If like me, you are tired of having your screen cluttered full of stupid ads, c/w the general enshittification of the Internet by commercial interests, then you may wish to try /etc/hosts file “hostile server blocking”. It’s free and no additional software is needed. This is because your /etc/hosts file part of your computer’s TCP/IP…
I suffered my first hard disk failure way back in 1987. Fortunately I recovered 99% of my data. However, successful recovery required quite a lengthy struggle and a somewhat inelegant bodge. Since then, I’ve held something of a fascination, some might even say an obsession with backup systems. Over the years, I have tried all…
A thread on a photographic forum to which I belong started me thinking about using gobos. I always liked the idea of a proper gobo projector, but for a modifier that I would likely only use occasionally, I didn’t like the cost. So I decided to have a look around to see if there were…
Today I decided to make my own affordable detachable camera and equipment lanyard straps. I used some cheap generic “Peak Design compatible” buckles, bought direct from China via Ali Express, together with some generic anchors from the same source. I also used some 25mm nylon webbing I’ve had kicking round for ages. Granted, perhaps bright…
Problem is that memory cards can and do fail – even the expensive ones. And of course the world is littered with fakes. Being a bit of an old skinflint, almost all my memory cards have come from Amazon or similar. But I always add one extra precautionary step to the process between purchase and…
Driving through the West Sussex countryside on my way back Chichester, I spotted this tiny stone Chapel, literally right in the middle of nowhere. The board outside read St Mary’s Church Sennicotts. But the odd thing is there is no other building near. Nearest building I could see was about 400 metres away. The church’s…
A couple of months back, a question was raised with regard to how to prevent cable connectors falling out of cameras during tethered shoots. Well my tethered shoots are almost always tethered wirelessly these days. However I do sometimes need to attach a power lead. As my wife reminded me, when we’ve done shoots with…
The subject of monopods was raised recently in a photographic forum to which I belong. As it happens, I was already flirting with the idea of using a walking stick as a monopod, to avoid the need to carry two sticks. I’m a lazy so-and-so at the best of times. I also have a habit…
Photographer pal changed the batteries in his dead YN565EX II speedlight flash gun. Unfortunately when he tried to witch it on, it didn’t work. He tried several sets of batteries. No luck. For those not familiar with the device, the Yongnuo YN565EX II is a relatively affordable battery-powered Chinese flash speedlight for both professional and…
Several people have contacted me privately and asked for information regarding how I actually mounted my 120-year-old Bausch & Lomb + Beck lens on my µ4/3 camera. I hope in this article to shed a little light on how one can make such an old lens and seemingly-incompatible lens actually stay on a modern mirrorless…
Regular readers may know that my 2023 Christmas project was to make this 120 year old Bausch & Lomb + Beck lens fit on my µ4/3 cameras and actually capture some pictures with it. Unfortunately, at the time, the weather was too wet to take the thing outdoors. Fortunately by early January the weather became…
Over Christmas I set myself a little task of trying to make a 120-year- old Bausch & Lomb + Beck lens fit on a fairly modern camera. The lens was given to me in the late 1980’s by one of my very first models. It was a nice thought but to be honest, I came…
Merry Christmas 2023 from GarfNet, in a cold, damp, wet and windy Old Blighty. Like last year, its all a tad dull and gloomy here and many folks here are not exactly brimming with festive cheer, this year. Nevertheless, merry Christmas anyway… 🙂 About the picture The photo is entitled “The easily LED geese of…
I always rather fancied a decent 500mm catadioptric lens. I bought a cheap Korean one off eBay a few years back and frankly it was not very good. But the old Tamron 500mm mirror lens has quite a good reputation. And as luck would have it, one turned up cheap on eBay a few weeks…
EDITORS NOTE 2025-01-22. BBC changed its streams, yet again. Consequently, most of the BBC of the streams on this page no longer work. New streams that do actually work can be found at:- Internet radio player URLs Following the fiasco at the end of last week, when the BBC killed all its HLS internet radio…
Editor’s note: a list of new BBC AAC HLS internet ratio streams can be found here. Over the last few hours, some new BBC streams have appeared. At the moment I don’t know whether these are official BBC streams or if some public-spirited person is re-streaming. Though I’m pretty sure the ones coming from the…
Editor’s note: a list of new BBC AAC HLS internet ratio streams can be found here. Seems the BBC has decided to make all its AAC HLS streams only available to wealthy people who have Apple or similar devices. And the good old-fashioned “shoutcast” MP3 streams have gone altogether. Seems that if you can afford…
Date Trial 2023-10-02 Start of Trump’s civil trial where AG Letitia James is seeking $250 million. 2023-10-23 Start of Kenneth Cheesebro’s and Sydney Powell’s joint trial 2024-01-15 Start of E Jean Carroll’s defamation trial 2024-01-29 Federal class-action trial against Trump 2024-03-04 Trump’s federal criminal trial in Washington DC 2024-03-25 Start of Alvin Bragg’s Stormy Daniels …
Lots of conspiracy theories abound. And there probably is a lot more to this story than meets the eye. However my own gut feeling (and it is just that): This was essentially a massive cock up. I’m reminded of Hanlon’s Razor:- Never ascribe to malice anything that can adequately be explained by stupidity… Russia managed…
Wagner Group rebellion presents further serious difficulties for Putin Seems that Vlad the Invader and the leader mercenary army he hired to bolster his own failing army in Ukraine have had a major falling out. Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin claims that Russia bombed his Ukraine HQ killing 2000 of his men and has vowed…
My experience of street photography is to make oneself looks as insignificant and unprofessional as possible – which comes rather too naturally to me, TBH! 🙂 Kit should be small, light and ideally somewhat battered looking – a “distressed” look that most of my kit usually acquires after a few weeks’ service. No expensive-looking kit…
Amongst his many sackings for lying, he was sacked by the Times for making up quotes. So yes, the Daily Heil does indeed seem to be the perfect place for Boris to get paid stupid money for making up more asinine far-right crap. A more detailed list of Johnson’s more egregious lies… And as ever,…
Having all become familiar with USB C, seems the USB Group has just announced an even newer and faster connection standard, to be known as “USB D”. Of course, like all new Universal Serial Bus connectors, it will be completely incompatible with all previous USB standards. To guarantee incompatibility, the new connectors will be circular….
Is AliExpress any good is a difficult question to answer in a single word. It is ‘a pig and a poke‘ to some extent. Having spent quite a lot of time in Hong Kong, AliExpress has many of the attributes of a Hong Kong street market. I.e. quite a lot of junk, some quite good…
Bought a bundle of multifunction USB rechargeable LED lights from a supplier AliExpress. I actually a bought batch of both types shown below because I like them so much. I paid a bit over a fiver each for them. Quite amazing for their size, weight and cost. Tough, water-resistant and rechargeable via USB C, c/w…
