Eagle eyed readers will no doubt have spotted I've not mentioned my meditation classes for a while. It's mainly been because nothing worth reporting has occurred. That all changed a week back, I would have blogged about it already but I've been too preoccupied with my nature photography shenanigans.
Anyway, for the past few weeks we've been doing a guided meditation called Damo's Cave. It's enjoyable although I'm pretty bad at visualising completely imaginary things. The basic concept is that you imagine you are climbing up a mountain to a cave (which I suppose represents your mind) and inside the cave are all sorts of rooms, like a control room which you can go and explore. There are also various other rooms with doorways to what are essentially elemental realms (as in Earth, Water, Fire, Air not Gold, Lead, Mercury and Uranium) which you can also go into and explore. Later on you're supposed to explore the environs. No idea what you're supposed to see then. All very relaxing and fun - so relaxing that I actually fell asleep during the second part, which I'm sure isn't conducive to the shamanic journey we were supposed to be undertaking.
But here's where things started to get a little silly. There are supposed to be other rooms too, like a bedroom, a room of knowledge, a room for practicing martial arts in, stuff like that. I know, I know, it's all meant to be symbolic, but, and here's where it got really silly, the course leader suggested that if we did things in the cave they would happen in real life. He gave an example of when he fancied some girl, slept with her in the bedroom of his cave and lo and behold they got together and had a real relationship after. I find this a little unlikely, to say the least. Not the fact that he got together with the girl, but the fact that it was his imaginary spelological adventure that caused it.
But there's more. After that it got really, really, silly. The class was over and some people were asking a few questions. One guy asked what use the whole imaginary cave thing was. The instructor launched into what I can only describe as a major paranoid rant. I don't have the exact words to hand unfortunately but it was something to the effect that people who run the world (presumably not the figureheads like mere prime ministers but the shadowy people who are really in charge) use this technique to control the world and we could too. In fact we should to try and bend the world back again. "They" do this, "They" do that. It went on for quite a while.
I was shocked and not a little stunned. I am of course aware that some people think like this but I've never had direct exposure before. I'll try and remember to check my chat history and post some of the best bits.
Tuesday, 29 September 2009
Saturday, 26 September 2009
Friday, 25 September 2009
Nature Photographer - Part III
I was all excited to get out in the garden last night and lay my photographic trap for Harry the Hedgehog. But the little whatsit never showed up. Harriet did, but she doesn't circle the garden like Harry does so I didn't even bother turning the camera on. Typical.
Thursday, 24 September 2009
Nature Photographer - Part II
Things are getting more exciting in the garden as we discovered we had not one, but two hedgehogs rummaging through the dropped bird food and Phoebe leftovers (we shake Phoebe's floor protecting tablecloth out near the bird table as well.) We've called the big one Harry and the smaller one Harriet.
On the photography front things are looking up too. In true obsessive style I crumbled in the face of my previous inadequacy and bought a wide aperture lens. Not, (un)fortunately the really expensive one that I actually wanted but a much cheaper model, just to see if the faster lens made a significant difference to the photographs. I'm pleased to report that it does, I got a more or less sharp handheld shot of Harriet and lots of blurry ones too, the damn things just won't stay still! I still don't have a tripod of course or a remote shutter release but let's not forget that in a few weeks I'll be unemployed again so that's probably enough spending for now. The other good news is that they don't seem too mind the camera noise too much (Harry especially) which means I will hopefully have a few more chances. I've also noticed that Harry likes to circle the garden following a route which takes him right under the outside light where I've determined I can take relatively fast shutter speed photos which should result in some decently sharp shots. All I need to do is camp out by the garden furniture for a few nights and with any luck I'll get some really good photos of him.
My polarising filter should be turning up any day now as well, which will give me a good chance to take some shots of the fish and crabs in the impressive sea aquarium at the office without any nasty reflections.
