Chaff in the wind
A four-line poem I wrote.
JAMES' CORNER
Hello I'm James. Welcome to my corner of the web! I'm a mechanical engineer based in the UK. I like tech, photography, art, and whatever I'm obsessing ...
Latest posts
When talking politics with family & friends...
An off-the-cuff blog post about navigating heated political discussions by emphasizing active listening, critical source evaluation, and maintaining independent thought.
My Favorite Photos from Dorrigo Rainforest
Some photos I took in Dorrigo Rainforest. Lots of mushrooms, some glowworms, and an echidna.
Kagi: Good Enough to Leave Google (search)
I should start by saying that Kagi is a paid product. For those who want to look at what other search engines are out there, Startpage and DuckDuckGo both offer great services free of charge. Why pay for search? As the oft-repeated adage goes: "if you're not paying for the product, you are the product". We all know that there's a reason Google can provide the services it does for free. We also all…
A crack at the Carina Nebula & Questioning Artemis II
Astrophotograph-ing Last night was the first clear night in about a week in Marlborough, New Zealand. So I hopped onto the lawn with my DSLR and my EF 75-300mm II lens (zoomed in to ~80mm from what I remember) and took a crack and photographing the Carina Nebula. This is what I ended up with: It's something like 12-13 minutes of exposure time. I had to stop because the lens was fogging up. If I…
Some Jumping Spiders
Above photo by (David Fairchild, Marian Fairchild), 1914 . 1 I'm currently on holiday in Blenheim, New Zealand, enjoying a hot still afternoon outside. As I was walking around earlier, I was lucky enough to spot a few jumping spiders! If you're unfamiliar with these marvelous little creatures, then go read this or watch this . Here are some of the photos I took. I'm using a Laowa 60mm macro lens,…
Some websites I think are pretty neat
Below are a list of sites that I think are worth both sharing with others, and archiving for my future enjoyment. If you're done looking around here and are looking to surf the web old-school by following links, then click away on whatever strikes your fancy! Note: this will never be a complete list. I will add to it as time goes on and as I make more discoveries. General Accidentally Wes Anderson…
She said Yes!
How to propose in 8 easy steps: Step 1: Give no indication that you are ready to propose. Act a little blasé or disinterested whenever any related conversations come up. Say that you're definitely not going to do it while travelling New Zealand and Australia. Step 2: Order a ring and get it shipped to NZ. Faff around with DHL's unhelpful customs import process and get the forms filled out. Step 3:…
Some Photos of Australasian Gannets
Below are some pictures I took at one of the Australasian gannet colonies at the Cape Kidnappers Gannet Reserve in New Zealand. Nearly all of the chicks have grown up and left by this time of year. I've got a large panorama of the whole colony here (warning: loads large 50MB image).
A Short Rant about Modern Car Safety
I've noticed nearly all new cars these days incorporate safety features which seem to benefit only their own drivers in isolation. Are we not looking at the net safety of everyone on the road? Headlights Why are headlights so bright these days? It seems I'm not the only one to hold this opinion . I suppose it doesn't help that I drive an MX5; my eyeline sits below that of nearly all other drivers…