Octech's Weblog

This Blog Has Moved!

octech — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 19:15:55 +0000

I have moved this blog to www.clivecatton.co.uk – please change your bookmarks.

If you had registered to receive notifications by email, when I post a new article or comment, you will need to re-register on the new site – the sign up box is on the right of the new blog home page.

Why did I move? By setting up my own WordPress install on Octagon Technology servers I get the opportunity to control the look and feel of the blog and web site more closely, rather than just using the WordPress.com options. Two things that I have done immediately, is to develop a better mobile site and to add my own random photographs in the header.

Things to come

The West Highland Way – day by day
More iPhone “how to” and iPhone photographs
Lightweight camping and hiking
The Viking Way
Things I do at work – fixing that problem!
Mobile technology information
plus other things I like

Clive

“Bring on the Rain” – StarShipSofa

octech — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 13:13:29 +0000

Tony Smith has an excellent show this week – his “extra” story by Josh Roseman, “Bring on the Rain” is an old fashioned space opera story and is excellent. Add to this a fact article, Everything by Morgan Salette about spaceships and as every Tony’s podcast is a winner. Then we have the third part of the main fiction with floating cities on Venus!

You can find the podcast here - or subscribe and get great stories every week.

“The Agreement Dissection”

octech — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 22:10:43 +0000

Question

Is “The Big Bang Theory”

a) An explanation about how the universe started
Or
b) Probably the funniest programme on TV

If you have not seen “The Big Bang Theory”, then you should try it. If you know about it, already, then I have just watched the funniest episode so far – “The Agreement Dissection”.

Now to really appreciate it, you do need about ninety episodes of back story but it is worth catching up!

Walking to Woodhall Spa – Day Two

octech — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 15:32:18 +0000

The weather was good when I was packing up – which was lucky as packing the new Golite Jam 2, did not go as easily as it did when I packed it at home. I had put the tent in the large outside pocket but this was a mistake as that pocket has to be packed before the main bag. Both pockets share the same volume – packing the main pocket reduces the size of the outside pocket. This means the tent needs to be packed first – when actually, when packing up, it is the last thing to go in the bag. This morning, I simply piled my gear up on a small tarp I had with me, took the tent down and then packed, but it was dry and sunny. So I need a new packing plan.

I ended up meeting both Richards in Bardney – one had had walked there from Lincoln city centre the other drove – and we went for coffee. So that was the end of the walking, we got a lift home.

At the Campsite

octech — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 07:00:19 +0000

I camped in the same spot as I did a couple of months back – but with no ducks.

I have added a wing nut handle to my mug lid – it has proved to awkward to lift the lid off with my Leatherman. The wing nut arrangement means the handle can come off for packing, with the wing nut being stored in the same neoprene case I keep my milk powder, tea bags and lighter in.

To save washing up I made my instant custard in the packet, using the mug only to hold it in and to save burning my hands as I ate it.

I really like Indian tea, but I like it with plenty of milk in (or better still made with condensed milk) – this means it uses a lot of my limited store of dried milk. Yesterday one of my clients gave me some milk sticks, for use this walk but they have all ended up in the same drink. I make the tea the all in way, milk, cold water, Indian tea bag and two brown sugars all in the mug and bring to the boil – then I take half the tea out to drink top up with more cold water and bring back to the boil. Excellent. However this adds to my washing up as the titanium mug/kettle is a mess when finished and it gets worse if it boils over as it did during my Scotish trip last month.

This morning the weather is fine – with a nice sunrise right into my tent as I make some tea.

The bad weather did not materialise here, infect when I woke up there was no wind at all and my tent was perfectly still. However I have asked Diana to check the TV weather and call me.

Breakfast is simple here this morning, plenty of tea and granola bars – many walkers have bars for breakfast so I thought I would try it today.

Walking to Woodhall Spa

octech — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:21:22 +0000

The pack weight is 11.4kgs – including all food and about 2.2l of water. This note is written after about two hours and the Golite pack is proving much more comfortable than the Karrimor I pushed into service.

There were a few drops of rain as I approached the campsite but they did not come to anything, so I got the tent up in the dry. However the warden mentioned that later we may get some wind and rain, the leftovers of a hurricane!

New Theme

octech — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 23:06:06 +0000

I have updated the look of my blog this evening so it displays the photographs, uploaded from my iPhone, better.

Overnight Walk to Woodhall Spa

octech — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 21:21:13 +0000

With the West Highland Way walk only weeks away now I am going to walk to Woodhall Spa this weekend for training. When we do the WHW we will be carrying daypacks and having our main luggage transported between the places we are staying at - the extra weight I will be carrying to Woodhall Spa will help with the training.

It will also be the first outing for the new GoLite Jam2, so I am busy packing it this evening.

The food will be the usual mix of “non-specialist” lightweight food simply bought from the supermarket, to keep the costs down!

