Halloween, or all hallows eve. This ancient tradition goes back a long way, some claim it's roots are Pagen. It's a day for remembering the dead and departed, and some claim it's the time of year where the veil between the living and the dead is thinest.
Some more Halloween selfies.
Autumn is upon us, the leaves are falling in large numbers, mostly on my bloody path. But the colours are nice. Quick snap on the phone.
Yes it's another halloween selfie from me. More tomorrow on Halloween proper!
Heres todays halloween selfie, and I have a massive headache today so I'm not a happy bunny.
Still stupid busy trying to sort out stuff so no time for proper shooting pictures, have got some silly selfies for halloween though, I'll post a couple a day till halloween.
What a joke my life is. I'm on the go all day every day, if I'm not going somewhere I'm on the phone saving the bloody world, not that I care much about it any more.
Today Sunday for normal people, a so-called day of rest... bloody joke again! I planned a nice quiet day, sit down chill out do what normal people do on a Sunday, watch telly or read the paper. No chance.
I'm woken up by bloody banging, then I have someone deciding that todays the day to clean up the house, this despite the fact every days a day off for them, I'm lucky if I get a day a month with sod all to do. So instead of relaxing and chilling out (something I seriously need to do) I'm having to stop every five bloody minutes to sort something out.
Honestly I seriously considered getting in the car and just driving to a car park and relaxing there, I dont get 5 minutes peace in my house. Made worse by the fact that it's probably the only chance I'll get to do fuck all for weeks.
Being serious I really cant go on like this, I'm burned out. My age and health issues are not helping, but by far the biggest problem is not having any time to chill out.
Well done to the just stop oil morons who threw soup over a Van Gogh painting the other day. What have you proved?
Well you proved your morons and criminals for causing an act of criminal damage, you've also shotn you have little grasp on reality.
You see while Van Gogh did use oil pains the amount of oil actually in them is tiny, the lorry that delivered your tin of soup used a lot more just on one delivery than VanGogh used in his life.
Secondly, what is the alternative to oil? With power cuts planned for this winter due to the long shortage of power stations and the goverments mental plan to get the UK cars all electric, sooner or later the lights will go out. Your protests will be in the dark ages.
Why stop oil protests here? America uses far more oil than we do and produces the most oil, followed by Saudi Arabia, Russia and China.... but your protesting here in the UK about stopping oil? Maybe your protests would be better held there?
Lastly why the choice of targets? Expensive car dealers, famous painting, nothing connected to oil really, not Shells head office or some oil terminal. No your just vandals targeting stuff because your spoiled brats with no life trying to get famous.
Oh and by the way, those high-vis vests your wearing are made of nylon, thats made from oil based material, you've used moreoil than Van Gogh, time to soup yourselves.
Loosers Loosers!
This last week or my stress levels have been high, I mentioned recently the problems with my mothers health. Frankly things are not getting better or easier.
I'm going from one stressfull phone call to another, then half the times it's down the hospital miles away.
The thing is this cant go on, it really cant. I'm too old for all this nonsense, I'm not getting much sleep normally, now I'm getting bugger all.
Trouble is when I'm very tired I'm a grumpy git, I dont suffer fools gladly at the best of times, and the staff at a certain hospital are getting so far up my nose I'm getting close to becoming the hulk... "you wouldn't like me when I'm angry".
It's been a long time since I last lost it, then a neighbour got thrown over his own car just for blowing his horn at me, he wasnt badly hurt, but his horn blowing days were over after that, lesson learned.
So a top tip people, if you see a grey haired grumpy bastard, give him a wide bearth... it might be me...
The Nitecore LR12 is not the sort of torch I usually tend to go for, my choices are more EDC or tactical, this isn't really either, although it's certainly got possibilities as an EDC torch. I suspect the main target market for this will be hikers/campers, but as I say it's got possibilities.
The LR12 is pocket size at 11cm (bit over 4 inch) long retracted 16cm (about 6 inch) open and about 2.5 (1 inch) wide. It feels solid and has a magnetic tailcap.
