When I get fed up with dark, heavy TV shows I switch back to charmingly hilarious Doc Martin.
Doc is grouchy, abrupt, and lacks social skills. His direct, emotionless manner offends many of the villagers, made worse by his invariably unpleasant responses to their ignorant, often foolish, comments.
None of the townsfolk can understand why the lovely Louisa Glasson (Caroline Catz) has his baby — and then tries to marry him. Twice.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Back in the 1990s I edited a lot of VHS videos — gak 😕 — and the worst aspect was dealing with audio.
Now that video editing is my hobby, I’m finding that sound design is the most interesting part. Many video creators think it’s the most important part in 2022.
That could be true — BUT many folks watch video on their phones with audio muted. So I also edit to be presentable VIDEO ONLY.
Here’s the best introduction to the topic I’ve seen.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie, first published in the US in 1923.
I’m astonished how skillfully this story was done. A female writer who just might be better than Conan Doyle.
It’s the second book in the series.
Hercule Poirot is even more genius. Sidekick Arthur Hastings even more easily duped.
The story takes place in northern France, giving Poirot a hostile competitor from the Paris Sûreté.
Renauld had been stabbed in the back with a knife and left in a newly dug grave adjacent to a local golf course.
The mystery is compounded when a murdered tramp is found, stabbed through the heart with the same(?) murder weapon.
“The plot has peculiar complications and the reader will have to be very astute indeed if he guesses who the criminal is until the last complexity has been unravelled.
The author is notably ingenious in the construction and unravelling of the mystery, which develops fresh interests and new entanglements at every turn.
She deserves commendation also for the care with which the story is worked out and the good craftsmanship with which it is written. …”
PLAN is visit the remote Faroe Islands summer 2022 as part of my PLANNED Norway, Faroes & Iceland cycling tour. 🤞
Weird and evocative.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
There are many ways to create long exposure photos, but none on iPhone are as super easy and quick as LIVE:
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
The 4th and final instalment of the John Puller series.
Quite good. My opinion of Baldacci was upped considerably after reading this series.
Paul Rogers has been in prison for ten years. Finally paroled, he sets out for revenge.
After his father is accused of murder, combat veteran and Special Agent John Puller must investigate his past and learn the truth. It leads right to Rogers.
John Puller is Baldacci’s version of Jack Reacher.
My Trek Checkpoint bike is still like new.
Today I flipped over the handlebars. First time ever, I believe.
I was wearing my helmet. But — happily — the Gymnastics training kicked in and I pulled off a shoulder safety roll with perfect technique. No damage. Helmet never hit the dirt.
I was on level ground. Easy riding. INSTANT stop.
My fender somehow came loose and wedged behind the tire.
Weird. I’d never heard of this happening before.
It’s still on warranty so I’ll have the dealer fix it.
I started reading the Jack Reacher books in 2015. Loved ’em from the start.
And there’s much to like in the TV adaptation of book #1.
Alan Ritchson almost lives up to the legend of Reacher.
250 pounds of vigilante justice.
I really liked the badass love interest in this one. Willa Fitzgerald as Roscoe Conklin.
YES the plot is kinda dumb. The book plots are pretty dumb too. Dozens of bad guys who never seem to shoot straight.
But I’m already looking forward enthusiastically to season 2. It got the green light only 3 days after release. This is a hit.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Isaac’s Storm (2000) is not Larson’s best book.
BUT it’s still worth reading if only to learn the history of weather forecasting. If you think it’s bad now, imagine how little they knew in the 1800s.
The people of Galveston had no warning. Few people evacuated to the mainland.
When it happened, the weather service mostly went into ass covering mode.
The 1900 Galveston hurricane was the deadliest natural disaster in United States history and the fifth-deadliest Atlantic hurricane, only behind Hurricane Mitch overall. The hurricane left between 6,000 and 12,000 fatalities in the United States …
In 1915, a storm similar in strength and track to the 1900 hurricane struck Galveston … but only 53 died mainly due to a 10 mile long seawall that had been built after the first disaster.
The book tells the story from the point of view of Isaac Monroe Cline (October 13, 1861 – August 3, 1955), chief meteorologist at the Galveston, Texas office of the U.S. Weather Bureau, now known as the National Weather Service, from 1889 to 1901.
But I never got interested in his personal life, nor the rivalry with his brother, Joseph.
The only thing that worried me about my new Trek Checkpoint ALR 4 backpacking rig is lack of suspension. It’s supposed to have some suspension in the carbon fork — but I still find it a lot stiffer than my old hard tail Ghost.
One way to add suspension is with a special saddle. Makes sense.
When I first heard about this unique product — the PNW Coast Suspension Ext Dropper Post — I started research in earnest.
Dropper posts allow riders to quickly lift and lower their saddle without the need to dismount and loosen the quick-release seat clamp.
The PNW Coast Suspension External Dropper Post is the first suspension dropper post, combining ride smoothing suspension and the benefits of a dropper into one seatpost.
The post comes with 100mm or 120mm of drop travel. It is perfect for XC mountain biking, gravel riding, bikepacking, commuting, and much more.
So far I’m LOVING the ability to quickly and easily raise and lower the saddle, even while riding. I now have 3 different handbag placements and multiple seat positions.
But I still don’t have as much suspension as I’d like.
Click PLAY or see how it works on YouTube.
Click PLAY or see a review on YouTube.
Here’s a review from someone who rides in my own style. Gravel. Bikepacking.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Rick McCharles 