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A Busy Tuesday – 26 April 2016

Posted on by Zogman

comboA full dance card today.  Lots of stuff planned and some added later.

Tuesday morning we were getting the central heating boiler serviced, so that meant the cupboard it lives in had to be cleaned out so the gas man could at least see his quarry and with a bit of luck, reach the beast.  Once that was finished, the man arrived and the maintenance was completed.  Our boiler is about 15 years old and is getting to the end of its useful life so we signed up to an appointment to price a new one.  We did well to get the boiler through the winter and had planned to replace it during the summer, so this was a good opportunity to commit to the replacement.

In the afternoon we were getting Smart Meters fitted to replace the gas and electricity meters.  That meant the drinks cabinet, which doubles as an electricity cupboard, had to be cleared out.  I hadn’t realised we had so many bottles of spirits in that cupboard.  I won’t say how many bottle bags we filled, but it was less than six, just less than six!  Each bag holds six bottles.  Mind you, some of them only had a little drop in them, well, that’s what I’m saying anyway.  Scamp wanted milk so I offered to go and get some.  I was just putting on my jacket when my hand brushed the light switch and I got the lightest tingle.  I blamed it on static, but when I deliberately touched one of the retaining screws, it happened again.  Not static then.  Checked it with an electrical screwdriver and the little neon light went on.  Oh, oh.  We need to get someone in to have a look at that.  I checked all the other light fittings and all but one passed.  It looks as if the upstairs/downstairs cable needs to be replaced.  That will definitely need an expert to look at.  I taped off the screw heads with insulating tape and tested again and it is safe for the moment, but it needs attending ASAP.  Add to the list.

The Smart Meter fitter came and fitted the meters, but couldn’t get them to connect to the server in the office, so they need to be checked in the next two weeks.  Add that to the list too.

Scamp had phoned the osteopath in the village to get her shoulder looked at and had an appointment at 6pm, so we had to have an early dinner and then I dropped her off at the surgery then went to get some photos.  Got some decent landscape shots with dramatic rain filled clouds behind. as delivered above.

When I went back to pick up Scamp, I listened to Bryan Burnett’s programme Get It On which has a daily theme.  Scamp and I try to work out the most apt track when we are travelling in to salsa on an evening.  Today’s theme was “Vinyl Records”  I chose Richard Thomson’s “Don’t sit on my Jimmy Shand’s”  Which mentions 78s and “They don’t mend with sticky tape and glue”  I had the time and the opportunity to send in my suggestion, so I did!  I’d just finished when Scamp got in the car.  She was impressed with what the osteopath had said and done and couldn’t stop talking about it.  I was half listening to her and half listening to hear if my suggestion would get a mention.  We’d almost reached the Town Centre when I heard “Zog” from Bryan!  Yes!  I got my mention on the radio.  Unfortunately, Scamp just kept talking, and they didn’t play my suggestion.  Their loss.

One of JIC’s birthday presents was a lump of 99% pure cocoa with instructions for cooking it into a cocoa drink.  This is the one that when wrapped had a label explaining that it wasn’t a suppository!  Today I tried it and it was really rich and smooth.  Not at all what I was expecting, but I won’t say what, exactly, I was expecting!

So, a day of some successes and some failures and some “Work in Progress”

Manic Monday – 25 April 2016

Posted on by Zogman

comboMost Mondays are manic for one reason or another.  Usually because they are formulaic in that we both float about in the morning, then have lunch and immediately after that Scamp goes to pick up some of Gems while I pack my bag and head off to the gym.  Get back once Gems have dispersed, grab a quick PoD and then make dinner before we go to salsa practise.  Back about 9.30, process the pics and write up the blog.  Manic.

Today we went to the pool for a swim because Scamp’s shoulder isn’t up to gym type exercise.  Swam for a while before the pool got ridiculously crowded (eight people trying to swim lengths were five are uncomfortably close).  Spent some time in the sauna and the steam room, then came home for lunch and for Scamp to pick up Gems.  I tried to paint for a while in the afternoon but I couldn’t concentrate, so I booted up and went for a walk to St Mo’s.  I immediately noticed a couple of deer right in front of me.  I tried a few shots but they were all views from the rear.  I didn’t bother to post them because nobody is interested in deers’ bums, except perhaps other deer and since, to the best of my knowledge no deer are visiting my blog or Flickr page, I thought I’d give the photos a miss.  I did get some nice (well, I think so anyway) contre-jour shots of trees and leafs, oh yes, I also got shots of a patient hoverfly and a shivering butterfly.  Taken in a hail storm while the sun was shining – It’s Scotland, you get used to that kind of weather.

