Friday, April 29, 2005
The Pen Being Mightier.......
Thursday, April 28, 2005
Howard Strikes.
Michael Howard, Tory opposition leader, already stooping to new lows in this election campaign with his "liar" remarks, really is taking matters too far by employing tactics like these.
But he has been described before as "having something of the night about him".
See all recent posts.
But he has been described before as "having something of the night about him".
See all recent posts.
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
No Bagpipes and Toads.
Because I appreciate a smile and being treated like a customer who matters, I went to Dundee yesterday to order a new motorcycle. I could have got one up here, but spending upwards of £2,500 in Inverness is not enough to warrant being given anything approaching customer care or service by the toads who are generally employed up here to sell things, whether it's tourist trash, cans of beans or cars and bikes.
So it was off to civilization for the day. After dealing with the bike business we had a kebab, visited friends, did some shopping, and filled the car with petrol for the 130 mile trip home.
Prices compared with the rip-off Highlands? Kebabs a third cheaper - genuine ones, not the crap that Inverness chip shops optimistically describe as "Kebab". Petrol 4 to 7 pence cheaper per litre, CDs for £5.00 instead of £10 - £15.00. Mobile fone charger £1.00 instead of £10.00 or more.
Just a few examples, but all in all, not counting the much higher part exchange price for my old bike and the cost of petrol for a 260 mile round trip, a saving of £60.00 or so on Highland prices.
Plus decent service by helpful and smiling staff, and not a set of screaming, badly played bagpipes or a plastic Loch Ness Monster in sight.
See all recent posts.
So it was off to civilization for the day. After dealing with the bike business we had a kebab, visited friends, did some shopping, and filled the car with petrol for the 130 mile trip home.
Prices compared with the rip-off Highlands? Kebabs a third cheaper - genuine ones, not the crap that Inverness chip shops optimistically describe as "Kebab". Petrol 4 to 7 pence cheaper per litre, CDs for £5.00 instead of £10 - £15.00. Mobile fone charger £1.00 instead of £10.00 or more.
Just a few examples, but all in all, not counting the much higher part exchange price for my old bike and the cost of petrol for a 260 mile round trip, a saving of £60.00 or so on Highland prices.
Plus decent service by helpful and smiling staff, and not a set of screaming, badly played bagpipes or a plastic Loch Ness Monster in sight.
See all recent posts.
And Talking of.......
Monday, April 25, 2005
Cille Choirill.
Yesterday was a beautiful day, warm and sunny. I visited a church and graveyard I've been trying to get to for ages but never got round to, mainly because of the lousy weather we normally get here.
Cille Choirill, don't ask how it is pronounced, is a beautiful little 16th century chapel in Glen Spean, dedicated to the Irish St. Cairell, and situated on the summit of Tom Aingeal, the Sacred Fire Hillock.
See the set here
See all recent posts.
Sunday, April 24, 2005
Summing It All Up.......
Fuel Duel.
Truck drivers are threatening to disrupt fuel deliveries to filling stations for two weeks, starting a couple of days before the general election on the 5th of May. The protest is aimed not so much at high world oil prices, but at the governments refusal to lower fuel duty.
The average price of a litre of petrol in the UK is now 86 pence, with diesel at 90.1 pence.
Visitors to the Highlands should expect to pay considerably more, given the general rule here that tourists must be FLEECED for all they are worth.
See all recent posts.
The average price of a litre of petrol in the UK is now 86 pence, with diesel at 90.1 pence.
Visitors to the Highlands should expect to pay considerably more, given the general rule here that tourists must be FLEECED for all they are worth.
See all recent posts.
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Loch Quoich.
Friday, April 22, 2005
Bored?
A bad day. Blogger went down for maintenance, just when I was in the middle of mucking about with HTML stuff in the template. I was starting to wonder whether I would ever see this blog again.
I just got that sorted out and Flickr Foto went down for a "massage" - their words, not mine.
To alleviate stress I tried this, and ended up climbing the walls anyway.
See all recent posts.
I just got that sorted out and Flickr Foto went down for a "massage" - their words, not mine.
To alleviate stress I tried this, and ended up climbing the walls anyway.
See all recent posts.
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Watch the Birdie.......
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Healthy Rioters.
