Many thanks for your expressions of support in response to my previous post. There are things afoot both on-line and off, which I cannot discuss on an open blog. It requires sorting out, which I find singularly hard. I am calling round the odd blog or two as I find time or inclination.
Out here in the Hebrides, it went dark after half past two this afternoon, with rain, sleet and snow falling on the town of Stornoway. It is also very cold, with the mercury barely above freezing. Officially, by the way, the sun sets at 3.45pm. With the clouds overhead, it just doesn't get light through the day.
Friday, 28 November 2008
Notice
With the apparent breakdown of yet another on-line friendship looming, I think it's time I took myself out of blogging for a considerable if not permanent period of time. I think I'm just plain wasting my time. I don't believe a word of it any more.
Thursday, 27 November 2008
Thursday 27 November
Just had a snower of snow out here - big flakes, which did not settle. Does show how cold it is outside, only a degree or two above freezing. Today is Thanksgiving, and not just in the USA. It is also a public holiday here in Lewis, with church services, schools and some shops closed. I am not aware of a turkey tradition, like in America, that is more commonly served at Christmas.
I was horrified to hear of a concerted series of attacks in Bombay (now Mumbai) in India, which have claimed more than 100 lives. Situation is still fluid and by no means under control.
Remember that infamous date on our calendar? 31 October 2008? The day AOL Journals was closed down. Well, I've got another date like that on my own calendar. BBC Island Blogging is closing down next January. For the past 3 years, I have been writing on there about life on Lewis, but I've just read that this will now cease. Unlike AOL, the BBC offers plenty cooperation and actually asks the community what it wants. Also, the blogs won't be deleted, again unlike AOL. I'm a very sad bunny at the moment, and it's been a crapola year altogether.
I was horrified to hear of a concerted series of attacks in Bombay (now Mumbai) in India, which have claimed more than 100 lives. Situation is still fluid and by no means under control.
Remember that infamous date on our calendar? 31 October 2008? The day AOL Journals was closed down. Well, I've got another date like that on my own calendar. BBC Island Blogging is closing down next January. For the past 3 years, I have been writing on there about life on Lewis, but I've just read that this will now cease. Unlike AOL, the BBC offers plenty cooperation and actually asks the community what it wants. Also, the blogs won't be deleted, again unlike AOL. I'm a very sad bunny at the moment, and it's been a crapola year altogether.
Wednesday, 26 November 2008
Wednesday 26 November
Blustery day with the odd drop of drizzle and the odd chink of blue sky or even ray of sunshine today. Gales anticipated for tonight.
The North Atlantic hurricane season is coming to a quiet conclusion, but it has been far from quiet this year. Jeff Masters, who runs a very useful blog on Weather Underground, has written a summary. Cuba had 3 major hurricanes, and there will be a few names withdrawn from the rotating list on account of damage or loss of life. Ike will probably be one of them, but we need to await a decision by the World Meteorological Organisation on that.
At the moment, a cyclonic storm is battering northern Sri Lanka and the far south of India with winds of up to force 10 on the Beaufort scale. It will move ashore later today, to reemerge in the Arabian Sea in a few days' time.
The North Atlantic hurricane season is coming to a quiet conclusion, but it has been far from quiet this year. Jeff Masters, who runs a very useful blog on Weather Underground, has written a summary. Cuba had 3 major hurricanes, and there will be a few names withdrawn from the rotating list on account of damage or loss of life. Ike will probably be one of them, but we need to await a decision by the World Meteorological Organisation on that.
At the moment, a cyclonic storm is battering northern Sri Lanka and the far south of India with winds of up to force 10 on the Beaufort scale. It will move ashore later today, to reemerge in the Arabian Sea in a few days' time.
