First day of spring by the astronomical calendar. Quite a springlike day, with blue skies, scattered clouds and a mild breeze. I am watching the afternoon ferry coming in, which will depart back to Ullapool at 2.30pm, in 90 minutes from now. It will return here at 9 o'clock this evening. The crossing takes just under 3 hours, and can be a bumpy affair.
Police are searching Loch Awe, east of Oban, for two men who went missing on the loch overnight. They were in a party of four, two of whom were found dead in the water. Searching was severely hampered by dense fog (visibility 5 yards) overnight. Loch Awe stretches for 24 miles and is up to 300 feet deep. It is not as deep as Loch Morar, further northwest near the port town of Mallaig, which goes down more than 1,000 feet.
All Coastguard helicopters in the north of Scotland are grounded, pending the fitting of essential parts. Last week, a fatal crash off Newfoundland claimed 17 lives, and a faulty part was found to have played a role in that incident. Replacement parts are being transported to Lewis and Shetland, but the 4 helicopters will remain out of action until they are fitted. RAF helicopters out of Prestwick and Lossiemouth will provide cover in the meantime.
Saturday, 21 March 2009
Friday, 20 March 2009
Picture book
I have now compiled a book with about 260 of my pictures, which is available for anyone to purchase on-line. It's a wee bit on the dear side (£20.75 baseline price, excluding P&P), but if you're feeling like it, why not get yourself a copy of Lewis Light from lulu.com.
End of commercial.
End of commercial.
Friday 20 March
Last day of winter, and I'm glad to leave it behind. Another sunny day, but quite blustery in contrast to yesterday's mild breeze. Temperatures at 12C at the moment, and may rise higher.
It seems to be relatively common for women to give birth on planes, but one lady from Samoa left her newborn baby in the garbage bin in the toilet. Charges are now likely to be brought against the woman involved; she was spotted by airport staff at Auckland as her clothes were bloodstained.
I am pleased to note that a debate has commenced in the UK on the difficult subject of assisted suicide, mercy killing, euthanasia. All descriptions of the same. Helping someone end their life when there is great suffering with no hope of alleviation or improvement. The BBC has a forum thread into the subject which shows the spectrum of opinion.
Personally, I advocate the Dutch model, in force in the 1980s. In such a situation, the patient discusses the subject with their doctor, who then seeks a second opinion. It is ensured that the decision is made by the patient of their own free will, being of sound mind at the time. After the patient is deceased, the death is reported to the procurator as an unnatural death. He will review the evidence and decide not to prosecute if all prerequisites are met.
It seems to be relatively common for women to give birth on planes, but one lady from Samoa left her newborn baby in the garbage bin in the toilet. Charges are now likely to be brought against the woman involved; she was spotted by airport staff at Auckland as her clothes were bloodstained.
I am pleased to note that a debate has commenced in the UK on the difficult subject of assisted suicide, mercy killing, euthanasia. All descriptions of the same. Helping someone end their life when there is great suffering with no hope of alleviation or improvement. The BBC has a forum thread into the subject which shows the spectrum of opinion.
Personally, I advocate the Dutch model, in force in the 1980s. In such a situation, the patient discusses the subject with their doctor, who then seeks a second opinion. It is ensured that the decision is made by the patient of their own free will, being of sound mind at the time. After the patient is deceased, the death is reported to the procurator as an unnatural death. He will review the evidence and decide not to prosecute if all prerequisites are met.
Thursday, 19 March 2009
Blogger Community Photo Challenge
Mailboxes is the subject of this challenge. Well, this picture dates from 6 August 2006 and shows a house in the village of Laxay, some 12 miles south of Stornoway in the Isle of Lewis (Scotland). The microwave oven on the post is actually the mailbox for 38 Laxay.
