October Sunset

Another very good one last night.

Nairnshire Chain Restoration Society

This digitally manipulated picture from the previously unknown group the Nairnshrie Chain Restoration Society.

Sunset 02/04/10 Nairn Beach

More pictures here.

Last month's cloud display

Iright saw the clouds last month too. Picture will enlarge

New Scottish Navy and Water?

Jingle Bangle, our new correspondent, has been out on patrol again and wonders if Scotland now has a new navy, seems Scottish Water have a new logo too.

Dyke Church

Pictures from Hamish, although Dyke is outside Nairnshire Hamish thinks the pictures may be of some interest. Indeed Dyke is one of those places, like Brodie, that quite often come into the orbit of Nairnites.

Anyone been out collecting firewood?

From a Gurnite:

'It's late fall and the Indians on a remote reservation in South Dakota asked their new chief if the coming winter was going to be cold or mild.
Since he was a chief in a modern society, he had never been taught the old secrets. When he looked at the sky, he couldn't tell what the winter was going to be like.
Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he told his tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village should collect firewood to be prepared.
But, being a practical leader, after several days, he got an idea. He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked, 'Is the coming winter going to be cold?''It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold,' the meteorologist at the weather service responded.So the chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more firewood in order to be prepared.A week later, he called the National Weather Service again. 'Does it still look like it is going to be a very cold winter?'
'Yes,' the man at National Weather Service again replied, 'it's going to be a very cold winter.'The chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect every scrap of firewood they could find.Two weeks later, the chief called the National Weather Service again. 'Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?''Absolutely,' the man replied. 'It's looking more and more like it is going to be one of the coldest winters we've ever seen.''How can you be so sure?' the chief asked.The weatherman replied, 'The Indians are collecting firewood like crazy.'

Remember this whenever you get advice from a government official!'

Where’s your head at?

For a short time the bum bag was a must have fashion accessory. Hung from your belt you could keep all matter of items tucked inside it, a little like a modern take on a sporran.
These days the bag tends to just be sold on travel item stands at airports, where you can also purchase the likes of mini needles and thread sets and inflatable neck cushions.
As a tourist item it means your valuables can be kept in front of you and saves having the wallet picked from your back pocket when you are in foreign climes.
The Americans dub these wonders ‘fanny packs’, which causes no end of mirth when they reach our shores and talk about retrieving items from said fanny pack. But to add to our joy someone has come up with the idea of a fanny hat, it doesn’t translate to bum hat too well but that will have to do. Apart from the name issue I have great difficulty trying to imagine as to what items you could keep in your fanny hat without it drooping over your eyelids, or rather dropping on your toes, and with a strong gust of wind all your valuables and your fanny could be blown away forever!

How big is yours

How much is one’s pile worth? The Gurn staff always find it vulgar to discuss such matters so an on line ready reckoner which offers one a near instant answer is welcomed in the Gurn offices.
Be advised that one will need an estate of at least 500 acres to obtain a valuation

Free OCR

If you have been sent a document in a graphic format (PDF, JPG, GIF, TIFF or BMP format) and don’t have access to a scanner with OCR software (Optical Character Recognition), then your only course of action to get it into a text format is to retype it.
Free OCR is a web site that will OCR your file for you, and as the title suggests it is free!

There are restrictions on document file size and the number of files it will process for you in any given hour, but well worth a bookmark if it might be of use to you.

Fashion

Just spotted your favourite film star up the street and want to know where she buys her wellies, a new website called The Nod may be able to help you.
Designed to expose the products bought by the truly rich and famous The Nod offers fans the chance to deck themselves out in the style of a celebrity, I wonder what style Nairnites will soon be wearing, Viktor and Rolf maybe?

A sunny day at Nairn

You Tube videos are often shot via wobbly mobile phones. Nice to see some well shot and edited footage of some BMX action ☺

Cool for cats

Litter trays are never very nice. There is the smell, the small pieces of cat litter that seem to get trodden all over your home, and then there is the chore of scooping up the poops and emptying out the litter.
A new product promises that you will have to do none of this. It scoops the poops, cleans and dries the tray automatically; a human hand hardly ever has to touch it.
I wonder what your cat will think of it?

Scotland according to Boris

Mayor of London Boris Johnson speaks to the BBC on the subject of Scotland.

Boris is often controversial in his views; he’s not too happy about free care for the elderly and tuition fees that London is effectively supporting by giving money to Scotland.
He also thinks Scots might vote Tory again… hmm!

