Still raining

Well, it's been wet. Very wet. Very, very wet. How can I tell? Because dams, like this one in Pitlochry are over topping. Big style!

More than making up for the summer's dry weather, me thinks...

No TV - no bother

Yeah, how have Spot and I coped for 10+ years???

Guide dog attack

While going for a pint, Spot's brother-in-law's guide dog was attacked by a couple of terriers. Rather than control the dogs, the owner, who also happened to be the landlord of the pub, kicked Chris and his wife out of the pub.

I'm not just posting this because I'm related to Chris. I think it's appalling when someone does not know how to control their dogs. Stokes is an essential part of Chris' life. He could not get to work without Stokes. He has regained a fair bit of Independence since getting his guide dog, after waiting over a year to be partnered with one. Had the attack resulted in Stokes needing retired, Chris would have been back to square one or worse.

Please feel free to share this story. This is just one example of how irresponsible dog owners cause havoc with people's lives, especially those who rely on their dogs as heavily as people such as Chris.

Citizen Scientist

So, here I was, looking for a 'distraction.' Something to do, which would be a break from study and ministry stuff. Something I could easily drop in and out of. Something I could do for as little or as long as I wanted.

I thought about getting a raspberry pi, relearning to program and creating a device for monitoring the temperature of the home brew. But I haven't got round to that (and we already own things which will do the job perfectly adequately.

I though about learning a musical instrument, but having never really had the notion before, found the idea a bit daunting. Also I didn't want to turn into one of those guitar strumming ministers who want to play in the praise band every week (shudders!).

I knew I didn't want to have a pile of reading to do. Yes, there are many classics I haven't read at all or since I was a child. But when my current job - student - pretty much entails reading all day, the last thing I want to do is read some more. And I love reading.

Then a couple of weeks ago, Spot suggested Snapshot Serengeti. Basically, there's 250 camera traps placed around the Serengeti, to monitor where prey and predators are and to see if prey will avoid good grazing where there is predators. Now, back in the days of film, the scientist would be getting 36 frames per camera. These days, maybe 300, 400, 500 per SD card?

So, the idea is the citizen scientist goes through the photos and, as best they can, identifies the animals present, how many there are and what they are doing. It's pretty straightforward to do and there's guides to help with the ID.

This will flag up the photos of interest for the researchers, freeing their time up to do just that, rather than sort through the 'grass moved' (i.e. nothing there) photos. From the citizen scientist's point-of-view, it's helping with important research and you might even identify a Dik Dik.

The project is part of a wider crowd sourced project, called Zooniverse. Its projects include transcribing ship logs and the Oxyrhynchus collection. So, why not have a look and see how you could contribute to important research, all from the comfort of your home.

A history of the guitar solo

Without looking in the bottom left hand corner, I got into the 90s before I stopped recognising the solos, which song they were from and the artist. Don't know whether that's a good thing or not!

More electric cars

A few months ago, I was talking about electric cars. Since then, I have seen quite a number of charging points (yes, even in the deepest, darkest far north). I have even sat in a Renult Twizy. No, I won't be buying one, as it's a glorified golf cart - even the doors are optional extras.

But, if money were no object, I might just consider a Tesls Model S. Looks as good, if not better than an Aston Martin and can beat it in a straight line. Pity about the seats and 'in your face' touch screen, but I could live with them...

Hidden waterfall

Out for a walk along the beach today. The seals were close to shore, but too far away for the wee compact camera. According to the locals, the seals are often where I spotted them, so I will head back on another day with the SLR.

Seeing wildlife and scenery here is easy. If fact, it's hard to miss. At the moment I am watching a song thrush gather beasties from the lawn. Goldfinches are regular visitors to the manse too, helping themselves to the dandelion seeds.

As I walked along the beach, I began to hear the sound of running water. I knew I'd maybe need to cross a burn on my journey, but didn't expect to see this:

It was just so surreal, this waterfall. Tucked away. It struck me as almost looking like a tropical waterfall. Given it's location, I suspect this is quite a hidden gem. Hidden, but beautiful and worth the effort to reach. Oh, that could take me to a sermon, but I'll just remember it's beauty and the almost perfectly horizontal stratification of the rocks.

A reminder in concrete

WWII Bunker

 In this remote area, far to the north of Scotland, the landscape is littered with remains of World War II bunkers. Almost 70 years since the end of this conflict, it is all too easy, especially for those of us too young to remember anything of the world at that time, how much the reality of invasion was.

