Round the doors

Lovely day today, sunny but with an autumnal nip in the air. Seeing as Daizy was staying over after last night's family get-together a trip to the beach was called for....she paddled, I didn't! That's Cullercoats lifeboat station up there with the boat out for a Sunday airing. We spotted some seaweed gatherers (it's great on the garden, but rather smelly!)

Then it was off to Tynemouth Station market to meet up with the fond parents for the handover, a nice Italian meal and a browse round the stalls

All in all it's been a pretty good day!

Family affair....

....as in just back from one, and decidedly squiffy. Subjects tonight are granddaughter Daizy on the left (about to inflict some sort of fiendish foot tickling torture on her victim) and her second coz Ben on the right (who doesn't seem to mind too much and is always willing to smile for the camera) Bed calls................

Communications hub

From the traditional 'envelope stuffing' to the electronic.....done something like this before 'in another place', probably from the same vantage point in fact.....a lack-lustre but stupidly busy day!

I like looking at pictures....it's not a secret....and especially vintage graphics......

Check out ephemera assemblyman for a blast from the past, you won't regret it!

Now I'm brain-dead
....need pain-killers
....bed
....lots of water
....switched-off alarm clock
...............

Watching the traffic

WARNING.....work-based rant follows!
Minor victory for the 'little man' (read student) to report tonight. Out of the blue at the start of the week a huge hike in student printing/plotting costs was announced (more than a 300% rise, all down to 'central services', nothing we could do about it apparently) So I did a bit of number crunching yesterday to work out how 'they' could justify it.....the short answer being they couldn't, no way! The crunched figures went to a meeting this morning and returned victorious.....I took huge pleasure in going round our labs to rip down the posters 'they' had plastered on the walls, strangely satisfying somehow, must get a life!
RANT OVER

Still feeling 'under the weather' but soldiering on (sigh), the boy-in-the-attic however has the full-blown version and is wandering round in a dispeputable dressing gown with wads of tissue stuffed up his nose....not a pretty sight!

Family History stuff.....
Apparently 'the family' has a bit of  'Living in the Workhouse' experience (drinking and gambling!), luckily there's a website to document our wild and wanton ways

But now I'm off down to Jollity Farm, stoked up with a couple of Lemsips......

Posy

Made it out of the office for a brief spell today, the 'best bit' being a trip to the uni gallery to check out the Posy Simmonds visiting exhibition (for 'locals' details here).....even better, the free catalogue was in the form of all of the exhibits in comic book format. Posy, more specifically her 'Mrs Webers Diary', was my comic book of choice in the 80's....it was great to see the original artwork (with all the corrections /blanked out bits plain to see) Going back tomorrow to snaffle another catalogue for the firstborn (who is apparently word-perfect on some of them) and another look/read/giggle.....the giggle will of course be one of those 'knowing' ones suitable for an an arty environment!

Short but nice....Birds on the Wires

Birds on the Wires from Jarbas Agnelli on Vimeo.

The start of the surveying season....

....and a reason for personal celebration, a new academic year's worth of FREE, partly-charged (but definitely still usable) high-powered batteries ends up on my desk looking for a good home. That 'total station' in action up there only works with a set of 6 brand-new AA batteries, they get ditched after a single outing.....'waste not want not' I say!

Currently feeling 'a bit crap', the weekend's niggly sore throat is building up into something possibly worse....plus I'm in on my own at work (my left-hand man is on leave) so I haven't had a lunchtime so far this week. Although tomorrow I'm apparently 'on a promise' for a bit of cover, time unspecified, but not holding my breath!

A couple of silly links....

One of those point-and-click games, currently up to Episode 3
"You play the role of Kara, a spy in an alternate reality where World War I begins in 1901 and technology is much more advanced. Physicist Karl von Toten is on the verge of a great discovery and it's your task to uncover his secrets."
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
(NB...Episode 2 doesn't seem to have a 'play online' option.....but you can download the game to play offline)

Today's music choice
Shantel & Amsterdam Klezmer Band & Bucovina Club Orchester
 

What day?

