Little news in Dorktown town

15 February 2012

I've only just this minute noticed that yesterday was Valentine's Day.  Shows how much I bother that does eh ;-)))  Actually, it's something neither Jan or I have ever bothered with.  For us it's just another way for companies to increase their prices for short period, just as Halloween is.  I can spend my dosh easy enough as it is without being encouraged to do so by these greedy so'n'so's.

As my regular readers will be aware, just lately I have taken to posing a photo every day on here.  I've always got a camera with me where I go, just in case.  You can be sure that if I don't taken one with me an unrepeatable shot will present itself.  This is not new hobby of mine.  My very first camera was a  Halina 35X which my parents bought me for Christmas one year when I was about 13 or 14.  Since then I have had a camera of sorts ever since.  The best camera I had in years gone by was Minolta XD 7 with a collection of lenses, filters and other bits n bobs.  Jan and I got married and slowly it all got sold - the choice was simply sell a lens or have the electricity cut off.  No contest really.  I've had the odd camera ever since then but it is only the last three years that I have had what I would call a decent digital camera, my Sony Alpha 350.  

Have you all noticed that until just lately most digital cameras were black boxes, especially the DSLR's?  I have for time been looking back at the black and silver camera bodies of the old 35mm film cameras and wishing for a DSLR in the same design.  Whatever; I had a play with yet another black box a few weeks ago, a Alpha 77 and was very impressed with it.  However, the price is well out of our reach.  Yesterday I bought a copy of Amateur Photographer because they had a test review of the cheaper but similar spec Alpha 65 in it.  And guess what is on the front cover?  A photo of the new Olympus OM D - in black and silver, and what I cracker it looks too!  Sadly at over £1,000, it is still outside my price range.  Even if it wasn't I'm not sure I buy it anyway.  I've invested in the Sony system and all my lenses are for that.  Changing make would mean buying new lenses as well and that just isn't on right now.  That's why I have discounted the Nikon D7000 as well. 

In today's News Tom Wilson the ex-mayor of Dorktown is standing down from his council seat and will not seek re-election this May.  He will however continue in the public life of the town championing the heritage of the town.  Although I am from the opposite side of the political scale to Tom I wish him luck in his semi-retirement.

There's not much else in the News today really that is directly about Dorktown.  A lot of it is about Bed'th, like the dropping of all the full time firemen at Bed'th fire station.  The property guide is full of ads again, as usual.  The prices seemed a tad higher this week I think.  That's OK if I suppose but if you are going to sell to buy another property the increase will be wiped out by the increase in the property you are going to buy ... so nothing changes does it ;-)))

Jan has a Kindle!  And she loves it too.  Every time she reads a book downloaded from Amazon she leaves a review for the writer.  Some have been scathing because that was what the book needed, like the one full of mistake and repeated passages.  But one writer, Ashley Fountain, she has come across has really impressed her.  Now Jan and Ashley are good e-friends chatting on Facebook fairly often.  Jan's was explaining about my book, House of Pain and described it as a 'revenge novel' and Ashley went off straight away and bought it.  I hope she likes it ... ... ...

So then, down to today photo ...

OK, I've been on about Jan so here's one her on holiday in Mallorca about 18 months ago.  She began smiling as the plane left the ground and she was still smiling as I drove home when we got back.  This shot was taken in a cafe in Inca when we went for the market.

The Sage sent me this one ages ago ...

A drunk man, who smelled of liquor, sat down on a subway next to a priest.  The man's tie was stained, his face was plastered with red lipstick, and a half-empty
bottle of gin was sticking > out of his coat pocket. He opened his newspaper and began reading.
After a few minutes the man turned to the priest and asked, 'Say Father, do
you know what causes arthritis?'
The priest replies, 'My Son, it's caused by loose living, being with cheap wicked women, too much alcohol, contempt for your fellow man, sleeping around with prostitutes and lack of a bath.'
The drunk muttered in response, 'Well, I'll be damned.' Then he returned to his paper.

The priest, thinking about what he had said, nudged the man and apologized. 'I'm very sorry. I didn't mean to come on so strong. How long have you had arthritis?'
The drunk answered, 'I don't have it, Father. I was just reading here that the Pope does.'

MORAL: Make sure you understand the question before offering the answer.