Some pics from our break #4

Had a day in the car today... Drove to Caernarfon for a wee donder about. Pretty successful charityshopping hunt: 4 books & 2 CDs (more later). We walked round the castle but didn't go in... Felt good just walk & talk. We then headed out to a beach near Llandanwg. We'd visited it a while back & wanted to revisit it. It has a mythical quality... endless sand & a beautiful church in the sand dunes. Delighted we found the beach... & enjoyed the downtime beside the water. On the way home we got caught in our first heavy rain. It made a nice change to the mid-20s heat but the novelty wore off very quickly. Spent the evening watching the fab Brendan Fraser film "Inkheart". Another fab day. Tx

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Some pics from our break #3

The shops in Llandudno are alright and worth a donder round... but nothing too exciting. That said... I did find the first "Christian Resource Centre" I actually liked - Fair Trade was their main product with a dinky coffeeshop & some "resources" secondary. More should follow suit. After lunch we headed to Conwy & it's fab castle. We were not disappointed. Awesome structure. The Nikon was smoking... I took that many pics. Later on... after some fab take out... we went to see Transformers 2 at the local cinema. The we'ans enjoyed it & I wasn't disappointed. Not as good as the original but far better than the reviews said. Glad we chose to "suck it & see" so to speak. All in... another fab day. Tx

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Pics from our break #2

The Nikon has been out in force but I don't have wifi here to upload the pics from the beach at Rhos-on-Sea. We've been worried about the weather but weren't let down yesterday. The sun was hot & strong yesterday on the beach. We're all burnt in obscure places. Later on we took a trip out in the car. We were actually heading to ASDA to get a DVD. What ASDA shuts at 4pm? Anyway... drove around the great Orme & ended up in the picturesque Conwy. We're heading there today with the Nikon for a donder. Tx

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Some pics from our break #1

I'll sort all the pics on Flickr when I get back... but thought I'd give you a wee flavour for the place we're in... & where we've been. Llandudno is a really sweet town & our digs a few miles out a fab. Just hope we get some nice weather.
 
Tx

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Happy Birthday Miriam!!!

My youngest is now 8... when did all that happen???

She's a wee cheeky monster... with a twinkle in her eye... but we love her dearly.

So yeah... HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIRIAM!!!

Tx

[Sent from my iPhone]

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U*P*D*A*T*E
I feel such a potzevateh but Miriam's birthday is the 27th... but we are celebrating it today because we are travelling south tomorrow.

When do you tweet?

“People mistakenly think that tapping is not as distracting as talking,” she said. “In fact, it can be every bit as much if not more distracting. And it’s pretty insulting to the speaker.”

Mind Your BlackBerry or Mind Your Manners :: NYTimes (via psfk with thanks)

Read this article in the NYTimes this evening and its made me think about my iPhone usage socially... at work... in meetings... and in the church gatherings I attend.

I have a low attention span and checking tweets is a welcome distraction. This isn't necessarily a bad thing... sometimes a change is as good as a rest... and the distraction provides the needed energy burst of inspiration to carry on.

It is, however, pretty rude to check tweets when in someone's company. This is something I am bad at... and take this opportunity to apologise if I have been distracted in this way while in your company.

I have to switch off "DestroyTwitter" when I am recording the podcast... or I would sound way more distracted and rambly than I normally do.

I do tweet in our church gatherings. This is more about my attention span than a lack of engagement. I have thoroughly enjoyed the recent run of sermons that our Officers have brought to us... and my tweeting shouldn't be seen as detrimental to them.

So here's the question... when do you tweet? Specifically... do you tweet when you are on your own, when you are in company, or both? Do you consider it to be rude... or is there a new etiquette evolving where we give each other permission to remain connected with the twitterverse when interacting socially?

Let me hear your thoughts... Tx

I like to think of my iPhone photos in the same way I would think of a Polaroid...

"I like to think of my iPhone photos in the same way I would think of a Polaroid or a throw away plastic camera. They are fast, efficient and have a quirky quality that can be hard to achieve with film or large megapixel digital cameras. I have learned to embrace the noise and low quality resolution as a positive. The look it gives your photos is very unique and the camera is easy to use."