Tuesday, 25 November 2008
Evening notes
I am not very conscientious about keeping up to date with everybody's journals, but am a wee bit distracted at the moment. For the moment, I would like to wish our American friends much fun in the run-up to Thanksgiving this weekend, a festival (as I explained earlier) also celebrated here in Lewis. On Thursday to be precise. No turkeys here, just a visit to church for the faithful.
Was watching a film about the Callanish Stones, which stand 18 miles away on the west coast of Lewis. They are 5,000 years old, and not a lot is known about them. It was funny when a local man said that at one point he had told visitors they were lucky to find the Stones up. In October, they take them down for the winter, to put them back up again in Easter. Ostensibly. I'll close this post with some pics I took at Callanish at the end of June last year. All pictures were taken close to midnight. For reference, we're at latitude 58 North here.
Was watching a film about the Callanish Stones, which stand 18 miles away on the west coast of Lewis. They are 5,000 years old, and not a lot is known about them. It was funny when a local man said that at one point he had told visitors they were lucky to find the Stones up. In October, they take them down for the winter, to put them back up again in Easter. Ostensibly. I'll close this post with some pics I took at Callanish at the end of June last year. All pictures were taken close to midnight. For reference, we're at latitude 58 North here.
Tuesday 25 November
One month to go until Christmas. It is a cool but dry day in the islands, although a fine drizzle has just started.
Today is the 33rd anniversary of the independence of former Dutch colony Suriname. This small country sits on the north coast of South America, between British and French Guyana. Its primary means of subsistence is the export of bauxite, the ore from which aluminium is extracted.
Following independence, a large number of Surinamers (as they call themselves) flocked to the mother country, Netherlands. In 1980, a military coup toppled the government and army leader Desi Bouterse took over the reigns of power. The most infamous episode is the so-called December Murders, in which 15 leading opponents of Mr Bouterse were killed, allegedly by his supporters but at his direction. A civilian government has since returned to the country.
Today is the 33rd anniversary of the independence of former Dutch colony Suriname. This small country sits on the north coast of South America, between British and French Guyana. Its primary means of subsistence is the export of bauxite, the ore from which aluminium is extracted.
Following independence, a large number of Surinamers (as they call themselves) flocked to the mother country, Netherlands. In 1980, a military coup toppled the government and army leader Desi Bouterse took over the reigns of power. The most infamous episode is the so-called December Murders, in which 15 leading opponents of Mr Bouterse were killed, allegedly by his supporters but at his direction. A civilian government has since returned to the country.
Monday, 24 November 2008
Monday 24 November
Bright and sunny day, if still cold, with the odd shower about. Went into town just before midday to have an amble round the harbour. Ended up in the library caff for a bowl of soup. It made quite a difference to have the sun out, rather than the continuous wind and rain of the weekend. Temperatures are still mediocre, at barely 5C. MV Pentalina B continues to be our freight ferry, while the normal boat, MV Muirneag, remains in dry-dock for its annual refit.
Sunday, 23 November 2008
Customer service
I had to bite back a sardonic cackle this evening when I logged into my blog, to be greeted by an advert from AOL Broadband UK. The greatest customer service, was the subtitle. Good grief, how dare they.
Six minutes five seconds
Dmitri Shostakovich wrote this second movement to his 2nd Pianoconcierto in A-minor. Don't say you aren't reaching for the tissues by the end of it.
Sunday 23 November
It is pitch dark as I type this at 5.40pm, the sun having long since set. The weather today was wet, windy and cold, a maximum of 7C / 45F just being achieved. Nothing to write home about. Having a quiet day, with a bit of reading and catching up. I am currently going through "A Shilling for your Scowl", about abuse of power by one man - who was allowed to do so by the establishment in the mid-19th century in the Isle of Lewis. He held 32 public offices at the same time, some patently incompatible with being held by one man.
A couple is suing McDonalds after images on a phone they accidentally left behind in one of their stores appeared on the internet. Nude ones. McDonalds had promised to secure the phone, but something leaked. Cautionary tale: if you put compromising material on your phone, either lock it or take it off as soon as possible.
