Paradise Found

TGIR

Tom Q — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 19:04:32 +0000

… or Thank God it’s Raining.

Friday we saw some welcome rain after many weeks of none, and as we rely so much on rain water, it is nice when you get some good, solid tank rain. Makes the sky nice and moody too.

Isabelle

Tom Q — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 17:48:58 +0000

Back in April I took some shots of Emma, Mark and their daughter Isabelle so they could send them to Mark’s mother. We ventured down to Astwood Park on a beautiful evening, and were fortunate enough to have some long grass for Isabelle to play in. Here is a small selection of the final set.

Setting a bad example

Tom Q — Tue, 12 May 2009 02:51:05 +0000

I have said before that I am a big fan of cars. So when I found the Automoblox site, selling high quality wooden designs with style and innovative features, I was sold (for Conor, obviously).

So I ordered a sports car and a jeep, and when they arrived they were a big hit with the little boy. He would sit for at least 10 minutes (that’s a long time in toddler time) spinning the wheels and pulling them apart. Because they are so solid, he could throw them and they would not break. So after three months of surviving some heavy kiddie punishment, I was impressed enough to order a few more to add some variety to playtime.

This was where I made the mistake. Instead of being a good Dad and picking the fastest or sportiest of the models, I selected two based upon colours. That in itself is a schoolgirl error, but once they arrived I realised the error of my ways. I had ordered a pick up truck and a minivan (UK=people carrier). You don’t have to watch Jeremy Clarkson to know that Brits don’t like pick ups. They are big, low-tech gas-guzzling monsters. Not something you want you child to grow up liking.

But a minivan – that really takes the biscuit. I can imagine it now. Instead of Conor saying to his friends “Let’s see how fast it can go”, it will be “I wonder how many people can fit through the sliding doors”, or “Let’s see how practical it is”. So the task now is to undertake a Top Gear type challenge and turn the minivan into a convertible. It will be the only way I will be able to redeem myself (and it will give me a chance to use my power tools).

Cold Case

Tom Q — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 05:33:28 +0000

I have always wondered about being one of the detectives assigned to those Cold Case files. I assume that it is probably considered some sort of demotion – I can imagine the Captain saying:

“Well, you’re not very good at solving regular crimes, and your fashion sense sucks, so let’s give you some of those old cases to tackle. You can pretend to look wistfully back into the past whilst you waste taxpayer’s money”.

I would also imagine that having to spend all your time trying to solve old cases means a lot of abuse from colleagues who work on “current” crimes and don’t have to live in the past.

So what’s worse than being a cold case detective? Being an actor who plays a cold case detective. I imagine Kathryn Morris doesn’t get much of an opportunity to rub shoulders with the likes of William Petersen of CSI fame. He’s a big hitter with a lab and everything, whilst she just has a cupboard full of 60’s albums and bad clothing.

Actually, I bet there s probably some sort of league table for where your “cop show” ranks and how much pull you subsequently have as an actor. So CSI (the original) would be a tier one show, with tier one benefits to match. Law and Order is probably second division (especially now Lennie Briscoe is gone), with Cold Case relegated to league three. The only show ranking lower would probably be CSI:Miami, mainly because Horatio Caine is such a one-line plonker.

Would you like water with that?

Tom Q — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:32:29 +0000

Imagine the scene – Our hero arrives home from work late, after a tough day at the office. There is a lightning bolt strike in his head as a migraine kicks in to full effect. His pain is visceral. He needs relief – fast.

He sheds his clothes, slips into his dressing gown and starts the search for pain killers. He checks the bedroom – no luck. Looks in the kitchen cupboards – nothing there. He then starts hunting through the bathroom cabinets. All in complete silence as he doesn’t want to wake his son sleeping in the next room, and jarring noises would make him cringe with pain anyway.

Success! He finds a bottle of Tylenol Extra Strength, but upon prising the lid open realises that all that remains inside is cotton wool. He curses, wondering why they put cotton wool in pill bottles anyway, but there’s no time to waste and his hunt continues.

Finally he finds a bottle at the back of a bottom drawer which looks like it will ease his pain. He grabs for it and slowly turns it around so he can read the label. His vision screams as his headache kicks into overdrive. The white type on the red background jumps out, and he reads it aloud: “Women’s Tylenol – Menstrual Relief“.

Now his mind is racing – is he willing to cope with the pain of his headache, or does he choke down some of the pills regardless of the consequences? This is like the red pill/blue pill scene in “The Matrix“, but only worse, because there is only one choice … the red pill.

Our hero cracks open the bottle, throws four white bullets down his throat and swallows. He crawls into bed, passes out, and dreams of waking up with no backache, no cramp, and enjoying temporary relief from water-weight gain, bloating, swelling and/or the full feeling associated with premenstrual and menstrual periods. But above all, he dreams of waking up without a headache.