Two branches of the fast food chain McDonald's in Edinburgh may close for two days during the upcoming G8 summit, when 200,000 protesters are likely to march through the capital.
Bosses should be congratulated for their public spiritedness in ensuring that anti-capitalist demonstrators, anarchists and others are fit and healthy enough to riot by not eating the crap sold by McDonald's.
See all recent posts.
Bosses should be congratulated for their public spiritedness in ensuring that anti-capitalist demonstrators, anarchists and others are fit and healthy enough to riot by not eating the crap sold by McDonald's.
See all recent posts.
Collie Update.
Discussing Tactics.
Punch Up.
Her name is Kaspy - made up from the names of the two Collies we had previously, Katy and Spangle.
Although she has doubled in size since she joined us, Kaspy is still tiny compared to Spike the cat.
See all recent posts.
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Turf Wars.
A nice wee squabble is starting in Inverness over housing developments near Culloden, supposed site of the famous battle in 1746. Panic has ensued at the thought of new houses being built anywhere near the place, in case the "atmosphere" is affected.
The National Trust for Scotland wants to buy surrounding land to fend off the threat from new homes, and are seeking planning permission from the Highland Council for a £7 million visitor center. The Trust have no budget for land purchase, but they plan an international appeal for the funds to set up a buffer zone.
An objection has been lodged from a neighbor worried about noise and development of the green belt. And the design of the new building - naturally.
Planning officials are recommending approval of the project, which has been developed by Tony Pollard, a minor TV "celebrity", and a bunch of historians. Museum designer Ralph Appelbaum, who did the US Holocaust Museum, is to create the exhibition space. The Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland has backed the plans.
Now, we all know that the '45 rebellion was all about Bonnie Prince Charlie taking exception to the Duke of Cumberland and HIS dodgy real estate plans, but starting it up again over a bit of bog that may or may not be the site of the original battle (nobody seems to know for sure) perfectly illustrates the mentality of the powers that be in this Godforsaken bad joke of a place.
In reality, this has more to do with money, and a bunch of modern day "Dukes" wanting to impose their grand ideas on the rest of us. Instead of a new visitor center at Culloden, let's have an enormous high rise car park with a park and ride bus service to somewhere worth visiting - like Glasgow, Edinburgh or Dundee, - whose Councils have made such a success of making their town centers into pleasant and interesting places to visit. ANYWHERE but Inverness and Fort William, both of which are.......
Unattractive, dull, uninteresting, dirty and completely lacking in charm or culture. The Councils responsible blatantly play on the fact that tourists will keep on coming because of the myth of the Loch Ness Monster, and make no effort to improve conditions whatsoever.
See all recent posts.
The National Trust for Scotland wants to buy surrounding land to fend off the threat from new homes, and are seeking planning permission from the Highland Council for a £7 million visitor center. The Trust have no budget for land purchase, but they plan an international appeal for the funds to set up a buffer zone.
An objection has been lodged from a neighbor worried about noise and development of the green belt. And the design of the new building - naturally.
Planning officials are recommending approval of the project, which has been developed by Tony Pollard, a minor TV "celebrity", and a bunch of historians. Museum designer Ralph Appelbaum, who did the US Holocaust Museum, is to create the exhibition space. The Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland has backed the plans.
Now, we all know that the '45 rebellion was all about Bonnie Prince Charlie taking exception to the Duke of Cumberland and HIS dodgy real estate plans, but starting it up again over a bit of bog that may or may not be the site of the original battle (nobody seems to know for sure) perfectly illustrates the mentality of the powers that be in this Godforsaken bad joke of a place.
In reality, this has more to do with money, and a bunch of modern day "Dukes" wanting to impose their grand ideas on the rest of us. Instead of a new visitor center at Culloden, let's have an enormous high rise car park with a park and ride bus service to somewhere worth visiting - like Glasgow, Edinburgh or Dundee, - whose Councils have made such a success of making their town centers into pleasant and interesting places to visit. ANYWHERE but Inverness and Fort William, both of which are.......
Unattractive, dull, uninteresting, dirty and completely lacking in charm or culture. The Councils responsible blatantly play on the fact that tourists will keep on coming because of the myth of the Loch Ness Monster, and make no effort to improve conditions whatsoever.
See all recent posts.