On the photography front things are looking up too. In true obsessive style I crumbled in the face of my previous inadequacy and bought a wide aperture lens. Not, (un)fortunately the really expensive one that I actually wanted but a much cheaper model, just to see if the faster lens made a significant difference to the photographs. I'm pleased to report that it does, I got a more or less sharp handheld shot of Harriet and lots of blurry ones too, the damn things just won't stay still! I still don't have a tripod of course or a remote shutter release but let's not forget that in a few weeks I'll be unemployed again so that's probably enough spending for now. The other good news is that they don't seem too mind the camera noise too much (Harry especially) which means I will hopefully have a few more chances. I've also noticed that Harry likes to circle the garden following a route which takes him right under the outside light where I've determined I can take relatively fast shutter speed photos which should result in some decently sharp shots. All I need to do is camp out by the garden furniture for a few nights and with any luck I'll get some really good photos of him.
My polarising filter should be turning up any day now as well, which will give me a good chance to take some shots of the fish and crabs in the impressive sea aquarium at the office without any nasty reflections.
Tuesday, 22 September 2009
UncleMungo - Nature Photographer
Not!
Well, I had my big chance and blew it. Picture the scene, we had popped into the garden to put Riff-Raff back in his hutch after giving him his antibiotics when we saw our resident hedgehog snuffling around the lawn, apparently completely oblivious to our presence on the patio just feet away. Oblivious that is until I ran inside and got my camera to take some pictures of it. I managed to scare it off with various camera starting up and focusing noises although fortunately it did come back. So, there I was in position, the outside light was on which should have given me a fighting chance of getting a picture, but no. I just couldn't set a wide enough aperture to get an exposure of less than a second or two, even at higher ISOs. Of course, I don't have a tripod either and the hedgehog was hardly staying still for me. All I managed to get was a blurry garden with a ghostly shape or two. Eventually I was banned from trying as I managed to scare it again with the shutter noise. Result: a total washout.
But it seems, nature wasn't done with me yet. When we got in the house there was an impressively big spider lurking in the corner of the dressing room and brushing my earlier disappointment to one side I once again leaped into action. This time I was able to use one of my Father-In-Law's close up lenses to allow me to get really up close and personal with the spider. Well kind of, it was right in the corner of the room, up by the ceiling, so I had to hold the camera up at arms length but luckily the excellent Sony Live View feature came to the rescue so I could actually still see the spider and focus on it. Unfortunately though almost exactly the same thing happened as with the hedgehog. Even though I was indoors with the lights on I still couldn't get a decent shot. It's not as if the spider was running around either. Flash was no use as I was too close and the ceiling is white so even with the flash stopped right down and the shutter as fast as possible I couldn't get a shot that wasn't just a total white mess. Without the flash I needed a shorter but still fairly significant 0.6 second exposure which is a long time to hold still without wobbling. I tried employing a Hejpod but she couldn't stand still enough for me and swapped lenses and close-up lenses but I'm still not convinced I got a good shot.
OK, I did at least manage to get some shots that looked all right on the LCD, I won't know how good they really are until I look at them on a big screen. So all in all I felt pretty deflated. I could really, really, do with a wide aperture lens.
The only thing is, that although I really love my Alpha 350, it's a brilliant first DSLR for someone like me who is moving up from a compact camera, I'm not 100% sure I want to stick with Sony. The newer cameras they've produced have been a bit poor (according to the reviews for example, the 380 which is supposedly the new model upgrade to mine is in fact a downgrade in almost every area) and the Sony's, even the really expensive ones, seem to be much weaker in bad light in general than the competition with a lot of noise at higher ISOs and a rather brutal noise reduction programme which removes photgraphic detail as well as noise. Unfortunately, it seems I almost always take pictures in bad light. Now, a wide aperture lens would mitigate that a lot but do I want to start investing in Sony lenses which would effectively lock me into the Sony system if I know I might be better off switching to one of the other systems to get good results for low light shots? Especially since I already know that's what I generally shoot. I'm awaiting with interest the reviews of the new 550 which seems like it could be a proper upgrade for the 350.
