarantee that we wouldn’t get some snow.

I’m still struggling with the iMac. Ever since New Year I’ve had problems getting the catalog and the photos to work together. I’m beginning to think the old catalog I’ve been cleaning out and reusing for the last three years has become corrupted somewhere along the line.

I spent most of this afternoon finishing off the calendar photos. It took longer than usual because of the problems with the Mac. I think the basic calendar is more or less complete now and I might try a test print tomorrow. No time for one today because it’s getting near time to drive over to Hamilton.

Scamp was looking out the window just now and there was a fox in the front garden. She said it calmly walked across the grass without a care in the world. I didn’t get a chance to see it, but it was time to drive to Hamilton.

Had a great time with J&M and the food was excellent as always. John had even made a loaf of bread for the meal. I was really impressed. He admitted that it was Bread Maker bread, but that doesn’t matter, it’s the taste and the thought that counts. We came a bit earlier than usual with worries about the weather still in our heads.

Later in the evening, when we were home we hears strange noises coming from the bushes across the path from us us and I caught a quick view of a fox. Just a small, young one. We guessed that it was lost and that was reason for all the Yip, Yips coming from the bushes.

PoD was a photo of a Kissibel apple I’d halved and left in the back garden for the blackbirds. I think it might have been frozen solid and was too hard for the blackbirds.

Hoping for a thaw tomorrow.

 

Winter is coming – 2 January 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Well, that’s more or less what the weather fairies said.

It was frosty this morning when I was making the breakfast. The weather machine in the living room read -3.3ºc and it looked like that at the backdoor. Frosted grass and the blue tits taking turns to feed from the fat brick hanging from the rowan tree.

We decided it was time to lag the overflow pipe from the boiler. Scamp came up with the idea of using an old piece of expanded PVA foam to do the job and once I’d cut it to size and wrapped it round the pipe with cable ties holding it in place, it looked the part. I don’t expect it will get so far below zero, but it’s better to be ready, just in case.

My brain must have been working on the problem of getting last year’s catalog and photos out of the iMac and into my old external hard drive, because I came up with an inelegant solution that will do the job until I can figure out a better way or I am forced into buying a new computer. No point in explaining it here, but I’ve left myself a note explaining the procedure in case I have to do it all again next year DV. What amazed me was how much the hard drive slowed down the procedure. Old tech.

I went for a walk in the early afternoon, partly to get some photos and partly to clear my head of computer nonsense. I walked down past St Mo’s pond and got today’s PoD which was a bunch of grass leaves poking out of a frozen pond. As I said on Flickr *”Crouched down on the edge of a frozen pond in sub zero temperature, photographing grass. Is it any wonder Photogs get a bad name!”

From there I walked down behind St Mo’s school and on to the shops where I got some fruit for Scamp and a lovely soft Mothers Pride loaf which, with a couple of bananas fed us for lunch.

I think we’re all going soft. I have lost count of the number of weather warnings I’ve had on my phone for SNOW. It doesn’t seem that long ago, snow was expected every January and February. Now the news broadcasts make it sound as if it’s something unusual and something to be frightened of. It all seems a bit sensational. We live in Scotland we expect snow.

No definite plans for tomorrow, but I might have a look at getting a hot air blower to heat up my cold room, allso we will soon need a box of photo paper to make calendars. All that, if we don’t get trapped in a snow drift! 😉