Monday, April 18, 2005
Clouds.
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Great Dictators.
A Scottish Sunday paper is reporting that Mugabe of Zimbabwe is now eligible to be classed as one of the "Great Dictators".
I'm sure he's quite proud to be up there with Margaret Thatcher.
See all recent posts.
I'm sure he's quite proud to be up there with Margaret Thatcher.
See all recent posts.
Saturday, April 16, 2005
Decomposition.
Friday, April 15, 2005
Time.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
Things Undead, Dead, and Wilber.
In a recent book review Rod Liddle, referring to Tory opposition leader Michael Howard, described him as the "Resurrection of the Undead".
Very apt. In Scotland, with the general election looming, plenty people will be sharpening their wooden stakes, just in case.
___________________________
Wilber.
Finally got round to downloading the new Gimp for Mac, version 2.2.6, and loaded it without a hitch. Just dumped the old one into the trash and dropped the new one into my applications folder.
I've only been using it for a few hours, and so far it has behaved perfectly. The obvious improvements include no longer having to click twice to activate tools and documents, and previews working properly in the open dialog, which now has a sidebar like the Mac Finder.
I have preferred The Gimp to Photoshop for a long time now, and I thought my previous version was pretty near perfect after some of the much earlier releases on Linux, but this one is even better.
___________________________
Sadly, Kyocera of Japan are terminating production of the superb Contax cameras. Shipments of 35mm are to cease in September '05, with the 645 system due to share the same fate in December. After sales service will continue for a maximum period of 10 years.
I guess this is not so surprising, and it can't be long before we see a few other casualties of the digital age.
See all recent posts.
Very apt. In Scotland, with the general election looming, plenty people will be sharpening their wooden stakes, just in case.
___________________________
Wilber.
Finally got round to downloading the new Gimp for Mac, version 2.2.6, and loaded it without a hitch. Just dumped the old one into the trash and dropped the new one into my applications folder.
I've only been using it for a few hours, and so far it has behaved perfectly. The obvious improvements include no longer having to click twice to activate tools and documents, and previews working properly in the open dialog, which now has a sidebar like the Mac Finder.
I have preferred The Gimp to Photoshop for a long time now, and I thought my previous version was pretty near perfect after some of the much earlier releases on Linux, but this one is even better.
___________________________
Sadly, Kyocera of Japan are terminating production of the superb Contax cameras. Shipments of 35mm are to cease in September '05, with the 645 system due to share the same fate in December. After sales service will continue for a maximum period of 10 years.
I guess this is not so surprising, and it can't be long before we see a few other casualties of the digital age.
See all recent posts.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Dawn, Glengarry.
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Non Digital Workhorse.
I use digital cameras a lot. I love the ease of instantly seeing a result, and processing costs are virtually nil if you don't count printer ink and paper.
My Canon single lens reflex, with its interchangeable lenses, has replaced my 35mm cameras, and the image quality compares well with film - up to around 10x8. Non SLR point and shoot digital cameras, with their smaller sensor plates, don't cut the mustard, no matter how many millions of pixels they are endowed with.
Most of the fotos on this site are digital from the Canon, some are 35mm.
When I need something better than even National Geographic Magazine quality, it's back to the Mamiya RB67 with it's negative some five times bigger than 35mm. A scan from one of these negatives or transparencies is around 90mb as a Tiff image. An RB67 and a roll of Fuji Velvia give results which are simply unbeatable.
But it's hard work. Lug that beast, and a heavy tripod, plus a light meter (no automation with this, and you do need a tripod) and you know what hard work is, especially going uphill. Has anybody else noticed that most photography is up a hill?
It is also extremely expensive to produce a set of pictures - around £8-00 for 10 color slides, out of which I might get 3 perfect shots, as I usually bracket the exposures.
And of course I have to WAIT to see the results.
See all recent posts.
Monday, April 11, 2005
A Misty.......
rainy day in a remote highland glen. The sheep and the cattle are long gone, as are the people.
Imagine life here two hundred years ago.
Glen Kingie.
Colcam.Image.
See all recent posts.
Imagine life here two hundred years ago.
Glen Kingie.
Colcam.Image.
See all recent posts.
Sunday, April 10, 2005
Scots Religious Fanatics.
