The Strange High House in the Mist

Dragons again.

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 21:12:37 GMT

So. Blue dragons are luck. Red dragons are skill. Specifically, [Glory of the Hero].

Look alive my brothers! A feast for the one, that brings me their heads!

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 09:41:09 GMT

Ok, I'm not a big mount collector. But I just got very very lucky, and had to share...

1% drop rate from Skadi the Ruthless in Utgarde Pinnacle. First time I've ever seen it drop, I won the roll. Woohoo! :-D

Ow.

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 10:07:16 GMT

Summer holidays Phase I is complete. Walked from Milngavie to Pitochry over 8 days, roughly 95 miles. Generally good weather, only a couple of wet days. I have been bitten by midges approx. 100 times :-/

Photos, further updates when I have recovered...

Space Captain Smith.

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:47:15 GMT

So - moreteadk (with a little help from failmaster ) gave me two books for my birthday, way back in April, Space Captain Smith, and the sequel, God Emperor of Didcot. I'd not heard of the series, got on really rather well with it, so I thought I'd mention it here.

As you can probably guess from the title of the second book, we're talking sci-fi parody in terms of genre. I've read some pretty awful parodies (Bored of the Rings, I'm looking at you), but this really nails it in a lot of ways. The books are not just a pile of jokes, there is a story, which rattles along at a merry old pace. This said, it is also really funny, I certainly didn't go more than a few pages without laughing. A lot of the humour is based on references, and there are a lot of them, both sci-fi and otherwise, and ranging from the blatant to the somewhat subtle. 2001, Bond, Dune, Bladerunner, etc. etc. The British Space Empire is pretty good fun, and tea is a major feature of the plot ;-)

The other thing that struck me a lot is how much the book reads like an rpg campaign, sort of like Questers in space (pokes timgray ). The players/characters spend a lot of time fooling about and getting at each other, then come up with a ridiculous plan that somehow just about works. Makes for a lively read. Recommended.

Punctures.

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 10:06:39 GMT

Had a puncture on Tuesday. Wondered how this happened, what with fairly new kevlar tyre, etc. Just extracted the culprit - a lump of glassy stone about the size of my little fingernail, razor sharp on one edge, nice flat surface on the other side to push it into the tyre. If this is the opposition maybe we should go back to boneshakers :-O

Panos, as promised.

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 18:03:23 GMT

Well, here's a few panoramas from the lake district trip. I'm rather pleased with these, particularly the derwentwater shots.

Climbing Cat Bells

Surprise View

Derwentwater at Dusk

Ed.

Lake District at New Year

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:23:23 GMT

Hi everybody, happy 2009, :-)

So, I spent New Year in the Lake District, doing very little apart from walking, as we had some splendid weather - I got sunburnt! Also very cold - Derwentwater was partially iced up at points.

So, photos.

I said it was a bit icy, no?

It proceeded to get colder still the next day

But, there was plenty of sun, and a lot of excellent walking

Nice intro to 2009. Panos coming as and when I get them stitched together, assuming they're any good.

Ed.

Fascists.

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:50:22 GMT

I am alerted by Ian that the green and pleasant land I so recently left has become a fascist state.

As Ian notes, this is absurd, pointless and utterly ineffective against any actual concerns regarding child pornography. The most outrageous element of this farce to my mind, is the duplicitous 404 messages generated by most ISPs - presumably the idea is if people are unaware the Internet is being filtered for them, they're less likely to complain...

This is apparently the doing of the Internet Watch Foundation, of whom I have never previously heard. I find it profoundly disturbing that the IWF was able to look at the image, decide it was illegal, and on that basis censor the Internet. Note the total lack of any judicial oversight whatsoever. Since this process is essentially invisible, due to the generation of 404s as opposed to actual notification, what's to stop the IWF pushing its own agenda, or indeed, doing whatever it likes?

As the BBC News article quotes from it's interview with David Gerard -

"When we asked the Internet Watch Foundation why they blocked Wikipedia and not Amazon, apparently the decision was 'pragmatic', which we think means that Amazon had money and would sue them, whereas we're an educational charity."

