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As you can see from above http://tinyurl.com/pv9tge is actually safe and simply takes you to one of my previous blog postings. But at least by using this feature for any tinyurl.com urls you get you have the opportunity to decide for yourself.

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We spent most of the afternoon today walking around St Ives. On the way back to the car we decided to take a break to take in the views from the cliffs above the beach. Whilst sitting and enjoying the sea crashing on the beach I noticed an old gentleman sat doing the same as us. He looked a little sad though as he sat there dosing off every now and then. Just then a Seagul flew down and rested on the railings just in front of him. After a few seconds the man shuffled quickly inside his trouser pockets and after a bit of a struggle he eventually revealed one of those cheap disposable cameras. He then tried to frame a picture of the gul, but by the time he had taken control of the camera the bird flew away. Over the next 30 minutes or so I continued to watch the man as he fumbled to take two more pictures of resting Guls on the Railings.

I wondered if this was now the old man's daily routine, spending the hours wandering and resting around the streets of St Ives trying to take pictures of the local wildlife, whilst sneaking in a quick nap here and there. This got me thinking; if only he had a digital camera and even a photo printer how easier this task might be for him. He wouldn't have to worry about wasting film and could take hundreds of shots on the hope that just one would capture the subject as intended. Having the small photo printer may also work out cheaper allowing him just to print out the best shots without the worry of having to pay for developing the whole film roll.

The problem with this scenario though is that even if the old man had a digital camera and printer he probably would not be able to use it. It makes me wonder just how much easier the lives of our grandparents would be if we could spare a few hours to show them how to use technology and help build their confidence in using it?

The above photo was snapped using my iPhone.

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I wonder if the creators of Emergency Room, or as it is better known ER, ever believed back in 1994 when it first aired that they would still be going strong 14 series and over 300 episodes later. I can still remember how amazed I was when I first watched ER at 9pm every Thursday night, every episode provided this feeling of a movie production and not a TV episode. It was certainly great for 1994, and now 14 years later it still holds it own. I only actually ever watched the first 4 or 5 series and recently thought it would be great to catch up on the series missed. However we decided not just to watch the missed series but actually start from the beginning again and work our way through all 14 series. So far we have managed to watch the ER Series 1 DVD Box Set and enjoyed it just as much as I did in 1994. The bizarre thing is that it could have been made last year, it hasn't dated and the production is just as good if not better than tv shows being produced today. If you are looking for something great to watch, get yourself a copy of the original ER series. Next up for us is series 2 :).

Is this a man on this photograph taken by the Mars spirit rover? Check out this and over photographs posted on Tech Republic.

As promised in an earlier post last month I've posted some photographs taken at the 2007 Reunion Concert held in benefit for the John Eastwood Hospice. Only half of the pictures have been posted here, the rest can be viewed on my flickr account.

Back in June last year I spent time working away in Madrid, Spain. I managed to find a few hours to walk around the centre of Madrid visiting the famous landmarks such as the Santiago Football Stadium (Estadio Santiago). I've sorted through the pictures and picked out 30 for a photo album on my site for you to view. Don't forget if you have any comments please feel free to leave them using the comments link below. To view the Madrid 2007 album click on the image above or on the link below:

Madrid Photo Album

[FruitBat]

For those of you who know me I've been looking to change my Chrysler Neon for something more environmentally friendly and with cheaper running costs now for some time but have yet to make up my mind. I so wish I could get my hands on the new 100% electric, 0-60MPH in under 4 seconds Tesla Roadster. This car looks awesome, has a 220 miles range and a 135 mpg equivalent, it also comes with a top speed of 125mph. This car definitely marks the return of the electric car. The only problem for me is it's only available in the US for now and comes with a $98,000 price tag. Oh well! Check out the Tesla Roadster at http://www.teslamotors.com

[ReunionConcert]

I've just posted a new photo album of pictures taken during a recent business visit to Copenhagen, Denmark. It was a short last minute visit I took just before taking my holiday in Cornwall. Copenhagen is a beautiful city but unfortunately I didn't have much time to explore. To see the full photo album click here.