World leaders of many religious persuasions flocked to pay their last respects to Pope Paul II in Rome, along with millions of ordinary people.
All this was lost on a group of religious fanatics in Scotland, a minority who are the most small minded and evil dregs of this country, the Ministers of the Free Church of Scotland.
The "Wee Free" is the killjoy of life. Mean religious extremists who still manage to exert a grip on Island people with medieval rules. The forbidding of children going out to play, shops opening, drinking, buses running, etc, on the "Sabbath". Backed up, of course, with fire and brimstone rantings in church, more akin with brainwashing than sermons.
See the ravings by one of them about the Pope and the Royal wedding.
The churchman who made the comments is considered to be a modernist who doesn't take a strict enough line!
See all recent posts.
All this was lost on a group of religious fanatics in Scotland, a minority who are the most small minded and evil dregs of this country, the Ministers of the Free Church of Scotland.
The "Wee Free" is the killjoy of life. Mean religious extremists who still manage to exert a grip on Island people with medieval rules. The forbidding of children going out to play, shops opening, drinking, buses running, etc, on the "Sabbath". Backed up, of course, with fire and brimstone rantings in church, more akin with brainwashing than sermons.
See the ravings by one of them about the Pope and the Royal wedding.
The churchman who made the comments is considered to be a modernist who doesn't take a strict enough line!
See all recent posts.
Highland Loch.
Saturday, April 09, 2005
Loch Garry, Scotland.
Thursday, April 07, 2005
Scottish Deer Pony.
The Highland Pony is still used in some parts of Scotland to carry culled stags and hinds down from the mountains.
See all recent posts.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
The Glen.
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
Cali Bloody What???
Software for aging brains sounds like the most ridiculous idea I have ever heard of and.....................................what was I saying?
See all recent posts.
See all recent posts.
Monday, April 04, 2005
Some I Made Earlier.
Colcam.Image
Oh sure. I would love to be out there in the beautiful Highland scenery, in the rain, with the all day gloom and the flat gray sky shooting pictures in color that look monochrome.
So these are Made On A Mac - without getting wet.
Colcam.Image
See all recent posts.
Sunday, April 03, 2005
Bird, Eagle and Rat.
Saturday, April 02, 2005
Bird of Prey Deaths.
The poisoned birds of prey discovered and investigated in Scotland are only the tip of the iceberg.
The majority of these incidents are undoubtedly carried out by gamekeepers who are generally, and there are exceptions, not the brightest buttons in the box. They prefer to dismiss science as "mumbo-jumbo", and follow "traditional", in other words Victorian, methods of working.
These types manage to hold on to their positions because of the myth that a pair of plus fours and a deerstalker hat mean the wearer has special knowledge that no one else can possibly attain. A bushy beard earns the gamekeeper extra kudos.
I have met too many of them. I've had to work with them, and their only concession to membership of the twentieth century, let alone the twenty first, are the ubiquitous Land Rover and Mitsubishi four wheel drives that they spend most of the year polishing lovingly.
Falling game bird numbers will never be reversed by poisoning, shooting and trapping birds of prey. Until the average gamekeeper recognizes the threats of pollution, global warming, insecticides and his own outdated views, and takes on board the best advice of scientists, nothing is going to improve.
See all recent posts.
The majority of these incidents are undoubtedly carried out by gamekeepers who are generally, and there are exceptions, not the brightest buttons in the box. They prefer to dismiss science as "mumbo-jumbo", and follow "traditional", in other words Victorian, methods of working.
These types manage to hold on to their positions because of the myth that a pair of plus fours and a deerstalker hat mean the wearer has special knowledge that no one else can possibly attain. A bushy beard earns the gamekeeper extra kudos.
I have met too many of them. I've had to work with them, and their only concession to membership of the twentieth century, let alone the twenty first, are the ubiquitous Land Rover and Mitsubishi four wheel drives that they spend most of the year polishing lovingly.
Falling game bird numbers will never be reversed by poisoning, shooting and trapping birds of prey. Until the average gamekeeper recognizes the threats of pollution, global warming, insecticides and his own outdated views, and takes on board the best advice of scientists, nothing is going to improve.
See all recent posts.
Friday, April 01, 2005
Hello World.
© Colcam 2005-2007
