My Photo Blog

Testing Again – 4 June 2016

Posted on June 4, 2016 by Zogman

The new lens was due to arrive between 3pm and 4pm so we had time to kill today. The day had started with heavy cloud, bit without the rain that had been predicted. However as the day wore on, the clouds lifted and the sun shone, but there was a cool breeze, so rather than sit in the garden as we’ve been doing recently, we did our phase one packing. Just to see how much we could lob into these canvas bags. How more efficient they are than the big heavy rectangular boxes my mum and dad had to drag on holiday with them. No rolling wheels for them, no, they had to carry them. Going on holiday was a tough business in the old days.

<Technospeak>
The lens arrived on time and I took a two or three shots. They looked as good as the reviews had predicted. This lens is a 12 – 32mm zoom and this equates to a 24 – 64mm in 35mm terms. On a 35mm camera, a standard lens is anything between 35mm and 60mm, so this lens covers this with a little more on the short end. In other words, it’s a wide standard lens, a kit lens. It doesn’t do anything very special, but it does it very, very well. Those two or three shots showed that it was really sharp. It provided the sharpness of a prime lens with the versatility of a zoom. It looks like it’s going to be locked on to one of the Olys for some time to come.
</Technospeak>

All of the photos in the matrix were taken with it today.

JIC and Hazy: The one top right is all that’s left of the Adventure Playground on the path to Condorrat. They’ve taken out all the old stuff. Now we wait to see what will replace it with.

Spent the rest of the afternoon coaxing, first the Mac and then the new Linx tablet, to work properly. The Mac problem is iTunes. My least favourite Mac prog. I applied an update this morning, something I rarely do. After that I kept getting a popup telling me that something to do with the dock had crashed. After checking on the net, it turns out that everyone else who has the problem links it to the same iTunes update. Apple, I don’t expect this of you.
The Linx problem was that some of the apps wouldn’t load any more. When Control Panel failed to load with an error that looked like the progeny of half the alphabet and an international telephone number, I knew it was time to restore it. Unfortunately the restore got to 95% and got stuck. I restarted it and it worked a bit better. The apps loaded, but Control Panel still failed. I’ve downloaded the restore from the Linx site. If I have time tomorrow, I’ll install it and see if that helps. Microsoft, I do expect this of you!

Looking for warm sun tomorrow.

The Gas Man Cometh – 3 June 2016

Posted on June 3, 2016 by Zogman

The Gas Man came to fix the (Not So) Smart Meter that would not only mean no meter reading for us and no estimated bills either. The actual meters had been installed about a month ago by another Gas Man, but he couldn’t get the electricity and gas meters to talk to one another. This GM, after a couple of hours work and frustrated phone calls, got them to talk to one another, but they resolutely wouldn’t talk to the server. It wasn’t his fault. As usual with these things, it was the server that was down, so he apologised and arranged yet another appointment to (hopefully) complete the installation. We have volunteered to have these gizmos installed and it’s causing all these problems. How many more problems will rear their heads when the whole country has them fitted as the Gas and Electricity companies seem determined to do.

Once the Gas Man had gone, we went out for a run. Scamp wanted to go for coffee to her usual place at Robroyston and maybe drop in to Staples to get a memory upgrade for the Windows 10 tablet. Instead, I took her to the Tea House on the Loch in Gartcosh. Tea and Cream Scones on the veranda with a sunny view over Johnston Loch. Hopefully we’ll be back, but not until the dandelion parachutes or the willowherb fluff that was blowing in the breeze have gone.

Spotted Mr Grey waking from an afternoon roost in the trees surrounding St Mo’s pond later and got a few decent grab shots with the Nikon and the Tamron lens.

New lens on order from MPB (yes, another one!) Should arrive tomorrow. Looking forward to using it. Don’t know where we’re going tomorrow. It depends on the weather (light rain forecast!!) and when the lens arrives.

Another hot day – 2 June 2016

Posted on June 2, 2016 by Zogman

Another sunny day although in the late afternoon and evening the clouds rolled in and the temperature dropped significantly.

Back in the morning, I went to meet Fred and we had a couple of coffees while we set the world, the education system and some of our previous colleagues on a better path to success. If only people would listen to us …!