It's still raining...I guess it looks like I'm going to get my third book read this week. My next book is The Google Story by David A. Vise! Watch out for my posting letting you know what I thought of it.

Two books in one week (four days to be exact) that must be a personal record! It's been a few years since Scott Kelby wrote and published this book and some of it is a little dated now. That said the book is still a great read for any Mac fans out there. The book explains the truth around being a Mac user in a PC centric world. Being a mac user now myself after switching a number of years ago I can really appreciate the amusing stories told in this book. I've even experienced some of the situations first hand. It's really interesting to read now and see just how things have changed with Apple and the Macintosh since the book was published.

In my view this is a great and very entertaining book especially if like me you have realised what its all about being a Mac user. You can get your own copy of the bok by clicking on one of the following links. Click here to find Macintosh...The Naked Truth on amazon.co.uk.

As mentioned in my last post the weather during our stay in Cornwall has not been the best so unfortunately I've not been able to take as many photographs as I had hoped and planned to. The only pictures I've managed to take have been of our current neighbours, a heard of cows and some distant shots of surfers on Fistral Beach in Newquay. I need to check how the surfer pictures have turned out and whether or not they are worth posting, but for now here are the pictures of the neighbourhood cows! You can also few some of my previous postings of images taken in Cornwall during 2003 and some others taken in 2005.

As I've previously mentioned one of our favourite places is Cornwall in the South West of the United Kingdom. One day we hope to be in a position to move and make a life down here. We are currently spending some time in a place called Lelant just a few miles from St Ives. We are staying in a small peaceful and relaxing cottage off the beaten track at Trevethoe Farm. We've been visiting Trevethoe farm for a few years now and can recommend it to anyone who wants some time away from the hustle and bustle of working life today. It's the perfect place to escape to. The weather hasn't been fantastic during this stay but we have definately recharged our batteries and caught up on our reading and podcasts :).

I've had Steve Wozniak's autobiography on the bookshelf since it was released late in 2006 but have just got around to reading it. Once started though I couldn't put it down and finished it in just a few days. If you know me you will know this is fast going for a book as I'm generally a slow reader. I like to read every word and take them all in.

The book is great and takes you back to Steve's childhood and how he got interested in electronics and then later computers. The book goes into Woz's obsession with creating circuits with as few components as possible, which proved to be one of the many reasons why the first personal computer, designed and built by Steve was so successful. The book goes on describing how Apple Computers was born and became an overnight success. Importantly and interestingly, Steve rights a number of truths which prior the publishing of this book were documented in every book, movie, web site relating to the history of Apple.

Finally Woz explains what took place after he left Apple, starting his own company developing universal remote controls, organising festivals and how he started teaching. In my opinion this book is a must read for anyone interested in the history of the home computer and/or Apple computers. You can get your own copy of iWoz by clicking here.

In this latest post I thought I would share a recipe for raspberry breakfast muffins we got from the Britsh Heart Foundation. The movie shows how to make 9 tasty wholemeal muffins. In addition to the video instructing how to make them I've also include the full recipe here.

[Muffin.mov]

This post is the second video taken from my recent visit to Moscow. This time the footage is taken around and about the Moscow Kremlin. To watch the movie click here.

[kremlin.mov]

Yes I'm now listed in the Podcast Section on iTunes. Click here to Launch iTunes and take a look at my page. Please post me some reviews! Oh and if you haven't already subscribed then you can do so from within iTunes. All my videos are will play on your Video iPod.

As mentioned in my last post I took some video footage during my visit to Moscow on my Sony digital still camera. I've taken some of this footage, taken whilst wandering around Red Square and edited it into a short movie. I also have some more footage to edit and post in the future. For now though click here to see Red Square on a Saturday afternoon in February 2007.

[redsquare.mov]

Earlier this year I was given a unique opportunity to work in Moscow, Russia. During my visit as well as meeting some great work colleagues I was able to spend some time in the city visiting the likes of Red Square and the Kremlin. My hotel, The Renaissance was situated next to the Moscow Olympic Stadium erected for the 1980 games.