You’ve been scraped

The New York Times reports on ‘scraping’. This is a seemingly innocent request from some social networking sites that allows them access to your address book. Your friends may not only get an email asking them to look at your non-existent photos, but if they don’t respond a 2nd email is sometimes sent suggesting that they don’t want to be your friend, playing on the guilt trip.
Scraping might mean some of your aquaintances might not be too happy with you, so think twice before giving out any details on the web.

The taste of Scotland

Costa has carried out research into regional tastes.
Scottish ‘Mouth Melters’: Seek rich, melting tastes and flavours in rear mouth
In Scotland, the national dish that is at the heart of their palate is not Haggis – that’s for the tourists – it’s Tablet. Tablet explains the Scottish sweet tooth, why Mars Bars were deep-fried first in Scotland and also why Italian Ice Cream has been such a success there. Why Italian Ice Cream is a Scottish favourite
Associated / Favourite Flavours: Tablet, Ice Cream, Neeps and Tatties, Cappuccino with sugar, Caramel flavoured Coffees

Dirty

As we battle against an increase in folk suffering from allergies, it has been suggested that our clean living might have something to do with our immune systems not working too well.
The Hygiene Council has been working with Dettol to highlight the germs lurking in our kitchens.
I’m sure on the back of the current swine flu epidemic many of will be more susceptible to such marketing. Should we be really worried and buy more chemicals to kill all those nasty bugs or just wash our hands a little more carefully?

Have a break, have a…

The Japanese have their own version of a Kit Kat. Apple vinegar may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but as someone who uses vinegar in the likes of cake recipes I can vouch for the fact that apple vinegar flavour is probably OK.
I wonder if there is a blog in Japan questioning the likes of Irn Bru or haggis?

Beanz meanz more blogz?

Just what the Gurn team have been waiting for, a microwave that plugs into our computers and saves us leaving our desks for the daily snack. It seems Heinz are developing a mini microwave that will be powered from a computer USB port and sit on your desk ready for you to heat your favourite cuisine or hot drink. I can just see IT departments are going to love this!

World Ocean Day

On June 8th hundreds of communities around the globe will celebrate World Oceans Day – an opportunity to learn about our world ocean and our personal connection to the sea, to raise awareness about the crucial role the ocean plays in our lives, and the important ways people can help to protect our shared world ocean.

The Ocean Project – with over 830 Partner aquariums, zoos, science museums and other educational organizations in all 50 states and 70 countries – is the largest network ever formed to focus on conservation of the ocean. The Ocean Project, working closely with the World Ocean Network, helps to coordinate events and activities to celebrate World Oceans Day with our Partners and other organizations around the globe. Working together, we also succeeded in our petition to have the United Nations officially designate World Oceans Day as June 8th each year.

This year’s theme: Since climate change and the ocean are inextricably tied together, and our society’s future depends on a healthy climate and a healthy world ocean, this year’s theme will better make that connection that binds us together as part of an interconnected planet. This year we are encouraging Partners to promote the theme "one ocean, one climate, one future."

Climate change and the ocean: The ocean and climate are inextricably linked – the ocean plays a crucial role in maintaining the Earth’s climate and ocean life is vulnerable to climate change. As human activities produce too much carbon dioxide, it is absorbed by the ocean and, as a result, ocean waters are becoming warmer and more acidic, threatening the fundamental building blocks of life in the ocean. The ocean is also rising as a result of climate change.

Impact on marine life: Coral reefs - important food, medicinal, economic, aesthetic and cultural resources - are particularly vulnerable to these changes. Scientists are recording record coral reef die-offs and are worried about the future survival of these treasured ecosystems. Other ocean life and ecosystems are also at risk - invasive species and diseases are spreading into new waters, and marine mammals continue to face decreased food supplies as a result of climate change and other factors. People’s homes and livelihoods in coastal communities are seriously threatened as sea level continues to rise and severe weather events increase in frequency.

World Oceans Day provides an opportunity to make the connections between a healthy climate and a healthy ocean, and our own lives. People can learn more and get directly involved in protecting our future through ocean-themed art contests, musical events, beach and watershed cleanups, sustainable seafood events, outdoor exploration and educational programs, storm drain stenciling, film festivals, and more.

A continually updated list of events for 2009 as well as event ideas can be found at the World Ocean Day website.