Oblast

20°C, light clouds


Map image

The map is from Microsoft, it is capable of showing more detail, but you have ot follow the link to see it. It appears that the recent maps are more detailed than the flight sim; both owned by Microsoft.
Eastern Siberia, just so you know. Though in the middle of the world’s largest continent, there is water everywhere.

Obscure Siberia

19°C, rain.


Firefox: get version 3.5+ if you use this and a multicore processor- it now seems to multithread evenly on all four here. That is good, it means that the browser is nearly as fast as Google Chrome.
FSX-scenery: as long as they are relatively simple, making airstrips for this flight simulator doesn’t take long. I got six started or done yesterday. Okay, I admit, it was a monster session on a day of pouring rain.

  • UESS_Cherskiy
  • UEBB Batagay
  • UHMK_Keperveyem
  • UEBW_Verhojansk
  • UHMI Mys Schmidta (aka Moyale on Nth coast of E Siberia)
  • UEST_Tiksi (finished a while ago, but includes detailed replacement for the River Lena delta)

Most of these strips are next to rivers, some are old cold-war bomber bases with very long runways, most are semi-derelict. Some are closed.
Siberians don’t usually live far from a river (it’s transport, food and somewhere to drive in the long winter months). These landacapes are obviously remote, barren and frighteningly beautiful- to use an old-fashioined word- ‘sublime’.
AVsim’s library is back online so there will be available there soon. I may as well use Live’s Skydrive here to host them too.
Weird lands; have a look in Google-Earth.

Dee of Ee

20°C, sun & showers


Only a short slot in which to write. Hope the tent dries out in this half-hour. After, I shoot out for a meal organised by QM. Still trembling with tiredness, all credit to noisy kids talking all night on the camp-site. Why girls, all the loud conversation, it’s only rain? The solution was obvious but not to hand- ear-plugs.
We did feel a certain moral superiority on the hiking trips; we staff hiked. Other schools’ staff manned checkpoints sitting in their cars having driven up onto the plateau. Our kids had expected us to do just that when they asked about this; the answer shut them up. We packed our rucksacks and hiked up the climbs too. In fact, on the second day, we’d worked out that we could give them an hour’s head-start and get to the checkpoints before them. That depended on the extreme slowness of our kids of course, and that is the way it turned out to be.

Rosie quickly became the trip’s mascot. On leaving yesterday the girls gathered by the gate as we drove out, all waving and cheering. When close enough I could hear "bye Rosie" etc. hey, what about me? It’s me that marks your coursework!
that dog impressed everyone, she changed quite a few minds about the virtue of the poodle breed. She also did a fine job of pre-washing the girls’ saucepans- Rosie likes beef stew, noodles and spaghetti hoops.

soon…

20°C, drizzle then light and warmth


A day for conflict, borrowing, exasperation, reconciliation; a day for an early night.

…night.

Hey, again… up for a spin

20°C, showers with rumbles


Hey again, up for s pin?…pretty rain makes you smile…this is something, why don’t you come in?…this is some swell trash….Jesus, he’s easy, the safest way to go home….Hell, nothing’s boring, never could panic alone…Hey again, my only friend, pretty rain makes you smile, don’t pretty rain make you smile?…You are something, why don’t you come in?…You are some swell trash… Hyper-martyr, never would panic alone…Find her, my safest way to go home
K.Hersh.

This storm is getting further away…

one elephant..two elephant..three elephant…nine elephant
about 1½ miles away now.

Even the kids are tired at work; they feel like us. I caught two fast asleep in the computer room; they woke lost and surprised, staggering with pins & needles.I feel for them.

Heracleum mantegazzianum

20°C, clearing, breeze.


In a break with tradition, we didn’t go to Flying Legends: Duxford. Shame really, it would have been good- They have a FW190 taking part in the show.
5 Signets, gone- to join the bigger flocks I expect.
Heracleum mantegazzianum: "Giant Hogweed" found at the edge of a drainage ditch near Market Bosworth.

It stands about twice my height, and is furiously poisonous I am told. It has this strange property where the sap, if it gets onto skin is toxic in the presence of daylight- phototoxicity. The scarring can be permanent or even lethal.

Bone tired

19°C, some epic rainstorms today


Deep: deep down to-the-bone tiredness. I know I have talked of this before, but the feeling stirs memories of previous end-of-term feelings. My whole being seems to know there is only a few weeks to go.
With all that, writing up a risk-assessment is the worst thing to do – at the best of times it saps all of your verve. We all have to do these, but consider the numbers, the hours spent and multiply by the payrate. It’s a privilege to live in a country with such overflowing wealth.
A recession; there can’t be?


Crane fly- what are you doing here two months early?

Dactylorhiza Fuschii

25°C, mostly sun, rain figured, wind barely so.


Wild Orchids: Looks whiter in the photo than on the ground. A good find Mum.

Last few days have been plagued by punctures, on the bike this time. What do you know… you have none for nearly a year then several in one week. It’s so
r a n d o m ! Note the use of the teenagers’ "random".
If it wasn’t, the puncture rate may be more evenly spread over time. Reminds be of the doodlebug paradox (which isn’t one).