Realisation of action is a totally different thing to freedom of speech…

Realisation of action is a totally different thing to freedom of speech…

I fully accept that everyone has a right to their viewpoint… I just want the right not to have to accept it as the only viewpoint…

Watching the Victoria Derbyshire program this morning (26/02/16) and a part of it was about the “Safe Place” in campuses for freedom of speech being “restricted” with “certain” topics being banned

The present PC madness continues… controlling what you can and cannot say/do….

It's a “Safe Place” no more no less...

The problem is not with what you can say….

The problem I watched... was of not letting people say it…

Whether that was by a “controlling body” limiting the scope of subjects or by the, watched, heckling/shouting at the speaker...

It the old days it was “The person on speakers corner”... not massed people with megaphones or aggressive placards of “Behead X… Homo X… Black X… White X” and many others..

You stopped… you listened, if you wanted to… but you accepted that that person had a right to free speech and that was their view… You thought about it or you didn’t… You got on with life as you chose...

There must be free speech or the “he who shouts loudest will prevail” theology wins out…

What seems to be happening these days is that rather than accept that a person has, for the moment, a legal right to express their opinion some would risk losing this rather than “offend” someone…

I cannot see much difference between someone saying “this offends me” or “J'accuse”… Both cause the death of something...

Free Speech… A person can express their view…. You have the free choice to listen or move on…

Free Speech… You can give out leaflets to others who then have the free choice to read it or bin it.

Realisation of Action… Knowing what you do enhances your view over all others..

Realisation of Action… The, viewed, persons persistent heckling that stopped the debate... knowing that only his view was valid... and by repeating three words, loudly, over and over again would negate the speakers viewpoint... All would remember him and not the speaker, or the speech...

Realisation of Action… By limiting free speech you must accept that phobia's, oppression, increase

Example… Chairman Mao... Free speech… His little red book… Realisation of Action… Everybody had to read it… He knew by reading it you gave up your freedom of choice...

Realisation of Action… Groups trying to change you to agree with them… not letting someone have a choice… Is oppressive, self limiting and often accompanied by violence..

Realisation of Action… Groups intimidating by action… not letting someone walk in the own town at night... Is oppressive, self limiting and often accompanied by violence..

Final thought's on freedom and actions…

If I walk into a bar… and it's, say, a gay bar… I walk out… its not because of being homophobic… its because I am not Gay…

I know many Gay people and am truly pleased for those who find happiness in being so…

But I also know that if you tell someone who is truly Gay, that you are not... They will treat you as a friend… not an object to be converted…

Freedom of speech is a fundamental part of existence… The freedom of listening to other viewpoints is paramount…

If it was not… The world would still be flat and the centre of a very small universe..

50 First Dates... Another "Does Heaven Exist" if you want to not read any further...

Hi All

Just checking my blog stats and found that one reader was from the Arab Emirates.... don't know if I should be worried or not about this, the way the world is going these days....

A couple of my posts are about religion (which to me is just a means of control), or more correctly whether heaven and hell exist...

The more I research... the more I believe the only way heaven, or hell, can work is if it is like the film "50 first dates"... If you only remember one day.... it can always be perfect..... you can have as many as you like because you look forward to a tomorrow that does not exist...

But as the, alive, brain cannot fathom large numbers... the reality of "forever" is... well unfathomable...

You live a full life, if you are lucky, and get to 100+ plus... and that entitles you to millennia in "heaven" or "hell" and when that millennia runs out... you get another one.... who thinks that works...

I get reincarnation... I truly do... but I'm not as covinced about rebirth as I am about the knowledge  stored in our genes...

I have been told by two separate "knowledgeable" people that I am to close to my last life.. going to my death, by bayonet, in the trenches...  one was local to be... but the other... I traveled a long way to see... not by appointment but by research and just turning up.

I do like cold steel but is that a coincidence... I don't know...

Went on  a schools trip around Suffolk, back in the 60's, and when we got to Thetford and its priory ruins... I knew the guide was wrong... I knew the people who he was talking about... I just knew...

A belief I have long held is that we are all connected.... telepathy is something we have lost over time... not something new to learn....