This one sits as the last line of defence to a bridge. During WWII, that bridge was the first crossing of this estuary. Though most people perceive the southeast of England as the most obvious place to invade, this area could have been ideal. Yes, it's a long was to the centres of power, but the remoteness, with an isolated, scattered population, may have made it a possibility. The enemy could may have landed with relative ease, taking over the local infrastructure - roads and rail - to get to the places of power.

As you travel along some of the roads here, heading further and further inland, other bunkers and pillboxes reveal themselves. These were second and third lines of defence. Yes, the threat of invasion by the enemy was very, very real. Fortunately, it never happened, either here or further south.

But the bunkers still exist. This one looks to be used by cattle on occasion, taking shelter from the weather. May the serve as a reminder of why people fought, the appalling nature of war and how vulnerable even the most remote areas can be.

Looking through the bunker

Tom Wright sings Genesis

It's okay, it's the book of the bible, not Phil Collins!

Sights and womders

A walk yesterday afternoon took me out of town and, within minutes, I felt I was almost in the middle of nowhere. The sort of place where people say it's quiet. I say it's anything but quiet, they just aren't listening. It's also the sort of place where some say there's nothing to see. I say, they aren't looking.

There's so much about the walk I could have recorded, but it was more the experience. Watching sand martins skim the river for bugs. Or watching the bees (which there aren't many of) doing what bees do, and admiring the wildflowers along the dry stane dyke.

Then, there was the point where I got the the ford in the road. I knew about it - it's marked on the map. In some ways, I was looking forward to the experience of crossing it by foot. On a day like yesterday, the cooling water would have been bliss on my hot feet. But there was a footbridge above, not shown on the map due to limitations in the scale. I crossed that way instead.

There was the heron pair, in flight. A flight which is almost slow motion; almost too little effort to keep such a large bird in the air. I lost sight of them, but I assume they were heading for their nest. With the river low, I suspect they are travelling further to find fish (or, perhaps it makes catching them easier.

To top it all. Well, maybe top isn't quite the right word. Heading back round for the manse a roe deer burst out of a stand of trees, bounding across an open field. I watched and it stopped. It looked at me. In a moment, which was fleeting, but seemed to last, we met each others eyes, then it turned and we continued on our journeys.

The Doctor's Name

Last night was the finale of the current series of Doctor Who. Without giving anything away, I have one word.


AWESOME!

Electric Cars

The other day, spot and I were talking about the prospect of electric cars, on the back of a program about the Nissan Leaf. We both noted multiple stumbling blocks to them becoming more mainstream - price, range, battery life/easy of replacement and charging points. Okay, an owner may have s charging point near their home (or office), but what about topping up the battery when out and about? Well, while out for our constitutional, I noticed this - a charging point for electric cars, just over a mile from our house.

Thing is, where we live seems a little of the more unusual places for these to be located (and it wasn't very well put in, but that's another matter). Suppose they have to start somewhere, though. Oh, in case you're wondering, we don't think it's free. The yellow circle on top looks like where a smart card would be swiped for payment. Presumably, if you own an electric car, you either have one of these or know how to get one.

Praise Band criteria

"Anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” (Luke 18:17) In that case, you can't play on the praise band until you can play like nine year old Zoe Thomson...

That's her just before Christmas. This was when she was 7...

World's roundest sphere

Most things scientific fascinate me, especially as humanity's need to push the boundaries of understanding I believe is part of what makes us human. Who's have thought a ball of silicon would be so useful for defining the weight of the universe...

Quote of the day

"Wanting to meet the author because you like their work is like wanting to meet the duck because you like pate".

That's what I go to school for!!!

The deaf hear

I know this has been doing the rounds, but still think it's worth posting here. I think there's a sermon in here...

What would you take?

During a recent visit to a Roman site, Spot challenged me to come up with technology I would take to them, based on my knowledge and the ability they would have had to make the technology.

My initial thoughts were the steam train engine, but the blast furnace would be needed first, in order that the right grade of steal could be made. It would also need the development of the steam hammer, which needs a steam engine al a Watt. Spot did agree that all those were things the Romans probably could have made even if they hadn't.

But a bit later I thought on the bicycle. Just think how that could have improved communication throughout the Roman Empire, with all those great roads. They definitely could have made that, as they had good blacksmiths and the inventor of the bicycle, Kilpartick Macmillan, was one. As for tyres, rubber wasn't available to the Romans, but a suitably treated inflated intestine would probably do the job.

My other suggestion (and I must say, I thought that a bit of a stroke of genius) was movable type, a key element of the printing press as we know it (the Chinese, Japanese and Koreans had printing before Gutenberg, but they were wooden blocks which wore and could not easily be changed).

So, what would you take? I'm not too worried about changing world history here. I'm not The Doctor..