Volcano
I have always found volcanoes intriguing natural phenomena, and my interest was tweaked when an underwater volcano erupted near Tonga in the South Pacific. My attention was already focused there on account of tropical cyclone Ken (now a mid-latitude depression). The link shows an impressive display of ash and steam being ejected from the volcano.
Fritzl
Josef Fritzl, aged 73, was sentenced to life in prison today. He kept his own daughter imprisoned for 24 years, raping her and fathering 7 children by her - one of whom died because Fritzl denied medical help to the child. The man will be held at a secure psychiatric facility, and will be assessed whether he can be treated. If so, he will be transferred to a normal prison and could be eligible for parole in 15 years from now.
The twists and turns of this mind-boggling case have gained high prominence in the media in the past year or so, and the nation of Austria is still to come to terms with the horror of this scenario, enacted by one of its own citizens.
The twists and turns of this mind-boggling case have gained high prominence in the media in the past year or so, and the nation of Austria is still to come to terms with the horror of this scenario, enacted by one of its own citizens.
Thursday 19 March 2009
Bright and sunny with hardly a cloud in the sky. Feels like spring, and certainly the birds are behaving in that fashion. The mercury has crept up to 13C / 55F, a value not seen on a sunny day like this so far this year. So, long may it continue.
Hurricane season is drawing towards a close in the southern hemisphere. Tropical cyclone Ilsa is roaring away with winds in excess of 110 mph, about 600 miles from Australia. It is not going near any land as far as the forecasters can tell. Hurricanes are one of Mother Nature's safety valves, and serve to disperse heat from the tropics to higher latitudes through a venting mechanism in the upper atmosphere. The amount of energy involved in your average hurricane would be sufficient to power everyone on planet Earth for a year - 200 times over. Annually, there are about 100 tropical cyclones anywhere on the planet. They can only occur over warm water (80F / 26C or more) with a specific set-up in the atmosphere (winds all blowing at the same speed and in the same direction at all levels) and away from the equator. They only happen in summer - which is why the southern hemisphere is currently having cyclones (= hurricanes). The phenomena are poorly understood, and are highly unpredictable, both in terms of course and intensity.
Hurricane season in the northern hemisphere will resume in two months from now. If you are in an area likely to be affected by these storms, please review your preparations now and make sure everything is in readiness for hurricane season.
I have kept my Tropical Cyclones blog since July 2006, and update it daily - if there are any storms or tropical disturbances to be reported on.
Hurricane season is drawing towards a close in the southern hemisphere. Tropical cyclone Ilsa is roaring away with winds in excess of 110 mph, about 600 miles from Australia. It is not going near any land as far as the forecasters can tell. Hurricanes are one of Mother Nature's safety valves, and serve to disperse heat from the tropics to higher latitudes through a venting mechanism in the upper atmosphere. The amount of energy involved in your average hurricane would be sufficient to power everyone on planet Earth for a year - 200 times over. Annually, there are about 100 tropical cyclones anywhere on the planet. They can only occur over warm water (80F / 26C or more) with a specific set-up in the atmosphere (winds all blowing at the same speed and in the same direction at all levels) and away from the equator. They only happen in summer - which is why the southern hemisphere is currently having cyclones (= hurricanes). The phenomena are poorly understood, and are highly unpredictable, both in terms of course and intensity.
Hurricane season in the northern hemisphere will resume in two months from now. If you are in an area likely to be affected by these storms, please review your preparations now and make sure everything is in readiness for hurricane season.
I have kept my Tropical Cyclones blog since July 2006, and update it daily - if there are any storms or tropical disturbances to be reported on.
Wednesday, 18 March 2009
Wednesday 18 March
Late entry for today, after being sidetracked on various fronts. Had to install Windows Vista Service Pack 1, which took me several hours this afternoon. Downloading nearly half a gigabyte of file (took me about 45 minutes), then installing the update, which took me 3 hours in all. Let's hope it does make a difference - we shall see. So far so good, I can now try to update my firewall software which it would not do without SP1.