Koury Angelo :: beyondmegapixels.com

Couldn't agree more. This is why I have two iPhones... I use the 1st gen one predominately as a camera... and keep my iPhone 3g for tunes & communication. Some folks may think this is greedy... but it makes sense to me.

This is cool :: Malcolm Gladwell at TED

My first pack of Polaroid 600 film

Just wanted to say thanks to Laura aka @takebrokenme for her extremely kind & generous gift of a pack of 10 x Polaroid 600 film.
 
I'm totally stoked at the thought of playing with my new camera... albeit... I don't want to waste a single pic.
 
Keep an eye out for the pics... although it does seem ironic that I'll need to take a pic with my iPhone or Nikon of the Polaroid pic before I can post it to the ol' nanolog and Flickr.
 
Thanks again Laura!
 
Tx
 
[Sent from my iPhone]

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Proud Dad

Dayna & Miriam became "official" members of the Young People's Band this morning.
 
My sincere thanks to everyone who has helped the we'ans to get to this point... especially Joanne, Yvonne (pictured) & James.
 
Tx
 
[Sent from my iPhone]

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12

Olly, originally uploaded by Headphonaught.

12 years ago today... this awesome example of womanhood said "I do!"

She makes me a better person as a result of being in my life.

I love you, honey! Thank you for another fantastic year.

Tx

Malcolm Gladwell is in town on Monday night

Got a tip off that Malcolm Gladwell is speaking in Glasgow on Monday night. I'm a huge fan of Gladwell's books and his audiobooks / spoken word / interviews are highly entertaining... he has a beautiful way of using stories and personal experience as examples for the points he is making with great effect . I'm going to go with my dad to let him in on the inspiration.

Details :: Kings Theatre, 297 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4JN :: 1930hrs :: £19 (inc. booking fee & restoration fee)

Oh and while were on the subject of Malcolm Gladwell & his fab writing... check this PDF of his most recent article in the New Yorker entitled "How David Beats Goliath". Brilliant!

Where is my VOTE?

Where is my VOTE?, originally uploaded by armin_bb.

I have mixed feelings about the unrest in Iran...

My heart is breaking for the folk who have been killed or beaten for expressing their opinions... and for all the folk feeling disenchanted & ripped off by Ahmadinejad - I feel their sense of injustice. I am praying for a peaceful resolution... and hoping this won't turn into another Tiananmen Square.

I am also excited at the use of social media tools such as Twitter, Flickr, blogs & the like... as a means of disseminating the true story of what's going on. People are bravely circumventing the authorities to tell their stories... and I think that's awesome. This new media is getting to folk like you and me far faster than the traditional media outlets can get it to us. That's mindblowing, if you ask me.

For me... the mobile phone comes into its own here as the key tool in the unrest. Watch footage on the news and you'll see phones in the air capturing the events unfolding.

That said... it terrifies me to think I could help the authorities in some way by linking to key Tweeters / bloggers etc... so I won't. In a similar frame of mind... I hope no one is identified from this pic that I found on Flickr.

Its times like this when I feel deeply humbled. The tools I use to inform my network of my goings on... are being used in far more powerful and meaningful ways. As I said in a tweet earlier...

When I consider all that's going on in Iran... it makes today's issue about album art on my iPhone so insignificant.

If ever there was a convincing demonstration for the useful/meaningfulness of social media then this is it. It may be trivial to us... but its life or death to folk in Iran just now.

Please take time to think/pray for the unrest in Iran... and that a peaceful resolution may be found.

Do you look up?

The lampost & the cloud, originally uploaded by Headphonaught.

I've become a bit obsessed with looking up. If you follow my pics on Flickr I like to capture skylines... preferably with big chunks of sky.

Tonight... as I was in Bellshill... I noticed the design detail of the street lamps on the main street. They have an interesting style... unusual... different from "standard" street lamps... and I just stopped to appreciate them.

I like intentional design like this... but I have to wonder how many folk have actually noticed them.

It comes down to awareness and appreciation of our surroundings, I guess.

So yeah... to North Lanarkshire Council... nice job!

From the Heritage Centre (Panolab'd)

From the Heritage Centre (Panolab'd), originally uploaded by Headphonaught.

