And one for tardis fans.

Good location for Doctor Who.

Took these pics today, only had my phone with me but still got some nice shots.  I've made one pic look like my idea of an alien landscape.... not so far from the truth where I live.

Raw Therapee Raw converter

Raw Therapee has been around a while, it's gained popularity recently with people switching from Adobes cloud service, it's a raw editor, and can be used as a stand alone or linked to photoshop or more usually Gimp.
The program has plenty of adjustments for the normal editing but remember this is a raw editor, it doesn't do the clever stuff photoshop can, only raw editing.  To be fair it's got some stuff even photoshop doesn't have, like the choice of demosaicing algorithms.
The interface isn't exactly friendly and will take some getting used to, but it could prove a useful tool.

Portable soldering iron???

I had to do some soldering in my car today, not the car itself that's fine, one of my gadgets that plugs in the cigarette lighter, trouble is the wire runs all around the inside of the car to the boot, bloody nightmare to take it all out without damaging it.  The plug bit that goes in the cigarette lighter had lost a contact, soldering it back on is a doddle, running the miles of cable out across the pavment to the cars is a royal pain in the arse, then you have to keep the hot iron off the seats ect.  I need a portable soldering iron........ nows where's Ebay......

Monty Python live (review)

The Monty Python team reunite for a last series of live stage versions of the classic tv show.
The show features most of the classic sketch's, things like the 'dead parrot', 'the Spanish inquisition',  the 'spam' sketch, and more, set with some musical numbers and some big screen graphics it makes an entertaining show.
In the press the show received mixed reviews, possibly the bad reviews from people who don't remember python.
If your a fan you'll want to see this show, the guys are getting older but the laughs are still there.

Waynes rating  8/10 if you like python don't miss it.

Canon users beware high ISO noise reduction.

For those with the faster cameras this advice probably won't make much difference, but for those with the older entry level models it might make a huge difference to your continuous shooting speed.

If your using an older canon entry level model like the 300d, 350d, 400d, ect ect,  and you find your continuous shooting stops after 2 or 3 pic, try going to the custom functions menu and turn off high iso noise reduction. Ok if your shooting raw + jpeg you'll probably still only get 4 shots, that because of the sheer size of the beggers, but if your shooting jpeg you'll now get something like 50 shots before it starts to slows up.

Exactly why high iso noise reduction affects the write speed I don't know, I'd guess it's the processing to each shot before writing to the card.  Why Canon don't make it more obvious that it can cause this is another question.

Waterfall picnic photos

We went for a wander today and ended up at a small waterfall, heres  a few pics.

Sunsets and other pics.

Heres a few of my sunsets and a picture by a friend of mine Caroline Pitt, I must admit Ilike Carolines night shot.

MH 17

It's good to see most of the world condemning the shooting down of Malaysian airliner MH17, even better to see Obama doing it..... after making a brief somber 60 speech then followed it with 16 mins of joking some might not take it so seriously.  
Personally I think it's the pot calling the kettle if you know what I mean.  Lets not forget the US shot down an Iran air flight (655) on the 3rd of July 1988 with the lose of 290 lives, 66 of the children.  That plane was shot down by a sophisticated naval ship with the latest technology (in Iranian territorial waters) the US Vincennes, while the planes transponder clearly identified it as a civilian aircraft. The Vincennes crew mistook the airbus A300 for an F14 fighter.
At the moment it's unclear who is responsible for the shooting down of MH17, both sides are claiming it's the other, but it's worth remembering that it was shot down over what is effectively a war zone, where many other airlines had already stopped their aircraft from flying, although Malaysian were not the only company using that route. 

Doctor Who new series starts August (warning spoiler alert)

The new series of Doctor Who kicks off in August in about a months time. 
The first episode Deep Breath see the new Doctor Peter Capaldi dazed and confused recovering from regeneration. The episode also reunites some old friends, Clara the companion played By Jenna Louise Coleman, Vastra played by Neve Mcintosh, Strax played by Dan Starky, and Jenny played by Catrin Stewart. 
The episode also features some old enemies, the clockwork androids from a previous (David Tennant series) the girl in the fireplace, and a somewhat out of place T-Rex (well not an enemy really) set in Victorian London the series kicks off to an exciting start.
Whether Capaldi will work as the doctor remains to be seen, for me he's spoiled by having been in the series before as a different character, Caecillus in the fires of Pompeii, but I'll give it some time before making up my mind finally.

