The Religion.

OMG…

 

OK, so the season has reached the halfway point, due to the half season tickets going on sale for the last half, and so far, there appears to be a vast expanse of no man’s land between what we were promised and what has materialised.

With only two or three exceptions, the games at home so far have been poor. The boredom has already set in and it’s not even Christmas yet. Wishing I hadn’t spent 640 of my quids is often at the top of my list of things I shouldn’t have done this year, and nothing I have seen has the remotest hope of even slightly changing my mind.

Also, with the majority of the Season Ticket games on a Sunday, I have started to lose interest in this game. This is a sad day for me, as I’ve followed the game for years, even before the Steelers were invented. For me, this season has pretty much taken the icing off the cake and in some ways thrown the cake away as well. I now feel as if it’s a chore, just to get ready to go out to watch a game. If I didn’t have a season ticket, I just wouldn’t bother.

The problems with the game, the players, the coaches; the same lame excuses, coming from the same mouths; the rantings and abuse from someone who should know a damn site better, have, over the past few weeks, finally driven the nail in. I am now at a stage where I’m beginning to wonder why I even bothered at the start of this year.

The on ice performances have left a lot to be desired. No excitement, no passion and not even any spark to turn it around when frustration enters the rink. I am one of the old time fans, used to seeing blood on the ice, sheets of plexi falling out, shirts with half a sleeve missing and Andy Akers wondering why he has a dozen broken sticks to raffle off the following week. This new style of hockey is not my cup of tea, it’s not even a cup of Horlicks. If this is the way forward, then it seems to me, that the old time fans are being pushed away from the game, and the really disappointing bit is, no one seems to care, as all the mouthpieces do is to try and hype up the new soft game we are witnessing at the moment to a new breed of fan who obviously hasn’t seen the real game. If they can sell it year in year out to these new fans, then that’s how it seems they want to build their business, but in my opinion, it’s going to alienate a lot of the old time fans who, like me, still want to see the Zamboni out to scoop up the broken bones and piles of teeth, every other game. I started watching the Steelers, as and when I could, my shifts allowing, 20 years ago. As my shift patterns changed, I sometimes got to watch more games, sometimes less, which was frustrating. But throughout that time, I wished for the day when I could go out and buy a season ticket. Well, my circumstances changed a few years back and the miracle happened. I got my first season ticket in April 2009. So in just 4 years, they have managed to take away from me the thrill of actually owning a season ticket, to how I feel now. They may think this is a remarkable achievement, but personally, I am so disappointed with what has happened. Like I said, it's a sad day.

Just being associated with the name “Steelers” meant you had accepted a role of warrior and everyone else was the enemy. Being one of these warriors meant you pulled on a shirt and made sure the enemies got a close up view of it as they were left in a daze. The logo on the front of the shirt has changed over the years, but often told you what was expected, for example, lightning, fists, girders, gears.

Look at the front of your shirt guys next time you pull it on. There’s still the girder there. It takes a lot to shift a girder. I want to see that back on the ice.

Change is needed, and quickly.

 

I do not believe (at the moment).

 

Mart.

It all works…

What, no sun? 

Why am I a sunset chaser?

The sky is an amazing backdrop. It’s been around for billions of years, and every one is different. No two sunsets can ever be the same, so the possibilities are limitless.

You don’t even need the sun in the shot. Just because the sun is low to the horizon and is glowing orange or even a shade of red, don’t forget to turn round and scan the whole sky, as clouds can pick up the glow and enhance it, even at the opposite side of the sky. Try it next time you're out and about.

Getting a patch of glowing orange clouds over the golden colours of the landscape can open up so many other options. Don’t miss out, just because you have seen the sun and a few orange clouds by just looking to the west. Check out the rest as well.

 

 

 

This was taken, looking away from the setting sun, at the cable car station at Montjuic, overlooking Barcelona.

No wonder they call it the golden hour.

 

 

Mart.

