ABOUT ME

I live in a camper van with a West Highland Terrier for company.
My passion is creating images but it is a work in progress.
I am always willing to share what knowledge I have and can be contacted through the comments on this post or e-mail ADRIAN
ALL IMAGES WILL ENLARGE WITH A LEFT CLICK

Tuesday 25 February 2014

GAS AND £’S. (25/02/14)

Sunshine and showers seem to be the order of things for today.

I took the van down to Aviemore as I needed a new 6kg propane bottle. It turned into a quest akin to the hunt for the Holy Grail. Neither campsite on the way into town had any. I got the usual…..” It’s winter, we don’t stock much gas in winter”……I get through a bottle every three weeks to a month in winter. In summer one will last from June till the end of September.

I stopped at Tesco for a few staples like a wine box and cigarettes. I did get milk, some fruit and veg as well. It’s a touch embarrassing taking booze and fags to the checkout without any healthy fodder. I needed bread but ‘The Sell All Store’ here does great bread, really solid bread.

I then wandered across the road to the butchers. He is not on the main road but in what was once the library. It’s sad that public lending libraries have been closed at such an alarming rate. I splashed out on venison steaks. They looked a bit small so he cut me a couple of thick ones from the fillet. It’s the only tender bit of the deer and I suspect they will test my teeth. £6.58p so not bad for two meals worth.

Down to the garage to diesel up and get gas. They had diesel but yet again no gas.

I was just pulling out of the filling station when I saw a Calor Gas delivery truck waiting at the Zebra Crossing. I half pulled out and flagged him down and asked where I could buy some. He said he had just delivered to Spean Valley Ironmongers. Great; they are just up the road and on a bit of an industrial estate. I went in and they had one six kilo bottle left. The camper carries two so I now have five weeks of gas. I also got a new retractable dog lead. I was gob smacked, it cost £35.99p. The old one bit the bullet about a month ago and was a sealed up one. This one is really posh and is held together with screws so should, having it’s innards accessible, see both dogs and myself out.

chaffinch   Male Chaffinch on the feeder. I shot a burst of it yesterday. I couldn’t find an align frames thingy in Photoshop. Sorry about this, even I find GIF files annoying.

chaffinch2This is much better.  MERSAD is younger and brighter than I am and I’m grateful . It’s still not perfect but it is slightly less annoying. Thank you Mersad. This just goes to show that there are kind folk in the world who will help an old man across the busy street that is Adobe.

I’m away to start my tea. Have fun.

41 comments:

  1. The alignment feature can be found in Photoshop under: Edit - Auto-Align Layers....
    Hope I could help.

    Mersad
    Mersad Donko Photography

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    1. Thanks Mersad. I'll have a look now. I thought there must be one.
      If I find it I'll swap the GIF.

      Many thanks.

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    2. Mersad it is a hundred percent better. I knew there was an auto align. I bet there is a manual one as well.
      Many thanks.

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    3. No problem. You're welcome! :)

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  2. Nobody has any gas, in Scotland..........................

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    1. Bob there is plenty about. I run on Calor cylinders. They just don't order any.

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  3. I hope those dogs appreciate all that money being spent on them Adrian, £37 would have bought another big chunk of that deer?

    That's the trouble with bird photography...the little blighters keep jumping around!

    Enjoy that steak and don't forget those poor little doggies!...[;o)

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    1. Trevor, the money was spent on me. I have had the reel in reel out lead jamming up for over a month. It is a real pain.
      I don't know when you saw the little GIF but I've half sorted it now thanks to Mersad.
      Veg is on and the dogs are asleep. When I get the venison out they will wake up and be in food mode.

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    2. The second version of the Chaffinch is much better.
      C'mon Adrian tell the truth...you're not being an old skinflint are you, and doctoring the bird food to make it taste horrible? That Chaffinch seems to be 'returning' food to the feeder!....[;o)

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    3. Trevor I was using the 1DS. it can only hold five shots in RAW. I didn't get the bit where it grabbed the seed. I'll never make a birder.
      Adobe software is powerful and I like it but having to jump about all over for features does tax the little grey cells.
      I like to record the highs and lows of life on the road. It has been pissing down and hellish windy since noon. It was only marginally better in the morning. Just to add to the joys of life the dogs are asking to go for their afternoon walk.
      Which bit of 'Stuff That for a Game of Soldiers' do they not understand.