Apparently I've roasted a chicken, made garlic croutons and a huge cauldron of soup (maybe I cackled a bit.....who knows), washed clothes (didn't wash dishes!) and OD'd on Lemsips and cheap port...everything else is just a blur. I'm off to watch the real thing.....

Oh bugger.....

....the rippin' kittens like Celebrity Come Dancing (all down to the boy in the attic thinking it was 'a good idea' to leave the TV on for background noise) Next stop names....I've suggested 'Cash and Carrie' and 'Fast and Luce'......neither of which went down well.......

Salt Rock

What a week...I'm absolutely cream-crackered. So tonight's cunning plan for posting a multitude of Friday-style/useless (though hopefully mildly entertaining) links is on the back burner until tomorrow. I only got as far as a trip to the campus library today.....this shot taken slightly to the right of the front door....good as it gets I'm afraid...........

No photographs.....CIA!

I pass this pair most mornings on the way into work.....Ernie, the one on the right, prefers to maintain an aura of secrecy, he's an undercover 'clerk of works' in the Estates Dept.....and it doesn't pay to have your face known to all and sundry after all!

The 'Rippin' Kittins' have landed.....

The boy in the attic took delivery of a pair of kittens tonight.....the initial meeting between them and the resident feline DIDN'T go well....said boy in the attic has retired hurt [hissy fit (cat)/slashed hand (him) ......current score, resident cat 1 - boyo 0].....guess who's still up?

Wonder why I thought this rather attractive 'do you think my bum looks big in this' gargoyle thingy (to be found above the front door of North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers) seemed appropriate? Pictures of the fluffy innocents MAY follow if circumstances allow.....don't hold your breath!

A night at the theatre

Just back from a great night out at our newly refurbished (read virtually rebuilt) neighbourhood theatre with the sister and bro-in-law. Roy Marsden and Susan Penhaligon in 'Murder on Air, three radio thrillers read in an authentic studio setting with live sound effects in the style of their original BBC broadcasts'.....loved it, especially the sound effects! I also loved the fact that it was only 10 minutes walk down the road. They've done a great job with the rebuild, plenty of legroom, neither too hot nor too cold, considerably more toilets than the original two with dodgy plumbing and a sensible sized bar replacing the one that used to operate from a cupboard. Another shot of the foyer/bar below.

 

A sunny September Sunday

.....so what do we decide to do?....why, go to the cinema of course (I've never been known for making timely life choices!) Have to say we all thoroughly enjoyed the film though.....it sticks pretty close to the original story and leaves not a lot to the imagination...worth watching! Oh, and below is the firstborn striding out for the cinema door, I can reliably report that the bag on her shoulder was stuffed with sandwiches and battenburg cake, quite surprised there wasn't a flask in there too! (and no, I didn't ask her whether I could take her picture, I reckoned that, as the mother I could be deemed as having given consent on her behalf...though if she decides her bum looks too big I could still be dead meat!)

Possibly some frivolous links later if I don't fall asleep on the couch.....

Saturday.....the dark side

For which read 'SHOPPING', not that I did any...took this one last week in broad daylight then processed it until it squeeked, as is only right for a despised activity, it deserves nothing more nor less (especially when it's nearly a week until payday and the overtime claim won't be paid until the end of October) EDIT...I didn't notice the scary guy in the shop window until I clicked the publish button.....says it all really!

Possibly on the cards tonight.....

Watching a few episodes of 'The Avengers' (the Tara King ones....watched one last night, talk about surreal) No link, I got it from a pirate friend on his beam ends, best not to ask questions....

Listening to a bit of Flanders and Swann (we all have a cross to bear)

Or maybe a dip into a bit of online point-and-clickery, Alchemia....not tried it yet but I love the graphics (found at jayisgames)

 

Then again....I might just give it all a miss and go to bed early with a nice mug of Horlicks and an Agatha Christie audiobook......

TFIF

Actually snapped yesterday over at 'City Campus East' while in search of a suitable image for a brochure front page.....I didn't find it!

But what I did find today was.....

it documents climate change on steroids. over at FORA.tv.....it's not for the faint-hearted!

