Mikeys Blog

A bit of painting

2009-06-07T11:13:00.000+01:00

I'm working normal hours now, No shifts. . .

So I really appreciate having proper weekends. I've been putting loads of miles in, on my bike and generally doing stuff. What I mean is. . . When you work shifts you have a lot of free time to do stuff, you have so much free time, you don't really do anything.

Seeing as the weather, this weekend, has taken a turn for the worse. I decided to do a bit of painting. I started this one last Sunday The base coat is a wash of Cadmium Red, then did the bottom bit with Yellow Ochre and White. and I left it until Yesterday morning. and added the Sap Green and White to the top bit - all Acrylics.
The splashes are Pillar Box Red gloss, (Left over from my front door). There are also some minor splashes of Pearlescent Volcano Red and Macaw Green Acrylic Ink.

I like it. . . Click on any of the thumbnails above, for a bigger pic.

I've just started another one

May The Fourth Be With You

2009-05-04T20:07:00.001+01:00

I'm getting a bit obsessed with all this cycling.

Amazon.co.uk Widgets

I should have been doing the Trans-Penine this weekend, but due to work and money troubles, I've had to give it a miss. To make up for it I did quite a few miles over the weekend and discovered the joys of The Cheshire Cycleway. There are literally hundreds of miles of trails, bridle-ways and hidden country lanes, literally minutes from my doorstep. On both Saturday & Sunday, I packed my panniers and set off into the great unknown - well nearly unknown. . . I went to places I'd previously only visited by car. I found some tiny villages and Hamlets that look like they haven't changed in hundreds of years. For some unexplained reason I didn't photograph anything Yesterday. I DID take a few photos on Saturday, of the (almost finished) Dream at Sutton Manor again, but that was about it.
Today I had a lie in. My thighs have turned to steel and I think I had a bit of sunstroke. My head is beginning to look like a Malteser. . . When I finally surfaced at about eleven, the only cycling I did was to ASDA for the weekly shop. This is another excuse to get myself a decent set of panniers. The things I've got now can barely hold a loaf, without crushing it.
I made myself a sandwich and I watched BASQUIAT the movie by Julian Schnabel. I suddenly had the urge to paint again. So I've just spent the last hour creating yet another masterpiece. :)

I Failed the British Citizenship Test

2009-04-22T18:35:00.000+01:00

As a prequel to St George's Day, I decided to take the Official British Citizenship Test.

It's full of really strange questions about Religion and obscure political events.

I Failed! LINK

Noodle on a Bike

2009-04-05T22:44:00.000+01:00

Ste's little girl Nieve, has only been riding a bike for a couple of weeks. But she's got the bug big time. We went out riding on Saturday and she completed a FIFTEEN MILER with no problem. Then today she completed about TWENTY MILES without a complaint. She just seems to have limitless amounts of energy. If she carries on like this, She'll be doing The Trans-Penine with us next month.

Formula 1, Back on the BBC

2009-03-29T12:15:00.000+01:00

I was looking forward to F1's return to the BBC. No ads popping up at the most inappropriate moments, and the new reg's making F! races, into actual races again. I decided against staying up to watch the GP, in the middle of the night. I turned on the telly at midday and caught the beginning of "The Politics Show" on BBC1 and within minutes I was told the result of the race.
The BBC will start coverage of the race at 1pm. But now I can't be bothered watching.

Coffee Schmoffee

2009-03-27T21:42:00.000Z

Have you ever walked into Starbuck's or Costa, and been baffled by the amazing menu. All you want is a coffee. The only two you know of are Espresso and Cappuccino. You'd like to order something different, but you haven't got a clue? Well, help is at hand. You can see exactly what you're going to get in this handy little diagram. I still don't know what a skinny or a Tall are. But at least i know what an Espresso Macchiato is. And more importantly. . . I know how to pronounce it. :)

Diagram courtesy of: Lokesh Dhakar

Kate Swift Rest In Peace.

2009-03-25T11:20:00.000Z

I only knew Kate for a short while, back in 2007-2008, but she made a big impression on me and everyone else who met her. I was really shocked, when I found out about her tragic death.

You were one of a kind Kate. I can't believe this has happened.