That’s about it for Monday.  Not quite as manic as usual and not as formulaic as it sometimes is.  It just takes a little change to make all the difference.

A Super Sunday – 24 April 2016

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comboWent for a walk around Broadwood Loch rather than its little cousin St Mo’s.  Broadwood is a bit duller than St Mo’s in my opinion, but nowhere near as dull as Strathclyde Loch.  Like SL it’s a manmade or manflooded loch that originally was a piece of bogland with loads of peat underneath.  It was always being set on fire during the summer.  Flooding the area produced a loch and reduced the possibility of it going on fire.  Originally there were great plans to have it stocked with fish and there was to be a sailing club.  Neither of these plans saw the light of day.  What NLC did was categorise part of the loch as a nature reserve which has the advantage of costing nothing and preventing either of the leisure activities from taking place.  Cost saving from NLC?  Surely not.

After lunch I chose cycling rather than the gardening that Scamp opted for.  Went out with the intention of finding some damselflies to photograph, but they were still swimming in the ponds dressed in their nymphal disguise.  Maybe I was being a little optimistic, but I just thought with the increase in the temperature and light recently there was just a chance of some of them hatching early.  Maybe next month.

What I did get were, from the right and going anticlockwise, Mr Grey’s cousin from the morning walk around Broadwood.  Next it looks like a volcano, but it’s a pit bing near Kirkintilloch.  On the left is a wee bit of interesting sky I saw on the way home.  At the top a monochrome landscape shot with the Arran hills in the background.  Centre stage is a recently ploughed and seeded field with tractor tracks heading over the hill.

Not a bad Sunday.  Not bad at all.

Just another Saturday – 23 April 2016

Posted on by Zogman

Page_1-2- flickr--114After yesterday’s biz, today was just another Saturday.

We went to Stirling and bumped into Scamp’s sister and her daughter (the same ones from yesterday) in our favourite curry shop. I wouldn’t have bothered going back there after the disappointments of our last two visits, but I’m glad we did. The menu, if more expensive, had gone back to its previous old faithfuls and I’m guessing the chef was back from his/her sabbatical because the food tasted like it used to. The only stumbling block was the nan bread which we both agreed was too soft and doughy. We’ll let them work on it.

Walked round Stirling shopping centre. That didn’t take very long. Stirling, apart from the castle and the old buildings leading up to it, isn’t all that interesting. More and more shops closed in the shopping mall it’s a sign of the times. Not as bad as Dunfermline the other day. Things are getting bad when the Cash Converter shop closes down. Anyway, we didn’t linger long in Stirling and drove home empty handed apart from a Thunderball ticket that proved not even worth the paper it was printed on. Oh well.

Today’s photo is the final one in the series of Shug and Tam meet the Queen. By the way, just in case you were wondering, it has nothing to do with Mrs McQueen turning 90. It’s just such a nice wee minifig, I thought I’d like to do something with it. I’m done with Comic Life for a while. I’d forgotten just how irritating it was to work with. Until you’ve experienced it, it’s difficult to explain just how badly coded it is. Even the version 1 as its flaws, the most annoying is when it loses focus on the object being edited. Leave it for a while to get its wind back and focus returns. Not something you want to happen when you are working to a deadline, so I doubt if you’d use this on a commercial basis. However, it cost me nothing so I shouldn’t complain, but I always do 😉

To those who read my blog posts, I apologise for the number of updates to it recently as I struggled to add two short videos. I finally worked out today that the only video format that WordPress would abide was MP4. I was sure I’d added a MOV once, but I was wrong. It was only when I was checking the HTML code today that I realised my error. I may not embed any more videos for some time, but hopefully I’ll remember that I wrote this explanation – partly to you and partly to myself!

On Reflection … 22 April 2016

Posted on by Zogman

combo bIt wasn’t a bad day. Up a bit earlier than normal today to take my niece and her mum to a hospital appointment. Rather than sit in a crowded carpark waiting for them, I thought I’d just drive in to Glasgow. Followed my nose and relied on guesswork to get to where I was going. On the way I passed a Chinese supermarket and went in to see if I could find Dried Fenugreek Leaves because I’m sure the Indian chef who took the cook school I went to had listed them as one of the main ingredients in pakora. They had loads of dried an fresh herbs and veg, but no fenugreek, dried or otherwise, so I left empty handed, but I’m going back there some time for some Chinese curry mix like Jackie made for us in Skye.

