Saturday, April 17, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Allotment Update 11th April 2010
via youtube.com
Trying to catch up with work on the allotment after not being able to do much with a bad back. Wrong time of the year to have to neglect things, just as temperatures rise and everything (especially the weeds) starts to grow.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Friday, April 09, 2010
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
Social Media Picnic 25th June 2010
Arrangements for this years gathering at George Orwell's grave are well underway. Details of this years and past gatherings can be found here on @documentally 's posterous, or on his other site Ourmaninside.com.
If you need directions the postcode is OX14 4AE, map via google maps, the nearest railway station appears to be Didcot Parkway, and a Thames Travel No 32 bus will get you within walking distance (try http://www.transportdirect.info for a personalised journey plan).
There has been quite a lot of interest in this years gathering including national press coverage, so if you are interested in attending please leave a comment either here (I will pass them on to @documentally) or on one of the other two blog posts above.
I am also intending to arrange other social media "picnics" later this year. I have ideas for one in the New Forest, one at a castle and also a campfire gathering and camping trip. Also one in Paris. One or none of these stand a chance of happening. These will be local to me (except obviously Paris), and will post details here as and when I have it. I'd like to know what people think, would you have a preference for one of these. Do you need more details?
I set this site up with a view to anyone publicising their own social media picnics, so if you would like to arrange your own gathering and use this site to tell people about it, please let me know and I can give you access to the site or post the details for you.
Monday, April 05, 2010
Anticipation
Two years ago we had Goldfinches nesting in the cherry tree in our garden. Last year there were Dunnocks nesting in the hedge. This year, prior to our holiday it looked like we were going to have Blue tits nesting in one of our nest boxes.
Since we returned from holiday however it seems as though the Blue tits have found a nest site elsewhere. I see them nearly daily carrying bits of nesting material across the garden, occasionally stopping in our birch tree for a respite. Either they were spoilt for choice or disturbed and decided not to use one of nesting boxes.
Now it would appear it is the turn of the Great tits. They have been looking over the last couple of days at both one of the single boxes and also the sparrow "multi-box". They keep looking, pecking around the box hole and going inside. They aren't building, just viewing. After all as anyone will tell you choosing a home is a big step!
I sometimes think our garden is a little small for nest boxes. They are quite low, ideally above six feet is good, and our garden is quite enclosed. We are though normally cat and magpie free (we have a dog who takes care of both of those aspects), and have excellent facilities, incl. all you can eat and drink buffet.
We'll see what happens. In the meantime, anticipation is the order of the day.
Thursday, April 01, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Coyote Leaving Hallett Sanctuary In Central Park
via youtube.com
I am an advocate of urban wildlife. We are guilty of pressing "our" lives into those of the wildlife that was here a long time before we were, and wonder why that wildlife is now being forced to interact with us sometimes to our detriment but mostly to theirs.
More on this urban coyote in Central Park NYC can be found at http://urbanhawks.blogs.com
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Heavy Rain - A Short Review (May Contain Spoilers)
You will have probably seen the tv adverts for this game, there have been a few different ones. I was given a copy for my birthday and this is my review.
Eurogamer has said that this game will be "unlike anything you'll play this year", and it is certainly different. The game requires you play as one of four different player characters and to try and track down the "oragami killer" before he strikes again. You play as the dad of one of the victims, a private detective, a journalist and an FBI agent. You don't choose who you play as this is determined as the game unfolds. Your actions determine what happens next and all the characters are vulnerable, meaning the game can take any turn at any time.
You take actions by using the controls in a set sequence given for you on screen depending on what it is you are trying to do at the time, from the mundane (using the toilet) to the more complicated (hand-to-hand combat with the killer).
The game is good, the graphics are excellent and the story well thought through and scripted. My only critism is the amount of game play, from start to finish (including successfully identifying the oragami killer and rescuing a child) took me about 20 hours of play. I was expecting more given the number of characters. Given the cost of games nowadays this is becoming more important as a consideration.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Bluefin tuna fails to make UN protected list
This is perhaps not surprising nor are the countries who opposed the proposal
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/mar/18/bluefin-tuna-un-cites
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/mar/18/bluefin-tuna-un-cites
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Planting Early Potatoes
via youtube.com
This is an edited version of a video that I uploaded earlier. YouTube were concerned that the audio content over the speeded up sections infringed copyright, so this has been removed. You can of course still hum a tune through these parts yourself.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Monday, March 08, 2010
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Saturday, March 06, 2010
Seeds Sown
Have sown my carrots, beetroot, parsnip and spring onion today.