The city was not what I had expected, it was much more and is definitely a place I hope to spend more time getting to know in the future. The locals I met where friendly and very interesting and I was lucky not to have experienced many language problems. It's weird but having visited Russia the world almost feels smaller now. If you ever get such an opportunity to visit Moscow I would tell you to jump at it, everything about it is interesting from its history, the people, the architecture, it's culture and the treasures such as the Fabergé Eggs found in the Kremlin.

The weather was cold, it averaged around -10 degrees Celsius, but dropped as low as -27 according to the local news, we also experienced 20 cm of snow fall on some days. As well as the 50 plus photographs which I've posted tonight I also took some video footage using my Sony digital still camera. depending on how this turns out when edited I hope to post this in the next week or so. Until them you can click here or on the photograph above to view my Moscow photo album.

As I discussed back in October I was, in addition to the name change, planning changes to the look and feel of the site. I've finally made time to do this and as you can see have now updated the look and feel. Now the cosmetic changes are in place my next commitment will be to increase both quality and quantity of content.

Comments

I'm hoping and wanting you to comment more on the new site so that I can understand what you like and don't like. Use your name or post anonymously I don't mind I just need your feedback. Please leave comments.

I was talking to a colleague last week and trying to explain about why we like to go up to the lakes so much. I thought I'd got some pictures on my web site to show him but I was wrong. Therefore I decided to sort some old pictures of the lakes out and post them. Well here they are. I'm not totally sure what year they where taken but I do know that they are of Wasdale Water and the surrounding area. The white building in some of the pictures is Wasdale Head Inn, a great place to stay if you want to visit the lakes. I hope you enjoy these photographs for now, we have many more of Wasdale and other places up in the lakes. One day I will get around to posting them too.

I'm often asked what Linux distribution is the best. If I'm honest this is actually a difficult question to answer. For personal use I use OpenSuSE , at work I use Novell SuSE Linux Enterprise Server and Red Hat Advanced Server. It all depends on what experience you have and what you need to get out of your operating system. I recently came across this interactive web site which by asking you a number of questions aims to choose the right distribution for you. The Linux Distribution Chooser can be found at www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/. I can't guarantee it will pick the right distribution for you but it's a great starting point if you have no idea. FYI, my main operating system of choice is Mac OS X.

I recently decided to have a bit of a clear out as over the years I've managed to stock pile a number of computer related books. Many of these are now surplus to requirements but it seems a shame just to send them to landfill. Therefore I've offered to give them to anyone who wants them. Therefore if you are interested in any of the following books simply get in touch with me using the contact form. We can then discuss how to get the books to you, I'm prepared to post if necessary as long as you are happy to pay and postage and packaging costs.

During December last year, it seems so long ago now, we spent 15 days on a road trip visiting the states of California, Nevada & Phoenix in the U.S.A. In all we travelled over 2000 miles from a few feet below sea level to elevations around 8000-9000 feet. Our trip started by driving from our home down to London where we boarded our flight to Los Angeles. We picked up our vehicle at LAX and drove a short distance to our first hotel in Newport beach. It doesn't look much like what you watch on the TV show 'The O.C.'

As promised I've edited and posted the footage taken from the Helicopter Flight I took from Monaco to Nice Airport. Filmed using my Sony Digital Still camera the results are better than I had expected, but check the movie out for yourself. Believe it or not but in Monaco it's just as cost effective to take the Helicopter to the Airport than it is to use a normal Taxi. More fun and takes less time though :).

[MonacoTaxi.mov]

Earlier this year in September I spent some time in Monaco whilst attending a job interview and providing an overview of Linux to some of my work colleagues in the Monaco office . Luckily I remembered to take one of my cameras with me and managed to get some snaps. Unfortunately I arrived after days of storms and the weather wasn't the best and for the most part was very cloudy. I've added the photographs to the site, and if you wish you can click here to view the slideshow now. Whilst on in Monaco I also took some video of an helicopter flight between Monaco and Nice airport. Depending on how it turns out once edited I will most likely post this too.