Brainwaves are electrical impulses.... radio waves if you like.... and our thoughts are still out there.... all of them.... probes send photos back from distant planets using less lower than is in our own heads..

And if your brain comes across a wave from the past that is of the same frequency.... you hear it... You know it...

So did I know the monks names because I was there or because of a brainwave I received from the person who was....

Think of it as crossover between to stations on the radio......

And there's always the option of the memory being passed down through my genes

Heaven...

You can do anything in Heaven... play a piano.... how did that get there... did it have a "good" soul to... and how can you just know how to play it.... do you have to play Mozart 'caus he's there first...

How does all the other "life" stuff get there...

How do the cavemen get on with modern technology...

Are the flat earth society all condemned to hell....

If you don't need money... is God a sugar daddy?

Would Rastafarians have their own "patch" of heaven.... make their own clouds...

Hell...

With all the greed in our lifetime... he must have a devil of a time trying to stay the "Don"...

Does "Stockholm Syndrome" mean we all end up as friends....

Do your fingernails grow back so he can pull them out again....

After being scared by bugs for the umpteenth time... do you think.. frell this I'm gonna kill something...

What about those who get off on pain... and start eating the lesser minions... will that cause harmony in hell, as anarchy is the norm...

See... only "50 First Dates" makes any sense of being happy or terrified for the 2.4 billionth time.

Royal Enfield Constellation Load Limit....

In the early 80's my brother and I rode through Austria, France, Germany and Italy..... sort of a mini "Grand Tour". We don't always get along but any reason to head south is good enough for me...

My ride, at the time, was a single overhead cam Honda CB750 F1 with a massive Dunstall alloy tank and twin Cibie "40" rally lamps for headlamps.... find an idiot who does not dip his headlights.. turn both on and you can see the colour of the tie he's wearing.... Nice....

It did have a "tiny" problem, as we found out,..... over 70mph it burnt more oil than petrol...... this was, basically, because I had stripped down the top end to do the valves etc and "on advice" from my brother did not re ring and hone the bores... which were a bit "shiny"..... so after we found this out we stuck more to the back roads...

Chris rode a Kawasaki GPZ550 Uni-track.... great, zippy, little bike that ran really sweet....

Great ride down through Germany.... great roads and strange people.... The eagles nest near Berchesgaden is an impressive place... remember well the entrance tunnel with its wood paneling and impressive chandeliers... You could easily drive any army truck through this but it was, definitely, designed to impress.... But mostly remember the 40+ person lift that whispered you up the "house".... you got in and then got out.... no sound... no sensation of movement.... truly spoooky...

Oh yes the other memory was of the bus ride up to the entrance tunnel.... real old school bus with a driver that could only be described as a maniacal Russian shot put "lady"... single track lane... sheer drops...loose gravel and tree branches everywhere and... well... I guess the driver just likes speed... and hill climbs, with a  rally cross twist.... she was not slow....

 The mountain fortress itself was not open, in those days, and always intended to go back there now it is....

On into Austria via an unfinished, but, strangely, open tunnel we found... tarmac was good but the tunnel itself was still being lined.... you could still see the tooling marks etc on the walls... trouble was the, unfinished, toll booths were manned.... and, although, there was no sign of a "pay x" anywhere it was an interesting few moments sorting what we had against what they would take...

Austria is stunning..... and expensive.... only had changed up a few pounds for petrol... but that went at the first coffee shop... heading up the road from the tunnel and there was a sharp left up ahead.... hit the left hard (well... straights are boring...) and the view suddenly got... well... simply stunning....

We had turned to be running, high up, along one side of a valley... the other side simply being one of the best mountain views I've seen.... there was a big gravel car park/view point right on the corner exit and an impressive cafe/hotel behind...

I drifted straight into the parking area as Chris just flashed up the road ahead.... so I stroll over and order a coffee... enjoy the view... did not have a camera on this trip and phones were not that mobile in those days.... the view was so big though, a stunning wall of snow capped peaks, it would have been hard to capture it properly.. (Ric/Neil... would liken it to heading for the tunnel, with the psychedelic lighting, near Grenoble)... so through Austria and onto Italy... Venice awaits and time was short....