Looking Back

Tom Q — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 02:55:42 +0000

Last year was a learning experience for me. Becoming a father exposes you to so many new things and experiences, and I was exposed to some very interesting items which I would never have wanted to know about otherwise, such as:

Butt Paste – yes, it does what it says on the tin (or in this case, tube). But what puzzles me is why it is a horrible brown colour…?
Exersaucer – this fiendish contraption serves multiple purposes: it tires out babies, it catches crooks breaking in at night, and is the most effective way to break your big toe, all whilst playing a tune that you will never get out of your head…
Rectal Thermometer – OK, so it may be more accurate than an oral version, but come on, what’s a few tenths of a degree between friends if I don’t have to stick a glass tube filled with mercury up your bottom…
Projectile Vomit – I remember once seeing this phenomenon in The Exorcist, but I thought it was just some Hollywood invention. Not true. It turns out that this phenomenon in alive and well right under my roof, and often times all over my trousers…

If you subscribe via email or RSS be sure to check out my new blog design.

MMVIII into MMIX

Tom Q — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 13:25:00 +0000

2008 has been a life-changing year, what with the arrival of Monkey Boy into our lives. That has meant less photography, although I do have a new muse (Hamish is not impressed).

I have also been blogging less – updating my Facebook status has basically taken the place of posting entries to my blog.

So what are my resolutions for 2009?

Make more images from fewer pictures
Blog more. I spent a lot of time early in the year on Friendfeed, but I think I am over that phase.
Most importantly, work on being the best Father I can be for Conor

Happy New Year and all the best for 2009!

Motor Mania

Tom Q — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 15:33:00 +0000

Like most red-blooded males, I am a big fan of most things automotive. Watching Top Gear on BBC America is great, but they tend to be a little behind, so a recent trip back to Blighty allowed me to get up to date as there is a TV Station which runs 2 hours of TG per day. It’s actually a very funny show which also happens to be supremely popular – I read the other day that one of the most common internet searches is “Who is the Stig?”.

I have recently found another great online car resource – OnCars. They have a great selection of quick and in-depth tests, the production qualities are excellent and their presenter is good.

Having a new son also allows me to indulge my inner boy and relive my childhood as far as toys are concerned. Recently I stumbled across Automoblox and their great wooden toys with unbelievable design cues. I now know what Conor will be getting for Christmas (along with his Scalextric track) …

Flickr MeMe

Tom Q — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 13:39:00 +0000

“It works like this: if you use Flickr, go to the sixth page of your photostream and pick the sixth picture there, then post it to your blog.”

I took this photo down at Spanish Point in October of 2007. The title should maybe have been: Wanted – one careful owner…

Adobe, please take my money

Tom Q — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 17:17:00 +0000

There are countless benefits to living in Bermuda. Unfortunately, there are a few downsides. One of them is that I refuse to have a US billing address. I do have a US Shipping address (via Zipx), but all my debit and credit cards have billing addresses here. And that seems to cause major issues with certain (supposedly global) online companies.

I am currently trying to order LightRoom 2 from Adobe. They do not have an online store dedicated to Bermuda, so I tried their online US store. Can’t order from there without a US billing address.

I then try their live chat. That helpful individual gives me a toll number to call. I call that number and it is no longer in service.

I call their main customer service number. They tell me they can’t help and that I should try CDW online. I try CDW and they don’t have the product in stock.

Not quite fully discouraged, I try Adobe again and talk to their sales team. They can’t help as I am not US-based, but transfer me to someone who can. But he can’t, because I don’t have a US billing address. He asks if I have relatives in the US that could help me. No. He then tells me to go to the Adobe.com website and try selecting my country from there. I tell him it is not listed. OK, he says, try selecting the country closest to where you live. Um, I reply, that would be the US. He asks if I am sure about that? Yes, absolutely. OK then, he says, try the country that is the second closest to Bermuda – that might help. OK, I reply, that would probably be Canada. He immediately asks – but do you have a Canadian billing address? No. At this point he comes to the conclusion I have already come to – OK, sir,well, we can’t help you.

So after half a dozen visits to adobe.com and at least 5 calls with their sales or customer service people, it turns out that they cannot help me place an order for their software. All this from a supposed international company.

Why is it that I never have any issues like this ordering from Amazon? They don’t care if I have a non-US billing address. They don’t care if I ship to a UK address, a Bermuda address or a US address. They just make sure that I can buy what I want with no obstacles.

Adobe, you need to revisit your online store policy. You need to wake up to global e-commerce. You need to take a leaf out of the book of companies like Amazon, who truly understand how to service a global online audience.

And yes, I still really want Lightroom. For now (hopefully), I just have to live with the trial version.