The Hundred (the 100) review

I watched the first episode of this so heres a brief review.
'The 100 (pronounced "The Hundred" as opposed to "The One Hundred") is an American post-apocalyptic drama television series that is airing on The CW during the 2013-14 American television season' wikipedia)
A hundred impossibly good looking young people, all criminals are sent back to a post-apocalyptic earth from an aging space station.  To add to the situation theres a power play on the space station (which doesn't have much air left) and various complications with the group who have landed, one being a suspected murderer... so another criminal then?  Anyway the locations so far have been forrest and lake.
In the first episode 2 die in the landing and another later (all the not so good looking ones...) and it seems they are not alone on earth.
It's an ok watch but my big worry is will there be a proper story with a beginning, middle and end. Sadly many US shows now just have the beginning, then they make it up as they go till the ratings drop from their endless boring programs, and then it just stops mid run (because they never had a proper ending in the first place)

Waynes rating 5/10 if theres a planned ending

First Cymru (first group) or best known as Farce Cymru

Yes the joking excuse for a bus company that we have here is getting silly.  Yesterday I got a letter of apology for a complaint of a bus failing to arrive a few days back (not my first complaint) then shortly after the same bus failed to arrive again .  I mean come on! was it in the lost property office?
This is supposed to be a bus service... note the word service there, yet about 50% of the time the buses are either not arriving or if they do arrive it's rarely on time, either way early or late.

First say 'First is the world's leading transport operator, moving more than 2.5 billion passengers every year. Our focus is customer service - transporting customers safely and efficently'

Of course they would have moved 5 billion if their bloody buses turned up properly, and as for safely and efficiently....... Don't get me started.


Edit.
First say they are 'the world's leading transport operator, moving more than 2.5 billion passengers every year'  Now frankly I find it hard to believe that out missing and half empty buses move more people than the Tokyo subway.  First must be moving getting on for 7 million people a day, that just doesn't sound right to me.  Thats twice the population of Wales every day or 18.000 people a day on each of it's 387 buses.  
So somebody really needs to phone the Guinness world records people!

So much for British people being obese!

According to the BBC (BBC = we say what the government tell us to say) British people are getting fatter and we're all more or less obese. 
Strangely though all the men must be half naked.  You see I tried to by a pair of trousers today, despite trying every shop in the area, including the charity shops the largest size waist I could find anywhere was a 38 inch, not exactly fat bastard size is it.  I mean come on, we're all the same size as the Hindenburg according to the beeb, yet 38 waist isn't that big, not for an aging population of 'fatties'. 
So somewhere somthing odd is going on, either the beeb is lying or three quarters of men over 35 are walking around without trousers.... yet couriously even in 'not right' town all the men are covered up..... So that means the beeb..........      Well hardly news is it.  (pun intended)

Whats super about bloody super glue?

Seriously! the stuff is almost useless. Over the years I've used it dozens of times, the only thing it's really stuck in that time is my fingers. Oh I did once manage to glue a flashgun to my office desk, sadly the bit I was gluing on the flashgun never stuck, although it was quite happy to stick the same plastic to the desk.
Now I know the stuff is great for gluing skin, indeed that was it's main use early on, it's 'super' for closing wounds, but now it's marketed as a fix all glue, and it's really not good at other stuff.
I wouldn't have tried to repair my glasses with it but I'd run out of evostick (miles better) anyway the arm isn't back on my glasses, but I'm very still attached to them....... in a gluey sort of way.

Strange sky

Last night we had a really odd sky here in Wales.

Courious facts about me

I wondered what day I was born on, turns out it was a Sunday.  That then produced some more odd figures.
Today is 22241 days after my birth, or 3177 and a bit weeks, during that time my hearts beaten roughly 2242 million times. And if I hadn't had a hair cut my hair would be about 7 metres long.
But I'm not alone, roughly 316.000 others were born the same day, makes me feel quite insignificant really.

Gordon Ramsays cake nightmare (sort of)

You've seen Gordon Ramsay's kitchen nightmares, well here's a new project for him.... Ramsay's cake nightmare!