Theres 5 light modes low 1lm 900 hours. Medium 60lm 24 hours. High 230lm 6 hours. Max 1000lm 1 hour.. And becon, no time listed but it's a 1000lm (I'd guess and say a good few hours runtime)
The torch works like a lipstick, you twist the ring near the bottom and the white diffuser slides out to give you a lantern, the end of the diffuser is open so you still have a torch beam as well, and retracted it's just a normal torch. The base twists to turn on and cycle through the modes.
Well done to Nitecore for using a standard 18650 battery, this means spare batteries are cheap, easily available and can be " borrowed" for other items that use the standard battery. Other torch companies could take a lesson from this, custom batteries are a PITA.
The beam itself is quite floody, as it needs to be to light up the diffuser, but that said theres a decent throw as well, this isn't a long range search the hillside from a mile away torch, but with the spread beam for a walking search it's lights up a good area. As a lantern it also works well, easily lighting up my biggish living room at night, I could read by this no bother with it on a bedside table.
The beacon mode flashes about once a second (roughly) and is bright. If your lost on a hillside this would be visible from a long way off, probably miles in the pitch dark.
One thing that struck me early on was the lack of texture in the body, most of the torch is smooth, I've not tried using it with thick gloves but I wonder if it might be a bit slippery in the wet with gloves, it does come with a lanyard though.
So with power cuts planned for the coming winter/next year this could be a usefull addition to any home, I'm hanging onto this one, I suspect with the floody bright beam it might come in handy for photography too, lighting up things in low light.
Shown here with a double A battery for scale and the diffuser all the way out.
I know I haven't posted much in the way of pictures for the last two weeks, truth is I hardly have time to sleep. My mother was "rushed" into hospital twelve days ago after a fall, I say rushed because theres no ambulances so it's a taxi. Then after a nasty bump on the head and her being on blood thinners with a serious risk of a bleed on the brain we waited and waited and waited to see a doctor, then it was several more hours before a scan (that should have been done first thing) was finally carried out, nineteen hours average wait in casualty. Fucking joke! Better thke the emergency part off accident and emergency then!
So the last two weeks its going over her house (another town) and hospital visiting (also another town) a visit means the best part of three hours. While this is going on we're trying to sort out a care home. My brothers found a nice place (also yet another town) so now it's trying to sort some stuff out of her house.... except!!!!
Well this week she's gone very odd, first thought is a bleed on the brain, but as hospitals havent a clue even asking for another scan is greeted by "Oh I dont know anything about it" this from a so called nurse who knows fuck all about the patients in her CARE. Finally after over a week and several complaints it's discovered shes got a serious infection, something she didnt have when she went in. Well done NHS.
So now with her on a drip of high dose antibiotic she cant leave the hospital, this means paying over seven hundred quid a week for a home shes not in, mind it is nice, if she doesn't move in I might, food smelled fantastic when I was there taking some stuff over.
Trouble is I'm now running about like a headless chicken, from town to town to town, and we cant do much in the house incase theres a dram and she has to go home. What a bloody shambles!!
The Olight Warrior X3 is a tactical torch, probably intended for police or military applications.
The Warrior X3 is a lump of torch at about 16 cm (6 inch) long and about 4 cm at the widest (1.5 inch) it's a bit of struggle to call it a pocket torch, although it will fit a decent size pocket, it's not light weight either.
The torch has two modes, high and low. Low is 300lm with eight hours run time, and high is 2500lm, this drops after 2.5 minutes to around 800lm for a little over two hours.
The torch comes with a two stage tail switch and a silcone and metal tactical "grip", the metal one is the knuckle duster looking ring in the photo on the side of the torch. This is possible of questionable legal status here in the UK but I've left it on for a reason, we'll come to that later.
The torch also features three glass breaker beads around the front bezel intended to break car windows in an emergency, although I suspect the metal warrior ring would do the same. It used a custom 21700 5000ma battery, and it's an olight battery or nothing, it also has olights magnetic charging system which is simple and easy.
In use the torch has a thrower beam with a few hundred yards/metres no problem, it's also got enough spill to use as a walk around torch and not just a spotlight like some longer range torches. The 300lm setting might not sound much but with a polished reflector it's bright, plenty bright, and full power is very impressive.