I've blogged about Panolab before... and I still love it.

I recently upgrade to the pro app... because I wanted to export a wider panorama... and I have to say I'm really pleased with it.

I created this panorama yesterday (between games of Peggle) from pics taken from the Motherwell Heritage Centre. Gives a real feel for the 'Well.

Check out Panolab's Tumblr for more fab pics... including the one I took at Largs (thanks PanoLab)... and the dedicated Flickr group too.

http://panolab.originatelabs.com/

Charityshop find :: Polaroid 600 extreme

I now have a vested interest in The Impossible Project :: I am now the proud owner of a Polaroid 600 extreme camera... purchased for £4.75 and in full working order (as far as I can see without film).



I found it... fully boxed with instructions... in my local British Heart Foundation shop. It took a wee bit of persuading / pouting / whining to convince Olly that it was a good idea (she thinks its a backwards step)... but once I got her onboard and convinced of the merits of getting (read - begged) I purchased it.



I am totally chuffed to find a Polaroid camera in perfect nick... and am now on the hunt for film. It looks more and more likely that I will have to join the maelstrom that is eBay to get film... and I do (unfortunately) expect to pay £1 - £1.20 per picture... which is ridiculous... hence my interest in The Impossible Project and my willing them on to success.

I will post on my progress... as and when.

This is cool :: Origins of the Moonwalk

(via Reference Library with thanks)

10 :: from Influx Insights

I like lists of things... and while browsing the blogs this morning I came across this fab post :: 10 things coming out of Influx Curated (from influx insights) :: and thought I would share the 10 points raised:

1. Stand for something
2. Get out your shell
3. Hope is everywhere, you just have to look
4. The crowd has power
5. The crowd needs motivation
6. Story is king
7. Be an optimist
8. Be a pessimist
9. The world needs ideas
10. More corporations/creatives should be good

I like the sentiment behind these points and would recommend you go to the post for more details.

Visual pollution

Visual pollution, originally uploaded by Loozrboy.

I saw this on Flickr and thought... yeah... why? Why do we allow billposters / advertisers to contribute to the visual pollution on our streets?

Happy Birthday Olwyn

My beautiful wife & life partner is another year older... and I just wanted to say:
 
HAPPY BIRTHDAY HONEY... Many happy returns!
 
Enjoy your day & look forward to Equi's tonight.
 
Love you.
 
Tx
 
[Sent from my iPhone]

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I forgot my headphones...

On Friday past I had to endure a terrible trial... a trial that pushed me to the very edge. Its taken me until today to be able to speak openly about it on the ol' nanolog... albeit... I did tweet about it and I also told the story on Sunday night.

My trial? I forgot my headphones.

You might not think this is a big deal... but it is/was for me. Let me explain.

I swapped jackets at the last minute on Friday morning and left the house without my trusted AIAIAI Y-Com iPhone headphones. As a result I was forced to endure the commute from Motherwell to Glasgow (Argyle Street) Station sans music.

I was occupied... I wasn't twiddling my thumbs or... dare I say... reading the Metro. I played "Toobz" on my iPhone... but that's an aside. My ears weren't occupied.

Well actually they were... with every flippin' sound in the carriage: mechanical squeaks... conversations... bleeding headphones (headphones that were bleeding sound... in this case BAD electropop music)... and one chap in particular who was determined to cough up both his lungs across from me.

Don't get me wrong... I did feel sorry for him - he was struggling with phlegm. His phlegm was dancing the hokey-cokey - it was in... it was out... and it was flippin' shaking it all about in his throat. It was horrible. He coughed. He spluttered. Unfortunately neither of his lungs did appear (that would have been cool to see) and this meant he had didn't have any respite.

Yes... I am making light of the situation... but it was genuinely traumatic for me. So much so... I ran out and bought a cheap pair in HMV when I got off the train.

I use them for the gym now... they block out sound nicely. I don't want to listen to the cheesy music they play in the gym... so I am delighted I can block it out now.

Later on... on the Friday... I was given my 6th monthly appraisal at work... and one thing was raised was my listening to my iPod during the day. It was suggested that they put up a barrier in the office... people couldn't just shout over to me but have to catch my attention. I countered this by saying music helps me focus (which is a struggle for me with my goldfish-like attention span).