My latest addition to my iPod collection arrived today, the new iPod Shuffle. Can you believe how small it is. As a whole I'm generally pleased with my purchase, however I do have one problem with the new Shuffle. Unfortunately it doesn't facilitate the same connector standard on all my other iPods meaning I can't share a cable and therefore requiring a non-existent free USB port. Looks like I'm going to have to do some unplugging and swapping around of cables each time I want to update tracks or charge.

As I mentioned in my last post you should start to see some changes around here. Yesterday my web design site was decommissioned and I've decided to keep the domains registered and use them for this site. Don't worry I still intend to use the current domains, it just means that over the next 24-48 hours you will be able to visit this site using any of the following:

challengelogic.net
challengelogic.co.uk
brentvardy.com
brentvardy.co.uk

I do however have plans to update the site's look and feel and totally re-brand it as Challenge Logic. This won't happen over night, but expect to visit sometime in the future, only to find a totally new and hopefully better site. Not only will the site be re-branded but also expect to see enhancements, new sections and much more content.

Sorry all, I'm still waiting for the universal version of FCE so still no movies to post but here's some more photographs. My latest photo album contains 37 photographs taken during our break earlier this year to Southern Spain. Pictures include the award winning Benalmadnea and Puerto Banus marinas where you can literally see £Millions worth of ocean going yachts and boats. To enjoy the slideshow click here.

Well the plan was to use the extra day off this weekend to get finished all that stuff I've been putting off for the last few weeks. That all went out the window when we put on an epsiode of Alias Season 3 to watch whilst having a snack at lunchtime. Almost four and a half hours (7 episodes) later we finished the series. Looks like I need to order Series 4 now!

Someone on one of the Podcasts I've been listening to lately mentioned a book written by the creator of folklore.org, Andy Hertzfeld. Revolution In The Valley: The Insanely Great Story of How the Mac Was Made tells the story of the early days at Apple. For many years now Andy as been collecting and publishing on folklore.org numerous anecdotes about the development of Apple's original computer, and the people who created it. As well as from Andy himself these great 'stories' come from characters such as Steve jobs, Steve Wozniak, Burrell Smith, Bud Tribble, Jef Raskin and many more of the amazing people who worked at Apple in the early years. Brought together in this book all these amazing snippets are used to plot the history and tell the story, from the people who were there when it happened, of how the Mac was made. I'm only about half way through so far but am finding it a great book, and recommend it to anyone interested in the Apple or history of technology. Click on the picture of the cover art for more details.

More Photographs added this week, this time from Canada. These latest pictures were taken during the SARS outbreak in April/May 2003 which fortunately didn't really effect our visit. Day to day life seemed to be as usual despite the outbreak and everyone we met were very open and friendly, they could chat and wanted to for hours! The trip got us thinking that may be we'd like to move out and live in Canada later in our lives if we had the opportunity. It really is a great way of life and as I mentioned above the locals are great. Most of the photographs with exception of the tram were taken of the Niagara Falls and town. The tram was taken in downtown Toronto on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Click here to watch the slideshow now.

As promised I'm continuing to sort through my many photographs taken over the years, and once in order post as online photo albums here on my site for anyone to see and comment on. My latest album posted earlier today consists of pictures taken whilst on holiday in the Maldives November 2003. We visited the Island of Meeru which is situated in the same Atoll as Male. We had hoped to, and had booked to visit Meeru again in January 2005 but unfortunately the Tsunami Disaster prevented this. We will definitely be visiting the Maldives again, to me it is one of if not my favourite holiday destination so far.

To view my photographs from the Maldives click here.

That's right today, April Fools Day, is Apple's 30th Birthday. Started in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak Apple as fought through rough times to continue to bring us, in my view, the best Personal Computer to date. Congratulations!!

I was hoping that there would be some announcement of some great new product, like a full screen iPod Video, or new Intel iBook, but it's now looking like we are going to have to wait until later in the year. The other rumor roaming the blogs which I was also hoping was true was that Apple would announce major discounts for today only when buying a new Apple product from any of their stores. My car keys and credit card were on stand by for a quick trip to our local Apple Store in Meadowhall for new laptop :).