What a dilemma. Of course, it could be that by the time I am looking to upgrade they've fixed all that stuff, but that's not going to help me take awesome pictures of hedgehogs tomorrow night. Or whenever the next time we see it is.
Don't get me wrong here, I would still chose the 350 as my first DSLR even now, I suppose this would be made a little easier if I knew how much better my low-light results would be with a better lens. If I can get good results without needing to switch to higher ISOs none of this is an issue. Arrgg. If only the lenses weren't so damn expensive.
UPDATE: Sony do seem to be aware of the noise issues and are touting the 550 as having much better performance in this area. Maybe I don't need to worry after all.
Well, I had my big chance and blew it. Picture the scene, we had popped into the garden to put Riff-Raff back in his hutch after giving him his antibiotics when we saw our resident hedgehog snuffling around the lawn, apparently completely oblivious to our presence on the patio just feet away. Oblivious that is until I ran inside and got my camera to take some pictures of it. I managed to scare it off with various camera starting up and focusing noises although fortunately it did come back. So, there I was in position, the outside light was on which should have given me a fighting chance of getting a picture, but no. I just couldn't set a wide enough aperture to get an exposure of less than a second or two, even at higher ISOs. Of course, I don't have a tripod either and the hedgehog was hardly staying still for me. All I managed to get was a blurry garden with a ghostly shape or two. Eventually I was banned from trying as I managed to scare it again with the shutter noise. Result: a total washout.
But it seems, nature wasn't done with me yet. When we got in the house there was an impressively big spider lurking in the corner of the dressing room and brushing my earlier disappointment to one side I once again leaped into action. This time I was able to use one of my Father-In-Law's close up lenses to allow me to get really up close and personal with the spider. Well kind of, it was right in the corner of the room, up by the ceiling, so I had to hold the camera up at arms length but luckily the excellent Sony Live View feature came to the rescue so I could actually still see the spider and focus on it. Unfortunately though almost exactly the same thing happened as with the hedgehog. Even though I was indoors with the lights on I still couldn't get a decent shot. It's not as if the spider was running around either. Flash was no use as I was too close and the ceiling is white so even with the flash stopped right down and the shutter as fast as possible I couldn't get a shot that wasn't just a total white mess. Without the flash I needed a shorter but still fairly significant 0.6 second exposure which is a long time to hold still without wobbling. I tried employing a Hejpod but she couldn't stand still enough for me and swapped lenses and close-up lenses but I'm still not convinced I got a good shot.
OK, I did at least manage to get some shots that looked all right on the LCD, I won't know how good they really are until I look at them on a big screen. So all in all I felt pretty deflated. I could really, really, do with a wide aperture lens.
The only thing is, that although I really love my Alpha 350, it's a brilliant first DSLR for someone like me who is moving up from a compact camera, I'm not 100% sure I want to stick with Sony. The newer cameras they've produced have been a bit poor (according to the reviews for example, the 380 which is supposedly the new model upgrade to mine is in fact a downgrade in almost every area) and the Sony's, even the really expensive ones, seem to be much weaker in bad light in general than the competition with a lot of noise at higher ISOs and a rather brutal noise reduction programme which removes photgraphic detail as well as noise. Unfortunately, it seems I almost always take pictures in bad light. Now, a wide aperture lens would mitigate that a lot but do I want to start investing in Sony lenses which would effectively lock me into the Sony system if I know I might be better off switching to one of the other systems to get good results for low light shots? Especially since I already know that's what I generally shoot. I'm awaiting with interest the reviews of the new 550 which seems like it could be a proper upgrade for the 350.
What a dilemma. Of course, it could be that by the time I am looking to upgrade they've fixed all that stuff, but that's not going to help me take awesome pictures of hedgehogs tomorrow night. Or whenever the next time we see it is.