I got parked easily up on St Mungo Avenue in Glasgow and walked down past Queen Street station and looked across past the College of Building and Printing as-was, now Glasgow Metropolitan and liked the light on the old sandstone building (top middle). On through George Square where I caught the wee man looking bemusedly at his iPad and down Queen Street to peruse the bargains at Cass Art. There were none – bummer. Walked back up and admired the reflections on the new office block, not for the first time. Managed a few shots, but then a crowd of school weans arrived out of the GOMA (Gallery Of Modern Art) clutching sketch pads and pencils and proceeded to sketch everything in sight. I put my camera away, knowing I had my PoD in one of the reflection shots. I’d just sat down with a coffee in Pret when my phone rang and I knew the Outpatients were ready for their lift home, so back up the hill again and back home via the hospital.

After lunch which was fried bacon, potatoes and egg (not the healthiest perhaps, but very, very tasty) Scamp wanted to go shopping. I decided my calling was more cycle related and put the bike on the rack on the car and got going to Auchinstarry. I’d decided it was warm enough for shorts. It was, but only just.  Today was not as warm as yesterday or Wednesday with clouds massing over the hills. Colder, but ideal for another go at another time lapse (That technique is becoming a bit ‘old’ now that I can remember its name – time for something new). Cycled along to Dumbreck and set the camera up on the Gorillapod on a fencepost and fired off a 100 frame, 10 second interval movie.

Then changed lenses and did another 100 frame, but 5 second interval movie. That was enough for me. I was getting cold standing around so I packed up and headed for home.

I was just fitting the bike on to the rack when the first splashes of rain appeared on the roof of the car. There was that delicious earth smell you get when it rains after a long (for Scotland) dry spell. It rained all the way home, but when I drew into our street the road was dry. Got the bike in to the house and the raindrops appeared on the window. It must have followed me home.

So, on reflection, it wasn’t a bad day!

Two in a row – 21 April 2016

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combo bTwo good days of sunshine in a row.  That’s what we in Scotland call Summer!  We decided not to waste it, so Scamp had the brilliant idea of taking the bus to Dunfermline in Fife.  No driving for me, so that put a smile on my face – for once.

Bus to the “Toonie”, then another less rattly and rickety bus to Dunfermline.  We walked down to Pittencrieff Park where we were accosted by the squirrel that stood there quite the thing in front of us and begged for peanuts.  Unfortunately for Tufty (reference to an ancient road safety cartoon) we didn’t have any, not expecting to be waylaid by a hungry animal.  We walked on through the park and strayed for a while in the greenhouses admiring the flowers and the goldfish pond.  Lots of hand painted mobiles that looked almost like puppets hanging in part of it.  I really should have taken some photos of them, but only now realised I hadn’t.  Oh well, a reason to go back again.

Had lunch in a Wetherspoon’s.  Cheap and cheerful – you can’t beat it.  Walked round the town and I added some books to my Bento booklist.  Why on earth Filemaker stopped supporting this excellent app, I’ll never know.  Filemaker Pro is a great piece of software, but it’s no use on an iPhone.  It’s a sledgehammer to crack a nut, whereas Bento is a nutcracker.  By that I mean it fulfils the purpose it was designed for.  I’m sure there is enough space for both of these apps in the world.  Filemaker, you made a big mistake there, and it’s not just me saying this.  Google Bento and just count the number of people worldwide who are mourning the cutting off of this software in its prime.

Bus back from Dunfermline and then the rattly, shoogly X3 back home.  Another lovely day.  Tomorrow isn’t to be as nice, which is a great shame.

A really lovely day – 20 April 2016

Posted on by Zogman

comboToday was a lovely day from start to finish – unless you were a Rangers supporter because they were beaten 3 – 2 by Hibernian for some cup or league or other.  Personally, I couldn’t care less.

Stayed in in the morning waiting for the postman to bring my second camera strap.  This one destined for my E-PL5 or ‘5 as it’s now known.  While I was waiting, I put my boots on and went and cut the front grass.  It seemed a shame to just sit there on the step soaking up the rays when I could be doing some useful work and since Scamp had a muscle pain in her arm, the grass cutting would probably make it worse.  Postman arrived just as I was finishing and he did indeed have the strap.  A bit wider and more colourful than the previous black one.  I’m quite impressed with the quality of these straps.

After a quick bite to eat I rolled the bike out and went for a run.  The weather couldn’t have been better.  Almost no wind and a blue dome above me.  It’s a while since I’ve had a chance to wander over one of the wilderness walks and a bike is the only way to get there.  No parking places nearby, so a bit of exploration and some exercise too.  Didn’t do very many miles today, only about 6 miles all in, but hopefully I’ll get more done during the summer.  I meant to mention in yesterday’s blog that I saw my first swallows yesterday.  Three definite sightings.