In the afternoon, Scamp and I went to Glasgow and it was almost uncomfortably hot in the car. I really must get the air-con fixed before we head south. I was going to get a bit more memory for the new tablet/laptop and a hard disk to back my photos to. I got myself another pair of shorts, because I do need them in this warm weather. Scamp talked herself into a new pair of sandals. We both had milk shakes in Nero, although mine was more of a cafe freddo. I’m going to start making cold coffee again in the jug Hazy got me. What I didn’t get was a hard drive or a chunk of memory.

Went for a quick walk over to St Mo’s later to get a PoD. Amazed to see that the adventure playground on the path to Condorrat had been completely dismantled and the ground levelled. It had been fenced off for a week or so, but I assumed that things would progress at the usual NLC speed. That meant I expected work to start after Christmas. There’s no indication of what, if anything, is to replace it. Surely not more houses?

It was fish suppers for dinner tonight and the strawberry vodka was delicious.

Back To School – 1 June 2016

Posted on June 1, 2016June 1, 2016 by Zogman

Back, but just visiting. A bit like the jail in the Monopoly board, it’s ok to visit, but I don’t want to go there. It was good to speak to former colleagues with a lot of friends among them, but it was even better to leave. I was only going to sign up for a retiral dinner for a two teachers who are making the best move they’ll ever make. Well, it is for Scamp and I anyway.

Other than that, I got some photos while I was out on a walk, but nothing spectacular.

The strangest shot I got was the one of the moth. I spotted it last night as I was going to bed, but it flew off before I could get a photo. I did get one clear photo this morning but I still can’t identify it. The unusual thing about it is the way the tail hooks over almost like a sting. It could be like the scorpion wasp that looks like a scorpion, but has no sting.

Today was another scorcher with temperature of 13.4c when I got up to make the breakfast this morning. The temperature increased to over 19c later in the day.

Looking forward to tasting our Strawberry Vodka tomorrow.

A walk on the canal side – 31 May 2016

Posted on May 31, 2016 by Zogman

Scamp suggested a walk along the canal this morning. As it was so bright and sunny, it seemed a shame not to, so we drove down to Auchinstarry and headed off along the railway to Twechar. Maybe it’s because we were talking all the way and maybe it’s because we were marching along quite sharply at Scamp’s usual pace, but I didn’t take a single photo all the way there. Even on the way back I only grabbed two desultory shots of some backlit grasses, neither of which made the final cut. The word ‘desultory’ always makes me think of A Simple Desultory Philippic. It was a track on Simon & Garfunkel’s Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme album, and I never really understood it. Liked it, but never understood it. But to quote Dylan, “I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now.” It was just after the grass photos that Scamp said that this was what retirement was for. It’s strange, but last Tuesday, a week ago, when I was out walking around St Mo’s about 5.30am I was thinking exactly the same thing.

Didn’t do much else when we got back other than cut front and back grass while Scamp went to a ‘Witches’ meeting. Don’t ask, it’s just an opportunity to gossip! No spells were cast. Later, when the light was better, I went for a walk in St Mo’s, being careful not to go in to the wild wood for fear of little beasties namely ticks which I seem to be very prone to. Got some decent shots of the baby coots and Mr Grey hiding in the reeds, pretending he wasn’t there. Then, in one of the smaller ponds, I spotted a dragonfly. It’s still May, ok the end of May, but still May and there are dragons out! Unheard of. I’d say that this might be summer starting, but I know from the weather forecasts that next week rain sweeps in. Still, we’ll take all the sun we’re offered and say thank you very much. This is what retirement is all about.

Keep taking the tablets – 30 May 2016

Posted on May 30, 2016 by Zogman

We went in to Glasgow with the stated intention of getting a tablet/laptop. Apparently what I was looking for was a “2 in 1”, which I suppose describes it quite well.

Note to JIC.
Please feel free to ignore this part as it’s almost all technospeak.
First stop was Staples where I saw the cheapo looking Linx 10.1″ tablet with a clamshell keyboard/lid. Cheapo maybe, but it had 2 x USB3 ports and 1 x micro USB for power and doubling as a port if you have an OTG (On The Go) cable. Even better, it was at a bargain price of £149.99. Ok, one possible.
Ok, JIC, Technospeak over.

