Category: flickr

Man at work

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While you and I were living it up and drinking at the weekend, The Guru was also living it up and drinking. And then coding. Some say he codes better after a bottle of red wine. Or two. Some say they have never seen him wholly sober.
All I know is that he is working damn hard to iron out the little nuances which the multitude of web browsers chuck at part-time web designers these days. The Guru is a thorough animal and is determined that this project (and therefore this blog) will be all sparkly with all its bits in the right places; whichever browser you choose to use.
Consequently, things may seem to be a little out of place from time to time when you visit here. Please feel free to mention them in a comment somewhere. Especially if you are using a mainstream browser: i.e. IE. But do make sure it’s the most recent version. The Guru doesn’t have time to go back into the annals of history just because you’re still living in 1994 and using Mosaic.
He has coding to do and red wine to drink. 

While we’re on admin stuff, here’s a few more bits ‘n’ pieces:

  1. Made in Oxford is an exhibition by Oxford Flickr users. I lived in Oxford for 9 years and while I constantly wax lyrical about how photogenic Cape Town is, that goes for Oxford too. The Flickr blog showcases a few great examples.
  2. I popped some new photos up onto Flickr myself. Nothing too spectacular, just point and shoot fun with the kids this weekend.
  3. And if you were wondering if you have it in you to become a fantastic photographer, you can find all the information you need here at 27/6.com. It might just be easier than you think.

Right. I must away. People to do, things to see.
Or something along those lines.

EDIT: Damn, I think my short-term memory is going. Two more bits of admin stuff that I had forgotten.

  1. Welcome Wiggy’s World to the blogroll. Probably the best blog written by a Newcastle United-supporting, football-playing marquee salesman from Mansfield that I have read this year. Or at least in the top 3.
  2. New spam technique (which had me confused for a while): Copies of existing comments from the blog (including one of mine). Presumably, the theory is that because the comment in question has made it past Akismet and moderation once, it’s regarded as clean. Clever. But it didn’t fool me. Eventually.

In other news, I think my short-term memory is going.

Eighty

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Let’s slow things down a little. 120 is fine for normal daily run-of-the-mill decisions, but it’s not always good to rush into big things. Like major changes to the appearance of your beloved blog.

While you guys have been examining my front end in minute detail, The Guru has been tinkering around behind my scenes, as it were. And The Guru, being The Guru, has come up with (as in designed himself) a new theme for this blog, which he has graciously called SixThousandMiles and which he is now not-ever-so-gently prodding me toward using.

I’m still a little unsure. Not because the theme is anything less than wonderful, because it isn’t. It’s lovely. But just because the idea of change scares me. I’m only human, after all.
The silly thing about this is that the new theme is not drastically different from the old (current) one. There’s no garish pink, no flowers and (best of all) no garish, pink flowers.
But it is a bit different. Sure, there are one or two things which need ironing out – and when the changeover occurs, we may find others – but the only real reason for my reluctance to change is… well… my reluctance to change.

So – here goes. I’m going to flick the switch… soon.

EDIT: Switch flicked. Sidebar gone. Oops!
EDIT 2: Guru steps in. Sidebar returns.

Perfect timing

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Huge props to England’s cricketers who have timed their demise to perfection so that I can get the end of their Jo’burg ODI out of the way and flick straight to channel 203 for Fiorentina v Liverpool. At one point, it looked as though they were going to allow New Zealand to finish a bit early, but a quick session of skittles (5/27) and everything will be over at 2045.

It would be silly if I didn’t take advantage of their superb organisational skills, so I’ll drop a quick quota photo onto here…

…like this one taken at Morgansvlei, near Tulbagh – and head for the TV.

Bit distracted

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Sorry if I seem a bit distracted this evening.
It’s kind of tough to write a blog post when your wife is constantly (garage) waving stuff at you asking where things must (loft) go because she is (bin) determined to complete her spring cleaning effort – filing the last boxes of “stuff” which was stored (bin) in various cupboards all around the house, but which now fill up the cupboards in your new (study) study. I’ve even been made to give up Mythbusters just as they were about to blow up a house full of popcorn with a giant laser. Seriously.

The only saving grace is the Ingwe Reserve 2005 (Platter ****½) and a slab of Bournville chocolate which are not only saving grace, but have mellowed me out enough that my wife has also been saved, despite her contant (garage) (bin) (bin) and rather annoying (cupboard) (no clue) (bin) interruptions. Just up to here has taken about half an hour. And I type fast.

I’ve just been up to switch Alex’s reading light out to find him fast asleep on his new ruler, which he is ever so proud of as it has an outline of Africa on it and he can point to the Cape Town because “we’re in the bottom corner”. I like to think that I am a father who takes an interest and knows a lot about his kids, but it was news to me that the distance from my son’s ear to the corner of his mouth is approximately 110mm.
One lives, one learns. 

One of the few notable finds of the evening, aside from the exact dimensions of my son’s face, was a couple of photo CDs from 2003, including pictures taken when I was on my “reccie” visit to Cape Town in October of that year.

Here’s a rare photo of me on Llandudno beach on my second ever day in South Africa. I looked so young.
But that was six years ago, before the African sun and the stresses and strains of two children got to me. Looking through the photos, no effort was spared by my then girlfriend in an effort to tempt me into emigrating to SA.
Of course, her hard work paid off and I moved down here 3 months later. The rest – as they say – is history.

Most of which is now being stored in the (loft).