Comments v8

I've snuck in a Version 8 as the same problems of updates that was affecting earlier ones affected v7, which was supposed to be a feed that amalgamated the Atom, RSS and Google Data feeds into one.

As v7 uses an RSS feed from Yahoo!, there may be some delays being introduced.

I'm using a notepad text file to keep track on these meanderings:

8.24 posted Ctrl+F5 comment
8.43 no update 3 browsers
0859: v2 updated on IE, safari, ff ... hmm, v7 empty (IE + Safari)
0921: safari - v2 & v5 updated
      firefox - v2 & v5 updated
      IE - v2 & v5 updated

If v7 is truly working with 3 feeds, then surely it would have updated when v2 (atom) updated.

--hmm, does Pipex (my isp) cache feeds?

0938: safari - v2 & v5 updated
      firefox - v2 & v5 updated
      IE - v2 & v5 updated
-- Spoke to Darren, and he's seeing what I am. So, not being affected by caching.

The last thing I can try (before following Darren's suggestion) is to merely use the Google Data feed. Not quite the last thing, as I re-jigged the feed order in Yahoo!Pipes v7, in case that makes a difference (which it should not).

No update on Blogger Help Group.

To recap, the sidebar widgets are not picking up the comments that are being left behind by readers (the social networking side of blogging). For a couple of days last week, Blogger failed to send me the email notification to tell me that I have a new comment. So, between the two failures in the service, I missed replying to new comments.

So the long road starts. Sadly, it appeared at the weekend when Google's staffers were off resting (suggested a nominated "blog*star"). Monitoring the delay in feeds suggested a 30 minute to 3 hour delay in updates to the system that supplies the feeds (either Atom or RSS). Like trying to find the quickest road between home and destination, I tried different routes to get the data. I tried amalgamating the two feeds into one, like a smart SatNav, using the quickest route at that time of day.

I eventually found that "home" was not where I thought it was, and that the feeds were being supplied by a single source (Google Data). Bolting that in to the "satnav", it should have provided me with faster data than the other 2 feeds. But it did not.

So, version 8 is simply a direct feed from Google Data. It should be faster than the other feeds. It is better to scratch this itch than the itch on my leg that the Piriteze is easing whilst I rest it to get ready for the oscar-bravo-foxtrot weekend in the danger zone.

Oh, and Google Reader tells me that v7 was updated at 1053hrs today. I posted the comment at 0824. not quite 3 hours late, but sodding close. That's Yahoo!'s "pipe" program picking up 3 of Blogger's feeds and transferring it via RSS to Google reader. But when I run the script on the Yahoo!Pipes page, it all works fine.

Like I noted yesterday "So long as it all works, I think that may be it for comments, and I'll get rid of the earlier feeds. Of course, that's a big assumption."

I bought a folding spoon today

Not quite the highlight of the day, but sadly close.

I've been after a spoon to use with the freezer-bag cooking. Sarah recommends not using a spork in case the tines tear the bag. As I prefer having my cooking kit all together, finding a folding spoon was fun today, as I was merely cruising through gear shops looking for this month's TGO magazine to take down to Darren at the weekend. In case you work in gear shop nr 2, TGO magazine is a popular outdoor magazine printed in Scotland. So, much kudos to Blacks today.

No, the highlight was finding that, according to Google reader, the "Live for the outdoors/News" feed has 2 subscribers. Darren has 31. Dawn 16. Chris Townsend 41.

Comments v7

So, if sometimes Atom is faster, and sometimes RSS. Why not merge them and delete the duplicates? Back to Yahoo!Pipes for a looksee. Thanks to Tim for the deletion of duplicates.

Because of truncations, I had to put the author's name back at the beginning, this time with a separator.

If Atom and RSS feeds come from Google Data, can I shortcut them and go straight to source?

Retrieving comments:

You can retrieve the comments for a particular post by sending a GET to this post's comments feed URL:
GET http://www.blogger.com/feeds/blogID/postID/comments/default
Or you can get the comments from all posts by using the blog's comments feed URL:
GET http://www.blogger.com/feeds/blogID/comments/default

I extrapolated my feed details into the 2nd line, and added that to the united Atom and RSS feeds in Yahoo!Pipes.

So, the Comments v7 feed is now coming in from three sources. As Atom and RSS feeds are come from the Google Data API, I reckon they are superfluous to the feed widget, but who knows in this mish-mash of Internet services. So long as it all works, I think that may be it for comments, and I'll get rid of the earlier feeds. Of course, that's a big assumption.

In the snow of far-off Northern lands

I was reading Tom Managan's blog, catching up on the story of the mountain lion attack. Then something strange sunk into my brain. Baychic commented that "Alas, I am not allowed in that park either, amen." (source) Scrolling up the page, I read that "Foothills’ limit to Palo Altans".

So, off to find the park's website, and here's the details:

Foothills Park is open to Palo Alto residents and their guests only. Proof of residency is required. Guests must be accompanied through the entrance by a Palo Alto resident. Limit of 15 guests in two cars per resident. Names of guests cannot be left at the gate. Groups of 25 or more must make a reservation. (source)

Wow.

I looked for a reason. They turned Kurt Russell away for not being a resident (pdflink). In the "Ask a ranger" section, the question "Are only Palo Alto residents allowed in the park?" is answered, but not "Why?" A shame, as the rest of the worksheets are very, very informative. There's even one on the WW1 training camp that was there (pdflink), and some of the troops were sent on the Russian campaign - an oft forgot sideline in The Great War. IIRC, it was the only time that the USA and communist Russians were in open land warfare.

A short search with the terms "why restrictions residents foothills park" finds a good article on the history of the park in MetroActive, and some articles in the Palo Alto online from 2006 and 2007. Informative.

It is a quarter-to-Two in the morning. And it is dark in the Palo Alto hills. Link to the rotating webcam at Fire Station 8. No sign of the mountain lion.

Title sourced from the US Marine Corp's hymn, and used by Leo Daugherty III as the title of an article about the USMC and Revolutionary Russia. Investigate this further if you like your politics with a dash of confusion. White Russians. Red Russians. Germans. British. French. USA. Conscripted troops trying to get home. Weather.

Feeder Frenzy

Merged screenshot of the different times of comment feed arriving (and, yes, I did refresh the screen first).

The time of this snap was 23:07. I switched over to the Safari browser so that I can have a non-logged in view.

Comments v 3 & 4 are based on RSS feeds. Latest post received was from Dawn (the last comment posted).

Comments v 2 & 3 are based on Atom feeds. Latest post received was from WD (posted at 21:47).

Earlier today the Atom feeds seemed to be faster to update.

No reply from Blogger staffers at their forum. I did notice a post that asked "Does Blogger Tech Support staff ever look at this forum?" (source). I looked back through forum posts to find that I may be better asking them for information directly. So, I went through the Blogger Help, and ended on this page:

The best way to get help is to post your question to the Blogger Help Group. There, you can find answers, ask questions, and share expertise with other Blogger users. There are some Blogger employees who jump in as well. You'll see a blue "G" badge next to their names. Report your issue here.

Clicking on the link took me back to the Official Blogger Help Group from whence I started. So I looked through some posts and found how few had been answered by staffers. Actual, real staffers, and not the "stars" that help so many people. And then I looked at how many final posts read about getting help from staffers by email. If you find these words negative, just go and have a look at the work these people are doing. As to the "stars", I don't know if they get paid, or sent some gift socks.

Still, it is a new day tomorrow. I'll try some Piriteze to see if it works better on the leg than the Benadryl tab. It is distracting me from doing some painting, but not enough to get me to do the housework.

In the meantime, some music, it was used in the compelling documentary series "Teachers".

Bottle Bank

Went shopping to earlier, and had another look at the bottles in the supermarket. Sadly, the "Fruit Shoot" and "Lucozade Alert" bottles are too big to fit in my SnowPeak 900 cookset. My goal is to have enough fuel for the trip in the cookset that I take. Along with the fuel is the stove, windshield and folding spork.