Quite.

One month in Denmark

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 14:21:56 GMT

So yes, here we are, one month in. Things are going pretty well, I have (as of Thursday) moved into my new place, which is up in Lisbjerg, a few miles north-north-west of Aarhus proper. New place is nice, but almost completely empty, as my furniture and things have not arrived yet. Pics when things start to get set up properly.

So, work I think has been going pretty well, the department is nice and friendly. Learning a lot, which is important. Free coffee and cake is a good incentive to go to seminars ;-)

Haven't got into Aarhus proper a great deal, although I'm working on this. Buses are quite good, I've only ended up in completely the wrong place once. Looking forward to getting back into cycling when my bike arrives.

And less than a month until Christmas! The way the weeks are spinning past is quite scary, but things are gradually getting sorted out admin-wise. I've finally got a work permit, and maybe this week I might actually get a bank account set up so I can get paid... if I'm very lucky .

Ah yes, before I go - one of the advantages of living out of the city a bit is some rather nice little places to meander to. Went for a little walk this morning while the good weather lasted...

Peace in Our Time.

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:29:18 GMT

Salutations.

Well, there's been a lot of progress in a short time. In summary, we've had:

1) First week of work. All is well, much rope-learning and reading of literature. Canteen food is ace, lots of lovely salad.

2) Living in Denmark. Now off in another bit of University-owned accommodation. Pretty nice, still very close to the Uni. Lease ends at the end of the month. Food shopping is going pretty well, only minimal confusion when buying food. Cheese is still rather confounding, but isn't that always the way.

3) Admin. Oh yes, there's a lot of forms. I'm glad I'm only coming in from the EU, not Uzbekistan. Dear lord alone knows if I'll be able to get a bank account in time to get paid.

4) Public transport. Is really pretty good. I've used a few buses, without issues, and usually I can't stand the things. Buses go late into the night, and fairly frequently to anywhere a chap might wish to go.

5) Houses for Edses. Currently in negotiations with a promising place. Hopefully all will be well, and I shall be in by the end of the month. Full writeup when I am settled proper like.

6) I'm really glad I brought the EEE. Would probably have gone stark staring mad well before now otherwise.

7) Now reading Lord Foul's Bane by Stephen Donaldson. Don't usually read much fantasy, but am getting on with this pretty well. Great prose, challenging characters.

That is all.

Ed.

An afternoon stroll.

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 14:23:25 GMT

So, the weather is pretty good at the moment, if a touch chilly. So I went for a little walk. I think I could get used to living so close to woods and the sea.

This is the development I'm moving into tomorrow, apparently. Not sure about the details ;-)

And then, indeed, a rather charming little wood

And, since Aarhus is a port, we have the delights of the sea. Lovely fresh air, too.

That is all ;-)

Ed.

So does this make me an ex-pat?

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 20:02:38 GMT

So, the fateful day arrived, and I flew out early this morning to Denmark. All my stuff got packed up on Wednesday, and is now in storage, awaiting me finding a place to live (I'm in some temporary Uni accomodation, starting on Monday - before that I'm in some even more temporary Uni accomodation.)

Popped down to Suffolk to see the folks, fix some computery stuff for them and annoy the cats. All quite pleasant.

Today, the extent of my immersion into the Danish Experience (tm) involved going to a supermarket, and managing to come out with mostly what I expected. I believe I have bought the correct sort of milk*, but empirical verification will have to wait until breakfast.

Anyway, the job proper starts on Monday, probably with a lot of forms to do with staying in the country and other things like that.

Currently reading Axiomatic by Greg Egan. Good stuff.

Ed.

*This is a lot more difficult than you might think.

Yikes!

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:50:32 GMT

So, as some of you know, I've managed to get myself a job in Aarhus, Denmark. I'll be working with Philip Hofmann on various surface-sciencey things, which is rather exciting, to say the least!

The position starts on 1st November, which basically means I've got no time at all to move over there and get things sorted. I really have no idea what I'm doing, but for some reason I think it'll all work out. :-)

I certainly think Aarhus is going to be a step up from Nottingham. Despite the good friends that I now have here, Nottingham is a fairly ugly, depressing city, and my experiences in Aarhus make me think I'll get on a lot better there. Onwards and upwards!