Opening weekend…

Disaster…

 

Out for a bite to eat, then off to the arena for the first home game of the season. A Challenge Cup game (shouldn’t be on the season ticket) against the (Not Really a Grand Slam) winners, the Nothingham Panthers. All was going fine until we got to Sheffield and within a mile of the arena. We were already stuck in a queue of traffic and this was at 15:50 as we came off the motorway. We crawled forward at something much less than walking pace and eventually got to the arena car park entrance at about 16:30. An average speed of just under 2 miles per hour. Bring back the guy with the red flag. Closing in on the entrance, which, by the way, is the same entrance I have used for almost 20 years, only to be told by a yellow jacket, “this entrance is for pre-paid tickets only”.

Eh!” said I, gob-smacked. “Since when?”

“Er, since today” was the reply.

Bloody marvellous, I thought, and with the prospect of joining another queue for at least another half hour, I decided to drop the car off in an extremely inviting empty space I had just noticed near Burger King in Centretainment. Obviously, I was not the only one with this thought, as I could see loads of Steelers shirts and Panthers shirts being worn by all these Centretainment customers. This has to be the stupidest idea to top all stupid ideas through the ages. Once again Arena management go out of their way to try and spoil as much as possible, any chance of having a decent hockey night out, (or should I say, late afternoon out, as it’s a Sunday and we have to start at stupid o’ clock).

Eventually, we arrive at the arena doors and get our ST’s scanned and we are in, just as the noise announces there will be a 15 minute delay (which ended up being almost half an hour delay). Why am I not surprised. The whole of Arena Square roundabout is gridlocked, and every road leading to the arena is at a standstill. Well done arena management, -200 out of 10 for that bright spark idea.

So, eventually the game starts, or to be more correct, Nothinghams game starts. Ours is still on standby, and remains so for much of the game, apart from 4 or 5 minutes after Spencer and Henley decide to have a short battle centre ice. It wakes a few of our players up and we manage a goal, but then, back to the Horlicks, and struggle on to the final whistle where we find ourselves on the end of an embarrassing 4-1 defeat. Now, don’t get me wrong, I would have liked to see us win, but I know that can’t always be. But even if we lose, I would like to see us play. We didn’t play in this game, and I don’t believe in all the rubbish about teams need to gel as an excuse, because it applies to every team at the start of a season. Even if they are not familiar as such with their line mates as yet, they are professional sportsmen, and they know how to play the game, not gelling and not playing are two completely different aspects. Not playing in front of a ¾ full house can cause an enormous amount of damage for the rest of the season, TS must have been crying. This needs sorting straight away Doug. Losing happens, we can live with it, winning happens, it’s a bonus at the end of the game, but not playing, destroys everything, don’t let it creep in. Nip it from the very beginning and get them working.

So, all in all, from being out of the house 2 hours before kick-off, and getting stuck in the traffic and turned away from the car park, only to endure a very poor game, left me already feeling rather frustrated.

At least there is a shining light to clutch hold of. We need to think up a way to get more delays at the start of Sunday games, and just maybe, we will get the face off time back to 6:00 pm. Hooray.

 

Back soon.

Mart.

Not all pain free

Fingers and thumbs…

 

Not always as easy as I would like. Suffering from rheumatoid arthritis can play havoc with trying to operate the machine at times. Especially as I seem to suffer most in fingers, thumbs and wrists. Aching fingers can make the small fiddly controls something of a challenge. As well as aching wrists making the weight of the machine take its toll, especially when I have some of the heavier glass attached. Machine, powerpack, 2 batteries, with 50-200 and the 2x attached means a weight approaching 3.5 kg, and this can be hard work when carrying it round all the time. What makes it worse, I am not a fan of neck straps, as the RA is also in my neck and shoulders, and continual carrying of this weight, does cause me pain and headaches. So, the lesser of two evils, for me, is to carry it around by hand.

Still, after searching about a bit, a solution has been arrived at.

Op Tech to the rescue with a neoprene covered side strap. It fixes to the tripod mount and to the top buckle. Adjusted to be a reasonably tight fit around my hand, means that I can relax my fingers while carrying the machine, and it won’t drop. Works well, and pleased with the usefulness of it. All of a sudden, things are so much easier.

http://optechusa.com/ez-grip-strap.html

 

Makes all the difference and puts the fun back above the pain. 