It has been a grey and overcast day, although dry. Not exactly warm either. Caught a glimpse of one of the press conferences linked to the trial of Austrian man Josef Fritzl, who held his own daughter captive for 24 years, fathered 7 children by her, allegedly killing one of them. I speak German, although the Austrian accents had me straining a bit. The trial is expected to be over by the end of the week.
It has been a grey and overcast day, although dry. Not exactly warm either. Caught a glimpse of one of the press conferences linked to the trial of Austrian man Josef Fritzl, who held his own daughter captive for 24 years, fathered 7 children by her, allegedly killing one of them. I speak German, although the Austrian accents had me straining a bit. The trial is expected to be over by the end of the week.
Tuesday, 17 March 2009
Tuesday 17 March
Another sunny day in Stornoway, although the actual temperature is still low, 7 degrees this afternoon. Behind glass, it feels a lot warmer. You feel the chill when you're outside in the wind. Visibility is very good, as I can clearly see the hills of Applecross Forest [no trees there by the way] some 60 miles to the southeast across the Minch.
I am currently trying to get Windows Vista Service Pack 1 installed on this computer. It doesn't show up on the Automatic Updates list, so I have asked Microsoft for help. Can't find anything useful on the web, apart from downloading the 434MB stand-alone version. The A.U. version is 45MB, so if I can get and spare my broadband traffic cap, that would be great.
I am currently trying to get Windows Vista Service Pack 1 installed on this computer. It doesn't show up on the Automatic Updates list, so I have asked Microsoft for help. Can't find anything useful on the web, apart from downloading the 434MB stand-alone version. The A.U. version is 45MB, so if I can get and spare my broadband traffic cap, that would be great.
Monday, 16 March 2009
Spring is here?
Sunny afternoon in the Outer Hebrides, even though it is not very warm. Mercury is firmly stuck on 9C / 48F once again, although the sun does help to take the edge off it. Took an amble earlier on to Sandwick Cemetery, a 20 minute walk from here, to take photographs of some World War II gravestones. A WWI stone that I had pictured before was now untraceable. Looked up and down both the Old and New cemeteries, without result. Anyway, as I said, it was a nice afternoon so I didn't really mind.
Sandwick Bay
Lower Sandwick
Sandwick Bay
Lower Sandwick
Monday 16 March 2009
Overcast today, but not much wind and mainly dry. The South Pacific is eyeballing a developing tropical cyclone, which the agency in Honolulu suspects will develop soon; their colleagues in Fiji say it won't have much chance. Just goes to show that forecasting for these phenomena is still fraught with much uncertainty.
Josef Fritzl, who incarcerated his own daughter for 24 years, raped her and fathered 7 children with her (one of whom was allegedly murdered by him) has pleaded guilty to the charges brought against him. The judge presiding over the trial at St Pölten in Austria closed proceedings to the public due to the sensitivity of the evidence about to be submitted in court.
The family of Simon Macmillan, whose remains were recovered from Loch Bee in South Uist yesterday, is returning to the island. A post-mortem will be carried out in due course and, as per procedure in Scotland, a report submitted to the Procurator Fiscal into the circumstances of the man's death.
Josef Fritzl, who incarcerated his own daughter for 24 years, raped her and fathered 7 children with her (one of whom was allegedly murdered by him) has pleaded guilty to the charges brought against him. The judge presiding over the trial at St Pölten in Austria closed proceedings to the public due to the sensitivity of the evidence about to be submitted in court.
The family of Simon Macmillan, whose remains were recovered from Loch Bee in South Uist yesterday, is returning to the island. A post-mortem will be carried out in due course and, as per procedure in Scotland, a report submitted to the Procurator Fiscal into the circumstances of the man's death.
Sunday, 15 March 2009
Map skills
Sunday 15 March
Windy day with occasional light rain. The ferry is docked for the Sunday, but big plumes of dirty smoke were coming from its funnels at a time this morning. Rumour has it that the new fuel is giving the engines a spot of bother; it is rather heavier than previously, and comes under the header of cheap and nasty.