Indeed I suspect shining this in someones eye could do real damage at close range (it warns you not to do this) theres no strobe but I doubt you need it, one good flash and your attackers going to be knackered.
There are however some issues, first the two stage button takes some getting used to, a quick flash is easy by just holding the button down but getting the timeing right to turn it on and off for constant seems tricky to me, that may just be me though. The second and by far biggest issue is the supplied holster. Its solid, well made and sturdy, the flap is magnetic and it's for molle compatable straps.
The problem however is it's stupid tight, mine is anyway, thats why the warrior ring is still on, it take a real hard pull to get it out of the holster, it's a two hand job really, one hand to hold the holster still and one to riggle the torch, seriously you can hold this upside down with the flap open and shake and tug it, it aints coming out. If your after a quick draw forget it!
In use it's bright, has a decent battery life, although I'd prefer a standard battery to the custom supplied to make swopping over easier, it's also got a fair self defence option, it's a lump and with with the warrior ring getting hit by it would be no fun at all. Sadly it's not cheap, although with the target market in mind thats probably not a proble.
Shown below with a double A battery for scale.
Interesting week for airlines, the number of tyre and wheel related issues seems to be well up, A Boeing 747 dreamlifter lost a whole wheel and tyre on takeoff, and theres been a lot of failed or burst tyres reported, as the numbers seem well up it seems maybe some related cause,various air accident agencies are looking into it.
In another incident a home made untralight aircraft crashed killing the pilot/builder. It seems odd to be advising building your own plane is a bad idea (well unless your name is Mr Boeing) but I'm doing because it's a bloody silly idea.
I know the idea of flight is well known and should be easy but it's not, building a safe plane isn't simple, the Wright brothers had at least 8 major crashes, and a lot more scares. Please dont build your own plane, pretty please.
The Lumintop tool AA torch is a keyring/pocket size torch which punches above it's weight. Around 9cm long (a bit under 4 inchs) and about 1.5 cm wide (around half inch) it's small enough to fit a keyring or a shirt pocket.
It has 5 modes, 4 light levels and a strobe, although as you have to cycle through the light levels to get strobe it's not really usefull as a self defence option. It works off a double A battery or a 14500 battery.
On a double A you get a low mode 3.7lm for 60 hours, a medium mode 28lm around 12 hours, high mode 140lm 49 mins, and turbo mode 220lm for 21 minutes. Now 21 minutes doesn't sound long, for 220lm from a torch this size is impressive, and the 28lm mode is bright enough to actually walk about at night, and thats about 12 hours.
On a 14500 battery (same size as a double A) you get low mode 16lm 37 hours, medium mode 85lm for 6 hours and 9 minutes, high mode 360lm 79 minutes, and finally turbo mode is 650lm for 35 minutes. That much light from something this size is just amazing, it's seriously bright, and in the real world either of the medium modes is quite enough to move around in the dark.
The beam itself is fairly floody but still lights up a fair distance, fine for what is a small pocket torch. It also comes with a lantern type diffuser, this would work fine in a power cut or a tent. It has a clicky tail switch but will tail stand, a magnetic base is also available for it.
This is going in my pocket for everyday carry.
Shown here with a AA battery for scale
Todays going to be another killer, it started at 8.30 this morning and I wont sit down till 10.30 tonight I suspect. I'm here, there, and everywhere all day!
Still nobody it said life was easy.
Onto the picture, it's a heavy crop off... yes the phone again, I need to get out with the proper camera, but I need sleep and time to eat first so thats going to have to wait. It seems to be someflowers opening, but it's late in the year so I'm not sure?
What a hell of a day yesterday was, I was woken up by the phone ringing as usual, then it was off to two different hospitals miles apart, and two different chemists, also miles apart which involved going back and fro through a busy town at peak times. I also went to a friends house and accidently got his daughter out of the bath, I'm guessing I'm off her Christmas card list now.
Going back to my car after the second hospital I find the main road properly flooded and my car parked in another bloody flood, this meant wading back to my car. Luckly my car had James Bond underwater abilites and started and drove fine, although I had wet feet for the rest of the day.