It did... however... get me thinking.

One of the things I have been aware of... more and more... is the need for followers of Jesus to be aware of their surroundings and available in their surroundings. How can I do this when I put up barriers like my headphones?

We drive instead of taking public transport or walking... we sit with our headphones on or our noses in a book... we seek distraction instead of interaction.

How can we break down these barriers?

We have passions/interests/hobbies. Connect with others with similar passions/interests/hobbies. Connect... build relationships and shine your light. Share your passion... contribute to the community that surrounds that passion... participate! BE part of the community.

In a similar way... look at the communities that you exist within - think about your work or where you stay. BE a participant in the communities you exist within. Don't keep yourself to yourself... don't focus solely on your stuff but care about others. BE a team player. BE a citizen. BE a neighbour. Go out for lunch or for drinks or for coffee.

We also have rhythms of movement. Connect with others with similar rhythms of movement. Strike up conversations with your fellow regulars on public transport or in the spaces/places your frequent. BE a regular. Connect with baristas. Make the first move... say "hi"... talk about the weather or complain about the service (very easy with British trains).

Lastly... and most importantly... don't view people as a means to an end... but as an end in themselves... deserving of our love for no other reason than they are created in the Creator's image... just like we are.

I hope this makes sense? Its all about looking outward instead of inward... looking out for the interests of others instead of always seeking our individualistic personal agenda.

Thats my thoughts anyway... Tx

I've ordered my first Threadless tee...

My thanks to JD Blundell for the heads up to this fab Twitter x Threadless tee. Will be interesting when I wear it at camp, me thinks.

Miriam's poem...

Miriam's poem..., originally uploaded by Headphonaught.

Hence the reason why she got to stay up late on a School Night... to watch "The Wrath of Khan" (see last post).

Watching "The Wrath of Khan" (160/365)

Watching "The Wrath of Khan" (160/365), originally uploaded by Headphonaught.

Sometimes you just have to stop... take time out... regroup in front of a good film.

I love "The Wrath of Khan" and watching the remastered film on my upscaling DVD was a real pleasure... albeit... the company was pretty good too.

I love the ending... makes me cry every time. Especially Kirk's send off to Spock ::

"And yet, in the midst of our sorrow it should be noted that this death takes place in the shadow of new life, the sunrise of a new world, a world that our beloved comrade gave his own life to protect and nourish. He did not feel that sacrifice a vain or empty one -- and we will not debate his profound wisdom, in these proceedings. Of my friend, I can only say this, that of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most -- (he falters) -- human."

Powerful.

Loving me some... The Mars Volta

Yeah!!! and on Letterman too.

My 10,000th Tweet... in case you missed it

This is so cool :: Improv Everywhere's Surprise Wedding Reception

The latest Improv Everywhere stunt is pretty awesome... and so kindhearted. In it, they throw a random couple a wedding reception. Brilliant. Enjoy:

this looks cool :: star defense

Whilst I have purchased many an app for my iPhone... I haven't gone down the road of buying games for it. I guess I worry about the battery too much... and there are some fab games out there for free anyway :: taptap revenge and topple to name but two.

This may change with the release of ngmoco's star defense which... intriguingly... includes twitter & facebook integration. Looks fab.

this is cool :: sharpie basement

I have a bit of a sharpie obsession... and I thought this story was so cool - a chap in Kentucky has decorated his basement with sharpies... it looks awesome!

It just shows... with talent, time and imagination... you can really make some rad stuff happen.

(via notcot #22,223)

An interesting sign in Princes' Square

An interesting sign in Princes' Square, originally uploaded by Headphonaught.

I saw this sign last night in the Princes Square, Glasgow; when I went hunting for a toilet for Vikki. I thought it was an interesting marketing message... especially when we were out feeding & clothing our homeless friends.

It made me consider what I put my trust in. Not in things... but in God and in people.

The apps I'm rocking...

I've been playing about with the apps on my iPhone... buying some "pro" versions... picking some apps based on demonstrated need rather than just novelty. What apps are you rocking on you iPhone... Blackberry... Windows Mobile... or Motorola Star-Tac?

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