Fitting in to SnowPeak 900 cookset is the:

• Palmolive 300ml bottle (10oz) - previously.
• Dettol 250ml bottle (8oz)
• Nalgene 125ml (4 oz)
• Tinny's blue bottle (4oz), fits in at angle.

Fitting in to Alpkit Ti Mug cookset is the:

• Next smelly bottle 100ml (3oz)
• Nalgene 60ml (2 oz)

One fluid ounce should be enough for one hot meal using the MiniBullDesign Blackfly3 (maker's video). If my leg wasn't still itching after the meds, I'd be out on the hills trying it out for real. Of course, I could just grab a gas stove and not bother with meths.

Commentator Top 40

With all this nonsense about comments, I went looking again as I try camomile ointment on my leg. Hmm, I noticed in the store that the allergy pills that someone suggested I try didn't have their ingredients on the box. Anyway, listening to today's TWiT podcast after catching some live last night. But back to comments.

I find a post at the unofficial GoogleSystems blog. The poster had played with pipes. So, I modified Ionut C's "top commentators" pipe, resisting the temptation to add it to the cluttered sidebar. So, pop-pickers, here's the top 40 posters (omitting Anonymous posters):

• 1. AktoMan (904)
• 2. Story Quine (118)
• 3. John Hee (110)
• 4. Simon (67)
• 5. Michael G Clark (59)
• 6. BG! (58)
• 7. WD (49)
• 8. Big Kev (44)
• 9. George Griffin (38)
• 10. Jerry (29)
• 11. Abcol@Altens (28)
• 12. Andy Howell (28)
• 13. Chris Townsend (22)
• 14. paulmartin42 (18)
• 15. PhilW (18)
• 16. sally in norfolk (18)
• 17. Chris Cowell (18)
• 18. Alan Sloman (16)
• 19. Weird Darren (13)
• 20. The Solitary Walker (12)
• 21. Dawn (12)
• 22. Martin Rye (12)
• 23. Martin (11)
• 24. mp (11)
• 25. Frank (10)
• 26. Baz (9)
• 27. Lighthiker (9)
• 28. Robin (7)
• 29. Londonbackpacker (7)
• 30. ptc (7)
• 31. ptc* (6)
• 32. Phreerunner (6)
• 33. Mac E (6)
• 34. Kristine (6)
• 35. George (6)
• 36. Paddy Dillon (6)
• 37. Sarah (5)
• 38. chasrle (5)
• 39. Geoff (5)
• 40. Frank and Sue (4)

Thanks, Ionut, and thanks for folk for dropping by. Ionut makes a note that:

the list is not generated instantaneously since Yahoo Pipe must fetch and process at most 10 GData feeds

I wonder if that's a clue as to delays in the RSS comments feed.

Comments v5

Like being overcharged for an O'Brien's sandwich (just don't ask for chicken and bacon together as the doubled the price of the sarnie yesterday), there's some things I just can't forget. So I did some more searching for solutions to the comments problems. This time I wanted to increase the number of comments summarised in the sidebar from 5 to 10. Blogger doesn't allow this. The new Blogger-in-Draft feeds have added tabs or sliders. Then I found David Havelin's work with Yahoo!Pipes. Bish, bash, bosh, I ended up with an RSS feed that showed a summary of the last 10 comments posted on my blog.

Annoyingly, when adding in the feed to the Blogger widget, it still has a max of 5 posts, overwriting the 10 set in the Pipes feed. I couldn't get rid of the brackets around the author's name. Why do computers make life sooo difficult for people? Oh, yes, life is the important stuff that doesn't involve computers.

Comments v3 and v4

Blogger gives very limited control over feeds. I found that my default feed was using Atom, and so switched the code in Comments v3 to RSS. Everything else was the same as before.

http://aktoman.blogspot.com/feeds/comments/default?alt=rss

instead of

http://aktoman.blogspot.com/feeds/comments/default

The maximum number of comments is set to 5 (the largest). So far, Atom feed (Comment v2) has picked up one of the latest comments, whilst the RSS feed looked more promising at the start, but has failed to receive the new comment from Paul.

This came up as I was trying FeedBurner, and it detected the two feeds (Atom and RSS) for the main articles, so I just transposed their code. Their burn of the RSS feed show the latest comment as:

I think the space makes Comments v3 look so much m...  - paulmartin42

But the gadget's showing the RSS feed in the sidebar hasn't picked that up at all, though it does show in the Atom fed gadget. So, sticking with the plan, I'll add in version 4 of the comment feed, which will be the FeedBurner feed based on the RSS comment feed.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/AktoManComments

Both RSS (v3) and FeedBurner (v4) are now showing the same comments as Atom (v2).

Obviously I won't be keeping all 3 and will be monitoring the feeds for accuracy.

If this is giving you a headache, just don't say so to HR!

The Road goes ever on and on

I put on "The Fellowship of the Ring" dvd last night after getting back from Edinburgh. I'd seen it many times, and saw some of the extended scenes on YouTube. Unlike the current feeling of the US Courts, it does make me want to buy the extended versions of the movies. I got the extended final film in sale, and wonder at buying the other two now.

But it really makes me want to go back and read the books (again) from the beginning. For me, the start is the Silmarillion. I never bothered with the later books that the Son brought together from his Father's notes.

Obviously, I went looking for news of the Hobbit movie, and find that some of the linking stories between the Hobbit and LOTR may be made into another movie (once the legal battles end). I just hope that the scriptwights don't make the usual mess of appending their own agendas and own works to the stories that Tolkien crafted.

No, I'm not talking about the omission of Tom Bombadil (and his tasty wife), or the re-jigging of the early chapters. Film-making would still be in progress if every scene from the books was being shot. Nor tweaks to make up for those cuts. Anyway, film news from IMDB.com

1DR Trailer on YouTube

Strong sweary word warning - turn down volume if you wish, but see Mike getting dragged along the road.

Click for Trailer (I would have embedded it, but I want to maintain my non adult-content rating)

Oh, and the channel has a BBC Radio interview with Mark Stirton and Patrick Wight. Good photos from the shoot too.

And no sweary-words in that interview. Even when Mark talks about the Glasgow-centric BBC. More information about the film can be seen at the One Day Removals site. Adult content warning still applies. And whilst on same theme, some earlier work is on YouTube still - "Doctor Who and the Cybermen from space" is a classic parody.

Instant time travel.

Query re Comments Feed

After some investigations this morning (yup, sad git with an itchier leg after yesterday's trip), I posted the following to the Blogger Help Group forum.

Hi folks,

Anyone else been having trouble with Comments these last few days? Maybe it is just me.

The sidebar comments gadget doesn't show all comments. I've tracked this down to the RSS feed for comments. So, changed the "Blog Comment Feed" from Full to Short as that seems to be the only control I have over it.

I then changed to the Blogger-in-Draft site feed gadget, punched in the RSS feed, and got same comments as before, so I'm sure it is the RSS feed that is "quirky", and not the widget/gadget.
http://aktoman.blogspot.com/feeds/comments/default

There are other comment systems available (eg Disqus), but I'd rather have Blogger working properly for me.

I did find last year's notification from Blogger, at:
http://knownissues.blogspot.com/2007/02/comment-feeds-are-not-updating.html
But that was then. It hints at the number of comments being a problem. Any clues, folks?

The email notification for new comments seemed to have died, but I changed forwarding address away from Yahoo, and that worked. So I changed it back to yahoo, and that worked too. Must have been one of these temporary glitches.

Duncan
http://aktoman.blogspot.com

The sharp-eyed amongst you will have noticed that the comment feed in the sidebar is now at "version 2". Coming in from Blogger-in-Draft, this feed gives me the same options as the original comments feed, and the same results. So I reckon that it is the RSS feed that is the problem. Hence posting to the forum.