Northern Print

 

You'll find this guy hanging around Northern Print on Stepney Bank, maybe to discourage loiterers! A couple of days ago I went to see the Northern Print Biennale currently showing at the Laing, there's some impressive stuff....well worth a visit if you've got half an hour to spare. Also on at the Laing at the moment, one of the galleries has walls full of Thomas Bewicks woodcuts, the majority only an inch or two in size.....luckily there's a big box of magnifying glasses for the visually challenged available!

Strangely entertaining

I was never a huge Michael Jackson fan......so why do I like this?

Click here if you dare....you'll end up watching rather more than you thought you would!

Side TV launches.....

 

....at midnight 18th september 2009 (although there's already viewable content online, go watch!) The launch is linked to the aforementioned 'Reinventing the City' event starting on the same date. Highly recommended....'Byker' and 'Quayside'!

Link to SideTV

Reinventing the city

Sooooo....it's been a long time....maybe I should have named this post Reinventing wor::site! Expect more pictures but a lot of the same old silly links....see how it goes eh?

By the way the REAL Reinventing the City looks good, it runs from 19th September to 11th October....

"Reinventing the City explores Tyneside’s re-imagination of itself through 200 years of industrial and post-industrial change.
Tyneside has been at the forefront of change and over the years artists have criticised, promoted and documented the process. The story is mirrored across the world, but the streets of NewcastleGateshead told it first and still tell it best.
Discover the art and architecture, the characters, the visions and the plans that made Tyneside what it is today. Through a series of events, tours, debates and exhibitions, Reinventing the City will question the reshaping of Tyneside, from the founding of the Lit & Phil in the late 1700’s to the NewcastleGateshead we see around us in 2009."
Brochure available for download here

Just mucking about

Playing with PhotoShop and fiddling with Picassa3.....one of those little 'compare and contrast' excercises that you save for a Friday afternoon (and no, they're not really comparable, certainly not the price tag!) Fun afternoon though!

The Astounding World of the Future

If you only watch one YouTube tonight, watch this one!

Free online OCR

 

“Free-OCR.com is a free online OCR (Optical Character Recognition) tool. You can use this to perform OCR on any image you supply.

This service is free, no registration necessary. We also do not need your email address.

Just upload your image files. Free-OCR takes either PDF, JPG, GIF, TIFF or BMP format.

The only restriction is that the images must not be larger than 2MB, no wider or higher than 5000 pixels and there is a limit of 10 image uploads per hour.”

Free online OCR

Bomomo : Create Abstract Art in Your Browser

 

Bomomo : Create Abstract Art in Your Browser

Only works with Firefox and Safari browsers. No sign-up and you can save your masterpieces to your computer too!

Psykopaint - Online photo painting tool

  Online fun for all the family!

By the way, I’m doing this using Windows Live Writer, and while I’m at work……don’t expect long posts, but it’s better than nothing (which is the alternative!)

Technorati Tags: onlineapp

Psykopaint Beta 1 - Online photo painting tool

Fotopedia

New start up….a wikipedia for images. Not yet live but worth watching out for

Edit.....now up-and-running.....looks good!

Fotopedia

Barcelona 1908

Just a lovely video of the streets of Barcelona in 1908 with a nice backing track.....worth a click!!

Keeping the kids amused....

Just in case the weather isn't totally springlike.....

"Cool cartoons that will have you experimenting with food, light, sound, clothes, and a whole lot more!! Hundreds of cartoon experiments from cartoonist, broadcaster and engineer Tim Hunkin."

Link to Hunkin's Experiments

Think I might try this.....

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day - More DIY How To Projects

Still here.....

wor::site has been disgracefully neglected recently....apologies....promise I'll try to do better! Coming up...Eat! NewcastleGateshead
"EAT! NewcastleGateshead 2nd May to 17th May 2009 - a festival which passionately advocates to all the pleasures of creating and sharing good food and drink in the North East." There's a downloadable programme of events here

Dive, dive, dive

Amadee Coral Reef New Caledonia in New Caledonia

Sooty and Sweep.....and Ronnie

Funny day, Sunday....now why did I suddenly start thinking about Sooty and Sweep? (on second thoughts, probably best not to dwell on that!) My personal favourite was Sweep....we had both hand puppets as kids but Sweep had the added bonus of a 'squeeker' (your thumb and little finger did the arms, leaving three free to make noises, great fun!) Anyway, found this on YouTube....confession, watched it more than once, but just don't tell, OK!

