“More than you ask for” was written by me in 1986, and recorded by the Doofers in December 1987 (see separate article). It’s always had a special place in my heart because it represented such an exciting time – starting to create music. I still like it, and had a modern re-take on it, which I thought I’d share with you.
Unintentionally funny comic strips
I was sent these by my friend Simon…. the top 15 unintentionally funny comic strips of yesteryear. I suppose they’re funnier when they’re exposed out of context. Fnarr fnarr.
William runs through chains
I was watching a fantastic bit of stop frame animation the other day on youtube, when I saw a cheesy camera trick exactly like I’d done about 12 months ago with my friend Will whilst on holiday in Wales.
Howgills, some Sedbergh reminiscing, and an overdue dose of snow
I had a great day out with some soon to be ex-colleagues (and a currently ex colleague) in the Howgills the other day, taking in a 9.5 mile walk in the beautiful Howgill Fells. It enabled me to (fairly) quietly reminisce about my two years living in Sedbergh as a teeneger, especially as we retraced the route of the Sedbergh Ten Mile race on our way back into the town (“Muddy Slide” – a steep gorge – the excitement came rushing back to me).
The snow finally came to the north west for me – our house has had the barest of coverings this winter, much to my disappointment, so to get out in the snow, albeit just a generous dusting, was great.
Piccies on Flickr. Here’s the walk as a google earth (.kmz) path if you’re interested.
When the cat’s away…
Katie went to stay for the night with her friend Lucy so I had a lovely 36 hours or so with Lily on my own (ish). We had a busy old weekend in many ways, including a trip into the Manchester Art Gallery and a stay with Matthew and Holly, but it was lovely fun from start to finish, and we’re allowed to eat stinky things like kippers when Katie’s not here.
Podcast: “Feature”
My first podcast… a tune from the past.
Feature is quite a heavy instrumental, with a hefty chorus. Hammond organ and some organic drums.
Enjoy…
Mind blown by GPS data
A few weeks ago, I bought a Garmin Forerunner 201, on a whim, from my friend Matthew. When I bought it, it was very much an experiment to see whether I’d get on with it and get enough out of it.
It comes with some fairly dreadful software that gives you some very basic visual data about your runs / walks / cycles, and the software itself was one of the main reasons I started to think it was not something I’d keep in my possession in the longer term.
However… after quite a bit of ferreting around, I’ve now found the ‘Holy Grail’ – just what I was after. I’ve found a way to export the data from the Garmin LogBook software, then convert this into Google Earth path files (that you can view and save in Google Earth). All this is done through the GPS Visualiser website (BIG credit to them – THANKS!!).
Here’s the type of data I’m talking about… (click on the image on the left). Walking mountain titans of the first weekend in March will probably want to download the walks so they can open and ingest them in Google Earth.
Saturday’s Walk
Sunday’s Walk
Instructions and links for how to do this below. Continue reading “Mind blown by GPS data”
Vignette: a mini photoshop tutorial
I’ve seen quite a few photos on Flickr lately that took my fancy for one reason or another, and one of the things that crops up from time to time is the Vignette that comes with some photos. It reminds me of older times and when I used to do a bit in the dark rooms (of Blackburn College, Sheffield Hallam University and the Brewery Arts Centre in Kendal). It’s something that can make a bland low-light photo into something with more focal punch, but without the cheesiness of soft focus.
I should point out that it works effectively on landscape shots too, but you could go overkill, and it tends to have happened (with older cameras and darkrooms) naturally in lower light conditions. Whaddya reckon? (Here’s a link to the Photoshop tutorial I used – it’s very straightforward, but the ‘feather’ setting it refers to will need to be increased for higher resolution original photos)
Left Dave, Right Dave, and the normal twisted Dave
Lily took a photo of me on Sunday and it made me realise how uneven my face is! I made copies of my face in Photoshop – Left, Right, and the original are here….
Scarily enough (apart from the huge difference between my left side and right side), the ‘normal’ photo’s clearly the ugliest. Before anyone leaves any cheeky comments, have a go at it yourself (or better still, send me a photo and I’ll do the same for you!!)
A Jazz dispute acted out
Charlie Parker (sax) and Dizzy Gillespie (trumpet) battle it out… the video! This guy has spent a lot of time on this…!
The world’s tightest jeans
My lovely work mate Kim sent me through this image (goodness knows where or how she got it) of someone in some well tailored trousers. It’s such a great image, not least, the cheesy laugh of the woman ‘posing’ for the photo.
Sunday with the Rowlands’
A lovely trip to see Sally, Simon and Olly, on what appears to be the first weekend of spring.
Video below of Simon and I being creative with the little ones’ vehicles.