Another Pair Of Eyes

Etiquette

What is appropriate etiquette? Sure, we all know the drill regarding knives and forks, burping, farting, swearing in job interveiws etc, but what about the little things?

I personally find it quite rude when people text while I’m talking to them, for example. I have a few friends who do this, and to them obviously it is perfectly acceptable, but to me it’s a kind of brush off. The same goes for using a computer/playing a game/surfing the web/making phone calls (receiving is less rude as they didn’t really have a choice), or indeed anything in which only one person is involved while the other is left standing. If I receive a text message when a friend is round, I tend to read it and then put my phone away, and reply to it later. I won’t even take my phone out of my pocket at mealtimes or in restaurants – it can wait.

On the other hand, I’m completely unbothered by people starting to eat before everyone is served, opening doors and waiting for people to go through them (this is inconvenient – if you open the door, you should go through it as otherwise people are stuck behind you while you get out the way). I’m not at all bothered by swearing, the use of the words bloody and damn I’d consider so normal they aren’t even cussing at all, and the only swearword I actually take offense to has four letters and begins with ‘c’ (it’s not crap). Other people I know use this with impunity.

What do you consider ‘good manners’?

Unmarked Anniversary

I should warn you that this is one of those annoying cryptic blogs about things which only some people know about (although it’s up to the person concerned whether everything is talked about – I suspect it will be but better safe than sorry and as it is published from beyond the screen, I don’t have the luxury of adopting a ‘wait and see’ approach!)

Today is an unmarked anniversary. It’s been four years. I’m not sure it’s a ‘happy anniversary’ kind of event, but it is a past event of import. I’m never sure whether it is something which is healthy to mark or not, but this year it is noted, mentally at least, by a few people whose lives are better for it.

Things are well, so may it be a happy day which coincides with the anniversary. It might always be a part of you, but I hope the day comes when today passes unremarked and forgotten, even if that which is marks never is.
Scars fade, but they never disappear completely.

Holidaying

If you are reading this, I am no longer in the country. Unless, of course, you are reading this long in the future (or a couple of weeks into the future) at which point I might well be in the country. It’s all relative.

Anyway, I’m off to Spain for a couple of weeks to partake in surfing, rock climbing, camping, hiking, cycling and diving, and thereby maintain hopefully some of my fitness before the cycle (starting a few days after I get back). We’re also off to spain by ferry, unusually – I’ve never been on a ferry for more than 6 hours, nor have I ever been to the exotically-nameb Bilbao, so we’ll see how that goes. I don’t generally get seasick, luckily.

Enough rambling. There’re a couple of ghost entries awaiting publishing, nothing too spectacular I promise you. Otherwise, all quiet on the blogging front. Have a good few weeks.

Shooting Stars

“and with a long enough shutter speed, you can capture the motion of the stars…”*

…which was something I always wanted to do since the first time I saw an image captured this way, many years ago. I was repeated thwarted by cameras with maximum shutter speeds of 30 seconds at best, by compacts without the necessary light-gathering ability, by the absence of family members with cameras I could borrow (read: steal) to try these shots out on.

Then I got my new camera, and I had the bulb shutter setting which I needed, but the programmable shuitter speed was still only 30s and holding the shutter button down manually (and shooting handheld) for half an hour wasn’t really feasible. I invested in a cable release and a tripod.

Finally, I could take the shot I’d been waiting for so long! Turns out, it’s not so easy. Dead simple to catch the stars moving – take a shot at night of something with a star in it and you begin to see it trail. The problems are streetlights, moonlight, haze and cloud. Streetlights can reflect off dust in the air from miles away, and cast your whole image orange, and pretty ugly if I may say so. Moonlight is prettier, but has the same problem in grey/silver (which is admittedly more attractive). Forgeound stuff like trees or plants blur in the slightest breeze, meaning that if you want a tree in your shot, you either accept that it will look out of focus or you wait for the stillest night you ever did see. It’s easy to leave the lens too open, or too closed, making white and black frames respectively. And of course, if you screw up it’s not something you can just take again – each exposure is generally at least 20 minutes + the same time again dark frame noise reduction afterwards during which you can’t do anything but twiddle your thumbs. Not to mention the fact that the continuous sensor use runs your battery flat faster than anything else, ever.

18mm at f8, ISO 100, ~37 minutes. An example of streetlights from miles away ruining a photo using cloud which moved over during the exposure.

Still, with some trial and error, I’ve managed to get the first shot I’m vaguely happy with. It was, in fact, one of those ’stillest nights ever’ I mentioned. It’s not the best shot ever, but it’s a start!

18mm at f7.1, ISO 100, ~29 minutes. I leave the exposure data in in case you want to try it!

*I am aware it is in fact the motion of the earth, for those pedants out there!

Result!

Today, my sister got AAAB in her A-levels, surpassing both my results and all our expectations (the exam period was…stressed to say the least!) Hopefully this will set her on her chosen path, which just so happens to be medicine as well (seems it’s true what they say about families and medicine…).

I’ve never been so proud of her. So proud, in fact, I felt a need to tell you all. Give her a big hand.

South Ossetia

I could write all about this, and how I feel Russia is being ridiculously overbearing, how Georgia was foolish to think it could pull this off unretaliated, how this is proof positive of what we all knew already – that Vladimir Putin is Russian president in all but name. But I’m not going to. Instead, I’m just going to link to this article, and focus not on its content but on the last point:

“August is good month in which to reflect on alliances.

In August 1914, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo led to the First World War. It did so because alliances had been formed in Europe which came into play inexorably. Russia supported Serbia, Germany supported Austria, France supported Russia and Britain came in when Belgium was invaded.

Alliances must not be entered into lightly or unadvisedly. If Georgia had been in Nato, what would have happened?”

The Ringer

Yesterday I went and watched a friend do something she loves, which I had avoided previously through some mysterious stubborness and a fear that I’d think it was a load of rubbish and then have to lie through my teeth to avoid offense. That, and sit through a 1-and-a-half-hour practise of the same.

However, I went to a short session and it was fine. It was actually quite interesting, and it let me finally tie together some of the deluge of information she’s inadvertantly given me on the subject. I see why she enjoys it – the banter and the community and the teamwork, and even the money (£10 for twenty minutes…not too shabby although you can pretty much only do it for 20 minutes!).

Shamefully enough, I could even see myself enjoying it. I surprise even myself.

Anyway, point is I do now understand this friend better than I did before. I have a bit more insight into her life outside of the circles I see her in. And that is good.

NB: I must be less stubborn.