My first time in Italy so my brother pulls up alongside me and starts to shout... "Whatever you do DON'T ride near to white line in a corner cos there mad here and vans will......" just at that point a big blue van flies round this corner, towards us, straddling the white line.... and Chris has to dodge in behind me very sharpish.... "SEE" he shouts....

So funny.... so very funny..... I do cut corners (cough) a bit but the Italians are mad.... probably wear out the horns faster than their tyres...

Another entertaining moment... I was riding along behind him on a short section on Italian "motorway", near Venice, when something suddenly flips up from the road and hits me in the chest... and then falls onto the top of my tank....

It was the front sprocket retaining plate for a Kawasaki...... My brother was riding a Kawasaki..... Bugger... so pulled him over... whipped of the sprocket cover to find... his was still there.... Nice... but often wondered about what happened to the guy who lost it...

Anyhoo onto the subject of the title..

We pulled into Aosta.... which is up in the top left hand corner of Italy... not far from Mont Blanc and its famous tunnel....

We had stopped in a run down area on the edge of Aosta because of.....

1/ It was getting late in the day..... and...

2/ There was this big shiny square glass built motorcycle shop.... looked really out of place..... bikes on the ground level and clothing and helmets on the second... got the impression that the area was some sort of tax haven.... going by the prices...

So its late in the day and we ask for directions to a campsite.... you just know its gonna be... "ah my cousin runs campsite... best campsite... you come... you follow... I show..."  and that's exactly what happened....

So we follow this little Renault van down some dodgy lanes and into the campsite... must admit it really was a nice site.... not the best by any means.... but clean, good toilets and a cafe, of sorts,...

We set up our tents and were walking up the site when a couple siting outside this old, huge, canvas tent said "hello" in the broadest of scouse accents.... cannot remember there names now but a nicer pair of people it would be harder to meet...  do remember he was a good 6ft 4 and she was a petite 4ft 10.....

Ended up spending the evening with them.... listing to the story of how they had just been through Yugoslavia and stayed with a local family, for three days, while a new dynamo, for his Enfield, was being shipped out to him from the UK....

He had travelled down to the bottom of Portugal the previous year and Poland the year before that.... all on this immaculate Royal Enfield Constellation....  Respect..... Even more so in the morning.... but read on...

Never really thought about it but were are talking away... sitting outside this massive tent... I mean massive... they slept in one half and the bike was parked in the other......

Were sitting there while he's cooking away on a two ring camping stove more suited to a caravan and the gas bottle is a dumpy 4.5kg one... not some tiny canister... he's using proper pots n pans brought from home.... proper full sized frying pan.... kettle... mugs... yes it was probably in there somewhere to...

Just assumed he had a trailer around the back...

So... in the morning Chris and myself awoke to watch this pair load up the Constellation...

First off... out came wooden boxes... homemade ply and baton affairs... and everything got put into a wooden box of one size or another... and these boxes got strapped, not bunged, onto the bike.....

Both my brother and I watched in amazement...  just more and more boxes going on.... to say they had a system is an understatement for this couple.... large boxes... small boxes..... one after the other after the other....

After they had finished... it was stacked so high that when the girl sat "into" the rear seat you could not see her.... truth.... from back or sides she was hidden...

We say goodbye and he climbs on and we watch this "mobile parcel" wobble off up the dirt road and out of the campsite.....

How much weight.... dare not think about it....

How on earth the frame did not snap is beyond me.....

Those poor tire's....spokes..... ???...

Respect does not even cover it..... The miles they had travelled.... and those to come no doubt....
 
When I asked him about the it before he left... he simply said... "if you are not in a hurry you will get there..... if you rush you may not.."

Lesson learnt...   two on a push bike in the UK is an offence.... the family and a goat on a Honda Crunch in India is normal... I will, and always, say.. the more "civilised" we get the more stupid we get...

Its not a matter of whether you think he was a danger to others or not, as in our modern "PC" world he may well not be allowed to travel like that.... but it worked.... nothing was going to fall off the way it was strapped.... he could repair any box easily..... he could even have repaired the dynamo, once he had worked out what was making the noise.... And yes he had a full toolkit to...