At least I'm giving Alan something to read in the evening.

Snarf Shorty

If you aren't using Bluetooth on your mobiles, switch it off and switch visibility to hidden. Here's why. A batch of party-goers got on board the train at Arbroath. They proceeded to spill drinks on the chairs, and spout of obscenities. There were kids further down the carriage, but their parents didn't object, so neither did I. Live and let live, as I maintained an aura of "don't even think of spilling over to my side of the carriage".

A thought crossed my mind, and I set my phone to detect bluetooth devices. Slowly a number of devices began to be listed. 7 in total. Voighty:), x!shorty!x, Shellybabe, XxXrAnDoMxXx, and the more mundane: w910i, w580i, k610i.

No doubt I'd have need to have guessed an access code, and any access attempt would have pinged a message to the phone user. The last three are Sony Ericsson phones, so I wonder if that means something about the initial settings. I stopped with just the list of device names on my phone, and a wonder at people's naiveté.

Don't have nightmares.

--

On a lighter note, I was in one of the three O2 shops on Princes St on Saturday. When we were in, there were only 2 customers in. There were 6-8 iPhones on display. The staff let us browse unhindered by sales talk. I compared the phone's real dimensions against my current phone. I was still underwhelmed by the product. We left.

Daytrip to Edinburgh

A quick 13-hour round trip to Edinburgh to catch up with an old University pal.

Don't get me started on the tartan-invasion of the non-Highland Edinburgh - and he started it!

That's what a castle should look like - big, imposing and standing on an extinct volcano.

Faith, revolution, and economics. The roots of the English Civil Wars can be found in St Giles Cathedral whilst Adam Smith turns his back on the church.

Comments - Disqus (take 4)

Okay, so I'm a pushover for someone who has a product to push. It shows spirit. So, I took Daniel's comment to heart and here we have a proper try out of Disqus' comment system. I've updated the template, switched off Blogger's comments for new posts (so there'll be no change in posts before this one), and I'll check out the gadgets for keeping track of comments in the sidebar.

I'll stay quiet, and check back later. Share and enjoy.

>>On to v4. I've posted a message on the support thread before hitting the hay.

Comments

There's been a few glitches with comments here over the past few days. It happens at intervals on Blogger. I don't get a notification email, and the comments gadget in the sidebar (which I moved up the page) fails to update.

I had a look at "Blogger in draft" to see if there were any new useful gadgets. I tried a couple, one didn't work, and the other posted the whole comment. After failing to find the original gadget to see if it had been updated, I looked away from Google.

I found disqus.com, but there is the issue of folks having to register to leave comments (example). Scoble wrote about it a couple of months back (link). There's a comparison at Mashable.com (and, yes, I noticed the Firefly crew getting a mention. Jayne even has his Mum's hat on).

After some reading, I found myself on IntenseDebate.com watching a friendly video. I have now installed it, active on all new articles. It might not last long.

YEGPIP

Robert Scoble reports on Microsoft's the Yosemite Extreme Gigapixel Panoramic Imaging Project. He was at their Pro Photo Summit, so there'll probably be more info coming out about happenings.

They mapped out Yosemite with 20 high-resolution panoramic cameras. To give you an idea how cool these images are, here’s an earlier version they did. [ScobleSource]

I lost track of how many times I clicked to zoom in, but the trees just kept getting closer. Hoorm hroomm boyo.

Of Phones and Things

Had a nice chat with Katy across on Orange. Laughably, as I try to get a number to call O2 for their contract termination, their 'upgrades' link points me to a message telling my to "Upgrade to Apple iPhone3G". If I hadn't passed the last straw already, that would have been it.

Oh, and walking past the O2 shop in the Bon Accord mall today after 1pm, I saw a big empty shop, a guard on the door, and a queue ("line") of 3 people outside. I shook my head in their general direction. I couldn't muster any happy thoughts. I read online that the O2 Upgrade system had crashed, and so some stores were only taking new customers, one store processed details on paper.

Using my browser's history I punched up the now-inaccessible contacts page. I called and got through to terminations. Security questions depended on knowing my account, but the online billing was fried. Being a trusting soul, I'd printed off relevant detailed to pdf last night (yeah, PrimoPDF), so could answer the questions. Being a good at his job, the O2 guy matched my Sony Ericsson C902 deal from Orange, in fact, bettering the monthly price by a tenner (£180 saving). No free 8gig memory card, but I can live with that (I can use the 1gig card I have with my existing phone, or spend the 2 months tariff savings on a 4gb card). All I'll need after that is a new body glove case (they seem to work well for me).

Happy bunny.

I took this with my 3.2mp camera-phone. The C902 has a 5mp camera. Not a 2mp camera (unlike the one I was hoping to get today). It turns out that the quality and spec of the embedded camera is more important to me than the hype of the iPhone. It also transpires that I want to be able to quickly text/blog-mail without having to slide out a keyboard (ruling out the N95 and some other smartphones).

So, the saga ends. I am on the promise of a new phone when my contract ends early in August. The details have been recorded on my O2 customer log, and I have written a transcript on paper (including the chap's name).

I still have twitlive.tv playing in the background (total viewers for his amazing 24-hour livecast has topped a quarter-of-a-million already ) I've closed down the O2 iPhone forums. I'll probably unsubscribe from the related podcasts and RSS feeds.

Please hold.

iEmpathy - 3g iPhone Blues

This is what I get when watching Leo live. I empathise with the song, as Darren texts me phone models to look at.

Jobs' keynote presentation never mentioned this at launch day. For about a month now, today was "launch day". yesterday's rain has passed, but it is still raining in my heart.

Just finishing breakfast, then off to do the filing I didn't do yesterday.

Please hold.

iMorning

Leo Laporte is still going strong 7 hours later, he's 8 hours behind UK time. twitlive.tv

He's just admitted that he hasn't spoken to anyone via the new iPhone yet. Speaking to Wil Harris in Oxford, there is only 6 people queuing outside the O2 store. In the US flagship store, there was only 20 people queuing whereas last year there was over 100. 10 mins before the opening, Wil said the queue ("line") went up to 11 people.

Oooh, video of iRobot (ooh, hip name). Direct control of a small robot, without having to go through a laptop. No wonder the US military are interested. link

iPhone Launch Day

Well, it is now the 11th July. the day that Steve Jobs' company launches the iPhone. The day that O2 stores in the UK are selling the iPhone. I'm watching Leo Laporte at twitlive.tv - first time I've seen him in the 'flesh', and I'm still trying to marry up the voice with the face.

As to phones, I'm on the Sony Ericsson site, looking at the spec of the C902. No (non-turn-by-turn) gps, no app store. But it is smaller, has a better camera, and I can text with buttons. I'll see what deals I can get on the phone and contract when my contract expires in August.

So long, Apple, it has been a fun month thinking of all the things I could do with it. Each one seems to have been knocked back by what I've heard about limitations of hardware, software and coverage. Maybe the next release will be handled better.

d-1 for iPhone 3G Launch

David Pogue of the New York Times sums up a lot of what I've been thinking since O2 don't want my iCustom.

Having seen the problems that people have been having on the O2 forums, I decided not to bother calling up a different O2 upgrade phone number. I think I want a better camera than the iPhone comes with. I'm getting tempted by the Sony Ericsson C902, or the Nokia N95. For out on the hills, I'm not too keen on having to slide out a keyboard to rattle off a blog post - that way leads to a damaged phone or a missed opportunity.

Readership Survey

As it is raining outside, and the iPhone saga has come to a bitter end, I thought I'd post my readership stats for the year to date.

Personal stats for this year:

• Hikes: 5
• Bennachies: 1 (440m ascent/descent, approx 4km round trip)
• Kilometres hiked: 93km
• Munros bagged: 1 (Carn a' Mhaim, 460m ascent)
• Nights in Akto: 5

It has been a quiet year so far, with weekend weather, illness, bereavement, work. So I was surprised when the total treks came to 93km/57 miles. Head down and just walk. It's not rocket science.