A couple is suing McDonalds after images on a phone they accidentally left behind in one of their stores appeared on the internet. Nude ones. McDonalds had promised to secure the phone, but something leaked. Cautionary tale: if you put compromising material on your phone, either lock it or take it off as soon as possible.
Saturday, 22 November 2008
AOL dial-up
If there is anyone in the UK still accessing AOL by dial-up, I would like to know how they do it. Last week, my broadband connection (not by AOL) failed and I wanted to go on line to find out on the ISP's website. I had previously removed the AOL 9.0 software, but reinstalled it for this purpose. When it came to the bit where the program dials a number to find out the access numbers for the dial-up service, the modem could be heard receiving the "number not known" signal, but not acting on it. So, is there still a dial-up service on AOL UK, and there is, what is its access number?
Saturday 22 November
Quiet if rather cold day out here, the weatherstation at the airport (3 miles away) reports 3C / 37F. My father, over in Holland, sent me pictures this morning showing a blanket of snow. Much like we had in Stornoway 4 weeks ago. Not today - it is just overcast with little wind.
Mainland Scotland is affected by heavy snow, which makes driving very difficult. Further south, a warm front which will come in off the Atlantic is expected to bring black-ice and freezing rain on Sunday. This will herald a change to milder weather. It's late November, so what do you expect.
Once more, suicide by chatroom has reared its ugly head. A young man, aged 19, had announced he was going to take his life, which he proceeded to do live on webcam. For hours, he lay motionless in front of his camera, before the moderator of the chatroom was notified and police were called. Although some chatters had tried to dissuade the victim, others had egged him on to go for it. Just goes to show what some people are like. It also goes to show how a chatroom serves to de-personify people, by making them less like real people.
Mainland Scotland is affected by heavy snow, which makes driving very difficult. Further south, a warm front which will come in off the Atlantic is expected to bring black-ice and freezing rain on Sunday. This will herald a change to milder weather. It's late November, so what do you expect.
Once more, suicide by chatroom has reared its ugly head. A young man, aged 19, had announced he was going to take his life, which he proceeded to do live on webcam. For hours, he lay motionless in front of his camera, before the moderator of the chatroom was notified and police were called. Although some chatters had tried to dissuade the victim, others had egged him on to go for it. Just goes to show what some people are like. It also goes to show how a chatroom serves to de-personify people, by making them less like real people.
Friday, 21 November 2008
Friday 21 November
Very cold today, with the mercury not even touching 40F / 4C at the moment. It is snowing as I type, or is it sleet. Over on the mainland, the A9 trunkroad linking Inverness with the Lowlands is blocked at the Slochd summit north of Aviemore. Ferry sailings from the far northeast (Caithness) to Orkney are disrupted due to bad weather, and our freight service is not operating today.
BBC presenters Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross were suspended for 3 months in October, following a grossly offensive broadcast, in which they left crude messages on the answerphone of a well-known actor. Apparently, Mr Ross can be expected to defile our airwaves again in January, and Mr Brand could well be back as well. I never liked Jonathan Ross, and hope he stays off the BBC.
Generally speaking, I find very little worth watching on TV these days. I have access to satellite TV, which pumps 500 channels into the set. Only the BBC channels are really worth watching, particularly the Gaelic channel BBC Alba. And, to my disgrace, Tom & Jerry lol (video courtesy CartoonyA on YouTube)
BBC presenters Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross were suspended for 3 months in October, following a grossly offensive broadcast, in which they left crude messages on the answerphone of a well-known actor. Apparently, Mr Ross can be expected to defile our airwaves again in January, and Mr Brand could well be back as well. I never liked Jonathan Ross, and hope he stays off the BBC.