ZX1 Micro Oil Treatment Thoughts and Review

Friction free oil/engine treatments....

As soon as you talk to anyone about these you are likely to encounter two types of answer... three in you count a quick smack in the mouth...

1... Snake oil.... Hokum.... Don' need it.... or any other similar comment before they launch into their reasoning behind this.....

2... I've used it....  sometimes this does comes with  a "but"..

So my thoughts......

I have looked at many engine treatments over the years, especially those that are used in a racing environment.... Molyslip, STP, Wynn's all have their place in engine longevity...

There has been, though, a few brands that are just hype and even the perennial "Slick 50" and it's earlier derivatives seizing an engine or three due to the fact that the size of the PTFE molecules were larger that the oil filter mesh pores.....

Interesting fact about PTFE.... if you heat it past 536°F it turns into a very nasty gas...  check this out.....      
                     http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=15+1829&aid=2874

Also another, similar, page states  "Recent findings show that 95% of Americans have detectable levels of Teflon-related chemicals in their blood" and that's not a good thing...

My First Honda CX500 was one of the original batch which had the wrong big end shells fitted and hence were known for seizing easily..... So I tried some American stuff called, inventively, TMT (The Motor Treatment)... which was basically graphite based..  Which I must admit worked really well in increasing gas mileage.... anything graphite based has its limitations

But since I stumbled across ZX1 many years, and hundreds of thousands of miles, ago I have used it in everything I have owned....

For me it's main strength is it's versatility..  You can add it at any time, it does not need clean/new oil... and you can add it to, almost, anything...

As it's a "Modified Oil" all the "friction free" element needs is a carrier.... so you can put it in the engine, in the petrol, in the radiator, into hydraulic fluid and even brake/clutch fluid... that's something not a lot of the others can do..

So long as it makes contact with a metallic surface it will do its job..... and as it mechanically bonds with metal at about 70 deg it stays there even after the oil/fluid change....

One of my first uses for ZX1 was in a Mitsubishi Colt... the model before they went hatchback.... Nice car but had not been that well looked after...

So I am driving home from London to Ipswich and as I am going through Chelmsford the oil light comes on... not good as its a pressure light not a "low level" light on these...

So... 40 miles from home and no oil pressure... As my Father was still alive and we had a breakdown truck I decided to carry on home... reasoning behind this was that the engine was probably toast so the nearer I was to home the less it needed to be towed...

The engine/fuel system had been treated about a 1000 miles before this and I am happy to say that I just drove the car all the way home... not a problem.... not a sound.... added new oil and drove it around for another two years before I sold it...   Kind of makes you think "Yea this stuff does work".

The original formula was invented for drilling heads on the oil rigs etc... If you want any info on this and the range of products they make now... head over to...

                                                                 http://www.team-zx1.com/  

Hope you do because you will find a review I did on a Kawasaki ZX10 compression over time... a short lived trial for a reason you will find when reading...

ZX1 has been a standard part of my maintenance regime for decade... cars, motorcycles, strimmer heads, hedge trimmer blades,  lawnmowers even my central heating system.. ie if it moves and is metal..

Word of warning though... don't put it in a new vehicle... don't put it in an all metal torque converter or all metal clutch etc... and when putting it in a engine make sure you run it for at least 20 mins/drive for at least 40 miles or it will smoke like a train....

DO NOT PUT IT IN - DRIVE 1/2 MILE DOWN THE ROAD TO GET THE PAPER/MILK/ETC... basically as it bonds at 70 deg a quick trip will heat up the area around the rings more than anywhere else and if you switch of the engine the oil around the rings will bond there only and make a very smooth "blow by" area.... trust me I did this with a Suzuki 1150EFE and it billowed smoke for days until it sorted itself out....

Originally they only made the "treatment" but nowadays they have a nice range of products.... I love the new grease (the original grease was a bit pants in that it disappeared to quickly) its all red and sparkly and is superb in wheel bearings....

The little pin oilier is another winner, especially on a motorcycle, so easy to lube levers, footrests, linkages, anything that moves really... Its also great in lubing cables and unlike WD40 it does not freeze in winter or affect to cable lining.