Blog stats since January 1st this year:

• Visits: 19,042
• Unique Visitors: 9,026
• Page views: 31,087
• Average time on site: 1 min 45 seconds (Baku in Azerbaijan wins a virtual prize for longest average time on site, 12 mins).

Thanks for dropping by. Please hold.

Hello, Goodbye

Just off the phone with what sounds like a very busy O2 call centre. The main news is that despite being texted by O2 that I can upgrade my phone to an iPhone, the lass said exactly the same as the email message that came in on Tuesday.

I have to wait another month until my contract expires to get an iPhone.

For me, that's another month to look at coverage, contracts, to hear about the problems with the iPhone after the launch, to walk away from O2 and Apple. And then there will be the launch of new phones from Apple's competitors to consider.

But I did hear mention of a speculated 32gig iPhone launching later in the year. The "Today in iPhone" decision tree.

Oh, I tried joining the O2 customer forums last night (tech, tips). 12 hours later and I'm still waiting for the activation email. I'd be laughing if I had any chuckles left in me after the way O2 has mis-handled the launch and killed off my interest in a convergent device in just 4 days. Well done to all involved. It just sums up the state of the UK so-called "service" industry.

Anyway, here's "The Hell Song" - slightly more appropriate for O2's 'hold' music than "When Johnny Comes Marching Home". Who the heck plays songs-from-the-wars music to customers? Oh yeah, O2. Please hold.

No News is No News

On Monday, I wasn't able to get a 3g iPhone from O2 online. They said to come back to their site on Thursday. For the next few days the 'news' was the same.

This morning, their site has a graphic stating: "iPhone 3G. The iPhone you've been waiting for. Coming 11 July."

The only news for existing O2 customers (me) who don't have a 1st generation iPhone (I don't).

Upgrade to iPhone 3G
Existing O2 customers can also switch to iPhone 3G. We'll contact you when you're eligible for an upgrade and talk you through the best options.

Considering that this is a business who's core business is communications, this sort of attitude is laughable.

As my contract is with the online O2 franchise, I am not able to go to a real-world O2 shop tomorrow. I wouldn't bother queuing like a Muppet anyway. What I'm doing tonight/tomorrow depends on the weather, not some over-paid O2 executives.

Rain Stops Play

Yesterday morning, the weather forecaster wasn't sure how far north the belt of rain would reach.

As I lay in bed this morning, over the sound of the radio, I could hear the rain bouncing off the cars outside. I think that answered yesterday's question.

The tv forecast for later is that the rain will be confined to the east. All but my food is packed, clothes set aside, but I'm going out for fun and don't think I can be bothered with going out in the rain.

Image © Copyright EUMETSAT/Met Office

Kit Mods: Mini-Lantern

Last time I was out overnight it was with Mike. I missed having a fire as a focus as we sat outside our tents. The mini-lantern that I normally hang from the clothes-line in the Akto just didn't cut the mustard.

When off ill, I noticed the colours of the film around a lucozade bottle.

It takes the edge off the LED light.

Unlike the different colours of the multi-LED Alpkit head torch, this lantern projects different colours. I'll see if they look 'warm' in the tent on Thursday night.

Dust-Off

As usual, set out my kit on the bed, just to make sure everything is present.

Just food to add. If I have time, I'll make up a couple of FreezerBag meals, otherwise I'll just grab some pre-made from the larder. Just heading for a couple of clicks up Glen Ey in the Cairngorms. See how the leg handles it.

The only extra gear that I'm taking is my poncho-tarp with guylines and pegs. Just to try out some pitches.

Kampei

119,000mg of medicine over 6 weeks. That's about 8 titanium tent pegs. I could almost pitch my Akto with that.

Course Ends

Just taken the last of my antibiotics. A four week course and then a two week course. A short 2km pathwalk tomorrow afternoon and an overnighter in the Cairngorms. Back out on friday. I'll miss the Iphone launch, but I've given up caring. Got to keep my priorities in a sensible order.

iPhone? naePhone

Ah, here we go...O2, existing customer who doesn't have an iPhone already...

Upgrade to iPhone 3G

Existing O2 customers can also switch to iPhone 3G. We'll contact you when you're eligible for an upgrade and talk you through the best options.

pagelink - I'm with O2 already, and the text about contract length applies to other service providers.

So, I registered interest in June. Got a text through from them later to say that I will be notified in about the iPhone. Here's me assuming that this means that I would be "eligible for an upgrade"! Just because the people who have my contract details say that I am. On Monday, I also receive the text message that states "iPhone 3g is here. Upgrade now by going to ... ".

And there was me assuming again that in the 21st Century, a communications company who has customer details on computer, who has contract details on computer, who then sends out details regarding the new product, would have the common sense to be able to see who is eligible or not. But, no, they generate a disgruntled and disappointed customer. A customer who ... well, no need to go over ground that I'd gone over earlier today.

If they weren't so overstretched and under-supported, I was thinking of contacting the Trading Standards about this. I wonder if OfCom would be better? LOL. Yeah, right.

O2 Replies re iPhone

I got this reply from O2 regarding the lack of feedback when I submitted the order form for an iPhone on Monday.

Hello Duncan,
Thank you for your email about the new iPhone 3G.
I've checked your account and I can assure you that there is no order placed for new iPhone 3G on your account. You can also confirm from your bank that if we've taken any amount from your credit card account.
Your 18 month contract started on xx March 2007 and you'll complete your contract term on xx September 2008.
You'll be eligible to upgrade your contract on xx August 2008.
To upgrade to the new iPhone 3G, please email us on or after xx August 2008. We'll then help you further.
I hope you will find this information useful. If there's anything else we can do for you, please reply to this email.

Kind regards,
O2 Customer Service.

Nothing unusual in the first section, but the second topic prompted the tone of my reply:

Thank you for that confirmation.
Regarding the upgrade being only available in August 2008, this is totally different to the information stated on the O2 website, where existing O2 users can upgrade to the 3g iPhone.
I feel cheated now, and wonder how many other customers are in the same boat.
What a waste of 3 hours on Monday, a waste of research into the new iPhone that your site mislead me into believing that I was able to get at the launch.
I'm off to ponder my future with O2.
Duncan

Did I misread the website launch information? If so, why did I get a text message on Monday after registering my interest in June? All that this is doing is putting me off buying an iPhone, as I'm noting how much I like the smaller size of my existing phone (a Sony Erricson K800i). It has a 3.2mp camera, much better than the one in the new iPhone. All this started because I was wondering about upgrading to a smart-phone when my contract came up. I wasn't persuaded by what I saw in the HPC/XDA range. Then I saw the keynote speech for the Apple iPhone and was sold on it. For me, it was a true convergent device, something that people have been talking about for over a decade. Every problem I heard (eg no video capacity, lower-spec camera, no turn-by-turn GPS) was met by me thinking that "yes, but it can do so much more".

In the end, though, if the mobile phone is not as good as my existing mobile phone, do I care enough about the other aspects of the iPhone to put up with this launch hastle? Why should my "fight or flight" response kick in for something as unimportant as a mobile phone? It isn't even the Friday launch day and already I think that O2 and Apple have lost a customer.

Meths in his Madness

My search for a meths container was taken up by BG!

The container would fit inside my Alpkit titanium mug, and store enough fuel for at least 4 hot meals (approx 4 fluid ounces; 120 mls).

Have a look at what the man in the Midlands has designed and built: reservoir dog.

Sale of iGoods

Written to O2 a few minutes ago...

Hi. Late afternoon on Monday 7/7/08 I filled out the online form for an upgrade of my SonyEriccson to the new 3g iPhone. Filled out my credit card details, account number, etc. Having waited for the form to appear for 2 hours, I was surprised to see it being processed.