Weekend walk 10/9/2011

Saturday

On the trail　

Tinned mackrel, crackers, white coffee

Evening meal

Noodles with tomato soup and salami
Instant custard
Granola bars x2
Tea

Indian tea (with milk) and biscuits

Hot chocolate

Sunday

Tea – whilst still in the sleeping bag looking at the sunrise (I hope) or listening to rain!

Breakfast

Granola bars x2
Oat cakes and jam
White coffee

Lunch

Salami and crackers
White coffee

Trail food

Cereal bars x2
Salted cashew nuts

Both days 750ml water with 2x soluble electrolyte tablets

Saturday arriving at campsite SiS ReGo drink

Extras

3x tea bags and 15ml dried milk
1x white coffee
1x black coffee
2x peach tea (use hot or cold)
2x sugar packets
2x pepper packets
1x salt packet
1x tomato ketchup sachet

2x moist towels
Tissues

Weight excluding mackrel lunch (which will be eaten within an hour of starting) 900g.

For this trip I am not going to take the fleece liner for my lightweight sleeping, to add warmth, I am going to try experimenting with wearing my winter long underwear and some wool socks. This combination packs smaller and weighs less – and hopefully will keep me warm.

After recent experiences with fuel usage in the meths stove when the weather was windy, I am going to carry 250ml of meths.

Equipment

GoLite Jam2
Karrimor 1100 sleeping bag
Silk liner
Complete long underwear (cold weather / sleeping)
Air mat carried inside the pack
3x dry sacks
Belt lens case for brewkit – ease of access on the trail
1m x 1m lightweight tarp – sit mat when walking – used in tent porch

Coleman Bedrock 2 Tent
12 Ti pegs
4 steel
black bin liner – to pack the tent in if wet on the second day

Cooking
Ti stove inc copper mug support
2 fuel tablets – emergency fuel
100 ml meths
100 ml meths
50 ml meths
Half Al wind shield
Stove Board/stand
Ti mug and lid
Beaker with lid
Small brewkit in neoprene case – 5 teabags 15mls dried milk 2 brown sugar
2x lighters
Hi absorbent cloth – drying up
Pot sponge 1/2
5ml washing up liquid
Small LMF spork
Folding spoon/knife
Wide mug
cutting board – plastic 5cms x 12cms

Spare Clothes
Hi tech jumper
Walking socks
Underwear
Hat, headover and gloves
(stuffing the above in the headover makes a good pillow)

Wash Kit
Small Lifeventure travel towel
Hotel soap
Travel toothbrush
20ml liquid toothpaste – the bottle was a giveaway sample from Theramed
Comb
Mirror – from a Christmas cracker
20cm square high absorbent cloth

Tools
Camper SAK
Leatherman P4 Squirt
whistle
LMF fire steel
Compass

Petzl Tikka Headlamp
iTorch – led wind up (from Morrissons)
FAK
Safety pins, gaffer tape, needle and thread, cable ties, paracord
Two clothes pegs

2l Camelbak
750ml SIS bottle in belt case
1l Platypus Roll up bottle – for use in camp

Nano iPod and headphones in neoprene case

iPhone with extended battery jacket fitted
Booster battery for iPod/iPhone
Watatait Case

Headphones for iphone
Swisscard
Money £10
Pencil and notepaper
Personal Medicine
Sunglasses
Cricket Hat
Compeed stick
Lip balm
Sun stick – factor 50

Wearing
Lightweight long sleeved polartec shirt
3way Crag Hoppers
Northface Boots
Walking socks
Underwear

A New Job – Astro-archaeologist!

octech — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 08:11:45 +0000

If you are looking for a change of career or wondering what degree you should study for, read this article from the BBC.

However radio amateurs have heard the Prospero spacecraft – see the page here, by VK3UKF, this page includes the downlink frequency.

Golite Jam 2

octech — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 16:32:12 +0000

My new lightweight rucksack came yesterday – I was working last night but I did have a chance to throw a few things in and play around with some packing options.

I got my one man tent in the front pocket with room to spare and my inflating sleep mat in the main compartment without any problem. Getting the mat inside was important to me as when I had it strapped to the top of the previous pack it made the pack very awkward when making my way through overgrown areas.

When I put on the pack it felt very comfortable. The hip belt pockets were a little difficult to use but I am sure with use the zippers will loosen a little and I will get used to them. I could reach the drinks bottle reasonably easily.

Golite Jam 2

In my Karrimor pack I had a foam back pad that included two flexible aluminium strips embedded in it, which gave the soft pack some rigidity which I found useful – I have inserted this into the pad pocket on the Golite. It makes it easier to pack as it gives the bag some structure and I also think it will protect my back from the load and the water bladder and help transfer some of the weight to the hip belt. There is a weight penalty for this stiff pad – 165gms – which I feel is a bargain if it makes my walking more comfortable.