Beetroot seed (above)
Parsnip seed (above)
The four rows of seed L-R carrot, beetroot, parsnip, and spring onion (above)
Job done, time for coffee (above).
Thursday, March 04, 2010
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
A Social Media Picnic?
In the last couple of years @documentally on twitter has been instrumental in organising a gathering at the site of George Orwell's (Eric Arthur Blair's) grave in Oxfordshire. I asked today if there were any plans for something this year, to which the answer was a yes, and a link to this page www.socialmediapicnic.com.
Having read the post, I have to say I agree. I love the outdoors. I blog/video blog. I use twitter. I could go on, but there is an attraction to me in trying to combine some of these and share with others who have similar interests.
Hence this blog. I'm not sure where this will go but I am happy to organise a gathering - A Social Media Picnic, and there is of course a birthday gathering, coming up. If you would like to organise something and use this site to promote it then please let me know, via email [tontowilliams[at]gmail[dot]com], or twitter. If you would like to contribute to this site, to organise or promote a gathering then likewise let me know, and I'll set you up.
So if you fancy a picnic, a guided hike, campfire gathering, bushcraft experience let me know.
Comments Turned Off
Due to high levels of spam comments, I have turned off comments for the time being.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Alien Vs. Predator - A Review (May Contain Minor Spoilers)
I picked up my eagerly awaited copy of AvP on Friday (for PS3), and so far I reckon to have had about seven hours worth of game play. In this game you will get killed a lot unless you play on the lowest skill level (Easy). I've been playing on Hard, the highest level where there are still checkpoints within the level. Next level up, Nightmare (the highest) is well named (no checkpoints, get killed and you're back to the start of the level).
If you've seen any of the AvP films or Aliens you get the general idea of what is going to happen. The opening sequence, with I think Lance Henrikson (Wayland / Bishop) of the films playing in character is a nice touch.
The theory is you can play as either a colonial marine "rookie" or as a predator or as an alien. So far I have only played as a marine and a predator. Each time you commence with a new character there is an intro for you to get used to the controls, which you are gonna need because other than the basic move / look the controls differ for each character, which is really confusing, and takes some getting used to. It would probably work best to play as a marine and complete the story and then predator and then alien. Be warned if you switch between characters at an point other than at level completion you will loose any saved check-points and next time you will have to start the whole level over again (the instructions don't tell you this).
I've seen mixed reviews elsewhere of the game and I can see why. The controls are the biggest let down. Not just for the differences between characters, but they seem quite unresponsive at times with a noticeable lag between pressing a button and the character taking the appropriate action. Once you are used to this however you soon become able to anticipate what you need ahead of time. Otherwise as a first person shooter it's an awesome gore fest. Having completed the first two levels of marine (looks like there are six in all so potentially 18 levels in total across marine, predator and alien), it's been marine vs. alien (and face-huggers), although at the start of level three there is a glimpse of a predator. On predator levels it's straight into predator vs. marine and predator vs. alien.
Tips (marine):
- Make sure you look around, stim packs (for restoring health), and new weapons and ammunition are well hidden at times.
- Don't shoot aliens at close range (you'll get covered in acid splash), use melee and rapid fire weapons to kill at distance.
- Try and get face-huggers before they emerge from eggs (easier to see and kill).
- Don't stand still for too long. Move, regroup, reload.
Lock and load.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Sunday, February 07, 2010
Following the success of last weekends Big Garden Birdwatch which provided more birds to record than it ever has in the last two years of recording from this garden, we've now signed up to the British Trust for Ornithology's Garden Birdwatch scheme. This means we will now be recording our garden birds on a more regular basis, every week. As the weeks run on a Sunday to Saturday format, and we can record online we've started this week, so our first entries will be made next weekend.
