Nearer my god to thee

View from the office window this morning....across the way is the Newcastle Unitarian Church, probably the last Art Deco building erected around here (all original interiors, pagan caretaker, almost sure he's the chap in the middle!).....this is a shot of a bit of the roof. Hey, it's Thursday, I'm braindead, don't expect miracles!

Sunday market

sunday market, originally uploaded by moclaydon.

A nice trip to the Sunday market with the firstborn (I bought 6 mouse-gnawed, water-stained books with an average age of 100 for a fiver, Sarah bought a vintage Ringtons coffee tin and a splendidly grotesque vase thingy in the shape of a hollowed-out siamese cat.....result!) followed by a cider-fuelled tapas lunch and an afternoon visit to Mum/Grandma to mull over old photos and eat shortbread.....not good for anything much now except the couch and a pair of loose trousers......

PS.....the truth isn't always out there, don't take no rubber nickels!

Tunnel vision

highlevelwalkway2, originally uploaded by moclaydon.

What's the world coming to, I ask you......this picture is 10 days old! (I really must get my act together, blame it on the bloody weather......or something!)......it's the High Level Bridge and that guy on the left was singing to himself......I moved out of the way sharpish.

OTHER STUFF

This one's for my Ma, sis and bro-in-law who actually 'lived the dream'

 

"Moscow-Vladivostok: virtual journey on Google Maps

The great Trans Siberian Railway, the pride of Russia, goes across two continents, 12 regions and 87 cities. The joint project of Google and the Russian Railways lets you take a trip along the famous route and see Baikal, Khekhtsirsky range, Barguzin mountains, Yenisei river and many other picturesque places of Russia without leaving your house. During the trip, you can enjoy Russian classic literature, brilliant images and fascinating stories about the most attractive sites on the route."

It's in real time......apparently 9 days worth, though I can't swear to it.....I recommend the Russian radio station or the 'rumble of wheels' as your traveling soundtrack.....
(you can join the train anywhere on the map, you don't have to do the full trip!)

Climb aboard here, don't forget your sandwiches!

And talking of timewasting.......

 

There's a nice point-and-click game here

Late night thoughts.....

......as in when you forgot to throw some stuff in the washing machine for tomorrow.....

.....why, oh why, don't I have a few of those green boilersuits with lapels and one of those sheepskin jackets.....though maybe I'll pass on the cap........
(and don't even ASK why I happen to have this shot about my person!)

Sunday already

Not sure where Saturday went to!

I'm not a huge fan of February.....it's neither nowt nor summat if you know what I mean, with winter hanging on by it's fingernails and spring not quite on the horizon. Plus, I've got sciatica so I'm feeling a bit grumpy (that would be an undestatement!) Having said that it was lovely down on the seafront this morning, still damned chilly though!

OTHER STUFF

Came across this site on Friday that looks like it might be fun for all you photographers out there.... "Noticings are interesting things that you stumble across when out and about. You play Noticings by uploading your photos to Flickr, tagged with 'noticings' and geotagged with where they were taken. Each turn is a day, and at 3pm GMT every day photos from the previous day are imported from Flickr and the scores calculated. Noticings aren't very transient things, like people, and you should only take one photo of each thing you spot."
Link to noticings

Another photography-based link for snappers on the move. I loved this because it's such a simple idea that actually works, a light tent made from 3 sheets of paper and some paper clips......

Find the instructions here

Then there's this online drawing application that runs in any browser.....really quite impressive, shame I can't draw!

Link to Sketchpad

Better get those dishes washed.........

Y'know meetings?

replace handset, originally uploaded by moclaydon.

......enough said!

New and Old

Sage Tyne Bridge, originally uploaded by moclaydon.

Taken from the roof of the Newcastle Castle Keep whilst hyperventilating a bit, OK a lot.....I don't have a wonderful head for heights! Site visit this afternoon....playing at being a building surveyor again.....lots of (very boring unless you're heavily into stonework restoration techniques) photos with the odd snatched shot while no-one was looking. This is the Sage Music Centre in the background with the Tyne Bridge on the right. Not a bad Monday!

Alimentary my dear Watson

gate, originally uploaded by moclaydon.

A rather nice, self-indulgent sort of day today with Sarah (aka the firstborn)....top notch scran at a tapas restaurant (the name of which escapes me) then, suitably stuffed, off to the cinema to see Sherlock Holmes. Now being a bit of a traditionalist (Basil Rathbone is my hero!) I was a bit worried about how Guy Ritchie would tackle it.....but I have to say I was impressed, the sets were amazing as were the special effects, there was just the right amount of humour and Victorian England (and Holmes) were suitably/authentically grubby throughout, so a 'highly recommended' from me, I'll definitely be going to see the next one (apparently already in production) when it comes out. The bad news is, I've got a day of housework on the cards tomorrow......sigh!

Internal void

internal void, originally uploaded by moclaydon.

.....ooer, that sounds bad......not really!
I hit a bit of a brick wall with technology over the last couple of weeks, no real reason, it just happened. IT problems at work meant I was working with a limping (that would be an understatement, think 'turn it off and start again, try to forget the 2 hours of work you just lost' stuff) PC, then later wrestling with an emergency back-up Mac set up for somebody else (so saving stuff somewhere I could find it again was almost impossible) To cap it all I haven't been able to get into my email a/c for over a week.....say no more.....
Anywhoo....this is a shot from a site visit today....Gibson St Baths.....nice and grungy.....smelly even.....but I'm easily pleased!