The day finished with me having a flu jab and more phone calls.
To say I'm knackered is putting it mildly! And.. it all starteded again today with the phone ringing, back to hospital no2. Check mask and flippers... whoopie -do!!!
This is the picture I mentioned in a previous post my phone wouldn't email, it's the fine detail that affects file size. Keep in mind this was resized in camera... errr phone and cropped and resized again in photoshop for the blog, to be fair the qualities still not bad. If you open the pic then right click and chose the view file option you can see the full blog size (not original image) but it's bigger..
Some of you will know I have a new phone, a Samgsung A52s 5g, and to say I'm impressed is putting it mildly. Battery lasts for ages, and I use the phone a LOT, the camera is amazing, and I haven't got around to using all its features yet.
I have stumbles across one minor issue with the camera though, not a fault and easily sorted. I'll explain.
A week or so back I took a picture of a stone gatepost with ivy on it, nothing amazing, but I likes the texture. A few days ago I went to edit it for this blog, thats when the problems started.
I cant be arsed to take the memory card out of the phone, it's a bit fiddly and I dont want to break it, (I'm a bit on the heavy handed side) so to get my pics off I just email them to myself, easy-peasy! Well it was. The gatepost pic didn't send, I'd sent a few other pics, the dog pic I posted earlier and a few others that haven't made the blog, but the gatepost just didn't go.
Now I have had this before, if my signals crap the phone waits till the signals back up and sends then, but this sod didn't go, so I sent it again... that didn't come through either, so I tried a few more times, still nothing, other pics no problems but the gatepost, not happening.
Ok I think, theres obviously something wrong with the pic, maybe corrupted or something, but the phone still see's it fine. As I've had sod all time I've only had a quick go at sending it, this morning I took a proper look, thried again still nothing, then I pull up the details on the pic, Ahhhh! It's too bloody big to email.
Seriously, the picture file size is bigger than 25mb, for a jpeg, it's the fine detail that bumps up the size of images, a big bland sky and a smaller file, this ones got tons of fine detail. Good job I didn't use the raw file option, I'd guess thats going to be 75mb or bigger.
Sorting it was easy, edit in camera and theres a resize option, I just came down one file size 6000x4000 pix maybe? and that sent, mind thats 14mb then. Still I have it now to edit in photoshop and post, tomorrow if I get time.
No it's not a clever time consuming photoshop job, the new phone did it all itself. One of those filter thingies built in. Seeing as I haven't time to do any proper photography this is all I have.
During the second world war there was a saying "walls have ears" this means carefull what you say in case the enemy is listening. I dont know about wall having ears but this tree looks like it has an eye!
Shot on the phone, and cropped a fair bit
Back in my younger days I rode horses quite a lot, truth be told I haven't done it now for maybe 40 years. Horses a strange creatures, they'll stand still during a riot with explosions going off and petrol bombs bursting.... but if a carrier bag blows across a road they'll go mental and throw the rider in the nearest hedge.
Dangerous at both ends and uncomfortable in the middle "Ian Fleming
With the above in mind the safest horses are these ones.
My numerous past experiences with the Welsh NHS has shown me it's a shambles, chaos might be better. Indeed a word that adequately describes it has still to be found... at least one I could use in polite company.
This week I had a fresh experience, that has confirmed that a dead pigeon could do a better job of organising casualty than whoever runs it now.
At 6.30 pm my mother fell over again, hurting her hip and sustaining a head injury (she's 88 years old and on blood thinners and disabled). She pressed her lifeline button and an ambulance was called, my brother was on scene (from some distance away) by about 6.45, I arrived about 7.15 after waiting for a taxi (I was out) the Ambulance service arrived quickly at about 9,30 pm... 3 hours for a disabled 88 year old with a head injury and possible hip or pelvic fracture (way too long)
Still 3 hours isn't bad for an ambulance... except it wasn't an ambulance, it was a Saint John ambulance man in his car, a first aider really. My medical training is way more advanced than his. Still to be fair he did a decent job of checking her out, he was thorough and did all the checks he could without the gear an ambulance would have had, things like a hear monitor for an elderly patient with a pacemaker... (I'd already dont most of the important checks long before he arrived)
By now it's about 10.20pm, getting on for 4 hours after a head injurly for a lady on blood thinners, this is an important detail, your much more likely to suffer a bleed on the brain if your on thinners. Thats a life threatening condition that needs urgent and fast treatment. I can get an ambulance he say, but it'll be tomorrow morning by the time it comes.
