Grant Hutchison's Blog, page 43

Sidlaws: Kinpurney To Castleward

Kinpurney Hill (345m, NO 322417) Back Drum (287m, NO 336430) Castleward (273m, NO 343438) 14 kilometres 500 metres of ascent (with detours) Two glens penetrate the north side of the Sidlaw Hills—Glen Ogilvie and the Denoon Glen. Between them, they create three ridges that point northwards from the central bulk of the Sidlaws. I’ve walked … Continue reading Sidlaws: Kinpurney To Castleward →

Russian Far East: Part 2 – Wrangel Island

[T]he most desolate looking place I have ever seen, or ever wish to see again. Ernest Chafe, The Voyage of the “Karluk” (unpublished manuscript)*   So. My previous post ended with our rather hectic embarkation on the good ship Professor Khromov, moored off the Siberian port of Anadyr. The Khromov is an Akademik Shuleykin Class … Continue reading Russian Far East: Part 2 – Wrangel Island →

Russian Far East: Part 1 – Getting There

So—there’s been a bit of negative feedback on the Travel section of this blog, from those who know us. Apparently everything so far has been a little bit tame by the standard that people have come to expect from our previous travel destinations. So this one should redress the balance a little. We’ve just returned … Continue reading Russian Far East: Part 1 – Getting There →

Nosism

ˈnɒsɪz(ə)m nosism: The use of “we” in stating one’s own opinions. Two minutes later, a man called Chamberlain who did Prime Minister impressions spoke on the wireless; he said, “As from eleven o’clock we are at war with Germany.” (I loved the WE.) Spike Milligan, Adolf Hitler: My Part In His Downfall (1971) Milligan is … Continue reading Nosism →

Christoph Baumer: The History Of Central Asia

Sima Qian found himself personally affected by China’s wars against the Xiongnu in quite unintended fashion, for in 99 BCE he was castrated on the orders of Emperor Han Wudi … If I’ve been quiet on the reading front for a while, it’s been because I’ve been working my way through these gorgeously produced volumes. They’re big—almost … Continue reading Christoph Baumer: The History Of Central Asia →

-ize

-aɪz -ize: a suffix used to form verbs from adjectives and nouns Ubiquitization: This is a strategy adopted by service firms in order to physically distribute their products and services ‘everywhere’. Jones & Robinson, Operations Management (2012) A variety of  specific E2 carrier protein and E3 enzyme pairs impart another important level of selectivity through … Continue reading -ize →

Sidlaws: West End / East End

Another Sidlaws day of two halves—the morning at the west end of the ridge, the afternoon at the east end. Bandirran Hill (NO 203314, 275m) 3 kilometres 130 metres of ascent Bandirran is as far west as you can go on the Sidlaws ridge and stay above 250m altitude. To stay high and go farther … Continue reading Sidlaws: West End / East End →

Saying “Centrifugal” Doesn’t Mean You’re A Bad Person

Despite its daunting size, the huge structure was in fact a very simple machine, essentially a massive slingshot exploiting the rotation of the KBO to hurl objects into space. Slugs of refined, processed matter were loaded into open-topped buckets at the KBO’s surface. For the first hundred kilometres, they were hoisted up the length of … Continue reading Saying “Centrifugal” Doesn’t Mean You’re A Bad Person →

Sidlaws: Lorns To Labothie

Lorns Hill (NO 443399, 243m) Dodd Hill (NO 452396, 255m) Carrot Hill (NO 458401, 259m) Labothie Hill (NO 472416, 232m) 10 kilometres 190 metres of ascent This low ridge is an outlier of the main Sidlaws range, and pretty much its eastern last gasp. It stands out on Google Earth as a little curved strip … Continue reading Sidlaws: Lorns To Labothie →

RealSpace Models 1/96 Apollo Block II Command/Service Module: Part 2

Go to first post in this build log Having finished with the Service Module detailing, I had a little bit to do on the Command Module before I could start applying foil. I sanded down the original undetailed cabin hatch on the resin model, and added the photoetched detail from New Ware’s Saturn V Detail … Continue reading RealSpace Models 1/96 Apollo Block II Command/Service Module: Part 2 →