Nano journeys

"A virtual discovery journey into the worlds of micro- and nano-cosmos"....fascinating stuff!

Nanoreisen

Friday playtime

"rotate a set of blocks in the foreground to match the "hole" in the wall in the distance. Tap the [spacebar] to see if it fits through" via JayisGames

Play Through the Walls

Ouch....

How to set a dislocated hip.....but, please, don't do this at home (apparently nudity for both patient and doctor was mandatory) From the MacKinney Collection of Medieval Medical Images

Grab your passports.....

.....we're crossing the river. Well worth the ferry fare! (read click)

South Shields Daily photo

Gargoyle

" I should never have eaten that beetroot"

One of the lovely gargoyles on Sutherland Building, Northumbria University.....they make you glad to be alive!

Seahorse carrousel

Civic roundabout....the pointy-up bit of Newcastle Civic Centre, with double decker seahorses....but if you didn't have a pair of binoculars or a zoom lens you'd never have guessed! 

ScienceFest

REMINDER.....Newcastle ScienceFest is on the near horizon. Most of the events are free but you need to book tickets. Check out what's on here

BBC SciFi season

I'm a bit late with this one, the season's already started (but still available on "listen again", so I'm going to be dipping in over the weekend!) Loads of good stuff on Radios 3, 4 and 7, the season runs until 13th March

Link to programme details

View from a vice chancellors window

Went on a student site visit yesterday (more details and another picture on the BlipFoto journal) and this is the stunning view from the new vice chancellors office. It'll be lovely when it's finished....apparently!

The Social Whirl

Spotted in the local rag...click the image to biggify

What we wore.....mainly for the ladies!

Assuming you get past the presenter (rest easy, his lack-lustre presentation skills aren't omnipresent), you'll find a cornucopia of delights at the BBC Archive where they ...

" bring you this unusual collection of programmes which reveal what it took to be stylish through over 250 years of British history. Included here is the first colour series made by the BBC. Pre-dating colour TV by a decade, this is the first time it has been available to view as it was intended. It also features some surprising live models. Witness the gradual democratisation of fashion through the ages and see how clothes began to throw off the shackles of class from the 1960s onwards."

Facebook....what's that then?....Anne?

Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible

For one reason or another wor::site has been sadly neglected recently, with not even a kitten playing with wool or a potters wheel to keep you amused (but, if you must, you can watch both here, together with another couple of classics). Rest assured, frivolities will be resumed asap!

Today's also ran...

....on the Blipfoto journal....light wasn't right, nor the angle, but I still like it. Magnet and Andrews Houses, Gallowgate. Built in the 1930's for the General Electric Company as company offices with shops on the ground floor. Made special by a series of terracotta panels depicting heroic scenes of (scantily-clad, iron-jawed) men working in the power industry. Click on the image for the bigger version.

Old census report

Trying out a new file storage website called Docuter, upload as many and as-big-as-you-like documents (200 file types currently supported) then embed them on a webpage/blog. The only file I had sitting on my desktop was the 1901 Northumberland Census Report (can't remember where I got it from, I really ought to keep better notes), so that's what you're getting!

What a combination!

The complete Beatles back catalogue on the ukulele....nah, just can't be beaten! Once a week, new track, guest artists, listen or download, background essay...apparently they should be finished in time for the next Olympics.

Add this blog to your favourites!

Then when you've mastered those sphinter muscles....

....can I suggest taking up the gentle art of wrestling....

Mr Liederman strikes again.....with a multitude of tips for fending off surprise attacks from burly muggers in "The Science of Wrestling" Get it while it's hot on Scribd (ie until someone tells me to remove it , I'm not sure it's out of copyright!)