The remains of a young man were recovered from a fresh-water loch in South Uist this morning. Police are conducting enquiries, but it is thought likely that the corpse is that of Simon Macmillan, who went missing over Christmas. He was last seen alighting from a minibus a few miles from his home village. Persistent searching by local residents has finally paid off, even though the police had given up the formal search. Simon was missing for 11 weeks. He was a merchant navy seaman, home for unexpected leave. He was returning home from a social event in Daliburgh, in the south of the island of South Uist when he disappeared.
RIP.
I am pleased to note that the English chief medical officer is proposing to introduce a minimum price for alcohol. The Scottish Government has already launched proposals, and not doing a similar thing in England is feared would lead to a huge blackmarket in drink. The minimum price for a can of beer in England would be £1, and for a bottle of wine about £4.
The remains of a young man were recovered from a fresh-water loch in South Uist this morning. Police are conducting enquiries, but it is thought likely that the corpse is that of Simon Macmillan, who went missing over Christmas. He was last seen alighting from a minibus a few miles from his home village. Persistent searching by local residents has finally paid off, even though the police had given up the formal search. Simon was missing for 11 weeks. He was a merchant navy seaman, home for unexpected leave. He was returning home from a social event in Daliburgh, in the south of the island of South Uist when he disappeared.
RIP.
I am pleased to note that the English chief medical officer is proposing to introduce a minimum price for alcohol. The Scottish Government has already launched proposals, and not doing a similar thing in England is feared would lead to a huge blackmarket in drink. The minimum price for a can of beer in England would be £1, and for a bottle of wine about £4.
Saturday, 14 March 2009
Saturday 14 March
Pretty dreadful weather today, with strong winds blowing in a lot of rain. Visibility barely 1 mile, although the sun is trying to put in an appearance. Mercury is at 9C / 48F, and the wind is blowing a near-gale (35 mph) with gusts of nearly 50 mph.
Hebridean blogger Donnie, who specialises in black and white images of the western islands of Scotland, posted a very evocative image. Boreraig is a derelict township in the south of the Isle of Skye (click on the Location link at the bottom of this post to view its position on a map), which was cleared in the middle of the 19th century. Historian David Craig did some great research on it, which he published in his book On the Crofter's Trail. The villagers of Boreraig, together with their neighbours from Suisnis, were thrown out of their houses and marched east along the coast towards Druimfearn on the Sleat peninsula (if you are familiar with Skye you'll know the area I'm talking about). The people were kicked out to make way for sheep.
Donnie's picture shows the ruins of a cottage, with the opening for a door and a lintel across it; the sun shines in. Makes you think of the people that will have seen that afternoon light coming into their house for many a year; and then never to see that, or the hills around them, or the view down Loch Eishort, never again.
Hebridean blogger Donnie, who specialises in black and white images of the western islands of Scotland, posted a very evocative image. Boreraig is a derelict township in the south of the Isle of Skye (click on the Location link at the bottom of this post to view its position on a map), which was cleared in the middle of the 19th century. Historian David Craig did some great research on it, which he published in his book On the Crofter's Trail. The villagers of Boreraig, together with their neighbours from Suisnis, were thrown out of their houses and marched east along the coast towards Druimfearn on the Sleat peninsula (if you are familiar with Skye you'll know the area I'm talking about). The people were kicked out to make way for sheep.
Donnie's picture shows the ruins of a cottage, with the opening for a door and a lintel across it; the sun shines in. Makes you think of the people that will have seen that afternoon light coming into their house for many a year; and then never to see that, or the hills around them, or the view down Loch Eishort, never again.