Southport to Hornsea

2009-03-22T22:37:00.000Z

TEAM LARD are planning to do the Trans-Pennine Cycleway.
Yep, that's right. for some reason we've decided to cycle from Southport on the West Coast to Hornsea on the East Coast. A distance of 215 miles (346Km). Ok, I know that doesn't sound a lot, but when you consider that we never ride our bikes more than about 10 miles without stopping somewhere for a beer. It's going to be virtually impossible.
We're planning to camp along the way, but in typical Lardy Boy fashion, we've got nothing planned and don't even know if there are any camp-sites en-route. I'll keep you informed of the plans in this blog. We HAVE decided on a date though. The first May Bank Holiday. that gives us about 5 weeks to get fit enough. . . . . Help Us!

I'm selling my Sigma

2009-03-15T13:25:00.000Z

Hard times are here and I've got to make a bit of quick cash. So I'm selling my Sigma 12-24 Wide angle Zoom. It's on ebay until next Sunday. Click on the image below if you want to take a look.

iPlayer Grabber

2009-03-04T19:13:00.000Z

For the past few weeks, I've been using iPlayer Grabber to . .

Well to GRAB stuff from the BBC iPlayer site.
If you've got a Mac and you like to listen to radio or watch TV on your iPod, then this is the free app for you.
The interface is so simple. Clicking on the iPlayer icon opens up a dedicated web browser window which is already pointing to the BBC iPlayer home page.

Then all you have to do is click on a link which would usually take you to an iplayer page, where you could watch or listen to your chosen programme, except iPlayer Grabber opens a SAVE dialogue box and in a couple of clicks you will have an MP3 or a .MOV file downloading to your chosen destination.

The radio shows usually come with about 5 minutes unwanted material at either end which I edit out using Fission from Rogue Amoeba Software. The TV shows and occasionally movies are perfectly cut and just include the ttiles and credits without any runover material.

Strangely enough Apple has made .MOV files incompatible with the iPod???? So I convert these with VisualHub to MP4 files or M4V's.

Unfortunately VisualHub is no-longer available. But I'm sure you could convert them with Handbrake. Or you could always just watch em on your Mac

iPlayer Grabber is great for downloading complete radio series from BBC7. I then use Fission or Audiobook Builder to put them together into one long audiobook.

Riding on the train is bearable now.

Links:- iPlayer Grabber Rogue Amoeba AudioBook Builder Handbrake

UPDATE: I've just discovered a Windows version of iPlayer Downloader HERE

A Boot up The 80's

2009-02-23T18:54:00.000Z

If you remember the 80's you'll love this album. It's another cool remix album from Lee Spoons.
You'll love it even more when you realise, it's a free download. So click on that rubiks cube and visit the 10000 Spoons website and download it now!

You get 28 tracks that are seamlessly spliced.

If you're under thirty, download it for your Mum or Dad :)
••••••••••••••••••••••

New Web Design

2009-02-15T12:41:00.000Z

I was a bit bored last night , so I decided to completely re-design both of my websites. Now everything is white with flickr style blue and erm pink highlights. For some reason i was watching Most Haunted and that seemed to give me the inspiration. For some reason I couldn't stop watching and 4 hour's later i had finished. With no spooky happenings along the way.

I'll probably be bored again soon and the whole site will be different again :)

Bad Movie Club

2009-02-14T15:56:00.000Z

Last night, I took part in the inaugural "Bad Movie Club" event.

If you follow Graham (@glinner) Linehan's Twitter's, you would have been invited to join a couple of thousand fellow Twitterer's (If that's what we are called?), to watch M. Night Shayamalan's really crap movie, The Happening.

It worked like this; You first had to rent, buy, steal or borrow a copy of the movie, log on to Twitter and then simultaneously at 9PM GMT we all had to begin watching.
At the same time as you were watching you were also twittering, your thoughts, comments, insults, and general criticisms of the movie, to the rest of the gang. It sounds naff, I know. But it was really enjoyable and made watching, what is possibly the worst movie ever made, into one of the best cinematic experiences I've ever had :) (OK a slight exaggeration there.) It was basically like sitting at home on the sofa watching a bad movie, with a load of mates, slagging off the really poor movie on the telly.
The whole thing was repeated again at midnight, this time hosted by Phil (@jupitusphillip) Jupitus.