Back soon.

 

Mart.

Old Moor

Feeding time…

 

Up early, and it’s quite a bright day, so off out and about. Destination is Old Moor at Wath. I love the RSPB reserve there, and go as often as I can. Usually amounts to at least once a month, so is quite a regular haunt of mine. The area is a wetlands, so is home to loads of different species of birds and insects, all of which, I try to shoot. 

Birds:-

Chaffinch

Green finch

Bullfinch

Lapwing

Grey headed tern

Common tern
Grey heron
Sandpiper
Peregrine falcon
Coot
Canada goose

Butterflies:-

White
Gatekeeper
Green veined white
Peacock
Small blue

Dragons and damsels:-

Common blue damselfly

Blue tailed damselfly
Banded damselfly
Common red darter
Common hawker

 

I spent most of the morning watching and photographing the grey herons. The machine set to Shutter priority and a very fast speed in use (1/1500) to hopefully freeze the shot.
Spotted at least a dozen of them, all with their own fishing areas. Many attempts by me trying to get the timing right as they struck, with lightning speed, and the unwary fish was then breakfast. Managed it in some cases, and was rewarded with some decent pics. Will try again next time, am sure it won't be too long before I'm there again.

 Silently stalking it's prey...

 

 

... and the hit. (Successful).

Back soon.

 

Mart.

IKPS

Incurable

 

My one failing in this hobby of mine, is suffering from the incurable disease, IKPS. I have suffered from this for years. In fact, right from the start, at about 8 years old, I could feel the urge to want to get hold of more gear. It still manifests itself from time to time, and I have no option but to give in to it and end up having to make room in the bag for another piece of equipment.

 

Sadly, this week has seen me once again, succumb to the disease, and the flexible friend takes another beating. Maybe, it’s me, not really helping myself, by having Amazon UK as my home page as soon as I launch the browser. I suppose temptation would be farther away if I just plumped for a basic home page, or even a blank page. But, nah! Sod it. The uncontrollable urge to search out another item to add to the kit would have me biting at my nails.

 

Well, the parcel arrived, wrapped in a particularly non-descript brown paper, with, just a small notification in the top left hand corner as to it’s origins. Cowboy Studios, across the puddle, in the U S of A. Tearing at the brown paper, and frantically pulling the enclosed box open, I find another box. I ignore the rules of pass the parcel, and continue myself. Ripping the selotape open and getting inside this box, to find a lump of bubblewrap. This is hastily opened and out pops my new acquisition.

 

I am now the proud owner of a 4 way slide rail. Macro photography just got a whole lot different. Plans are now needed for a bit of practice, so, sometime over the next few days, the indoor studio will appear and, no doubt, loads of photos will be taken.

 

 

 

Watch this space for the results.

 

Back soon.

 

Mart.

The white(ish) cliffs…

Who needs Dover...

 

Bempton Cliffs.

 

The very edge of Yorkshire. A rough, imposing place. But, what a place. It takes your breath. Over 330 feet high, with sheer drops, the area is a haven for some spectacular bird life. With thousands of gannets, puffins, guillemots, razorbills, fulmars, as well as the usual terns and gulls.

 

A day out with a difference.

 

This was my first visit to the RSPB reserve, but after today, most definitely won’t be my last. Once through the visitor centre, the path leads towards the cliff edge and splits into two directions. We turn left and follow the track to the first viewing point. Gulls, terns and a few gannets are circling in front of us. I didn’t really know what to expect with the gannets, as I had not seen them previous to today. But believe me when I say, I wasn’t disappointed. What a beautiful creature. Pure white body, white wings with black tips, and a creamy yellow neck and head, with a long powerful beak, and enormous webbed feet. Prominent black lines round the face and eyes look as though they have been drawn on with a strong black felt tip pen. With a wingspan of around 6 feet, makes it quite impressive when seen alongside common gulls and terns. No plans had been made about what I was going to photograph, but obviously these birds were going to be very high on the list. The large heavy duty stuff would be the order of the day, so out comes the machine with the 50-200 and the 2x attached.