So an 88 year old disabled lady with a possible pelvic fracture, a possible bleed on the brain and a dodgy hip is sent rushing to hospital in a ... taxi, well rushing isn't the right word, he took his time, mind with a wheelchair in the back this was probably the right call.
On arriving at casualty at Morriston hospital I did the hand over, the notes included the St Johns written comments on a possible bleed to the brain and I also stated this on handover and told them about the blood thinners, this should have set off alarm bells, it didn't!
After seeing a nursh my Mum was sent to xray where they xrayed her hip, no brain scan no doctor . At about 03.30 am we saw a doctor for the first time, it's now 6 hours after a fall and head injury and a possible bleed to the brain. This response it just way too long. Casualty itself is chaos, nurses are to busy on their phones texting if and when you can find one.
The doctor asks for the brain scan but as the nurse didn't order one all she has is a hip xray, this shows a pelvic fracture, and of course a taxi ride and 4 hours in a wheelchair haven't helped. She orders a brain scan, better late than never, at about 05.15 the doctor passes by and asked how the scan went, we tell her it's not happened yet, and she goes off to get it sorted.
About 06.45am my mother finally has a brain scan, 12 hours or so after the fall. Frankly if she had a bleed on the brain she's be either dead or serious by now, a totally unacceptable and unprofessional delay for so-called heathcare system. The brain scan should have the first thing done, not the last.
The lack of proper ambulances was easy to explain, they are all outside the hospital with patients sitting in them because Morriston has no beds for the casualties, this means no ambulanes for those dying on the floor. What a total disgrace the Welsh NHS trust is!
No beds available? Why? during the covid panic my local area was able to provide "pop up" hospitals (actually old factories) with 1.340 beds available, yet there wasn't 8 available for a huge hospital to empty ambulances and get them bad on the road.
What happened to the beds? Later the next day we waited in a huge empty room with a few chairs in it, an empty ward really, 20 beds would have gone in there no bother. Honestly this lot couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery! Average waiting time in canualty on a Sunday night, 19 hours.
To add insult to real injury, the tv's on the wall of the crammed waiting room kept showing videos telling people how important it is too see a doctor quickly if your injured, and "time counts" the first 3 hours are vital, yet it was 6 hours before we saw a doctor. Maybe time to take the adverts down, oh and get some comfey chairs, 19 bloody hours on a shit chair makes even the patients carers a bloody casualty.
A photo showing some of the 8 ambulances and 3 paramedic cars that spent most of the night outside Morriston hospital.. God know whey the paramedic cars were there, they dont carry patients.
The Welsh health minister should hang his head with shame at this joking shambles that passes itself off as a caring health service. Better still quit and let someone else do a proper job of running it!
Les Bicyclettes de Belsize 1968. 30 minutes
What a courious little gem of a film Made in 1968 as a short filler for the film Twisted Nerve (the films shared a soundtrack release as well) and Staring Judy Huxtable and Anthony May. The film revolves around the man May) riding around Hampstead area of London on his bike, and crashing into the billbord of the woman Huxtable) and falling in love with her. A sub plot follows a young girl who also falls for the man (May).
Coriously the Belsize park area doesn't really come into the film much despite the films title, although Hamstead is close enough to it.
The film is a bit comedy, more a musical, and a hint of love story. What makes it a gem is goos acting, a fun plot and good music, indeed the theme went into the top 10 sung by Englebert Humperdinck.
Well worth a watch if you can find it.
I'm running out of pics again. Recently lifes been a bit hectic with one thing and another. Might try getting out tomorrow if the worlds leaves me alone long enough. For now some more odd pics.