I usually go to the pictures, on my own, in the afternoon. But I might just start going to Bad Movie Club every Friday instead.

I'm obsessed with this!!!

2009-02-11T20:01:00.000Z


NABOU Arcade

Life On Mars

2009-02-08T14:14:00.000Z

I know I'm probably the last to know, but I've just discovered the US version of "Life On Mars".
It's set in New York and it follows the exact same story-line and plots with all the same characters, even the scripts and incidental music seem to be the same.

Gene Hunt is played by Harvey Keitel, who seems to be a bit ancient for the part. ( If they make the follow up series, Ashes to Ashes, then I think his character will be about 90.).
The only problem is... He hasn't got any of the charm and wit of Philip Glenister's Gene Hunt.
Anyway I'm just about to watch episode 3. It looks like they are putting out both series as one big series, or "Season" as the Americans call 'em.

French Horn Rebellion - Up All Night

2009-01-26T11:45:00.000Z

My favourite tune of the moment . . . :)

New Wallpaper

2009-01-03T20:18:00.000Z

I added a new widescreen wallpaper to the downloads page. I took it yesterday at the Canning Dock with my G10

Photos, New Site and Stuff

2009-01-03T09:38:00.000Z

I forced myself to go out yesterday. I went into Liverpool with the intention of finding somewhere that sells "Liverpool The Souvenir" The book that I had my photo published in. I gave my copy away as a Christmas present. None of the bookshops in town had even heard of it. I took a stroll down to the Liverpool 08 shop and they told me that "Supernews" (the Newsagent around the corner) had it.. So off I went, and sure enough. There it was, on the shelf. I bought the last two copies. I then decided that I should take some photo's for my new photoblog and I took a stroll to the waterfront via Dale Street. I noticed that the newsagent next to Sayers had a load of copies of "Liverpool The Souvenir". It seems that The Daily post has just supplied it's distributors with the book. I think they've missed an opportunity here. Surely distributing a book through a BOOKSHOP makes more sense than selling it via a newsagent???

When i enquired at Waterstone's, they told me that they had FIFTY on back order and that loads of people had asked for it, but they couldn't get hold of it. Anyway rant over.
I went to the Pier Head to take a look at the new canal link. I went there briefly before Christmas, without a camera, and the changes are amazing. The canal link is virtually finished and does add something to the waterfront. But, if you haven't been to the Pier Head for a while I think you'll be amazed. From certain angles the place is unrecognisable. As you can see in the picture on the right. The Three Graces were lit up by the low winter sun and i was sorry that I hadn't brought my 40D and 10mm, because my G10 just wasn't wide enough even though it has the equivalent of a 28mm lens. I took a few shots and moved on to Albert Dock.

While I was there, there was terrible accident, an old lady had fallen into Canning Dock. The water must have been almost freezing. Although about 20 emergency vehicles arrived they didn't seem in too much of a hurry to get her out. She died later in hospital.
I moved on to LiverpoolONE. The new Chavasse Park is virtually complete. It is terraced and climbs 30 or 40 feet up to the top level of Liverpool ONE where the restaurants and bars are situated. There was a jazz band playing outside one of the bars and there were a couple of remnants from the Christmas German Market still trading. (A chocolate fountain and a Bratwurst stand. The light was excellent, as the sun had just gone down. It was tripod time. But, of course, I didn't have one with me. Besides - the whole point of me getting the G10 was to make it less of a chore to take photo's. I don't want to be carrying a ton of equipment around with me all of the time. It's a camera that I'll be carrying with me everywhere.
When I got home last night, I had a look through the photo's and I was surprised at the sharpness and amount of detail in them. Yeah I know the camera is 14.7 MP which is amazing for a compact. But the sensor is tiny in comparison to a DSLR. The fact that it shoots in RAW mode, really swung it when I was choosing this camera. You have all the control of a DSLR in a camera only half the size. I love it.
I also revamped my new site. I redesigned the logo and tweaked a few things. After all I did build it on the spare of the moment on New Years Eve, and it did look a bit crap. Anyway here it is. It'll probably change again before to long. Anyway that's it for now. I'm starving and I need to go to ASDA to get some breakfast stuff.