I've been hanging my nose over one of these since they were released, just a week or so after I'd purchased my nano. Then today we visited Meadowhall in Sheffield and guess what? There is now an Apple Store there so I was convinced to purchase the Video iPod. It is great and hopefully will help me use my time better. I can now watch those many Video Podcasts I subscribe to whilst on my lunch break at work, whilst traveling and just about anywhere. having only played around with it for a few minutes so far I'm very impressed with the quality and just how watch-able the small screen is. My only concern is that all the video podcasts I subscribe to use codecs which are compatible and will play back ok on the video ipod.

Part 4 in a series of videos taken during a weekend break to Paris in August 2000.  This video concentrates on the Eiffel Tower and views shot whilst at the top. The video runs for just over 4 minutes and was shot in widescreen using a Sony TRV-110 camcorder. To watch the video click here. The other three videos in this series are Skaters, Paris @ Night and Paris By Day.

[Eiffel.mov]

This video is the third video blog posted from our trip to France in 2000. This time we take a look at the sites of Paris during a hot summer day. To view the video click here. The other two videos from this series are Skaters and Paris @ Night.

[ParisByDay.mov]

This latest post is my first attempt at stop motion animation. For the characters in this very short (41 seconds) video I choose to use some Lego figures, two policemen and a fireman. The result I feel are acceptable as a starting point but I'm not totally happy with the walk animation which I hope to improve in my future attempts. As usual to check out the video click here.

[testanim.mov]

Here's the second vlog from our trip to Paris almost six years ago. In this movie you get a brief look at the Louvre, the River Boats, a bridge over the Seine and a brightly lighted Eiffel Tower in the distance complete with search lights. All this taken during a warm and dry night. Click here to watch Paris @ Night now.

[ParisAtNight.mov]

This movie is the first in what I hope will be multiple video blogs produced from the footage taken during our weekend break to Paris during the August Bank Holiday in 2000. This video blog, featuring music from John Holowach, shows French rollerbladers skating their home-made obstacle course whilst waiting for the rain to stop. Click here to watch the video.

[Skaters.mov]

To complete my posts of content taken from our trip to Tunisia in 2000 I've managed to get some photographs taken on a Pentax 35mm camera converted to an electronic format. The images follow our camel ride to visit the troglodyes who still live in caves on the edge of the Sahara Desert and then the amazing ruins of El Djem. The videos posted over the last month or so covering footage from this trip are also available in my video archive. To view the Tunisia photographs click here now. Enjoy!!

Another set of photographs, this time taken in London on a cloudy Saturday morning at the end of May 2004. Most of the pictures were taken from the top of the London Eye. So if you want to see what a cloudy and cold London looks like click here.

As a foot note, depending on how my assessment goes later today, I may be ok to go back to work soon. This means less posts I'm afraid. I'm actually hoping 'Friday the 13th' is a good sign, and that my physiotherapy is going well. :)

Apple announced the intel path last year and now it's reality. Apple have just announced the new MacBook Pro. Up to 4 times quicker than the current G4 PowerBooks the new Apple laptop is powered by an Intel dual-core processor. Like the latest iMacs the MacBook Pro also comes complete with built in iSight. Costing from £1429 inc VAT here in the UK, it starts shipping in February providing you place your order now. Looks like I need to start saving.

Heres another video edited from the footage taken in October 2000 whilst visiting Tunisia. This time the video shows the impressive ruins of the 3rd largest colosseum in the world. Built by the Romans but not in Rome, El Djem is probably the best example of the glorious Roman Empire outside of Rome. I think I also have some photographs of the ruins taken on a Pentax 35mm film camera somewhere. If I manage to find them and have time to convert them to a digital format I'll post them as an album. Click here to view El Djem or here to view my other video shot in Tunisia, Camel Convoy.

