16 November, 2023
Off-Cloud Backup for Heroku apps – a possible answer
The Heroku platform is an absolutely fantastic way to have to not bother with devops within a small development company. We’ve been using it at interconnect for years now, and whilst it’s not entirely perfect, it takes away one set of headaches and does so at a reasonable cost. All the services offer backups, and […]
5 June, 2013
Liverpool Central Library
So, Liverpool Central Library has had a revamp. The reading room was always ace, but had been closed for ages and I’d not been able to show it to friends. It’s now all been lovingly restored, and the ‘modern’ bit done in a much more interesting manner with wonderful natural light. It’s great to see […]
1 September, 2012
In Love With My Kids
I’m not going to say much, but I’ll just pop a gallery here of some recent shots of my two beautiful children. I’m in love with them. I can’t stop thinking about them. Everything else comes second. Doesn’t mean they don’t wind me up sometimes, of course…
31 March, 2012
Bell & Coggins Pattern 1321
I have a little selection of Bell & Coggins Porcelain that I inherited but which isn’t really something I’m ever going to make much use of – it doesn’t really fit with anything else we have and it’s too delicate to have around when you have young children. So, better that somebody who would enjoy […]
3 February, 2012
Bye Bye Skoda
It’s always sad when you decide to get rid of a car that you’ve enjoyed owning. Not because it’s no good, but because your needs have changed. And the biggest problem was that we’re now parents to one growing toddler and another relatively new baby. Which nearly did my back in. Both the Skoda and […]
3 November, 2011
Do You Need an SLR?
OK, I’ve always said that you don’t need a fancy camera to take good pictures. All that a good camera does is add flexibility and choice, but so long as there’s a decent amount of light (and even then, not necessarily that much) a compact or a smartphone camera could well be adequate. This lunchtime […]
24 May, 2011
Thinking Digital University (2011)
So, here I am again at Thinking Digital. Only this time I’m no longer driving the seemingly doomed Golf TDI I had last year that did one of it’s self destruction tricks en-route. Consequently I’m not missing out on the workshops here. In fact, I’m doing better than that – an additional workshop was added […]
26 January, 2011
Doug’s Stag Weekend
The Mission: Have fun, and find subtle and not so subtle embarrassments for Doug Watts, the stag for the weekend. Equipment: A lesbian DJ, two hovercraft, alcohol, four cars, Oswestry, and Manchester. The Evidence: Pictures after the two group shots are by Andrew Lewin – they’ve got Doug in!
26 September, 2010
Peru, Chile & Bolivia Gallery
A gallery of some of my favourite in-camera images from Peru, Chile and Bolivia a few weeks ago. They’re not necessarily strong photos or selected as such – just photos I myself enjoy. I have more, but they either need tweaking (straightening horizons, etc) or some real work to bring out the best. I’ll post […]
12 September, 2010
Dogs of San Pedro
I had an afternoon to kill, prior to heading back towards Arica. So what’s a boy to do? Well in my case I wondered around the village taking pictures of anything that caught my fancy. But one possible theme leapt out at me – the many dogs around the streets would make a lovely topic […]
8 September, 2010
Extreme Landscapes
I’m now back in Arica following my trip to San Pedro de Atacama and Bolivia. I have a couple of things to deal with here before heading back to Lima for my flight home. I’ve been foiled by this computer in the hotel from getting a decent image gallery up from the last eight days […]
6 September, 2010
Laguna Colorada, Bolivia
We’re about 120km from the nearest town, so zero connectivity here. This will be posted on my return. We’re at around 4900m up in a small hostel near Laguna Colorada. By Bolivian standards it’s comfortable but the altitude is really hard work and I’ve learned to be careful not to stand up too quickly. It’s […]
31 August, 2010
Dad´s Headstone
Had my father’s headstone delivered and installed yesterday. It was a fairly sombre moment, and my last goodbye to him. I won’t go back soon. Unfortunately the computer I’m trying to upload my photos to won’t play ball, so no pictures for the moment. Sorry. Maybe tomorrow when I get to San Pedro de Atacama. […]
29 August, 2010
Pictures of Arica
Just a quick gallery showing pictures I’ve taken over the past few days in Arica. My only disappointment is that I’m still failing to get focus perfect on wide apertures and autofocus gets itself mixed up – so some otherwise great pictures aren’t usable at large sizes. I’ve just discovered that you can get a […]
26 May, 2010
Gateshead/Newcastle Pics from Thinking Digital (part 1)
Just a few quick shots from last night. I’d arrived late for the first afternoon thanks to a failed gearbox mount (thanks for that, VW Warrington) but at least did get there thanks to a courtesy car (also thanks, VW Warrington!) that got me here just a couple of hours late… Anyway, to the pics. […]
2 January, 2010
Southport, New Year’s Day 2010
First outing with the polarising filter given to me for Xmas by my friend and colleague James and decided to wander up to Southport for the afternoon. We were rewarded with a beautiful sunset that the filter really helped add punch to the skies. Downsides of the day? I think I’ve lost the use of […]
18 December, 2009
Iceland In Winter
I expected more ice, it has to be said. I also packed my thermals and it turned out to be warmer than home. But, I also know how bitterly cold it can get in countries like this in Winter even if the thermometer doesn’t show it as looking so bad – driving rain, strong winds […]
5 December, 2009
Sean’s 40th Birthday Party
Sean’s 40. But he’ll always be two months younger than me. Dammit. Well, here’s some photos from his party. Enjoy…
18 October, 2009
Oulton Park Trackday With GTDC
After two years of going nowhere near a race circuit while I concentrated on building up the business, I finally got the Elise nicely fettled by Phoenix Motorsport in Accrington and got out with the Gold Track Driving Club.
14 August, 2009
Old Reel to Reel Tapes
Found these in the garage and have popped them on eBay. Love the old style designs – so simple by today’s standards. Easy to reproduce too. Also realised just how many bands from this era were called “The” something or other. How things change…
13 July, 2009
Saab 9-5 Aero (HOT) Estate For Sale – SOLD!
Given that I’m selling my motorbike at the moment as well, you may well wonder if I’ve had some kind of financial crisis of my own. But thankfully, no. I just don’t need such a large and fast car any more. When I was doing a lot of sprinting I needed something capable of towing […]
10 July, 2009
1999 ZZR600 (ZX600-E7) For Sale
Sadly, after ten years, I’ve decided that I’ve really failed to make good use of the ZZR600 I treated myself to back in 1999. It’s the only new motorbike I’ve ever bought… and I’ll hate getting rid of it. But practically speaking, I don’t have much use for it, most of my friends stopped riding […]