Happy 2009

2008-12-31T23:41:00.006Z

It's New Years eve and there's less than 20 minutes until 2009. I'm staying in. I haven't even had a drink. I'm watching Jools' Hootenanny.

I bought myself a little Canon G10 to carry in my pocket. I'm going to use it specifically for all those little missed photo opportunities. I'm saying this now but by the end of the week I probably won't have done anything with it, and it'll be in the camera bag with the rest of those expensive paperweights I've got. . . :) But if it isn't in the bag it'll be providing photo's for my new photoblog

http://expose.me.uk

Seriously though, 2008 has been a bit crap and I'm going to make sure 2009 doesn't end up the same way. So I've got my positive outlook head on and that's the way it's gonna be. Happy New Year Everyone.

Fame but Sadly no Fortune

2008-12-10T18:45:00.001Z

I got sent a copy of "LIVERPOOL The Souvenir - An amazing city through your eyes.". It's a new book of photographs published by The Liverpool Daily Post and Echo and amazingly they have chosen one of my photo's to be included.

In the summer I took a few photo's of Sense of Sound choir when they were performing at Liverpool ONE. The Post emailed me last week and asked if they could use one of my pics of Dave O'Grady - "The Guy With The Hair" So I said yes.

The rest of the photo's are amazing. It's a really good book and excellent value for money. I know what I'm giving people this Christmas. It's only £4.99 and you can get it from Amazon. Click on the link in my post and buy one :)

Oliver Postgate RIP

2008-12-09T19:39:00.004Z

The creator of some of my favourite childrens TV shows died yesterday.

If you ever watched Noggin the Nog, Ivor the Engine, Bagpuss or the Clangers, you'll know Oliver Postgate's work.

When I was a kid my favourites were 'Pogles' Wood' and later on 'Ivor the Engine'. I think I was drawn to his work by his fantastic voice. He provided the narration for all of his programmes.

I recently bought the Audio Book of Neil Gaiman's 'Stardust'. Neil Gaiman reads the book, himself. I really enjoyed his reading because he reminded me of Oliver Postgate. . .

I'm off sick, watching Christmas movies.

2008-12-03T11:37:00.000Z

It's freezing cold, the frost is thick on the ground and I'm off work sick.
I'm watching the best Christmas film ever: Scrooge - The Musical. The one with Albert Finney.

I went to see this on the pictures when it came out. I was seven years old, and I've loved it, ever since.
I might watch "A Miracle on 34th Street" (1947), this afternoon. The first time i saw this film, I was off school, sick. I remember being tucked up on my Nin's couch.

There's nothing better than being off sick. These days off are far more satisfying than holidays or weekends. They're great.

BIG CAT

2008-11-26T05:55:00.001Z

Yesterday was really sad for me.

I had to get my cat "BIG CAT" put to sleep. He was ill for a few days and lost about a quarter of his body weight. Then yesterday afternoon he had a heart attack. I had to take him to the vets and he was put to sleep, painlessly. He was 14 and a half and up until last week you'd have thought he was still a kitten.

I miss him a lot. :(

Casino Royale

2008-10-07T22:30:00.000+01:00

I've just ripped off the Classic 1967 Casino Royale poster for our works do in January.

The Original Casino Royale Starred David Niven, Peter Sellers and Woody Allen and wasn't quite as serious as the new version with that weird looking James Bond they've got now. It also had that classic Burt Bacharach Soundtrack.

I've even added a link to it on Amazon for you. It's going mega cheap. Probably because it was the worst movie ever made. I think Peter Sellers walked out half way through shooting, leaving the movie in chaos. It's the first James Bond Film I ever saw and my favourite. Oh and It's the only James Bond Film that James Bond dies in. Hope I haven't spoiled it for you. :)

My version of the poster is on the left and the original is on the right. Spot the difference. :)
Click on mine to download the pdf file.

Ghost Tour Poster(s)

2008-09-09T23:13:00.001+01:00

I just spent a few hours designing a poster for a Ghost Walk we've booked for work.

After the success of our last one "The Hope Street Shivers" which was rather good. We're going to do Shiverpool's other tour "The Auld City Shivers"
If it's half as good, it will be great.

Link:- Shiverpool