I'm not expecting huge numbers or lots of new birds, but it will be nice to have a regular view of our garden birds across the year.
Monday, February 01, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Saturday, January 09, 2010
Snow Day Walk, Talk and Rant
Cut together videos from my dog walk this morning, looking back over the snowy events of this last week. Apologies for the jumpy nature in places, but struggled to edit down under ten minutes (YouTube's limit).
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
Monday, December 28, 2009
Resolutions
So. That's it. Christmas. Been. Gone. For 2009.
That just leaves New Year. We will more than likely end up doing what we do most years. We don't party, we watch dvds. Normally two in particular, probably the same two we watch every year. That is if we can keep our eyes open long enough, if not we work out which New Year to celebrate (Greek New Year is normally good), and head off to bed. Only to be woken by our New Year as everyone sets off fireworks (except for us, coz we've gone to bed).That leaves the tradition of setting New Years resolutions. Normally I don't bother because I normally always forget them within 48 hours and end up breaking them. Plus they are normally always the same resolutions recycled each year - loose weight, blog more, get fitter etc.
This last year I did however make one resolution, and I have stuck to it throughout the year. We have too many books. Now although you can never have too many books, because books are good, storing too many books is always a hassle. This last year I resolved that I would only buy a new book if I had read one. This has worked very well, and I've stuck to it. It did however mean that I mostly only read the books that I bought during the year and not all those that are sitting unread on my bookshelf (and are still there).
So for 2010 I am going to continue with this resolution, and modify it slightly. For 2010 I can only buy a new book, if I have read a book and it was one that was in the house at the start of the year. I feel this will be tough, so we'll see how it goes. In the unlikely event that I read all of the books that were in the house (unread) at the start of the year, then I'll revert to the old version of the resolution.
I also intend to have the loose weight / get fitter resolution. I'm too heavy, probably unhealthily so. This is not good, and I really do need to do something about it. Now I'm not about to go joining a gym - aside from the expense I don't really have the time due to work commitments, but there are many positive things I can do, and I shall be trying.
I will also be trying to do something about my job, but I'm not sure what. I don't know if that means get a different job or simply approach the one I've got in a different way. I need to work that out. There are obviously dream jobs (indulging my love of nature), but I think I need to at least be a little realistic.
Finally I shall try and blog. Note I didn't say more.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Ghost Raptor
When I was out walking the dog yesterday I caught a glimpse of a raptor.
My best guess would be a buzzard or a red kite, but at the distance that I was from what I sure I couldn't tell. I did see the tree in which it had landed in so I made my way around to beneath that tree. When I got there it was gone. I can only assume that it had flown away when I was concentrating on the pathway, which was a little slippery as a result of the snow.
I didn't see the bird, but I did realise that I could do that all day long - beats being in an office any day.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Non-Allotment Update
Too cold for a proper allotment update today, so instead I bring you a quick vid from the garden
Monday, December 14, 2009
There's No Point In Having A Tidy Garden.....
I know this because I spent a good proportion of yesterday sweeping up leaves, pruning rose bushes, weeding and generally tidying our back garden.
Now I know it's generally accepted that sweeping up fallen leaves is a thankless task, as the minute you turn your back more arrive like unwanted relatives, and no matter how hard you try there will always be three that evade the broom (it's never one or two or more than three - always three). With Christmas approaching however bringing with it some wanted relatives, it seemed prudent to at least have a go at the garden.
I was quite impressed with my days toil, there were still three leaves out there but the rest where safely loaded into the compost bin to slowly turn into plant food to put back into the garden in time. It looked tidier too. That was until the birds arrived today. Obviously impressed that things had been disturbed a bit they spent the entire day hunting for insects, disturbing the once zen-like state of the newly tidied garden. I do not begrudge them this at all, not one little bit - I just wish they tidied up behind themselves a bit.
Now I know it's generally accepted that sweeping up fallen leaves is a thankless task, as the minute you turn your back more arrive like unwanted relatives, and no matter how hard you try there will always be three that evade the broom (it's never one or two or more than three - always three). With Christmas approaching however bringing with it some wanted relatives, it seemed prudent to at least have a go at the garden.