Next stop was John Lewis who on paper had a load of these 2 in 1s. Unfortunately, if we ignore the very expensive Mickysoft offerings, there were only two. One was an Acer with no price on it and no power in the battery, the other was an HP at £80 more than the cheapo Linx. The spec appeared to be almost the same, in fact it only had 1 x USB port and 1 x micro USB. So it looks like it’s back to Staples.

Before that, Scamp decided that lunch at Patisserie Valerie was in order. Since she prefers to eat inside, we got a table no bother because everyone wanted to sit outside in the sun. Had our order taken: Crayfish Salad for both of us and Apple Pie for after for Scamp, Pecan Pie for me. Tea for both.
The tea arrived, and so did the manager to apologise, but there was no Pecan Pie. No problem, I’d just have the Apple Pie. A little later he arrived back to say that sorry, there was no Crayfish Salad. He did offer alternatives. Scamp went for Chicken Caesar and I chose Chicken Brochette. We’d been sitting for 20 minutes by this time. Half an hour later and still nothing had arrived although the manager had floated past about 15 minutes before to say that my chicken was just going on the grill. I’d had enough. We offered to pay for the two teas, but the girl on the till would have nothing of it and told us the manager “should have been dealing with it.” If I’d had to speak to the manager himself, Begbie would have come out of the box again.

Back at Staples, I bought the Linx. Unfortunately, when I got it home, I found that it looked nothing like what I’d seen in the shop. Quick phone call and was told to bring it back and they’d exchange it for the correct one. I did, they did and this time I checked it before I left the shop. So far, it’s doing everything I expected it to do. Pity the same can’t be said for Patisserie Valerie.

More sun promised for tomorrow. Bring it on!

Sitting in the Sun and Begbie Returns – 29 May 2016

Posted on May 29, 2016May 29, 2016 by Zogman

Sunshine again! Today we went to Loch Lubnaig, just north of the ‘Geriatrics’ Sunday Favourite’ Callander. We were late leaving and I just knew we were going to run into queues along the route. First bottle neck would be Dobbies garden centre just outside Stirling – It wasn’t too bad for a change. Next on the list would be Blair Drummond Safari Park. It was just as bad as I expected. All these families eager to see the wild animals. The queue was quite long, but as I drove past I glanced right and that was where the queueing really started and went on as far as the eye could see. Maybe it’s the passengers in the cars that would be wilder than the animals by the time they got parked. I wished them luck. Strangely, the rest of the journey was uneventful, even Chronic Callander and we got parked at the new lochside parking at Lubnaig without any trouble. An hour later, things were a bit more frantic in the carpark with cars abandoned everywhere. People just seemed to park wherever there was a space long enough and wide enough for their car, with no thought of how other drivers were going to negotiate their exit. They were in their space and that’s all that mattered. Dobbers!

Lunch was a roll ‘n’ sausage for me and a roll ‘n’ egg for Scamp. That was the last of the rolls and the last of the eggs. We got ours and that’s all that mattered! Loads of people there. Must have been well over 100. That’s what happens when you build a carpark at a scenic spot, provide facilities and catering. If you build it right, people will come. Think on this NLC. After a couple of hours sitting in the sun, we decided to head home. Scamp to do some gardening, me to cycle. However, a pair of numpties were parked right behind us and didn’t look like moving. No problem. I put on my Begbie voice and they shifted sharpish. Maybe it’s because I’ve just finished ‘The Blade Artist’ which is the story of how Begbie, the psycho from Trainspotting’s life has panned out. Anyway, homeward through the legions of Grey Hairs out for ice cream and chips in Callander.

Got a few photos of a little red damselfly while out on my bike and Scamp got her pansies planted.

Swallows are flying lower today which means the weather may not be as good tomorrow.

When is a laptop not a laptop – 28 May 2016

Posted on May 28, 2016May 28, 2016 by Zogman

We drove into Stirling today for lunch at the Indian and not a lot else. The lunch was good and instead of nan bread we had chapatis. Scamp and I don’t like this new idea of chopping up a nan bread and serving it in a basket. I suspected that unscrupulous restaurants could be collecting uneaten nan pieces from previous diners baskets and using them to pad out new ones. Just a suspicion, but Scamp agreed that it was an unsavoury possibility, so we decided it would be better to get chapatis which are served whole.