The C60 micro spray is, for me, the oddest one... I suppose because I use the pin oilier in most places you would use the spray... will say its great with sliding doors, windows etc... but I mainly use it as a "soak" to degrease and clean stuff.

Works well with carbs... especially if you heat them up with a blow gun and dunk them again after cleaning... really helps to give a smooth slide action

Last comment... I have bought many treatment bottles (especially back in the day when QVC used to sell a twin pack) and give them to people to try out for themselves... saying only "if you don't think it works don't pay me" and so far everybody has paid me...

There are drawbacks with this product that I am not going to go into here as I am sure that someone will add a comment about this and just want to hear who says what first, before adding  my thoughts and findings....

Buell Free Spirits Belt Tensioner Spindle/Nipple Modification

About a year ago I bought another Free Spirits belt tensioner for my Buell Ulysses.....

The original design of the factory Buell tensioner is a fixed item... And, although, Eric worked out the maths and it works well for about 95% if its travel it did not allow any flexibility for the usual road debris found in the UK and elsewhere.... especially if you like the "odd bit of off roading".

So the Free Spirits idea was to make the tensioner wheel sprung loaded... Now while they did a fair job in making it look nice and sturdy... there's a couple of design flaws that Eric's original did not have....

The worst one of these is that it, unless you set it up very carefully, it fouls the exhaust...  The lower inside section rubs against the rear exhaust bracket and exhaust itself... Not good.... and the other problem is that the pivot sucks..... a split bush, just in the center section and a shaft that is 40mm long (unit is 50mm wide) that has a countersunk Allen screw, very lightly tightened, each end does not make for a safe secure pivot..... loctite is the order of the day to stop them unwinding...

Oh yes... its sold as a "maintenance free" item...... moving parts... aluminium rubbing against aluminium.... road crap, water and salt.. I don't think its anywhere near "maintenance free".... if fact it seizes up quite nicely thank you.... frequently....

So my plan was to modify my nice new one (the old one has done way to many miles and is a bit knackered to say the least) it to an idea I had...  Now as much as I like the look of the "upgrade" kit you can get from Maz at the "Buell Emporium"... to me it still had one fault.... you cannot, easily, tell if it needs a strip and clean or starting to seize because its needs to be oiled more often..

So my plan was not to have a pin that was "fixed" in the outer plates and only rotates in the inner section bush....

My design was to ream out the outer pieces to take the same bush as the centre..... make a shaft/pivot pin that was wider than the tensioner and knurl it to aid rotation...

Will put some photos of it fitted on here in a few days to show how it looks fitted...... The back end is a bit long only so that there was room for adjustments or alternative ways of retention...

The above photo shows nicely the PTFE washers... the pin and end washer are stainless... What I should have done is taken a photo of it disassembled as the bearing part of the shaft is spiral grooved to aid in lubrication and the side plates have been recessed just enough to allow fitting "O" rings to help keep the grease/oil in and the dirt out....

The whole thing is being kept in place by an "E" clip at the moment.... if it works OK it will stay that way.... but if its not secure enough then I can always switch to another option..

The PTFE washers are also a trial as should give a long life but he also machines various types of Nylon/Nylatron etc

Also have a plan to turn up a cover plate which will push it to cover the grease nipple (Its designed to accept a standard grease gun nozzle into the recess)....

I like the look as is but I'm sure many would want a cover...

So all I have to do is rotate the shaft before riding/ monthly..... and if it does not rotate smoothly.... grease it..... if its stuck.. strip n clean time.... 

The plan now is to see if anybody else would like one....

As I no longer have access to a decent lathe (after being in engineering for a couple of decades I do miss the access to equipment) the whole thing was made by Probitts Engineering out of Finbows Yard, near Bacton in Suffolk..

His mainstay is in high quality parts for all sizes of model trains, but he makes far more than that.

And the good thing is that if enough people want one he will run off a batch....

