Life Observed

If you can only see an infinitely small part of a line, it looks like a dot, one dimension is reduced to zero dimensions. You are not aware of the true nature of the line. If you can only see the smallest part of a two dimensional plane, it looks like a one dimensional line, apparently. Furthermore the smallest part of a three dimensional volume is a plane, and in observing the plane, you are unaware of the whole concept of volume. Therefore the only part of the four dimensional Hyper Universe we can see is the bit the protrudes into our consciousness, and that is the three dimensional universe we know and love. Here is part of our observable Universe.  There's obviously a lot more involved with the Hyper Universe.

CCTV is everywhere these days. The theory is it makes the world safer. A decade ago we recorded analogue CCTV on cheap VHS tape. When an incident occurred we found the images were almost unusable and the guilty party could not be identified because the worn out tape left everything to the imagination. These days you will be pleased to know that the images are stored digitally on to hard disk or DVD. Now, when an incident occurs we find the images are almost unusable and the guilty party can not be identified because the digital data has been compressed so far that everything is still left to the imagination. Oh and even the street furniture is watching you.

Here is that style icon of the twenty first century: The iPhone.  Yes, alright it's the old iPhone if you insist. Equally there will always be an old iPhone to trade in and there will always be a new iPhone to anticipate. It's a sort of Universal Law. I don't have an iPhone. I don't have any Apple product. They are too expensive and they are too well made for me. Each iProduct I handle amazes me with it's wanton and needless quality. How can they feel so good? How can they be so well made? I am of that generation that can survive without a smartphone. Perhaps its a genetic fault. My dumb phone serves me well, it will go for days without charging. In fact I bought a genuine replacement charger on eBay for 99p recently. BTW. Did you know that the iPhone has an unexpected trick up it's sleeve. If you leave it on the table in a crowded London pub, it vanishes.

High on the north downs on a greensand ridge you find the church of ST Martha, one of only three in Britain. The view from the church is well worth the long walk uphill through woodland, and you will have to walk as there is no road access. Situated on the Pilgims Way from Winchester to Canterbury, the original church must have been a point to pause on that long medieval journey. So, you might expect the place to be deserted on a bank holiday Saturday, but not so: There was a small music festival raising funds for the church, and joy of joys, they were serving tea and biscuits. Oh, a nice cup of tea and a sit down. Click for larger version.

It's a hard life being retired. Apparently. Don't ask me, it looks like I will have to work until I drop. At least I still have a job.

Plan ahead.  If things go wrong, it could all end up like this.

Not taken any pictures for a while? Get out the macro lens and go in close. There's always something to reveal to the world... Monday: Have a good week, everyone.

After failing to fix the annoying satnav fault, I washed the car instead. Then I decided to take it to my favourite car photo location under lowering skies... I've used this location before to get a shot of a Mercedes SL500

Here's a view of the west country from the top of Alfred's Tower . This pile of bricks is well worth visiting if you have the legs to climb 206 steps to the top. You are rewarded with a rather splendid panoramic view. Click for a nice big version of this, and check out Glastonbury Tor on the top left corner.

Here's a nice old picture.  I took this fifteen years ago with best technology I could afford at the time: This used Fuji Provia slide film and a Nikon FE2 camera. While it seemed good enough at the time, it doesn't measure up to modern photographic standards. There is plenty of colour saturation, but it isn't sharp enough, there is grain in the original, even at a lowly 100ASA, and I suspect the Nikon lens wasn't up to today's requirements. These days images are close to perfect by comparison.  See: Its p rogress....

Come and sample our New Menu. In all the ten years we have visited Polis, we've never seen this place open. The fresh ivy would give me to believe it was open last year, but has been shut over the winter. Elementary.

These giant olive oil pots are a common sight in Cyprus, with their pointed bases and their rural look. Olive presses are still to be found in smaller villages, though they are now unused.  In fact I have never seen one of these pots being used for it's original purpose, they usually form a decorative feature. The question is, how were they made? Surely they can't be turned on a wheel. They are too big to reach inside. It is a mystery.

Fancy starting a beach side bar anyone? Here is a nice little business with potential for expansion. The current owner assures us that this corner of Cyprus is really buzzing in the summer and many many people come to his bar situated on a rocky shore just the other side of the local seaweed dump. A three shot panorama. Click for larger image

This splendid Kerosene stove, spotted in the corner of a Cyprus cafe, is specially manufactured for Arab countries and Tropical Territories. We know that because it says so on the side.

A carved stone vent on a small Orthodox church in Cyprus. No, I can't work out what it is supposed to say, but I just liked the look of it. It's the little details that count in this life.

When you see some nice calligraphy you realise how the art of writing has declined. It has a wonderful organic feel to it. These days if you want something pretty you simply click on the font button. Ah well... Extracts from a journal, written on linen. Or was it printed from a computer after all.... Oh dear, I'm not sure now.

Here's a nice, if bizarre image for you to consider today. And for your convenience, here is somewhere to sit while you consider it.

If you are going to write your journal in bed, do it in style: But don't forget to switch the light on. Stourbridge House...

A Goldring G800 cartridge for your Garrard SP25 turntable sir? How about a nice Armstrong amplifier, they are transistorised these days you know. I do love these hints from the past you find in Cyprus. Long may they remain...

Is the door half open or is it half shut?  I guess that depends if your glass is half full or not.  Incidentally I've never understood that oft quoted phrase. My glass always seems to be nearly empty so there's no problem there. This little detail is the door to the village school room in Kathekas, Cyprus. It now serves as a local rural museum. In Cyprus terms this means a room with a handful of old stuff they found nearby. There's no entrance fee. In fact there's no one there at all, just some ten year old leaflets, a photo of the village a hundred years ago and an agricultural implement made from a tree and some iron. Quite charming really, we love it.

Been there, seen it all. Nothing is new under the sun. Especially under the Cyprus sun.  The Swallows come and go, the tourists come and go. The sun shines most days and time passes slowly. All a man can do is drink his coffee and watch it all unfold. Yes, it's a hard life.

I like minimalist images .