I had a short walk out east of Newark on Bank Holiday Tuesday – the light was just right as I passed through Stapleford Woods.
The above image was taken with Camera+, but the original was very dark in the foreground. I then used the Camera+ “Clarify” function to lighten the foreground without losing the sun burst.
All images made with my iPhone 4, including post processing and cropping.
Before going to work on Sunday morning, (reading and reviewing a client’s, current staff handbook to reflect new technologies we are installing for them), I had a chance for a short walk through Stapleford Wood near Newark. Plenty of late autumn colours.
Following the issues of actually installing iOS 5 onto my iPhone 4 the upgrade has added extra functionality to the phone. The highlights for me are:
I am off to Cornwall next week for a few days walking and camping so I will try out the upgraded Camera app then and comment on it once I have seen some results.
Things against iOS 5
Should you upgrade – yes – but look back at my post a out my upgrade experience before you do it – iOS 5 problems.
Things I like about iOS 5 Read More »
We got off to a good start this morning, rain and hold ups around Manchester, but there was a good sunrise.
We have stopped in Lancaster for walking fuel.
West Highland Way – On Our Way Read More »
Lincoln club hosts national festival.
The National Hamfest is next Friday and Saturday – so this Monday morning I am off to spend a week camping at the Newark Showground, to co-ordinate the Lincoln Shortwave Club and it’s friends in organising and running the event.
A big thank you to all those people who help out in any way, in making the National Hamfest a success.
Octagon Technology, for the third year is a major supporter of the show.
Lincoln club hosts national festival Read More »
A couple of weeks ago the BBC announced that it was going to carry out a survey of UK 3G Signal Coverage – using an app for Android mobile phones and the participation of members of the public. This morning the results have appeared here and make a case that smartphone users outside of the of the major population centres of the UK do not get a good deal when it comes to 3G (but of course we all pay the same fees). This is something our engineers at Octagon Technology, myself and our clients understand very well living in Lincolnshire – a county not known for great urban sprawls!
There is a quote somewhere about how good and reliable statistics can be and the mobile operators have always relied on their statistic of providing coverage to a very high percentage of the population, not a statistic of covering the UK with a 3G signal. I can understand this from a business investment/profit position as 3G installations are expensive and the mobile companies paid billions of pounds for the rights to the frequencies to transmit 3G.
The government has hinted at initiatives to increase coverage in rural areas (let’s see this happen) and now they are talking of improving coverage on major roads and railways – Lincolnshire has little in the way of major roads and we may or may not have a direct rail service to London!
Now I enjoy living in a rural area, and will put up with the inconvenience of not having a polluting, noisy, fast motorway coming through our city and the small inconvenience of having to go to Newark for a train to London. I will also work around using 2G sometimes rather than 3G. But the point is when are the mobile providers going to have a scale of charges that reflect the service you get rather than the service they say you will get – and we all know at this point the mobile companies will direct you to the disclaimers about selling you 3G and then providing 2G and that is your problem and not theirs. Now this is my point – in these days of technology if you live and use your smartphone in an area with reduced 3G coverage, it must be possible for the mobile providers to reduce your bill accordingly?
In the BBC article it points people at a website for checking 3G coverage where you are – OpenSignalMaps. We are camping very close to the station in Dingwall and luckily I have a 3G signal.
This site has gone into the favourites on my iPhone for future use.
The aim of the site is to create a worldwide coverage map, using an Android app to collect the data – if you have N android phone or tablet I’d encourage you to get involved – I would if the was an iPhone app.
3G Signal Coverage Read More »
I am in Ramsgate this weekend, for my Granddaughter’s fIrst birthdays – but with the West Highland Way less than 8 months away, I wanted to get some walking in this weekend. So I got ip early and walked along the sea front. The only thing this morning is that the sun has forgotten to rise – it is a grey, damp claggy day.
Ramsgate was closed this early on a Sunday morning – except for a cafe near the Marina – The Belgian Cafe. It serves excellent coffee and the bacon smelled great, the only problem is that this is walking to get fit so bacon sandwiches are out. The decor is eccentric and I guess that adds character, and I am not sure whether the accents of the staff were Belgian but they were continental. Well except for the chef who was London/Essex! And the coffee was good.
Try it out The Belgian Cafe – pics below.