Message me If you want any more info.. but the plan plan... is to give him my old unit to have a total rethink on the idea of "how to hold the wheel"... I like the idea of a "gull wing" rear piece to eliminate the rubbing/wear issue as a "just change one piece option".....  Or maybe a totally new design that loses the "travel limiting roll pin" by extending the rose joint thread (female rose joint and correct length Allen bolt?) through the back of the center section, which would also make fitting and removal MUCH easier.

Have fun out there....

Early Days With a Lytro First Gen Camera

Bought myself a first generation Lytro camera of Amazon a couple of days ago.... basically liked the idea, but not the price, for a while now......

Logic in buying was that the price has been slashes to a pittance of its former loftiness and I was hooked...

Very strange, long, little square box with the lens at one end and a tiny, dodgy, screen at the other...

May post specs/photos later but its easy enough to find these on line and, for the mo, this is just post is just to keep track of the learning curve of blurred and "what the F*** is that" photo's I'm taking whilst learning.

First day's were all pretty much useless as just snapping away to sort how you actually frame these "living" photos.... You do have to rethink things somewhat.... a sound knowledge of photography helps up to a point and then you start thinking in 3D and stuff just starts to work..

2nd day photo of the little fox bronze in the courtyard off the high street in Stowmarket seem the best to date... if you have not seen one of these before... just click on the snowman's belly to refocus on him.... drag your cursor around to move.. or just press play... Have fun.

Well that was fun getting the photo on here.... future ref... ignore the info on the Lytro page and just switch to HTML and enter embodied code.. switch back to Compose and its there.... (Useful info for other "Lytro" Blogger users - make sure you have a couple of text lines below the embodied code link or you cant enter any as the player just keeps kicking in when you hit enter to start new text line.. had to go back into HTML to add an extra text line below and then the Compose page worked as normal)

Well its been a few days now.. but the weather here is just.... wet...so not to many pictures..  still getting to grips with the composition and separation of subjects..

Danger... Mechanic's at Work... 


Badger Motorcycles.... Doug (in front) is a very talented motorcycle builder... might be a small, out of the way, workshop but every now and then, amongst the bread and butter servicing etc, out rolls a work of art...

Kevin, looking on, has an idea or three on how to.... lets say "improve" his motorcycle... Will see if he lets me take a few shots of the finished bike...

The picture is starting to look right... several things going on, nice separation between subjects and plenty on things to click on... Minimal or cluttered shots do seem to work better than "middle of the road" ones

Might need to try a mono/tripod as leaning my hands are non to steady these days and the shot is not as sharp as I would like....

 My little Sage Statue...

Nice sharp photo for a "just hold my hand near the ground and see what I get" shot


The Led light in front was better shown in another shot but this was the sharper shot.. Not a lot of depth but it does work well when you click on the trellis... so learning that contrasting textures and colour have an effect.

Realising that these cameras need good light for the best results so may well invest in an Led ring light... Might as well start with a cheap Chinese job of flea bay...

Have seen some very cheap little, square, Go Pro led/usb lights, not very bright but might just be enough in a macro situation...

20/12/2015.. Playing with the Photo Editor

Realising that there is a lot more to Lytro pictures than just point - shoot - publish...... The editor built into the desktop app is a vital part of the process.... The odd little, or sometimes major, changes can really enhance the photo...

The edit options seem simple but have such a vast effect on the picture that it can quickly become a mess.... but the "restore to defaults" button at the bottom means that nothing is ever unrecoverable so try everything form max to min.... see what happens.... and restore if it does not work....

For me the first option that simply just worked was "Tilt" and "Rotation". Tilt alters the front to rear
aspect and rotation alters the angle of the depth of field aspect.... example..



Using just the "tilt" option so the depth of field worked from front to back did not rally do anything for this shot but adding "rotation" so it worked from the bottom left corner of the shot to the top right hand corner and the whole thing really starts to come together....

Having the two blue items in focus along the, drawn to, eye line of the paving slab edge just. simply, looks better....


Don't worry about messing things up.... as maxing out the "temperature" setting. just to see what happened.... I ended up with this..



Now this might not be the best shot in the world but, for me, it just kinda works "as is"... Even though the original sky colour was a crisp clear blue...