 

We moved on, probably about 600 yards, to the next viewing area. What we saw there was mesmerising. No matter where you looked, gannets, circling and swooping. Literally thousands of them. One of the rangers mentioned they had recently done a count, and the figure they arrived at was 11,000 mating pairs of gannets. There were also, various aged birds, which don’t get to breeding age until they are about 5, as well as the youngsters, just learning to use their wings, so probably, altogether, somewhere in the region of 30,000 gannets. I could have spent all day, just stood watching them wheeling and diving, then rising again on the air currents with very little effort. The machine was put to quite a lot of use as I attempted to pan with them as they glided past, sometimes as close as 10 feet away. Tell you what, from just 10 or 12 feet away, seeing a big bird like a gannet with a 6 or 7 foot wingspan zip past is an awesome sight. 

 

Moving on, and the gannets were everywhere. But now, a new task. We were searching the cliff faces for razorbills and puffins. These birds both nest in small hollows, so spotting them wasn’t quite as simple as spotting the gannets. But, perseverance brought results and the puffins and razorbills were spotted and duly photographed. They will probably have gone by now, as they usually leave around mid July.

 

After hundreds of photographs and 3 or 4 miles walked along cliff paths, and managing not to fall off, it was time to call it a day. I had thoroughly enjoyed this first outing to Bempton Cliffs, especially as I had already promised myself, it would not be my last. I will most definitely be returning, probably, before the end of the year, and think it could be a place I will be visiting at least a couple of times every year.

 

An awe inspiring day. One to remember.

 

Back soon. 

 

Mart.

The good, the bad and the…

It really grinds you down...

 

This past 2 weeks have been a pain. At the moment I am totally pissed off with everything to do with the Steelers. The forum should be a place of chat, talk and debate. It should be a fun place, but at the moment it is a painful place to even visit. Some of you know me personally, most of you don’t. Some of you are people I call friends, some of you very dear to me. Some of you are just acquaintances, and a lot of you, I have no knowledge of apart from a username and a posting style. You may have noticed over the years, that at no time, ever, have I posted anything abusive about any person on this forum. Or on any other form of social media, as I find this hypocritical of the rules on here and also somewhat childish. But this obviously means nothing, as certain people seem to think that a person who is doing a job of moderation is also open to free season of online abuse from any quarter. Maybe if they understood what the job entailed, they may think differently. Maybe if they removed the blinkers they may realise what we have had to do over the years. Maybe if they actually sat down and thought through things objectively, instead of just wrapping cotton wool around their heads and accepting the first thought that pops in, they would maybe see that this job is full of hard work and unpopular decisions.

For me, at the moment, I have taken the steps of having a break from the forum, due to the amount of abuse being circulated by people who know very little and who understand even less. Maybe they would post less of this abuse, if they realised some of it is bordering on being illegal and a certain amount is actually very libellous.

All I can see at the moment is more and more warnings and bans given out to people who simply cannot see past the ends of their own keyboards, and this in itself is very sad.

 

Closing for the time being, as I might say something I don’t really want to.

 

Mart.

OMG, it’s broken…

Tilt!...

 

So, out for the day with the machine, and it’s broken. The rear screen is almost in two pieces.

This is nail biting stuff. The first aid kit is needed and I have to be careful. Important parts could go missing. Gingerly holding both pieces in line, and carefully twisting through 90°, I manage to get the rear screen turned inwards and closed. It is holding itself together with just one corner, as the other three seem to have ripped the screw threads. A few final pictures, without being able to view them on the turned in screen, and then it’s away, tucked up safely in the Stealth.

Once home, it’s out of the bag and being examined, by the closest thing I can find to a camera engineering specialist.

Yep.

Correct.

Me!

 

(Erk!!!)

Looks like one of the screws has snapped, which in turn has made 2 others tear their threads as I’ve flipped the screen. From just looking, I know the screws are unable to be used to repair it, as now, there will be nothing for the thread to grip. So, with first aid knowledge coming to the fore, I decide the route to go, is superglue.

