The heat is building, hot is coming here next week
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Stay in, relax, read and do some computer graphics. Here is a figure rendered with a normal map, and global illumination.I don’t do that much rendering these day, mostly building objects for the flight sim.Can you guess what a small nuance of a passing thought was when this came out?

MJ RIP: no, it’s never going to happen. Michael Jackson will never be allowed to rest in peace. There will be an endless cycle of conspiracy theories, legal wranglings, court cases, re-issues, writs, biographies, films, documentaries and autopsies. The media will canonise him; in the way that Elvis, Diana, Marc Bolan, Lennon, ML King, the list is long, but perhaps a list of names at surprisingly even intervals in time.

Contact lenses: tried out a trial pair today. They were uncomfortable to put in (the optician did that bit) but no real sensation after that. Seeing was another matter- vision was clear for half of the time but each thing you look at as you go about your day could be blurred or clear. The sens partially flaots in the tears on your eyes, which sometimes lifts the lens, sometimes it aligns true. Sometimes, patches were blurred, others amazingly clear. At best, there was no chromatic aberration and certainly none of that mildly irksome barrel distortion that I get with glasses. However, you just don’t ever know when you glance at something that it will beclear- probably a real nuisance when driving.

Nice late evening walk in good company (bar the midges & gnats). Big skies and full colour palette.

I’m sorry that my dogs make others’ look rubbish. Rosie climbs mountains with me, she has an instinctive knowledge of the routes. Bessie has stayed at home but impressed me for another reason. This last few days she has not been well, she needs to get to the garden more often than usual- perhaps it’s something that she ate. Last night she woke me a couple of times to go out, she paced around, she fussed and bothered. A lesser dog would have quietly left a dollop on the carpet and hoped for the best, but not Bessie- she desperately wants to do the ‘right thing’. If she isn’t getting the message across- she’ll resort to barking at you.

So I say sorry to those of you with likeable but slightly inferior dogs.

Time for rest: not surprising really, I have done over 30 hours exercise in the last week.

Just for lightness, here is a picture of a happy swan family:

Charming aren’t they, will I get to see how they grow this summer?

Taken: Film, action thriller with a paternal pride virtue. Even taking the Bourne trilogy’s absurdities, this one is beyond the ability to suspend disbelief. You may already know of my loathing for car chases, this does nothing to change my feeling on that. There is machine gun fire straight from "The A-Team". It’s a shame really because the film does have themes with virtues; it’s just as if the director-committees took over. The character set is populated by stereotypes &  parodies, but there is something. The relationship between Father and ex-wife is potentially interesting. Did we really need a super-hero actionman to fix it all up between them though?  If we are stupid- yes. I didn’t hate this film, I just don’t enjoy thinking about it afterwards much.

Cool: the fridge is mended. A valve developed a leak and the coolant evaporated leaving the motor spinning away against air. If that happens to yours, then switch it off- the motor needs the coolant to cool itself down too.
I wonder how my ol’ grandparents’ fridge worked since it was gas powered.

Fix: added an iPod connector to my car stereo, I have routed the cables so that the iPod connector pokes out through one of those blank switches. It’s well worth doing because the sound quality is far better, and the iPod charges up while plugged in.I felt very clever after putting this one in. Making an upgrade is always far more satisfying than repairing something back to its past condition (unless it has been annoyingly "bost" for ages).

The Break: now the fridge-freezer has lost its cold. The motor is making a loud buzzing noise and not keeping either compartment cold. A quick trawl of the web suggests that the compressor has failed and it needs a new one. My guess is a £100 repair bill for that. Cheaper than a new fridge though. Fridges are not interesting.

Not far from home: it’s possible to escape into what looks like remote countryside, just church spires are visible in the city, poking above the heavy trees.
Plenty in bloom, small delicate flowers, they are tricky to track down in the reference book. The even smaller blue ones are even more intricate and remarkable. Harder to photograph though. This Fuji pocket camera is really quite poor in many ways. Replacement is looking unlikely because of the bizarre trend towards no viewfinder- how are we supposed to take photos in bright sunshine then?

Near dark sky, it’s an oily blue-black up there. But, you know- twenty past nine…
Repotted a plant with a name like a drug; from the hibiscus family. The Acerecae has gold-glitter in the mud, what is that stuff? Looks like mica.
What is summer going to be like: this is farmland in Warwickshire, but it’s early May!

CDs: The Sparrow & The Crow: I’d swear I ordered this on LP.
The Rip: Portishead