However. It is now quarter-to-midnight and I've had no confirmation email through yet. As I don't like not knowing if my payment will be - or has been - processed against my card, I'd simply like you to tell me what stage your attempt to sell me an iPhone is at.

Having heard so many negative things about the 3g iPhone, I'm starting to have my doubts. Maybe I'll just wait until my current contract ends and look around for a good price on one of the HPC smartphones.

Duncan

--
Cut to a terser...

I filled out the online form for an upgrade of my SonyEriccson to the new 3g iPhone. Filled out my credit card details, etc. Having waited for the form to appear for 2 hours, I was surprised to see it being processed.
-However. It is now midnight & I've had no confirmation email through yet. As I don't like not knowing if my payment will be -or has been- processed against my card, I'd simply like you to tell me what stage your attempt to sell me an iPhone is at.
-Having heard so many negative things about the 3g iPhone, I'm starting to have my doubts. Maybe I'll just look around for a price on an HPC smartphone.

With the money they're making, you'd think they could put a size-limiter in the textbox instead of people finding out the hard way. Heck, they are in the communications business.

And my wee iPhone cover arrived from Singapore today. just a bit of protection until I can get an Otterbox.

Dilemma Over

Ah well. I opened the presentation case. Forced out the hip flask. It seemed to shrink before my eyes. I checked the volume. 2.5 fluid ounces. Aargh.

Realistically, I'm after at least a 4 fluid ounce flask. Friday night. Saturday morning. Saturday evening. Sunday morning. 1 fluid ounce of fuel per meal (approximately). I'm probably being over cautious, but that's just me.

I'll have a look back at the one Alan BG! offered me.

Advertorial Videos

TWiT 150 mentions REI.com when giving an example of possible changes in media. As ever, an interesting podcast. The idea of printed media being secondary to online content. That time has been reached. I'd commented recently about getting tired of magazines like Trail, and BBC's "Click" TV programme only giving me a partial article, and telling me where I can read the full article online.

I'm sure that I've said in the past that I'm surprised that hiking magazines don't list the kit used by people in the photograph - like they do in 'fashion' magazines. Easier to run click-through adverts to kit retailers from an online article than it is from a magazine or tv show.

There is more control on the Internet. More chance to make more money. Heck, if it doesn't cost the reader/viewer anything, why not?

If you'd like to read the full copy of this post, click here.

CRoW - Amazing Legislation

These Southerners find that their Countryside and Rights of Way Act just gets stranger and stranger - now it may be used to prevent people from using rights of way. Go figure!

Details on Grough's newsdesk.

What Can Be Achieved in 84 Days

So, what did you achieve in the last 84 days? I hope you didn't waste your time online, watching tv, getting het up by work and annoyed by the blox on the box.

Mick and Gayle walked from Land's End (bottom left bit of the British mainland) to John O'Groats (top right-hand corner). So, that's the length of England, length of Wales, and length of Scotland. In passing by them on the mainland, this includes the length of Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Hebrides (inner and outer).

It's a long sodding way. At the moment, they have also raised £4,110.30 for charity. You can still donate if you wish. Many people have donated along the way. You can read about the nice people and the walk on their blog.

Well done to Mick and Gayle.

I,252 miles was the planned route. I think they walked more than that.

The Real Monarch of the Glen ep1

Message sent to BBC iPlayer folk:

Cracking job on the iPlayer, but when will you include BBC Scotland and not just BBC England? For example, some mates down south wanted to watch "The Real Monarch of the Glen" (BBC2 Scotland), so I pointed them to your iPlayer. Only then did one of the chaps point out your lack of regional programming.

I'm not interested in when the TV down south will show the prog, but just why your iPlayer is biased against us up here. As you are constantly working hard to improve the iPlayer, I hope that this oversight will be corrected shortly.

The programme - merely reshowing clips from the original, with expanded material. Mr Lister playing to the camera when eating ants in Scandinavia. Terms like "the cycle of life", "enclosed reserve", "fenced reserve" and "let's just do it". Sweeping statements from the programme-makers "make a remote spot ... a little wilderness", and "now the first animals are back".

I'm sure the BBC will bring out inconsistencies, like bringing employment to the area, but the construction workers were Polish (heck, maybe they live in the area, I don't know). 700 brown bears in the whole of Sweden (stated the script), yet Mr Lister wants wants to introduce 12 to his small estate. Estate: 23,000 acres. Sweden: 111,188,530 acres. Obviously pure maths doesn't work here as the scientists know how much room these bears need. The same bears that  "won't be shy as they'll have less woods to hide in".

Anyone up for pony-trekking in amongst un-shy brown bears? I think I'll need to bag that Munro before the whatever-it-is-just-don't-call-it-a-zoo opens.

--

Filed under "Celebrity Interviews", there's an interview with Mr Lister in the Daily Record (story-link). Just don't bother doing a search for the word "zoo" in the interview. Nor is there mention of the Local Authority's objection to part of the proposal. In fact, the only mention of opposing views is in the statement that "Ramblers - some of whom have raised opposition to Paul's plans - currently number 300 on the estate each year." Therefore it could be implied that the number of objections are a subset of 300 (here's a link to the MCoS newsletter in case you want to hear objections from non-Ramblers).

But, hey, I wasn't going to start listing faults with the media. Good luck to the project. I've said things elsewhere that you can read if you are interested, so I won't repeat them here.

"Scotland is a nation on the move. We will accept nothing less than success." Oh, that was the First Minister, during his "Free to Prosper" speech and not Mr Lister.

I look forward to the rest of the series, and hope that the later programmes reveal more facts about Scotland being open for business, though perhaps the term "Monarch" in the title says all about the due deference being paid so far.

After Much Regular Refreshing

I think I've bought a new iphone. By time i got thru, the homepage - open in a separate window - said they were out of stock n check back on 10th july. Shiny.

Monday's Moral Maze

After being reminded to look for a hip-flask I was sure I had, I couldn't find it in my 'spares' hiking box. So I went looking in my kitchen. I shifted a box to look in the back of a cupboard. As I pulled out the box, the word "Glenfiddich" shone out in gold lettering. Howard Carter, eat your heart out!

Should I open the presentation case to use hip-flask to store meths for my cooker? It will fit into the Alpkit titanium mug. Alan Sloman reckons his has a 4 ounce capacity. 1 fluid ounce (30ml) per main meal. That should be enough for a weekend. What a dilemma!

Keep it Simple, Stupid

Hike your own hike. Dance your own dance.

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Sometimes people think too hard about the subject of global citizenship. It is a shame the world has too many backstabbing, money-grabbing, sleazy, lying, balloons who ruin it for the rest of us who just want to get on with their lives.

Yup, I'm working back through another Net@Nite podcast.

Back to Reality

In the last 4 weeks I have been mainly keeping my left leg elevated and following the doctor's orders. She's been a great doc, and my leg is merely itchy now, and breathing a lot better. Enough for me to get back to work yesterday (with the obligatory "welcome back" interview with HR), and thank my workmates for picking up 4 weeks of classes. Strange how much work changes in that time of absence, even when keeping in touch via emails.

So, I've a pile of things that I haven't tested yet.

The TNF Hedgehog GTX XCR trail shoes, bought on 12 hours before I phoned NHSDirect (no link implied). I refuse to wear them on my short walks that I have to take in the last week after my meds changed.

The Blackfly#3 that I bought from Tinny in the USA  - kindly resent when the original never arrived.

The doc was concerned that I couldn't look after myself - I did point out some of my recent hikes, and how much food I had in the flat. But I've still to try some FreezerBag recipes, as I'll need to find storage space in my kitchen for all the ingredients currently living in a box on the floor.