Ed.

Walking 2008-05-24

Tue, 27 May 2008 18:25:35 GMT

A walk.

Map

A bit of a walk is good for the spirits, and also good training for this summer's expedition across Exmoor. So off we go.

Down the Trent Valley, through some rather pleasant riverside woods and such...

Now, in theory, there was a ferry across the Trent marked on the map. I had my reservations about this, as these things usually aren't working when you want them. And sure enough...

So, I retreated, via a rather spooky half-deserted farm, to Gotham*, where I enjoyed a decent pint and a jacket potato at a pub that I've forgotten the name of. Then walked back up north, following the tracks of a rather old railway line - complete with some rather amusing graffiti (thinking of hddod). No idea what that's doing here.

And, before too long - a train!

I've no idea if the public can ride this thing - I didn't see any platforms at the other end.

So, that was about a wrap! 18 miles or so, which is not bad, but I was a bit doddering at the end, and that's with hardly carrying anything. There's a 15 mile day with full gear on Exmoor, so more practise required, methinks!

Ed.

*not even kidding

Nodnol.

Tue, 27 May 2008 18:02:24 GMT

Catching up with some stuff that should have been posted earlier...

Went down to see Ian over the weekend of the 17th. We pottered about London for a while, despite the rather murky weather, taking in the Tate Modern and the Tate Britain.

I was rather more impressed with the Modern than I had expected to be. I suppose there's a (possibly media-created) link between "modern" and "shite", but it encompasses a lot of stuff I found very interesting (Magritte, Pollock, ...), although frequently in a rather disturbing vein. Probably says more about the 20th Century than one would like.

At the Britain, I went and looked at some Turners for an hour or so, which was, naturally, magnificent. ;-)

After that, there was various general debauchery, and we tried out a noodle bar that was almost completely empty for some reason. Quite reasonable though.

Sunday we went out walking round a small park thing, and there were ducks. See Fig. 1.

Ed.

Bike Ride #2

Sun, 11 May 2008 16:45:39 GMT

Route:

Google Maps FTW

Headed out to Belvoir (Beaver) Castle today, not entirely on purpose. By which I mean I headed in that sort of direction, and was somewhat surprised when I got there. Started early, so it wasn't too hot at least for the beginning leg.

Didn't actually go into the castle, mainly due to not having the camera with me and it being somewhat pricey. Weather is now hot enough that wearing jacket is impossible, which leaves me woefully short of pockets. A saddle bag for the camera and a twix is now on the list. I've still not worked out a way of carrying the monopod/walking pole on the bike in a sensible fashion.

Silly numbers:
Time (actually moving) 3hr 16min.
Distance 43.6 miles.
Average speed 13.3mph. (Was above 14 earlier on in the ride, but I started flagging on the way back)
Max 27.8mph. Down a very steep hill just after leaving Belvoir castle. Passed through the "this is fun" point, and into the "this would hurt if I wiped" region...

Ed.

The Ride of Spring

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 18:11:20 GMT

So, trying to get out on the bike and take photos*. The route last Saturday.

Weather was great, perhaps even a little too warm. My shiny new bike computer says 23 miles, which seems to be roughly in line with Google. Of course, this is roughly equivalent to some people's commute, but it was enough to start to feel achey. ;-)

Some post-industrial scenery leaving Nottingham.

Soon replaced by the rolling Trent Valley.

Shelford Church

And although it wasn't strictly part of the ride, when I got back my tulips had burst into flower, and I'm rather chuffed with this shot ;-)

In short, good fun, certainly going to try to do more of this sort of thing this year. Perhaps venturing more to the south next time...

Ed.

*Camera is now fixed ;-)

I <3 Spring

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 18:10:17 GMT

Well, despite an inch of snow over Easter weekend, I think spring is finally arriving. Evidenced by the cherry tree coming into flower, and this years crop of daffodils. Last years were a total washout, so I replaced the bulbs this year, and have been duly rewarded, I'm pleased to say. Tulips are inbound!

