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20050430

Spring Blossom


Spring Blossom
Originally uploaded by teotwawki.
I couldn't resist another blossom pic.

The ISP switch over should be completed sooner than expected. In fact, I'm just waiting for a letter from my new ISP with my login details.

Hopefully I should be back on track by tomorrow - and I won't have to try sneaky posts at work!

20050429

Glasshouse


Glasshouse
Originally uploaded by teotwawki.
The entrance to the indoor section of the Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh.

20050428

UR6-MOD


UR6-MOD
Originally uploaded by teotwawki.
A plastic demonstrator model for dental surgeons.

20050427

Tree Roots


Tree Roots
Originally uploaded by teotwawki.
Tree roots in a sloping path at Allen Banks.

20050426

Rock Formation


Rock Formation
Originally uploaded by teotwawki.
Rocky cliffs at Allen Banks in Northumberland.

20050425

Evening


Evening
Originally uploaded by teotwawki.
Evening in Newcastle, just as the light is starting to fade. Taken near the metro stop at Grey's Monument.

20050424

Boba Fett with Jukebox


Boba Fett with Jukebox
Originally uploaded by teotwawki.
I watched as Boba Fett* punched in number 243 for Cher's version of 'Gypsies, Tramps And Thieves', and began gyrating to the beat.

* if this is not Boba Fett, but an ancestor or relation from Episode II etc, please don't feel you need to tell me.

While it's true that I'm a bit of a pedant, I have to draw the line somewhere.

20050423

The Scotsman


The Scotsman
Originally uploaded by teotwawki.
The offices of The Scotsman, near Holyrood in Edinburgh.

20050422

New Growth


New Growth
Originally uploaded by teotwawki.
At Edinburgh Botanic Gardens - in the middle of a planting bed that looked dead and withered, these shoots were peeking out from under the papery old leaves.

20050421

Pears


Pears
Originally uploaded by teotwawki.
An over-warm shot from the (now defunct) second Espion.

Espion III, the one sourced from Ebay, turned up. The battery fault also seems to have rectified itself.

20050420

Exhausted


Exhausted
Originally uploaded by teotwawki.
My 'cunning plan' to get another Espion was really just to get one on ebay.

Fortunately no-one else wants them and I managed to snag one for 99p.

The day after it arrived, I was convinced it had fallen out of my pocket somewhere, but I'd left it in the house.

Now I can't find it again.

20050419

Blossom


Blossom
Originally uploaded by teotwawki.
Something seasonal - spring blossom.

There are blossom pictures all over flickr like a rash currently, but I couldn't resist.

20050418

Stone Wall


Stone Wall
Originally uploaded by teotwawki.
A chipped and scratched stone wall.

I originally had this rotated ninety degrees to the left, which brought more attention to the gaps between the stone, drawing the viewer into the centre of the image.

But the tree was the problem. It looked odd floating at the top right of the frame.

20050417

Green Fingers


Green Fingers
Originally uploaded by teotwawki.
A spider plant, looking a little unhealthy. As I wrote back in January, plants don't seem to last very long here. I definitely don't have green fingers.

20050416

Two Twenty


Two Twenty
Originally uploaded by teotwawki.
Road markings in Newcastle, setting the speed limit (not that many people seem to pay much attention).

Many congratulations to J of Photogeny, who is getting married today - wishing you and K every happiness.

20050415

Area Closed


Area Closed
Originally uploaded by teotwawki.
Edinburgh Botanic Gardens again. A scratched metal sign in front of one of the planting areas.

20050414

Gate


East Gate
Originally uploaded by teotwawki.
The east gate of the Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh.

20050413

From the Mound


From the Mound
Originally uploaded by teotwawki.
A view from the Mound in Edinburgh, just off Prince's Street.

20050412

Swan


Swan
Originally uploaded by teotwawki.
I was accused recently of having an obsession about photographing swans. It's not true, but I do happen to think they're interesting.

At least, a bit more so than some other subjects (the apples were a low, although I came up with a vaguely plausible excuse.)

After the sudden demise of the pathetically flaky Strand (aka Espion II), I have a not very cunning plan to replace it to bring my count of working Espions back to two.

Hopefully the replacement will last more than two weeks.

20050411

Art Gallery


Art Gallery
Originally uploaded by teotwawki.
The National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh.

The 'Strand' (the new Espion) is now broken. Completely knackered.

The problem that occurred a few days ago, when it lost twenty promising shots, was caused by a faulty battery connection. It keeps losing power intermittently, wiping the images.