Friday, 13 March 2009
Mission Statement
Originally drafted: April 2005, revised March 2009
I was amazed at the colours at sunset these past days. And at sunrise as well. Normally, I expect light to start to fail 25 minutes after sunset, but at this latitude this is extended to 40 minutes. I am not a native of the islands, but one of the reasons I have come here is the natural beauty. Whether it is in the images shown on Flickr, at a time of good weather - or in bad.
Being caught up in a thunder, hail, snow, sleet (and kitchensink) shower back in January 2005, whilst going down the Lochs Road at Leurbost, with the bus driver being forced to reduce speed to a crawl. No snow or ice at the next village, Keose.
The many rainbows in the spring, going down the Lochs road.
The joy at seeing the first green shoots, in April, out at Keose.
Hearing the first bleating of lambs in a pasture at Breascleit late in March. Walking the island in the bitter winds of February, and seeing the sad remains of the sheep that did not make it through the winter. Or the sheep that was knocked down at the Marybank cattlegrid in April, and was slowly decomposing in peace in the ditch that it was dumped in over a period of 6 months.
Seeing the days lengthen to an incredible extent, sunset at 22.30, with the light lingering to the nadir of the night at 01.30, then returning fully at 03.30. But also shortening of the days, with the daylight hours of 09.15 to 15.35 at Christmas.
The howling of the gales. Clattering of hail and thumping of the wind against the window at night - waking up in the middle of the night because there is no noise.
Watching the breathtaking coastal scenery at Filiscleitir, or the stunning mountain scenery from Rapaire, Teileasbhal, Mullach an Langa. Or beautiful Glen Langadale, where I'm forever fording that river under the frown of Stulabhal. The little mouse on the slopes of that mountain, the one that allowed me to stroke it.
The yellow grasses on the moors of South Lochs, finding your way in amongst a myriad of lochs, streams and bogs. Loch nan Eilean, south of Garyvard.
Place seems to have gotten under my skin.
I was amazed at the colours at sunset these past days. And at sunrise as well. Normally, I expect light to start to fail 25 minutes after sunset, but at this latitude this is extended to 40 minutes. I am not a native of the islands, but one of the reasons I have come here is the natural beauty. Whether it is in the images shown on Flickr, at a time of good weather - or in bad.
Being caught up in a thunder, hail, snow, sleet (and kitchensink) shower back in January 2005, whilst going down the Lochs Road at Leurbost, with the bus driver being forced to reduce speed to a crawl. No snow or ice at the next village, Keose.
The many rainbows in the spring, going down the Lochs road.
The joy at seeing the first green shoots, in April, out at Keose.
Hearing the first bleating of lambs in a pasture at Breascleit late in March. Walking the island in the bitter winds of February, and seeing the sad remains of the sheep that did not make it through the winter. Or the sheep that was knocked down at the Marybank cattlegrid in April, and was slowly decomposing in peace in the ditch that it was dumped in over a period of 6 months.
Seeing the days lengthen to an incredible extent, sunset at 22.30, with the light lingering to the nadir of the night at 01.30, then returning fully at 03.30. But also shortening of the days, with the daylight hours of 09.15 to 15.35 at Christmas.
The howling of the gales. Clattering of hail and thumping of the wind against the window at night - waking up in the middle of the night because there is no noise.
Watching the breathtaking coastal scenery at Filiscleitir, or the stunning mountain scenery from Rapaire, Teileasbhal, Mullach an Langa. Or beautiful Glen Langadale, where I'm forever fording that river under the frown of Stulabhal. The little mouse on the slopes of that mountain, the one that allowed me to stroke it.
The yellow grasses on the moors of South Lochs, finding your way in amongst a myriad of lochs, streams and bogs. Loch nan Eilean, south of Garyvard.
Place seems to have gotten under my skin.
Gobbledegook
Apologies for the entry (now deleted, but probably showing on your Google Reader), saying it was a message from a mobile phone. Please ignore.