To follow up on the broken-camera incident, I received it back from the canon service centre today, and all has been made good, so that is thumbs-up. Terrifyingly, here is the first (rather crappy) pic of 2008 (!). I think the winter weather does rather discourage me from getting out and taking photos... definitely aiming to get out on the bike and take more photos this year - must find a way to carry my monopod on the bike.

Anyways...

Ed.

The Return

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 21:55:52 GMT

Well, I lived. Weather was generally good, by which I mean it didn't rain very much at all. Sunday featured high winds, which also resulted in minimal sleep on Saturday night, and we were knocking ice of our tents on Monday morning.

Great scenery, good hiking, all-round great time. We actually managed to keep to our route pretty well, too. Awaiting the final word on the distance, but something like 30 miles in three days, over some fairly "mixed" terrain.

New stove performed well, although I'm glad I took an improv windshield (bran flakes packet). Useful to know how much meths it gets through (quite a bit, getting on for 500ml over three days). Folding mug was fun, and perfectly practical.

Tent continues to hold up well. First proper hike in the current boots, and my feet are in jolly good shape.

Most notable "issue" with equipment was sleeping. Really rather cold on both nights, despite being largely fully clothed inside sleeping bag. I think a re-spec in this area will be forthcoming.

No pics at the moment: unfortunately my camera has met with a dire fate. I discovered before setting out that it seems to have succumbed to a common fault with the Powershot A70 - apparently some of the wiring on the CCD comes loose. Canon are repairing it gratis, so we'll see how that works out. Anyway, I should have some pics when my walking companion provides his shots ;-)

Phew! On to Easter!

Ed.

2008 Expedtion #1

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 22:13:25 GMT

So, it's March, and time to go camping! This weekend, myself and a friend are off to the sunny* Yorkshire Dales, for three days walking and camping. The general route is Settle->Skipton, via Malham Tarn and others. Vague route plan here, currently 1st day only, will be updated as I can be bothered ;-)

Current weather forecast is Wet, although not too windy and reasonably warm, but this is three to five days away, so the forecast is generally hopeless. I'm hoping for "not as wet as Snowdonia was last July", as that reached unprecedented levels.

So, camping inevitably leads to the buying of new gear, which is at least half the fun. New equipment being trialled on this run :

Trangia Mini. Tiny and very light alcohol burning stove, replacing the gas burner I have had since antiquity, which used those rather dodgy pierce canisters, meaning all the gas was gone by the time you wanted to use it again. We'll have to see how vulnerable this turns out to be to windy conditions; I may have to improvise a windshield.

Orikaso Mug. Assuming this arrives in time, since I have to do everything at the last minute. This is a mug you fold together from a sheet of polypropylene. In theory, very space efficient and light. We'll see. I actually saw this on Dragon's Den, of all places - seems to have become a reality.

The new tent is also getting it's second outing - stood up well in absurd conditions in Wales last year, long may it continue. Very light, a bit cramped!

So, in general, the war on weight continues. The major problem with this is taking the heavier three season bag on this outing, but counterbalanced by lighter stove, cookware etc. Also should need less water as it's cold. Pretty much everything is now packed in drybags in the main section of the rucksack, except the sleeping bag, which is in a bin bag ;-)

Wish me luck!

Ed.

* 5% chance

Happy (Real) New Year.

Sat, 01 Mar 2008 13:06:01 GMT

A friend of mine in Uni used to have a "Real New Year" party on March 1st, the theory being that January and February were so crap they didn't count. I have some sympathy with this, and given I missed the whole new-year-retrospective thing, it's a reasonable opportunity.

Work

The good: Got into synchrotron work. Easily the most interesting thing to happen, and has really given me a lot more perspective on a lot of surface systems. A long way to go yet before I'm anything like competent, but it's novel, and hopefully will lead to a publication or three.

The bad: And it's a good job I got into synchrotrons, because basically nothing in the lab has worked. In many respects we are only very slightly further on than we were one year ago.

The ugly: Zero publications in 2007. Can't afford to do this this year.