I have a kind hearted neighbour, who knowing there's three blokes living alone (my two sons and myself) thinks we need mothering.  Her way of doing this is to make us cakes...... Well I use the word cake loosely.

Now I'm actually quite good in the kitchen, I can cook pretty much anything, I bake as well.  My Welsh cakes are stunning, and my shortbread melts in the mouth.  Sadly I can't say the same for my kind neighbour.
Her cakes fall loosely into two categories.  A. weird sponge cakes with a mix of strange flavors like strawberry jam and lemon icing, or B. fruit cakes.  The problem is for the most part both are inedible.

Now I hate to see food wasted but honestly I really can't eat these things, the sponge cakes are really dry/burnt on the outside and soggy in the middle (cooked too hot), add in the odd flavors and they are revolting.   The fruit cake on the other hand are often so hard we can't cut them, seriously!   I've blunted a good bread knife on them. Honestly if the army test these Chobbam armours are out of business, bung a layer of these cakes over the outside of a tank and it'll stand a direct his from anything.

Air powered cars

Theres a new bread of air powered hybrid cars coming.  The idea is for the petrol engine to dive the vehicle on long runs and it also charges am air tank that will power an air motor (like those things garages use to get your wheel nuts off, only bigger) the air then powers the car on short runs and has no emissions at all.
The only draw back is you need a big air tank in the boot, and it's a potential bomb. Air tanks if over pressured or they fail have tremendous destructive force, so it'll need to be well protected from a crash.

The devils rock 2011 (film review)

I know it's not a recent film but as I couldn't sleep last night due to the pain from my back I watched this to pass the time.
The film is a war/horror cross.
'IMBd
Set in the Channel Islands on the eve of D Day, two Kiwi commandos, sent to destroy German gun emplacements to distract Hitler's forces away from Normandy, discover a Nazi occult plot to unleash demonic forces to win the war.'
The film has the military stuff about right (near enough anyway) and it's an interesting mix of war and horror.  Most of the war horror films tend to feature zombie Nazis, thankfully this one doesn't, a far more interesting twist on the horror side (don't want to give too much away)
Anyway I enjoyed it, the locations were great (New Zealand) and the acting pretty good for a horror film.
Wayne rating 7 out of 10  Worth a watch

Tour de France

Well I love watching the tour, but gave up after only an hour or so with ITV's coverage.  What a mess, they are talking more about Yorkshire than the tour (yes I know it's going through Yorkshire) but it's a cycle race not a tourist guide.
The cameras seem to spend more time talking to the crowd, including a sad couple who have gone to watch the tour on their wedding day (he even got a cycling tie) most people spend their wedding day with their friends and family.... Ahhhh enough said there then!
Seriously ITV, show the bloody cycling, it's bad enough with adverts every 8 minutes or so, but spending half the rest of your broadcast talking to joe public isn't exactly exciting to watch and it isn't CYCLING!

3 in 1 15 led laser ultraviolet torch (review)

The torch has fifteen led's, plus the laser, 5 leds are UV and the remaining10 are white.
The torch feels ok, not as sturdy as the cree ones I've tested, I'm not sure it would survive much rough handling.
The laser gives a good strong beam, easily seen for a few hundred yards in the dark, not so easily seen outdoors in bright sunlight, at lest not over any great distance. It's plenty bright enough for a laser pointer indoors no problem.
The ultraviolet leds give a reasonable amount of light, they do appear to be proper uv and not just mauve coloured leds, pretty much useless outdoors if it's bright, but fine indoors as long as your fairly close to your subject.
The white leds are pretty good, I'd guess about 500 lumen's (certainly brighter than a 300 I compared them with) the beam is a soft-ish spread of light, great for seeing where your going but not so good for searching something distant, plenty of light for finding your way around at night anyway.
The torch I tested has the laser beam 'aiming off' the centre line a fair bit, but to be fair the test one I have has had some rough handling prior to my getting it, so it might be that or just cheap quality control.
The biggest issue for me is the switch, it's one click for the laser, click again for uv, and a third click for the torch (and a final click for off). This means you have to cycle through the laser and uv every time you want the torch (and all the way through to turn off.) It would have been miles better if you could choose which light source you want then on off somehow.