The Aquagear Survivor water filtration system needs another trip out before I write up my report. I have a Nalgene bottle carrier to strap it onto my belt, so I can access it when walking. It should allow me to carry less water in Camelbak, as I like to drink without stopping. It is important to keep hydrated, otherwise strange things happens to the body's systems.

Mike collected the Akto's inner from Tiso's. Good repair job, good price. Oh, and I measured the cord length again, and it is the recommended 165cm.

Dawn's had another clear-out, and I've a pack-full of excess gear to collect on my way down to Dartmoor later in the month. I'll need a dust-off before then, especially to make sure that my leg is up to a weekend of exploration.

In week 2, I was able to elevate my leg and use my computer at the same time (footstool with 4 cushions on it did the trick). I caught up with some tech podcasts, mainly from the TWiT stable. I lodged my interest in the new iPhone with O2, and was really enthused watching Steve Jobs' keynote speech, but was less enthused the more I listened to podcasts like MacBreak Weekly and Today in iPhone. I gave up on Trail magazine and will not be renewing my subscription, but have been reading the BPL.com forums - I haven't bought a membership there, merely the magazine subscription.

Watched a pile of dvds, highlights "Doctor Who: The Beginning" (first 13 episodes from 1963), and "The Day the Earth Stood Still", lowlight "King Arthur" (not as bad as Braveheart, but sodding close. Great kit, good sets, poor - really poor - story). Finally bought a copy of "Scottish Hill Tracks" and can see why people on the TGOc like it, and why it was useful for Gayle and Mick in route-planning their country-long trek. Also realised that I didn't have Paddy Dillon's "The National Trails", so rectified that as well as buying "Walking on Dartmoor" by John Earle.

As it is impossible to paint while keeping leg elevated and major dosage of anti-biotics setting the daily routine, I've been unable to paint figures. I have, however, been planning my trench system, and would love something as detailed as this, but doubt I can achieve that level of realism. I treated my research to a blast of the "Charley's War" reprints - I forgot how realistic they were. Pat Mills answers his critics with research.

The Palmolive bottle still hasn't been eaten by the meths/water mix, so that's another piece of kit for the dust-off test.

As to the blog, I've added some 'non-ads' to the sidebar. Unpaid, unsponsored, unasked, just highlighting some companies that do a good job. The only other change I made was to change the type of "map-amung -us" to show where about current readers are.

Think I might get the iPhone 3g as I think Web2.0 has reached it's limit for me. It becomes just noise rather than information. Despite being laid up for this time, I've still got piles of podcasts and blogs to read, as well as programmes to clear from my recorder. As people require log-ins before comments can be left, or become protective about the purity of comments (see podcast about responsibility), as there are more media-podcasts being set up in direct challenge to the dire terrestrial broadcasting schedules, will we see an end to the lowly ramblings on forums, newsgroups, blogs? Is the term "friend" being demeaned by its use in social networking? Is the brain being rewired by the reliance on the Net (or is that, shudder, the "cloud").

TGO just dropped through letterbox, time to get a move on.

No Pasaran

I went on to the Syrup WordPress theme site to let the author, Nick, know about BG!'s problem. He's blocked from the site for "spamming", and so can't inform the author as his one point of contact (an online form) is on the site that he's blocked from. Yeah, kinda sodding stupid, 19th-century methodology, but it's Wordpress, so I really don't care.

Anyway, I leave a comment on the board. It spends ages failing to process the comment. So I find the guy's email form and send a message through with BG!'s details.

Later I check back to find that: You have been blacklisted from the website for spamming.

Here's the address, why don't you go and have a laugh. http://www.pancak.es/category/themes/

The email page is at http://www.pancak.es/contact-me/ - and like BG!, I'm now banned from it for spamming.

Like I said, I don't use WordPress, so it's no skin off my nose.

The guy's stoopid software must do it by IP address rather than cookie, as I've just tried it with another browser, and I'm still being defamed as a spammer there (ooh, I wonder what the chance is of a no win, no fee case?).

Killed connection and logged back in again, and opened 3rd browser (IE), which fails to load the site, and logs it as:

This error (HTTP 500 Internal Server Error) means that the website you are visiting had a server problem which prevented the webpage from displaying.

Safari still wrongfully knocks on my door in the middle of the night and calls me a spammer. IE crashes as I load a few WordPress help pages. Which was why I relegate IE to my 3rd browser.

Anyway, if it was me, I'd lose the theme and go for something with customer support, where you aren't accused of anti-social behaviour by some stoopid defence mechanism, and stop worrying about it. Life's too short for this nonsense.

Here's something more thought-provoking from Spain: They Still Draw Pictures (Spain 1938). Sadly, something that kids probably still do in conflicts throughout the world today. There are more important things to discover and ponder.

May all be well and happy.

Numb3rs

So, the pro-wild camping ePetition "only" got 2021 votes. Guess what? The governing Labour got about half that last night at the Henley bi-election.

Conservative 19,796
Lib Dems 9,680
Green 1,321
BNP 1,243
Labour 1,066
Source BBC News

Spookily, they got 1066 - which is part of Darren's blog's URL!!!  Cue the music!

--

There's been other things going on with the Campaign, including a call from the Mountain Leader Training England via Trail/Country Walking forum and Grough. Me? I'm tired of the nay-sayers, tired of poorly worded laws that people feel free to ignore because no-one's getting hurt, tired of the authorities lording it over the populace and yet losing records, pochling expenses, and failing to answer questions in the house.

Wild Camping in London

After the knockback from the English government, these Englishers are allowing an opportunity for a wild camp in the centre of London! Darren, get your quill a-writing on the application form.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7468750.stm

This Government appreciates the potential benefits of wild camping

The Prime Minister's Office has responded to that petition and you can view it here:

http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page15826.asp

This Government appreciates the potential benefits of wild camping in England and its attractiveness to campers who already have the opportunity to camp in the wild in Scotland.

The Land Reform Act in Scotland allows for wild camping, but the land issues and the legislation in England are somewhat different. The introduction of wild camping in England would be a controversial issue, which would require both significant consultation and legislative change.

On open access land wild camping is prohibited under Schedule 2 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, which lists all restricted activities. Therefore, new Regulations would be required to exclude wild camping as a restricted activity. Any change to the current rules on wild camping in National Parks and Ministry of Defence land would require new primary legislation.

The Government has no plans to allocate the necessary resources to consider proposals for such legislation at present, and is concentrating on following up the successful introduction of 750,000 hectares of open access land with new legislation on access to the coast in the Marine Bill, which is currently going through Parliament.

Here's my thoughts.

1. No mention as to whom in the "government" or "Prime Minister's Office" wrote this reply.

2. It states that the land issues in England (no mention of Wales) are different to Scotland. if you keep saying it often enough, everyone believes it.

3. "The introduction of wild camping in England would be a controversial issue, which would require both significant consultation and legislative change." Aye, you can't have a government do anything that would be controversial. Strange that us Scots managed it.

4. "new Regulations would be required to exclude wild camping as a restricted activity." Untrue. The Lake District National Park managed it with a few lines of text. Local Authorities can allow wild camping if they so desire.

5. The "open access land" in the Marine Bill will still preclude wild camping.

All in all, no surprise, just a shame that the government seem to be unwilling to change their tune. Now, I wonder how much business local authorities would lose if they illicit wild campers of England & Wales decided to obey the laws. But each to their own. I just love the nice comments that foreigners make about our access laws. Shame that the English government can't see it.

Keep an eye on legalisewildcamping.com for information on Stage 2 of the campaign.

Test message 6 pre tag

<pre>Http://maps.google.com/maps?q=56.567,+-5.033+(testing pre tag)&z=12&t=h</pre>

Another Test - Fuel Bottle

I've been running a test in the background for the last 36 hours. This time I decanted the contents of a Palmolive liquid handwash bottle, cleaned out the remaining soap and swapped a normal cola bottle lid for the scooshy one. Then I loaded it with 50% water and 50% meths and set off to one side.