Play

The good: Got a new guitar after several years on hiatus. Picked up the clarinet again. Both are seeing a reasonable amount of play.

Cleared out a lot of stuff via freecycle/ebay. Things are approaching acceptable in terms of junk lying around the place.

The bad: Photography continues to be in a state of torpor. Just not getting out and taking photos.

The ugly: Uni has dropped German classes, which looks likely to kill off my efforts in that direction.

2008

Publish! Several things need to make the leap into print.

Aiming to get out on the bike a lot more over the weekends. Hopefully I can get to somewhere that provokes me to pick up the camera again.

Definitely want to fit in 2-3+ camping trips this year.

Of course, my contract ends in September, so I need to find a new job, and almost certainly move to a new city, if not a new country. Not that I'm particularly attached to where I am now, but it's going to be a lot of hassle, to say the least.

Summary : Could be worse ;-)

Please leave your message after the dischord.

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 19:04:18 GMT

Well, I did something rather spontaneous for yours truly, and went out and bought a guitar ;-)

I took a Friend who is Knowledgeable about Such Things, and we went into Sound Control in Nottingham and I ended up leaving with the Yamaha pictured below. So far, we're very happy together, although it is a bit of a fingerprint magnet.

It's an electro-acoustic, following the general principle that the easier it is just to pick up and play it, the more likely it is that I actually will... it's working so far. My fingers now hurt, it having been about a four year absence from playing.

The management would like to stress that lexitus has no intention of going back on tour at this time. Please remain calm.

Ed.

Panoramanananastravaganza.

Thu, 09 Aug 2007 17:37:12 GMT

I seem to recall promising some panoramas of my recent travels... well, here they are!

First off, Elettra. This is a view of most of the main hall. It takes a good ten minutes to walk round the whole thing. The ring itself lies behind all that concrete in the middle - the safety video stresses you shouldn't ever be able to see it ;-)

And this is the beamline we were using, BACH, which is some sort of cobbled-together acronym for Beamline for Advanced diCHroism.

And now to Wales! Both taken during the day we climbed Snowdon.

I trust this has - however briefly - sated the Internet's thirst for pics.

Ed.

International Man of Mystery.

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 18:27:07 GMT

Salutations.

As you have doubtless failed to notice, I have been absent for a few weeks... largely due to more travels. As atonement, I present the following photographic excerpts from my experiences.

I will post the panos later, when I've had a chance to stitch them together.

So. First, Trieste, Italy. Visiting the Elettra synchrotron for some experiments, and all round fun. Most especially, butterflies! Much better than our rather weak UK butterflies...

There was also time for a little side trip to a rather pleasant village south of Trieste, via boat.

I do have some photos of the synchrotron itself, but they require stitching, due to it being rather gignormous. Later, I promise!

Then, I went to ICN+T in Stockholm, which was rather interesting, and involved staying in a converted prison, but did not generate very many photos. Beer is expensive!!

Back to UK for 1.5 weeks. Then, museum visit with Ian to London. Science museum and natural history museum, the latter of which I haven't been to in ages, and they'd changed it quite a lot. Unfortunately the IMAX showing of the International Space Station film was sold out to school trips... :-(

Komet in aviation history section.

The revamped entrance to the natural history museum. Cool!

And an enormous sloth! Clearly a candidate for a future Godzilla match-up.

Then I did a bit of walking round Snowdonia with a few friends, walking and camping. Fortunately we had nice weather on the first two days, which included the Snowdon ascent. Then the rain came in, and continued for quite some time. My kit has just about dried out now ;-)

There are some panos of mountains coming, for now, however,

Mushrooms!

Boats in Conwy

That's about it for now. Phew!

Ed.

New Computar!

Mon, 14 May 2007 21:46:12 GMT

There is nothing more delicious than new hardware!

New rig (Antares, C2D 6420, 8800GTS) replaces old rig (Polaris, Athlon 2500+, R9000). I can scare myself silly in Doom 3 again!

Obligatory build pic. I think the guy on the graphics card is thinking something like "How much did I pay for this?" ;-)

Ed.