Easter sidebar
I have changed my sidebar to reflect the advent of Easter (sic) in just over 4 weeks from now. Lent came upon us some 2 weeks ago or so, and I hope everybody manages to stay off whatever they resolved to stay off for 6 weeks. The above-left graphic is one of Donna's creations, and I am sure all readers will wish her a speedy recovery in her current ill health.
Adsense
I've removed the advertising block from the top of this blog. Google have recently started to introduce picture ads, and I found the busty babe that has been adorning my journal of late not entirely in keeping with my writing. Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate natural beauty, but not to the point of distraction. Adsense hasn't made me packets of money; I used to get a lot of revenue (few dollars) out of my webcam site, which was discontinued last May. There now is a steady trickle. My first cheque will probably come some time in 2011 or so.
Was out for a wee walk round the basin across the street; it is a tidal affair, and as the tide was out, I was able to walk round the bottom of it. I even found a healthily sized scallop. However, one scallop does not fill a stomach, so I'll probably put it back later today.
Was out for a wee walk round the basin across the street; it is a tidal affair, and as the tide was out, I was able to walk round the bottom of it. I even found a healthily sized scallop. However, one scallop does not fill a stomach, so I'll probably put it back later today.
Friday 13 March
Once more Friday the 13th. I used to have a black cat, and it was a very sweet, half-human cat that ate what we ate, would tap me on the shoulder to ask for a bit out of my plate. Outside our house, it would chase mice, birds and rabbits, bring latter in for live consumption under bed at 3 in the morning with attending screeching by rabbit followed by crunching of its bones. Leaving only its tail. Same cat also went out on the pull at this time of the year, resulting in black kittens all over the place.
The teenager who shot 15 people in Germany last Wednesday was being treated for depression last year. He did not continue treatment after it was relocated from one town to another. More on this story on the BBC News website.
A vast amount of information on casualties from the First World War has been uncovered in Geneva, and is currently being collated. It is hoped to have it on-line in five years' time. British man Peter Barton has been given access to the vaults of the Red Cross headquarters, and details on 20 million casualties were found on index cards and ledgers. Read more here.
The teenager who shot 15 people in Germany last Wednesday was being treated for depression last year. He did not continue treatment after it was relocated from one town to another. More on this story on the BBC News website.
A vast amount of information on casualties from the First World War has been uncovered in Geneva, and is currently being collated. It is hoped to have it on-line in five years' time. British man Peter Barton has been given access to the vaults of the Red Cross headquarters, and details on 20 million casualties were found on index cards and ledgers. Read more here.
Midnight post
I have drastically cut the number of applications on Facebook from about 300 to 50. The number of requests was getting silly, and if you don't get a reply from me on a certain app, it just means one of two things: either I have not added the app, or I have just clicked through.
As far as journals are concerned, I am monitoring Call for Support daily, and will try to reestablish my reading routine. This has been disrupted by Facebook, and some attendant difficulties off-line, as I reported at the start of this week. Twitter I do not find much use for if truth be known; you'd have to monitor it continually, which I can't do. However, if you look up adb44, you'll get my postings, if and when. Many of them are directed at tweeters in the Isle of Lewis.
I have decided to ditch Open Office.org. I was processing a document that originated from Word, and it was turned into a mess that needed clearing up in Word. I've purchased a license, and now have the program in its full glory (Word, Excel and Powerpoint).
As far as journals are concerned, I am monitoring Call for Support daily, and will try to reestablish my reading routine. This has been disrupted by Facebook, and some attendant difficulties off-line, as I reported at the start of this week. Twitter I do not find much use for if truth be known; you'd have to monitor it continually, which I can't do. However, if you look up adb44, you'll get my postings, if and when. Many of them are directed at tweeters in the Isle of Lewis.
I have decided to ditch Open Office.org. I was processing a document that originated from Word, and it was turned into a mess that needed clearing up in Word. I've purchased a license, and now have the program in its full glory (Word, Excel and Powerpoint).
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