Using "tilt" on this shot just did not work.. the post in the foreground just went really weird, almost hourglass, looking....

No post in this one...  just for colour comparison...


Using The "crop" effect can usually enhance any photo, and it is no different with the Lytro


The original had, pretty much, the whole cross as a foreground.... but cropping down to highlight the discolouration/patina made it pop...

I know these are not the best shots in the world... but snapping away at anything that looks like it might work is the way to go with the Lytro... as you learn more by taking an everyday photo and making it a great one than you do by just trying for that perfect shot.. They will happen.... some because of your "eye" and some that seem nothing when you take them..... but make you go "wow" later....

And finally... for now.... What is level...

There was a car parked in front of the gate and I had to look into the Lytro's tiny screen at an angle... so I was not as square on as I thought....

But the more I look at it, with the intention of going back and taking a better shot, the more it works as the pathway trees are, pretty well, vertical...

Used tilt on this shot as, even thought the "gates" are in the same plain, it brought out.... emphasised the dates, and the sentiment, better.

One of my better photo's, to date, that show of the Lytro's capabilities....

23/12/2015 Out in the Sunshine
The main drawback, I find, of the first gen Lytro is the fixed 1/250 speed. I know there is a lot of latitude within the shot but on cloudy days, or shooting indoors, getting a nice bright colourful shot is far from easy.....

So with the sun shining bright in the sky today I went out to the Cafe at Onehouse, Suffolk.

Bad timing as it had just closed when I arrived.... much to the amusement of the owners... who are in fact, my neighbours....

Still quite like this shot..

Using "rotation" helped to shift depth of field axis so it runs from the top left corner to the bottom right.... It really separated the blue swing seat, making it the focal point, and was well pleased that you could still read the "lakeside" sign when refocused...

As for the lake itself.... its a small but very picturesque fishing lake.... So a shot just had to be taken...

Just set this to F16 as it looks good just as is.... but it does prove the point that.... if the lights right, so is the Lytro....  as the shot is only spoilt by my, slight, camera shake.... must get a tripod or graph on some steadier hands...

Well that's my shots to date... Hope you are having fun taking yours....

50 Years of Motoring... Not so much a Guide to Avoiding Idiots... Rather a Series of Observations

50 years of avoiding the loonies out there....  don't know how... just, mostly, have....

Actually started driving cars at 8 and motorcycles by 9 years old so that's a couple more years to tag on... Oh the joys of  growing up in a scrap yard... Didn't matter if you crashed because they were being scrapped anyway and its so much better to learn you craft out in the field than be a damn nuisance poodling about on the road, whilst doing kangaroo impressions..

First Observation... Confidence.
Driving a car or riding a motorcycle requires confidence... in truth the vast amount of experience needed to have to ability do either well is purely down to confidence.... you think you can and you can.. (self doubt kills you just as quickly as inexperience)

But the tricky part is the amount of confidence... to much and your over-confident and your in a ditch saying (Ill let you choose the comment - but my favourite is "well that did not go as planned")...


The right amount means that you get to where your going without falling off the road or into someone else.... And.... you learnt something new along the way..... i.e. you can rear wheel steer around that corner at legal speeds.. Its all about keeping it inside your natural abilities....

Not like, as some people do.... and Mr Hammond did.....  say "I am a driving God" and then crash... mind you still love Mr Clarksons quote of " slide through those pearly gates... backwards and on fire..." which, again, you may well do through over confidence..

Or your under-confident and your siting at a T junction waiting for the road to be absolutely clear before pulling out, whilst behind you is a flotilla of horns going of...

Or you are afraid to drive in town... or even out of town... Motorways.... Narrow roads that have tight bends...... etc... etc.. etc...

Under-confidence limits your abilities and the enjoyment of motoring...  It also increases you chances of saying "never had an accident but seen several in the rear view mirror"

One of my Aunts used to take her hands of the steering wheel and cover her eyes if she found herself going over 40.. I kid you not....

Second Observation... Skill/Technique

Again, in truth, confidence is all that is required to drive on empty, normal, roads... but skill is the thing you learn over time.... and you need when there is any other traffic, obstacles, potholes and sheep about..... (don't hit a cow.... you might not have allot of car left)

you cant rush it..... you will either have a crash or will cause one....