[ElDjem.mov]

I've now created a new RSS (XML) feed with feedburner using enclosures so that the video content can now be viewed correctly using RSS aggregators like FireANT. FireANT is a RSS video aggregator and media player which allows you to subscribe to any RSS 2.0 channel and automatically download fresh media content to watch and listen to. iTunes can also be used to do exactly the same as FireANT by adding my feed as a podcast subscription. My new feed URL is http://feeds.feedburner.com/brentvardy. If you already subscribe using my old feed please re subscribe using the new Feedburner feed.

Well not exactly, but it was inspired by the successful documentary, 'March of the Penguins', released last year. Obviously Morgan Freeman wasn't available for my movie's narration, so I had to do without. The backdrops are just as dramatic though, and the acting... well what can I say :). Anyway click here to see for yourself what all the fuss is about.

[Penguin.mov]

During our tour of Sri-Lanka in November 2000 we were able to spend a full day with the elephants at the world famous elephant orphanage at Pinnawela. These photographs were taken using a small point and shoot 1.3 megapixel camera. However we also took a number of photographs with a standard 35mm which I also hope to add to this album at some later date when I get them converted to a digital format. To view the Pinnawela album so far click here. I will make further posts to notify you when I update this album with images taken on the 35mm camera.

I was just sorting through my inbox and came across a joke I was sent some weeks ago, that I found quite funny. So I thought I'd share it with you all. I'm unable to credit the author as I have no idea who they are.

The next photo album I've published online contains more photographs taken last year in Barbados. This time they are images taken whilst diving on a shallow wreck just off the beach in Bridgetown. These snaps were taken using my Sony DSC-P8 digital camera with a 40 m underwater housing. I hope you find the world of the oceans as interesting as I do. Click here to view the slideshow.

I'm still sorting through my many photographs taken over the years looking for snaps to publish online. This time I've added 20 pictures taken whilst in the Caribbean on Barbados during January last year. To watch the slideshow click here or on the thumbnail above. I also have some video footage taken in Barbados which I will edit and publish online at some point in the future.

Interesting short movie I shot of some Golden Conures at a Wildlife Sanctuary. The birds were extremely intrigued, especially when I switched the viewfinder so they were able to see themselves. Click here to watch the Conures meet the camera.

[conures.mov]

I've managed to finish editing the footage taken in our recent trip to Cornwall. With a running time of almost 10 minutes it is quite a large download at 43Mb. That said I still I hope you feel it worth the download. So please enjoy my first official Video Blog. To view the video click on the thumbnail above left or if you don't see an image to click then click here.

[stivesxmas2005.mov]

I've managed to download some of the photographs we took whilst in Cornwall over the Christmas break and published them as an album on the site. Click here or on the photo above to view. Hope you enjoy them, I'm going to make a start editing the video footage I recorded and hopefully publish a video blog of the trip by the new year.

We got back from our Christmas break in St Ives, Cornwall where we have had lovely glorious sunhine albeit it very cold only to be greeted by wintery snows. The photograph to the left here shows the view from my house at about 08:30 this morning. Anyway I digress, my main reason for this post was to simply wish you all a Happy Christmas and all the best for 2006. I would also like to thank everyone who sent us gifts and cards. They were great thanks, we finally only got around to opening them late last night. If I feel up to it later I'm going to try and publish at least the photos taken in St Ives and try to make a start editing the footage ready to be post.

Finally I've posted some content to the video archive. It's nothing spectacular and definately won't win any oscars. Camel Convoy is a short film edited from footage taken on a trip to Tunisia in October 2000. I've not taken much care or time editing it so it's a little raw, the main purpose was to get something edited so that I could practice getting the compression mastered for web publishing. I think I've got the compression about right and hope the movie should play just as well on Windows machines as it does on my Mac. Let me know if you have any issues with playback. The quicktime movie is 5.3mb and runs for just 1 minute 52 seconds. Click on the thumbnail above or here to view Camel Convoy.

[camelconvoy.mov]

Once again hope you all have a great christmas, and all the best for the new year.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

Having only spent the morning at the Expo we decided to check out London's Apple Store. I was very impressed and spent most of the afternoon there. I purchased a case for my ipod nano and an iSight.