On the way to the restaurant, I dallied in Stirling’s computer shop. I’d been looking for a laptop to take on holiday and I’d had a few bargains in the past from Computer Depot. Years ago, Ali, the owner, sold me a little MP3 music player that has a massive 64MB memory and also took extra memory in the form of SmartMedia cards. This probably means nothing to most people these days, but back at the turn of the century (that sounds such a long time ago, doesn’t it) they were very high tech and could be had in sizes up to 128MB. With a 128MB card in the player, you could have almost 3 hours of music at your disposal. I still have the Diamond Rio music player, and occasionally it will work. Anyway, there were no laptops that were in my price range. What they did have was one of the new (well, new to me) 2 in 1 tablets with a clip on keyboard.

<TechnoSpeak>
It only 32GB storage and 2GB RAM, but the processor was a quad 1.33Mhz with the ability to run at 1.83Mhz in burst mode. It had one USB 3 port and a micro USB 2 which, as well as being used as a charging port, could double as an import/outport device with an On The Go (OTG) cable. It was running 32bit Windows 10 which is a lot better than I thought, now that I know how to ‘refresh’ the install. The 32 GB wouldn’t be nearly enough storage for holiday photos, but if I used the USB port to connect an external hard drive it would be a neat solution to the problem. Almost as neat as the old HP netbook but much faster. Certainly worth considering. I didn’t dive in and buy the one he had on offer, mainly because I couldn’t find any reviews of it on the net, but I’m looking at alternative versions. In the words of Facebook, “A lot has changed in laptops since you last looked.”
</TechnoSpeak>

Today was a good day weather-wise and tomorrow is meant to be even better. We’ll see.

Friday Bank Holiday – 27 May 2016

Posted on May 27, 2016 by Zogman

Today is the second May Bank Holiday. Why do we have two bank holidays in May? It could be because we usually enjoy some good weather in May. It might be because the bankers need an extra day or two to spend their exorbitant wages. Wages they earn by screwing more money from us by investing our money and then creaming off the majority of the interest and leaving us with the odd penny or two for our efforts. I was thinking about this when I closed my old pocket money account with Santander or Abbey National as it was when I opened it many moons ago. It’s not been used for years and recently I got a letter to say that it was being made dormant. As part of my ‘tidying up’ day on Wednesday, I closed it and pocketed my £14 and some odd smash. My interest had remained the same for the last seven years, 1p per annum. Before that it had been at the heady heights of 11p p/a. If it hadn’t been for that 10p drop, I would have been a rich man today and could have retired on my profits much earlier. I admit I would have had to pay capital gains tax, but I wouldn’t have minded. That’s the effect the credit crunch has on my life.

Gym and a swim for us today. Scamp was being very cautious and only attempted leg exercises but didn’t swim. She did soak up some heat in the sauna and steam room plus, of course, she had to have her 10 minutes in the jacuzzi. A good place to be on such a dull day.

Today’s photo marks the start of the strawberry vodka season.

Haircut – 26 May 2016

Posted on May 26, 2016 by Zogman

After yesterday’s repair regime, today my last task in this realm was to get my hair cut. I enjoy going to the Nile Barber, so named because it’s on West Nile Street in Glasgow – I’m ashamed to say I only realised that about a few months ago. I’ve been going there for years. The shop has always kept its name, but has been owned and run by a variety of people over that time, all of them individuals, always interesting. Every one a character. Today’s barber was the Politico. He’s always worth listening to. I don’t know which party he supports – or hates the least, but he’s definitely not a Labour or Tory man. Today’s topics for discussion ranged from “Scotland is becoming a Police State” to “The BBC is an Organ of the Government”, taking in his usual gamut of conspiracy theories. I never knew about Russia Today, but I do now. I didn’t realise that Saudi Arabia is forcing the US to reveal the truth about 911, but I do now. Always entertaining, always thought provoking and always a good haircut.

I’m reading a Kindle book just now “The Knife Artist” by Irving Welsh. Maybe it’s the writing style that doesn’t appeal (yes Hazy, it’s now degenerated into the same type of writing as Trainspotting). Maybe it’s because it’s a sort of sequel, but with just too big a gap to the original. I don’t know, but I’m not enjoying it. Maybe that’s why I went to a bookshop today and bought my holiday reading: “The Cloud Atlas” and “The Reader on the 6.27”. Both physical books made from paper and printers’ ink. I’ll take my Kindle with me on holiday too, just in case, but it’s an interesting turnaround.