As my low end DJI Mini SE has NO OBSTACLE AVOIDANCE, I wanted to see how difficult it would be to shoot in the trees. 🤔
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
The Big Four by Agatha Christie (1927)
Still good — but not as good as earlier Christie, in my opinion.
The Big Four is a secret international crime cartel with 4 leaders who want to dominate the world.
Claude Darrell, known as the Destroyer, is worst of the worst. He dies when their hidden lair of the Four explodes — or did he?
Perhaps the book seemed less precise because it evolved out of 12 short stories.
Others speculate that this novel was assembled at a low point in Christie’s life. She was arguing with her husband. They were soon to be divorced.
In fact, at one point in 1926 she disappeared for weeks. More than a thousand police officers, 15,000 volunteers, and several aeroplanes searched the rural landscape near where her car was found.
Eventually she was discovered in a hotel under an assumed name.
Doc Martin – seasons 4/5
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.
Music in YouTube videos
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.
Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie
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. …”
Faroe Islands in 2022
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.
iPhone LIVE Long Exposure Photos
There are many ways to create long exposure photos, but none on iPhone are as super easy and quick as LIVE:
- use the native iPhone camera
- make sure LIVE photo is ON
- use tripod to keep it solid
- set the self-timer so the camera is not BUMPED when you click the button
- using a 10 second timer you could put yourself into the long exposure (don’t move!)
- once the photo has processed, in your camera roll click the photo. Click the LIVE icon. Choose the Long Exposure option.
- you can edit to Long Exposure either in the iPhone or in the EDIT mode of the Photos app on a Mac (easier to see detail on the Mac)
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
No Man’s Land by David Baldacci
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.
OVER the Handle Bars … 🚲
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.
What happened?
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.
Reacher – season 1
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.
Rick McCharles 