Don't get me wrong here, I would still chose the 350 as my first DSLR even now, I suppose this would be made a little easier if I knew how much better my low-light results would be with a better lens. If I can get good results without needing to switch to higher ISOs none of this is an issue. Arrgg. If only the lenses weren't so damn expensive.
UPDATE: Sony do seem to be aware of the noise issues and are touting the 550 as having much better performance in this area. Maybe I don't need to worry after all.
Monday, 21 September 2009
Crown Estates Tokaji Aszú 2002
Another desert wine (of course) this one a fair bit more expensive than the ones I usually buy and therefore slightly more disappointing. The lady in the wine shop was raving about it so I was very excited as I poured it out but to be honest it's not all that great. Well, not that great in proportion to it's cost. It's certainly nice enough and is a bit sharper (by reading the label I have discovered that this is called acidity but to normal people that's just sourness) than most desert wines - probably 7/9 on the Sainsburys white wine sweetness scale, I'm so classy, which although it may mean that you can drink it a bit more in an everyday situation surely somewhat defeats the object of having a desert wine in the first place. Isn't the whole point of a desert wine is that it's supposed to be sweet? Making one that's more acidic isn't actually a good thing. Yet somehow wine people obviously think it is. Clearly I have a long way to go as a wine aficionado.
I thought it tasted very like the Australian Botrytis Semillon I enjoyed extensively on my first flight to New Zealand, which is good because after reading the label I discovered that it is also made using grapes affected by Botrytis so a) it should taste similar and b) my nose is still in working order. But c) you can basically get exactly the same thing much cheaper.
I should also note that the wine contained five Puttonyos of Aszú grapes. Yes. Five. Five whole Puttonyos. Not half Puttonyos, oh no and none of your three or four Puttonyos rubbish either. I think that's supposed to be good. Clearly though, it's a load of poncy wine bollocks.
I thought it tasted very like the Australian Botrytis Semillon I enjoyed extensively on my first flight to New Zealand, which is good because after reading the label I discovered that it is also made using grapes affected by Botrytis so a) it should taste similar and b) my nose is still in working order. But c) you can basically get exactly the same thing much cheaper.
I should also note that the wine contained five Puttonyos of Aszú grapes. Yes. Five. Five whole Puttonyos. Not half Puttonyos, oh no and none of your three or four Puttonyos rubbish either. I think that's supposed to be good. Clearly though, it's a load of poncy wine bollocks.
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
Denied!
Finally got hold of my father-in-law's lenses, he's got some good glass (see I'm already using the lingo, just like a proper photographer) unfortunately though Minolta must have changed their lens fitting some time between 1970 and now (OK, that's a little unfair I don't actually know how old the lenses are) and they wouldn't fit on to my camera. It's a real shame as he's got pretty much every lens I was planning to get (a wide angle, a macro, a wide aperture telephoto and a teleconverter) and it could have saved me a fortune - a decent example of any one of those lenses would cost more than my camera, some of them about ten times more!
It did however give me an appreciation of just how massively complicated and difficult "serious" photography was back in the pre-digital era. There are so many dials on some of those lenses to set aperture and focus (a digital camera can set these for you based on exposure sensors), plus filters to get the right white balance depending on how the colour temperature the film is optimised for (ditto), plus matching the ISO of the film (again, ditto) and after all that you couldn't actually see if the picture was properly exposed or in focus until weeks later, by which time of course you weren't going to be able to take another if it wasn't. It's amazing anybody ever managed to take any photos worth keeping at all.
Although according to the lovely Hayley, Bob hardly ever did...
It did however give me an appreciation of just how massively complicated and difficult "serious" photography was back in the pre-digital era. There are so many dials on some of those lenses to set aperture and focus (a digital camera can set these for you based on exposure sensors), plus filters to get the right white balance depending on how the colour temperature the film is optimised for (ditto), plus matching the ISO of the film (again, ditto) and after all that you couldn't actually see if the picture was properly exposed or in focus until weeks later, by which time of course you weren't going to be able to take another if it wasn't. It's amazing anybody ever managed to take any photos worth keeping at all.