It works perfectly if connected to the computer by USB, but that isn't much of a consolation - I don't have any use for it if I can't take it outside.

On a brighter note, it effectively cost me nothing. I shouldn't be surprised that something that came packaged for free with some cheapo blank CDs isn't very well made.

20050410

Scottish Parliament


Scottish Parliament
Originally uploaded by teotwawki.
A different part of the building to my previous photo. The Scottish Parliament reminds me strongly of the Byker Wall, a housing project in Newcastle.

I won a few quid on the Grand National yesterday. I didn't back the winner, Hedgehunter, but I had the second placed horse, Royal Auclair, each way.

20050409

Return of the Pigeon


Return of the Pigeon
Originally uploaded by teotwawki.
The pigeon is back... they fly between the Bus Station in Haymarket and the Central Library (where this was taken), being fed by people who should know better.

20050408

Bar 38


Bar 38
Originally uploaded by teotwawki.
A neon sign in the window of a bar in Newcastle.

Still no idea what is wrong with the Canon A200. Rather, I know what the problem is - the focus is pin sharp on the macro setting but apalling on everything else. I just don't know why.

My pool of Canon photos is currently down to seven, so I'd better sort something out soon.

20050407

Take Drugs Seriously


Take Drugs Seriously
Originally uploaded by teotwawki.
A row of buildings in Edinburgh, reflected in a shop window.

20050406

Trollies


Trollies
Originally uploaded by teotwawki.
I hate supermarkets - there's something so sterile and joyless about them.

In the future, all supermarkets will be like Las Vegas casinos. Everything - the air, the sounds, the decor - will be geared up to emptying your wallet. Once you've gone into the store, you won't be able to find your way out for days. And if you run out of money, they'll lend you some.

20050405

Mosaic


Mosaic
Originally uploaded by teotwawki.
The mosaic floor of the Central Arcade in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Charles Kennedy was in Newcastle today to start the Liberal Democrats' general election campaign.

In previous times, Newcastle has been one of the safest Labour seats in the country, but after surprising many people by winning control of the City Council, the Lib Dems clearly think they have a chance of winning the parliamentary seat.

The tone of the Labour party leaflets should be interesting. During the Council elections the Labour literature reached a frenzy of pettiness and disingenuity - will this bloom into full hysteria?

20050404

Milk


Milk
Originally uploaded by teotwawki.
Camera trouble... I lost twenty photos on the new Espion yesterday; it might be a battery problem. They were wiped without warning - very disappointing as there were some good shots on there.

Then I found out that the majority of the twenty photos I'd taken with the old Espion were useless, as it had 'garbled' the images up so that half of one photo was superimposed onto another; unfortunately it's too messy to try and restore them in Photoshop.

The biggest annoyance, however, is that the Canon is refusing to focus at anything apart from near-macro distances. Point it at anything that's more than a metre away and the resulting image is badly blurred.

I'm hoping that none of the problems are serious. The Espions play up sometimes and usually behave after the batteries are changed and they're reset a couple of times.

The Canon is more worrying, as if it's a mechanical problem it'll probably more to fix than a new one would cost.

20050403

Flowers


Flowers
Originally uploaded by teotwawki.
From the new Espion - an example of how it can tend to produce over-warm images. This seems to be due to one of the settings, which I think I've now corrected.

20050402

Dynamic Earth


Dynamic-Earth
Originally uploaded by teotwawki.
After yesterday's shot of the Scottish Parliament, today's is from nearby. Literally right next to the Parliament is this dramatic looking building, dwarfed by the hills behind it. It houses an interactive exhibition on planet Earth (no doubt a staple of Geography field trips).

20050401

Holyrood Blue


Holyrood Blue
Originally uploaded by teotwawki.
I had an email this morning reminding me that EU regulations stipulate that all bloggers have to post at least one entry a year in another European language. So today's entry will be mainly in Dutch.

Waar de tijd dit jaar is gegaan? Ik nam heel wat foto's op een recente reis aan Edinburgh aangezien het weer de hele dag met heldere zonneschijn perfect was. Dit is het Schotse parlement, dat een belachelijke hoeveelheid geld kost. Ik veronderstel de planningsstadia massieve hoeveelheden 'Scotch' impliceerden aangezien het volledige gebouw slechts in een staat van extreme dronkenschap kon ontworpen te zijn. Ik wilde aan gelijkaardig het, maar het is enkel lelijk te - deze foto is het meest minst visueel aanvallende deel van het gebouw.