First, the edges have to be cleaned up, and any remains of the shattered threads must be removed. Micro vacuum cleaner time, and the non-static fine fibre brush. This gets everything clean. Next step, in a sterile environment (the front room), I have to make sure all the facing edges are free of any dust or grease. Not so simple, as I have to prise the screen far enough apart, so as to get the fine brush in, but not too far apart so it snaps the 1 remaining screw. This is a life or death situation, but with steady hands, I manage and everything is pristine. The next step is to edge it with superglue, but not dribble any on the circuit board or electrical connections at the back of the screen. This is the time for a piece of specialist equipment, the toothpick. With a few drops of superglue in a bit of tinfoil, I dip the toothpick in and carefully spread it round the outer edge of the screen casing. Satisfied that I have enough on and have covered all the edge, I close the 2 halves together, then, with a trusty 3 inch bulldog clip, secure the join.

The machine is moved to the post op ward for recuperation, and I go for a well earned cup of tea.

Now jump forward about 4 hours, and the surgery needs to be checked. The bulldog is taken off. So far, so good, nothing drops off. I gently move the screen about and turn it up and down to see if anything moves that shouldn’t. Looking good so far. Next step, see if it will still fit in the cut out area. Yep, this works as well. But now, can I get it back out without the join giving way. Tentatively, I get my thumb nail under the edge and gently pull outwards…….

Phew, what a relief. So far, everything has gone promising.

But now, the moment of truth. Batteries are inserted and I nervously turn on the power. A couple of beeps and……

Bingo, the screen is alive.

The room explodes in cheers of joy as my trusty E3 is back from the brink. Everything working, and the surgery has been a resounding success. Disaster has been averted and for a 5½ year old machine with over 165,000 shots logged in its history, the machine now begins its Second Life.

It was touch and go for a time there, but it seems we’ve come out of the other side, almost fully intact and in complete working order.

Now, if I could just work out how to do the same for myself………

 

 

 

 

Till next time…

 

Mart.

Pet Hates…

Hmm...

 

Biggest pet hates, gets to me every time I drive on a bloody motorway.

 

1.       The damn selfish gits who use the middle lane as a cruising lane. There is only one cruising lane on British motorways, the rest are there to serve as overtaking lanes. So sticking yourself in the middle lane and refusing to move, should be punishable by death ray.

2.       The useless bleeder who sits behind you and thinks he is important and has a big ostentatious POS car and can flash his headlights in your mirror. Just for your information, these are fitted to cars these days to light up the direction of travel and not, as some seem to think, a form of Aldis Lamp for the sending of Morse code messages. If he wishes to send some form of message, then before doing so again, I suggest he learns Morse code as the random flashes that usually appear from these clowns is unintelligible. And, yes I can read Morse, so if you learn it properly, then at least I will understand you, but don’t be alarmed, if once you’ve passed me I send the following message:-

-.-- --- ..- / -.-. --- -- .--. .-.. . - . / -.. .. -.-. -.- / .... . .- -.

3.       Finally, another hate of mine are the ignorant lane hoppers. Just to clarify, the indicator signal lamp was invented in 1908 and was patented in 1938. It has been fitted as standard to all road going vehicles since the early 1950's. So since then, you have had no excuse for not using it when you decide to swap lane or turn a bloody corner, so either use it or learn to walk.

 

Now to all those who fit in the above categories, I have one bit of advice for you.

For god’s sake, throw your car away and get off the planet. You are a nuisance.

It stuns me at times, how many people, who have a piece of plastic (or piece of paper) which then gives them total control of something weighing in excess of a ton and capable of travelling at warp speed, do not actually know the first thing about driving. They break every legal aspect of driving, they break every common sense aspect of driving, and they think the road is theirs and theirs alone. Most of these drivers at least have the courtesy to have a symbol on their car to warn other road users that they are a complete and utter imbecile. If you look below, you will be able to memorise these symbols for later, so the next time you take to the highway, you can at least identify said imbeciles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remember them well, fellow drivers, as this could, one day, save your life. Better still, if your vehicle has the latest laser technology fitted, please feel free to take out any vehicle displaying these motifs.

 

Mart.