Although according to the lovely Hayley, Bob hardly ever did...
Monday, 14 September 2009
Buckfast Abbey Tonic Wine
My ever helpful brother has been kind enough to provide me with a sample of the (in)famous Buckfast Tonic Wine which I took for a test drive over the weekend.
It's nice - sweet and strong but with a slightly bitter edge reminiscent of tonic water, like its Sherry’s slightly unsavoury younger brother. I can see why the kids like it. It's also chock full of caffeine, more so even than Red Bull, which was a bit of a surprise, and we should all know the consequences of mixing caffeine and alcohol by now. That could go quite a long way towards explaining its (possibly undeserved) dubious reputation.
But as a responsible adult (kind of) I feel I can enjoy it without wrecking the house or running out into the street and having a fight. Although I did only have a small glass. Who knows what could happen if I have two small glasses...
It's nice - sweet and strong but with a slightly bitter edge reminiscent of tonic water, like its Sherry’s slightly unsavoury younger brother. I can see why the kids like it. It's also chock full of caffeine, more so even than Red Bull, which was a bit of a surprise, and we should all know the consequences of mixing caffeine and alcohol by now. That could go quite a long way towards explaining its (possibly undeserved) dubious reputation.
But as a responsible adult (kind of) I feel I can enjoy it without wrecking the house or running out into the street and having a fight. Although I did only have a small glass. Who knows what could happen if I have two small glasses...
The Return Of The Plague
Of maggots. This time not in the house though, it's much, much nastier - they were on one of our rabbit's bum. Yes, Riff-Raff has fallen prey to the dreaded fly strike after getting a bit of a bad stomach. Fortunately we spotted it really early and it looks like he should be OK. It's pretty nasty though as you can imagine. There's nothing I enjoy more of an evening than peering at a stinky rabbit bottom and then seeing hundreds of tiny maggots in there too. Yeuchk.
I did learn one interesting blow-fly fact though while trawling the Internet for clues. For 'tis the blow-fly that causes fly strike. It turns out that blow flies, which as we all know have medicinal uses (maggot therapy anyone?) are in fact blue bottles. And green bottles. But not beer bottles, sorry Ned. So in essence, they are just, well, flies. In fact a blow fly is any fly that lays it's eggs on meat. So there you go, don't say you never learn anything when you read this.
I did learn one interesting blow-fly fact though while trawling the Internet for clues. For 'tis the blow-fly that causes fly strike. It turns out that blow flies, which as we all know have medicinal uses (maggot therapy anyone?) are in fact blue bottles. And green bottles. But not beer bottles, sorry Ned. So in essence, they are just, well, flies. In fact a blow fly is any fly that lays it's eggs on meat. So there you go, don't say you never learn anything when you read this.
Friday, 11 September 2009
A Slippery Situation
I was following a fuel tanker coming off the roundabout at Junction 31 when it started spewing diesel out the back and onto the road. He seemed completely oblivious and left a huge trail of diesel round a roundabout and up a hill. Needless to say driving through it was more than a little treacherous! Especially in a rear wheel drive car on the roundabout - fortunately my karting trips had instilled a few useful reflexes and I recovered from a several spins before I had time to even think about it. Maybe the traction control helped a little too! Now my whole car absolutely stinks even though I had the air on recycle and there's diesel all up the sides by the wheels.
I suppose I should be a little grateful that I wasn't a few minutes further down the road as apparently it's turned into complete chaos with the side road and possibly the main roundabout both being closed. I wouldn't have a clue how to get to the office any other way. It also seems that the telephone exchange for the office is down there and all the phones are out too. I'm not quite sure how a fuel spillage can take out a telephone exchange but apparently it can. Let's hope the terrorists don't figure that one out.
