Archive for the ‘General’ Category

2008 could be a very interesting year for me. It seems that everything that I am involved with is moving towards some kind of junction. If everything that I do has a big change applied, it is likely to shake up a few things here and there. I certainly feel that things are going to be different a year from now. Perhaps it is this uncertainty about the future but I can almost feel my priorities changing. Things I desperately wanted to do a few months ago are slowly descending in the ranks as I modify my needs based on my theories and new ideas are creeping to the surface. Only in writing this is it apparent on how many levels this is true. I don’t wish to give any details on these things as it could be the lack of daylight affecting me but I am certain that things are going to change. I am not going to actively change anything, I will go with the flow and see where it takes me but I am conscious that I need to be careful when making decisions to ensure I follow the right path.That’s enough philosophical babbling, I have more exciting things to write about!

As we have not posted anything on to this site for a while I thought I would post a quick update about what is currently happening… easy to answer… not a lot! The main points to mention are:

• Grant’s M3 seems to be fine, no problems reported at least!
• My 330Ci is fine except for 2 slow punctures!
• Plans are already being made for Le Mans next year.

We are still keen to get more media and coverage on here but need some patience as the weather is bad, funds are low and these are bad excuses!

I am pleased to announce that my photography website, Encaptured Photography, has just been updated. Along with a minor update to the style, a lot of the code behind has been made more standards compliant. Along with this have come a few areas that need to be tweaked for various browsers and I expect to have this completed over the next few days.

New features include:

• Updated system to order custom ICC colour profiles for your home printer.
• Full text, keyword searching with boolean (and/or/not) operators.
• Image colour searching.
• Integrated system for searching for related images by keyword.
• Simple, in window (AJAX) slideshow for quick and easy browsing.
• PDF contact sheet download from lightbox view.
• Share photos in your Facebook account.

Feel free to head over and take a look around. If you notice any problems, please comment here or use the contact form on the site to let me know! Watch out as we hope to start adding more images and categories over the next few months.

This might be easier than I thought. 10 minutes at our licence office during lunchtime has put me one step closer to my goal! With very little drama (none actually), they happily granted me a provisional licence for Category A (Motorbikes). Hopefully it will all come together this quickly… what’s next on the list?!?!

Well, now I appear to at last be building momentum towards my goal for 2007. My resolution for this year was to try and get my motorbike licence. As I had done nothing to progress towards this goal, other than pick up a form for the licence, I did not hold out much hope on actually achieving the goal! However, a couple of weeks ago, Aidy decided that he was going to look for a new bike! He has settled on a rather cool BMW R1200GS that would be my ideal bike one day too! He did suggest that his Bandit 600F would be ideal for me to use as a starter bike. The bike has had a very interesting past, but at least I know it’s history! Other than working out the finer details down at the pub, I think we have made a deal!

Now it is time to…

1. Get licence sorted
2. Buy helmet and other gear
3. Organise some insurance
4. Convince Aidy to show me how a bike works!
5. Book myself on the CBT (Compulsory Basic Training)
6. Rent a bike to use on CBT as 600cc is too much
7. Read more magazines so I can say biker stuff – like the vindaloo comment (private joke)!!

Since I have not posted for some time, I figured a bit of humour might not go amiss!! Here is a great insight into what it’s like when we get into some real manual work! In this case back in 2004 when we first renovated the boat! Click below to see it… or go to the media page to see this and more!
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For my first YouTube video upload ever, I have one of the funniest things I have seen in a long while… not for CS who is undoubtedly the star, but he survived so all is well! The Video shot on Brooky’s phone and quickly edited on my Mac… Click through to watch and be winded yourself by the “Ultimate Belly Flop”!!
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The live blogging idea didn’t really work out as planned on this trip! We were so busy driving, filming and taking photos that there was very little time for actually writing anything about the day. We are working on something for the articles section though, the video is being cut and the photos prepared for upload so check back soon!

It seems that Apple has gone absolutely mad with new product releases. New iMac… check out how slick and silver it is! New Mac Minis for the media centre. I am quite impressed with the new keyboards though they do not have a full width wireless option at this stage. If I am at my desk I prefer the number pad to be there!

Finally, iLife 08 and iWork08 have been released. I have iWork 07 and it is an excellent suite so I iwll certainly be upgrading soon. With the introduction of an Apple spreadsheet app and Microsoft Office compatibility, it’s a bit of a no brainer!

Not long now and we will be heading off for the first track day this year (and for this site) with Grants M3. Le Mans, here we come! The plan is to blog the trip here and post lap times and problems as they arise so that we can start to build a history of our experiences as they happen.

As my first real track day, I am quite excited about it… Hopefully I will be able to contain myself when I get back and not go out straight away to buy my own car… The 330 has to last a while longer!!

Having been playing with a new Macro lens that I received for my birthday, I felt it was time I updated the homepage photo. The tulip photo was taken with it during my testing and I am very impressed with the image quality! The magnification ratio is superb, though this particular image is taken from a distance away!

Here is a link to the gallery

Thanks to a chat with Gringod and my news feed, I have been deed’ed my own 128 bit number from Freedom to Tinker

70 7A 4F EE 1A A2 97 DB CD 1C 58 CB 83 FB 88 E5

This is all mine now so if I Google it and find someone using it… I will be after you faster than the DMCA can back me up and say ‘Yeaaah’ like a high school bully!

Alternatively if this whole post means nothing to you… feel free to appreciate my number but dont use it…anywhere!!

I have updated my homepage photo with an image of the moon during the eclipse. This was taken a little before the full eclipse because the visibility deteriorated badly over a 20 minute period. By the time we left, the moon was no longer visible through the haze. Nonetheless, it was a good sight while it lasted and luckily for us, not too cold!

The evening was also full of adventure as Dave’s Range Rover got stuck in the middle of a big puddle… a small lake nearly. As Aidy had the benefit of a good view and a camera to hand… there may well be a picture online soon!

After reading part 1 of the “Taking Your Photography To The Next Level” articles on the Luminous Landscape, I was deep in thought about where I am now and where I want to be in relation to photography. Whilst stuck into this review -as I have a habit of doing- my thoughts started wandering off a bit and I came to the conclusion that this type of analysis can be used for any aspect of life and further to that; I realised that I always do this anyway… if not always consciously. So if I take this ‘common sense’ approach and apply it to something else in my life, how much control could I have over being able to take myself up a level and would I be better able to control my ascension by focussing on the significant factors and avoiding the ‘fluff’ that I would inevitably get caught up in? If I can identify the noise… can I be better at anything? Can I take ‘anything’ up to any level I desire by knowing where I have to be?

Now I may have some big ideas at times… and I think this is one of those times… so I am going to try an experiment. Can I get rich (lifelong goal!!) by focussing on it? Avoid the fluff, avoid the noise… focus on taking it up a level… know where I want to be and know how to get there. by the end of this year, I will either be rocketing my way up the levels… or still down here near the middle!!!

Friday is always ‘one of those days’! To help the obligatory Friday foolishness, have a look at this list of valuable instructions… all of them from real products! I swear… 5 mins went by quickly!!