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  4. Oh, Adrian. This is the second post I've had to not read cos of the flashing/moving! (Very clever though - as I whizzed down the page to say hello even though I haven't read the post!)

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    1. Lucy, there is no way of stopping them once they are uploaded and saved. They even do it on my desk top.
      Sorry love. I get bored on wet and windy days. I would take a fancy to your adopt a tree blog were I not always on the move.

      I purposely didn't put it at the top. If you have a twenty seven inch screen you can read the balderdash without seeing the GIF.

      It can't be fun rolling about on the floor biting your tongue. Can't they give you a pill for it?

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  5. I don't roll on the floor and bite my tongue. I go floppy. Conscious but not able to respond. Medicine helps but doesn't solve. It's frustrating that some things trigger fits. But you can't make the world suit everyone - can't take the fun out of flashy light shows for the sake of those of us they might affect badly. I have trouble with stairs sometimes - especially the kind with painted edges to make sure people with limited vision can see them and don't fall. Even the needs of people with different kinds of disabilities conflict. Maddening!

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    1. Esther, it must be very restricting. I'll try not to do anymore. They are silly anyway.

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  6. Yes ~ I am not a fan of animated GIF either. I hate Vine videos too! But it is a lovely photo of the bird.
    No gas in Winter? Lucky they had F&V!

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    Replies
    1. Carol, I won't do anymore.
      There is plenty of gas but not in camper van sized bottles.

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  7. £35 for a retractable lead!! At that price you'd be better of using a horse leash, stronger and longer but a bit daft looking, I got one for my greyhound for £26 and is about 30ft in length though the poor lady couldn't stop laughing when I told her what it was for.
    I like the GIF very clever

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    1. Douglas, I suspect I was ripped off. It is a size too big but the small ones I can't get my hand in when wearing gloves. It is a sturdy bit of kit and will be fine if I get a lion or tiger.

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  8. Adrian, I can not sit still in my chair.

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  9. Whoa! I have just been down the pub and when I saw your chaffinch moving I thought "Maybe I supped too many!" What a clever chap you are Lord Adrian of Blackwell - to make birds move for you! It must be your male fragrance that does it. What are you wearing? I am guessing maybe "Beast" or "Highland Laddie".

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    Replies
    1. YP, sign the pledge.
      Pears shower gel does the job.

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  10. There's a shortage of as here too. In your case, you could get pretty cold without gas. Oh well, I guess you could run the motor and turn on the van heater

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    1. Red, I didn't run out and have electricity and a microwave. It isn't the end of the world.

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  11. It's good Adrian. I like the way the Chaffinch appears to be looking...at me!
    The colors are very sharp.

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    1. Cheers David. It was overcast and that always helps with colour.

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  12. The second one looks bette. Did you use a tripod? I would only shoot GIFs on a tripod.

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    1. Maria, no I didn't though I ought to have done.

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    2. I tried one with the iguanas, but they are too slow to make good GIFS. By the time I hit the 7th frame, they haven't done anything!

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    3. I had one on the dock in Colon on the Panama canal. He was a friendly beast. He enjoyed curry and could really shift when he smelled it in his bowl. The crew loved feeding it. It helped pass the interminable delays involved with a Panama transit.

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    4. I have access to a small community of them and sometimes I get sleepy males because they fight with each other all day (for the females) to the point of exhaustion. They are extremely territorial beasts, but as you say, they can also get to know you and be very friendly too. I'm still appalled by the fact that the South Americans eat them.

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  13. I like the second one better, it doesn't appear quite as manic as the first. Enjoy your dinner!

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    1. Pauline, they are a bit silly. Dinner was very good.

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  14. Shortage of gas? Is it just the size? I can't imagine the gas places in Stornoway running out especially in winter. As for the GIF I'm sorry but it drives me bananas (or to be precise more bananas than I am usually).

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    1. Graham, yes just 6kg. They have plenty of the larger ones.

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  15. Adrian gorgeous. The bird looks great. Glad you fix the problem of gas.
    Good Wednesdays.
    a hug.

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    1. Laura, it seems from the comments that people either love or hate them.

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  16. Love the moving bird images. I am still struggling with Photoshop, but with much more basic things than moving birds. Too bad about the gas problem, hope you find a ready source.
    Enjoying tea here too, cheers,

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    1. Gillian, I did get gas. It just took half the morning.
      We all struggle with Photoshop, I did with this. Just ask there are plenty of us who have been using it for years.

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