Fingers crossed it will be all cleared up before I leave this evening.
I suppose I should be a little grateful that I wasn't a few minutes further down the road as apparently it's turned into complete chaos with the side road and possibly the main roundabout both being closed. I wouldn't have a clue how to get to the office any other way. It also seems that the telephone exchange for the office is down there and all the phones are out too. I'm not quite sure how a fuel spillage can take out a telephone exchange but apparently it can. Let's hope the terrorists don't figure that one out.
Fingers crossed it will be all cleared up before I leave this evening.
Monday, 7 September 2009
The Danger From Swine Flu Is Officially Over!
At least that's what I'm inferring from the sudden disappearance of the alcoholic hand gel stations by the car park door.
Not that I'm complaining, normally I quite enjoy using alcohol gel (mmmm vodka) but this stuff was terrible, it felt like liquid soap and left a nasty residue on your hands, again just like liquid soap would if you didn't wash it off after applying. And woe betide anyone who accidentally put a gelled finger in their mouth before washing it with soap and water normally. I foolishly tried to (dsicreetly of course) get a bit of meat out from between my teeth after lunch (there was a hand gel station at the canteen entrance too) - yeeeuuuchk! It has the most horrendous bitter taste imaginable. It was about 30 minutes before I could taste anything else again, despite running straight to the kitchen to get a glass of water and gargling furiously. It's probably the second worst thing I've ever put in my mouth, after the as yet not definitively identified (but possibly rotted/fermented soy bean) maki roll I bought in Japan.
Not that I'm complaining, normally I quite enjoy using alcohol gel (mmmm vodka) but this stuff was terrible, it felt like liquid soap and left a nasty residue on your hands, again just like liquid soap would if you didn't wash it off after applying. And woe betide anyone who accidentally put a gelled finger in their mouth before washing it with soap and water normally. I foolishly tried to (dsicreetly of course) get a bit of meat out from between my teeth after lunch (there was a hand gel station at the canteen entrance too) - yeeeuuuchk! It has the most horrendous bitter taste imaginable. It was about 30 minutes before I could taste anything else again, despite running straight to the kitchen to get a glass of water and gargling furiously. It's probably the second worst thing I've ever put in my mouth, after the as yet not definitively identified (but possibly rotted/fermented soy bean) maki roll I bought in Japan.
Travel Survey
Bleh. School holidays are definitely over. It took me an extra fifteen minutes this morning to get to the motorway. Strangely, the motorway itself was if anything running slightly better than normal, although that was possibly only because I was later than I usually am.
That's got nothing to do with the post though, Hayley and I have been selected (Phoebe is too young apparently) to take part in a Department for Transport travel survey. I have no idea why. It seems to be all about cycling, but I'm afraid there's not much chance of me cycling to Dartford every day, or for that matter taking public transport. It's kind of a pain, we have to log all the journeys we do including "all walks no matter how short" in a travel diary but it's not clear if I need to put things like "7:30am walked five meters to garage" or if I need to log the run I did this morning. After all running isn't walking and I wasn't going anywhere anyway. It's all just too confusing. I also have a feeling it's going to make me look a little boring, as all I'll have in it will be "drive to work, drive home, drive to work, drive home..." At least it's only for a week.
That's got nothing to do with the post though, Hayley and I have been selected (Phoebe is too young apparently) to take part in a Department for Transport travel survey. I have no idea why. It seems to be all about cycling, but I'm afraid there's not much chance of me cycling to Dartford every day, or for that matter taking public transport. It's kind of a pain, we have to log all the journeys we do including "all walks no matter how short" in a travel diary but it's not clear if I need to put things like "7:30am walked five meters to garage" or if I need to log the run I did this morning. After all running isn't walking and I wasn't going anywhere anyway. It's all just too confusing. I also have a feeling it's going to make me look a little boring, as all I'll have in it will be "drive to work, drive home, drive to work, drive home..." At least it's only for a week.