As I was leaving, Scamp started painting an old orange box that will hopefully hold her sweet peas.  The orange box must be over 30 years old and came from my mum and dad’s house.  It’s wooden, probably beech and originated from Cyprus.  It might have been my brother Alex’s toy box at one time.  Notice the carefully mown lawn in the background!

While I was out I managed to get the shot of the spider hanging from its web.  I liked the translucency of the body with the light shining through it.

Before I went out I took the preparatory shots for the Weemen picture and finished it off tonight in Comic Life via Photoshop.  One more to go in the series.

Salsa tonight was easy as far as moves were concerned, but hard on the legs and feet.  Scamp says it’s because of the concrete floor.  I don’t know if that’s true, but it was sore on my wee feet.

May go in to Glasgow tomorrow if the weather holds.

Out for a Spin – 19 April 2016

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combo bGot up this morning and couldn’t think of anything I wanted to do.  Yes, it was sunny, but it was cold.  Yes, there was very little wind (good for cycling) but that wouldn’t make for interesting skies.  I was feeling quite down.  In an attempt to lift this “creeping malaise” to quote Floyd, Scamp suggested we go out for a light lunch.  So off we went.

I’d driven over the new Drumgrew bridge yesterday.  Now don’t look askance, this is quite a big deal.  The bridge has been closed for over 5 months now to allow it to be raised to accommodate the cabling for the electrification of the Glasgow – Edinburgh railway line.  The closure has been a real pain as the only other direct route from Cumbernauld to Kirkintilloch is a single track road with very few passing places.  So to return to today, we drove over the new Drumgrew bridge and out towards Kirkintilloch – nobody in their right mind actually wants to go to Kirkintilloch, which means that the upgrade of the Drumgrew bridge was a bit pointless really!  To cut a long story short, we drove to Drumgoyne and had lunch in a garden centre there at a table next to the window and in the sun.  My ennui was lifted.

Rather than drive back the same way we had come, I turned at the end of the road and we went back through Killearn then over the hills to Fintry.  It’s been ages since I’ve driven along that stretch of road and today was a good choice.  The light during the run was lovely with bright sun and fluffy clouds driving shadows over the hills.  Just what I wanted for another time lapse.
[Have you ever had one of those words or phrases that’s in your head, but just won’t come out your mouth, or in my case down to my fingers and out through the correct keys.  Time Lapse is my blind spot.  I know the technique.  I could, and often do, give anyone the MEGO effect (My Eyes Glaze Over) talking and enthusing about it, but ask me what it’s called and all I can say is “That time exposure thing, no, not exposure.  Delay, no, not delay either.  It’s that effect you see on the TV all the time.”  One day I’ll remember the phrase, but by that time I’ll have moved on to some other obscure effect, I’ll forget ITs name, and the whole thing will start again.  Aargh!]
The Time Lapse.

It wasn’t the most dramatic scenery.  We’re not talking Rannoch Moor here, just some low hills with interesting clouds casting shadows on them and best of all, a convenient parking place.  Unusual in itself in Scotland.  This time I set an interval of 5 second and 60 frames.  That would give me just over 4 seconds of video time for 3 minutes of filming / frame recording time.  This was a much better setup than yesterday.  Firstly because I was using a tripod today, but secondly and mainly because I could sit in the car instead of wandering around like a spare …  The video, once the Oly had created it, was good enough.  More leisurely than yesterday’s one.  That may have been due to the shorter interval or to the fact there was less wind than yesterday.  However, it worked and that’s the main thing – and the focus was correct this time!  You might notice that I collected a few cars on the road in my time lapse (see, I’m remembering it now) and also, towards the end was photobombed or should that be time-lapse-bombed by a bee!  Once I get the thing sorted out in my head and remember its name, everybody wants to get in on the act!  While I was packing up I noticed a goose sitting snoozing among the bracken over in the next field.  By the time I’d changed lenses it had woken up and was keeping an eye on me.  I grabbed a few shots and left it.  I imagine as it didn’t immediately fly off that it was either hung over from the Old Firm match on Sunday or it was sitting on eggs.  Either way, I didn’t want to annoy it and we drove away.

We stopped further down the road at the Crow Road car park (remember going there to do mountain climbing JIC and Hazy?).  Spent some time watching the shadows running across the valley rather than trying to record them.  That’s where the monochrome landscape came from.  Behind me some sheep were lunching on the thin grass over by the rocks and I thought they’d make an interesting shot or two.  That explains the shaggy sheep shot (be careful how you say that!).