I was quite impressed with my days toil, there were still three leaves out there but the rest where safely loaded into the compost bin to slowly turn into plant food to put back into the garden in time. It looked tidier too. That was until the birds arrived today. Obviously impressed that things had been disturbed a bit they spent the entire day hunting for insects, disturbing the once zen-like state of the newly tidied garden. I do not begrudge them this at all, not one little bit - I just wish they tidied up behind themselves a bit.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
Day Off
Have a day off from work today, mainly to try and do some Christmas shopping this afternoon. I shot the video below earlier this morning, and have just finished editing it.
At the moment I'm sitting in our conservatory looking out into the garden watching the garden birds, seem to be lots out their this morning - probably due to the colder weather. As it gets colder more come in to stock up more easily and not expend lots of energy when food is readily available in the garden. This comes with a certain responsibility as it means we need to continue to put out food as some birds will have come to rely on what's in our garden.
At the moment I'm sitting in our conservatory looking out into the garden watching the garden birds, seem to be lots out their this morning - probably due to the colder weather. As it gets colder more come in to stock up more easily and not expend lots of energy when food is readily available in the garden. This comes with a certain responsibility as it means we need to continue to put out food as some birds will have come to rely on what's in our garden.
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
The Muppets: Bohemian Rhapsody
This seems to be making appearance on lots of blogs so I thought I'd add it to mine too.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Allotment Update
Have had upload problems with this video, so have had to modify what I had originally intended to upload.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Allotment Update from Iphone
I wanted to test the video capabilities of my iphone for video allotment updates so here goes!
I found that the native files from my iphone are physically too large to upload to blogger, posterous or youtube, so I have edited and rendered via Premiere Elements to get the video below.
I found that the native files from my iphone are physically too large to upload to blogger, posterous or youtube, so I have edited and rendered via Premiere Elements to get the video below.
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Help Me Decorate!
I've got my very own room on 12seconds now. It's called, what else - Tonto's Wild Tales!
The cool people over at http://12seconds.tv have set it up so I can post my updates and link to Twitter, what I need now is some people to help me decorate it with videos of their own. So head over to my room, and leave me a video post answer to my first question. Not only can you leave me a video but you can help me run my allotment too!
If you don't have a 12seconds.tv account it's really fast to set one up, and you can even sign up with your Twitter username. Go on - you know you want to!
The cool people over at http://12seconds.tv have set it up so I can post my updates and link to Twitter, what I need now is some people to help me decorate it with videos of their own. So head over to my room, and leave me a video post answer to my first question. Not only can you leave me a video but you can help me run my allotment too!
If you don't have a 12seconds.tv account it's really fast to set one up, and you can even sign up with your Twitter username. Go on - you know you want to!
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Always Bring The Weather With You
It's November and yet the temperature is still regularly reaching 15 celcius during the day. It's supposed to be the first month of winter and it is unseasonably mild. It is more like a typical autumn that winter, wet and mild.
As a gardener and allotment holder it's normally good to have some rain, it means that I have to do less watering of plants. We've had so much however that it means the ground is nearly impossible to dig due to the wet conditions. If this keeps up I will need to cover the exposed ground during the week in order for me to be able to dig it over at the weekend. Although the forecast at the moment is for rain on the weekend too, so that probably won't happen it that prediction holds true.
Makes sense for me to have installed a second water-butt at the allotment last weekend, in between the showers. It should be filling up nicely this week!
As a gardener and allotment holder it's normally good to have some rain, it means that I have to do less watering of plants. We've had so much however that it means the ground is nearly impossible to dig due to the wet conditions. If this keeps up I will need to cover the exposed ground during the week in order for me to be able to dig it over at the weekend. Although the forecast at the moment is for rain on the weekend too, so that probably won't happen it that prediction holds true.
Makes sense for me to have installed a second water-butt at the allotment last weekend, in between the showers. It should be filling up nicely this week!
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Magnolia
It's been too wet to do an allotment video update this weekend. Instead I bring you the weird sight of our Magnolia tree with it's very alien looking seed pods. It is Halloween afterall!
With apologies for the shaky camera work.
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