Tales of Home

That's strange, they were all done the same way.

I like the idea of visiting that trail in the snow.  We don't get much snow here, but perhaps I might remember and go next time we have snow.

Maybe Petty can explain that split-screen 360 stuff. - Halfy

{{exactly same as taking a panoramic picture on a modern phone that lets you pan round the picture, only video- but same thing basically. Id guess in the case of filming youd need a special panormaic lense for it mind you.

Your pictures are displaying fine for me Halfy, no x's here. }}

RESOLVED: have to switch to chrome.

Maybe you're not seeing the same split screen that I'm seeing in that video. What I"m seeing is this:



Yes, that's in one screen, one shot.

{{ Mmm doesnt look like that for me Im on firefox- just looks like a normal video only can use the mouse (or finger on a phone I assume) to pan the camera around as it plays- just like a panaromic photo can do, only in video- no split screen or anything must be some weird effect of the browser you were using. What was it? }}

It's safari.  I checked webGL but it's installed.  That's why I keep chrome one click away.  Chrome is a resource hog but every now and then it's the only thing that works.  I use safari 95% of the time because it's optimized for the computer, but it's chock full of blind spots. Firefox is there but I have no occasion to use it.

Figgs - try a few things to see the images.  Can you switch browsers, sit and wait a bit, feed the palantir some tea?

{{Spent my afternoon at my Dads (safe distance of course) restoring an old garden ornament.

Heres what I started with-



So first thing needed doing was to get a hard brush onto it and try to clean it up a bit without damaging it and get abase coa tof paint on it-



Then was just a matter of painting it up best as possible- was suprisingly difficult to paint on concrete as it was very worn, bumpy and full of tiny holes. But heres the end result. Im not 100% happy, artists never are I suppose, but my Dad seems to be so good enough for me! }}

That's pretty cool looking. I couldn't quite read the name plate - was it "cinderella" something?

{{ No, it is hard to read, it says Campbell & McVicar. (My Dad is Campbell an dhis partner McVicar). And once the paint has totally dried tomorrow the sign with the swan on it will have The Swan written on it, as it seemed to me once I'd cleaned it up to be a couintry inn. }}

Are there still thatched huts anywhere? I believe you'd have to keep a smoky fire going just to keep the bugs down.

{{ Still get them in the country here, crofters houses are often still thatched, and in some quant english villages you have to have one by law if the building is over a certain age and has always had one.

Heres todays ornament, not quite finished yet, hopefully tomorrow. }}

does a little bit of 'you' go into the painting ? I mean, if you wished you had a blue door to your house do you paint a blue door with or without thinking about it ?

{{ Sometimes but not in this case, it was more led by the colours. I knew the roof was going to be a reddish olour to go with the mushroom roof feel, and I'd already decided to make the walls yellow, as the brown woood over it would work well. So I needed colour for the door, green would have clashed too much I think and i knew there was goin got be alo of green all round the house or grass, so I opted for blue to compliment the yellow and break up the green. }}

kewl, are they made from concrete? concrete tends to crumble after a bit and that could be why it has holes in it. You could try a layer of filler, that should give a smoother surface. You might need to give it a spray with something like a fixing spray otherwise the paint will fade after a few raining sessions, which in Scotland is probably every day. But clear varnish might do the trick. You might want to wait until it is safe to go to the shops though, so ignore what I just said.

I am really into restoration because I used to restore paintings for a living.

{{ Yeah they are concrete, solid concrete, weigh a bloody ton, have to move them on a trolley thing! The paint (its acrylic) claims to be waterproof when dry, not sure that Scottish water proof mind you I was thinking of giving it a varnish at some point when its possible. }}

The colors do seem to follow a certain inevitable logic. But you have to have the type of mind to see it.

I always love hearing artists talk about their craft - for true artists have to be craftsmen first. The big idea is still there, but it's 90% cobbling and sanding and stretching and scraping to backstop that vision. Just like any other trade - the kick into goal, the solo melody, the final calculation, the harvest is all the tip of a mountain of work.

{{ Another ramble. Unfortunately the middle section I had to cut completely, there was a painted rock I talked about and gave the history of, but was too windy and you cant hear a thing, sorry. }}

Not much traffic, either foot or wheeled.

{{ We're still in Lockdown. Moving to stage 1 of lifting it, very limited lifting, from Thursday if the numbers hold. }}

Things getting back to normal here. Was good to have a pint and a meal at the pub yesterday.

Interesting - I know of two covid tracking sites, neither one even lists Australia!

Ive been taking snaps of the wild flowers growing here for the 1st time in the 10 yrs Ive lived here. The council zip round on their grass cutters as soon as the grass gets half a millimetre to long so we never get to see whats growing here, until now, with this pandemic.

Very nice

https://www.facebook.com/171330336238674/videos/588866675384668/

This is scary !!! "Unbelievable footage of a huge mudslide that occurred in Alta, Norway yesterday. You can actually see entire houses dragged into the sea!! No reported injuries."

chris63 wrote:Things getting back to normal here. Was good to have a pint and a meal at the pub yesterday.

So glad you are all ok Chris. I think you are lucky to live in Oz , it seems you have had a responsible government like in New Zealand. Lets hope there is a vaccine soon and we can all try to forget this terrible year.