Hoping for more sun, less ennui tomorrow.

The Time Lapse

Posted on by Zogman

comboToday we had an appointment with our financial advisor in Falkirk and it was an early meeting at 10am.  Not so early you may think, but working backwards from there it meant allowing 30 min to get there, making and devouring breakfast another 20 mins with essential lie-in, showering and shaving (for me!).  All in it would take about an hour and a half, so I set my alarm for 8.30.  Of course, we were awake long before that.  There’s a special little internal alarm that triggers as soon as you set the physical alarm and doesn’t allow you to go back to sleep after you wake two hours before the physical alarm.  So, we went to Falkirk and the news was good, so to celebrate we went to Tea Jenny’s for an early lunch.  The food and service were excellent as usual.  You really should visit this cafe the next time you’re in Falkirk.  I don’t really care if you are from New York or Tokyo, make the effort for heaven’s sake!

When we got home I considered wheeling the bike out and taking it for a run, but there was a cold north wind blowing and I decided to go for a drive and possibly a walk instead.  I’d seen the dodgy looking santa last week and wanted a photo of it.  Up close it looked even creepier, stuck in a hollow of an old tree.  After that I went down to Auchinstarry to try my luck at making a time lapse, like the bloke on Rannoch Moor.  When I got to my chosen place, the sky looked interesting and I found a hollow in an old tree to wedge the camera in.  I chose the 9mm lens on the Oly to get a decent wide sky and did a six minute timelapse of just 60 shots at 10 second intervals.  I calculated that this would give a 6 second film of clouds scudding across the skies.  You’ve seen these things on the TV.  Very arty.  Halfway through the exposure I noticed that I’d bumped the focus lever on the lens to the closest focus setting, about 20mm, so everything was going to be out of focus.  However, mastering the process was more important than the actual finished article this time and I was reasonably happy with the result.  Next time I’ll prepare more carefully, rain protect the camera and lens, use a sturdy tripod and take care not to nudge the focusing lever.

The bramble leaves shot was just a grab shot to make the most of the brilliant contre-jour lighting.  I like the colours you get in bramble leaves.

Hoping for that cycle run tomorrow if the weather is more forgiving.

Endorphins again

Posted on by Zogman

Page_1-2- flickr--108A dull morning.  Cold and dull.

Afternoon was spent trying to ignore the ignorant Rangers supporters next door stamping and shouting their team on to an eventual win, while we watched the F1 cars whizzing around a hot track in China.  Neither of these sporting events really improved my mood.

Scamp wanted to go to the Sunday Social at Mercado in Glasgow.  I wasn’t totally over the moon about driving and parking in Glasgow city centre just after an Old Firm game.  We’d never been to Mercado, but had heard that the floor wasn’t great for dancing.  I thought I might just have enough time to go out and get today’s PoD, but just as I was going out, the rain came on.  Plan 2.  I’d left the ‘weemen’ setup and tripod in position in the spare room.  I took three of four shots of the same scene as before with differing focus points.  At least I’d have a potential PoD.

On the off chance that it would improve my mood, I drove in to Glasgow.  Tried to park in an NCP carpark just round from Mercado.  Luckily I didn’t have enough change to pay the exorbitant £6 for 2 hours.  Drove back round and parked on the street 100m away.  Parking free on a Sunday.  A bit further to walk, but a saving of £6.  NCP Normal Costly Parking.

Maybe it was the endorphins again, but after 2 hours of almost non-stop dancing, I walked out in a totally different mood.  Maybe it’s not anything so scientific, but there’s something in this salsa dancing that gives me sore feet, but lifts my spirits.  Watched a few ‘rubber men’ wandering around bemused with smiles on their faces and Rangers scarfs.  Maybe they were experiencing the effects of endorphins too.  Saw a few sad looking green and white dressed men too.  It’s a strange game this football.

The image  for this PoD is two shots.  One focused on the Queen and one on Shug and Tam.  I exported them from Lightroom as layers into Photoshop and painted a mask on Shug and Tam’s layer to allow the Queen to show through from the lower layer.  This gave the effect of sharp focus on the front pair and on the Queen at the rear of the stage while the ‘subjects’ were out of focus, a physical impossibility, but essential to the conversation.  The text was laid on using Comic Life V1 which, thankfully, I’d retained when I updated to V2.  Sometimes updates do more damage than good.  That’s why I’m still using Mountain Lion instead of the allegedly borked El Capitan on the Mac.  I’ll continue to use it until it isn’t practical anymore.

Hopefully a warmer day tomorrow.