Sunday, 6 September 2009
Campbells Rutherglen Muscat
After a special request from Ned I've decided to up the alchohol content of my blog for a bit. So here's what I had to drink last night:
Campbells Rutherglen Muscat
Very nice indeed. A good rich desert wine, one of the best I've tried. I still think that the obscure Sicilan Passito di Pantelleria is the best ever but this is a fairly comfortable second so far.
Hmm, this drink reviewing is harder than it looks, it's not easy to come up with descriptions that aren't, "Yum, it was was tasty." Need more practice obviously.
Campbells Rutherglen Muscat
Very nice indeed. A good rich desert wine, one of the best I've tried. I still think that the obscure Sicilan Passito di Pantelleria is the best ever but this is a fairly comfortable second so far.
Hmm, this drink reviewing is harder than it looks, it's not easy to come up with descriptions that aren't, "Yum, it was was tasty." Need more practice obviously.
Friday, 4 September 2009
Quiet Week
Nothing much to report this week, the traffic is definitely worse now unfortunately, it's taking me about 15 minutes longer to get in than it did during the holidays but so far no major snarl-ups.
Things are looking up on the job front too. One of my former employers has been in touch to see if I fancy coming back for a spell (still contract unfortunately.) To be honest I'm not entirely sure I do want to go back, but beggars can't be choosers. At least I have the option (hopefully) if I want it. The only person at my current employer who could do the work I'm doing has just left, so if I play my cards right there should be more work here too.
My photography books arrived and I've been driving Hayley quietly mad sitting in the lounge taking endless photos of the fireplace to see what all the different settings do. Not entirely sure the fireplace is actually the best subject for this but it's the best I can do for now. My father-in-law has offered me his old Minolta lenses to try (they should work on my camera) which would be great and could save me a fortune.
That's it really. Boring eh?
Edit: anther former employer has been in touch also requesting my services. Much less likely to happen than the other one, but having options makes me feel good, even if they're not very likely ones.
Things are looking up on the job front too. One of my former employers has been in touch to see if I fancy coming back for a spell (still contract unfortunately.) To be honest I'm not entirely sure I do want to go back, but beggars can't be choosers. At least I have the option (hopefully) if I want it. The only person at my current employer who could do the work I'm doing has just left, so if I play my cards right there should be more work here too.
My photography books arrived and I've been driving Hayley quietly mad sitting in the lounge taking endless photos of the fireplace to see what all the different settings do. Not entirely sure the fireplace is actually the best subject for this but it's the best I can do for now. My father-in-law has offered me his old Minolta lenses to try (they should work on my camera) which would be great and could save me a fortune.
That's it really. Boring eh?
Edit: anther former employer has been in touch also requesting my services. Much less likely to happen than the other one, but having options makes me feel good, even if they're not very likely ones.
Tuesday, 1 September 2009
The Holiday Is Over
Sadly. It's back to the grind-drive. Impressively after only a week (or so) off, I seem to have totally forgotten how to get ready for work in the morning, neglecting to shave and generally faffing a lot instead of getting ready with my customary slick and automatic efficiency. I also managed to leave all sorts of things I was supposed to bring with me at home into the bargain - including the work laptop I had been loaned for the holidays, my mobile, my little umbrella (suits get knackered when they get wet) and the jumper I've been wearing in the office (I sit right under a very chilly aircon vent.) At least I remembered my wallet, my iPod and my house keys but that's still not a very good remembering things to forgetting things ratio.
Then, of course, the traffic was really bad at Dartford which rounded out quite a good morning from a grumpiness perspective. Unfortunately I obviously have a bit of holiday cheer left which has cancelled most of it out, so, reluctantly, I'm forced to end the post here.
Then, of course, the traffic was really bad at Dartford which rounded out quite a good morning from a grumpiness perspective. Unfortunately I obviously have a bit of holiday cheer left which has cancelled most of it out, so, reluctantly, I'm forced to end the post here.
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