Generally speaking, I find very little worth watching on TV these days. I have access to satellite TV, which pumps 500 channels into the set. Only the BBC channels are really worth watching, particularly the Gaelic channel BBC Alba. And, to my disgrace, Tom & Jerry lol (video courtesy CartoonyA on YouTube)
Thursday, 20 November 2008
AOL & Washington Post
On Sunday, I sent off a Letter to the Editor of the Washington Post. It is now Thursday, and it has (to my knowledge) not been published, and therefore not likely to. On average, only about 6 or 7 letters are published in the Post on-line, so I only had a small chance. I'll copy its content here for reference.
Dear Sirs,
Dear Sirs,
On October 31st, AOL Journals, an on-line blogging service, was closed down. The way this was carried out has not shown AOL in a favourable light in terms of customer service.
Although AOL Journals were earmarked for closure on July 25th, 2008, its users were not informed until September 30th. An option was offered to users for them to transfer any on-line journals to another service provider, but the company went out of its way to stifle further cooperation with users, threatening employees with dismissal if any help was discovered being made.
The point with Journals was that although they were a declining service, they meant more to their users than could be expressed in dollars and cents. For many, their journal kept them going through illness and other challenging times in life. Others passed away, leaving behind their journal as a posthumous tribute and legacy. The community of users helped each other. It was quite unique, but is left torn apart.
All enterprises want to make money, but when doing so goes to the detriment of its users, the company's ethical standards can be called into question. Not just AOL – any company.
Yours sincerely,
[signed with name, address and phonenumber]
Thursday 20 November
A brighter day than of late, with a few clearances in the clouds. Bit breezy, with a force 5 wind going from the west to northwest. Temperatures nothing out of the ordinary for the final part of November, at 8C. Tomorrow, the north of mainland Scotland and Orkney & Shetland are under warning for snow and gales. It would appear that the Western Isles will escape the worst of it.
The southern hemisphere hurricane season has kicked off with two tropical storms, one of which looks set to reach Western Australia over the weekend. It won't bring more than galeforce winds to an area between Port Hedland and Exmouth - but I'm jumping the gun a bit with this forecast.
The southern hemisphere hurricane season has kicked off with two tropical storms, one of which looks set to reach Western Australia over the weekend. It won't bring more than galeforce winds to an area between Port Hedland and Exmouth - but I'm jumping the gun a bit with this forecast.
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
Missing in transfer
I have noticed that automatic line breaks, inserted in AOL Journals, have not been carried through in the transferred Blogger journals. As a result, you'll find wordsmerged [sic] together. See if it also happened to any of your transferred blogs.
Plugging one of my blogs
Unashamedly plugging my photoblog Atlantic Light, which I am filling with all the pictures I have taken since August 2004. Each entry, related to each day I took pictures, shows up to 3 or 4 photos, with links to more pics (if available) as well as to a diary entry.
Wednesday 19 November
Chucking it down this morning with a strong westerly wind. The temperature, 11C / 52F, is academical in conditions like that. We're supposed to get a dip in temps by Friday, introducing a few flurries of snow here in Lewis. Mainland Scotland and the Northern Isles (Orkney and Shetland) will get rather more of the white stuff.
If you're in the UK, you may have had an email from HM Customs & Revenue that several hundred pounds are waiting for you. You guessed it, it's a scam. Looks convincing, except for the usual pointers like spelling mistakes etc. I copy an article from a local news website:
If you're in the UK, you may have had an email from HM Customs & Revenue that several hundred pounds are waiting for you. You guessed it, it's a scam. Looks convincing, except for the usual pointers like spelling mistakes etc. I copy an article from a local news website:
Trading Standards Officers are warning the public to beware of an email claiming to offer a tax refund.The email is supposedly from HM Customs and Revenue but is actually an attempt to gain personal information.
A spokesperson said: “This email looks genuine and offers a refund of hundreds of pounds in return for sending personal information. It is a scam designed to get people to send their personal information and should be deleted. Banks, Customs and Revenue etc would never ask for such information by email and similar scams should be similarly deleted.”
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