36 hours later, still no leaks in the bottle. As shown previously, it all fits in to the Snow*Peak 900 cookset that I was using before the smaller Alpkit ti-Mug. 300ml. 30mls a hot meal. 10 hot meals approximately. Oh, and more anti-bacterial hand-wash lurking around the flat.

Hardly a SPOT-Killer

Yup, as you might be able to guess for the recent test messages, I've been playing round with emailing locations to Google Maps. Hardly a killer for the SPOT system, as you might as well text the grid reference and call for help to all your contacts.

So, how'd it work? Great help from mapki.com/wiki/Google_Map_Parameters as it broke down the code. As you can see from the test messages, Blogger had problems translating the emailed URL into a hyperlink. There seems to be a limit to the number of characters. As I could replace the blog title "test message" with another message, eg "all is well", or "hurt head but am okay", I removed the text from the message.

That leaves the remaining code.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=56.567N+5.033W&z=12&t=h

This part of the code tells Google Maps to search for the following.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=56.567N+5.033W&z=12&t=h

The number are the latitude and longitude. The degrees north+degrees west in a decimal format. On my Garmin, I can swap units to H D.D° and read off the numbers to 3 decimal points. In the earlier posts, I tried the - for west, but I think that is too confusing for me. Easier, I think, to use N and W for north and west.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=56.567N+5.033W&z=12&t=h

The next code is the zoom level.

&z=9 zoom  ... level regional (example)
&z=12 zoom ... approx 1/50kregional (example)

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=56.567N+5.033W&z=12&t=h

And finally,

&t=p  ... terrain (example)
&t=h  ... hybrid (example)
&t=m  ... map (example)

Remember that the satellite image may not be available to some close in zoom levels.

Although it looks complex, once it works, you can copy/paste the code into other messages. You might find that longer code is allowed by your blogging software.

Test message 5

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=56.567N+5.033W&z=12&t=h

Test message 4

Http://maps.google.com/maps?q=56.567,+-5.033+(toasty)&z=12&t=h

Test message 3

Http://maps.google.com/maps?q=56.567,+-5.033&z=12&t=h+(weather_good)

Test message 2

Http://maps.google.com/maps?q=56.567,+-5.033+(we_know_you_can_hear_us)&z=12&t=h

Test message

Http://maps.google.com/maps?q=56.567,+-5.033+(this is the voice of the mysterons)&z=12&t=h

These are not the words you are looking for

The new edition of Trail magazine came through the letterbox today. Promising tests of ultra-light tents and backpacks, plus wild camping, plus a 9-page 'mission' on going lightweight.

As I'm not allowed to saw anything negative that may affect sales, all I will say is that there was no Akto tested in their test of lightweight tents. Heavier tents are tested. More expensive tents are tested.

As 'mission' - I couldn't get beyond the introduction. The wild camping laws are, again, incomplete. I felt my BP start rising and my leg twinge. Not a good sign. So I put the magazine away.

I feel the urge to thumb through "Lighten Up" by Don Ladigin and Ryan Jordan's "Lightweight Backpacking and Camping", heck, even Chris Townsend's "Backpacker's Handbook". I just can't be bothered with the over-dramatic stance that is taken. Hike your own hike. If you need someone else to tell you how to pick your own nose, you probably shouldn't be trekking out of site of a main road.

Why Do We Put Up With It?

Look at this link: fuel bottles.

Gas canisters are circular in section and fit nicely inside a cooking mug.

Why, when you switch to meths/"alcohol" stoves do you suddenly get something offered that looks like it fell off a Panzer in Rommel's DAK? For the sake of the 21st century, will someone not look at this glaring gap in the market and sell me the solution!

Why should I put up with jamming wee plastic bottles in the side, when the shape is determined by the size of the cookset (see yesterday). No doubt some people out there will be knitting their own fuel bottles, or are happy to carry lots of wee bottles, but not me. I'm too fashionable for that malarky.

So, come on, someone (Alpkit??) make my day.

This Podcast Will Save Your Life

Catching up with some podcasts, I got to this one from the "This Week in Tech" stable: "This Week in Law 14", with Denise Howell.

Although subtitled as "Managing the legal risks related for blogging and podcasting", it covers lots of ground, as much of the Web2.0 gamut that they can. If you write a blog, podcast, use photo-hosting, post comments, write on forums, then listen to this podcast ASAP:

http://twit.tv/twil14: Blogger and Podcaster Liability

What's That, Mr D?

Not that I'm going stir crazy or anything, but it is my Snow*Peak Titanium Trek 900 cooking pot with the MBD Blackfly3 stove (in component parts for ease of packing) and a 300ml bottle currently being used to hold Palmolive antibacterial handwash. I replaced the squirty lid with one from a platy waterbottle. The next stage will be to see if it holds meths. It could be a short and messy experiment, but reckon it's worth it as this bottle holds 300ml, that's a usage of 30ml a meal, so 10 meals. 5 days. Approximately, as there may be some spare meths left after cooking.

For shorter trips, using the smaller Alpkit Mytimug, I have a semi-circular bottle which came in a set from Next. 100ml, so 3 hot meals. If it stretched to 4, that'd be ideal (Friday night, Saturday morning, Saturday night, Sunday morning).

I don't like the idea of changing my cookset to suit the fuel container, so I'll need to think some more. That's if the bottles don't get melted by meths.

Rationale:  quite simply, I like having the cookset, stove, fuel and spork all together. Utilitarian.

Please Sir, Can We Have Some More?

I tried emailing O2. Once I had logged in, I had to enter my address again and DoB before I could contact them. They're happy to give me my bill with merely a login, but asking them something requires a higher level of security check. I felt in my place before emailing them. Like standing outside the headmaster's door. Cor gov'n'r, thank e for allowing me an audience...

I use my mobile phone when out hiking (e.g. in the Cairngorms). Whilst I appreciate there are blind spots in your coverage, and there are hidden glens, etc, what I fail to comprehend is the occasions that I have received a text (eg when on a hill), and try to send a reply. On many an occasion I have watched the signal strength drop through the bars until I can only send "for emergency use only".

Please, simply tell me why this happens? I hadn't moved. Presumably the transmitter mast hadn't moved either. But your service fails me.

I don't care that you knock the socks off other company's coverage. I just want to know why something that should be constant seems to be variable. From 5 bars to 0 bars. That's 100% drop in service.

It just gets frustrating. As you may gather.

I think that it will put your new gps-featured iPhone in doubt for use by the outdoors community.

I look forward to your technical explanation of the service fluctuation.

Duncan MacLeod
http://aktoman.blogspot.com

But when I tried posting it, I was told that the message was too long. No hints as to what I need to shorten it by.

I use my mobile phone when out hiking (e.g. in the Cairngorms). I notice that there are occasions that I have received a text (eg when on a hill), and try to send a reply. On many an occasion I have watched the signal strength drop through the bars until I can only send "for emergency use only".
Please, simply tell me why this happens? I hadn't moved. Presumably the transmitter mast hadn't moved either. But your service fails me.
I'd like to know why something that should be constant seems to be variable. From 5 bars to 0 bars. That's 100% drop in service.
I think that it will put your new gps-featured iPhone in doubt for use by the outdoors community.
Duncan MacLeod
http://aktoman.blogspot.com

We need as much coverage in the UK as possible. I think some form of sharing of networks may be in order. And then some private company to get better coverage out there. It'll never get to 100% coverage, but there has to be some technical breakthrough due. I mean, Marconi was working with radio outdoors after 1895. 113 years of development and this is where we are at.

There has to be a better way.

Of course, if you are designing a cash-cow, then, moooo

Cartophiles of the world, arise!

I love maps. Maps hold information, and information is power. When in the outdoors, it can be the power of life and death. Or simply finding a decent, comfortable wild camp hours before arriving in the area. It is almost magical.

