Down in the Den

Stag Beetle

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:16:00 EDT

I have finally finished publishing my photos from June with three shots of a stag beetle (Lucanus cervus) from out back garden. It was dead at the time, so I could pose it without hurting the beetle, but had been around the garden for several weeks. I don't know if its death was entirely natural causes or assisted by the local cats, which I had caught treating it as a plaything several times.

This was a female but we had also seen a male (distinguished by much larger "antlers"). We have plenty of piles of old wood in our garden, which is is the favourite site for their grubs, so we may see more in future years. If we do, we will have to remember to register them with the Stag Beetle Helpline, as the population is believed to be under threat due to changing habitats (eg. most people keep their gardens too tidy to have piles of old sticks that go undisturbed for long periods).

I am now fully up to date with my photos so plan to do a bit more photography in the coming weeks, both of the back garden and other subjects.

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Technorati Tags:: stag beetle; lucanus cervus; garden; dead wood; photography

write rhymes

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 04:04:00 EDT

I came across an interesting website yesterday called write rhymes. You type text into a box and then, after selecting a word, it will suggest various rhymes.

It didn't seem to function on the Linux machine I tried it on at work but operates fine back home on my Mac. That quirk makes me a little hesitant to recommend it but it is a free tool, so why not? If you are trying to craft poems and lyrics, it will help you hone your rhyme-fu!

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Technorati Tags:: write rhymes; rhyming; language; songwriting

TwitterCounter

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:30:00 EDT

Just a short post today to try out the code from TwitterCounter and see how many people follow my tweets.

Simandl Positions (Reprise)

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 03:51:00 EDT

I was recently talking with my brother, Magnus, about the Simandl positions I mentioned earlier this month when I was blogging about my efforts to learn double bass. I had picked out a pattern for remembering the position names (the sequence of natural notes on the A string) but remained puzzled by the logic behind this.

Apparently the same positions are also used on other members of the strings family. Picking the A string doesn't seem to make much sense on the double bass (or violin), where it is one of the inner strings. However, cello and viola are typically tuned CGDA. Setting the positions off the highest string does make more sense.

This probably explains why Simandl does not explain his reasons; he was simply passing on an established standard rather than stepping back to first principles. The answer is not completely satisfactory but will do for now.

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Technorati Tags:: bass; music; eub; double bass; simandl

Church in the Round

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 03:52:00 EDT

Last night Jane and I visited St Paul, Onslow Square, which is part of the same ministry as Holy Trinity Brompton. We were curious to see how the service worked because we had heard that the band was placed in the middle of the room, facing inwards, with the congregation in a circle around.

I think it has a lot going for it. The church is relatively large but it means that, even sitting on one of the chairs at the edge, every member of the congregation is relatively near the front. It also means that the band is not the focus of the event. Wherever you stand, you see fellow worshippers. I imagine that the band can also see and hear each other much better than most other possible arrangements. The speaking was also carried out from the same point, with wireless mics allowing communication with all sections of the congregation.

I think the layout has a lot of strengths. I am not sure whether it would translate directly to my own church, which doesn't have nearly as much space (and probably a much higher proportion of people who would want chairs rather than the floor cushions that most of last night's congregation used). However, the experience has given me plenty to chew on and was a worthwhile Sunday evening outing.

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Technorati Tags:: church; layout; st paul onslow square; holy trinity brompton

Fiftytwo - Week 46 (Difference Bread)

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 03:20:00 EDT

This fiftytwo photo has what could be described as unrealistic colours. It shows my hand reaching out over loaf I baked on Thursday evening.

Both started on the same processing route, as I prepared to adjust the white balance. I use the levels tool for that, reducing the output levels from 0-255 to 7-248 and using the colour pickers to select white, black and grey points. The grey point is hardest to judge so I have found another technique to help with that. I create a copy of the image and then fill it with a mid-grey using the fill tool in difference mode. This compares every pixel to mid-grey; the closer it is, the darker the result. I then use the threshold tool to isolate the darkest pixels, select and delete the rest and the remaining white highlights show me the sections of the picture that are nearest to mid-grey.

That is the technique responsible for the vibrancy of the colour on the picture of the loaf. I did not get that far with my self-portrait - I filled the copied image with grey and was so struck by the colours that I decided to work to enhance them rather than seeking a realistic result. That is why this week's image is so psychedelic!

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Technorati Tags:: fiftytwo; self portrait; photography; flickr

Double Jazz

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 01:00:00 EDT

Normally I post my latest fiftytwo self portrait on Saturday morning but that will have to wait until tomorrow. The picture is already taken and published on Flickr but instead I wanted to write about another musical landmark - my first gig playing (almost) only the electric upright bass.

It was a jazz gig with The Pico Brown Five over at Woodcote Golf Club, where we have played several times this year. I took both the upright and my Sei 6 string, expecting to swap after a few tunes or if something fast was called. As it was, I found the upright flowed well and my fingers held up, so I stayed on it most of the evening.

The only tune I changed bass for was my own composition, Faraway Street (you can listen to an earlier recording on the band website), because it has a rather funky bridge section that I didn't think I would nail. It felt strange having that tiny, light stringed instrument in my hands. I have to confess that it was also the tune I mucked up most, starting in entirely the wrong key because I forgot that my six string is in a non-standard tuning.

Ho-hum. Most of the rest sounded pretty good (although it won't be until later today that I get to listen to my recording). I am definitely progressing on the upright though. I hope that I will sound better in a few months but it is definitely getting there and much quicker than I had dared to hope.

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Technorati Tags:: double bass; jazz; live music; the pico brown five; woodcote park golf club