You cant buy it.... you can pay for lessons to speed it up... but have known more than a few people who have proudly said "this guy has no idea" when referring to an instructor .... because they think they know better....   That comment looks, real, good on a headstone as they, themselves, are the ones with no idea...

You can only learn up to your natural reaction speed.... The brain takes half  a second to react to something new...  So its mechanism to get round this is automatic reactions... you do something a few times and then the brain says "OK got that.. when I see/feel/hear that... I do this".... instantaneously and then takes it a step further and says "this is new but its similar to...." and the auto reaction kicks in.

First time the back end steps out its, shall we say, entertaining.... but the next you just turn into it without thinking... that's automatic reactions.... the more you drive/ride the more automatic it becomes.... and if your brain is wired right you can end up a stunt rider with ease.... well with a lot of practise and a mountain of cardboard boxes...

But if its not important to you to be a better driver/rider as motoring is "just a form of transit" then the brain gets bored and switches off the auto react and just goes into a lazy autopilot mode... which means when something happens out side your normal "comfort" range... you crash or crash into.

An example of all of the above is my personal pet hate number 23 (and yes there are anymore)...

Just watch a tailgater on the dual carriageway... easily recognisable by lack of distance to the car/bike in front of him and the brake lights are on when the one in front are not...

- Overconfident in Abilities and Reactions while Underestimating the Surrounding Conditions -

 (To be honest you should never use your brakes on a dual carriageway... look far enough ahead... keep a sensible gap... and just lift you foot off the accelerator and, just, use engine braking)

Third Observation... Anger

Don't care how good a driver/rider you may be you get angry and your abilities go sky high but your survivability goes to zero..

Yes I have seen some of my friends ride faster and better than there natural abilities allow.. but you become focused... single minded... and that's just simply dangerous... deadly even...

If some moron pulls out in front of you and you don't need to brake then why get angry... If someone pulls out in front of me and floors it... could not give a monkeys...

If that moron pulled out and you did have to brake the just be glad you missed him as getting angry and shouting obscenities often just gets you rear ended because you forgot to move again...

If the moron pulled out and you hit him.... don't get angry... just get the phone out and photograph everything...... LISTEN.. don't verbalise... you will be £'s better off in the end... mind you you may need that punching bag hung up the garage when you get home...

Fourth Observation.... Indifference

Why do most accidents happen within half a mile of home or a workplace.... Indifference.... "I always turn here so why do I need to indicate!" being my pet hate number 16....

The "you should know where I'm going" brigade do my head in. Longest I ever worked at one place was 15 years... and always indicated to turn in... but, as there were thousands who worked at Cranes, hundreds, everyday, did not.... kept the factory nurse busy anyway...

Fifth Observation.... Perception

The ability to be aware of your surroundings... More and more drivers these days are not...

Pet hate number 19.... Slip Lanes..... especially the one at the bottom of the A140 where it joins the A14.... nearly been killed there on many an occasion....

I'm coming up the slip lane behind someone.... were doing 60/60+ already.... I look over my shoulder/in the mirror... to check the gap... and when I look forward again the car in front is braking.. violently..... THE LORRY CAN NOT DO 60.....    but he still panics and brakes rather than just carry on onto the carriageway...

I'm swerving up the inside of him... the lorry driver is laughing his head off... and the car driver, now stopped, need five times the gap before he can pull out again...

A really good trick/habit is to assume that someone is going to suddenly appear and pull out of every junction you pass..... and the thing is to think "where can I go"... it that gate open... is the pavement clear... that hedge is softer than the brick wall...  anything is better than hitting something head on..

And in truth I have had to resort to driveways a couple of times rather than have a collision.

Never ever think "it will not happen to me" for the universal truth that is "Its never if it happens... its simply when.."

Anyway as I said at the start.... Not a "survivors" guide just random notes of the journey..

Would I love to do another 50.. not sure... to many cars and to few major roads to run them on.... but its all academic really as I know the Fuchs' Dystrophy will kick in one day soon and that will be that....

Be careful out there....
P