The new iPhone also worked its magic on me when I was off ill. I found out about the launch accidentally when looking at my O2 phone bill. It launches on the 11th of July this year. Shiny. By the time I had finished watching the keynote speech, I was hooked. Heck, Jobs had be hooked about 25% in.  (link)

The big draw? Assisted GPS (dfn). This will allow so many new applications to be developed as to be unimaginable.

For me, I want to be able to link a live trail-log to blog posts. In English: I post a blog entry from the trail, and the system updates a map with a flag to allow users to click and read the blog post. An old-school version of something similar exists on this blog: My Munros map. It is clunky and requires 2 apps to get it updated. Not very WebGeo.

So, what I want to be able to do is:

1. Write post in a decent editor. Add photos to it. Be able to send post direct to my blog.

2. I want to be able to add my current location from the GPS system to the post and have this used by the software (i.e. I don't want to have to type in long old-school lat/long numbers).

3. I want that data to be added to a map on my blog (I'll accept some initialisation if required).

The details of the map (probably Google Maps), won't be as good as the Ordnance Survey, but it will be good enough to allow people to read that I'm okay/moaning/singing/sleeping in/changing plans (delete as applicable) and see where abouts on the trail that I am.

Of course, for this to work out in the real world (i.e. not within the proportion of the country that the telephone companies can be bothered to give cellular access to). I think that OffConn needs to step in - but they'd have to climb out of the pockets of the companies and start standing up for the citizens that pay their wages.

--

Some GeoBlogging links (old-school definition on Wikipedia)

• Google Geo Developers Blog
• Lat Long Blog (official Google Earth & Maps blog)
• Google Maps Mania (unofficial)
• Where2.0 Conference
• Adam Burt's 2006 post:  Overview of Geo-Blogging
• Geobloggers.com
• How to insert a map in your blog
• Geoblogging using Google AJAX API
• Rob O'Daniel's post: How to Geotag Your Blog

Friends Reunited

Tiso's just called, and Akto inner is back from repair n ready for collection. Woohoo.

Not cool at all

No, Darren, it isn't cool. 1000mg of different antibiotic tablets 4 times daily. I'll be rattling by the end of the week. Plus it is agony to walk on. And there's my new trail shoes gathering dust. Och michtie me. And I've not been on a computer since this all started on Sunday night.

Blackfly 3 arrives

Hobbling to the door i collect a couple of parcels. One was the order from Tinny at minibulldesign. For the first time in ordering from the States, i wasn't hit with import duty. I hope he was able to reclaim for the one that went missing in transit. I may try using it to boil water for a lemsip later. Also in the parcel was 2 fuel bottles, extra spare wicks and metal roll for a windshield. 

And the other package? Two FT-17s and a Charron a/c from the Honourable Lead Boiler Suit Company. If i didn't have to keep my feet up and rest,

There was also an envelope, which turned out to contain OL 28 Dartmoor. It reminds me of the moors back home - but without the firing ranges.

New Trail Shoes

Decided to buy a pair of trail shoes. Went for The North Face's Hedgehog GTX XCR. 15% discount in Tiso's on all TNF products. I'll try them out on Bennachie later in the week. Wowser.

Hiking the Guilt Trip

Robin went hiking recently in the Cairngorms National Park. he felt that he hadn't spent enough money in the local community, and wondered if he was a "parasite". I followed a link up to Andy Howell's posting, which links in to a podcast that I have not yet listened to, Mark Richards talking about "The Outdoor Environment".

For me, it was all one push too many. I've come across the sign in the local corner shop: "due to government pressure, we are now charging 5 pence per carrier bag". Then in my local Asda I was forced to 'beg' for a carrier bag to put my shopping in. This from a place that uses a warehouse where the roof void is being heated but not used. I see it all as companies hitting the punter. Me - if you treat me like that, I just walk away. It is called bullying. My reaction is fight or flight. We can only fight against companies ripping us off by hitting them where it hurts.

Here's what I left on Andy's blog:

“Pick on someone else, sunshine.” - that’s my first non-censored thought.

If communities want to sponge off of hikers, provide something in return else get off my case.

People drive through regions and I don’t see stop-search brigades going through glove compartments and picnic hampers.

Local communities “stick the knife” in their local shops by going to their nearest mega-super-store instead. Opening hours of remaining shops reflect the local desires and not those of the occasional passing hiker.

I’m tired of people forcing their guilt trips on to me. Maybe we could all do what Dave Gorman did in the USA - and only support Mom-and-Pop operations when hiking. But that would include getting to/from the trailheads too.

For what it is worth, I recycle what I can, walk where I can, and spend money in the local communities. Not because I am forced to, but because I want to, and the option is there for me to do so. And I'm watching "Primeval" on tv instead of a high-carbon-footprint imported show.

Musings on Today

I did not go to a gear shop.

I did not stop at a chippy.

I did not write a gear review.

I did get a lot of work done.

I did start on my next batch of barbed wire defences.

Bennachie 050608

Left car at 7.15, the entity that is i as a ball of sweat arrived at summit at 8.05. A dog barks from a farm somewhere below me. The steady roar of the traffic miles away. The approaching bank of sea fog. An aircraft flies out from Dyce, as my right far tries to locate the warble of a moorhen. The woods below me are full of birdsong. A ghostly whisp of cloud is carried on the air just below eye level. Someone puffs and pants on the rocks behind me as his Irish-accented pal is presented with the view. Time for me to head back as people talk about flirtatious emails.

36 minutes to get from Summit to car park.

Why did I suddenly feel the urge to head for my local hill for the first time this year? After a long day at work, I thought of a nice cool shower, or a cold drink, or a large pack of crisps and veg out. Then I thought of all three together. A straw in the can, and did anyone make waterproof crisps?

At which point I thought that I needed to break the vicious cycle and fight through the numpty drivers (speeding on all roads, driving along 2' away from the read of vehicles at speed: I just find it all so tiring). Quick tea, and out.

Kit: Montrail Namche, Mountain Hardwear Trek trousers, Airforce X-socks (they don't work for me on long treks), "life is good" non-wicking statement t-shirt, Montane windshirt (with plastic water bottle, camera, mobile phone, Tikka plus headtorch - just in case).

Last visit: good grief, it was in August last year!

Bucking Horse Day

Yippee, it is Bucking Horse day across on the Vacana. See if you can't recognise your students in this tale from the Buddha. Link

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sky

Spurred on by George's video postings, I wheeched together the few video clips I'd taken last weekend, and hoyed them into a clip on YouTube. As noted from London, you can select to view the videos in "high quality". It obviously takes longer to download, and is still at 320 x 240 pixels, but should be less "blocky". Of course, the GIGO principle still applies.

Updated My Munros map list.

--update--

Higher quality version now available (640x480 pixels, click the link that says "Watch in High Quality", just below the video) . There's no way to select the HQ version without going to the website, or changing your YouTube settings (see link).

On Your Marks

Between getting up early to do some marking, Darren phoning about cameras, downloading a new podcast channel that George found, and watching some lightweight backpacking on dvd (the 1970's show "Kung Fu"), oh, and getting some WW1 French figures prepped for varnishing ... I don't seem to have started my marking yet.

And now, catching up with the videos that Cameron posted about the TGO Challenge (pt 1, pt 2) - there's Darren, there's the unsurpassable John Manning, Chris Townsend (I think, is in shot at the Montrose dinner scene). As one chap said "you have to be strange to do this".

As the commentary for part 2 ends with "are you up for it?" - Yes, I am, but just can't afford to take 2+ weeks of unpaid leave off work.

I look forward to seeing the "Adventure Show" coverage, but have a suspicion that it is just going to be snippets during their 1 hour long show rather than the main section of the programme. They tend to focus on mountain bike races, ice climbing championships, and the like. High-adrenaline races. But I'm happy to be proven wrong.

Right ... about that overwork ...